#anyway here enjoy something that made me incredibly sad

[vrystalius]

Cuddle bug? Cuddle bear.

Gyomei thought he’d prefer holding you in his arms, but it seems like it’s the opposite.

Pairing: Gyomei x gn!reader

Gyomei always leaves right before you go to bed. You invite him to stay and offer to let him sleep together with you in bed, but he always declines. You two have been dating for almost 3 years and the stone hashira continued to visit you almost every day now, it wouldn’t be weird to ask him to cuddle with you through the night, right? At first you thought that was the reason he didn’t want to stay the night. The second reason you thought he might not want to stay is that Gyomei fears that you want to sleep with him. You’re not 100% sure how he feels about that topic, but since he’s a religious monk, you’d think he’d rather not do it with you. You decided to ask him himself on why he didn’t want to stay the night…

“I’m afraid I might be too large for your bed. Too tall and heavy, beloved.”

Oh. Oh! You almost wanted to giggle a little. You thought it might’ve been because of you or whatever else reason, but that should’t be a problem. Tears were running down his face while you explained to him that your bed frame is incredibly sturdy and your bed itself large enough to host both of you. It didn’t take much to convince him to finally share the bed with you for the first time. Gyomei removed his yukata and unbuttoned his uniform, but keeping his pants on for comfort purposes. He was hesitant putting all his weight down onto your bed at first, but carefully came closer and closer to your body. A smile started spreading on your face as his muscular arms slowly wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer carefully.

“May I…?”

His voice was hushed and even deeper. You could feel the rumbles in his chest while he was talking. You hummed in approval to his question. That cue made Gyomei pull you right up against his warm body, making you nuzzle your face against his chest. You sighed contently and wrapped your arms around his chest, your hand lazily traced his back muscles. He sighed deeply and buried his head in your neck. You slowly shifted positions, your collarbone and chest against him while your legs wrap around his waist. Your hand moved from his muscles up to the back of his head, running your fingers through his short hair. Gyomei closed his eyes. You felt his whole body relax against you, him now being nothing but an oversized teddy bear. You grinned and leaned down, softly pressing your lips against his forehead. Silent tears ran down his face, but not in sorrow. A soft smile grazed his face as his arms wrapped around you tighter.

“I regret not accepting your offer before. I apologise, my beloved.”

“I’m glad you did now, ‘mei.”

You cupped his cheek and tilted his face, your lips finally meeting his. Gyomei hummed approvingly, his palms kneading your soft skin beneath them. The smile on his face grew after pulling away from you. He nuzzled his face back into your neck and placed featherlight kisses there before closing his eyes. Your fingers continued to work their way through his hair while he let himself get pampered by you.

Gyomei is only completely at peace when in your arms, he notes.

🎃

Fictober prompt: “Let’s try this”

I’m sorry if this was too short, but I hoped you enjoyed it anyway! @los-huesitos asked me to tag them in future Gyomei works I post but for some reason the tag isn’t working. I hope you see this anyway!! I noticed how… sad.. my masterlist for Gyomei is, so I wanted to write a little something for him today.

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough <3

Take care of yourselves!

Here’s my event masterlist 🎃

[onlymingyus]

Guilty

pairing; kwon soonyoung x f reader / lee jihoon x f reader

genre; smut (minors dni), angst, toxic, fluff

summary; you and soonyoung learn that the storm can only be weathered for so long before you need a lift raft to hold on to. but what happens when neither of you reach for each other in that storm?

warnings; cheating, toxic relationship dynamics, car accident, injuries, hospital, arguing, eating/drinking, pet names, crying (from pleasure and sadness), unprotected sex, oral (m & f receiving/giving), fingering, marking/biting, impact, dom!jihoon, dirty talk, less than ideal sexual experiences, i mean...there is just a lot -- i probably missed something.

w/c; 23.6k 

a/n; thank you so so much to my @onlyhuis for proofreading and being my rock while i wrote this bitch. this one was out of my comfort zone but i really wanted to try to dive into angst and something a bit more toxic with my plot. i hope you enjoy it.

before continuing remember reblogs are incredibly important and please read how to support me here

3 missed calls from Soonyoung❣️

Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you sigh at the notification on your lock screen, thinking about the number of times you had tried to call him the day before only to get his voicemail. You think about the number of text messages that you have sent as you unlock your screen, looking at the four messages waiting for you. 

When Soonyoung told you about his job opportunity, you were excited for him. Dancing was his life and his biggest passion, with teaching coming in as a close second. The main drawback of the job offer was that he would be gone for a year and be in another country. 

Promises had been made to one another in an attempt to make the distance easier. You both promised to visit when you could and to keep in touch every single day. Things were easier said than done, it would seem. 

Soonyoung ❣️: I got in late. 

Soonyoung ❣️: I know you are going to be mad at me. 

Soonyoung ❣️: Call me when you wake up

Soonyoung ❣️: Love you 

You sigh, laying your phone down next to you after reading over the messages. Lately, they were all starting to look the same. There was always a “I got in late” message waiting for you and a “call me when you wake up" message waiting for you after a day of trying to keep in touch on your part. You knew he was working hard, but so were you. 

Sliding out of bed, your phone in tow, you leave it on the counter as you turn on the shower, letting the bathroom fill up with steam. It wasn’t like Soonyoung would know the exact moment you woke up anyway. He barely remembered the local time anymore, much less your schedule. He had made you wait. Now he could wait. 

Soonyoung knew he should be asleep. He had to wake up early to get to the studio but he was staring at his phone and hoping you would call him. He had checked the time back home at least five times and it was a Tuesday, which meant you had to get ready for work soon. 

Sighing loudly, Soonyoung scrolls back through the text messages that he had missed from you throughout the day. He hadn’t meant to ignore you; he never did. Time wasn’t his greatest ally lately and long days had turned into even longer nights. 

Y/N 😘: Hope you are having a good day babe 

Y/N 😘: Missing you 

Y/N 😘: Hope class has gone well. You are amazing ❣️

Y/N 😘: I’m going to bed 

Y/N 😘: Hope I get to talk to you tomorrow. I love you 

Kicking his legs out from under the covers, Soonyoung knocks his head back against the headboard. He groans under his breath as he gives in to his impatience, pressing down on your name and placing the phone up to his ear to listen to it ring. One ring, two rings, a third, and then your sweet voice tells him that you can’t come to the phone. Were you ignoring him? 

The sound of your ringtone makes you furrow your brows, your eyes closed, as water runs down your face towards your lips. You were almost done with your shower but you were almost certain you weren’t hearing things, especially when your phone rings for a second time. Wiping the water from your face, you rush to get out of the shower, wrapping a towel around you, just as the second call from Soonyoung goes unanswered. 

He had begun to turn over, a scowl on his face, when his phone lit up with a picture of your face. Staring at his phone for a few seconds, Soonyoung presses his tongue against his cheek before finally answering. 

“Hello?”

You could hear the disappointment in Soonyoung’s voice and for a split second, you felt a pang of guilt. You forget about the number of calls that went unanswered the day before as you lean against the counter with a frown on your face. 

“Hey, sorry, I was in the shower.” 

Shrugging, Soonyoung also seems to forget how bad he felt about missing your calls and not responding to your text until late. Instead, he just thinks about himself and what he is feeling at the moment: frustration. 

“Yeah, well, I asked for you to call me when you woke up, but I guess you didn’t check your phone.”  

Looking down as water drips onto the tile, you feel Soonyoung’s words eat at your heart until you remember waking up and seeing your own messages from the day before. You remember listening to his voicemail time and time again, as you hoped he would pick up the phone even for a moment to say something to you. 

“I did check it.” 

Furrowing his brows, Soonyoung is taken aback by your sudden shift in attitude towards him. He had expected an apology and maybe your sweet, comforting voice to lull him to sleep but clearly that wasn’t happening. 

“Oh? So you chose to ignore my messages and calls?” 

“Like you chose to ignore mine, Soonyoung? Seriously…” 

Your voice trails off as tears begin to well up in your eyes. There had been too many days recently that had started much like this one. You wanted to talk to your boyfriend and tell him how much you missed him, how much you loved him, and how proud of him you were that he was living his dream, but instead the two of you ended up in an argument. 

Swallowing hard, Soonyoung closes his eyes as he sits up in his bed, running his fingers through his hair and listening to the sounds of your breath through the phone. He could tell you were crying. He had heard it enough times over the phone at this point to know exactly what it sounded like. 

Now he was remembering seeing his phone light up throughout the day and checking it to see another missed call or text message from you. He remembered promising himself to call you back on the next break, only to get into a conversation with someone and lose track of time. 

Shaking his head, Soonyoung hears a soft sob over the phone as he looks out of his window at the dark skyline of the city, knowing the sun was still rising where you were. He would give anything to be there with you now, to be able to hold you and to make this better but instead he was on the other side of the world and it felt like he might as well be on another planet. 

“I’m sorry, baby. I–look, I don’t know what is wrong with me. It was a long day and when you didn’t answer my brain, just–” Shaking his head, Soonyoung stops to take a breath, deciding to stop giving you excuses. “I’m so fucking sorry. I love you so much.” 

This was the part when you would normally fold and tell him how much you loved him and forgive him. You always forgave Soonyoung because he was working so hard and you knew it was important but you were starting to feel like you were less important. Wiping your cheek with your free hand, you shake your head and bite at your bottom lip as Soonyoung whines your name when you don’t speak to him right away. 

“I have to get ready for work. I love you too. I hope you get some sleep.” 

Closing his eyes, Soonyoung lets out a breath, feeling his heart sink at your words. You hadn’t accepted his apology and you hadn’t wanted to hear his excuses. You just wanted off the phone, and at this point, he couldn’t blame you. 

“I–yeah, sure. Have a good day, babe.” 

The sound of the call ending before you even say goodbye is what stuns Soonyoung the most. Dropping the phone into his lap, he stares at it for a moment, your picture looking at him from his lockscreen before the display goes dark. 

Jihoon: Pizza?

You hadn’t been home long when the sound of a text message drew your attention to your phone. In truth, you had been avoiding your phone for most of the afternoon, knowing that Soonyoung was awake and at work. He had already been trying to make up for the day before by overcompensating and there was only so much that you could handle. 

Seeing the text message from his best friend, however, was a welcomed change. You knew there was a reason behind it. When you hadn’t answered him, Soonyoung had probably called Jihoon and begged him to check in on you, like he had started to do more often, but you didn’t mind it. 

Y/N: Only if you bring ice cream too. 

Jihoon smirks a bit to himself after seeing your response. He knew you would agree to dinner and he had a good idea that you’d want ice cream after the conversation he had had with Soonyoung about an hour prior. He knew that you two had gotten into an argument. That had started to become a routine and now this was becoming his; dinner and a dessert for you. 

You had always gotten along with your boyfriend’s best friend but since Soonyoung had taken the job and been gone for so long, Jihoon had become a rock in your life. You had become increasingly grateful to him, even if it was Soonyoung’s idea that he kept showing up with food and to be a shoulder to cry on. 

Offering you a half smile, Jihoon lifts the bag with the ice cream with one hand as he holds the pizza box with the other when you open the door. Your smile causes him to take a breath and for his smile to become a full one when you take the bag from him, ushering him inside. 

While Jihoon was happy to do this for you and Soonyoung, there was a part of him that found this more difficult every time. He was starting to love seeing that look on your face when you saw him—the way he could make your face light back up. 

“Come in. Sorry…the place is a wreck and I already changed into my pajamas. I literally can’t find a fuck to give today.” 

Moving into your place with you, Jihoon’s eyes move over your back and down your legs, just under your shorts, before he pulls them away out of respect with a sharp breath. Shaking his head, he looks around with a shrug before setting down the pizza on the coffee table as you move into the kitchen to put the ice cream in the freezer. 

“Your place looks lived in, Y/N, and you look fine. Making me wish I was in my pajamas, or that I looked half as good in mine.” 

Closing the door to your freezer, you pause at Jihoon’s compliment, feeling your cheeks starting to heat up. You didn’t mind it—the feeling of someone telling you that you looked good. It had been so long since Soonyoung had been home that you forgot what it was like to have someone compliment you like that, even if it was something so innocent. 

Jihoon curses himself under his breath, sitting down on your couch, at his forwardness. He never wanted to really cross a line. He knew who you were and he knew who he was; just lately, it was getting harder to really remember it. 

“Thanks, Jihoon, I’m sure you look very cute in your pajamas. Ya know, for the record.” 

You smile at Jihoon and he has to look down at his hands as he chuckles, trying to play off your words as if they don’t have any effect on him. He knew you weren’t actually flirting with him; that was a ridiculous passing thought in his mind, but god, sometimes he wished you weren’t Soonyoung’s. The moment the thought even comes to him, Jihoon clenches his fists and then stretches out his fingers to distract himself from it. 

“Mm, how was your day?” Swallowing hard, Jihoon glances up at you as he opens the top of the pizza box, gesturing towards it as you move around to sit next to him, closer than you had on other nights. “Eat. Don't let it get cold.” 

Taking a slice of the pizza, you pout at it before taking a small bite, letting the warmth of food and good company wash over you. You had heard Jihoon’s question, but it was a loaded one. Sighing, you furrow your brows as Jihoon swallows his own bite of pizza, glancing over at you with a concerned look on his face. 

“It was a bad one, Jihoon. I know that wasn’t really your question, but I’m not stupid. I know he called you and asked you to come over.” 

You shake your head and put your pizza back into the box. Jihoon frowns and does the same, watching pensively as you wipe your fingers on the end of your nightshirt, unwilling to put effort into getting up to get a napkin.

“I–well yeah, he did, but I wanted to bring you some dinner. We could talk about it, you know if you want to.” 

Jihoon watches as you furrow your brows and lean back on the couch, pulling your legs up under you. It hadn’t been his intention to upset you or bring up the argument; he had wanted to help distract you, but maybe you did need to get through this before you could move on with your night. 

