#and i got a routine down pat so i lay down for 5 minutes and im out for 7 hours. then i wake back up

[timeless-fanfic]

Chapter 5: The New Dawn

Word Count: 2240

Andrew x Reader

The night passed quietly, the kind of deep, restful sleep that wraps itself around you like a warm blanket. When I finally stirred, the first light of dawn was just beginning to filter through the small window of my room, casting a soft, golden glow across the floor. I lay there for a moment, listening to the sounds of the house waking up around me—the muted clatter of dishes in the kitchen, the low hum of voices, and the occasional creak of the wooden floorboards.

There was something different about this morning, something that made me linger in bed a little longer than usual. Perhaps it was the knowledge that, for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t waking up alone. The presence of Jesus and His disciples, though still a bit surreal to me, had brought a sense of comfort and community that I hadn’t realized I was missing. It was as though their arrival had filled the house with an energy that had been absent for far too long.

After a few more minutes, I finally pushed myself up and out of bed, stretching my arms above my head to shake off the last remnants of sleep. The cool air of the morning brushed against my skin, refreshing and invigorating, as I slipped on my sandals and made my way out of the small room.

The main room of the house was already alive with activity. Elias was outside, drawing water from the well, while Miriam bustled about in the kitchen, her hands busy with the morning meal. The disciples were scattered about, some sitting quietly in prayer, others engaged in low conversation. As I entered the room, a few of them looked up and greeted me with kind smiles and nods, their expressions warm and welcoming.

I returned their greetings, feeling a strange mix of shyness and curiosity. Though I had never met these men before last night, there was something about them that put me at ease, as if they were old friends I had simply forgotten. As I moved through the room, I couldn’t help but notice how at peace they all seemed, even in the midst of their travels. It was a stark contrast to the restless energy that often plagued my own life, and I found myself wondering what it was that gave them such calmness.

Miriam caught my eye as I passed by the kitchen, waving me over with a smile. “Good morning,” she said, her voice soft and cheerful. “Did you sleep well?”

I nodded, returning her smile. “I did, thank you. It’s been a long time since I’ve slept so soundly.”

“Good, good,” she replied, patting my arm affectionately. “There’s something about having a house full of guests that makes everything feel more alive, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t argue with that. The house did feel more alive, more vibrant than it had in weeks. As we spoke, I noticed that the others were beginning to gather around the table, drawn by the smell of the food Miriam was preparing. Elias came in from outside, carrying a large jug of water, and set it down with a grunt.

“Ah, there you are,” he said when he saw me, his voice gruff but fond. “Thought you might have slept through breakfast.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Not today, Elias. I wouldn’t miss one of Miriam’s meals for the world.”

He grinned, his weathered face creasing into a smile. “That’s what I like to hear. Now, come on, let’s get everyone fed. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

As we all gathered around the table, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of gratitude for these simple moments of togetherness. There was something so comforting about the routine of sharing a meal, of being surrounded by people who cared for one another, even if they had only just met. It was a feeling I had missed for far too long, and I found myself silently thanking whatever force had brought these men to our door.

The conversation flowed easily as we ate, the disciples sharing stories of their travels and the people they had met along the way. Jesus, though mostly quiet, listened intently, occasionally offering a word of wisdom or encouragement that seemed to resonate deeply with everyone at the table. There was a lightness in the air, a sense of shared purpose that made the morning feel almost sacred.

As the meal began to wind down, I noticed that Andrew, the disciple I had exchanged glances with the night before, was sitting quietly at the end of the table, his gaze distant as if lost in thought. I hesitated for a moment, then decided to approach him, curious about the man who had captured my attention so unexpectedly.

“Good morning,” I said as I sat down beside him, offering a small smile. “You seem deep in thought.”

He looked up, startled out of his reverie, and returned my smile with one of his own. “Good morning,” he replied, his voice warm. “Yes, I suppose I am. It’s hard not to be, in the presence of such wisdom.”

I nodded, understanding what he meant. There was something about Jesus that drew people in, that made them reflect on their own lives and choices in a way that felt both gentle and profound.

“I’ve been thinking a lot too,” I admitted, my voice quiet. “About everything that’s happened, and about where I’m meant to go from here.”

Andrew’s expression softened, and he leaned in slightly, as if to make sure I knew he was listening. “And what have you decided?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I tried to put my thoughts into words. “I’m not sure yet. It’s all so new to me… this place, these people. It’s hard to know what’s right, what path I should take.”

He nodded, his gaze thoughtful. “I understand. But I think you’re stronger than you realize. You’ve already come so far, and you’ve done so much good. Maybe the path isn’t as unclear as you think.”

His words were comforting, and I felt a small spark of hope light up within me. Perhaps he was right—perhaps I had been so focused on the uncertainty that I had forgotten to see the progress I had already made.

Before I could respond, a voice from across the room called out, breaking the quiet moment between us. It was John, one of the other disciples, who seemed to be in high spirits this morning.

“Andrew! Are you going to sit there all day, or are you going to help with the packing?” he teased, a playful grin on his face.

Andrew laughed, the sound light and easy. “All right, all right, I’m coming!” he called back, giving me an apologetic look as he stood up. “Duty calls, I suppose.”

I smiled, nodding in understanding. “Thank you for the conversation, Andrew. It was… nice.”

He returned my smile, a hint of something more in his eyes. “The pleasure was mine. Perhaps we’ll have another chance to talk later.”

With that, he turned and made his way over to where John was waiting, leaving me to my thoughts once more. As I watched him go, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of connection to this man I had only just met. There was something about him that made me feel… seen, in a way I hadn’t in a long time.

The rest of the morning passed quickly, the house buzzing with activity as the disciples prepared to continue their journey. I helped where I could, gathering blankets and filling water jugs, making sure everyone had what they needed for the road ahead. It was a busy, bustling scene, but there was a sense of quiet joy in the air, a feeling of purpose that seemed to drive everyone forward.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, casting warm light over the small courtyard outside, I found myself pausing for a moment, taking it all in. The sounds of laughter and conversation, the sight of these men—so different from one another, yet united by a common goal—working together in harmony, the feeling of being part of something greater than myself… it was all so overwhelming, and yet so beautiful.

Finally, when everything was ready, Jesus gathered His disciples together, speaking softly to them as they prepared to leave. There was a sense of reverence in the air as they listened to Him, their faces filled with a quiet determination.

Elias and Miriam stood nearby, watching with expressions of pride and respect. I joined them, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for these two people who had taken me in without question, who had given me a place to belong.

As the disciples began to file out of the courtyard, heading towards the road that would take them to their next destination, Jesus paused and turned back to us. His gaze was warm, filled with a kindness that seemed to see right through to the heart.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” He said, His voice gentle. “You have opened your home to us, and for that, we are deeply grateful.”

Elias nodded, his voice thick with emotion. “It was our honor, Rabbi. May God bless you and keep you on your journey.”

Jesus smiled, a small, peaceful smile that seemed to light up the entire courtyard. “And may He bless you as well. Until we meet again.”

I expected Him to turn and leave with the others, but instead, Jesus held my gaze, His expression thoughtful. There was something in His eyes, something that seemed to speak directly to my soul, as if He could see every doubt, every fear, and every hope I held within me.

“Will you join us?” He asked, His voice calm but carrying a weight that made my heart skip a beat.

I blinked, taken aback by the question. “Join you?”

“Yes,” He replied, nodding gently. “There is a place for you with us, if you wish it. You have a gift, one that could bring healing and hope to many. The path we walk is not an easy one, but it is filled with purpose. If you choose to walk it with us, you will never walk alone.”

The weight of His words settled over me like a heavy blanket, both comforting and overwhelming. My heart raced as I tried to process what He was offering. A part of me felt drawn to it, to the idea of traveling with these men who seemed so sure of their purpose, who had found a way to serve something greater than themselves. But another part of me hesitated, unsure if I was ready to leave behind the life I had built here, the people I had grown to love.

I glanced over at Elias and Miriam, searching their faces for some kind of guidance. They were watching me closely, their expressions a mix of pride, concern, and understanding. Miriam gave me a small nod, her eyes filled with encouragement, while Elias simply folded his arms across his chest, waiting for me to decide.

The silence stretched on, each heartbeat pounding in my ears as I weighed my options. It would be so easy to say no, to stay in the comfort of the familiar, to continue the work I had started here. But something deep within me—a small, insistent voice—urged me to take a chance, to step into the unknown and see where this new path might lead.

Finally, I met Jesus’s gaze again, feeling a strange sense of calm settle over me as I made my decision.

“Yes,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. Then, with more certainty, I repeated, “Yes, I will join you.”

A warm smile spread across Jesus’s face, and He reached out to gently touch my arm. “Then let us walk together.”

The decision made, a mix of fear and excitement surged through me, but beneath it all was a sense of peace—peace in knowing that I had chosen to follow a path that felt true to who I was becoming.

As we prepared to leave, I turned to Elias and Miriam, gratitude welling up in my chest. “Thank you,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “For everything.”

Miriam pulled me into a tight embrace, her voice choked with tears. “You’ve brought so much light into our lives, dear. Go and spread that light wherever you go.”

Elias placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip firm but comforting. “We’ll miss you, but we know this is the right choice for you. Go with God, and know that you’ll always have a home here.”

With one last look at the place that had become my refuge, I turned and joined Jesus and His disciples as they began their journey. As we walked away from the familiar, my heart swelled with a sense of purpose, knowing that this was only the beginning of a new chapter in my life—one that would be filled with challenges, growth, and the possibility of making a difference in the world. The road ahead was uncertain, but for the first time in a long while, I felt ready to face it. Whatever lay before me, I knew I wouldn’t be facing it alone.

[happiiest]

😷

[harryhoney-bee]

I'm feeling really soft and fuzzy today, So if I can request something I want to do that abeja 🐝💓

#Concept: Nightly routine with y/n and Harry- parents of two little babies.

Tag me if you write this baby ✨✨

Adore you alot 💕

Night Routine

Warning: your ovaries might explode... mine did 🤚🏻 I would give this man 9 children if he asked.

Word count: 1.7k

I have a kofi, so please consider buying me coffee if you can <3

I hope you enjoy it!! Let me know what you think 😚

“But I want to take a beth with him, daddy,” Cecília whined to Harry, while he undressed her, putting her new pajamas and towel on the bathroom counter.

“My little darling, he is still little, he can’t take bath with you,” Harry explained, taking Cecí on his lap and putting her inside the warm tub, handing her some of her favorite toys. “Lorenzo is just 6 months, he’s not as big as you.”

Harry made a bowl with his hands, wetting her curly hair and applying shampoo, a pout still on her face. “Please, daddy?” she said, her chubby hand grabbing his arm. Cecí had already mastered her puppy eyes technique, and she knew how much her dad had a weak spot for her.

“Alright, alright,” He finally gave in, “but he will stay outside of the tub, he doesn’t know how to sit by himself.”

“Thank you, daddy!” The girl splashed water around in excitement, which made Harry smile. That’s how he always wanted to see her: happy and healthy.

Harry went to the door, keeping an eye on the girl in the tub. “Baby? Are you done nursing? Cecí wants to see Lorenzo,” he tried to call his wife as loud as he could while being mindful of Lorenzo, who could be asleep by now. He never wanted to alarm any of him or Cecília with his loud voice.

In a matter of seconds, Y/n appeared in the hallway, a confused expression on her face while Lorenzo was calmly laying down on her arms, his little hands resting on Y/n’s shoulders. “What’s wrong? Why does she want to see him? We just had diner together,” she asked, heading in Harry’s direction.

“I’m not sure, guess she just missed him,” Harry answered, giving his wife a kiss on the forehead and bending down to talk to a very awake Lorenzo. “But who wouldn’t miss you, huh? Such a cutie, right buddy?” he was aware that using a baby voice wasn’t the best, but he couldn’t help, Lorenzo was just extremely adorable.

“Mommy! Enzo!” Cecília called, from the opposite side of the bathroom, “come here mommy, miss you too.”

Y/n sat on the bathroom floor, Lorenzo still with her. “Hey, my heart, having a good bath with daddy?” she asked at the same time Harry sat down by her side and hugged her from the side, laying his chin on her head.

“Yeah! Daddy always let me play,” Cecília took one of the yellow ducks and showed her mom, “This is Mc Duck.”

“Wow, he’s a very beautiful duck isn’t he?” She asked, giving Lorenzo to Harry while kneeling near the bathtub since Cecí still had to wash her hair, Y/n gently took the excess of shampoo from the girl’s hair, while Harry tried to keep Lorenzo entertained by singing him a silly song.

“He is, I love yellow,” the little girl admitted, “I think Lorenzo loves yellows too.”

“And why do you think that, Cecí?” Harry asked amused while pretending to eat the boy’s fingers.

“Because we’re are best friends,” She said as if the answer was obvious, “and friends like the same things.” Y/n and Harry looked at each other and laughed, for a five-year-old girl she knew a lot about relationships.

“Oh, how do you know that?” Y/n asked, finishing washing her hair, letting Cecília enjoy her time in the bath.

“Because you and daddy are best friends, you wear the same clothes sometimes, listen to the same music, and watch the same movies,” with every new topic she would count down on her fingers, it was quite a comical sight.

Harry’s chuckle filled the room, the baby on his lap giggled too. “Well, my little lady, you are right. But friends can also like different things, too,” he told her. “Me and mommy like a lot of similar things, but we also have our preferences.”

“Exactly, daddy loves bananas, but I don’t” y/n complemented, getting Cecília out of the tub, helping her into some warm clothes, “I don’t like to work out, but your dad always wakes up early to go for a run, see? We like different things but we still love each other.”

Harry got up from the floor, rocking Lorenzo softly, his heavy eyes indicating how sleepy the baby was. He took the combing cream in his hand and began combing Cecília’s curls with one hand, while his other arm held Lorenzo. Being a father of two made him very talented at doing two things at the same time. While he did that, Y/n was getting Cecí’s toothpaste ready.

“Daddy, do you love mommy even if she doesn’t go running with you?” Cecí asked, before opening her mouth so Y/n could brush her teeth. Normally they would let Cecília do it by herself, with their supervision, but it was already late and the couple desperately needed to get the children to bed, or else their routine would be messed up. Good thing Lorenzo seemed to be falling asleep already.

“Of course I do! We don’t love people just because they do the same things we do, we love people because they are kind and respectful to us, yeah?” Harry said, looking at Y/n and blowing her a kiss. This is what he loved the most about parenthood: watching the kids growing into their best version.

Parenting was made in many different ways, but the couple especially loved having these kinds of conversations. Even though Cecília was still young, she was already beginning to comprehend what love and friendships were, and Harry and Y/n had the privilege to teach her that.

Harry finished her hair, putting the brush and the products in their place under the sink while Y/n put on some socks on Cecí’s feet, the little girl was yawning, seeming tired. Lorenzo started to fussy on Harry’s arms.

“Guess it’s time to sleep, huh?” Harry said, caressing Cecílias head, “Tired, my baby? Want daddy to read a bedtime story to you? Or do you want mommy?” At the same time he mentioned Y/n, Lorenzo started to soft cry. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Harry asked, looking down at the upset’s baby face.”

Y/n took his from Harry’s arms, cuddling him closer to her chest, “What do you want, Enzo? Mommy just fed you” she looked at her husband, “I’ll nurse him again on the bed, he’s probably just a bit agitated, will you put her to sleep?”

“Yeah, of course.”

The woman kissed Cecília on the forehead, “have a good night, ok, baby? Mommy will take you to the playground tomorrow, alright?”

“Ok mommy, I love you and little bro too,” she said, giving a hug to her mom before she disappeared through the door with the crying baby.

Harry took Cecília by her small hand, leading them to her room, just by the side of the main suite, where the couple slept. He guided the little girl to her bed, giving her all of her favorite stuffed animals, and covered Cecília in her Lilac duvet.

“What story do you want today?

“The pirate one, please,” she asked, laying her head on the pillow as Harry went to her bookshelf, picking the one with the title Pirate’s cove. He sat by the end of the bed and began telling the story.

“I have a story for you, a story of untold riches and a young lad who found them. And who am I, you ask? Well, I am the spirit of the sand-dollar, a pirate and a buccaneer, Captain of the seahorse, the finest ship to ever sail the seven seas…”

Harry would occasionally stop to answer any questions Cecília had, but after 15 minutes he was done with the book and the girl was fast asleep, hugging tight to her little lamb. He made sure she was tucked in and turned off the lights (besides the one on the side of Cecília’s bed, she was scared to sleep in a pitch-black room), he closed the door and headed to his bedroom.

To Harry’s surprise, Lorenzo was sleeping in his bassinet by the side of the mattress. He usually would sleep in his nursery, but today just seemed like an off day to the little boy. Harry got closer to him, stroking the chubby cheeks, “Oh my little bug, did mommy let you sleep here with us? You’re not feeling fine?”

“I think he’s teething,” Y/n said in a raspy voice, taking her head from the pillow, “he’s even a bit warmer than usual, I think his gums are itching.”

“My poor baby,” Harry mumbled, turning his head to Y/n, “I hate seeing him upset, maybe we could make some homemade Popsicle, it helped when Cecília was teething.”

“Yeah, we can try that, we can make them tomorrow.” she patted the mattress, “now please come to bed, he did a number on me, I’m so tired.”

“Alright baby,” Harry took off his shirt, standing only in sweatpants, he went to the bed, laying by Y/n side, one arm hooked on her waist as she cuddled to him, placing her head on his shoulder.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” Y/n said against his neck.

“Oh baby, I am the lu--”

“--I mean, how many husbands would still love their wives even if they wouldn’t go jogging at 6 in the morning?” she said teasingly, her giggles reaching his ear.

He rolled his eyes playfully, “you are making a lot of jokes for someone who is tired,” he kissed her temple. “I’m gonna wake you up at 5 am tomorrow, so we can be fitness together.”

“Don’t you dare! You do that and your plan of being a father to three it’s over.”

“Damn sweetheart, that’s not very nice, huh?”

“You’re the one who started,” she said, before closing her eyes, snuggling to Harry’s body. The man placed a hand on her belly, falling asleep minutes later.

Tag list: @sunandherflores @elenagilbert01 @bellelittleoff, @cheshire-salvatore-mikaelson

If you don't want to be in the tag list just let me know, please!! <3

[viastro]

pacman | yoon jeonghan

ミ★ synopsis: being best friends, you and jeonghan know all there is to the disastrous effects of developing feelings for each other. that’s why you both make a sleep-deprived promise at 5 am to never fall in love with the other. however, jeonghan begins to question everything when he tasks himself with making you and the new transfer become a couple.

ミ★ genre: best friends / to strangers / to lovers!au, angst, fluff, some humor

ミ★ warnings: none !

ミ★ word count: 7,559

ミ★ pairings: jeonghan x gender neutral reader / jun x gender neutral reader

ミ★ notes: hi guys ! here’s my jeonghan oneshot that was inspired by jaehyun’s upcoming kdrama ! it took me a few days to finish this, so it’s pretty long and i would like to apologize in advance AJSKBGKB i also recommend listening to stay here by gaho on repeat for like top tier reading experience HAHAHA i hope you guys enjoy this oneshot, and remember to give jeonghan lots of love <3

Your eyes are closed as your head rests on the table, waiting for the lecture to begin. Your airpods are in your ears, playing a soft instrumental that has you on the verge of drifting off to sleep. 

Until Jeonghan sits beside you.

“I thought you slept early last night?” Instead of hearing the piano, you hear your best friend’s voice fill your ears as you open up one eye. The newly dyed redhead is staring at you with an amused expression on his face, causing you to squint at him. 

“Yeah, 2 am this time. Personal best for the year so far.” You tell Jeonghan, sitting up from the desk and stretching your arms over your head. Jeonghan rolls his eyes, knowing that is a lot earlier than the usual 6 am bedtime routine you’ve got going on. He sits down in the seat beside you, pulling out his things from his bag. 

Yoon Jeonghan, your best friend of almost eight years now. The two of you met in middle school, having been paired up in science class to dissect a frog. Jeonghan was close to tears the whole time while you were practically gagging over the smell through your mask. 

Someway, somehow, the two of you ended up sticking together after that unfortunate occurrence. No words were exchanged either, you both kind of just started sitting beside each other during lunch and waiting for each other at your assigned lockers. 

In high school it got annoying, as Jeonghan suddenly started to become... pretty. He grew taller, cut his hair short, and had a smirk that made anyone and anything swoon. Well, everyone except you. It got worse when you both entered university, as Jeonghan is continuing to become prettier by the minute. 

You can’t count on your hand how many times someone was jealous of how close the two of you were. 

However, the two of you made a vow after watching one too many kdramas with the trope of best friends to strangers due to one of them falling in love. It might be a bit drastic, and it was in the wee hours of the morning when the two of you made this oath so who knows if Jeonghan remembers. You don’t even remember most of what you both agreed upon other than the fact that the two of you can’t fall in love.

“Hannie, our friendship is too precious to end like theirs did!” You say through your tears, with Jeonghan pulling out a bunch of tissues to throw at your face. He nods his head in agreement, running a hand through his black hair as he fights back his own tears, only to pause and turn towards you.

“You think I’d like you?” Jeonghan asks with a look of disgust on his face, making you halt your movements, looking at him with a glare. “Hey!” 

“I’m teasing you.” Jeonghan says with a laugh, taking one of the tissues he threw at your face and wiping the snot that’s slipped past your nose from crying. You quietly let him, too tired and sad to tell him how gross that is. 

“We gotta stop binging kdramas until 5 in the morning.” Your best friend tells you, and you nod your head silently as you stare into his pretty eyes. He lets out a yawn once he’s done wiping away your tears, turning off your TV and placing the remote on the table. 

“Come on, lay down, yn.” You don’t move from your position on the couch, still huddled into the corner as you think of what could happen if one of you ever developed feelings for each other. 

A small smile forms on Jeonghan’s face at how deep in thought you are, reaching out and patting the top of your head. You look up at Jeonghan, and he tilts his head at you. 

“What’s up? I’m trying to tuck you in and you’re staring off as if you’re going through an existential crisis.” You purse your lips at his observation, wondering if you are having an existential crisis. Jeonghan sits back down beside you, and he rests his head on his hand as he turns his body towards you. 

“Let’s make a vow.” You say after a moment of silence passes between the two of you. Jeonghan raises an eyebrow, “What kind of vow?” 

You turn your body towards his, fixing the blankets on your lap before finally looking into his eyes again. You find Jeonghan’s eyes to be his prettiest feature, as you can always see what he’s feeling through his gaze. It’s how you’re able to tell when he’s lying. 

“A vow for us to never fall in love with each other.” You state, and you watch as mirth pools Jeonghan’s eyes while his lips curve up into an amused smile. “I don’t think we can make a vow on something that’s out of our control.” 

You bite the inside of your cheek, and Jeonghan watches as your eyes brighten when another idea comes to mind. He’s a bit taken aback when you suddenly reach out and grasp his hand, holding it tightly between your warm ones.

“Then we make a promise.”

“That’s the same thing as a vow-”

“No, shut up. Let me explain.” You say, and Jeonghan chuckles. He motions with his hand for you to go on, and you let out a breath.

“If one of us catches feelings, then we end our friendship.” Jeonghan stares at you with a serious expression on his face, and you find that you’re afraid at how fast the amusement left his eyes. Jeonghan leans in closer towards you, “You’d want to end our friendship just like that?” 

“Nono! I mean like, for a certain amount of time. Essentially we’d just ghost each other until our feelings go away, and the other can’t intervene.” You explain, slightly shoving Jeonghan away, but you see that he still looks a bit put off by your idea. 

“I’d feel like ass if you just left without a word, though.” Jeonghan tells you, and you slowly nod your head, understanding where he’s coming from. You let out another sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

“Pacman.” You peek at Jeonghan, wondering why he mentioned your guys’ favorite game when you were children. He gives you a tired smile, “It’ll be our code word. Instead of leaving without a trace for a couple months, or confessing our feelings and then leaving, we can just say Pacman. It’s not directly saying I love you, and who knows if either of us will remember the word. It’s the perfect thing to say before disappearing for a bit.” 

You slowly nod your head, finding that it seems like the best option thus far. And so, out of your 5 am fatigue, you hold out your pinky towards your best friend. 

“Pinky promise that you won’t fall in love with me.” You mutter sleepily, and Jeonghan chuckles, reaching out and intertwining his pinky with yours. 

“I pinky promise that I won’t fall in love with you.” Jeonghan responds softly, pressing his thumb against yours, sealing the promise.

And now here you both are, still going strong after that sleep-deprived promise you made when you two were barely 16 years old. 

You let out a yawn, covering your mouth with your hand while Jeonghan scrolls through his phone to try and show you the meme he saw earlier. Only for you to pause your movements when someone enters the auditorium.

“Look, I found it.” Jeonghan says happily, about to hold out his phone towards you, only to pause, seeing that you’re distracted. He turns his head in the direction of your awed state, only to find a handsome guy standing at the doorway, looking for a seat. 

Jeonghan slowly turns back towards you, finding you still staring at the man. He’s never seen this expression on your face before when you looked at someone else, but he knows this look. And so, he lets out a grin, before standing up from his seat and walking down the steps. 

Your eyes widen when you suddenly see Jeonghan’s red hair flash before your eyes, and you internally scream when you watch him walk up and bow to the incredibly pretty man.

“Hi! I’m Yoon Jeonghan.” This seems to startle the guy, but his eyes almost immediately turn up into an eye smile as he bows back in Jeonghan’s direction. 

“Hi, I’m Wen Junhui.” Jeonghan grins back, before motioning over towards where you and him are seated. 

“Oh God.” You mutter to yourself when the pretty man looks up at you, causing you to look down at your phone and check to see if you look at least half decent. You internally scream when you look back up to see him and Jeonghan walking up the steps, and you would’ve flipped Jeonghan off if it weren’t for the pretty guy looking at you. 

“Yn! This is Wen Junhui, he’s a transfer.” Jun smiles at you, and you find yourself smiling back at him, warmth flooding your chest at the precious sight. “Hi yn, you can call me Jun.” 

You nod your head, “Hi Jun, let Jeonghan and I know if you ever need any help!” 

