#and she keeps trying to take both of them out on dates before the exams

[foxytonic]

Not to be Naruto posting on main in 2024, but polyamory could have fixed them, actually.

[theealbatross]

fight the alchemy (s.s)

Plot | After a tumultuous year, Sebastian’s life was finally okay – passable, up-to-scratch, satisfactory. And he had just almost reached peace – when his brilliant, painfully observant, carelessly crude genius of a friend, Garreth Weasley, started pointing out unnecessary facts that could rip all that harmony to shreds.

or, Garreth asks why Sebastian isn’t dating you. Sebastian spirals.

Tags | fluff, sebastian is a thought daughter, low self esteem, seb is a playboy BUT NOT REALLY, horny thots but we keep it pg, insecurity so deep you try to fight cupid, cupid fights back

An Ashwinder’s wand to his neck and Sebastian could honestly and truly say that he was … alright.

Life wasn’t perfect, by any means. His uncle was murdered dead, an estranged twin sister in Paris who refuses to answer his letters, a mistrustful Ominis that breathes on his neck, and a tattered companionship that was barely hanging on by a thread.

But he was okay.

Thankfully, Solomon was still dead, Anne was still alive, and still cranky Ominis is now open to reconciliation. Plus, if all else had fallen, he at least managed to save your cherished friendship thanks to your forgiving nature.

Thus, as thanks to the people who had not yet given up on him, he had sworn to live the rest of his academic life as a meek, unassuming, law-abiding student of Hogwarts.

And he did such a good job at it.

The professors are now impressed at his steadily increasing grades (so much so that the Ravenclaws are now finally seeing him as a threat again) and he even managed to make Imelda’s team as her beater to keep him occupied.

The latter, however, had a grating consequence – he had become popular.

It was thrilling, at first, he went on dates to make up for the years he had lost, kissed the pretty girls because it felt like he should (as one of the few bastards lucky enough to live every raging teenager’s dream), and accepted the slaps on the face politely when they inevitably broke up.

But now he’s just gotten tired and bored of it all.

Ominis says it’s a genius’ folly, to always find a fault in something and then drop it when it doesn’t quite meet his standard of perfect. Leander says he’s just a bastard.

He cups his face with his hand, wincing. Her fucking ring caught on his skin and he can’t be arsed to suffer through the bitterness of a Wiggenweld Potion for a mere scratch.

Garreth doesn’t bother to swallow his bread before saying, “Really, mate? I thought you liked this one?”

“Liked her rack, more likely,” Andrew quipped from his seat on the stone steps of the boathouse.

Sebastian threw his scarf on his face, satisfied at his squawk.

“No talking about my ex-girlfriends,” he warned. It was one of his few rules when it came to his male friends. He may be a bastard but as someone with a sister and a couple of good female friendships, he makes it a point to never become one of those losers who talk badly about women they have a history with. Just so he can have a moral high ground when he beats up anyone who might do it to his friends.

“All right, all right,” Andrew raised his hands in playful surrender, throwing Sebastian’s scarf back to him. “But as your friend, I think it’s about time you stop swapping out girls every time you get bored of them.”

“I don’t swap them out,” he rolls his eyes. “Breakups are normal.”

“Breakups are normal,” Garreth points out. “Six breakups in 2 years is an issue.”

“Maybe I’m just meant for the bachelor life,” he mumbles, ignoring the pointed accusation from Garreth. Fucking perceptive prick. “Not everyone gets to meet their soulmate in Hogwarts, asshole.”

Garreth grins, “Natty’s great, isn’t she?”

Sebastian and Andrew both throw their scarves at him, the three of them bursting out in laughter and boos.

“To the Three Broomsticks, then?” Andrew stood up, patting his pants.

As 7th years it was nearly impossible to take a breather with the looming threat of exams that will dictate the rest of your life and the inescapable trap of adulthood that awaits them in a couple of months. So, his friends had made it a point to at least go out once every week whenever they could, really take advantage of their last year as students where they had no other responsibility but to survive the week.

In a year’s time, seeing each other as often as they do will be nothing short of a miracle.

“Leander and Everett are already there, saved up a table since it’s a Friday, it’s gonna be packed full,” Andrew explains.

Sebastian looks around, eyes scanning the castle in the setting sun. “You go on ahead I’m waiting for –”

“Sebastian!”

A flash of movement appeared rushing down the stairs towards the boathouse, your face beaming as you waved to the three of them. When you were a foot away from him you jumped into his arms, shrieking energetically when he grabbed your waist and lifted you above his head.

“Sorry, I’m late,” you pant, smiling at your friends once you’re back on the ground. “Professor Hecate asked me to stay back for a minute, something about revisions on my research.”

“I can’t believe you got permission to research in The Restricted Section after the crazy nonsense you pulled in 5th year,” Garreth shook his head. Sebastian wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side, beaming in pride. Nobody knows but the two of you that the very thing you were researching were the technicalities of how you broke Anne’s curse so it could be taught to the nurses in St. Mungos and hopefully spread to the rest of wizardkind.

“It’s exactly because I had the nerve to break the rules that I was given the honorable opportunity,” you dramatically curtsied. “And they said Gryffindors were the brave ones.”

That made Sebastian laugh. Garreth blinks, eyes squinting at him for a second but he doesn’t look offended, more … focused on Sebastian.

“Alright, no more of that House Rivalry. Quidditch Season is over,” Andrew quips.

“Wiped your asses there too, Larson,” he quipped, Andrew’s jaw drops, looking at Garreth for help and receiving none. He was still staring at Sebastian, eyes shifting between him and you.

Andrew groans. “Slytherins are assholes.”

Slytherins are, apparently, also light-weights.

Well, at least one of them is.

He adjusts his hold on your body as the other hand wraps his coat around your body properly. After your last ‘improved’ butterbeer you had slumped into his lap, rudely snoozing off on the crook of his neck and refusing to wake up even when it was time for your group to leave – not that he would’ve allowed that to happen, with your demanding research it was a miracle to get you to sleep let alone let loose.

The rest of the group had gone in first to scope the scenery and bribe the patrolling Head students with leftover chips while he and Garreth were stuck carrying you and an unconscious Amit that they had managed to catch last-minute in Hogsmeade. Poor bastard.

“I was thinking –”

“Please don’t,” he groans.

“Why have you two never dated?”

Sebastian stops his fussing, barely able to use his head to ensure he keeps walking, and continue to Act Normal, now using both of his hands to hold you tighter.

“You’re drunk,” he deflects. The puffs of your breath warm his entire body.

“Because! When I think about it …”

Please, for the love of the great Merlin stop thinking.

“You’ve been inseparable from the start! I can’t believe it’s escaped my notice you’ve never dated. You say your past relationships got boring and got annoying but you’ve never been bored and annoyed with her and you’ve been friends for years!”

Bored with you? He’s had more near-fatal heart attacks because of you than breakups. Sebastian barely had the time to be bored. And sometimes you do get at each other’s throats but it was always fixed after a proper conversation. If his killing his uncle couldn’t turn you away then he doubts anything you do could ever turn him away.

“Plus, with all the respect and love to my beautiful darling Natty, she’s a fucking catch, mate!”

If Garreth wasn’t carrying a sinless half-dead Amit, Sebastian would’ve punched him in his mouth just to stop him from talking.

“I’m just saying,” Garreth walks ahead of him, clearly aware of the fuse he had just lit. Sebastian was tempted to kick the back of his knees just for the satisfaction of seeing him fall.  “Maybe you can join the club and find your soulmate in Hogwarts.”

Garreth winks.

“We’re still accepting members.”

He’s decided.

He needs to kill Garreth.

He has not been able to sleep properly for the past week and it’s all because of that ginger prick and his needless remarks.

“Why have you two never dated?”

Sebastian’s pencil cracks in his hand.

“Is he alright?” he hears an underclassman whisper on the other table. He glances at them and they flinch. Quickly, he softens his expression ("You really need to stop scowling at people, Sebastian."), unaware he had glared at them and sent a wary smile in apology. It would just be unfair to aim his ire at innocent people when he could just use it to rip out every strand of Weasley’s hair.

“He’s been staring at that page for an hour. Maybe we should call –”

He stands up, escaping.

Sebastian never realized just how much he spent his time with you until people were looking at him funny when he was walking or sitting alone in public places. At first, he thought there had been crumbs on his face or one of his asshole friends stuck a note on his back like a kid. Plus, he hadn’t been feeling his best since that night but he thought it had been the lack of sleep.

It wasn’t until he had met Imelda on the grounds that he found his answer:

“Where’s the rest of you?”

He blinked at his captain, “I’m sorry?”

She shook her head. “Man, it feels weird seeing you alone. Did you guys have a fight? You’re usually shadowing her like a puppy after class.”

Then everything clicks, the strange looks, the feeling of missing something (like a forgotten important homework after he had reached the top of the Astronomy Tower) – it’s been a side effect of avoiding you.

Okay, it’s not that he’s avoiding you per se. He just needs space. He needs to think and he finds that can’t do that once he feels your eyes on him. With his luck, you’re going to see right through him and that would just be unideal if not a fucking catastrophe.

That’s why he’s taken it upon himself to stay off your way until he puts his thoughts in a row and finally screws his head on straight again. Or he could just kill Garreth, get sent straight to Azakaban, and avoid confronting these complicated thoughts altogether.

“I can’t believe it’s escaped my notice you’ve never dated!”

He sits on a bench, hands on his head as he let out a prolonged groan, “The fucking bastard.”

Why did he have to point it out? Why did Garreth have to bring what he, upon reflection, had buried on the back of his head, just waiting for that one little flick of acknowledgment before it blew his brains out.

Because Sebastian is a lot of things but he’s not a fucking moron.

It’s not that the thought of being together is unpleasant. If he lets himself consider it his chest feels like it would escape his ribcage both in excitement and utter terror.

But Garreth was right: he’d never thought about it before – hadn’t thought the idea was conceivable in this reality.

He has a feeling it was his way of preserving whatever pure relationship he had left. He’s not exactly rich with true companionship and he’s not idiotic enough to risk it all over a bloody crush. 

And not just any crush – his best friend, the person who saved his life and then helped him rebuild it when he was finished smashing it to pieces. The one who never turned her back even when his blood had given up. The girl who has a line of eligible bachelors following her on their knees for a single chance, ones who could offer her more than he ever could – ones who could offer her the world.

So, yeah – forgive him, but he’s never really allowed himself to entertain the idea of them dating. Sebastian has tested his luck enough.

Unless the roles switch and he gets to save the wizarding world this time then maybe … yeah, maybe -- maybe in another fucking life.

The thought makes him stand up, walking straight out of the campus to hopefully drown the sorrows of the depressing state of his love life with the best fire whiskey Hogshead could offer. How does he even move on from this? How does he make peace with the fact that he has sealed his fate of living the rest of his life alone? 

It’s impossible, he’s decided. Even if he graduates at the top of the classes he is taking and gets accepted into the Auror Programme that Sharp had recommended him for, their social standing is still heavens apart. He’s an orphan, with a husk of an extended family and no money to his name.

It wouldn’t matter to you, never really cared for pure bloodlines or lineages and he knows anyone who brings that up when they’re courting you will receive the most disgusted look on your face. 

But he cares – you are the most special person in his life. He wants the best for you. And the best is not something he can provide.

His depressing thoughts halt as his steps falter, a familiar scent tickling his nose. A familiar scent that leads straight into the Forbidden Forest. When he looks up to the sky, he realizes the sun has almost finished setting.

She can’t be that reckless, right?

He was barely surprised when he chanted the incantation that triggered the charm they had both put in their necklaces, the sparkling thread leads straight into the forest. And if he knows you half as well as he thinks he does then he knows exactly where it’s gonna lead to.

There goes his late-night plan.

It isn’t exactly his first jaunt in the forbidden space but it still gives him the creeps especially so close to the night. Why you’re so fond of the place is something he’ll never understand.

But that’s just the way you were, just another part of your quirks that makes you so endearing.

How you throw your head back when you laugh, that you get so cranky when you’re studying that no one dares to approach you but him, even the way you messily eat your favorite chocolate pastry of the week yet never fail to share a piece with him.

With this new revelation, he bitterly accepts the reason for his philandering ways. That he simply is another prick who is coping with not being able to attain the love of his life at the expense of those poor girls.

His self-condemnation however was cut short when he heard the waterfall, not being able to help the smirk on his face when he turned the corner and found you just as he had expected: in the middle of the clear, dark, water, floating carelessly on your back.

Gods, you are a beauty. He’s always thought so, the entire male population in Hogwarts thought so too. If they somehow get to break through your walls and manage to get to know you, he might just have to beat them away with an actual stick.

“Sebastian,” you smile, his heart stops. “I knew you’d find me.”

You swim to him gracefully, barely disturbing the water with only your eyes above the water but there was no hiding the grin in your face. Like a pitiful sailor seduced by a siren, his feet dragged him to the edge, a short ledge above from where you were looking up at him.

“You left your scent on purpose,” he states, kneeling to get a closer look at you. What a beauty – mischievous, cunning, irresistible. He’s never loved anyone more. “Naughty, naughty, darling.”

She pulls herself up the ledge, their faces inches away from each other. He nails his eyes to yours so they wouldn’t be tempted to look down at your soaking figure cloaked only by a thin chemise “I had to get you somehow, knew you couldn’t resist a damsel in distress.”

“Funny,” he softly glares, chuckling when she preens, clearly satisfied that her plan worked perfectly. “With all the water in the Black Lake, you had to pick the Forbidden Forest to swim in.”

You dip yourself back down in the water, swimming away but still facing him. “Come, Sebastian. I’ve been bored all week since you’ve been avoiding me.”

Guilt runs through his spine at the sudden coldness in your offhanded comment. Clearly, his absence hasn’t escaped your notice as he had hoped.

Like a scolded pup, he follows your command to a T. Eyes never leaving your floating figure as he removed his coat, folding it neatly along with the rest of his clothes until he was left in his underclothes.

He winces at the touch of the freezing water. A heating charm would do wonders but the way your unsympathetic eyes never left his figure gave him a feeling that this was a punishment he was meant to endure.

He steels himself, diving into the water and only resurfacing when he is right in front of you. “You called?”

“You’re so fucking full of yourself,” you splash the cold water at him, shrieking when he reaches out for your arms and barely managing to slip away.

He dives again, grinning at your confused flounder, until you realize your mistake, looking down just as he catches your waist, your surprised shriek, and his unrestrained laughter breaks through the quiet of the forest.

“You done running now, pet?” he locks his hands on your back, pushing you close until he is carrying both your weight in the water, chin resting on your chest as your hands run through his soaking hair.

Your darkened hair frames your face, like a sheer curtain it drops, teasing his cheeks, and hiding your conversation from the rest of the forest – in the dimness, your eyes have never been more radiant, even if it was clearly pissed at him.

Skinship wasn’t foreign between the two of you. When you’ve saved each other’s lives from certain death more times than you care to count, cuddling is the least of your worries.

But there is something about the forest's silence, the sparse moonlight that peaks through the dense trees, the sound of the droplets falling from your hair to the water, and the distant echoes of the animals that make everything intimate. -- more intimate than usual.

“Are you?” you throw his question back at him mercilessly, your hands on the back of his neck, locking his face to look up at you – finally at you. The weeklong separation had been torture and now that the distance had cut his regular contact with his favorite witch, he finally realized how fast his heart was beating when he was around her.

He smiles.

He was satisfied, he swore he was.

Sebastian’s life was finally okay – passable, up-to-scratch, satisfactory. He shouldn’t strive for more, couldn’t allow himself that luxury – the luxury of love, the luxury of you.

But as he stares at your eyes, as he feels the ice in your skin, as he imagines a future where it wasn't him that gets to bite the plump of your lips – that dirty, greedy part of him crawls out of the hole he had shoved it in.

He feels it win.

“Are you done running now?” you whisper, a droplet falls from the tip of your nose to the space just below his eyes, his breath hitches, like your magnetic presence had sucked out all the air of the forest.

“I wasn’t running,” she raises a brow, and Sebastian presses his lips to your ears. “I was thinking.”

“And?”

Leander was right: he really is a bastard.

But he’s a bastard who will no longer wait for another life to love you. He's a bastard who will get what he wants.

“I think,” he whispers, at peace. “I think I’m gonna marry you someday.”

[satoruhour]

LESSON NO. 1

a/n: bassist!geto teaching you how to play the guitar. loosely based off this but not really connected. as requested by @alcospray 💟 i dont play bass so i just watched a whole bunch of videos for just one song - any bass players wanna correct me feel free to do so ;"). only if u look like geto tho /j. they havent say the three words to each other yet, read it with that in mind :3

wc: 2.1k

“any update from your fan?” gojo nudges him playfully as they wait for the principle of the university to introduce their band for the freshmen orientation, which, weirdly, something that the four of them never thought would happen. they sang about topics that wouldn’t normally get talked about or were shunned — politics, capitalism, authoritarianism — and yet being introduced by the principle of their place of education was quite ironic.

the bassist doesn’t hear gojo at all, not even when his best friend tries to tease him by calling you his fan. there were too many things in geto’s mind way even before this whole performance: his finals, a rival band that sought out to create false rumours about them, you.

always, you, the unexpected distracting thing that infiltrates his mind without fail. from the first night you trodded over to his dorms, opening up to him and letting him take care of you, to the many dates after. he’s taken you to cafés, watched you study way too many times, or simply let you sit through one of his song formation days.

a conscious effort to keep his distance and everything is just you, you, you, and geto is terrified. he’s never liked the kind of love with strings attached, with those mushy, complicated feelings, but no one-night stand, no quick fuck has ever made him feel the way you do.

but lately, he’s seen less of you, unwillingly accepting the principle’s offer to perform for the freshmen because he knew you were one of the group leaders ushering in the new students. at least he could try to search for you in the crowds, even getting a cheeky little text about where your group was meant to sit a week ago. he could be granted at least that when you both have been working so hard for final exams that you two could hardly see each other.

although, throughout their whole set, he sees everyone but you. he loses the bass line often, looks lost on the stage, needs to be cued in, something that never happens to the geto suguru. he’s always been a natural, and yet when it comes to you, you ruin him in the best way possible.

“hey— hey! man, what was that?” gojo slaps him on the back but it doesn’t even register in geto’s head, not really bothered by how he messed up the performance if it wasn’t for gojo’s vocals and shoko adding in her own improvisations for her parts. nanami can only shrug as he comes around to geto’s front.

“she wasn’t there, i looked, too,” nanami mumbled, tapping his drumsticks on his shoulder, “but you’re the most passionate guy i know who loves his guitars and bass lines.”

gojo has to chime in, “he’s the only bass guitarist you know, nanamiii!” and shoko pulls him back with a smack to the back of his head.

the dark-haired guy only clicks his tongue, “sorry ’bout him.”

nanami waves his drumsticks before pointing them at his face, “i know you’re obsessed with her, but i don’t wanna be a drummer if i can’t work with my bassist. sort this out before our next gig. she’s a sweet girl . . just, not when it’s at the expense of the band.”

geto only sighs in relief, landing a hand on his drummer’s shoulder.

“thank you, nanami.” the two exchange smiles before he gives a salute to his other two friends (“do you think he finally loves someone enough for him to be distracted on stage?” shoko says, and gojo gasps dramatically), heading out from the wings and down the stairs at the front of the stage where people look confused at the recent performer looking high and low for where your group was meant to be seated.

he sees not you, but rather your group leader mates who he’s at least seen pictures of, so he has no qualms about heading over to ask about your whereabouts — “the last thing she told our head group leader was that she was down with a nasty flu . . terrible fever and all. our main group leader went to her dorms to check on her and she’s unfit for doing orientations activities. we just sent her loads of soup packets and pei pa koa’s.”

geto laughs at the last part, knowing your need for sweet things. when it’s combined with a soothing coating for your throat, it’s pretty much the only thing you take when you’re sick. with a quick thanks, geto races for the campus bus straight to your dorm, the bass carried on his back rattling with his capo, chord sheets and mute nosily.

at least your annoying roommate’s gone home before school starts so it’s only you when geto knocks on the door. his knuckles rap against the wood, heart breaking when he hears your hoarse voice answer from the other side. soon, he can hear your feet moving towards the door, but it takes a while from how your body is, knocking over some things in the process.

“c-coming!” you groan out, wrapped in layers of clothing and feeling so hot you feel like you were in hell. but you aren’t expecting the sight when you open the door: your boyfriend panting, the guitar case behind him only telling you he’s come straight from the freshmen gig, the expression on his face.

“s-su!” you exclaim, both excitedly and a little worried because you didn’t want to get him sick, something you regret immediately when you go to clutch your throat.

“oh, baby,” geto brushes the hoodie off your head and brushes away the mess of your hair, “you look so pale, i— i would’ve come sooner if i knew—!”

“that’s why i didn’t tell you,” you pout, pushing away his hand gently and stepping back. it hurts to speak, but you feel like you at least need to explain your absence to him, “i was afraid you’d ditch the performance. also— don’t want you to get sick.”

suguru’s expression softens, “don’t worry about me, doll. come,” he takes one more step towards you and you feel so safe with him you don’t take a step away, “let me take care of you.”

the next hours are full of geto, a revered bassist in an upcoming band who dons long hair, piercings and has a menacing dragon down his arm alongside some boots, taking care of you. he runs back and forth between the pantry to make sure you have enough hot water, boiling hot soup to drink, enough layers to keep you warm and even calling gojo to get some tylenol from the supermarket.

“take a breather, sugu, i’m not gonna die,” you laugh slightly with a rasp to your voice, squeezing his hand as you rest against his shoulder. he’s made sure you at least have something in your stomach and enough hot water to power a hot spring, worry showing through his heartbeat when the hand he holds is still so warm.