Glancing at your phone as it lights up again with another text message from Soonyoung, you shrug hearing Jihoon’s phone go off a moment later. 

“It’s just really funny to me that he can ignore me all day and then act like I am supposed to be at his beck and call.” You swallow back your tears as you look down at your hands, pushing the ring on your index finger around so that the stone is facing your palm. “I love him, Jihoon, but right now I can’t stand him. I feel like I don’t know who he is anymore. I don’t know the person I talked to this morning.” 

Jihoon fights the urge to look at his phone, feeling it go off again in his jacket pocket. Instead,  he listens to you intently as he sees the tears rising in your eyes. His eyes fall to the ring on your finger and he remembers helping Soonyoung pick it out before he left for Tokyo and how he had suggested the cut of the stone. 

Swallowing hard, Jihoon shifts on the couch to face you. He keeps his hands to himself, trying to be as respectful as possible, although all he wants to do is offer you more comfort when he sees the first tear trail down your cheek. 

“Look, I could go the best friend route and give you the excuses but I’m not going to do it. I know he’s busy but I’m also not there.” Meeting your eyes, Jihoon tightens his hand on his knee, listening to you sniffle back your tears as he tilts his head. “I know he cares about you, he told me today. If I could make this better, Y/N, I would.” 

Those weren’t the exact words that Jihoon had meant to use, but those were the words that had come out of his mouth. They weren’t a lie, because if there was a way that he could make it better for you, he would. If there was a way that Jihoon could make you happy, he would. Seeing you cry and upset was breaking his heart in ways that he couldn’t even explain or justify. 

You can’t help but let out an unamused laugh under your breath at Jihoon's words. not for everything, because you knew he was trying to help, but you couldn't help but be cynical about the whole situation. Fingers wrapping around yours as tears drip from your cheeks is what breaks you and you finally meet Jihoon’s eyes once again. 

“Nothing can make this better. I’m completely alone.” 

Holding your hand tighter, Jihoon sighs, sliding even closer to you before lifting your hand to show yours in his as he shakes his head. 

“You aren’t. I’m right here.” 

Your eyes slowly move over his fingers, delicately holding yours, and more tears fall from your eyes as you try to work through how it makes you feel. It’s overwhelming to have someone right beside you, their skin against yours, their eyes on you. The feeling makes you want more and you feel selfish but it’s a moment of weakness. 

Sliding on the couch, you move against Jihoon so that your cheek ends up against his chest. A surprised breath escapes from his lips before he finally moves to wrap his arms around you, holding you to him like you want him to. He can feel the tears starting to soak through his shirt but he can’t seem to find a reason to care as your fingers cling to his jacket and you sob quietly. 

Jihoon had hugged you before, but this was more than a hug. This was almost intimate as the moments passed and you started to calm down, only to stay in his arms even as he shifted to lay down on the couch, letting you rest on top of him. 

Lifting a shaky hand, Jihoon carefully ran it over your head, listening to you whine softly and he wondered if you had fallen asleep. He knew he had overstayed his welcome and he knew he should leave but that would mean he would have to tell you to move and that would mean he wouldn’t have you in his arms. He was selfish. What would Soonyoung do if he walked in the door right now? 

Pushing the thought of his best friend from his mind, Jihoon closes his eyes when you shift against him and you mutter his name, wrapping your fingers around his shirt and holding him to you. Your lips smack cutely and a soft snore tells Jihoon that you have in fact fallen asleep. Any plan to wake you at that point leaves him with the sound of his name on your tired lips. 

By the time you wake up Jihoon is gone and you have been placed in your bed. Furrowing your brows, you look around your dark room, confused, before glancing towards your nightstand to see where your phone is plugged up. He had done so much while you slept and not even woke you to say goodbye. 

Picking up your phone, you wince at the brightness of the screen, only to frown at the number of missed calls and text messages from Soonyoung. You were starting to feel bad for ignoring him the entire day and it didn’t help that you were missing his voice. You start to click on his name to read over the messages when two from Jihoon make you pause and check them first. 

Jihoon: I hope you don’t get upset that I put you in your bed. The couch is comfortable but your bed looked better

Jihoon: I’m sorry if I overstepped tonight. Just can’t let you cry like that

Furrowing your brows, you swallow hard, thinking back to how it felt to be held and how safe you felt— even for just a little while. 

Y/N: You don’t have anything to apologize for. Thank you for dealing with my bullshit. Sleep well, Hoonie

You wait for a moment, hoping that Jihoon will write you back, but it was asking a lot for him to be awake at 1:26 am. Soonyoung, on the other hand, would be well into his work day. Scrolling over to the clock you have set for his timezone, you let out a slow exhale, reading 5:26 pm, before checking your messages from him. 

Soonyoung ❣️: I love you so much

Soonyoung ❣️: Please don’t ignore me

Soonyoung ❣️: I’m going to work but I’ll keep my phone ringer on

Soonyoung ❣️: Could you please answer your phone

Soonyoung ❣️: Don’t you think this is a little childish?

Soonyoung ❣️: I’m sorry. Did Jihoon bring over some food?

Soonyoung ❣️: I’m assuming you fell asleep. Really fucking wish you would have talked to me today. Don’t really think I deserved the silent treatment. It hurts, Y/N…

His messages had ranged from hurt to angry and everything in between, and now you were feeling the same as tears gathered in your eyes once again. Two of his messages, in particular, sticking out and making your heart tighten to the point where your stomach felt queasy. ‘Don’t you think this is a little childish?’ and ‘It hurts, Y/N…’ He had no idea how much it hurt you. 

Wiping your cheeks, you tap his name on your phone with more force than is necessary, putting it to your ear as you pull your knees towards your stomach. It only takes two rings before Soonyoung picks up, sounding out of breath. 

“Hello?” 

In truth, Soonyoung had started to give up hope that you were going to call him but he hadn’t lied when he told you that he kept his ringer on. Hearing it ring, he had immediately sent everyone on a five minute break and answered you, leaning over to rest his free hand on his thigh, trying to catch his breath. 

“Hi.” 

He had hoped for more than that but he’d take what he could get right now. Your voice brings a smile to his face as Soonyoung reaches for his water bottle, taking a sip. Sliding down the mirrored wall, he leans his head back against it and sighs into the phone, finally feeling a bit less stressed. 

“I’m glad you called, babe. I can’t stay on the phone long, but I’d like to —” 

“It’s whatever…” 

Taking a deep breath at your interruption, Soonyoung closes his eyes because he can hear the tears in your voice. 

“I mean, no, it’s not. If you’d let me finish? Fuck, Y/N… First, you ignored me all damn day and now I can’t —” 

Biting his bottom lip, Soonyoung stops himself hearing you take a sharp breath. He had started to go off on you but he knew it was because he was wound up. Yes he was upset at you but now wasn’t the time to fight. 

“Baby…I was going to say that even though I can’t talk long right now, I’d like to talk soon. I wanna really talk. Maybe we could facetime? I wanna see your pretty face.” 

Soonyoung was giving you whiplash and it was almost too much to handle. You loved him so much but it was hard to go from one extreme to another with no way to touch him or to have his arms around you. 

“I’m just really tired, Soonie. Can I just go to bed?” 

You weren’t lying. You were exhausted mentally, emotionally, and physically. His words were like rocks being added to a growing pile in your arms, pushing you deeper and deeper into a pit that you weren’t sure how to climb out of. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Soonyoung knocks his head back against the mirror at your request while you also leave his question up in the air. He wasn’t sure how late it was for you but he had to assume it was late and he could hear the exhaustion and emotion in your voice. 

“Yeah…course, babe. I love you.” 

Looking out into your moonlit room, you find yourself staring at the picture of you and Soonyoung on your dresser with little to no emotion as you speak before hanging up your phone. 

“Love you too, bye.” 

Soonyoung had heard you say that you loved him hundreds, possibly thousands, of times over the span of your relationship and he had never heard it sound like that. He had never heard it said in such a way that it almost broke his heart. Letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, Soonyoung looks up when the pretty girl speaks to him again, a concerned look on her face. 

“You ok, Soonyoung?” 

Nodding, he puts on a smile and moves to his feet, causing her to take a step back to watch him as he puts his phone on silent. 

“Course I am, Aimi. Once everyone is back, we can run it from the chorus again.” 

Aimi grins at Soonyoung and his smile becomes genuine as he watches her take a step backwards on the wood floor. 

“‘Kay…hey, you wanna get drinks later?” 

When Soonyoung looks confused, Aimi laughs and lifts her hands, biting at her pretty lips that he can’t help but look at. 

“With me and a few of the dance team, of course.” 

Shrugging, Soonyoung glances down at his phone, tossing it up in the air and catching it before putting it on the table next to his water bottle. What could it hurt? Drinks with a few of his students, especially when the view would be nice for just a little while. Offering Aimi a grin, Sonyoung nods before leaning to pick up a towel and putting it around his neck as he watches him carefully, her eyes carefully moving over his exposed arms before moving back to his face. 

“Sure, sounds like fun.” 

“She just doesn’t answer my calls much anymore. I dunno what the fuck I’m supposed to do, man.” 

Soonyoung sighs, using his shoulder to keep his phone against his ear as he pulls his jacket from the closet, causing the unused hangers to clang together. On the other side of the phone, Jihoon leans back in his chair, rocking his head side to side to move his blond bangs out of his eyes. He lets out a breath as he pushes his mouse across his computer screen and dragging levels up and down in the music editing program by eye and muscle memory. 

“I don’t know. It’s not my place to —” 

“Couldn’t you just... I dunno, talk to her? Get her to listen to reason? You are so good at that.” 

Leaning his head back, Jihoon rolls his eyes as he pushes the mouse away from him out of annoyance. This wasn’t his job and he didn’t want to lie to you or tell you that it would all get better when clearly there was something going on that he couldn’t fix. 

“I’m not a fucking relationship therapist, Soonyoung.” 

Swallowing hard, Soonyoung stops just outside of his temporary apartment, hearing the anger in Jihoon’s voice. That hadn’t been the intention; he just wanted someone at bat for him, someone at home, to be in his corner for once. 

“I’m sorry, man... I’m not saying that. You’ve been nothing but helpful. You know, taking Y/N meals and watching out for her... I really appreciate it.” 

All of the things that Soonyoung was bringing up were things that Jihoon was happy to do for you. Maybe at first they were a little tedious but as time had gone by, days had turned to weeks, and weeks now to months—they were part of his life as much as you were. 

“It’s fine. Uh… Look, okay? I’ll try to talk to Y/N and see if I can get her to give you a call when I take her something to eat tonight.” 

The sounds of traffic make Soonyoung wonder if he had heard Jihoon wrong but he knew he hadn’t. Rubbing his lips together, Soonyoung nods as he furrows his brows, a bit of strain evident in his voice. 

“You’re gonna take her something to eat again tonight? Is that like, a common thing now? I just—yeah, I dunno, I figured it was every once in a while.” 

Shifting in his chair, Jihoon feels the apprehension in Soonyoung’s words. He knew that he should feel bad for how often he was spending time at your place but after holding you as you cried yourself to sleep, Jihoon couldn’t. 

“It’s pretty often. She’s lonely, Soonyoung. You are on the other side of the world. You’re the one who asked me to do it in the first place.” 

Soonyoung could feel the way his stomach was twisting with jealousy and something else he couldn’t quite name. Jihoon wasn’t wrong; he had asked him to do it, but he didn’t think he would be spending so many evenings hanging out with his girlfriend. He also didn’t really need his best friend to remind him of the distance between him and his girlfriend. The distance was very apparent and it was eating him alive. 

“Yeah, I know I did. I don’t need you to tell me how lonely she is. I’m fucking lonely too.” With his feet hitting the steps to the studio hard as he pouts into his words, “I wish I was at home. I wish I had never fuckin’ taken this job.” 

Running his fingers over his hair, Jihoon can’t help the way Soonyoung’s words hit him and made him feel bad for a split second. He couldn’t really understand the pain that his friend was feeling but it was obvious that he was suffering. Being with you almost every day, Jihoon saw your pain but today was the first time he had really heard Soonyoung’s, and even so, it didn’t make up for your tears. 

“Then maybe you should fucking tell her that.” 

You were pouting into your pint of ice cream as Jihoon watched you, finishing the last of his pasta. He had already tried to give you the “but Soonyoung just wants to talk to you; maybe you should call him tonight” talk and now you were being quiet. It wasn’t like you hadn’t sent Soonyoung texts throughout the day; you just hadn’t answered his phone calls or made any special effort to call him like you normally would. 

“The ice cream was meant to cheer you up.” 

Lifting your eyes to Jihoon, you stab your spoon into your softening ice cream, making him wince at the sudden action. Clearly, you were upset at him, though he wasn’t sure that was entirely fair. He had just done what Soonyoung had asked of him and now it was biting him in the ass. 

Sighing, Jihoon puts his plate down on the coffee table before leaning forward to lift his hands as if to say he is surrendering. This wasn’t how he wanted to spend the evening with you. He enjoyed the evenings when the two of you would sit close on the couch. You’d turn on one of your silly trash reality shows and he’d let you try to explain who was fucking who and who was cheating on who. In reality, he was just enjoying your company—more than he should. 

“I’m sorry. I promised Soonyoung that I would try to put in a good word for him, but I can’t stand the idea that you might spoon me to death like your ice cream.” 

You wanted to stay mad at Jihoon, but he made it difficult. You had started to trust him not to just take Soonyoung’s side because he was asked to but clearly everyone had their limit. It was already asking a lot of Jihoon to keep you company like he was, so adding ‘taking your side in the arguments’ was asking maybe too much. 

“I don’t wanna talk to him right now, Jihoon. He has said something to me that I never thought—” Shaking your head, you pull your spoon free from your ice cream with a bit of a sad laugh. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not your fault. You’ve kept me sane.” 

