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lilacs-stars · 5 months ago

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a night to remember

this is part 2, recommended you read part 1 first! (to avoid confusion) pairing: james hook x fem!reader (requested) (note: reader is glinda the good witch's daughter) SUMMARY: one day, you find a mysterious note in your locker from a certain pirate. who knows where it'll end up taking you—and your interesting relationship with him. GENRE: very wholesome despite the intro (I swear), fluff, some teasing and banter, reader being oblivious, mutual pining, just relationship cuteness overall CW: not much, mentions getting tipsy (not from alcohol), one little dirty joke if you squint hard enough WC: 7.5k

A/N: the title was inspired by the song of the same name by beabadoobee and laufey (I recommend listening to it while reading, as it sets the mood nicely!) james hook is literally so gentleman coded you can’t convince me otherwise. also I randomly thought of male characters using "m'lady" and now I'm obsessed...this was made to be pure, feet-kicking and giggling inducing fluff, so enjoy! thanks again to the anon who requested this, hope you like it! please leave feedback and suggestions, hearing your thoughts makes me so happy! :))

You stare down at the drink in your hand, the realization of what it is slowly dawning upon you.

Mouth agape in pure disbelief, you glance up at the man sitting in front of you. The devilish glint in his eyes, rivaled only by the shine of his metal hook, sends chills down your spine—making it terribly clear why he brought you.

Oh god, you think. How in the world did I get here?

You make your way through the bustling halls of Merlin Academy, trying your best to not get jostled by the ruckus of the crowd.

Honestly, who puts people’s classes on the sixth floor and their lockers on the first? you mentally grumble, finally reaching the dreaded staircase that you climb up and down dozens of times each day.

After descending the five flights of stairs, you’re completely out of breath by the time you reach your locker. You tap the lock with your pointer finger three times, a magical device inside reading your fingerprint. It clicks open, and your locker door swings out towards you.

Reaching to place your books inside and take out some new ones for the rest of the day's classes, you’re shocked by something that slips out as soon as the door opens. A white piece of paper sways back and forth as it falls to the floor, right next to your feet.

You bend down to pick it up. Upon closer inspection, you learn that it’s not a piece of paper; it’s a small packet, stapled in the corner. At the top, in neat, printed letters, are the words “ENCHANTMENT OF MAGICAL OBJECTS: UNIT 3 WRITTEN TEST.”

Below it, a line is provided for the student's name. Scribbled down in a fancy, yet somehow still messy and barely legible font, is the name “James Hook.”

He left me his test? you question. You don’t even bother wondering how he broke into your locker; after that little incident where he stole your ring, you have resigned yourself to not being surprised at his so-called “bad boy” antics. He is a villain, after all.

This test was one that your class had been preparing for quite some time. It mainly centered the theory of enchantments, with the most difficult one being the Aiming Spell. Thankfully, you had taught Hook most of the material during your study session last week, specifically focusing on helping him improve his Aiming Spell (although maybe he got a little too good, considering how he pulled off that ring trick).

Your confusion regarding the test placed in your locker lasts only a second longer, until you notice that in the top right corner, a big, circled "87%" is written in bright red pen.

The number stays for a brief moment, before the red ink rearranges itself on the page, morphing into a “B+”.

Wait…that’s really good. For him, at least, you think. Is this really all because of your one tutoring session? You have always thought that you’re pretty good at teaching other people, but you never considered yourself a miracle worker. He must think it is because of me, I guess. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left this in here.

Even though you know you’re probably not supposed to, your curiosity gets the better of you, and you flip back the front cover to check what he got wrong.

As soon as you lift the top page, another piece of paper falls out of the test. This time, it’s smaller, a faint beige color tinting the sheet.

You reach down once again to pick it up as you notice that this one is actually an envelope. Glancing at the back, which appears to be empty, you flip it over to the front side. It bears a wax seal embossed with an emblem of two crossed pirate swords.

Carefully peeling back the top of the envelope so as to not rip the delicate paper, you pull out the note inside. There isn’t much writing on the plain paper, but it’s in the same handwriting as before. Very intrigued at this unusual occurrence of events, you read the few lines of text keenly.

“Friday, 6 pm. The Rogers Place.

Make sure to wear your fanciest dress.

Meet me there. I’ll be waiting.”

...What? You’re too stunned to even think. What is this? There’s no way he’s actually asking you out…on a date.

This has to be a joke, right? A study session was one thing, but this, this, meetup, is something entirely different. He even asked to meet you outside of school. You've heard before of the restaurant he mentioned, although you've never actually gone there yourself. Based on what you've gathered, it's a popular, rather formal place run by Eudora Rogers and her young daughter, Tiana, in memory of her beloved husband.

So why in the name of the heavens would James Hook ask you, someone who has no dating experience whatsoever, of all people, to go with him to dinner? “Wear your fanciest dress”? What is this guy thinking?

In utter disbelief, you flip over the note, checking the back to make sure you haven’t missed something. To your surprise, there is some writing scrawled on the back, which reads: “Your payment for helping me pass my test.”

Right…so…he’s asking you out on a—no, it’s not a date, you remind yourself, yet again. He’s simply doing a nice act to return the favor. This was probably the only thing that came to his mind. Silencing the little voice in your head that whispers, “Why would the first thing that came to his mind be asking you out to dinner?”, you stuff the envelope and note in your bookbag, holding on to the test to give back to him sometime.

As you walk down the hallway, rushing to get to your next class, you don’t see the figure lurking behind the corner at the other end of the corridor.

He smirks, knowing he has you right where he wants you.

This one? No, it’s too casual.

How about this one? No, it’s not fancy enough.

This? Too sparkly.

That? Not sparkly enough.

You sigh, flopping onto your bed amidst a pile of dresses. It’s a few hours after school let out, on the day you’ve been anticipating all week long. And, not surprisingly, you can’t decide what in the world to wear. After all, it’s not like you’ve been out on lots of not-dates to know what a typical outfit would be like.

You stare up at the ceiling, sighing again for what must be the hundredth time this night. At times like this, you seriously wish you had a roommate. You've always had your dorm all to yourself, and sure, it is really nice most of the time. You can relax and unwind in solitude, with no one distracting you or pestering you with trivial matters while you study. However, there are the rare few occasions where you long to have someone close, to help you out or give you advice.

After holding up quite a few more dresses in the mirror, you finally decide on the one with the fewest number of cons, from the mental list you made for each dress. Slipping it on—albeit with much difficulty, since who designed dresses to be so frilly to the point where you can't even find where to put your head?—you stare at your reflection, completely enamored by the person you see staring back at you. You’re not really used to wearing fancy things like this, which is probably the reason why you barely recognize yourself.

Twirling around, head over your shoulder as you keep your gaze locked on the mirror, you realize why people have always told you that you have a striking resemblance to your mother. Your outfit consists of a ballgown-style dress, which really is the only type you have in your closet. Even though it’s a bit uncomfortable, the fitted bodice making it rather hard to take a full breath and the off-the-shoulder neckline compelling you to constantly tug it up to prevent it from slipping, it still is absolutely gorgeous. The short sleeves complement the torso, and the full skirt, all puffed up with layers of tulle, swishes elegantly as you move around. The bodice is densely embellished with small rhinestones, mostly at the top, with the gems growing sparser farther down the dress. A few crystals are set into the skirt just below the waistline, creating a scattered, shimmering effect reminiscent of the stars in a night sky.

Even though you aren’t a fan of fancy dresses, you must admit, you absolutely adore this one.

Finishing off the look with some jewelry and accessories, you take one last look at yourself in the mirror. You've never been one to be arrogant, but it's still hard not to think that even though this is certainly not a date, maybe, just maybe, Hook might be a little more interested in you after tonight.

“Um…hi?” you say, timid voice rising into a question from your uncertainty.

After getting dressed, you made your way to the restaurant. Fighting the deep-rooted urge to get there early as possible, you took the long route, not wanting to be the first to arrive. I’ll make him wait for me this time, you decided with an evil little smirk, thinking back to the day of your study session and the long minutes you had agonizingly spent wondering if he was going to show up.

Now, you stand in front of the reception desk, peering up at a waiter ordering papers. Fiddling with the lace gloves covering your hands, you add, “I don’t know if my name is ion the reservation or anything…”

Honestly, you’re not quite sure what to do at this point. All Hook had instructed you was to show up at the restaurant at this time. Part of you had expected him to be waiting by the door, but now that you see he isn't, your nervousness rises.

“Are you Y/N?” the server questions, glancing down at something on the small podium-like stand.

“Uh, yes, I am,” you reply.

“A young man has made a reservation for the two of you. He’s already waiting for you out on the patio. If you’ll follow me,” the waiter informs you, grabbing a menu from his stack and leading you through the bustling restaurant.

You follow him, feeling incredibly bashful as you swerve around tables and people alike. You finally reach a large set of doors in one of the seating areas, which the waiter opens for you.

Stepping through the threshold, you sense the cool rush of the evening air welcome you out. The sky has already begun to dim, a few faint stars gleaming against the dark backdrop. Spread out in front of you is an array of tables, most of them small enough for only two people. The low lighting, coming solely from flickering candles and glowing lanterns strung throughout the area, paired with the singular rose set in a vase at the center each table and a faint, slow jazz song playing somewhere in the background, makes for the most romantic of settings you could have possibly imagined.

Your breath is completely taken away as the server leads you through the arrangements of seats. It’s sparsely crowded, with only a few couples seated here and there, each enjoying an amorous dinner.

The server stops at a circular, two-seated table close to the edge, overlooking a magnificent view of the city down below. A few feet in front ahead and sitting with his back towards you, the only object of your thoughts for these past few hours turns his head in your direction, probably upon hearing the clacking of your high-heeled shoes.

Although you’ve tried your best to convince yourself that this, in fact, is not a date, you simply can’t deny the way his entire expression light up at the mere sight of you. Hook stands up, unabashedly eyeing you up and down slowly, taking all of you in.

A small smile tugs at his lips as he takes your hand in his, once again bowing down to place a kiss on your ring—it appears that this has become a routine, which you can't exactly say you mind.

You don't miss how he pauses for just a moment, noticing the way your ring is still on your ring finger, unchanged from the place he left it. Holding your breath, your heart beats faster as you worry about what he thinks of it. To your relief, he doesn’t say anything, instead kissing the gemstone and straightening back up again, but not before ever so softly—yet still with obvious intentionality—brushing his lips against your finger, deliberately tracing your skin with an agonizingly slow pace as his warm breath sets your every nerve on fire.

“M’lady,” he breathes, standing to meet your gaze. His casual nonchalance is a stark difference from the way you struggle to regain your composure, hating how even the smallest of actions from him can elicit such a reaction from you.

As you study him, you notice that he had a significant wardrobe change too; instead of his usual pirate attire, he dons a dark maroon frock coat, embroidered with intricate swirls and designs. He definitely made an attempt at looking a bit more classy, with his hair neater than usual and the collar of his shirt tidily done. You could even swear that his hook looked more polished than usual, and that he carried the faint, odd trace of expensive cologne.

The server leaves the menu on your table and walks away with a polite nod of his head. Hook steps over to the chair opposite the one he had been sitting in, pulling it out for you in a manner that is far too gentlemanly for what you're used to seeing from him, gesturing at you to sit down with a wave of his shiny metal hook.

Overwhelmingly flattered, you walk over, smoothing your skirt beneath you as you take your seat. Hook pushes your chair in, before going back to the other side of the table to take his own seat.

Not sure what else to do, you pick up your menu and glance over it. “Decide what you’re going to order yet?” Hook asks you.

“No, you?”

“They already took my order, but I told them to wait on preparing my food until you had ordered as well.”

They already took his order? How long has he been here? you wonder. You glance at your wristwatch, seeing that it’s only a few minutes past six o’clock. Deciding to shrug it off, you go back to looking at your menu, despite not being able to fight the voice in your head that whispers about how you should've gotten here earlier, that he had probably been waiting for you, all alone, for quite some time.

“It’s so hard to decide,” you say with a halfhearted laugh, trying to fill up the heavy silence. You peruse the menu more carefully this time, marveling at how many different dishes are listed. Finally, after reading through the entire thing a few more times, you settle on the one that sounds the best.

After only a few moments, the server comes back around and takes your order. “A fine choice, ma’am,” he comments as you tell him your choice of entrée. You notice that all of the waiters here wear fancy black suits and come with a pristine white cloth draped over their arm. Huh, how fancy, you think to yourself. I never knew this place was so formal.

“So, Hook,” you begin, “Why did you bring me here?”

“Didn’t you read my note? It’s a thank-you for helping me pass my test. The teacher was very impressed with my score, you know,” he responds indifferently.

You give him a small sigh, paired with a gentle smile—your attempt at hiding the twinge of disappointment dancing in your eyes. “I did, but you didn’t have to treat me to dinner. A simple note would have sufficed.”

Hook looks at you, dark brown eyes wide and holding your gaze with an intensity you’ve never known. “Sufficed? I don’t want to just suffice. I want to give you a memorable night. An unforgettable experience.” “I don’t think I could ever forget a charming pirate with a hook for a hand,” you laugh, teasing him lightly. Instead of laughing along with you, Hook stares at you for another moment, studying you with slightly scrunched brows and an indecipherable expression on his face. You grow uneasy at his burning look, shifting in your seat as you wonder why he’s watching you so intently.

However, the tense awkwardness in the air lasts for only a minute, before Hook breaks into one of his famous smirks as he replies, “Oh, charming, am I? I know you can’t stop thinking about me, love.”

“Th-that’s not what I meant!” you cry, leaning across the table to give him a small push. He breaks into a laugh, his lips curling up into yet another genuine smile as he leans back just out of your reach. His mirthful expression makes you realize that he had been simply joking, causing your face to burn up as your mind replays your rather dramatic reaction. Honestly, you can never really tell whether he’s being serious or just messing with you.

“Settle down, love. Wouldn’t want you ruining that pretty dress of yours,” he responds, twisting to the side again to prevent getting smacked by you.

You two continue making small talk, still partaking in your teasing, only slightly annoying banter. Before you know it, a waiter is walking towards your table with two platters, one in each hand.

The server sets down the plates on your table, the dishes both looking absolutely delectable. Along with the food, he places two matching beverages in front of you two.

You thank him, and he bows again before leaving. Turning back to Hook, you watch with a slight arch of your eyebrows as he raises his drink in the air.

“A toast,” he says. “To continuing our little dates.”

You roll your eyes, not bothering to correct him this time. Lifting your own glass, you add, “And to you continuing to get good grades.” He smiles at this, before lifting the drink to his lips. Perceptive as always, you notice how his eyes follow your hand as you bring the glass to your mouth.

A sudden, fleeting doubt crosses your mind at his suspicious behavior. Glancing down at the drink skeptically, you notice its unique bright red color. You lower +it slightly and sniff it, then bring it down from your face, fixing a glare at Hook. “You think I don’t know what this is?”

“Oh, I know you do. That’s what I was counting on, at least.”

You persist with your glare. You've spent many hours reading up on different potions and elixirs, so you're no stranger to the drink in your hand. It's a popular one known as the Lovers' Lascivious Lure, a beverage with a fruit punch-like taste, plus a little kick. The real reason for its fame, however, is the touch of love potion that gets mixed in. Not enough to truly make someone fall in love with you or intoxicate them, but rather something that is favored by couples looking to get a little tipsy in love on their night out.

You set the glass down on the table, not breaking your gaze away for a second as you continue to glower at the person sitting across you.

“It’s rude to not drink after a toast, darling,” Hook says, raising his eyebrows at you.

“I don’t care, I’m not drinking that,” you reply irritatedly.

“Fine. Your loss, love.”

You watch in complete shock, eyes blown wide and mouth agape as Hook brings his drink up to his lips again, tipping back his head as he gulps the entire thing down in one go.

“I’d drink yours as well, darling, but I’d hate for you to be forced to walk me home, instead of the other way around,” Hook spouts with a bit too much added expression, slightly swaying as the effects of the potion kick in.

You continue to stare at him, concern etched into your features, knowing full well that this drink is designed to be sipped slowly throughout a leisurely dinner, one with much idle conversation and flirtatious looks. Not to be downed all at once. You honestly don’t know what the side effects are to consuming a large amount very quickly, but you pray that the potion is weak enough so as to not cause actual harm—or any other effects—to him.

“So, love,” Hook drawls in a low tone, leaning in. “Anything you feel like telling me?”

“You’re the one who drank the liquid courage, not me,” you point out, fixing him with another look. “Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer you’re going to last like this.”

At your words, Hook’s dazed expression suddenly disappears, instead replaced by a very serious, stern face. “Oh, I assure you, love, I can last very long.”

You blink, a tad confused at why he said that with such a strong conviction. Brushing it off, you look down at your food again, your mouth already watering. “Come on, our food’s going to get cold, and it looks far too delicious to waste.”

Hook agrees, unrolling his utensils instead of shooting back a one-liner, much to your surprise. You’re even more taken aback at the way he drapes the white cloth, which previously held his cutlery, over his legs as he begins to eat, keeping up with his very proper etiquette. He does everything with utterly perfect decorum, from holding his fork and knife in the correct positions to cutting all his food into little pieces. You honestly don't know why this comes as such a shock to you; he has been employing rather polite manners all evening, after all. It appears, you realize, that you’ve always subconsciously believed the stereotypes that pirates are unruly creatures, which therefore must mean they eat messily.

Apparently, this pirate doesn’t.

You both make small talk as you enjoy your food, which is every bit as delicious and succulent as it looked. All the different components are cooked to a perfect degree; not raw or difficult to chew, but not burnt, either. Rich, deep, aromatic spices have always been the staple of this restaurant, and for good reason. You have no clue what flavorings they used, but whatever they are, they taste unlike anything you've ever eaten in your entire life, like an otherworldly meal sent from the heavens. To top it all off, the food also comes with piquant side dishes, followed by desserts that are absolutely decadent and make you melt with every bite you take.

After you both have had your share, Hook motions to the waiter for the check. You had slipped some extra cash into your handbag before coming, not sure what the expectation would be for who paid. As the waiter returns with the small black book in his hand, you turn to Hook.

“I can pay, if you want,” you offer.

Hook quirks his brow as he gives you a look, before reaching into his coat pocket. “Come now, don’t be ridiculous, love. What kind of a man would I be if I didn’t pay for you? Especially considering that I was the one who asked you out.”

You blink hard, barely aware of your small nod towards him, your mind racing as the waiter gives Hook the check. You blankly watch him scribble a signature before handing it back, trying to process what he just said. “...asked you out…” Does that mean he actually considers this as a date? Especially since he offered to pay for you…Heavens, what is going on?

Your eyes trail the waiter as he leaves, just as Hook turns back to you. “All finished?”

“Yeah,” you confirm. “So…what now?” You aren't quite sure whether or not he's planning on walking you home like he mentioned earlier, but you do know that you're not ready to part quite so soon. Averting his gaze, you instead choose to look down at the candle flickering in the middle of your table. It is now very dark outside, to the point where the flame’s meager light shines with a bright luminosity. Entranced by the fire, you stare intently at its dancing movements, attention fully consumed by how the flame appears to be practically alive.

“Now,” Hook says with a glint in his eyes, causing your head to snap back up, “I have something to show you.”

“Something to show me?” you repeat. “Show me what?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait and see once we get there, love.”

“Once we get there? Hook, where are we going?”

He gives a smug, knowing grin. “You’ll see. Just be patient, darling.” He notices the skeptical look you still have, so he adds, “Trusting me last time turned out good, right? So trust me one more time. I promise you’ll like your surprise.”

You consider his words, hating how he had a point. “Fine,” you huff. “Lead the way, I guess.”

You start to push your chair back to get up, but Hook chides, “Ah ah ah, no you don’t,” standing up himself before walking behind you. He grips the back of your chair and pulls it out for you, before offering his good hand to help you stand too.

Once again, you’re rather shocked at his well-mannered behaviors and courteous gestures. As you accept his outstretched arm, you wonder how in the world this is the same person who was, only a few days ago, leaning back in his chair with his feet up, flinging magical disks across the room.

Getting up, you hesitate for a moment, freezing in place now that you’re level with his eyes. You haven’t been this close to him since that pivotal day during your study session, and your breath gets taken away once again by the proximity.

His angular features and sharp jawline catch your attention, causing your legs to stagger as your gaze wanders down to his soft, plush lips, which definitely stand out amidst the rest of his chiseled face. You had never noticed how his eyeliner also traces his bottom lash line, making his eyes pop whenever he widens them, or how part of his hair swoops to the side and slightly covers his forehead. It dawns on you that you’ve always overlooked the two small silver earrings that dangle from his ears, or the chain around his neck with a cross on it, usually hidden by the collar of his shirt.

Not aware of how you’re just standing there paralyzed, you commit to memory the small details about him you’ve never really seen before. Even though the inside of your head is alive and bustling with a plethora of thoughts, outside, you two stand in terribly awkward silence.

Hook clears his throat, snapping you back to reality. “Come along, darling. We wouldn’t want to be interrupted by curfew again.”