“you’re heating up loads, baby,” geto frowns, turning his head to plant a kiss on the top of your head. he rolls his eyes when he hears it’s because you’re here. “do you want me to put cool towels on your head?”

you giggle again and cough, sniffling the mucus back up your nose, “no, it’s okay — you’d have to go to the pantry again to get water and i just want . . you here.”

suguru only hums, something akin to a melody that you don’t quite know but you’re happy to listen to his gruff voice anyway. the way he vibrates as he hums sends a calming feeling right to your body, and how he looks and feels so different from the very first time you were alone together.

he seemed so cool, passing the blunt to you and blowing his smoke into your mouth, kissing you like you’re just another girl in his roster; but right now, you were far from it.

now, not only is he still cool, but he’s also the most caring person you know and is something so far from his appearance and band: this is just one in many instances of how much he takes care of you. from the same fingers that strum upon the stainless steel, they travel miles over your body, your face like the first songs he learned on the guitar, weaving a melody and language so intricate only the two of you speak it.

silently, you feel him push you forward while he slots his legs on the other side of your body, letting you naturally rest with your back to his chest. “wanna learn?”

“i am in the most terrible state, suguru,” you whisper, reaching over to take a tissue. there, you blow your nose and clear out your nostrils until the next round, groaning softly at the grossness of the tissue.

“ohh . . but wasn’t someone saying that she isn’t dying?”

your jaw drops, “i can’t believe you would use that against me.”

the corners of your boyfriend’s lips turn up in a sly smile, “just quoting my girl. but—”

this time, he’s the one reaching over much further than you, hand clutching the neck of the guitar through the bag. gently, he settles it on both your laps, laughing when a small oof leaves your lips at just how heavy his bass was.

“i’ll do all the playing, you just mirror my movements.” with one more kiss to your temple, geto reaches around easily to play the starting notes of psycho killer. while there’s a clear layering of the lead, vocals and drums in his head, you’re just left confused by the repetitive bass.

but soon, you’re able to catch the notes that repeat over eight counts, hypnotised by the other’s longer fingers as they transition into the chorus line. it’s a little more complicated, now, descending into chords that you frankly don’t have any grasp on. one look at your face is enough to send him into soft laughter.

“okay, okay, let’s just focus on the verse.” if you weren’t feeling lightheaded from the fever before, you are now when geto curls his hands around yours, placing your finger easily on the fifth fret of the first string.

“so here . . we have the first bar of A notes, easy? then . .” he demonstrates the first four notes, plucking the strings for you before moving it down to the third fret to play the G note. a small smile spreads across his face when you slowly get the hang of it: six notes of A, two eighth notes, and then a G on the same string. geto slowly releases his left, letting you play on the melody while he helps you to pluck.

“that’s it,” still natural, it doesn’t faze geto at all to nuzzle his head into your neck from behind and to start kissing up your shoulder to your jaw, fingers still expertly plucking the string. the both of you repeat the bass line until he’s grabbing your awkward right hand and quietly, he angles your fingers so you’re following him, “you’re a fast learner.”

“i have a great teacher,” you mumble, and suguru doesn’t tell you that you just willingly kissed his jaw out of habit — because he knows you’d freak out at the possibility of getting him sick. it’s sweet, that in your delirious state you’re still acting out of admiration at the back of your mind. like the bass, loving geto feels as natural as the repetitiveness of psycho killer.

the bass notes reverberates through your bodies, just almost acting like a trance that makes your fingers falter upon the steel strings. he goes on to slowly play the chorus, stretching his fingers into weird shapes. he plays various chords, voice cracking just a bit when he tries to sing the vocals and you laugh softly.

“i just don’t have satoru’s higher register.” geto jokes, knowing you’re close to falling asleep from the way you hum and give one worded answers, so he easily takes over from you, changing it to an easy song. you let the low notes of the bass serenade you to sleep as you curl more into your boyfriend, but not before you hear a glimpse of geto’s harmonised singing to yellow.

it’s not often you hear him sing, being a bassist and all, but there is a nice edge to his voice — not quite made for vocals but you know he can do it if he tries. and even if you don’t voice it out, geto thinks the same thing. it’s similar to this stupid love thing that’s got him all tangled up and distracted, too, and he realises so many new things about himself through you.

you give love a fresh breath of life, nothing like the things suguru sings about in his unfinished demos and notebooks — multitude of things that involved you and his fucked-up perceptions and the foolishness of his parents telling him he’d find the same. you are all he thinks about when he sees the black cough syrup and he can’t stop craving the feel of your body against his.

the moment your breathing turns even and you sag against his embrace is when the strings stops and his breathing escalates. in geto suguru’s arms is the personification of something he never thought he would let into his life, yet you carry the choirs of love and acceptance so effortlessly like heath’s bass guitar solos and atsushi sakurai’s spotless vocals.

suguru’s head simply falls onto your unknowing shoulder, a small fuck that leaves his lips and a smile that he can’t contain is all he needs to know.

@mysugu @suget @slttygeto @na-t0 💟

[teaaleefs]

Second Best - K. Bakugou

word count: 1746

pairing: 3rdyear!Bakugou x nb!reader

cw and notes: might be ooc because i’ve literally never written this guy before Hurt/Comfort, Cussing it’s bakugou idk what you expected. Soft bakugou, Hopefully i did it right tho- comparing yourself to others, jealousy, envy, low self esteem, pet names (baby), unedited asf good luck reading it because i certainly didn't, good ending :)

synopsis: you can't stop comparing yourself to your boyfriend and one day it just gets to you

Always second best. That’s what you were.

Second best to Katsuki since… Well, always. Your boyfriend always strove to be number one, always strove for perfection in everything. He was number one in class, the most promising student in class 1-A despite his rough and brash personality. But even then, he was the best at everything. Even things you told yourself you were good at.

Cooking? He could make your mom’s recipe almost exactly the same way she did, always fine tuning the details. But you? You always changed something up, always forgot a step. Too much salt, too little garlic, not enough pepper, forgot the vegetables… and despite being with him for some time - for nearly 3 years now - during your time in UA, you grew almost resentful.

At first you felt guilty, because why would you ever compare yourself to him? Why should you be upset that he’s doing well for himself? But the thought that you were always falling behind, always miles behind and him miles ahead, it bubbled up jealousy. You never acknowledged it when you were around him. You always acted normal, acted the same. Had your usual spats and squabbles with him, had your small dates with him and exchanged vulnerable words. But the feeling kept gnawing at you. Especially during finals, always during finals or big exams. You both would work your asses off. Hell, he even helped you to study the majority of the time. 

Still, everytime you found that he was just better. Better at everything. Better with his quirk, better at studying, better at retaining information, better at testing, better at cooking your mother’s damn soup, better at planning dates, taking you out, getting gifts, better, better, better.

It left you upset late at night most times. Whenever you weren’t sleeping in his room your mind would whir with ways for you to improve - for you to catch up. And even when you were sleeping in his room, when he was already asleep you would still find yourself comparing and comparing and wishing you could just be better at one thing. Anything, just one thing.

Sometimes it made heat rise to your face when you would have these thoughts while looking over his sleeping form. His chest rose and fell with soft breaths while your eyes stung and burned and you tried to blink back your jealousy. Usually blinking them back and telling yourself to get over it did the trick. But one night it just didn’t. And you ended up wiping your eyes and turning away from him, settling into the pillow beneath your head and forcing yourself to fall asleep. 

But this night wasn’t like the others and no matter what you just couldn’t bring yourself to sleep. Your eyes kept flooding full of tears just for you to keep wiping them away, just for you to keep quietly sniffling and hiccupping and for your mind to keep milling over your jealousy and underlying disappointment with yourself because it honestly wasn’t fair! You were trying just as hard as he was, but he was always more driven, always more something and tonight you couldn’t take it anymore.

He heard you before he saw you. Back turned to him, quiet sniffles filling the otherwise silent room save for the sound of the fan. Scooting closer to you, he wrapped his arms around your waist. He knew better than to ask - he knew you weren’t the type to say it outright. 

“Oi, what’s wrong with you?” He asked anyway, his gruff voice having gone soft. It didn’t hold its usual snark or aggression, only a hint of the underlying concern he actually felt. When you didn’t answer, he sighed and held you tighter, letting his forehead rest against your shoulder. 

You could feel light kisses brushing against your skin, murmured words of comfort that he normally wouldn’t utter. See, he was even better than you at comforting his loved ones. All you usually managed was an ‘it’ll be okay’ or a hug, feeling too awkward when it came to making others feel better. Your throat tightened as did your chest, the heel of your palms pressing against your eyes as you tried to will yourself to stop crying over nothing. To stop being a baby and a jealous little shit. There was no reason to cry from an outside standpoint. But here you were, silently balling your eyes out for no reason (that’s what you thought Katsuki might be thinking at least). 

“It’s not fair.” You managed to choke out, words mumbled and muffled between a sharp intake of air. 

His hands rubbed soothing circles against your skin, his hold on you never faltering, but his lips stopped their soft brushes against your shoulder. “What’s not fair?”

You fell silent again. Should you tell him? But that would be selfish, what if it caused him problems? No, realistically, he would hold back for no one. Not even you. but what if he decided that you were being dramatic? What if this lead to one of your usual tiffs over nothing? What if you really were just being a crybaby? What if, what if, what if he’s too good for you? 

One of his hands abandoned your waist in favor of caressing your hair, rough fingers running through the strands all the way down, down, down to your neck and then back up again to the top in a calming fluid motion. “Breathe, baby. I can feel you tensing up.” He murmured against your ear, his rough voice growing increasingly softer. 

You stiffened for a moment. You hadn’t even realized you were taking in shallow breaths, but now you were hyper aware of your breathing and how tight your chest felt. Nodding to show that you heard him, you drank in slow, deep breaths, holding them for a few seconds before releasing them. 

You could hear him shifting behind you, both of his hands moving to cup your face. You could sense him hovering over you even as your hands stayed pressed to your eyes. You could feel the feather light kiss he pressed to your cheek and how quietly he asked you to move your hands. When you didn’t immediately comply, he gently encased his hands around your wrists, pulling your hands away himself.

Through bleary and wet eyes, you could make out the crease between his brows, his expression hardened into displeasure as he released your wrists. His displeasure wasn’t directed at you - never at you when you were like this.

He brushed the corner of your eyes free of tears with each thumb before pulling away. Settling back onto the bed and laying on his side, his warm hand brushed from your cheek to the back of your head, pulling you towards his chest. You let out a breath before you finally let yourself cry without holding it back; without the sniffling and bit back and choked sobs.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” He asked as he held you tight, chin resting atop your head.

You swallowed thickly, not wanting to tell him that you were crying because of him. It wouldn’t be fair and you had convinced yourself you were being childish. He let silence fall between you two, not wanting to push anymore when it was obvious that you weren’t going to say.

But that was fine. He was fine with just holding you tight and grazing his lips on your forehead. He held you for a while after that, murmuring sweet words into your ear, rubbing your back and hair and telling you that everything was okay, meanwhile you just couldn’t stop for the life of you comparing and wondering about how he’d react if you told him why you were crying.

Until eventually, you broke it down to him, blubbered and mumbled and choked words of explanation finally tumbling from your trembling lips. You told him about your jealousy, about the comparisons, how you felt he was miles ahead and you constantly fighting for a way to at least catch up. How he was just better, how you thought you were being silly and dramatic and that “there was no reason” for you to be crying like this - breaking down over this. How he felt out of your league, how he was just too good for you. But as soon as he heard you tell him all that he fell silent and that made your stomach drop. Was he silently agreeing with you? Did he also think you were being a crybaby? Childish? Dramatic–

He held you so tight you thought your bones might break. His head buried in the space between your neck and shoulder, he scolded you.

“Don’t fucking say shit like that.” He rasped, voice barely above a whisper, “There’s no way I’m out of your league. If I was, I wouldn't have dated you in the first place.” His words were honest and straightforward, blunt but needed. “Baby, you’re fine the way you are. Stop comparing yourself to me, it’s unfair to yourself.” He said before pressing the softest kiss to the corner of your eye, kissing away your plump tears. “We’re different people, of course things are gonna come differently to each of us.” He soothed as he pulled away to kiss the corner of your other eye. “There’s a lot of shit that you're better at than me, so give yourself some credit, baby.”

You managed a few soft noises of acknowledgement and muffled “okay’s”, taking in a few heaving breaths as you worked to calm down. He didn’t stop holding you, he didn’t stop muttering comforts to try and quiet your tears, didn’t stop telling you all the ways you had one upped him, even in the smallest of ways. He tried to show you that you had your own accomplishments, that even he couldn’t do it all - and that was the thing absolutely hated to admit, but he did it for you.

He didn’t stop holding you, his calloused fingers tracing soft patterns against your arm, not even as your breathing regulated and you sniffed here and there. Not even when you fell asleep against his chest, your fingers clutching onto his shirt in an attempt to keep him there. Not that he was moving anytime soon. He didn’t even let you go when he fell asleep too, his arms falling slack around you, but still there. Still resting against your waist, his legs tangled with yours and his face buried against your shoulder.

[chimielie]

what it is

summary: Oikawa x Reader. he makes it out of the friendzone (with some help)

word count: 1.3k

cw: nothing, oikawa in glasses

a/n: i wrote this in under an hour while heavily caffeinated?;!;!4& brain melting

“You’re late,” you say with a grin. Oikawa Tooru pouts at you, his team jacket folded over his arms. He’s already changed out of uniform, you notice; must have exchanged it for a white t-shirt and slacks in the locker room.

“I was swarmed,” he claims as the two of you start to walk together. You roll your eyes and don’t even bother making a jab about his popularity with the girls (and people of all genders, really). At this point, you’ve accepted that deranged fans come with the territory of being friends with the volleyball team captain.

You met Oikawa on the first day of your first year at Aoba Johsai and had been friends ever since. Even though you had no interest in the sport at first, his love for volleyball was infectious. He had even roped you into being the team’s manager. You still weren’t sure how he had pulled that off, but you didn’t mind too much—you’d grown to love the team and the sport too, in your own way.

Despite your closeness, you’d never really understood why he had a fan club, especially as a teenage school athlete. You expected his popularity to grow when (not if) he went professional, but the idea of swooning over some guy you had pre-calculus classes with was totally foreign to you. It was a running joke among your friends that you were immune to Oikawa’s looks and charming magnetism (and, honestly, to all four of the team’s upperclassmen. You could acknowledge how objectively attractive they all were even though none of them seemed to fit your niche).

Sometimes, you caught Oikawa making strange expressions while your friends teased you about not liking him. It felt like you were the only one who noticed these kinds of things, sometimes. You really liked being able to read him so easily: both of you had saved each other under the contact name “Platonic Soulmate” in your phones.

You chalked up the weird faces to your friend’s first-rate ego, and even though you knew that the notion of one person not being desperately in love with him wouldn’t scratch the surface of his self-esteem, you always found yourself taking his hand surreptitiously or leaning your head on his shoulder when you did see him looking mopey. He always perked up, after that, and all would be sunshine again.

Today, everyone else had bailed on you when you suggested a joint ice-cream-and-study-date before next week’s exams. Iwaizumi had claimed that Oikawa was too loud and always distracted him, so he couldn’t seriously try to study together. Matsukawa had to babysit and refused to bring the brats, as he affectionately called his siblings, to get sweets. Hanamaki had just quirked his eyebrows at you and said, “I don’t feel like third wheeling. Thanks, but no thanks.”

You hadn’t really understood what he meant, but you hadn’t questioned it.

Oikawa had almost begged off to do some solo practice, too, but you’d made a fuss about nearing the end of your high school experience and worrying that you would fall out of touch when volleyball became his whole life (even moreso than it was now!), and he’d caved with an overdramatic sigh and a soft look that told you he wasn’t all that mad about your guilt-tripping.

You’re broken from your thoughts when you reach the ice-cream shop, Oikawa jabbering in your ear about some drama you can’t keep up with.

“And then she told me—ah, I can’t read the menu. You know, they were late refilling my contact prescription this month, so I’ve been carrying around my glasses, I hate it. So unflattering.”

You worry your lip as you stare at the flavor chart, barely listening to him talk.

“I’m sure it’s,” you start, turning to him as he slides the case out of his pocket and puts the frames on his face in a smooth motion. “Um.”

The glasses are not unflattering, you think dumbly, staring at him, your sentence hanging unfinished. The glasses perch on his nose perfectly, making you appreciate, for the first time, the shape of his nose and his cheekbones. Had they always been that sharp? And since when had his eyes been so pretty, reflecting the sunlight in so many shades, framed with long eyelashes that would have made you jealous if you weren’t so—

You reach out and lift the glasses off his face slowly, hoping that the old, familiar features that you’d never felt anything but friendship-friendly feelings towards would return. You can still see it, though: the divot of his Cupid’s bow is appealing, now, his smooth skin glowing to you, his surprised expression fucking adorable. You drop the frames back onto his nose.

Very abruptly, whatever immunity you once had to Oikawa’s looks is demolished in one fell swoop.

“I have to go have a midlife crisis,” you say decisively, and march out of the shop.

“Hey! What—where are you going? You’re not even middle-aged?” Oikawa calls after you, and you try steadfastly to ignore him, but every sense seems to have been awakened to your friend. Your face flushes, and you start walking faster, nearing the pace of a jog even though your limbs are stiff.

You finally pull over in a quieter, slightly more secluded spot between two buildings. You lean against the wall, closing your eyes, trying to remind yourself to take deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” Oikawa says, and you curse his long, athlete legs for having followed you so swiftly. “What’s wrong?”

You open your eyes. He’s still wearing the fucking glasses. Rest in peace, you think to yourself, surely my heart is going to give up soon, at the rate it’s going. Your lips part, but you can’t seem to get the words out. His worried gaze studies you until he finds something—exactly whatever you didn’t want him to see. A slow smile unfurls over his face, and you narrow your eyes. Ugh, how dare his smugness be attractive too, now?

“I should wear the glasses more often, huh?” He says, and you shake your head no frantically.

“Please don’t,” you say. “It’s, like, it doesn’t even matter anymore, anyway, I can’t unsee it now.”

“Unsee what?” He cocks his head, and he’s getting closer, and there’s nowhere to back away from him because you’re up against a wall—

“You’re hot!” You wail. “I saw it and I’m never gonna stop thinking it now, it doesn’t even matter what you wear, I’m doomed! This is the worst thing ever, ‘Kawa, how’m I supposed to go on… I can’t be your friend and a part of your fan club. I don’t think I can even be a part of your fan club ‘cause I don’t just think you’re hot, I think I have a crush on you—oh, my God, I have a c—”

Your increasingly frantic rambling is cut off by Oikawa sealing his lips to yours. The kiss is quick and sweet, and when he pulls away he still looks so, so handsome, and so concerned.

“Please breathe,” he says, and you nod, gaping at him in shock. “I like you too, okay? Please stop having a crisis.

“Okay,” you exhale, bracing your hands on his shoulders. “Okay. I’m still freaking out, though. I think the only way to stop it is to keep kissing me.”

Oikawa heaves a big, overdramatic sigh, and leans in, his glasses bumping your face; giving in to you, just like he always does.

[orchidyoonkook]

To What We Were Before, And All The Things After | JJK | Ch. 8

Title: Photo Shoots and Blasphemous Discoveries

Pairing: Prince!College Student!JK x Fine Arts Major!(F)!Reader

Series Rating//Genre: (M) | College AU, Mild Royalty AU, Smut, Angst, Fluff, S2F2L, Indiffernce to lovers, sloooowwww ass burn

Summary: You're just there to help JK with his final project, so why are you being doused in water, facepaint and smoke? Art. Art is why.

Warnings: T, language, fluff, angst, honestly this one's kinda wholesome and fun, some photogrpahy jargin in there, but nothing a quick google search can't fix if you really need to <3, it's mostly surface level jargin. Also the smoke machine works cuz JK has great ventilation due to the massive windows being open, so don't worry bout that XD, some light and fun name calling, some world building. Ask if you need clarification on anything. That's all I think!

Word Count: 11,684

Release Date: September 1, 2024. 4:30PM

A/N 1: Surprise! Happy JK Day.

Series: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven

PJK [7:36pm]: Saturday afternoon. my place. 11am.  PJK [7:36pm]: bring an extra set of clothes, something warm. Sweats if you have them. PJK [7:37pm]: also, Im gunna need your shirt size

The first three weeks of November have flown by and dragged on at the same time.

The weather’s getting colder. You need a thick jacket if you want to be anywhere outside, and all leaves have fallen from the trees, leaving pines the only ones left with their winter coats on. Hot chocolate from greenhouse cafe has become part of your life’s blood so you don’t freeze, and gloves with pocket warmers inside them are once again a part of your everyday. 

But November skies have returned. And you frequently set up camp on the drying grass beside the greenhouse, dressing your canvas with oil paint to their likeness as it’s the only paint that doesn’t dry the second it’s out of the tube in the cold, static air.

Jungkook told you earlier in the week the shoot would most likely be this weekend, and that he just had a few final strings to pull together before being able to confirm. So with that in mind, you intentionally tried to finish all your work before this weekend, knowing the shoot will take a while to complete.

He mentioned it may leak over into Sunday depending on how much you get done on the first day, which is fine with you considering you usually spend Sunday evenings at his place anyway. You’d consider it an extended edition of your regularly scheduled broadcast.

And speaking of regularly scheduled, you haven’t missed a single movie night since Nel left. Granted, it’s only been three weeks, but even missing the two you did because of Nel had made an impact. 

You’d gotten so used to them, having that time to destress and unwind before the week starts. A nice little routine that helps reset you both mentally and physically.

Suddenly not having that was…a weird feeling you try not to remember. 

And you are more than happy to never miss another one ever again.

You aren’t sure what Jungkook tells Adaline he’s doing during movie night, but she’s never interrupted you, not even once. And it’s something you are increasingly grateful for, because she is one of the things you destress from as your unspoken rivalry always amps up the closer to exam season you get.

It’s Thursday evening, and you’re in your room finishing up a Microeconomics 3 assignment while piano music plays on a speaker in the corner. You use it to help you focus, and it’s working its magic as you’re finishing your work in record time. 

Music has always helped you work better, and you credit it largely with how you’ve been able to keep up with everything in your schooling.

Yuri’s in her room, doing homework as well you assume. Or maybe texting Tai—the dreamy, big dicked Ilcalos island Count—you swear she’s only put her phone down for sleep and showering, as she’s constantly checking to see if he’s messaged her. And you hope it turns out well for them, Yuri deserves someone who treats her well. Especially after the whole Jungkook debacle—which you’re not allowed to bring up—and then the poor rebound you aren’t allowed to talk about either. You’re just happy she’s finally found someone worth her time.

