#and now for the prev tags bc mood >> | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gremlin-girly · 1 month ago

Text

Kinktober 19

Kinks: Praise/breeding

The Perfect Jotunn Bride Part 2

Tags/warnings: SMUT, macrophilia (bc he's still a giant), overstimulation, vaginal fingering, p in v, creampie, breeding kink, no beta, Loki (he's a warning), slight dub con, praise (good girl), Spitting, monster fucking (ig), monster cock, stomach bulge, multiple orgasm,

My warnings are non-exhaustive and likely I've missed some, please read at your own risk. And Minors do not interact!!

Summary: Following the night of your husband’s return, Loki finds your notes on the Jotun language and introduces you to a new way of studying.

Word count: TBA (on mobile sorry!)

A/N: did I only have 5 hours sleep and got back from work two hours ago? Yes. Did my phone post a fic I'm working on before it was ready again? Also yes. I'm very tired... so the mistakes are aplenty (probably). I'll fix them later (probably).

Translations are at the end! I used this little website so I apologise in advance if there are mistakes!

Part 1 | Part 2 (you're here!)

Prev | Next | Masterlist

Loki was awake before sunrise. The memories of the night before flitted in and out of his brain as he held your small form in his arms. You looked peaceful in this state; a welcome change from the worried, fearful or angry looks you usually sported.

Loki did consider pulling you tighter to him but didn't want to risk stirring you from your slumber, knowing you would likely be in a foul mood after the events of last night. His ruby eyes flitted to the corset in tatters next to the bed, making a mental note to get another that would fit a little better and look as equally beautiful.

After half an hour, he removed himself from you with a sigh, careful to keep from waking you. He'd not had chance to investigate you what you'd been working on and, after setting the fire alight, he reached for the nearest notebook you had left strewn on the floor, flicking through the pages.

Some of the script is random notes but other parts are words and phrases in Jotun, with colourful translations in Asgardian next time them. An unfamiliar warmth blossoms in Loki’s chest as he looks between your dreaming form and your notes, but a wicked smirk quickly appears as his plans for the morning change.

Loki treads back to the bed, re-taking his place next to you, discarding your notebook lazily to drape his arm over your waist.

“Wife,” Loki punctuates the word with a nuzzle into your neck, making you stir. Your eyes flutter and then you blink a few times, brows furrowing as you wake. Memories of the previous night crash through your brain and your eyes fly open fully, face flushing as you look over to your husband lying beside you with a mischevious gleam in his red eyes.

“Wife," He says again, voice low. "Have you been trying to learn Jotun?"

You attempt to gather the bed sheets around you, swamping yourself in warmth amd protection, but Loki’s giant cold arm prevents it. He instead looks down at you, waiting patiently for your response. Slowly, you nod your head.

"You know I can help teach you.” Loki murmurs into your ear. "And I can make it fun."

Your head tilts back slightly, eyes wide and Loki drinks in the sight. Your chest is heaving under the covers and your face is bright red at the thought of what fun Loki could possibly have in mind for you.

"Loki," You breathe. "Last night-"

"You were exquisite, wife." Loki’s eyes bore into yours and you feel as if you're shrinking, however, your body betrays you by making heat pool between your thighs at his praise. "And I want more. Especially now, knowing you've been learning my tongue."

“You’re so busy – I couldn’t ask you to-“

“We can start right now,” he purrs, his large hand tugging away the covers, exposing your naked form. Loki's tongue drags across his lips, and you remember just how well he'd teased you with it the night before and you shiver. "I'd forgo any amount of royal duties if it meant being buried in your sweet cunt."

You can't stop the short gasp that bubbles out of your throat and your eyes widen. You heart is running circuits, blood rushing heat everywhere. Loki’s words leave you skin like gooseflesh, your nipples pebbling at the thought despite your thoughts of him. You didn't even want to think of the way your pussy throbbed.

Loki seems to enjoy the sight before him, knowing you want more of last night's activities and knowing the effect his words have on your delicate Asgardian body. He runs his hand upwards to cup at one of your breasts rolling and tweaking at your nipple gently and you fight back moans.

"Does my wife like that idea?" He taunts in a whisper. "Being split open by your husband? You already wear my mark."

His chilled thumb runs over the love bite he'd left on the top of your breast the night before and he eyes it proudly. His eyes flicker to yours for a moment before he presses his face against yours, the heat of your skin warming his own.

Your own small hands inch up his strong arm that's holding you down, eyes quietly pleading but for what you weren't sure.

"Loki." You murmur to him as he nips at the sensitive skin on your neck.

“I’m going to say things to you in your Asgardian tongue and you will repeat it in Jotun for me.” Loki’s tone doesn't leave any room for argument and your chest heaves with a mixture of nerves and excitement. "Each correct answer will be rewarded.”

You press your legs together as another wave of heat flushes through you and try to look anywhere but at Loki as your cheeks redden with sudden shyness. Loki smirks and trails kisses along your shoulder and chest.

"Isn't that a good idea?" Loki lips gently kiss over your breasts, his cold tongue licking playfully at your pebbled nipples. “Don’t worry, we will start easy.”

Easy was numbers. Loki held you close to his side to murmur numbers to you in Asgardian, ensuring you couldn’t move away. His free hand trailed over your body softly, at first. After each answer he would shower you with praises, often giving piece of soft, warm flesh a squeeze before continuing to trail your sides again. Each time he’d squeeze, you found yourself making small noises, and by the time you had reached the number ten, you found yourself agreeing that this was a far better way to learn than through children's books and notes.

When you reached fifteen, Loki’s fingers trailed down to your sex and tapped your clit, making you jolt in his arms. He continued to draw small, tight circles around the bundle of nerves to ensure you continued to whimper and grow more and more pliant.

“Good girl,” he cooed, kissing the top of your hair. “Isn’t this nice? Being rewarded for your good behaviour? Smart little wife.”

You can feel the dampness leaking from your core as Loki works his ministrations on your clit and you mewl into his shoulder, gripping his arm so hard your fingers ached. The brashness of your own sounds make you flood with shyness and shame. You were loving all of this newfound attention from Loki, even if you knew you shouldn't be.

When you reached twenty you were red faced and panting into Loki’s chest. He'd been horrifically slow saying the numbers, prolonging his torture of your clit. He knew exactly how to draw you to the edge and keep you there, before giving you moments of respite before bringing you right back to that edge. You were beginning to see stars and your pussy ached around nothing. You'd considered begging for his fingers, begging for some relief, but when your half-lidded, lust-glistened eyes met his you knew you'd get something far better than his fingers.

"You've done so well for me, smăr einn." Loki says shifting to cage you against the mattress with his arms. His knees push your legs apart with ease and you gasp loudly when you feel the tip of his cock brush along your inner thigh. "Are you ready for your reward?"

When you nod Loki says dramatically. "Words, wife. Use your words." He sits back on his haunches and your eyes grow wide at the massive length standing tall between his legs. You swallow thickly, wondering how he'd manage to squeeze in to you... and your cunt flutters at the thought. Loki smirks down at you, pumping his cock a few times and then spitting onto your sensitive clit. "You know how much I like to hear you beg. Let me hear you say how much you want your husband."

Your voice dies in your throat when Loki runs the head of his thick cock from your spit covered clit, all the way down to your wet hole. He nudges it testingly with a curious look and you squeak a gasp. Your pussy flutters again and you can't think of anything else other than him being inside you.

"Come on wife," Loki teases with an edge of impatience. He taps his cock against your clit, watching you writhe beneath him in pleasure. "Imagaine how good it'll feel being full of my cum."

"Líka!" You cry out in Jotun, surprising both you and Loki; whose heart thuds harder in his chest. "Líka maðr!"

"Fast, wif." Loki huffs, rolling his hips slowly into yours. Your mouth is an open scream as Loki pushes into your tight hole, your pussy immediately constricting around his cock. Loki sighs, reaching a hand to toy with your clit again. You jerk at the sensation, his cool skin against your scorching heat never ceases to make your pussy wet.

You whimper as Loki’s cock finally reaches its hilt and Loki makes a loud, gravelly groan.

"Look at how well you take me," Loki urges, his voice breathless. His other hand goes to knead your breasts and your eyes flutter, glancing down. Loki’s hips are slotted between yours, his cock buried inside you as promised, but above where his hand rolls your clit, there's an obvious bulge.

Your pussy spasms at the sight, and Loki grins down at you, slowly moving his hips backwards and then forwards, allowing you to adjust to his size.

"Loki." You keen, heaving breaths beneath him. "I- fuck."

Loki huffs a chuckle, dragging his cock out before plunging back into your pussy. He'd been correct before, he'd gladly avoid royal duties to have you splayed out like this on his cock. You curse louder than before, almost screaming and gripping the covers beside you; Loki would have been concerned if your legs didn't spread wider and your cunt didn't gush the way it did over his cock. Spurred on to move faster, Loki picks up the pace, continuing to lavish your breasts and clit with attention that makes your eyes roll.

"You're doing so well," Loki pants. "Such a good girl for your husband. I can't wait to see my seed drip from your pretty little cunt."

Your walls clench down around Loki and he curses. He moves his arms forwards, interlacing his fingers with yours before leaning down, pressing you into the bed as he fucks into you.

"My wife," Loki growls into your neck. You're a moaning mess under him, but you manage to turn your face towards his; your lips kissing haphazardly until you find his lips. Loki’s hips stutter and his moan is smothered by your lips - the first true kiss you'd given him unprompted, unlike the forced kisses he'd managed to manipulate from you at your wedding or for social aspect but a real, genuine kiss.

"My husband," you whisper hoarsely back, breath hitching three octaves as another orgasm crashes through your body. "Loki!"

Loki grunts, his fingers almost crushing yours as your pussy to squeeze him tight and he pumps you full of his cream.

You're completely fucked out and breathless, your eyes flutter when you feel a cool hand against your flushed cheek turn your head and your heart stammers when Loki presses a sweet kiss against your lips.

"You were amazing," he whispers, brushing away hair that's stuck to your sweat-sheened face. "I think we should study a few times each day."

You give him a lopsided, cock-drunk grin; the first genuine smile you'd ever given him. "That sounds good to me."

---

Translations:

Smăr einn - Little One

Líka - Please

Maðr - husband

fast - certainly

#kinktober 2024 #kinktober #smut #loki #loki x reader #loki x you #loki x y/n #frost giant #frost giant loki #gremlin girly #gremlin girly writes #marvel mcu #loki laufeyson #loki smut #loki fanfic

52 notes · View notes

hwasoup · 10 months ago

Text

Tale As Old As Time

Playlist !!

art credit: Marbipa

OMG GUYS IM SOSOSO SORRY FOR SUCH A DELAY, COLLEGE REALLY DEVOURED ME IN THE MOMENT. AND TUMBLR REMOVED THE OPTION TO MAKE THE TEXT YELLOW...SO THE COLOR WILL NOW BE ORANGE. However, this is a double update week bc I owe you guys bc of your amazing patience with me!! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter

like always don't hesitate to lmk if you would like to be tagged:')

prev | next

warnings: talking objects, borderline assault, Canis Lupus

word count: 3.3k

Chapter 4: Dinner is served

However, in the village’s small tavern….

“UGH, WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS ?!”

“Uhh Ben, chill out here you’re drunk.” Eddie says, while trying to take away his beer. Ben looks at Eddie extremely furious and annoyed “So? don’t you see that- that woman has messed with the wrong MAN ?!!” Eddie winces at his words a little and says “erm…. sure…let's say that she did.” Ben, who was moping in front of the tavern’s fireplace, takes another swig of his beer. “Dismissed, publicly humiliated, How DARE she! Nobody says NO to ME!” he says in a growl. Eddie sighs and rolls his eyes a bit and cracks his knuckles. “Well, you’re not a bad person... And besides forget her, you have tons of admirers in this tavern anyways” he says with a remark. Ben groans “Ugh, EDDIE LISTEN... My rustic cabin, my latest kill roasting itself on the fire, the children playing with the dogs ...and a pretty wife rubbing my feet…And what does Y/N say?? she says NO” he says throwing his beer into the fire.

The flame bursts a bit startling Eddie, but he proceeds to maintain his composure. “Listen to me ben…listen to the tavern…they’re all here because they’re admirers of you...” One man yells “NOBODY BITES LIKE BEN OR CAN WIN AT CHESS LIKE HIM”

Another man yells “HE CAN EASILY WIN SPIT CHALLENGES” The tavern eventually comes together as they spew out all of their favorite qualities of ben. Especially the women, all of them gushed over his blonde hair, his brawn, his charm, and even his chest hair. (for some reason) Ben’s mood lifts and he smiles as he cheers along with the tavern of the glorification of his achievements and assets. People get together and eventually dance and drink as a small trio plays some music to add more to the cheerful atmosphere. Ben sits beside some ladies and brags about the number of eggs he eats in the morning. “TEN CHEERS FOR BEN RILEY !!” the tavern yells After a while of just fooling around, with a brightened mood Ben sits back in his lavish chair and looks at Eddie “that was very fun, thank you… but how come not a single woman has approached you?” Eddie chuckles and simply scratches his hair “well…I’ve been told I'm either too bored or too clingy .... I have no idea why though...” Ben just stares at him and clears his throat, looking back at the crackling fire.

Suddenly, the joy got sucked out of the room when Mauricio came waddling in tattered clothes, unruly hair, and barefoot. “SOMEONE, PORFAVOR QUE ME AYUDEN!!” The people in the tavern whispered to each other as they stared at him. Mauricio runs towards Ben and other customers in the tavern as he yells “SHE’S LOCKED IN A DUNGEON, EL LO TIENE CAPTIVA !!”

A man asked, “but who?” Mauricio looks at this man with his eyes filled with fear “...who?... WHO?? MY DAUGHTER Y/N< WE HAVE TO GO SAVE HER NOW !!” Ben raises an eyebrow and looks at Eddie as he tries to stifle a laugh, not believing his words. He gets up and approaches Mauricio and pats his back “calm down Mauricio, now tell me… who is it that has Y/N locked in a dungeon?”

“UN MONSTRUO! A BEAST !!”

Crickets could be heard in the entire tavern as it went silent…

The entire tavern bursted into laughter at the idiocy of his words.

“Lemme guess! He’s a huuuggee BEAST.”

“HE’s got an UGLY MOUTH WITH TEETH” Mauricio in his fears nods his head vigorously as he confirms each person’s questions about his so-called ‘beast’. He looks around and trips and falls on the wooden floor “Will you help me?” he asks with tears in his eyes. Ben rubs his chin as he rolls his eyes as he decides to say something sympathetic to him “alright, alright, Mauricio relax, we’ll help” Poor Mauricio looked up with hope in his eyes as he thanked Ben for his courage to step up and help him. It didn’t last too long since he shortly got thrown out of the tavern by the owner due to his “madness.”

Little did he know that Ben was already devising a plan with Mauricio’s plea for help…that may or may not have to do with marrying his daughter.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the other hand in the Castle..

After what seemed to be a few hours after that nasty confrontation with Miguel, A starving Y/N emerges from her room. She looks around as to see if she would see Miguel, but she ultimately decides that he has very much retired to his room. Wherever it may be. As she walked down the halls, she didn't notice the sound of giggling coming from behind a curtain.

“Miles nooo, stay away”

“Ok but I just wanna hug, Gwen” “Miles, the last time you hugged me, you literally burned my feathers” she says with a sigh. Miles sighs and just pouts “It’s not my fault you got turned into a feather duster, ok?” Gwen rolls her eyes and chuckles at his antics. Miles then looked up as he heard the sound of footsteps and his flame burst a bit more “Hey look !!” he says pointing at Y/N “she emerged !!” He left Gwen in a hurry as he quickly hopped his way to Y/N as he followed her to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Peter was putting Mayday to sleep in the cupboard. Once she fell asleep, Peter closed the cupboard only to spot the cook, who was angrily huffing his stove top with fire as he whined over his cooking going to waste. Peter sighed “shh, come on I just put the little one to sleep, it’s been a long day.” Lyla however hops in and sighs “Honestly, I think she was just being headstrong, I mean...Miguel did say PLEASE” Peter sighs and says, “Really Lyla? you know that Miguel has a temper…and if he doesn’t control it, things won’t work out for him.”

They were interrupted when Y/N walked in. “Hey, you showed up, a little late but that counts!” Peter says. Lyla turns around and greets her “Hello, I don’t think we properly introduced ourselves, I'm Lyla, you already know Peter of course, and in the back over there trying to get everyone in check is Jess and-” Miles butted in the conversation as he smiled at Y/N “and I’m Miles, nice to meet you senorita” he says wiggling his eyebrows. Jess waddled over smiled at Y/N “If you need anything to make your stay more comfortable just tell us honey” “Well ....I am hungry,” Y/N says with a sheepish smile. Peter grins and starts directing the kitchen to quickly cook something up for her. Lyla escorts her to the dining room, while Jess sighs “ok, but we have to be as quiet as possible, or else Miguel will flip. Miles just hops around happily as he says “aw come on, we gotta get Pav here! Actually, Imma go get him” he says as he hops off out the kitchen.

A little while later, Miles came back with a large piano, “come on Pav, you haven’t played for someone in forever!” Pav smiles as he warms up quickly playing his keys “yep i’m all good” Jess walks in and spots him “Please…play quietly” Pav looks at Jess with the biggest stank face he has gave her “oh no yea..sure..softly… are there ANY more tasteless remarks to my artistry?” Jess says no and walks off back into the kitchen. In the dining room, Y/N was quietly sitting until she saw Miles come up to the table with a smile. He signals to Gwen who’s hovering over the window with a mirror to create a form of stage lights. Pavitir is playing his tunes, and Miles looks at her and smiles happily “It is our pride and pleasure that we all welcome you here tonight. Stay seated in your chair as you relax, enjoy what you see, as the dining room proudly presents…. your dinner!” Y/N smiles in amazement at all of the food that has been placed on the table, she had never seen so many foods from different regions in such a long time. If she had to be honest, it was better than the cooking she had seen from the local restaurant back at the village. She was handed a napkin by Miles, and she took it and placed it onto her lap to catch any food that would hypothetically stain her dress and fall to the floor. Each dish was kind enough to explain to her what each dish was. She had some gray stuff, Beef ragout, Chilaquiles, Asopao de Pollo, Arepas, Mofongo, Congri, Tequenos, Tostones, Pupusas, Camarones al ajillo, Quesadillas, and even Enchiladas. She had never tasted such a culinary cabaret in her life before. As Y/N ate, she chatted with Miles for a bit as he told her how it has been 10 years since they had a guest like her. She chatted with Gwen a bit and found out she’s the feather duster that snuck into her suite while she was busy crying to collect the dust that was piling up. She learned that Lyla is actually a relative of Miguel and learned about all the staff as well. Y/N found herself creating a friendly bond amongst the staff as she happily ate to her heart’s delight. Peter came in after a while on his serving cart with some tea for her to drink “one lump or two?” he asked. Y/N giggled “Just one please” She takes a cup and sips it as she sighed in content as the soothing flavor of the tea.

After Y/N ate her fill she clapped in awe “this was wonderful, please give my compliments to the chef!” Jess smiled at her from a distance and looked at her minute and hour hand. “Oh dear, look at the time…it seems to me we should all get some sleep” She approaches Y/N and tries to escort her back. “Oh, but Jess…after such a meal, I can’t just go to sleep, besides it is my first time in such an enchanted castle...” Jess nervously laughed and looked around trying to divert her attention, “oh why who would say such a thing..I mean-” Lyla hopped in and heard what they said “Yyyyyeeeaaa…. totally not enchantteeeddd” she says to Y/N. Jess turns around to look at l

Lyla and muttered “it better not have been you” Lyla looked at her in shock at her accusations and was definitely going to retaliate until Y/N diffused the situation. “Oh guys please…I figured it out myself...” she says with a smile. She then gets up from the chair and approaches the door “I hope you both don’t mind If I look around, if that’s okay” Lyla perked up and hopped to her “wanna tour girlie ?” “AH AH AH…. we can’t let her... She might you know... go someplace else?” Jess says sternly. Y/N giggles as she looks down at Jess’s frown “aww come on, I bet you know a lot about the castle…how about if you tell me all about it?” Jess sighs as she gives in “alright then...” —----------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later…

Jess was happily giving her knowledge of the castle, adding her expertise and explaining how old the castle truly was. She gave some stories on how she lived in the castle, as well as her years of service. Y/N looked around in awe as she marveled at each painting and each intricate design of the castle. It might have looked scary at first, but now that she’s taking a closer look. The castle itself is truly beautiful. They passed by a hall of empty armor, each head turning around to take a peek at Y/N, finding her curiosity quite charming. Jess heard the squeaks of the rusty armor and turned around and with a silent hiss “Turn Around”

She looked back to her direction and noticed that Y/N was nowhere to be seen. Jess wanders around until she spots her trying to go up the west wing. “Lyla damnit go stop her !” Lyla notices and hops as quickly as she could to stop Y/N from going any further, Jess running along behind her. The two eventually reach Y/N and stand in front of her making halt gestures. “What’s up there?” she asked. Sheepish smiles were both seen on both women’s faces as they try to make up some excuses.

“Oh nothing there just storage, Rubbish, Dusty, Boring, absolutely nothing in the west wing” Lyla says Y/N chuckles as she was able to trick them and says in a coy voice “Oh so THAT'S, the west wing” Jess groans in frustration and looks at Lyla “nice going idiot...” Y/N keeps on staring up the stairs as she wonders what Miguel is truly hiding in the west wing. The two women then started blabbering as they started to try and convince her to go and see the library. She nods and slowly follows them until she notices that they sped so quickly that they were almost down the hall. She took this opportunity and quickly tiptoed up the stairs and into the West Wing.

The more she went up the stairs, the more she noticed how the hallway had cracks, claw marks, shattered mirror pieces, and broken gargoyle statues. Y/N looked around a little concerned and debated if she should stop. However, her curiosity got the best of her nature, and she kept on going. She eventually made it to the top and walked down a hall to two double doors. “This must be Miguel’s room” she whispered to herself. Y/N looks back behind her just in case Jess followed her but didn’t see anyone. With a deep breath she slowly opened the doors and walked in to see an almost dilapidated room. Everything was broken or at least about to shatter. “Probably from his anger issues” she says softly to herself. After walking inside and looking around she spots a portrait, she slowly approaches it to see claw marks on it. She couldn’t make out who the man painted in the portrait is, but she could tell that he was handsome, but what struck her the most was his piercing crimson eyes.