Tightening his grip on your hand, which still holds yours, he leads you through the entrance you had used not so long ago while bidding farewell to the waiter. You continue up the hill to the woods behind the restaurant, Hook refusing to give even a single hint as to what big surprise awaits you.

The trail through the trees starts off easy enough, although still rather difficult for you to traverse in your tight dress and voluminous skirt. If I had known I’d be taking a hike, I’d have worn something more suitable, and much more comfortable, you think, but ultimately decide to keep your mouth shut. After all, Hook had been spoiling you all evening. The least you could do was not nag him about every last thing.

The farther you go, the thicker the branches that block your path and scratch at your arms with their sharp claws get, and the denser the underbrush that tries to trap your feet and swallow you whole grows. After a quarter hour of consistent walking, the trail all but disappears, until only a small path carved by the footsteps of a few brave souls remains. You have to hold up the edge of your full-length skirt the whole way to ensure it doesn’t get all dirty and muddy; by the time you’re nearly done, your arms ache just as much, if not more, than your legs.

You and Hook travel mostly in silence, the sounds of your heavy panting and the crunches of leaves and branches underfoot filling up the empty air. You trail behind him, sometimes struggling to keep up, although he does happen to notice this and slows down his pace after the first few minutes.

Occasionally, Hook gives a short, crisp, “Watch out for the rock there, love,” or “The branches here are really low, I’ll hold them up for you.” You always respond with a clipped “Yeah,” or “Okay, thanks,” trying to mask just how out of breath you've gotten from the difficult climb. Early on in the beginning of the hike, you had to let go of his hand, favoring holding up your skirt instead. Still, in areas where the ground is rough or rocky, or the footing becomes difficult or rather steep, Hook always turns around and offers his hand to you and helps pull you up, or reaches out his hook from overhead for you to grab on to.

The noises of the night accompany you the entire time: the soft chirps of crickets, a few croaks from a frog somewhere out of sight, a creature or other scampering through the bushes, a rare call from an owl, and the whispering of the leaves above as a cool breeze passes through them. After a few more minutes of walking through a maze of nature with trees so thick—their only rival being the velvety blackness of the night—the pace of the trek finally slows down. You've long tired of always having to hold one arm ahead to ensure that you don’t get smacked in the face by an unsuspecting branch, so you're overwhelmingly relieved when Hook finally says, “We’re almost there.” “Finally,” you mumble between breaths. “I think my limbs are just about to fall off.” You can’t really tell in the pitch-black darkness, but you could have sworn that Hook gave a small smile at your words.

Once you reach a thick tangle of branches and vines that completely block your path, you both come to a stop. You watch as he pulls them back and to the side, even slicing through some with his hook. He beckons you forward with a courteous, “Ladies first,” a grin dancing on his features.

You walk through the clearing and onto a wide ledge overlooking the entire city. The view knocks the breath out of your lungs, despite your body already screaming at you for more oxygen. All thoughts of your strenuous hike vanish from your head, except for one that reminds you the arduous journey was absolutely and totally worth it.

From all the way up here, you can see the entire land. The shimmering lights of the large cityscape below you steal your heart, while the small village houses and mountains beyond them, creating the faintest of outlines against the horizon, capture your soul. This vantage point allows you to see everything; every bustling street filled with people rushing to get home after a long week, or frolicking around on a night out. Every house, every drawn-back curtain, but a mere speck in the constellation of human activity, a testament to the splendor of life. Twinkling lights sprawled below you paint a shimmering mosaic, reflecting the celestial canvas of stars hanging above you.

You stare in pure awe, almost forgetting about Hook as he approaches you from behind. “Enjoying the view, love?” he whispers softly, his voice closer to you than you expected.

You startle, turning backwards with a sharp inhale. “Oh…yeah, it’s just…breathtaking.” Unable to think of the right words to describe it, you decide to settle for an almost shameful understatement of the view's beauty.

You’re not quite sure if you imagined it, too caught up in your head, but you hear something that almost sounds like a soft, “Just like you.”

“Huh?” you ask, turning back around to face him.

“I said, I told you you’d like it,” Hook repeats, although you still hold your suspicions. “All you had to do was trust me.”

“And how can I be sure you aren’t planning to push me off the edge?” you question, teasing him.

“Well, you can’t,” he replies, walking over to the ledge. “But if I do, I’ll let you drag me down with you. If we go down, then we go down together.”

You giggle, choosing to take his words at face value only and not read into them too much. After all, your heart can only take so much in one night.

Hook crouches down, using his good hand to support him as he sits down in front of you, keeping one foot hugged to his chest as he dangles the other off the side of the cliff.

He glances over his shoulder at you, patting the space besides him. Cautiously, you walk over to the ledge, joining him on the ground.

You both sit there for a moment in silence, looking over the magnificent scene. You can tell that Hook finds comfort in the lack of conversation, but it feels too heavy for you, and so you decide to finally break it with the question that’s been on your mind this whole night.

“Hook?” you ask gently.

“Hmm?”

“Why did you bring me here?”

He turns his head slightly to glance at you. “I thought you’d like the view,” he replies, looking at you with a confused expression.

You take a quick breath, preparing yourself for the difficult words you’re planning to speak next. “No, I mean, why did you really bring me here tonight?” He opens his mouth to respond, but you cut him off, adding, “And don’t lie to me.”

His mouth closes shut again and he hesitates for a moment, contemplating his next sentence carefully, before responding, “I’ve already told you.”

“What, that you wanted to thank me for helping you get a B-plus on your test? Yeah, that excuse won’t work on me anymore.”

“No, not that.” He turns his head back and runs his good hand through his hair, making his neatly combed style look a bit more windswept than before. “I wanted to ask you out on a date.”

“…What?”

“I already told you that it was a date, love. You just chose not to believe me.”

It’s your turn to whip your head to the side this time, now facing directly towards Hook, who’s still looking straight ahead at the scenery.

“I-I didn’t…truly…I thought you were just joking when you said that.”

He glances at you again, a roguish grin forming on his lips. “Oh, darling, I don’t joke about much. Especially not with you.”

Again, you choose not to read too deeply into his words, trying to break your awful habit of overthinking. Instead, you press on, wanting to gain as much information as you can from him. If nothing else, at least a few answers might help put your mind at a little more ease. “Why’d you want to ask me out? I’m not exactly…”

Your voice fades away as your brain catches up with your far-too-fast mouth, realizing that saying “I’m not exactly the most desirable person to date” may not do you any favors.

Hook turns to look at you with an expectant gaze, and you know that you can’t sweep your little slip-up under the carpet that easily. Gods, he’s observant. “…the most popular person at our school,” you finish.

“Hmm, true,” Hook concurs, tilting his head with a tone as if he’s never considered that point before. You were half-expecting him to disagree, more out of courtesy than honesty, so you’re a bit taken aback when he agrees with you.

“But I don’t care about popularity.” Ah, so there’s that socially obligatory politeness. You don't really believe his words at first, yet the way he says it so sincerely, so genuinely, makes you wonder if he truly is being honest.

“So why’d you want to take me out on a date?”

“Because, love, you’re different from what I’m used to,” he replies. “You’re kind, soft, pure. You intrigued me.”

You recoil at his words, a deep, writhing anger rising out of you. “What, you only went out with me because I’m so pure and innocent? So you could corrupt me?” you spit, having heard this little skit far too many times before.

“No, not like that. Not at all.” Hook twists his body to face you more, and although you’re still mad at him, you can’t deny the hurt and pain that swirls in his voice and eyes at your accusations. “You’re…you’re always trying to help others. You always speak softly, always smile. You’re untainted by the evils I've witnessed. You’re like an angel sent down from the heavens. You’re not like me, love."

Hook continues, “And I don’t want to change that. I don’t want to corrupt or hurt you. I want to preserve that. Every time I’m with you, you make me want to keep you safe from the troubles of the world, the cruel things I’ve seen.

"You make me want to be around you. I can't explain how, or why, but your presence alone compels me to change my ways. To be kinder, gentler, softer. For you. It's as if you're contagious, and well, I think you've infected me, love. Whenever I see you, or even think of you, everything feels just a little bit better. The weight on my shoulders feels a bit lighter, and nothing seems as bad as it used to, as it was when I was on my own.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is...you've made me feel things that I haven't felt in a long, long time. Things that I thought my blackened heart couldn't even experience anymore. You make me feel like there's still goodness in the world...like there's still hope. Like I still have hope." You blink slowly, your mind and heart spinning alike as everything around you, as time itself, seems to slow down. You're unable to process all his words, unable to even begin to consider the implications of what this all means. “So, what you’re saying is…you only like me because I’m good?” you ask, touched by his sentiment, yet a little sad at the underlying meaning. Does this mean that if you want to stay with Hook, to maybe even be something in the future, you can't have any darkness to your soul? That you'll have to continue to be as righteous and morally correct as ever?

He gives a small chuckle. “Of course not, darling. I love when I make you snap, when you get angry at me. I love when the fierce part of you comes out. Just like it did now.” He reaches out his good hand to tuck a loose strand of your hair behind your ear, brushing against your cheek as he keeps it there, not pulling back quite yet.

You can see the hesitance swirling in his eyes, the uncertainty in the way his hand lingers by your face. By some sudden stroke of courage, the origins of which are a complete mystery to you—maybe he had the love potion added to your food too?—you shift your whole body towards Hook, keeping your legs tucked together and off to one side.

“Kiss me,” you breathe.

“I'm sorry, love, wh-what?”

It feels strange to take command for once, but it sure is nice. “You heard me. Don’t make me repeat myself.”

His lingering hand cups your cheek as you both lean in, meeting each other in the middle. Hook’s lips are as soft and plump as you imagined, almost like brushing your mouth against the petals of a rose. Placing one of your hands on the ground beside you, you put your weight on it as you move even closer.

You’ve read of intense kisses, filled with passion and fueled by lust. But this isn't like that. It is slow, sweet, intoxicating you with only the purest of adorations. Your lips hover over his as you tilt your head to the side to prolong the embrace, getting swept up in the moment whilst being completely and blissfully unaware of anything and everything besides how his lips feel against yours, how his hook traces your body as he devours you like a starved man given his last meal. How he breathes you in like you're the very air that fills his lungs, like your sheer essence is the only oxygen he needs. You bring your hand up to his shoulder, leaning further into him as he moves his good hand back and tangles it in your hair.

It ends rather quickly, the entire kiss lasting but a moment, yet still filling you with the sweetest pleasure. In that moment, you realize why people spend their whole lives searching for love; it’s one of the most endearing, profound forms of joy that one can feel, and you're certain that you just felt it.

You pull away, noticing how his gaze lingers on your lips, before looking back up at you. He gives you a captivating, yet genuine smile, one that makes your heart to ache at how perfect he is, yet simultaneously yearning for his touch, his lips, him being wrapped up in another embrace with you and never breaking away. The newfound euphoria coursing through your veins and making your mind fuzzy causes you to return his smile with a wide, love-drunk grin of your own, a deep, wholehearted devotion emanating through your gaze as you study his features.

“Can I tell you a secret?” you whisper, staring into his eyes—eyes that reflect your own.

“Always, love.”

“You were my first kiss,” you confess.

Hook brings his hand back up to cup your cheek, his thumb brushing along your cheekbone. His grin grows, an endless affection swirling in his dark eyes as he replies, “I guess this really is a night to remember.”

You give a small laugh, lowering your forehead to lean it against his shoulder, seeking comfort in his hold. “You did want to give me an unforgettable night, after all.”

“Can I tell you a secret, too?”

You raise your head again to peer up at him with wide eyes, curious as to what he has to admit.

“That day, in class,” he confides, “I was enchanting those disks and sending them across the room so you’d come and talk to me. I saw how you went over to help that other kid who was struggling. So, I figured that if I struggled too, you'd come over and I could get a conversation with you.”

You raise your eyebrows. “So you could cast the spell right?”

“Oh, no, not even close, love. That was all your work. Although I might have put in a bit more effort just to impress you,” he adds with a small smirk.

You move one of your hands closer to him, placing it on top of his and intertwining your fingers together. “Well, I suppose it worked.”

You lean back into him, kissing him blissfully yet again under the watchful smile of the moon glowing high in the sky, the stars glimmering and winking down at your young love. As you embrace, the city below bustles with the joys and despairs of human life unbeknownst to you, each person a thread in the tapestry of the world. Every soul but a speck of stardust in a cosmic dance.

And perhaps that is the greatest folly of human life. All the weight of one’s burdens, all the battles fought, all the hearts and souls that love and cry, together composing of but a fleeting second amidst the vastness of forever. And yet, each person gets lost in the preeminence of their own narrative, joyfully unaware of every grain of sand that disappears into the abyss as we shuffle closer to the edge of this mortal coil. But oftentimes, one’s deepest flaw is their greatest feat, as no imperfection comes without its own merit.

So maybe that very feature is, instead, the greatest feat of humanity. To love like you’ll live forever, and to weep like there’s no tomorrow. Maybe our ignorance gives us strength, the strength to keep going every day, pretending as if we somehow have an authority and power over the galactic strings of thread that weave together the fate of our universe.

The city below you, the world outside of the little bubble the two of you have created, moves on, unknown and unknowing of you both. But in this moment, nothing else matters. Nothing besides the love and affection you and him have grown to share.

end x

<- back to part 1

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just leave a comment if you want to be added to the taglist!

a/n: I just had to end this with some philosophical musings haha (hey google, how do you write beginnings and endings?) anyways hope you liked this, I love making fluff like this :D I love seeing everyone's comments and reactions, all feedback is highly appreciated! until next time :))

do not plagiarize, translate, remake, or copy my works, including my writing and images, in any way.

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feyascorner · 1 year ago

Note

So might have noticed i have read all your fics and I absolutely love them all!

If your open to taking this request for a fic, i would love like 4 times astarion was jealous and 1 time you were! (I dont know if your familiar with the prompt). Tav sleeping with someone before they get together (act 1) he’s catching feelings! After relationship is established: Act 2 Halsin showing his interest (whether its reciprocated is up to you!). Act3 Shar’s caress, the owner talking about Tav’s interest and drow twins!

Finally, Tav being jealous! Astarion fully enjoying it!

Or just anything with jealous astarion i would LIVE for! Love your work either way 😆

a/n. THEYRE SO CUTE IM IN TEARS I LOVE JEALOUS ASTARION/TAV

also this is not proofread unfortunately, and I'm not 100% if i did this right but we rock and roll!!!1

As much as Astarion boasts (and resents) his familiarity with seduction, you're an anomaly he's yet to understand despite his centuries of experience.

Never once in his courtship, even when he'd been alive, had he felt so tested that he was jealous, over someone. Not really, anyway. Sure there were bits of bitter feelings here and there, but most were trivial and about something involved in the relationship, not the person themselves.

He's counted four times since the two of you met, where he had to resort to his better judgment to avoid resorting to pettiness. The first one, was out of necessity--so much so that he didn't even realize what it was at first.

He had watched you snuggle up to Shadowheart of all people, just when he thought he'd finally manipulated enough to have you wrapped around his finger. Instead, he had to hear you laugh as you let the cleric lead you to a nearby lake, making him question if somehow, he'd gotten rusty. Especially when the rival in question was clearly too busy having a religious crisis to properly court you. Sure, you technically didn't belong to him, nor did he belong to you at the time, but he went to sleep feeling oddly irritated. He made sure to flirt with you even more, apparently, the next morning.

The second time, he had accepted the strange feeling in his chest whenever he saw you. And Gods he should have done it earlier. He made sure to show plenty of public affection, kissing your cheek or hand randomly as you and your companions explored the shadow-cursed lands. He got a mouthful from Lae'zel a few times, but he couldn't care less. And just when he believed he'd eliminated any potential rivals, the damned druid suggested that you had feelings for him. Here, he felt that same churning feeling he had weeks ago at camp, and found it was one that he didn't long for. He wouldn't have blamed you if you'd considered it--especially since the two of you stopped being physically intimate after his confession. But he could deny how much he hated this feeling. Pretending he hadn't heard, waited for you to approach him that night. When you reassured him you'd said no, he could breathe again.

The last time was weeks later, at Sharess' Caress, where the two of you were approached by the drow twins. And when he'd confessed he wasn't ready to become intimate again, as much as it scared him, you only smiled at him and nodded. That cursed warmth he felt from such a simple act of kindness would follow him to the end of his days. But he hadn't had enough time to revel in it, because the drow twins assured you only you would be enough, even if he wasn't a part of it. The moment you refused, he was already dragging you out of the room, cursing the twins under his breath.

But for the first time, he thinks you're the one experiencing that dreadful feeling of insecurity.

"Your measurements are perfect for this new selection that just came in! Here, let me just check if the rest would fit."

He'd thought little of the harmless touches of the tailor, but as he notices your expression through the reflection of one of the mirrors, he thinks differently. Your lips are pursed, eyes following the tailor's movements like a hawk as you tighten the arms crossed over your chest. Astarion himself is no stranger to touch, especially to innocent ones like this, but if your body language means anything, the sentiments are not mutual.

The tailor reaches up to measure his arm span, inevitably bring their face a little to close to his neck. He just tilts away, nodding mindlessly at what the tailor is saying, but his attention is fully on you. You're fidgeting, and your anxiousness is impossibly obvious to him, but the more mischievous part of him stops him from doing anything about it. Instead, he revels in it.

"Did you get my inside leg?" he asks the tailor, grinning widely. "I think you might have to redo it. I was leaning a bit."

The tailor agrees though all he sees is a nod of a head and a voice in his ear going right through the other. He observes as your face falls, and just as the tailor crouches down and leans close, you're immediately across the room at record-speed, hand latching over the tailor's wrist.

Astarion barely manages to hold in his laugh. His smile, however, is another story.

"I'll do it," you mumble to the tailor. They look to you and back up to Astarion before seemingly realizing what's going on, nodding.

"Very well."

He never thought you could look even more alluring than he already finds you, but the way your jaw clenches and your brows furrow makes him think otherwise. You lean down and take the measurements as needed, stomping on his foot in the process.

He snorts.

Once the tailor leaves for the stock room, he finds you sighing. "You did that on purpose."

It's not a question. He laughs, and while he could just apologize, he takes your hand in his, tilting your head with the other so you'd look at him. He might even consider the glare you give him as cute.

"Jealous, are you?"

"What do you think?"

"I was starting to think you weren't capable of jealousy."

"Why not?" you say, feeling his thumb rubs the top of your hand. "I've been plenty jealous before."

At this, he raises a brow. "I'd surely remember that."

"When we first met," you recall. "You flirted with practically everyone in camp. Saying you wanted to drink from Wyll, or something like that."

"You must know that I was--"

"I know what it was," you roll your eyes. "Not at the time though, and I thought you'd lost interest in me."

His jaw falls agape. "You're jesting."

"Why do you think I started flirting with other people? I figured you didn't like me as much as I liked you, so I moved on. Tried, at least."

"Is that what your visits to Shadowheart were?"

You scrunch your nose. "Oh Gods, I forgot about that. I'd rather not remember sleeping with one of my closest friends, thanks."

He can't help the grin stretching on his lips, and you notice, feeling yourself smile with him. "You're enjoying this far too much, Astarion."

"Please, tell me the next time you're jealous, so I'll know to keep an eye on you."

"Don't ask such ridiculous things," you retort, feigning annoyance before lifting his palm to your cheek and pressing a kiss to it. He swears his undead heart might've felt it. And just like that, the tailor returns, and you drop your intertwined hands, and he sees you shoot him a warning glare.

Acknowledging he's had enough fun teasing you today, he shrugs, and when the tailor begins showing him an array of outfits, he's not listening. Instead, he toys with the ring behind his back, making sure to commit your expression to his memory.

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion ancunin #baldur's gate astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #astarion #bg3 x reader #fluff #bg3

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chelseasdagger · 1 year ago

Text

Teacher - Chapter III

Frank Castle x Inexperienced F!Reader

Summary: Frank invites you to hang out with him at a bar on the outskirts of town. After some good food, and lots of teasing, you get invited back to his place to take care of the problem you caused him.

Warnings: age gap (reader is in her early 20s), mentions of drinking and smoking, cursing, grinding, detailed handjob sorry, slight praise kink

Author's Note: I am so incredibly sorry for how long it took for this chapter to come out!! I had a lot of life issues that delayed this, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out so please accept this super long chapter as my apology/holiday gift!! And if you want to be added to the tag list just let me know. As always, reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated :) Leave a comment or shoot me an ask!! I'd love to hear what you think!

Word Count: 9k

Previous Chapters: I, II

“So I was thinkin’… Said you didn’t get many experiences even after high school, right?” Frank asks. His voice slightly muffled through the phone, which is wedged between your ear and your shoulder as you drag the spatula over the food you’re cooking on the stove. He had randomly rang you out of the blue and, after attempting to control your breathing, you answered the call. This was what he chose to greet you with and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t confused by the topic of conversation.

“Good morning to you too,” you tease, the food sizzling as you flip it in the pan. “But no, I haven’t. Why? What’s up?” you question.

“There’s this bar on the edge of town,” he begins his offer. “Little bit of a drive but they got good food,” he explains.

“Tempting…” you trail off, trying not to immediately agree just because it’s Frank. “Who all is coming?”

