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annes-andromeda · 1 year ago

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Wish Rewrite

I have this tendency for rewriting material I either don’t like or think had wasted potential. At the time of writing this, Wish hasn’t come out in theaters but I did pirate it as there was an early screening. I also read the junior novelization and bought the concept art book. Needless to say, I was disappointed by what I read/saw.

I feel like Wish could’ve been better. Granted, the story and characters are not terrible, but they certainly leave much to be desired. This is literally Disney’s 100th anniversary, yet it doesn’t really feel like it. Not only that, but the movie felt incredibly rushed. Yeah I know that most Disney movies try have a run time of 90-100+ minutes, but I think a few more minutes could’ve been added to this film.

So, I decided to indulge myself and outline some changes that I think could’ve made the story slightly better. These ideas are by no means perfect, and in the end, this is all in good fun.

Spoilers ahead btw

The main story of Wish is essentially that Asha wants to get a job as Magnifico’s apprentice so that her grandfather’s wish is granted. But Asha finds out about the King’s true nature, and after questioning him, doesn’t get the job, and Magnifico vows to never grant Sabino or Sakina’s wishes.

Asha makes a wish on a star, and the star comes down, Magnifico tries to hunt down the two of them, he uses an evil spell book to create a staff, Magnifico destroys some wishes, Asha gets help from her friends, they sing a song to defeat Magnifico (I ‘wish’ i was joking), Star gives Asha a magic wand, and all is well.

Oh, and Amaya is… there.

It’s nothing complex, pretty cut and dry. And I don’t have a problem with a simple story! But this feels like it’s… missing something.

Firstly, I’d change the title. Disney already has a boat called Wish, and not every movie needs to be one word like Tangled, Frozen, and Brave (amongst others), so the story could be renamed “Asha and the Wishing Star” or “Asha and the Kingdom of Wishes”. Idk, something that evokes a classic fairytale book feel (or that does confuse people with a boat).

((Side note #1: I honestly enjoy that the story started off with a book, as a nod to classic disney movies, especially Snow White. That was cute))

Secondly, and I know I sound like a broken record at this point…

AMAYA👏🏼SHOULDVE👏🏼BEEN👏🏼A👏🏼VILLAIN👏🏼ALONGSIDE👏🏼HER👏🏼HUSBAND👏🏼

The original plan, according to the concept art book, was to have Magnifico and Amaya to be a villain couple who were partners in crime and owned a black sphinx cat named Charo. However for… reasons, the creators took the ‘safe’ route and made Amaya the good one out of the two.

But the problem is, by erasing Amaya’s evilness, the creators of Wish essentially removed any purpose or personality she may have had and thus, she was left to become a literal ‘supporting’ character. First supporting both Magnifico and Asha, then leaving Magnifico to prop up solely Asha.

Deadass, you can literally remove Amaya from the story and nothing would change. Which is probably why she was exempt from much of the promotional stuff minus the dolls. Because she literally serves no purpose but to be… there.

So, in my version of Wish, Amaya would be a co-conspirator to her husband and yes, I’m adding Charo too. Her personality would be inspired by classic female villains such as the Evil Queen from Snow White, Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty.

Vain, glamorous, cunning, and unabashedly evil, Amaya would be the Morticia to Magnifico’s Gomez, the brains to his brawn. She’s the girlboss, he’s the wife instigator. Magnifico spoils Amaya rotten with countless gifts and praises, whilst Amaya is the more calm and collected evil compared to her husband’s ever-growing temper.

While she starts the story with no magic, Magnifico just can’t leave his wife hanging and shares the power of the evil spell-book with Amaya. And yes, even Charo gets in on the fun, turning from a small house cat, to a massive shape-shifting beast who breaths blue fire similarly to a dragon (shut up i think it’d be cool)

Magnifico and Amaya essentially keep the wishes of Rosas locked in the castle as a form of obedience. By giving the citizens false hope, it makes them more dependent on the royal couple, and the two have more power over everyone.

Anyways, let’s get to the main characters: Asha and Star.

I don’t have much of an issue with Asha’s character, more so her design. I already made a post showing my redesign of her, so that’s out of the way. Tbh tho, I also have an issue with the rest of the costume design of Wish, being a big costume nerd myself. The movie’s supposed to take inspiration from the Mediterranean, primarily places such as Spain and Morocco (and the Amazigh people for Asha), but the fashion feels like generic European medieval fashion.

I feel like the whole storyline of Asha’s interview with Magnifico was pretty pointless, so I would have it that she just starts off as the kings apprentice, whilst also working as Amaya’s scullery maid.

The couple took Asha in when the girl lost her father at the age of 12 (according to the film), and she’s been working for them for five years. Asha works not only to support herself, her family, and her community, but also as a way to distract from the grief of losing her father. Which is no issue, as Amaya always bombards the girl with chores, and Magnifico only teaches Asha the most basic of magic for fear of her growing more powerful than him.

I made Asha work as a scullery maid not only as a reference to princesses such as Snow White and Cinderella starting off their respective stories as maids, but also because scullery maids acted as assistants to the kitchen maids. Dahlia works in the kitchen, Asha and Dahlia are best friends, I figured it made sense.

But anyways, on the day of Sabino’s 100th birthday, Sakina tells Asha to take a break and return home, as she hardly visits anymore due to work. Asha says she’ll try asking the king and queen to get off early, but that she can’t make any promises.

Asha meets with Magnifico and asks for the day off, but the king refuses. However, wanting to keep her loyalty, Magnifico finally shows Asha the wish chamber, and even allows her to witness the wish ceremony that night. But once Asha starts questioning the king on his methods, any goodwill between them begins to fade.

Another thing I’m disappointed in, is that originally Star was going to be a shapeshifting humanoid inspired by the Genie and Peter Pan, and may have even had a romance with Asha. But, the idea was scrapped for the more cutesy, ‘marketable’, version of Star.

In my retelling, I’d choose to do this human shapeshifter version of Star, but I’d name him something else. The star Earendel was mentioned in the concept art book, which is the farthest known star from Earth and not only means ‘morning star’ in Old English, but is also named after the Tolkien character, Eärendil.

I would call this shapeshifter Star Earen, and because Disney loves their animal/cute sidekicks, Earen can have the ‘Kirby’ Star as a companion, just like how Asha has Valentino and Magnifico and Amaya have Charo.

((Side #2: Anybody else notice that Star lowkey looks and sounds like Kirby😶))

Earen and Star journey down to Rosas once they hear Asha’s pleas for guidance. Once Asha tells of Magnifico and Amaya’s lies, Earen reveals that he actually met Magnifico decades ago. The amount of years shocks Asha, as she realizes that the King and Queen might be far older than what they are.

((Side note #3: I didn’t realize this till someone mentioned it, but if Sabino is 100 and he gave Magnifico his wish at 18, then he’s been waiting 82 years for his wish to be granted. Which means it’s likely that Magnifico might be immortal. That, or Disney didn’t think this shit through (most likely)))

Anyways, Earen actually attempted to stop Magnifico and Amaya’s ploy to keep the wishes of Rosas locked away, but he was sealed within the heavens until he and Star heard Asha make her wish.

We can have it that the king and queen spun the story so that Earen was made out to be an evil that once threatened Rosas, but Magnifico banished him and saved everyone, essentially making himself out to be the good guy and manipulating the narrative.

Asha and Earen must now work together to expose the lies of the royal couple, and along the way, the two begin to fall in love. Earen disguises himself as a peasant boy so as to remain inconspicuous, while Asha tries to go about her job as if nothing happened, evading the King and Queen’s suspicions.

Star gives Asha a stick infused with stardust once finding out she is, quite literally, the sorcerers apprentice. It is also so that she may defend herself, as Earen has his powers and a sword (similarly to Peter Pan).

Unlike Magnifico, Earen and Star teach Asha the wonders of magic and the potential she wields, showing that there is no need for her to hold back when her gift can help so many, including those she loves.

The three manage to sneak into the kings study, but only have time to retrieve Sabino’s wish and return it to him. However, Magnifico and Amaya, now strengthened by the powers of dark magic, find Asha and Earen and threaten to destroy all the wishes should Earen not surrender to them.

And as a way to ensure that Asha doesn’t foil their plans, Magnifico destroys both Asha and Sakina’s wishes, despite Asha not being eighteen yet. However, the evil magic allows him to do so. This act weakens the two women, and infuriates Earen.

Earen then willingly complies despite Asha’s opposition, and Sabino takes Asha and Sabina to the seven (well six) teens for aid, who are in hiding after Simon ratted them out and who now serves as a puppet to the king and queen.

Despite loosing her wish, Asha finds the strength to carry on through the memory of her late father, enlisting the help of her friends and Star, who managed to evade the royal couple’s grasp. The team must work together to save Earen, whose power will be drained by Magnifico and Amaya. And if such a feat were to happen, then Earen would die and Rosas would be lost.

The five teens go into the woods to distract one of the royals, with the aid of the forest fauna and Star. Amaya chases the group alongside Charo while Magnifico tortures Earen and begins stealing his power. With the help of Dahlia, Asha sneaks into the castle to confront her former mentor and save Earen before it’s too late.

At first, it seems that the heroes have the upper hand with Magnifico neutralized, but then, Amaya swoops in riding Charo, who now takes the form of a giant dragon. Earen transforms into a dragon himself and battles Charo and Amaya, while Asha continues battling Magnifico. Star even comes to help after the original plan fails.

However, the unholy trio have the upper hand, and Amaya strikes down Earen, giving Magnifico enough time to not only drain Earen’s power, but to trap Star within his staff. With their combined powers, Magnifico and Amaya gather all of the peoples wishes, even stealing the wishes of those not yet of age, which includes the teens.

With all the wishes gathered, the couple and their pet destroy all the wishes, taking their energy for themselves.

Asha falls into despair as she watched her friends, love ones, and community succumb to the grief of loosing their wishes. The king and queen force Asha to apologize to the people, mocking her and making her feel even more guilty.

However, Earen comforts Asha despite his weak state, telling her it’s alright and that she shouldn’t be ashamed of wishing on Star, as he brought the two of them together. The two kiss, the strength of their newfound love and hope shining through the darkness and inspiring the people of Rosas to rise up.

As the sky and stars become alive, Magnifico’s staff is destroyed, releasing Star in the process. All the evil magic he, Amaya, and Charo used is sucked out of them and vanquished, and Earen is restored to full vitality.

Think of this as the transformation scene from Princess and the Frog. Asha and Earen get new outfits, with Asha even gaining a crown and a new wand from Star.

((Side Note #4: The “transformation” in the finale of the film is so stupid. Asha could’ve literally gotten a new dress once she becomes a fairy godmother, but instead, Star just made her sparkly. How magical🙄))

Rosas rejoices, as they realize they don’t need the king to make their wishes come true, and they can pursue them themselves. With Magnífico and Amaya banished from Rosas, Asha and Earen become the new rulers, being names Prince and Princess respectively.

And that’s basically how I would’ve done Wish. It’s not perfect, but it’s just an idea. I’m just disappointed that Disney do something better for their 100th anniversary.

#disney #my writing #disney wish #wish 2023 #king magnifico #queen amaya #magnifico x amaya #princess asha #asha wish #star wish

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stardew-shitposterino · 2 years ago

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Stardew Valley Bachelors and their preferred pet names for you

You know the drill by now. Enjoy ✨

Sam:

-he’s pretty standard, so don’t expect something crazy, he isn’t good with words.

-baby/babe; pretty standard, but it’s what comes to his mind when he sees you. You’re just his baby girl 😩💕

-cutie; he won’t call you that all the time, but more when he is in a playful mood and wants to show you how much he likes you :3 “hey cutie, what are you doing there?”

-what can I say except I told you so🫣 he’s better with showing his affection through actions, not words 🤷🏼‍♀️

Sebastian:

-also pretty standard

-baby (this will come up a lot more I’m sorry y’all 😭)

-darling; but only when he’s in the mood for it

-(little) bat; because you kept joking about him being an emo/goth and he called you that for fun…it kinda stuck and it’s really cute ngl 🖤

-I have a feeling he will occasionally insult you as an inside joke too lol. Nothing too intense, he doesn’t want to hurt your feelings, but he won’t hold back to tease you like he teases Sam or Abbey

Elliott:

-behold, he’s a connoisseur for good old-fashioned pet names

-darling; I don’t have to elaborate

-love (in the most tender, smooth voice you can imagine)🥰🤭🫣💗

-precious; because you’re the most valuable thing in his life 😍

-he will throw in some original pet names which will sound oh so fancy, like names of flowers he finds beautiful, or generally things he loves (maybe not Tom Kha soup or lobster 💀)

Harvey:

-he’s so sweet, he’s like Elliott in that regard, so he will use some outdated ones

-darling 🤭

-love; his favourite, he can’t but blush himself calling you ‘his love’ (😩💗)

-honey; he uses that one a lot too. When you have breakfast together and he reads something interesting in the newspaper, he’ll happily exclaim it to grab your attention

-dear; but that one not so much, mostly when he is “arguing” with you or tries to talk you out of a dangerous idea (the farmer is a bit unhinged and he’s so worried about you 🥺)

Shane:

-Shane is a guy-guy, but he has some variety to his pet names based on his mood

-angel; this one is my favourite for his pet names. Not only does it apply because you ‘saved’ him from committing a big mistake, but he also found a real friend in you which he didn’t have for most of his life

-babe; pretty standard, he uses it quite frequently instead of calling you by your name

-doll; sometimes that unintentional dad vibe comes through but I find it a bit funny lmfao

-he also uses plenty of stupid “insults” like Sebastian because he’s a little menace and mild bullying is his love language 💙 if you’re short you’re a dwarf or hobbit for sure despite him being a short king himself

Alex:

-Alex can be a brick-head, but he has some cute names he likes to use

-baby; wow, we haven’t had that one yet 😃

-doll; idk why; I look at that guy and it just fits 🤷🏼‍♀️

-farm girl/boy; it’s a nod to the time you just got to know each other. He likes to nag you a bit with that one which you lovingly play into

-gorgeous; he just has to emphasise how freaking beautiful you are to him 🥰 he will often go past you and pretend he’s hitting on you, as if you’re not married for 5 years and have 2 kids lol. “Hey gorgeous, I’ve never seen you around here. You have a boyfriend? If not I’d like to apply for that position.”

#stardew valley #sdv shane #sdv bachelors #sdv #sdv Harvey #sdv Sam #sdv Alex #sdv sebastian #elliott sdv #Stardew valley headcanons #sdv headcanons #Stardew Shane #Stardew Harvey #Stardew Elliott #Stardew Sam #Stardew Alex #Stardew Sebastian

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your-unfriendlyghost · 5 months ago

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random Steve Randle Top Gun AU h/cs

because although I haven’t drawn this AU much lately, I do think about it often lol

-Mav gives Steve a tape player & some cassettes- CCR, Hendrix, a few other classic bands that are just after Steve’s time, and some 80s covers of 50s songs. Steve’s confused, but likes it. Sends a few to the gang, which is useless to them, since there’s no tape players in the 60s

-Steve watches Star Wars and American Graffitti, and prefers American Graffiti. Really likes the drag racing scene at the end

-Steve and Mav argue about whether or not Steve has to wear a helmet on Mav’s motorcycle. Mav says Steve does, only Mav doesn’t wear a helmet, so…

-Steve discovers hairspray! Still uses grease, but likes hairspray too. Sends some to Two-Bit who thinks it’s drugs

-In this AU I’m gonna make Evie a girl from San Diego who he meets at school. She becomes his only real friend lol. And for the first time in their friendship, Soda’s the one jealous of one of Steve’s friends

-Steve and Evie eventually get together, and Iceman makes fun of Mav for being less successful with the ladies than his hood-ish little brother from the middle of nowhere

-Evie shows Steve the very 80s shopping mall, and he’s blown away. Has never seen so much stuff all together in one place lol

-She also introduces him to video games, which she is very good at, but he sucks at them so he’s not so fond of them. He’ll still go to the arcade with her though, he’ll grin and bear it if she’s happy.

-Steve refuses at first to call Mav “Mav”, and only refers to him as “Mitchell”

-At least until Maverick offers Steve a chance to pick his own callsign. Then Steve’s onboard

-Steve keeps trying to convince Mav to let him at least work on the planes- if he can’t fly them can he at least follow the engineers around?? (he can’t)

-Everyone at school assumes Steve is just another Navy brat, which bugs him for some reason

-Goose and Ice and the other pilots like to joke around with both Steve and Mav in very similar ways, and then compare their reactions

-Goose and Carole become Steve’s self appointed uncle and aunt. They’re both a bit like Soda, so Steve gets along with them better than he gets along with most other adults

-Like Mav though, Steve initially dislikes Ice. He pretends to like him to piss off Mav, but he secretly finds Ice really obnoxious and Soc-y. He’s never close enough to Ice to discover the guy has layers, so he just continues to not vibe with him, yk?

-The room Mav gives Steve originally is completely unfurnished, with just a desk, and a bed with an air mattress on it. Neither Steve or Mav have any real problem with this until Evie, Goose, and Carole find out and are horrified on Steve’s behalf lol

-Soda comes out to visit whenever he can, and much to his irritation, he likes Evie. He wants to hate her for stealing Steve, but he really really likes her. They both will go to the arcade and play for hours. Steve hates this with a passion.

-Steve keeps bugging Mav to teach him how to surf, and Mav keeps coming up with excuses why not to- secretly, Mav does not actually know how to surf

-Eventually Evie teaches both of them lol, and then Soda too

-Steviepop happens at some point, and Mav finds out b/c he walks in on Soda- Steve’s best friend- and Evie, Steve’s girlfriend, kissing. He low-key freaks out and goes to Goose for advice

-And finally Mav brings it up to Steve, only for Steve to get really embarrassed before admitting that he’s dating a girl and a guy who are also dating each other and he knows it’s weird but it’s just how things are-

-Mav just sorta shakes his head and is like…okay, whatever, kids are weird. (In a goosemavcarole au, this makes him realize he’s a little in love with both Goose and Carole which sends him into a slight crisis) (but i only ship that sometimes so idk)

-Steve tries to convince Mav to let him use the motorcycle alone sometime

-Mav says no, less out of fear for Steve’s safety and more out of fear for his motorcycle’s safety tbh

#steve randle #the outsiders 1983 #the outsiders #pete maverick mitchell #pete mitchell #top gun 1986 #the outsiders steve #top gun maverick #top gun #tom cruise #steve & mav half bros au #evie the outsiders #the outsiders sodapop #steviepop #steve x evie #steve x soda #rambling #80s movies

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fluffyfantasticducky · 1 year ago

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Mistakes and regrets

☆ Pairing: Loki x Reader

☆ Synopsis: Loki is a prisoner that sees his way out through pretending to date you, but when he finds true love he doesn't know how to deal with the guilt of making a very similar damage to the one that had been done to him when he was used for what originally were selfish reasons.

