#and was constantly jumping on my keyboard

[evilrat-sabre]

Hey guys! Guess what? New chapter of Stardust! A beloved fic made by my amazing friend @a-plethora-of-peters. I got to draw a thing for todays chapter (:

Go check it out!

[justarandomart]

im letting my bird type a message today

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[acphengene]

String of fate

₊ ⁺ pairing: Niki x reader

₊ ⁺ word count: 3.2k

₊ ⁺ genre: soulmate au, fluff, angst, brotherly love

₊ ⁺ note: it’s fucking finally here. i like them, they’re cute. also can you tell i’m Jayki biased?

₊ ⁺ Jake ₊ ⁺ Jungwon ₊ ⁺ Jay ₊ ⁺ Sunoo ₊ ⁺ Heeseung ₊ ⁺ Niki ₊ ⁺ Sunghoon ₊ ⁺ Masterlist

Niki was a dancer first, and a person second. Anyone who knew him, knew that. He moved like water and learned choreo faster than any other dancer under Hybe.

But he was also a brother, a good friend, and most importantly a hopeless romantic.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but he was. The little red string that was wrapped on his left pinky, was the one thing that would one day give him his fairytale ending.

He had been so excited about it since he woke up with it on his thirteenth birthday. He just never really talked that much about it.

The thread was tight and always stretched towards the horizon, a clear indication that you were nowhere near him. But he had always wondered just how he would find you.

Everything became a little easier when he debuted. Being in Enhypen meant a lot of travels and tours, and different ways for him to figure out just where you were.

Niki made sure that the string was nearly tucked away in his pocket whenever it started to get loose, a little scared that it might end up being flossed or even break if it came into contact with the floor too much.

Logically he knew that wasn't possible, but still he liked to know he kept it safe, just in case. Taking care of that bond that connected the two of you, couldn’t be the worst thing.

To his older brothers Niki had a very casual outlook on the soulmate bonds, an attitude that said: “it happens when it happens”. But when he was the last one standing without a soulmate by his side, he became a little more desperate than he had previously been.

“Can’t we just take a trip, you know to somewhere we haven’t been before?” He asked Jay that we’re currently testing out a new guitar.

His hyung smiled at him. “What happens to my cool and collected baby bro?”

Niki sighed. “He died” and sent the older one a teasing smile.

“You’re the one who has always said that it happens when it happens. And look at all of us, you weren’t wrong. It’s your turn to be patient now.”

He avoided Jay’s eye contact, as he kept playing the same note on a keyboard that stood in the room before him.

“Easy for you to say with G on your arm every day” Niki answered as he rolled his eyes.

Jay just chucked. “Come, let’s go make some curry and distract that mind of yours”

He followed along, but not before giving the thread a pull, a little reminder that he was thinking of you.

You loved the little red string, and red had quickly become your favorite color. What you didn’t understand was your soulmate's inability to stand still.

Almost every hour of every day, he was jumping around like a flea. The string was constantly bouncing or moving from side to side, often in the same movements over and over again.

It had left you wondering just what he was up to each and every day. You knew your own moved around a lot too, dancing would do that. But did he even notice how much he moved himself?

Of course ballet was much slower movements and much more elegant than whatever he was doing.

But you guessed whatever he was up to made him happy, he had after all been doing it since the very first day, and happiness was important.

Every now and then you would feel a tug on the string, and you knew he was thinking of you. It always warms your heart.

Another day, another tour stop. Niki was excited, the string had never been as loose as when he excited the airplane.

If it hadn't been for Sunghoons birthday gift last year he would have his arms filled with the red string at that moment. Hell he might even end up tripping over it.

His soulmate-less brother had always been the best at giving both advice and gifts that were soulmate related, and that year Niki had gotten a little compas looking thing that when attached to the string, railed it into it's compartment and kept it safe. It was one of the most precious gifts he had ever gotten.

“You think she’s here?” He asked his older brothers with hope in his eyes. Some shrugged, others nodded, but Heeseung just pulled him down to him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder. “Let’s find out shall we?”

It was still early in the morning, and he was just lounging around until it made sense for them to do their first sound check and overall runthrough of the choreo.

And as the clock struck ten, the string started to move. A tiny bit to the left, then to the right. You were so close now that he for the first time could see how you were moving through the city. Unlike the very subtle movements of your hand movements he had gotten used to, this looked different, it even felt different.

It distracted him. He forgot everything from lyrics to moves as the hours progressed, earning him a lot of teasing comments from his members.

At some point he buried his head in his hands and groaned. “I don’t know if I can do this guys” he said with an apologetic look.

Sunoo laughed. “You obviously can’t, but I’m surprised you have lasted this long”

Niki smiled. “Yeah, me too”

“Just go,” Jungwon said with a smile. “Find her and bring her to the hotel for dinner”

The youngest nodded enthusiastically, before he all but ran off stage. He didn’t make it far before he heard someone call after him.

“I’m not letting you roam a new city all by yourself” Jay said with a smile before grabbing Nikis shoulders and giving them a loving rub.

The two of them got one of their managers to drive them until the string led them through small passages in the city. Then they took the rest of the journey on foot.

The city in and of itself was beautiful, with old cathedrals, brick sidewalks and cozy cafes on almost every corner, and a quick coffee run later the two had returned to their adventure.

Niki was quiet, more than he usually was, but who could blame him? His palms were sweaty and his eyes never left that red string that twisted around corners. He wondered if you had walked the same streets at some point.

Jay looked at his youngest brother with admiration, as he tried to let him just be, to live this moment.

The string took them to an open plaza in the middle of the city, and before them laid one of the few buildings in the world that were still home to a royal ballet. And the string went straight through its doors.

“Shit…” Jay said under his breath.

“Fuck” Niki ecchoed.

Getting to the building was one thing, the easiest step on their path it seemed. But getting in there, behind the scenes? That would be as close to impossible.

On any given day you would’ve paid more attention to your end of the string. But today wasn’t any normal day, no you were on the night of your career. Prima ballerina for this years ‘Swan Lake’ was your new title.

Everything had led up to this, this was what you had worked for your entire life, what you had ruined your muscles and feet for, and nothing, not even the new movements of your string, could take your eyes off that price.

The day was a constant stress of rehearsals, fittings, ice baths and fittings. Your heart was beating so hard that you could feel the pulse in your entire body.

When you finally sat down in the hair and make up you gave the string a little pull. It was as tight as it had always been, and you couldn’t help that little ping of hurt that he, whoever he was, wasn’t there to see this moment and to be your loudest cheerleader in the crowd.

Niki felt defeated, normally the little tug would make it all better, but how could he get into a show that had been sold out for months?

Jay had managed to score tickets to every performance that night except one, and as absolutely amazing as the two performances had been that night, you hadn’t been there.

“I’m so sorry” Jay said with an apologetic smile as he watched Niki once again moved his last piece of ravioli around on his plate as he was lost in thought.

He only shrugged. “It is what it is” he gave him a halfhearted smile. “At least these performances have given me a few ideas for some new choreography?” It sounded more like a question than anything else.

“Yeah, that is kind of a silver lining”

He lowered his head and kept it down, and all Jay could do was sit idly by as he watched his youngest break down in front of him.

It was a rare sight to see Niki cry, he put on a hard facade, something he had done these last few years, a trauma response they had all figured.

He moved to the booth and pulled him into a tight hug. “I know,” he whispered. And that little reassurance opened the floodgates.

Niki was grateful they were hidden away from all eyes in the back of the restaurant. That no one was near to witness this, the fact that Jay saw him like this was embarrassing enough.

He pulled away with an apology as he dried his eyes.

“Don’t ever apologize to me for having feelings that are so big you need to express them. I will forever be a safe place for you to do that”

Niki saw how sincere he was and he only nodded as yet another tear escaped his left eye.

A commotion in the restaurant was the next thing the pair heard, and suddenly their manager came rushing towards them.

“I got them!” He screamed. “I got them but we need to go now! It starts in 5 minutes!”

Fuck. This was it. And he had never in his entire life, moved faster than he did just then.

He moved up the stairs with a fast pace, rushing towards the top floor where his seat was located. He didn’t wait to figure out if the others could keep up, that didn’t matter. You were the only thing on his mind.

This had to be it, you had to be a part of this production, there was no other way. He had prepared himself to stand outside in the snow all night if that was what it took. But this did seem like a better alternative.

He wondered what your role was, were you someone behind the scenes, or were you like him, a performer?

The balcony had a perfect view of the entire stage, and when the string led straight behind the curtain, he knew this was it.

His legs were bouncing, he was fidgeting with every ring on his fingers. He didn’t care that his baggy jeans or his hoodie made him stand out like a sore thumb between the fancy gowns and suits.

Jay laid a hand on his thigh. “Breathe” and he tried, but it was as if all of the oxygen had left the room.

“She’s here hyung, she’s right here. I just know she is”

“And so are we”

Their eyes met. “Is this really happening?” He asked.

Jay smiled. “Yeah, it really is”

“You’re sure this isn’t a dream?” He asked as he once again looked to the red curtains.

Jay laughed. “Dreams are my mark, not yours. So yeah I’m pretty sure”

The smile that painted his lips were from pure happiness, and he looked like a tiny sun, radiating in this somewhat dark room.

And just then the lights flickered three times, an indication that the show was about to begin.

All Niki could do now was hope that he wouldn’t pass out.

As the curtains rose a calmness came over you, the world around you disappeared, and your feet started to move on their own accord as they always had.

You were home now, and you wondered if you would ever be more happy than you were in that exact moment.

He saw you, and you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. There was no one in this world that could tear his eyes from you.

He knew in his heart he looked like a star struck idiot, but he couldn’t care less.

Your elegance was unmatched and the way you moved proved to him that the universe had done him a favor. You were the other half of his soul, one he had lost before he even came into this world, the one thing he had searched for his entire life, the one person he would search for in every life after this one.

A dancer, of course you were, he thought. Who else would be able to understand his love for being on stage, other than one who shared that passion?

He knew it was opening night for this year's season which meant that he experienced this moment with you in real time. He was so proud despite not even knowing your name yet.

Before he knew it the curtains once again closed and the show was officially over. The cast stepped out when they opened once again and your smile was so big as you looked at your partner it literally took his breath away, it was as if he froze in time.

As you bowed he once again gained consciousness and he clapped and cheered louder than anyone there. He reached out and pulled on that string as hard as he could.

He watched as you took a small stumble, he watched as you reached out to grab it, and as you followed it, it let your eyes straight to him.

God he was beautiful, dressed in black and grey, messy hair and tear stained cheeks, but he didn’t seem to mind. The two of you watched each other for a second, and then you both watched as the string that connected you, transformed from crimson red to the most dazzeling gold.

He was still clapping when your tears started rolling down your cheeks and you once again took a bow, deeper this time, more grateful.

Niki had sent Jay back to the hotel after he had been approached by one of the security guard of the theater. Telling him that you would be out as soon as possible.

He had decided to go outside to hopefully calm his blazing hot cheek.

It was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact that he had actually found you. That he had listened to himself and it had been worth it.

The snow had started again and the darkness that surrounded it was only lit up by the old streetlights. He stood there, looking over the plaza as he wondered just what he wanted to say to you.

He didn’t have Jake’s mark, but he wanted it to be something meaningful, something you could be proud of.

Behind him he heard a door close and he turned in one smooth movement, as if quick turns on his heels were second nature to him. Who was he? You couldn’t help but wonder.

You stood on the top of the stairs looking down on him. Looking at that gold string, so you hadn’t imagined it.

Niki took a step forward and almost instinctively reached out for you.

He was calm, and you most definitely weren’t. You made a small jump and let out a small scream before you rushed down the steps to him.

He laughed, loudly, and the sound bounced around on the buildings, echoing it back to the two of you as if it was your own little song.

As you were almost by the foot of the stairs he opened his arms to you, and you leaped the last few steps. Throwing yourself into his arms.

He caught you, as he always would, and held you tight. Spinning you around as you both laughed.

He smelled amazing, felt amazing. He was tall, messy haired and you could feel his heart beating beneath that big puffer coat.

“I found you” he said as he finally pulled his face from the crook of your neck.

The two of you looked at each others with smiles so big that they hurt your cheeks more than the cold.

“You certainly did, and perfect timing I might say” You answered as he returned you to the ground. He kept his arms around your waist though. You didn’t mind.

“I barely made it, who would’ve thought I’d end up having such a talented soulmate that sell out her first show months in advance?”

You felt the blush paint your cheek as you looked away from him. “Don’t be embarrassed, you should be proud. It’s such an amazing achievement”

He couldn’t help himself as he brought his hand to your cheek and forced your eyes back to his.

“What about you, what is it that you do since you’re suddenly here?” You slithered out of his grip and instead interlinked your pinky with his.

He smiled at the gesture, and he quickly knew this would be how he held your hand for as long as you allowed it. Together you walked down the street enjoying the cold and finally each other.

Niki chuckled. “Eh… I’m in a similar industry” he said as he ran a hand through his hair.

He didn’t expect that he would be this nervous actually talking to you, opening up. But he was scared all of the sudden, scared that anything he could say would want you to leave him behind.

You raised a brow at him, but didn’t push the subject, you were observing, letting him take his time.

“Do you know kpop?” he asked as he kicked some of the snow that lay on the road.

“I do”

“Well, I’m an idol… And are kind of here for a tour” he stopped in his tracks and watched you smile up at him.

“So a singer and a dancer then? You’re making me look bad”

He chuckled, as he felt the weight fall from his shoulders. "I don't think that is possible"

"What kind of dance?" You asked, and he couldn't help himself so he spun you around.

Niki watched as your body reacted by pure instinct, how you stepped up on your toes, even in your sneakers, how your leg lifted off the ground.

"Well definitely not ballet"

The two of you laughed together.

"Want to dance with me?" He asked as you stopped beneath one of the lights.

"I will dance with you for as long as you'll have me" You said as he pulled you closer with a smirk.

"I promise you one thing red, I am never letting you go. You have a dance partner for life with me"

So you danced there in the somewhat silence of the city as the snow fell around you. Two dancers, one soul, brought together by nothing more than a red string of fate

₊ ⁺ taglist: @why4anne @juicygirl4life @azzy02 @bluxjun @why-did-i-just-do-this @elairah @ramyeonzwithspam @floating-moon-dust @skyearby @acourtofmoonlightandstars @garrdenwonie @whateveridontcaresheesh @stormy1408 @tunafishyfishylike @sol3chu @spicxbnny @blvengene @fics-lovebot @fangirl125reader @acopenhagenarmy @tunafishyfishylike

[beanarie]

okay. so this is part 4 of the temperature of becoming something (aka "buck takes a mental health break"). meaning it takes place before the one i posted yesterday and that guy is part 5. cool? 👍 cool. all the previous parts can be found on #things by beanarie or #my writing

~

Chim, busy as he is, mostly just sends links. Or rather, link. The grief assessment Buck used to check in on everyone. If Buck doesn't respond with his score within an hour, Chimney starts telling progressively more disgusting anecdotes. There are a lot in his arsenal. He's been on the job a long time.

(Buck): +I should just block you++

(Chimney): +Cede to my demands and nobody's lunch gets ruined++

(Buck): +It was dessert this time. I'll never be able to eat raspberry cheesecake again++

(Chimney): +You know what you need to do, young man!++

Early on, Chim sent over a couple of license plate bingo cards. At first, Buck refuses to let himself count the cars he finds at large tourist traps, but the further he goes, and the more time stretches before he finds Rhode Island, he starts to get a little desperate.

He bought a road atlas on ebay, and every so often he traces the lines with his finger. Salt Lake to Cheyenne, then south on I-25 to Denver, and west again to Kansas City, then St. Louis.

Albert meets him in Memphis, bafflingly.

"I need advice on what to get Bo," he says. "You've spent much more time being their uncle than I have."

"Flights aren't cheap," Buck says. "Everyone expected you to go directly to LA."

Albert makes a dismissive gesture. "I'm doing okay. My father's competitor pays very well."

Outside a very loud, music-themed bar, Albert strikes up a conversation with a couple of very pretty teachers from Minnesota.

"So." Buck says, suddenly hyper aware of what his face is doing. "Uh, what subjects do you teach?"

At the Graceland gift shop, Albert gets Jee a tiny guitar and Bo a toy keyboard. Buck considers dissuading him, envisioning a series of early morning wake-up's in Chim and Maddie's future, but decides against it. Kids are supposed to make noise. It's healthy.

~

Maddie's voice is doing something funny, a little wheedling. "I, uh," she says. "I know you're kinda going where the wind takes you, but can I make a request?"

So, Orlando. Classmates went pretty much constantly throughout elementary school, with several trips happening in middle school and high school as well, especially for those with younger siblings. Buck wasn't sure exactly what to expect. The motels surrounding the various parks are oddly bleak, despite bright color schemes. This one is an eye-searing shade of fuchsia.

As usual, the first thing he hears is Jee's shout, and he goes down on one knee so she can run directly into his arms.

"There's my favorite girl," he says, tightening his hold marginally as he gets to his feet.

"I have a brother!" she yells into his ear. "We left him home with Daddy and Uncle Albert, but you should meet him!"

Buck laughs. "I know Bo. I haven't been gone that long."

"Oh!" Jee says. "You know he's really loud and stinky?"

"You were loud and stinky, too," Maddie says, amused. "Now let me hug my brother."

He lowers Jee to the ground, dangling her extra slow to make her giggle, and then looks at Maddie. "Hey," he says.

"Hey." She holds on for a long time. "I'm with the kid. It felt like you've been gone a lot longer than you have."

He looks at Jee, pulling on his hand, realizing he expected her to be bigger, more grown.

Buck feels the blood drain from his face when he spies the prices at the ticket booth.

"I know," Maddie says, shuddering. Jee is already jumping up and down at her side. "Thankfully I got discounted passes."

"How much of a discount?" Buck mutters.

She looks tired. "Don't ask."

Jee runs ahead of them as soon as they get scanned in. "Where's Elsa?!?"

After dropping them off at the airport, Buck heads south. Michael and David are thrilled to host him for the night, to talk about Bobby with someone who knew him as well as Michael did. It's awkward at first, Buck never spent much time with them one on one (or two on one), but with some great seafood the stories start flowing.

They're getting to the tail end of the call that almost landed them all in prison for bank robbery, and Buck wipes his eyes, still laughing a little. "You know, I told my ex this story, and this was the point where he had to tap out. He even called me a liar."

David nods furiously. "I don't blame him! The diamonds were in the guy the whole time? They're what actually killed him? No way."

"Interesting choice of pronoun there," Michael points out. His expression hasn't changed. "Bobby told me a little over the years about your romantic... let's say, mistrials with women. The reporter. The teammate; oh yeah, he was steamed about that one. Thought he'd have HR or whatever the LAFD equivalent is on his neck for allowing 'fraternization'."

"Oh, god." Buck hides his face in his hands.

"What ended up happening there?" Michael says. "He only mentioned it the once."

"We made out at a bar. One time. Never went any further than that." Buck doesn't mention that these two were actually simultaneous and that it led to some of the most shameful behavior of his adult life. "She transferred out not long after."

"Not because of you," David asks hopefully, throwing him a bone.

"No, she was actually a pilot. She went to air support. They had no openings for a while, I guess."

"Oh, a pilot, too!" Michael says, bringing him back to Maddie's kitchen. So, tell me about this hot pilot. "And what about this other ex, the he/him?"

Buck feels the flush coming out in his cheeks. "He's, um. He's a pilot as well."

David takes the bottle of wine and refills his glass. "So this woman you made out with was on your team and then your ex's team? Did she introduce you?"

"Oh, no. That's a whole 'nother story involving Bobby and Athena and a cruise and a hurricane. Also pirates? But I didn't get to see any."

After David goes to bed, Michael helps Buck get set up in Harry's room. Michael's expression is grave and unexpectedly awkward. "I could never ask Athena this, but-"

Buck breathes in for a count of five. "It's okay. No, he- he didn't suffer. Not really." He's thought about this a lot--even moreso after Eddie shot his mouth off--analyzed the day from every conceivable angle, to the finest minute detail. "The virus wasn't- wasn't +easy++ on him, but when he went downhill, his heart gave out pretty quick. I think his heart attack, you know? Or- Or his age."

Michael exhales shakily. "Okay. Thank you, Buck." There are tears in his eyes. "+Thank you++."

He embraces Buck hard. It feels nice.

Michael sniffles and lets go, patting Buck on the shoulder. "Do you want to stay another day? You're welcome to stick around a little longer."

"Thank you, but I have an appointment up north." And by that he means, if he wants to stop by Hershey without dealing with his parents, he's got ten days before they get back from LA. The trip itself, from point A to B, would only take a day and a half, but he wanted to do the North Carolina islands and he doesn't want to rush through it.

~

Getting to see his family and Bobby's people chips away enough of the concrete block for Buck to check his text thread with Eddie.

The first dozen or so are useless and dotted with attempts at guilting him via photos of Chris and the other kids. Buck is stronger now; he can recognize what Eddie is doing and keep scrolling. He does save the photos, though.

The thread ends in an interesting way.

(Eddie): +I started seeing Frank again. Chim and Hen strongly encouraged it. Ordered, more like.++

(Eddie): +It's teaching me things about myself I didn't want to own up to. I let Shannon down, hard. I can never make up for that. I don't want that for you and me.++

(Eddie): +I mean I hope you give me another chance. You're the best friend I ever had, Buck.++

Buck stretches out on the bed and initiates a call.

"Evan?"

His eyes slide across the ceiling. "What were you scared of, when you left me last year? Like, what was your worst case scenario?"

"Uh."

"Did it look anything like what I said to you in Eddie's kitchen?"

"Not entirely. Evan, can you tell me where you are?"

"I'm in a hotel. Don't call dispatch. I just realized I never apologized for that. It was shitty. You pissed me off, so I lashed out. That's not who I wanna be. It's not what you deserve, either."

"What do I deserve?"

"Someone good. Someone who looks at you the way you used to look at me."

"How did I look at you?"

Buck bites his lip. "Like you could love me."

"Evan, I..."

Buck waits until he can't hold his breath anymore. "What?"

"I shouldn't say it. You're vulnerable right now."

"I'm not drunk. And even if I was, there's not much you can do to me from there. I'm of sound mind."

"Fine, um. You used to look at me like that, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Sometimes."

"Can- Can I call you?"

"Now you're asking permission? The toothpaste is kinda out of the tube, big guy."

"I meant again. Regularly. We could talk."

"Talking would be novel for us. We could use some practice."

"Yeah. Yeah, right? We- We could."

"Got any topics on deck?" Tommy asks gamely.

Buck grins. "You ever heard of Ocracoke? It's an island south of Kitty Hawk. Most people know it as the place Blackbeard died. But did you know they kind of have their own language? A dialect, anyway. It's called High Tider. Isn't that cool?"

Tommy lets out a warm chuckle.

@hyperfocusthusly @chococara25 @peppermintquartz

[enhard]

choi beomgyu — “video game lover”

i don’t wanna play, i just wanna jump straight into bed

pairing: subby bf!c.bg x fem!reader

: an innocent hangout at your bf’s place where he teaches you everything he knows about games… or is that all?

cw: oh buckle up this is alot. SMUT!!!, sub gyu letting you take the lead, oral (both receiving), cum eating, face riding/sitting, riding, mommy kink, praising kink, unprotected sex, creampie, breeding kink, a bit of fluff in the beginning, gyu gets called good boy repeatedly, making out, he’s an absolute NERD.

not proofread, enjoy! (MDNI)

you’re laying down on the cold and comfy covers of beomgyu’s bed, looking up at the ceiling and wasting time. his room is dim, only a purple and pink led light shining through the whole room.

beomgyu is at his desk, pressing away at the keys on the keyboard and the light from the monitor shining on his pretty face. he has his headphones around his neck, usually he wears them but since he’s with you he doesn’t.

he’s cursing out players here and there for making him lose or fall off the map, slamming his fist onto the desk once.

you can’t help but giggle at him, and when he hears those giggles he begins whining. “babyyyy stop laughing at me.. these people are so annoying i’m never playing this shit again.” you continue to laugh at him, grabbing his pillow in your arms and moving to lay on your side, seeing him better. “but you’re so adorableee.. how can i not?” you bring the pillow up to your face, closing your eyes upon smelling his cologne on it.

you wonder.. why are you imagining that your boyfriend is the pillow when he’s right there? just go cuddle with him instead. so you ditch the pillow, stand up to go sit on his lap, facing him. you quickly give him a kiss and place your chin on his shoulder, trying not to distract him from his game. you wrap your arms around his waist, while he has his arms extended to grab the mouse and keyboard.

