#WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLE NEED IN LIFE THAN NOSE BOOPS AND HEAD BUMPS

[bluecaeriart]

Some hobbity and dwarven affection for (a belated) Valentine’s Day!!

[angstfactory]

Ah, that's what Jason meant. "Nobody expects you to just move on," his wolf released a low empathetic whine, the kind that might have come from a wounded or scared animal. The wounds were certainly deep, in both of them. "We don't just.. move on.. from that," another tiny whimper. "I think we just.. We have to learn to make room? For everything.. everyone.. else." If Aiden had learned nothing else, at least he knew that. He had never expected to come into Jason's life as Valerie's replacement, let alone with any demands the man just toss her memory and influence on him to the garbage. Aiden, more than anyone, understood that it wasn't possible to just leave loved ones in the past. They stayed with you, forever.

But- there weren't any rules against stepping in, right? He could be Jason's now, and his future. He could still be everything the man needed to heal and grow again. And vice versa.. They both had to let themselves, though, and that was their problem so far. They just kept getting in their own way because neither of them had felt they deserved to move forward.

Those vibrant eyes closed briefly as the black wolf's nose booped his- that was as close to a kiss as they could get in there bodies and all it did was make him yearn to be closer. "Of course you can live without us," he was confident of that. Jason was strong, a survivor. He had others to watch over as an alpha, too. Aiden would never want to be a reason that could snuff this man's life out, if something bad ever happened. Like Valerie, he would want the other to continue on and find himself a new and full happiness. "But you don't have to," he reminded the alpha, this time being the one to bump his nose in against the other's.

"I can breathe without you-" though, for a spell there his attachment to the elder man had definitely become unhealthy and that space away when he left and with Dante had certainly been necessary to find where his own person was again separate from Jason. "But I don't want to." Aiden knew his recent behavior likely only served to hurt and confuse this man, he still didn't truly understand his own motivations other than being a coward that ran away from his problems. If he was ever given one do-over in life... Well, this was the first time in forever that Aiden hesitated to answer.

It used to be immediate: to never enter the woods that day. If he had just stayed home, done literally anything else, his family would be with him today. But now... Taking back that he just gave up and left, hurting Jason all the more, came in hot too.

"I didn't think you would want to see me too much." Aiden was sure he wouldn't have to explain why- it may have been months ago now that he came crawling back with his tail between his legs, but it was still there between them. He could still see the pain in the alphas eyes. The lick caused his own wolf to retaliate with several licks of his own, mostly upside the black wolf's head. Pampering him. "You don't need to rush yourself. I can wait," he promised, nose now nuzzling into the larger wolf's ear until he settled again. Aiden would always wait for Jason.

angstfactory​:

-

Aiden had grown a lot over the past year- two years, even. He could see, though, that Jason was still as hard on himself as ever. The two of them were different types of extremes. He wanted to be the oxygen that helped Jason breathe, but was that even possible anymore? The rusty-colored animal didn’t back down or away as the larger black wolf moved and settled itself. At this point in his life, Aiden knew he would never be rid of that shred of hope and infinite patience.

Fifty, sixty, seventy years from now.. even if they had been apart all that time, he knew it would be there. Simmering quietly.

“Moving on sounds so final,” he relayed back. The wolf padded forward before flopping down onto the foliage to mirror the dark wolf and scooch in across the dirt until their noses were hardly separate. But their eyes were on level. “You can breathe around me.” Those bright eyes were expressive yet studying. Sober. “I’ll give you my breath if I have to” the wolf’s brows softened up. Aiden had never been the best at expressing how he felt but he would do his best.. He didn’t have the ring to help him anymore, his best was all he had left.

The black wolf huffed a bit, “I guess it is but sometimes it hurts more to hold on to something that isn’t there anymore… memories can’t make it better. They help but I was told it’s better to keep those but not hold on to them,” and Jason knew it was true. For years he had held on to Valerie’s memory and that had kept him from truly living. He bumped their noses together as he often did when he and Aiden used to share a bed and the younger man let his walls down, “I know but I had to learn to breath without you too. I think maybe that was the lesson, that I needed to learn how to breath on my own. To keep on living without Val and without you,” it hurt to say it but he had been learning, he had to remember he needed to live for himself and that sharing his life with someone was a bonus. The look in his red eyes softened, “I don’t want you to do that. I want you to be able to breath on your own and to know that I’m ok with that,” Jason wasn’t really sure what it meant that Aiden had came back. He wasn’t selfish enough o think it had been because of him even if a part of his heart wished tht was the case, but he also knew that maybe they weren’t good for each other still, that they had to work on themselves first. “Can we meet in human form next time?” he asked giving a small lick to the omega on the muzzle.

[vad-hander]

• Pairing: Jaebeom x reader

• Genre: smut, fluff

• Warnings: established relationships, dom!Jaebeom sub!reader switched positions, teasing, orgasm denial, unprotected sex

• Words: 10k

“My kink is you wearing these jeans and a dress shirt, why’d you make me suffer from orgasm denial in the past 4 hours?” you moaned quietly to not make anyone else hear it in case someone was behind the door. “I didn’t know you were this needy.” he smirked pecking your lips quickly. “Want to see?” your hand landed on top of his palm, trying to slide it down to the center of your body.

Youngjae’s generous invitation for Jaebeom & you to visit his musical made you more excited than you ever thought it would. The two of you just got out of a 14 days quarantine you had to undergo after returning to Korea and this was meant to be your first post-quarantine event, let alone the fact the two of you haven’t been anywhere in what felt like ages.

You watched Jaebeom put his tight black jeans on, which itself was an event for you. He didn’t let happen too often with wearing baggy pants but you never really cared what he wore, you never even had the thought of commanding him on what to wear and what not, but the view of his legs wrapped in a black jeans material gave your body and ecstatic shock wave making your core throb from a single glance. Before meeting Jaebeom you never thought the view of someone’s legs could make you feel the things you felt but the reality of being in love hit you every time you caught yourself finding things that were normal to you regarding other people but were filled with sexiness when it was about Jaebeom. These thoughts always gave you a mental reminder you never were in love with anyone as much you were with him. The slight smirk on your lips was caught by his stare and he turned around to face you, moving his, actually long, legs towards you.

“What’s up with the smirk?” he gifted you a smile trying to lightly pinch your cheek by sliding his middle and index finger over it. “You’re ready?”

“Yes boo.” the nickname made Jaebeom smile wider and his hand slid onto your neck, gripping lightly to move your head closer to press a small kiss in the corner of your lips.

“You’re cute.” he smiled letting go.

“The urge of taking these pants off your legs is making me act up.” you joked making him chuckle.

“We can’t be late, you’ll have to wait.” Jaebeom slid his hand down your shoulder to intertwine your fingers and pull you to come with him.

“I know you’re lying, nothing would stop you usually. You don’t like me?” you mixed up a dramatic and cute looks making Jaebeom laugh at your obvious bad acting.

“You know this was bad, right?” you simply nodded chuckling lightly agreeing with him.

“Want to punish me?” you gave it one more shot getting a disappointed nod from your boyfriend.

“Now don’t expect to peacefully go to bed when we get back home.” he pecked your lips for the final time dragging you to go to the exit.

The musical was good, you liked going to theatres the only issue here was the fact you barely spoke Korean, and at first Jaebeom was trying to interpret a little but soon he gave up due to all those people around you constant staring and hissing. “It’s okay, you’ll tell me after it’s over, let’s see if what I guessed is any close to what it actually was.” you chuckled allowing Jaebeom to rest in his sit to fully focus on his friends acting.

A staff came crawling over your raw just a few minutes before everything ended asking you in a polite manner to follow him backstage and you two, excusing yourselves and bending as low as possible, exited the hall to a light corridor. The room was completely empty and Jaebeom took your hand in his. You held onto his fingers tightly appreciating him seeking for contact at any giving chance you had. Touching and any form of informal interaction was something you held back from doing due to Jaebeoms status in life. You always planned to pull the staff or the friend card if someone suspected anything and in order of doing it successfully you needed to act accordingly, you always acted accordingly. The only person to break the rule was Jaebeom and there was nothing better in life than feeling the adrenaline run through your veins when in a sudden move he’d take your hand or pull you in for a light kiss. You loved these moments and you lived for these moments. You lived for the moments when you could tease him to the state where he could barely hold himself back, to the state where he dragged you to the bathroom multiple times to bend or kneel you down to release the tension in his pants. He rarely acted bold but when he did he drove you insane. Light moves of his thumb over the skin on your palm were like the moves of a match on a matchbox, striking sparks down your core but he seemed casual about it.

“I think he’ll want to go to eat after this, will you want to go with us?” he drew your attention to his face.

“If I won’t go, you’ll come back late, I’ll be asleep already and then you won’t keep your promise, and your promise is the only thing I could think of through this whole time.” you said quietly in case the man that was leading you spoke English aswell.

“No, I would keep it even if I’d come at 3am.” light chuckle of his whispered tone was interrupted by the staff that finally told you to come into the room to wait for Youngjae.

“I wish we could go on other dates too. I’d like to see Jinki, I like him a lot.” you commented looking at all those posters hanging all over the walls.

“I’ll ask Youngjae about that.” he chuckled and pulled you to seat beside him. “So are you coming?”

“Did you agree with him to go without me?” you squeezed your eyes suspiciously.

“You’ll be bored, that’s it.”

“I won’t be, I’ll eat deliciously and then I’ll just stare at your beautiful side profile until you’d want to go home and get your beautiful profile deep between my legs. I won’t understand you two for the most part anyway, you can share your little secrets calmly.” you booped him on the nose finishing your sentence cutely.

“The more you say things like that the less I want to go anywhere except for going home and getting on top of you.” Jaebeom grabbed your neck moving you closer.

“That’s what I told you in the first place. My kink is you wearing these jeans and a dress shirt, why’d you make me suffer from orgasm denial in the past 4 hours?” you moaned quietly to not make anyone else hear it in case someone was behind the door.

“I didn’t know you were this needy.” he smirked pecking your lips quickly.

“Want to see?” your hand landed on top of his palm, trying to slide it down to the center of your body.

“No, no, no.” he moved back suddenly. “Don’t turn me on like that, don’t. Youngjae will come any second and I don’t want to have a boner in these tight jeans.”

“Well, not good for you.” you chuckled trying to get from Jaebeoms grip, and he only let go of you when he licked into your mouth multiple times.

Jaebeom was obviously right about the dinner and now the three of you were sitting at the private booth in the restaurant not too far from the place where you watched the musical. The food was good and it was the greatest gift you could receive in the time being. You were slowly running your eyes over Youngjae and Jaebeom, not really having much to add to the heated conversation they had. Mostly, due to the fact you barely could catch up on what they were saying, but as long as the food kept you occupied you were good. Inner urge to fish your phone out and just entertain yourself while scrolling was something you fought harshly, finding it a tad bit inappropriate and disrespectful. In search of things you could entertain yourself with you remembered your teasing game, which wasn’t initially a game, it was just your pure will, but since Jaebeom denied you, you had no other option left other than tease him to the state where he wouldn’t be able to fight back anymore.

Placing your chopsticks back to their designated place when you finished eating you sat back a little moving your legs closer to Jaebeoms. You bumped your knees accidentally , getting a warm smile from him before turning his attention back to Youngjae. Thanks to the seating with chairs Youngjae wasn’t able to see your legs and you were able to quietly put your palm over Jaebeoms knee. Your featherlight touch drew his attention back to you.

“You’re good?” his tone changed 180 from a casual one he spoke to Youngjae with to a caring sweet one when he spoke to you. A smile lit up your face and you guessed you looked like two disgusting idiots to Youngjae, you really didn’t want to be the annoying girlfriend that ruined the bros hang out.

“Yeah.” you pouted slightly and expected Jaebeom to give you a light peck, because he always did when you pouted, but he just nodded a quick no, saying sorry with his eyes. You moved a bit more closer to Jaebeom, resting your head on his shoulder, blinking blindly with your eyes running over the room. None of the boys paid any attention to what you did, so you just rested for a couple of minutes, listening to the words that left their mouths. The moment Jaebeom relaxed his body, that he tensed up the second you touched him, you knew it was the time to make him tense up again. Your hand lightly ran over his knee and it took all in you to hold back from chuckling at how fast Jaebeoms reaction to it was. He didn’t stop you and he didn’t give any visible to Youngjae reaction, so you just continued stroking his knee calmly, feeling him get used to and chill under the touch. Running your fingers up his leg you felt Jaebeoms hand on your thigh, gripping lightly to signal for you to stop. He still acted as if nothing was happening under the table, so you had to just bite your cheek to not draw attention. Jaebeom’s fingers ran up your bare skin, with the robe-like dress you wore he easily snaked his hand up without lifting your dress up, rubbing with his thumb your sensitive skin. The light touches of his fingers mixed with the feeling of cold metal from the rings he wore send warmth down to your core. You dug your nails into his thigh through material of his black jeans, trying to stop yourself from reacting too vividly.

“It’s your birthday?” Youngjae asked in English drawing your attention to him. You lifted your head from Jaebeoms shoulder, moving your head around confusedly trying to get yourself back together from those pleasures feelings.

“Huh?” you were taken aback by the sudden question and it showed on your face.

“You had your birthday a couple of days ago.” Jaebeom said with a slight smile on his lips from your reaction.

“Yeah, yeah. It was my birthday.” you ran your eyes from Jaebeom back to Youngjae.

“I have a gift.” he said in a cute tone, reaching out to his bag to find something.

“What?” you exclaimed excitedly. “You didn’t have to.” Youngjae straightened his back expanding his hand towards you. There was a small box that said ‘Gucci’ on it. “No, I can’t take it!” you exclaimed taking the box out of his hand. “What’s in there?” Jaebeom asked Youngjae the same question in korean for him to understand.

“Open.” Youngjae simply commanded and you pulled the top of the box up, revealing to you the gift wrapped in paper with a Gucci sticker on. You laid the box on the table to rip the sticker off and finally see what he got you.

“Thank you so much!” your hands revealed to your curious eyes a pretty card holder. “Look!” you exclaimed shoving it in Jaebeoms face. “This is nice.” you smiled at him and he nodded lightly taking the holder from your hand to check it out “Wow, Youngjae, thank you so much.” you ran your fingers over the material of the holder before letting go of it. “Can I hug you?” you asked politely in Korean. Youngjae nodded gifting you a light chuckle, before moving to stand up. You moved your chair too, noticing how Jaebeom moved his hand from your thigh to the back of your chair. His hand ran through your spine when you stood up and with Youngjae expanding his hands towards you there was no time for you to react to your boyfriends movements, hugging Youngjae tightly. “Thank you so much, you really didn’t have to.” you spoke in Korean again, using up all of your skills and knowledge for the sentence.

Right when you felt like the hug took longer than the both of you intended, you felt Jaebeoms fingers on your elbow, pulling you back to him. He coughed in his ordinary manner making you chuckle at the absurd display of jealousy and possessiveness as if you and Youngjae were showing any affection towards each other at all. Youngjae let go of you quicker than you expected, making you fall back into embrace of the guy that suddenly was in the mood to mark his territory. You felt his hand on the back of your chair again, lightly tapping your shoulder. You gave his knee a light punch as if telling him to stop and with Youngjaes silent chuckle they began talking again.

“Oh, I need to go, Coco is waiting for her walkie.” you heard Youngjae speak, turning your head to see Jaebeoms reaction.

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s pretty late.” he checked his lock screen “ I guess my pup is in need of a walk aswell.” he chuckled referring to you and Youngjae made a loud throaty laugh, making it die quickly when he noticed your death stares towards Jaebeom.

He kept his little game even after you paid, getting up and leaving he patted your head and said ‘let’s go’ with tapping his knee as if you were an actual pup. Jaebeoms face lit up with happiness when he heard Youngjaes laugh and you played along sticking your tongue out and bending your hands for two seconds when Youngjae turned away gaining an approving smile from Jaebeom, rolling your eyes at him afterwards.

Jaebeoms hands landed on your waist the second his feet entered the elevator behind you. His hands pushed you to turn around and before you could even see his face expression in the elevators mirror you were facing Jaebeom. Your eyes ran over his face noticing how he really tried hard to keep it expressionless. You smiled lightly, biting your lower lip. His hands were glued to your waist and you ran your hands up his, resting them over his neck.

“What?” you asked and he opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of the elevators door closing made you jump in his hands out of surprise and Jaebeom chuckled at your reaction.

“We didn’t press the floor button, did we?” he said letting go of you to do so. You nodded lightly and Jaebeom pulled you to his chest hugging tightly. You rested your head on his chest, snaking your hands over his warm body. “Where’s your gift?” he asked you suddenly making you realise you left it in the car.

“Da-a-mn.” you growled into his chest and Jaebeom’s hand squeezed your neck lightly.

“Are you tired or what?” he said, turning around when the elevator came to the needed floor. You chased after Jaebeom, catching his extended towards you palm, walking with holding on to his hand with both yours. He punched in the passcode to your door, pulling you to walk in with him and letting go of you to close the door.

You stood in front of the door watching him take his shoes off expecting Jaebeom to pay any attention to you, but he just walked forward, turning around to take a look at you. “Why you’re standing?” he made a real surprised face expression looking you up. You frowned, quickly taking the shoes off your feet. Walking in a quick pace past Jaebeom who was still standing and watching you, you punched him lightly into his side with your elbow, getting a light chuckle from him. Jaebeoms hands grabbed you by the waist mid-action, pulling you close to his back. “Needy.” he murmured into your shoulder, giving it a light bite.

“I thought we had an agreement.” you tried to push him off, but Jaebeoms grip was obviously stronger.

“I can’t even tease you for a second?” he chuckled lightly, caressing your stomach with his fingers. “You had fun through the whole evening and I’m not allowed to do it for a slight moment?” he whined to make you feel bad about your behaviour “That’s selfish.” Jaebeom turned you around in his arms, resting both of his palms on your cheeks. “Since when are you selfish?”

“Since when the only time I’m allowed to rule is when I’m teasing you in front of someone because you don’t like to pay attention to me in these circumstances. All other times you act like an insufferable dom, there’s nothing I’m allowed to do.” you sighed, licking your lips.

“I’m not... that much of a dom...” he said sounding like he might’ve doubted it himself.

“You are...” you nodded lightly and Jaebeom bit his lower lip with an apologetic grimace on his face.

“I’m sorry but I guess you should’ve told me two years ago you don’t like it. What took you so long?” he sighed lowering his hands back to your waist.

“I never said I don’t.” you tilted your head to the side, resting your hands on Jaebeoms broad shoulders.

“I see.” he chuckled lightly trying to contain his smile making the cute little face expression you liked so much. His cuteness made your heart clench at the same time with making your entire body warmer.

“So what?” your hands slowly made their way over to his stomach, caressing it with your fingertips.

“You wanted to rule, so rule.” Jaebeom suggested. You stayed silent to see his further actions but he just stood calmly staring back at you. “Come on, my patience won’t last forever.” he teased.

“Let’s go.” you grabbed his hand, pulling him to walk behind you towards your shared bedroom.

Entering the room, you noticed how the lights from the streets of Seoul were blocked by the black-out curtains that were weighing on the ledge. The only light in the room was coming from the side where the curtains weren’t properly closing the window. Small glimpses of light jumped over the walls from passing-by cars. You loosened your grip on Jaebeom’s hand, letting his fingers naturally slide from yours. Your eyes were too focused on the light, and when you didn’t move for quite a while, Jaebeom moved behind you. You felt his fingers move your hair away from your shoulder, feeling fresh air run up your neck. He leaned in closer to your ear, resting his fingers on your shoulder. Jaebeom’s lips left a kiss at the base of your neck making you shiver immediately. His touch was intoxicating to you, no matter how much time had passed, you still were getting goosebumps from whatever he said or did to you.

“Are you coming up with a grand plan to torture me?” he chuckled into your neck, running his lips up to your ear to move his face forward and rest his cheek against yours. Jaebeom’s hands snaked over your body, intertwining your fingers. He hugged your body tightly with both his and yours hands. You closed your eyes relishing the moment, rubbing your cheek lightly against his. You felt his lips on your jaw, leaving light pecks and *maybe* signalling you that you’re slow at giving him what he wants you to give him the most. You weren’t able to open your eyes though because Jaebeom’s light pecks turned into tiny sloppy kisses that just forced you to rest your head against his left shoulder, allowing him more access to your sensitive skin. With each feel of his lips on your neck, with each little sound he made when his lips met your skin you felt how your body relaxed more against his and you felt how your heart was trembling as if it was the first time he touched you at all. One of his hands left your waist only to rest against your cheek the next moment. His hand pulled your head by the neck to the side, holding on to it. Jaebeom’s lips moved back up to your jaw, nibbling on the spot under your ear. His light actions forced a moan escape your mouth, a moan that got you back into reality and got strength back into your feet.

“Wait.” you tried to tell him normally but your voice was weak and sounded more like a moan.

“Yeah?” he stopped drawing his attention to you. You turned around in his arms to face him properly. Thin laces of light ran over Jaebeoms face, giving you an opportunity to see his beautiful features for the nth time. You felt your heart clench when your eyes landed on his lips, unconsciously raising your hands to caress his cheeks. One of your hands slid down onto his neck, hooking it around it to hold on. Your free hand ran a line up his nose with your index finger, feeling how Jaebeom’s hand held tighter on your waist.

“I love you.” you sighed, pulling his face down closer to yours.

“I know baby, I love you too.” his tone was soft and low, you could barely hear him, he was practically murmuring. Jaebeom rested his forehead against yours, allowing for you to decide on what you’ll do next.

Moving your hands back to Jaebeoms face, you pulled his face a tiny bit closer, finally intertwining your lips. The kiss that you were waiting for for the whole evening quickly changed from a soft and slow one into something passionate, something that took both of your breaths away. Jaebeom’s hands ran up and down your side, making your head go dizzy every time he squeezed your butt before running his hand back up, pushing your body harder against his. He had to pull your face from his when it felt like the both of you could lose consciousness from the lack of air in your lungs.

“I still want to take these pants off your legs.” you murmured into his lips, pulling him more towards you.

“I won’t protest.” he chuckled and guided you towards the bed. You gave in, because its what you usually did. You obeyed and listened to what Jaebeom said and you both enjoyed it very much, but he said it’s up to you tonight and you weren’t planning on giving that completely up.

“Sit down then.” you demanded, and Jaebeom chuckled at your serious voice but obeyed diligently, walking with you to the bed. He didn’t break eye contact, sitting down and running his tongue over his mouth. Jaebeom sat down in an arrogant pose, spreading his knees but crossing his ankles. He switched his body weight to his hands that were keeping him up behind his back. “Move.” you commanded him with your hands, showing for him to crawl deeper onto the bed. He listened again, straightening his long skinny legs in front of you. The bulge, that was always visible through tight material of his pants, drew even more of your attention to it now that he was slightly turned on. You pressed a knee into the mattress of the bed, and Jaebeom lifted his body on his elbows, expectant of what you’ll do. You quickly got to his lap and Jaebeom’s hands quickly found their place on your thighs. “What should I do with you…?” you smirked at him, placing your hands on each side of his head.

“You pick, I don’t know.”

“I’m drowning in the ocean of possibilities, I should’ve prepared myself.” you chuckled lowering your face in front of him.

“Want to switch it up?”

“Never.” you kissed him, slowly rocking your body against his. A low groan escaped Jaebeom’s throat giving you a boost of confidence you never knew you needed. You broke off the kiss, moving your lips to his neck. The feeling of your wet mouth made him groan again and the vibration that escaped his throat and passed to you through your lips settled down in your core. You felt your insides clench and the only thing you could think about from now on is how good he’ll feel inside of you.

“Remember you told me once things you liked about me?” you moved back up to his face to be able to see his eyes.

“Of course I do, it was last week.” his hand ran up your waist.

“I want to do the same thing.” you licked his lips, slowly running your tongue over his mouth.

“Okay…?”

“Can I?” you asked out of habit.

“You know you can do anything you want, baby.” he let go of your leg, finding your face to caress your cheek. “Don’t make me feel bad with questions like that, now you’re making me believe I’m a conceited bully who’s keeping you in slavery.”

“Not true.” you opposed “One of the things I like about you…” you began slowly “…is the fact that you can control me but respect my views and needs at the same time.” your lips landed on his cheek. “You’re caring even though controlling and I have no idea how you’re doing it like that and to be fair that’s super sexy. But this is not what I wanted to tell you.” your lips found his once again.

“Okay, okay.” he chuckled, pulling you closer.

“Promise to just shut me up and just fuck me if I’ll get too sentimental, okay? I don’t want to be a crying mess.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you, you were grabbing onto my thigh through the whole evening I can’t even think straight right now, I want you.”

“I’m sorry.” you chuckled “But now I just want you to know that I’m so glad you asked me to stay with you when the rent at my place was due and I wanted to go home. I’m so glad I didn’t protest too much to stay at your place with you two years ago and now I’m here with you in this bed, and I love you so-so much. Fuck…” you sighed feeling that you already were emotional. This wasn’t even what you wanted to tell him in the first place, but now that you began you weren’t able to stop yourself from saying all those things. “We probably wouldn’t have lasted long if we went long-distance, I would’ve sulked and missed you so much.” you sighed and smiled lightly at him when you saw his cute little smile. “This is not even what I was planning to tell you. I wasn’t planning to make myself sob.” you chuckled and Jaebeom’s warm fingers on your cheek made your heart clench once again. “I love you a lot, I don’t want to ever not be able to tell you that I love you.”

“I swear, you won’t.” Jaebeom reassured you when you weren’t expecting him to speak at all. “Don’t cry. We’re good, no, we’re great. I love you, and you love me. We’re almost never fight, we’re on the same page, we’re there for each other. I don’t want to let go of you, in fact I want to build a family with you, I told you that. Baby, remember how you told me earlier you wanted me? Come on, show me, don’t cry, you’re upsetting me. I’m the insufferable dom, obey.” a smile lit up his face “I’m ordering for you to rule me, even though this sounds weird to say it like that.”

“I’m sorry, I think I’m just tipsy from what I drank at the restaurant. I was ready to fuck with you in that waiting room and now I’m on top of you and what am I doing? Sobbing.” you chuckled.

“Come here.” Jaebeom said seriously, pushing your hair to your back from hanging in front of his face. His hands pressed you towards his head, making you two kiss. Jaebeom’s lips moved quickly demanding the access into your mouth swiftly. You found balance by each side of Jaebeom’s shoulders, pressing your hands into the mattress. Jaebeom’s hand ran up your neck with a featherlight touch, going back down. His thumb began caressing your collarbone, sending shivers down your spine. Jaebeom’s other hand left your waist as well, sliding towards inner side of your thigh. He ran his hand under the hem of your dress, drawing circles over your bare skin. When his hand was right at the line of your underwear, he ran his fingers over cotton material of your underwear, lowering his fingers and running them up and down your clothed heat. “Do you feel better?” he asked running his fingers past the thin material of your underwear to touch you there.

“Wait.” you moaned into his mouth and he let go of you the next second. “I didn’t tell you.”

“You’ll start crying again, I just got you back.” he sighed.

“No, I won’t now, I just want to hold you back for as long as possible for you to cum harder, do you want that?”

“Baby…” he made a throaty sound.

“No, you have to say it with words, that’s your own rule, follow it.” you smiled making him clear his throat.

“Yeah, I do.” Jaebeom’s hand squeezed your thigh.

“Good. Don’t touch me unless I’ll tell you to. Should I tie you up?” you crooked your neck to look at him from the side.

“No, no, I’ll obey.”

