#and i actually still have leftover funds

[the-travelling-witch]

all or nothing, three chips are enough

HE IS MY LUCKY CHARM, THE CURSE HAS BEEN BROKEN, I WON TWO 50/50S TODAY !!

now i just need to get him some better relics, i think…

[heesdreamer]

let you break my heart again

PAIRING ➩ jake x reader

SUMMARY ➩ attending the same college as your childhood friend ( and longtime crush ) jake sim, you weren’t prepared for the complete change in his personality.

GENRE ➩ playboy au! jake. based off the lyrics of the ‘let you break my heart again’ by laufey. romance ( slight angst )

WARNINGS ➩ suggestive content at times

WC ➩ 9.08k

feeling kind of sick tonight all ive had is coffee and leftover pie, it’s no wonder why

“I’m doing fine here mom…. no it’s great, I’ve made lots of friends. Of course I’m eating well mom, but I really don’t have time for this I’m super busy. No I love you too. Yes I will, talk soon bye.”

Hanging up the phone, you let it fall onto the floor beside you. You were sprawled out on your stiff couch, staring up at the chipping paint on the ceiling and letting your hand dangle off so your fingers were just barely brushing the carpeted floor.

It was starting to become exhausting to lie to your mom, at first it was merely an annoyance but now you genuinely felt like you were committing some sick act every time you spoke. Luckily for you, the longer you were away from home, she called less and less.

Moving away from your hometown always seemed big and scary to you and that’s why you longed for it so bad.

But here you were now and the excitement of an unpredictable independent city life was dimmed down and you were just left with a low amount of funds, and possibly a stress induced head cold.

oh, still you take up all my mind

Your phone buzzing lowly against the carpet caused your head to turn dramatically, leaning over with a groan and fumbling to grab it from off the floor in a haste.

Holding it up above your face, you squinted at the bright screen, and sighed when you realized it was just another spam email and not the message you’d been awaiting. Around this time yesterday you had drunkenly sent a message to Jake Sim, more on him later, and now you were sitting in misery waiting for his response.

Jake Sim was the only other person from your hometown that you knew who had made the move to the city. He actually was the original inspiration for your plans in the first place, being one year older and moving before you even finished high school.

At one point you’d have like to consider yourself friends, running in the same social circle and even hanging out one on one more than a couple of times. You weren’t exactly sure if he thought of you the same considering outside of your few close friends, he had lots of other connections and you completely lacked in that department.

i dont even think that you care like i do

Still, a true naive romantic at heart, you fell for him years ago and despite your knowledge that it can’t be more than a fleeting crush at most, you still felt the want to stay close to him even now.

When you first moved here and met with your dorm roommate, a small chirpy girl named Brit, she was kind and friendly and invited you out to a ‘start of the year’ party with a big warm smile.

“Y/N?” A voice coming from behind you caused you to freeze slightly at the recognition, never being able to miss his smooth low timber, before taking a deep breath and putting on a casual face as you turned around.

“Oh my god, Jake hi.” You were relieved that your voice came out surprised and natural, adorning an affectionate smile and resisting the urge to tug down your dress.

The dress in which his eyes were scaling down, an eyebrow cocked and then lowered when he met your gaze again and realized you were watching him check you out.

You were making your own quick assessments, his newly bleached hair looked darker than it did on his social medias, coasting closer to an ash honey color. You subconsciously raised a hand and pulled your hair in front of your shoulder.

“Why didn’t I know you went here?” He was taking a step closer to you and pulling you into a swift side hug, not moving away even after you both pulled apart. He was leaning against the wall and titling over you.

For a moment you almost frowned, almost told him that you had mentioned it a few times on both socials and in the slowly disappearing group chat of your high school friend group. Then you quickly remembered tonight was the first step in your attempt to stop being embarrassing.

So instead you slowly raised your shoulders in a relaxed shrug, turning so your back was against the wall he was leaning on and you weren’t facing him anymore. A smirk appeared on his face and for a moment you thought he might be seeing right through your act.

“Well, hit me up sometime then.” When he spoke this time it was a low murmur, leaning down to whisper it against your ear. You were positive he saw the shiver wrack through you and judging by the way he laughed and pushed off the wall, heading back into the crowd, you were right.

i should stop, heaven knows ive tried

You grabbed the couch pillow from beside you and pressed it tightly over your face, screaming into it and flailing your feet against the cushions. Their lack of foam and spring caused a low dull of pain to form in your legs but you ignored it.

You didn’t ever take Jake up on his offer, deciding that part of your new persona was definitely not going to include pining over boys who never looked your way. That didn’t mean you were giving up on your feelings, you just planned to have him come to you.

That lasted a total of five weeks and four glasses of wine before you were tipsy and sending him a message on Instagram that included four emojis and way too many exclamation points, inviting him to the party your roommate was throwing.

Said party was happening tomorrow and you felt weak and sweaty at both the thought of him not showing up and how awkward it would be if he did. A large part of you wanted to unsend the message but you imagined him seeing the notification that you did so and then questioning what you had said would be far worse than him seeing your invite and ignoring it.

“Girl is it that serious?” The sound of your roommates voice caused you to toss the pillow across the room and turn to see her judging face.

“Why did you let me do that.” You groaned out the words and turned on your side to face the couch. You felt the cushion dip as she sat next to where your head laid and let out a small sigh.

“What’s the worse that’ll happen?” Her voice was soft and you once again silently thanked the universe for giving you the nicest girl in the city as a roommate. “You said you’d been into him since like middle school.”

You didn’t say anything for a while and the guilt seeped in when you heard another small sigh fall from her lips.

“It’ll be fun regardless if he shows up, I promise.”

——

You were absolutely not having fun. It was almost impossible to considering you had spent the whole night anxiously keeping an eye out for Jake incase he decided to show up and ruin your life.

Giving up on trying to hold conversations, you started to swiftly make your way to the kitchen with the plan to duck behind the counters and wait for the night to end so you could crawl back onto your couch, which was currently housing multiple make out sessions, and resume last nights position.

“Are you avoiding me?” You had just turned the corner into the off limits room when you smacked into a strong frame, his voice immediately following and alerting you of who it was.

You backed away quickly and looked up at Jake, eyes trailing down to his black button up before stopping at his belt and looking to your right awkwardly. He let out a small chuckle and leaned forward to tap a finger against your head softly.

“Did you hear me?” He teased and you came to the realization that he was a lot different than he was back in your hometown, and unlike you, his cool show of confidence was genuine.

one day i will stop falling in love with you

You felt like a total idiot as you brought your attention back to him, looking up through your eyelashes to hold his gaze and you suddenly realized that you liked this newer cockier version of him too.

Being so used to his younger personality, his loud attention stealing laugh and big boxy smiles, you were hoping that the sight of his low lazy smirks would unnerve you. You wished his lack of usual dog like goofiness and awkward clumsy movements would wake you up out of your years of pining.

Yet watching him casually leaned against your wall and taking a slow sip from his cup, keeping eye contact with you over the brim, you considered the fact you might be more into him than you’d realized.

“I’m not avoiding you.” You finally replied, furrowing your eyebrows and crossing your arms in an attempt to show annoyance at the (totally true) accusation.

“I think you might be.” He let out a low hum, clearly enjoying teasing you and you felt your face flush when he leaned closer, similar to the way he peered over you the last time you’d seen him. “You know what else I think?”

You forced yourself to hold eye contact with him despite the close proximity and you raised an eyebrow in question. You felt the ghost of his breath on your face and you wondered what you would look like if somebody were to walk in right now.

“I think you look pretty.” He finished off his thought and you felt like your stomach flip upside down, your breath stuttering as you faltered backwards a few steps. Your felt the wall of the doors archway hit your shoulder blades and stopped.

Jake followed your movements, taking a few steps so he was just as close to you as he was previously.

Despite your obvious reaction to his effect on you, you still tried to show some dignity here before it was totally clear to him what a loser you were. You sucked in a deep breath and crossed your arms infront of you so he couldn’t come any closer.

“Who says I care what you think?” He smiled widened at your annoyed tone, clearly catching on to the fact that you were playing hard to get. His eyes dropped down to your chest where your arms were crossed and then back to your face.

You tried to control your breathing as you felt his hand smooth it’s way up your tensed arm, stopping at your face as he held your chin between his thumb and pointer finger. You watched him through your eyelashes as he titled your head up slightly and you, for a second, thought he let out a pleased scoff at the way you let him adjust you without complaint.

He was leaning in to talk again and you briefly noted that it wasn’t nearly loud enough for how close he was getting to your face, your eyes were darting around his features nervously as you waited for him to speak.

“Y/N.” The tension popped like it’d been stabbed with a knife, or rather by a poorly timed interruption by the name of Lee Heeseung. Jake didn’t back away from you, although his hand caressed your cheek before falling back towards your side, even when the other boys eyes widened at the sight of you pinned against the wall.

It didn’t surprise you when he leaned over your frame and gave Heeseung a handshake in greeting, considering he knew everybody, but what did slightly shock you was the annoyance on his face. Despite greeting his friend warmly, he didn’t seem at all happy to be interrupted.

His eyebrows were tensely pulled to the center of his forehead and he glanced at you with anger, eyes softening again when they met yours.

You, on the other hand, were extremely grateful for the excuse to get out of this room that was suffocating you with tension and confusion. You titled your head in Heeseung’s direction to ask why he had come to find you in the first place.

“Brit’s throwing up.” He winced as he said your roommates name, glancing back behind him towards the direction of the party. “Like kinda everywhere… I figured you’d want all of us out of here.”

You sighed softly and ignored the way Jake lowly groaned and took a few steps away from you, seemingly understanding the situation was too important for you to ignore. You offered him an apologetic smile and avoided his gaze.

“I’ll see you around?”

——

some day, someone will like me like i like you

It had taken just short of two hours to clear the apartment, and then almost double that to clean up the absolute destruction that was left behind by random classmates and passerbyers. Not to mention the almost extreme amount of vomit your roommate had managed to spew in multiple corners.

“I just want to be dead.” Said roommate was currently stealing your favorite position of sulking in misery on your couch. “And why does our couch fucking suck this bad.”

You let out a small laugh and she groaned at the noise, putting her hands over her eyes and mumbling about how embarrassing it must’ve been.

“I’m so sorry you had to clean it all by yourself.” She was mumbling and you smiled in her direction, doubtful she was looking at you or even able to see that far in her current state.

“I wasn’t by myself don’t worry.” She perked up at this, sitting up on the couch with another groan but looking far more alert. You shook your head and sighed out an explanation. “Heeseung stayed back to help. I felt bad that he did so I offered to get him coffee today”

“Oh my god.” She chirped loudly and threw her hands up in the air, hangover momentarily forgotten. You let her show a theatric amount of excitement, knowing she was desperate for you to have any sort of social life outside of stalking Jake on Instagram. “You have a date!”

“I absolutely do not have a date.” You shook your head again and left the kitchen, sitting cross legged next to her on the couch and looking at her intensely. “I’m serious Brit this isn’t a date, so don’t tell people I have a date.”

She pouted at you, and then even deeper when you rolled your eyes at her attempt to woo you with her cuteness.

“But it’s a big deal if it’s a date.” She tried to reason with you. “Besides even if it’s not a date maybe hearing you went on one will wake Jake up to the fact he’s missing out on all of this.”

You ignored the way she gestured down your body and seductively wiggled her eyebrows, remembering that you had forgotten to mention your intense stare down with Jake from last night. You decided it was best to not mention it so she wouldn’t feel guilty for getting sick even more than she already did.

Her idea of making Jake jealous was completely baseless and had no chance of working but for some reason you recalled the anger on his face when Heeseung interrupted you and your stomach turned with anticipation.

“Okay but you can only tell one person.”

——

until then, ill drink my coffee and eat my pie

It had been an hour and a half of sitting at the designated meeting spot Heeseung had texted you earlier that morning, and you were still alone minus the three empty coffee cups surrounding you.

You were trying to feign casualness so the waitress couldn’t tell you had been stood up on your date that wasn’t a date and that you were failing to prove that you weren’t a total loser still.

The chime of the door didn’t register to you, at this point you had stopped expecting him to show up and you were fully prepared to hide your face in class for the rest of your life and ban all contact with Lee Heeseung. Not even the sound of the seat next to you being pulled out caught your attention, only sinking lower in your stool at the bar.

A few moments of silence passed and you were just about to turn your head to the side, curious why the person sitting so close to you hadn’t made any move to order or seemingly breathe when they cleared their throat.

You hoped the way your eyes widened, mouth parting slightly in surprise, weren’t the reason for the proud smile on Jake’s face as he shifted in his seat next to you.

“Oh my god, what the fuck are you doing here?” You groaned and attempted to shrink in on yourself. Not only were you humiliated from being stood up, but now the last person you’d want to see you like this was here and smiling over at you.

“Here to save you from loneliness.” He was still smiling brightly, pointing at your emptied cup in a signal to the waitress for a refill. For a moment he resembled the younger Jake you were familiar with and your frown worsened. “Being ditched sucks.”

“How do you even know about that.” You grumbled, energy lost from the day. You gave a nod in thanks to the server who was filling up the mug you clutched tightly.

“Brit.” He shrugged and you groaned again at the realization your roommate had infact told more than one person about your meetup. “But you’re here alone so I pieced it together.”

pretend that we are more than friends

“Not technically alone I guess.” You reasoned and he smiled again as you spoke, seemingly happy that you were teasing back. You glanced at the waitress who was back behind the counter and she smiled when she met your gaze. Your face flushed, she must’ve figured your date had finally shown up.

“Well I don’t know about you but I feel like there’s better things we can do than sit in this coffee shop for another few hours.” He was standing from his stool as he spoke like he was positive you’d follow him and you hated that he was right.

——

“Do you even know where we are going?” You were looking out the window and watching hills fly by in a blur, eyebrows furrowed even though Jake couldn’t see you.

He chuckled softly and you turned your body a few degrees to glance at him as he drove, one hand on the steering wheel and the other shoved out the open window. His hair was going in different directions because the force of the wind and you noted his dark roots growing in.

You were curious if he planned to keep bleaching it or if he’d let it go dark again. If you were closer, more friends than whatever it was you were, you’d tell him you like it best black.

It was easier to picture the version of him you knew like that, you were so used to seeing his dark locks sleeping at random desk during free hours or rushing through the hallways so he wasn’t late for lunch. This new look and personality felt so unfamiliar.

“Just because I’m not telling you, doesn’t mean I don’t know.” He responded, sparing you a quick glance and raising an eyebrow when he caught you staring lost in thought. “Besides we are almost there, have some patience maybe.”

You slumped back in your seat, staring out the window again as you spotted a parking lot coming up in the distance. Your lips naturally formed a pout as you squinted and tried to make out where you were.

Jake pulled into the parking lot, gravel crunching under his tires as he pulled his hand back into the car and parked outside the lines. Only a few other cars were in this lot and you quickly realized where he had taken you.

“The beach?” It was starting to chill out now, the time of year where you much preferred sweaters and movie nights over days outside. You glanced over at him for confirmation and studied his expression.

For just a moment he looked nervous and slightly fearful, like he thought you wouldn’t be pleased or maybe you’d ask to just go home instead. Then it was replaced with a half smile and a shrug as he opened his door and hopped out of the car.

You took a few seconds to process his change of expression. You didn’t take this new Jake as somebody who cared what random girls they barely knew thought, maybe you were reading too far into a blank expression.

Before you could consider it further your door was thrown opened and you turned to see Jake waiting outside of it, holding it open for you and fully smiling now.

After a few minutes of silently walking down the sandy trail you couldn’t stand the silence. “How’d you find this place anyways?”

“You know Sunghoon?” You hummed softly in confirmation to his question. “He showed it to me when I first moved here. I guess I was complaining too much about missing home… missing…”

His sentence slowed to a stop and you glanced over at him, waiting for him to finish whatever thought he was having. He was already looking at you and he looked slightly pained before looking away and gesturing in front of you.

You turned your gaze away from him reluctantly and your features softened in awe at the view in front of you. Two sand hills were parted to reveal the result of your hike, a hidden beach with a light pink sunset off in the distance.

“It’s not as good as the ones back home but.” He didn’t finish his sentence again and this time you didn’t expect him to. Without thinking your hand was reaching down to tug on his sleeve, pulling him forwards and continuing your walk to the beach.

You let him go once the water was close enough that you could hear the waves, nearly drowning out your excited voice as the cold water splashed up and wrapped around your ankles. You heard Jake groan behind you and turned with a smile to see his jeans darkening with wetness.

The two of you played in the shallow water for a while, throwing splashes at each other and squealing everytime the bitter water touched your sun warmed skin.

Eventually the childish play tired you out and you were sat against a log a bit aways from the water, watching the sun set behind the ocean and covering your feet with the chilled sand.

A noise behind you caused you to turn your head, frowning deeply when you saw Jake kneeled in the sand with a camera in front of his face. The same noise went off again and you threw sand in his direction.

“Stop that.” You groaned and he laughed, dodging the attack and falling back onto his butt next to you by the log.

“Sorry sorry. I’ve just never seen you like this before.”

im just trying to understand what i am to you

“What do you mean?” You squinted your eyes in his direction but he wasn’t looking at you, keeping his gaze on the setting sun or down at his fingers that were pushing through the sand.

“You were always too cool to hang out with us at places like this.” He laughed softly but you felt a strange tension settled in his words like he was thinking of something specific.

Your stomach turned in confusion at what he was saying and you felt the need to question him, swallowing it when he made eye contact with you again and smiled softly. It didn’t meet his eyes and you titled your head slightly.

“I’d say it was the other way around.” You managed to say, trying to keep your tone light despite the meaning behind your words. In your version of events it was definitely Jake who had never been around in high school, always off with cooler older kids.

He’d always been more liked than the rest of your friend group but it escalated after his final prom when his presence pretty much became nonexistent up until he moved for college.

He was watching you and not saying anything and you were starting to curl in on yourself a bit self consciously. You reached up your arm to tug on your shirt sleeve and his eyes followed the movement.

“You’re cold?” He was asking but before he even finished the sentence he was sitting up off the log and pulling his sweater over his head, handing it in your direction as he fell back against the log. You stared at it as it dangled in his grip and he shook it a few times to get your attention.

You took it from him hesitantly, fingers brushing against his and he watched closely as you pulled it over your eyes and tugged your hair from the collar.

His eyes were seemingly tracing shapes on your frame as he looked at you, a strange expression on his face at the sight of you in his clothing.

“Why are you always staring like that?” You mumbled under your breath, shifting uncomfortably and he shrugged.

“You’re pretty.” He answered simply like it was the most obvious answer in the history of the world and your mouth parted in surprise. He’d said it before, but it sounded different when it wasn’t being whispered in a damp crowded room.