“what are you doing cutie? you tired?” he says, giving you a kiss on your shoulder. “mm” you mumble, as a sign of disagreement. you’re not tired, you just crave his touch. and yet, you become interested in whatever he’s playing, wanting to ask him questions about the game.

he puts on his metaphorical nerd glasses ready to answer all your questions.

as he’s talking, you lift your head up to look at him. you’re admiring his pretty face, his plump lips moving with every word. he smiles at you when he realises that you’re daydreaming while staring at his lips. “sweetheart, did you hear anything i said?” you pout at him while shaking your head. “mmm.. no.. your lips are too captivating..” he grabs onto your thighs, pulling you closer. “taste them then.”

you smile as you lean in to give him multiple kisses, he immediately presses alt+f4 to turn off the pc faster while also taking his headphones off. you two keep kissing as he spins you both around in the gaming chair.

he’s about to take his hands off your thighs, but you quickly put your hands over his, keeping them there. “noo.. don’t move your hands away.” he slightly moves them around to your ass playfully squeezing it a few times.

“y/n.. i want youuu..” he whines, how can you refuse such an opportunity when he’s being so adorable?

“really? is my baby needy for me? let me help you then.” you instantly see a smile on his face.

you drag him from the chair to his bed. you lay him down on it, running your hands all over his body. he whines, trying to make you move things faster so you do exactly how he wants.

you start by taking his hoodie off, giving him a kiss on his abdomen. then, you move down to his sweatpants to palm his bulge through them. you’re surprised at how hard he got already, but you don’t mind.

you slowly take off his sweatpants constantly looking at him. his face is flushed, looking at you impatiently. you give his cock a small kiss through his boxers just to tease him a bit, but from his quiet moan he seemed to like it.

you slide his boxers off him too, revealing his pretty dick right in front of you. smiling at him, you give his tip a few kissed and kitty licks, waiting for him to make a reaction.

he leans his head back, flexing his shoulders at the small impulses of pleasure. you obviously want to suck him off, but you just felt like teasing him a bit first.

“be a good boy for me now okay? don’t make too much noise. the others could hear us.” you say, already pumping his cock and spitting on it. he nods, his eyebrows furrowed. not gonna lie, you calling you good boy really made him twitch and you noticed.

you smile, pumping him a bit faster. “you’re so adorable.. my pretty boy.”

he grabs the sheets with his hands, letting you take him all in.

you stop a few times to spit on his cock a few more times, making sure it’s as wet as you desire. then you start bobbing your head up and down, making wet sounds, matching them with the sounds of your gargling and little chokes. it quickly gets messy, strings of your spit mixing up with his precum.. getting all over your mouth. he loves it when you get so messy on him, main reason why you did it in the first place.

“mm..feelss soo good..” he whimpers, grasping those sheets even harder. you laugh a bit, making an “mmm” sound, sending vibrations to him and oh that felt good.

at some point, you take out your tits from your shirt, not wearing a bra underneath giving him a bit of a better show.

he almost loses his mind, moaning and whimpering way more often, tears forming in his eyes.

you go as fast as you can, using your tongue as an advantage to give him even more pleasure. he almost cries out, getting so close to cumming. you pull him out of your mouth, now stroking him so good. “cum for me gyu, cum all over me.” those words instantly sent him to the edge, making him shoot his cum all over your face. you smile wiping off most of it, and licking it all clean. “such a good boy” you remark again, making him feel proud of himself.

“..mommy let me.. taste you too.. pleaseee” he whines again, he knows he succeeds whining, and how he called you mommy.. he knows you’ll say yes.

“okay baby, sit still.” you say, taking off your shirt fully and also your pants leaving you in your underwear. you crawl up to his face, smiling at him and getting his hair out of his face.

he smiles and gets all excited, knowing you’re about to sit on his face. you give him a kiss seeing how happy he is. “calm down love, i’ll sit now okay?” he nods like a puppy.

you take off your panties finally, immediately aligning yourself with his face. you slowly sit on him, not wanting to hurt him. he starts licking and kissing you, the tip of his nose always brushing against your clit. you let out small moans, brushing his hair with your fingers.

he tries to grab onto your thighs, the ones caging his head tightly, but you quickly pin both of his hands above his head. “no touching baby. use your mouth.” he communicates with you through little moans, while eating you out how he knows best.

you slowly start grinding yourself on his face, the pleasure getting pretty unbearable. he succeeds in shoving his tongue inside you, now you riding his tongue a bit.

he can barely breathe anymore but he doesn’t care, all he wants is to please his mommy. and that’s what he’ll do. he tries sucking on your folds too, all in there, the slurping sounds getting so hot.

your thighs start shaking as you feel yourself almost cumming. “let m..me.. squirt on.. you.. please…” he hums, giving you permission.

you grab onto his hair tightly as you squirt all over his mouth. your whole body starts shaking, trying not to collapse on him.

you slowly get off him, seeing his pretty face glowing with your cum. he’s always beautiful, but this time he looks prettier than ever. he gives you a cute cheesy smile, closing his eyes.

oh but you’re not done. “lovee.. are you tired already? i want you to fill mommy up.. hm?” you pout at him, doing exactly what he’s been doing with the whining.

you can see it from the sparkle in his eyes that he wants that more than anything.

“please let me cum inside you, you have no idea how much i’ve been waiting for you to say that.” you smile at him. “ohh but baby, you could’ve asked me.. there’s no way im saying no.”

he gets a little more red than usual. “you’re adorable.” you add. well, you get started on what he wants. you instruct him to lay down just like he was just so you can ride him now. you rapidly sit down on his cock, craving it like nothing else.

you give yourself a bit of time to adjust, starting with small and short bounces. you grab your tits to play with them as he’s looking at you, teasing him so much. you know he loves your boobs, everything about them. he loves touching them, kissing them, using them as pillows, you name it. you’re torturing him not letting him touch you at all.

you start riding him properly, getting faster with each bounce. he really starts whimpering, begging you to go harder on him. you smile, seeing him so soft around you. your thrusts get harder while your praises get sweeter. “oh.. you’re such.. a good boy.. so good for me.. fuck…” he loses his mind hearing your words, hearing them echo through his head.

“mm..mommy.. you feel so good… you’re so..wet..” he whimpers back, his eyebrows fully furrowed. you place your hands onto his abdomen, trying to ride him even better. “how..is this love?” you say very out of breath. “..amazing..keep going.”

you listen to him. you keep bouncing on him until you hear his whimpers getting louder, more demanding and his pants more frequent. you know he’s about to cum and so are you.. again. you clench up around him as you cum a second time, letting out a pretty loud moan. he’s so close he has tears streaming down his cheeks, getting so much pleasure at once.

“fill me up baby come on.. make mommy proud.” he rolls his eyes back, whimpering his voice away as he cums all inside you. you lean in to give him a kiss, before getting off him, your pussy dripping his cum all over the sheets.

you look at each other in silence a bit, seeing his bangs sticking to his forehead because of the sweat, his fucked out face… his even plumper lips. how can you not love him.

you both lazily clean up, not really caring about it.. just wanting to rest. after you’re done, you end up in his arms again.

“you were so good for me today.” you add to break the silence.

he pouts a bit, looking at you. “am i not always good for you?”

you giggle. “no no, you’re right. you’re always my good boy.”

[hannie-dul-set]

나비 / NABI — ONE.

SYNOPSIS. in which you’re trying your damned best to willfully ignore your feelings for your friend of over twenty years, but— as always— life seems to have a different plan paved out for you.

PAIRING. choi beomgyu x female! reader. GENRE. childhood friends to not quite friends (derogatory) to not quite friends (endearment) to lovers, romance, humor, hurt/comfort but more on comfort, coming of age, slowburn, college! au, “it’s always been you” trope, pining, tons of denial, beomgyu is the only man ever, featuring a large ensemble of idols from various groups. WARNINGS. swearing, explicit language, alcohol consumption, rumors as a plot device, mentions of sex, a few minor injuries. WORD COUNT. 9k (out of 40k).

NOTE. hehe...it’s here. this first part is a little short and slow, but things are gonna start picking up from here! please let me know what you think so far 😭😭 half my soul was injected into writing the entirety of this i will never be the same again 💔 also, i recommend listening to beomgyu’s covers while reading this and the upcoming chapters HAHA anyhow, please enjoy!

모기 / MOGI — ONE — TWO — THREE

YOU STILL DON’T LIKE CHOI BEOMGYU. Ever since you and he reconciled and publicly became friends again, your life has never known quiet— all thanks to the countless insects constantly buzzing around him, and by consequence around you, every damn day. And it’s not like you can keep avoiding him. Choi Beomgyu has made the executive decision to take advantage of the guilt you’ve been feeling, so for the past month, you’ve been a slave to his whims. 

Responding to 3AM ice cream runs even though you’re swamped with assignments. Going to parties hosted by people you don’t know the fucking names of because he keeps calling you a boring loser. And, the cherry on top, having to deal with Lee Heeseung’s even more annoying presence, just like how you’d predicted he’d behave if he ever finds out you and Beomgyu are friends.

Which he did. Much to your despair and agony.

“Beomgyu, your girlfriend’s here to see you.”

Case in point. You spare him nothing but an eye roll when he lets you in the clubroom of the, ahem, coding club. You’re here because Beomgyu texted you to fetch him a matcha latte and since you’re playing as his slave at the moment (and until your patience runs out), you obliged out of the kindness of your heart, only to get a truckload of teasing in return.

“Oh, hey, what’s up,” Yeonjun throws you a peace sign from their worn out sofa by the door the moment you enter. He’s accompanied by a good number of chip bags on the cushions.

“Hey,” Hanbin greets you as well when you pass by their alleged meeting table. Which, by the way, has stacks of leftover takeout containers and some empty, some half-empty plastic jugs of water. “Beomgyu is on the computer.”

“Thanks,” you tell him. This clubroom is a fucking gremlin hole.

“You know what.” Your path towards Choi Beomgyu is interrupted by Hyunjin, suddenly popping out of the half-wall separating the lounge area from the computers at the back. You jump, because what the fuck? “My heart races everytime you come here. I still get flashbacks from the day you threatened to wreck our safe haven. I think you gave me PTSD.”

Ah, yes. That day. That was eventful. It was the first time you’ve seen Choi Beomgyu cry.

“Serves you right, gossip snorter,” you say. “Out of the way, I have business to deal with.”

Hyunjin indeed gets out of your way, and there he reveals a row of four computers lined up against the wall with their assigned nerds mashing on the keyboards and yelling profanities at matching game screens. You zero in on the one on the far left corner. Surprisingly, Beomgyu is relatively calm compared to the others. You tap on his shoulder. He turns his head around.

“Oh,” he says, pulling his office chair back from out of the desk with a swivel while removing the headphones from his ears and letting them rest around his neck. You notice Jeongin seated beside him, who looks up at you only for a moment only to flinch back to the screen. “You’re here?”

No, shit. You jangle the latte in front of his face, head cocked, and he reaches out for it. But then you quickly jerk back your hand before he can snatch it from you. “Nuh-uh. Pay up.”

“Tch,” Beomgyu clicks his tongue and shoots you a bitter look. “Hyung, can you toss me my jacket?”

Someone from behind does indeed toss him his jacket, and at that very moment as well, Heeseung decides that it’s a great time to indulge in his newly founded hobby. “Hey, how about me? Why didn’t you get me a drink?” He joins the already crowded crevice in the back and swings an arm around your shoulder. “You get a boyfriend and forget all your friends. Have you forgotten that you two got together because of me? I’m hurt, I’m so hurt.”

Your face scrunches up. “Literally, how many times do I have to tell you he’s not my boyfriend.” You elbow Heeseung off, eliciting another whine from him. When your eyes snap back at Beomgyu, you see that he’s preoccupied with going through wallet. You kick his chair. “Say something, dipshit.”

Beomgyu hands you a bill and exchanges it with the matcha latte. You wait for him to speak. He takes a long sip, pulls his face away from the straw with a grimace, hands back the drink to you, then says, “What she said.”

You look at him, drink now back in your hands.

“What the fuck?”

“Keep it,” he says, putting his headphones back on. “Don’t you have class?”

Your jaw clenches. Fucker made you run an errand for nothing. He gives you an asshat smile of goodbye then spins his chair back to his computer. You scoff and smack the back of his head, causing his headphones to slip off. “Bye.”

“Hey!”

“Later,” Heeseung bids you off, and it’s followed by a chorus of goodbyes from the inhabitants of the testosterone infested, stinky gamer cave. Seriously, every time you drop by here, you feel an ounce of your soul shriveling up and rotting away. Yeonjun very politely opens the door for you. You hear one of them yell out before you leave.

“Come over tomorrow. Hanbin hyung’s treating us to pizza!”

And with that, you’re finally free, matcha latte in hand and a desire to breathe in some fresh air because you’re pretty sure the air is polluted in there. But still. It’s been a lot easier to breathe recently than when you two weren’t on good terms.

“Saved you a seat.”

You make it to class two minutes before the schedule. Minjeong proudly taps on the seat next to her, and you take the invitation. “As you should,” you hum, taking out your notes from your bag, and not long after Sungchan arrives and lands on the spot next to you.

It’s the week before finals. Prof Shin starts the class and decides to fuck all of your study schedules by giving a last minute assignment due next week as well. 

“Does this guy want to give us depression before the summer or some shit?” Minjeong complains the moment your professor leaves the lecture hall.“I swear to god, if another prof gives us an assignment due over the break, I’m killing myself.”

“You two have plans over the break?” asks Sungchan, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and the three of you head out for lunch, funneling out into the hallway along with the rest of your blockmates.

“I’m going home,” says Minjeong.

“I have summer classes,” you answer.

Sungchan stops in his tracks. “You serious?” 

“Yup.”

“You bet on it.”

He looks at the both of you like you’re a bunch of withering old ladies and he’s very much unimpressed. “Make some time for the last week. I’m throwing the wildest summer rager and you two can’t miss it.”

You’re pretty sure you replied with something along the lines of an agreement, but you’re not quite sure. The thought completely slips out of your head throughout the next week because, well, finals. And before you know it, your first semester of uni comes to a close, and summer comes crashing in at full swing.

#1: YOU STILL DON’T LIKE HIM FOR WASTING SO MUCH OF YOUR TIME. It’s eight in the morning. Monday. You’re standing in front of Choi Beomgyu’s door.

Knock, knock, knock.

It’s the start of your summer semester so you thought you ought to make something healthy just to kick things off on a good note, but as you were scavenging ingredients for fried rice, you realized you were out of salt so that’s why you’re here. You knock on his door again, three times, and you manage to finish watching five more Instagram reel clips before Beomgyu finally answers the door.

Creak.

“Took you long eno—”

You’re caught off guard by the mop of shaggy hair greeting you, clearly having just woken up. His eyebrows are knitted together while he lets out a yawn. He’s in a tank top. It rides up a little when he stretches his arm to reach for an itch on his back.

“What?” he rasps with a grunt, squinting at you after he’s finally settled himself into reality. “Why the hell are you up so early?”

You clear your throat. “Got any salt?”

Beomgyu blinks at you, processing your words. Then he steps back, points a thumb towards his kitchen, and nudges his head in the same direction. “Go crazy.”

With that, Beomgyu lets you monopolize his kitchen cupboards while he flops onto the sofa. You laugh seeing him practically melt into the cushions. He’s never been a morning person. You’re pretty sure he fell asleep like three hours ago.

“I’m gonna steal some of your chives too,” you inform. Beomgyu makes a muffled noise that you assume is a yes, so you go ahead and take the liberty. When you pop out of his kitchen area, you see him in a not very spine-healthy posture on the same sofa while scrolling through his phone. “I’ll drop off some bokkeumbap later.”

Beomgyu’s eyes flit up from his phone and he wiggles into a more normal position. “Do you have plans today?”

“Class,” you answer on your way back out.

“It’s summer?” he says. “Did your dumb ass get your calendars mixed up?”

You roll your eyes, stopping right before the door with your hand on the knob and turn your head to face him. “I thought I could use the early credits so I won’t have to take too many classes in my fourth year. So I could focus on my internship and all.”

There’s a pause. You can see the three dots slowly appearing in succession above Beomgyu’s bedhead. “Oh,” he says. There’s a drop in his voice. Only for a second. “Well, have fun, nerd.”

You stick your tongue out and leave his apartment with your borrowed goods, returning once more after you’ve finished cooking to give him a portion. Honestly, without the food your moms send over, you’re pretty sure he’d be living exclusively off of takeout.

Anyhow, you head to campus for your first summer lecture, and— for the first time god knows how long— your entire day is spent with a lingering, and almost unusual echo of quiet.

“That’s it for our syllabus. We’ll be starting our full swing of classes next week. See you.”

When you exit the lecture hall, the hallway is near empty. The courtyard too, with only a few students littered about underneath the midday sun. It’s so quiet, it’s weird. Around this time, you’d usually be having lunch with Sungchan and Minjeong, sometimes Beomgyu, sometimes Heeseung, but that brat’s not around right now either because he’s on vacation. 

Not having anything to do, you decide to stop by the campus cafe— Horangnabi. You don’t go here often, committed to the shop near your apartment because, well, it’s more convenient for your morning coffees, but you weren’t able to grab one earlier since you cooked breakfast. Might as well get a latte before you leave campus.

“Hi, welcome!”

You’re greeted by the barista, and like most of campus, it’s pretty empty inside as well. "A spanish latte, please. Iced.” While making your order, a sign on the counter catches your eye.

Part-timers, now hiring. You blink, letting it settle for a moment. Maybe for too long of a moment, because the whir of the milk frother snaps back your attention. 

“Are you interested?” 

The barista slides you your drink over the counter with a smile. You take it and press your lips together in a moment of thought. 

You only have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and it’s too inconvenient, not to mention expensive to go home, back and forth from Seoul to Daegu and vice versa, on the days in between. Most of your friends are on vacation or went back to their hometowns over the break so you have no one to hang out with over the summer. And you could use the extra money.

“I don’t have any experience, though,” you tell her.

“That’s fine. You’ll get a few days of training,” she answers.

Tempting. You’re almost convinced. “What if I just want to work for the summer? Can I quit when the next semester starts?”

“A lot of students do that,” she hums. You see her take a square of tissue paper from the display, jotting down a series of numbers before sliding it over to you as well. “Julie. Call me if you wanna take the bait.”

You spare one more second to ponder. Then you take the number from under her fingers and carefully stuff it into your pocket. “Thanks.”

The heat has finally settled the moment you exit the cafe, a little bell jingle trailing you from behind, and you take a mental note to bring an umbrella with you from this day forward. Their coffee is good, you have to admit. If you work there for a good month or two, maybe you’d even end up saving cash by making your own drinks instead of having to buy them.

You decide to take the path through the parking lot to make your exit. There’s more trees around, meaning more shade because it’s really freaking hot. It’s very bare in the lot. You pass by a few cars, of which you assume belong to faculty and staff, until one of them honks at you, and you flinch to a halt.

Another honk. Your brows furrow. Looking around, you try to find the culprit, but you end up moving your head in just the right direction for the sun to beam its light directly into your eyes, blinding you temporarily, and you wince. God damn it. You hear another honk again, and you feel yourself start to get irritated. It’s coming from behind you. You spin your heels, vision still muddy from the direct sun attack, but nevertheless you start walking.

“Seriously, who the hell keeps fucking— oh!”

You bump into someone. You feel them balance you by your shoulders.

“You should’ve seen how dumb you looked.” You hear a snicker. Of fucking course, it’s Choi Beomgyu. Who else would it be? “But hey, you make a pretty good pigeon jerking your head around like that.”

“Fuck you,” you jab his arms off. “What are you even doing here?”

Beomgyu notices your coffee and takes a shameless sip from it before answering, “Get in the car. It’s so freaking hot out, jesus.” 

You don’t really have a choice because he practically shoves you into the passenger’s seat. So gentle. You nearly spill your drink all over when your ass lands on the leather cushion. 

“I was just about to sleep again after you dropped off the food earlier,” he explains while starting the car, and you watch him intently. Whenever your schedules matched, you’d sometimes go to and from uni together. But you can’t seem to get used to the image of your friend acting like a responsible adult. It’s fucking with you a bit. “But then I got a message from Prof Kim, asking if I could come by the office today.”

He pulls out of the parking lot, and the cool air finally settles into your skin. “For what?” Beomgyu lets out a groan. Must’ve been for a not great reason.

“The EMC department is hosting a conference of some sorts this year and he asked if I could be a volunteer facilitator, ask a few others from the department to help and join along too.”

“Oh? You gonna do it?”

“Ugh. I don’t know.” You pass through security out the main gate and start heading back to your apartment. “I wanted to come home over the break but the working days for this thing will apparently last throughout the summer. Prof Kim did say this will be minused from my volunteer hours, but I don’t know.” Beomgyu then gives you a side eye all of a sudden. “Speaking of. You undutiful daughter.”

“What?” you leer.

“Your mom hoped that you’d be home for the summer, too. Why didn’t you ask her first before enrolling for summer classes?”

“Why the hell do you two keep talking about me behind my back?” You’re shriveling up. Seriously, why does your mom contact him before you? This is getting ridiculous. “And I’m doing all this so I can graduate early and find a job early, by the way. I don’t even have a full week of classes so I can still come home the first week of July.”

Apparently, you two argued for long enough to finally reach your building. 

“Tell me when you plan on going home,” he says, leaning against the wall beside your door watching as you key in your passcode to your unit. 

“Obviously,” you roll your eyes, smiling. The door unlocks. You push it open. “You’re my free ride after all.” 

Now, your expected response from that is another retort from him, how you’ve been exploiting his kindness and whatnot and you’d have to snark back as well. But for some reason Beomgyu just stays quiet. He says nothing, an unreadable look on his face as he looks at yours. You raise a brow.

“What is it this time?”

Choi Beomgyu says nothing. He lifts up an arm, points his index finger near your face, and jabs his finger straight into your forehead.

“I’ll send you a review of your bokkeumbap later.” He laughs at your appalled expression.

“You’d be shocked to find out it’s better than my mom’s,” you say back, a hand tending to the spot he just attacked unprompted.

“You wish.”

“Eat shit.”

“Oh, I definitely will.” 

You send him a kick, which he dodges before fleeing into the safety of his apartment. Slippery bastard. Anyhow, you call it a day and settle into your own place. Few hours later, Beomgyu indeed sends you a review of your cooking with a photo of an empty dish attached. Three out of five, he says. Slippery bastard turned ungrateful bastard.

The next day, you’re at Horangnabi again. The night prior, you called Julie’s number and gave her the news that you’re in, and she told you to come an hour before opening so they can get you settled.

You come in with a greeting, and you see Julie look up from behind the counter to wave you in with a smile. “You’re here! Hanbin, come meet our new part-timer.”

At the mention of Hanbin’s name, you immediately double take, and emerging from the door to what you assume is the storage area is indeed the Hanbin you know from the coding club. 

“You!” you immediately shriek, almost feeling a hint of betrayal because this is the first time you’ve seen him in daylight, because their clubroom is always so fucking dark. And in something other than the god damned flannels everyone in their club is always so fond of wearing like it’s an unspoken uniform. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, so it is you!” Hanbin happily exclaims. “I thought it was just someone with the same name.”