She then turned around to notice the window completely open and a table with a mirror and a beautiful glowing rose. Amazed at its beauty she took the glass encasing off of the rose and watched how it sparkled, it was mesmerizing. Y/N then reaches a hand to touch the rose but stops as she feels a shadow loom over her. She looked up and gasped in shock to see Miguel. He angrily huffed at her and snarled as he quickly made his way to reach for the rose’s glass encasing and protectively covered it. Miguel then slowly looked at Y/N with such rage in his eyes and blocks her from the rose “Porque Viniste” Y/N slowly stepped back as she raised her arms to protect herself from harm without realizing. “I’m..I’m Sorry” she says softly. Miguel growled and rolled his eyes “Sorry? I warned you to NEVER COME HERE” Y/N flinched and moved back even more “I didn’t mean any harm; I Apologize if I offended you” Miguel enraged clenched his paw into a fist “DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE?” He takes his anger on a broken chair and punches it. “I- No, Please, stop” she said worriedly.

“LARGATE DE AQUI”

Y/N didn’t hesitate and ran out as quickly as she could. Miguel raged and punched anything in his sight that was breakable in his room. His eyes widened as he realized he scared her off again. His heart ached at his own actions, and he lowered his head in shame feeling just awful about himself and worried for her...

Y/N on the other hand has made a run for it and somehow found her coat as she was running down the stairs. Miles was playing chess with Pav and spotted Y/N running “HEY, Y/N!! Where are you going ?!” Y/N looked back at them and fearfully said “Promise or not, I can’t stay here for another minute!” She left the castle and, in a hurry, looked around for the stables and found her dear old Felipe, despite the heavy blizzard that was occurring outside she managed to saddle him up and rode him away and out of the castle grounds into the black forest.

After a while of horseback, she realized that she had no idea where to go, everything was covered in snow. Felipe whinnied and panicked as he fidgeted left and right where to go. Y/N tried to calm the horse down but gasped in terror when realizing there was a pack of hungry and vicious wolves ready to hunt them for their next meal. Felipe regained his control and immediately turned back to the castle’s direction to run away from the wolves. Y/N grasped tightly onto the reins and tried maneuvering Felipe through the woods. The wolves nipped at Felipe’s legs, and he would only run faster. Y/N was hyper focused in getting away that she didn’t completely register the frozen lake in front of her. The two fell in with a splash in the icy water, Y/N kept on holding onto the reins and Felipe quickly swam to the other side, the wolves still following behind. Eventually the other half of the pack caught up to both Y/N and Felipe in the front and spooked them, Y/N fell off the horse’s back and Felipe’s reins got stuck onto a tree branch.

Y/N quickly got up from the snowy ground and found the nearest thick stick that she could find and stood in front of Felipe to help protect him. She swung the stick left and right, battling the canines on her own, but the stick was split in half when one of the wolves' sharp teeth gnawed into it. Y/N stood there in shock not knowing what to do..she was about to get eaten along with her beloved horse. A wolf leaped out of nowhere and took a bite of her coat, throwing her off her balance and making her fall to the ground. She screamed in terror, as another wolf leaped at her ready to bite. Until she heard a loud thud from the wolf’s body and a loud roar. She looked up and saw Miguel who stood beside her and protected her with his large body on top of her. He then jumped away from her leading the wolves far from her reach and fought them on his own, he scratched, bit, he harmed, and almost killed.

The wolves, intimidated by his dominant presence, whimpered and scurried away from him. Miguel let out one final growl until he looked directly at Y/N, his eyes showed relief that she was fine, but quickly rolled behind his head as he weakly fell down onto the cold icy ground. He was bleeding with many bites and scratches from the wolves. He panted heavily as the pain from his wounds slowly enveloped him. Y/N was going to take advantage to run away but stopped…she would be no better than a crude human to leave him out there. He saved her life…and she owed him. She slowly walked away from Felipe and kneeled down to Miguel and whispered. “Hey, I know it hurts…but you have to help me...”

She was able to somehow get Miguel to stand up and mount the horse. His body however limped on it as he was too weak to sit properly on the horse. Y/N bit her lip in worry as she took off her coat and wrapped it over Miguel’s wound.

Y/N slowly united Felipe’s reins from the tree branch and slowly led him back to the castle.

With the beast on his back.

taglist: @cupcakeinat0r , @miguelhugger2099, @mcmiracles, @xxsugarbonesxx,@codenameredkrystalmatrix,@deputy-videogamer,@lxverrings,@miguelzslvtz,@itsameclinicaldepression,,@ricekrisbris,@loser-alert , @thedevax, @uncle-eggy, @m4dyy, @freehentai, @synamonthy, @razertail18, @s0lm1n, @badbishsblog, @faimmm, @keendreamknight, @texanadmirer, @stargirrls, @itzsab

#atsv miguel #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara #spiderman 2099 #miguel x reader #miguel spiderman #miguel ohara #miguel spiderverse #miguel atsv

308 notes · View notes

wikiangela · 9 months ago

Text

tease tidbit tuesday

tagged by @bidisasterbuckdiaz 💖

me impatiently waiting for tuesday to share a snippet bc im obsessed with bucktommy rn and after some editing im loving everything i've written in this fic so far and wanna share every word of it asap lmao

here's a bit more, and yes they are talking about the evan thing bc at first it bothered me so much, but it grew on me (with fics and some takes on it i saw and just the more i saw it and thought about it) and now im kinda loving it lol

prev snippet

___

“If you wanted me out of my shirt, you should’ve just said so.” he murmurs.

“I want you out of your shirt.” Buck says without hesitation, and Tommy releases a breathless, surprised laugh.

“Suddenly so forward.” he shakes his head, capturing Buck’s lips again. Well, Buck has been kind of shy and flustered with Tommy, but that’s not always how he is, not how he used to be.

“Oh, you have no idea.” Buck grins, and then, still a little hesitantly, places his palm over Tommy’s thigh where it rests over Buck’s knee. Tommy looks at him curiously, and Buck’s grin widens as he pulls his leg up and over his lap, getting Tommy to properly straddle him now, his shirt falling over his back again, as he releases a surprised gasp. “Now that’s better.” he adds, getting used to the unfamiliar weight, Tommy being bigger and heavier than Buck’s used to with his previous partners, obviously, but it- it feels good, right, almost comforting, Tommy’s steady and firm presence surrounding him now. Plus, it is kinda hot, too.

“Evan.” Tommy just says breathlessly, and Buck’s smile softens, one of his hands moving to the side of Tommy’s neck, just resting there.

“You know you’re one of the very few people who call me that?” he whispers, the mood shifting a bit from hot and impatient to soft and warm, and pleasant, and Buck really feels so comfortable with Tommy.

“Yeah, I noticed.” Tommy replies, settling more comfortably, wrapping his arms around Buck’s neck loosely, but his hands play with Buck’s hair lightly. He sits far enough on Buck’s lap that their crotches don’t touch, and Buck’s not sure if he’s happy about that. “Does it bother you?” he asks with a hint of worry.

“No, no, of course not.” Buck rushes to say. If it did, he’d say something. No, it doesn’t bother him. The opposite, in fact. “I actually-” he can’t help a small awed smile. “I think I like it.”

“Why do you sound so surprised?” Tommy tilts his head curiously, and he’s so cute, and Buck needs to kiss him. So he does. Because he can. And he can’t stop smiling.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @thebravebitch @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @watchyourbuck @eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @wildlife4life @diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @neverevan @weewootruck @loveyouanyway @spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @spotsandsocks @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @nmcggg @rogerzsteven @giddyupbuck @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @underwater-ninja-13 @exhuastedpigeon @911-on-abc @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @theotherbuckley @buddieswhvre @dangerpronebuddie @diazsdimples @daffi-990 @fortheloveofbuddie @hoodie-buck @tizniz @your-catfish-friend @hippolotamus

#tease tidbit tuesday #i keep rewatching the kiss and giggling and kicking my feet and omg what is happening lmao #i just need to write this and get it out of my system and then i'll be back to buddie i promise lmao #also the amount of times i typed eddie instead of tommy lmao my subconsciousness knows where my heart truly lies 🤣🤣#i wanna finish it before 7x05 tho so wish me luck lol #this is (so far) 3.6k of them just making out and talking lol #ngl it started as after their first date but now i'm wondering if i should change that or smth #but also who cares haha #fic snippet #wikiangela writes #my writing #my wips #911 fic #911 abc #bucktommy #tommy kinard #evan buckley #bucktommy post-date fic

126 notes · View notes

abrahamvanhelsings · 7 months ago

Text

tagged by @zaegreus, thank you :)) 💖

do you make your bed? yes, always, it takes five seconds tops and it makes the room look cleaner and neater immediately. i can stand a little clutter but too much of it makes my mind feel chaotic. and it feels good to complete a little task in the morning immediately ✅

what’s your favourite number? i like 7 like any other guy but 16 is also important to me bc that used to be my shirt when i still played football

what is your job? phd candidate, which if you're fully employed by a uni is a real job with a real grown up people salary in the netherlands (thank god)

if you could go back to school would you? NAY the days dragged on and on bro especially high school... mind killer. the only upside was seeing your besties every day, if we want to meet up now we have to plan it six months in advance

can you parallel park? yeah but it usually takes me two tries lol

a job you had that would surprise people? whenever i mention i worked at mcdonald's people are surprised even though i was 17 when i did that and at 17 fast food service is straight up the most normal job to have if you're not in retail. i did domino's too

do you think aliens are real? ehh, yeah, in the sense that imo the universe is too big for them not to exist. but i don't rly think abt it all that much

can you drive a manual car? im a european so yeah lmao. don't own a car though the only one i drive is my parents', don't want one

what’s your guilty pleasure? i think at this point we can safely say eurovision is a guilty pleasure. didn't watch this year but i can't help getting invested through the things i do hear about it unfortunately

tattoos? none!

favourite colour? green

favourite type of music? i like a lot of video game music generally, and i like classical music

do you like puzzles? ya

any phobias? not really phobias in the literal sense but if i see a spider inside the house that thing is getting killed and murdered

favourite childhood sport? i really liked football when i still played but the sport i miss the most is horse riding by far. i think primarily bc it's more inaccessible - you can play football anywhere but horse riding involves a lot more planning etc. and i love horses, there's really something about the teamwork between you and the horse and caring for it afterwards (can you tell i was a horse kid)

do you talk to yourself? brother the moment i step through the front door into my house i am yapping away like ill die if i don't

what movie(s) do you adore? - singing' in the rain bc that's my comfort movie of all timeee - in the mood for love, the atmosphere/shots/music interaction in it is amazing, i should really rewatch it soon, lodged into my brain the first time i watched it and i still think abt it so often - the ghost and mrs muir, very pretty romantic movie but the bittersweetness of it really scratches a particular part of my brain it's so beautiful

coffee or tea? tea!! but it's 26 celsius out rn and im craving an ice coffee like you wouldn't believe

first thing you wanted to be growing up? PREV??? >> paleontologist << i was a HUGE dinosaur kid i wanted to be a paleontologist for years. but once the dinosaur hype wore off i discovered history was more my speed after all

i just did another one of these so im not tagging people for this one but if you like this one go off lmao

#tag games

3 notes · View notes

lily-valley-hyperfixates · 5 months ago

Text

Omg thank you for tagging me!!! Ice age was also a childhood staple for me too, VIVID memories of watching the squirrel pine for the acorn lol

Three ships: Wendell x Emily from the Emily Wilde Series, Marcille x Falin from Dungeon Meshi, and ofc Holmes x Watson (I feel exactly the same as prev about them, truly a sliding scale between romantic and platonic, but always a qpr) ((and to me sherlock is always ace <3))

First ship: Hunter x Ashlynn Ella (every day I pine for ever after high </3 although now i’d be much more likely to ship Raven and Apple bc they’re soooo…….)

Last song: Fabulous from HSM2 (but that was for work—I think my last one before that one was a Will Wood song :3)

Last movie: oh I don’t really watch many at the moment?? I think the last one I watched was the Road to El Dorado (actually I watched that with @thebrofriends ). Very silly and very gay, 10/10

Currently reading: oh so many things; the entirety of the Sherlock Holmes canon, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherworlds, Giovanni’s Room, and the Foxhole Court

Currently watching: not much? I’ve become more of a podcast person in recent months, rn im listening through the Apocrypals podcast which is very interesting (examining the Bible from a non-religious perspective) I’m also slowly but surely making my way through granada holmes!!! But as mentioned i’m just not in a TV watching mood rn so it’s slow going.

Currently eating: nothing yet, but breakfast soon! Probably cereal or eggs, it remains unclear

Currently craving: waffles!!! A good crispy waffle would HIT rn, especially with a little powdered sugar on top??? Hell yeah

tagging @estel-and-agape @julienbakerstreet @thebrofriends and anyone else who wants to!!! Sorry if im forgetting people, I just woke up and my brain is still reconstituting itself <333

get to know me better tag game

thank u for tagging me @hobbitwrangler! having farawyn as ur first ship must have set such high standards!!

three ships: farawyn, jonmina and holmes x watson (the way i view them as either platonic or romantic changes depending on my mood or the day, but they’re in a queerplatonic relationship at allllll times)

first ship: PERCABETH 🌸

last song: breathless by shankar mahadevan

last movie: ice age 2002. it was on tv & i decided to watch it since it’s an childhood favourite of mine :) pleased to inform that it still holds up really well!

currently reading: around the world in 80 days by jules verne

currently watching: nothing. i usually only watch old comfort shows when the mood hits - in that vein, i’m thinking of rewatching granada holmes or agatha christie’s poirot

currently eating: dinner. veg biriyani - to be exact

currently craving: BLUE LAYSSS 😩 i normally don’t eat snacks a lot, but i’m craving some chips rn

tagging @silv-paru @lily-valley-hyperfixates @afaramir @unethicallypleistocene @bretwalda-lamnguin @snazzy-hats-and-adhd @letthebookbegin <3333

#loquacious lily #actually I would call this very loquacious lily lol #thanks so much ria for tagging me!!!#this was so much fun to do hehehe #reblog

20 notes · View notes

ethvn-torchio · 3 years ago

Text

some lesser known symptoms of adhd:

being incredibly sexy

really good taste in music

having objectively correct opinions about everything

have I mentioned sexy

being super funny

always smell nice

#the way this was in my drafts for several months because i simply forgot about it is another adhd thing #this list used to be very oddly specific and i was like maybe i should fix this #shitpost #but then again since having correct opinions is one of the symptoms i guess this is truly a text post???????? ;)#no but OKAY SO LIKE i deleted some of the prev tags bc i was like ''i need to say something else in addition to the first two tags'' right?#i fucking FORGOT what i was gonna say #now im mad #adhd #actuallyadhd #actually adhd #adhd things #adhd mood #adhd stuff #i do think i'm funny #jo.txt

456 notes · View notes

aquagustd · 3 years ago

Text

hell is empty - JJK, KTH

05. LURK ༄moodboard

life has a tendency to throw things your way when you least expect it, when you’re content, and the ominous presence knows exactly how to steer your existence back into the darkness.

prev | series masterlist | next [chapter summaries under masterlist]

pairing — drug lord!jungkook x reader, hotel owner!taehyung x reader

genre/rating — R | angst, fluff, smut, love triangle au

word count — 9.8K

warnings/tags — single parent!reader, ceo!taehyung, dad!jk, pharmacy tech!reader, ex-boyfriend!jk, past hoseok x reader, strong language, tae & jk’s fits, huge pool partay, alcohol consumption, flirting oop, it’s fluffy asf, passive aggressiveness, jealousy, possessive tae & jk, pride, lots of feelings, overthinking, panic attack, mentions of injury, mentions of guns & blood, explicit smut — dom!taehyung, quickie?, dirty talk, degradation/praise, oral (m), throat fucking, cum eating, hair pulling, biting/scratching, foot riding, edging

note: there is a time skip !! junho’s birthday is early May & part 04 took place in March - anyways I hope my readers enjoy this part (it’s the fluffiest) also i think it’d be good to read/re-read the drabble (fast forward) bc there’s some ~parallels~

“Are you excited?”

Junho fits his pointer finger into his cheek, wobbling as you try to fix his tie.

“Hold still,” you chide, gripping his shoulder so he wouldn’t bounce away from your struggling hands. “Are you excited, smiley?”

“Mhm, I can’t wait to see Sihyun again. I never see him for ages!”

Loosening the knot a bit, you set the maroon fabric against his belly and begin tucking his shirt into his cream pants, hoping you won’t spoil his mood with your next words.

“Smiley…Sihyun’s mother didn’t really get back to me. I’m not sure if he’ll be here today, but you’re gonna have so much fun with your new friends, right?!”

His smile sags a bit, the tips of his shoes knocking into one another, “I wish he would come.”

You coo, pulling him to your chest, “I know baby.”

“Hey! You’re matching the couch mama!”

Tilting your head to the side slightly, you giggle, knowing that you wouldn’t have noticed it yourself because you are in fact blending in with the beige couch. You grab the baseball cap Junho had picked out, hesitating before you place it on his head. Bam, Jungkook’s Doberman, waits patiently for Junho, ears perking when you call for him.

“Are you sure you want to wear this? You don’t wanna change into your swimming trunks now? Since we’re—”

“No!” He shrieks, poking his head between your hands, “dad and I are matching today. I’m only gonna swim later!”

You sigh, lowering the cap onto his tiny head of hair, “okay. There.”

His cheeks puff out with a smile, hands kept at his sides as he awaits your countless compliments.

“You look—”

“Handsome.”

Your head snaps up in the direction of the voice. Jungkook glides down the staircase, wearing a replica of your son’s outfit. Junho rushes into his arms as if he didn’t spend the night here, more than amused by the fact that he and his father are dressed the exact same. Even if you’re a bit peeved by the idea, you can’t help but find it rather cute. Especially when they’re both sporting the same bunny smile.

Jungkook’s gaze flits to you, and you find your spine going taut, smile falling.

“Dad isn’t mama matching the couch? You and I are matching and she and the couch are matching,” he laughs, waddling his way onto your lap.

Jungkook stands on the other side of the oblong coffee table, a streak of sunlight hitting the dimple in his cheek. You clear your throat, rising to your feet as you set Junho on the ground, fixing his cap to occupy yourself.

“I told Smiley he should just change into his swimming trunks now, instead of having to change again later.”

Jungkook’s head cocks to the side, fiddling with his sleeves, “no we have to welcome our guests in style. Isn’t that right, Junho?”

Junho nods furiously, rocking on his heels, “yes. Show them how the Jeons do it.”

Your eyes widen with awe, hearing Jungkook’s chuckle behind you, “Smiley?”

Junho, although a little bashful, grins proudly, repeating his words as if you didn’t hear him clear enough the first time. Of course, he’s just parroting Jungkook’s words, but you don’t find it any less amusing.

“Hey, uhm,” Jungkook takes a step toward you, thrusting his tattooed hand in your direction, “can you fold it for me?”

“Oh, okay.”

Fighting off your surprise, you try not to scratch his warm skin with your freshly manicured nails, jaw tight as you feel his stare on your face.

“How many kids will be here? Just Junho’s friends from school?”

“Uhm yeah…around eight-nine. Not sure if Sihyun and his mother will show.”

You pat his hand to indicate that you’re done, a habit you had formed over the years with Junho around. He lifts his other arm, the other sinking into his pocket.

“And your friends?”

Your eyebrows furrow, shooting him a quizzical look, “hm?”

“I said you could bring who you want. Are any of your friends gonna come?”

“Oh, yeah just…you know, Yoongi and Yuri, if that counts,” you chuckle flatly, hesitating with your next words, “erm Hoseok, yeah.”

If he feels any way about you inviting Hoseok over, to his house, he doesn’t show it.

“Anyone else?”

Your mouth quirks to the side, smoothing your fingers over the neat fold you made, “not really.”

“What ab—”

You roll your eyes, “of course he’s coming, why would you even ask?”

His arm falls from your hold, a shrug accompanying his words, “I dunno. I mean, I had to ask.”

“Well,” you begin, brushing Junho’s fringe away from his face, “I did plan this entire thing, we’re just having it here because Smiley insisted.”

“Nah,” Jungkook tsks, scratching behind his ear, “you didn’t plan the entire thing. You just handled the boring parts.”

You scoff, ready to spit your own insults before you catch the teasing grin on his face, anger simmering away.

Clearing your throat, you step around Jungkook to grab your phone, shooting Taehyung a quick text. He shuffles around you to sit on the ottoman near the entryway, busy on his own phone before you call for his attention.

“If you stay out of his way,” you begin, voice stern, “he’ll stay out of yours.”

Junho opens his mouth to answer, but the click-clack of heels upstairs catches your attention. Sora sashays to Jungkook after struggling to walk down the stairs in her neon pink heels. Your jaw drops when you catch what she’s wearing. Bikini-clad figure bending down to kiss Junho on his forehead, his cheeks caught between her fingers.

Jungkook’s chest deflates with a sigh, and even if he tries to keep his voice low, arms snug around her shoulders, he does a poor job at whispering.

“Why don’t you put something else on, hmm?”

“But—I thought it’s a pool party.”

“It is,” he begins, nose buried in her hair.

“Then I can wear this. What you expect me to dress like her?”

“No, no. I didn’t say that.” She shoves him away, clearly mad at him and you sense that he’s even angrier. You decide to step onto the patio, pulling Junho with you, knowing that it’s rude to eavesdrop. Even if you were – just a moment ago.

Excitement builds when you take note of the number of cars that wait to enter through the gates – one in particular has your heart skipping a beat.

“Smiley, wait here, okay?”

“Okay.”

Stopping yourself from breaking into a run, you watch as the guard directs Taehyung into the parking space, waiting to the side before he steps out, gaze finding yours immediately. He stalks in your direction, tongue wetting his bottom lip as he pulls off his sunglasses, gaze raking up and down your figure. Joy bubbles in your chest, wanting nothing more than to press your lips to his.

Whistling lowly, he places his hands on your hips, voice that same husky baritone that has the pit of your stomach tightening.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” you giggle, suddenly shy under his praise.

“You look beautiful,” he whispers, nose tracing your jaw before it presses into the shell of your ear, “I missed you.”

