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biffhofosho · 2 years

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Another Year Wilder | Part Two

Part One | Part Two

Word Count: 21k

A/N: Final Part. A DELUGE OF SMUT. LITERALLY NOTHING BUT.

Reality? I don’t know her. I only know an altverse where I write a gangbang, and MX immediately teases one in their latest album concept photos. SO YEAH, THIS IS HELL, WHERE I NOW LIVE.

Reminder: group sex/gangbang, boss(es)/employee relations, nothing but unprotected sex, blindfolds, spitroasting, blowjobs, facials, handjobs, fingering, multiple multiple creampies, just generally showered in cum omgwhy, dumbification, competitive fucking because why the fuck not, exhibitionism and voyeurism elements, manhandling, dom/sub elements, orgasm denial, possessiveness, sir kink, restrained by others (but most def not dubcon), so much fucking dirty talk, so so so much fucking praise, mild self-inflicted degradation lol, body worship, the loveliest aftercare (hey, she works fucking hard in this—she deserves it), probably other stuff because this is a shitshow.

The symphony of darkened voices poured like honey in her ears and clung just as persistently.

Jordana had to wet her mouth before she could even form words. “This is a lot to handle.”

“You have no idea,” laughed Hoseok before he yelped at what was no doubt somebody’s elbow in his ribs.

“It’s a lot to admit,” Hyunwoo said, his tone gentle but still heavy, “but if you want us, we want you.”

“We want to show you how special you are, especially on your birthday,” added Jooheon, with a squeeze of her wrist.

“So,” Changkyun said with his mouth beside her ear, “will you let us?”

It was hard to talk through her ragged breaths, but their silence gave her all the room she needed to catch what tatters she could. “Let you fuck me?”

“Please,” Hoseok begged. She felt his meaty hand squeeze her bare knee, and fire blazed a trail through her body straight to her already twitching cunt.

“How—how would we do this exactly?” she stammered. “You guys are a lot. I mean, there’s a lot of you and there’s also, you know, a lot of you.”

Minhyuk crowded out Jooheon at her side, no doubt sitting on his friend’s lap as he cuddled up along her side. He rested his chin on her shoulder and placed a kiss just under her jaw. “We’ll take good care of you, YoYo. It’s a game we all want to win, so if you need something, you just have to tell us.”

Changkyun had her other hand now, the back of it to his lips as he kissed every knuckle in time with his throaty words: “Any. Little. Thing.”

Kihyun, as always, stayed focused on the task at hand. “But that doesn’t mean you get to call all the shots, Jordana. Same rules apply as they did to the kissing game.”

“So the blindfold stays?” she said bitterly.

“That's right, beautiful. And no touching unless instructed to. If your hand’s not on a cock, you keep it above your head, understood?”

Jordana groaned, but this time, instead of frustration, it was out of lust.

She heard them shuffle into a corner and switch to their native Korean, so she couldn't understand a word of what they were planning, but she figured they were drawing lots or mounting some kind of strategy. When they came back, she caught the smile in Kihyun’s voice as he announced, “We're all agreed. Until you guess the name correctly, we’ll all be silent when we're inside you.”

Uncontrollably, Jordana’s back arched up from the couch as the sin was spoken out loud.

“Hey,” Changkyun snapped, “we’ve got it way worse. We can’t say anything that will let you know who’s fucking you until you guess correctly.”

“So you better hurry up,” Jooheon warned.

Kihyun added, “If you guess incorrectly twice, then the player reserves the right to claim a second round.”

“Oh my God,” Jordana whimpered and squeezed her thighs together.

“And if you can't take it now, he can give it to you later.”

Another arch and a moan from her rattled the picture frames on the walls.

“Do you agree?” Hyunwoo asked.

“Yes.”

“Do you understand?” Kihyun added.

“Yes!” she said more like a beg than a simple consent. “What if I guess correctly?”

The vice president hummed. “The rules loosen some for the remainder of that round. You’ll keep the blindfold on—we want you to feel us deep inside you—but everyone can have fun with you again and you can touch as you see fit.”

It was getting harder and harder to hear over the roar in her ears, but Jordana asked, “It doesn’t stop when I guess correctly?”

“Why would it? I told you, it’s only fair if everyone here gets a little win.”

Her mouth tasted like cotton. “So— So you— That means you plan on—”

She was frozen now, but Minhyuk didn’t mind as he rubbed his swollen lips pendulously across hers. “We’re all going to cum, but don’t worry—you’ll cum hardest, YoYo. We’ll see to it.”

This time when he kissed her in earnest, she kissed him back. She wanted to cup Minhyuk’s face and pull him closer, but Changkyun still had her one hand, only now he was sucking lightly on each fingertip while Jooheon had snatched back the hand she’d rested on his thigh and put it right back where it belonged, bumping precariously against the bulge in his pants.

When Minhyuk finally pulled back, Jordana gasped for air. She was uncomfortably wet and painfully aware of every inch of her own skin and how it was still untouched. Even sitting, she was dizzy.

“You can handle that, can’t you, Jordana?” Kihyun asked.

She didn’t think she had focus enough to answer, but she nodded on autopilot anyway, ready to agree to their every whim. “I can handle it all.”

A few groans interspersed the hums and the grunts around the room, and suddenly, Jordana remembered she had power here, too—that they were all waiting for her. She swallowed hard to wet her throat as she asked, “And you’re okay with… doing this here with each other?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” asked Changkyun.

“It’s not like we haven’t seen each other naked before,” Minhyuk added.

Jordana bit her lip. “So… you’ve done this kind of thing before?”

“Fuck, how cute is she?” said Jooheon as he nuzzled his nose against her cheek. “Are you worried we’ve found someone else to spoil? You want us all to yourself, don’t you?”

She could feel the skin at her collar rouge, and she tried to hide her face, but Jooheon wouldn’t let her until she answered. “I just— It sounds like you know what you’re doing.”

“We may have talked about it a few times,” Hyungwon admitted shyly.

Hoseok scoffed. “A few hundred times.”

“You talk about me like—like this?” Jordana said, absolutely stunned.

Two fingers marched up her forearm to her collar where they fanned out and played about the skin there until they loosely ringed her throat, directing all her attention to where she now sensed Minhyuk. “And that doesn’t include the time we’ve fantasized about you under our desks or pressed up against our office doors, but would you rather talk about that now or would you rather experience it? Even I’m getting a little tired of all the teasing, YoYo.”

He tipped her chin up so her mouth jutted open and she could barely mutter her agreement. Minhyuk let her go, and a whimper came tumbling out.

“Okay!” he continued brightly.

“Just one more question,” Jordana said. “What happens since I already know Hyunwoo’s going last?”

Whispers circulated around the room.

“How does she know that?” Hyungwon whispered.

Beside her, Jooheon started to answer, but she cut him off. “Because Hyunwoo always puts everyone else first. But I know the truth—it's really because he wants to be the one to leave the lasting impression.”

The tension deepened with the silence.

“You’re a good girl, Jordana,” the president said, kissing the top of her head. “When I take you, you can watch.”

Hyunwoo’s words sent a tremor through her. She was so turned on, it hurt. All she wanted was some relief, so she rubbed her thighs together for the merciful friction, but she should have known how carefully she was being scrutinized. Just because she couldn’t see them didn’t mean they weren’t studying her every move.

“Stand her up,” Kihyun ordered seconds before two sets of hands closed around Jordana’s arms and pulled her to the center of the room to stand shaking in a circle of men she couldn’t see. “She’s trying to get herself off before she even lets us have a chance.”

“That’s not—” she protested, but Kihyun shushed her.

“And she tells me I’m the one with the trust issues when she’s the one who doesn’t trust us to make her feel good, boys.”

Mortified, Jordana spun around awkwardly as she tried to reassure everyone it wasn’t true, but now they were just chuckling and teasing her, helping her spin until she was falling into their arms like she was some drunken harlot. Maybe she was. If she were, she didn’t want to sober up. Every embrace was warm and inviting and capped with quick, sloppy kisses and caresses until she was nothing but raw nerves and reckless energy.

At last, she tumbled against a tree trunk chest, and a pair of arms closed her in so the world finally stabilized. She recognized Hyunwoo at once, and she leaned back into his comforting presence. “Are you trying to make Jordana regret saying yes to us?”

“Oh, come on,” said Hoseok. “We’re just having some fun.”

Hyunwoo’s hand took up residence on the back of her head, and his fingers combed through her knot of curls. If it weren’t for the blindfold, it would have been sweet and reassuring, but that illusion of tenderness vanished with her ponytail as he pulled the tie from her hair and let her messy locks run wild.

Kihyun tugged her forward, but her legs quivered and she collapsed into his side as his arms encircled her. Jordana pictured his face—the crinkle at his brow knowing she was wrinkling his dress shirt—and a thrilling wave of fear washed through her.

“You’re awfully worked up, little one,” he said lowly. “You sure you’re only going to be able to handle us? There are a lot of very hard cocks in here for one tight, little pussy to take, no matter how eager she is.”

“Ki!” she whined with inflamed cheeks and heaving breasts. “I can’t believe you’d say that!”

“Now, is that what I asked you?”

“N-no.”

“Then I expect an answer.” Kihyun’s voice was smoky with intent as his thumb pressed heavily on Jordana’s clothed mound. “Are you sure this hot, hungry cunt of yours is going to be able to take all that we want to give you?”

“Yes!” she shouted as she fisted his shirt.

All of a sudden, she felt herself being passed off into another pair of hands and then another, like an assembly line of men eager to take their own piece of her, until she had no idea where she was in the room except to know she had landed in Hyunwoo’s arms. It was impossible to mistake the commanding way he held her, with one hand at the back of her head and the other clamped to her ass as though he intended to scoop her up. His lips dusted across her forehead as he spoke.

“We’re going to take it slow, okay? I promise. We’re all going to play nice with you—and with each other.” She could hear the note of warning in Hyunwoo’s voice, and no doubt, the other guys caught it, too. “If it’s too much, you tell us. No more keeping any secrets.”

Suddenly, his hand knotted in her newly-freed tendrils and pulled her head back so her mouth had to tip up to him. Her eyebrows bobbed above her blindfold as she protested weakly, “I haven’t been keeping secrets.”

“Oh, doll, yes, you have,” Changkyun scolded. He bookended her from behind, firm chest pressed against her back while his hard-on pressed into the top of her ass close to his friend’s hand, who refused to let go. Changkyun’s hands snaked around her to cup her breasts and squeeze them high and hard. “You’ve been keeping these a secret, haven’t you?”

Hyunwoo disappeared only to be replaced by a different questing hand.

“And this pretty pussy,” Hoseok reminded as his fingers skimmed along her inner thigh and glanced across her hidden recesses.

“Not a secret,” Jordana whimpered. “Just didn’t think anyone here wanted to see it.”

A universal groan of disapproval echoed throughout the room.

“How could she not know what she does to us?” asked Jooheon.

Hyungwon tutted. “It’s our fault. We should have told her how special she is and how much we want her.”

Hoseok hummed in agreement. “We’ve wasted so much time.”

“Could have been making our girl feel good instead of just talking about it,” lamented Minhyuk.

“We’ll make up for it now, okay, doll?” Changkyun whispered against her ear.

Jordana’s head was bobbing in a foggy sea of lust and other feelings too dangerous to name. Thick arms scooped her up, the grip now familiar, and Hoseok tossed her onto the doubled-bed to her little squeal. She landed with a bounce, skirt tousled high around her thighs, needles of desire pricking every square inch of skin. With her back on a bed, everything became unavoidably real.

Even with the blindfold on, Jordana could feel everyone looking at her. Instinctively, her hands moved to tug down her skirt until they were swatted away. She took a deep breath, and after a long, long exhale, she asked, “How do we start the game?”

“Let’s start simply,” Kihyun said. He was the master of the company schedule, and he was no different off the clock. “Let’s finally see that pussy we’ve all been fantasizing about.”

Jordana felt hands at her knees before they pried her legs wide open. A second later, her skirt was shoved up to stomach. Cold air bombarded her thighs, especially where her sticky desire had leaked out, and all the heat that had gathered under the suffocating fabric rushed into the air to a chorus of gasps.

“Fuck me,” Jooheon swore loudly.

Groans reverberated all around her, and the thought of being the center of all this attention was as exhilarating for Jordana as it was intimidating.

“Do you like to make us suffer, doll?” demanded Changkyun.

“No, I—”

“You didn’t mean it,” he said, finishing her thought. “I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true!”

“Now, I don’t believe that either, baby doll, and you know why?”

She swallowed hard. “Why?”

“Because if you didn’t secretly wish at least one of us would fuck you tonight, would you have worn a pair of the sexiest panties I’ve ever seen?” Changkyun fingered the baby blue satin ties bowed sweetly at her hips and sighed. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“This—this is how I dress every day.”

“So, you’re just walking around here every damn day hoping one of us will fuck you?” Jooheon shouted. “You mean I could have been bending you over my desk this whole time?”

“Why just yours?” demanded Hoseok.

“Fine,” the dimpled gamer continued, “I’ll bend her over yours, too.”

Jordana listened as the boys traded jealous pouts across her body like rival elk locking antlers until Hyunwoo put a stop to it with a tired “I said play nice.”

“It’s not my fault YoYo plays dirty,” whined Jooheon.

“I swear to god, if that bra matches…” growled Kihyun.

Someone yanked down the scoop neck on her shirt so that the baby blue quarter cups of her bra popped out. A band of white lace bridged her cleavage as her dark nipples jutted against the sheer fabric. She gasped as her chest thrust high to a chorus of murmurs.

There was Kihyun’s growl again, this time not in warning but in dark promise. “I’m going to ruin you, Jordana.”

The room went quiet, and Kihyun’s words filled the space between the heavy breaths of the heedless lovers in it. It was only fitting that he was the one to break the silence.

“Get that thing open. Now.”

Several hands raced to the clasps at the front of the garment to unlock the little gold close at the lace and then the sturdier one between both breasts. The moment it popped, her breasts bounded out, and there was only a second of adoration spared before hands unceremoniously roamed all over her body—in her hair, around her neck, tweaking her nipples and kneading her breasts, skimming up and down her thighs, and dusting over her clothed, swollen sex. It was like a tidal wave of stimulation, and Jordana thought her brain might short-circuit from all the lust.

“Someone likes all of our attention, doesn’t she?” marveled Hoseok. He pushed a fingertip more insistently against the seat of her underwear and then laughed. “Check this out, guys.”

“Wet right through,” tsked Kihyun.

“Such a needy little thing,” added Changkyun.

Whines and whimpers poured from her mouth, and the thrill of not knowing who was touching her fine-tuned every nerve ending in her body. She swore every man’s hands had traversed her thinly veiled core before Changkyun hummed.

“It’s your birthday, but we’re the ones who get to unwrap a present.”

“So lucky,” Hyungwon agreed.

Two sets of hands undid the bows on her hips, but it was nothing to the rush of hands that hurried to peel the last barrier between Jordana and the hungry men above her. Fingers flocked to her now bare flesh, probing and touching in a frenzy that made her mouth open but choked out any sound.

As the chaos tapered down to one orderly hand smearing her arousal around her puffy lower lips, silence fell, and worry as much as anticipation coursed through her veins. Her most intimate regions were laid bare for her coworkers, and she shivered with embarrassment. It wasn’t fair that they could see everything and she could see nothing, but by the same token, it ramped up the intensity of every glance of every fingertip.

“A Brazilian with a Brazilian,” groaned Minhyuk. “So sexy.”

“Shut up!” Jordana protested as she tightened her legs.

“No, angel, don’t hide from us,” Hyungwon said as they all parted her knees again. “We love how sexy you are.”

“We want to see you,” echoed Changkyun. “We can’t keep our eyes off of our pretty doll baby.”

Jordana writhed beneath them, electrified by their endless praise and base desires. Someone’s hand was working magic between her legs just by the smooth, rhythmic caresses it offered. She could feel her untouched clit jerk with every tidbit of pressure it stole from the steady strokes, and she whined.

“What a messy girl,” Hoseok marveled.

“Look, look!” Jooheon said, and she felt to fingers spread her core wide. She whimpered and jerked her hips, but a couple of guys held her still until she could feel scorching breath all over her thighs and core. “She just keeps dripping for us.”

“So messy,” echoed Hyungwon.

“So needy,” Kihyun corrected.

Changkyun clucked his tongue as he scooted the fabric out from underneath her. “These panties are absolutely ruined, YoYo. I may as well just keep them.”

“Why do you get to keep them? She moaned during my kiss!” argued Minhyuk. “I guarantee you I’m responsible for that.”

“Hey!” Jordana interjected. “Those were expensive. No one gets to keep them.”

“Really?” said Kihyun in a slow drawl as his finger marched purposefully up the seam of her sex. “You’re going to tell us what we can and can’t do when you’ve already offered up your pussy as our buffet? I don’t think so, Jordana.”

Hoseok was quick to soothe her as one of his large hands massaged her breast. “We’ll buy you a whole closet full of pretty lingerie, gorgeous.”

“You’ll—ah—you’ll just expect me to wear them all for you,” she squeaked before someone else’s finger sampled the wetness pooled at her entrance. A long moan tore through her as her body arched high off the bed, almost as though it had been electrified.

The finger delved in much deeper now, all the way to the knuckle, forcing Jordana’s body to stay arched as the decadence of such a sin tore her sensibilities to shreds.

“Are you going to tell us no?” Kihyun asked.

“Never!” she screamed this time as a thumb glossed over her sloppy, throbbing clit at last. The finger curled up ever so slightly before gliding back out, and Jordana collapsed in a pathetic heap in the sheets.

The shock of a silky tongue sliding along the length of her slit ripped a scream of delight from her throat before it disappeared with an appreciative wet smack of his lips.

“Damn,” Minhyuk said, a smile coloring his voice. “Skin like cinnamon and tastes just as spicy sweet. Just how I like it.”

A murmur rippled through the room—admiration and curses and raw, ragged longing crowding each other out. The next second, so many hands touched her pussy at once, stroking, rubbing, circling, flicking, it overrode every other sense. There were fingers inside her and on her clit and stroking her lips and painting her already obscene mess all over her thighs and mound. Their desire was insatiable and her greed was all-consuming, and before she knew it, her body was shaking.

“I think she's going to cum,” announced Hyungwon.

“Already?” Hoseok gaped, but it was too late.

Every muscle stiffened in Jordana’s body, and she cried out in sheer ecstasy. She tore fistfuls of sheets as she anchored herself against the onslaught of the relentless quake overtaking her limbs. Her mouth hung open as she flattened against the mattress and a river of arousal gushed humiliatingly between her legs.

“Holy fuck,” whispered Jooheon.

“I think we broke her,” Minhyuk laughed.

The mattress sank by her shoulder, and a hand was at Jordana’s brow now, mopping aside the sweat beads. Hyungwon’s distinctive baritone pooled into her ear as he asked, “You okay, YoYo?”

She laughed incredulously and ran a hand back through her hair. “Yeah. Yeah,” she panted. “I just— It's been so long.”

“That's fucking ridiculous,” snapped Hoseok. “A goddess like you should be fucked every day.”

“As many times and as many ways as you want,” Jooheon echoed.

She couldn't tell if they were being serious or just humoring her wounded ego, but either way it didn't matter. With their diligent fingers and ravenous mouths and hard cocks, they were going to remind her she was a beautiful woman.

“Fuck,” Jordana groaned. “I’ve never felt this way before. That was so fast, I don’t know what happened. I’ve never— Shit, I’ve never wanted anything so bad.”

“Same here,” said Hoseok, who was kneeling at her other side. He held her hand for a moment before he kissed it and then placed it over the desperate bulge at his sweatpants.

Following Hoseok’s lead, her hand was placed on another enticing hardness now, this one also straining through a pair of sweats, but Jordana knew this was Hyungwon. His voice was deeper than ever but still hesitant as he stammered, “I—I’ve never been this hard in my life.”

“Hyungwon?” she marveled as she traced his length in total awe. She had never expected such words from the man who was so meticulous in hiding his many assets, but they sent another wave of lust rocketing through her blood. “You’ve thought about me like… this?”

“How could anyone not desire you?” he murmured as his hand joined hers at his length. “I desire you. I need you every day.”

Jordana couldn’t even hide the tender hope in her voice. “You do?”

He picked up her hand, his lips rumbling across her pulse point as he added, “Mm. It’s hard to think when you smell this good and you look this delicious.”

There was a chorus of agreements as Hyungwon’s delicate fingers skirted along her hourglass now and splayed across her belly, his thumb glossing around her navel again and again. For a moment, Jordana forgot the other hands dancing along her thighs and over her folds, and she forgot that she was gripping Hoseok’s cock just as fervently. Hyungwon had thought about fucking her—they all had. She moaned again, this one low and appreciative.

“So, you’re going to be able to hang in here until I’m inside you, right?” her usually quiet coworker asked.

“I’ll take you so good, Wonnie, I promise,” she said and squeezed his hard dick.

“Strip her down,” Hyunwoo said abruptly, and the order coming from his lips made her hips undulate as much from pleasure as nerves. “I don’t want anything between us.”

Jordana had always had “fine tits and hips,” as her friend Bruna had constantly reminded her, and the older she had gotten, the fuller they’d become. She’d always been proud of her voluptuous figure—her soft belly and wicked hourglass—but after Carlos had left and no one else had filled his role, it was easier to find reasons why no one would want her. Now, they wanted to strip her? There was something extra intimidating about that. They would see everything—every feature, every flaw, every intimacy—and there would be nowhere to hide.

“I— Wait!” she said, and a dozen hands froze on her body. “What if we just leave the skirt on?”

“No can do, baby,” replied Jooheon. “We need all of you. No secrets, remember?”

Jordana worried her lip until Hoseok leaned down to kiss the corner of her mouth. “Don’t worry, YoYo. You’re perfect. You’re gonna be so pretty laid out for us, yeah?”

His words in that gentle voice of his had her nodding as dumbly as a puppet. “Yeah…”

The hands were moving all over her again, gliding her shirt and bra from her chest and shimmying her skirt down her legs. Jordana was tugged across the bed, her ass perched at the edge with her legs dangling over the side. Someone started to ease her heels off before Hyunwoo said, “Those stay.”

The bodies that had warmed and comforted her on the bed disappeared, and she knew there was a line of seven men watching her just out of reach. Now completely naked and shivering with anticipation, she waited as ordered with her arms above her head. She caught Kihyun’s satisfied chuckle, and she knew she’d done a good job.

“You’re always such a good listener,” he hummed. “You do everything I tell you, Jordana. She’s such a good girl, isn’t she, boys?”

The rest of the men agreed enthusiastically, and suddenly, she didn’t feel so cold anymore.

“We’re almost ready for the first round, but let’s set the mood, shall we? Go ahead and grab one of those perky tits, Jordana.” She did, pulling the nipple stiff to a universal groan. Kihyun hummed again and continued, “Very good. Now, spread those legs nice and wide for us, and use that other hand to open up that pussy.”

Jordana was much more hesitant this time, if only because of the lewdness of the act, but all the same, her legs parted and her hand slithered down to her nexus, and with two fingers, she put herself on display for her bosses.

Hyungwon’s voice was deep and low, but it was so fucking quiet in the room that it was impossible to miss. “Ah, ssibal…”

The firm click of dress shoes telegraphed exactly who was approaching yet again, and Jordana trembled.

“Don’t move,” Kihyun said, but it wasn’t like she could anyway. She was frozen with excitement.

One finger nestled deeply between her folds as she held herself open for him while another pressed on her clit like a button. He held it there, content to let her squeeze him desperately in hopes of more friction.

“You’re going to take us bare, aren’t you, beautiful?” he asked.

Jordana could hear the whole room waiting with baited breath. She swallowed hard before she could answer. “I mean, there are a lot of you…”

“Yeah, but we already know what a good girl you are, and you know us so well, don’t you, Jordana? So well.” His finger was moving inside her now, shallow and slow but oh so good. “You know our bodies are our temples, right?”

“Yeah…” she said dreamily, and she did. Nobody took better care of themselves than her boys.

“So, what are you going to do?” Hyunwoo pressed closer with the same dark dominance his vice president possessed.

“I’m going to take you raw,” she murmured, and she heard knuckles crack.

“There’s our girl. And we can cum wherever we want?” Jooheon asked hopefully.

Jordana sighed, her head tipping back, her breast heaving in her hand. “Wherever you want.”

Suddenly, fingers tangled in her hair, and she was jerked upward, her lips dusting someone’s. Hyunwoo’s voice came tumbling out against her as he grunted, “That’s the right answer.”

He pulled back while Kihyun pulled his finger from the wanton woman to her wail of protest, but she didn’t move. She laid there as instructed, fingers still pinching her nipple and cunt still open and begging.

Quick paces thundered across the floor—a sound Jordana recognized too easily as Jooheon. His dramatic huffs accented each step. “She’s so greedy for cock. Come on! Her mouth’s wide open and her pussy’s throbbing. How much longer are we going to make her wait?”

“You mean how much longer are you going to have to wait?” laughed Hoseok.

“Shut up…” Jooheon protested weakly.

“That’s enough. You’re right, Jordana’s been a very obedient girl,” Kihyun said, pleased. “It’s time to start the game. Now, all of you, don’t forget—”

“Joohoney,” emphasized Minhyuk in his teasing lilt.

“—mind the rules. There’s no talking until Jordana’s made her guess or you’ll be penalized. After that, right or wrong, everyone can do as they wish to her until the player has cum.”

“Wherever we want,” Jooheon repeated, his friends’ barbs forgotten in the wake of the impending game.

Kihyun agreed. “Of course. But remember, while we all want to win a round, it’s Jordana’s birthday. Let’s take good care of her the way she always takes care of us.”

Understanding echoed around the room only to be replaced by tension, exponentially deepening thanks to the soft sounds of clothing pooling to the floor.

“Hands back over your head, doll,” Changkyun reminded.

Jordana complied, and even though she was showcasing less of herself now, suddenly, she felt very cold and exposed again. She needed someone to fill her up. Jooheon was right, every part of her was begging for it.

“Player One, you’re up,” the president said as he backed away from the bed.