You felt your cheeks flush again but this time you didn’t attempt to hide your reaction. Despite the major differences, you needed to remind yourself that this was Jake, a boy you knew and cared about before you ever had this crush on him.

more than songs, we’ve exchanged. midnight calls, sunset views

He was still watching you, you could see him from the corner of your eye and you were half tempted to turn and meet his gaze. A few beats of silence, accompanied by the sound of the waves, and you succumbed to that temptation.

He didn’t falter when you looked over, only cocking his head slightly like he was expecting you to say something. However you didn’t and you just looked at him the way he was looking at you, in a heavy tensioned silence that made your stomach turn in dizzying circles.

Jake was always handsome, even before he had gotten older and his features were still soft and not yet matured, but he was particularly remarkable right now in the soft blue lighting of the nearly set sun.

“You should let your hair grow out.”

——

The days were passing by quickly now and fall break was swiftly approaching. You had no plans to go back home to your small town and neither did Brit. Currently she was packing hastily, not sparing you a glance as you laid on her bed and watched her fast pace.

“We leave in only two hours you know.” She was remarking and you shrugged softly, hiding a smile at her impatience. “I’m happy you’ve even agreed to this so I’m not going to nag you anymore than I need to but we are really short on time.”

She was referring to the fact she had somehow managed to convince you that going along to one final friend camping trip was what you should do with your break. Not only was it colder than you’d prefer, especially the night time, but others were also going and you weren’t big on social interaction.

Still you had agreed, and if part of the reason had been because Jake posted he was also going on his story than she didn’t need to know that.

After she had forced you to pack, and then ushered you out of the apartment with a swift shove and irritated eyebrows, you were eventually stuffed in the back seat of Sunghoon’s rented van. It was bigger than an average car but the more stops you arrived to the more you dreaded the drive.

As if things couldn’t get more stressful, right when you had thought you’d gotten away with an empty seat next to you he was pulling up to the final house. You watched as Jake closed his door behind him with an excited grin and waved at Sunghoon who was leaning out his open window.

You still didn’t stop staring even after he shoved his suitcase into the trunk and circled around the van, pulling open the slider door and scanning the vehicle for a spot to sit. His gaze first fell on the seat next to you and then scanned up to your face.

His smile faltered for just a second before it was replaced with another one, this one somehow both more genuine and two times as tense.

You hadn’t talked much since the other day at the beach due to the fact he hadn’t bothered texting you. You weren’t too caught up with the fact knowing you’d see eachother soon anyways but you were feeling a bit confused on the meaning of the hangout.

Your headphones stayed in as he walked with a ducked head to the back of the van, ignoring the glare Yang Jungwon was sending him when he accidentally stepped on his foot. You paused your music as he sat next to you but you didn’t take them off your head.

After he was seated, the van was officially full. Sunghoon and Brit were taking the roles of driver and passenger with Jungwon, Park Jay and a boy you hadn’t met before named Riki directly behind them. That left you and Jake in the back sat next to some of the bags that hadn’t fit in the trunk.

Another car was coming later in the day with some more friends of Brit and Sunghoon, the more social of the group.

Your phone vibrating in your grip stopped you in your mental roll call and you furrowed your brows down at it, ignoring the buzz. That plan didn’t last long considering it buzzed two more times immediately after.

jake : hi

jake : you have a habit of ignoring me i think

jake : !!!

You let out a small laugh and your eyes shot to the side, expecting to see him already looking at you and preparing to speak. Instead he was leaning away and keeping his gaze firmly out the window, a tight grip on his phone.

you : are we playing the silent game?

jake : yes

jake : i didn’t take you for the camping type… did anything inspire you to come along?

You looked at him again and this time he was looking at you too, an eyebrow raising slightly in question as he glanced down at your phone screen. You thought for a second before responding.

you : i could ask you the same thing

you : if my memories correct i distinctively remember you whining the whole entire week during that field trip sophomore year

jake : i don’t whine

You snorted a laugh and you felt Jake’s elbow poke your side in annoyance. You nudged him back and he pretended to be wounded, leaning against you so your shoulders were pressed tightly together. Brit’s eyes met yours in the mirror for just a split second before looking away.

jake : maybe i had my reasons

Then his hand was falling forward onto your knee and you stiffened up at the sudden contact. Your reaction caused him to freeze too and he started to quickly retract his hand, stopping when you placed yours on top of his and kept it where it was.

You were suddenly hyper aware of how close the two of you were and also the fact you had chosen to wear the most hideous pajamas pants you owned. Jake didn’t seem to mind, his thumb caressing the soft fabric without realizing he was making your head spin.

You squeezed your hand that was on top of his and he leaned forward to look at you, head resting against the seat infront of him as he turned his body slightly to face you. His hand was shifting up your leg slightly and you held his gaze, an eyebrow raising in permission.

Without hesitation, you gave it to him, nodding and loosening your grip on his hand. Your hand slid to his wrist instead, not wanting to remove it from his warm skin and you felt his arm muscles tensing like he was applying effort to resist moving his hand more.

Your knee was swinging towards his instinctively and his eyes shot down to the way this caused your legs to part more.

Then his stare was back on yours, eyes heavier as he watched you. For a second you thought he seemed nervous, gaze fidgeting against yours.

Your phone buzzed again and you glanced at his free hand in confusion, eyebrows furrowing when you realized his phone was shut off and laying forgotten in his lap so it couldn’t have been him that messaged you.

brit : what are you doing back there

You met her gaze in the mirror expecting to see a teasing smirk or maybe proud eyes at the fact you weren’t losing your cool due to Jake flirting with you. Instead her eyes were dark and squinted in warning. She picked her phone back up off her lap.

brit : jake invited a girl this weekend

brit : sunghoon told me im rlly sorry yn i was going to mention it when we got there

Your entire body locked up and Jake’s thumb stopped caressing your thigh in worry, leaning back against his seat to try to look at your phone screen to see the cause of your sudden tension. You quickly shut it off and shifted in your seat, swinging your knee so his hand fell limp against the seat. You leaned against your side of the seat, frowning and looking out the window.

You stayed like that for the rest of the ride, ignoring your phone buzzing in your hand and a few attempts to get your attention from the boy next to you.

Once you’d finally arrived at the campsite you were the first one to leave the van, nearly tripping on Jay in your haste to be out of the suffocating situation.

Hands on your lower back were suddenly leading you away and towards the empty site kicking your feet out of their frozen state, you glanced at Brit as she ushered you away from the boys, telling them briefly you were going to set up your tent in the distance.

You were thankful for her quick lie and the comforting arm she was wrapping around your side as you walked away from them, ignoring their confused murmurs.

“Are you going to cry.” She whispered once you were a good distance out of ear shot, you met her eyes and she winced. “Or maybe throw up? I can’t tell…”

You shook your head and glanced behind you. Jake was frozen as he watched the two of you with a worried frown, only looking away when Jungwon abruptly handed him a few bags to unpack.

“Neither.” You forced out and she looked relieved but like she didn’t even slightly believe you. “I don’t care who he brings.” You shrugged and nodded to try to convince yourself.

She watched you in silence, leaning back slightly like you were a live wire as she waited for you to snap.

“But tell me who he is bringing.” You gripped her hand tightly and she groaned in relief at your more expected reaction, squeezing your hand in hers and taking a step closer.

“I don’t even know just some girl from one of his lectures I guess.” She was whispering close to your face and your heart sank. “Sunghoon said she practically forced him to say she could come but you know he has a reputation.”

And she was right, you did know that this new version of Jake had quite a few whispers about him and how frequently he’d leave parties with girls he’d never be seen with again. You felt foolish for letting yourself separate this side of him with the boy from the beach.

Maybe the boy from a few years ago was worse with girls, cared about them more and awkwardly stumbled through flirty conversations or teasing comments but it seemed like this new Jake was the type to not think too deeply about feeling up an old friend in a packed car.

One half of you wanted to not care, happy he had paid you any attention at all even if it wasn’t ideal but the more realistic half knew you could never be casual with Jake without breaking your own heart.

“I’ll be fine don’t worry.”

——

You were absolutely positively NOT fine.

After setting up quickly before the sun set, the second car had arrived with the rest of the people you’d be camping alongside of and you were quickly regretting your last minute acceptance to come along.

A few slightly familiar faces had stumbled out of the car, like Sunoo from your history class who had waved with a yawn followed by a bright smile. He was immediately replaced in your line of sight by none other than Lee Heeseung, who froze at the sight of you and then practically scampered away.

And finally a girl you hadn’t seen before, and who hadn’t bothered to introduce herself. The girl was currently on the receiving end of your glare, across from you at the fire as she leaned over and whispered something lowly to Jake in the chair next to her.

You hoped the flames were blocking the obvious annoyance on your face, her high pitched squeals and refusal to do any of the work setting up required was slowly eating away at you. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact she spent most the day draped over the boy you’d been infatuated with since before puberty.

Only adding to your growing frustration was the tense awkward boy beside you. Heeseung was practically curled into a ball in his camping chair, avoiding eye contact with your side of the earth and not speaking the entire fire. You were sick of it at this point and the combined anger at both situations got the better of you.

“Can we talk?” You were leaning over towards him to ask and your tone was heavy. He reluctantly looked at you and his eyes softened with guilt before he nodded.

Standing from your chair and wrapping your coat tighter around you, your gaze instinctively went to Jake. He was already watching you, eyebrows furrowing as he saw Heeseung stand and wait for you to leave so he could follow. You looked away from him in anger and started off towards the trees.

“Are you going to kill me be honest.” Heeseung eventually was groaning behind you as you walked in silence, cutting through the trail as you ended up near the dock.

“Why would I kill you?” You sighed and sat on the creaking wood, feet dangling and skimming the water of the green lake. He followed suit and sat a few inches away from you.

“For being a dick.” He shrugged and you laughed, kissing your teeth and nodding. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have not showed up without a text like that, regardless what Jake said.”

His words caused you to freeze in confusion and he seemed to notice your reaction, mouth parting in realization.

“You didn’t know…” He sounded both confused and like he had finally made sense of things in his mind. “Now I get why Brit keeps glaring at me in the hall.”

“What are you talking about Lee Heeseung?” You turned more towards him with sharp eyes and he shrunk in on himself slightly.

“I told Jake about our date and he told me I shouldn’t go because you had a boyfriend back home.” He was speaking fast and his eyes softened again at the hurt and confusion crossing your face. “I’m figuring now that probably isn’t true.”

You didn’t give him a response, staring down at his lap as you zoned out and tried to understand what he was telling you. Jake had not only sabotaged your date not date that apparently was a date but in doing so he made you seem like some awful cheater.

“Are you okay?” Heeseung was speaking again when you didn’t respond, leaning closer slightly and talking in a whisper like he was scared to break you from your trance. You looked at him hesitantly and his features softened at your teary expression. “I can go get Brit?”

You nodded in confirmation and offered him a small sad smile, hoping he got the memo that it wasn’t him you were upset with and you understood he had been caught in the miscommunication. He was patting your back softly before standing and jogging back towards the camp.

promise i don’t mean to cry but i get overwhelmed and confused

Sitting alone on the dock you allowed yourself to cry for just a few moments, you felt completely lost and confused. That mixed with the anger and jealously you’d felt all day and you were simply a mess of overstimulated emotions.

You didn’t understand why Jake would do that, what motive he would have. Maybe revenge for Heeseung interrupting his chance of a quick fuck the night before but you liked to believe that even if he changed, he still respected you enough to not spread rumors.

After ten minutes had passed your tears had slowed do a few sniffles and puffy eyes, using your thin sweater sleeves to wipe your face in preparation for your roommates arrival. You didn’t want to ruin the weekend by being overtly upset.

“Y/N?” The sound of the familiar voice caused you to freeze like it always did. Your shoulders tensed and you felt your fingers flex against the moist wood of the dock. The footsteps stepping onto the dock gave you a sick feeling.

“What do you want Sim?” You spit the words without turning to look at him and you shut your eyes tight when his hasty steps slowed with hesitation.

“I came to check on you… Heeseung went to get Brit but she wasn’t feeling well and went to sleep.” He was speaking slowly, getting closer but stopping a bit behind you like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to come closer. “Did he say something to you? What did he do?”

Now you were turning to glare at him, only briefly scanning his figure to see him wringing his hands together in anxiousness. “What did he do? What do you mean what did he do…what did you do?”

He didn’t even have the nerve to pretend to look confused, only being taken back for a second at your tone before a guilty dark look took over his expression.

“Okay listen, I had a reason.” He was holding his hands out in front of him in defense, eyebrows downturned. For just a second you felt bad at the way he frowned and then you remembered your anger.

You stood from the dock, turning your back on the water to face him. He seemed more taken back by this, your stance rigid and expecting. You raised an eyebrow at him and waved a hand to signal for him to continue.

His gaze dropped to his feet and then back up towards you, avoiding meeting your eyes and nervously wringing his hands together. “Okay maybe I don’t have a reason.”

Your shoulders deflated and you groaned.

“So you just made me look like an idiot for no reason.” You spat at him and he shook his head as you kept talking. “Not only an idiot but like some sketchy cheater.”

“I didn’t mean for it to be like that I just panicked.” He was rushing in his words and you were growing more confused with everything he said. Why did the idea of Heeseung taking you on a date make him panic?

“I deserve a better explanation than that Jake.” You were shaking your head now and he sighed. “I thought we were starting to be… I don’t know, friends.”

“Oh really?” He was sneering now and you faltered slightly, taken back by his sudden show of anger. “So now I’m cool enough to be friends with?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” You took a step towards him, your voice desperate in confusion.

“No don’t worry I get. Years of acting like I didn’t exist but now that I’m not a loser anymore I’m worthy of your time.” His voice was venomous and your head was swimming with confusion.

The incredulous look on your face only seemed to anger him further, neck vein protruding as he glared at you. He was holding your stare and softened just for a second at the genuine lack of understanding on your face.

“Are you talking about highschool?” You tried to keep your voice steady, wanting to understand what he was referring to without angering him. He gave you a look like it was obvious and you shook your head. “That’s not what happened at all, if anything it was the opposite.”

At this, he let out a loud scoff and took a step backwards in bewilderment. You watched him wrestle with this information, at the same time you were wracking through your memories with Jake to try and find what point in time he was referring back to.

You’d never thought of Jake as a loser, sure a little clumsy and awkward but that was the first thing you had liked about him. It wasn’t easy for you to spend time with him alone because you’d always end up embarrassing yourself, your crush on him bringing out the worst in you, but you definitely still hung out from time to time.

“You totally rejected me.” He was speaking again, his voice weaker this time as the embarrassment replaced his anger. “You not even remembering the worst day of my highschool life makes it ten times more awful.”

“Rejected you when?” Your head was starting to hurt from the crying and pure confusion. As awkward as you were around him, you know even highschool you would never have rejected Jake Sim.

“Prom.” He spat the word like it was obvious, like he was expecting you to suddenly remember your supposed rejection and make sense of this conversation but if anything it was only confusing you further. “You really just don’t remember?”

“There’s nothing to remember.” You spat out, angry at his persistent accusations. “I didn’t go to prom either year, you went with Lily and I stayed at home.”

Your stomach was turning with bitterness at the memory, this fact followed by his sudden avoidance after prom still hurt as it lingered in your mind.

“You think I wanted to go with Lily?” His laugh was humorless and cold. “Everybody knew I wanted to go with you only, I couldn’t not go just because you said no, I’d look like a total idiot.”

“Then why wouldn’t you just ask me?” Your voice was hoarse and angry but your stomach was turning at the thought of Jake wanting to go to prom with you.

You remember that year clearly, it was Jake’s final school dance and your friends had jokingly teased the possibility of him asking you. Of course at the time it seemed baseless to you, you were just friends since you’d never had the courage to put your feelings to action.

Like you had anticipated, a girl from your grade named Lily was posting the next week that she had been asked by Jake and they were going together. Even though you’d accepted long ago he’d never notice you in that way, you were still devastated and decided to spend this year at home alone.

“I did ask you.” He was stressing the words, hands thrown out in desperation for you to understand. You tensed up as you looked at him.

You started to slowly shake your head in denial and his shoulders lowered, coming to a realization.

“You never got the letter.” It wasn’t a question but a statement and the look on your face further proved it to be true. “I… I put it in your locker I don’t understand.”

“My locker?” Your voice was soft with exhaustion and a guilty look crossed his face.

“Two weeks before the dance.” He explained and he was taking a step towards you. He looked slightly relieved when you didn’t back away from him or raise your hands in rejection.

You scrunched your nose and tried to remember such a specific time in your life, only remembering one major detail that caused your face to light up in realization.

“Jake.” You groaned and he raised an eyebrow and nodded in anticipation. “Jake I had that nasty stomach flu everybody was getting. I was absent until after winter break.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time and you watched him go through different stages of remembrance, the noise of the woods and lake fading back in now that your shouts had died down.

“You never got it?” His voice was barely a whisper, almost like it wasn’t even meant for you to hear. It was a personal realization of his mistake and you reached a hand up to tug on his sleeve. His eyes shot down to your hand and then your face, eyes heavy and guilty.

if only you knew what i felt like

“Why on earth would I reject you.” You tried to keep your voice soft but it was shaking slightly with nerves as you finally voiced your longest kept secret. “Everybody knew how obsessed with you I was.”

“But I was a total idiot.” He shook his head and you took a step closer to him. “I spent so long trying to become cooler and you’re telling me it was pointless?”

He was looking down at you, in a similar stance to the multiple times you held long tensioned stares at parties and you were understanding now that similar to your casual careless persona you’d been attempting to show him, he was wearing a mask of his own.

“I liked that idiot way before I liked you, playboy.” He smiled at your light tone, arm sliding up your arm to hold your elbow and keep you standing close to him.

“Maybe I stretched the truth a tad.” His voice was low and you raised an eyebrow as you looked up at him, liking the way his bangs touched his eyebrows as he watched you.

“What about that girl you invited?” Your smile faltered slightly, remembering why you were out here on the dock in the first place. Your stomach tightened in jealously and you felt the urge to smack away his hand that was sliding to hold your lower back.

You resisted the urge, placing your hands flat on his chest and giving him the chance to explain. Miscommunication was clearly causing issues for years between the two of you.

“She practically forced her way into the van after overhearing us talk about it at a party last weekend.” He was explaining with an annoyed shake of his head and you nodded remembering Brit saying Sunghoon had a similar version of events.

“I shouldn’t have let her touch me.” He looked angry at himself and you wanted to reach up and smooth out the crease in his eyebrows. “I guess I got jealous seeing Heeseung was here. The same way I did when I ruined your date. I’m really sorry about that.”