Picking up your phone, you shoot Jungkook a text back.

You [7:40pm]: okay! saturday at 11 sounds good. I’ll bring sweats and warm socks

You message him your shirt size too, curious as to what he’ll use it for, but you’re sure you’ll find out in due time. You always do.

Subject to many of his homework assignments, you’ve been posed and lit and adjusted every which way. 

Jungkook is incredibly professional when you’re with him as a model. Light touches to correct posing, always with a ‘may I’ before he does, and he fills the room with kind words, good vibes, and fun music so you never feel awkward. 

At first you were really iffy on the whole idea when he first asked in September, because it would be the prince of your nation photographing little ol’ you. You weren’t anything special—yet—and you’re still never one for being in the spotlight, or for being on camera. At all. But if it was just for homework, and you were helping out a friend…you figured why not? 

It helped that all of your worries immediately faded when you saw the results of that first shoot.

An email from a very non-princely email address found its way into your inbox. The subject was the date of the shoot, and the only message inside being:

 thanks. Hope you like them. 

Let’s do it again sometime.

-J

When you opened the attachments you made a quick dive to catch the phone that fell from your hands in shock. 

You looked…beautiful. Like you never had in pictures before. Not in school, or at graduation, not even in the ones you took of yourself. 

You didn’t know you were capable of looking like that. 

Like how he saw you. Captured you. 

And you’ll never admit you’ve held your chin a little higher with every shoot since.

They make you feel powerful, attractive. More confident, and sure of yourself, as if you were always meant to be in front of a camera. Like you’d been in front of one since before you could walk.

They do that for you.

He…does that for you—with his pictures, of course.

Jungkook is very talented. Very skilled with his camera, and you find yourself looking forward to the concepts he comes up with every time. Trusting him and whatever his vision is wholeheartedly. 

Though a small, immature piece of you is also pleased he still wants you to model, and not Adaline. That he finds you easier to work with over her.

Your competitive streak never fails to come out, even with the smallest, secretive things.

Take that Adaline.

You gladly help him out with his homework, and he does the same for you. 

If you ever need a male reference or a profile study. Anatomy practice, features practice, likeness practice. Anything and almost everything, all you have to do is ask, and he sits still or places whatever you need in front of you while you sketch.

Hands, however, have always been a personal favourite of yours.

They’re one of those things that can be drawn a hundred different ways and never look the same. Always a new position you can put them in. Consistently able to shake things up. And one set is never like the others—like eyes. There’s little differences in all of them and that’s where their magic lies.

You do these studies at the greenhouse, it has the best light to shadow ratio. When you ask him for one, he’ll switch to working with one hand, while the other does whatever you tell it. Normally either placed on your table or if there isn’t enough room, which nine times out of ten there isn’t because of all your supplies, you stick your foot on the lower metal frame of his table and he rests his arm, wrist or palm on your up bent knee. 

Due to this, you’ve unintentionally come to find out that his hands are very strong, very calloused, and very, very warm…

Also! Aside from hand studies, you love loose figure studies because they’re great warm up sketches. And what Jungkook doesn't know is that you have dozens of warm up sketches of him. Doesn’t know you sneak pictures here and there when you can, hiding them in a hidden album on your phone entitled ‘hmwk screenshots.’ And he definitely doesn’t know that when he’s sitting at the cafe, nose deep in assignments, you doodle his features or his outfit in real time.

A nose here, a jacket there. A muscular forearm covered in tattoos also tends to find its way onto your page every so often.

He’s got a good physique. And the ridges make for excellent anatomy practice. So does the intricate line work of tattoos, and fabric rippling. Especially in drastic lighting. Consistency is key in maintaining and improving your work and it’s not like any of these sketches will ever see the light of day anyways. 

They’re just, well…practice. 

A sigh escapes you, and you refocus on finishing your microecon work. You still have two more assignments to get done before Saturday at eleven.

“And why are you working with some random girl when I’m available, again?” Adaline asks. She’s currently sitting on Jungkook's couch in your spot. He’s setting up tomorrow's materials against the big white wall by the floor length windows that showcase his balcony.

It’s why he chose to live here instead of in the dorms or on campus. His place isn’t enormous, like most people would think, it has enough room for everything a regular student needs: bedroom, kitchen, workspace, living room, bathroom, even a guest room. But the one thing he keeps different is the big white wall where a dining room would normally be. 

Jungkook’s place has high ceilings, 10 feet tall, which is higher than the average but not excessive. And the wall that connects his kitchen to the balcony is a perfect mock studio. He can even keep all his equipment there; lights, gels, backgrounds, tubs full of props, camera cases, lenses, and more all stored in neat shelving against another wall. 

“Because students volunteered for extra credit, and she’s who was assigned to me,” a small lie, one he was sure that Adaline wouldn’t dig into too deeply. 

“Why didn’t you tell me I could volunteer?”

“Because you didn’t need the extra credit?”

She pouts, and goes back to her phone.

Adaline also doesn’t know it’s you he’s photographing and that is one hundred percent intentionally planned by him. 

He could sense something between you two after you made that one comment after fall break. He notices now how you stiffen slightly every time he mentions Adaline, and the one time he mentioned you in passing to test the waters, Adaline changed the conversion topic almost immediately. A look of annoyance, or maybe even insecurity in her eyes.

So he’s been lucky that Adaline has never wanted to see any of his schoolwork prior to or after the singular shoot he did with her. 

Lucky she hasn’t seen your face fill up his screen constantly. 

And extremely lucky that she doesn’t know about the hidden folder buried deep in his desktop labeled ‘eqpmt rcpts’ filled with dozens of candid shots of you.

To be fair, you don’t know about them either. They’re random, shots taken every now and then where he thought you looked happy, focused, or just existing. True candids of the most candid person he knew.

It started that day with his first assignment from Professor Hirmer. He’d taken those quick pictures of you painting, and then simply never stopped. 

He has pictures of you in the courtyard, walking and talking to Yuri, you smiling. He has some he took on his phone when you’re over for movie night, invested in the film or talking to him. And a bunch of you painting at the greenhouse. It’s hard to take secret candids when he’s right beside you, but he manages seeing as you haven't caught him yet.

He even has a few of you and Nel, love clearly written on your face in every single one of them.

Whenever he spots you before you spot him, and he has his camera on him, he takes a couple. 

They’ve amassed into a healthy sum, but he thinks of it as a harmless habit as no one will ever know. And it’s not like he’s following you around to take them or using them for anything nefarious. 

He just likes taking your picture. Capturing your spirit, your candor. 

Your realness. 

You are wholly yourself, always, no holding back, all of the time. 

And to him, it feels like coming up for a breath of fresh air.

“Hey!” you say as you let yourself into Jungkook’s apartment. You’d knocked but no one answered and it was currently 10:56am on Saturday, so you knew he was here. Plus, his door was unlocked.

“Jungkook?” you call. 

No answer.

You take your shoes off after closing the door and locking it. He should really keep his door locked. 

Very quickly become best friends with the couch, you toss your backpack of warm clothes on the floor while you wait for him to make an appearance. 

There’s shoot equipment everywhere; lights in the corner, some with soft boxes on them, gels laid out on the coffee table, and what you’ve come to learn is a lens case sits on the couch beside you in Jungkook's usual spot. 

Jungkook has also somehow managed to find some small trees in blue ceramic pots and what you’re pretty sure is a smoke machine. 

But the most peculiar thing is what looks to be a kiddie pool up against the wall with a folded tarp at its base. 

Well that's…interesting…

You hear a door open somewhere in the apartment and running water. 

“Jungkook? That you?”

“Hey! Yep. Just give me a sec, I’m almost done.”

The water sounds cease and Jungkook makes his grand entrance as he turns the corner holding a large watering can. Your eyebrow raises.

“For the trees?” you ask.

“What?” 

You point to the watering can currently making his veins pop. 

He laughs, “Oh! No. This is for later. You’ll see,” and walks to the other side of the room by the pool. 

“Aren’t we mysterious today,” you say, following him with your eyes. He’s in ripped black jeans that accentuate the muscle definition of his thighs, and a matching baggy shirt. When his back is turned you snap a quick picture. The fabric folds on his baggy shirts are some of your favourite mindless things to cool down sketch.

“Nah, just focused. We have a lot to get through today.”  He sets down the watering can and you can see the moment the switch flips from friend to photographer. “The guest room is ready for you. There’s a clothing rack inside with each look labeled. There’s also makeup and face paint, if you could bring out the make up after you're done changing, that would be great. We’re gonna start with ‘Bright and Bold’, okay?” 

You usually use the spare room as a change room when you have to switch clothes for a shoot. But they were always from your own closet. He’d tell you the concept he was going for and you’d bring a few options to choose from.

Makeup you were used to, though. Jungkook loves abusing your artistic abilities for his shoots in the way you decorate your face or body, saying they make his works a level up from the rest of his classmates. 

They also usually make for some of the coolest pictures you have of yourself.

This is the first time he’s ever bought clothing, though.

You shouldn’t be as surprised as you are, this being his final assignment for an important class, and him being as serious as he is about his work and the final product. But you can't help it, you’re excited to see everything he’s chosen for the shoot. 

For you.

For the shoot.

“Yep, sounds good. Be out in a few,” you reply. He nods in acknowledgement before moving to set something up and you don’t stick around to find out, grabbing your bag and heading towards the door lined hall. 

The guest room is modest and clean. White sheets and gray comforter with, surprisingly, two throw pillows to spruce it up. The walls are white too, but you’re pretty sure that’s because Jungkook’s not allowed to paint the apartment per his landlord's wishes—a thought that still makes you laugh.

He could buy any place he wanted, but chose to rent. ‘To get the real university experience,’ he explained when you asked him the first time you went over.

Black furniture accents the room. A comfortable looking leather chair sits in the corner by a glass door that leads to the balcony. It has a small table beside it. There’s a dresser with a mirror in the other corner and of course, in the center of the room, is the bed. It’s a nice room. However, the newest edition is what’s keeping your eye.

Four shirts hang from the rack at the foot of the bed. The first is vibrant and colourful, the second a light neutral short sleeved V neck, third is strapless and skin coloured, and the last is made from thin black fabric you assume will be skin tight by the looks of it. 

As promised, they’re all labeled with a sticker. 

You throw your bag on the bed and grab the colourful one first. Its sticker says ‘bright and bold,’ and you put it on after removing the shirt you came in, then zip it up. The material feels heavy, durable and expensive. You check the tag on the inside seam and see it’s from Ilkaya, one of the biggest and most expensive fashion designers on this side of the realm. 

Your eyes bug out of your head, and you try not to breathe too hard for fear of ruining it. Your routine of thrifting all your clothes makes you pretty damn sure you can’t even imagine how much this cost. 

It feels good though, comfortable, not itchy. Really freaking expensive.

You look at yourself in the mirror, and you have to admit you look amazing. It fits perfectly in all the right places, compliments your skin tone, and even brings out your eyes. Begrudgingly, you admit to yourself that maybe there’s some sense in what the price tag could be. But it would still be a ridiculous sum for a jacket.

With one last look in the mirror, you grab the palettes, brushes and other tools off the dresser, and leave your designated dressing room for the day in favour of returning to the living room. 

Jungkook’s got music going from your shared playlist. Insisting on making one after your second shoot together, when he decided you both agreed to the arrangement becoming a regular thing. It’s a good mix of both of your musical tastes, even though you guys figured out quickly that you liked pretty similar stuff anyway. 

“What do you think? Does it work?” You ask as you turn the corner. 

Jungkook fiddles with this camera before looking and pausing for a moment to take you in. You hope you look okay, but the weird look he has on his face makes you backtrack a bit. 

“Is this not the one you wanted? It had the label on it. But I can go back and double che- ”

“You look amazing,” is all he says, and your worry slides off you instantly. He smiles wide, the one you’ve come to recognize as genuine. 

“Thanks. But the colour’s doing most of the work for me,” you say, smiling back shyly.

He has a white background set up, and two differently coloured gel’d lights sit on opposite one another, a third, smaller floor light faces the background. A backlight, he’d call it. 

Bright and Bold indeed, though there is the matter of-

“What do you want me to do for my make up?”

“Actually,” he sets down his camera gently on a table, “Is it okay if I do it? I want it to be a little more on the amateur side and I don’t think your years of refined talent would let you get the exact look I want.” 

That’s new. But you're here to stand and look however he wants you too, so you allow him with a nod. 

“Sure, where do you want me to sit?”

“Here’s fine,” he says as he pulls a stool that was off to one side close to one of the windows. “As long as you don’t mind holding the make up. I don’t have a table to set them down on.  Should’ve thought of that, sorry.” 

You can tell he’s mentally scolding himself for forgetting something.

“No no, it’s fine,” you say, taking your seat, “I don’t mind, really.” 

Placing the balls of your feet on the bar that holds the chair legs together, you make your lap even enough to set the palettes out, and use a hand to hold all the brushes. 

Jungkook laughs, noticing your feet as you sit, “Cute socks.”

They’re light blue with a fox face on them, and little ears stick up from the elastic around the ankle. 

“Thanks,” you laugh too, they’re your favourite pair. “I call them my fox socks. They’re lucky.”

“Let’s hope so. Wish me luck fox socks,” he calls to your toes, and you wiggle them in response.

He picks a brush and chooses a colour. “Close your eyes and let me know if I’m pressing too hard. If it isn’t obvious, I’ve never done this before.”

You close your eyes and whisper, “Will do.”

It's a uniquely intimate experience having your makeup done. Willingly letting someone get up close and personal with you, allowing them to see every potential scar, blemish and pore in the name of beauty and for the sake of creativity. 

In this case, it’s also a little questionable considering where you feel the brush putting down colour: cheeks, lids, temple, nose. However, you’re simply a pawn in a well thought out plan, so you sit and wait for him to finish.

“Annnd done,” he says, making a final swipe with the brush on your cheek. “You look great! I didn’t hurt you, right?” he asks, showing you the makeup in a palettes mirror. Your face looks like it’s been attacked by a rainbow in the best way. You smile, taking the mirror from him and looking at all the little details. 

For a first timer, Jungkook did a really good job. 

“Nope, I’m good. How do you want me?”

Jungkook leads you to the backdrop, placing you in front. 

“One second,” he says, grabbing a remote and clicking a button to lower the black out curtains on the windows, and then another that turns off the apartment lights. He also clicks on all the lights he’s set up and you’re quickly illuminated by a bright red and purple as well as the back light.

“I’m good to pose?” he asks. 

“Yep.” 

You love that he always asks first. It makes you feel safe and considered, consenting to every touch prior to its occurrence. 

Jungkook instructs the first pose to have your hands on the sides of your face, making slight adjustments so that you don’t cover any of the makeup. And for the first time, his touches leave little sparks where they land. 

You’re sure it’s just because of the lights or that the shirt is thick and makes you warm. 

Or maybe you’re just nervous and need to get the first photo jitters out of your system.

Soon enough, the camera’s pointing at you and you smile the brightest you can. He’s given you the prompt of ‘you’re so excited and happy you can’t hold it in,’ and you work with it the best you can, taking the first few with the pose he gave before being given full reign. 

It’s a decent way into the first shoot when Jungkook says, “Hmm…we’re not quite there yet, I need a bit more,” and follows up with, “How about ‘you’ve just been commissioned by the Modern Art Museum to have the leading showcase for next year’.” 

You smile the biggest you think you ever have at the thought. Because that’s the dream, that is the biggest goal you could achieve. An entire gallery of your work as the primary exhibition in the Western Shores Modern Art Museum? You couldn’t go any higher. It’s every artist's dream.

“There you go! That’s it!” The camera’s capturing quickly as you imagine what it would be like to have your own showcase at the WS-MAM. Incredible is the first word that comes to mind, your work in the biggest museum on the continent? You can’t even imagine, but you want to. 

One day, you promise yourself. You’ll do it one day.

“Okay,” Jungkook says, breaking your daydream, “Let me switch out the gels for new colours and go again. These are great so far though, you're doing amazing.” 

You hold your hand out for a high five and he smacks it. “Go team!” you say, and he laughs.

An hour and a half, a makeup fix and three lighting changes later, the first shoot finishes. You collapse on the couch and rub the muscles on your thighs. 

Jungkook plops down beside you, nose deep in the pictures he’s just taken, double checking everythings good.

“This is a fantastic start, I hope we can keep it up all day and finish before tomorrow.”

“Me too,” you say, and you mean it. Shoots with him are always fun, but inevitably tiring. “I’m gonna to grab a water, want one?” 

“Yes please,” he replies without looking up.

In the kitchen, you open the fridge to grab the two bottles and notice a box, stamped with a coffee mug that has a greenhouse inside of it, on top. The greenhouse cafe’s logo. 

“Can I ask what’s inside the cafe box?” you ask as you sit back on the couch and pass him a bottle.

“Ah, caught red handed,” he says, setting his camera on the table and taking a swig. “I may have asked Vivan earlier this week to make sure there was an overstock of tarts so I could grab them for you as a thank you for today.”

...Oh

That’s so sweet. He’s never gotten you a thank you gift before, especially not in the form of the most delicious pastry to ever exist. Maybe you should get him something for all the times he’s helped you with homework? A solstice gift maybe?

There’s heat forming in your chest and you really hope it’s not the beginning stages of heartburn. Maybe Jungkook has antacids. 

“You didn’t have to do that, I’m happy to help.”

“So you don’t want them then?” his shit eating grin making a glorious comeback because he knows what your answer’s going to be.

“No! I want them. I most definitely want them.”

He chuckles and puts his water down.

“Okay Donatello, glad you accept. Let's move on to the next set up. There’s makeup remover and cotton pads in the room, and some moisturizer too if you need it.”

The next shoot is called ‘Regality,’ and it has you in the strapless shirt. You find out it’s quite a low cut when you put it on. There’s enough to cover you, but there’s definitely a lot of your chest showing. However, under the shirt on the hanger is a scarf to cover yourself with, which you think is very considerate.

“Makeup?” you ask as you come out again, scarf covering you.

“Neutral, but strong. Kind of like how my mother does,” the background is still white, but you have a hunch that it will remain white in this picture, unlike the last one. “This one is going to be black and white, so try to emphasize your natural beauty.”

You ignore that he essentially just said you're beautiful, surely he’s just being kind and professional. Making sure his model feels good about herself. 

Right?

Right.

You put on a coat of mascara and go light on the shadow so it won't be too dramatic on film. You also use a shade of lipstick that adds just a tint to your lips and a blush that makes your eyes pop.

Jungkook has you sit on the stool from earlier and faces your body three quarters of the way towards the camera, but keeps your head turned in profile. 

“Oh! Almost forgot, one second,” Jungkook jogs to his room, coming back with a palm sized velvet box. “I had my mother send these over for this shoot. She has better taste than me, so I let her pick them out.”

Your stomach plummets to the floor when he opens the box. 

Inside are two dangling diamond earrings, and quite possibly the most beautiful things you’ve ever seen.

And now you’re terrified. 

“Jungkook, I can't wear those. They look like they’re worth more than my house, my car and my tuition combined.”

He takes one out and places it in your hand for you to put in, it’s the length of your index finger. And all you can think about is the potential houses you’re holding as you look at it. 

It’s a semi-rectangular earring, encrusted with four columns of diamonds that cascade down, each column longer than the previous. Like a sparkling waterfall you can attach to your ear.

“Don’t worry about it, mum said she never wears them anyway because they’re part of a set that the necklace was lost to years ago. Please,” his face is nothing but reassurance and small smiles, “You’re giving them a chance to live again.”

You couldn't say no to those eyes even if you wanted to.

So you reply, almost breathless and still against your better judgment, “Okay.”

Placing them in one after the other, they have a significant, understandable weight to them. You take a couple deep breaths so you don't freak out, and then you return to your previously designated pose, profile set, body facing the camera.

“Can I adjust?” Jungkook asks, after taking a step back and getting a wider view. 

You nod gently, still terrified of the earrings.

He makes sure the earring is visible and untangled first, before a finger gently comes beneath your chin, and lifts it a bit higher. 

The feeling they leave behind is all you can think about as you stare at your place on the wall, Jungkook snapping away. Not even the soft light illuminating your profile is enough to make you blink.

This shoot goes by quickly, and you’re relieved to get the earrings back safely inside their box.

“It’s like 2:45, wanna break for a late lunch?” Jungkook asks. 

“Please, I’m starved,” you say, returning from the guest room after tossing on the sweater you brought. “What's on the menu?”

“Well, we have two options,” he says, looking very faux serious, “1. We order out from wherever you want and awkwardly wait for it to arrive because the next shoot is not one we can’t prep for, then eat, then shoot.  Or 2. I make use of the ingredients I bought to make Bulgogi Kimchi Fried Rice and you get lunch and a show.”

You're shocked. 

Jungkook…cooks? Oh this you absolutely must see.

“Hmm….” you say, pretending to really mull it over in the same ‘serious’ tone, “I’m thinking I’ll have to go with option two, Chef. But I’ll lend a hand where I can, no use in standing around doing nothing.”

“Every chef needs a sous.”

With both of you on task, lunch is getting made quickly. Jungkook has all the ingredients to make ‘my buddy’s famous family recipe,’ a man who you assume is a chef back at the palace. The island countertop is currently covered in them; onion, kimchi, marinated bulgogi, gochujang, cooked rice, eggs and more. 

You’re surprised at how skilled Jungkook is in the kitchen. He’s cutting the ingredients like he’s been doing it his whole life and working the pan over the stove like the proper technique has been drilled into him since birth. 

Thirty minutes pass, and after both of you shed a tear at the cut onions and evenly split the remaining tasks, you’re sitting on the couch about to take your first bite. It smells delicious. Your mouth is watering and you can’t wait to dig in, stomach painfully empty by this point.

Finally taking that first bite, you nearly die of euphoria.

“Ouhmahgaud,” you say, mouth half full. Jungkooks on the other side of the couch, trying not to cough out his own food from laughing at your reaction. His eyes are nearly shut with how wide he’s smiling.

“Good?” he asks after swallowing his food first, like a civilized person.