“Just me,” he replies. “That alright?”

“Yeah!” Your answer is too loud and far too fast to be playing it cool. After cursing yourself mentally, you try again. “Yeah, I was just wondering if it was a whole… get-together thing.” Your voice grows quiet at the end, not wanting to plant the idea in his head that you’d prefer it if there were more people.

Honestly, you were surprised he was reaching out this soon after the bonfire. It was one of the best nights of your life. Whenever you think about it, there’s this warmth that rushes through you; you’re not sure if the heat was from the big flames or his strong chest you laid against all night.

“Nah, just me. Just thought it would be somethin’ you might like,” you push the spatula around in the teflon pan as he speaks. “Plus it’s another thing off the list, right?”

“Yeah, it is! Thanks, Frank,” you say cheerily as you turn the burner off and open the cupboards to grab two plates.

“No problem, kid. Just thought about you, y’know?” You sink your teeth in your lower lip to calm yourself down before another thought comes to mind.

“Oh! When are we going?”

“Tonight,” he answers nonchalantly and your eyes grow wide. “If you’re free.”

You seriously weren’t expecting him to want to see you only two days since you two were last together. In your head, Frank is so calm and collected and you’re practically certain that this… thing you two have going on isn’t as big of a deal to him as it is to you. Still, you try not to question too much why he actually seems to enjoy having you around. Instead, you decide to just take the good as it comes.

“I am, I can do tonight. But I’m not sure I have something to wear. Is it like a club? Should I dress up or is it more jeans and—?” You don’t even realize when your voice picks up in speed and the questions fly out faster than you intend for them to, but Frank is quick to center you out of the beginning of your spiral.

“Just wear somethin’ cute, alright? I’ve seen some of your outfits, sweetheart, you’ll be fine.” You bite the inside of your cheek at his comment and inhale deeply before sighing. “I’ll pick you up at six, okay?” You hum an agreement as he confirms the time and say a goodbye before hanging up.

As you pull the phone away from your ear, you see an incoming text from your best friend drop down from the top of the screen.

“I’m two minutes away! I can’t wait to hear everything.”

That night when you got home from the bonfire, she had sent many texts in hopes of finding out the reasoning behind the newfound closeness between you and Frank. In your exhausted and slightly inebriated state, you told her that you would have her over Saturday morning to explain it all to her. You were much too tired to string the words together and you also know how she can tend to put her own emotions onto words; the last thing you needed was for her to hear the little arrangement you and Frank have and blow it out of proportion.

You set the table as you wait for her, making sure to leave a mug beside her plate for her tea that tends to be the staple of her breakfast. By the time the food is divvied up for each of you, there’s an impatient knock at the door. You shake your head with a smile as you open the door and she’s pushing past you as the questions immediately begin to roll off her tongue.

After guiding her to the small dining table in the kitchen, you watch her sit down and her eyes never stray from you. Her voice continues to fill the air as she talks over herself; there’s no distinct end to one sentence and the beginning of the next. By the time you’re sitting beside her and about to dig into your meal she finally covers her mouth, stopping all the enthusiastic queries she desperately wants to know.

“I’m gonna let you talk,” she mumbles behind her palms. You laugh at her attempts to force herself to be quiet and pick up a forkful of your food.

“I promise you it’s not as exciting as you think it is,” you warn her before popping the food in your mouth.

You start at the beginning—trying to skim over the details of your not-so-controlled crush on Frank as well as the more heated parts of the things you two have done together. Excited gasps fill the space surrounding the dining table and you watch as her eyes go wide when you mention it was his idea. Her mouth gets the better of her though and she begins to ask more questions while you speak. You make sure to answer all of them in time, save for a few chuckles here and there, before finishing your last bite.

“I actually have a question for you now,” you start again, watching as confusion washes over her features. “Frank called me this morning and he wants to take me out to this bar he likes. I just don’t know what to wear and I was hoping… you could help me?” You hesitantly look up to face her and you’re met with a beaming grin.

“Is this a date?! Is this the first one? Are you going back to his place after?” You shake your head once again as the sudden influx of questions fill the air.

“No, it’s not a date. I mean… I don’t think it is?” you let your thought process be shown aloud and watch as her giddy expression comes back to the surface. “It’s not! We’re just friends and he’s doing me a favor. I’m sure of it.” You decide then and there that you can’t afford to hold out hope and expect more than what he’s given you—which is already so much.

She raises her eyebrows up from behind the rim of her mug and you scoff at her knowing look. You brush your hand through your hair and try your hardest to not let your anxiety creep in about the idea of being on a proper date with Frank Castle.

And so together the two of you spend the afternoon diving through your closet together for something that could fit. It felt similar to a movie montage where the teenage girls toss different colorful fabrics through the air. With a growing pile on the floor of your bedroom, she gasps once you stand in the completed outfit.

“That’s the one!” she says excitedly before tugging you towards the bathroom. “Time for makeup!” She eagerly pats for you to sit on the counter while searching through your, admittedly limited, makeup bag. Doing the best with what she’s got, she gets to work on the eyeshadows and blush, finishing up with a curl of your eyelashes and combing mascara through them. You always loved how focused she got when it was time for something special; her tongue pokes past her lips as she concentrates, her eyes squinting to get the very last detail to sit right.

Once she’s satisfied, she spins you around to see yourself in the mirror and you’re actually surprised at how nice it all came together. You’re wearing an oversized, comfy jumper, tights that line your legs, and a black skirt that accentuates your frame. It’s not too fancy, but the black tights make your outfit more sleek and you silently hope that Frank will like it. As you fluff your hair up to give it some more volume, you thank her behind a wide smile.

A buzz of excitement rushes through you as you wait by the front door and hear the heavy revving from the engine of Frank’s van. You physically shake your arms in an attempt to let go of some of the nerves that built up and your friend gives you a quick hug.

“You got it, baby!” she encourages sweetly. “Have fun!” she calls out as you slip past the door. Making your way down your porch steps, you hear her shout something else from behind you. “Don’t do anything stupid!”

You chuckle at her warnings and make your way to the big, black van. You open the door and find Frank sitting with his elbow on his armrest and his head in his palm as he turns to face you. You stand there for a moment and await his initial reaction to your outfit. His eyes widen slightly before they rake over your boy, his lips parting as he takes it all in.

He brushes his thumb along the defined line of his jaw before sinking his teeth into his lower lip. His eyes settle on the small slit of the skirt that rests high on your thigh. There’s a pause for a moment before he finally speaks up.

“Told you you’d find somethin’ cute.” He fixes his posture and gives you a smile as you roll your eyes and sit in the passenger seat. Being with him felt easy now—of course there’s still the butterflies, which you’re expecting to make a permanent home in your stomach any day now, but it’s mostly when you’re about to see him. When you’re actually in his presence, it all fades away and you love how comfortable he makes you feel.

If you had told yourself a few weeks ago that you’d be on a half hour car ride with Frank Castle to the outskirts of town, she probably would’ve brushed it off as some sick joke. But here you are, sitting beside him and watching as he flips through radio stations until he settles on a classic rock song. You enjoyed getting to discover little pieces of him the more time you spent with him.

As he drives under the lamp posts longing the winding roads, you watch as the passing lights illuminate his face before it’s cloaked in shadows of the night once again. Each time you move underneath them, light showcases his features in a warm glow for mere moments at a time. You think your new favorite thing might be when the gleam seeps into the small dip in the bridge of his nose. That small highlight makes you smile and he catches it as he turns to look at you once you’re stopped at a red light.

“What is it?” he questions, his eyes squinting slightly as he looks at you. With a shake of your head, you face back to the light strung up in the air. His gaze doesn’t leave the side of your face though, and you know he’ll want an answer.

“This is just nice,” you shrug your shoulders. “Thank you for thinking of me,” you add. You want to make sure he knew how happy you were to be doing this, despite your quiet nature due to your fear of somehow screwing this up with your words.

“Haven’t even done anything,” he laughs softly.

“Well, I’m still enjoying myself,” you reply in a gentle tone. Frank doesn’t say anything more as he continues to look at you. The light changes and a green glow washes over your face, queuing him to face the open road once again. You glance down as his hand moves to the gear shift, trying not to focus too long on how the veins in his hand are accentuated as he curls his fingers around the knob.

Frank speaks up again after a moment and you quickly recenter your attention. He engages you in some light conversation and pretty soon you’re laughing along to his comedic storytelling. You don’t even realize you’ve arrived until he’s put the car in park and turns the key off in the ignition. Looking out from behind the glass in front of you, you see the neon lights surrounding the big, bold letters of the name of the bar. It shines brightly in the night sky and acts as a small beacon in the dark parking lot.

You look up at the sound of the driver side door closing and realize Frank has left the car. You reach for your bag that’s resting on the floor between your feet and by the time you move for the handle, he’s opening your door for you. It’s the first time you’re able to truly take him in. He’s wearing a pair of nicely fitting blue jeans and a grey jacket, complete with the black boots you’ve never seen him without. You can’t tell what he’s wearing under the thick material that conceals his chest though, and you find yourself hoping it’s something tighter and hugs his torso.

“You ready?” he asks, and you nod in response. “Alright, watch your step,” he warns and you feel his hand bracing your upper arm as you hop out from the slightly lifted van. Once you’re secure on the ground, the two of you begin making your way towards the entrance. As you pass by the cars parked in organized rows under dim lamplights, you begin to make out the few scattered people smoking and even spot a couple sharing a cigarette just outside the main doors.

Once inside the building, he shrugs off the jacket and you can finally piece together his outfit. Frank’s broad shoulders stretch the fabric of the dark blue button up shirt. It’s tucked into his denim pants and secured with a black belt. He fits the attire of everyone else here in the bar, but still stands over a head taller than the rest—not to mention infinitely more attractive. You try desperately to rip your eyes away from him, and in doing so, take in the scenery of the pub.

The bar is crowded but not so occupied that you can’t move. The loud, overlapping voices meld to create a soft droning that accompanies the background. It doesn’t stand a chance to the band though, whose loud amplifiers cause a shake in your chest with each note they strum. Polished wood lines the walls and there’s photographs of smiling people decorating them, forever cherished behind glass frames. It feels oddly homey, admittedly impressive for a place you’ve never stepped foot into before tonight.

You accidentally bump into Frank and he steadies you with his large hands on your waist. He’s staring down at you with a subtle smile on his face. He begins to talk but you don’t have the slightest clue what he’s saying; the song that’s playing is far too loud to hear the lower tone of his voice. Shaking your head with a frown, you let him know you can’t understand him and his smile grows wider. He then leans down, his fingers brushing your hair away from your ear before he speaks.

“Asked if you wanted to eat,” he starts, his breath immediately warming the side of your neck. With just those few words, it feels like all the other noise falls away. All you can focus on is the rumble in his voice and how the words feel as if they dance down your spine. “I’m starving,” he adds, and you’re certain your new headspace gave his words a different context than he intended.

He pulls away for your response and all you can muster up is a slow blink and a delayed nod. There’s no cocky smirk at your expression and you wonder if maybe he decided to spare you the embarrassment this time. He promptly turns and you fall in line beside him, letting him guide you around the crowd. His palm finds its way to your lower back as he leads you and just like that, your heart picks up in pace once more.

You’ve only seen the same small movement depicted in movies and you can now safely say that experiencing it is so much more exhilarating. Part of you is frustrated that such an insignificant touch can make you this excited, but Frank’s charm has a tremendous effect on you. Still, you tell yourself it’s the anticipation of his hand being elsewhere on your body that riles you up.

His hand stays put until the two of you reach a booth lining the back wall. There’s a small lamp that bathes the whole table in a warm glow and you and Frank place your things down before sliding into the long seats. As you stare at him from across the table, you watch as his eyes scan the crowd and then the main stage as he focuses on the band. They’re currently playing a cover of a classic rock song and Frank smiles as he nods his head to the music.

“This place is nice,” you raise your voice slightly to be heard over the music. He turns to face you and his smile grows wider.

“Yeah? You like it?” His question is accompanied by your own nod and he continues. “I’m sure there’s fancier ones close to town, but I’ve been coming here for years and they’ve always been good.”

He raises his hand in the air, tilting his head up and leaning to the side as if to catch someone’s attention. You follow his line of sight and look over your shoulder to see a woman with a black apron tied around her waist. She looks slightly past you as a grin covers her face and walks over to your table quicker than you expected.

“Frank?! What are you doing here?” Her voice is already grating and she’s only said a handful of words. Her tone is drawn out, almost flirtatiously, and she stands closer to him than you would’ve liked.

“Just showing her around,” he answers simply. He looks at you and when the waitress does the same, her face falls. You muster up an awkward smile and try to shake off the weird look she gives you. “She’s never been here before, you think we could get some menus?”

“Sure thing,” she mumbles, stepping away only to return a moment later with two long, laminated sheets of paper. She drops them to the table and you spare yourself the trouble of looking at her again.

“She sure seems to like you,” you speak up once she’s left. Frank scoffs before grabbing a menu and shaking his head. “Did you see the way she looked at me? What did I do?” You ask with a frown, wondering if you did something unintentionally.

“She’s probably just pissed cause you’re sitting with me and she’s not,” he answers with a sigh. He flips the paper around and you notice the way his eyes dart around the page. His answer wasn’t very reassuring though, and you still feel the tension in your body. As you scan the small print of the menu in your hands, you can feel his gaze on you. You try to shake the disappointment and to make it less obvious that what she said affected you, but you’re not certain how good of an actress you are.

“Y’know what?” he speaks up after a few seconds. You raise your face to him as he continues, “I know this place a couple of blocks down? Best god damn beer I’ve had.” His hand disappears under the table and a moment later you see his fingers curled around his jacket. “It’s German! You haven’t tried that one before.” He leans across the table before whispering, “You’re gonna hate it.”

His attempts at distracting you work well and you can’t help the laughter escaping you at the final thing he said. Frank’s own crooked smile returns at your reaction and a softness settles into his brown eyes.

“There she is,” he mumbles once he sees your regular self bubble back up to the surface. You bring in a deep breath and choose to shake off any residual awkwardness you felt from before.

“No, no it’s okay. We can stay here.” You finish your sentence and look back towards the music before facing him. His hands are empty now as he continues to stare at you and you feel confident in your choice to stay.

After looking over the endless list of drinks, burgers, and other appetizers, you read a description of a sandwich that makes your stomach rumble to life. You immediately decide on it without a second thought and smile up at Frank, watching him run his finger across the page between two options and looking quite indecisive.

Before long, the ill behaved waitress is back to take down your order. You pick your sandwich, remembering to take off the toppings you aren’t too fond of, add in an order of fries, and your usual favorite drink to top it off. With a hesitant glance up, you see her scribbling down your order on the small notepad in her hand. Her expression is twisted up as if she smelled something foul and you feel that uneasy feeling settling in once more.

“I’ll have the same as my date here,” Frank answers before she can ask about his meal. He gently taps the two menus on the tabletop before handing them over to her. His lips part as his eyes drag over your features and you notice the way they stop for a little longer than they should when they reach your mouth.

To say you were shocked was an understatement. You weren’t sure if he said it just to get under her skin or not but part of you didn’t really care. He said it regardless and that made a smile carve its way onto your face. An annoyed scoff is heard from above and you see a hand come into view to snatch the menus away from Frank. He never looked away from you once.

The moment the food arrives, you’re excitedly grabbing your sandwich and lifting it to your mouth. As your teeth sink into the toasted bread, the flavor hits your tongue and a satisfied moan escapes you. Frank is quick to lift his eyes at the sound, his eyebrows raising as he takes in the scene in front of him. You raise your hand to your mouth and begin to grow bashful at the look on his face.

“Sorry!” You apologize, your voice muffled behind your palm. “It was just really good,” you explain once you swallow your food down.

“Don’t gotta apologize for that, kid,” he replies through his own raspy chuckle. You bite your lip and tuck a strand of hair behind your ear before reaching for the fries in your basket next.

The two of you dig into your identical meals and make some easy conversation in between bites here and there. You’re honestly impressed with how good the sandwich is and you’re glad you picked it out of the infinite number of items on the menu. Frank wasn’t lying when he said he loved this place. You watch him look up from his meal every now and then with a big smile on his face as he moves his head to the beat of the music. His energy was infectious and you found yourself tapping your toes along too.

“Y’know,” he speaks up after finishing the last bite of his sandwich. At the sound of his voice, you begin to look up to his face, but your eyes latch on to something else. Frank sucks his fingers clean of the salt from his fries, his lips pursing as his cheeks hollow, and you immediately lose any grip you had on controlling your thoughts around him.

“When we ordered I saw your beer on the menu.” You hear his words but they have absolutely no meaning, no way of stringing them together to make a continuous thought as you watch him suck the seasonings from his thumb. You begin to feel a sense of injustice at the fact that those fingers weren’t where you desperately wanted them to be. With a pout, you look back to his gaze and see the confusion clear in his eyes.

“What?” you blurt out, finally remembering he had spoken and that you hadn’t processed anything he had said. He scoffs before shaking his head, his smirk spreading wide across his face before he speaks again.

“Said they have the beer you like here,” he repeats himself, his cocky grin a clear indicator that he saw how you froze up at sight just moments ago.

“I’m actually good tonight,” you say confidently. Reaching for your glass, you take a sip of your drink and hold his gaze as you stare at him from under your eyelashes. He sits back against the cushion of the booth and his eyebrows pull together as he thinks about what you said.

“Yeah?” he asks, squinting his eyes at you.

“Mhm, not letting a few beers stop me from what I wanna do after this,” you explain. You’ve never felt more frustrated than when he stopped you from kissing on his neck. You understood why he did it, and are actually very thankful he didn’t want it to go further, but the disappointment coursed through you all the same.

“Hmm? And what exactly is that?” he questions as the band finishes up the song they had been playing. Your eyes follow the noise as the crowd erupts into whistles and claps, applauding the musicians. When you finally look back over, Frank’s in the same position. It’s like he never looked away from you—hell, you’re not sure if he even blinked.

You don’t answer him though and make up your mind to keep him on the edge of his seat. Instead, you smile sweetly before picking up a fry from your basket and popping it past your lips.

He gives you a knowing look, but doesn’t pry. Perhaps he was looking forward to the surprise of it all. You only hope you can remain as confident as you feel now so you can properly act out your plan. Before long, he swallows down his last french fry and Frank speaks up with a question.

“You wanna go dance?” Your whole body freezes at the mere thought of attempting to dance, not to mention the added nerves of doing it in a crowded room with Frank Castle standing witness. But as you look out onto the dance floor full of moving bodies, you realize most of them are probably far too intoxicated to really pay attention to you. Deciding to push past the initial fear, and wanting to be fully present with him and have fun, you nod and scoot out of the booth.

Frank stands in front of you and his hand soon comes into view of your eyeline. You place your hand in his and feel his fingers curl around your palm as you brace your weight on him and rise to your feet. You stand on your toes and motion for him to come closer so you can speak into his ear.

“Just so you know, I’m a terrible dancer,” you say after he’s tilted his head towards you.

“What part of me screams that I’m a good one?” he asks, and you chuckle at his joke. He smiles down at your laughter and nods his head behind him, letting you know he’s going to the dancefloor.

Frank keeps a hold of your hand as he leads you through the crowd. His broad body splits the sea of bodies as he walks and you follow close enough behind him to squeeze past them as well. There’s blue hues from the dim lights that shine over the people, but other than that you can’t see much beside their moving feet. He must’ve gotten to a clearing where there’s not as many people bumping into one another, because he stops walking and turns to you.

You’re sort of frozen still for a moment as the reality of it is beginning to creep in. But then Frank starts to shimmy his shoulders and you can’t help but break into a wide grin. Just like that, you’re thawed. The awkwardness you felt is starting to leave you as you begin to loosen up in front of him.

The band plays a fun, upbeat song that you don’t recognize, but he seems to be making the moves up as he goes along. You follow his direction, copying him but still keep some distance, trying to slowly shake off those nerves that are still lingering around. Suddenly, Frank does a move that you can’t even begin to describe with words alone and you burst into laughter as you watch him. Holding your stomach, you shake your head at him and he begins to laugh too.

The band then retires from the stage, saying their farewells as the crowd applauds and whistles. Frank claps along with the rest of them and you cup your hands around your mouth to give a small cheer. You really enjoyed their set and wouldn’t mind coming back here again to watch them play once more.

Once the stage is clear, music begins to play over the speakers and Frank’s face lights up. His excitement is clear after just the first few notes.

“God, this takes me back,” his wide grin causes his eyes to squint up. You smile up at him, happy at his enjoyment, but you can’t help your head from tilting to the side confusedly.

“You haven’t heard this before?” he asks incredulously and you shake your head. “It’s literally my favorite song, how do you not know this?”

“When did it come out?” you ask, and watch him look up as he starts to think.

“Must’ve been… right after graduation, I think?” He does the math for a moment longer before answering with the year it was released. The answer has you fighting back a giggle as you stare at him awkwardly.

“Frank, I wasn’t born until two years later,” you answer honestly, and the look on his face is priceless.

