#and id be happy to answer any questions in the replies just be aware that i am in fact a certified dumbass so it's not law just guidelines

[ivegotyourbackbuddie]

After the 118 find out that Buck and Eddie are together, I want Eddie to have a day filled with shovel talks.

Like he’s invited along to an innocent breakfast with Hen and Karen but before he can even order anything, they’re raising their eyebrows and asking, “What are your intentions with Buck?”

And after Eddie stutters out a response about how much he loves Buck and asks them if it’s too soon to buy a ring, they lay off of him and have a nice breakfast.

But right after the breakfast, he gets an innocent text from Maddie asking to come over and help him with a new play set she and Chimney bought for Jee and any of the other kids who want to play on it. And Eddie immediately is on his way, excited to help out. Only, when he gets there, Maddie is hesitant to take him to the backyard and instead asks if he wants tea, coffee, or a beer.

When she hands Eddie the beer, she slowly tells him how special Buck is to her and how painful it’s been for her to see him get hurt over and over by people who are supposed or love him.

So, Eddie tells her about how painful it was for him to see Buck hurt as well, and how Buck is in his will, and how he doesn’t think he’d survive the heartbreak if anything bad happened between him and Buck. And by the end of his speech, Maddie has tears streaming down her face - happy tears - because she knows Buck has found someone who loves him nearly as much as she’s always loved him.

And as Eddie finishes off the beer, he asks, “So, there was no play set, was there?”

Maddie shakes her head and replies, “Oh no. There is. I’m just making Chimney work on it because he didn’t want to be a part of the shovel talk.” Eddie raises an eyebrow. “He gets scared of how overprotective I am.”

Eddie smiles and nods. “Well, I find it endearing. I’ve always admired how much you’ve had his back his whole life. The love you have for each other is really beautiful.”

Maddie wipes a tear from her eye and laughs, “Now you’re really trying to suck up to me.”

Eddie laughs and has to excuse himself to answer his ringing phone with Bobby’s caller ID lighting up the screen. Bobby says something about stopping by to go over his and Buck’s paperwork, and Eddie tells him he’s coming over.

After a very long hug, Eddie is on his way over but as soon as he’s through the doorway, he finds not only Athena waiting for his arrival but Harry and May at the dinning room table across from her. Eddie starts by saying, “Really? You guys too? Did you guys all plan for today to be the shovel talk day? Because I thought it was pretty clear that I love Buck more than anyone I’ve loved before - besides Christopher. And I’m beyond lucky to have someone like him as my partner in the job, to care for Christopher, and in life. And yes, I’m aware that there will be challenges because every relationship has them - hell, Buck and I have already had challenges. But I love him every bit because of how we got through them and came out on the other side stronger. Yes, I can’t promise that I won’t hurt Buck, but I will promise that I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.”

And the whole Grant-Nash family just stares at him before Bobby clears his throat and hands him some paperwork while saying, “I actually did have a question about the paperwork.”

And before Eddie can die of embarrassment, Athena comments, “But I’m glad we got that over with before Bobby gave his speech Thursday night when this was supposed to happen. And trust me, you did not want to sit through it.”

Bobby shoots her an offended look, but May laughs and explains, “He’s been practicing… with flashcards.”

When Eddie raises his eyebrows at Bobby, he has the decency to look just as embarrassed as Eddie feels, but he ignores the topic at hand to point out a back page Eddie forgot to fill out.

After it’s all settled, Eddie asks Bobby, “Hey, who is giving Buck the shovel talk on my behalf?”

Bobby only raises his eyebrows in response and shares a smile with Athena.

Then, the scene cuts to Buck who is very nervously stating his intentions with Eddie, talking about all the moments he knew he was in love with him but pushed it down because he never thought he was lucky enough to get what he always wanted. Then, it kind of turns into a speech of all the things he loves about Eddie until he cuts himself off, asking if it’s too soon to buy him a ring.

A very long silence goes by and Buck keeps nervously fidgeting then finally asks, “So… did I pass?”

Then, the camera slowly pans to Christopher who is staring at Buck very seriously, but then he breaks out into a wide smile and laughs, “You passed!” before getting up to give him a hug.

And this is exactly how Eddie finds them when he gets back, and he knows that all the uncomfortable talks were worth it.

Until Chris pulls away and tells him, “Dad, I have something very serious to discuss with you.”

And Eddie rolls his eyes to prepare for yet another talk, but he can’t help but be glad that Buck has so many people in his life that love him.

Of course, those same people give Buck the shovel talk the next day except this time Chimney joins because he loves watching Buck squirm under pressure. And after several talks and more tears shed, Buck goes out to finally buy a ring, not knowing that while he was out, Eddie was doing the same thing.

But they wouldn’t have it any other way.

[mitsmebinch]

The Dumbest Shit in the Weirdest Places: Anxiety Edition

Exactly one person said this would be cool but I happen to like that person so here we go: Traveling With Anxiety Sucks But It's Not Impossible.

1: Don't leave in the morning. I tried that once, and spent the rest of the day unable to leave my house in my bed. Your anxiety knows how to keep you from going outside and it will. Leave after you're already outside for something else, like a doctor's visit, hanging with a friend, etc. I always leave for trips after work. That leaves me 2-3 hours of travel time on the first day, which isn't great, but at least I get to leave at all.

2: Fuel up at half tank. Some states are fucking UNPOPULATED and there aren't a lot of gas stations (Looking at you Wyoming). You don't need to be looking at your gas tank every 10 minutes because you're at 1/4 tank and you don't know when you'll see civilization again. You can also check your map to see how far away the next city is!

3: Make your first overnight in a city where you know someone. First time I traveled I stopped for the night in a city one of my siblings live in. I slept in my car as planned, but I had her a phone call away if something went wrong. Back-ups are important, shit happens.

4: Vibes can be fucked. Sometimes you need to relocate for the night because the city you stopped in isn't the safest. But, you don't want your anxiety doing that every time. My recommendation would be to find a place that most cities have and stick to them. I stop at Love's, Walmarts, and hotels. They're high traffic, but they also have plenty of people also sleeping there for the night too.

5. Masks. Covid sucks, but now that masks are socially acceptable to wear everywhere, use them. Being decked out with a mask, baseball cap, and headphones is equivalent to a bullet proof vest. You can engage with others exactly as much as you want to.

6. When you stop for dinner, stop for the night. This gives you time to eat, make your safe call (essential!), check what you need to, relax. I usually take this time to sit myself in a booth with some dinner, write some reviews for where I'd been that day (reviews are my hobby), and organize my receipts and pamphlets for my travel scrapbook. In my experience servers don't bother you so much when you're alone, so it'll be some quiet time. You can also eat in your car!

7. Do not drive at night, and do not drive in low visibility weather. Have I done both these things? Yes, obviously, I am not known for my good decisions, but there's nothing like no ability to see what might be running into the road in front of you to give you a good case of the shakes. You should only be driving if you ABSOLUTELY have to, like if you're trying to get off an unmarked impassable road in the middle of nowhere. IDK. Could happen to anYOnE.

8. The 3 pats. You're probably used to using this one at home - phone, wallet, keys. You need to do that every time you get in or out of the car. I have left my phone in 3 cities across 2 states, one of which I did not notice for 45 minutes. Do not start your car unless you have all three. Put a fucking sticky note on your windshield if you have to.

9. Not everything has to be new. You can go to a city you've never been to and just watch a movie, or go to a McDonalds. Not everything has to be outside your comfort zone.

So yeah, have fun out there kiddies. Please don't be stupid, that's my thing.

[dilucids]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤCelebrity crush, Genshin boys idol! au

admitting you're their celebrity crush and their reaction to your reaction

includes: kaeya, diluc, zhongli and xiao

( can't stop thinking about idol! au genshin. any type of celebrity but it's hinted that you're a singer in xiao's. )

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 KAEYA ALBERICH ━━ FROSTWIND SWORDSMAN 〕

━━ this man is sooooo fucking slick with it.

━━ he'll slyly bring it up in an interview or a live with a smirk on his face and then act as if it never happened when someone questions him.

━━ his members just stares at him when he brings you up, knowing, that beneath that sly persona and nonchalant act, there was millions pounds worth of fan merchandise in his room.

━━ he would evade the subject and if it's an interview, the host would have to pry answers from his members instead as he sits there proudly with a smile on his face as his members tell his fan behaviour instead of him.

━━ in a live, he would somehow convince his fans they were hallucinating but someone would post the clip and everyone would just go ballistic, it'd be one of those "top ten things i can't believe kaeya managed to get away with: gaslighting his fans into believing they were crazy."

"Who's your favourite celebrity?" Kaeya reads out from the comments passing quickly through his Instagram live, he pretends to think. A smile forms on his face when he 'decides' on an answer, "probably [Name]."

He watches the comments speed through even quicker before changing the subject, dropping the matter as if it never happened. His fans are all freaking out though, wanting to get more details on his crush on the celebrity but Kaeya ignores all comments about the subject. They never die down though, only ending when Kaeya himself ends the live.

━━ you may have ended on the same show some time after him and the host brings it up ( 100% planned for views ).

━━ it makes you smile because you've already been informed about this topic by your fans and kaeya's.

━━ you'd end up thanking kaeya for the support and say that you've also been lowkey a fan of his group but you've never openly stated that to anyone.

━━ his fans and your fans immediately get to work and start tagging kaeya's insta/twitter, group and personal, under the clip of you shyly admitting you're a fan of his also and he goes mental.

━━ probably sits there watching the entire interview with a huge smile on his face, and it doesn't leave, not even after he finishes the interview ( bonus: diluc is very disturbed ).

━━ HUGE ego boost for the rest of the day. kaeya's normally very confident but he's extra confident, like starts strutting around like he's the shit and even had the balls to nod his head at diluc as if to say "what's up" with the largest shit eating grin on his face.

━━ diluc definitely thought he was picking a fight.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 DILUC RAGNVINDR ━━ DARKNIGHT HERO 〕

━━ more likely to come from one of his members than him.

━━ or he'd be very smooth with it, and brings it up rather subtly. it'd be a small "oh, i ingest their content and enjoy it" and he'd just continue about his day

━━ and his fans will still go insane because diluc actually enjoying something seems weird, especially another celebrity's work

━━ this would obviously reach you, who was an open fan of his group, and you'd freak out when you see it but wouldn't bring it up because he only said he enjoyed your work, not he was a fan.

━━ would definitely get questioned if he was being interviewed on a talk show, he wouldn't evade the question.

━━ he doesn't really see a point in lying, so he simply shrugs and tells the host that he is a fan and owns some merchandise.

"Diluc, a few fans are curious about your statement the other day," the host redirects the questions to Diluc, who raises an eyebrow. "Is it true that you're a fan of [Name]?"

The question makes his heart pick up a little, he leans back on his chair and clears his throat, composing himself before nodding. "I am a fan," the host seems happy by his response. The conversation continues to steer in this direction, asking Diluc if he had attended any fan meetings or merchandise, how he would feel if you two collaborated for a project and then finally ending once the host asks other members if they were fans of anyone.

━━ he thinks nothing of it, continuing with his day as usual but when he gets mentioned by your twitter? the man loses his shit.

━━ he sits there staring at his screen like he was hallucinating and literally tunes everything else out, staring at your little: "i'd love to work with you too!" message with a small smiley face at the end.

━━ he checks the account multiple times just in case it was one of his fans trolling him but clicking on the @ takes him back to your account so he gives in at some point

━━ he types out a normal, professional "thank you, i hope a time comes when we can collaborate" and "i look forward to more of your works" but he's still losing his shit.

━━ stays in his mind for at least a week.

━━ fans always bring up the fact that y'all never did end up collaborating.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 ZHONGLI ━━ VAGO MUNDO 〕

━━ the public is very aware.

━━ he's never made an attempt to hide how he is a fan, not even the massive poster in his room or the little keychain that he hangs on his bag nor the red eyeliner belonging to a makeup brand that you became a brand embassador for, also now one of his favourite brands.

━━ so no one is really surprised when he talks about you or your upcoming work, what is kinda surprising is when he straight up says that he says you're his ideal type.

━━ not because it's shocking that you'd be anyone's ideal type but because they didn't expect the out of the blue question from host and it's even more mind boggling when the man doesn't even stutter nor even think before just saying your name.

━━ members are sat beside him literally losing their shit in both negative ( scandals and shit ) and positive ( it's fucking hilarious ) ways as he just blinks.

━━ he doesn't even look the slightest bit worried as he stares dead straight through the host's head.

━━ obviously scandals emerge, there are positive and negative reactions. some people suddenly realise how good you two would look together and others are mad you "stole" their man because we have delulus in all fandoms.

"So Zhongli," the host starts before clearing his throat, obviously a tad uncomfortable under the eldest member's sudden gaze, "who is your ideal type?" The members also seem curious, as they stop their interactions, staring over at their unusually emotionless member.

One member laughs, waving the question off as a joke and as a way to avoid any possible scandals, knowing that Zhongli wouldn't filter his words due to his lacking understanding of social cues. "C'mon, there's no way that he has an id━━"

"If I had to say, then [Name] suits my preferences." The member who tried to wave it off blinks, staring at Zhongli like he just murdered someone and other members laugh. The host seems pleasantly surprised, peering at the camera with a raised eyebrow and a certain look on his face. The entire studio never gets over it.

━━ it's brought to your attention on twitter because twitter is usually where shit goes down.

━━ you've always been aware that zhongli has been a fan but you've never been able to speak up about it due to your management.

━━ luckily for you, your contract with your previous strict company had ended just a while ago and under your new management, you were more free to do whatever you wanted.

━━ so obviously, you quote tweet the video, tag his account and say in a jokingly way that he should take you out on a date first.

━━ he doesn't publicly reply to your tweet because he already got in trouble with his management for answering such a risky question anyways and your tweet is a little too suggestive.

━━ but he also wants you to know he has seen the tweet. so his solution? to slip into your dms.

━━ and all of a sudden, the next time you're both seen together, you're besties? so people started connecting dots and shit, were they good at connecting them. moral of the story: never underestimate zhongli fans because collectively, they may be able to beat zhongli in an iq test.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ〔 XIAO ━━ CONQUEROR OF DEMONS 〕

━━ best believe this man got death threated or held at gunpoint into admitting you're his celebrity crush.

━━ or he didn't do it at all and his members confessed for him just to tease him.

━━ happens on a group live, members are just vibing.

━━ xiao is sat in the back somewhere, scrolling through his phone with his earphones in so he doesn't notice his members shifting the camera to him or jumps onto him whilst holding the camera.

━━ when he does notice though, he takes out his earbud and your song just blARES through his earphone and it's fucking loud.

━━ he immediately turns it down but his fellow member already has this shit eating grin on his face and jumps onto xiao, successfully grabbing his phone and showing the live of 100k+ people.

━━ his homescreen is one of those "boyfriend/girlfriend/partner material" lockscreens of you and it shows that your song had been playing.

━━ xiao literally attacks his members and grabs his phone back, walking off to escape the embarrassment but can hear the echoing laughter as he walks down the hallway and slams his door closed.

Xiao lets out a sudden 'oompf' when his members glomps right ontop of him, grinning widely as they held up a camera to show off themselves and Xiao. Glancing at the camera, Xiao takes off an earbud, freezing when a loud upbeat tune echoes throughout the open area. Xiao ignores the feeling of his face heating up and turns down the song, ignoring the obvious gleeful stare of his member.

Almost on instinct, he moves his phone away but curse his parents for their genes because all it takes is a little stretching for his member to have his greasy fingers all over his phone, ripping it out of his hands and immediately running away to shield themselves from the wrath of all 5" and a bit of Xiao. When they deem it safe, they click on the home button of the screen, grinning amused at the homescreen.

"Look at fanboy Xiao!" And just like that, Xiao's cold demeanour had been shatteres infront of a plethora of people.

━━ you find it one of the most endearing things ever.

━━ literally how could you not? you find pride in yourself to have such a popular member of an idol group enjoy your work and it helps gain a little more confidence in yourself.

━━ it's brought up on a talk show kinda casually where the host is one of your friends so they are slightly teasing you for it all the whilst remaining on the professional side.

━━ and it's obvious to say that you're embarrassed by the way you chuckle and mess with your fingers and hair, but you hold yourself together anyways and manage a sweet "thank you for the support" to xiao when the host asks if you wanted to say something in case he was watching.

━━ and the very next day, on xiao's official instagram, he has a signed album and poster of yours, tagged and everything.

[starshipsofstarlord]

First things First | Jack Kline & Peter Parker

Summary; Peter sees his ex back in town. Last time she was with her brothers, but this time, she has another companion. His name is Jack Kline, and he is her current boyfriend.

Warnings; some angst, jealousy, a bit of trash talk, smidge of violence, one swear word

“You’re back then.” Peter noticed, following you as you walked through the school halls, your head down as you attempted to ignore him. But however, you knew that you couldn’t pretend he wasn’t there forever, and so you softly sighed.

Last time, you hadn’t been in town too long, only a few weeks, cases were sprouting up left right and centre in Queens, and that was enough time for a relationship to briefly brew between the pair of you.

However, when the entourage of hunts came to an end, it had only been fair to cut sweet Peter loose, you hadn’t planned to return in any soon time. And here you were, a year in a half later, back in his hometown.

“You’re eyes are quite inquisitive, Parker, or do you need to ask me to put rock salt on my skin to prove that I’m not a ghost?” You barked back, which earnt yourself a confused frown.

“What?” He asked in reply, confused by your wording.

“Never mind, you wouldn’t get it.” You dismissed, having already had the intel and advice from your brothers that two different worlds didn’t mix.

Peter was but a boy, a smart one, but for all that you were aware, he lived a mundane life. He was bullied at school, but he had a couple of friends, Ned and MJ.

MJ. She had liked Peter before you had disappeared in the impala, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the pair were together now. He had wanted to forget you, for causing him so much pain, he deserved to move on, as you had.

“What I got was that you told me you loved me, and then you went with the wind, and didn’t look back, not once.” He bit back, his statement making your body feel heavy.

It was guilt, a familiar feeling for a hunter. It often came when a life was lost by the life of a monster, and this time, it had been the same. You had taken away the happiness from your own life, you were the beast that ripped out someone’s heart.

“I did, but that doesn’t matter anymore Pete, I’m in love with somebody else. There’s nothing that I am entailed from hiding from him, no secrets, I can be myself with him.” You pursed your lips, relieved that you had got that off your chest.

“You never had to have secrets! Your family business is what dragged us down in the first place, you feel the need to follow your brothers around the world, and for what? To end up alone and unloved?”

“I love her.” Jack entered the hallway, he had been at the front office, asking about the plumbing, he said he heard a noise. It was what the victim had said before he died, and so the spawn of Lucifer was now questioning it.

Sam and Dean were downtown, at some bar, it had been where the victim had been, with a fake id, before his body had been found in the school bathroom. This left the group of you spread out, and operating around the city, wanting to find the creature that had ended the boy’s life.

Jack’s voice had been friendly, as though he were informing Peter of your relationship status. Neither of them knew each other, so he found no harm in letting the public know of your intimate bond.

The nephilim was most often than not a free speaker, he found no foul in letting his mouth run. He was so innocent, so pure, and perfect, you were pleased that you hadn’t tainted him nor gained his spite like you had with Peter.

“Jack, this is Peter. I met him last time I was around here. Peter, this is Jack, my boyfriend.” It was an awkward introduction, you held your hands together, watching as Jack held out his hand for your ex to shake.

Peter hesitantly shook Jack’s hand, lightly glaring at the boy. “It’s nice to meet a friend of y/n’s, not many that she has are her age.”

“Thanks for that Jack.” You laughed lightly, holding sweetly onto his arm, as to ensure him that he had done nothing wrong.

“We’re not friends.” Peter corrected him, squinting at you. “She doesn’t like the idea of any relationship with me, so she can pass on friendship.” He gave you one last look, before he walked away.

“Hi.” Jack saw your ‘friend’ in the hall, whilst you were questioning some other students. Peter reluctantly turned, going face to face with your boyfriend and partner in justifying crime.

“Hey.” His head briefly leant back, curious as to why the new boy was speaking to him. “Jack, right?”

“Yes, that is my name.” Jack nodded with a smile, the adorable gap in his teeth presenting itself clearly. “Have you felt any cold spots here recently, or smelt sulphur by any change?”

His question made Peter frown, he gulped and thought before he decided to answer. “I don’t know why your going around asking questions, but I also do not know why you’re dating y/n. She’ll break your heart, it’s what she does.”

“The two of you don’t sound like very good friends.” He speculated, tilting his head like a puppy dog, his bright eyes filled with curiosity.

“We weren’t just friends Jack, I’m surprised she didn’t tell you about me. Maybe there was a reason for that, you should ask her.” Peter crossed his arms, taking note of how he seemed to have angered the other boy.

The son of Lucifer was inhaling and exhaling through his nostrils, he was attempting to remain calm. But he couldn’t, his eyes seared with their golden pigment, and upon witnessing, Peter’s eyes widened and he was fast to sling webbing towards the mutant.

But it had no affect, not as Jack’s mouth opened, and a scream on another wavelength , which happened to throw the spider man backwards into the row of lockers. This was not normal, and Peter worried for the reason that you had the company of such a creature.

“What the hell are you?” Peter asked, wanting an answer so he could figure out a way to defeat him.

“I’m someone that loves y/n very much. Don’t worry, we won’t be in town much longer.” And with that, the strange and peculiar being walked away, leaving Peter stunned. For once, he wasn’t sure how he would improvise.

“You know the boy’s toilets are for guys, right?” Peter asked later in the day, as he watched you, whom was drenched in water, leave said restroom.

“I am more than aware, thankyou for that reminder Peter.” Each footstep dripped water upon the floor. That ghost had been a bitch to send off, but to your relief, you had done so.

“What are you doing here, really?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m going to be leaving tonight, I’ll be all out of your hair.” You spoke, trying to remain calm with your previous partner. “Have you seen Jack?”

“About that...” he noticed how you furrowed your brow with his words, and realised it would be better to get straight to the point. “He’s not normal, there’s something different about him. He’s dangerous.”

“I guess you witnessed something... supernatural?” He slowly nodded his head, thinking about how it could be considered as such. “Jack, he’s a nephilim, half angel, half human. That’s why I can’t stick around, my life is messy, and I have a duty to save people, you understand that, right?”

“Why would I understand that?” He hesitated, his voice stepping over his words in a worried stutter. “Angels?!” He repeated.

“Yeah, not every takes lightly to the news, and a bit of information; the majority are dicks.” You laughed, shoving your hands in your soggy pockets. “You really think I didn’t have a clue that I was dating a spiderman? I investigate abnormal occurrences for a living, it was quite easy to notice something was different about you.”

