#also i was bored at work this afternoon and thinking about the wedding was more fun than anything else i had to do lolol

[simp-ly-writes]

Days & Nights

─────── · · How Could You Refuse? (pt.10)

Pairing: Jayce Talis x Shy!Reader

─ · · SUMMARY: You and Jayce share 3 days and 3 nights before your move back to Piltover. During these days you both reassure one another's worries for your shared future, go on a date, spend time with friends and family, and pack up your apartment.

─ · · TAGS: female pronouns used, teasing, pet names, sickly sweet fluff (no but seriously), some emotional hurt/comfort (more like reassurances), kissing, suggestive themes, very brief mentions of violence, Evren (OC) being a little pice of shit /affectionately, reader is mentioned to have hair and is shorter than Jayce, not beta read.

─ · · MASTERLIST | TAGLIST REQUEST | WORDCOUNT: 6,050

─ · · SERIES MASTERLIST

─ · · A/N: last fic of the year! (2025 sounds so futuristic I hate it here 😭). Also this chapter is kinda filler! next chap wedding? 👀

─────── · ·

─ · · You sit on a lounge within Jayce's hotel room reading one of your new romance novels from your bag. Afternoon passes to early evening and you both had yet to move from your spots, simply enjoying one another's company.

Every time you finished another chapter you would look up and across the room to watch Jayce sign his signature and write letter after letter before sealing each with wax hammer emblem for his house. A part of you felt bad for making him take his work to you and by the sheer amount of letters he had to respond to by the end of the day to make sure they made it back in time...

"Bored of your book already darling?" Jayce asked leaning back in his chair and stretching out his legs. You watch as he picks up his wine glass, swirling the blood red liquid before taking an elegant sip.

"No," you look back down at the page blushing at the desperation of the male love interest and trying to conceal a giggle once they finally kiss, "It's actually getting really good." Jayce watches the way your eyes light up before quickly turning to the next page, the book practically touching your nose as you read the next words carefully before shutting the book and kicking your feet.

Jayce stands, walking over and taking a seat by your feet before extending his hand in a silent ask for the book, you look at his hand and then raised brow- curious. You tuck the book close to your chest shaking your head, "Nope! Sir Antoine is for my eyes only!"

Jayce scoffs, placing his arm across the back on the lounge and his wine on a side table before putting your legs on top of his own and massaging your calves. "Should I be worried about this Sir Antoine?" Jayce teases, giving your leg a squeeze.

You reopen your book, eyes going wide as the scene heats up and you lose yourself again to the text, breathing in sharply through your nose as you read, I want to be your every waking thought, make you feel the ghost of my touch with every step in your walk, understand that you are what makes me breathe. Your jaw drops at what you read- not noticing how Jayce glares at the cover of the book. I have more definition than that guy, he thinks to himself.

You look up from the book to look towards the ceiling, crossing your ankles together as the replay the scene in your head, biting your lip before closing your eyes- and Jayce steals the book as you hastily lean forwards and try and snatch it back.

Jayce stands, your legs falling off his lap as he holds the book up at out your reach. He goes back a few pages, humming and nodding along as you grip his arm trying to force it done to no use. "Jayce!" you plead but your boyfriend simply ignores you and flips to the next page before holding your hip.

"Almost done, just taking notes," Jayce hums, staring down and smiling at your glare before leaning down kissing your nose. You scrunch it, "You don't need notes Jayce," you try and entice his ego into letting the book go but Jayce shakes shakes his head, "apparently I need to do better if you're imaging other men in that brilliant mind of yours."

Its your time to laugh, "Jayce... I was imaging you the whole time." His eyes quickly catch your own, lighting up, mouth in a playful smirk as he marks the page and places it on the lounge before taking you into his arms, "you were now? and what was I doing to you-hm?"

"I mean, you just read it for yourself..." you trail off, playing with the buttons of his dress-shirt and observing the small flowers within the metal design. "Maybe I just want to hear your voice," Jayce counters before pulling away and sitting back at his desk, sighing at the other stack of letters he still has to get through before the end of the day.

You sit back on the lounge picking up the book and flipping to the next more relaxed chapter before reading it aloud for you both, Jayce nods along to the sound of your voice as he slices open another letter and observes it continents.

─────── · ·

─ · · After reading through all of Piltover's words and demands to help Jayce finish up for the day and by having memorized his signature and forging it, you both take the boxes to the front desk to be shipped back home. You grab Jayce's arm while walking down the street and back to your apartment where Ximena and Evren were waiting for you at the kitchen table. "Busy day today?" Evren asks while filling up your glass.

You shrug, "got the marking done for the weekend and helped him with the mail," you explain before stealing a bite off of Jayce's plate watching as he playfully glares at you before returning to his conversation with his mom.

Evren nods, "I'm going to miss you when you're gone..." you smile sadly, reaching your hand over the table to grasp his own, "I'll write to you every week until I annoy you and at that point I'll come for a visit," you explain watching as Evren smiles and squeezes your hand before placing a kiss to the back of it, "I look forwards to then but you have to tell me!"

"Tell you what?" you ask, squinting your eyes- trying to decipher his words before he speaks them to life, "what do you plan to do when you get back? You two moving in together? What are you going to do for work?- or are you gonna be one of those hot little housewives waiting for their man to get home~" Evren teases you with a wink.

You gasp, taking your hand away to cover your mouth, "Evren!" you shout now catching everyones attention at the table as both Jayce and Ximena look between the two of you curiously. Evren leans back in his chair, clutching his stomach as he laughs at your horrified reaction, "I mean... I don't think Jayce would mind-" he manages to speak in between gaps of laughter.

"I hate you," you whine, hiding your face in your hands, head in your lap as Jayce rubs up and down your back only making you feel worse. "You're not making me feel any better, Jayce!" you explain as Jayce slows his movements and leans down to whisper in your ear asking if you're okay.

You quickly sit up, face flushed as you blink away tears from concealing your own silent laughs while pointing a finger and glaring at Evren who simply blows you a kiss. Ximena clears her throat, your eyes snap to her as she looks at you concerned, "what happened, dear? If you don't like the food I can make you something else? If its my son? I apologize, but know that he loves you."

You shake your head, "No, no, the food is delightful as always and Jayce is... yeah," your mind still held up on the housewife comment. Evren chokes on his own drink, picking up his napkin feeling as you kick his shin from underneath the table. "Ouch- hey!" he glares at you staring as you cross your arms over your chest. Jayce sighs, shaking his head with a smile at how you both act like an old married couple together.

Ximena still looks worried as she motions for Jayce to comfort you again, "What did Evren say to upset you?" Jayce asks quietly. You can't look at him, only holding your sights on Evren- daring him to speak first. "Well," Evren sits up in his chair, looking at everyone at the table before keeping his eyes on Jayce for his reaction, eyes shimmering with mischief, "I said that our friend here would give all those high ladies in Piltover a run for their money being the hottest little housewife waiting for their man to get home."

You groan, wanting to become a puddle and seep beneath the floorboards into nothingness. I hate you, I hate you Evren, Why, why why did you say that? You listen as Jayce roars with laughter, feeling his hand caress the back of your head and to your horror, Ximena nods along agreeing with Evren, "I think she holds more class than the entire upper class put together. Oh let me show you the pictures of them together, I enjoyed seeing everyone's jealous faces," Jayce's mom claps her hands together excitedly before grabbing a photo album she's been preparing for your wedding, you want to die.

"Can I just catch a break, please," you beg to the floor watching as Jayce's foot taps the side of yours, you look up to your boyfriend's large eyes holding nothing but care and affection within his irises, "If thats what you want to do, know that I can and will provide for you." You stare at him, watching for a bluff yet Jayce only kisses your forehead before leaning back in his chair, glass in hand as he holds your thigh, squeezing it gently as his mother returns to the table- book in hand.

Evren looks utterly pleased with himself, graciously taking the book, "Damn! You two look so good together, tell me that you still have this dress?" he turns the album around, finger tapping at a photo from Jayce's councillor party. You remember that day vividly, Jayce's hot stare at you throughout the night before carrying you down the hall and then... you bedded another. Jayce tenses beside you, seemingly remembering that fact the same time that you do. He smiles tightly at Evren who quickly looks down to the next page of you and Jayce shopping together, a little girl in your arms.

Evren takes his time looking at that image before passing the album back to Ximena who smiles, "my favourite picture," she comments, closing the book softly before setting it aside. You look around the table before looking at Jayce to find him already looking at you.

Ximena leans over grasping Evren's arm as she whispers into his ear while watching you both with a smile, "It may just be a generational thing but I do hope she considers your words." Evren nods, pulling away before shooting you a horrified look, I promise you I was just kidding, his mouths to you.

─────── · ·

─ · · When night falls you hug Evren goodbye for the night and close the door behind you, Jayce is wiping down the table before looking up at you with a smile. Your eyes feel heavy as you lean against his back and close your eyes with a sigh. Ximena leans against an archway between the kitchen and the living space staring at you both while grasping her hands tightly together underneath her chin.

Jayce raises his arm to get a glimpse of your sleepy form, "tired there are you miss?" he teases, "please know that I have a girlfriend."

"Mmm, I'm sure she wouldn't mind," you murmur back, smiling towards Ximena. "I would think otherwise, I really must go see her if you'll let me go?" Jayce counters, grabbing your hand- interlacing his fingers with your own, gently pulling you off of him. You giggle before running off, "Night, Jayce!" you call from down the hall before closing your door. Jayce scoffs looking towards him mom, "What did I do wrong this time?"

Ximena shrugs, taking the towel from his hands and throws it by the sink, "I haven't got a clue, sweetie," she pats her sons arm looking down at your door, "Maybe she just wants to sleep by herself tonight, nothing wrong with that right?" Jayce lets out a deep long breath, "...yeah I guess." Ximena chuckles before leaving to get herself ready for bed as Jayce debates weather or not to take your couch or to head back to his hotel room.

Suddenly you open your door in one of his shirts as you switch off the lights, "Jayce?" you call, Jayce's heart picks up- hopeful. "C'mere let's sleep-" Jayce races over, picking you up in his arms, closing the door with his foot behind you both before placing you back on your bed.

He quickly undresses himself before sliding himself underneath the covers- smiling as you burrowing your face into the side of his chest with a satisfied hum. "Can we make a rule of not going to bed alone?" Jayce asks softly. You laugh, "Sure, Jayce."

"I'm serious," he speaks softly and your laughter dies, "no matter how angry you are with me or what happens, I just need you there at the end of the day." You press a kiss to his chest, lingering for a moment before pulling away, "same time, anywhere and always."

─────── · ·

─ · · When you step into Evrens office the next day, you are shocked to see his desk covered in cards and parting gifts as various staff and students alike prepare for your impending departure. You smile, ripping through the assortment of ribbons and paper- taking your time to note down each sender and write them a small message back on your break.

Evren looks jealous, taking a look into the various bags and boxes with a huff, "nobody sent me things when I got divorced." You shake your head at your professor friend as he grumbles to himself, stealing a scarf from one of your presents when he thinks you not to be looking before heading to lecture leaving you to conduct office hours.

A knock sounds at the door, "come in!" you yell, quickly disposing of all the wrapping before taking a sip of your now lukewarm coffee. Jayce walks in, jacket draped over his forearm and briefcase in his other hand as he smiles at you. "Do you have a moment for some questions, miss?" he asks, taking a seat in front of Evren's desk. You giggle, taking a seat in his chair before leaning forwards and trying to conceal your smile. "I have all the time in the world for you, Jayce-my-boy, whatever are your questions, young student?"

Jayce shakes his head, "I'm afraid its a rather serious affair," he deadpans. "Oh? Do go on then," you wave your hand, leaning back in Evren's chair as Jayce leans forwards on the desk. "I need a dinner date." You gasp, the shock... the outrage!

"I do beg your pardon, pupil. But it would be against policy for me to accept your request," you explain, crossing your legs as you place your head on your palm, elbow resting on the arm of your chair. Jayce pouts, ringing his fingers through his hair, "surely there could be an... exception for your favourite student?"

"Thats quite the bold claim you've made there," you respond, eyes gleaming with humour as Jayce stares at you, trying to figure out how to get you to fold. Suddenly he stands, rounding the table and placing his hands on the arms of your chair, boxing you in.

You lean as far back as back in your chair, staring up at Jayce as his face becomes steadily closer to your own. His hair brushing your forehead, his breath hot against your skin as his eyes flicker between your own and your lips, "I can prove it to you if you allow me to show you," he whispers.

You pause for a moment, looking down at Jayce's lips before trailing down to his neck and tie in which you tug him even closer by, you hear him gasp as your lips brush against his, "show me," you murmur before feeling his lips linger against your own. His hand moves to cup your cheek- tilting your head up to deepen the kiss.

You moan giving Jayce access to explore your mouth, you gasp as his other hands joins to hold your face, fingers brushing your cheeks before pulling away as you both gasp for air. "So can I expect to see you in my room at six?" Jayce asks, thumb brushing up against your lower lip as you give it a teasing lick watching as his eyes darken.

"What should I wear?" you ask.

"Honest answer? nothing," he says with a shrug.

"Jayce Talis!" you scold, he smirks, "Same thing from the gala."

"But you've already seen me in that," you pout thinking about the various other articles you've collected for special occasions and a moment like this. Jayce kisses you once more, "But I didn't get to dance with you in it, kiss you in it, make you feel my hand drag up your leg through the slit or watch as it falls to the floor leaving you bare for my eyes only," he explains watching as your cheeks warm and how you push yourself back on the wheeled chair and into a corner of the room, refusing to meet his eyes that drink in your flustered look.

"I thought you were over that night by now," you mumble underneath your breath looking at Jayce through the corner of your eye as he nods his head contemplating- eyes looking upwards to the ceiling as he considers his next words, "I'll always want more of you- doesn't matter if it's then, now, or the future. Sometimes I fear that we won't have enough time to experience it all..."

Your frown at his words, "I think we've experienced more than the average lifetime, Jayce."

"But... I- just," Jayce sighs, "never mind." You stand and walk over to Jayce, picking up one of his arms and placing it around your waist- pressing a kiss to his jaw, "I'll love you regardless of what you say next Jayce... just as long as its within reason," you try and lighten the mood. Jayce sits with your words before opening his mouth again to speak.

"I just want enough moments we share to be happy ones... we just... so much happened to us that I don't want you to look back and regret choosing me," Jayce whispers, blinking a few times before looking over your shoulder.

"Is this what you've thought for sometime?" you ask worriedly, taking his face into your hands when he refuses to meet your eyes, the silence is telling and your heart aches in response. "Jayce," you whisper his name, trying to call him back to you and out of his negative thoughts.

He slowly turns his head, "sorry for ruining the movement," he kisses your cheek and wraps his other arm around your waist. You both stand there for a moment, feeling one another warmth as you press your lips to his softly, whispering, "No, thank you for sharing that with me, Jayce. Never think you're protecting me from your emotions, I want to hear what you have to say, always."

Jayce nods, pressing his lips against your own as you close your eyes, dragging your fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp, you feel as his shoulders drop adding a smile to your kiss. "What?" Jayce asks, eyes brightening as he tilts his head watching your smile grow, "I just love you," you respond with a giggle.

Jayce smiles mirrors your own as he gives you a squeeze, lifting his chin to place atop your head, "I love you too."

─────── · ·

─ · · You held a bouquet of flowers in your arms while trying to knock on Jayce's door... you were a bit early... as in an entire hour early but you thought he wouldn't mind.

─ · · Within the room Jayce was still working, hand gripping the pen tightly as he sighed frustratedly, the numbers were just not adding up for what other regions were demanding from Piltover in return for what they were offering... the upper city had already finished rebuilding after the crises. Local businesses were returning back to their regularly scheduled hours and with the people of Zaun being able to freely come up to the surface and vice versa... the old contracts just did not make sense any longer.

─ · · Jayce gripped his hair, leaning back in his chair as he looked down at his watch, she's coming soon... but I have to get this done... fuck, Jayce thought to himself before standing abruptly at the sound of your knock.

He opened the door, startled to see you all ready, hair all done up and in thee dress, he stared for awhile before remembering to let you inside. You placed the flowers at the foot of the bed, kicking off your heels as Jayce smiled offering his slippers before suddenly remembering his dishevelled appearance.

His shirt was unbuttoned half way, tie left stranded on the desk. His forearms are on display, tattoo dragging up his arm that he scratches the back of his head with- hair a waterfall against his forehead. "Today is just my day it seems," he sighs while looking at the flowers you brought him and he had nothing to offer you, feeling disappointed with himself.

"You look good, my love. I enjoy the relaxed look," you say honestly. Jayce furrows his eyebrows in question, "Jayce..." you laugh fully now, falling back into the bed, "I looked at pictures when you first came back and..." you blush, "...you looked good then." Jayce shakes his head, disturbed someone had shown you pictures.

"That was something I tried to hide purposefully-" he begins to explain, embarrassed as he pinches the bridge of his nose as you bat your eyelashes up at him. "Why?" you cut him off, curious as you sit up slightly, leaning back on your elbows.

"I just didn't want you to see me at such a low point, such a mess," he explains before joining you on the bed, placing his head in your lap to cover his face. Someone's the shy one today, you think to yourself.

"You don't always have to look your best or be strong for me, Jayce. I promise thats only a fraction of you that I fell for," you reassure him, relieved to be getting all the doubts and worries out now.

"But I just want to be the best man for you," Jayce picks up, body hovering over your own.

"You are, Jayce. The man I love is selfless, intelligent and above all, kind. He kisses me after a long day of work, dances with me even when I step on his designer shoes, laughs at my terrible jokes, and is always there to bring me up no matter how many times I don't think I am worthy of all this love and attention that he too seems to forget he is just as worthy of feeling regardless of being the "man" everyone else tells him to be. You are everything I need or could ever want you to be, Jayce." you are nearly breathless by the end of your speech and the way in which he kisses you passionately, unable to contain his affections.

"Could I marry you now?" Jayce, equally breathless asks in a tone light yet holding an edge of sincerity to it.

"You're mother would be severely disappointed... I would also be taking her Mrs. Talis title," you counter yet knowing within yourself you would go down to the courthouse now without a care for any large ceremony.

"I guess you're right... but then again, she'll more than understand. Know that when we get to Piltover theres nothing stopping me from becoming your husband," Jayce states as you look up at him, fingers brushing his lip, picking up the edges to make his smile grow, hands falling once seeing it spread on its own. "Mr. and Mrs. Talis," you hum to yourself, testing the titles you had already been called countless times on accident, "Mrs. Talis," Jayce echos, a part of you in shock that one day it would be official.

─────── · ·

─ · · Your inside date would tick off every box Jayce had mentioned earlier. A record played in the background as he twirled you dizzy before crashing you against his chest and tilting your head up into a dizzying kiss that held your knees weak. His mouth distracts your trail of thoughts as you feel how his hand drags up your leg, up and under the slit of your dress and towards your undergarments before the phone rings.

Jayce holds you against him, breaths ragged as he reaches over to pick up the phone, pressing a kiss to your cheek, "Hello?" you bite your lip at his baritone, not quite listening to what he says but how he says it. "Dinners here," he explains as the line dies, you nod your head, dragging yourself out from underneath his hold and ensuring that you look... somewhat presentable as people set the table and leave quickly that has you looking over yourself worriedly before noticing the mark you left above Jayce's collar bone on display... and the over a dozen lipstick kisses across his skin and dress-shirt... oh.

"Gods, it looks like a ripped you apart," you say, reaching from your glass, chiming it against Jayce's who smiles underneath the lip of the glass, "a good thing, no?" He tries to boost your ego. You roll your eyes, "everyones gonna think I'm just using you," you grumble, taking a bite off your plate.

"You're welcome to," Jayce indulges you with a wink, tongue swirling around one of his canines as stare at him for awhile, "Sometimes I question how long I withstood your advances."

"I question that too," Jayce admits, "when I first started I was willing to do just about anything for you to see me" You gasp, "so you knew exactly what you were doing!" You think back to the various times you thought to have caught him in a state of undress, imagining him purposefully placing things too high for you to reach, or calling you anything but your name in front of your peers.

"Guilty as charged, sweetheart."

─────── · ·

─ · · Waking up in the morning you both took a slow morning getting ready before heading back to your apartment and starting to pack everything away with the help of Ximena and Evren.

Suspiciously all the heavy boxes you packed and tried to hide to carry later were all taken and gone. Your furniture was going to stay for the next household as You and Evren worked around it, folding your clothes into bags and boxes alongside wrapping the glassware in the kitchen with Ximena.

Jayce was in a pair of kakis and black t-shirt, sweat dripping down his forehead as took a box out of your hands and walked out the door not listening to your demands of helping to carry things as Ximena dragged your arm back to the living room to finish taping the boxes on the table.

Seeing Jayce out of the corner of your eye, you dropped your chest over the box protectively, "If you don't let me carry this box Jayce I'm leaving you at the aisle," you threaten, standing and walking to the door as Evren silently trails behind giving Jayce a look up and down watching as he wipes the sweat off his forehead.

"You two are going to be somethin' huh?" Evren yells before stepping outside after you, loud enough for both you and Jayce to react separately with laughs.

─────── · ·

─ · · Everything was loaded onto a train carriage headed a day ahead of you all to arrive when you got there. Jayce laid on your bed, chest down as you startled his hips, massaging his back. You laughed listening to him complain about your cold fingers before groaning as those same fingers loosened a knot in his lower back, "I told you to let me help you," you pressed down a bit harder as Jayce whined, biting his lip, the pain felt relieving to the stress he felt within his muscles.

You lessened your pressure, working your way upwards as your hands traced his shoulders before squeezing them. Jayce burrowed his face, groaning into the comforter you would be taking on the train as you laughed, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his neck. "Feels good?" you tease watching as Jayce slowly shows his face again, mischief in his eyes that has you slightly worried for his next words, "stealing my line there are you sweetheart?"

You flush not knowing how to respond but thankfully you wouldn't have to, freezing at a scream, heads whipping over to see an embarrassed Evren who thought to be walking in on your both. "Evren! I'm just massaging Jayce's back, promise," you reassure your friend as he hesitantly opens his eyes before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Do you both ever fear being too attached together?" he asks seeing how Jayce reaches behind feeling for your hand as you lace your fingers together, you both think for a moment, "We can last at least a week with no contact," you nod, "Yeah, maybe two depending on how earlier weeks were."

You and Jayce proceed to go back and worth determining that the longest timing with different prior variables. Evren was not planning to witness you both debate like old times in the lab as you get back to rubbing his shoulders and neck; Hypotheticals and theories, what if I sent a gift part-way? Would letters count as contact? What If I visited part way and then left... could we go longer then?

"I think the answers conclusive, 3 weeks with at least two visits and gifts," you tap Jayce's back, sliding off as Evren does not know weather to feel disgusted by how sweet you both are with one another, disturbed by how telepathically you read one another, or enamoured by the affection you both share. "I cannot believe you even decided on getting with that officer," Evren jokes as you roll your eyes, "don't remind me about him, that was a poor choice on so many levels. But then again... If I hadn't done that Jayce and I may not have gotten together in the end."

"Still not thanking that fucker," Jayce curses, throwing his shirt back on before extending a hand, helping you off the bed, "oh no, I was going to try and invite them to the wedding," you joke... Jayce stares blankly at your head in response as Evren smiles at you both, "I love you two."

You rush over hugging Evren tightly knowing that this would be one of your final moments together, "Love you too Ev!"Jayce joins the hug as you both smush Evren between your bodies, "Now this was NOT the threesome I'd imagine," Evren says, patting both of your arms gently with a wheeze.

─────── · ·

─ · · You count every bag and item on your person before double checking Jayce's hotel room to ensure you both got everything. Evren and Ximena were both waiting for you on the tracks, watching as the luggage got loaded.

"I told myself not to cry," Evren says to himself with a pout, blinking profusely as if to delay the tears... yet it only seemed to make them come faster as he sniffled, dragging you into a hug as you both swayed side to side, "Why am I getting so emotional? We only hung out for what... a few months?"

"Ouch, Ev. I thought my friendship meant more to you," you joke, rubbing his back seeing as his glasses fog up, "It does I assure you. Just like how I'm dead set on delivering a speech at your wedding." You groan at the thought of it knowing that in your many nights out together after class... you told him almost every secret you had to share.

"You wouldn't do that to me!" you try and guilt trip him, feeling as he shakes his head, pulling away from the hug, a smile returning to his face that matches your amused one, "Consider it payback for leaving me here."

"I told you you're welcome to come back, I'm sure I could find a spot for you within the Academy?" you counter. "I'll get back to you on that once the loneliness settles in."

"Whatever you need, Ev. Whatever you need," you reassure him, pulling the professor in for one last hug before standing off to the side watching as Ximena gathers her own hug before joining you observing as Jayce and Evren hold a handshake, unsure of what they are whispering to one another.

─ · · "Take care of my friend, please," Evren asks quietly, "I know I joke about it a lot but divorce does hurt." Jayce nods firmly, eyes determined without a trace of fear or doubt, "I promise you I will and I don't mean my words lightly."

"Thank you."

─────── · ·

─ · · On the train back to Piltover you sit beside Ximena as you both share your combined excitement to see if parts of the upper city were how you remembered and what restaurants you both wanted to sit in as soon as you got back.

Jayce leaned back on a bench opposite of your both, watching with a smile wishing he brought a camera to capture this moment for all of eternity. You and his mom held hand, shaking with laughter as she recalled various stories from Jayce's childhood you had yet to hear.

"Oh and Jayce used to make pretend weddings in school wanting to stay in his uniform like a suit. And did I ever tell you about how he caught his hair on fire the first time in the forge? Or what about the hour before you arrived to our house for the first time?- Jayce was pacing around the kitchen nearly digging a hole into the floor with worry. 'What if she doesn't like the food, mom?' 'Oh god I never asked if she came from nobility?' 'Is it bad of me to be worried this much?'" Ximena looks lovingly towards her son who blushes a furious red, "mom you were just as worried as I was!" he counters with a huff.

You smile, "I was worried too that I was overdressed or what address you by the wrong title. I also didn't know what work material to bring without feeling intruding even when thats what you requested," you explain as Ximena grabs shakes your hand in her own. "You were so beautiful that day, I think I fell in love myself," you laugh lightly, "I can see where Jayce gets his charm from."

"Only learned from the best," Jayce adds.

─────── · ·

─ · · You and Ximena had yet to move from your spots when Jayce came back in his sleepwear. Laying down in the cot he looked between you and his mom, lingering on your form with consideration. Ximena caught his look, "If you didn't keep her from me earlier in the week, Jayce, you would have more time together now." You shake your head in humour, "I'll get ready in a few minutes, my love. Just discussing flowers for the wedding."

Jayce frowns but nods, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest trying to create a comforting weight. You continue your conversation yet can't help your eyes from constantly darting to look at Jayce with longing. Ximena shakes her head, "alright, I'll let you both sleep now. See you two in the morning," she stands, kissing your cheek gently before moving to her own room two doors down in the carriage.

You watch as Jayce opens his arms expectantly- not being able to contain your laugh before rushing over and collapsing against him. "G'night," you mumble, pressing the light-switch beside the bed feeling as Jayce shuffles the blankets over you both in the small cot.

Jayce's turns on his side allowing you more space as intertwine your legs, "Night, sweetheart."

─────── · ·

─ · · SERIES MASTERLIST

─ · · A/N: I think this series is officially the longest thing I've ever written... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME, JAYCE TALIS 🫠

─ · · JAYCE TALIS TAGLIST: @sseleniaa @sunshiines-stuff @kiromiix @todorokishoe24 @w2momo @m-arj-1 @reid490 @kaminocasey @chickenlvr123 @peachhiz @hellokittyluvr69420

[romantichoneypie]

Bad Idea!

Pairing: Mia stone X fem!reader

Warnings:18+ MDNI!,smut,Fluff, "betrayal", mention of Mia X dr. W Afton, lavender wedding, fingering,Oral sex.

Author's note: I never post nothing before and I also don't speak English so sorry for any mistake, I will always try to make bots and leave the link at the end!

You work as a doorman in a residential building protected by D.D.D. The job was quite easy, but it was difficult to deal with a lot of strange anomalies, but you earned a good salary for it. D.D.D.'s training was useful, you always kept an eye on everything.

After calling D.D.D. a few times, you just wait for a resident, Mia, to arrive. Since she usually takes a while, you don't worry... much, because the world has anomalies everywhere, no one is really safe on the streets. Mia works as a teacher in an elementary school, teaching fifth grade. She often talks about how much she likes to teach, but sometimes it's just hard to control the students.

As sometimes your work was really boring, the anomalies were usually quite obvious, and the resident lists were small, but Mia was on the list today, so you would see her normally, that would brighten your day, you kind of became “friends”, with light flirtations almost like jokes and touches that lasted more than enough time.

You are in love with her even though you know she is engaged to Dr. William Afton, a physicist who is usually very quiet, you just felt bad for liking a woman who was ready to get married but you can't control your heart.

“Good afternoon (y/n), how is your work day going?” She looks at you with her eyelashes blinking, and that beautiful smile on her face, she slides the ID and the entry request through the hatch, but you already knew it was her.

She always appears lightly in a sweet way, the dresses with a slight neckline that would only make you want to see more, the delicious scent of vanilla that she emanated like a unique essence... damn you were in love with someone you could never have.

"Hi Mia, good afternoon, how was your day?, the work is the usual capturing doppelgangers and letting the residents pass, I was just waiting for you... by the way you look beautiful".

damn!, you didn't do it right, maybe a more flirtatious approach would be better you said almost shyly, she has that beautiful smile on her face with the compliment and her blushed cheeks revealing the light freckles on her skin.

"you are so sweet dear, thank you for the compliment, you also look beautiful today, as always, the work today was almost good, the bad thing is those students who try to stop the class from fooling themselves or talking..." Mia says with a smile on her face you can see that she blushed with your sweet compliment.

“You’re flattering me, Mia. I’m going to end up believing it. Well, something like this always happens with children. It’s natural for them to get restless.” I say the first sentence in a flirtatious tone. I think something more direct might work better. I practically pretend not to know that it’s her taking a long time to check.

“I’m just telling you the truth. You’re beautiful. I love your concierge uniform. It looks charming… I know it’s true, but it’s still exhausting, especially now that William has gone on a business trip and I feel lonely.” Oh, you didn’t know that information. I thought Afton was the only one who had gone on vacation and hadn’t even left the apartment. him didn’t go to work somewhere else.

She made you run now, saying that you look beautiful in your blue concierge uniform. “Thank you… I didn’t know William had gone on a business trip. It must be a little lonely.” While you’re talking to her, she checks. She’s almost finished with the checklist that was made and everything is really perfect.

“Since your shift is almost over, how about a coffee or tea at my place with a pie? I made a lemon one yesterday, I need some company.” Mia bats her eyelashes in a sweet tone, looking at you in an adorable way. It seems like today is your lucky day.

“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t announce pie and your company. Just a second, I’ll lock up and let you in.” As soon as she says this, you press the button, letting her in. She seems happy about it and waits for you on the other side. Meanwhile, you lock the room, put your hat away, and grab your things.

“I’ll lead the way.” It seems crazy that this is really happening, of course. When would you imagine that Mia Stone would be inviting you to her house? The two of you get into the elevator, the ones made of iron that move a little when someone goes up. You were terrified of going in them. There were only three floors, you could go up by stairs, but you simply went where she went. Now you had to hide the fact that you were afraid of that elevator.

“God, I hate this elevato” you mutter under your breath, and she ends up hearing it and bursting out laughing at it. Even her laugh must be beautiful. How could it be more perfect?