You’re vigorously nodding as you swallow your own helping in hopes you’re understood.

“You’re giving me this recipe. I need it. I don’t think I will survive if this is the only time I ever get to eat it.” Your bowl is almost half gone already. Thank god there’s leftovers, you will be having more.

Plus, you want to make it for your mom when you go home, she’ll love it. 

“I’ll text it to you later, don’t worry.”

You’re very sure the look on your face conveys the gratitude you feel and the rest of the meal passes in a very comfortable and satisfied silence. 

Twenty-ish minutes later, after letting your seconds settle for a couple minutes, Jungkook gets back to business. 

“Next look is the most adventurous, it uses the facepaint. Are you okay with contacts?”

“I think so, never tried them before though. Just give me a few before we start so I don’t explode when I stand up.”

“All good,” he says, before quirking a lip and adding, “I really don’t feel like explaining why there’s kimchi and bits of you all over my walls to either of our parents, so take all the time you need.”

You laugh, firstly at the visual, then at the idea of Jungkook meeting your mother. That would be something you needed on record, paper and film.

After a minute, you get up, the guest room making your acquaintance once more. 

“This one is called Enigmatic,” Jungkook calls.

“Got it!”

You take longer than normal to change, maybe eating before putting on the skin tight shirt wasn’t a great idea. But at least it was stretchy. 

It has long sleeves, a high neck, and is a very dark midnight black. There’s a matching black scarf for this one too, and a safety pin attached to the corner.

“Okay, what's the plan for this one? I hear facepaint is involved,” you say, back for round three, scarf in hand.

The background of the set is black now, a close match to your shirt. Jungkook is by the smoke machine, currently set up on the stool and plugged into a nearby outlet. 

You hold up the scarf, questioningly.

“That’s to go over your head after the paint, but let’s see if you can do contacts first, they’re in the washroom. Need help?”

“No, I'm good.”

You don’t succeed at first, but after a couple attempts you look in the mirror and see purple eyes staring back at you. You love them.

“I look like a badass,” you say, returning. The smoke machine’s been turned on and it’s created a completely different atmosphere. At your reemergence, Jungkook shuts it off and comes close to give you a look. You freeze a little at the eye contact, his browns meeting your currently violets for a prolonged moment.

“They look better than I’d hoped, this is going to be great.” 

He reaches under the gels on the table for a piece of paper. It’s a makeup model face with the look he wants drawn on. “Are you able to do something like this?”

The diagram shows the cheeks, bottom half of the nose and down all the way to the neck as black, and the eyes and up as white, bleeding down into the black like smoke. You’re going to need eyeshadow for that part. If you did that with the face paint it would just become a gray mess.

“Yep, but it’s going to take some time to get it right.”

“That’s okay, I’ll use it to get the smoke machine properly set up.”

You use one of the palette mirrors and start with the white, covering the top of your face and making a good base layer for the eyeshadow. Then fill the bottom of your face and neck with the black. Carefully, so as to not make gray, you use a large brush to cover both sides with their respective eyeshadow shades, before blending them together like the reference. Your skin starts to feel like it’s on fire by the time you're satisfied and you check your phone for the time when you finally finish. 

4:37pm. 

Not bad. You put the scarf over your head and cover your ears with it, using the safety pin to hold it in place. 

“Done.”

Jungkook takes one look at you and lights up. 

“Have I ever mentioned how talented you are, and that you make my schoolwork so much more fun? Because I feel like I should again even if I already have.” Your cheeks heat, glad he’s excited you’re able to help. “How did you manage to make it look even better?”

“I do vaguely remember mentioning something about a deal with a semi-suspicious genie,” you joke. And both of you break out in giggle fits after a second, recalling the conversation from forever ago. 

Running through the same steps of lighting, posing, and adjustments, Jungkook then flips on the smoke machine and lets it fill the room heavily before starting to take pictures. 

You’re sitting on a small box this time, so that you’re slightly lower than the camera. Jungkook tells you to keep your hands at your sides and look up, just above the rim of the camera lens. It creates a very interesting look, and you're excited to see the results. 

He has you do a couple more poses before allowing you to do your own thing once more, trying to think of what would look mysterious and enigmatic.

You try to let the music inspire you. This is a look you’ve never done before, so you’re finding it a bit difficult to get into it despite Jungkook's helpful prompts and suggestions. But you flow a bit better with it as time goes on and you become more comfortable.

An idea pops up out of nowhere and you have him do a close up from the middle of your chin to the middle of your forehead. You stare straight into the lens to really showcase the purple contacts and makeup.

“This’s the one for sure,” he says, taking a few more. “Great idea, why didn’t I think of a close up in the first place?” You know he's talking to himself at this point. 

It’s close to 6:15pm when Jungkook decides he has enough pictures for this look. You don’t mind the longer shoot seeing as you set aside the day for this, and you can’t wait to see how these ones turn out in particular.  

You’re halfway through getting the face paint off, a mountain of gray stained cotton pads beside you, when Jungkook turns the music down.

“Let’s do a light, early dinner and then shoot the last one?” he asks. “I kept this one at the end because it’s going to create the most mess and it’ll be nice to have dinner out of the way for when I have to clean up.”

“More mess than this?” you point to the cotton pad mountain.

“Much more.”

“Light, early dinner it is,” you confirm, not wanting to have to wait till late to eat. “But can we order out so I have time to get the rest of this off?”

“Sure, what’ll it be?”

Clean faced, moisturized and ramyeon filled, you and Jungkook are preparing for the last shoot. Or well, lightly arguing.

“Water?”

“Mhm.”

“On me?”

“Yep.”

“From that thing,” you point to the contraption he calls a c-stand that will be holding the very full, very large watering can over your head for an extended amount of time, “And into there?” you point again to the kitty pool on top of the tarp that’s underneath the watering can c-stand. 

“That is the plan,” he looks amused at your slight distress.

“Are you nuts? What if it falls on me? How do I know it won’t unhinge and I’ll have a nicely cracked open skull to explain to my mother on Solstice break?”

“It won’t fall and you know it won't because you trust me and trust I wouldn’t put you in unnecessary danger. But if it does, tell your mom I say hi and sorry.”

You scoff at him, unbelievable. “So you admit there’s a bit of danger!”

Jungkook sighs, and looks to the ceiling. “Yes, YN. There is a touch of danger. But that’s only if, somehow, the c-stand I have triple safety checked, duct taped twice, and quadruple secured with four fifteen pound sandbags, decides that you deserve a watering can to the head.”

You side eye his tone. This wasn’t an unrealistic worry. But you do trust him. And trust he would never intentionally put you in any danger.

The trees are set up near the backdrop that looks like a row of brick houses. The shot is supposed to be ��The Calm after Before the Storm,’ where you look relieved and happy in an ‘outside’ setting while ‘rain’ falls over you, also in black and white.

“Fine, but if I hear one peep from that thing,” c-stand staring down the tip of your finger once more, “I’m tuck and rolling and taking you out while I do it.”

“Very fair!” he says relieved, and goes to set up the stand with the watering can. 

You’d changed into the neutral V neck after dinner, and he’s asked for no makeup. So all you have to do now is stand and pose while trying not to die from foreign objects falling from the sky while you get wet.

Easy, right?

Wrong.

It is incredibly difficult, and you’re glad he made this one last because you’re at best; slightly miserable. Only the promise of a hot shower, hot chocolate with whip cream and marshmallows and your pick of whatever you watch afterward is keeping you going.

You started this one just shy of 8pm after waiting 45 minutes for the food. And it’s nearing 9:30 now. Jungkook has had to refill the watering can four times, dump the kiddie pool twice,  and you swear if you don’t finish within the next twenty minutes, you’re going to collapse from shivering.

To be fair, he does fill the watering can with warm water, but it only stays warm for so long before freezing water is pouring on you for the millionth time tonight. 

“I have one last idea, and by the way, I’m never doing this concept again so don’t worry about that, but also… don’t shut down the idea immediately okay?” Jungkook says. 

The watering can is almost empty again and you’re relieved that your time is almost up. That in itself should make for a good picture. He snaps it.

But his tone makes you a little wary, “Okay… what is it?”

“Pretend I’m Nel and you’re seeing me for the first time in six months, like you do at the end of April.”

Well, you didn’t have that down on your photo shoot prompt bingo card. 

Are you okay with the idea? You aren’t sure, but aren’t not sure either.

“I mean, I’ll try. Maybe you could give vocal cues to try and help? But don’t make it weird.”

“I won’t, promise,” Jungkook pauses for a second before adding, “Does he call you baby?”

You nod, and you distantly hear and ‘okay’ as you slowly allow yourself to get into that headspace.

You start, and the camera starts going.

You’re in the airport, waiting for Nel, ‘smoosh’ paper in hand. The gate opens, and through all the other passengers you see him, see that he’s in one piece, see that he’s safe. 

Your face illuminates with relief at that so much so that you don’t even notice the water that starts running down your face. 

You hear a ‘hi baby’ and in your head, it’s coming from Nel’s mouth as he nears you. You smile impossibly wider at the thought of seeing him, feeling him. Having him here with you. 

You look happy to see me, ‘Nel’ says.

“I am,” you reply. 

There’s repetitive clicking in the distance, but you ignore it. It’s probably just a flight attendant's heels on the floor.

“I missed you.”

There’s a long moment of silence before Nel speaks again.

I missed you too, baby.

You’re shivering hard now, lost in thought, unaware of reality. 

YN, Nel calls.

“Yes, love?”

“YN.”

“Babe, what is it?”

“YN, hey,” you're being shaken gently.

“Hmm? What?” you slowly arrive back to the present. Strong hands grip your shoulders. They feel nice. Solid. Deliciously warm. 

A very concerned looking Jungkook comes into focus, camera dangling around his neck and reaching for you.

Oh.

He’s the one holding your shoulders, trying to get you to come back to reality.

“There she is, welcome back,” he lets go and grabs a blanket from somewhere and wraps it around you. “We got the shot, go take a shower and warm up okay?”

“Okay,” you say, still a little dazed, but present enough to function.

You step out of the pool, holding on to the hand Jungkook offers to balance—Warm. Solid. Strong—and head straight for the bathroom, making a pit stop in the guest room to grab your bag with fresh clothes. 

The hot water cements your place back in reality, letting it warm you up and cleanse you of the day. 

You have no idea what just happened with that whole Nel thing, but it was a new feeling and a new headspace and you really aren’t in the mood to analyze or acknowledge, so it’s shoved onto a top shelf in the back of your mind for a later date.  

Once you're able to return to the directory of your mind, you don’t know how long you’ve been in the shower. But you know you’re clean, no longer cold, and in the mood for hot chocolate, so you step out and dry yourself with the towels Jungkook laid out for you on the toilet seat.

They’re soft. So soft in fact you consider only for a second shoving one in your now less full bag to take home with you. However, you do rather enjoy your friendship with the prince, so you think better of it upon second thought. 

Dressing in your sweats, you exit, tossing the towels in the hamper and your bag of the clothes you arrived in back into the spare room.

“Better?” Jungkook asks as you sit down in your spot on the couch for the last time tonight, wrapping up in the blanket he left for you. He’s in the kitchen but heard you coming.

“Much, thanks,” you sniff, “Is that hot chocolate I smell?”

Jungkook returns from the kitchen, two mugs in hand. “With extra whip cream and marshmallows, as ordered.”

You carefully take it from him, giving your thanks and happily slurping away the second it’s in your grasp. 

“Alright Caravaggio, what are we watching?” he asks, sitting down on his side, sipping away on his own. 

Sometime between you leaving for the shower and coming back out Jungkook changed into his own comfy attire, and tidied up the studio space as the pool and tarp are nowhere to be seen.

“I’ve thought really hard about this, all of however long I was in the shower,” Jungkook mutters something about 35 minutes; you ignore him, “And have settled on ‘A Miser Brothers Solstice’.”

He whines just a little when he says, “But it’s November.”

“So?”

“So, Solstice isn’t until the third week of December,” he’s saying this like his point is the most obvious thing in the world. 

It’s not.

“Your point?”

“That it’s November, and you want to watch a Solstice movie.”

You’re mockingly outraged.

“Who made you town grinch? I didn’t realize we had a holiday hater in our midst.” 

You loved the holidays, all the big ones, and the small ones, but Solstice was special. 

“I’m not a grinch, I’m just not there yet, mentally.”

“Then get ready to dive in head first, because you said I could pick the movie for risking my life for you and I pick ‘A Miser Brothers Solstice’.”

Jungkook doesn’t argue further, but he does roll his eyes as he puts on your movie with a small smile hidden behind his drink.

It’s sometime during the first act, you’re lying back against your corner of the couch, feet up and under the blanket when you ask, “What are your solstice break plans?” 

Jungkook takes a moment to part from the TV, very invested for someone who was so against it half an hour ago. “I have a lot of ‘princely duties’ to do for Solstice, like standing and looking thoughtful while my dad gives his annual Solstice speech,” you snort. “Then there’s the palace dinner, the parade through the capital, and the live televised event,” he says in a tv announcer's voice, “Where my family and I light the Solstice Star. And then there’s the new year and that in itself has another long list of things I have to do. Besides things like that though? Not much, and then it’s back here.”

Right.

You often forget who he is. 

That behind those kind eyes, and small smiles, behind the greenhouse study dates, and movie nights, and photoshoots, Jungkook has an enormous responsibility constantly looming over his head, counting down the days until he finishes his schooling. One that’s just waiting to drop onto his shoulders forever. 

You often forget that Jungkook is the Prince, first in line to the biggest throne in the realm. That you spend your time with not only Jeon Jungkook, friend and photography student, but also, His Royal Highness, Prince Jeon Jungkook, Heir Apparent and Future King of The Western Shores.

He just makes it so damn easy to forget.

You only asked because you thought maybe he had plans with friends or family, completely forgetting about all of the things the royal family does during the holiday season to celebrate with the nation, their people, and now you feel like an ass for even bringing it up.

But there’s something in his answer, or lack thereof, that snags your attention. 

“What about celebrating with your family and friends in private?”

“No time,” Jungkook’s stare goes distant as he brings his knees up and puts his arms around them, resting his chin. “Friends are always busy with palace preparations and dad’s not really the sentimental type. We celebrated when I was younger; big family breakfast, presents, tree decorating, whole thing. But after I turned about 13 or so, it started dwindling pretty quickly. Now it’s just me and my mom exchanging a gift with each other at midnight under the palace tree.” 

You don’t think you’ve ever heard something so heartbreaking yet beautiful in your life. 

“Your mum sounds wonderful, I’m really happy you two get that time together.” 

He looks at you, and you can tell by the look in his eyes he loves that time with her more than anything else. 

Solstice is supposed to be the time you spend with your family, blood or chosen. The time where you all gather to cook and bake, and exchange thoughtful gifts with the ones you love. The time where you truly cherish one another and count yourself lucky for all that you have. 

Solstice is your favourite time of the year.

To not spend it like that just seems…wrong. Horribly, painfully, awfully wrong.

���What about you?” he asks.

You don’t want to make him feel bad, so you tone down your answer, taking away the meat and giving the bones.

“My mum and I cut down our own tree and decorate it with the ornaments we’ve collected over the years,” you have them from every place you’ve ever visited, and your mum kept all the ones you ever made as a kid. You even get a new one every solstice to take a picture for and label with the year.  

“Then we bake solstice cookies until our hands cramp and survive off only them until solstice dinner; a turkey, honey glazed carrots, mashed potatoes with gravy, essentially if it waters your mouth, it’s there,” he chuckles at that. “We do gifts for each other too, opening them on solstice morning before making hot drinks and reading in the breakfast nook until the sun sets or till we get hungry, whichever comes first.”

Jungkook's eyes glow, radiating warmth, a lazy smile on his face as he listens to you. 

“That sounds really nice, YN.”

“It is,” you reply, looking him in those radiant eyes as you do. He looks… happy. Happy for you, that you get to have something like this that’s so special. It breaks your heart a little…maybe you can help.

“You wanna make some solstice cookies with me before break?”

His look of happy shifts to one of slight panic.

“What?” you question, and comically ask, “Have you never made solstice cookies before?”

He hesitates before answering a very quiet, “Uh…N-no.”

Your shock must be incredibly evident in the way he almost flinches at your reaction.

So you try your best to keep your voice level when you ask, “What do you mean, no?”

“I mean no. I’ve never made solstice cookies.”

That’s it. You can’t hold back any more, you’ve never heard anything so blasphemous in all your life.

“You’ve never what?  How is that even possible?”

He shrinks into himself a little more.

“The palace pastry chef always makes them because that’s kind of his job,” you stare at him in disbelief. “Is this really that big a deal?”

You swear there’s cog’s and smoke flying out of your ears. Solstice cookies are a religion in your household. You know dozens of recipes by heart, always finding a new one each year to try and up your game. You cannot imagine a solstice without making them. Wait no, actually you can, but it would be because you’re dead.

You held back in your answer earlier, for his sake, but you and your mom’s hands cramp up because you make enough cookies to give a box to everyone in the neighborhood. It’s one of your favourite traditions, and your neighbours even look forward to it every year, going so far as sending you both recipes to try out.

“Big dea—you’ve never fucking mad—not even when you were little? No one brought you to the kitchen and let you help? Aren't all your friends back home the pastry chefs' kids or something?” You don’t mean to sound harsh, but your tone is a little more passionate than you were intending. 

But Jungkook knows you, knows you occasionally get that passionate about things, and takes your outburst in stride. 

“Yeah, one of them is, but we don't sit around the oven and make cookies all break long. And his dad is always too busy to teach us even if we wanted to.”

You decide something. Right then and there.

“This year you are.”

“What?”

“Mark your last Saturday off because I'm going to show up here, ingredients-a-plenty and teach you how to make solstice cookies. I have a million recipes up here,” you tap your head with a finger, “But I'll choose the easiest ones. And I’ll come over early so we can spend the day making all of them. I can’t in good conscience leave for the break knowing you’ve never made them.”

He sighs. “Do I have any say in the matter?”

“Absolutely not.”

Jungkook stares at you and you can’t figure out what he’s thinking. You’re worried he’s going to say no anyway. To say you’re crazy and that they’re just cookies and that he has more important things he has to do on his Saturday before leaving for home.

But he doesn’t. And you should’ve known he wouldn’t, not after all the time you’ve spent together. 

You know better. Know him better.

“Alright Picasso. Sounds like a plan. I’m looking forward to it,” he decides, and goes back to watching the movie. 

It’s the first time he’s ever repeated a nickname.

“Wait! The wind guy wants to replace who?!” Jungkook shouts. 

You laugh at his confusion, and rewind the movie.

Jungkook wakes up sore.

His back is killing him, which makes sense since he’s half lying on the couch, half on the ground. 

The TV’s silently playing some slideshow of movie recommendations based on recent watches. 

He checks his phone, reaching for it on the coffee tale. 

14% battery. 

4:07am. 

Shit, he fell asleep. 

After the solstice movie he wanted to watch its predecessor. You had no qualms and so on it went, but he doesn’t remember much after the brothers started fighting.

Hearing soft, even breathing next to him he turns to see you, hunched over in your spot asleep, no doubt in the process of ruining your own back.

He should go to bed.

You should go to bed. 

But you’ve never stayed the night.

What should he do? Should he wake you? 

But you look so peaceful. And it’s nearing exams. You barely sleep when it’s exams season. 

Instead, Jungkook goes to check the guest room, but it’s a mess with yesterday's comings and goings. Make-up and clothes and hangers strewn everywhere.

Quietly, making a decision he hopes you won’t kill him for in the morning, he pads back to your sleeping form. 

It’s for your back, he tells himself. No other reason.

Deja vu sets in as he scoops you up from the couch, blanket and all. Just like last time, you gain enough consciousness to know to wrap your arms around his neck, but not enough to wake up. Your head rests on his shoulder and he selfishly savours the feeling as he walks down the short hallway to his room.  

Jungkook sets you down gently on one side of the bed, and your arms release, slumber undisturbed as he tucks you in.

He goes back to the living room to retrieve your phones. Yours is still at 56%, and he places it on the table beside you when he returns.

Climbing into his side of the bed, he’s careful not to touch you.

Though he wants to. 

Desperately. 

His sleep deprived brain is too slow to block out the thoughts that start to race. Thoughts of how he wants to turn around and pull you into his chest, slide an arm around your waist, and kiss you goodnight. How he wants to wake up in the same position, you still in his arms. 

But he’s also awake enough to know that will never happen. That you’re with Nel, and happy with him. That he’s drawn that nice, big line.

He’s awake enough to know you being in his bed is a fluke, unintentional.

A one time thing.

Plugging his phone into its charger, he sets it down on his own bedside table and pulls the covers up, falling back asleep.

His back facing you. 

An exhale wakes you.

Warm and cozy, you take a deep breath and roll to your left side, stretching on the way over. The scents of clean linen and something familiar find you. It’s comforting, that smell, but you can’t place it.

Another exhale, but this time you feel it as well as hear it.

You open your eyes to see a sleeping Jungkook face not a foot from your own and you jolt in shock, falling off the bed in the process. 

You look up from your new seat on the floor, ignoring the pain in your side from landing, and peer over the covers to check on Jungkook, who, miraculously, hasn’t woken up from your tumble. 

Relieved, your mind focuses on more pressing questions like ‘how did you get here?’ And ‘why were you in his bed?’ 

The last thing you remember was being halfway through the prequel to A Miser Brothers Solstice on the couch, watching Jungkook more than the movie because of how invested he’d become in the story. 

But you aren’t on the couch now. You were in his bed. 

The bed of the Prince of the Western Shores. 

The Prince who has a girlfriend, and you, who has a very long term, very serious boyfriend.

You hear a vibration, and following the sound, you find your phone on the bedside table. 

You quickly grab it quickly and go to the living room as quietly as you can manage. 

There’s a large number of unread texts. 

SlurryYuri [11:08pm]: hey, just checking in. You didn’t get home when you said you’d try for SlurryYuri [11:31pm]: Helloooooooo? YN? You there? SlurryYuri [12:14am]: it’s getting late YN, when are you coming home? Are you on your way?