He sits down in the seat besides Jeonghan and bends down to take out the things from his bag, giving you enough time to quickly smack the back of Jeonghan’s neck. He squeaks, turning and shooting you a glare, only to stop and give Jun a reassuring smile when the pretty transfer looks at him in concern.

“Are you okay?” 

Jeonghan nods his head, giving Jun a thumbs up. He glances towards you once more when Jun goes back to preparing his seat, only to find the slight sparkle to your eye as you stare at the transfer student. Jeonghan slowly looks away, knowing exactly what that sparkle will signify in the future. 

Jeonghan walks towards the square with both airpods in, hands holding heat packs in the pockets of his coat to keep warm. He notices you sitting on the bench, bundled up in your large jacket as you wait for him, causing a small smile to form on Jeonghan’s face. 

He’s about to call out your name, only to halt his movements when he sees Junhui heading the opposite way. Jeonghan looks between the two of you, knowing that you have a raging crush on the pretty man but won’t initiate anything, and that Junhui might possibly be interested in you as well.

It’s been a month since Jun transferred to Seoul National University, and Jeonghan’s slowly been trying to push the two of you together. However, he does it so that it’s not too obvious for the sake of him not getting yelled at by you.

When you yell, you yell for a long time. 

And so, being the kind friend that Jeonghan is, he quickly walks unnoticed past you, and places both hands on Jun’s shoulders without a noise of greeting. This promptly startles the transfer student, considering the brief look of fear on Jun’s face, only for it to morph into a smile when he looks into Jeonghan’s eyes.

“Jeonghan!” 

“Jun! Are you done with your lectures today?” Jun nods his head in response, and Jeonghan grins at his answer. He turns and points towards you, making Jun peek over his shoulder to see you practically shaped like an onigiri, with your shoulders to your chest and your large winter jacket wrapped around you. “Yn and I were just about to go and get lunch, wanna join?” 

Jeonghan notices Jun’s eyes become a bit brighter when he looks at you, before he turns back to look at him and runs a hand through his hair. “That sounds great! I’m starving.” 

Jeonghan nods his head, before turning towards you and calling out your name. You glance up at the sound of Jeonghan’s voice, looking over to find him and Jun standing a few feet away from you with small smiles on their faces. You shoot your best friend a look, and his smile simply grows wider as you stand up from the bench and walk over to the two. 

“Jun! Are you joining us for lunch today?” You ask when you make it over to them, secretly slapping Jeonghan’s side for being a goddamn whore. Jun smiles and nods his head while Jeonghan inconspicuously rubs his waist to ease the sting from your smack. 

“Where do you guys wanna eat?” Jun asks as the three of you begin walking out of the square. You think to yourself for a moment while Jeonghan stays quiet, letting you decide on where the gang will have lunch. You let out a grin when you finally think of where to eat, glancing at the two before saying, “Thai food!” 

Jeonghan and Jun nod their heads in agreement, and you celebrate quietly between the two. You squeeze the heat packs in your pockets when Jun turns and looks at you, causing you to look back at him. 

“What do you usually order at Thai restaurants?” You purse your lips at Jun’s question, fighting back the warmth from rushing to your face at the way he’s staring at you with so much interest. “It depends on my mood, to be honest.” 

“Wanna order for me when we get there then? I’m not sure what to eat.” 

“Horrible idea. What if I choose something you don’t like?”

“Then I’ll keep eating it, yn.” 

“Jun!” 

Jeonghan watches as you and Jun unconsciously walk faster until the two of you are now ahead of him. You are in your own little world as you bicker, but Jeonghan knows there’s no malice in your guys’ argument with the way you’re both smiling brightly at each other. 

You pause when you don’t feel that familiar presence beside you, and you turn your head to find Jeonghan standing a bit far behind you and Jun. You squint at your best friend, before pulling your hand out of your pocket and waving him over.

“Hannie! What are you waiting for? Come here!”

Jeonghan tightly squeezes the heat pack in his pockets, before nodding his head and walking a bit faster to catch up to you guys. It’s only when he’s standing right beside you that the three of you begin heading towards the Thai restaurant again.

As the frigid temperatures hit him, Jeonghan’s left wondering why the heat packs no longer offer him any warmth as he watches you laugh with Jun.

Jeonghan sits beside you on your couch, invested in the new episode of the kdrama the two of you have been keeping up with. He turns his head when your phone lights up, and his eyes land on the contact name.

jun <3

“You got a text from Junnie.” Jeonghan says, taking a piece of popcorn and placing it into his mouth. You look away from the TV, picking up your phone and reading the message. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeonghan watches the dopey smile form on your face as your thumbs type out a text to your crush.

Suddenly the popcorn feels a bit too dry to swallow as Jeonghan reaches over to take a sip of water. It only goes down smoothly when you place your phone back down on the couch and adjust the blankets over you and Jeonghan. 

“I love when the main actress stands up for herself.” You mutter, taking a few pieces of popcorn and tossing them into your mouth. Jeonghan nods his head in agreement, watching as the female lead starts cursing back at the man. 

“There’s just something so satisfying about women proving that they don’t need a man to protect them. They need to show this more in kdramas, break the stereotype, ya know?” Jeonghan adds, and you smile softly, pride swelling in your heart at the simple sentence. He turns his head and catches sight of your soft smile, and he feels the undeniable feeling of warmth from the beauty of it. 

A sudden bright light makes him glance down at the blankets, finding that your phone has lit up again. You notice as well, picking up the cool metal and reading the new text from Jun. Jeonghan watches as your mouth drops open and how you immediately stand up from the couch. 

“Did something happen?” Jeonghan asks, only for your phone to be shoved directly into his face. The redhead curses quietly, muttering about how you need to update your phone to be able to turn on dark mode, before reading the message on the screen.

“He asked me on a date! Me! Wait, is it a date? What should I say?! What if he didn’t mean to send me that text?? Oh my God, I’m so nervous I could actually pee my pants.” You ramble, and Jeonghan’s eyes slowly trail up to your face, watching as you mumble to yourself and begin to pace around the small living room. He bites the inside of his cheek, before grabbing your phone out of your hands and typing out a message. Your eyes widen when you watch your best friend’s thumbs move swiftly across your screen.

“Wait, Yoon Jeonghan!” 

“There.” Jeonghan states, handing you back your phone. You stare at the screen in silence.

jun <3: i was wondering if you wanted to go to the aquarium together on saturday? I remembered when you told me how you’ve never been, and the aquarium is having a christmas special even tho it’s november :3

It’s totally fine if you don’t wanna go by the way

you: that sounds great ! i can’t wait <3

jun <3: yay! I’ll pick you up at around 4 on saturday ~

Jeonghan watches as your eyes slowly trail up towards his face, and he wonders whether you’re gonna choke him or scream at him. Or both.

Jeonghan thinks it’s both.

It comes to his surprise when you instead wrap your arms around his frame, squeezing him tightly. Jeonghan slowly reciprocates the hug, cradling your head in his hand like he always does. 

“Thank you, Hannie.” You mumble, and Jeonghan bites the inside of his cheek at the softness to your voice. He lets out a smile, nodding his head, “Of course, yn. Anything for you.” 

“Did you know that you smell good?” Jeonghan raises an eyebrow at the random question, and the rumble of his chest from laughter makes you giggle in response, squeezing him tighter. 

“Really? What do I smell like?” 

You purse your lips in thought, before letting out a deep sigh. You close your eyes as you quietly say, “You smell delicate, it reminds me of Spring.”

Jeonghan’s heart thumps against his chest as he pats your head, “How can I smell like a season?”

“I don’t know. You just do.”

You pull away from the hug to flash Jeonghan a bright smile, and you watch as his features brighten at the sight. You rub the back of your neck, about to sit back down to finish the drama, only to pause when you realize something. 

“Jeonghan!” 

“Yn!” 

“I have to choose an outfit for Saturday! Oh my GOD!” You sprint out of the living room and to your bedroom, while Jeonghan remains in the living room. He listens to the sound of your screeches, and the chaotic noises of clothes being pulled out of your closet. 

“Hannie, come help! I’m not that stylish!”

Jeonghan bites his bottom lip, turning to look at the long forgotten drama. He lets out a sigh, bending down and picking up the remote, turning off the TV. The screen turns black, leaving him to stare at his reflection in the monitor. 

It’s as if Jeonghan is having a staring contest with himself as he stares at the TV monitor, thinking of the answer to a question that he’s not willing to ever admit. He only looks away when he hears the call of his name, pursing his lips at the thoughts he was thinking. 

Jeonghan pushes everything in his brain away, letting out a small smile when you walk out of your room with your head stuck in a hanger. You scratch the top of your head, confused as to how you even managed to fit your head through the small space. 

“Please help.” You say, and Jeonghan chuckles, nodding his head and walking over towards your room. 

“Should I ask how you even managed to get your head through the hanger?” 

“No.”

“Good, because I didn’t plan out how I’d react if you told me about it.” 

Jeonghan runs a hand through his hair as he looks out the window of his apartment, seeing the grand view of the city of Seoul at night. He tilts his head at the sight of a few fireworks shooting up into the sky, even though there’s about ten minutes left until it’s the new year. 

“Hannie! My parents want to see your red hair.” He turns his head at the call of his name, finding you sitting at his kitchen table on FaceTime with your family. He grins and walks over to you, resting his hand on the back of your chair as he puts himself in the frame. 

“Hi auntie and uncle! Happy New Year!” Jeonghan greets with a smile, and the two of you let out a laugh at your mom’s reaction to his bright hair color. He runs a hand through his hair, sending your mom a thumbs up in the camera. “Do you like my hair?

“I’m honestly just surprised that you pull it off so well.” Your mom responds, and you chuckle. Your dad nods in agreement, giving Jeonghan a thumbs up with a proud smile on his face. Grinning, you reach out and ruffle Jeonghan’s hair. 

“Of course Hannie can pull it off! He’s one of the prettiest guys ever, I wouldn’t be surprised if he were able to rock green hair.” Your mom and dad laugh, while Jeonghan just stares at you for a moment, feeling slightly empty when you pull your hand away. Your mom lets out a mischievous smile, and you raise an eyebrow at it. “What are you planning, mom?” 

“Since you think Jeonghan is so pretty, why aren’t you dating him yet?” Warmth immediately floods your face, and you let out a whine, causing your mom and dad to holler over in laughter. You turn to Jeonghan to apologize, and he just gives you a small smile, nodding his head in understanding. When you glance back at your phone to scold your parents, Jeonghan’s smile turns bitter, and he looks away from your screen to hide it. 

You and Jun have been dating for a month now. 

“I’ll talk to you guys later! Jeonghan and I have to take our annual New Year’s photo.” You say, waving at your parents with a bright smile on your face.

“Bye Jeonghan!” Jeonghan glances back over at your phone, finding your parents waving at him with happy expressions on their faces. He forces out a smile, waving back at them with the same energy they’re giving him. “Yn and I will try to visit soon!” 

“Yeah you better!” You let out a laugh at your dad’s comment, waving at them one last time before ending the call. You lean back into the chair, closing your eyes to try and muster up some energy. 

“Your parents’ love suck all the life out of you?” Jeonghan asks with an amused expression on his face, and you wave him away with your hand, eyes still closed as you do so. He chuckles, reaching out and pinching your cheek before walking back over to the couch. 

“Are we gonna take a picture or what?” You open your eyes to see Jeonghan already preparing the polaroid camera, and you stand up and walk over to him. You rest your chin on his shoulder, making Jeonghan stiffen slightly, and he hopes you didn’t notice. However, you’re observant.

“Why’d you freeze? Oh! Is your shoulder bothering you again?” You ask in concern, immediately stepping back and assessing Jeonghan’s shoulder. He watches as you begin to ramble about how he should go to the doctor about his shoulder pain as you poke and prod at him. Biting the inside of his cheek, he moves his shoulder out of your reach, “It’s fine, I just slept wrong last night.” He lies through his teeth, and you stare into Jeonghan’s eyes as your hands slowly fall to your sides. 

His deep brown eyes bore into yours, seeing a reflection of his own as he does so. After a moment of searching, you look away with a sigh. 

Jeonghan’s eyes are your favorite feature of his, as his true emotions always show through them. They’re his most honest feature, you’d say. 

so why can’t I tell if he’s lying right now? 

You shake your head, before looking back at Jeonghan with a smile. You nod your head, reaching out and softly patting his shoulder as a means to not accidentally hurt him. “Let’s take the photo, I need a post for Instagram.” 

Jeonghan scoffs, holding up the polaroid camera, “You only want to take photos with me so that you get more likes on Instagram.” 

You smile, peace sign up towards your eye as you nod your head, “Of course. If I have a pretty boy beside me in my photos, then everyone will like them!” 

Jeonghan smiles, winking into the polaroid camera as the flash goes off. The film photo immediately pops out, and you take the small photo and wave it around. Jeonghan purses his lips, before holding up the camera again. 

“Let’s take one more.” He says, and you raise an eyebrow, surprised that he wants to take another photo with you. You place the polaroid down onto the coffee table before posing without question, as you’re afraid he will immediately take back the request. 

“1, 2, 3-” Your hand makes your way to Jeonghan’s face, squishing his cheeks when the flash goes off. Jeonghan turns to face you, finding you giggling happily as you take the developing polaroid, flapping it around a bit before placing it onto the coffee table. 

“I wanted to look handsome in that one.” Jeonghan whines, and you roll your eyes. 

“You’re always handsome, be quiet.” You respond, and Jeonghan opens his mouth to argue, only to stop when you glance at the time. 

“15 SECONDS!” You screech, grabbing the noise maker and confetti, handing one to Jeonghan in the process. You jump up and down as the two of you begin to count down. 

“10!” 

“9!” 

“8!”

“7!” Jeonghan glances at you, feeling as if time is starting to slow down as you excitedly dance while counting down. 

“6!”

“5!”

“4!” You laugh happily, doing a small dance as you prepare the confetti in your hand. 

“3!” 

“2!” Jeonghan feels his heart sink in his chest when you turn to face him with a bright smile, seeing all the stars in your eyes as you stare at him. 

“1!” 

“Happy New Year, Hannie!” You squeal, throwing the confetti up as high as you can into the air. Jeonghan swallows, noticing how dry his throat has become as he takes in the sight before him. Time comes to a slow as the fireworks explode in the air behind you through the window, while the confetti sparkles fall around the two of you. All the background noise drowns out, all of his senses honing in on you and you only. You look nothing short of ethereal in this moment.

The realization of what he’s been denying for the last three months comes to the surface as he stares at you, and he wishes for nothing more than for it to not be true. That it’s just a fluke.

However, when you turn back towards him and wrap your arms around his frame, greeting him Happy New Year once more, Jeonghan knows it’s the truth. 

“Happy New Year, Yoon Jeonghan.” You say softly with a grin, and Jeonghan slowly wraps his arms around you, biting the inside of his cheek as he closes his eyes. 

“Happy New Year, yn yln.” Jeonghan mutters, and you pull away to pull out your phone from your pocket. You wave it around Jeonghan’s face with a mischievous smile, “I’m gonna go greet Jun a happy new year, I’ll be back in a sec.” 

Jeonghan squeezes his fist at his side, nodding his head as he gives you a smile. “Tell the handsome man I said Happy New Year.” 

You give the redhead a thumbs up, before dialing Jun’s number and heading towards the bathroom. Once the door closes behind you, Jeonghan reaches up and clutches his chest, biting his bottom lip harshly as he looks down at the floor. He notices the now developed polaroids, and lifts up the one where you're squishing his face.

You’re staring at Jeonghan with stars in your eyes as you smile widely, hand squishing his cheeks. Jeonghan purses his lips, before pulling out his wallet from the back of his jeans, placing the polaroid into the slot before his driver’s license. 

The photo reflects back at him underneath the light from the fireworks behind him, and Jeonghan lets out a breath. Running a hand through his hair, he closes his wallet and places it back into his pocket. Just in time too, as he looks up when he hears your bathroom door open, noticing the happy smile on your face. 

“Ready to make midnight snacks to celebrate the new year?” You ask with a wink, and Jeonghan throws on his best fake smile, nodding his head. 

“Of course I do, don’t ask me no stupid fucking questions.” Jeonghan teases, and you let out a laugh at the sentence, sending the redhead’s heart into a frenzy. 

“Let’s go make food then.” You say, turning and heading towards the kitchen. Jeonghan slowly walks after you, a sad smile on his face as he watches you dance as you walk. 

Just one more day. Jeonghan thinks to himself, before speeding up his pace and wrapping his arm around you. You turn to look at your best friend, and he smiles at you. 

“Let’s make rice krispy treats.” Jeonghan suggests, only to let out a laugh at how your face brightens just at the mention of the delicious dessert, and you nod your head excitedly. You lead him to his own pantry, and begin explaining who’s gonna do what as you take out all the ingredients. All while Jeonghan watches fondly, knowing that he needs to ingrain this moment in his brain.

Just one more day with yn.

Jeonghan shuffles in front of your door, dreading what’s going to happen as soon as he knocks on the surface. He lets out a sigh, resting his head on the wall for a moment, questioning everything.

What if I just pretended?

I could just walk in and we could hangout like we usually do, like nothing has changed at all.

No.

Jeonghan lifts up his head, raising his fist and knocking on your door without a second thought. He bites the inside of his cheek when he hears you say, “Coming!” 

Your front door opens after a moment, and his eyes trail over your outfit. An oversized vest over a white dress shirt paired with straight leg pants and sneakers to match. Jeonghan’s eyes slowly go back towards your face, just to find you staring at him with surprise painted over your features.

“Hannie! I wasn’t expecting you, what’s up?” You ask, and Jeonghan stays quiet for a moment. He gestures to you, and you raise an eyebrow. 

“Are you going somewhere?” Jeonghan asks, and you nod your head. Letting out a smile, you show off your outfit and do a timid spin for emphasis on the oversized vest. “I have a date with Jun today, you like the fit?” 

Jeonghan doesn’t respond, instead squeezing his fist in his pocket. He looks down the hallway, making you look in the same direction as well. You find Jun walking towards your apartment, and you let out a smile. 

“Speak of the Devil. Did you need something from my apartment? You can just lock up when you’re done.” You tell Jeonghan as you turn back towards him, and you find the rest of the words die in your throat at the sadness in his eyes. You reach out to grasp his arm, and he takes a step back. 

“Hannie, what’s wrong-” 

“Jun is lucky to have you.” Jeonghan cuts you off, and you stare at him as he struggles to utter the next word. He turns back to look at Jun, seeing that he’s almost to your door, having not noticed Jeonghan yet. 

“Jeonghan?” You ask, and you watch as the pretty man turns back to look at you. 

“Pacman.” Jeonghan breathes out, and you feel your heart stop, unsure of why.

He turns around and walks away without another word, and your eyebrows furrow in confusion. You step out to ask him what he means, only for Jeonghan to stop and turn around himself. He gives you a bittersweet smile, waving his hand at you. 

“You look beautiful, yn. Have fun on your date.” And with that, Jeonghan turns around and walks away, sucking in a deep breath to try and hold back the tears that threaten to escape. Leaving you alone by your doorway, confused. 

“Was that Jeonghan?” You turn your head at the sound of Jun’s voice, and he gives you a soft smile. You nod your head slowly, turning to look back in the direction that he left in. “Yeah, he seems sad though.” 

“Wanna go and check on him?” Jun asks, and you bite the inside of your cheek, remembering the tickets Jun bought in advance for the two of you to go to this garden. Regretfully, you shake your head and give Jun a warm smile. “It’s okay, I’ll check on him after our date.” 

You quickly grab your phone and bag, locking the door to your apartment and turning to Jun with a grin. He extends his hand towards you, and you intertwine your fingers with his. The two of you walk towards the elevators, but you’re left in confusion as to what Jeonghan meant, and why he was so sad.

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, and months eventually turned into a year. 

You and Jeonghan haven’t spoken since the day he stopped by your apartment and said that cursed word. 

You tried to reach out once you realized what he meant, even stopping by his apartment multiple times to just get him to say something, anything. You were quite literally talking to a door, as there was never a response. There were times that you fell asleep in front of his apartment on the floor, and would wake up in Jun’s arms as he carried you back to your own place. 

Many tears were shed, hearts were broken on both sides as you lost not only Jeonghan, but Jun as the two of you broke up four months after Jeonghan left. 

“I’ll always love you, but I know that your heart belongs to someone else.” Jun tells you softly, and you bite the inside of your cheek. He gives you a small smile, grasping your face, making you look down at the floor as he presses one last kiss to your forehead. 

Jun pulls away, and pats the top of your head. “Don’t be a stranger, yn. I love you.” 

You wanted nothing more than for Jeonghan to be there with you at that moment, to help you take the baby steps in healing, but you couldn’t get through to him no matter how much you tried.

It was what you two promised to do, anyways. 

He even managed to avoid you on campus successfully, you couldn’t be surprised though. The university is huge, you wouldn’t have been able to find him if you tried, which you did. He stopped frequenting all the places the two of you used to go to, it was as if he disappeared. 

And the hole in your heart grew and grew the longer Jeonghan was gone. 

Now here you are, a year later, sitting on a park bench as you let the music flow through your airpods. The weather is nice, a contrast to the rain that’s been pelting the city of Seoul for the last few days. The sky is blue, and there’s a slight wind to cool you down from the warmth of the sun. You tilt your head back, letting out a sigh as you remember the pile of assignments sitting on your desk back at home. 

And so, placing your hands into the pockets of your hoodie, you get up off the bench and begin to walk down the path in the direction of your apartment. Your eyes stay on the ground the whole time, just trying to focus on the soothing piano as you ignore the other people walking by you. 

You only look up when you get to the crosswalk, seeing a crowd of people across the street from you. Your eyes trail along the numerous faces you see, and you’re about to look back down when you lock eyes with a familiar pair. 

“Jeonghan.” You breathe out as he stares at you with the same amount of shock written across his face. His red hair is now dyed black, emphasizing his sharp features. His eyes still hold all the warmth that you remember as he stares directly back at you, making the pain in your chest more evident at how much you miss him. You bite the inside of your cheek harshly at how much prettier he’s become, wondering how he’s capable of doing so as time passes. 

The crosswalk signal turns green, but you remain where you are for a moment, as does Jeonghan. The reminder of the promise the two of you made flooding through your mind.

“Nono! I mean like, for a certain amount of time. Essentially we’d just ghost each other until our feelings go away, and the other can’t intervene.” You explain, slightly shoving Jeonghan away, but you see that he still looks a bit put off by your idea. 

“I’d feel like ass if you just left without a word, though.” Jeonghan tells you, and you slowly nod your head, understanding where he’s coming from. You let out another sigh, looking up at the ceiling.

“Pacman.” You peek at Jeonghan, wondering why he mentioned your guys’ favorite game. He gives you a tired smile, “It’ll be our code word. Instead of leaving without a trace for a couple months, or confessing our feelings and then leaving, we can just say Pacman. It’s not directly saying I love you, and who knows if either of us will remember the word. It’s the perfect thing to say before disappearing for a bit.” 

Jeonghan begins to cross the street first, and you look down at the road as you step off the sidewalk, melting in with the crowd as you walk in Jeonghan’s direction. Your heart is breaking within your chest as you do so, knowing that you have to keep the promise you made with Jeonghan. 

The two of you pinky swore, after all. 

Tightly, you squeeze your fists at your side as the piano instrumental reaches its climax in your ears. Numerous questions flood your brain as you reach the middle of the street.

Is this it? 

Are we never going to be best friends again?

Has he already passed me?

Does…

Does he still love me?

All thoughts rush out your brain when a hand grabs your wrist unexpectedly, the sudden jerk of your arm making your earbud fall out of your ear and onto the road, the soft key sounds of the piano disappearing with the wind. You open your mouth to protest, but the words die in your throat when you’re pulled into a tight embrace. It’s only when the familiar scent of Spring fills your senses, that you immediately wrap your arms around Jeonghan’s frame, tears filling your eyes from the overwhelming feeling of relief.

“Hi, yn.” Jeonghan mutters into your ear, tears falling from his own eyes as he holds you tightly, never wanting to let you go. You let out a sob at the sound of his voice, closing your eyes as you clutch onto him just as tight, scared that he’ll disappear without a trace again if you let go. 

And so, through your tears, you whisper, “Hi, Jeonghan.”

“Yn! It’s only a few more minutes until midnight!” 

“Coming!” You shout back, checking over your reflection once more. You step out of the restroom once you’re sure that you look decent, and walk over to your living room. You let out a smile once you lay eyes on Jeonghan laying upside down on your couch, scrolling through his phone.

“What are you doing, Hannie?” You ask, and the black haired beauty peeks at you past his phone, flashing you a smile. 

“It’s more comfortable this way, wanna try?” You roll your eyes, flicking his forehead as you grab the polaroid camera. He lets out a whine, fixing his position so that he’s now sitting properly and not upside down. 

“Why’d you flick me?” 

“Cause you’re cheeky.” You answer, preparing the polaroid film to take the annual New Year’s Eve photo. Jeonghan grins, quickly fixing his hair to make sure it looks presentable. “Do I look okay?” 

You quickly turn towards him, taking in his features. His soft eyes gaze into yours as you stare at his pretty nose and high cheekbones. You reach out and pinch his cheek with a smile, “You look pretty, Hannie. You always do. Now let’s take this photo.” 

Jeonghan smiles happily at your compliment, before taking the polaroid camera from you and holding it out as you have trouble doing so. You let out a bright smile at the camera, Jeonghan doing the same as he takes the photo. The flash goes off, and you’re quick to take the film out and wave it around. 

“Another one.” You command as you take the polaroid camera out of Jeonghan’s hands, and he chuckles, nodding his head. You hold the camera out and send a wink towards the camera, Jeonghan doing the same pose. 

“Okay. 1, 2, 3-” Jeonghan quickly changes his pose last minute, reaching out with his hand and squeezing your cheeks with a laugh. The flash goes off, and you let out a whine, turning back towards the pretty man to see him still giggling as he takes the polaroid out and waves it around.

“Are you happy now that you’ve gotten your revenge?” You ask, and he nods his head with a grin. “Very happy, actually.” 

You’re about to respond, only to pause when you see that there’s only 30 seconds left until the clock strikes midnight. You practically screech, standing up from the couch to grab the noise makers. Jeonghan watches you with a fond smile on his face, getting up from the couch to snatch the confetti. 