“Jesus Christ…” he replies, dragging his hand down his face. You begin to worry now, wondering if you shouldn’t have brought up that point. He must’ve caught a glance at your anxious frown because he’s quick to explain himself.

“You’re fine just… my back hurt when you said that.” His hand comes to the back of his neck to emphasize his point and your smile finds its way back to your lips.

Despite the initial embarrassment you ran into after being reminded again of the gap in age between you and Frank, you found yourself really enjoying the song. He was honest when he said it was one of his favorites. You’ve never seen him this lively before and you love being able to soak up every minute of it. He’s so animated as he dances, holding you close to him with his hand secured at your back. The lines to the song fall past his lips like muscle memory as his forehead presses to yours.

You can’t stand being this close to him. Your whole body feels like it’s been shot with a current of electricity and you’re desperately wanting him to stop singing and put his mouth to yours. He might have a sixth sense—or simply just picked up on the timing—because his lips are on yours a second later. He kisses you deeply, his tongue brushing your lower lip for a moment before you eagerly let him in. Your head tilts to the side as you kiss him back and your arm wraps around his wide shoulders to ensure you’ll have your fill.

All too soon he’s breaking the kiss and you immediately suck your bottom lip behind your teeth to savor the feeling of him. He suddenly lifts his arm into the air and cues you to spin. You twirl under his hand with a huge grin and then he yanks you in for the finish, timing it so that your back is to his chest when you land against him. His same palm immediately finds your hip and tightens to keep you flush to him. His opposite hand travels down the length of your torso, his index finger tracing your side as he moves.

He begins to whisper the lyrics against your ear and you can’t bring yourself to focus on their meaning. He’s all over you and it’s making you feel dizzy, as if you’re drunk on his scent alone. Each pass of his finger along your ribs alights a fire at your side and you try to keep up as he begins rocking you from side to side to the rhythm of the song. His breath warms the entire side of your face and neck with each word he whispers. You fall under his spell and roll your head to the side at the feeling of his warmth all over.

When the song starts to fade and a new one begins overlapping it, you’re left with a bittersweet feeling; part of you never wanted to leave that moment and would gladly listen to that song on loop for the rest of your life, but the other half of you was almost frightened at how easily you turned to putty in his hands. You felt the need to have a better grasp on yourself, especially if you wanted to stay courageous for what you had planned for tonight.

The mix of two songs smoothen down into one and you instantly recognize the slow, sexy bassline that’s pumping through the speakers overhead. You’re not sure what came over you. Perhaps you wanted to prove to someone that you’re not that same timid, little girl. Whatever it was that coursed through your veins, you’re thankful that it gave you the strength to grab his large palm and put it back into place at your hip. You use the extra support to push your ass back into him, making sure to press hard enough until you feel the bulge in his jeans.

Frank doesn’t show any reaction except for his fingers tightening into your skin as if you were a lifeline. You smile as you continue to grind into him, your hips following the similar movements he taught you just a few days prior. Facing away from him gives you the extra boost of confidence needed to perform this act, but you’d be lying if you said you wouldn’t kill to see the look on his face right now.

With each push of your ass against the denim fabric, you feel the heat of his bulge so close to where your own warmth had started to pool. This felt good and you felt pride surging through your chest once you realized exactly what you were doing.

And then his arm crosses your chest and pulls you flat against him once more. His forearm is pressed against your collarbones and you feel your breath hitch at the hold he has you in. With a shaky inhale, you swallow down the lump in your throat and wait for him to speak.

“Look at you, sweetheart,” the tip of his nose brushes the curve of your ear and you try your damndest to not let your body double over. “Someone’s getting confident, huh?” His arm begins to slowly drop from across your chest, and instead reaches your lower stomach. From there, he applies pressure until you’re as close as you could be to him.

“You feel that? Hmm?” There’s an undeniable hardness under the thick layers of fabric. It doesn't feel as big as the last time he got turned on from you, but it’s still noticeable. “That’s all you,” he finishes with a lower tone of voice before taking half a step back and leaving you to sit with his words.

It takes you a moment to wrap your head around this entire situation. It’s abundantly clear that the mood has changed from light laughter and awful dance moves to something more sultry. You can feel the warmth slowly spreading between your legs and it leaves you with a buzz that makes you feel like your movements are slowed. When you turn around to finally face him, he’s already staring down at you expectedly.

“Why don’t we get outta here?” he asks, deep voice blending in with the booming bass. You nod at him and it feels like you’re moving in molasses. The dull, blue light from above catches his face for a moment. There’s something deeper to his unreadable expression; his jaw is clenched as if he’s trying to hold something back.

Once the two of you make it back to the table, Frank reaches into his back pocket for his wallet. He thumbs through the notes before tossing a few bills onto the table. He reaches into the booth seat for his jacket and shakes it out before draping it over your shoulders.

“Thank you,” you mumble in a quiet voice.

“Don’t gotta thank me for that, sweetheart,” he shakes his head, insisting that your gratitude isn’t needed. He begins to walk towards the door with his hand in its designated spot at your lower back to help guide you once again. The chill of the night air hits you the second you step out of the building and you find yourself curling his jacket snugger around your body. His scent is stuck to the collar and it helps lessen your shivering from the cold breeze.

He walks you to your side of the van and opens the door for you to climb in. Even after he gets in and begins driving down the same winding roads, there’s not much conversation between the two of you. The tension in the car is thick and incredibly palpable. You’re indecisive about whether to break the silence or leave it untouched so as to not make it worse.

Eventually Frank pulls into his parking spot that faces the front door of his apartment. After putting the van in park and walking around to open your door once more, you take his hand and carefully step down. He unlocks the door and gets you inside quickly, trying to shield you from the chilly air. Once he flicks the lights on, you’re greeted by the familiar sight of his living room and feel that desire to touch him creep back in. Your name falls from his lips and you turn your head at the sound.

“I’m sorry if I went too far back there. I shouldn’t have—,” he begins to apologize, but you’re quick to interrupt by pressing your lips to his. A surprised grunt comes from him and you smirk into the kiss, pleased to have caught him off guard. He wastes no time in wrapping his arms around you and begins leading you towards the couch. When you feel the back of your knees hit the curve of the cushion, you angle yourself in front of Frank and push him into the sofa below.

He looks up at you with his lips parted and his chest is noticeably bringing in deeper breaths each time he inhales. His usually soft, brown eyes have a darkened glint to them and you’re certain you’ve never seen this emotion on him before. Your pulse is racing through your own body and you swiftly straddle him with your knees on either side of his hips.

His impatient fingers grab hold of you in a way no one ever has before. The action causes a surprised gasp to fall past your lips, but it’s swallowed down by Frank who can’t seem to keep his mouth off of yours. The light stubble decorating his jaw scratches at your skin and the rough feeling does nothing but spur you on further. You begin to roll your hips into his as you fall into a familiar pattern and he uses his hold to help guide you into moving faster.

His movements are rushed and needy and it makes you feel reassured that he wants this—he wants you. That little boost to your ego has your hands tracing down his body, your palms rubbing down his strong chest, before finally reaching his belt. Your fingers search blindly for the leather and the sound of the buckle clinking sounds out in between the wet noises of your kisses.

“Woah, easy,” Frank breaks the kiss the second the sound reaches his ears. “Let’s just, uh…” he trails off and you feel his fingers gently prying yours away. “Let’s take it slow, alright?” His tone is so soft and the concern is written clearly across his features.

“Frank, please,” you try to reason with him. “I didn’t even drink tonight! And I just… last time I was all worked up and I really want to do this.” You finish with a pout as you glance up at him with pleading eyes. He swallows hard as he stares at you for a moment, probably battling something internally.

“What do you wanna do?” he asks slowly, trying to make his words clear. The question is so simple but admitting it to him makes you feel small again.

“I… I want to touch you,” you mumble, silently hoping he doesn’t ask you to be more explicit than that.

“You sure you want this?” His eyes never leave yours as he confirms your consent.

“I really do,” you reply, bringing your hand up and cupping his cheek. You brush your thumb over his skin and watch as he begins to shut his eyes and breathe deeply. “Please?”

You’re not sure if it’s the quiet plea, his own craving that’s swaying his decision, or some combination of the two, but he slowly uncurls his fingers from your wrist. You beam brightly at him and whisper a thanks as you peck him on the cheek.

“You’re still gonna have to walk me through it, Frank,” you say through a small chuckle.

He nods with an equally quiet, “I know.”

From there, he doesn’t try to deter your movements any longer. He lets you continue as you slide his belt past the metal buckle. You look up at him for reassurance and he nods his head with a smile. He takes your hand in his and pulls it to his bulge, letting you feel it properly for the first time. Excitement races through you and settles in your lower stomach as you watch your hand touch him over the denim.

“Can I take your jeans off?” Your question is met with another nod as he lets go of you. Slipping the button past the slit, you then lower the zipper past the teeth and the sound feels so loud in the otherwise silent room. You move to sit beside him and Frank helps you tug his pants down, raising his hips to lower them some more until they fall past his knees. He’s wearing a pair of dark grey boxer briefs and your eyes linger far too long on how they hug his thighs.

The thick outline stretching the fabric is enough to recenter your attention though. You start to feel the nerves coming back once you register just how big he is as he lies against his hip. You always had a feeling, given the sheer size of the man, but seeing it is a whole other experience. Thankfully, Frank doesn’t rush you as he lets you take this all in. You hesitantly move your hand over the length of him, brushing your fingers over the defined line underneath the head of his cock.

The next thing you reach for is the waistband of his boxers. You curl your fingers over the edge and tug them down, watching as more and more of his happy trail becomes exposed. He once again helps you pull them past his legs and now that he’s bare in front of you, you can’t help your eyes from widening. You had thought the bulge was big, but it was misleading; Frank is actually much larger than you had anticipated.

“What? You’ve never seen—?” He starts but you’re quick to cut him off.

“I have. I’ve seen, like, porn before but…” you find your voice leaving you as you stare between his legs. “It’s just bigger in person.” His chuckle sounds out and you raise your head to the noise only to be met by an amused smirk at your confession.

“S’not just cause it’s in person, kid,” he laughs through his words and you roll your eyes at his cockiness. You like that you can still crack jokes during a time like this and you find yourself thankful that you get to have Frank as your first introduction to sex. Feeling more relaxed, you reach forward and gently curl your fingers around his thick base.

“You can hold it tighter than that,” he speaks up after a second.

“I know,” you respond, tightening your hold on him a little more. He snorts lightly at the, apparently, subtle increase in pressure and you feel his larger hand curling around your own. His long fingers squeeze over yours, adjusting your grip on his length as he begins to move your hand up and down. He’s warm and heavy in your hand, two things you hadn’t given much thought of before now. Frank lifts your hand once more and a satisfied sigh leaves him.

The sound stirs something in your stomach and you try to swallow down your own growing arousal at the noise he’s making. He loosens his hold on you and you watch as his hands find the hem of his shirt before bunching it up and exposing the lower half of his stomach. There’s so much to look at and it’s pulling your attention in too many ways. You try to focus on him in your hand though and begin speeding up your movements.

“You can spit on it,” he speaks up after a few seconds. You turn to face him and feel your eyebrows pull together at his words.

“Like just… spit on it?” The confusion is more than likely obvious in your tone but you want to ensure that you don’t embarrass yourself with him. Not now when you’ve made it this far.

“Yeah, go for it,” he encourages gently. With one last glance at him, you lean forward and lower your head over his length. You purse your lips and part them as you let the split slowly drip until it’s sliding over his head. You watch as it runs down past the tip and Frank clears his throat.

“Shit, yeah that…” he trails off as he raises his hips slightly. “That works too.” You smile at his words and wonder if his movement was an instinctual reaction to the warmth running along the smooth skin of his cock.

With the help of the extra slick added to his length, you begin to work your hand faster on him. You know from what you’ve heard that the tip is more sensitive, so you raise your hand right underneath his head and tighten your grip. A grunt immediately falls from him and you impulsively let go of him. You face him with a worried expression and watch as he brings in a deep breath before swallowing thickly.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. Just felt real damn good.” The praise in his words immediately rushes to your heart and you feel yourself swell with pride. You can’t believe you made him feel that good, but now you’re determined to see what other sounds you can pull from his pretty lips. As you focus your attention back to his cock, you see a few beads of precum beginning to bubble up at his swollen tip. You rub your thumb in circles over the slit, spreading around the proof of his pleasure, and you feel him twitch in your hold.

“Shiiiiiit,” the drawn out curse sounds raspy and you don’t stop your movements as you check once again to see his reaction. Frank’s head is tilted back slightly against the couch cushion, his mouth is parted, and his eyes are scrunched up slightly. You try your hardest to memorize this version of him. You wish you could ingrain this memory so you’ll never forget how good he looks when he’s succumbing to his pleasure.

Twisting your hand as you move it over his length, you notice the way his adam's apple bobs as he swallows down presumably another groan. You can’t resist the urge to feel even more of him, and press your lips against his neck. Lazy kisses are littered across his skin while you work your hand faster, intermittently tightening your hold on his thickness. His throat tightens as he feels the wet marks of your affection, and the next thing you feel is his fingers tangling in your hair. He pulls gently as he tugs your head up to his and he kisses down your surprised gasp, his tongue slipping into your mouth.

You’re having trouble keeping up with his movements and you realize this must be what it’s like to be kissed breathlessly. Any moment you get, you’re greedily gulping down air before he continues his ravenous attack on your lips. You never slow the speed of your hand and press yourself against his side, trying to feel more of him to satiate your need. Frank tries to break the kiss but you push against him harder, not wanting to let go for a second. But he tries again, grabbing your wrist gently and you immediately pull away with a frown.

“What did I do?” you ask in a worried tone. He’s quick to lock his eyes with yours and speaks clearly.

“You’re okay. You’re doing so good, sweetheart,” he starts, and then nods down towards his lap. “I’m almost there, kid. Just wanted to warn you before it happens.” And just like that, a wide grin splits across your face. I’m making him feel that good?!

“I really wanna make you come, Frank,” you tell him honestly and you notice his cock twitch slightly as he registers your words.

“You keep talking like that and you will,” he grumbles in a low voice. His tone almost seems as if it was meant as a warning, but all it does is add to the fire in the pit of your stomach. You’re quick to reach for him again and fall back into the rhythm you established just seconds ago. With each pass of your hand you feel the veins protruding slightly through his skin and make sure to add slightly more pressure to the ring underneath his tip—he seemed to like that in particular.

“Just like that—fuck, attagirl,” he breathes through gritted teeth while he stares down at your smaller fingers wrapped snugly around him. The praise courses through you and you hide your face in his neck. You place sloppy kisses under his jaw and listen as more grunts start to fall from his parted lips. They slowly twist into a new sound and it takes you a second to realize it’s your name that’s coming out in a twisted groan. You glance down and watch as he raises his hips for a moment to chase after the feeling of you, his orgasm following soon after.

One long moan falls from him as warmth spills over your hands. You make sure not to miss a single second and don’t dare slow down or pull away. You want Frank to feel as good as possible and so you’ll drag this out for as long as you can. White begins to coat his head and the rest of his length as you continue moving over him. It isn’t until he reaches for your wrist that you take notice of the way his thigh is tense and you let go to give him some relief.

“T…That’s enough,” he pants as he speaks through uneven breathing. You mumble an apology as you snuggle into his side again, leaving the remainder of your kisses on his collarbone. His hand rubs at your back while he regains his breath and you feel him press his lips to your forehead.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispers, and you follow his gaze to the mess in his lap. His cock lies on his hip, all spent and giving a weak twitch once or twice. You don’t even try to hide the smile that grows on your face at the sight.

“Oh, you proud of yourself, huh?” he asks through a fit of chuckles. “You should be,” he holds you to his side again. “Did so fuckin’ good.” You feel another long kiss to the side of your head. Pride isn’t even a strong enough word to describe how you feel at this moment.

“Thank you, Frank,” you smile up at him.

“Thank me? Nah, you did all that,” he brushes it off just like last time. “Thank you for making me feel good, kid. You were absolutely perfect.” The warmth spreading to your cheeks makes you hide your face in his chest again. You weren’t really sure how a scene like this was supposed to normally end, but Frank doesn’t say anything more. He keeps you close in his arms and you can still hear his pulse attempting to slow in his chest. For now, you don’t want to question what comes next; for once, you’re comfortable exactly where you are.

Taglist: @chellestrash @avengerstower-houseplant @musicals-and-mermaids @castle-of-ruin @justalittlepickle @boo8008 @doublevirgogirl @xxdrixx @yaminax @nabiiturner @imwaytoolazyforthis @vechkinfan @himesuedi @0-goblin-0 @soleilcastle @innebulae @punishersmainchick @eddiemunsonsbelover @tea-drinking-nerd

#new writing record WOOO! i just couldn't shut the hell up :)#frank castle x reader #frank castle smut #frank castle fanfiction #frank castle fic #jon bernthal fanfiction #jon bernthal fic #the punisher fanfiction #the punisher fanfic #chelsea writes

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yashirawr · 6 months ago

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katsuki, shouto and izuku with a reader who is like giselle from enchanted !!

bnha main three x gn!giselle!reader.

type: headcanons, fluff (& a splash of angst if you squint reaaaally hard)

warnings: kissing, a bit of cursing bc bakugou is here but otherwise so much fluffy fluff ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭ reader's quirk is not mentioned per se.

a/n: hi, sweet people !! i've been practicing my english skills to write and expand my vocabulary but i'm still not quite good, so i apologize if you see something misspelled :c i accept criticism !! ok, so, yesterday i saw enchanted and disenchanted and realized how much i wanna be like giselle haha and when i looked for fanfiction with a giselle-like reader i was left heartbroken since i didn't find any TT so i took it upon myself to write something, hope you like this <3

♡ ୭̥ ° bakugo katsuki

this boy is known for showing his hate for sweet things, yet no one – not even him – is able to comprehend why you're the exception.

since the first day of school he can tell you're going to be more annoying than all the other extras. randomly humming and singing, using smooth arm movements as if you came from a fairytale.

you look harmless, a stupid pushover. his only comfort is that you won't get in his way.

or that's what he thinks.

because with time, he starts seeing more of you. his gaze starts to linger whenever you're around, putting careful attention to your actions, your expressions. wide eyes and radiant smile, always trying to spread kindness and love, so genuine; you're like an open book.

katsuki's rough, katsuki's loud, katsuki's explosive.

so imagine his surprise when he realizes with time that the sight of you makes his eyes soften, his chest warm, his guard drop.

he wants to deny it, he wants to deny it very strongly. however, everyone can tell how, little by little, he starts to open up to you.

he lets you be closer, so vivid around him. you can do things that others would get yelled at for trying. when did anyone see somebody getting into bakugou's personal space – whether it is laying on his shoulder or playing with his hair – and leave unharmed? when did anyone see somebody using his stuff and not recieving any kind of ill treatment for doing so?

the two of you start spending time together, much to his dismay because of your classmates' teasing. yet it takes you being in danger during a villain attack for katsuki to realize how deep his feelings are.

oh, no– he's falling in love.

and he goes livid. he might seem like someone who already acts recklessly during combat but that's not the truth at all. the want, the need to take you into his arms and protect you is what leads him to take such impulsive decisions.

don't get him wrong, he knows you can defend yourself; you're just as much of a badass as you are of an optimist, after all.

but it's this side you bring out of him. this soft, tender side.

it drives him crazy.

so, once the horror passes and your class settles into its usual endeavors, he does what he knows best: he tries to push you. he tries to make you leave, to scare you off.

but why aren't you running away?

why are you cradling his face with a gentle, loving touch?

one thing leads to the other and your lips meet in a true love's kiss, as you would say.

after that, katsuki resigns to listening to your rambling about animals and love and flowers–

he's there to give you a reality check when it's needed, anyway.

"get out of that pretty little head of yours, dumbass, there's fucking homework to do"

yeah, he wouldn't have it any other way.

bonus: you're literally a grumpy x sunshine pairing !! it's hilarious to see you two in the common room because katsuki seems to hold back in showing physical affection or any state of flusteredness. you learned not to demand it from him, either, because he always gets red and would hate for anyone else other than you to see it. it's alright, though, because as soon as you're alone he turns into a clingy puppy. good luck trying to get rid of him to do something just as brief as going to the bathroom !!