Missed Calls: (3)

SlurryYuri [2:43am]: it’s been hours, so you better be dead or have crashed in the school somewhere. Either way I’m kicking your ass when you get home

Missed Calls: (2)

(Recent)

SlurryYuri [9:36am]: you’re still not home?? YN seriously, where are you SlurryYuri [10:23am]: If you don’t message me back in an hour I’m calling the police and filing a missing persons

Shit. 

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. You crashed hard, the shoot must have taken more out of you than you thought, so you never texted Yuri you were going to crash in a sleep pod at school like you’d planned too. 

You make quick work of messaging her back, glad she unintentionally gave you just the excuse you needed. 

YN [10:25am]: ohmygod I’m soooooo sorry, it was the school one. I fell asleep in the school. I’m sorry for worrying you. I’ll be home soon, promise. I’m just going to grab breakfast first. Again im sorry

SlurryYuri [10:27am]: thank the gods youre okay!! Don’t ever do that to me again YN! I don’t wanna be the one who has to break news to your mom!! She’s too nice.  SlurryYuri [10:27am]: and take your time getting back if your rushing for me, I’m not at the dorm SlurryYuri [10:27am]: Tai showed up yesterday out of the blue and took me dancing. We’re out getting brunch right now, and he has plans for the rest of the day SlurryYuri [10:28am]: Im just glad you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere

YN [10:29am]: me too, and okay I will. Thanks for checking up on me and making sure im safe, youre my favourite

SlurryYuri [10:30am]: damn right I am, see you tn <3

YN [10:30am]: see you <3

You exhale deeply, that was fucking close. 

Your stomach rumbles and it reminds you that you actually need to get breakfast. 

What could you have? You could order in again, but that means a wait time and you are hungry now. You could raid Jungkook's pantry, or see if he has any fruit, but then you think that’s a gross invasion of privacy when it’s not movie night and you haven’t asked if it’s okay. 

Wait.

The egg tarts!

You dash to the fridge, the marvellous sight of a greenhouse inside a coffee mug comes into view. Stuffing one down before you even get the box from the fridge, you exit the kitchen, sit down on the couch, setting the box on the coffee table. Once opened in front of you, you realize there is a healthy amount of tarts inside. 

How many did Jungkook ask for?

Speaking of, a bed-headed, yawning Jungkook makes his morning debut, still in last night's clothes.

“Hey,” he says groggily, walking over and stealing a tart.

“Hey!” you say back, not nearly as friendly. 

“Overnight tax, Picasso. Room isn’t free.” He chuckles at your faux outrage, popping half the tart in his mouth as he walks to the kitchen and grabs something from the fridge. Returning, you see it’s a morning protein shake. 

Gross. 

“So is that name the one you’re sticking to now?” you ask, picking up another tart. At this rate they won’t last until lunch.

“Yeah, that okay with you? It’s your name in my phone after all.”

“It is?” You didn’t know that.

“Yeah, has been since the start.” 

You’re quickly learning that sleepy morning Jungkook is very different from morning post work-out Jungkook, friend Jungkook and photographer Jungkook. His voice is deeper, he’s a lot more relaxed, and maybe even harmlessly borderline flirty, like he’s not all there yet. Softer. 

“Picasso’s just fine. A compliment really.”

“Oh? And what am I in your’s then? Hopefully something just as nice?”

You tell him like it is.

“PJK.”

“PJK?” he asks, incredulous.

“Yeah? It’s obscure enough to not be recognizable if someone were to see it, but enough for me to know who it is.”

“Nah, you need something better, PJK is boring.”

“It’s your initials.”

“And boring,” he’s really not letting up on this. 

“Well...what would you save yourself as?”

He mulls it over for a minute before deflating. “Okay, fair point, but I seriously want a new one. Something that can rival Picasso.”

“Do you have any nicknames? Something not completely obvious?”

For a morning person, Jungkook sure is taking his time. Maybe he was only a morning person before 8am, and then if he got up anytime after that he became a normal person who despised mornings like everyone else.

“Uhh…Vivian calls me JK, but that’s essentially the same thing as PJK. My buddies back home sometimes call me Kook, but I don’t think that works either. My mum has one for me that I will not disclose to anyone so long as I am breathing. So I guess not.”

A lightbulb dings over your head. “What about your security? Don’t they have special code names for you when they detail you? Like bear or eagle?” 

“Yeah, but it’s not nearly as badass as either of those.”

“Fess up,” you say. Now you have to know.

“Hare.”

“Hare?” Now it’s your turn to be incredulous. “Like a rabbit?”

“Yep.”

An idea pops into your head and an evil grin spreads across your face, one you know is already setting worry into Jungkook’s still awakening brain as you change his name.

“I don’t like that look,” he confirms. “What’d you change it to?”

You flip your phone around and hold it up to him.

“Bunny?” he says incredulously once again.

“Yes.”

“I give you Picasso, one of the greatest painters of all time, and you think giving me bunny is anywhere near on par with that?”

Teasing him is far too fun, especially when he makes it this easy for you.

“Oh absolutely. In fact, I think it’s the best name I could possibly set it as.”

Jungkook disagrees, vehemently. “No, change it back. PJK is fine.”

“Too late. You dug your grave, now lie in it.”

Jungkook brings a hand to his face, pinching the crease between his brows and takes a very long, deep breath, exhaling just as dramatically. 

You take that as your victory. But you’re sorely mistaken.

He launches at you, reaching for your phone and you scream, reaching your arm to keep it away from him. You have a fox socked foot on his chest to try and keep him back. His right arm is holding him up near your hip on the couches edge and he’s reaching with his left as far as he can without breaking his sternum on your heel. 

“Give it!”

“Never!”

You try to bring up your other foot to push him away, but Jungkook is strong, and forces both it and the one on his chest down with the arm that was supporting him, temporarily keeping himself up with his left hand on the back of the couch. 

With your legs out of the way he can almost reach his phone. But in his distracted state, misses the couch when he goes to put his supporting arm down again, and flips onto the ground, taking you with him. You scream, but his arms wrap around you as he makes sure to take the brunt of the impact, landing on his back, you safely secured to his chest. 

There’s a moment of pure stunned silence, you resting your forhead on his chest while you process, him not letting go of your waist as he gets a breath into his winded self, before you’re both laughing as you take in what happened.

“You okay?” he asks.

“Yeah, you?”

He takes a second to respond. “I’m great.” 

You push to sit up, and he releases you from his hold, but that was a mistake. Because now you’re sitting on his lap. 

It takes an entire three seconds of you staring at him and him staring right back before you jump and scramble off him as fast as you can. 

“Sorry.” you say in unison, you standing and him from the ground. It’s a painfully awkward 8 seconds before you break, cackling at the whole situation, and he joins in with you again. 

Jungkook brushes off his pants as he gets up too. “Got any plans before tonight,” he asks, business as usual.

“Nope, cleared my schedule in case this went long, I’ve got the whole day.”

You swear his smile grows two sizes.

“Well in that case,” he looks to the TV, then back to you, “Wanna start movie night early?”

An entire day to relax and chill out before the hell that is exams season takes your every free second? 

Yes please.

“Solstice movie marathon?” you propose slyly, near devious.

“I’ll get the popcorn,” he confirms, already halfway to the kitchen.

You spend the day like that, on the couch watching movie after movie, both pretending the little incident never even happened. 

But you make sure to go home after movie night this time. 

Chapter Nine: Sugar Cookies and Devious Confessions

A/N 2: This chapter kicked my ass but it's here and I couldn't be more thrilled. I really like how it's ended so I hope you guys do too.

A/N 3: As always, Thank you for reading, loves. Xoxo - Yoon <3

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[starkidmunson]

glitter & crimson

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

If Steve behaves during workouts over the next few days, he can’t be blamed. He’s trying to prove to his coaches and the team’s medical staff that he’s not rushing a return to the ice, but that he’s ready to lace up and get back out there. He bargains his way out of the full plastic face protection mask, opting for a full cage instead. By Sunday, he’s participating in the last full team practice before they pack up to leave Chicago, keeping up with his teammates despite how much he felt he’d been struggling just days earlier.

“You holding up?” Max asks, loudly, as he skates past where a few of the team doctors are sitting, observing and chatting.

“I’m fine,” He answers, and takes a shot, scoring past their goalie who had belly-flopped in the opposite direction of the puck. 

A few of his teammates ‘whoop’, while the goalie slams his stick against the ice, shoving a glove off his hand to flip Steve off, before getting back to work. 

Steve just snorts and skates back toward Max, holding his arms out. “Would you like to do a formal exam? I promise I’m good. I feel good.” He swears, winking at the redhead, scrunching up the side of his face still recovering, immediately wincing. She rolls her eyes and he laughs softly at himself. “Okay, that didn’t feel good, but that’s just because I’m dumb.”

“Not dumb!” She chastises, pointing at him, and the look on her face tells him he’s about to get a scheduled lecture from the entire Party about how he talks about himself again, so he opts to skate away instead, avoiding digging a hole for himself he can’t get out of.

It’s suspiciously quiet and seemingly empty at the apartment that afternoon until Steve ultimately finds Robin lying across his bed. His clothes are scattered everywhere around her. She shoots him a sheepish smile when he drops his bag beside her and raises an eyebrow.

“I was hoping to figure out a few outfits for you to take and look hot for your date with Eddie, but then I realized I have no idea how to dress you to impress a man.” She says, flopping back into the pillows.

Steve snorts and rolls his eyes. “I don’t think that was supposed to be an insult, but, ya know…” He trails off and laughs as Robin tosses a pillow in his direction.

“You know what I mean!”

“I do,” Steve laughs, catching the pillow and sitting beside Robin, picking at the seam of the pillowcase. “If it’s any consolation, I also have no idea how to dress me to impress guys. But I also don’t think impressing Eddie is going to have anything to do with what I wear. At least I hope it won’t.”

Robin makes a gagging noise, but it’s around a little smile, and Steve rolls his eyes before laying beside her, shoving a few tops out of his way. She waits until he’s not looking at her to speak again, both of them looking at the ceiling over his bed. “I just really want this to work for you. You deserve to be happy.” 

“I am happy, Robbie. I promise.” Steve’s softer, and for the first time in a long time, he thinks he honestly means it. Robin turns her head to look at him for a second before she wiggles closer to him and rests her head against his shoulder.

“You’re going to have to actually ask him out on a date, though, you know.” She says after a few beats, which makes him laugh.

“Not if he beats me to it,” He teases, pressing a little kiss to Robin’s temple. “But yeah, I know. I think I’m getting there.”

They lay like that for a few more minutes before Robin eventually shoves herself away from him, demanding he shower before they cuddle anymore. When Steve reenters his bedroom after a hot shower, he finds Robin has paired several tops to pants and folded them together, giving him options for outfits.

“I am humanly capable of dressing myself. I’ve been doing it for nearly 30 years now, you know.” He teases, and she rolls her eyes as he towel dries his hair. He drops the towel into his hamper and tips his head, makes an impressed face. “I wouldn’t have thought to put those pants with that top though, and I think it might just work.” He adds, lifting one of the pairings Robin has come up with and setting it into his travel bag. Robin grins and holds a finger up for him to wait, dashes out of the room, and returns a few moments later with a gray cardigan. “One step too far.” He teases, taking it from her hands and eyeing it skeptically.

“Just trust me on this? You look cuddly when you’re cozy.” She insists, so he sighs and packs it away despite his reservations.

Robin haphazardly throws a few pair of underwear, three tops and a single pair of jeans into a backpack and declares she’s ready to make the trip. 

It’s an early call at the airport on Monday, and Steve’s mostly still asleep as Robin slips into the window seat, pulling him along with her. He uses her shoulder, in combination with a neck pillow, as a headrest to sleep the flight away and he wakes up to his ears popping on the dissent, feeling a little more rested.

The players travel from the airport to check in at the hotel, then a few make their way to do tourist-y things around the city. Steve and Robin tag along, but end up breaking off from the group a few bars in along Broadway. They settle themselves into a corner and share a fishbowl sized concoction, and Steve texts Eddie to let him know they’ve arrived safe and sound and have already hit the town.

Eddie responds to the photo of Steve and Robin sipping from straws in the same bowl with a selfie Gareth took. Eddie’s in the background, using what looks to Steve like an oversized inhaler. He’s up in an instant, making his way around the woman performing on the small stage and outside onto the street where it’s not as noisy so he can call Eddie.

“That was fast,” Eddie teases, and he sounds fine, which confuses Steve further.

“Are you okay? What’s with the inhaler?” He asks, and Eddie’s quiet for a beat.

“Oh, no, Stevie, that’s not a… it’s a nebulizer. I was laying down vocal tracks earlier and it helps keep me from losing my voice.” He explains, then quickly follows up. “Oh my god, did you call because you were worried? That’s so… god, you’re adorable, you know that?”

Steve feels himself blush, and is grateful that they’re on a voice call and not a FaceTime, because Eddie would only tease him more if he could see the shade of red he’s sure his face is. “Shut up, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You’re so fucking sweet, Stevie.” Eddie’s voice is like butter, his charm on maximum, and Steve bites at his lip as he listens. “How long are you in town after the game?”

“Back to Chicago on Thursday for two days, then we hit a road stretch for most of next week.” Steve answers, and Eddie hums. “What’s that for?” Steve asks, genuinely curious.

“Means I’m trying to figure out if I want to hit the road, or wait until you’re back in Chicago for more than two days to make the next trip to see you.” 

Steve takes a deep breath at that, smiles, and lets out a huff of air that sounds like a light laugh. “I’m going to go back into the bar and finish this fishbowl, then we’re going back to the hotel to swim and sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, after the game, okay?”

“I thought you didn’t drink before games?” Eddie asks, and Steve tries not to melt at the details the other remembers.

“I’m not taking the ice tomorrow, and I… usually just have a cut-off time. When we first met, I was worried I would say something stupid if I started drinking and end up scaring you off.” It’s more honest than he intends to be, more information than he means to share, but he doesn’t regret telling Eddie, and he isn’t embarrassed.

“I think we both know it takes more than that to scare me off, sweetheart.”

Steve’s pretty sure he stops breathing at the term of endearment and he can’t tell if Eddie is freaking out or proud of himself, because he doesn’t say anything for a moment before he gives a quick goodbye and hangs up, leaving Steve standing on Broadway, looking up at the “Tootsies Orchid Lounge” sign, trying to keep himself from spiraling.

Some time must pass, then, before Robin comes out to check on him, gently lays a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. “Dude, you okay?”

“He, uh. He called me sweetheart.” 

“Good grief,” Robin mumbles, resting her head on Steve’s shoulder. “I thought he broke up with you or something.”

“Kinda hard to break up with someone you aren’t dating, Robbie.” Steve shakes his head in an effort to pull himself together.

“Whatever you say,” she tugs his arm, then, leading him back into the bar where they finish their drink and head back to the hotel. 

~~~

Open mouth, insert foot. The Eddie Special. The one thing becoming a constant during his conversations with Steve.

“What did you call him?” Jeff asks around a smile after Eddie hangs up the phone, grabs the nearest throw pillow, and shoves his face into it.

“I’m pretty sure he said sweetheart.” Gareth provides in the least helpful moment he’s ever been to Eddie, confirming he had, indeed, used a fucking pet name while speaking with Steve.

“How did he take that?” Jeff is softer, no longer following the initial taunting route he seemed to be heading down, likely sensing Eddie’s unraveling.

“I don’t know, I think I blacked out.” He speaks into the pillow, muffled, before he drops it into his lap and stares blankly at the wall.

“Well, me and Jeff’ll be there tomorrow. We can try to prevent any catastrophes within our capabilities?” Gareth smacks Jeff’s leg, who nods in agreement, and Eddie sighs and throws himself back into the studio sofa.

The next day, they get to Bridgestone Arena early enough to grab snacks and not run into too many people who recognize them before filling into their suite. Eddie settles into his seat, comfortable with the temperature now that he knows how to dress for a game. 

The teams eventually make their way to the ice, and Eddie zeroes in on Steve until he skates into the Blackhawk’s box after the anthem.

This time around, Eddie manages to follow a good deal of what’s happening. He’s learned a lot about the game since his first attendance, and he finds it easier to track the puck now than it had seemed previously. He watches as the Preds make an early goal, how the Blackhawks are quick to respond by securing their own point. Watches as a play goes sideways, and a Blackhawk player ends up flipping over another player, then lays on the ice in just the right position to know something is wrong, that he’s hurt.

Play doesn’t stop for long, and when things pick back up, Steve takes the ice. Eddie snaps his fingers between Jeff and Gareth once before he’s on his feet, cheering. The boys join him, and soon, most of the Arena is giving Steve a standing ovation. Steve, though, is facing the direction of Eddie’s suite and gives a little salute before dropping into position, ready for the puck to hit the ice. 

~~~

When the backup forward goes down, Steve springs to his feet from inside the visitors box. An attempt at goal had drawn everyone near the Blackhawk’s net. A Predator had dove for the puck, and things went south fast. Watching from the sidelines was like watching in slow motion, as the med staff checked in on everyone involved and eventually carted the forward off the ice to be evaluated.

Behind him, the coaches evaluate their options as Steve checks his laces and lifts his helmet before tapping the coach's arm.

“I got this,” he promises, settling the helmet over his head and securing the cage over his face. With just a moment of hesitation, the coaches agree and Steve skates to center ice.

He bends down, waiting for the Predator’s forward to join him in their wait for the ref with the puck, but cheers erupt from one end of the arena and slowly, the noise wraps around the room. 

Steve straightens to look around, taking in who exactly was cheering. Fans in both Blackhawks gear and Predators are standing together, cheering and clapping. He glances around, confused before he notices a few of the players on both sides of the ice are also clapping toward him. That’s when it clicks, that all the noise is for him. 

He turns to where the cheering originated, zeroes in on the curly hair over a jersey with his number on the sleeves and he can’t help but grin. Steve gives a little gesture in Eddie’s direction, before skating back to the center ice with the Predator’s forward.