☆ Word Count: 10.5k, I think that's my longest fic yet, and written in the shortest time lapse, not sure what that says about my mental stability rn.

☆ Notes: As I proofread I noticed this could be interpreted as generational trauma, sort of... given I made Loki sort of mirror what Odin did to him. But I wasn't trying to be deep, I just felt like shit during the week and used this to cope. The fic might be cringy as a result, I am honestly not sure.

☆ Warnings: Depression and guilt are the focus points of this storyline. Loki starts is kinda toxic his behavior here isn't meant to be romanticized or intended to be extrapolated to real life, I just wanted to explore a narrative surrounding poor decisions and the dealing of its consequences. The reader is kinda a Mary Sue of sweetness but I just wanted to hammer in Loki feeling bad and guilty. I don't know if this is a trigger but I touch the vault scene of Loki and Odin and Odin being forgiven is also handled, Idk if that's trigger warning worthy but I know most of the fandom hates him.

“You’re not making it any for me brother.” Thor spoke through the glass.

“I want my freedom, brother.” Loki sighed, sitting down on the uncomfortable bench. “Don’t think of me as ungrateful, but as much as I appreciate not being executed, I can’t exactly call this a life.”

“Director Fury insisted, I’ve tried explaining to him that New York was a complicated situation. But he wants to be sure you are not a threat to Earth– uh, Midgard.”

“You've surely adapted well to living here” Loki rolled his eyes. “Pathetic.”

“Cooperate with me, I brother” Thor begged. “I want to help you, but I need you to help me first.”

“I’m not sure what I am expected to do from here” Loki huffed annoyed.

Thor sighed and gave his little brother a sympathetic look. Loki was frustrated, and he couldn’t blame him. He would be too if he got brainwashed, had all his anger, sense of betrayal and resentment exploited to torture an innocent planet, and still be the one to pay for said crimes… Sure he wouldn’t be all jokes and laughs.

“I’ve been negotiating a way to test your stability and get your freedom” Thor smiled hoping to cheer up his brother. And he made Loki look up. “It’d be a bit uncomfortable at first. But I know you can prove yourself. You’d have to wear cuffs or a while, but you’d be free to walk around with me and the others on trips to the city.”

“Hooray…” Loki rolled his eyes.

“Please brother, I’m trying, I just need you to be patient.” Thor spoke sadly as he made his way out. “I hate this as much as you do.”

“Do you?” Loki said. “As far as I know, you’re not the one in a crystal cell.”

“Alright, almost as much as you do.” Thor joked softly and Loki did chuckle weakly.

He agreed that Thor had been furious. But it all happened so fast.

Thor had managed to land a fatal blow on Thanos’ chest and soon Steve, Natasha, and Bruce had arrived to back him up and retrieve the Infinity gauntlet. They opened a portal to bring back Tony, Doctor Strange, and the Spider Ling… And surprisingly a weird group of space travelers.

When Thor realized they could travel to anywhere in the universe they opened a portal to rescue the Asgardian ship. There were a lot of severe wounds but surprisingly Thanos had failed, he underestimated the strength of Asgard, and most people could be saved.

“Thor!” Valkyrie screamed and rushed to hug the king.

“Valkyrie! You are alright! Thank goodness!” Thor smiled in relief and hugged his friend.

“Thor you have to come quick!” Valkyrie urged him. “It’s Loki!”

Thor’s heart sank, his heart couldn’t stand burying the only family member he had left. Thor had lost his parents… he had seen his whole planet die. But not his baby brother. Not Loki. Not again.

“Please… not now… Let’s treat the wounded ones first…” Thor spoke with a knot on his throat. “I want to focus on saving lives first.”

“Thor, you don’t get it! He’s alive!” Valkyrie scolded him. “But he’s in a critical state! We need to take him to a safe place to treat him.”

A tear streamed down the new king’s face, and he felt as if he had finally put down a enormous boulder he had been holding onto. He didn’t lose Loki.

“Take me to him!” Thor urged them.

Valkyrie took Thor to a damaged room in the ship that had been used as an improvised infirmary. In the corner laid a figure Thor knew too well being treated by healers.

“Brother!” Thor said. “Oh Gods… You’re alive…”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily thunder brain… ugh…!” Loki joked weakly as he groaned in pain. The healers begged him not to move as they tried stabilizing his condition. His neck had been nearly obliterated.

It was a miracle Loki hadn’t died and that the healers had managed to find him on time.

“We couldn’t abandon him” one of the healers spoke politely to her king. “After all, it was because of you and prince Loki that Lady Valkyrie managed to evacuate the survivors. We apologize for not finding you, my king.”

“It’s no problem at all” Thor laughed in an uncharacteristically quiet manner. He was breathless. “Thank you for saving my brother’s life.”

The lady healer let out a sheepish giggle and bowed. Loki rolled his eyes, earning a lecture from the healers that were still treating him. King or not, Thor still had that charm that seemed to make most people swoon.

The reunion was interrupted by a group of soldiers that broke in with a logo on their uniforms that made Thor’s blood boil when they pointed their weapons at Loki. SHEILD.

They picked up the stretcher where Loki was laying in and took him away to lock him up.

Apparently, the news travel fast, but SHIELD travels faster, and hearing Loki was alive was enough to mobilize and capture the injured God and lock him in a crystal prison cell in a SHIELD base. If Loki had a coin for every time that happened… he’d have two.

He couldn’t say Thor didn’t do anything about it. He could hear the thunders and enraged screams from his brother, demanding for an explanation and Loki’s immediate liberation.

“I demand my brother is released immediately!” Thor yelled.

“You should consider yourself grateful we’re allowing your witches to go and heal that world-level threat! He would be better off dead!”

“Don’t you dare speak of my brother like that! Me and all of my people would’ve died if it wasn’t for him!”

Loki wasn’t sure if he was amused or if he felt bad.

It did stroke his ego being called “Asgard’s hero” in the middle of the yelling. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Nick Fury was just as loud as Thor when angry. He couldn’t complain much. It made it much easier to hear what was going on, which was good, he was too weakened to use his magic to spy on them.

The healers tending to his neck sure seemed awkward overhearing the fight. It must have been uncomfortable to be doing your job in a high security cell. So, he tried entertaining the healers as he could. Although all he got was a lecture when his magic drained his energy, and they needed him awake to monitor him.

Soon he got better, he but wasn’t allowed to be out of his cell. It was a bit nostalgic, in some dark and twisted way. It even made him want to fix his old horned helmet, even if Thor would call him a cow for wearing it.

And when things couldn’t get worse… he met you.

“It’s lunch time” a voice said in a weirdly friendly tone before you head popped by the entrance as you balanced a tray of food on your head in an attempt to amuse Loki. He wondered if there were buffoons in Midgard, but you always tried to draw a laugh from him… Tried.

“Tough crowd, eh?”

Loki couldn’t not be baffled by the way you talked to him. Although he couldn’t decide if that was because you surely knew his reputation as Midgard’s terrorist or because you always talked in a friendly and goofy tone in a maximum-security prison in a super-secret spy agency. You also seemed to be awfully young to be here, but you couldn’t be much older than the girl Barton took as his protégée.

“What’s on the menu today?” Loki asked in a more formal tone.

“Why the hurry?” you asked, “don’t tell me you got somewhere else to be.”

“You think you are a lot funnier than you really are” Loki rolled his eyes. “And it’s not very nice to make fun of someone’s disgrace.”

“I hear you think I’m at least a little bit funny” you smiled as you kept balancing the tray of food on your head.

“Please don’t drop my food, I’d like to have at least something to eat” he rolled his eyes.

You tripped on your feet, and he saw the tray falling down, you caught it last second with your shins, and gave him a little sheepish grin.

“Alright, alright, I’m impressed” Loki groaned. “Can I eat now please? Or is having you torment me part of some attempt to break me?”

“Why are you so moody?” you asked. “More than usual, I mean.”

“I’m starving, and you humans eat way too little” Loki finally admitted. “But that is still better than nothing… Please.”

You stopped playing around and you looked at him as you got the tray into his cell.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were eating so little.” You admitted.

“I barely have energy to cast small illusions, which would serve to entertain myself.” Loki complained as he sat to eat and you sat by the table and looked at him, you didn’t seem afraid, curious at most. You watched him eat and took his dirty plates by the end.

You weirded him out.

You always did something along the same lines; you came to bring him food, teased him a little and then left when you were gone. Although this time you had asked more questions about him. And you seemed more pensive while he ate.

And later that day he got a surprise. Usually, he just saw you to deal with you while he ate. But today you returned with a brown paper bag on your hands and a backpack, you never carried personal objects with you.

“What now?” he groaned.

You said nothing but opened the door to pass him food and slid the bag inside. Loki opened his end and grabbed the bag, it was warm, and it had a strong smell inside, he reached and pulled out a weird soft cushion with a white cover.

“Bur…ger? What this?” he asked as he read the yellow letters.

“It’s food” you smiled. “Cafeteria is closed until dinner, so I thought bringing you something else might boost your mood.”

“This looks like junk” he snarled, making you laugh.

“It’s something like that.”

Loki looked inside the bag and looked at you.

“There’s no fork.”

“You eat it with your hands” you smiled and pretended to grab a burger and bite it. “Like a sandwich.”

“What’s a sandwich?” Loki asked, making you laugh again.

Loki tried to take a bit, imitating your gesture, but you stopped with a squeaky laugh.

“Unwrap it first!” you laughed. “The white thing paper is not edible.”

Usually Loki would’ve argued more. But he had been really hungry, so he agreed.

“The taste is agreeable enough.”

“Try the fries!” you said eagerly.

“These yellow sticks?” he asked pulling out one fry from the bag, and you giggle once again, he was learning you were quite easy to amuse.

“Yes, the yellow sticks, they’re potatoes with salt and soaked in hot oil to cook them” you smiled.

“That sounds unhealthy” he said, but he surely didn’t pass up the extra meal, and while he’d never admit it, but it was tasty.

“It is on the long run” you agreed. “But you don’t eat these every day. It’s more like… something you eat when you particularly crave it. Like a treat.”

“What’s on your bag?” Loki asked, a lot more agreeable now with a full stomach.

“Ah, you said you didn’t have much to do” you said and passed him bag. “It’s a portable DVD player and old movies.”

“I understood the word portable from that whole sentence” Loki said in an obvious tone.

He wasn’t new to technology, but unlike Earth, Asgard only used technology for practical purposes like travel and fighting. Never for entertainment.

“You can watch recorded over produced plays on the screen” you said adapting to what Loki might be familiar with. “Fury said you can’t have access to internet, so I thought since I don’t use this anymore it’d keep you entertained while Thor negotiates your freedom. And if you need something else, I could surely get it for you.”

Loki was trying to process it all while he followed your instructions to set up the devices you brought him. Now he’d finally give some use to the electricity plugins on his cell.

“Why are you so nice to me?” Loki asked.

“I don’t know” you shrugged. “You seem like you could use some kindness.”

“I’m a charity case?” Loki asked, not sure if he was thankful or offended.

“You wish. If I was charitable, I would’ve brought a fancy brand of fast food, and you’re a good junkyard to bring my old stuff” you snarled, making Loki laugh, for real this time.

Your cheeks flushed and were soon surrounded in a clod of silver mist. And when it disappeared you had vanished already.

Now that… Loki didn’t see coming. He had heard of your kind when he took control of some of SHIELD agents, humans with supernatural abilities. You were a mutant, and for the looks of it, one with teleportation powers. Now it made sense why someone seemingly so ordinary was in a place like this, flirting with a prisoner.

Interesting.

The next few days you kept bringing him food as usual, but two things had changed. One, the portions were bigger now, Loki now got to eat to a point where he was satisfied. Two, you joked around a lot less, in fact, you simply brought the food and stayed nearby in silence, and Loki had caught you staring at him with rosy cheeks.

So, you did fancy him… Truly interesting. And quite flattering too, he at least had to agree you were quite appealing to stare at.

“I watched one of your… Dee Bee Dees…” Loki started the conversation while he ate. “The one with the funny doctor…”

“That… doesn’t narrow it down much” you finally spoke. “Sarcastic asshole with a wounded leg?”

“He is sarcastic, but he treats patients with joy and laughter and goes against the rules. Like the pair of legs at the entrance” Loki specified. “It was a sweet story… I did feel bad for him when he lost his… you know.”

“Ah, yeah…” you said sadly.

For a few more days, the routine kept like that, you seemed a lot shyer than before and now Loki was the one pursuing your attention and with an arsenal of movies you had watched he always had a way to start conversation.

When he was sure he had properly understood your interest in him, he made his move.

While Loki wasn’t as flashy as Thor, he never had much trouble swooning anyone of his interest, with years of etiquette lessons and nourishing his mind with the most exquisite novels and books Asgard had to offer he knew how to charm anyone he desired.

And soon enough he was courting you. He recited for you the collection of the most exquisite verses he had memorized and casted his illusions of roses and butterflies for you to enjoy a romantic set up.

Soon Fury had two people demanding for his liberation. And since Loki had been in his best behavior Fury didn’t have an excuse to keep Loki locked up and while he had a tracker on his ankle and Asgardian magic bracelets capable of suppressing his magic.

You were there when they let Loki out and he made sure to hug you first. The more in love he seemed, the sooner he’d be truly free. You melted against his embrace and wrapped your arms around him in a warm hug.

Loki felt a light tug on his chest. He couldn’t remember the last time someone out of his parents and Thor been so eager and happy to hug him.

“I had been dreaming of this…” you spoke softly. “And your hugs are even cozier than I imagined.”

That felt like a dagger to his heart. Why were you so sweet?

“Alright, Bambi, if you try something your little sweetheart will let us know right away, got it?” Tony warned him.

You wrapped your arms around Loki’s bicep pressing yourself against him.

“He’s gonna be perfect” you defended him. “And if I’m wrong you can lock me up as well for helping a criminal out.”

Second dagger. What kind of idiot were you trusting him so blindly? Could you really not see he just wanted his freedom?

Loki finally had a proper room, or something like that. He would be staying in the Avengers Compound when the Helicarrier landed… until then there was a room where he, Thor, and basically everyone stayed.

Your bed the one right above Loki’s. Loki sighed. Just a few more days. Loki laid down and saw you looking down at him, peeking from your bed with big sparkling eyes.

“Yes?” Loki said in his best sweet loving tone.

“S-Sorry…” you mumbled as your cheeks got red. “I’m just really happy you’re here.”

“Aww, young love…” Kate cooed.

“SHUT UP! I’M OLDER THAN YOU!” you screeched and threw a pillow right at her face, making Loki smiled softly.

“You’re both babies…” Yelena grinned.

“Shut up, you hag!” you and Kate argued.

“You’re all babies…” Bucky corrected.

“DON’T STICK YOUR NOSE, YOU FOSSIL!” the three of you argued.

“I’m… not gonna join this argument being 1,500 years old” Thor laughed and soon eased the mood in all laughter again.

Meanwhile Loki wouldn’t stop thinking what you said to him. “I’m happy you’re here.” Third stab… How could you be so happy and attached to him so easily and quickly?

The next few days he had resigned to adapt to train with you. He had been a warrior all his life, but being a soldier was too boring for him. It was a lot of training, gym workouts, more training, and meetings. He saw you nodding off during the latter. Where did you pull the energy to play and joke around with him when you went to bring food to him while he had been locked up?

You yawned and rested against his shoulder as you dozed off during lunch once. You were so warm and trusted him more than he deserved. You seemed awfully comfortable around him.

Every spare moment you had was dedicated to him, you were awfully cuddly and touchy. Loki wasn’t used to this in the slightest. At first playing along seemed impossible. But your kisses were so gentle and tender, more often than not he found his eyes fluttering close and his hands wrapping around your waist in a loving way. Even sharing a room with a lot of people seemed more fun if he got to study your reactions.

“Take that!” you screamed as you and Kate smacked each other with pillows, but when a stray pillow hit Natasha in the back of the head, it was war.

Everyone was throwing and hitting each other with pillows until someone pushed you to Loki’s arms who had stayed out of the war as just a bystander. No one seemed to be paying much attention to him, but now you were.

Your face was beet red, and you were blabbering apologies if you had hurt him, (which, you hadn’t). But Loki simply smiled and grabbed your sides and started squeezing them, causing you to squeal and burst out laughing.

Oh, of course you were ticklish, he should’ve known. Hel, you irradiated this aura that just screamed “tickle me!” And as the God of Mischief, he was drawn to ticklish little things such as yourself, to make sure he could exploit every ticklish little inch of your giggly body. It had always been a pretty harmless way to ease his need to cause mayhem.

Soon the entire room was in fits of laughter since Loki had unintentionally inspired a tickle war.

“H-Hohohohoney! Pleahahahahase!” you begged Loki, “thahahahahat tickles!”

“So? I hope it doesn’t bother you, my dear” Loki purred in your ear as his fingers traveled up and down your ribs, causing you to screech. “I think I’d like to play with my pretty little toy some more…”

“Nohohohoho! Please! Hehehehehe! S-Stop it!” you giggled until you had proofed to reappear at the top bunk bed, right by the time someone else had surrendered and called truce.

Thor. His stomach was sore from laughing and he needed a break. But the big Asgardian was confident enough to not be affected by being the one to surrender in such harmless play fight.

“I’m nostalgic” Thor laughed. “Reminds me of the sleep overs with Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun and Sif.”

“I wouldn’t know, I was never invited.” Loki said.

“WHAT?!” you gasped and threw a pillow at Thor’s head in Loki’s defense. “JERK! TO YOUR OWN BROTHER!”

“What do you mean?” Thor asked. “You rejected us every time.”

“What are you talking about? You never invited me, brother” Loki explained. “By the time I had found out, you were all locked in your chambers.”

“Sif and the guys always said you said no” Thor said. “That’s why I always made smaller sleepovers with just you and me. I thought you hated big groups.”

Loki never thought Thor had been clueless, if anything he thought it had been him who rejected him, it never occurred to him it was the rest that orchestrated Loki’s exclusion. It made sense in retrospect, they were more Thor’s friends, not Loki’s.

“I enjoy time to myself,” Loki agreed. “But I’ve never been against big events. I always thought it was you who didn’t want me near your friends…”

“Of course not, brother…”

“Don’t feel bad, Loki” Yelena said in a tone that eased the mood. “Nat used to have sleepover with friends and ban me from her room the whole night. But we’re sisters, adopted or not.”

“I said I was sorry, and I was 11 you resentful crybaby!” Natasha argued with a laugh.

You noticed that had hit a sensitive spot-on Loki and went to sit behind Loki to give him a hug from behind. And it was unexpectedly comforting, he sighed as you kissed his cheek. Growing more and more used to your doting affection, you were also rather good to read his mood by now.