“Hm,” you sigh, arms winding around his shoulders, “missed you too. Sorry I couldn’t talk much yesterday.”

He pulls away slightly, long fingers sliding down your cheek, “it’s alright.”

Before you melt on the spot – the warm weather having nothing to do with it – you step back to admire his outfit, chuckling when you point to his shorts.

He holds up his hands defensively, “it’s a pool party, right?”

“Yeah,” you snort, hand falling to his chest, “you should see what Junho is wearing.”

Eyes skating across the yard behind you, he slots his hand into yours, thumb caressing your knuckles.

“How’s your ex doing? No outrageous demands from him yet?”

Chuckling, you reach up to fix the chain around his neck, knowing that just as you warned Jungkook – you would need to warn Taehyung as well. Because the two of them enjoy getting the other riled up. They make it too easy.

Taehyung clicks his tongue after hearing your warning, arm falling over your shoulders, “yeah, yeah. I know.”

“I’m serious, Taehyung. I want Smiley’s birthday to go smoothly.”

You watch his lips form a pout as he nods, the hand near your shoulder twisting a lock of hair, “yeah.”

Steering Taehyung along the pathway, the two of you make your way to the terrace where the noise grows, more and more guests adding to the commotion. A few of which you don’t recognize.

He peeks over his shoulder to his car, “where is smiley? I’ll give him his gift later on.”

A familiar squeal of your name behind you forces you to break out Taehyung’s hold and rush toward her, squeezing her small frame in a tight hug.

“Yuri!”

“Man,” Taehyung says from behind you, words directed to your best friend’s grumpy husband, “she wasn’t even that excited to see me.”

“And they saw each other yesterday,” Yoongi adds, annoyance lacing his tone.

“Shut up okay? I only saw her for like a split second because you needed to go home,” you tease, seeing Yoongi struggle with the large box in hand, wrapped in cyan foil. “There’s a table for gifts near the barbecue area, you can leave it there.”

Yoongi huffs, while you’re fussing over the dress Yuri finally settled on, knowing how indecisive she could be.

“Good to see you again,” Yuri smiles at Taehyung, following you further into the garden, “so what’s the plans for today?”

“Well,” you begin, listing off each activity on your fingers, “first, we’re gonna have some mingling time, then get the kids to the pool – they have the indoor pool, we’re outside – after that, we serve lunch, but there will be snacks available before that, then a small clown show for the kids, Taehyung’s brother Seokjin sponsored the bounce house, that reminds me—” you turn to Taehyung “—is your brother coming today?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung answers, although a little uncertain, “he’ll stop by a bit later. Also, a friend of mine might come along, is that fine?”

“Of course. It was so kind of him, you know how much kids love stuff like that. And erm…oh yeah, we cut the cake etcetera, then the guests can present the gifts, that’s all. But the adults’ activities carry on till the evening.”

“Oooh,” she smirks, “you sure Junho’s birthday party wasn’t just an excuse for you to throw one for yourself at Jungkook’s place?”

Taehyung slides an arm around your waist, poking into your conversation, “hey, I offered to have it at my house, but Junho wanted it here.”

“Yeah,” you confirm, “I mean, it’s his first birthday with his dad around so…”

Yuri’s eyes soften, “yeah. He deserves to have it the way he wants. Where is he anyway?”

You shield your eyes from the sun as you step around the corner to the pool area, spotting Jungkook and Junho stand in a similar posture. Jungkook chats to one of the other dad’s while Junho hands Jaehyun a balloon. You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face.

“There.”

Yuri sniggers, “oh my God. Each time I see him I’m shocked at how much Junho looks like his dad. It’s crazy.”

“Let’s greet them.”

Taehyung and Yuri climb up the stairs to wear Junho stands, crouching in front of him before he accepts their hugs and kisses. You watch from afar with a sombre smile on your face.

“He’s growing up too fast.”

You startle, hand placed on your chest as Yoongi stands next to you, a similar smile on his face.

“Yeah.”

“Fuck, I couldn’t tell the difference between him and Jungkook,” he chuckles, gesturing with his drink, “whose idea was it to wear matching outfits?”

You break out of your daydream, “uh I have no idea.”

Yuri returns with two drinks in hand, holding one in your direction. You peek into the cup, then crane your neck to look into Yoongi’s.

“This is for the kids,” you giggle, “there’s more inside.”

“It’s good,” Yoongi compliments, smacking his lips, “who made it?”

“Me,” you grin, “it’s a passionfruit mix.”

“It is tasty, you’ll have to give me the recipe,” Yuri asks with a threatening finger raised, slotting herself between you and Yoongi.

Your eyes are set on Taehyung and Junho, Jungkook’s watchful gaze boring into the top of his head before their eyes meet, exchanging a small greeting as Taehyung saunters to the refreshments table. You exhale a breath of relief.

“Good to see they’re acting civil.”

You scoff, cup held to your lips, “only because I gave them both a warning.”

Yoongi dips his head to press a kiss to Yuri’s temple, “I’ll be back.”

“Okay. Where’s Seojoon? I haven’t seen him yet.”

Finishing the rest of your drink, you deposit the cup into the trashcan nearby, “didn’t invite him.”

Her round eyes widen, “what? Why?”

You shrug, arms folded, “he’s been acting weird lately,”

“Hm,” she raises an eyebrow, “he’s been acting weird, or you don’t need him anymore? Smiley liked him a lot.”

“No,” you sigh, ignoring the guilt nagging at the back of your mind, “it’s not like that. He just…every time he comes over…I just get this uncomfortable feeling and it doesn’t help that he’s being so touchy lately!”

“Oh no.”

“Yeah,” you exclaim with a shudder, “I don’t know why…but—"

“Hey,” Yuri calls, placing a hand on your shoulder, “it’s alright babes. Let’s get some more of this delicious punch.”

You snort, letting her pull you toward the refreshments table. You spot Taehyung talking to a tall man who you recognize as—

“Namjoon?”

“Oh,” the tall man offers a dimpled smile, gripping his own cup of passionfruit punch, “how are you?”

“Good,” you smile, gaze flitting to Taehyung who’s scanning the snack table, “what about you?”

“Good.”

You wouldn’t call it awkward – but the silence feels so, knowing that Namjoon is aware of what a mess your life is, when he could be considered a stranger.

“So, uh,” he clears his throat, voice dropping, “how’s co-parenting going?”

Throwing your head back with laughter, you catch the playful smile he’s wearing, eyes crinkling with mirth.

“I mean—” he goes on, taking a sip of his drink “—it could be considered a serious question.”

You shake your head, holding up the charcuterie board to him, “guess so. Going well…I think.”

He plucks a grape, head swivelling in Jungkook’s direction, “and Junho’s dad? I thought he might strangle me during our last session.”

Your gaze travels to Jungkook who’s tying up the balloons Junho hands him. His eyes meet yours and you swallow, turning to Namjoon.

“Nah, it might seem like that, but we appreciate your help with Junho. How’s he doing in school?”

“You only ask because you know I never have complaints,” he cackles, taking another swig of his drink.

“Of course,” you jest, throwing him a wink.

“Well,” he begins, tone turning serious, “I’m glad things are working out for you two. You have no idea how happy Junho is to have both his parents around. It’s all he talks about.”

A lump forms in your throat, “yeah?”

“Yeah,” Namjoon nods, reaching for your shoulder, “I won’t be able to stay for too long. I already gave Junho his gift. Was good seeing you again.”

“You too.”

If you didn’t have your cup to hold onto, you would’ve been trembling, knees ready to give out. You want nothing more in life than for Junho to be happy, and it’s not like you haven’t noticed a change in him either. Perhaps you didn’t want to admit it to yourself, but ever since Jungkook came around, he’s been buzzing with energy, his smiles brighter. That’s all you ever wanted. And you’d do anything to hear his laughter, even if it meant sacrificing your own happiness.

“Hey, uh,” Jungkook jogs toward you, pointing to the group of kids who cluster near Junho, “I’m gonna take the kids inside now. Or do you wanna do it and I’ll take care of everyone on the yard?”

“Uh,” you shrug, “anything.”

His eyebrows knit together, “you sure?”

“Yeah.”

He scratches the back of his head, “you take them inside. I think Junho would like that.”

“Okay.” You turn to Taehyung, gesturing for him to follow you.

“Mama!”

“Hi guys! It’s so nice to finally meet all Junho’s friends,” you titter, crouching in front of them so you can pinch each of their cheeks. “Why don’t you guys tell me your names and then we can go inside to the pool? Yeah?”

They cheer, nearly toppling you over with how they rush toward you and fight to say their names first. You try to remember them all as best as you can, pausing in your step when you see Taehyung lift one of the girls into his arms. The sight has your heart stammering in your chest.

“Okay guys, Junho take my hand. Follow me!”

Junho tugs at the hem of your dress, eyes filled with worry, “mama I need to change quickly.”

“It’s okay, I left your swimming trunks out near the pool.”

He nods, chubby cheeks bouncing with his steps. The girl in Taehyung’s arms keeps her twinkling eyes on his face and he doesn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by it.

“Are you Junho’s dad?” You hear her ask, the question catching you off guard.

“I’m—"

“Junho said he has two dads,” she informs, the cutest little pout to her lips. You await Taehyung’s response, but he turns to you, clearly taken aback by her statement.

“If Junho says he has two dads,” you shrug, “then I guess he does.”

Junho leaps away from you, “see! I told you!”

“Aw,” she marvels, now clutching Taehyung’s jaw, “that’s so cool. I only have one dad and he doesn’t like to buy me cotton candy.”

You push the sliding door open, light reflecting off the shallow water dancing across their faces, “well, we got cotton candy here today especially for you.”

Her eyes light up, but soon her attention falls behind you, wriggling out of Taehyung’s arms. You follow the other kids as they scatter around the pool.

“Be careful guys! Junho let’s get you dressed,” your voice echoes in the brightly lit space. Junho gave you a tour of his father’s house a few weeks ago, but the beauty inside this room steals your breath away like it’s the first time. Floor to ceiling windows giving you a picturesque view of Jungkook’s garden. Taehyung seems equally as shocked, hurriedly unzipping his jacket.

“What? Tae? You’re gonna swim too?”

He beams, “obviously, I have to keep an eye on the kids.”

“Bu—” All your complaints fade away when he shrugs off his jacket, black vest accentuating his toned body. He tosses his jacket on the charcoal grey sunbed behind him, clapping to get everyone’s attention.

You don’t have time to ogle his fine body because Junho is tugging you out of the capacious room, rushing to get changed.

“Mama I’m sorry you can’t swim.”

You’re sitting on the couch, helping him into his shorts, “it’s okay, Smiley.”

“I’m gonna teach you how to swim today.”

You giggle, “will you? But I didn’t bring any swimming clothes today.”

He looks at you as if facing a real dilemma, “aw man.”

“It’s okay,” you wink, tying the strings on his shorts, “next time.”

“You can dip your feet today!”

“Alright. Go on, your friends are waiting for you.”

He scurries away, nearly tripping on his feet as he mutters to himself animatedly. You’re busy stuffing his clothes into the overnight bag you packed when you sense movement behind you. Sora sits with her legs crossed on the couch, phone held above her face, away from the ruckus. You can’t help but notice that she’s not wearing her ring today, maybe she decided not to wear it, so it doesn’t get lost when she’s swimming?

She doesn’t notice your presence, but you hesitate before leaving, wondering if you should take this opportunity to get to know her better. You decide against it, remembering how your efforts went unappreciated the last time.

When you return to the pools, all you can hear is splashing and giggling, Taehyung’s hearty laughs muffling all the other sounds once you’re inside the room. He bounces the girl in and out of the water on his shoulders, taking her deeper before leaping back up.

“My turn next!”

“No mine!”

“Get in line!”

“Let’s give the birthday boy a chance,” Taehyung pants, holding his arms out for Junho who swims over to him, a shy smile on his face.

Taehyung throws a boastful grin at you, keeping Junho’s arms around his shoulders as he repeats his actions from earlier, receiving all sorts of reactions from the kids. You place your hands on your knees, speaking over the noise as you bend over the silver railing.

“Are you fine with staying with them for a bit? I’m gonna get more snacks and come back.”

He nods, hand running down his face to wipe away the water that Junho had just splashed on him, “yeah! I’m gonna get you for that—”

Chuckling, you can’t help but stop at the doorway as you watch them interact. Your heart brims with joy, seeing how comfortable Junho had gotten with Taehyung over the weeks that had passed. Taehyung, a little cocky, had admitted that he knows how to win a child’s heart, although kids like him naturally, and you had witnessed it for yourself today.

You’re a little surprised to see the number of guests that fill up the once deserted space, chatter filling the air alongside the warm zephyr. But there are only a few faces you recognize. Two men standing on the other side of the lawn, donned in brown jackets has you pausing. Their mouths move continuously, snapping away from each other when they catch you staring. Ignoring the frightful twist in your gut, you manoeuvre through the crowd to find Yoongi and Yuri, relieved.

“Oh thank God, who are all these pe—”

A guy wearing a leather jacket, boots crossed over one another as he leans against the fence behind Yoongi has the words dying on your tongue. He tips his head back as he finishes his drink, and even if the cup conceals half his face, you’d recognize that jaw anywhere.

“Hoseok,” you breathe, feet rooted to the spot.

He lowers the cup, crumpled in his hand before tossing it onto the table, surging forward to accept your bone-crushing hug. Your body has a mind of its own, face pressing into his neck as your eyes slip shut. Only when you feel his arms loosen around your shoulders, do you think to pull away, nose nearly brushing the collar of his jacket.

“How have you been?”

Exhaling a shuddering sigh, you cling onto the lapels of his jacket, “okay…and y-you?”

You can’t help the soft gasp that tumbles from your lips when he fits his finger under your chin, forcing you to look up at him.

“I haven’t seen you for nearly three years and you won’t even look at me?”

“I—”

Yoongi clears his throat, causing Hoseok to take a step back, heart-shaped smile easing your nerves. He smooths a hand over his head to push back his hair, yet it still collapses onto his forehead, making you smile. Realizing that not much has changed.

His eyes search the crowd behind you, “where’s my Spiderman?”

You wave a hand dismissively, “he’s over his Spiderman phase.”

Hoseok’s eyes widen, “really? What is he into these days?”

Yoongi pats Hoseok’s shoulder, “cars.”

“Cars? Dammit, my gift is this huge Lego Spiderman set. The lady at the store said that’s what the kids want these days.”

“It’s alright,” you chuckle, moving around to fill a few paper plates with snacks, “I’m sure Junho would love it anyway. He’s gonna be so happy to see you.”

“Jung Hoseok.”

Without lifting your head, you can sense Jungkook’s venomous gaze by his walk alone, bumping your shoulder as he thrusts his hand in Hoseok’s direction.

Hoseok’s lips remain in a terse line, “Jeon Jungkook.”

“Good to see you here. Came for Junho or his mother?”

“Jungkook,” you warn, only realizing that you grabbed his hand when his gaze drops to the point of contact. You move away, a tingling sensation coursing through your fingers.

Hoseok, unaffected by his comment, stands toe to toe with him, levelling his stare with his chin tipped up, “I could ask you the same question.”

“Yoongi,” you whisper-shout, heart thundering in your chest, “do something!”

Yuri nudges Yoongi, sharing your concern. But before Yoongi can intervene, Jungkook turns to you, voice cloyingly sweet when he says your name, “we need to fetch the cake.”

Puzzled, you search for a response, “what? Right now?”

“Mhm,” he looks to his clunky watch, “they said it’ll be ready by 1PM.”

“Oh uh, okay.” You turn to Yuri, handing her the heavy plates of food, “can you take this inside to the kids? And tell Taehyung that I’ll be back in a bit.”

She nods, lingering near you as if she doesn’t want to leave you alone with the seething men. You rush inside to fetch your purse and coat, seeing Jungkook wait diligently on the terrace.

Jungkook nods, hand held out in the direction of the driveway, “we’ll take my car.”

Your forehead creases, stopping short of the garden path, “why can’t I go alone?”

“Because,” he begins, reaching into his pocket to produce his car keys, “I have to pay for the cake and you need to sign for it because you placed the order.”

“I can pay for it myself,” you sneer, annoyance heightening especially with the condescending tone he’s suddenly using.

“I know that,” he laughs, retracting his statement, “I didn’t mean it like that, I want to do it. Since you bought all the food, the least I could do is buy the cake, right? Yoongi watch things for me!” He shouts over his shoulder, holding the passenger side door open for you.

Thanking him weakly, you hop in, and once inside, you’re hit by a familiar scent, one that has a million and one memories rushing into your mind. Even if Jungkook didn’t have this fancy car at the time – you’re swarmed by a wave of emotions.

“I like it when you’re out with me.”

“I’m always out with you.”

“Are you trying to kill us?”

“I wouldn’t mind if I die with you like this.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re my strong girl.”

“Hello?”

A hand on your shoulder brings you back to reality – a situation you never thought you’d be in ever again. Next to Jungkook.

“Are you okay? Did you drink too much?”

“No!” You shout, a little louder than expected, “no. I mean, can we just get the cake? The guests are waiting.”

He chuckles, low and raspy, “whatever you say.”

Slotting the key in, he starts up the engine, revving until you turn to look at him. Goofy smile on his face. Even goofier with the cap he’s wearing.

“I’m not Junho,” you remind, fist tucked under your chin, “that doesn’t impress me.”

“Okay, but this might.”

He speeds off onto the road, uncaring of the way your nearly bounce off the leather seat with each turn he takes.

“Jungkook—”

“Put on your seatbelt.”

You were too distracted by the smell in his car to even remember to put your seatbelt on, and you’re always scolding Junho for it. You’re aware that the patisserie isn’t too far from his house, yet the ride feels longer than it actually is, clutching the edge of the seat with white knuckles while he hollers and whoops. He rolls down his window a bit, causing your hair to fly into your face, snatching your breath away.

“Good?”

“WHAT?”

“Are you good?”

Your eyes burn with the wind, hair in a bird’s nest once he comes to a stop, “are you fucking kidding me?”

“I thought you—”

“What?”

“Are you trying to kill me, Jungkook? Fucking hell,” you groan, unclicking your seatbelt then stepping out of the car.

Just as you’re about to take the few steps inside the bakery, he grabs your wrist, doe eyes softened, “I wasn’t trying to kill you.”

You laugh, breaking out of his hold, keeping your voice light, “you sure? That’s…what? The second time now?”

He draws his lower lip between his teeth, “I just thought that—never mind.”

If you were to look closely, you’d see a flash of pain behind his dark eyes. You can’t handle the tender way he’s looking at you, the way your heart clenches in your chest once your eyes meet again. Turning on your heel, you march into the store, straight to the front counter to distract yourself from loud thumping of your heart, unwilling to succumb to the familiarity of his presence, the warmth that seems to glaze your heart bit by bit each time he would do something as simple as glance at you.

Because you remember that you were charmed by it before, only to be fooled. And you refuse to let it happen again. You cannot.

Jungkook’s forced to drive under 40mph because you’re holding the cake in your lap to prevent the icing from getting smudged, which means it takes you longer to return to the party, compelled to endure his presence for a little longer than you’d like. You’ve trained yourself to focus on the scent of your own perfume, an attempt at keeping any and all forms of nostalgia from influencing your emotions.

“Do you think he’ll like it?”

“What?”

He turns to you for a second, pointing to the large cake box in your hands, “the cake.”

“Oh, of course,” you tut, “I’m the one who picked it.”

You’re awaiting his snarky comment, but receive none, just his laugh as he turns into the driveway. Tattooed hand gripping the steering wheel.

“Think you can manage?”

“Yeah.”

He gestures to your feet, “with those boots?”

“Yes, Jungkook.”

He walks alongside you, “you can leave it in the fridge in the meantime. Lunch will be ready in a bit.”

“Ok—shit.”

“Hey—” he steadies the box in your hands, fingers pressed to the small of your back once you find your footing “—be careful.”

“I’m alright,” you mutter a little embarrassed. But even if you repeat your words multiple times, his hand stays pressed to your lower back and it’s as if you had just discovered all the nerves that collate in that very spot, muddling up your thoughts all the way to the kitchen until he finally lets you go.

“Mr. Jeon, they’re waiting for you.”

Over your shoulder, you see the two men from earlier sitting in the dimly lit dining area, along with three other unfamiliar faces. You glance at Jungkook who’s busy on his phone, nodding to the burly man you remember as Mr. Kang, Jungkook’s assistant. From your place at the refrigerator, you have a clear view of Jungkook greeting each of them in the dining room, all their hats kept low over their eyes.

Unfortunately, you can’t hear what they’re discussing, but from the way they’re all bundled close together, Jungkook’s eyebrows pinched in concentration, you can tell that they want to keep it between themselves. And then you see it – the tattoo on one of the guy’s necks.

The refrigerator beeps thrice – alerting them of your presence.

“You okay there? Hwang help her out.”

“I’m good! Thanks,” you call, keeping the fear out of your voice as you sprint outside.

Jungkook shouts to your retreating figure, “lunch is being served now! I’ll be out in a bit.”

And then you’re thrusted into the crowd for the second time today, a sea of unfamiliar faces surrounding you, mumbling short greetings to whoever steps in your way before you finally break through and spot Yuri sitting at the table with the rest of the kids and their parents, chowing down a hotdog.

“Uh, Yoongi, Yuri, can I talk to you?” You say a little out of breath, gesturing for them to follow you behind the barbecue area.

You prop your hands on your hips, chest undulating, “I think—"

Yuri pats Yoongi’s shirt with a tissue, scolding him under her breath, “he got tangerine juice all over his shirt. You’re like a big baby.”

“I’m your big baby.”

“Aw.”

“Guys!”

“Yeah?” They say in unison, oblivious to the minor panic attack you’re having.

“I think that Jungkook—”

Yuri places a hand on your cheek, “what’s wrong?”

Yoongi pinches the bridge of his nose, “here she goes again.”

“Shut up.”

You place your hand over hers, shaking your head with a short chuckle, “I could be overthinking, but I think—”

“You’re probably overthinking.”

Yuri gives Yoongi and admonitory glare, he seems unrattled.

“I don’t know anyone here. Most of the people here. Who are they? And then the guys inside? They could be Yang’s guys! What the fuck are they doing here?”

Yoongi takes a step forward, speaking through gritted teeth, “keep your voice down. What makes you think that?”