“It’s okay if you’re scared of this. I can just hold your hand to make you miss it” she says with a smile on her face. You notice a bit of flirting in her voice. She presses the button for the third floor and the elevator starts to go up. The iron cabin now smells sweetly of her perfume.

You were actually a little startled by the elevator’s start to start,you little scream, God she laughed again at this point your cheeks were hot, but you didn't expect her to actually take your hand in hers, the contact with the fabric of her white glove, it was silky and soft felt good "hey it's okay, don't be nervous, if you had told me we could have gone by stairs... your hand is cold and sweaty".

You didn't even notice it, your hand felt like a popsicle and on top of that it was sweaty as if you had run a marathon, you quickly tried to take your hand away from her but she wouldn't let you, holding it tight, you were anxious and nervous as well as embarrassed "I'm sorry, I just don't like the elevator and I didn't mean for us to go by stairs" lie, you weren't even paying attention to what you were doing you just followed her.

"it's okay, I don't like this elevator either I only use it because I'm too lazy to go up the stairs in high heels".

And it's your turn to laugh at something she said. You had never really noticed, but she wears high heels, matching her white clothes and still clean. The elevator always takes so long. You only used it for deliveries, so you thought it was your nervousness that was causing the delay.

"Does it always take so long? They need to improve this invention" you say, and she smiles at you and nods. "True" she says, and then the two of you stand there in silence, waiting for it to arrive. Your eyes go to your hands, they fit together so well... but your eyes end up falling on her engagement ring, a gold ring with a diamond in the center. It seemed to match.

Suddenly, you are pulled from your thoughts by the sound of the elevator stopping and the door opening. You let go of her hand and smile with flushed cheeks. "I told you there was no need to be nervous. We're here, now let's go to my apartment" You let her go first and you follow timidly behind her. She opens her purse and takes the keys. She opens the door for her and you enter. You've never been to anyone's apartment in the building, just ringing the bell and leaving packages at the door. But there was one time when you were called by the Sverchzt twins, specifically Selenne, but you didn't even go.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll just change my clothes quickly" Mia says in a calm tone. You close the door behind you and enter. The apartment is really beautiful. You expected it to be smaller since there were only two people living there. The walls were royal blue, there was a painting on the wall and the furniture was white, a large gray shaggy rug on the floor. It really was beautiful, however, there were no photos of the couple who lived there. It even seemed like... well, there was nothing of them there at all.

You just sit there and try not to be embarrassed, you really shouldn't be staring so much, you hear the sound of the bedroom door opening and Mia comes out wearing her hair tied in a small ponytail and a more comfortable outfit consisting of a looser light blue dress, she still looked beautiful in it, she's beautiful anyway, the gloves are gone and the sleeves of the dress, you can see that Mia actually had a lot of freckles but she hid them with long sleeves and gloves, her arms had several caramel colored dots, her neck too, she looked adorable.

"Do you prefer coffee or tea?" you don't know exactly what to answer, either one is fine for you, she looks at you with those eyes and her eyelashes fluttering, you just realized it wasn't mascara because her eyelashes were still long and beautiful.

“Coffee, I prefer coffee, please.” You say this and now you have to try to calm down so you don’t seem like a nervous child. You sit at the table while she fills the coffee maker with water and coffee powder on top. She takes the lemon pie from the fridge. She hadn’t even eaten it. It was untouched and looked beautiful.

“I’ll weigh a plate for you. So, any interesting anomalies?” Mia always asks the same question. You usually say yes and show her a small photo, but today you don’t have that.

“I saw a copy of you, but her head was spinning. When I asked her, she said she was sick with a disease called floating head.” You laugh at that. The doppelganger looked like Mia, but her head was completely still.

“Hmmm… God, I wish I knew why these creatures exist. William is traveling, that’s exactly why he works for D.D.D. I think it's to put an end to these creatures, I'm not sure, we haven't talked about it" Mia says, you think and it even makes sense, the two live in a residential building protected by D.D.D so it's because they have some connection.

"I don't really understand either, they just want to take someone else's place, I'm curious to know what they're really like" you kind of understand why William you also don't like to talk about the anomalies, it's an uncomfortable subject, but luckily for you the coffee is ready in no time and she puts it in the bottle, then in two cups for both of them.

"Let me get a knife to cut it and the plates" Mia says and gets a knife and two plates that match With the cup, she cuts a slice for you and one for herself.

“Thank you, you are very kind,” you say, thanking her. Since when did you ever think about having afternoon tea with her? You really only dream about it.

“You’re welcome, you’re the one being kind, keeping me company. I don’t like being alone, but it’s actually nice. William is very busy, almost always working, so it doesn’t really matter.” She says as if it really doesn’t matter as she cuts two pieces of pie for both you and her, placing them on the plates and pouring the coffee into the cups.

“Hmmm, it’s a shame he doesn’t have time to spend with you. You shouldn’t spend too much time alone,” you say, but you’d like to say that if you were her fiancée, you would never stop spending time with her in your free time to work. It’s better to keep quiet and eat a slice of pie than to end up talking shit. Tasting a piece of pie makes you just want to let out a small sigh. It’s delicious. It’s like lemon ice cream with sweet butter cookies. It’s perfect.

"So how's the pie? I called you because I remembered that you once said it was your favorite." Mia gives you a soft smile. She's also hiding the fact that she made it just for you and only with the intention of inviting you to spend some time with her. The truth is that Mia likes you as much as you like her.

Mia was engaged to William, but it wasn't real. It was a lavender wedding, the kind where two people who are attracted to the same gender do it to avoid being judged. William and Mia were good friends and got along very well, but never in a romantic or sexual sense. They became friends in high school, which started with a math competition and gradually became a friendship. The two ended up realizing that they made a good pair and what one didn't know, the other knew well.

Mia was just trying to get a reaction from you this whole time and all she realized was that you were a shy person. It was cute, but she wanted a little more boldness from you. You could give her more.

"Hmmm... yes, it's my favorite. It's been a long time since I've tasted something this good. I mean, I don't usually make this kind of thing, it's quite tasty." You take a sip of the coffee. It's slightly warm and the sweetness seems to match the slightly bitter coffee. In reality, you didn't have much time to cook and when you did, it was something practical just to avoid eating junk food.

"I'm glad you liked it, dear." Mia says and you don't understand why she's smiling in such a seductive way to you. The noise you made, however small and not even close to a moan, left her slightly stimulated. Her panties got slightly wet, and the way you were eating the dessert and licking the spoon made her have a small thought that required a lot of control not to blush.

"Oh, you seem to really like this, it's really cute actually, I'm glad I called you" Mia really thought it was adorable that you were eating the pie with such gusto, at the moment the only thing that crossed her mind was to put her hand on your thigh and lean in to kiss you, she just ate a piece of the pie while watching you.

Of course you felt Mia's eyes simply burning a hole in your skin and you thought it was because you were eating too fast or just too much, you awkwardly wiped the corner of your mouth "Sorry I must look starving right now" you laughed and she smiled at you, wow she still hasn't stopped looking at you with her emerald green eyes, in fact she leaned in.

If she said what she had in mind, she wants to ask if you would eat it like you were eating that pie, with that smile on your face and getting all messy like you were doing, she leans over and runs her finger along the corner of your lips, cleaning it, while her other hand simply holds your chin "I would never think that of you, I just have my mind far away" she says and simply after cleaning the corner of your lips she simply licks her own finger, feeling the lemon taste, very indirectly from your lips.

You simply gasp a little at this but close your mouth, she was really teasing you, it's not possible even if it was just a reflex it was a provocative reflex "I don't think you need to taste the pie from the corner of my lips if there's a large part of it in front of us" you say, it's not meant to be a provocation but that's exactly what it seemed like, and Mia loved it.

Maybe your slight boldness in saying what you thought had made her more excited because she was literally devouring you with her eyes now "because it was on your lips and what interests me is not the pie but the taste of your lips" Mia speaks so shamelessly being excited simply makes people uninhibited.

"and why don't you try it since you're so close to me?" you say with your breath starting to catch in your throat and she simply leans even more squeezing your thigh gently.

"I was just waiting for permission to do this" and she actually kisses you her sweet lips against yours and the kiss tastes great of lemon, one of Mia's hands goes to your neck and the other continues to squeeze your thigh, yours wraps around her waist pulling her onto your lap, the kiss becomes deep as she gives way for your tongue to slide it's not a dispute for dominance just a wonderful kiss, your tongue was cold against hers and she loved it, Mia was making little noises during the kiss.

And God it was so good, the kiss was perfect it seemed to fit so well, your hand quickly went down her spine to her ass her dress rode up and there was nothing better than pushing that dress up even higher "I think I like your dresses even more, the practicality is charming" you whisper to her and she lets out a small laugh at that, you continue running your hand over her ass and stop over her lace panties the thin fabric against Mia's lightly tanned body.

"Do you like it? If I tell you that I chose it thinking of you? Both the dress and the panties, including... I'm already so wet for you" Mia whispers in a seductive tone in your ear, the panties were light pink lace with the lace being printed with flower embroidery, you have never felt so much desire as you do now.

"Just for me? God you are making me lose my mind" you say and pull the fabric against her skin gently hitting it generating a small whimper from her, Mia then begins to grind on your thigh.

"Hmmm... come on fuck me baby, you don't know how much I've wanted this for so long" Mia seems needy for you and she gently drags her hand over your face and chest, you feel that engagement ring against your skin, you remember that this is wrong.

"Hmmm... Mia and your fiancé?, William, are you still engaged to him and...." you are cut off by her ripping the ring off your finger and simply leaning in to kiss you again, this time softer and more superficial like a peck.

"It's a lavender wedding my beautiful, we don't love each other we're just friends, we're both homosexual" Mia says then it seems to make complete sense the two of them have never really kissed in front of anyone just held hands and besides that they barely looked like a couple.

"Hmmm that makes sense now" you whisper and she laughs at that, your hand squeezes her ass and she lets out a soft sigh, and leans against your body.

"Let's go to the bedroom, darling. I need you so badly." Mia says, and then you make a small show of strength by picking her up in your arms bridal style. She laughs at that, and then you take her to the bedroom. You noticed that even the bedrooms were separate. You entered the second one where Mia indicated. There was a double bed, a table in the corner with her work material as a teacher, and shelves with books. The bed was covered in a dark pink and the walls were painted white and pink. Next to the bed, there was a lamp. The floor was covered with a black plush carpet.

You only took a few seconds to analyze it, but when you quickly got in, you threw her on the bed. She liked it. She simply pulled you to her and kissed you again. This time, her hands began to remove your pants, unbuttoning them and taking them off. She did the same with your blouse, starting to unbutton them. "What my clothes have in practice is what yours has in difficulty." She laughs at that between kisses. You were going for her neck and kissed her softly before starting to help her.

"Nothing is impossible to remove, my dear," you say and begin to remove your own pants and blouse, leaving you only in a black bra and panties. You go back to her and begin to remove her dress, and you simply remove it from her shoulder, sliding it down and then pulling it off. The lingerie she was wearing was really beautiful, and even more beautiful was seeing her beautiful breasts pressed together in her bra. Mia had freckles all over her skin and simply looked adorable.

"Hmmm, you seem to have really enjoyed that. Let me give you a better view," Mia says and then unbuttons her own bra, and when her breasts are finally free, God, you just want to go up and not stop.

"You are so hot, so beautiful, you look like a goddess," you say to her, and she just smiles. Your hand automatically moves to her chest, rubbing and squeezing them. They are soft and large. The tanned skin contrasted with the light beige of her nipple. In addition to squeezing, you tilt your head and simply begin to kiss, suck and lick.

"Oh that's right my beautiful, you have such a good mouth" Mia says with a tone halfway between clipped, her hands go to your hair sliding through the strands and pulling, for you you could spend the day just sucking her nipple and pulling with your tongue, Mia starts to move below you as if looking for a little fixation.

"I forgot about your beautiful, needy pussy. Let me pay attention to you." You say and move your body away from hers a little. Moving down a little, you start a trail of kisses from her breasts to her belly to the bottom of her stomach. Mia's breath catches as you continue down and go to her warmth, kissing where a wet spot is already rising on the fabric.

"Don't tease me, darling, just... oh, be good to me and I'll be good to you." Mia pulls your hair with a slight force. You comply with her request and start to remove her panties. Her body looks even more beautiful. The fabric slides between her legs and you have a great view of her pussy. It looks delicious. Mia only had a small amount of hair there, the exact same color as her hair. She parts her legs for you and it looks like an entrance straight to paradise.

"You're so hot, you smell so good, I want to bury myself between your thighs," you say. You have her panties in your hands, feeling the sweet smell of her excitement. It seems wonderful, but then you simply throw the panties in the pile of clothes already formed in the room and separate her thighs even more, the inner part being pinker. You bury yourself there and start to suck her, her taste seems delicious, your tongue licks and wraps around the small sensitive spot and your nose rubs against the small intimate hairs. Mia holds your hair and sets a rhythm that she likes.

"Oh that's it my love, just keep going, suck me like I'm your whore, hmmm just like that" she is sighing and biting her lower lip to keep from letting out obvious moans, while you suck her clit and follow her rhythm you decide to add more stimulation and start rubbing your fingers against her pussy, she is already so wet for you, you hear Mia mumble a curse word and then you fit two of your fingers inside her, she is still so tight, when you start moving them it seems like Mia is actually seeing stars, your fingers are in a fast and rough rhythm inside her and it is like heaven for Mia.

"Oh... God you are going to kill me like this, you are really good at what you do" Mia lets out the words in broken pieces, her body reacts well to your stimulation she is absolutely wet with it as your fingers enter and leave her in a fast and rough rhythm it is perfect it makes her feel like never before even more with your mouth simply sucking her so well she feels like she is going to melt.

Mia's noises only grow, moans and whimpers, she seems so wet, she has one hand on the sheet pulling and the other on your hair pulling too but for you to go exactly where she wants, Mia's thighs seemed like they were going to suffocate you with those beautiful thighs, you hold on to her thigh trying to keep her still.

"hmmmm (y/n) fuck I'm so close hmmm...keep it up" you could feel her shaking beneath you she removed her hand from your hair and is holding on to the sheet her moans only grow and get louder with time, you focus on her clit sucking and licking while your fingers go in and out in a steady rhythm.

"Oh fuck! I'm going to cum for you" Mia starts to sigh and after a few seconds of sucking you and enough to send her over the edge, she comes at you hard, you can feel the bittersweet taste on her lips it seems perfect, her taste feels magnificent on your lips to the point that you can't control yourself and simply lean forward while she was breathing heavily and kiss her.

The kiss is so good, her lips against yours the taste of her in your mouth, she is still breathless but invigorated you can feel her hands undoing your bra, the clasp opens without you even noticing and her breasts are exposed she gently covers one of them, with her hand squeezing and massaging it, meanwhile you kiss her and she sucks your tongue feeling her taste on your lips.

"Hmmm you're so good at what you do really..." Mia whispers she looks slightly disheveled now with her messy hair but it only looks even better, she pulls you to her and takes your panties out of the way, she goes back to kissing you again.

"Hmmm you still look quite excited" you say in a teasing tone and feel Mia taking off your panties and aligning her intimacy with yours which you really like and help her by pulling her body against yours, your pussy is already so wet, when yours comes into contact with hers the wet sound is audible and delicious to hear, your intimacy against her intimacy and hers against yours.

"I'll always be excited to be with you my love" she whispers in your ear as the two of you rub against each other Mia leans in and kisses your body like you did with her kissing and biting your neck while her hand stays on your waist and the other goes up your breasts squeezing.

"You don't play fair Mia, I'll end up coming undone in seconds" you are wet and Mia saying these things and touching you doesn't help much, you love the way she touches you squeezing your breast massaging in a hoarse and slightly clipped tone while the two of you continue this activity, Mia leans in and then starts kissing you while the two of you are against each other.

"hmmm fuck you're delicious you know that?" you whisper as the two of you kiss her grip on her hips only increases as the two of you get closer.

"Oh... God I feel close again" Mia whispers separating her lips from yours and runs her hands over your neck while holding back some moans and God you rubbing yourself against her feels perfect the wetness only seems to grow even more.

"Hmmm...let's go together my love, let's play together" you whispered in her ear and after a few more rubs you finally both came at the same time, the wetness between your legs just grows and looks delicious, Mia leans against your body and rests her head in the crook of your neck.

"Hmmm if I knew it would feel this good I would have done it sooner" Mia says laughing and you gently rub her back the little brown dots of freckles dotting her skin it looked just adorable.

"If I knew you wanted me I wouldn't have kept it a secret, but I'm glad you invited me to eat the pie...I ended up eating something else too" you say and Mia punches your arm you gently separate your private part from hers and you can see a little wet potion there Mia also looks down.

"We need to take a shower, that's a fact." Mia says and laughs. You're both sweaty and well...dirty. As if you were just following what you were told, you get up and go to the bathroom in her room.

You both get under the shower and clean yourselves. Mia gives you small kisses and washes your body, and you do the same with her. The hot shower seems perfect, but the question pops into your head.

"Shall we spend more time together?" You ask as you clean her body. It would be terrible to find out that it was just one night, you and her.

Mia sighs and looks at you, batting her eyelashes and wrapping her arms around your neck. "I don't want you for one night. I want you for a lifetime, so no, I hope we can spend more time together." Mia says and your heart calms down. She gives you a soft kiss on the lips and caresses your cheek.

After the shower, Mia lends you a pair of panties and pajamas. You both lie down on the bed together and cuddle up to sleep. She lies on your chest and you have your arms around her waist. She was sleeping on your chest and all you could think about was how wonderful today was and how much you love her. So you say, "I love you, Mia Stone. So much it hurts." You whisper softly and close your eyes to sleep. "I love you even more than you can imagine, my beautiful one." You didn't expect her to answer, but she did. You only said it because you thought she was sleeping, but well, she was awake and heard it. After that, she snuggled even closer to you, hugging you, and you stroked her hair. The two of you started to really sleep together.

C.ai bot:

Retained for the artist who made the fanart,@_xi005 in tik tok For this art!

[foxes-that-run]

Late Night Talking

LNT is the first song written for Harry’s House, at the end of April 2020. Harry sings about wanting to be there for this person he can’t get off his mind. The videos for it explore the difference of Harry privately vs his public persona.

The lyric video reminds me of grapejuice with wine in the garden and friend with Harry looking at a view. This song reminds me of this part of the Zane Lowe Interview, (talking about As it Was):

I just got to like sit for a second and you create this kind of like space for yourself and obviously everyone kind of had their world shrunk and you really became abundantly clear like who you missed and who you didn't miss and who you wanted to spend time with and what felt more important.

Music Video

The was filmed 13 February 2022. It opens with Harry looking for his muse. All we see of them is a t-shirt and a bra. The record on the floor is the Talk Talk album 'It's My Life'. The title track is about a relationship with someone who is seeing someone else, their MV has wildlife starting on flamingos. The LNT MV opens with calm, private Harry in pale blue socks. Looking for the muse he falls through the bed into a dreamlike world (very Alice in Wonderland) of public perception where Harry wears passionate red socks.

All scenes are in a bed. It may be what if everything people said about him was true and how hard those rumours are on a relationship and self. ("Saying that's not true get's old after a while" “it does, I'm bored of it" 2013 to Heatworld)

The next scene is Harry singing to the listener with his full attention but he has a line of female and male partners in bed. There is a similar scene of Harry with many partners (COSOSOM-esq). Everyone else has bare feet.

Harry then recreates Tracey Emin's 'My Bed', a piece of an unmade bed about depression and public vs private life. Harry is in the bed with male and female partners, on his life on display, he reads the newspaper.

The next 2 scenes show how differently Harry's time with people are viewed, with a man he is in a restaurant and people ignore it, they pass by (This is not in private as some say) whereas with a woman (wearing the shirt from the start, H's nails are red & blue) in what should be in the dark, relaxing and eating popcorn a literal spotlight is put on them in the audience and the camera zooms in, like:

"Sometimes people say, ‘You’ve only publicly been with women,’ and I don’t think I’ve publicly been with anyone. If someone takes a picture of you with someone, it doesn’t mean you’re choosing to have a public relationship or something.” - to Rolling Stone.

These next 2 scenes are Harry officiating a wedding, but lightening and clouds arrive and he disappears, ruining everyones time. I think this is him disappearing because paparazzi arrive (see flashes). And Harry falling through the sky, (see clouds). The video ends with Harry happy back in the blue socks on the single cover.

When was it written

Harry was in LA promoting Fine Line when the COVID travel ban was introduced 17 March 2020. Harry said to Zane Lowe that he took 6 weeks to do nothing then booked a studio and this was the first song while setting up. That places it around 28 April 2020.

Kid Harpoon told Billboard: "Styles booked time at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La in Malibu, Calif., and invited Hull and writer-producer Tyler Johnson to the sessions. “I was like, ‘Is he insane? We can’t leave our houses!�� ” recalls the affable Hull one late afternoon in New York. Still, the trio showed up and immediately got to work. “Day one, we’re writing a song, and [Harry] came up with this piano part. And then I was like, ‘Oh, that could be faster. And you could do this chord, and we could do this.’ ” That evolved into “Late Night Talking,” the first song written for what would become 2022’s Harry’s House"

Harry told Zane Lowe (24 Mins) LNT, Daylight, Keep Driving and Sushi were in this group, to Stern and Lowe he said Daylight was also one of the first. The leaked Too Much Sauce was also recorded in May 2020.

Lyrics

Things haven't been quite the same There's a haze on the horizon, babe It's only been a couple of days And I miss you, mm, yeah When nothin' really goes to plan You stub your toe or break your camera I'll do everythin' I can To help you through

In the first verse Harry is uncertain about change. I think there’s a double meaning of the pandemic and also Harry himself. Uncertainty aside, Harry is committed to doing anything to help this person and just wants to be with them.

Camera's are in Keep Driving (Black and White Film Camera) and Perfect (Cameras flashing everytime you go out). The camera is interesting, one Harry avoids considering the video's focus on perception.

The only other 'Haze' in a Harry song is in Little Freak, "starry-eyed Crystal Haze'

If you're feelin' down I just wanna make you happier, baby Wish I was around I just wanna make you happier, baby

Harry repeats that all he wants is this person to be happier. Another pandemic reference that Harry is separated from the person physically, in this case by lockdown but it applies broadly.

'Make you happier' reminds me of Happily, where the path to that happiness was being together again. Harry also says 'happier/happy' in:

Only Angel - I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth

Super Pretty (unreleased) "Said you're happier with that big baller That we both knew growing up"

I'm not happy - I'm not happy, but I'm happy you asked

JCHNY

We've been doin' all this late night talkin' 'Bout anythin' you want until the mornin' Now you're in my life I can't get you off my mind

The chorus is so sweet and also simple, Harry has been talking to the muse on the phone. He will talk to them about anything they want because his focus is on them. He wants to share and get close. I line the line 'now you're in my life I can't get you off my mind' he's completely infatuated. This touches on some themes or lyric similarities:

Mind is a theme.

Harry's lyrics about Talk

Harry's lyrics about Night, especially the unreleased I Just Wanna Love You -" Talking to me late night"

Communication theme

I've never been a fan of change But I'd follow you to any place If it's Hollywood or Bishopsgate I'm coming too

In the final verse Harry again would do anything, this time linking back to the first verse, where he saw the change coming and now will do what is uncomfortable, even moving. The Hollywood/Bishopsgate is often reported as connecting OW in Hollywood to Harry's home of London, but it was written before they met. Harry wrote the song in Los Angeles, so I think he means wherever.. though noting he only listed where he was and his home. Harry's lyrics about Change

Folklore, Lover and Midnights

The first songs on Folklore and Harry's LA session songs have similarity. The One is a conversation with an ex-partner. Folklore started 2 days into the pandemic in LA. 2020 timeline. The MV spaghetti scene is similar one in Lover's MV, which has a joke Harry read in Fan Mail. Taylor named the bonus tracks on a special edition of Midnights "Late Night Talking Tracks" in the post she referenced The One and Satellite. Thanks @womanexile

[deeptrashwitch]

So, I have a three hour break before the next class and my mind doesn't want to sleep and neither wants to do my damn homework. My best next option until I get home? Use picrew to create moments and little stories about my boys, also to make them the nearest as possible to how I imagined them.

It'll be as usual on rank order.

Alicia:

Nicolás took the picture and sent it to Edward. It was during a leave where the three siblings were together, and Camila showed Alicia an old video from their childhood. About an old joke she did during middle school, puting dye not only inside a shampoo bottle, but also inside a bowl where there were some clothes.

The problem? She did it to Alicia, and Alicia didn't know. In that moment she was thinking on selling Camila and adopt a cat, at least the cat is more adorable that her little sister.

Luke:

Francis took the photo. This boy...he was looking at his future wife. Elizabeth was inside the cafeteria where the team went during a free afternoon, and Luke just loved how she looked, her smile and her attitude. He went to talk with her that very same day, and that started their love story.

Meanwhile, Elijah and Jackson were stopping Noah to go and kill the Lieutenant. It happens that Elizabeth is Noah's little sister, and he is an overprotective brother. And what were the rest of them doing? Just watching the drama.

Jackson:

This one was Luke who took it. Jackson was looking at Noah and Elliot doing experiments, he was preparing himself to a long day inside the bay. And the worst part was...it was a Sunday, at 4 A.M.

He reconsidered his job in that moment, but Edward bribed him with Alexander's biscuits and he just took some and went to work.

Edward:

Speak of the devil. The photo was taken by Alicia during a leave where they had to take care of some kids. Everything was good during the morning, but the kids were scared of her and they ended chasing him around all day screaming and more. Isn't needed to say, but Eddie was dying inside and wanted to throw himself through a window.

That made him sure that patience wasn't his kind of virtue. At least not for kids.

Noah:

Elliot took the photo. This little shit was experimenting inside his workshop because he was bored, and he brought Elliot with him. It was moments before they started with their doing.

And the bandage was result of him trying to shave himself after a no sleep night, it's surprisingly usual, so he was even proud (to Jackson and Marcus worries) that it was only one bandage this time. Everyone is questioning what the hell is wrong with him, but it's not like they are sane either.

Elijah:

Marcus took it by surprise, that's why the weird expression. Actually he was trying to take a video of Elijah singing, but it didn't went well and was discovered. He chased him to make him delete the photo, and when Noah saw it...he said that he looked like a lunatic or something.

No doubts, Elijah threw him a shoe once he heard him laugh.

Nicholas:

This was taken by Alexander after an office day. It's weird find him with glasses, and he used it to rest his eyes. Nicholas was amused but accepted to let Alexander take the picture, it probably will be the only one like that.

Jackson found it and he says that Nicholas remind him to a movie character, but doesn't remember the name. Everytime they encounter eachother during a break, both start to say every name that como to mind, but until now...none is correct.

Marcus:

Keyra, his wife, took the photo. It was something they did for their anniversary, they would take pictures of eachother and then make a collage with it, writing a phrase about that year. And since Keyra's hobby is photography, the pictures she took were the best, and it was fun for her to use her husband as a model.

They still have the collage, hung on the living room wall, beside their wedding photos.

Alexander:

Ahh Alexander...the kind giant of the team. Elijah took the photo first time in the morning, and he was surprisingly on a good mood. That day he brought with him some mini cakes and cookies, and during the breakfast he was telling stories about the leave.

It was just a day, but by the afternoon everyone had the photo and were happy about it. He just laughed a bit when he heard about it, and got a little embarassed and shy.

Elliot:

Chaos incarnate. This one is a bit cocky boy, but they learned to lead with him during their usual time. He's something similar to a gremlin just behind Noah, and that day he posed under the promise of a puzzle (probably his favorite thing in the world to be honest) that he wanted since a long time. The problem was that it was hidden.

Where? Inside Luke's workshop. No needs to say, the Lieutenant was furious when he found out they were looking inside his place and made a disaster on it. On the other hand Alicia just sighed before stopping Luke of commiting a crime.

It doesn't let me put any more images, so I'll continue this on a reblog. And it was just when I was about to show Francis and Dominique ;-;

[sevenf1ng3rs]

His Burden: Chapter 21

Chapter 21: I have an idea

You and Namjoon spend a few more days in the resort, eating good food, swimming, and most importantly, getting up to no good in the bedroom. As soon as you arrive home, however, you go into full-blown wedding planner mode.

"Ok, so we need to pick a venue, a dress, decorations, guest list..." Maddie starts rambling.

"Oh my god, I didn't realize how exhausting this would be, maybe I should just call it off," you say jokingly, running your hands down your face.

"Shut up," Maddie says, rolling her eyes and kicking your shin.

"Wednesday we're going dress shopping, Friday cake tasting, and Saturday venues," Maddie states, ticking off the events on her fingers

"So soon?"

"It's now or never; you're not getting any younger, you know," she says seriously.

"Thanks for that. Also, I think Namjoon and I were gonna look at venues together,"

"Okay, whatever you want. Now show me that ring again," Maddie says while grabbing your hands, the both of you squealing over it for the millionth time.

—

Wednesday afternoon rolls around, and you, Maddie, and your mother go to look at dresses.

"These are pretty," Maddie says.

There are hundreds of white dresses lining the store, multiple mannequins adorned in white elegant fabric. You see beaded dresses, lace dresses, and silk dresses, but you can't imagine yourself in any of them, feeling extremely bored by each one.

"They're okay, not really my style," you pick the fabric of a dress between your fingers, dropping it almost immediately after.

"What about these," your mom says, pointing out another group of dresses across the store.

"I don't know, maybe?" you sigh barely giving them a glace, not feeling a connection with anything in the store.

"No, there can't be any maybe's, you have to love it," Maddie says, holding you by the shoulders.

"You're right," you sigh, feeling overwhelmed and dropping your head onto her chest.

You look at dresses all day hoping to find "the one". You try on a few that Maddie and your mom like, but none of them really pique your interest.

"I think we should try again another day," you say, tired.

"I think you're right," Maddie agrees.

"Whatever you want sweetie," your mom replies, seemingly recalling her days of looking for a dress.

"I've got to go, but text me when you're free," Maddie blurts out, looking up from her phone and hurrying to get her stuff together to rush out of the store.

Probably another booty call.

"Want me to make you some tea at mine?" you turn to face your mom.

"That would be wonderful," she smiles, happy to spend time with her daughter.

You and your mother head back to Namjoon's apartment, your mother staring in awe at the luxury of it. He's at work most of the time, so the house feels kind of empty during the day. You are glad to have your mom with you, even if just for today.

"Here's your tea," you sit down next to your mom on the couch.

"Thank you, sweetheart,"

"No problem, it's great being able to see you more often now that my only job is planning this wedding," you joke, missing your time at the shop deep down.

"I'm just so happy that you're happy," your mom takes a sip of her tea, leaning against the back of the couch.

"What was your wedding like Mom?" you fold your legs underneath you, turning to face her.

"Well we did it in our old vacation house in Vermont, remember that one?"

"Yeah I miss that place," nostalgia fills you up at the memory.

"Here, I have some photos, wanna see?"

"Yes, I need some inspiration," you laugh.

Your mom brings up an album in her phone of pictures from her wedding. Your mom sparkles in each photo, the whole event quaint but magnificent. You can only hope your own wedding will be as beautiful as hers.

"Wow, your dress was beautiful," you stop her at a photo of your parents at the altar, zooming in to look at the details of the dress.

"Was? It still is," your mom chuckles.

"You still have it?" you pause, looking up at her.

"Yup, I can bring it by sometime and you can try it on if you'd like,"

"That would be amazing, thank you, Mom," you hug her, thankful to have her by your side through this process.

You and your mother chat for a while about the wedding and what she's been up to before she starts yawning and claiming it's past her bedtime. You call her an Uber, seeing her out of the house and hugging her goodbye before sitting in the house, once again by yourself.