♡ ୭̥ ° todoroki shouto

shouto's life has never been any sort of fairytale. all that love chitchat... yeah, pretty much false.

but then he meets you, and you're so eager to show him.

so you start sticking to him, following him around. it could look like pestering for some people, but to shouto?

oh, shouto's charmed by you.

it takes him some time. before the sports festival, he couldn't help but give you cold stares and dry replies. of course, your enthusiastic self would take all of that without complaining.

but it is after the event that he starts to open his eyes and contemplate a little more of you. especially after you compliment his quirk and express how happy you are for him, for truly giving his all during the fights and making use of his fire.

another element, you said, that was part of him and needed to be seen. you mentioned how you believed in him, warm smile painted on your lips as you beamed with joy.

there was no way he would get his eyes off of you after that.

although shouto is quiet, his gaze is intense. thankfully you're unaware of such things – trained to being accostumed to stares by your whole life experience – so you can't tell how the next days he's so entranced by you and the way you carry yourself so gracefully.

you see beauty everywhere, often even stopping in your tracks to observe your surroundings. you seem to shine, delighted.

too occupied by twirling around and interacting with everyone around you, you fail to notice how he's softly smiling at the sight.

as time passes, your conversations stop being one-sided. his replies show more interest, it's not only about his gaze anymore but also about the way he accepts all your affections; melting into your touch.

the way he's always there to protect you when villain attacks happen, when anyone looks at you the wrong way or tries to talk to you in as much as a slightly rude tone. the way he comforts you whenever you're sensitive about something, never questioning where did it come from.

you're his top priority.

so when you share a first kiss, he feels his heart pumping so hard it could jump right off his chest. this unknown feeling, leading him to be so attached to you, was love all this time.

you were right about showing him, he figures.

because now holding your hand gives him so much happiness that he now kind of gets why you're so enthusiastic about said concept.

when you go on one of your rambles about it and ask him, "right?" he smiles at you and responds:

"yes, my love, i think i know now"

you smile at him, so widely as you always do, and he leans in to leave a kiss on your forehead.

bonus: when he tells you his family story for the first time, you cry. you cry so much until you feel his strong arms wrap around you. yet shouto, despite trying to comfort you since you were the one crying, feels as if your embrace comforts him. you hug him by the waist, rubbing his back so gently and carefully that it brings tears to his eyes. everyday he feels more enamoured by you.

♡ ୭̥ ° midoriya izuku

you meet for the first time with izuku because of bumping into him during the quirk's test on the first day of class. he falls and you crouch along with him, soft-spokenly apologizing and asking if he's alright.

as he looks up at you, the boy can only think of how you look exactly like an angel.

you best believe our baby broccoli blushes furiously to his ears.

it doesn't take you anything to become friends and when you do he realizes that, despite both of you being pretty positive people, you have very different ways of thinking.

everything to you is magical, wonderful, exciting. izuku learned this from only the first few days of knowing you, and he found it really beautiful and encouraging. it was something to admire you for, and it never failed to impress him the way you would always be open to new opportunities, grateful for every single one you were given.

similarly, nothing to you was ever a problem! so when izuku rambled about his past, his difficulties with his quirk and worries you always found a way to make his point of view shift 180° and move on to positive thoughts.

in a world where he's exposed to so much pressure, you act as a beacon of life that peaks through the darkness.

and so, you're with him every step of the way.

he doesn't even know when his love for you starts blooming, especially since he has such a focus on heroics that doesn't usually let him think about anything else. but when he finds himself dreaming about your bright smile, mumbling as he watches you from afar sing to happy little animals you encountered, blushing to the tips of his ears by only hearing you say his name with so much care and glee–

he realizes too late he's down bad. in fact, he's the last one to realize, since the whole class watches in horror as you two interact so lovingly with each other as almost second nature.

mina has the theory that the two of you are secretly together, but it is obvious for everyone that if you two really were, you would be shouting it to the four winds. that's just who you are, and that's just how they know izuku loves you.

of course, you're the first one to make a move.

you go up to him before class one random morning and ask him if he would like to go out on friday afternoon. he accepts at first, smiling widely at you and you respond with a bubbly "alright then! it's a date!"

his face seemed to turn all shades of red and even go through some other colors before digesting that information.

"a-a d-date with me...?" he lifts a finger, you hum in amusement.

"of course, silly. i'd want no other prince for me but you."

needless to say, it goes amazingly and now the class has to deal with you giving him little pecks on his lips, cheeks and hands as he turns red because of the sudden affection.

bonus: in his notebook page about your quirk he has written a whole analysis of how you and your voice are appealing to animals and what does that have to do with it. he even tried talking about it to you, but your reply was: "i'm not quite sure, but i can only be grateful about them! they are my friends and i'm truly fortunate for their company!"

#。bibi writes 🌷#bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #izuku midoriya #bakugou katsuki #izuku midoriya x reader #todoroki shoto #shoto todoroki x reader #bnha x reader #deku x reader #todoroki x reader

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rhettsunshine · 23 days ago

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CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND HOLIDAY TRADITION

Rhett Abbott X Reader

A/N

Hello everyone this is my submission for @lewmagoo holiday celebration with the prompt "driving around looking at lights"

This is my first time writing so comments and reblogs are helpful but please be nice.

You had become obsessed with making traditions for your new home with the love of your life Rhett. On December first you had him outside bright and early putting up lights all over the house and decorating the trees out front. Then came the gingerbread houses that were on the mantle currently. They had been part of a competition you two had, which mostly ended with frosting everywhere and Rhett angry after how many times his house fell apart but he eventually got it.

They were placed right next to the stockings you two bought each other. Yours was a traditional red one with a white fluffy top and a big white initial on the front. His was camouflage with a white fluffy top and a big white R on it. They were picked up randomly one day but were essential to the first Christmas in your home.

Rhett chopped down an actual tree for you. You both decorated it with what felt right. Colorful lights, big and small bulbs, bits of tensile and a small ornament that had a picture of you two on it. You two had spent so much time engaging in all these traditions but it felt good. After waiting so long to move in with Rhett being with him everyday now felt so special. You both wanted everything to be perfect for the first Christmas together. You two were about to watch a movie another tradition you wanted to indulge in when Rhett came in from checking on the animals.

"Hey darlin" he said kissing the top of your head. "The house looks good outside, we did a good job" he smiles. "Well you did most of the work but I'm glad it looks good" you say hugging him after he puts up his coat. "I still say we both did but okay" he said before laughing slightly and kissing you "I just wish more people could see it, you know like when you see the houses in town" you say walking away to go sit on the couch. "What houses?" He said confused and follows you. "Not any specific house, but you know when you drive around and look at houses with different lights and decorations?" "I've never done that before, don't know what you're talking about darlin" he said flopping on the couch. You gasped and sat up "what do you mean you've never done that?" you say slightly offended that no one has ever taken this man to see christmas lights before. "Just what've said darlin I've never done that before. In case you didn't realize you have me doing more Christmas things this year then I've done my whole life" he said slightly gesturing around to the decorated living room.

In that moment your heart broke thinking how your favorite person hadn't seen the christmas spirit like you did. "Alright let's go!" you say getting up with enthusiasm and determination. "What?!" "Let's go!" you say pulling his arm so he can stand up. "Where are we going?" "To go look at the christmas lights, now come on cowboy" you say walking to the front door to put your boots and coat on. He looks at you. Seeing you in your big coat and cowboy boots, pajama bottoms bunched into them with so much determination in your eyes he can't help but look at you with love in his. "Okay let's go!" he says walking up to you. He puts his coat and boots on. He opens the door and guides you out, locking up after. He walks to the passenger door and opens it for you and then walks to his side and gets in. Getting in the truck it's freezing but he put the heater on right away for you. You two drive into town and stop at a gas station to get hot chocolate to help warm up. You tell him to just start driving the neighborhoods in town and eventually you find a bunch of houses with decorations.

For a small town the people really went all out. Multiple houses had their yards full of blow up decorations. Some houses decorated the whole front of their houses. Some went more simple with string lights and decorating the trees already in front of their house. There were at least five houses in each block with decorations. After a while you turned to Rhett since he had been so quiet. The look on his face was priceless. He was like a little kid on Christmas morning. His eyes twinkled with the colors of the lights outside. You had never seen him so peaceful.

You two drive around some more. Pointing out your favorite decorations, and talking about which houses you liked best. Rhett kept pointing out the most random decorations and saying they'd be great to get next year. Why he thought a dinosaur holding a present and small dog with a santa hat on would be the best decorations you didn't know. But whatever he wanted he would get.

You two decided to go home after about an hour since there weren't many houses in the small town. Going home seeing rhett happy made you happy. "Well did you like it?" You say entering the house. "I actually did! Did you?" "Of course!! Especially now that I get to share it with my favorite person" you say as you put your hands around his neck and kiss him. "Thanks for everything. I know it's a lot but I just wanted to make everything special for our first Christmas together" you say quietly. He smiles at you "you don't have to thank me, I wouldn't want it any other way." He kisses you again and hugs you, picking you up and carrying you up the stairs right past all the decorations you made him help put up.

Thank you for reading!! 🩵

#rhett abbott #rhett abbott X reader #lewis pullman #outer range #the holidays with lewmagoo

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gorgeouslypink · 1 year ago

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HIIII PINK!!! When I heard you were leaving I was so sad I even started crying and started to doubt myself on entering the void. I was like “how tf am I going to get into the void without pink???” I started procrastinating reading some of your post basically stalking ur page staying up til 4 in the morning (I was desperate 😭). I realized that I already read all of ur post, nd I just was surprised on how much time I wasted trying to get into the void. And I always dreamt abt putting a success story in your inbox. I already had all the knowledge i needed so what’s the point of more? I deleted tumblr and thought of anything that could help me get in the void. I did SATS while listening to my subliminal playlist, i daydreamed abt the void and my desires for fun, i affirmed for my void concept randomly throughout the day, feeling of the wish fulfilled, listened to delta waves when I was abt to sleep, and I meditated once a day for 10 mins. Meditation was optional but whateva 🤷‍♀️. I ONLY DID THAT FOR THREE FREAKING DAYS. And Im still mad at myself for wasting time procrastinating for 9 months. I was going to take a nap and I was in a drowsy state, so might as well affirm for the void right? I started saying affs like “I’m in the void”, etc etc. Once I started affirming, everything was just calm Yk? My body wanted to move but it was like it couldn’t cause the state I was in was calm asf. So I closed my eyes and just repeated the affs in my head over and over and over until I got this feeling like as if my body was floating, then I payed attention to it for a split second then ignored It after. I kept on affirming then I felt like I was being pulled then let go and it was as if I was falling. Everything got darker and quieter. So then I got scared and jumped because that scared me soo bad (I’m a easy person to scare 😔). After that, I felt like I was actually a master at the void, I took a nap again and I had the same feeling but when I felt like I fell I kept my calm. Then I couldn’t hear my fan which was louddd, I opened my eyes to total darkness, I was scared for two seconds and realized I was in the void!! Ngl I had a whole list set up with my desires and I was ready to affirm and goooo!!! But I realized how calm the void is and stayed there for what felt like 5 minutes. I did affirm I had all my desires and that I was able to wake up in the void under 5 seconds. When I woke up from the void it was 9 pm and I took a nap at 2!!! I woke up with all of my desires nd shi. (I would explain in more detail in how I got in and stuff like that but I was in a rush and didn’t want to make this too long 😀)

BUT THANK YOU SMM PINK, IM GOING TO MISS U SM. YOU HAVE BEEN A REALLY BIG HELP WITH MY VOID JOURNEY, I TRULY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING U HAVE DONE FOR THIS COMMUNITY, MAKE SURE TO ENJOY UR SELF 💗💗💖💖💖💗💕

✌️😼

Hi love!!! Omgosh I'm so proud of you! This is so cute and you deserve this so much and I'm genuinely happy for you. 💗

#void state #void success

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niki-phoria · 1 year ago

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⋆｡°✩ csm hcs - little things about dating them

characters: aki hayakawa, denji, yoshida hirofumi

includes: devil hunter reader, lots of fluff, forgive me if denji and yoshida are a little ooc, written with male reader in mind

a/n: i think i'm gonna officially start writing for csm :)) i'm open to taking some csm reqs but they might take me a little while to finish so pls be patient with me !!

warnings: mentions of blood/injuries, mention of smoking

gn reader (they/them pronouns)

⋆｡°✩ aki hayakawa

— i see aki as pretty inexperienced

— he’s had crushes before but finding the gun devil and working in public safety makes it pretty hard to go out on dates

— you met when makima assigned you to be his new partner (to help him wrangle power and denji)

— aki’s very slow to trust, and even slower to have feelings for someone

— he’s overly professional when you first meet

— doesn’t talk much unless it’s necessary

— it takes a lot of effort to get to know him beyond his somewhat cold persona

— after enough time (and probably saving his life once or twice) he’ll relent and start to open up to you

— either you have to confess or you just silently start going out together and being more affectionate

— denji is nosy probably sparks the realization for aki

— “what’s going on with you and y/n anyway?”

— “what do you mean?”

— “you’re all soft around them. it’s gross”

— a few days of very deep introspection from aki later and he’ll randomly bring it up

— during one of your balcony talks aki will take a drag from his cigarette and then look over and go

— “are we dating?”

— you shrug

— “i’d like to be”

— and congrats you are officially aki hayakawa’s lover

— aki isn’t super affectionate but he’ll make an effort if you are

— he’s gonna be super awkward about it tho lmao

— incredibly stiff the first few times you cuddle or hug but he’ll warm up to it

— he’s never really done this before give him a break

— he’s very protective but in a more subtle way

— puts his body in front of yours, keeps you away from danger, lets denji and power take care of devils to tend to you

— ^they 1000% tease him about being whipped

— aki is very cautious about letting you take devil contracts

— he doesn’t want you to get hurt

— his love language is acts of service

— make him dinner before he gets home or wake him up with a freshly made cup of coffee and heart will go boom boom boom boom

— probably gets all flustered and then gets embarrassed about being flustered

— (if you smoke) he shares his cigarettes with you

— you take turns passing a cigarette back and forth

— late night talks together on your balcony are some of his favourite moments with you

⋆｡°✩ denji

— denji is INCREDIBLY inexperienced

— he spent most of his childhood alone with pochita, slaying devils for money whenever he could, and generally avoiding danger

— he’s seen attractive people before and probably had superficial crushes but he had never seriously considered dating someone

— until he met you

— you met when you were assigned to work with aki as a new recruit into public safety

— your relationship is pretty lighthearted and playful at first

— denji is very dense

— doesn’t really recognize his feelings as romantic until you ask him out

— you have to outright tell him “i want to date you”

— he’s like “oh cool me too”

— congratulations !! you are now officially together

— denji’s affection is probably a little awkward at first

— he likes cuddling and being affectionate but he’s a little clumsy at how he goes about it

— his only frame of how relationships work is from manga and anime so expect him to try and replicate the tropes he likes with you

— it gets better with time though don't worry

— just don't tease him too much he's genuinely trying his best

— kiss him first and he’ll lose his mind

— his eyes get huge for a second before he smiles and kisses you this time

— during missions denji isn’t overly focused on safety

— yours or his

— i mean he literally turns into a human chainsaw

— he won’t let you be seriously injured though

— afterwards he scolds you for being clumsy as he poorly tends to your injuries

— he doesn’t know how to do stitches and his way of helping is to press a bandage over everything and playfully kiss the wound afterwards but it’s the thought that counts

— denji isn’t used to being vulnerable

— he’s incredibly nonchalant when he talks about his childhood but he’s still human

— sometimes the weight of being a devil hunter really gets to him

— give him some space and let him come to you naturally

— he probably won’t talk about his feelings in detail

— let him lay on your chest and play with his hair until he falls asleep

— he’ll feel better when he wakes up

— emotional intelligence is not denji’s strong suit

— you have to bluntly tell him when he’s doing something wrong

— he’s quick to change though

— he's a little emotionally constipated and he can be a little clumsy with his words and affection but he does really love you

— he just wants the best for you

⋆｡°✩ yoshida hirofumi

— i think yoshida has some experience with dating, but nothing overly serious

— you met in class

— ^either through denji or just because yoshida happened to notice you

— he’s incredibly charming

— puts all of his effort into cracking dumb jokes so you’ll smile when you first meet

— the type to lean in super close so he can “hear you better” and let friendly touches linger just a little too long

— i honestly think he could go either way with confessing

— he wants to date you but he also relishes in seeing you so flustered around him

— if yoshida confesses, it’s pretty nonchalant

— might be romantic and give you a flower or something

— if you confess, yoshida will smirk the whole time

— probably leans back against a wall or something and just watches as you stumble your way through an explanation of how you have feelings for him

— when you finish, he tilts your chin up so you’re looking into his eyes

— does that thing again where he leans in super close just to embarrass you

— “i like you too”

— boyfriend acquired

— congrats :D

— yoshida is definitely a hand holder

— he’s always touching you in some way

— his hand on your thigh underneath your desks, your fingers intertwined when you walk through the hallways, his arm wrapped around your waist as he walks you home

— he refuses to work on missions without you

— he says it’s to “make sure you don’t do anything stupid” but you both know it’s because he worries about you

— also the type to scold you while tending to any of your injuries

— yoshida is affectionate, but only on his terms

— he likes to be the one to initiate physical contact

— in public, he loves bragging about your relationship

— pulls you closer if he catches someone staring at you, introduces you as his lover, follows you around and refuses to leave your side

— he’s a tease

— he cups your face with his hand, slowly leans in, waits for you to start getting annoyed, and then pulls you into a kiss

— always smiles against your lips

— he can’t help it, you just make him so happy

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seospicybin · 2 years ago

Text

ON TOUR.

PART II: OPENING ACT.

Hyunjin x reader x Felix.

Chapters: I. SOUNDCHECK. / III. UNPLUGGED. / IV. HIDDEN TRACK

Synopsis: Your best friend, Felix, is in a rock band and he takes you to join him on tour as the band’s photographer. On the road, you learn how to deal with his bandmate, Hyunjin, who’s not very welcoming of you. (15,4k words)

Author's note: Team Hyunjin, get ready to get spoiled. Apology in advance that the smut is not yet taken place in this chapter, pls hang on a little bit more.

Click here for ON TOUR playlist.

Content warning: Mention of claustrophobia.

The song was a warning sign for him.

"Here she comes, you better watch your step..."

From the end of the hall, he saw you coming, trailing behind a security guard. Your eyes met in the middle as both of you came towards each other.

Hyunjin didn't want to stare so he kept looking straight ahead, even though the urge to look at you again was too hard to resist.

"She's going to break your heart in two, it's true..."

Then something tugged the sleeve of his jacket and his phone dropped to the floor, accidentally putting the song on pause in the process.

"I'm so sorry," you said as you scrambled down to pick up the phone on the floor.

He saw you checked his phone for any damages only to see the song he was listening to. Probably knew he was watching, you picked it up and handed it to him while muttering your apology the dozen time.

"I'm sorry," you apologized again.

You looked up at him, with your eyes that shined under the fluorescent lights like a pool of still water that reflected the starry night sky.

"Can you help me?" You softly spoke to him.

He was mesmerized, he wanted to say something about what he just saw but to someone he randomly met in the hallway?

You said something again but he was so out of it for a moment that he didn't catch what you were saying. All he could catch at the end was you, pleading with those eyes.

"Please?"

He didn't want to be caught, bewitched by your eyes so he spat whatever crossed his mind at that moment, "And who are you?"

"I'm a friend of Felix," you hopelessly answered.

A friend of Felix? He knows all of Felix's friends but he hasn't seen you before. Not that he doubted your friendship, it's just that he prefers it if you were just a stranger.

"Can you please call him for me?"

What is it? What is this feeling suddenly gnawing inside him? He could easily do what you asked and calling Felix would only take a few taps on his phone but he found it hard to do it.

When he glanced up to look at you again, your eyes dimmed like a day turns midnight. With disappointment in your eyes, you lowly sighed and said, "You know what? Never mind."

He didn't have to be that crass but it was too late to try to fix it, all he could do was watch you walk away.

Hyunjin reminded himself that this shouldn't bother him so much, he tried to avert his thought somewhere else, hitting the play button to continue the song only to hear the lyrics speak to him.

"It's not hard to realize, just look into her false-colored eyes..."

After a quick trip to the restroom, Hyunjin walked back to the green room to find you again. His guilty conscience made him feel relieved that you were there and he could fix what happened earlier.

Hyunjin almost smiled, almost.

Until he saw you with Felix, sitting so close next to each other, your hand was in his hair and your eyes shined for him, just for him.

"Hyunjin, I want to introduce someone to you," Felix said to him.

The gnawing feeling returned and it started to eat him from the inside. What is it? He couldn't find the answer yet.

He didn't want to say anything because the last time he spoke whatever was inside his head, it didn't end up well.

Hyunjin shrugged and left.

The song suddenly played in the back of his head as if it was trying to mock him.

"She builds you up to just put you down. What a clown!"

This is one of the top three reasons why you chose to be a freelance because a work interview makes you nervous.

You've been bouncing your knee under the table without the other man in the room knowing while reading the paperwork you need to sign.

"Are you going to be cool?"

You abruptly stop reading and look up at him, "excuse me?"

Vin, the tour manager, called you to his hotel room to have you sign some paperwork.

He puts his reading glasses on, "What I'm trying to say is are you going to be okay sharing a room with Lou or should I rearrange everything to accommodate you?"

You lived in a co-ed student dorm for three years so it wouldn't make a big difference if you have to share a hotel room with Lou. He's alright, it wouldn't be an issue at all.

You immediately shake your head, "I have no problem at all!"

"And we're going to get on the tour bus after we're done with the first stop so you'll have to be okay sharing the space with five of us," he adds with furrowed eyebrows.

That randomly gets you wondering if it's possible to fit six people into a bus.

"We're going to twelve cities in three months or even more," he takes a sigh in between sentences, "and we'll do a few things in between, we'll always be on the road," he warns you for what's coming.