Julie was delighted to find out you two already knew each other. You skip all the necessary introductions and jump in head first into getting acquainted with the equipment instead.

“We’ll go through all of the drinks first. I also have the recipes printed out over here in case you need reference.”

Having a familiar face in an unfamiliar workplace is indeed a pleasant surprise, but there’s also a familiar sense of dread to have one of Beomgyu’s coding club buddies in here. Granted, he doesn’t annoy or tease you as much as the others, but those guys have already given themselves a label in your head, and Sung Hanbin is no exception to your collective bad impression.

“And then you twist the handle— just like that.”

You’re in the middle of your first latte, the espresso machine up and running. After which, Hanbin teaches you how to use the milk steamer without any difficulty, and you pour the milk into the same cup as the espresso you made earlier. “Wow,” Hanbin remarks. “You’re pretty good at this.”

“I think it’s all thanks to the caffeine I’ve ingested,” you say. “Skill buff. Or whatever you guys say.”

Hanbin laughs and compliments your latte once more. Needless to say, it doesn’t take long for your discomfort to completely disappear because at this point in time, Beomgyu’s friends would already start asking you about him— where he is, why isn’t he with you, etcetera etcetera. But his name has not left Hanbin’s mouth even once, and it’s already the end of your first day.

“It’s always slow here, except on rare occasions, so you’ll be able to handle it with no problems,” Julie says before sending you off. “Anyway, Hanbin and I will be around during your shifts, so you can run to us in case a particularly grumpy student comes to order.”

Hanbin gives you a thumbs up and a bright grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

And that’s how you established your new routine for the rest of the summer. It’s just like Julie said. Things are pretty slow. The only notable thing that happened on your second day at work is Beomgyu sending you a very unflattering, low-angle selfie under the blinding lights of the faculty office glaring behind his head with the text message that he said yes to volunteering for the conference. Sad face emoji included. 

On Thursday, Julie taught you how to make a damn good waffle. On Monday next week, you got your first shitty customer. Finally on Friday, you decided to open your skeleton closet to Hanbin, because not once since your a little over a week of working here has he asked you about the whereabouts of Choi Beomgyu.

“You and Beomgyu are friends right?”

There aren’t any customers except for the regulars from Bio that are almost always found in the corner of the cafe until closing. Hanbin is wiping the already squeaky clean counter because there is nothing to do. “Yes?” he answers, a smile on his face, but with a tone that’s evidently confused. “So are you?”

Christ. Now you’re the one bringing that bastard up. “Right. It’s just a little odd.” There, you bring up what you’ve observed so far since working here, and the fact that you and him have shared actual conversations not involving your old friend, and how it’s pretty surprising to you. “One time, I thought someone was going to confess to me. Turns out he just wanted me to convince Beomgyu to help him rank up in League.”

“Well, I don’t really need any help in that area.” Hanbin laughs, shaking his head. “Sounds like you and him have been friends for a long time.”

Neither of you have told anyone about your history. No reason in particular. Beomgyu just never found the need to tell his friends that you’ve known each other from birth, and neither have you. But Hanbin’s presence, when separated from the rest of his friends, just feels like a blanket of comfort, and you find yourself spilling your guts to him— including the previous three to four month cold war you caused and the reasons.

Hanbin is patient. He listens the entire time with an attentiveness you can only compare to a saint. “I guess being a social butterfly has its unintentional consequences. I’m just happy to hear you two made up.”

“I probably would never regularly step foot in your dungeon hole otherwise.”

He laughs. “The guys in the club also tease you a lot, don’t they? Doesn’t it bother you?”

You press your lips together. “Yeah, but at this point it’s just white noise to me now.”

Hanbin looks at you. “That doesn’t mean you enjoy it either.”

Well. He’s not wrong. 

Your conversation gets cut short with the cafe bell signaling the entrance of customers. You look at the door. It’s a whole stampede of people. It’s Choi Beomgyu and his friends and you can’t even go on a day of talking about them without them showing up.

“Whoa, I’ve never been here before.”

“Dude, you’re in your third year. Where the hell have you been?”

“Doesn’t Hanbin hyung work here—”

“Yeah, let’s ask him to give us free cookies.”

“Hyunjin, buy me a drink.”

“Buy your own drink, nerd.”

“Hi, I’ll have an iced americano, and a— o-oh, my god.”

You’re face to face with Yang Jeongin who nearly pisses himself upon the recognition that it’s you behind the corner. It dominoes to the rest of the group. You don’t know why they’re being so dramatic. You let out a huff and a sigh. “An iced americano and…?” 

Jeongin doesn’t get to answer. Beomgyu unwedges himself from the group and squeezes his way to the counter. “You work here now?” 

You cock a brow. “Uh. Yeah.”

“Since when?” he immediately follows up. You’re a little taken aback.

“Since last Tuesday,” you answer after recounting. Beomgyu makes a face that burrows a pit in your stomach.

“You didn’t tell me.”

Okay. Now you’re very taken aback. There’s a cough from the crowd. And then a very intuitive, not-so-hushed remark from one of the boys. “Holy shit. They’re having a lovers’ quarrel.”

It hits a nerve. Hanbin quickly dissuades anything before you could open your mouth. “So, what are you guys ordering?”

The amount of drinks to make and pastries to bring out gets you busy for a while, but you still keep an eye on Beomgyu, watching as he settles back to normal joking mode with his friends while you try to find an opening to talk to him. You and Hanbin finish making all their orders, so you ask him if you can be excused for a moment. He tells you to go ahead and you make your way to Beomgyu, who’s sitting on one of the ends of the three conjoined tables in the more spacious corner of the store.

He’s talking to Yeonjun. When Yeonjun notices you approaching, he immediately quiets down, so you take this as permission to interrupt. You tap on Beomgyu’s shoulder. “Hey.” He turns around and looks up. “You good?”

Beomgyu opens his mouth, about to say something— “Ahem,” — but then Yeonjun clears his throat, accidentally catching the attention of the rest of the boys, and they’re suddenly popping out their heads like meerkats in your direction. “Should I give you two some space?”

“What’s going on?”

“They’re having a moment.”

“Oh my god.”

“Do you guys sell popcorn?”

You’re used to their teasing. You’re used to their bullshit, really. You’re fine if they pull on your hair strands inside their clubroom, but for fuck’s sake this is a public space. Heeseung isn’t even around, but it seems like all his clubmates caught his disease. Your bio regulars are sneaking a few glances at the commotion. There are other customers too. You’re visibly annoyed and embarrassed— which doesn’t go over Beomgyu’s head, because he notices. And he also looked like he’s getting irritated. 

“Hey, you two should just apologize and make up!”

Beomgyu gets up. You see his jaw clench. Oh no. You quickly grab his arm with a tug before he can do anything— only for Hanbin to show up with a tray, setting it down on their table in a less than gentle manner. They flinch. They shut up. Hanbin sets down a few plates with a chilling smile.

“We don’t have popcorn, but here are your fries,” he says. Wow. “Do you guys want to add anything else?”

There’s a single squeak from the group. “No, we’re good.”

Hanbin hums in acknowledgement and retrieves the tray from the table— not without sending you a thumbs up, to which you mouth a thank you in return. He smiles and nods before going back to the counter, and there you feel Beomgyu removing your hold on his arm from a while ago, and you quickly flit your attention back to him, fearing that you might’ve upset him. Again. Like last time.

“Wait—”

“Are you trying to slack off?” he jeers. You look at him, a little surprised. Beomgyu nudges his head to the counter and you see a few customers filtering in. He did remove your hand from his arm, but he’s still holding it. “I’m not upset because you didn’t tell me you started working here. Well. I was. A bit. But not anymore.”

You feel his thumb run through your knuckles, going over the bumps of each joint, followed by a gentle squeeze.

“It must’ve been heaven for you to get some peace and quiet for once. But then I had to bring these losers around,” he wrinkles his nose. You feel a load get off of your chest. Beomgyu lets go of your hand. “If you told me beforehand, I would’ve steered them away from here.”

“Well it’s fine as long as they don’t cause a scene.” You say the last part a little bit louder than conversational-volume. From the corner of your eye, you see Hyunjin cough on his fry. “Anyway, I gotta get back to work.”

“No shit. Go do what you’re paid for, slacker.”

He lands a smack on your back and you’re pushed off to do your job. Gosh. Hanbin welcomes you back to the station and the both of you are kept busy for the time being, up until late afternoon strikes, and Beomgyu says he can’t drive you home today since they’re still needed back at the faculty office.

“Your girlfriend can get home just fine! Prof Kim’s looking for us, hurry—”

And just like that, he gets lugged out of the cafe. Jeongin laments about returning to “printing hell,” whatever he means by that, and the walls of Horangnabi are once again returned to their original state— peace and quiet.

The bell jingles. You hear nothing but the metronomic melody from the speakers. “Your friends are so draining,” you tell Hanbin.

He just laughs. “They’re quite energetic.”

You should’ve appreciated the serenity and calmness of your first couple of days working here because for the next few weeks, the coding club has decided that the campus cafe is going to be their regular hangout spot from now on. Or until their summer volunteer work finally ends.

“You know, you’re so pretty.”

It’s the end of June now. You’re wiping off some spilled milk from the counter when Julie suddenly decides to dote on you. She’s on the other side of the counter, face between her palms, and your wiping stops, face flushed.

“I—I’m sorry?”

“You’re like the prettiest flower in a garden and I’d fend off all the other bees and butterflies just to have you for myself,” she doubles down. You release a laugh, mildly forced because holy shit, this is a new kind of attention. “No wonder you have all these guys buzzing around you all the time.”

Julie thumb-points at the corner the coding club guys usually occupy. You hear Hyunjin losing his shit over something—

“I think he’s the one they keep buzzing around, seonbae.”

—something Choi Beomgyu very likely said considering the grin he has on his face, and how Yeonjun is also collapsing on his shoulders. You watch as his grin disappears into a cup, taking a sip from the lime soda he ordered. Then he notices you staring. He settles down the drink and gets up. 

“Oh no, he’s coming over.”

“What?” he says after reaching the counter, taking the spot next to Julie. “Are you talking shit about me again?”

“Hey, not everything is about you, insect,” answers Julie. Those two have gotten pretty close too. “I was talking about how pretty our new barista is. She’s a breath of fresh air. A rose among the truckload of weeds sullying the pretty interiors of our dear cafe.”

Beomgyu snorts at the comparison. You give him the stink eye.

“I get what she means,” Hanbin slides into conversation. He hums and passes you the milkshake Jeongin ordered. It’s still missing the whipped cream on top. You fetch a container from the fridge and walk back to your station, only to be met by a sudden debate on what kind of flower you are now.

“No, no. She’s not a rose,” you hear Yeonjun interject. “Appearance wise, she’s like a daffodil. Personality wise, she’s a venus flytrap.” A few of them chortle and laugh. You roll your eyes and start shaking the container.

“You’re wrong, she’s a hydrangea!”

“Aren’t they poisonous?”

“Exactly.”

A few more give their pitches. Honestly, you’re pretty impressed by the amount of knowledge these gamer gremlin boys have. You finish Jeongin’s milkshake and give it back to Hanbin for delivery. Beomgyu is quiet throughout the whole debacle, until Hyunjin eggs him on to give his pitch. They need to hear the expert’s verdict, he says. Beomgyu just brushes them off until he notices you looking at him expectantly. He pauses. He’s actually thinking about it. You’re pleasantly surprised at his sudden thoughtfulness— that is, of course, until he actually opens his freaking mouth.

“You’re a milkweed.”

It’s like a ball gets punted into your head. It bounces off and lands on the ground. You hear a wheeze from the boys. You give Beomgyu the middle finger.

“A weed! Not even a flower!”

“Hey, they are flowers! Go look it up!”

Beomgyu can’t redeem himself anymore. You’re already looking at him with bitter disgust and Julie proceeds to call him a piece of shit.

“It really is a flower!” 

He still defends, pleading his case to you even after the topic has shifted. Julie has left to clean up some tables. Beomgyu remains in his spot on the other side of the counter until you decide to believe him and his alleged substantial botanical knowledge. 

“Sure, whatever,” you deride. Beomgyu is still pouty. “Anyway, your conference thingy is this weekend, right? We’re going home right after?”

“Yeah,” he says, still sounding a little bitter and you bite down a laugh. His eyes flutter down, noticing something on your chin, and offhandedly wipes off what you assume is some stray whipped cream from earlier with his thumb. “Do you wanna leave in the morning or afternoon?”

“Oooooh.”

Lee Heeseung suddenly rears his head near the counter to return their empty plates. He’s back from vacation and now he’s here to reclaim his rightful spot as your number one annoyance. “Get a room,” he says with a shit eating grin that you want to wipe the floor with.

“Why’d you even come back early?” you leer at him. “Weren’t you supposed to be island hopping until the end of July?”

He sticks his tongue out. Beomgyu just laughs. “I can’t miss Sungchan’s party. You’re going, right?”

Right. The alleged wildest, most epic summer rager Jung Sungchan mentioned before parting ways with you and Minjeong over vacation. He texted you about it again last night. You couldn’t leave him on read because he called you immediately after.

“Unfortunately,” you lament. “Sungchan’s gonna throw a tantrum if I don’t show up.”

“You know Sungchan?” Beomgyu suddenly asks. 

You give him a pointed look. “Duh, obviously. We’re in the same major.”

It’s like a lightbulb materializes on the top of his head. “Ah,” he says. “I forgot you had other friends.”

You quickly retaliate by attacking him with the nearest thing you can get your hands on: a dish towel. He lets out a very fake, very dramatic yelp of pain and tells on you to Julie noona for abusing your customers and that you should be fired. 

“You’re no customer, you termite.”

“Ack! Noona! She’s hitting me again!”

“Is this how the youngins flirt nowadays?”

Both of you freeze in frame— him trying to yank your weapon from your hands and you with an arm up ready to throw a punch— and turn your heads towards Heeseung, who has a very smug smile playing on his face. You shoot Beomgyu a glare before roughly tugging the dish towel from his grasp. “Shut your mouth, Hee. How’s it going with your compsci girlie, anyway. You’ve stopped bragging since last month.”

Heeseung’s smile stiffens. He breathes out a ‘haha,’ before starting to turn away. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Serves him right. After a while you routinely bid them good riddance since they have to leave for volunteer work again. The weekend comes rolling, they finish the conference, and, with summer vacation coming to a close, you also bid your part-time job here at Horangnabi farewell as well after two-months of service. 

“It’s not like she’s never coming back here,” Beomgyu huffs. You two decided to stop by before leaving off to your hometown, Monday after their conference. Julie refuses to stop squeezing you. Beomgyu tugs on your shirt sleeve, but you don’t budge. “You’re so dramatic.”

“Coming from the guy who’s spending the entire week with her,” Julie spits back. “You better bring her back here in one piece, you bug.”

Choi Beomgyu succeeds in retrieving you this time. The container carrying two cups of coffee swings in your hand as an arm hooks around your neck, tipping you back, and the top of your skull hits Beomgyu’s chin.

“Hanbin, we’re heading out.”

“Drive safe!”

You’re only spending a little over a week in Daegu. You two still need to come back to Seoul in time for Jung Sungchan’s, cough, epic summer rager. He hasn’t missed a day in reminding you about it. You’re out for a joint-family dinner with Choi Beomgyu and his family and your phone buzzes only to see Sungchan’s text saying [three days. i better see you there 🫵🫵🫵]. 

“Your classes don’t even start until September.”

It’s the third week of August. Your mom decides to walk you to Beomgy’s car. “I still need to enroll and register for my classes,” you tell her. “I’ll call you when I arrive.” You pause. “And if you want to know what I’m up to, just ask me directly for god’s sake. Quit asking that guy.”

That guy wrinkles his nose at you. “Auntie, don’t listen to her. She’s just being jealous.”

“Wait until I tell your mom about how you nearly set fire to your kitchen.”

“Say a single word and I’m never letting you in my car anymore.”

Jung Sungchan’s party is at their vacation home in Eunpyeong District because his parents aren’t in the country. There’s a pool (gross). He promised you and Minjeong exclusive room access to escape to in case of emergencies (nice). It’s late afternoon. Beomgyu is already there because, well, he’s Choi Beomgyu and everyone’s obsessed with him. You’re still at Minjeong’s apartment, getting ready and borrowing some of her accessories.

“You sure you don’t want me to drive you guys here?” he asks over the phone. You can barely hear him with the noise in the background. “Taxi fare’s expensive.” 

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Minjeong makes a face from the foot of the bed while she irons her hair. “I’ve saved up a lot of pocket money thanks to you being my personal chauffeur anyway. And Minjeong doesn’t like you. She thinks you’re a douchebag.”

“I don’t even know her!”

“Bye.” You hang up. Minjeong still has a look on her face. “What?”

“I think he’s stringing you along,” she says bitingly.

You let out a huff. “How can he string me along when I don’t even like him?” Minjeong simply says that Choi Beomgyu gives her bad vibes, whatever the fuck she means because the only vibe Beomgyu exudes is the vibe of extreme annoyance. You hop off Minjeong’s bed and change into the outfit you brought, opting to put on this very big, droopy sunhat you once bought at a flea market as extra protection. It’s stupid hot out. You steal some of Minjeong’s sunscreen as well before finally heading out.

“Did Sungchan invite everyone at uni or something?”

A foot into his gate, it’s already so crowded. Like really fucking crowded. There’s music blasting somewhere. You can’t find Sungchan anywhere in the yard so you and Minjeong squeeze your way into the house, and there you find him with Heeseung. Minjeong yells for his attention, and he spins around with a big smile. “Hey, you made it!” Sungchan hurls himself at you with a bone crushing hug. “It feels like it’s been ten years since I last saw you.”

“Quit being so dramat— ack! Tap out, tap out! I give!”

He finally releases you, and you grunt. “Here you go.” He tosses the keys to the room he promised. 

“Have fun partying.” Minjeong snatches it into her hands immediately. You scan the area for a bit. You see Hyunjin and Jeongin in the corner of the living room.

“Boo, you’re so lame,” jeers Sungchan, to which Minjeong just ignores and tugs your arm.

“How about you?” she asks.

You shift your gaze back to her. “I’ll go look for Choi Beomgyu’s round head first then hermit up there with you.” Minjeong makes a gagging noise before going off for the staircase. You’re ready to take out your phone to shoot Beomgyu a text, but you feel a sudden weight on the top of your head, so you look up, brows knitted.

“Your boyfie’s out in the back, sunshine,” Sungchan says while attempting to snatch your hat. 

“Not my fucking boyfriend.” You swat his hand away and readjust the hat on your head. “But thanks. Later.”

The thing about your longtime friend is that no matter how crowded the place, no matter how flooded an area is with people and people and people— he’s generally very easy to find. Just look for a crowd, look for bodies circling around each other and whoever is at the epicenter, at the eye of the storm, is more often than not Choi Beomgyu.

Your trick is proven to be effective this time around as well. When you leave the living room through the glass doors to the backyard, you spot him instantaneously sitting on the ledge of the other side of the pool, feet dipping into the water as he laughs along with the large group surrounding him. It’s bright out— the sun’s rays bouncing off from the water’s surface to glitter the underside of his face. Even the sun has his attention. It’s so comically ridiculous that you almost roll your eyes into a scoff. That is until you see him see you, and within a moment’s notice, he’s up on his feet and is departing from the crowd to walk up to you.

“You’re here.”

The first thing he does is swipe the sunhat from your head, adding it to his obnoxiously colored outfit: a bright pink buttoned top with neon orange flowers, the color matching the necklace he’s uncharacteristically wearing. He’s also got a pair of square framed sunglasses perched on his nose. “Is this your highlighter cosplay?” you ask, snickering. 

He shoots you a glare. “Fuck off. What took you so long, anyway? Thought you got lost or something.”

“I wish I did,” you grunt. There’s a holler and a splash from somewhere. You feel a few droplets hitting the skin of your feet. Beomgyu tugs you by the arm a little farther away from the pool. “This is way too noisy for my liking. And I thought I’ve been desensitized by you and your friends.” 

“Yeah, but—”

“Beomgyu!”

A third voice suddenly barges in from behind you. Beomgyu’s eyes leave your face for a second when you feel someone brush past your shoulders. “Hey!” Beomgyu greets back, giving who you assume is one of his friends a high five before the guy runs off again, then his gaze flits back to you. “Anyway—”

“Hey, kid, haven’t seen you in a while!”

A more familiar face shows up and greets Beomgyu with a slap on the back, once more fishing away his attention. You’ve seen him at Horangnabi before, you think. “Hyung, I’ll get to you in a sec!” he says. When Beomgyu looks at you again, his smile quickly drops into a pursed huff. “Ugh.”

You laugh. “You were saying?”

Beomgyu smacks his tongue in distaste, tugging you even further into a corner in the backyard, right next to a bush-lined fence under the shade. “I was trying to say— it’s good to get out of your comfort zone once in a while, you know. Your mother would cry tears of joy to hear that her hermit of a daughter is at a party.”

“Why do you always bring up my mother when you want to make a point?”

“Extra leverage,” he grins. “There’s drinks in the cooler. Want me to get you one?”

“Nah,” you say. “I’m gonna hole up in Sungchan’s room in about—” you check the time on your phone. “Ten minutes. Minjeong’s already in our sanctuary.”

You receive a pinch on the nose from Beomgyu for that. You try to elbow him off, and just as he’s about to say something again, you two hear his name being yelled out from somewhere in the area. “Choi Beomgyu! Pool volleyball, stat!” Beomgyu pauses, arms dropping to his sides and his shoulders slump in defeat. A single breath of wind, he’s gonna fall over.

“God fucking damn it.”

It’s very funny seeing him like this. “Off you go,” you push his limp body out of the shade, the sun hitting you both once more. Beomgyu makes a grunt of protest. “Go, butterfly, go. Your people are waiting for you.”

Beomgyu gives you a look of awful judgment, but starts unbuttoning his shirt anyway in preparation to take a dive. “You’re not gonna swim?” he asks.

“In that water?” you grimace. “Want me to catch a disease or some shit? You’re on your own, pal.”

“Drama queen,” he huffs, fully removing his shirt now and you’re like whoa there— eyes away, eyes away. A screeching voice calls from his attention. He looks behind to yell back, “Shut the fuck up, I’ll there in a minute!”

“Hand me your phone,” you tell him, holding out your hand. Beomgyu turns around, looking at you with his atrociously bright shirt hanging on his forearm. You clear your throat. “And clothes. Ask Sungchan for directions to his room to find me later.”

“You sure?” he asks, digging into his short pockets.

“Yeah. Go have your fun, loser.”

Beomgyu hums and takes your offer, handing you his phone, tossing his shirt to your face, putting your sun hat back on top of your head and making sure to ruin your hair in the process. He’s so fucking annoying. “I’ll be back after I kick their asses.”

The shirt drops from your face and falls, only to hang on your arm. “Hey. I don’t really care,” you say. Beomgyu doesn’t find that response satisfactory. He makes a face before running off, slow at first before breaking into a sprint once he’s near enough the pool, before jumping straight into the water with a loud splash!

His head emerges from the water, largely grinning with his hair sticking to his skull. It doesn’t take long for him to be swallowed by a group of people. You take this as your cue to leave.

“I know you hate it when people assume you’re dating. But seeing all that, I really can’t blame them.”

“Holy shit— Minjeong,” you jump, meeting face-to-face with your friend the moment you spin your heels. She’s got her arms crossed, looking at you like she’s massively unimpressed. “When did you get here?”

“I thought you died or something,” she shrugs. There’s a splash from the pool, you two getting hit as collateral damages and Minjeong makes a gagging noise. “I can’t believe I left home early for this mess.”

You make a noise of agreement. It’s around four right now, the number of people isn’t getting any smaller, and the music is yet to get louder. Choi Beomgyu’s shirt and phone are still on your person. Said phone buzzing incessantly in your hold. “I’ve been out here for a good ten minutes,” you say. “I think that’s enough.”

“Good call. Let’s go upstairs.”