—

Later that week, you and Namjoon go to look at wedding venues. You visit an art museum, a garden, a chapel, and even an aquarium, but just like the dress shopping none of them feel right.

"Are you having fun?" Namjoon asks, plastering a smile onto his face.

"Yes... but to be honest I don't see us getting married at any of these places,"

"Thank god, me neither," he sighs, his shoulders relaxing.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if you'll like it,"

"What is it?" he stops to turn towards you, grabbing your hand in his.

"Well, I'm going to be wearing my mother's dress, and well, I was wondering if you wanted something from your family to remember our wedding by?" You toy with his fingers as you speak, anxious to propose the idea.

"Like what," he asks, stilling your fingers with his other hand.

"Maybe we should have the wedding at your childhood home?"

Namjoon looks down at his feet in contemplation, his brows furrowed.

Oh shit, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

"It's ok we can just do something else," you backtrack, starting to pull your hand out of his.

Namjoon grasps your hand tighter and snaps his head up at you, revealing his smiling face.

"I love it."

[novelmonger]

*evil cackling* I aim to please...oh wait, I have to do this too. Crap.

Go grocery shopping with - I think Artoo would be a fun, cheerful companion to bring along to the grocery store. Maybe he could pull a cart of some sort behind him while I take stuff off the shelves? Any conversation would be rather one-sided, unfortunately, since I don't know Binary, unless I had some sort of translator readout thing with me. We'd probably attract all the kids in the store, though.

Have lunch with - Ever since I first saw Phantom Menace when I was eight, I've wanted to sit at the dinner table in Anakin's house, so yes, I'm picking Qui-Gon for this. He has such a comforting presence, and I know there would be a lot of wisdom and really interesting stories he could tell me over the meal. Also...I mean...I'd really like it if I could get a hug when we say goodbye >///<

Have coffee with - Yoda! Can you imagine Yoda in a coffee shop? XD Or we could have it at his home; that works too. I don't know where our conversation would lead, but I know it would be lots of fun, and I would probably learn something ground-breaking about myself and/or the world around us.

Go thrift shopping with - As someone who's had to fend for herself most of her life, I bet Jyn would be pretty skilled at thrifting. She'd know where the best stores are, and how to get the best deals. I don't know how well we'd get along, since she doesn't warm up to people very easily, but at worst we could go our own ways in the store and then reconvene after we'd made our purchases.

Explore a museum/art gallery/aquarium with - Like you said, Finn has lived such a sheltered life, it would be super fun to go around to touristy places and show him what he's been missing! He's always so passionate about things, I bet he would get super excited about stuff that I take for granted, and help me appreciate them more.

Go the library/bookstore with - As with R2-D2, there would be a bit of a communication issue with Chewie, so I think I should pick an activity with him that wouldn't require a whole lot of talking. I guess I've never thought of Chewie being a bookworm or not, but I'm sure he'd find something interesting to read in a library, and he would probably be pretty quiet. There would be lots of silent miming and gesturing and showing each other what we're reading. I'm also fond of the idea of sitting next to each other in reading chairs and just passing a quiet afternoon together ^_^

Have as a plus-one at a wedding - Han Solo. Mostly because I feel like this is the one activity where he wouldn't end up trying to make some sort of black-market deal or run into some "old friends." It could still end in a shootout, I suppose, but oh well. I'm not sure whether Han Solo would be a good dancer or just sort of sit grumpy and bored in the corner, but maybe if he had a couple of drinks, he'd regale me with some fun stories of his escapades. Hopefully he wouldn't find me attractive, because I would be super uncomfortable if he started to hit on me or something. Let's hope this is after he's met Leia, I guess <_<

Han Solo, Yoda, Qui-Gon, Jyn Erso, Finn, R2-D2, and Chewbacca.

From this ask.

novelmonger with the challenging asks again!

Grocery shopping: I HATE grocery shopping so much. I would take Jyn because I don’t think she likes it any more than I do.

Lunch: Chewie, I could introduce him to the joys of bacon cheeseburgers.

Coffee: I don’t like coffee so I would do tea with Qui-Gon. I don’t know if his tea thing has any canon basis but I’m running with it here.

Thrift shopping: Han 100%. The pirate would know where all the good deals are.

Museum/art gallery/aquarium: Yoda! He could point out any historical inaccuracies or outright lies because he was there.

Library/bookstore: Finn, because he’s been isolated all his life and I could help him get up to speed on everything.

Plus one: R2! He’d be the best dance partner. Also, I think Mr would be unhappy if I took a flesh-and-blood guy with me to a wedding 🫣

[wild-aloof-rebel]

"David, are you ready?"

He looks up from where he's positioning his boutonniere against the lapel of his jacket to find his father standing in the doorway that connects their motel rooms, dressed in his best suit and looking so proud that David’s tempted to shut the door in his face just to avoid having to see it.

"Need a hand?" Johnny asks, already stepping closer, as if David is somehow incapable of handling a straight pin.

"I can do it," he snaps, but his father pulls the little blue-wrapped flowers from his hand anyway, holding them against his lapel as he takes the pin from David’s other hand.

"You know, son," his father begins, and David's already rolling his eyes at whatever unwarranted advice is surely about to follow, "it's okay to be nervous. It's a big day. A big day. And it's normal if you're, uh, perhaps feelings some... jitters..."

"I'm fine."

"About the ceremony," he continues, undeterred, finally working the pin through both fabric and stem. "Or the reception. Or-- or even the wedding night.”

"Dad!"

If his father tries to give him a talk about the birds and the bees right now, David is literally going to walk right out the door and straight into traffic.

"I'm just saying, it's okay to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous!” The words are sharp and defensive, but David truly means them: he isn’t nervous. Like at all. Mostly, he just doesn’t want someone to jinx him somehow by talking about how nervous he should be.

But he isn’t, even though he really thought he would be, and maybe last night his answer would have been different, but it’s a beautiful, clear, blue day outside, and David is rather pleasantly surprised to find that he’s feeling incredibly calm about the whole thing. Whatever happens today, at the end of it all, Patrick will be his husband. About that he has absolutely zero doubt, and as that’s the only thing about all of this that actually matters, he has no reason to be nervous at all.

Johnny steps back, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Fine. Fine," he says. "It's just that it's okay if you are nervous. You know, when your mother and I got married--"

"Yep. Got it. Thanks so much," David says, pushing him back through the door and hurriedly closing it behind him. He’s nearly ready to go, if he could just get a few more minutes of peace and quiet to finish getting dressed.

"David, are you ready yet?" his mother asks, pushing her way through the just-closed door.

He squeezes his eyes and his fists shut tight and tries not to scream. "It's hard to finish getting ready when a… a conga line keeps bursting through the door, like this is some terrible Gloria Estefan video from 1994.”

There’s a masterful kind of irony in the size of the frown his mother gives him as she replies, “Oh, stop being dramatic.”

Her gaze shifts from his face to his boutonniere as she approaches, and she reaches to unpin it before he can stop her. All he can do is throw up his hands, drop his head back between his shoulders, and glare at the ceiling as if it's somehow the motel's fault that his family has no sense of boundaries.

Actually, on second thought, it might be the motel's fault--there's certainly been far less privacy in the years that they've lived here together with only a flimsy excuse for a door to separate them than there ever had been when they’d had an entire mansion in which to avoid each other. He glares at the ceiling harder, just in case.

“Darling, I understand that you might be feeling rather timorous about the great unfathomable depths into which you are about to plummet--”

“I'm not ‘plummeting.’ No one is plummeting into anything.”

He bats her hands away, turning back to the mirror to finish straightening his boutonniere--again--something he wouldn’t have to do if everyone would have just let him put it on himself in the first place, like he was trying to do. He shifts the tiny pair of white roses until they’re running parallel to the crisp edge of his lapel and pins them firmly in place.

Behind him, his mother places her hands on his shoulders, meeting his gaze in the mirror. The smile she gives him isn’t the polite, plastic one she normally trots out for the masses; it’s warm and real and just a little wistful.

"Your Patrick is very lucky."

I'm pretty sure I’m the lucky one, David thinks.

It’s a sweet moment, the rare kind in which his mother is thinking of someone other than herself. And then Alexis bursts in from their parents’ room, a frantic blur of silvery-blue charmeuse, and David thinks maybe he's not so lucky after all.

"Oh my god, David, why aren't you ready?"

"I don't know! Maybe it's all these unnecessary interruptions!"

Moira shakes her head at her arguing children and disappears back through the virtual revolving door between their rooms, leaving David to deal with this harassment alone--she always was good at abandoning him when he needed her most.

"You're not actually leaving for the ceremony with your hair looking like that, are you?" Alexis asks, and David just manages to duck out of the way of her meddlesome, well-manicured fingers. They follow him as he crosses the room, and he swats at them every time they buzz too close.

"My hair is fine! My boutonniere is fine! My nerves are fine! Everything is fine!"

Her hands drop dramatically, as her eyebrows rocket higher. "It doesn't sound fine." She leans in conspiratorially. "Do you have cold feet? Are you worried you're not going to be a good husband?"

"Swallow your tongue please."

He drops onto his bed to swap his slippers for his dress shoes, and she falls into place across from him, just like old times. He can feel her gaze as he ties his laces, but she doesn't say anything until he's done. "This is going to be good for you," she tells him, and even though he doesn't need the reassurance, he appreciates that she's trying. It’s better than her trying to fix his hair anyway.

“Knock, knock,” comes Stevie’s voice through the opening front door. “Are you--”

“Ready! Yes, I’m ready!” David yells, fed up with everyone asking.

“Oh, I don’t care about that,” Stevie replies. “I just wanted to make sure you were decent because I have no desire to see that ever again.”

“Ooh, burn, David,” Alexis chimes in, but David ignores her.

“You’re sweet,” he tells Stevie. His tone is scathing, but honestly, he could kiss her for just being so relentlessly normal right now.

“And you’re almost late. So get in the damn car already.”

He stands and throws the last of his things back into the overnight bag he’d brought with him to stay at the motel last night. “Since when do you care about being on time?”

“I don’t,” she says, “but you set six reminders on my phone, and I’m afraid you might have somehow rigged it to blow up if I ignore another one.”

David zips up his bag and follows Stevie to the door, while Alexis swans back off into their parents’ room. With any luck, this will be the last morning he ever wakes up in this room. It should be a relief, but he’s feeling oddly sentimental about it now that it’s here. He’d first met Stevie when asking for extra towels so he could take a shower in this tiny, disgusting bathroom. He’d comforted Alexis for the first time in a long, long while after her break-up with Mutt, right here between these beds. He’d kissed Patrick for the first time in his car in the parking lot just outside this door. For as much as he’d never wanted it to be, this motel room is his home, and taking the last step out the door is just as hard as the last step he’d ever taken out of the house that had been ripped from beneath their feet.

“If you start crying, I’m leaving you on the side of the road, and I really don’t think Patrick will forgive me for that.”

With a laugh, David pulls the door closed and climbs into the passenger seat of Stevie’s car. She throws herself into the driver seat, no more careful than usual despite the floor-length navy gown and four-inch heels she’s sporting. It’s good to know that some things never change.

The short drive to Town Hall is blissfully silent--no needless questions or unwelcome advice--and David is more thankful than she can possibly know that he’s ended up with her as his best friend. She drops him off near the back of the building, nodding her head toward a cluster of trees as they get out of the car. “Go get him,” is all she says, and then she’s purposefully striding off in the opposite direction to wrangle the last few guests into the building.

Patrick is waiting for him in the shade of a towering elm tree, looking gorgeous in a suit that matches the one David’s wearing, and as soon as their eyes meet, his entire face lights up with delight. He’s beautiful--all the time, but especially like this, dressed to the nines and looking just as giddy and hopeful and joyously incandescent as David feels.

“Hi,” he says when he finds himself face to face with his fiancé for the last time.

“Hi,” Patrick echoes, and the smile on his face could power whole cities. David’s pretty sure his own could, too. “You clean up well.”

One shoulder tilts up in a coy little shrug. “Oh, I just threw something on.”

The glint in Patrick’s eye grows more mischievous as he leans closer and slips his hands beneath the edges of David’s lapels. “So you wouldn’t mind if it gets a bit wrinkled then.” And he drags David in for a searing kiss, leaving him breathless and starry-eyed when he finally pulls away again.

David forces himself to think about all the people waiting for them just inside in order to keep from throwing Patrick onto the nearest horizontal surface and continuing what they’ve started. God, he can’t wait to marry this man. With a deep breath, he closes his eyes and dips his forehead to rest against Patrick’s.

“I missed you last night, button.”

Patrick threads their fingers together. “I missed you, too, best.”

David could almost live in this moment forever, standing here together on the cliff-edge of their future, the entire world at their feet, thrumming with possibility. However, he has a sneaking suspicion that the night, that life only gets better from here. And so when music starts playing on the speakers inside Town Hall, he opens his eyes and lets Patrick lead him around to the front of the building, right on cue.

At the top of the front steps, Patrick pauses, turning to David with his serious face on. It’s the one he uses when he tries to explain about profit margins or when he’s running late in the morning and has to pull David’s fingers from the waistband of his jeans for the third time in a row. “Are we ready to do this?” he asks.

David knows that it’s an actual question. He knows that if he said no, even after all these months of planning, even with all the excitement clearly vibrating under Patrick’s skin, if David said he wasn’t ready right now, Patrick would lead him to the car and take him home and they’d figure out what to do next instead, and David loves him all the more for it.

But for David it’s not a question at all. There’s no single part of him--not a finger or a little toe, not a freckle, not a hair, not a skin cell, not an atom--that isn’t ready to marry Patrick Brewer. He’s never been more ready for anything in his entire life.

He leans in to press one more kiss to his fiancé’s tidy little mouth, lingering there a bit, breathing all his certainty and his anticipation into this happy press of lips. And maybe he slips him a little tongue, too; after all, if it’s going to be their last as fiancés, it should at least be a good one.

When they part, Patrick is smiling, bold and bright as the sun shining on their shoulders, and he takes David’s hand in his. “Let’s go get married,” David tells him, and hand-in-hand, side-by-side, together they open the doors.

[e-dubbc11]

Just Married-ish

Pairing:  Matt Murdock X F!reader

Warnings: A bit of angst but mostly fluffy bunnies and unicorns.  Bunch of boring adult stuff like paperwork (might be a little lame, I dunno, sorry if it’s stupid) Mostly PG-13 though

Word Count:  Around 1.8k

Summary:  Reader and Matt are newly married but you haven’t changed your name yet.  You want to do it, you want your husband’s last name, but work and life happen and you haven’t gotten around to it yet.  But you decide to do more than change your name.  Your plan involves doing something special for Matt in the process.

A/N:  Now I’m not entirely sure this is a thing but I am sure that they do have braille printing services that will do similar services for the blind.  It was just an idea that popped into my head, and we don’t print the internet anymore buuuuuut for someone that reads with their fingers, it might be handy. Also I realize the subject matter might be a little boring but it sounded like a sweet thing to do so I ran with it. Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate you!

Six Months Ago

Your wedding was on a beautiful early October afternoon and the foliage in the park was at it’s peak, absolutely breathtaking. Everywhere you looked there were splashes of red, yellow, and orange and you just couldn’t get over just how gorgeous the day was. The sun was out, not a cloud in sight, just picture-perfect. 

The details about the day were a little hazy because you were just blissfully and ridiculously happy about marrying the man of your dreams, the love of your life, Matthew Murdock.  A brief ceremony followed by a round of drinks at Josie’s for the select few that were chosen to share your special day, Foggy, Karen, Marci, and your best friend, Jocelyn.

You and Matt didn’t want to make it a huge deal, it was exactly how you wanted it.  No matter how much Jocelyn pushed you to make it a big to do, she finally gave in and respected what you wanted.  She only pushed hard because she wanted it to be the best possible day for you, she said you deserve all the happiness in the world and you love her to pieces for it. Speeches were made at Josie’s, Foggy told a couple of college Matt stories, everyone was in stitches.  Then he told the story of the day Matt met you.  

“He came back to the office after having lunch in the park and he said to me ‘I think I met her’ and color me confused, I said ‘met who?’  He said ‘the woman I want to marry.’  And that was that, it’s only fitting that they got married in the place where they met.”

Happy hour was followed by dinner for the two of you at a little hole in the wall bar. You and your devilishly handsome husband, still dressed in your wedding attire, dined on the best burgers you’ve ever tasted. And even with all the city sounds coming from outside, you felt like you were the only two people in the world, it was perfect.

Today

You had meant to change your name soon after the wedding but life happened and you hadn’t gotten around to it yet.  Matt never bothered you about it though, he knew your job was very important to you.  Working for a government contractor, it could get exhausting, phone calls after hours when you’re at home relaxing, or in the middle of dinner.  You felt bad anytime you had to answer the phone after you were already home for the evening. Still, he never pressured you about it.  He’s very understanding and knew you would do it on your own time.

One rainy night while you were reading and he was listening to his case notes, you had an idea.  Since you wanted to change your name, it has to be changed on every document and in anything where your name appears.  And just in case Matt needed to find any paperwork pertaining to your lives together such as a marriage license, insurance cards, beneficiary documents, etc.  If you weren’t available or god forbid something happened to you, he’d never have to rely on someone else to help him find the things he needed or trust strangers to help him.  What if you could have copies of all those documents printed in braille for him?

Matt had fallen asleep listening to his case notes, he looked so peaceful and adorable while he slept, and you rarely got the chance to watch him sleep so you smiled and took a few minutes just to stare at him.  He’s so beautiful.  When you noticed he was asleep, you opened up your laptop and started to research braille printing services.  You found one that services everything from the government to restaurant menus and everything in between.  Perfect!  Right on cue, he wakes up…of course he does! Trying to make something a surprise for a blind man should be easy but he doesn’t make it easy, at all. As he opens his eyes, you greet him like you always do...

“Hey there, handsome.”

“Hey there, beautiful.”

“You don’t know that I’m beautiful.”

“Yes, I do.”

You’ll have to continue your research another time, as Matty is always very playful right when he wakes up which always leads to other fun activities.

The next couple of weeks were frustrating to say the least.  Between emails and phone calls explaining that YOU’RE not blind, your husband is, it was just so infuriating. It was like you were the only person who’s ever asked for something like this. You try to convey that you’re trying to make things as easy as possible for him in case he needs it and you’re not around to help him and after talking to numerous people, you’re finally able to talk to someone that understands what you want and need.

“Yes, I completely understand what you’re asking for, my wife is also blind and I did all the same things for her.  It just makes it easier for them to find what they need.  Not having to be completely dependent on someone else.”

You were very thankful for his help.

“Thank you so much for helping me with all of this, I’m doing this as a surprise for him, to tell him I finally changed my name...so you’ve received all my documents that need printing?”

“We have everything we need and your documents should be ready in a couple weeks.”

Again, you were very thankful.

“Thank you so much!”

“My pleasure, Mrs. Murdock, take care now.”

Mrs. Murdock...you really liked the sound of that.  It made you smile just thinking about it.

Matt noticed that your stress level had been high for the past few weeks and one night after dinner, you were on your laptop and he was listening to some case notes, he took his ear buds out and turned to you, visibly frustrated with how distracted you’ve been.

“Sweetheart?  Can I ask you something?  You’ve been very preoccupied lately and well, you’ve just been busier than usual.”

You were typing out a thank you email to the gentleman who helped you with everything.  All the documents came out perfect. Matt also suggested some time ago that you have some business cards made in case he ran into anyone looking for a new job, he knew that your company was always hiring people.  He told you “It would be nice to be able just to hand them your card and they could call you.” The cards had all your important information on them, however there was one card you had made especially for him. It was your way of telling him you had changed your name. It was printed in braille, y/f/n, y/m/i, Murdock.

“Yeah, hang on, baby.  I just need to finish this email, it’s really important that I get this out.”

“More important than us?”  His voice hitched a little.

“Matty...what are you talking about?  I told you this is really important” you said curtly.  It came out harsher than you intended it to, it was the stress of the past few weeks. But it wasn’t an excuse for you to snap at him like that.

He closed his laptop, stood up and angrily adjusted his shirt sleeves and his glasses. And although he never yelled, his voice was always very stern and harsh on the rare occasions the two of you would argue.

“I feel like we’ve been living separately the past few weeks, now what is going on?”

“Matthew, I want to tell you everything that I've been up to but not like this, not while you’re this angry.  It’s something that I felt was important for US and--”

He interrupted you...” Important? What’s more important than sharing your day with your husband?! And another—ya know what, I don’t want to do this right now, I’m going for a walk.”  Matt walked over to the hooks on the wall, grabbed his jacket and his white cane and stormed out.

You plead with him, with tears in your eyes...” Matty...WAIT, please!!”

Too late, he slammed the door and he was gone.

About two hours had passed, you had finished the email and decided to get out all the documents you had printed up.  You started to cry again, the guilt you felt for being so distant and short with him was unbearable but all you had wanted was to give him a nice surprise and make it special.  They were just pieces of paper but you put everything in a box and wrapped it with wrapping paper. Even though he couldn’t see the paper or what was underneath, Matt still loves to open presents.

Sleep was something that had eluded you recently and it finally caught up with you, the crying didn’t help either, and your tired body finally gave into the sleep you desperately needed. You weren’t sure how much more time had passed when a calloused hand gently caressed your face as you slowly opened your eyes.

“Matty?”

“Hey beautiful.”

You pressed your hands into the couch to sit up quickly, grabbing him and hugging him when you begin to sob.

“Oh Matty, I’m SO sorry!  I just got so caught up with what I was trying to finish, I didn’t realize you were feeling neglected, that is the last thing I want to do.  I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”  You look down to see you’ve left a wet spot on his shirt.  “And now I’m sorry I got your shirt all wet, can you ever--”

“Shhh, shhh, sweetheart...It’s ok.  I’m sorry too.  I shouldn’t have gotten angry and left like that, it’s not how I should have handled things. I’m sorry.” He strokes your hair to calm you down.

He wiped your tears away as you ask him “Can I show you what I’ve been doing the past few weeks?”

“Now, angel, I thought your work was ‘need to know.’” He smirked.

You let out a little laugh “It’s not work related, my love.  C’mere.”

He trails behind you and pinches your butt on your way to the kitchen table, sneaky little Devil.  Setting his hands on top of the box, you kiss him on the cheek and tell him to open it.  He smiles and starts to rip the paper, revealing a white box.

“Go ahead, take the top off!”  You say with excitement.

He reaches for the hem of your T-shirt.

You squeal a little “Hey now!  Not MY top, smartass!”

He’s full on laughing now while grasping the sides of the box.  Matt takes the top of the box off, discards it onto the floor and reaches inside.  Immediately his fingers feel the braille documents.  His smile quickly disappears and is replaced with a soft expression, tangled with a bit of surprise while he runs his fingers over the first page.

“I had all of our important documents printed up in braille and attached to the regular printed copies in case you ever need them if I’m not around or if” you pause and swallow “if something happens to me and you need them for any reason.  You won’t have to rely on anyone else to help you find them or worry about trusting a stranger.”

“You...you had all this done for me?”

You can see tears forming in his eyes, they look more hazel today.

“Of course, I did.  I had to adjust some things on my work information, change my beneficiary information, put you on my health insurance so I figured let me do this for all the important information we have. This all can go in the fireproof safe that I know you can open with your bionic hearing.”

He laughed a little when you mentioned that.

“You may be the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen and have super senses and abilities but that’s not going to help you find a copy of our marriage license or your insurance card.  I had my social security card and my other personal ID’s done as well.  And I know you were asking me to have business cards made to have at the office or to have on you to hand out, so I did that too.  I had this one made special for you though…”

Matt takes the card from your hand and runs his fingers over it.  y/f/n, y/m/i, Murdock.

“You...you changed your name?  You changed your name.” A tear finally falls down his cheek.

“Yes, my love, I did...finally.  I’m sorry it took me so long, I just--”

He wraps his hands around your waist and pulls you down onto his lap to kiss you, hands wrapped in your hair then move back to your waist, he buries his face into your neck and he completely let go.

“I can’t believe you did all of this...so that’s what you’ve been doing and that’s why you were always on the phone when I would call your office. No one…no one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

You stroked his hair, his face and peppered kisses on his cheeks.

“Oh Matty...I did to make our lives a little easier, plus my name change was very important to me. I just wanted it to be a surprise, that’s why I was so hush hush about it.  Again, I am so sorry, baby.”

He kisses you again, with more passion this time, circling his tongue with yours. It still gave you butterflies when he kissed you. Resting your forehead against his, pinching his chin with your thumb and forefinger, you whisper to him...

“I love you Mr. Murdock...so much.”

Gently, Matt takes your other hand and puts it up to his chest.

“You have my whole heart, Mrs. Murdock, I love you too.”

Mrs. Murdock…you really do love the sound of that.

Tag list: @freshabogados @skvatnavle @phoebe-danvers @moonlarking @matt-erialgirl @shedaresthedevil @mindidjarin

Others that might enjoy: @1800-fight-me @sobachka-korol @elgrandeavocados @mattmurdockspainkink @saintmurd0ck @wint3r-h3art @bau-jj

Please please tell me if you don’t want to be tagged, you’re not going to hurt my feelings, I’m a big girl and I can take it.

[redheadspark]

Hey babe! So happy benedict is in your list! Could you write for him with the prompts “  please don’t scare me like that again.  i can take a lot of things,  but not losing you. ”? and “ you could’ve gotten yourself killed! you could’ve— fuck!  you scared the shit outta me. ” ? I love this type of angst!!

With them already being married if it's not much to ask <3

A/N: Nice picks, anon! And Yay for another Benedict prompt! I'll do my best for you ;)

My Love

Summary: Your husband, Benedict Bridgerton, gets caught up in a storm with his brother Anthony while they are out hunting, making you fear the worst.

-----------------------------------------

Your pacing on the carpet was enough to make your mother-in-law look at you with worry and almost a hint of fear.

But you were going back and forth, back and forth. You were even biting your fingernails with worry. So much worry and fear flooding you and surrounding you as another thunderclap hit over the home.

A thunderstorm started an hour ago, and your husband and brother-in-law have not returned from their hunting session.

Earlier that day they got work of some deer coming through the area, a golden opportunity for the pair of them.

You and Benedict were visiting for the day, along with Kate and Anthony since it was a nice enough day for a family gathering out on the lawns. You recently married Benedict, no more than a few months ago and you felt beyond happy to be part of his family and a part of his life.

Benedict was everything a husband should be to you: kind, chivalrous, funny with his banter and jokes, gentle in his words and gestures. To you, he was everything and more.

But he was also a bit reckless at times.

He was more boisterous than his brother, though the eldest three Bridgerton Boys were thick as thieves and loved getting into some antics from time to time.

Yet now that Anthony and Benedict were married men, and Colin was courting Penelope, things were rolled down amongst the three of them.

Violet Bridgerton, your amazing mother-in-law, reassured you that Benedict was a good and kind man, and he's only gotten better since he met and wed you.

You believed her, and you saw it with your own eyes.

So when that afternoon came and you saw your husband and brother-in-law ride off to hunt some game, you just smirked.

"Come keep me company," Kate said in a grin, lacing your arms together, "Eloise and I are in need of someone to talk books with any who. Anthony's a bore when it comes to literature."

But that was three hours ago, and now there was a massive thunderstorm over the house.

Gregory, Francesca and Hyacinth were huddled together in the sitting room, Eloise was trying to read a book next to them but her mind was clearly distracted, Daphne and Simon were consoling them with stories and trying to distract them. Colin was standing near his mother, looking at the window himself and seemed distraught.

Kate was sitting in her own chair next to her mother-in-law, the both of them were clutching hands between them as you were still going back and forth on the carpet floor.

"Come sit, darling," Violet urged you calmly.

"I can't, mother," You replied, you own voice sounding a bit abrasive, "Not when I don't know where he is,"

"My sons are expert riders," your mother-in-law reassured him, seeing the distress no on your face and in how you walked on the carpet line, "I know they can handle this storm and make their way home safely,"

"If they don't come within the next hour, I can go out and find then myself," Simon offered from his spot with Daphne, but Violet shook her head,

"Your place is here with your wife and child, dear Simon. We must wait it out. I have faith in my sons, they will return in haste."

Another thunder clap came through, slightly shaking the walls as Hyacinth gasped in terror. Simon was consoling her, though you were still thinking about your husband being out there in the rain, in the darkness.

You loved him more than words, only wanting the best for him when it came to what he wanted in his life. You endorsed him in his art and his painting, being his number one supporter long before you two were married. He would show you his art pieces to hear your critique. Only positive critiques for him of course, which made his heart soar all the same.

To think of anything happening to him would break your heart, if not worst.

"Someone's coming over the clearing!" Colin said in a gasp, all of your heads whipped over to the massive window that was facing the lawn and was now hammered with huge raindrops. You hightailed over to the window too, picking up your dress barely to keep up as you look.

There were two horses, two figures on the top, galloping over to the house. Your heart was dropping in the possibility that it might not be him or Anthony. But as the figures were coming closer, you felt a massive wave of relief on your face.

It was them. Deep down you knew it was them.

"Thank the heavens!" Violet said in a massive sigh of relief as you all rushed over to the front doors. You were moving so fast that you almost tripped over your dress just to get to the doors.

As soon as your hands were on the doors, they were pulled open and the rain was splattering all over your face. The darkness of the storms was in front of your eyes, but with one flash of lightening, you saw the face that you were aching to see. You cried out in relief.

Your husband. Drenched in water but alive.

"Oh, Darling," You gasped, Benedict scooping you up in his wet and drenched arms as he held you close. Anthony walked past you into Kate's awaiting arms, the pair of them embracing as you were still holding Benedict closely your arms. He even lifted you, your foreheads touching and noses barely nuzzling each other as your eyes were closed.

Benedict sighed in relief, his sigh almost sounded broken and jagged as you two were embracing one another out in the open and in the rain.

"Come inside, for God's sake!" Violet said to the pair of you, Benedict pulled back and stared at you for one more moment as another flash of lightening came through. You stared in amazement as his face light up from the lightening flash, the smooth skin you always yearned to touch, the light eyes that you would get lost in from time to time, and the brown locks of hair that you ran your fingers in when you two were alone.

He was alive and safe. He was safe in your arms.

Benedict carried the pair of you into the house, the door finally closing behind you and you were surrounded in warmth again. He placed you on the ground, you two still staring at each other as you were searching his body for any signs of injuries or any harmful on him.

"Thank God you two are alright! What happened?" Violet asked as Benedict was finally pulled out of his trance to stare at your family. They were all relived, Anthony was taking off his drenched jacket while Kate too was looking him over.

"We were deep in the woods when the storm started. Took us forever to get out," Anthony explained as he pressed a kiss to Kate's head, handing his jacket to a servant, "We almost got stuck in a mudslide,"

"What?!" You said in a gasp to Benedict now, seeing him look down at you while he was shrugging off his own jacket. He shook his head too, seeing the fear on your face.

"It was nothing we couldn't handle, darling," He reassured you, seeing you shivering from being out in the rain in his arms, "Come, let's get warmed up in my old room, okay?"

You nodded, trying hard not to cry in fort of your family and in front of your husband. You were so relived he was there and alive that you were overcome with emotions that you tried to bury. Yo were always taught to be composed in front of others, not to be emotional or brash.

But one of the first things Benedict ever told you when you got together, was how he admired you being truthful with your feelings and emotions. You never hid what you were expressing to him, you never wanted to anyhow.

This was just the same.

Benedict had his arm around you, walking you up the stairs to his old room that still had some of his old things in there that he never brought with him to your new little home after you married.