“Welcome back, Harrington.” The other forward says, just as the ref drops the puck and the game picked back up.

~~~

The Blackhawks don’t win the game, but it feels like the cement is drying around the memory in his mind as he showers after the game. He’d played well, even scored a goal, but the Predators manage to get a buzzer-beater in at the last minute after tying things up near the end of the third. But the cheering when he stepped back out onto the ice was an experience he’d never forget.

Eddie texts Steve the address to a brewery in East Nashville, and that’s where he and Robin head as everyone else makes their way into the city. 

Upon arrival, Robin b-lines across the parking lot for the door, but Steve spots a thin trail of smoke that catches his attention. He follows it, smiles when it turns out to be exactly who he expected. Eddie’s propped up against the side of the building, foot resting flat as his back against the wall behind him, smoking a cigarette.

“Kinda figured I’d find you at the end of the smoke trail.” Steve teased softly, catching Eddie’s attention. 

“Looks like I’ve been caught, then,” Eddie laughs, and takes a long, final drag from the cigarette before putting it out into the ash urn. He blows the smoke away from Steve, and keeps a smile on his face. “Wanna grab a drink? I had the guys order appetizers, but we can get real food, too, if you want?”

“I actually….” Steve hesitates, and Eddie raises his eyebrows. Steve considers dropping it, just agreeing to go inside and eat and have a good time with everyone. But then Eddie’s face softens into a little smile and Steve’s chest warms. “Fuck it. Do you want to grab dinner tomorrow? Just the two of us?”

Eddie visibly blue screens. There’s no emotion on his face as he watches Steve before him for a moment, then breaks out into a grin. “You asking me on a date, Harrington?”

“I am.” Steve nods, grins back at Eddie, watches as he twists a curl around his finger and pulls it in front of his face, twisting his body so his arm is propped against the wall, facing Steve head on.

“I think I would like that, yeah.” Eddie agrees. Steve smiles, feels like something has lifted between the two of them, and holds his hand out. Eddie tangles their fingers together and lets Steve pull him into the brewery.

Robin seems suspicious as they enter, but drops her interest as they sit at the end of the table across from one another, sipping on beers and munching on nachos and mozzarella sticks, chatting about the game and the new music the band is recording. 

And if Steve manages to keep his composure when Eddie hooks an ankle around his own under the table, it’s because he’s an adult and not a high schooler tripping over his own feet to impress the guy across from him, and totally not because he knows the entire rest of the table would have a field day if he got flustered by the littlest touch.

[itstheghostofmypast]

Girlboss

Corporate Worker Jung Wooyoung x (F)Reader

Summary: Why would his angel hide this from him? Especially when he'd been waiting day and night for this day to come- no, especially when he'd give her the whole world on a silver platter, all she had to do was ask. For Jung Wooyoung, lived to serve- lived to serve her.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: none

Word Count: 1.2K

Est. Read Time: 10 min

Rating: SFW

Networks: @cromernet @k-labels

Banner: @cafekitsune

A/N: The amount of oneshots I've written to cope with exams is frightening- anyway, @edenesth- GOOD LUCK

"What are you doing here?"

His head snapped up at the question,  eyes widening at the realisation of being caught, a crimson hue spreading across his face, the same face he had tried to hide- with the classic glasses and cap duo.

"I … um…" Pulling down his glasses he blinked at her, "Sorry miss, I don't know you." with that he went back to texting- or rather pretended to do so. Ignoring the sound of her sitting across him, the screech of the chair was muffled by the people around them.

Placing her bag on the table she hummed, leaning forward to get a better look at his all-black choice of attire, "Are you twinning with me or are you wearing black because you wanted to hide?"

A cheeky smile broke past his 'cool' exterior, a chuckle following suit before he pulled off his glasses, neatly placing them on top of his cap, " A bit of both, boss."

"I'm not your boss, Wooyoung."

"Well," he leaned closer, enough for only her to hear his words, "Not yet." His hand reached for hers, lacing their fingers together with ease, no resistance was met, which meant she was in a good mood, which meant she had good news, which meant the rest of the day would perhaps be good too- well, at least in terms of chronology and the cycle of 'luck be with you'- whatever that meant when San told him to slip in the small 'lucky cat' keychain in her purse.

"True." she hummed in response, looking around the almost empty cafe, smart, he chose the place across her office, the office where she had an interview, but she did instruct him not to follow her, so why was he here?

"So, you got good news, they said they'll definitely get back to you?" his words were quick, fast-paced and laced with excitement, honestly, he had never been excited about his own work as much as he was for hers- possibly because he had been present during the late nights and endless hours of research, managing life, struggling to maintain those pesky grades all the while trying to be an active and emotionally available partner.  What he did not expect was for her not to tell him about her interview date, she had invited him for everything, else convocation and whatnot, so why keep this a secret?

"Even better, we discussed my salary as well." she smiled at him, brighter than the stars he'd love to watch with her at night, warmer than the summer sun that he loved. 

This was it, it was exactly this very reason that had him go all spy mode early in the morning and follow after her. He'd been awake before she slipped out of bed, he'd been awake when she came out of the shower, he'd been awake when she was trying to quietly make himself breakfast and he was awake when she came up to his side and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, mumbling an 'I love you'. He had thrown off the blankets, already dressed for the mission - he changed when she was in the kitchen- putting on the cap and glasses he had made sure to follow her discreetly, to not take his car but use public transport, to reach the destination before she could- while she was busy looking for a place to park, he had already found a nice seat across the road at the cafe, making sure to have a view of the entrance of the office- what he did not expect was for her to catch him. For when she did, he was actually formulating a text, calculating if she was free by now, to surprise her and tell her to come into the cafe across the street where she'd arrive and be greeted by the loving sight of him and her favourite English breakfast.

"That's great." giving her hand a little squeeze, before he let go and sighed, "I just…I don't wanna ruin the mood but…" sighing he averted his gaze, was the question really worth it? Should he bring it up? This was about her achieving a huge milestone in her life, about how she was going to start something new, something she'd been striving to achieve- maybe she didn't want him to be there because it would be better that way, maybe she wanted some space, maybe he was holding her back, maybe-

"I was…scared," she whispered, reaching for his hand again, clasping it in both of hers, pulling him closer so he was leaning across the table, much like her, "I was scared of disappointing you, so I didn't wake you up and-"

"Disappoint me? my sweet angel, if anything, you are the reason why I get up for a nine-to-five job every morning, how could you ever disappoint me? Do you think I'd be upset if you got the job at the same company as mine?" Frowning at her, he scanned her features, trying to look for any signs of discomfort or unease, had he been not expressing himself enough? Had he not been telling her how much he was proud of her enough? Had he been a bad boyfriend-

"I was too afraid of rejection, Woo, I didn't want to come out of that office to see the disappointment on your face- I know how bad you want us to work in the same office." She smiled, sensing his inner turmoil, she could tell when he'd be debating on choosing his next words carefully, which was rare because Wooyoung's chattering would often be quicker than his brain could formulate the pros and cons of the chatter.

"I- how could they reject you, you're literally the coolest person I have ever met." he gasped, pulling back with a scoff, "I'd personally go in there and knock some sense into Hongjoong."

Shaking her head at his comment she chuckled, "Only you would think that is a great quality for a job applicant." Smiling, she waved to the waiter who was looking for the only table that had ordered the special breakfast at noon.

"I know you would- but to celebrate I got us-," leaning back she thanked the waiter to place the platters of English breakfast, four to be exact, four platters? He thanked the two before speed-walking away, probably presuming the two were insane.

"Um…did you order an English breakfast too?" she asked, eying the food, only for him to sigh and shake his head at her antics.

"I was going to surprise my angel with a nice warm meal- guess we're so in love we're basically ruining each other's surprises." With that, he pushed a platter towards her and a glass of juice, "Eat up lovely, the corporate world is not for the weak, and my girl ain't no one to be messed with." 

Her heart almost leapt out of her throat and into his palm at the statement, to be all snug and all his, watching him slice and dice her breakfast into smaller pieces for her, now literally standing above the table to do so, he really was a blessing and she was grateful to whatever entity out there for gracing her with him.

"Imma call you snookum's at work." "I'll report for harassment." "Damn, tough crowd."

Taglist: @edenesth @yessa-vie @marsvillee @mlysalt @spooo00oky @the-kpop-simp

[the-moon-lullaby]

Candy receiving a oral from the boys and candy doing a blowjob on the boys in hsl headcanons

NSFW : The HSL Boys receiving a BJ

N/A: So that's the first NSFW request on this blog. I had to cut the request in two part because first : it is exam season and I am in big trouble y'all and second, 2 headcanons topic in 1 request makes it too long to write.

Anyway, hope you like it (it’s not proofread, sorry if this sucks, no pun intended) In the meantime, I am going to horny jail and you guys are coming with me

𝙲𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚕 :

Firstly, unlike the other boys Castiel isn't new to blowjobs since he had a  kinda "long-term" girlfriend before (we won’t mention the snake’s name but she says it in the game that they had their little fun together. Anyway.)

Therefore, it’s not about wanting to see how it feels or anything because he already knows that he likes it a lot

He kinda likes the idea of Candy giving him one but he doesn’t want her to feel pressured to do so. However he might let slip some hints that it’s something he wouldn’t be against

Yet, he didn’t expect her to really catch on these until one day of they were just casually hanging out and Candy seemed to feel particularly bold with her kisses and touches that day

She'd be quite suggestive about what she had in mind but Castiel would think she’s just messing around. Only to find out that she’s not

He’s often the one teasing her and all but this time he's the one taken aback (in a good way tho)

He’d start to wonder if he should let her keep going but after all, who is he to stop her ? So, you can assume that he’ll let her get her way, his notorious smirk on his lips while looking at her going down on him

He wouldn’t shy away from her gaze as she looks up to him while she presses a soft kiss on his tip to begin with(even though this sight makes him scream internally) and as her mouth slowly sink on him, he wouldn’t be able to contain a curse 

He’d let slip a few curse words actually like « fuck » or « damn it »

If she’s okay with it, he’d pull her hair a little to guide her since he knows what works for him. He’d make sure to let her know that she’s doing well by saying things like « yes that’s it » or « fuck you’re doing amazing ». He’d struggle to not buck his hips and he’d try to keep them in place so it wouldn’t bother her

When he reaches his peak, it'd probably be a lot ‘cause blowjob are a big turn on for him. When he’s done, it would take him a few minutes to collect his thoughts and regain his composure. 

Then, he’d caress Candy’s cheek tenderly but wouldn’t miss an opportunity to tease her though (« Someone’s feeling bold I see. We should definitively do that again»)

𝙻𝚢𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 : 

During sex Lysander does use his mouth a lot and always uses it to worship Candy’s body by covering it with kisses 

It’s not like he does it for Candy to imitate him despite the fact that he adores it when she returns the favour. Nothing feels better to him than the feeling of her mouth trailing kisses on his skin with such lust. 

He didn’t expect this feeling to be taken to a whole other level. Yet one time after he told her how much he loved and how sweet her lips felt on his skin, she replied that she could make this mouth do wonders somewhere else if he was down for it

Lysander, as the gentleman he is, did not even consider this idea until that night where they were laying in his bed at his place. The flat being empty if not for the both of them since his brother went out on a date with Rosalya

Therefore the situation seemed quite auspicious to this sort of experiment hence he wouldn’t show much opposition to it and would actually be quite curious to see where this might lead

He’d watch her peppering his chest with soft kisses that would gradually get closer to his pelvis while his breath would become more and more sharp in anticipation

He’d get aroused at this sight but a part of him feel slightly anxious about it since it all feels very new to him. So he’d let one of his hand wander through Candy’s hair, reassuring himself with this familiar gesture 

Unexpectedly, he wouldn’t take his eyes of her and as he’d feel her mouth finally reaching him and starting to move around his dick, a low moan would slip between his lips

He did not expect enjoying Candy worshipping him like this so much but as she kept alternating between kisses and greedy licks, the pleasure he got out of it almost felt overwhelming

Even though he doesn’t shy away from eye-contact, he’d be blushing the whole time and the knot in his stomach would keep growing tighter. Nonetheless, he’d let Candy hear this sweet voice of his by praising her and calling her sweet names as she goes on

He’d would prefer if Candy takes it slow, that way he gets to really focus on the sensations and it also allows to make the moment last longer

However, as it is the first time they’re doing this, it would be hard for him to actually last. Luckily, Candy would be able to tell when he’s close by the way his hand, that was previously caressing her hair, presses on her nape

By the end of it, he’d pull her close and kiss her with a loving look (« That was really nice, you were perfect dear »)

𝙰𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗 :

Armin is really open minded when he comes to sex and he’s not ashamed to make his attentions crystal clear

He actually searches up new things to experiment through PG18 websites and his historic would attest of the fact that blowjobs are a huge yes for him ( it might be the category Armin searches the most actually ‘cause I just know this guy watches porn and he’s not even a tad embarrassed about it because « hey, everyone does it » - Armin probably, when he was caught by Alexy who entered in his room without knocking)

He often jokes around about it with Candy but without ever expecting her to take him seriously 

When he invited her for a few games of LoL that day and kept tickling her to distract her to the point she kept loosing. Of course, she was a bit annoyed in the end

To which he only responded « C’mon, let me show you how it's done » and he sat at his desk launching a game as he would usually do 

But little did he know that Candy intended to get her sweet revenge on him so in the middle of it, as he was doing pretty good and was certain to win, he did not see her kneel in front of him, too focused on the screen

It only when she started to undo his belt and trousers that he realised what was happening and would then have to stop just to stare at her in complete disbelief 

She’d tell him to not mind her and simple keep on with his game. He would obliged with a nervous laugh, his hand now shaking on the keyboard

He’d have a hard time focusing on his game as he was obviously distracted by the feeling of her tongue against his cock. And he could feel that Candy had no intention to stop teasing him as she was changing the pace to keep him from getting used to it too quickly. Yet, he was certainly  not going to complain and would try to get little glimpses of the show that was happening under the desk to a point it became hard to keep his eyes on the screen

He wouldn’t last more than five minutes in these conditions and yet that’d be enough for him to loose his game (and he probably never did such a bad game lol), making Candy pretty satisfied with herself 

He’d pretend to be bothered by it but deep down that was better than what he had expected (« You’re not playing fair babe but fuck, that felt good »)

𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚎𝚕 :

Nathaniel would never admit it but he imagined Candy giving him a blowjob quite a few times already

I think this might be a kind of a "kink" to him because he was raised in a such strict environment (that he now despise from the bottom of his heart) and he was always expected to act in this ‘traditional’ way and everyone always viewed him as a goody-two-shoes. However, this lustful vision totally contradict this persona that was pressed upon him since basically forever (which is why he like this idea so much despite a part oh him being slightly ashamed about it)

(Am I slipping a bit too much into psychoanalysis for that ? Sorry lol)

His fantasies often takes place at school somehow (the adrenaline of getting caught especially with his Student Body President’s statut turns him on way more than he’d like to)

So there were some moment where he imagined Candy getting on her knees in front of him, while he was sat at his desk in the Student Council Room - or in the lockers’ room (chances are that he used these images to get off on his own from time to time)

But he’s afraid that Candy might get offended if as he’s not sure she’s into that kind of stuff

Well this was until one afternoon, when they both were at his place to (originally) study and before they both know it, a particularly heated make-out session started on his couch (they’re studying anatomy y’all don’t worry). After taking his shirt off, Candy started to kiss his torso while letting her kisses going lower and lower until reaching his lower abdomen

He started to blush instantly when he understood what she wanted to do and he probably never felt so hot in his life

He would consider stopping her but he can't say that he doesn't want this, so he'd ask her just in case "are you sure ?" and if she is, he would watch slowly getting on her knees, still in disbelief

He’d feel pretty exposed at first and wouldn't know where to look or where to put his hands. So, he'd just let his body sink into his couch, with his head leaned back and he’d look at the ceiling until she decides to start, letting her do things at her pace

When he finally feels her lips on his tip, carefully embracing him, he can’t help but gasp and shut his eyes. He’d try to completely focus on the sensations but the arousing thoughts he had before wouldn’t take long to resurface in his mind

He’d try really hard to keep his composure and would also try to keep his voice down, only letting out a few sighs however Candy’s mouth’s doing wonders, he almost forgot how to properly breathe. But at some point, he’d just be like « fuck it » and he’d gently grab Candy’s hair, guiding her to a pace that gets him off and making her taking more of him

It wouldn’t take him long to reach his climax because the fact that it is happening when he clearly thought this vision would stay a fantasy makes it hard for him to last (also would struggle to maintain eye contact because that would be the last straw for this boy)

When he ends up finishing in her mouth, he’d kinda be worried as he was so into it that he did not warn her so he’d immediately propose to go get some water and he’d keep ask her if she’s okay  

Then he wouldn't really know what to say so he'd thank her ‘cause, well, she really surprised him with that and he enjoyed all of it (« Thanks for that… You were so good… »)

𝙺𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗 :

Even he’s trying to act though and chill about sex, it’s still something he’s still a bit shy about

Luckily for him, Candy’s often the one to take initiatives and he loves that about her 

He loves discovering her body with such intimacy and love

Therefore, each time they’re getting a little steamy together, the atmosphere always feels pretty romantic and he often craves it since it’s a bit hard for them to find a moment when they can be totally on their own (because it cannot happen at home with his parents or with Candy’s and almost always around)

Somehow, his girlfriend’s parents were gone for the night to attend a little dinner party at her aunt Agatha’s place. When she invited him to come over, he certainly didn’t make her ask him twice

They’d order pizza and make themselves comfortable in Candy’s room while watching a movie they spent half an hour choosing

And they’d be cuddling together under the sheets with the laptop playing the said movie. But after a little while, Kentin could feel Candy getting a little handsy. He wouldn't mind it at all since it had been a while since they had the chance to be alone together without risking to be interrupted

So he’d start catching up on her mood and he’d let his hands caress her body while she was eagerly placing kisses on his neck 

He’d feel her mouth going up and muttering against his ear that she wanted to try something new and when she told him what she meant by that, it was like he blushed like never before  

The idea never crossed his mind as he was always satisfied with the simplest things when he was with her. Now though, as he was seing her almost eager to taste him, he felt like him reconsidering his whole life and he would shyly accept her offer, aroused at the thought

She’d smile at him before going under the blanket, tracing kisses here and there on her way down

Kentin would be kind of relieved that the blanket was there because he’d probably finish before she reaches him if he could actually witness such a show

He has no idea of what he’s supposed to do with his hands so he’d just grab the sheets, his knuckles turning white from the grip as he feels her mouth taking him 

He’d completely forget about the movie that was keep playing and Candy would  be the only thing in his mind at this moment (she always is tho)

At some point, the feeling of her tongue swirling around his dick would be too much for him to handle and he couldn’t help but to buck his hips a little, feeling that he’s getting close to come undone in her mouth 

It would take him a little moment to process what just happened and to recollect his thoughts but afterwards he would lustfully kiss Candy, thinking about taking initiatives as well.

And we're done ! (will I regret writing that instead of studying for my exam ? Maybe, but I'll have all the time in the world to regret my choice in the exam room), I really hope that this work (if not, well it is what it is I guess)

I'll go study to cleanse my soul but in the meantime, I hope you guys have a nice week !

[justpuppylove]

Doll- stepdad dream smut

Stepdad!dream x afab reader smut

Kinks/warnings: Stepcest [PLEASE DONT FUCK YOUR STEP-SIBLINGS OR PARENTS. I DO NOT CONDONE THIS.], daddy kink, use of little one and other names, praising, thigh fucking, slight breeding.

A/N: im gonna step away from the Wilbur smut for a sec but I’ll make sure to make my way through those requests soon :3

Your mom introduced your stepdad dream a few months ago and he seemed like a decent enough guy. You were against your mom dating again after your father passed away but you eventually came around to the idea of dream staying with you guys. This isn’t to say you see him as a father figure, he treats you like his child in some ways but there’s just always been something off about you guys having a “father-child relationship”. He’s always been pretty touchy with you and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t enjoy it. At first it was playful touching, nothing coherently sexual about it, but then it progressed into you sitting on his lap and him running his hand up your thigh. Of course your mom never knew of any of this and you hoped she never would, you felt so guilty every time it happened but for some reason that made you even more turned on.

You walked into your bedroom and shut the door. You ran to your bed and flopped down; utterly exhausted. Exams were getting the best of you but you finally had some time to rest. Then you heard a knock on your door.

“Doll, do you want to watch a movie with me? Your mom is gone for the weekend and I’m bored.” Dream said, dragging out the D in bored. You were so tired but how could you say no to dream?

“Sure I’ll be down in a minute, pick out a movie for us.” You said reluctantly dragging your body off of your bed. You hear him turn away and start walking back downstairs as you head over to your closet. You get out a oversized shirt that dream had gave you as a hand-me-down and you change into it. You wanted to be comfortable so you took off your bra and didn’t put any shorts on so you were just in his shirt and your underwear. When you were done you made your way downstairs to dream cooking popcorn in the kitchen. You walk into the kitchen to grab a few snacks and go to sit them onto the living room table. You hear the microwave ding and you walk back into the kitchen to see dream putting the popcorn into a big bowl. You squeeze past dream, grinding against him as you do so, to look for the salt. You hear him let out a groan before walking up behind you, pressing your stomach up to the counter top as you feel his hard dick against your ass. You let out a whimper as he reaches up into the cupboard to grab the salt out.

“Is this what you were looking for darling~?” He asked you, putting the salt infront of your face but keep your bodies in the same position. All you could let out is a little ‘mhm’ as he backs away, walking into the living room. He presses play as you follow him onto the couch as you see him pat his lap, signaling for you to sit on it. You feel your face grow red as you press yourself onto his lap, his dick pressing onto your pussy as you let out a small moan. “What’s wrong baby?” Dream says as he feels his way up your thigh. You respond to him by pressing yourself harder onto his dick, “Is this the problem little one?” He says pressing has fingers onto your clothed pussy. “Awe, you’re soaking wet. Do you need daddy to take care of you?” He asks. You nod, “I need your words sweetheart”. “Yes daddy, please take care of me.” You say highly embarrassed. He giggles into your ear as he begins rubbing your pussy through your underwear, your hand shoots to his and you try to press yourself onto his hand. He slides your underwear down before sliding off his own. His hard dick shoots up as he makes you wrap your thighs around his dick. He starts thigh fucking you while both hands are squeezing your thighs. You hold onto his wrists while he kisses the back of your neck. Your pretty moans and his groans fill the room. “Fuck, you don’t know how long I’ve needed this doll. Ive needed to use your pretty little body so bad.” He says before fucking your thighs faster. His precum and your wetness covering your thighs as his dick slides between your folds and hits your clit in just the right way. “Ah~ gonna cum daddy” you moan, squeezing his wrists. “Cum for me, you’re doing so good” he says as he removes one of his hands from your thigh to circle your clit instead.