“You’re doing confetti this year?” You ask when you scramble back over, noise maker now in your grasp. Jeonghan chuckles, “Why do we always get confetti when it’s a pain to clean up afterwards?” 

You purse your lips, refusing to answer the question as you begin to count down the seconds instead. Jeonghan rolls his eyes at your antics, starting to count down along with you. 

“10!” 

“9!” 

“8!” 

“7!” Jeonghan nudges you a bit, and you stumble over, making the latter laugh loudly as you squint at him. 

“6!” 

“5!” 

“4!” You and Jeonghan turn towards each other, bright smiles on your faces as you continue to count down.

“3!”

“2!” 

“1!” 

“Happy New Year!” You both cheer, and Jeonghan throws the confetti up high into the air. You laugh excitedly as it falls around the two of you, feeling your heart warm when he turns to you and grasps your face with his hands. 

Your eyes softly fall shut as Jeonghan leans in and captures your lips in a kiss to celebrate the new year. Your hands trail up and rest on his sides, gripping his shirt as a smile breaks out onto both of your faces. He pulls away and rests his forehead on yours, staring into your eyes. 

“I love you, yn.” He whispers, and you feel your heart swell from joy.

“I love you too, Jeonghan.” Warmth fills Jeonghan from those three simple words that hold so much depth as the two of you begin to sway side to side to the soft music filling the background.

The polaroid that Jeonghan kept in his wallet for the last two years sits up on the frame behind the both of you as you slow dance, the bright colors of the fireworks exploding outside casting an iridescent glow over the two of you. 

As you scoot closer and rest your head onto Jeonghan’s chest, and his hand softly cradles the back of your head, you realize that sometimes, 

Promises are meant to be broken.

[emerald-chaos]

Insomnia

*gif not made by me, credit goes to the owner*

Hi Everyone! So it's been probably like...10 years since I wrote my last fic lol. Watching TFATWS has rekindled my undying love for Bucky Barnes and I just couldn't help but start writing again. I had to get my feelings out! I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've been considering writing some more parts...so tell me if that's something you'd be interested in! I appreciate any and all constructive feedback or just feedback in general! Much love.

Pairing: Reader x Bucky Barnes

Word Count: 2533 (lowkey popped off...oops)

Warnings: Just in case...vague allusions to a dark past, struggles with mental illness, explicit language, and some suggestive conversation. Oh and some really bad jokes lol. Fluffy and angsty.

No matter how much you tossed and turned, how many sheep you counted, or how much you prayed and pleaded to any higher power that would listen – the release of sleep just wasn’t going to happen. You’re not sure why you were surprised, it’s not like this was the first time. You let out a heavy sigh and toss off the covers. This has been a nightly occurrence for as long as you can remember. When you were trying to rest, when there was no noise to block out the images in your head, it was a battle. A battle which you have always lost.

You flip on the bright florescent lights of the bathroom as you trudge in, dragging your feet in exhaustion. It takes a minute for your eyes to adjust to the harshness of the light as you place your hands onto the countertop. The cool marble feels good against your palms as you close your eyes and lean your head back, another sigh leaving your lips. You twist your neck from side to side, trying to release some tension and maybe get a satisfying pop. No such luck. As you open your eyes and gaze upon the person staring back at you a small laugh tumbles from your chest.

Jesus, she looks awful.

The dark circles that permanently reside below your eyes appear more pronounced than usual. The corners of your mouth hang low and you just look…tired. Like you were rode hard and put away wet.

The bottle of melatonin tucked away on your counter catches your eye. You pick it up and twirl it as you inspect the writing. “Sleep Support” you read, “may help promote restful sleep”. What a load of shit. You place the bottle back down and inspect the orange one next to it. The pills inside were about as useful as the melatonin. Nothing seemed to quiet the voices or stop the scenarios that plagued your mind. You splash some cold water on your face and grab for a towel to pat it dry. Your eyes drift to the mirror again, as if though the water was going to wash away the dead look in your eyes.

Yeah, fat chance.

Before you know it, your legs are carrying you through the compound. The only sounds present are the whirring of various appliances and the soft patter of your feet against the tile floors. The moonlight casts shadows over the various pieces of furniture and lights your path. Your fingers curl around the handle as you pull the sliding glass door open. The crisp outside air kisses your skin as you step out and close the door behind you. You find yourself settling down in your usual spot on the balcony and you sink into the comfort of the chair.

Many a sleepless night has been spent out here, admiring the way the moonlight gleams off of a nearby pond. Before the compound and the balcony, it was a fire escape and a bottle of bourbon. You kind of missed that coping mechanism a little bit. You were thankful, of course, to call this place your home. Thankful to feel safe for once. Thankful to be a part of a team that felt like more of a family than any sorry piece of shit who had been in your life before. Not that you were bitter about that or anything. A little baggage builds character. However, life hasn’t always been kind to you and your stupid brain had a cruel way of constantly reminding you of that fact.

In all honesty, Tony rescued you. You absolutely hated to allow him to relish in that fact, but it was true. He took a chance on a royally fucked up kid out of college who managed to skate by and earn a mechanical engineering degree. If you were to ask him, he would say it was because the first words you said to him were fuck off. Apparently, something about that translated to, “hey, I would be a great addition to your tech and development team”. Although, you were pretty sure you just really meant that he should fuck off. I mean, the guy’s reputation does have a bit of moral gray area to it. Somehow, some way, your tenacity made an impression on the billionaire. Now here you were - living at the Avenger’s compound, sitting on a balcony at 3:30 in the morning because you couldn’t turn your brain off long enough to find some peace and sleep. What a life.

Even as you were sitting here in your special spot, reminiscing about some actual good memories – your brain still tried to drift into the darkness. Glass breaking; voices, thick with hate, engaged in a screaming match, and the cold nights spent trying to find a safe space to eat and lay your head. Your fingers gripped into the arms of the chair as you felt the heaviness in your chest increase.

“God damn it,” you cursed through gritted teeth.

The panic attacks were a second nature at this point, but you still really hated when you lost control. Your eyes closed tight as you tried to rack your brain to remember the bullshit your therapist had told you earlier in the week. Something about 5 things you can see?

“We gotta stop meeting like this, Doll”

The voice ripped you from inside your mind and back to reality. Your eyes opened and were met with a beautiful pair of cerulean ones. You blamed the skip in your heartbeat on your fading panic attack - although, you knew better than that.

“Well, it seems to me that the only logical conclusion is that you’re stalking me, Barnes” you quipped as a grin spread across your face.

“Could say the same about you,” Bucky retorted as he sank into the chair beside you, “besides, been doin’ this a lot longer than you’ve been around”.

You rolled your eyes, but the super soldier had a point. Almost each and every time, aside from the ones that happened when the team was away, you two would meet like this – here on the balcony, both searching for something to replace the sleep that neither of you could find.

“Yeah, we get it, you’re old” a laugh fell from your lips as Bucky snorted at your remark, a grin remaining ever present on his lips.

The familiar silence took over as he leaned his head back against the chair, closing his eyes. Meanwhile, yours were hungrily taking him in - tracing over the stubble on his chin, the soft pinkness of his parted lips. Recently he’d gotten his hair cut and even though you much preferred the long hair, you would rather die than actually admit that to him. Your crush on the 106 year old grumpy ass was one of your best kept secrets. At least, you thought you’d kept it from being painfully obvious.

The man sitting before you, he had a tough exterior and a horrific history, but you knew him better than that. You knew about the way his nose scrunched up when you made him laugh and the way his eyes looked as he listened intently to every story you ever told him. You knew the sweet melody of his laugh and the far off stare that meant he was also held captive by his own thoughts. This late-night rendezvous had become somewhat of a routine for the two of you and you would be lying if you said it wasn’t your favorite part of the day.

The first time it was a short nod and typical white person, thin-lipped smile as you left to find a different spot to suffer alone. Shortly after, it developed into cohabiting the balcony – staying on your own separate sides of course, only occasionally sharing words. Then, before you knew it, the two of you would be sitting beside each other, shooting the shit like you’d known each other for years. Just two, incredibly fucked up individuals, trying to make each other feel a little more human.

Bucky had always given off the quiet, brooding energy. Typically he kept to himself, other than with close friends like Steve, choosing to stand in the corner and listen to the conversation rather than be a part of it. Occasionally he would give a quip during a meeting that would catch people off guard, but mostly he just sat there and stared. The Bucky you had come to know was nothing like the person that others wanted to make him out to be. Sure, at one point he was a masterful assassin who killed like he got pleasure from it – but that wasn’t him. The Winter Soldier and Bucky Barnes were not synonymous.

If only the world could meet Bucky at 3am.

“What’s going on in that empty head of yours over there?” Bucky’s voice once again brought you back to reality as you laid your eyes on the familiar grin plastered across his face.

“Please,” you huffed, cheeks tinted a light shade of pink at the thought of him catching you staring, “which one of us has a college degree again?”

His laugh was a symphony to your ears. Your smile mirrored his when he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at you.

“So, what is it tonight? That nightmare again?” he asked, voice dropping an octave as his facial features softened in a way you really hoped only you got to see.

“Mm, not quite” you responded, your voice a broken whisper.

Bucky wasn’t the type to pry, but with you he wouldn’t even have to. Talking to him, sharing your deepest secrets and fears, telling him about the nightmares that kept you awake at night – it all came easily. Too easily.

“This week it’s...it’s that image of my stupid mother. Standing there with her black eyes and busted lip, telling me that it was me that was the problem. That it was me who...” you swallowed hard, the heaviness creeping back into your chest and tears fighting to wet your eyes. God you hated that you let this get the best of you.

Just as your mind started to bring you back to that dark place it was interrupted by the feeling of warmth spreading over your body. You looked down to see Bucky’s large hand resting right above your knee. When your eyes met again, he gave you a soft look that made your heart scream.

“I’m sorry,” you could tell he meant it as he gave your knee a soft squeeze.

A small smile flashed over your face and you had to resist the urge to reach out and cup his soft, stubbled cheek in your hand.

“Hey, we’re all a little fucked up, right?” you joked.

“Some more than others,” he replied, those beautiful wrinkles appearing around his nose as he scrunched it up with another laugh.

“Thanks, Buck... I’m sure you’d rather be doing anything other than listening to my sob story,” you reluctantly broke eye contact and looked down at the hem of your shirt as you fiddled with it in your fingers.

You were all too aware at the loss of contact as Bucky drew his hand back and leaned back into his chair.

“Doll,” he started as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes again - you could swear you almost saw a grin on his lips, “there are very few things I’d rather do than sit with you on the balcony at 3am”.

At that moment it felt as though time stood still. Sure, you had flirtatious banter back and forth occasionally and made a habit out of spilling your deepest regrets to each other during the wee hours of the morning, but this felt different. This felt like a confession.

You’d be lying to yourself if you tried to convince yourself, or anyone else for that matter, that you didn’t have a thing for him. I mean - who wouldn’t? The guy was a gentleman; he was soft spoken and caring, he was a dork who loved to crack jokes at the most inappropriate times, the type of person who would give you the shirt off of his own back if it meant you were taken care of.

He....well, he was Bucky.

And god damn it if you didn’t love him.

You’re unsure of how much time has passed, but one minute you’re sitting on your chair, chewing your lip and droning on about the man in front of you in your head. The next minute you found yourself on his lap, knees seated on either side of his waist as your legs straddle him and your hands connect with the skin they so desperately craved to feel. Bucky’s eyes opened slowly and met yours as you let the pad of your thumb gently run along the curve of his bottom lip. The uneven breaths leaving your chest hitched as you felt his hands grip your hips softly. Refusing to break eye contact, Bucky gently pressed a kiss to the pad of your thumb. You dragged his lower lip down briefly.

“Well,” he began. His voice was barely above a whisper but it’s thick, lustful tone made you shiver from head to...well, you know, “are you gonna kiss me, Doll? Or do I have to do all the work myself?”

He barely finished his sentence before your lips captured his. It was messy, almost all teeth and tongue. It was needy, as if it was the last time either of you would ever kiss anyone again. It was fucking incredible.

Bucky’s metal arm snaked up your back and found its way into your hair, curling his fingers gently around the strands at the back of your head, as his other arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you closer to his form. He was intoxicating. This whole situation was something you had briefly imagined months ago, but ultimately pushed out of your mind. There was no way that he would ever be interested in someone like you. Yet, here he was, tongue fighting for entrance into your mouth.

You aren’t quite sure who pulled away first. Both of you were gasping for air, chests heaving up and down as you both stared into each other's lust-blown pupils.

“You kiss pretty well for someone who hasn’t had a girlfriend since 1940,” you teased, laughing as he rolls his eyes at the comment.

“You just don’t know when to shut that mouth of yours, do ya?” he practically growled, ever so slightly tightening his grip on your waist, and you almost lost it from just the sound of his voice alone.

“Why don’t you make me, Barnes?” you leaned in close, warm breath fanning over the shell of his ear.

A yelp escaped your throat as you were suddenly jerked up to a standing position, locking your ankles behind his back as he effortlessly held you up by your thighs.

“Oh Doll,” he chuckled darkly into your neck, almost making you pass out from the sensation, “I thought you’d never ask”.

[simluvbot]

Sunghoon as your boyfriend

a/n: as usual with these bf headcanons, im sorry it was so messy TT also thank you so so much for over 100 followers !! <33

open to read <3

tbh it got to a point where literally everyone but you two knew that you were crushing on each other..

Sunghoon can very oblivious sometimes, and so can you

Sunghoon can very oblivious sometimes, and so can you

tbh it was literally until jake had to spell out to sunghoon how he obviously had a crush on you which is what prompted him to actively make moves on you (lmao)

And, sooner or later, you both ended up dating :D

Sunghoon is be pretty awkward early on in the relationship so it’s just so so precious ):

so every small moment of skinship between you both has butterflies instantly swarming in your stomachs and your cheeks heating up like crazy ):

And sunghoon will think about it for ages in his bed later at nighttime, replaying the moment you took his hand in yours and interlocked your fingers with his

He’d think about how soft your hands felt in his hold and how fuzzy the feeling made him feel, and sunghoon isn’t one to freak out easily but gee the butterflies you made him feel (he will never tell you about that though)

Many late night dates!

I say this for literally every enhypen member but to me this concept just fits so well with all of them

Sunghoon likes going on late night walks with you in private (and safe!) parks where he knows that you two will be completely alone

He loves walking around with you for hours, chatting away about random weird topics and sharing shy eye contact with each other

Or he will also like to lay down on the grass with you, backs on the plush ground and stargazing together 💔

He’ll admire your side profile and smile at your awed expression as you stare up at the stars, thinking about how pretty you look under the moonlight

But then when you turn to face him he’ll look away and pretend he was never looking in the first place🙄

To me sunghoon seems the type to silently appreciate you and the small moments he shares with you.

You could be sitting across from him eating messily while ranting about your day and he’ll simply nod, barely listening and instead watching the way your moth moves and how prettily your lips create shapes as you talk

Or you could be simply doing nothing at all, instead laying on the sofa on your phone and he’ll look up from his own now and then, quietly reflecting and feeling thankful for how you’re in his life

):

In public he is very much the silent observer! but not in a creepy way, it’s all loving of course, especially since hoon has said before that he’s not the best with expressing his words and feelings

So he instead shows his love and appreciation to you through small acts of service and gifts!

It’s small things that he does for you, such as tying your shoelaces for you, pulling you onto his other side when you’re asking along a busy road so he is the one one the road side instead or buying what he knows is your favourite snack to surprise you with!

I think that he will also ask jay for tips on what to cook for you hehe. He likes to surprise you and pls I just see him standing wearing an apron as he tries to follow the recipe jay gave him so he can make you your favourite food for you to eat the next day )):

Many cafe dates!!

Have you seen that picture of him sipping from a drink as he sits at a cafe table?? yeAH WELL

takes you out to his favourite cafes all the time 😁😁

going on the lookout for best cafés on your dates is YOUR THING i see it

Sunghoon honestly treasures you so much and although he doesn’t express it in words often, he really thinks about you a lot ): so many little things remind him of you its ridiculous. 

he’ll see something and go like “oh!” which confuses the other members but its just because he saw something that made him think of you lol

He is comfortable enough with you to be vulnerable in front of you!

At first when you both started dating he was reallyyyy shy since he is an introvert.. but ofc soon the ice boy melted and he eventually became so much more comfy around you :D

so yes park sunghoon does share a lot of his weird thoughts and personality with you lmao

but its just bc he trusts you and knows that you wont judge him ):<

Takes you on ice skating dates where he teaches you how to skate

Will come up with a simple routine with you

I’m gonna cry I’m gonna pass out I can’t take this I’m tearing up TAKE MY PHONE AWAY FROM NE AT THIS

he will come up with ): simple ice skating routines with you ): where he spins you around and holds both your hands steadily as he skates backward and guides you forward, making breathless eye contact while he rests his forehead against yours, smiling softly

🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️

although when you do end up falling he laughs 🙄 he is so rude i stg

but he then helps you back up of course, holding your gloved hands in his softly since they took the most impact of ur fall 

he’ll massage them gently in his, concerned and telling you to be more careful next time and showing you how to regain your balance when you feel yourself slipping.

“aha like you will even need to use that technique anyways y/n because your ice prince will save you from falling.”

sighs. anyways

Whenever he catches you staring at him (which is 99% of the time when you’re with him because well, duh), he will the hELL out of you lmao

He teases you pretty often anyways

“If you’re just going to continue staring at me this whole time then just take a photo instead y/n, it lasts longer you know 😐.”

“I know I’m handsome y/n. Instead of making it so obvious with your googly eyes then don’t be afraid to say it too. I don’t bite 🙂👎.”

Is so proud of himself whenever he gets you flustered at his comments because as much as it embarrasses you, what he says is true </3 and you don’t deny it

But then when YOU tell him how attractive he is in a teasing way it’s HIM that starts blushing LMFAO

“The view is so pretty.” You said, sighing out as you stood next to sunghoon on the top floor balcony.

“Yeah, Seoul is so beautiful.” Your boyfriend commented, nodding as he looked down at the blinking lights from down below.

Frowning, you tilted your head as you stared at him. “Oh, I wasn’t  talking about that.”

Looking up, sunghoon looked at you in confusion. “What do you mean then?”

“I meant the view is so pretty. You’re the view.”

Gets so flustered PLSJDKSJS he looked away from you and ignored you for the next 5 minutes while he tried to compose himself and pretend like he was not affected by what you said

You simply laughed at how red his ears had become and how he ignored your teasing remarks indifferently when he was actually dying inside at what you said

Or other times when you compliment him he will be really smug about it too lmao

He values your opinion, even if it’s something about the new jacket he wore and how it looks nice on him

You bet he will wear that jacket 372837 more files after that and uploaded it on Twitter for engenes too (;

All because you complimented him once

It gets to the point where jay and jungwon tease him about why he is constantly wearing the same thing every day and whether it’s something to do with you LMAO

boy gets so shy 😭😭😭

Sunghoon likes it when you run your hands though his hair ): especially at the back of his head where you tug at his strange gently, especially since his hair is pretty long rn

It’s so soothing to him to feel your nails gently rake through his mullet and massage his scalp, it instantly makes his eyes shut and sleepiness take over.

I feel like sunghoon isn’t that big on cuddles? But when you both sleep together he always pulls you in closer to him subconsciously ):

Head pats from sunghoon ✔️

Kisses with sunghoon!

When you both first started dating you had to initiate everything and he would get so flustered after

But after you had been dating sunghoon for a while and you kiss, he’ll do this thing where he looks at you with lidded eyes and stares at your lips and he kNOWS how good he looks when he does that

Such a tease..

Will cup the back of your neck and bring you in

his hands gently roam around your waist or place themselves onto your back to hold you close to him

Kisses with sunghoon are usually pretty slow and can last a while, so you’re always left feeling breathless when you finally pull apart

Nibbles your lips to tease you hehe

He doesn’t really give you short kisses apart from when he’s feeling bursts of happiness and really excited about something! Or when he wants to thank you

Also Hoon likes to also keep your scrunchie on his wrist if you wear any

Idk, he just likes it [:

Hoon also likes to take many pretty photos with you too, it’s so aesthetic TT

Kisses your forehead whenever he says bye to you on his way to complete his schedule for the day 🥺

Shows Jake and jay pictures of you all the time lol

The 02z definitely don’t miss the blush on his cheeks whenever he tells them about how cute you are 🙄

Sunghoon cutest bf ): he doesn’t reall like to show affection for you in front of other people but when y’all are alone?

Phew, the boy might be an ice prince but whenever he is around you.. let’s say that perhaps you seem to melt him a lil bit (:

[crybabytoy59]

The ultimate backwards way forward….

1. The day had finally come all the hours, days, weeks, months and years even.....That had lead to this one intrepid moment. Tonight He (Mark) stood before Her “Chrissy”....Shaking whilst doing as instructed, he was to put his Big clothes into the black bags in front her. She would decide what if any we’re to be kept. All things related to his Big life went in…

 Next She sat him down in only a cartoon disposable & a onesie ! He sat & listened as she reinforced her Will as the midnight deadline approached !... 

 She spoke very gently, a deep love of genuinely wishing to take him to his “little place”,  Yes his Big had pushed back and fought at times but this was IT her words would be final !  No turning back whatsoever no wriggling out. A new life lay ahead as Chrissy delicately spoke….

2. “Now sweet-pea  all your big things are away and in fifteenth minutes you will be My Bunny, my BabyBoy & I your Mommy I will treat you as a baby always & this you will come to accept through Mommy’s intense retraining of you to become that infant baby again we will take you back mentally & physically to a small child, Mommy’s cute toddler In nappies 24/7 ….

This will not be easy at first but please trust Mommy, she is going to help you mentally to be the baby that hangs on to every one of Mommy’s kind nurturing words….. So Bunny are you ready hmmm, Are you ready my darling baby boy? 

3. Mark took a huge breath but still the words came out at a tremor…..“Yyes am rready Mommy, I realise my fears will at times test you for that I am truly sorry… but I do wish for this deep inside, so any fears I have, I gladly hand them to your care & compassion, to regress and nurture me into who & what we Both wish for…So yes Mommy your “Baby boy” wants this with all his heart.... Mommy hugged him tightly, anticipating the clock in the nursery awaiting for it to strike Midnight !! ...

4. The nursery was a work of art they had both built together a room where Baby Mark was dwarfed by the furniture within the nursery ! .......As the big hand met the little hand of midnight…Mommy began to speak almost in a whisper…“Baby? give Mommy her “Gift” of your submission.”

5. She smiled warmly watching the mirror as her baby began wetting the cartoon disposable, she could see it changing colour through the soft white plastic pants, she stroked his hair soothingly as the nappy began to swell outwards…“Clever Baby All done Sweet-pea?” (he nodded into her soft shoulder welling up slightly in the knowledge that this was his “Gift”, his submission to her, the first act of remaining in nappies 24/7 at Mommy’s will)

The very smell of her soft flesh had always made him feel a Deep want of regression ! But tonight she smelt Devine. Chrissy had taken a shower before this chat, washing her hair with Johnston’s Baby shampoo,  she then oiled  her whole body with baby oil! Knowing the effect it would have on Mark, pushing him over the sensory edge....After all the Hot pulsing between her legs drove her want of complete control over him! …“Clever Boy let’s get you changed & down for the night in your onesie and blue booties, then I'll read you a nice little story”….

6. As he waddled slowly forward, suddenly Mommy barked “And what do you think you are doing Mr? ” ...He was puzzled by this remark & Mommy’s new stern tone? Mommy simply smiled saying “Are you a big toddler yet Crinkle Butt? No, you are not ! All fours baby... Now! As what did Mommy say to you about obedience? (He got down on all fours, as she wished, knowing soon he would have the blue crawling booties on with the nasty studs that made walking near impossible anyway! ) 

That and the ankle cuffs with the tiny locks would make removing them a futile task!)… As he crawled Mommy patted baby’s botty “Much better see you can be a clever Bunny for Mommy! ” Baby jolted forwards as Mommy spanked him full force ! “Pardon Baby? ”...  Yethss mommy ! ...

 “Much better think we just earned our first “redstar” baby Yes?” …. “Wess mommy sworry…” “Clever Baby you can put it on the naughty behaviour chart after Mommy changes that soggy bott bott of your’s ehy? Up on the changing table then Mr, let’s get that wet  nappy off & your special night time dipee on!”

7. As baby got up on the table he could feel the soggy thin cartoon nappy sagging! ... Complete humiliation overcoming him at his new lot in life, a true baby boy status started to hit home. God how he loved this girl so much, knowing he would now no longer be able to touch her in a Big way he felt that new part of the Humiliation was ever looming and yet to come pressing closer. Mommy was very clever, astute and thorough, she would have a lot in store for her new charge.…Mommy tugged the plastic pants down “Someone has a soggy bumbum! look at this wet nappy Mr! (He couldn’t miss it in full view from the mirrored ceiling over the changing station ! This had been Chrissy’s idea as she loved the Humiliation element that it brought! )…“Aaawww don’t fret your going to be doing this all the time now Crinkle Butt!...As Mommy is going to make sure you become such a dribbling dependant little boy”….she chuckled lightly...There seemed to be a glint in her eyes too. 

8. The clean up was very intense & had baby stirring underneath her! She reapplied the thick white cream paying just enough attention to all the right spots then she delicately but quickly slid the night time pluggie in. This was Very large & could be adjusted to vibrate with a very intense level if was required… baby gasped as Mommy pushed it all the way home! As Baby moved she chuckled lightly and playfully spanked the huge night time nappy to a dull thud once she was done! “Mommy's little drum.” she cooed. “ All that padding is going to make sure you will stay safe till morning Sweet-pea… “Now come to Mommy”. He instinctively crawled towards her open lap, she guided him to rest his head in her arms and his back against her leg. 

Mommy stretched across to her right side, reaching for the giant glass night time bottle, full with the formula she had earlier prepared.