Once he closed the doors, he walked over to stand in front of you, still drenched in rain water from the top of his head to his boots as he was seeing the distress look on your face. You were barely wet compared to him, yet he was consoling you and making sure you were alright.

"Darling, I can see on your face that you were worried--" he stared to say, which opened the floodgate with you.

"Of course I was worried!" You said in a gasp, his eyes going wide and his mouth shutting instantly as you went on, "I thought of the worst, Benedict! You were gone for hours! I had no idea if you were hurt, let alone dead!"

"Hey, hey easy!" Benedict said to you, rubbing your arms as you were pouring your eyes into his and having fresh tears escape your eyelashes, "I'm alright, I promise! I would never do something that would put me in harms way. I swear to you,"

"I know, I know that," You said to him in agreement, noticing that you were getting worked up. You took in some breaths then, feeling rather foolish in how you were acting in front of your husband when he was alive and well.

"You could’ve gotten yourself killed! You could’ve— fuck!  You scared the shit outta me.” you huffed, releasing the last of the fear within you as you confessed this to him. Benedict's eyes flickered, hearing you curse in front of him. He sighed leaning down to touch your forehead with his like he did moments before in the rain. It was almost like a small intimate gesture you two would do together constantly, away from wandering eyes and pondering questions.

"I would never made you feel that way about me, ever. My dear wife, I am here and I am safe. I don't ever want to scare you, and I'm sorry if I did," he said soothingly, pressing a gentle kiss on your forehead as you curled into him. You breathed him in, the scent of rain and the unique scent of your husband filling your lungs and making you beyond glad he was there.

"Just...all I ask is please don’t scare me like that again.  I can take a lot of things,  but not losing you," You said to him, muffled into his wet chest as he pressed another kiss against your head.

"I would never," He replied, "And I won't do that again. I promise you, dear wife,"

You then released him, watching him with some fondness as he changed out of his drenched clothes to get into something warm. Although you were still wet yourself, you could wait for a few more minutes just to make sure your husband was taken care off. He moved swiftly, not too fast or too slow for you liking.

Finally, he was perched on the edge of his old bed in fresh warm clothes, ruffling his drying hair with his fingers as you walked over with a small smile on your lips. He was looking down at his lap when you placed your finger under his chin. You made him look up, seeing his piercing eyes stare at you with nothing but love on his face and in his orbs.

He stared at your attire up and down, almost in a sultry way now as he licked his lips. You knew that stare before, and it made you stomach flip.

"You are still wet, my lovely wife," he said to you, almost in an alluring way as he reached out to touch a part of your dress. You grinned at him, no longer needing to fear for him. You were rather watching him with your own alluring eyes.

"Well, will you help me out of these wet clothes then, my dear husband?" You asked, seeing his smile get wider.

God you loved this man, through and through.

[floralseokjin]

⤑ made-up love song ii.

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher living with your best friend, and have never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire.

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader  au/genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, eventual smut, eventual angst, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, things are heating up! the phrase ‘dilf dick’ gets thrown around way too much, RJ and taehyung cameo, hoseok, yoongi and namjoon are mentioned, as well as jungkook if you squint words; 12,169

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

After Seokjin dropped you off at the station, he and Arin waving you goodbye, it would be two weeks later when you saw him again. Not that you were holding out on it or anything… No way… That would be ludicrous.  

The last week of school was always hectic, activities and games top priority now that teaching had come to a standstill. The children were hyper, the teacher’s worn out, but without fail you always looked forward to the summer fate. Head of the committee every year, you and a handful of your fellow teachers organised each game, each stall and each prize. As well as wanting the children to have fun, it was also an opportunity to celebrate their achievements throughout the year with their families. There were an arrange of awards for most subjects, third through to first place for each grade, and this year you’d convinced the principal, Mr. Jung, to include a new creative writing award. It wasn’t technically a subject – you already had the spelling bee for English class, but he’d thought it was a great idea to celebrate the students’ talents in a brand new way. 

Of course, there was one child you had in mind when you’d gone to him with the idea – Arin. It was only fair in your eyes, she’d been with you not even three months and hadn’t had a chance like the other kids. The other awards were spoken for but you wanted her to at least get something, just so first grade could end on a good note for her and help her look forward to September. 

You were at the entrance of the fate, in casual conversation with Mrs. Jeon as well as greeting the students’ families, when you caught a glimpse of Seokjin. He was hand in hand with Arin who skipped happily beside him. He was wearing a sea green thin sweater, that blew in the light breeze, and black jeans. He was even in sneakers. Way more unbelievable than the slippers. He looked effortlessly good, and you thought you preferred him like this, casually dressed. The suits were great yes, but he looked far more attainable like this. Not that you wanted to attain him. 

Damn it. 

You tried your best to ignore the strange heat that had seemed to settle in your chest at the sight of him, the faintest flurry of what could only be described as butterflies aggravating your stomach. What the hell? What was wrong with you? 

“Hello, Miss.” Arin grinned, giving you a small wave, and you shook yourself out of it. 

“Hi, Arin,” you waved back, of course catching Seokjin’s eyes in the process. 

“Miss. Y/L/N,” he greeted, the hint of a smirk across his mouth. Teasing, again. Two could play at that game. 

“Mr. Kim,” you replied, unable to keep a straight face – especially when you heard him laugh as he passed by you. 

You watched him walk off, secretly pleased now that you knew he was here. You wouldn’t admit it out loud, wouldn’t dare tell anyone, but you’d been hoping he’d be free to attend the fate. To see Arin receive her reward, of course – nothing else. But, okay, maybe you had spent an embarrassingly long time choosing which dress to wear last night. Not that you wanted to impress him, more like… stand out. 

“Who is he?” Mrs. Jeon whispered animatedly – hopefully out of earshot and once again knocking some sense back into you. 

You tried to sound casual, like you weren’t aware of Seokjin’s jaw-dropping good looks – or more so, that they didn’t affect you whatsoever. “A student’s father.”

She made a noise of disbelief. “He is just pure… sex on legs.”

“Eunbi!” You exclaimed, taken by such surprise you used her first name. She burst out laughing, something you couldn’t ignore and ended up in a fit of giggles yourself. 

“Behave.” You warned, trying to compose yourself. “You’re a married woman.” You’d attended her wedding last summer, bringing along Soojung as your plus one. 

“Looking is still allowed,” she replied, making you both explode into laughter once again. 

You were giddy. Really, what was up with you?

.

.

The afternoon was a success, the children and their families enjoying immensely, as well as the teachers. It was your job to announce the creative writing reward and it was so heart-warming to see how happy it made Arin to come first place. She held her little trophy and movie theatre vouchers proudly for the camera, Seokjin looking just as over the moon as her. Mr. Jung convinced him to join for a few snaps and you looked on with a polite smile. Other than earlier and a thank you as you passed the prize to Arin, those had been your only interactions with Seokjin for the day and now the fate was drawing to a close. You wouldn’t say you were disappointed, because that would be preposterous, but if those were going to be your only exchanges then it made the times he’d fleeted into your mind these past couple of weeks highly embarrassing… 

It wasn’t as if you wanted to think about him, he just kept popping up. First you blamed Soojung, who wouldn’t shut up about Mr. Dilf for a few days after the exchange at his house (mansion), but soon the topic bored her, no new developments to keep her hooked. You on the other hand found yourself imagining instances where you’d bump into one another again. You know, happenstances… Like if he had the time to drop Arin off at school, although you doubted he’d end up in the staff parking lot again… You’d had a good giggle to yourself remembering his face when he’d realised. 

Other incidents were less realistic, like maybe he’d drop off a thank you present the students liked to gift to say goodbye, or maybe you’d bump into him at the grocery store, the park – highly improbable, but you found yourself thinking all these things when you were procrastinating or trying to get to sleep. 

Even now as you tried to win a prize at the Ring Toss stall – don’t ask how much money you’d already spent – (obviously using your free time wisely before you were needed again), you found yourself disappointed that things hadn’t worked out quite like you’d imagined today. You were being stupid. The guy was supposed to annoy the heck out of you, yet here you were unable to stop thinking about him. It had been a long time since a man had gotten you this distracted. A really long time… 

“Can I help?”

You jumped at the sound of Seokjin’s voice, granted you were in deep concentration, about to launch the hoop, but you felt like you’d been caught doing something wrong. As if he knew you’d been thinking about him, caught you in the act. You whipped your head up, forcing yourself to relax and smile. 

“I’ve been watching you try to win for the past ten minutes.” He chuckled. Great. How embarrassing. He stepped closer. “What do you have your eyes so set on?”

Oh, god. Even more embarrassing. You had a split second to make a decision. Be truthful or lie and choose something else. You know what, who cared? You were thirty and still loved stuffed animals. It wasn’t out of the ordinary. 

“The alpaca.” You pointed to the white fluffy animal sat on the top shelf. With his cute round face and a red scarf wrapped around his neck, he was adorable and you really wanted him. 

Seokjin wasn’t fazed at all. “He’s cute. I’ll try but don’t get your hopes up, okay?” 

You nodded and handed him the hoops. He needed to loop all three around the skittles. You watched him with anticipation, thinking to yourself this definitely wasn’t one of your fantasies, but you liked it regardless. Liked it even better when Seokjin managed to win. 

“Thank you, Seokjin,” you smiled, his name still feeling strange to say aloud. The man in charge of the game passed you your new ‘pet’ and you held it fondly, unable to stop yourself. Your landlord didn’t allow animals so you’d had to improvise over the years. You’d never had an alpaca before, but you were sure he’d fit right in. 

“No problem, I’m glad I could be of service.” He chuckled. 

There was a silence. It wasn’t uncomfortable but it was new. You were so used to Seokjin joking about you were expecting him to take the lead. Today he was quiet, actually right now he looked pretty awkward. 

You opened your mouth to ask him how he was when you suddenly realised something. How stupid of you. You’d been so distracted by the stuffed animal you hadn’t realised a little certain someone was missing. “Where’s Arin?”

“She’s playing with a friend and their family.” You watched him scratch the back of his neck, looking at you, but not really making eye contact. “Y/N, do you maybe want to take a walk? We could find some where to sit and talk?”

“About what?” You could’ve kicked yourself. Why did you have to ask that? You were just a little dazed from hearing him say your name again. 

“Uh, just about Arin really.” 

You didn’t really know what you’d been expecting so any answer would’ve surprised you, but you nodded, taking him up on the offer. “Okay.” 

You knew a bench away from the fate but still on school grounds, and you walked side by side, noticing just how tall and broad he was. His shoulders looked unbelievable in that sweater, and it hugged his chest perfectly when the light breeze of the afternoon hit him, his well-built chest visible. Not that you were staring or anything, you just happened to notice… 

You small talked along the way. Not much, mostly about the fate, but it was enough for you to hit your destination without any awkward silence. You wracked your brains as you sat, wondering what he had to say about Arin. Maybe he wanted to discuss her stories more, thank you for the prize she’d won. What you did know though, was that his cologne really did smell amazing. It was woody, maybe spicy, and just plain addicting. This close proximity was wreaking havoc with you again. You sat the alpaca between you both on bench, acting as a barrier for your sanity. 

Seokjin patted its head absentmindedly before he side-eyed you, that amused smile you’d become familiar with upturning the corners of his mouth. “You seem a lot less scrappy today.”

You raised both eyebrows, thrown for a moment. “Scrappy?”

“Yes,” he chuckled, “a lot less intimidating.” 

You? Intimidating? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? The sheer power of Seokjin’s brow line alone could bring a person to quivering knees, and that wasn’t mentioning the obvious, like you know, his face. However, he seemed genuine enough. You didn’t really consider yourself feisty, but then again, when pushed to your limits maybe something just snapped inside of you. You had powers you weren’t aware of, obviously. Better own them then…

You gave a small shrug, smirking slightly. “Maybe I’ve chosen to forgive and forget.” 

He chuckled again, genuinely amused, but you sensed some reluctance his end, a slight awkwardness. Was he stalling? You suddenly grew a little nervous. The dynamics you’d grown somewhat used to during your last few encounters had shifted without you knowing. Seokjin was a lot less teasing today. How come? 

“So,” you pressed carefully, unable to handle the anticipation. “What was it you wanted to say?” 

He lifted his head up, warm eyes meeting yours and your insides did that flurrying thing again. Your imagination hadn’t concocted this. When he smiled you realised how kind it was – how kind it could be when he wasn’t being infuriating. “I just want to thank you.” 

Your eyes widened before you could control the surprise. “Thank me?” 

He nodded, relaxing a little now, pressing his back into the bench. “For being such an amazing teacher to Arin these past couple of months.” 

Of course, Arin. That’s what he’d said in the beginning, right? He wanted to sit and talk about Arin.

“That’s really no problem,” you smiled. It was your job after all. Yes, teachers liked being appreciated for their hard work, but personally, praise sent you a little red in the face. 

You didn’t know if he heard you, already continuing, as if he’d rehearsed what he wanted to say. “It’s been really hard on her, the change – you know, uprooting the life she knew to come and live with me. New school, making new friends. She was incredibly worried, but you made it so much easier for her.” 

Looking at you again, sounding so genuine, you found yourself freezing. You stumbled a little over your words before managing to come up with something functional. “Of course, it’s my job to make every student comfortable in my class.” You were sure any teacher would’ve treated her with the same kindness and care. But, yes, truthfully you had become very fond of her in such a short time. You wanted him to know that in a roundabout way. “I’ll miss her come September.” 

He gave you an appreciative smile. “She’ll miss you too.” 

Serious Seokjin always threw you. Maybe it was because you had to accept that you’d misjudged him completely. He wasn’t the rich pompous jerk you’d first thought the morning he’d hit your car. You had to admit that like this he impressed and intrigued you. It was why you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him these past two weeks. Which was stupid because you doubted he was doing the same.  

“Thanks for choosing her to win that writing competition, by the way.” His voice brought you back to Earth, concentrating on him again to find that mischievous grin all over his face. “Even if you didn’t like the way it ended.” 

You scoffed. Was he ever going to drop that? He knew that wasn’t the case. He’d asked for the damn pointer himself. “Well, if Lewis Carroll did it.” 

“Kim Arin can too?” He finished, both of you instantly laughing. Once it petered off, he tilted his head to the side, gazing at you almost. It made you fidget a little, getting flustered. “She’s really fond of you. I meant what I said at the parent-teacher meeting.”

God, you really were horrendous at taking compliments. Especially from a man that already made you feel funny. 

“She’s always speaking about how kind and lovely you are.” A pause. "...How pretty you are.” You froze. He hesitated, contemplating something in his head it seemed. He looked you straight in the eyes and said casually, “I have to admit, I agree." 

Oh. What?! You felt heat begin to travel up your face, your cheeks burning and you prayed it wasn't visible. You didn't know what to reply, but thankfully (perhaps) Seokjin simply carried on, hopefully oblivious to your awkward reaction. You should bypass it too. It probably didn't mean anything. He was just being polite, right? 

“Realising it was your car I hit made me feel even guiltier." He shook his head regretfully. "I really am sorry for all that. The damage, stealing your car." 

"It's fine, Seokjin." He hadn’t really stolen your car, you’d been extremely overdramatic there. He'd apologised enough already. You were over it. You had two days left of school, the summer all yours, your mood was much better. Let bygones be bygones. 

“Yeah but, I should’ve never gotten your car towed. I realise I was out of line. You said you didn’t want my help but I didn’t listen." 

You nodded, listening to him, aware he needed to say this. Again, it seemed as if he'd rehearsed it almost, or maybe it was the professional in him. You were too damn stubborn so he wasn't all to blame. You smiled appreciatively, fighting your hand's strange urge to pat his shoulder. It was maybe best that you didn't touch him. Instead you gave a teasing grin. “But you still won’t let me pay you back?” 

He whined – or at least that's the only way you could describe it. It tugged at something inside your chest. Maybe it was more like a wail. Less cute. He couldn't believe you were back on that. 

"I'm just messing around," you laughed, trying to compose yourself to let him know something too. “While we're on apologies... I'm sorry for being so short with you annnd for calling you a car thief."

He chuckled, brushing a hand through his hair. Oh, it was pushed back above his forehead again today. You hadn't noticed, too distracted by what? His sneakers? The outfit as a whole? His face? “I deserved it, let’s be honest." 

"Maybe in the beginning," you admitted carefully, causing him to laugh harder. 

“I was way too preoccupied when I hit you. With work and promising Arin I’d drop her off at school – because shamefully I’d never done it before." He turned a little pensive at that, lost in his own thoughts. 

“You must be really busy," you said, voice soft. There was no way he could do it all. Work seemingly six days a week and still try to be there for Arin 24/7. 

He looked across at you, an eyebrow quirking slightly. What was he surprised by? That you were sympathising with him? He nodded slowly. “It’s just hard learning to juggle everything.   Don’t get me wrong, I love having her with me every day, but...”

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon.” You wanted to say it would be summer break soon enough, but then on second thoughts, maybe that would make things even harder. 

“Yeah, maybe,” he shrugged, changing the subject back to you. “Besides, me being busy doesn’t really excuse the fact I hit you. I mean, what if god forbid you’d been walking past my car instead, it doesn’t bear thinking about.” He looked beside himself at just the idea. 

“But I wasn’t,” you reminded him, “so it’s perfectly okay.” 

“You’re right,” he murmured, giving you a small smile that rounded his cheeks.  

There was silence then, where you waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t. Was that all he’d wanted to talk about? To thank you for being a kind teacher to Arin and to say sorry once again for the car debacle? For some reason you felt eager to keep the conversation going. It was an urge deep inside you that acted on its own accord. 

“So, what do you do?” You asked, trying your best to sound casual. Not that you weren’t casual. You just didn’t want to make it seem like you were desperate for small talk. “If you don’t mind me asking.” 

Again, he looked vaguely surprised. What, that you were interested in him? No, that was phrased wrong. That you were interested. He didn’t meet your eyes as he replied.  “I, uh, I’m the CEO of LG. I took over from my father about three years ago.” 

You swore your eyes bugged out of their sockets you were so overcome with shock. You were glad he wasn’t looking at you as you tried to pull it together. “The LG?”

Like one of the biggest companies in the country LG? He was way too young surely? Weren’t those type of CEOs old and round looking?  

Seokjin chuckled, finally looking you in the eyes. “Unless you know another one.” 

You were speechless, well aware you needed to actually say something in reply instead of gawping but what? What could you say to that? “I guess that explains why you’re always so busy then.” 

God, why? Of all the things, why that? Well done for stating the obvious, Y/N. 

Seokjin gave you a modest smile. “It’s difficult, yes. Trying to manage work and being effectively a single dad, but I really am trying.” He shook his head slightly, as if he was telling himself off. “I missed her so much these past couple of years, so to finally have her living with me is a dream come true. I’m trying to be the best father I can but I guess it’s a work in progress.” 

You weren’t expecting him to be this open with you at all. But maybe Soojung wouldn’t be so surprised. She and a bunch of your other friends, even acquittances said that you were easy to confide in. That you listened well and didn’t try to solve everything. You didn’t know how true that was but you didn’t mind listening to him right now. Sometimes confiding in a stranger just worked. 

“Arin obviously adores you.” You smiled. “I could see that the day I dropped your car back.”

He gave you a tiny smile of thanks but sighed softly. “I just want her to always be happy. I know coming from a broken home may make that statement hypocritical but…”

“Not at all,” you insisted. “If a relationship isn’t working out then you need to do what’s best for your child, and you.” That was important too. “I mean, my parents divorced when I was quite young and I have a million and one happy memories growing up.” 

You grew a little self-conscious, thinking that you were oversharing, but he seemed happy to hear it, perking up a little. “Really?” 

“Yep. They beat the ones I have of them yelling at one another.” 

He gave a bitter chuckle then, nodding in agreement. “That’s right. It’s just…” He paused and you wondered if he was going to carry on. Was it bad that you felt curious? You liked seeing this side of Seokjin, it wasn’t how your fantasies had gone at all, it was better. Things had taken an unexpected turn but it just seemed to fit. It seemed natural. It felt nice to talk to him like this. Suddenly you didn’t seem so different. Despite the contrasts in your job and lifestyle, they weren’t very apparent here on this bench… 

“My ex-wife is… she lives a busy life – even busier than mine. But she loves it. She goes looking for it.” Seokjin explained. You listened politely. “That’s why Arin had to start living with me, and even though I’m pulled thin, I still try to make enough time for my daughter, no matter the day, no matter the time, no matter anything. Nana doesn’t…”

Nana? That was her name. You imagined someone slim and beautiful, it was only fitting seeing as Seokjin was the man she was married to once upon a time. Beauty attracted beauty. 

“Is that why you divorced?” Okay, maybe you were prying now. You hoped he didn’t find it rude. 

He didn’t. “There were a lot of reasons,” he answered honestly. “It was as much my fault as it was hers. We were going in different directions and had fallen out of love. It’s been a while now, nearly two years, I’m fine.” He met your eyes at the last part, as if he wanted you to understand that. Or maybe you were reading it wrong. Why would he want you to know that? 

“Does she live far?” You remembered Arin’s disappointment that weekend when her mom had cancelled their plans. Maybe she lived a while away and it was hard to commute with Arin back and forth. 

“No, just in the next city. It’s not far at all. She’s really high up in an accounting firm there. That’s why when we divorced I moved closer to my building here. See, that’s what annoys me the most,” Seokjin scoffed, an edge to his voice now. Oh shoot, you’d made a mistake with that question. “It’s really no distance at all, so why can’t she spare one single day for Arin?” 

You made a sympathetic face, unsure what to say. You decided on honesty. “I’m sorry, I can’t even begin to imagine how all that feels.” 

Break-ups and divorces were hard yes, but when a child was stuck in the middle a tonne of other complications arose. As a teacher you understood that very well, but as a long-time single woman, maybe not. It had been a while since you’d opened your heart to someone, your life taking a very different turn to what you’d expected three years ago. Not that you minded, you liked where you were heading right now, comfortable and at ease. There was nothing missing. You had your friends and family and that was enough. You hoped Seokjin had people around him too.  

“No, I’m the one that should apologise,” he said suddenly, face tinged with colour, as if he was embarrassed. “I’m offloading onto you, that isn’t fair.” 

“I don’t mind.” Honestly, you didn’t at all. It wasn’t even offloading, more so a conversation. You were getting to know him. 

“You’re just so easy to talk to and I got a bit caught off guard when you started asking about me.” He admitted, his warm eyes finding yours. 

Oh. So now you knew for definite he was indeed surprised by all your questions. When was the last time he’d spoken about all that stuff relating his ex-wife? Had he ever spoken about it at all? 

“I haven’t been entirely honest with you today.”

His words caught your attention, interrupting your thoughts and in the process confusing you greatly. You raised a questioning eyebrow. What did he mean? 

“When I asked you to take a walk I did want to thank you for being so kind to Arin and to apologise for the car trouble, but there was also something else…” You waited patiently, heart thudding quite roughly against your chest for some reason. He looked nervous again. Nervous and awkward just like earlier, before you’d distracted him. 

He chose a new direction. One that left you a little dazed. “Y/N, would I be crossing the line if I said I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you lately?” His dark brown eyes searched for any reaction across your face. 

“Me?” You asked quietly. 

He chuckled bashfully. “Yeah.”

Somehow you found your voice. Well, some of it anyway. “No, it’s not crossing the line.” You wanted to tell him just the same. How he’d slipped into your mind at random times of the day and how you’d secretly been holding out on another meeting. How you’d been anticipating today. But none of that came in your stunned state. Seokjin had been thinking about you? The annoying, exasperating so-and-so hadn’t been able to stop thinking about you? 

He instantly looked relieved – and pleased – at your answer. “I’m glad.” A pause as he hesitated. “Do you maybe want to… go out for dinner this Saturday?” He sounded hopeful, adding quickly, “with me, obviously.”

You would’ve giggled at that but nothing was working. You needed to process his question. He was asking you for dinner? 

“My way of apologising for everything, my treat…” You guessed he felt the need to explain now, a little panicked by your reaction (or no reaction.) “For hitting your car and towing it away without your permission.” 

You laughed then. Just like that your shock dispersing. He was so oblivious it hurt, and now you knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose. He really was that unaware. “So you want to spend more of your money on me?”

You weren’t mad, of course. He knew that, laughing too as he weighed up your reply. “I see the problem.” You snickered, your gaze intimately locking with his in the process. “So, what do you say?” He murmured. “I mean, it’s for a plethora of things really. The car business, all you’ve done for Arin. One massive thank you.” 

Oh. You were getting mixed messages here. Was this an apology dinner, a thank you dinner? Or something more? Maybe he read the questioning in your eyes because he was rushing to say more. “As well as just wanting to enjoy your company. I feel like I talked too much about myself today, I’d like to get to know you too…”  

Okay, now this sounded awfully like a date… And that word freaked you out. Had you not just been thinking about how happily single you’d been for three years and how all you needed were your friends and family? But honestly, you were getting ahead of yourself. It was one dinner. There was no way to predict the outcome and you shouldn’t even be thinking that far ahead. Sometimes you didn’t need to think. You needed to remember that. Sometimes it was just good to act in the moment. Take cautious to the wind and accept this incredibly handsome man’s dinner invitation, whatever his intention was. 

You smiled. “Dinner sounds lovely.” 

Seokjin’s eyes widened a tad, surprise visible and he didn’t try to hide it. “Really?” You laughed and nodded. Really you should be the one still shocked, because despite everything – the misjudgements, the attitude, the way you’d been itching for numerous fights with him, it was a wonder why he still wanted to be anywhere near you. …Maybe he liked that… Maybe he liked you? Or were you absolutely barking mad?  

“Can I have your number to arrange everything?” 

You went to relay it to him, watching him pull his phone from out his front jean pocket but then remembered something. “Oh, I already have yours, should I just text you?”

“That’s my work phone. Maybe we should swap personal phone numbers?” 

You mean, you only had one phone, but it made sense why he had two. You were still stuck on the personal part though. A little dazed (and excited) as he saved your number into his phonebook. Your phone was locked up in your classroom, so you couldn’t take his but no matter, you’d just save it once he messaged you. 

Seokjin glanced at his watch – an expensive looking thing, but that was really no surprise now – and hummed. “We should head back, the fate will be finishing soon.” 

You made more small talk as you walked back, Seokjin wondering if you had any allergies or a special diet so he could bear it in mind when he chose a restaurant. Luckily for you no, but you found out that he was allergic to garlic and potatoes, which seemed ridiculous and highly unfair. But he did admit that he ignored it sometimes, which resulted in disaster often because garlic made him itch like crazy. You had a good laugh over that. 

“So, what are you going to name him?” Seokjin asked, stroking the top of your alpaca’s head who was hooked against your hip as you walked.  

“Hm. I don’t know.” You shrugged, turning to him. “You decide? You did win him after all.” 

“Hmmm,” he thought aloud. A few seconds later he came up with something. “How about RJ?”

“RJ?” 

Seokjin chuckled. “Yeah, it’s cute.” 

Smiling, you had to agree. “Yeah, it is.” You held the stuffed animal up in front of you, tilting your head to the side. “RJ the alpaca. Perfect.” 

Still walking as you spoke, you felt Seokjin move in, hovering his hand behind the small of your back in case you stumbled, your attention elsewhere. You felt the same warmth you had the day he’d called you by your name for the first time… 

Of course you had to tell Soojung about the events of the day. It wasn't as if you could keep it a secret – and it wasn't as if you wanted to, you just knew what would happen... She was like a dog with a bone, unable to give it up, making you recall every minute detail down to the socks he was wearing (black, by the way, to match his jeans. You had indeed noticed). 

“He’s so smart. He waits until you’re not this kid’s teacher anymore and then BAM, do you want to go on a date?”

“Soojung, it’s not a date," you sighed. “He’s just…being nice." 

You were still reluctant to call it a date, because well, he hadn't used the word himself. You didn't want to get your hopes up. Although you would never admit that to her, you knew she understood, in her own roundabout way. 

“Being nice?!” She exclaimed, scoffing absurdly loud. 

You shrugged. “Yeah, thanking me." 

She spluttered, as if she found you terribly naive. “What, thanks for being kind to my daughter? SHUT UP, it’s your job! No, he wants to give you that Dilf dick!" 

“Oh, my god. Soojung!” You hushed, immediately feeling your face burn. The thought hadn't even crossed your mind because it was so unbelievable. 

Saturday was not that long away, the last two days of school flew by, and whilst you were emotional, your mind was also a little too preoccupied with the weekend and what it all meant. Gradually, you’d finally had to admit to yourself that this was probably, most definitely a date. The word sent a fear through your body like no other. Despite being single for three years, you had been on a few first dates in that time, and obviously they had never led to anything. In fact, it had been over a year since your last and that's when you had sworn off dating altogether. 

Min Yoongi. That was the last guy you'd said yes too. A fifth grade teacher at Primrose Hill up until last September. (That had nothing to do with you, by the way, he'd just moved cities last summer to pursue a different career. The date hadn't been that bad...) He was easy on the eye and funny, although maybe a little too sarcastic at times, so much so, you hadn't been able to pick up on the signals until he was cornering you in the staff room and asking you to watch a movie with him that coming weekend. Being both teachers, you'd assumed you'd hit it off straight away, but that wasn't the case. It turned out that Yoongi pretty much hated his job, only there for the extended vacations. That was perfectly fine, you guessed, but you realised that a man like that wasn't for you. How could you both love and hate the same job? It just wasn't feasible. 

You didn't miss dating, mostly because you hadn't been that into the idea anyway. But now? Now that the idea had presented itself again? After the most peculiar string of events, you had suddenly found yourself being asked out for dinner by the man who had hit your car, and you were… excited. For the first time in forever, you were excited for a date.  

You hadn’t felt like this since –

Since Donghae. 

Even thinking his name turned your heart heavy. Not as bad as the original heartbreak three years ago, but the memory was still enough to dampen your mood, if even for a moment. You'd met one another during your last year of college and had stayed together for the next five years. He'd been your forever man, the one you were supposed to spend the rest of your life with – he had proposed to you on your 26th birthday after all... Only, being his fiancé hadn't lasted. Since months later he confessed to cheating on you – repeatedly with a girl that worked in the Starbucks near his work building. It had been the pressure of settling down, that's what he'd told you. He was still young, had been very young when you'd gotten together in college and he wanted to experience life properly. His friends were out clubbing every weekend while he stayed inside playing boardgames with you and your friends. Your friends, as if they weren't his too, as if you all hadn't been joined at the hip in college... 

Your life had pretty much crumbled after that. Everything you'd known had been ripped from under your feet and you had no idea what to do or where to go. One day you had been someone's wife-to-be and the next you were a lonely, broken human. You moved in with Soojung, had to take a month off work because you couldn't function properly, and slowly had to learn how to live your life without the love of your life. 

It took a while, but gradually you got there. You and Soojung found a new, bigger place to live – where you still lived now – and you found ways to stop thinking about him, went on weekend vacations and started new hobbies. It took just over a year to feel yourself again but dating never seemed right. 

Soojung slowly encouraged you to try it out, but the handful that happened in that twelve month period just felt forced – even the one with Yoongi, which had pretty much happened organically (as in, Soojung hadn't set it up…), felt like it was missing something. In a way you knew you were comparing everyone to Donghae, you couldn't help it. You couldn't imagine potentially falling in love with someone else again. He was all you'd known for so long, and once upon a time your relationship had been amazing. He'd been amazing. Getting out of that mindset had been difficult, but there had been an even more difficult one... One you were still struggling with now. The issue of opening up your heart again. 