There were no footsteps this time to give away her mystery man, so at the first stroke of palms over her knees, Jordana sucked in a ragged gasp. Smooth, naked hips settled between her legs, and the bare connection frazzled her mind. Without the frenzy of touches, she was left to focus on the unfiltered electricity of the lone man eager to fuck her.

One large hand settled on her mound, his thumb resting idly over her clit with clear intention. Meanwhile, his other hand nudged his cock against her cunt, teasing just enough to soak the head in her excitement. Jordana let out a little “ooh” at the thrill, and he was too impatient to tease her one second more.

He pushed inside her entrance, and the raw contact sent her arching up from the bed instantly. So naughty, so needy, so primal. She bared down on him with so much greed that he had no choice but push all the way in just to feed her insatiability for his cock.

As soon as his shaft bottomed out inside her wet walls, she heard an emphatic curse. “Oh, fuck!”

“Jooheon!” Jordana wailed, groping blindly for his wrist at her waist.

“Damn it, Honey!” scolded Changkyun. “You have to keep quiet until she guesses you right.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one inside her. She feels like fucking heaven.”

Minhyuk snorted. “Think of it this way, Kyun: now that she knows who’s inside her, we can all have fun.”

But the next thing Jordana knew, Jooheon was covering her like a blanket with his body. “No, wait, give me at least a few minutes with her by myself.”

Kihyun tutted though, an-all-too familiar sound that meant his friend would be losing this battle. “You heard the rules same as everybody else, Jooheon.”

With a long, low grumble, Jooheon straightened and secured Jordana’s heeled feet behind the small of his back, his length fitted snugly inside her heat. His hands skirted over her thighs and belly before they soared up to her tits and squeezed them both playfully for a minute as he said, “Just remember, you were mine first, YoYo.”

“Yours first,” she repeated numbly as she groped blindly ahead of her until she found his taut abs and stroked him encouragingly. “N-no wonder you were so, ah, eager. You’re so big.”

Jooheon moaned at her touch as well as her praise, and he thrust lazily in and out of her to savor the squeeze of her tight walls.

True to their words, the other men didn’t waste any more time. The bed dipped on either side of her, and two sets of hands guided Jordana’s own to two very hard cocks. Without her sight, she could only appreciate the strength of their desire for her; their lust was unbearable, scalding hot and aching for her attention, and she’d never felt so empowered.

Jordana gripped each man by the hilt and traced their lengths. One was thick and the other was curved deliciously upward, and her eyes rolled back beneath her blindfold at the realization that soon they would both be inside her. To the best of her ability, she tried to find a rhythm, but it was much harder than she thought with Jooheon working so smoothly between her legs. Every kiss of his hips to hers had her brain fogging and her mouth tumbling open with moans.

“Greedy, greedy girl, taking all that cock like a champ,” marveled Hoseok from somewhere close but not close enough. “Honey is making you feel so good, isn’t he?”

“So good. Nossa! I love it,” she murmured. “I love it so fucking much!”

“Gonna give it all to you,” Jooheon promised as his thumb slipped to the apex of her sex and rubbed in time with his powerful thrusts. The intensity of the touch was mind-numbing, and her hands stuttered around the other cocks she was working.

As Jordana had long imagined, Jooheon was very vocal. He grunted and growled without restraint, letting her know exactly what her body was doing to him.

“Never had pussy this good,” he whined. “Wanna fuck you forever, baby. Always wanna be inside you. Do you want that? Tell me you want it. Tell me you need it.”

“I need you, Honey. I need you fucking me so deep.”

“My baby girl likes it deep?”

“So deep.”

Jooheon snarled and slipped his hands like a basket under her ass, hoisting her up so his cock could drive down into her deep enough that Jordana could swear she could taste it. Her grip tightened around the two men she was stroking, and they hissed and groaned until the curved cock pulled back quickly from her.

“Shit, almost came,” Changkyun muttered, leaving her side free for only a second before Jooheon crashed on top of her, his thick lips against her ear.

“Keep moaning, baby,” he whispered. “Yes, that's it. Nice and loud. I don't want them to hear me, okay?”

Jordana's moaning ratcheted up, and, at first, she figured it was to feed his ego and prove to the competition he would be the superior fuck, but under her gasps and pleadings and the sloppy sounds of sex, she heard his gruff, determined voice.

“That's my baby girl. So sexy. Wanted you so bad for so long. Mm, can’t focus when you’re near me. Can’t think about anything else. Only you, baby. Can you feel it? Can you feel how much I need you?”

“Yes…” she hissed.

Her hands abandoned the other cock beside her so her nails could rake down Jooheon’s sweaty back until they reached his hips. Jordana didn’t hold back; she scratched hard because she knew Jooheon would like it. She knew tomorrow he’d parade around the office with his shirt off for the others to see what she’d done to him. His hiss and stutter inside her was all she needed for him to confirm her impressions.

His hips were driving faster now, with noisy, wet slaps that guaranteed he’d need a long shower to wash away her craving for him.

“Carlos never fucked me like this,” she said, tears in the corners of her eyes.

“That’s because he was a boy. You need a man, YoYo, one who knows how to stretch out a pussy this tight.”

“Oh, fuck,” she whimpered as her head collapsed back onto the bed.

“Wanna make them know you’re mine. Show ‘em. Show ‘em how I make you feel.”

Jordana could hear it in his voice. Jooheon was mad with lust, needy and desperate and somehow vulnerable, and something about the combination drew an ache from deep in her belly, something feral and primitive, something that couldn’t be sounded in words but only in a scream of absolute ecstasy. Her chest collided with Jooheon’s as she arched high with an earth-shaking climax. Her heels scraped the top of his ass as she constricted around him, and her walls spasmed and begged.

More. Deeper. Put it here.

He whined at her ear, so sexy and high. “That’s it, pretty baby. Yeah, so sweet, I can feel you so good. Such a good girl taking me how you’re meant to.”

“Meant to…” she mumbled, too blissed out to even process any of the dirty things he was saying.

“Gonna cum inside you, baby. Wanna fill you up.”

Jordana’s hands clawed at Jooheon’s forearms as her heels ground insistently against him. “God, yes, give it to me so good, Honey. Give it all to me. Meant to…”

“Tell them you want my cum.”

She threw her head back, hips open and tipped up to receive his load. “I want your cum!”

Jooheon’s voice was so high, he was practically singing as his hips crushed to hers, and with a few deep pumps, he unloaded inside her greedy walls. Spurt after spurt of his seed gushed inside her to a soundtrack of his pathetic whimpers until at last he collapsed on top of her. Their bodies clashed as their chests heaved erratically.

Jooheon panted and nibbled at Jordana’s breast weakly. “Quit it.”

“Quit what?” she asked.

“You know what. You keep squeezing me.”

“Well, it’s not like I can help it. You feel too good,” she grumbled under her breath, but still she felt his smile against her chest. “If you don’t like it, you can leave.”

“Never,” Jooheon whispered before he engulfed her nipple and suckled so hard, her walls constricted again, and he sucked harder.

“Okay, that’s enough,” scolded Kihyun, and a firm slap resounded in the room. “Let someone else have a turn.”

Jooheon’s wails were instantaneous and very, very dramatic. “Aw, come on, I’m just getting started.”

“You’re such a glutton, Honey,” Minhyuk laughed.

“You’ll see. I don’t think I’ve ever cum so hard in my life,” his friend confessed before he lifted up just enough to kiss Jordana’s lips in a soft thank you she felt deep in her core.

“I’m going to miss you,” she whispered teasingly, and Jooheon growled.

“Damn game and damn players. Some friends you are, making me give her up before I’m ready.”

Hyungwon groused. “Like you’ll ever be ready. You’d just as soon fall asleep inside her.”

“And you wouldn’t? Good luck following that.”

Jooheon stood up, eased her legs back down, and pulled out to a shared hiss. A sticky mess of arousal poured from her heat like honey, and the shared groan shook like a tremor through the room.

“Holy fuck, that’s hot,” mumbled Hoseok.

“Damn, her pussy’s actually throbbing. Look, you can see it,” Minhyuk marveled, and she could hear him rubbing his hands together or maybe just stroking his cock.

“Our little doll takes cum so well,” Changkyun agreed. “Wonder how much we can fill her with.”

A short, emphatic “fuck…” was all she heard from her gentle, reserved Hyungwon.

Jordana’s head was spinning. It should have been humiliating, letting seven men watch her spent body drip with her indecency, but it wasn’t. The intoxicating cocktail of sensation, attention, praise, and deprivation had her drunker than the beers she’d knocked back and hungrier than she could ever remember. Her skin itched under their relentless stares, and her body chilled at her emptiness.

“Please,” she said, “I’m so cold. I need you.”

Though her hands were once again stowed where they belonged over her head, it was an open invitation, and despite the order they were expected to follow, she heard the collective lurch for her before Hyunwoo tsked.

“Rules, gentlemen.”

“Oh, come on!” argued Hoseok. “She needs us.”

“And she’ll have us, exactly as we promised. It will be worth the wait, won’t it, Jordana?”

Hyunwoo’s voice was deep and rumbly with a hypnotic current in it. If she hadn’t been laying down, she would be swaying to it. Her cunt tightened, and a fresh rush of Jooheon’s cum leaked out to another collective groan that only intensified as her body squirmed and words spilled from her lips:

“Yes, sir.”

Jordana heard someone’s teeth set on razor’s edge before two men grabbed her arms and helped her to her feet. They spun her in a slow circle on her wobbly legs, and once they were done, they placed her hands on the edge of the bed. Fingers skirted down her right leg, not missing an inch of skin despite their clear mission, until they reached her ankle to guide her into a wider stance. This time, when the fingers raced back up, they were less well-behaved, stopping at the crest of her thighs to graze of her puffy lips. As she whined, she caught Changkyun’s soft “Jenjang…” somewhere behind her. Though no else spoke, the room felt very loud—more clothes puddling on the floor, fists racing over hard dicks, grunts rumbling through chests.

This time, a different hand rested on the swell of her ass, kneading the eager flesh for a moment before it sailed up her spine to rest between her shoulders and force her into a deep bend. She waited like that for what felt like ages, presenting once again for her audience. Cold air teased at her sopping entrance until, at last, the flushed head of a fresh cock did.

“Yes, please,” Jordana begged. “Please fuck me.”

Long fingers settled around her waist and held her in place as her new lover dipped his tip in and out of her tight hole, quick but shallow, just enough to drive her mad. She wanted him sheathed inside her. She wanted him whining and groveling as much as she was right now. She wanted him to be as desperate for her as she was for him.

But he was resolute. Just a little, just a little. Quick enough to stoke a delicious friction that was sure to catch fire with the one full plunge which she wasn’t allowed to have. The teasing was unbearable if only because it was turning her on more and more with every little stroke. Her body vibrated with the sloppy, wet sounds of greed, but it was nothing to the begs that poured senselessly from her mouth.

“No. No, I want it so bad. Can’t you give me more? Pela amor de deus, por favor! Please!”

At last, her lover crumbled, and he pulled Jordana’s hips emphatically back to his. His nails dug into her soft flesh until she felt like she might bruise, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t care. He felt too good—so fucking good—and her walls clenched around him on the precipice of a tremendous new climax.

A smug laugh echoed from somewhere nearby, probably the couch but definitely from Jooheon. “Yeah, exactly. See? Everyone wants to make fun of me until they’re inside her. She’s fucking perfect, isn’t she? Well, she was mine first. Go ahead and fuck my cum deeper into her.”

Jooheon’s unexpectedly filthy words stilled her lover inside her as she crooned the dimpled man’s name.

“You guessed incorrectly,” came the long, low rumble of Hyunwoo’s voice.

Jordana started to protest, but whoever was fucking her had his cock pressed so deeply inside her that she felt full of him—too full to even speak. It was like she was made for the express purpose of warming his hard length whenever he needed it.

When he’d had his fill of her heat strangling his manhood, the man behind her pulled out to his tip and switched to fucking her hard, so hard Jordana’s arms folded and her face hit the mattress. From there, he set a frenzied pace that sent her right to peak of her climax and kept her thrumming at its precipice. Her arms shook while her head dropped and her mouth hung open, tongue lolling out as she panted.

She heard the smile in Hyunwoo’s voice far too close to her ear. “You were saying?”

“She wasn’t guessing,” Jooheon answered with an even bigger smile in his. “She was wishing it was me still fucking her.”

A chorus of scoffs and groans picked up around the room before Hyunwoo silenced them all. “You’re only ruining your game for yourselves. If you want any one-on-one time with our private vixen, I suggest you stop giving yourselves away.”

But it didn’t matter. Jordana knew without another sound who was effortlessly edging her.

“Minhyuk!”

His reaction was instantaneous. His hand hooked around her throat, his thumb thrusting her chin up along with her body until her back was flat against his chest and his other hand groping her breast.

“Oh, thank fuck,” he hissed as he drove his cock up into her more determinedly. “This pussy’s going to be the death of me, sweetheart. Wished you’d guessed wrong one more time so I could take you again whenever I want for a whole week.”

Jordana yearned to see his face. She bet there was a snarl there twisting up his pretty lips as his hunger for his climax escalated. Maybe that little crease above his nose was back as he pumped hard and fast into her heat. His eyes were probably narrowed, on their way to closed as he savored the way her walls squeezed his length.

His grip around her neck was firm, but slowly, it drew down her skin, smearing the sheen of sweat there and in her collar bone.

“Good, good,” Minhyuk murmured. “So good for me. Now, suck, you little minx.”

His fingers were at her lips now, dipping in as she immediately lavished them with her tongue. They were salty with her sweat and smooth from his meticulous skin care. Jordana could have sucked them forever, but he pulled them out quickly and pinched her nipple with the wet tips. She cried out and he chuckled.

“Looks like you’re ready to be shared,” he sighed. “Guess I have to.”

Minhyuk bent her back over and tugged her roughly against his hips, spearing her on his dick and holding her there while her mouth fell open in a silent scream, and this time, her lips bumped against something decidedly bigger than a finger.

“Finally,” someone groaned nearby, and again, more hands were on her, some gliding down her back, some reaching under to grope her tits, some brushing back her wild hair from her face.

The player before her smeared his hot manhood on her sagging bottom lip, asking for entrance. Jordana’s tongue unfurled and lapped at the weeping head without a second thought. Fresh salt and sweat bloomed across her taste buds as she sampled the full girth of the man before her. She didn’t know who it was and she didn’t care. The mystery made every swirl of her tongue that much more illicit, that much more intoxicating, she could cum just like that—swallowing cock from both ends.

Behind her, Minhyuk thrusted again, and Jordana lurched forward, gobbling up the length of the man between her arms. Her nails dug reflexively into his rock-hard ass, and her nose bumped a smooth pelvis as she choked on his cock. She knew instantly that it was Hoseok.

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Minhyuk spat. “That’s so hot.”

Minhyuk fucked her a little faster now, pistoning her over Hoseok’s length as he grunted and praised her.

“Doesn’t Hoseok taste so good? Yeah, he does, doesn’t he? You’re squeezing me so tight, I know you’re loving it. I can’t believe you can fit that big cock in your mouth.”

The best Jordana could do was gargle around the thick intrusion between her lips. She was loving it. She was loving it too much. She wasn’t going to last, and from the tremor in her legs, her undoing was inevitable and catastrophic.

“Oh, shit, she’s gonna cum,” Minhyuk warned. “Wonnie, rub her clit. Hurry.”

Hyungwon’s long fingers now glided underneath her and fumbled for only a second to find her shuddering hill and rub in swift circles.

“Give it to us, angel,” he whispered in his filthy gravel alongside her ear. “Come on, I know you can.”

“She likes it deep,” Jooheon interjected. “Go deeper, come on!”

Between her shameless slobbering, her soaking cunt, and Minhyuk’s pathetic whines, the sultry RnB took a backseat to the soundtrack of hedonism. With her mouth stuffed full, Jordana couldn’t warn them of her climax. Instead, her body spooled like a swing twisting tighter and tighter until it couldn’t twist anymore, and then everything unraveled.

“Fuck! So tight,” Minhyuk shouted, one of his hands unintentionally scratching down her back as he fucked her through her peak.

Her mouth sagged around Hoseok as her breath hitched pathetically. Her legs shook in her heels, and if the men hadn’t been holding her up, she would have fallen. Even with them holding her, Jordana was falling. Down, down, down. Head first into a pool of pleasure. Everything was white and white-hot, and with Minhyuk fucking her so good, it wasn’t cooling down.

“Move, move, move!” he demanded as he slipped out suddenly and shuffled to her face. “Pull her back. Hold her.”

Someone roughly jerked Jordana back from the bed frame and held her, still bent in half, with a strong arm bracing under her tits.

“Lift her face up,” Minhyuk said. “Hurry!”

Someone yanked her hair back to her hiss of pained excitement. Meanwhile, Minhyuk’s fist made perverse sounds as it raced over his sloppy length, and only a moment later, a shower of hot cum splattered across her lips, tongue, cheek, and hair.

“Oh shit,” hissed Changkyun, and the next thing Jordana knew, another splash of seed bathed the side of her face, too.

“That was my favorite tie,” Hyunwoo grumbled. “I’m taking that out of your bonuses.”

“Worth it,” Minhyuk sighed.

“What the fuck, Kyun?” clucked Hyungwon. “You couldn’t wait your turn?”

Changkyun scoffed. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be ready, and then you’ll all be complaining about how long I can fuck our pretty doll.”

“So pretty,” drawled Minhyuk as he bent down to Jordana’s slumped height. She could feel his hot breaths drying his masterpiece on her brown skin. He hummed sweetly, kissed her lips lightly, and then gathered their messy releases on two of his fingers. With her mouth already open, he slipped his fingers in and whispered, “Here, sweetheart. Eat up.”

Jordana curled her tongue around them and sucked diligently, and as soon as they were clean, Minhyuk repeated the process until her face was clear but sticky. Someone growled while someone else gave her ass a spank good enough to make her moan around Minhyuk’s fingers on their last pass.

“I can’t stand up anymore,” she admitted through ragged breaths.

“You don’t need to. The next player would like you on top,” Hyunwoo said. “But since you can't touch, you’ll have help. To save them from giving themselves away, you will listen to me for any instructions, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

The bed creaked as her next lover climbed on, and before she could move, someone scooped her up and with the help of two others, they straddled her leg over powerful hips. An impossibly hard member pressed proudly against her belly, and out of reflex, her hands feathered over it. She recognized it as the thick cock that had been in her hands first and then her mouth only moments ago—Hoseok’s cock—and a shiver of excitement rippled through her at the thought of burying it deep inside her.

“We said no touching until you've guessed correctly. If you’re not going to listen anymore,” said Kihyun with a dangerous tremor in his voice, “then maybe we’ll hire another girl who will, and we’ll play our games with her. Is that what you want?”

Panic overtook her. Jordana looked frantically around the room though she could see nothing but the shades of her own fear. “Não! Não, não, não! Por favor! What do you want me to do? I’ll do it.”

“You sound pretty desperate, Jordana,” Hyunwoo observed.

“Yes, yes! Anything, just don’t leave me!”

The president hummed and his vice president concurred.

“Get to riding then, beautiful,” said Kihyun.

A hand pressed into her back to tip her hips up and expose her entrance to the man beneath her. A second later, she felt the tender head of Hoseok’s cock spread her wide open. He pressed in slowly as the longest moan she'd ever unleashed in her life tumbled from her lips. Jordana wasn’t sure how she would have taken him if she hadn’t already been fucked and soaking.

“Oh god, fuck…” she groaned as several hands guided her lower and lower on Hoseok’s dick. “Eita porra, so big…”

“Take all of him, Jordana,” Hyunwoo ordered. “We know you can.”

“So big, so big, so big,” she murmured until at last her tight walls engulfed his full length. She was so filled, her head tipped back and her mouth hung open as she gasped for breath.

“You okay, baby?” Jooheon asked beside her.

“Mm, yeah. So good.”

“You can hold on to me as you ride him, okay?”

“Mm-hm,” whimpered Jordana as she shuffled into a sturdier position on the sides of Hoseok’s hips. She braced tightly with her knees and, thanks to her grip on Jooheon’s bicep, pushed up slowly. Fat and eager, Hoseok’s cock stretched her out in vision-whitening ways so that she couldn’t think about anything else but being filled by him.

When Jordana got to his tip, she sank back down just as slowly, and it felt like the first stretch all over again. With nothing else to focus on but the intensity, fireworks erupted behind the blindfold. She trembled with every slow rock, and even holding on to Jooheon wasn’t enough of an anchor against the pleasure Hoseok’s dick generated.

Her other hand groped wildly for anything other than the delicious abs she knew were just below until she felt the bed dip as someone else climbed on. Whoever it was said nothing, but regardless, he grabbed her free hand and placed it on his shoulder. Steadier now, Jordana could ride more fervently, which teased stiff little puffs of breath from the man beneath her.

“Do you know who it is?” Hyunwoo asked, but it sounded more like a statement. He knew she knew.

But, by the same token, Jordana didn’t want her time with Hoseok to end so quickly, not when she had him all to herself beneath her. She shook her head, and Kihyun tsked.

“And now we’re lying,” the vice president said. “Spoiling you has been a mistake. I can’t wait to teach our naughty girl some manners.”

“Kihyun…” she whined, and now Hyunwoo tsked.

“Wrong answer again, Jordana.”

“No, I—”

“Don’t argue,” said president in a voice black as ink. “Just ride that cock.”

She could never argue with Hyunwoo when his tone was that commanding. It sent sparks straight to her walls, and they seized around Hoseok’s cock. She could hear him choke back a grateful moan, and Jordana’s mind frayed further.

Her chest heaved. Her muscles ached. Her core throbbed. Fatigue had settled into her limbs, dragging her ass flat against Hoseok’s thighs as she switched to a greedy grind that had him caressing all of her most sensitive recesses. More fireworks now, this time with a gathering need in her belly. She wouldn’t be able to handle much more of this, not without cumming with an ear-piercing scream.

Jordana dug her nails into the other boys’ shoulders as she swirled her hips, but it wasn’t what she really wanted. Keeping secrets was tiring, especially when all she wanted was to run her hands all over muscles she had fantasized about since the time she’d accidentally walked in on Hoseok shirtless in the company gym.

“Say it,” Kihyun egged on from beside her, and she realized he was the other man she was holding onto. “Say it, beautiful. Whose dick are you riding? Who’s making you feel this good? Let him know.”

Jordana released both men’s shoulders and pitched forward, her chest colliding with the slab of marble beneath her as she howled Hoseok’s name. She strung a pennant of kisses along his collar as his arms captured her in a bear hug, and she hummed contentedly. “Sorry to make you wait.”

“I’d wait forever for you, princess,” Hoseok said with a kiss to her crown.

Jordana smiled and slowly pushed back up as she said, “Let me make it up to you, pretty baby.”

She felt the way Hoseok throbbed inside her at the nickname, and the game suddenly changed.

She seated herself firmly in his saddle once again, but this time she planned to use the full breadth of luxury Hoseok could offer. Jordana massaged his pectorals first, groping and flicking her thumbs over his nipples. Beneath her, he sucked in a breath through his teeth and arched his chest higher into her hands.

She’d been in the dark all night and even if she still technically was, she felt like she could see everything clearly. A thrill of power coursed through her, spurring her hips in more determined circles and tempting her nails to mark up Hoseok’s pretty skin so she could remember everything they’d done together once she could finally see again. Her hand rested over her mound has she pictured him splitting her wider and wider.

“Can you feel me, princess?” Hoseok said between grunts.

“You’re all I can feel. Fuck, so good, Hoseok!”

His muscles contracted with every scrape of her nails, and for a moment, nothing had ever felt sexier. As shamelessly as Jordana dripped with lust for these powerful men, they were just as needy for her.

As if they wanted to underscore that thought, both men beside her guided her hands from Hoseok’s chest to their hard-ons. She almost complained about missing Hoseok’s hard body, but Kihyun would never have allowed it, and she already knew she was going to be in trouble when it was his turn. Instead, she divided her attention between stroking both men as best she could as she stuttered erratically on Hoseok’s dick. It was hard work, and she was so tired, but they let her shower her affection on them as best she could.

The bed dipped again, this time behind her, and she felt hands encircle her ribs before they pulled her back against a broad and fully dressed chest.

Hyunwoo.

As far as Jordana could tell, it was the first time he’d touched her since their last kiss, and his touch was searing even with the barrier of clothes still between them. His large hands cradled the underside of her breasts before engulfing them. In his grip, she felt safe and steady, like she could take on everything, until his grip changed for the more devious. He flicked and pinched her nipples, sending pangs of ecstasy to her core, which made Hoseok squirm beneath her.

Hyunwoo pressed his lips to her ear and murmured, “Let me help you.”

His hands slid down her hourglass to her hips, where he clasped her with clear intention. Jordana held her breath.

And just like that, her boss was fucking her onto his friend’s cock. Hyunwoo rocked her back and forth at first, each sweep generating sumptuous friction on her clit, until he finally deemed her ready to bounce on Hoseok again. With Hyunwoo’s help, she could take Hoseok’s length properly without losing her precious grip on Kihyun and Jooheon.

Moan after lascivious moan bubbled up from her core as Jordana gave herself over to the intoxicating blend of wrong and right these men offered her. It didn’t matter how taboo this was, how she could never tell a soul about what they’d done—it only made her hotter. She had never felt so desired, so loved.

“More, more,” she wailed as the trembling of the next wave of arousal marshalled between her legs.

She felt Hyunwoo pat Hoseok’s thigh as Hyunwoo said, “She’s ready for you.”

The next thing she knew, the president suspended her at the tip of Hoseok’s cock so the muscular man beneath her could piston rapidly up into her. The thickness of his manhood, the friction from his fucking, the grip of her boss at her waist—it was thrilling to the point of overwhelming. Even after the intense releases she’d already had, if they kept this up much longer, Jordana was going to cum again, and she wasn’t sure if she could handle it so soon.