“So instead of just asking me out yourself, you kidnapped me and took me to a beach?” You smiled softly at him and his lip quirked up slightly despite the look of guilt remaining.

“I know… I guess I’m still an idiot.” His smile fell and a pained look covered quickly his expression. “God, I made you cry.”

“Yeah you totally made me cry.” You balled your into fist against his chest and his eyes looked at the way his shirt scrunched up between your fingers. You gave him a soft smile, rocking forward and trying to ease his mind from the guilt he was feeling.

Then he was looking at you again and his tensioned eyes loosened slightly, a sudden wave of nerves washed over you at the realization of who you were currently having this conversation with.

“Did I hear you say you still liked me?” His voice was low and you felt his breath fan your face, his hand that wasn’t on your back was cupping the side of your face and making you look at him.

You were reminded of the way he held your chin at the party except this time it felt more gentle, his eyes soft and far more nervous than they had been that night.

“God, you’re an idiot.” You were shaking your head and smiling, the end of your word being cut off when he surged forward and pressed his lips hard against yours in his urgency.

Your hands on his chest started to ball up his shirt again, resisting a laugh at the force in which he kissed you, he mumbled an apology against your lips and you could feel him smiling as he cocked his head and kissed you again.

His hand had left your cheek, circling around your side to rest on your lower back with his other one as he, almost unconsciously, pulled you up and tighter against him as you rocked onto your tippy toes and back down.

Even when he pulled back to breathe, he kept you flush against him as he laid his forehead against yours and shut his eyes tight.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

[thatdeadaquarius]

@goldensunsetchild Asked:

Hello there! I know that you might be busy right now but I wanted to let you know an idea that I have, greatly inspired by your post: spanish reader who gets homesick but instead of getting depressed by it starts to do things they used to do back on their world. Dancing to their traditional dances while singing their accompanying songs, teaching the children the games they used to play when they were younger and also telling folktales to everyone who is interested in listening to. If you decide to do this idea and want to incorporate things from Costa Rica, please let me know and I'll help you with anything you need (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠✧⁠*⁠。

(Content under cut)

HELLO YES SORRY IT TOOK ME SO DAMN LONG TO GET TO THIS!! 😭 /gen

I went to Costa Rica back in highschool in 2018? I think, and when I tell you I FELL IN LOVEEEE <3333

Costa Rica is a beautiful country and everyone was really nice, vibes were immaculate 🤌 ✨

☆

Sun: Costa Rican Reader! (you/they/them)

Stars: Sumeru cast

Comets & Meteors: Content Warnings: None known & Trigger Warnings: alcohol usage/drinking game.

Orbit: Headcanons-ish

☆

when u first crash landed in Teyvat, people luckily recognized you from when u were a player!

and u took in whatever culture and traditions everyone was so excited to show you as they were kind enough to give u clothes/food/shelter etc.

butttt… it did get overwhelming after a few months, and u got homesick more and more often :(

after all there wasn’t really an equivalent country to Costa Rica, and you couldn’t just take a plane back home, you were stuck here for… however long it takes someone to leave a video game universe??

You decided to actually do smth abt the crippling depression and “outsider” feelings instead of just rotting away, and went to Sumeru to get closer to the greenery of your home,

it made you feel a little better, but it could be the best, so u decide to lowkey force everyone in Sumeru to convert to Costa Rican LMAO

so ofc u did the most logical thing to convert ppl to a culture, the food!

u helped fund a small restaurant full of classic Costa Rican foods (coughandsoyoucaneatitwheneveryouwantcough)

(u still have the insane mora leftover from what u had in game so ur basically one of the richest ppl in Teyvat ngl 💀)

u recreated just the basic gallo pinto/casado with what was available (some beans from Natlan and rice from Inazuma/Liyue, the Ajilenakh nut from Sumeru acc kinda acts like plantains :0 and local fish/greens for salad)

Needless to say Sumeru is fascinated by the new cuisine and esp since its not a secret that you’ve funded it/made the menu from your homeworld

Alhaitham orders the casado most of the time bc he “admires the exact proportions, its all the nutrients you need, perfectly balanced” NERDDD

Tighnari likes barbudos bc there's not a lot of egg dishes in Sumeru but there are a lot of greens, so he “likes the familiar in unique combinations!”

unsurprisingly, Cyno likes Chancelta bc he can pick it up, eat it quickly, and go on with his patrol

Collei, Kaveh (and secretly Dehya lol) really like being able to munch and snack on sugar cane, (and the plantain imitation desserts!)

(u found sugarcane deep in sumeru forests, it was like on ur world, but sweet flowers sprouted out of the stalks too!)

You decide the next phase was to introduce dances and other fun stuff!!

Nilou was literally shaking with excitement to learn the traditional dances <3 (and also getting ur permission to add fun twists or Sumeru elements to them)

the kids that like to hang around and watch the troupe practice (and join) absolutely got obsessed with swing criollo, it was so cute to watch them all pair up and kinda trip over their own feet trying the footwork out

(u may or may not have teared up bc the band learned how to play a Spanish song for u guys to dance to, just for you)

teaching the theater troupes musicians how to adapt upbeat songs like Caballito Nicoyano or Ticas Lindas

omg getting Nilou Kaveh Faruzan Cyno Dehya (and Dunyazard!) to do the calipso limonense always cheers you up, (which is why they are so eager to do it when ur feeling homesick ❤️‍🩹)

Kaveh steps on too many people’s toes, Dehya gets dizzy from the spins/turns easily, Faruzan keeps spinning for too long, Nilou and Dunyazard are actually secretly latina bc they're so good at it (did they outdo you?? no, no they couldn't possibly-)

and Cyno just really likes the little dance line everyone makes lol

speaking of the General Mahamatra

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

u CANNOT teach Cyno a new game from your home country, and expect him to NOT be the most competitive mf in Teyvat abt it

that's actually how u spread any games from back home, Cyno just does all the work for you and challenges ppl to things like jackses and no one knows what it is

which he then proceeds to strong arm them into learning and beat their asses at it

(yes Cyno wins against you a lot, sorry lmao)

You definitely had a drinking game centered around it one time and the consequences changed with each person who lost

like Cyno had to learn how to cook tamales that were edible, and more importantly..

Alhaitham had to at least attempt the swing criollo lol

(was it unfairly attractive? maybe. was watching Nilou, who was teaching him, and Alhaitham both do swing criollo 2x as attractive?? that's just for u and the Sumeru vision users to know)

SPEAKING OF ALHAITHAM

absolutely hilarious, yet also impressive?? how quickly he picked up ur slang

smug bastard picked it up based off sheer context/vibes too, u didn't even explain it to him, just u trying to go sit down in ur Costa Rican restaurant and he pulls u back before someone mows u down saying “hey, suave un toque-”

YOUR NECK FUCKING CRACKING BC U WHIPPED AROUND TO LOOK AT HIM SO FAST LMAOOO

(ngl u scared the fuck out of the poor scholar before he got all smug abt knowing slang)

accidentally spread this knowledge to other vision users bc he got in the habit of casually using it, tbh more often when ur not around lol (Alhaitham being caught having habits bc he's fond of other ppl?? never)

his favorite is “qué chante…😒 ” obv lol

so now the forest rangers use stuff like pura vida and tuanis sending each other off on patrols! Collei so cutely excited to explain to other Sumeru ppl or tourists where the words come from and what they mean, spreading ur Costa Rica agenda very well 👌

and the mahamatra like to use “Jale pa’la choza” when coming back from the desert to Sumeru city homebase! :)

ALSO bonus:

u absolutely got leyendas into the bedtime warning/ghost stories of the entirety of Sumeru children lmao

u start spooking kids like Dori (Nahida finds them fascinating)

and after awhile u notice Cyno and Dehya mentioning watching out at night for La Llorona or los cadejos 💀??

like you've genuinely made them paranoid, bc they wanna be sweethearts and protect you from them, like even if they don't believe they exist, they're worried you do and are trying to make u feel better lol <3

☆

an iced coffee? for me?? :O 

Blessed be Costa Rica, such a lovely country when I went, and as soon as I got off the plane coming back the first thing I did was make a Costa Rican meal the best I could

like got my mom to prep from dry black beans and rice etc. as fresh as we could get (nowhere near costa rica level btw) and made fresh guac and fried plantain chips and salmon I think? literally cooked the first night back bc I knew I missed the food already/knew id get sick

and I was RIGHT, that food I made was fine, but any other American food so bad I got nauseous

I literally got sick COMING BACK TO THE U.S like 😨???!!! I knew it was bad but not THAT bad lmao

and the first meal I had after that was still a homecooked meal, like my mom made it💀

love the coffee from there too, we even ordered coffee from the farm we visited when I got back to US it was so good (10x better than American obv)

THANK YOU BTW GOLDEN!! FOR BEING SO PATIENT AND LOVELY TELLING ME ALL ABT COSTA RICA <3333

I hope this did some amount of justice to ur beautiful home! :)

Safe Travels Golden Child,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/specifically this AU/fandom, please!")

♡my beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily

[suzukiblu]

Ko-fi thank-you sentences for Karam, plus a cut for more; Billy adopts Conner and it actually goes pretty good!

The walk over to the diner is quiet, mostly. Billy tells Lynn where some things are in Fawcett and points some stuff out in the neighborhood, but Lynn doesn’t really say much back. He nods along, though, and Billy's pretty sure he's listening. 

Maybe sure, at least. 

Worst case scenario, he figures he'll just repeat himself later. If Lynn's a little too stressed or overwhelmed to really be listening right now, well, he definitely wouldn't blame him. He's a baby, basically! Everything's gotta be so new and weird and overwhelming for him right now.

Billy isn’t gonna push. Not on day one, when they don’t even know each other yet. Lynn can take his time all he wants right now. It’s not like he’s hurting anyone, or even himself. So Billy just has to be patient with him while he learns stuff, same as any little kid he’s met in the system or on the streets. 

They get to the diner and Lynn hangs back a little bit. Billy suspects Cadmus did really not prepare him for restaurant etiquette and stuff like that, considering. He’s pretty positive it didn’t, in fact. Billy doesn’t go to many restaurants himself, but . . . 

It’s fine, he figures. He just needs to be a good example for Lynn, that’s all. And that’s what he always needs to do right now, so it’s no big deal. 

He hopes he’s being a good example, anyway. He really wants Lynn to be able to trust that he is one, so he can know he has someone to learn from, so . . . yeah. 

Billy goes to the counter, politely gives their fake last name–Batman would not appreciate them half-assing the new secret identities–and tips the waitress twenty percent and thanks her. It’s kind of a lot of food, but they have super-strength and a fridge for leftovers, so he figures it’ll be fine. 

He does feel a little nauseous over how much money he just spent, though. 

Batman gave them way more money than that, Billy reminds himself as he gathers up the bags. And there’ll be more next week. And if they actually somehow run out or just have an emergency, he can just fill out the League paperwork to requisition funds to make up for it. They could spend way more than this and still be fine. 

He’s pretty sure takeout is still gonna be a special occasions only thing, though. And couponing. Couponing is definitely gonna be a thing. 

It’s just a lot of money. 

Billy gets all of the bags juggled into his arms. Lynn looks awkward again and shifts Tawky under his other arm. 

“I can carry it,” he says stiffly. 

“Well, if you wanna,” Billy says. “We could split it?” 

“. . . sure,” Lynn says, still stiff. Billy smiles at him and offers him a couple of the bags. Lynn frowns, but takes them. Billy figures it makes sense Lynn wants to help; that’s pretty normal with little kids. Like, they always wanna do what the older kids are doing, or the adults, or just whoever. So it makes sense Lynn would too, especially if Cadmus didn’t teach him this stuff to begin with. He’s learning, basically. So yeah, it’s normal. 

And also a good sign, Billy hopes, if Lynn trusts he knows what he’s doing enough to copy him. It’s even sorta cute, actually. 

. . . okay, it’s really cute, but Lynn’s kinda a teenager so he might not appreciate hearing that. 

Still cute, though. 

They walk back to the apartment–back home, which is a weird thought, Billy recognizes fleetingly but tries not to focus on right now–and Billy unpacks all the food onto the coffee table in the living room. He figures that’ll be lower-pressure than the kitchen table for their first meal together, and they can put a show or a movie on if Lynn doesn’t want to talk too much or anything. 

Lynn sets Tawky on the end of the table, looking a little awkward about it. Billy smiles encouragingly at him. Tawky doesn’t really need to eat either in his stuffed animal form, but it’s nice that Lynn’s including him at lunch. And food does still taste good, obviously. 

“What do you wanna try first?” he asks, nudging the open box of onion rings over towards Tawky. He knows he likes them. Lynn frowns, looking a little wary. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he says stiffly. “Just . . . whatever.” 

“Okay,” Billy says, figuring that means he’s a little overwhelmed by the options. They did order a lot, so . . . yeah, that makes sense. “How about the soup, then?” 

“. . . sure,” Lynn mutters, and warily pulls the takeout bowl over to himself and takes the lid off. Billy offers him a spoon. Lynn frowns, but takes it. “. . . thanks.” 

“You’re welcome,” Billy says cheerfully. Setting a good example, and all.

[aha-chuu]

That event though,,,,,

So Kaveh wins and refuses the money because of all the baggage attached, which Alhaitham already kinda knew about cos it's the whole reason he's involved. Anyway they're still roommates.

But mostly.

Kaveh takes leftovers home

Alhaitham expects him to do this

All his friends know he keeps talking about Alhaitham

Alhaitham worries too - all that stuff about Kaveh's dad and the guilt comes up and Alhaitham keeps trying to shut it down!

Kaveh thanks Alhaitham!!

Alhaitham is a teasing bastard who wants three thankus, please 🥺

Kaveh invited Alhaitham to dinner too, his treat

Alhaitham got all "uhh yes um yes that no no thanku" babe do you want him to take you on a date. Is that it.

Rn I'm getting a lot more pining vibes from Alhaitham but he's too tsundere to actually get any of it across, plus he quite likes whatever the fuck they have going on rn. Meanwhile Kaveh is trying to fuck off, sort of, except every time his friends ask him if he's okay he doesn't tell them so there's literally no opportunity for him to move out which sounds like he doesn't actually wanna move out tbh.

Like, he gets the prize money and he is a person of integrity so he doesn't take it. But some people characterise Alhaitham as weirdly abusive (which is wrong, just incorrect) but if he were actually like that then Kaveh would be surely desperate enough to take some of the money just to rent a new place?? Or at least take Cyno's money when he first offers, or accept the research funding so he can get more work - but Kaveh isn't desperate at all to leave.

If you read Kaveh's character stories, you know he mostly just feels guilty about putting Alhaitham out. But Alhaitham likes Kaveh living with him!!

They are very much still bickering old married couple who have divorced twice etc, but I do think this event is a stepping stone to a slightly more overtly stable dynamic. Kinda like how Diluc and Kaeya went from outright malice to something more understanding. We'll almost certainly see more Alhaitham in Kaveh's hangout event, so I'm sure more groundwork will be laid there.

Anyway yeah it's good, really very good. Kaveh is a great character on his own but their ship also exists and is very cute - I also am not certain, but to my knowledge they are the ship that has had the most dialogue in game together? Except a few traveller ships but, you know, that's 49.9% Paimon, 0.1% traveller.

I hope you all liked the event too! I wonder if there are secret locations to find everyone in after the fact?

[fangirl-writes]

Pop the Question

John B. Routledge x Fem!Reader; Topper Thornton x Ex!Reader

Also featured: Kiesarah and Cleopope

Warning(s): Swearing, underage drinking, jealous Topper

Request: Hey, can I please have a request John B x Reader, where your on the docks with the pogues, just sitting by the water. You and John B are flirting, while Kiara, Pope and JJ are teasing you guys. Then Your ex Topper comes along being an asshole because he’s jealous.. on his boat. He asked you why your with John B and not with him.. because he hasn’t accepted the fact that you don’t like him anymore. Then John B blurts out your something more than just dating.. you said your husband and wife. Toppers reaction is too good not to laugh at! Thank you so much, love your writing because it’s amazing 🥰

Notes: This is waaaaay overdue. I'm so sorry. I had the hardest time writing it for some reason.

Anyway, I went back and forth between wanting this to take place before the seasons began or after and ended up going with after because it made more sense in my head.

It had been exactly one year since the pogues returned to the Outer Banks after getting the gold.

Alongside being hired by various high-status people to be essentially treasure hunters, they were getting used to living the good life.

John B. had a house built on the ruins of the old chateau, which JJ, Sarah, and you immediately moved into. Pope took his share into a college fund and Kiara donated to conservation efforts, with plenty leftover because come on it was actual gold. 

Historic actual gold.

Of course, Rafe Cameron was still a pain in the ass and Topper was more of dick every time they saw him.

But none of that mattered today.

Because today they were boating and drinking some cold ones in celebration of a year on.

A year since John B. and Sarah said goodbye to their fathers.

For the second time. For the last time.

John B. was laying on the dock, feet dangling above the water, waiting for Pope and JJ to get back from filling up the HMS with gas. Kiara and Sarah were cuddled up behind him, Kie whispering sweet nothings into Sarah’s ear.

It was a bittersweet day. Such that if the weather were to match his emotions, it would be raining.

But the sky was blue, the water was clear, it was a perfect day.

The sound of footsteps coming down the dock drew John B. from his thoughts and he sat up to see you coming towards him.

You were holding a cooler, swinging it alongside you as you walked, flip-flops smacking all the while.

The sight brought him back to the beach, where you were walking towards him all dressed in white, barefoot on the sand.

A bright smile came across your lips when you met his eyes and he couldn’t help but smile back.

And suddenly his gray skies became sunny.

It had been a long road for the two of you, but your relationship was finally on a steady path.

After all the drama with his dad, the gold, his brief fling with Sarah, and all that time stuck on a deserted island, sometimes he couldn't believe he still had you.

“Hey, beautiful,” John B. greeted, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and kissing your temple.

“Hey,” you replied, a small blush dusting your cheeks. “Hey guys.”

“Hey,” the girls replied, Sarah still lying in Kiara’s lap.

"Here, let me get that for you," John B. said, taking the cooler from your grip.

"Thanks, handsome."

"No problem, babe."

"Uh-oh, are JB and Y/N smothering us with their flirting again?" JJ said as Pope drove the HMS up to the dock.

"No, thankfully, you interrupted before they could get started," Kiara said, standing up with Sarah.

"Come on, you act like you weren't just showering Sarah with compliments," John B. retorted.

"At least I have the decency to keep it between us."

"You're all just jealous of how perfect our relationship is."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself," Kiara said, allowing JJ to help her step into the boat before doing the same with Sarah.

"You two really are insufferable sometimes," Pope piped up.