10. “Take hold with your mittens Sweet-pea, Mommy wants to see how you do, if its to heavy then I will hold it too” She now began to playfully stroke and tease his nipples as he held the bottle unsteadily! The gurgling was instant behind the milky teat as baby had developed very sensitive little nipples, just as she had designed! Straining in his bulky nappy wiggling gently on the spot between her, the whimpering and soft moans started up as the bottle continued to empty. When baby finished the last drops of formula she began to rub and stroke his back, gently massaging him encouraging those little burpies out... Baby squealed as he nearly had an accident at the same! “Ok Sweet-Pea off to Beddie Byes.” She gently held and led his shaking hand.  “But first please put the star up on Your chart!” Baby took a red star off the pad & put it onto the first square of naughty chart… (The red stars were for a Sunday evening’s end of week  “punishment time” If he had gold stars that would bring a reward) But red !...............Mommy patted the mattress on the double bed sized Cot. “Ok Bunny Boy hop up into your cot now.” He would sleep with Mommy Bear at ni nights time (but unbeknown to Baby, he'd be napping in the day time as well, part of her new routine she had in store for him)! She patted again “Position Baby !”…or do you want a second Red star “!...She chuckled as He scrambled into the cot positioning himself for Mommy!

11. Mommy lifted up the little blue booties to his new horizon line. She took the first swiftly and deftly to his toesies slipping it on his right foot, click the ankle cuffs latched shut. Next was the left, it too had the same bemusing locking system, designed so the Baby (him) could not free himself from the deceivingly cute little slippers. He'd never seen how the locks worked. Click... She smiled at him gently, knowing that the spiked shoes would limit his ability to now stand unaided and maximise her ability to retrain him to a more appropriate babyish crawl. Yes they would make life much easier outdoors too...  “Clever Boy,  almost done, then we can have that chat and Mommy will read you your bed time story after… ok baby?” ( “Wess Mommy” ) Clever boy Mommy does so love those manners Sweet-Pea well done!”

12. Now a little afraid realising he was properly in Mommy’s world. Things would continue to happen now that he would have no control over.  Next Mommy lifted his brand new dummy, he had not seen this one before! It must have been a recent purchase, this one was an extra large sized red yellow and blue primary coloured affair. She knew it had been designed specifically to help him dribble (just a little) and make his big boy words very difficult !! 

Putting it into his mouth she moved to his ear and whispered softly “Mommy wants you to nurse on this dum dum sweetie, I won't fasten it into place just yet unless you show me that you can't be trusted, OK?” It was a rhetorically phrased question that didn't need an answer, but there was that same look in her eyes.

13. “Now Sweet-pea first we'll have our wee chat then Mommy will read you a nice story before ni-nights. Your going to need lots of sleep Bunny Boy as Mommy has lots of adventures in store for you tomorrow ! … Now listen very closely as I will say this only once….Mommy is going to have you fast for five days ....This is to strengthen baby’s immune system and also induce a bit of a body reset, then on day six we will start your new baby food regime… This will be all fruit and vegetables as Mommy is going to have a very health baby… So then Baby,  you can get adjusted to those adorable nappies nice & easily...Your only going to be drinking fluids for the next five days first though, so Mommy is focusing on those soggy bum bums to begin with, then we will work up to your mushies…Your such a cutie for sucking on your new binkie like a good boy. Well done!

14. “She chuckled lightly lifting the story book to begin…

The alternate “100 Acre Wood”......

 God she was so dam hot there and then, in her best condescending cooing Mommy voice. She began “Once upon a time there lived a boy who was very very lonely inside,  he desperately wanted to have a friend. Out walking one day in the woods he found a small bunny, it hopped right over to him and began hugging the boy tightly.....The rabbit started to gently speak to the boy! “Hello Crinkle Butt ....The boy protested to the Rabbit “Am a not a Crinkle Butt!”....But the Bunny simply chuckled “I know who you really are Silly! The boy looked around but nobody was there? As he turned around the rabbit stood beside him again swatting his bottom Thwack !!... “I suppose this isn't your nappy then Crinkle Butt?”  The boy stayed quiet as he felt embarrassed. But the Bunny Smiled gently and hugged him even tighter. Bunny the Rabbit then took Crinkle Butt’s hand ....“Best we get back inside or Mommy will be angry with us & we will get the hairbrush! The boy took the rabbits hand, as he too hated the hairbrush spankings.....“Ok Bunny we best hurry then as it’s getting dark & Mommy will want us fed & then to Nigh nights”.....They both skipped through the puddles getting Mud all over their legs! ...On the porch Mommy was already waiting standing with her arms folded....Babies look at the colour of you !.... She held out her finger pointing to inside, that’s when both Babies noticed Mommy already had the hairbush!”....oh bother.

15. “Now Sweet-pea I think that’s enough for tonight, Mommy can see you are looking tired I'll read you some more tomorrow if your a good boy. She gently stroked his face “Off to sleepies now.....She began to start the lullaby mobile that hung overhead and the cute little noises and lights softly sprung into action and gently soothed her precious little one into the land of dreams...Mommy lifted the plug remote and set it to the night time precycle with the hypnotic recordings ! These would play all night as the monitor recorded his sleep & dream patterns, it would match the patterns playing the recording & pluggie vibes to their best effects.....Night after night she would subliminally reprogram his brain to be a contented infant Baby Boy... To her will... to her wants... to her Deepest held desire over controlling him, but also letting him be the baby he was destined to become! This would be Absolute !! Her new hypnotherapist friend would help with new insertions of “trigger words” that would become instant in there use over him, no matter where, no matter when or who they were with !.....Fuck every inch of her was tingling with her desire to further his regression......

She looked down at him all safe in that cot with an oversized dummy bouncing in and out. Fuck he was already hungrily sucking on that dummy! Her Chest ached with anticipation....This was just the start, she held all the cards, she had everything ready for the morning & for the day’s events......Time to sleep though, putting her arm over his chest a small whimper came......She smiled to herself...Tomorrow he would go through so many trials and emotions. Day by day his emotional state would become much easier to control due to her fasting retraining, first hunger & loss of energy...then as the energy started to peak later on in the week she would simple take a sense from him so as to have more control mentally over his nappies!....awash with thoughts flashing through her mind she settled down to sleep knowing the “Hypno-Mommy” tapes would be working there magic on him....These she would use as she put him down for his afternoon nap too!

[jee-ns]

catastrophe

pairing: jenniexfem!reader

genre: fluff

warnings: mentions of nudes.

words: 1.5k

synopsis: lisa didn’t mean to turn you into one of her. but you blame it all on her for your stubbornness. your cat jennie turned into a human now. but the worst part is you kinda like it.

notes: I AM SO SORRY FOR THIS. I SHOULDVE JUST LEFT IT IN THE DRAFTS BUT IK SOME OF YALL LIKE THIS TYPE OF STUFF. YALL FREAKY. BUT LIKE THIS IS THE WORST THING IVE EVER MADE SO FAR BUT YKW IDC. -admin 🗣

cats. you were never particularly impressed by these feline beasts. not much of them caught your attention. all you know is that they are completely autonomous and are as charming as they can be. they’ve only been interesting when you were at a sleepover with one of lisa. she was a major cat lady and unfortunately, she was your only friend in primary school. and you were expected to tolerate her rambling with her cats. she seems to get a new one every week. you don’t know how her parents deal with her. when you asked her “what’s so nice about cats?” she looks at you as if you just killed her mom. “you don’t like cats.” she asked with a tone that you’ve never heard from her. your eyes bulge out and quickly resentence your words. “false. i asked what’s so nice about them?” you held up your index finger right in front of her face and you wish you didn’t ask. god, what is wrong with you. “they’re amazing they’re really cute and learns fast. they don’t need too much attention and they can deal with everything by themself. they give you gifts!! you should come over one day and you’ll know why.” she said and after that day she begged you to come to her house on the weekend so she could show off her cats. you asked your mom if you could go to her house and sadly she was encouraging you to leave the house and spend some time with lisa.

you were skipping your way to the grey suburban house. it was a typical family home not anything out of the ordinary from the other rows of houses beside it. you walked up the porch that we’re decorated with hanging potted plants and knocked on the door. the door bursts open with a gleeful lisa. “Y/N!” she screeched, the cat in her arms flinching and pushing her away while she just hugged it tighter. “come in!” she opened the door wider for you to enter. you didn’t know that day was going to be the start of your miserable cat lady life

you walked into your small condo in Seoul. the small petit home was purchased for your convenience since you started college a year ago. the start of college was rough. you were 20 minutes late for class because you were busy running away from the club scouters. and your small condo was unworthy to be jennie’s new castle. you spent only 2 hours of sleep because jennie was moving around on the bed and claiming her territory. jennie was a spoiled brat. she always gets what she wants and if she doesn’t she’ll either annoy you or give you her cute face and smudge it all over you. your mom got her on your birthday right after you slept over at lisa’s place and fallen in love with them.

you called for jennie after putting aside your shoes. and as usual, she didn’t answer. she’s most likely to be napping on your bed with the new mattress you just bought. you walked to your bedroom and immediately let out a piercing scream. you were frightened. scared. shocked. you were everything but calm right now. there was a naked woman curled up on your bed. you couldn’t move. you just stood there frozen and scared as to why was there a naked woman on your bed and jennie was nowhere to be seen. the woman yawned and looked at you with her cat eyes. she smiled and got up and crawled over to you. “y/n’s home!” the more she got closer the more you backed away from her until your back touched the door of your bedroom. the weirdly attractive naked woman was rubbing her forehead against your shin.

your breathing was shaky. you just noticed how her body was perfectly curved and not a single muscle out of place. it’s getting hot in here. “jennie?” you called out, testing the waters. she looked up at you with an eyebrow cocked as if you were gonna ask her a question. you let out a staggered breath. you swallowed the lump in your throat that you didn’t realize was there. you slowly bent down to jennie’s level and took her head in your hands. you could hear her purring while she closed her eyes in ecstasy. you took her hands and stood up so she could try walking. she was wiggling and couldn’t stand up properly so you put her arm around your shoulders and led her to your bed. “are you jennie?” you ask for confirmation cause you don’t really know what’s going on. her head cocked to the side “am i not?” she asked as if she was a human for all her life.

“you’re a human!” you put your hands up with eyes popping out of your sockets. “yep it happened after you left for work. i don’t know what happened but i think it’s the snacks that you started buying from that sketchy store.” you closed your eye and opened them again hoping the nude woman infront of you turns back into her normal form. what’s happening right now. lisa was right you shouldn’t have bought some snacks from that sketchy store. god why are you so stubborn. you opened your eyes and walked over to your closet to get her some of your clothes. “here put these on.” it was a simple oversized hoodie with some undergarments and some sweatpants incase she gets uncomfortable but you doubt so. she’s been living as a naked animal for over 5 years. you only did that so you don’t catch yourself staring at her like a disgusting pervert you are. you watched her as she struggled to get her head through the hole and only moved to help her when she yelped.

after helping her get dressed you did your normal routine. you washed your clothes and normally jennie would be sitting on the washing machine and enjoying your pets. now, since she can’t curl up on top of the washing machine she sat there and dangled her legs from the machine. you didn’t bother to pet her cause you’d think that she would feel uncomfortable with your touch since. well. she’s a human now. but jennie didn’t change a single bit. she longed for your touch and suddenly became gloomy after she didn’t receive her daily pets. then you moved on to doing the dishes before going to the couch where jennie was sitting with her knees tucked into her chest while her eyes glued to the tv seeming to understand the words that she couldn’t comprehend before. you chuckled with amusement looking at her focusing on the tv and patted her head softly. not gonna lie her hair was just the same soft hair that was on her normal form. you sat down and sighed how long will this go on. will jennie never turn back into a cat again? will she be your roommate now? you turned your gaze from the tv to her laying her head on your lap while her legs cupped the pillows. you decided to call lisa for help.

-

“you weren’t lying.”

“why would i be lying?!”

you and lisa rambled while jennie occupied her time with the tv. “you know she hates me right why did you call me.” lisa didn’t want to deal with jennie cause she doesn’t know how worse she could be when she’s turned into a human. “cause you know alot about cats” you urged her to help you cause your pretty helpless now. you’ve always thought of lisa as a cat whisperer because every single cat that she comes across happens to like her. excluding jennie. so why can’t she do it now? she looked at jennie whose napping with a sheepish look and says. “nah shawty bae i ain’t dealing with that.” you rolled your eyes and shoved her away. proceeding to join jennie into slumberland.

-

you were awoken by jennie snuggling her head under chin. upon awaking you realised you both slept on the couch with a blanket draped over you two that lisa probably left before she went back home.you just stayed in that position since it was comfortable and you were in the mood of doing nothing. it was pretty weird to be snuggling with your cat who has just turned into a human. but that was a future you problem. then silence was broken “y/n?” jennie mumbled.

“yeah?”

“i love you”

you smiled. she probably got that from a movie and not knowing how much the weight is in those three words. jennie has never really been affectionate with you or been dedicated to you. she just follows you here and there. never really to attached. but now with some fortune she got to say it to your face. and to be honest you kinda like jennie like this. you pat her head.

“ i love you too “

-admin🗣

[funtimebunnyblog]

.... It was a moment of weakness, I swear. 😅

And what started out as a simple list of headcanons may or may not have snowballed into 4 short stories of reader slapping Pillarman cake that I have been working on almost non-stop since I got the request on A03... 😳😇 Oopsie!

Pillarmen react to getting slapped in the cake unexpectedly...

(Under the cut for length!)

(Warning! Do not attempt with real life Pillarmen! Slapping ancient Aztec buns may result in death...)

Kars:

It was a quiet morning at the house, which wasn't uncommon, but Kars always welcomed the silence and any and all absence of chaos. Nose deep in his book, he greeted you as you sauntered in to the room, not even bothering to lift his eyes from the text layered pages as per usual.

Always perceptive, even when distracted, it was no big feat to be able to differentiate your footsteps from the others; you being much lighter and smaller played a big part in that, of course. Though, he didn't think to wonder why you were tip-toeing like that...

He turned the page, the quiet rattle of paper breaking the silence, when he felt you right near him. The Pillarman still didn't care to tear his eyes from the sea of words he was lost in as he simply stood there, rooted to the floor.

"Hello dear one," he greeted, the timber of his deep and quiet voice floated through the Livingroom like a breeze. "if you're looking for Wamuu he's out--"

S M A C K!

The words evaporated on his tongue in a sheer instant. His blood-red eyes went wide in their sockets, unfocusing as the world around him stopped turning for just a moment.

Did you really just...?

No. He had to be mistaken.

You couldn't have--

No. You WOULDN'T have--

A pregnant and deafening moment of silence had fallen over the room, this time he all but welcomed it, only punctuated by the sound of a little giggle that managed to escape your lips.

You did.

You really just did.

Not that it hurt him; if anything he felt more the jiggle of his right cheek rather than the sting of the slap itself.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned his head to peer down at you; a frown tugging at the corners of his lips and etching deep lines into his fair, chiseled features. You were biting your own lip, your body shaking with suppressed giggles that tried to force their way out. You had your hands folded neatly behind your back, looking up at him with eyes best described as "innocent" as you made an attempt to hide the grin trying to force its way across your face.

You looked the very definition of smug.

Though he was displeased, he actually couldn't help but admire your bravery to be able to simply walk up and do such a thing.

Especially to him.

You must've been bored.

Really bored.

Either that or Esidisi put you up to this...

It didn't matter either way, as he fully intended to get down on your level if you wanted to pull such a stunt like that.

He shut the book that he was no longer invested in with a loud and heavy "THUD". In barely half a second, you were grabbed and thrown over his shoulder making you squawk in surprise.

"So," he began, tucking the book under his other arm and starting up the stairs. His voice was low, almost a purr, but it held an unignorable bite to it. "You like spanking, do you, little one?"

Uh oh.

UH OH.

You realized, quite belatedly, that you hadn't quite thought that through, squirming in his firm hold as he carried you all the way upstairs and right into his room.

Kars continued, you could hear the smirk in his very tone as he spoke. "Well in that case, I do hope you're prepared for one..." The door slammed shut ominously behind him. "Act like a child; you get punished like one."

You swallowed thickly at those words, a terror only best described a primal shooting through your body like lighting.

You had a feeling you weren't going to be sitting comfortably around the house anytime soon...

Esidisi:

The massive man chuckled as you hopped up and down, lips puckered like a sucker fish, almost meeting his cheek this time but just missing it as he stood up straight again.

You have been trying (emphasis on trying) to kiss him goodbye for nearly 5 minutes now.

On the norm, you made an effort to kiss all of your housemates, the Pillarmen, goodbye on their cheek every morning they went out. It became a routine for you all, or perhaps just a healthy habit on your part.

You'd kiss them goodbye as they went out doing God-knows-what for a few hours while you worked around the house; doing chores, working on courses, doing work inside at the computer or outside in the garden.

But this morning, Esidisi insisted on tormenting you.

And for his own entertainment no less.

You kissed Kars on his cheek and he patted your head. You kissed Wamuu on his cheek and he responded by respectfully kissing your hand. You kissed Santana on his cheek and he butted his head softly against yours.

And finally, you went to kiss Esidisi and he pulled away.

He laughed at your doe-eyed expression as your lips met empty air, smiling innocently down at you when you looked up at him in confusion. You blinked and tried again, only to be met with the same thing. You thought he would cut it out there but no; he was taking full enjoyment out of your determination, not to mention your reactions, as he just kept stopping you by pulling away or pushing you at arms length.

At this point, he was really milking it.

"Oh c'mon, Esidisi!" You whined, starting to get a little frustrated.

You stood on your toes, standing as taught as a bowstring as you held onto one of his massive and muscular arms, trying to peck his cheek. He refused to comply, grinning and standing at his full height; which was inevitably well out of your reach.

"Oh, but this is fun, my sweet little Human." He laughed, tapping his cheek almost invitingly. "Keep up. Maybe you'll get it if you jump just a little higher."

Kars rolled his eyes, folding his arms over his broad chest. He and the others had also been watching this display for almost 5 minutes now.

"Esidisi, come on and get it over with." The purple-haired Pillarman sighed, his amusement towards these antics long gone at this point. "We're burning daylight."

Esidisi let out a sigh, rolling his own eyes. "Alright." He said, leaning down to your level with a smirk.

You pursed your lips, that gleam in his eye told you what exactly he planned to do and that plan was to pull away one final time, just to get your goat before he left so he could have a good laugh about it like the bastard you knew he could be.

Unfortunately for him; you were one step ahead of him.

Like lightning, you pressed a kiss into the palm of your hand and threw your arm back, swinging it to smack your smooched hand it as hard as you could against his bare asscheek.

C R A C K!

The sound was almost like a gun going off.

Silence fell over the room, Esidisi's eyes were as wide as saucers and his cheeky (tee-hee) expression was now nowhere to be found.

"There." You spat, your own cheeks burning hot, the feeling spreading all the way back to your ears. "That's a cheek I can reach." Clenching your hands into fists, also trying to hide the fact one of your hands was stinging like fire, you stomped out of the room.

Finally, you could get a start on the chores you needed to get done for the day.

Even though, you knew it hurt your hand more than it hurt his bum; it was worth it. Esidisi had been the one to teach you a very important lesson to live by, after all; "Don't get mad; get even.".

Kars laughed lowly, Santana smirking as Wamuu hid a grin behind his hand; all of them watching you make your proud departure. Esidisi watched you go, bug-eyed and holding a hand gingerly against the cheek you had smacked.

"They certainly showed you, Esidisi." Kars chuckled.

Wamuu:

Training with Wamuu was definitely fun.

He was very encouraging; tempering you with praise as you pushed yourself and ensuring you weren't overdoing it. But once in a blue moon, once he decided that you had become substantially stronger and your lessons were becoming to easy for you, he upped the intensity a little.

Making it just a little less than fun for you at those times, of course.

Today in particular, you found yourself on the ground more than on your actual feet.

"Wamuu..." you panted, trying to force yourself up after he pushed you down for seemingly the millionth time that afternoon. "...I--... I'm..."

The warrior however, was having none of it.

Folding his arms, the green of his double-ringed eyes burned like glittering emeralds. "Try again, little one." He said, his voice soft but stern. "You must remember to apply what I have taught you; if you rush, it will only open yourself to be knocked down first."

Today, he presented you with the challenge of trying to pin him and needless to say, it was going just about as easy as it sounded.

He watched as you shakily got to your feet, huffing and puffing. It made his heart swell every time the undeniable gleam of ferocity in your eyes caught his, a fine warriors trait in his own opinion. He took stance, spreading his legs as he hunched his back, keeping himself open and ready to defend. You came at him, like you had done several times prior, grabbing onto him and trying to find a foothold only to be swatted away easily like a house fly.

A few more tries (resulting in a few more throwdowns) and Wamuu finaly decided that you were finished for the day.

"You are too tired to continue," he hummed, peering down into your face where you lay with your back to the ground.

His huge hands slipped under you, gently picking you up almost like a Mother would her babe, and setting you on your feet. He cupped your chin to peer into your eyes as you still tried to force breath into your burning lungs, evaluating what remainder of strength you had left. "I do believe that is enough for today, my little warrior."

He turned away from you, walking only a few feet away to the change of clothes sitting along with the items you had brought along with you laying idle on the ground. You watched, still dazed and incredibly tired as he bent over to pick up your things for you, still talking away.

"You must also try to remember to strike your opponent where and when they are vulnerable," he spoke as he busied himself. "Look for any given opportunity to gain advantage at any given time."

Focusing was hard enough when you were this exhausted, however, it was downright impossible when you were on the receiving end of a view like this.

It never really bothered you that the Pillarmen chose to walk around half-naked the majority of the time but right now, with those two bronze globes in your line of vision and shinning in the sun, a wicked idea formed as his previous words echoed throughout your tired mind.

'Strike when vulnerable, huh?' You thought to yourself, settling your eyes on the prize.

Maybe it was time for a little payback for him being so relentless with you today.

Slowly, you sauntered right up to him until you stood directly behind the massive warrior. With the sun at his back, there was no shadow for you to accidentally step on and set him off; so it was safe for you to get as close as you liked...

Completely none-the-wiser of your only half-thought out scheme, Wamuu continued. "Perhaps tomorrow we can--"

W H A C K!

Wamuu's eyes swole to an impossible size and whatever suggestion he was about to make was lost as the words got stuck in his throat.

It was only then, when you caught sight of the little red hand print that was left behind on his buttcheek, you realized to the full extent of what you had just done.

"...uh." You broke the deafening silence that had fallen between you two. "Uh-oh..."

"A charming observation, little one." He said, rising to his full height and turning to face you. The red in his cheeks made it hard to tell where the lines of his warpaint began and ended.

If you weren't fearing for your very life in that moment, you would have laughed seeing him so very embarrassed for the first time ever. Also, if you weren't so very exhausted from being tossed around like a rag doll, you would be running for the hills right now seeing the fire burning in his eyes.

"Since you have applied the knowledge of todays leason so easily, I have now decided that tomorrow we are going to be doing some very extensive training." He said, making your stomach drop as his lips slowly curled into a little smirk. "Specifically training on the art of sneak attack, since you are so very keen on it as it is..."

Oh...

You were starting to wish you had accidentally stepped on his shadow instead...

Santana:

You were starting to wonder if he forgot how to sit down, watching him stalk out of the room again barely even a minute after he entered it out just out of the corner of your eye.

You supposed you couldn't blame him however, as you were getting quite restless as well.

It was the dead of winter and of course it was very, VERY cold out. The snow had piled up so high outside there really wasn't a lot to do in the yard or the ability to go anywhere in it at that. And on top of those things to only make it worse; it was snowing again today.

Your eyes turned to the window, gazing out to the thick white out storm raging outside with no sign of stopping.

However when the storm finally stopped, which would be tomorrow at best, you planned on going outside to shovel out the driveway (for the 2nd time that week) and burn off some energy. But for now, you and your Pillarmen housemates, were stuck inside.

You knew the weather was bad when even an ultimate lifeform had no interest in going out in it.

You sighed, picking up your mug and finishing the last mouthful of your tea as you set down your book, you just couldn't seem to get into it today. You were just as bored as Santana was but you weren't driven to restlessly pacing.

Here he came again, back into the room. He was walking a little hunched over, arms loose at his sides, his face radiating with gloom and boredom. He had taken a nap already this morning and he had spent the last few hours flicking through the channels on T.V before it finally bored him enough to drive him to... this.

It made you feel a little sad to see him so very dejected.

Santana tred right up to the big window next to your chair, stopping and pressing his forehead up against the glass to watch the endless swirl of white with glazed eyes.

You smiled sadly, "Bored?" You happened to already know the answer however.

He hummed in response, his shoulders slumping visibly.

Santana wasn't very talkative on the norm but today he had barely even said one word, only worrying you further.

He stood there silently for a few minutes, watching the snow dance in crazed little circles. You hoped he would maybe go upstairs and have another nap or check in on one of the others and see what they were up to but no, poor Santana let out one more deep and heavy sigh and went right back to his restless pacing from room to room.

As you watched him depart from the livingroom (again) you decided that you had enough of this. You needed something to spur a reaction in him, which was difficult in itself.

Santana wasn't very ticklish (you had tried that before) so that was out of the question, nor did he take much interest in watching something funny online as he didn't quite understand half of the jokes and memes, there was also nothing interesting on the T.V and the signal kept fuzziness in and out due to the storm. You mulled over the very little options on what could possibly get him to cheer up or at least distract him from his pure, object boredom.

At last, that lightbulb went off over your head as he trod past you one more time.

Oh, this was bad and you knew it.

But really, you could only blame whatever outcome this would bring on your own devious curiosity.

With only a seconds hesitation, your hand outstretched and swung, just as he passed, skin hitting skin hard as hand collided with bottom.

S L A P!

Santana stopped the very second it happened, his posture suddenly making a very dramatic change as he stood as stiff as possible, some of his hair standing on end.

After a long second, he turned to look at you, puzzled and just a little wide eyed.

"What...?" Was all he could say, blinking slowly. He realized, belatedly, that you had slapped him on his rear.

Both of you stared at each other for another long moment, him staring questioningly and you sitting there, nursing your stinging hand, looking quite innocent.

Santana blinked as you started to laugh a little, his dumbfounded reaction only fueling more laughter to bubble out of you helplessly.

Mission accomplished at least, as you had now definitely distracted him from his boredom, that was for sure.

Santana put his lips together, tilting his head to the side as he pondered why you had just done that and why you were just simply laughing about it. He blinked again as specific dots connected in his head.

Where you trying to wrestle with him?