“Damn, I edged myself too much,” Hoseok grunted. “I can’t hold on much longer. Wanted to make you cum first…”

Relieved, Jordana shook her head emphatically before she stroked his chest and teased one of his rigid nipples. “You must be so ready to cum, huh, pretty baby? Bet it hurts, poor thing. You’ll feel so good if you just cum inside me. Come on, let go for me. I want you to fill me up. Give it all to me, Hoseok.”

His name in her rich accent did it. In his luscious, candy-coated voice, he moaned and, with his full strength, grabbed her waist, overlapping with Hyunwoo’s hands while bruising and branding and begging all in a touch. Jooheon and Kihyun placed their hands on her shoulders now so that all four of them pressed her deeply onto Hoseok’s seizing member until it felt like he was in her stomach. Jordana cried out, and Hoseok shot his seed into her most secret recesses with whines so desperate, she nearly came after all.

At last, her three supporters let her go, and she immediately collapsed onto Hoseok, where, despite his exhaustion, he wrapped his arms around her and sealed their bodies with a kiss of sweat.

Sex swirled in the air while the springs in the mattress creaked and lungs heaved for breath. There was no escape from the mire of sin they’d all waded into, not that Jordana wanted to. Being in Hoseok’s arms, no matter how sweaty, felt so natural and safe. Maybe it was her inner cavewoman speaking, but a sabretooth tiger could storm in here, and she trusted Hoseok could take it out with one flick of his fingers.

Despite the blindfold, she closed her eyes and felt herself drifting. Hoseok must have felt it, too, because he asked, “You want a break, YoYo?”

She nodded her cheek against his massive pectoral as she said, “Just need a minute.”

“Here,” Hyunwoo said as his arms closed around her ribs and tried to lift her up.

“Aw, she can sleep here!” Hoseok protested with a tightening of his arms, but the president grunted in disapproval.

“Hoseok...”

The boss’s warning was as unmistakable as it was irrefutable. Reluctantly, Hoseok unspooled his arms from her and let Hyunwoo lift her up. The moment she glided off Hoseok’s cock, a rush of his release dribbled out of her, dripping down onto his hips, and the room collectively groaned so hard, her bones shook.

“Joj-dwaesseo…” mumbled Hyungwon.

“Damnit,” cursed Jooheon, and she heard him scurry out of the room, the bathroom door slamming behind him.

Hoseok clambered off the bed, leaving Jordana alone, exposed, and used for everyone’s view. At this point, it wasn’t the shame of the display that prickled her skin but the sudden bout of loneliness from laying there untouched. By now, Jordana was addicted to their attention, and not being able to feel it was making her skin itchy.

But time ticked by without an ounce of mercy for her. She writhed on the sheets, her own hands tightening over her breast and sticky mound in the absence of anyone else.

“Someone please touch me,” she pleaded. “I can’t take this.”

Jordana heard a lot of shifting and a few whispers that were still too quiet to make out before hands were all over her again in a confusing mess. Someone’s tongue was in her mouth and another’s was curled around her nipple. The musk of debauchery draped over the players like a blanket, pressing them all closer and closer together.

Just like that, the hands and mouths disappeared. Someone jerked her legs wide, thumbs massaging the tender flesh above her knees.

“Kihyun!” she shouted.

His voice was gruff and stern as he said, “How did you know?”

“I knew the moment everyone backed off. You want me all to yourself. You want to control how much pleasure I get.”

“Mm, you’re a piece of work, Jordana. First, you disobey, then you lie, and now you don't even give me the courtesy of the same lie. Everyone's allowed to have a piece of you now and none just for me. What am I supposed to do with you?”

“I'm sorry,” she blubbered, clinging to his shoulders. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Kihyun brushed her wild, fucked-out curls behind her ear and said smoothly, “I’m not upset. I’m disappointed, hm?”

Jordana nodded, understanding. There was something about Kihyun that made her yearn to be possessed by him, too. She tried for the most pitiful voice she could manage—and it wasn’t hard because that’s exactly how she felt with his hands framing her cheeks—as she said, “I’m really, really sorry.”

“I know, beautiful, I know. Let’s make it right. You want to break rules, so will I. Gentlemen, I need you to back up.”

“Hyung!” protested Jooheon. “Kihyun’s cheating.”

“He made the rules, he can break them,” Hyunwoo informed, and his edicts were always followed. Most of the griping died down instantly as everyone shuffled back from the edge of the bed.

Kihyun ran his thumb over the arc of her high cheekbone as he said, “Good. Now, Jordana, as I'm sure you remember, we have a few more players still to go, but they're not going to be able to play until you make things right with me. That includes your boss, as I'm sure you remember.”

“I remember,” she answered, tilting her head in the direction she thought she sensed Hyunwoo.

“And you remember he wants to be the one to leave the last impression, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Good. In this office, when we make a mistake, we fix it and beg for forgiveness, okay?”

Jordana didn’t waste a heartbeat. She sat up on her elbows and pressed her lips to Kihyun’s chest, happy to find he’d shed that conservative dress shirt in favor of his warm, salty skin. Between each sloppy, grateful kiss, she said, “I’m sorry I tried to ruin all your fun, sir. I didn’t mean it. I was just so excited for your cock. I’ll be so good for you. I’ll do whatever you say now. Please take whatever you want from me. I want you to have it all.”

Even through the blindfold, the intensity of her coworkers’ stares silenced both the sensual background music and the thrumming of Jordana’s heart. She could feel in the pit of her belly that she’d pleased them all with her words, and the heat from her obedience unleashed a fresh trickle of arousal between her thighs, drenching the sheets.

Kihyun hummed as he patted her head. “What a good listener you’re becoming. Are you ready for me to make you mine?”

“Yes, sir. I’m yours.”

“So, so good, Jordana. Why don’t you get on your hands and knees for me.”

Despite her exhaustion, Jordana could hardly wait to follow his every order, and she hurried into position, pressing back with her eager ass. She cast a glance back over her shoulder, relying on her pouty bottom lip to convey her excitement since she was still a slave to the god-forsaken blindfold. She bit her lip and begged, “Please take me hard and fast, Ki.”

“I'll take you how I want to take you,” he snapped as he grabbed a handful of her rump. “Lucky for you, I just so happen to want you hard and fast.”

She felt the insistent head of the vice president’s hard-on soak itself in her messy folds, and she trembled so hard, her elbows buckled before she struggled back up onto all fours.

“Fuck, you’re wet,” Kihyun growled.

“I knew that’s how you’d like me, sir, wet and ready for you.”

“You know us so well, beautiful. I’m very proud of you.”

His praise went straight to Jordana’s core, so when he pushed in, all he could do was swear at how tight she was. Jordana fell to the mattress the instant he parted her velvet walls, howling into the covers at the electricity between them.

“Get up, Jordana. Let them all hear you.”

With a cry, she forced herself back up against pleasure mounting with every smooth thrust of Kihyun’s cock inside her. The more of himself he gave her, the further she slipped into a blank headspace, where her mouth hung open making noises that were barely human. The only thing she could manage this mindlessly was pushing back to meet his every plunge as her body yearned for more, more, more…

“You feel so nice, YoYo, so nice.”

She’d never heard either of her bosses use the staff nickname for her, and something about it made her heart throb in time with her core.

“Do you feel desired, beautiful?”

“Fuck, yes…”

“Do you feel good?”

“S-so good,” she murmured.

The vice president grunted as his hands tightened on her hips. “Who’s making you feel this good?”

“Only Kihyun, ah!”

“You’re slurring your words, beautiful. You can barely talk riding my dick. Am I fucking you that good?”

But Jordana really couldn’t think anymore. While Kihyun rubbed so diligently against that one knuckle-tightening spot inside her, nonsense dribbled from her lips the way she expected drool to at any second. Her body was on autopilot. She pistoned herself on his length until he stopped moving all together and let her seek her pleasure on him.

Kihyun laughed behind her. “So eager to cum for me. Should we save some for the rest of the boys? Still a lot to go.”

Jordana knew what he wanted. A man like Kihyun wanted her singular attention, and he always found a way to get it, but words were getting harder and harder to form as he kept her thrumming on the cusp of ecstasy. Still, he would be disappointed if she didn’t acknowledge him the way he deserved to be acknowledged.

“Want to be good for you, sir, so good for you…”

“God, I love—your cunt,” he stammered. “Time to make it all mine.”

“Yours…”

He stroked a hand down her curved spine and settled into a comfortable home at the crest of her ass to steady her for his more ferocious fucking.

“Insatiable girl,” he growled as he rode her relentlessly. “Can’t get enough.”

Jordana nodded stupidly, her brain empty of all things but gratification. She was seconds away from another mind-numbing orgasm, and inhibitions had been lost hours ago. “Never enough. I’m the company whore!”

Suddenly, Kihyun slowed to a stop. His hands kneaded the swell of her ass before he pulled her cheeks apart to get a clear view of her hole swallowing his member. His thumb stroked the plush of her cheek despite how firm his voice was.

“Squeeze me as hard as you can.”

Jordana contracted every muscle she could until it felt like she was drawing Kihyun deeper and forever into her. He gripped her ass so hard she wondered if she’d be able to sit after this, but the pain disappeared in the rush of warmth that spread throughout her walls as he unloaded inside her. Not even a second later, someone else’s cum splattered against her back, too.

“Sorry about that, YoYo,” said Minhyuk, surprisingly bashful. She collapsed onto the mattress and, a moment later, she felt the edge of the sheet scrub her back dry before someone rolled her over.

Kihyun pressed his lips against hers in a not-quite kiss, like he wanted her to feel his words as much as he wanted to keep them from the others’ prying ears, as he whispered, “If you ever want that orgasm I denied you, you'll have to come to my office to collect.”

“Minha nossa Senhora…” Jordana whimpered, her body actually quivering from head to toe.

That was twice now she’d been close to release, and twice she hadn’t received it. The first time had been merciful and the second cruel, and even though her body was well-used and abused, her muscles were still tight with the anticipation of the climax they’d been promised.

“Poor baby looks so tired,” Hoseok observed as he ran his big hand over her cheek.

“Kihyun, you dick,” groused Hyungwon. “You could have been a little gentler.”

The vice president tutted. “You do what you want on your turn. The rest is between Jordana and me.”

“Let’s get you under the covers, Jordana,” Hyunwoo said to her as he eased her up the length of the bed and propped up the pillows behind her before laying the sheet over her. “Comfortable?”

“Mm,” she murmured.

Hyunwoo slid the blindfold up, and Jordana blinked ferociously. The room was lit only by the soft light spilling in from the hallway, but after all that darkness, it felt like a spotlight. She squinted at the men in various states of undress, most completely naked or just in underwear except Hyunwoo who remained fully buttoned up save for his missing tie.

Seeing Hyungwon’s lithe, toned form without his usual cozy sweatshirt or Kihyun’s tight abs no longer concealed by a suit made her mind fuzzy, to say nothing of Wonho and Jooheon’s thick thighs bared for her enjoyment. Changkyun lazed on the couch in his boxer briefs, his wiry frame taut, while Minhyuk stood at her bedside, naked and carefree, smiling down at her as though he was always this way and she was the delusional one. Maybe she was because here she was, naked and sullied from head to toe, in the middle of her coworkers with whom she was expected to work as usual tomorrow.

“Just close your eyes, Jordana,” her boss assured as he finally slipped off her heels and guided her feet under the covers. “Take all the time you want.”

Through the sheet, Hyunwoo’s thumbs traced the underside of her breasts briefly before he disappeared, giving her a much-needed breather. It wasn’t that Jordana wanted to stop, especially not after getting her sight back, but her sex was aching both with abuse and her denied release. She knew she should go clean up in the bathroom, but the pillows were so soft and the sheets were so smooth, and before she knew it, she’d drifted into a quick nap.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d slept, but all too soon, she was awake again, sore but curious. She wondered what the boys would be doing without her as the obvious center of attention. When she wasn’t pretending to be asleep, Jordana stole a few glances around the Crash Pad and found most of the boys as she usually found them, gaming or eating or causing trouble. Some of them shuffled around the office, chiding each other as they cleaned up the room or scrubbing themselves down with towels. Dimly, she heard the shower running and she longed for it, but what was the point right now?

“Spying on us, huh?” Changkyun said with a hooked grin, making her jump.

“No! I just woke up for a second,” Jordana asserted, but she could tell from the bob of his cheek that he knew that was horseshit.

“Either way, I get my opening.”

He disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a washcloth to wipe her face for her. Changkyun sat at the edge of the bed and leaned over as her brought the damp fabric to her brow first with a slow sweep down each cheek next.

“You’re so pretty, YoYo,” he said before kissed the freshly scrubbed skin. Jordana felt tingles rush to the cheek where his lips had just been before they traveled much lower, where his hands were now headed. He rolled down the sheet to her mid-thigh so he could mop up the mess they’d made so far between her legs, and the moment the warm cloth soothed over her slit, she sighed, thrusting eagerly into its gentle heat.

“Careful,” Changkyun warned, his mouth next to her ear. “Everyone’s looking now. You know how easily excitable we are, especially when it comes to you.”

“Changkyun,” Jordana whined, her hand groping over his at her core. The heat and the softness felt so good that one ache melted away for a very different kind.

When he kissed her again, this time, it was just below her ear before he took her lobe in between his teeth and nibbled. “The way you say my name gets me so hard. It’s not fair.”

The cloth between her legs wasn’t cleaning so much anymore as it was rubbing circles with the most delicious friction. Jordana didn’t even bother to stop her hips from rutting against it. With Changkyun’s tongue at her ear, it all felt too good.

“That was so mean of Kihyun to bring you to your peak and leave you there.”

“Mmm,” was the best Jordana could agree as Changkyun slipped a finger inside her.

“I would never be that mean to you,” he assured as his finger picked up speed while the cloth rubbed more determinedly over her clit. “Unless you want me to be.”

“Nn-nn. Ah!”

“Shh, shh. You’ll spoil all my private fun. Just you and me, YoYo. Doesn’t that sound pretty?”

Jordana whimpered a touch too loudly, and the invaders came storming in immediately.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” shouted Minhyuk as he elbowed his younger friend’s arm away from her core. “She’s supposed to be resting. You’re not supposed to take advantage.”

“She wanted me to take advantage!” Changkyun retorted though he reluctantly backed off the bed and shuffled toward the bathroom. Jordana might have found it endearing if it weren’t for the playful pinch and flick at her nipple before he left.

“How are you feeling, YoYo?” asked Minhyuk.

“Competitive,” she teased.

Their fingers danced next to one another’s until Jordana took the initiative and held his hand. Minhyuk looked down, shock evident on his face along with a charming pinkness to his ears. With an unexpectedly shaky voice, he said, “Ready to finish the game?”

“Almost. Snuggle with me for a minute?”

Judging by the number of brilliant white teeth he flashed her, nothing could have made the man happier. Minhyuk leapt into the bed and immediately threw an arm over her naked waist. He nuzzled his cheek against her shoulder and purred as he wriggled close enough to squeeze out the last microns of space between them. Jordana closed her eyes and let him snuggle her for a long moment until she had almost drifted back into sleep, but her coworker had other plans.

Warm wetness blossomed at her breast, and when she opened her eyes, she found Minhyuk suckling at her nipple. Her hand moved automatically into his hair, clasping his mouth to her as his tongue worked determined magic around her sensitive skin.

“Oh, Minnie, that feels so good,” she mewled. “You’ve got me so wet already.”

His eyes opened and met hers as he stayed latched to her tit though his hand was wandering under the sheet at her waist. One slender finger danced along her seam, and at the slightest part, a river of arousal pooled onto the sheet.

Finally, Minhyuk released her nipple and moved to kiss her, all while his coaxing never stopped. Jordana could feel her clit pulsing with anticipation, but before he could escalate things, Hoseok’s voice boomed through the room.

“Game back on, boys!”

It was almost comical the way the other six men apparated beside them, but now their coworkers were back with black gazes and wet lips as they watched the pair on the bed.

Minhyuk kissed Jordana sweetly this time and, without a hint of complaint, said, “Gotta share again. I’ll scheme smarter next time.”

He withdrew from the bed, but not without whisking away the sheet the way a magician did for his big reveal.

“I warmed her up for you guys,” the troublemaker proclaimed as he slipped behind Hyungwon and Changkyun, clapping them both on their still-bare shoulders. “You can thank me later.”

“Didn’t need your help, but okay,” quipped Hyungwon with a glower at his friend.

Thanks to her newfound freedom, Jordana was able to take in the glorious sight of seven men getting unavoidably aroused the sight of her naked form stretched out for them. While most of the guys had at least underwear on, it wasn’t enough for any of them to conceal their expectant bulges, with Hoseok and Changkyun palming themselves shamelessly. Just then, someone slid the tie down from its headband position and tightened it again over her eyes.

“Aw, come on, guys,” Jordana complained. “I was enjoying the view.”

“And you can enjoy it again in two more players,” reminded Hyunwoo.

“Even though once I’ve guessed one, then I’ll know the next?”

“Yes,” her boss said so firmly that her back felt compelled to arch. “You only earned that privilege for the last round.”

For him.

Jordana squirmed at just the thought.

“Okay, fine. I just want—” She cut herself off, suddenly too afraid to release what was on the other side of her lips even after all they’d just experienced together.

“What do you want, baby? We can't help you if you don't tell us,” encouraged Jooheon.

“I—”

“Say it,” commanded Minhyuk as he twisted her nipple just enough to send a shower of sparks behind her eyes. “Say it!”

Before she could stop it, Jordana shouted, “I just want to be used!”

The room was dead silent. Even the music felt like it had screeched to a halt. Embarrassment colored her skin from head to toe. Admitting to something like that felt even more illicit in some ways than group sex with her coworkers, but the thought of being heedlessly passed around for their pleasure made her body shake in ways that even her orgasms hadn’t.

“You want us to use this perfect, perfect body to get ourselves off?” said Kihyun as the first of many hands dusted over her prickling skin until she couldn’t tell who was touching her where.

“Yes…”

“And you don’t care if we just fuck you full of cum and leave you limp like that?” Changkyun said.

Fuck, his voice was so smoky, it should have been illegal.

“Please! I want you to so bad,” Jordana begged. “Make me feel pretty.”

Hoseok stroked her messy hair and said softly, “You are pretty, YoYo. Prettiest girl we’ve ever seen.”

“How did we get so lucky?” mused Changkyun as his hand swept over stomach and mound. “Such a good little doll. So beautiful. Gonna let us use you all up until there’s nothing left?”

“Yes!” she said, trembling on the bed. “Yes, use me!”

Hyunwoo cleared his throat. “You heard the lady. Next player.”

The bed dipped, and someone lifted the sheet to drape it over both Jordana and the man who had settled in behind her. The new player wheedled one arm under her while the other draped over her side and immediately cupped her breast as his lips kissed the expanse of her throat. His hold was gentle and adoring as his long, thin fingers caressed the heavy weight of her globe before finally focusing on her nipple with reverential circles that made the dark ring around it pebble.

Once he’d had his fill of her tits, his hands moved down to her stomach to knead the soft flesh there. There was something so erotic about a mouth on her neck and a hand charting her skin that made Jordana feel treasured. She sighed into his touch, offering more of her neck in case he wanted to taste it, and he wasted no time in doing so. As good as his lips felt tasting her pulse, it wasn’t enough to distract from his fingers guiding her leg up and back over his own. Her heart hammered, and she knew he would feel it under his silken tongue.

The hand at her leg disappeared in favor of lining up his tip with her entrance, and now her heart stopped completely as she waited for him to push in.

“Please, yes,” she whispered throatily, and that was all her lover needed to glide into her soaked center.

Her cunt swallowed him greedily until he was sheathed in her heat. While the hand under her gripped her breast tightly, the top hand curled back onto her belly, centered firmly over her mound to push her ass back against him. He held her like this for a long moment—long enough for her to feel his length pulsing inside her, and she knew he was fighting off cumming before he could even fuck her.

Instead, she relaxed into his embrace, enjoying every second of being tangled up hopelessly with this man. His breaths scorched the nape of her neck as his thigh tensed under her leg, and finally, he regained his composure and thrust gently into her.

“I wish that was me again,” lamented Minhyuk from the sidelines. “YoYo’s so pretty writhing on the bed. Let us hear you, sweetheart.”

But try as she might, Jordana couldn’t make a sound even as her mouth hung open. This side angle left Jordana feeling both stuffed and consumed, and for some reason, it brought a tear to her eye that she couldn’t wipe away. Instead, it puddled in the juncture at her nose until someone wiped it for her.

“All good, Jordana?” Hyunwoo asked.

“I’ve never felt so good,” she confessed and experienced another rush of emotion that, this time, she managed to choke down before it embarrassed her.

She wanted so badly to curl her hand over the one on her mound, but from this angle, she still wasn’t sure which of her sweet introverts was spooled around her, but as his strokes plowed lazily through her snug walls and his thick kisses showered her spine and her shoulders, Jordana recognized the dark intensity of Hyungwon’s aura. There was something about the way he was holding her that was so possessive. Maybe it was the sheet that trapped them together in their own secret, illicit world, or maybe it was grope of his fingers as they spilled over with her ample tit, but she felt completely owned by him.

She didn’t want to share any of the sanctuary of his arms just yet, but there was no way of keeping his beautiful name out of her mouth any longer.

“Hyungwon, more!”

Jordana was full of him in every way that mattered—her pussy, her senses, her head, her heart—and she fed off of every one of his labored breaths in her wild hair.

“Call my name again,” he whispered. “Call it forever.”

“Hyungwon, Hyungwon, Hyungwon…” she murmured as her hand clasped his at last. “Don’t let me go.”

“Never,” he grunted, raspy and needy, and she knew he wouldn’t last much longer and neither would their solitude.

On cue, the blanket pulled down to her torso and someone groped the breast that was currently unoccupied.

Hyungwon tapped her cheek and rasped, “Open up for our friends.”

Someone guided her hand from Hyungwon’s and instead placed it over his own hard length. Beside him, someone else hovered hot and primal by her parted lips. The moment he slipped his leaking cock in, Jordana tasted herself, and she knew this was someone she’d already fucked. The fact that he was hard for her again sent a shiver of power through her, and behind her, Hyungwon groaned in that impossibly deep voice of his.

“I felt that, you know,” he growled against the hidden skin just behind her ear. “We gave ourselves away. You know how much command you have over us now, don’t you?”

Jordana couldn’t answer with a mouth full of hard dick, but she didn’t need to. Hyungwon could tell from the fierce way her pussy held him.

It was hard work, blowing a guy while jerking one and being fucked by yet another, but this was what she wanted—this much command over men who commanded her every day. She might have been the one being used, but she had all the power here.

As best she could, she slurped and licked and sucked his length until the man above her started thrusting himself lightly into her mouth, signaling his immediate end. Just as Jordana opened wider to accept as much of him as she could, Hyungwon cupped the back of her head and pushed her gently down on his friend’s cock. Only when the man above her came down her throat with a pathetic whimper did she realize it was Jooheon’s load she’d swallowed.

He pulled out and she smiled up at the face she imagined there. “Thank you, Honey.”

“Shit,” he cursed as he staggered back. “You’re too perfect, baby. Damnit.”

A second later, Jordana felt a fresh hard-on tapping at her lips and she opened again. This man felt no need to keep his identity a secret.

“That’s the way a girl should suck a cock,” Kihyun said, and she shook at his words.

Kihyun also wasn’t shy about fucking her face. He slid in and out of her throat to her obscene sounds as she did her best to handle him along with the fluid thrusts Hyungwon doled out behind her.

The harder he fucked her, the further the sheet slithered down Jordana’s body until fresh air once again bombarded core. An indecent symphony commanded the room as her gags and swallows harmonized with her well-used cunt overflowing with so many men’s exuberant loads. She felt so dirty, so shameless, so adored, and she fucking loved it. A different sort of pleasure roiled through her, not the intense release of climax but the even more intense hoard of greed in her heart.

Jordana had never felt such pride. They were all getting off over and over to her body and her music and her love for them, and she had never felt sexier. She was a filthy, indecent goddess, and they worshipped at her altar.

“Can’t hold it. Gonna cum,” Hyungwon hissed and buried himself as deeply as he could inside her. He let out a powerful groan as he smothered Jordana’s silky walls with a fresh coat of pearl.

Both Kihyun and the mystery man she still jerked in her hand backed away at once now that the round was over, though Hyungwon laid with his lips against her ear, panting so hard, his breath living inside her. His hand swirled over her belly, and the pressure tensed her walls around his sensitive cock until he groaned with such relief that it reverberated under her skin. With another groan, Hyungwon pulled out and rolled off the bed with a dramatic thump.

“That looked like a good one,” Hoseok laughed as he slapped his friend’s chest, which only made the tall gamer whine.

“I can barely stand,” Hyungwon admitted. More shyly, he added, “Thank you, YoYo.”

Jordana just hummed as she rubbed her stomach and sunk back into the mattress. Her jaw ached as much as her legs, and yet a soft smile graced her face.

“You okay?” Minhyuk asked.

“Getting tired, but I’m no quitter.”

The guys laughed, though someone took to rubbing her foot reassuringly.

“So, I can still go?” Changkyun double-checked.

“I want you, Kyun. Please?”

He let out a grateful sigh, but as he moved toward the bed, so did others and he grumbled. “Can I at least get a few minutes' head start?”

“What the hell? No!” Jooheon argued. “I didn't get a head start.”

“You could have if you hadn't given yourself away,” admonished Hoseok.

“Nobody asked for your two cents, HoHo...”

“The difference is I didn’t forfeit my privilege. I just drew the short end of the stick,” Changkyun insisted.

“That's what the short end of the stick means,” Jooheon retorted.

“Enough, boys,” ordered Hyunwoo, and that put an end to the bickering. “Changkyun, you get three minutes.”

The youngest gamer hopped onto the bed without complaint and rolled Jordana face-first into the mattress, his legs straddling her hamstrings before he laid flat against her back. She felt every inch of his nakedness searing her skin as his mouth pressed to her ear and said, “Put your hands underneath, doll. You can pretend they’re my hands and touch yourself if you want or just lay here and take my cock. Whatever makes you happy. Either way, I’m going steal my pleasure from you.”