On the way to the room, you bump into Heeseung, who ropes you in to taking two jello shots before setting you free. You also greet a few people that you know for uni here and there, but you can barely hear them over, well, everything. It’s so chaotic, you’re beginning to wonder how the hell Jung Sungchan is going to clean up the aftermath of this. Or maybe that’s why he was so desperate to have you and Minjeong over. So that you’d help him clean up. 

Minjeong seems to agree with your theory. You two key in the door to the room he gave you while cussing him out. “That bastard. Of course, he’d have ulterior motives.” The door opens. Minjeong lets herself in and immediately throws herself face-first onto the bed. “I’m gonna nap.”

“You dressed up all cutely just to sleep at a party,” you say, scanning around the room for a place to put away Beomgyu’s things. 

“Hey, my ten minutes of screentime needs to be worth it,” she replies, voice muffled by the mattress. “Night, night.”

With how pretty the interiors look, you’re pretty sure this isn’t a room Sungchan frequents. A guest bed, maybe. There’s a large window on the opposite wall revealing a vivid backyard view, sheer white curtains filtering the sun. It’s very bohemian. Tasseled rugs, rattan decor hung all around. You notice the round, wicker seat next to the bed with a patterned cushion. You toss Beomgyu’s belongings there and walk up to the window.

Peeling back the curtain, you look down to see a flood of people scattered all about the yard, muffled music and noises leaking into the cracks of the room. Choi Beomgyu is still splashing around the pool. You watch as he throws a beach ball overhead, eyes following it fly across the water, until it ultimately bounces off the pool ledge and hits someone from behind. He looks pretty happy with the stunt. You let out a huff, a tug on the corners of your mouth, and let yourself sink into the soft rug in between the bed and the windowsill, laying down.

You hear Minjeong squirming from above. Damn, she’s actually sleeping. You’d get up there and join her too, but the floor is already comfortable, and you’re already yawning, so you feel yourself starting to doze off, lulled by the distant sounds of people from the outside.

When you open your eyes again, it’s orange.

You open your phone. Almost six in the evening. The sunset leaks into the room through the sheer curtain, painting shadows on the floor as you blink and regain your consciousness.

Then you hear three sharp knocks from the other side of the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Coming.” It takes a while for you to reconnect the wires in your brain. You let out a yawn as you make your groggy steps towards the door, seeing Minjeong wedged into the upper corner of the bed in a way that’s definitely going to wrinkle her outfit. There’s a few more knocks on the door. You twist the knob open and lo and behold—

It’s Choi Beomgyu.

“Oh, thank god, I found the right room this time.”

Half-clothed. With a very evident, painful red mark on his left cheekbone.

“Holy shit. What the hell happened to you?”

You’re wide awake now. Beomgyu answers with a sheepish grin. “Well. You see. A little accident occurred.” 

He flinches back and looks away guiltily with tightly pressed lips the moment you nudge your face closer. It’s swollen. You take a step back with a sigh. “Explain,” you say, grabbing him into the room. You tip the door close with your foot and bring him to the foot of the bed, careful not to wake Minjeong up in the process.

“Some of the guys got a little too tipsy,” he starts as you sit him down onto the mattress. You kneel onto the bed stool, sinking into the loose blanket draped on the cushion just next to his outstretched legs while he continues yapping. “There was a surfboard involved. Don’t ask. But with alcohol-induced lack of coordination, and then there’s me who was by the pool ledge at the wrong place at the wrong time— I think you can get an idea of what happened.

He leans back, sinking his hands into the cushion. You dip forward. “That’s nothing to brag about.” Yeah, he’s gonna need some ice. 

“I think I bumped my head a little too.”

You feel a breath escape. He’s smiling. How many beer cans has he downed already? “Beomgyu. Seriously. What the fuck?” His face is irritating you, so you grab it and yank it down to get a good look of his big, round head. “Where?”

“Ack! Gently! Do it gently!” he complains, and you feel his right hand coil around your left wrist. “It’s father in the back, I think—”

“Quit grabbing—”

“Ow!”

You do manage to find the bump, but you accidentally press on it a little too hard, causing Choi Beomgyu to yank your wrist in surprise, jerking you forward out of balance. Now, that’s fine and all, but at the same moment, you hear two unfamiliar voices speaking in hushes approaching the door. Your eyes widen.

“Are you sure this room is empty?”

“Yeah, it’s empty, just—”

Swing! 

You try to get up. But your knees slip on the blanket on the stool and you stumble forward upon hearing the door slam open.

It’s a domino effect. Your palms are pressing against the soft mattress. Choi Beomgyu’s bruised face is looking straight at you in alarm. From underneath. You’re on top of him. On the bed. You snap your head towards the door and it’s wide, wide open with two people, half inside, and a few more heads poking in and zeroing in on you as the realization that you forgot to fucking lock it dawns upon you and soaks into your bones.

This. This isn’t a favorable position.

God damn it all.

“Sorry!”

And the door is slammed shut once more. That doesn’t matter. The damage has been done. You feel your face starting to burn and your strength attempting to escape from your body.

“Uh.”

The voice from below you reels your attention back in. You blink. Shit. You’re practically pinning Choi Beomgyu against the bed right now and his face is just a few inches away from yours. The heat is rising to your head. You want to move, but your arms won’t budge— seemingly temporarily locked into place by the shock of the sight underneath you.

His eyes are wide open, reflecting the orange tinted light from the ceiling, flushing his skin with a light shade of auburn, the tint deeper on his cheeks and nose. You see his throat bob, muscles contracting. 

The thing is, you’ve known him for a good twenty years or so, give or take. But you’ve never seen his face this close before, and you have to admit—

“C—can you move?”

Choi Beomgyu is kind of pretty.

Even with an ugly bruise forming underneath his eye.

“Hey. I don’t think this is gonna help kill any of the rumors.”

You look up to see Minjeong further up on the bed, very, very awake. You forgot she’s here. You toss yourself to the side with a squeak, practically hurling yourself off from the bed. “It—it was an accident!” you start. Minjeong simply shakes her head with sigh.

“I know. I saw everything. I was already awake the moment you sat this fucker’s ass on the bed.”

Hot. Your face is very hot. But Minjeong is also very right because god— you’re not sure how far things are gonna escalate. How many people saw that? Five? Maybe Six? Gosh, you don’t fucking know. The only thing you’re sure about is the fact that Lee Heeseung is gonna have a field day once he hears about this. You are royally screwed.

나비 / NABI. © hannie-dul-set, 2024.

[whotfelsewantedtobelynnyx]

Coven of chaos but a misfired spell turns them into cats. That’s it, that’s the post.

(Who’m I kidding of course that’s not it)

(Semi coauthored by @second-drawer-on-the-left ! (We came up with most of these by ranting at each other like maniacs)

Billy: …Alice?

Alice, from the other room: Yeah?

Billy: I think I messed up…can you come in here?

Alice: Ask Lilia, dude, I don’t know.

Billy: Uh…

*distant mew*

Alice: Wait, wha-

Billy, voice getting rapidly higher: I THINK YOU NEED TO COME IN HERE!

*Alice comes into the room and just comes face to face with this*

(From top to bottom: Agatha, Lilia, and Jen. No, I have little to no explanation for why I chose these cats. They just…are.)

- Rio very helpfully turns herself into a cat (this one) and refuses to turn back. She (unlike the others) retains her human mind and is perfectly capable of shape shifting back whenever she pleases. She just refuses to.

Alice: *flops onto the couch with a groan and covers her eyes*

*a cat jumps up and starts happily kneading on her chest*

Alice, sighing and reaching out to scratch the ears: Hi, Jen.

Cat! Jen: *trills at her from the windowsill, where she’s snuggling with Lilia in the sun*

Alice:…

Alice: *opens her eyes*

Alice:

Alice: RIO-

- Alice repeatedly has to separate Agatha for getting into fights with the other cats. Different methods have been attempted to contain cat! Agatha have included:

• Shutting her in the basement (she escaped).

• Putting her in Señor Scratchy’s playpen for a timeout (she escaped).

• Wrapping her in a blanket like a naughty burrito (she escaped).

• Locking her in the bathroom (she screamed so loudly that Sarah Proctor passed by the window and glared disapprovingly at Alice).

• Putting her in Señor Scratchy’s playpen with Rio for a timeout (she escaped and bit Teen’s ankles just on principle, then went back to cuddling with Rio).

• Borrowing the panini press of shame from a neighbor who’s a vet (seriously, google cat catcher nets if you’ve never seen one, they’re hilarious)

Obviously, none of the above have proved effective yet.

- Lilia keeps climbing to ridiculous high places and causing Teen ENDLESS amounts of stress. No amount of coaxing, pleading, or bribery will get her to come down until she’s good and ready.

- Jen is just the BIGGEST attention whore and demands it CONSTANTLY from Alice. When Alice is sitting around, she drapes herself around her neck. If Alice is petting another cat, she butts her way in. If Alice is drinking coffee, she shoves her head in to steal a sip. If Alice is reading something, she lays across it.

Alice: Jen.

Cat! Jen: *relaxed trill*

Alice: Jennifer.

Cat! Jen: *blinks innocently*

Alice: I need my laptop to turn you back into a person.

Cat! Jen: *disinterested yawn*

Alice: C’mon, J, get off the keyboard…

Cat! Jennifer: *stretches and lazily bats her with a paw*

Alice: *exasperated sigh*

(She gets Jen off the computer and Rio immediately steals her spot, prompting indignant meowing from Jen and more exasperated noises from Alice)

- Alice hears distressed meowing and walks into the room to see all four cats crying at a bug they can’t reach. She takes a video and saves it for blackmail.

- Agatha figures out how to open doors and cabinets with her paws and immediately causes chaos.

Alice, repeatedly rereading Jen’s notes in hopes of finding a solution:

*muffled mewling from somewhere in the house*

Alice: *groans*

Alice, wandering into the kitchen to see Rio on the table, Lilia looking disapprovingly on from the window, and Agatha sitting suspiciously in front of a kitchen cabinet: Who was just yelling at me?

Rio: *licks her tail*

Lilia: *continues to look disapproving*

Agatha: *swats at the suspiciously rattling drawer with her paw*

Alice:

Alice: Where’s Jen?

Agatha: *blinks innocently*

Alice: Agatha, I can and *will* scruff you, where’s Jen?

- Alice moves Agatha and frees Jen (who started wailing pathetically from inside the drawer as soon as she heard Alice’s voice and insists on being held for the next two hours in order to be pacified)

- Agatha escapes and gets into Herb’s rose bushes, prompting poor Teen to have to sprint across the street and make up a lie about being Agnes’s cat sitter to retrieve her (she hisses, shrieks, and tries to scratch them both the entire time).

- Alice tries to leave the cats with Teen to entertain them so she can go take a shower. All four sit outside the bathroom door and shriek until she gives up and lets them in (at which point they sit outside the shower door and shriek).

Alice, opening the shower door with an irritated look on her face: Do you actually *want* to come in here? I don’t think you do!

Cat! Agatha: *gives her a disgusted look*

Alice, trying not to get soap in her eyes: That’s what I thought.

Cat! Rio: *waltzes right in and flops down in the water*

Alice: …of course.

(She eventually gives up and just takes a bath so that the cats can sit on the side of the tub and paw at the bubbles)

- Lilia chases Agatha around for half an hour just to pin her down and groom her while she whines dramatically about it (Alice saves the video of that for blackmail too).

- Billy fucks up again and turns himself into a kitten, leaving poor, stressed Alice alone with all the cats.

Alice, walking into the room: Hey Teen, I think I found a spell that might work? If we-

Four cats and a kitten, staring at her:

Alice:…please no. Please tell me that’s not-

Cat! Agatha: *squashes the kitten with her paw and begins aggressively grooming him*

Alice: Nope, definitely is. I need a drink.

(Cue Alice trying to keep three of the five cats out of her glass of wine)

Bonus:

Kitten! Billy

Kitten! Billy and Cat! Agatha

Cat! Agathario

What Cat! Alice would look like (that cat has unlocked the secrets of the universe and would like you to lock them back up thank you very much)

[vampiree-555]

"Please, I need it." part 2

c.s - drvgdealer

contains: smut , p! in v! , unprotected (wrap it folks) , dom!chris , sub!reader , oral fem!receiving , creampie , fem!reader , angst! , weed , alcohol , partying

part 1

a/n: sorry this took so long babes! im gonna start to make this into a series and will def make more oneshots. please give me suggestions and also let me know if you wanna be in my taglist! i hope yall enjoy! sorry it took so long 🤍

★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★★・・・

I watched Chris walk out my apartment, slamming the door behind him, disappearing into the night.

"Don't text me again." repeated in my head constantly. I sat there, completely naked, still trying to comprehend what the hell had just happened. I gathered all my clothes that were sprawled out onto the floor and went to my shower, which I desperately needed.

I laid in my bed for the rest of the night, aimlessly scrolling on my phone, though I was continually puzzled by the earlier events.

I opened my messages and hovered above Chris' contact. He said to not text him again, but should I really listen?

I clicked his contact and typed away at my keyboard.

╰┈➤ texting

y/n : chris wtf was that

I sent the message but it immediately turned green.

"HE BLOCKED ME?" i shot up in my bed and yelled out in udder disbelief.

I opened instagram and searched up his username.

"user not found" now I was getting upset.

The last thing I had was snapchat. I reluctantly clicked on the app and scrolled to his name. Next to it sat a tiny x.

*timeskip*

"He blocked me on everything." I echoed through the phone to my best friend, Kailee.

"Girl that's weird as fuck. He really is gonna fuck you and then dip before letting you finish AND block you on everything? I always had a bad vibe about him." Kailee said in an obnoxious tone.

"I just want to get drunk and go out. Do you think we could go to that new club?" I spoke enthusiastically as I glued on the last of my press on nails to my fingers.

Kailee looked up at the phone with a small smirk and bit her lip. I knew she had been wanting to go for a while but I always shut her down simply because I was tired. Now, I needed a distraction.

"Hell yeah! Get ready and I'll come over in like an hour, then we can uber there!" She said in her usual excited tone.

We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone before I jumped into the shower, quickly shaving and cleaning myself.

I ran to my closet to pick my outfit. I settled on my black, long sleeve, off the shoulder, skin tight shirt and a matching pleated, black mini skirt, that perfectly showed off just enough of my ass.

I set the outfit on my bed and went to my vanity to start on my makeup. I decided to do a more natural look with a smoked out black wing and a brown lip.

Before I knew it, Kailee waltzed into my apartment and barged into my bedroom in her own hot, slutty, outfit.

"I brought pre-game!" she spoke as she pulled out two small shot glasses of Svedka vodka and set them each on the bed, next to my chosen outfit.

i quickly changed into my chosen outfit and added a pair of black platform heels. before Kailee and I left for the club, we both took our own shots of the vodka Kailee brought, both of us making gross faces to the taste.

We got into our uber once it arrived and made our way to the Aether Lounge club.

Flashing neon lights of all colors surrounded me. It was so dark you could barely see any faces in the crowded room. All you heard was that one song, Needed me, by Rihanna. The smell of sweating bodies, weed, and alcohol filled my nose the deeper we went into the crowd. Girls danced the night away as guys desperately tried to dance with the drunken girls though getting shoved away.

Kailee and I made our way to the bar, both ordering vodka redbulls. I took maybe one sip of my drink before I was sucked into the sweaty crowd by my best friend. We both let the alcohol take over our bodies as we became more sloppy with our movements the more we drank.

The lights added a euphoric sensation while it seemed everything moved in slow motion. I was down at least 6 vodka redbulls along with 3 shots of Jameson.

As the night went on I spent most of my time dancing with Kailee just having fun. Suddenly, I felt firm and large hands grab my waist.

They were cold and the fact they had metal rings on made me shiver against their touch. I quickly turned around to see a familiar silhouette standing above me. I followed his body carefully up to his shoulders, then his neck, to his jawline, eventually to those cold and piercing blue eyes.

I felt my heart rate skyrocket as a sly grin showed on his face. Chris.

"Miss me, sweetheart?" he spoke so smoothly. I could smell every ounce of alcohol and weed on his breath as he muttered into my ear.

I escaped from his tight grasp and slipped out the crowd to a more private and secluded part of the club. Chris knowingly, followed me.

I turned to face him with a scowl. I gritted my teeth as I threw my arms up in defeat and confusion.

It had been weeks since the last time we saw each other last and his last words to me were to "never contact him again". So what the hell was he doing here?

"What the fuck are you doing Chris? You told me to never contact you again. Are you following me? What do you want?". I was already angry with him and the fact that I had been drinking was not much help to deescalate the situation.

"I missed you, ma. I saw you dancing and thought I should probably speak to you because of what happened. And no, by the way. I'm not following you. I wanted to apologize for what happened but you have to understand I did it for your own sake." his words came out slurred every now and then and though I was impaired... I could still tell he meant it.

I folded my arms and shook my head as I scoffed at him.

"For my own sake? I'm the only one that can determine what's good and what's bad for me, Chris. You have to right to try and tell me what's good or bad for me." I wanted to scream at him. "You didn't have to block me on everything."

He rolled his eyes and licked his teeth.

"Y/n, last time I told you to not text me again and I didn't block you, you still texted me. So again I did it for your own well being. And when it comes to us... I do have say in what's good or bad for you." he retaliated.

I looked at him with an offended expression.

"Us?" i questioned. "There is no us. You and I are not an item and never have been. What happened last time was a mistake and it never should've happened."

Chris looked almost offended and hurt at my words. Instead he responded in anger.

"Are you fucking kidding me y/n?! You don't understand what's going on. How can you be so goddamn ignorant and oblivious to everything that's happening around you?! I shouldn't even be speaking to you right now but I am because I love you!" his chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily.

I rose my eyebrows and turned my lip up. My mouth fell open as I stared at him. I felt the heat in my chest rise and I just wanted to rip my hair out.

"Y/n. There's bad people out there who want to get to me through you. I had to cut contact with you after the first time to protect you but obviously didn't work. Being a dealer is not a safe job and being with me is too dangerous for both of us."

I just shook my head and began to walk away from him. I grabbed my phone and pulled up Kailee's contact. I told her I was going home early because I was exhausted and didn't feel good.

I walked outside and the fresh, cool air felt amazing against my skin. I closed my eyes to take it in before I felt someone grab my hand. I opened my eyes to face the man I had just been arguing with.

"Chris this is ridiculous. You sound ridiculous." I was cut off by his lips crashing against mine. I once again, did not pull away. I let our lips dance together until the burning sensation to breathe was hurting me.

I swallowed harshly while I looked up at him with my doe eyes. He placed his finger under my chin as he admired my features with his eyes that seemed to have turned soft instead of the cold blue that stabbed daggers into you.

"I called us an uber. It'll be here soon." He spoke so softly that it seemed to soothe me. I hadn't realized how tense I was until just now.

Pretty soon a black car pulled up and I followed Chris to the car. He opened the back door for me and helped me in before following suit.

It was a short ride that I don't remember much of. Only just the fact that Chris kept staring at me though I tried my best to ignore it. I looked out the window but could still feel his eyes watching me and my every move.

We stopped in front of an apartment building. My apartment building. I followed Chris out the vehicle as I thanked the driver.

"Go home y/n." he spoke so softly yet so sternly.

I only stared up at him for a few seconds though it felt like minutes. I was contemplating in my head and weighing out my decisions as I looked deeply into his eyes.

I never saw Chris during the day. It was only at night. If his eyes were still so bright at night, I could only imagine how captivating they were during the day.

"Come inside."

He cocked his head at me and chuckled.

"Y/n... you're drunk." he retaliated.

"Come on. I never finished last time... let's see if you can do it this time." i winked and smirked at him as i spoke. He seemed surprised at my actions though he still agreed. He rolled his eyes and scoffed as he followed me into my apartment.

Before I was even able to set my bag down or take off my painful shoes I was thrown against the wall. Chris held my hips to pin me in that position as he attacked my own lips with his.

Chris pushed his tongue against my lips and I instinctively opened my mouth to give him full access to freely explore my mouth. I moaned softly into his mouth with the passionate kiss.

He removed me from the wall and instead led me to the kitchen where he bent me over the cold countertop, sending shivers across my body.

Chris lifted my short skirt to expose my bare ass. I could sense the sly smirk on his face when he noticed I was not wearing any underwear.

"Who did you plan to fuck tonight, baby?" i heard that stupid ass smile in his voice. i rolled my eyes and groaned.

He slapped my ass that left a burning sensation. "Who do you belong to y/n?" he said in a deep and possessive voice. i gulped before looking back at him. his eyes were dark and angry but still so bright and soft.

"you. i belong to you." he nodded his head and practically ripped off his own pants and underwear.

just as before he entered into me ruthlessly and kept his fast and hard pace.

considering it had weeks since i last had sex i was so not used to his size. i winced in pain but that same pain slowly began turning into pleasure.

Chris tucked his left hand under my jaw and tilted my head up while with his right hand he held tightly onto my hip as he fucked me relentlessly.

i could feel as i got closer to my climax and Chris could tell when my moans and whines got more sloppy. i tightened around him which elicited groans from the man.

with only a few more thrusts from Chris i felt him coat my walls while i coated him with my own liquids.

he flipped me over to face him and he lifted me onto the counter, forcing my legs opened. i held myself up with my right hand while my left went straight to Chris's hair as he knelt down in between my legs.

without warning he inserted his middle and ring finger into me causing loud moans to escape my mouth. he used his tongue to circle around my clit. i gripped tightly onto his brown locks and leaned my head back in pleasure. i removed my hand from underneath me and laid back fully on the counter.

chris wrapped his arms around my thighs to keep me still. my core tightened when he sucked onto my clit and used his tongue to lick my folds.

he removed his mouth from in between my thighs and smirked that stupid smirk. "All clean baby."

i stared up at the ceiling while my chest rose and fell at a fast pace. i heard chris slip back into his own clothes and i quickly sat up on my elbows.

"You're leaving again?" chris tilted his head and softly chuckled. i furrowed my eyebrows at him and felt a heat rise in my chest from anger.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" he widened his eyes in surprise at my sudden outburst.

i jumped off the counter and stood in front of him.

"You cannot just tell me to never text you again and then you randomly come back, fuck me in my kitchen, and then leave!" i felt my eyes start to well up with tears as i glared at the taller in front of me.

he shook his head and gritted his teeth while looking off to the side. "I already told you this y/n. I'm leaving you to protect you."

"Then fucking leave! Do not just come back and make me get attached to you!!" the tears rolled down my cheeks as i continued my yelling. i choked on my own words.

"If you want to protect me then stop coming back!" i could see Chris getting angry too. his nostrils flared and grinded his jaw.

he looked down at me and noticed my red cheeks and tear swollen eyes. i could see guilt fill his eyes. he knew he had gone too far.

"Please listen to me y/n... I'm only leaving because I have to go meet with someone." he paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"After this job, I'm done. I'll meet with some people and tell them I'm out... okay?" he cuffed my cheek in his hand as he wiped my tears with his thumb. "I promise."

I looked at the man standing over me. I couldn't say anything. i relaxed in his touch.

"Go take a bath, just relax, and I'll be back in about 2 hours." he spoke so softly I could hardly hear him. he placed a sweet and lustrous kiss on my lips before he left my apartment.

★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★★・・・

taglist: @sturnthepot @sturniololo

[bubbles-for-all-of-us]

Hi! Could I request a II X reader where reader is in the middle of finals and refuses to sleep so II forces them to get rest?

Exam season

As a hard worker himself, ii could appreciate your dedication to your studies. He had been your number-one cheerleader from the start. He was there when you were filling out the application for your program. Sat right by your side as you opened the acceptance letter. Screaming alongside you when you got it. Brushing your tears away as he praised you, looking at you with nothing but love. Never failing to boost your confidence in yourself.