“The the—tattoo and the—”

Yoongi throws his arms up with exasperation while Yuri whispers words of comfort that do nothing to quell your panic.

“What did you expect?” Yoongi laughs dryly, “this is Jungkook’s house. You think he’s gonna stop his business for a day? See, this is what she does. Makes poor decisions then cries about it.”

Your mouth falls open, “I am not crying!”

“Well, you look like you’re about to!”

“What’s going on?” Hoseok emerges from behind the wall, putting out his cigarette with the tip of his shoe.

Yuri rolls her eyes, “they’re bickering, as usual.”

“Nothing,” you snap, hoping Yoongi catches up to speed, “nothing Hoseok. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah,” Yoongi affirms, plastering on a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, “nothing of concern.”

He hums, scanning your face with narrowed eyes before taking Yoongi’s seat at the table, spooning mashed potatoes onto a clean plate. Both you and Yoongi know that Hoseok will turn this place upside down at any given chance.

“Look—” You follow Yuri’s gaze to the garden path across you, seeing all five men make their way to a grey SUV “—they’re leaving. You have nothing to worry about, okay?”

“Where’s Junho? And Taehyung? I don’t see them anywhere.”

“They’re still at the pool,” Yoongi informs, busy on his phone.

“I tried bringing him out to have lunch, but Smiley said he’s waiting for you,” she recalls, hand sliding up and down your arm.

“Okay, I’ll go get them. We still need to cut the cake.”

You pass Sora on your way to the pools, still sulking from her spot on the couch. As you’re nearing the sliding door, you hide behind the towel rack when you hear voices, seeing Taehyung place a hand on Junho’s back as he floats above the water. Taehyung’s vest hangs off the railing, back glistening when it catches the light.

“Keep your arms straight,” he instructs, pushing Junho’s hands closer, “that’s it.”

“You should be my swimming instructor,” Junho giggles, twisting around to fit his arms around Taehyung’s neck, bobbing in the water, “but you said you wanted to be a race car driver.”

“I did,” Taehyung admits, gaze hidden by the dark lighting.

“Why didn’t you? Why did you become a businessman?”

Taehyung pinches Junho’s flushed cheek, his deep chuckle prompting one of your own, although hidden.

“You’re so cute…Well, my dad…he…he was kind of like your dad.”

“Really? My dad was your dad?”

“No!” Taehyung cackles, swirling in the water, “I mean, your dad and my dad were similar. They weren’t around much.”

“But my dad is here now,” Junho objects, tiny ripples forming around his body compared to Taehyung’s.

You listen closely, hoping for more bits of information from Taehyung.

“That’s true. But my dad, he wasn’t there all the time, and he wasn’t as kind as yours. He didn’t want me to be a race car driver, that’s why I couldn’t.”

“Oh,” Junho says with a dejected slump to his shoulders, perking up a few seconds after, “but you still have lots of cars!”

“I do!”

“So you can be a race car driver.”

Taehyung sticks out his bottom lip in contemplation, “hmm maybe.”

“Hey, guys,” you announce, revealing yourself from behind the rack with two towels of varying sizes in hand, “time to come out. Otherwise, you’ll miss the clown show.”

“Mama! We were waiting for you for so long! You said you were gonna dip your feet. Come on.”

“Junh—”

“It’s his birthday,” Taehyung reminds, feigning a didactic tone, “you have to listen to the birthday boy.”

You narrow your eyes at Taehyung, he winks, gesturing for you to sit at the edge.

“Please!”

“Fine!”

Tossing the towels behind you, you lower to the edge with a hand on the railing and dip your big toe in, hissing at the temperature.

“It’s so cold!”

Junho chuckles with Taehyung, mimicking your squeals, “it will get warm! Just do it.”

Easing both your legs in till just below your knees, you get used to the temperature, kicking your feet in the water.

“Doesn’t it feel nice? Look, my fingers are old! Even his!”

You place your hands on either side of your thighs, gripping the lip of the pool, “that’s because you were in here for too long. Aren’t you guys hungry?”

“I am,” Taehyung admits, scrunching his nose when he turns to Junho, “what about you Smiley?”

“I am starving!”

Both you and Taehyung snigger, the sweet melody of his boyish laugh tinkering around you before you lock eyes. The corner of his mouth quirks into a smile.

“Hey Smiley?”

“Hm?”

“Remember our plan from earlier?”

Junho’s eyebrows furrow before they raise, a mischievous grin puffing out his cheeks.

“I remember.”

“What plan?”

The two of them glide toward you, eyes dancing. You raise your legs from the pool, ready to run away before it’s too late. One, huge splash of water wets the side of your dress. Junho continues splashing onto your face before you jump up to your feet, holding up your hands as a weak defence.

“Stop! I’m gonna get you guys for that!”

They high-five, too proud of themselves before Taehyung pushes him onto the tiled area, grabbing the towel you kick toward him.

“Junho, here, change and go outside before the clown show starts.” You wring out your hair, shivering slightly, “I need to change.”

Taehyung presses his although wet, warm chest into your back, fingers grasping your elbows, “let’s go change into dry clothes. I’ll help you.”

Junho rubs the towel into his hair, sprinting around the corner before stopping to step into his sandals. Once he’s out of sight, Taehyung fits a hand under your legs, lifting you off the ground bridal style.

Your hands wrap around his neck like second nature, inhaling his thick, heady scent, amplified after his swim. His wet hair hangs over his eyes. Your core clenches with need.

“Where to?”

“Junho’s room, upstairs.”

He nips at your earlobe, kicking the door open before dropping you onto the bed. Just as he is about to close the door, Bam squeezes in. You collapse in a fit of giggles, holding your stomach.

“Go,” Taehyung orders, pointing to the door.

Bam sits at the foot of the bed, unfazed by the tantrum Taehyung is throwing.

“Come on,” he claps, “GO!”

“Bam,” you chortle, “go on. Go find Junho.”

Taehyung sighs, having given up when he crawls between your legs, covering your mouth with his. Your fingers curl around his biceps, pushing him away slightly.

“I can’t.” You laugh, pointing at Bam who’s watching Taehyung place kisses down the column of your throat, suckling on the skin there to have you squirming. “Bam, go. Go on! Wait Tae.”

After successfully getting rid of Bam, you sit at the edge of the bed, peeling your wet clothing off your body. Taehyung palms himself through his shorts, rising from the mattress which forces you to step down, knowing what he wants by the gleam in his eyes alone.

He cups your chin, cooing at your obsequious manner of pulling out his half-hard cock from his wet shorts, stroking it till he’s fully hard and leaking all over your fist.

“That’s it,” he grits, “just like that.”

You roll your palm around his shaft, shifting uncomfortably with the throb in your core. He grips your hair in his hands, forcing you to halt all movements before he presses the weeping tip to your lips, hissing when your tongue flicks out in a kittenish lick.

“Don’t tease—fuck.” You watch the way he throws his head back, Adam’s apple bobbing under his tanned skin before his head lolls forward, fingers twisting in your hair.

“So good, shit, so pretty with your mouth wrapped around my cock.”

You moan around his length, tongue dragging up the underside before you suckle around the tip, hearing him curse. Your scalp prickles with how hard he tugs at your hair, positioning you the way he likes.

Relaxing your throat, your hands fall to your thighs as you prepare yourself for the ruthless snaps of his hips, tears prickling your eyes when the tip of his cock fits down your throat, nose pressing into his pubic bone.

“Look at you, letting me use your throat like this when anyone could walk in and see what a slut you are.”

You hum, hollowing out your cheeks as he fucks your throat raw, jaw going tired, slick pooling in your underwear. The thick veins running across his shaft twitch in your mouth, sweat beading across his chest and forehead when you swallow around him twice, patting his thigh for a breath of air.

He pulls you off his length, chuckling when your thighs slip wider and your heat makes contact with his foot.

“Taehyung,” you sigh, moaning when he flexes his foot against your clothed, puffy clit. Even if the friction is not enough, you rock your hips like it’ll give you what you need, heat unfurling in your abdomen.

“What?” He grunts, lifting your head with his hold on your hair, “can’t take my cock today? Open up.”

Drawing in a deep breath, you take him into the warm confines of your mouth, a mix of spit and precum dribbling down your chin and chest as you continue to grind on his foot, moans muffled by his cock that presses into your cheeks.

His taste bursts onto your tongue, blunt nails pressing into your thighs just as your pierces the backs of his thighs, chasing your orgasm, eyes wide open to watch the way his stomach trembles, lip caught between his teeth.

“Fuck, gonna—fuck so damn pretty. Taking my cock like a good girl. Keep doing that baby. Keep your tongue out. Fuuuuck.”

The next few seconds are painful for your jaw, tears ruining your mascara when he flexes his hips at an inhumane speed, cock lodged into your throat before he shoots his load into your mouth. Shuddering out your name as you suck and slurp, moaning with him.

You gulp down every last drop, hips lowering to get more out of the little relief his foot provides.

“Fuck, let’s see.”

He pats your chin with his thumb, prying your mouth open. You stick out your tongue, showing him that you swallowed it all. He pulls you to your feet, attacking your mouth with his hands travelling under your dress, a sound of disapproval rumbling from his chest when he finds that you’re wearing tights underneath.

You suckle on his tongue, mewling when he spanks your ass, long fingers spreading your cheeks apart.

“We should get back.”

“What?”

He grins, lips skimming down your cheek, “we’ll finish up here later. Plus, do you remember what you did yesterday? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten.”

Of course, you still need to get used to what he likes, and what he doesn’t, because apparently, sending him sexy pictures when you miss him isn’t what he wants. And it only ends poorly for you.

“Yeah.”

“Good,” he smiles, thumb smoothing over your cheek, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

It seems like everything you heard today was against your will. But that doesn’t stop you from waiting behind the door to hear what Jungkook and Sora are arguing about this time – even if you don’t care.

“I’d like to see how you handle things without me. I’m leaving.”

“Wait.”

“I’m tired of you wasting money on all this bullshit, money that we both earned.”

“Sora—”

She storms out, making a show of carting her luggage with Hwang following close behind, struggling to keep up with her.

Jungkook rubs his temple, patting Bam’s back before spinning around. It’s too late for you to hide because he spots you, features morphing into indifference.

“Uh…trouble in paradise.” It’s supposed to be a question, a dumb one, but it comes out as more of a statement.

His eyes drop to his phone screen, voice lowering to a whisper yet you still hear him as you brave a few steps closer.

“Hardly a paradise…you changed your outfit?”

“Yeah, it got wet…when I was at the pool…with water.”

“With water or,” he raises his head, eyebrow piercing glinting with the movement, “something else?”

“What?”

He swivels in the direction of the door, calling for Bam to follow him, “let’s cut the cake.”

Once you step outside, thankful that you had decided to wear your coat when the chilly breeze that kisses your neck, Taehyung drags you to the other side of the yard where his brother stands, monitoring the kids in the bounce house.

“Hi,” you greet, waving at the kids who are having a blast leaping around in the colorful space, “thank you so much for this, Seokjin.”

He smiles, leaning against the inflatable, “not a problem.”

Taehyung redirects your attention to the man standing nearby, a man you don’t recognize until he’s only a foot away. Your jaw goes tight, goosebumps prickling your skin.

“This is my friend I was talking about, Park Jimin.”

He bows, thrusting a box wrapped poorly in red paper, “nice to meet you. I brought this gift for your son, although I’m not too sure if he likes walkie talkies.”

You can’t move an inch, flashbacks from one of the most terrifying nights of your life resurface the longer you stare at him.

“You…We met before,” you bark, turning to Taehyung as you will the tears sitting on your lash line not to fall, “this is your friend?”

His smile sinks into a frown, reaching forward to grip your arm but you pull away, passing the blond man, who has been haunting you every night after you thought you were going to die at his hands, one last look.

Taehyung calls your name, cornering you behind the swing set, “let me explain.”

“Explain what? That guy—he’s the one from that night. Do you know that?”

He purses his lips, dipping his head to peer into your eyes but you keep your gaze on the ground, not ready to hear his answer.

“I know that but he—”

“You know? How could he be your friend? He’s the guy that’s been stalking me for months. Or longer, I don’t know! And he’s your friend? How could—” realization hits you like a ton of bricks, chest tightening “—unless you knew all along.”

Taehyung’s eyes widen, shaking his head furiously, “no, no it’s not like that.”

“For weeks I was afraid to even step out of my home because of him and now he’s here at my son’s party as your friend? The guy I’m dating?!”

His palms curl around your shoulders but you shrug him off, ignoring the pang in your chest.

“Can you just listen to me? Park Jimin is not who you think he is. I tracked him down after that night and he agreed to helping me out.”

“Help you out with what?”

He takes a step back, eyes bouncing over your face before he looks away, “I can’t tell you just yet.”

Your throat works wildly, arms rigid at your sides, “Taehyung—”

“Can you just trust me?”

“I don’t know. You thought to bring him here to my son’s birthday party?” You grit, covering your hands with your sleeves, “I need some time to think.”

Taehyung nods, “okay, I understand.”

“Tell him to leave, right now.”

With a small nod, he returns to Seokjin and the blond guy, Park Jimin, broad shoulders slumped. The cogs in your brain are jammed, nudging into each other as they spark and hiss. You hug your arms, biting the corner of your mouth to prevent yourself from bawling your eyes out for everyone to witness.

“Trouble in paradise?”

You twist around with a gasp, hand brushing Jungkook’s tie that folds over his shoulder.

He laughs, proffering the bowl of caramel popcorn. On a regular day, you would inhale the treats in under five minutes, but today is not a regular day, and the sight along with the smell makes your stomach curl in on itself.

“It’s time for the gifts then we cut the cake,” he reminds, dusting his hands as he strolls away to where Junho is seated at the large table stocked with gifts.

The first gift he opens is from Seokjin – a toy rifle. You nearly throw up in your mouth.

It’s been nearly an hour since Junho started opening gifts, and they don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Some guests had even left during it all. But alas, the fun must come to an end and the last gift Junho needs to open is from Taehyung. A box that could fit both you and Junho sat on a trolley.

You chew on your bottom lip, watching Junho tug at the string, each side of the box falls open to reveal a mini BMW i8 – one that looks exactly like his.

The air is filled with oohs and aahs, Junho’s shrieks of happiness adding to their delight as he hops into Taehyung’s lap, surprising you when he kisses his cheek.

“Thank you so much! I love it! Can I sit in it? I wanted it so bad! Thank you!”

“Of cour—”

“Junho,” Jungkook calls from his place next to you, “why don’t you try it out later? There’s still my gift.”

Taehyung rises to his full height, a look of guilt meeting your own before he returns to his seat behind you. You look away, ignoring the dull ache in your chest.

“Okay everyone,” Jungkook shouts, making a show of propping his foot on the chair, “follow me to the front yard!”

The noise starts once again, moving in a disorderly fashion. Yuri links her arm with yours, nudging your shoulder with her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…I’ll tell you later.”

Her words are cut off by a whipping sound a few streets away, getting louder and louder until a shiny, yellow car rolls into the driveway, illuminated by the golden hour. A bright red bow sits on the hood. It’s gorgeous.

“OH MY—DAD! IT’S A LAMBORGHINI URUS.”

“And it’s all yours!”

Your jaw drops, shaking your head in disbelief before you make your way to Jungkook, catching his sleeve between your nails.

“Jungkook, this isn’t an appropriate gift for a child.”

“I know,” he admits, greeting the man that steps out of the car, sunglasses fitted into his dark hair. You watch as the man hands the key to Jungkook, leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

Too focused on what he’s saying, you don’t notice that your son is missing until he calls from inside the car, pressing on the horn.

“Junho!”

You dash toward him, words dying on your tongue once you take in the interior of the car.

“Isn’t it cool? It’s all mine!”

“Junho,” you scold, taking both his hands in yours, “you can’t drive.”

“That’s why—” Jungkook pats your shoulder, reaching for your hand before holding it palm up “—it’s yours.”

Your eyes bug out of your head, “mine?!”

Junho fiddles with the buttons in the car, voice louder than you’ve ever heard before, “YESSS.”

Jungkook leans forward to whisper in your ear, breath wafting over your face, “sexy car for a sexy mom.”

You’re at a loss for words, cheeks warming at his words. Did you hear right? He’s messing with you.

What the fuck?

You stare at the heavy car key in your hand, having forgotten that you’re surrounded by a crowd of people only when they burst into cheers around you. The kids approach the car like ants, Yoongi pats Jungkook on his back, wearing a proud, shy smile.

“Your dad is so cool!”

“Is it your car?”

“Can we go for a ride?”

Baffled, your eyes remain on your palm till you return to the pool area, finding Taehyung’s hollow smile, stare fixed on Jungkook.

“Congratulations.”

The rest of the evening is a drag, unable to finish your beer that has gone warm in your hands. Hoseok left, along with the rest of the guests, so it’s just you, Yuri, Yoongi, Jungkook and Taehyung who sit on the patio. Junho doesn’t count because he had passed out on Jungkook’s lap a while ago. The affable conversation taking place in front of you leaves you astonished, but you shouldn’t have jinxed it.

“I have connections all over Japan, Jeon, what are you trying to prove?”

You’ve tried to keep your distance from Taehyung, but somehow you find yourself curling into his side. Must be the weather.

“What are you trying to prove? My new warehouse will be up and running before June this year.”

You perk up at that, glancing at Yoongi, “new warehouse? Yoongi, did you know about this?”

He shakes his head, lips jutting out.

Jungkook scoffs, head tilted loftily, “why don’t we all go down to visit? And I’ll show you what I’m talking about.”

Yuri groans, nuzzling into Yoongi’s neck, “all this business talk is making my head spin. It’s the weekend! Can I catch a break?”

Yoongi hums, “I think we’re gonna head home.”

“No,” Jungkook objects, rising from the bench with Junho still latched around his shoulders, “just come with me to the warehouse. Ten minutes max.”

It doesn’t take much persuasion, much to Yuri’s dismay. She falls into your arms, giving you a weak farewell hug.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Yoongi holds up a finger, “tomorrow, 8AM.”

You whine, “really? 9AM please.”

“No.”

“Argh.”

Side-stepping around the pit, you take a sleeping Junho from Jungkook’s hands, giggling when he breathes out a few drowsy words.

“He’s knocked out.”

“Yeah,” Jungkook snorts, securing his arms over your shoulders, “he was too excited to sleep last night.”

“I’ll uh—”

Jungkook adjusts the cap on his head, clearing the bench of sweet wrappings, “yeah, tomorrow. Kim Taehyung you’re coming to the warehouse now, right? I’ll give Yoongi the directions and you can follow him.”

“Alright.”

Taehyung helps you to the car, your old car, ensuring that Junho is buckled up. You’re ready to take off when he knocks on your window, bending down to mumble a short greeting.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

You sigh, “of course, we have a lot to discuss.”

He nods, hitting the window frame with the heel of his palm before stepping away. You know he won’t question it.

As you’re settling into the tub, you can feel the tension in your shoulders ebb away with each passing moment, warm water swirling around your toes, attempting to clear your head. But even the sensuous aroma of lavender can’t fill the holes in your thoughts, and you find yourself refilling the tub each time the water turns cold. Till you can’t anymore. You don’t know how long you spent in the bath. But the number of missed calls you have gives you an idea.

Twenty-six missed calls from Yuri.

You fit on your favorite pajamas, the supple material adds to your relaxation time as you flop down on the couch and give her a ring. But she doesn’t answer. You try again and again. Each time it goes straight to voicemail.

That’s odd.

Usually, she would pick up straight away.

Three knocks on your door catches your attention, phone kept against your ear as you press down the handle.

“Jungkook? What are y—”

Your eyes widen with horror, the red stain on the front of his baby blue shirt causing the phone to slip from your hands.

“Wh—”

He pushes you back inside, shutting the door behind him, eyes brimming with tears, “it’s not mine.”

“What then—”

“Yoongi.”

Blood drains from your face, fingers going cold before your vision becomes blurry, “Yoongi? W-What do you mean? Is he okay? Yuri she she—”

“Calm down,” he tries, but his brittle voice only adds to your panic. “Yoongi is in the ER now. He’ll be fine.”

“Jungkook,” you cry, pointing to the bloody stain marring his clothing, “is he—what happened?”

“He…was shot.”

Tears drip down your chin, knees giving out before Jungkook catches you in his arms, setting your trembling figure on the couch.

“H-How? Why? Is he okay?”

You ball the front of his shirt in your fists, “what did you do?!”

He glances down the hallway, easing his shirt out of your hands, “calm down. Relax.”

“Don’t tell me to relax! What did you do to him? Get away from me!”

“It wasn’t me,” he shouts, holding up his arms placatingly, “I swear! ___ relax, breathe. Do you want some water? He’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want water—” you stutter, lungs tightening as you clutch your chest, finding it difficult to steady your breaths.

“Hey, hey,” he coddles your frail body into your arms, chin propped on the crown of your head, “it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Your eyes slip shut, nails pressing into his shoulder as you try to regain control of your breathing – only one face bringing you peace. One voice.

“Hush, I’m right here. You’re a strong gir—…woman. Aren’t you?”

You exhale a deep, stuttered breath, finding comfort in the way he’s rocking you back and forth. Once you find your voice, a fresh wave of tears wet your cheeks, voice cracked.

“What happened? Is he gonna be okay?”

Jungkook nods, palm cradling the back of your head, “yeah.”

“How did it happen, Jungkook? Last I remember…he was at your warehouse.”

He keeps his gaze on your lap, nose crinkling.

“You’d have to ask Kim Taehyung.”

nooo 😭🫣 please send in feedback, I’d love to chat to you & hear what you think <3 ✉️

taglist ✩ masterlist

773 notes · View notes

1-800-pastelskies · 2 years ago

Text

I posted 209 times in 2022

That's 164 more posts than 2021!