Your words go right to Jihoon’s heart, causing him to have to look away in fear of how he might react. That was a big role to take in your life and he knew that when it came to you, he was taking it seriously. Jihoon knew he should feel bad for how he started to feel about you but as long as he kept those feelings to himself, they wouldn’t matter. 

“Uh—well I… You shouldn’t have to go through all this shit alone. I got tired of seeing you so lonely.” 

Furrowing your brows, you watch Jihoon speak and how he looks down at his hands. You had known him for a long time, but over the past few months, you had gotten to know him almost as well as you knew Soonyoung. There were tells in his mannerisms and it was almost like playing poker with him. You could tell when he wasn’t telling you everything. 

“I am lonely, Hoonie. You have helped me through a lot.” Sighing, you lean towards the coffee table to put your ice cream down before looking back over to Jihoon to meet his cautious eyes. “The food is nice but just having you here has been the best. Like last night, I really needed that.” 

You watch as Jihoon lifts his hand to run his fingers over his hair with a long sigh. Something was on his mind but he just wasn’t saying it. Tilting your head, you scoot closer to him and Jihoon laughs under his breath before you hear what sounds like a curse. Did he not want you to be close to him anymore? 

“I–I’m happy to help, Y/N. Last night, you said I didn’t overstep, but — fuck…” 

Meeting your eyes, Jihoon’s words die on his tongue. He knows he can’t disappoint you. Not when you look so sad and vulnerable. Not when you are so fucking pretty and looking at him like he is a buoy in the middle of a vast ocean. You let out a soft whine and Jihoon’s eyes fell to your lips just once before he winced and leaned forward to brush his against yours, not wanting you to feel so alone. 

At first, you freeze when you feel Jihoon’s lips against yours. Your brain misfires because you know it’s not Soonyoung and you know that you should push Jihoon away but then you relax. You sigh into the kiss and return it, letting Jihoon’s tongue slide along your bottom lip. 

You arch against his body when you feel Jihoon’s hand grasp your waist as you lean your head into his hand as he cups your cheek with his other hand. Your tongue glides along his and you moan softly into his mouth before finally Jihoon pulls away with one last peck on your lips. 

With his eyes closed tightly, Jihoon rests his forehead against yours, cursing himself silently. If he had thought he had overstepped the night before, now he had looked at the line and flipped it off. His hand trembles against your side and Jihoon sits back, looking up at the ceiling as you look at him coming out of your haze. 

“Jihoon…I—” 

“It was me. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” 

Jihoon starts to pull away from you and you feel your stomach twist in panic so quickly that you grab his shirt to stop him. When your eyes meet, Jihoon looks at you confusedly, but you just shake your head and bite at your lips, trying to think quickly. 

“But I…I liked it.” 

2:30 am 

Jihoon groaned, looking at his lock screen again, before putting his phone face down on his bed. He had been staring at his ceiling for hours at this point, thoughts racing through his mind. All he could see was you looking at him with that sweet look on your face as he kissed you again. 

“Fuck!” 

There was so much that was fucked up about the situation. He had gone over to your house to talk you into calling Soonyoung. Instead, he had ended up making out with you on your couch before kissing you goodnight at your front door. 

Now he was the one avoiding Soonyoung’s text messages. He didn’t know what he was going to say to him. 'Hey, yeah, talked to her. Kissed her and then kissed her again. You’re cool with that, right?’ He was sure that would go over well. 

Closing his eyes, Jihoon runs his hand over his face before resting it on his bare chest as he tries to calm himself down but once again his thoughts land on you. He thinks about your fingers clinging to his shirt and how you sounded moaning into his mouth. He thinks about how sweet you would sound if he were between your—

Arching his hips off the bed, Jihoon groans at his own thoughts, trying to stop them but the damage is done. He had willed himself not to get hard while he was at your place but now he could feel his cock stiffening against his thigh under his shorts. This was pathetic; he was pathetic. All it took was thinking about how you’d sound if he were between your legs and he was hard and starting to leak. 

Jihoon knew he could ignore his problem and eventually it would go away but it would take a while and he was already struggling to go to sleep. Smacking his hand against the bed, Jihoon lifts his hips, pushing his shorts down, before kicking them off under the sheet, letting his now throbbing cock rest back towards his abdomen. 

Sighing in annoyance, he rubs his palm in a circle over his head to collect some of his pre-cum causing himself to hiss and buck his hips. Jihoon hated that his first thought as he wrapped his hand around his shaft, stroking himself from base to tip, was your hand in place of his. It was so fucking wrong of him to think about you like this while he was doing this, but it was doing the trick. 

Muttering your name under his breath into a groan, Jihoon picks up speed with his hand as he lifts his hips towards his fist, fucking into it with even strokes. It felt good but it was nothing compared to what he imagined your pussy must feel like. 

Soonyoung wasn’t a shy person. He was a jealous person, but that only made him brag more and that meant that he would overshare. Jihoon was thinking about that now as he squeezed his cock under his head, remembering how Soonyoung told him that your pussy was the tightest he had ever had and how you got so wet that he had to lay down towels and use his tongue to clean you up. 

Warm, sticky cum hits Jihoon’s stomach and runs down his fingers as he groans out your name one more time before pushing his head back against his pillow. He was out of breath, his heart racing, and you were still running laps in his head as he thought about you licking him clean.

With one last stroke and whimpering groan, Jihoon knows he has nothing else to give. Fingers unwrap from his softening cock as he takes steady breaths, feeling sleep trying to take over him, for him to now fight it, knowing he has to get cleaned up. 

He hated himself for what he had just done, but god if it didn’t feel worth it for how hard that he had cum and how well he would sleep. 

“Of course I would be excited to see you, Soonyoung…” 

You sigh into your words as you lean your head against your driver’s side window. You had a headache; it had been a long day at work and all you wanted to do was get out of traffic and get home. You didn’t really want to be on the phone with Soonyoung as he made empty promises but that is where you found yourself; listening to empty promises and stuck in a traffic jam. 

“I think I can make it happen in a couple weeks, maybe three.” 

The ever changing Soonyoung timeline. Shaking your head, you hold your phone with one hand and the steering wheel with the other as traffic starts to move in front of you. 

“Sure…” 

“I’m serious, Y/N! Why don’t you ever believe me? I feel like I’m the only one trying to make this work anymore.” 

Frowning, you start to speak, feeling emotion rising in your chest, when suddenly you are launched forward and pain spreads through your chest. Soonyoung waits to hear you speak but instead he hears the sound of your surprised yelp and then the sound of car horns. 

“Baby?” When you don’t answer him at first, Soonyoung paces in front of the mirrored wall, running his fingers through his hair. “Y/N? Talk to me, baby!” 

Muffled voices and a ringing in your ears are all you can hear as you try to shake your head to push away the foggy feeling. Someone takes your arm as you try to move and you hear a man tell you that you shouldn’t move until someone makes sure you are okay first. 

“What happened?” 

You can hear yourself better than you can hear the man, until finally your ears seem to pop just as your vision starts to clear and you see your airbag against your chest. 

“Car came up too fast behind you and knocked the hell out of you. I was in front of you.” 

Leaning up to try to see the man’s vehicle in front of you, the man ushers you back down and shakes his head. 

“Just a little damage. I’m not worried about it all that much. Your car is fucked and so is his.” 

Wincing as you lean your head back, you can feel the burn from where your airbag and the seatbelt protected you from much worse. You try to turn your head to look for the other driver, hearing sirens, but instead just look for the man you had been talking to. 

“Is he okay?” 

Sighing, the man nods, giving you an annoyed look. 

“Probably the drunk ones always get hurt less, they say.” 

Holding his free hand over his ear, Soonyoung struggles to make out as much of your conversation with the unknown man as he can but the moment he realizes you have been in a car accident, he’s panicking. Swallowing hard, Soonyoung clenches his chest as he ends the call with you and grits his teeth, making the decision to call the only other person he knew could be there for you when he couldn’t. 

“Yeah?” 

Jihoon was almost nervous to pick up the phone after seeing Soonyoung’s name but he did it anyway. He had been avoiding his best friend most of the day except for the stray text here or there but this was the first phone call he had actually accepted. 

“Jihoon!” 

The panic in Soonyoung’s voice made Jihoon sit up straight, his heart rate speeding up, because his first thought was that something was wrong and it could only be you. 

“Ji...I–fuck! I was on the phone with Y/N and I don’t know where she is.” 

He could hear Soonyoung struggling with his words as he paced, unsure what to do. Jihoon’s first thought was, Fuck, I couldn’t imagine how hard this would be for him if something happened to you but then he could imagine it. He needed to know what was wrong and where you were.  

“Slow down and tell me what the fuck is going on.” 

Nodding, Soonyoung runs his hand over his mouth and takes a breath, trying to start over slower and calmer. 

“We were talking on the phone and she dropped it, I think. I heard something loud and then some dude was talking to her. He said something about an accident. I think she was in a wreck.” 

Looking at his watch, Jihoon stands up from his chair, grabbing his keys and jacket, keeping his phone to his ear as he pushes his studio door open. He knew he should probably tell the others where he was going but, fuck it, they could figure it out. 

“It’s 5:30; she was probably going home. Maybe she got stuck on the highway. I’ll find her and call you back.” 

Jihoon groans at the woman sitting at the front desk of the emergency room as she stares up at him like he has three heads. 

“Like I told you, if you aren’t a relative or a loved one, you can’t go back to see Miss Y/L/N. You can wait in the waiting area.” 

His hair was starting to come loose from his bun with the number of times he had shaken his head. Jihoon was getting more annoyed by the minute. Gritting his teeth, he puts his palms flat on the desk and gives the woman a strained smile before tilting his head. 

“I am a loved one. Y/N is my girlfriend. I’d really like to see her now.” 

After a few more minutes of narrowing eyes at one another, Jihoon found himself being led back to your triage room, where you were sitting on a bed in a hospital gown with a frown. You were honestly so cute that he couldn’t help but pull the smallest of smiles from his lips. However, seeing the cut on your lip and eyebrow and the bruise that was already spreading along your neck, the smile quickly faded. 

Nodding to the nurse, Jihoon moves towards your bed as the woman pulls the door shut, giving you and him more privacy. The moment your eyes meet, the tears fall over the rims of your eyes and Jihoon’s heart breaks. 

“Hey…What’s that about? Did they say you have to stay overnight or something?” 

Shaking your head, you reach out to take Jihoon’s wrist in yours, pulling him closer so that he will sit next to you on your bed. You find yourself just wanting to be close to him. 

“No. I can go home as soon as the doctor makes sure I didn’t break anything and gets me a script for some pain meds.” 

Furrowing his brows, Jihoon turns his hand over, letting you rest yours in his as he looks over your face even closer now. He could see where the bruises would be and where the hospital had cleaned up your cuts but there was still some dried blood. His stomach was in knots because it never should have happened. 

“So why are you crying? Talk to me…” 

“My car is fucked for one and I—” Your voice falls over into a small sob, causing Jihoon to lift his hand, his thumb gently caressing your cheek to push the tears away. “I’m scared and I don’t wanna be alone now. Soonyoung is—” 

You don’t finish the sentence but Jihoon knows how it finishes. Soonyoung is so far away. He had heard you say it many times but this time it went right to his gut. He almost hated Soonyoung for leaving you alone and letting something like this happen to you, even though it wasn’t his fault and he had no way of preventing it whether he was here or not. 

“One thing at a time, Y/N. Come here…” 

Shifting on your hospital bed, Jihoon sits beside you, letting you curl against his chest so you can rest against him. He can feel your tears soaking through his shirt but he doesn’t mind it. The only thing he cares about is who is in his arms and whether you are safe. 

“Let’s go through things one at a time. Your car. I know you have insurance. We will call tomorrow and make sure it’s being taken care of. I can get you to and from work.” 

You start to complain but Jihoon just holds you tighter, making you sob softly against him before you nod. 

“And being alone...” 

You hear him let out a breath as he thinks of what to say so you do it first as you run your fingers along his chest around a button. 

“Could you stay with me for a few days?” 

Closing his eyes, Jihoon swallows hard as he leans his head back against the wall. He knew he should say no and that you should ask one of your girlfriends but he hates the idea of disappointing you. 

“Yeah…I can do that, honey.” 

“She’s banged up but she’s gonna be alright. They got her some pain meds and she’s out of work the rest of the week to rest.” 

Soonyoung furrowed his brows to Jihoon’s words. He could tell the man was whispering but he didn’t really know why… Was he still with you? Looking down at his phone, he tried to do the math in his head but it didn’t make sense. If it was 5:30 pm for him, that would mean it was at least after midnight for you, if not later. 

“Thanks for letting me know. Wish I was there… hate the idea of her being alone right now.” 

Sighing, Jihoon looks at you in your bed as he leans back in the armchair before shaking his head at Soonyoung’s words. He wasn’t sure how to work around what the man had just said to him. He wasn’t an idiot but he didn’t want to cause a fight. 

"Yeah, I don’t like it either but what is anyone going to do about it, Soonyoung? I told her that until her car is out of the shop, I’ll take her to and from work. That’s one less thing for her to worry about right now.” 

Maybe he was letting his imagination get the best of him. That was it. He had always been a jealous man when it came to you and there was no reason for him to be worried when it came to you and Jihoon. Nodding along with his best friend’s words, Soonyoung offers a smile to Aimi as she gestures for him to hurry up as she and a few of the other students wait by the door of the studio. 

“Thank you for doing that, Ji. I’ll try to call her later, after she’s got some rest. I owe you big time.” 

That was an understatement, is all Jihoon could think as he heard the sounds of a girl giggling just as Soonyoung hung up the phone call. Of course, it could be nothing but there was no way to know. 

Moving his eyes back over to you as your hands rested under your cheek, Jihoon tilted his head and started to stand up, intent on going to the couch, when you whispered his name. At first, he thinks you are just dreaming but then you sit up and look at him, making him stop in the doorway. 

“Hey, you okay? You need something to drink? More pain meds?” 