What he didn’t like however was your anxiety and the toxic cycle of desperation you would pull yourself into once the final months rolled around. He tried to be quiet about it. Noticing areas that started to lack on your behalf. Constantly refilling your water bottles, dropping in a mineral fizzy tablet from time to time. Cutting up little snacks and leaving them on your table, with nothing but a quick kiss on your forehead.

But he quickly realizes that this time around the situation was much more serious than before. He’s waking up one morning for his early gym session to find your side of the bed empty. The sheets neatly folded as if you haven’t even laid there. Quickly pulling his sweatpants on, he’s making his way to the kitchen. And sure thing you are in the same spot he had left you yesterday before he went to bed.

“Darling”, ii calls out, voice groggy but you don’t even hum at him, fingers running over your computer keyboard. “Love”, he’s softly squeezing your shoulder making you jump slightly. “Yeah, will come to bed soon”, you crock out. “Soon? Love, it’s five thirty in the morning”, he frowns, “Have you stayed here the whole night?” Your eyes fall to the clock above the fridge. “I slept”, you nod, turning back to him. “You are an awful liar”, ii snorts, pulling at your arm, “Come on”.

“No, ii, I need to get this done”, you argue back. “You will get yourself done”, he grunts, “Computer is being turned off now, love. I’m not asking”, he says strictly. “ii, I need to…”, “or you can let me turn it off, I just doubt that you will be able to turn it on again”. You close your eyes, letting your forehead drop against the kitchen counter. ii softly runs his hands up and down your back, “I can promise you that you will work a lot more efficiently after a nap”. Fingers working the knots in your shoulders.

“Twenty minutes”, you whine, “Oh fuck no, till 10 am you are not leaving the bed”, he shakes his head, “ii”, you grunt. “I will just lock you in the bedroom than”, he shrugs. You let out a deep sigh, “Fine”. He steps closer to you, turning the chair sideways so you would be facing him. “I know you hate me for this, but I’m looking after my silly girlfriend who wants to run herself to the grave”, cupping your face he leans closer, “Doing this because I love you”. You let yourself look at his deep blue eyes. “I know… thank you for doing so much for me this month”, you mumble, feeling your eyes grow misty. “I’ll always have your back, love”, ii smile softly leaning in to kiss you. “Now let’s go, I’m taking your cute ass to bed”, reaching you he drapes your arms around his neck, picking you up from the barstool.

[drefear]

Sister's Mister

Summary: Your sister meets Miguel O'Hara, a smart playboy that goes to your college and you so happen to have a crush on. When the two start to date, he begins to act weird towards you.

part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4

TW: Drinking, insecurity, family, throw up.

“Where’s my curling iron?” Your sister screamed from the other room, stomping around with a clip in her hair and her dress half-tied. You lounged on your bed as she ran around, both living at home still as you were both still in college. She was 4 years older than you, currently getting her PHD in psychology as you were currently in your third year of your undergraduate. Your major was chemistry , wanting to experiment and become a scientist that worked with enhancement drugs. 

You were 21, while your sister was 25, and you two were very close. Sometimes too close. Same taste in tv shows, shared clothing styles, and sometimes even men… 

But your sister was going on lots of dates, while you were woefully single. The two of you differed there. 

She was always out and about, jumping from man to man, while you stayed home and preferred to be alone. 

The quiet of your bedroom was comforting, just your fingers typing your essay on your keyboard as the fan cooled you down in the middle of the summer. You were taking summer classes to get a head start in your fourth year, wanting to hurry it up and jump into a career. 

“Did you borrow it?” She asked again and you sighed, closing your laptop and putting it on your bed. Getting up, you saw her rushing around and trying to tie the back of her dress. 

“No, I hate curling my hair.” You folded your arms as you leaned on the doorframe and watched her bend down to clasp her heels. 

“Come out with us tonight, I heard that super hot guy in your honors chem class is coming.” She wiggles her brows at you. 

Laughing, you shook your head. “Gianna, I already told you, I have to finish this assignment.” 

We both know you’re almost done with it, so hurry up and then get dressed. Gwen’s picking us up soon.” She threw a navy blue dress at you and you just nodded. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea. 

It was a bad idea. You felt awkward in between all the sweaty, dancing bodies. You hated how close everyone was to you, practically on top of each other as the bass pounded into your ears. You sipped your gin and tonic, and found a seat at the bar, not wanting to constantly be bumped into by the group of other college kids in front of you. 

Gianna danced with her friends, who took you under their wing and tried to get you to be social, but it didn’t work. You stayed at the bar and watched. 

A hand on your shoulder made you turn and look into the chest of the man trying to get your attention. 

“Hey, you’re Gianna’s little sister, right?” 

 Gianna’s little sister.

That’s how you were constantly referred to, living in the shadow of your cool, popular older sister. You never minded before, but for some reason, it bothered you to hear tonight. 

“Yeah, she’s over there.” You pointed and looked back at his face. 

“She was talking to my friend for a while, he’s around here somewhere. I’m Peter, this is Hobie.” He pointed to the guy behind him and you finally absorbed the two men. 

Peter seemed like the normal straight white dude, light brown hair and a 10 o’clock shadow with the smell of axe body spray and a bright, wide smile. Hobie wore chains around his neck and a fishnet tank top with a black shirt underneath, wicks long and pointing in every direction. His piercings were shining in the club lights and the two couldn’t look any more different against each other. 

And here you were, the dress a bit tight on your front your sister’s thin, model-like frame. You had more plush to your thighs and butt than she did, as well as a fuller bust. The spandex fabric held you tight as you bit your bottom lip, shaking both of their hands. Hobie kissed the top of yours and you flustered a bit, Peter laughing. 

“My girlfriend is around here somewhere, and- oh, there’s Miguel.” He pointed and you watched as his eyes widened. “Oh boy…” You heard Peter chuckle as you turned to look at where he’d pointed and saw your sister in the arms of a big, muscular Greek god. You tilted your head and recognized him. 

“Miguel… O’Hara?” You said out loud. She wasn’t just fucking a guy from you chem class, she was fucking the smartest guy in your whole fucking major. 

“Yeah, you know him?” Peter asked and you just sighed, nodding. Unbeknownst to your dear sister, you’d had a massive crush on him since you saw him the first day, and now he had his mouth on her neck as they grinded against each other. 

The oxygen left your lungs as you felt your confidence deflate. Of course it would be him, you thought to yourself quietly and stood up. 

“Dance with me, girlie.” Hobie instructed and pulled you towards the swarm of gyrating people, not giving you much of a choice. You felt his hands fall on your hips as he guided you to the beat, watching your face as you blushed a bit from the close contact and effects of alcohol. “Relax, I got you.” He spoke and looked around, making eye contact with your sister as she smiled at something MIguel whispered in her ear. Your heart sank a little as you watched and Hobie smirked more, “You wanna make ‘em jealous, get closer to me.” Hobie whispered and you gulped, pressing against him as you saw your sister pulling Miguel towards you. You heard your name as you danced with the punk boy. 

“You know Miguel, right? Don’t you two have a class together?” She asked, and you were about to answer, but you didn’t even get a word out as he spoke. 

“Multiple, actually.” He nodded, eyes scanning up and down your body quickly, before smiling back to your sister. The two of them together looked like a famous couple, something you’d see in an ad for abercrombie. Wth his hand around her waist, you felt out of place, like you were interrupting even though they had approached you. Hobie’s hands slipped around you and you blinked back into the conversation. “Enough chatter, I’ve got a lady to seduce, yeah?” Hobie winked at your sister and pecked your cheek, making eye contact with Miguel. Wasn’t he Miguel's friend? Why would he want to make his friend jealous?

Your sister gave you a small thumbs up as Hobie pulled you away and continued to dance with you, watching Miguel stay focused on you over your shoulder. 

“Why did you do that?” You asked and he smiled down at you. 

“Cause ‘m bored, and Miguel needs a swift kick to the head. He’s blind if he can’t see that you’re the best lookin’ girl in the whole club.” Hobie’s words made you turn red and nod, “just have fun and forget him, he’s stupid.” He added and you leaned in closer, dancing with the rocker boy more. 

You left the club without your sister after watching her practically suck Miguel’s face off in a booth at the club, assuming she’d be leaving with him. And you’d been right, after getting an assuring text from her in the morning saying ‘BEST SEX EVER.’

You couldn’t hate your life anymore than you did at that second. 

Class went by as per usual, but instead of shamelessly gawking at the back of Miguel’s head, you tried to stay focused on anything but him. Which was working until you’d been dismissed and soon heard your name. 

Ignoring him, you felt tension in your shoulders. The last thing you’d wanted was to deal with the awkwardness of him asking for your sister’s number or asking about her life, or if you could put in a good word for him, or anything at all basically. You wanted to be left alone. 

Days later, you watched as your sister seemed to have more of a pep in her step, smiling at her phone all the time and seemingly wearing more perfume. She was definitely obsessed with him, but you also knew his reputation, and he was a player, a fuckboy. He slept with most of the sororities on campus and allegedly, even a few teachers. So when you opened your front door to see him holding a bouquet of flowers, wearing a dress shirt and smelling expensive, your jaw dropped. 

“Miggy!” Your sister called from behind you and jumped into his arms. You watched him twirl her around and just sighed, walking away. This had nothing to do with you, you told yourself, and moved into the kitchen to help your parents finish setting up the dining room table. 

“I didn’t know we were having Gianna’s new boyfriend over.” You glanced up to your mom, who just nodded. “Is this the official meet the parents night?” 

“Well, they’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now, so we thought we should meet him.” Your dad added and you dreaded the world. 

The whole dinner felt as if it were in slow motion, your ears filled with white noise until you heard your father say your name. 

“Hello? Earth to the baby of the group?” He called out and your mom laughed, your eyes snapping up to him. “Miguel said you two have had a few classes together.” 

“Uh, yeah.” You mumbled and ate a forkful of whatever-the-fuck your mother made. Looking around, you saw your sister gazing at her new boyfriend, who was staring at you expectedly. “So?” You looked between him and your father, who continued. 

“So, Miguel said that there was recently a boy interested in you?” He asked and your eyes shot to Miguel, who wore an expression that was unreadable. 

“What? Who?” You jumped around mentally trying to think of someone. 

“Just a rumor that some guy has a crush on you.” He shrugged, as if it was no big deal and you shook your head. 

“I… I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“So you’re not interested in anyone?” Your mom questioned and you just kept your eyes on your plate, afraid to even answer. 

“Miggy, you should set her up with someone.” Your sister interjected and you just glanced up to her in shock, Miguel’s face mimicking your surprise. 

“I don’t know anyone she’d be compatible with.” He said and you frowned. Were you that unattractive in his eyes?

You continued to stab your food as your family talked, the peanut gallery fading to the background as you thought to yourself and wished that you were anywhere else. 

A text from your phone breaks your concentration and you look down to answer, agreeing to join a few friends for some drinks at their house later. What you didn’t see was Miguel’s eyes tracking your movements, watching you as you texted at the dinner table. 

“Honey, don’t be rude, we’re eating together!” Your mom chidded and you snapped your head up, nodding. “Sorry. I’m gonna finish early to get ready, a friend invited me over.” You mumbled quietly and you stood with your plate, leaving the table. 

Twenty minutes later and you were walking to the door as your family sat with MIguel in the living room. 

“Whose house are you going to?” Your sister asked as you grabbed your purse. 

“Just Miles.” You answered and Miguel’s body stiffened. 

“Miles… Morales?” He asked and your parents both glanced to MIguel, who looked upset. 

“Yeah, why?” You frowned in defense. 

“No reason, I’m just surprised that’s the type of person you hang out with.” He brought a beer to his lips, courtesy of your father, and his eyes challenged yours. Your hands balled into fists a bit and you looked angry. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You argued and your sister sighed loudly, putting a hand on MIguel’s thigh to try and de-escalate the situation forming. 

“Miles lived down the street from us for a long time, so they’re close.”

“He’s basically a delinquent.” Miguel said and your parents visibly began to think, which was never a good sign.

“He is not-” You tried to answer, but he continued. 

“He graffitis the walls near my internship, he skips classes, and he’s always stumbling around like he’s high.” Miguel’s words make your blood boil. 

“I’m sorry he’s not super popular or a frat boy, but he’s a good person and he’s smart, and he’s my friend!” You yelled, tears pricking your eyes as you squeezed them shut, then hating the silence that settled within the room. You looked around between everyone’s faces and found Miguel’s, still hard and on the offense. You sniffled and swiped your keys from the little dish in the doorway, looking at him again. “Shouldn’t you be less focused on me and more focused on banging my sister?” You hissed and left as your parents shouted your name in disgust, not even looking back when you slammed the door. You wiped your tears with your sleeve and ran to your car, getting in and driving off as fast as possible. 

The night was a blur, Miles and Gwen feeding you drinks to make you feel better after you told them you got in an argument with your sister’s new snot-nosed boytoy. 

“Who does he even think he is? Big and fuckin’...” You droned on, slurring your words as you laid your head in Gwen’s lap. She pet your hair as Miles drew something in his notebook, probably his girlfriend who was holding you as you drunkenly vented about your secret crush. 

“Mind if I invite some other friends?” Miles asked and Gwen shook her head while you were too distracted to even hear him. 

The door opened twenty minutes later and you saw Hobie walk in with a 12 pack of beer on his shoulder, and that made you smile. “Hobie!” Gwen got up and hugged the skinny-jean wearing boy, who set down the beers and then dapped up Miles. His eyes found you and he gave you a small grin. 

“Looks like you managed to get loose finally.” He handed you another beer and you happily took the bottle, taking a swig as you nodded. “You look absolutely fit.” His eyes took you in as you did a little clumsy twirl, watching another boy follow behind him. He was either Indian or middle eastern, with shaggy black hair and a big, white smile. “This is Pav.” Hobie introduced you two and he hugged you, taking in your outfit. 

“You look so nice, even drunk!” He added and you just laughed, enjoying the little bits of attention you got, not used to being the center of attention. 

Everything moved fast as you pumped music louder and the room became more and more full of people. Before any of you knew it, the entire place was packed and it had become a house party. Heavy music played and you danced wildly, swaying your hips and rolling your body to the beat as Gwen laughed and danced beside you. Pav and Hobie were currently occupying the couch, as Hobie had a girl on his lap and Pav talked excitedly to Miles about something he saw that day. The feeling of freedom coursed through your veins, intertwined with alcohol. It wasn’t like the night at the club, no, you were hammered and it felt great. The feeling was interrupted by vibrating in your pocket, to which you went to find a quiet place to answer the call. 

Stumbling into Miles’s room, you sat down and checked your phone. 

“Hello?” Your sister’s voice came through and you pouted. 

“‘M busy.” You sputtered out. 

“Are you drunk?” 

“...No.” You hesitated, knowing you were an incredibly shitty liar. Especially while you were trashed. 

“Oh my god, I’m coming to get you.” 

“No! ‘M happy!” You yelped, then threw your body down on the bed and stretched out. “I’m staying. Go suck Miguel’s dick or somethin.” You smiled at your funny joke. You were so funny. 

“No, we’re coming to get you, so stay there.” She spoke and before you could answer, she hung up. Sighing, you furrowed your brows and laid there for what only felt like a minute before you stumbled back out of the bedroom, finding the sliding glass door and making your way to the backyard. 

The grass felt good on your bare feet and you plopped yourself into it fully, laying back and spreading out in the greenery. 

“Get up.” The strong, deep voice was fuzzy in your mind and you just smiled, not recognizing it right away. 

“Lay down with me.” You answered and closed your eyes again, fingers playing with the blades of grass by your sides. “Look at the sky with me.” 

“Your eyes are closed.” He answered and you giggled. 

“The stars are so beautiful.” You rambled, and a large hand brushed against your cheek, eyes now opening to see Miguel crouching by your drunk, splayed out body. 

“So are you.” He answered and you felt your stomach tighten, nervousness pulling at your insides as you suddenly couldn’t breathe from butterflies. 

Not butterflies. Throw up.

And then you were hacking and wreching to the side of you into the grass, coughing up your dinner from before and feeling someone hold your hair back. A soft ‘oh my god’ was heard from the back door and soon you heard the hurried clacking of heels. Your sister bent down by Miguel and squeezed one of your hands, worry all over her face. That’s when everything turned black.

[bouquet-of-flow3rs]

!Pairing: Cat-Hybrid!Yoongi x Reader!

Genre: Angst to fluff

Warnings: Reader is dense af, gn-reader, dead headless bird (may they rest in piece), [let me know if I missed anything]

[A/n: This is my first work so it may not be my best work and its a bit short but I hope you enjoy it.]

You woke up from your nap in a startle, there was a loud thud coming from somewhere in your apartment, being the dumbass you are you slowly tiptoed your way down the hallway past Yoongi's room and the bathroom, you took notice that your hybrid Yoongi was nowhere to be seen which was odd because he usually preferred to laze around on the window seat in your room. 

<<<<<<<<<<<<flash back>>>>>>>>>>>>

     The day before  you had noticed him acting a bit funny he would constantly take glances at you with his sharp feline eyes as you sat at the desk in your room and worked on the loads of work your stupid boss had been dumping on you all week, but his glances weren't the only thing you had noticed as he jumped off the window seat landing on his black paws in his shifted form and tangled himself around your ankles his sleek, black fur shedding all over your black leggings, you didn't mind so much seeing as you were wearing lounge clothes consisting of leggings and a random shirt you've had since high-school.  

But as he butted his head against your calf you noticed him being more affectionate than normal to you, now normally this wouldn't set off any alarm bells but seeing as how Yoongi usually preferred to be on his own and kept to himself, this was definitely a bit strange but you shrugged it off thinking he wanted you to set out his favorite blanket which was black in color and extremely plush and fluffy onto the window seat, so you got up making sure you didn't step on his tail and stretched your arms up towards the roof in an attempted to pop your back (which didn't pop unfortunately) you gave up and walked over to your bed picking up his blanket and setting on the soft cushions of the seat, you also decided to open your blinds to let the orange light from the sunset outside seep into your room. 

Going back to work was a pain and Yoongi ignored the blanket completely and continued to rub up against you so you reached down under your desk and gave a few strokes to his soft, black fur before getting back to work, you heard him huff at you and lightly chuckled to yourself as you focused back on the screen.  

you had only looked at your screen for a few seconds before Yoongi jumped up onto your desk blocking your view and taking a seat of your laptops keyboard successfully making the document you were working on close, you stared disbelievingly at Yoongi and you swore you saw him smirk at you, you were sure that if he was in his human form he most definitely would've being smirking at you for successfully ruining your work. 

     You groaned out before picking Yoongi up and walking out to your kitchen, you set him down on your island and turn to the fridge where you know you keep your shredded chicken for him, you take out the container and set it on the white marbled counter before opening one of the cupboards and taking out a small plate setting it down. You take a handful of the chicken and place it onto the plate, setting it down in front of him thinking that maybe he's hungry,  but all he does is stare at the food with disinterest before looking up at you with a glare. You let out a sigh before speaking to him "look Yoongi, I really don't know what you want from me right now, I need to get my work done before tonight so I need you to either tell me what you want or get it for yourself and stop bugging me." You groaned out rubbing the bridge of your nose feeling a headache coming on.

He gave you another blank look before hopping off the island counter and walking down the hallway to what you assume is his room. You stand there for a minute still rubbing your face before you sigh out again and put the chicken you got out for him away. You decide to go back to your room and continue working, making sure to close your door and lock it as well as put headphones on to avoid being distracted further by your fluffy companion.

<<<<<<<<<<<flash back end>>>>>>>>>>

You peek around the corner of your hallway to your kitchen and see Yoongi in his human form cooking something on the stove, you see his black ears twitch and his tail sway to the music he has going on in the background, you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding relieved it was just him and not some intruder robbing your house.

You knew that he knew you were there so you took a seat at one of the stools you kept by the island as you watched him cook. His face was scrunched like he was displeased. "Yoongi?" You ask softly, he lets out a grunt but continues ignoring you, so you pout, he's usually distant but he seems unhappier than usual. "Yoongi, love? Are you mad at something?" You try to get his attention but he continues ignoring you, you still see his ears twitch to face you and his tail sways more aggressively than before, "oh, so now you have time to pay attention to me?" He hisses out. Surprised by his behavior you sit up straighter in your seat watching him scrape at something on his pan aggressively. "I'm sorry...?" You tilt your head at him confused as to why he's upset with you, sure you didn't pay a lot of attention to him yesterday sure but you were busy with work and you still tried to do things for him.

"Fuck." You hear him curse under his breath before he slams the pan onto the burner of your stove, you jump at the loud sound and suddenly the loud thud you heard earlier makes more sense.

You stand up and take small steps towards him and gently take the pan out of his smooth hands lightly brushing your fingers against his as you take it from him. You then turn off the stove and dump the burnt crispy food into the trash before dousing the pan in cold water and setting it into the sink. You turn back to Yoongi to see him standing there, his shoulders slightly shaking before you realize he's crying.

You coo and walk over to him brushing his bangs out of his eyes and stroking his cheeks to wipe away his tears "Oh baby," you pout "can you tell me what's wrong, hm?" You try to coerce him into talking to you. He sniffles a bit before he finally speaks up, choking back his tears "Y-you-" he swallows again, "Me, what baby?" You try again, "I-I've been trying to court you all week, b-but you've been ignoring me." His whimpers out his voice cracking as he keeps his head down not even glancing up at you once, you stare at him in shock, you thought about yesterday with him constantly wanting to be around you and rub up against you, you knew hybrids did something called 'scenting' where they would rub up against other hybrids to leave their scent on them to warn others that they were taken but you had no clue they would do that with humans as well, you thought about earlier into the week when Yoongi had left a decapitated bird on your windowsill, which you had scolded him for, you had heard somewhere online that cats did this because they think their owners can't hunt for themselves but you  thought Yoongi just wanted to annoy you, but even earlier than that when he built a comfy nest on your bed that you didn't even sleep in, because you had thought he wouldn't want you in it so you slept on the couch that night.

You felt so bad about your past actions but all you could do now was hold onto the weeping kitty and attempt to comfort him "Oh Yoonie baby," you whisper into his ears that are pinned to the top of his head "I'm so sorry baby, I promise I had no clue that's what you were doing." You try to comfort him but your words only seem to make him cry more. "S-see you didn't even care to notice that's what was happening, and even just barely I was trying to make you breakfast as a courting gift but you didn't even notice!" He sobs out whispering "stupid [y/n]." Under his breath even though he knew you could hear him, you titter softly at his words of how dumb you've been. "I know I've been dumb Yoonie, and I'm so sorry." You whisper to him, he huff tears still streaming down his now rosy cheeks as he tries to wiggle out of your grip "stop trying to escape my love~" you chuckle softly at his struggle as you hug him tighter, you peck the crown of his head "I'm really, truly sorry Yoonie but I really wasn't trying to reject you."  You say softer this time and at your words he stiffens in your arms "Do you really mean that?" He questions softly, finally trying to take a peek at you to tell if you're lying “You weren't rejecting me?” He asks softly "I promise I mean it, I would be honored if you continued courting me." You muse at him, his eyes going wide and his cheeks flushing deeper  "okay." He says softly melting into your embrace, finally hugging you back.

__________________________________

Please reblog and like if you enjoyed this!

[yeorisanaxox]

. ₊˚ෆ xoxo, sincerely yours ♡₊˚ \\ Jung Wooyoung : Valentine's Special SMAU

12.0 closure

She came to the exact spot he said to but he wasn’t there. Scoffing to herself while thinking how can you tell someone to meet you somewhere and you’re not even there yourself. She sighed loudly, feeling herself starting to get irritated despite her bouncing leg as she sat and waited for him to show up. He was going to eventually and that in reality was making her nervous as hell. 

She knows that this was about what happened last night. Maybe not why she pulled on his arm or why she raised her voice at him necessarily but most likely why she tried to stop him from leaving with you. 

The cold look he gave her before disappearing into the night with you right behind him. 

Hand in hand– causing a pang of jealousy to thump against her chest at the mere thought. That same pang she always felt back in those days of middle school and throughout high school whenever she saw you two together and how he always looked at you with such tenderness, like you were the only person that existed in his universe in spite of everything she tried, to be that person instead. 