81 posts created (39%)

128 posts reblogged (61%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fauxdaylight

@so1987

@wednesdayaddamspdf

@dreamboatdani

I tagged 209 of my posts in 2022

#♡peach’s paint pallet♡ - 208 posts

#﹄❏♡•peach answers•♡❏﹃ - 30 posts

#🤍via🤍 - 5 posts

#art - 4 posts

#🤍heather🤍 - 3 posts

#prev tags - 3 posts

#tumblr milestone - 2 posts

#aphmau - 2 posts

#artists on tumblr - 2 posts

#edits - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#ok ok so mikal (the kid we’re trying to make jealous) found the snap acc and he didn’t know it was me bc my snap doesn’t have my name so tha

My Top Posts in 2022:

i had two b's and a c+ for my classes and my mom goes up to me and says "wow u have amazing grades!" and smiles and gives me a hug- it wasnt sarcasm at all and i was like "WHAT THE FUCK"

bestie those are average grades is that not a common thing for you-

12 notes - Posted November 13, 2022

silly little block people

18 notes - Posted February 13, 2022

♡dakotah’s 100 follower celebration♡

while going through my follows i realized that with my followers from my old account and my new account i have a bit over 100 follows which means celebration time!

i would like to thank everyone who followed me and my lovely mutuals

so let’s get onto the asks

🍑 - mood board based on your blog’s aesthetic

☁️ - voice reveal and what you want me to say

🍓 - which one of my irl friends do you remind me of (mutuals only)

💿 - makeup look inspired by your blog (may not answer these until later)

✨ - a song you remind me of

🌙 - which stuffed animal of mine that you remind me of

🧸 - what i think you look like (using pinterest photos so it might not be the most accurate)

@daydreaming-cheese-weasel @ddepressedbookworm @rihaayi @wyrm-in-a-closet @idiotacadamia @maisiepeterss @murdermf @d4nkug0 @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight @jaemssna @gay-every-2-weeks @so1987 @satanshairycoochie @dosiedior

20 notes - Posted January 14, 2022

See the full post

23 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

a lot of people on my old blog liked these so uh they’re on this blog now

49 notes - Posted January 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #♡peach’s paint pallet♡

4 notes · View notes

peaches-writes · 4 years ago

Text

how to appease your asian aunties ch. 3 - spring break

* icym: this was prev. a guide to social gatherings but i changed the title bc i still think i’m funny that way

description: in the immortal words of blood-related aunts and aunts you’re not even related to but forced to call your aunt at reunion parties, “do you have a boyfriend?” member: jisung / han genre: fluff, fake dating au, implied rich kids au, eventual childhood / best friends to lovers au, college au, implied fem reader (but i still used they/them pronouns) word count: 5.4k chapter warning: food, a conversation calling out toxic asian family culture oops note: i’m not confident with this one bc i had to re-write this two times (?) with diff. plot directions + srsly idk what happened here what was the point am i ok + i didn’t post this accidentally this time !!!!

ch. 1 // ch. 2 // series masterlist

After seeing you and Jisung interact during your trip to the mall, your mom has started loving this new idea of you dating one of her close friends’ sons so much that she has not-so-discreetly started conspiring with Mrs. Han in order to see the two of you together as much as possible. From invitations for snacks and drinks at one’s house every day after school to whole-day activities on the weekends (usually to the mall or the cinema), it didn’t take long before you and your own best friend put two and two together and conclude that your respective moms have somewhat developed an auntie type of obsession over your fake relationship.

This idea that your moms would love you and Jisung together so much to this extent initially flew past your head when you started this fake relationship last Christmas. You were only thinking of casually fake dating your best friend, after all; such arrangement ideally confined only in social gatherings where invasive relatives and family friends ask about your love life endlessly. You genuinely did not expect that that Jisung would start tagging along to you and your parents’ Sunday movie dates and side with your dad every time you disagree on your selected movie’s ending; or that you would not be parting ways with Jisung after school anymore when you reach your house and he has to drive another block to get to his.

But for the most part, you’ve decided as the weeks fly by with this new added twist in your everyday, it’s fun and, even at times, cute. Though Mrs. Han dotes on you more now, like you’re her own child, and your mom is starting to be more talkative around Jisung since they now have you to talk about, you still get to eat snacks either your mom or Mrs. Han made, hog the extraordinarily fast wifi at Jisung’s house, and get free movie tickets and shopping bags from when you’re going out with the other’s family on the weekends. Plus, it’s made your workaholic mom come home earlier just to see you and Jisung lounging in your living room and Mrs. Han’s worries lessen now that Jisung’s busy with something else that isn’t academics or whatever it is he does with his Bumble and Tinder apps.

At times, it’s tiring having to hang out with your best friend under the guise of a couple, especially when you didn’t really plan for it to be this way, but you can’t deny that there are perks to it.

So, you wait more patiently for Jisung every day after your classes now even when he usually takes a lot of detours to see his friends before driving over to you on the other side of campus. You still hang out with your friends, Ryujin and Chaeryeong, after classes, of course, but you part ways with them just a little bit earlier now to anticipate Jisung’s Convertible pulling up in front of your building and unnecessarily yelling at you to get in even when he’s the one awfully late.

Because if you were to choose between your other best friends and a free expensive snacks, you’d always choose the latter without fail.

“You know,” Chaeryeong comments next to you on this particular Friday, stretching her legs down to the steps below you three while you scroll through your phone and Ryujin naps on your shoulder with her earphones still plugged in. “if I didn’t know that you’re ditching us earlier for free fake dating food, I would’ve thought that you and squirrel boy were seriously dating.”

“You always think we’re dating either way.” You roll your eyes, not even sparing a glance at the smug grin on her features. “Anyway, aren’t you happy we’re ‘dating’ now? It’s what you’ve always hoped for but, you know, fake.”

Only then do you turn to Chaeryeong over your shoulder, also scrolling through her social media on her phone. She meets your gaze after with a scrunched up nose and furrowed eyebrows. “Hm,” She pretends to contemplate, placing her index finger up to her chin. “I don’t know. I think I’ll have to wait until someone caves and you actually develop feelings for each other—like in books!”

“Seriously?” You deadpan with pursed lips, only making her laugh. “Of all things you could bring up.”

Chaeryeong shrugs in response with a knowing smile, chuckling when your expression doesn’t change. “You never know!” She replies in her defense, laughing all the way. “You did say after break that you’re just going to fake date if there’s an event but it’s Spring Break tomorrow already and you’ve been fake dating every day since classes started again.”

“Sounds like a romantic trope to me.” She comments last teasingly before you can even interject, swiftly dodging your hand when you reach up to try and smack her. Literature majors, really.

“For one, I don’t want to date Jisung, I’ve seen enough of him my whole life for that and I don’t think I’m in the mood to date in general. And besides, we’re only a ‘couple’ at home when someone’s mom is watching.” You counter as you retract your free hand back to your side, alternating your gaze between her and your other hand with your phone. Jisung’s last message is that of him informing you that he’s making a quick stop at the International Relations department today to hand Hyunjin his books ten minutes ago. Knowing him, if he didn’t get lost or got distracted by a kiosk selling coffee, he’s probably on his way now. “And you know I love free stuff, it just happens to come only if I hang out with Jisung these days.”

“So what happens when you ‘break up’? And I don’t mean the cute perks from the aunties.” Chaeryeong asks next, leaning back on her propped elbows now that the stairs going up to your college building have started to cool down from being exposed to the sun the entire day. “I mean, it’s back to normal for us as your friends—I do miss not having to remind my parents that you’re a couple now—but your moms are going to think it’s weird that you suddenly broke up and went back to being friends like nothing happened.”

“I already told you and everyone else, we’ll think about that when it happens.” You shrug both at her and the nagging thought in your mind that she has a point.

“And when exactly will that happen?” She prods on, smiling smugly at knowing that you and Jisung never talked about this certain part of your current predicament clearly. “‘Dating until everyone doesn’t think of Jisung as a fuckboy or when aunties stop offering blind dates’ sounds vague to me.”

You see Chaeryeong’s smile grow bigger when you don’t answer immediately, accidentally letting time pass until Jisung’s gray Convertible pulls up steps below you with an obnoxious honk.

“Y/N, my mom bought gelato today!” Jisung yells at you from his roofless car, his radio blasting Bermuda Triangle at an embarrassingly loud volume. “Let’s go!”

You then quickly shake Ryujin awake in response, gently moving her to Chaeryeong’s legs when her eyes open, before standing up and waving goodbye at your two friends. “Like I said, I’ll let you know when it happens.” You hurriedly conclude your conversation with Chaeryeong with a triumphant smile, making her roll her eyes. “See you after the break!”

Chaeryeong only shakes her head in disbelief, easily letting you go from her interrogation with a wave goodbye. “You be careful now, hm? Have fun with your ice cream, then!”

You chuckle as you run down the stairs, waving your hand up for her as you move away without sparing a last glance. “Don’t worry, I’ll take pictures!” At this, you open the front passenger seat to Jisung’s car and smoothly slide in, haphazardly discarding your backpack next to his at the back before closing the door next to you. “Hey, ugly. Glad you didn’t get lost on campus.”

“Speak for yourself, ugly.” Jisung teases back, shifting the car’s gear back to ‘Drive.’ “How was your day? You three look so bored out of your mind there.”

"Better now that we’re going to eat ice cream at home.” You put your seatbelt on as Jisung now drives the car home, reaching over to the radio in between the two of you after and lowering the volume. “Classes were tiring as usual. What flavors did auntie get, by the way?”

Jisung almost makes the wrong turn with your choice of words, quickly gathering his thoughts and shaking his head. “Fu—u-um, Ferrero, strawberry, and mint choco, that’s what she texted me.” He shrugs, making the correct turn to the nearest campus gate this time.

From the corner of his eyes, you nod with a hum as you sink back in your seat, completely missing the way you unconsciously caught him off-guard even with the screech of the car tires. “Oh, cool—no pun intended there.” You chuckle to yourself, leaning to the opposite side now to watch the college buildings pass by. “We’re watching The Conjuring 2, right?”

“Yeah.” Jisung scoffs, brushing off what remains of his sudden nervous feeling with the comment. “Tch, cool.”

Like every Wednesday and Friday that Mrs. Han prepares you after school snacks and drinks, you and Jisung go through tubs of ice cream and tumblers of water while a horror film is projected on the television of the Han’s ground floor living room. Mrs. Han, who has her office day off on Fridays, would occasionally drop by and either ask if the two of you need anything or comment on her distaste for horror under her breath.

“Oh, oh, dear.” She clutches her pearls dramatically, much like her son would, as she passes by for the sixth time to go to the kitchen and catches another glimpse of The Conjuring in the process. She then turns to you and Jisung after to calm her nerves, catching you still sprawled across the sofa with your legs lazily piled on top of Jisung’s.

Of course she’s seen you in the same position before in the few times you came over as one of Jisung’s friends but the sight now seems different under the guise that you and her son are a couple. Typical mom.

“Hi, auntie!” You greet her when you catch her from the corner of your eye also for the sixth time, waving your empty spoon in greeting with one hand while the other blindly reaches for Jisung’s laptop on the coffee table to pause the movie. Jisung hides his face under a throw pillow at this, already having enough of his mom snooping around for today and you giving her the time of day. Since when did you get comfy with his mom, anyway? “Do you need anything?”

Mrs. Han immediately shakes her head with a dismissive wave and smile. “Ah, nothing, I was just checking up on you two!” She clarifies again. “Do you need anything? Extra pillows? More water?”

You shake your head politely, holding up the water tumblers on your other side reassuringly. “We’re good but thank you!”

At this, Mrs. Han clasps her hands together in satisfaction. “Alright, if you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen, then!” She concludes, taking a step back from the door frame. “You’re staying for dinner, right, Y/N?”

You glance over at Jisung, prying the throw pillow away from his face enough to see him shaking his head and making you feign a teasing frown for his mom. “You don’t want me to stay over dinner, babe?” You taunt with a smile, chuckling when he pushes the pillow back onto his face. Turning to Mrs. Han, you add, “I think Sung doesn’t want me staying for dinner, auntie, but I’ll gladly stay over if you want me to; anyway, my parents are coming home late today.”

“What? Oh, he’s just being shy!” Mrs. Han dismisses with another wave of her hand. “Please do stay for dinner. I’ll text your mom for you too.”

“Alright, if you say so.” You nod, giving her your sweetest smile now. “Thank you so much!”

With that, Mrs. Han then bids you goodbye and proceeds to the kitchen. When the sound of her stilettos fades outside the living room, Jisung removes the throw pillow in front of his face with a groan, scooting closer to you until his shoulders bumped into yours. “My mom, seriously.” He then smacks you on the shoulder with the throw pillow as you press ‘play’ on his laptop again. “Ya, are you seriously dining with us tonight?”

You kick his legs under yours in response. “I think it’s cute, it’s not like she caught us doing something weird.” You shrug in his mom’s defense. “And yes, I’m staying over because your mom is clearly cooking tonight and I can’t say no to an offer and free food.”

“I’ll have to get back at you when we’re back at your house on Monday.” He counters back, shamelessly dipping his spoon on the mint chocolate ice cream in your hands. As he bites on the small chocolate drops on the ice cream, a thought then crosses his mind and he asks, “Wait, are we still hanging out on Spring Break?”

You turn to him, swatting his hand belatedly before taking a big chunk of his strawberry ice cream. “I don’t know, my mom hasn’t mentioned anything and I don’t think my parents have any plans of going on vacation this break.” You answer truthfully before eating the spoonful of ice cream. “What about auntie?”

“Nothing from her too.” He shakes his head. “Though we’re definitely going on vacation this Break—my dad really wants to check out the new Jeju hotel.”

“When are you coming home?”

“Friday night, I think? We leave on Sunday.” He answers, taking a sip of water now that the taste of ice cream is now making his mouth feel sticky. He takes note of how you used the same word again, recovering quicker this time before he could even choke. “So we’re definitely not hanging out on those days.”

You hum against another spoonful of ice cream, this time from the Ferrero ice cream in the small gap between the two of you. “I mean, it’d be nice to be away from you for once—we’ve literally been joined to the hip after classes and most weekends since the New Year—but that would mean no free food which would be a shame; I really like your mom’s cooking.”

“Ouch, I didn’t know you don’t like spending more time with me just for me.” He clutches his chest dramatically, hugging the throw pillow again. “I thought you’d like this since I was away for a year.”

“We barely hung out before you even left.” You chuckle in amusement, grabbing the pillow from him again and this time lazily discarding it to the other end of the sofa. “I already thought you’re annoying the rare times we hung out before. Now, you’re just the bane of my existence.”

Next to you, Jisung laughs along belatedly, holding his ice cream tub away when you try and take another spoonful of strawberry from him. “Yeah but I’m the bane of your existence that you’re ‘dating’ in front of the aunties for free stuff and them leaving you alone.” He points out, giving in to you after when you almost topple over the Ferrero ice cream and handing you his strawberry ice cream. “So you can’t really complain.”

You roll your eyes as you exchange tubs of ice cream. In front of you, a jump scare goes unnoticed as you pay more attention to Jisung anticipating what your next words would be. “I’m grateful,” You clarify in a mumble as you chew on the ice cream. “But you’re still annoying as hell.”

“Not like you’re any better.” He rolls his eyes with another playful laugh, shifting in his seat. “Yeah, I think we shouldn’t hang out on Spring Break: we’re going to ‘break up’ if we keep meeting too much at this point.”

This time, it’s you who gets another thought at this comment. Shifting in your seat as well so you’re now facing Jisung, you ask in a change of topic, “Right, I meant to ask: when exactly are we ‘breaking up’?” You raise an eyebrow at him when his eyes widen in confusion. “It’s just that Chaeryeong and I were talking about it a while back and it had me thinking.”

“Hm? I thought we’ll do it a little after Chan and Miyoung’s wedding.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “There aren’t many events after that and I’m sure the aunties won’t bother you for a while since you’ll start working.”

“And if they do?” You ask back curiously. “Starting work at your own parents’ company while going through a ‘break-up’ doesn’t exactly guarantee a free pass from blind dates—remember the last time Yeji had a relationship the aunties knew about?”

“Right, that was quite chaotic.” Jisung replies, keeping his spoon in his mouth now instead of eating more ice cream as the unexpected question actually catches him off-guard. “But, I don’t know. I guess we can keep going a little longer after the wedding, until the aunties have someone else to bother or, you know—if you end up liking someone else.”

You then catch Jisung’s eyes light up at this idea and you hear him quickly add, “Hey, how about that?” He then removes the spoon from his mouth, placing his ice cream down in between the two of you. “You don’t have to worry about your elders and we don’t have to fake date anymore.”

“Actual dating?” You furrow your eyebrows. Jisung nods at this. “You know how I feel about that. I don’t think I want that for myself right now given the changes that are going to happen after we graduate.” You wave your hands around now, setting your ice cream and spoon down before sinking back in your seat. “And I especially don’t want that just for the sake of getting people to mind their own business; it’d be like giving in to the pressure in a way.”

You glance over at Jisung to see him nodding thoughtfully now, an unfamiliar look crossing his features before he meets your gaze and comments, “Okay, that’s fair—but we both know it’d be too troublesome to fake date for a long time.” He then sighs, sinking into his own spot and leveling with your gaze.

Suddenly, you feel a shift in the air around you as Jisung sets his ice cream down on his other side. “Aish, don’t you just wish you can talk back to older people?”

“Yeah.” You nod in agreement this time, pursing your lips. The air suddenly felt sincere now, a bit comical since the people keep screaming on the television in front of you but, for some reason, you don’t feel like laughing because Jisung isn’t despite obviously having the same thoughts. “I mean, we all know that the talks about dating and career and everything else are often in good-nature but a lot of times they’re just invasive and a bit rude.”

When Jisung doesn’t reply as quickly, you nudge his shoulder and add, “I especially think of the time you told some of the parents during Yeji’s birthday about your plans to study in Malaysia and how negatively they received it because they think you won’t graduate on time and that you should just finish college quickly and work.” Jisung’s eyes widen in surprise this time. “They don’t know how hard you work in your studies or how you really wanted to go abroad and explore and I really wanted to scold them for it.”

“Y-You still remember that?” He asks in disbelief, earning him a casual nod from you.

“Of course,�� You confirm, your free hand unconsciously balling into fists on your lap at the memory. “I’ve never wanted to yell at my mom’s friends until that point even when you tried laughing it off so I’m glad you proved them wrong when you came back during Christmas and impressed them when they asked about it again.”

You see Jisung chuckle under his breath shyly, tearing his gaze at you for a moment. “You mentioned that night that you were annoyed. I never knew you were this annoyed.” He muses out loud. “Thanks.”

“Thinking about it now, I feel a bit bad,” You point out after, heaving a frustrated sigh. “You’re keeping up with fake dating me even though it just started as a little joke last Christmas to protect me in a way but I couldn’t stand up to you two years ago.”

Looking up at Jisung, he grins at you reassuringly and shakes his head, effectively easing the atmosphere back into being more lighthearted. “No, it’s okay.” He dismisses your frown. “Just knowing what you really thought then is fine already.”

“And,” He shifts in his seat after, transferring the tubs of ice cream in between the two of you now to his other side so he can scoot closer. “I get free food every other day from your mom because we’re ‘dating’ so it’s nothing, really.”

You scoff when he breaks out into laughter. “Right, of course.” You deadpan before breaking out into genuine laughs yourself. “What was I even thinking, talking about sincere things with you?”

The two of you laugh for a while, even more when Jisung pretends to complain that you just 'wasted’ the last act of the movie talking about ‘mushy stuff.’

“Stop complaining, dummy,” You smack his elbow, sitting up properly now as the credits begin to roll. “you entertained my rants instead of stopping me so it’s your fault too.”

“Because you brought up something of mine from two years ago!” He protests before moving away to gather all your scattered snacks to the coffee table, laughing in disbelief all throughout. “I had to respond or it’d be rude!”

You only roll your eyes at him, making the two of you laugh even harder. You then lean back on the sofa, stretching your hands above your head and removing your legs off of Jisung while he disconnects his laptop from the television and closes both electronic gadgets.

Turning to you, after, you see his laughs turn into a small sincere smile once again. “But seriously,” He says, glancing back at you from his shoulder. “Thanks.”

“For?” You prod him teasingly, earning you a groan of frustration from him.

“For almost getting mad at the elders?” He jokes back with a raised eyebrow before going back to being sincere again. “Nah, for being understanding with me and my choices.”

“Of course,” You reply casually. “even if we joke around a lot, you’re one of my best friends—well, as if I had a choice in that, you know me too well and too long.”

“Way to ruin the moment.” He frowns at you in feigned disappointment, making you chuckle, until another thought crosses his mind. “And, Y/N?”

“Hm?” You look up expectantly at him.

“We have to break up some time after the wedding but I’ll still try and protect you,” He clears his throat awkwardly. “from the ‘rude’ and ‘invasive’ comments after, I mean. You should do whatever you want to do freely and date seriously when you want, not when older people pressure you into it.”

At this, your gaze softens at him visibly, even more when he doesn’t make other hints that he’s joking. “Thank you.” You mumble, just loud enough for only him to hear when you see Mrs. Han pass by the hallway again. “You should too, you know, do whatever you want and date whenever you want to.”

Jisung opens his mouth to speak but, behind him, you catch a glimpse of Mrs. Han suddenly returning to the hallway and stopping by the living room entrance again, waving at you and unintentionally cutting her son off. “Y/N, Sungie, dinner’s ready!” She informs you before Jisung could even get a single syllable out, making him purse his lips in annoyance with his face hidden from his own mom’s view. “Y/N, I already texted your mom, by the way, and she said it’s fine that you stay over for dinner.”

You turn to the side and nod at Mrs. Han, chuckling when you see Jisung hiding his hands on his lap and exaggeratedly curling his fingers up in frustration. “Thank you, auntie! We’ll be right there!” You assure her, smiling up at her until she disappears back to the opposite direction of the kitchen.

Turning back to Jisung, you swat his finger tips back into relaxing with a laugh. “Guess we have to go back to adhering to the system and fake dating for now, though.” You conclude with a giggle, standing up from the sofa and fixing your clothes. “What were you going to say before your mom barged in?”

After a moment of silent contemplating, Jisung ends up shaking his head and following you, gathering the tubs of ice cream in his hands. “It was nothing.”

“Really?” You ask, elbowing him gently before picking up your water tumblers from the sofa. “Come on, tell me.”

“It’s nothing, seriously.” Jisung assures you with a laugh, walking ahead of you out of the living room and turning around to see you catch up. “Come on, leech, dinner time.”

You bump his shoulder with a laugh when you manage to catch up with him, “Shut up, you’re also a leech.”

“But not on this day, you’re in my house.” He corrects.