"Oh, you really wanna start this, Pope? Cause I can bring up exactly what I saw you and Cleo doing yesterday," John B. replied.

Pope blushed and JJ wolf-whistled.

"Okay, let's not bring Pope's exploits into this," You said, patting him on the shoulder. "We've got a celebration to be having."

"Now there's some sense," JJ said, grabbing for the cooler in John B.'s hand. "Let's get this party started."

But, as usual, something had to spoil the fun before it even began.

The noise of Topper's boat engine caught everyone's attention as he stalked over, the usual pissed-off look resting on his face as he glowered at you all.

You could feel John B. tense next to you and you grabbed his hand.

No, you wouldn’t let this lead to a fight. Not again, not today.

“Hi, Topper,” You said, painting on a smile.

“I see you big fish pogues still like to hang out around the bottom of the pond,” he said. “Good to see nothing’s changed.”

“Topper, go home,” Sarah spoke up, completely over his holier-than-thou attitude.

“Sorry, Sarah, but I’m actually not here for you. I want to talk to Y/N.”

You frowned.

“You ready to tell me why you’re with Routledge here and not me? Because if it’s the money you’re after, I’ll say I have plenty of it.”

You rolled your eyes. “You ready to accept that I’m over you and that your money is actually your parents’?”

You and Topper dated for a while after John B. and Sarah went missing. At the time, you both needed a shoulder to cry on and, unfortunately, found each other.

JJ, Pope, and Kiara still haven’t forgiven you for abandoning them for Topper during that time. But it didn’t stop them from telling you when your friends turned up alive, and you'd all moved passed it by now.

Except, it seemed, for Topper. “You didn’t answer me.”

“I shouldn’t have to," You snapped. "Topper, you and I have been over for so long. Please let this go.”

“No, Y/N, I won’t let this go because you-”

“Topper, man, seriously, we’re just trying to have a nice day. Can we not do this?” John B. asked, trying with every bone in his body to stay calm.

"I wasn't talking to you, Routledge, butt out."

"Anything that involves Y/N involves me too."

"Oh yeah? You're that kind of boyfriend? Surprised she lets you control her that much."

"Fuck off, Topper, he doesn't control me!" You shouted.

"You know, just because you're his girlfriend doesn't mean you have to follow his orders."

You were fuming. Your mouth opened to say something else, but John B. beat you to it.

“She’s not actually my girlfriend,” he said, a smirk tugging at his mouth.

Topper seemed caught off guard by this response. “Wh-what? She’s not?”

You smiled, reaching into your bag.

“No, didn’t you hear?”

The group around you began to snicker and grin.

Topper’s face flushed, embarrassed and no doubt feeling like he was missing something.

“Yeah, I’m not his girlfriend,” you said before holding up your left hand where a glittering ring now sat on your finger. “I’m his wife.”

You wished you'd have been thinking enough to get a picture of his reaction.

He looked like a fish the way his mouth opened and closed with nothing coming out of it.

John B. put an arm around your shoulders, his own wedding ring now on and sparkling in the sun. "Husband and wife, that's us. Had a nice little wedding on the beach and everything."

If looks could kill, your husband would be dead where he stood.

"Whatever. I'm done with all of you pogues. Have a nice life."

Topper put his boat in gear and started driving away while the rest of you waved sarcastically.

"Au Revoir!"

"Hasta Lavista!"

"Bon Voy-agee!"

"Hey!" Cleo came running down the dock. "Sorry 'm late! Got caught up at da market...did I miss somethin'?"

The group of you laughed.

"Nah," you said. "Nothing important."

"If you say so," Cleo replied with a shrug, taking Pope's hand as she jumped into the boat.

You nuzzled further into John B., playing with his wedding band. "That felt good."

"Good? That was fantastic? Did you see his face?" JJ said. "I want it framed."

The others animatedly dove into the story of what just happened to catch Cleo up while John B. settled for pressing light kisses to your neck.

"Feeling a little possessive there, Mr. Routledge?" You asked with a grin.

He hummed. "What do I need to be possessive for, Mrs. Routledge? I don't think I need to worry about him anymore."

[cookie-crumblr]

Lucky

Shy M!Reader x F!Yandere OC

Part 2~

Her Info: 🪓

Part 1

<<<Previous Part _ Next Part>>>

!!!MINORS DNI!!!

CW: M! Reader, Reader has a penis, Reader referred to as he/him, psychological horror/trauma, reader is on meds for night terrors, blood, bdsm, collar use, petnames for reader(good boy, bad boy), pet play, bondage, non con(reader goes along with it but doesn’t actually consent), Lucy has SH scars/wounds, overstim, multiple orgasms scissors ✂️ masochist reader

Anything in red reader isn’t aware of.

Lucy passes you a folded pink piece of paper, her eyes locked onto the board as the professor is teaching.

You unfold it: ty <3

is all it says along with a ton of hearts doodled all over the stationary.

Your face feels hot. She sucked your dick and is now thanking you for it… What do you even think?

What are you supposed to think? or even feel?

~

You get up at the end of class to leave, but Lucy grabs the hem of your shirt. She looks zoned out, so you say, “Lucy?” to try and get her attention.

“Ope! sorry! um, C-can I c-come over, Y/N?”

You don’t see why not, you have nothing left to do today… “Sure!” you hate to fantasize already… But if she did that in public, imagine what she’ll do later.

The walk to your place is quick and easy, but Lucy stops you, her stomach growling loudly.

“You wanna get some food first? I don’t really have anything at home…” You tell her sheepishly.

She nods excitedly and grabs your hand. You don’t pull it away, and she tugs you along after her.

She’s grinning as she leads you, her hips swaying back and forth… You can’t help but stare just at her. Her skirt swishing over her—

Don’t keep staring at her ass.

DONT STARE AT HER ASS.

…

You’re staring at her ass.

You can’t help it, it’s mesmerizing. Her long orange hair is down right to her tailbone, adding to the allure. She has long white socks on that squish her thick thighs just below her skirt, the rims of the socks are frilly.

Lucy leads you to a cute tea cafe, the awning is pink and white, the inside is filled with regal looking chairs, the fancy ones with the carved wood along the backs. The upholstery is all pale pink velvet, and the tables instead of cloths have doilies and each table has a candle warmer for teapots.

She orders food from every section of the menu and you worry she’ll make you pay… Your heart pounds and you’re sweating bullets, there’s no way you can afford this much food! the worst part: the menu didn’t even have prices!

“I-um, I can pay, i-if that’s okay!” She looks away blushing. You remember that she’s a trust fund baby, and sigh in relief.

“Oh thank gods, Lucy, you just scared the shit outta me! hah!” You laugh.

“Really!?” Her eyes light up as if that’s a good thing, she looks excited.

All you can do is laugh a little.

When her food arrives all the platters take up the entire table and they have to bring a stand for the rest.

She eats really adorably, every bite she takes, she looks more and more excited, and each one is complemented by a cute “mm!” It’s infectious, and she shares her favorites, holding out her fork for you to take bites.

“Here! try this!” She holds her arm out to you, a powder sugar and fruit covered french toast bite. “And this one!” the food is still in your mouth when she hands you another bite of something, her eyes alight with joy, as you try to finish fast and accept the new bite.

She’s loving how obedient you’re being…

You have plenty of dishes to choose from, and she seems to hone in on the things you favor over the others, making sure you get the biggest portion of the things you like.

Once your both stuffed with possibly the best literal feast that you’ve had in months, she asks the waite staff for a bag to carry everything in. You never saw the receipt, and you’re happy not to.

“Do you normally do this kinda thing? with all the food?”

“Nope! hehe!” She giggles.

~

You fill your previously empty fridge with enough leftovers to eat for DAYS. and with real cafe food! not cheap ramen!! She made sure you’d be eating decently, rather than your typical cheap ramen.

“Hey Lu—” the second you turn away from the fridge she’s on you.

Lips crashing upon you, her body’s hot against yours. She’s grabbing at your hands and trying to pin them behind you. You aren’t fighting her. You feel her knee pressing against your bulge.

She bites your lip not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to send a pang of lovely pleasure through your bloodstream and into your growing member. You sigh into her mouth which she happily swallows up with a little moan.

She lets go of your hands but you keep them folded behind you, before you hear the sound of a jingling metal buckle.

She slips something thick around your neck and with a *clink* She pulls away, holding a leash that’s attached to your neck.

“Lu-Lucy! What is this??” You lift up a heavy, and very old looking ornate iron lock that’s connected to your collar.

You go to the bathroom and she follows you like an owner walking their dog. In the mirror you see that it’s a thick black leather, with a shiny rose gold buckle. “Lucy! Do you have the key?? G-Give it to me!” Your voice cracks, you didn’t agree to this!

“No can do~ Now be a good boy and get on the bed.”

You gulp as your dick twitches at her words… “Wh-what!?”

“I said: on the bed. Now, Y/N.”

You don’t know why, but you obey her, sitting on the edge of your mattress nervously.

“Good boy~,” she smiles and pats your head.

“Lucy-”

“Puppies don’t talk.”

“Wha-! Lucy I’m not—!!”

She yanks the leash wrapping the leather around and around her hand, and drags you back off the bed. The back of your neck burns as she does.

“Bad Boy.”

You swallow painfully and rub at your neck.

“Are you ready to be a good boy again now?”

You nod.

Lucy ties your leash around the leg of your bed, where you are, it’s taught so your only option is to get back on the bed, or stay on the wood floor. She pulls out a large pair of scissors, “Don’t worry, I’ll buy you new clothes Y/N!” her voice is chipper and it makes you more nervous.

She starts cutting off your clothes slowly, you feel the cool metal occasionally grazing you, and it makes you shudder.

You aren’t sure anymore how you got to this point.

Soon you’re in nothing but your underwear and she makes you get back on the bed. She retrieves another leather strip from her bag and returns to you, using it to tie your wrists together above your head.

“Such a good boy! I’m so proud of you!! And good boys get rewarded!” giddily she climbs over you on the bed, scissors back in hand.

*sniiiiiip*

Slowly, the last article of clothing is removed from you, and you’re left completely bare to her. It’s a little bit humiliating like this.

Her eyes are dark, not at all what you’re used to, yeah you’ve seen it before, but you never thought she’d be like this secretly!? But… Are you into it? Your dick is certainly saying you are. Wait… Didn’t you just read or watch something just like this?

Now that your cock is freed and cold, she gets over you and puts her hot, clothed pussy just against your head, you groan from the sudden shift in temperature, oh my gods, your dick wants to get inside and warm up so badly. It twitches under her. You’re eyes had closed and without you paying attention you hear the shears open again…

There’s no clothes left to cut—

“L-Lucy!?” The twin blades sit at the base of your cock, the metal presses up against your underside. “Lucy, please—”

“Be a good boy, and you won’t get hurt.”

“Lucy this isn’t funny!”

She presses the metal harder against you, indenting your sensitive skin. You struggle against the binds, but she tied them really tight!

“I’ll give you your reward still for being such a good boy today, and prove to you that you enjoy this.”

“Wha-” You start as she slips her panties out of the way and lowers herself, just your cock head entering her and that’s it. She holds herself there and struggles to breathe for a second, before shuddering over you.

You feel her pussy contracting trying to milk something that’s not even fully inside her yet. The scissors are still at your base otherwise you might’ve bucked up into her, but you remain laying still. She starts rotating her hips, teasing just your head longer. You whine and try to pull your wrists free, but they burn against the tightly wrapped leather.

She shimmies down a little at a time, gasping as she does, and once your fully inside her, she lifts her skirt for you to see her puffy blushing lips spread, and flat against your body. Your cock is swallowed up inside of her, it’s enough to— Wait, Her thighs, they’re covered in raised scars and pink bandages…

“Lucy…” You want to ask, or hug her… Or something. She reaches behind her and squeezes the scissors slightly pinching your cock’s skin, “Lucy!!” You gasp and this time, harshly buck up into her, knocking her around and she lets the scissors fall to the floor.

“Ahh!!” Her voice is strained, and your dick throbs inside her.

You take a breath, all the relief that instantly floods your body is so dizzying.

Her insides pulse around you, you know she’s cumming again, and you can’t take the sensation and cum yourself, thrusting your hips up as high as you can, “Ahhhhh!!!” She yells out as your load shoots deep inside of her.

“Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!! thankyouthankyouthankuouuuu!!!!” she moves her hips around as her insides keep milking you, driving you mad!

Your struggling against your bindings again whining and writhing as she continues to torture you. “Lucy!! Lucy!!” You beg but to her it sounds like a chant of praise.

She goes harder, lifting and dropping herself onto you. your body feels tired now. She leans back holding herself up with your legs and at this angle you can actually see the base of your somehow still hard cock stretching her open, she’s whimpering and you can feel that she’s about to come again.

The sweat slicked to your skin finally allows you to slip free from the strap around your wrist, your hands are burning and bruised, you sit up as far as the leash allows and grab onto her.

You push her down onto you and force yourself up as hard as you can. You cum together, and spend a while just catching your breath.

[tetsunabouquet]

When Eyes Meet (Murasakibara Atsushi)

A/N: Here I decided to make a Murasakibara version of an Aomine fic I wrote. The Soulmate concept belongs to the American comic series, ElfQuest. Aomine - Kise - Kagami - Kuroko - Akashi - Midorima

You already had gathered the small excess pile of candy, and was waiting for Murasakibara. Because of health conditions, you were often dealing with fatique and dizziness. As a result, your mom had began packing your bag with a bag of candy every day. "You're always low on energy, so it would be good for you to eat a few whenever you get your dizzy spells, sweetheart!" Your mom had chirped when you spotted her doing that. She had a point. But the bag she always bought, contained various flavors. You liked most of them, but the strawberry one was so sweet you felt like you would vomit pure sugar. Your mother agreed. So now, you were left habitually with strawberry leftovers. Thankfully, one of the wealthiest kids in school had a gigantic sweet tooth, and a roommate that would limit his amount of times to the local grocery store. His name was Murasakibara, and with Himuro around, it pretty much drove Murasakibara to your pile of strawberry sweets like an ant that had gotten a whiff of sugar. He bought your excess strawberry candy, and he paid the original bag price. You had thought of just asking for half the price of the bag, considering the strawberry ones made up like 25% of the bag at best and still have profit, but Murasakibara always paid the full price. When you asked him about it, he said he did it so you would keep selling them to him only. To make up for his kindness, you always gave him any of the leftovers of the flavors you did like too. And so, he basically funded your sugar rush. Both the two of you were pretty grateful to Murasakibara, it was a somewhat expensive fix, buying candy for your dizzy spells every day. You felt yourself perk as you saw his large figure approach you, and you waved. "Murasakibara-san." You greeted, as the purplette stood still in front of you. "What's up y/n-chin?" He asked lazily, but not at all disinterested. "Pretty good, today wasn't bad. I have a few lemon left too." You turnt around to the pile, scopping them up into your hands. Murasakibara's eyes glittered like a child's when the candies slipped into his hands, and if you didn't think he was worried about dropping one then it would almost appear as if Murasakibara withdrew his hands from yours a little too slowly. You walked with him, side by side. It was peaceful, as it usually was. Whenever you were walking side by side with Murasakibara, it felt calming. Like his presence sent a wave of comfort down your spine. You often wondered if he considered you a casual friend, like you saw him. He often left you guessing, and whilst it annoyed you, somehow you felt way too nervous to actually ask him if you were friends. Why you did not know, or perhaps you did but you just rather didn't want to really face it.

You later on wondered outside of the campus, considering Yosen was a boarding school. It was a really nice day, in Akita. You enjoyed the afternoon sun. As you turnt around the corner, you saw Murasakibara resting under a tree, eating chips. "Hey!" You greeted, looking at him. "Hello, y/n-chin." He greeted, as he stuffed his mouth full. You gestured at the spot next to him, and with a small nod, you sat next to him under the tree. "It's a nice day, isn't it?" You asked, and received another nod. You relaxed against the bark, the sweet breeze filling your lungs, playing a bit with your hair. The scent of food and nature filled the air. "Hey, I thought Himuro had limited your chips stack?" You questioned, curiously. "He Recognized last month, he's a lot more busy nowadays." Murasakibara confided to you, and your eyes widened out of surprise. "That's great news! I'm happy for him!" You chirped. Recognition was a natural phenomenon that happened as long as mankind could remember. People had always had two names. One used by everyone, and one more intimate, special. The name of their soul. This was a name one would only share with their parents, perhaps a sibling or a friend as close as a sibling. There was one special instance, where someone knew your name instinctively. Recognition was when two people would lock their eyes, and somehow, they'd know the other's soul name. Recognition usually led to a lifelong romance. It was, as society dubbed it, 'the moment you knew you found your soulmate.' Many people had wondered how Recognition worked. There seemed no pattern, no rule. Some people Recognized upon first glance, others did after already knowing their partner for a while. Some even had known the person they Recognized since childhood. It just happened. Recognized couples looked so happy, it seemed like there was a superior type of romance about it. It made fairy tales with their talk about true love, make a lot more sense. Hearing Himuro found the love of his life was great news, obviously, but there was a little nagging voice at the back of your mind. One that told you to push the topic. Murasakibara just continued to much silently. "But if you can buy snacks again, you don't really need my candy deal, anymore, do you?" You asked, realizing that for the past month, Murasakibara had been buying your candy whilst he had access to his old snacks again. "I don't need it, but I like your candy." You looked at him curiously. "Do I need to remind you that you buy them for the full price? Why do that when I'm at best giving a third of the bag?" "I know. But it tastes better when it comes from you." Murasakibara mumbled, looking even more interested in his chips then usual. Your heart skipped a beat. "Murasakibara-san," you breathed with a small blush, trying to think of what to say. Murasakibara turnt to look at you, his violet eyes staring into your e/c ones. "Huh? I thought I told you I want your candy for myself," his voice sent shivers down your spine. 'Is it my candy, or is it me, Murasakibara, that you want for yourself?' The thought hit you, and you bit your lip. As you tried to take a deep breath and stared into his eyes, wanting to take the leap of confession; the universe gave you a helping hand. "Mahr?" The name came to you, and Murasakibara quickly turnt away. You watched as he stood up, and he looked at you with a surprisingly red face. "I think I need to be alone now. I'd like to talk to you later though, Shiel-chin." Your face broke out in a large grin, and you nodded. Finding the love of your life, was definitely a moment that you'd need to sink in so you watched him go in peace. A happy, serene smile plastered on your face. This was only just the beginning.