It just made him feel more guilty, so he tried changing the subject.

“You poof around when tickled, hm?” Loki chuckled. “Noted.”

“Not just when I’m tickled, when I get worked up by almost anything…” you explained. “I can’t always control it.”

“I see… so, I get you all worked up…” Loki flirted, making you jolt and squeak with a red face. “Heh… I’m flattered.”

“What about you?” you asked when you calmed down, resting your chin on his shoulder. “Does something like that happen to you?”

“Mmm… my magic is also very tied to my feelings is mostly surges of magic when I’m pissed off.” Loki shrugged. “In a way, the source of my magic abilities come from my control of how I feel. Which is why Thor could never learn sorcery… he couldn’t ever keep calm and focus enough.”

It felt a bit of a cheap answer, his guilt told him you were always vulnerable with him. There was another thing…

Alright, now that no one was paying attention to you two.

“When I was little, I used to have a lot of nightmares, and my mother stayed with me and taught me this spell… it allows you to invite someone else to your dreams, to put it simply. She taught me that spell to help me with the bad dreams… And sometimes I still cast it involuntarily while I sleep. It’s… what’s the word? Automatic, at this point.”

“You haven’t used it since we met” you pointed out.

“There’s these preventing that” Loki wiggled the magic cuffs on his wrists, and you shrank sheepishly. “Maybe one day I’ll have you sleep visiting… who knows…”

You smiled too eagerly at the idea… it was painful to see the adoration in your eyes.

The next night you were chatting happily, you laid on the floor with your feet hanging on Loki’s bed. Surprisingly he didn’t mind too much, he found himself much more engaged on the conversation. He simply rested his hand on your shin, caressing it with his thumb.

But at some point during the chat his hand brushed by your ankle, something that should’ve caught his attention way sooner. A location tracker like his. He brushed his fingers along the band, and you jolted, quickly making a bad excuse before rushing out. A terrible liar dating the god of lies. How ironic.

“I didn’t know… I thought I was the only one with one of these…” Loki pointed to his tracker.

“All mutants and non-SHIELD affiliated have one” Tony explained with a yawn. “Basically, if you have superpowers, you have two options, be an agent or an avenger.”

“Or locked up” Loki concluded, and the way no one answered, confirming his suspicion.

“You’re gonna be joining us, right, brother?” Thor smiled.

“Do I have a choice?”

Loki chuckled, he had been thinking about this prior to this information, the fear of actually losing his brother when Thor was ready to leave him forever in Sakaar had been too great.

But what about you? You didn’t strike him the superhero style, a were a fragile and sensitive little thing, and he couldn’t picture you in the battlefield, but being a soldier was clearly taking a huge toll on you. You seemed perpetually exhausted living like this.

“Has my darling decided yet?” Loki asked, he didn’t plan on the pet names, but it felt weirdly natural as it rolled off his tongue. It felt right.

“Not before meeting you, we had tried, but I’d say with you two together… things have changed for the better.” Steve assured him. “It’s a relief though, you two would be great assets in the future, and the life at the compound is bit freer and more independent.”

For some reason, Loki smiled at the sound of that.

“It’s gonna be for the best” Bruce smiled. “Fury can be quite severe, and the soldier life isn’t for everyone…”

Loki couldn’t see you long term here, you’d be overworking yourself for a lifestyle too demanding and that you didn’t even like. It would be for the best to be an Avenger… at least that’d give you some more freedom.

By then, the mood had died down and everyone went to bed, turning off the lights way before you arrived. A few more minutes passed… and nothing. Loki considered going to find you when you opened the door, guiding your way with your phone’s flashlight. You had a messy damp ponytail, and baggy pajamas. You arrived and sat by Loki’s bed and immediately collapsed right beside him, invading his bed. He was ready to climb and use yours when you he felt a tug on his shirt.

“Let me stay with you…” you mumbled with your eyes closed, it seemed you still had some consciousness.

Loki nodded and laid down beside you, wrapping his arm over you, and tucking you under the bedsheets. He had to keep appearances. Yeah… Of course.

He studied you for a while. Your hair was soft, and it smelled like wild berries, shampoo he had started using as well because it smelled so nice. Your skin was soft and smooth, it was addictive to trace his fingers along your body. He traced circles along your side.

“Nooo… thahahat tickles…” you giggled and shifted in your half-asleep state, making something stir within Loki. “You can tickle me all you want in the morning, okay baby…?”

“Ohoho! Is that so?” Loki chuckled. “That’s dangerous thing to offer to the God of Mischief don’t you think?”

“’s okay… I trust you…” you yawned snuggling against his chest.

“Y-You do…?”

“You’d never do anything to hurt me…” you assured him, even with your brain fighting with all it’s might to not succumb to exhaustion.

Once his eyes adapted to the darkness, he stared at your face. Your features were gentle, with a pureness that only a heart that hadn’t been corrupted with cruelness and malice would have. It made him feel weak.

“I love you” you mumbled, kissing his lips before finally falling asleep with the most peaceful smile he had ever seen on anyone that was this close to him.

“I… I love you too…” he whispered and kissed the top of your head.

Now Loki genuinely wanted to stab himself through the chest, he deserved nothing less.

The next morning was the last time he’d be in the Helicarrier for a long time if he could help it. Both of you got the trackers removed and he was officially free. The magic cuffs were taken off of Loki and he immediately summoned a huge illusion that had a radius of a few kilometers as he stretched and showed off.

A huge double rainbow, oh how he had missed using his magic like this. He noticed your eyes sparkling in admiration.

Thor helped him unpack and you two were assigned neighbor bedrooms so the lovey dovey couple could stay close. You seemed ecstatic, you set your room and invited him to see it.

It was very much what he expected from you. Cozy and cute, just being inside made him want to lay down on your bed and sleep. And of course you had a pile of stuffed animals. He laid back on your bed, sinking in the mattress and fluffy covers.

Adorable.

“Honey bunny, I’m gonna go to the city alone today… don’t follow me” you warned him and proofed away before reappearing for a second. “And don’t snoop around my stuff! Love ya!”

And you disappeared in a gust of silvery white mist. Loki napped on your bed for a while, but… he couldn’t resist, he was curious by nature. He walked by your desk and saw the mirror of had a bunch of photos of him stuck to the board, he wasn’t smiling in any of them, and most had been taken him by surprise. Loki would’ve thought it weird, but the two of you were dating. And you only did what was normal for someone in a relationship. He smiled softly at how purely infatuated you were.

“Loki!” you called for him, so you had returned. He went to find you.

You had smiled so brightly as you jumped to his arms and showered his face in loving smooches.

“I missed you!” you smiled between kisses.

“You just left an hour or so…” he chuckled.

“It’s still too much time away from you!” you snuggled with him. “I missed this pretty face.”

“Heh…” he chuckled.

“I bought us something.” You smiled and handed him a golden bracelet with a round item on the middle. You kept the silver one. “It’s a distance touch bracelet.”

You touched your bracelet, and he felt his buzzing. Oh. He knew this couldn’t have been cheap. And you still didn’t hesitate to get it for him.

“Now you can feel me close, even if I vanish, or if we can’t be with each other.” You giggled.

His heart fluttered. How could there be someone so overly sweet? To him, of all people.

“Thank you…” he smiled.

Days passed and Loki’s sanity was evaporating in thin air. Guilt was eating him alive.

You were in truly, madly, and hopelessly in love with him. You wanted nothing but the best for him and you always showered him with love, affection and the sweetest kisses he had ever tasted. And worst of it all, he was falling in love with you. He deserved no love from you, but he had it… And it filled his heart with a warmth he didn’t deserve. Oh, you poor lovely thing, if you only knew how cruel his intentions had been to start your relationship.

He did what you wanted now, trying to make up for it. He didn’t want you to feel like you did all the job in a relationship anymore. Soon the photos were more couple y, of kisses and hugs, Loki took photos of you more as well. He invited you to read and nap with him.

He tickled you lots, and making you giggle in his arms as he held you close. He hugged you tight, trying to squeeze in all the love he had develop for the kind soul that had been nothing but sweet to him. In a wordless pray for your forgiveness.

He did everything that occurred to him would make you happy.

“No way! You’re ticklish?!” you gasped with an ear-to-ear grin.

“Terribly so, I can’t stand being ticked in between my ribs” he smiled as he rested his chin on your head, with you sitting on his lap. “My magic acts up on its own if I get overwhelmed, like you.”

“Really?” you giggled and caressed his sides. “Can I try?”

“For a kiss…” he smiled and puckered his lips for a smooch, which you complied with a huge grin. “I adore you… Fine, you got one minute to tickle my ribs.”

“Just one minute?” you whined with that lovely smile of yours.

“Thirty seconds?” he smiled.

“Eh?!” you whined. “One minute!”

“See how convincing I am?” he grinned.

“Oh, you—” you said and turned around to start poking and prodding his ribs, Loki couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Ack! Hehehehe!” he whined, you were too good at this, he was laughing his heart out. “S-Stohohohop! Hehehehe! I-It’s been a minute! Hahaha! S-Stop!”

“I’m not done with you, you pretty tease!” you giggled and kept prodding between his ribs.

“Oh yeheheah?!” he laughed and skittered his fingers along your belly.

You were squealing and giggling in the blink of an eye. But you didn’t stop tickling him.

“Hehehehe! Hic! G-Give up!” you giggled and squirmed as you prodded his sides.

“You give up! Hahahahaha!” he giggled squeezed your tummy and skittered his fingers along your armpits.

“Ack! Noohohohoho!” you whine and squeezed above his kneecaps, making him jump and ergo you fell off his lap and onto the couch.

“You’re in trouble…” he grinned and his fingers, poked, drilled, kneaded and scratch over every sensitive spot on your body, and it didn’t matter if you gave up. He didn’t stop until you were breathless.

Only then he stopped and held you in his arms.

“Remind me to not tickle you again, you’re sadistic” you smiled.

“You know it, darling…” he smiled and kissed the top of your head. “Did you have fun?”

“Mhm…” you smiled and leaned against him. “I love you.”

You were beyond ecstatic. You melted under all of his affection and more time he spent with you, the more he couldn’t deny his feelings for you.

He did it everything he could to make you happy. But nothing he did alleviated his guilt. He could only imagine the amount of heartache you would feel if you found out he had only used you to try looking better adjusted and be free, and that he had pretended to fall in love.

He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep. He was going insane. He walked around the compound like a ghost during the night. He did a stop to throw up in the toilet.

“You’re awake,” you surprised him despite your gentle tone. “Is something bothering you?”

“N-No, love. I just wasn’t feeling very tired.” He assured you. “Don’t worry. Go back to sleep.”

You placed your hands on his hips and leaned closer to him the way you did whenever you were going to kiss him. But you took a little sniff—probably smelling his bad breath—you stopped and smiled at him with kindness.

“Mmm… Insomnia, hm?” you smiled and pulled him to the kitchen. “I know just the cure.”

You heated up water and prepared him a tea with honey. The warmth of the drink ran through him as the sweet drink got rid of the bad taste, and he sighed a tear streaming down his face.

“What’s wrong?” you asked, cupping his face.

“I’ve done so many awful things… And…” he spoke softly. “I don’t know how to fix them… I don’t deserve any forgiveness…”

“Oh Loki…” you hugged him. “No one blames you… you didn’t mean it… I’ve seen your pretty heart, and you deserve all the love in the world… Gosh, if I could take all the pain, you’re feeling for myself, I would.”

“Please don’t say that…” he begged. He couldn’t handle anymore guilt, but he didn’t know how to tell you the truth.

You gently guided him to your bedroom and tucked him in your bed, wrapping your arms around him in a protective way.

“Forgive me love... Please forgive me…” he begged between mutters. “I take it all back… please… Please don’t hate me… please…”

“Shh…” you whispered, running your fingers through his hair. “It’s all gonna be okay… I’m always gonna be here for you.”

Between the warm tea, his exhaustion, the previous sleepless nights, your comfortable bed, and your loving touch… his body gave up on him and he fell asleep.

Everything was dark, and cold, covered in ice and a cruel wind. Loki had a good tolerance to cold, but he was freezing.

“Monster…” a voice echoed so loudly it made Loki’s ears ring. It was his own voice and it came from everywhere around him.

“Traitorous rat…”

“Murderer…”

“Beast…”

“Liar…”

“Frost giant…”

“Monster…”

“Manipulator…”

“Liar…”

“We finally had someone’s trust…”

“Of course, you just play around with others!”

Loki was completely surrounded by copies of himself, all at least twice his size, blue skin, Jotun attire, and eyes red like blood. True frost giants.

Loki simply took every blow and insult. He deserved them.

“Loki…?” a different voice called. “Is this what you meant by inviting someone to your dreams?”

No please… you couldn’t be here.

“Darling… wake up… please don’t be here…” Loki begged you. “Please…”

“I’m not leaving you here on your own…” you spoke and kneeled beside him.

Loki felt his body change, every muscle vanished leaving him as practically skin and bones. Small. Weak.

“Loki… what’s going on?! What’s happening to you?!”

Loki tried to shapeshift back to his natural look, but he had no control of his own body. At this point in life, he should be desensitized to nightmares where his magic didn’t obey him… but…

“Please… leave me here…” he spoke as he could, but he could barely hear himself.

“Don’t say that... What’s… what can I do for you?”

There was something about dreams, and especially Loki’s dreams, that always seemed to be extra dramatic. It must have been so confusing to be in one as an outsider.

Loki’s body changed again, he grew twice his usual size, and his body was blue and muscled. Exactly the body of a Jotun.

“STOP BEING SO GOOD TO ME! CAN’T YOU SEE I DON’T LOVE YOU?!”

“What?!”

What?! No! That wasn’t true…

Loki tried to take it back, but he was in autopilot. He was in the passenger seat of his own mind.

“I DON’T LOVE YOU! ARE YOU THAT GULLIBE TO THINK I’D FALL IN LOVE WITH A MORTAL?! I HAVE BEEN USING YOU!”

“No… no, you're not… You wouldn’t…”

“I JUST NEEDED A COVER, TO SEEM WELL ADJUSTED ENOUGH TO NOT BE A PRISONER! AND YOU WERE ANNOYING ENOUGH TO BARGE IN DEFENSE OF ME! I’V BEEN PLAYING WITH YOU FROM DAY ONE! DON’T YOU SEE YOU ARE JUST A TOY?! YOU’RE PATHETIC!”

The look on your face was heartbreaking. You looked crushed.

“I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF A WAY TO GET RID OF YOU! I CAN’T SLEEP AND I WANT TO THROW UP THINKING I HAVE TO PUT UP WITH YOU YET ANOTHER DAY!”

You curled up on the floor and Loki lifted you but your collar’s shirt.

“GET IT INSIDE YOUR HEAD! I COULD NEVER LOVE A MORTAL AS UNNERVING AS YOU!” Loki screamed at you before slamming you against the floor.

“NO!” Loki sat up with a gasp and his body drenched in sweat. He looked around and saw you curled up on the bed, your back facing him. “Love?! Thank goodness… I’m so— Love, w-what’s wrong…?”

You were stiff and you had a hand on the back of your head. Loki shifted and stretched a bit and saw your face. Your eyes were full of tears, yet he had never seen you with such a cold expression in your face.

“My love… and what’s wrong?” Loki placed a hand over your arm, and you slapped it.

“Why did you say that?” you asked him.

“I d-don’t know… I wasn’t… I didn’t…” Loki stuttered. “My dreams are like that…”

“No. I mean, what you said was really specific. Why…?”

“I don’t—I don’t know why I—”

“Tell me the truth, Loki.” You ordered him. “Did you, or did you not pretend to love me for your freedom?”

Loki stayed quiet. He didn’t have the courage to tell you the truth, but he didn’t have the heart to keep lying to you. With that confirmation tears started falling down your cheeks again.

“Y-Yes but I—that was before…”

“Get out…” you spoke.

“What? No, darling, listen… I…”

“I don’t want to hear you.”

“Please love… let me explain…” he tried holding you.

That made you snap. You started hitting him, being a human it was impossible for you to harm him, but not once in his life had he felt more pain.

“DON’T TOUCH ME! DON’T TALK TO ME!”

“Darling please…”

“I DON’T WANNA SEE YOU EVER AGAIN! GET OUT OF MY ROOM AND GET OUT OF MY LIFE!”

He had no strength to fight you, he was defenseless as you kicked him out of your room, slamming the door on his face.

There were a few faces popping out of their door to try seeing what had happened and that quickly retreated back to their rooms. Loki had no choice but to go inside of his own bedroom.

The next morning, he nearly tripped on his way out with a box by is door. It was full of books, quills, a coat, photos of you together. And… the silver bracelet that matched his own. It tore his heart to shreds. He didn’t feel as guilty anymore. But remorse and the memory of how brokenhearted you looked was even more sadistic. He heard you crying often from across the wall.

A few days later the others started giving him dirty looks. Knowing you and considering that this didn’t happen right away he assumed they had found out after heavy interrogation and now everyone knew he had used you. Even Thor seemed upset, not angry, but he had this… disappointment in his eyes.

“I hate dealing with moving companies” Tony sighed as they all sat for dinner. “But Fury wants to have our little Houdini enlisted by the end of the week. It’s a shame… The kiddos enjoyed being around each other.”

“Tell me about it” Clint sighed. “Kate is devastated.”

“Speaking of devastated…” Natasha said as she stood up, and Loki would’ve sworn she was shooting daggers at him with that glare. “See if I can be more convincing about eating something, otherwise Fury will have a corpse enlisting.”

You were moving out? To become a SHIELD agent? But you hated being a soldier. Had he hurt you so bad that you preferred that lifestyle and ruin your life forever… than being around him?

This all felt awfully familiar. Loki excused himself and went to his room and lock himself inside. He closed his eyes, and part of him wished that they’d never open again.

“Am I cursed?” Loki asked, choked up by the last bit of hope.

“No.” Odin responded the worst thing he could've said him. A curse would've been better.

Loki placed the casket down, weakly, it suddenly felt like a very... very heavy thing to carry. And the weight stayed there, right on his chest even after the casket had been placed back at the pedestal.

“Then what am I?” Loki asked softly, afraid of the answer.

“You're my son.” Odin answered, and Loki doubted his own magic since he couldn't detect dishonesty in his father's words.

Clearly that was a lie. So why didn’t his magic detect that? Loki felt rage spiral out of control like a boiling pot.

“What more than that?” Loki growled, still trying to keep his composure as he walked towards his father that was by the stairs at the other side of the corridor. “The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?”

Odin looked him in the eye. Unable to deny it any longer. It had been to many years with that secret. As Loki walked closer, Odin just started at him in silence as Loki reached the stairs.