“I hope so.” you felt Jaebeom let go of you, resting his hands on each side of his body. You leaned in to kiss him, softly moving your lips against his, he kissed you back, yet being able to not boss you around. He waited patiently for you to slip your tongue into his mouth, sucking on it lightly. “Mmmh.” he forced a moan out of you with the way his mouth was moving. You pulled back and Jaebeom lifted one of his hands to push you back down, but stopped himself half-way, dropping his hand back on the mattress. “Good boy.” you chuckled. “You know that I love your lips, right?” he nodded, mumbling quiet ‘yes’ afterwards. “I can’t hold back from kissing them all the time.” your fingers ran over his lower lip “And you’re always making me struggle, always forcing me to cry from want. Always making me beg for you. Why do you like me begging for you so much?” you asked rhetorically, kissing him again. Your lips moved slowly to his jaw, getting closer to his ear. “You know when I like your lips the most?” you sighed into his ear.

“I can probably guess.”

“Okay, guess.” you moved back to see his face.

“No, you tell me.” he quickly replied.

“When you get them between my legs.” you exhaled.

“Yeah…” he moaned in your ear “Do you want me to do that now?” you felt your insides clench at the unexpected suggestion. Temptation was way too strong and it took all in you to kindly decline it.

You moved your body a bit lower, now properly resting your lower part against Jaebeoms groin. Your fingers landed on his neck, stroking it lightly up and down. Softly touching his lips with yours, you snaked your fingers behind his neck, trying to wrap your hands around it. “Just taking a look at your neck is making me clench. I’m obsessed with your neck, its so thick, I can barely wrap my hands around it. And your Adam’s apple is moving so sexily every time you swallow.” you paused and he swallowed “Baby, yes, like that.” you whispered when Jaebeom’s Adam’s apple bobbed under your thumbs. “Can I bite it?” you paused to hear a reply from him but quickly changed your mind “Whatever, I’m going to bite it anyway.” running your lips over his neck mindlessly, you found a spot you liked to bite onto so much, tasting the skin, pulling it lightly between your teeth. Your tongue lightly nibbled on the bitten spot, right before your lips sucked in air, leaving red mark on his neck.

You moved your head back, eyeing the red stain you left. Your hands landed on his chest, helping you to find balance and Jaebeom’s hands landed on your hips, reminding you of the no-touching rule. You found his hands with yours, pulling them from you, moving them up, and then making him lower them above his head.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again.”

“Too late.” you stated. The only thing that came to your mind that could hold his hands in place was the belt that he had in his jeans, so you tried to hold both his hands with one of yours, expanding the other one to undo his belt somehow.

“You want to tie me up with my own belt?” he made a weird sound.

“Yeah, there’s nothing else I can come up with.” you smiled at him apologetically.

“Come on, I’ll be good, I won’t touch you, I swear.” he begged but you knew it was only to last up until you actually touched him and made him wait. You shook your head no, signalling for Jaebeom to lift his butt a bit, for you to be able to get your new handmade leathery handcuffs from his pants. “Baby…” he sighed.

“I know you’re not good at controlling yourself, i need something to ensure myself you’ll obey.” Getting the belt in front of his arms, you freed him to properly put it around his arms with both of yours. “Wait, we need to take off your shirt first.” you realised that you won’t be able to do that if you’ll tie him. Your hands got back to his chest, running your fingers over to where his buttons were already unbuttoned. You played with his yin-yang necklace that was peaking and teasing your eyes through the whole evening, unbuttoning more of the buttons on his shirt. Getting more access to the skin on his stomach, you pulled the shirt from under his pants, finally finishing with those buttons. You let both halves of the shirt lie down on Jaebeom’s sides. Your hands ran over his chest, lowering your head to plant a kiss on his abdomen. “Do you want to know how much I love your stomach?” you forced him to lift his shoulders off the bed, to let you pull the shirt off them. “Or your shoulders?” you tossed material to the side, getting your attention back to the belt. You wrapped it around his hands, forcing him to pull them back up, passing it in between his wrists afterwards, fastening the belt over it. He pulled lightly to test it, and it held his hands in place, making him drop his head back on the bed disappointed. “Pretty.” you said more to yourself than him, running your fingers from his shoulders to the waist of his jeans. “Even prettier down here.” you mumbled under your breath, squeezing him through the jeans. His body jerked in response, and you chuckled lightly because he pointlessly tried to free his hands. “You won’t mind if I’ll lick your stomach, right?” you asked, lowering your face in front of his abs. You extended your tongue, lifting your eyes to watch Jaebeom’s face expression. He bit down onto his lower lip, watching how you lowered your head, making your tongue meet his stomach. His body made a wave from the sensation. You began drawing small circles over his toned muscles, making your tongue move between every cube of the six-pack. Your chest was moving against his cock, stimulating Jaebeom even more, forcing a low groan out of him. “You know you can tell me what you want me to do?” you kissed a line up his stomach to his chest “I’ll consider your suggestions.” you got your tongue back out, sliding it up his chest to Jaebeom’s neck. You crawled over him, giving you an ability to properly look him in the eyes. “Do you have any?” you licked your lips, lowering your face closer to his.

“No, I’m good.” he coughed lightly, lifting his head from the bed to kiss you. You shot your body back up, pressing his shoulders back down to bed with your palms. “Come on.” He growled disappointedly.

“Weren’t you good just a second ago?” you chuckled. He shielded his eyes as if he was suffering from pain, lifting his head up to look at the bed behind him. “I know baby,” you ran your fingers from his armpit to where his hands were held hostage “it’ll hurt your pride if you’ll beg me for something, but I promise, you won’t die from that.” your hands ran back down, stroking lower, getting through his sides to the waistband of his jeans. The band of his underwear was showing from under his pants, letting you know the brand he wore. You ran your fingers over the band, getting them under it to run back to his left side. You noticed how Jaebeom’s hands grabbed onto the bedsheets above his head, fisting them harshly. “Sure you don’t want to try it?” you moved your hand away, only to drop your fingers over his crotch. Your fingers ran up and down lightly, stroking him with subtle motions. His hips twitched under you, trying to lift them and get more friction which you obviously weren’t about to give him. “No, this is not what the deal was, isn’t it?” you moved your hand away and Jaebeom stopped.

“I’m sorry.” he mumbled under his nose, turning his head away to close his eyes once again.

“The more you break the rules, the longer I’ll take, you get it?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. You got your hand back, palming his crotch slowly. Getting your face once again on the same level with his, you finally kissed him, making a low moan, when Jaebeom bit your lip due to your hands stronger stroking. You moved away to breathe in air, getting your free hand to stroke Jaebeom’s cheek.

“Be a good boy for me? Can you be good for me?” you mumbled into his lips “Just be good, don’t you want to cum?” you pecked his mouth but instead of replying he moaned quietly as a reaction to you squeezing his cock in your hand “you really should start using words.”

“I’ll be good.” He said with his mouth only, giving you an idea of how difficult it is for him to even be under you.

You using same words and tactics as he usually did probably gave him an idea of what it felt like from your side, when he’d rule you and made you be his submissive, when he’d make you speak at the peak of orgasm with the condition of not letting you cum if you didn’t. The difference was that Jaebeom had real issues with begging, he didn’t quite like the idea of begging for anything, so Jaebeom crying and moaning for you to let him cum was something you’d pay for to watch, and you were about to get a free ticket to that.

You tried to undo the button on his jeans with one hand, but you failed miserably, sitting up and undoing the jeans properly with both of your hands. He lifted his hips immediately, predicting you to take off the pants. You decided not to do it the way he wanted it, unzipping the zipper, and just unfolding his jeans to the side, allowing his bulge to get free. The only thing that now divided your palm from his cock was the thin cotton of his underwear. You stroked him multiple times, giving him more pressure than before. You felt Jaebeom’s thighs tense up under your legs, twitching yet again from your hand. You paid all of your attention to his member that was poking the underwear making a droplet of pre-cum smear over the material, soaking it. Your hand left Jaebeom, getting a light whine from him, only to hear him groan a second after, when your hand snaked under his underwear, finally making you meet his warm cock. You stroked him, moving your hand up and down, squeezing him lightly at the base.

“Don’t stop, please.” His voice sounded high-pitched. “Baby, I beg you…” he sighed and you got your hand tighter over him, squeezing more “Yeah, like that.” He sighed again.

You watched his face expression, his eyes were shut tight, small droplets of sweat were forming over his forehead. When your hand wrapped tighter around him he squeezed his eyes in pleasure, making a wave with his body. You weren’t quite sure if Jaebeom was already on the edge, but he acted as if he already was, so you had to let go of him just in case.

“Why?” he asked angrily.

“Did you try to trick me? Did you want to cum?”

“No.” he sighed. “You wouldn’t let me anyway.”

“Right, and now, I’ll have to be even more strict with you.”

“Y/n, come on… I understood already.”

“Understood what?”

“That it’s hard to play by my rules.”

“But I was just doing what you told me to do, I was just making you feel good.” you replied. Your hand ran back down to his cock.

“I want you.” he sighed “I want to get inside of you, I can’t with the teasing.” His voice sounded tired.

“Baby, I only began.” You chuckled and got rid of any contact you had with Jaebeom. He shot his eyes open anticipating what you’ll do next.

Your hands landed on the belt of your dress on your waist. You pulled the ribbon, making the material of the dress fall on both sides of your body, allowing Jaebeom to see your underwear. You felt his eyes land on it immediately, eyeing your underwear, stopping his eyes on your breasts. He paid more attention than expected to your half-see-through garment, lowering his eyes down to your stomach and lower to your clothed heat. You lowered your head too, trying to see what drew his attention, noticing how your underwear was soaked from all the rubbing against Jaebeom. You lifted your eyes back up meeting Jaebeom’s hungry stare.

“Come here.” He commanded and for a slight second the tone of his voice made you want to do it. “Please.” He sighed when you shook your head no.

You pushed the dress off your shoulders, tossing it somewhere to the floor, next to Jaebeom’s shirt. Crawling over his body, you rested yourself against him, wrapping your hands over his neck, hugging his waist with your legs. You felt the phantom of his arms around your body, and your heart cried to feel him around you, but the strength and power you had in your arms right now was way too poisoning to let go of. You intertwined your lips with his, kissing him passionately from the first second. You rocked your hips slowly towards him and Jaebeom did everything in his power to press him against you in return. You twitched when Jaebeom dropped his tied hands on your back, immediately squeezing bare skin of your back with his fingers. You moaned at the feeling into his mouth before you could even understand what he did. He just lowered his tied hands to hold you in place because he had every possibility to do so. You didn’t tie his hands to the headboard of the bed because your bed didn’t have bars, you didn’t even expect he’d do that. His hands burned the skin on your back with the sensuality they gave you. He squeezed and caressed and just held and pressed you closer to him, as if there was any more space for you to get closer to him. You kept kissing him for a minute or so, enjoying the feeling of his hands on you, the feeling you didn’t realize you missed so much until he touched you. The kiss became a mess from all the feelings the both of you felt and gave to each other and you put it all in you to let go of his neck and get his hands from your back to move them back above his head.

“Baby, please.” he made a loud cry leaving you surprised. “Didn’t you like me touching you, don’t you want me to touch you? Please, let me.” he begged now and your insides clenched at the view.

“Don’t make me feel bad.” you moaned into his mouth, sitting up once again. You slid down his legs, getting your hands to the waist of his jeans. Now you pulled the material slightly down and Jaebeom lifted his hips to allow you to do what you wanted. You moved lower taking his jeans down his long limbs, freeing him finally.

Now that the both of you were left in your underwear, you had no intention of not having him inside of you. You dropped his jeans to the floor, crawling back up his legs.

“Bra on or off?” you simply asked, allowing him to pick.

“On.” his reply was quick and you nodded with a light smile on your face. You pulled your underwear down first, tossing it to the side, before your fingers pulled his by the waistband, with him bending his legs and helping you to get rid of it. His pulsing cock bounced up to his stomach, giving you an idea of how turned on he was. Even in the dark room you could see how engorged it was signalling to you that Jaebeom was about to struggle badly. You stroked him a few times, getting a sense from the way he felt and acted you had to be careful. Lifting your hips you guided his cock to your coated with want entrance, sliding him up and down your slit. He jerked his hips up, crying breathlessly at your actions. You felt the entire of your body clench from just the feeling of him being this close. You lost control and allowed him to enter more, causing a loud moan from the both of you. You moved your hips back up because it wasn’t something you planned to do this quickly, getting a low cry from him once again.

“Baby, please, let me get inside of you.” the loud moan that escaped his mouth when you teased him against you once more gave an idea that he possibly could be on the verge. You sank down on him slowly, squeezing your eyes in pleasure. Jaebeom was breathing heavily, and when you jerked your hips up only to sit back down with a quicker speed the room filled up with a low loud groan from Jaebeom that lasted for at least 10 seconds. You never heard him make that sound before and on the second move of your hips you clenched around him. You definitely weren’t expecting from yourself to get to the edge this quickly but it really never took you long to cum when it was Jaebeom, so you really didn’t have to be surprised. “I’ll cum if you’ll do that once more.” his eyes were squeezed and he barely contained himself.

You knew you’d be able to hold back once you maid up your mind on it, you had a great teacher who trained you for two years, but you weren’t sure he’ll last as much as you wanted to. You got your hips back up, quickly sliding down his length, clenching on purpose this time. Jaebeom shot his eyes open, even though he couldn’t focus his vision for a few seconds for sure. “Take this fucking belt off my hands. Let me fuck you, I beg you.” he was finally there to beg and you wanted to tattoo these words into your brain, they were like music to you.

“No, baby, we had a deal, I’ll fuck you and you’ll just be under me to enjoy.” you smiled at him and stopped everything you did.

“Don’t, no, don’t stop, please. I beg you, I beg you, I swear, don’t stop.” he began mumbling quickly but it was too late now, that his orgasm disappeared for the second time.

You slid down, leaving wet trail of kisses over the lower part of his stomach, fighting in your head if you should take him in your mouth or not. You left a few red marks, licking and kissing them afterwards, deciding on not giving him head, you weren’t sure he’ll last long with the feeling of your tongue on him.

“Ready to cum?” you asked him when you felt like he calmed enough to take more teasing.

“Yes, please ride me. Baby, please.” You began moving your hips slowly, getting into much quicker pace in no time. Your nails were digging into the skin of Jaebeom’s shoulders now that your body found some sort of pace that he tried to match with his hip thrusts. “Fuck.” he mumbled under his breath, fisting the sheets vigorously. “Free my hands, I’ll get deeper inside of you, please, let me fuck you. I don’t think I can do it like that anymore.” he moaned again and this time you almost missed a slight twitching of his cock that signalled that Jaebeom would cum in the closest minute.

You just stopped. You even let him leave you empty, watching his cock throb and pre-cum drip down its side. “It hurts, baby, I swear it does. Please let me cum. Y/n…” he squeezed his eyes again only to shoot them wide open and look at you “what do you want me to do? I’ll do anything. I just need to cum. I’m in pain right now, I swear, it does really hurt, I’m at my maximum, please.”

“Move closer to the headboard.”

“Huh?” he looked as if he didn’t hear you “Yeah, okay.” he said in a second, probably working out what you told him to do. You lifted your body off him to let him freely crawl backwards.

“Sit up.” you watched him reach out his hands to the headboard, grabbing it and pulling his body up to sit. He left his hands above his head, holding on to the wooden material and watching you. You crawled up and reached out behind Jaebeom to get pillows from behind him, allowing him to sit more straight.

One of your hands hooked around his neck, leaving couple millimetres between your faces. Your other hand found his cock under you, guiding him to slide inside of you immediately. He gasped into your mouth and you leaned in to kiss him, rocking your hips steadily. You closed your eyes in pleasure, pressing Jaebeom’s body closer to yours with both hands. You broke off the kiss, resting your head on his shoulder. Your hand moved to his waist, holding on to him there. Jaebeom’s little whimpers and cries into your ear made you closer to the edge and you were trying to contain yourself but your clenching just took Jaebeom closer to the edge. “If I’ll free your hands, promise you won’t flip me over?”

“I won’t.” he replied way too quickly making you doubt if he even understood what you said.

“Did you hear me?” you stopped moving and he tensed up.

“I did, I won’t, I promise, just move.” you nodded in response, biting down on your lower lip and beginning your moves again.

You moved your hand to his cheek, caressing it with your thumb. Jaebeom stuck his tongue out for you to kiss him and you gave in, crying silently into the kiss when you lowered yourself on him more than before. Your other hand let go of his neck, crawling over to his tied hands, trying to undo the belt with one hand. It took you longer than expected, and the second Jaebeom heard the sound of it being undone, he roughly freed his hands, making you startled by how quickly he got the belt in his hands, throwing it into the dark of the room. You felt his hands on you the next second, Jaebeom roughly but carefully at the same time got his palm onto your face, pressing your mouths into each other’s. His other hand found your hipbone, grabbing onto it to move your hips quicker and deeper. Your arms were chocking him with how strongly you wrapped them around his neck, but Jaebeom wasn’t really noticing it, being focused on where you connected, making you roughly sink on him and get back up. His mouth let go of yours, trying to kiss a line down your neck, but you noticed him lose the rhythm that he just built up and you knew he’d cum this time for sure.

“Cum, baby.” you moved his head back up to yours, kissing his lips slowly. You purposely clenched around him multiple times, finally feeling his seed fill inside of you. His hips jerked up and he made many tiny noises you never heard before. You waited until he calmed himself down.

“I’m sorry…” he rested his head against the headboard and you lied down on his chest. “I should’ve let you cum first.” you chuckled, leaving small kisses over his chest. A couple of minutes later, when he partially normalised his breathing, you felt Jaebeom rub your shoulder for you to lift your head up. “Come here, I can’t leave you like that.” his hands pulled you closer to his face, kissing your lips quickly. His fingers stroked your sides and his leg hooked around yours, letting you know he’ll flip you over. You didn’t protest knowing he’s only doing it for you.

Now you were in your usual position, feeling his lips move down to your neck, sliding his cock out of you, making you feel empty. Not for long though, as his lips trailed down a line of kisses, his hand got to your breasts, pulling them out of your bra without undoing it. You moaned at the cold sensation he left on your nipples with his tongue and you arched your back towards his body. His hand slid down your stomach right to your entrance, rubbing his palm against it. He moved his finger deeper, making your lube and his cum mix more inside of you. Teasing you multiple times he moved his finger over to your clitoris, rubbing it in circles against it. You whined and Jaebeom’s moves became stronger and quicker. His tongue was swirling over your collarbone, entering you at the same time with his finger.

Next few minutes went in agony, you were trying to squeeze your thighs, and held onto his hand strongly to stop him from doing what he did and make him do it quicker at the same time. Your body was going crazy, your hands were roaming all over the sheets, trying to find something you could hold on to. He stopped kissing you and moved his body away from yours, only keeping contact where he worked with his fingers.

“Jaebeom!” you moaned expanding your hand to his face, and he leaned in to peck your lips quickly moving away afterwards.

His hand left your body and you opened your eyes in disbelief. You didn’t think he’d try to play now, and the only reason he could’ve let go of you is to tease you. You watched him angrily but he didn’t look up at you, he slid his body lower, only to get his face in front of your entrance. You felt your heart tingle, getting a sense of what was going in his head. He spread your legs wider, lowering his head in front of you. The slight feeling of his tongue on you made you jerk your hips up, and he grabbed your hips, moulding his fingers into them to keep you in place. Making a couple of light motions he went all in, running his tongue quickly over the spot he knew was the most sensitive, he ran his tongue down, sticking it inside of you, sliding it flatly back up. Your hands grabbed onto his head not being able to take it you just wanted him to let go, but he didn’t pay any attention to that, sucking in your last cells of sanity. It didn’t last long, with another vigorous lick he pushed you over the edge, not stopping your body from arching closer to him. Jaebeom pressed small kisses over your thigh waiting for you to at least get back into reality. When your breathed more calmly he moved back up, resting his body next to yours. His hands snaked over to your waist, pulling you to lay over his chest.

You closed your eyes trying to calm yourself down and find any strength to tell him anything, but you failed, only finding it in you to rub your face against his chest and hug him tighter.

“See, that’s a tiring job to take over me in bed, you should’ve listened when I told you I’m doing it for you.” he chuckled, brushing your hair behind your ear. His fingers tried to lift your face up to face him, and you let him do it.

“I liked it.” you sighed quietly and he smirked.

“So now I can just rest for the rest of my life while you do the job?”

“No, I liked it, but I guess being a pillow princess is still better.” you smiled at him and a throaty laugh escaped Jaebeom’s mouth. “I won’t give that up to you.”

“Good.” he nodded.

“Why?”

“It’s just better when you’re under.”

“Is it though? You rarely cum that hard.” you chuckled finally feeling more alive. You found balance on your elbows, watching his face expression.

“You teased me forever, that’s expected.”

“Oh, come on, you could’ve just said ‘baby, there’s something about you riding me, that made me lose myself completely, I thought I’ll go crazy if I won’t touch you’.” you furrowed your eyebrows. Jaebeom’s palm pulled your face closer to his.

“Baby, there’s something abo…” he began repeating what you told him with a slight smirk, before you slapped his shoulder.

“Back off.” you sighed, trying to get away from him to take a shower.

“You know I’m bad with words.” he hugged you from the back, pulling your back to rest against his chest. You laid back, resting your head on his shoulder. Jaebeom kissed your cheek, playing with your fingers. “I can write you a song to tell you everything.” he mumbled gifting another kiss to your jaw.

“You know when you need it, you’re doing perfectly fine with expressing yourself.” you made your hands intertwine.

“You know that this goes right back at you, but just because you did so much I won’t fight with you about it.” you made a cute sad face expression and he sighed “Okay…it’s crazily sexy what you did, I didn’t think you’ll actually have the stamina to finish it off the way you began. But you did… and it really pissed me off when you teased me and I couldn’t just do it my way… but yeah, it all washed away when you made me cum. Nice for a change, would never let you do that regularly because you under me is just another type of pleasure.”

“Yeah, insufferable dom, I told you.” you bit down your lip to prevent yourself from laughing.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” he let go of you and you took it as a chance to get up.

“I’m going to shower first!”

—

my first got7 fic, I hope you liked it! please let me know 🥺

[cheelduh]

How to get Hit-listed by a Stonehide Lawachurl (High School AU!)

Part 6 of the highschool au

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Synopsis: Childe’s a menace to everyone when playing dodgeball. Even as his new girlfriend, you’re no exception to his affinity for raising hell during the most tranquil of circumstances.

Warnings: Swearing, bad humor, and absolutely horrid spelling mistakes.

Words: 5.3k

Note: Longest chapter yet sheeeesh 🗿

Negotiation is an art.

Childe, or "Tartaglia" has utilized the art of negotiations in his daily life. Whether that be scamming the ninth graders with fake weed, or convincing the teachers why he doesn't deserve detention for injecting random fluids from the chem department into the school's resident pet frog.

All in all, by becoming an expert in the field of negotiations, Childe is nothing if not a master, tongue silver and smooth as he takes on a new opponent.

Which is why he dutifully negotiates with you on this Monday morning in front of the History classroom, getting down on one knee and pulling out a—

"I hope to Barbatos you aren't proposing Childe," You hiss, panicked eyes landing on the velvet box he's pulling out. "Considering that we're sixteen and still in highschool."

As if remembering those meagre details, Childe gulps and shoves the box back into his pocket. "Uhhh yeah, I was just, tying my shoelaces?" It comes out as a question.

You let out a sigh of relief, overlooking how he undoes his shoe laces just to do them all over again.

The ring burns in his pocket as he gets back up.

"Why did you call me here?" You ask, hand on your hip, foot impatiently tapping. The tap tap tap isn't because of impatience though, it's because you need something to cover the nervous palpitations of your heart.

He gives you a vicious smile, sinister enough to shake the bones of anyone who's observing, opens his daring mouth to show the imaginary sharpness of his teeth. Then with the confidence of about a hundred shirtless tiktok boys, he finally demands:

"If you don't become my girlfriend, I will kill—"

"Yeah sure thing." You answer before he can finish, soft smile growing.

Childe chuckles evilly, "I knew you'd say that, but I've come prep—wait a minute." He snaps out of his villain origin phase, stumbles back a bit, then his eyebrows are furrowing in confusion. "Did you just say yes?"

You nod, cheeks flaring up. "Don't make me repeat it." Then you look away, too embarrassed to see his reaction.

For a second, Childe's internal conflict following the chain of this event causes him to temporarily malfunction, and all he can do it stare at you in amazement.

It's only when you tell him to stop staring and jump off the school roof is when he snaps out of his daze, a grin festering on his face.

He lunges straight at you, giving you no time to deflect him as he wraps his bone crushing arms around you, then lands a soft smooch on your forehead.

"Let go of me you idiot!" You barely wheeze out, light headed not only because of your lungs being squeezed like oranges, but also because of the sloppy kiss he's delivered so ungracefully.

He does so reluctantly, and you're unamused, wiping the stickiness off your forehead with a sleeve as he steps back.

"Ew what the fuck?" You say, glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?"

He completely ignores you, giddy with excitement. "Ah girly, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that. I can't wait to introduce you to my parents and eat lunch together and kiss each other during break—"

"Slow down." You tell him, as red as a tomato towards all his suggestions. "We've barely started dating."

"Oh," Childe stops momentarily, then nods in agreement. "You're right. We should start small. How about I walk you to class?"

"We're already in front of class." You nudge your head towards the classroom, and catch Zhongli and Venti peeking from the side of the door, trying not to be obvious.

You narrow your eyes at them threateningly.

Childe tugs your arm, lovingly looking you up and down. "Let's walk to class together anyways. In a circle."

A complete waste of time, yet it's impossible to say no to the face he's making.

Before you guys depart he suddenly stops, gasping loudly, remembers something important. "I have to make a quick phone call."

Childe speed dials Scaramouche, and the latter picks up annoyed, answers the phone with muffled sounds in the back. Something that sounds a bit like pleading and whimpering.

He then mutters something that forces dread into your system. "You can release the hostages."

You hear Scaramouche groan on the other end, muttering a "such a pain in my ass", but choose not to question it immediately.

As soon as the phone call is done and you're back by his side, you point at his phone questioningly. "What hostages Childe?"

He gives you a close eyed smile, taking the fifth.

"What hostages Childe?" You repeat again weakly.

—

First period goes by smoothly for the most part. Lisa, your so called best friend, once again is bought off like a corrupted politician by your new boyfriend. She sits far away from you, leaving you without any defences against the menace that dotes on you a bit too much.

Throughout class, all Childe does is score Venti's colourful pens, and then writes you annoying little love notes, using the expert origami skills he's learnt from Anthon to deliver them to you.

Despite the threat of distraction these notes pose, the corners of your lips can't help but tug upwards at his enthusiasm and attempt at poetry.

Zhongli makes sure not to ask you two any questions the entire class, leaving you to your own accord.

Lunch comes around soon enough, and your usual table of Diluc, Jean, Kazuha, and Lisa is disturbed by the torpedo that is Childe, and he brings collateral with him.

Kaeya whole-heartedly ceases the opportunity to sit near his stoic statue of a brother purely with the intention to annoy the premature crap out of him, but one look from the redhead sends the chicken-shit right back where he came from.

When Childe forcefu—lovingly feeds you the smiley fries and dinosaur nuggets his stunning mom packed him, Diluc looks just about ready to hurl.

Lisa winks at you two, Kazuha doesn't even bother looking, and Jean tries with upmost effort to keep Diluc from launching himself at the whipped fatui boy basking in your attention.

"Quit embarrassing me." You whisper-exclaim sharply, noticing how Jean passes Diluc—all green in the face, a puke bag discreetly. "Shouldn't you be doing something illegal right now? Or vaping in the stalls?"

"I quit vaping for you girlie." Childe boops your nose with his finger. "Well, at least full time. I still need a puff when I'm around Signora, to like, get rid of her awful vibes."