“Oh fuck, yes…”

Changkyun maneuvered Jordana’s ass up into a perky, tempting hill. He stroked her skin appreciatively and gave her a light slap just to hear her yelp with excitement. His hand traveled to his shaft, and for a moment, he poked around between the hidden recess between her thighs until he found her soaked entrance and pushed in quickly. Her moan was deep and raw, gobbled up mostly by the mattress where she buried her face as her eyes rolled back in her head.

“Shit, that’s a snug fit,” Changkyun breathed. “God, they really made a mess of you, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” Jordana whimpered.

“You’re ruined, YoYo. All used up,” he said as his hand traced her spine, “but you don’t care.”

“Use me, too, Kyun. Por favor…”

She was aware of exactly how whiny she was, but the way his cock was shoved so tightly into her did funny things to her brain, and anyway, judging from the pulse of his length at her words, it was exactly what he wanted to hear the way he wanted to hear it.

Slowly, Changkyun rocked in and out of her, dragging along her core with savage purpose. If Jordana thought she’d been full of Hyungwon, it was even more overwhelming in this position. The only thing she could focus on was the pleasure between her legs. This wasn’t about her cumming again, but the closer she was to release, the tighter she’d be for him, and he’d waited so long and her eager fingers were already so close to her clit…

Jordana brushed the aching button at her apex, and as she did, her fingers glanced off Changkyun’s drenched manhood. He sighed and shivered so delectably that it made her moan.

“Good little doll, touching herself for me. Do you wish those were my fingers?”

“Mm-hm,” she managed with a wicked hitch of breath.

“Do a good job, baby. That’s what I would do for you.”

Pretty quickly, Jordana realized every time her fingers brushed his cock, Changkyun would lose some of his composure, so with every circle she made over herself, she made a secret effort to touch him, too. It was working all too easily. She could feel the way he hardened with every pass, and she hoped when he came again, this time it would leave him breathless.

Changkyun fucked just as intensely as he kissed and just as focused as he worked. His hands curled around her waist, holding her still to glide effortlessly in and out of her. From this angle, the curve of his cock was just right to torture her most receptive spots, and moan after incoherent moan died in the sheets.

“Time’s up,” announced Hyunwoo, and it may as well have been a starter pistol for as fast as a pair of their coworkers joined them on the bed.

“Changkyun, you little shit,” groused Minhyuk.

“You purposefully fucked her like this so we can’t tag in,” Hoseok continued.

“This is for her,” the youngest gamer replied, but Jordana could hear the smile in his voice.

Hoseok clucked his tongue. “Yeah, yeah.”

A moment later though, a large, warm hand carded through her sweaty hair and soothed the prickles there. Despite the continued ravages to her pussy, this felt so tender that she melted into it with a long purr. “How’s our little cub doing back there, YoYo?”

“So good. Mm, so good…”

She felt a new hand groping at her ass, and suddenly, the pressure changed as she was pried apart. Cool air clashed with her hot core, and she gasped.

Minhyuk tsked long and low. “I’ve never seen such a messy pussy. Kyunnie better fuck all that cum deeper into you where it belongs.”

“Porra, Kyun! Ah, I want it.”

Jordana rubbed her clit harder now, feeling the tension gathering her in belly and hoping Changkyun could, too.

“I could go all night like this,” he bragged, but she could hear the strain in his voice.

“Well, don’t,” scolded Kihyun. “Jordana’s tired and Hyunwoo’s getting impatient.”

Now, her pussy was clenching for a whole new reason. Hyunwoo was impatient? That was a thing she had never seen, and she burned to see the calm and collected president so much as tap his foot or pace the floor. How hot would that chiseled face look with burning need embossing its edges…

With a snarl, Changkyun picked up speed, the squelching of her core proclaiming Jordana a sinner for the whole office to hear. Her fingers stilled over her belly as she concentrated instead on the feeling of her young friend racing to his end inside her.

“Roll her over! Roll her over!” he commanded as he pulled out to her cry.

Hoseok and Minhyuk wasted no time flopping Jordana onto her back where Minhyuk pressed her tits together in time for Changkyun to shower them with his cum. Beads of hot liquid splattered from her neck and collar down all the way down to her navel until, finally, Changkyun collapsed into the covers with a dramatic “Fuck!”

The room was quiet again save for a harmony of ragged breaths.

“Damn, YoYo,” came the heavy panting from the sharp-jawed boy at the end of the bed, “you’re such a naughty doll wearing my necklace like that. So beautiful.”

A little scuffle broke out nearby as the boys jostled around until Hyunwoo said, “Leave it. Changkyun’s right. She looks pretty in our jewelry.”

“Hyunwoo,” Jordana said with a little cry.

At last, the tie unwound from behind her head, and light attacked her eyes. Gradually, Hyunwoo came into view along with his friends surrounding her on all sides. The president was the only one with a lick of clothing still on; in fact, he was fully dressed save for a top button unbuttoned. He had even draped his tie back around his neck, looking like a husband home from a long day in the office.

“I want to see all of you,” she pleaded as her fingers tugged at the bottom of his shirt. “Isn't that fair after all whole night in a blindfold?”

“I suppose it is,” he replied.

Hyunwoo’s fingers went to his throat and undid the next button with same art that an exotic dancer would. Each button caved to his will until they were all undone, and his shirt parted for a dazzling view of flawless abs, not chiseled like Hoseok’s, but firm and defined with a sexy shape that tapered to strong hips beneath his slacks. With that same dancer’s grace, he shrugged out of each sleeve as if in slow motion, leaving only the tie dangling against his beautiful muscles.

Once his glorious upper body was in full view, he moved to the clasp on his pants, and with the flick of his thumb, they came undone, revealing a fine trail of coarse black hairs disappearing under the hem of his briefs.

“I really want to touch you,” she said, her fingers trembling toward the impressive bulge straining against the fabric. Hyunwoo nodded, and Jordana sat up so she could graze her fingers over his erection. Thanks to a fresh cum-stain, his cock head was visible through the now-translucent white fabric, and despite her sore jaw, her mouth watered.

“Take it out, Jordana,” he said.

She nodded dumbly. Such simple words held such power over her. She reached under the band and grasped his veiny girth with a sigh that was echoed with one of Hyunwoo’s own.

“You’re so hard, sir,” Jordana murmured.

“Yes, and I’m going to need you to put it inside you. Right now. Can you do that, Jordana?”

“Oh, yes, sir.”

Hyunwoo nodded, pleased. With a jerk of his head toward a few of his employees, he said, “Hyungwon, get behind her. Support her. Don’t let her go.”

The tall man didn’t waste a second climbing behind her, his knees framing her ass as he eased her back against his sturdy chest. He wrapped his arms around her, and the intimacy felt so good, Jordana mewled. With a smile on his thick lips, Hyungwon mouthed along the nape of her neck to savor the pleasant rumble.

“Hoseok. Kihyun. Sit on either side of her. Hold her open.”

As a rush of wetness dribbled between her lower lips, they nodded. With wide eyes, Jordana looked to both men, but they were focused on the order from their boss. Hoseok took her left side as Kihyun took her right, their shoulders butting against her as their thighs bookended hers. Kihyun slipped his hand under her knee and hefted it over his leg so hers was pinned over his; meanwhile, Hoseok followed suit. Now, Jordana was spread eagle and trapped that way for her boss.

Her heart was beating out of her chest. Hyunwoo simply stared at her. His eyes roved up her athletic calves and along her supple thighs, until they found her throbbing nexus waiting just for him. The corner of his mouth twitched just a bit, betraying what she might have otherwise worried was indifference, and she sucked in a breath. That brought Hyunwoo’s gaze sailing over her belly and her flushed, cum-splashed tits up to her neck, parted lips, and finally, her hungry gaze.

He gripped his base and pumped his length a few times, his eyes never leaving hers. “You’re going to bury this inside you, okay?”

“Yes, please,” she begged.

“And you’re going to watch me fuck you, understood?”

Jordana mumbled greedily as she reached for Hyunwoo’s thick, sturdy length.

“Jordana.”

Everything inside her stilled so she could listen to Hyunwoo’s every word. His finger curled under her chin while his thumb pinned it there. There was no way to run from the blackness in his gaze.

“Don’t close your eyes.”

She didn’t even have the presence of mind to nod. She was of one purpose only, to take her boss’s manhood as deep as it could go. Jordana encircled his shaft, savoring its soft skin stretched over aching hardness, and centered his tip to her cream-drenched hole. With a gentle tug, she brought him just inside her and steadied her attention on the way her pussy swallowed him. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught his smile before he pushed in.

The stretch was so exquisite that her head tipped back with a decadent moan that reverberated off every surface in the room.

“Hold her head up,” Hyunwoo demanded to the men supporting her. “I want her to see everything.”

Hyungwon centered her head under his chin as he whispered praise to her and stroked the undersides of her breasts. On either side of her, Hoseok and Kihyun rubbed the insides of her knees or smoothed the expanse of her thighs while Hyunwoo established his dominant rhythm between her legs.

He speared her over and over again, and Jordana finally got to see how truly impressive these men were. Hyunwoo glistened with a fresh sheen of sweat as each thrust eroded a little more of his composure. His shrewd eyes narrowed with every squeeze of her cunt, and quiet grunts punctuated the air.

Striving for more power, he tipped forward, his mouth perilously close to hers again. His tie tickled against her belly with every thrust until at last she yanked it free. In one swift motion, Jordana wrapped it around Hyunwoo’s eyes and held it in place behind his head.

“How do I feel, sir?”

“Like tight, wet silk. You have a magnificent pussy, Jordana.”

She never expected such crass words said so matter-of-factly from her boss, but they felt so right in his mouth, just like how right his cock felt in her cunt. She lifted her head from Hyungwon’s chest and kissed Hyunwoo hard. He was so surprised, he stilled inside her in favor of capturing every inch of her lips with his own. The way his hand gripped the back of her head made Jordana feel totally at his mercy, which she realized, pinned open and held back, she was. The tie slipped from her hands and his shoulders, pooling on the bed as the pressure from his lips traveled down to her body and made her quiver around his shaft.

The president broke away with a hiss and looked down where their bodies joined. His fat bottom lip drooped as he watched, transfixed, at the way he moved in and out of her. There were no more words said, by them or by the others. Any conversation was carried through their body talk, through the squelches of her cunt or the groans from his throat or their synchronized panting.

Through the continued onslaught of pleasure, Jordana watched everything as ordered. Those who weren’t holding her jerked off freely, and she wasn’t sure she’d anything sexier in her life than Jooheon, Minhyuk, and Changkyun leaning against each other as they stroked their cocks to the sight of her.

Hyungwon plucked at her nipples as his mouth traced up and down her neck like a bow over a violin, and Jordana sang at his sensual motions. To feel so worshipped even as she was ruthlessly fucked was recipe for a climax like she’d never felt before.

She may have been finally free of the blindfold, but her vision was blurring with every questing thrust of Hyunwoo’s cock deeper into her.

“You’re going to cum with me, yes?” he demanded.

“Yes,” she answered immediately.

“Not before me, Jordana, and not after. With.”

With wide eyes and a frantic nod, she agreed.

His thumb stroked her clit mercilessly as his shaft drilled into her. Jordana’s nails bit into the men beside her, but if they complained, she couldn’t hear them over the blood in her ears. Everything in her body was convulsing. Her throat made little choking sounds as her toes curled, too.

“Make it happen,” Hyunwoo ordered to the others around her, and everything ramped up exponentially.

“Give us one more,” Hyungwon urged, his tongue now in the shell of her ear.

“We know you can,” said Kihyun.

Both Hoseok and he were stroking her inner thighs in perfect harmony, and her body tuned to it like the instrument of pleasure it now exclusively was. But their fingers didn't stay innocent for long. They closed the night as the evening had started, with multiple hands adoring every inch of her cunt—stroking and petting and flicking and rubbing.

Her body squirmed in their grip, trying to escape the intensity. “I can’t! I can’t!”

“You will.”

“Come on, angel.”

“You can take it.”

Their voices were in stereo—surrounding her, caging her, filling her.

She wasn’t making sense anymore. Only feral noises bubbled up from her lips, a combination of delirium and wantonness.

“She’s seconds away,” Kihyun noted.

“You close, boss?” asked Hoseok.

“Mm,” was all Hyunwoo could respond. His strokes were getting wilder and more emphatic, and his meticulous hair was shellacked to his brow with sweat. With what was left of her brain, Jordana barely recognized her boss. She’d never seen him so lost, so out-of-control, and it made her pussy flutter with pride.

“Are you ready, babygirl?” he grunted in between strokes.

Babygirl.

Hyunwoo had called her babygirl…

“Gonna—”

It was the best Jordana could do. For a moment, the world around her went blank. There was nothing but an eruption of carnal sensation from the center of her very being. Her head dug into Hyungwon’s collar and her chest lifted with her hips as her world came undone.

Her eyes creaked open barely in time to catch Hyunwoo, with just his tip nestled inside her, pumping the last of his load into her walls. He was making the cutest little grunts with every twitch of his balls that Jordana underscored with pathetic hiccupped moans of her own.

The second he pulled out, sated and sticky, Minhyuk rushed in and spurted his seed all over her quaking cunt and thighs.

“Did you really have to do that?” Kihyun chastised with a roll of his eyes.

Minhyuk glared a challenge right back. “Where else do you suggest, huh? Your keyboard?”

A slur of Korean swears came tumbling out of the vice president’s lips as he tried to turn his back on his insolent coworker, but Minhyuk was nothing if not relentless. He flopped onto the bed beside his friend and hummed. “Whew, I’m beat.”

Hoseok laughed. “Oh, really? You’re tired?”

“How’re you doing, YoYo?” Jooheon wondered with a squeeze of her leg.

“I think I’m alive? Barely?”

The hands on her thighs switched from mischievous to helpful as they massaged the sore muscles there with sincerity. This time, the sighs leaving Jordana’s lips were grateful, and she slouched against Hyungwon with a light smile on her face, which the tall boy wasted no time bending down to peck.

“Keep doing that,” she said dreamily, and Hoseok and Kihyun exchanged smiles. “Feels so nice.”

“Which?” asked Hyungwon, that puffy top lip of his brushing hers as he spoke. “The kiss or the massage?”

“Mm, both.”

As the other boys soothed and rubbed her tired extremities, Hyungwon kissed her in his lazy way, the perfect bow on the last of her presents. Before anybody could get riled up again, he pulled up and brushed the hair from her face.

At length, the other guys closed her knees like a book, and Jordana groaned and buried her face in the covers. “Fuck, I’m tired.”

“Minhyuk, go turn on the shower,” Hyunwoo ordered.

“I, um,” Jordana stammered, “I don’t think I can stand by myself.”

“Who do you want to go in with you?” Hoseok asked, voice painfully full of hope.

She groaned again. “Please don’t make me pick, guys.”

“The rest of you troublemakers,” commanded Kihyun as he stepped to the head of the pack, “clean this place up. Hyunwoo, you’ve got Jordana’s clothes, yes?”

“I’ll take care of it,” the president confirmed.

Kihyun nodded. “Everyone, out of our way then.”

The next thing Jordana knew, she was scooped up in the vice president’s arms. She yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck, suddenly very self-conscious of her weight and her form pressing against his stern chest. Kihyun didn’t seem to consider her an inconvenience at all though as he marched the pair of them to the bathroom where steam was already beckoning.

“I had no idea you were this strong,” she confessed from her hiding spot at the base of his neck.

“Ditto,” he replied before he set her down and peeled back the shower curtain. “You worked hard tonight.”

“Um, Ki?” Jordana hedged.

“What is it, beautiful?”

“I really have to pee.”

Kihyun laughed. “I’ll be right back then.”

He closed the door, and once she had cleaned herself up, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. There looking back, she saw a face she hadn't seen in a long time: Bright with exertion, flush from the thrill, and young and wild once again. Despite the exhaustion, she saw power and confidence, like an Amazon ready to overthrow a kingdom and take it as her own.

“You ready?” Kihyun called through the door.

“I can manage,” she protested, but they both knew it was a lie. It had taken sheer force of will just to stand up from the toilet.

Kihyun came in to a steamy room and helped Jordana onto the slick tiles. Minhyuk had dragged in a stool from the breakfast bar, and the vice president smiled. “Guess I have to okay that annoying brat’s raise after all.”

Kihyun helped Jordana onto the seat before centering her under the water. She hissed as the heat singed away the twinges in her muscles and washed away her many transgressions.

“Feel good?” he asked.

“Like actual heaven,” Jordana hummed as she tipped her head back into the full stream.

Kihyun was quick to jump in, running his fingers through her hair to saturate every strand. His hands might have been merciless in bed, but he was so gentle in the shower. He massaged shampoo into her scalp—by the smell of it, it was Hoseok’s—and moved just as carefully to conditioner until, at last, he could soap every inch of her body. He could have just as easily taken the opportunity to start more trouble between her sensitive legs, but instead, he washed with tenderness and a surprising amount of professionalism considering what had just happened between the eight of them.

“Let me know when you’re ready to rinse off,” he said, and all Jordana could do was sigh.

She wanted to watch Kihyun scrub his beautiful skin pink, wanted to admire the way his muscles pulled taut as he twisted to wash his hips and thighs, but the water was so warm and the steam was so thick and she was so tired that she couldn’t hold her eyes open for long. She felt herself slouching on the stool, and before she could even worry about falling asleep on it, she felt Kihyun’s sturdy chest behind her, propping her up. His arms were loose around her waist, and his chin was on her shoulder.

“Do you want to just crash here?” he asked.

“Mm, no offense, but I think I want my own bed tonight.”

Kihyun laughed softly. “You don’t trust us?”

“After tonight?” she said with a laugh just as soft. “No way, not with me.”

“Smart girl.”

“And, hey, I guessed everyone correctly, so I won again. How about that?”

His grin was a little tighter now as he said, “I think you have seven disappointed guys who were hoping for a week of you all to themselves.”

“Sore losers,” she teased, though she felt the same measure of disappointment that this was ending.

The thought of returning to normal tomorrow felt both impossible and untenable, but Jordana couldn’t expect her coworkers and friends to continue such charades forever when they’d made it very clear this was just a birthday present. In retrospect, maybe she should have gotten a few more names wrong.

Kihyun felt her tense, and he asked, “You ready to get out then?”

Jordana paused, nibbling her lower lip as she considered whether or not to open her mouth. As usual, her common sense lost out and she ventured, “Ki?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you just hold me like this a little longer?”

“As long as you want,” he said.

Jordana slackened completely in her boss’s arms, and before she knew it, she’d drifted off though she kept jerking herself awake despite Kihyun’s temple resting in her wet hair and his hum barely audible over the drum of the showerhead.

Eventually, the steam thinned as the water cooled, and Kihyun had no choice but to turn off the shower. He held Jordana up with one arm as he reached on his tip-toes to grab the nearest towel. Once she was safely cloaked in its cottony depths, Kihyun got to work patting her dry.

“You look like a lost puppy,” he observed as he dabbed the towel around her feet.

“Good thing you found me,” she said, “and not some miscreant like Minhyuk.”

They laughed and shuffled out of the shower, Kihyun bringing up the rear as he finally dried himself off. On the other side of the bathroom door, the other six men wound down with a kaleidoscope of different expressions ranging from joy to impatience to relief and everything else in between. Everyone was dressed for bed in their own ways, some shirtless and others in loose tees. A few of them were squabbling as they finished dressing the beds in the spare sheets and fluffing the pillows.

“Didn’t you hear the way she screamed for me?” Jooheon asserted. “I made her cum harder.”

Minhyuk huffed. “That’s because she couldn’t even make a sound when she came for me.”

Kihyun sighed. “Would one of you two idiots shut up and get Jordana some fresh clothes for her ride home?”

“Aw, you’re not staying?” Hoseok pouted. “We just made the bed for you.”

Jordana glowered at him. “There’s no way I’m letting all of your big, hot bodies pile on top of me after all that. No, I’m going home.”

“You think we’re hot?” the muscle baby asked hopefully, and her eyes fell to the little scratches and marks she’d left all over that broad, powerful chest.

“Mostly, I was talking about being suffocated by your sweaty muscles, but now that I say that out loud, I guess I mean it both ways.”

“I know I heard my name in there,” Minhyuk said brightly as he bounded forward with shirt that was definitely his and a pair of sweats that were definitely Hyungwon’s. “No doubt talking about how I was your favorite.”

“Favorite deviant,” Hyungwon corrected.

Jordana grinned. “Yeah, exactly that actually.”

“I’ll take it!” Minhyuk beamed as he swooped in and plucked the sleepy woman from Kihyun’s grip to spirit her over to the couch. He didn’t even give her the chance to finish toweling off before he tugged the shirt over her head, though he spared plenty of extra seconds to grope her still-unbound tits.

Jordana wrinkled her nose and swatted him away though she regretted it the moment she tried to pull on the pants herself. It was hard enough dressing with tacky skin, but when every single muscle was lifeless as stone, it was an effort in futility.

Jooheon swooped in just in time, on his knees so he could prop one of her feet on his shoulder and scoot the cozy cotton up her leg for her. “Poor pretty baby is exhausted, and Min’s too selfish to help.”

“I put on her shirt, didn’t I?” his friend protested.

“For your own perverted reasons...”

Jordana laughed as the waistband reached her ass, and with the mightiest of efforts, she heaved up barely long enough for him to pull the seat of the pants over her backside. “Thanks, Honey.”

“Dressing or undressing, I’m your man,” he said with his deepest dimples on display.

“Tell me again who’s the pervert?” Minhyuk retorted.

Once she was fully clothed, Hyunwoo scooped her up from the couch, a shocked cry leaving her as she wrapped an arm automatically around his neck.

“Say goodnight to your coworkers, Jordana,” he said.

With rouged cheeks and an unexpected bout of shyness, she said, “Goodnight, guys. Thanks for an amazing birthday.”

“Speaking of,” Changkyun said as he trotted over. He laid her neatly folded clothes (with a conspicuously missing pair of underwear), heels, and concert tickets in her lap before he topped the pile with the orchids. His thumb played about the flower’s lips just as hers had before his dark eyes met hers. “How about one last birthday kiss?”

She nodded, and Changkyun pressed his lips to hers, which of course had to be followed by the whole chain of jealous gamers.

Finally, Hyunwoo whisked her out of the office to his silver Mercedes waiting in the garage. She had languished through some pregnant stretches of silence tonight, but the one in the car felt much weightier with just her boss beside her.

It was very late, and the car sailed through the sparsely traveled city streets, though it seemed to catch every red light along the way. It wasn’t until they were crossing the Queensboro Bridge that Jordana found the courage to speak.

Her lips fluttered together in a dramatic raspberry as she sighed. “I screwed up.”

Hyunwoo’s scowl was instant. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I just fucked my whole office?” she snarked but immediately wrinkled her nose and covered her mouth. “Sorry, that was rude.”

“You're cute,” Hyunwoo said with a smirk. “After all that, you're still watching your language around me.”

“Sorry. It felt…”

“Unprofessional?” he suggested. Jordana nodded. “No less professional than sleeping with your employee, I think.”

With a pucker first, she asked, “Are we going to be okay?”

Hyunwoo’s hands tightened on the wheel. “How do you mean?”

“Like, to work together? We’re still going to be able to do that, right? I didn’t just mess things up, did I?”

“First of all, Jordana, if anything were messed up, it wouldn’t be your fault. That would be all on me, totally and completely. But it’s not, okay? If you want everything to go back as though nothing happened, I’ll make sure it happens. Just say the word.”

“And if I don’t?” she mumbled.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “If you don’t what?”

Jordana shook her head. “I didn’t say anything.”

They drove like that for a while, the lights of New York City flickering between the lamp posts on the highway. With her forehead pressed against the cool glass, it was hypnotic. Slowly, her muscles relaxed and her worries faded with her transgressions.

The next thing she knew, the car was double-parked in front of a brick apartment building in Queens, and Hyunwoo put on his four-ways.

“Hey, this is my place,” Jordana said surprised as she recognized the fish market next to the salon.

“That was the plan,” he reminded.

“No, I mean, how did you know how to get here? I think I spaced out the last fifteen minutes. Or did I fall asleep?”

The corner of Hyunwoo’s mouth twitched. “I didn’t see the need to wake you. I’ve been to your apartment, remember?”

“Yeah, once, like, two years ago.”

“I memorized it. In case you ever needed...” He paused. “…anything.”

“I’m impressed.”

He smiled. “Good, because I’m trying to impress you.”

Jordana hoped the darkness hid her goosebumps. “You already did plenty of that tonight.”

“So my plan to go last worked…”

“Hyunwoo!” Her horror was fake but her embarrassment wasn’t. Softly, Jordana chided, “How unprofessional.”

He shrugged lightly. “Maybe it was, and maybe so is this.”

Hyunwoo leaned in and kissed her.

It was a different experience, watching him leaning in with expectant lips. The angles of his face were softer than they had been when he’d fucked her, but maybe that was just the orange glow of the streetlights on his tan skin.

This wasn’t like the kiss the others had given her before she’d left—quick and sweet and grateful—this was hot and hungry and infused with a kind of passion that made her heart clench even more than her core. The top of his tongue swept into and out of her mouth, bringing with it her lip for him to suckle, and when he let it go, the gentle smack reverberated in the cabin.

“Don't tell the others about that, okay?” he said, his forehead resting against hers.

“Uh, yeah, sure, boss,” she mumbled.

Hyunwoo nodded, the tiniest smile lighting up his face. “I’ll help you inside.”

But Jordana waved him off as she reached for the door handle. “That’s okay. I’ve got it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. De boa,” she said with an okay sign and an awkward smile.

“Listen, don't bother coming in tomorrow,” Hyunwoo added as she was halfway out the door. Fear unexpectedly choked her heart before his next words loosened its hold. “I'm closing the office for the day. I have a feeling everyone will be too tired and too distracted to get any work done. And if you need another day, take it, okay? We’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready to come back. Just—”

The president cleared his throat, and Jordana found herself leaning into his words. “Just what?”

“Come back,” he finished with a gentle throat clear.

“Promise.”

“Happy birthday, Jordana.”