Well, when he puts it that way it sounds exhausting and mentally draining.

"Can you do that?" He doesn't mean to scare you, he just wanted to know if you're up for the task before sealing the deal.

But you'll try because who knows? For now, you'll think of this as going on a road trip with your best friend. At least, 1/5 of it is true.

"Yes," you undoubtedly answer and sign all three papers.

He nods in acknowledgment as you hand them back to him, scanning them for a moment with his glasses slumped down his nose.

"One more question!" He says.

"Sure."

"Do you have a boyfriend? Girlfriend? Husband? Wife? Children?"

"No," you reply, "not that I know of," you add with a dry laugh.

He looks at you through his lashes, "what is your real relationship with Felix?" He bluntly asks.

It's obvious he's going to ask if whatever it is between you and Felix wouldn't get in the way of his business to make sure the tour is going smoothly as planned.

"We're just friends," you assure him.

"Just friends?"

But to say that Felix is just a friend sounds like a crime when he's more than just that, "we're close," you correct your earlier answer.

"How close?" He slightly leans forward on the table.

That is the one question you do not dare to answer because you haven't fully figured it out yet yourself. Felix is more than just a friend, that's what you can say so far but of course, you wouldn't give Vin a vague answer like this.

"I know anything could happen," he cryptically says with a serious face, "but I expect business stays as business, do you hear me?"

It feels like a real business now because it feels like you're selling your soul to the devil the second you signed the deals. You remind yourself that you're here to work and the work happens to involve photographing your best friend, it's not entirely your fault that both sides of the deal are in your favor.

You silently gulp air and nod again, "Yes, I understand."

Vin looks at you for quite a while and you start to see your reflection in his eyes clearly, he then puts the papers back into a big, brown envelope.

"That'll be all," he says.

You let out a sigh of relief and you don't feel good staying in his hotel room for long, "I'd better get back to my room," you say.

"Sure," he says as he gets busy with his phone again.

"Good day, Mr. Vin!" You tell him as you get up from the chair.

He looks up from his phone with creases on his forehead, "just call me by my name," he orders.

But he's much older and he's your boss, you don't feel good calling him by his name. You stifle a nod and walk in the direction of the door

"Have a good day," you say once again but avoid addressing him by his name.

You jog back to your shared hotel room with Lou, you knock on the door until he opens it, finding him dressed in a white sleeveless top and baggy pants.

"I guess we're roommates?" You tell him.

He leans against the door and sighs, "Good! Cause I already brought your things here," he says, showing you all of your belongings in the corner of the room.

He opens the door wide to let you in, there's only one bed in there but that's the last thing you should worry about.

"You know I can sleep on the couch and sometimes, I sleep around," Lou says, he noticed that you worried about having to share a bed with him.

"And by sleep around I mean I could sleep anywhere," he explains with a nonchalant shrug, "sometimes I don't even sleep at all."

You look at him and chuckle, "Since we got this job through nepotism, I think we should stick together."

"Agree!" He shortly responds with a stern nod.

You spot Lou's things next to the dresser. He got a duffel bag of clothes and a backpack for his personal belongings, nothing more.

Meanwhile, you brought a big suitcase for your clothes and another one for your cameras, a bag for your laptop and work-related stuff, then there's the backpack.

"We'll be on the road for the whole summer," you stutter, underwhelmed by the things he brought with him.

"Trust me, you'll end up dressed in the same thing every day," he confidently says as he sits on the couch and checks his phone.

You still doubt that is something you'll do, especially for someone who cares much about personal hygiene. But okay, you don't want to bet on it just yet. Just like Vin says, anything could happen.

"Anyway, congratulations on being the band's photographer!" He says, plopping onto the sofa.

"Thank you," you reply with a wide grin then sit on the end of the bed facing him.

He's typing on his phone real quick then says, "There! I added you to the group chat."

You can't wait to check it but you've been dying to know something, "Hey, if you don't mind me asking," you clear your throat before continuing.

"What's exactly your job?"

He looks up from his phone and thinks for a second as if you've just asked him an existential question, "well... my official job title is a roadie," he starts.

He rests his hand on the armrest and continues speaking, "But I do this and that, anything!"

It's getting even more unclear what his actual job desk is because from what you have observed and seen, he did all sorts of things.

"You know, I cater to anyone's needs," he adds.

Your phone dings with a new notification at the same time as Lou's, it's from the group chat. You open it to see a new message from Vin, ordering Lou to get coffee for the band's rehearsal.

"See? Anything!" He says with a plain smirk.

He gets up from the sofa and picks up his denim jacket from the top of his duffel bag.

"Can I come with you?" You wanted to help and you don't have much to do on your first day at work anyway.

Lou is putting on his jacket when he's answering to you, "thanks for not making me beg for you to help me," he says with a grin.

"Honestly, the temptation was there," you joke.

The first city on the tour happens to be a city that you have never visited before so are the rest of the cities you'll be touring to for the next couple of months. It's scary but exciting at the same time.

Sure, it pushes you out of your comfort zone but that's the challenge. From your experience of living abroad for years, you learned to keep yourself open to new things, new places, and this new job which requires you to learn to work under someone. Not to add pressure but that someone works for a famous rock band and a member of that rock band is your best friend who has high expectations of you from the way he entrusted this job to you.

This is not the right situation to be anxious, not when you're having both hot and cold beverages on your lap as you are strapped to the passenger's side.

Thankfully, Lou drives carefully because he knows that getting your skin burned on your first day on the job would not make a good impression.

You regularly inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth while putting all of your focus on keeping the drinks still and steady, not wanting to spill a drop.

After an excruciating, anxiety-filled ten minutes of car ride, you arrived at the studio where the band is rehearsing for the tour.

You let out a big sigh of relief as the drinks are off your hands and being distributed to everyone on site, including the staff working the technical of the band instruments.

You take one knowing that it wouldn't help with the jitters but you need the caffeine to function. You take another one to bring it to Felix.

You haven't seen him since you landed a few hours ago and it's nice to finally see a familiar face greeting you with a wide grin and enthusiastic wave of hand from behind his drum.

He gets up to greet you with a hug, "how was the flight?"

"Too early," you shortly reply and hand him his drink of latte with countless pumps of syrup.

"You guys are rehearsing songs?" You ask from a list of songs written on the paper with a lot of scratches and notes on it.

He takes a small sip of his coffee and shows you the paper, "we're still working on the setlist," he says.

He sits back on his stool and takes another sip, "We have a lot of songs we wanted to play but you know... we can't just play our whole discography."

You nod as you see that a lot of songs got crossed off the setlist.

"It's the third time we going over it in the past three months," he adds with an exhausted smile.

It's news to you that they carefully handpicked their setlist when you thought they just play songs the fans come to the concert for. It takes a lot of consideration and time just to craft a setlist, apart from arranging the songs in so many ways to create a seamless flow throughout the concert.

The band also working on writing an intro and an outro to connect one song to another.

Since the band rehearsal is part of the schedule, you don't hesitate to take your camera out and take a few pictures. They look rather tired but you can't blame them for not fitting the images you had of them in your head, it only reminds you they're just human after all.

Han is the only one who seems to always have his energy at a hundred percent while Hyunjin... there's not much clue when he wears his bucket hat so low you can't see half of his face.

Hours passed without anyone noticing until Vin comes to the studio, telling everyone to take a break and the food he ordered for everyone arrived.

You finished up earlier than everyone else, you didn't eat much because the anxiety ate up all of your appetite. You feel full with two donuts and a cup of iced coffee.

Sitting on the empty sofa in the studio, you check on all the pictures you took earlier on your camera.

Felix comes in not long after, sitting next to you with his head leaning in, also looking at the picture you took.

His hand holds yours to pull the camera closer to his side, his rough palm surprises you that you got startled.

Aware of it, Felix turns over both of his hands, showing the inside of his hands to you.

"Ugly, yeah?" He says.

Ignoring his words, you trail the callous on his hands that prove how hard he worked on his drum playing and admire them.

"So this is how the greatest drummer's hand feels like," You sigh in wonder.

A smile rises on his face and you're glad that he didn't feel offended by your reaction to his hands earlier.

"Are you still playing guitar?" He suddenly asks.

You turn off your camera and safely put it back into your bag, "Nah," you answer almost immediately and that got him suspicious.

He hisses in disbelief and eyes narrowed at you, "You think I didn't see the guitar in your apartment?"

You burst into laughter, feeling embarrassed that he caught you lying to his face.

The only problem with Felix is he still believes that you're the exact, same person from years ago. Sure, you're still you, but you're older now and when you thought your anxiety would shrink with age, it did the opposite instead.

"Let's have a quick jam," he comes up with an impulsive idea.

You immediately shake your head, "No, Felix. That's a bad idea!"

He doesn't seem to hear you, because he's getting up from the sofa and offers his hand at you.

"Come on! It's going to be fun!" He says as he gets behind his drum.

You stand in the middle of the room, not knowing what else to say to him that his expectations of you are so high.

You think of an excuse to stop him, "I believe rehearsal is going to continue soon," you say.

He starts tightening the screws on his drums, "and that's why we should hurry," he simply says.

You make up another excuse, "I don't have a guitar to play."

He points to Hyunjin's guitars with his drum stick, resting on their places, plugged in and tuned, ready to use.

"I don't think he would be happy with me borrowing—"

"I'll tell him that I give you the permission," he simply put you off.

That's another problem with Felix, he thinks the way Hyunjin treats you is normal when you can sense his dislike towards you even when you're not in the same room with him. Even just thinking about him sends a shiver down your spine.

"Another bad idea!" You strongly refuse with a head shake.

Felix throws daggers with his eyes at you, "He won't get mad, especially at me," he assures you.

Yeah, he won't but he surely will at you, you say inside your head.

"You still know the song we learned the first time, right?" He asks as he lightly taps his drums with the end of his drumsticks.

From the way he persists to continue, you have no other choice to but get it done already.

"Yes," you meekly reply.

How can you forget the one song he insisted you learn on guitar? Not forgetting that you only knew a few chords at that time.

But Felix was adamant that you have to play the guitar so the two of you can form a band together. He is adamant still and you believe that's why he achieved his dream.

"Come on! We don't have much time," he reminds you.

You scramble to pick up a guitar as he starts playing the intro of the song.

Hyunjin has two guitars, one is looking brand new, a Fender Jaguar in a light turquoise color. The other one is a Fender Telecaster, in a mix of black and ivory color and a little worn.

You choose the latter and carefully pick it up, putting the strap around your shoulder. Hyunjin is tall, you have to adjust the strap to have the guitar ideally positioned for you.

"Turn on the amp," Felix instructs without needing to tell you which button to push because you know.

You push it and as you step back, your finger accidentally brushes the strings and creates a screeching feedback sound.

"Oh, wow, okay, this is legit," you say to yourself in amazement. You haven't played electric guitar for years, it feels strange yet amazing.

"I don't remember the chords," you naively tell him.

"Search it on the internet," he simply tells you with a subtle eye roll.

You pull your phone out of the back pocket of your jeans and search for it fast, putting the phone on top of a tripod while putting your fingers in the right places on the fret and slowly strumming the strings.

It surprises you how much the guitar vibrates not only under your palm but also sends an electric charge all over your body.

The intro only has two chords and you start playing it while slowly strumming the guitar while Felix plays it with his drum on repeat, waiting for you to get ready to start playing the opening.

Felix would understand if you play badly but the anxiety is still there, it's mostly coming from the fear of borrowing Hyunjin's guitar without permission.

"Okay, okay, I got it now," you stutter even though you're not sure you're playing it right. You just wanted to get it done already and not get caught by Hyunjin.

Felix allows himself to move to the next part which consists of intricate drumming which was why he chose to learn this song together with you.

You count the beat to make sure you play at the right time or else, you'll ruin the entire thing.

Fortunately, the longer you play, the more comfortable it is. Most of it happens because of muscle memory and now, you have to focus on your rhythm. You stand facing Felix to keep up with him.

But this is where it gets tricky, your solo guitar is coming up and you regretted not warming up your fingers.

"Fuck!" You curse out as you missed a chord.

You hear Felix's laugh against the music and making you miss another chord.

"Oh shit!" Another curse slips out of your mouth.

You watch as your finger pads hit the right spot on the fret, doing it so intentionally hard so they sound right.

"Motherf—" you curse again as you're late for the last chord.

You glance up to see Felix is still laughing and you calmed down becase it's time for his drum solo. There's no doubt that he's a rockstar, you see nothing but the glints in his eyes, flickering. His tongue is slightly peeking out from the corner of his mouth as he nods along to every hit of his stick on the drum.

The veins on his arms are evident as his hands gripped the sticks so tightly, a crease formed between his eyebrows as he meticulously hits every note perfectly.

The song is seven minutes long but it feels like an hour. You were nervous earlier but now that you're getting to the last part of the song, you loosen up to enjoy the last bit of it. This would probably be the first and last time you got to play with Feix.

When it finishes, you let out a long, heavy sigh. Your shoulders slump as you take a step back and stop gripping the neck of the guitar.

Felix looks at you and grins, "Told you, it's going to be fun!"

Felix doesn't know that you're sweating all over, you can feel it on your back and neck, strands of hair escaping your ponytail and you brush them to the back to only find your palms are sweaty too.

Despite all that, you nod in agreement.

A wave of applause comes from behind you and you almost jump on your feet in response. You turn around to find Han and Lou, clapping their hands at you.

"Felix, I didn't know you play death metal," Han says in surprise.

"It's actually post-death metal but okay, yeah," Felix nonchalantly says.

"And you..." Han turns to you, "I didn't know you can play guitar so well!"

You nonchalantly shrug, "That was nothing," you playfully say but bragging is not your thing, you bury your face in your hands, cringing.

"No, you're really good. If only Felix told me about you, you would have been our guitarist," he says.

Like it was timed, Hyunjin comes into the studio. Bad news for Han, he doesn't know he's coming from behind him and certainly heard what he just said.

You subtly hinting Han of Hyunjin's presence with your eyes and turn around once he got the signal.

"But of course, Hyunjin is the right pick," Han quickly resolves with an awkward chuckle.

While you use the opportunity to quietly put down the guitar, hoping Hyunjin wouldn't see that your sweaty palms left marks on the neck of his guitar.

When you turn around, you bump into Hyunjin. You make your case real quick, "I'm sorry that I borrowed your guitar—"

He brushes past your shoulder to get the other guitar, "shall we continue rehearsal?" He says with his back facing the room.

Oh great! First day on the job and you're already making an enemy. Well, he's already an enemy but today, he made it clear that he is.

You tiptoe back to the corner of the room but Lou holds his hand up, asking for a high-five from you. You respond with a low high-five and a grin.

As rehearsal continues, you grab your camera to find your hands shaking, not sure if it's from the anxiety or excitement but it's probably a mix of both.

–

Ten minutes to showtime and you stand-by the backstage, waiting for the band to arrive at any second now.

Lou is there with you, noticing that you're nervous even though your job isn't to entertain the thousands of people attending the concert.

He suddenly slaps your back with both hands that your head turns to look at him, "what's that for?"

"To release jitters," he coyly answers.

He turns around and offers his back at you, "Do the same for me!"

You do the same to him, slapping his back with both hands.

"Harder!" He says.

You slap him harder while laughing, "You like that, huh?"

"Oh yeah!" He playfully replies with a loud groan.

Han appears next to you, "I want some of that!"

"Huh?"

He offers his back at you. You hesitated for a bit before landing a firm slap on his back like you did to Lou.

"Yes!" He shouts with a hiss.

Felix saw it and wants one too. The next thing you know, everyone is slapping each other's back in turns. Lou is right, whether it's from the back slaps or not, it helps you relax.

"What are you guys doing?" Hyunjin asks as he's the last one to arrive.

Felix gives him the back slaps and startles him, "You need that!" He tells him with a grin.

Hyunjin looks at him with eyes widened, then that stern look on his face melts into a smile. It's a strange view, him smiling but somehow, it warms you from the inside just from looking at it.

"You ready?" Hyunjin puts his arm around Felix as it's time for a team cheer.

You get your camera ready to capture the moment, it's sad that you can't join but you're shouting with them as they throw their hands in the air.

Unlike the time you watched their show as an attendee, you couldn't enjoy the show fully since you have to put your focus on the job. Not only that you keep your hands steady, holding the camera to capture any moments but also, you have to walk around to get the right angle.

Knowing their setlist, you pick your time right. When it's time for Felix's solo, you stay on the side of the stage and take as many pictures of him with help from Lou.

Hyunjin's solo is coming up soon, you get off the stage to take a spot against the barricade that separated the pit from the stage.

You have your camera bag open next to you, just in case you need to change your lens quickly.

From this angle, you can see how Hyunjin's fingers form a chord on the guitar's fret in a snap. The way his hand grip the neck of the guitar, the way he holds a note long enough it seems like it's vibrating along with him.

The crowd behind you screams louder as Hyunjin takes the front stage as if his guitar playing isn't captivating enough. You take it as a sign for you to get ready to take some snaps and he's... still blinding.

His red hair is fiery just like his guitar performance yet his eyes remain calm and fierce like an animal that has its eyes set on its prey.

The prey is unfortunately you as you can see that his eyes dart to yours as his guitar solo ends. You quickly aim your camera somewhere else, then squat down to change the lens when you feel something hitting your head, something small, and tapping your head softly.

When you touch your head, there's nothing but your hair that turns into a sweaty mess.

Vin takes a quick look at the previews on your camera, assessing your job on the spot. You can't read his expression but he keeps on nodding.

"Send these to the PR!" he orders as he hands the camera back to you.

"Now?" You ask in utter confusion.

"Yeah."

"But I need to retouch them first," you tell him.

He looks at you with a puzzled look, "How fast can you do that?"

"Hours," you answer but that's a rough calculation. With the amount of pictures you took, you need a day to do it.

"Can you get it done tomorrow morning?" He asks with his arms folded on his chest.

You almost let out a gasp at how impossible that sounded but you want to try first, see how far can you handle it because who knows?

"A-alright," you answer with a slight doubt that is hard to miss.

"Just send the good ones and you can send the rest later," he says, probably sensing that he puts too much pressure on you.

"I'll try my best," you tell him.

As soon as you got back to the hotel, you start working on it. Lou orders room service and you end up eating all of his fries.

"You can take the bed, I'll be up all night working," you tell him.

He's more than happy to throw himself onto the bed, playing on his phone for a bit then falls asleep with his face down.

You finish at the crack of dawn, once you clicked send on the email, you're so ready to crawl onto the bed and sleep. You shut down your laptop and silently put everything back into your bag, picking up the toiletry bag remembering that you haven't washed up since you got back from the show.

Slowly, pushing the bathroom door open, Lou's phone blaring next to him. He fumbles to shut it off and you help by turning it off for him.

"Why do you set an alarm so early?" You whisper.

He squints to look up at you and turns over, "we have to pack up," he says.

"Huh?"

"We're getting on the tour bus in an hour," he slurs as he struggles to wake up from the bed.

"What?"

You proceed to wash up but seeing the bed and not being able to lay down is pain, an agonizing pain. Thankfully, you didn't have to run around the room collecting your things because you didn't have time to spend lazing around in the first place.

"You pack your things?" Lou asks as you pile your luggage.

You nod, having no energy left to interact with him.

He softly laughs, "you get on the bus first and have some sleep," he says.

"Can I?"

"Yeah," he shortly answers.

"But my luggage...?"

He looks at you and pleasantly sighs, "I've been taking care of everyone's luggage. I don't think it'd be a problem taking care of another one."

You feel bad you can't help but you'll only burden him more if you do, "Thank you so much!" You tell him with a sincere smile.

It's hard to miss the tour bus when it's that big and shiny, you get on the bus to find the driver greets you.

"Good morning, miss!" He says.

"That's Tim, the driver," Lou introduces from outside the door of the bus.

You introduce yourself back to him with a handshake, "Nice to meet you," you force a smile even though it's hard to do so when you feel like about to faint.

"I'd better get inside I..."

"Sure, you need to rest," Tim kindly says.

You walk further into the bus and stop once you found the sleeping pods. Lou told you to sleep on his bed but he doesn't tell you which one.

They're like bunk beds and there are four of them, the sight of it makes you impatient to sleep. You store your bags in a compartment under the bed and take the one on the bottom.

The curtain gives you not much privacy but you're not going to act like a girl and complain about it. As long as you're comfortable, then all is left to do is close your eyes.

Hyunjin's eyes are still heavy with sleep as he makes his way into the tour bus.

Tim is helping Lou load items of luggage into the bus. Hyunjin raises his hand at him with a sleepy smile on his face before getting into the bus.

He's so ready to sleep some more, he goes straight to the sleeping pods and chooses one on the bottom. He slides open the curtain to only find that's already occupied by someone.

At first, he gets surprised to see someone already on the bus since he's always the first to get there. It must be you yet somehow he gets the urge to take a look.

Quietly, he removes the hair covering your face as you sleep on your side. He immediately retracts his hand as you draw a sharp breath, holding his breath thinking that your eyes would open and find him there, watching you sleep like a creep.