As a child, many (MANY) years ago, when he or Wamuu wanted to initiate some sort of play-fight, one of them would simply walk up to the other and give them a shove or a slap. Then, if the other was in a similar mood, the other would push or hit back and confrontation of the like would go back and forth until eventually escalating into a full on wrestling match.

A slow smile crept across his lips, making you feel a strange mixture of pure joy and overwhelming dread at the sight. Nonetheless, you clamped up and stopped laughing.

You got him to smile but the question now was, what exactly was going on in that head of his?

In a matter of seconds, he was suddenly on top of you, making you squeak in surprise. He pushed you down onto the floor, butting you softly with the two stubby horns on his head before returning the little slap you gave him on his tush to your own behind, only making you squeal at the contact.

You finally came to the realization of just what was happening, only making your smile return as your heart fluttered in excitement.

He wasn't angry, he was trying to wrestle you.

Oh, so that's how he wanted to play it, huh?

You pushed back, trying to wriggle out from under him as he kept butting his head against you. You clamored on top of him with little to no grace, "Oh, I'll show you!" You grunted, trying to butt your head against his side like he had done, making him rumble with laughter as he pushed against you.

He held back on a lot of his strength, remembering you were Human after all but indulged in pushing you down a few times, laughing even more as you cursed and grunted and wriggled as mightily as he had ever seen you do. You were thankful for all that training with Wamuu, else you probably wouldn't know the first thing about wrestling with Santana.

From the staircase, your other 3 housemates watched with some amusement, and perhaps a little surprise, as the both of you rolled and pushed and headbutted like Pillarchildren.

They honestly assumed the worst upon having heard the heavy thumps and the screams and the laughter from all the way upstairs.

Maybe snowstorms, and boring house days (and let's not forget devious curiosity), weren't so bad after all...

[stufftippywrote]

5 People Who Interrupted LWJ&WWX, and 1 Who (Kind of) Didn’t

22 from this list! Still open to prompts!

This is decidedly book continuity, and for about seven words Wei Wuxian does pay lip service to his dubcon kink, so if that's a squick for you, skip number 3.

1) Lan Sizhui

It was after curfew and Sizhui shouldn't have been wandering around the buildings at night. That's the explanation Wei Wuxian will go with, if he's called to account for this little misunderstanding. He doubts it will happen, though; Sizhui's far too kind-hearted to go running to the sect leader or Lan Qiren with evidence of what he's seen.

What happened was this: Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had been researching various topics in the library pavillion as the sun went down, and lost track of time. Most notably, Lan Wangji had been exhaustively researching the curve of Wei Wuxian's neck, the jut of his collarbone, and Wei Wuxian was deep in study of the coolness of the floors contrasted with the heat of Lan Wangji's body on his. Lan Wangji had just been shifting his area of focus from neck to jaw to lips when there was a sudden noise by the door. He immediately moved off of Wei Wuxian and stood, but it was too late; Sizhui was already standing in the doorway, his face red.

"I was just -- locking up -- I'll just go -- since you're busy," he stammered, then very carefully pulled the door closed and disappeared.

Lan Wangji looked down at a still very horizontal Wei Wuxian. "We should go back."

"What?" Wei Wuxian whined. "We were in the middle of something."

"If Sizhui's locking up, it's time to go," Lan Wangji repeated, and Wei Wuxian grumpily got to his feet and obeyed.

They got back into it in the Jingshi, but it just wasn’t the same.

2) Lan Qiren

This time is on purpose. And probably justified.

It's very quiet at Cloud Recesses, which (occasionally) irks the hell out of Wei Wuxian. Still, he goes along with it, most of the time, if only because he doesn't want to get kicked out by certain angry uncles. But there are times when it's just plain impossible.

One of those times is when Lan Wangji is sucking on his earlobe, hands under his robes, teasingly brushing over certain places where Wei Wuxian is aching for a firmer touch. Wei Wuxian thinks he's going to go out of his mind with sensation. The only thing he can do is clutch at Lan Wangji's shoulders, try to encourage those too-patient hands, and moan "Lan er-gege, please, more" in a voice unrestrained by the foolish rules of the Lan Clan.

Lan Wangji stiffens at the name, then drowns Wei Wuxian in a kiss so fierce and deep that Wei Wuxian shouts against it, his whole body flooding with want.

A moment later, there are footsteps and a knock on the door.

Lan Wangji has very attuned senses. "It's Uncle," he says, and draws back.

"Uncle? What is your uncle doing here when we're busy!"

As if in answer, outside the doors, the barking voice of Lan Qiren: "Wangji, please remind your guest about the noise restrictions of the Cloud Recesses. Thank you." And that's it, he retreats.

Wei Wuxian laughs and tries to pull Lan Wangji back toward him, but Lan Wangji is still staring at the door, and he won't budge.

"Lan Zhan," he prods, poking at Lan Wangji's arm.

Lan Wangji remains unmoving.

"Lan er-gege." Wei Wuxian crawls toward him and slides a hand up his arm, grinning.

"We should be more careful," Lan Wangji says. His voice is devoid of the roughness that comes when he's being passionate.

"Oh, come on." Wei Wuxian sighs. "You're not in the mood anymore?"

Lan Wangji's ears turn pink. "It was my uncle," he says, as though that explains everything.

"Lan Zhaaaan." Wei Wuxian groans the name. "You said every day, remember?"

"Later," Lan Wangji says. "And quietly."

3) Nie Huaisang

The Discussion Conference that year is held in Qinghe, and while Lan Wangji doesn't tend to show up for these things, Nie Huaisang sends so many letters begging him to attend that he eventually relents. When they arrive, Clan Leader Nie is in a state, begging for their help in this matter and that. Won't they help him figure out how he's to handle a particularly picky sect leader who's unhappy with his room, and how can he avoid seating these two together when they hate each other Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji do their best to be of use, but the minute Nie Huaisang leaves them alone, they hurry down the corridor and out of the building for some much-needed fresh air.

They find themselves in a secluded courtyard, shaded by a pair of gnarled trees. Wei Wuxian collapses against one of the trees. "I didn't realize we'd end up planning half the conference."

"That was ... difficult," Lan Wangji agrees.

Wei Wuxian leans against the tree, folding his arms behind his head. "Well, at least we can have thirty seconds of quiet now ... what's that look for?"

Because Lan Wangji is looking at him with a dropped jaw and pink ears.

"This reminds me," he says, and then stops.

"Hmm?" Wei Wuxian tilts his head.

Lan Wangji takes a step toward him. "Baifeng Mountain," he says in a low voice.

"Baifen... oh." Wei Wuxian grins. "Is this what I looked like? Leaning against the tree?"

Lan Wangji's silence and the tint to the tips of his ears are the only confirmation he needs. His grin widens. "Do you want to try it again? No punching trees this time afterward, but I promise to close my eyes and..." It's the last thing he's able to get out before Lan Wangji is on him, pressing him against the tree and kissing him deeply.

Wei Wuxian grins into the kiss, wraps a hand around Lan Wangji's neck to haul him closer. "Yes, it was like this, wasn't it?" he murmurs when Lan Wangji breaks the kiss for air. "I was so alone and vulnerable in the forest, and you came and held me down and kissed me." Lan Wangji moves to silence him with another kiss, but Wei Wuxian wiggles away and whispers in his ear. "You could have done other things with me too ... I wouldn't resist... well, maybe I'd resist a *little*--" and that's as far as he gets. Lan Wangji thrusts a thigh between his legs and all Wei Wuxian can do is whimper as they kiss again, this time hotter and messier.

"Wei-xiong! Hanguang Jun!"

The voice sounds as if from far away. They aren't about to stop kissing for distant voices, not right now, when the heat is so delicious between them. But then there are footsteps, echoing down the corridor they came from, and Lan Wangji at least has enough presence of mind to step back.

Nie Huaisang appears at the entrance to the courtyard, breathing hard as though he's just run a mile. "Oh, thank goodness I've found you two! I need your help. Sect Leader Han is having an argument with Fan Xun over some business with a night hunt that I can't figure out, and it's making a scene! Please come help me settle them down!" And he grabs both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji by the sleeve and pulls them, with uncharacteristic strength, down the corridor again.

To his credit, Nie Huaisang doesn't make any mention of what he saw or what they were doing. But they spend the remainder of the conference far, far from Baifeng Mountain.

4) Jin Ling

There's a peculiar sort of monster prowling the woods outside Lanling: a boar spirit, with tusks that can uproot a tree and a taste for travelers who go astray. From all accounts, it doesn't seem to be the smartest of beasts, so the best approach is to lead it into a trap. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji set the trap meticulously, create a trail of meaty temptations to entice it in, and retreat behind a copse of trees to wait.

As they wait, Wei Wuxian's increasingly aware of Lan Wangji's heat and presence next to him. They're both still sweaty from the exertion of setting the trap. A bead of perspiration lingers at the base of Lan Wangji's neck, and Wei Wuxian is compelled to lift a finger and wipe it clean. Lan Wangji shudders, and his hands come forward automatically to grip Wei Wuxian's waist.

"So sensitive today," Wei Wuxian murmurs, and leans in to kiss the spot he'd touched. Lan Wangji's hands tighten on his waist.

All at once this routine night-hunt is instead a thrilling tryst in the midst of danger. Wei Wuxian pushes closer. Lan Wangji captures his lips with a soft sigh. They kiss long and lingering in the quiet woods, the moonlight filtering through the leaves to lay a silver sheen on white skin.

"You could lay me down right here," Wei Wuxian whispers against Lan Wangji's ear. "Have me in the middle of the woods, late at night."

"I'm considering it," Lan Wangji half-growls, and kisses him again.

The kiss tastes stronger than just "considering it." Wei Wuxian goes a little dizzy as Lan Wangji tips him back, as Lan Wangji's hands move to the small of his back, hot and firm. He murmurs encouragement, lets his body go limp so Lan Wangji can lower him down bit by bit onto the forest floor, being kissed into oblivion all the while...

"Oh my god, ewwwww."

They turn. Jin Ling is standing at the other side of the grove, his face twisted. "I mean, I knew it, everybody knows it, but I didn't think I'd ever have to *see* it."

"Jin Ling, what are you doing here?" There's a crisp annoyance in Wei Wuxian's tone as he gets back to his feet, Lan Wangji soundlessly doing the same behind him.

"I was looking for the boar beast, of course!" Jin Ling grips the sheath of his sword like he's ready for combat. "Are you the ones who set the trap? What am I talking about, of course you set the trap. Why aren't you watching it?"

Wei Wuxian can't help a crooked smile. "We figure it'll have something to say when it gets itself trapped," he says. "Are you here with your uncle?"

"No." Jin Ling puffs up proudly. "I don't need my uncle to go night-hunting."

"Good, good." Wei Wuxian moves toward him, smiling entreatingly. "How about we don't tell your uncle what you just saw, okay?"

Jin Ling shivers. "Like I could even say it out loud!"

"You're such a good kid." Wei Wuxian pats him on the shoulder. Jin Ling jerks away. "Isn't he a good kid, Lan Zhan?"

Before Lan Wangji can answer, there's a terrible roar from nearby in the forest. The boar has walked into the trap. Wei Wuxian shoots a plaintive look at Lan Wangji, but that's all he can do -- it's time to get back to business.

5) Jiang Cheng

At Lan Wangji's urging, Wei Wuxian sends Lotus Pier an "informational letter" letting Jiang Cheng know that the two of them plan on visiting Yunmeng for a week in the summer. "We will stay in a local inn," he writes, but when Jiang Cheng sends back a missive to Cloud Recesses, he says, "You might as well stay here." Wei Wuxian can practically *hear* the huff in his voice.

So Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji show up at Lotus Pier at summer's edge, when the flowering shrubs are in the height of their bloom, and an unsmiling Jiang Cheng gives them a cursory bow and leads them to two rooms in a far corner of the compound. "Of course I can't tell you what to do," he says, "but ... still." Not one of the three has any illusions about how many rooms will get used.

Jiang Cheng doesn't smile the whole time, but he at least invites the two of them to meals when they're home, and makes sure they have what they need. Wei Wuxian shrinks a little when he's around, not wanting to start anything that will disturb the fragile peace. But when he's not, Wei Wuxian cheerfully leads Lan Wangji down the outdoor walkways that zigzag toward the river's edge. At the far end is a small pavillion with a place to sit and look out over the water. It's sunset and the water is bright like flame, reflecting the orange bulb of the sun lowering itself behind the faraway trees.

"I used to see sunsets like this every day, all the time," Wei Wuxian says.

"Do you miss them?" Lan Wangji asks, glancing at him.

"No, it's not that I miss them, exactly. And Cloud Recesses is so nice, your thousands of rules notwithstanding, and there's lots of beautiful things up there." Wei Wuxian smiles. "But it's nice to come back and see this once in a while."

"We'll visit often, then." Lan Wangji speaks with sureness.

"I don't know how often Jiang Cheng will let us stay here," Wei Wuxian says, "but we can come to Yunmeng now and then. There are other places to see the sunset."

"But none quite like this one?"

"Exactly." Wei Wuxian sighs.

"We can talk to your brother."

"No, no, it's all right, leave him alone." Wei Wuxian leans on Lan Wangji's shoulder. "I'll just enjoy this now."

And so they sit together and watch the sun dip below the treeline, quietly, aware of the passage of each moment disappearing along with the daylight. When the sun is gone, Wei Wuxian lets out a little sigh. It's not that he's sad, so much. He's just feeling heavy with the knowledge that he might not see the sun from this vantage point for a very long time.

Lan Wangji squeezes his shoulder and lowers his head to brush a kiss against Wei Wuxian's hair. It's just a momentary thing, but somehow it fills Wei Wuxian with happiness. That's right -- it will never be the same as when he was a child, but when he was a child he didn't have *this*. He lifts his chin to face Lan Wangji, to say something, he doesn't know what, but Lan Wangji leans in and kisses him before he can.

Wei Wuxian's eyes flutter closed. He doesn't need a thing other than this, just a soft, lingering kiss like the last rays of sun on the water. He's content to feel the touch of Lan Wangji's lips, the gentle sureness of his hands. For once, he doesn't crave more.

The kiss ends. Wei Wuxian opens his eyes. "Lan Zhan," he says, his voice soft, "I really love you so much."

Lan Wangji's eyes widen, and there's a flash of steel in his gaze. He tugs on the back of Wei Wuxian's neck and pulls him into a very different kind of kiss.

This kiss has purpose, deepening quickly and sending flushes of heat through Wei Wuxian's body. He sits on Lan Wangji's lap, straddling his waist, and they kiss again. Lan Wangji's hands move feverishly on Wei Wuxian's skin, and Wei Wuxian gets the feeling he's about ten seconds away from laying him out on the wooden slats of the pavillion and having him right there. 

"AUGH!"

Wei Wuxian jumps to his feet. Lan Wangji turns. Jiang Cheng is standing on the walkway several feet from the pavillion, and his face is buried in his hands.

"Jiang Cheng...!" Wei Wuxian has no idea what to say.

"I came ... to tell you dinner ... but ... oh, god, my EYES!" And Jiang Cheng turns tail and runs all the way back toward the main buildings.

Lan Wangji looks back at Wei Wuxian. "Dinner?" he says, and there's a touch of amusement in his voice.

"Let's give him a few minutes to calm down first," Wei Wuxian says with a laugh. "Then, yes, dinner."

It's a very awkward dinner.

and 1) Wen Ning

They return to Cloud Recesses a few days later. As they return to the Jingshi, stepping through the gate into the small courtyard, Wei Wuxian snuggles against Lan Wangji's side, full of fondness and a surprising sense of delight at being back home after time away. Yunmeng was wonderful and full of memories, but this is his and Lan Wangji's space, their small palace in the mountains. Here, they can move without restraint; every stepping stone and blade of grass is familiar. It's like a vise on his heart has been loosened.

Lan Wangji looks down at him with gentle affection in his eyes. When Wei Wuxian darts upward to take a soft kiss from those lips, Lan Wangji winds his arms around him and holds him there. They kiss in the low light, shadows falling all around them, keeping them safe.

"We should continue this inside," Wei Wuxian whispers. Lan Wangji responds with a "Mn" and a nod. They turn toward the front stoop of the Jingshi.

"Wei-gongzi."

Wei Wuxian jumps. Wen Ning is just outside the courtyard gate, fingers on the slats. He's smiling.

"Wen Ning, what the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?"

Wen Ning proudly holds up a jade token of passage. "A-Yuan gave it to me."

"Oh." Wei Wuxian heaves a sigh of resignation. "And? What did you come for?"

A corpse can't blush, but between Wen Ning's unsteady pose and the way he gazes at Wei Wuxian through upturned eyes, it's easy to see he's a little nervous. "I know that you and Hanguang-Jun have had trouble getting ... some time alone. So I thought I'd maybe wait outside this gate and keep people away for you. So you can ..." He looks away. "Sorry, maybe this is too much, I'll just go."

"Wait. Wen Ning."

Wei Wuxian is hit by a wave of affection. Wen Ning tries so hard, and he wants so badly to help. Wei Wuxian is a little concerned that he's taken up the habit of following them around again, but they can discuss that another day.

He walks up to the gate. "That would be very helpful, Wen Ning. Thank you." He shoots a look at Lan Wangji, who is carefully holding back a smile. "We'll just go inside, and you can keep watch until you don't feel like it anymore. Okay?"

"Yes!" Wen Ning nods vigorously. "You can count on me." He turns and assumes a pose outside the gate like he's guarding a castle.

Wei Wuxian wanders back to where Lan Wangji waits, biting back his own laughter. "You hear that, Lan Zhan?" he says. "No interruptions, guaranteed."

"It's a very kind offer," Lan Wangji says. "We should take advantage of it."

"I couldn't agree more." Wei Wuxian takes his hand. They step inside and shut the door against the outside world. Tonight, they won't stop for anything.

[animesmutfest]

Benimaru x reader

You and Beni are in a heated argument at the moment as you have had enough of him calling you over only to disrespect you and or use you for sex. If he wanted to be an asshole to you he could find someone else to do that to. “I’m leaving and don’t fucking call me again” you yell storming out. “Whatever ill see you soon love” he says not knowing the weight behind your words. He honestly expected you to call him a few days later for a hook up but it never came. “She’ll come back any day now” he thinks to himself but man was he wrong. Weeks turn to months and you never called or showed your face around his home. He was practically loosing his damn mind without you around. “Don’t you think maybe you should just call her and apologize?” Konro says watching him binge drink. “Why should i?” Beni replies gulping down the rest of his cup. “I cant lie Beni she had a point... how many times has she showed you she was more than a toy? At one point she practically begged you to give her a chance and you turned her down like she was nothing to you” konro says. “I told her I didn’t want to involve feelings so its her own fault” Beni slurs. “I can tell her not being around is bothering you Beni. You’ve pretty much been drinking yourself to sleep the past few months” he say patting him on the back. “When your ready to stop holding back your real feelings and actually let her in, ive heard she’s been going to the bar every Friday, the local one downtown” he says walking out Benis room. “The bar?! What the fuck is she doing there every weekend?! Is she seeing someone?” He thinks to himself before laying down and dozing off. The week flies by and before you knew it you were getting ready to go out to the bar. Doing your hair and even putting on a sexy make up look before sliding on your tight short dress with matching heels. “Well time to go drink my sorrows away” you say walking to your car. As you enter the bar the bartender greets you and asks if you want the usual Long Island. You confirm it and begin your weekend routine.4 or 5 drinks later you were pretty drunk and thought you saw Beni enter the bar and sit down at a table far from the seats. You shake it off as your imagination and a young attractive man approaches you and offers to pay for a drink. You smile and accept his offer as you too talked and had a few drinks. “Who the fuck is this prick?!” Beni exclaims from the table he sat at. “So she is seeing someone... I don’t know why that bothers me so much” he adds feeling a ping in his heart. He sees her get up and walk to the bathroom he quietly moved through the crowd following her inside.

As you lean over the counter thinking of Beni you hear the door shut and lock behind you. You look up and see Beni leaning against the door looking at you. “What do you want?” You snap at him. “Who’s that guy you were talking to?” He asks calmly ignoring your question. “Why does it matter? Its not like you care...” you say getting irritated. “How long have you been fucking him?” He asks slowly walking towards you. For some reason you find yourself excited at his appearance but you refuse to be his toy any longer. “What are you talking about?!” You exclaim “you heard me y/n now answer me. How long have you been fucking that prick?!” He says towering over your body slamming his hands on the counter behind you. “Ive never seen that man before tonight... I don’t even know his name.” You say melting a bit under his gaze. “Why haven’t you come back to me?” He asks leaning into your ear. “Because i refuse to be treated like a fucking toy Beni I don’t belong to anybody especially someone who only calls me when they want to get their nut in!” You yell pushing him but he doesn’t budge. “You know what?” He grabs the back of your head and pulls you into a rough kiss. You realized that you didn’t even push him away instead inviting him in. After a minute of your tongue dancing with his you come to your senses and pull away from the kiss. “No! I’m tired of being used” you say with. A tear falling down your face. His eyes grown wide as he wipes away your tear. “I’m sorry y/n” he says softly “for how i treated you, for how i acted like I didn’t care, for making you feel like you were worthy, for everything”. “You don’t mean that so stop” you say. “But i do... it took me till a few weeks ago to realize how much i missed having you by my side. And for me to realize that i do have feelings for you” he says kissing you tenderly. Your heart melts at his confession and without a second thought you wrap your hands around his neck kissing him back. You were relieved to hear him finally say he felt something for you. And now you can fully indulge in him without feeling used.

He picks you up and sits you on the counter behind you and he moves his mouth to your sensitive spot on your neck. He left marks all around your sweet spot on your neck as your hands trail through his hair. Normally you would have to do most of the work but he wasted no time with you. He slowly pulls off your panties and shove them in his pocket as he runs his fingers on your throbbing clit. You moan as your body quickly gives into him and his ways with you. “I missed you so much baby girl” he whispers in your ear as he increases his speed on your clit. Your legs shake as you neared a climax. You realized it had been months since you came. Your body was so sensitive that you knew you were doomed the second he started. Your moans go wild as you reach your first climax. “I didn’t even go inside her and she came. I guess she did miss me” he thinks to himself as he gets on his knees and licks up your slit a few times before sucking on your clit and sliding in a finger. “B-beni i- mmmph. I need you inside me now!” you moan gripping the edge of the sink. He smirks removing his mouth form you and unzipping his pants and boxers pulling them down allowing his dick to spring out. It looked painfully hard, much harder than ever before actually. He kisses you one more time before lining himself up with your pussy and slowly sinking inside you. Your legs shake and your body tenses up at the feeling of him stretching you out. “Fuck baby~” he moans in your ear as he bottoms out. Your heavy breathing and gripping his back with your nails turning him on even more. He pulls out a bit before slamming back inside you giving you no time to adjust to his enormous size as he fucks you deep and hard. Beni was practically falling apart inside you. You cry out in pleasure as you feel yourself close to cumming again. Feeling you clench down on him and speeds up “Look at me baby” he moans causing you to comply. Your eyes sinking into his as you feel yourself losing the tiny bit of control you had left. “I know you want to baby... so go ahead. Cum for me” he moans in your ear. Your orgasm ripped through your soul at his words. If it weren’t for the music everyone would have definitely heard you. Kisses your neck praising you through your high. Once you’ve calmed down he hooked your legs with his arms and picks you up slamming you against the wall.

He relentlessly pounds into you while admiring how well you are taking him. “You’re mine y/n” he growls at you. “A-all yours baby” you moan loudly leaning back on the wall as you melt. Your skin flushed red and sweat littering your bodies. His thrusts becoming faster and sloppy. You sink your mouth onto his neck causing him to dig into you more. You were beyond happy after telling him you belonged to him for so long and to actually be his was hitting completely different. His eyes looks at you wildly as he made sure to let you know how good your pussy felt on his dick. After “fuck baby girl~ I’m gunna cum s-soon” he moans biting your neck. You rest your head on his shoulder realizing you were going to cum again too. He was now slamming against your cervix making your body jolt with each thrust. The moment your climax hit you squeezed him so tight it caused him to cum as well. He tells your name as he slams deep inside you. Through your panting you realized he came inside. “No no no I just got him back and now he’s just going to freak out and leave again” you think to yourself. But instead he kisses you deeply as he pants. And in a low growl he says “like I said you’re MINE”. You sigh relieved as you weakly reply. “I’m yours”

[veryreallyfuckinbad]

FIRE AND MOSS // Daryl Dixon X Reader// CHAPTER 5

TW: Strong language, implied abusive relationships.

Days passed quickly at the farm. Your schedule was filled with hunting, scavenging, killing any walkers that wandered too close, taking watch. You fell into a pleasant routine- one that was rare in a world full of nothing but surprises. You were busy every day, but once the sky darkened and cheerful conversations faded into faint whispers around a crackling campfire, you felt the same freedom that accompanied you when you were on your own. You loved every single member of your new family- maybe besides Shane, who was an asshole to everyone who didn’t agree with him. You became close with Maggie, she was like an older sister that you’ve never had. Daryl was still very much an enigma, but you felt most comfortable in his company. He began cracking small, dry jokes from time to time and never complained when you ran your mouth or tried to lift the mood with a stupid joke. Once his patience ran out, he would eventually kick you out and send you back to your tent, but you didn’t mind. You knew the man by now and were grateful for the smallest of talks with him. Despite enjoying the “mundane” life on the farm, you were like a wild animal- you couldn’t stay in for too long, eventually beginning to pace around your cage in a haze. The cage opened once the sun set. You enjoyed running around the dark, empty fields and rolling in the grass with Jake and telling him every Greek myth you could remember his namesake telling you. You knew he couldn’t understand you, but somehow hoped he could. The grass under your body felt cold and cooled you down, the blades ticking your legs and hands. Tonight was one of those nights.

Your hands traced circles in the grass that you and Jake were laying on. A heavy sigh escaped your lips as you took a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. Jake was lying beside you, you haven’t seen him this relaxed since you were alone in the forest with him. The stars were shining bright above you, moonlight giving everything a dreamy glow. You closed your eyes and took in the moment, basking in the cold light of the moon. The grass smelled fresh, and made you feel more awake- more alive. Your eyes shot open when you heard the familiar crackling of a campfire. Once you sat up, your eyes were met with a familiar orange glow. Daryl was sitting by the campfire, his face illuminated by flames. You stood up and carefully made your way over to him, making sure to stay out of sight and not make any noise. Once you got closer, you could see the man clearly.