[cream-stew]

did someone say zhongli 😏

he’s so kind to you such a sweet man always smiling at you and asking how you’ve been doing. he’s always buying you expensive gifts (funded by the funeral parlour cos he has no money 💀) and you just say thank you and smile at him. he loves the way your face gets all flushed and your ears turn red from the attention he gives you.

but little do you know how much of a pervert this man is. the gifts he gives you are innocent at first, like flowers and sweets but then he starts to but you more interesting stuff… collars, thigh garters and a white piece of lace that somewhat resembles a blindfold. but you think he’s just being nice! he’s buying you all these things so you must thank him! but you don’t thank him the way he wants to. he thinks-no he KNOWS you’re soooo innocent and he just wants you to realise how much he wants you. how he strokes himself every night thinking about how warm you would feel around him. how cute your face would be begging him for more and more pleasure while he fucks you wearing all the lewd accessories he’s bought you. so when you thank him for that pink vibrating massager that he gifted you he tells you that there’s another way that you can thank him for such a gift.

🔞 minors dni

warnings: perv zhongli, corruption kink kinda?, afab reader, sex toys, collars and blindfolds are mentioned but not actually used during sex

// note: anon I loved this one, thank you for sending it in🤝 it has an open ending bc I felt it was a good place to stop writing but I kinda want to write a part 2 now sdfghgfd let me know if that's a thing someone would want

he watches intently as you accept another vase filled with colorful flowers, arranged in a tasteful display, and immediately sweep away to set it down on your dining table. he follows you into your house, gently closing the door  behind his back as you thank him for the flowers. he nods in reply, a fond smile on his face.

you two chat amiably as you serve dinner, the conversation lulling only when you're too busy chewing, and restarting while you sip some good wine afterwards, sitting down on your balcony.

he's such a nice man! he's usually so busy with his work, but he always has time to keep you company, even bringing you sooo many gifts that you barely have any leftover space!

you really don't notice the way he looks at you, though… as if he could eat you up in a few bites. but he's never been one to give up, the opposite actually: the thought of corrupting someone as cute and innocent as you makes it even more interesting!

his lust is still manageable, at first, but then he starts gifting you clothes instead, and his heart almost stops when you seat him in your living room and tell him you're going to try on the clothes immediately.

he'd started small, of course, and this first gift isn't skimpy at all: it's a long dress that almost reaches the floor, clearly designed to be worn either by someone slightly taller than you or with high heels, and the only mildly revealing part of it is the way it leaves your back completely bare, free for him to ogle. he really wants to trail his fingertips down your spine…

he thinks he can try something more explicit next time, so in just a couple of days he's back with a collar, and as naive as you are, you try it on for him with no suspicions !! it fits snugly against your neck, the leather shiny in the candlelight of your home, and you thank him for the gift even if the collar sits kind of tight around your throat.

you have no idea why he gulps and makes a weird face when you tell him it gives you a bit of trouble when swallowing…

he comes back with a pair of thigh garters, and since you're wearing a skirt already you want to try them on without first retreating to your bedroom. the way they sit on your thigh, though, you can't even see them from under your skirt :( you pout at him as you bunch up your skirt, telling him just that, and somehow you completely miss the hungry look he shoots you.

(that night, back at his house, he jerks off to the thought of fucking you for the first time, fantasizing about plunging his cock into your wet pussy from behind as he holds you still by the garters.)

"it's a blindfold", he explains some days later when you two meet again at your house, taking back his latest gift from your hands and stepping behind you to demonstrate how to put it on, covering your eyes with the soft lace, "it is always useful to have on hand", you have no ideas what use it could possibly have, but he'd never lie to you!

he turns you around so you're facing him again, his hands cupping your cheeks, and you smile up at him even if you can't see him.

(he jerks off again, this time fantasizing about fucking your face while you're wearing the blindfold, pliant and helpless as you gag on his cock.)

he can't take it anymore !! he needs to have you !!

he gifts you a vibrating massager next, a bright pink thing that you absolutely have no idea what to do with!

you thank him with a kiss on his cheek, but he seems to be waiting for something else, probably for you to try out the new thing, so you deflate in shame and admit you don't know what it is nor how to use it...

he gives you another weird expression at that, but he quickly turns it into a smile. "would you like me to show you? it is quite an useful object, it'd be a pity to let it go to waste", and you nod eagerly, letting him press a hand to the small of your back and lead you into your own bedroom.

you sit on the bed, and he tells you to press the rounded end of the object in between your legs, holding it right against your pussy lips even through your thin shorts.

you find this kind of weird, but you trust him, you really do! so you look up at him with a smile as he explains what to do next. "press that button when you're ready to try", he instructs, sitting down next to you, and you take a deep breath.

the thing (a vibrating massager, he called it?) starts vibrating very very harshly, dragging a gasp out of you and making you almost drop it to the floor!

he's quicker than you, though, grabbing the massager and keeping it pressed to your pussy as you shake and gasp again. "does it hurt?", he asks, his voice soft, as you fall back against the bed and he looms over you. there are tears in your eyes already but no, it doesn't hurt…? it feels really really good. he laughs when you tell him that, and grabs your wrist when you try to take the massager back from him. "relax, this is still part of the gift"

you nod, your sight blurred with tears, and you let him move the massager up and down over your folds, your panties and shorts soaked through with your fluids. you eventually cum, moaning loudly and drooling a little bit, staring up at his heated gaze, finally realizing that maybe his intentions towards you aren't so pure…

he turns the massager off and lets you catch your breath, before moving closer to strip you, his index finger gathering some of your slick to give it a taste.

"what do we say when we receive a gift?"

"t- thank you", you stutter, and he grins again.

"oh, this sounded quite halfhearted, did you not like the gift?", he teases, and you shake your head furiously. it had felt really good, how could you have disliked it ?! "then, how about you show me how thankful you are?"

[taradactyls]

The full Bennet Family Finances endnote from Ch33

I’ve been doing some more maths (ch26 has the initial discussion) on the savings that our characters might do/should’ve done since it’s fascinating to me and some of the comments I’ve been getting have been making me think more about it. One of the common themes is surprise at just how negligent the Bennets were at saving, instead of merely being stretched thin by expenses. I understand this completely, as it isn’t something that’s explicit in an easily recognisable way for modern audiences.

So, where could they have been more economical? They don’t go to London, no one has a gambling addiction, all travelling (which was EXPENSIVE) is done cost effectively, and they certainly didn’t spend all the money on tutors and the like for their daughters. I’m sure there’s actual academic papers by historians on this (I miss my uni access to those so much) but I can take some educated guesses.

We know Mrs Bennet is just bad with household management. Part of which might mean ordering too much food (it’s mentioned she keeps a good table, so this is as close to canon as we can get) and perhaps not being efficient with what she does order, ie wanting different meats from night to night, instead of having the leftovers served as stews or whatnot, not keeping an eye on the prices of sugar, salt, etc to buy when they’re cheap, making special orders instead of purchasing what’s readily available, etc. We know none of the Bennet women assist in the kitchen (as the Lucases do) so that’s more work for servants and thus likely to contribute to the need of an extra servant or higher wages. Household management could also be more innocuous things like always buying the expensive bees-wax candles, instead of using tallow when guests aren’t around or in out-of-the-way rooms. And being inefficient with candle usage (this is likely a Mr Bennet flaw too, if he enjoys reading in his library at night) in order to have a room better lit than strictly necessary. There was a reason families all tended to gather in one room after dark, and the Bennets notably don’t. Also having fires in all the principal rooms instead of just the ones likely to be used that day. If there’s ways to be inefficient with funds when it comes to cleaning, I’m sure they found a way there, too. Basically, anything that requires forward planning to help with economy would be lacking.

 But that’s all ‘essentials’ just done inefficiently, what luxuries might they have had? They have the income to warrant their carriage, horses, and it seems Mr Bennet does hunt, but that’s also a standard expense for his wealth, so let’s focus on what might be pushing them to their limits. Other than the over-provisioned dining table, which we’ve mentioned, nothing about their socialising habits seems excessive. Mrs Bennet’s love of fashion could be pushing her wardrobe bill up, Mr Bennet’s love of books could be a VERY expensive hobby, and of course – five daughters out at once. Having five daughters out (especially unnecessarily as Lydia and even Kitty were quite young to be out) cost a LOT of money. Lady Catherine was rude as anything, but her surprise at the fact was warranted. Other than money, it also meant the daughters were in direct ‘competition’ for the same limited amount of suitors, which theoretically might hurt the elder girls’ chances. Five distinct wardrobes for young women which needed gowns for all occasions, going through dance shoes and gloves very quickly, bonnets, etc, all added up. At the start of the book multiple hundreds of pounds a year would be going to keeping their daughters looking the part while mixing in society.

But Jane’s only twenty-one or twenty-two at the start of the novel, and came out at fifteen at the earliest. Yet the Bennets still never saved money, and never overspent their income, so there were other expenses they were able to drop which had been preventing them from saving money for the first sixteen or so years of their marriage. I think it’s fair to assume there’s random, one-time bigger expenses that were undertaken with any substantial spare money: perhaps the hermitage Mrs Bennet mentions is a newer addition, was the coach (which are normally ordered around the start of a marriage) refitted more recently, how often is the décor of Longbourn updated (and on that note, are things like the sofa reupholstered or completely replaced), do they impulse buy vases and sculptures, make sure whatever alcohol they do buy (which appears to be a reasonable amount for their class) is the expensive stuff, etc. Whatever it is, it’s a both parent problem. Mrs Bennet is bad at money management and instead of changing her habits or preparing her daughters for financial hardship puts pressure on them to marry (preferably rich, but she doesn’t seem to have a complaint about Wickham in that regard). Mr Bennet is smart enough to see that there is a problem and how to fix it, but after his first idea fails (have a son to break the entail and thus provide for his widow and other children – which doesn’t even necessarily mean the girls would get a dowry, just that they would never live in poverty) does nothing to reassess the issue or find a solution. He essentially shrugs his shoulders and lets his daughters shift for themselves. One parent is too stressed about money and only addresses it negatively, and the other isn’t stressed enough and doesn’t address it seriously at all. Neither do anything productive, even though changing their habits would be enough to fix it. I love them, but MASSIVE parenting failure on their end; and hinted to occur because the parents were too used to comforts and different themselves to be able to work together and act on a solution.

Now for some actual MATHS! Which, yes, I realise I am strangely excited about.

The idea that most of the Bennets’ money is spent by having so many daughters out at once seems to keep popping up in my time on the internet. So, I thought it would be interesting to see what their dowries could be if that five-daughters-out-at-once money wasn’t spent on other things before any daughters were out. Costs of this could vary a bit between families, and though we know Lydia’s expenses were almost £100 per annum that includes board and food as well as little gifts from Mrs Bennet, so we can’t simply multiply that by five and be done with it. But, given Mrs Bennet’s desire for fashion and the poor financial management we see from her and some of her daughters, it’s quite possible clothes were being bought new rather than pulled apart and remade more than they ought to be, so spending £50 to £60 a year on each daughter being ‘out’ seems reasonable. For the purposes of this, let’s look at a total of £250 and £300 a year for all five, and in the 4%s because that’s where the money settled on Mrs Bennet apparently is. After sixteen years of marriage (when we will assume Jane comes out) that’s £5,456 or £6,547. Meaning that just doubled their dowry, even if they save nothing else after that. If the interest is left alone, that’s more than £1,000 that’s added to it before the novel even begins. Suddenly Mr Bennet dying at the start of the novel would leave his widow and daughters with between £11,500-£13,000 instead of the meagre £5,000 they actually have.

And the girls didn’t all come out at once, so just to put some numbers to it for math purposes, let’s say Elizabeth came out one year after Jane, Mary two years after her, Kitty another two years later, and Lydia the following year. For simplicity, each girl coming out is going to remove the same amount of money (when realistically it’s likely Jane, who needs everything new, and Lydia, who’s spoilt, would have cost the most). With the lower estimates of expenses, that’s £8,062 saved at the time of the novel, taking the total for Mrs Bennet and the girls to £13,602 or £2,612 each, assuming nothing else is saved. At the higher cost for the girls being out, that’s £9,676 saved and £14,676 that they’ll eventually inherit a share of. Still below what they should have as dowries, but a vast improvement, and proof of why having five daughters out at once was an additional strain but not THE strain. It was just another element in a mountain of problems.

“But what if it was in the 5%s?” asks no one but me. I think they would stick to the more stable bonds Mrs Bennet’s dowry is in, but if they didn’t, the same situation as above would save £9,243 (or £14,243 total) or £11,090 (£16,090 to share or £3,218 each).

For pure funsies, the numbers if Mr and Mrs Bennet had also saved the interest of the £5,000 settled upon her (which by itself would grow to £12,324 in the 4%s) in addition to these savings are:

£20,387 (£4,077 each at the start of the novel) with the £250 expenses estimate. At £300 for all five daughters out, we get to £21,998. Both of these numbers suddenly mean the Miss Bennets would never have to fear poverty when Mr Bennet died and they would individually each be as rich as their mother was, and though they wouldn’t be counted as rich themselves, would at least have something respectable. They might not cost their husbands money to marry.

AND THEN if everything is in the 5%s but that original £5,000, and the interest it gains is also moved to the higher interest account, the grand total would be either £22,528, again assuming the £250 expenses, and £24,376 at the £300 estimate.

I’ve been doing some equations for Darcy, too. So, let’s talk about that next chapter, to give me time to really figure it out.

[little-peril-stories]

The Queen of Lies: Faith and Freedom

Story Intro | Contents [Warnings] | Mood Board | Vibey Song Lyrics | Ao3

Contents: blood, injury, illness, guy whump [all just leftover stuff from the last few chapters :) no new bad stuff]

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Word count: 3650 || Approx reading time: 15 mins

Faith and Freedom

Teaser: “Just give me a minute,” he said, grunting and coughing as he sat up. After a moment, he drew up his knees and rested his forehead there. “Feels like I’m dying.”

The world beyond the prison walls was cloaked in shadow, with thick cloud cover blocking out the stars, leaving only the yellow gas street lamps to illuminate a city that had mostly gone to sleep. Two frantic figures, a boy and a girl—a thief, a prisoner who had been set free, and his rescuer, who had spent four long year being Baden Hatchett’s wife and who no longer knew what she was—stumbled through the streets. He did not speak, nor did she; rather, they fled in silence, letting their ceaseless, hurried footfalls break the peace of the autumn midnight. It was not long, however, before the boy’s strength waned, his steps growing unsteady and his breathing more laboured.

The hand that was still clutched in the girl’s went slack.

And the thief fell.

Fear spread through her, so strong it sent numbness to her toes and fingertips, as the boy hit the ground. “No!” Dropping to her knees, shaking his shoulder as gently and urgently as she could, she breathed, “Please, please, no, no, no, wake up, wake up—”

He groaned, blinking open eyes that in the gloom appeared a much darker hue than the gold-and-green colour she knew them to be. “What?”

She almost collapsed to the cobblestone, too, but not with exhaustion; rather, it was with relief that she’d been able to rouse him. “You…you scared me.”

He glanced around, seeming to perceive that he was on the ground and woozy. With a soft groan, he took a deep breath and let his head fall back against the stone. “Fuck. Just…”

The girl swallowed. “I’m scared you’re…” She wanted to say, too weak to keep going, but how would he react to those words? If she’d ever said such a thing to Baden, he would have slapped her hard enough to leave a bruise for a week.

“Just give me a minute,” he said, grunting and coughing as he sat up. After a moment, he drew up his knees and rested his forehead there. “Feels like I’m dying.”

“You’re not dying.” He couldn’t be; she wouldn’t allow it, not after everything she’d gone through to get him out of that awful prison cell. She glanced around, wishing it weren’t so dark. It had been a blessing as they crept from the prison grounds, but now it served only to make the towering houses and unlit storefronts seem dingy and menacing. “We need to get somewhere safe. It’s only going to get colder, and you need to eat. And drink. And rest.”

“What?” he said, half-heartedly mocking. “Can’t I stay at your house?”

She clenched her jaw and refused to take the bait. It was too cold, and she was kneeling in a puddle, and the wind was picking up into a sinister sort of howl, and she was too frightened to chase down whether the teasing was good-natured or not. “I’ve got an inn room booked, but we need to make it there.”

The secret note for Alice, hidden in the returned copy of The Scarlet Letter—tucked into the last marked page and written in the tiniest hand she could form: As I am unwell and cannot make the arrangements myself, could you please visit the Whitemoor Inn and book a room for my cousin, Lucy Cooper, for one night? I’ve enclosed enough funds to cover her stay.

One night for a young woman named Lucy Cooper to fleetingly exist, and come morning, she would dissolve into the ether, gone forever—as would the girl and the boy who’d occupied her room.

“A room booked?” he repeated, holding his head now. “You—you actually got some kind of plan? Seriously?” His eyes were still hazy with pain, but he was alert, and his gaze had gone wide. “You got money?”

“Yes,” she said, “I do.” She’d had one chance, one, between Baden letting her out of her room and him taking her to the prison to beg for forgiveness—one fleeting blissful moment when no one’s eyes had been on her. She’d taken as much money as she could from the safe in his study, the one he thought she didn’t know about.

That wasn’t all, though. In her coat pocket, sewn into the lining, there hid as much jewelry as she’d dared to take from the box on her dresser—enough to pawn for extra funds, not so much that it would weigh down her clothes or jingle as she walked.

Finally, there was the second half of her entreaty to Alice: if her friend had come through for her and done as she asked, a parcel waited for “Lucy Cooper” at the inn, containing a necklace and a ring, all she could reasonably and surreptitiously fit into Alice’s book. They would fetch a good price somewhere. Of course, the girl had no way of knowing if Alice had acquiesced, but she’d picked that friend over the other for a reason. Marguerite would never have gotten involved, but Alice was sensible and kind, and she knew—she knew. So surely, surely, she’d made the arrangements.

As long as that was true, and as long as the innkeeper didn’t turn them away at the sight of her companion, they would have somewhere warm and safe to sleep for the night.

If only the thief didn’t look like he had just stumbled out of a street brawl.

“Do you think you can keep going?” Her voice slipped out high-pitched and breathy. Too many worries, too few answers to soothe them.

He fixed her with a look of pained, miserable resignation. “Gonna have to.”

She pressed a hand to his face again. Despite the chill of the night, it was still hot. “I’m scared...” She couldn’t finish her thought.

The thief groaned again as he got cautiously to his feet—not pulling away when she held his good arm to steady him—and said, “Scared? Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

For a moment, she didn’t even know what to say. Her eyes roamed from his blood-flecked shirt to his black-and-blue skin to the entirely useless arm in Mrs. Bristow’s apron-sling.

They landed on his lips, which were ever so slightly quirked upwards.

“Well, good,” she finally managed. “If—if we are set upon by an army of kittens, I’m very glad you’ll be here to defend me.”