While it is endearing how he quit vaping for you, it doesn't lessen the need for you to bury yourself alive right here and now.

Then you sigh, pick up a Dino nuggie, and shove it in his mouth, the tip of his tongue flicking your finger. You die inside.

"There, you happy?" The action of feeding him is so...intimate, it sets your heart aflame.

Childe's a lovesick puppy when he chews, imaginary tail wagging a hundred times a second. "Can I have a kiss too?"

Diluc slams his hands on the table and stands up, hurriedly picks up his grape juice and makes a break for it. You don't blame him.

"I'll kill you." You smack him with a napkin, blazing red. "I'll end your pathetic little life right here and now."

By the end of lunch, Lisa and Jean have to restrain you so you don't break the world record for the maximum amount of mutilations that can be done on a single body.

Fourth period is a break. A break from Childe you mean. It's expected of the school's resident bad boy aka menace to skip classes in order to skip over the bodies of his victims.

You bask in the momentary peace, until it's disrupted by a tap on the window. Reckon it's nothing, maybe a bird flew into it, because intentional taps are impossible from the third floor. Except your conviction is hindered yet again by another tap.

What a nuisance.

You finally turn to look outside the window, face down, and spot Childe waving incessantly, rocks in hand, oozing with excitement that can't be concealed and a grin that nearly takes you into cardiac arrest. Without meaning to, you send him a small smile, waving back as Baal drones on about quantum superposition.

Successful in gaining your attention, he moves aside to reveal the hefty corpse of a stonehide lawachurl with a destructive path in its wake. The ridges and bumps of its hide are enough to do a number on the road, ruining the school's playing field.

Your smile drops down into a horrified frown in the span of a few seconds.

"Wow." Albedo, your lab partner whispers from next to you, for the first time distracted in class.

"Yeah," Kaeya whistles from behind you two, one hand supporting his head. "What a gesture."

"Y/N, I'd be grateful if you could possibly obtain a black crystal horn for me from the specimen." The blonde asks, entranced by the corpse that your boyfriend is flaunting off to you with pride.

"Aren't those things endangered cutie?" Lisa makes sure to butt in, as per usual.

Yes. Your boyfriend with several issues and an affinity for chaos brought you the corpse of an endangered geo-infused creature that's five times the size of him. During school hours too, the fiend. Like a cat dragging the corpse of a dead mouse to its owner.

You groan into your hands, heart racing while the fire is coursing through your veins.

That idiot.

—

Childe is exceptional at a lot of things, like the switch and making weapons out of seemingly harmless things (e.g shiv out of a toothbrush), but what he prides in the most is physical education. With washboard abs, uber tall height, and a dickish smile to top it all, he has everything it takes to showcase his top tier athletic abilities.

He pounces at the opportunity to show off in front of you, wanting nothing more than to have you fawn over his strength. He's sure it'll be enough to have you all over him, wrapping your cute little arms around his muscled ones, passing him his water bottle and dabbing away at the sweat on his forehead. Most of all, he daydreams you planting your soft lips on his to congratulate him after a big game.

Physical education, for you, is a pain. You may be good with your brain, but games exert more energy than necessary, and coordination that lacks logic entirely. You're just here for the credit. The over-achiever part of you walks the extra mile to ensure a grade in the high nineties.

Although witnessing Childe clad in the school shorts and matching polo shirt is enough to make this worth your while, you'll die before admitting it. Especially when he gawks at you as if it's the first time you're wearing the sports uniform yourself. It has you fidgeting with your fingers and tugging your shorts down nervously.

You try not to flip him off like you usually do, especially since it's not even been twenty four hours since he's asked you out.

Mr.Zhongli blows a whistle, calling all the students over to surround him. It's odd that he teaches most of the subjects at this school, seemingly the only adult present, but no one questions it in fear of genshin logic. Moving on, he explains that you have a dodge ball game today.

Lisa groans beside you. She hates anything that requires the exertion of energy, oftentimes bringing a book to read while everyone else screams in the background.

You're relieved, mainly because Childe and Tohma are usually captains, and Childe always picks you to be on his team as a means to flex his skills. For you, it means sitting back and watching him carry your team towards a straight A.

However, all your dreams are crushed when Zhongli announces the team leaders.

"Y/N, I trust that you'll lead the blue team to the upmost of your ability. Childe, prepare to lead the opposing red team."

Your knees shake as you stare at him in disbelief. "But Sir—"

"No buts Y/N." He scolds you lightly, checking off your names on the clip board. "I'd like to witness your exceptional leadership skills."

In reality, Zhongli just wants to reenact a lovers-on-opposing sides trope, wanting to see how the two of you crack under the pressure. In a way, it is an exercise of leadership.

Instead of picking teams, Zhongli assigns teams for the both of you according to his own judgement, trying to make it as fair as possible.

Lisa pats your back after your teammates are assigned, trying to cheer you up. "It's going to be okay. You guys are dating now, so he'll go easy on you."

You look up to meet Childe's eyes from across the court. He gives you a charming smile, which turns downright barbaric as he lifts up a thumb and motions to slash his neck with it. Then he wickedly mouths "I'm going to destroy you."

You blink and turn away as fast as you can in fear. "We're fucked."

Lisa, witnessing the entire ordeal nods alongside you, doing nothing to reassure you because she herself has given up.

Suddenly a hand lands on your shoulder gripping you tightly. "Let's wipe the floor with that g*nger." The voice is ice cold, threatening enough to send a shiver down your bones.

You turn to meet Rosaria, who frowns at you. Most of the time she doesn't really put an effort in dodgeball, but she must've seen your crestfallen expression, trying to comfort you in her own detached way.

Rosaria is the other school nurse in training, alongside Barbara, but somehow her patients end up more injured, sick, or mentally defiled than before they entered the room. She also spends after hours beating up Chads in the school parking lot. Also runs a blog with her booby co-author Kaeya that emphasizes mostly on the dark knight hero.

Spotting the rest of your team behind her, you begin to criticize them one by one.

Standing against the wall is Kaeya, pushing both his biddies up with his crossed arms like an absolute whore. He's breaking about several dress code rules right now. Venti is next to him, drunk off his butt as he beat boxes with Tohma.

Eula mutters under her breath, on and on about seeking revenge on Zhongli for putting her beloved Amber on the opposing team, promising him an unfortunate fate. Xiao is miserably squatting on the floor, sharp eyes observing everyone in the gym, scowl not ready to dissipate anytime soon.

Then you look over at Childe's team in the distance. Jean with a determined look on her face as she listens to Childe's game plan, and Diluc crossing his arms with his brows furrowed in concentration. Even Amber, the best baller in the school, is stretching out her arms, assisted by the gifted princess of the school, Ayaka.

Not only that, but Childe has the king of dodging on his team—Kaedehara goddamn Kazuha. Beidou shoots you a wicked smirk, winking at you until she's disrupted by Ningguang's shove.

"Oh my god." You cry out when the realization hits you, falling to your knees in despair. "We're completely fucked!"

"No we aren't." Rosaria mutters lowly. "You're only fucked if you want to be. Don't you dare throw in the towel before the fight has even begun."

"But I—"

"Stop it." She grumbles again, rolling her eyes. "You're being annoying now. If you lose the game, that makes him the dom. Don't you want to be the dom?"

She's right. You do want to be the dom.

Her words of encouragement, and not at all veiled insults somehow allow you to find motivation deep within yourself. You get up and stomp towards the rest of your team, calling their attention with your newfound confidence.

"Listen here soldiers!" You shout out, determination clear as day. "I know I am not capable of leading. I know that I barely have the physical capabilities needed to defeat the opposite team."

You take a deep breath, pointing at your cutie patootie boyfriend across the gym as you seethe. "But that man, that harbinger of chaos, that instrument of war, is nothing but a tyrant. And I cannot let such a tyrant be a victor in this battle. Not when innocent lives are at stake."

Tohma speaks up, sending you a bewildered look. "What lives—"

"Shut the fuck up soldier!"

"Yessir!" He immediately stiffens, saluting you.

"Are you ready soldiers?" Your voice booms, and everyone reinforces their priorities, except for Kaeya though. He just lazily smirks.

After Zhongli places the balls in the middle, everyone prepares for the battle of the century.

'Gods, please let us win this war' you pray to the archons above, closing your eyes in concentration.

'Give me the strength to flex my superior skills' Childe wishes, then adds on quickly 'also I want to dominate this world.'

'Give me the strength to make it to Friday.' Rosaria prays for nobody but herself, rolls her eyes at all the unnecessary dramatics of this dodgeball game.

"3..." "2..." "1..."

Zhongli ends the countdown by blowing hard into a whistle, signaling the beginning of the game.

Not even two seconds later a ball whooshes past a few of you at the speed of light, followed by a tail of fire. The ball of death kisses Kaeya square in the nose, sending him reeling back into a wall with enough sheer force to cause an indent.

Everyone winces.

Before you all can reel in from the initial shock and make sense out of wherever the hell that asteroid came from, Zhongli's voice booms throughout the gymnasium.

"Mr. Ragnvindr, headshots are strictly forbidden. You are out!"

With a scoff, Diluc, satisfied with his work, leaves the court with no apparent qualms. He accepts his defeat with the upturned corners of his lips.

Rosaria pokes Kaeya's body with the tip of her heels, then cringes when he shakes awake, up from his short lived knockout and sends a wink her way.

"Getting handsy when I'm unconscious? I didn't think you'd be one to partake in such vulgar activities." His eye twinkles in mischief, and if his momentary defeat at the hands of brother has him fuming, he doesn't show it one bit.

The only thing that keeps Rosaria from knocking him out for real is the blood that trails down onto his lip. She doesn't want to clean blood off her shoes, especially since it's a pain in the ass to get off.

You're about to tell them to get up and take this seriously, but a softball does your job for you when it darts straight at Rosaria. With pristine accuracy, the girl manages to pitch herself away last minute.

You swivel in Childe's direction, who wears a remorseless grin, which only grows wider once you pick up a blue softball next to your feet.

The glare that he receives has him shaking in exhilaration. More so than the elation he'd felt when he took down that Stonehide Lawachurl for you, as a gift of promise.

You begin to bark out orders. "Eula, Xiao, and Rosaria cover the front and act as decoys."

They nod immediately, but Xiao still clicks his tongue in distaste as he starts following orders.

Then you offer Kaeya a hand. "Get up princess. You're on sniper duty."

With Diluc out of commission, the battle is fair and square now considering both sides have the same amount of people. Ergo, no one's at a disadvantage.

That is—until Lisa fake trips over pure air, landing on the floor in a dramatic slow motion.

You roll your eyes.

"Oh dear! I think I've twisted something." She cries out, crawling away from the battle field, acting as if she's paralyzed completely. "Don't worry about me. I'll cheer you on from afar. The battle has begun, and it seems as if I've become the first casualty."

You don't let the countless amount of Lisa's betrayals get to you, even this one. It's just her personality to flake out on anything and everything that requires her to do more than below the bare minimum.

Focusing on the match, your eyes are only on Childe, just as his are on you.

You aim the ball straight at his ribs, step back a bit, then propel the ball in the air with as much energy as you can, using your entire body as a power outlet. The ball spins in the air, reaching the awaiting victim.

Childe, unbothered, dodges the ball with perfect precision, the ball not even grazing his clothes at the least.

Your jaw drops open, and you're about to move for another ball until he grabs the same ball you threw at him. With the sharpness of a predator locking in on its pray, he focuses on you like a missile locks on its target, launching the ball in the air for power that has you trembling, second to the powerful ball that was thrown by Diluc.

With your pupils dilated at your impeding doom, it's Xiao that grabs you and thrusts away.

The ball lands on the floor, smoke rising.

"Holy shit!" You shriek over everyone else's grunts and shuffles. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Isn't it poetic?" Childe shouts back while he slides away from the balls being thrown. "Lover against lover. Either you're by my side, or in my way. And right now, you're in my way." He narrows his eyes dangerously. "Albeit reluctantly, I will take the victory babe. Even if we are on opposing sides."

"There was zero reluctance in that throw asshole!"

You thank Xiao, who wipes his hands on his pants in disgust. "Filthy humans. So pathetic and weak."

Mildly offended, you roll your sleeves up and begin to fight with everything you've got as soon as he walks away.

The dodgeball game goes as expected for the most part, Eula carrying for most of it with the flow of her skills.

Tohma actually tries like the presumptuous asshole he is, aims straight for his girlfriend Ayaka, and takes her out completely. His only justification for that is "I ain't no simp!"

He shelves his cocky attitude when facing Childe with a sense of dignity and prestige you didn't think he had in him.

The two one of a kind fuckbois puff out their chests so that they look more hefty than they are, having some kind of an Alpha match. The 'me stronger than you. me dominant. me get all the women' type beat.

Unfortunately, Childe manages to fence him with his throws, and lo and behold, the square off ends with a dejected Tohma dragging his feet to the nearest bench.

Eula oversees that Ningguang and Beidou meet a quick end, taking their slower dodging to her advantage. You're actually rooting for her, tasting a sliver of victory that you haven't reached yet. So close, yet so far.

Amber trips on herself in the middle of throwing a what should've been coordinated ball, and it loses most of its momentum. Xiao is directly in front of it, and will probably be able to catch it with ease.

Ah, another short victory.

If Childe loses his expert baller, he's only left with Kazuha and Jean, whom's lack in the art of throwing is made up by their ability to dodge most of the fastballs.

However, all your plans and hopes are crushed when Eula slides in front of Xiao last minute, sticks out her foot, and let's the pathetic product of Amber's would-be downfall hit her on the leg with the total force of about 0.0000001 newtons.

Your chances of winning have just went down by a staggering 60%.

"Eula!" You cry out, collapsing on the ground. "How could you?"

Tohma cups his mouth and bellows obnoxiously from the bench. "SIMP!"

"I cannot avenge my clan if I win a false victory." Eula crosses her arms, casting her gaze down in visible uncomfortableness. "Amber will pay her dues in two business days. Mark my words."

It all a load of cap. She's sleeping with the enemy and you know it.

You grit your teeth. Fuming with an abundance of rage, you pick up three balls and throw them all back to back, taking out Amber and Kazuha simultaneously.

Childe's heart flutters in another kind of delight when you pluck out his team members one by one with no hints of remorse.

In retaliation, Jean and Childe work in sync to swiftly take care of a distracted Rosaria.

"Shit." You hiss underneath your breath.

It's Venti, Kaeya, Xiao, and you who are the only remainders of your short-lived team. It's still two more people than Childe and Jean, giving you the upper hand briefly.

It's a mystery to everyone how Venti is still standing. You reckoned you would've lost him as collateral during the beginning of the match, but it seems he's able to hold his own.

When you squint hard enough, you realize that Xiao has been t-posing in front of the nonchalant SoundCloud rapper that's about as high as a kite. He must've been defending him throughout the entire round.

His defenses are all in vain once Childe correlates another attack with Jean, sharp-shooting four rapid balls that are secured on their targets.

Xiao swerves to the side, avoiding most of them, until one is about to reach a nonchalant as shit Venti.

You scream at him, eyes widening as you run towards them in slow motion. "NOoOoOOOo-"

The yaksha doesn't waste a moment, shifting so that he's covering Venti's body with his own, which to be honest is a pretty heartwarming sight.

The ball hits his lean back, a sharp thud following when it hits the floor.

Xiao is out. But his sacrifice is so inspiring that it brings tears to Zhongli's eyes, makes everyone in the gym go silent in awe.

Even the sadistic Childe melts, cerulean eyes gaining back their light, halting his fire.

When Xiao finally uncovers Venti's body, he speaks from the bottom of his dead heart. "I'd do anything for you..."

Venti shakes out of his baked state, blinking at him stupidly with a nervous chuckle. "Ehe~? I don't even know who you are."

The entire class sweat drops. Whatever slip of compassion on Childe's face earlier has become nothing but a memory. Even your eyes dim.

The next time Childe aims and locks at Venti, it's not with malicious intent. It's a favour, for you. In a way it adds dimension to who he is and the lengths he's willing to go for you, even at war.

Venti steps away with a bounce in his gait, hands behind his head.

Kaeya and you are the only ones left standing now, and the game becomes too tight knit to tell which side's going to win. It becomes utter chaos, balls being launched every second, stamina slowly decreasing as everyone lurches away from their demise.

As laid-back  and charming as the boy presents himself to be in front of the ladies, he's not very patient when it comes to facing circumstances like these. He's side lined for most of the match, finding it boring. And when Kaeya gets bored, the intensity of the tide changes, and everyone knows they're going to get a run for their money.

Kaeya coasts a hand around your hips, pulls you real close, purposefully leaning his bust into the side your innocent arm.

When Childe's smile drops, and the glint in his eyes reads 'DANGER' in full caps, you know it's time to be properly scared.

Your blood runs cold, mouth opening briefly and then clamping shut immediately.

"I'm so glad to be on your team Y/N. Maybe this'll give us the chance to become...closer." His hot breath fans against your ear, voice loud enough to be heard by onlookers.

Suddenly everything stops, falling into an unsettling silence.

You attempt glance at Childe, being met with a glare that's directed at the Captain of the Skating team. The ball in the orange-haired boy's hand deflates from the sheer intensity of the squeeze.

The tension becomes unreadable. Even Zhongli is caught mid-sip with his tea.

Quickly, you shrug off Kaeya's arm. "Childe, he's just fucking with you—"

Childe cuts you off by hurling a ball with nothing but the objective of cold blooded murder.

Kaeya whizzes past you, successfully ducking to avoid the hit, and his amused laugh rings through your ears. He rolls away from the following attacks, chucking his own series of colourful balls.

The events that unfold are blood-curdling enough to make even Satan boil his pants with diarrhea.

You take the clear opportunity presented by their concurrent dumbassery to take out Jean, the ace of the other team.

Childe's rage blows over when Kaeya eventually loses interest and takes the L, playfully winking at you while walking backwards to the rest of your team.

Now that all the distractions are dealt with, Childe's eyes flicker to you, and you share a murderous glance.

"Finally," He slaps the softball with a free hand, lips thinning into a homicidal smile. "I've been waiting for this. You better not disappoint me."

While Childe may be a violent anarchist who's only aspiration in life is to become a government contracted killer, he's also supposed to be your sweet boyfriend.

Slowly, you inch towards the front. "We don't have to do this Childe. We can coexist peacefully."

"Peace was never an option Y/N." He sighs, cracking his neck. "Besides—how else can I prove myself in your eyes? You may be my greatest weakness, but you are also my greatest adversary."

"I don't know, maybe start with not trying to obliterate me?"

"I'm obliterating you out of respect." He counters with a playful pout.

"Well I'll be paying my respects to your grave!" You lurch ahead into a sudden assault, yeeting as many balls as you can his way.

"That's my girl!" Childe whistles, grin widening psychotically when he goes all out, leaving you with an absence in favorable openings.

Out of nowhere, the fire alarms start going haywire, along with a beep in the PA system, which stops you two in your tracks.

A panicked voice of who you assume to be Yanfei shrieks through the comms. "CODE ORANGE! CODE ORANGE! EVACUATE THE BUILDING, THERE'S A STONEHIDE LAWACHURL ON THE PREMISES."

As if on cue, the ground starts rumbling and a Stonehide Lawachurl bursts through the halls and into the gym, looking around for something. Or rather, someone. It's sharp bumps and ridges make an indent on the floor, cracking it in.

Everyone falls into a state of panic, Zhongli trying his best to evacuate the class from the emergency back door as quickly as possible. "Settle down class, we have to follow protocol."

You, devoid of any emotion or sense of fear, turn to your boyfriend in such a calm manner it strikes an ominous dread in his stomach.

You stare.

Childe stares harder.

“I thought you killed it."

"I did." He retorts slowly, switching to gaze at the raging beast in amazement.

"Then why is it in the school!" You seethe, glaring daggers at his side profile.

Childe chuckles sheepishly, scratches the back of his neck. "I may or may not have stuffed the body in the boys washroom. Y'know, for safe keeping?"

The Lawachurl locks it's gaze on you, the prey, and then roars furiously. Turning into its geo-enhanced state, it begins charging at you with all its might, the target being solely Childe.

Leave it to your boyfriend to get on the hit list of an endangered beast.

"Fear not my vibrant girlfriend. Our first date can be surviving this." Childe cheekily kisses the top of your trembling hand before grasping it tightly and making a run for it.

[hunflowers]

The Aftermath

Word Count: 3.7k

Requested? Yes, and you can too, here :)

A/N: here she is, the little piece of the puzzle y’all have been waiting for. it’s a small part two of 1964, and it’ll take place just after their reunion at the end of the story!! i hope you enjoy it, because i missed writing my babies a lot and i hope you love them just as much as me.

pls, reblog the fics you read or heck even if you see it on your dash; it means a lot <3

good luck and have fun, in that order *nose boops*

“Happy Birthday, Rose.”

No one can explain the phenomenon of joy processed through the body and soul as Harry spoke those simple words into the air to Y/N.

It can only be described as a chill shooting down her spine, flaring goosebumps on her skin, her mouth running dry at the sight of him, or maybe the way her eyes glossed over with a glistening sheen. Pure joy.

As if she didn't already feel transported back to 1964 when sharing her many stories with her eager to learn granddaughter, she certainly did now. Seeing Harry's face, the same features that made her swoon all those years ago - though a little mature now - made her feel like she was her twenty-one year old self all over again.

It felt like a movie, as if the two of them shaped back into their younger statures, adorned in the style from way back when, embodying a world of black and white that would explode into color. Hannah and Eleanor disappeared into the future, and all there was, was Harry and Y/N like how they once were.

Before she could process what she was doing, Y/N was scurrying across the wood floor, walking the fast she has in a while, throwing her arms around Harry’s shoulders and burying her face into the crook of his neck. She could feel the rumble of his chest as he laughed, easily reciprocating the love by engulfing her in a hug, pulling her impossibly closer.

The smell of the roses swarmed Y/N’s nose, tingling her senses in the best way possible. Her brain was overpowering as it continued to be overwhelmed by the events happening, still trying to understand how Harry, her H, was in front of her.

Pulling away a few moments later - but not completely unraveling herself from his hold - she looked up at him, looking at her favorite shade of green that she tried so hard to recreate yet always failed. “Are you really here?”

“Yes! He is, Nona!” Ellie cheered from behind her, causing everyone to gape at her while also laughing. He’s really here, in her arms, breathing the same air as her.

Maybe he wasn’t a dream, after all.

Looking back up at him, Y/N smiled softly, bringing her hands up under his jaw, using her thumbs to caress the soft skin that was lined with a little bit of stubble. “I missed you,” she whispered, almost like it was meant to be a secret.

With his own little grin, Harry placed his own free hand on her cheek, using his thumb to swipe the tear that managed to escape her eye without her noticing. Instinctively, Y/N leaned her head to rest in his palm, a reflex she never seemed to have shake.

Harry didn’t have to say anything back for her to know that he felt the same way, if not more. His actions always spoke a lot louder than his words, and it also seemed that old habits hardly seem to die, even so many years later.

“Okay,” Hannah cleared her throat, trying to gain the attention of the two older folk for the first time in the last couple of minutes. “We’re meeting Aunt Carmella and Uncle Frank in twenty minutes.”

The duo separated, heat rising to their cheeks as they realized just how close they had been for those moments. Harry offered her her bouquet of roses, to which she took gratefully and scurried off to find a vase, uttering a quick, “I’ll be right back.”

In reality, yes she went to find a vase, but Y/N also needed a second to recuperate, inhaling deeply to get her heart to start slowing its rapid pace. Fifty-five years since she’s seen him.

Fifty-five.

It was a lot to comprehend. She was convinced she’d never look at him, hold him, appreciate his existence ever again. One thing is for sure, she never did stop loving him.

Y/N placed her hands down on the counter she placed her roses on, leaning her weight onto her hands as she felt the emotions roll over her like waves crashing on a beach. Her insides felt like mush. She was experiencing the come down after getting off a rowdy rollercoaster, like those she used to go on on Coney Island whenever she visited New York. Electricity shot through her veins as if she had been succumbed to the consequences of the electric chair - yet it wasn’t painful. In fact, she felt alive.

“Mom,” Hannah spoke from behind her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. Y/N didn’t realize she had been so lost in her own thoughts for a few moments there. Raising her hand to her chest, she turned around and let out a breath, before smacking her daughter in the shoulder.

“You can’t do that to me, Han. I’m old, I could die from a heart attack.”

“Don’t even joke about something like that,” Hannah rolled her eyes. But quickly the annoyance dissipated as she remembered why she came into the kitchen in the first place. “Are you okay?”

Y/N pursed her lips, giving her a simple shrug. “Yes and no. It’s not easy being reminded of... the love and pain I felt. How did you even find him, anyway?”

Hannah sheepishly smiled, “Aunt Carmella...”

Y/N scoffed, knowing it was exactly like her friend to be secretive about something so monumental like knowing where Harry is and how to contact him. She couldn’t determine if it was a good thing that Carmella kept this information from her, but deep down she knew it was.

As soon as Y/N gathered her wits, the foursome were out the door and on their way to lunch. They had decided to drive two separate cars, and after a bit of begging, Y/N let Harry drive them in his rental. Though, along the way it was a bit of rocky journey. “First time driving on the right side of the road,” was his excuse.

In the car ride, Y/N took the time to truly admire the man she once laid beside at night, trying to wrap her head around the fact that he was next to her again. She wondered if in his old age he would turn wrinkled and decrepit, maybe using a cane or having a hunch back. It only seemed fitting that he beat all of those stereotypes and looked like he had the health of his younger self rather than a seventy-six year old man. He’s timeless; just like their love.

When they finally met up with Carmella, it didn’t take Y/N long to scold her friend for keeping such a humongous secret from her, and working in tandem with her own daughter and granddaughter. All the Italian woman did was shrug before latching her arms around both Harry and Y/N’s frames, pulling the three of them close for a long-awaited, reuniting hug that felt like home.

“Il trio è tornato e meglio che mai. questo merita un brindisi,” [The trio is back and better than ever. This deserves a toast] Carmella cheered, clapping her hands in giddiness as she waved the waitress back over to order the most extravagant wine.

Leaning down to whisper in Y/N’s ear, Harry muttered, “And I still have no idea what she’s saying.” Y/N bumped his shoulder with hers, shaking her head gently as a small smile snuck up onto her lips.

Lunch was shared with many laughs and old stories - all per the request of Ellie. She was eager to keep learning and eager to see her nona so happy.

When lunch was over and they were all saying goodbye, Ellie practically all but pushed Y/N to go with Harry so they could go somewhere private. Hannah of course condoned her daughter’s behavior, but also told her mom it was for the best they catch up without either of them around. They needed to be alone.

That’s how they ended up at the park downtown, where Y/N used to frequent often when she used to run in the mornings or whenever she needed a spark of creativity for her next painting. 

Once Harry placed the car in park, the stagnant tension between them only rose as neither of them jumped to get out of the vehicle. They simmered, absorbed, melted into the atmosphere, basking in it before they flipped it on its head to talk about what they both had been avoiding.

It was an unspoken truce to get out of the car at the same time. The sun was winking at them through the clouds, luring them to venture deeper into the park, just like it used to. Almost as if the star was just as excited as them to be back in each other’s lives. The saying is if walls could talk, but what about the sun? Or the moon? Both kept Harry and Y/N’s moments inside of them, stored deep in their cores right next to all the other love that happened in their line of vision.

Out of instinct, the two locked hands. And they didn’t seem to mind. It felt like a magnet pulled them together, and it would take a lot of force to break them apart.

As they walked along the paved path, being passed by those on bikes or joggers, or really even anyone that walked faster. They weren’t in any sort of rush, because moments like these aren’t meant to be fast paced. They needed to simmer, absorb, and melt.