His face was partially covered with loose strands of hair, but his eyes were filled with disappointment, anger and sadness. He was exhausted- a single look at him proved it. Dark circles outlined his cold eyes and he looked paler than usual.

“Daryl?” your voice was nothing more than a whisper, but he still jolted up, startled. He eyed you and sighed, dipping his head.

“What the hell, woman?” He spoke roughly but quietly, no louder than you. “Ya watchin’ me?”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, taking a step out of the shadows with Jake carefully following you. Daryl was selfless, brave and tough but awful at speaking to people. Bad with people, in general.

“Funny coming from you, Dixon” you heard him scoff as you motioned for him to scoot over so you could take a seat next to him. He complied with a slight grunt and made space for you.

Daryl was tense, more so than usual. You wondered whether he was hurting- physically or emotionally. Whatever it was, something wasn’t right and instead of prying, you decided to do everything you could to cheer him up.

“Wanna talk about it?” you looked at him and for a brief moment, your eyes met. He was surprised- you caught him off guard.

“What d’ya mean?” he asked, turning his head to look at you properly.

“I’ll take that as a no, then” you shot him a tiny smile and turned your gaze to Jake, who sat by your legs. You looked down at him and as your eyes met with his, you decided to stand up and take a seat on the cold, wet grass and rested your back on the log you previously sat on with a sigh. You closed your eyes and began running your fingers along the fox’s fur, whose eyes also shut.

Daryl watched you in pure disbelief. He had so many questions that he didn’t know which one he should ask first. He’s seen you rip walkers apart with your bare hands, throw knives, hunt, yell at the undead to come out already so she can kill them and sleep (which, that one time it was Daryl, not a walker). She was dangerous, but not because she would hurt him. She was dangerous because (Y/N) occupied his thoughts more often than she should, he spent a lot of time thinking about how brutal, violent and fearless she could be, just to come back to camp and ask him how his day was or tell him about things he didn’t care about, like the TV shows she liked back when television was a thing. She could be violent, covered in blood, but she always turned into a gentle, caring and understanding person during every conversation she had with him. Moments like these made him reflect on himself and his friendship with her. Her previously blood-stained hands were now ever so gently running along her fox’s fur. He would never admit it, but he admired how she didn’t treat him like a pet, like so many people would. Both her and her fox were nothing but wild, with two sides to them.

“What d’ya like to draw?” the question left his mouth without him even realizing it, he was so lost in thought that the words slipped out on their own.

“People, animals, sometimes places I like” you answered truthfully, with a smile, enjoying knowing he was curious. He might’ve asked it for the sake of being polite, but you knew that wasn’t something Daryl Dixon would do. A smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you stood up and looked him in the eyes. “Hold on” you jogged to your tent and after shuffling around for a couple minutes, you came back and trotted to the spot where you were previously sat. You handed him something you’d never willingly show someone else- your sketchbook.

He examined it and opened it gently, as if afraid of tearing your most prized possession apart. He flipped through the pages and stopped to look at a sketch of Jake, then at a halfway-finished picture of Rick, Carl and Lori, sketches of Glenn and Maggie. He flipped over to the last filled page- the very campfire you were sitting by. He looked at that particular sketch longer than at the others. Daryl examined the picture and with every glance, he found new details he hasn’t noticed before. The fire was in the center, the logs you sat around it, some out of view. He noticed your tents in the background and smiled when he saw his crossbow laying in the grass. His fingers brushed against the paper with a tenderness you’ve not yet seen in him.

“It’s not the best, I know, but I-“ You began, but before you could say anything else, Daryl’s voice sounded over yours.

“Nah, I love it” he sounded genuine, a spark appearing in his eyes for a brief moment. Suddenly, an idea popped into your head.

“It’s yours!” you offered him a big grin and affectionately patted his knee. He didn’t flinch away like he usually would, simply looking at you and back at the drawing. You nodded and took the sketchbook from his hands, your hand brushing against his. You carefully tugged on the paper and ripped the page out, about to hand it to him before your eyes widened and you retracted your arm. Daryl didn’t say anything and watched in silence as you grabbed a stray piece of charcoal from your campfire and used it to write something on the back of the page. Finally, you handed it to him and once again leaned against the log.

“That’s the first gift I e’er got.” He almost whispered as you felt your stomach turn. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You looked him deep in the eyes and shot him a confused look, hoping he would elaborate. To your surprise, he did.

“Shit childhood. No Christmas, no nothin’.” He looked away, his cold gaze turning to Jake. You had to physically hold yourself back from wrapping your arms around him. Daryl tensed, frustrated with himself for opening up to you for no reason. He didn’t know you cared or that you appreciated him sharing at least a tidbit about his past. His eyes were still fixed on your fox companion, you weren’t completely sure of his intentions but you knew that he wouldn’t hurt him, so you relaxed slightly. Daryl began chewing on his thumb, something you noticed he did as a nervous tic. You knew he hated pity but you couldn’t help yourself.

“Daryl, I’m so sorry” despite being at a loss for words, you went on, “You didn’t deserve that.”.

As soon as the words left your mouth, he turned his head to look in your eyes, but it felt like he was staring right into your soul, your heart. Nobody has ever told him that. Still, despite being grateful, he refused to believe you said it just to be polite, or because you didn’t know what else to say. There was still a part of him that believed you meant it and it made him more confused than ever.

“I didn’t have the best life, either” you began without even thinking about your words, all you wanted was talking to him, “You know, even before shit hit the fan. My love life was about as pretty as one of them undead assholes” you joked in order to lighten the mood, trying to make light of your very unpleasant, even horrifying relationships- the kind that left bruises on your body and moss on your heart. Daryl didn’t even flinch. Not even a scoff of disapproval, so you continued, “Then, after it all began, I met a group- no, my family. They saved my life and taught me everything I know.” Daryl was convinced you were finished sharing and opened his mouth to speak, but you went on, not caring whether he would see you as weak if you cried when recalling your previous group. “The man that kept me alive, he was like a second father to me, his name was Jake.” Your eyes welled up with tears as you pressed the fox sitting beside you close to your chest. He climbed onto your lap and snuggled into your touch, comforting you the best he could. “He gave me my knife, he gave me a second chance, he gave me all the skills I have, but when our camp was attacked I just-“ your whimpers, which turned to full sobs by the middle of your confession, were interrupted with Daryl’s voice, sounding more tender than usual.

“That’s enough.” He sounded concerned, but comforting. “What matters is yer okay now. Yer here an’ yer alive.” By now, tears were streaming down your face and dripping off your lips and nose. “Besides” he began again, not sure if he should say what he wanted to say, but one hopeful, curious glance of your glossy eyes pushed him to speak. “Ya still have Jake”

You couldn’t help it, you stood up and stared at him, whimpering from time to time. You opened your arms slightly and looked him deep in the eyes. “Can I?” You desperately needed his comfort, no human has comforted you in your moments of weakness since the days of your old group. Daryl simply nodded in response and grunted as you inched forward and wrapped your arms around his neck, sobbing into the crook of his neck. He didn’t hug you back, but you didn’t mind. The man avoided physical contact with everybody in his group, so you were grateful he even let you get so close to him. “Thank you”

Jake’s whimpering caused you to pull away and look at him with confusion, wiping your nose with the back of your hand.

Daryl chuckled and smirked lightly, shaking his head at the fox.

“Didn’t take him for the jealous type” he motioned towards Jake with his head and smiled. “I like him” he said, causing you to giggle. You felt much better, all thanks to him. The whole night, you caught him staring at your companion, he was clearly intrigued. You decided to take your shot.

You placed your hand on Jake’s fur and stroked it gently with your palm. Once you felt him relax, you reached your free hand out to Daryl, who was watching you with curiosity in his pale blue eyes. “Give me your hand” you instructed and hoped he wouldn’t ask any questions. Thankfully, he obliged but flinched slightly when your hand touched his. You guided his hand to Jake’s snout as gently as you possibly could, not wanting to scare either of your rather wild friends. You brought his rough, ragged hand to the fox’s nose. Jake looked up at you. You were never very religious, but in that very moment praying seemed like a great idea. You were all but horrified that he would take a bite of Daryl’s fingers, ruining the chance for mutual trust between him and the animal.

You sighed with relief and released a breath you didn’t know you were holding as Jake sniffed Daryl’s hand and didn’t move, simply licking his snout afterwards. The archer’s hand felt less tense now, as if he wasn’t bracing himself for the animal’s teeth in his hand at any second. You took his hand once more and you could swear you could hear a breath hitch in his throat, but he didn’t flinch or pull away. You placed your own hand on the soft fur of Jake’s scruff and grabbed his, pulling it closer carefully, until it was laying on top of yours. His hand was much bigger than yours, covering it whole. Your hand began sliding from beneath his, and soon, his hand was laid on top of Jake’s soft fur. You looked at Daryl and gave him a big grin. Happiness completely overtook you, allowing you to completely forget about the tears you shed just moments ago. Daryl gave you a huge smile, bigger than you’ve ever gotten from him. It was genuine, you could see the pure joy in his eyes- almost like a child petting a stray dog for the first time. His hand travelled through the flame-colored fur, making sure to be as gentle as possible.

“Holy shit” he breathed out and looked at you with the same smile he gave you earlier, his eyes lit up. He looked at Jake with emotions you weren’t sure he could feel until then- joy, awe, love. Daryl was completely invested with brushing the animal’s soft pelt and hardly noticed you chuckle.

“I never realized you were such a softie” you jabbed playfully, somehow knowing he wouldn’t take it personally.

“Shut up”

Once you convinced the hunter to try and get some shut eye, you kept watch with Jake and scratched him behind his ears. Pride filled you, as if you managed to tame two wild beasts at once. The quiet crackling of the flames caused you to get lost in thought, almost putting you in a trance. Daryl’s words echoed through your head, like a lost voice bouncing against walls in your brain. He was so gentle with both you and Jake, allowing you to open up and finally feel completely comfortable around him. You chuckled to yourself when the image of Daryl’s hands shaking slightly when touching the fox ever so gently, as if he was afraid that he could break him into pieces with one wrong move. A strange feeling fluttered in your heart- and stomach. One that you haven’t felt this strongly yet, you were unsure what it meant, but you didn’t want to dwell on it and hoped the answer would just present itself someday.

You’ve already guessed that Daryl’s childhood wasn’t stellar but you never expected it to be quite that horrible. He was sweet, in his own Daryl-Dixon-tough-asshole way. In your eyes, he deserved nothing but gratitude and-

And idea popped into your mind. You remembered the way his eyes lit up and how you felt the walls he built around himself crumble a bit when you gave him your drawing. You smiled and gave Jake a pat on the head while reaching over to retrieve your sketchbook and grabbing a piece of charcoal from the sizzling fire. You got to sketching, beginning with a two circles and some simple shapes, and before long, the shapes turned into two beautifully rendered figures- Daryl and Jake sitting next to each other by a fading out campfire. Daryl was smiling softly while Jake was leaning into his hand, which was placed upon the fox’s head, between his ears. The picture was incredibly tranquil, you could almost hear the hushed chirping of crickets in the grass behind them. Content with your work, you stood up and tiptoed to Daryl’s tent, careful not to wake him up and slipped the drawing in the opening of the tent. It was halfway inside, halfway outside of the tent, like a letter delivered by a lazy postman. You shot his tent a smile and decided to get some sleep yourself.

Daryl turned over and sat up as soon as he heard you zip your tent up. Once he was sure you were inside, he grabbed the piece of paper you slipped through the crack of his tent opening and examined it. A smile appeared on his face as soon as he realized he was in the center, petting (Y/N)’s beloved companion. He felt grateful and incredibly happy, but he also felt something else- a foreign feeling which made him wonder. That woman really was dangerous, she could occupy his thoughts for hours without him even realizing it. Despite his confusion about the new, strange emotion, his smile never wavered. He crouched and dug inside the bag that laid right next to where he slept and finally, pulled out a handful of colorful drawing pins. With a quiet grunt, he pinned the drawing to the wall of his tent in a spot where he could easily look at it while laying down. Staring at the gift, he remembered the other picture you gave him, and the note on the back that he didn’t read yet. He retrieved the now bent in half piece of paper and turned it over. He choked on his own breath when he read the message written on the back.

“I guess it took the apocalypse for you to get a gift, but you better get used to it now. You deserve it, Dixon.

-(Y/N)”

_______

taglist <3

@writers-adversary @kimchiwen @mileysnavely @srhxpci

[warpriest-writings]

Red eyes on Grandmother's grave. 

    Sticks broke under her feet, running as fast and hard as she could but it felt like running through jelly, her feet caked in heavy mud. 

“Someone! Help me!!! Please!” She cried out but couldn’t hear her own voice.

Before her was the pair of sharp, red eyes out in the middle distance. She couldn’t make out a face; she wasn’t even sure if the eyes were attached to anythin, just floating there, haunting her. Those hungry, starved eyes that wanted to devour her. The eyes just hung there as she sat there frozen. 

“What do you want!?” she screamed out, but again her words came out silent. 

The sharp, red eyes narrowed, then rushed towards her as a hand reached out at her.

With a difficult, almost pained, inhalation of breath, Patsy woke with a startled jump, accidently knocking her kitty out of bed.

She gasped, “Bean! Come here. Mweh, mweh.” She made kissy noises to her large Maine Coon. Rubbing her fingers together as she did so attempting to soothe Bean and entice her to come back into the bed. Not that Bean needed much convincing; no one in the Desoto household could remember a single night that cat hasn’t slept in Patsy’s bed. By the time she got Bean back in bed and started petting her, Patsy had almost entirely forgotten her nightmare about the...was she running? Regardless, after several minutes of kitty snuggles, she checked her phone, loathing to discover that it was 5:53, merely thirty minutes before her alarm would have gone off anyway.

Of course, she wouldn’t have been lucky enough to wake up from her scary dream at a reasonable 1:17, or even a moderate 3:32. Good, god given times in the early morning a girl could go back to sleep too. Patsy sighed and entered an anxious state of contemplation, debating getting in the shower now and getting that out of her morning routine or laying there, blissfully enjoying the time before she had to get up for real. An absolute miserable time that went on in her head until her alarm went off. Ah, yes, neither productive nor relaxing. Thank you, Anxiety.

Getting out of bed with a less than encouraging groan, Patsy began her morning routine. Feeling emotionally and mentally exhausted by 6:45 AM, Patsy walked briskly down the stairs while putting her long and bouncy kinky hair into a ponytail.

“Morning, Mom!” 

Her mom, Elana, looked back at her as some toast popped out of the toaster, “Hey, Sweetheart!”

Joseph, her dad, poured two cups of coffee before handing one to his wife as she handed him the plate of now buttered toast. “Hey, Pats. Finished your homework last night?” Giving Elana a quick kiss.

“Course, Dad,” she said, silently beaming that her parents were still happily married after nearly sixteen years; it was more than could be said about several of her friends at school.

Her mother was the manager at a local small diner, it was a nice little place, near enough to her school that Patsy would usually walk there at the end of the day and hang out with her friends or finish her homework before her mom’s shift ended at six when the night manager came in. Her father worked from home, and studied. Technically, he was still a student at the University of Illinois, but he worked a lot of sub contracted programming and coding jobs on the side. Once she asked him why he was still in college and his reply was, “Sometimes people are just...nervous about getting out there, and sometimes you just so happen to be very good at filling out grant applications. Your momma has a steady job that takes care of us, and my work on the side makes sure we stay in the green.” 

“Need a ride to school today, Pats?” her dad said, snapping Patsy out of it.

“I’m good; I kinda want some time to just think,” she told him.

“It’d be nothing, it’s getting colder out and I love driving my babygirl to-”

“Joseph,” her mother interrupted.

He backed down, “Alright, alright. Letting Pats be all independent.” 

“Thanks, Dad. I think I’ll have breakfast at school today, I’m going to get going,” Patsy said.

Joseph began reaching into his pocket, “Need money?”

“I’m good, I still have twenty from helping out at the diner.”

“Now hold on, that’s your money. It’s our job to feed you,” he said, and offered her a five, “Take it, and make sure you grab an apple or an orange or something those school food scientist freaks can’t turn into half-baked prison sloop."

Patsy nodded, “Okay, okay.” She took the money, then gave her dad a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, “Love you, mom. Love you, dad.” Then grabbed her backpack from a kitchen table chair and made her way to the door, only partially catching what her dad was saying about Patsy being braver than he was for voluntarily eating school food.

From her house it was roughly a twenty-minute walk to school. Normally, she would have jumped at the opportunity for a quick ride to school, but her mind was still preoccupied by that dream. Most of it was lost, faded just beyond her consciousness’s reach. Those red eyes; Patsy could still see them crystal clearly in her mind. She could almost feel them on her back now. Patsy shuttered at the thought.

As she walked she barely heard the wizzing of bike tires until they were right behind her, lost in her thoughts Patsy made a sound reminiscent of an “Eek!” and jumped off to the grass beside the sidewalk. The biker slowed to a stop, ���Miss. Pascala, are you alright?”

He knew her name? Patsy looked at the biker, as she had been largely looking at her moving feet up until that point and the fact that from her perspective the biker was right in front of the morning sun, she had to squint and couldn’t really make out his face, “Uh, yes. I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Hmm?” he took off his helmet, revealing quite the head of curly locks, “Miss. Pascala, a little out of it this morning?”

As her eyes adjusted she suddenly realized, “OH! Mr. Morales, sorry. It was all sunny, and I was kinda lost in my thoughts, and I’ll just stop talking now.”

Her history teacher looked at her with a bit of a raised eyebrow, “I shall see you in the third period, Miss. Pascala, have a pleasant walk. Homework is due by the end of class.” He awkwardly coughed and rode off, quickly moving into the bicycle lane of the road.

Sometime later, after what is by all rights and definitions a poor excuse of a breakfast that would send Mr. DeSoto into a rambling state of disbelief that this was the best that taxpayer money could do for feeding America’s youth, as well as Patsy’s first hour math class (math first period of the day, she was convinced that the school gods hated her) and her second period economics class where they learned..something, Patsy was sure of that. She remembers taking notes and everything. There was a presentation with slides and everything, so they must have learned something...So after econ was her history class with Mr. Morales.

She liked Mr. Morales, more than her math teacher that’s for sure. “Math is the language of the universe.” She was taking English and French and frankly didn’t feel like she had time for a third language course. Mr. Morales was different, he got swept away with the subject sometimes and seemed to have a real love for it.

“We can learn much from history, but the people who made it weren’t trying to teach morals, and they weren’t thinking about just how important that what they were doing took place in 1776, or during the first or second half of the twelfth century. The past is made up of the actions of people who were concerned with living their lives, and if what they were doing was the right thing to do, or the right thing for them.” Mr. Morales said on the first day of school. He was also just a bit odd. His thick curly hair, a trait he described as indicative of his strong greek heritage, was peppered ever so slightly. Otherwise he held onto his youth remarkably well. looking closer to mid twenties rather than late thirties.

After the class ended, Patsy went up to her teacher, “Uh, Sir, excuse me.”

Mr. Morales looked up from his tablet from which he often powered through novels, “Hmm, yes, Miss. Pascala?”

“I was just going over that pop quiz you handed back today and I would have gotten one hundred percent if you didn’t mark my answer for question two wrong.” She said,

He set his tablet down, “That is usually how people do not get full marks. Allow me to double check that.” He held his hand open.

Patsy handed him the paper, “You see, I’m certain the correct answer is B and I’d like to get full credit.”

“Third century B.C. Yes, you are correct. I’ll be sure to update the gradebook and parent portal to reflect this. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Miss. Pascala, I imagine I marked everyone else who answered as you did as incorrect as well.”

He handed her back the quiz after remarking her score and immediately wrote a note he then stuck to his computer monitor.

She excused herself and left with a bright smile, making her way to her next class, and then on and so forth with her day. As she was heading towards her computer typing class after lunch (which was not notably better than the breakfast, it is a wonder that these children survive long enough to eat microwaved ramen in college dorms.) She accidentally bumped into the Principle as she was turning a corner.

“Ooft!” She said, feeling like she walked into a lumpy brick wall.

Principal Robertson cleared his throat and looked down his nose at the young lady, “It is not becoming to run down the hails and blindly around corners.”

He had been the principal at her school for well over fifteen years now, and he seemed to live for it. Participating in school spirit events and playing along with the dress up days, at least he did last year. No one wanted to really mention it but over the summer he lost a lot of weight and his skin got paler...greyer was almost more accurate. Hushed rumors said he was diagnosed with some cancer or another but refused to stop working while on chemo and Patsy wasn’t sure what to think of it all. Looking down at her now she wasn’t feeling very comfortable.

“I, uh, I really need to get to class.” Patsy said

The sickly Principal sighed a heavy breath, “Just slow down.”

“Right, of course. Thank you Mr. I mean, Principal Robertson.” With that she took off, carefully walking not-to-quickly.

Passing around the next corner and with her computer lab in sight Patsy let out her own sigh of relief. The bell ringing just steps away, “Whyyyyyyy?” Patsy said in a hushed, exasperated tone.

She quickly rushed into the room and to her seat, hoping maybe she wouldn’t be marked late. The class lesson began and she got to work with her typing program. 

“Hey, Patsy,” Her friend Abby said, “Think your mom would give me a ride home after her shift at the dinner?”

“Course, Abbs.” She replied, “You getting anywhere with these?”

“Not really, my hands know the keyboard but my words per minute is garbage.” Abby said.

“My words per minute is fine, but I have to force myself to type the way that we’re supposed to. It doesn’t help that at home I always just type with my pointer and middle fingers.”

“You type a lot at home?” She asked, “Are you writing something?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin, “No! of course not...I just look up a lot of random stuff when I’m bored.” She must never know.

Abby raised an eyebrow, “Mhm, right.” 

Over the intercom the school receptionist called out, “Pascala DeSoto to the Principal’s office, Pascala DeSoto to the Principal’s office.

Abby winced, and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

She tried to return it, her thoughts were racing. Surely she wasn’t being called down to the Office for accidentally bumping into the Principal in the hallway was she? Why wouldn’t he just take her there right after she did it then? Maybe it wasn’t about anything she did at all. Oh God...what if her dad accidentally started another grease fire trying to make home fries? What if Mom got into an accident on her way to the dinner? Her mind was a beehive that someone just punted halfway across a football field. 

The receptionist must have noticed the worry on her face and gave her a very sweet smile, “Don’t worry about it too much, Sweetie. Just keep your chin up and remember none of this will matter in ten years.” Reassuring words, either her parents were fine or she was just as unsure why she called down Patsy as she was herself.

Bracing herself mentally, Patsy opened the door and pushed it to the magnetic door stopper that held it open.

“Closer the door behind you, Miss. DeSoto.” Principal Robertson said.

Her stomach did an uncomfortable flip, she wasn’t sure why she was feeling so destressed over this. She hadn’t done anything as far as she could remember or mentally justify. She closed the door, getting a last glimpse of Mrs. O'Riley, the nice receptionist.

Run! Every nerve in her body screamed out but she moved forward to sit in the chair opposite Principal Robertson at his desk anyway. He spoke up; she only saw his lips move, the words not landing correctly in her ears.

“I’m sorry, Sir. Could you say that again?” She asked.

His brow furrowed, “I do not care for repeating myself, Miss. Desoto.”

She sank in the chair. “Sorry.”

“And do not mumble. Speak clearly or not at all!” 

Patsy sat back up in her seat in shock, “Principal Robertson, I don’t think you’re allowed to speak to me like that.”

“Do not speak back to me, you’re the one in trouble here.” He said venomously.

Trembling she stood up, “I need to go.”

He got up as well, “I think not, DeSoto. You’ve been hiding really well, tricked everyone but not me.” He licked his upper lip.

A full body chill ran through her entire being and oddly, in retrospect she felt, Patsy really wanted her kitty Bean there. She said, “Principal Robertson, you can’t be serious right now!? Think….think about your wife!”

Robertson frowned hideously, “That bint isn’t important.” He smiled, which was so much more disturbing to the young lady, “not like you, DeSoto, you have been worth all of my effort and patience.”

He reached out for her when the door opened, “Principal Robertson,” called out an all too reassuring voice, “I was wondering if you had the chance to look over those field trip papers I….” His hand less than two inches away from her, Patsy’s whole body was trembling but she couldn’t make her legs run.

Mr. Morales stood in the open doorway, his eyes moving quickly from Patsy to Robertson. “Miss. Pascala, behind me.” He said putting himself between them.

The Principal scowled in frustration, “I’m not entirely sure what you think you are doing, Linus. You are acting like I am some sort of threat to the girl.”

“This doesn’t look good, James.” Mr. Morales replied.

Robertson scowled deeper, and Patsy in that moment of fear and confusion thought his scowl pulled unnaturally at his skin. 

Mr. Morales raised his hands defensively, “What are you?” Striking a serious tone with his voice that she had never heard from her history teacher before. It was a cold voice that set her skin on edge almost as much as Principal Robertson had.

Before her eyes the late fifties Principal of clear declining health grabbed Mr. Morales  and threw him against a glass case containing various trophies for academic and sports accomplishments. Patsy left out a loud scream and Mrs. O’Riley’s own scream wasn’t far behind. 

Later the police officers that responded to the Receptionist's call would ask Patsy what happened next, and she told them the truth. It all happened so fast she wasn’t sure what exactly happened. Mr. Morales, who had bruised ribs, and some cuts from the glass but was thankfully otherwise alright, shouted something that didn’t make sense to her at Robertson and the Principal ran off. She didn’t get to hear what Mr. Morales told them but they questioned him for a good long while. 

School was cancelled early and parents were furiously calling the school board and the district for answers. There was a warrant issued for Robertson, and some people were threatening to pull their kids altogether. No one wants their kids to go to the school where the principal threatened a fifteen year old girl and assaulted a teacher. 

Superintendent Wilkens sent a parent portal wide email that a warrant was formally filed against Mr. Robertson and the police had opened an investigation. In addition to Resource Officer Thomas three more Iron county police officers would be stationed at the school for security and rest assured that school would be open again Friday.