“Thanks, boss, for everything. It was the best birthday ever.” She clutched her bouquet and tickets and beamed across at him with a smile that she knew she shouldn’t give to her boss.

Hyunwoo hummed, replying with an equally inappropriate smile of his own. “Can’t wait to see what you give me for my birthday.”

With a hard bite to her lip, she nodded and closed the door, waving goodnight and begging her jelly legs to carry her up to her apartment before she could begin an even more dangerous game of single player action.

If there was one thing Jordana had learned after tonight, that was a game she would surely lose.

#monsta x smut #shownu smut #wonho smut #minhyuk smut #kihyun smut #hyungwon smut #jooheon smut #changkyun smut #oneshot #office smut #coworkers to lovers #sleeping with the whole damn office #flimsy premise #worshipping a woman because she deserves it

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tobiasdrake · 6 months

Text

Okay, reasonably sure there is no peril here except for the tremendous peril threatening to doom us all. Back to town.

The developers killed all of their Kickstarter subscribers and buried them on an uninhabited island so nobody would ever know. How are things going here? Has anyone built a statue of me yet?

I haven't. Asked anyone to do that. I was just hoping. Of their own volition, maybe....

I also tested the fishing pond. Three different kinds of fish and a shellfish. Most ponds have three types of critter but y'all get four. This place is a paradise.

Oh shit, I forgot to vote for 'Vill-ere' seven hundred times. Dammit, Zale, you were supposed to remind me!

Someone must have stuffed the ballots. What a cheating--

I mean, congratulations, Garl! You deserve it. Hehe heh heh....

No, really, you do. You were organizing the entire town construction while I was off bopping rocks with my staff. I just wanted it because of egotism. Sincerely, this is your moment, man.

I love it! The town of Mirth. The antidote to Woe and Strife. A metaphorical representation of human resilience against the malevolent forces arrayed against life itself.

It's beautiful. Honestly.

Just. Maybe. As the town gets bigger and we start needing to name individual districts, don't forget about me?

We stay any longer and they might elect Garl mayor. They can't have him. He's mine.

I appreciate the tone but if you're here to announce election results, there will be blood. I can be extremely feral when I'm possessive.

Tell him we've gone away to begin our training and won't be able to see him for the next ten goddamned y--

*deep breath* Dweller of Strife. Spite is a luxury that we don't have the budget for right now.

Okay. Calm. Fake smile. Pleasantry.

Thank you, Headmaster. It's so lovely to see you again. I hope you're in good spirits and that this day finds you well.

Oh, you can turn your jolly ass around and leave, then. Bad news is forbidden in Mirth. Or it's going to be as soon as Garl... becomes mayor and....

...shit. Fine. Go on. Ruin my day.

That's it? We knew that a week ago. You've spent a week researching this problem only to reiterate what we already knew?

Uh. Yeah. The three of us are not dozens and dozens of people. Instead of banging your head against that brick wall, maybe you should have been looking for other options. We can't win inside the box so what can we do outside of it?

When you can't untie the knot, you find a knife.

Cool, it's not in the library. Did you try asking the Elder Mist to prophesize something? Talk to the Molekin about the logistics of waking up the Sleeper and Let Them Fighting it with the Dweller? Studied the effects of Roro's soulstones against the Dweller's curses? Just off the top of my head.

Yoyo's out there somewhere. She foresaw Momo's victory against the Dweller of Strife last time. Maybe she can tell us something.

There's plenty of ideas besides reading and rereading the same stuffy tomes from the sky library. I've been out in the world for like two weeks and I already have four. Come on, man.

T_T I'm furious and crying at the same time what the hell

FINE. We don't have the numbers to do this square so I guess we don't need you anyway. T_T Go ahead and abandon me. You're just an old man with no guardrails!

A philosophical surrender to the clash of beliefs with Erlina. I. Have. So many complicated feelings right now.

This is about Momo. I know it's about Momo. I knew it was about Momo from the moment he said it. I realize Moraine is grieving. That he has been grieving, but his ironclad discipline and insistence on upholding duty has prevented him from ever truly processing his feelings. I get that.

But it still hurts that he's springing this on us. I can understand where he's coming from and also feel betrayed about it at the same time.

The ironic thing is, I didn't even want him to come with us. I wanted us to keep doing our thing and trying to solve this problem. But not like this. This hurts.

Y'eet. Ours is Y'eet. That's amazing.

But if you're set on retiring from overwhelming despair and grief that this hellish lifestyle inflicts on everyone who carries it ABANDONING ME then I guess that's my problem to figure out, huh?

T_T

#sea of stars #drake plays sea of stars

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mc-lukanette · 3 years

Text

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

—————

A few days had passed since Marinette had burned the Adrien photos, and Luka was relieved to note that they hadn't come back since. Marinette seemed equally at ease, their daily calls becoming more and more relaxed with each time she told him about her still-empty wall. He did wish he could do a little more concerning the red string around her neck, but his mind was drawing a blank and she was happier than before regardless.

The main problem however, was the relation to the miraculouses. Everyone knew that Ladybug wasn't interested in Chat Noir, a fact that made the knowledge of the red string even worse. He wasn't sure if the red strings were tied to the miraculouses or not - or how if they were indeed connected - but he speculated that it was about more than just talking to Marinette about Adrien; Chat was a factor as well. He couldn’t imagine the societal pressure of Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, and no one had to do much research to realize that Chat Noir was okay with it while Ladybug was very much not.

He'd have to take on the red string from both sides of the masks, and it took one particular day for him to get his chance.

"You want me to go on patrol with you?"

Ladybug nodded, balancing herself on his windowsill as she replied, "If you'd like to. Chat Noir is busy tonight, so the position's opened and you're one of the people used to having a miraculous."

Luka caught himself before he could start smiling too much, knowing that it was Marinette under that mask and she wanted him to go on patrol because they were friends.

"I'd be honored to."

She beamed at him, and after the snake miraculous was on his wrist, he was transformed and the two set off for the rooftops together.

—————

Viperion glanced left and right as he went along with Ladybug. He'd been called enough by then to have gotten used to superheroing, though it was his first time actually on patrol. Given the situation they were in, he was thankful that Adrien was busy that particular night with what Viperion could only guess was Gabriel's orders.

The red string was still dangling around Ladybug's neck, though Viperion'd grown attuned enough with his fate sensing that he could stop focusing on it and simply see her if he chose to. It didn't stop him from thinking about it, but it helped.

Ladybug seemed to know the route to take, so he mostly followed after her, but it was partway through where she'd decided that they should take a break. Paris was always quiet right after akuma attacks, meaning that they could afford to take it easy since there'd been one just that afternoon.

They leaped buildings until they reached the Eiffel Tower, scaling the monument until they reached the top platform. He didn't miss that she'd avoided using her yoyo for the job, possibly to put them on an even playing field.

Letting out a breath, Ladybug leaned against the railing and she gazed over the city. Gesturing to the view, she explained, "We'll have a good vantage point from here in case anything happens."

Viperion chuckled. "You really do think of everything."

She blushed faintly, but took the compliment casually. "I'm just doing my job." She turned her hip to more easily grab her yoyo, then opened it and reached inside. "Anyway, are you hungry?"

He tilted his head in curiosity, then grinned as she pulled out a bag of macarons from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It wasn't anything suspicious given that it was known as the best bakery around.

"Thanks," he replied gratefully, taking one of the macarons she offered him.

She grabbed one as well and they took a simultaneous bite of their respective treats. He was a little surprised to hear that she brought along snacks, but supposed it made sense if breaks during patrol were a common thing after akuma.

They settled down on the ground, Ladybug placing the open bag in-between them so they could pick them out at equal leisure. Tossing him an apologetic but teasing smile, she added, "Sorry, but cushions wouldn't fit in the yoyo."

He raised his brows at her, then glanced down at the hard ground below them. He snorted at her joke, noting, "It's nice to see you outside of akuma battles, where you can relax and play around more."

She smiled shyly at him, in a way that was so Marinette that he couldn't believe he hadn't figured her out sooner. "Thanks. Chat says I have no sense of humor."

He frowned, replying without hesitation, "Chat's wrong."

She waved him off, though he could tell that she appreciated the comment. Hearing that Chat had told her something like that was news to him, despite all the research he'd done into their relationship. Granted, he imagined that anything could be said off-camera and he couldn't have known.

"Does he say things like that a lot?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prodding too much. There was just something about how casually she'd said it that unnerved him.

"Huh?" She blinked, thrown off by the question, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... most of the time, he flirts instead. It's..." She hesitated, like she wasn't sure that she could talk about it. Glancing at him, then back to the open sky, she relented and added, "—it's a lot sometimes, but he does his job well enough, so it’s not like it’s a serious problem. I don’t know, it’s not like I’ve never wondered about the what ifs of having someone else, but whenever I think about it, I just—"

She squinted at nothing, Viperion's gaze flickering down to the string, which had became visible now that he was focusing on it.

It had tightened, pressing into the black of her bodysuit in a way only he could see, and he found himself squinting just like she was.

"—I can't imagine being Ladybug without him," she said.

He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress any reaction to the comment. He'd suspected it for a while, but actually seeing it was something else entirely.

The red string demanded dependency on Ladybug's part. He wasn't sure how much it pulled Chat on the other end, but judging from what he'd gathered from Marinette's luck and fate's blatant favoring of Adrien, he could guess.

Ladybug peeked up from her macaron when he remained silent, confusion passing over her features. "What? You look like you have something to say."

"Ah—" He looked down, brows furrowing as he hoped even more that he wasn't pushing boundaries. "—just... I know that he's been with you since the beginning, but I don’t think you need Chat Noir to be an amazing Ladybug."

She straightened, dropping her treat in surprise and then fumbling to catch it. Perhaps she hadn’t caught onto what her words implied, or had said them without thinking due to the string and was now facing it head-on.

He continued, "You've dealt with akuma plenty of times without him, and you work well with all your heroes. I'm sure you could make the best out of any partner you had." He smiled reassuringly at her. "Maybe Chat Noir only seems as good as he does because he's at your command."

Ladybug's cheeks tinted red, nearly matching her mask, as she ducked her head at the high praise. She raised the macaron back to her lips, chewing on it as if that helped hide her face.

It was only after she'd slowly nibbled the treat all the way down and swallowed that she replied, "T-thank you."

He shrugged, having only been honest.

"Chat Noir..." She cleared her throat. "Well, Paris would disagree with you."

"Paris is wrong too," he replied in the exact same tone as when he was discussing Chat. After careful consideration, he asked cautiously, "Do you mean how—"

"Yeah, the—" She frowned and waved both hands vaguely in a gesture that no one but him would've understood. "Yeah."

So she was all too aware of their status of a "couple" in the eyes of Parisians. It made sense with everything he already knew, but he hadn't wanted to be right.

The phrase she'd used when talking about Adrien resurfaced in his mind: made for each other.

He clenched his fist. She was being pressured on both sides of the mask, towards both sides of Adrien's mask.

"I don't like it," she admitted, "but Chat drinks it up and I guess the public is into the idea of this superhero couple. They see us like celebrities."

"It's not right," Viperion hissed, and Sass would've been proud of it. "You save Paris every week and you deserve to be respected."

"There's nothing I can do about it," she told him, almost in defeat. "Besides, Chat... he needs a pick-me-up every now and my pep talks don't always work on him. He pouted when I brought in a male hero for the first time."

"That's not your fault!" he argued. "Chat needs to be confident on his own. He can't keep relying on you or make you feel like you can't do anything without him doubting himself. You're under enough stress as it is, and—!"

He caught himself, his mouth shutting tight before he could reveal exactly how much he knew. Ladybug blinked at him, seeming puzzled by the outburst but not suspicious at least.

He took a breath, reminding himself to stay calm. Reaching back, he grabbed hold of his lyre and brought it in front of him, strumming a few notes and letting them settle the discordant song that was playing in his stomach.

"My point is... Chat shouldn't be someone adding onto the pressure. That's not a partnership."

Her shoulders relaxed, her eyes darting around as she processed his words. She looked conflicted.

"...I'm sorry," he added, settling his lyre in his lap. "Not for what I said, but—I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"No, no." She shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. "It's good that you did. I've actually—" Her voice grew quiet. "—been thinking about it lately."

"About what?"

She made the same vague gesture from before. "All of that. There's been a lot going on and it's given me a lot to think about."

He knew immediately what she meant.

"It's... frustrating," she groaned. "I don't like Chat that way. I mean, maybe sometimes he said or did something that I found charming, but that's just—not enough for me, you know? To only feel something like that for a second or two." She averted her gaze, growing distant. "Everyone seems to think we belong together, and... I hate that they might be right."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Well, I'm a hero; a permanent one. I need to be there all the time. Every akuma, every purification, every Miraculous Ladybug. Only I can do it." She hugged her legs closer, burying her face in her knees. "I want a relationship. I want someone to date and be close to, but I can't have it. I'm always running away; always going somewhere with some excuse so I can go deal with the akuma, and I can't tell anyone! Can you imagine how that'd make my date feel?"

He opened his mouth, but a thought occurred to him at the last second that gave him pause.

"You... so you think..."

Once again, he hoped to be wrong. He wanted so badly to be wrong.

But Ladybug looked up, her expression pained as she confirmed, "There's only one person I could be with where it wouldn't have to happen."

His blood ran cold, he felt sick, and the memory of the red string flashed in his mind, wrapped around Adrien's ring.

Fate didn't just tie her to him; it wanted to make her believe that he was her only choice.

Viperion's grip on his lyre tightened, his teeth grinding together behind closed lips as he tried to maintain an aura of calm. He wasn't just angry anymore, he was livid, and he silently wished that the face on the other side of the butterfly miraculous was the universe so he could give it a piece of his mind.

How could you do that? How could you take a girl who's always worked so hard and tried her best, and treat her like she's nothing? No, not nothing, because then at least she'd be left alone. How could you treat her like a plaything, as if she's some prize for a guy to win no matter what? How could you manipulate her to think that everything's her fault, just so she never thinks to fight back against the ones putting pressure on her?

What's love if it's gotten through such force?

"V-viperion?"

A hand falling upon his jolted him back to reality, his head snapping up to see Ladybug there, her pupils shrunken in and her brows knitted in worry. Whatever his face had looked like, it'd scared her.

His first instinct was to feel guilty. He was supposed to be comforting her, not making things worse by letting all of his emotions show on his face.

His second instinct...

He tossed his lyre off to the side, Ladybug's gaze briefly following it until his hands fell upon her shoulders. Her eyes widened, and she let out a squeak as he pulled her onto his lap and into a hug.

The only thing he was grateful for in terms of her superhero status was that he could hug her as tightly as possible without hurting her.

"A-ah..." She seemed tempted to say something, but fell silent soon after and hugged him back, burying her face into the side of his neck. He felt her strength in the way she squeezed him, like she was starved for his affection despite them being in a similar position not too long ago.

He understood. Before, they were tackling her problems when she was Marinette, but Ladybug had never had someone to personally confide in concerning Chat.

She'd needed this.

"You already do so much," he whispered. "You should be allowed to be with whoever you want, and you shouldn't have to settle when it comes to love."

She sighed against him, like she knew deep down that he was right. "You don't know how bad it could get. Some hypothetical boyfriend wouldn't deserve that kind of treatment."

"I get why you'd feel that way," he said, "but I'd hope that this hypothetical boyfriend would know that you're worth it."

Her fingers twitched against his spine. "...You don't even know me."

"I know that you're creative. I know you're smart. I know you work harder than anyone else to keep Paris safe. I know you have a right to feel however you want, and if you think you need to earn being with someone who's not Chat, then you've more than done that." He slid his hand up to squeeze her shoulder. "I also know that you'll find a way to make it work, if you put in even half the care into it as you put into Paris."

"Vi—" She paused, her voice softening. "Luka..."

They stayed like that for a while, the bag of macarons going untouched an arm's reach away. Viperion just held her, sensing that she was feeling out what he'd said and that they didn't need words for it. That was fine with him; her love life was none of his business. He only wanted to help her have the choice to live it.

A breeze blew by, their bodysuits protecting them from the wind chill factor as their hair was lightly shifted by the gentle air. Ladybug stirred, letting out a noise like she felt personally slighted by the wind, then pushed herself up, her hands on his shoulders as she pulled away from him.

"We...we should get back to patrol," she admitted.

He offered her a small smile, noting that she seemed to be in better spirits at least. "Alright." He let her out of his lap, leaning over to the side to pick up his lyre.

He heard her retreating footsteps, along with a light, "You can keep the macarons."

He glanced up at her, surprised. "Are you sure?" he asked, knowing that he was mostly responsible for them not eating all of them. "Is that what you usually do on your breaks: let Chat have them?"

"Oh." She stood awkwardly in place, looking off at the sky before dropping her gaze to the ground. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she grinned sheepishly and replied, "Actually..."

He tilted his head, curious.

She peeked over at him, eyes half-lidded as she told him, "I've never done this with Chat."

He raised his brows, as if that would make her clarify, but she simply turned away from him and started doing a few stretches, clearly prepping to head back out.

Pursing his lips in thought, Viperion turned his back to her, giving attention to the little plastic bag resting neatly on the ground. Even though it was open, the little ribbon that had held it shut was still around it, suddenly feeling more special now that Ladybug had said something so... cryptic.

He looked out at the view they had, then Ladybug, then back at the bag, feeling extremely slow on the uptake as his brain pieced things together based on what information he had.

Then, suddenly his brain supplied: Wait... was this a date?

He buried the thought just as quickly, shaking his head and scolding himself for jumping to that so fast.

"Are you ready to go back to leaping rooftops?" Ladybug asked behind him, her tone light even if she was still in her own head.

"Yeah," Viperion replied, picking up the little bag like it was something precious. Hoping to lighten things further, he then added, "I'm new to this, so I might lag behind."

She chuckled. "You might. Apparently I'm a really amazing hero according to someone I know."

He grinned to himself. Even if she was just teasing, it felt good to hear her compliment herself in a way.

He had just tightened the ribbon to seal the bag back up, listening to the sound of Ladybug's foosteps, when he felt a sudden niggling sensation at the back of his head, or—behind him? He turned, puzzled, then leaped up as he caught sight of a teal wisp in Ladybug's path.

He rushed over as she yelped and tripped over what would seem like nothing according to her. Catching her just in time, he also realized belatedly that it may've been an overreaction, given that she was in superhero form; he could only blame it on reflex.

Ladybug stood up with a start, covering the lower half of her face in shame. "Ugh, that was so embarrassing, I'm sor—"

"It's not your fault," he hurried to say, not explaining further as he grew lost in thought, staring silently at the place where the wisp had formed itself.

He hadn't just seen the wisps this time; he had sensed them. That was new, and he wouldn't have questioned a new addition to his fate sensing had it not been the fact that he hadn't particularly done anything as Viperion; it usually took an instance or two of him using his power for something to manifest, but here...

He glanced up when he realized that Ladybug was looking at him curiously. Debating with himself for a moment, he ultimately trusted his gut and met her gaze, asking,

"Do you mind if I talk to Sass again after this?"

#au: Dread String of Fate #Dread String of Fate: writing #Flower Arrangement Shipping #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette #type: salt #((Just in case.))

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nobodyfamousposts · 3 years

Text

Chloe's Lament Part 2

Next part of Chloe's Lament. Chloe begins to learn of the changes to reality from her Wish.

She will not be happy about this.

____________________

When Chloe woke up, the first thing that struck her was the loud banging sounds from somewhere below her.

The second thing was pain.

“I have a headache!” She called out, laying an arm over her sleep mask-covered eyes. Her butler would hear her and respond accordingly, of course. He always did.

“And get them to stop that racket down there!” She flopped on her bed with a huff, waiting for the help to return with aid.

Really, the things she dealt with!

Normally, her butler would arrive immediately, with painkillers and fruit-infused water being presented to her within a minute.

But to her growing frustration, that minute came and passed.

Then two.

Three…

Not that Chloe was counting.

Eventually, it had been five minutes and there was still no word from the man. And to make matters worse, that damn banging from below was only getting louder and increasing her suffering.

“Ugh! Do I have to do everything myself?!”

She ripped off the sleep mask, only to wince at the level of brightness in the room. She was on the top floor with the best visibility but the windows were supposed to be tinted and covered to prevent this very thing!

Once her vision cleared, several things should have stood out as odd.

But the first thing to attract her notice was the sleep mask she had just removed—some cheapo dime-store brand. She tossed the rag away with a shriek.

“Is this a prank?!” She demanded. “That is not my personalized diamond-studded satin custom made facial mask! Jean? Jean!”

There was a ruckus from below. The sound of something being dropped. Footsteps—loud and fast and getting closer. Then the opening of a door.

“Precious! Is everything okay?”

She sneered at the sound of her father’s voice.

“No! My sleep mask was stolen, it’s too bright, my head is KILLING me and no one is getting me anything to help!”

He looked confused at that. “Are you out of Efferalgan in your bathroom cabinet?”

She gave him a look. Why would she have to get up and go to the bathroom for some painkillers when there should be someone to hand them to her?

He gave her a strange look in response. Like he was confused his daughter would expect someone to do something as simple as bringing her painkillers and water.

And water.

Preferably cherry-infused.

Was that really so much to ask? Or even require asking?

“Just…hang on a moment.” He said and left her her bathroom.

Finally.

With nothing to do but wait, she glanced around, noting that…this was not her room.

Not the one she knew, anyway.

The light that had blinded her before was from a central window overlooking the room that so obtrusively settled on her bed. In addition, there was a skylight placed above a nook set behind her bed, which brought more light into the room.

She vaguely recognized the room. Well, by its floor plan, at least. The layout and decor threw her off though. The furniture and items were clearly cheaper than her usual high end designer brands. But she saw aspects that were suited to her tastes. Minute indications of her own touch in the assortment of objects around her. Yellow and white as the themes. Black cushions and aesthetic.

It was…decent. But so beneath her it was embarrassing! These were cheap models! Practically plastic! The bedsheets were…ugh…cotton of all things! The lamps were dim! She was missing her boudoir! And her shoes! And her jewelry! She didn’t even want to imagine the nightmare that was her closet—it was practically a hole in the wall! There was no way it would fit everything!

“Here you are, dear!” Her father said, returning from her bathroom with a glass of water and a pill in hand.

She fought the grimace.

Was this tap water?

Gross!

By his expectant look, he clearly meant for her to drink it.

With her continuing headache and no better option for fast relief, Chloe reluctantly took the proffered items. She was unable to help the slightest grimace before she downed them both.

“Well, if that’s all, I’ll be getting back to setting up for the morning rush. Come downstairs to the bakery when you’re ready.” He looked almost relieved to be leaving.

Chloe barely took notice now that she had what she needed. Instead, she took to contemplating her situation and her new surroundings.

All the furniture aside, this room looked familiar. Not really well known, because Chloe was sure she had never been in such a place before. But…like she had seen it somewhere…TV maybe?

And her Daddykins was here. That meant…wherever she was, it was apparently expected for her to be here.

But where was here?

The last thing she remembered was…

She closed her eyes, straining to think past the pain.

That’s right! Hawk Moth’s offer! The Bee! She was Miracle Queen! And she had just won! She had Ladybug beaten…

Her fists clenched.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng…

It hit her.

This was just like her room!

She had only seen it a couple of times. Once for sure when Sabrina had snuck into her room per Chloe‘s instructions for blackmail material. She happened to glimpse a picture of the room here or there from other people’s phones of times that they had spent in this room—that she had really cared. It was a small and dingy room that had nothing on her glamorous abode at the hotel, which of course, was superior in every way.

She was vaguely reminded of that one show that Marinette hadn’t stopped talking about which had also apparently shown Marinette‘s room, but Chloe honestly hadn’t been bothered enough to watch it, so she didn’t have that to go on. But with what she did know, it was a safe bet to assume that this was some knockoff of Marinette‘s room.

So why was Chloe here? Why was her dad downstairs?

She… she had made the Wish, hadn’t she?

…

What…is this it?

She turned up her nose at the environment around her, completely unimpressed.

Was this dinky little room with its weird setup and tacky decor what the Wish gave her? Why would she be in any copy of Dupain-Cheng’s room layout anyway?

The Wish should have changed reality, that much was clear. There was no way she would be caught dead in Dupain-Cheng’s room otherwise—much less sleeping there like it was her own room!

…unless…it was her room?

Was it?

She had found some aspects of the room to her taste, but did that mean this was hers?

It would explain why she was there. And why her Daddy had come up. He had mentioned her bathroom earlier, then had gone through the nearby door to get a tablet and water from what she could only assume was the bathroom he had spoken of.

…he had mentioned a bakery.

Eyes wide, she stumbled out of bed and to the window. Sure enough, the school was just across the way. And there was a sign out front.

“Bourgeois Bakery”

Chloe stared.

Suddenly, it clicked. The banging from downstairs. Her Daddy talking about a ‘morning rush’. And to come down to the…

…no way!

This place was a bakery! Her Daddy was operating a bakery!

And given her location, it was the same bakery that Marinette’s parents owned originally!

This…

…wait…

…did this mean she was supposed to be Marinette?

She threw her pillow in a fury.

Stupid Wish! This wasn’t at all what she wanted!

You would think all-powerful Wish-granting artifacts would do it right!

“Where are those kwamis?!” She demanded, jumping out of the bed and looking around for anywhere she would keep such important jewels. “I’m going to give them a piece of my mind!”

She had a boudoir along with the various jewelry pieces kept there ranging among a variety of gold and diamonds—all fakes, much to her disappointment. And not a single Miraculous among them.

She slammed the final drawer in with a curse.

Nothing!

If she had the Miraculous, shouldn’t they still be with her? Do they just disappear after being used?

Ugh! Those things really were useless! Utterly useless!

It was when she stood back to full height that she noticed the monthly calendar. There were the standard holidays, but also a weekly appointment every Friday evening with some ‘Bridgette’. What was that? A spa day?

She shot a glance to her reflection in the mirror and grimaced. She definitely needed one. She could just feel all the oils on her skin!

But more to the point, there was one day circled on the calendar.

‘Start of School’

She grabbed her phone—an older, obsolete model with a glittery but fake casing—and checked the date.