Dinner with the Hans regrettably passes too soon even with all of Mrs. Han’s questions on your school life and post-college plans; and Mr. Han bringing up embarrassing and, at times, even exaggerated stories from when you and Jisung were children. When Mr. Han is suddenly forced to retreat back into his home office to attend to a minor emergency (hastily bidding you and Jisung goodnight) and Mrs. Han managed to win in your argument over you helping her and the house helpers to do the dishes, the old grandfather clock at the house entrance strikes quarter to 9 PM which prompts Jisung to offer you company in walking back home.

“Yes, how thoughtful of you, Sungie! Do walk Y/N home!” His mom comments with a proud grin as she shoos you out of the kitchen. “I’ll see you after Spring Break, Y/N, okay?”

You nod, giving her one last side hug, careful of the dish washing liquid bubbling up on her pink gloves. “Have fun on your trip to Jeju, auntie!”

“I’d ask you to come along if it didn’t turn out so last minute, I did mention it on New Year” She jokes, much to Jisung’s horrified face. “Oh, Sungie, what’s that look for? Don’t you want Y/N to go on a trip with us next time?”

You giggle nervously, pulling away from the hug after and taking a step back to Jisung’s side. “Maybe next time, auntie? I have lots of deadlines this break, anyway.”

“Ya!” Jisung hisses at you discreetly, pouting again that you’re entertaining his mom’s antics. You only elbow him in response.

In front of you, Mrs. Han seriously contemplates on the idea before waving her drier glove. “Yes, it is quite last-minute right now since we leave on Monday.” She smiles fondly. “Next time, it is, then!”

“Okay, that’s enough planning for a future trip!” Jisung quickly interjects before you can humor his mom longer, placing an arm over your shoulder and turning you around to face the open door leading outside. “It’s getting late and I have to walk back here on my own after!”

You wave back at Mrs. Han, laughing when she rolls her eyes at her son before bidding you one last goodnight. “Goodnight, auntie!”

With that, Jisung gently pushes you into a run out of his house, haphazardly closing the door behind him and directing you across the front lawn, to their gates, then, finally, to the dimly-lit streets of your subdivision. You’re only pulled to a stop when Jisung almost pushes you to a car parked on the house across his, making you laugh.

“Ya, we didn’t have to run out so fast!” You protest, clutching your stomach with one hand while the other hits his side. “My stomach hurts.”

“You keep entertaining my mom’s ideas!” He playfully whines back in between tired pants, catching his breath quickly before throwing an arm over your shoulder. “If you’ll keep going like this, you might actually become best friends!”

You scoff, keeping his arm on your shoulder anyway as the two of you now walk to the direction of your house. “Watch your words, Han Jisung, or it might actually happen.” You warn him teasingly, adjusting your backpack on your shoulder. “Besides, I was just doing what you were doing on New Year—how did you call it?—’earning points.’”

“I also told you then that my mom already likes you so much,” He pouts, easily pulling you flush against him when a lone car passes by. Instinctively, he then moves you to his other side so he’s walking closer to the road. “You’re just going to be more annoying at this point.”

“Well, I like your mom, too, so I’m going to be extra annoying from now on,” You grin mischievously. “maybe until we ‘break up’ then everything’s going to be awkward for a while.”

Glancing over at Jisung from your side, you see him genuinely frown momentarily before sighing in feigned defeat. “Fine, do whatever you want.”

You want to ask him about the sudden frown but you end up shrugging it off as you cross the street to get to the right turn at the intersection. With the new direction you’re walking into, Jisung shifts you to his other side again.

“You know, it’s not like some car’s going to crash into us,” You move to his other side anyway and swiftly dodging another offer of him slinging his arm over your shoulder. “We’re inside the village? Where the speed limit is 20 kph?”

Jisung scoffs, dropping his arm back to his side “Your house is on your side of the street, dumbass, that’s why I moved you there.” And, as if on cue, you see your own house slowly coming into view among the towering gates and trees. “That little heart-to-heart talk we had must be getting to you, huh?”

“As if.” You elbow his side in retaliation, your backpack hitting his back slightly in the process which only fuels his teasing more.

“Aren’t you glad I’m here to walk you home?” He asks with a grin, just as you reach your gates. “Imagine if you got lost when we’re literally a block apart.”

“I hope the dog next door escapes and chases you back home,” You groan, walking a few steps ahead to open the smaller entrance on your gate with your key.

Behind you, Jisung only laughs, unfazed, before walking over to your side again and extending his arms out for a hug. “Okay, sorry,” He grins halfheartedly. “Come here, goodbye hug.”

You raise an eyebrow at him, swinging your gate open with one hand and stepping one foot on the other side. “What do you mean? My mom’s inside.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t hugged you alone in a while.” He points out while tilting his head sideways, earning him a genuine look of confusion from you.

“Ya, it’s not like we don’t hug platonically before all this.” He adds with a shaky snicker before pouting. “I’m going to get s—”

“Okay, fine.” You scoff with a small smile, stepping outside again to hug him. “Look who’s getting all mushy now.”

“Yeah, yeah,” He shakes his head against your neck, reluctantly pulling away from you after a while. Rubbing the nape of his neck bashfully, he adds, “It’s just that—everything’s been a bit different now since I got home.”

“It’s mostly your fault—”

“—I know and I don’t regret it,” He interjects quickly, wiping the smug smile of your face. “since I’m doing it to get you away from creepy guys but it’s just us now and I sort of...miss being casual.”

Your frown tugs upwards into a sincere smile as you lean back against the gates. “We are casual. It’s just that people are looking now.”

“Can we hang out sometime?” He suggests with hopeful eyes. “just us, like old times.”

“You call it old times like it wasn’t just two years ago,” You point out, chuckling now. “But—sure.”

Jisung nods with a big grin now, excitedly shifting his weight on his feet. “So, see you after the Break?”

“Buy me something nice from Jeju then we can talk.” You conclude, stepping inside now completely. “Night, Sungie.”

“Hm, goodnight.”

When you accompany one of the Han’s family drivers to fetch Jisung and his parents at Incheon International Airport exactly a week later, you only expected to see the box of imported chocolate snacks Jisung promised to buy you as the only unfamiliar thing that you’ll see, maybe even an entirely new carrier with Mrs. Han’s vacation haul if she did actually spent more time shopping than working.

What you genuinely did not expect, upon finally spotting your best friend and his parents waiting for you at crowded Seattle’s Best, is him holding more than just your box of chocolates.

“Hey?” You wave at Jisung in confusion as you stop right in front of him. To your right, you catch a glimpse of the family driver, Mr. Yoo, greeting Mr. and Mrs. Han on the next table before obligingly taking their luggage cart. “Who’s this little angel?”

Only then do you notice the two other unfamiliar people with Jisung’s parents, eyeing you curiously and whispering to Mrs. Han, probably to ask who you are.

Jisung waves his hand at you once before transferring the same hand over the nape of his neck, “Y-Yeah, um, this is—”

But before he could even finish and maybe even explain, the little girl on his lap shifts in her place and jumps to stand in front of you. “Hello!” She grins sweetly in slightly broken Korean, waving one hand at you while the other clutches Jisung’s bear plushie. “I’m Kitty!”

“Oh, hi, Kitty!” You bend your knees slightly to level with her gaze hidden behind round eyeglasses, briefly sparing a glance at Jisung after and raising an eyebrow at him before smiling again at the little girl. “I’m Y/N, it’s nice to meet you!”

“It’s nice to...m-meet you!” She politely returns the gesture, hugging Jisung’s bear plushie shyly after and making your heart skip a beat. “Will you also live with us?”

“At home?” Your furrow your eyebrows deeply now, standing up properly and turning to Jisung who you then belatedly notice has stood up as well and slung his backpack and Kitty’s over his shoulder. “Sung?”

Jisung stands next to Kitty and places a hand behind her back, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Kitty’s going to live with us for a while.”

ch. 4 // series masterlist

tags: @t-toodumbtocare @sandaigdigan-reads @pwarkhans @ruellelix @malai-barfi @mahalau @milkywayfelix @qweens-stuff @tenclouds @crscendoforsung @verobibble

118 notes · View notes

aubrey-plaza · 4 years ago

Text

proof of concept: TELL THEM (TO FREE THE BEAUTIFUL)

AUTHOR: aserenitatum / @theron (prev. monae/kate-siegel) FANDOM: Pitch Perfect (movies) PAIRING: Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen - Staubrey STATUS: draft WORDS: currently 8721 TAGS: set during Pitch Perfect 2, based on that behind the scenes gif of Stacie pulling Aubrey into the mudpit NOTES: Happy Birthday Kim! Thank you for being literally the loveliest person in this fandom and for always supporting and encouraging my fics (and even supporting me through all my other fandom hopping lmao). Writing is made so much better and fun by knowing that you’ll be reading and I’m so grateful we as a fandom and me personally get to know you <3 I’ve been working on this but it’s become such a long project that I didn’t manage to finish it today in time but I’m sharing just a lil sneak preview so that you know that your gift is on its way!! I hope you are having the best day and that we may be blessed with many more years of you!

Stacie Conrad, 3:48 PM Hey Aubrey! I’m assuming I can put you down as a definitely for Worlds?

The phone buzzes at the chime of an incoming text and slides off Stacie’s middle and her reflexes are quick enough that she manages to grab it before it slides off the couch as well, fingers unlocking the screen as she checks her messages and frowns with a Cheeto halfway to her mouth.

Aubrey Posen, 6:02 PM Who is this?

Stacie pops the snack in her mouth and licks her fingers clean, ignoring her show on the large television to navigate to her camera app to take a selfie. Her front-facing camera opens and she winces at the sight of herself, hair that had been previously pulled into a neat French braid now wild and askew and framing her face not in a good way, there’s Cheeto dust on her chin from where she’d been trying to toss them into her mouth, and her mascara is smudged making her look like a raccoon.

She looks awful.

Stacie immediately sits up, which already makes her look marginally better. She reaches behind her and tugs the elastic from the end of her braid, dropping her phone for the time being so she can use both hands to finger comb her hair loose and even though the braid Chloe had put in for her wasn’t super tight, her scalp still feels lighter with her locks flowing freely.

Fingers under her eyes to wipe her smudged makeup away and to brush off the remaining orange dust, and when she lifts her phone again to look at herself, she looks much, much more presentable.

She snaps a quick picture of herself smiling and shoots it off, ready to toss her phone to the side until she sees the bubbles with three dots pop up that tell her Aubrey’s typing.

Stacie Conrad, 6:10 PM {img attachment} it’s meeeeee

Aubrey Posen, 6:10 PM Oh! Hi Stacie.

Stacie Conrad, 6:11 PM wait do you not have my phone number saved?! 😭😭😭 I thought we were friends 🥺😭😩

Aubrey Posen, 6:12 PM You’re ridiculous. And no, I don’t but I’m saving it now with that picture as your contact card

Stacie Conrad, 6:13 PM why not 😟 ur breaking my heart 💔 that’s fine bc it’s a cute picture!!

Aubrey Posen, 6:14 PM It is. I had to get a new phone because SOMEBODY pulled me into the mudpit

Stacie Conrad, 6:15 PM 😮 what a terrible person but you really shouldn’t have your phone with you when working near such dangerous sites who knows what could happen?

Aubrey Posen, 6:16 PM A rogue Bella with a plan?

Stacie Conrad, 6:17 PM but you looked so good covered in mud 😍

Aubrey Posen, 6:18 PM so you’ll forgive me if the first person in my new phone isn’t the same person who got me all muddy 😠

Stacie Conrad, 6:19 PM 😘 so, you in for Copenhagen? Chloe said you’d be

Aubrey Posen, 6:20 PM Yes

Stacie Conrad, 6:21 PM Awes! You know… now that you have a picture of me, I feel like the nice thing to do would be to send me a picture of you

Aubrey Posen, 6:22 PM I just got out of the shower

Stacie Conrad, 6:22 PM wow you skipped right past the pictures and buildup and went straight to sexting? woman after my heart does this mean you’re in a towel right now?

Aubrey Posen, 6:23 PM No, it means that I’m not sending you a picture. Good night.

Stacie Conrad, 6:24 PM good night??? it’s like 6pm

Aubrey Posen, 6:24 PM I have plans

Stacie Conrad, 6:25 PM with someone or something? 😈😈

Aubrey Posen, 6:25 PM I’m not going to tell you

Stacie Conrad, 6:26 PM I’ll just start imagining things

Aubrey Posen, 6:27 PM I know; that’s why.

Stacie Conrad, 6:27 PM oh Aubrey you don’t know what you’ve just started

Aubrey Posen, 6:27 PM I think I do 😉

Stacie Conrad, 6:28 PM a WINKY emoji huh? wow okay well you enjoy your night. think of me when you light a candle for the mood. first rehearsal is next thursday at 6 in the auditorium. pls bring running shoes because beca wants to punish you with cardio

Aubrey Posen, 6:29 PM I don’t consider any type of exercise a punishment

Stacie Conrad, 6:29 PM so many responses, so little time

Aubrey Posen, 6:29 PM And now you’ve wasted your comeback. Goodnight Stacie.

Stacie Conrad, 6:29 PM byeee

Stacie groans at the sound of her phone chiming with an incoming message, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow while cursing herself for leaving her ringer on instead of silencing it like she she does every day before bed, and she’s about to fall back asleep when another message comes in.

She cracks open an eye to glance around the small room, whining softly when she notices that it’s not entirely light outside yet and cursing whomever is up at the early hour and sending her messages.

She desperately wants to ignore her phone and go back to sleep but there’s a small, niggling part in her that can’t leave it be, and the knowledge that there’s somebody texting piques her curiosity and won’t allow her to [rest] so she rolls back and flails for the phone somewhere on her night stand.

She flinches when she screen lights up, squinting at the sender of messages and both eyes widening when she reads who the texts are from.

Aubrey Posen, 6:57 AM Good morning! {img attachment}

Stacie sobers up at the sight of Aubrey’s smiling face, her hair pulled back into a neat ponytail and wearing minimal make up, clearly wide awake and standing outside because Stacie can see the lake behind her and the glint of the rising sun reflected on the surface of the water.

She slides back down into bed, curling up as she types out a quick response, her own smile never budging as she hits send.

Stacie Conrad, 7:01 AM VERY cute! but waaaay too early so goodbye

more to follow soon!

#k8 writes #staubrey #stacie conrad #aubrey posen #staubreyfic #pitch perfect fanfiction #proof of concept #yes i may very tentatively be back #gift fic

52 notes · View notes

tfw-no-tennis · 4 years ago

Text

mtmte liveblog issue 9

back at it again, and its time for the shadowplay arc, HELL yeah

oh I'm so excited i love this arc lets DO this

oooh its nightbeat and quark!! way before they become relevant, which is so cool

‘one of those recepticon fanatics’ lmao imagine if they were...the recepticons. just doesn't have the same ring to it

god i fucking love all the politics of mtmte. i love how they’re talking about the senate here before we really get to See how bad they were (we heard a bit about it from whirl a few issues ago, and now here)

love how nightbeat is pretty much agreeing with the decepticon ideology here, even if its clear that he isn't Actually a decepticon - it just drives home the fact that, in this story, The Decepticons Were Right About A Lot Of That Stuff (or at least, they had a reason other than ‘destruction’ for rebelling).

AND THEN THERES RUNG!!!!!!! WITH HIS MODEL OF THE LOST LIGHT....god i fuckgin LOVE the continuity in this story bc the first time reading this ur like oh ok rung is old yea makes sense...but then later all the time travel stuff happens and then its like OHHHHH

damn poor rung nightbeat can rlly tell he's lonely just by looking at him vbhjdkdfhbjsjkdf geez. also nightbeat that's ur mystery stick bf from the future js!!

quarks extreme POV on all of the stuff is so interesting, and makes so much sense bc of Course he would think that as a non-combatant scientist who, due to his functional value in current society, wouldn't really benefit much from a revolution - in fact, he’d probably lose a lot. and that’s the sort of thing where you’re like, ok well think about everyone else dude, have some perspective - but at the same time, quark did suffer a pretty terrible fate, so his fears weren't entirely unfounded...augh, its so fascinating...im sorry I'm not gonna shut up about space robot politics this Entire time

HOW did nobody notice that dead body before now

ratchet spray-painting the hands he stole from pharma to match his own paintjob is like...kinda gruesome if you think about it hvbhsjkdfbkjdf

i love rewind sooo much oh my god

he rlly stashed rung’s comatose body in a wheelchair behind the bar hbkjdhfbshjkdf rewind

rewind and chromedome’s tag-team explanation....ough hhhhh THEM

wait a sec, rewind, you have medical records in your database? that is, at least according to regular medical laws, very illegal lmao. my favorite long-running theme in mtmte: the fact that hipaa and osha laws on cybertron are either basically nonexistent, or just universally disregarded

what the actual fuck is up w/cybertronian time units. that shit is wack as hell

ooh i love how chromedome looks different in the flashback - no shoulder tires! - that's a cool detail

how come prowl just said ‘minute,’ rewind was busting it up w/all the wack ass fantasy time units just a second ago. geez

also goddd i love the scenery of pre-war cybertron, its SUCH a cool setting like, visually and aesthetically and politically

like, i adore details like the sign in the bg that says ‘everyone’s shape serves a purpose.’ really adds to the ‘society on the precipice of civil war currently controlled by an increasingly-desperate faction who are doling out propaganda like crazy in an attempt to maintain their image and control over the populace’ vibe

good ole murder mystery setup. love it!

pre-war prowl is such an interesting character. actually prowl in general is such an interesting character...I kinda wrote him off during my first read of mtmte (and even a little during my second readthru) as just this dude who’s an asshole (espec bc my prev tf experience involved watching tfa as a kid, and this prowl is very different from tfa prowl lol)...but prowl is SUCH a multi-faceted and interesting character, even in the relatively little we see of him in mtmte

plus it was interesting to learn later that prowl was one of the characters that jro wanted for mtmte and didn't get, and MAN i wish he got prowl bc I would've loved to see what jro would've done w/prowl on the lost light, that would've been amazing. like, just imagine the arc he would have...I have no idea what that arc would BE, but I know it would be awesome. plus I’d be really interested to see how prowl would factor in, relationships-wise, amongst the crew of the lost light. so much potential!

anyways. I'm in a very talky mood tonight it seems. its currently 4 am so that kinda explains it. ok, moving on!

chromedome and prowl bantering....in their own morbid forensic-cop way...

skids bvhjdbsfjasf. speaking what we’re all thinking: is prowl gonna keep showing up in mtmte despite not technically being part of the cast??

swerves drawing of prowl lmaoooo

AND THEN REWIND IN SOME OF MY FAVORITE MTMTE PANELS....fuckgin cracks me up every time god. rewind was rlly about to flip their entire ass table just to demonstrate that prowl is a serial table-flipper...and then he cant even make the table budge and he just stares at his hands like ‘how could you betray me like this’ hvbajkhhsfdhksdf PEAK hilarity

drift hvbshfdjbasdfj his forcibly cheery expression even tho he’s being harassed by rodimus, who is a big whiny toddler w/drift lmao

rodimus is the type of guy who, upon drift not replying to one of his texts, would post a whole twitter thread being all like ‘these days u cant trust any1 to hav ur back...u think u kno someone and then they just ghost you...(1/14)’

again, rewind, HOW and WHY do you just Have medical reports, oh my god, somebody please call a hipaa agent I’m scared,

ratchet interrupting the story to give a quick medical PSA....that's Such an on-brand thing for Me to do that I feel like jro is assigning me ratchet kin as I read this

also, hey, its sonic and boom, those two decepticons from delphi! nice little continuity there

AND HERES ORION PAX SUPER COP

can’t believe idw made my dad optimus prime into a cop. smh. shouldn't be that shocked tho, I feel like half the idw characters are cops

orion rlly hit them w/the omae wa mo shinderu arrest strat

orion: I cant believe you're beating this guy up. anyways, now I'm gonna beat YOU up,

when ratchet puts his hand over drifts mouth and then gets spray paint on drifts face bhjdfsvsdjhfgbjdskf

pre-war ratchet and drift ;_; ratchet’s little inspirational speech...the fact that he tells drift that he’s special...the fact that drift remembered all of this even after 4 million+ yrs...it gets me bro it GETS me

ALSO the layers in the fact that drift then goes on to become a well-known murderous decepticon...so this little scene of him and ratchet in the past gives a lot of context to ratchet’s general attitude towards drift - ratchet clearly feels at least somewhat responsible for all the blood on drift’s hands, since he saved drift’s life way back in the day

the whole relinquishment clinic thing is such cool worldbuilding, bc of course that's the kind of thing that would develop in a society of robot aliens who are only allowed to work within the rigid confines of their alt mode

I love the whole matrix thing bc its kinda like being the pope or st but also you have a ton of political sway, so its a super important position, so of Course the corrupt senate would want full control over that power, and would assassinate the current prime to try to get their own guy in

god vhbhjsdkbgshjdf rodimus is such a dick lmao poor drift

HHHHH I love that the cybertronian version of an autopsy is taking the dudes body apart into the smallest components and laying them all out. that's so fucking cool

hmmmm chromedome maybe you should Not be interested in mnemology, how about that,

oh god. time to start being sad about op and senator shockwave. oh god

senator shockwave more like senator sexy

also the first time I read this I thought I had just missed his name and like halfway thru the story I went back and scoured the pages looking for it hbvhsjdfbshgfdsbj then I was like oh ok so we’re maybe supposed to just know who this guy is from another comic? but NOPE it was very deliberate and I only realized very close to the end that they were setting up some sort of reveal

its funny bc normally I'm not a huge fan of stories where politics play a huge role but I fuckgin love it here, the politics and worldbuilding is all so interesting and also balanced out with a healthy dose of cool sci-fi hijinks, so

lmao there's chromedome being obsessed w/people making the ‘pfft’ sound

also wow yet more hindsight, maybe you Shouldn’t be so interested in the Institute, chromedome,

OHHHH shit I forgot abt the red alert stuff happening at the same time as this :( :( :(

AUGHHH what a fucked up situation. god

oooof i gotta continue now!! what a solid issue, I love the shadowplay arc

#lj rereads mtmte

3 notes · View notes

old-memoria · 3 years ago

Text

I accept my fate

Mental health... it’s scares me

#prev tags but I’m going to see a doctor tomorrow.. what even is my life at this point #if it’s a mental disorder then well im fucked (and I’m pretty sure it is)#because you don’t just become sad unmotivated and sleepy out of nowhere... and I hate myself for it I wish I could be just normal #+ I remember just before it started (in December/ January) I was very active upbeat skipping from one hyperfixation to another and it felt #nice actually the only thing that concerned me was that I couldn’t fall asleep for shit. like.. when it’s 3am and you’re just can’t stop #thinking about smth and you can’t fall asleep bc of this so you’re lying awake till 6am at best #and then in the morning you’re a bit slow but still don’t feel a need to sleep it was nasty #my fucking brain just couldn’t stop working lmao #and now it’s the opposite... I’m sick and tired of everything but nothing wrong has happened it’s just a mood swing

10 notes · View notes

wikiangela · 8 months ago

Text

wip wednesday

tagged by @tizniz 💖

more of the will talk fic bc they're finally talking about it and this is so close to being done! (hopefully🤞 as always it's getting longer than expected haha)

prev snippet

___

"(...) He- he didn’t even tell me until like a year later, when he-” Buck takes a sharp breath, an even more unpleasant memory replacing the previous one. Suddenly he can feel the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, and the rough asphalt scraping his hands, and he needs to take a deep breath. Tommy tightens his arm around him, maybe he can feel Buck tensing up, can sense that whatever he's about to say is upsetting. “After he got shot.” Buck finally whispers.