“So you look into things like cold spots and sulphur smells?” He remembered that was what Jack had mentioned earlier. Perhaps the possibility of angels wasn’t half crazy, the universe was expanding. It was certainly out there, but so was a talking, moving tree that enjoyed digital games and was experiencing puberty.

“Exactly.” You smiled, looking into his deep brown eyes, and finding some kind of peace between the pair of you.

“I think I saw Jack in the library.” He scratched the back of his neck, deciding to be a bigger person and give into the planet’s order.

“Thanks, see ya around Parker.” That expression you gave him shouldn’t have made him feel so giddy, he knew that this was another goodbye you were sending him. But the relief on your faces was beautiful.

You walked momentarily backwards, and he raised his hand in a signalled send off. He hoped that one day, he would see you again, maybe even with Blade as he killed vampires. Who knew?

One thing he was aware of was that you were happy with Jack, and that the two of you shared a life. You had an even amount of knowledge between you, and as much as Peter hated to admit it, you weren’t bound to leave the nephilim any time soon.

[flames-bring-a-ton-of-ash]

Irresistible Danger - Part 51

Synopsis:  After being caught outside the compound on your own, Negan decides to punish you in the best way possible ;)

Words: 3,279

Warnings: nsfw, smut, swearing

ID Masterlist can be found HERE

Masterlist of all my fics can be found HERE

~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Author’s Note: Holy crap, can y’all believe I dove back into writing this fic after almost two years with no updates?! I’m still shook over it haha. I will say that this fic has gone way off canon at this point (I haven’t watched the last few seasons of the show and also didn’t finish the last few issues of the comics). However, I’ve had a vision for certain characters and events for the last how many years, so I don’t plan to change them just to try and fit canon. I also now realize that while I tried to make “you” as nondescript as possible, there are physical traits and actions of her character that haven’t been as inclusive of all potential readers as I had thought when first starting the fic 5 years ago. I apologize for that, and plan to be more aware of those things with any reader characters I write in future fics. My plan is to post a chapter update every Friday from here on out, until it’s over, so fingers crossed I can accomplish that. Enjoy! :D

Cloud Nine

You surfaced from the depths of sleep slowly, rather than the more abrupt jolt to consciousness that usually started off your days. Feeling cozy and relaxed, a slight smile tipped your lips in contentment. It didn’t take long to realize that the reason for your positive mood was the large, warm body with which you were currently sharing the tiny, twin-sized bed.

Eyes blinking open, you took in the delightful sight of masculine bare skin. You were curled up against Negan’s side, cheek cushioned on his chest and both legs were wrapped around his nearest thigh. The bedsheet was pulled up over your back and ended teasingly right above his hips. One of your hands lay palm-down on his stomach, fingers twitching slightly in delight at the feel of the hard muscles beneath the soft skin. You could tell from the curve of his body that he was sitting with his back reclined against the rickety headboard. You might’ve found his positioning odd, but you were still a little hazy from sleep and so could only feel happiness at not waking up to an empty bed, like last time. 

You were on cloud nine after talking things out with him last night. Being able to work through a conflict together had been major progress, and you had been proud of yourself for laying down your boundaries regarding your here-to-stay friendship with Ben, as well as standing your ground regarding the situation with Trixie and the pregnancy test. It was important that Negan learn to trust you when it came to situations such as those, and it seemed as though that message had finally gotten through to him last night. 

The fact that he had even come to your room and taken the huge step of apologizing for his hasty reaction still had you a bit in shock. The evening had panned out much differently than your original plan of going to bed angry. Instead, you had gone to bed very satisfied, and then woken up next to the man who was very quickly becoming essential to your daily happiness.

He must’ve felt you shift against him, one hand coming down to rub your bare shoulder as he gave a soft, “Mornin’, doll.” 

His raspy morning voice sent tingles down your spine, even as your brain fought to stay awake. It still felt way too early to be sitting up and conversing, so instead of returning the greeting, you buried closer into his side and grumbled, “What time is it?” The words were muffled against his skin, nose pressed into his chest hair as you inhaled the glorious male scent of him. 

You felt him lean over towards the side table. He must’ve been checking your watch, because he replied, “‘Bout 6:50.”

“Jesus Christ.” 

“Language.” 

“Hmph. Do you always get up so early?”

“It’s more productive than sleeping half the day away and being late to everything.” 

That got more of a response, as you finally lifted your head to glare up at him for the jab. However, he didn’t notice, as he was too focused on the book held in front of him. It was then that you realized why he was sitting up in bed, a smirk crossing your face at the novel he had open and was intensely reading. You felt a spark of desire low in your belly, the sight of a sleep-tousled and naked Negan lounging in your bed while reading Harry Potter an unexpected, but welcomed, aphrodisiac.

“Thought you didn’t read ‘fucking kid books’?” you sarcastically asked, quoting back his initial description of the series. 

You received only a low grunt in response, his eyes not leaving the page. You weren’t offended, since you’d probably react the same way to someone trying to interrupt a reading of Harry Potter. In fact, you were a bit jealous that he got to experience the magical world for the first time. His curiosity must’ve gotten the better of him when he saw it lying on your bedside table, and it appeared as if he had already read a small chunk of it. 

He didn’t seem to notice you staring, his attention still focused on the book. In fact, he held the page a scant few inches from his face, eyes squinted into slits. The sight was a tad humorous, though you wondered how long he had been struggling to see the words. 

“I thought you needed glasses to read?” you asked. 

“Fuck, you always so full of questions this early in the morning, doll?”

You pinched his side hard enough to make him jump and growl out another expletive, before giving him a saccharine smile and lifting a brow expectantly when he glared down at you.

Attention finally taken off the book, he reached over and plopped it down on the side table before rubbing his eyes with both palms. “I do. Felt like it took me a fucking hour to get through that last page.”

The fact that he had continued trying to read and hadn’t easily given up, despite his struggle to see the words, told you more than anything how much he must’ve been enjoying the novel. A warm thrill settled in your chest at the thought of him taking an interest in something he usually wouldn't bother with simply because you enjoyed it. 

The warm thrill morphed into more of a low heat and traveled down your body as your gaze refocused on his bare skin. Moving the hand on his stomach upward over his chest, your fingertips traced the outline of the tattoo on his left pec.

“What prompted you to get this?” you asked, curious if there was a meaning behind the skull and criss-crossed rifles.

Giving a low chuckle, he replied, “Youth and stupidity.” 

Giving a huffed laugh in return, you trailed curious fingers over to the other tattoos on his arms, inquiring about each one as you went. Some had a story behind them, others not so much (you had tried not to roll your eyes when he explained that the revolver on his right forearm was the same one he had handled once and thought was ‘fucking cool as shit’). He also had a few scars on his upper body, some from before the apocalypse but most from after. You listened intently as he opened up about each one, drinking in as much personal information about the man beside you as possible.

Not wanting to stop the exploration just yet, you pushed up on your other elbow and journeyed over his throat, tracing his Adam’s apple before running your fingers delicately through the surprisingly soft beard framing his gorgeous mouth. 

Capturing the questing hand in his own, he brought your fingers to his lips. The breath caught in your chest when he kissed the mostly-healed scar from the knife injury you had acquired a few weeks prior. Heart beating frantically at the gentle gesture, you smiled up at him when he released your hand and allowed it to resume exploring.

“So,” you tried for calm and casual, fingers moving up to lightly trace his ear before diving into his thick hair and mapping the streaks of salt within the pepper. “What are your plans for today?”

It took him a few seconds to answer, his eyes having fluttered closed as your nails gently massaged his scalp. You smiled at his obvious enjoyment of your touch, at how he had lowered his walls in this moment and was allowing himself to be both physically and emotionally vulnerable. 

“I wish they were to stay here and enjoy this fucking delightful body of yours all day, but I have a meeting with my Saviors at eight.” 

The thought of spending an entire day frolicking in bed with Negan caused a dreamy sigh to leave your lips. His eyes opened and zeroed in on your mouth at the sound, that magical tongue of his coming out to lick his bottom lip as he added, “Though, that’s still about an hour away…”

At that, he quickly rolled over so his lean body was pinning you into the mattress, his lips cutting off your squeal of surprise before it even left your throat. The hand still in his hair tightened, causing him to give a low groan and grind his hips down into yours. You tried to make a mental note of his reaction to the touch, but seeing as how there were no barriers keeping his quickly-hardening erection from pressing into your thigh, all higher levels of brain function quickly flew out of the room. 

Bracing above you, he leaned down and started kissing your neck, a move guaranteed to make you melt. When his mouth descended over the curve of your breasts, you tried to lift your head to watch his downward progress but a sharp pang of discomfort at your scalp made you wince and try to jerk away, which only succeeded in making the pain even worse. 

“Ow, wait!” you blurted, causing Negan to instantly freeze and look up at you in alarm. 

“Doll, what-”

“You’re on my hair! Move your hand!”

Quickly realizing his mistake, Negan moved the hand that had accidentally been pinning a large chunk of your hair, and by proxy your head, to the mattress. 

“Fucking hell, I’m sorry, doll,” he cursed, making as if to lift his body off you entirely. 

Now wanting his faux pas to ruin the moment, you pushed his shoulders sideways and hooked a leg up over his hip before commanding, “Roll over.”

He hesitated for a moment before relenting, the two of you somehow able to switch places on the narrow, twin-sized bed without falling off. Once the semi-awkward resituating was done, he was on his back and you were straddling his hips. The move caused the sheet to fall off, exposing your entire body to his gaze. Based on the way his eyes grew hazy with lust as they took in your bared curves, not to mention his obvious erection, it was safe to say that he didn’t mind this change in position one bit. 

Warm, calloused palms drifted up over your thighs, hips, and the sides of your waist, before cupping breasts that were begging for his touch. Leaning down, your already-hardened nipples pressed into his palms as you kissed him hungrily. Shifting your hips, you started rubbing forwards and backwards over the erection pressed between both your lower stomachs. You moaned into each other’s mouths at the sensation, pussy lips parting around his girth so that your wetness coated his cock, the fat head bumping against your clit with each slide. 

“I think I like being in charge,” you purred. 

Giving a dark chuckle that sent shivers down your spine, he replied, “Enjoy it while it fucking lasts.”

Planning to do just that, you reached over to pluck a condom off the side table, incredibly grateful to whatever deity helped you successfully open the foil packet and smoothly roll the latex down over him on the first try. Tossing the empty packet over the side of the bed, you wrapped slightly trembling fingers around his swollen cock and lifted your hips, lining him up with your entrance. Maintaining eye contact, you slowly slid down his length, mouth falling open on a whimper at the feel of him parting overly-sensitive flesh that was still a bit sore from the activities of the previous night. Despite Negan’s initial threat over you stealing both coconut oil from the kitchen and condoms from his room, his only “punishment” last night had been fucking you relentlessly into the mattress until you had multiple orgasms and could barely even remember your own name.

In spite of the slight burn as sore muscles again stretched around his thickness, you didn’t stop until he was fully seated inside. His cock felt so big in this position that it was almost overwhelming, but you sat up so that your hands were braced on his chest and used your thigh muscles to start a slow up and down rhythm. 

His fingers reached up and pinched your nipples, causing you to clench around him. He groaned at the sensation, gaze becoming more intense when you slightly picked up the pace. It felt magnificent, but at the same time you craved more of the hard, rough friction that he had given you the night before. Body trying to find that friction on its own, your hips swiveled in a circle as you sank back down, which must’ve felt just as amazing for him as it did you, since he gave a strangled moan at the same moment his hands immobilized your hips in a bruising grip. 

“Alright, doll. My turn.”

That was the only warning you got before he braced his feet against the mattress and moved up in you, hard. Falling forward onto your palms with a gasp, fingers curled into the bedsheet and hips writhed in pleasure when he repeated the move. He continued the sharp, deep thrusts, watching your face closely before wrapping a hand around the back of your neck and pulling your mouth down to his own. His tongue thrust into your mouth possessively, as if trying to claim as much of you at once as he could. The pace was brutal yet unhurried, each thrust feeling like a deliberate attack on your sanity as his movements drew fire over your skin and consumed you, body and soul. 

Pressing down into him while leaning forward caused your clit to grind against his lower abdomen in the perfect way with each thrust, building up the orgasm that had previously hovered just out of reach. Breaking the kiss with a cry, you saw the expression of intense concentration on his face as he continued to move your bodies together in perfect rhythm. Breasts pressed into his chest and mouth panting at his ear, your body gave into his, letting him drive you up and over the edge, into the abyss of pleasure. 

“Negan,” you moaned, muscles tightening then releasing as the orgasm washed through you. His answering grunt and curse signaled his own release, though he continued his driving rhythm through it all, wringing each drop of pleasure from your body until it collapsed limply on top of his.

Resting your head on his shoulder, you again traced over the tattoo on his chest, waiting for your heartbeat and breathing to slow back down to normal. Glancing up his body, you found him already looking back down at you, a relaxed and satisfied grin on his lips that was only witnessed behind closed doors, when the two of you were alone. His hand idly stroked over a piece of hair laying on your shoulder, the gesture making you think back to earlier when he had accidentally pinned you to the mattress, and the resulting ungraceful maneuvering to switch positions in a bed that was entirely too small for two adult bodies. A light laugh escaped you that caused Negan to raise an eyebrow in question. 

“Just remembering your super smooth move from earlier,” you teased. You wouldn’t admit this out loud, but it was actually a bit of a relief to know that even Mr. Harem-of-Wives, Sex-God Negan wasn’t always flawless in the sack. 

“Making fun of me, doll?” he growled. 

“Maybe.”

Whack. The loud crack, accompanied by the slight sting of sensation against your left asscheek, caused you to jump and look at him in wide-eyed shock. 

“Did you just spank me?!” you exclaimed.

“Maybe.”

Before you could form an appropriate reply, he silenced any retort with his lips. Shallow creature that you apparently were, the move worked, and when he pulled away a long minute later, your brain conveniently forgot why you were supposed to be coming up with a retort in the first place. 

Negan glanced over at the side table, where your watch sat. Also looking over, you saw that it was now almost 7:30am, which meant he had half an hour to go back to his room and become presentable for his 8am Savior meeting. You were curious what the meeting was about, but didn’t want to ruin the perfection of the morning by bringing up a potentially serious topic. 

“Much as I hate to say it, doll, duty fucking calls.”

Your expression must’ve showcased more than you thought, since he gave a chuckle and said, “How about I make it up to you by finishing our fucking chess bet?”

Interest instantly piqued, you sat up on his chest and replied, “The third outing?! Can we go today?”

He looked at you consideringly, before giving a slight nod and agreeing. “We fucking could, but I won’t be free until the dinner hour.” 

Much as you didn’t want to skip out on your duties, even if it was with the leader of the establishment, you also weren’t about to turn down more alone time with Negan, especially outside of the Sanctuary. 

“I could meet you at the front gate at 5?” you suggested. That would give you just enough time to make sure dinner was fully prepped and almost ready to serve, since the community ate their meal from 5 to 7pm. It lessened the guilt, since you wouldn’t be completely leaving Ben and the staff short-handed. 

“Works for me, doll,” he said, gently rolling you off his body and to the narrow strip of mattress free beside him.

Biting your lower lip to keep from gasping at the empty sensation when he pulled out his now-flaccid dick, you watched him rise slowly from the bed. You took possessive pleasure in viewing his naked body, thighs clenching at the sight of him stretching muscular arms up towards the ceiling with his head tipped back. The pop of his back and resulting grunt made you comment, “I think from now on we might be better off in your bed. I have no clue how we even managed to fit in mine all night.” 

“Thank fucking god. If I have to spend any more nights in that fucking thing, I’ll be stiffer than a cock in a brothel.” 

Rolling your eyes at his that’s-so-Negan one-liner, you pulled the sheet up over your chest and settled in to watch him get dressed. You felt a bit like a voyeur when he removed the condom, tied off the end, and tossed it into the little garbage can. You felt a lot like a voyeur when he leaned down to pick up his boxer briefs and the sight of his bent-over ass almost made you whimper out loud. 

“You sure you can’t skip the meeting and stay here?” The words left your lips before your brain could even stop them. 

Turning to look at you, the desire must have been written all over your face because that muscle in his jaw ticked and he ran a hand down over his beard in obvious frustration. You swore he started to take a step back towards the bed, but he caught himself and instead returned to the task of getting dressed. 

When he was done putting on the navy tee and dark grey pants, complete with his signature black boots, he did finally come back over to the bed. Leaning down, he cupped a warm hand possessively around the side of your neck and placed a heated kiss on your lips before slightly pulling back and saying in that sinful, husky voice, “5 o’clock, doll. You better be ready for me.” 

With that, he straightened, crossed the room, and let himself out. As the door clicked softly shut behind him, you replied with a dazed, “Yes, sir.”

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

Enough for me

Series masterlist

Word count: 1796

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Natasha x gn!reader

Warnings: None (lmk if I need to add any)

Summary: You decide to tell Natasha how serious you are about your relationship and things don’t go exactly as you hoped but it’s still good.

A/n: Thank you to the multiple people who wanted another part in the mini flustered series that I’ve totally made up as I went along. Also I want to clarify that although this could be read as a part four to flustered it honestly isn’t super related so you can definitely read it seperately and it wouldn’t matter to the plot bc there is no plot besides soft nat. Also I don’t know if this one is any good because I didn’t edit as usual but hopefully you all enjoy!

You admire your work as you gaze out over the table you had just finished setting up. It had taken some work dragging a table all the way up to the roof and then having to make multiple trips to bring up all the plates, glasses, cutlery and food, not to mention the other things like candles you had set up. The effort was totally worth it in your opinion though because anything for Natasha was worth it.

You’ve spent a lot of time together since your first date and have gone on a couple more but so far all of your dates have been pretty casual and nobody on the team knows about you so you want to do something special to prove that you’re serious about her. Although looking up at the sky you realize you probably should have chosen another night and you cross your fingers that it doesn’t start to rain until after you’re done.

Your cell phone ringing interrupts you. “Tasha?” You answer it, looking at the caller id as you pick it up.

“Hi Y/n.” She responds. “So why am I supposed to call you?”

“What do you mean?” You ask, confused.

“You told me to call you at seven so I’m calling.” She says and you slap your hand up to your face because you can’t believe you forget that part of your plan.

“Right sorry, I forgot.” You tell her. “Anyways I need you to put on something nice and come up to the roof.”

“Mysterious, I like it.” She says which makes you smile. “I’ll be up there in five minutes.”

“Okay, see you then!” You respond before hanging up and panicking. You didn’t expect her to be so quick and five minutes really isn’t a lot of time. You still have approximately one hundred candles to light and you’re not sure that you can get it done on time. 

You run around, trying to be careful and not burn yourself, and start to light all the candles that were all over the ground surrounding the table and the pathway to the door. Just as you’re finishing lighting the last one and standing up the door to the roof opens and Natasha steps out. She’s gorgeous as always but you especially love this dress on her. It’s black like most things she wears and is tight fitting at the top but slowly gets looser until it flows around her legs. You love it because you can tell she’s dressing to look beautiful and not sexy which she only ever does if she’s letting her guard down (so not very often). You are well aware that your jaw is open and you’re blatantly staring but luckily she’s busy looking around at your setup so you have time to collect yourself.

“Do you like it?” You ask her.

“It’s beautiful.” She breaths in response.

“Not as beautiful as you.” You reply and it’s so cheesy that you nearly regret saying that but there’s a light blush on her face and she’s smiling so you smile back and take a seat at the table, gesturing for her to sit with you. 

“So what’s on the menu?” She asks lightly as she sits, still smiling.

“Just some paninis and lentil soup, hopefully it’s still warm.” You tell her.

“Well I’m sure it will be good either way.” She responds before taking a bite and moaning in delight. “It is amazing, thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure.” You say. “Now how about you tell me about your day?”

You listen attentively as she complains about paperwork and schedules and as she practically glows as she tells you about a new move she had used to take down Steve in training today. You love listening to her, it makes you happy that she likes talking about mediocre things with you and there’s a level of domesticity to it that makes your heart feel full. You just want to know everything about her, no matter how boring people deem it to be because it’s important to her and therefore it matters a lot to you.

You talk to her for hours comfortably as she continues to share but also asks you questions. There is never a lull in the conversation and you could listen to her voice forever. Eventually though, long after you both finish eating, the conversation dwindles to a comfortable silence. At least for her. You’re inwardly freaking out because you want to tell her exactly how much she means to you and although you think she’ll react well it’s not a guarantee. 

“What are you thinking about?” She asks, always observant. 

You gulp nervously but answer truthfully. “I’m thinking about how I am more serious about you than I’ve ever been about anyone before, even if it’s only been a few weeks.”

“I’m more serious about you than anyone too.” She replies. “But I think you already knew that.”

“I hoped so.” You tell her, continuing on your path since so far she is reacting well. “I was-I was thinking that maybe we could tell the others about us now, or at least stop hiding it and wait until they find out.”

“But I thought you were fine with it just being for us for now?” She asks, a frown tugging at your lips. Your heart sinks at her expression-you never meant to push boundaries that she wasn’t comfortable with yet.

“And I’m still fine with that.” You reassure her quickly. “I just thought it might be nice to tell the others but it’s totally cool if you aren’t okay with it.”

She stands up and starts to pace a little. “I don’t know what I want.”

“Hey, hey.” You stand up too and grab her gently by the arm so she stops and faces you. “It’s okay, we don’t have to do it, I just thought it would be nice so everyone knows how much I love you.”

Instead of calming her down your words only seem to make her more anxious. “You what? You-you love me?” She stutters out.

“Shit I am so sorry Natasha I promised not to rush you.” You immediately apologize, hoping that you didn’t mess things up to badly.

She picks her way through the candles carefully and sits down on the edge of the roof, her feet dangling over. You follow, sitting beside her, making sure you don’t accidentally do anything to further surprise her. She sits quietly, obviously deep in thought and you think as well. You know, or at least you hope, that Natasha won’t break up with you already because of this. You just wanted to give her a special night and the first part of it went great but you just had to push too far. You had promised that she would dictate the terms of the relationship when you had first asked her out but of course you weren’t able to follow through. You just wish that you could hear her thoughts so you could try to fix your mistakes. She stays silent and only speaks up after a few more agonizing minutes.

“I’m sorry-” She starts and you interrupt.

“It’s okay if you’re breaking up with me.” You say and she watches you with a strange look on her face.

“You just told me you love me-I’m not breaking up with you.” She tells you and you sigh in relief. “But I can’t say it back, not yet anyways.”

“That’s completely okay.” You reassure her, slightly disappointed but understanding and just happy she wasn’t breaking up with you.

“I want to but I can’t.” She explains, her face visibly upset, seeing a hint of your disappointment. “It just doesn’t work, I can’t say it, I’m sorry. But if you want to we can tell the team about us.” She turns away when she’s done, biting her lip, afraid of your reaction.