“No.” Odin finally said. “In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple, and I found a baby. Small for a giant's offspring— abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son.”

That felt like a dagger piercing the young prince’s heart. Out of all the things he was insecure about, it turned out he WAS an outsider. Out of all the things he could’ve been, he HAD to be a Jotun, a monster. Out of all the Jotun’s in existence, he was the son of the worst of them all. And out of all the reasons he could’ve been adopted for, was because even his own biological family didn’t want him… and his adopted family never told him any of this.

“Laufey's son...?” Loki finally managed to gasp out, he was choking up on his own tears. “Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?”

“You were an innocent child.” Odin said, sounding more exhausted by the second.

“No!” Loki begged his father, knowing that Odin was a strategic warrior. There was always a meaning behind his actions. “You took me for a purpose, what was it?”

But Odin didn’t answer. The physical toll of delaying his Odin sleep to prepare Thor to rule, preventing a war, the emotional toll of having to banish Thor and now… having his youngest child doubt his love for him because of his foolish decision of not telling him the truth earlier were overwhelming him.

The All-King saw with pain how the little child that once smiled at him with love when he picked him in his arms after the battle now saw him with fear, pain, and resentment.

“TELL ME!” Loki demanded loudly, no longer capable of remaining calm.

“I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace... through you.” Odin confessed.

That was the final blow to Loki’s poor heart.

“What…?”

A tool. All he had been adopted for was as an instrument of peace between Asgard and a race that everyone saw as blood-thirsty monsters.

“But those plans no longer matter.” Odin clarified.

“So, I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up… here, until you might have use of me.” Loki inquired in pain.

“Why do you twist my words?” Odin asked softly.

“You could have told me what I was from the beginning.” Loki urged, desperate to makes sense of what easily was the worst day of his life. “Why didn't you?!”

“You are my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth.” Odin said softly, in a fruitless attempt to calm his poor child’s heart.

“Wh— B-Because I-I-I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?!” Loki asked, flooded by all the scary stories about the frost giants growing up. All those times he and Thor played heroes as kids fighting those monsters.

“Don't...” Odin begged as his strength slowly abandoned him.

But Loki couldn’t listen anymore. The grief was too great, and the feeling of betrayal didn’t allow him to trust Odin anymore.

“It all makes sense now! Why you favored Thor all these years.” Loki yelled as he started walking up the stairs to yell at Odin as the All-Father slowly lost his strength and started passing out on the stairs. “Because no matter how much you claim to “love” me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the Throne of Asgard!”

Odin kept trying until his last second of consciousness to beg his son for help, forgiveness… anything. But he had been too weakened to dedicate his young boy some kind of love or reassurance as he fell prey to the Odin sleep, he had delaying for so long.

Now Loki encountered a similar dilemma. He had been stupid, dishonest, and selfish to someone who offered him nothing but unconditional love. He betrayed your trust and there was no way now that Loki could prove that despite his original intentions his love wasn’t any less real.

He laid down on his bed, with his arm draped dramatically over his eyes.

“Troubled, my son?” a voice spoke making Loki sit up.

“Father” Loki smiled softly. “I ruined it. I had the most beautiful love in my life… and I was stupid and lost it because of my own selfishness.”

“That sounds familiar” Odin chuckled. “You truly are my son, after all.”

“You had always been will always be my father…” Loki said the words he had denied for several years. “I never understand your reasons. Cruel as they were…”

“Not holding back against your old father, hm?” Odin laughed.

“Sorry…” Loki smiled softly.

“My original reasons were foolish, selfish, and even cruel as you rightfully… but I always hoped to do what would be best for the 9 Realms” he spoke. “But that didn’t mean the love I had for you wasn’t any less real. You are my son, regardless of the kind of blood that coursed through your veins.”

Loki smiled softly; it was weird. He knew Odin would have never say all that. But now, after growing up so much, he understood it wasn’t because he didn’t feel it, he had always been too proud and formal, too much of a king. And while imperfect, it was still his father.

“That’s why you never caught me lying when I called you my son or said that I loved you.” Odin spoke. “In my heart, you’ve always been my son.”

“I know, father” Loki smiled. “I’m sorry it took me so long to understand it.”

“I’m sorry I never told you before… I feared you wouldn’t take it well…”

“Me? I would never” Loki joked softly.

“We always loved you as our own” a female voice added making Loki turned around.

“Mother.” Loki spoke breathless. “I know… I know… I knew, I was just too scared I could’ve been wrong, and you didn’t…”

“You were too much of a charming kid not to love you” Frigga said compassionately. “Your little human surely thinks so too.”

Ah… that… Loki wasn’t so sure.

“I ruined it, I deserve nothing but the hatred and disgust I’ve earned from my darling.” Loki huffed out. “I manipulated, lied, and destroyed the trust of my love.”

“Dear, there’s nothing final in these matters…” Frigga smiled softly. “If that loved blossomed once, you may rescue it and nourish it again. But first… you need to apologize.”

“I don’t think I’m wanted anywhere near hearing range.” Loki explained.

“Do you think the love between your mother, and I always had a perfect relationship?” Odin smiled.

“Your father was too temperamental for that” Frigga intervened with a smile and both parents looked at each other with love. “But when you truly love someone and you make a mistake, you swallow your pride and make up for your wrongdoings.”

Loki smiled softly, he remembered it well. When Odin’s temper got the best of him because of the stress of being a king, Odin made sure to make up for Frigga know how truly sorry he was, and Frigga who already knew her husband’s temper was an expert on not letting her affect her, knowing it was never personal. She had truly been blessed with infinite patience given she dealt with three men with bad tempers and yet her kindness and loving nature knew no end. It was not rare to see Odin gifting Frigga fancy gifts and spend long hours apologizing and dedicating the day to her. It wasn’t the perfect arrangement, but no relationship was.

Loki chuckled softly.

“Thanks…” he smiled and both parents tended a hand to him with a smile. “I know what I have to do.”

Ready to say goodbye, Loki placed his hands on top of Odin and Frigga’s, and with that, the figure of his parents faded under a green light as Loki’s palms stopped glowing. Loki let out a little laugh as he wiped his tears.

His illusions had never been so benevolent towards himself, they were either torturous or for a fake sense of gloating and dissociation. But your compassion had changed him forever. He could use them for closure and to guide him with the stuff he knew but needed to hear. And… you deserved that at least.

He got up and went outside and went to a trip. It took him around an hour to get to the city and a couple more hours to get his several stops get several gifts. A lovely white bouquet of flowers, a box of your favorite chocolates, a necklace with a cute silver heart shaped locket and got it printed with a small photo, a copy of a photo he had carried from one of your first “dates” you got where you were giving him a small kiss in the cheek and cupped the other one, a symbol of your shared love.

On his way back, Loki held the original photo close to his chest and sighed. He prayed this would work as he was on his way to see you. He knocked on your door and hid his gifts behind himself, not even remembering he could’ve concealed them with his magic from how nervous he was.

His chest tightened as you opened the door, your eyes and nose were red, and your cheeks were stained with tears. Oh Norns… He had hurt you really bad.

“Love… Please… let me explain” Loki spoke softly.

“What do you need to explain, Loki?” you asked and sniffled, practically murdering him when you called him Loki instead of one of your lovely cheesy pet names. “That I was just a toy for you to play with and pretend that you loved me, so you’d be a free man? I got that quite clearly.”

You were ready to slam the door on his face, but he reached his leg to stop you. He nearly dropped one of your gifts. You looked at him confused, eying him up and down before sighing in defeat, opening the door he walked inside of your little room. He saw the little night table covered with used tissues and the bed’s decorative cushions were all over the place. It broke his heart.

“What do you want, Loki?” you asked tiredly as you sat on the bed, placing a cushion on your lap and against your chest.

“My darling, I was the biggest, most cruel and inconsiderate imbecile of all 9 Realms” he said, kneeling before you as he handed you the bouquet of flowers. You gently placed the flowers on your lap, still looking at him.

“It is true, that I was looking to just find a relationship to pretend I had adapted to living on earth” he spoke. “It was a selfish, shallow, and dishonest reason to make you mine… But I did it. It was heartless and there’s no excuse or reason for you to forgive that. But I beg of you to stay here… never speak to me again if you need, but don’t settle to a life of misery just to avoid me. I will happily accept being locked up in a dungeon for a hundred years, so you don’t see the likes of me again…”

He handed you the chocolate, and your gaze softened for a second as you saw the chocolate, he remembered which ones you liked the most. You opened your mouth to speak, but a gentle squeeze to your hands let you know Loki still wanted to speak.

He had caused all of this for not telling you the truth, and now he wanted to fully bare his soul to you now.

“You offered me boundless kindness, patience despite my flaws, understanding to my pain and sins of the past, laughter like I hadn’t enjoyed before, you fed with the most delicious and warm foods I had ever eaten, you showed me the concept of dates and you bared me completely vulnerable to your touch and heart and you bared yourself completely to me without fear of me…” Loki continued, as tears streamed down his face, drowning in regret. “And all I did was play with you and betray the trust your selfless heart gave me without asking for anything in return.”

He placed his forehead on your knees and sobbed, completely ashamed of what he had done to you. He didn’t deserve your forgiveness, but he felt like he’d die without you. And he’ deserve it.

“I don’t care” you finally spoke, and he looked up, he saw the tears streaming down your face. “You’re the God of Mischief and Lies, there are countless stories of how you lied and manipulated to get away with anything you wanted… I should’ve expected I’d be just that.”

“No— No, darling!” Loki held your hands and pressed his lips against your knuckles. “No, my sweet, you— I was selfish. I wanted a cover up, yes, but what I found was love, I found the butterflies in my stomach you always speak of. I found the warm of your hands lingering on my skin after our dates. I found myself awake during the night sighing over those lovely eyes I’ve now so cruelly filled with tears…” Loki spoke softly.

You were shaking in your place as you did your best not to cry and interrupt him. He brushed his finger along your cheek as in appreciation of your effort.

“None of what you heard that night was true in my heart…” he assured you “I never felt so disgusted I wanted to vomit; it was guilt that was killing me from the inside… knowing I was hurting such a beautiful flower.”

He handed you the heart locket and you opened it, seeing the photo made you sob as silently as you could.

“I was selfish and a liar. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me and want nothing to do with me again. But please know that my heart beats for and because of you only.” He spoke. “I fell hopelessly and irredeemably in love with you. I swear that on my life.”

You looked at him and smiled, as you wrapped your arms around his neck and sobbed now freely and unrestrained. Time seemed to stop for Loki as he hugged you back, taking in your scent and caressing you. Tears fell down his face and he held you, afraid you’d disappear if he let go of you.

You forgave him. He didn’t think he’d ever be so lucky to find a kind soul that would forgive even his worst mistake. But he found it, you were kind enough to do so. Your wrapped your arms around him in a warm hug and Loki was able to let all the pain and guilt go… He couldn’t undo his mistakes, but he could be better, and he wanted to be his best self for you.

“Thank you… Norns, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” he repeated over and over between whispers and tears as he held you tight.

You sat up straight and cupped his face and laughed softly as you still cried happy tears.

“You’re gonna have to buy me a new box of tissues, you booger” you joked softly with a sniffle, and pressed your forehead to his and grabbed a tissue to blow your nose.

“I’ll give you the entire world if you so desire, my love” he spoke with a gentle smile. “Just say the word.”

“I don’t need the world” you smiled and kissed his cheek. “I have everything I need right here.”

“What did I do to deserve you?” he chuckled softly as he grabbed a tissue to wipe his tears and blow his nose. “I’m a disaster and somehow I still found the most precious little dove all for myself.”

You held him tightly in a hug… in silence for a few minutes before you spoke again.

“Did you think I was annoying when we first met?” you asked with a stern look on your face. “I want the truth.”

“Truthfully… you were a nightmare…” Loki admitted in a soft playful tone.

“HEY!” you whined and dug your fingers into the crevices of his ribs making him burst out laughing. “I said honest, not mean!”

“Ehehehe! Lohohohohove, let me finish!” he giggled, letting you have this, it was the least he could do. “P-Please, s-stohohohop that! Not there!”

You smiled and went to tickle his belly. Oh, you had really not liked that.

“Plehehehehehease, dahahaharling! I surrender!” he laughed and did his best to not squirm.

“Fine… what is it?” you asked, as you sat sideways on his lap, already happily cuddling with him.

Thank whatever superior force that was out there… Oh, you’re a wonderful blessing.

“You’re a nightmare turned into a dream” he clarified and he didn’t even bother fighting the urge to squeeze you tightly.

“You have 3 seconds to explain how that’s a compliment o I’ll tickle you until you puncture a lung.”

“Ihihi— I mean like, when you start having a bad dream… but it turns around as the most wonderful of dreams, those that you still think about after waking up.” Loki said, and as those words he was sure he had fried his brain because he didn’t make any sense.

But that was enough for you.

“You’re lucky you’re cute.” You grumbled.

“C’mon… don’t be mad at me for being foolish and wrong” he smiled as he squeezed you tight. “Surely you thought I was insufferable at first as well, we’re so different after all.”

You smiled and shook your head.

“I love my pretty prince” you smiled and picked a tissue yourself to clean your face. “Flaws, differences, and all.”

“Do you, now?” he grinned cheekily. “I sure am a lucky one to be called yours.”

“A Loki one” you giggled, and Loki made a scowl of disgust. “Sorry! I thought it too late when I said it and— hehehe!”

“Oh, that was awful— C’mere… you!”

“W-What?! NO! NOHOHOHOHO! LOHOHOHOKI, STOP IHIHIHIT!”

As he made you laugh and held you against him, he couldn’t doubt how fortunate he was to be so undoubtedly yours.

| MASTERPOST |

#marvel tickles #marvel fluff #loki laufeyson #ticklish!loki #lee!loki #ler!loki #ticklish!reader #lee!reader #ler!reader #loki x reader #loki tickle #loki fluff #ducky writes tickles

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6ix9inewiturmom · 8 months ago

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Tummy Hurts- Christopher Sturniolo

Summary: when Chris falls in love with another woman while being in a rocky relationship with you, and dating you on and off

Warnings: cursing, crying, feelings on envy, yelling, use of Y/N, angst

A/n: TUMMY HURTS BY RENE RAPP>>>> also I got this idea while taking a beach nap lol

My relationship with Chris was always rocky but at the end of every day we always told each other that no matter what it would always be us, no one could turn our heads, and we always promised that after every fight.

When Chris and I first started dating I knew he’d be doing collabs with girls and be around girls on the occasion, which I typically wasn’t the jealous type but Chris is an amazing man and very attractive.

Chris had been hanging out with his friend Sam a lot, which didn’t bug me much if not at all, Sam was always respectful of my relationship with Chris and always made sure Chris would text me if they did anything sporadically, sometimes Chris would even spend the night there if I was working overtime.

Tonight I had originally told Chris I was working a little over but I wasn’t, I wanted to surprise him with a new set of lingerie I bought specifically for him, I know our 2 years isn’t till next week but our schedules don’t line up enough to see each other so I’m celebrating with him today.

I just pulled into Sam’s house to pick up Chris, and to say I was excited was an understatement, I was ECSTATIC. For obvious reasons I couldn’t just walk in Sam’s house with lingerie on so I was wearing some of Chris’ new fresh love set, I know it gets him excited every time I’m in his clothes or his brand, no matter how many times I’ve worn them.

I knocked on the front door eagerly waiting for someone to answer the door, and to my surprise it was Sam. “Oh hey Y/N” his eyes widened when he saw me at the front door, he was stuck like a deer in headlights.

“Hey Sam, is Chris here?” I had a small smile on my face hoping the reason for his sudden facial expression was because he wasn’t expecting me.

He scratched the back of his head nervously “he uh- he just- he actually left here to go to his house like uh- 30 minutes ago?” He stuttered.

“Oh, I’m sorry for bothering you then.. he just said he’d be here all night…” my voice trailed off.

“See you around Y/N” he quickly replied shutting the door.

Weird. Very weird. Chris never leaves Sam’s house without telling me. As soon as I got in my car, I opened Life360 to find Chris’ location was off, he never turns his location off, EVER, even when we were in arguments or on our ‘breaks’ we never turned that off.

I decided to do what anyone else would do and text him. ‘Christopher’ my message read. He immediately read my message. His bubble would pop up and then go away, that went on for a good few minutes.

‘Yea?’ He replied. No joke about how I used his ‘government name’ as he calls it? Funny, but not funny haha funny WEIRD.

‘Is there any specific reason why your location is off? Or is Life360 just messing up again? I know it does it from time to time’ i wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and maybe his phone was acting up.

Once again his bubble would pop up and down. ‘Idk ma, I’m at Sam’s house so could jus be the app IG’ there’s no benefit of the doubt anymore. He’s straight up lying.

‘Funny cause I got off early and wanted to surprise you by picking you up and celebrating our 2 years early and he said you weren’t there that you left to go back to the house… soooooooooo’ why would he be lying? This is not like Chris.

This time I was left on read. No bubble just read. I wasn’t just fucking pissed i was ENRAGED. Call me a crazy girlfriend but after all we’ve been through you’d do the same thing.

My drive home from Sam’s was filled with road rage of idiots who can’t drive, screaming song lyrics, etc. as soon as I reached home my blood was boiling. I spammed Chris with impulsive messages.

‘Where the fuck are you?’

‘Christopher Owen sturniolo pick ur lying ass phone up’

‘Ur the biggest lying fuckass person I know’

‘You know nevermind keep ur ass wherever your at, i don’t wanna see your ass again’

After 45 minutes to an hour of pacing my shared apartment with Chris my phone finally rang, I picked it up to see it was Chris.

“Where the fuck are you Christopher?” My voice was cold and filled with rage.

“Ma, lis-“ I immediately cut him off “no you’re not gonna ‘ma’ me Christopher.”

“Y/N… listen I-I can explain” he stuttered “I lied.”

“Aren’t you Albert fucking Einstein?” I snapped.

“Y/N will you fucking listen to me, god damn all you do is yap and bitch and groan” he lets out a sigh and I quickly made an ultimatum of let him finish or bitch him out.

“Go on” I forced myself to calm down for a split second because after acting the way I did I knew I needed to at least hear him out.

“So a while ago while you were on that girls trip, I was at Sam’s for his release party right before summer smash in Chicago, I uh I ended up running into this girl from high school, we talked the whole night and we ended up hooking up and she’s- she’s pregnant… Y/N, I love you I really do I always will but, I’m not IN love with you.. uh anymore.. I realized our love wasn’t healthy, it was toxic and I’m sure you can agree” he took a deep breath out like a weight was dropped from his shoulders. My jaw was on the floor. I was astonished by the words coming from his mouth.