Truthfully, that's why you’d stayed single for so long. Why you'd given up on dating and didn't want to know. The thought of you meeting and falling for someone only to inevitably get hurt again terrified you. You wouldn't say you had trust issues, you knew not every man was like Donghae, but just imagining your world crumbling like it had three years ago was enough to just give up. 

It wasn't like you were unhappy though. You’d meant all that stuff about liking where your life was heading. You had your friends and family and a job you loved. Your life was fulfilling, there was nothing missing. But maybe that’s what you’d needed to realise… Life worked in mysterious ways. Once you were happy and content maybe it was finally time to open up your heart again. 

The truth was, you were very, very attracted to Seokjin. You felt something, even when you wanted to poke his eyeballs out for being so annoying. Actually, thinking about it, maybe that’s why you’d been so scrappy, your mind was fighting with your heart… Despite the obvious differences between you both, you oddly weren’t fazed by that right now. Seokjin didn’t seem unrelatable in that sense. Yes, your lives were crazy different, but there was something between you. You were sure of it. The way he’d opened up to you on that bench, the way he’d smiled at you, and even the way he’d teased you. It had to mean something. 

Sometimes it was okay to trust your heart. That warm feeling weaving its way through your chest… Sometimes it was okay to be a little exposed. Not everyone was out to get you. 

What was the worst that could happen? The dinner never led to anything else? That would be okay, you’d get over it. But what if it did lead to something more…? 

You deserved to find out, right? 

Saturday morning you received a text from Seokjin. You were eating breakfast at the small table you had set up in the kitchen alongside Soojung. She had only just woken up and was still a little bleary eyed but still managed to instantly perk up at the mention of Seokjin. She demanded to see his message straight away. 

Unknown (9:32am)  Hi Y/N,  It’s Kim Seokjin, Arin’s father. Just wondering if you still want to have dinner tonight? If so, please let me know and I will send through the restaurant details. We can decide on a time for me to pick you up.  Regards, Seokjin 

She squealed. “This guy writes his texts like they’re emails. You just know he’s going to be a good lay.”

“Soojung,” you groaned.  She would not shut up about Dilf dick this and Dilf dick that. “What does that even mean?” 

“He’s a CEO,” she said simply, eyes wide as if that explained everything. “Of one of this country’s biggest companies. That’s like some type of erotic novel shit.” 

You groaned loudly, dropping your head into your hands, but she still continued – sadly. 

“But none of that creepy Fifty Shades of Grey stuff. This guy is a real gentleman. Like he puts your pleasure above all else. I think he’d be really good at going down on a woman.”

By this point, you’d stopped feeling flustered by her insane claims. They were just normal now. She was unbelievable. Why was she even thinking of these things and where did she come up with them? You didn’t want to think of Seokjin like that because you really wanted to keep your sanity for tonight. Plus, no way were you ready for something like that yet. You hoped Seokjin wasn’t anticipating something more. You were sure he wasn’t, you hadn’t gotten those vibes. Soojung was just being dumb. 

You rolled your eyes. “You don’t half talk some shit.” 

You wanted her to point out how cute his text was instead. Like how he’d said he was Arin’s father, you know, just in case you’d forgotten who he was in two days, but no, she was too caught up on potential erotic novel titles. 

You slipped to the side with a start when Soojung nudged your shoulder, getting all up into your personal space as she teased you. “I’m right though, huh?” 

You pushed her back. “This is just a dinner. Not the start of an erotic novel.”

She shrugged. “I’d read it.”

“What would you read?”

Taehyung’s voice appeared from the doorway and you both looked up to see him leaning against it, eyes still pretty much glued shut, his thick hair pulled all ways. 

“Good morning, sleepy head,” Soojung greeted, standing up to make her way towards him. You watched her wrap her arms around his middle, nuzzling into him. She’d only left him in bed not half an hour ago. Seeing your best friend in love was odd but nice. You weren’t used to sappy Soojung, but you had to admit it suited her well. They were cute together. 

Taehyung wrapped one arm around his girlfriend and lifted the other to his face, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. “What are you guys yelling about down here? You woke me up.” 

“Y/N’s date tonight,” 

“Oh, Mr. Dilf?” He sniggered, perking up. 

Soojung screeched and joined in. “CEO Dilf dick.” 

“You told him?!” You whined, standing to dump your bowl in the sink. 

“Of course.” Taehyung smiled smugly. “She tells me everything. Don’t you, babe?”

“Yep.” She grinned. You watched in minor amusement as Taehyung leant down to peck her mouth, Soojung gagging loudly. “Your breath stinks.” 

.

.

You replied to Seokjin promptly – well as soon as Soojung and Taehyung had vacated the kitchen – and not long after that he messaged back with the restaurant details, asking if it was okay to pick you up at 7pm. You sent him your address, almost immediately freaking out. You knew his wealth hadn't fazed you that bad, seeing as he was so easy to talk to, but your place and his place were on different planes of existence. You knew it wouldn't bother him, he wasn't like that, you knew that now, but you were still a little self-conscious. It was probably the nerves regarding today. The reality was setting it. The slight doubt… 

Soojung wasn't helping. 

“There’s steaks on the menu that are more than our rent a week," she awed, looking down at her phone. 

Why had you given her the name of the restaurant again? You would never learn your lesson. She had already googled his name when you’d told her he was the CEO of LG and she had been this close to searching his net worth before you’d stopped her. You didn’t want to know, not only was it incredibly invasive, it made you feel slightly faint. Seeing his image pop up online was enough for you . A professional headshot, he smiled kindly into the camera lens. It was crazy to think that it was the man you’d be going to dinner with. 

Soojung would be good for one thing though – helping you decide on an outfit for tonight. Taehyung had gone home a couple of hours ago, needed at the bar he owned so she had nothing else better to do. Not that she was listening to you though… 

She shrugged. “What did I expect? This dude is a billionaire." 

“He’s not." 

Billionaire seemed a lot more intimidating than a millionaire, but in reality what was the difference? He was unbelievably rich and you were just... you. You shook your head, attempting to claw yourself out of the anxiety hole you'd found yourself in. His job didn't matter. The restaurant he'd chosen didn't matter. You were going for dinner with him to enjoy his company and get to know him better. The finer details were irrelevant. 

“Come on! If not he must be a multi-multimillionaire." She rationalised. "His dad is the billionaire."

You groaned. "Will you stop making me nervous and help me pick something to wear?" 

You decided on the midi dress you'd actually worn to Eunbi's wedding last summer. It was the only fancy thing you had – or at least fancy enough to dine at a restaurant that sold insane dollar steaks. But wait, the restaurant wasn't supposed to matter, remember? 

You still wanted to look nice though. The dress was modest in itself but maybe the colour was a bit eye-catching – a deep red. Soojung said it was perfect and you'd knock his Dilf socks off. By now you were getting sick of the word. You told her as much.

"What if I don't want to sleep with him?"

"As if." She scoffed. "Your dry spell has gone on far too long. You deserve this." She caught the look of apprehension on your face. "When you're ready of course."

"Don't make me –”

"Nervous, I know" she finished for you, sighing loudly. "There's no need to be. Mr. Dilf is whipped for you, I just know it."

How did she know? She hadn't even met him, but you appreciated the sentiment. You did not appreciate it when she was being a clever bitch though. 

"I'm just trying to work this out." She said, watching you apply your mascara in the bathroom mirror. It was much later in the day now, about forty minutes before Seokjin was due to pick you up. You were dressed, hair up, makeup nearly done, and sick to your stomach with anticipation. You hummed, letting her know you'd heard her and to continue. 

"You were mad when Dilf spent money on your car but you're okay with him spending mad money on you at this restaurant?" 

"Soojung," you warned, staring at her reflection in the glass. 

She held her hands up in apology. "Sorry, sorry. I'm just curious. Is it okay when it's food?"

You sighed. You knew it didn't really make sense, you guessed, but well, you'd said yes to the dinner. You hadn't said yes to the car being repaired. That was the difference. 

"I'm not going to order the most expensive thing on the menu." 

"Well, don't just order a side salad, he'll think you're weird..." 

You simply stared at her. Her input was so appreciated. 

.

.

“He’s here, oh my god, he’s here!” Soojung screamed, spying through the voile curtains in the living room. "Ten minutes early. I love that." 

“Soojung, move away, now." You told her sternly. 

“The fucking car–” She cut herself with a muffled sound. As if she was trying to stifle her own screams. You guessed he'd gotten out of said car. “What the fuck, what the fuck, he’s SO hot. I’m going to pass out."

“Soojung!" Dropping your phone into your purse you slipped on your heels, nearly tripping over in the process. You gripped onto the back of the couch just in time. "I swear to god if he sees you." 

She spun around, pointing an accusing finger at you. “You never said he was that hot." 

You shrugged. "You never asked."

"I asked every goddamn second of the day. You lucky bitch." She walked towards you, fixing a piece of your hair that had fallen into your eyes. “How come you get hot billionaire Dilf and I get the man-child whose special talent is making cocktails." 

"Shut up," you scoffed. She loved Taehyung and his cocktail making skills. That's how they'd met after all. She drunk at the bar three days a week for a month straight until he asked her out. 

The doorbell rung and you froze, remembering how nervous you were. Soojung's antics had distracted you for a while but now reality was setting in. As you turned to leave she tapped your ass. “Get that Dilf dick, girl!”

"Soojung, I swear to god –”

"I won't wait up."

Ha. As if. She'd be glued to that window until Seokjin dropped you off back home. You knew her all too well, you'd been best friends for over ten years. 

In the entryway now, you didn't have time for breathing exercises. Although, you wished you'd had once you opened the door to see Seokjin stood there looking devastating handsome. 

“Hi," he smiled, eyes lighting up when he saw you. 

“Hey," you managed to squeeze out, cemented to the ground. 

He was dressed in a double breasted navy two piece that must have been tailored to fit his body down to the millimetre, a crisp white dress shirt on underneath. His hair looked shorter, falling just above is eyebrows and parted slightly in the middle. He looked good enough to eat. Or good enough to make you pass out. Either one. 

“You look beautiful," he awed, rendering you pretty speechless. 

This was a date. It really was a date. 

"Thank you," you managed to reply, needing to return the compliment. But what could you possibly say?! “You look…really good." 

Oh god. How embarrassing. 

Especially when Seokjin burst out laughing, that familiar squeak to it that you'd heard at the parent-teacher meeting. "I'll take it. Thanks." He tilted his head. "Are you ready to go? I'm a bit early, I know. Sorry about that." 

You nodded, clutching your purse tight to your side. "I, uh... I would invite you in to kill time but my best friend’s embarrassing." You raised your voice a little so she'd hear you, but on her best behaviour she stayed deathly silent. Well done, Soojung. 

Seokjin raised an eyebrow, a little confused, but you figured you'd fill him in inside the car. "It's fine," he shook his head.

Seeing you stepping forward he moved to the side, outstretching his arm to invite you to lead the way. You did, making sure not to look back towards the living room window, because you knew for a fact you'd see Soojung pressed up against it. 

.

.

“This is all new for me.” Seokjin admitted, sat opposite you as you waited for your dessert. “I haven’t been on a date for years.”

To say the night had gone well would be an understatement. At first you’d been too nervous to even breathe, especially with Seokjin looking like that just a few centimetres away from you as he drove. It didn’t help that he seemed to be some type of regular at the restaurant, getting greeted as if he was an old friend of the manager and led to his ‘usual’ table; a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle. It turned out he co-owned the place with his brother, looking mildly embarrassed as he told you. It was cute, but he had nothing to be self-conscious over, this was his life, normal to him. I hope you don’t see it as a cop-out, he confessed, causing some confusion your end. Why would you see it that way? This restaurant was beautiful, certainly popular, and you couldn’t wait to try the food. You told him as much and he laughed about feeling nervous now. 

You tried lobster for the first time ever – his recommendation. It was kind of messy, but he ordered the same so you were both in it together. You laughed, you joked, you got to know one another more. Conversation came easy, both relaxed in one another’s company, and after the main you both decided to share a dessert, too stuffed for anything more. 

“Snap,” you grinned, silently happy that was the case, although rather amazed. Seokjin was, well… him, who wouldn’t want to snap him up? However then again, he was a busy, divorced father. Dating probably wasn’t high up on his list. You were so distracted by his confession, you didn’t even comprehend he’d used the word ‘date.’ 

“Really?” Seokjin’s eyes bulged slightly. Why was he so surprised? 

You shrugged casually. “It’s been well over a year since my last date.”  

Seokjin’s mouth curved, amused. “Try over ten.” 

“I wasn’t aware this was a competition,” you laughed, but yes, he indeed had you beat. 

He laughed along, the arrival of your lemon cheesecake interrupting you both for a moment. It was a few bites later when the conversation got back on track again, Seokjin’s tone careful as he looked across at you, both of you reaching for another bit of the cheesecake with your dessert forks. “You don’t mind me calling this a date, do you? This isn’t the part where you tell me you’ve been in a relationship for five years and you just thought this was an innocent thank you dinner?”

You giggled softy, shaking your head. “No. I don’t mind you calling it a date.” You brought the fork up to your mouth, taking your time to chew before you continued. “Soojung was adamant it was but I… didn’t want get my hopes up?” You wanted to be honest. This night was about opening yourself up to the uncertain. 

“Soojung, your best friend? The one you live with?” He asked. 

You nodded. You’d already told him all about your best friend, about how you lived with each other. Seokjin hadn’t bat an eyelid, which was nice. You weren’t embarrassed or anything, but the differences in your living arrangements were stark. He thought it sounded fun. He still remembered living with his best friend Namjoon back in college and how entertaining that had been. He’d definitely be up for it again if they weren’t both dads now – divorced at that, but hey ho, that was life. 

“Well, she was correct.” Seokjin continued. “I thought I made it clear but I guess I was too cryptic.” 

“So, which one is it?” You asked, lifting an eyebrow in interest. “Not an innocent thank you dinner or not an innocent dinner?” 

You were feeling brave, however your heart still thudded inside your chest, adrenaline whooshing through your veins. There was something about Seokjin that made you act so out of character… 

Seokjin failed to conceal the visible surprise across his features and you watched him swallow before he composed himself, a smirk appearing on his lips immediately. “If I didn’t know any better I would say you were flirting with me right now.”

You shrugged. “I’m just checking if your intentions are innocent or not?” You took another bite of the cheesecake. 

His smirk grew, and you watched him drop his fork onto the plate to lean back in his chair. “I would say they are, however, I did have plans to kiss you on the cheek tonight, so maybe, busted?” He chuckled then, at himself – he liked doing that you’d noticed. It was kind of cute. 

The butterflies were back. Now there was no need to ignore or try to explain them. You took them as what they were – a good sign. Humming aloud, you tilted your head to the side and pretended to contemplate. “I think I can let you do that.” 

Seokjin laughed. “You can? Okay, that sounds good.” 

You reached for your glass of wine, needing a sip just to calm the flurry inside of you. Seokjin tucked his chair closer, still laughing but quietly now, more like a chuckle. “Honestly, I was pretty much shitting my pants today.” 

You snorted into your glass, taken by surprise at his choice of words. “Sorry,” you apologised, feeling a little bit embarrassed by the sound that had just left your nose. He didn’t same fazed. “I was nervous too.” 

That seemed to settle him. He smiled fondly, fingers tracing the brim of his glass. “I guess we were being silly.” His lips parted to say something else but he hesitated. You watched him take a quiet exhale, then he continued. “My therapist has been begging me to try dating again for months but the thought has always been pretty terrifying.” He gave a small shrug, his warm eyes locking with yours. “Until I met you.” 

You could feel your heart rate speeding up, unable to stop the smile that spread across your face. He was pleased, grinning back, posture visibly relaxing. “She said I should face up to my fears and just ask you out.” 

There were a lot of thoughts whirring through your mind right now. The fact he felt comfortable enough to disclose with you that he had a therapist, and the fact that he’d even mentioned you to her, that she had encouraged him to ask you out. The fact he’d liked you enough to want to take the plunge at all. After two years of being alone, you were the woman who had made him want to try again… It felt comparable to your own thoughts, to your feelings… and that’s why you felt so relaxed tonight. It just felt right. 

“I like you, Y/N.” He confessed. “I know we don’t know one another very well, but I hope that this is just the beginning.” 

Despite his words sending your butterflies crazy, you kept your cool, trying to stunt your smile. “You’re not so bad yourself, I guess.” 

He chuckled. You let yourself smile at the sound. “Not so bad. I’ll take it.” He picked up his fork again, taking a bite of the cheesecake you’d both forgotten about. His voice was careful, genuine to match his expression, when he carried on. “Despite the circumstances of how we met and what followed, I don’t know, I haven’t felt a spark like that in forever.” He reached for a sip of his wine, laughing. “What do you think? You can call me crazy if you want.” 

“I think you’re right.” There was no doubt about it now. You’d been adamant in the beginning that was nothing there – no spark, no flirting, insisting Soojung was wrong, but now you couldn’t deny the obvious attraction. You’d immediately bounced off one another that evening during the parent-teacher meeting, despite your annoyance the day before. 

You grinned. “You frustrated me to no end but I felt something too.” 

He tilted his head to the left, a teasing lilt to his voice. “Frustrated you? How so?”

“You know how,” you laughed. “I may or may not have called you an exasperating bastard in my head.” 

He couldn’t contain himself then, taken back and genuinely amused. “Oh god,” he practically wheezed. “I like that one.” 

You laughed along, unable not to when the sound he made brought you such joy. You reached for another forkful of cheesecake, the dessert nearly coming to an end. Just like the date, you thought. You didn’t want it to end, you were enjoying yourself too much. 

“What about now?”

You looked up at Seokjin, eyes widening in question. What did he mean? He was staggeringly composed now, although his eyes shone with mischief as he grinned and explained. “Do I frustrate you now?”

You tried to stunt your own smile, shrugging your shoulders. “Not tonight.” 

“At the fate?”

“Nope.” 

He nodded his head, seemingly happy with your answers. “I guess things are looking up then.” He picked up his glass again, about to take a sip before he paused and added,  “Although, I must admit, I liked frustrating you. You look so cute when your mad.” 

You felt heat immediately burn its way to your cheeks, hoping the lighting in this restaurant was dim enough not to make it obvious. He took a swig of his wine. “Watch it, Mr. Kim.” As he chuckled it muffled inside the glass.  

You went for the last piece of cheesecake, figuring you were owed that now. You looked across at him as you chewed, knowing that if you really wanted this to happen again you needed to let him know. Face up to your fears of opening up, telling people how you really felt. “I’d like to get to know you better, Seokjin.”

“Really?” He sounded hopeful, fingers playing with the rim of his wine glass again. 

“Mmhm.” You nodded. “You seem like a lovely man if we ignore the car stealing...” 

“Hey,” he whined, “you apologised for that already, you can’t bring it up again.” You held your hands up in silent defence, chuckling silently, watching him lean closer. “But please, go back to what you were saying about me being a lovely man. Stroke my ego, it’s been a long week.” 

Had it? You were curious, concerned really. You thought to ask him if he wanted to talk about it, but you guessed the last thing he’d like to do was discuss work on a date. Instead, you decided to tell him about what attracted you most to him. The thing that had inevitably made you change your mind and realise that maybe, quite possibly, you’d misjudged him.

“Arin really adores you and I can see how much you dote on her. Any man cherished by his child is a good one in my eyes.” 

“Oh.” He simply replied, possibly at a loss of words. He looked touched – happy, but ultimately unsure of what to reply, so he bypassed it in a way, raising an eyebrow. “So is there some kind of checklist?” 

“What do you mean?” 

He gave a slight shrug. “Like, ‘kids like him – check.’ ‘He knows how to clean dishes – check.’ – I can by the way. I’m really good with a pair of washing up gloves and some dish soap.” 

You burst out laughing, not quite believing your ears. “Yeah, okay.” You admitted. “There’s a list.” Didn’t every woman have one? 

“Let’s see how I fare then.” Seokjin said, sounding sure of himself as he leant back in his seat, hands behind his head – the image of casual. Maybe you were into this cocky Seokjin… It was sort of hot. 

“Okay so…” You began, leaning forward. “Family man – check.” You’d already approved that one. “Loves animals?”

He scoffed. “Easy. Animals are so much better than humans.” 

Okay, more points his way… “Uhh.” You thought aloud, racking your brains. “Does he make me laugh?”

Seokjin mulled it over. “That sounds like a decision you have to make, but I think it’s a yes? I mean, you’ve been laughing all night. Unless you were just being nice.” 

“No, you are funny,” you confirmed, although you were unable to miss an opportunity to mess around with him. “You have that, what should I call it,” you pretended to think, “that old man type sense of humour.”

“Hey. I’m not that old,” he huffed. 

You chuckled quietly. True, he wasn’t old, but you were still surprised when you’d found out he was turning 38 this coming December. Some people were blessed with ageing gracefully. Of course he was one of them. The man looked amazing for someone two years away from forty. 

“What about you?” You wondered. “Do you have a checklist?”

He sat upright again, setting his elbow on the table to drop his chin in his palm, giving you his full attention. “Yes, and you check them all.” 

“I do?” You laughed in disbelief. Either he was easy to please or he wanted brownie points. 

He shrugged, as if to say of course. “You’re funny, caring, can be kind of scary at times – which I’m sort of into, to be honest.” 

“I’m not scary,” you protested, pouting slightly. However, what? He was into it? That made you feel funny…

He smirked. “I beg to differ.” 

You rolled your eyes. “What else do I check off?”

He didn’t need time to think. “You’re insanely beautiful.” Your dumbfounded expression made him second guess himself. He pulled a face. “Yikes. Too cheesy?”

You grinned, getting a hold of yourself. “Maybe, but then again, maybe I like that.” How could you not like being called beautiful? How could you not like receiving a compliment? Especially from him. 

He smiled, gazing into your eyes as he leant forward. You felt immediate warmth when his hand cupped yours across the table. This was the first time he’d touched you, right? Your mind was a blur right now, unable to recall two hours ago, let alone two weeks ago. When he spoke, you only felt warmer, the soft timbre of his voice fluttering through your whole body. “I’m really attracted to you, Y/N.” 

And what could you say to that? You swallowed, wetting your throat, realising it had become dry. He was waiting for a reply, amused by something – your blank looking face most probably. He had the ability to render you speechless, and he knew it. He liked it. 

Well, no, not on your watch. You’d get the last word. You’d win. 

Composing yourself, you slipped your hand from under his, tapping it lightly, as if you were consoling him. “I’ve said it once already, but you’re not so bad yourself, Mr. Kim.” 

Taken aback, he chuckled quietly in bemusement, shaking his head. “You’re going to give me wrinkles.”  

.

.

A man of his word, he did kiss you on the cheek after the date was over. He waited until he had driven you home and opened the door for you to step out of the car – ever the gentleman, you’d teased. You stood by the little gate that lead a pathway to your front door, and that’s where he’d leant down to place his lips ever so lightly against the top of your left cheek. You smiled shyly up at him, unable to play it cool this time. 

He looked a little rosy in the face too, unsure as he smiled. “I had a lovely time tonight.” 

“Me too,” you agreed. “Can I take you out next time?” You surprised yourself by the offer, that kiss must have shot some confidence into you. 

He looked surprised too, but into it, tilting his head in curiosity as he looked down at you. “Where do you suggest?”

“My place?” Okay, so it wasn’t ‘taking him out’ but you liked the idea best. Soojung could stay over Tae’s. She owed you one. “I can cook for you,” you offered, a hand unconsciously reaching for the collar of his jacket, straightening it for him. “To you know, return the favour of you paying for dinner to say sorry for paying for my car to get fixed.” 

His hand clasped around yours, dropping it between your bodies to hold it as he chuckled. 

“This is getting a little confusing now.” He swung your hand gently and you curled your little finger around his loosely. You could get used to this physical contact. It felt ordinary, like you’d been doing it forever. “Can’t we just call it dating and have done?”

You rolled your shoulders with a sigh, sounding casual and unbothered. “I guess, if it’s easier.” 

Seokjin’s laugh got lower, his face closer. His eyes kept looking between your eyes and lips, and you realised your heart was beginning to beat slower, or was it faster? You couldn’t tell anymore, but you could hear it pounding lightly inside your ears. You were in the middle of playing the same game – eyes then lips, eyes then lips – the seconds feeling more like minutes as he leant in closer and closer, but then – 

You spotted Soojung in the window as you happened to glance behind Seokjin’s shoulder. She had now totally bypassed the voile curtain, thinking she was Miss. Inconspicuous with the lights off. The street lighting was as bright as anything though, and all you could see was her face glowing like a ghost as she ruined the moment entirely. You were not having your first kiss with Seokjin in front of her prying eyes. 

Seokjin realised your attention was elsewhere now, awkwardly pulling back to scratch his neck with his free hand. You clutched at the hand that was holding yours, not wanting him to think you’d blown him off. He didn’t say anything though, just continued your conversation with a bemused smile. “Um, so what are you going to cook?” 

“What do you like?” You asked, only half your attention on him. Maybe you could silently signal to Soojung, tell her to get the hell out of the window before Seokjin noticed. 

“I’m easy,” you heard him reply. “What’s your speciality?”

“Uh…” Think Y/N, think. Distracted you said the first thing that popped into your head, still trying to force Soojung away with just your eyeballs. “Lasagne.”

“Lasagne?” He sounded interested. 

You finally met his eyes for more than five seconds, feeling a little panicky. “Yeah, my World Famous Italian lasagne.” 

Oh no. 

Seokjin laughed, dropping your hand to cup your cheek instead. Earlier, if this had happened you would have spontaneously combusted but now you had a case of the Nosey Friend and you couldn’t concentrate to save your life. “Okay, now you’re just talking big.” 

You couldn’t help it, your eyes attempting to dart past his shoulder again. He noticed – he’d probably noticed this entire time, an eyebrow of his raising. “What is going on over my shoulder?” 

You tried to stop him, clinging to his elbow, but he turned around anyway, eyes falling on Soojung immediately. You saw her instantly panic and jump back, dropping the curtain in front of the window again.  “That’s just Soojung,” you sighed. “Ignore her, she’s an idiot.” 

Seokjin was deeply amused, laughing as he turned back to you. “So, is next Saturday okay?” You pressed. 

He grinned. “Saturday sounds perfect to me.” 

As you said your goodbyes, Seokjin turned to the window and gave a small wave, chortling to himself. You couldn’t see Soojung anymore but you just knew she was still spying. But relieved Seokjin didn’t seem fazed, you made your way inside, giving Seokjin a wave by the door as he pulled off, feeling happy, yet a little sad the night was over already. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d enjoyed yourself like that. 

It was only when you were inside did you remember what you’d just done, too preoccupied to think properly beforehand. Oh God, the lasagne. Saturday night was going to be a disaster. 

Soojung came running into the entry way, interrupting your freak out. “He saw me! He saw me!” Her voice was shrill, and you couldn’t tell if it was because she was embarrassed or excited. 

“That’s what happens when you spy, idiot,” you swiped, kicking off your heels. The instant relief brought you no comfort. “Soo, I’ve done something stupid.” You admitted. 

She instantly looked worried. “What? What have you done?”

You sighed, already feeling like a fool. “Okay so, I invited him over next weekend and said I’d cook for him.” 

“Girl is horny for that D–”

“Shut up, that’s not the problem,” you stopped her. She looked puzzled. “You were distracting me!” It was all her fault. You weren’t taking the blame. “He asked me what I was gonna cook and I told him I make a World Famous Italian lasagne!” 

Your best friend was silent for an extended second, making sense of your words before she burst out laughing. Highly dramatic, practically doubled over, splitting her sides. Even more dramatic than you for freaking out over a damn lasagne. 

“You have never made lasagne in your entire life!” She exclaimed. “What were you thinking?” 

“It was your fault!” It was also her fault you didn’t get to kiss Seokjin properly too. But you weren’t going to bring that up now, unable to bear the constant teasing that would ensue. 

“My fault?!” She laughed. You just rolled your eyes. She did not appreciate that at all. “Whatever. I can’t wait to see your “World Famous Italian lasagne.” Make sure to save me some, won’t you?”

“Right,” you huffed. “For that, I’m not telling you how the date went.” 

She soon changed her tune, needing all the details just to be able to sleep tonight… 

Written 2020 - 2021.  Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2021

[beakami]

You've Done So Much (Lucian x F!reader)

Hello everybody! This one-shot comes as a request from the wonderful @fandoms-are-my-friends-1321 . It has been really fun to write and I just love Lucian so much. I have another Lucian Fic comming but it's longer and will come in chapters sooo it will take a while.

"fandoms-are-my-friends-1321 ha preguntado:

Okay so I think I have an idea for a request. May I request a Lucian x Reader where the reader gets off from work and is exhausted, so he provides some cuddles and makes them laugh? I love Lucian on so many levels, and he deserves more content. Feel free to take as much time as you need, and I hope the wedding planning goes well 💕

Summary: Fluff:You've been working too hard this last week to help Lucian, but it's getting the best from you, specially as you have barely seen him. But he makes sure to take care of you to repay your hard work.

SFW (If you want a NSFW version of this, just say so in the comments)

Warnings: None really. Some mention of anxiety and a couple of curse words, but it's mostly fluff.

Hope you enjoy this, and as always requests are open. Love you all❣

>>When you stopped to think about it, your life was completely different from the one you had just one year ago. It might still look the same to someone outside your “new world”, still the same normal boring standard life. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. But they could not be further from the truth. If one year ago your life wasn’t as simple (you had your problems and your hobbies, and a past to deal with), since you met /him/ it all became quite insignificant in comparison. The afternoons of reading, sewing, or going out to look for interesting new corners of the city, turned into expeditions to find vampire hide-outs or simply information that could prove useful.

>>You didn’t miss having more free time, you weren’t forced to help them but did it happily, especially after learning about how they came into existence, how they were treated as animals, as slaves. Of course, spending even a little time with a certain Lycan was also more than enough reason for you. The problem was that the key word was “little”. It wasn’t like that when you first met, you instantly clicked, and he seemed to get time to see you at the most extrage times, but he got it. He would sneak into your house at 2 in the morning through the window (his climbing skills making much more sense when he told you what he was) just so he could sleep a couple of hours holding you before leaving again; or maybe just pop up at your job to have lunch with you (or just look at you while you ate lunch). And even if you knew that lately everything seemed to be more hectic and dangerous, having him with barely any time to take care of himself, you still felt his absence.

>>Yet you did your best to ease his bourden. After work you would go to their base and make sure no one created too much chaos while their Alfa wasn’t there; you went on missions to scout and get intel; and in general took so much upon yourself that you started to be the one who barely slept or ate anything. You thought it wasn’t obvious but were proved wrong when your boss made you take a couple of days off, claiming he didn’t want you getting sick. Yes, it had been a rough week, and yes, you had only slept like five hours in total, but you were fine. You were...you were feeling like shit. And not just because you were tired as hell, but because you missed him, you missed him so much you started to let your mind run wild as it sometimes did. Maybe you weren’t doing enough, or you were doing it wrong, maybe if you tried a little harder he would be resting, he would be with you.

>>The thought ate at your head, and instead of going home and sleeping like you should have, you went to the Lycans’ den. You could help some more, you could make sure Lucian slept that night. Or so you thought, because when you got to their hide-out, he wasn’t there and no one knew where he was or when he would come back. At that moment you didn’t know if you were more tired or frustrated, if you felt more hunger or sadness. So after grunting as if you were also a wolf, you got inside his tent, containing the urge to kick something. He was busy, he had his plan to fulfill, he...you just hoped he was safe.

>>So with a deep sigh you sat down at the edge of the bed, you felt like shit, tired, stressed and just a big ball of uselessness. You were in such a state that you didn’t notice the silent tears streaming down your cheeks, nor the Lycan that stood in front of you, a worried look on his face when he saw his favourite person crying.