“Tasha. Tasha.” You say, waiting until she turns back to face you to continue. “We won’t do it unless you’re ready and it’s okay that you aren’t. I’m not going to take back my words, I do love you and being able to tell you that and be here with you is enough for me, you don’t need to do anything.”

She pauses a moment and you can’t read her expression so you start to get nervous. Maybe you should have taken back the ‘I love you’ part of your mini speech. Before you can overthink too much she throws herself at your side, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and resting her in the crook of your neck.

“Thank you.” She mumbles against your skin. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I’m happy with this because having you is enough for me because I love you.” You tell her, awkwardly un-wedging your arm from between your side and her body and wrapping it around her, rubbing her back in mindless patterns.

She shivers slightly, not from the cold. “Can you say that again?”

“What, I love you?” You ask, confused.

“Yeah.” She says, almost shyly, nodding her head against your neck.

“I love you.” You tell her, kissing the side of her head at an awkward angle. “I love you. I love you so much Tasha.”

You repeat it over and over for a few minutes, feeling as though your heart is going to burst. You no longer care that she can’t say it back because she has her reasons but she wants you to say it and she’s cuddling with you and you never want to let her go because this moment is so perfect. 

Unfortunately the weather has other plans and just as your words start to die out the sky open, a few small drops then a complete downpour. The soft glow that once covered the roof from the candles disappears as they go out, releasing smoke. You know you have to clean things up but you figure it can wait until morning, once things are drier, so you take Natasha’s hand and pull her up. She starts to run towards the door, helping you so you don’t step on the candles, giggling the whole way. Technically things hadn’t gone to plan, her not wanting to tell the team or say she loved you and it raining at the end, but those things don’t seem to matter when you see her bright smile, her hair plastered to her face but somehow looking as beautiful as ever. And it matters even less when she pulls you inside and immediately presses you to the door, kissing you hard. You’re more than happy to fulfill her request when she pulls away, asking for you to say it again. Anything to keep her happy and make her feel loved.

---

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[spencessmile]

Welcome Back Bambi

Pairing - BAU x Reader 

Summary - After being away for years, you receive a call that pulls you back home. 

Warnings - Team Fluff 

Word Count -  2222 words

And all imagines/fanfics/blurbs are written solely by me so please don’t steal my work and post it without my consent. Happy reading! 

** 

For the longest time, you knew growing up you wanted to join the FBI. Joining the FBI was the only thing on your mind from a young age. You worked off your butt in university, finally made it to the academy, completed the academy training, and joined the BAU with some of the most profound agents. You had the honor of working alongside Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, and other agents who soon became family. 

Years passed until there was this one case that changed your life. You had a stalker that sent you anonymous texts, emails, and packages in the mail. You kept the situation to yourself, hoping to deal with it in your own way. After a while, the emails, packages, and texts stopped, and you were confronted by the stalker one night outside of your house where you were kidnapped, tortured, and shot. 

That case took a huge toll on your life and ability to work. While you were ordered to take time off, Unit Chief Gideon left the bureau. You spent lots of time thinking about your time at the bureau and came to the conclusion that leaving would be the best option; at least for now. You handed in your resignation letter four months after Gideon left.   

After a year, you received an offer to join the White Collar Crime Department. You needed to get back to work so you agreed without hesitation. 

You spent the next 6 and ½ years working with the White Collar Crime Department. It was a far more tough job than you imagined. At the moment of receiving the call, you accepted the job because you were so desperate to get back on your feet. You were a workaholic, sitting at home wasn’t an option for you.  

Present Day

It was a cold rainy day in Virginia as you were seated in front of your desk in a small cozy office staring out the window. You should be tackling the stack of paperwork on your desk but your mind kept wandering back to the phone call you received two hours ago. You grabbed your phone and stared at the call log, your finger lingering over the contact number, unsure of what to do. 

“Agent Y/L/N, do you have a minute?” Director Jones walked in and shut the door. 

“Actually I have loads of paperwork to complete, Director Jones." 

"Okay, so you do have time. I need to speak with you,” You sighed as she sat down. “Did they reach out to you?” You knew exactly who she was talking about and where this conversation was going. 

“I received a call.”

“And you didn’t come to discuss it with me? Why not?" 

"I just received the call two hours ago." 

"You should have come to speak with me as soon as you ended that call, Agent Y/L/N." 

"I’m swamped with work, Director." 

She narrowed her eyes at you almost like she was trying to read what was going on inside your brain. "Are you considering it?" 

You sighed. "I haven’t decided yet." 

"Will you have a decision by the end of the day?" 

"Is that when you need an answer?" 

"That’s when the Department needs an answer." 

You leaned forward in your chair, folding your hands "Director Jones, when do you need an answer?" 

"I’d like one before I step out of your office." 

Three weeks later, at Quantico 

Everyone was surrounded around Reid’s desk as they stared at the elevator doors. "Is she here yet?” Garcia stumbled into the bullpen.

"Not yet baby girl,” Morgan responded. 

“I don’t like change,” Garcia whined. 

“Baby girl, change isn’t always bad,” Morgan replied. 

“I know, I know. But over the past couple of months, we’ve had a lot of agents come and go. I just want someone to come and decide to stay. I just want her to be nice, that's the biggest thing for me."

"Wait, why do you keep using the pronoun she?” Prentiss asked, raising her eyebrow. “Do you know who it is?" 

"I overheard Rossi and Hotch talking the other day but I don’t know who she is. Rossi sounded super excited to have her a part of the team." 

The elevator doors opened and everyone’s eyes followed the ding.

"Morning,” JJ smiled. “What are we all doing?" 

"We’re waiting for the newest member of the team. Did you see anyone on your way up?” Prentiss asked. 

“Nope." 

"I need everyone at the round table now,” Hotch orders walking out of his office, Rossi following quickly behind with a very small smirk on his face. 

“Looks like we got a case,” Morgan grabbed his coffee cup and followed everyone to the round table. 

“What’s wrong?” Reid asked, fiddling with his pencil. 

“We’ve had a rough couple of weeks and I know that everyone is anxious to get back out there. I’m also aware that everyone is looking forward to meeting our newest member of the team. Pl-" 

"Is she already here?” Garcia cut Hotch off. “Sorry, sir." 

"They should be here any minute,” Hotch looked at his watch. 

Walking back into the same building brought chills down your back. It brought back bittersweet moments. You flashed your ID card to security and made your way up to the 6th floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, a wave of nerves wrenched your stomach. You stood outside the glass doors for a couple of seconds. 

It’s now or never. 

You pushed open the glass doors and your eyes met with the familiar settings. It all looked the same except the desks had changed. The only scent that hadn’t changed was the smell of fresh brewing coffee. 

“Can I help you?” You heard someone speak up.

“Hi I’m Agent Y/L/N, I’m here to see Agent Hotchner." 

"Ah, he is with the team at the round table. I’ll call him for you.” 

“Thank you,” You said as your phone vibrated, looking down there were 3 missed calls from Director Jones and 2 missed calls from Section Chief Erin Strauss. You didn’t want to deal with any of them right now so you turned off your phone, and shoved it in the depths of your purse. 

“Oh my god! It’s you. It’s really you! You’re back!” You turned around to see Garcia, she pulled you in for a tight hug. “I can’t believe you're here,” Garcia cupped your face. “I’ve missed you.”

“Hello hello, I’ve missed you too." 

"Baby girl, let us hug her too,” You hugged Morgan tightly. “This is such a surprise,” Morgan pulled back.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” JJ said. 

“Uh, that would never happen." 

Hotch and Rossi both took turns hugging you but there was someone you didn't recognize. 

"Agent Y/L/N, this is Agent Emily Prentiss,” Hotch introduced. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” You shook her hand. 

“Likewise. I’ve heard lots about you,” She smiled. 

You looked around and noticed someone was missing. 

“Where’s Reid?” You asked, and Morgan smiled at your question. Back in the day before you left the bureau, Reid and you were the closest on this team. You always got along with him and he was your best friend. After joining the White Collar Crime Department you kept in contact with everyone on the team but it wasn’t the same as being with them every day. 

“He’s on a phone call,” Garcia replied. 

“Which department did you come down from?” Prentiss asked. 

“White Collar Crime Department.” You said, proudly. 

“Are you serious? Damn,” Morgan said, surprised. 

“It was great, at first. But it’s a lot for anyone to take on." 

"Really?" 

I nodded. "When Hotch called I was sort of relieved I was getting a way out. Not saying that I’m not blessed to have joined that Department but it was lots of paperwork. Like way too much paperwork." 

The team looks over to Rossi. 

"Rossi bribes us to do his paperwork,” Emily pointed out. 

“Let me guess, allergic to paperwork?” I asked and Rossi just kept a small smile. “I tried that excuse too." 

"How did it work out?" 

"Oh, it wasn’t in my favor at all," Everyone chuckles. 

"Well, now I’m going to spare the rest of the team for a bit and have the newest member do all my paperwork,” Rossi joked and Emily and Morgan cheered, high five each other. 

“Sorry Y/L/N you're in for a ride,” Morgan said. 

“How is Director Jones doing?” Hotch asked, knowing that she is not most people’s favorite. She's definitely not your favorite, that’s for sure. 

“Oh, she is a dream,” You joked and the team laughed. “Same blonde pixie cut wears way too much red lipstick and black eyeliner. Thank you for saving me,” Hotch cracked a very small smile. 

“Do you still stay back after everyone leaves?” JJ asked as you nodded. 

“You know JJ, some people never change,” Morgan added. 

“Y/N?” You heard a voice and saw Reid standing on the catwalk. You looked up and he had the biggest smile on his face. You excused yourself from the team and quickly ran over to Reid. 

Last time you remembered, Reid wasn’t much of a hugger but right now he opened his arms for a hug and you jumped into his embrace. 

“Oh my god, you're here,” He whispered, squeezing you a little tighter, you didn’t mind at all. “I’ve missed you." 

"I’ve missed you too,” You smile, pulling back. 

You could feel the eyes of the team watching Reid and you interact from the bullpen. 

“Nice hair pretty boy,” You teased him using Morgan’s nickname for Reid. “Did you join a boyfriend part-time or something?” You joked. 

“Hotch asked me the same thing last week,” He replied. Reid looked at you for a few moments before saying. “I’m really glad you decided to come back." 

"Me too." 

** 

All paperwork was abandoned as the team all had their chairs rolled over to your desk wanting to catch up. 

“She really did that to you?” Prentiss asked. 

“Director Jones is a true gem,” You say. “If you can work with her then I think you can do anything.” Prentiss laughs. “You guys want to know something?”

JJ nods. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I missed Strauss while working at the White Collar Crime Department.” 

Morgan shakes his head at you. “Nah, did you really just say that?” 

“I’m being one hundred percent serious,” You say, sitting up straight. “I’d rather have Strauss to worry about than Jones. That woman made alpha males cry,” You laugh. “It’s like Ursula came to life,” You joke and everyone cracked up. 

You looked across the bullpen to see Hotch in the same spot as always, at his desk, finishing up paperwork. After you left you kept up with the team enough to know that they went through some tough times. 

“How is Hotch doing after, you know?” You ask. 

A couple of months after you left Hotch lost Haley after the George Foyet case. You wanted to come back and visit but you were swamped and couldn’t make any time. Although you did make a phone call, it wasn’t the same. 

Morgan looked over at Hotch and sighed. “He took a week off and then he came back.” 

“Typical Hotch,” You replied. 

“He’s doing alright though.” 

“What about you?” JJ asked and you look at her, with a confused look. 

“What about me?” 

“How are you doing after the stalker case?” 

“I’ve been alright,” You reply. “But I was held hostage, and shot a while back.” 

“What?” Reid said, putting his hand on your right arm. “Are you okay?” Concerned filled his eyes. 

You shook your head. “I’m fine Reid. It was almost a year ago.”

“What happened?” Garcia asked. 

“It was a case that went south, really quick. We were getting pressured by the authorities and we had to do something quickly so I put myself in a situation that I knew wasn’t going to end well.” You say. “Spent a few weeks in recovery but I’m all good,” You give them a thumbs up. 

You were about to tell another story but Garcia’s phone went off. 

"I’m all for happy moments because we never have enough of them but we have a case,” Garcia states, getting up. “Let’s go, wonder girl, it’s time to get those wheels in your brain turning again."  

Everyone shuffles into the conference room. Reid stopped when he noticed you didn’t move. 

"What’s wrong?” His soft brown eyes, piercing into yours. 

 "Nothing, nothing. I just uhh -” You looked around and there was a part of you that was glad to be back in a place that was so familiar. "I’m just really happy to be back with you all,” You smile. 

“Welcome back Bambi,” Reid said, using a nickname from an inside joke that was formed years ago on the jet on the way home from a very interesting case. 

** 

It’s not about where you are, it’s who you have by your side - Unknown

[pinkhairedlily]

Chapter 6 - Student Council President Sakura

SCPS AO3 | PREVIOUS CHAPTER

“When’s your birthday, Sasuke?” Naruto asked unprompted. He was eating an onigiri in one hand and writing in a notebook with another. “Captain Haru gave me a journal and told me to fill in the dates.”

“Why are you treating it like a slam book?”

“What’s a slam book? Why are you even changing the topic?”

“July 23.”

Naruto went silent for a moment as he jotted down Sasuke’s name. “Oh, last week? During our sleepover?”

“You mean, hostage sleepover.”

“Ah shit. We didn’t get you a present. Sorry, grumpy.” Naruto’s face was sincerely apologetic and Sasuke was on the verge of nonchalantly assuring him that it was all right when he heard his following reply. “But make sure you get me one okay. It will be on October 10.”

“I wish I was allowed to physically harm you right now but your training next week will suffice,” Sasuke jested right back. “I’ll put in a word with Haru to make you suffer.” He would have said more clapbacks if they didn’t hear loud footsteps running their way.

Their two heads popped just a few inches above the bushes that lined behind the fence and saw a disheveled Sakura catching her breath with bent knees and her arms full of folders. Sasuke surmised she might have come from a council meeting.

“It’s Sakura – “ Sasuke covered Naruto’s loud mouth with his palm.

Her phone rang inside her skirt’s pockets, and her expression panicked when she saw the caller id. The folders fumbled out of her grasp when she answered it. “Oh hello, Kakashi-sensei.”

Both the boys’ brows raised in curiosity when her voice went a pitch higher.

“Ah, I’m actually out of the campus right now, Sensei. Got an errand to run. I’ll see you for consultations…..soon?” Then she ended the call. They all heard another set of footsteps nearing their location, and Sakura repeatedly said I’m screwed to herself.

Naruto wrestled out of Sasuke’s headlock and pulled a surprised Sakura inside their hiding place. The latter grumbled but quickly gathered the folders from the ground and followed suit. Three heads now looked over the bushes, and true enough, Kakashi appeared in the clearing with his phone in his hand. “That’s funny. I thought I heard her voice here.”

When they were sure he was out of their sight and earshot, Sasuke signaled a thumbs up, and Naruto, not missing a beat, started with the obvious question. “Why are you hiding from our mathematics teacher?”

Sakura blushed with intensity, her cheeks the color of cherry tomatoes with a ripeness Sasuke liked the most. She flushed so intensely she couldn’t hide it for her sake. The thought of wanting to have that kind of privilege crossed his mind. “Uh, he wanted a report from me, but I wasn’t able to finish it.” Like the self-aware person that she was, she immediately got her bearings and recognized the place. “This is behind the library.”

“It’s Sasuke’s favorite hiding place until I barged in. And now, it’s yours too.” Naruto grinned at her even when he just revealed this place’s existence to their student council president.

“Shouldn’t you be asking me permission first?” Sasuke arranged the folders first before returning them to Sakura who seemed to calm down a bit.

She laughed dryly. “Technically, it’s public property so we don’t need your permission…grumpy.”

Naruto erupted in laughter while Sasuke closed his eyes in annoyance. Two loud-mouths in what was supposed to be in his safe space and yet all he felt was just mild annoyance. Stopping his thoughts before they ran him aground, he rummaged through their storage bin and found an extra sandwich he bought this morning and the last pack of his cherry tomato juice.

He passed the food to her and gave her a little bit of scolding. “At least have your lunch first before making fun of me.”

“You’re really giving her a tomato juice?” Naruto never could hide his disgust for certain food. “Don’t tell me this is your rite of passage.”

Sasuke glared at the blonde, forcing him to shut up. “Bring any more people here, and I’ll tell your captain to drag you to hell.” That wasn’t so difficult, given that Haru has taken a liking to him, for what he didn’t know. He just treated him like a big brother would, like Itachi would.

Sakura took a sip in the middle of their banter, and she emitted a surprised sound. “So this is what it tasted like? It’s actually good.”

That was the first time someone liked what he liked, and he vaguely realized he was waiting for her opinion. With that, he had trouble suppressing the smile that started to form on his face, so he looked away and mustered his focus on the nearby yells of a practicing dragonboat team.

“Oh, I forgot, belated happy birthday Sasuke.”

He strengthened his resolve not to turn his head just as quickly because he was sure the shock was visible in his face. He was so taken aback he didn’t hear Naruto ask Sakura where she learned of it.

“I came across our class records during the meeting and saw the date. Sucks we weren’t able to get you a present. Anyway, I gotta run. I have another presentation to the principal for a personal project.” Sakura finished off her sandwich in one bite and ran out of the secluded space.

Naruto stared after her disappearing figure, the bunched-up juice carton and sandwich wrapper in his hands. “I should make her a decent lunch sometime. I don’t think she’s eating well.”

But Sasuke had another observation in mind. “Why didn’t you ask for her birthday?”

“I know already. I asked Hinata about it.”

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

Sakura tried to catch up with the baseball captain in the seniors’ hallways before she would lose him to his after classes dates with Hinata. “Haru, wait up please.”

His brown hair has grown longer to hide his undercut which Naruto wanted to replicate as he often mentioned in between their conversations in classes. It was actually a wonder how the usually demure Hinata gravitated towards Haru who had a strong personality. His annoyed gaze softened when he realized it was her calling him, his smile turning into a wide grin as she raced through the halls.

“No running, Ms. President,” he chided.

Sakura playfully punched his shoulder, her fist’s impact light as she struggled to catch her breath. “Can I at least have some of your time? I promise I won’t take long.”

The captain’s face took on an incredulous look. “How the tables have turned.”

They found themselves on a rooftop, away from the incidental eavesdroppers (if there were any), and moreover they needed some quiet space to talk about important matters. The first of which was the baseball team’s finances.

“I gotta hand this to you rather straightforwardly. The board didn’t foresee your qualification in the preliminaries hence they didn’t allot a big budget for your team – not for training, not for travel expenses, not for uniforms, and miscellaneous expenses.” He towered over her, her height a third short from his shoulders, but when he hunched them forward and leaned against the railings, he was almost shoulder to shoulder with her. “So what are your plans?”

Back in junior high, he would often ruffle her hair out of her immaculate ponytail, and this closeness wasn’t really odd because they were from the same town and grew on the same block. Distance just crept in as they made more friends and entered different circles.

“My personal savings,” Haru simply replied. “Our coach will chip in half of our projected expenses so we’re good to go.”

Sakura sighed. “As always, you don’t like to rely on anyone.”

“We’re not really too far from each other, Sakura. So what’s your plan anyway?” Haru turned with his back this time against the railing.

“Pass-the-Hat.”

Haru nodded. “And your savings.”

Sakura shook her head vehemently. “Hell no.”

“Gears are turning in your head, and I can see you’ll fill in a part with your savings. Stop it, Haruno.”

“I’m telling you, I won’t give you a part of my savings. Anyway – “

“Anyway? There’s more?” Haru hastily looked at his watch to check the time, almost formed a reply, and thought better of it, hiding his wrist from his view.

“I saw your career sheet form. You know you could always try to apply for an athletic scholarship, right?” If she can hazard a guess, Haru may not be planning at all to proceed to college. He always has his father’s fishing business to take over back in their town.

“No association would vet for a player who only qualified for prelims on his senior year.” Haru playfully ruffled her hair, the gesture she thought was once forgotten between them. “So don’t feel sorry for me. I already have Hinata to deal with.”

“You sound so pessimistic when you’re just going away for a year until she decides to follow you. Your story’s almost like a fairytale,” Sakura scoffed.

“First of all, long distance relationships don’t work and second and last of all, there’s her father to think about.” Haru let out a long sigh. “Believe me, Sakura, I want to make it work, but I feel like the distance between us had already set in even before I go.”

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

Haru was right. While Pass-the-Hat garnered lots of amounts enough to shoulder the logistics of the training of the baseball team before the semis, there wasn’t enough to pay for their new equipment. She could ask the teachers, but she knew Haru and the coach have already asked for prior favors. At the last minute before the trip got cancelled, Sakura anonymously put in two-thirds of her savings into the donations pool which the captain got wind of and somehow reached Kakashi.

While she was successful in avoiding him for the first few days of the school trip while Naruto and his team was in Fukuoka, he caught her alone as she was reading the markers outside the walls of a castle.

“Haruno Sakura.” His voice startled her. She turned around, like a good student that she was, and waved a bit too enthusiastically. “Mind telling me why you won’t talk to me outside of our council meetings? Did I say any directive that offended you or overworked you? I need to have an open communication with you kids.”

Kids. “Ah, I was just a little busy these past weeks,” Sakura assured him. She nervously fidgeted with his rubber band that was still on her wrist. His eyes followed her movements, and she hid them quickly behind her back, afraid of what he would say if he realized.

“I heard from the principal that he greenlighted your personal project, and that you will be presenting this to the board next week for a possible funding. You accomplished that on top of the feats you pulled to bring the baseball team to the semis.” As Kakashi recounted her accomplishments, she couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks. She was finding it difficult to say an excuse right now. “So I’m returning your personal donation.”

Sakura stared at him directly, never mind the raven irises that drowned her in undivided attention. “What?” He smiled, highlighting even more his mole, and she gasped, breathless at the sight.

“Don’t worry your pretty head over these things. You’re too young for this. I’ll have the funds downloaded to your bank, all right.” Kakashi patted her head softly and disappeared in the meandering crowds.

She slapped the rubber band against the thin skin of her wrist repeatedly. She didn’t know whether she should feel grateful that her savings were back or feel angry that she was patronized because of her age. Didn’t Kakashi know that teenagers grow up faster than their actual age and that she had every right to worry her pretty head? When will he start seeing her as she was?

Her self-deprecating thoughts ran awry when someone took hold of her wrist that has gone red from the slap of the rubber band.

For someone who alternated between being grim-faced or stoic, Sasuke’s hand was gentle and kind. She knew that ever since she saw him in the café, all the good things in him seeping out through cracks in his wall. Right now, she knew he was worried about the supportless baseball team.