“No, no...this is ridiculous. My daughter was threatened by that man.” Patsy’s dad said to the Superintendent’s secretary. “Don’t put me on hold! ….Yes, I believe that you do have another call coming in. I….” he sighed heavily, and tossed his cellphone into the living room sofa.

“Sweetheart.” Elana said, putting her hands tenderly on Joseph’s shoulders.

“We worked with that man in the ice cream socal last year, Laney.”

Just out of their sight, sitting against the hallway wall Patsy hugged Bean. Now more than ever the tridactyl kitty gave her some comfort. She kept replaying it over in her mind, Robertson’s face looked so...uncanny valley. Elana had tried to reassure her that it was just her mind playing tricks on her, wanting to think that he was somehow less than human because of how he was acting. 

Her phone buzzed, touching the wall it tapped rapidly and loudly and Patsy reactively tried to grab it before her parents noticed.

“Pats? Babygirl, I thought you were laying down.” Her dad said, walking over to her, flipping the hallway light on. “Well, I thought you were scrolling through your phone, pretending to be laying down.”

She gave Bean a little squeeze like when she was littler, “I tried, but I couldn’t take a nap.”

“It’s okay, Pats. How'bout I make up some of my famous root beer floats?”

She slowly nodded, “That would be good.”

“Come on, Patsy.” Elana said, “We can sit at the table while your father makes us a feel better treat.” 

She got up and walked over to the kitchen table, Bean closely trailing her like always. “Hey, think I could maybe sleep in your guys' bed tonight?”

Elana quickly glanced at her husband, the pair of them sharing a whole conversation in a moment.

“Of course, Pats.” Her dad said, “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”

“It’ll be like when you crawled in my bed when you were little after a nightmare woke you up.” Elana said.

Her father was scooping ice cream into three tall milkshake glasses as Patsy pulled Elana into a hug, “Thank you for being my mom.” she said softly.

Elana returned the hug, remembering the first time Patsy told that to her and felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She was Pascala's mom, there wasn’t any doubt of that. She didn’t give birth to Patsy though. Her birth mom and Joseph’s first wife passed away when she was less than six months old, an oncoming driver didn’t stop at the red light as she was going through the intersection on her way home from work. Elana was her birth mother’s best friend and Patsy’s godmother. After the funeral she just kept helping Joseph out with Patsy, eventually moving in with them. Joseph and Elana married when she was seven, but she had really always been her mom.

As frustrated as he was with the situation, Joseph did his best to cool down and help Patsy feel better, telling his corny dad jokes he spent hours and hours looking up at his computer desk. 

He spent almost a half hour that night checking and double checking that every door and window was locked that night, as well as making sure their security system was armed. Unlike Patsy, who almost couldn’t sleep without Bean snuggled next to her, Elana found the heavy cat overly warm but she gritted her teeth through it for Patsy’s sake.

The next morning, Thursday, the day after her high school Principal threatened her, assaulted a teacher and just disappeared. She woke up to the smell of her dad making eggs, over cooking them. Elana always made them a little runny. Everything seemed to run by a little slowly. Like she had been jerked out of a deep daydream and couldn’t pull herself entirely out of her own head.

Around noon she and her mom were watching a cartoon as Joseph entered the room on the phone, “I see, well, thank you, Linus. Yes? I’ll ask her now, we were planning on going to the diner for lunch anyway.” He pulled the phone slightly away from his face and turned to the pair on the sofa, “Pats, Mr. Morales is out of the hospital. He asked if it would be alright if he met us at the diner today.”

She let out a huge sigh of relief hearing he was out, that meant he was okay, “Yeah, that sounds good!”

Joseph put the phone back to his face, “She’s okay with it. We’ll see you there at one. Yep, bye, it was good hearing from you too. And...thank you, Linus.” he hung up and put his phone into his pocket. “He said the superintendent pushed the school’s opening back to Monday, I guess we angry few can make a difference.”  

Elana pulled her legs onto the sofa and sat cross legged, turning towards him, “That’s great! I think that’s what WIlken’s should have done from the start, but hey. So we’ll be eating with Patsy’s english teacher?”

“History teacher.” Patsy said, correcting her.

“Linus is also one of my work associates, but yes. He just wants to check in with Pats.”

She nodded, “Alright, I’m going to take a quick shower before we go.” 

She gave Joseph a quick kiss on the cheek as she left the room, her husband replacing her spot on the sofa.

Patsy gave her dad a big hug. “So Mr. Morales is alright?”

“Some cuts and bruises but he sounded alright, he didn’t talk about himself much.” Joseph said.

Before long they were sitting down as Margret, one of the servers at the diner, was bringing over a pot of coffee for Joseph and Elana and a Shirley temple for Patsy. “Hey, Patsy.” the retirement age waitress said, “How’re you holding up?”

“I’m okay, Margret.” She said, putting on a cheerful voice.

“That’s the spirit, I’ll be sure to bring you over the biggest slice of cake.” She said

“Yay cake!”

Elana laughed a little, “We’re going to wait to order, Margie. We’re waiting on another person.”

The older waitress nodded her head slightly, “Sounds good, Laney. I’ll be back in two shakes with your refreshments.” With that she was off to serve some of the other customers, or guests as corporate would like they be referred to.

The three of them chatted while they waited for Mr. Morales, while they did Patsy’s thoughts drifted to the bizarre notion that when you see someone you only ever see at school, or school related events that when you see them out and about in everyday life the person is suddenly almost unrecognizable. Like in those children sitcom shows where someone says “Wait, you mean teachers don’t live at school??” or something else mildly insulting to the audience about their perceived intelligence. Still, Patsy wondered if it was going to be super weird seeing Mr. Morales not just outside of school, but on purpose outside of school. He normally dressed in clean but not ironed dress pants and some sort of long sleeved shirt, either a button up or a sweater; would he be wearing a rock and roll band t shirt and shorts? What if he wears his curly hair in a manbun outside of work? The horror.

It was almost a disappointment when Mr. Morales showed up in tan dress pants and a blue sweater, as well as a sling that held his left arm, some bandaging on his cheek with some purplish bruising around its edges.

“Linus,” her dad said, “Glad you could make it.”

“We’re both just so grateful for what you did yesterday.” Elana said as her husband scooted further into the booth, making room for him.

“Oh, I only did what any good samaritan should have in the situation.” Mr. Morales said, sitting down. “Ah!” He smiled at the pot of coffee sitting on the table, “May I? I’m afraid I skipped my usual morning cup...come to think of it, skipped most of my usual morning routine today.” 

“Go ahead, refills are free.” Patsy said.

“Are they?” He asked with a smile, awkwardly pouring himself a hot cup.

Margret returned, prompting her mom to say that they’ll probably need a few minutes for Mr. Morales to decide what he wants.

“Oh, go ahead.” The teacher reassured, “ I know what I want, a short stack of pancakes, and two pieces of bacon on the chewier side.”

“Oh, alright!” Elana said, “Brunch it is then, I guess we’re ready to order. Patsy, you go first.”

Patsy put in her order, a belgian waffle with strawberries and a lemon poppyseed muffin. Her father ordered the same as Mr. Morales, but he wanted his bacon crispy. Elana ordered two sunny side up eggs and some toast to dunk in the yolk. With that Margaret took off again.

“It just seemed so...out of nowhere.” Patsy said, suddenly.

Surprised, Elana reactively gave her a side hug, “No one ever expects these sorts of things to happen, Sweetheart. All that matters is that you’re safe.”

“Principal Robertson wasn’t...normal, right?” She asked, addressing her teacher.

Mr. Morales avoided her gaze, looking down into his coffee.

“Pats, Robertson wasn’t the man we thought he was, or he changed or something messed up.” her dad said.

“You saw his face too, right Mr. Morales, you asked him what he was.”

Her parents, worried for Patsy, then looked to the teacher they invited out.

“Miss. Pascala, I don’t know what had gotten into him, or what had become of him. That certainly wasn’t the man I have worked with for over two years now, but rest assured. He wasn’t some abnormality, he was a man, a man who revealed himself to be quite the monster.” Mr. Morales said finally, just as their food arrived.

To her parent’s relief, Patsy dropped the subject. They ate and her dad asked Mr. Morales how she was doing in his class.

“She is an ideal student” he told them, “Attentive, curious, she has a mind for nuance, and seems to genuinely want to understand why people did what they had done in the history lessons.” Which unfortunately made her quite uncomfortable, like she was in a parent-teacher conference all of all of a sudden.

As Patsy began to withdraw into herself, Elana asked her, “So, Patsy, is there anything else you’d like to do in town today before we head home?” She hoped to bring Patsy back to the surface of her own mind.

“Huh?” Patsy asked, she heard what her mom said, but her brain hadn’t really processed it yet. Something it usually would do about a split second after someone repeated what they said to her. “Oh, uh...well I was hoping we could go swing by grandma’s grave?” She stated her request with the inflection of a question. Her grandma wasn’t buried very far from where they lived. However, she knew that her dad always had a hard time going. He stayed in the car when they visited her grave a couple weeks before school started.

Joseph swallowed hard, but nodded, “Of course, babygirl.”

Mr. Morales raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t realize you had family buried here. I was under the impression that your family moved here from Louisiana.”

“We did, but Joseph is from here originally, we moved back here after his mother got sick.” Elana explained.

Mr. Morales turned his gaze back to his coffee, “I see.” Patsy could see his eyes darting swiftly like he either realized something or was thinking very swiftly. She felt like she could relate. “Miss. Pascala, Joseph, Elana. Please do not take me for overreaching but I’m not sure it is safe for the three of you to go to a location like that right now. If Robertson is following you it would be quite the place for an ambush.”

“Linus, don’t speak like that in front of my daughter.” Joseph said, something of a warning in his voice. 

“No, dad, it’s alright.” Patsy said, “Mr. Morales, do you really think it’s a bad idea to go to the cemetery?”

Mr. Morales looked to Joseph, who wore an expression that clearly said “Be careful how you say things.” He looked back at Patsy, with a small sigh, “I think, perhaps you should at least wait under after school starts up again Monday? Thank you all for this lovely meal, but I think I should be going. This should cover my food.” He swiftly got up and pulled his wallet out and with just his right hand awkwardly pulled out some bills. Leaving forty dollars on the table as he took off.

“I think you scared him.” Elana said simply, pouring herself another cup of coffee.

They ultimately didn’t go to the cemetery, to both the annoyance and relief of her father. In fact they stayed in for the rest of the day. Watching TV, playing a popular kart racing game which Joseph began quite smuggly. Only to lose to his daughter because of an npc driver launching a nuclear option that blasted him back to third place less than half the track away from victory.

Patsy told her parents that she felt comfortable enough to go to bed in her own room that night, and Elana made chicken parm hero sandwiches. All in all the day drifted by quickly after their lunch with the odd Mr. Morales. It was almost 10 at night when she finally told her parents she was going to bed, and they reaffirmed their own tiredness from the day and wouldn’t be up much longer themselves.

Of course, Patsy wasn’t really going to bed.

She stayed up for hours, just to be sure they had actually fallen asleep. Her dad. Patsy disarmed the security system and left the house, heading straight for the cemetery. She had to see her grandmother’s gravestone. Something about how Mr. Morales reacted just didn’t sit right with her. It had to be around 1:20 in the morning now and it was very dark and while it was brisk out during the day her fingers quickly started going numb and she could see her breath.

The ground of the cemetery was hard and bumpy from thawing into wet muddy ground under the sun during the day. Patsy walked through the cemetery at a brisk pace, wanting to get to her grandma's grave and back before her parents could wake up to find out she snuck out of the house...or worse she was taken by Robertson. The made her stomach clench up, and she began regretting this whole idea. There was a rustling in the bushes and she began to sprint, she felt like running home and forgetting all of this but she was painfully aware she was heading right towards the grave.

She came to a quick stop, looking down at the engraved stone. Ellinore DeSoto, 1961 to 2017. She knelt down, tears building in her eyes. Deep down she knew coming here now was a mistake, her grandma wouldn’t want her sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, especially not under the current circumstances.

She sniffled, alright she got to the gravestone and proved exactly nothing. Time to get home as fast as she possibly could and swear off stupid impulsive decsions forever.

The wet smacking of lips that made her skin crawl.

“Pr.principal Robertson?” She tentatively asked, standing up and turning towards the gross sound. Her eyes widened in grotesque terror as she looked at the swollen thing that only scarcely held the appearance of her principal, the purplish grey skin stretched uncomfortably tight as the creature smiled wider than nature as she knew it allowed.

“Pascala Desoto,” It still spoke with Principal Robertson’s voice. “So courteous of you to come to me, now we may continue your...disciplinary measures, young lady.” The creature stuck out it’s purple tongue which extended down past its belly.

Patsy wanted to run, scream, anything, but her legs refused to move. Her body frozen. It walked up closer to her, and it’s foul breath was like a thick miasma that made her lungs clench up and burnt her throat, she couldn’t even tremble in fear.

“Speechless, DeSoto?” It leaned in and inhaled deeply by her hair, it chucked out as it spoke, “Yeeheeehesss. Your flesh will do, your form will do.”

Over the creature’s shoulder Pascala saw another, and the ghoul’s smile turned into a scowl. Apparently it noticed him as well.  It wrapped it’s unnaturally large hands around her, its index finger on her shoulder and its pinky on her waist. Turning to face him it snarled out, “This is my Witch, get your own.”

The man stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight, the beams catching on his glasses, “Let her go, Corpse eater.” He held a revolver in one hand, and an old medieval looking sword in the other. His arm wasn’t in the sling anymore and he didn’t look injured at all.

“Morales, I knew I should have crushed your throat when-”

Her teacher cocked the pistol and aimed it right at his head.

“G...go ahead. I am not something you can kill with a bullet.” The ghoul said smugly.

“In your state it will hurt, it’ll be a whole world of agony.” Morales said, calling the monster’s bluff.

It took a slight step back, balking out a grunt in some fear. “We can split her! I don’t need her blood!”

Patsy’s eyes widened at the suggestion.

“Don’t worry, Miss. Pascala. This thing won’t harm you...and survive.” His voice was cold again, and she couldn’t help but feel an intense fear. Maybe from the slight tremors she felt through the ghoul’s hand, but somehow she knew that this thing that used to be her Principal was terrified.

“I can’t go back to the corpses people bury, they poison them, and every time I feed I whimper in agony for years, only to need to feed again, the cycle is torture! Have mercy!” The ghoul begged.

“You do not want my mercy, Corpse eater. It is at the end of my sword.” He began walking forward.

The ghoul released Patsy and pinched her throat, “Another step and I’ll break her neck!”

Reactively she reached up at the monster’s finger’s “I don’t want to die!” she sobbed, were she in a more clear headed situation she may have realized she can move again.

Mr. Morales paused, scowling back at the hellish beast. 

“That’s right! You...you have a fondness for her, your student, HAH! So long as I have her in my grasp you won’t risk harming her.” The ghoul grinned hideously in it’s little victory.

Her history class teacher inhaled sharply, then said, “If you are going to do something, now would be the time!”

Principal Robertson the ghoul frowned, “What are you playing at?!” 

Out from the bushes a large orange cat ran up much faster than Patsy had ever seen in her life and pounced on the ghoul’s forearm, clawing and tearing at it. The ghoul released her and she dropped, quickly and frantically crawling into an upright sprint several yards away from the monster.

Bean used the ghoul as a springboard and sprinted over to Patsy. The Ghoul was screaming and clutching the wounds the cat had left on it, as Morales lunged forward and with a clean swift strike cleaved the monster’s head from it’s shoulders.

Patsy’s breaths were short, and she pulled Bean into her arms as she tried to calm down. Morales wiped his blade off on the grass before sheathing it and steeping over to his student as he holstered his gun.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Pascala.” He said, “Are you alright?”

“What, what was that!?” She asked, looking at the ghoul’s limp body.

He paused, like he was unsure he could answer, “...Is there any world where you could accept that this was all a bad dream?”

She shook her head, “No, I have nightmares all the time, this is real.” Patsy looked at her teacher and gasped, she tried to step back but only fell backwards. “Those eyes!”

Mr. Morales sighed, and pulled his glasses from his face. His eyes were a hungry deep red. “Please, Miss. Pascala, I mean you no harm. You have my word, my oath as a man who has spent his very long life guiding the minds of the youth, and protecting everyone who I find in need of help.”

She tried to steady her breath, with Bean in her arms she felt much bolder and confident, “Those eyes, I’ve seen them in my nightmares, I trusted you and you’re another one of those things!” She pointed to the ghoul.”

He was taken aback, and gestured at his face, “You’ve seen these eyes in your dreams? Miss. Pascala, I assure you I am not a corpse eater.” He grabbed his lip and pulled it up, revealing a long and sharp fang. “I am a vampire, and amazingly you seemed to have augured my presence in your dreams.”

She stared at the fang with wide, slightly horrified eyes. “...Huh.”

“Huh. That...is a first.” The Vampire said, “I imagine you have questions, and you deserve answers. Especially if you refuse to accept this night was just a bad dream.”

She nodded, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to, trust me I’m trying. Still here, next to my vampire history teacher.”

“Very well, Miss. Pascala. This ghoul was hunting you because you are a Sorceress, and whoever gave you that cat was as well. Seeing as how that animal is a Familiar, your Familiar.” He said, “Monday, come to my class after school, and I will tell you more. For now just go home, you’ll be safe there with the cat. I need to clean this up before anyone comes by and finds it.”

It was be a difficult thing to believe that Patsy would just accept things at that, that she would just go home and enjoy her long weekend with her folks, and she could just scratch Bean behind the ear knowing she was some magical protector her Secret Sorceress Grandma had given to her as a little kitten. That she could be nearly eaten and just go back to bed. All that can be agreed upon is that Patsy got out of bed the next morning around 10:30, that she took a shower and had slightly runny scrambled eggs for breakfast. Another thing that can be certain is that Patsy would never doubt what happened, what she saw and what she heard, and that the story of Pascala DeSoto, The Sorceress of Illinois had only begun. 

End Chapter

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[deansawthetvglow]

eternal skyline of a spotless mind- or the one where the first 5 or so minutes of 15x20 are the only minutes i accept. 

in which i ramble a whole ficlet on accident and y’all i need the full fic. yes there’s a tinnnny bit of smut. also spn 15x20 spoilers slightly 

now i want the fic where dean applies to be a mechanic, gets the job, does real good. he and miracle live in the bunker, sam and eileen moved out a year ago now to follow a job opportunity for eileen. it’s a big place to be alone in. he keeps watching over and over all of the movies he has in a file entitled ‘cas’ favourites’ he sips whiskey, a responsible amount, and pets miracles head while his head is on his lap. sometimes he dives into the lore, he’s glad sam isnt here to give him shit about finally doing his research, but he’s trying to find a way to cas. to save him. and one day he tries to mix up a spell thatll open a portal into the dark nothing and his ingredients sputter and spark and he thinks it’s gonna work this is it, and it just doesnt. the smoke clears, the sparks stop popping, and there’s nothing. and so that night he goes into the dungeon draped in one of cas’ old trenchcoats and he sits in that spot he had to sit years ago and he cries, and miracle sits beside him and he cries because he’s trying he’s trying to live for love he’s trying to do right by cas and he just....he cant...cas died thinking dean didnt...didnt love him. and god, does dean love him. so he cries and he whispers iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou and he falls asleep on the concrete, uses miracle as a pillow but dean doesnt think he minds. and he wakes up in the morning, eyes puffy, and he drags himself to work, and he’s back to square one. and this continues for a while, dean doesnt really remember when he tried the spell, but it’s been a while. a month, maybe more. and he goes into work, and there’s a new car for him to work on. it’s old, a classic, but dean kinda thinks she’s more junk than classic, sue him, and he starts working on it, and he opens the trunk to pop a particularly stubborn dent out of it, the client’s not paying for that but he just can’t let the car be driven around all beat up, and there, right in the trunk, is a trenchcoat. bundled up, and tan and big and dean grabs it, he shouldnt but he does and his heart is beating so fast as he brings it to his nose and smells it and it’s cas it has to be and so he rushes to the front office, demands to know who the client is, when are they coming by and as he’s going completely wild wanting to know everything it suddenly goes calm. because there, in a worn flannel and blue jeans, is cas. castiel. and dean just looks for a moment, to convince himself its real, and then hes rushing to a wide eyed cas and saying ‘you stupid son of a bitch’ and crashing his lips into those ones which he has wanted for and then cas isnt really kissing back so dean stops because he...he cant take anything more from cas, he needs to give and he...he stops himself because what if...what if this wasn’t what cas wanted, so he pulls back, lets his hands linger on the soft of the flannel, and then cas is speaking, head quirked, ‘do i...do i know you?’ and fuck. his heart drops right out of his ass. his knees buckles and hes on his way down when castiel catches him, pulls him up, hand on his shoulder, and he holds on to him. and dean lets out a ‘you don’t remember?’ and castiel says, ‘no. i...i dont i’m so sorry.’ and dean thinks all hope is lost until cas asks, ‘i know this is too much to ask but it...appears i know you, and i kind of just, woke up one day in a field and i...i dont really have anywhere to go..and um’ and hes rambling but he’s determined to get his little angel back, all the way back, so he says, ‘you wanna come home with me, angel?’ and cas grins and dean wants to see that grin everyday of his life. so he finishes cas’ car, lets him trail behind as they drive to the bunker. he doesn’t explain it really, just opens the door and says ‘well, heres the place’ and cas walks in and looks at everything with such wonder. and he brushes his fingers across the gold embossing of an angel on one of the books there and dean just watches, listens to cas breathing, aches to touch.

he sets cas up in his old room, cas quirks a head when he sees all the suits and ties in the closet, says something like ‘now i understand why i woke up looking like a tax accountant’ and hes being good old cas, sticking so close to dean and he’s sitting beside him to watch a movie and miracle is sprawled across their legs and cas says, ‘i could get used to this’ and dean says, ‘yeah cas, me too.’ so they sit and they watch and they repeat that day in day out and the bunker isnt so lonely anymore, and he and cas do everything together, and dean researches spells to get cas’ memory back. he thinks it has to do with the fact that his grace got ripped out in the process, theres a small nick on his adams apple that he recognizes as the place it must have left, but he coughs himself out of thinking about that neck and those lips and that hair and those thighs and- he hasnt kissed cas since the first day, he longs to. he sees the way this cas looks at him and he wonders. he wonders if maybe...maybe this castiel can learn to love him again. and it’s going on a year now. cas works down at the local flower shop and has an apiary on the hill above the bunker, deans still in his same routine of life, and they’re not...they’re in the same place they were before cas confessed. just, in this middle ground, this unspoken something, so as he lies beneath a car he decides, the happiness isnt in the having its in just being in just saying it, so he goes home that night, picks up flowers from a competing shop bc he doesnt wanna spoil the surprise, and sets up the table. cas’ name is still carved there, cas had laughed when he first saw it because “what kind of long name is that,” and dean was bursting with fond. and anyways he lays down a table cloth and lights a candle and waits. shaking in his skin just waiting for cas to get home, and then cas is walking in saying ‘hello, dean’ and running down the stairs, groceries in paper bags overflowing in his arms, and his hair is disheveled and dean helps grab a bag and puts it in the kitchen and waits for cas to follow and see...the set up. and cas asks, what’s this about? and dean looks at cas and takes a deep breath and says, ‘someone once told me there’s happiness in just....fuck...in just saying it so here goes. and its okay if you..if you dont but...’ and cas is getting closer, his head quirked and deans heart is beating out of his chest and he says ‘i love you.’ and then cas is rumbling, ‘dean, look at me’ and so he does, looks up into wide blue eyes and cas is smiling. smiling so big and beautiful and dean wants to hear it he needs to hear it he needs- ‘i love you too, dean winchester’ and then theyre kissing again, kissing and holding and deans a little embarrassed but hes crying and then theyre skipping dinner entirely and cas has his hand on deans bare shoulder and hes shivering into the touch its so overwhelming and he fucks himself down onto cas’ cock and cas digs his fingernails into deans thighs and looks up at him blue and beautiful and overwhelming and deans pretty sure he blacks out when he comes except, he doesnt, because his eyes are open and the lights in the room are all busted and cas is lying there under him looking up, dean thinks so at least, he can’t really see him and so he laughs and he laughs and he’s not really registering what happened, a beautifully timed power outage like something divine saying this is how you met and he’s here still and you finally have him and so he climbs off of cas and grabs something to wash them up and a candle or two from the table and when he comes back, and wipes the damp cloth gingerly across cas’ body he notices cas tense and he sees in the candlelight cas is looking very serious and he stops being sweet just asks ‘cas? whats wrong’ and cas says, ‘dean? dean. dean winchester... dean...righteous soul the one i fell for and will always fall for the one i love the one i have always...’ and dean dives back on top of cas and kisses him senseless because now cas remembers everything before and he remembers everything after and everything now and its perfect

and honestly they still arent really sure what happened except that maybe the spell needed angel mojo so it snagged it from cas or maybe the empty curled itself around cas mind and all it needed was the Loud of too many emotions to overflood it but all that matters is that they are here together.

and then one day, at the dinner table, cas looks at dean and he says ‘dean, will you....’ and he shuffles inside his pocket and presses a box into deans hand and its- ‘will you marry me?’ and dean is practically leaping over the table to kiss cas and saying “yes yes yes of course of course i wanna grow old with you i wanna be with you always in life and death in everything always together”

and cas is crying because he could have what he wanted, he has the one thing he wants most and dean wants him most too.

and then dean is pulling back and cas is looking pensive and he says, ‘there is one thing, dean.’ and dean looks worried so he places his hand on his knee and he says, ‘i want to be human, all the way human.’ and dean looks like he wants to protest or cry and hes not sure which it is but then dean is crying and saying ‘ill help’ and then the next day theyre out with the bees, because cas thinks his grace will do them good, and dean holds cas’ hand in his tightly and follows that little nick on his throat and opens it ever so slightly with the angel blade and tries not to think about how hes hurting the person he loves and he loves and he loves and then the grace is flowing away and dean captures it in a bottle, hands it to cas, who later pats it down in the ground so they can grow a new tree, and dean gives cas two little stitches on his throat and kisses all around them and washes cas hair for him in the shower and then

when the day comes, they go together, they get to live with one another and watch the sunsets on their front porch with miracle and jack and sam and eileen all looking out over an eternal skyline.