“I just need a minute Chris…” my voice broke when I spoke and he and I both knew I was hurt. He made a little ‘tsk’ with his mouth and I hung up. My body hit the floor besides the couch I was uncontrollably ugly crying. My hands were shaky but I picked up the phone to call the one person I knew I could trust, my best friend, Riley.

“Hey bitch what’s up?” She answered.

My voice broke with her, I couldn’t bear to break her happy mood with my awful news. “Chris is in love with a girl from high school it’s been- it happened when- when we went to Hawaii together wi-with Whitney, Mayci, and uh um Taylor, and she’s- she’s fucking pregnant” I immediately started sobbing.

“Okay what the fuck? Maybe you should try religion cause Jesus he’s hard to rely on” in the mist of me sobbing my eyes out I managed to let out a soft giggle.

“Now my tummy hurts, he’s in love with her, but-but um- for- for what’s it’s worth they’d make beautiful babies” my sobs became harder and harder.

“Okay just breathe, I know this is a lot. Have you ever heard of the players curse?” She sounded awfully calm for someone who just heard her boyfriend of 2 years cheated on her and got another girl pregnant.

“N-no?” She laughed. And immediately got excited.

“The players curse is when a man did terrible things to a woman/women and run through them treating them worthlessly. In turn these men normally have daughters, their punishment is that their daughters will experience everything that they did to women.” For some reason this little peace of advice and knowledge helped me a tad.

“So eventually 2043, someone’s gonna hurt their little girl like their dad hurt me? And raise em’ up to a couple of fucking monsters like their mother and they father.” I couldn’t help but cry thinking of someone living my dream I wanted to live with Chris. I wanted to carry his children, I wanted to marry him, all of his dreams involved ME, not her.

“EXACTLY! Keep that mindset girl and you’ll be perfect” she cheered as if I just said I won the lottery.

“When will he pay for what he did to me. I’m fucking broken Ri, I don’t know what the fuck to do” I kept sobbing and sobbing. Chris was the love of my life.

“Never cause that’s just boys being boys girl” she breathed out. “Why don’t we go out tonight and party and get hammered”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea Ri, I don’t think I can handle drinking and stuff” I bit my lip nervously thinking about everything that could go wrong while drinking.

“You know, your probably right” she gasps “oh my god do you remember when me and you got super drunk that first time you and Chris were on a break? You ended up drunk calling him and he had Matt come and pick you up?” Her laughter always lit up my day. No matter how sad I was I was always smile every-time I heard her voice. “So what are you gonna tell Chris?”

“Chris and are done, he’s not in love with me anymore. I’ll always be loved by him but I will not be someone he’s in love with unless things change and even if it does change, I don’t think we’ll ever be in a relationship again” I felt oddly and strangely content with that thought of never having to fight with Chris or wonder if I’m saying the wrong things, speaking wrongly, or vise versa.

“Does he know yall are done? Or is it YOUR done?” She spoke softer hearing my content voice of my current situation with Chris.

“Text him” was the two words she spoke. “He broke up with you over phone, you confirm the breakup over text, and you text me if you need anything girl, I love you, and you know this,”

“Love you too girl,” I sighed and opened my messages I knew I had to do it but couldn’t push myself to do it.

“Chris, though I’ve enjoyed the two years with you, and I can agree it was toxic and should’ve been done a long time ago, however you’re not in love with me I am with you and I will always be. I’ll always be here for you as a friend because essentially that’s what we were before dating. I love you Christopher.”

Sending that message broke me into a million pieces. Now my tummy hurts, he's in love with her But for what it's worth, he's her problem now And she'll stay with him 'Cause she made with him a couple monsters Like their mother and their father, eventually, 2043 Someone's gonna hurt your little girl like he hurt me.

HELLOOOO EVERYONEEEEEEEE!!!!

So sorry for lack of inactivity but I would like to say this is one of my favorite fics I’ve ever written and if you haven’t heard the song please listen now!! I love you all and thank you for the patience!

XOXO

Gabs!

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undercovergamer · 1 month ago

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✨Lawful Lessons or something✨

requested by anonymous

⚠️This fic focuses mainly on tickling. Please do not read it if that upsets you.⚠️

idk the title doesn’t make sense anymore cus the story took a different turn. My original idea was tickling Itto til he promised to follow the law, but I ended up writing something else lmao 😭

Anyways…

Looks like Itto got into some legal trouble in Fontaine, ending up in the Fortress of Meropide for an unspecified amount of time. Oh, what would it take to qualm his worries and have him behave himself?

Since Wriothesley can’t exactly leave his important post for vacation, I decided to bring Itto to Fontaine instead. How? Business trip with Ayato. Why? Boyfriend shenanigans. Hotel? Trivago. (That joke is still funny, I swear!)

CW/TW: There’s mention of Itto having a meltdown in this fic. It’s NOT caused by tickling, he is just very stressed and overwhelmed from the Fortress of Meropide. Also there’s swearing.

Word count: 4696 (nice)

Ah, Fontaine: the region known for its impressive machinery, beautiful ocean, and strict legal system. Some find the laws ridiculous: one of them forbids people from unleashing any flying objects within three months of visiting or something like that, which is so oddly specific it got Itto in trouble.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the only law he broke. His attire was deemed inappropriate, Ushi was considered an exotic animal and therefore illegal to bring without a permit or something (he’s fine, don’t worry), he accidentally vandalized and destroyed property, and got into a fight with a citizen which lead to another fight with an officer, which lead to resisting arrest. He was also charged with disturbing the peace, and was really angry about his other charges as he argued. Wriothesley was almost impressed at the sheer speed in which the oni racked up all that chaos.

Kamisato Ayato and his sister were on a business trip to Fontaine, see. Itto had practically begged to come with them, and Ayato just couldn’t say no to that puppy-eyed face. The Arataki Gang didn’t come along, though, since that would be too many people. Most of them stayed behind to help Granny Oni, so Shinobu could join the trip. She wanted to get to know Ayaka more, but knew she’d have to keep her boss out of trouble as well…

…which she sadly failed to do since Itto appeared to be a magnet for chaos. After his assault charges, he was sent to trial, which was exhausting to go through. The Oratrice Mechanique D’Analyse Cardinale found him guilty of his crimes. Itto felt really overwhelmed and stresed by such a dramatic and public trial, and worried sick over how long his sentence would be. Before being sent to the Fortress of Meropide to atone, he had emotional goodbyes with his friends, and especially with Ayato.

“You’ll get through this,” he’d said to Itto. “We’ll make sure of it. Don’t worry.” But it was easier said than done, and Itto had only spent a bit more than a week there before having an overstimulated meltdown caused by all the built-up stress. Wriothesley decided enough was enough and brought the oni into his office to calm him down. He knew better than to leave a strong and overwhelmed oni alone in an unfamiliar place such as the Fortress; especially one as emotionally unstable as this one.

Over the week, Wriothesley had tried to make accommodations suitable for Itto, such as letting him swap any lunchbox with beans in to one without for free and giving him an extra pillow for his cell, but the overall environment and uncertainty still lead him to a violent meltdown. Other inmates were mean, his cell smelt weird, the blanket felt scratchy, his new uniform was uncomfortable, he missed his friends; all the little things built up over time just to break him. So, Wriothesley thought a smaller, more controlled area like his office would be the perfect place for Itto to de-stress.

He figured Itto would feel safe there since they knew each other by now, and he hoped the oni would trust him enough to relax. But to say Itto was pissed was an understatement, and also not entirely accurate. He angrily vented his frustrations about wanting to go home, how Fontaine’s laws can kiss his ass, and how he felt lonely and confused. Wriothesley sipped some tea, letting the oni vent and pace around the office, occassionally nodding and responding to show he was listening.

“I just-! I-… I wanna go home…” he said eventually, his anger turning into sadness as his rage faded. Wriothesley sighed slightly and got up from his seat to offer Itto a hug, which wasn’t something he usually did. However, the duke figured Itto needed one by now and liked his vibe, so he didn’t mind. Perhaps they could officially become friends.

Itto burst into tears once he accepted the hug, sniffling and sobbing in the man’s arms. On one hand he felt ashamed to cry so much with someone that wasn’t Ayato, but on the other hand he’d trust Wriothesley with his life if he needed to. Though he kept complaining, gradually calming down from his distress as the two hugged tight. He was always quick to trust people like that, often befriending them earlier than they did him. Most of the time it was awkward, but this time it seemed reciprocated.

Once Itto had stopped sobbing and gotten quieter, Wriothesley spoke up again. “Listen, I can tell you’re not a bad guy. Cus if you were, you wouldn’t feel even an ounce of remorse.” he said.

“I don’t mean to break laws all the time…” Itto mumbled, sniffling while resting his chin on the other’s shoulder.

“Even so, I can’t free you yet even if I wanted to. That’d be an illegal abuse of power, and it’d hurt the trust people have in our law enforcement.”

“Your law enforcement is stupid.” Itto huffed without missing a beat, making Wriothesley chuckle as he patted the other’s back.

“Pff… That may very well be the case. Our system is different to that of Inazuma.”

“Mm…” Itto sniffled and pulled away, wiping his eyes. “I know, but still. It’s stupid… I hate it.”

“Mhm. Now, unfortuantely I can’t tell you when you’ll be freed exactly. Despite your crimes, you’ll be here for less than a year total.”

“Why? I mean, why would it not be more? I thought Fontaine was strict like that.” Itto seemed much calmer now, thankfully…

“It is, but right now we’re having some complications with your cases. It would seem your travel companions want you out as quick as possible, and they’re working on bail negotiations with Monsieur Neuvillette as we speak.” Wriothesley went over to his desk as he spoke, sitting back down to sip his tea.

“Wha- Really?! Why didn’t you just say so??” Bro was positively flabbergasted to say the least, getting excited at the idea of an early release. Shinobu would usually bail him out in Inazuma, but maybe he’d have to rely on Ayato this time…

“I tried to, but you were in the middle of a rant, so it would’ve been rude of me to interrupt.” Wriothesley smirked a little, somewhat amused by the other’s reaction despite everything.

“Oh, ha ha, very funny. Hmph…” Itto sulked, crossing his arms with a glare on his face. Though it didn’t last long since he couldn’t help but smirk as well.

“Haha, I’m serious~! You would’ve only gotten angrier if I had tried to butt in.”

Itto chuckled and rolled his eyes in respone, not wanting to admit the other was right.

“Heh, now come on, take a seat so we can discuss all this properly.”

“Ah, fine, whatever.” Itto huffed and sat down with the man, arms still crossed stubbornly.

Since Itto was mostly calmed, Wriothesley decided to give him a thorough explanation of why he’s in jail and what he should expect from it. He tried his best to answer any questions the oni had, hoping to completely calm his worries and help him understand. None of Itto’s crimes were intentionally harmful or pre-meditated, he’s just very good at getting into trouble.

“Now, are you still worried about how long your sentence will be?”

“Yeah… Didn’t you say some people stay here forever? What’s up with that? I don’t wannaaaa…!” Itto flopped back on his chair like a disgruntled teenager, which made Wriothesley chuckle.

“Pfft, heheh, you don’t have to, y’know. That part is usually optional.”

“Hey! It’s not funny!”

Wriothesley cleared his throat. “Mph- s-sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. It’s been ages since someone with your mannerisms talked to me so casually. It’s refreshing.

“Hmph…” Itto crossed his arms.

“Anyway, like I said, your friends on the surface are negotiating with Monsieur Neuvillette, which will determine whether or not we transfer you from Fontaine to Inazuma.” Wriothesley explained. “Turns out the Kamisatos are willing to pay your bail and whatnot, but you still have to serve time for your crimes regardless. Just less. Perhaps with good behavior you could get out early.” he added, chuckling to himself.

“Tch, you’re not getting any good behavior outta me!” Itto argued stubbornly.

“Oh really now? What a shame~” Wriotheslay teased, chuckling at the other’s reactions.

“Don’t look at me like that! I’m not changing my mind.”

“Hahaha, sure you aren’t…” Wriothesley was amused by Itto’s attitude. He found him rather charming. “Anyway, hm…”

“Yeah?”

“I believe you mentioned sensory issues during your rant earlier. Am I right?”

“Yeah..? What about them?”

“You know you’re free to retreat back to your cell to rest your head, right? I got a document from that shinobi girl that states you’re neurodivergent.”

“Huh?? Shinobu? When did she give you that??”

“What’s more important is letting you know you can rest in your cell, or in my office, when things get too noisy for you. And that includes all senses, ya get it?”

“I think…? But won’t I get in trouble if I’m in the middle of work?”

“Hm, you might, but I could try getting you some noise cancellers to decrease that risk.”

“Is that allowed…?”

“For disabled inmates, all accommodations are allowed. So, yes. I definitely should’ve gotten you more of those earlier…”

Itto looked grumpy instead of responding to that.

“Speaking of which, about your uniform…”

“I hate it. It’s too tight and scratchy and hot and stupid, I can barely breathe!”

“Right. I assume it’s a size too small for you, is that right?”

“Dude, yes! I’ve been trying to tell you over the week, but you’re too damn hard to get a hold of!”

“Hah, sorry about that. Being the admin of this place is a lot of work, you know.”

“Being in this dumb stupid outfit is also a lot of work. These suspenders are shit, the collar is itchy, the sleeves are stupid-”

“Yes yes, I know. Your uniform isn’t the right size, so we’ll simply have to get you a new one.” Wriothesley tried not to laugh at the other’s “work” claim.

“Hmph… Do you even have my size?”

“Boy I sure hope so. Though, I’ll have to take your measurements to be sure.” Wriothesley reached into one of his desk drawers and pulled out a tailor’s measuring tape.

“Huh? How convenient…” Itto wasn’t expecting the duke of all people to have one of those laying around.

“I know, right? Now, first and foremost, you must consent to me touching you for this, alright? I’ll have to wrap it around you and whatnot.” Wriothesley explained as he stood up from his chair, followed by Itto doing the same thing.

“Sure, man! I consent. It can’t be that bad.” he said confidently.

“Right, spread your arms real quick. I’m gonna need to measure around your waist and chest. Probably your hips…” Wriothesley explained, mildly surprised when Itto did as he was told without protest.

“Okay, what else?” he asked.

“Well, you’re a pretty big guy. If you’re too large, you might have to get a custom uniform.” Wriothesley said while he moved to wrap the measuring tape around the other, surprised at the slight jump he got.

“Hmph-! I-Is that so?” Itto jolted a little at the brush against his side and tried to play it off cool, hoping his reaction went unnoticed.

“Mhm. Hold still.” Wriothesley took note of the measurement before moving the tape down to the other’s waist and so on. Itto struggled to stay still though, growing tense. “Heh. Are you ticklish or something? How convenient.” Wriothesley joked, giving Itto a playful poke.

“Pfft- naha-! Sh-Shut up… I’m not ticklish, you just surprised me!” Itto stifled a chuckle and tried to be still. “I’m not used to getting measured, okay??” he said defensively.

“Mhm? I can see that.” Wriothesley chuckled at the other while measuring. He couldn’t help himself noticing the struggle when he measured from Itto’s waist up to his armpit. Itto snickered and yanked his arm down at a mischievous poke to the pit.

“Oops. Hold still now.” Wriothesley could’ve just measured on his back instead since the uniform isn’t supposed to be a tight fit, but he chose that previous area on purpose just to tickle the other.

“Heh! Stop tickling me then!” Itto gave up on T-posing to at least keep his armpits safe.

“Haha, I’m trying!” Wriothesley said, poking the other repeatedly to tickle him.

“Ahaha! No you aren’t!” Itto replied, giggling himself silly while trying to cover himself with his arms.

“Just relax, and let me measure you.” he said, wrapping the tape around his waist again while tickling him all the way around.

“Ahahahahahahaha!!” Itto jumped and laughed, trying to wriggle away to escape.

“I thought you said you weren’t ticklish?” Wriothesley teased, tickling the other’s side for a moment.

“Pfft, hahahaha! Staaahp! You’re doing all that on purpose!” Itto protested with a playful smack to the other’s hand.

“Hm, doing what? I’m just trying to get your measurements.” He rubbed his hand a little before chuckling.

“Like hell you are! Liar…” Itto crossed his arms and scoffed, making Wriotheslay laugh. “It’s not funny! You ass.” Itto turned around and pretended to hit him on the shoulder for the funny.

“Ahaha, sorry! Sorry…” Wriothesley chuckled and composed himself before speaking again. “Now, you did mention the sleeves were too tight and “stupid,” am I right?”

“Yeah, they suck.” Itto nodded.

“What length would you like them to be?” Wriothesley asked while he measured the length Itto’s arms.

“Uh, I dunno? Short? Can’t long sleeves be separate? I really hate how these are- like- half long, half short. It’s so uncomfortable!” Itto responded, having no trouble standing still now. He was very compliant, lifting his arms when needed as the tape was wrapped around his bicep and whatnot.

“Perhaps. Cold inmates usually get an outer shirt so they don’t get sick and such. It might be a little scratchy for you, though. I dunno what fabrics you like.”

“Oh boy, I dunno either… Ask Ayato.”

Wriothesley chuckled at Itto’s response and continued measuring until he was done with the oni’s upper body. “Now, are your pants fitting alright?”

“Eh, not really... Why do I have to wear suspenders? The waist feels weird and these- these *things* are too small.” he said, fidgeting with the suspenders.

“Hm. Eh, we could probably just pick a pair that’s one or two sizes bigger. Might have to cuff the legs though...”

“Huh? Whaddya mean by that?” Itto looked confused while processing what the duke just said.

“Eh, if they’re too long we’ll have to fold the legs up a bit… eh, the fold *is* the cuff, see.”

“Ohh, yeah, that makes more sense! I thought you meant, like, handcuffs?” His misunderstanding made Wriothesley laugh out loud in astonishment.

“Did you really think I’d be cruel enough to cuff your ankles?” Wriothesley asked, in disbelief after such a ridiculous assumption.

“Can you blame me?? It’s been a long day, bro! That’s why I was confused!” Itto replied, laughing as well.

After the two of them had finished laughing and calmed down, they could resume their conversation. Wriothesley noticed Itto seemed a lot happier than when he first came in, so he assumed he’d be fine to return to his cell.

“So, new uniform, noise cancellers, and um… huh, was that all?” he asked.

“I think so? I forgor.” Itto replied.

“Hah, time sure does fly. You should get back to your cell.” Wriothesley tried to usher him to the door.

“Ugh. Do I have to?” Itto huffed and crossed his arms. He didn’t want to leave yet.

“Yes, assuming you’ve recovered. You seem fine, so move along.” Wriothesley tried to coax the oni to follow him, but he refused.

“And what if I don’t wanna, huh? What then, big guy? Gonna toss me out yourself? Ha! I doubt it.” Itto instigated, grinning with mischief.

“That’s-… not a bad idea, actually.” Wriothesley’s expression matched that of Itto as he approached.