“They’re losing, aren’t they?” Sakura suppressed the overwhelming emotions from her earlier interaction with Kakashi and concocted a plan in her head.

She coordinated with the guides and had them add a stop at the baseball field at Fukuoka for one last hurrah for the team.

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

Thirty minutes later, their school witnessed how the top teams decimated Naruto’s team. No innings won, batters relentless, and Haru got injured. Sakura, sensing the dampened atmosphere among the student body, rallied yells, earning surprised looks from the team members.

Through the crowds, Sasuke saw Hinata, her fingers twirling the ends of her long braid, and her eyes scanning the place for her boyfriend…until her gaze shifted to Naruto. He traversed the space to stand beside her, breaking his own rule to remain uninvolved in other people’s affairs.

But he owed this to Naruto and Haru who never failed to include him in after practice dinners and effectively kept the gaping depression in his apartment away.

“Your boyfriend has a broken arm, but you’re looking at Naruto.” He said, even before he could announce his presence to her.

Hinata turned her face to him and repeated his words. “My boyfriend has a broken arm but I cannot look at broken limbs for too long. Thanks for pointing that out.”

“There’s a second statement after my but.”

“Hmm, my eyes just probably gravitated to him unknowingly. But it couldn’t be helped, right? He just has this bright, sunshine energy.” Hinata shrugged, seemingly confused by her words as well.

Sasuke wanted to prod more but her eyes narrowed at something behind him. When he glanced back, he saw Sakura stood in tiptoes as she hugged a downtrodden Naruto. If he wasn’t so sad, he would have blushed and awkwardly pushed his crush away, but for this instance, he choked back his sobs and eventually cried on her shoulder.

“Maybe the student council can also support other teams which are gearing up for nationals. You may suffer backlash if favoritism becomes obvious.”

He scoffed at Hinata’s advice. “I’ll tell our student council president that.”

Sasuke made his way to the blonde and pinkette, his arms engulfing both of their heads in a very rare hug. He felt Sakura stiffen beneath him while Naruto changed shoulders and cried openly against Sasuke’s shirt.

This he didn’t mind, as long as both of their faces were hidden from her view.

AO3 LINK | NEXT CHAPTER | CHAPTER 7

[themidnight-ghost]

I should tell you

“Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey, are you dating Joanne Davidson?”

“Boss, I honestly don’t see an issue...” Kate trailed off as Ted massaged his temples.

“You don’t see an issue? She swears at her superiors, has affairs with her staff, shot an officer twice in the chest, set up a plot to kill you and replied with ‘no comment’ to almost every bloody question.”

The euphoria Kate Fleming felt around Joanne Davidson was extravagant. Even now, when they lie in bed together trying to come down from their high, Kate still felt energised. The DI rolled over to face her girlfriend, with the bedsheets pulled up to her neck and subtly smiled.

Kate ran her left hand through Jo’s hair and cupped her cheek with the other, “Morning, boss.”

Jo opened her eyes and grinned when she met Kate’s, “You don’t have to keep calling me that.”

“I want to,” Kate replied honestly.

“You look beautiful, by the way.” Jo simply said as she moved forward to kiss her girlfriend tenderly. No one would have expected that Kate Fleming and Jo Davidson would become a thing. Especially after Jo’s arrest. Heck, they didn’t even know if Jo would survive prison! Jo paused their kiss, and Kate looked unexpectedly at the DI, “You should probably tell Steve and Ted.”

The moment was ruined.

Kate tensed as she sat up, pulling the duvet with her and laughing when she pulled too hard, so Jo was left bare, “What?”

“I said-'' Davidson smirked as she deliberately rolled onto Kate’s chest, making her blush, “You should tell Steve and Ted. You may not be related, but they’re your friends.”

“What if I don’t want to tell Steve?” Kate challenged with a whisper, not looking away from Jo's eyes.

“You can look at my tits, Kate. I don't mind.”

“JO!” Kate profusely blushed and shoved her ex-boss to the side,

Jo snickered and leant back into the DI for a cuddle, “It isn’t like you haven’t seen them before.”

“But seriously,” Kate hummed when she went back to being serious, “Steve will support it; I know he will. But Ted? I don’t want to tell. He might not like it.”

“But he threw confetti at that proposing gay couple?”

“That’s different. Not only am I his colleague, but I’m also dating a woman who committed multiple offences to the law and it’ll be awkward, especially in a work setting.”

“Yeah, I still feel a little guilty for that,” Jo confessed.

“You shouldn’t. It was shitty, but you did it because Pilkinton had a gun to your head and somehow made things right, but,” Kate hesitated and wrapped an arm around Jo’s torso, “that still doesn’t change what happened.”

“Steve’s your best friend, and from what I can tell, you’ve known Ted for a good while.” Jo gently kissed Kate’s jaw before shuffling away, allowing the DI to go downstairs.

“I might.” Kate smiled as she grabbed her underwear and a towel from the floor, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Kate.”

Both women had been dating for a significant amount of time. Their story started when Jo broke up with Farida, and the two started getting close. After that, there had been a series of unofficial dates, secret glances, handholding, confessions and a memorable car getaway. Kate was embarrassed that it took her so long to come to terms with her feelings.

The night when Kate shot Pilkinton was definitely memorable but for all the wrong reasons. Kate couldn’t care less that she’d shot an officer; the only thing she cared about was saving Jo and getting them far away from town. She was looking forward to a life of peace without bent coppers lurking around corners and getting married to the woman she loved. That being said, Kate didn’t confess her love until Jo was in prison.

Finally arriving at work, Kate scanned her ID and headed straight for Ted’s office.

“Morning, Kate.” Hastings didn’t look up from his computer.

Tapping her on the shoulder, Steve approached with two cups of coffee from behind, “The Gaffer thinks he’s found something worth looking at.”

Kate raised an eyebrow, “Oh yeah? What’s it relating to?”

“Our friend, Jo Davidson.”

Kate’s heart dropped to the floor. Was it bad? Who was she kidding? Of course, it was going to be bad.

“I don’t want to make any sudden moves,” Ted admired his coffee, “Let’s just wait it out.”

Steve knew that Kate had some sort of soft spot for Jo. He didn’t know the details of their relationship but was aware they were close,

“Has she mentioned anything to you since she was released?”

Kate shook her head.

“Strange.” Hastings began, “I was quite hoping we’d seen the last of her. The poor girl’s been through enough as it is.”

Kate picked her fingernails, and her stomach churned over, “Can I confess something?”

“Of course…” Hastings folded his arms and leaned across the desk, gesturing for Kate to take a seat.

“Do you want me out?” DI Arnott hesitated.

“It’s alright, Steve. I need to tell both of you anyway.”

“I’ve been seeing someone,” A beat, “romantically.”

The confession slipped out, and jumping the first hurdle was surprisingly easy, but unfortunately, it wasn’t as straightforward as that.

The Gaffer corrected his posture, and Steve cocked his head, “Oh? For how long?”

“About 4 months.”

Steve looked slightly hurt, “And you never told me?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary,” Kate replied sheepishly.

Steve and Ted weren’t blood-related, but Kate still viewed them as her family. One of Kate’s strongest memories was when Steve slept on her sofa bed every night after her husband left.

“What’s his name?”

Another hurdle appeared that Kate had to somehow jump over - the gay hurdle. Until she met Jo, Kate never imagined herself to be bisexual. The haircut had always been misleading until now.

“He’s a she.” Kate wouldn’t say she was scared of her boss, but she certainly valued his approval and Catholic beliefs.

Ted paused to think this over before leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes, and smiling. The smile grew, and a flower of hope blossomed in the DI’s chest. Steve was grinning at both reactions and patted Kate reassuringly on the shoulder.

“I’m happy you felt comfortable enough to tell us,” Steve spoke for them.

“Does this mean you’re okay with this?” Kate didn’t know why she needed an answer, but she would feel even better with confirmation.

“It’s your life, of course, we are! Now, who is she?”

“Okay, okay”, Kate could burst with excitement! Even though they didn’t know it was Jo, Kate could still describe her lover in perfect detail. “She has short, dark brown hair, which has a subtle wave at the end. She is pretty pale, so in the sun, her freckles come out, but you won’t see them unless you’re super close! Her cheeks are always red because she is somehow always blushing!” Kate continued to gush, “Her eyes are brown, and her favourite colour is blue! She was also a police officer-”

“You told them yet?” Jo Davidson leaned in the doorway with a giant grin plastered on her face, “or are you just going to keep describing my facial features?”

Silence.

Jo stopped as she realised what she’d said.

Kate looked between Jo, Steve and Ted. She loved her ex-boss, but she really needs to learn to read a situation.

Steve and Ted simultaneously looked between Kate and Jo. Their brains slowly put the puzzle together in an organised fashion. The hair, the skin, the blush, the eyes and finally, the favourite colour.

The history hurdle.

The grinding of Ted’s chair against the floor wasn’t enough to pierce the tension between the group. Kate ushered her girlfriend into the office, closing the door, taking her hand and cautiously walking over to Steve and Ted.

“Jo, this is Steve. Steve, this is Jo.” Kate introduced them, and Jo waved shily. “Jo, this is Ted, Ted this is-”

“I know who Jo Davidson is.” Ted’s voice was a deadly monotone. “How did you even get in?”

“I walked through the door.” The awkwardness had obviously got to the former SIO, who proceeded to bite her lip as she glanced around the room, eyeing the wall with great curiosity.

“Davidson.” Jo’s head snapped back to the situation as Hastings addressed her. “Are you dating one of my officers?”

“Well-” Jo didn’t know what to say, and thankfully, Ted didn’t want to hear it.

“Katherine Laura Fleming.” Kate flinched at the use of her full name.

“Your middle name is Laura?” Jo tentatively asked before Ted shut her off. “Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the wee donkey, are you dating Joanne Davidson?”

“Boss, I honestly don’t see an issue...” Kate trailed off as the Gaffer rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“You don’t see an issue?” Ted tried hard to keep his composure, “She swears at her superiors, has affairs with her staff, shot an officer twice in the chest, set up a plot to kill you and replied with ‘no comment’ to almost every bloody question.”

“She also commanded multiple armed officers, is super observant, tactically agile, Scottish and be honest: we all know I was the one who shot Ryan Pilkinton.”

Steve sniggered. “I just can’t believe you both.”

“After everything, she's done? I don’t know if I should be impressed or appalled.” Ted corrected.

“You’re not mad?” Kate pushed,

“I'm not mad, but I’m seriously debating whether I should fire you for stupidity. You said it’s been going on for 2 or 3 months, but when did it even start?”

“Jo and I have been shagging on the sly for months.” Jo snickered at Kate’s comment, “But for me, it started in the getaway car and when Jo went to prison. I always felt different about her, but it only hit me when I thought I’d lose her for good.”

Kate’s sentence pulled on Jo’s heartstrings as she remembered the recent events. Throughout her short time in prison and working on Operation Lighthouse, Kate had been her friend and colleague. She cared for Jo more than anyone else in her life and Kate was the only person to make an effort and ask about her day. Overwhelmed, the smaller woman buried her head in Kate’s shoulder, forgetting all about the angry Ted Hastings. Kate kissed Jo’s forehead and smiled fondly down at her.

Both Steve and Ted thought they knew exactly how Jo Davidson worked, especially after interviewing Farida they pictured her as a manipulative, self-centred psychopath. The recent interview didn’t exactly change their opinions either. But this was different. It wasn’t normal for anyone to see Jo vulnerable, but it looked easy when she was with Kate. Jo relaxed, her shoulders dropped, breathing steady, eyes shut with a gentle smile. And in the years Steve had known Kate, he had never seen her blush as much as she did now or look at someone with so much compassion and… love?

“Just so you know, we don’t care that you’re gay, mate. And we shouldn’t care who you date either. I think it was just a shock for Hastings here.” Steve patted his boss on the back.

“It was a shock to me too.” Jo finally addressed the room, “I thought I was done. Mentally, physically and romantically.”

“I should apologise for my words,” Ted replied sheepishly, “I have nothing against anyone, but as you can tell, I’m still a little prickly.”

Jo awkwardly picked down the skin on her fingers, “I don’t blame you, sir.” It was still a little awkward between the trio, and Ted was determined to settle things, “I didn’t get a chance to mention it, but I’m impressed with your knowledge of the law, especially in that interview.”

Kate proudly squeezed Jo’s arm, “Thank you.”

“Unfortunately,” Ted continued, “I can’t let you back on the force-”

“Oh, don’t worry about that: I’m done with police work altogether.” Jo looked fondly at Kate, “I just want to focus on my life and what I have left.”

“Wise words.” Steve nodded, “Can I get anyone another coffee?”

“Tea, please.”

“Same here.”

Steve headed towards the door, gesturing Kate to follow.

“Is it wise to leave them there alone?” Kate jogged after her colleague.

Steve grinned, “Let them talk about rules for a while; I’d rather know all about this new development!” he playfully nudged Kate’s arm and jumped for joy when they were at the coffee machine and out of sight.

“You gonna calm down now?” Kate chucked before looking serious, “By the way, what did you find out about Jo? Should I be worried?”

“Go no! There was a small break in around your apartment. We checked the security cameras and noticed Jo Davidson walking past and holding hands with…” Steve dragged out the answer before pointing to DI Fleming, “you.” Kate turned pale as Steve continued, “I had my suspicions, and we intended to mention it today, see if we could get a reaction. Guess I didn’t even have to try, mate.”

☁️ First ever Flemson fic, fist time watching Line of Duty - that ending was NOT IT (expect a 4000 word alternate ending fic soon) if you read this, thank you x ☁️

[extremelyblackandwhite]

handmaid - 23

PAIRING: mob!sebastian stan x ingenue!reader

WARNINGS: age gap

A/N: i wrote half this chapter listening to taylor swift’s enchanted which i dubbed a christmas song despite it not being a christmas song. i hope you enjoy xx

NEXT CHAPTER

The music was loud, too loud and Y/N could barely hear herself thinking. Between people congratulating Gwen and the overwhelming loud popular music, all Y/N wanted was to spend her birthday locked in her own bedroom reading Jane Austen but whenever she managed to dodge someone, a drunk associate would pat her on the back also congratulating her for her birthday. Darned drunk Daniel and his ‘it’s her birthday too’ sentence. Out of all 365 days in the year, she just had to be born on the same day as the heiress which she initially thought would make her invisible but suddenly everyone wanted to congratulate her too.

Dodging another one of her friend’s father’s drunk associates ready with a hiccupped speech, Y/N quickly climbed up the stairs, happily sighing when she finally got to some sense of quietness where she could read. Opening the red leathered book, Y/N let herself delve into the world of Jane Austen and the swooning love scenarios that came along with it.

With her nose stuck in the book, she started to pave around the floor, dancing around as she imagined the beautiful dance scenes in English regency balls. She could only imagine dancing with your loved one, with the shyness of the sun laying over winter snow, wandering eyes and slow, soft and comfortable dancing. She continued on her mindless dancing which was interrupted by her hitting something. 

     - Oop ... - Y/N looked up from a book into a pair of the most beautiful light blue eyes she had ever seen in her whole entire life. - I’m so sorry.

    - No, I wasn’t watching where I was going. My fault entirely. 

    - No, I wasn’t paying attention. 

    - What are you reading there? - he pointed at her book which she had closed over her finger as to not to lose the place of reading. - Jane Austen? A favourite?

     - I prefer Emma but Pride and Prejudice is a classic. Are you a fan?

    - I’m more of a Charlotte Brontë kind of guy myself. - he gave her that sort of smile that only old Hollywood stars could pull off. The type of smile morphing into a smirk that pulled you in with its sense of effortless coolness and mystique. A dangerous smile if she knew better. - That is if we’re speaking of English writers. My father has a very long personal collection.

    - Well, the Forrests aren’t the reading type from what I’ve gathered. 

    - Say, I’ve never seen you around before. Whose family do you belong to?

    - Oh, I ...

    - There you are. - a much older man, probably in his early 60s but very dapperly dressed with his hair pushed back and the same blue eyes the unknown man standing in front of her. She guessed they were somehow related by their matching features. - I thought we had discussed being late to meetings before.

   - I got distracted, father. - the much younger man shrugged. Y/N stood there, playing with her fingers, fully aware that the atmosphere had shifted into something more awkward than what she preferred. It became even more uncomfortable once the much older man made eye contact with her, making her feel much more smaller than before, head snapping back to her feet. - You sure have a particularly familiar set of eyes there. Have we met before?

   - No, I don’t think so. - she played with the ends of her hair, hoping the Earth would open and swallow her. 

   - What family do you belong to? I’m sure I’ve seen those eyes before. 

   - BIRDIE! - Y/N turned around to see Dan power walking towards her. - Gwen is waiting for you to cut the cake. Say goodbye, c’mon. 

Y/N just stood there, not entirely sure of what to reply to Mr. Williams’ remarks about her. She wasn’t a mistress and she surely wasn’t aiming to be one on the women she had grown accustomed to see coming in and out of the house during her childhood. Sure, she was having some sort of ... affair, if it could be called that, with Sebastian but she wasn’t his mistress. No, she would never be his mistress for that to happen he would have to want to be with her and following last events, he really wasn’t. Besides, she wasn’t like him and she would never be like him. 

   - I understand your struggle, miss. It must be really hard to see the man you care for not care for you.

   - With all due respect, Mr. Williams, I really don’t enjoy your assumptions about me or Mr. Stan. It’s incredibly disrespectful. 

   - He’s not gonna call you, birdie. I see you checking your phone but trust me. He might not be like his father where it matters but when it comes to women, they’re the same man.

   - Don’t call me birdie. - she mumbled, the affectionate nickname given to her by Dan when she was younger losing its innocence as it came out of the associate’s mouth. - I really would like it if you left.

   - Don’t be so upset. In this world you have to play dirty to get ahead and you’re surely get to get dirty to get ahead ... You’ll surely have enough money to do whatever you want if you keep going. 

   - I don’t want any money but I don’t wanna be part of this conversation. - she cleaned her hands against her apron, walking off the kitchen with a decisive step. Ignoring most questioning looks from those at the table, she climbed the stairs back to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. 

She was no mistress and she definitely did not want Sebastian’s money and the mere speculation that that was all she cared about made her sick to her stomach. If she were to care about money she would’ve gotten it very much early on. With sadness and heaviness in her heart accompanied by shame of being seen as nothing more than a passing fancy, Y/N sat down against her bed frame, hand moving to grab one of her bedside table books. 

Out of all the books she blindly had to pick, out of all novels she had spent her teenage and early adulthood reading, the one she had picked was a particularly old one with a red leather binding and golden title letters. Her fingers softly moved across the cover, feeling the bumps and tears of time over the leather. It used to be her favourite during her early young adulthood years and Y/N was sure she had read it over a thousand times. As she opened the book, it fell onto a slightly crinkly page. She furrowed her brows, not remembering when she had crinkled the page until a polaroid fell onto her legs, photo front down. 

Curiously, Y/N closed her book, setting it next to her in the bed before grabbing the polaroid on her legs. She swiftly turned it around, noticing her handwriting on the border ‘18th’. She smiled nostalgically noticing her young face in the sea of people, wearing an oversized babydoll dress which most likely belonged to Gwen, Mary Jane style shoes with the very same necklace nestled between her collarbones and a polite smile. However, what called up for Y/N’s attention was right in the middle of the photo, standing next to Mr. Forrest, was a man probably in his mid to late 20s wearing a dark burgundy suit which made her blink twice, making her pull the photo closer for inspection. His hair was a bit longer and shaggier and his face a bit fuller due to younger age but she could recognise those eyes everywhere. Dan was right, Sebastian had been at Gwen’s 18th and for all that was safe and holy she just couldn’t remember it. 

Looking around as if she were afraid of being caught, she jumped off her bed, grabbing her book to stick the polaroid back inside and both of the objects inside one of her suitcase’s pockets, covering by various fabric items. Something told her that she had to question him about that particular event whenever she got the chance. Afterwards, she took her phone from her pocket to check if he had maybe tried to call her back or message her but nothing, only the clock and her lock screen. Two minutes past midnight, Christmas day. It was Christmas and that gave Y/N the excuse to give him another call. As expected by the darkest most negative part of her brain, all she heard was “The number you have dialled is unavailable, leave your message at the end of the tone”.

  - Hey Sebastian, it’s Y/N ... you probably know, you have called ID ... - she was rambling and could hear her heart thumping on her throat as if they’d never spoken before. - I just wanted to say ... Merry Christmas. 

  - Hey Birdie. - Dan opened the door of her bedroom, making her drop her phone onto the floor by surprise. He furrowed his eyebrows at that behaviour. Y/N certainly didn’t use to be this easy to fright. - We’re opening presents, c’mon.

  - Yeah, I’m going. - she forced a smile, grabbing her phone to finish the call before following him down the stairs.

Thirty minutes away from the place was she was spending Christmas, back in the Upper East Side, Sebastian was standing inside his office, brandy filled glass as he watched the sights from the large windows and how the snow fell disregarding and uncaring of any other circumstances. 

He was much too lost watching various people come out of their houses to celebrate the snow, lost in his own thoughts until the beep of his answering machine removed him from his mind. He shot a look towards the rather old school device as a very familiar voice came through “Hey Sebastian, it’s Y/N ... you probably know, you have called ID ... I just wanted to say ... Merry Christmas.” He placed the glass on this desk, getting closer to the device, finger pressing the rewind button causing the melodic voice to return which wishes of happy holidays. The mob boss smiled at her rambling, how she would go on and on before stopping herself and how sweet she sounded at the end. 

   - Sir ... - a light knock on his door following by the creaking of the door made him remove his finger from the rewind button. - I’m leaving for tonight. Is there anything you require?

   - No Amelia, thank you. 

Back at the Forrests, Y/N was cuddled and wrapped with a red blanket, a cup of peppermint tea in hand as she watched Gwen open the large majority of the presents with a child-like enthusiasm along with Dan’s daughter Sophie. With a very soft and absent minded smile, she couldn’t help but get lost in her own fantasies as she watched Sophie’s eyes light up as she showed her father the stuffed bunny she had just unwrapped. All she could see was the Christmas tree back in the penthouse surrounded with various presents wrapped in shades of red and gold as a child showed Sebastian their own presents. Yet, she knew it was only in her mind and that she probably would see that but the child would be Gwen’s.

   - Now it’s Y/N’s turn. - Mr. Forrest handed her a card sized present. - Merry Christmas, Y/N. 

   - Thank you. - she placed her tea cup on the table, carefully opening the present which led to another little box. Removing the lid, it showed a golden key with a matching gold bird keychain all surrounded by white cushioned fabric. - Oh ... thank you. Is it a necklace?

   - No. - Dan chuckled. - It’s a house key.