Shaking your head, you reach out your hand towards him and Jihoon’s heart beats hard in his chest at the implications of what you were asking of him. 

“Stay? Don’t wanna be alone.” 

Your voice is so tired and small. Jihoon closes his eyes for a brief moment before nodding and moving towards the bed to crawl in behind you, laying a good distance away. He thinks you’ll be satisfied to have him just anywhere close to you but then you turn over and lay your head on his chest, wrapping your arm over him so that you can pull your body in close to his. 

“This okay, Hoonie?” 

Running his free hand through his now loose, long blond hair, Jihoon wants to tell you no and that you need to lay away from him but everything about that is a lie. There was nothing more that he wanted. He hears you sigh happily when his hand under you shifts to run his fingers along your back, allowing you to curl even tighter against him, your leg pulling to rest against his thigh. 

“Yeah, it’s okay, honey.” 

You smile at the pet name. It wasn’t something that Jihoon had called you much about or ever before, but you were enjoying it. It made your stomach feel warm and your heart feel fluttery. Nuzzling your cheek against his chest, you spread your fingers out along his abs and close them to scratch at his skin through his thin shirt with a sigh. 

“I like that…that name.” 

If anything, Jihoon knew he was crossing a line with it, but fuck, look at where he was and look at where you were. The line was 300 miles back and he was waving at it in the distance at this point. 

“I like it too. I like it too much.” 

Shaking your head, you glance up at Jihoon with a pout on your lips as he meets your eyes in the dim, moonlit room. You could see the apprehension on his face and you knew why it was there but as much as you knew you should feel guilty, he was the one here and he was the one taking care of you. 

Reaching up with your hand, you hold his chin in place so you can lean up to press your lips against his, granting you a soft groan from his. Jihoon’s brows furrow, and his fingers scratch lightly against your lower back right over your ass before he gasps for a breath, pulling away from you. 

“Y/N…” 

“I want you, Jihoon.”

Jihoon had felt bad about not giving in to you after you had confessed that you wanted him. It wasn’t that he didn’t want you. God, if anything, he wanted you too much and that was what was killing him. You had pouted for a few minutes but then accepted his excuse that it was too fast and too soon after your accident before you fell asleep in his arms. 

The sun was starting to rise and he knew he would have to leave you, at least for a few hours today. He would need to go into the recording studio and at least explain his sudden disappearance and work for a couple hours, but god, did you make it hard to leave you. 

Running his fingers over your cheek as you nuzzle against his chest, Jihoon can’t help but smile as you smack your lips in your sleep. You are so cute that it is almost physically painful for him to look at you and not act on the whims that he feels. He wants to kiss you, put your back against the bed and show you how he would spoil you in bed. Instead, Jihoon just watches you sleep for a few minutes longer before he tries to slide his arm from under your body, only to feel your fingers tighten in the front of his t-shirt holding him to you. 

“Hoonie…don’t leave.” 

Your voice almost breaks his heart because he didn’t want to leave you but he had to. Sighing, Jihoon brushes your hair back, leaning to press his lips against yours, feeling you smile against his. With that, he’s able to maneuver his arm out, only for you to whimper against his lips and tug him back against you. 

“Honey…I have to go take a shower and get to work. I won’t be gone all day, I promise.” 

Looking down at you, Jihoon frowns at the darkening spot near your eye and lip. His eyes move down to where your tank top does nothing to hide your largest bruise on your shoulder and collarbone from where your seatbelt had been sitting. 

“I’m gonna miss you. Can’t you just stay?” 

Shaking his head, Jihoon leans to kiss your eyebrow lightly, then your split lip, before leaning to kiss your neck and collarbone, making you moan. It wasn’t his intention to turn you on; instead, he was just trying to kiss your wounds better but you couldn’t help but lace your fingers through his long hair, holding him to you. 

Groaning as he feels your heel run along his thigh, Jihoon takes a breath against your neck, trying to keep his head. It had been a long time since he had been with anyone and he never thought the next person would be his best friend’s girl, but here you were with your hands in his hair and your body pressed against his. 

“Jihoon…” 

His name on your lips is like a siren’s call and Jihoon’s resolve breaks. Meeting your eyes, his lips press against yours hard, only for you to whimper at the slight pain of your split lip. He pulls back, realizing that his kiss is gentle and tender as his tongue dances with yours. You feel his hand slide from your waist to your hip so that his fingers can press into the top of your shorts, making you arch off the bed, wanting him to take them off. 

“I can’t give you everything right now. I really do have to go in for a while today, but I’ll give you something, okay, honey?” 

Nodding, you whine out his name as Jihoon pulls back from you. His eyes move over your face and down your body as his fingers press into the top of your shorts, pulling them down your legs with trembling hands. The line was thousands of miles behind him now; he couldn’t even see it. All he could see was you. All Jihoon could hear was his name on your lips as he dropped your shorts on the bed next to him and you spread your legs for him.

Jihoon lets out a shaky breath and it dawns on him that there is no one else who matters who isn’t in this room. It’s just you and him. His eyes move from your face, down your body, and finally between your legs, where his mouth starts to water at the sight of you. Your perfect folds are spread to reveal just how wet your pussy has gotten for him. Not for Soonyoung, but for him. 

“Fuck…gonna eat you out, is that okay?” 

It had been so long since you had been touched, so having someone look at you the way Jihoon did was almost overwhelming. You felt like you could cum untouched by just the feeling of his eyes but then his question and what he wanted to do to you had you clenching around nothing. Whining, you nod, scooting your hips further down in the bed as Jihoon moves between your legs, leaning to press kisses to your soft thighs, waiting for your verbal answer.

“Yeah, please? God, please, Hoonie?” 

It wouldn’t take much convincing for Jihoon to give you what you wanted. With one hand wrapped around your hip, he uses his other to part your folds so he can see all of you. Letting out a groan to the sight, Jihoon glanced up the length of your body before shaking his head and spitting on to your clit before latching on to it with his mouth. 

Soonyoung was great at everything in bed but this was different. You hadn’t been with too many people before you met Soonyoung and up until this moment, you had been faithful to him, but there was something about Lee Jihoon between your legs that had tears already streaming down your face. The groans and grunts let out against your pussy were almost animalistic as he ground his face against you, fucking you with his tongue. 

Your fingers grip Jihoon’s hair, tugging at the long locks holding him closer between your legs as you feel the pressure building in your lower abdomen. It’s only when you are unable to hold it back anymore that you cry out his name and roll your hips hard against his face, cumming onto his tongue and chin. 

Jihoon groans quietly against your warm, wet folds as he laps at your cum, enjoying every last drop. His fingers lazily massage your folds, causing your thighs to jerk and for him to smile against your pussy until you whine his name as if asking for mercy. 

Licking his lips clean of you, Jihoon moves up between your legs to rest over you, kissing you gently and letting you taste yourself on his tongue. He basks in the sounds of your moans as your fingers grip and almost tear at his shirt, wanting more but he had already told you he couldn’t give you everything just yet. Nudging his nose against yours, Jihoon smiles against your lips before pulling away as you almost sob his name but he knows this time it’s just a ploy to keep him in your bed. 

“I told you, honey, I gotta shower and get to work. I’ll pick up food tonight and we can cuddle when I get back.”

Turning on your side, you take a deep breath, feeling exhausted as you watch Jihoon walk towards your en suite, his fingers running through his long blonde hair. You knew you should feel guilty and maybe you did deep down but you had needs and right now, as your thighs ached from your legs being spread apart as he ate you out like his last meal, you couldn’t feel a single drop of guilt. 

You wake up to the sound of your phone, causing your brows to furrow in annoyance. You had been sleeping so well but still, your fingers reach out for your phone, bringing it to your ear as you answer it with a sleepy voice. 

“Hello? Jihoon?” 

Furrowing his brows, Soonyoung tries not to take too much offense to how you answer the phone because he can tell you were asleep and he can tell you aren’t yourself. Jihoon had told him that you were on some pretty strong pain medications, so maybe that was clouding your judgment. 

“No, baby, it’s me, Soonie.” 

You smile softly, feeling a warmth rush over you upon hearing Soonyoung’s voice. There was a conflicting feeling underlying it but on the surface, you were happy to hear from him. You missed him despite everything and you loved him. 

“Hi, Soonie.” 

That was more like it, you seemed more like yourself. Maybe a bit of a drunk version of yourself but still, you seemed happy to hear from him and that Soonyoung could handle. 

“Hey, baby. How are you feeling?” 

Whining as you turn over on your back, you put your hand on your shoulder, feeling the stretch in your arm, making Soonyoung hear you in pain. He knew if he could be on a plane and back with you in that moment, he would be, but it was literally impossible. 

“I’m fine. Just hurts a bit. I could probably go back to work earlier than the doctor said.” 

Shaking his head, Soonyoung punches in the code to his building as he rests his phone on his shoulder, letting his foot catch the door so he can get his stuff inside.

“No, baby… listen to what the doctor said. If you need more time to heal and rest, take it.” 

Pouting, you sit up in bed, looking around for Jihoon, remembering he had left for work long before. Nodding to Soonyoung’s words, you just sigh and give in to your current predicament. 

“I guess so. Maybe they will have the car fixed before Monday. I hate the idea of Hoonie driving me around.” 

Hoonie, it wasn’t like that was the first time he had heard you call his best friend that but for some reason this time it made his hair stand on end and his mouth go dry. Nodding, Soonyoung puts his groceries down hard on the counter, making you jump in your bed with a wince as you hear him sigh loudly. 

“You okay, Soonyoung?” 

Rolling his eyes, Soonyoung takes out one of his beers and pops it open, taking a sip as he leans against the counter, tilting his head as he looks at the label with narrowed eyes. 

“Course I am, babe. Get some rest. I love you.” 

Soonyoung doesn’t give you much time to respond before the sound of a phone call ending goes off in your ear and you are left with his picture staring back in your face. Furrowing your brows, you reach for your bottle of water that Jihoon had left and your bottle of pills, taking another one before settling back into your covers and trying to relax once again. 

Looking at his phone, Soonyoung runs his thumb along his contacts before he lands on Aimi and puts it to his ear, a small smirk pulling at the corner of his lips when he hears her pick up. 

“Hey, no, yeah... I’m fine. Just wanted to see if you wanted to come over and hang out.” 

Jihoon tried to be quiet while moving through your front door, but smelling food cooking as soon as he walked in made him realize there was no point in trying. Following his nose, he smiled while watching you stand in front of the stove in fresh clothes, humming along to something playing on your phone. If you had heard him come in, you weren’t letting him in on it. 

Sliding his hands around your waist, Jihoon laughs when you jump, dropping your spoon into your soup with a small splash of liquid that both of you are barely able to miss as it hits the floor. Jihoon whispers apologies against your ear before leaning to kiss your neck as you calm down and pout at him before he pulls away to get a paper towel to clean up. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you would have heard me come in.” 

Shaking your head, you look down in your soup for the lost spoon before Jihoon moves back to your side, dipping his fingers in and pulling it out with a small hiss to the heat, letting you take it from him. 

“I didn’t, but I’m glad you are home.” 

Home. What a loaded word. This wasn’t his home but you made him wish it was. Everywhere he looked, he was reminded it wasn’t his home as Soonyoung smiled at him from the fridge and the walls, but he was getting pretty good at ignoring him. 

Sliding his hand along your hip, Jihoon takes a deep breath of the steam coming off the soup, nodding appreciatively as you look up at his content. This was the happiest you had been all day since before he left you for work. It was the most coherent you had been as well. You barely remembered your phone call with Soonyoung and you hadn’t received any text messages from him so you knew he was asleep or something. It didn’t matter. 

“Can you get down a couple bowls and we can eat on the couch? We have some trash TV to catch up on.” 

This was the perfect way to spend an evening and how Jihoon wished he could spend every single evening. He didn’t need to worry about rushing off. His stomach was full of food that you had made for him and now you were lying in his arms as the TV played one of your silly shows that you cared too much about.

Fingers lightly strum over Jihoon’s chest as you smile, listening to his heartbeat more than you listen to the arguments or gossip on the show. You find yourself enjoying the feeling of Jihoon’s hand cupping your hip and his thumb resting under your shirt above your shorts more than you do anything else. You never want the night to end or maybe it is more than that, something deeper but it’s nothing that you can talk about out loud just yet.  

When your eyes meet Jihoon's, he smiles at you and you feel like you are melting on the spot because it's been so long since someone has looked at you like that. Since someone has really looked at you, you feel like you could get lost in his eyes as his fingers lightly move across your cheek and down your jaw before he leans in to press his lips to yours, and you melt all over again. There’s something there that is unspoken and it will remain unspoken for the sake of everyone involved. You just kiss and give into it. 

Jihoon groans when he finally moves you to your bed and has you sitting on his lap. He whines into your mouth, feeling the weight of you over his hard cock. He wants to tell you that maybe this is too much or too fast but what about if this is too much or too fast? What about this? Is it even right? He knows it and he knows what you do too, so instead he just gives into it. 

Clothes find their way into the floor until your skin is naked against Jihoon and his fingers can finally move over your soft skin like he has always wanted to. He feels dirty and like this isn’t his—because it isn't—and yet something whispers in his ear that you are his. Right now, at this moment, you are his. 

“Please?” 

One word falls from your lips and Jihoon will give you the world; he will bring down the moon and the stars for you to make it better. Resting on your back, you cling to Jihoon, his hair falling from his bun as he looks down at you, his right hand sliding along your inner thigh, working its way towards your warm center. Two fingers slide between your wet folds and Jihoon’s lips fall open in the same way yours do as he works his fingers into your pussy, feeling your warm walls clench around them. 

He remembers in that moment Soonyoung bragging to him about how tight and messy you are and he can’t help but smirk to himself that he is getting to know that firsthand. Groaning against his arm, Jihoon can barely move his fingers inside of you, searching for that one spot that will make you scream his name but when he finds it, you arch off the bed and Jihoon almost cums on the spot, untouched by the sight of you and the sounds that come out of your mouth. 