“H-Hey, wait! I was kidding~! C’mon, man!” It was at this moment that he knew he’d fucked up.

“Tsk tsk tsk. C’mere, you.” Wriothesley chuckled and made a playful effort to capture the oni, even though he tried to keep the office’s desk and chair between himself and the duke. However, Itto made one small misstep that landed him right in Wriothesley’s grip.

“Ack-! Hey! Let me go!” Having his Vision confiscated had made him weaker (unless that’s not a thing in Fontaine, idk), so wriggling free didn’t work very well.

“Nope. Hold still.” Wriothesley smirked, held him tighter and started tickling his sides, keeping him trapped in a tickle-hug from behind, which instantly made him laugh from surprise.

“Pfft, hahahahahahaha! HehEHEhey!! Whahat gihihives?!” Itto wasn’t expecting tickling, that’s for sure.

“Since you won’t co-operate, I thought of a way to convince you otherwise.” Wriothesley said, also hoping the tickles would calm him like Monsieur Neuv- I mean, uh, whaaaat?

“Thahat- that’s not fair!! Stohohop~! Ahahahahaha!!” Itto wiggled and giggled, protesting playfully every now and then while trying to push the other’s arms away.

“Only if you surrender. Hm, it kinda looks like you’re resisting arrest~” the human teased, poking in different spots whilst holding the oni firmly in place.

“Nohoho! I- heheh- I’m ahalready in jahahail!” Itto snickered, trying to not give away any of his weaker spots.

“Ah, that’s what they all say.” Wriothesley noticed every twitch, smiling as he poked at the other’s ribs repeatedly, earning himself a lot more giggles and playful protests.

“Whohoho do you thihink you ahahahare?!?” Itto was flabbergasted to feel the other already finding out his weakness.

“Oh, I dunno, the duke? Your arresting officer? I’m the boss around here, you know.” Wriothesley chuckled with amusement as he bullied the other.

“Uhunhahahand mehehehe!!” Itto protested, giggling his head off whilst trying to swat the evil pokes away.

“Mm? No, I don’t think I will.” Wriothesley found the situation very funny. He quickly transitioned his pokes to playful flutters and scritches, revoking his office’s status as a quiet place.

“Whaha! WahahaHAHAIT-!!” Itto nearly squaked at the sudden change of pace, his giggles getting louder and more uncontrolled.

“Ticklish, are we?” Wriothesley’s fingers were quick and skillful as if he’d done this regularly, tickling the other’s sensitive ribs despite all the thrashing.

“WAHAHAHAHAHA!! L-LEHEHET GOHOHOHOHO!!” Itto yelped, trying very hard to escape the other’s grip while he laughed helplessly.

“Say “mercy” and I’ll stop.” Wriothesley said, slowing down his tickling to make sure Itto heard him, giving him an easy way out.

“Pfft, never!” Itto retorted, feeling silly having that sensory need fulfilled by the dude that arrested him. He never would’ve guessed…

“Ah, suit yourself, then.” Wriothesley chuckled at the other’s boldness and resumed the quicker tickling, finding the other’s laughter somewhat contagious.

“Pfft! Wahahait! PlehehehEHEHEASE!!” Itto nearly squealed, laughing his ass off once again as he squirmed in the other’s grip. Alas, the tickles had weakened him also; he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Begging already? Oh dear.” Wriothesley chuckled and switched to vibrating his fingers into the other’s ribcage, nearly sending the poor oni to the floor.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!” He was laughing too hard to protest, wriggling and thrashing so much Wriothesley nearly lost his grip.

“Wow, you’re really freakin’ out, huh?” He joked, continuing to tickle the other.

“SHUHUHUT IHIHIHIT!!” Itto replied (barely), indeed flipping his shit over how badly it tickled.

“You ready to give up yet?” Those damn vibrations… How did Wriothesley know to do that? So unfair!

“STAHAHAHAP!! Rehelehehehease mehehehehehe!!” Itto squealed before he wheezed and struggled to breathe. “I’ll take that as a yes.” the other commented, chuckling at the other as he stopped tickling. “Heh, you okay?” He asked, chuckling as the other pretended to go limp in his arms.

“Ehehe… heheh…! You’re evil…” Itto said, giggling while catching his breath.

“I know, but that doesn’t answer my question. Are you okay? … and stand up, you’re not a ragdoll.” Itto chuckled with amusement before a short tickle attack to his armpit jumpstarted him again.

“GAHAHA-!! Gods, don’t do that! Heheh…! I’m fine!” he said, standing normally whilst keeping his arms down to protect himself, giggling slightly between breaths.

Wriothesley was surprised, letting the other catch his breath before he spoke again. “Really? You’re “fine” after all that?” He asked, letting go of him.

“Tch, yeah, it’s not like I’ve never been tickled before!” Itto boasted confidently, throwing shame out the window for a moment.

“Is that so?” Wriothesley chuckled at his admission, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah? I’ve-… I mean-… I guess I’m used to it?” Itto tried to hide his embarrassment, but his ears were slowly turning red despite his efforts. He tended to blush that far when he felt shy and whatnot.

“Right, I’m not surprised considering how goofy you can be. It’s not every day I get to tickle an inmate, haha!” Wriothesley joked, giving Itto a ticklish poke.

“Pff- hey! Hahaha…! I guess you’re lucky?” Itto added, chuckling with the other.

“Heh, I suppose. So are you gonna leave my office and behave yourself, or am I gonna have to start round two?” Wriothesley threatened playfully, making sure to keep a lighthearted expression as he crossed his arms.

“Oh I bet I can take you down this time! Everyone’s ticklish somewhere, ya know!” Itto retorted with equal silliness, cracking his knuckles in an overconfident stance.

“So you’re-?”

“I’m gonna fuck around and find out!” The oni interrupted, knowing there would be consequences, but that he could at least survive them.

“Hm. Try me, you won’t.” Wriothesley challenged, getting ready to wrestle the oni down if he had to.

“You’re gonna get it!” Itto taunted before he made his approach. Wriothesley chuckled and attempted the same desk-between-them strategy Itto had used before when trying go escape him, which proved to be a rather fun game. Eventually, however, the duke got distracted once he bumped his hip into the corner of the desk, wincing slightly in pain before Itto managed to catch him.

“Ah, damn…” he muttered briefly, held like a grumpy cat as Itto lifted him from behind for a moment to celebrate his victory. “Still got some strength left in ya, huh?” he said. It seemed Itto didn’t notice he got hurt.

“Dude, of course! Vision or no, I’m still an oni!” Itto said proudly before setting the man down. “Looks like I win!” he added, keeping the other hugged.

“And who said I gave up?” Wriothesley asked, chuckling to himself. The situation was so unusual and amusing he couldn’t help himself.

“I did, cus I’m about to defeat you!” Itto replied, initiating his silly attack without further warning. With his arms wrapped around the other’s middle, Itto tickled his sides, which caused him to jolt and snicker slightly.

“Mpfft-! A-As if I’ll- *snrk* g-go down so easily…” Wriothesley said, hoping to keep his composure as he tried to break free, but that only caused Itto’s hands to slip a little bit as his grip loosened slightly. “AhahAH-!” The tickles hadn’t stopped, and the slip caused them to move to the sides of Wriothesley’s ribcage instead, which made him jump and laugh with surprise.

“Oh? What was that?” Itto chuckled and kept going, giggling along with amusement.

“Shihihit-! Hahahahahah!” Wriothesley had forgotten how ticklish he could be, and he certainly didn’t expect Itto to find a good spot so quickly.

“Ooh, is the boss a little sensitive there~? Hahahaha! Oh poor you.” Itto teased, mischievous as ever. Wriothesley wheezed and bucked, trying to break free from the ticklish grip.

“Hahahahaha!! Fuhuhuck- stohohohop!” Wriothesley felt embarrassed to make such a fool of himself.

“You givin’ up already?” Itto asked, giggling while he kept tickling, switching spots to the other’s abdomen.

“HahahAHAHAHA!! NOHOHOHO-!!” Wriothesley laughed louder despite his best efforts, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. He could barely believe he’d gotten himself so ticklish with an inmate of all people.

“Tickle tickle tickle~” Itto teased, tickling the other’s tummy. As luck would have it, Wriothesley finally to break free from Itto’s grasp. He’d love swiftly turn the tables, but he had to breathe first.

“Ah- shit- wait, wahahait! We can talk about this!” Wriothesley glared at him, intimidating the other. Itto tried to bargain his way out, but the duke was having none of it once he approached.

“Oho, I think we’ve talked plenty. Get over here.” Wriothesley replied bluntly, ready for revenge. Itto tried to back away, but Wrio caught him before he could try to escape. “Not so fast.” he said.

“But-! Please! Ihi-!”

“Nope.”

“Ahahahahaha!! Nooo!”

Wriothesley interrupted Itto and tickled him again before he could finish speaking, this time managing to wrestle the other to the floor to really wreck him. Or, well, to defeat him at least. Despite everything, Wriothesley knew better than to overstimulate the oni himself.

“NahAHAHAHahah-!! C’mohohon~!! Ihi was just plahayihihing!!” Itto kept laughing and squirming on the floor, his legs kicking as Wriothesley held his wrists with one hand while tickling him silly with the other.

“I’d have cuffed you for real if I wasn’t feeling merciful…” Wriothesley muttered, acting all grumpy after the tickles he’d faced just moments ago. “You surrendering yet?” he asked.

“NEVERR!!” Itto shook his head.

“You sure about that?” Wriothesley smirked and tickled his way up to Itto’s armpits, switching between them with his one hand.

“Pfft~ ahahAAH!! NAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Itto screeched and tried to get away somehow, making the other chuckle.

“Heh. Didn’t know you could sound like that.” Wriothesley commented. Itto managed to free his arms, but at the cost of his ribs as Wriothesley switched spots, once again tickling his ribcage with vibrating fingers like he had done before. “Do you yield?”

“FFAHAHAHAHAHA!! FIHIHINE-!! YOHOHOU WIHIHIN!!” With his head thrown back, the poor, ticklish oni didn’t last very long before surrendering. Wriothesley finally stopped and pulled his hands away.

“Heheh, you sure put up quite the fight.” Wriothesley was sort of impressed with the other’s endurance.

“Hah… eheh… hehe *hic* heh…! I hate you~ haha…!” Itto struggled to reply while catching his breath, still covering his ribs with his arms just in case.

“Heh, hate’s a strong word. I didn’t kill ya, did I?” Wriothesley joked, reaching out to help Itto get up with him.

“Hahah…! You almost did…” Itto replied, still giggly while he was helped up.

“I didn’t think you could handle all that. I’m impressed.” Wriothesley admitted, smiling at the other.

“Heheh, shut up! You’re cruel!” Itto gently punched him in the shoulder as a playful gesture.

“Hahahaha! I know I am. Still, you’re quite the fighter, huh? Have I told you about the pankration ring yet?” he asked, crossing his arms as he spoke.

“Heheh… huh? The whuh?” Itto chuckled, finally recovered from their tickle fight.

“I’m sure I showed you the area when you got here. Didn’t I?”

Itto lagged for a moment while his brain processed before he remembered. “Oh! Yeah the uh, that boxing arena thingy, right?”

“Yes, that one.”

“What about it?”

“Heh, you could be a pretty good fighter in there y’know. It’s a great way for energetic inmates to blow off steam.”

“Is that so?” Itto was interested already.

“Yes. You should check it out sometime… after your accommodations and whatnot, of course. Just be sure not to hit your opponents too hard, alright?”

“Right, yeah…! I’ll kick your ass for sure!”

“Oh? Is that a challenge?”

“You bet it is!!”

“Haha, I’ll let you know when my schedule’s free for that. You’d best not underestimate me.”

“And you’d better not tickle me! I’d rather lose in real combat than be humiliated like that!”

“Hahahaha! Fine, no dirty tricks from me.”

Although Itto was confused by how quickly their tickle war had ended and how casual conversation had started again, he stuck around to keep discussing with Wriothesley before he felt satisfied enough to return to his cell. He hoped he’d be able to get out soon, but he also wanted to spar with the duke someday.

Who knows how fun that would be?

#my private twashcan #genshin impact tickle #genshin tickle #genshin impact tickling #genshin tickling #tickle fic #lee!itto #ler!itto #lee!wriothesley #ler!wriothesley #ticklish!itto #ticklish!wriothesley #genshin tickles #genshin impact tickles

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dawn-iscozy · 1 month ago

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“ like a cat in a sunny spot ” ♡ vi ♡

SERIES PLAYLIST: “ swim ” - chase atlantic ♡ “ honey (are u coming?) ” - maneskin ♡ “ the summoning ” - sleep token ♡ “ soft spot ” - keshi ♡ “ bubbly ” - colbie caillat ♡ “ kiss me ” - ed sheeran ♡ “ cotton candy ” - yungblud ♡

SERIES WARNINGS: poly, eventual ot8, named oc - “Rora”, derived from “Aurora” (soooooo original, I know), who is basically a self-insert (i’m still on the brink of denial about it). loooots of nicknames/pet names, and even more as the fic progresses (if you read the “a little warmth in winter” you’ll know most of the names already 🤭). things move pretty quickly in this, and it may stray vaguely into soulmate au territory but, like, I’m a sucker for these men and for the way I’ve written them and I just can’t stop.

apologies in advance if the timeline doesn’t make any sense, I’m going purely on vibes and my affection for these 8 men. idk if it deserves a warning, but scents are mentioned a lot in some parts and kinda littered through the rest of the fic (using scent profiles from a perfume/fragrance site that has a line of scents called “Smells Like a Hug From Ateez” and very limited knowledge of fragrances the members may have previously used/just the vibes they give off)

WORD COUNT: 9k

ADDITIONAL WARNINGS: period/menstrual cycle, food, a lot of food actually, and lots of kissing, fluffyfluffyfluffyyyyy, unrealistically fitting three sleeping adults in one bed, overuse of the word “waffle”, discussions of relationship status, blushing lots of blushing, and giggling lots of giggling, just really cute, some hints of spice, “doll”, yungiyungiYUNGI, domestic-ish woo, hongjoong split-dye and tattoo, hongjoong wears makeup AND glasses, woo makes a daddy joke, mxm adjacent jokes, some name calling, collar joke, woo likes it when joong is mean to him (we been knew), and apparently so does rora

♡ 18+ - no smut, but still MDNI ♡

vi: blankets of warmth

The three of them stayed over at her apartment much longer than they probably should have on a weeknight, and she ended up falling asleep, sandwiched between Yeosang and San on the over-stuffed sofa. She didn’t know how she ended up there, but she assumed that San’s legs were going numb like her own were and she had moved herself (likely against a slew of complaints from San) there. She had also somehow wiggled her way out of San’s hoodie, using it, instead, as a makeshift blanket for her curled up legs.

Rora woke up once, finding her cheek pressed against Yeosang’s tense shoulder and her arms looped around one of his to hold it close to her chest. She mumbled out apologies, muffled and slurred even to her own sleepy ears, fumbling and ultimately failing to sit up. Giving up to mumble more apologies and rest her head right back where it was.

He chuckled, relaxed back into the sofa, his cheek pressed lightly against her hair. “It’s okay,” Yeosang murmured in his soft, low voice. She almost groaned at the sound of it. His voice reminded her of a warm lullaby on a stormy night just as much as it reminded her of hazy summer nights, leaving her swimming in a slow, sleepy warmth that worked its way up her back in a lazy crawl to settle in her fuzzy brain.

A huff warmed the side of her neck, and she became aware of a weight on her shoulder. San fell asleep, too, it seemed. She blinked the sleep away as best as she could and sighed. “Do you want me to move?” she asked, tongue still heavy in her mouth.

“It’s okay,” Yeosang repeated. “Do you want to go to bed? Jjong and I could get you and San all tucked in and leave you to sleep.”

She whined. “No. Stay.” She snuggled further into his warmth, and he tensed at the move before relaxing into a soft laugh that warmed her from the inside.

“You’re just as clingy as Woo and San,” he said softly, shaky fingers pushing strands of her hair out of her face.

“Cozy,” she simply murmured, and he gave a low chuckle.

Rora felt a shift in the air around her, a brief breeze carrying a certain cologne she had long-since grown familiar with - warm and strong with surprising notes of sweetness - and she blinked her heavy eyes open to see Jongho crouched down in front of them. “Let’s at least lay you down, hmm?” he murmured.

She nodded, rubbing her eyes with her fists and reaching out for him. “Carry me?” she asked, too sleepy to care that she was asking her coworker to do such a thing.

He all but cooed at her, gummy smile on full display. “C’mere, precious,” he said, pushing the bulky sweater from her lap and pulling her into his arms.

Yeosang’s hands were on her back then the backs of her thighs, aiding in lifting her into Jongho’s arms safely, then helping her wrap her legs around his friend’s waist securely. “There you go,” he murmured with a lingering touch to her waist.

She sighed, letting herself fully rely on Jongho’s strength, arms around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder, clinging to him like a koala. “Home?” Rora asked.

“Do I have to go home?” he clarified. She nodded, and his hands smoothing up her thighs, fingers locking together to support her below her bottom. “I probably should, but I can stay if you want me to.”

“Both?”

There was a pause, and she imagined Jongho and Yeosang looking at each other for a moment, talking between each other without actually talking in that way that long-term friends seem to be able to do. Jongho released a breath through his nose and hiked her higher up in his hold. “We both can stay, yes,” Jongho finally said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

She hummed, letting the sway of his walk and the tight grip he had on her lull her into near unconsciousness. Mere moments later Rora jolted, whining when she was placed atop cold sheets and gripping onto Jongho’s sweater in displeasure.

“I know, precious,” Jongho soothed, his warm hands gripping her own, thumb running over the backs of them until her fingers unclasped. “There you go, good girl.”

A shiver worked down her spine at that, her breath huffing out of her in surprise. She wasn’t sure when he had become so bold with her or why, but she liked it. A lot, if the way her heart sped up in her chest was any indicator.

Jongho hummed, pressing her shoulders lightly to get her to lay down. She shivered again, blinking open her heavy eyes to look up at him through her lashes, hoping he couldn’t read her probably very obvious arousal, though it was also very dampened by sleepiness. He stared right back, tucked her hair behind her ear, those sparkly eyes taking in her every expression. “Sang, just leave San and get over here. He’ll be fine” he said, shuffling the blankets until they were all the way pulled back.

Rora’s gaze drifted over Jongho’s shoulder, unable to hold his gaze any longer, and watched as Yeosang laid San down on the sofa and draped her throw blanket over him, tucking a pillow between his friend’s arms. Amusement swelled in her when the buff man snuggled into the soft fabric of her throw pillow, tamped down only by the sight of Yeosang pulling off his jacket. He wore a simple t-shirt underneath, but it looked like it was made specifically for him, clinging to his chest and shoulders, revealing toned arms.