That’s all she ever wanted. To be something more and to mean something more than just a friend to him. But she fears that may never happen. 

She waits there for a more few minutes before deciding to pick up her phone to text him to ask if he was coming at all and if this all was some kind of joke. At the same time as her fingers hovered over the keyboard, out of her peripheral, she saw something then sitting next to her, causing her to jump with a yelp. 

It was wooyoung. Casually sitting there as if he didn’t nearly just give her a heart attack. 

“Announce yourself next time, asshole.” She holds a hand over her chest and laughs timidly, reaching over to shove him jokingly. 

But he doesn’t dramatically sway over like he usually does. Instead staying firm like a log with something unreadable written over his face as his gaze remained forward. Right then she knew this was something serious and was going to be nothing like their regular talks. She swallows nervously and slowly retracts to herself and waits for him to say the next words she knew was coming. 

“I’m not here to waste any time so I’ll just get straight to the point.” He says before turning to her and she could see how emotionless his face was. His signature smirk gone and the twinkle in his eyes completely erased with emptiness. 

“I know about everything, giselle. That it was you who started that rumor in high school about y/n which caused people to bully her everyday and that it was fake. 

How you lied to me about her cutting you off when in all actually it was really you. 

How you and your little friends have been trying to torment her again since you found out she goes to school here and that you sent them after her last night–” 

Her head whips around so fast that it could pass for whiplash, “I didn’t send them after her last night! – I didn't even know she was there until I followed you!” She holds her hands defensively. She can admit that he was right about everything else but sending her friends after you was far from the truth. 

But the look on his face tells her that he doesn’t believe her.

 “Wooyoung, I swear on my life that I didn’t tell them to do that. I was shocked just like everyone else.” 

He stares at her for a moment before rolling his eyes with a scoff. 

“I’m finding that very hard to believe right now after being constantly lied to.’ 

Which was understandable. He had no reason to believe her but she still thought it was worth defending herself. 

 “Just tell me why you did it? Though I already know that too but I still wanna hear it from you.” 

She takes a deep breath and lets it out roughly while looking down at her hands and twiddles with the rings on her fingers before beginning, “Well since you know then, yes it’s true. Everything I did back in high school was all because I liked you. From the very first day you transferred to our middle school and walked into the classroom, I thought you were cute. Then came the day when you helped me with my science homework and didn't leave until I got the hang of it, was when I developed a crush. 

I wanted to confess to you freshman year after I felt confident enough to, being that you were hanging out with me and y/n a lot more often but that same day was when I saw you kiss her on the cheek and it completely shattered me on the inside.

I thought that my chances were ruined but then quickly remembered after being friends for a little while, I learned that you were naturally flirty and playful, so I chalked it up to you just being you. But then that’s when I started piquing how different you actually were with her. 

You always carried her backpack and books without her having to ask, and called dibs to sit next to her anywhere we went as a group just so you could hold her hand. And no matter how many times you kept denying it and saying that you were just friends and that was the only reason why, but we were friends too and you never did any of that with me.

So imagine being in my shoes and watching everyday your best friend get all the affection and attention from the same guy you have a crush on. 

Of course I was jealous because it was so obvious you were in love with her. That’s why I distanced myself– or rather cut her off to ease the pain but it never did. So I thought that if maybe I could just ruin her image, then you wouldn’t like her so much. And at that time I was already hanging out more with my girls and they helped me concoct the rumor. But even with that, that seemed to only push you further in her arms and the damage was already done to back out and say it was fake, bringing us to now.” 

She finishes, feeling like she had just word vomited on him but everything she said was the truth regardless. Wooyoung on the other hand remained quiet while staring off in the distance. She couldn’t read what was going on in his mind but she could definitely see some gears turning like he was connecting the dots. 

Back then her reasoning made a lot more sense and probably because she was still just a kid. But thinking back on it and saying it out loud in front of him, made her realize just how pathetic she really was. And even now like he mentioned earlier about her still trying to torment you. All because she liked him. 

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” He finally says, still not looking at her. 

“And what was I supposed to say? I was just a fifteen year old then who was coming into myself.”

But that answer didn’t seem good enough for him as he then stood up and his figure towering over her, making her feel small. 

“Not an excuse giselle. If you had the time and energy to figure out how you were gonna make someone else’s life miserable, surely you could’ve figured out a way to tell me that you liked me.” 

She opens her mouth to try and speak but nothing comes out, because he was right. Had she just talked to him instead, no telling how differently the outcome would’ve been. Or what could’ve been for them. 

“While I appreciate your honesty,  like I told you back then, if I ever found out who did that to her, not only were they not gonna receive any forgiveness from me but I was gonna make sure they pay for what they did. And now that I know who, here’s what’s gonna happen,” he steps closer, causing her to crane her neck to look up at him. 

“You’re gonna stay away from y/n. You and all your friends. And if I catch y’all around her again like you're trying to impose some kind of threat, I will have you all reported to the department chair and let them know of what such immoral people they allowed to come study here. 

Do I make myself clear?” His voice dipping low on the last bit, causing a chill to run down her spine. 

She knew he wasn’t bluffing either as he’s always been known to be a man of his word. But never did she expect it would ever be for her in this manner. 

In the end, she can only nod and hang her head in shame. Watching his feet walk out of her line of vision and echo on the concrete ground, they then disappear,  thinking he was gone. Only to look up and see him still standing there. A good amount of distance between them but enough where he was still in earshot and she could hear what he said.

“And giselle. Get some help. You’re too gorgeous of a girl to be out here acting like this.”

masterlist || <previous - next>

pairing jung wooyoung x fem reader Genre smau! f2lvrs w crack, drama, slow burning?? mid cursing

Synopsis "Finally confessing your feelings to the guy you've had a crush on since middle school. Only one problem... your ex best friend has a crush on him too. In the end, who gets the guy??"

taglist 🏷️

@istansquirrels @miniature-tragedy @domfikeluva @marvolos @santineez @ateezswonderland @zzenkha @bellybellasblog @lezleeferguson-120

written by yeorisanaxox. No translations or reposting. Leave a like and reblog w [feedback is much appreciated]✨

[hongjoongsslvt]

ITS YOU -CHOI SAN (MDNI)

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Click here for Part-2(Smut)

WC: 1.6k

Pairing: Roommate San X Roommate Reader Genre:University AU, childhood close friemds to lovers, Common best friends, Wooyoung and Yeosang, Reader is taller than San

Warnings: fem! Bodied reader, mild cursing, suggestive, reader is referred as kitten, MDNI

That's all i can think about ≽^•༚•^≼

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I have everything I wanted, university's top student in academics, enviously good at both physical and E-sports, basically you name it and I am either too good at it to be called a beginner or I have already learnt about it in my life more than anything I had my childhood best friend and rival who is equally good at stuff.

For as long as I can remember, San and I have been together. We went to the same middle school, high school, and university, so it made sense for us to move into the apartment together. But I had a big problem because of this rooming together.

I've had a major crush on Choi San for a long time. I've had it since we first met, but I made the decision to keep it a secret and carry it into death out of concern that if I ever made a move on him, I would lose our friendship.

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

"Ayo Mate! Hurry up! I'm eager to test out this new mouse and write a review". In our shared game room, I yell while reclined in my comfortable gaming chair.

We have saved up enough money to furnish a comfortable apartment with the newest gaming equipment thanks to our accomplishments in hackathons, martial arts competitions, and streaming.

"Dude-c'mere and help me get this!" He seemed to be shouting, but it was barely audible. I moved out of the room to assist him with whatever it was, and as I did, I noticed that the man was in the storage room. He was wearing gray satin pajamas with the top two buttons undone, exposing his muscular pecs, a face mask, and a head band on. He was also tiptoeing to get his new keyboard, which was high on the shelf. "So adorable," I thought.

He jolted forward as I inadvertently brushed my breasts against him as I walked behind him and tiptoed to grab the keyboard. For a brief minute, I swear it felt amazing not having to wear a bra because the dark-colored, slightly baggy pajamas I was wearing nicely covered up my breasts. However, I chose to act like nothing had occurred.

"Having a Giantess in the dungeon is mad handy!" He patted my shoulder in appreciation and said, "Let's review your mouse and keyboard before he leaves the room like a cat jumping."

Yes, I am taller than my crush, but it doesn't really worry me because my 180 cm height got me hired as a model for several local magazines, which helped me be paid for new electronics and gaming accessories. However, I doubt San, who prides himself on being powerful, domineering, and manly, will ever consider dating a woman who is taller than him.

I sighed as I entered the room and saw two familiar faces: Kang Yeosang and Jung Wooyoung, our lads next door. The first had jet black hair, a gorgeous birthmark at the corner of his eye, and a deep, honey voice. The other had brilliant red hair and laughed like a witch.

"Wasssap Female Titan!" Wooyoung said as he got off my gaming chair to dab me up while yeosang nodded and gave me a fist bump and wacked the red haired boy. At the start of the year, the four of us really clicked because they were both excellent game designers. We are currently working together to design and build an independent game.

As I posted the schedule for the weekend in our group chat, I added, "Let's hit the library and the gym after the stream ends." We all four gathered together and began to stream information on products and collaborations, with Wooyoung constantly dropping spoilers and Yeosang and San, as always, delighting viewers with their distinct brand of deadpan humor. and San's sporadic, for reasons I'm not interested in knowing, staring.

By the time we finished streaming, it was close to 5 o'clock, and Wooyoung and Yeosang had to leave me and San alone since they had to pass our study session at the library and attend a significant lecture. It was expected since they both frequently went to seminars to get ideas for their game designs.

As I go into my own room to change and get ready for the night, I playfully tell him, "You better choose your outfit quickly before I barge in and break your kneecaps." We unintentionally became identical in black tank tops and sweatpants, but it didn't bother either of us. Even though I was dressed the same, I felt quite different. His large biceps, slim waist, and broad shoulders were all well-represented by the attire.

I got the other person to laugh as I flexed my biceps, triceps, and lats in front of a mirror, saying, "Oh boy, look at my guns and wings," hoping to release some of the tension building up inside of me. I had the perfect amount of muscle and curves to my body, luckily.

"Bet" he said, flexing his muscles and standing directly in front of me. God, he looks so ethereal and Greek god coded that I've temporarily lost my ability to process things. The doorbell ringing was one of them. San moved back to confront the person at the door, forgetting that I was right behind him. I again felt him brush against my breasts accidently, jerking and acting as if he hadn't touched before continuing.

We have done whatever we had planned for the day, without much convos outside the work, and without knowing a week has already passed already, with the tormenting "accidental" brushing against my breasts and ass, cooking food, cleaning room, doing laundry and other chores despite it being my turn to do. All these felt as if he had some hidden intentions behind them, but i decided to play it dumb till he comes out clear.

I made the decision this Sunday to give Wooyoung a call and tell him about my predicament making it the perfect time as Yeosang had piano lessons to attend and San was preoccupied with grocery shopping.

"HE'S 100% INTO YOU TITAN, TRUST ME" Wooyoung screams making me instantly whack his head.

"What was that for?" Wooyoung snarled and rubbed his head as I struck him. "Do you really suppose San rubs against every girl's ass and tits, remaining courteous and refusing to accept confessions?"-" I could almost see his wolfy, naughty smirk as he was ready to continue when his phone went off. wondering why he did this.

"Titan! Do you have anything sexy to wear? I realize I sound strange but trust me eh?" His hands are already enthusiastically going through my clothes in the closet mid way of the question.

"I don't think I do?" I said "Mate, why all of a sudden?"

He was too preoccupied digging through my closet to respond. A few minutes later, his witchy chuckle took me completely by surprise.

"BITCH- YOU NEVER TOLD YOU OWNED A BUNNY COSTUME?" he screamed, making me go deaf almost.

"It's not that I'm insecure about my height; it's just that I've never tried stuff like that," I remarked, leaning onto the door. "I got that as a gift from a stupid friend of mine," I said.

"let me cook" He said.

After what seemed like an eternity, he made me wear a costume of a bunny, but with cat ears in place of the bunny ears. He also lightly styled my hair, applied smeared lipstick, and made me wear Yeosang's fishnet tights. Upon seeing my progress, Wooyoung seemed happy and led me into the living room, where the lights were dimmed a bit.

"Damn! dude, i thought you were flatboard-" Wooyoung was about to start talking when an obviously irate San stormed into the home, dropped groceries at the door, and came right toward us. I swear, in my twenty years of living, I have never seen San look so upset.

"Too bad, Mate!, too late" Wooyoung said as he gave San's shoulder a pat before leaving the our house.

"San-"

"Is it true that you are sending semi nudes to mr.Lee?" He inquired, obviously furious

I was so perplexed for a moment that I just stood there.

"Yeosang said that Wooyoung was helping you take pics"

Now that it was all coming together, it was clear to me why they were rushing to a lecture on Sunday in the first place—they never go to seminars on Sundays!

"I love you, It have always been you and only you,I loved you since the moment we met in the school"San said in a voice that seemed shattered."Why Mr.Lee? is it because he is taller and much more appealing than me, because he is caring and kind?, I swear atleast I never thought height was a thing to be considered to love a person"

My mind went blank listening to those words, is it for real? or am i tweaking? this must definitely be a dream, there's no way San loves me, but soon i was brought back to reality from my thoughts by the sudden hug.

"Dude, that's why you were fucking brushing against my breasts and ass the entire past week, coz you thought imma date Mr.Lee?" I questioned him "Bitch, no shit my nips were crazy sensitive"

He replied, his tone falling several octaves as he crept nearer and eye-fucked me till I hit the wall. "It's your fault for being irresistibly cute and sexy." He grabbed my neck, held me to the wall, and bent me slightly so he could plant a kiss.

"Kitten you are merely 4 to 5 cm taller, that doesn't mean that i can't lift you up, bend you over and fuck you senseless"

Oh boy, I hope i will make it out alive by tomorrow morning.

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let me know if you want part two(Smut)~ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

Re blogs are appreciated

DO NOT REPOST OR PLAGIARISE

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[cheerycherrycandy-resurrected]

Can You Hear The Thunder?

Chapter 4: Growth / Earth ghouls

Dew gets closer to Aether as he settles in topside. He meets Terzo who is nothing like he expected the leader of the church would be. Another new ghoul is summoned.

Luckily I wrote most of this before my keyboard broke haha! I've added a bunch more tags on AO3 since last chapter, all things I expect to happen but aren't concrete in the story or my plan yet.

I hope you don't mind 10k of thinly disguised worldbuilding!

P.S. Dew's mug near the start is totally a pfand mug from a Weihnachtsmarkt

Rating: M Content: religion, ghoul summonings Words: 10,838

Link to full fic with associated tags: Tumblr | AO3

Tag list: @cosmicseafoam @ashthewaterghoul @jimothybarnes @zombiequeen777 @rainsbasspick @kentuckyfriedsatan @papaslittlesunshine <33 if I forgot anyone lmk!!

Read below, or on AO3!

Earth ghouls were the eldest species of ghoul, and among the creations He was proudest of. Guardians of His environment and curators of the most spectacular gardens in the Pit, they were the perfect blend of brute and beauty. As was reflected in the boundless variety of nature, the earth ghoul species showed the most variation between them that arose from adaptations to suit their environment. From the cactus-spine skin of ghouls in the desert regions to the lichen-encrusted horns of those in rocky areas, earth ghouls had evolved much as the lands they watched over had.

In the same way that earth ghouls had adapted to their surroundings, so too did their marks adapt to the ghoul they represented. Earth ghoul soul marks were very closely tied to their species’ constantly fluctuating nature and their connection to the world around them, a testament to what secrets the natural world held if one only looked close enough.

Starting at a similar age to the soul mark development in other species of ghouls, earth ghouls would begin to periodically sprout flowers from around their horns in their adolescence. Sometimes they would appear unprompted; small and slow-growing, a passive indication of the native personality of the eternal mate of the ghoul who bore them. Other times they would burst forth like a seedling in springtime, a spray of flowers brought on by a surge in emotions from their other half.

Like with quintessence ghouls, an earth ghoul could use the ancient meanings behind the bouquets on their horns to decipher the emotional state of their mate and how they may react to different situations. Earth ghouls could begin to piece together their soulmate's personality; if they were quick to anger, optimistic in the face of hardship, or a calm peacemaker. Oftentimes, the soul mark flowers would graft themselves permanently to their host and react to the ghoul's own emotions but with a reaction according to that of their mate. Quiet and reserved ghouls could find their horns breaking out into a sprawling mass of vines at something they found only mildly frustrating, yet that would have infuriated their mate.

In another similarity shared across elemental species of ghoul, earth ghouls had elders much like those of the water ghouls who could decipher the meanings of the flowers using their knowledge of the ancient botanical language. Not only were they able to gain some insight into the personalities of their future mate, but also their possible location. In the Pit, as was the case topside, different biomes were home to different families of plants which could provide invaluable hints to where their mate may be raised. Most often though the blooms were familiar, hinting that one's true companion was not far away.

A distinctive yet simple characteristic, earth ghoul soul marks had made the jump to other elements of ghoul with relative ease. Horns were a universal trait amongst all of His ghouls, and as such the growth of flowers around them was a given. However, somewhere in the evolution of other species of ghoul, their ability to sprout flowers from a soul mark had spread to other prominent features within their kind. Most noticeably was in water and air ghouls, whose dorsal fins and feathered spines provided a perfect home for the sprays of vines, flowers and other greenery that had spread beyond the twin protrusions of their horns.