That…

That was today.

It was the first day of school. A…

She checked the date again, and sure enough, it was a year ago!

Had the Wish taken her back in time?

She froze, realization hitting her.

This was the first day of school. The same day as the first akuma attack.

And when Ladybug first appeared.

That meant…she was sent back in time to the day Marinette would become Ladybug.

It was a year in the past. She wasn’t at the hotel. Her room was in a bakery. Her father was working as a baker. She was Marinette now.

That meant…

She giggled, feeling a giddiness rise within her.

Today was the day she becomes Ladybug!

It looks like the Wish did something right, after all!

Chloe grinned, spinning away from the mirror and to her closet.

She had to get ready! She had to prepare the perfect outfit! Something for the day she becomes a hero!

No. THE hero!

She knew how the Ladybug worked. Hell, she knew the akumas to come. With her prior knowledge and skills, she would know how to use the yoyo and how to use the Lucky Charm better than the old Ladybug ever did! She’d have every akuma in the bag!

Hell, maybe she could force the Ladybug kwami to tell her where the Guardian is so she can get the other Miraculous, too! That way, she could have both the Ladybug AND the Bee again.

And her Adrikens would be her partner! To support her! To stay by her side! Just as it should be!

She paused, something niggling at the back of her brain. There was something she was forgetting.

A glance around the room as she wondered

Of course, the full extent of the change and just what that meant didn’t really hit her until she went downstairs and actually saw her father.

The poor man was in the middle of retrieving a pan lined with croissants from the unbearably hot oven, his hair contained in…fishnet? Latex? Whatever the cafeteria cooks wore when she had no choice but to eat from the school’s lunchroom.

Gross! He looked like a lunch lady!

He didn’t seem to notice her, too busy dancing around the kitchen and checking over the…whatever pastries those were and just looking proud of himself.

Daddykins, no. You’re better than this! How could you be reduced to such a state?

He seemed to notice her staring. “Are you feeling better?” He asked, looking concerned.

“Er…yeah.” She replied. She wasn’t, really, but she couldn’t tell him that. He could try to have her stay home and how would she get to see the fruits of her labors from there?

“Ah good!” He said cheerfully. “It is the first day of the new school year, and you certainly want to…” He hesitated, “…start off on the right foot.”

A pause. He looked at her expectantly, but she had no idea what he was getting at.

He shook his head and turned away for a moment to grab a box before coming back and presenting it to her.

Clearly he wanted her to take it, so she sighed and took hold of the box. A peek inside revealed a number of macarons.

For her? Now this was what she was talking about!

“Oh, Daddykins! You shouldn’t have!”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “I figured it would be a great way to start off the new year by sharing them with your classmates.”

Ugh. Seriously? All happy feelings vanished in an instant and she shot him a petulant look.

“Why should I have to share?” She demanded.

He hesitated.

She glared, tapping her foot in a clear indication of wanting an answer. Or preferably for him to just say they were all hers.

“It’s a new year and a new start.” Andre said, smiling nervously. “Maybe it’s time to just let bygones be bygones?“

It was a stupid question and she sure let him know it. She stared at him flatly, causing him to wilt.

Andre sighed.

“I know you don’t like her, but…” he hesitated. “Please, just try to get along?”

She blinked.

“Her?”

Wait.

Wait…

It suddenly struck her.

If she was Dupain-Cheng now…

That meant Marinette was in her shoes!

She grinned.

Marinette would be her bully! She’d be the rich bitch daughter of the Mayor and loathed by Paris while Chloe would be—

The one everyone rallied around.

The one Adrikens adored.

The one chosen as Ladybug!

She would have it all!

Part of her hoped the other girl would know about the previous reality…just so she could shove it in her face!

“Just take it slow,” he continued, unaware of her true thoughts. “And then you can report about it to Bridgette at your counseling session on Friday.”

Wait—counseling?

Seeing her expression, he held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

“I know you don’t like it, but it was part of the agreement. You need to make a better impression this year, sweetie.”

“What?”

“She’s the daughter of the Mayor. I’m not sure we can take another…” He trailed off before shaking his head and looking at her imploringly. “You understand, right?”

Oh.

She got it!

“Of course, Daddykins!”

Clearly Dupain-Cheng was abusing her influence, just as she thought!

She had to hand it to the girl…a part of her hadn’t been quite convinced that she would go quite that far. But that just proof that Marinette Dupain-Cheng wasn’t so perfect and that even she would be the same as Chloe once in her position!

Chloe knew she would have to bear with the mistreatment for now. No matter how much it would grate her. It would suck to have to have to accept it for any period of time.

Still, it would be worth it! It just meant even more ammunition to use against her once Chloe was Ladybug!

She didn’t even notice the look of concern he gave her or his weak goodbye as she left the bakery with the box in hand. She was too wrapped up in her own thoughts. Particularly her plans.

And what plans they were!

So what if Maribrat had Chloe’s wealth? It wasn’t like she knew the first thing about status or being a symbol. No, Ladybug did that for her and she didn’t even use it right! Not like Chloe would.

She smirked to herself, imagining the future.

Well, as soon as she got the Miraculous, taking the pigtailed down a peg would be the first thing on her list. Maybe a dip in the Seine? Or ‘accidentally’ getting her hit by an akuma or two?

Why limit it to her personally? If Ladybug spoke out against the mayor, who would vote for him? From what she remembered of Marinette’s dad, that oaf had no business being in politics anyway! Then there was the hotel, which would no doubt be a mess with him in charge anyway.

And best of all, she thought with glee, with a word from Paris’s favorite hero, Dupain-Cheng could be implicated as an ally of Hawk Moth.

Who wouldn’t believe it? If Marinette was in Chloe’s place, that meant she had to be a brat despised by Paris. Everyone would likely jump at the excuse to run her out of the city!

It was slightly disappointing that the former Ladybug wouldn’t know why the new Ladybug was so against her or that she had even been replaced, but she didn’t deserve answers anyway.

For once, Chloe was getting everything she wanted. It was like the Universe itself was on her side! Chloe would be the hero with all the Miraculous and status just as she’d always deserved. And everyone would automatically see it and love her while they would already recognize Marinette as the selfish bitch Chloe always knew she was!

It was a win/win for Chloe and all her fans—which was the best kind of win for Chloe.

Sure, it meant she would have to suffer the loss of her basic comforts like a butler, the latest in fashion and accessories, and easy immediate access to a luxury spa for now…but it would be worth it in the long run.

…maybe not the luxury spa. She would kill for the hotel’s oils and masseuse. But she would just have to deal with, ugh, scheduling with a four star locale in the meantime.

It’s for the greatest good, she reminded herself, looking mournfully at her chipped nails.

And besides, she didn’t have to suffer for long.

Today was the first day of school, which signified the first appearance of Ladybug! This was the day she achieved her destiny! Once she became Ladybug, she would be back on top!

So what if her dad was a baker instead of a hotel owner this go around? Who said it had to stay that way? Just as she could use her position to defame the Dupain-Chengs and ruin Marinette, she could endorse the bakery for free publicity. Do special promotions and deals for money. Or even better! She could make the city pay her for her work!

After all, how much was her Miracle Cure worth, really? How much would the city be willing to pay for her to fix the damage caused by akuma fights? It was only what she was owed; the least they could do is compensate her for her time.

Really, it was Marinette’s own fault for not taking advantage while she could. She could’ve been an idol or the city’s star. She could have used the Miraculous to create an army. Hell, Hawk Moth should have been nothing against her! And instead, she just…wasted her potential. On things like loose zoo animals or out of control helicopters, no less!

Chloe wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

And now that Chloe was set to be the city’s hero…

Even if Marinette was rich (for now), it would be nothing compared to what Chloe would have. She would be Paris’s hero! The BEST hero! And unlike that has-been, she at least would use Ladybug’s power and status right!

She didn’t need to be the daughter of the Mayor! Her Mother was still THE Style Queen, Audrey Bourgeois. Adrien Agreste was still her best friend. She was still Chloe Bourgeois, the best thing to happen to Paris! And now as Ladybug, she would still be back on top and ruling Paris in no time!

And it would all start once she got to school.

“Get out of my way!” She exclaimed, shoving some old fart taking his sweet time walking, sending him to the ground and out of her way.

Move aside, peons!

Her destiny awaits!

Back at the intersection, Chloe never noticed the way the elderly gentleman cast her a judging stare from his position on the ground. Or his muttering.

“No, definitely not.”

“Are you okay?” Came a voice.

“Ah, yes!” He replied, accepting the offered hand and taking stock of the girl it belonged to. She was young. In college, likely. “Thank you, young lady!”

“Of course!” She smiled, handing him back his cane. “Do you need help getting home from here? That looked like quite a fall.”

“But don’t you have somewhere to be?” He asked.

“Just school, but I can spare a few minutes if you need…?”

“There is no need for that.” He shook his head. “I will be fine, thank you for your concern.”

Yes, he decided with a smile as he watched her go, this one will do.

_________________

Ugh, walking. Who invented such a thing? She couldn’t wait until she had a personal limo again. This was so not good for her!

Chloe continued plotting as she walked, magnanimously choosing to consider this as part of the reason for revenge instead of its own thing.

And speaking of revenge! Let’s see…

She scrunched her face, trying to remember the events of the first day of school.

There had been that fight with Marinette over her seat. ‘My seat now’, she realized with glee. ‘Which means I’ll be back next to Adrikens!’

Where she should be.

And if she and Dupain-Cheng were now supposed to be switched, that meant ‘the horrible bully Marinette’ would be picking on ‘poor sweet little Chloe’.

She couldn’t wait!

‘Let’s see how you handle being in my shoes, Dupain-Cheng!’

She giggled to herself, ignoring the weirded out looks she was getting from some passing students.

Or the way the other students in general seemed to give her a wide berth.

As they should for the real Queen Bee of this school!

She was already imagining how this was going to go. And with the classroom only a few feet ahead, her vindication was already so close she could taste it!

Except when she finally arrived at the class, it was immediately clear that something wasn’t right.

Dupain-Cheng was there as expected. With her same kiddie pigtails and her pink and grey ensemble with polka-dots—what kind of designer was she anyway?

What wasn’t expected, however, was that Cesaire was already was there as well.

Originally, Cesaire defended Dupain-Cheng and they became friends. If things played out the same, shouldn’t Cesaire be coming in late? Or standing up to Dupain-Cheng here? If anything, they already seemed to be friends.

Unless Cesaire was Dupain-Cheng’s tool like Sabrina had been for her?

It made sense that this new reality would swap more around, she reasoned.

Except…

Chloe frowned. Now that she was actually close enough to the classroom, she could see the classmates gathered into a sort of half circle around Dupain-Cheng and her follower. And as she reached the doorway, she could more clearly hear what they were saying.

“—at the Le Grand Paris.” Marinette said, gesturing to Alya with a smile.

“Wow!”

“So cool!”

“That’s awesome! So you’ve just been staying at the hotel until you can get settled in?”

Alya nodded, smiling. “Yeah. At least for a little while until we could get our own apartment. Mr. Dupain-Cheng was really accommodating. Luckily, we didn’t need it for long before Mom found something. She didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity, but it’s just really amazing that he was willing to offer us room and board just to have Mom as part of his staff!”

Chloe raised a nose in disgust.

Who ever heard of such a thing?! What hotel made any profit letting people stay for free?

“We met when I was cleaning rooms and she offered to help!” Marinette explained brightly.

Chloe nearly gagged.

Cleaned?

Marinette…actually cleaned the hotel?

Why do something that gross?

That’s what the help was for! And Sabrina.

Speaking of, where was she?

Chloe glanced around, but Sabrina was nowhere to be seen amongst the classmates.

Maybe the Wish had done more than switch her with Dupain-Cheng? Maybe Cesaire and Sabrina had been switched as well? So that meant Sabrina should be the new transfer, right?

No wait, that didn’t add up. She had just walked in on Cesaire being introduced.

Sabrina was probably just her best friend, then.

She nodded.

That was good enough, she supposed. At least if she couldn’t have her necessities from the hotel, she still had Sabrina to take care of the more mundane tasks for her.

Unaware of her thoughts, Marinette had continued talking to the others unhindered.

“—said she would be coming to Francios Dupont, and I knew I had to introduce her. She’s new, so be nice.” She instructed, giving a stare to Kim in particular. “Kim.”

The taller boy raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. I’ll give her a week before any challenges.”

Alya raised an eyebrow. “Challenges? Dare I ask?”

Everyone groaned.

“No dares.” Nino begged, covering his face with his hat. “Please. Kim is bad enough every year. I still can’t look at the hotel without remembering what happened last time…”

“Yeah, your dumb dare got us banned from the hotel’s pool for a month!” Alix said, pointing at Kim, who shrugged helplessly.

“Speaking of the hotel!” Marinette cut in, pulling out her tablet. “I convinced my dad to let us do this year’s work study at the hotel.” She tapped her tablet. “I have a little bit of influence over what they’ll choose as assignments, so we can try to come up with roles everyone will like.”

“Hey yeah! That sounds awesome!”

The classmates crowded the desk, chatting excitedly.

“So where will everyone go?”

“Maybe Kim and Max in security? Or Alix and Max in security, so Kim could work the pool area.”

“As a lifeguard?” Kim asked cheerfully. “I’ve done some training, after all.”

Marinette sent him a wry look and pretended to be thinking it over. “Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe as a pool cleaner?”

Kim pouted. “No fair, Mari!”

“Hey, it would do you some good to learn the cleaning process for the pools you use so much.” Mylene said, half jokingly and half pointedly, making Kim lower his head and groan.

Marinette giggled a little. “Well at any rate, I’ve set up a list of all the different jobs at the hotel so people can mark their top preferences. Between all the options, everyone is bound to find something that’ll suit them best.”

She sent Adrien a knowing look. “And of course Adrien will be in the kitchen.”

Adrien beamed at that.

Not that Chloe noticed.

“Kitchen?!” Chloe squawked. “You’re going to make my Adrikens work in a dirty old kitchen?!”

She had known Marinette would be bad, but how dare she punish Adrikens like that? She could just see it now! Her poor Adrikens, forced to slave away in a room meant for servants like…like he was a servant! Where he could get covered in grime and burn his precious skin!

Everyone frowned at her, as if she was the one being ridiculous!

The boy in question raised his hand.

“But I want to—”

“That is a flagrant abuse of power!” Chloe shouted, slamming a hand on the desk. “She’s making Adrikens work like a maid! What if his father hears about this?!”

Adrien wilted in on himself.

“The kitchen isn’t dirty or old.” Marinette said, sounding annoyingly calm with a terseness in her tone that Chloe had heard some service workers use when dealing with particularly difficult customers—though why they used it with her was beyond her. It was as if Marinette was acting like she the reasonable one dealing with an unreasonable customer or something. “They just finished the remodeling three months ago, we clean it regularly, and all of our utensils and equipment are taken good care of.”

“That’s not the point!” Chloe shouted. “How could you use my Adrikens in such a way? Gabriel Agreste would never approve when he hears about this!”

Because he would be hearing about this! Chloe would make sure of it!

“I could just explain to Mr. Agreste that this would be for good publicity.” Marinette suggested. “I’m sure he would allow it.”

She knew it! There were really no lows she wouldn’t go to!

“You’re really pushing this! And you call yourself Adrikens’ friend!” Chloe pointed at Marinette accusingly. “Just because your Daddy’s the Mayor doesn’t mean you can treat people like they’re lesser than you!”

Marinette frowned, looking uncertain as her gaze flickered between the others.

Hah! Even in Chloe’s position, Marinette still wavered easily and she couldn’t hide her insecurities to save her life. It was why she always gave in in the end! Anyone would roll over someone showing such an obvious weakness!

Hell, she may not even need to wait to see her taken down. This was a perfect opportunity to lead everyone in rising up against her tyranny.

After a few seconds, she turned back to face Chloe, no doubt to attack her for challenging her and show her true colors—

“Chloe, are you okay?”

Huh?

“My Dad just runs the Hotel. He isn’t the Mayor.”

What?!

“My Mom is. You met her at your…” She hesitated, sending the others a glance before lowering her voice, “…meeting, remember?”

She had to bite her tongue regarding the ridiculousness of Dupain-Cheng’s mother being the Mayor. Was that woman even a French citizen?

But it was the other part of Marinette’s statement that concerned her. What meeting? What was she even getting at? Why was she trying to be quiet about it.

Nevermind! She’d worry about that later!

“It doesn’t matter!” Chloe shouted, forcing Marinette to back away. “The fact is that you can’t just throw your weight around to get your way and treat people however you like! And I’m not the only one who feels that way!” She exclaimed, turning to the classmates in expectation.

…only to get a number of blank or confused stares in response.

“Um, what are you even talking about?” Alya asked incredulously.

What?

“Yeah, dude! Marinette doesn’t treat anyone that way.” Nino added.

What?

“The only one who pulls that sort of thing is you.” Said Nathaniel bitingly.

Since when does that loser talk?

And also, what?!

“And aren’t you supposed to be leaving Marinette alone?” Alix asked, giving Chloe a pointed look.

What even was that about?

“I thought that was the agreement.” Mylene said quietly.

Seriously?! Was everyone on her side?

They were supposed to be silent! Or judging the Mayor’s brat! That’s what they did with Chloe! Instead, they were jumping to her defense!

“Are you serious?” She demanded. “Like she doesn’t abuse her power and authority to push people around!”

“Of course not!” Marinette insisted. And then to Chloe’s rage, seemed to draw herself up even more, actually looking confident and self assured in a way Chloe herself had never felt in her place. “As the daughter of the mayor, I have to set a good example.”

Ex…

Example?

What even was that?

Unaware of Chloe’s short-circuiting, she continued. “And Chloe, I wouldn’t force anyone to do a role that they don’t want. That’s why I brought the list here for the class to review first.” She gestured to her tablet. “That way everyone has a chance to pick what roles they want and we can avoid the ones no one wants to do. How is that a bad thing?”

It wasn’t, admittedly. But Marinette wasn’t supposed to be the one doing it! That was the problem!

“And who put you in charge?!” Chloe demanded of Marinette. “Why are you deciding where we’ll do the work study? What, are you using the Class Rep position to flaunt your family’s hotel?”

It would make sense. Chloe had been the Class Rep for years originally. If Marinette was her…

Marinette just gave her a strange look.

“No. I’m not Class Rep, remember?”

Chloe balked.

“What?”

“Chloe, did you hit your head?” Marinette asked, sounding worried. She held a hand out in offering. “Do you need to go to the Nurse’s Office?”

Chloe jerked away from the girl’s outreached hand. Why would Dupain-Cheng still be acting…nice?

Clearly she must still be pretending!

“Nevermind that! If you aren’t the Class Rep, then who is?”

“Your benevolent dictator is here!” Came a voice. A familiar voice. The last one Chloe expected.

“Hey, Class Rep.” Marinette said, giving Chloe a pointed look while waving to the person behind her.

Chloe turned slowly. She had to force herself to move. The strain made it feel like her bones were creaking.

Behind her, Sabrina stood tall with a tablet in hand and looking…surprisingly well for a new reality as a lackey of someone other than Chloe. She almost didn’t recognize her.

Chloe stood straight, expecting the standard greeting.

To her shock, Sabrina didn’t even look at her, instead moving past her to…

“Wow, Marinette! Nice jacket!” Sabrina said first thing in greeting as she moved over to the other girl in interest.

Marinette blushed at the praise. “Thanks! My dad got me some new fabric and I was inspired to try this style!” She gave a wink. “Now this is just a test run to see how it works out.”

“It certainly looks comfortable.” Sabrina said in awe.

Were…were they ignoring her?

“I have some of the material left.” Marinette said. “I could make you your own for your birthday if you want?”

Oh gag! Why would anyone want Marinette’s tacky creations instead of the latest in season creation?

And there was Sabrina looking like that was something to be excited about!

Oh no! Without Chloe to guide her, she had lost any sense of fashion! No matter how much fuller her hair was or how she no longer looked like a strong wind could blow her away!

Clearly, her life was a tragedy without Chloe!

“And I checked like you asked.” Marinette continued, unaware of Chloe’s glare. “My Dad said we could do the work study at his hotel.”

“Thank you!” Sabrina cheered. “That’ll be one less thing to worry about.”

“Yeah, we were talking about that when you came in.” Marinette explained.

Chloe glared pointedly at the girl over the way she was blatantly ignoring that they had been in the middle of Chloe calling her out! Seriously, what was the point of getting to tell people off for their flaws if they were going to ignore you and pretend it never happened! Really! You can’t just ignore the truth like that!

“We were discussing what positions everyone wanted.” Mylene said. “Even if we can’t get the exact ones we’d like, there’ll at least be options.”

“Juleka and I can clean the ball room!” Rose exclaimed. “It will give us a chance to check the acoustics of the room. We’ve been wondering about the effects and what to expect if our band ever plays in such an area.“

Nino looked intrigued at that. “Hey, that does sound like a good idea. Maybe sign me up for that as well?” He asked, turning to Marinette before mumbling to himself about the echo effect on his beats.

Marinette gave him a nod before turning back to Rose. “I heard you guys just started, didn’t you?“

Rose nodded, beaming. “It’s so much fun!”

Marinette smiled and marked it down on her list. “Then I’ll suggest that for you.”

She paused for a moment, hesitating in clear unwillingness to continue before giving a strained smile.

“And Chloe...”

“How about trash cleanup?” Alix snarked, giving the girl a dark look.

“Excuse you?!” Chloe shouted in outrage. “Do you know who my daddy is?!”

The looks she was given were completely unimpressed.

“A baker?”

“And not even a good one.”

"Hey, his croissants are all right."

Chloe blanched, remembering that her father wasn’t the mayor in this world.

He wasn’t even rich.

He was just a baker now. A simple ordinary not even very good baker who was barely keeping his head above water trying to maintain his business and manage his teenage daughter.

And that made Chloe…

Nothing.

Her go to tactic now had no power.

But…but Sabrina! She realized in a flash that her minion was apparently the Class Rep! She could have her back her!

But when she spun around to look, the girl had actually just abandoned her and the gathering altogether to sit next to Mylene of all people! Mylene! And they were just…chatting! Since when did those two spend time together! And why wasn’t Sabrina there for her?!

“Chloe!” Came the only voice worth listening to.

Oh, Adrikens! Of course you would always be there for her!

She spun to him in expectation. Because of course her Adrikens would be on her side! Her savior! Her only ally against such cruel tyranny—

But he didn’t look happy. Or in any way amicable to her. “Don’t forget!” He whispered sharply to her. “You’re still on probation! You can’t start another commotion before the first class of the school year has even started!”

Chloe blinked.

Pro…

Probation?

…

Her?!

“How am I on—?!”

It was impossible! She had never had a criminal record! She’d never even committed a crime! Or anything that warranted getting in trouble over!

Regardless of what Ladybug said, since she clearly had it out for her.

“Just leave Marinette alone.” Adrien whispered, turning her away from the rest of the group and…her. “Please.”

She didn’t want to. There were so many questions and so many things she wanted to demand right now. She was very well inclined to make demands regardless, because she didn’t know what was going on and she needed answers.

But it was her Adrikens asking.

And she didn’t have much chance to say anything else as Bustier had chosen that time to arrive.

“Welcome back, everyone!” The woman greeted cheerfully. Her arrival cut off all other discussion as the students made their way to their desks. “I hope everyone had a good break and that we’re all ready to start the new year.”

A chorus of affirmations followed as everyone took their seats.

Everyone except Chloe, who was glancing around the room in confusion.

None of this was right.

She had expected to fight with Marinette over her seat to get to sit behind Adrien, but he was sitting at the back next to Nathaniel. And Marinette was sitting in the mid row on the other side from him, pulling Alya to sit next to her. But if she wasn’t sitting behind Adrien, what was even the point of challenging her for her seat?

…where even was Chloe’s seat?

She would have sad next to Sabrina, but that traitor hadn’t moved from her spot next to Mylene and left no room for Chloe! And nobody else was calling Chloe over—so if someone else had taken Sabrina’s place as her best friend, she had no way of even knowing who it was!

“Chloe,” Bustier called to her, ever so gently. “Your seat is up at the front, remember? As we discussed the last time we met.” She gestured to the bench at the front.

It was across the one Chloe had sat at previously, being the front desk closest to the door. And to her frustration, there was no one sitting with her! How else was she supposed to get her assignments copied? And wasn’t that the seat that loser, Nino, had been put in because he got in trouble? Chloe wasn’t in trouble though!

Adrien’s words about probation hit her, making her wince.

…was she?

She wanted to ask. She wanted to stomp her foot and demand the answers she deserved.

But Bustier was staring at her expectantly. And she could hear some giggles and snickering from behind her the longer she waited. She glanced back to Adrikens, but…he wasn’t even looking at her! He was conversing with Nathaniel over something on his sketchbook!

How could a sketchbook be more important than his best friend?!

With little other choice, Chloe slid into the front desk, blushing furiously in humiliation and trying to ignore everyone behind her.

It didn’t matter.

None of them mattered!

None of this would matter once she got the Miraculous and put Dupain-Cheng in her place! Then everyone would know SHE was the Queen Bee!

She was sure of it!

#ml fic #chloe's lament #chloe bourgeois #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #kwami swap #plagg #be careful what you wish for #chloe is not careful #chloe is a horrible person #miracle queen

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miraculouscontent · 3 years

Note

so... could you write some more adrien/chat salt? your fics and posts salting on him are always so good 🥺

Thank you! And of course~

—————

Ladybug had considered what to say multiple times over the day she'd had to think about it. She'd thought about all the different ways she could've said it, and what would've been the most effective when who she was talking to was taken into account.

However, sitting there on the rooftops with Chat Noir, there was a point where she just had to say it, no matter how it came out.

"Give me your miraculous."

Chat jerked his head over to her, jarred from the silence and eyes wide as his brain seemed to process the statement. Ladybug, meanwhile, stared ahead at the night sky, as if she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.

After a few more seconds, she got a reply in the form of laughter, Chat buckling over with a hand on his stomach. "That's quite the Hawk Moth impression, Bugaboo!" he exclaimed, though calming himself enough to give her a half-lidded gaze and add, "But you don't have to do that to impress me, you know."