   - But I already have the key to this house.

   - Well, dad and I have been discussing it and after Mr. Stan and Gwen get married, we thought you might want to start your own life. - Dan had that grin that seemed to appear whenever he was truly proud of himself. - So, we got you an apartment in Paris, like you always wanted. View to the Tower Eiffel and all. 

   - Oh ... - once again Y/N questioned her full on lack of happiness. She had a place to start her life where she always wanted, she had a house, one she didn’t have to pay for. Forcing a smile, she nodded her head. - Thank you so much, Dan, it’s lovely.

  - I can help you make your arrangements after the wedding. - he added and started to ramble on how he knew a great interior designer while Gwen kept questioning her father how come she didn’t have an apartment in France, probably forgetting she had an apartment on almost every single European capital including London, Madrid and so on. She nodded, not really listening to his rambling until her phone vibrated on her jeans’ pocket. Looking down, she noticed a text from her phone company warning her that she had a message in her voicemail box.

  - Can you excuse me? - she asked the people surrounding the living room, getting up from her comfortable position. All but one, Mr. Williams, nodded. He instead watched her with hawk like eyes as she removed herself from the living room and paced onto the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

She could feel her body shake, her breathing getting irregular as she dialled the number that led to her voicemail messages. As quick as a second, the voicemail started to play but instead of listening to anyone speaking all she could hear was low breathing mixed with the non existent sound of silence. Her heart sank, this was probably a butt dial. As she was about to turn off her phone a familiar roughed yet laced with sweetness and nervousness came from the speaker.

   - Merry Christmas, my angel.

tag list: @lilya-petrichor @xoxohannahlee @irespostthingsiwanttoseelater @nikkipea @madisonpillstrom @cevans98 @thelostallycat @sideeffectsofyou @anxiousdreamersworld @captainchrisstan @lookiamtrying @sarge-barnes-sir @stuffforreferences @thebadassbitchqueen @sebastianstansqueen @nsfwsebbie​

[theoscout]

Discord Interview transcript

Theoscout (me): Hi is it ok if I ask questions about Brian Stells? Not questions that are spoilers obviously lol

Amy: uhhh maybe?

what for

t: idk

the wiki

a: ight

t: For some reason I get a feeling that he's non binary

Is he?

a: to my knowledge he's not but i could be wrong

t: Oh ok

Hmmm sorry I get nervous talking to famous people aaa

a: no worries bro

t: Thanks

a: im here to answer the questions you got to the best of my abilities

t: Ah ok!

Is coughing his response to smelling something bad, or does he just cough a lot?

a: it was the response to the odor

t: Ah alright

a: i was sick though during the recording of some of my lines

t: Oh! Can I add that to the trivia section?

a: so only when he enters the facility and is running from bon before his death are his intentional coughs

t: Also can I post this conversation to tumblr

a: [replying to my question about the editing trivia section] if you want to

a: [replying to my question about posting this on tumblr] again if you want

t: Thank you and thank you!

Hmmm

Why did he try running from Bon on foot instead of going to his car? Did something block the way?

a: if im honest im not really aware as the script i was given was very vague about the details

it could have been from a fight or flight reaction to just bolt in a direction or it could have been brian actually running to his car but thats just my theories. as for the actual answer, i'm unsure.

t: Thank you!

a: np

t: I'm assuming that his death was a quick one because you didn't voice any screams?

a: i dont remember much about the death but it was not at all a short one.

t: (fearful emoji)

a: i believe he was alive getting his eyes gouged out or punched in

he didnt die until after all the damage was done by bon

t: (reaction gif of a terrified looking hamster)

a: yea

t: Y I K E S

I'm going to guess you didn't voice that because you were sick at the time?

a: I wasn't even given a scream to voice

t: Ok

a: the "What was that thing" line was the last line martin asked me to record

t: I mean there's a huge hole in his neck so maybe his vocal chords was ripped out?

t: (replying to Amy's info about her last line) Thanks!

Oh and a risky question that will probably border on spoilers so it's ok if you don't answer this one

Will he appear again?

a: as it stands, i'm entirely unsure. it's entirely possible as it is martin's series and im not sure what he has planned for it but as it stands, i have no idea nor a say in what his decision on brian appearing again is

if he appears again, he appears again. if he doesn't, it was a pleasure voicing him for what i did

t: Plus Brian communicates through text on screen and not always voices

a: yea

like i said, it's entirely up to martin as to if brian appears again and if he does id be more than happy to make that return

t: It's almost certain that he won't be alive the next time he appears, because he got killed on the first day so there's not much more company footage of him.

(replying to Amy saying they're happy to return)

:D

Thank you Amy! It was wonderful talking to you!

Got some editing to do now.

a: of course!

t: Peace out!

a: cya!

transcript for the post over here

[jiminscaramel]

cream of the crop | changkyun [mx]

[GENRE] smut, fluff

[COUNT] 4.4k+

[PAIRING] fem. reader x Changkyun (I.M)

[WARNINGS] f2l, unprotected sex, oral (f. receiving), fingering, cream pie, hair pulling, overstimulation, cockwarming, choking if you squint, multiple orgasms, edging

[AU] f2l au

[A/N] as requested by anon however I’m not too keen on how it turned out? I think maybe i crammed too much in such a short space of time and a small word count. I hope you still like it though and who knows! It might be up for a rewrite or a part 2

Something isn’t right.

Changkyun frowns, watching you speak within yourself – your chin lowered to your chest and your eyes avoiding contact – which is highly irregular. He knows something is eating away at you but for reasons unknown, you hadn’t yet shared what it was. He leans forward to take a sip of his milkshake before settling back in the booth and nudging Jooheon beside him.

“...so yeah. Dinner was whatever.” You shrug nonchalantly, picking at a basket of fries, which had gone stone cold.

“Don’t eat those,” Jooheon slaps your hand away and flags up a waitress. “I’ll get some more.”

“So how is he? Your boyfriend? You’ve been dating for what, a few months now? When do we get to meet him?” Changkyun pries gently into the sensitive topic of dating. Being your best friend, he’s been there through pretty much every relationship you’ve had – casual, serious and one night stands – and vise-versa. But he’s also seen the grisly sides, comforting you through the worst breakups, the most recent one happening just before you’d met David.

You shrug again, stirring the melted ice cream in your glass with your straw, staring lifelessly into the chocolate concoction. “He’s not my boyfriend. David is David. And I’m sure we can arrange something soon.”

Though Changkyun remains unconvinced and the further the conversation takes you all, the more he thinks he understands. “You don’t seem so happy about the whole idea.”

“It’s a great idea.” You deadpan, staring out the window.

An awkward silence fills the space as the waitress places a fresh basket of fries to share between the three of you. Changkyun thanks her before leaning forward, trying to catch your attention. “Something’s wrong.”

“No shit,” Jooheon quips, eyes glued to his phone screen.

“You’re not helping,” Changkyun fires back, pushing the fries in front of him. “Shut up and eat your fries.”

“Fuck you.” Jooheon laughs and tosses his phone on the table, pushing the fries back to the centre. He leans in too, his attention no longer preoccupied by the device in his hand. “So... What’s on your mind?”

The answer to that is a lot more complicated than you’d like to admit. Your hesitation isn’t because you don’t trust them and isn’t because you feel uncomfortable sharing your worries. In all honesty, you have no idea why you’re so hesitant; you’ve always been able to tell them anything. Absolutely anything. So why is this so different?

You take a deep breath and eventually open your mouth to speak. “I’m frustrated.”

Changkyun and Jooheon both stare back at you blankly, silently blinking as they wait for you to elaborate.

“David... is nice. I suppose. He’s just...” you blow out your cheeks, trying to find the right word. “Boring. In every sense of the word.”

Changkyun cocks his head to the side, studying you intensely, while Jooheon slouches back in the upholstery, arms folded over his chest.

Unsatisfied with the lack of reaction, you lean in closer. “His idea of fun is sitting in and watching cheesy sitcom reruns until late, with or without me. His ideal date is always some snobby, posh restaurant on the other side of town. The other day? I set up a blanket fort in my front room for us to cosy up in for when he came round and you know what he said? ‘I’m not a kid anymore’. I felt like such a fucking idiot.” You trail off, already aware that you’d shared much more than intended. But the embers still burn, all the frustration and upset igniting the flames.

“Not to mention that on the very few occasions we’ve had sex, I’ve never– never– you know...” you clear your throat and gesture with your hands to insinuate what you can’t voice aloud.

“A little TMI, but yeah,” Jooheon nods and you notice a little pink tint across his cheekbones.

“He just... rolls off me and falls asleep. And it’s always the same, mandatory, routine, boring sex. Pull my hair or something, choke me, I don’t know–”

“Ok, that’s definitely TMI,” Jooheon picks up his phone and starts scrolling through his feeds, but you know it’s more out of embarrassment than ignorance. You know he’s still listening.

Changkyun remains silent, his jaw clenching as he listens to your complaints with an understanding ear.

“But you know what I mean, right? There’s no passion. There’s no spark, there’s nothing. There’s just David. And me. It’s like we’re not even an item. We’re just two separate people who meet up to ‘fuck’ and pretend there’s a relationship outside of that. Christ, what a fucking mess.” You slump back, deflated but feeling a lot better than you had a few minutes ago.

“You’re right,” Changkyun says, smirking. “He is boring.”

Your heart stutters as you interpret his response the wrong way, implying that Changkyun is more than capable of fulfilling everything your date lacks. But you can’t possibly think of your best friend that way. That was crossing too many lines, despite the fact that Changkyun had become the standard to which you held men up to. And David was sure not up to standard.

“He seriously turned down a blanket fort?” Jooheon questioned, peering around his phone.

You nod, a little sadly.

“You know what this calls for?” Changkyun rapidly taps his hands on the table top in a quiet drumroll.

“I can’t, I’m working.” Jooheon mutters.

“David won’t–”

“Y’all haven’t even heard what I’m gonna say!” His shoulders drop and his hands stop tapping. “And honestly, fuck that guy. Fuck his opinion and fuck what he has to say. I know he’s your boyfriend–”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” You interrupt.

“–but I don’t like him. Just to be clear.”

“You and me both.” Jooheon adds.

There’s a pause before you finally voice aloud your true feelings. “Me three.”

Your phone rings and the caller ID displays his name. Plain and simple; no love hearts no emojis. No commitment. You decline but shoot him a text with the dreaded four words ‘we need to talk’.

“I need to go,” you sigh and stand up to gather your things, hugging each friend goodbye. Changkyun reaches down to embrace you and squeezes tight with affection, silently worried about how things will turn out for you. He starts to pull away but you hold onto him for a minute more, savouring his warmth and comfort.

The week passes by, with little importance. The breakup had been easy, effortless and it had definitely affected him more than it had you. If anything, you feel liberated, no longer obliged to suppress parts of your character to please someone else. You feel good about the whole thing.

But it doesn’t help the feeling that tugs at your heart in the small hours, the loud thoughts that crash around in your head. Why is it so difficult to find someone who understands you? Why do all your dates end up less than expected or just simply incompatible?

Your phone jumps to life beside your keyboard and your hands freeze in midair. You save your work and close the window, getting up to answer the call elsewhere. “Kyun, I’m at work.”

“I know, I know,” he sounds a little out of breath. “I’m sorry. Are you free after work?”

“Well I mean, I had a date with Netflix and my ice cream tub so I don’t know...” you tease, a small smile working the corners of your mouth.

He laughs into the receiver. “Well how about Netflix and ice cream at mine?” If you’d known any better, you’d think he sounded nervous.

“Sure,” you agree, surprised. It had been a while since you’d spent time at his and a frisson of excitement courses along your skin at the thought of possibly being alone with him. “Is Jooheon coming?”

“I’ll call him but he’s been really busy these days. I’ll let you know.”

You thank him and say goodbye, wary about your unattended desk and how that might look should your boss walk through. But before you can hang up, Changkyun shouts into the phone, “Oh! And wear something comfy!”

You arrive a lot earlier than expected, out of nerves or excitement, you can’t tell, fully kitted in sweats and a loose-fitting pullover. But Changkyun answers the door all the same, smiling broadly and sweeping you into a tight hug, before inviting you in. The place seems a bit dark, lights dimmed and blinds drawn before nightfall. You reach up to flick the light on as you slip your shoes off in the hallway, offering the bag of ice cream for Changkyun to take and freeze.

“You a vampire now? Why is it so dark in here?”

He immediately flicks it back off. “It’s a surprise.”

“You should know me by now. I hate surprises.” You mutter, following him into the kitchen. The door to the front room is closed, blocking your view and you grow more suspicious.

“I’ll freeze this for a bit before we bring it. We can dig into this instead.” He pulls out a sharing tub of chocolate fudge ice cream and places yours in the freezer.

“Sounds good,” you reply absently, heading towards the closed door. “Can I see what’s in there now. My curiosity is killing me.”

“Close your eyes.” He instructs, pulling out two spoons from the drawer and coming to stand behind you.

“No.”

“No one’s gonna jump out at you, I promise.” He reassures you, thinking back to the many times he and Jooheon have pranked you.

“That’s what you said last time.” You remind him.

“I promise.”

“So Jooheon isn’t on the other side of that door, ready to pie me when I walk in?”

“He’s coming later, he’s on a late shift.” Changkyun seems genuine enough and despite his history of pranking you, you trust him.

“Fine.” You give in and close your eyes, letting his cold hand slip into yours.You try to ignore the way your heart picks up at the simple contact but he squeezes your palm reassuringly and without thinking, you squeeze back. He gently pulls you along instructing you to be careful where you place your feet, but you know the layout by heart. You hear the door open and squeeze your eyes shut tighter.

Just as promised, there was no one else here. You faintly hear the sound of trailers playing on the Netflix start screen, waiting for a movie to be selected. He closes the door behind him and lets go of your hand. You feel his presence leave and move elsewhere in the room, fabric rustling.

His voice is low and inviting as he instructs you to open your eyes. They flutter open and you blink several times to adjust to the low light – or lights. Several fairy lights are strung up around the room, glowing softly, giving the impression of lit candles. They wrap around the sofa and curl around the fort in the middle of the room–

The fort.

Changkyun lays inside, his long legs poking out from the makeshift entrance, his weight propped up on one elbow. The blankets are pulled over several pieces of arranged furniture to create a colourful canopy and countless cushions line the inside. He’d somehow moved his tv and draped more blankets across it so you could both watch movies inside, without having to cram around a small tablet screen and there was plenty of room in there for all three of you.

Your hands fly up to your chest as you take in the sight, the sheer effort he’d put in to create the perfect blanket fort... just for you. “This is... so much better than the one I made.”

He laughs, a sound so refreshing and so ebullient. You crawl in beside him, a wellspring of praise falling from your lips, complimenting each and every detail. You feel tears well up at the back of your eyes but hold them back. You don’t want to ruin the moment.

“I figured, you know... that you should... embrace the things that make you happy. And so what if it’s a childish thing? Some of my fondest memories have been in blanket and pillow forts.” He shrugs and tears the lid off the tub, tucking into the already soft ice cream, avoiding your gaze.

You nod in agreement and feel your throat tighten again. It’s only a simple thing, a simple act of kindness, yet it means so much more than he could possibly imagine. You’re lost for words as you stare at his profile, in the least subtle way. He notices and holds the tub towards you in offering.

But instead you lean in and plant a tender kiss to the corner of his mouth.

It’s tentative, yet daring, a toe over the line to test the waters. Though you don’t know what it is you’re supposedly testing. Your friendship? Your boundaries?

“Thank you,” you breathe, pulling away to sit up but his hand slowly threads itself in your hair, behind your head. He holds you there for what feels like forever, finally meeting your eyes and boring into them. They sparkle with questions, the reflections of the fairy lights masking the raw emotion behind them.

And so to answer the first of his many silent questions you lean in again, kissing him for the first time.

He’s hesitant but gentle, his lips soft and secure. You press deeper into the kiss, eager and sure, ready to speed things up. Your mind races a million miles per hour, your heart struggling to keep up. You feel light headed but his grip tightens in your hair, the sharp pull grounding you.

A little whimper escapes your mouth in response and Changkyun takes the opportunity to pry your mouth open wider, his tongue tracing along the swell of your bottom lip. You lightly nip at his own, your teeth grazing the pillowy flesh.

When you pull away this time, your chests heave in unison, deep and laboured breaths. You stare at each other, the air thick with something indescribable, static and heavy.

“I-I’m sorry,” he stutters and yanks his hand away, clenching it into a tight fist.

Your head spins and your eyes droop, your voice luculent and confident as you reply, “I’m not.”

“Please–”

“I want you.” And you surprise yourself with how easy it is to admit it, to say those exact words.

Things happen so fast, it all becomes a blur. Your lips had locked again and somewhere in the sinful chaos, your pullover had been shed, your sweats well on the way to joining it in a haphazard pile. Your hair splays all over the pillows behind you, framing your face like a halo and all Changkyun can do is marvel at how perfect you look.

“Safe word.” He says, almost breaking the mood.

“Huh?” You pant, trying to sort through the muddle of things in your head to make sense of what he’s saying.

“A safe word. You know, something you say if I do something that’s too much, or vise versa. I don’t want to hurt you... or make you uncomfortable.”

You think of all the possible things Changkyun could do to you, most of them probably requiring a safe word, and blush beneath him. “Uh– vanilla?”

He laughs breathlessly overhead at the irony which draws a shy smile from you. “Vanilla it is.” He groans before diving in and tenderly kissing a trail from your neck all the way down to your panties, his tongue swiping delicious circles on your skin. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

Those words, uttered in the most sincere way, have your whole body quivering in delight and wanton anticipation. Another whimper sounds at the back of your throat, your eyes transfixed on his head between your legs.

He doesn’t even bother taking them off, but pushes them to the side and dives right in. His tongue is warm, experienced as he licks a stripe between your folds, his plush lips suckling at your nub. You cry out at the direct contact, sparks of electric running up and down your spine. His thumb rubs little circles on your clit as his tongue dips into your entrance, the salacious sensations driving you wild.

“Oh god,” you whisper, your eyes squeezed shut as the familiar warmth gathers in the pit of your stomach. Your hands find themselves tangled in his chestnut brown locks, your back arching off the floor as you press him deeper into your core.

His tongue replaces his thumb on your clit and before you realise what’s happening, he plunges a finger inside you. He pumps in time to his mouth working wonders in between your folds and his groans against your pussy send you tumbling into oblivion.

Your hips buck up into his mouth, your cries rising in a steady crescendo. “Changkyun, I-I’m gonna cum–” your voice breaks on the last syllable, much like your self-control.

But he pulls out and away so suddenly, leaving you empty and cold and teetering on the edge of your peak.

“No,” you gasp, a sob escaping your chest in protest. “No.”

“Turn around.” His voice is dark, laden with authority you don’t dare disobey. You scramble on all fours, still dizzy with your denied climax. “You’re so beautiful. So perfect and all for me.”

You feel his hungry gaze crawl all over your body, head to toe, lingering on how pretty your pussy looks from this angle. He pulls his shirt over his head and shimmies out of his own sweats, but what you’re expecting doesn’t quite follow. Changkyun repositions himself on his knees and reaches forward to grab a fistful of your hair, tugging with a lot more force than before. His other hand snakes back into your core from behind, his fingers sinking deeper and deeper with every stroke.

Endless compliments and groans fall past his lips, watching as you fall apart with each passing second. His erection presses against the confines of his boxers, eager to spring free but not yet wanting to move on. He wants to explore you, devour you and savour every last part of you. He knows exactly which buttons to press and from the look in your eyes rolled back to look at him, he’s hitting every single one.

Your walls flutter dangerously around his fingers as his grip in your hair tightens, on the brink of your first orgasm. But you’re denied it a second time, tears pooling and threatening to spill over as you cry out loud again. “Changkyun, please!”

“Hm?” He pulls your head all the way back so your body is flush with his, his cock pressing into the back of your thigh. Had it not been for the cushions and blankets lining the floor, your knees would’ve given in. His lips graze your ear, a cold shiver rippling across your skin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His fingers pry your lips apart, the pads pressing onto your tongue, letting you taste your essence. You bite down gently on his fingers and he hisses again in your ear. “I can’t let you cum, baby. Not yet. Not like this.”

His hands fall from your hair and your mouth, finally freeing himself from his underwear. His fingers rush, almost clumsily, to pull your panties down, leaving them around your knees. He slips his member between your legs, sliding back and forth between your folds, coating his cock in your arousal.

“You feel so fucking good, y/n,” he groans deep in your ear, nibbling at your lobe. “So fucking good for me.” He gently lowers you back down to all fours, his hand pressing your head into the pillows, before slipping inside you.

You both sigh in content as he pulls out and thrusts back in, fully sheathing himself within you. The pace begins torturously slow before he begins to speed up, his hips eventually pistoning in and out of you relentlessly.

Your cries of pleasure make his head spin with fulfilled desire but only eggs him on to pleasure you further, not stopping until you’re a whimpering, shaking wreck beneath him. The sound of skin against skin sounds terribly out of place in a setting as sweet as this but you’re incapable of feeling any sort of shame or remorse when Changkyun is buried this deep inside you.

He twists one of your arms behind your back, the other hand tightly gripping your waist, pulling you back to meet every thrust. “You’re so tight, baby. I can feel every inch of you.”

He leans forward slightly and rolls a pebbled nipple between his thumb and finger, the sensation directly arousing your clit. The head of his cock finds the little magic spot within, and with every hit, you climb closer and closer to your previously denied release. “I can’t– I need to cum!”

Changkyun grunts, in acknowledgement or effort, you don’t know, and pulls out, flipping you over onto your back in one swift motion. “Not yet,” he rips the panties off and around your ankles before plunging back into you, one leg thrown over his shoulder.

He leans forward on his forearms, his nose inches away from yours, the soft light illuminating his striking features. His lips find yours again and this time it’s frantic and frenzied, completely lustful and and crazed, needing to feel and taste each other.

You gaze with glassy eyes into his and never before had you felt so at home. Your throat constricts with emotion as you grasp his face between your palms and savour every thrust, every touch and caress. And in the moment, with pent up feelings and a desperate need to to cum directing your thoughts, you utter those forbidden three words. “I love you.”

It wasn’t a complete sex-crazed confession. You do love him and had done for many years, though not in this way. It was a deep fondness that extended the realms of friendship, a fondness you had misinterpreted. Because Changkyun, was in every way, perfect for you.

“Fuck,” his jaw clenches as he holds himself back. “Say it again.”

“I love you, Changkyun,” you gasp as his rhythm changes, sharp and intermittent. “Please, I–”

He cuts you off, crashing his lips down on yours and lets your leg fall to wrap around his waist. The final sprint, you cant your hips up into him to meet in the middle, blubbering and babbling, a sobbing mess. You feel a mixture of your essence and his spit from before seep into the blankets below as he glides in and out of your sopping heat.