While many crossmated ghouls would long to sever themselves from their soul marks, those with earth marks found it especially challenging. Although it may have been relatively easy to simply rip the handfuls of flowers out as they appeared, it was a thankless task as they would always reappear. Destroying something so universally recognised as beautiful also took its toll on a ghoul’s psyche after a while, often leaving the ghoul with a deeper sense of self-loathing than ever.

~~~~~~~

When Dew woke the next day, it was to a room flooded with light. He squinted against it as he rubbed sleep from his eyes, identifying the source as an uncovered window opposite. He wasn’t used to such blinding light; everything in the Pit had been distorted by the clouds of ash and sulphur, tainting the light with a sickly orange glow. Neither was he used to being awoken by the sun, as his clan had made their homes in the deep basalt caves.

He made to stretch his limbs out, fearful of the pain the sheets grazing against his burns might cause, but was pleasantly stunned to feel nothing but the ordinary caress of well-worn cotton and the plush duvet. Dew threw the covers back, still expecting to see the raw red skin he had gone to bed with. Nothing. His body appeared unchanged from how it had been the morning before in the Pit. Aether’s healing abilities must be more powerful than he had initially thought.

When the shock at his painful burns vanishing had subsided some, Dew became aware of a different, deeper ache in the muscles of his legs. In his haste to reach the portal yesterday, and masked by the adrenaline surging through him, he had failed to notice just how much exertion his full sprint had needed. It was a good ache though; the kind that felt satisfying to push against and Dew let out an involuntary moan as he stretched out fully, like a cat, before rolling himself upright and hauling himself to his feet.

Upon a further investigation of the bathroom, he discovered a plastic wrapped toothbrush and unfamiliar tube of what he assumed to be toothpaste. He gave it a cautious sniff, the icy scent of mint assaulting his nostrils, before he flicked out a forked tongue to tentatively taste it. Dew recoiled at the sensation, throwing it back onto the counter. In the Pit, they had made their own paste for cleaning their fangs and horns from charcoal; maybe other fire ghouls before him had made their own here too? This was still supposed to be a water ghoul's room after all, so he wasn’t surprised that the amenities here would cater more to them.

Feeling no fresher, Dew stared down the pile of crumpled clothes he had abandoned on the back of the desk chair before crawling into bed the night before, as if they could magically clean and fold themselves. Aether had said he could get more today, and he would have to hold him to that. At least the hoodie was free of wrinkles, he thought as he unfolded it and pulled the soft fabric over his head.

As he had suspected he would be, Aether was already in the common room when he emerged, head buried in a paperback novel. He hastily put it down, but not before Dew caught a glimpse of the cover and the muscular, half-naked human man on it. He smirked at the quintessence ghoul and the lavender blush that tinged his cheeks.

“Sleep well?” Aether coughed as he got to his feet, slipping back in his professional welcomer role with ease.

Dew nodded, before forcing himself to acknowledge him verbally; new dimension, new me he had decided, after all.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Well, no one said he had to be the most verbose ghoul this side of the Pit, he supposed. Aether seemed delighted nonetheless and soon busied himself explaining a battered coffee pot that was making gurgling sounds on the counter.

Dew accepted a chipped mug plastered with an unfamiliar cityscape in winter and filled with a dark steaming liquid. He sniffed it while Aether turned away to rummage through another cold-cupboard and, liking what he smelled, he took a sip. The liquid was hot and bitter, warming hum from the inside in a comforting way. By the time Aether faced him again, Dew had already gulped down half the mug.

“You don't take milk or sugar in your coffee then, I take it.” He laughed weakly, topping his own mug off with several heaping spoonfuls of sugar and a glug of milk. Dew knew what both were, and was surprised by the casual attitude with which he produced them. Sugar had been relatively commonplace in his home, but milk had been a rare luxury as it spoiled so quickly in the scorching heat. He couldn't see how it would improve this coffee though; the delightfully tannic aftertaste coating his fangs.

“I thought I could show you around this morning,” Aether suggested as he continued bustling around the small kitchenette, topping up Dew's coffee as he went, “Terzo wants to meet with you first though, to say a proper hello.”

Dew pulled a face at that; he had hoped to settle a little more before meeting the leader of the Abbey, wanting to give off the most well-adjusted and competent impression he could.

“Don't worry, he won't bite,” Aether placed a plate full of toast in front of Dew on the coffee table, “he'll bind a mask to your glamour too, so you can start to work on it and explore the rest of the Abbey properly.”

That sounded interesting, Dew thought as he nibbled on a piece of the crispy bread. He was looking forward to the independence Aether promised they got here, and the ability to work on his human camouflage. A small, niggling part of his brain was also holding onto the hope that the very clearly unearthly marks on his forearms might also be hidden away behind it.

Before long, Aether was leading Dew out of the well-lit corridor of their dorm and into the gloomy stone passages of the Abbey. Intimidating stone arches loomed over every crossing of corridors, and alcoves filled with lurking shadows haunted their every step. Even when they emerged into a cloister bordering a small courtyard, the daylight that filtered in only served to deepen the shadows by throwing them into sharp relief. A lonely fountain tumbled morosely in the centre where, even though Dew had clearly heard birdsong from their Den that morning, not a soul had ventured down to drink from it.

Dew gave up on trying to track the twists and turns Aether led him down after the fifth near-identical hallway. They seemed to be gradually descending, the temperature lowering and the little light that crept in through high windows fading as the corridors were punctuated by single steps down. Just as Dew was beginning to wonder if Aether was taking him a long route back down to the summoning chambers, the corridor opened out into a large antechamber. The ceiling here was higher, seemingly for the sole purpose of fitting a pair of monstrously large oak doors.

Cut into the bottom of the left panel was a significantly smaller door, it’s outline disguised by intricate carvings, although as they approached it became clear it was the size of every other entryway they had passed through so far. The only sign that gave away its frequent use was how the surface had become polished through years of hands pushing against it. Following their lead, Aether led Dew through it and into the chapel beyond.

Here the ceilings rose even higher away from them, smooth columns ascending to accent the vertical space before curving together into the spectacular vaulted construction above their heads. This wasn't what drew Dew's attention however, but rather the patchwork of stained-glass windows lining the walls, casting the whole expanse in a rainbow of light. He stepped forward almost instinctively, drawn by the pull of the illuminated canvases.

Upon closer inspection, they told stories through the pictures immortalised in them. Dew recognised the tale of the creation of ghouls; how He had birthed His servants of the elements to wield their power in the Pit and beyond. Then below that, the binding of ghouls to their eternal mate through their soul marks. The light streaming through the blue glass of the depicted water ghoul fell upon the fabric of Dew's hoodie, in an ironic mimicry of his own mark.

Dew turned his head away, instead focussing his attention to the next window depicting His domains in the Pit. He saw landscapes that were altogether unfamiliar to him; vast forests, oceans, and rocky outcrops in a sea of darkness. The panel that caught his attention though was of his own fiery homeland. The volcano they had made their homes around, that Dew had thrown himself into only yesterday, was in the centre of the image as it was the centre of their world. Every detail about it was faithfully recreated, from the jagged contours of its slopes to the exact shade of russet of the glass. Dew stared at it with a strange pang in his gut: there was a chance this would be the only way he would ever see his birthplace again. The care given to the accuracy of the picture felt almost nostalgic, homesick even. It had to have been created by another fire ghoul; someone who had spent every moment of their life before then in that place, as he had.

“Beautiful, isn't it,” Aether murmured quietly behind him, with no urgency to rush Dew forward from his contemplation present in his voice, “it's like you're back there, just for a moment.”

Dew turned to look at him, the pain in his voice familiar. Reflected in his violet eyes he saw the deep greys and silvers of the landscape with the quintessence symbol atop it. Most of that panel was a deep black, barely letting any light through. It was punctuated by small spots of crystal-clear glass however, tiny dots that let every photon of the outside sunlight beam through, piercing the black nothingness. He wondered what had led Aether to accept the summoning call, what could have caused him the anguish that tinged his countenance.

“Terzo's office is out the back.” Aether quietly explained when Dew looked away to observe the rest of the chapel. They moved silently, reverently, through the solemn space. The architecture was by all accounts the most spectacular aspect of it, but there was something equally inspiring about the rest of the interior. From the perfectly laid out hassocks under the polished oak pews to the meticulous cleanliness of every surface, it was clear that the chapel was a true house of worship in His name, looked after with careful devotion. Even the cool marble beneath Dew's bare feet felt freshly cleaned, lacking the gritty coating of dirt that all other floors clung onto.

They passed behind a dark purple curtain, almost hidden in the shadows itself, that covered another door leading out into a vestry built beneath a choir loft. This room was darker, the ceilings so low Aether almost had to duck his head. The comforting smell of incense hung heavy in the air as Aether knocked on yet another door with a small brass plaque reading Papa Emeritus III. Dew tightened the strings of his hood, making sure his fire ghoul horns were still hidden. Terzo Emeritus might sound like a well-meaning and fair man in Aether's stories, but the others present at his summoning certainly had not and Dew was not about to invite unnecessary questions about his elemental heritage in their proper first meeting.

“I'll be right with you!” They heard a voice call from inside, followed by a lot of shuffling and a concerningly loud thump.

When the man in charge finally opened the door, Dew was struck by how human he looked. At his summoning in their long, hooded cloaks, all four had cut imposing figures, but here he looked so unassuming; a middle-aged human in human clothes, rubbing at his hip with a wince and seeming more than a bit frazzled. His hair, looking like it had been carefully slicked back not that many hours before, was in disarray and his hands bore the clear stains of someone who had been battling with a leaking fountain pen. He was shorter than Dew remembered too.

“Sorry,” he apologised, pushing an errant lock of hair back out of his face and leaving a blue smudge in its place, “Sister gave me a whole load of paperwork last night, all the expenses from last tour.”

Aether winced, sympathetically.

“I can still help you like I used to, you know,” the quintessence ghoul strode confidently into his boss’ office, pulling off his mask as he went, and began picking through the mass of jumbled papers on the too-small desk, “rehearsals haven't even started yet, and Dewdrop's settling in nicely.”

Dew felt both pairs of eyes flick to him in the doorway, the man clearly noticing him stood there for the first time. His eyes were different colours, with one a ghostly white that Dew felt was staring straight into his soul. He squirmed, unsure if he should enter the cramped room too or not.

“Dewdrop!” Papa Emeritus the Third, in all of his infernal majesty, reached out in greeting to clap Dew on the shoulders with both hands. “How fantastic to have you on board! It's been a while since we had a hybrid ghoul here at the Abbey.”

So that was what they thought he was, Dew sighed to himself.

“It's nice to be here, uh... Papa Emerit–”

“Please, call me Terzo,” the man interrupted with a wolfish grin and a wave of his hand, “Papa Emeritus is my father. And my brother. And my other brother!”

Dew forced a polite smile, that he hoped didn't come across as a grimace.

“Aether’s taking good care of you then?” He tossed the question over his shoulder as he strode to a wardrobe built into the wall and pulled out a ceremonial robe. The quintessence ghoul in question appeared behind him, unbidden, and began helping it over his head before smoothing his hair back into place with a practiced air.

“Yes, uh… Terzo.”

“Good, good. We’d be lost without him, wouldn’t we eh?” He winked at Dew conspiratorially, although Dew couldn’t understand quite why. A polite titter seemed to appease the man though.

“Now, I’m sure I know what he’s brought you here for, beyond exchanging pleasantries,” with a flourish, he produced a silver mask from under his robes like a magician might a rabbit from a hat, “your freedom to explore the Abbey. Although why Aether wouldn’t want to keep you locked away a little longer is beyond me!”

Dew didn’t understand what he was getting at with this either, although one glance at Aether’s almost puce cheeks gave him some idea. Unsure if this was some kind of test of his dedication to the values He and by extension His church were spreading, Dew made a split-second decision to go along with whatever game Terzo was playing. He jutted one hip out and plastered a lascivious smirk onto his face.

“Hmm, why did no one tell me that was an option?”

Even the tips of Aether’s ears were blushing now and Terzo guffawed a laugh, clapping both ghouls on the shoulder in turn.

“Well then, I’ll let you two get back to your Den shortly – enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts! I’ll be summoning an earth ghoul tomorrow, another play mate for the two of you, if you know how to share.”

He winked again, and Dew tried to fight against the blood rushing to his face, even as he felt himself failing.

“C'mon,” Terzo bustled past him in a swirl of purple and black, “Let’s get this mask bound to you, then you're free to go and sin however you please!”

He led Dew back out to the body of the chapel leaving Aether to don his own mask again and trail dutifully behind them. Laying the mask on the altar, he glimpsed Dew's expression, still one of confusion and overwhelm, and his smile turned softer.

“Every ghoul has what has become known amongst your kind as a glamour,” he explained, “think of it as a reflection of yourself, an image of what you might look like had you been born in this realm instead of the Pit. The mask ties that parallel form to you, allows you to feel it and wear it as a mask itself.”

Dew nodded hesitantly; he thought he understood, although he still had no idea how to conjure such a disguise.

“Once I have bound the mask to you, a connection to your glamour will open and you'll be able to feel it, like flexing a muscle or so I've been told.”

He looked at Aether, hovering within earshot as he spoke. The quintessence ghoul nodded in agreement.

“It's like opening and closing your eyes. You can choose to do it consciously, but it also happens instinctually. You'll learn to keep it up without even thinking about it.” He confirmed.

“It will take some practice still,” Terzo warned him, “and you'll need to work hard at it. You can rely on the mask around the Abbey for now, but having a reliable glamour is a requirement to leave the grounds.”

Which is part of your job. Dew didn't need to hear the unsaid part to know it was implied. Without a glamour he wouldn't be able to do what he had been summoned for, and then what was the point of him being here.

“The mask will help though,” Aether reassured him, “it lets you see what you have to work towards, at least for everything apart from your face behind it.”

Terzo placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, stilling him, and Dew realised he had been shaking slightly.

“It will be fine, Dewdrop,” his smile was kind, reassuring, “once I've blessed the mask specifically to you, things should make a bit more sense and you can always ask if you have any problems. I know from Aether's early days topside just how big an adjustment it can be.”

Dew turned to look at the larger ghoul, unable to imagine him being anything other than the polished professional he seemed to be now. Aether was looking at the floor, sheepishly grinding a foot into the ground; Dew made a mental note to ask more about that later.

“Now, let's get on with the show!” He clapped his hands together, shook his robes out, and Aether took his signal to melt away into the shadows.

Terzo beckoned Dew forward until they both stood closer together in front of the altar. It had a similar unostentatious beauty as the wooden pews in the body of the chapel, Dew thought. The dark oak was simply polished, the natural knots and grain of the wood the only embellishment. There were no lavishly embroidered vestments covering it, only a single black satin cushion in the centre on which Terzo now laid the silver mask.

Before the altar and under the glow of a thousand coloured windowpanes, Dew received his first topside blessing as part of the church. He felt Terzo's full attention resting on him as the man reached out with his left hand, placing his thumb and two forefingers to Dew's face, one on each cheek and another on his forehead. With his other hand, he mirrored the points of contact on the mask.

His eyes closed, Terzo began to mumble the words of a prayer only he was privy to the contents of. Dew watched his face, from the minute movements of his jaw to the creasing of his paint as his forehead wrinkled in concentration. When they opened again, they stared straight into Dew's own as he now spoke his final words for the ghoul to hear too.

“Dewdrop, as I summoned your physical form from realms below to this mortal plane, so too do I summon an earthly face for your body to wear. I bind it to this mask, with hope that through this connection you too can channel His power as you serve Him through our church’s song.”

Removing his hand from Dew's face, he picked up the mask and passed it to him. Dew expected the metal to feel cold and hard against his skin as he pressed it to his face, tightening the stretchy strap at the back of his head, underneath his braided bun. To his surprise however it felt the same temperature as him, and as soft as worn leather as it moulded perfectly to his face. Through the eye holes he could see Terzo beaming at him.

Dew felt no different as he took stock of his faculties; he could still feel the gentle pressure of his hoodie against his horns, although when he reached a hand up there was nothing to be felt besides the twin points of the mask. The same was true of his tail, which he could still feel twined around his calf but of which there was no sign.

It was as he looked down to confirm with his eyes that he saw them; his hands. The skin was still pale, but lighter, pinker, human. Dew held them up to his face to examine them more closely. He could see the veins running beneath his skin, a blue-green colour as opposed to the golden sunset hue they usually had. It was a familiar colour, one that made him itch to roll up his sleeves and see if his soul mark was still haunting him. Instead he examined the other strange difference that was clear to him, squinting at the translucent growths that had replaced his dark grey claws.

“Welcome, Dewdrop,” Terzo smiled, out of his role as head of the church and back to his casual self again, “it really is great to have you on board.”

He looked over to Aether, still lurking out of earshot to give them privacy during the mask binding, and beckoned him back over.

“Go explore, have fun today! It’ll be good for the both of you.”

Dew hardly needed telling twice; as nice as the chapel and his new boss were he was keen to get acquainted with his new home, and if that so happened to be with Aether by his side he certainly was not about to complain.

“The summoning tomorrow will start at sun’s peak, same as always,” Terzo addressed Aether, who had his own mask of professionalism firmly back in place after Terzo's earlier teasing, “let's hope it goes as smoothly as Dewdrop's did.”

The pair shared a look Dew did not understand before Terzo turned and strode back to his office, robes swishing behind him, and they were summarily dismissed.

The walk back from the chapel felt slightly awkward at first, neither talking as Dew continued to stare at his hands and get used to his peripheral vision being slightly obscured. Before too long though Aether was filling the silence with more talk of glamours. For all Terzo's talk of it being a reflection of his own self, looking into a physical mirror with his mask on to grow used to his human reflection really had been his turning point in grasping his, the quintessence ghoul explained.

Back in the main hallways of the Abbey the air felt a few degrees warmer, and Dew was starting to get the hand of turning his head to see his surroundings rather than just moving his eyes. Since he had free rein now, Aether took it upon himself to give a brief tour of the places that they passed on their way back to the Den.

Closest to the chapel was a library, a warm and dark room filled to overflowing with bookshelves so tall even he would need a ladder to reach the highest tomes. The air smelled comfortingly of old parchment in a slightly dusty yet calming way. It was clear from his expression that Aether was relaxed here, amongst the maze of bookshelves and hidden alcoves, but to Dew they felt like oppressive obstacles.

He was free to borrow any book he wanted, Aether explained, and Dew feigned interest for his sake. There was also a small stash of movies for the TV in the Den – whatever that meant, other than being yet more words that were entirely foreign to him. Dew was starting to realise that none of that really mattered though – everything important like his glamour seemed to be spelled out for him as clearly as possible, and anything else could come with time.

Leaving the library, Aether gestured down a narrower corridor with several doors leading off. Terzo's old office was down there, as were the offices of his brothers and father from Dew's summoning. Behind the far door, he explained in a hushed voice, was the real mastermind of their activities here: Sister Imperator, the once-lover of the original Papa Emeritus, Nihil. She was the one who truly called the shots, despite each of the Papas' assertions to the contrary. Aether spoke with a cautious reverence. Under her guidance, she had steered the church to loftier heights than the original Papa Nihil ever had, but in exchange the Abbey was ruled by her rod of iron.

Before they got back to the dormitories Aether, as promised, took Dew to gather a selection of new clothes from the storage. They entered a small, windowless room to find a similar density of stuff to the books in the library, although less claustrophobically arranged. Every wall was lined with shelves and cupboards, while the centre of the room was occupied by clothes rails containing a huge variety of garments.

“Go wild,” Aether gestured widely to the room, “I'll make a note of what we take before we leave, but you can pretty much help yourself since you're new!”

Dew hardly knew where to start. He settled on riffling through the clothes first, finding they were helpfully sorted by size. Several duplicates of the tight black items he was wearing went straight into the basket Aether held out to him, followed by a few larger shirts with interesting-looking graphics printed on them. A dark red striped hoodie followed, as did a pile of black underwear.

Moving onto the overflowing cabinets around the edge of the room, Dew discovered what he assumed to be toiletries. Everything he picked up got a tentative sniff while Aether helpfully explained what some of the stranger items were. He had no idea what a hair mask was, but the humans on the container were smiling widely and seemed to have hair that looked less like it had survived a trip through a volcano than his own, so into the basket it went. The triumphant sound he had made upon discovering an entire drawer of hairbrushes had made Aether giggle in a way Dew was desperate to hear again.

He found a body wash that smelled like cinnamon, hot and slightly spicy that he had to resist the urge to taste, and even a small stash of toothpaste that didn't smell of that icy mint like before. Instead, it smelled like cloyingly artificial fruit, but a covert lick told him that it was at least better than the burning cold.

The other side of the room seemed to be mostly snacks and pre-packaged food which Dew was significantly less interested in; everything was wrapped in plastic and covered in similar pictograms as the frozen pizzas had been. As much as he had enjoyed that, the choice here was overwhelming so he simply tossed a few items with flames on them into the basket and called it a day. He was sure he would learn what was good in time; with any luck he would have a whole lifetime to do so.

Back in the corridor, the pair almost crashed headfirst into a pair of figures dressed head to toe in black, save for a white veil. Their faces were clearly human, with no lingering unearthly features like Aether or even Terzo with his singular white eye possessed. They even smelled wrong; warm, alive and organic. Dew wrinkled his nose once they were past them, looking to Aether in confusion.

“Humans,” he explained, “it’s not just other ghouls who live here, but some of the most devout humans too. Papa calls them his Siblings of Sin.”

Dew shrugged in understanding, although he was still unsure how they smelled so different to Terzo. He had an almost neutral scent; clearly not a ghoul, but not so offensively human either. Maybe it was his close contact with ghouls, or even with Him below, but either way Dew was just relieved that it wasn’t one more thing he would have to get used to.

He put the thought out of his mind and continued proudly dragging his stash back to the Den. Rather, as his brain unhelpfully pointed out, Aether was the one carrying the unwieldy basket while he just trotted along beside him. The larger ghoul seemed unbothered by it however and Dew, unused to such chivalry being extended to him from his time in the Pit, was happy enough to play along.

He did at least get the door to the Den for Aether, holding it open before he attempted to shoulder his way through without dropping the basket. Dew felt a strange flutter in his gut as he laid his mask on the table beside Aether’s.

“There’s an empty shelf in the pantry you can fill,” Aether explained, pointing at the cupboard in question as he put Dew’s hoard on the coffee table with a thud, “and just dump the clothes you don’t want from your closet on one of the other beds, I’ll deal with them later.”

Grappling the bulky laundry basket, Dew staggered back to his room with it. Resisting the urge to upend its contents straight onto his bed, he instead put it on his empty writing desk. With a quick glance to check Aether was still in the common room, Dew darted back out to the entryway of the Den and snatched up his new mask.

His gathered spoils from the storeroom sat abandoned as he shut and locked his door before ripping off his hoodie and shirt. The anticipation of the sweet relief of finally seeing his arms unmarried by the soul mark that had tormented him for so many years was almost suffocating. He took a deep breath against his pounding heart, then stood in front of his mirror with closed eyes, put his mask on, opened them again and…

They were still there. Granted, they were less garish against his human skin, looking like the blue ink of a tattoo embedded into his skin rather than an alien vine growing upon him, but they were very much still there. A mad dash to the bathroom confirmed that they didn't glow with water in this state, some small relief, but any hope he felt that with this new appearance could come a new relationship with the idea of having a soulmate was dashed like a fragile boat against cliffs in a storm. He would never escape his marks, instead he would be forever running from them.

A therapeutic cry later, and Dew had wriggled into the camouflage of a clean shirt and begun sorting out the wardrobe full of spare clothes, more as a distraction than anything else. He dumped the basket's contents onto the floor, refilling it with everything that wasn't his style or was the totally wrong size and abandoning it in the empty room next to his that had an air symbol on the door. Everything else he hung up or folded away into drawers, neatly lining up his new toiletries as though they could compensate for the mess he felt like inside.

Finally re-emerging into the common room, he again saw Aether reading his book and looking for all the world as though he was just killing time waiting for Dew. He wondered what the ghoul had spent his days doing before his summoning – Aether had seemed intimately familiar with Terzo's office, and especially so with the mess of paperwork on his desk. Dew knew he had been Terzo's personal ghoul before, whatever that meant, but it seemed as though he had been reassigned as his babysitter? Or was it all part of his move to being in the band and replacing the last group of ghouls he had yet to meet? Either way, it didn't seem like he was feeling very fulfilled given the way he leapt up from his position lounging on the couch the second he heard Dew's light footfalls.

“All sorted then?” He asked, looking as though his tail was about to start wagging like a puppy at the prospect of continuing Dew's introduction to the Abbey. Dew nodded, forcing a smile and hoping Aether couldn't see the red rim around his eyes.

“How about some lunch? I thought I could show you the dining hall next.”

Dew's stomach agreed with that idea and, given his experience with topside food the day before, he was also looking forward to trying more. They headed in a different direction when they reached the inner courtyard this time, heading down a well-lit corridor flanked with crystal clear panes of glass and far fewer shadowy nooks that the path to the chapel. As they got closer, the smell of warm bread tickled Dew's nostrils making them flare in anticipation.

Entering through a modern, almost industrial door, Dew found himself in a large, well-lit room that seemed at odds with the foreboding stone of the rest of the Abbey. The walls were a light yellow, a smooth painted plaster, and the atmosphere couldn't have been more different that the sombre atmosphere from earlier. The smell of humans permeated the room, but he was able to put it aside in favour of the other food smells and the more familiar ghoulish scent. There was a hubbub of conversation echoing off the walls, yet it was at a volume that made it feel friendly and welcoming rather than oppressive.

The actions of the figures within the room were less friendly, although by no means hostile; the other ghouls, all in human glamour either with or without a mask to aid them, seemed to be studiously avoiding looking their way. Dew in turn ignored them, and the human siblings as well. Aether seemed unbothered by their reactions and by the mixture of scents in the room and so Dew chose to simply follow his lead.

They collected sandwiches from a countertop with a hatch leading to a kitchen beyond, the source of the more pleasant smells, and Dew helped himself to ones from a pile Aether told him were filled with the same pepperoni he had enjoyed on the frozen pizza the night before. The pair sat alone on a table in the far corner of the room, with no one else making any move to join them which suited Dew just fine. The sandwich was by no means as good as the pizza had been, although he had to admit it was nice regardless. Fresh ingredients had been a rare treat in his fiery home, and he was determined to enjoy every bite of them get got up here.

On their way back to the Den, Dew was beginning to feel more comfortable in the hallways. Sure, they all looked the same and he was certain he would be getting lost for weeks to come, but the similarity between them made each new twist and turn feel somewhat familiar.