She didn't reply, only turning to look at him with her expression entirely flat, not showing any reaction to the mixture of teasing and flirting.

He was still grinning for a while, but as the silence dragged on, he began to falter. "...Ah—" He shook his head, leaning towards her and trying to force a smirk. "—if you want a wish that badly, all you need to do is say the word, m'lady! I can grant all your wishes."

She remained stoic, maintaining eye contact with him but not encouraging his banter. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head as it became clear to him that she was very much not joking.

One of Chat's ears twitched in confusion. He leaned back to his normal distance from her, seeming at a loss for what to say now that the atmosphere was finally registering with him.

Ladybug took a breath, noting that she had his attention. She straightened and looked back over Paris, saying, "I can't do this anymore."

He followed her gaze, squinting as if the answer would be written out there in bold letters for him. "Being a hero?"

"No, us. Us being partners." While he gaped at her, she stared down at her lap, her hands clutching her thighs as if that would give her some sense of stability. "...Chat, do you think this is a game?"

Chat shifted and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly not having expected the conversation to go here. It was hard to tell whether he was trying to keep things light or if it was just his genuine reply when he responded, "W-well, I'm definitely in it to win if that's what you mean—"

"I talked to Xavier Ramier today."

She watched his expression carefully, his hand leaving his neck and hovering awkwardly in the air as he looked at her. He seemed puzzled, not knowing what this had to do with the conversation, though his brows rose briefly like he'd remembered something.

She continued, trying not to show too much in her reaction as she explained, "Since I'm not as busy right now, I thought I'd check in on some of the people who got akumatized but I didn't have time for earlier. He was one of them." Idly, she pulled out her yoyo, almost mindlessly tapping away at it as she navigated through the various menus. "He said you came by to check on him a while ago; said that you were sitting there, just enjoying the day with him. He told me that you asked him if he missed being Mister Pigeon, or if he was feeling any negative emotions."

"I—" Chat tried to interject.

She didn't hear him, too focused on telling the story. "Then I asked him when you showed up, and he didn't know exactly when, but..." She showed him her yoyo, the messages Chat had sent clearly being timestamped for reference. "I figured out from what his rough guess and asking around that it was when you were supposed to be on patrol."

"I was on patrol!" Chat protested. "I was just checking up on him."

"You were relaxing on a bench," Ladybug reminded him., her tone remaining consistently flat. Snapping her yoyo shut and returning it to her hip, she added, "I even asked around and people told me they saw you go into the Grand Paris Hotel. I heard from one of the butlers there that you were sulking, and got excited when you saw Chloe and Sabrina fighting."

He opened his mouth to explain himself, but she could tell that he was struggling to come up with an excuse; he honestly believed that she'd never find out about any of this.

"I trusted you, Chat. I trusted you to cover for me when I'm not there, no matter what." She needed to swallow back her emotions for that one. "Why would you do that? Why would you hope for akuma to happen? Why would you lie to me?"

"I didn't!" Chat insisted, waving his arms frantically. "I—see... it was an off day! I was just—you know I can always do my best around you, and I did patrol! I just... made a few stops along the way! I wouldn't lie to you!"

"So you don't lie to me," she stated cautiously, "and you've never lied against me."

"Of course not!" he assured.

She paused for effect, just long enough for him to grow uneasy, then said, "Theo Barbot waved me down a while back."

Chat visibly cringed, and she could hear a hissing sound as he sucked in a breath.

"He wanted to congratulate me. He saw the picture of us kissing on the Ladyblog and said that he was glad we could finally go public about our relationship." Her gaze sharpened even as she stared at nothing in particular. "I asked what he meant, and he told me that you said that we were a thing. He said that that's what got him akumatized."

"It wasn't..." He averted his gaze. "...a lie exactly."

In response, Ladybug stood, throwing her arms outwards as emotion began to seep into her voice. "This is about more than lies, Chat; it's about everything! If you can only do your best around me, then what happens if an akuma gets me?" She didn't need him to answer. "You'll lose it. I need someone who I know will take care of things even if I'm captured."

"I would!" Chat retorted he stood up, the nervousness now showing on his face. "I would do everything to get you back, I—"

"Party Crasher," she cut in without missing a beat.

He recoiled like she'd physically struck him.

"And it's not just that I can't rely on you if I'm taken out; I can't rely on you not to take yourself out," she said pointedly, turning away from him and taking a few steps away to distance herself. "You're always throwing yourself in front of me and sacrificing yourself, sometimes when you don't even have to and always without just talking to me about it! Do you have any idea how that feels? You tell me all the time that you'll listen to me and how I'm the planner here, and then you go and make plans without me."

She heard Chat's hurried footsteps from behind her as he tried to match her pace and argue, "It's not like that! It's just—it's because..."

She turned just as he reached her, her stern gaze making him stop. "Because my anger is so irresistible?" she asked. "I'm just so adorable when I'm mad that you won't listen to me?" She advanced on him, forcing him back. "Thanks, Chat, that makes me feel so much better that you can't take me seriously because you just love me that much," she said sarcastically.

"That's not what I meant!" he argued, though at that point it seemed like all he could do was weakly protest that he didn't mean anything that way. "I'm only teasing, Bugaboo!"

"Then what do you really mean?" She clenched her fists at her side. "I've told you to stop calling me Bugaboo and you never do! You're too busy bantering and talking about our relationship to focus on the fight, and when that kiss happened - the one that happened because you got shot by Oblivio and I had to save you - you laughed at me for being upset and you didn't care. I'm tired of having to deal with all of that; I'm dealing with enough as guardian!" Reminded of her own status, she steeled herself up and held a hand out to him, managing to calm down enough to say, "Now, revoke your miraculous. I'll give it to someone else."

Chat retreated, his hand moving to cover his ring protectively. The nervousness had partially faded away into him being generally upset, though he also didn't try to defend his actions anymore. "You... if you give the ring to someone else, you'll know their identity!"

"I've already got a plan for that," Ladybug stated, holding her hand out more insistently.

Because of course she did. She wouldn't have been doing any of this if she hadn't given it a lot of thought first. There were pros and cons to bringing in a new cat, and when she really weighed it all together, this was the only way forward. Chat wouldn't learn, and she'd been stuck in a limbo of shouting at him, being ignored, and having to push down her feelings in the future or risk damaging their teamwork. She'd devalued herself - devalued her emotions - in order to believe that she could make it work because she needed him.

Except, she didn't. She needed a cat; someone to use the more active miraculous to balance out the lack of firepower that the ladybug miraculous had. It wasn't that it could be just anyone, but it certainly didn't have to be Chat. While she deeply regretted going back on one of Master Fu's decisions when he couldn't even have a say in it anymore, the fact of the matter was that she was the guardian and she made the rules.

Chat backed away a few more steps, his eyes darting around as he sought a way out of the situation. Then, facing Ladybug, a mixture of upset and offended, he argued, "We're a team! We still come out fine no matter what happened! You don't even know my identity, I've kept it a secret just like you wanted!"

He was reaching, and they both knew it. That had always been the reason for revoking someone's miraculous: someone else knowing their identity. However, there were reasons beyond that, and them "coming out fine" from a battle was hardly a high bar for someone getting to keep theirs. Ladybug knew that well enough after having dealt with Miracle Queen; even if Chloe's identity hadn't been revealed, she was still a bad person who felt entitled to a miraculous.

But Ladybug also understood the game Chat was playing at: that it wouldn't be right to take his miraculous when he's protected his identity. The logic was flawed, but she nonetheless crossed her arms and gave him a blank look, staring into his green cat eyes and starting to fit pieces of a metaphorical puzzle together.

Kung Food, Horrificator, and Startrain: those at minimum were times where Chat's civilian form had to have been inside at the time the akuma happened. Chat had also mistaken Francoise Dupont for an elementary school after they'd defeated Kwamibuster, but she mentally acknowledged that he could've been lying. He had to have been, if they were trapped in that building together with Horrificator. It narrowed things down significantly, and she knew that he had to have been a teenager like her due to the timer on his miraculous.

And while she was aware that Chat's green eyes meant nothing considering that she got green eyes as Lady Noire, there were little coincidences sprinkled throughout their history together that didn't add up unless she came to one final conclusion.

Chat showing up at the museum even though he'd have no way of knowing that an akuma could've been there. Chat knowing that Volpina's illusion was fake. Chat's mysterious loss of his miraculous when Style Queen was attacking.

The feather allergy.

Then, Ladybug glanced at the hand he was covering; the one she knew had the cat miraculous on his right ring finger. She almost felt like congratulating herself for constantly resisting the temptation, because when she actually thought about it, it was so obvious.

She knew that hand, as she'd seen it so many times. She had pictures of it plastered all over her wall and the realization made her feel sick, her heart dropping as opposed to skipping a beat.

"...Adrien Agreste," she said finally. "You're Adrien Agreste."

He blinked, his expression blank at first before dread started to take its place. His mouth slowly fell open, words trying to escape but there weren't any to be found.

She let the moment drag, stepping forward to close the distance between them. Adrien's face flashed over Chat Noir's for a moment and she swallowed, summoning all of her confidence to address him properly.

"Tell me, Adrien. Tell me that this hasn't been a game for you. Tell me that you wanted to protect Paris all this time. Tell me that this hasn't all been about you."

She waited, not expecting or hoping for any answer in particular, because it no longer mattered; the conclusion would the same regardless.

Ultimately, she got no reply, and within the next ten minutes, the cat miraculous was in her hands and Adrien was promptly taken home.

—————

Marinette took a breath of the cool night air, having chosen to walk home rather than get there as Ladybug. She needed time to think, and walking helped her clear her head from the rush of everything that'd happened.

Her purse rustled, Tikki popping out and leaning off the side to look up at her. "Is everything okay, Marinette?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head, just to reassure Tikki further. "It was for the best. It's a lot, but... I wanted to do it; for me, and for Paris."

Regardless of how many emotions she had to deal with, she was glad she knew. She supposed that she could've taken Chat's miraculous without seeing his identity - though it would've been complicated - but it helped her sort through so many thoughts in her mind.

She let out half of a chuckle, idly thinking that she dodged a bullet. If dating Adrien would've turned him into any level of Chat Noir - or, honestly, just knowing that he was Chat Noir - then it was definitely for the best that she figured out his identity. She wasn't sure how she'd behave around him the following days, but just the idea of things being any semblance of "normal" in the face of "the famous model Adrien Agreste," with no stutters or freak-outs...

It was nice, making everything feel a little brighter. Maybe Alya would even stop claiming that she's just "jealous" of Lila, the girls would stop teasing her so much, and she could put all that time she used to spend thinking about Adrien into something more productive. There hadn't seemed to be a downside in sight, actually.

As Marinette kept thinking on the subject, her gaze wandered off to the side, taking in the sights around her, and she paused when she noticed that she was right next to the Seine. The revelation didn't surprise her - she knew she'd have to pass by it to get home - but it did inevitably remind her of Luka, especially since they'd broken up only a day ago.

The metaphorical wound was still fresh, not helped by the fact that Lies had come right afterward as if to remind her of why she had to break up with him; she couldn't have a normal life, and she certainly couldn't have a boyfriend. It didn't matter if she loved Luka and he loved her back, because she would always have to leave their dates at the first sign of an akuma.

Yet, nevertheless, there was some form of comfort in staring out at the river, and she found herself traveling down the nearest set of stairs to walk right next to the Seine instead of so far above it, her eyes trailing along the surface of the water to search for the Liberty.

It took a few minutes of walking, almost making her wonder if she'd passed it without realizing, but then she saw the ship resting in the water, right where it always was. She approached, taking in the various colors and the silly rainbow weathervane, her body automatically relaxing at the memories of those two weeks of crafting kittycorn-themed costumes from paper mache.

Curiously, she noticed that the gangplank was up, as someone presumably had forgotten to pull it back before going to bed that night. Marinette walked over, crouching down and wondering idly if it was possible that it had been put up but had just fallen over at some point, yet it was clearly set perfectly in place.

Mentally trashing the thought, she placed her hands on her knees and started getting up. As she straightened her back, her eyes involuntarily scanned over the deck of the ship, a familiar color palette of blues, blacks, and whites registering in her mind before she fully recognized what—who it was. Her eyes locked onto the figure, and she had to slap a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from letting out a yelp.

It was Luka, sitting down on an instrument case with his guitar in his lap, though Marinette noted after a moment that he was actually asleep. Concern furrowed her brows as she took in his posture, one of his arms resting on the case while the other was perched on the guitar's base. His back was arched against the taffrail of the ship and his head was tilted back to the point where his hair was falling into his face.

There was no way that was comfortable.

Marinette hesitated, feeling almost like she was trespassing, then gave Tikki a look to hide inside the purse while she walked across the gangplank Any footsteps against the deck of the ship seemed unusually loud due to the otherwise quiet night, but Marinette tried to ignore it, approaching Luka cautiously so as not to startle him.

He was frowning, and she involuntarily copied the expression onto her own face. Outside of the bumps in their dates and the break-up itself, it was rare to see him as anything but calm or happy, and she got the distinct feeling that it wasn't just because he was asleep that he was making that face.

She reached up, lightly fixing his hair in case to try and keep it out of his eyes when he woke up, then lowered her hand to his shoulder. She gave him a light shake, then another with a little more effort when the first failed to stir him. When that failed as well, she leaned close, looking side to side like she was afraid someone would see her and think she was doing something strange. However, no one else was around, allowing her to safely whisper his name to him.

"Luka."

She stiffened when she got an immediate response to that, Luka letting out a low humming noise as he shifted. She jolted back, trying to give him space and blushing at the thought that shaking hadn't woken him in the slightest but her voice had immediately.

Luka's eyes opened halfway, staring blankly up at the sky. Brows lowering in confusion, he tried to move, though a whine escaped him when his body protested at the uncomfortable position he'd gotten himself into. He winced, but eased forward and leaned on his guitar for support, only then looking forward and meeting her gaze.

She shifted in place, feeling awkward but knowing that it was too late to back out now.

"...Mmmarinette?" he asked, squinting like he wasn't really sure she was there. He blinked a few times, his eyes widening a fraction when he confirmed that she was real. "Marinette?"

"Ah—hi," she replied, waving awkwardly. "Um, sorry, it was just—I was walking, and I saw you, and you were sleeping weird—not that you sleeping is weird or you look weird when you sleep!—but you seemed really uncomfortable so I just..." She gestured vaguely at his current state of awareness.

He let out a tired sound that may've been an "oh," then ran his fingers into his hair and rustled it, like he was attempting to shake the tiredness out of himself. That done, he managed a small smile at her that didn't stretch anywhere near the amount it usually would. "Thank you. I'm glad you care about me that much."

"Of course I do!" she blurted out, a little offended at the idea that she wouldn't. She realized belatedly how loud she'd been and rubbed an arm in embarrassment, but didn't take anything back either.

Deep down, she knew where he was coming from. It must've been hard for him to watch her ditch him and then deal with her ending their relationship with next to no explanation. Even with the confidence he constantly radiated, not having any information on the 'how's or 'why's must've been difficult, and she hated keeping secrets from him.

Even Chat got better than that...

Luka tilted his head at her, the anxiety probably written all across her face. Concerned, he began to ask, "...Is everything—"

"Luka," she called suddenly, straightening to face him fully. "I—" She swallowed, needing a few seconds to compose herself. "I know this is a bad time, because I'm not really supposed to be here, and you can say 'no,' but... can we talk? About what happened?"

She bit her lip nervously as he sat up, his body noticeably more awake than before. She felt like he deserved to know more about the whole situation, but he also had every right to refuse her for waiting - even if it wasn't that long ago - so the possibilities were nerve-wracking.

Thankfully though, Luka relaxed after a moment, lifting his guitar out of his lap to set it aside, the bottom of the body resting on the deck of the Liberty while the neck was supported by the taffrail. Settling his hands in his lap, he then gave her his full attention, even offering a soft look of reassurance.

Her shoulders eased; he was going to hear her out. Part of her almost felt bad, wondering if maybe he was forcing himself, but she also knew it was important for him to get closure on the matter.

"Okay..." She breathed, acknowledging to herself that she hadn't planned this is the slightest. After some internal debate, she sat down on the deck of the Liberty in lieu of a proper seat, earning a look from Luka but no further comment otherwise. Running her hands along her capris, she stared up at him and finally began, "It—it wasn't you."

He raised a brow, silently encouraging her to go on.

"I mean, maybe you weren't worried about that, but I just... I needed you to know that." She shrugged half-heartedly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Luka - you're amazing - and if it wasn't for me always having to leave and rush off and make you feel bad, I would've stayed with you."

"...Really?"

She blinked at his tone, the corners of her lips quirking up as he covered his mouth, clearly not having intended to blurt that out. She simply nodded at him, falling back into her serious state as she continued, "You deserve someone who can be dedicated to you, and I just—I can't, and I can't tell you why either." She slumped, ashamed at the secret she was forced to keep. "I wish I could. I do trust you, but it's not about that. It's—" She pursed her lips, struggling to find the right words. "—it's not really something I can say?"

She dropped her gaze to her lap, but didn't miss the flicker of understanding in his eyes. It was important to her, for him to know that she believed in him and that he'd done everything right in their relationship.

"...Are—" Luka paused, voice laced with worry. "Marinette, are you being blackmailed or something?"

She almost laughed at that. His deduction wasn't entirely wrong, as "go defend Paris from a supervillain and tell no one about it, and if you do then they might be in danger," certainly did sound like blackmail. Still, she shook her head, reassuring, "It's nothing like that. I'm sorry. I really want to tell you, a-and even be with you, but I can't do either." She clutched at her knees in an attempt to ground herself, glancing back up at him with a mixture of sorrow and guilt. "I don't know what you see in me, Luka, but I feel so lucky that you like me so much, and then unlucky because—" She choked briefly, her cheeks heating up as she realized that she'd never said the exact words to him before. "—because I like you too and I want it to be that simple but it's not. You want the truth and the truth is that I can't tell you no matter how much I want to. I know I forget things and had to skip out on dates because I was so stressed out, but you made everything fun and not stressful and I loved every date we went on until... you know." She gestured wildly to imply 'unsaid things happening.'

He was quiet, not showing any particular reaction, though she'd spent enough time with him to know that he was glad that she was talking more openly about it and clearing some things up that he might've been wondering about. His expression seemed blank on the surface but he was relieved to know something even if her words were pulling his emotions in every direction.

Mentally preparing herself for the next step, Marinette pushed herself up and walked over to him, finding it hard to meet Luka's gaze even as she hunched over and boldly placed her hands on top of his. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see his eyes searching her face, not knowing what to expect next.

"...I'm sorry," she murmured. "I know I apologized already but I'm sorry. I should've known things would end up like this but I wanted to date you anyway. I can't even tell you when this is all going to end so I can't ask you to wait for me either because it's not fair. You deserve a relationship that isn't so complicated... that doesn't involve me."

She flinched at the emotional punch to the gut she'd just given herself. She'd already known that dating would be near-impossible so long as she was Ladybug, but it was a completely different feeling to face Luka and say it to his face. She wasn't sure if she'd been his first crush, but the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth that it'd all gone so wrong and there was no hope of getting it back.

She took another breath to calm herself, slowly raising her hands away from his. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say," she murmured, still not making eye contact with him. "Thanks for trying to show me a good time, Luka, but... maybe you should fall in love with someone else."

She turned away before her emotions could get the better of her, about to walk off when a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and jerked her back. She squeaked in surprise, glancing behind her to see that Luka was on the edge of the instrument case, arm stretched out like he'd impulsively hurried to stop her. She opened her mouth to ask what he was doing, but he spoke first.

"Why?"

"W...why?" she echoed.

"Why should I fall for someone else?" he asked, his tone somewhere between hurt and serious.

"Ah." She tilted her head, confused and with no idea of what he was getting at. "Because of everything I said?"

"That you enjoyed our dates? That it wasn't us who cut the song short?" His other hand reached up, holding her hand as well while he looked at her tenderly. His voice grew quiet, like he couldn't believe what he was saying. "That you like me?"

Marinette blushed, but found it hard to look away from him this time. "I...I do like you. Um—only you, but—Luka, the dates..."

Luka slowly stood up, gently squeezing her hand in a show of support. "I didn't even think that I'd be taking up too much of your time, Marinette. I wanted to be together with you, but I didn't want it to be hard either." He offered her a lopsided smile, adding, "And I'm glad you told me, because I don't think you being busy means we can't be together."

"...What?" Marinette gaped at him in disbelief. "I thought you said that you wanted the truth, and—"

"You gave it to me," he reminded her. "You said you can't tell me and I believe you."

She waved her free hand wildly. "Y-yeah, and I'll have to run off and we'll never know when!"

"Then we don't have to date, or we don't have to date as much." He'd said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and maybe it was. "Why should we be playing sad solos when we can play a happy duet instead?"

She went to retort, but he'd so swiftly shot down her arguments that she was left speechless. She hadn't even considered that - trying to compromise with him on their dates - because she thought she wouldn't be worth it for him, yet here he was, offering himself to her again now that everything had been laid out for him. It seemed too good to be true, but...

He was her Second Chance, and every moment she spent with him just reaffirmed why she'd adored being given that chance in the first place.

She made a small noise as she tried to hold back emotion, her hand shaking in his. "You want me that much?"

His smile grew wider and more genuine, clearly recognizing that she was about to accept him. "Yeah. Do you want me too?"

Afraid her voice might crack and ruin the moment, she nodded and turned fully towards him. She held out her other hand for him and he took it happily, both of them able to enjoy each other's company once more.

Once things had properly settled down, she held back a shy giggle and asked, "S-so, do we just... pick up where we left off? Or just—before everything started going wrong?"

He hummed, seeming to honestly think about it. "I guess so. What verse do you want to start from?"

She retraced all of the bad dates in her mind, like she were rewinding a movie. One moment in particular stuck out to her, and she tried not to grin too much as she suggested, "The cinema? After I gave you the necklace?"

She didn't have to clarify any further, his eyes lighting up in remembrance. He grinned and leaned down to be closer to her level, her getting up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway in a kiss, thus finishing what they'd started from what felt like forever ago. She could feel Luka's hands caressing hers, as if to reassure that everything was alright and he was happy.

She waited until the kiss broke apart, then looked at him to ask teasingly, "Better than setting up a whole date to do that?"

He pressed his forehead to hers, sighing happily. "Definitely."

She beamed at him, almost tempted to kiss him again before she remembered what time it was. She gasped, inadvertently surprising him with the sound, then recoiled and placed her hands firmly on his shoulders, sitting him back down on the instrument case.

"You need to sleep!" she told him, then corrected a second later, "But—not here! Not right here anyway! It needs to be in a bed! Your bed!"

He laughed at the abrupt shift in tone, but nodded obediently at her, resting his fingers along her wrists. "I will. You'll sleep too, right?"

She nodded back, her heart skipping a beat at his care for her. "Yeah, I promise."

Her hands lingered on him, as did his with her as she pulled away from him. As much as she would've liked to stay with him, it was late and she still had a lot to take care of.

Rushing across the gangplank, she waited until she was safely on the other side so she wouldn't risk tripping as she turned to face him, walking backward and waving excitedly. "Bye, Luka!"

He suppressed a chuckle at the happiness-induced loudness of her voice, then waved back at her. It was only when he got up to take his guitar inside that she finally turned around and started officially heading home.

—————

When the last of the Adrien photos had been shoved into her trash bin - even the ones on her corkboard - Marinette allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief and collapse into her chair. It'd taken a little longer than she'd thought, but she was still satisfied with the change. The walk home and conversation with Luka had brought all of her thoughts together and made her feel optimistic about how the day had gone.

"Marinette?" Tikki looked up from the chocolate chip she'd been nibbling on, her being the only kwami awake at that hour. Voicing the inevitable, she asked, "What are you going to do about the cat miraculous?"

Marinette turned, acknowledging her, then reached into her purse to pull out the ring in question, turning it a few times in her hands. It was weird having it in her possession while she still had the ladybug earrings on, but it wouldn't stick around for long anyway, so she wasn't concerned.

Tikki continued, an urgency in her voice, "You're Ladybug, and you're not supposed to know anyone's identities, but you're also the guardian now, so you're supposed to give out miraculouses and know everyone's identities!"

Marinette, much to Tikki's apparent surprise, flashed her a smile and held the ring up confidently. "That's exactly why you're going to pick the next cat, Tikki."

Tikki blanked, dropping the chocolate chip in shock. "Wh—me?" Her voice squeaked. "Why me?"

Marinette would be lying if she said that she didn't find some amusement in Tikki's befuddlement. With a bit of effort, she pushed herself up from her seat, setting the ring down on the table and walking towards the sink at the other side of the room. "Because you've been with every ladybug who's ever existed, which means that you've known every ladybug and cat duo that's ever existed." Giving Tikki an expectant look, she added, "If anyone knows what kind of cat I'd need as a partner, it's you."

"But—" Tikki floundered, the thought clearly having never occurred to her. "It's the guardian who has to hand out miraculouses!"

"I won't know the new cat's identity this way," Marinette reminded her, idly tracing her fingertips along the sink's edge. "Sure, it'll be someone we both know, but if I didn't figure out that Adrien is Chat Noir until I tried, then I won't figure out this one either."

Her eyes scanned over the various drawers in her reach and she pulled open one in particular, a small box jerking forward from the momentum. It was the same box that held her ladybug earrings all those months ago, and now it would be the box for the new cat as well.

Holding the box to her chest and silently wishing luck upon it, Marinette returned to her table to see Tikki staring quietly at the ring in thought, apparently still processing what she'd been told. Marinette paid her no mind for the moment, setting the box down and searching various other drawers for a white cloth big enough for the box to be wrapped in. Then, once she'd successfully found one, she laid it out neatly on the table and opened the box to place the ring inside.

The moving of the ring snapped Tikki out of whatever trance she'd been in. She flew up, clinging to Marinette's hand and begging, "Wait! At least tell me what you'd want in a cat!"