“I-I’m cumming,” you cry, loud enough for the whole street to hear. “God, Kyun, I’m cumming–”

He buries his head into the crook of your neck, suckling bruises into your skin, his sweat mixing with your own. Finally, the heat in your stomach unfurls and explodes, your core furiously clenching around his cock. After so many denials, your first orgasm is so strong it’s almost painful, blissful sobs wracking your frame.

You hold onto him for dear life as he grunts at the feeling, his pace relentless and unforgiving, the tip of his cock hitting your sensitive spot within. The overstimulation is almost too much to bear but beneath the slight discomfort and pain, you feel the promise of a second, continuous orgasm.

“Kyun, please–!” His hand comes up and quickly wraps around your throat, gently squeezing as you ride out your second climax.

“Baby, I’m– oh god, baby, I’m gonna cum for you,” his voice in your ear rises several octaves, his whines and whimpers getting you off even more. “You ready for me, baby?”

He feels your hair brush against his cheek as you nod and bites down on your neck as he thrusts  sharply once, twice into your core, sighing loudly and letting go of a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding, as he releases inside you, his cock twitching. He whimpers sweet nothings into your ear, your name falling from his lips like a blessing as he tries to catch his breath back.

He starts to pull away before you feel uncomfortable but you hold him in place, not wanting to be apart for now. Even holding still inside you proves to be too much, your fluttering and clenching walls overstimulating his softening member.

Changkyun knocks his forehead against yours, closing his eyes and inhaling your scent. He smooths your hair back away from your face and pulls back a little to look you in the eyes. “I love you too.”

The two of you stay as one, staring into each other’s souls, connecting on another level. This must be heaven, you think, the soft lights glowing around you in your little sanctuary. Your legs wrap around his waist and pull him deeper into you, afraid of letting go.

“I–” Changkyun is cut off by his phone ringing, shattering the delicate world the two of you had so arduously built. “Shit. I’m sorry.” He glances at you sheepishly.

“It’s ok,” you blush and almost wince as he slowly pulls out, his cum seeping out and soiling the blankets even further.

He scrambles for his phone and answers breathlessly, “Hello?”

You hear Jooheon on the other end, catching a word here and there.

“Uh– no, I– don’t think so. Rain check?” Changkyun glances at you again, this time with a glint of mischief. “Sure, I’ll let her know. Ok... bye.”

You open your mouth to ask about the conversation but something else occupies the forefront of your mind. “Kyun?”

He lays behind you, holding you flush to his chest. “Yeah?”

“How did you know...” you cover your face in embarrassment, but continue nevertheless. “How did you know... what things I like?”

You feel his heart thud in response before he answers. “I, uh–” he clears his throat. “I may have seen a certain page of your diary.”

“Kyun!” You turn around, your mouth agape with a mortified expression plastered all over your features.

“It was an accident, I swear!” He laces his hand through yours and apologises, kissing your nose. “It was a long time ago. I made sure to forget... until now...” his cheeks light up again and you giggle, high on euphoria.

“I should’ve added ice cream to that list.” You quip with an impish smirk.

He hoists your leg over his waist, his large hand squeezing your thigh. “Well, you know, it’s never too late to amend it.”

[7wanderingpaws]

Simply, yours (9)

Pairing: Baekhyun x reader

Genre: family AU, hapkido teacher AU, PhD AU

Word count: 3.7K

Warnings: none

A/N: hi! Finally, the next part is here! Sorry it took so long. I can say we are starting the second half of the story so my most anticipated part is also coming up! And that is hapkido baek and some drama woo! ^^ please enjoy and I am always open to comments in any form! 🙏❤️

Tags: @milky-baek​ @itsbaekhyunsbutt​ @luvhtears​ @shesdreaminginoverdose​ (if you want to be tagged/untagged please let me know!)

-

MASTERLIST

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7. 8 . 9

“Can I ask you something?” you asked gently as you sat down on the floor at your small table on Sunday. 

The question had been gnawing at you ever since Friday and the dinner that didn't go so well. You decided you wanted a break from talking about that day yesterday, when you made up with your boyfriend and shared a peaceful Saturday, but you couldn't sit calmly anymore. Also, in a way, the possibilities of his answer were making you feel uneasy but this was your relationship you were talking about.

“Mhmm,” he hummed in reply as he kept typing away on his phone, glancing up at you only momentarily, not catching the hesitation in your voice or your stance. 

“Erm-”

“Wait, just a moment, honey, I will finish up this message and I'm all yours.”

You shut your mouth, nodding but at the same time trying not to get hurt.

Ah, yes.

The good old rollercoaster of emotions.

You had been so stuck in your dilemma with your work and lying to Baekhyun, you didn't address the pent-up frustrations and mood changes anymore. It became a constant, but now having most of your issues resolved and Baekhyun knowing the truth, you felt like you would cry at anything that came off even slightly negative - despite the fact that Baekhyun didn't mean any harm, nor his response was negative. It was just a mind game. You found it negative, so you would take the hurt.

Easy as that. Pregnancy really wasn't a rocket science.

Or was it?

You stood back up and took your steel rice bowl that had some leftover rice you couldn't swallow anymore. Putting it in the sink, you let some water sit in it so the sticky rice would detach, when you heard movement.

“What was it you wanted to ask?” Baekhyun quirped, putting down the phone on the table.

You turned around, and slowly walked back. “So on Friday,” you started without playing around the bush before the emotions would take the better of you. You sat back down and saw Baekhyun nodding. “You said that… you can't get me to say yes. To marry you.”

You were expecting him to get taken aback or shocked, but his face kept calm. “Yes.”

You frowned. “But you never…” you hesitated,trying to hint what you were about to say, except Baekhyun was not playing along, instead patiently waiting for you to finish your thought. You sighed. “You never asked me, you know? You never proposed.”

“I always wanted to discuss it together,” he admitted, searching your face. “Before your pregnancy we didn't plan on marrying, on that we agreed,” he stated and you nodded to confirm. Baekhyun went silent and nodded to himself as well. After a couple of seconds, he said: “And would you? Would you marry me now?”

You scoffed, throwing the small pillow that was next to you that you usually hugged to yourself when eating. “Is this a proposal, darling?”

He laughed, his ears turning a lovely pink and you relished in the sigh of him like that. He was gorgeous. “Of course not,” he said reaching out for you but just then his phone started to vibrate. Thinking it was just a message, he grabbed your arm and shuffled himself closer, but you saw that a caller's ID popped up on the screen. Jiyoung, it said. “Would you, though?” he asked breathily, gazing into your eyes but he heard the constant vibration and broke the eye contact, checking the phone. He was surprised for a moment and seemed he was about to pick up but then he just shrugged and grabbed your other hand. “You wouldn't answer to me?”

You giggled, satisfied he considered you and the current talk more important than this Jiyoung lady, may it whoever be. “Baekhyun,” you murmured and when the vibrating wouldn't stop, Baekhyun sighed and quickly reached for the phone, silencing it before throwing it back on the table and turning with expectation in his eyes as you took his cheeks in your hands. “Yes,” he murmured breathily. He wanted you to say it already.

You nodded. “Exactly that. Yes. I would. Any time.”

He let out a breathy laugh, a hot puff on your face before he engulfed you in a warm embrace making sure he wasn't squishing you like he wanted to so badly. “Then, let's do just that. Let's get married.”

Returning the embrace for a little longer, you leaned back just enough so you could see his face. “But you realise I still want a proper proposal, master Baekhyun?”

You tried hard not to think about money and all it could cost, just as you promised him on Friday.

Affectionately, he combed some of your hair back, humming. “Master Baekhyun, you say? Well, if my little hapkido student wants that, who am I to refuse?”

You burst out into little giggles and hid your face in his neck, hearing his chest rumbling with his laughter. “Gosh, you're crazy!”

“You started!” he defended, still giggling and caressing your back.

It took you fifteen minutes to disattach from each other, as Baekhyun said what you were suspicious about. “I'm gonna have to call back,” he trailed off.

You nodded and untangled yourself from him. “Right, you go do that. Is it work?”

“Yeah,” he said, already grabbing his phone and unlocking it.

“On Sunday, though?”

“It is some stuff that… need immediate action,” he said, the words sitting unsure on his tongue.

Immediate action?

It's not like he was a doctor working in a hospital.

Deciding not to pester him, you collected all the dishes and nodded when Baekhyun murmured a quick thanks while he waited for that Jiyoung to pick up the phone. And just when that happened, he abruptly stood up, and left for your bedroom where he closed the door.

-

Monday came fast and the dreaded visit to work came up as well. You weren't sure what was worse: going to work and knowing you would get immediate sack or going in unknowingly?

Well the current feeling was not sitting well with you, but on the good note, morning sickness was interestingly gone (for today at least), despite your stomach making nervous flips.

You decided to wear a pretty dark pink dress with an A skirt that would only gently reveal the baby bump which also seemed to grow in an inhumane speed given three babies were growing inside.

Baekhyun growled upon seeing you all finished up and ready to leave. Out of all the days, today you decided to wear a dress like this? He stepped closer to you, your winter jacket, a huge knitted scarf and a big beanie hanging on his arm. With his free hand he lustfully squeezed your backside as he buried his face in the crook of your neck, making you giggle. “Please promise me I will be the one taking this dress off tonight,” he murmured, his hot breath fanning over your erratic pulse. His actions were affecting you too much, but this was not the right time.

Moaning softly, you let out: “Yes, I promise. If I survive today.”

At that, Baekhyun huffed and leaned away, not happy with the uttered words. “I am coming with you anyway, so no need to worry, angel.” And with that he grabbed the scarf and threw it around you while he proceeded to put the beanie on the top of your head, making it almost fall to the ground. He threw the huge jacket around your shoulders, the pretty dress getting swollen up by the thick material.

“You don't have to,” you retorted looking up at his focused gaze as he circled and adjusted the scarf so that not an inch of your neck was poking out. “I can handle this on my own. I made the mess, and I will face him just like that.”

Baekhyun met your gaze for a second, his tongue poking out between his teeth in concentration. “I don't care. He is an asshole. What if he will do something?”

“He can't do that,” you said, “it's an office, not a jail without CCTV cameras.”

He sighed and zipped the jacket all the way up, proceeding to properly look at you, his hands hanging next to his sides. “I just don't feel good about this.”

“This isn't anything huge. I will do just what you told me on Friday, hm?” you said gently, and combed his hair back. Baekhyun kept observing your actions, but interestingly, you really weren't scared. “I will accept what he gives and come back home. To you. And, I will call you as soon as I'm done with him.”

At that, he smiled and took the hand that was playing with his hair, giving it a kiss before bringing you closer so he could give you a peck. “Alright. But it isn't you who persuaded me,” he added, raising an index finger, “it's the fact that you listened to me well on Friday. Good girl,” and he gave you a loud smooch on the lips.

-

Just like that, you were standing in your boss's office, your head lowered in front of him but you weren't even sure why. Ah, right. Because Baekhyun punched him. It was obvious. Boss had a red splotch of a bruise on his lip and you tried not to wince because, damn. Master Baekhyun.

“As stated in the contract conditions, you are to stop working here with an immediate effect,” he said, trying hard not to snarl at you. Now that he could see the protruding bump, it was difficult for him to keep calm in your presence. He was truly disgusted. “Regardless of,” he continued and frowned harshly, “your co-workers begging me to keep you. I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY, I'M THE BOSS HERE!” he shouted suddenly, looking behind you at the co-workers hiding behind the window and observing with held breaths. Your heartbeat became erratic, but you tried to calm yourself down at his sudden outburst, knowing you stressing like this could have a negative effect on you and the babies.

You weren't aware your co-workers were fighting for you. In fact, you were so embarrassed upon your arrival to work you almost didn't meet their gaze. But thankfully, you only received encouraging smiles. Especially Sukyoung was so supportive you felt like crying out of thankfulness.

“Anyway,” re-started your boss now piercing you with his cold stare. “Make sure you return your laptop to the IT, and lanyard to HR. Otherwise, you may go. You are free,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Sir,” you started. “You do realise that-”

“What,” he snapped angrily.

“Don't interrupt me. I am trying to talk after letting you rant,” you said, giving him a stern gaze which made him freeze. He never heard you talk back like that. But you had nothing to lose anymore. “Me getting pregnant doesn't say anything about me and my competency. You need to change your old beliefs because nobody will want to work with someone like you. If you think it is a privileged work, I will have you know it is not. You knew I was in dire need of money and bribed me into this position making me promise nonsense. It is my fault for accepting, but you should be ashamed for even thinking in such manner.” You paused to take a breath, feeling your knees becoming wobbly from the intense tension. “I am pregnant with three. So in case I do not make it, I will be able to at least die in peace for telling you finally what I thought. You act like what you do is important and look down on women but the reality is different, sir,” you said, your face relaxed unlike your passionate words. “Because you aren't sacrificing life. You are merely profiting. Meanwhile, I am sacrificing everything just to survive pregnancy and then safely give birth.” You shrugged and turned, making your way towards the door to his office. “I wish you lots of health in the upcoming years. That is what you need the most.”

You made sure to close the door gently behind you, not wanting to send signals of how actually annoyed you were if you were to slam the door shut but wow! Was it a good feeling to voice your piece of mind?

Proceeding to do everything he asked of you, you said bye to all your co-workers (it ended up taking more time than you anticipated, given how everyone was interested in you and the pregnancy) and Sukyoung was the one who came out of the office building, slowly walking with you to the nearest bus stop.

“I'm so proud of you,” she said suddenly, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. She was hugging herself, the chilly weather still strong enough to get in through her jacket. “You told him well. He deserved every single word you said. And, I don't want you to believe that you lost your job and now it is the end of the world. You are pregnant with triplets, so… listen to Baekhyun and try to stay home, hm?”

You smiled at her affectionately. “I will think about it. I have to go see the doctor every two weeks for regular check-ups but… I don't want to stay inactive, you know?”

She took your hand and squeezed it, returning your smile. “I understand you. I really do. But just try to think of your health first, okay?” she waited until you nodded. “I made some research, and triplet pregnancy is a high-risk one, dear. Please, be careful.”

Nodding again, you gave her a reassuring smile. “But we will meet soon, right?”

“Of course!” she exclaimed, jumping a bit out of excitement. “I want to use you while I can before you will be drowned in babies. Literally.”

That made you giggle and you hugged her one last time before saying bye. You were texting with Baekhyun and you decided you would surprise him at the university since you knew he had classes and afternoon work with his hapkido team.

As much as you felt down about your whole situation, you couldn't help feeling relieved. There wouldn't be any more nagging, pressure of the workplace and your terrible, terrible boss that obviously didn't appreciate women in any way or form. Certainly, you just lost a crucial monetary intake opportunity but you even thought about that while talking to Seokyeong just now. A way you could earn money.

The bus ride was terrible, packed till the ceiling of the loud vehicle, so you didn't get to sit down as you were hoping. The stress of the day has caught up to you and you slowly started to despise this ridiculous city of Seoul - there wouldn't be a place without a single person. Crowds everywhere.

You finally took a deep breath as you leisurely made your way through the pretty campus of the Sungkyunkwan university. Students were roaming outside, happy laughters here and there, nagging of the boys and girls blushing and smacking them playfully in the arm which would make them erupt into bigger giggles.

It made you smile, because it reminded you of your high school days - well, the beginning of them - as Baekhyun was trying to pursue you and you totally let him. All the moments before he left for the military and then after when he came back as a grown man.

Knowing well where to go, having already visited multiple times in the past, you crossed the park and headed for the sports department building. You checked your phone to find his latest reply:

when you get home write me ❤

It took you almost another ten minutes and finally you found the doors that led to the big gymnasium wide open, laughter and squeals coming out of there. It perked your interest because you always knew hapkido practice was anything but full of laughters and fooling around.

Taking hesitant steps towards the door, you carefully peeked in, not wanting to be spotted in case there would be someone you didn't know.

There were tens of students, working out, doing splits, jumping around and competing against each other. Spotting even some foreign students, you were reminded how you wanted Baekhyun to learn more English so he would get better chances of communication with them. You weren't seeing your boyfriend, though.

Just then, you heard his laughter. He was the one who was about to race with the row next to him.

“Can't wait to show who's the boss, master Baekhyun!” said the girl challengingly. They were all turnt with their backs to you, which made it difficult to make out any faces.

“You wish!” retorted Baekhyun loudly but with a playfulness tinting his voice and suddenly, they were both sprinting for their lives. Loud cheers erupted, chanting the names. Baekhyun! Jiyoung!

Jiyoung.

So she was the one calling him yesterday?

They both reached the finish line almost on time, Baekhyun winning by a split second which made him shout out loud, proud joy taking over his features. “I guess it's my team that wins!”

Jiyoung laughed, both of them turning to walk back which now helped you see them better. Interestingly, she had beautiful thick eyebrows, so unusual for a Korean. They were not arched, just having a natural curve that already stole your breath because… goals. Her eyes were big, almost exotic with a small, narrow nose and red lips that aren't thin, nor thick either. Her face was the perfect egg shape. Even her smile was enchanting.

“We will see for how long, master,” she was walking back, high-fiving her team when her eyes landed on you, a startled expression. “Oh? May I help you?”

All bodies turned, numerous pairs of eyes focused on you. You swallowed on a dry mouth when your boyfriend called out your name, surprised.

“What are you doing here?” he asked jogging towards you.

You quickly took a step back and out of the doorway so to avoid the curious eyes. You still overheard someone explaining: “It's master Baekhyun's girlfriend!”

“Oh is it?” Jiyoung asked with an undertone you couldn't quite pinpoint, but by then Baekhyun was standing in front of you, his wide frame taking up almost the entire doorway. He was out of breath but he smiled at you adoringly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked again and took in your shy face, a soft hue of pink on your cheekbones from all the attention. “So cute,” he murmured, ruffling your hair.

“I wanted to surprise you,” you admitted.

“Well, that worked,” he laughed cheerfully, obviously running on high energy levels due to the previous activities. He paused for a moment. “How did it go? Are you alright?” he asked, suddenly worried and stepping even closer to you.

“Yeah, everything is closed and finished,” you replied rather quietly, suddenly feeling an impending headache and tiredness. “I am not going back anymore.”

And there went the burning in your eyes that you had no clue you needed until that moment. Baekhyun meant always home to you, and at home was where you felt the most comfortable. Naturally, he would bring out all the pressed down emotions, except you had an inkling feeling this wasn't about you getting kicked out.

“Hey, hey,” he whispered and reached for the back of your head, bringing it to his chest while his other hand rested on your waist. “Sweetie, don't cry. I know it is hard, but it's for better.”

Fighting with the overwhelming need to just start a whole crying session, you gritted your teeth, and with all your willpower pushed away from him, flashbacks of him racing with that woman somehow tattooed even behind your eyelids. “It's fine. I-I will go home. Just,” you swallowed the painful bump, “just wanted to surprise you.” But you ended up surprising me. I shouldn't have come.

“What? Nonsense, stay until the practice is done.”

WHAT PRACTICE?! Did he mean that foolish competition?

“No-”

“Darling, you aren't feeling well and you are crying. I can't let you go home in this state.”

This just made you want to cry even more because he was being persistent and you didn't want to stay. Since when was he making you do things that made you uncomfortable? “No, I don't want to stay.”

That seemed to make him go quiet and hurt flashed across his face before it was replaced by confusion. “Did something happen? Did he do something to you?”

Shaking your head was a better option, feeling how your throat was getting restricted.

Baekhyun was silent, carefully watching your face and the glistening eyes. He didn't understand you - your sudden refusal when you usually enjoyed watching him lead his class.

Taking a deep breath, you quickly stood on your tiptoes, kissing his hot cheek. “I'll see you at home.”

“Baby,” he murmured, voice low. You knew what that meant; he was not happy with you. “Just tell me what's wr-”

“Master Baekhyun!” Few seconds later, Jiyoung appeared, and you were able to see her features up close that seemed to be even more beautiful. Her skin was on a darker side, you took notice. She was looking at his back when her eyes fell on you and she said: “We are about to start. Hi!”

Giving her a weak smile, you nodded at her before looking up at the strict gaze of Baekhyun. Without even looking back, he said: “I'll be there in a minute.”

Jiyoung not expecting a cold shoulder, froze ever so slightly, before acknowledging and leaving hesitantly.

“You should go,” you said, happy your blurry vision cleared up. “I'll see you at home, hm?”

Scrutinizing you a little longer, he sighed eventually. “Okay, fine. I am trusting you on this,” he emphasized, giving you a narrow-eyed stare that seemed to contradict his statement.

You tried hard not to scoff, still unsure where were these emotions coming from. “Sure. Bye.”

Baekhyun stood speechless when you turned around and just left. Your walking was stiff and a bit heavy, definitely a sign that you were pregnant and most probably tired. But he knew you all too well, and he knew something was up.

When he returned back to his team and to Jiyoung, he offered an apologetic smile and stood right in the middle in front of his students and next to Jiyoung. “Attention!” he shouted and just like that he immersed himself into his work and passion, an uneasy feeling simmering in his stomach.

[peteywillproceed]

Falling

Author’s Note: Hi guys! Whew, this was a journey! Over 6k words and I am exhausted! It’s been through like ten name changes and five rewrites and I still think it sucks ass but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! x

Summary: You made the mistake of falling for a guy. He broke your heart. Moving on was the easiest thing in the world - until it wasn’t.

Word Count: 6.2k

Your breathing was heavy, ragged as lips trailed across your skin and sucked bruises on your ribs. You gasped as his fingers trailed across your chest, gathering you in his arms when he crawled back up to your lips and crashed into you like a wave breaking against a shore.

You were happy.

So happy.

Your heart swelling with joy as he laced his hands in yours and whispered quiet promises against your lips.

You didn’t know if it was light or dark. Morning or night. All you knew was the fire flooding your veins and the electricity setting your nerves alight.

The ‘I love yous’ and the promises of forever.

And then it all came crashing down.

*three months later*

Lights blared bright in your eyes, music so loud it stung your ears. Your hands were sweaty, wrapped around a beer bottle you’d held for so long it was warm and frothy. But it was the only thing keeping you grounded as you tossed your hair on the dancefloor and moved through the crowd of writhing bodies.

“You know how much trouble we’re in, right?”

You swung around, arms in the air and sight tainted by the haze of vodka. “Stop being such a buzzkill Houdini! Twat isn’t back till Tuesday.”

“Houdini? That’s a new one,” Harry raised an eyebrow and ignored your swipe at his brother, eyeing you warily as you stumbled over his foot. “Maybe cool it with the shots now?”

You cackled, pink and blue strobe lights slicing through your best friend’s body as you twisted and curved in time to the music. “Maybe cool it with the mothering, Harriet.”