Your velvet walls tremble around his fingers as he pumps them in and out of you at almost a brutal pace, trying to get you ready for his cock without even thinking about anything else. All Jihoon can think about is your wet slick seeping around his fingers and how it is running down  his wrist with each deep thrust of his fingers. He is just thinking about how good it will feel on his cock and how sweet you will sound as he’s pushing you into the mattress that you share with Soonyoung. 

Shaking his head to push Soonyoung out of it, Jihoon groans your name as your nails scratch his chest and along his neck, pulling him down to meet your lips when you cum. He groans loudly, feeling his fingers being sucked back into you with each wave of your orgasm, making it almost impossible for him to pull away from you until you finally relax and your thighs stop shaking. 

Smiling, Jihoon presses kisses on your cheek and along your neck before looking up at you to meet your eyes as he slips his fingers from your dripping center. You watch as he brings them to his lips and sucks each one of them clean with a small groan, making you whine under him. 

“Hoonie, please, I need you.” 

“Yeah? I won’t make you wait, honey.” 

Leaning over you, Jihoon opens the nightstand he knows to be Soonyoung and groans when he only finds an empty box of condoms before resting his head on his bicep. 

“Baby, do you have condoms on your side?” 

Swallowing hard, you shake your head already, knowing you don’t. Dread feels you knowing that if you don’t say something, he won’t fuck you like you want him to. Lifting your hand, you cling to Jihoon’s arm and whine as sweetly as you can, making him look down at you as you look up at him through lowered lashes. 

“I don't, but I’m on birth control, Jihoon. That’s why we don’t have anything here. Just fuck me, please?” 

Jihoon knew he should say no and wait until he could pick something up but that look in your eyes and the sweet tone of your voice were killing him. You hadn’t been with anyone else besides Soonyoung in years and he knew he hadn’t been with anyone in months, maybe closer to a year. Groaning, Jihoon rests his forehead against your shoulder before nodding, making you smile as you run your fingers through his hair. 

Learning from you, Jihoon pushes down his boxers, kicking off the last remaining piece of clothing, keeping him separated from you as your eyes follow him. Swallowing hard, you watch as he strokes himself a few times before he meets your eyes as if looking for permission once again, only for you to nod and slide your leg up and off to the side, letting him move back between your thighs. 

Running his thumb over your clit first, Jihoon watches how your body jerks, making him smirk before he follows that same action with the head of his cock. His brows furrowed as he made a pass with his tip between your folds to collect some of your arousal before finally meeting your eyes as he pushed into you for the first time, slow and steady. 

You had been used to the feeling of Soonyoung stretching you out so the feeling of Jihoon was completely different. Soonyoung was longer, whereas Jihoon had girth and it was almost painful as he sank into you, making you see white for a moment. A moan gets caught in your throat when Jihoon bottoms out and he stays where he is, catching his breath as you clench around him, making it impossible for him to move at first. 

“Oh…shit. Y/N, you gotta relax. Relax for me, honey.” 

Nodding, you do your best to listen to Jihoon’s voice and let your body relax as his fingers stroke the side of your face into your hair. You smile at the feeling of his lips pressing against your throat, feeling his smile against your skin when you do as he asked you to. 

“That’s it. Such a good girl. Can I move?” 

Whining out a yes, you nod and scratch at Jihoon’s back as he starts to thrust slowly but deeply, making you cry once again. Tears of pleasure begin to stream down your face and over Jihoon’s thumb, causing him to look up in concern until he sees the blissed out look on your face. 

Wiping the tears from your face, Jihoon groans your name, picking up his pace and listening to you cry out his name as you tighten around him once again. He didn’t need you to tell him that you were close. He could feel it as your orgasm started to rip through you. The way you got impossibly wetter and how you clamped down on him and held him inside of you like a vice. 

Groaning your name, it soon turns into a hiss as he follows you over that edge in a panic, trying to pull out only to have you cling to him with tears in your eyes, begging him to stay. Nodding, Jihoon relaxes, and his cum fills you with each deep thrust, making you throw your head back with a moan of his name. 

Collapsing on top of you, Jihoon struggles to catch his breath for a moment as sweat rolls along his neck and down his chest to your skin. Licking your lips, you run your fingers through his hair and over his back as you come down from your high, feeling like you have been to the moon and back. 

“Fuck…” 

A smile pulls at your lips as Jihoon curses against your neck. After a few moments, he rolls over to your side, pulling from you carefully, before resting his forearm over his eyes, still catching his breath as if he had just run a mile. Shaking your head, you can’t help but admire the man beside you in your bed under the moonlight, as if he is a piece of art, as with each of his breaths, his muscles expand and contract, showing off all his hard work spent in the gym. 

“Thank you, Jihoon. I really needed that.” 

Laughing, Jihoon just shakes his head, moving his arm to look at you before laughing again and pulling you into his arms to kiss you softly, making you smile. 

“Why are you thanking me for fucking you?” 

Shrugging you, run your finger nails along his abs, making him suck in on a breath as he leans his head back against the pillows. 

“What else am I supposed to say?” 

Shaking his head, Jihoon runs his fingers over your back and furrows his brows, realizing he isn’t even sure what the right answer to that question is. It isn’t that you love him or that he loves you, not even if it were true. So perhaps your response was appropriate for the time. Sighing, he looks up at the ceiling, staying quiet for a moment before lightly patting your back. 

“I don’t know, but I do know we need a shower. We smell like sex.” 

Laughing, you watch Jihoon slide out of your bed and around towards the ensuite, where the water for the shower starts to run. 

“Such a romantic, Lee Jihoon.” 

Grinning, Jihoon leans against the bathroom counter, looking at himself in the mirror as the room starts to fill with steam and he waits for you to join him. 

“Yeah, I know I am, honey.” 

Staring at your phone, you run your thumb over Soonyoung’s face as you think about what happened between you and Jihoon. The guilt had started to weigh heavily on you. That wasn’t who you were. You had always been faithful to Soonyoung because that’s the type of person he and you were. 

Pressing your thumb down over his name, you put the phone to your ear and sigh. You knew it was pretty early in Tokyo. It was after 5 pm for you and Jihoon would be coming back home soon so that would mean Soonyoung was probably getting ready to leave for work. What you didn’t expect was someone else to pick up his phone. 

“Hello?” 

A sweet female’s voice greets your ear and you feel like the walls that have been stable around you are crashing down around you. You hear her say hello again before you shake some sense into yourself and look at your hands, finally able to speak. 

“Uh hi… I was trying to reach Soonyoung.” 

The girl smiles into her words before giggling as she looks around his apartment, listening to the shower turn off. 

“Yeah, he’s here. He’s getting out of the showe—” 

“Hello?” 

Soonyoung had heard Aimi talking to someone and there were only a few people who would be calling him this early in the morning. Taking the phone out of her hand, he shoots her an annoyed look as he glances at your face on his screen before trying to get you to talk to him. 

“Baby?” 

Aimi pouts while watching Soonyoung hold his towel up around his waist as she sits back on his bed. Her eyes follow him as he moves into the bathroom, shutting the door where she can’t hear him anymore. 

“Who was that, Soonyoung?” 

Sighing as he leans against the counter, Soonyoung tries to think of his feet and the best thing he can think of is a half truth. 

“A student. I–uh I gotta work on some stuff with her before class. She showed up too early. Sorry, she answered my phone, babe. Won’t happen again.” 

Tears gather at the rims of your eyes as you just nod along with Soonyoung’s words. You knew deep down that there was nothing you should have over him after what had happened between you and Jihoon but it still hurt. You didn’t believe him because you knew what Soonyoung sounded like when he was lying. 

“Baby? You–you heard me, right?” 

Wiping at your cheeks, you just nod again before looking up at the entryway to your bedroom, where Jihoon is standing with a concerned look on his face. 

“Yeah, I heard you. I gotta go, Soonyoung.” 

Leaning his head down towards the sink, Soonyoung groans under his breath. He didn’t want to just let you get off the phone after something like this but he couldn’t force you to stay on the phone and listen to him come up with excuses. 

‘Yeah…okay baby. I love you, so so much.” 

Looking up at Jihoon, you wipe at your cheek once more, answering Soonyoung numbly while your words are left in the air, causing Jihoon’s heart to tighten. 

“I love you.” 

Hanging up your phone, you drop it onto the bed and close your eyes before you feel the mattress sink next to you and Jihoon’s arms wrap around you. He wasn’t sure what was happening but he knew you were in pain and if he could take it away, he would. 

Closing his eyes, Jihoon rests his face against your hair and takes in a deep breath, letting it out as you let out a soft, sad sob that shatters his heart. He knew that you were talking to Soonyoung. He knew that ‘I love you’ hadn’t been meant for him but he wished it had been. In his mind, he would never leave you like this. He wouldn’t have you crying because of him day after day. 

“Y/N…honey…do you wanna talk about it?” 

Shaking your head, you start to tell him no before you lean back to meet his eyes and all of your resolve melts away. Jihoon can only coo at you in sympathy, bringing his thumbs up to push the tears from under your eyes as you try to explain about the girl picking up the phone. 

“What do you want me to do, baby? I’ll call him and cuss his ass out. I’ll call her.” 

The words were nice but deep down, even Jihoon knew what you and he were doing was no better. At the end of the day, you didn’t really know if Soonyoung was sleeping with this girl, but did it really matter? 

Moving to lay against Jihoon, you shake your head hard and cling to Jihoon like a life raft to keep you from drowning. You know that you shouldn’t want him as much as you do but all you can think about in that moment is his lips on yours and how it would distract you from your heartbreak. 

“No, no…just…” 

This was becoming the routine for the two of you. Jihoon would go to work and come home before ending up on top of you, either in bed or on the couch, where the two of you would eventually end up naked. 

Furrowing his brows, Jihoon groans as you lay back on your bed, pulling him with you. He knew what you wanted as your fingers pulled at his shirt and worked his hair loose from its bun. He didn’t want to tell you no, so he wouldn’t. Instead, Jihoon just meshes his lips with yours and kisses away your pain and tears. With each piece of clothing that he removes from you or himself, that’s just another layer of anxiety or stress that he is removing until finally his skin is met with yours. 

“Hoonie…be rough with me?” 

Closing his eyes, Jihoon bites down lightly against your neck, near where your bruise was starting to fade when you asked him that question. There had been times when he had wanted to let go with you and just have his way with you but he had been afraid to hurt you or scare you, but now you were asking. 

“You sure, honey?” 

Nodding, you scratch your nails along Jihoon’s back, knowing that you are leaving marks that will fade in a few minutes. You didn’t want to think anymore; you just wanted to feel. All you wanted in your brain was Jihoon, Jihoon, Jihoon. 

Hissing at the feeling of your nails on his skin, Jihoon pulls back to look down at you with fire in his eyes. He would give you what you wanted. Licking his lips, Jihoon stares at you for a moment, only to then capture your lips with his in a breathtaking kiss. You whine into his mouth as Jihoon’s teeth nip at your lips before he pulls away completely, kneeling on the bed in front of you. 

“Come here; let me use that mouth.” 

Turning over, you blink up at Jihoon, only for him to pull you to where he wants you with one hand as he holds his cock in his other. Sucking on his bottom lip, Jihoon tilts his head, watching your eyes fall to what’s in front of you before you open your mouth and he taps his head on your tongue a couple times before sliding into your warm, wet mouth with a groan. 

“Fuck…just like that. Hands on my thighs, baby. If it’s too much, tap a few times, and I’ll stop.” 

Lifting your eyes to Jihoon, you moan around his cock and he almost loses it right then and there. He could feel your nails digging into his thighs as he buried his cock into your mouth, his tip almost reaching the back of your throat. The sound of your moans mixed with gagging caused Jihoon’s brain to misfire as he groaned your name. 

Fingers hold your head close to his hips as Jihoon keeps you as close to him as possible until he hears you whine and he lets you go. Leaning your head back, you blink up through tears as Jihoon wipes his hand over his lips, watching his pre-cum and your saliva drips down your chin. The sight is something he knows he won’t forget for a long time. 

“Good fucking girl, honey. Now turn your ass towards me. You want it rough, don’t you?” 

Nodding, you can barely answer Jihoon as you weakly move into the position he wants you in. Hands slap at your thighs, causing them to sting, before the same hands come down on your ass, making you cry out in surprise. Leaning over your back, Jihoon smiles against your ear, listening to you calm down as he presses small kisses on your skin. 

“You like that? When I spank you?” 

“Yeah, I like it, Hoonie.” 

Smirking, Jihoon pushes off the bed and slaps his hand down over your ass cheek one more time, listening to the sound of your moaning cry as he rubs his hand in a circle over the warm skin. With his free hand, he uses his thumb to spread your folds as he ruts his hips against you from behind, feeling your arousal drip onto his cock. 

“Honey…You are soaked. Might make me think you like being treated like a slut.” 

Whimpering in embarrassment, you bury your face against your arm. You listen to Jihoon laugh as his fingers dig into your hip. The fingers that once were running between your folds now help to press his cock against your leaking hole. 

Gasping, you scratch at the bedding under you, feeling the way that Jihoon’s cock stretches you in this new position. When his cock is fully buried inside, only then are you able to fully catch your breath, only to have it taken when it gives you no mercy and starts to pound into you relentlessly. 

You knew what you had asked for and Jihoon was delivering it. There were no coherent thoughts left in your mind. The only thing you could think about was him until the sound of his phone going off just as you were about to cum brought you back to reality. 

Frowning, Jihoon glances towards the nightstand to see Soonyoung’s face lighting up on his phone. Leaning over your back, Jihoon groans your name, feeling you tighten around him, only for you to glance towards the phone. He can feel the exact moment when you fall under him and he knows the moment is lost. 

“Stop…stop…please?” 

Coming to a stop, Jihoon carefully pulls from you as you ask him to, his head turning away from the phone only for a moment before he curses under his breath and smacks it from the nightstand. Bringing the phone to his ear, still out of breath, he answers the call, anger evident in his tone.  