[oftenderweapons]

Apple Of My Pie (5) — Jin

A Small Town Swoons story Chapter 5.

Pairing: Kim Seokjin x reader (nicknamed Buttercup)

Wordcount: 3.8k

Genre: non-idol!AU, Baker/Café owner!Seokjin, University student!reader Flatmates!AU, Friends To Lovers; angst, very little fluff

Rating: suggested 18+

Trigger Warnings: swearing, slight anxiety, verbal fight, generic allusions to sex.

A/N: Hello my cupcakes! Welcome to the Small Town Swoon Universe! 🥰✨

In this episode: As Jin and Grace grow more intimate, Buttercup realises she needs a way out of her situation, and Namjoon and Jeongguk offer her just that. However, as the events develop, she understands that her decision needs to be even more drastic. Jeongguk teaches Seokjin a very tough lesson — maybe the  toughest of them all.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Swearing. Allusions to sex; accidental overhearing. Seokjin is kind of a jerk, Jeongguk is very angry at him. Verbal fight. Buttercup feels slightly anxious/panics at the thought of going back to the apartment.

Remember to vote for next prompt (check the link in my bio) and in case you need it, here’s my masterlist 💜

If you’d like some company, here is the music companion (Spotify only, sorry 😔)

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7 (7/7)

There were things you never thought you would have to do, things that made you realise the absurdity of your position, the complete stupidity of the circumstances.

Real people don’t need to handle this. Real people live banal lives, date, fall in love, break up. Or get married, have kids, grow up and grow old together.

Real people aren’t awake at four am because their crush’s date is mewling from the opposite side of the apartment.

You didn’t want to ask yourself questions.

You wanted to sleep and possibly wake up cold. That is, dead.

She mewled. Of course, not actually cat sounds but rather that kind of small, shy squeals that usually mean “I’m shy but I love whatever this person is doing”.

You didn’t allow yourself to dig into that.

You just turned to the other side and pressed the spare pillow against your head, trying to mute the sounds — and maybe mute your thoughts in the process.

Maybe accidentally suffocate yourself.

It was ridiculous.

This had happened about a month ago, with reversed roles — you being the squealer and Seokjin being the unfortunate listener.

You wondered whether he had felt just like you were feeling at that moment.

You thought about wearing your headphones and blasting some music. You thought about rushing out of the apartment and smashing the door on your way out.

You knew you had no one to call, no one who could rescue you at four am on a winter night, sheltering you from the shards of your heart precipitating and stabbing your guts.

Maybe you were allucinating. Maybe it was the sound of your pulse getting too loud because you didn’t trust yourself breathing without emitting a sob.

No, it was the headboard. There was no other way to explain the thumping.

You turned and grabbed your phone, sending a hopeless shout in the void. Just a text to the one most likely to answer, even though the chances were pretty thin.

Are you awake? Perhaps?

The thumping subdued.

Your vision blurred as you stared and stared, occasionally tapping the screen and praying for a miracle.

You thought you had fallen asleep, trapped in a nightmare, when a small bubble appeared.

On the hunt. We’re just back from Mulbreigh field. I guess you’re home?”

You shook yourself up and got moving, not even caring to keep quiet. The thumping had resumed, and so had the mewling.

At Ginger’s in five.

Gotcha.

You did exit the apartment in a few minutes, grabbing just the bare necessities, and closing the door quietly.

By now you were familiar with nightly runaways.

And you were also familiar with the trio headed toward you.

“Buttercup, is that you?” A calm, familiar voice asked.

“Joon?”

“Yeah, it’s us. We have just one field left.” He said. “We’re hoping to get the last one in time for the meteor shower.”

You raised your eyebrows. “There’s a meteor shower tonight?”

The other man at Namjoon’s side was a vet from a city nearby, who occasionally helped him track new wild animals that inhabited the area. “Yes. At around five am. It will be barely visible, but it will be there. Nice to see you, Buttercup.”

“Hello Marcus, always a pleasure.” You said kindly, still shaking your head at the nickname. Shortly after, you noticed the third man greeting you. “Hi Buttercup!”

“Hello Guk!” You said. “How many did you find?”

“We found three owls and got them chipped and registered. And we found a new fox, just out of Mulbreigh. We’re going to track him or her soon, hopefully. No wolves, fortunately.”

You smiled. “That’s good news!” You said enthusiastically, thinking about how the farmer would have menaced those. The four of you walked toward the last location, taking a long path stretching north. 

“We’re hoping to find deers, honestly. Remember when we found that doe, last year? Apparently she found a way to remove her tracker and we’re hoping we can keep her monitored, just in case she has more fawns this year.” Marcus explained, at which you nodded in interest. 

Staying focused allowed you to remove some thoughts from your mind, but at the same time you kept yourself out of their way, letting the experts work, following them from a distance as they combed the field and placed pheromones signals around the area, hoping to attract the doe to the trees near the field, where it was easier to find her traces and where it was potentially easier to catch her.

“There’s no point going on here,” commented Marcus. “We can only wait. It might take weeks.”

Namjoon huffed and nodded. “Oh, there!” He said, pointing up. A white sign resembling a scratch slashed the horizon in the west, Jeongguk whipping his head in the direction, his pretty eyes widening in wonder as he saw one more shooting star zoom through the sky lighting up at dawn in such delicate shades, from rose to periwinkle to deep royal blue.

For a moment you stared at the sky, feeling its immensity, peace and beauty heal you slowly and steadily. How could such tiny human matters affect its infinity? You let your eyes drown in the greatness of everything, with the snowcaps rimmed in gold in the distance, and the meteors becoming invisible as the sky finally became too bright.

“Guk, Buttercup, why don’t you head home while me and Marcus drive back at the cabin and finish up the paperwork?” Namjoon suggested, by now extremely used to his routine.

Jeongguk looked intermittently at you and Namjoon, adorably confused before he nodded.

“Okay.” He agreed.

You smiled timidly before thanking him, the two of you starting your walk back to town. It was a thirty minute trek, at worst, but you were both fast walkers and in twenty-five you reached his small house. Bibby, his large, scary dog — who of course is a sweetheart, just like his owner — welcomed both of you, the oversized puppy throwing himself at you and barking just once before Jeongguk shushed him.

“How come you joined us?” Jeongguk asked, uncapping his orange juice bottle and pouring a glass, offering you some while you shook your head and declined politely.

You crossed your arms, your stance becoming defensive. You fidgeted and tried to speak, starting a couple times before stopping and starting again, trying to build an actual sentence.

Jeongguk looked at you and waited patiently. He was familiar with the blabbering, stuttering and reformulating.

“Okay. Don’t say this to Yoongi, but… Yeah, he took Grace home last night— That is, he brought her to the apartment and they… Slept together?” You said, your voice so squeaky by the time you said the final word.

“And by ‘sleeping’ you mean everything but, right?” Jeongguk asked tactfully.

You nodded and looked at the floor, busying yourself petting Bibby.

“I’m so sorry, Buttercup.” He said, coming close to you and caressing your back soothingly.

You didn’t have the energies to cry. You probably would, in a while, after waking up.

“You need some sleep, don’t you, Buttercup?” Jeongguk asked, patting your head.

Again you replied wordlessly, moving your head in approval.

“Bibby is a great nap buddy, and I can get the futon ready and let you sleep there.” He reassured you, already fluffing up the pillows and grabbing an extra blanket.

“I’d like to sleep on the sofa, please?” You said, sitting down and removing your shoes, Bibby immediately getting interested in your wiggling toes.

“Oh, you’d like that?” He asked in surprise, “try it first, I can still get the futon ready if you don’t like this old guy.” He joked about the piece of furniture.

You laid on your side, wiggling a little as you found the right position. “Can do.” You said with a barely-there smile. “Thank you, Guk.”

“It’s okay.” He said, throwing the blanket on top of you. “This one is just for guests. I washed it last weekend, don’t worry.” He reassured you.

Knowing Jeongguk, you didn’t even mind. He is a neat freak and a tattoo artist: cleanliness means everything to him. “Can I seriously keep Bibby?” You asked, soft eyed.

He beamed and nodded. “He only sleeps on the sofa.” He said proudly and, as if following his owner’s praise, Bibby climbed on the cushions, curling up in the space before you and laying his head on your arm, using it as a pillow.

You giggled and scratched the spot behind his ear.

“Ask me if you need anything.” Jeongguk murmured. “I’ll leave my door open, just in case you need help or something.” He commented sweetly, closing the blinds to the several windows before walking to the kitchen and coming back to you, placing a bottle of water close to you.

He noticed Bibby was already asleep and he caressed the dog’s head before whispering “sleep tight”.

You heard him leave the room. You closed your eyes, feeling Bibby’s lungs inflate and deflate regularly, his heartbeat strong, his short fur velvety and relaxing under your fingertips.

You fell asleep like a baby.

Waking up meant a lot of things happening altogether.

Realising Bibby was in your arms.

Realising you were on Jeongguk’s sofa.

Realising you were heartbroken and that the idea of going back home nauseated you so deeply you couldn’t even remotely consider it.

Jeongguk greeted you from the kitchen. “You’re up, Buttercup!” He cheered, while Bibby turned around and placed his big head under your chin, shading his eyes. He always marvelled you with his curious manners. “It’s midday, would you like brunch?”

You sniffed the air. Bacon and eggs.

“Yes, please.”

Bibby seemed to follow your lead, sniffing the air and running to his owner, acting way faster than you.

“Okay, what do we wanna do?” Jeongguk  asked once you were both seated at the kitchen table.

You ate some food, chewing quietly as you thought. You took your time.

“Honestly, I don't feel like going home, I guess.” You said, staring at your dish. You felt a bit lost.

“We can hang out. Watch TV, meet the guys, do anything you want.” Jeongguk said.

“I was thinking of… No, it's okay, I should go home.”

“But you don't want to.” Jeongguk opposed.

“No, but I don't want to go back later tonight and find myself dreading sleeping in my room.” You said. You couldn't explain the emptiness in your stomach as you thought of the room.

“You know you can stay here as long as you want, right? I have a spare room. We can put the futon there.” He said touching your hand.

That small sentence felt like the water threatening to drown you was slowly lowering.

“I don't want to abuse your kindness.” You admitted shyly, softly.

“I am your friend. It is my duty to help you” He reassured you.

You mulled over your various possibilities. “Okay. But I'd like to go home and grab some stuff. Maybe they're not around.” You considered, looking at Jeongguk doubtfully.

“It's okay. We can go together.”

You exhaled in relief.

Standing in front of the apartment door, you took a deep breath, Jeongguk rubbing his hand between your shoulder blades, over your jacket.

You could already hear them laughing and chatting.

You slipped the keys into the lock and opened the door.

“I'll wait here, yes?” Jeongguk reassured you.

You nodded and went in, walking to your room hesitantly, only to be completely overwhelmed by the sight in the kitchen.

Jin was standing behind Grace, helping her prepare his special avocado sandwich, an elaborate mug topped with whipped cream and crushed almonds waiting beside her while the breakfast table was filled with any kind of breakfast and brunch food one could only dream of.

However, what truly unsettled you was Grace, wearing an oversized shirt — Jin's — bare-legged, with Granny's thick handmade socks covering her feet and calves.

Seokjin said something in her ear and she giggled cutely, throwing her head back and leaning into his shoulder.

They ignored you completely, caught in their happy bubble, while you hid slightly.

You refused to hold on, rushing back to the front door.

Jeongguk spoke softly. “Where's your stuff?”

You shook your head.

“I'm coming with you.” He said, placing his hand on the small of your back and leading you inside, closing the door noisily.

“Hello, we're here.” He called loudly, bringing the two of you to the kitchen.

Seokjin's eyes zeroed in to the place the man's voice had come from, spotting you instead.

So this is it, he thought.

He. Grace.

You. Jeongguk.

Jeongguk?

His jaw contracted.

“Buttercup came by to grab some things. It won't take long, will it, sweets?”

You widened your eyes at him and shook your head. “Yes, sure.”

You almost ran to your bedroom, picking up the most basic stuff to spend a night out and to head off to lessons the following morning.

In the bathroom, you collected your toothbrush and beauty products before returning to the kitchen, your bag ready.

“Good to go, sweets?” He questioned, looking at you with his expressive, gleeful eyes.

You nodded and gave him the tiniest of smiles. “Let's go.”

Jeongguk turned towards Jin and Grace. “Have a nice afternoon, goodbye!” He greeted, letting you wave at the two before dragging you out, not before offering Seokjin a smug grin and winking.

Wearing that mask took a toll on him. He hated what Seokjin had done to you through the years, acting like a protective older brother without being one. He hated that the man kept you emotionally busy and never let you out of his influence. Most of your past relationships had dramatically been brought to an end by Seokjin's asphyxiating presence, by the incapability of your partners to rival with your best friend.

He had ruined you for everyone else, and Jeongguk couldn't find any words to define how cruel that was.

“Are you doing okay, Buttercup?” He asked.

You smiled a bit coldly.

“I'm sorry you had to see that.” He opened the door and let you in, Bibby welcoming the both of you.

“It's okay. They've been dating for more than a month now. He's been by himself for a long time–”

“But he had you!” Jeongguk objected as he took off his jacket.

Your mouth stretched sadly. “Not like that.”

Jeongguk scrunched his nose in disappointment. “Okay. You know I’ve had the biggest crush over you. And we know that by now it’s just water under the bridge. And maybe I never told you but it was so easy to get over you — no offence — since to me, actually to all of us, you and Jin have always belonged to each other. It’s canon. Anyone else would be wrong for the two of you. Obviously.”

You completely ignored Jeongguk’s mention of those old feelings. You already knew; it was all water under the bridge — just like he said — and the two had discussed it years ago. Instead, you focused on the belonging part. “He has Grace now. They’ve been dating for what? Six weeks?”

“He’s been in love with you for four years!” Jeongguk said, slightly upset.

“Well, apparently he didn’t do a great job of showing that! And it doesn’t matter now. He has Grace.” You repeated.

“The two of you are so stupidly dumb, I need to call Yoongi.” Jeongguk said, absolutely frustrated.

Silence lingered heavy in the room, like a thick fog. “Don’t call Yoongi, please.” You said, sitting on the sofa and curling up in a ball. “He’ll scold me and then snap at Jin and then Spice will kill all of us for stressing him and interrupting their kinky Sunday afternoon.”

Jeongguk startled and put down the phone. “Kinky Sunday afternoon? Is that a thing?”

“With Spice, anything is a thing, especially if it means alone time with Yoongi.” You explained, scratching your nose and hugging Bibby as he got on the sofa.

“Okay. Let’s think about happier, less traumatising things. Do you wanna watch some TV? I have some Disney DVDs from when Namjoon comes over. No Bambi and Dumbo because those make him cry.” Jeongguk said, exposing his friend shamelessly. “And I don’t want to pay for Disney plus, Yoongi would disown me and I would never tattoo him anymore and I don’t want that.”

You giggled, completely endeared. “Do you think you have Tangled?”

“Oh, yes!” Jeongguk checked the case and placed the CD in his PlayStation. “Namjoon loves Pascal. The chameleon.” Jeongguk gushed, sitting on the sofa, switching on a small lamp. “Oh, would you like some popcorn?” He asked, ever friendly and welcoming.

You smirked before nodding.

Pausing the film, he dashed to the kitchen, getting a bag into the microwave and coming back five minutes later with a large bowl, the whole room smelling of salted butter.

You hummed in approval and settled down, Bibby miraculously uninterested in the snack. He restarted the film and your mind got completely absorbed by that.

Seokjin was confused.

He had accompanied Grace home, and now he sat in an empty room — an empty house —, looking at the opposite end of the table, where you weren’t sitting.

Did you sleep with Jeongguk for revenge?

Did you maybe talk to him and he made his move and you said ‘why not’, just like you had with that dude almost a month ago?

Maybe you liked him. Maybe you had always liked him and the two of you had confessed — he had a different gleam in his eyes and he had called you ‘sweetie’ or some other dumb nickname like that.

He should have confessed. He should have stopped hiding his head in his ass and should have grown a pair and told you, Buttercup, I’m so far gone that I’d be ready to serve you for the rest of my life, hell, I’d even donate you my sperm if your husband was infertile and you wanted kids. I’d even give up a kidney, fuck, I’d give up my heart too for you.

He was a dumb, stupid fucker.

He wrote you a text.

I’m sorry about fucking Grace, please come home.

Erased

Please come home. We need to talk. I’m in love with you.

Erased

Don’t fuck Jeongguk, you can fuck me instead, please.

Erased

He realised he always wrote ‘please’, and the more he went on, the more he needed to add.

He tried to stop overthinking everything and focused on the actual reality of it all.

He stared at your empty seat again.

Are you coming home for dinner?

Sent

The silence felt eternal.

That must be how space rovers feel, he thought, thinking about that tiny robot that wandered over the surface of Mars all alone.

He felt like the whole apartment couldn’t possibly be home anymore.

He shook his head, telling himself he was being melodramatic. After five minutes, he decided to call you. You always answered texts about food! You knew how much it meant to him eating together!

With renewed tenacity, he found your contact at the very top of the list, three A’s added before your name to make sure it always stayed on top of the list.

And he called you.

The beeping sound of the call ringing went on for ages. He swore he could feel his hair grow and his skin wither.

He waited maybe for a bit less than a minute, his mind already knowing that you were upset with him, that you were making him wait and grovel. You were trying to get on his nerves. Most definitely.

The ringing stopped.

“What is it?”

It was Jeongguk.

“Is she with you?” Seokjin asked, cold as ice.

“Yes. Of course.”

“When is she coming home?” Jin asked dryly. He felt ready for a fight.

“When she wants to.” Jeongguk replied equally dryly.

“Give her the phone.”

Jeongguk breathed heavily. He didn’t want to pass the phone to you. Seokjin had no right claiming you like that, using that voice, acting so mean when he was the one at fault. “She’s sleeping.” It was true. You were really sleeping; you had completely crashed at the end of the cartoon, with Bibby keeping you warm and covering you in affection, never leaving your side. After all, some dogs have a sense of smell so fine that they can sniff at their owner’s skin and perceive the hormones making their human happy or sad.

Seokjin waited, trying to calm himself down. It didn’t work. “I bet you’re gloating. You finally have her, don’t you? You must be feeling so smug.”

Jeongguk stretched his neck, keeping his composure. “I don’t have her, okay? She came to me and I gave her space. I gave her somewhere safe—”

“Our home is safe.” Jin growled. “Here is safe.”

“With you breaking her heart by banging that girl you don’t love?”

“She also banged a man she didn’t give a shit about.”

Jeongguk raised his eyebrows. “Did you bang Grace for revenge, then?”

“No. God, I’ve been alone for years, can’t I have one good thing?” Seokjin almost screamed, his frustration spilling over.

“Maybe she banged him to get over you. Maybe she did that because she’s tired of being alone, too.” Jeongguk explained, his tone glacial. His anger was scary — it didn’t explode or break. It froze everything it touched. “You hurt her. The moment you chose Grace, and with every date you went on. When you went to her on Valentine’s, when you banged her the other night. And there’s a difference. The dude she banged? That was just sex. But you and Grace? There are feelings there. That’s the part she can’t stand. This morning, when she saw the two of you in the kitchen? You broke her heart, Jin. She was broken—”

“But you fixed that, didn’t you, sweetie?” He teased, sarcastic and poisonous.

“Stop talking about my feelings for her.” Jeongguk chastised him. “Unlike you, I told her. I told her I had had a crush for her. I told her three years ago and I also told her that my feelings died down once I realised how she looked at you and how you looked at her. And we’re friends, we’re cool. I would never be able to look at her like anything more than a sister.”

Seokjin shut his mouth. He felt horrible. Maybe because he was horrible. He needed your sparkly laugh and your soothing touch. To talk things out about last night. Make everything right again. “Please, convince her to come home.”

Jeongguk tutted. “I won’t. She’ll come if she wants to. At her own time.”

“Jeongguk...” Seokjin begged.

“You both need to move on from this toxic bond. And there’s no way other than separating. Physically first, and emotionally second.” Jeongguk reasoned, repeating something he and Yoongi had discussed a thousand times.

“She is my friend.”

“You’re not hers, though. You are the person she loves, and the person hurting her. She deserves a real chance, away from you.” Jeongguk rubbed the crown of his head. “I have to go. Goodnight.”

He hung up.

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

Navi: Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3 — Chapter 4 — Chapter 5 — Chapter 6 — Chapter 7 (7/7)

[angelsswirl]

American Style

Chapter 2: Vegas Lights

Wrd Cnt: 1k+

Rating: M

The lies and affectations. Sensation. We're winning 'til the curtain's coming down.

"You'll never believe who I met at work last night?" You threw your rather expensive purse down onto the sofa next to your roommates.

You kicked off your shoes near the front door then threw yourself across said roommates lap's. One of them let out a grunt, but otherwise didn't say anything.

"Lisa Manoban, Park Rosé, and Bae Irene?" Doyeon answered easily. She yanked her arms from underneath your thighs.

"How'd you know?" Your eyebrows knitted together in confusion. You normally didn't tell either of your roommates about your clientele out of respect for their privacy. There's no way that Doyeon could have just gotten that on the first try.

"It's all over twitter." Ryujin, her other roommate, handed her phone to the woman laying across her lap.

This was the routine, you would get home, normally around 5:00 a.m., maybe pick up breakfast for the three of you, then get back to the apartment, and hangout until Ryujin and Doyeon left for the day.

Ryu had been right, there were a few paparazzi photos of the three of them entering the building, none seemed to depict them leaving, however.

"Ugh, Jeremy's going to be in so much trouble. Normally, he does a way better job of keeping those vultures away." You handed Ryujin her phone back with a tired sigh.

"So, whose mind did Royalty blow into a million horny peices?" Doyeon asked with a smirk encompassing the whole of her face. She even muted the television none of them were watching for extra assurance.

"I wouldn't say I blew her mind, but I gave Lisa Manoban a lap dance because it's my job." You made sure to point those last words at Doyeon. For some reason, Doyeon's been in perpetual matchmaker mode since you met, and that was when you were all 14.

"If you didn't blow her mind, where's your bra?" Ryu asked with a suspicious raise to her eyebrow.

You scoffed loudly, "How did you even notice that?!"

"I notice everything."

"Fine! I may have stuffed it in her pocket as a parting gift." You crossed your arms over your chest protectively, a small pout forming on your now plain lips.

"Oh my God! You did blow her mind!" Doyeon shouted, an accusing finger pointed in your direction.

"You're into her." Ryu's revelation is way softer in execution, but just as accusatory and astonished.

"Why? Just because I stuffed my bra in her pants pocket?"

"No. Because you took off your bra in the first place." Ryujin answered smoothly. Doyeon nodded along slowly. They all knew the implications but know one seemed keen to elaborate.

You rolled your eyes and huffed, "Fine. You win again. I might be a tiny bit into her, but it doesn't matter."

"And why doesn't it matter?"

"Hello, Shin Ryujin. My name's Y/N Y/LN. Would you like a copy of my business card? Yes, I know it says Royalty, but don't worry, that's my stage name. I'm a stripper. Nice to meet you."

"No. You're an exotic dancer. Say it with me. 'Exotic dancer'." Doyeon spoke slowly. You promptly ignored her.

"That's only a problem because you're making it a problem." Ryujin said softly.

You shook your head, "She was so sweet and nervous. She seemed to be genuinely interested in me. Not Royalty. In me. But she doesn't even know my actual name. I'm never going to see her again. I'm fine with that." You shrugged harshly.

"Why do you insist on lying to your best friends?"

You don't answer.

"And she does know your name."

"What?" You sat up, your eyes zeroing in on Ryujin. She winced at the elbows digging into her thigh.

"I sew your name into all of your lingerie so those bitches you work with can't steal it. So, assuming she's smart enough to look at the tag, she knows your name." Ryujin's face suggested she thought this was completely normal.

"You sewed my name into my bras and panties? She's going to think I'm a narcissist. Good going, Ryujin." You plopped back down, this time groaning into your hands.

"That's our Jinjin. Always looking out for her besties!" Doyeon patted Ryu's shoulder placatingly.

"Now, you can wait for her to find you and then you can fuck into the sunset or whatever."

"Or just finish what you started back at the club. Or did you already finish?" Doyeon giggled at her own joke. Ryujin didn't giggle, but she did want to know the answer.

"Doesn't talking about your fellow singer like this make you uncomfortable?" You asked pointedly.

Doyeon rolled her eyes, "That would imply we actually get a deal soon."

An odd look passed over your face. Ryujin eyed her best friend with a sympathetic frown, "You could get a deal soon too. So people can see you. You're still good. Still better range and rhythm than Doyeon."

"Hey!"

You only shook your head. It was just too late for you.

Lisa had been trying to fight off this headache since she had woken up that morning.

She had tried fighting it off during breakfast, during their morning meeting where Jungwook yelled at them, (Well, Jungwook had mainly yelled at Irene, and she seemed more mad that they had gotten caught than anything else. It was safe to say that Jisoo was still Jungwook's favorite), during rehearsals, and now when she's alone, save for her snoozing roommate.

Her memories from the previous night hadn't helped soothe the throbbing in her temples. In fact, they had did the opposite, and not just to her head. To her entire body.

Royalty did things to her entire body. They had spent maybe a total of 15 minutes together, and yet that had been enough time for Lisa to memorize every last one of the woman's dips and bumps and ridges and curves.

Really, it's no wonder that Lisa still has a hangover, because thinking about Royalty makes her feel a bit drunk.

It's something she's got to get over quickly. They're going to leave after their benefit concert the next day, and there's going to be little to no room for insignificant crushes on women she doesn't know.

And yet, Lisa still feels like she's got unfinished business. Lisa still feels like she's got to find this woman and at the very least talk, with all of their clothing on, over a cup of coffee.

She sat on the edge of the hotel bed soflty. Her suitcase, placed haphazardly in the corner, stared back at her.

Lisa reached over to it. Her hand finding its way into one of the small pockets on the side. She yanked out the peice of fiery red lace. A glance over her shoulder tells her Jenny is still asleep.

Maybe she's holding it differently then she had last night. Maybe it's fate. Who actually knows. Whatever it is pulls the tag of the garment free from its confines.

Property of Y/N "Royalty" Y/LN.

So, that's what she was supposed to do with a stripper's bra.