He cums all over your thighs as you cum onto his dick. He picks your body up and turns you around to face him. He kisses you as he slides his dick inside of you, making your yelp. “Shh~ its okay, I have you. Daddy has you.” He says as he pulls you closer, slowly pushing his dick in until he bottoms out. He begins fucking into you, making you bounce on him. He lifts your shirt up and watches your tits bounce as you move up and down on him. He smirks at how embarrassed you got at this. “Is my little baby embarrassed? You’re so adorable.” He said before grabbing one of your hands, holding it as he fucks into you harder. Your moans get louder and louder as you feel yourself getting closer to cumming. “Just like that, cum for me baby.” He says before playing with one of your tits. “I’m going to cum inside of you okay? Can you handle that doll?” He asks. He let out a few yes’s before cumming on his dick for the second time. He slams into you a few more times before spilling his seed into your pussy.

He pulls you off of his dick and gets a paper towel to clean you both up with. He puts his clothes back on before sliding your underwear back onto you. He lays on the couch and pulls you in. The credits of the movie roll as you fall asleep.

[popcornforone]

Santa Baby

A Mr Ben Fan Fic

I have incognito been asking random Pedro Gitlies who would be the best Pedro for a Christmas Fic over the last couple of weeks & everyone comes back with different guys for obvious reasons. But the one thing that kept popping up was a secret Santa. So here we are festive fic writing a secret Santa story.

Synopsis:- you are excited about the secret Santa for the school staff, Ben less so.

Word count:-3100

Warnings:- DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE UNDER 18! PIV sex, rough sex, sex at work, naughty photos, swearing, alcohol, choking, mention of sex toys, rimming, also lots of bad Christmas puns.

Thanks as always for the read peoples. All feed back in always welcome. I hope you all enjoy.

Ping!

Urgh another email you thought. This term just dragged on & on at school. You were so looking forward to the couple of days off for thanks giving & then the Christmas break shortly after that. But with exams coming up & lots of marking you really just wanted some you time & not to have to look at emails whingey parents had sent you. You half open it not really reading it but then your eyes light up at the emails content.

You enjoy secret Santa. You & your friends do one every year. This year your all gifting each other Christmas jumpers. You’ve already found yours for Grace, she hate the film elf so obviously you’ve got her one with elf’s face on it that so huge. She’s the only person you know who doesn’t like the film & knows she will take it in good humour.

“Babe” you shout out to your partner whos in the kitchen also trying to do work while keeping an eye on dinner.

“Yep”

“Works doing a secret Santa”

“Urgh another one” you hear his exasperated sigh. “It’s been going on for donkeys years” you giggle “what?” He looks confused. “What did I say”

“You said donkeys years” you shout back at him as you send a message to Megan to say that you’re accepting. “You’ve clearly been dating me for long enough, if you’re picking up my British slang” you hear foot steps behind you before two arms wrap around you.

“Have I now” he says kissing your neck making you shiver as he blows a raspberry at the end.

“Ben stop”

“Make me” he takes off his glasses & smoulders & you kiss him hungrily.

“I bloody would & all but your kisses are to addictive”

“Also we’d get no marking done” he smirk resting his head on your shoulder.

“Markings not as important as you baby”

True to form you receive another email on the 2nd of December saying the emails would be put In to the generator today for the secret Santa & in the next 48hours you’ll receive the name to buy for. You announce this as Ben drives you both into work.

“Babes you know I love you, but I really don’t get what all the fuss is about” he says as you scroll through the rest of the email, to say that people need to put down allergies to their own name if others want to bake or cook for them as the gift.

“What’s not to love Ben”

“Okay so you get $15 to spend on a colleague you might not even know or like, & you’ve either got to get something funny enough that it doesn’t offend, or something predictable or something bland, you could all just go out have have money for a take away with that”

“Spoil sport” you say. “Can I just say that my gift last year is still in use & you like it.” You point out.

“It was a cocktail making kit & fancy bottle opener, useful, people know you like a drink sometimes, a bit predictable”

“Well Ben” you sigh “I’m sorry that you don’t get it I really do, cos some of the gifts are boarder line rude & disgusting”

“Look” he says as he parks the car. “I love that you put effort into every gift you give & it makes you happy, I just don’t see the point in it”

“Well if that’s the one thing we disagree on Ben that’s fine by me” you undo your seatbelt & lean across the car & kiss him. His lips always so plump ready to take you. He taste of coffee, his cologne filling your nose. He sighs when you break.

“Why’d you have to be all sexy & bossy like this right not when we both have to teach in 30mins”

Ping!

Your email is here.

Your excited. You open it & it send you to the website to login. You know this site & how it works. Your preferences you update each November when it comes to doing secret Santas knowing you always do at least 2. You put in your work email request to verify & the names start to generate.

Up it pops.

You almost drop your glass of water on the floor.

It can’t be.

But it is… saying the name in confetti.

BENJAMIN BLANCO-ALONSO!

You are not sure if this is a joke. So you close the screen on your laptop & then sign back in. But there it is again all refreshed.

BENJAMIN BLANCO-ALONSO!

Ben is actually out playing tennis tonight with 3 friends so it’s not like he’s around to see this, but after his protests about this & how it’s a waste of time, you’re shocked. This has to be a mistake.

You call Megan. Just to check that all the names are all correct & this isn’t a bluff. As host she can see when all the names have been picked & who’s been assigned them & they have been opened not that she can see who has got who. She confirms that your name is correct & that there are 33 people taking part this year. She even runs off all the names for you. Being a Blanco for a surname Bens name is high up the list.

You thank her & hang up.

Your man is your secret Santa. After then giggling for a good 5minutes your mind then Thinks about what to get him for $15 as you’ll have to live with it. Inspiration suddenly strikes.

4pm December 19th, all 33 members of staff who have taken part in the secret Santa have gathered in the drama theatre & you pretend quite convincingly to be shocked when Ben walks in. A few others are too.

“Baby” you seem perplexed “what on earth”

“Surprise” he said “thought I’d see what all the fuss is about”

“I can’t believe your here”

“Honestly neither can I still” he says as he grabs a mince pie. “But it then means we can make joke about everyone’s gifts together later.”

“True, very true”

Megan is very good at organising all this stuff so it’s not long before the gifts are handed out. Everyone sat with their present or parcel or envelope ready to be opened. Bens face drops a little when he sees a plane red envelop with some mistletoe on it. Clearly believing who ever he had, didn’t actually know what to get him. Little does he know that what’s in the envelope is something he could only dream of.

Megan even has a random name generator to see who opens gifts when. Your gift is before Ben.

“To the art elf from your secret Santa” you read the gift tag & open your box & start laughing.

“What is it?” People ask before you pull out a bop it extreme.

“I had no idea they still made these & I know exactly who got me this as we talked about this like a month ago, about childhood games” you wink at Ryan 4 seats away. You’d asked your 14 year olds to design board games in art & they said yours back in the day weren’t cool to which you then had to explain what a bop it was & how the extreme version was better. Ryan works as support for one of the kids in that class & it was just the two of you talking about 90s & 00s games for the rest of the lesson as your class rolled their eyes.

“Thank you” you mouth at him.

It take a little while to get to Ben. But eventually it does. You wait with bated breath, for his reaction as he clears his voice.

“BENJAMIN BLANCO-ALONSO MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM SANTA BABY” he reads out. He then also hummus the song afterwards.

“I didn’t know the other half of your surname was Alonso” Cliff says.

“Well it legally has to be on the school records, so I’m guessing that’s where you got it from Megan & why that person has put it all down”his long fingers, which are so good at getting into things sliding open this envelope. He take a peak & then does a double take. He blushes. Bright red. So red it almost matches the envelope.

“Erm…” his voice shakes.

“What is it Ben?”

“Yea Ben what is it”

“I erm I need to apologise cos this… I mean “he’s stuttering “whoever got me this thanks but…” he clears his throat & undoes the top button of his shirt. “I don’t play golf” he gets out the american golf voucher “I mean I do wear some snazzy trousers & jumpers sometimes so maybe I can get that from there” he’s still blushing. Some people are seeing it as him being embarrassed. “I just want to thank whoever it was, I’ll think of a way to use it I promise.” He then raises his eyebrow at you. You smirk back.

The rest of the presents are opened & Ben at the end of it wishes a couple of people a happy holidays before he dashed off.

“I wonder who did get that gift for Ben” Ryan says to you “bless them”

“Im the queen of deduction Ryan I’m sure..” but you stop mid sentence as your phone goes off.

“MY CLASS ROOM NOW!” The message reads.

“Erm I gotta go Ryan, merry Christmas & thanks for the bop it extreme”

You dash to his class room, you know what’s coming. You knock on the door when you get there & he says yes. You make sure to lock it behind you. He’s already pulled the blinds down.

He’s sat on the edge of his desk. A few more buttons on his dark blue shirt undone. The tie is on the floor & his belt is undone. Your man always smoulders, but right now he’s making you feel extremely feral.

“Care to explain this, Santa baby” he holds up the red envelope.

“Yes someone got you a…”

“Nope” he interrupts. “You got me what I can’t resist” he watches you walk towards him, your heels tapping, the dressing clinging to your curves. Your hair styled to perfection, a slightly reder complexion due to the alcohol you had at the party without really eating. He licks his lips as you reach him & ruffle his hair.

“So what did Santa get you baby.”

“Apparently my hearts desire” he removes the fake golf voucher that’s in there, & produces the 10 Polaroids of you. The first of you in just a nice matching set of underwear, but by the time he shows you the tenth as they all get naughtier, its you spread naked on the chair in his study he works in with your rabbit vibrator pleasing you. You let out little whimpers at each of them & kiss his neck, noticing his erection get larger in his trousers. You’re glad it’s having the desired effect.

“They are bad enough�� says Ben before he gets out the actual voucher you got him”what even is Adam & Eve?” He says. You go to explain before he hushes you by putting his large thumb over your lips. “Cos when I tried to Google it… it said I was in a school & couldnt view that content” he raises an eye brow.

“You know what Adam & Eve is Ben”

“I need a reminder Santa baby” he says you’ve now leaned against his knee & his hand is running up your thigh. Goosebumps cover your skin.

“It’s an adult shop, I thought maybe we could get something together to enjoy so that Santa can come more than once a year”

“I do believe I always make my Santa baby come every time” he questions.

“You do Ben, but I want you to get even more pleasure from it, you always take care of my needs you need some fun & pleasure too”

“& what if I don’t want it & im happy with bending you into a pretzel each night” he reply’s. His eyes filled with passion.

“Then buy new lube or buy me new underwear”

“Are you wearing the underwear you wore in the Polaroids Santa baby” he asks licking his lips as you start to undo more of his shirt button.

“Do you wanna find out”

“Fuck yes” things turn primal quickly as you toss his shirt away & kick off your heels as he peels your dress off. His face is a picture. You are in the same set of underwear.

“Jesus fucking Christ I’ve won the lottery” his head instantly buried in your chest as he unhooks your bra”it looks better on the floor though.” His lips latching onto your nipples as you grind on his knee.

“Fuck Ben”

“Shh baby shh” he says as he stand up, both your hands & his push down his trouser & boxers in the one motion. He then slips his hand into your panties. Your clit trembling as he teases it. Your have one hand on his shoulder & the other leisurely stroking his length. He’s moaning already.

“Fuck ben, I want you”

“You always want me”

“True” he then removes his hand & turns you around. Kisses trailer down your spine & over you bum as the slowly removes the panties. He then stays on his knees parting your cheeks & rims your arse with his tongue.

“Fuck oooh fuck yea”

“I know what I’m buying from Adam & Eve” he says after he removes his head & you lean on his desk. Legs as wide as possible, much like in Polaroid number 9 which was just of your sex. He’s groaning trying to keep calm. Your own fingers your suck & softly trial across your arousal to micks your saliva with it & his that he left behind.

“What baby” he rubs his angry swollen head all over your sex, lubing it up.

“A but plug” he snarls & then thrusts deep inside your cunt, filling you up instantly. You gasp as the air is pushed out of you, grabbing his monitor. His eyes filled with desire.

“Ffff…ffff… fuck” you groan.

“Like that’s Santa baby” he said his hands firmly on your thighs, feeling them tremble as you clamp around his long thick cock. He almost takes it all the way out before slamming back in. You moan again. “I love how this tight little pussy takes my throbbing cock so well.”

“Fuckkkkkk” it’s the only word on your lips as he picks his rhythm. Slow but jolting to start, licking his lips each time your eyes go wide. He’s whimpering, each clamp around him when he hits that special spot has him closer to the edge. This might not take long but he’s damn sure he wants you to cum.

“Oh god Ben fuck fuck fuck” it’s high pitched as he picks up the pace, you can feel every inch of him pleasuring you. Making you moan his name & beg him for more”

“You like being Santa baby?” He snarls his movements getting faster each thrust has him closer to the edge. His fingers will leave dents on your thighs from his grip. “You like being a little hoe hoe hoe?”

“Ben?”

“What”

“Say it again” your panting sweat is dripping down your body. Your trying to keep eye contact with him as you know if your close your eyes you will quiver & cum instantly.

“My hoe hoe hoe”he says in his full on bedroom voice.

“Fuck Ben” he then grabs you around the neck, you hold tighter into this desk & pulls himself towards your ear. His hips & pelvis now at a blinding speed.

“My little hoe hoe hoe” he whispers & then licks your neck.

That’s all it takes. You scream but nothing comes out of your mouth. It’s too intense. You drench him, cuming around his penis. He can feel the extra spasm from you & the tenseness in your body. The blissed out look in your eyes & how you are squeezing him has him jolting.

“Fuck fuck fuck baby” he cry’s his hand tighter around your neck as he fills you up. He’s always got a good neck & shoulders but they always seem longer & broader when he cums. His nipples are hard as he coats your pleasure. You lean forward into him a little more & wrap your arms around him. Both just sat in his classroom blissed out from pleasure. You nuzzel your head into the crook in his neck.

“Benjamin Blanco-Alonso, I fucking love you” you whisper.

“Not as much as I love you” he says your name falls from his lips before they meet yours. A man of fire & passion is always so soft & gentle with his aftercare from sex. You may be his hoe hoe hoe, but you’re also his girl. This is proven once he slowly removes his cock from inside you & goes into his draw to get some hand wipes to help you both clean up. You’re both still all over each other. Kisses covering each other’s flesh until it is all covered again. Giggles & smiles filling the air.

“so a but plug?” You ask, going back to the secret Santa gift you got him. He looks confused & then remembers his statement.

“Oooh yes, I just erm thought it was something q different we’ve not tried before, a Christmas treat” he blushes a little.

“I’m up for that Ben, I’ve only ever let one man go vip before so this is a first for me too” you say as you put your shoes back on.

“& I always ask permission”

“You didn’t just then”

“Eh?” He thinks”that was only my mouth” he states. “& who says I’m done”

“Well we are here”

“Fair point” Ben states as he grabs his bag & secret Santa gift as you both leave the class room so you can go grab your bit before you leave. “So am I getting an invite tonight”

“Depends”

“On what”

“On if your on my naughty or nice list”

“Oooh Santa baby” he smack your bum”I think we both know the answer to that makes no difference whatsoever”

[penvisions]

garnish {better together - one shot}

Paring: Chef! Joel Miller x Professor! Reader (Formerly known as Bartender! Reader)

Summary: Joel shows his impatience as he shows up just as your lecture is ending, unable to wait for your invitation of coffee to become real.

Word Count: 530

Warnings: age gap (joel is mid to late 40's / reader is late 20's, early 30's), established relationship, adult content, sexual content, smut, illusions to smut, allusions to p in v, unprotected p n v, joel and reader are down bad for each other

A/N: i missed them.

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || ko-fi

“Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Miller? I believe I asked you for a coffee already?” You didn’t hide the teasing from your tone as you watched the way he explored the space of your lecture room. The class having just ended, a quick side hug from Ellie before she rushed off to a study session with a few other students for the final exam next session. You had told him coffee would most likely happen after the semester, but he hadn’t seemed to like that.

“That's my intention, but if you just want to try a hand at the friend thing, I'm okay with that. just miss you, is all, darlin. Been missin' you this whole time." He turned from the high windows, having climbed the stairs a bit to take a look out on the campus grounds from the spot. The afternoon light warm over him, making you think of home. And damn if the smirk you had aimed at him melted into something gooey and soft.

"A date sounds nice." Closing the distance, you come up beside him and lean into his space, hand resting on his chest as you place a chaste kiss to his cheek. "But don't go thinking I’m gonna sleep with you on the first one, got that?"

He doesn't call you out on it when the next morning you wake up alongside him, clothes strewn across the stairs leading up to his bedroom. Content for the first time in nearly a year as you lay tangled together and talk about the time you spent apart.

Even despite the rather loud, exaggerated reaction of Ellie as she comes home herself to find the trail of clothes you two had been lazy to pick up.

“If this is gonna be a regular thing, please at least keep to the second floor! This first one is my safe space.”

“Oh, I plan on makin’ it a regular thing. What about you darlin’, like the sound of that?”

Your answer was a hard press of your lips to his, surging up from where you had been on your stomach beside him, facing him as he laid back on the pillows. Straddling him, you took his face in both your hands and swiped your tongue along the already breaking seal of his lips.

The feel of him, hard and weeping pinned between your bodies took your breath away. He chuckled low, rumbling beneath you as he wrapped his arms around your shoulders and shifted you both. Looking up at him from your back now, legs wrapping around his waist instinctively, sliding into place like they belonged there. He hovered close, a slip of teeth as he smirked down at you.

“How’s that sound, darlin’?”

“Sounds pretty damn good to me.” You shared in his playful tone, nipping at his bottom lip and pulling it slightly. He groaned, throbbing cock sliding through the slick of your seam before pushing in.

“It better. Cause you’re mine, darlin.”

“I’m yours.” It was more of a whine as the feeling of him stretching you overwhelmed your senses.

Everything else falling away as he began to rock into you.

taglist: @hiddenbabynyc @jessthebaker @clevergirl74 @anavatazes @samiamproductions @76bookworm76 @tuquoquebrute @sarap-77 @honeyedmiller @koshkaj-blog

[panda-writes-kpop]

Irene ~ Fluff Alphabet (Requested!)

A/N: This is my last request before I release something special before my final lecture and exam weeks. 🫶 Again, thank you for the requests! I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. Feel free to send more requests in, if you want to, that I can work on after I recover from school. ❤️

TW: None!

♡ Masterlist ♡

Affection (How do they show their affection? What love language(s) do they use?)

Irene uses gift giving as her main love language! She loves spoiling you with designer brands of your favorite products. You'll find lots of small gifts and treats from her, especially when she's been too busy to see you.

Beauty (What do they admire about their S/O? What makes their S/O beautiful?)

She'd admire someone with a more laid-back, relaxed personality. Since she works in a high energy industry, she likes having a calming force to spend her free moments with. Irene also thinks it's sweet when you do casual romantic things for her - nothing too over the top, but it still shows that you care.

Comfort (How would they help their S/O if they were having a rough day?)

As previously mentioned, she loves to spoil you and a bad day would only make her want to do this more. She'll take you to your favorite stores to go shopping for whatever you want. Irene will also give you lots of compliments if you try on clothes

Dreams (How do they picture their future with their S/O?)

Irene pictures a more relaxed, calmer future with her partner. She'd want to keep most of your relationship private, especially the intimate parts. Living somewhere out of the city in a nice house with you would be a dream for her.

Equal (Do they tend to be more dominant or passive in the relationship?)

Irene is definitely the dominant one in the relationship. She likes having control over planning dates to perfection so nothing goes wrong, plus she likes to snag her kisses and affection whenever she can from you.

Fight (Would they easily forgive their S/O after a fight? How would a typical fight go?)

Irene would be the person to hold her tongue before she says something hurtful, and she'd suggest that the two of you take a breather for a bit before coming back to this conversation. She isn't super argumentative, but she'll stand her ground if it's something important. After you both get some air and become less tense, you'll talk things out and hopefully come up with a compromise that keeps you both happy. 

Gratitude (How grateful are they for everything that their S/O does for them?)

Irene is grateful for all that you do, but she doesn't explicitly say it. If you do something nice for her, expect to receive a small gift, a home-cooked meal, or a kiss on the cheek if she can.

Honesty (Do they tend to keep secrets from their S/O, or do they share everything?)

Although she's not super up-front with you, Irene will eventually talk with you about everything in her life. If you're like her and want to reveal yourself bit by bit, then she's totally fine with that. If you're not like her and you're honest with her right from the start, she'll be down to listen to every story that you have to share.

Inspiration (Did their S/O change them, or was it the other way around?)

You inspire Irene to continue with her work and work hard so she can see you soon, and Irene inspires you to do your best constantly because she's work so hard for you. You both inspire each other, and you bring the best out of each other.

Jealousy  (Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?)

She's the silent jealous type. Irene won't say a word unless you're visibly uncomfortable or you've said no and the other party doesn't get the hint. You do notice the small pout on her face, and you're quick to kiss her worries away.

Kiss (How often do they kiss you? Where do they like to kiss you?)

She likes small, quick pecks during fleeting moments because that's all you have time for most days. A kiss on the cheek and another kiss on the lips is enough to get Irene moving for the day. If she had the time, she'd love to slowly kiss you over and over again.

Lazy Day (How do they like to spend days off with their S/O?)

Days off are spent shopping online or in-person, depending on how you both feel. She'll get you all the meals as well - a healthy mix of your favorite foods and hers.

Marriage (Do they want to get married? How often do they think about marrying their S/O?)

Irene will want marriage in your shared future, of course, but she sees it much farther down the road. You both are at the peak of your careers, and if settling down includes kids, pets, or other things that will take time away from your work, then she’ll want to do it when your lives have calmed down a bit. She thinks about marriage a lot, but she won’t outright mention it unless you bring it up first.

Nicknames (What do they call their S/O?)

Dear, darling 

A fan of the classic nicknames, Irene may get teased about this by her members or you but it doesn’t change what she calls you.

On Cloud Nine (What are they like when they are in love? Is it extremely obvious to others?)

Irene acts the most like herself when she’s in a relationship. Most likely, she’ll casually mention it to one of her members and they’ll be in complete shock while Irene thought that she already told them. Overall, she’s very relaxed for the most part, but she may brag about you on occasion.

PDA (Are they very upfront with their relationship, or do they prefer to keep things quiet?)

Irene is a more private person, so she prefers for her relationship to be private. She doesn’t mind small bits of affection like cheek kisses or hand holding, and she may even engage it before you.

Quirk (Some random personality trait that makes them an excellent partner.)

Her competitive aspect makes game nights fun, especially if you’re working as a team. Irene may scold you if you make an incorrect move or whatnot, but she’s quick to cheer you on or provide encouragement if you do something well.

Romance (Are they a born romantic ready to woo their S/O at any moment, or do they struggle to spark romantic moments with their S/O?)

Irene is a bit of a natural romantic, but doing romantic acts for you makes her shy so she doesn’t do them often. She’d much prefer if you were the one doing the romantic acts so she can swoon over you.

Support (How do they help support their S/O to reach their goals?)

Irene would be all for spoiling you financially and emotionally. If a financial barrier was in your way, she’d happily take care of it so you can achieve your goals. If you’re feeling down and need someone to cheer you up, Irene is more than happy to do that for you.

Thrill (Do they like trying out new things to spice up their relationship, or do they prefer to stick to a routine?)

She definitely enjoys the routine part of your relationship since it brings her comfort after a long day. She isn’t against switching it up every now and again, so don’t be afraid to suggest new things to her!

Understanding (How well do they know their partner?)