“Yeah?” 

Taken aback by the anger, Soonyoung furrows his brows and wipes his towel across his neck to clean off a new layer of sweat from practice. Maybe Jihoon had been at the gym and he was interrupting a set, but he had never gotten that sort of response or that level. 

“Am I bothering you? Fuck, dude…” 

Rolling his eyes, Jihoon sits on the side of your bed, feeling his head start to hurt as you turn away from him and pull your legs up towards your stomach. He knew you were feeling shame and guilt when you didn’t need to and it was Soonyoung’s fault, it was his fault. You weren’t at fault for this. 

“Yeah, you are. What do you want?” 

Scoffing, Soonyoung looks at himself in the mirror, clenching his fist and unclenching it before letting out a sigh. 

“I was just waiting to check in. I wanted to see if you had talked to Y/N today. Something happened earlier and I am just…” 

The laugh starts off unamused but ends up being a genuine laugh as Jihoon leans his head back, causing Soonyoung to be even more confused until Jihoon speaks. 

“The chick picking up the phone? I know about it. Be smarter about your hook-ups if you are trying to keep them from your girl, Soonyoung.” 

Now Soonyoung was seeing red. Jihoon might be his best friend but that didn’t give him the right to tell him how to live his life or how to handle his relationship with you. Especially when he was getting awfully cozy with you. 

“Fuck you, man. You have no idea what I’m going through. Know what I think?” 

Making a questioning sound, Jihoon lifts his brows, waiting for Soonyoung to continue but Soonyoung just scoffs, putting his fist against the mirror. 

“I’m waiting to hear the great gospel, according to Kwon Soonyoung.” 

Shaking his head, Soonyoung hangs up the call and turns to slide down the mirror to sit on the floor as Aimi frowns at him. Moving closer, she kneels in front of him, brushing her fingers over his cheek and he gives in, leaning into a friendly touch. 

Three Weeks Later

You had just gotten your car back. You and Jihoon had started splitting time between who’s place you would stay at but today just happened to be one of the evenings when he was busy and you needed a little time to yourself. 

Rubbing the back of your neck, you drop your keys into the bowl beside the door and sigh, not noticing the extra shoes beside the door. You don’t notice the suitcase next to the couch until the smell of Soonyoung’s cologne overwhelms you. 

“Hey baby.” 

Startled, you take a step back as Soonyoung smiles at you, his brows furrowing at your reaction to him. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to just show up but you had started ignoring his calls more and answering fewer texts and he was starting to worry about you. He was starting to worry about you and him. 

“Oh, hey, sorry... didn’t mean to scare you, babe.” 

Grinning, Soonyoung moves towards you, pulling you into his arms as you wrap your arms around his waist, feeling tears stinging your eyes. You feel overwhelmed and uncertain what to do or how to feel. He doesn’t seem real, even if he’s in your arms. The man that you have loved for so many years of your life now just feels like guilt in your hands. 

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” 

Nodding, you cling to Soonyoung, not wanting him to see any disappointment on your face. Because you aren’t really disappointed. You have missed him. No matter anything that had happened or would happen, this man was your friend and you always wanted him to be. He had started that way, as your best friend. He knew how to make you laugh better than anyone and you loved him for that. 

“Of course I am, Soonie. When did you get here?” 

Soonyoung smiles, burying his nose against your hair and taking in your scent as he closes his eyes. He tries to count the time in his head but the jet lag makes everything muddle together. Shaking his head, he just laughs and shrugs his shoulders. 

“Couple of hours ago. Just enough time to throw some left over in the oven and a load of laundry in. All I wanna do now is lay down and cuddle with my girl. Can we do that?” 

Your heart feels like glass as you listen to Soonyoung talk, because it sounds so simple. You want to tell him everything he wants to hear so you just do it. You nod and look up at him with a smile, letting him press a kiss to your lips that you meekly return, though your brain drifts to Jihoon. 

“Yeah, of course. Let me... let me–uh change and we can lay on the couch.” 

Whining, Soonyoung wraps his arms around you from behind, burying his face against your neck as you start to walk away from him. Your hand on your cellphone is in your jacket pocket as he pulls you back against him. 

“Not the couch, kitten. I wanna lay on the bed. I’m tired… cuddle with me.” 

You scoff into an unamused laugh before nodding and looking over your shoulder at Soonyoung, who smiles at you so sweetly that you can’t say no. 

“Yeah, the bed. I’ll change and meet you there.” 

Watching Soonyoung trudge off down the hall, you let out a breath, pulling out your cellphone to text Jihoon with shaking hands. 

Y/N 💗: Soonyoung is home 

The day had been long but the night was going to be longer. Jihoon hated album wrap ups but as a producer, sometimes he had to do grunt work up until the early hours of the morning. Hearing his phone go off was one thing that could make him smile until he read your text and his face fell. 

Muttering fuck under his breath and drawing the attention of a friend in the studio with him, Jihoon apologizes, turning his chair away to answer you. 

Hoonie 💗: For how long?

Y/N 💗: I have no idea

Rubbing his hand over his face, Jihoon puts his phone face down on his desk in front of him. It wasn’t your fault. In truth, Soonyoung had given you both a warning when he said two or three weeks, but he usually never kept those promises.

Looking at your phone as you move into your room, you glance at the bed to see Soonyoung lying where Jihoon usually would be now. A smile on the man’s face as he flips through channels on the TV, picking what he wants instead of what you like. 

Eyes shift towards you as you move into the closet, closing it halfway and making Soonyoung’s brows furrow. You had never shied away from him before, but it had been several months since he had been home so maybe that was all this was. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the TV and leaned his head back against the pillows, enjoying the comforts of home. 

Hanging up your jacket, you swallow hard, seeing no new texts from Jihoon. You couldn’t blame him. There wasn’t anything else to say. You could hear the TV and Soonyoung’s soft laughter, which made you wish that things were as easy as he was making them seem. 

“Soonie…babe? How…uh, how long are you home?” 

Pursing his lips, Soonyoung glances towards the closet again, seeing a peek of your skin as you change into your classic choice of pajamas, a tank top, and short shorts. In one way, your question was a simple and normal one, but in another way, it seemed suspicious. Soonyoung decided to keep it simple and think that you were just curious about his plans. 

“Wish it was longer, but... I fly out tomorrow night.” 

Staring at the clothes in front of you, a scoff falls from your lips. The first thought on your mind is “What was the fucking point?” but you don’t say it out loud. Instead, you just pick up your phone and text Jihoon as you shake your head. 

Y/N 💗: He flies out tomorrow night.

You don’t expect a text back, so you just hold your phone to your waist until you move to the bed, smiling at Soonyoung. Laying your phone face down, you plug it in, leaving it silent, before slipping under the covers and letting your boyfriend pull you in close to him with a happy groan. 

“You aren’t mad at me, are you? I tried to find a better time but it’s so fucking busy. They keep trying to keep me on full time.” 

Furrowing your brows, you look up at Soonyoung to gauge his expression but it’s almost impossible to judge. You start to realize you aren’t sure you know this man anymore. 

“And what do you want to do?” 

Shrugging, Soonyoung stumbles over his words before just smiling at you and running his fingers along your jaw. 

“Right now? I just wanna kiss my beautiful girlfriend. I’ve missed you so fucking much, baby.” 

You knew he was deflecting but you also didn’t want to argue. You didn’t have the strength or the will to fight with the one person who you had simultaneously missed and hated over the past few months. So you give in, closing your eyes as Soonyoung’s lips brush over yours. You take a breath as his hand slides along your waist and he pulls you closer before laying you on your back so he can lay on top of you. 

Nothing feels the way it should. At one point in your life, you loved Soonyoung with every fiber of your being. His touch was electric; his mouth was like fire on your skin, but now you feel dull as he groans your name, his thigh pressed between your legs. It isn’t that it doesn’t feel good or that you aren’t able to get off on it; it’s more to do with the fact that you are picturing someone else in your bed. 

Keeping your eyes shut tightly, you whine when Soonyoung’s lips brush over your stomach as his fingers tug your shorts down so he can lay between your thighs. He gasps at the sight of your wet folds before pulling them apart with his thumbs so he can run his tongue from your entrance all the way to your clit, causing you to arch off the bed. 

With a smirk, Soonyoung can’t help but let how you are reacting go to his head. All he can think about is how good he makes you feel and how you taste on his tongue. In his mind, this is the first time you have had someone's tongue on your pretty pussy in months and it’s his alone. 

“Fuccckk….kitten. My sweet girl. So fucking messy. Getting juice all over my face. You should just come back to Tokyo with me.” 

Shaking your head, you want him to stop talking so you push Soonyoung’s head back down between your legs so that his mouth is flush with your pussy. Two fingers work their way into your tight hole and Soonyoung groans around your clit, feeling how you clench down on them. He practically growls when your fingernails scratch at his scalp, feeling like you finally cum for him, though you made him work for it. 

Coming up for air, Soonyoung chuckles, looking down at you as you hide your face. You look so cute and shy. You remind him of when the two of you first got together and how innocent you had been before he rammed his cock into you, much like he was going to do now. 

Watching your mouth fall open in a moan, Soonyoung bites at his bottom lip as his hands hold to your hips as he thrusts into you hard and fast. He had missed you and honestly, there was no one else like you. Nothing could compare to how your pussy would clench down on his cock and hold him inside of you like you were trying to keep him forever. God, how he wanted you to keep him forever in that moment, even if his mind momentarily slipped to Aimi whining on his bed. 

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Soonyoung falls on top of you. His mouth finds your neck as he bites and sucks deep marks that he hopes will stay for at least long enough for you to remember where he was. His thrusts grow impatient and uneven until finally you hear his high pitched groan against your skin when Soonyoung cums inside of you. 

Tears roll from your eyes and along your temples as your hand rests on your forehead, the other against his back, feeling him push his cum back inside of you. At one point in your life, you would have loved that feeling but you knew at that moment that you didn’t love him anymore or at least you didn’t love him as much as you once did. How were you supposed to tell the person who was the love of your life something like that? 

You wake up alone the next morning, your eyes swollen from crying yourself silently to sleep the night before. Turning to look for Soonyoung, you find nothing but an empty bed and his jacket slung over the chair in the corner. Only the smell of food cooking in the kitchen lets you know that you aren’t truly alone. 

Reaching for your phone, you sniff back fresh tears as you check for new messages, seeing a couple from Jihoon that actually work to calm you down. 

Hoon 💗: Then I’ll come over once he’s gone

Hoon 💗: You still got me, honey 

Smiling, you run your thumb over the screen and send back a simple heart emoji before turning in the direction of where Soonyoung’s phone dings. Glancing towards the door, you lean over the bed and pick up his phone, looking at the lock screen and seeing a few messages from Aimi. 

Aimi: So bored without you 

Aimi: OMG come back already…

Aimi: 🥺

You know that you should feel hurt or angry when you see the messages but instead you find yourself suddenly indifferent as you turn Soonyoung’s phone face down on his nightstand and slide out of bed. Slipping on your robe, you make your way out towards the kitchen, putting on a smile as he leans down to kiss the corner of your lips with a sigh. 

“Good morning, gorgeous.” 

Humming, you slide on to a bar stool and look at the food he has made, noting you would have to go grocery shopping once again. It was a nice gesture on his part but when you were practically living on your own most days, paying rent on your own while your boyfriend was off living his dreams, you couldn’t just buy anything and everything you wanted. 

“What time is your flight?” 

Wincing, Soonyoung turns to take the juice out of the fridge, glancing towards the microwave for the time being before tilting his head back and forth before looking at you for sympathy. 

“I’ll have to leave here around 2ish if I wanna make it through security and all that international shit on time.” 

Glancing at the clock, you lift your brows and sigh before leaning your chin on your arm as Soonyoung pours two cups of juice, watching you closely. 

“You aren’t mad at me? I know it’s a short visit but I wanted to at least try. I’ve missed you so much, kitten.” 

Shaking your head, you pick up a piece of bacon and chew on it with a sigh from your nose before meeting his eyes.

“You have to do what you have to do, Soonyoung.” 

Your indifference causes Soonyoung’s brows to furrow and his stomach to twist with anxiety but he still tries to offer you a smile. Taking a sip of his juice, he pushes yours towards you before looking at the fridge and seeing a picture of you and Jihoon smiling, heads pushed together. It looks innocent enough but it still makes his heart hurt. Gesturing towards it, Soonyoung clears his throat and licks his lips of any remaining juice. 

“You and Jihoon have gotten pretty close.” 

Looking at the picture, you can’t help but smile, remembering the day Jihoon went with you to the farmer’s market and how he hadn’t complained a single time. Shrugging at Soonyoung’s words, you look down at the food in front of you, pushing around the eggs before sighing softly. 

“He’s a good person. He’s good to me. Don’t you want someone to be good to me?” 

Narrowing his eyes, Soonyoung bites at his bottom lip at the accusation that seems to be lingering right under your question but instead of giving into his anger, he just looks down at his own plate of food and lets out a long, drawn out breath. 

“Course I do, babe. I love you more than anything.” 

Rolling your eyes, you think back to the text messages from Aimi and mutter under your breath that you doubt that, making Soonyoung lean his head in towards you over the counter in confusion. 

“What did you say, baby? I couldn’t hear you.” 

“Nothing, just said... I love you too.” 

You had watched Soonyoung repack his carry-on and grab a couple of things out of your shared closet before he kissed you goodbye with a concerned look on his face. You only offer him a half smile, leaning against the door frame, as he looks back, telling you he will let you know when he lands and how much he loves you. 

“Mmkay, have a safe flight.” 

Pausing, Soonyoung licks his lips, lifting his hand to block the sun as he looks at you, trying to remember what it felt like when you were head over heels for him. Something was different. He knew it and so did you but neither of you were willing to say it. 