Luckily, nothing happens. You're fast asleep with a hand slipped under your head. With your hair still falling over your face, he continues removing them and safely tucking them behind your ear, holding them there.

Now that he can see you up close and still, he wants to do more than just look, he presses a hand to your cheek, doing it so gently to not wake you up.

You're sleeping so peacefully like dreaming of angels, that makes him smile, puts him at ease.

The sound of someone coming into the bus shatters the moment, Hyunjin takes one last look at your face and reluctantly removes his hand from you.

Closing the curtain without making any noise, then hurriedly dumps his bag on the one across from yours.

"You're always early," Felix says with a grin with his eyes barely open.

"No, I just got here a while ago," Hyunjin lies with a sheepish smile, trying to hide the fact that he almost caught watching you.

"Do you mind if I take your place?" He asks since Felix is the other one who always chooses to sleep on the bottom bunk.

"Huh?" Felix doesn't wait to peek inside to find you sleeping. He lowly gasps and closes the curtain back.

"I'll take this one then," he lowers his voice knowing that you're sleeping, then gently put his bag on the top bunk above yours,

"Thanks," Hyunjin mutters to him.

As Hyunjin lies down and knows that you're sleeping not far from him, the drowsiness left him and is replaced with something else as the thoughts of you invaded his head.

Not only that he gets to see you in his wake, but as he closes his eyes, he gets to see you too.

The bus is not moving.

There are two possibilities: you got woken up after a few minutes of sleep or you have arrived but no one bothers to wake you up and tells you

Panic, you hurriedly get off your sleeping pod to find the other pods are just as you expected, empty. You pull the hoodie over your head to hide your bedhead and go to the front of the bus.

You see Felix is sticking his head out of the window, laughing. You gently put your hand on his back, "where are we?"

Felix is slightly surprised to see you, you would too if you looked like this.

"oh, babe, you're awake!" He says.

Without warning, he pulls your hand to look at the window. That's when you know the bus is parked at the rest area and from a few meters away, you see Hyunjin and Lou running towards the bus.

"What's going on?" You ask in pure confusion.

Felix goes to the door without answering, "Tim starts the bus!" He orders the driver.

He complies without words and starts reversing the bus out of its parking spot. The loud knocking on the door bus makes you jump on the seat.

Felix goes over to open it, letting both Hyunjin and Lou in. They're panting and laughing at the same time. You don't know what's so funny about it until you see Han is still running from across the parking lot.

But Tim, the tour bus driver, driving the bus on its way back to the highway.

"Yeah, okay, leave me!" Han shouts as he chases after the bus.

"I mean nothing to the band anyway. I'm just the vocalist and the songwriter," he shouts again then immediately gives up running.

It seems like it isn't the first time they did that to him from the way he gave up quickly. Tim hits the brake at Felix's order while Lou hangs in the doorway and laughs at his friend being the victim of the prank.

"oh, don't be so dramatic!" He coos at him.

Han walks to the bus like a sulky three years old, his hands excessively swaying on his sides with his feet stomping the asphalt.

He's mere inches away but Tim teases him by driving the bus away from his reach.

"Tim, I swear, I'm going to—"

Tim laughs despite Han's unfinished threat and this time, he stops the bus, watching as Han gets in with sweat dripping down his neck.

Felix puts an arm around his shoulder, "today's workout is cardio, huh?" He jokes.

You didn't know there was this menace in Felix until now. See? He's not the exact same person as well. You're not the only one changing.

Lou, still laughing, goes to the fridge and takes a bottle of water for him, "you mean everything to the band, of course!" He assures him.

Han slumps on the seat next to you, panting with his mouth open, then leers at you, "Aren't you glad being with us children?"

Aware that you just woke up, you cover your mouth as you burst into laughter. Everyone is still laughing as well, including Tim, who's driving the bus back to the highway.

And Hyunjin too, as he leans against the cabinet and drinks bottled water.

He's laughing with his eyes forming two crescent moons, very endearing to see.

The PR team asking for more individual pictures of the members.

Thankfully, the tour bus is empty since everyone is off to get ready for the soundcheck, making it easier for you to focus on the job.

Your phone buzzed with a new message from Lou.

"The soundcheck is in 5!"

It's obvious you're going to miss it but either this or that, you're doing your job, therefore there's no use to feel guilty about it.

Half an hour later, the email is sent and you get off the bus to get back into the venue to only see a group of people gathering around the back entrance.

Someone noticed that you're not a part of them, easily spotting the ID hanging around your neck which identified you as a part of the staff. The girl breaks away from the crowd to come up to you and it's too late for you to avoid it, she has seen you and vice versa.

"Can you please give this to Han?" She asks, pushing a letter and a little plushie at you.

"Uh..." you stammer, don't know what to do because someone didn't brief you on a situation like this. Maybe because you never thought to ever encounter it.

"Please? Please?" She pleads. The sweat on her forehead shows that she must have been waiting outside long enough, wishing the band would come out and receive their gift.

It's not part of your job desk but you'll feel bad for not helping for something as simple as this.

"Yeah, okay," you relent, taking the gift from her and putting the letter in the pocket of your jacket.

She turns to the other girl next to her, "please give this to Hyunjin too," she pleads.

You glare at her because you think she'd get it that you're only doing it for her and not intending to deliver everyone's gifts.

"Please, don't tell anyone else about this," you scold her as you reluctantly take her friend's gift and hold them close to your chest.

She suddenly grabs your hand and squeezes it hard, "thank you so much. Thank you!"

You hide the gifts behind your jackets before making your way to the back entrance, showing your ID quickly for security to let you in.

Following the signs that lead you to the green room, you get inside to find it still empty except for the stylists who arrange the band's clothes on the railing. The soundcheck hasn't finished yet, it'll be too late for you to get there, the band is probably on their way back here anyway.

Felix and Hyunjin are back a few minutes later. While Felix doesn't wait but to sit on the sofa next to you and rest his head on your lap, Hyunjin is going as far away from you as possible.

You look at the box of gifts from the fans, wondering how you're going to give it to Hyunjin and preferably doing it without anyone else in the room.

"Where were you?" Felix asks, putting your hand in his hair to play with it.

"Had to work and send some more pictures," you shortly reply.

He turns over on your lap, looking up at you with his warm brown eyes and you look back at him. You play connect-the-dots with the freckles on his cheek, lightly touching them with your fingertips.

"You look gorgeous from here," you compliment.

"And you look not bad from here," he compliments back.

You chuckle, knowing well that you must have looked ugly from that point of view. You turn Felix's head to the side and give his hair a ruffle, making it a mess as a way to get back to him.

From your peripheral vision, you see the red of Hyunjin's hair. He is going out of the green room and from what you learn, he likes to take a walk as a part of his pre-concert ritual.

"I have to go to the restroom," you mutter to Felix.

You replace your lap with a cushion and get up from the sofa, not forgetting to take the gift with you as you start jogging to chase after Hyunjin.

He has his headphones on as usual, you learned the hard way to not grab the sleeve of his jacket so this time, you gently tap his shoulder.

He turns around almost immediately, looking slightly surprised to see you.

"I... uhm..." It's hard talking to him when you know you're not going to get the best responses.

You avoid his eyes because they do nothing but make you nervous, "I met one of your fans outside and she wanted me to give this to you," you hand him the little goodie bag with his gift inside.

He only stares at you and not taking the gift from you. You don't want this interaction to last longer than you planned, you told him your intention so you hand him the bag into his hand.

"That's all!" You stammer and turn around on your feet to walk back to the green room.

The urge to look at him takes over you and you eventually give in, looking over your shoulder to see Hyunjin throws the fan gift into the trash bin.

Curious whether the gift is something so repulsively bad that he doesn't think twice to toss it into the trash bin. You peer inside to see a box of chocolate, looks edible and the lid is perfectly sealed.

You would understand if he did that to you, but he did that to his fans?

Hyunjin is so mean.

The drama earlier is long forgotten once the concert is done.

You made a run to the tour bus per Lou's instruction, telling you not to exit the building with the band.

You need to work on your pictures anyway, taking out your laptop and begin working in the small booth inside the tour bus.

Two hours passed without you noticing until Tim gets on the driver's side.

"Hey, Tim!" You greet him without looking away from your laptop.

"You're already here?" He asks back as he opens the lid of his giant tumbler and the smell of coffee wafting around the room.

"Mmh. Have to work on these fast!" You shortly reply.

Not long after that, you hear the ruckus from outside the tour bus. You look through the window to see people crowded around the band as they make their way to the bus.

So this is why Lou told you not to get to the bus early. Even with the security guards, people are relentlessly going at them to see or even touch them.

Felix is the first one to arrive, sighing as he safely makes it into the bus.

"Are you okay?" You ask in slight concern.

He grins, "I'm okay," he says.

Lou is the last one to hop on the bus and closes the bus door so Tim can start driving, taking all of you to the next stop.

Before you forgot, you hand the gift from the fan earlier to Lou instead of Han, who goes straight to the back of the bus to rest.

"I got these from the fan earlier for Han," you tell him.

Lou opens the bottom cabinet to put the small plushie into a box full of them. You didn't know they keep them in one place.

"Why?" You innocently ask.

"We don't accept gifts," he simply answers, "but letters are fine," he quickly adds.

"What are you going to do with them?" You sound so sad as if those plushies are living, breathing things.

Lou chuckles seeing your sad face, "We'll donate them," he says.

That's better, you thought.

"But what about food?"

"What food?"

"I received a gift for Hyunjin and it's a box of chocolate, he—" You stop yourself from continuing, not when you know he could hear it.

"Nothing but letters," Lou states.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know what they put in them. For all we know, it could be bad or spoiled. We don't want to risk it so it's better not to take them," he strongly recommends with a squeeze on your shoulder.

"Okay, got it!" You confirmed with a nod.

So, you were wrong to think that Hyunjin is mean. You admit that your prejudice got in the way of what you think of him.

Today's lessons: do not receive gifts and Hyunjin is not mean.

Since you're working all night, Lou takes the first turn to sleep in the pod.

You're going there to take your toiletry bag and a charger for your phone only to see Felix's head pop out of the curtain, looking down at Hyunjin's bunk.

"Felix?"

His head snaps in your direction, looking a little flustered as if he just got caught doing something embarrassing.

"Why are you still awake?" He asks when it should be you asking him that.

"I just finished," you reply.

"Ah," he lowly gasps. He realizes that you probably have no place to sleep.

"You can sleep in mine," he offers his bunk for you.

You shake your head, "No, it's okay. Tim is going to stop at a rest area soon. I need to wash up," you tell him.

He immediately climbs down from his bunk, "I'm coming with you then."

No, you're not going to throw a fuss and complain about the toilet inside the bus. It's too small and your claustrophobia doesn't help.

That's why you make good use of these stops to wash up and change your clothes. When you come out, you find Felix has been waiting outside with coffee cups in his hands.

"Want to sit for a bit?" He asks.

"Sure!" You agree because the rest area is empty. There are only a few trucks getting their gas in the station.

The sun will rise soon as you sit on the empty bench, carefully sipping the steaming hot coffee in between. It feels like taking a snooze button after living these past few days in a fast-forward mode.

"Is it tiring?" You ask.

Felix gets taken aback by your question, "You mean touring?"

You nod, but you mean more than that, being a rockstar and handling the fame that comes with it.

"At times," he honestly answers. He puts down his coffee cup next to him and looks at the sun that gradually rises from the horizon.

"But I know that I'm not doing it for nothing," he adds.

Felix is doing it because it's his dream, he's living his dream and there's no doubt that despite all the exhaustion, he keeps doing it because it makes him alive.

"Babe?"

You turn your head to look at him, "yeah?"

He smiles without saying anything.

"What?" You ask, annoyed that he calls you but not saying anything.

"How did you get more beautiful?"

You snort and sip your coffee, ignoring his cheesy question.

Felix holds your chin and turns your face at him again, "why didn't you look like this years ago?" He asks with his face about to burst into laughter.

You throw a glare at him and sip your coffee again, knowing well that was his intention, to annoy you. He laughs and puts his hand around your shoulder, enjoying the warm, golden rays of the sunrise.

You're getting good at it.

Guess, the first time wasn't that successful because you were still nervous. The second time wasn't going that well because you didn't have a good plan.

Now, you know what to do, where to go, when to take pictures.

The only problem is the venue will keep changing and sometimes, the layout of the stages too, so you take time to learn your way around.

They're going back for the encore soon, you hurriedly run to the back and struggle to see what you're stepping on with the lack of lighting.

Afraid that you will miss the moment, you run up the stairs quickly and accidentally slipped on a step. You get that life-flashes-before-your-eyes moment and reel yourself back to reality, running to the side of the stage just in time to catch them entering the stage again.

Hyunjin is still on the side of the stage as Lou fixes his in-ear monitor. You take as many pictures as you can before they start playing the first song on the encore.

Felix keeps the crowd entertained with his solo drumming, you're so immersed in the moment that your back bumps into someone.

You turn around to find Hyunjin, his eyes are staring right into yours.

you see that he's speaking to you but you can't hear what he's saying with Felix intensely banging his drums and you're standing not far from him.

"What?" You mouth to him.

Hyunjin leans closer until his forehead bumps with the side of your face, "your knee is fucking bleeding," he says into your ear.

It doesn't occur to you that your little accident would cause an injury when all you can think about is his hot breath fanning your cheek.

When Hyunjin takes a step back, you finally registered what happened to you and look down to see your knee is indeed bleeding, the blood oozing out of your scraped knee and dribbling down to your shin.

"Oh? I'm sorry," you blurt out and you don't know why you apologize for falling on your knee.

"Here!" Lou is quick to hand you a clean towel.

You waste not another second but put it on the wound while leaning against the railing. You turn to Hyunjin to say thank you this time but he's already back on stage.

In the end, you didn't do well on the third stop. You went to the infirmary to have your knee treated and got it bandaged. You rest for a bit in there with an ice pack to help with the swelling per the doctor's recommendation.

Felix comes into the room looking concerned, "Are you okay?"

"Just a scrape on the knee. No worries," you calmly reply.

"Can you walk?" Felix puts your arm around him as if you couldn't walk on your own.

You slowly pull away from him, "I can walk," you assure him with a light chuckle.

"I'll help you walk to the bus," he insists.

Felix is worried and the only way to put him at ease is by letting him. You forgot about it until you see the group of people gathering around the entrance as the guards open the door.

It's too late to turn away and Felix keeps going despite people starting to crowd around him like moths drawn to flame. The hand holding yours is loosening as a few people got between you.

"Felix?" You call but he surely can't hear you with everyone going at him all at once.

"Felix..." you call him again as you got stuck in the crowd and can't escape it, not to mention, your knee is hurting.

You look around for help but all you can see are the faces of strangers and they're screaming, shouting.

"Felix..." your voice is getting smaller as you got swallowed inside the chaos and no one is there to help you.

Hyunjin keeps replaying the moment in his head.

Something about seeing you getting hurt drives him mad and became irrational. Indeed, he can't justify what he did when he could have told you properly, or he could have said nothing but treated your knee.

He could have done better but he chose to be mean.

Hyunjin gets angry when he looks at his reflection in the mirror as he's changing his clothes.

"Where's Felix?" Vin asks, feeling odd about the number of members in the green room.

"I think he went to check on his friend," Lou answers.

But hearing that only makes Hyunjin's chest heaving with anger. His apology wouldn't make you better, you already got Felix anyway, he reckons.

"He's not going back to the bus himself, right?" Vin asks again.

Lou hums in doubt, "I don't... I'll check!"

Hyunjin shouldn't care about it because you're with Felix but something doesn't feel right. He gets out of the changing room and gets his bag from the table.

"You want to get back now?" Han asks him back, still slouching on the sofa with his phone.

Hyunjin doesn't want to waste another second answering Han. As he gets out of the back entrance, his feeling turned out to be right. He can see that Felix is being mobbed by people but what is worse is he can't find you.

Not when there's a lot of people and you're probably in...

He dives right into it, ignoring the people recognizing that it's him and going at him. He scans through the faces and searches for you.

In the middle of it all, he finally sees you, squatting down with your hand covering your head. He rushes to get you up, going against the people turning to come at him.

"It's me!" He whispers close for you to hear.

You look up and he sees those eyes filled with distress, also glassy with tears. He helps you get up and turns around to shield you from the front. He puts your hands on each side of his waist, "Don't let go!"

You nod with your head pushed close to his back.

"Excuse me!" Hyunjin repeatedly tells everyone around him, but they won't hear him, not when all they wanted is to get a piece of him.

"Let us pass, please?" He desperately pleads.

Hyunjin can only go a few steps before the crowd blocks his way again. He grabs your hands to make sure they're still there while he figures out a way to escape this.

"Make way, please!" Someone shouts from behind him.

Lou is gently pushing everyone away to make room for him and Han. Han is getting behind you as Lou is clearing the way to make a path for the three of you.

"Don't worry! I got you!" Hyunjin hears Han softly talking to you as your hands tightly fisting his sweater.

Tim gets off the bus to help Lou, holding off the people from blocking the door of the bus. Hyunjin stops right in the doorway to let you get in first.

Hyunjin gets in after Han with Lou being the last one to get on the bus and closes the door behind him. Yes, he expects nothing in return for what he's done but seeing you end up in Felix's arm...

"Are you okay?" Felix asks as you cry into his chest.

"I'm sorry I let you go," he keeps apologizing to you with his hand gently rubbing your back, "I'm sorry."

Seeing all that, Hyunjin gets it now why: he can't offer the same comfort as Felix does.

Vin comes into the bus looking furious, he orders everyone to sit on the sofa.

"Not you," he points at you, "you can go and have some rest."

"No, I need to work on—"

"You can rest tonight," he insists.

Guess it's the first time you see Vin looking so tense that you comply right away. You reluctantly get up from the sofa but take a stand next to Vin, turning around to face everyone.

Hyunjin's heart skips a beat as your eyes land on him, "thank you," you mutter with your eyes still red.

You turn at Han and Lou next, saying the same thing to them.

"Take care of that knee!" Lou reminds you.

Now that you're gone, all that is left is getting scolded by Vin, but funny that Hyunjin doesn't feel bad about it.

"What did I tell you about not going by yourself—"

Vin's scolding slowly becomes the background noise as Hyunjin only thinks about how you earnestly thanked him, but you did more than just that to him: You acknowledge him.

When he thinks about it, this trouble is worth it now that the two of you are even.

The sight of the bed lures you to take a dive and have a quick lay down.

It's a day off and everyone is in their respective hotel rooms, probably doing the same thing as you. You were only on the road for more than two weeks but it's enough lesson to tell you that you took things for granted.

For a blissful moment, you forgot you have a bag of laundry to do. You can't rest knowing that you have chores to do.

You're looking for the nearest laundromat on your phone when Lou comes knocking on the door.

"Thought you're sleeping," he says.

You shake your head, "no, I'm thinking of going to the laundry."

"You can use the hotel's service," he says, grabbing a pair of pants from his duffel bag.

"I know but I want to go just because..." you add a shrug at the end of the sentence.

After he gets out of the bathroom from changing his pants, Lou offers to give you a ride since he needs to do some errands for Vin. He drops you off in a laundromat not far from the hotel.

"Text me when you're done," he tells you.

"Alright!" You reply even though you intend on going back to the hotel yourself.

You bring your laptop with you so you can catch up on some work while waiting for your laundry to be done with a cup of coffee from the vending machine.

You feel normal for the first time and laugh because you didn't think you would miss your mundane life this much. You have some time left while the laundry is in the dryer, you check all of the pictures you took got posted on the band's official website and their social media.

You read the comments and found some that said the photos are so well taken. Now, it feels like your hard work is paid off.

Your phone dings with a new message from Lou.

"Are you done?"

"Almost."

"On the way there," he texts you back a few seconds later.

Packing everything back into your backpack, you get ready to take the laundry out of the dryer and shove them into the bag.

The same car that drove you here stops at the side of the street. Someone rolls down the window but instead of Lou, you find Han.

"Get in, loser!" He tells you with a playful smirk.

"Wow. Never thought you would quote Mean Girls," you mutter then goes to the back of the car to store your laundry bag.

"Felix is not coming?" You ask as you pull open the car door.

"No, he has a doctor's appointment," Lou answers.

Getting into the backseat, you stop for a second after seeing an extra passenger and the last person you expected to sit in the backseat with.

Hesitated whether you should greet him or not, however, your mouth gets ahead of you, "Hey..." You drag the word long enough that it started to sound strange even to you.

"Hey," Hyunjin replies.

Good thing that he wears his hat low like usual you can't see his eyes. You quietly sit next to him and put on your safety belt, as if any loud noise would shatter this peaceful state.

"Where are we going?" You ask Lou.

"We're going shopping!" Han answers the question for Lou as he focuses on driving.

Unlike any other girls, you're not a fan of shopping. You don't like spending time going from one shop to another.

Thankfully, that's not the kind of shopping Han is going for today.

You got cheery as you enter the record store and don't waste time looking around. Han is going through a section not far from yours, you're curious to know what he's getting. From your quick observation, you can see that he's leaning into 90s rock.