-Has anyone hurt you?

>>His deep voice resonated inside your chest and got you out of your reverie, making you raise your head to look up at him. It was at his frown that you noticed you were crying, feeling your cheeks wet with tears, and made quick work of drying them with the back of your hand, clearing your throat before answering.

-No one, no one has harmed me. I…

>>There you were, not helping but giving him more reasons to worry. But you knew it made no sense lying to him. He would know right away and in any case it would do neither of you any good, so you sighed again, locking your teary eyes, dark circles under them, with his gorgeous ones.

-I...I am not helping enough, and yet I can’t help you more, I am so, so tired...and I miss you. I...I was just feeling like shit, Lucian.

>>The Lycan relaxed his shoulders a little, he didn’t want you to be sad, but he’d rather deal with cheering you up than having to beat the shit out of one of his boys. He smiled softly, that sweet and charming half smile of his that made your knees weak, and shook his head, stretching one arm to caress your head.

-Who told you you are not helping enough? You do more than any of these boys and you don’t even have to. I don’t know what I would do without your help.

-/I/ said it…

>>At least his caresses made you relax your stance a little, his warm touch always made miracles with your nerves.

-You barely have time to sleep or eat. I haven’t seen you for more than five minutes in a week…

-Oh, so my lovely pup is worried about me and misses me? That’s what this was all about?

>>He smirked, and he knew what that did to you, especially when paired with how he leaned closer to you, towering over your sitting form.

-You should know that I intend to spend the whole night with you, and that I can only do that because a certain someone has been doing an amazing job the whole week. So I am going to carry you to your apartment and take good care of my lovely pup for being so good. How does that sound?

>>You swear you would have purred if you weren’t still processing what he had just said.

-Really? Aren’t you busy? A-and you should rest…

>>He put one finger over your lips and without a second word lifted you in his arms, making his way out of the tent with you held bridal style, much to your embarrassment. But you weren’t really going to complain, you had missed him so damn much that you closed your eyes and focussed on his warmth, relaxing all your muscles as if he was a hot bath; and on his smell of leather, and grass and...you swore if the image of the moon had a smell, that would be how Lucian smelled. So before you were aware of it he was already opening the window to your living room. You tried to get down from his arms but his hold tightened around your waist. Your e/c eyes raised to his with a confused look.

-You have been so worried about me, working so hard, that I feel like tonight /I/ should take care of /you/. So let’s go get a bath running for you, my queen.

-Q-Queen? What has gotten into you tonight, Lucian?

-I feel like I have been neglecting you while you were only worrying for me, and I don’t want you thinking I don’t care about you. It...things have just been quite...chaotic, and I wanted to put it all at ease as soon as possible so you...all of us would be safe.

>>You felt your heart melt at his words. He might look a little rugish, not be very vocal at times (mainly when deep in thought) but he knew when he had to express himself, he knew sometimes when you delayed things too long they could be taken away from you before your very eyes. So you answered as best you could, resting one hand on his stubbled cheek and raising yourself a little inside his arms to give him a long kiss filled with all the love you’ve been keeping every minute you’ve been away. He tasted sweet and bitter, like blood and coffee and something that was just...him. That taste always put you at ease and at the same time turned your insides warm, but tonight you were too tired for the latter and just focussed on the fuzzy feeling inside your chest.

-You know I would never doubt you, Lucian.

-But you doubt yourself.

>>He was so right that you just didn’t know how to answer, opening your mouth and then closing it again, which made him chuckle and suddenly nothing else mattered, because those chuckles and laughs of his made your heart flutter, they were gifts that you treasured deeply.

-So, as I was saying, you have done so much this past week that I think you deserve a reward, my lovely mate.

>>What could you do but blush and look up at him with adoration? He reminded you why you were helping them. How could anyone call someone a monster and say they didn’t deserve to live just because they were a Lycan? Lucian isn’t a monster, he is the kindest, most loving person you’ve ever met. So you let him carry you to the bathroom, his lycan strength making it possible for him not to drop you while preparing the bath, holding your not so small frame to his body with one arm. Soon the bath was filled with hot water, too hot for some, but Lucian knew how you liked it, almost burning. When he first found out the temperature you felt was comforting in water, almost scalding, he wondered if you could be a Lycan even if he had never smelt it in you, even if he had never met a female Lycan. Whatever the reason you liked it like that, it made sharing baths with you all the more appealing.

>>Then, and as if it was something incredibly hard, he sat you gently on the edge of the tub and helped you undress in spite of your complaints that you could do it yourself. The lycan removed your boots and socks, then moved to your shirt, jeans and finally bra and panties. He had to take a deep breath and close his eyes for a couple of seconds to remind himself what he was doing and why he couldn’t just devour you that night. You needed rest, you needed care, and even if it felt like forever since he could last lay with you, you were worth the wait, you deserved to be pampered and loved. So he focussed on that thought and not on your flushed cheeks, or on the body he adored so much. Instead he added some salts and bubbles to the tub, letting them dissolve while he removed his clothes too.

>>It was your turn to look at him, running your eyes over every inch of his body, every scar, every muscle, every mark and thing that made his body Lucian’s body. And you just loved it, loved that path of hair that disappeared under his pants. But that article of clothing was discarded as well, and you had to swallow to not make any improper sounds. You were too tired for that, but you missed being intimate with him in that way so much that you felt your cheeks burn.

>>When he finally got in the bath with you, your back resting against his chest, your muscles relaxing, a soft sigh leaving your lips as you closed your eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of flowers and orange, his mind wandered to how he never could do such things with Sonja. He always tried not to go down that path, not because the love he felt for you was any less than the one he had felt for her, but because it reminded him that he could lose you too. That the love he had to wait centuries to find could be taken away from him even more easily. So his arm locked around your waist, his thumb drawing soft circles over your hip bone. You moved your head to the side, turning it a little so you could look him in the eyes.

-Is everything ok, my love?

>>You were still concerned for him, you knew sometimes the past hunted him, and even if he tried to save you from that sadness you always insisted that couples were there to share those things. You weren’t sure when you started to be that, a couple, but when he first referred to you as his mate, you knew you didn’t want to be with anyone else.

>>He took his time to look into your eyes, pondering how to phrase it to share with you but not make it overly sad, he didn’t want to dampen the mood, he just wanted to enjoy a night with you, to make you feel loved and appreciated, because God be his witness he didn’t know how in the world he got so lucky as to have you fall for him, a monster seeking revenge on another monster. You smiled softly and raised a now wet hand to caress the line of his jaw, waiting patiently for an answer.

-I was thinking of how lucky I am to have you, to be able to enjoy these moments with you.

>>You knew, you knew he meant more, that he was afraid these moments were to end soon, that he was to lose you. But you just nod and turned your head to kiss where you could reach, first his chin, then his clavicle.

-I feel really lucky too, my lord.

>>At that nickname he chuckled and the water moved a little with how his chest and in turn, your body, trembled at the action. His laughter was definitely your favourite sound. A little more at ease he resumed what he intended to do that night, comfort you. So with you still resting on his chest, he took a sponge and started to wash you as carefully as possible, letting you relax. He cleaned from your calf up, he would leave the rest of the legs for later when he could reach, and once he was sure your skin was perfectly taken care of, he moved to wash your hair.

>>His fingers started massaging your scalp, softly rubbing at your skin, making you purr at the sensation much to his content. After a couple of minutes he decided to switch to his nails every few seconds to mix in some light scratching so you would feel even better. And you had to fight hard not to fall asleep, because it felt too good,but you wanted to enjoy his company. He made sure to clean thoroughly and also added a few more extra scratches before rinsing and conditioning it. He let the product rest in your hair while he peppered your shoulder with soft kisses, making you giggle as you felt his stubble against your sensitive skin, and then proceeded to wash it away. When you were properly clean you just enjoyed each other’s company while the water was still warm.

>>He was so calm, so content just taking care of you. And you found it not only adorable, but also kind of funny. Not the fact itself, but the idea of the Alfa, the first Lycan capable of turning back to his human form, a man feared by the Elders, being a sweet puppy washing his girlfriend’s hair. But this is what he fought for, for the freedom of his kind, for the freedom to love whoever you wished, because that is what started the war, the racism of an Elder. His obsession for the “pure” bloodline causing him to even kill his own daughter and grandchild.

-I love you so much.

>>You murmured, too relaxed to raise your voice, but you knew he had heard you when he pressed his lips to the top of your head. You could feel his lips kiss you and then stay there with a soft smile, telling you he loved you too. It was so peaceful that you stayed there until the water was starting to get cold. Your first small shiver made him get out of the bathtub, fetching a big towel and helping you out to wrap it around you and started to dry your body.

-You won’t even let me dry? You really are spoiling me tonight.

-I am not finished yet.

>>He intended to make you both eat something, and then stay with you the whole night, first talking and then sleeping, keeping you safe. He knew you suffered from insomnia sometimes, and felt really proud when you had told him he made you feel so calm and safe, chasing all the anxiety away, that you could always sleep soundly when in his arms. So he did just that, dried you, took you in his arms to your room and helped you into your pajamas (which in summer consisted of some shorts and an oversized t-shirt), and then moved you again to the kitchen. He didn’t even intend on letting you walk tonight, so he placed you on the counter so you could see him cook. The whole evening was feeling heavenly, not only or mainly because of his pampering, but because you could spend time with him, talking and laughing.

-I’ve missed you so much.

>>You say out of nowhere, just looking at him cook, and caressing the nape of his neck when he moved close enough. He smiled in your direction, how could he be so ravishing, so handsome? You sighed happily, very sleepy, but you needed food and he did too. So you did your best effort to stay awake, talking about your job to have some light conversation but be able to vent a little at the same time. It wasn’t long until you were both sitting together, eating the eggs and sausages he had prepared. You would alternate between a bite at the food and a kiss on Lucian’s shoulder just to see him smile even if just a little bit, and he would rest a hand on your thigh all the while.

>>Dinner; a cup of tea by the window, just looking at the city lights while whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears; then to bed, cuddling and kissing his lips softly, feeling sleepier by the second. You didn’t want to fall asleep, you wanted to make as much of your time with Lucian as possible, but you needed to, and he did too.

-Will...will you be here when I wake up?

>>You muttered, your voice small and almost begging. You felt a little stupid, a little needy, but you really didn’t care when being with him made you so happy and lately these were such rare moments.

-I will try, but...If I have to leave, I promise I will try and come back tomorrow night. There is some more…”taking care of” that I need to do to you once you are less tired.

>>You giggled again, this time like a fucking teenager and you loved that he made you feel that way. His comforting evening had worked perfectly, all your anxiety, tension, and frustration were gone, and as you closed your eyes, your cheek pressed against his chest you sighed happily.

-I love you so much. I am so lucky to have you, Lucian.

-I am the lucky one, my love. Now rest, I will stay with you as long as I can.

-Only if you sleep too, my lord needs his rest.

-How can I deny you when you tell me like that? Sweet dreams y/n.

>>You chuckled softly, already half asleep, and left a soft peck on his chest before finally letting yourself go into Morpheus’ realm. You were quickly deep in slumber, but the evening had left you with the determination to keep helping the Lycans, to keep trying to ease the burden Lucian had upon his shoulders, because, who would take care of you, comfort you, like he did? Only your wolfie.

If anyone wants to be tagged on future fics, just tell me and I will! Hope you enjoyed it, my lovelies.

[ekaterinatepes]

Nothing but the Best

Author Notes: hello again my loves! Thank you for all your likes, reviews and specially your comments! I love it when you make questions and in general let me know what you think about the chapter. Thank you once more for all your support!

XII.

They say time heals all wounds, but there are some wounds that run so deep they refuse to stop bleeding.

https://youtu.be/s1tAYmMjLdY

A cold September afternoon welcomed the dying rays of the sun, the incandescent amber tones of the twilight illuminated the streets of Tokyo, ever so vibrant; full of life, people, delicious food, kaleidoscopic colors, laughter, children running…. Couples holding hands.

A tall man with a blindfold walked down a heavily transited sidewalk with his hands in his pockets and a small bag of pastries hanging off the side. Slowly, he made his way further away from the more concentric streets towards a park, he found a bench near a fountain and took a seat placing his bag right next to him.

The world remained the same and yet everything seemed to have changed, the days were now long and boring, conversations with people didn’t manage to hold his attention for long; missions were repetitive. Everything seemed… dull, opaque, flavorless, empty…

Everything, except perhaps his students who were the only sliver of hope he had left. Those kids would make it far in life, they were going to change the world and he was going to be there to help them along the way. A sad smile pulls at his peachy lips. You would have liked that. After all, the kids also enjoyed your company back in the day when you were still his. It was as if you had become their adoptive mother of sorts at some point. Your nurturing nature guided you to care for others.

A year ago when Yuuji was placed under his care and tutelage at Jujutsu High it had been hard for the boy. At the time the kid had just lost his only living relative and to top it off he also consumed the most powerful curse ever known to man kind.

He had so much responsibility on his shoulders Satoru couldn’t help but make the connection with himself when he was a kid his age. That’s how Satoru decided to take him home for dinner one night; he couldn’t have been more pleased with his decision. Of course, you adored Yuuji. His sweet snd enthusiastic personality, his polite manners and naiveté made him just endearing in your eyes.

Even Megumi, who barely spoke with his more taciturn approach asked about you. Satoru didn’t know how to answer. The dark haired boy would also come and visit your home to help you prepare some foreign delicacies you loved to cook. Sighing once more he ran his hands through his white hair.

***-Flashback-***

“So where’s Y/N-san? I haven’t seen her in a long time?” Asked Megumi right after Satoru returned from New York. It caught him by surprise

“She… she doesn’t live in Japan anymore” was all he said before changing the subject. Megumi looked at him with eyes wide open but decided not to pry.

Yeah… that probably was weird. Someone asks you about your spouse and you say they moved out of the country. It was pretty obvious what that meant.

***~End Flash Back~***

Sighing he opened the small paper bag containing his mochi, he loved his desert but lately he didn’t even have the will to indulge in sweets anymore. Satoru consumed insane amounts of sugar to stimulate his brain. The problem was that during the past year all that stimulation manifested in the form of vivid memories of you. Your voice, your smell, your presence. It was as if his brain chose to take him down the path to misery, as if to rub on his face what he could never have.

As of last week you were officially not Y/N Gojo anymore. He finally signed those blasted papers giving you your freedom and his capitulation.

It had been one of the worst days of his life.

After signing the divorce Satoru went straight to the liquor store where he found that exotic apricot liquor he liked in New York and bought a bottle. Once he made it back home he proceeded to get drunk out of his mind. The next morning he woke up by the pool, laying down on a tanning chair, wearing only a pair of boxers and hugging your wedding picture.

His head was killing him, at some point he had emptied his insides in the pool. A disgusted grimace reminded him he had to hire some help to take care of the house that was an absolute disaster, faithfully reflecting the state of its owner.

That morning, nursing a hangover he swore off alcohol for the rest of his life.

But hey! On the positive side he didn’t remember at all that night! Which means he ‘probably’ didn’t think about you (yeah right! As if he was ever not thinking about you) and how much he hated the fact you were not his Y/N Gojo anymore. You were not his wife anymore…

The memory made him want to cry like a baby. He lost the person he loved the most in his life because he had been one flaming idiot.

Despite all his efforts he could not forget you. Wherever he went, whatever he did… there you were, tormenting his waking and sleeping hours like his own personal curse.

He tried to get over you. He tried to be the asshole you knew him to be. He slept with so many women he couldn’t even count. But at the end of the night, in the throes of passion it was your face that he saw, your body that he craved, your flavor that he yearned and your name the one he called out when he climaxed.

He was absolutely fucked.

Revisiting memories of the last night he saw you he couldn’t believe how stupid he had been at the time. It took him so long to realize he had always been in love with you but Satoru, being well… himself, he didn’t want to see or admit that he had been head over heels, madly in love with you. He was a cynical bastard and that had cost him dearly. He chose to lie to himself thinking that THE Gojo Satoru was above all human weaknesses… including love. What an ignorant fucker he had been.

He wondered how you were doing and if you ever thought about him.

A frown made his handsome face look stern. Well… you were not alone anymore. Suguru also had stayed back in New York with you. After Satoru returned to Japan, Ijichi told him Geto Suguru wouldn’t be working out of Japan anymore. He had requested a transfer to the Americas.

Of course he did…

It had been one of the reasons Satoru fucked so many women. In his delusional mind he was ‘getting even’ with you for sleeping with Suguru. Not that he knew for a fact you were sleeping with him or not but… I mean….

Come on! It’s mother fucking Geto Suguru we are talking about here! 6’2 of pure sculpted muscles, tattoos and bad boy looks but with a Prince Charming complex. Yeah… Satoru was green with jealousy because he knew his former best friend was a better man for you than he ever was.

Looking down at his mochi bag he realized the small item had paid the price of his anger as he uncurled his death grip from the bag. Sighing he tossed the ruined pastry in the trash can to his left.

“Miss you….” He whispered to the wind.

———–

“I’m home!” You announced walking into your apartment. Setting you bag down as well as a couple of grocery bags “did you start dinner already?” You ask pleasantly surprised although you already knew the answer to that question since all the apartment smelled fantastic. Suguru walked out of the kitchen with a big smile wearing an apron that read ‘Kiss the Cheff’ nods “yes! I figured I would give you a hand tonight!” He answered as you walked to him to wrap your arms around his waist and give him a chaste kiss on his cheek “thank you Sugu. How was your mission?” You asked deciding to set up the table while Suguru finished dinner. “Not too bad actually, it was a special grade but nothing I couldn’t deal with” you returned a bright smile “I’m glad”

Your friendship with Suguru had slowly evolved into something else. You both spent all of your free time together. Your connection was deeper than mere sexual attraction. Suguru truly understood you, cared for you, shared your dreams and hopes. He was the type of poetic soul who would stay awake with you well into the night just to talk about the stars, the book you read that week that you loved, the new music you liked. It was wholesome.

On the more carnal side you desired Suguru and he desired you but you hadn’t taken what was going on between you two further than a few passionate make-out sessions and some cuddling.

After you last saw Satoru everything became worse before it got better. Suguru had been your rock, he had been there for the sleepless nights you spent crying. Without a word he held you in his strong arms and allowed you to let go. He knew you were deeply wounded, your emotions in disarray and your mental stability in peril. But Suguru never asked anything from you, he gave you the strength to go on. To take care of yourself, to keep going with your career. To have… hope.

It seemed like a dream to think that your life had changed so much in the span of a year. You weren’t able to recognise yourself anymore. Pain and duress molded you into someone new, better, more resilient, harder to hurt.

At this point, the only person you fully trusted was Suguru, he was always honest with you, no matter what happened or how much something hurt, he always remained true to himself and to you.

It was impossible not to love someone like him. He was the whole package.

Suguru was handsome, that was indisputable. But Geto was more than a pretty face. He was kind, truly kind! He did things out of the goodness of his heart, not because he expected anything in return. He was honest, Suguru Geto would never lie to you and THAT is what you loved the most about him.

He was patient.

He wanted you to be his but at the same time Suguru wanted you to heal, to have the chance to trust and love again, not as a means to forget about Satoru but because you wanted to choose a new path for yourself.

After diner you helped with the dishes and then settled on the couch. Suguru joined with a smile and two glasses of wine. He handed you one and sipped on the other one “what would you like to watch tonight Kitten?” He asked sitting next to you while picking a movie from the titles available on the screen of the tv.

“Anything you like! It’s your turn to pick” you said with a smile, leaning your head on his shoulder making Suguru smile. These tender displays of affection always made him feel so warm. Passing an arm around your shoulders he kissed your forehead.

You look up into his hazel eyes you blush. Suguru didn’t lose a second before he closed the space between your lips. The kiss was soft but meaningful, you didn’t hesitate to return it; wrapping your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to then climb on his lap straddling his hips.

The handsome sorcerer leans back, relaxing and running his hands slowly up and down your naked thighs covered only by the small fabric of your shorts, he strokes them softly leaving a path of warmth in the wake of his touch. Suguru deepened the kiss. His tongue delved in your mouth, slowly inviting yours to join the delicious dance. After a few minutes you pulled back, you are breathless. Your heart beats fast and the adrenaline was making you dizzy in anticipation.

Suguru looks at you, leaning his forehead against yours “I missed you” he ads before engulfing you in another passionate kiss, not even giving you the chance to reply. This time his lips are more demanding, his teeth nibbling your lower lip, requesting entrance. His tongue still tastes like the wine and you recognize his addictive flavor. Suddenly you find yourself laying on your back on the white couch, Suguru is on top of you and your legs are wrapped around his waist. Things are getting much more heated than you anticipated. Your hands roam the expanse of his back over hard muscles and warm skin covered only by the thin layer of his t-shirt. You know if you keep going this way you won’t be able to stop.

https://youtu.be/yBatuRGZAmA

A part of you doesn’t want this to end, you want to go all the way with Suguru. But… as much as you hate it, there is a tiny part of you that feels ambivalent about it. You wonder why is that you can’t just… do it!? You want Suguru! God! You desire him more than you can express with words, the growing wetness between your legs is evidence that you indeed were very much sexually attracted to him and yet your mind kept torturing you.

It was… complicated.

Your marriage with Satoru have been over longer than that piece of paper you got last week said. But erasing your feelings wasn’t something you could ever hope to do.

As much as you wanted to give yourself to Suguru it felt wrong that you were holding a part of yourself back. You wanted to give him everything, he deserved EVERYTHING of you. It wouldn’t be fair to just have sex with him when he deserved to be made love to.

You love Suguru, everyday that goes by your feelings for him grow and intensify, it was hard to even understand why would you hesitate and yet you did.

Your passionate kiss slowly becomes more tender until you are just sharing small pecks. Suguru pulls back with a little comforting smile; he felt the change in your body language, he knew what was going through your mind. You explained it to him before and he didn’t want to push you. He knew you needed to go at your own pace and he respected that.

“I’m… so-“ you starts apologetically but Suguru stops you with a little kiss “don’t… don’t apologize, I know baby…” he said reassuringly. Sealing his tender words with a kiss. When you separate again he asks “Alright little kitten, tell me… what’s it gonna be? ‘Dorian Grey’ or ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’?” Pulling you in his strong arms he cuddled with you on the couch, returning to the choices for movie you had.

You were so thankful for this man in your life “let’s go with ‘Only Lovers left Alive’”

With a last kiss he started the movie and pulled a blanket over you both.

He could wait, he would wait till the end of time. For you.

———-> Chapter 13/Part 1

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[chihomichannel]

of candy wrappers and unprecedented endings

| pairing: choso x reader | genre: angst & fluff | warnings: mention of death; sad things blended with happy things | word count: 2330 words | a/n: hi! this is clem! this is the 3rd and final part of “bittersweet lollipops” so read the first two parts before this but it can also be read as is. this wasn’t my first plan for the 3rd part and i had actually written a lot when i realized that i don’t want it to be the 3rd part lol. so i rewritten this today and here it is! hope you guys like it!

◄ previous |

icon used

Time has always been the limit for humans. We were born and raised, thrown into the world and built our lives only for everything you’ve worked hard for to be left behind once death came right by your door. And for sorcerers like you, death has always been just a step behind, ready to take you once it was your time. But in your case, you miraculously lived long enough to know you would die with no regrets.

Feeling the hand clung onto yours, your eyes woke from its slumber. Your eyes were met with the bright sunshine that illuminated the whole room, the white of the ceiling shining brighter than ever. Your head turned to your side to see Choso sitting asleep by your bed, his hand on top of yours while the other held your family scrapbook. The page was open, showing a picture of your family at its early stages. It was you and Choso both holding onto your newborn with your friends by your sides. You remembered it was your first born’s first birthday and you smiled at the vivid memory that crossed your mind.

You thought back to that day when everyone was present, celebrating and just pure happiness. You remembered Megumi tackling Yuuji when he was about to feed your baby he didn’t know your daughter could not eat. You remembered Panda with your baby lying on its stomach and Inumaki shoving toys to your daughter to amuse it. You remember Gojo arriving late with a bag full of sweets to which Choso took eagerly. You remembered Nobara continuously flaunting her outfit. You remembered Maki and Nanami just being there. And you remembered looking at everyone, just taking in that moment and storing it inside your treasured memories. You remembered the atmosphere, the calm and the chaos in the house. The hot rays of the sun shielded by the window pane. You remembered that moment and longed to return to that day.

Blinking, you were snapped back to reality. You took note that the atmosphere was the same as that day. You smiled, eyes tired even though you only just woke up. You glanced at Choso’s hands that clung onto yours, it was tight but he held you as if you were fragile glass. You knew he’s worried and so you moved your hand and intertwined it with his. Choso stirred awake, licking his dried lips as he leaned up from his position “Hey” he said, his voice cracking slightly. He looked tired, the look in his eyes told you they’ve lived for so long. They’ve seen so much yet his face was still the same. His body looked the same, everything looked the same. His youthful face hid the hundreds of years he’s lived.

He smiled- oh his smile. His smile is something you never got over. When you first knew Choso, you would have never guessed that he could be so expressive. With his indifferent mien, even at the start of your relationship, you would always be so surprised to see another expression on his face. You loved it especially when he has this confused, wondering face. You always found it so cute. You found everything he does cute. It scared you just how much you’re in love him. But you could never imagine nor wish for a better life because the life you have with Choso by your side is a life you would never bargain anything for. You are content and you are in love. You didn’t even realize it but Choso became your life. The little world and family you’ve built with him, it’s yours and his. No life was better than this.

“Morning” Choso scooted his seat closer to your bed, he had his elbows on the soft mattress, taking your hand to his lips. “It’s afternoon, silly” You weakly told him, softly chuckling. You felt him smile in your hands and you gazed at him adoringly “I see you’ve been looking at the scrapbook again”

“Yeah” Choso pulled away from your hands and flipped the scrapbook to the next page “I guess I fell asleep while doing so” He mused. He stopped and you looked at the page to see a picture of you and him decades ago. It was a selfie when you two eloped that one fateful night. The two of you never planned for a wedding nor did you think you would ever get married. It was never a thought in your mind but during that night, Choso looked so beautiful. Even with his mouthful of tacos you grabbed on the way to Panda’s birthday, something about the night with the streetlights and the swarm of people highlighted Choso in your eyes. And at the bus stop, just as you were about to get on it, you pulled Choso into a halt and waited until the crowd got on the bus before you spoke “Will you marry me?”

You both skipped on Panda’s birthday and got married. It was a decisive decision but no doubt the best you’ve ever made. A year later after that, your daughter was born and you swore, Choso had never glowed brighter. Your heart felt soft whenever you see your daughter and husband bonding. And the sight of your daughter cuddled up against Choso made you feel so thankful that these beautiful people are part of your life. Because of them, life was so much brighter.

You and Choso bore four more children after that. To say that life is noisy is an understandment but the noise made you happy anyway (albeit stressed). You stopped at baby number 5, with your eldest being 15 at the time. As expected, your daughter became a sorcerer, proving to be much stronger than either of you with a cursed technique she invented on her own. Your second didn’t follow onto the jujutsu society and made a life of his own outside the dangers of your reality. Your third inherited Choso’s blood manipulation and was almost bought by the Kamo clan but of course, you and Choso shielded your child away from the mess that is clan families. Your fourth also became a jujutsu sorcerer and your youngest inherited your cursed technique. All in all, your children now had lives of their own with all of them being fully fledged adults.

With a sigh, you yawned, reaching out for the scrapbook and putting it on your lap. You flipped to the next page and a grin etched on your face. You giggled, motioning to Choso the scrapbook. It was you and Choso all those years ago before you were married. It was that day out when Choso kissed you on the ferris wheel. It was when you two were sitting on the sea wall when he secretly snapped a picture of you looking the other way. A glint flashed through Choso’s eyes, his lips mirroring your grin. Choso traced the design by the photo, it was a bunch of lollipop wrappers you two had been eating when you were designing this specific page. He remembered you chastising him for almost emptying the packet of lollipops. Chuckling, he turned to look at you to see you looking at him so lovingly “I love you” you told him and Choso felt his chest tighten. It was a wonder how you still had so much effect on him when you had literally spend your lifetime together “And I love you”

Choso examined the wrinkles in your eyes when you smiled. Your once smooth skin was now wrinkled out of old age. Your once vibrant hair is now a dull white. Both your eyes now have a cataract that clouded your sight. And your lips remain chapped no matter how many times you apply a lip balm. But even with all these things you’ve obtained as you aged, you still looked so darn beautiful. It was no secret that his never changing youth made you insecure. You wished he could age up with you but realized that was selfish and so you brushed off these thoughts. What you didn’t know is that Choso also wished the same. He wished he could grow old with you and get wrinkly together.

It was cruel how he couldn’t age with you. If you thought about it, he’s actually more than a century older than you yet here you are, minutes away from letting go. Choso clutched your hands, his eyes shaking as you breathed frailly. He breathed out your name, tears brimming in his eyes. He let out a whimper when you called his name, hiding in the cold of your hands “Choso” You repeated, feeling a pang on your chest. You leaned forward to embrace him, trapping him in your arms resulting in Choso to lean on your shoulder, letting out a quiet cry.

You cooed, kissing his temple before hiding your face in his hair, his locks drying the tears that fell on your cheeks. “Don’t go” He cried, his voice muffled “Not you too” His voice cracked causing your arms to tighten around him “Choso, Choso” With that, Choso looked you in the eyes.

“Please never be alone-” You paused, composing yourself. Choso held your cheeks as you continued “-find someone-” “I could never love someone else other than you” Choso said committedly. You gave him a look before you continued “-please, please don’t blame yourself” You held his cheeks, giving him a soft smile as you plead “And please don’t be sad”

You broke, Choso catching your tears with his mouth. Planting kisses on your face, Choso savored you in. The both of you could feel it. It was the worst feeling ever. But thinking back to your life, it was never short of happiness. Choso was the pill that gave you the energy to live your fullest. He was the reason you found a purpose in life and became a mother of five. He was the reason you ever felt true happiness. And thinking back to all those memories, you can confidently say that you left this world with no regrets.

 ๋࣭     ࣪ ˖        ⋆ ࣪.     ˖ ࣪⭑      ˖ ࣪ ٬     ุ๋ ⸱ ๋࣭     ࣪ ˖        ⋆ ࣪.     ˖ ࣪⭑      ˖ ࣪  ๋࣭

A snowflake fell on Choso’s nose causing it to twitch at the contact. It was cold and Choso stood in the midst of the crowd, unmoving as stone. He sighed, a cloud forming in front of his mouth. Yuuji had called him to meet him in the plaza in front of the huge clock that stood tall in the middle of the park. Choso scanned his surroundings and took note of the large crowd that flocked together at night. It was the night before Christmas eve and Choso was alone. His children all had their own families to tend to. The original plan was to celebrate at his home but plans tend to change and Choso ended up alone. If not for Yuuji, he would probably be asleep by now.

“Choso!” Hearing someone call out his name, Choso turned to see his brother and his friend, Megumi, heading his way. Yuuji’s pink hair is now white, his smile now has wrinkles on them. It was the same with Megumi and Choso remembered he couldn’t age. It made him sigh, wanting nothing but age together with the people he cares about. It bothered him so much, especially with his eldest child looking much older than him. It was unfair, Choso wailed to the gods.

Choso let them pull him wherever, going along with the flow. But even with the boisterous laughs of his brother and the chatter that filled his ears, he felt alone. He was surrounded by people yet he felt so cold. Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Choso going along wherever his companions went.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Yuuji. He was worried about his brother which is why he called him in the first place. His legs hurt from old age but if it means his brother would feel better, he would go out in the cold to walk with him. Megumi already went home and Yuuji is walking Choso home. He noted the faraway look Choso held. Yuuji felt sad at the sight. He remembered how Choso shined when you were still alive. But the Choso walking beside him now was nothing but the shell left of his body. His eyes held no soul, that is until Choso’s eyes landed on the ferris wheel.