He choked out a laugh, coughed, and took a few wary steps, letting her cling to his arm; he wobbled slightly, but he stayed upright. “Lead the way, princess.”

She was going to have to do something about the name problem.

As they moved through the winding streets, she stuck close to him, partially because she feared he would pass out again, but also because she had never wandered the city at night before, by herself or with anyone else, and the warm presence of his body—beaten and worn-out though it was—gave her a peculiar sense of security. She knew it was probably false.

Still, she clung to it anyway.

“What am I to call you?” she dared to ask after a while. Although she was, indeed, desperate for an answer, she also worried that if she remained too quiet, he’d slip back into unconsciousness. “Am I allowed to know now?”

“Don’t get all uppity about that,” he mumbled. “Can you blame me for being suspicious?”

No, she thought, but she didn’t say it. She merely pointed the way down a nearby street. Almost there. They had to be almost there. “That’s not an answer.”

It was a long while, it seemed, of something happening behind his eyes that she could not decipher, some tug-of-war between giving a real answer and not until he at last told her, “I don’t have a name.”

Another lie, of course; he had a name, but he didn’t trust her with it. What a surprise. Why should he? All she had done was give up her entire life and risk everything to break him out of prison. “Please.”

He bit his lip and again took a long time to answer. “I…I can’t.” His gaze flitted around, as if he expected someone to burst out of the dark and streak towards them. As if he feared they were being followed.

Why should her chest feel so tight? He came from a life of crime—of course he was perpetually suspicious. Surely, he had to be. It had been foolish to hope for he might give a straight answer. “Something. Anything.”

After a moment, after a third agonizingly long pause, he said, “Fox.”

“Fox?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

A phrase she’d heard the day Baden found her in his cell drifted back to mind. “Fox-thief…”

He stiffened. Yanked his hand from her grasp. “Don’t—don’t. Don’t call me that. Please.”

“All right,” she said, horrified. “I won’t.”

When silence fell again, she didn’t chase it away.

He stumbled once more, dropping to his knees but staying conscious, and when she pulled him up, her tears blurred her vision enough that it obscured the strain in his features and the violent shaking of his limbs.

Finally, when the inn loomed before them, she pointed at its dimly lit door. “This one.”

“This one,” he repeated. Voice weaker now, words slightly slurred. He was failing by the second, she realized, perhaps having depleted the frenetic, urgency-fuelled strength that had helped him run once Mrs. Bristow got them beyond the prison gate.

“Let me go in first,” she said. “I’ll settle up if I need to and come get you.” That, she supposed, was the best course of action. The innkeeper might not notice her bruises—but Fox? A superstitious person might take one glance and conclude that he had risen from the very pits of hell.

“Okay,” he said, bracing his good arm against the wall, and she turned on her heel and hurried inside.

The woman who presumably ran the inn was dozing, and no wonder; it was the middle of the night. Her eyes snapped open, however, at the sound of approaching footsteps.

“My name is Lucy Cooper,” said the girl whose name was not Lucy Cooper. “One Mrs. Wright made arrangements for my room a few days ago, I believe?” Too late, she remembered she was wearing trousers. “I—um—please excuse my appearance. I’ve been...um...I’ve been travelling.”

The woman peered down at a piece of paper in front of her, appearing merely drowsy and rather bored. “Just one night?”

Relieved that the woman either hadn’t noticed or did not care what she was wearing, the girl said firmly, “Yes. Only one.” Once Baden learned that she was missing, he would search for her, and at some point, he would speak to Alice, and Alice, not knowing what else to do, would lead him here.

He would find neither Breanna Hatchett nor Lucy Cooper in this inn.

Instead, the boy called Fox and the girl who was called—well, who was called something—would be long gone.

“You’re already settled up for the room.” The woman tapped a list of meals and their fees and turned it towards the girl. “You want to pay for food, too?”

“Yes. I would.” The answer rushed out. “Whatever you have now, if you please, and some breakfast, too, before we depart.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and glanced toward the grandfather clock behind her, which displayed an hour not typically associated with taking a meal. “Now?”

“Yes,” repeated the girl firmly.

The woman frowned. “We might have some broth still,” she said. “It won’t be hot anymore.”

“That’s all right.” She paused. One more inquiry before she paid. “Did Mrs. Wright leave a parcel for me, by any chance?”

With a sigh, the woman turned away to rummage somewhere behind her. After a few moments, she returned with a wrapped box, slightly crumpled but intact. “There you are, Miss Cooper.”

“Thank you.” The girl took it gratefully, promising silently that she would one day find a way to repay Alice for her kindness.

As the innkeeper took the money and filled out the rest of the paperwork, the girl tried to steady her breath, bracing herself against the new fears that rushed in. Never mind the fact that she was renting a room for herself and a strange, half-clothed, terribly battered man who bore only a false name and who was not her husband. Now she had to contend with bringing him inside without drawing attention. What if the woman took one look at his bloody skin and the tattoo on his arm, and threw them out?

“All finished up, Miss Cooper.” The woman handed her a key. It lay cold and heavy in her palm.

At first, she couldn’t find the man in question at all. It took a few moments to realize he had sat down on the ground, back against the wall, slumped and half-conscious.

“Fox,” she whispered, tapping his uninjured shoulder, eliciting a moan. “Wake up.”

His eyelids fluttered open. “Hmm?”

“We can go in now.” He groaned, and she tried again to rouse him. “Do you want to sleep out here in the cold?”

“Not really,” he mumbled, letting her help him to his feet. “I’m so fucking tired. Everything…everything hurts.”

“I know,” she said, her heart cracking open in her chest. “We’ve got our room. Let’s find it.”

In the narrow, lamplit corridor where she located their room, he leaned against the wall, waiting for her to finish struggling with the key in the lock. With his head resting on his good arm, as he breathed heavily from the climb up the stairs, he watched her, or seemed to, although his eyes kept drifting closed.

“Bed. Now,” she said, pointing toward it when they made it inside. His exhausted gaze swept the room, obviously counting.

“Just one. It’s for you,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be absurd.” She pulled him toward the lumpy-looking mattress with its yellowed sheets and woollen quilt. “You’re hurt and sick. Lie down.”

“You gonna sleep on…what? The floor?”

He really thought she would be able to sleep? After everything? “Never mind about me. Get yourself in that bed, now, before I throw you into it.” She resisted the urge to clap a hand to her mouth and backtrack as she realized she had practically shouted at him. “Uh—” Fox was staring at her with a wide-eyed expression she could not read. “I mean…please.”

He laughed. It was weak and riddled with coughs, but it was genuine, and relief swept over her like a warm wind, because…

Because if she’d ever ordered Baden around like that…and threatened him like that…no matter how empty the threat was…

“There should be a meal waiting downstairs,” she said. “I’ll go get it. You can rest, but you must at least drink. If you fall asleep, I’m going to wake you.”

Fox sat heavily on the bed. “You’re the boss, princess.”

By the door, she paused. Princess. The name was silly, and she got the feeling he wasn’t using it to be cruel, but her thoughts on the matter of her name had been boiling over since she gave the innkeeper her false one. The girl closed her eyes, imagining who she would have to be once the light of dawn broke. Someone courageous and clever, someone who faced her fears instead of burying them or running scared. Someone who was bold enough to grasp the life she wanted with both hands.

Hopes and memories flashed in her mind, bringing with them disembodied faces and disjointed pictures—flames, ink, books, blood, and a heavy sunrise filled with promise.

She let her eyes fly open, the answer to the question Who am I? coming to her in a sudden burst.

“You can keep calling me Bree,” she told him, and he raised his eyebrows. “I decided I like it after all. So that’s—that’s my name now. Bree. Bree Scarlett.”

Fox nodded slowly, his eyes on hers, repeating the name to himself, at first under his breath, then a touch louder, as strong as his weak and tattered voice would go. “Bree Scarlett. I…I like it, too.”

Cheeks suddenly blazing hot enough to be unintentionally—and newly—eponymous, Bree Scarlett hurried away, closing the door behind her. As she bounded down the stairs, tempted to take them two at a time like a giddy schoolgirl, she repeated her name to herself, and she found that the very taste of it on her tongue filled her soul with glee.

***

Defying her own prediction, Bree did fall asleep, the siren’s song of slumber suddenly irresistible the moment she let herself rest, and she awoke curled against the wall, which was where she settled after determining that the room’s wooden chair was even less comfortable than the floor. She startled awake with a gasp, trapped for a moment in the dizzying space between the waking and sleeping worlds, wondering where on earth she was and how she had gotten there.

She took one look around, and reality came crashing down: she had run away from her husband, set his prison on fire, and sprung a thief from jail.

Bree waited for the panic to set in, for the bone-breaking terror that, at any moment, Baden would burst through the door and tear her to shreds for her betrayal and her crimes.

It did not come.

Instead, she felt strangely calm, detached from the chaos she had wrought in her pursuit of freedom. Her eyes wandered over the room, with its wood-panelled walls, slightly uneven floors, and inarguably paltry sleeping spaces, trailing her gaze over the door and the window that by some miracle remained silent and unassailed by constables pounding and breaking through. It was a veritable marvel, how unafraid she felt.

As she looked around, her inspection paused upon the boy who called himself Fox.

He was still asleep, lying on his side, looking for all the world serene despite the blood still crusting his skin. Her throat tightened, horror creeping through the short-lived peace she’d just been enjoying as she took in the sorry sight of him again.

How many of those wicked bruises had been dealt by Baden himself?

She forced away the thought. There was little she could do right now about the guilt that stole through her and would not retreat; however, she had a new problem to contend with that she could solve. Fox had fallen asleep so quickly after she brought him water and the inn’s lukewarm broth that he hadn’t even gone under the wool quilt, and now he shivered in the chill of the night air.

Bree searched for something to keep him warm. Ah—there—her jacket, abandoned in a crumpled heap near the door.

How furious, she thought, her fatigue doubling as her husband invaded her thoughts again, Baden would be if he could see how carelessly and messily she’d flung aside her clothes. And how furious he would be if he knew how much she wished she could simply escape the thought of him for even a few minutes.

How furious he would be to see her pausing at the bedside of his foe, gently laying her own clothing over his body and tucking in the sides to keep him warm.

For a moment, it seemed as if her mission to blanket Fox’s shivering form without waking him had been a success, but as she turned away, his fingers curled around her wrist, the unexpected touch sending a jolt through every limb.

“Why?” His voice was rough, thick with sleep and whatever sickness ailed him. But the word was intelligible.

“You’re cold,” she said. “I could see you shivering.”

“No.” When she turned slowly back to him, his eyes were open. Bleary, yes, but he knew her. And he remembered what she had done for him. “Why. Are you. Doing this. Hel… Helping me?”

Good god, what was she supposed to say to that? What explanation was there?

“Because,” she said, failing to banish from her mind the image of him chained and on his knees, horrified at the sight of her for fear that it would bring him more agonizing pain, “you didn’t deserve what he did to you.”

He watched her, still shivering. “I…am. You know.”

“You are, what?”

“A criminal. A thief. In. In…IA.”

The cough that had been so quiet while he slept returned. Bree bit her lip, wondering what to say to quell his anxieties and allow him to rest. “Sleep more,” she said, deciding to ignore what he had mumbled—what he’d told her like she didn’t already know. “I’ll be here.”

“Bree.” He winced, overtaken by some phantom pain whose source she could not discern. “Bree. Don’t…”

He didn’t finish, and for a moment she thought he had fallen asleep mid-sentence. But his eyes were still on her when she looked back down. “I won’t leave.”

“No.” He closed his eyes. “Don’t fuck me over. Please.”

Even now, he feared she would betray him. Bree blinked back tears.

“You won’t, right?”

“I promise I won’t,” she whispered. Gently, she tried to pull her arm away, yet his fingers didn’t let go.

“Thank you,” he mumbled. So quiet, so indistinct, it was difficult to make out. “For saving me.”

Unable to bring herself to speak, and uncertainly unable to give the reply that came to mind, Bree swiped at her face with her free hand, her treacherous tears spilling over despite her efforts to hold them back.

She did not move until his fingers loosened and fell away—until the boy called Fox was asleep once more, perfectly still save for the rise and fall of his bruised, battered chest.

Previous | Masterlist | Next

Taglist (please let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!)

@starlit-hopes-and-dreams

@clairelsonao3

@gala1981

@pleasestaywithmedarling

✨

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: We've Only Just Begun (20x01)

And we're back! Crazy that this is the 20th season. I saw that Station 19 is ending after this season, which means Grey's has a very solid chance of outlasting another spinoff! Let's dive right in.

Cons:

I am still repulsed by Jo and Link, I cannot help it. They just do absolutely nothing for me and it feels like such a forced, lazy writing choice. I think part of it is just that Jo and Alex, and Amelia and Link, both felt like real, organic, interesting romances to me that were earned over a long period of time, and this is just like... eh, throw the leftovers together I guess.

My Owen and Teddy dislike will never go away, but in this episode it wasn't so much that they annoyed me as that the storyline felt completely unnecessary? Teddy collapsing and needing emergency surgery and potentially dying felt like even more of a lazy tacked on drama for the cliffhanger last season than I'm used to with this show.

Pros:

The good news for the future of this show is that I do continue to be interested by our intern characters, our new crop of leads. Jules and Blue with their awkward, hostile attraction and connection, Adams and Simone with their obstacles as they continue their burgeoning love story, Yasuda with her career doubts and anxieties. And in even more good news, Nick is leaving the hospital: I'm annoyed that it's to go be with Meredith, who deserves better than that stick in the mud, but at least that means he hopefully won't be around as much anymore.

This show is famous for its ridiculous disaster scenarios, and I like that it knows how to have fun with them and also comment on current events. The self-driving car malfunctioning and slamming again and again into the ambulance was a wacky scenario but also a believable extrapolation from stuff that's happened in real life, and it also gives an new and interesting challenge to several of the characters. I like that Adams and Simone have to make some of their own tough calls in the ambulance where they're trapped, but also have Meredith and Bailey outside guiding them through. Kind of a poignant metaphor for the current direction of the show, in a way: these characters we've been with for decades at this point are still around, and can still be depended upon, but the new kids have to forge their own path as well. I'm glad the patient in the ambulance survived, as did the guy inside the test car: a stressful and bizarre day of work, but ultimately a win, which I think everyone needed.

In Teddy news, as I said I was a little underwhelmed by the existence of this plot thread to begin with. But I did appreciate Winston being calm under pressure and totally handling the situation, saving her life and also steering Owen away from the midst of everything, encouraging him to get some rest. I also like Owen and Amelia having this steady friendship after all the tumult of their past relationship. Seeing her there for him during a difficult moment was great.

I love the role Meredith has in this world, now. She is a steadfast presence, and if this show continues for another decade to come, I hope Ellen Pompeo is willing to keep coming back for a couple episodes a season, so her presence is still felt. We're setting up an interesting plot that can develop in the background: Catherine Fox wants Meredith to drop her controversial takes about Alzheimer's research and go where the funding is, and Meredith actually seemingly agrees to this. She'll take the party line and stop making controversial waves for Catherine to deal with. But... she hands her research off to Amelia, so that it can continue in secret. This is really intriguing, and I actually got a little emotional thinking about Amelia and Meredith working on this project together!

We end with Teddy waking up, thank goodness, Link and Jo sharing a romantic moment (no thank you), and Richard going to an AA meeting to recommit to his sobriety - good for him! I'm excited to see where the show takes us next; there are always enough characters and stories going on in this show that it keeps me hooked, even when some of the characters are... not my favorites. We'll see which way things go from here!

8/10

[bitchesgetriches]

hey glorious Bitches, I've had a wild year. Had a mental breakdown in Jan that forced me to leave my after-school teacher job ($21/hr). Ended up working for Kroger ($18.50/hr). Worst few months of work I've had in over a decade, possibly my entire life. And that's before even discussing the low wages. Radicalized me even more than I was before. Anyways, got a new job, doing the same kind of teaching as in my old job, but it pays around $30/hr. Most I've ever made in my life. First time I actually have "extra" money. Like I can go to a restaurant or a movie or buy myself some new jeans. and still have money leftover. Surprisingly, that first week I was really kind of... depressed about it. Going back to a desk job where I'm suddenly treated with human dignity, and now making a solid middle-class wage, just really reinforced in me how much the economy is bullshit, how much it exploits people financially and psychologically. The hardest working people are paid nothing while the highest paid people are often doing close to nothing. Anyways, I'm gonna avoid spending all this new money. Gonna make an emergency fund and actually try to save money to retire one day (maybe?). And def gonna find more ways to give back to the community. I'm already tipping better, bc every front-end worker is underpaid. And I try to buy something like a box of cookies which I give to the grocery workers when I leave. (I'd tip them if not that management would punish them for it.) Anyways, I'm lucky now with my lower middle class job and some human dignity. I'm super lucky actually. I just wish everyone knew how much of a scam our economy is, that capitalism is. Everyone deserves a living wage and dignity. treat people well. if you can afford it, tip well. everyone is struggling. ok, that's my weird little rant. thanks for listening and for putting out actually good financial/economic content.

"Weird little rant"? More like "SPEAKING THE TRUTH."

Honey we are SO proud of you for making this kind of progress in your career and life while still keeping your soul intact. Far too many people who reach financial stability completely forget what it's like to be one of the working poor. The "I got mine" mentality is too common in our capitalist society. We must never forget where we came from and how many people get left behind.

You're doing great and we're overjoyed for you. Keep it up, cutie pie.

Raising the Minimum Wage Would Make All Our Lives Better 

Barbara Sloan's New Book Dares To Suggest Service Industry Professionals Deserve Financial Stability Too 

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I wrote something for my Georgian Body Hopper Elias and XXI century Beholding upstart employee Jonah AU:

When asked how did he manage to get promoted to head of the an academic institute - normally with some rude intonation that was clearly insinuating his lack of competency - Elias Bouchard would use his amazing bullshiting talents to make a passionate speech about how behind his lax posture he had a firm work ethic and a knack for both the supernatural and finances. In reality it was mostly the fact that by trying to prevent him from “walking with the wrong crowd” his father had in actuality throwed him directly into the worst influences and what should be another vain attempt to impress the old man - and maybe have some secret quick fuck before he had to finally fold into an arranged marriage that luckily never came - only caused his downfall into a terrible cruel worship. 