She understands you very well to the point that she can read your body language and understand if you’re uncomfortable, feeling ill, or just aren’t up for being out. Irene just… knows when you’re not well, and although she won’t give herself credit, Irene knows you very, very well.

Value (How important is the relationship to the person versus other relationships and things in their life?)

Irene puts a lot of value on your relationship even though she may not show or say it at times. She will put off work or other events just to spend time with you unless the event is immovable. You’re one of the main priorities in her life, and she wants you to know that.

Wild Card (A random fluffy headcanon that you have about the relationship?)

Although Irene isn’t a cuddly person and won’t initiate cuddles with you, she’ll happily lean into your touch and cuddle you back if you start cuddling her first. She’s not a huge physical touch person, but for you, she’ll make a large exception.

XOXO (Do they like to kiss, hug, and cuddle you? How often do they do so?)

Not huge on hugs and cuddles, but Irene will happily kiss your cheek or lips. She likes to kiss you after you get home or after you finish doing your work. Lots of kisses will be awaiting you after a big promotion or if something exciting happens in your life.

Yearning (How will they cope when they’re missing their partner?)

Like a mother hen, she dotes on you via text to make sure you’re taking care of yourself while she’s gone. Expect to receive money to pay for a meal or two, and you’ll have to send picture proof that you actually bought the food. She worries about you because she loves you.

Zeal (Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind?)

As stated earlier, Irene places great value in your relationship. Therefore, she’s more than willing to go to the end of the Earth for you, especially if it’s really important to you.

[corroded-hellfire]

Never Have I Ever - Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: You come home after your first semester of college and spend the day with your best friend, Eddie. You’re both confused as to where the other stands in terms of relationships, but a drinking game only adds to the confusion.

Note: This is for my darling wifey @inourtownofhawkins whom I love the mostest, despite what she says. I hope you like the story bb! 💙

Warnings: underage drinking, talk of sex, oblivious idiots in love

Words: 2.4k

Coming home from college for winter break was exciting for a number of reasons. Obviously, there was the break from exams and papers, but it was also nice to come back home. Seeing family was great, seeing friends was fun, but seeing Eddie was the best part. Sure, you made sure to talk on the phone at least once a week while you were away, but it’s not the same as spending time together in person. You’d told him about your shitty dates with a guy named Carl, your great dates with a guy named Scott, and how your roommate was the biggest slob you’ve ever met in your life - including Eddie when he was a young teenager. He’d kept you up on the news of Hawkins, like if Max and Lucas were currently together or broken up, how many times Vickie had to play referee to Steve and Robin’s fights, and what the current ETA was for Hopper proposing to Joyce.

Since you’d come home you’ve hung out with him with the rest of the gang, he’d come over to your house for dinner, and at a movie night with the older teens at Steve’s house. But today it’s just you and Eddie at his place. It’s something you’ve done hundreds of times but being alone with Eddie still gives you a rush of butterflies swirling around your stomach. 

“Welcome to the Munson residence,” Eddie says, gesturing around the trailer as if you’d never been there before.

“I’m familiar with it,” you say with a smirk. “I didn’t think you or Wayne would do some drastic redecorating while I was gone, so yes, I recognize the place.” 

“That’s what you think.” Eddie wiggles his eyebrows and his eyes drift down the hallway towards his room.

You give him a curious look before toeing off your boots and heading in that direction. The room smells the same; like weed, cologne, and something distinctly Eddie. But it looks the same, too. Brow furrowing, you walk around the small room, looking for something to stand out to you as different. There’s a small collection of photos taped to Eddie’s closet, so you pad over to look them over. Right in the middle is the picture of you and Eddie at graduation, clad in your green gown and caps, golden tassels hanging in your faces as you stick your tongue out and Eddie flips off the camera. Next to it there’s a picture of Eddie with the Hellfire guys, all wearing their matching shirts. The one under it has your breath catching in your throat, though. It’s obviously from Halloween, and Eddie’s with Dustin, Max, Steve, Will, and some girl draped across his lap on a couch. Pulse kicking up, you stare at the girl’s face, seeing if you recognize her from high school. Her long dark hair and beautiful brown skin don’t ring a bell, though. Half of your brain is telling you to calm down, that they could be friends, but the other half is telling you that friends don’t sit in each other’s laps like that.

“Find it yet?” Eddie asks from behind you. 

“Who’s this?” you ask, eyes never leaving the picture. Eddie’s footsteps come from over near the door and his hair brushes your shoulder as he leans in to see what you’re looking at.

“Oh, that’s Mia,” Eddie says. The way he says it makes it sound like you should know who he’s talking about. You know you would’ve remembered him talking about a girl. Especially if he mentioned she was this beautiful. “Did I not tell you about her?” Before you can answer, he keeps speaking. “But that’s not where the difference in my room is.”

Eddie takes your shoulders and leads you to the other side of his room, your socked feet trying to dig in against the carpet, but failing. When his hands drop, you instantly notice the difference in the room that he was talking about.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” you say with a smirk. Taking a few steps forward, you run your fingers over his Sweetheart’s strings - something only you’re allowed to do. “You actually bought a guitar stand instead of hanging her over your mirror.”

“Only the best for my girl.”

Sweetheart or Mia, you think to yourself bitterly. 

“It’s very nice,” you tell him.

“Thank you.” He tugs on a lock of your hair. “Now, come on. Let’s go play.”

“What’re we playing?” you ask as you follow him out of the room. 

“Nintendo,” he calls over his shoulder. “I’m Mario. You’re Luigi.”

You sit down on the couch as Eddie sets up the game.

“Princess Peach is mine,” you tell him.

“Hot,” Eddie says, and even though you can’t see his face, you know he’s smirking. He plops down next to you and tosses a controller in your lap. Cheater as always though, he’s pressed play before you’ve even got it in your hands. 

“Asshole,” you call as you speed behind him. 

Eddie laughs and pokes his tongue out of his lips as he concentrates. He repeatedly kicks your ass at the game before you accuse him of cheating, and he drops his controller to tackle you down to the floor. You howl with laughter as his fingers dig into the sides of your ribs, tickling you where he knows you’re the most ticklish. 

“Off!” you screech. Unsurprisingly, Eddie doesn’t listen, and keeps going until you’re squirming so hard you’re getting rug burn on your lower back where your shirt has ridden up. “Eddie, I’m going to pee myself!”

That has him finally letting go, even if it takes him a second. He smirks down at you and ruffles your hair before he gets off the floor.

“Let’s play another game,” he says.

“So you can cheat again?” You’re still on the floor, looking up at him as he walks to the kitchen. 

Eddie scoffs and grabs a bottle off the top of the refrigerator. You sit up to try and get a better look at what he’s doing.

“Tell me how one cheats at a drinking game.” Eddie walks back over to you, shaking a vodka bottle at you. 

“Ooh, gimme.” Eddie holds the bottle up out of your reach, making you stand up on your tippy toes, fingers still not able to brush the bottom of the glass. 

“Never have I ever?” He lets you take the bottle so he can grab two mugs off the wall - making sure to grab Garfield for you because he knows it’s your favorite.

“Do we not know each other too well for that game?” you ask, sitting back down on the couch.

“I’m sure we’ve both got some dirty secrets,” Eddie says with a smirk. “Plus, you’ve been away at college. How am I supposed to know all the naughty stuff you got up to this semester?” The redness that comes to your cheeks has him smirking even bigger. He sits down next to you and pours a decent amount of vodka in both mugs. 

“Fine. You go first,” you say. 

Eddie swirls the clear alcohol around the mug as he thinks, lips pursing together in a way that keeps your eyes glued to them.

“Never have I ever kissed a girl.” When you don’t take a sip, but he does, Eddie groans and drops his head back. “Your turn.”

“Okay. Never have I ever…had a one-night stand.”

Eddie narrows his eyes at you as he takes a sip from his mug.

“I told you that in confidence.”

“There’s no one else here,” you say with a laugh. 

“Whatever. This is supposed to be telling me things about you.” He rolls his eyes over dramatically as he thinks of the next question. “Never have I ever given a handjob.”

“Not even to yourself?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“You know what I mean.”

You give him a smirk before taking a sip of vodka from Garfield’s head. 

“Who?” Eddie gasps playfully, pressing a hand to his chest. “Who corrupted my innocent little friend?”

“Those are two different questions. The handjob was Scott. You corrupted me though.” 

Eddie was right, you both did have some dirty secrets. But you were also right, that you two know each other too well for this game. The questions just become targeted attacks, picking things you know the other has done, making each other drink. It quickly leads to the both of you being thoroughly tipsy, bordering on just this side of drunk.

“Now what?” you ask with a giggle. 

“I dunno,” Eddie says. “Uh, never have I ever had a crush on my best friend. Oh, shit, wait.”

“‘Oh, shit, wait,’ what? You got a crush on Steve or something?” You’re looking right at him but through your vodka fueled eyes, you don’t see his face turning red.

“Never mind. You ask a question.” Eddie’s avoiding looking at your face and it makes you roll your eyes. 

“Okay…never have I ever asked a question in this game and then taken it back.”

“Seriously?” Now he looks at you, and his face is unimpressed.

“Drink up, baby,” you say, pointing at him. 

He pretends to take another sip, and you assume he really did it. But with that slip up that he just made, he knows he can’t afford any more alcohol. 

“I thought I was your best friend,” you say with a pout. Eddie’s eyes widen comically, and he’s not sure how to answer that. The alcohol is starting to make him tired and combined with the anxiety of his secret almost being spilled, he starts to get a little angry.

“S’your turn,” he says, sinking down in his seat. 

“Don’t wanna play anymore,” you say through a yawn. “Wanna know what you meant.” 

“Why?” Eddie asks with an annoyed groan.

“Cause you said it!”

He huffs and puts his mug down so he can rub his hands over his face. Placing your mug next to his, you lean forward so you’re closer to Eddie. When he drops his hands from his face, your face is closer to his than he expects, and he flinches back. 

“Why won’t you tell me?” you ask with a pout. “We tell each other everything.” 

He only hears about half of what you say though, because his eyes lock on your lips and they’re all he’s able to focus on. The way they move when you speak, the way your tongue comes out to lick at them, how the pink skin pulls together when you set your mouth in a pout. Eddie can’t take it anymore and just needs to get it out.

“I wanna kiss you but you have a boyfriend.”

You pull back, eyebrows wrinkling in confusion as you look at him. Unsure if you heard him correctly or not, you run the words through your head again a few times. 

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” you say. “I thought you had a girlfriend.” 

Eddie’s jaw hangs open as he stares at you.

“Why would you think I have a girlfriend?” he asks.

“That girl.” You gesture to his bedroom where you’d seen the picture. “She was on your lap. Lea. Or, Mia.”

“Mia?” Eddie lets out a laugh and shakes his head. “She was Steve’s date on Halloween. Steve was dressed as a doctor. I was Dr. Scrivello.” At your blank look, he continues. “The sadistic dentist from Little Shop of Horrors? Steve Martin’s character?”

“Oh, right.”

“Anyway, Mia got confused I guess, cause we had kinda similar costumes. And she’d had a few to drink by that point so she sat down on me, thinking I was Steve. Haven’t seen her since then. Don’t think Steve has either, actually.”

The relief that courses through your system makes you feel guilty. Eddie’s entitled to have whoever he wants sit on his lap, even if it breaks your heart. But this was just an innocent mistake, so most of the jealousy drains out of your body. 

“Wait,” you say, mind catching up to the entirety of the conversation. “Why would you think I have a boyfriend?”

“Scott.” Eddie says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Scott’s not my boyfriend,” you tell him.

“But you told me about all those amazing dates you had with him. And then you just admitted all that dirty stuff you did with him in our game.” Eddie’s big doe eyes make him look like a puppy that just got kicked. You slide closer to him on the couch and grab his hand in yours.

“Yeah, but he’s not my boyfriend. This was all a while ago. I haven’t gone out with him in over a month. I think he’s dating someone else now.”

“Did he dump you?” Eddie asks and the alcohol in your system makes you giggle at the look on Eddie’s face. His eyes are wide, and his mouth is open, causing you to lift his chin up to close it, the slight stubble tickling your fingers.

“No. I said I wanted to stop seeing him. He was nice and all, and we had fun, but I didn’t feel a whole lot for him. Kinda felt like my heart was already with someone else.”

“Who?” Eddie asks. 

“You, silly. You’d‘ve known that if you didn’t take back your question before,” you say with a devious smirk. “Because I would’ve had to drink because I have had a crush on my best friend. Still do, in fact.”

“You do?”

“Mhmm. So, you can kiss me if you want to. I’d like it. A lot.”

“You would?”

You giggle and reach up to run your fingers through his hair. 

“Maybe tomorrow would be better. You’re entering your sleepy state of drunk now.” 

Eddie couldn’t help but smile. He loved how well you knew him - sober or otherwise. And of course, you were right. 

“S’gonna be the first thing I do tomorrow,” he tells you. 

“Guess I should sleep next to you then,” you say with a shrug. “So my lips are right there when you wake up.” 

It’s exactly what you do. And Eddie does exactly as he says. You’re already awake when he blinks his eyes open, the sunlight shining through the window and casting shadows over your two bodies. The night before comes back to him, a smile lighting up his face as it does so. When his gaze meets yours, he can tell you remember everything too. Without speaking a word, Eddie cups your jaw gently in his large hand, and leans in to press his lips against yours. 

[qoqurt]

˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊✧˚ · . HERE IN THE GARDEN .ᐟ

daisy’s relationship with ethan + luke .ᐟ ( ib : @wintfleur )

read about daisy ahn here .ᐟ | au masterlist

★ BASICS .ᐟ

how did they meet? ethan and luke met daisy properly in a statistics class during first year. due to their majors falling under the same program, many of their first year classes overlapped. they only really started talking when they all had to do a group project together, where she made them promise to do some of the work despite their demanding schedules. luke and ethan had known each other prior due to hockey, whilst daisy and luke go far back due to her childhood spent with her longtime best friend stella ( @wintfleur ‘s oc c: ).

first impressions?

for luke and ethan, they found daisy pretty, but a little uptight — ethan more so than luke. but as they got to know her and she became more and more personable with them (which didn’t take all too long), they began to find her endearing, seeking her out in whatever shared classes they had.

as for daisy, she’d been smitten from the start. she knew who they were from word of mouth through her friends, but did her best to keep her distance, as she knew how hockey boys were. she came off as reserved and quiet at first when it came to them, only wanting to complete the assignment they were tasked with. but as they sought her company out more and more during classes, she found it harder to stay away.

who asked who? ethan and luke asked daisy out on their first date, but it was daisy who had asked them to be her boyfriends. they asked her out after the completion of their project — not wanting to stop seeing her after it was over. daisy had asked them to be her boyfriends after someone on the team had asked her what they were after a heated game, when the pair of them had immediately sought her out, the three of them having a long conversation about their feelings.

how long did it take for them to realize their feelings? it took all three of them a while to realize their feelings. daisy more so than ethan and luke, who were surprisingly quicker to realize, after a month or so. for them, they’d both initially thought that they were both in love with the same girl — later realizing they liked each other as well. for daisy, she’d had an inkling of her feelings bordering on romantic from the beginning, only realizing it much after.

first date? their first date consisted of bowling and dinner at a local diner. the boys had picked it out, wanting something fun to do after the completion of their project, as well as to treat daisy to something fun in the area — as she hadn’t really explored town up until that point (not to mention wanting to show off a little.) they were astonished to see daisy absolutely demolishing them in bowling.

first kiss? daisy had kissed them both during a frat party. they eagerly reciprocated after daisy had began to doubt herself and backtrack.

first ‘i love you’? daisy, surprisingly enough, was the first to say ‘i love you.’ after cramming for an exam, daisy was feeling awfully overwhelmed, which led the boys into coming over with her favourite snacks, which they’d picked up on the other side of town from her go to supermarket. feeling an overwhelming sense of adoration and gratitude, she said it through happy tears.

did any of them try to hide their feelings? for both luke and ethan, since they’re much closer, they were both comfortable talking to one another about their feelings before approaching daisy. on the other hand, daisy was constantly suppressing her feelings, as she feared rejection greatly — alongside the fact that she didn’t want to ruin their friendship by having to pick.

★ EXTRA .ᐟ

how did people find out?

friends + family: it took them a while before they came out to their families, waiting about a month or so before announcing their relationship to their loved ones.

the public: the public had found out about their relationship through word of mouth. though they hadn’t blasted their relationship to the world just yet, as both luke and daisy prefer their relationship to be private, they’re not explicitly hiding it either. though many people spoke about their relationship, no one outright said anything. their relationship was later exposed by a fan upon seeing ethan and daisy at luke’s first game of the season with the devils.

tropes and dynamics: love triangle to lovers, lawful x tired x chaotic, sun x moon x stars, “i can do it myself” x “we wanna do it for you”, she fell first x they fell harder

what are their favourite things to do together? spontaneous day trips, swimming, going to parties together, staying over at each others places, playing switch games, napping

love languages:

daisy’s: words of affirmation, gift giving, acts of service

ethan’s: physical touch, quality time

luke’s: words of affirmation, gift giving, physical touch

pet names:

daisy

luke’s: lukey, pookie bear, babe, baby, sweet boy, lucas

ethan’s: angel, babe, e, baby, eth, eds

luke

ethan’s: eth, eddie, babe, princess

daisy’s: daffy, sweetheart, lovely, babe, dais

ethan

daisy’s: babygirl, pretty, sprout

luke’s: lukey, junior, my guy, lucky (or lucky charm), princess, baby boy

contact names:

daisy

luke: luke (pre-dating), lukey 🧸 (dating)

ethan: ethan e (pre-dating), eddie 🫶🏻 (dating$

luke

ethan: ethan 🏒 (pre-dating), pretty boy 💙 (dating)

daisy: dais (pre-dating), daffy 💚 (dating)

ethan

daisy: daisy from stats (pre-dating), sprout 🌱 (dating)

luke: lucky hughes ⭐️ (has stayed the same before and after)

songs that describe them:

cherry wine - grentperez

petals on the moon - wasia project

poster boy - lyn lapid

electric love - børns

somebody to you - the vamps, demi lovato

lockscreens ( in order from left to right : daisy, ethan, luke )

daisy’s: daisy’s lockscreen is a photo captured by one of her friends from a game she couldn’t attend due to being sick. it’s one of her favourite photos of the boys together, despite having many others.

ethan’s: ethan’s lockscreen is a photo of luke and daisy outside of campus, after a long day. the boys had just finished practice, picking daisy up from the library after a long winded study session. luke had laid on the ground to dramatically express his exhaustion.

luke’s: luke’s lockscreen is a photo daisy sent him of a date she and ethan went on, whilst he was away in new jersey — something to make him feel at ease that they were faring well despite the distance.

★ FUN FACTS .ᐟ

in the earlier stages of their relationship, prior to getting together, daisy had accidentally sent ethan and luke a powerpoint presentation on reasons why they should date her, instead of their statistics presentation.

the presentation was a gag slideshow daisy had made for a powerpoint night she and her friends were having.

their group chat name is “michigan's finest 😽”, courtesy of daisy. prior to this, their group chat was simply called “stats haters”.

daisy uses a lot of the stuff she learned from her athletic trainer courses on ethan and luke. one of her main reasons for wanting to become one is to be able to help them.

ethan and luke love to take daisy skating, especially after finding out about her figure skating background.

daisy has pages and pages of sketches of them that she made throughout the duration of their relationship, which she gives to them for their one year.

★ THEIR THINGS / LITTLE ACTS OF LOVE .ᐟ

practically living at daisy’s dorm

joining her friends for kbbq and karaoke nights

missing each other when they’re on trips

being attached at the hip during frat parties

huddling close together while sitting in front of the fire pit at the lake house

daisy having a drawer of luke and ethan’s favourite snacks at her place

daisy’s wardrobe now consisting of sweaters and jerseys courtesy of both ethan and luke

check in texts when they’re away on roadies

hoisting daisy up on their shoulders

coordinating outfits for date nights

group facetime calls

being sandwiched in between luke and ethan

pookies tags : @iceflwers @lovings4turn

[everythingpeaches]

In which Remus has needs and Sirius is eager to earn his forgiveness.

The issue with forgiveness is that as soon as it enters the mind as a possibility, it is almost impossible not to act upon it.

Remus wants to be stoic. He wants to draw it out, treat the issue with the severity it deserves and wait for forgiveness to be earned. Remus also has needs.

He still isn't really talking to Sirius, not properly. They all sit together now, the marauders reunited, and they have conversations which include all four of them without Sirius and Remus having to actually talk to one another directly.

Sirius is too grateful for this half-peace that he dare not overstep, dare not push for more. He is quiet and appeasing, rolling over and showing his belly whenever Remus looks his way.

Remus is cold, a little cruel with his words and withholding of emotion. He takes a sort of pleasure in it, like sinking nails into Sirius' skin. It's not healthy for either of them, but it's better than before.

With Sirius present again in his life, Remus is having a hard time with his feelings. His emotional feelings, certainly, but more dangerous still are the more physical desires that are resurfacing after weeks apart, because Sirius is beautiful and even if Remus hates him he also loves him, and he's hormonal and very, very horny.

It's becoming a problem.

Remus isn't sure he even fancied Sirius this much back before they started dating, when it was all longing looks and imagination. He's finding it very difficult to concentrate on anything.

He should really be focusing on his OWL studies, the exams are approaching with alarming speed, but instead he finds himself watching Sirius.

He watches him over the table at meal times, laughing and throwing his head back so that his long pale neck is stretched and exposed. He watched him at quidditch practice, thighs tight around his broom. Worse still is in their dormitory, topless and wet haired. It's driving him insane.

'I've lost my mind,' he says to Lily one day. They're in the library, Remus is supposed to be studying for defence against the dark arts but he can't get past the first sentence in the chapter of his book.

'Perhaps,' Lily says, not looking up from her notes, 'You need to get it out of your system.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, you two have always been a bit... intense. I know it's still tricky between you, but who knows maybe a bit of rough and ready is what you both need.'

'Lily!' Remus exclaims, heat flushing up his neck. The red head laughs, looking up from her papers with a wicked smile.

'I'm just saying,' she says, going back to scratching away with her quill, 'Sometimes it's easier to talk without words.'

Remus isn't one to ignore good advise, nor is he one to deny himself something he wants for long.

Opportunity arrises earlier than he expected, that very same night when he and Sirius both find themselves alone, hiding in a 2nd floor broom cupboard from Filch. Peter is somewhere under the floorboards, scurrying away on four tiny paws, and James is under the cloak so has no need for a hiding place.

Remus had grabbed Sirius and dragged him into the confined space without really thinking. Now the door was shut, and he was suddenly very aware of how close the other boy was to him.

'Erm,' Sirius says, shifting a little awkwardly, 'I think I'm stood in a bucket.' He shakes his foot and there's a sound like a rattling suit of armer.

'Sh!' Remus hisses, heat crawling up his neck.

'Sorry,' the other boy whispers. 'Are you alright? You're breathing funny.'

'I'm fine,' Remus says quickly. He is trying to focus on anything other than the feel of Sirius' breath on his cheek, or the way the other boy's leg keeps bumping against his own.

'Are you sure, it's just- oh.' Sirius cuts off, leg bumping against something else of Remus'. 'Oh.'

'Shut up,' Remus says. He wants to die.

'I didn't say anything,' Sirius replies, his voice taking on a new tone. 'I can help you with that, if you like?'

He's standing closer than is necessary, even in these very cramped conditions.

'Stop it. I'm still very cross with you.'

'Well then,' Sirius says, voice dark and dangerous, 'Let me earn your forgiveness.'

Remus already knows he is going to give in. He has appalling self control, and Sirius' fingers have started dancing across his hip bone in a way that makes it hard to think.

'This doesn't mean I forgive you.'

'I know.'

He's kissing Remus' neck now.

'I mean... I'm really...' He's not sure what he is trying to say, thought leaving his brain entirely as Sirius' lips come in contact with the soft skin beneath his ear.

'Let me show you how sorry I am,' Sirius says.

'Okay,' Remus replies.

When Lily sees Remus next in the common room, she takes one look at him and bursts out laughing.

'See, I always give the best advice,' she says with a wicked grin.

Remus blushes, but secretly he quite agrees.