"You know the best rock came from the late 60s to early 70s," you lean against the shelf, "I don't even consider anything released above 1973," you add.

Han turns to the next section and starts going through the record one by one with his fingers, "really? Not even Radiohead? Nirvana, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Oasis, Blur, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Guns N Roses..." he lists every band that came from that era.

You click your tongue at him and check on the section next to him, "Yeah, okay, 90s is not that bad. They have The Breeders," you weakly agree.

Han turns his head at you, "The Breeders?"

You look back at him in disbelief, thinking he was joking as he looked like he never heard of them before.

"You know Pixies but didn't know The Breeders?" You accidentally raise your voice a little louder that everyone else in the store is turning their heads in your direction.

"I never heard of them!" He innocently answers with a shameless grin.

"Oh, my God!" You groan in disbelief, turning your back on him.

"Kurt Cobain listed their first album as one of his favorite records. They even toured with Nirvana!" You share the facts that you thought were public knowledge until now.

Han is gobsmacked by how passionately you talked to him about a band he never heard of. His mouth hangs open but nothing comes out of it.

It's not enough by telling him, you quickly scan the shelf close to you to find the record that you have in your collection and push it close to his chest.

"Consider yourself lucky!" You tell him with a mad glare.

Han doesn't have any other options but takes it into the pile of records he's going to buy. You're going the other way to start looking for records to buy as well.

You see Lou is checking some new releases and listening to it through the headphones provided at the station.

Hyunjin is... you don't even want to try to search for him. The last time he was with you, you were a crying mess and you made the back of his sweater damp with your tears. It wasn't a pleasant moment to remember even for you, you're certain it's the same for him.

Hyunjin has been watching you from afar but he can't help but to come near you. It's as if your magnetic field gets stronger each and every day, he has no power to resist it anymore.

He pretends to look through the section across from you, his back and yours only separated by a mere void he does not dare to cross, yet.

"Oh! Beatles!" You gasp.

Hyunjin looks over your shoulder thinking that you notice him there and talking to him but no, you're talking to yourself while reading the track list on the back.

You start singing the track one by one like a jukebox and Hyunjin silently chuckles at how adorable you sound, so oblivious to his presence, so cute, so...

"I'm going to buy this!" You suddenly say.

Hyunjin has to make sure that yes, you're talking to yourself again.

"You're coming with me too!" You say again.

Hyunjin freezes on his feet thinking he got caught this time but no, you said that as you take another record in your arms and hold it close to your chest like a little child about to pay for her toys.

He gets behind you in the queue to see what you're getting. Leonard Cohen, The Beatles, and The Velvet Underground.

That's not a coincidence, right? You like the same music that he likes, that must mean something. Or he's just way over his head.

"Hey, can I get your autograph?" Someone who stands behind him asks with a Ssick album in his hand. The other one is staring at him with wide eyes, not blinking.

Hyunjin gets a grasp of reality, he clears his throat before answering, "Sure, wait," he looks around for a pen.

Just like you read his mind, you borrow a pen from the cashier and hand it to him, "Here!"

"Thanks," Hyunjin mutters, not looking at you because he knows what it does to him.

Hyunjin bites the pen between his teeth and pulls the pen out of its cap, placing a big sign on the cover.

"You guys have paid for this, right?" He jokingly asks as he caps the pen back.

They laugh at the same time, shaking their head in embarrassment.

"This one on me then," Hyunjin kindly says.

Han comes from behind, surprising them with his presence,

"You guys don't want one from me too?"

Hyunjin laughs and turns around to find you're no longer standing close to him.

On the way back to the hotel, Hyunjin puts his headphones on but not playing anything. He knows you're uncomfortable sharing the backseat with him and this way, he can listen to you humming to And I Love Her.

It's a little embarrassing to drag your laundry bag to the hotel room but thankfully, Lou doesn't mind helping you.

"You know, you should think of minimizing your luggage," he comments.

You push the button to your hotel floor, "But what if—"

"If you ever run out of clothes, there's always the merch," he cuts you off with the simplest of answers.

You hate to admit that Lou is right, but you've been wearing almost the same thing every day: jeans and a T-shirt. In fact, you've worn your denim shorts to the point that they started to take the shape of your body.

"Also, we're going on the plane after this one," he adds, sipping his almost empty iced coffee.

You almost forgot that the band is going abroad for a summer festival. It seems like you're staying busy even on your day off. However, Felix comes knocking on your door as you're about to start sorting things you want to keep and don't.

"Come and play with me!" He whines the second you open the door for him.

"I have things to do," you sadly tell him.

He pouts, "You guys left me shopping this afternoon and now you don't want to play with me?"

You look back at the stacks of luggage you need to sort, honestly, you don't want to do that today, not on a day off.

"Okay, okay," you instantly cave in.

Felix ordered a lot of food to his room you wonder if the two of you can finish all this. Shouldn't have said that because he ate most of it.

"Heard you got a doctor's appointment today?"

Felix puts the food wrappers into a plastic bag while you wipe the table clean with napkins.

"Yeah, I might have strained my back muscles or something," he vaguely explains like that doesn't concern him at all.

When he should be concerned, a drummer uses those muscles and he has probably been drumming in pain, but not telling anyone.

"That sounds serious," your voice is heavily tinted with worries.

"Don't worry, babe!" He assures you with a low laugh.

You grab his elbow to force him to look at you, "no, I'm very worried and you should too," you tell him.

He takes your hand and holds it close with his, "promise you that I'm taking care of myself well," he promises.

You shot him a doubting glare, "promise?"

"Promise!"

The night continues with him insisting on watching a movie together, you both get on the bed and arguing which movie to watch. Felix ended up getting the privilege to choose and he picked a rom-com.

"We should watch horror or thriller," you tell him.

"Ugh, no!" He strongly resists.

You chuckle because you know he doesn't like scary movies, "grow up, Felix!" You tease.

You hurriedly hide behind the duvet as he throws his arm around you, nuzzling his nose in your hair. You're laughing while he playfully tries to take a bite off your head.

"You're lucky I washed my hair this morning," you tell him.

He stops smelling your hair but draws you closer, letting you rest your head on his chest.

"Yeah, it smells good," he doesn't hesitate to take another whiff.

"I'm Lou's shampoo," you share.

"I need to know what it is," Felix says as he continuously smells your hair and without warning, places a kiss on the top of your head.

With the way Felix holds you, you feel warm and snug, not forgetting you're full with the amount of food you ate earlier. Next thing you know you can't barely keep your eyes open anymore.

"Do you mind if I close my eyes for a bit?"

"You can stay," he casually answers, slipping his hand into your hair.

"Promise I'll go back to my room later..." you tell him with eyes close and slowly, drifting into sleep.

Hyunjin has been looking for his notebook.

It's where he wrote all of his ideas from chords, melodies, pieces of lyrics, and even his personal thoughts. The last time he got ahold of it is when he almost left it on the tour bus and Felix got it from him, but his hands were full at that time so he offered to keep it for him.

It's only a little after midnight, Felix is usually still awake at this hour, playing video games or watching movies.

"Felix? It's me," Hyunjin says, just in case Felix is wondering who's knocking on his hotel room.

A while later, Felix opens the door for him with his hair tousled but his eyes are wide awake, "yeah, what's up?"

"You're not sleeping, are you?" He asks because he'd feel bad for disturbing his rest.

Felix aggressively shakes his head, "no, I was watching a movie," he answers.

Hyunjin is right. There's no way he sleeps this early. Before he forgot why he came here, he asks, "I believe you have my notebook?"

Felix scratches the back of his head then opens the door wider, "Yeah but... come in, first!"

Hyunjin steps into the room expecting nothing but the same setup of a messy bed and clothes strewn out of his suitcase.

"I forget where I put it so it'll take time for..." Felix starts digging into his bag to look for Hyunjin's notebook.

A rom-com movie is paused on the TV screen as Hyunjin walks further and yes, there's the same setup except that he has someone on the bed, sleeping.

"Who—" Hyunjin, fortunately, didn’t have to finish his words when he recognizes the clothes, the same ones you were wearing from earlier.

Felix notices that Hyunjin sees you on his bed, "we were watching a movie together and she uh..." he hands Hyunjin his notebook back.

Hyunjin immediately looks away as he takes his notebook back from Felix, "thanks," he mutters.

He doesn't waste another second to get the hell out of there.

"You're going?" Felix asks as if Hyunjin wants to spend another second seeing you sleeping on his bed.

"Yeah, I just need my..." Hyunjin stops himself from talking so much.

"Goodnight, Felix!" He ends it there and walks away.

Felix looks rather sad seeing him leave, he lingers by the doorway as Hyunjin walks to his hotel room, "Goodnight!" He finally says back.

As he sits alone in his hotel room, Hyunjin opens a new page in his notebook and writes:

"I wish you were just a stranger."

The next morning, Lou comes to his room to make sure he's awake for a radio interview.

"Yeah, coming!" Hyunjin weakly replies as he packs things into his bag.

He gets out of the room and can't help but think of last night as he has no other way but to pass Felix's room. His heart drops as Felix comes out of his room and he's just as surprised, glad even.

"Morning!" He says.

"Hey!" Hyunjin coyly replies.

He sees Felix shoves his keycard into his jacket pocket but does that mean you're not in his room? He can't be so sure but at the same time, he doesn't want to put so much energy into this. He shouldn't even think about it at all.

"If you can give one essential item to each other what will it be?" The radio host asks such a deep question for a morning show that starts at 7 am and Hyunjin only had half cup of coffee so far.

But since no one is ready with an answer yet, Hyunjin volunteers to be the first to give his answer.

"I want to give Felix confidence," he speaks into the mic.

Felix looks at him with glints of curiosity sparked in his eyes, a hand propped under his chin.

"Felix is much more cooler and skillful than he thinks so... I want to give him more confidence," Hyunjin perfectly explains.

A smile rises on Felix's face and that's why Hyunjin gets this sense of needing to protect him. Felix is pure and innocent, he's too kind and everyone knows what the world can do to someone like him.

"I want to give Hyunjin love," Felix surprisingly remarks.

Everyone inside the studio puts their attention on Felix as he straightens his back on his seat, "since love seems to be an important emotion for Hyunjin."

Felix leans closer to his mic and stacks his hands together on the table, "The more you have, the more you can conquer pain, that's why I think love is important and necessary."

Hyunjin smiles at Felix's sincere and warm words, it's in a moment like this that he feels deeply connected to a person more than anyone that it almost feels like a family.

When he thought Felix has done talking, he continues speaking, "I can lend it to him for a long time. He doesn't even have to return it."

As expected, Felix knows how to win people over with his sincerity which offers the opposite charm to his outer appearance. Hyunjin is grateful that he got to know Felix because he's one of the rare ones.

"Well, those two are giving each other essential items so that leaves me having to give myself an essential item," Han says, feeling left out because Hyunjin and Felix are taking everyone's attention.

Everyone has a good laugh at him and Han laughs at himself at well.

"It's because our Han already has everything," Felix indirectly compliments and at the same time, comforting him with gentle taps on his shoulder.

See? Hyunjin wants to put Felix in a glass case and protect him. He's just that precious.

The day drags on and that's weird. It's usually going by so fast but it's only one in the afternoon and he's at the soundcheck. He looks around not sure what he's looking for. He knows what or to be exact who he's looking for but doesn't want to admit it.

Without him realizing it, he starts to play the guitar solo of The Beatles' And I Love Her on his guitar.

When he turns around to start the soundcheck, he sees you standing on the pit, with your camera aimed at him.

Should you be suspicious that your day so far is going as planned?

Your luggage is completely sorted and you send half of your things to your mom's house. You found ideal angles as you walk around the venue and you got there in time for the soundcheck.

Can tonight be a successful one? You wonder.

They're still checking their instruments as you take your place down the stage, just behind the pit just to get new angles because you usually take them right on the stage.

As you check on your camera settings, you hear Hyunjin playing a song with his guitar. A song that you know and have been singing lately.

You look up and take a good listen to what he's playing. It's true, he's playing the guitar solo from the song. It's one that you've been humming.

"Let's start!" Han announces as they finish checking their instruments.

Hyunjin turns around and stops turning as he spots you there, your eyes automatically locked as if the two of you have been trying to get on each other's radar.

It's a popular song, Hyunjin could have heard the song somewhere or it's just a song that randomly pops in his head but you can't help but think that he heard you humming in the car.

You look away first and turn away to go somewhere, bumping into Vin backstage.

"What a coincidence!" He exclaims.

"We need to talk," he says with a serious face.

Vin has that undeniable charisma, one that screams authority and when he talks, he only talks of important stuff. Well, that's your impression of him so far.

And those four words sound scary that you get anxious.

Vin orders you to follow him, back to the hallway where it's quieter.

"The PR wants you to take pictures from the stage," he says.

You're still tense even though he's not saying you got fired or your work is terrible. He's merely telling you to start taking pictures on stage.

"You mean like... shot them right on stage?"

"Yes."

"Can I even do that?"

Vin rubs his chin spiked with stubble, "2-3 minutes are enough, right?"

"So I can do that—" you stammer because you've been trying to ask about it whether you can take a closer shot of the band right on stage.

"Pick your time and coordinate it with Lou," he instructs you and giving you no chance to ask further about it.

Can this day get more suspicious? Ah, maybe you shouldn't be overthinking it. Maybe the universe is giving you a chance to truly show him what you are capable of.

"I need you to do that thing again," you say to Lou.

"What?" He asks in confusion.

You turn your back at him so he can land a slap on your back to release jitters. He laughs before giving you what you want, gentle slaps on your back.

"No need to worry much. I'll help you," he assures you.

You choose to get on stage during the second part of the concert, right after the first part where you know the crowd goes the wildest for their hit song.

Three minutes should be enough, you're going to get there and take as many pictures as possible.

At the appointed time, Lou is giving you the green light to proceed. The plan is he's going to help you navigate on stage but something comes up, Han suddenly asks Lou for the other bass.

You're already on stage and they're already playing the intro even without Han on there. You quickly walk around just close enough to take pictures of Felix and turn to Hyunjin next.

The limited time only reminds you to keep going and three minutes are up, taking a step back, your foot got caught in cables and accidentally unplug Hyunjin's guitar in the process, cutting him off midsong.

You almost stumble backward but a hand grabs your elbow so hard, preventing you from falling on stage.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Hyunjin shouts right to your face.

"I'm so sorry," you meekly say.

Lou drags you back to the side of the stage, knowing that you just caused a technical failure. Good thing that the crowd doesn't boo you or worst, blame the band.

Is this why things have been going well? Because it wants to strike when you least expect it.

It's getting worse because Vin says nothing when you came to him with a sincere apology, he only tells you to get back to the green room right after the concert. You'd rather have him scold you or even cursed you for doing such a shitty job than got nothing but a disappointed look on his face.

You're on the verge of crying but with all the staff still roaming around, you hold it in. The last thing you can do from this day going far shittier than it already did is letting people know you have a very shitty day.

"You okay?" Felix asks in concern even though he just got off the stage and sweat still dripping down his neck.

The sight of him only makes it hard for you to keep it in, you go in for a hug and cry into his chest.

"It's okay, it's okay," he comforts you while his hand softly patting your back.

"It's just one song. No one will notice," he tells you.

The more he tries to comfort you the harder you cry. You don't know what would happen if you were working for any other band and there's no Felix in it, you would be miserable. The only reason you got through everything is because of Felix.

You stay quiet as you sit in the back of the van with Felix, still upset at yourself for what you've done tonight. Tears just won't stop flowing out of you and you keep wiping it with the back of your hands.

"Let's just have fun tonight, huh?" Han suddenly comes up with an impulsive idea.

"Let's just go somewhere," he says without waiting for everyone's approval.

Lou tells the driver to change the destination, sending the van going in the opposite direction of the hotel.

Felix puts his jacket on you as you step out of the van since you're only in your t-shirt and denim shorts, "stop crying, babe," he tells you, gently wiping your wet cheeks with his knuckle.

You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down, also you're going somewhere and you don't want to be seen as if you've just uncontrollably sobbed from a bad day at work even though that's what happened.

"Get us a room!" Han tells Lou as everyone arrived at a place with dim lighting.

It's when you arrived in the room you realize that it's a karaoke room. Han doesn't wait but starts choosing songs to sing as if he hasn't sung enough for the night.

Bottles of drinks got sent into the room not long after and everyone starts drinking. Not going to lie, this is exactly what you need: a lot of alcohol and no one is stopping you, guess they know how much you needed it.

It doesn't take long until you start loosening up, picking up a mic to sing a song with Felix. A song that you both know well enough and forget what happened that day as you sing your heart out.

Soon, everyone has forgotten all about it. Everyone is having fun and that includes Hyunjin. Seeing him reminds you of how bitterly he snapped at your face earlier, you understand that he was mad for what you did but still... you thought things are going well, until tonight.

"Thank you," you tell everyone at the end of the song, aware that they're coming here without Vin's permission. It's unclear the reason why they came here out of a whim or maybe they tried to make you feel better, either way, you're grateful that they're in the room with you.

"Thank you," you say again and about to burst into tears again.

"Lou, pour her a glass, quick!" Han tells him.

The night continues with more glasses of alcohol taken and songs being sung in gibberish words. You stop drinking knowing that if you take another one, it will be the end of it.

Lou and Hyunjin are the ones still sober enough to help walk heavily drunk Felix and Han out of the building even though you drank more than both of them.

"Can you walk?" Lou asks.

You hold your thumbs up at him despite feeling like the floor is about to swallow you whole.

It's quiet again inside the van but this time it's because everyone is too intoxicated to talk. Hyunjin volunteers to take Felix back to his room and get on the elevator first.

Lou is having a hard time taking Han by himself, you help as much as you can while carrying the bags with you.

Inside the elevator, you put your hand in the pocket of Felix's jacket to find his keycard inside. You want to go back to your hotel room quickly but Felix and the other members are staying on the upper floor.

"Felix's keycard," you innocently show Lou Felix's hotel room keycard.

Lou softly chuckles, "I bet they're struggling to get inside his room right now."

Once the elevator arrived on their floor, you're going to the right while Lou is going the other way since Han's room is at the other end of the hall.

You see Hyunjin comes out of his room and probably takes Felix there because you have his keycard. He's about to walk in your direction, you don't know why but you hurriedly hide in the hallway, out of his sight.

You shut your eyes tight as you hear his footsteps closing in, hoping he would pass you without knowing you're there, hiding like a coward.

But that's not what happens, he knows you're there.

You take a step back and lean against the wall, pulling Felix's keycard out of the jacket pocket.

"Here!" You hold it out at him while avoiding his eyes.

But instead of taking it, he takes a stand in front of you and looks down at you with eyes that are so intimidating, making you feel smaller than you already are.

"Just take the damn keycard," an annoyed sigh might have slipped past your mouth when you said it.

What Hyunjin does is take a step closer to you, sending you into a fight-or-flight situation. You think fast about which one you should act upon. Fight or flight?

But first, you dare to look up at him and find his eyes intensely staring right into yours. They're only eyes, you can surely win this fight, you reckon.

"Why do you hate me so much?" You blurt out.

It's the alcohol of course, there's no way you can boldly ask him such a question when you're sober.

"Tell me why? Because I don't get it. Why did I do to you that makes you hate me so much?" You lay your hands flat against the wall as you maintain eye contact with him.

"I'm drunk, you see? You can tell me anything and that's okay, I won't remember it when I wake up in the morning," you slur.

Hyunjin holds his gaze steady and with the same intensity, you don't know how he does that, he's so beautiful that it's intimidating.

"Go ahead! Tell me! Promise I'd forget all about it tomorrow," you encourage him more by widening your eyes even though your sanity slips away as every second pass.

It's getting eerily quiet and Hyunjin remains silent still. You let out a low sigh and be the one to break the eye contact when all of sudden, he crashes his lips with yours.

His hand found your jaw and holds you still, he places his other hand on the nape of your neck so he can easily angle you to deepen the kiss.

His lips... as soft as you can imagine and tastes so sweet, gently brushing over yours like melting ice cream. His tongue swiftly parts your mouth open, invading your mouth to get as much taste as he can.

A low moan escapes your mouth as he drops his hand to the arch of your back, drawing your body closer to him. In no time, your bodies mold into each other like they're two missing pieces perfectly put together.

Hyunjin kisses you so passionately but at the same time, holding you so gently like you would break if he holds you too hard.

On the other hand, you're confused by this. He's been playing with your feelings without you realizing it, at times he can be so nice then he turns mean, hot, and cold, it's always unpredictable weather with him.

Now, he's kissing you and making the butterflies in your stomach fluttering awake, stirring chaos inside you. But if it's time for you to die, you wouldn't mind because it's the best way there is to go.

Hyunjin suddenly pulls away and his hands pushing you away until your back hits the wall, somehow your eyes dart at his lips, red and glistening wet like one ripe apple, tempting you to have another bite at it.

But he puts a space by having you pinned against the wall with his hands grabbing each side of your shoulders, his smoldering eyes bore into yours, then he says,"Now, try to forget that!"

And just like that, he walks away, leaving you reeling with the taste of his lips lingering in your memory.

Now, how can you forget that?

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