Years ago. Before fear took him down Elias Bouchard was not a curious man. He was on the other hand a truly adaptable man and one that liked to experiment more than most, he also has always been a coward. Too afraid of being the only one left as all his friends falled one way or the other to malicious gods and as Robert failed, he realized he too needed to choose divinity. He looked for the less violent options and since he really disliked loneliness to the point of getting himself into this situation to begin with… He had no choice but to choose the Eye,

There was a reason that even though he was one of the oldest avatars he and his Institute were still mostly sawn as a joke (or a threat but the last was all thanks to Gertrude). He was faithful to his god but also terrified of it and the fates worse than death Beholder must grant to his failed followers (Albretch and the eyes everywhere come to mind). So he watched, he did nothing to protect his friends, unsure he even could, as he observed every aspect of their demise and he kept watching. In the better days he was truly grateful to his patron, in the worst he would consider death, still he clingled to the only life he knew, going between bodies and sometimes choosing the type of unknown person he could just pass his old name to.  

Still he would say that all of his victims - including the ones whose body he stole - were an accident, a weed induced trip or just a bolt of having a paranoia evil god living rent free insise his head. The complicated situation he was in right now was none of it. 

It started with a Lukas. 

Elias truly hated the Lukases. Alas he needed them for funding, so when Peter Lukas mentioned a new kid that hanged with him and Annabelle and was a truly Eye freak he easily conceded in interviewing the poor sod. The last time Annabelle had given him Jon, someone that the Eye was clearly fond off and hopefully the soon to be solution to Gertrude’s mess, honestly if Jon wasn’t such an active worker - and a handsome one at that - Elias would have thrown him as an assistant and ensure he became Gertrude’s successor soon and by any means necessary, unfortunately doing that would generate a deficit in production and Bouchard, who was never really good with money even as rich man in the georgian era, could not afford to take. Peter mostly only gave him leftovers which all things considered was still really good for a Lukas. 

The first impression he had of the kid was that it made a lot of sense that he knew Annabelle, as both of them clearly had the same vintage clothing sense, the second was that between his plump lips and mid length red hair he was very attractive and would surely be a satisfying meal. His academic credentials were, in Elias' opinion, way too good for the Institute, but most of his employees were in different levels of way too good for this weird dead end job, except the fun nervous wreck in the library that had strayed up lied about everything. He smiled predatorily to his next meal, hiring people was always an acceptable lunch, is not like they wouldn’t have anxiety in a normal job interview anyway, for an instance he saw a flash of terror, the words “the moment you die will feel exactly the same as this one” and then nothing, only static and gray eyes that looked way too old Looking at him, Elias had forgotten he still could be Seen, or maybe hoped he couldn’t, not in any significant way, not besides Jon unconscious slips or Gertrude intimidating stare. He felt true terror in his bones. He could almost see the Beholding saying mine.

“Mr. Bouchard, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.” The young man said politely. “Peter tales don’t get close to the magnificence that is this place.”

“The pleasure is mine” More like Beholding’s, he thought angrily. “Perdon me, I reckon that in the middle of so many applications I forgot your name.” He knew it pretty well. He just needed a moment to compose himself. He was sure there was nothing to worry about, the Eye was satisfied enough with him, he wasn’t perfect but he wasn’t a lost cause… The Eye wouldn’t send another Watcher. Would it?

“Jonah Magnus, sir, but Jonah is good enough.” He was still Watching him. Filling him with dread.

“So Jonah, what makes you want to work at the Bouchard Institute of Paranormal Studies?” 

Magnus smiled. This time not predatorily nor with the subtle look that showed he saw himself as somehow more than Elias, but a truly full wishful smile.

“My God is calling me home.” 

His voice was velvet,  powerful and Elias knew he had to let the boy join, he also knew he had to find a way to deal with it, maybe convince the Beholder of having two Watchers? Or something else. Anything at all. Fast.

A small but still significant part of him considered that maybe he should break his rule and consider murder this time, full murder no excuses. Jonah smilled, suspiciously like he had read Elias mind and found the consideration of murder amusing.

He was completly, undeniably fucked.

[not7wu]

Chapter Eight:  A Trusted Friend

Recap: You accidentally eavesdrop on an argument the boys are having about you. Seems there's much more they're keeping from you than you realized and they're actively keeping you in the dark. Betrayal fresh on your mind, you become friends with Hybe janitor, Jihoon. He agrees to look for info on Kim Cho-hee and you will fund his search for his half-sister. Your scheduled wallowing is interrupted by Jin who ends up telling you his love story.

A warm cloud of fresh cooked rice and something aromatic wakes you.  Patting the space next to you, you crack your eyes open.  Jin is no longer beside you, which is probably for the best.  There’s something about the night that makes you brave, but the light of day is much too jarring and exposing.  He has an early schedule today, so you don’t know which of the members are invading your space.  ‘Invading’.  It remains to be seen whether that’s a harsh or apt word, but you had been hoping to have some time for yourself until dinner with Jungkook.  You’re not ready to face anyone so early in the morning before you have time to mentally armor yourself.

You don’t know what time it is, but you sit up and stretch.  It must be well into the morning because the muted sunlight glows through the window shades.  Dishes clink as you approach the living area and you find Hobi setting cutlery next to breakfast for two on the coffee table.  He catches sight of you and laughs at your yawn.  

You don’t want to read too much into this breakfast, but you can’t help feeling Hobi is here with an agenda.  You wish you could relax and soak in the peaceful morning, but your guard is up, waiting for whatever misdirection may come your way now knowing that Hobi is the number one instigator of keeping you in the dark.  

“Come eat.  We had leftover Samgyetang, so I thought if your headache is still bothering you, you might like some.”  He gestures for you to approach, so you sit cross-legged across from him.

“Thank you for the meal,” you say with the best smile you can muster, and the both of you dig in.  

Out of all the members, Hobi’s guard is up against you with his ability to read through your machinations.  All the other members take you at face value for the most part, but he’ll be the one you can fool the least.  If you had known it would come to this, you wouldn’t have flouted your verbal talents to Hobi that first day with Namjoon.  You prepare for battle with a deep breath and place a piece of chicken in Hobi’s bowl of rice.  

“So what’s up?  I didn’t expect to see you today with your schedule.”  

“I just wanted to check in cuz’ it seemed like you’ve been off lately.  We never did get to have that slumber party.”

Your nerves spike because it feels like he’s fishing.  “I did tell you guys that I was already exhausted.  Maybe we can try again soon?”

“That’s right.  You mentioned you had lunch with Jieun-noona and a friend?  How’d that go by the way?”  

Hobi completely skips over your question and you’re alarmed at the sudden change in topic.  Does he know about Jihoon?  You don’t want to reveal your only outside ally.  

“Lunch was good.  I got plenty of rest,” you say vaguely.  “Actually, I feel like I should apologize to Areum-unnie about rescheduling dinner, but I don’t have her number.  That’s strange though because she mentioned I should have it.  Could I get her number from you?  You talked to her, right?”

Even though this back and forth has you dancing on your toes, you carefully observe Hobi as he eats.  He looks unbothered, savoring his food and placing bites he thinks you’ll like in your bowl.  He wipes his mouth in thought.

“I don’t know her number off the top of my head, so I’ll text it to you later.”

“Sure.  I know how busy you are.  Thank you, Hobi-oppa.”

“You’ve been busy too,” he notes almost too casually.

“Not so much.”  Where is he going with this?

“Well, you were so exhausted Thursday that you passed out.  We were worried when you didn’t show up, you know.  I was talking with the others and you don’t have to work.  You’ve got plenty of savings.”  

And there it is.  You thought you could avoid the topic of your ‘house arrest’ until Monday with Bang PD-nim.  You try not to let your annoyance eek out.

“I actually don’t know what I have in savings.  No one’s given me any sort of banking information.  Would you happen to know how I can check that out?”

Hobi drops a chopstick in his bowl, but he quickly picks it up.  Interesting.  That was a total shot in the dark and now a point of interest for you.  He resumes eating.  “We’re the POAs of your finances until your health issue is resolved.”

“All of you guys are my POAs?”  Look at that.  Something else that smells fishy.  

Hobi again completely disregards your question.  “Anyway, we’ve got you covered financially.  I think we’d all feel better if you took a break and just looked after yourself.”

“All of you already do so much for me.  I couldn’t possibly rely on your charity.  And I am looking after myself.  You guys keep your money and I’ll keep working.”

“We’ve seriously got so much money, we don’t know what to do with it.”

“Donate it,” you suggest, trying not to snap at him.  

The tension is now noticeable.  You wanna thud your head on the table.  So much for staying pleasant.  This whole conversation has gone completely off the rails.

“Y/N.  You okay?”  Hobi is giving you his full attention, pushing his food away.  Great.

“I’m fine,” you try to sound convincing.  You take a deep breath and look him in the eye, searching within yourself for some lingering affection you have for him and the members.  And the thing is, even with this sense of betrayal that has gutted you, you don’t have to look far for that affection.  It’s still right there.  It isn’t even really tangible.  This love you have for Hobi is as easy as breathing, only now it’s accompanied with a deep sadness.  

It’s too early in the day and too suspect to be so sappy.  Instead, you transform some of this tension into innocent brattiness and channel your inner maknae wiles on him.  

“I really wanna work, Hobi-oppa.  If I don’t have anything to do, I swear I’ll go stir crazy, and going to work makes me feel normal.  I really wanna feel normal.”

Everything you say is true, but you exaggerate your puppy eyes and pout.  Manipulative?  Yes.  Necessary?  Also, yes.  Hobi groans and tries not to look at you head on.  

“Stop it.  You know I can’t say no to that face.”

“Please, please, please, oppa.  I promise I’ll let you know if it’s too much.”

He makes the mistake of side eyeing you, but that doesn’t diminish the power of your pout.  Exasperated, he sighs, “Fine.  You win.  I’m just worried.”

You are ecstatic and do a little wiggle dance earning you a reluctant laugh from Hobi.  You can’t help sassing, “I appreciate you worrying, but I’m 25.  I’m a whole ass adult.  You know in some countries, I’d already be married with a baby at this age, or be considered an old maid.”

Hobi chokes on his rice and coughs up a lung.  “Geezus, Y/N.  Okay, I get it.  I’ll stop bothering you about work.”

“Sweet!” you celebrate with a cheeky grin.  You just won against Jung Hoseok and you feel invincible.  Today is gonna be a good day.  “You spending the rest of the day with me?”

“Unfortunately, I have a meeting with Pdogg-hyung, Yoongi-hyung, Joonie and the A&R team which will take up most of the afternoon before the magazine shoot.  We won’t be back before midnight, so don’t wait up for us.”

Happy with your win, you nod agreeably, suddenly famished.  The ginseng in the samgyetang is bitter, but the tart dried jujubes cut through it with a subtle sweetness.  You almost don’t hear Hobi when he continues, “Jin-hyung might even be later than midnight, so if you need a cuddle buddy, Tae or Jimin will be your best bet if they don’t both decide to smother you.”

You barely save yourself from sputtering on the broth.  Of course, Hobi knows all about your Jin sleepovers, and after what you heard the other night, he definitely isn’t a fan of your night time activities with Jin, no matter how innocent they are.

 “Sounds good,” you say neutrally.  You can’t tell if this is some sort of underhanded warning to back off or what, but you should have expected there to be more to this breakfast.  You live and learn.  Always keep your guard up around Hobi.  

—

Jungkook is a bottomless pit.  He made eight gimbap rolls that the both of you are eating burrito style and he’s already eaten three of them while you’re still working on your first.  You don’t know whether to be impressed or horrified, so you settle on being content that he’s eating well.  

You’re on a night time picnic complete with picnic blanket, picnic basket, and a curated playlist playing from a portable speaker.  You don’t need to put a show on for Jungkook.  The conversation has been easy from tattoo designs Jungkook wants to get in the near future to new artists you’ve found on SoundCloud that he might enjoy.    

You hear a ding and dig for your phone in your mini-backpack.  It’s the disposable phone you bought earlier in the day.  It’s a different model from your phone but with a similar body and phone case that you hope will fool anyone who doesn't look too closely.  Hobi going through your phone now has you wary of people snooping.  This particular phone only has one number.

Snacks: I’ve got something for you.  I think you’ll wanna see it right away, but I can put it in your desk at work if you prefer. Me: I’m actually out right now by the Namsan Outdoor Botanical Gardens.  Quick handoff? Snacks: I’ll meet you at the public restrooms in an hour. Me: Sounds good.  Thank you so much! Snacks: No need to thank me.  We’re friends.  See you soon!

“Noona?”  

You fumble with your phone and turn your attention back to Jungkook.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, Jungkookie.  I thought it might be an emergency because I don’t usually get texts.”

“Did something happen?” Jungkook asks, worriedly.

“No.  It was nothing.”

He doesn’t seem convinced, but easily shrugs it off, throwing himself back to lie starfished.  You follow his example, the both of you stuffed.  The light pollution prevents you from seeing stars, but the moon hangs above you.  It’s the same moon you’ve always known, but you can’t help wondering if it’s new and different.  Has that dark spot always been there?  Is it bigger than you remembered?  You turn to look at Jungkook.  His bucket hat and face mask cover ninety percent of his face, but his eyes in shadow still glow.

“Hey,” you say.  

“Hmm?”

“Are you happy, Jungkookie?”

He doesn’t say anything.  A soft breeze wafts over you both.  The grass ripples in the wind, tickling your ankles.  What a beautiful night.

“I’m happy,” Jungkook finally says to the sky.  “But most of the time, I feel nothing.  I’m happy with the hyungs and with noona.  I love my job.  And I receive so much love.  But yeah.  Most of the time, it’s just nothing.”

You can’t help but ask, “Are you depressed?”

He shakes his head.  “No, I don't think I’m depressed.  I think it’s like…apathy for survival?  I’m pretty sure the hyungs are like that too, especially Yoongi-hyung and Hobi-hyung.  And Jin-hyung sometimes…I think it’s because we have like really high highs, adrenaline rushes from performances and things like that, that the rest of the time it’s like an energy crash and we go through this numb thing dealing with work stress…privacy invasions…and just pressure in general, and it just takes a while for us to find a normal rhythm again.”

There’s a lot to unpack there, but mostly you’re proud of Jungkook.  It sounds like he’s put a lot of thought into this.

“Do you feel happy, noona?”  You owe it to Jungkook to be as honest with him as he has been with you, but you’re not sure how you want to answer that with how uncertain everything is.  You must take a while to answer, because Jungkook gently nudges you and says, “Let’s close our eyes.”

So, you close your eyes.  If you concentrate enough, you think you can see electrons track across your eyelids like old television snow inverted in black.  An optical white noise.

It’s weirdly soothing, and you find yourself confessing, “I don’t think I am happy, but I’m trying to be.  I don’t feel..real?  So what if my feelings aren’t real?  It’s just…hard to trust right now.”

“Trust what?” he asks tentatively.

You bite your lip, thinking maybe you’ve already said too much.  “Would you be upset if I said everything?”  

He blows out a rush of air.  “Lemme think for a minute.”

MAX’s ‘Lights Down Low’ is playing in the background.  Conversations and laughter can be heard at some distances with other park goers spaced out on the lawn.  And you swear you can hear the gears grinding in Jungkook’s brain as he reviews film strips in his head.  

“I’m not upset,” he finally says.  “Just sad.”

“Yeah.  I’m sad too.”

“Open your eyes, noona.”  You’re met with Jungkook’s smile.  “At least we’re friends forever, so it’s not all sad.”

You head down to the dance studio to eat lunch, Said the Sky’s ‘Rush Over Me’ playing on your headphones.  You’ve met all the members now and they’ve all reassured you that you wouldn’t be a distraction if you came down for some quiet time every now and then.  Well, it’s not ever quiet when the boys are there, but it’s a nice breather for you because none of them ever force you to drain your social battery by interacting with them.  You usually just sit in a corner with your headphones on and eat lunch while catching up on whatever book you’re reading.  Sungdeuk has even begun dubbing your corner ‘Y/N’s Reading Nook’ and the boys make sure to always leave it clear of clutter even though the dance studio sometimes doubles as a storage closet.  

Today, you’re surprised to see only Jungkook sitting against the mirror.  You wave at him, but he ducks down shyly, completely missing your greeting.  No matter.  You nestle into your corner and unwrap your triangle gimbap.  It always feels rude to be eating in front of the boys, but it’s not like you usually have enough to share.  Since it’s just Jungkook today, you place one of your unopened gimbap next to his foot since he seems distracted on his phone.  You retreat to your corner again,  happily munching your gimbap and open your book.  Your concentration is shot though because this song is a bop: ‘So, rush over me one more time, I will miss you.  Torn apart after tonight.  And we can’t fix it.”

Whoops.  You don’t mean to sing along out loud, but some songs just do that to you.  You glance at Jungkook, hoping he didn’t hear anything, but one look has you dropping your book and ripping your headphones off.  

“Jungkook?  What happened?  Did you hurt yourself?”  Jungkook is crying and you honestly don’t know what to do.  “What’s wrong?  Are you okay?”  

He hides his face in his sweater paws as you crouch near him.  

It’s been a few months, but you’ve slowly been integrated into the lives of seven chaotic men.  Your schedules are all over the place though, so each friendship is at different stages.  You’re already deep in with Tae and Jimin; the both of them are always quick to include you in every plan, bamboozle, and hoodwink.  You have more in common with Yoongi and Hobi’s personality, but don’t need to maintain constant conversation with them.  Namjoon has such a wide range of knowledge that he’s easy to converse with, but you’re not sure how well you actually know him as a person.  Jin has been pretty elusive, not that you’ve put in much effort.  Plus, your first interaction was a little rocky so you’re still wary of him.  As for Jungkook, he gets quiet around you, so you tend to do your best to give him space in case you make him uncomfortable.  That’s why you’re so out of your depth when it comes to a crying Jungkook.

“Jungkook, I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.  Should I call Tae?”

“No!”  He grabs your sleeve, halting you from retrieving your phone.

“Do I need to get Sungdeuk-oppa?”

Jungkook wipes his tears and shakes his head.  He mumbles, “I’m not injured.”

“So then, what’s going on?”

“It—It’s stupid.”  You’re at a complete loss.  He refuses to look at you, and you feel compelled to hug him, something you don’t often initiate, but you’re not sure if you’re quite there yet with Jungkook.  

“I’m sure it’s not stupid.  Tell noona what’s wrong.”  You scoot back from where Jungkook is sitting to give him some space, but his grip on your sleeve has you falling on your butt with an oomph.  He drops your hand when he realizes what he’s done.  You want to sigh at this shy cutie, but don’t dare make any sound in fear that he’ll interpret it as condescending or pity or something worse.  “How about this?  I’ll close my eyes so no one can perceive you and you tell noona what’s wrong.  Afterwards, you can decide if you want to pretend this never happened, or you might even decide that this isn’t as bad as you think it is.  Either way, this will be a secret between you and me.  Just…give yourself a minute to think about what you want to say, okay?”