Nodding as his gaze drops to the ground, Soonyoung can only let out a half amused laugh, realizing you hadn’t told him that you loved him back. Maybe it had been a mistake or just because you seemed so tired, but looking up and meeting your eyes—seeing the tears even from halfway down the driveway—he knew it wasn’t. 

“Okay, babe.” 

If this had been the old you—the old Soonyoung—you would have walked to the end of the driveway with him. You would have begged him not to go back and told him how much you loved him—to the end of the earth and back. But that wasn’t who either of you were anymore, so instead, you watched from the door as the car drove down the road before turning back inside and closing the door. 

Normally, you would have shed tears and found yourself curled up in bed with your cellphone clenched against your chest, waiting for him to message you about his flight but this time you knew it was different. You felt like you could breathe. There was a sense of pain mixed with your relief—such a strange feeling that you couldn’t name. 

Jihoon had waited half an hour to come over after Soonyoung had left for his flight. He had sent his texts to his best friend, wishing him a safe flight and all the usual pleasantries but at the heart of it, he was waiting to get back to you. It had been too long since he had seen your face in person and no matter how selfish he was feeling, Jihoon couldn’t make himself feel guilty about it anymore. You were his. 

Using the key you had made for him, Jihoon unlocked your door and dropped his things on the side table before meeting your eyes from the couch, feeling relief wash over him. You were like a breath of fresh air. 

“Hey, honey…”

Only when Jihoon speaks will your tears finally fall. You close your eyes and bring your hands up to cover your face, not wanting him to see you upset but he is the one who has seen you that way the most lately. Arms wrap around you and Jihoon kisses the side of your head as he whispers, It’s okay, only to feel you shake in his embrace. He isn’t sure what you are upset about, but it doesn’t actually matter. All that matters is that he’s going to make it better. 

“They offered me a full position at the studio.” 

Soonyoung sighed into his words as he looked down at his hand as Aimi slid hers into his. He wasn’t sure if he loved her but she felt nice. At least sometimes she did. Other times, she felt like guilt and regret, but today she felt like a friend and a lover. 

“Are you gonna take it?” 

She could be hopeful. For Aimi, this was starting to turn into love. She loved how Soonyoung looked at her sometimes and how he would hold her after he would fuck her into his mattress. Other times, she was reminded that she wasn’t you. She had no disillusion with who she was and what she was doing, but clearly Soonyoung wasn’t happy and neither were you. 

Shrugging, Soonyoung leans back against his headboard, letting Aimi rest against his chest, her head against his jaw as he traces her fingers like she used to do with you. He missed moments like this with you, but he didn’t know you anymore. The woman he had fallen in love with was a million miles away, not just in distance but in other ways. 

“Maybe…I dunno. I gotta talk to Y/N.” Shifting uncomfortably when he says your name, Soonyoung takes a deep breath and tightens his fingers around Aimi’s. “I go back home in a month. That’s when this job officially ends.” 

Frowning to herself, Aimi looks out at the city skyline and says a silent prayer to herself that maybe Soonyoung will change his mind and stay. Maybe you will tell him to stay, but she keeps it to herself and only nods before meeting his eyes. 

“Okay, well, whatever you decide, you know where I am.” 

Soonyoung can hear the innocence in the girl’s voice and it almost makes him want to laugh. Not at Aimi or at her innocence but more at how, even in the situation, she seems so perfect. Brushing his lips over hers, Soonyoung takes in a breath of her perfume while at the same time letting it wash over his senses and push you further from his mind. She was right; he knew where she was but what he didn’t know was where you were.

You moan Jihoon’s name, only for him to swallow it with his kiss as his hands slide over your hips. Jihoon was enjoying the feeling of you sitting on his cock but each time you clenched around him, he felt like he was going to explode. 

“Fuck, Y/N…” 

Rolling your hips down over Jihoon, you dig your nails into his shoulders as he rests his head back against the headboard with a long, deep groan. You loved riding Jihoon, especially when you were at his place. Here were no pictures of Soonyoung, nothing you could accidentally make eye contact with as you asked for Jihoon to make you forget. 

Jihoon was so good at making you forget. He was even better at making you want something different. Something that you didn’t think you could ever have because you belonged to someone else. Someone else was in love with you and you had made a promise to wait for him.

“Baby, if you don’t slow down, I’m gonna cum first.” 

Shaking your head at Jihoon’s words, you feel his fingers dig into your hips as you whine against his jaw, not wanting to stop. Gritting his teeth, Jihoon groans your name once again before he feels himself unable to hold back anymore. You rest your forehead against his as you watch Jihoon’s mouth drop open and feel the warmth of his cum start to spill into you. 

Catching his breath, Jihoon shakes his head with a wince, feeling you rock your hips over his softening cock. He knew you had a hard day and he didn’t mind letting you get out your frustrations in any way you wanted to but he still liked to make you feel good. 

Lifting his hands, Jihoon shifts you back from him and cups your cheek to make you look at him as he licks his lips. You feel your cheeks instantly start to burn at his attention and his intense gaze, his eyes studying you as his fingers brush sweat from your temple. 

“You wanna talk about it?” 

Leaning your head back from him, you shake your head no, making Jihoon let out a disapproving breath. He knew there was a lot on your mind but he could only make you say as much as you were willing to. Running his thumb along your jaw, Jihoon nods, glancing towards his nightstand to see where your phone is plugged in. The light draws his eye but more so Soonyoung’s face, letting you know he is calling you. 

“Soonyoung’s calling…” 

Jihoon watches your eyes move to your phone and the way your body stiffens against his. You could ignore it; you had before in other circumstances but he hadn’t called today and you felt like you were made of glass. 

A few more seconds pass before you slide from Jihoon’s lap and sit on the side of the bed before answering your phone. You swallow hard into your words, feeling Jihoon’s hand resting against your hip like an anchor. 

“Hello?” 

Soonyoung leans against his balcony door, glancing towards his bed, where Aimi sighs in her sleep as you finally answer your phone. You didn’t sound overjoyed to hear from him, but that was his usual greeting—it still hurt. 

“Hey, baby. I just…” 

You listen as Soonyoung scoffs into a sad laugh as you furrow your brows, trying to figure out how you are supposed to feel or respond. Shaking your head, you start to speak when he continues. 

“Just—uh, I wanted to check in. Didn’t talk to you much today or yesterday. I mean, fuck, let’s be honest, we haven’t talked much since I got back.” 

He wasn’t wrong. You could count the number of phone calls on two hands over the span of the last month and the text messages were not much better. Most were either one of you saying you were thinking of the other or checking in, but every time it felt like keeping up appearances. 

“I’m…I’m sorry. I can try to do better if you want. I’ve just been busy, Soonyoung.” 

Shaking his head, Soonyoung bites at his lip when you try to apologize and come up with an excuse without actually giving any real excuse. He knew he wasn’t any better but once again, it still hurt. 

“No, it’s fine. I get it. I’m busy, too. Always fucking busy, right? That’s us…” 

Tears sting your eyes, making your vision blurry as you hear the hurt in Soonyoung’s voice. Closing your eyes, the tears fall over your cheeks, only for you to try to sniff them back as quietly as possible. Hearing your tears, Jihoon sits up, moving closer to you, trying to pull you back towards him, only for you to shake your head. 

When Soonyoung hears you crying, his own tears finally fall. Nodding, he lifts his free hand to wipe at his cheek with a groan before sniffing back the tears and pushing off the wall. 

“But I’ll be home in a month, right? So we can just see what happens. Right, Y/N?”

You can hear the hope in his voice layered with all that sorrow and it only serves to break your heart more as you shake your head and shrug. Licking the salty tears from your lips, you lift your arm to wipe away your own tears before making yourself calm down. 

“Yeah, a month, Soonie.” 

The name Soonie makes Soonyoung close his eyes and drop his head. It used to make him smile when you’d call him the cute name and tell him how much you loved him but now it feels like his heart is breaking. 

“Okay…goodnight, baby.”

Leaning your head back, you take a breath, letting it out as you hear the finality in Soonyoung’s words. The tone of his voice makes you wonder how hard he will try to stay in touch before he shows up back at home. 

“Night. I love—” 

Hearing the phone disconnect before you finish your sentence tells you everything you need to know.

Jihoon couldn’t help but watch the days tick by. Never in his life could he remember a month going by as quickly as this one seemed to. He wanted to hold on to each and every minute he had left with this little life he had made up with you but every single day passing was a reminder that it was ending. 

He wondered, selfishly, if he just told you how he felt if you’d tell Soonyoung what was happening and ask him not to come home. But then he’d be hit with guilt. That never stopped his feelings or the urge to tell you how much he cared about you. 

Holding you in his arms, your arm draped over his stomach as you traced some design made up in your head on his forearm, Jihoon watched you under the moonlight. There was less than a week left before Soonyoung would be back, laying where he was now. The thought of it made his stomach twist and his heart feel like it was breaking. 

“Y/N, honey…” 

You smile softly at the pet name, your lips pulling up against Jihoon’s skin, before you glance up at him, seeing questions in his eyes. That look had been there for a while now but it was as if he were afraid to say anything, afraid you’d run away. Maybe now was the time, before there was no time left. 

“What…well—what happens when Soonyoung gets home?” 

Your smile fades at Jihoon’s question because that wasn’t what you thought he was going to ask. You weren’t sure what he was going to ask but you hadn’t expected it to be about Soonyoung. Swallowing hard, you lay your head back down and look out your window towards the sky as if some sort of answer lies in the stars but nothing helps. 

“I–Jihoon…I don’t know. I guess things just…” 

Lifting your hand from his arm, you gesture into the air, trying to express your words as Jihoon’s eyes follow them, but it only serves to confuse him and make his heart beat faster. Shaking his head, Jihoon shifts under you, making you sit up as he does. You tilt your head with a whine, feeling his hands on either side of your cheeks as his eyes search for yours. 

“Guess things, what? Go back to how they were. Seriously, Y/N? Is that what you fucking want?” 

Closing your eyes, you feel tears welling up in your eyes at the questions leaving Jihoon’s mouth. You knew what you wanted the answers to be but life wasn’t always that simple. Holding your face still but gently, Jihoon swallows back his emotion with a curse under his breath as he watches your tears stream down your cheeks. 

“Baby...come on. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you still love him. I mean, fuck, look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t love me!” 

Lifting your hands, you hold Jihoon’s wrists as you keep your eyes shut tightly to try to save yourself from hurting him or lying. When Jihoon whines your name, tears are evident in his voice. You just shake your head and finally meet his eyes. 

“It’s not that simple, Jihoon! Fuck! I wish it was! I want it to be, but god, it’s just not!” 

Dropping his hands into your lap, Jihoon blinks tears from his eyes as he nods, understanding what you are trying to say. You watch as he turns his head away from you and furrows his brows before taking his hands from you and sliding off the bed. Your heart tightens in your chest as you reach for his hand, only for Jihoon to move it from your reach. 

“I’m gonna head home.” 

You shake your head, moving to your knees on the bed, a whine of Jihoon’s name on your lips when he turns back towards you to take your face back in his hands. Leaning to rest his forehead against yours, Jihoon sniffs back his tears as you cling to his forearms and whisper that you don’t want him to go. 

“I have to, honey. Things go back to how they were, right?” 

Kissing you softly, Jihoon only lingers for a moment before he presses his lips to your forehead and leaves you watching him from your bed, tears streaming down your face. You listen to the sound of your front door opening and closing before emotion ripples through your body and you find you can’t hold yourself upright anymore. 

There was heartache when it came to Soonyoung but this felt worse. Now the walls that had built up around you were shattering around you and there was no safety left from the storm. You knew you had created the storm—though you hadn’t created it alone—it was yours to name and it was yours to weather. 

You had forgotten how little Soonyoung had taken with him to Tokyo when he had left a year ago. You listened to the sound of water running as Soonyoung took his shower just down the hall from where you stood, unpacking his suitcase, bit by bit. 

There are so many memories attached to items and then there are so many new things that you don’t recognize at all. For the few hours that Soonyoung had been home, the conversation had been light. There had been discussion about what you had planned for dinner and how his flight had gone.

“Y/N…uh babe…” 

Soonyoung’s voice pulls you back to the present as you glance over your shoulder to look at him, his towel around his waist, a look of confusion on his face as he moves further into the room. Swallowing hard, he laughs awkwardly before gesturing to his suitcase on the bed. 

“I can do that. You don't... just leave my shit alone.” 

Gently moving your hands from one of his shirts, Soonyoung pulls the suitcase closer to him. Taking a step back, you scoff at your boyfriend before shaking your head and running your hand over your hair. You could feel the tension thickening in the air even as you turned away, leaving him in the bedroom alone with his shit. 

Soonyoung hadn’t meant to upset you, but he wasn’t used to you being in his space anymore. He was used to you going through his things anymore. Groaning under his breath as he listens to the sound of you opening and closing cabinets in the kitchen louder than necessary, Soonyoung works to get dressed before staring at his suitcases, trying to decide where to start. 

The idea was simple, the task seemed impossible. Put the clothes away and live like he had never left. But that wasn’t going to be so easy in a place where he didn’t feel like he belonged anymore. 

You weren’t looking for things to annoy you about Soonyoung; however, it seemed that everything did now that he was home. You were reminded that he frequently forgot to put down the toilet seat and that he didn’t always put the lid back on the toothpaste. So as you sat on the couch near him after a silent dinner, he could feel the chill in the air, making him finally pause the unwatched movie on the TV. 

“I was watching that.” 

Shaking his head, Soonyoung turns to look at you, reaching for your hand, only to feel you start to pull away. He had expected it, but it still hurt. He was inches from you and he still felt like he was a world away. 

“You weren’t, Y/N. You have been pissed off at me since I got out of the shower.” 

Shrugging, you let Soonyoung run his thumb along your palm as he tries to calm you down, but all you can think about is how much you miss Jihoon and how it’s been days since he’s answered your texts. You can just feel how much your heart is in your throat because you can’t have him where Soonyoung is right now. 