Harry decided to be the first to speak up, surprising both of them considering, well, his past. “I see the artist life treated you well.”

Slightly turning her head to face him, she laughed softly, shrugging her shoulders. “I guess it did. You predicted it.”

I can’t wait to buy your art one day.

Harry gazed down at his feet, humming a response. He didn’t have the proper words to respond to her allusion to his letter. Hearing the twinge of spite sitting on top of her words was enough for him to gauge that his letter was a sore topic for her. And rightfully so, because even he hasn’t completely forgiven himself for not giving her a proper goodbye.

Coming up on a patch of grass that was half hidden beneath a large oak tree and half in the glory of the sunlight, Harry and Y/N decided to take a seat. If they were going to throw themselves into the past, might as well go all the way and lay in the grass like they did in Florence. Albeit, they wouldn’t actually lay down because it would’ve been impossible for either of them to properly get up.

They rested their backs against the large trunk, looking out into the field and watching little kids play around as their parents kept their distance off to the side with other parents. Y/N found it near impossible to not snap a mental picture of what was in front of her, cursing herself for not bringing her camera with her. It was a beautiful day, and one she wished to remember. Not because of the dreadful conversation that was bound to swallow her whole or the man sitting beside her, but because of the landscape.

What a waste of a beautiful day.

Now, it was her turn to break the silence, because she knew he wouldn’t. He may have once, but that was all he could probably handle. “Tell me about your life, Harry. Please.”

Letting out a breath of air he didn’t realize he had been holding in, Harry twiddled with his thumbs in his lap. “Got two kids. Ben and, uh, Rose.”

Ouch.

“Five beautiful grandchildren.” He spoke shortly and to the point, finding it very difficult to open up the can of worms that is his life.

Once Harry got the call from Carmella that he was going to surprise Y/N for her birthday, he couldn’t get on a plane any faster. The idea of being face-to-face with her again after so many years was daunting and normally he found it difficult to escape his confined box of reality. But that was the thing about Y/N, she always made things seem less terrible to him.

England is his origin and where his family resides, but it hardly felt like home anymore.

His marriage with Nancy balanced on its very thin, tight rope for thirty years, but they both knew it was bound to fall off. Once he returned from Italy, it was like he was a soldier returning from war, because he in no way was the same man who left for Italy when coming home. But, they pushed on, because it was what they were meant to do.

They had two wonderful kids and they seemed like the picturesque family they were planned to be. Behind closed doors, they were anything but. He and Nancy fought a lot and their kids seemed to loathe him for reasons still unbeknownst to him. He supported them and loved them like any parent would, yet it felt like they joined everyone else in his life that wanted to keep him silent. Everyone except one person.

Once his and Nancy’s divorce was finalized, the kids couldn’t be more thrilled. All they needed was a solid reason to drop their father out of their lives. As the years went on they slowly worked him back into their day-to-day routine, but not really. Only for the sake of his grandkids was he in their lives.

It was especially hard living his life knowing his own creations couldn’t stand him just like everyone else, and that was exactly why he couldn’t agree faster to get on a plane to America.

“I officially retired last year, so m’not really doing much these days. Actually, I picked up drawing again if y’could believe it. Haven’t touched a pencil for artistic purposes since... well, since then.” Their heads remained forward, not a single glance made towards one another because it felt easier this way. 

Y/N listened intently to the drawl of his voice, engraving the words he spoke deep into her mind, right next to the dusty ones he spoke fifty-five years prior. Everything and anything he’s ever said rests idly on little bookshelves in her brain, collecting dust the longer she takes to go back and hear them over. It was nice to add new additions to her collection. “That sounds lovely, H.”

His heartstrings pulled at the use of his nickname, something only she would call him. He was only Harry to any one, both by his choice and because every one else was too prim to call him something else.

Y/N took notice to how he mentioned nothing of Nancy, and paired that with the fact he wasn’t wearing a wedding band on his most intimate finger. She thinks maybe he did it out of courtesy to not beckon any unwarranted anguish and pain for her sake - because that’s exactly why she didn’t wear hers.

When she went to put her flowers in a vase in the kitchen, she slid her engagement and wedding rings off her finger and set them down gently on the counter, not wanting to clash her two separate lives.

That’s why she had to ask about her. She couldn’t keep going if she didn’t have any sort of answer to her wondering questions that she’s had for the past five decades. “How’s Nancy?” Y/N didn’t care to actually know how she is, she just wanted to know their story.

The leaves above them blew in the suddenly apparent wind, threatening them that what they were about to indulge in was like a storm on the horizon. It was bound to come and impossible to avoid. “Dunno. Haven’t spoken to her in a couple of weeks.”

This opened the door to many unanswered questions in Y/N’s mind, sending her down on spiral of want and need for an explanation that he didn’t seem keen on giving. This closed the most important door, flooding her with relief she didn’t realize she needed to feel just a little less pain sitting next to him.

Not knowing just how to pose her next question, Harry beat her to the punch, halting her thoughts in her tracks. “We’re divorced.”

Divorced. A strange concept. Y/N never imagined divorcing her husband in all of the years they were married. It seemed trivial and time-consuming and led to no greater purpose in her mind. She could either be miserably alone, or miserable with a man by her side. The latter seemed the most comforting.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’m not. We weren’t meant to be,” he chuckled, laughing not because it’s actually funny, but because Y/N knew they weren’t meant to be. It was obvious. “Just meaningless pieces in my parents puzzle.”

Hearing his broken words that he used to rant about all those years ago resurface, Y/N couldn’t help reaching for his hand again, clasping it between both of hers and holding it in her lap. It didn’t matter how many years had passed, because it was certain his parents were still a sore subject. She wanted him to know that she never forgot the hurt they put him through, and that she will always be on his side. Always.

Diverting the attention away from himself, it was Harry’s turn to pour salt into a wound he knew would sting harshly. “Did you uh, ever get married, Rose?”

When Carmella had managed to get his number a couple years after Italy, they kept in contact nearly every week. A lot of the time their topic of conversation would revolve around Y/N, and what ever new information Carmella could relay. One thing he refused to know however, was if she ever got married. He didn’t need to know, nor did he want to. But now, he supposes he does. 

“I did. He passed in February.” The 1st. Coincidental, maybe ironic. “He was a good man.”

Silence. It was nice Y/N was able to settle herself with someone deemed to be good. It’s what she deserved. But Harry didn’t want to know anymore.

Silence. They kept their heads forward, but over time Y/N’s head slowly ended up resting on Harry’s shoulder. Their hands stayed latched and their bodies radiated each other’s warmth. Y/N felt cold though. Rehashing their pasts slowly brought them closure, but it in no way healed the pain that rested heavy on her heart. “I wish things could’ve been different for us, Harry.” They deserved different than what they were given. Why do soulmates exist if they can’t be together? 

A love like theirs is folklore; unsure if it ever existed, but meant to be told for generations. “We were special don’t you think?”

“We were everything,” Harry murmured, squeezing her hands, then planting a gentle kiss to the crown of her head.

Y/N laughed again at his allusion, but she wasn’t laughing because it was funny, but because it stung like a wasp. Over and over again. “I’ve still got that stupid piece of paper, y’know. Your letter. Saved it all these years because it was all I had.”

The little anger she had left inside of her began to bubble up. Though it didn’t last very long as tears welled in her eyes, just like when she picked up the stupid paper for the first time. Grief stampeded her stomach like a herd of frightened elephants, bruising her deeply as the pain she felt from that day made itself known in the present.

“You didn’t say goodbye. Why didn’t you say goodbye?”

The wind picked up as the clouds in the sky completely covered the sun in forecast, hovering over Harry as a reminder, just in case he didn’t already know the pain he caused.

Pulling Y/N close to his chest, he let her cry, knowing it was best to not say anything at all. She wasn’t legitimately asking why he didn’t, but it felt good to get the question off her chest. So he let her cry, his own tears pricking his waterline, balancing on the edge before tumbling over and down onto his cheeks.

Just when the sun began to come out from its hiding spot, the two subsided their emotions, calming down just like the leaves above their heads. The storm had passed. All that’s left now is the aftermath.

“We don’t get forever, Rose. But we have each other now.”

Something tells them though that despite how many physical years they may have left with one another, they’ll always have forever. The thought rests easy on their minds.

With just a few more minutes of sitting in the grass and simmering, absorbing, melting, the duo decided it was time to get up. They were going to put the past behind them, starting with the fact that maybe they were too old to be sitting in the grass like they used to.

Laughs and giggles were exchanged as they both tried to get to their feet as gracefully as possible without drawing any attention to themselves. They were a heap of giggles and optimism as they retraced their steps back onto the pathway, heading back to his car.

It almost seemed like déjà vu the moment a speedy bicyclist zoomed past Y/N, nearly grazing her left side. She moved out of his way just in the nick of time, but haphazardly fell into Harry’s arms, who always seemed ready to catch her even in the most abrupt of times.

It all happened so fast yet also so slow, running parallel to the moment this exact occurrence happened fifty-five years ago. Their whole day ran parallel to their pasts, so it was only inevitable that that same electricity sparked through their bodies again.

They gazed into each other’s eyes the moment her body felt safe, that same magnet pulling them close enough that their mouths were only a few inches apart. Not a single word was exchanged as their breaths mingled together and their fingers gripped each other forcefully.

Remembering when she told Ellie about their first electric moment, Ellie immediately questioned if the two of them had kissed because it seemed like the perfect moment. Disappointingly, they didn’t.

She would hate to disappoint her granddaughter again.

So, this time they did.

It was the perfect moment, after all.

[descendantofthesparrow]

Commission work - Harry Hook x Darling! Reader - two parter - unpredictably adorable - part 2

commissioner @thebookbakery​

=

Since you were a child, your mind was constantly overthinking, every single possibility, good or bad, bombarding your mind about everything and nothing at the same time.

-what if I never live up to my mom's expectations-

-if I don’t pass this test everyone will hate me-

-they aren’t really my friend; they just feel sorry for me-

-I need to shut up I’m talking to much-

-they are ignoring me; they must hate me-

-everyone is faking-

-if I’m not careful I'll cut my finger and then I'll have to get surgery to remove my hand because I was too careless-

Yeah…it got tiring after a while.

Everything made sense when you were 10 and were finally diagnosed with anxiety, everything got a little bit easier to deal with after that, one of your tactics was just pretending your best friend Piper was talking you down

-I forgot to turn off the oven, and I’m going to burn my mom's house down, and I’m going to go to jail and-

‘no, you didn’t, you always check every single time, twice, you turned it off, now shut up before I smack you, I’m trying to eat this churro.’

It always loomed in the back of your mind, though hanging out with your closest friends did deafen the noise a bit, but it was always there.

You had little toys to help you focus but you were always looked at oddly when you had a little cube with millions of buttons on it so once again, your anxiety won out and you picked at your fingers, bit your lip, rubbed the fabric of your clothes between your fingers, and sometimes dug your nail into your thumb to distract yourself from your own brain.

Crushes, were one of your ultimate weakness, even the thought of someone you had a crush on sent you into a spiral, your brain would tell you they didn’t even know you existed, that they hated you and faking being nice, that your crush would never go anywhere.

Now you only had two crushes your whole life.

One from when you were little, Piper, but that didn’t last long (After you saw her eat a caterpillar bleh) and EX-prince Ben himself, that one had lasted a whole two years, and while you had been his friend before your crush grew, that didn’t stop your brain from shoving those random piercing thoughts into you.

And now, there was another one.

Harry, freaking, Hook. Son of Captain Hook himself, the villain of your mother's story.

And he was the sweetest thing you had ever encountered, you gushed to jane about his little nose scrunched when he grinned, how his tongue poked out of his lips slightly when he concentrated, when he fluffed up his already floofy hair when he was frustrated.

It was just all too much for your anxious little self,  it took all your might to keep yourself from bolting away from the handsome pirate.

You sighed, splashing cold water against your face and blindly grabbing for your towel and patting your face dry. You felt your face heat up as you thought back to the day before, in study hall, when Harry ever so gently placed his thumb on your chin to stop you from chewing on your lip.

You let out a long sigh/squeak as you grabbed your bathroom counter and sunk down into a squat, puffing your cheeks as you tried to calm yourself down. “I’m so doomed” you muttered to yourself, this crush on Harry was worse than the one on Piper OR Ben.

With the two aforementioned crushes, you never imagined it going any farther than dating, so imagine your internal embarrassment when one day you realized you were daydreaming about being buried into Harry's side as you slept in on a weekend in your very own place, living together with three dogs and two cats, and four birds, with two guest rooms specifically for Uma and Gil.

It was nice to dream about but once the dark shadow that was your anxiety reared its ugly head and whispered horrid thoughts about Harry’s “true” feelings about you, it was harder to enjoy your daydreams.

-he’s just using me to get revenge~-

-he’s just like his father, a filthy, cheating pirate-

-he’s faking everything-

-he flirts with everyone; I am nothing special-

You knew it was all bullcrap, even your own mother had met harry (at her request) and happily told you that he was nothing like his dad, and one of the sweetest boys she had ever met, even piper and Peter themselves, liked harry.

But like always, your brain never liked to listen to others and always took a darker train of thought.

You shook your head out of thought and stood, walking back into your room and grabbing your bag, slinging it over your shoulder and grabbing your keys, slipping out of your dorm room and locking it behind you, checking twice to ease your mind.

“hey (y/n)” you flinched as you spun around, letting out a sharp sigh as you realized Uma was the one to call out to you, she rose her brow, a small smirk on her face “sorry, thought you heard me walk up to you”

“you-you’re fine” you smiled back, huffing as the girl tossed her arm over your shoulder and started walking with you to the cafeteria.

“hear the rumor that Mrs.Popin is pop quizzing us in algebra today?”

“she is?” you asked, calm as could be on the outside, but once again your mind started running

-what if it's something we haven’t covered yet? Or what if I wasn’t paying attention to the subject?! What if I accidentally check the wrong one! What if-

Uma tugged you into the seat next to her, picking up a clementine and peeling it open, offering you a slice, shrugging as you declined “suit yourself, yeah, I’m wondering how Harrys gonna do, with his problem with numbers after all”

“oh right, his dyscalculia” you muttered, mind now running wild worrying for harry. “I think he’ll be fine, Mrs.Popin is lenient with him, and she lets all of us take the tests over and over again until we get a passing grade”

“yeah” Uma hummed, chewing on another slice “waffles or pancakes today?”

“I heard It’ was French toast~” Harry purred, plopping down next to you and leaning into your space once again, setting your face on fire and cutting off your voice as usual. “you okay (y/n)?” you whipped around to look at Harry with wide eyes, that….that was the first time he had ever called you by your name, it was always your last name.

“I-yes?” you shrugged, looking down at the table and picking at it “I’m fine”

Harry just hummed and leaned away from you, starting a conversation with Uma about the upcoming math quiz.

Your mind whirled as you processed the fact that he called you by your first name. but thankfully it never went anywhere as the bell for breakfast being served rang throughout the room. Uma tapped your arm, hurrying you to the line to grab the hot and ready food before it was gone.

You grabbed your preferred bread and usual toppings, sighing happily as you noticed your favorite drink was in stock this morning. You grabbed the bottle and tossed in on your tray, following after Uma as she went down the sides line, grabbing a handful of bacon for herself.

After dodging the oncoming breakfast crowd, you, Harry, Gil, and Uma finally settled back at your table. Evie, Jane, and Dizzy joining you moments later “morning~” Jane sang, poking your cheek with a ‘boop’ and starting to eat her breakfast. “oh (y/n), the planning committee is needed in the gym later today, about prom n stuff”

“kay” you muttered, quickly going through your slices of French toast and gulping down your drink “still don’t know how I got roped into the planning committee in the first place” you laughed to yourself, you hardly spoke during the meetings, you were more the errand girl and the one who wrote down what needed to happen as everyone else actually planned.

Jane giggled and patted your shoulder, turning her attention back to the conversation of the table, to which you weren’t bothering to pay attention to.

You dug into your bag and pulled out your notebook, going over your previous notes for math to prepare for the quiz later that day.

Sometimes Jane and Harry would bump into you randomly, Harry's fingers brushing your arm when he would reach for something across the table, you did your best to keep the heat from your face.

At some point harry gently probed your shoulder, making you squeak from surprise, unexpecting of the touch as you looked to harry with wide eyes. He gave a soft smile and nodded towards the doors “bell rung for class darlin’, don’t want yeh ta be late” you quickly stood, yelping as your knee bashed against the table.

“ooow” you bent over slightly, palming your knee as you felt the pain bloom across it. “shit”

“wow” Harry chuckled, grabbing your bags and slinging them over his shoulder “never heard yeh swear before darlin’, come on, ill escort yeh” he placed his hand on the small of your back, and lead you toward your first class.

While you appreciated Harry's chivalry, your mind….was not helping.

-everyone is staring at me-

-they are going to think it's odd he has his hand on me-

-everyone is staring at us-

-everyone is going to think it’s weird that Harry is around me-

-EVERYONE IS STAR-

“here we are” Harry thankfully interrupted your train of thought as he handed you back your bag and gestured to your English class “I’ll see yeh later darlin’” he winked at you and strut away, leaving you with your usual burning face and fidgeting fingers.

You sighed, walking into class and hurrying to your seat, ignoring the imaginative eyes on you as you took out your notebook.

-

The sound of your pen quickly tapping on your clipboard was the only thing that kept you from screaming at everyone.

It was just…too…loud…so many voices at once, all speaking at different volumes and all needing different things, many of them speaking at you, all too much for you to handle.

You gave one look at jane and she nodded, taking your clipboard and walking into the crowd of planners, distracting them as you exited the gym, heading for your room to calm down.

You rubbed your chest and focused on controlled breathing. Everything felt so tight, like something was sitting on your chest as you walked through the halls, fingers gripping your skirt to ground yourself.

You stumbled a bit as a barrage of screaming hit you, you tuned a bit, seeing two of your classmates that you never bothered to learn the names of screaming at each other in the hallway.

Your ears began to ring as you stared at them, unable to continue onto your room. one of the boys looked away from his friend, glaring right at you. “OI WHAT ARE YOU LOOKIN AT!” he screamed, hands balling into fists as he seemed to look into your soul.

You let out a breathless squeak, bolting down the hall, sliding as you took a quick corner and continued to run where ever.

Your original destination was lost, mind yelling at you to hide.

-THEY ARE FOLLOWING ME-

-HIDE-

-THEY ARE GOING TO HURT ME-

-HIDE-

-IM GOING TO DIE-

-HIDE-

You gasped for breath, letting a scream as you slammed into a wall that wasn’t there a moment ago, you slid down to your side, curling up into a ball and letting out choked sobs as the world went dark around you.

You could feel yourself passing out but you couldn’t get a grip on yourself.

You were having a panic attack but you couldn’t do a thing to make it go away, whenever they happened one of your friends was always there to ground you, always helping you come back down to earth.

You couldn’t breathe, air only leaving you as you gasped. Through the ringing in your ears, you heard a voice, but you couldn’t recognize it as whoever it was grabbed onto your shoulders and tried to lift you up.

You felt yourself screech and lash out, your fist hitting something almost solid, whoever it was didn’t flinch and trailed their hands down your arms, grabbing gently onto your hands.

“hey-hey” they whispered, breaking through the chaos of your mind “hey, it's okay, you’re okay. nothings here. you’re safe. no one’s going ta hurt yeh”

You forced your eyes open, and through your blurry visions you saw Harry staring back at you with a soft smile “hey darlin’ can yeh breathe with meh?” you tried to speak but a sob ripped through your throat, you moved forward, crashing into Harry's chest and wrapping your arms around his torso. “hey hey, breathe, in-“ you felt his chest rise, and you swallowed down another sob and took a wobbly breath.

Harry continued to calm you down, soon your breath synchronizing with his “yer doin’ amazing darlin’ now, give me five things yeh can see”

You pulled back slightly from his chest, sniffing as you glanced around “um- locker, window,” a light sob choked you, but Harry just rubbed your back and continued to take deep breathes for you to follow. You glanced down slightly, seeing Harry’s red leather jacket against your shoulder “your jacket, my-my bag, and-and-the school symbol”

“good” Harry cooed, hand running up your back and fingers slipping through your hair, fingers scratching at your scalp comfortably “now name four things yeh can touch”

You looked around again, slowly feeling your body relax, and letting your headrest completely against Harry's chest “wa-water fountain, door handle, vending machine, um-jacket” Harry chuckled at the last one, but nodded.

“amazing love, name three things yeh can hear” you closed your eyes, your lip twitching as you felt your head bump up for a moment.

“your heart” you whispered, not hearing Harrys breath hitch “birds, static”

“a-awesome” Harry sighed, shifting to sit against the wall and pulling you up further into his arms “now, two things yeh can smell”

“metal and leather” you whispered, feeling the grips of the panic attack leaving your body, mentally thanking the gods that Harry had found you.

“good, now, one thing yeh can taste”

You pushed away from Harry’s chest, opening your eyes again and looking around “um-oh! Cookies!” you chirped, leaning up a little as you spotted a bag of Oreos inside the vending machine across the hall.

“amazing job lass, are yeh okay now?” you took a deep breath and looked back at Harry, giving him a tired smile.

“better but” you could still feel the tightness in your chest and your limbs felt like lead “thank you….could you help me to my room? I’m really tired and I need to take a break from everything for a bit”

“of course,” Harry nodded, helping to your feet and grabbing your bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you into his side, letting you take your pace as he helped you to your room.

He glared at anyone you passed by, tightening his grip on your waist and even snapping his teeth at Chad as he sneered at you and Harry together. You were too tired to pay attention to anything though, sighing in relief as your room appeared around the corner. Harry dug your key from your bag and quickly unlocked your room, holding onto your hand tightly as you walked into your room and towards your bed.

He released your hand as your knees hit the edge of your bed and you flopped onto the sheets, blowing out a harsh breath as he ruffled his hair.

“so yeh all good?” he asked again, tilting his head at you, you lifted your head and gave a small nod.

“I will be, thank you, Harry”

He gave a grin and walked over to you, kneeling beside your bed “I've got yer back darlin’ get some rest, and I’ll get yer homework from our classes kay?”

“okay” you whispered, flopping your head back on your bed, feeling your face heat up again as Harry leaned over and pressed a kiss to your head “um-Harry?”

“well talk about it when yer right of head love, see yeh later” he stood and walked out of the room, locking your door and tossing the key on your dresser. He smiled at you and closed the door, his heavy footsteps quickly walking away from your room.

You pressed your fingers gently to the place Harry's lips were moments ago, feeling the heat in your face reaching your ears and stretching down your neck.

‘was-he-a kiss?’ you thought, sitting up and staring at the door. ‘he-wow’

You stared at the door for a moment longer before you kicked off your shoes and just crawled under your covers, smiling as you thought back to his kind words and soft lips.

You closed your eyes and took a couple of deep breaths, forcing down the thoughts that said Harry was only being friendly, you could bear to let yourself dream for a bit.

-

Harry sighed, flipping through the multiple sheets of homework he held in his hands, pursing his lips as he thought back to (y/n), something had set her off to have such an intense panic attack. He was just glad he knew how to calm someone down from it after helping the smee twins through them after so many years.

He looked to his right as Jane passed by him, he reached out grabbing her shoulder, she jumped slightly, looking at him with wide eyes.

“uh, hey Harry? What's up?”

“I came across (y/n) havin’ a panic attack like-two hours ago? Any idea-woah!” Jane’s eyes widened and she grabbed onto his shirt.

“what?! Is she okay? Did-“ Harry quickly covered the girl's mouth.

“she’s fine Jane, she’s in ‘er room now restin’ I just wanted to know if this is a recurring thing or that was the first time it happened”

“recurring” Jane sighed, wrenching Harry's hand from her mouth “she has an anxiety disorder, that’s why she's always so quiet, doesn’t like to draw attention to herself and all that”

Harry furrowed his brows, fixing his bag on his shoulder “ah, is that why she’s all blushy ‘round me then? All those thoughts goin’ wild n stuff?”

“nah” Jane waved her hand nonchalantly “She's just crushing on you….oop didn’t mean to say that!” Jane looked back at him with wide eyes.

A small smile grew on Harry's face “she-she has a crush on meh?”

“I-uh-fudge, yes” Jane sighed, slapping her palm against her forehead “dangit she told me about it in confidence and I just blurt it out like tha-wait!” Harry patted Jane's shoulder with a chuckle and pushed her aside a bit.

“Thanks, Jane~ I gotta go!” Harry took off towards leaving a confused Jane in the hall.

“wait what are you going to do!” Jane yelled, huffing as no response came back “…OH!” Jane squealed, hopping in place. Harry liked (y/n) back! Ohhhh this was going to be so cute!

She had to tell the VK girls, Evie and Dizzy would die!

-

You sighed, smoothing down the front of your oversized hoodie and further curling into a ball on your bed, sporadically clicking the attack button on your gaming device as you fought one of the hardest mini-bosses of the game.

“come one-, die you-gah!” you seethed, cursing as your weapon broke “again?! goddammit!”

“I have’ta say, it’s weird to hear yeh curse darlin’” you screeched, halfway tossing your switch across the room, the device bouncing off your bed and landing on the pile of pillows on the floor.

You looked towards your door, pressing a hand to your chest as you let out a long sigh “Harry! Geez I’m still calming down from earlier, don’t barge in like that!”

Harry winced, closing the door behind him “sorry love, I brought yer homework and some food fer yeh” he held up his bag and a white plastic bag holding a box of food.

“oh” you felt your face heat up as he stepped closer to your bed “thank you”

“no problem darlin’” he purred, setting the bag of food next to you and tossing his bag on your desk. “so~” he started, leaning closer to you with a sly smirk on his face “I heard something really~ interesting on meh way here~”

You rose your brow and flipped open the box of food, humming at the still steaming (preferred lunch).

“little Janey said yer crushin on meh~” your entire body stopped, it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on you “and before yeh freak out with all those thoughts yeh get” he leaned up, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek “it's not one-sided darlin’ “

You felt your brain short circuit, unable to think ANYTHING as you stared at harry. He chuckled softly and gave you a toothy smirk, his eyes crinkling as he looked at you like he never had before. “Cat got yer tongue love?.I’ll let yeh process it all, but just know, I do like yeh back, and I would jump off a cliff sooner than hurt yeh….” He kissed your cheek again and stood, stopping as you suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“um-I-, I just wanted to say it myself” you muttered, tugging him back down to your side “I-I-I” you stuttered, feeling your face heat up as harry smiled at you with that adorable crinkled nose “ilikeyou” you gasped, grabbing his collar and pulling him towards you, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and quickly falling back on your bed, pulling your pillow over your face and screeching into it.

Harry just chuckled and patted your knee “like yeh too darlin’ I’ll see yeh later love, okay?”

You just let out some sort of garbled response into your pillow. “okay, text me if yeh want me ta bring yeh dinner” he quickly took his back, emptied your homework from it, and left the room, locking the door behind him.

You let out a huff as you chucked your pillow at the wall, feeling a grin blooming on your face. You squealed, patting your cheeks to try to make the heat escape from it.

“he likes me back” you breathed, giggled erupting from your chest “he likes me back!!!!!” fits of laughter overtook you as you wiggled happily in your bed “he likes me!!!!”

Harry bit his lip to hide his grin as he listened to your mini-celebration “She's so adorable” he chuckled, fixing his bag and walking off, whistling a little tune as he did so.

-end-

permtaglist

@queer-cosette​ @sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​ @daughter-of-the-stars11​

@musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @imtryingthisout​

@verboetoperee​

[how-masterful]

Remastered

Dhawan!master x reader

Chapter 3.5: New Earth- The Aftermath

Attention! This is a sequel to my original remaster of new earth which you can find HERE!