You close your eyes and patiently wait for Jungkook to say something, anything.  Jungkook is the youngest of all the members at 17 years old.  His energy is everywhere.  He can give Tae a run for his money when it comes to hyper mischief.  You do worry about Jungkook though because you’ve noticed that the pendulum can swing far in the opposite direction.  When he’s subdued, he makes himself very small like he’s trying to be invisible.  You understand the occasional desire to be invisible, so that’s how you came up with the idea to close your eyes.  Maybe if no one is looking, he won’t make himself small.  

“Do you like me, noona?”

The question almost makes you open your eyes.  “Of course, I like you, Jungkook.  Do you think that I don’t?”

“Well, I tried to say hi just now, but you ignored me.  You gave me food, and I tried to say thank you, but you ignored me again.  And then you sang and I realized you had headphones on and I got embarrassed, and now I feel stupid.  But sometimes I feel like you don’t like me.”

“I’m so sorry.  I do like you, Jungkookie.  I did try to wave hello to you before, but you didn’t see it.”

“Oh,” Jungkook sniffles.  “But I’m awkward and I don’t know how to talk to you, so I thought that’s probably why you don’t want to be friends with me.  You’re friends with all the hyungs, but not me.”

Your heart hurts that he would think this.  “Jungkook, can I open my eyes?”

You hear a muffled noise and take it for consent.  Jungkook is hugging his legs and hiding his face behind his knees, his big, wet eyes watching you cautiously.  

“Jungkook.  Did Tae tell you how we became friends?”

“Um, he said he kidnapped you from the hospital nursery and raised you like a pet monster under his bed, but that didn’t make any sense cuz’ you’re older than him.”

You sputter suddenly blinded by outrage.  “Oh my god, that’s what Tae said?!  What a no good rat monkey!  I’m gonna pummel that punk next time I see him!  What the hell!  And that’s the only reason why it doesn’t make sense to you?!  Really, Jungkookie?  You really think Tae could kidnap and hide a baby from eomma and appa Kim and they wouldn't know something is afoot?  Plus, do you really trust that lunatic to raise a baby by himself?  I really would be a monster.  Maknae, are you telling me I’m a monster?  Why are you giggling?  You think this is funny?  I’ll show you what’s funny!”

You attack Jungkook with tickles even though he’s already giggling, but now he gasps for air trying to pry you off him.  

“This is what you get for thinking any of that was true, you brat.  You’re lucky you’re so cute, otherwise I’d headlock you and give you a knuckle sandwich.”

“No, no, I’m sorry, noona!  I’m sorry!” he giggles.  

“I’ll stop if you bow and give me an apology.”

“Okay!  I promise I will!”  Laughing, you release him.  He promptly smacks to the floor in a dramatic floor bow.  “I’m sorry, noona.  Please don’t become the monster under my bed.”

“Why you little–” You attack him again, even though you get a kick to the shin and an elbow to the gut.  You’d much rather get injured for his giggles than be whole with his sadness and doubt.

You both end up starfished on the floor breathing hard and grinning at each other.  You lace your fingers in his.  You have no doubt it’s okay because it feels like you’ve you’re finally there with Jungkook.  “Thank you for trusting me with your feelings, Jungkook.  Can I tell you some of my feelings?”

You sit up and pull him to sit up too.  His head tilts curiously.  You don’t let go of his hand though.  You squeeze it, apprehensive about laying yourself bare.

“I don’t have any family.  I don’t have an eomma or appa or dongsaengs.  I’m–”  The word sticks to your teeth like taffy.  “I’m an orphan.”

Jungkook’s eyes grow even bigger, which you didn’t think was possible.  He squeezes your hand.

“So, Tae is kinda right I guess.  He’s my best friend.  My only family.  And I’m not a monster under the bed, but sometimes I think I’m like an alien that he’s had to teach how to be human.  I’m still getting used to hugs and cuddles, and sometimes I freeze up until I remember what I’m supposed to do and remember that hugs are okay.  So, maybe sometimes you’re awkward, but I’m more awkward than you.  Just like with hugs, sometimes I don’t know how to talk to people or what I’m supposed to do around people, so I just sort of keep to myself because I’m afraid of making people uncomfortable, especially around people I don’t know very well yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault.  I haven’t been avoiding you.  I’m trying to wait until you’re comfortable with me in your space.  And if you need time to get comfortable around people, it’s not your fault either.  I think of you as a new friend, but it’s not a competition.  We don’t need to rush anything.  We can become friends however we want.”

Jungkook is looking straight at you now a little more confidently.  “Thank you for trusting me with your feelings, noona,” he says, testing the words on his tongue.  

That’s another thing you’ve noticed, how he mimics and tries on his hyungs’ personalities, mixing, matching, and choosing the styles he wants to dress his personality in.  You feel honored that he’s trying a bit of yours.  

You’re still surprised when he asks,“Can I hug you?”

“Anytime you want,” you say sincerely.  You pull him into a hug and he nestles like a bug in your arms.  “Friends?”

“Friends.”  

You sit back and beam.  “So, now that we’re friends, do you wanna hear about the time Tae got his feet stuck in some high heels and had to walk to my convenience store so I could cut him out of them?”

“If you tell me that story, I’ll tell you about the time the water stopped in the middle of Tae’s shower and he rinsed his head in the toilet because we were running late,” he offers, eagerly.  

“Deal.  Also, I’ve been getting weird anonymous emails at work and I think it’s Tae pranking me.”

“We could prank him back.  I know how to embed video links into pdfs.”  Jungkook’s innocent face suddenly lights with an evil that only the youngest can exude and you absolutely love it and him.  

“I think we’ll be friends forever, Jungkookie.”  

“Yeah,” you laugh.  “At least we’re friends forever.”

Jungkook looks back at the sky and starts singing along to whatever’s playing on his speaker.  You still see that shy seventeen year old sometimes, but Jungkook has grown so much in the past four years.  He’s less apologetic and more present in the moment, bold and spirited.  You wish you could have been there for the metamorphosis.

Your phone lights up in your periphery and it’s like you’ve been splashed with cold water.

“Jungkookie, I’m gonna run to the restroom,” you say, scrambling up.

Jungkook makes to get up, his face one of worry and confusion.  “I’ll come with you.”

“No, no.  I’ll be quick.  Be right back.”  You make a dash for it before Jungkook can say anything.  

It’s a bit of a trek to the public restrooms.  You and Jungkook had ventured deep into the park to find a flat patch of grass that didn’t have a ton of traffic to avoid Jungkook being recognized.  He had only brought three plainclothes guards instead of his usual team of six because he wasn’t going to be in the actual public and the park is relatively empty at this time of night.  You actually forgot about his guards until just this moment and you hope you’ve given yourself enough of a head start if one of them decides to follow you.  You think you’re in the clear though since Jungkook should be their priority.  

The restroom area is well lit, but you’re still startled when someone grabs you and pulls you behind the small building.  You find yourself in a little pocket blocked by trees and bushes with Jihoon.  He’s dressed casually in a blue hoodie and white washed jeans.  His hair is actually styled in artful messy waves that compliment his monolid eyes.  You catch yourself staring a bit, finding it strange to see him in anything but his uniform.  

“Holy shit, Jihoon.  You scared me,” you say, trying to calm your heart for more than one reason. 

Jihoon smiles sheepishly.  “Sorry.  I didn’t know if you were with one of the members.”

“It’s okay.  I’m with Jungkookie, so we have to make this quick.  What’d you find?”

He hands you a USB drive.  You try not to think about how soft his palm is against your fingertips when you take the drive from his hand.  “This is what I could find on Kim Chohee so far.  There should be a lot on there.”

The USB drive should feel heavier than it does in your hand with all its secrets.  Instead, it feels fragile like it could shatter into a million pieces should you drop it.  You immediately stow it in your pocket.  Jihoon’s mouth quirks in amusement.  

“How’d you get the drive?” you ask in awe.  You only recruited Jihoon yesterday and he’s already gotten farther than you have in two weeks.  

“Do you really wanna know?  Plausible deniability and all?” he teases.

“You’re risking a lot for me.  I should definitely take the burden if you get caught,” you say matter of factly.  

“Well, we’ll see what’s actually readable on there.  Some of the info might be corrupted.  I took that info off one of the security desks and I was paranoid and in a rush, so I had to yank it out when it was only about eighty percent downloaded.  Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.  This is more than I could have hoped for.  I’m honestly stunned.”

The both of you are encased in shadow, but the pathlights filtering through the tree branches almost look like stars in their own right, speckling Jihoon so he almost glitters.  You’re so overwhelmed by what could be your salvation at your fingertips.  You practically throw yourself at Jihoon, hugging him tight.  He gives a startled sort of yelp that you choose to ignore for his dignity, but after a second’s hesitation, he hugs you back.  He’s so tall and his hug is all encompassing, making you feel small and protected.  You know you’re probably crossing some lines with this budding friendship, but he’s done no small thing for you and you don’t know how else to truly express your gratitude.

“You’re amazing,” you say.

He laughs softly.  “You’re…something else.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“As you should—”

“Noona?”  

You whip around to see Jungkook peering through the thick foliage, heart in your throat.  Shit shit shit.  Oh my god.  Panicked, you glance at Jihoon, his face set neutral as he sets a comforting hand on your shoulder.  Jungkook pushes pass the branches and bushes and looks from you to Jihoon.  There’s an excruciating ten seconds where no one says anything.  Shit, how do you explain this???

Jungkook then transforms in front of your eyes.  It’s so subtle, you could miss the minute changes if you’re not paying attention.  He stands taller, his posture anchored forward in his center of gravity.  His shocked doe eyes narrow into something hard and assessing, completely focused on Jihoon.  It reminds you of when he gets serious during solo dance practices, but this is something else because his whole aura becomes unforgiving.  He reaches a hand for you.  “Let’s go home.”

“Yeah.  Um, let’s just go.”  You look back at Jihoon and hope your face conveys enough apology, but you honestly can’t stand here a second longer with both of them staring at each other.  As soon as you grab Jungkook’s hand, he leads you through the foliage.  

When you clear the green, the guards are standing six feet away.  One of them is holding the picnic basket.  You avoid looking at them and trudge towards where your vehicle is parked.  Jungkook catches up to you and you can feel his gaze on you for a time.

“Formation Four,” he calls out authoritatively.

You hear a flurry of movement.  The guards have dropped back ten feet.  Confused, you regard Jungkook.  He’s looking at his feet as he walks, his fingers twirling his rings.  He seems anxious and you’re not sure what’s gonna happen now.  Is Jungkook gonna tell the members?  Are you going to lose your only outside friend, Jihoon?  

Worst yet, you feel this ugly ball of guilt.  This night was supposed to be all about Jungkook and you tainted it by sneaking off on him.  You fucked up because the person who deserves all this trouble the least is darling dongsaeng, Jungkook.  But you almost don’t recognize this Jungkook walking next to you.  He’s a mix of your darling dongsaeng and the man who stared down Jihoon and you’re not sure how to handle this Jungkook.

Of course, he completely derails the apology on the tip of your tongue.  He finally looks at you and the transformation is undone to become the boy that you know with pleading doe eyes.  “I swear I wasn’t trying to spy on you.  I was just worried because it’s nighttime and you shouldn’t be out on your own with that sas—you just shouldn’t be out on your own.  I’m sorry.  I swear, noona, I promise.  I wasn’t trying to spy on you.”

You’re thrown.  What is happening right now?  “Why are you apologizing?  I should be apologizing to you for being distracted.  This wasn’t fair to you.  Tonight was supposed to be about you and me and I fucked it all up.”

Jungkook’s smile is sad and you honestly want to jump off a bridge for making him feel this way.  He huffs a tired laugh.  “There are a lot of secrets with the hyungs.  And I hate it, but I’m part of that too.  That’s why it’s hard for you to trust, right?”

You nod, at a loss for words with Jungkook addressing this so directly.  

“Well, this is a secret I can keep for you.  The guards didn’t see anything and I’ll talk to them before they leave.”

“Jungkook, I can’t ask you to lie for me.”

“I’m not gonna lie.  When they ask me how dinner went, I’ll talk about dinner.  The end.”

“It still doesn’t feel right to have you keep this secret for me.”

Jungkook purses his lips.  “You heard us fighting the other night, right?  That’s why you didn’t come to the sleepover?”

There’s no point in hiding it at this point.  Everything’s gone to shit anyway.  “Yeah.  I heard some of it.”

“Well, Tae-hyung is right.  You need more than just us.”  Jungkook stops walking and pulls you in for a hug.  This hug hurts though.  It hurts because it’s not just you he’s holding tightly.  It’s your whole self, jagged edges and all, both of you bleeding. 

He pulls back and his normally open book face is unreadable.  

“I’ll keep this secret for you, but I need you to listen to me and trust me just this once, okay?  Can you do that?”

“Yeah, Kookie.  Tell me.  What is it?”

A million things flit across his eyes that you aren’t able to catch before his face sets in grim determination.  “Do you love me?”

It’s no lie when you say, “Yes.”

“And you know that I’m a combination of all the hyungs?”

“You’re still your own person, Kookie.”

“Yes, Yoongi-hyung, I know I’m my own person, but I’m talking to Y/N-noona, right now.  You know I’m a combination of all the hyungs?”

“Yes.”

“And a combination of you.”  His lips turn up and you smile.

“Yes.”

“If you love me knowing that I’m a combination of all the hyungs, then you love them too, or at least parts of them.”

You purse your lips because, well, you can’t deny that.  Just this morning you found your affection for Hobi had stayed constant.  Last night, you couldn’t sever the string connecting you to Jin.  And today, you see that Jungkook is now all grown up before your eyes with an iron grip on your heart that you doubt he’ll ever let go.

“Trust me just this once, noona.  Don’t give up on your family.”

Back to the Multiverse - Join the Taglist - Back to Series Masterlist

Previous Chapter <- - -> Next Chapter

Taglist: @miksancheese @justamomnamedamie @the-daechwita-archive @alpacaparkaseok @whatamitoyou @nap-of-a-starr

A/N: I literally have no excuse for the late posting. I've just been out of it. No holiday cheer here. Seasonal depression and the boys are all leaving. Woe is me. But seriously, some of the characters are becoming self-aware and rogueing, so it's been hard going trying to herd them towards my endgame.

[sarifinasnightmare]

Something for Herself

Rating: For Everyone

Summary: Sarah rarely get to have anything for herself.

Author's Note: Sorry, I'm currently not okay and I've been focusing on my health, but I got back to Tumblr and remembered the writing prompt. This isn't much but I wanted to contribute something.

Prompt: I think it looks nice.

During the five years that Sarah struggled to keep her family afloat, she sacrificed so much of herself. The last time she pampered herself, gave herself a break or just bought something for herself was before her husband passed away from cancer. She had dedicated herself to help him with his treatment and then he died. Then Sam got in trouble with the Avengers. Then a hurricane almost sank the boat. Then the Blip happened, and money became even tighter. She could no longer think about her needs and had to focus on everything else.

When Sam came back he quickly sussed things out and wasn’t pleased to see how cheaply his sister had treated herself. The minute he came into some money he got her a little gold necklace with a small plump heart at the center. “Filled with love, that’s what you are.” He said when he gave it to her.

Sarah decided to wear her new gift on Easter Sunday but none of her dresses looked good enough so she went to some thrift shops to see if anything would do. As much as she would’ve wanted a new dress, growing boys went through clothes like tissues, so she was still limited in funds. Eventually she found something acceptable; a plain, yellow cold shoulder dress that she cinched at the waist so it fit her properly.

Easter was a happy affair. Sam came down so people were excited to see how the new Cap was doing. He announced the egg hunt which sent the kids bounding into the wide-open lawn looking for brightly colored, candy filled plastics before taking tons of pictures and allowing himself to be cooed over by the ladies.

Meanwhile Sarah rolled her eyes at it all and focused instead on manning the dessert table.  Her sons were off messing around with their friends, no doubt dragging Bucky with them to join the fun. He hadn’t been back to Delacroix since the last celebration. Apparently, the government had been keeping him busy. They had barely got to speak before other things parted them, but Sarah had to admit that he looked nice in his blue jeans, white t-shirt and black jacket, although it was a bit too hot for it. He had stared at her, looking as if he had wanted to say something before her sons got a hold of him and whisked him away.

So far things have gone well. The kids were checking their eggs, the adults were sitting around on the beautiful April day eating and conversing while she and the other volunteers organized and store the leftovers.

“Hey.”

Sarah looked up and saw Bucky standing in front of the nearly empty dessert table with his hands shoved in his pockets offering a timid smile.

She smiled back. “Hey got a sweet tooth? Still have a bit of pies left.”

“Uh no…I had some earlier…”

“No, you didn’t. I’ve been here all afternoon and I never saw you.”

“You didn’t…Yeah, you’re right. Don’t know why I said that.”

“You want to try some then or you don’t have a sweet tooth?” She asked kindly.

Bucky shrugged. “I used to, before. Most things nowadays taste overly sweet.”

“Mm, I imagine sugar back then wasn’t as processed.” She mused. “How about something light then?”

“Actually, I came here because I wanted to talk to you.” He blurted out.

She straightened. “Did the boys do anything?”

“No, no! They’re great. They’ve done a lot to make me feel welcomed and no doubt it’s because they’ve had such an amazing role model like yourself.”

She grinned. “Why thank you, Bucky, that’s very sweet of you.”

“I also wanted to say that you look very beautiful in that dress today.” He added.

A flush of heat swept over her cheeks, and she laughed. “You’re kidding. This old thing?”

“Is it old? I can’t tell. I mean I don’t pay much attention to the fashion nowadays but I like this.” He swept his gaze over her openly. “I think it looks nice.”

His gaze made her stomach tremble, and she fingered the simple fabric of her skirt, then shrugged. “It’s just an old thing I found at a thrift shop. I liked the color.”

“It makes you look bright…and happy.” He cleared his throat a bit. “I was wondering if you would wear it again if I took you to dinner.”

Her heart suddenly decided to freefall to her feet. He had spoken to her in a flirty manner once before and now here he is trying again. Dare she return the favor? “I-I mean I could wear it again…if you’re asking me out to a romantic dinner.”

He caught on and started to grin. “You’re in luck. I specialize in romantic dinners.”

“I’m glad one of us does. I haven’t had any type of romance in nearly a decade.” she admitted.

“Are the men of this town dead? I noticed you since the first time and yeah your brother threatened me not to flirt with you, but,” he sighed, “I can’t help it. You’re too beautiful to pass up.”

The blush spread from her cheeks down to her toes and she lowered her head modestly. “Flattery will get you somewhere At least with me.” She smiled sweetly. “I’ll call you.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait.” Bucky agreed with a matching smile.

A date with a man cute enough to make her heart skip a bit.  She couldn’t dare pass it up, besides she deserves something for herself.