Marinette supposed that was a win, since Tikki wasn't outright rejecting the idea and had little argument against it. She dropped the ring inside the box and smiled at the gentle 'click' it made when she closed it, then turned to address Tikki. The nervousness on display made a modicum of sense when considering that kwami were supposed to obey the guardian, so being told to do what they wanted was probably a little strange.

Marinette just took it in stride. She leaned against her chair as she considered her ideal cat, having been so used to Chat Noir that she needed a minute to imagine someone who really matched her.

"Thoughtful," she answered, nearly blurting the word out when it finally came to her. "Someone who thinks the way I do so I'm not doing everything myself. They can be selfless, but they have to have limits, and with good instincts so they won't throw themselves in front of me." Her expression growing fond at the idea of such a partner, she took the cloth and wrapped the box in it, sealing it with a strong knot as she added, "And... they have to be understanding, where I can cover for them and they can cover for me and we'll just—click."

She snapped her fingers for effect, watching as Tikki flew over to the wrapped-up box and tested it to ensure it was safe to carry. While she was tugging at the knot to confirm it was tight enough, Marinette stood and headed up the stairs to her bed, opening the way to her balcony so Tikki had a way out.

By the time Marinette peeked over the bed to check on Tikki, Tikki had already taken hold of the cloth and flew up to be eye level with her, the box being a noticeable yet manageable weight. Marinette moved to the side, allowing the straight-faced Tikki to go past her and go up to the balcony.

Thinking that Tikki had already gone, Marinette was about to close the trapdoor when she heard a soft, "Marinette?"

Her head turned to see Tikki, hovering above the little table with the box still held in her paws. She seemed conflicted, like she was struggling to find words, but eventually settled on, "You're a great guardian."

And with that, she left, Marinette blinking in surprise for a moment before a smile formed on her face. She closed the way to her balcony, then slipped back down the stairs to start getting ready for bed.

At the same time she'd be settling in to sleep that night, her tiny Miracle Box would be set down delicately in the Liberty, specifically on Luka Couffaine’s amp.

#((And some Lukanette obviously because I have no self control.))#MC's Writing #writing: story #category: salt #salt: chat noir #episode: Lies #other: ml spoilers #relationship: Luka Couffaine & Marinette Dupain Cheng

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bookgirlfan · 2 years

Text

Chat has been quiet all day. Even fighting the akuma, he hadn’t said a word, and she’d expected plenty considering it had literal flower powers. She had even joked about it, and he’d only given her a half-hearted smile. “What’s wrong, kitty?”

“You won’t want to hear.” She starts to protest that she’s always here to listen, but he continues, “It’s related to my identity.”

She winces, torn between reading to know what has upset Chat and an equally pressing need not to lose Tikki by finding out his identity.

She walks over and stands at the railing next to him, leaning into his side. He shudders, then presses back into her too. Neither of them look at each other.

“Tell me what you can,” she requests.

He doesn’t say anything at first. She puts her hand over his on the rail and twists their fingers together, a silent promise that she’s here for him. His claws prick against her, but her suit keeps her safe just as it always does. “Those were my mother’s favourite flowers. The white ones. She loved them. I don’t remember their name.”

She squeezes their joined hands. “I’m sorry.”

“I haven’t seen them since…” He doesn’t say it, and she doesn’t need him to. She understands. “That was a few months ago.”

“Would your dad know?” She immediately back-pedals, afraid of making it worse. “If you have a dad. Maybe you have another mum! Or grandparents! Or something else! You don’t have to tell me.”

“I have a dad.” His voice isn’t quite so heavy now. Her fumbling was apparently good for something. “I just don’t know how to ask him.” He’s sinking back into his sadness, and she doesn’t know how to draw him out again. “I don’t see him much anymore. His assi- friend looks after me.”

She doesn’t question the slip. This conversation is already dancing on the boundaries of what they can know. The only way she can help him is if she doesn’t know who he is, though now she’s wondering if even then she’ll be able to help him enough. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “She tells me when meals are ready, checks my room is clean, organises my schedule. It started when my mum was sick. And now it means my dad doesn’t have to see me.”

“Chaton, I’m sure that’s not true,” she tries to comfort, leaning more heavily into him. He’s tall enough she can rest her head against his shoulder, keeping as many points of contact as she can between his body and hers.

His head drops on top of hers, and she can feel the wetness of his cheek against her hair. “I look like her. Everyone says so. I’m just a reminder of her.”

“You’re more than that.” She makes her voice as firm as she dares, and eventually feels his slow nod against her.

She loses track of time after that, but eventually Chat pulls away, and she lets him.

“Thanks, milady.” He’s smiling again, and if it’s smaller and sadder than usual, she’s not going to say anything.

“Any time, Chat. I’m always here if you need me.” They both know that’s not true, that they have lives and responsibilities outside the suits, but she wishes it was, and she knows he does too.

One of those responsibilities is calling her now, a maths worksheet due tomorrow. She backs away, not turning from him, and throws her yoyo out without looking. “I’ll see you. And if you need to talk, call me. I’ll answer.” She turned and throws herself into the sky before he can respond.

If he calls after her, she doesn’t hear it.

#stories #not mine #miraculous ladybug

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sariahsue · 3 years

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A Cat of Their Own - Ch 11 (Final!)

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It was finally Christmas morning. While most people were exchanging gifts with family or singing carols together, Marinette, Tikki, Sabine, and Tom stood in the middle of their living room, getting ready to put their plan into motion.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sabine asked.

"Yes, I'm ready," Marinette said.

"I don't want you to do something you'll regret later."

Marinette gave her mother a quick hug. It was such a relief to know that she and Sabine understood each other now. "Thank you. This is big, but it's the right time."

"You look nervous," Tikki said.

That was probably because she was. Her fingers shook slightly, but she formed them into a fist to hide it. "He needs this," she said. "Spots on."

As soon as the transformation was complete, she pulled out her yoyo and engaged the tracking feature. Bright lights illuminated her face as she stared intently at it.

"Yup," she said. "There he is. On the Rue Championnet. It's the 18th arrondissement."

"That's so far away!" Sabine said at the same time that Tom said, "What's he doing over there?"

Ladybug's face twisted with bitterness. "Probably running himself to exhaustion on purpose and wanting to be as far away from home as possible. I really need to go."

"Do you think he'll go along with this?" Sabine asked.

"We'll see," she said, before bounding up the steps to her room and out of sight.

---

Cat Noir had picked the perfect spot on the top of an apartment building, tucked into the shadow of the building next door. He was out of sight, so no one would see him and take pictures and post on the Ladyblog about how poor Cat Noir had no family on Christmas. But he was still able to see below him and watch all the happy people going about their lives and not noticing him, like no one ever seemed to. He'd found this spot by accident, really. He'd just gotten tired of running and stopped when he couldn't find the willpower to make his feet move anymore.

From this height, everyone seemed small and insignificant, just like him. There was some poetic justice in that, he supposed. Snow was falling in clumps around him, but instead of making everything white and perfect, it melted into dirty slush on the roads and made a mess of everything. At least he didn't have to walk down there. He couldn't bring himself to feel grateful even for that little blessing. He still had ten hours left until his scheduled gift exchange with Ladybug. It was the only thing keeping him going today. But how long would she hang around with him? Probably only a few minutes. She must have family over, people she'd much rather be with. She wouldn't want to-

"There you are!"

Cat Noir jumped. He'd been so absorbed that he hadn't heard her walk up next to his seat on the roof.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Is there an akuma?"

"No, no," she said, giving him a very forced smile. "I'm happy you're out, though!"

Ha. That wasn't true. She looked cold and annoyed. Why would she be looking for me if she's not happy to see me?

"I have a huge favor to ask you," she said. "Do you mind?"

Ah, there it is. See? Not even Ladybug wants to have me around today. She only wanted him when she needed something from him, just like everyone else.

"Are you okay?" she asked, lowering her voice and leaning close enough for her arm to brush his.

That wasn't fair, he reminded himself. He was in a bad mood, but that wasn't any reason to take it out on her. She didn't treat him like his father did. Her eyebrows knit together with worry, but she didn't say anything. He wished she would ask him what was bothering him.

"Sure, I guess. What's the favor? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong, but do you remember Marinette? The Evillustrator girl?"

"Yeah, of course. She's in my class at school. She's cute."

Ladybug started to turn pink, though it must have been from the cold. "G-gat's thood, I mean, th-that's good. That you remember her, I mean. I- I mean." She cleared her throat. "Good. I ran into her a few days ago, and she asked if we would come over to her house today for a few minutes and say hello to her parents. They're your self-proclaimed biggest fans, so I volunteered you. I hope that's okay."

"Oh." Well, someone wanted him around, even if it wasn't Adrien-him, and he'd been hoping Marinette would invite him over. "Yeah, sure. Let's go." They were probably only planning on a few minutes, but maybe he'd be able to stretch it out a little?

"Great!" Ladybug said, her shoulders slumping in relief. She'd really been expecting him to turn down a request to visit a fan? He must have looked worse than he thought.

Traffic was unusually slow, even for a cold Christmas morning. No one stopped them for autographs or called out to them. The snow made the rooftops slick, and Ladybug scooped up a handful and tossed it at his head. He dodged but didn't throw any back, like he normally would have. He didn't have time for snowball fights. He just wanted to get to Marinette's quickly so he could pretend he had a home for Christmas, even for a little bit.

Ladybug stopped him when they got to the roof of the school. They were so close! Why was she stopping?

"We can't let anyone see us going in, okay?" Ladybug said. "Marinette suggested we wait for a break in traffic and then quickly let ourselves in through the bakery door. She left it unlocked."

"Shouldn't we knock?"

"And stand there for the whole world to see? They don't want that kind of attention. Oh, here's our chance!"

Without another word, she jumped off the building, did a flip, and landed gracefully across the street, just feet from the front door. Ladybug was amazing.

And he was wasting the gap in traffic. He vaulted off the side of the building, still too upset to even do a somersault to impress her.

Ladybug pushed the door open without knocking and slipped inside. He hesitated just for a moment. It felt rude to just let themselves in like this, even if Marinette said it was fine.

The bakery was dark and quiet, two things he'd never seen it be before. The scents were faint, since it had been closed all day, but the smell of sugar, cakes, and fresh bread still clung to the air. All the displays were empty. Upstairs, he could hear footsteps, but no voices.

"This way," Ladybug said, opening the door that led to the stairs and the living area of the house.

"No!" he hissed at her. "We're inside now. We should knock."

"It's fine!" She didn't stop to see if he was following before heading through the open door, so he was left with nothing to do except chase after her.

The carpets muffled their footsteps as they climbed the stairs, and they arrived at the living room door. He'd been here as Adrien only a handful of times, but how had Ladybug known where to go?

She hesitated at the door, and he wasn't sure if she was waiting for him to catch up or something else. She took a deep breath, then reached for the doorknob.

"Wait!" Cat Noir said in a rushed whisper. "We really need to knock this time."

She turned to him, one hand resting on the knob. She put the other hand on his shoulder, looked him full in the face, and said very clearly, "Merry Christmas, Adrien."

Then she opened the door and let herself in.

"Mama!" she called. "Papa! I found him!"

Cat Noir stood frozen at the door. Her parents were here? Marinette had set this up so he could meet Ladybug's parents? How had she known they'd been talking to each other?

"Oh, Marinette!" That was definitely Serena's voice. "I was wondering what was taking you so long. The food's almost ready."

Cat Noir followed his Lady through the door, closing it quietly behind him. Ladybug was there, Tom was at the stove, Sabine was getting up from the couch and coming over to greet them, but other than that and the smell of roast turkey, the room was empty. Where were Tim, Serena, and Marinette?

"Perfect timing then!" Ladybug said. She reached over and gave Sabine a hug.

"Could you set the table, please?" Tom asked her. But that voice... that was Tim's voice. He'd heard it almost every day for weeks. Tom stirred a small pot of something, but he set the spoon down and started walking over, past Ladybug, to him.

"Sure, Papa," Ladybug said.

A few seconds after arriving, his self-proclaimed biggest fans were in front of him, both smiling fondly at him. At just him! Plates clinked in the background as Ladybug pulled them out of the cupboard and put them down on the counter. Tom and Sabine only waited a few seconds before wrapping him in a giant hug.

"You two should introduce yourselves," Ladybug called. "I think he's in shock."

They pulled away from him, but he held on, not willing to let them go very far.

"Hello, Cat Noir," Sabine said. "You've called me Serena, but my real name is Sabine, and this giant's real name is Tom."

"It's nice to officially meet you in person."

Cat Noir wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to get the words out. If Tim and Serena were really Tom and Sabine, that had to mean that...

Ladybug had finished setting the plates, four places. In the corner of the living room was an electric fireplace, and a tree with gifts, and an extra stocking set out just for him, because Marinette had known that Adrien was looking for a place to stay for the holiday, and Ladybug had known who Cat Noir was.

She stood there, waiting, until he looked back at her, and then said, "Spots off." Light and sparkles filled the room, and then there was Marinette and a little red kwami.

Marinette hadn't happened to meet Ladybug and ask for a favor. They'd all planned this whole thing. For him.

He started to laugh so he wouldn't start to cry, but his voice shook. Marinette heard it and hurried over, joining the hug. He reached around Sabine to wrap an arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Marinette," Sabine finally said. "The table."

"Oh!" she said, pulling away. "Sorry!" When she left, the whole hug broke apart, much too soon for Cat Noir. Marinette scurried around the kitchen, grabbing forks and cups, and giving Cat Noir a chance to whisper his thanks to her parents.

"It was Marinette's idea," Tom said.

"She didn't want you to be lonely like last year," Sabine added.

"I don't want to intrude on your holiday," Cat Noir said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. After the dismissive treatment he usually received, this almost seemed too good to be true. He half expected them to ask him to leave as soon as the meal was over.

"Nonsense," Tom said, low enough for Marinette not to hear, though she did look over curiously. "You can crash our family functions as often as you want."

"Repayment for saving us from being childless so many times. You're family now," Sabine said in the same hushed tone. She raised her voice back to a normal level as she said, "Marinette hasn't told us who you are, so you can stay transformed or not."

"You're always welcome in either form," Tom said.

"Open invitation, Kitty," Marinette added. "Table's done."

---

It was the best Christmas dinner he'd ever had, anywhere, in his life. While it probably had more to do with the fact that he was surrounded by people who wanted him, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Tom's professional baking skills and Sabine's traditional Chinese food had something to do with it.

He opted to stay in costume, at least for the time being. It had always been easier for him to be open and friendly with people as his alter ego, and this way he wouldn't have to deal with Plagg's teasing.

He spent the whole meal alternately making terrible puns with Tom to make Sabine and Marinette – Ladybug! – groan out loud, and trying to wrap his head around the fact that Marinette – who was Ladybug! – had known that Adrien had been Cat Noir the whole time. That explained the sudden shift in their friendship, though he was still curious about the stuttering and why it had disappeared.

Their house was beautifully decorated, and something told him they'd gone the extra mile for his benefit. The tree sparkled, there were garlands everywhere, and he even spotted a few sprigs of mistletoe. He saw Marinette staring at one, but when he caught her eye and wiggled his eyebrows at her, she blushed and shoved his face away. In the background, Tikki giggled at them.

After dessert was cleared away, Sabine turned to him, a serious look on her face. "I know this was sprung on you," she said, "so feel free to say no, but if you don't mind sleeping on the couch down here, you're welcome to stay the night."

He looked around at all three of them, silently asking for permission. Marinette just smirked at his awestruck face.

"Of course I want to!" he said. He would have slept on the cold floor if it meant he could be where people would be happy to see him in the morning. (Curled up in front of the electric fireplace, naturally.)

He sped home, threw some clothes, his toothbrush and, most importantly, his presents for Ladybug – Marinette! – and her parents into a duffle bag while Plagg munched on his Christmas present, a wheel of camembert that had been a pain to hide from him all week.

"You're packing clothes?" Plagg asked around a mouthful of cheese. "You're going to tell them who you are?"

"I haven't decided yet," Adrien said. Marinette already knew. He'd been ready to let Tim and Serena know who he was, but now that they were Tom and Sabine, people he'd known for over a year, he was a little more hesitant about it. It made the situation so much more real.

---

When Cat Noir returned, presents in tow, he was greeted just as warmly as he had been when he first arrived. Marinette tossed him a game controller and patted the seat next to her, triumphant smirk already on her face and Tikki sitting on her shoulder.

"You sure you're going to win this time, My Lady? I'm feeling pretty confident today."

"Your overconfidence is your weakness!" she said. "I have the home court advantage!" Cat Noir wasn't sure about that. This place already felt more like home than his house did.

As they played, it became clear that his overconfidence was not his weakness. His claws were. They slid and slipped on the plastic casing and nudged joysticks in the wrong directions.

"Yesssss!" Marinette said, as Cat Noir's car veered off the track and over a cliff. Again. "I will beat you!"

"You're in last place!" Cat Noir said. "I'm still ahead of you." And he was, only barely. Tom had taken pity on him and tickled Marinette. By the time she'd finished laughing, she'd lost her first-place spot and any hope of winning.

"I'll catch up. There's no way for you to beat me," she said.

"Oh yeah?"

She turned to him, the race temporarily forgotten. She'd understood what he'd implied. Her surprised face was bathed in green light for a few seconds, and then he was Adrien again. Everyone in the room sat staring at him, until Plagg shouted "Tikki!" and dove for her, knocking her onto the couch cushion. "I missed you!"

"Huh," Adrien said. Plagg liked Tikki more than cheese. That was unexpected.

"I saw you at school two days ago!" she complained.

He turned back to Marinette, then to her parents. He'd expected them to look surprised or to be staring at this boy that they didn't realize they'd known, but instead, they both had giant grins on their faces and were glancing at Marinette, who was steadily turning bright red. What was happening? He felt like he was missing some kind of inside joke.

"Well, Marinette-" Tom said.

"DON'T. SAY. A WORD." She picked up her controller again, but it was too late. Her car had gotten stuck in a mud patch and refused to budge. She came in last place. Tom and Sabine didn't stop smiling for the rest of the night.

As it turned out, Tom and Sabine's night didn't last that much longer. They were still on baker's time and started yawning by 8pm. They lasted until 9:30, when they finally decided to go to bed. They bid the heroes goodnight and started for the door. Tom stopped in the middle of the room, reached up, and made a show of taking down the mistletoe that Adrien had done a very good job avoiding all evening. Marinette had invited him into her home, she liked someone else, and he wasn't going to ruin anything by making her uncomfortable.

Tom fiddled with the sprig, made sure they were both watching, and then gently, slowly pulled it down. Marinette had her face in her hands, but Adrien wasn't really sure why. His confusion was plain on his face, and Tom answered his unasked question.

"So you two don't get any ideas while you're unsupervised."

"Ideas? What-"

"PAPA!" Marinette yelled. She buried her hands in her hair, face still pointed toward her knees. Adrien could see a red blush so pronounced it looked like her face was glowing. It extended all the way around the back of her neck. And then he understood.

"Oh. Of course. No ideas." And he added, "Sir," on the end for good measure. But Tom just chuckled at their embarrassment.

"Don't be mean," Sabine said, grabbing the mistletoe from Tom and swatting his arm with it.

Tikki and Plagg laughed.

"We'll be here," Plagg said. "We'll let you know if you miss anything interesting."

After they had disappeared into their bedroom, the kwamis deserted them quickly. Adrien still felt as pale as Marinette looked red. The awkward silence only stretched a few seconds before Marinette tried to break the ice.

"So... How are you today? I mean, how was your day? Aside from that fortimying- mortifying end at the bit, bit at the end, I mean. Ugh. Forget it. Listen, I need to tell you something."

Truth be told, it had been perfect, from her rescue, to the food and the games, to just spending time being a part of someone's family. Whatever she wanted to say must have been important, but her nerves were making it difficult. He wanted to set her at ease, help her as much as he could after all she'd done for him today. This was still Ladybug. Some friendly banter might reawaken her masked confidence.

"Well, My Lady, is this the part where you confess your undying love for me?"

He expected an eye roll and maybe some derisive laughter. Maybe a shove. He didn't expect her to turn an even deeper shade of red and squeak out, "Yes!"

He'd messed up. Marinette must have been more flustered about whatever she was going to say, because she just answered with a yes on accident. After what her father had said too! He should have waited before flirting with her again!

So he did the only thing he could think of: try to play it off as a joke. "What was that? I don't have my super hearing right now, and there's no way that-"

"Y-you heard me," she said.

"What?!"

"The other boy that I liked," she plowed on. "He was you."

"He was?"

Marinette smiled at him, then reached slowly forward and grabbed his hand. "This whole time."

This day had just been too surreal, too good to be true, and now this happened. Was he in the clutches of some reality-bending akuma? Maybe he was dreaming. But Marinette's gentle pressure on his fingers felt real enough.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Marinette laughed. "Yes, I'm sure! You're my top two favorite people, all rolled into one. Why wouldn't I love you?"

"Love? B-but..."

"You know, for someone who does as much flirting as you do, I thought you'd be less surprised by this." Her thumb traced a circle around his knuckle. It was soothing, exciting, anxiety-provoking and fantasy-inspiring all at once. This couldn't actually be happening, could it?

Marinette let him take his time processing the information. Ladybug had said the boy that she liked liked someone else. Marinette had been upset at the same time. She'd avoided him. They both felt better at the same time. But if he was the boy, that meant she'd heard him talking to Nino about...

"I was talking about you," he said.

"What?"

"I was talking to Nino about you. I'm so sorry! I made you cry, didn't I?"

"Oh," she said. Her finger stopped moving. "Well, I mean, you didn't really..."

"Marinette," he whined. "Stop. I'm sorry! I never wanted to make Ladybug or Marinette cry, and you both did!"

Her finger resumed its circling. "I know how you can make it up to me," she said, leaning forward, eyes flicking to his lips.

---

Baker's hours. They made you early risers as Tom always joked to her. Why she married a baker, she would never know.

Tom rolled over as he woke up and wrapped a warm arm around her. Ah yes. This was why she married a baker.

They stayed there, breathing quietly in the still morning for a few minutes before heading downstairs. The kids would both (hopefully) still be asleep, but the bakery would be open for business as usual, so they'd just have to be quiet.

"Do you think they behaved themselves?" Tom asked her. She could hear the grin in his voice without even looking at him.

"Oh, stop it. I'm worried that Marinette didn't even tell him that she likes him after that comment you made."

"It was too good of an opportunity to pass up."

A chance to embarrass both of his favorite teenagers at once. Yes, there was no way he would have missed that.

They crept out of their bedroom to find only silence. The lights were all off, and the glow of the electric fireplace threw dancing shadows across the room.

"I'll make us some coffee," Tom said.

"Thanks." Sabine wandered over to the couch. Her mothering instincts wanted to make sure Adrien was tucked in, but when she saw him, she had to cover her mouth to keep from squealing.

Tom noticed. "What?"

She silently waved him over.

Marinette hadn't made it up to her room last night. The pair of them were snuggled up on the couch, fast asleep, Marinette across Adrien's chest. One of Adrien's arms and half of their blanket trailed on the floor. The kwamis were nestled on the back of the couch, watching over them.

Tom settled himself behind her, then rested his head on top of hers while he watched them. "I'm glad it worked out this way for her. For both of them," he said.

"No thanks to you." She ducked out from under his chin and bent to pick up Adrien's trailing arm. The other was already wrapped around Marinette, who was curling into his chest for warmth. Sabine draped his trailing arm next to the other, then started to smooth out Adrien's hair.

Tom adjusted the blanket. "Stop touching them. You'll wake them up."

"Won't." To prove her point, she kissed Marinette's forehead, then Adrien's. "See?"

Adrien stirred slightly.

"Ha," Tom whispered. "Told you. I win."

"Shush. You'll wake them up!"

Adrien blinked his eyes blearily, tightening his grip on Marinette.

"Don't blame this on me. You were the one poking at them," Tom said.

Adrien's eyes focused on first Tom and then Sabine. "G'mornin'," he said sleepily. "What time is it?"

"Early," Tom said. "Go back to sleep."

"Thanks," he said, settling farther back into the couch, and then he seemed to realize where he was and who he was using as a blanket. "Oh, uh, s-sorry. We just fell asleep, and-"

"Don't worry about it," Sabine said. "Tom and I have been trying to decide if she would be better off being with Cat Noir or Adrien. We're happy we don't have to choose." And that she didn't have to either.

"Thanks," Adrien said again, grabbing the blanket and pulling it up until it covered Marinette's shoulders. "Really, thanks for everything, Serena- Sorry. I mean-"

She cut him off with a hug, which he returned awkwardly with the only arm that would reach her.

"You're lucky you woke up when you did," Tom said. "I was about to get my phone out and text a pic of this to everyone you know."

"You wouldn't."

"What are you planning on telling your friends?" Sabine said.

"The truth," Adrien said, hugging Marinette to him. He rested his cheek against her hair. "I spent the holiday at Marinette's house and realized I was in love with her. I just won't tell anyone it didn't happen in that order."

The End

---

Author's note: Three years. I posted chapter one over three years ago. Thank you to everyone who started reading at the beginning and have stuck around, and for everyone who started later and saw that there were huge gaps between updates and took a chance on the story anyway. And thank you for all the comments! Honestly, I don't know what my hangup on this story was, but seeing that people enjoyed it so much when I thought it wasn't my best work was very helpful!

If you're interested, I have a ton of other Miraculous stories that are already completed. (Like over 50 of them!) And I've got a bunch more stories that are in the works! First up will be my Big Bang contribution. I'm scheduled to post that on the second Monday of January! You can find most of my fics listed here, or you can find me on FFN and AO3. My username is sariahsue on both platforms.

Tag list: @redhoodsdoll @lunadensmidnightprowl @fleurie3am15inspo @ladybug-182 @vixen-uchiha @secretacademia @little-boats-on-a-lake @wonderbat91939 @thecatsart0406 @heinrode @dawn-the-rithmatist @maybe-potato @tbehartoo @lovej0w0y @nonbeenary-enbee @marimause-15 @koushiki-das

#love square #ml #mlb #miraculous ladybug #miraculous

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