Summary: The sick are healed. The Sisters of Plenitude are taken in for their crimes. But the master still has one very important person he needs by his side, and an enemy that refuses to die. Also known as “new earth part two- will he catch you if you fall?”.

Notes: somebody Seriously needs to teach me what ‘short means’... because this mini offshoot fic designed to answer the burning fainting question ended up almost as long as the original! once again, dedicated to the glorious living legend known as @plethora-of-imagines​ 👑 feedback is forever appreciated- I hope you all enjoy! 

"And now, Cassandra, it's time to deal with you."

The Master turned towards the woman standing behind him, head over his shoulder. He stood from his crouched position, shoes squeaking on the vinyl hospital floor, shoulders for once relaxed from their taught squared position they'd sat within most of the day. The ward was silent, the glass panelling thankfully one way as the shimmering perspex gave vision to the NNYPD, the New Earth establishment escorting the sisters from the premises. 

The Master scowled at the thought of any sort of authority, shoving his hands into the seemingly bottomless pockets of his purple tweed jacket.

The day had been long enough without yet another arrest on his record.

"Oh, can't you just leave me alone?" Cassandra sighed at the man before you.

"Look at the day we've had! Woohoo, we saved the filthy lab rats, exposed those flea ridden nurses, all had a head full of big face and none of us are dead. Can't we just leave it be, darling?"

The Master shook his head.

"You and I are not exactly exemplary individuals in the eyes of intergalactic law, Cassandra-" the Master spoke, stepping closer towards you. Cassandra folded her arms, avoiding his gaze.

"And this hospital is crawling with officers who would love nothing more than to hand us over to the Judoon and ship us off to the closest Gulag they can find. And I've been in a Gulag on the first earth, so go knows how rough they'd treat you here"

"Then let me go!" Cassandra exclaimed, throwing her hands up at the man.

" Let's part on solid terms, shake hands and promise to never see each other again."

The Master chuckled, causing Cassandra to pause. You looked the timelord up and down, jaw clenched as he rocked on his heels. The last human pursed her lips, confusion rife within her as she fought to keep her composure. She needed answers, as per usual with the Master. The man confused her and slightly excited her to no possible end. But now was not the time for biting tongues and daydreaming.

"And what are you giggling about?"

The timelord quipped his laughter, head tilting towards you as he scratched at the stubble of his beard. He pondered for a moment, pushing back his hair as Cassandra waited for a response.

"It's funny. If this was any other day, any other planet- any other me really, i'd say yes."

The Master slowly began to walk across the empty ward, a languid step in his stride as he started to circle around the woman at his side. Each step was rhythmic, slow and calculated. Cassandra, for the first time in a very long time, felt a chill crawl up your spine. 

"I'd say sure, go ahead. Go wild.  Lets drive off into the sunset with a guilt free conscience and a fabulous story to tell the grandkids, or whatever Poor soul we decide to brag to next time."

His pacing was beginning to make Cassandra uncomfortable. She could feel herself shrinking in with her shoulders, the Masters demeanour growing darker by the second, his smile sick and domineering and his voice dangerously calm. It felt as if you were being circled by a predator, a feral cat waiting in the bushes to strike on the wounded gazelle. 

"But you still have something of mine, Cassandra. Something I most definitely won't be leaving without."

The Master paused, leering towards the frozen woman stood within his prowl. He narrowed his eyes, the silence practically perilous. Cassandra held her breath.

"Leave her body, Cassandra."

His voice was low and quiet, but each word screamed with murderous rage.

"Give my Y/N back to me."

Cassandra knew deep down she wouldn't be able to keep your body. You'd be an enjoyable yet unobtainable fling for a rollicking fun afternoon, like most of the plethora of pretty faces in her incredibly long life. And she also knew the Master would facilitate any method he could for your return.

After all, she'd been inside his head. It was hardly a secret to her now.

But leaving your body would leave her with nothing. Nowhere to go. The effects of the psychograft would enable her to hop from form to form, but in the air she'd be dead in a minute flat.

Cassandra could feel tears welling in your eyes.

"But… I don't want to die!"

The Master knew the feeling all too well. He was hardly a stranger to the theft of a body, the memory of Tremas of Traken vivid in his personality history. He'd enjoyed that stolen face for a long while. A memory: a memento of how he'd once again bested the universe.

But even that didn't make him feel pity for her. He was too focused on his own problem. The Master smirked, casually shrugging his shoulders.

"Nobody does. But that doesn't stop the universe arranging death for us all. It just depends on how smart enough you are to beat it."

Cassandra looked up at the Master with utter bafflement, opening her mouth to construct even a semblance of an argument against the Master.

"Oh, my Mistress!"

A sound the Master and Cassandra hadn't heard in a long time. One in a name, one in opportunity.

The half life boy Chip scurried out of the dark tunnel towards intensive care and into the blinding white of the ward. Scratches and scrapes littered the scrawls already etched into his ghastly white skin, his eyes alit with adoration as he locked eyes with your body.

"Oh Chip, my darling boy you survived!"

Chip preened under your praise, the Master's hand begrudgingly falling to his hip. He decided he seemingly had a problem with gatecrashers during his most pivotal moments.

The half life nodded, baring his palms towards you.

"For you, my Mistress. I kept myself safe for you!"

Cassandra paused, a plan forming rapidly within your brain as she traced her fingertip over the scribbles on Chip's open palms. 

"A body, minus some scrapes, kept safe… For me."

The Master pivoted towards Cassandra, watching the woman intently as she booped the end of her servants nose. Chip giggled, his Mistress following as the timelord stepped forward.

"Cassandra-"

"I worship my Mistress, I'd do anything for my Mistress."

With a confident grin, Cassandra turned to the Master. She gave a smug wink in his direction, pursing her lips to blow him a sarcastic kiss. The Master growled.

"How's this for smart?" Cassandra purred, before ejecting herself from your body towards her willing volunteer.

The piercing shrill returned to your ears, the white sheen of the ward drowning in the sudden pull of the dark. Like a cloth ripped from its tabletop the world fell from under your feet, the mountainous pressure on your skull dissolving into a numb puddle of nothingness. You felt your joints collapse into jelly, the support snatched from within your core as your senses and control of your body finally returned to your mind.

Your knees buckled under the ricocheting weight, the ground preparing to collide with your body.

But the Master got there first.

His left arm flung around your torso, his right palm moving to grasp the back of your head as the oxygen found its way back into your lungs. A gasp escaped you, gravity an enemy the Master refused to let you succumb to. 

In almost an instant the world came back into a hazing view, your lashes blinking weakly against your cheeks as his fingers snaked into your hair. The outline of the Master found its way into recognition, the fuzzy edges of your vision dissipating as he stared down at you with parted lips. He held you almost as if in a dance, your form dipped in a perfect flourishing bow.

"Master" you panted, gazing up at the man before you in amazement. The Time lord smiled, almost ready to let you stand on your own until your feet slipped from under you. However the Master refused to let you move, pulling you up to press tight against his chest as your fingers scrabbled to clutch onto the collar of his jacket.

Your eyes met, a silence falling between you as you caught your breath. Only this silence was caring, an easy sense of comfort between you. The Master's hand cradled the side of your cheek, eyes engulfing every detail of your face. The look in his eyes said everything the silence could and more- He would never let you fall. 

"Easy pet, i've got you."

You didn't doubt him for a second. A stray hair fell onto your face, the Masters fingers pushing it back behind your ear.

"How's your head, love?"

You smirked, pulling his face closer to your own by his jacket.

"I've not heard you complaining yet."

The Master laughed, a genuine smile spreading up his cheeks as you grinned from ear to ear.

"Good girl, there she is. My Y/N."

The distance between your faces disappeared in seconds, the Masters lips connecting with your own as your fingertips walked to cup the back of your Time lords neck. You hummed into the sweet taste of the Masters mouth, the kiss daring to say the words the Master would never give you the satisfaction of hearing. 

'I missed you' permeated his tongue, your mouth teasing his patience as you parted. But the stolen peck you shared afterwards certainly made up for the damage. You returned to the comforting silence, noses lightly bumping as you sent him a doting smile.

"Someone’s feeling sentimental." You teased, biting your lip. The Master tilted his head.

"You're making a habit out of falling for me, love."

“Careful Master, anyone would think you were fond of a human.”

“And we certainly wouldn't want that, would we doll?”

The blush filled giggle escaped you before you could stop it. The Master seemed awfully proud.

“Are you about done?”

Your heads suddenly whipped in the direction of the noise. Strong hands tightened their grip on your torso, the Masters glare narrowing to a steely gaze as the awakened Cassandra's words echoed your own. Chip stood with his hands perched gently on his waist, hip jutted out to the side as he stared you down with complete disdain. You frowned in return, joining the three man standoff as you inched closer to the Masters side. He seemed comforted by the move, hands working their way to position themselves protectively on your back.

“You need to stop this, Cassandra” you said, hand poised upon the Master's chest. His hearts rumbled like thunder under your palm.

“You’ve lived far too long. Life isn't meant to be so artificially stretched and preserved.”

“Neither were my forehead wrinkles darling, but several thousand facelifts later I certainly proved them wrong.”

The Master twitched with suppressed rage. His patience for her condescension was wearing dangerously thin- especially now he had you, the real you, back safe within his arms.

Cassandra smiled triumphantly, flourishing her hands out to the side as if presenting her brand new form. You felt pity in your stomach for poor Chip, the sentiment unable to extend towards the new inhabitant of his body. The satisfaction radiated from Cassandra's stance in droves.

“But now i have a new body! Smart enough to cheat death, smart enough to get out of this wretched hospital and back into the free world, a new woman! You both tried, Master- but neither you nor the doctor could kill me. You’re not the only ones able to keep going, you timelords- and now i feel better than ever, and positively NOTHING can stand in my-”

You watched on in confused shock as the strength in Chips knees vanished, the boy's body twitching and writhing as Cassandra collapsed under her own weight. A scrape and doodle covered hand flung to her chest, blue lips agape in a silent horror as the only noises that escaped were the desperate cracks in her throat. The Masters face was stern, expression unremorseful as Cassandra's chest began to heave. The woman's eyes met your own, and you knew the terror inside her was ripping her to shreds.

“What… i don’t understand… Master-”

“Smart enough to cheat death, are you Cassandra?”

Coldness burned throughout the Masters tone, his hold upon you unrelenting as you watched the cowering woman struggle for breath. You turned to the Master for answers, confusion rife as you scrabbled to figure out what was going on. His thumb softly caressed over your back, gaze unmoving from Cassandra's plight. Then you suddenly realised.

“You were so caught up in your own ego you forgot the limitations of your new body. Chip is a half life. And with the trauma you put him through, he wasn't going to last long.”

“No-”

“You deciding to leave Y/N and enter his body was too much of a shock for his system to handle.”

The Master flicked his wrist up to your eye line, curving his wrist to read the golden clock face that sat upon his wrist.

“I’d say you’ve got around two minutes before his heart stops completely. And you’re too weak to leave him now.”

“How.. what’s happening…”

“You’re past your expiration date.”

You nodded at the Master, his hand returning to rest upon your back as you stared down at Chip’s suffering body. You matched the Master’s narrow glare, a twisted sense of satisfaction within your gut.

“You’re dying, Cassandra. In two minutes you’re going to die.”

“No… no I can't… please, help me…”

The Master gave no reply. You didn't feel the need to dignify her one either. With a gentle push the Master guided you to leave, spinning on your heels as your hand carefully wound its way around his bicep like a cobra. Cassandra let out a panicked whimper, the sound a distant echo and the Master leant into your cheek. A small peck found its way to your temple, mocking bubbling under the surface of his lips as the choked cries of the last human melted into the garish white walls of the new earth hospital ward. The last thing Cassandra ever saw was the distant vanishing of her most resented shock of purple tweed, a strangled beg for mercy the last words ever spoken by the woman who lived far too long. 

The walk back to the TARDIS felt solemn. Death was familiar, a sight you encountered every day. But this felt different. A new breed of melancholy sat inside your chest. Cassandra had been so desperate to be loved, to live forever and never grow old or die. But you just turned your back on her as she died alone in a crime scene of her own design, taking the half life with her. You couldn't imagine how it felt to die with somebody else inside your head. You thought you were going to die earlier, when she’d first stepped inside your head. But you knew the man beside you would never let you die.

The Masters thumb cupped your chin, turning your face to meet his curious eyes. You were standing outside the doors of the TARDIS. You must have zoned out.

“I can hear the cogs turning, love. Talk to Master.”

You let out a sigh, falling into the Masters arms. He held you tight to his chest, enveloping you in an embrace that would be offered to no other being in the universe. 

“I missed you. That’s all.” you offered, resting your head upon the timelords shoulder.

“Never let anyone do that to you ever again. And that goes for kissing you and body snatching.”

The Master cupped your chin with his hand now, thumb brushing over your bottom lip as he sent you an endearing smile. But his eyes shone with mischief.

“Wouldn't dream of it, darling!” he clamoured, voice thick with the poshest, most refined accent he could muster.

Your elbow swiftly found its way to the Master’s rib, his barking laugh still audible as the TARDIS doors slammed shut on New New York.

[albertpops]

Ace Sex

I laugh:

Would you knock it off? 

I can’t tell if you’re being serious

with the way you’re comically

bumping your hips against me, 

while I put the dishes away. 

You say “oh babe”

like a nineteen-thirties radio host, 

every third thrust, and I have to catch myself

from hitting my nose on the cabinets

and it’s sweet and endearing how

you like to make me laugh. 

.

Oh, you actually want to?

Okay, I guess. Oh, I mean-- No, no, 

It’s not a problem, I mean-- 

I don’t mind, I mean-- 

I could, I mean-- 

I want to, too. 

.

No, it’s not that I’m not attracted to you, you know that.

I think we have different experiences with attraction.

Attraction is when I hold your kissable cheeks in my hands

and nuzzle my nose with yours. It’s when you’re working from home, 

and I stand behind you and braid your long dark hair

until you’re adorned with every twisty in the house. 

It’s when you bring me apple slices and a black coffee

while I do my graduate course work, then collapse next to me

on the couch, leaning, with as much contact as possible. 

It’s when I fall asleep in your lap, watching Love Island, 

you stroke my arm and think,

This girl has everything she needs.

.

I kiss you and my heart flutters 

I try not to smile, because it’s hard 

to kiss and smile at the same time. 

Our lips disconnect. 

.

You bite the cable of muscle in my neck, 

I’m not sure where to look, so I close my eyes, 

holding back a laugh. 

It feels like the “aaaa!” when the plot thickens, 

or the highest point on the rollercoaster, 

when you unwittingly look down. 

.

I ask if we can take it to bed. 

You ask, “Are you sure?” 

and “are you okay with that?” 

while eagerly vibrating. 

you’re like the kid on Christmas morning, 

banned to the top of the stairs until I disable the house alarm

and holler, “Looks like someone came!” 

I spread my hands in benediction and say, “my love,

I am consenting.” which is different than saying, “I want you.”

You slap my ass on the way to bed, 

and doesn’t see me roll my eyes. 

.

Writing about sex is almost exactly like

writing out a recipe for biscuits, 

and I’ve never really had an excuse to make biscuits.

I know other people love biscuits and love to make them 

but I don’t see what’s so super special about

one cup of flour and, however much salt, and, wait, 

baking powder, or soda? Well. We’ll see what happens. 

And sometimes spices, if you feel like it. 

Other people seem to feel like it. 

Because for me, it’s not about the biscuits, I don’t care

about the actual biscuits, I care

about the person I’m with-- you, only--

and if you’re happy, 

your smile, the indicator. The mess, collateral. 

I like the time spent. 

I like the little exchanges, the rare sides of us that interact. 

I like the joy of making something. 

.

Oh, you’re really into this. 

I guess my thoughts had wandered. 

You whisper something I don't hear, which is okay, 

because we have different experiences with attraction

and I’d rather think your thoughts, 

and build our narrative in a way that I can tweak and edit,

than hear something that would shatter that illusion, 

and strike any splinters of fear into me. 

I say “one cup of flour”

and you say “oh, babe.” 

I say “teaspoon of salt.” 

and you say “you’re so good to me.” 

I say “powder or soda?”

and you say “whatever you’re comfortable with.” 

.

I wonder why peanuts grow underground, like beets. 

But beets are just beets through and through, 

while peanuts have a shell, and the good part, inside. 

I wonder why cherries grow in twos, sometimes threes. 

and why their seeds contain cyanide, 

Apple seeds have arsenic, I think. Just a trace. 

I wonder why soap is labelled “orange blossom” 

instead of just “orange,” and why

it doesn’t taste like either when he puts his finger in my mouth. 

I guess “orange” is too Trader Joes

but “orange blossom” is more Trader Jacques

but I still don’t see why that matters. 

“Orange” reminds me of the soda, and summers at my Grandma’s house. 

Swimming with my siblings and cousins, and that hot black driveway. 

“Orange blossom” is a life I’ll never live in the south of France, 

but I don’t know a lot about the south of France, so maybe Spain, 

if oranges blossom in Spain. I should know more about Spain

Seeing as I was a Spanish minor in college but it was mostly 

Central and South American Spanish, and I don’t know

if oranges blossom there, either. 

Maybe I know enough about Spanish-speaking countries, 

I just don’t know enough about oranges. 

I’ll look it up after this. 

I wonder if I have an attention deficit. 

My brother has an attention deficit, 

but I don’t want to think about my brother right now. 

I wonder why, almost every time, I get a song stuck in my head. 

This time it’s “Funkytown,” and I try not to laugh. 

(boop-boop beep boop boop. beep boop-boop beep-boop). 

I wonder when was the last time I watched Shrek 2. 

The phrase “having shreks” flashes through my mind,

and I laugh, but pass it off as something else. 

.

You nod, and your eyebrows squeeze

tighter together. You say, 

“I want you to finish.” 

and I know it would make you happy, 

so I focus my thoughts inward, 

into my body instead of my mind

and put a timer on the biscuits. 

.

Your long dark hair flops around,

and I hold it out of your face because that’s a nice thing to do, 

I think, and I see all of you. 

Your big dark eyes, muted, and earnest. 

Your soft cheeks with their constellations of acne. 

The shades of his scruff, from amber to black. 

A tablespoon of sugar, 

but your heavy handed, 

and sharp chime: 

Ding. 

[zukoskataraa]

a day at the vet

hey guys! it’s been so long since i last made a fic omg hope you all like this! this may or may not have a continuation, depending on the feedback hehe. also, it turned out longer than i had planned. but nonetheless, enjoy!

ps: client refers to the owner, while patient refers to the pet

vet!zuko and client!katara

“I’ll see you guys in two weeks. And remember, no baths for Momo here for two days. You can go and pay at the desk.” Zuko says, smiling at Mai, his client. Zuko grabbed the clipboard from the table and gave Momo a quick boop on the nose, heading towards the door. The restrainer headed out first, leaving the two of them behind.

“Will do. Thank you, Doctor.” Mai replies, smiling. Zuko sensed that she had something else to say. “Um, I know this is kind of inappropriate, but would you like to go out for dinner soon? Y-You don’t have to say yes, Doctor. It’s just, you’re really sweet and kind. So, uh, I was just wondering.” Mai asks, avoiding Zuko’s gaze. 

“Mai, I’m sorry, but I make it a point to not go out with my clients. I appreciate the offer, though. Thank you.” Zuko smiles as he walks out of the room. He sighed as he walked towards the front desk, footsteps echoing in the dimly-lit hallway. He grabbed his pen from the front pocket of his lab coat, humming.

Zuko was 26 years old, and he was single. Which was something that almost every client tried to take advantage of when they knew that he wasn’t in a relationship. His clients asked him out on dates, and he would decline every single one of them. He maintained his professionalism, which was something he liked about himself. The next time he would see the clients that asked him out - be it during their pet’s next check-up or outside of work - neither he nor the client would bring up the awkward conversation. Zuko never got mad or annoyed at his clients’ questions, in fact he was flattered. 

“Hey, Suki.” He greeted the receptionist. He smiled at Aang who was talking to a client in the waiting room, and gave a small wave. Aang and the client waved back. “Slow day today, huh?”

“Yup, but it’s still 11, so who knows.” Suki said,  Zuko nodded, signing a form.

“That’s true. So, Momo in room 1 had his rabies vaccine and deworming today along with his check-up.” Zuko said. Suki smiled while typing the information Zuko told her into the computer.

 “Your next patient is Appa in room 5.” Suki says and Zuko smiles. Appa was one of Zuko’s favorite patients. But Appa’s owner on the other hand, was not his favorite client.

“Just a check-up for Appa today?” Zuko asked. Suki hummed and nodded. “Okay, thanks.” Zuko grabbed a clipboard with the clinic form, turned back and headed towards his next patient, almost bumping into Mai who was on her way out.

“Oh, sorry Doctor Zuko.” Mai said, still avoiding Zuko’s gaze.

“It’s alright. No harm done.” He said as he walked to room 5. He opened the door and was shocked at who he saw. Sitting on a chair was his highschool sweetheart. She had long and wavy chocolate brown hair, caramel brown skin and ocean blue eyes - without a doubt, it was her.

“Katara?” Zuko asked, closing the door. Katara smiled, despite being surprised, and Zuko was reminded of the old days when they were in high school. Zuko saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

“Oh, hi Zuko. I mean, Doctor Zuko.” She said. The old lovers were too busy staring at each other, not noticing when Appa suddenly jumped up on Zuko, almost making him fall. Zuko chuckled as he petted the energetic dog. “Oh my god! Appa, down!” Katara stood up, grabbing the Golden Retriever’s leash and gently tugging on it. The dog gets off of Zuko, sitting down as he looks up at the doctor. “Sorry about that. I think he likes you.”

“No worries, I like him too. Plus, he’s a gentle giant. But it seems that he’s gotten heavier since he last came here.” Zuko says, smiling at Katara. “Where is Appa’s owner though? I-I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Kat. Katara. But I have to say, it is a nice surprise.” Zuko says, and Katara smiled at the nickname that rolled off Zuko’s tongue a numerous amount of times back in high school.

“I also wasn’t expecting to see you. But it is nice to see you.” She said truthfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Zuko is reminded of how he used to tuck Katara’s hair behind her ear, right before he would give her a kiss. “I’m just doing this as a favor. Jet, Appa’s owner, is a, uh, friend of mine.” She explained.

“Just a friend?” Zuko asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice, and Katara looked at him. Gentle, blue eyes stared into intense, brown ones. “Ah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t ask about your personal life.” He said, looking at the form in his hand to distract himself. “I’ll call a restrainer. One sec.” Zuko places the clipboard on a table and walks outside the door, closing it behind him as he sighed. He walked towards the front desk, leaning close to Suki.

“Hey, do you think Aang or Toph could examine Appa for me today?” Zuko asks, voice almost a whisper.

“Why? Is there something wrong? Aang left to buy some lunch and Toph is doing an emergency C-section right now with Ty.” Suki asks.

“Well, it’s just that his owner isn’t here. It’s the owner’s... friend that brought Appa.” Zuko explains.

“Well, that’s weird. I thought that the pretty girl was his owner’s girlfriend.” Suki said, and Zuko clenched his jaw, which didn’t go unnoticed by Suki. “But, you’re Appa’s doctor. And you already went inside the room, right? It’d be weird if you just suddenly disappeared.” Suki says and Zuko sighs.

“Yeah, you’re right. Could I get 2 restrainers for Appa? He’s a big boy.” Zuko says and Suki nods, gesturing to the two employees in the waiting area.

“Right away, Doctor.” She says, giving him a wink. He chuckles and walks back to Katara and Appa with the restrainers behind him.

“Hey, I’m back.” Zuko announces as he opens the door. Appa barks, tail rapidly wagging side to side. Zuko smiles as he pets the dog. “Hey there, buddy.” He steps to the side, grabbing the clipboard. The two restrainers come in, and Katara greets them with a ‘Good morning’ and a friendly smile. Zuko smiles, she was as kind as ever.

“Kat, I mean Katara,  you can give them the leash. They’ll hoist Appa up on the table.” Zuko says. 

“O-Oh, yes. Of course.” Katara says and she gives the leash to one of the restrainers. She heads over to Zuko, standing beside him. Her arm lightly brushes over his, and Zuko raises an eyebrow but doesn’t say a word.

“Be careful guys.” Zuko says to the two employees as they gently put Appa on the examination table. Appa barks once he’s on the table, and Katara giggles, petting his head. “Alright, I’ll start the examination in a bit. But I’m gonna do some history taking first.” Zuko says as he grabs the clipboard.

“Okay, yeah. Seems easy.” Katara says, looking at Zuko. Zuko looks at her, giving her a small smile.

“I take it this is your first time at the vet, Katara? I mean, you were pretty scared of dogs back then.” Zuko says and Katara giggles.

“Yes, this is my first time at the vet, Doctor Zuko.” Katara says, emphasizing his title. “And Appa here is an exception. He’s a good boy and I’d do anything for him.” 

“You’ll need to be as honest as possible when you answer the questions, okay?” Zuko says, and Katara pokes his biceps, making him chuckle. Katara smiles, not expecting to feel that much muscle. 

“I’m not a kid, Doctor. I know how to answer questions when it comes to taking the patient’s history.” Katara says and Zuko smiles, nodding. Zuko’s questions range from the basic ones to the more complicated ones, and Katara answers each question precisely and correctly - or that’s what Zuko likes to think. Because clients lie all the time.

“Well, looks like Appa is as healthy as ever.” Zuko says, writing something on the form. Katara tries to sneak a peek, leaning close. Zuko chuckles, tucking the clipboard close to his chest. Katara looks up at him and smiles. Their faces were a few inches apart, and Zuko holds his breath. 

“Sorry. Just got curious.” She says, leaning away. Zuko smiles, awkwardly patting her shoulder.

“It’s alright. Now that I’m done with the history taking, it’s time for the physical exam.” Zuko says, and Appa barks. 

“It’ll be okay, Appa. Doctor Zuko is gonna take good care of you” She says in a soothing tone and Zuko smiles. Her voice was always nice to listen to. Zuko puts the clipboard on the table, and places his pen in the pocket of his lab coat. Zuko reaches over behind Katara, to grab some gloves. Katara freezes when she notices that Zuko is close to her - very close; Zuko’s lips almost touch Katara’s ear, his free hand lightly brushing against hers. He chuckles as he leans away and puts on his gloves. Katara lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and Zuko glances at her, smirking.

“I don’t mean to sound rude or unprofessional, but you two look like a couple.” One of the restrainers says, and his partner nudges him. “I-I mean, you two look good together.” He says and his partner shakes his head in embarrassment. Katara blushes and Zuko smiles.

“Well, we actually dated back in highschool.” Zuko says, starting the physical exam on Appa by examining his mouth and teeth.

“I-It was a long time ago.” Katara says, staring at the ground. She would be lying if she said that Zuko wasn’t a great boyfriend. Because he was. The best, in fact. “We, uh, we dated for 3 years.” Katara says and Zuko nods, checking Appa’s ears.

“We were together from sophomore year to senior year.” Zuko continues, grabbing his stethoscope. “Hold him steady.” He tells the restrainers, placing the diaphragm of the stethoscope on Appa’s chest. There’s a short silence in the room as Zuko counts Appa’s respiratory rate. Zuko nods and removes his stethoscope, placing it around his neck. He grabs his pen, writing down the information on the form.

“Were you guys the perfect couple?” The other restrainer asks, her interest piqued. Zuko smiles, looking at Katara - who was now blushing. “A-And why did you guys break up?”

“Well, there’s no perfect couple.” Katara says, looking up at Zuko. Familiar blue eyes meet brown ones, a twinkle in both their eyes.