“He’s going to be sulky when he wakes up in the morning,” Yeosang mused, walking over to her bed. He stopped next to Jongho, fingers pushing her hair back from her face lightly. She could feel them trembling against her skin, and she wanted to take them between her hands to steady them. Instead, she turned her face into his touch. “Can I come up, angel?”

“Please,” she breathed out, shifting around to get comfy as he climbed into her bed, followed by Jongho. Her bed wasn’t the largest, and they were pressed closely together, but she was happy. She turned onto her side, facing Yeosang and humming happily when Jongho’s arm draped around her waist. “Is nice,” she murmured, leaving some space between their bodies.

That didn’t last long. Yeosang chuckled lightly, hand brushing through his hair. “Get comfy, angel,” he murmured, pressing her face into his chest.

She rubbed her cheek against the swelling muscle beneath her, letting her leg drape over his own as Jongho snuggled closer to her back. She giggled as his face nuzzled into the back of her neck, his breath tickling her skin.

“S’nice.” Rora sighed sleepily, letting her arms slip over Yeosang’s waist, finding where his shirt hiked up, relishing in the feeling of his warm skin beneath her fingertips. He shivered at her touch before relaxing into it, breath puffing out in a sigh.

“Must be if you’re repeating yourself,” Jongo teased, hand squeezing her hip in a way that had a moan bubbling in her chest. Jongho laughed as the soft sound filled the quiet space, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he rubbed circles into her skin and hushed her, lulling her right into unconsciousness.

The sleep was by no means the best she had ever had. She woke up several more times, overheating from a mixture of body heat and the hormonal overload her period tended to have on her body. But she couldn’t find it in herself to be grumpy. Rather, she laid there, dozing away in her bed, luxuriating in being stuck in between Yeosang and Jongho. She was too warm, having wiggled her shirt up and her blanket down as much as she could without pulling it off her current bedmates too much. And her body hurt, having gone a little too long without another dose of ibuprofen to tamp down the band of cramps encircling her torso, hips, and thighs.

There was a meow and a broken, sleep-addled groan, and she turned to see Teddy kneading at San’s ample chest. She giggled, watching as San stretched his arms over his head, shirt straining and riding up to expose his belly. Teddy harrumphed at being disrupted in his very important work, and San gave a soft chuckle, patting the kitty on his little head.

Rora shifted around, propping herself up, cheek against Jongho’s sternum, letting his steady heartbeat lull her back into the fuzzy feeling of barely-awake as she watched San. His fingers wiggled in the air, the cat pawing at them lightly before deciding he didn’t want to play and instead, went back to kneading, drawing sounds of adoration and giggles and groans she was sure were the result of her cuddly kitty’s over-enthusiastic claws pricking at skin.

“I can feel you watching me,” San mused when the cat finally stilled, curling up on his chest. San scratched behind Teddy’s ear until the cat tilted his head in bliss. His following smile was dopey with the remnants of sleep, and when he turned his head to catch her, she couldn’t help but keep staring at him.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked.

“Mhm,” San hummed. “Would have been better with you beside me, though.”

A snicker came from beside her, and the bed shifted. “You say that, but she tossed and turned all night,” Yeosang said, letting his hand slip up the back of her shirt as he settled back down, the tickle of his fingers ridding any bite from his words. His voice cracked, still heavily laced with sleep, that endearing lisp heavier than it was last night. But it was so deliciously low that she wanted to rub against him like a cat. Wanted him to pin her down and speak right into her ear.

She had to control herself from pressing herself back, her finger sinking into the fabric of Jongho’s sweater, bunching it up in her fists. The material rode up his torso until the sleep-warm skin of his belly pressed against her bare arm pleasantly. She caught the moment he fully awoke, the brief spike in his heart rate, how it picked up even more when he seemed to register her body against his own

Yeosang groaned behind her, the bed shifting again as he rolled closer to her, his hand slipping around her waist to caress up and down her sides. “Good morning,” he said in that wonderfully deep voice.

Her breath hitched, and the chest beneath her rumbled in amusement. “Breathe, precious,” Jongho murmured, hand rubbing at the back of her neck fingers pushing up into her hair. She forced herself to take a breath, only to choke on it when he continued. “Sangie’s got a nice voice, though, hmm?”

Her cheeks flared with heat, and she flopped back down between them, pulling the blanket up over her head. “Calling me out first thing in the morning? Really?” she whined. “In my own home?”

The three men laughed, and Jongho pushed himself up to sitting. She peeked out from beneath the blanket to see him looking wonderfully sleep rumpled. His hair stuck up in places, cheeks red and lined from the pillow, and she wanted to snuggle up to him.

“I’m sorry I tossed around so much,” Rora said, bunching the blanket up in her arms to hug it against her chest, legs tucked in close. “I kept getting too warm.”

“It isn’t really something you could help, darling,” San said, despite not being the affected party. She blinked when he plopped down on the bed, not having heard him coming closer, and giggled when he sprawled out across everyone’s legs. The two didn’t even react, seemingly used to dealing with such behaviors.

She let the blanket go with a wistful sigh. “I want waffles,” she suddenly mumbled out.

San sat up, now settled entirely on Jongho. Jongho groaned when San turned to her so quickly the bed jerked. “Waffles?” he repeated excitedly, ignoring his friend’s pain entirely.

“Yeeessss,” she groaned, sitting up and running a hand through her hair. “With strawberries and waaaaay too much whipped cream.”

“Let’s go get some, then,” Jongho said, pushing his friend off him with a huff. “I’ll pay.”

San yelped as he fell to the floor, but sat up at Jongho’s words, peeking over the bed like a meerkat. “Baby bear’s gonna pay? What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Rora giggled as he all but jumped up from the floor. He landed lightly for such a muscled man, but loud enough to startle Teddy awake from where he was now curled up on the sofa. San pushed and pulled his friends out of the bed, but stopped when he got to her. Sent her a dimpled smile that all but dazzled her and carefully helped her out of the bed.

“Slow down, Sannie,” she giggled, falling right into his chest when her feet hit the floor. “Let me at least go pee before you rush us out.”

San pouted. And she couldn’t help but lift up on her toes to press a kiss to his plush lips, morning breath be damned. He sighed, pulling her closer and delving a hand into her hair to hold her in place, kissing her back, over and over until someone cleared their throat.

She was breathless when San pulled away, cheeks warm and lips parted, and she melted entirely at his smug expression. “Hurry to the bathroom so we can go get those waffles,” he said, ushering her in the direction of her bathroom.

She was quick in freshening up and getting ready to leave the apartment, simply washing her face, brushing her teeth, and slipping into her comfiest pair of ripped jeans. Deodorant on, and she was ready to go.

Not even half an hour later, they were at a cozy little breakfast cafe near her apartment building, fresh-made waffles and drinks in front of them. Her and San sat on one side of a booth, with Yeosang and Jongho on the other. She took a moment to just stare at the wonderful delicacy on the plate before her, the golden brown waffle covered in mounds of whipped cream and a river of strawberry syrup, a bowl of fresh-cut strawberries right next to her plate. She constructed the perfect bite, moaning as she chewed it. Heck, it had been a long time since Rora had a good waffle.

“Is it that good?” San asked, cutting into his own, covered in slices of banana and drizzles of Nutella. She didn’t have to respond when he took a bite and leaned forward into the table with a groan. “Oh, hell yes,” he mumbled.

Muffled sounds of amusement filled the booth at that. She giggled and grabbed the mug in front of her, taking a careful drink of her hot chocolate. Her eyes found Yeosang in front of her, but she shied away when he noticed her looking. His shoulders shook, though he covered up any laughter with a cough before trying his own waffle. His eyes widened, and she giggled, leaning over the table a bit.

“Can I try it?” Rora asked, eyeing the chopped nuts, banana slices, and drizzles of honey on his waffle. She watched as he constructed a bite for her, making sure it had a bit of everything before reaching over the table, hand under his fork to feed it to her. Her cheeks went red, but she leaned forward to accept the bite, brain all but short circuiting when his thumb brushed over her lower lip to scoop up some escaped whipped cream.

Her eyes widened, and Jongho and San laughed at her expression. Yeosang shied away almost immediately after, ears going red, and Jongho patted him on the shoulder, still laughing. It took a minute for everyone to calm back down, but once they did, Jongho cleared his throat.

“So,” Jongho murmured, setting his fork and knife down on his barely-eaten waffle. Bits of whipped cream clung to the silver, smearing on the table when the knife slid from the plate. He busied himself with wiping up the mess, refusing to look up even as he spoke. “What exactly is this…situation?”

“Does it really need a label right now?” San asked, leaning back in the seat with his arms crossed over his chest. He would have looked defensive if his face weren’t so placid, eyes understanding as they looked at his youngest friend.

Jongho shook his head, brows furrowing. “No, no. I’m not trying to say that. I - ” He looked like he might have had more to say, teeth nibbling the inside of his lip and cheek. But he let a breath out, just looked down at his food, cut a piece from his waffle. She watched him scoop up some whipped cream and stewed cinnamon apples and pile it on his fork. “I’m just curious,” he murmured, raising the bite to his mouth.

“Jongho,” Rora started gently, reaching across the table. She left her hand there, just resting on the table in front of him, palm up. He stared at it for a moment before looking up at her, swallowing the food in his mouth. She couldn’t read his expression, but she sent him a gentle smile when his hand settled in hers. “Bear, we can’t read your mind. Whatever you have to say can be said. We won’t judge you. You know that, don’t you?”

Yeosang’s hand settled lightly on Jongho’s back, though it hesitated before finally making contact. She imagined such physical reassurance may not be a regular thing for Yeosang to offer Jongho, and the move - Yeosang pushing himself to physically reassure his friend - filled her with warmth. The way this group of men so obviously cared for each other was absolutely precious.

“I don’t know if what you have going on with the others is just casual or what, and I honestly don’t care as long as everyone is comfortable and not getting hurt.” he paused, put his fork down, settled his free hand in his lap to straighten his posture and look directly at her. “But I don’t want ‘just casual’ with you.”

The breath rushed out of her, and she felt herself melting. “What do you want, then?” she asked, squeezing his hand lightly.

He exhaled, let go of her hand to shove his hair back from his face. “I don’t know,” he murmured.

“And that’s okay,” she said, letting her hand settle in her lap. “You don’t have to know right now.”

San shifted beside her, and she turned to look at him. “This doesn’t feel casual to me, either,” he said. “Not really. I don’t think we necessarily need a label, but I like whatever this is. I wanna keep doing it. I wanna take you out on dates and get to know you more, whether that’s on my own or with everyone else.”

She melted into his side, and couldn’t stop the grin from forming on her face. “Should we have a group meeting about this?” The question was mostly a joke, but there was a certain level of seriousness that she knew they heard. She turned to look at Yeosang, and her cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this, Sangie.”

“I don’t mind,” he said. His head tilted, and he gave her a little smile. “Drag me in all you want. In whatever capacity.”

Shyness and excitement warred away in Rora’s chest, and she wanted to squeal and squirm and hide all at once. Instead, she took another drink of hot chocolate, letting the warmth of it soothe her.

San and Jongho chuckled, seeming to read her face. “She might ask you to drag her, actually,” San mused.

Her head whipped around, and Rora settled him with a pout. “Sannie,” she whined.

He simply laughed and slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer against him, as if that were even possible. She didn’t fight it, enjoying the warmth coming off of him and letting her head fall on his shoulder.

“Let’s meet up this weekend,” Jongho suggested, leaning back in the booth, his arm stretching along the back of the seat behind Yeosang. “All of us.”

San nodded. “We can introduce you to Seonghwa and Hongjoong, too.”

“Sounds fun,” she said happily, cheeks rubbing against San’s shoulder in an attempt to settle the nervous excitement flooding her at the suggestion. Her eyes glanced over the two men sitting in front of her, coming to stop on Yeosang. She grinned when he sent her a little smile. “I can get to know Sangie some more, too.”

♡♡♡

The rest of that week went by in a blur of work, cramps, and fatigue. Work was busier than it had been since she started working there - or maybe she was just slower than usual - and the men took turns visiting her, or vice versa.

Tuesday night, Wooyoung showed up at her apartment in a zip-up that swallowed him in the most endearingly cool way and bags of takeout dangling from his fingers. They ate, talked over the drone of whatever show they had decided to watch and subsequently ignored in favor of talking (kissing), and ended up tangled together on her bed. Fully clothed save for the hoodie that she had discarded with quick fingers, lips following to litter his neck and pretty collarbones with kisses and nips until his tan skin was covered in the evidence that she was there and his groans filled her apartment. Until Teddy got annoyed with a lack of attention on him, jumping on them and sending them both into fits of giggles, fussing over the kitty until he fell asleep between them. And she asked him to stay, tracing the marks she left on his skin until his eyelids fluttered and his voice dropped low with sleep, his hands reaching out to pull her closer as he lost the fight against consciousness.

They woke up to her alarm, groaning at the same time, bursting into sleepy giggles together. She littered his face with kisses, telling him to just go back to sleep if he didn’t have anywhere to go. He could stay as long as he wanted to, just don’t leave the apartment a mess. It made for a lovely change to her morning routine, having Wooyoung there when she woke. Waking him up. He got out of bed when she finished getting ready, wrapping her up in a hug and kissing her in a way that left her feeling warm even after she left for work.

Feeling more energized than she usually would on a Wednesday morning, she sought out Jongho to ask him if it would be okay for her to skip lunch with him. The answer was yes, but told her that she would have to make up for it later with that mischievous smile that she was growing to adore. That’s how she found herself at Yunho and Mingi’s cafe, hair damp from the misty afternoon weather and cheeks hurting with the force of her smile when they greeted her.

Mingi bound over to her before the door had even shut behind her, pulling her off her feet to swing her around until she was shrieking and clinging to him. Yunho’s laughter filled her ears when Mingi finally let her go, and she turned to see him leaning against the counter with a wide grin on his face. They closed for lunch early and brought her back to watch Mingi whip them all something up to eat. Actually eating was a cozy affair, the two tall men cramming themselves into one of the raised spaces with her between them. Mingi bumped his head at least twice while trying to climb into the space, and Yunho soothed the pain from his friend with a tender touch that had Mingi (and her) all but giggling and kicking his feet. The food Mingi made was delicious. But it was even better being able to kiss the taste from their mouths, their big hands wandering up and down her body until she was warm and shivering and keening into the quiet of the cafe.

She was in Yunho’s lap, devouring his mouth, Mingi at her back, lips on her neck and hands anchoring her to his friend’s lap when her phone started vibrating. They sent her off to work with lingering kisses and longing gazes and whispered promises to see each other again soon and sweet ‘have a good day’s in kiss-slurred voices that left her walking on clouds for the rest of the day, much to Jongho’s amusement.

Thursday turned out to be Jongho’s turn. As she was leaving her apartment, she saw him waiting outside, coffees in hand and his bag slung over his shoulder. Her heart fluttered in her chest when she asked him what he was doing there, cheeks flushing when he handed one of the coffees (iced americano, of course) and claimed this was how he wanted to cash in that promised extra time together.

They went to work together. They had lunch together. He even walked her home at the end of the day, stayed a little to play with Teddy and relax with a show playing in the background. It was well after dark by the time he left, offering her a hug when she walked him to the door and a barely-there kiss to the top of her head.

She thought Friday was going to be chill, that the day was going to happen as it usually would before she met this group of men. However, when Jongho dragged her away from her computer for lunch, she found Yeosang sitting at their usual table, looking adorably lost but nonetheless happy as he waited for Jongho to come back. He pushed her into his friend’s space and promptly followed it up by invading her space, stuffing the three of them into a bench that could fit two people comfortably but certainly not three fully grown adult humans.

It was nice, though. She was happy, sitting in between them as they bickered. Or more like Jongho teased Yeosang and he let it all roll off his back with the occasional sharp retort in response. No kisses, but she let herself lean into them, her head on Yeosang’s shoulder and her hand finding Jongho’s beneath the table until a coworker, one of the women who had talked her into going out last Friday night walked by with raised brows and curious eyes.

If the two men could feel the tension suddenly in her shoulders or noticed the way she went quiet - quieter than she had been before - they didn’t say anything. Didn’t push her for more physical contact or to interact with their warm teasing. They let her be, and she was thankful.

Rora had never been so social in her life, nor had she ever felt so exhausted by the end of a week. No matter how much fun she had with them, there was only so much energy she could expend, especially through the work week. Needless to say, she was more than relieved when Saturday rolled around and she was finally able to rest, even if only for a few hours.

No more period. No expectations. No visitors.

A slow, quiet morning, just her and her kitty, really could work wonders.

She slept in as long as she could. Lounged in bed, reading on her phone with Teddy keeping her feet warm. Opened a window to let the cool morning breeze sweep through her apartment. Made a yummy breakfast and some pour-over iced coffee, and she ate it while watching YouTube videos she hadn’t been able to watch through the week.

It was the most relaxing morning she’d had in a while. But by noon, she found herself feeling bored. Way past bored, even. The groan that came from her throat when a knock sounded on her door was way more relieved than she thought it would be just a few hours before. When she opened the door to see the two tallest friends standing side by side in the hall, she all but jumped on the taller one.

“Hello to you too,” Yunho huffed out through a chuckle, large hands holding her up by her bottom. “Miss me or something?”

“Something,” she said, pressing her face into his neck when he hiked her higher in his hold and pushed into her apartment. “I was so bored,” she groaned, nuzzling against his skin, enjoying the smell of his soap, the softness and freshness on him. The warmth. Just so like him, how he made her feel. “You came at the perfect time.”

“Oh, so we’re just entertainment for you? Is that it?”

Rora simply hummed, nose pressing against his jaw. She couldn’t help but start giggling when Yunho gripped her thighs tighter in retaliation, and her lips met his cheek in a soft kiss.

Mingi laughed, and she turned her head to look at him. “Hi, Mingi.”

“Hi,” he said, chuckling, patting her head until she let out a content sigh.

She whined as Yunho settled her feet back on the ground, but turned to lead him and Mingi further into her apartment. She ushered them over to sit on the couch, giggling when instead of letting her sit in between them, Yunho pulled her into his lap. “As happy as I am that you’re here, why are you here so early? I thought we weren’t all meeting until this evening?”

“Maybe I wanted some alone time with you before I had to share you with everyone.”

“Mingi is also here,” she pointed out, fingers kneading at Yunho’s broad shoulders.

“So he is,” Yunho mused, slouching further in his seat so that she was seated fully on his lap, her feet hanging off the edge of the sofa and her knees on either side of his hips. His lips spread in a smirk as he let his head fall back to rest on the back of the sofa, exposing his jaw and the expanse of his throat. Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip as she fought back the desire to litter the smooth skin with kisses. “He wanted some time with you, too. So I decided to have some mercy on him.”