It was the same ferris wheel as back then. Like before, it flickered in different lights, switching its color as it rotated. Choso held a cry, feeling a lump in his throat. You. Oh, you. He is so in love with you still. He saw that yellow pod, though unsure if it was the one, his heart ached at the memory of you. His heart always aches every second of the day. You, he thought of you. He felt the linger of your touch on his skin, your breath as you laughed against him. He felt your kisses and the love you felt for him. The clutch of your fingers as you held onto him. He felt you.

He breathed in the cold air, taking his eyes off the ferris wheel into the night sky. The jet black sky was painted with the white of the snowflakes that fell. One dropped on his cheek and rolled down the same time a tear fell down from his hollow eyes. A breath left his throat, a smoke coming out of his mouth. He will find you, he is determined to find you. No matter how long it takes. No matter what millennia he meets you again. He will be there and you would be in his arms again. He will tell you the stories he’s lived and live another lifetime with you. No matter how many lifetimes, what matters is he’s with you.

Another set of tears run down his cheeks. He misses you but he will live on. He will live on.

He will live on.

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[sassyhobbits]

for one night standards would you write a scene where aelin cant be found in the castle maybe bc shes doing sth ridiculous with her daughter like a mother daughter photoshoot to surprise rowan with later but when rowan can't find her he gets all panicked and out of his mind bc he still has unresolved trauma from when she was kidnapped and its all angsty until he has both back in his arms but also gives rowan a chance to talk and work through his experience with aelin gone? (because lets face it he probably ignores his feelings about that as much as possible in order to not burden aelin further and because it was just too painful)