“I’m only mothering you because you threw an illegal party in my brother’s house.”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes, finally stopping dancing when he gave you the ‘I’m serious, you’re an idiot’ look he’d perfected the first time you’d thrown a party. Except that time, it had been in your own house, and not your secret ex…whatever’s.

“Come on, like goodie-two-shoes-Tommy is ever gonna know.”

“He might, Y/n,” Harry shrugged, widening his arms “how are you planning on hiding the fact that three hundred people trashed his house?”

“By not telling him. Don’t pretend you’re not enjoying this,” you grinned, moving your hips and dragging him back onto the dance floor “for one night your brother isn’t breathing down your neck, enjoy it and live a little! We can figure the rest out in the morning.”

He started to protest, pushing against your hands, but you strengthened your grip and pulled him into the crowd, ignoring the grunts from the people nearby. You loved Harry, you really did, you’d grown up with his annoying-as-fuck tendency to be a tattle tale, put up with the refusal to go out on a school night for years, and until you’d gotten involved with Tom you’d never questioned it.

But one night was all it took for everything you thought you’d known about your best friend’s brother to be completely shattered. And since then? Well, you didn’t exactly give a shit someone had smashed his Rolex tonight.

“You realise you could just admit the break-up upset you, right?” Harry laughed as you forced him to move “you don’t need to go full on Wild Child instead of talking about your emotions.”

“It was one night, there wasn’t a break-up, and your brother can get fucked,” you replied a little too quickly, wishing you were talking about anything else.

“I’m just saying, there are healthier ways to deal with getting your heart broken than destroying his house.”

You snorted and took a sip of your beer, almost gagging at the staleness. “The bloke already hates me, what’s a little property damage between enemies?”

“About £50,000 worth of legal fees.”

“Wow, you’re really bringing the heat tonight, aren’t you Holland?” you smirked, widening your eyes “almost like you learned from the best.”

“Yeah, Sam’s really good at one-liners,” he grinned in reply, and you punched his shoulder playfully.

Suddenly, you felt eyes on you, the unmistakable sensation of someone looking you over. You spun in a circle, zeroing in on every distracted party goer until you found the bright blue eyes burrowing under your skin and making you burn all over.

Nudging Harry, you pointed over his shoulder and forced him to turn around. “Hey, who’s that?”

“Err…I think his name’s Josh?” he gave you a funny look, like he couldn’t quite figure out the sudden change of topic. “He’s one of Sam’s mates from catering.”

“Is he single?”

Harry sighed at your smirk, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Jesus, Y/n, why would I know? If you’re so determined to get over Tom, go snog him or something.”

“For your information,” you grinned, starting to back away through the crowd “I’m completely over the heathen, but if it takes me snogging a cute guy to prove that to you, I guess I won’t complain.”

Harry had all but disappeared by the time you finished your sentence, but you knew he’d heard you when his middle finger shot up from somewhere in the middle of the heaving mass of partygoers, and you chuckled to yourself. You needed a distraction tonight, anything to not have to think about Tom and the trail of broken hearts he’d left in his wake three months ago.

Turning around, you were fully prepared to go and find Josh and put this whole mess behind you, when you slammed into a chest so hard you would’ve fallen over if it wasn’t for strong arms pulling you back up.

“Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean…” you trailed off, spotting the sandy blond hair and cocky smirk “actually, you know what? I totally did mean to do that.”

“Just like you totally meant to loudly shout your intentions to make out with me?” Josh raised an eyebrow, and you felt heat rise to your cheeks. Thank God for foundation.

“Obviously, how else would you have known?”

Before he could answer, you’d pulled him down to your height and slammed your lips against his, surprise jolting through your body when you realised he was actually a good kisser. You were just getting into it, letting your hands slide into his hair, when a loud shout brought the room to a standstill and silenced the music.

“What the FUCK is going on?”

You jerked away from Josh, you’d recognise that voice anywhere, and spun towards the kitchen table. Tom was on top of it, his face livid and full of thunder, his eyes searching the room for an explanation. “Well?”

You gulped, goosebumps erupting across your body as the realisation of what you’d done set in. But then you remembered, Tom wasn’t even meant to be back from filming for another three days - why the hell was he here?

“It’s just a party, man,” someone shouted from the crowd.

“Yes, I’m aware of what it is,” Tom replied drily, his eyes finally landing on you “and I know exactly who’s responsible for it.”

His words sent a chill down your spine, the eye contact more than you’d had in three months from him. It felt funny finally seeing him after all this time, like you’d found a missing piece to a puzzle you couldn’t finish, but the cold look he was giving you was barely any different to how you’d left him.

He was looking between you and Josh, his tongue pressed against his cheek, and for some inexplicable reason you felt guilty. Like you’d been caught doing something illegal instead of just exercising your right to kiss as many damn people you fancied.

Finally, Tom set his jaw and tore his eyes away from you, the loss leaving you empty.

His voice dropped dangerously. “All of you – get the fuck out of my house.”

***

A few days later, you were hanging your clothes out to dry when your phone buzzed in your pocket. You pushed a peg into your mouth and dragged it out cack-handed, juggling the pile of washing and the box of clean clothes as you struggled to read the caller ID.

“Have you heard from him?” you asked earnestly into the phone, barely breathing as you waited for a response.

“Nice to talk to you too, cheery,” Harry grumbled, the sound of sleep clogging his voice.

“Are you seriously just waking up? It’s eleven o’clock!”

“Did you forget I was twenty-one yesterday?” he replied “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t in bed until six am.”

“Oh, right, yeah I saw those pictures.”

“Yeah so you’ll forgive me if I’m not completely awake yet.”

You ran a thumb over your lip, your eyes dropping to the pile of crinkled washing on the grass. You’d only meant to put it there for a second, but you’d forgotten how much it had rained last night and now the edges were stained with mud and your once clean bedsheets were stained green.

“Typical,” you muttered, trying to dust some of it off. Why did it always feel like this? Like when you were finally taking a step forward, something else was dragging you back two. It was only a minor thing, you could always just rewash them - but it wasn’t just the sheets, was it? Ever since…that night, you’d felt like you were walking through treacle, balancing on a knife’s edge you hadn’t seen before stepping into the unknown.

“What was that?” Harry asked, the sound of pots clanging in the background jerking you back to your conversation.

“Oh nothing, I just um, I just dropped some washing. Are you cooking?”

“Um…yeah, sure that sounds good – oh, Tom, hey.” Your best friend’s tone suddenly flipped like a switch, the audible gulp ringing through the handset. You barely had time to wonder why he was acting so cagey about cooking when a rugged voice began muttering in the background. You froze, your grip on your basket loosening as you stepped through the door.

You could barely hear what they were saying, but then Harry’s voice reappeared on the other end of the receiver, a slight nervous wobble creeping in. “Hey, err Y/n?”

“Yeah?” you replied, shaking off your shock and beginning to throw the ruined sheets back into the wash.

“Tom wants to talk to you.”

“Well tell him that-”

“He’s not an owl, Y/n,” Tom cut you off. “He doesn’t have to pass messages back and forth.”

Heat rose in your cheeks, frustration flowing through your veins as you balled your hands into fists and raked them through your hair. Somehow his voice was even more annoying than before. “Don’t quote Harry Potter at me, Thomas, especially when you’re just as guilty of doing it.”

“Doing what, exactly? You’re the one that trashed my house.”

“Passing messages through Harry! You didn’t exactly have the balls to tell me yourself you were running off to Colorado for three months.”

“Because you blocked my number!”

You sighed, eyes flicking towards the timer on the washing machine. It was true you’d blocked Tom’s number, but three months ago you’d been lying in his bed talking about how you felt and finally, finally admitting everything you’d kept bottled up since you were fourteen.

And then the next day he’d told you it was a mistake.

Went running off to America like a coward.

Leaving Harry to pick up the pieces and you to realise that everything you thought you could’ve had was pure fantasy.

So yes, you’d blocked his number. But it wasn’t like you hadn’t had a reason, and he had to know that. There was no way he could be that thick.

“What do you want, Tom?” you said at last, leaning against the machines. Maybe if you just let him say what he had to say this would all be over and you could go back to not giving a fuck.

Suddenly, the line clicked and the monotonous hum of the phone shutting down rang in your ear.

“What the…?” you trailed off, pulling the phone away from your ear to stare at it in shock. Had he…just called you…to argue with you…and then hung up on you?

Beside you, the door began to creak open and you jumped into the air, your phone flying across the room and landing face up on the tiles. You swore under your breath, bending down to retrieve it just as you felt someone else step into the room behind you.

“Sorry, I’ll just be a- Tom? Your mouth fell open at the sight of the boy stood in front of you, the brown curls you’d run your hands through only months ago gone, the light you’d known in his eyes dead and scattered amongst the ashes.

“I think we need to talk,” he said slowly, holding his hands up as if you were going to shoot him “about everything.”

Your mouth began to move, words flying around in your brain, but no sound came out as you struggled to piece together any semblance of thought. “What are you doing here?”

“I just…after the other night I figured we needed to talk. Properly talk.” He reached for your hand but you snatched it away, your heart beating loudly in your ears.

“Y/n, I know…I know what I did was shitty. But I just need you to hear me out.”

You scoffed, backing away from him until you were pressed against the garden door. “You think now’s a good time for this?”

“I think the best time was three months ago when you were next to me in bed,” he bit his lip, and this time you looked at him. Like, really looked at him.

His jeans were stained in all manner of dodgy areas, his shirt the old Tesco one you’d got him as a joke for his birthday. He had huge, purple bags beneath his eyes, and his socks were two different colours, like he’d been in such a rush he’d forgotten to check; you didn’t even bother to ask about the crocs.

“Well,” you whispered, letting out the breath you didn’t know you were holding. “At least you finally realised that.”

He nodded earnestly, moving towards you and freezing when you threw up your hand to stop him. “I did. Oh God, I did. I spent three months feeling like the shittest person in the world and I didn’t know how to call you to explain.”

“So you thought you’d accost me in my laundry room?”

“It…wasn’t my best plan. But you didn’t exactly make it easy for me to contact you.”

Your mouth fell open, your hand flying to your chest. “Watch it, Holland, or I might think you just tried to blame me for this whole mess.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, it sure as hell sounded like that was what you meant!” He flinched as you raised your voice and your arms, but you didn’t feel sorry for it. You’d spent months feeling like a complete idiot, wishing you’d never even told him how you felt. And here he was, trying you blame you for the mess he caused. “So tell me, Tom, just what exactly you think you’re doing here.

“I came to apologise-”

“That’s a good start.”

“And to say that I meant what I said…y’know, before I left.”

You raised an eyebrow, leaning against the door frame with your arms crossed. Tom was halfway across the room now, his hands curled in front of him as he swiped them on his jeans. He was biting his lip, the glasses he didn’t need halfway down the bridge of his nose and it took every inch of you not to break and run to him, fall into the arms you knew so well and forget it had all happened.

You knew what it was like, the vanilla and the cinnamon that would waft up your nose and remind you that you were home. The strength of the arms that would ground you and hold you to Earth. It was so tempting, so inviting to just go back - but where would that get you?

No, going back wasn’t an option anymore. There was only forwards, where the path behind you was well trodden and full of tears.

“That’s nice,” you said at last, shaking your head. “But you can’t really expect me to believe you.”

He sighed, his shoulders slumping when he realised you weren’t giving in. You wondered if he knew how deep he’d cut you, what those words had meant to you and how you’d felt when he’d snatched them away. You wondered if Harry had told him everything that happened over the next few months, how you’d almost broken and yet from the outside you looked happier than ever. You almost hoped he knew how you’d bounced back. How you were fine now.

Or at least, how you pretended to be fine.

“Maybe this isn’t the best place to do this,” he cast an eye round the room warily, and your skin bristled when his gaze finally landed on you. “Can we go up to your place?”

“Absolutely not.”

The words were out of your mouth before you could think, shocking yourself more than you shocked Tom.

“Well…will you come to mine?”

“Sure, if I need to see Harry,” you responded as the washing machine pinged “is there anything else? My laundry’s done.”

“Y/n, we need to talk about this,” he replied, his voice barely more than a whisper “you can’t just ignore me.”

You fixed him with a look, throwing the clean sheets into your basket with more force than necessary and walking towards him. You were so close you could smell his aftershave, different from his normal, more minty than you would have liked. You could see every hair, every line on his face, but it was the look in his eyes that broke you, the sadness that you’d felt for so many months hovering just within him too.

“No, Tom, we don’t,” your voice broke and fresh hot tears began to stream down your face. “The time for talking about it was before you left for Colorado. Now…now’s the time for me to move on, because you broke my heart Tom, you broke it.”

You were full on sobbing now, choking on your words as you spluttered through them. “You smashed it into so many pieces that I couldn’t find them all. And now you’re trying to smash it again, but I won’t allow it. I won’t allow you to take anymore of my heart than you already have.”

“I didn’t-”

“I don’t care Tom!” you screamed, but he barely flinched. You threw the basket down so hard it bounced on the floor and spilt the sheets again. “You had all that time to find out, all that time to do something about it, and you didn’t! So you’ll have to forgive me when I say I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“So that’s it then? Everything you said all those nights ago means nothing any more?” his voice was filled with a pain that cut you to the core, the wobble in his throat making your heart ache more than you expected.

“It means everything, and that’s the problem,” you sniffed, dropping your head to the floor.

You felt Tom draw closer, his body so close to yours that you could feel his heat. He lifted his fingers to your chin, catching your jaw and raising your head so your eyes met his.

“Why does it have to be a problem?”

You paused, almost not saying it. “Because I can’t let you break me again.”

He nodded, backing away, his fingers leaving your chin and you felt empty from the loss. “I’m sorry.”

It was barely a whisper, just loud enough for you to hear but not quite deep enough for it to mean anything. He turned and started walking away, pausing at the door to look back at you. He opened his mouth to say something, his bottom lip wobbling, but he shut it again before any words came out.

Then he disappeared and let the door bang shut behind him.

Relief flooded your body, seeping through every crack in your bones and every fragment of your heart. You were done with the excuses, the comments, the desperate pleas from Harry that his brother was an idiot and too caught up with work to realise what he’d done wrong. You were busy too, but that hadn’t ever made you spew a bunch of crap about loving someone since you’d seen them in the lunch room. It had never made you fill somebody’s heart with hope only to crush it in the morning with just a few simple words and excuses blamed on alcohol.

The final click of the lock was enough to make you slide against the door. Sink down to the floor. Bury your head in your hands.

It was relief, that was what it was. That was what you had to tell yourself. So you could get back up again and walk back to your flat and make everything okay again.

It wasn’t sadness.

It couldn’t ever feel like sadness.

So why did it feel like it was?

***

“Are you sure you want to go tonight?” Harry asked as he watched you smudge your lips with red. “Nobody will notice if you’re not there.”

You rolled your eyes at the dramatics, capping the lipstick tube with a satisfying click and spinning on your heel. “Oh please, it’s a party – we’re not storming off to war.”

“Yeah but it’s…Tom’s party.”

“And last I checked we weren’t exactly on speaking terms,” you shrugged, grabbing your bag from your bed. “He’s not likely to come anywhere near me, there’s going to be hundreds of people there.”

Harry shook his head and pushed himself off the door frame, fixing you with the look you were tired of getting. It had been two weeks since Tom had come to your flat and you were still nowhere near over it; not that you’d ever admit it, but you’d never been over it in the first place.

When Harry had mentioned that Tom was throwing a party to celebrate the release of his new movie, your immediate reaction had been words you couldn’t repeat in front of a three year old. But then he’d turned on the puppy dog eyes and you were suddenly feeling bad about making him go it alone.

“You could make friends with a plant pot, what do you need me there for?” you’d asked.

“Yeaaahhhh, but who’s going to stop me falling face first into that plant pot when I’m pissed?” Harry had replied, grinning at your annoyed face.

“Fine, but I’m drinking the first thing in sight and you’re keeping Tom away from me.”

“What is it with you two? You spend half your time acting like you hate each other. Wouldn’t it just be easier to, I don’t know, suck it up and get together already?” Harry interrupted your thoughts, jerking you back to reality with a flick of his wrist.

You snorted. “We tried that, didn’t exactly work that well.”

“Well it might work a lot better if you actually talked to the guy.”

“Damn it Harry,” you slammed your palm against the door. “I don’t want to talk to someone who told me he loved me and then ran three thousand miles away the next day!”

You could feel the sob building up in your chest, the one you’d buried so deep you’d forgotten it was even there. The walls seemed to tilt towards you as you stumbled into the hall, barely noticing as you slid against the kitchen door frame and forced air into your lungs. God you didn’t want to talk about this, not now when everything you’d done to bury this had worked so well.

“But you do want to talk to Tom! Maybe not the guy that broke your heart, but the guy you’ve been in love with since we were fourteen,” Harry said, exasperated. “You’re going around pretending like you’re over him, like you haven’t thought about him in months. But you threw that party for the same reason you kissed that bloke for, and you know it!”

“Are we seriously fighting over your brother right now? Are you back to being the damn messenger, because I can’t…I can’t keep…” tears were spilling over your cheeks, searing your eyes and stinging the familiar patches of skin that had been stained with the same tears only a few months ago. You tried to breathe, tried to refocus your mind but the world was swimming and you could hardly see anymore through the blurry glass of your tears.

Before you could think, Harry had pulled you into his arms and smothered you against his chest, his hand coming up to stroke your hair. “Sod the party, let’s just watch a movie and get some pizza.”

“No, no, I want to go,” you mumbled against his chest “I need this…I think. Just to see him and know that it’s all done, so I can move on and forget it ever happened.”

“Fuck that, Y/n, let’s just stay here.”

“Please? I really need this.”

Harry pushed you back gently, running a finger under your mascara stained eyes as he took a deep breath. You could see the indecision, the uncertainty at letting you step into the unknown written across his face. In this moment, it was you or his brother, and you hoped to God it was the latter. “This is the last time?”

“The last time,” you promised.

“Well,” he sighed, checking his watch, the long moment fading and passing into the night “I guess we have a party to get to.”

***

When you pulled up to Tom’s house, the lights were out and the curtains were drawn. You threw Harry a look, surprised that there was nobody spilling out of the doors and no music shaking the walls, but he didn’t seem to notice it.

“Err, where is everybody?” you asked, peering out of the window for signs of life.

“Haven’t the faintest,” Harry replied, pulling the handbrake on and reaching over you to open the door. “Do you wanna go in and I’ll catch up? I need to sort something quickly.”

You rolled your eyes and gathered your things from the backseat, feeling uneasy about the lack of people. “I can’t believe you’re sending me in there alone.”

“It’s just for five minutes, you’ll survive.”

“Or maybe I won’t and you’ll be reading my eulogy.”

“I look forward to it,” Harry smirked “I can finally tell people how nasty you are.”

You punched him in the shoulder and stepped out of the car, taking a deep breath before starting towards the house. You felt stupid in the heels, the red lipstick suddenly feeling to garish and over the top.

You rolled your shoulders and set your jaw, running a hand nervously through your hair whilst the other clung tightly to your bag. The clack of your shoes against Tom’s gravel set your teeth on edge, and on impulse you reached down and pulled them off, enjoying the bite of the winter air against your hot feet.

By the time you reached the door, your confusion had only grown, because the house was completely silent and there were certainly no signs of a party. You spun around to find Harry and demand that he take you home, because it was nine o’clock, there was obviously no party, and you weren’t facing Tom alone.

Except his car was gone.

You bit your lip in surprise, looking up and down the street in case he’d just moved the car to park it somewhere safer. But he was nowhere to be seen - the road was empty save for a man running to his van at the bottom. You rolled your eyes and reached for your phone, realising the guy was taking the piss and figuring that if you called him before you saw him again you might not actually murder him.

But your phone was gone and come to think of it Harry hadn’t even been dressed for a party. What the hell was going on?

You debated knocking on another house’s door and asking to borrow the phone, call for a cab and just go home. But it was late and you felt bad about disturbing people that were probably sleeping, all because your best friend was an arsehole and you were too much of a coward to knock on Tom’s door. At last, you gave in and walked back up the drive, pausing at the front door and bracing yourself to see him.

How the hell were you going to explain it? “Oh sorry Tom, no I didn’t actually mean to come here, Harry just thought it would be funny to play a prank and don’t worry I’ll kill him myself the next time I see him.”

At least you looked nice, you thought, raising your hand to knock. At least he wouldn’t think you were ugly and a bitch.

As you moved your hand towards the door, it suddenly swung inwards, the hallway dark and unlit. You gasped, stumbling backwards, peering fearfully into the house in case some burglar was about to come running straight past you. But as your eyes began adjusting to the light, you noticed something strange about the floor.

It was covered in rose petals.

“Tom?” you called out nervously, stepping into the house. “Tom? It’s Y/n. Your front door is open…?”

You moved deeper into the house, quietly closing the door behind you so you didn’t wake him if he was sleeping. Keeping your hands against the wall in case you slipped, you made your way down the hall, noticing a soft glow coming from the kitchen. You paused when you reached the doorway, wondering if you should’ve grabbed your keys or a weapon in case there really was a burglar in here.

But at the last second, you lost your footing and stumbled through the doorway, falling into the kitchen with a soft thud and gasp.

It took a second for you to process it all, but when you finally did you almost felt your heart stop. Fairy lights glittered over every inch of the wall, the floor here too covered with rose petals and flowers. The kitchen table, bowing in the middle just like everything else Tom had made on that bloody wood work course, was covered in a cloth, two plates and a single candle decorating the surface. You stared transfixed at the setup, your mouth falling open in shock.

And then Tom appeared.

Clutching the biggest bouquet of daisies you’d ever seen in your life.

“You like it?” he whispered “I know daisies are your favourite.”

“What…what is all this?” you breathed, still gobsmacked by the softly glowing room.

Tom smiled, moving closer to you and setting the flowers on the table. “A really over the top apology.”

“This is for me?”

“Obviously, dummy,” he laughed, flinching when you smacked his arm. “Hey! I spent money on these flowers, I’ll have you know!”

“And what a dreadful waste, Holland, don’t you care about our environment?” You were joking but your breath was still caught, your brain trying to play catch up as the scene played in front of you, like you were watching this all happen to someone else. Someone luckier.

“I care more about you,” he replied, and somehow he was even closer than before. “I care more about you than anything else in my life. And I couldn’t quite figure out how to explain that three months ago.”

“And you know now?”

He nodded, pulling you towards him. “I think I do, yes.”

“Then say it.”

His lips parted, his eyes caught on yours as he reached to cup your cheek. A waft of his aftershave made its way towards you, the mintiness of before replaced with the warm vanilla you remembered so well. The glasses were gone and he was wearing the burgundy suit you’d had too many dreams about to remember. 