“Oh?” Rora blinked herself out of her thoughts and turned to look at Mingi, lounging next to them, those thick thighs spread wide, fiddling with his ring-covered fingers in between them. He sent her a close-lipped smile when he noticed her gaze on him, those plush lips flattening out until a dimple showed. She beckoned him closer, turning his head by his chin to plant a kiss right over the dip in his cheek.

Mingi grinned, whole face scrunching up until his eyes were forced closed with the force of it, and giggled - fucking giggled - and she melted, wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for a hug, squeezing him against her chest until his giggles turned into full, booming laughs and he pushed her away until she sat fully in Yunho’s lap once more.

“Find some self-restraint, doll,” Mingi said, thumb ghosting over her cheekbone. His words held no bite to them, and she didn’t feel anything more than content at having made him laugh so hard. She hummed when he scooted closer, head falling to rest on Yunho’s shoulder as his hand smoothed down her back.

She shivered when his knuckle rubbed up the line of her spine, hand coming to rest on her nape, fingers playing with the loose strands of her hair. Yunho’s arms wrapped loosely around her hips, warm fingers dipping beneath her shirt to touch her skin, and she let her hands come to rest on his chest.

She looked between the two of them. Whoever said they had never seen two pretty best friends was a liar, she thought, nibbling her bottom lip. Her eyes dropped down to Yunho’s mouth, breath kicking up as the urge to lean forward suddenly filled her. Her hands fisted Yunho’s shirt when her eyes flicked over to Mingi, catching on those gorgeous lips. His tongue poked out, swiped over his lower lip, and she was stuck there, unable to look away from the glossy plush of them.

“What?” Yunho asked, fingers kneading her lower back in a way that had her wanting to let her eyes roll back. “Wanna kiss him, honey?”

Rora nodded, unable to look away. Her skin pebbled with goosebumps when Yunho’s hand slid up her back, pressing right over Mingi’s on the back of her neck, those long fingers tangling in her hair as he pushed her head down. She whimpered, practically trembling as Mingi’s warm breath washed over her face.

“Use your words, doll,” Mingi murmured, brushing his nose against hers.

She wanted to whine, her lips practically trembling as his own brushed over them. “Yes,” she said, breathless. “Yes, I wanna kiss. Please.”

A groan rumbled from Yunho’s chest, vibrating against her hands, and she wanted to squirm and rub herself against both of the men in front of her.

Mingi pulled her closer by his grip on her nape, and finally his lips were on hers. Soft at first, then firm, lips parting her own so that his tongue could dip between them. A soft noise escaped her throat, and she shifted closer, slipping a hand into his hair. He let her tip his head back, leaning further up on her knees, pulling that thick bottom lip into her mouth.

Yunho’s hands settled on her hips, lips ghosting her neck. She thanked herself for wearing a tanktop that morning when his teeth nibbled at her collarbones. She moaned into Mingi’s mouth, teeth tugging before releasing his lip and diving in for another kiss. She didn’t care that she was almost out of breath or that she was starting to grind herself down into Yunho’s lap. She didn’t want to stop kissing Mingi.

Her hand fisted his hair, and he groaned, hand tightening further on her neck in a way that had her body flushing with heat, heart racing. Her chest felt heavy with the need to breathe, and Rora pulled away from him, panting.

A hand came to her face, grasping her chin and turning her head to look at Yunho. He looked over her face, taking in the flush of her cheeks and the sheen of spit on her lips. She shivered under his gaze, breath hitching as he leaned closer, lips parting, slotting against her own.

The doorbell sounded, a knock following right after. Yunho groaned into her mouth, the sound vibrating down her throat and right down her spine, sending her whining and grinding down into his lap. Yunho groaned again, grip tightening on her before he pushed at Mingi to go open the door, refusing to allow her to move away from him. His hand tangled in her hair, pulled her closer with a tight grip that had her gasping right into his mouth.

Cursing from beside her had her detaching herself from Yunho’s mouth, and she turned to see Wooyoung standing there, hands in the pockets of his baggy pants. “Youngie,” she breathed, the name coming out practically on a moan as Yunho’s mouth latched onto her neck, licking, nipping, sucking on the skin there.

“You do look exquisite right now, sweetheart,” he said, chuckling. The sound of it was breathy, his voice low, almost a rasp, reminding her of all the dirty, dirty things he had said to her just a week ago. He cleared his throat, swallowed, shifted on his feet, eyes darting all over her. His bottom lip disappeared between his teeth, head tilting like he was thinking about something. But only a moment later, he sent her a smile. “But I was hoping to have your help shopping for dinner.”

Yunho grunted, arms wrapping around her middle to pull her flush against him. “No,” he said, burying his face in her chest, teeth still nipping at her exposed skin.

Rora giggled, brushing her hands through his hair. “Yunho,” she said, dipping down to kiss his temple and nuzzle at his ear. “You can have me later, hmm?”

He groaned again, but loosened his hold on her, head falling back heavily. “Yeah?” he asked, eyes roaming around her face, lip pulled between his teeth.

“Mhm,” she hummed, pressing another kiss to his tempting mouth before clambering up from his lap.

“Would tell you to get dressed, but I quite like this look,” Wooyoung said, running a finger under the thin strap of her top, down over the swell of her breasts. His hands then dropped down to her hips, where the top rode up to expose the skin at her hips, thumbs dipping below the waistband of her loosest sweatpants.

“I’m gonna get ready,” she said, tugging his head down to press a kiss to his nose. Pulling away, she giggled at his expression, at the red now dusting his cheeks and his wide, pretty eyes. One more kiss, this time to his lips, and she looked around at the other two, both now settled on the couch. “Be good for just 20 minutes, hmm?” she said, brow raised.

Wooyoung laughed and pushed her toward the bathroom. “Sure, sweetheart. Just hurry uuuup,” he whined.

She huffed but shut the door and hurried through freshening up and dressing herself in another tank top and some comfy cargo pants, throwing a zip-up on over top. Rora was struggling to clip on a layered necklace when she stepped back into the living room, fingers unable to work properly without the use of her sight. She was pouting, brows furrowing as she tried once more and failed to get the hook through the correct link.

“Need some help?” Mingi’s deep voice piped up.

She nodded, coming to stop in front of where the three men were sitting. Well, Mingi and Yunho were sitting. Wooyoung had thrown himself over both of them, lying across their laps. Mingi indicated for her to turn around, and she turned her back to them, holding her hair out of the way. His warm fingers brushed the skin of her neck, collecting the ends of the necklace where they rested. He was quick about it, and he was turning her around by her hips in just a few moments, eyes dropping to where the chunky-ish chain rested at the base of her throat, the delicate chain across her chest, the little thundercloud hanging between her breasts.

“I like this,” he said, fingering lightly at the chain at her throat. “It looks good on you.”

“I fixed them all together myself,” Rora said, beaming at the compliment. “It’s my favorite.”

He hummed but didn’t say anything further, fingers pressing gently against the pendant between her breasts, thumb brushing her skin until goosebumps prickled her skin.

She took a steadying breath and took a step back, watching Mingi’s ring-decorated hand fall to rest atop a thick thigh. “Ready?” she asked Wooyoung, who looked entirely too comfortable laying on his friends, phone resting on his belly as he watched the interaction between her and Mingi.

He visibly perked up, rolling out of his friends’ laps. They both groaned in pain, and he snickered at them as he stood. “Let’s go,” he said, grabbing her hand to drag her to the door.

“Oh!” he paused, turning to her at the top of the stairwell. “I hope you don’t mind, but Hongjoong is driving.”

“That’s fine,” she said. But her heart stuttered in her chest at the thought of meeting another of the friends, and she wasn’t sure if it was more out of nervousness or excitement. A mix of both, surely. She gripped his hand as they exited the building, and she took a breath when he squeezed her fingers back.

He led her to a car parked close to the door, a man sitting behind the wheel and vibing to music she couldn’t quite make out through the opened windows. He pushed black and blond split-dyed hair back, the sleeve of his oversized shirt sliding down to reveal a tattoo on the inside of his bicep. His hands stayed there, fingers playing with the strands until they sat the way he wanted them to, staring intently into the rearview mirror.

His eyes slid away from his own reflection to land on her and Woo, and she gripped the hand in hers tighter. As seemed to be the theme with this friend group, his eyes were pretty. Gorgeous even. Dark and shiny, even behind the large transparent frame of his glasses. She noticed smudges of makeup on his lids when he blinked, plump lips shining with a layer of lip balm as they stretched out into a smile.

Rora looked away from his face, blushing, and she spied some beaded necklaces hanging from his neck. Pearls and yellow smiley faces and daisies. They were so pretty, and she wanted to ask where he got them so she could get one for herself. Or steal one from him. She almost giggled at the thought, but contained it as Wooyoung opened the back door and pushed her to climb inside. She watched in amused surprise as he climbed in behind her, urging her to sit on the other side and shutting the door a little too loudly.

“Rora, Hongjoong. Joong, Rora,” Wooyoung said, slouching into the seat and pulling his belt across his body. He looked at her at the other end of the back seat and pouted. “No, no. Come sit in the middle.”

“You’re the one that pushed me over here,” she said, though she did as he said - whined, more like - letting him pull the seatbelt across her lap and buckle it in. He settled back into his own seat with a passing kiss to her chin, and her heart stuttered at the sweet gesture. She couldn’t stop the smile from coming to her face as she got comfy in her seat, enjoying the feeling of having his arm and thigh pressed against her own as she looked forward.

Her gaze caught Hongjoong’s in the rearview mirror, his pretty eyes crinkling with a shy smile before he focused on backing out of the parking lot. “Nice to finally meet you,” he said, starting to maneuver out of the parking lot. The smile fell from his face as he focused on driving, dark eyes shining in the sunlight, tongue wetting the corners of his mouth in concentration.

Perfect, white teeth gleamed as his lips parted in a smirk, tongue wetting the corner of his mouth again, and she let out a shaky exhale, looking away, knowing she had been caught staring. Her eyes fell on Woo, who was looking at her with raised brows and narrowed, playful eyes. “I know he’s pretty, but I’m here too, sweetheart.”

She pushed him away from her only to hide her face in his shoulder when he swayed right back into her space. He laughed, hand patting the back of her head to soften the blow of his joke. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he said. “He likes the attention.”

“Sounds a bit like you’re projecting, Woo,” Hongjoong murmured, turning into the lot of the grocery store.

“Maybe a little,” he said, not a single ounce of shame to be found. “But that doesn’t take away the truth of the matter.”

Hongjoong simply hummed and parked, turning the key to shut off the vehicle.

“Are you coming in too?” Wooyoung asked, unbuckling and pushing the door open.

Hongjoong shook his head, lounging back in the seat, long lashes fluttering before his lids fell shut. “I was up too late with work last night. I’m gonna stay here, try to get a nap in.” His words were already trailing off, slurring toward the end, and she couldn’t help but giggle as she got out of the car. As she shut the door behind her, Rora noticed a sleepy smile on his face.

She turned to follow Wooyoung into the store, giddiness filling her chest when his hand grabbed hers, fingers slipping between her own smoothly. She swung their hands as they walked, enjoying the breeze in her hair and the warmth of the sun on her face. Enjoying being with him.

“What does Hongjoong do for work?” she asked as Wooyoung got a cart.

His head tilted as they walked, his forearms resting against the front of the cart as he started at a leisurely pace. He hummed. “He does a lot of things for work,” he said, standing straight to push his hair back. She watched the soft strands fluff up and then settle back in place, her own fingers twitching with the urge to push through his hair. “Every hobby he picks up somehow ends up becoming a way for him to make some cash. But his most consistent work is helping out at Yunho and Mingi’s cafe and his music. That’s probably what he was up doing last night.”

She nodded, absorbing it all in when a thought struck her. “Wait, what do you do for work?” she asked, brows furrowing. “And everyone else, for that matter.”

Woo laughed, a low lighthearted sound, and reached out to tangle his fingers with the bottom of her zip-up. “I work as a dance instructor,” he said, steering the cart toward the produce section. He grinned when she expressed her surprise and awe. “Sannie works at a flower shop, mainly. Yeo is still a student, studying broadcasting and entertainment. As he should, cause seriously, look at the man. He deserves to be on television screens across the nation. But he picks up work wherever we need him to. Unsurprisingly, San, Joong, and Yeo also get a decent amount of modeling gigs. As they should.”

Rora hummed in agreement, nodding. That did make sense. They were all gorgeous.

“You know Mingi and Yunho have the cafe, but sometimes they help out at the dance academy. All of them do, really, but Yunho and Mingi especially. They help me out with choreo a lot, and the other instructors really take their input seriously. Seonghwa is a kindergarten teacher. But he also helps us all out when he can.”

She made a sound of surprise. “Oh, that's so cool,” she said, holding onto the side of the cart as Wooyoung let her go to grab some vegetables then continued further into the store. “I worked at a childcare facility as I studied for my bachelor’s!”

“That sounds fun,” he remarked. “I almost went into education, too. But I’m glad I ended up where I am today, teaching people dance.”

Rora beamed at this new connection with Woo and another member of the friend group, her tummy fuzzy with the new knowledge. But she swallowed the giddiness down, nibbling her bottom lip as she looked at the ingredients slowly filling the basket. “What are you planning to make?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Wooyoung teased.

“What if I wanna help, though?” She moved closer to him when he stopped the cart again, avoiding bumping shoulders with someone walking by. Wooyoung’s fingers circled her wrist, brows rising when his eyes came to land on her. She smiled, and he went back to looking around for whatever he was trying to find.

“Are you good at cooking?” he asked, bending down to inspect some green onions.

“Good enough to get by,” she said, taking his spot at the head of the cart to watch him move on to some mushrooms a bit down the aisle. “I like using a knife much more than I like actually cooking, honestly.”

Conversation paused as they continued further into the store, picking up only when they stopped walking again. “The point of this gathering is for you to meet the others and to talk about everything,” Woo said, hands on his hips as he looked over the various meats lined up in the coolers. “It would be a little hard to do that with you busy in the kitchen, no?”

“Well, not really.” Rora looked back at him. “I can talk and cut vegetables or whatever. And there’s always time while eating or after for everyone to talk. If you don’t want me in the kitchen, just say so, Youngie,” she said, bumping her elbow into his side.

“You have a point,” he murmured, inspecting a pack of pork belly. He threw a few into the cart before pulling her over to him and slinging his arm over her shoulder. “I would love to have you help me cook,” he said, rubbing his cheek against her own. “It'll be easier to sneak some kisses that way.”

She squealed when he pressed a wet, sloppy kiss to her cheek, pushing him away to wipe at her cheek. “Gross, Woo,” she said.

“You weren't calling my bodily fluids gross a week ago,” he said smugly.

She sighed out a laugh before pushing him away from her. “So, what are we making?” she asked again.

“Soup for one thing,” he said. “I was thinking we could grill up the pork belly and make wraps. Make some seasoned chives or something to have with it. I have some in the fridge that need to be used up soon.”

“Sounds yummy,” she said.

“Hell, let’s make a party of it and have some drinks,” he said, as they passed a liquor display, seemingly getting excited at the idea.

She hummed in agreement. “That’ll help the conversation flow easier, too,” she said.

“Exactly,” he said, jostling her around until she giggled. “Soju?”

“Sounds good,” she said. Then, a noise of excitement bubbled up from her throat and she turned to him with the full force of puppy dog eyes. “Can we get some fruits for dessert?”

He chuckled, eyes sweeping her face before nodding. “Sure, sweetheart,” he said, turning the cart to go back to the produce section.

The rest of grocery shopping went by quickly, and before she knew it, they were checking out and back at the car. Hongjoong was asleep, seat leaned back as far as it could go and arm thrown over his eyes to block out the sunlight. His tattoo was back on display, and she marveled at the unique design of it and how well it seemed to suit him.

“Time to wake up, daddy,” Wooyoung said, banging lightly on the roof of the car, cackling when the sleepy man startled. Ignoring his friend for the time being, Wooyoung opened the back door and ushered her inside.

Hongjoong simply sighed, stretched, and straightened up. “You’re just going to keep calling me that?” he asked, fixing his seat from its reclined position.

“You’re practically the father of this group,” Wooyoung said, hauling the groceries into the seat behind Hongjoong. “And I walked in on one of your partners calling you “daddy” last year, and I’m still not over it. So, yes - Daddy.”

Hongjoong groaned, buckling his seatbelt once more and starting the car. “I didn’t ask them to call me that,” he said with another sigh. “That was their own thing. And your own fault for just walking in.”

“I still don’t hear you saying you don’t like it,” Woo snickered as he sat beside her. He buckled himself in then reached for her belt, too.

“What?” Hongjoong said, barely sparing his friend a glance through the rearview mirror as he backed out of the parking spot. “You want me to fuck you too or something?”

“Would you?”

“You’re a bit too much of a brat for me,” Hongjoong said, and Wooyoung cackled.

She snorted and leaned into Wooyoung’s side. “Brat for sure,” she mused.

Wooyoung growled at her playfully, biting her shoulder until she yelped.

“Keep acting like a dog, and we’ll just have to get you a collar,” Hongjoong murmured off-handedly.

Wooyoung went quiet and she felt the shiver work through him. She looked at him, brow raised. ”What was it, Youngie? Being called a dog? Or the collar?” She hummed, nuzzling just under his ear, “I suppose you do like things around your throat, huh?” she said, voice low, and she giggled when his breathing hitched.

Hongjoong’s laughter rumbled low in his chest, and she flushed. She didn’t think he would hear what she said. “You’re a little menace, aren’t you?” he said, not even looking back, instead focusing on turning onto the next street. In the mirror she could see those perfect teeth sinking into his bottom lip, and she inhaled sharply, looking away.

Wooyoung cleared his throat, shifted in his seat. “Think Yunho and Mingi will let me watch later?” he asked. His tone was casual, but his cheeks were pink and his breathing just the slightest bit too fast.

“You know Mingi loves putting on a show,” Hongjoong said, voice so casual it sent her heart racing. “I’m sure he would even let the whole group watch.”

It was her turn to give a little shiver, the idea working its way into her brain with searing heat. The breath puffed out of her in a barely audible “oh”, cheeks flaring red.

“You like that, sweetheart?” Wooyoung asked, voice a mere rasp in her ears. When she didn’t (couldn’t) answer, he laughed and smoothed a hand down her thigh. His tan, vein-filled hand contrasted nicely against the black of her pants, but she wanted nothing more than for her pants to be gone. For that hand to be against bare skin. To grip tight until the flesh dimpled and turned red beneath his fingertips.

“Mind out of the gutter, horndogs,” Hongjoong said, turning once again and pulling the car to a stop. “We’re here.”

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