“You know,” Tommy starts, his tone bright and casual but gentle, clearly wanting to lighten the mood, always just knowing what Buck needs, and Buck’s so grateful. He doesn’t want to talk about all those traumatic things now, that’s a whole other topic, that they scratched the surface of already, and soon they’d go deeper, but not today. Today it’s just for context for the other important conversation they’re having. “I’m starting to think I lucked out that I left the 118. You guys seem to be cursed or something.” he teases, pressing a gentle kiss to Buck’s temple, and an easy, breathy laugh bubbles out of Buck, tension leaving his body, as he melts against his boyfriend.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @thebravebitch @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @watchyourbuck

@eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @wildlife4life

@diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @weewootruck

@loveyouanyway @spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff

@alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @nmcggg @rogerzsteven @hippolotamus @bidisasterevankinard

@giddyupbuck @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @underwaterninja13 @exhuastedpigeon

@911-on-abc @jesuisici33 @steadfastsaturnsrings @buddieswhvre @fortheloveofbuddie

@your-catfish-friend @theotherbuckley @daffi-990 @dangerpronebuddie @hoodie-buck

@aroeddiediaz @diazsdimples @spotsandsocks

69 notes · View notes

livingthroughchoices-blog · 6 years ago

Text

The Marshmallow Chronicles (Ch. 16: The Beaumont Bash) *NSFW*

Prev | Next

Author’s notes: Right. So I am SUPER nervous about this chapter bc it’s the most different and the one I’ve added the most stuff to so far. I really hope you like it omg. It’s also the longest yet. As always, I’m deeply sorry if you have to scroll through this on the app, but as of now, there’s nothing I can do about it /:

Thanks to all who like, reblog and/or comment, you guys keep me going! And especially to @starstruckzonkoperatorbat, @notoriouscs, @simplyaiden-blog, @snyggflicka, @asprankle, @speedyoperarascalparty, @mirivalencia, @mymandrake, @asobigokoro2018, @krisnicjack and @fabi-en-ciel for asking me to tag them! Please let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged (:

I love you and I reaaally hope this is okay.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mention of depression, suicide.

Rating: NSFW

Pairing: Drake x MC

Words: 8,059

As he got ready for the Beaumont Bash, Drake was aware of feeling an aching thirst for alcohol. He figured getting wasted was his best chance at surviving the unbearable sight of Liam and Riley together and might even stop him from thinking about her all night.

With this in mind, he poured himself a glass of the unopened bottle of whiskey Liam had given him for his birthday. He swallowed with savage pleasure, as if Liam could know he was ignoring his request to share it with friends.

He debated whether to pour himself a second glass, then decided against it; he’d been to enough Beaumont parties to know this would be a long night. He should pace himself.

Having thrown his usual outfit on, he barely glanced at the mirror, not really caring much at all about his appearance tonight.

It’s not like anyone will be looking.

He trudged down to the ballroom, only to find Lady Kiara at the foot of the stairs. In his current mood, he gladly would have avoided her, but it was unfortunately the only way down.

Nevertheless, he tried to keep their meeting short and discourage conversation by saying, “Lady Kiara,” as curtly as possible and not stopping.

He wasn’t fast enough, though, as a hand seized his forearm before he could make his getaway.

“And where do you think you’re going, Monsieur Walker?” she asked with a smirk. “I haven’t forgotten your promise of a legendary night, tu comprends?”

Oh fuck, not this. Why did I have to open my goddamn mouth?

Drake extricated his arm as politely as he could and averted his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I comprends or whatever.” This made Kiara giggle, so he added a very discouraging, “We’ll see,” for good measure.

He burst into the ballroom, eager to fade into the crowd and get drunk by himself. And who should be there to welcome here other than Riley. She was wearing a midnight blue dress that made her skin look radiant and her eyes a deeper color than usual. Her hair was up in an elegant bun. Drake privately decided – I shouldn’t even be thinking about this – that he preferred it down, but there was no denying she looked beautiful either way.

Of fucking course. Can’t have a moment of peace around here. Does she always have to look so... so...

His frustration was such that he couldn’t come up with a single word for her; he came up with too many. He realized he’d pursed his lips and balled his fists when he’s seen her. He relaxed as he stepped up to her.

“Welcome to the Beaumont Bash...” she said with a grin.

You’d think nothing happened yesterday.

“You’ll recognize some of these fine floral arrangements as yours...” she gestured to the centerpieces.

“Heh. After yesterday, I was skeptical about this place being ready in time, but...” he looked around the lavish room, appraising it. “Looks like you’re about to have an actual party here.”

“I know, right?” said Riley excitedly. She gave him a once over, seeing him fully for the first time. “Though... you don’t look like you’re dressed for the occasion.”

Drake opened his arms as if on display. “You don’t like my look? This shirt’s clean.”

Riley sighed and rolled her eyes. “I guess that’s the most I should expect. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dress up for these fancy events. It might be a nice change of pace.”

The comment stung more than it should have.

Well, what did you expect? She’s marrying a prince! Why wouldn’t she think you look like crap? Anyway, me? Dressed like a fucking noble? No way.

He shrugged studiously. “Eh. Fashion is subjective. Besides, people are here to see the Prince, not me.” He attempted to keep the bitterness out of his voice at that last part; it was just a fact, after all. He thought he’d been successful until he saw Riley was shaking his head sadly at him.

He was about to reassure her that he didn’t mind, when Hana bounded up to them. She waved at him with a smile and he returned her greeting with the most cheerful nod he could muster. He felt an arm around his shoulder and turned to see Maxwell had joined them as well.

“Riley! Maxwell! I’ve never been to the Beaumont estate before. This looks wonderful,” admired Hana.

Maxwell replied, “Thank you, Hana...” as Drake shrugged his arm off.

“And you look lovely tonight, Riley,” said Hana, her eyes shining as she took in Riley’s elegant figure.

Riley beamed and returned the compliment, “As always, you look gorgeous too!”

Hana blushed deeply. To the unsuspecting eye, she might just seem like someone who was not used to receiving compliments, but Drake knew better; the corners of her lips were twitching and it was clear to him she was fighting back a smitten smile.

Luckily for Hana, at that moment, the waiters started bringing out the appetizers.

“Our creations!” Maxwell whispered.

“I hope people like them...” said Riley, biting her lip.

Lady Kiara, who was just behind them, wondered aloud, “Uhh... what is this dish?” when the waiter handed her one, along with a napkin.

Maxwell, doing his best pompous celebrity chef impression, explained, “What you have there is a deconstructed delicacy of caviar cultivated from pampered hake fish of the Swedish fjords with paprika harvested from a micro-nursery in Provence.”

Lady Penelope had bitten into it halfway through Maxwell’s bluffing description and now exclaimed, “Wow... so fancy... I like them! Spicy, salty, definitely unique.”

Encouraged by her friend’s reaction, Lady Kiara gave it a small bite too. “Mmmm... It reminds me of when I dined at the top of la Tour Eiffel in Paris! Did you use the same chef?”

She looked so impressed, Drake almost snorted.

Rich people. Throw some food together, call it something fancy and they're happy.

“Someone comparable,” choked out Maxwell, obviously holding back laughter.

The suitors moved on to mingling with other nobles and Maxwell turned to his friends, “Well, the reactions to our appetizers seem mostly positive.”

“They like the food? Really?” Riley’s smile was almost ear to ear. “I can’t believe we pulled that off.”

“Yeah. I really thought this would be a complete disaster,” agreed Drake.

“I told you... it’s all in the marketing!” Maxwell gave him finger guns.

Drake’s snide response was interrupted by the arrival of his two least favorite people – or should I say my least favorite snake and possessed murder doll.

Judging by the grimace on Riley’s face, which she quickly covered up with a reluctant smile, she felt the same way. “Duchess Olivia... Countess Madeleine... welcome.”

Hell no.

Maxwell seemed to be thinking similarly, for he walked away from the group with Drake.

They each grabbed a glass of champagne.

“To not being a part of that conversation,” toasted Drake.

Maxwell chuckled and clinked his glass, saying, “Oh, come on, Drake, they’re not that bad. Olivia has been very loyal to Liam.”

“So? Doesn’t change the fact she’s about as pleasant as a root canal. And don’t get me started on Madeleine!”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Are you kidding? I’d trust her as far as I could throw... Liam; I could probably throw her pretty far, actually. At least Olivia’s open about how terrible she is.”

“That’s a fair point,” Maxwell conceded. “She’s definitely crafty.”

“That’s one way to put it."

Noticing Madeleine and Olivia had moved on, Maxwell and Drake returned to where Riley and Hana were standing.

“Welcome, everyone,” rang out Bertrand’s clear voice. “If you’ll please take your seats, dinner will begin shortly.”

"That’s my cue. I have a seat in the back,” Drake said, pointing to his table, “so I’ll see you after dinner.”

“And I’d better go and take my seat with the other ladies,” chimed in Hana.

Riley pouted, “I wish we could have all sat together.”

Drake touched her arm lightly. “Hey, don’t look so disappointed, Addams. You’re sitting with royalty. I learned a long time ago I don’t fit in there.” He sighed in resignation. “But don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be able to handle one dinner without us.”

“Right...” Riley replied dubiously.

"We’ll catch up later!” Hana reassured her.

On his way to his unglamorous table, Drake overheard Olivia whine, “What am I doing back here?” He automatically made eye contact with Riley across the room and they both burst into laughter.

Still chucking he sat down at a table with Bastien and other guards.

He tuned out most of the conversation throughout the meal, focusing instead on the food and drink. He had to admit, dinner hadn’t been half bad, considering it was fancy rich people nonsense. The champagne was the best part, though.

Feeling slightly less grumpy thanks to the food and – in large part – to the alcohol, he felt ready to start a conversation.

"So, Bastien,” he turned to his right, “did you find the person behind the photos?”

“Not yet. I haven’t been able to get ahold of the reporter to whom they were being sold,” the older man grimaced, clearing his plate.

“Bummer.” What Bastien had said reminded Drake of something else. “Oh, hey, what’s this I hear about a reporter being caught inside the grounds at the Manor? It it true?”

He gathered from Bastien’s exasperated sigh that it was.

“What the hell, Bastien?! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was under the impression that I reported to Prince Liam, not to you,” Bastien snapped with ice in his voice.

Drake was momentarily hurt into silence. The fact that he’d specifically said he reported to Liam instead of King Constantine seemed designed to make him feel smaller. Bastien sighed again and put a hand on his shoulder; Drake resisted the urge to brush it off.

“It was nothing, all right? I figured you had enough on your mind and didn’t want to add to it because of a meaningless incident. She was caught and promptly escorted out. End of story.”

“How can you be sure she didn’t do anything? Take pictures or... I don’t know.”

“Drake, we made sure, trust me.”

Bastien met his eyes earnestly. Drake felt ashamed at having doubted his old friend.

Why would he tell you anyway? What have you ever done?

He shook his head as if to rid himself of that spiteful little voice.

"I have had a lot on my mind lately,” he admitted. “What with Liam’s Coronation, and Riley–”

“I see Lady Kiara is still taken with you.”

“Wh-what?”

He whipped his head around to the suitors’ table and saw Lady Kiara engrossed in a conversation with Hana.

“What are you talking about? She’s not even looking this way.”

“You just missed it.” Bastien clicked his tongue regretfully. “I think she’d be good for you, if you don’t mind my saying.”

“Uh, really?”

“Definitely! She is charming and intelligent, and I’m sure I have heard you mention her physical, er, attributes.”

“Yeah, Bastien, she’s hot, you can say it.”

“I will not. But I hope you take my meaning.”

“Now that the dessert course has been served, the grand hall is now open,” came Bertrand’s voice from the main table. “Please join us there for the after-dinner festivities!”

Standing up, Bastien patted his shoulder before leaving the ballroom along with his men to take his position in the main hall, where the party was to be held. Drake filed out of the ballroom alone and stood among the crowd anonymously as Bertrand continued giving unnecessary speeches.

“Citizens, nobles, friends, we’ve gathered here today to celebrate the end of the social season. So if you’ll hear me out, I’d like to share a few words...”

At this point, Drake’s attention drifted.

There’s only so much noble rambling I can take in one night.

He looked around and spotted Liam at the very front with his family. He wasn’t eager to join the King and Queen, so he kept searching the crowd. Hana was carrying what seemed like a tiresome conversation with Lady Penelope. Drake shuddered.

I’d rather be alone than talk about poodles.

Left with no other choices, he looked for Maxwell.

Disconcerted, he realized his friend was not part of the crowd.

Where the hell is he?

Bertrand’s voice, once again, broke through his confusion, “... and so, with all of House Beaumont with me, let us propose a toast!”

Drake finally spotted Maxwell coming up the stairs carrying a mace. Close behind him – his eyes widened – was Riley, valiantly hauling a battle axe that looked like it weighed about as much as she did.

“To our gracious royal family...” Bertrand continued.

“To all those here tonight!” Maxwell added.

“And to the PARTTYYYY!” Riley yelled, hoisting the battle axe up precariously. “Let’s rock this place to the ground!”

“YEEEAAAHHH!” Maxwell pumped his fists.

He swung the mace at the champagne, shattering the bottle.

“We’ve never let a lost bottle stop us before. Bring out another!” called Bertrand to the staff.

“WOOOOOOOO!” Maxwell was almost buzzing with frantic energy, his hand and bottom half soaked in champagne.

Riley gripped her axe and sliced with difficulty at the bottle. Perhaps because it was so heavy and thus she had very little momentum, she managed to hack the cork clean off. Champagne immediately bubbled out and she took a drink directly from it. Beginner’s luck, scoffed Drake, though he had to admit to being a little impressed.

Maxwell, on the other hand, was very impressed, and possibly a bit jealous, “Whoa... It took me much longer to master that move.”

“From all of us at House Beaumont... thank you!” Bertrand brandished the bottle Riley had opened at the crowd and they cheered in unison. Waiters marched into the room with tray upon tray of champagne.

Thank God.

Drake’s pleasant buzz had begun to subside and he knew he was only a few sober minutes away from getting sulky.

Meanwhile, Maxwell had raced to the top of the stairs.

“... Maxwell!” Bertrand said.

“What?” Maxwell called back.

“Let the revelry begin!”

“AWWWWWWWWW YEAH!” yelled the younger Beaumont, sliding down the banister.

Deafening pop music blared all around the room, and professional dancers and acrobats, dressed in colorful, circus-like costumes, made their entrance. The room now felt twice as crowded.

Drake stood in his spot, back against the wall, gulping down the champagne he’d snagged from a passing waiter. He didn’t notice his friends walking over to him until Liam spoke, “So, enjoying the party, Drake?”

“It’s been less than two minutes, and my ears hurt...” he grumbled.

Liam elbowed him, “Come on, Drake, you usually give it at least five minutes before tapping out.”

I usually don’t have a crush on the girl you’re marrying.

“There’s so much happening,” Hana marveled.

Drake rolled his eyes. “That’s the problem.”

As if on cue, he heard Bertrand shout, “Bring out the horses!”

“The horses!” Maxwell echoed.

“The horses?! You’re bringing horses in here?!” Riley asked over the music.

“Who’s ready for a little horse riding?” Bertrand led the horses to the center of the room.

“I am!” Maxwell piped up.

“Great...” Drake shook his head. He hated this tradition of theirs. The poor horses couldn’t understand what was happening and were obviously spooked.

Fucking nobles and their “eccentricities”.

Maxwell, already mounted, asked, “Who will be my partner?”

“How about our king-to-be?” suggested Bertrand.

“I nominate Drake as my proxy.”

If looks could kill, Cordonia would have found itself without an heir. Liam held back a laugh at Drake’s irritation, but the latter merely said, “Oh, no, you’re not forcing me into the saddle tonight.”

Hana chose that moment to say, “I vote for Riley!”

“Riley!” Maxwell repeated.

“Come on up then, Lady Riley.” Bertrand offered her his hand. “Your saddle awaits.”

Riley was helped onto the horse, which whinnied uneasily. “Easy, girl.”

Riley scratched the horse’s mane and that seemed to help calm it down. She then led it in a gentle turn around the room.

She and Maxwell waved at the crowds.

"My fellow Cordonians, take a picture!” Riley proclaimed. “I want everyone to see my noble horseback pose.”

Drake snorted at that. She wasn’t a bad rider and her pose was not terrible but it was a far cry from “noble” as she put it. Not for the first time, he found himself wishing he could teach her better, before clamping down on that dumb instinct.

“Phones are not allowed inside these parties. Nobody wants to see embarrassing pictures of themselves in the news.”

Bertrand was right; phones were not allowed and yet... there were always exceptions, weren’t there? He thought back to Maxwell’s video of him dancing to Hayley Rose and felt his face grow warm. A lot more sinister were the pictures of the bachelor party that someone had tried to sell for profit.

“I’ll take mental pictures for you,” Hana consoled her.

After going around the room once more for their adoring fans, Maxwell said, “We should let some others ride around on the horses.”

“Fair enough.” Riley dismounted and made a beeline for Drake.

“Drake! I feel like I haven’t see you all day.”

That’s ‘cause I’ve been avoiding you.

“Well, you’re seeing me know,” he replied, noncommittal, looking down at his champagne.

“Yeah and guess what? I wish your face didn’t look like you just swallowed a lemon.”

He looked up sharply at that, eyes narrowed, and Riley laughed. As per usual, her laugh was too contagious to resist and he ended up chuckling along.

“See? That’s better,” she smiled and brushed her fingers against his. He stopped laughing instantly.

“I need a drink.”

“Me too! I’ll come with!”

He groaned a little but could think of no way to dissuade her without hurting her feelings, so he let her follow him to the makeshift bar.

He opened his mouth to order whiskey, when Riley elbowed him aside and spoke over him. “Do not give this man whiskey. Do not. We’ll have two shots instead.”

The bartender looked at her expectantly. When Riley didn’t elaborate, he asked, “Shots of what?”

“Surprise us.” Riley turned to Drake and smiled with that mischievous glint in her eyes. “Scared, Drake?”

“Pff, I can drink you under the table, no problem.”

“Then how about a bet?”

“What? Another one? We both have bets we never settled!”

“Then I guess they cancel each other out!”

“You just wanna get out of paying up, Addams.”

“How dare you! I’ll remember this insult against my honor when you lose, you know?”

Drake put on a whiny voice and begged, “Oh, please don’t, I’m so scared. I’m sorry I insulted your honor, Lady Riley the Waitress.”

“That’s Head Waitress to you, grumpy commoner.”

They were so busy trying to stare each other down, they didn’t realize their shots were ready. The bartender cleared his throat awkwardly.

Drake turned to him, “Er, right sorry,” and grabbed the two shot glasses.

Handing Riley hers, he proposed, “Okay, how about whoever makes a face or shows any difficulty in swallowing this, loses?”

Riley put on her best poker face, though he noticed her lips were still twitching. “You’re on.”

They clinked their glasses, maintaining eye contact the whole time – I have to, for the bet! – and then threw their heads back. The base was definitely vodka. Drake had only negative experiences from his teenage years to associate with that spirit, but he powered through his body’s rejection of it.

Riley was not faring as well; for a moment it seemed like she might actually throw it back up. In the end, she managed to keep it down, but she couldn’t help the pronounced grimace on her face as she did.

“HA! I knew it!”

“No! I demand a redo! I cannot handle vodka, okay? My body hates it!”

“Rules are rules, Addams, don’t tell me you’d back down from a bet? Surely your honor wouldn’t allow it,” he teased.

She took a step forward, “Well, maybe I’m not so honorable...”

Drake licked his lips unconsciously. “Neither am I.”

He hadn’t realized when it happened, but his breath had quickened. He felt his hand rising as if of its own accord, reaching toward her, to touch her.

A familiar tall figure was approaching them from behind Riley.

“I better go. Wouldn’t want to interrupt your time with the prince,” Drake said, leaving hurriedly back to the bar and ordering whiskey.

Leaning against it, he had a prime view of Liam and Riley talking. He went to take a swig of his whiskey only to find it empty. He ordered another one straight away. When the bartender handed it to him, he saw Olivia interrupt the couple.

Yes! Go Olivia! Oh my God, what the fuck. I’m actually happy to see Olivia.

Before leaving with a person that Drake considered to be in his personal bottom three and yet felt like hugging right now, Liam kissed Riley on the cheek. Drake downed his whiskey and ordered the next.

The rest of the party went by in a blur of alcohol, dancing – or, in Drake’s case, being forced to dance by Maxwell – and crazy hijinks, like trying to shoot an arrow through an apple on a bust’s head.

Nobody could do it. They hit other things, though... The bust, mostly. But there was an exciting moment when Penelope, swaying, very nearly hit Maxwell. He wouldn’t have been badly hurt – the arrows were blunt – and it hadn’t even brushed him, yet he still took it upon himself to act out a Shakespearean death scene, much to everyone’s amusement.

Drake hadn’t even tried. His level of drunkenness paired with how bad he was at archery at the best of times was a recipe for disaster; even drunk him knew that.

The party felt like it was winding down. Lady Kiara was sitting on the floor in the corner, moaning, “Too... too much... Je ne me sens pas bien.”