“I could show you the lake next, if you like?” Aether had suggested, seeing Dew peering out of a window at the haze of green beyond. He seemed excited at the prospect, Dew thought.

“Alright,” he agreed, trying to feign greater enthusiasm than he felt – if he was going to continue to this charade of being a hybrid ghoul, seeing a lake would be something a water ghoul would be interested in, “sounds good.”

He didn't have to fake any excitement to see the grounds of the Abbey though, hurriedly throwing on his hoodie as soon as they were back in the Den, and meeting Aether back at the french windows of the common room before he had even finished tying his boots. Dew knew the outside world here would be drastically different from all he had known before, it certainly wouldn't be anything like his volcanic prior home; his brief glances out of the windows as they walked had confirmed as much. He had heard stories in the Pit of topside weather cycles called seasons too and wondered how much of that would come to be true.

“Ready then?” Aether asked, standing up. Dew nodded happily, but something stopped Aether in his tracks.

“Shoes?” He gestured at Dew's bare feet.

“Don't need ‘em.” Dew shrugged. He'd spent his life running up and down the volcano's slopes barefoot, the soles of his feet were practically leather now.

“Dew, you have to wear shoes,” Aether sighed, “it's muddy out there and I don't care if you think you need them or not, you are not tracking dirt in here!”

Dew went to argue, to suggest that he could just wipe them clean on the mat he could see right there in front of the doors, when Aether interrupted him.

“Oh Satan, you went to Terzo earlier without shoes didn't you,” he sank onto the arm of the sofa and groaned, “what a great start, you're lucky Sister didn't catch us, or she'd have my head!”

“Is it that big of a deal?” Dew really didn't think so and couldn't see why Aether was making such a fuss. “Terzo didn't notice.”

The quintessence ghoul huffed, head in his hands.

“I'm meant to be in charge of helping you assimilate up here, and I can't even remember to check you're fully prepared for a meeting with the head of the church!” He ran a hand through his short hair in panicked exasperation. “She didn't want me to be promoted to a band ghoul anyway. I can't fail so soon; I'm not going back to the Pit!”

Dew recognised the spiralling – something he was uncomfortably familiar with – and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“Okay, shoes. I'll wear shoes,” He reached out a cautious hand to pat Aether on the shoulder in a way he hoped wasn't condescending to the larger ghoul, “no more barefoot chats with the Boss, got it.”

That got a weak smile, which Dew considered a success.

“Uh,” there was one slight issue remaining that would prevent Dew following through on that promise, “where are shoes, exactly?”

Once Dew had been informed that shoes were in fact in the bottom part of his wardrobe behind a door he hadn't bothered to open yet, he finally had something more substantial on his feet. He'd hastily picked through the small selection, finding a pair of slip-on sneakers with soft foam soles that were about the right size. They still felt like they were compressing his feet, even in places where they were barely touching him, but they were strangely lightweight and infinitely more comfortable than any leather plimsoll he had reluctantly stuffed his feet into before. From a purely aesthetic point of view, he would have liked boots like Aether was wearing but there hadn't seemed to be any in the closet; Dew supposed they would have taken up too much space in the bare bones selection his room started with.

He shuffled back into the common room, getting used to the feeling of the elevated soles of the sneakers, and saw Aether's face relax with relief at his new charge doing as asked.

“Much better!” He got back to his feet and put his mask on – Dew noted that he seemed keen to wear it rather than relying on his own glamour – and gestured for Dew to do the same. Together, they exited via the french windows into the small, paved garden the common room overlooked. Dew had seen it out of the window but not thought much of it; it was enclosed by stone walls much like the rest of the Abbey and its only purpose seemed to be to house a rusty table with a few chairs and an ashtray.

What he hadn't seen before was the side gate that Aether now led them through, passing from the enclosed courtyard to the grounds beyond. Here, the fact that the Abbey was located at the top of a hill became clear, as a carpet of green grass swept down and away from them. Dew couldn't hold back the gasp he let out at the sight; it truly was like nothing he had ever seen before. The colours were so different to the reds and browns of his home in the Pit, the vibrancy of the grass was such that it felt like his eyes were seeing completely new colours. It was a slightly foggy day, the low clouds obscuring the world at the base of the hill and filling the air with a cool moisture. If anything, that only served to make the grass appear greener.

“Just wait until it’s spring,” Aether smiled at his awe-filled expression, “it’s enough to make you jealous of the earth ghouls who get to see this all the time in the Pit!”

He began plodding down the hill into the fog, and as Dew followed behind him the reason for Aether’s insistence on shoes became clear. The path they followed was well defined but unpaved, and with every step Dew found his shoes picking up soupy mud that stuck to them like glue.

The mist thickened as the incline began to flatten out and they neared the foot of the hill. Emerging from the haze, Dew spotted a figure heading towards them and looked to Aether as they came into view, unsure if he had been expecting them. He saw the quintessence ghoul’s expression morph from squinting into the fog, to recognition, to sheepish awkwardness. As they came into focus, Dew realised the mystery person was a water ghoul – or a water ghoulette to be precise. She was short, shorter even than Dew and had a shock of cropped white hair lying wet against her scalp. Dew guessed she must have come from the lake, given the large terry cloth robe wrapped around her.

“Hello, Mist.” Aether said stiltedly as she was about to pass them, clearly out of politeness rather than a desire to make small talk. The water ghoul slowed to a halt as though she too had hoped to avoid the interaction.

“Aether.”

The silence that followed was so tense Dew could have split it open with a claw.

“How are you doing? And the others?”

Mist sighed.

“We’re doing about as well as you’d expect, Aeth. No one wanted things to end up like this, I’m sure you can understand.”

Aether nodded, looking at his feet, while Dew tried to make sense of the whole situation.

“And Meg? Is he–”

“Omega needs time, Aether. He doesn’t want to talk to you right now, not after everything that went down,” her expression softened slightly and she laid a blue-tinged hand on his arm, “I’ll let you know as soon as anything changes, alright? I know none of this was your fault, but he’s hurting.”

“’Kay.” Aether muttered. He looked small, Dew thought, as though something in the short water ghoulette’s words had cut him down to size. He clearly wanted to move on, and Dew would have been more than happy to do so too, but at that moment Mist’s eyes fell on him.

“Who’s this?” She asked, tone more friendly than before.

“This is Dewdrop,” Aether hesitated before continuing, “he’s the new bass player Terzo summoned yesterday.”

Mist’s face visibly fell for a second before she recovered herself, smiling widely at Dew with shark-like pointed teeth.

“Welcome, Dewdrop. I’m glad Aether’s taking good care of my replacement.”

Her words were tinged with ice but lacked any malice. Dew nodded at her in greeting, his tongue feeling frozen in the arctic atmosphere both ghouls had created.

“Right, we’d better get going, I’m just showing him the lake.”

The tension getting the better of him, Aether finally disengaged them from the conversation. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they separated, Mist plodding back up to the Abbey and Aether steering Dew further down the path.

“Replacement?” Dew eventually asked, once they were well out of earshot. Aether sighed before replying.

“She’s one of the ghouls who was in the band until recently,” he winced at some unspoken memory, “none of them are very happy at being demoted. Or at my promotion. Normally ghouls are summoned for certain roles here and only replaced if they choose to leave.”

“Why? What changed?”

“I don’t know, Papa didn’t say.”

Dew knew better than to push – for now, at least.

At that moment the path ahead of them opened out, the well-worn track leading up to a wood-panelled deck. The ground around it was dark, the fog clinging tightly to it. As they approached, Dew realised it was water. The blackness of the lake stretching out before him into the grey void filled him with a bone-deep terror, and Dew couldn’t suppress his shudder at the wave of fear rushing over him.

Even with his eyes squeezed tight against the encroaching darkness of the body of water, Dew could feel Aether’s concerned eyes on him. He was quintessence; of course he could tell how uncomfortable he was. Aether was polite enough not to say anything though, either about Dew’s clear fear of the water or of what that meant for his supposed hybrid elemental status.

“Want to go see the greenhouses next?” He asked instead, gesturing back up the Hill once Dew opened his eyes.

“They’re pretty interesting, even to non-earth ghouls,” Aether started up his nervous chattering again as they walked, “some of the plants they’ve got to grow in this climate are crazy!”

Dew was grateful for the distraction and more than happy to turn away and follow him back up the hill. Even the few seconds at the lake had been more than enough for a lifetime, unlocking a new fear he hadn't even known he had.

Aether led him round to the south of the Abbey where a cluster of glass buildings stood.

“They each mimic a different climate,” he explained, “I’m sure we’ll be back here again when I show the new earth ghoul around, but I thought you might want to see inside the one the fire ghouls say is closest to their lands in the Pit?”

Dew was curious to see how much familiarity with his home they could conjure, although the reminder of tomorrow’s summoning and the excitement evident in Aether's voice stung. He didn't like how enthusiastic he sounded about this new ghoul; like Dew wasn't interesting enough for him and he was just waiting for his next new toy. Was he really that unimportant to Aether that he could be set aside when someone new came along?

As if hearing his misgivings, Aether didn't move on from the subject of the new earth ghoul as he held the door of the greenhouse open for Dew.

“It's a crazy schedule the Clergy have Terzo doing these summonings on. Most summonings are super spread out so the new ghouls have time to settle, so I'd have weeks to get you used to everything up here.”

The rush of artificially warm and dry air hit Dew as he entered the greenhouse, a stark contrast to the cold and moist air of the outside.

“There's one summoning every other day this week,” Aether continued, “they want to gather all the ghouls for the band to start rehearsing for the next tour as soon as possible, but it's going to be a struggle having so many new ghouls at once. I'm not sure how they expect me to help all four of you as much as you need.”

Dew felt a little better knowing Aether was also surprised by the frequency of the summonings, although his own reaction to the news that he would not be the new guy for long still irritated him. He couldn't let his insecurities and jealousy over a ghoul he had just met ruin his chance up here, even if his mind seemed to be trying to derail him already. Thinking of the positives of meeting all his new pack at once – not having to re-assert his boundaries for longer than necessary for starters – he focussed on trying to put Aether at ease.

“It'll be nice to settle alongside everybody,” he suggested, “then we can learn from you together.” Dew still wasn't looking forward to meeting the new fire ghoul they would inevitably summon though.

His words seemed to help and Aether beamed down at him. He led Dew deeper into the maze of the greenhouse, guiding him with a wide hand resting on his hip that lingered longer than was strictly necessary. Dew leaned into the touch; maybe he didn't have to worry about holding Aether's attention after all.

The raised beds around them were filled with a sandy soil not dissimilar to that in the Pit, although it was lighter in colour. In them grew a mixture of plants both faintly familiar and totally alien to him; tall, spiny plants well-suited to the dry and arid ground. Cacti, Aether called them. Dew wondered how they had come to be here in the Abbey: were they all native to this topside realm, from a different environment to this? Or had some managed to find their way up and out of the Pit?

Picking along a small path, Dew quickly realised that Aether's insistence on footwear was again proving to have been a sound decision; among the unfamiliar plants was a creeping vine with inch-long spikes which seemed to have decided that the walkways of the greenhouse were its optimal environment.

“It'll be nice to have a pack again,” Aether mused quietly as they walked, “one of my own this time. A real one.”

His words held a vulnerability that deeply resonated with Dew. He wasn't excited to replace him with a newer, more interesting ghoul Dew realised; he was simply longing for a pack. Dew didn't know Aether's situation before he was summoned yesterday, but he sensed he had been lonely for a while. He could relate to that, more than anything.

“It will,” he agreed, meeting Aether's eyes when he looked back at him, “I'm looking forward to it.”

The next morning, Dew was woken by Aether knocking on his door. They had both had a relatively early night after eating in the dining hall, but Dew had slept soundly through for almost twelve hours regardless. As he grew more comfortable at the Abbey, he was beginning to feel the exhaustive effects both of his summoning and of his difficult life before.

“Dew!” Aether's muffled voice filtered through the door as Dew burrowed deeper into the soft duvet. “Wake up! The earth ghoul summoning is in an hour!”

Dew groaned loud enough for Aether to hear he was awake and stop trying to make the whole Abbey shake with the force of his knocking. He wormed his way out of bed, missing its warmth the second the colder air of his room hit his skin. The light streaming through his window, that he had once again forgotten to close the curtains of, confirmed what Aether had said; it really was almost noon already. He shuffled into his bathroom and turned the water on to heat up.

This morning Aether had his coffee waiting for him when he shuffled out, hair wet but brushed.

“I cleaned your shoes,” he announced, gesturing to the sneakers now mostly free of the mud that had been caked onto them when they returned the previous afternoon, “we're supposed to look our best for summonings, since the senior Clergy are there.”

Dew pulled a face at having to wear them again.

“It's only for an hour or so!” Aether laughed, tossing a pre-wrapped pastry at Dew who barely avoided slopping his coffee as he caught it one-handed.

“Good catch!”

I know you are but what am I? Dew’s brain unhelpfully supplied.

“You’re in a good mood this morning.” He observed instead, continuing to tamp down the lingering jealousy.

Aether shrugged with a loose smile.

“Summoning days are pretty fun,” he chuckled at Dew’s sceptical expression, “or at least they are when you’re not the one being summoned. It’s nice meeting new ghouls, showing them around. Makes you feel like you’ve learned something up here too, y’know?”

Dew wasn’t sure how much of an advantage he would have given he hadn’t even been topside for two full days at this point, but he understood where Aether was coming from.

“And hey, Terzo's last summoning turned out pretty well.”

Aether placed his empty mug on the counter and tossed a wink over his shoulder, before exiting the common room to finish getting ready. Dew was grateful that only the eyes of the strange creature on this morning's coffee cup were there to witness the blush that crept up his cheeks.

A short while later, both ghouls were ready to leave for the summoning chambers deep within the bowels of the Abbey. Aether had produced two heavy, woollen cloaks from the hall closet, which Dew realised now the quintessence ghoul had also been wearing two days previously when he was summoned. They were rough and scratchy, a world away from the soft covering that had been laid over Dew’s shoulders. He supposed that would be used for the new earth ghoul today. Even though his burns were healed now, he could still feel this cloak irritating the skin where they had been. Combined with the sneakers pressing on his feet Dew was left feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

As a final check before they left, Aether poked his head inside the room with an earth symbol carved into the door. Dew imagined him doing the same to the fire ghoul’s room before his own summoning, a room that he had never ended up using but one that Aether had taken care to make sure was fully ready for him nonetheless. With all seeming to be in order, Aether donned his mask and motioned for Dew to do the same.

The walk down into the depths of the Abbey was quiet; Dew lost in thought imagining what a summoning looked like from this side of the portal and Aether not feeling a need to fill the silence this time. The air grew chilly as they descended a narrow stone staircase that Dew had only a vague memory of, before they passed under a carved archway and reached a heavy iron door. Aether paused with one hand raised to push the door open and turned to face Dew.

“Whatever you do, don't approach the portal.”

The room beyond was dark, darker than Dew remembered. The ceiling was low and arched towards the centre, leaving the space nearest the walls barely high enough even for him. Terzo was already there, nodding his head at them in greeting as he shuffled through the pages of a heavy tome resting on a lectern lit only by a small candle. Aether led Dew over to a corner, far from their leader and shrouded almost entirely in shadow. They watched as Terzo paced around the patch of floor where Dew had found himself after the flames subsided, muttering incantations as he went.

The door creaked open again and Dew felt Aether stiffen beside him. Leading the three retired leaders of the church into the room was an older woman, her once-blonde hair pinned up in a severe bob and her heels clacking loudly against the stone floor. Everything about her, from her upright posture and the way her eyes bored into Terzo to how the other Papas followed her obediently all screamed that she was to be respected, maybe even feared. It was at once abundantly clear to Dew that this was Sister Imperator, and he fully understood what Aether had meant when he said she was really the one in charge. As Aether had, Terzo also appeared to become instantly uncomfortable upon seeing her and Dew made a mental note to ask Aether about it later.

Finishing his round of incantations, Terzo returned to his lectern.

“Greetings, Sister.”

“Good morning, Papa,” her tone was saccharine-sweet, yet her words had an unmissable edge to them, “another summoning, and so soon! I'm glad you're getting on with things at last. Let's hope you don't mess this one up too, hmm?”

Dew bristled at that remark, and he felt Aether doing the same beside him. That was yet another thing to ask about later, he supposed. Despite its unpleasant roughness, Dew was glad of his cloak in that moment. It covered him and all of his traitorous elemental markings well, letting him blend into the shadows unnoticed.

Terzo made no comment, but it was clear he was as irked by the comment as his ghouls were. Examining a pocket watch, he cleared his throat to indicate he was ready to begin: demanding silence from those assembled. As was the case when he blessed Dew's mask to him, the first parts of his prayers were silent. His lips moving wordlessly, the air around them grew colder than ever and Dew tried not to shiver.

Slowly Terzo's prayers became audible, although they were in the ancient language Dew had only ever heard in the deepest parts of his realm in the Pit. Resonating with the weight of his words, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble and a low rumbling noise started to reverberate around the small room, echoing off the stone walls and intensifying into a suffocating din. Dew dared to raise his eyes from where they were fixed on the centre of the summoning circle and saw several of the retired Papas rubbing their hands together in glee: this was clearly a spectacle they were looking forward to seeing.

The rumbling increased as Terzo's voice continued to become progressively louder, until he was almost shouting to be heard over the roar in the chamber. With a final crack and a violent quake that nearly knocked Dew off his feet, a hole ripped open in the stone floor, right in the centre of the summoning circle. Dust swirled out of it, barely lit by the low candlelight, and slowly began to take shape. The form in the circle grew larger, its limbs elongating like sprouts in the springtime.

Eventually it became recognisable as a ghoul. A tail curled around their thigh and horns sprouted from their head. They were nothing like Dew had seen before; long and branching, dusted with moss and adding almost a foot to the height of the figure. It was clear the ghoul was tall as they slowly unfolded their long, muscular limbs and tried to stagger to their feet like a foal learning to walk. They cut an impressive figure and Dew couldn't help but stare, his mouth watering slightly.

His gaze was broken however by Sister Imperator, giving her nod of approval and sweeping out of the chamber before Terzo had even given Aether the go-ahead to pass the new ghoul a blanket. Her heels clacking on the floor, it was an implicit acknowledgement that Terzo had succeeded in her eyes this time, but that simply meeting her expectations was not deserving of any undue praise.

In his fully professional mode once again, Aether quietly stepped forward at Terzo’s signal with the summoning cloak. That didn't stop him from exchanging a glance, visible in the twinkling of his eyes through his mask, with Dew as the large earth ghoul gratefully tightened the fabric around them, its hem barely hitting in the middle of their toned thighs. Dew smirked back from beneath his own mask and hood; the Pit really had spat out a fine specimen of a ghoul. He didn't even have it in him to feel jealous, not when Aether had chosen to break his perfectly robotic image to share a hungry glance with him.

Dew hastily followed after the pair as they left the chamber, ahead of Terzo and the other ex-leaders of the church. It felt instantly warmer as soon as they were outside of the dark room, his eyes quickly adjusting to the light as they ascended the stairs. Following behind, he noted how much taller the new ghoul was, even compared to Aether. Much like he had seen of the quintessence ghoul so far, they had no visible soul mark, although Dew didn't think he had any clue what an earth soul mark would manifest as, nor a quintessence one for that matter.

Back in the well-lit corridors Dew was able to finally catch up and walk beside Aether, just as he asked the new summon his name.

"Mountain."

[portalfire87]

Hey there! So, you're an artist of some kind?

Writers and musicians get back here i'm talking about you too.

Today I wanted to share with my siblings in arts some advice that has helped me generally improve in art and I feel is often under appreciated in our communities, welcome to

Portal's unsolicited artist advice!

I hear a lot of advice that ranges amongst the lines of practice till your fingers bleed, and a phrase I personally LOATHE is "perfect practice makes perfect"

Don't get me wrong, discipline on your work is important and essential to improvement, but a lot of people parrot this under the impression that it means practice one single work religiously until you can do it blindfolded. That kind of laser focus doesn't make you better at your medium, it makes you an expert in your chosen SINGULAR work, and sure recreating the Mona Lisa from memory is an impressive party trick, but it doesn't mean squat if you cant paint a single flower from imagination.

So what's my advice?

DOODLE

CONSTANTLY DOODLE

WHATEVER YOUR ARTFORM IS, LEARN TO DOODLE IN IT.

I play the piano and write, and occasionally i pick up a pencil and sketch but I wouldn't call myself any kind of expert in drawing.

Every so often, outside of my practice sessions i'll sit down at my keyboard and simply play something.

It's usually not too thematically coherent, I jump between key signatures like a cricket and play trichords like they're fifths, but I PLAY, I get lost in the improvised melody, let myself melt onto the keys and surf on the rythm. It's no Beethoven but its absolutely music and thanks to years of letting myself doodle on the piano it usually sounds pretty good.

I try to write daily. Try to pour my soul into story or sonnet. My library of active and abandoned WIPs outclasses my finished works by an order of magnitude, yet I persist. My current main project is over a year old and still going. and I can only do that because I never let myself burn out on it; because I doodle. With me is always a notebook of messy couplets, random story beats and half cooked plot synopses. I can sit and punch out a thousand useable words in an hour without getting tired, not because I rehearsed the same plot a thousand times, but because I practice my literary doodles every time I get bored.

Paired with those drabbles is my ever growing collection of sketchy dogs, buildings, spaceships, and people I think look interesting. Again, I have the least experience with visual mediums, but a lifetime of doodling and a few fundamentals classes sprinkled here and there, and I feel confident sketching out ideas for projects and storyboarding my wips.

because doodling makes you WANT to study technique, and occasionally develop it from sheer experience

SO HEAD MY WORDS ARTISTS OF ALL STRIPES. IMPROVISE, SCRIBBLE, DOODLE, GET IT WRONG, BUT MAKE IT FUN. YOU ARE NOT PERFECT, YOU ARE HUMAN AND THAT'S BETTER. LET YOURSELF FLOW. LET ALL YOUR ART FLOW, BETTER OUT AND THRIVING THAN IN YOUR HEAD AND ROTTING.

BETTER OUT AND THRIVING THAN IN YOUR HEAD AND ROTTING.

BETTER OUT AND THRIVING THAN IN YOUR HEAD AND ROTTING!!!

[kkeidawrites]

The Return

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Chp. 4

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Carefully stepping into the tube like elevator, Y/n watches the grandfather clock come back down and encase her in, then she felt her body jerk downwards as the floor below her opened and she dropped into the slide below her. A scream leaves her lips as she slides down and closes her eyes at the quick air that assaulted her face.

In just a few seconds, she found herself on solid ground and finally opens her eyes to see the infamous Batcave that Jason excitedly explained to her.

“Woah.” She says as she walks down the metal bridge to take the personal tour of the hideout, taking in the many treasures, trophies, and vehicles that littered the cave.

She finds herself in front of the giant supercomputer and sits down in the chair. But before she had the chance to touch anything on the keyboard, the sound of crashing dinnerware makes her jump and look to her right. Alfred is standing there with a look of surprise and is quickly rushing to her side.

“Miss Y/n! How on earth did you know about this place? You shouldn’t be here!” He scolds her.

“I…I heard about this place and I found it by chance. What’s going on Alfred,” she stands up to the older gentleman who is rendered to pursing his lips.

“I came here to find out what happened to Jason and no one is telling me anything not you, not Dick, and especially not Bruce. I don’t care that he is Robin and Bruce is the Batman-“

“How did-“

“What is going on Alfred? I have been coming up here almost everyday to get an answer from someone here and every time I come no one doesn’t know anything. Why the secrecy, my parents are beginning to get the police involved.”

Alfred visibly swallowed at the mention of law enforcement and sighed.

“I just want to know if Jason is okay, my best friend has been gone for six months and no one can tell me why.” Y/n puts her hands together, practically begging the butler at this point.

“I’m begging you Alfred please tell me-“

Tires screeching in the distance is heard as the Batmobile comes to a halt in the parking area. The top of the car slides open and Y/n marches over to the car, knocking on the window hard.

“Bruce I know it’s you in there, you better tell me what the hell is going on with Jason or I’ll tell my parents to get Gotham PD involved-“

Donning his Batman costume, the hero climbs out of his car and wearily walks to the supercomputer. Y/n is hot on his trail, still asking him questions about Jason.

“Bruce, tell me!”

“Alfred, I found a tape…it’s from Joker.” Bruce says as he sits down at the supercomputer pulling off his cowl.

Alfred and Y/n eyes widened, the Joker, the maniacal clown freak who is running around Gotham causing hell. Did he have Jason?

“Does he have Jason? Where is he?” Y/n asks.

Bruce turns to the supercomputer and pulls out the tape from his utility belt, it was covered in Joker’s paraphernalia and a giant red J was written on the back.

Bruce pushes the vhs tape into the supercomputer and presses a button to show the proper input of the tape.

The screen automatically shifts onto the sadistic smile of the Joker himself, waving at the camera. As it began, the torture of Jason Todd had played out for the three, all speechless of what was playing for them.

“Miss. Y/n I believe it’s best that you don’t watch this-“ Alfred tried to speak up, his own voice wavering as the tape played.

Y/n watches helplessly as she watched her best friend be physically, mentally, and emotionally tortured, his screams were haunting and every time he would constantly lose consciousness no doubt from the unimaginable pain he was suffering, Y/n was scared each time that he wouldn’t wake up.

Y/n felt tears run down her cheeks as she continued watching, she couldn’t help but feel so helpless and didn’t realize that she had fallen to her knees in despair.

“Bruce…? Bruce is that you? Help me!” His cries for his foster father were desperate and helpless and Y/n looked at the billionaire. Bruce himself was in tears, his hands balled into fists as he shakes, was it anger, horror, or fear? She couldn’t tell.

“Bruce!”

This was all his fault.

“Bruce please!”

He did this. He brought him into this crime world.

“He’s going to kill me Bruce, please!”

The Batman failed him.

“Bruce!”

Bruce Wayne failed him.

“Bruce, please help me! BRUCE!” Jason’s recorded voice continued yelling out for Bruce.

A shot was fired into his chest by the Joker and the maniacal laugh that everyone in Gotham was haunted by was heard and then the tape was cut, a blue screen now showing on the supercomputer.

Y/n didn’t know what had happened next because all she heard was a snap inside of her ear and found herself on top of Bruce, knocking him out of his chair and throwing haymakers on his face.

“Miss Y/n!” Alfred yelled out coming over quickly to help his master.

“You bastard! I’LL KILL YOU!” Y/n tears at his costume, punching and elbowing him everywhere on his body. Getting one more hit in, Alfred is finally able to pry off Y/n from the older man.

“You son of a bitch, it’s all your fault! I hate you! I hate you!” Y/n wails as she falls back into the arms of Alfred.

“You brought him into this world of crime! You DID THIS!!” She kicked furiously in her hold.

“He called out for you and you didn’t come, you didn’t find him! I swear once I get out of this hold, I’m back on your ass! I’ll fucking kill you! Just you wait, you bastard!” Y/n tries to move her arms out of Alfred’s unbelievable strength holding her back.

Bruce slowly gets back up and runs away the blood that had dribbled down the side of his lip.

“Alfred,” Bruce’s hoarse voice brings the butler’s attention back to him.

He could feel his right eye begin to swell up and an ache in the right side ribs.

“Please take Y/n home, I’m going to stay here and…I don’t know.” He said.

Y/n was still ranting about as Alfred struggled to carry her out of the Batcave.

Batman pulls himself back into his chair and places his hands over his face, crying into his gloved hands and wailing in despair.

For once in his career, Batman no, Bruce Wayne…was out of options.

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Enjoy another chapter!

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