“We fought, sure.” Zuko says, looking away as he continued examining Appa. Katara looks at the restrainers, both of them intently looking at Zuko. “But who doesn’t fight, right? So yeah, we fought. And we made up. That’s life. That’s how a relationship goes. And well, we broke up because we both wanted different things in life. But we ended things on good terms. We just, uh, never made it a point to contact each other after that.” Zuko says.

“You’re a love guru now, Doctor Zuko?” Katara asks, teasing. The restrainers laugh while Zuko shakes his head, chuckling.

“I have a degree in veterinary medicine, Katara. I don’t know anything about love, only animals.” Zuko says, grabbing a thermometer from the drawer. “Could you make him stand up.” Zuko says to the restrainers. Zuko lubricates the thermometer, as one restrainer carefully holds Appa’s head and upper half of his body, the other the lower half of his body. “Okay, buddy. This might be a little cold.” He says, rubbing Appa’s neck to distract him. “Hold him still, okay? He hates when I take his temperature.” Zuko says as he inserts the thermometer into Appa. Appa moves and tries to get out of the restrainers’ grips. 

“I-Is he usually like that?” Katara asks, arms folded across her chest. Zuko nods.

“Yeah, he can get a bit aggressive during this part. Other dogs may yelp, sure. But Appa is different.” Zuko explains, holding the thermometer. “But then again, I wouldn’t want a thermometer up my butt either.” He jokes and Katara laughs. The thermometer beeps a few seconds later, and Zuko takes it out, disinfecting it and wiping it as he records Appa’s temperature.

“Well, everything seems great. Appa is-” Zuko talks, but is cut off by the door opening to reveal Appa’s owner, Jet. Appa gets excited, barking and wagging his tail. The restrainers hold him carefully, so he doesn’t fall off the table.

“Ah, hello Doctor. Hello, my love.” Jet greets as he walks in the room, giving Katara a peck on the cheek. 

“Jet! I-I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” Katara says, putting on a fake smile. Zuko grits his teeth when Jet wraps his arm around Katara.

“Well, my meeting ended early. And I thought that we could have lunch at the park after this.” Jet says and Katara looks at Zuko, silently asking for help. He nods, coughing.

“As I was saying,” Zuko says, and Katara smiles. “Appa is healthy. However, he needs to go on a diet. How many times do you feed him in one day?”

“Three times.” The couple answers in unison and Zuko nods.

“Make it two times a day. Breakfast and dinner. He can have treats, but don’t overdo it.” Zuko says, writing something into the form.

“Two times a day? That’s rough, buddy.” Katara says, petting Appa. Zuko smiles.

“Other than him having to go on a diet, he seems healthy. His next deworming will be… three weeks from now.” Zuko says, checking Appa’s old form. Jet sighs, clearly bored. This is why Zuko hated Jet. “You guys can put him down now.” Zuko tells the restrainers, and they do. Appa walks to Jet, and he gives the dog a quick scratch. Zuko nods to the restrainers, and they take that as their cue to leave.

“I-Is that it, Doctor?” Katara asks, and Zuko nods.

“Yes. You may also give him vitamins, which are available at the front desk.” Zuko says. 

“Babe, why don’t you take Appa and pay at the front?” Katara tells Jet and he nods.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll wait for you. Thanks, Doc.” Jet says as he grabs Appa’s leash and walks out the door. There’s an awkward silence between the old lovers.

“So… just a friend, huh?” Zuko says, raising an eyebrow and Katara shrugs.

“No, not a friend. We’re dating.” Katara says, sitting down. Zuko looks at her, leaning on a wall.

“And are you happy?” Zuko asks, concern in his voice.

“Y-Yes, I am. Just… Oh my god, this is gonna be so embarrassing.” Katara says, avoiding Zuko’s gaze.

“What? You can tell me, Kat.” Zuko says.

“I was happier when I was with you. All the guys I’ve dated ever since we broke up… None of them compare to you.” Katara says, scoffing. “See? Embarrassing.” Zuko crouches down in front of Katara, looking at her. Her eyes resembled the ocean, that’s what Zuko always thought of. Zuko places his hands on her thighs, giving them a small squeeze.

“It’s not embarrassing. Thank you, for telling me.” Zuko’s voice was calm and gentle. “Who would have thought that we’d reunite here at work?” He jokes and Katara giggles.

“I miss you, Zuko.” Katara confesses, her voice almost a whisper. Zuko sighs, standing up. “I’m so pathetic. One look at you and suddenly I forget that I have a boyfriend.”

“Don’t worry, every client seems to forget they have a boyfriend when they see me.” Zuko says, lightening the mood.

“Your girlfriend must get jealous, huh?” Katara asks and Zuko shakes his head.

“I’m single, Kat.” Zuko admits and Katara widens her eyes.

“No way, you’re joking! You’re too hot to be single!” Katara says and Zuko chuckles. “Okay, forget the last part. But seriously, are you still single?”

“Yes, I really am still single.” There’s a moment of silence, neither of them knowing what to say next.

“I should get going.” Katara says, standing up. Zuko nods. She looks up at him, smiling. “We should grab a coffee sometime. You know, catch up. How does that sound?”

“I normally don’t go out with clients. But technically, you aren’t my client, your boyfriend is. So, that sounds wonderful, Katara. I’m free on Friday.” Zuko smiles. Katara nods and grabs a pen and paper from her bag, quickly writing her number. She slips the paper into the pocket of Zuko’s lab coat, earning a chuckle from the doctor. “Before you go, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Doctor?” Katara asks. Zuko takes a deep breath.

“You were my first love. And you always will be. And you’re also the one that got away. I know you have a boyfriend, but if there’s even the slightest chance that we can start over, I would really like that. Because not a day goes by that I don’t think about you, Katara.” Zuko says, his voice sincere. Katara smiles, putting her hand on his cheek.

“Coffee first?” She asks and Zuko chuckles.

“Yes, coffee first.” Zuko says, smiling. Katara nods as she walks towards the door. “Wait, Katara.” Zuko says, his back facing the door.

“Yeah?” She asks, looking back.

“I miss you too.” Zuko says. Katara smiles as she opens the door and walks out. Friday couldn’t come faster.

-

masterlist

ao3: zukoskataraa 

[milkypompon]

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟜 | ℙ𝕦𝕗𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕔 𝔻𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟 Zuko x Reader

*+:｡.｡𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕒 ℍ𝕠𝕥 𝕊𝕚𝕗𝕦 ℍ𝕠𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕟｡.｡:+*

ℤ𝕦𝕜𝕠 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

< ℙℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕆𝕌𝕊 || ℕ𝔼𝕏𝕋 >

𝕄𝔸𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕂

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | Aang and Y/N are siblings who share powers, but Y/N was hidden from the Four Nation’s eyes to avoid the possibility of their separation. Then, Zuko meets the flamboyant and flirtatious Y/N for the first time at the Western Air Temple where he attempts to join the tight-knit Gaang. 

[ℙℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕆𝕌𝕊𝕃𝕐]

Zuko flopped over to fully face Y/N and grasped their wrist with a strong grip. Y/N was caught off guard, yelping as he yanked it close to his chest. Their faces hovered over each other’s, noses just inches apart.

[ℙℝ𝔼𝕊𝔼ℕ𝕋 𝕋𝕀𝕄𝔼]

The fast pace of shuffling shoes from outside the bedroom reached Zuko’s ears, causing him to loosen the grip on Y/N’s wrist. To his surprise, they didn’t pull away. Their eyes still hovered over his, holding their gaze as unspoken truths were laid out before them. The golden irises of Zuko reflected the morning light coming in from the carved window. A look that undoubtedly made Y/N want to shrink away. 

Y/N could feel Zuko’s pulsating heartbeat beneath the hand they placed firmly over his chest to steady themself from the dizzying feeling that he casted over them. Y/N’s breath picked up, tickling his eyelashes. 

Zuko wanted to blink and look away from the rising embarrassment, but he couldn’t bring himself to. His gaze fluttered down to Y/N’s soft lips, slightly agape. With a gentle hand, he smoothened the pad of his thumb over their chin. Allowing himself to feel the bare skin that warmed up his fingers.

Y/N felt a tug on the nape of their neck, an invitation for something forbidden, but never will be forgotten. He pulled them down gently, giving Y/N time to pull away if they wanted to. There was not a single hint of refusal or denial, allowing them to feel a sensation of a new yet familiar warmth that washed over their lips. 

The contact emitted a gentle flickering flame, slowly but surely trickling through every part of their shared sensation. A gentle push and pull that drew out between their lips. A swirling feeling that made the thoughts of tomorrow a haze, only concentrating on today. 

Only feeling the excitement of their beating hearts right now.

A deep hue sprinkled over Y/N’s cheeks, relentlessly growing darker as they pressed on a little longer. Their warm hand hovered over Zuko’s cheek, unsure if he wanted their touch. He pressed it down quietly giggling to himself.

For someone so cocky and flirty, who knew this would be their first kiss? Zuko thought. 

“Ooo! Y/N’s getting some-” Sokka squealed. “Ow! Hey, let go!”

With a face contorted in annoyance, Katara dragged in Sokka by the ear. A vice grip that threatened to pull off a part of him. 

Y/N, with a flustered face, stumbled as Zuko shoved them forward a little too hard. He slammed his head down onto the pillow and drew the thinning blanket over his reddening face.

Y/N cleared their throat, refusing to meet their gaze. 

“So-” They dwindled their thumbs, attempting to avert their attention from the scene they just walked into.

Katara pinched the bridge of her nose, “THE ONE THING I ASK OF YOU!”

Y/N took sudden interest to the cracking concrete. “You didn’t blatantly say to not kiss Zuko…”

Sokka snorted quietly, earning a twist to the ear from his sister. Y/N glared at him now only realizing who the fucking tattle-tale was. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.

“Bitch,” Y/N mouthed.

Sokka stuck his tongue out in return. 

“Anyways! Where’s Toph and Aang?”

Two pairs of shuffling feet made their way to the rest of the Gaang. The pair’s chests heaved as if they’d been trying to catch up with a furious looking Katara and horror-stricken Sokka.

Toph rested her hand on the bedroom opening, Aang gripping her shoulder to balance his swirling head.

“Present!” Toph shouted. Aang hummed in approval.

“Y/N, don’t try to change the subject!” Katara let go of Sokka, who rubbed his reddening ear.

Zuko allowed everything to play out, a pang of guilt hit him as he realized that he was still under the sheet, allowing Y/N to take the embarrassment head on. He admired this about them, despite the consequences, their mind is only set on finding a way out of a situation that was getting out of hand. But, to Zuko’s dismay, he was partially responsible for this.

He peeped his eyes out. 

Aang caught the nervous look in them. He jutted his thumb behind him.

Zuko’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Leave while you still can!” Aang whispered a little too loudly. Katara whipped his head back to glare at him, giving her an apologetic smile.

“Good job, Twinkle-Toes,” Toph hissed and elbowed his stomach.

Zuko couldn’t take the suffocating tension, more so awkwardness hanging about in the air. 

He cleared his throat. “Well, now that everyone is here…”

Y/N took a few careful steps back, already knowing the reaction of the Gaang .

“I won’t be much help to the Avatar,” He finished.

Toph pointed up a finger. “Correction, Avatars” 

The room stood still, everyone was stunned from the reveal.

Zuko propped himself up, slowly sitting. “H-Huh?”

Toph shrugged her shoulders. “He was gonna find out eventually and plus, I thought he already realized that after yesterday.” 

He swung his legs down to the floor to stabilize himself. He looked around him, finally resting his gaze over to Y/N’s tilted head. 

“C-Could someone fill me in?”

Y/N clasped their hands behind them and made their way to Zuko whose face was buried in his palms.

“Well, fellow hotman.” Y/N plucked a stray piece of Zuko’s black locks and tucked it behind his ear. He looked up and was met with the annoyingly confident smirk that they always held around him. 

“While you were out cold, or should I say hot because fire was surrounding you… Aang and I went into the Avatar state.”

His eyebrows furrowed deeply. “But how-”

Y/N put their pointer finger against Zuko’s lips. “Ssh, ssh. Listen!”

“Because I am the second Avatar!” Y/N pressed their nose to Zuko’s. A small boop!, accompanied by a giggle escaped their lips.

He leaned back and clawed his nose. “A lifetime with two… How is that even possible?”

Y/N formed a circle with one hand and a pointer finger with the other. “Well, when you have a female and male-”

Aang interrupted, “OKAY! What did you have to tell us?” He pushed his way through the door and stood next to his sibling.

For once, Zuko felt small under his gaze. Aang did so with no intention to intimidate him, but after all that the Fire Prince has done to them, he least he could do was show them the art of the uncontrollable. But now, for the first time, he had no direction in his life.

Zuko started off with a more or less steady royal life. He was treated with respect by the utmost powerful leaders of the nations to the lowly peasants that traversed through the streets of Ba Sing Se. Then, off he went to capture the Avatar for his father. A jaw-clenching chore that made him into the fool he was today. Easily swayed by the emotions he propelled himself. Zuko was bent this way and that by the people around him.

The only time he fully trusted his emotions in the hands of another was with Uncle Iroh. A respectable man who he wished he could call his own Father. Iroh became a mediator between Zuko’s outburst of emotions and the things he desired most.

And at this moment, he wanted, no, needed the feeling of being loved and return it.

By Y/N.

Zuko gulped, struggling to the find the right words to relay an unnerving message,

“The so-called firebender can’t bend his own shit! Puff the Magic Dragon could destroy more than Zuko can at this rate,” Sokka pipped up.

Katara gasped, “EVEN AFTER YESTERDAY?”

Zuko groaned and placed his face down into his palms once again, “Can everyone stop referring to YESTERDAY? All of you are saying it as if I remember!”

Everyone became silent, save for a few defeated sighs.

Zuko felt the mattress dip under him, he craned his neck to the side to see Y/N’s eyes suddenly perk up with delight.

“SOKKA’S RIGHT!” Y/N shouted.

“Wow, Y/N. Event that’s a little too mean for me,” Sokka’s eyebrows shot up.

Toph caught on. “No, no, listen. Zuko needs to go back to the original source of firebending.”

Zuko muttered under his breath, “Dragons.”

Y/N smirks and bumped his shoulders with him. 

“Hot and smart.”

𝔼𝕟𝕕 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | WE BOUTTA GET SOME ACTION IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. (Not like that ya nasties...)

DISCONTINUED SERIES

【ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 𝕆ℕ 𝔸 𝕋𝔸𝔾𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕋ℍℝ𝕌 𝕄𝕐 𝕀ℕ𝔹𝕆𝕏】

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[infernalrevenge]

Extra Ordinary

Fandom: Choices - Foreign Affairs

Pairing: F!Blaine Hayes x M!MC (Magnus Quezon)

Rating: G

Summary: Blaine and Magnus sneak off to a traveling fair.

Notes: Inspired by a message from @i-cant-think-of-a-name-15 wherein he told me I could write about "a purple panda visiting Vancross" and he'd still read about it, so I was minorly inspired. This is much longer than what I've written and posted here so far, so fair warning on that.

----------

"A fair?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow at Dionne, who clutched her phone as she showed him her text messages from Blaine.

"Yeah, she said she got tickets the other day, arranged for you two to go, and everything! It's only in town for a week, and tonight's the last night before they pack everything up the next day."

Before he could even object -- the thought of everyone still breathing down his neck about the scandal and cleaning up his image still weighing heavily on his mind -- she interrupted, "You don't have any classes tomorrow, you’re free, and you need the break! Plus it'll be so romantic, just you and Blaine--"

"And our bodyguards."

"--Having the time of your lives at a fair! Come on, it'll be fun, Magnus! Like you're gonna say no to her."

Okay, she's got him there.

It only took a little bit of pleading to get Tatum to agree to his antics this time, rolling his eyes as if he was used to it at that point. Nevertheless, he escorted the First Son to the pier where the fair grounds were, dressed as casually and inconspicuously as possible.

Magnus adjusted his sunglasses and beanie, glancing behind him to see if his bodyguard was right behind, only to find him gone. He did say he was just going to keep a "respectable distance", but it didn't make him any less nervous being out and about like this. It wasn't that he didn't trust his date to show up, it was that he was worried that she would and so would the paparazzi. They haven't exactly relented on their quest to squeeze out every juicy detail of his story.

He tried to scan the crowd for any sign of Blaine, only to be suddenly grabbed by the arm. He stumbled back in surprise, accidentally bumping into a mother with her kids. "Sorry sorry, I'm so sorry miss!" he quickly apologized, but the lady left in a huff, and he found himself face to face with none other than the mastermind of this operation.

"Geez, I forgot how you scared so easily. Sorry about that," Blaine remarked, clearly amused. Magnus could only roll his eyes, but was nonetheless relieved to find her -- or rather, have her find him.

He had to admire her insistence on the whole plan, and the fact that she had a plan in the first place. Of course, they couldn't get away from their bodyguards and had to effectively hide any prominent features of theirs to avoid being recognized, but hey, he would take any excuse to be with her.

"We've got a lot of ground to cover if we wanna make the most of this place," Blaine said. They made their way inside hand in hand.

"I'm starting to feel bad, leaving you with all the work of planning out covert dates. I should return the favor some time," Magnus said with a small laugh, taking in the sights and smells around him. The sun was beating down on every head present, hung up on a bright blue sky. It was quite crowded, which was a security concern, but it also meant it would be harder for untrained eyes to spot them in the sea of faces. Still, it had him a bit on edge.

"Looking forward to whatever you've got cooking up there, Rutherland. I'm sure you can think of something." Blaine looked up at the rides, the screams of its passengers intriguing her to give the experience a shot. It would also help to distract Magnus, as she noticed he was rather tense. "Where do you wanna go first?"

Magnus wasn't always the type to try to impress a date, but he might have been pushing it a little when he suggested an octopus ride. "I've never ridden one before. My mom always said they would break and the cart I'd be in would fly off."

It felt that way as soon as the ride started too. Magnus held onto the safety bar in front of them for dear life, his insides doing massive flips with every rotation. It was very thrilling, but it was also a strangely ticklish sensation that had him laughing and screaming the whole time. Blaine was having the time of her life, on the other hand, raising both arms in the air at multiple points as she whooped and jokingly yelled for it to go faster. Their excited screams blended in with the cacophony of the other riders, and somehow, that made the First Son feel the most normal he had since the day started.

If you were to ask him, Magnus would deny how his hands were shaking as they got off the ride, remnants of that thrill and momentary terror still running through his body. But it helped to have Blaine take both his hands and encouraged him to breathe deeply instead of the usual teasing he expected from her.

"Do you go on octopus rides often?" he asked, sucking in another breath before exhaling slowly.

"I'm actually more of a lazy river kind o' girl, but I love the adrenaline rush anyway," she casually replied, trying her best to ground him and calm his racing heart and stomach.

The two of them decided to eat some snacks as a substitute for lunch, settling for corn dogs, cotton candy, and watermelon slices. Along the way, Magnus spotted a giant panda stuffed toy in one of the game booths, its usual black patches replaced with a bright purple. Blaine followed his distracted gaze and giggled, trying to get his attention. “See something you like?”

The Rutherlandian chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I, uh... it’s a giant panda, kinda hard to miss.” He was trying his best not to seem too obvious about his curiosity and desire to have it. However, after passing by the same booth a few more times as they explored the grounds, with his attention inevitably drifting to the toy, Blaine took him there herself to see if she can win it for him.

“You don’t have to--”

“Just let me do this for you. Besides, not like you can keep your eyes off of it.”

A laugh escaped him, “Are you telling me you’re jealous of a stuffed toy panda now?”

“I’m literally gonna win it for you, Rutherland, I am the farthest from being jealous. I promise by the end of the night, you'll be one panda richer.”

Basketball was the name of the game -- all she had to do was sink three shots in a row through the hoop across. Simple enough, if only she weren’t so far away from behind the starting line. Every time she threw the ball and watched it soar through the air, it was always just a few feet shy of the goal. By the time Blaine was on her sixth total attempt, she was just slamming the cash on the counter in frustration to pay for more chances, which the manager gladly accepted each time.

Magnus tried to get her to stop, insisting that it was fine and she didn’t need to waste so much money on a game “that was clearly rigged anyway.”

“Hey, I promised I’d get you that, and goddammit you are gonna get it!” she stubbornly replied, setting down another two dollars. This time though, she took a pause to rest and re-think her strategy.

Blaine furrowed her eyebrows, her focus alternating between the ball and the hoop, until an idea struck her. A wide mischievous smirk appeared on her face as she pinned the ball under her arm and climbed onto the counter, much to everyone's surprise.

"Hey, you're not allowed up there, miss!" the man behind the stand yelled, holding a hand up. The Ardonian was undeterred.

"Why? I'm still behind the line," she pointed out.

"You could fall and get hurt, you have to--" Magnus started, but Blaine was already focused on her goal, ball in hand as she lifted it up.

The height certainly gave her an advantage, taking one successful shot after another, despite the manager's and Magnus' protests. Her date still hung back right behind her, arms slightly raised to ready himself just in case. If she was so insistent on doing things her way, hopefully it wouldn't end in a hospital visit. She would hear an occasional "be careful!" between shots, but when she finally got the last one she needed, she practically threw caution to the wind after the ball.

“Victory is mine, asshole!” she yelled in triumph, throwing her arms up in the air in celebration.

She didn't anticipate how the momentum would throw her off balance though, misstepping behind her. She yelped and tried to move forward, but it was too late. One second she was falling back toward the ground, then the next... she was in Magnus' arms.

She looked up at him and laughed, "Good catch. You work out?" she commented with a wink, letting him help her stand back up.

"Let's just say you can always trust me to catch you," he replied with a hint of a flirtatious tone, before nudging her with his elbow. "But never do that again," he warned, though he was clearly just worried about her.

The Ardonian flipped her hair over her shoulder, turning her attention to the manager. "One panda, my good sir!"

He begrudgingly handed over the stuffed toy to Blaine, who then proceeded to proudly present it to Magnus. He had to wrap both arms around its fluffy torso just to be able to hold onto it securely.

"Consider this my apology for worrying you," she joked, patting the toy's fluffy arm.

"This feels a bit cliche, doesn't it?" he said, his voice partially muffled by the huge obstruction between them.

"What do you mean? It's a role reversal. It's the guy usually winning prizes for the girl, right?"

"I just mean the situation in general. Do you always win giant pandas for your dates?"

"Only for you, babe. Though I'll happily take it back if you don't want it."

At that, Magnus turned and kept it away from Blaine when she tried to reach for it. "No, you already gave it to me, so keepsies." He stuck his tongue out at her, looking more childish than ever, which earned him a boop on the nose.

"One more ride for the road?"

It was already sunset by the time they got on the ferris wheel. The sky was a gradient of pink, orange, and yellow as the sun started to set, slowly sinking in the horizon where the sky met the sea. It took some convincing for the ride manager to allow the stuffed toy on board, as long as they didn't drop it -- like Magnus was ever going to let that happen.

The newly christened Taro (as Magnus insisted on calling the panda) sat on his side, with Blaine snuggled on the other, her head settled on his shoulder. The ride moved slowly as other passengers boarded, and they were getting close to the top, just enough to enjoy the view.

"I know the rooftops at Vancross had great views of sunsets, but nothing beats being this close to it, huh?" Blaine said, her fingers idly playing with Magnus', intertwining and untwining them.

"Being in great company helps me appreciate it more too," Magnus replied, before turning to the stuffed toy next to him, sitting at eye level given its size. "Isn't that right, Taro?"

"Sorry, am I ruining your moment here?" she joked, gently nudging at his arm. Magnus simply smiled and wrapped an around her shoulders, pulling her even closer to his side.

"But seriously though, today was really fun. I'm glad you convinced Dionne to convince me to come out here. At this point, it's hard to say no to even just seeing you."

"Even if it means infuriating your bodyguard?"

Magnus rolled his eyes, looking off as the sky started to darken. "He wasn't infuriated, I'd say irritated at best, but he gets it. He's always been supportive of my 'be a normal person' agenda."

"Did I help deliver?"

"Oh definitely. You sure know how to make a guy feel normal, in a good way."

Blaine glanced up at him, "What does being normal mean to you?"

The young man blinked, not expecting such an introspective question. The lights on the ferris wheel started to turn on, giving him a view of Blaine under their soft glow. He almost lost himself in the sight and backtracked on the question.

He gave himself a moment to think, choosing his words carefully, "Just... being able to live my life away from scrutinizing eyes, I guess. I don't want the public to see me as someone or something that I'm not just because some tabloid article told them this or that."

She nodded in understanding, pulling his arm closer. "Definitely. It's like the general population seems to forget we're people too. We have our own lives and identities, and it's not something that can be toyed with."

"I wish I didn't have to act a certain way, I don't want them to change me. I wish... things were different." A bout of silence passed between them, the ride moving at its leisurely pace to give its passengers time to appreciate it.

"But if they were, then I never would've met you, so it's not all bad. You're... one of the best things that's ever happened to me, you know?" Magnus looked at Blaine, a small yet genuine smile on his face. The girl looked up at him almost with a flicker of doubt at first, but looking deeper into his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth.

And she wasn't sure how to handle that.

She could feel her stomach doing flips, a thrill running through her -- except it wasn't like she was on a fair ride. This was somehow more intense, yet she felt grounded with him by her side. She couldn't help the smile that bloomed, her cheeks darkening slightly as she took in his words.

"You're too good, Magnus. I hope the world never changes you."

The way she said his name sounded almost adoring, like she was in awe of what a genuine soul he was despite everything that's happened to him. She knew what it was like, having been expected to keep up appearances her whole life, but somehow this boy right next to her never seemed to lose touch of himself along the way. He knew what he had to do, but he also knew who he was at the end of the day.

Just hearing her say it like that was enough to melt Magnus' insides with a loving warmth. A smile spread across his face, leaning forward to press a soft kiss on her lips. He was just so relieved that he never had to pretend around Blaine, never had to prove anything to her. It was more than enough just having her there by his side, and even though he was looking forward to the day he can finally be out with her in public with pride, moments like these made their secret trips still worth going through.

.

.

.

(Due to Taro's size, it couldn’t quite fit in Magnus' bed as intended, so it instead resided on the couch in the suite. It didn't mean he didn't take any chances to nap on it though.

Dionne has sent many pictures to Blaine of the young man's face buried into its fluffy stomach, curled up on the small space as he rested peacefully, and Blaine has had to stifle many squeals of delight at the adorable sight.)

[cxmetery-gates]

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS - DARK!TOM HIDDLESTON

CHAPTER SIX: PICKUP TRUCK THOUGHTS

SUMMARY: Lynn takes a moment of solitude to put things into perspective, all thanks to a friend’s truck and some clouds. WORD COUNT: 2.8k NOTE: Not me falling of the face of the internet for a couple months. Whoops! WARNINGS: dark!tom hiddleston, teacher!tom hiddleston

OBSESSIVE TEACHINGS MASTERLIST

"YOU REALIZE IT'S A SERIOUS problem at this point, right?"

"At least it's not crack."

The two familiar voices catch both mine and Gabe's attention. With the doors open, legs sprawled out wherever they're comfy, and some early 2000s alternative music jamming from the speakers, we genuinely look like high school delinquents. All we're missing is a cigarette hanging from our lips.

My back aches as I pry my upper half to sit up straight, a chorus of popping following my movement. I brightly grin at River and Ellie and my feet reach the black pavement. It appears Ellie just rolled her eyes at River's sassy remark. I begin to ask what they were talking about before I notice something being shoved back in the boy's backpack: his new Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsaber. Part of me isn't surprised, but the other half is wondering what reason he has to carry it around at school. Regardless of the reason, we all have our quirks: it took me until the eighth grade to leave my replica of Harry Potter's wand at home.

Geeky things, I guess?

I can only guess what River was telling Ellie when it comes to his devotion to Star Wars. There isn't an existing number to count how often River and I find ourselves on the topic of space battles and the Skywalkers.