Penelope, in the meantime, was leaning against one of the horses, going, “You know, horse. You and I have so much in common... hair, bodies, an adoration of poodles. You’re like my equine soulmate.” She seemed to doze off at that point.

Liam and Olivia were chatting in very loud voices. Well, Olivia was; Liam was talking maybe a tiny bit louder than he normally would, but his cheeks were far more rosy than usual.

Bertrand was sitting against a column with an empty champagne bottle in one hand – Drake didn’t doubt he’d drank it all himself – and a sword in the other.

“We gave those apples what for,” he said proudly to no one in particular.

Maxwell, to no one’s surprise, was still dancing while Riley and Hana looked on, amazed at his energy.

Drake walked over, hoping the fact that everyone was pretty drunk meant he could go. “It’s over. I’m finally free.”

Maxwell stopped dancing and wheeled around to face Drake. “What do you mean ‘it’s over’? The party is just getting started.”

“Lady Penelope is literally talking to a horse,” he nodded toward her. “The party has done its job.”

"Your mane is so soft,” she was saying as she ran her fingers through it. “You have to tell me who does your hair.”

“Back home, this was always about the time we’d break out a game of Truth or Dare, but I bet you guys are too classy for that!” Riley raised an eyebrow.

“You’d be betting wrong! I love Truth or Dare.”

Of course Maxwell would love a party game.

“’Truth or Dare’?” Hana met Drake’s eyes; they both seemed to be thinking the same thing: Truths could mean trouble. “That sounds dangerous...”

“Well... only if you have something to hide...” shrugged Riley. Drake almost laughed. “Or a fear of embarrassing stunts...”

She looked at Hana beseechingly and the latter couldn’t resist, “It sounds... Fun!”

Normally, Drake wouldn’t blame her, he knew by now how powerless he was to resist Riley’s requests but...

Dammit, Hana! Not after yesterday!

Riley took Hana’s hands, “I can’t believe you’ve never played! Now we’ve go to do it.”

Drake shook his head over and over. “Oh no. I’m not playing Truth or Dare.”

“Come on, Drake, we should do it for Hana,” pleaded Riley.

Hana backtracked politely, “I don’t want to pressure you guys into doing something on my behalf.”

“But I would!” said Maxwell. “Do it! Do it!”

“I see where this is going...” Drake was already rubbing his face tiredly, waiting for what he knew was coming.

“Drake! Drake! Drake!”

Aaand there it is. Does this man ever not chant?!

“Okay... fine. I’ll play, just stop chanting my name.”

“Whoohoo! Someone’s going streaking tonight!” Maxwell wiggled his eyebrows.

“We can play in my room!” Hana offered, and she led the way upstairs.

Drake and Maxwell followed suit. Riley, for all her talk, lingered behind.

Waiting for Liam?

He didn’t know what to feel if that was the case. On the one hand, relief that he wouldn’t have to play a risky drinking game with her; on the other, pure, uncontrollable jealousy.

Who am I kidding? I’m no closer to controlling this stupid crush than I am to controlling the fucking weather.

To his immense relief and despite his hesitancy to play Truth or Dare with her, Riley joined them soon in Hana’s room. They were all sitting crosslegged on the floor in a circle. Riley took a spot between Hana and Maxwell, facing Drake.

“This is so exciting! How do we start?” asked Hana.

“Usually with a few drinks,” Drake replied.

“Oooh, there’s a full bar!” said Hana, noticing it for the first time.

We are very different people.

“What do you guys want?” she asked.

“Make me something fruity and delicious!” requested Maxwell. “I know! I want Sex on the Beach!”

Hana’s hand went to her mouth, her cheeks turning red, “Oh my! I don’t think...”

“It’s a drink...” explained Maxwell hastily. “Never mind, I’ll make it myself.” He stood up and joined her at the minibar.

“I’ll just have–”

Riley cut Drake off, “Let me guess. Whiskey.”

Drake rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face heat up, “I’m getting predictable, aren’t I?”

“Maybe just a little bit,” she said with a small smile.

“What about you, Riley?” asked Hana.

“I’ll have a whiskey, too,” she winked at Drake, who couldn’t help grinning back.

Hana poured two whiskeys and a glass for champagne for herself, while Maxwell mixed himself a bright orange drink.

“Cheers, friends! Thank you for joining me tonight!” Hana extended her hand to the center of the circle.

“Cheers.” Drake followed.

Maxwell added, “To friendship!”

“To friendship!” agreed Riley, clinking her glass to the others’. “And Truth or Dare!”

Drake drank deeply, remembering what they were all there for. “Oh boy, this is going to be a long night.”

“Drinks have been accomplished! Now, what comes next?” Hana looked at them expectantly.

“Someone goes first,” said Maxwell.

“Addams should start.” Drake pointed at her. “This was her idea.”

Maxwell turned to her, “Okay, Riley... truth or dare?”

“I choose Truth.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Maxwell rubbed his hands together with relish. “I’ve got a great one for you. If you were stranded on a desert island, where you’ll never see anyone or any civilization ever again... Which one of us would you want with you?”

Riley pretended to think for a moment, tapping an exaggerated finger to her chin, then announced, “I’d want Drake!”

He could not have been more taken aback. He knew they were on good terms now, maybe even more than that if yesterday was anything to go by, but there was no denying he was a difficult person to be around, let alone be stuck with.

“Me? Be honest, Addams, you just want me there so I’m suffering as much as you are.”

“Mostly just to see how you’d look in a grass skirt,” she smirked.

“Hey!” Drake threw a nearby cushion at her, which she deflected with her arm, laughing.

“Ha ha!” Drake allowed Maxwell to laugh for a second before glaring at him.

“Just kidding. I think you’d be gruff and grumpy, but deep down, when it counts, you’d probably save me from a tiger or something,” continued Riley.

“Well, I’d feel terrible if a tiger ate my only companion,” joked Drake.

“And there wouldn’t be any nobles around, or courtly intrigue, or gossip...” Riley was now looking intensely at him, as if trying to say something other than what her words conveyed. “In fact, I think you might enjoy being stranded more than palace life.”

Staring into those hypnotizing blue eyes, all Drake could think was that he’d sell several body parts if it meant he could be alone with Riley anywhere. Even a deserted island.

The corner of his lip quirked up, “You never know.”

“Okay, Maxwell, it’s your turn.” Riley broke their eye contact before the others could wonder if there was something else to the innocent answer. “Truth or dare?”

“Dealer’s choice! I’m not afraid of anything!”

“Okay, then, tell us a secret that no one else knows about you.”

Maxwell’s bravado faded right away. “Aw, I’m an open book! Everyone knows everything about me!”

Drake scoffed, thinking back to how weird Maxwell had been just the day before. “Nope.”

He caught Riley’s eye and she nodded, remembering the same thing. “Not true at all.”

“We know almost nothing about you!” countered Hana.

“Well, all anyone ever had to do was ask. Okay, let’s see...” Maxwell reflected for a moment, then said, “I hate carousels.”

“Really?” asked Riley, incredulous. “I thought everyone loved carousels...”

Maxwell elaborated, “When I was little, the royal court took all the kids to a theme park for the Prince’s birthday. But when we were on the carousel, some reporters got in and mobbed us. The security team did their best to get us all out of there, but I was the last one they got to. So I was stuck on this dumb carousel for what seemed like forever with people taking pictures and shouting questions at me.”

He had a glassy look in his eyes, as if transported back to the horror of helplessly riding a fake horse round and round.

“I was only three... I had no idea what was really going on. And because our parents had spent so much time trying to warn us about dangers, I thought I was about to get murdered.”

Riley leaned her head on his shoulder, “Aww... Maxwell...”

He shook himself. “I’m fine. I was a long time ago.”

“Still...” Hana sounded disproportionately concerned.

“Aw, geez, this is why I don’t like to talk about serious stuff. I’m fine, you guys!” Maxwell reassured them. “Just forget it! Next up... Hana, truth or dare?”

It struck Drake that this was something Maxwell did all the time and he was an expert at it: seemingly divulging information about himself while at the same time withholding anything of meaning. The fact remained that he had no idea what his friend was going through right now and likely wouldn’t find out anytime soon if Maxwell insisted on bottling it up. Not that he was a model of mental health.

He turned his attention back to the game. Hana had just decided, “Oh... um... truth!”

“Tell us about your first kiss,” said Maxwell.

Hana bit her lip. “My first kiss?”

“You have been kissed, right?” Maxwell asked curiously.

Tactful.

Hana’s brow furrowed. “Yes, of course.”

“You were engaged, after all!” Riley shot Maxwell a reproachful look.

“Well... it was actually a very chaste courtship. Our first kiss was in front of a professional photographer for our engagement photo shoot. My parents were insistent that we publish a very public announcement in all of the papers. It was... somewhat awkward,” she finished, staring down at her hands.

“He wasn’t a great kisser?” grimaced Riley.

Hana sighed and said, “He missed.”

Drake had never been so confused. “Missed? How?”

“He kissed my ear. Well, he punctured his lip on my earring, actually. He started bleeding. I felt terrible. My parents were furious that he ruined my dress. It was a complete disaster.”

Drake had been about to burst out laughing, when he caught a subtle shake of Riley’s head.

Okay, not the time.

He carefully avoided looking at Maxwell, whom he knew would also be close to laughter. One glance and they’d both cave.

“Hana, you deserved a better first kiss than that!” Riley put her arm around Hana. Drake saw her smile in absolute delight, holding Riley’s hand.

“Thank you, Riley. But it wasn’t so bad. Looking back, it was actually pretty funny. I mean, who can miss that badly on a kiss?”

Feeling like he had permission, Drake laughed, expecting Maxwell to join him. However, he only gave a small, “Hah!”

Drake turned to him questioningly and Maxwell continued, “I know. I mean. What a loser...”

By now, Drake was excellent at knowing when his friend was hiding something. “Maxwell...”

Maxwell sighed and slumped his shoulders, “Okay, maybe I accidentally kissed someone’s chin but that’s, like, a totally understandable mistake, right? I mean, it’s right below the mouth...”

Hana did an amazing job of containing her laughter, only letting out a small giggle, “Hee hee. Yes, that’s completely normal.”

Riley and Drake however, were not so considerate, howling with laughter.

Annoyed after a minute of this, Maxwell talked loudly over their subsiding laughter, “Okay, my turn again! Riley, I dare you to go streak through the ballroom in your underwear!”

Uh oh.

The exact same thought seemed to have crossed Hana’s mind for her eyes widened and she glanced at Drake instantly. Fuck. I cannot see Addams in her underwear again. I might spontaneously combust.

Hana beat him to the punch, “That’s not fair! It’s not her turn.”

“Yeah, and she didn’t even choose ‘dare’,” Drake pointed out

“Well someone should streak tonight or this game is a bust. Come now, Riley, it’s your game. Who will it be?” asked Maxwell.

This time, she didn’t even pretend to think, “Drake.”

He rolled his eyes at her and felt his face grow warm.

“You trying to see me shirtless, Addams?”

“Not if you run fast enough!” she said cheerfully.

The group went down to the now deserted ballroom. The tables had already been cleared by the palace staff, leaving a vast, empty room perfect for something like running around half naked.

“The things I do for you people.” It had been his constant refrain lately, yet Drake had to admit that the phrase should be singular. It’s not like he’d do this just for Maxwell or Hana, as much as he liked them.

He took off his shirt and pants and stood there for a split second in his gray boxer briefs. He thought he saw Riley’s eyes glint.

Fuck it, let’s get this over with.

He sprinted the length of the room, the cool air feeling nice throughout his whole body. He realized he hadn’t known how drunk he was until this moment, when running proved more difficult than he’d anticipated. He managed not to trip, but it was a close thing.

“Woo! Go Drake!” Riley cheered from the other side of the room.

He ran back to them and stopped.

“Satisfied?”

“Yep!” said Maxwell, “Now what?”

Riley grinned. “I’m going to join in!”

For the love of God, NO.

She took her clothes off efficiently and yet even then, Drake couldn’t help but think how sexy her confidence was.

Fuck me, now she’s in her bra and undies. I’m gonna die. That’s it. RIP Drake Walker.

It took all of his concentration and strength not to look below her face at her amazing, perky breasts in a black bra; at her long, shapely legs; and most of all, at her ass, whose every tempting curve was hugged by her matching underwear.

“We can’t make Drake be the only one. Come on, Hana!” urged Riley.

Yes! Yes, that might make this feel more normal. More like a “friend” thing.

“Hee hee... okay! It does look fun!”

Hana took her clothes off as well. Drake barely registered her creamy underwear, although he would have to be an idiot not to see that she was a beautiful woman too.

“Let’s go!” Hana gestured for them to run.

Riley turned back, “Maxwell?”

“I’ll be the photographer.”

“Maxwell!”

“I mean, I’ll stand guard!”

The three of them took off running and immediately, Drake felt better. The other two were nothing but a blur and so he could be just a normal guy having fun with his friends, rather than a commoner pining for the prince’s fiancée-to-be.

“Wooooooooo!” squealed Riley.

“Freeeeeedom!” roared Drake.

Hana shouted, “Truth or Dare!”

They ran the length of the room twice and then collapsed next to Maxwell, out of breath and with spinning heads.

“Wow, that took a lot out of me,” mumbled Riley.

“Me too. I need to lie down.” said Hana, a hand on her head.

They returned to her room, carrying their clothes. The four friends threw themselves on Hana’s bed, resting for a moment. Drake found himself lying down next to Riley. Her head was resting on her arm and she was staring at him. She reached out and brushed his bare chest with her fingers.

He exhaled sharply and sprang off the bed. The others took this as a sign to do the same and got dressed. Riley stayed on the bed a moment longer, then put her clothes on as well.

“I can’t believe we just did that!” Hana was flushed and her hair was wilder than Drake had ever seen it. She also looked happier than ever.

Drake ruffled her hair further. “Ah, the magic of Truth or Dare.”

“This was so much fun tonight! Thank you,” she said to them all.

Riley smiled. “Any time.”

“Yeah, you know me. I don’t need much of an excuse to party.” Maxwell did the robot.

“And I’m... still not sure why I came this time, but I guess I’d do it again.” It had been a risk, and it had almost gotten too dangerous, but nothing happened.

“Drake, I think we’re graduating from friends to best friends!” Hana beamed.

Drake put his hands up defensively, “Whoa, whoa, whoa... Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I dunno, man. We all drink together, goof off together, spend most of our time together...” Maxwell nudged him.

“No...”

Hana squeezed Drake’s arm. “It’s too late, Drake. We are best friends!”

“I guess I’m just going to have to accept this, huh?”

“It’s probably for the best. You could do much worse than the three of us,” said Riley.

Oh, I know. It’s you guys who should be thinking this twice.

“That’s true, isn’t it?” He sighed. “Okay. You got me.”

“Yay!” exclaimed Maxwell.

"Yay!” echoed Hana.

Drake crossed his arms. “Please tell me this isn’t a thing we do now.”

Riley patted his arm, reassuring him. “This is not a thing.”

“Thank God. At least someone still has some sanity.”

“I’ve got your back.” She gave him one last squeeze before letting go.

Hana stifled a yawn behind her hand.

“Okay... we should probably call it a night before we break Hana...” Maxwell said, concerned.

Hana nodded. “Good night! This has been a very memorable evening!” She waved goodbye to everyone as they prepared to leave her room.

“Good night, guys,” Drake said.

“G’night!” Riley repeated.

Once in the hallway, Maxwell went left, while Riley and Drake went the opposite way.

“So, that was fun, right?”

Drake only grunted in response, cursing nobles internally for having such big houses. He couldn’t be alone with her.

“What’s up with you? I feel like you’ve been avoiding me all day.”

“Uh, no, I haven’t.”

It wasn’t exactly convincing, but she couldn’t prove anything.

“Are you tired?”

Drake answered, “Nah,” before thinking, Shit. Why didn’t I just say yes?!

“Cool, me neither. Let’s have a drink.”

She pulled him into her room and he found that he didn’t feel like fighting her. Without asking, she poured them both whiskey and they sat down on a futon.

“Truth or Dare?” she asked softly.

“Dare.”

“Down your whiskey.”

“Come on, Addams, at least make it a challenge.” He was just bragging. His throat actually felt like it was on fire and his head hadn’t stopped spinning since the ballroom. He was extremely drunk already.

“Truth or Dare?” It was his turn to ask.

“Dare.”

“Same thing.”

She rolled her eyes at him and gulped down her drink. She managed to swallow all of it, but she had a coughing fit. He thumped her back, although he wasn’t sure that even did anything.

She stopped coughing, but he didn’t remove his hand; she didn’t seem to mind.

“Your turn.” Her voice was still hoarse from the whiskey.

“Truth.”

Fuck it. Hope this doesn’t bite me in the ass.

“Are you mad at me?”

Her voice was so small, he could barely keep himself from squeezing her.

I can’t even blame her for thinking that. I’m such an asshole.

“No. And I’m sorry for making you think that.”

She seemed to be waiting for him to add something, but that was as far as he was willing to go, so she nodded.

“Truth.”

“Do you miss home?”

She was quiet for a long moment. Drake thought he could hear a clock ticking, but he couldn’t see one. He wondered idly what time it was. Late, but how late? He didn’t dare check his phone at that moment.

Finally, she sighed and spoke, “What is home, anyway? I don’t really have anyone, so no.”

She was leaning into him now, his hand still on her back.

“I’m sorry, if you don’t want to–”

“No, I do. It’s actually kind of a relief to be asked. I know my life is a million times better here than it ever was in New York, but sometimes it sucks that people just assume I’m happier here.”

“Aren’t you?”

“No, I am! I definitely am but...”

Drake waited again until she was ready to continue.

“Remember back in Olivia’s estate? When we went out before the storm?”

You mean the moment I knew I was falling for you, even if I was in denial? Yep.

“Sure,” he replied.

“I told you I knew what it was like to feel like you failed someone.”

“Yeah,” his voice was barely audible. He had been wondering about that but it seemed serious and he didn’t want to push her. He figured she’d tell Liam about it, rather than him.

“I... had a younger brother. Growing up we were really close, but then I left for college and we kind of drifted apart. I thought I could justify it, being a busy college student and all that but... He started having a hard time and I–I didn’t even know about it.”

She squeezed her lips together and continued, “One day I got a call at school that my little brother,” her voice wobbled, “had killed himself.”

Tears were now escaping her eyes, falling too fast and hard to roll down her cheeks. Drake realized he’d been rubbing circles on her back for the past few minutes.

She shook her head. “I didn’t even think to check up on him and I knew depression ran in the family.” She put her head in her hands and took a deep breath. “In his note he asked me to forgive him. As if it were him I needed to forgive.”

She let out a small sob, her face still hidden. A few seconds later, she wiped her tears and spoke, her voice still unsteady, “Coming here, I was just running away from my guilt. But I’m happy for the first time in years thanks to you guys, and you’ve helped me believe I do deserve it, despite everything... I haven’t completely forgiven myself, but I’m closer than I’d ever been.”

She gave him a watery smile. “So thanks, for everything.” She squeezed his hand.

He could not believe she was smiling. The horror, the trauma of losing a loved one in such a way and yet she still found something to be grateful for. He felt his own throat closing up, overwhelmed with affection and admiration. Unable to speak, he squeezed her hand back.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, with her head on his shoulder and his hand stroking her back.

She sniffed and stood up, walking to the mirror. “God, I’m a mess!”

Drake went to stand behind her. “I think a pink nose suits you.”

She giggled. “And to think I might have met Liam looking like this!”

Drake’s smile died on his lips. Right. Liam.

“Listen, if you’re feeling okay I should leave you to it.”

“Oh, um, yeah, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it felt good to tell someone.”

So she hadn’t told anyone? Not even Liam?

He entertained that thought for a second and then shook himself.

It doesn’t matter. You can be her confidant; she’ll still marry Liam. And that’s okay. Having her in your life is enough, but you need to forget about anything romantic happening between you. She deserves no less than a fucking kingdom.

“You should go meet Liam. I bet you can still make it.”

“You... think I should?” Her expression was unreadable.

“Yeah.” So was his.

His feet carried him to the bar, where he ordered shot after shot. He lost count. His bed was only a few feet away, so he could get as drunk as he wanted. As drunk as it would take to forget about Riley for a second. To forget about her bravery and resilience, her vulnerability, her warmth.

We can be friends. We have to be friends, I can’t lose her. I just have to find somebody else.

As if planned, Kiara plopped down on the stool next to him. He couldn’t really focus her properly, but he still knew she looked beautiful as ever.

“Drake! I haven’t seen you all night!” Her speech was not as proper as usual, maybe even a bit slurred, but Drake was in no condition to notice.

“Theeeerrre you are, mylittlecroissant.” He had no idea he was barely intelligible at this point. Kiara didn’t seem to mind, anyway. “Voulez-vous choucher avec moi?”

“I thought you’d never ask!”

They finished their drinks and Kiara moved to his lap. He didn’t see the bartender leave, but he must have. Drake crashed his lips clumsily onto hers, their teeth accidentally clashing. She responded enthusiastically, her tongue entering his mouth. They made out sloppily, his hands roaming her body.

She pulled him closer by his shirt and let her hands stroke his chest, going lower and lower. She brushed his inner thigh and he felt his cock stir in his pants.

He jumped up from his seat, making her fall to the floor.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry!” He apologized over and over again as he helped her up.

“Kiara, yeeer great, ya know? Like, s-superrr cool an’ev’rything but I can’t. I juss can’t.”

He left her standing there and stumbled back to his room as fast as his condition allowed him.

As soon as he was through the threshold, he slammed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. His hand trembling with need, he undid his zipper, pulled out his cock and took himself in his hand.

He started out slowly, just savoring the feeling. Then, without meaning to, he let himself imagine what a smaller, softer hand would feel like. His hand moved faster. Unbidden, an image of Riley in her black underwear and matching bra came to him and he was powerless to stop it. His hand moving at a feverish pace, he had to clench his jaw to stop himself from crying out.

Still, he couldn’t help groaning, “Addams!” through clenched teeth as he spilled all over his hand.

Steadying his breath, he cleaned himself up and staggered to bed, already knowing his future self was going to regret so much of what happened that night.

I’m so fucked.

#trr #the royal romance #drake walker #drake x mc #prince liam #hana lee #maxwell beaumont #pb #pixelberry #choices #playchoices #fanfic #ch 16 #the marshmallow chronicles #long post

63 notes · View notes