But in that moment, none of that mattered. 

All you could think about in that moment was the way he was staring at you.

Like you were the most precious thing on Earth.

“Three months ago I told you how I wanted to spend forever with you, how you’re all I’ve thought about for years. How you consume every part of me, spend your days dancing in my mind and reminding me of everything we could have. But what I didn’t tell you was why.

“Because I didn’t know. I didn’t know why it is that I love you so much, and that’s what scared me – the fact that I could feel something so deeply for you and have no rational explanation for it. So I thought the logical thing was that the feelings weren’t real and they weren’t that powerful, that if I tried to move on then we’d eventually forget and nothing would be lost.

“Those months away from you were torture, not knowing how badly you were hurting and why you’d blocked my number. I didn’t realise how much of an ass I was until Harry flew out to America and practically beat down my door.”

“Harry went to America?” you interrupted him “when?”

Tom smiled, his thumb rubbing your cheek in slow circles. “That weekend you thought he had that photography competition. He flew out to kick my ass and ask what the hell happened.”

“I wondered how he knew so much,” you chuckled quietly “it was like he came back from that weekend and he knew exactly what to say.”

“Because that’s Harry, he always knows exactly what to do,” Tom shrugged.

“Tonight was his idea, wasn’t it?” you grinned, watching as he blushed fuchsia.

“Well, the idea was. But I take full credit for putting it together!”

You laughed at his face, the crinkles in his smile and the dimples in his cheeks so familiar you could have drawn them blindfolded. You reached up to trace them, still not quite believing this was real, when just two weeks ago you thought he’d left that laundry room and walked out of your life forever.

“Hey Tom?” you murmured, wrapping your fingers around his. “Two weeks ago when you came to see me…how did you get there?”

He frowned and looked at you like you’d gone insane. “Harry dropped me.”

“So he wasn’t cooking?”

“If Harry was cooking the fire brigade would’ve been called.”

You giggled, knowing it was true. He’d tried to cook pancakes for you last year and you’d had to throw out the pan because you couldn’t scrape it off.

“Why would you think he was?” Tom asked, smiling softly in the dim light.

“Well, it sounded like there were pans clanging in the background,” you said “I just figured he was making breakfast.”

“I told him to say that,” Tom admitted, his cheeks still red “I actually bought you a present back from Colorado but I broke it in the car.”

“You never were very careful, were you Tommy?” you smiled, reaching up instinctively to brush his curls behind his ears. When all your fingers found was stubble, your hand settled in the curve of his neck, cupping his cheek as you tried to find the words to explain what would happen next.

“All I know is that you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time,” he replied, not taking his eyes off you “and if getting you back took Harry lying about making breakfast? Then I’m not going to complain. I don’t want to waste another second that I could be spending on you.”

You laughed, nestling your head into the crook of his neck as he drew you closer. Vanilla overwhelmed your senses as you sank into his familiarity, overcome by the sweetness and homeliness. You’d had so many questions, and so little time to ask them, but after it all there was still just one that remained answered.

“Why me?” you asked, looking up at him through your lashes “why me when you could have literally anyone else?”

“I-” he stopped himself, stumbling over the knee-jerk reaction as he took a deep breath. “Because there’s never been anyone but you.”

“And this is real?” you whispered, feeling the unknown stretch in front of you as your heart skipped a beat. “Because if you say it is, that you want this, I can’t go back again. I’ll be jumping without a parachute.”

Tom smiled, tilting his head to the side. He caught your gaze, his hands wandering to your waist and pulling you closer whilst your heart beat faster than it ever had before. You held your breath as he leant forward, catching your lips with his.

The moment they touched was like he’d lit a bonfire inside you; your skin burned and your lungs filled with the smoke. You could hardly breathe, feeling your nerves spark alight and race with electricity, every touch bringing you closer to how you’d been three months ago. Memories of that night danced across your vision, playing like a record you’d longed to open – every kiss, every touch, every whisper on replay in front of you.

At last, he pulled away, taking the fire with him while electricity crackled in your veins.

“Then I guess, darling,” he whispered, hushed under his breath “I’ll simply have to catch you.”

 taglist:

@zabdisamor @jinxfanfics @jillanaholland @enjoymyloves @ihopethatwemeetinanotherlife @averyfosterthoughts @ziggyspurplehaze

[true--north]

Junior Deluxe Novelisation. The book has discrepancies with the canon, and it is a little raw material, which in the existing movie has acquired a more refined and perfected form. Nevertheless, there are interesting details in the book.

From the very beginning, Little Elsa was keenly interested in the world of the spirits and Ahtohallan, as if she felt her kinship with them.

“What would the spirits think of my magic?” Elsa asked, glancing up at her mother.

“When I was little, my mother would sing a song about a special river called Ahtohallan, which was said to hold all the answers about the past,” she said. “About what we are a part of.”

“Mother?” Elsa said as the queen touched the door of the room. “Do you think Ahtohallan knows why I have magical power?”

Elsa leaned heavily into her pillow. “Someone should really try to find it.”

Queen Iduna’s smile was bittersweet as she stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her.

With the echo of her mother’s lullaby in her ears, Elsa drifted off to sleep. She dreamed about finding Ahtohallan, and learning the answer to every question she’d ever had…and the answers to some of her sister’s questions, too.

On the day of the autumn festival, Elsa and Kristoff saw off the overseas guests, Kristoff told them about reindeer and showed Sven. After that, Elsa went to work in the library, and Kristoff went to the city to order a suit. Anna helped with the decoration of the city, and went to the garden to find the largest pumpkin as a symbol of the harvest.

Elsa liked to be alone, to let her magic be free.

“This was where she went when she had to release extra energy. Whoever or whatever the voice was that had spoken to her in its wordless melody had filled her with more energy and magic than she’d ever felt before.Elsa threw out her arms and let magic shoot from her fingers at full force. Ice and snow filled the air in front of her, then crashed into the fjord. Elsa turned and covered her face, chuckling as water splashed all around her."

Elsa dreamed of the Forest and the young Agnarr and Iduna.

In the eighth and ninth chapters, Elsa thinks that if she allows herself to be herself and answering the Voice, going into the unknown, then it can again "mess things up" and somehow to harm her loved ones: "a voice into something unknown that might take them away from her."

However, "Though she would never admit it, deep down she felt she wasn’t meant to be queen. Every day, as she felt her power grow stronger, it became a little harder for her to deny her doubts and fears, which grew stronger every day. Maybe the mysterious voice knew that and wanted to help her. Elsa decided to answer it, echoing its call."

"Elsa realized she didn’t want it to leave her. She wanted to follow the call into the unknown. She let her arms fall to her sides and looked at the sky, surrendering herself and her power to the voice."

On the night of the Awakening, Kristoff actively helped residents get out of the city, transported children on Sven.

"He stayed in the rear, aiding those who couldn’t keep up.

Working together, Anna and Elsa finally got everyone to the top of the cliffs over the fjord. When Anna looked back for Kristoff, she was happy to see that he was near".

And yes, Anna was too protective, as if she was Elsa's mother.

“If I recall, your powers have mostly just gotten you into trouble. Protecting you has been my job.”

Grand Pabbie nodded in agreement. “She does have a point.”

Anna smiled at the troll. “Thank you.” Then she turned to her sister. “I’m coming.”

Kristoff chose that moment to enter the conversation. 

“Me too,” he added, not wanting to be left out of an adventure. “I’ll drive.”

“I’ll bring the snacks!” Olaf said as the wind twirled him past them, the crystals that clung to him sparkling in the moonlight.

Elsa was reluctant to accept, but as she looked between Anna and Kristoff, she knew her only choice was to agree."

"Elsa’s confidence had grown when she realized the full extent of what she could do with her magic. It wasn’t until after Anna had sacrificed herself for Elsa, because of the true love she felt for her sister, that Elsa finally embraced the truth. Her magic wasn’t a curse. It wasn’t meant to hurt people. Elsa could do more than build snowmen and make beautiful icy patterns. She had constructed a magnificent ice palace that still stood strong today. Her magic was, and always had been, a gift."

"Forest was hidden behind the haze and the rolling particles of colored lights that flashed like lightning bugs as they danced through the mist. Elsa’s heart raced, and she couldn’t resist the pull she felt any longer. She quickly climbed down the side of the cliff, and the others followed."

"But Elsa quickly realized the Wind Spirit was no longer being aggressive.

The group immediately stood around her, ready to protect her.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” she told them.

Gale held Elsa aloft for only a few moments before setting her gently on her feet. Elsa smiled. The Wind Spirit’s energy had lifted her mood and made her feel ready to take on any obstacle that came her way."

"The Northuldra and the Arendellians gathered to take a moment to recognize how important life is and how grateful they should be for each day. As music filled the air, everyone enjoyed warm drinks and bowls of steaming stew."

"Anna was surprised by Elsa’s promise. It was a vow for her sister to keep, not the two of them. Something in her stomach twisted."

“They left?” Anna asked, confused. “Just…just left? Without saying anything?” What could be so important that Kristoff would leave me behind?

Olaf shrugged. “Who knows the ways of men?” He turned and followed Elsa.

Anna glanced back at her sister, getting farther away with each second. Anna didn’t want to leave without Kristoff. But she’d promised to keep Elsa safe.

She raced off and caught up with Olaf. Elsa was ahead of them, pushing through the forest with determination, always aware of the potential dangers all around. Anna did her best to hold her head up and not cry. And when Olaf reached his hand up to her, she gladly took it.”

The shipwreck scene was longer, Elsa saw three statues of Iduna and Agnarr.

One where they danced. Where they were sitting at a table over a map. And their last moment.

“Ahtohallan has to be the source of her magic,” said the distant, distorted voice of the girls’ mother in a memory from long before.

“If we know why Elsa has powers, we can help her,” their father said."

“Do you really think the past can save Elsa’s future?” her father asked.

“No,” her mother replied, “but I think understanding what she’s a part of can.”

The waves are too high,” Queen Iduna said.

“We keep going for Elsa,” King Agnarr replied as a wave crashed onto the deck. “Id una!”

“Agnarr!” she shouted back.

“I love you!” he cried.

“I love you!” she answered."

"Elsa shivered as she looked at the glacier ahead of her. Ahtohallan, the secret river from Mother’s lullaby. It’s real, she thought. There was something about it that seemed so…familiar. She wondered if the familiarity came from the calling of the voice, or from the connection of magic. Because of how the colored lights twinkled and danced around the entrance to Ahtohallan, she knew it was full of magic."

Elsa boldly stepped into the opening of the ice cave, instantly feeling like she was finally where she was meant to be."

"She didn’t tremble anymore. She just needed the voice to show her where she belonged."

It is especially emphasized that Elsa is a gift for Iduna's act, and Ahtohallan rewarded Elsa with memories of her mother, because Elsa proved, after passing the tests, that she is worthy of being the Fifth Spirit.

"The dome above her instantly illuminated with memories, but this time they were sharp and crystal clear. Perhaps it was a reward."

"As Elsa sang along in harmony with the memory of Iduna, she began to transform into who she was always meant to be. Her dress spun around her body, and her hair fell loose and wildly untamed. A crown of vines and leaves adorned her head as the other elements swirled around her—air, fire, water, and earth. Elsa had transformed into the element Honeymaren had spoken of."

"Anna melted into Kristoff’s embrace, unable to hold back her tears.

But the tears weren’t for herself, or for the predicament she had been in. They were for everything she had lost that day…Elsa, Olaf, and now her beloved Arendelle."

"Anna stopped before she reached her sister. It looked like her, but she was different."

"Elsa smiled in a way that let Anna know she had found that and more. And then it hit her. Anna had always known that Elsa was special, that she had always been meant for something more, something greater."

The sisters looked into each other’s eyes, and a shared understanding passed between them. Anna was humbled by what Elsa was asking of her, but thrilled to have the opportunity.

“Together,” Anna agreed.

“I’d like to return these philosophy books, please,” Olaf said. “Seeing as I am at peace with the idea of change, and just so happened to have found the meaning of life, I won’t be needing them for a while.”

“You found the meaning of life,” the librarian said, intrigued. “Well, do tell!”

“Oh, sorry,” Olaf said, “but each person really needs to find that for him—or herself."

"Kai, the royal handler, stood outside the royal tent. Trumpets announced that someone important was approaching. “Presenting Her Majesty…Queen Anna of Arendelle.”

But when the curtains parted, no one was there.

“When should I go?” said Anna. “Now? Right now? Okay.” She peeked around the tent flap at the crowd and then stepped out, nervous and excited.

Her face lit up with gratitude and love when the crowd cheered for her. She greeted each person by name as she passed them."

The memorial was different.

"When they were both in their places, Anna nodded, and they pulled the cords. The curtain fell, revealing a bronze sculpture of young Iduna in the wind saving young Agnarr.

The crowd cheered, and Anna couldn’t hold back the tears that flooded her eyes.

“Our land and people, now connected by love,” she announced to everyone."

"Elsa was exactly where she was meant to be…totally free and in her element."

[bangchanshehe]

Are You Mine? pt.5

 You arrived in Korea to start living your dream, or so you thought until you meet a man that woman dream of throwing themselves on. His entry into your new life takes you down a rocky path where friends will become enemies and foes will make themselves be known.

word count: 2.3k

You stared at Baekhyun in complete silence for a moment as everyone else at the table ate their food as if getting in fights was something that happened all the damn time. How in the hell did you not know about this? Why did Cole not say anything? Or Baekhyun say anything for that matter? Was Cole okay…. He didn’t seem like he was hurt when you saw him after that night.

“Emily?” Xiumin asked softly as he looked at your blank face.

You blinked your eyes after being brought out of your trance and looked over to Xiumin “ah, sorry” you said standing up and pulling your phone out of your back pocket “ I need to go make a phone call” you said softly before you headed for the front door of the boys apartment.

Once you were in the hallway you dialed Lydia’s number and walked to the elevators as the phone rang.

“hello? Emily?” she answered chipperly.

“Hey, Lydia, how are you?” you asked her hoping that you didn’t sound too flat or upset

“I’m fine! Just getting ready to eat dinner. Have you eaten yet?” she asked with a small glimmer of hope in her voice.

“yeah, I just ate actually” you lied.

“Bummer. Well, how are you? How’s SM Entertainment? And your new apartment. Is it awesome?” she asked at the speed of light.

You giggled softly and you could finally feel you frown begin to turn into a smile. “Everything is amazing. The building is awesome, and my apartment is pretty big so right now everything seems really empty.” You said before letting out a big sigh “can I ask you something about the other night when we went to the club?” you asked.

You heard a slight pause on the other end of the line before Lydia answered, “yeah what about it?”

You didn’t know how to ask her the question without possibly instigating more problems between Lydia and Cole and the members of Exo. You knew that things had to be dealt with delicately since you were working with famous public figures. Its not like people were totally unaware that the boys do go clubbing, but if news were to break out of one of the members getting into a bar fight for hitting on a girl…. Then dispatch and other news outlets would probably have a field day. And who knows what kind of trouble Baekhyun would get into.

“Did Cole mention anything about going back to the club after we left?” you asked.

The other end of the phone went quiet and you listened in to hear Lydia walking and a door shutting. Finally, you heard the squeak of a mattress and she let out a big sigh.

“I have to talk quietly because the boys are in the living room” she answered “look I made a promise with Cole that I wouldn’t tell you anything so you cant tell him that I told you anything, okay?”

“promise” you said quietly

“Shit.” Lydia cursed quietly under her breath “What he told me is that he went back to the club after we came home because he realized that he left his ID at the bar. When he walked in he saw Baekhyun and some guys standing around near the dance floor, and he tried to ignore them at first. It wasn’t until Baekhyun had made some dumb comment like ‘where’s your girlfriend’ that Cole flipped out. Apparently, he was walking up to them pretty quick and aggressively, so the bouncers saw him and tossed him outside.”

You hissed just thinking about how much damage bouncers could do when they were pissed off “Is he okay?” you asked her.

Lydia chuckled before answering with a smile “He’s fine. If anything, when they threw him out he landed on his ribs and now they’re bruised. Nothing too serious, ya know. He’s just a little sore.”

You let out a small sigh of relief and nodded your head to yourself. At least things weren’t as bad as you imagined. “why would he not want me to know about that? Its not like he did anything wrong?” you asked.

“bruised ego probably” Lydia answered, “I mean you guys aren’t dating or anything and he’s known you for less than a week so it probably would have been awkward for him to explain that he got pissed of at a celebrity hitting on you pretty hard.” She explained.

She was right. There was nothing going on between the two of you, so it did seem a little excessive for him to be so angry about the situation. But you also would have done the same thing for a friend if the roles were reversed. Who cares if you and Cole only knew each other for a short amount of time. He was trying to take care of you in this small way…. It just so happened to also get a little out of hand.

“Emily?” you heard a voice coming from beside you

“Hey thanks for letting me know about that night it was just brought up and I was worried that something worse had happened” you said making eye contact with Baekhyun who was walking towards you looking pretty down and shy “I’ve got to go so I’ll talk to you later.”

“bye” Lydia said before she hung up

You dropped your phone to your side and slid it back into your pocket before you turned towards Baekhyun. You looked over his face and he seemed unsure of what to sat to you before he just started  blurting out words

“I didn’t fight with him or anything. The bouncers just kicked him out. Nothing bad happened.”

“nothing bad happened?” you repeated his last word as if they were a joke to you. “you’re very lucky that things didn’t end up any worse. Could you imagine what kind of trouble that you would be in if a fan or the company found out how you were hitting on women pretty strongly in the clubs?” you asked him

He looked at you for a moment before he turned to look away from you, unable to hold eye contact.

“baekhyun what if that night you had pissed off the wrong guy and they made it public about how you were hitting on a girl and then had bouncers beat him up for coming in between you?” you asked

He turned to you visibly upset now with his eyebrows bunched together “that’s not what happened!” he almost yelled

“I know that, that’s not what happened…” you said back quietly hoping to give him the clue to keep his voice down  “but do you see how easily that I was able to twist the truth and make you seem like a bad guy?” you asked him

Baekhyun looked at you for a moment before he let out his held breath. “I know, I know. It could have been a lot worse” he replied like a stubborn child

You looked him up and down before you looked into his eyes once more “you’re pretty damn lucky that I recognized who you were in the club despite how dark it was.” You explained to him “if it was anyone else this would have played out totally different. I would have never answered your phone calls or text messages, or have even given you the time of day to show me that you could actually be serious about something.”

Baekhyun looked up at you with a small smile “what is that supposed to mean?” he asked searching your eyes for the answer.

You hesitated to answer his question and looked away from him for a moment trying to figure out how to answer in a way that wouldn’t give yourself away too soon.

“Emily? What is that supposed to mean?” he asked again with his smile growing wider by the second.

You looked back at him for a split second before turning your head back away to answer “it means that I know that you aren’t really a bad guy”

“and how would you know?” he asked getting a step closer to you forcing you to look up into his eyes.

You stared up at him softly looking into his brown eyes and glancing over his features. You would never tell him to his face directly but Baekhyun was really beautiful. His skin looked smooth and well hydrated. His cheeks were round, and his lips were so pink and looked so soft.

You bit your bottom lip as you looked back up to him “because you’re my bias” you answered as softly as possible, making it almost impossible to hear.

You were ready to pull away and book it for the stairs, unwilling to see Baekhyun stand around and gloat that he was your bias. You could almost see him jumping around his other members and annoying them for the rest of the night just because of your favoritism.

You quickly turned to make a run for it, but Baekhyun had grabbed onto your hand tightly and pulled you back to were you stood.

“why are you running away?” he asked with a cocky sideways grin as he turned and trapped you against the wall with both of his arms stretching out to the wall.

You started at his with wide eyes “baekhyun!” you whisper shouted as you checked the hallways for anyone possibly walking in your direction. “let me go before someone comes!”

“say it again” he said as if he was the least concerned person in the world

You lightly hit his arm “no, let me go!”

“say it again and ill let you go.” He said as he stood over you with a devilish grin, happy because he had you exactly where he wanted you

You straightened out and looked up at him defiantly “let me go or else –“

“or else what?” he asked cocking his head to the side “say it or ill punish you”

You looked at him for a few moments weighing your options before you rolled your eyes. Fine. You had made your bed and now you were going to lay in it. “you’re my bias” you said softly again

Baekhyun’s smile slowly transitioned from cocky to soft as he looked down at you. Feeling vulnerable you looked back up to him shyly overly aware of how close the two of you were and how loud the sound of your heart was in your chest.

“sorry” Baekhyun said sternly

You looked up to him confused and within a moment his hand was clutching the back of your head while the other held your cheek and his lips were pressed firmly against your own. Your eyes flew open and you stared at Baekhyun who had his eyes closed with passion as he kissed you. You were frozen in place unaware of what to do or how to react.

Baekhyun could feel your body freeze and after a moment he pulled away to gauge your reaction. He had a look of concern etched across his face as he looked at you waiting for any type of response.

You looked up at him in total shock. Had he really just kissed you. He… you could see him start to withdrawal from you and without thinking you grabbed his collar and stood on your tiptoes to return his kiss.

This time you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and leaned into the kiss. You shut your eyes and let your lips follow Baekhyun’s lead as he took control.

He had backed the two of you into the wall so you would be kept in a tight firm spot, leaving you no space to run away now. the two of you were so wrapped around each other that you didn’t bother pulling away from him until you absolutely needed oxygen.

As you pulled away to catch your breath you had looked up at Baekhyun as if you were absolutely starstruck. You couldn’t believe that you just kissed him in the middle of the hallway.

Suddenly the door to his apartment opened up and Baekhyun quickly leaned against the wall to hide your faces from whoever was coming outside.

“hyung!” Chanyeol shouted from the door

“what?” Baekhyun shouted back without tearing his eyes away from you for a single moment

“we’re going to play league now!” Chanyeol said quickly before going back inside and closing the door

Baekhyun let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes for a moment before looking back down at you softly. He had opened his mouth to say something, but before you let him get the chance to say anything you beat him to it.

“I should get going now. I still have a lot to unpack” you said

Baekhyun looked down at the floor and then nodded his head

“goodnight” you said politely before you walked towards the stairs.

You kept your head straight as you walked, listening for the sound of the apartment door before you dared to look back again.

As you looked back you stared at the apartment door and steadied your breath and heart rate. You couldn’t believe that you had just kissed Byun Baekhyun. It was by far the craziest thing that had ever happened in your life, but one thing was abundantly clear now more than ever. Whatever lingering feelings you had for his as an artist or a person were going to have to be pushed aside as long as you were working for them as their English instructor.

The two of you couldn’t risk being in a relationship and getting caught like what almost happened in the hallway. It could get you fired and ruin his career, and you would rather be his friend than the most hated woman among his fan club and his group members.