"What's up, friendos?" I ask as they draw closer. A sudden chilly breeze lifts my hair and bumps along my skin. It's almost a frustrating sensation, it being the middle of August. It looks like I'm the only one who feels it, as my teeth are the only ones that chatter. Since my arms are tightly holding each other, I barely have time to react to Ellie's next reaction.

Ellie drags her feet dramatically until she goes limp in my arms. "I wanna go home and sleep."

I stumble back at the weight added, wriggling my arms to hold her steady. The last thing I need on the first day of school is a concussion. "Christ— well maybe if you get off, we can take you home."

River piles his backpack into the back of Gabe's truck, the loud thump startling Ellie, and looks at us with a confused stare. "Weren't– Weren't we supposed to hang out today?"

The girl in my arms rises to her feet, groaning. "Shit, I forgot. My mom said she wants me back home after school as soon as possible. You know, groundings and all."

"Next time, don't get into an accident." Gabe sends her a smirk.

Ellie narrows her eyes and mocks his response, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg. A small chortle parts my lips as I lean up against the truck next to River. After her bickering, Ellie continues. "Go get ice cream or something in my memory. I just have to get back before I'm killed, which should be any day now."

"I call your funeral playlist," I reply. Looking up while my fingers stroke my chin comically, I add, "A ton of 80s pop with a dash of Gaga?"

Booping my nose, Ellie smiles. "You know me too well."

We all file into Gabe's small truck— well, almost all of us. Since the truck is a three-seater and police like to patrol this area, there is always a sacrifice who gets to claim the back of the car. This time, it happens to be me. Once I was lying flat on my back, a blue tarp was pulled over my body, coming right above my nose. Oh, the perks of old, short pick-up trucks roaming a town with endless police...

Sliding open the window, Gabe's voice calls out. "You good back there?"

"Yeah, I'm fucking peachy," I reply.

There's the sound of laughter before the engine kicks on. At that moment, my paranoia starts to kick in, starting with my heart beating fast in my chest and palms getting sweaty. Not once have any of us gotten caught, but I can't help but think the day we are, it's my ass going to jail. I've never bothered to look at the laws relating to seat belts in other states, but here, the law is highly enforced. Not only would I get fined and definitely put into a cell, but I have no doubt Gabe would endure the same fate.

Nice way to put yourself in one of these states, I chastise myself.

I almost groan, but I can't be sure if I'll cause one of the friends up front to worry. So, I exhale and inhale rhythmically like I was taught. Looking straight ahead, all I can see are blue skies and puffy white clouds. Occasionally, a tree or two will enter the scenery. I'm barely blinking as I try to put shapes to the clouds, some more impossible than others. Despite having an imaginative mind, the figures aren't creating a picture for me to follow.

I like to remember how easy it was as a child to create something out of nothing. An empty napkin roll wasn't just cardboard; it was a telescope that needed color. Our dolls weren't acting on our behalf; they were doing it themselves and showing us their lives. Every cloud wasn't just a random array of water droplets but rather, a visual story to be told. I want to know what causes all of us to lose that form of innocence. Ways of thinking like pessimism or optimism, that's easy: once too many shitty things start to happen more than the good, one is likely to form a biased view or vice versa. But, why do we stop playing with imaginary friends? Or act out intense battles on the playground? Even the smallest blip of innocence, like cloud-watching, becomes warped.

Sometimes, it's easy to pick out that moment in our own lives where we find ourselves becoming grown-ups and leaving childhood behind, but the shitty part is that it isn't just me or Ellie, River, or Gabe who go through trials. It's not just the kid who loses a parent or the girl who was taken advantage of. Everyone has their wars. And in the end, we lose, becoming a part of the system that inflicts these damages.

These damages I speak of tear us apart. They mold us into shapes beyond recognition. No longer a funny shape or a distorted animal in the sky, but dark, heavy, and so close to bursting. And when we finally let go, after all the waiting and rolling, we seem to explode, leaking and oozing our pain, our torment, us. And when it's over? What's left? I guess there are two options: remain on the ground to seep into further nothingness, or rise once more, only to break again, again, and again. But life is such torment and full of trials, is it not?

Funny how staring at a cloud can put life into perspective.

My brain is overrun by these thoughts that I don't even realize Gabe's truck is rolling to a stop. I finally take notice when car doors swing open then shut.

"Wake up, sleeping beauty," River says leaning over the side of the truck to get a look at me.

Rolling my eyes with a grin, I swat at his shoulder, which misses as he recoils. "Shut up, loser." I sit up, tossing the tarp to the side as I move to stand. River smirks and offers his hands to help me down. Without hesitation I take them, swinging one leg over the side and the other following before I made a short leap to the ground. Because neither of us apparently can avoid embarrassment, we're both holding each other's hands after I land. A rosy blush spreads across his entire face— no doubt mine as well— before I take the initiative to lean backwards, focusing on Ellie who crawls from the side door.

"Speaking of losers," Gabe sighs. I can't help but feel the reddening in my cheeks, assuming this asshole is talking about River and me, but I notice he's looking at Ellie, now swinging her backpack around one shoulder in her driveway.

She notices that all of us are looking, causing her to freeze. "Why does everyone hate me today?"

I smile bringing her into a goofy hug. "We just miss you. Don't get into any more accidents, please?"

"Yeah, yeah," she snorts, hugging me back to the best of her ability, considering I have her arms pinned down at an odd angle. "Alright, leave my driveway before I actually get you guys killed."

Gabe, River, and I say our goodbyes before filing into the white truck, heading God-knows-where as a worn-down engine sparks to life. Looking over at River, who sits to my right in the passenger seat, I send him a glare that he doesn't see since his eyes are focused on what lies beyond the window— or lack thereof.

While his hair barely covers his neck, mine flows down to my mid-back, meaning having windows rolled all the way down and speeding down a highway won't lead to the best outcomes for my hair. But I can't complain too much: River's hair going crazy in the wind is both cute and a bit funny. A small smile graces my features before a thin lock of hair enters my lips.

Glancing over at the driver, I notice how only locks of hair toward the ends move slowly despite the windows rolled all the way down, as if the strands are wearing a shield against the wind. I wonder how Gabriel keeps his hair so still before making the dumbfounding realization that he wears that beanie 24/7 and who knows how long he goes without washing his perfect hair. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen the boy without the hat. I guarantee no one would recognize him without it.

"So, where are we heading?" Gabriel asks when we reach the stoplight before entering the populated part of town.

I exhale, leaning my head on the headrest of the seat. "Well, I for one could go for something frozen. Maybe a burger, too."

"Didn't you just eat lunch?" River asks, humorously smiling in my direction.

"And had coffee literally less than an hour ago," Gabe adds.

Sending a blank look to River (whose smile widens) then over to Gabe, his eyes never leaving the stretch of road ahead of him (at least one person in the group can do that), I huff, my eyes shutting closed and I bring my shoulders up into a shrug. "I don't know what you both have against me and my food and drink consumption, but you better knock it off."

There's a small hum of laughter to my right, sending a slight shiver down my neck. "If we left you alone for a week, there's no telling how much you'd put in your system," River tells me as if I don't know that already.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, Bob and Jillian, I don't need you to berate me."

══════════════════

Twenty minutes later, the three of us find ourselves outside a burger joint. In one hand, I have a burger waiting to be devoured and in the other is a frozen strawberry lemonade. Nothing says summer like this combination. We're sitting the parking lot eating our meals, more specifically in the back of the truck. From my phone, I have a playlist plainly called "Chill" playing from the nearly-blown speakers.

"I never thought food could taste so good," I moan as the burger slides down my throat.

"You're acting like you haven't eaten in a week."

Sending Gabe an eye-roll, I reply, "It might as well have been."

There's a moment of silence before River brings up a topic not discussed in a couple weeks. "Do you guys wanna come over and jam for a bit sometime this week? We haven't done anything in a while."

One summer a few years back, the trio of us learned we can play different instruments. I have been playing the guitar and drums since I was younger, thanks to a musically gifted grandfather. Gabe and River both had a knack for guitar too, though Gabe had more experience with the bass guitar and River had some training with piano. While our jam sessions are nothing too serious, as none of us want to be in a band or write our own songs, it's become a fun and stress-reducing way to hang out when silence would otherwise fill the atmosphere. The last time, we figured out how to play the theme songs of our favorite movies using a ukulele and bongos. It was something I didn't need to hear, but I'm glad I did.

I nod my head. "Yeah, we can this weekend if we aren't being drowned in homework by that point."

Gabe also agrees with a nod, his mouth full of fries. "It's a maybe from me: Mom might need to borrow the truck since hers is wearing down."

River turns his dark brown eyes over to me, capturing an embarrassing scene as lettuce pokes between my stuffed lips. Great. "Well, I guess I can hang out with you if someone can't show."

While I playfully punch his arm, I send a look over to Gabe who hides a smirk in his straw. He catches me looking as River goes on about one of his classes. Sending me a wink, I narrow my eyes knowingly: his mom just got a brand new truck. Mr. Matchmaker goes back to this food, making a statement on how hot River's finance teacher is, causing the boy to make a very uncomfortable face.

Despite the long talks we shared in the back of Gabe's truck, I find myself zoning out hardcore once again. I can't figure out why exactly my mind had wondered, but I do know where. My thoughts go back to Trinity's face, remembering how she would sit next to me against the side of the truck the very few times she decided to make time for my friends. There's a ghost of warmth in my palm like fingers squeezing when the short snippet of a memory expels from deep inside my mind. I don't know why I thought of it. It just appeared, causing a droplet of woe to fill my gut.

Like my friends have told me before, I need to let this go. There's no use in holding on to something, or rather someone who isn't coming back, especially someone who was never good for me in the first place. Glancing up, I spy on River munching and talking with Gabe. A blush covers my cheeks when I remember how utterly embarrassing it was when I broke down in front of him over a stupid girl. He told me there are worse things to worry about.

"Like climate change?" I asked, sniffling into a pillow. I hope he washed it after that encounter. Hell, he needed to lysol everything down after my mopey ass walked through the place.

River smiled warmly at me, pulling me into a giant bear hug. Sometimes, I want to ask for one of those hugs again. "I was going to say people who like pineapple on pizza, but climate change is also a concern."

I remember crying not a second later, but that was due to the thought of polar bears facing extinction.

Contrary to knowing how wonderful my three best friends are, I'm also aware that there are certain things I can't share. I don't want to overbear them with my problems that should have been solved months ago. The fact that I'm still getting small flashbacks and thoughts of her is pathetic, and I'm aware of that fact. On the other hand, it isn't like my group of friends will give up and leave if I spill my guts, right? I shouldn't be scared of expression my thoughts, feelings, and emotions to my closest friends. And yet, here I sit, undecided on what to do.

Christ, do I need to get my priorities straight.

When my eyes break away from their trance, all I see is Gabe and River entering a heated discussion, about what I'm not sure. With my thoughts still in a bit of limbo, I'm shocked back to reality when they both leap from either side of the vehicle, rushing to pull items from their bags.

Under any other normal circumstance, it would be concerning to see two dudes arguing one moment then reaching into their bags the next. I'm willing to bet the next logical calculation for a stranger would have been to get away, fearing the queue for guns or knives. But I know these losers. Even if they are fighting or wanting to kill each other, there is only one way they can settle their differences.

"Soon, you will see the way of the Jedi," River exclaims while thrashing his blue lightsaber through the air.

"Shut the fuck up, you nerd!" Gabe flicks out a red lightsaber, taunting the other.

"Oh, my God," I say with no emotion in my tone, watching as red and blue shamelessly slash at each other in battery-produced light in a burger joint parking lot.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

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[soundofseventeen]

We Belong Together (Part Six)

If it wasn’t for the fact that me and my sister are gonna watch Seventeen tonight, this update would’ve been postponed to tomorrow, so thank her.

Word count: 2017

Deciding to take a longer lunch than usual, Jihoon first opted to go to your apartment, but he wasn’t sure how long it took him to realize that you were at work, so he decided for the benefit of his bandmates, he stopped by your workplace, expecting to see you there, but no matter how many times he went through the aisles, he couldn’t find you, and he felt dumb for not knowing that you had a life outside of Seventeen. You rarely told them, but it was there.

“Can I help you with something?” Jihoon wondered if it was the same coworker who often got on your nerves. The way she asked him made him think so.

He shook his head. “Just looking.” Looking for you, any sign that you were alive but no such luck. He was really starting to wonder what happened, but it wasn’t his business. Instead, Jihoon circled the entire place a couple more times just to spite your coworker  and decided to buy a big box of ramen. 

“Where’s Y/N?” Jihoon asked, trying to look as uninterested as possible when he finally decided he was done with shopping. (That and ever since you started delivering exclusively to Seventeen at Pledis -to be charged whenever one of them dropped by to pay for everything, he admitted to himself that he got used to seeing you a couple times a day as opposed to a couple nights a week. But it had been a while since you stopped by; same for them going to your place.) 

“Didn’t you hear? Y/N moved.” Your unnamed coworker said this as if were not only old news but a big inconvenience in her life 

“Oh, okay. Um, I’m just here to pay for the stuff that’s been brought to us for the month. It should be under either Jihoon or Seungcheol.”

The bill had turned out to be of a lesser amount than he expected it to, so he paid what was owed and even took some extra things for the members since they were only a third done with the work. After arguing with her to see all the receipts, he noticed that some were torn out, and he had a hunch you either paid for them or had been paid in the same visit by one of the boys. (Which wouldn’t have made sense considering any of them would’ve paid it all at once.)

And on his way out, he bumped into your bosses who were just coming back from somewhere so they didn’t have time to chat with him, not that Jihoon minded. He was already later than usual.

But the fact that you left without saying anything didn’t sit well with him and after asking Ahnjong about it once he stepped foot in Pledis, he was left pretty confused. He knew she was hiding something but when Ahnjong promised something would change soon, he let her go, but he was still distracted the entire afternoon to late evening, meaning he fumbled the choreo multiple  times until Soonyoung called for a break and he ran to his phone to send you text after text to call you out. Or at least, he tried, but every time he wanted to press send, he erased everything until a new thought formed.

“Did you get it all out of your chest?” Seungcheol asked with his mouth of food.

“What?”

“You’ve been so out of it since you came back from visiting Y/N. Did something happen?”

“I didn’t visit Y/N. I went to pay our credit bill and I came straight back.”

“Oh. I just thought that since you guys have been hanging out a lot-”

“We haven’t been hanging out. I mean, we went to the movies a couple weeks ago-” Well, shit, so much for being discreet, but he was annoyed so he needed to think out loud.

“And bowling on that one Saturday,” Soonyoung chimed in, poking his cheek. He plopped himself on the floor next to Jihoon, helping himself to Seungcheol’s fries. “Wait, what about last month when you had Y/N in the studio and it was like almost two am-”

“I told you that it wasn’t what it looked like!” Jihoon could feel his cheeks burning at the memory of being caught draping one of Jeonghan’s blankets on you. You had literally been running back and forth between your job and Pledis, helping him stock up on the snacks and non perishable foods as a reward for all the hard work they’ve been putting in, as well as the long days ahead where the cold floors would be their makeshift bed until they could actually go home. (While a lot of the weight of being responsible for their futures had been lifted from his shoulders, it would never leave him completely. )

You had just told him that you were gonna sit for a minute and the next thing Jinhoon knew, you had fallen asleep and instead of waking you up and telling you to go home, he let you stay there while he flipped back and forth between his songwriting until he heard you shivering and turning over to stay warm, so he pulled out a blanket from under his desk and covered you, smiling a little at how you didn’t complain once. 

Unfortunately, Soonyoung barged in at that moment, ready to ask about something when he saw him, and Soonyoung started jumping up and down like a madman, pointing and would’ve shouted at Jihoon, had Jihoon not shushed him. And now that meant never living it down. 

“Did something happen?”

“No; Y/N just moved and no one bothered to tell us.” He took that a lot more personally than he should’ve, he wasn’t gonna lie. “I thought we were all getting along great and then this happens.” He frowned, standing up. “Let’s get back to work. We have a long way until we finish this shit and then we can go home.”

“Are you sure you’re gonna be able to concentrate?” Soonyoung asked. “You’ve been out of it and when that happens, we’re here at all hours of the night. Now why don’t you call or text or whatever you wanna do so we can finish this and then go home.”

“I don’t wanna,” he mumbled. “Let’s do this so I can move on with my life.”

“I told you his crush on Y/N was obvious,” Soonyoung mumbled under his breath and Seungcheol guffawed. “Now that means none of us can make a move!” He dramatically clung onto the leader’s shoulder before sobbing. 

“I don’t like Y/N like that,” Jihoon scoffed at his friend’s antics. “I just really enjoy having company.”

“Bullshit!” Junhui, who was on the other end of the room, was pretty much in his face in the blink of an eye. “Last time I wanted to hang out with you, you literally shoved me out of the room and told me you were busy.” He pointed to Jeonghan next. “And then when Jeonghan invited you for coffee, you left him in the middle of his sentence because Y/N called you and told you about….you know what? You didn’t even tell us.”

“My personal life is personal. If you guys wanna spill all your dirty little secrets to each other, go ahead.” His phone chimed, his heart picking up speed when your name showed up on the screen. He opened your message, read it and put it back in his pocket. “Now can we call it a night, or can we finish this choreo?”

“Was that Y/N?” Seokmin wiggled his finger at Jihoon before booping his nose.

“Yes, now let’s do this already.” He was already on his feet, ready to practice his moves and go home to see you….wherever you were. “Okay, play the music; I think I know where I’m going wrong.” 

He tried not to notice the nudges and disbelieving looks from his friends but he didn’t miss the way they looked at him when he finally nailed the final move and he left the practice with more ardor in his system than he felt when they debuted, not once looking back.

He hailed the first taxi he saw and showed the driver your address and all but held onto the headrest, yelling into his ear to speed up and when they arrived at an unfamiliar home, he threw all his money at the driver and ran up to the building, confused when his rationality caught up to him and he wondered why he did this without thinking. You ditched him without a word, or even a warning. For all he knew, this was a set up. Still he rang the doorbell hesitantly, pulling out his cellphone in case he needed backup.

Instead, when you opened the door, you were pulling your hoodie down and stuck your hands into your pockets as quickly as you could. You smiled at him, which only made Jihoon more nervous.  “Hi, come in. I ordered pizza in case you were hungry.”

Jihoon frowned, checking the time on his phone and still feeling unsure when he concluded that it was too late for any place to deliver. “How-”

“I have a friend who did me a favor.” You reached for his hand, bringing him inside. “Let me give you a tour.”

“Wait, you live here now?”

You nodded. “Yeah. I have a lot to explain. Well, not a lot but I kept you -and the guys- out of the loop long enough.” You guided him through the house, showing him your favorite spots as of now and gloating at how much room there was now. It wasn’t much to brag about, realistically, but you were proud of calling a house your home as opposed to a dingy apartment. You were even able to show him the rooftop and told him exactly how you wanted to decorate it up here.

Then you sat on the floor in your living room, the lukewarm pizza on the coffee table, and you picked them out of the box one by one.

“So, why did you move?” Jihoon finally asked with his mouth full. “What was wrong with where you were?”

“I, ah, don’t really like staying in one spot for too long,” you admitted. “Before I even moved, I was planning on quitting my job to look for another one. And then my boss asked me if I’d be interested in a manager promotion and I said yes. Which means I got paid more so I moved instead,” you finished sheepishly.

“Well that explains why none of us saw you for so long. When your coworker said you moved, we...well I, thought you moved out of the city or something.” You could see the way his face reddening at the confession, but when he smiled at you, you lost your train of thought. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Truthfully, I didn’t even plan on staying in Seoul for so long. I actually planned on going to either Japan or the US to see what else I could do….even if it isn’t so easy to just up and move.” You weren’t sure that you could look at him anymore. “But I guess I found a reason to stick around for a little more.”

“Good.” When Jihoon peeked at you, he could see you looking down at your dinner, smiling to yourself. Maybe the boys were right. Maybe he did have some kind of crush on you and maybe you even felt the same way. Without thinking twice, he inched his hand towards yours, heart thumping out of his chest when his pinky finger linked with yours and exhaling a deep sigh of relief when you didn’t pull it away. And then his heart stopped beating when you scooted closer to him and rested your head on his shoulder.

“Hey Jihoon,” you mumbled after a long moment of silence. Truth be told, you were comfortably drowsy just sitting with him.

“Yes?”

“Stay the night?”

“Okay.”

[their-destinys-writer]

Lukanette September

I couldn’t follow the prompts, but that doesn’t stop me from celebrating this month somehow! Huge thanks to @corgi-likes-chat for reading, screaming and drawing <3 and @edendaphne for the awesome beta <3. You two made me feel proud of this one.

Patreon | Ko-fi | Twitter | Instagram

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It didn’t come suddenly. It wasn’t a bolt of lightning. It wasn’t love at first sight. It had been something far more subtle. Like a small candle that consumed an entire room when she least expected.

What was worse, it took her a long time to realize what had happened. Too long. Long enough for him to move on. To create a life of his own, while she could only support him from the sidelines. All the while he thought she was content with what she had.

But she wasn’t. Waiting for someone who didn’t really see her, no matter how much he looked, was not enough. She wanted someone who made her smile, who gave her peace, who was there in her lowest moments and never judged her. Yet, like before, the timing was wrong.

So there Marinette was, standing just out of view from the crowds, silently cheering on Kitty Section. It was the best she could do, while she figured out how to move on once again. As the band finished their presentation, the members congregated backstage for refreshments.

“That was so cool!” Rose squealed, embracing Juleka. “Did you see that crowd? They were so many!”

“Yeah,” Juleka grinned, stroking her girlfriend’s hair. “It was awesome.”

“You guys did amazing,” Marinette piped up, as she started taking the large costume pieces from each one of them. “I think that next concert is guaranteed at this point.”

“Totally!” Mylène said, as she gave Ivan a bottle of water. “Penny was talking to the owner of the theater, and he said they hadn’t sold that many tickets in years.”

“That’s great news.”

Marinette resisted the urge to turn her head upon hearing that voice. Instead, she quietly placed the costume pieces in their respective boxes. The group continued their excited chatter, until a door opened, and in came…her.

“What are you doing here?” Luka was asking, as he hugged the girl that had just walked in. “I thought you had that thing—”

“It got cancelled,” the girl Marinette knew as Tina answered. “So, I decided to come support my favorite band.”

Marinette looked just in time to see the girl boop Luka’s nose. She quickly looked away to take a deep breath. Steady, heart, she thought as she exhaled. You’re fine. I’m fine. She’s been around for a month. There’s no surprise here.

Feeling calmer, she continued what she was doing, until she realized there was only one costume left. With a breath of determination, she turned on her heels and headed towards Luka and Tina.

“Hey, I’m putting away the costumes,” Marinette said loudly.

“Oh,” he responded, quickly taking off the pieces made of EVA foam. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

“It’s fine,” Marinette shrugged, forcing a smile. “I know how it is.”

As Luka gave her the costume pieces, Tina elbowed him. Marinette ignored it. If there was anything she’d learned from her time obsessing over Adrien, was that not every little detail had meaning. She turned and headed to the boxes away from the group, proud to have remained polite and coherent.

“Marinette?” Luka said quietly near her, as she closed the last box. The girl took a deep breath, wondering when he had gotten close to her.

“What’s up?” She turned to face him, keeping her face as neutral as possible.

“Um…Are you okay?”

Marinette blinked. “W-What?” she stammered, letting out a nervous giggle. “Why would I not be okay? T-that’s weird. You’re weird. I mean, you’re not weird like that, just—” She mentally slapped herself. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” Luka responded, averting his eyes. “I asked because for a while now, you haven’t sounded like yourself. And just over there, I could hear a sad song come from you. Which I hear almost every time I see you these days.”

The girl paused, cursing Luka’s perception. She had hoped he would never find out. It had worked with Adrien, so why wouldn’t it work for Luka, too? What she had forgotten was how observant Luka could be, unlike her previous crush. Even so, she refused to place him in an uncomfortable position.

“It’s nothing.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Just stressed. Why don’t you go back to Tina? She keeps looking this way.”

“Don’t mind her.” Luka took a step forward and took her wrist, sending a chill up her arm. “You know I would never judge you, right? Please, talk to me. I know I’m not good with words, but I’m a great listener.”

“You’re great with words,” Marinette sighed. “I just didn’t listen when I should’ve.”

Luka frowned. “Did I do something?”

“No!” Her eyes widened. “No, no, you’ve done nothing! You’re great! You always have been, even when you didn’t have to.”

“Then why are you sad? I don’t want to keep making you sad.”

“Why do you think you’re making me sad?”

“I see it.”

“Luka—”

“Please!” Luka then slid his hand into hers, squeezing and raising it up to his chest. “You don’t have to hide anything from me.”

“STOP!”

Marinette yanked her hand away, letting out ragged breaths. She could instantly feel several pairs of eyes fall on her. One of them were those of Tina, who was staring with puzzlement. She could feel her face heat up. It was the first time in a while she had acted in such an embarrassing way.

“I-I…” Marinette’s mind was drawing a blank. Would it be so wrong to run? No. “I’m sorry.”

With her heart giving thunderous beats in her chest, Marinette ran off towards the door. When she opened it, a crowd of fans and photographers were blocking the way. She pushed through the crowd, desperate to get as far as possible from the calls behind her, .

While squeezing through, she heard new screams, indicating that someone had just followed her. Probably one of the band members hoping to bring her back. Marinette pushed harder, bumping into shoulders and biceps, until she reached the back of the crowd.

Once freed, she ran. She ran past coffee shops, past restaurants. Past bookstores, cheese shops, and music stores. She ran until she reached a small park with a fountain in the middle. Her legs felt like jelly, and her resolve to keep running died. With hard pants, she sat on the edge of the fountain, covering her face.

“Why did I do that?!” she scolded herself. “I must’ve looked weirder than usual. Tina must’ve thought the worst of me. Ugh, I’m such an idiot.”

“Marinette,” Tikki whispered from her purse. “Don’t say those things about yourself.”

“I just don’t get why he was so persistent,” Marinette continued. “Luka is never pushy. So, what was that all about?! Whatever happened to waiting for me to speak up?”

“Uuum…” Tikki started hiding back in the purse.

“What am I supposed to say now?” She upped her tone an octave. “Oh, I’m sorry for acting like a total weirdo this month. I just got totally jealous when you started bringing Tina for practices because, it turns out, I’ve been in love with you this whole time, but didn’t notice because I was too distracted with Adrien. But now that it’s too late, I find it hard to be near you, because it hurts. UGH!” She raised her head. “WHY IS LOVE SO—hard.”

Marinette’s face burned. Standing in front of her was the young man she couldn’t get out of her thoughts. The one guy she didn’t want listening to her ramblings.

Luka stared at her, breathing heavily, but his expression was hard to read. He didn’t seem angry. However, he didn’t seem happy either. Marinette gulped, tempted to run again. Before she could decide, though, Luka moved to sit next to her.

They shared an awkward silence. Marinette still wanted to leave, but now it felt rude after making him run all the way there. Perhaps this was her punishment for handling the situation so badly.

“Tina started coming to practice because she was frustrated with me,” Luka said quietly, no longer looking at her. “She said that she had to see the girl I talked about for herself. And she was annoyed that I hadn’t made my move yet.”

Marinette turned her gaze to him, lips parted.

“I told her my brilliant plan to leave the girl be, so she could be happy with the boy she actually loved.” He chuckled. “Tina kept saying that I was an idiot, and that I should just ask you out. She pushed me time and time again to be more assertive. But I think her plan kinda backfired, since you think she and I are a thing.”

Luka turned to her at last.

“Marinette, I have never stopped loving you,” he said, a smile adorning his soft features. “But I have never wanted to push you into something you don’t want. Or, at least, I thought you didn’t want.”