loved this idea!!! i also added the prompt “Because I know when I open my eyes this will all turn out to be a dream and I’ll lose you again“ Thank you to everyone who supported ONS!! i had such a fun time writing it and im always happy to come back to it. enjoy!!

~~~

Rowan Whitethorn was generally a patient man.

He knew how to wait his turn, to take his time. He was always one to raise a brow at those who seemed to be in a harried rush to everything. It seemed stressful, to say the least. He was perfectly content to sit back when needed.

Except for now.

He had made a trip back home to Doranelle to surprise Isolde for her graduation from her masters program. Aelin had wanted to come as well, but with the baby and the responsibilities she had back in Orynth, it just hadn’t worked out. Still, she sent her well-wishes to Isolde through a video chat, letting little Eliora babble into the camera and say hello as well.

Their daughter was just over six months now, already growing far too fast for Rowan’s liking. He treasured every moment he got to spend with his two favorite girls.

And although he was always happy to see his family back in Doranelle, it had been the longest he had been away since Eliora had been born. It made him highly impatient to return home.

His jet touched down in Terrasen in the early afternoon. It was summer, though the day was mild. The sky was a vivid blue, fat white clouds floating lethargically on the breeze. Absolutely beautiful.

Due to the time difference, he hadn’t been able to call Aelin before he had got on the plane. He tried to reach her as he slid into the dark sedan that would drive him from the airport to the palace, but all he got was her voicemail.

Maybe she was in the shower, or changing Eliora’s diaper. Maybe their daughter had a finicky night of sleeping and now the pair were trying to catch up on their slumber. It was fine. Or so Rowan told himself. He still hadn’t been able to stop the small clench of nerves at the pit of his stomach.

He scolded those foolish feelings. Of course his wife and daughter were safe. They were just waiting for him to return.

The drive was quick and easy and he was back at the palace before he knew it. His feet carried him towards the room he shared with Aelin, a small smile curling on his lips as he thought about having his wife and daughter in his arms once more. He missed the feeling of Aelin curled against him as they slept.

“Aelin?” he called, pushing into their room and nudging the door shut behind him. “I’m home.”

He was greeted by nothing but silence. No sound of running water in the bathroom to suggest a shower, so soft snores or shifting sheets meaning a nap. He strode into the bedroom, finding that the bed was already neatly made, not a thread out of place.

He dropped his bags by the dresser, noting that Aelin’s phone had been left there, face up. He picked it up, seeing that she still had the notification of a missed call from him and a few miscellaneous emails that hadn’t been checked.

“Aelin?” he said again, moving towards the nursery. He had gotten used to the sight of Aelin sitting in the rocking chair with Eliora, either when the babe was hungry or she just wanted to hold her daughter. Rowan had countless pictures on his phone of the two of them in that position. The sunlight streamed from the window and hit them just right in the mornings, making them look like a painting.

But the nursery was empty and the window was shut.

Those nerves reared their ugly heads once more. He had no reason to assume the worst, the palace was one of the safest places in the kingdom.

But… Aelin had once been snatched away from him on palace grounds. During their own wedding.

Rowan shook himself. No. That was the past. This was now.

Since his wife didn’t have her phone, he knew it would be fruitless to try and contact her that way. But, Rowan knew Aelin better than he knew himself.

He began a sweep of the palace, checking out her favorite haunts. The library was a bust, so was the gym. He had checked the kitchens to see if she had swooped in for a snack or something sweet, but she wasn’t there either. Rowan luckily ran into Aedion, asking the prince if he knew where Aelin was. But her cousin hadn’t seen her at all that morning.

With each failed attempt at finding them, Rowan’s fears steadily crept up. It wouldn’t be much longer before they had wrapped themselves around his throat and pulled him deep into their depths.

He took a long breath to center himself before striding out into the gardens. His heart started beating faster, not seeing any sign of her at first. Rowan’s fingers curled into tight fists as he stepped over fresh, green grass. Gods, where were they? If something had happened to them…

But before Rowan’s fears could conquer him, he heard a soft voice on the summer breeze. A familiar voice at that. Relief washed through him, heavenly and soothing, as he followed that melodic sound.

It was Aelin. It didn’t take him long to realize that she was reading one of Eliora’s favorite books to her. It was a silly tale, and it was made even more vivid when Aelin told it. She was an excellent story-teller. They didn’t know how much Eliora really understood, whether she just liked the brightly colored pictures or the faces her mother would make when she told it. Regardless, it always made the little princess smile.

Rowan rounded a hedge, a warmth spreading through his chest at the sight before him.

Aelin had spread out a large quilt under the shade of a willow. Some of Eliora’s toys were scattered about, but currently, the toddler sat in her mother’s lap, wide-eyes glued on the book before her.

Rowan couldn’t help but think Aelin looked stunning today. Her golden hair was left loose, swaying on the breeze, the summer sun bringing a healthy flush to her cheeks. She wore a silky, pale blue wrap-dress, bare feet tucked beneath her as she read. Eliora looked mighty charming too in a bright pink dress with a matching bow.

Rowan strolled towards them, Aelin’s eyes jumping towards him as she noticed his presence. A huge smile broke out on her stunning face.

“You’re home!” she greeted, putting the book she had been reading aloud down. Eliora, no longer entertained by her mother’s storytelling, crawled over the quilt to grab one of her brightly colored toys. “I thought you were going to call me when you landed?”

“I did, Fireheart,” Rowan said. He lowered herself behind Aelin on the blanket, his wife situated between his legs, before wrapping his arms tightly around her and tugging her back into his chest securely. “You left your phone in our room.”

Rowan placed a lingering kiss on Aelin's shoulder, breathing in her scent deeply. She was safe, in his arms, Eliora happy as can be, sticking her toys in her mouth. Everything was fine.

Aelin turned in his arms slightly, brows knitted slightly. Rowan knew she could see right through him.

“What is it, Ro?”

“It’s nothing, love.”

Aelin narrowed her eyes at him, as if to say, Don’t you lie to me, Buzzard.

Rowan heaved a sigh, reaching out and brushing some of Aelin’s silky hair behind her ear. “It’s just… you didn’t answer me when I called, and I couldn’t find you and Eliora when I got back. I just couldn’t help but think…” His hand drifted until it rested on Aelin’s abdomen, right over the scar she bore from fighting her way to freedom. He saw understanding on his wife’s face.

“We’re here, Rowan. We’re safe.” She placed a gentle hand on Rowan’s cheek, bringing his gaze towards her.

“I know,” Rowan whispered, jaw clenched. “But sometimes, I just worry that when I open my eyes, this will all turn out to be a dream. And I’ll lose you all over again.”

Aelin took his hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “This is real, Rowan. We both fought for this life, for each other. And nothing, nothing, is going to take it away. Ever.”

Rowan saw the determination blazing in Aelin’s eyes. She was right, of course. This was their life now, they had built their happiness bit by bit, even when so much seemed to want to go wrong. But Aelin and Eliora… they were everything to him. He didn’t know if he would ever be able to banish his fears entirely, but he would treasure every moment he spent with them.

Rowan leaned in, kissing Aelin softly before murmuring against her lips, “I missed you.”

She smiled, kissing him again. “I missed you too, Ro.”

They indulged in a few more slow, sweet kisses before loud babbling sounded, tiny hands twisting into Rowan’s trouser. He looked down, finding Eliora’s wide eyes looking up at him, flashing a gummy smile.

Aelin laughed. “It looks like someone else missed you, too.”

Rowan grinned, reaching out and picking up his daughter. He held her up high, making her release the sweetest little laughs, little legs kicking in delight. He kissed Eliora all over her little face before tucking her in one arm, throwing the other around Aelin. Immense love and devotion flowed through him, holding his two girls close.

No wonder why he had been so impatient to get home.

[cloud-9ine]

Through a Golden Lens (pt 1)

⤷ pairing - hawks x (fem) reader

⤷ fandom - bnha 

⤷ warnings - some language, hawks flirting, reader’s cynicism 

⤷ summary - reader is a bitter, overworked photographer at a hero press agency with little patience for her newly assigned muse- hawks

⤷ word count - 4.5k+

⤷ notes - i have lots of ideas so this is probably going to be a multi-part series. also new to tumblr so this might not be the best

⤷ pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6

“Mr. Hawks! Please look this way!” his heavy lidded eyes rolled to the side as another blinding flash burned through his vision. 

“You look perfect, thank you!” it was hard to smile for their benefit, but he managed. Hawks had attended countless of these events for the press. It had been exhilarating at first, with the rush of adrenaline from the cameras and the lights and the endless stream of compliments solidifying his place in the public eye.

Nowadays, it was less thrilling. After a while, they all seemed the same- each one blurring into a senseless flare of cameras and hollow accolades.

He was bored, to say the least.

“Mr Hawks, would you like to come and see? I’d love to hear your opinion on this set!” with a practiced, easy smirk he nodded. It was easier to pander to the artist than to criticise their work. 

He looked good, but when did he not? The shoots were easy to glide through. All he had to do was pull a boyish grin, ‘make love to the camera’ as the photographers always liked to spout. It didn’t really matter what he did: the public would eat up anything with his face slapped on to the front. They all looked the same to him, anyway.

“Looks good,” he wondered why people were so easily satiated by shallow praises, but as he stared at the younger lady’s blush, he couldn’t help but realise that maybe it was him who had something to do with it.

Hawks couldn’t help his gaze from drifting to the door. His skin prickled in the humidity of all the moving bodies in one enclosed space and he longed to take a step outside and stretch his wings in a way that wasn’t to pose for a magazine. 

For a moment, he felt like his prayers had been answered when the door opened, letting in a stream of natural light to breach the artificiality of the modelling room. 

”(L/N)! You were supposed to be here over three hours ago!” the woman in front of him exclaimed, ripping the camera away from his view and marching to the figure that appeared in the light. He blinked in surprise: this entire shoot he hadn’t heard her raise her voice above anything but a low mumble when conversing with him, and now she was positively fuming.

You stared down at your co-worker through honey-tinted shades, expression unamused.

“Yeah, and I was also supposed to be out of this job three years ago. We don’t all do what we’re supposed to, cupcake.”

For a moment, Hawks thought you were a model. Tasteful cream turtleneck tucked into heavily creased mocha skirt, caramel beret perched on your head. There were a few metal, classy looking rings wrapped around your fingers, but as far as he could see, no wedding ring. It was pretty standard style for those who worked in the arts, but somehow you wore it so well. 

Your hair was a little dishevelled, and the dark circles under your eyes combined with the coffee cup in your hand were obvious signs of a rough night. His eyes locked on to the loopy black handwriting on the brown band around the cup.

(L/N) (Y/N)

You were no model, but Hawks couldn’t see the difference.

His wings beat lightly behind his back as he glided over, weaving through the other photographers and models scattered around the area. 

“Hey there, I’m Hawks,” he said smoothly, voice saccharine as he spoke to you. Your attention turned to him as you glanced at him from above the frames of your sunglasses, seemingly unimpressed.

“This the new boytoy, Mizuki?” you asked, eyes raking up and down his figure. Hawks was never one to shy away from the gaze of others, but the way you were inspecting him made him feel so exposed.

“Show some respect,” Mizuki muttered, voice lowered at Hawks’ presence but glare still piercing. You sighed, sparing one last glance at Hawks before snatching the camera out of Mizuki’s hands, leaving her scrambling for the device as you walked away.

“Lemme see what you’ve got already,” Mizuki’s face grew red, half from anger towards you, and half because of the embarrassment of being diminished in front of Hawks.

“(L/N) y-you can’t just come in three hours late and take over! I’ve already done the shoot and Hawks has already expressed that he is pleased with the outcome,” you scoffed, rolling your eyes and shooting the shorter woman a glare over your shoulder.

“There’s no way you’re gonna force me to come into work and make me sit here doing nothing,” you sneered, waving the camera around almost teasingly, “you wanted someone actually skilled to do this shoot, and here I am. Let me do my thing,” without waiting for a response, you left, thumb fumbling with the dial that allowed you to scroll through the photos.

Hawks was impressed. You hadn’t bat an eye when you saw him, and while you were very clearly very late, you were confident in your skills and obviously took your job seriously.

“Who was that?” he questioned, wings spreading slightly as his eyes chased after you. Mizuki bowed her head, remorse filling her expression.

“I apologise for her impertinence. That’s (L/N), she was who your original photographer was supposed to be today, but when she didn’t show up I had to take over,” she huffed, “she’s been like this for about a year now, and the boss is prepared to fire her if she keeps it up. So you’d think she’d be able to pull her at together for you, Mr. Hawks...”

After a while, Hawks tuned out her whining, eyes curiously trained on you, surveying your furrowed brows and expression pinched with annoyance as you studied the photos. Although they looked good enough to him, it appeared that you didn’t share the same sentiment. 

Hawks didn’t have time to avert his eyes when you turned your head, gaze locking on to his. You raised a slightly suspicious brow, but otherwise didn’t entertain his actions. 

“Mizuki, why would you use cool lighting?” you called over your shoulder, not even sparing the decency to turn around and face the person you were addressing. Mizuki frowned, moving to your side. Like a magnet, Hawks did the same, peering over your other shoulder. You eyed him from the corner of your vision for a second before tapping the screen. 

“What do you mean?” you sighed at your co-workers words, evidently frustrated.

“Considering you have bird boy over here in dark academia, accented in warmer yellows, using cool lights will bring out too much of a contrast. We need to match the accent colours with warmer lighting, or use a overlay,” you muttered, seemingly addressing yourself more than the two of them. Mizuki just shook her head.

“That would just oversaturate the image,” you snorted, giving her the same patronising look an adult would give a child if they tried to outsmart them.

“Not necessarily. I could spot-reduce saturation in highlight areas during editing. Or, if you really want your contrast, I could neutralise the warmer shades by using a blue, or compliment them using a red,” Hawks didn’t miss the way you said ‘I’ instead of ‘we’. Mizuki looked agitated, her frown growing deeper.

“Even so, we only have white backdrops. That would be a jarring contrast. You’d need something darker or more clustered to make it work. If you wanted a backdrop change you probably should’ve come earlier,” she spoke with a formality that obviously stemmed from Hawks next to her, but you paid no mind. You were silent for a moment, and Hawks could see your eyes narrowing as you were thinking.

“I need a natural background, huh?” you mumbled, thumbing the buttons on the camera. With a shrug, “alright, bird boy, come on, we’re leaving,” Hawks blinked in surprise as you spun on your heel, a grin breaking onto his face. Finally, he got to leave.

“Whatever you say, boss,” you shot him an irritated look.

“Don’t call me that. I’m 22, not 40,” his feathers ruffled up. “Hey, I’m also 22! What a coincidence, right?” he grinned, winking at you. You just responded by rolling your eyes.

Mizuki spluttered, trying in vain to get either one of you to stop as Hawks trailed after you.

“L-Look, you can’t just leave-” you turned, shoving the camera back into her hands, a mirthless smile on your face.

“Watch me,” your voice was cold, goading her to try and stop you, “bird boy, out, now.” Hawks didn’t have to be told twice. Some of the others whispered and muttered as they realised what was going on, but they all fell quiet when you shot them a sharp glare.

He breathed in the fresh air with a content sigh, his chest feeling lighter now he was out the cramped room. The amber glow from the late afternoon sun kissed his tanned skin as he stretched his arms above his head, his forearms flexing slightly under his dark blazer. His eyes shut in bliss and head tilted back, exposing his sharp jawline.

You eyed him slightly, eyes trailing across his features. Now that you had actually left, you were a little lost on what your plan was. You didn’t regret storming out of there, though, nor did you even consider turning back to apologise.

You took your own camera out of the dark camera bag slung across your body, careful not to scratch it on the tripod, and focused the lens on Hawks. It was smaller, a little more compact than the ones Mizuki and the others were using, but you found that it was much better suited for portrait work. 

The click of the camera shutter brought Hawks out of his stupor, eyes snapping open and immediately landing on you. Your attention had already been diverted to the screen, studying your work. 

“The modelling room is stuffy, I’ll give you that,” you mumbled, zooming in on his face, “but you can stretch while we walk,” Hawks leaned over you, eyes sparkling at the shot.

“Aw, you make me look so good, I’m flattered!” you rolled your eyes.

“Don’t be,” you took a large sip of your coffee, moving down the pathway as you thought. Hawks scrambled after you, his wings puffing out when he reached your side. You couldn’t help but gaze at the bright red feathers as he unfurled his wings, a small, happy chirping noise rumbling at the back of his throat once they were fully spread behind your back. They were warm, you noticed, feeling the heat through your turtleneck. 

Your vision was filled with a cheeky smirk painted on full lips, Hawks’ face appearing in front of your eyes. Your eyes narrowed as you sized him up.

“See something you like?” you rolled your eyes as he purred. 

“Not in the slightest, bird brain,” his wings beat behind his back, hand clutching the fabric on his chest.

“Oh, how you wound me!” Hawks cried, and you couldn’t help but smile slightly, which you quickly covered with your coffee cup. 

“I’m sure you’ll face a villain that will do greater damage than I could,” he hummed, angling his face towards the sun. 

“So, where are we headed?” you chewed on your bottom lip, slinging your camera over your shoulder. 

“It can’t be anywhere with lots of traffic, you attract a lot of attention, you know?” it was a rhetorical question, but Hawks’ chest still puffed out in pride at your words.

“Thanks, it’s because of my raging-”

“Shut up,” you cut him off, “either way, I have a pounding headache and I do not have enough shits to give to put up with your fan girls today,” with a sigh, you rubbed your temples. Hawks stared at your clenched teeth.

“Hey, why do you-” “I think I know where we can go,” he frowned.

“You know it’s not polite to interrupt people like that-”

“Sunflowers.” your tone dripped finality as you faced Hawks, a brazen determination in your eyes he hadn’t seen until now. It made his breath hitch in his throat.

Breathy chuckle escaping his lips, and eyebrows furrowed when you sped your pace, gulping down more of your coffee.

“Uh, what?” you waved a hand dismissively.

“There’s a sunflower field in Fukuroi City, I think it’s west from here,” the tiniest of grins etched onto your features, “it’s gonna be a lot more interesting than the rest of those blank background. Plus, the yellow will compliment your clothes, and with the sun low in the sky I’ll get my perfect warm lighting,” you explained. Hawks wasn’t sure exactly how much of a difference it would make, but the idea seemed charming, and it was more exciting than being perpetually flanked by a white screen.

“Sounds good,” he chirped, “although, to be honest, you could take me out anywhere and I wouldn’t mind,” you rolled your eyes. 

“That’s a shame, because I don’t intend to hang around any more than I have to,” Hawks pouted, crossing his arms.

“Come on, I wanna know more about you!” you bristled.

“Good for you.” the two of you fell into a beat of silence before Hawks smiled, undaunted.

“I’m sure I can win you over somehow,” shaking your head in disbelief, you lifted the cup to your lips, before looking down disappointedly when you realised it was empty.

“I don’t have enough coffee for this,” you muttered. Hawks’ expression brightened. 

“That’s an easy fix: your agency is around here so you must know there area pretty well,” he spoke nonchalantly, as if he was on a casual lunch date and not in the most expensive outfit you’d seen in your entire life, “what’s the best place to grab a coffee?” for a moment, you looked taken aback, before shaking your head.

“Best café in these parts is the Sunset Hour,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck, “but as much as I have no inhibitions regarding bunking off work, that’s a little too far away. I need to take this pictures before the end of the day or Mizuki’ll submit those crappy ones she took in the studio,” Hawks nodded in understanding, smile never faltering for a second.

“Well I gotta get you your caffeine fix somewhere, so what’s the second best?” your expression scrunched in thought for a moment, before you jutted a thumb over your shoulder.

“There’s a Starbucks across the road,” he snickered seeing your blank expression.

“Not exactly where I would want our first date, but I suppose it’ll do,” rolling your eyes, you shoved the empty cup to his chest, which he gripped almost instinctively. 

“Good thing this isn’t a date, then,” Hawks grinned, sending your empty cup on a feather to the nearest bin before chasing after you as you crossed the road. You didn’t spare him a single glance when he appeared at your shoulder, nor when he reached over above your head to open the Starbucks door from behind you.

“So you’re saying we can have our first date somewhere else?” with a shallow sigh, you shook your head.

“What I’m saying is that there’s not gonna be a first date. Not between us,” his chest tightened. God, you were so mean. He’d be into that.

The inside of the Starbucks was a mix between modern, western architecture and traditional Japanese woodwork. The equipment was all cutting edge, and the tables and chairs were made with a sleek mahogany, but the windows were framed with bamboo shutters, and the backroom was separated with shoji sliding doors. It was an curious blend, one that you studied with an interest. The deep, earthy scent of roasted coffee beans heavily imbued the air, filling your nose with the aroma of something far more familiar. 

Given it was the late afternoon, and most people tended not to drink caffeine after 2pm, the patrons were few and far in between. Good for you, at least. It meant you wouldn’t get- “Hawks? Sorry to bother you but can we get a picture?” your head turned at the voice that rung out.

Two high school girls stood to your left, hands clutched together in front of their chests and a dark pink coating their cheeks. With a small sigh, you took a step forward in the small queue. Hawks smiled with all the faux charm in the world, an obvious change in his demeanour as his pride spiked.

“Of course! And just as it happens, I have my personal photographer here who can make sure your photos look amazing as you two do!” it took you a moment to register what he had said through the excited squeals of the girls before he clutched your shoulders and pulled you forward, causing you to stumble slightly. 

“Your what?” he sent you an audacious smirk, willing you to play along as one of the girls handed you her phone. Your first instinct was to decline, but as you met the eyes of the girls, so eager and bright, you couldn’t find it in you to disappoint them. 

Taking a couple steps back, you lifted the phone, slightly angling it so the picture looked more natural, and not that of a celebrity and their fans (even if it was). You squinted angrily at the poor lighting, but tried to rectify it the best you could. The girls looked a little tense, but Hawks was a natural. A liberal smirk played on his lips and shoulders rolled back, relaxed. Even with the low lighting, the highlights on his cheekbone and jawline were indescribably perfect, and you weren’t sure if the credit should go to you or his god-like genes.

“Wow, that’s perfect!” one of the girls cried, her body appearing by your side. You hadn’t even noticed her moving, “thank you so much!” you just nodded, handing her back her phone and crossing your arms, eyes narrowing at Hawks.

“If that’s all, ladies, we best be ordering,” they nodded frantically at Hawks’ words, sharply bowing and spouting their thanks to the two of you countless times. They left the Starbucks, but even outside you could still hear them fawning over the picture. He faced you with a grin, but you couldn’t muster up a smile.

“Don’t go around telling people I’m your personal photographer,” you sneered. He pouted, looking genuinely disappointed for a second. “What, you don’t wanna be mine?” “Not in the slightest.” 

“What will be your order, Miss?” the barista had directed the question at you, but it was clear his attention was elsewhere. You weren’t surprised, but a small swell of annoyance grew in your mind.

“Can I have a mocha with a double shot of expresso?” Hawks chuckled.

“Might as well have an expresso, you know. You’re basically just taking a shot of caffeine,” you shrugged.

“It’s my favourite drink. I like the chocolate taste,” he looked at you with round eyes, a small squeeze in his chest.

“And you, sir?”

“Oh, I’ll have the same, then,” he didn’t miss the way your eyes darted to him. The barista nodded, tapping for a couple seconds before turning back.

“That’ll be 660 yen,” “I’m paying,” Hawks blurted, even before you could offer. You were silent, a small nod in the affirmative rocking your head. As he handed over the bills, he chuckled. “You know, not that I mind, but usually couples would argue over who’s paying,” you rolled your eyes.

“We’re not a couple,” you watched the barista prepare your drinks, more of a way to occupy yourself rather than a genuine interest, “besides, you’re a lot richer than I am. I don’t mean to be impolite, but I’m sure you can lose 600 yen and still be good,” he hummed happily.

“No disagreements there.” “Are you two eating in or taking out?” the barista asked, in the midst of securing the plastic lids to the top of the cups. Hawks’ eyes sparkled as he turned to you with an excitement you assumed only appeared in children.

“Hey, we can-” “Take out,” you responded, giving a now deflated Hawks a challenging look, “I will leave you here if I have to.” the blonde grinned. “You wouldn’t. You need me for the pictures,” he sang, voice jovial.

“I don’t care about you that much. The sunflowers are probably less annoying subjects anyway,” oh. With no warning, his heart beat sped up, his wings puffing out slightly. Sure, he wouldn’t mind if you were a little nicer to him, but your insults were like a breath of fresh air. There was no doubt that Hawks loved the limelight, loved the popularity he got, but the relentless ass-kissing got old after a while. You kept him on his toes. Even if he was just constantly chasing after you every time you brushed him off, he didn’t care. 

“Put those away, bird brain,” it was then he realised his wings had spread further than he intended, stretched out on either side of him. One was curled right around his face, and he almost felt himself blushing as he pulled them in. It was just animal instincts, he assured himself. 

The rest of the journey was filled with a one-sided conversation of him talking and commenting on what was around you, with no response from you except the occasional witty retort or light-hearted jab at his expense, each one making his heart flutter. It wasn’t too long before you had arrived, the chain link fence around the plot stretching high above your head and corroded with orange rust. 

Rows and rows of bright yellow sunflowers stretched to the horizon, an immense display of summer vitality. The fragrance was potent, a sort of cloying sweetness that you didn’t hate. And just as you were about to enter, you knew you had made a mistake. 

“Oh.” Hawks stared at you incredulously, attention switching from your taken aback expression to the sign posted on the gate.

“You didn’t check to see it was open?” you looked up at him, allowing him to survey a tinge of remorse he hadn’t recognised until this point. 

“Look, how was I supposed to know? This place has always been open at this time since I was a little kid,” you rubbed your arm, brows furrowed. Hawks sighed, rolling his shoulders back.

“Well, the sun’s too low to go anywhere else outside,” he shrugged, “it’s no biggie, I guess. Those other photos weren’t too bad. Hey, now that we’re free, do you want to- what are you doing?” your foot was halfway in the gaps in the gate, the wedges on your heels making it hard to climb.

“I’m not wasting my day for nothing,” you growled, fingers curling around the metal, “get climbing, bird boy,” with a soft sigh, smile gracing his lips and a warm feeling in his chest, Hawks spread his wings.

“I think you’re forgetting something that’ll make this a lot easier,” you felt a cool draft on your back as Hawks flapped his wings, the feeling being quickly replaced by the warmth of his chest as he pulled you in. A foreign emotion coiled in your stomach, but you convinced yourself that it was just the flight.

One arm wrapped around your shoulders, the other supporting your knees, and all Hawks was thinking that such a gentle flight never felt so calming. 

Your feet tapped against the soft soil, sinking in to it slightly when the hero placed you down. You nodded your thanks.

“Let’s go over there, I want the sun coming in from the right,” Hawks nodded, content to just follow your orders. You pulled the tripod from your bag and set it up, adjusting it to your liking as Hawks looked around, trying to think of a pose. 

Once everything was ready, you turned your attention to Hawks.

“I want to humanise you,” he grinned curiously as you walked over.

“What do you mean by that?” he nearly gasped when you grabbed his chin, angling his face to the side and slightly up, towards the sun. You took a step closer, reaching up and running a hand through his hair. He bit his lip, hands trembling as you tugged slightly, trying to mess it up a little.

“All the photos I’ve seen on you always put a huge emphasis on either your wings or your hero status, and I don’t really see why,” you mumbled, placing one hand on his jawline while the other fixed his hair to your liking, letting a few strands fall in front of his eyes, “I think that just creates a divide. If they wanted you to seem angelic they should play that up, not just have it the norm,” you huffed, “anyway, I wanna put the emphasis on you and not your wings. So ideally if you could tuck them behind your back that would be wonderful,” 

Hawks nodded, disappointment filling him as you stepped away. He made sure not to move as he awkwardly folded his wings over each other and pulled them in, glancing at you with a look of apprehension. You just nodded in approval, leaning down to your camera. 

You took plenty of shots, allowing him plenty more opportunities to feel your hands on him (and he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it). 

“Hey, why were you so late today?” Hawks dared to question while you were analysing your photos. You were perched on a bench, appreciating your work. The late sun cast a golden sheen on his skin, the spattering of glimmering rays highlighting his face in all the right places. 

“I was sleeping,” you responded, deleting an out of focus shot. His eyes narrowed.

“What?” “Just as it sounds. Figured if they were gonna make me work so I could only have three hours of sleep a night it was gonna be on their time, not mine,” he frowned, taking a seat next to you.

“They shouldn’t work you that hard,” you shrugged with a hollow laugh, blank gaze in your eyes. 

“What am I gonna do? Have them fire me? As much as I hate this job it’s the only thing that pays for my coffee in the morning,” he was silent as you stood up, stretching your arms behind your bag before tucking everything back in your bag. 

“Did you want to be a photographer?” he questioned, only to be met with a forlorn smile.

“Maybe at one point.” the two of you lapsed into silence before you sighed.

“Well, I’ve gotta submit these to Mizuki, and I’m sure you need-” Hawks caught your wrist, spinning you back around.

In the glow of the sunset, you looked almost ethereal. Your eyes gleamed, and cheeks warmed in the orange flare. Sunflowers framed your form, and the words caught in his throat, nearly stopping him from saying anything at all.

“Come work for me.” he blurted. You snorted.

“No.” all he could do was smile as you hopped back over the fence, not waiting up for him.

“Yeah. That’s what I thought you’d say.”

[tomtenadia]

A Little Braver - 20

Even if I had a crazy day at work I did manage to do my Monday post as promise... but if you notice typos...I am sorry. I read it and edited but my brain  left with the boat tonight (I work for a ferry company, hence the joke)

This is the first of a few chapters where our bird boy is away and Hamel is causing problems to our gang.

Also, Aelin tries to cook... well... you can imagine how did that go.

--------------------

After the trip to the base Aelin had taken home a very sad Elide and then got back to her own place and cried herself to sleep while hugging Rowan’s pillow. It was very late in the afternoon and it was her day off and she had no intention of leaving her bed.

Her head was buried under the pillow when she heard her phone buzz so she scrambled to get it and her heart raced when she saw it was Rowan.

“Hi,” she said with a croaked vice.

“Are you okay?” Rowan was already in fussing mode.

“Yes I just woke up.” She heard a lot of background noise “where are you?”

“Vulture’s row.” He activated his camera and showed Aelin the view of a fully functional flight deck. “Uh, wait.” He pointed the camera stern of the ship and showed Aelin a jet landing.

“That was so cool.” He turned the camera to him and she saw him with his sunglasses and his hair messed up by the wind. Then he switched off the camera and they went back to normal.

“Are you there yet?”

“We are skirting around. We still have a few hours before we are fully in enemy territory.”

Then Aelin heard a siren of some sort and Rowan swore “I’ll call you as soon as I can again. I need to scramble. Love you.”

“Be safe.” She managed to add before he closed the phone call.

She collapsed again in bed then decided to call Lysandra and Elide and organise a day out the three of them shopping. Elide needed cheering up as well.

The next day Aelin, Elide and Lysandra had decided to have a girls’ afternoon to cheer up the two ladies who had their boys away. They met at the entrance of the shopping centre and Aelin went to hug Elide first of all “how are you doing?”

“Lorcan gave me a brief call yesterday telling me they were on the ship and on their way, then he had to go.”

Aelin sighed “today we don’t think about our far away boys.”

“And maybe you can buy some very sexy lingerie as a present for when Lorcan comes back.” Commented Lysandra and Elide blushed.

“What’s the point?” Asked Elide “you are taking it off anyway.”

Aelin laughed and took Elide’s hand “remember the dress I had at the navy party?”

Elide nodded “it was stunning.”

“I was not wearing anything underneath. It drove Rowan crazy.”

“I have done it a few times with Aedion and I agree with Aelin. The sex afterward has been amazing.”

“How do I learn all these things?”

“Stick with us and we will teach you.”

“Let’s go for some food,” said Aelin, “I haven’t eaten yet.”

“How will you survive now without your sexy chef in the house?” Asked Lysandra.

“Oh, I’ll just go back to my usual order in and ready meals.” Shrugged Aelin who had no intention of even trying to cook anything.

Lysandra took Aelin’s hand and walked toward a restaurant “come on Elide, let’s get this girl properly fed.”

The three women got into the restaurant and sat down and Aelin started perusing the menu eager for some decent food and not long after they placed their order. Lys was right, without Rowan she would be lost when it came to food. Rowan had properly spoiled her.

“How are the wedding preparations going?” Asked Aelin.

Lysandra and Aedion’s wedding was not far away and she was excited to see her best friend finally having her happy ending.

“We are getting there.”

“Do you have a dress yet?” Asked Elide all excited.

Lysandra took out her phone and showed them her dress.

“That is gorgeous. Aedion will not be able to keep his eyes off you during the ceremony.”

“That is the plan.” Lysandra smiled wickedly “but the biggest question is who is going to be next?”

“My money is on Aelin,” chimed Elide “Lor is not emotionally ready for such a step. You and the captain on the other hand…” her eyebrows flicked in amusement.

“She is right, and the two of you basically live together.”

“Yes and no.”

“What do you mean?” Lysandra was confused by the admission.

“We haven’t covered the subject yet. He still has his flat and some of his stuff there. Even after I recovered he never left and I never pushed because I like having him around.”

“Will you ask him to move in officially?”

Aelin sighed “maybe. When he comes back. I don’t know. Things are going well and I don’t want to mess it up.”

“Do you think he’ll say no?” Asked Lysandra. Brainstorming with her friend was always helpful and recently she hadn’t done it enough.

“I don’t think so. But living together is as far as we can go just now. For many, many reasons.”

“Is it because of Sam?”

“Only partially.” She was not going to tell her friends Rowan’s story. She had no right. So she remained vague hoping the two friends would get the hint and not ask anymore questions.

“Still, my money is on you two.” Added Lys “Elide is right, Lorcan does not seem to have yet the emotional ability to commit.”

“Hey, he kissed her in public. And yesterday at the base he seemed quite nice to her.”

“Quite?”

“I don’t know, I was concentrating on Rowan I just cast a brief glance at them.” Replied Aelin.

“He was super kind.” Added Elide taking biting on a breadstick.

Their food finally arrived and Aelin was the first to tuck in.

“Does the captain know about your crazy eating habits?” Asked Lysandra amused.

“Yes,” replied Aelin, enjoying her food “he calls me his bottomless pit. When we had our first date he joked that he might need a mortgage just to feed me.”

Elide laughed “Sam used to joke and say that he needed a second job just for feeding you.”

“I move a lot,” replied Aelin with a grin “I have a big appetite.”

“I think it must be a firefighter thing. Aedion is the same.” Lysandra grinned “and we burn a lot of calories.”

“Eeewwww, I did not need to know that. He is my cousin.”

“Oh come one, as if you and hot captain do not engage in illicit activities. The whole squad guessed that the other night you two had sex in the shower after the call at the club.”

“I was just giving him a special goodbye.” Her hand gently brushed the spot where she could feel his tags. She did a bit of research and she was happy she had a copy. Having the real one meant he was gone and she could not think about that.

“Are you okay?” Asked Lysandra worried at her sudden change of expression.

“Yeah.” She added flatly, then gave them a big smile. It was their day off she should not spoil it.

“So, are we taking Elide lingerie shopping?” Aelin teased trying to raise the spirits of her friend.

“Yes, it’s going to be fun.” Added Lysandra all excited.

“Girls… there is really no need. What I have is okay. Lorcan is not fussed.”

Aelin took a bite of her food “oh but we will make sure he is fussed and also that he knows how sexy you are so he does not decide to…. wander.”

“How do I keep him? I am nowhere near as interesting as the two of you. He might get bored of me very soon.”

Aelin stared at her friend and it broke her heart that her horrible past left her with no confidence at all. Elide was brilliant at her job and she was an intelligent woman and she was positive she would make quite a few heads turn.

“Don’t you say something like that ever again.” Lysandra preceded her. She was even more protective of Elide than her “I work with you everyday and I know how awesome you are and I am positive that if we go to a club you’d have your share of men looking at you.”

Aelin nodded.

They finished their meal and went back wandering around the shopping centre and visited a few shops. In one of them Aelin wandered in the male department and spotted a couple of lovely jumpers. One of them was a deep green and looked very cozy and she realised she had no idea of when it was Rowan’s birthday.

Silly question, you never told me your birthday. She sent the text and knew a reply might take a long time to come. She grabbed the jumper and tried to decide whether it was the right size for him.

“That is a lovely jumper.” Said Lysandra joining her at her side “already thinking about useful presents? You are like an old married couple.”

Aelin laughed.

“But I think this one is really nice and the man seems to look amazing in green.”

“I am just wondering about the size.”

Lysandra grabbed the tag “this one will fit Aedion so you should be fine.”

A moment later Elide rejoined them, her face beetroot red “I feel so silly.” And showed the girls her bag with her lingerie purchase.

“Hey, Ace and I are joking. You didn’t have to buy it if it makes uncomfortable.” But Elide surprised them “I will buy just one pair for now and I’ll see how it goes.”

Lysandra laughed “Aelin is already buying presents married couple style and you are still in the sexy lingerie stage. My girls have grow up so much.”

“And what stage are you and Aedion?” Asked Aelin with a grin.

“The one where I go to the grocery store and I phone him to ask him if he wants beef or chicken for dinner.”

The rest of the afternoon went swimmingly and she loved spending the day with Lys and Elide. They didn’t do that nearly enough.

Now she was back home and in the kitchen trying to accomplish her new mission. She had bought a cooking book for beginners and she had decided she was going to try and cook dinner. Lysandra had told her to start with something as simple as a stir fry. So she had bought a few more kitchen supplies and a pan Lys had told her was called a wok. She had mused why she could not use the pot she already had and Lys had rolled her eyes. Aelin had also bought the ingredients and now they were all lined up in front of her, the book open and a fire blanket and a small fire extinguisher on the counter just to be safe it was her cooking after all. She took a photo and sent it to Rowan then started working. When it got to cut the onions she cursed herself for deciding to cook.

Her phone rang and put it on speaker “hey,” her voice sounded strained and Rowan went in full fussing mode “are you okay?”

“Yeah, cutting those blasted onions.” She sniffled.

Over the line she heard Rowan roar with laughter “what are you making?” He asked as soon as he stopped laughing.

“A chicken stir fry. Lys said it’s easy to do.”

“Why are you putting onions in it?”

“Because I like them, mr I know how to cook.”

“I even bought a wok. Apparently I cannot use my pot.” She added as while throwing the ingredients in the pan.

“Seriously, when I get back we are going to have a massive overhaul of your kitchen.”

And Aelin’s heart raced in joy. It sounded like he had no intention of going back permanently to his flat. Maybe when he got back she should ask him the question after all.

“Aelin, it’s a miracle you have cutlery and two plates.” She could hear the humour in his voice.

“How are things going?”

“I just came off patrol. I am on my way to my quarters to get changed. I don’t have the most appealing scent just now.”

“Shower without me, so what? Two minutes max?”

“That’s about it. The water supply is not endless.”

He finally got to his quarters and collapsed on his bed after removing his boots then lay down and activated the camera.

“Hi sexy,” she did the same and placed the phone against the wall in front of her so he could see her as well.

“I don’t see any smoke. That’s a good start, considering it’s you.”

Aelin gave him the middle finger and then showed him her small fire extinguisher “I am prepared.” She took a bit of her food “for now it tastes edible, but not as good as yours.”

She saw him give her a smug smile and her instinct was to wipe it off his face with a kiss.

“The answer is July 16th, by the way.”

Aelin looked at him not understanding his statement.

“My birthday? You asked me earlier on.”

That she did “That’s two months away.”

“And when it’s yours?”

“May 3rd.”

“Aelin, that’s in two days.” He added sadly “and it sucks I can’t be there.”

“Lys has planned to drag me out with the girls of the firehouse. It’s also her bachelorette party. I have to go.”

“I almost forgot they were getting married. That came around quickly.”

Aelin laughed “not when you have been around them for years.” Aelin placed her food in a plate and moved to the sofa, taking her phone with her.

“When is the wedding?”

“This weekend. The weather is meant to be gorgeous which is a good thing since they are getting married outdoors.”

She heard him sigh “I really, really wish I could be there with you.”

She did not add that she had been thinking the same. So she just took a bite of her food.

“Edible?”

“Fuck no,”Aelin spit the morsel back in the plate “I must have done something wrong with the spices. It tastes horrible.” She grabbed her house phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Clearly ordering in. I am not eating this.”

Rowan rolled his eyes “you should practice more.”

“Why bother? I am clearly not cut for cooking. I am hopeless.”

“Do I need to tell you the amount of times my food sucked when I was still learning to cook decently? I got better with trial and error.”

Aelin huffed “fine I’ll try again on my next day off.” Then she put her house phone down after placing the order “I thought you were going for a shower?”

“Eager to get rid of me?”

“No, I just was hoping to have a peek at that nice arse of yours.”

Rowan laughed “If you behave.”

“Do you have the quarters all for yourself?”

Rowan nodded in the screen “the perks of rank. Gav is sharing with Vaughan. The twins are on their own.”

“Is that wise?”

“This carrier has a nice number of female officers. No one wants to go anywhere near that room.”

“Remember I am jealous, Whitethorn.”

“Some of them are middies on their snot cruise, so very young. The others… still not interested.”

“Who is a middie?”

“It’s short for midshipman or woman. They are the lowest ranking officers in the navy, just above the cadets. And a snot cruise is their first time out at sea on a proper mission.”

“Are your students middies as well?” She loved asking all those questions that might have sounded silly to him, but he never made her feel stupid for asking. He was always happy to answer.

“No, my students are called pilot officers. Then they become Flying officers, then flight lieutenants which is what the twins are, then Vaughan is our squadron leader, Gav is the Wing commander and then you have me.”

“Sounds so complicated.” She definitely needed to do more research to understand his job a bit better.

“It’s like you guys. Aedion looks after one rig as a lieutenant, you are the captain and are in charge of the operations of both at the same time and Dorian will be in charge of all the engines in case multiples houses are involved. Am I correct?”

Aelin nodded impressed.

“Same for us. Vaughan looks after our small squadron, Gav two or three squadrons, which is called a wing. I look after a unit composed of different wings and then Lorcan plays god in the CIC.”

“Now it makes more sense. So I could be your wing commander.”

“Having you fly with us would be insane. We would not concentrate on the enemy.”

Aelin laughed, then the buzzer of the door went off “just a sec, buzzard, food is here.” She went to get her food and plopped back on the sofa resuming her call with Rowan.

“Is your ship nice?”

“I served on her before. Not as swanky as the new one, but she is decent enough.” Rowan sat back up “hey, I really need to take that shower and then it’s chow time. If I miss it I don’t eat until tomorrow morning.”

“Go. Sorry for keeping you.”

“You did not such things. I have been looking forward to call you.”

“I love you.” She told him, sending back the tears that had started forming.

“I love you too, Fireheart.”

Aelin waved him goodbye and went back eating while tears had begun flowing down her cheeks. It had only been two days and she hoped it would get easier being so far apart.

***

The next morning she arrived at the station bright and early, got changed and went straight to Aedion “Are you ready?”

The man nodded “Peter is covering you until we get back from the police and I got Manon in charge of the second rig.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

They arrived at the police headquarters not long after and Chaol met them at the reception area “Hi guys,”

“Here’s my favourite cop.” Aelin went to hug Chaol.

“Just because I keep reporters away from you.”

She gave him a huge smile back.

“Come, detective Ytger is waiting for you.” They followed behind him in silence and stopped in front of a door and knocked.

A female voice told them to go in and once in the office Aelin recognised the same woman at one of the arson cases a few months back.

“Captain, Lieutenant, we meet again.” The three shook hands and the detective sat back down and invited both cousins to do the same.

The detective threw a thick file on the desk “you two have just made a very powerful enemy.”

“The man is a bastard.”

“Believe me, captain, when I tell you that Hamel has been a thorn in my side for a very long time.”

“And why is he still at large? Two people died and the man did not care.”

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose “he has very powerful lawyers and always gets away with murder. We have been working on him for a long time but whatever piece of proof we bring in is never enough to get him behind bars for good.” Aelin could sense the tiredness in her voice.

“Did you close his club as I asked?”

“We did, but he owns almost all the ones in Orynth. And so much more.”

“Can’t you arrest him for murder?” voiced Aedion.

“No, his lawyers showed us the papers of the latest inspections and the place was deemed to code. He blamed the company that did the inspections for lying to him.”

“Detective, I hope you are aware that is a bullshit.” Said Aedion, fury burning under his surface.

“I am well aware.” The woman added almost apologetically “the closure is temporary. It will not stick too long.”

Aelin almost swore “Have the other clubs been checked?”

“We did some undercover recon but we don’t have the full skillset to know what’s up to code.”

Aelin smiled wickedly “well, it’s a good thing that you have a firefighter whose birthday is very soon and was planning to go to a club.”

“You are not dragging Lys and the others in this.”

“Calm down. Hamel does not know them, they are safe. I will wear a disguise.”

“I don’t like the sound of this.” He protested again but he knew Aelin could be stubborn.

“I am coming too.”

“No,” said Aelin “One: Hamel remembers how you lifted him up and he will not forget such act. Two: it’s Lys bachelorette party as well. So, no.” she paused “you can take the guys to another one.”

“What happens if we find both clubs not up to specs?” Asked Aelin worried that it was going to be a lost cause.

“We can start by closing them and gather a bit more time to have more material against him. We have other leads. We just need something significant.”

They discussed with the detective which clubs to hit and they left.

Once in the car Aedion made his displeasure quite clear “I do not like this.”

“Neither do I, but the police has no idea what to look for.” Replied Aelin.

“We are not cops.”

“And they are not firefighters.”

After that they drove in silence all the way back to the station.

***

Two days had passed and Aelin’s birthday had arrived. She arrived at the station and laughed at the scene. One of the rigs was covered in balloons and a sign saying happy birthday, cap and the second rig was for Aedion and Lysandra and the front of the truck had a long white sheet over it that looked like a bridal veil and two massive papier mache rings attached to the front.

She laughed and joined Ansel and Manon who were doing some checks “did everyone see this?” She pointed at the engine and truck. The two women nodded.

“Then let’s clear it. I do not want to go on a call in that state.”

“Yes, captain.” Said the two women in unison. 

The locker room was empty and she sat down on the bench and looked at her phone again. She was hoping for a text from Rowan or a call but nothing yet. She kept telling herself that he was busy and probably out flying. She removed his dog tags and hung them in the locker and stood and stared at the pictures she had hung up. It was some of the photos they had taken in Doranelle. With her finger she brushed a photo of him. He was standing and looking up to the sky. His eyes closed and a small smile painted on his face and his hair all tousled after she had messed it up. It was one of her favourite photos of him. “Be safe, please.” And she blew him a kiss.

Aelin got dressed and then reached the team who was having breakfast in the communal room.

“She is here.” Shouted Nox happily.

Luca grabbed her arm and pulled to the table where a cake was waiting for her.

“Chocolate hazelnut cake. Your favourite.” He cut a slice and offered it to her.

Aelin grabbed it eagerly “mmmmm”

“Get a room you two,” shouted Ress.

A moment later Manon came through with a man carrying a large box “he says this is for you, captain.”

“Thanks, Manon.”

Aelin grabbed the box from the courier and sat down on the sofa. It came from a shop in Orynth. Strange. She opened the box and when she peeked inside she saw a massive stuffed toy. Once she lifted it she realised it was a bird and she had a feeling she knew who it was from.

“A bird? Why a bird?” Asked Lysandra.

Aelin smiled, grabbed the stuffed toy and walked to her bunk to be alone when she noticed the letter inside.

Once alone she sat down on her bed and placed the bird at her side and read the letter

Happy birthday, fireheart.

I wish I could be there for you but I can’t and it hurts more than I thought possible.

If you are reading this, you have met your new friend. I could not find a buzzard but a toy shop in Orynth had a white-tailed hawk and since I have silver hair I thought it was the closest option. Do we look similar? He will keep you company while I can’t be there with you.

I will try and call you tomorrow if I get a free moment, but the guys and I have pulled alert crew duty for the day so no phone for me.

Have fun with the girls and leave the other guys alone especially if they are navy and army.  Aelin chuckled at the joke

I miss you already.

I love you. Madly. 

To whatever end.

Yours, 

Buzzard.

By the time she had finished reading the letter she was in tears. She hugged the soft toy and for a moment she hoped to smell his scent of pine and snow. She went to her locker, grabbed the dog tags and put them around the bird’s neck “you look after them while I am on shift, but then I take them back.” After that she took a photo and sent it to Rowan “I think I will call him Rowan.”

**

It was later that night and Lysandra and Elide were at Aelin’s place to get ready for their fun night. Aelin though, was not in the mood. Rowan had eventually called her but the phone call was cut short when he had go and scramble. Soft toy Rowan was on her bed, his dog tags back on since she would not be wearing them with her dress.

Lysandra was going through her wardrobe looking for a dress for the night.

“So, the captain does have clothes that are not uniform,” said the woman going through his clothes but Aelin glared at her and Lys went back to Aelin’s side of the dresser.

“Did he phone you?”

“Yeah.” Said Aelin flatly while wearing her dress.

“Lorcan said they were having a couple of shitty days.”

Aelin ignored her friend or she would end up in tears and ruin her make up.

“Did he give you his dog tags?” Asked Lys noting them pending from the bird’s neck.

“No, he can’t. He made a copy. And I don’t want the original ones until he retires.”

“Why?” Asked Elide while she was busy fixing her hair.

“Because it means he is dead. They are used for identification.” Replied Lysandra flatly. She had learned that from Aedion.

“Can we please change subject?” Snapped Aelin.

Lysandra grabbed a green dress “what do you think?”

“It will go perfectly with your eyes.” Said Aelin wearing her blue dress.

“I thought you loved the captain.” Said Elide.

“Uh?”

“That dress?” Added Lys pointing at her attire “it makes you look as if you are open to being chased.”

“Too slutty?”

“Ansel will be proud of you.”

Aelin smiled “I do love the captain and I have no plans on taking anyone home. My only companion in bed tonight will be bird Rowan.” Then she wore a wig of red hair.

“Why the wig?”

Aelin and Aedion had decided not to tell anyone about their plan for the night, so she had to lie although it hurt lying to Lysandra “just for some fun.”

They arrived at the club half an hour later and Manon, Asterin and Ansel were already there and apparently already having fun.

“You made it” shouted the red-haired woman. “And who is the hot red-haired friend?”

“It’s me, Ansel.”

“Captain, you look hot.”

Aelin laughed “thank you.”

“We got some drinks already,” said Manon.

“Happy birthday, captain,” said Asterin raising her glass “and congratulation to Lys for bagging the meanest lieutenant in the TFD.”

Their glasses clinked and then Aelin spotted Chaol in the distance. What the heck was he doing at the club? She nodded at him and he gave her a small nod back. Everyone knew Chaol and if the girls spotted him it could raise some questions so she texted him with the pretence of being the overbearing girlfriend checking on her man.

The girls went out dancing and she stood behind saying she was not in the mood when she was actually trying to check out the place. She was about to join Chaol in his hideout when a guy stopped at her side and blocked her way “aren’t you a stunning creature?” He said and Aelin cringed. She really hated clubs and the pigs that came with them.

“Of course I am.”

She felt his arm sneak around her waist and his body move closer to hers and she closed her eyes at the fact that those arms were not Rowan’s.

“What if I buy you a few drink and have some fun you and I?”

“You couldn’t handle me.” She said to him in a whisper.

“I love a good challenge. My flat is not far from here.” And his hand slithered up on her back.

Aelin scoffed “I’d never have sex with you even if we were the last two humans left in the world.”

She made to walk away but he grabbed her arm. She almost punched him but in that instant she felt someone hugging her from behind “it’s me, follow my lead.” He whispered in her ear and she noticed it was Chaol.

“Thank you for finding my girlfriend. I went to the gents and I lost her.”

“Sorry darling,” said Aelin caressing Chaol’s face.

The stranger walked away annoyed.

“Thank you.”

“You were holding your own anyway.” He commented.

“I was about to punch him and cause a scene and mess up the mission.” She whispered then grabbed his hand and pulled him to a quiet booth at the back of the club

“What are you doing here?”

“Detective Ytger sent me here as back up. Hamel’s minions know all of the detectives but not us beat cops.”

“How do you want to proceed?” She asked him.

“You are the firefighter, I am just here to make sure you get out okay.”

“Ok, I need to walk around. Just keep an eye on me.” Chaol nodded and Aelin walked away.

She went back to the bar area and smiled when Elide walked toward her “Ace!! Come on it’s your birthday, you need to come and have fun.” She also had a job to do but felt bad at abandoning her friends. So she joined them again and Lys grabbed her for some dancing.

“How how many hearts did you break?”

“Just the one but he was a pig.”

“Did you tell him you have a super hot captain waiting for you?” 

Aelin shrugged and turned to Elide.

“How many drinks did Ansel give you?”

Elide lifted three fingers in front of her face “two.”

Aelin laughed “no more alcohol for you.”

“Buuut I am sad and I miss Lorcan.” Aelin hugged her friend knowing full well how she felt.

“Still, no more alcohol, you just can’t hold it.”

She walked Elide to Manon “can you keep an eye on her please? And just water please. Elide has reached her alcohol quota for the evening.”

“Of course.”

Aelin smiled at the white-haired woman. She was very introverted and of a very few words but she did not care about that since she was good at her job. She was the complete opposite of Ansel.

Speaking of the woman…”where did Ansel go?”

“Last time I have seen her she was dancing with a brunette.” Aelin dragged a hand on her face “I am going to the ladies. Just behave, okay?”

She used the excuse to slip away and walk around as she was supposed to do. She wanted to try and take some photo as proof but covert operations were not her forte.

“You are back,” whispered Chaol at her back.

“I’ll pretend to be drunk and lost.”

“Be careful, this is making me nervous.”

She nodded and walked away from him. Part of her was glad she had not mentioned this to Rowan, he would have gone in full protective mode.

She kept pretending she was drunk and dumb and ended up in the kitchen “sorry,” she slurred, leaning against the doorframe “are these the loos?”

“No miss,” said one of the staff “they are down there and on your right.” She gave the man a goofy smile and a wet kiss on the cheek “thank you, sweet man.” The hug had given her the time to have a very quick look in the kitchen and note there was no safety equipment. That was enough for her to shut down that club as well. How could they run a kitchen that way? She really had to take down the bastard. She hid in the shadows of the club and and checked the fire doors without activating them and found them of shoddy quality. She was fuming. She had a good look at the club and realised even the numbers of people allowed in was probably over the limit. Those doors were for 60 people, she could only see three on ground level, which meant a limit of 180 people. There were probably over three hundred, all crammed and spread on two levels. It was a firefighter nightmare. She ran back to Chaol “go home. I have seen enough. Tell the detective this place needs to be shut down as well.”

“I’ll phone her as soon as I am out. She was waiting for news anyway.”

“Go, and say hi to Yrene.”

Chaol left and she ran back to her friends nervous that she was placing them in danger. She wanted to go but the idea of leaving all those people behind made her nervous. She texted Aedion and rage surged back when he told her that their club was the same.

The girls took her dancing in the middle of the dance floor and danced away ignoring a couple of guys basically dancing on her. She hated clubs so much and the music was horrible. She bit down her annoyance and went to hug Lysandra “how does it feel to be almost married?”

“Weird.” She looked at Aelin “are you having fun?”

“You know I don’t like clubs but I came for you, it’s your night after all.”

“It’s your birthday too.”

Aelin shook her head “I get one every year, you better marry my cousin and stick to him.”

“And you stick to the captain. I want to come to your wedding.”

Aelin laughed “we’ll see…” then she turned and saw Elide leaning against the counter half asleep “what if we take the party to my place? I am sick of this place.”

“Please,” said Manon in a hopeful tone. She hated clubs as well “we can get alcohol on the way home. If I hear another man asking me why my hair is white I am going to start snapping necks.”

“Hey Manon, no need to snap necks,” then Aelin looked around for Ansel.

“I’ll get her,”said Asterin when she noticed the woman in the distance.

The woman came back with Ansel in tow and moved closer to Aelin “the fire exits are not enough and one is blocked.” She whispered.

“I know, I am going to call Peter and explain the situation to him.” She took her phone out “take the others to the cars. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Aelin watched Asterin walking the group to safety then hid in dark a corner and phoned Peter explaining that they had to pretend they had an anonymous call and come and pay a visit to the place and shut it down. The man agreed after she explained him the situation in terms of safety. She was playing dirty but could not care less. People’s lives were at stake. Hamel could just go and impale himself for all she cared.

Quickly she left the building and she went to her car joining Lys and Elide. The remaining women were in Manon’s car.

They stopped for booze on the way and finally got back home. Aelin took Elide piggyback style as the woman had fallen asleep. Once in the flat she placed Elide in the spare bedroom and covered her with a blanket then went back to the rest of the group camped in her living room. A text from Peter told her that the club had been safely evacuated and closed. Apparently he had found even more infractions that she had not the time to spot. 

“Ok, ladies back to the party.” Aelin grabbed a mixed selection of glasses and mugs for the beer.

Ansel stood and went to use the bathroom and came back a few minutes later “why do you have guy’s stuff on the bathroom shelf? Do you live with the silver fox?”

Aelin sighed “Rowan has been living here since I was discharged from the hospital.”

“That was a while ago.”

“I know.” Aelin sighed.

“Yes!” Shouted Ansel pulling Aelin toward her “our captain is shacking up. I am so proud of you.”

After a few drinks, Ansel would become very friendly with anyone. It was a good thing they had left the club.

In that instant she got a text from Aedion saying that he had activated the fire alarm in their club and evacuated the whole place after he had spotted a shit ton of infractions. Well, that was probably another club down. Definitely not what they had agreed with the detective but they had to do something.

“Ok, since this is a bachelorette party as well, we can have a bit of spiciness.” Said Asterin while drinking her beer “unusual place where you had sex. We need to give Lys some ideas.”

“Do we?” Joked Aelin “Lys would definitely teach us something.” Then everyone looked at Ansel “after her of course.”

“I once hooked up with civilian pilot and we did it in his cockpit before he got to fly the plane”

“Where you flying as well?” Asked Lysandra curious.

Ansel nodded “it’s a long story.”

“Aelin, you are up. I bet the captain is wild.” Lysandra’s eyebrows lifted suggestively.

“He is pretty amazing but the strangest places have been a beach, the sea, behind a waterfall, a pool at the foot of two different waterfalls and almost on a military ship.”

“Almost?” Asked Manon curious.

“I’ll show you the dress.”

Aelin went to get her black dress and got back a moment later “and he knew I had nothing underneath.”

The group of women cheered loudly “that must have driven him insane.” Joked Asterin.

“That’s why the almost. We would have been in a lot of trouble if we got caught.”

“I have nothing left to teach you.”Ansel was sprawled on a chair and lifted her beer in acknowledgment.

“Lys?”

The woman blushed savagely “in a car wash. Aedion and I stayed in the car while it was getting washed and… well.. it was quick but fun.”

“Definitely nothing to teach you,” Aelin clinked her bottle with her friend.

“Asterin?”

“My previous firehouse, with one of my colleagues on top of a rig on a night shift.”

Manon gave a light chuckle “was it when you were at the Regional 2?”

Asterin nodded “he was some hot firefighter. We are still friends. We did it once and then it felt so weird and never happened again.” She explained.

Aelin sighed “The night of the mayor’s party, Thomas and I hooked up. We ended up at my place. We did it, realised it was rebound sex and finished the night with tv and junk food.” Thinking about him still pained her.

“No friggin way. More than the kiss?” Asked Lysandra shocked.

Aelin nodded “after you saw us kissing I left, he found me, we went back to my place.”

Aelin looked around and noticed that no one wanted to make too many comments, his death was still too fresh for everyone and he had been Manon’s and Asterin’s captain.

“Does Rowan know?”

“I told him and he is fine. We were nothing at the time and I was mad at him.”

In that instant Elide joined the group and Aelin stood and went to her “hey, how are you feeling?”

“My head hurts.” Replied the woman leaning against Aelin.

“I should take her home. We are working tomorrow we should all go home.”

“Lys is right,” added Asterin “another 24hrs shift ahead, we need some sleep.”

Manon and Asterin offered to take Ansel home and Aelin remained with Lys and a sleepy Elide.

“I am sorry the evening sucked.”

“Hey,” Lysandra placed her hands on Aelin’s shoulders “it didn’t, and to be honest we were all quite tired. All it matters is to marry that annoying cousin of yours.”

“Take Elide home, she is about to go to sleep again.”

Once Aelin was alone she finally shed the dress and opened one of Rowan’s drawers and grabbed a t-shirt. They were usually far too big for her but she loved them as pyjama. She went to the bathroom, got ready and then finally got in bed with bird Rowan and squeezed close to his pillow to inhale his scent.

She grabbed her phone and found a text from Rowan

I hope you had a nice evening. I wish I had been there with you because it’s bad out here. I hope bird me is keeping you company. Have a nice night, Fireheart. Love you.

Aelin’s heart sank at the anguish in his voice. She tried to call him but had no answer.

I love you, come back to me, was all she managed.

She squeezed bird Rowan and tried very hard to fall asleep.

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