Marinette did her best to suppress a smile of her own. “I did my best to hide what I wanted because I thought you moved on. And I didn’t want to make you feel like you were responsible for my happiness.”

“It would be an honor to be responsible for your happiness.” Luka placed a hand on her cheek, lightly stroking it with his thumb.

“So, you’re telling me we haven’t gotten together because of a dumb misunderstanding?”

Luka chuckled. “It seems like it.”

“I really am an idiot,” Marinette giggled.

“By your standards, so am I.”

The two of them laughed airily. They looked at each other, their cheeks rosy, hearts beating rhythmically with each other.

“Luka, um…” Marinette bit her lip.

The young man smiled knowingly. Using the hand cupped on her cheek, he softly pulled her in, lightly brushing his lips against hers. It was that small touch all Marinette needed to get the confidence to place her hand on his chest and press harder.

Luka took a breath right before deepening the kiss, using his other arm to bring her closer to him, hand on the small of her back. Marinette tried to follow suit. Unfortunately, the arm she tried to use was the one holding them steady. With two yelps, the couple fell backwards.

SPLASH

Marinette squeaked the second her head emerged from the freezing water. Luka’s hands were instantly on her shoulders.

“Marinette! Are you okay?!” he desperately asked, sitting on his knees.

The girl couldn’t help but snort. The snort immediately turned into giggles. And very soon, she was full on laughing. It didn’t take long for Luka to follow.

“Of course I would ruin our first kiss with my clumsiness,” she laughed.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, with an angel like you,” Luka chuckled.

Despite the cold water, Marinette’s face managed to turn warm. She sighed wistfully.

“Me neither.”

Luka’s smile widened. Wider than Marinette had ever seen. This time there was no asking for permission. They both leaned towards each other at the same time, their lips meeting halfway. Marinette placed her hand on his jaw, while he embraced her with both of his arms.

No, it wasn’t perfect. But the fact that Luka loved it that way was what made it perfect for Marinette.

[anteroom-of-death]

Life, for Dummies p3

a/n: i live in sin and the eternal need to drink redbull and go fast...

To say that your dreams had come true in all it’s flying colors was an understatement. Straddling you down and pinning you on the table so easily, the papers and books being forced to shift under your weights, he kept his hand on your throat while he tore and hiked the lovely dress up further until he found your underwear. See, you didn’t expect to actually fuck the Master, so you of course were in panties meant for exploring. A few jaunts around the universe with the Doctor had subtly trained you for functional comfort. A finger snaked inward and around your wetness, already coming undone under his body. He kept it there, mildly moving about before ripping your underwear off and discarding them with a hasty toss on the table beside your head.

You felt him sinking a finger into you, massaging down there fiercely, but still massaging and working you for all its worth. His lips crushing down and biting down on yours, all too much. You felt the corner of a heavy volume poke you so you moved- coincidentally sinking his all too deft fingers deeper into you. 

You rasped, cupping your mouth “Oh yeah…”

So cheesy, you laughed at yourself a bit through your cupped hands. 

Was this really happening? Did you fall asleep? 

The sudden hooking of a finger deep inside bumping your innermost core. 

He pressed a deeper hold onto your throat and worked a second finger in, pumping you and testing out how much you currently could take. Warmth flooded your core as you heard him grunting and you could tell the cogs of his mind were working on dissecting your pleasure, analysing it, adding to it. His hair was even more disheveled and his eyes were darkly shiney- much like the space view you’d just seen. His arms were a sight to behold. If not for the current situation, you would be flabbergasted. 

After he found your absolute limit he looked you back in the eyes, strongly and so much chaos blaring behind them. He smirked and sped up, feeling out your slightly throbbing clit and stroking it to boot.

You were absolutely sizzling with it.

You were getting close and you knew he knew it from both your mind and your body. For a second you thought you could feel him flooding your mind out in a fiery haze.

“No.” He pulled out of you abruptly and grabbed you by a fistful of your hair and forced you to kneel in front of him, slightly craning your head up at his eyes with it. 

“What’s my name?” It wasn’t even a question. Pure demand. 

It took a second for your brain to load, but you exclaimed without a second to hesitate, “Master!” “Master!” You repeated, feeling yourself sweat and glow.

“Say it again, pet.” He popped the p and t. The hold on your hair tighter and his grin becoming quite cheshire. 

“Master.” You pleaded and bore into his eyes as far as you could. 

“Who you belong to?”

Animal instinct taking over, you made a paw at his trousers, his prick tenting the fabric as you cried out, wanting some sort of release, in any way, shape or form, “You!” 

The hand tightened, “You, who?”

“You, Master! Please, please finish fucking me!” You begged, even though, secretly, this was what you wanted. This was something you craved and caved for the minute you laid eyes on him, what seemed a very foggy several lifetimes ago, to be fucked and fuck by this man, and to figure why he’s called the Master.

He stroked your cheek gently with his other hand. “Very good, my pet, you’re a fast learner.” He gave a short chuckle. “Show me you can worship your Master’s cock and I’ll let you cum…” He made a very effective offer. Couldn’t haggle your way, the deal was iron-clad.

He took his hands off you and offered up his crotch to you.

It sunk in and you worked off his belt and slid the denim down his hips, his full length peeking out from his briefs. You tore those off, because, hey, an eye for an eye, and those were the only pair of panties you had here. 

You pulled back on his foreskin and began to work it gently to try your best to earn your pleasure…

Working your way to his balls and playing with them before you willed your throat to produce saliva you began licking and sucking on his shaft. You desperately were working on trying the two tasks at once, after a minute you looked up, his mouth shut and him biting that lovely soft looking full lip, his hands found their way to your shoulders as he dug his nails in and went with your motions. 

Moving up you placed your tongue in his slit and licked it slightly, then your lips before engulfing him in your wet mouth and hollowing your cheeks out. The Master guided you down ‘til you felt him at the most far point in your throat. As one machine you both came together to have him reach deeper in your mouth than you thought you could do, all waves of physical impairment wiping away. You cupped your tongue and continued slicking. 

You tried to not let your nails cut him while you still played with his balls. 

He had an amazing stamina (you credit this as you feel yourself getting lightheaded to alien trickery) and lasted beyond long before he suddenly pulled you off and jerked, “Oh, fuck, I’m so close…” he was peaky and shoved you down to the ground. He put a knee between your legs and forced your legs open wide- before ruining all other men for you, his cock automatically hit your G-spot after a few thrusts you were screaming, “Oh Master!” and cumming the quickest you ever had, and possibly the hardest. Your vision was turid and specked. He gulped and it felt like he was at the end of his term. You could feel his hot, wet seed spurting against you. 

You did mental maths, and you hoped that you couldn’t get pregnant. 

Relaxing inside you he collapsed and gave you a grimace before playing idly with your hair. You tried to get your breathing back to a stable, sane level that suggested some decent amount of lung capacity past toddlers’. 

He booped your nose and whispered into your ear, “See? That was fun, my pet.” Grazing down with his teeth and biting the hollow of your neck and throat. 

He rolled over and winked, “So was that a better night treat that a plain ol’ cuppa?” Propping himself up on his elbow. 

“I’m thinking of a collar, something discreet, of course, and in a nice pretty purple…” The way he said it clearly indicated that that mind of his was already made up. You were getting a collar. “Would my pretty little pet like a pretty little purple collar?” He lifted your chin up and stroked your hollow. 

“I... still... want…” you said in a tiny shell-shocked voice, “A cup of...tea?” 

He chortled and popped up, “Go shower love. It’ll be by your bed when you get there. Still warm and everything.”

It took you a minute or ten to get off the console room floor. You made the stunning choice of just abandoning the ruined dress there. You saw him out of the corner of your eye as you made your exit shake his head and roll his eyes with an indulgent grin. 

The shower stung your muscles yet felt beyond delightful. You got loosened up and found a comfy white tee shirt, a steaming warm cup of lavender and chamomile tea, a pair of stretchy purple and navy flannel shorts, and a maille collar entwined with a lavender ribbon and diamond heart in a center dainty O-ring. A small handwritten note attached:

“Take care of this...I’ll see it and you in the morning…x”

You tied it on and got dressed, sliding under the covers, today had been a day and you drifted off before your head met the pillow.

[nothingunrealistic]

be more chill, august 4, 2019

Cast: Troy Iwata as Rich, OBC otherwise

More Than Survive

“girls! …boys!” is still in the show! Jeremy Heere: Not Cishet

there’s a drawing of a tesseract on the blackboard in the classroom. what are they teaching these kids?

there are posters advertising several school clubs, including chess club and Spanish club. (those were the only ones I could make out.)

Jeremy doesn’t even look at Christine when she’s telling him there’s something written on his backpack.

for most of Michael’s solo, Jeremy just looks frustrated with Michael for not listening to him, rather than relieved to see him.

as Michael and Jeremy are harmonizing on “Christiiiine,” Christine (having already signed up for the play) runs around them in circles. Naruto running, to be specific.

I Love Play Rehearsal

Michael physically shoves Jeremy into rehearsal as he’s verbally hyping himself up to go in.

when Jeremy asks if this is where to meet for the play, Christine looks around in disbelief and gestures to the podium when telling him it’s actually where to meet for the swim team, and Jeremy goes “what??” and spins around looking equally disbelieving.

after telling Jeremy that play rehearsal is “fun,” Christine shuts herself up — and then very gradually turns around to look back at Jeremy, and sees he’s still listening attentively, which gives her the courage to say more.

the few times Jeremy speaks in this scene, his speech is even more stilted than in the first scene, and he practically doubles over from nerves at some points — most notably when Christine comes VERY close to kissing him and then pulls away to Scream. 

Jeremy anticipates Christine saying that play rehearsal is starting “now,” and starts to form the word “now” just as she says “soon” instead.

Jeremy gets shoved off his chair by Rich and ends up on the floor, as do most of the characters.

Jeremy’s expressions throughout Jake and Christine’s conversation epitomize “looking into the camera like you’re on The Office,” especially after Jake describes Juliet as “that girl who died.” when Jake is telling Christine about the pressure he always feels, he not-so-subtly flexes his arm muscles, and Jeremy looks at his own arm with disappointment.

Christine leans on the podium in an obvious attempt to look Cool And Casual while Jake is talking to her, though she’s clearly nervous, and surprised when Jake tells her he’s doing the play for her.

the other ninety percent of this post is under the cut (with pictures!)

The Squip Song

I’ve seen Gerard’s Rich described as trying to fight/resist his SQUIP throughout this song and clearly not wanting to tell Jeremy what he’s telling him. Troy’s Rich isn’t anything like that — other than smacking himself to snap out of lisping, he doesn’t seem to be having an issue with his SQUIP at all.

Jeremy, on the other hand, spends the whole song flinching away from Rich — on Rich’s string of “then then then then then…” Jeremy is continually backing away from him, until he’s backed all the way into the proscenium and Rich is RIGHT in front of him.

on the “blip” of “on the school social map you’re just a blip!” Rich boops Jeremy’s nose, which would be adorable if Jeremy weren’t terrified.

in his reprise of the song, Jeremy attempts the hand choreography that Rich was doing in telling him about the SQUIP, and fails miserably.

Two-Player Game 

Michael is drinking the Crystal Pepsi that he’s comparing Jeremy to. that can’t be safe.

when Mr. Heere enters, Michael is curled up on the floor, so only his back and feet are visible to Mr. Heere — no wonder he didn’t recognize Michael.

Mr. Heere and Michael exchange Understanding looks behind Jeremy’s back after “that’s why most people aren’t your father.”

The Squip Enters

the Scary Stockboy communicates exclusively in grunts for several lines. think Tim Allen on Home Improvement.

Jake, Christine, and Jenna are looking on in confusion as Jeremy is first talking to his SQUIP, and he gestures to Christine that he’s okay.

Be More Chill, Pt. 1

Jeremy has fun following the SQUIP’s instructions at first — he goes over the top with arching his back, puffing out his chest, and walking with Swagger, looking cheerful all the while. he doesn’t look unhappy until the SQUIP tells him that “all your nerdiness is ugly,” which it does while physically moving his head/face around with its hands to look at him better. (it does that to him a couple other times too.)

after “everything about you makes me want to die,” Jeremy mutters “oh God, oh no” repeatedly, in addition to breathing hard and fast. in this song, and throughout the first act, he mouths “what?” and other phrases to himself in reaction to everything happening around him.

Troy plays a mall employee in the mall scenes, rather than whatever character Gerard plays.

the mall people get Right up in Jeremy’s face when telling him he sucks.

the girl’s shirt Jeremy picks out is the shirt Chloe’s holding in this picture, which is nothing like what I would have expected.

Do You Wanna Ride?

Brooke’s attempts at seduction involve twirling around the straw from her can of La Croix (which sprays some in Chloe’s eye), crawling on the floor, and shoving the can into Jeremy’s chest. oh, Brooke.

Brooke also emphasizes the “ex” when telling Jeremy about her ex-boyfriend.

Be More Chill, Pt. 2

“I can… access the mall security cameras” is clearly a hasty lie from the SQUIP.

Jeremy falls asleep sideways on his bed once he gets home, and the SQUIP makes him tuck himself in — possibly the first instance of it controlling Jeremy’s body?

Sync Up

while opening his laptop, Jeremy makes beeping noises to the melody of More Than Survive, which is also playing in the background at that moment.

“I was just going to check my email” was delivered angrily rather than defensively. 

Jeremy’s “ooooh” in response to his vision being fixed is also Tim Allen-esque.

as Jake passes by, the SQUIP tells Jeremy to “make a fist,” just in time for Jake to do an elaborate handshake/fist bump with Jeremy.

while the SQUIP is telling Jeremy about Chloe’s obsession with status, Chloe is leaning against the side of a bank of lockers, trying to collect herself and calm down.

Brooke reads the French phrase she’s using to try to impress Jeremy off of her hand.

during various instrumental breaks, Jeremy does the Squip Song hand choreography in sync with Rich and later the SQUIP, and cycles through greeting all the other students (bumping hips with and high fiving people, taking a selfie with Jenna, etc). it’s a great illustration of the “good hand-eye coordination” allegedly required for success in life and for how the SQUIP is helping Jeremy already, and also just really cool to watch. the lack of an applause break after the song was disappointing because I desperately wanted to clap for all that.

A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into

Brooke is hovering over Chloe’s shoulder while Chloe is confronting Christine about Jake, even twirling her hair in time with Chloe doing the same. 

the curtains part on the school’s stage to reveal Rich twerking. he immediately scurries off.

most of Jenna’s Midsummer lines are delivered in a normal voice, but “one thousand years ago this midsummer” is in the most over-the-top Shakespearean voice imaginable.

Jeremy starts coughing the moment the SQUIP stops delivering his monologue through him, and looks shocked that it happened at all.

Christine is carrying the box of prop hearts when complimenting Jeremy on how Into This he is. wonderful visual symbolism.

as previously mentioned, the extended bowling ball dialogue (all occurring while the SQUIP looks on in confusion and disgust):

Christine: …and at the end, I give birth to the bowling ball! Jeremy [clapping]: That sounds awesome! And very… theatrical! Christine: Well, thank you. If you don’t mind — [hands over the bowling ball] Jeremy: Oh, yeah — Christine: Just for a moment… [both cooing over the “baby”] Christine: Don’t cry, you’re just a BALL! [takes it from Jeremy’s arms and rolls it offstage; both laughing] Christine: Ten! Jeremy: Win!

the other students pass back and forth behind the partly open curtains with the prop hearts (which are hinged in the middle) before passing between Jeremy and Christine with them.

Christine gets very close to Jeremy’s face, as if to kiss him, again, before revealing that the guy that she’d kinda be into is Jake.

Upgrade

Brooke sits on the ground and clings to/wraps herself around Jeremy’s legs while telling him about Eminem’s death; she slides onto Jeremy’s lap from a higher row of the bleachers to kiss him, and when the scene cuts back to them he fully gets up and off the bleachers to ask why she likes him.

Britton Smith’s vibrato. end of note.

during the overlapping “I’m tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am,” the teens repeatedly cross the stage, finally arranging themselves in a V behind Jeremy until he jumps back onto the bleachers, telling the SQUIP that “this is way too intense!”

Loser Geek Whatever 

exact words from my notes: “Will Fucking Roland did THAT” 

he spends the first verse and chorus sitting on the top row of the bleachers, only standing and walking down the bleachers in the second verse.

the act still ends with the SQUIP ominously reaching for Jeremy just as the lights go down.

Halloween

Jenna arrives wearing a mask as part of her clown costume — not quite like the clown from IT, but in that same vein of creepiness.

some new dialogue between Brooke and Jeremy after he compliments her costume:

Jeremy: I mean… it’s amazing. You’re amazing. Brooke: That’s what I like about Halloween. It’s the one night I get to be something I’m not. Jeremy: What’s wrong with the way you are? Brooke: You’re sweet, Jeremy. You need a drink.

Christine vanishes after Jake tells her that “the keg’s over there” and walks away.

Chloe is talking to Jeremy on the couch at one point before they both leave, presumably telling him about Brooke’s “surprise.”

Do You Wanna Hang? 

the best way I can describe the choreography/staging of this song is that, like Brooke, Chloe has wildly inaccurate ideas about what “sexy,” is, and less like Brooke, she has wildly inaccurate ideas of what constitutes consent. (this post explains it well.)

the SQUIP makes Jeremy walk over to Chloe (in an extremely jerky/robotic fashion) while he’s expressing surprise that she’s jealous of Brooke. to which she responds “obviously, I am NOT” while obviously crying.

Brooke shows up after Chloe tells Jeremy that “I’m bored of you anyway,” and Jake soon follows, yelling that they’d better not be having sex on his parents’ bed because “I specifically told everyone that was off limits!” 

after Jake chases Jeremy out, Brooke stays behind to ask Chloe “how could you?” Chloe’s response, delivered so drunkenly that is isn’t even an answer to the question: “I’m so wasted right now.”

Michael In The Bathroom

“what’s not on the Internet?” got a lot of laughter.

Michael and Jeremy’s argument isn’t about luck, but about who’s looking out for Jeremy:

Michael: Think, man! We’re talking an insanely powerful supercomputer! And you’re using it to, what, get laid? Did it ever occur to you that there could be consequences? That you’re messing with something you don’t understand? Jeremy: You’re the one who said technology isn’t dangerous. Michael: Yeah, unless you use it like you. Jeremy: And I thought Chloe was jealous. Michael: I’m trying to look out for you. Jeremy: Oh, really? Because I think you’re pissed that I have one and you don’t.  Michael: Oh, come on, man. Jeremy: I’m looking out for myself, for the first time in my life. With my history, I think I deserve that. 

the jack-o’-lanterns hanging overhead flash in time with the “knock knock knock knock/clang clang clang clang/[etc.]” lines.

they really do take the bathtub away like in the rehearsal videos! bizarre choice if you ask me, but I’m not Stephen Brackett, so they didn’t ask me. 

A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into (Reprise)

Brooke enters in the background just as Jeremy is sitting on the couch with Christine, stops to look at him sadly, and then leaves without saying anything; he doesn’t notice her at all.

Christine now tells Jeremy that Jake is upstairs fighting with Chloe, rather than having makeup sex, and that she dumped him because “I know he seems like this confident guy on the outside, but… under that he had this whole other layer, he was sensitive and sweet. And then the third layer was like, this underlying total jerk layer.”

at this particular show, Jeremy and Christine’s mutual weird noises were just full-throated screaming. 

Christine advises Gingivitis to “drink water!” as he stumbles offstage.

over the course of them making weird noises at each other, Jeremy ends up lying on the couch with his legs hanging over the armrest, a pose I’d seen before in at least one piece of fanart but hadn’t realized was actually in the show.

Christine no longer gives any explanation of why she can’t date Jeremy — she just apologizes and runs off. the SQUIP’s return moments later is met with a very morose “look who decided to show up.”

The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set A Fire)

Brooke has a pair of earbuds that she briefly poses with (holding them taut overhead) before tossing them away just like her banana.

The Pants Song

at the SQUIP’s advice, Jeremy “disengages” from the conversation with his dad about the party; Mr. Heere says not to “hide behind [his] phone,” but Jeremy doesn’t look up until his mom is mentioned.

Jeremy’s rant about how his dad can’t act like a father and just keeps waiting for his mom to come back ends with “No wonder she’s gone.”

upon seeing Mr. Heere, Michael hides whatever it is he’s using to smoke (I don’t think it’s a bong but I have no idea what it actually is) among a bunch of garden gnomes.

“do you love him?” is followed by a record scratch (or maybe shredding on a string instrument?) and the music completely stopping long enough for Michael to respond.

Michael straightens/tugs down his boxer briefs during the second chorus.

“somewhat reluctantly” is followed by a recorder trill that’s not in the album recording.

Mr. Heere opens up his robe on “real literal pants” and shows off his distinct lack of pants to the audience before Michael urges him to put all that away.

The Pitiful Children

when Jeremy arrives at school, Chloe and Jake are arguing about who’s worse off:

Jake: No, no, no. You were messing around with Jeremy in my parents’ room! Chloe: You dumped me for a theatre girl! Jake: Hey, come on, Chlo. I broke my legs! Chloe: You broke my heart. Jake: Well, my house burned down! Chloe [furiously]: You had it coming! Jenna: Oh my God, guys, did you see me on TV? Chloe, Jake, and Brooke: Not now, Jenna!

Brooke’s confrontation of Jeremy now mentions her ex:

Jeremy: Hey, it’s so crazy, right, with Rich and the fire — Brooke: You knew my last boyfriend cheated on me. And you did it anyway. Did you even like me? Or were you just using me to get to someone else? Jeremy: No —  Brooke: I am not a sexy dog you can kick, Jeremy. I am a person. [cue Chloe calling her like a dog]

Christine says “I guess I’ll just do theatre” with heavy irony — she realizes that doing theatre won’t fix anything that she’s upset about.

on the first chorus, all the teens (who had left the stage) walk back through again, as if to remind Jeremy of who exactly the pitiful children in question are.

Jeremy adds Mountain Dew to the beaker first, followed by a few SQUIPs, which frankly seems like the worst order to do that in.

Jeremy sounds more stilted again (more like in act 1) when offering Jenna the excuse about preparing Pansy Serum. he still asks Jenna “how are you feeling today?” but doesn’t immediately interrupt her to offer her a SQUIP:

Jenna: No one’s ever asked me that before. I know everything about everyone at this school, but no one ever wants to know me. SQUIP: You can help her. Offer her a drink. Jeremy: I can’t trick her into drinking a pill! SQUIP: She would do anything to feel like she belonged. Jenna: I would do anything to feel like I belong. Jeremy: Then would you maybe want to… drink this? Jenna: What’s in it? Jeremy: A supercomputer from Japan that’ll solve all your problems. Oh, and Mountain Dew. Jenna [cheerfully]: Okay!

the same blue screens/user agreement that appeared in the projections during The Squip Enters appear again behind Jenna, during her singing to the melody of The Smartphone Hour, suggesting that that’s the moment when her SQUIP fully activates.

by the end of the song, Jeremy has joined in on the choreography with the SQUIP ensemble. at times the SQUIP guides him through it by standing right behind him and placing its arms under his, a gesture that returns in The Play.

The Play 

after Jeremy’s attempt to convince Christine to get a SQUIP totally fails, his SQUIP enters from above, being gradually lowered from the ceiling onto the stage.

Mr. Reyes gives Brooke the Pansy Serum onstage (as in, on the stage of A Midsummer Nightmare About Zombies) and she drinks it through a straw. (how did the SQUIP even get through it?)

the SQUIP explains its reasoning behind taking over more than just the student body:

SQUIP [over building music]: And why stop with the school? There’s an entire world of suffering people who need my help! It’s the glorious destiny for which I was programmed! And I never would have discovered it without… you.  [music cuts out] Jeremy: …Oh, shit.

Rich physically shows up and yells “I NEED MOUNTAIN DEW RED!” when Jeremy is remembering him doing just that at the party. I tried to describe the staging but couldn’t put it into words so here’s a picture

Jeremy glitches even more than is on the cast recording, from the moment he first tries to say “I’m sorry,” and the lights in the set itself flash in time with his glitching; when he isn’t talking or being forced to hit Michael, he’s clutching his neck/throat and bending over in pain.

Jeremy knocks Michael to the floor with a punch, which was met with gasps and silence until Michael said “then why are you hitting me?” (an understatement, really.)

Jake pours the Mountain Dew Red either down a sink or into a laundry bin (either way, it’s not just onto the floor.) after telling Jeremy and Michael that his SQUIP blocked his pain receptors, he jumps a few times and says, “Now I don’t hurt anymore… here… or here,” first gesturing to his legs and then putting his hands over his heart.

when telling Jeremy they’re no longer mad at him, Brooke clings to Jeremy’s legs like she did in Upgrade, while Chloe wraps her arms around his neck and head; once they realize they see and like one another, they physically toss him aside.

the SQUIP urges Jeremy to “look how happy everyone is when they just get with the program!”

Michael tosses the bottle of Mountain Dew Red to Jeremy just before being knocked out and taken away by the SQUIP zombies.

the SQUIP zombies all bow to Christine when she appears. Christine gets VERY close to Jeremy during her solo, putting her hands on his chest and just generally being all over him.

once Christine’s finished singing, Jeremy is standing and watching her, the SQUIP telling him he can’t possibly drink the last drops, the hand that he’s holding the bottle with shaking uncontrollably as he tries to fight the SQUIP’s control… and then! his hand stops shaking as he gains the strength to physically knock the SQUIP back — and gives the bottle to Christine. 

Michael explains about the links between the SQUIPs that means destroying one will destroy them all, AS the deactivation sequence is happening. good for him for figuring it out so quickly, I suppose? it does mess a bit with the flow of the scene though.

Voices In My Head 

Rich’s “totally bi now” on Michael’s entrance is sung, sounding a lot like like “technically I’m homeless!” 

Michael tells Jeremy that after everyone at the play passed out, “the audience went totally crazy… they’re saying it’s the best school play in years.”

since Michael’s already explained the linking between the SQUIPs, his and Jeremy’s conversation now focuses on how Jeremy knew that destroying one would destroy them all (he didn’t — he “was just trying to save Christine”) and why Michael came to help him:

Jeremy: After everything I did, you were still there for me.  Michael: Oh, I was fully prepared to watch you suffer. Jeremy: Wow. Michael: But then someone reminded me, when you love someone, you…  [Mr. Heere enters] Michael: …it sounds better when he says it.

Michael fixes Jeremy’s sweatshirt while saying it’s reassuring that Jeremy still needs them.

after Rich suggests that Jeremy tell Christine that she “excites you sexually,” Jeremy points at Rich as if to say “is that right?” and Michael and Mr. Heere make frantic gestures to the effect of “NO IT ISN’T.”

Brooke tells Jeremy that she’s still mad at him, but also over him, and Jenna’s arm is on her shoulder the whole time. considering that Chloe and Jake are being similarly affectionate in that scene, it certainly suggests that Brooke and Jenna are a couple now.

Jake dabs after offering his own advice, and Jeremy dabs in response.

Christine revealing that Ruth Bader Ginsberg was her SQUIP also got a big laugh.

instead of Jeremy bending down to kiss Christine, he kneels down in a sort of lunging position, and Christine runs into his arms to kiss him.

the repetition of “the loudest one is mine!” is accompanied by all the teens hugging and high fiving one another and dancing together. they’re all in love… 

Stage door

Troy Iwata was the first to come out and sign things, and someone standing near me shouted “Troy’s our boy!”

George Salazar came out second, not long after Troy and first went around posing for selfies with everyone before going around a second time to actually sign things.

after a while of waiting, the band came out — no idea if they signed anything, but they got cheers, especially the theremin player.