“No…I–” 

“Just stop! I–fuck, Y/N! I’m home and it’s the same. I could be across the world and we’d be doing the same shit. So, when do we just stop? I can’t do this anymore. You–dammit…” 

You stop talking as Soonyoung yells at you, his hand dropping yours as he leans back to run his hand over his face. You watch as tears collect in his eyes, all the emotion that he has been holding back rushing to the surface as he thinks about what he is doing and what it is going to mean. Gesturing towards you, Soonyoung feels like panicking and taking back his words before he even says them, but he already knows it’s too late. 

“I fucked up. I…I–I slept with someone else, Y/N and I—” 

Shaking his head, Soonyoung watches as your brows furrow and the tears that had been collecting in your eyes fall down over your cheeks. Lowering his head, he reaches back out for your hand, taking it into his before meeting your eyes and taking a breath before speaking. 

“I’m sorry —” 

“I don’t think that I love you anymore, Soonyoung.” 

Your words cut off his, making Soonyoung stop suddenly. Perhaps he knew that you didn’t love him anymore but hearing it out loud felt like a bomb going off in his chest. You feel his hands tremble around yours as he lets out a shaky breath and nods, trying to form the right words only to start and stop making you speak up first. 

“I slept with Jihoon. I–I’m in love with Jihoon. I’m sorry…” 

Letting go of your hand, Soonyoung rubs his hand over his mouth when you confess what you have done to him. He knew the two of you had gotten close, and now knowing he wasn’t so crazy for being suspicious made Soonyoung’s heart drop into his stomach. 

“What the fuck, Y/N…” 

It’s you that reach out for Soonyoung’s hand, only for him to pull them away harshly, his eyes meeting yours with disdain before they soften slightly. He knew he was being hypocritical. He had done exactly what you had done but it felt worse because it was Jihoon. It felt personal because it was his best friend and his girlfriend. 

“I thought...fuck, I don't know what I fucking thought. That I’d tell you what a fuck up I was, and you and I would start over.” Sighing into a groan, Soonyoung leans his head forward, feeling you run your hand over his cheek as he continues. “We both fucked up, Y/N. Real bad…” 

Looking up to try to stop more tears, you only feel more fall and drip along your neck as you nod along with Soonyoung’s words. The truth was painful, but it was better than the lies that you had used to build up some fake security around yourself to hide from the pain. 

“We just…we fell out of love, Soonyoung.” 

Sitting in silence, seconds turn to minutes and minutes turn to an hour before Soonyoung finally stands up and draws your attention with him. You watch as the man shrugs and wipes his tears from his cheeks before he holds out his hands as if laying out everything on the table. 

“I was offered the job at the studio as a full-time position. I had told them I was going to think about it… but I–I’m gonna take it, Y/N.” 

You can only nod as Soonyoung lets out a breath before shaking his head as if that’s all he has left to say and walks from the room, leaving you alone on the couch. The emotions you find are like waves in moments of extreme change. You are washed over with relief from telling the truth and then pushed back with pain from the end of a relationship, only to be washed over with the feeling of hope.

It was raining the morning that Soonyoung left for the airport and you were left with an extra set of keys. You had spent time walking around the rooms, picking up the last bits of your relationship. It seemed that with each picture you collected or each stuffed animal you put away, the rain would fall harder along with your tears, making you only think of one person. 

Jihoon.

He didn’t know what had happened and you knew you had put him through enough. Just the thought of him as you moved into the kitchen, seeing the picture of the two of you at the farmer’s market, was enough to break your resolve and cause you to find yourself less than an hour later at his door, shivering from the rain. 

The storm had only gotten worse throughout the day so hearing his doorbell and your voice calling his name from his door made Jihoon’s heart drop to his stomach. A list of reasons you could be at his door came to his mind as he made his way to you. Soonyoung had been in an accident, you had been hurt, something terrible had happened, or maybe just—no, you couldn’t be there for him. 

Opening his door, Jihoon’s breath is taken away by seeing you after so many days, your hair and clothes soaked as you shiver from the rain. Grabbing your hand, he pulled you in and looked you over for any signs of injury but all he could find were your tears mixing with the rain on your cheeks. 

“What are you doing, Y/N? Why…why didn’t you grab a coat or something? You’re gonna get sick…” 

Shaking your head, you just smile, wrapping your arms around Jihoon’s neck, pulling him close to you, and making him take in a deep breath as you suddenly hug him. He could feel his clothes becoming instantly soaked, but he couldn’t find any reason to care as he wrapped his arms around you and held you close as you clung to him. 

“I’m so sorry, Jihoon. I’m so stupid. I love you so much.” 

Confusion is what hits Jihoon first when you tell him that you love him. He thinks he is hearing things but you say it again and Jihoon holds you even tighter before letting out a shaky breath. 

“I love you too. Tell me what’s going on, honey.” 

Letting Jihoon finally move away from you so he can look at your face once again, you lean into his touch as you recount the past couple of days. You explain the fight with Soonyoung and the confessions. Wincing at the idea of Soonyoung’s pain, Jihoon’s brows furrow as he runs his hand along your cheek before resting his forehead against yours. 

“He’s right, we did this all fucking wrong, baby. I hate that it happened like this, but... I don’t regret it. I can’t…”

Nodding along with Jihoon, you grab at his shirt, pulling him back close to you as you tell him you love him again and claim your first kiss in days from him. Jihoon’s brows furrow deeply, feeling your lips on his, making him want more after missing you so much. 

With a small grunt on your lips, Jihoon tugs you close and lifts you, letting you wrap your legs around his waist so he can carry you down the hall towards his bedroom. Hearing you whine into the kiss, he smiles and shakes his head, only to nip at your lips when he turns into the bathroom and places you on the counter. 

“Stay right here…” 

Jihoon smirks to himself upon hearing you whisper his name, your fingers clinging to his shirt even as he pulls away from you to lean into the shower, turning it on. You watch as steam starts to fill the room and as Jihoon tugs his shirt over his head before kicking his sweatpants off, leaving him bare in front of you. There was something different about seeing him now, his body on display for you as his blonde hair started to fall from its low bun. You knew he was yours and he was seeing you as his. 

“Gotta get you outta those wet clothes, honey. You are gonna get sick; I don’t want that.” 

Biting at your lip, you lift your arms as Jihoon tugs at your shirt, pulling it up and over your head. You close your eyes, leaning your head back and relishing the feeling of his soft lips pressing to the swell of your breasts over your bra as his fingers work the clasp loose. 

“Mm, not gonna get sick, Hoonie. Oh, fuck…” 

You whine out a moan, leaning back against the mirror, when Jihoon’s mouth wraps around your nipple, your bra falling to the floor. Smiling against your skin, Jihoon glances up even at such a close distance to watch your mouth fall open in a moan of his name as he uses his free hand to roll the other hardening bud between his index finger and thumb. 

With a soft popping sound, Jihoon lets go of your breasts, moving from one to the other, letting you squirm on the counter with him between your thighs. Sliding your fingers over his arms and the other hand through his hair, you arch your chest towards Jihoon’s mouth as you mutter a quiet plea for more, telling him how much you missed him. 

“Yeah? Did you miss me? How much?” 

Fingers push into the top of your pants as you lift your hips, letting Jihoon work them down your legs. You try to articulate your words to let Jihoon know how much you missed him, but just incoherently mutters his name and please fall from your lips, making him smirk as his hands push your thighs apart, letting him see how wet you have gotten just from his teasing. 

“Shit…You are so pretty. How am I gonna let you go home?” 

Shaking your head, you meet Jihoon’s eyes as he moves down to his knees in front of the bathroom counter, pulling you to the edge. The warmth of his tongue running from your entrance to your clit sends a shockwave through your body. Your skin erupts with chill bumps and your toes point as you try to lift your hips from the counter. 

Pushing your hips down with one arm, Jihoon groans to your taste as if committing it to memory just in case something were to happen again and he were to not get you back into his bed. Your fingers dig into his hair, feeling Jihoon’s mouth wrap around your clit, only for him to lap his tongue around the bundle of nerves, making your thighs shake. 

“Don’t wanna…ah! Don’t wanna go home without you, Jihoon. Fuck!” 

Your words almost cause Jihoon to pull back from what he is doing, but your hand keeps his head between your legs as your orgasm rips through you and your cum begins to drip on to his waiting tongue. Groaning at your taste, Jihoon uses his lips to pull at your soft folds, listening to the sounds of your whines as he overstimulates you until you start to close your thighs around his head. Only then does he smile against your pussy, placing one last kiss on your wet folds before standing back up to claim your lips, letting you taste yourself in his mouth. 

Your words hadn’t gone by without him noticing, but Jihoon still had much on his mind and wanted in you. Feeling you gasp on his lips, Jihoon picks you up once more and walks with you into his shower, letting the door close behind him. You sigh against his lips as he puts you up against the tile wall, letting the warm water rain down over the both of you.

Smiling against your lips, Jihoon slides his hands along your legs, letting you stand on one, keeping the other at his hip as he speaks between kisses. You can only furrow your brows and let out a moan, feeling his cock slide into you slowly. The stretch is welcomed and intense as Jihoon pins you against the shower wall. 

“You don’t want to go home without me?” 

Shaking your head, you gasp, feeling Jihoon bottom out inside of you. Fingers scratch along the back of your leg towards your knee as Jihoon moves his kisses to your jaw and then your neck, leaving bites and marks on his way to your ear as you moan his name at your answer. 

“Uh huh… miss you. Please, oh fuck… don’t stop.” 

With your earlobe between his lips, Jihoon smiles, feeling you clench down on his cock when he thrusts into you hard and deep. He wasn’t in a rush. He wanted to feel every bit of you around him and he wanted to make sure you felt every inch of him as if he were made for you. Jihoon wanted to fill you full of him in every single way, even if he wouldn’t say it out loud to you in the moment, as his hand moved over your stomach, gently pushing down over your lower abdomen. 

“I’m not gonna stop, baby… fuck…I wanna be this deep in you all the fucking time.”

Jihoon had dirty talk with you before, especially when you had asked him to be rough with you, but this was different. You could feel how deep he was inside of you and you could almost feel how true his words were. You wanted as much as he did. Laying your hand over his, you gasp as Jihoon’s eyes meet yours with a hard thrust, sending you over the edge once again. 

“Good girl, good fucking girl. Cum for me, honey.” 

Watching you fall apart for him was almost better than anything Jihoon could physically experience until your walls clenched around him like a vice. Your hips roll towards him and Jihoon is a goner. Any intention he had to hold back his own climax is gone as he groans your name and bites at your lips, pushing his cum into you with each thrust. 

By the time you and Jihoon catch your breath, the water starts to go cold. Smiling on your lips, Jihoon slides his tongue against yours for one more deep kiss that makes your mind go blank before he has you on your own two feet once again. 

You rely on him to keep you upright as he laughs when you start to complain about the cold water as he finishes cleaning between your legs. Jihoon just looks at you with love and wonder as he helps you out of the shower and wraps a towel around you, knowing you are his. 

When you finally wake up in Jihoon’s bed a few hours later, you are happy to find him beside you, his arm under your head, as the moon shines through his window. Turning towards him, you can’t help the urge to run your fingers over his cheek and nose, making Jihoon flinch at your touch and open his eyes slowly to find you looking at him. 

“Mm, why aren’t you still asleep, honey?” 

Sliding closer to Jihoon, you let him hold you in his arms and press his lips to your forehead. The guilt that got you here washed away with the rain of the storm that you had created. He had weathered it with you and kept you safe even when you felt like you were drowning. 

“Was just missing you. I love you, Jihoon.” 

Closing his eyes, Jihoon shakes his head and sighs tiredly as you kiss his jaw. He was never going to get tired of hearing that.

“I love you too, honey.” 

© onlymingyus - all rights reserved. Reposting/modifying of any fic, or pieces of original writings posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations not allowed.

[1moreff-creator]

DRDT CH2 EP16 First Impressions

We’ve reached the end of the chapter! A bittersweet feeling, finally getting closure on this chapter while also ushering in a new hiatus. Still, congrats to dev for making it this far! Hope they enjoy their break, while we enjoy whatever they’ve cooked up for the ending!

Without further ado, let us enjoy peak.

Spoilers for the entirety of CH2 (hell yeah). CW: Execution, suicidal thoughts.

It’s Aceover.

ONE vote for Teruko! Do we think Ace voted for himself? Did the mystery voter from Trial 1 repeat their vote on Teruko? Or did they not, and the vote’s just Ace? {Hindsight: It’s CH1 Mystery Voter probs}

MonoTV: “You got it right!” IT’S ALL OVER.

Okay wait it’s actually kinda weird to see the new David sprites outside of the Trial. Like it’s trippy idk why. That’s crazy.

Eden: “Why her of all people?” Poor Eden, at least give her an answer! Even if it’s just “it was the easiest option” man.

Whit: “I really thought that no one would repeat what happened to Xander and Min.” Is this the very first piece of anti-Whit Time Loop theory evidence? Or is he just lying? I don’t believe the theory, so I’m passing that one to the defenders.

Ace: “I killed her. And if you can’t forgive me for that, then there’s nothing I can say.”

Hey remember when Nico said they didn’t see the point of saying sorry if they wouldn’t be forgiven anyways? Yeah.

The foils are foiling :O

Both Teruko and Eden blaming themselves in their own way (Eden mentioned it in Ep10 “just like Min!” and now Teruko’s bringing “misfortune” into the conversation), man we are in for some sad times with these two. And everyone else ig.

Hu: “How could you say it’s just misfortune?” And Hu is very against this idea, interesting.

“So we can’t blame ourselves for failing to prevent something like that.” Ah, there’s the ticket. She’s trying not to feel guilty about it, which is kinda fair, Arei’s death is 99% Ace’s fault.

Eden: “The Ace I met for the first time wasn’t a murderer.” Oof, Eden hitting us with the full highlight line. She’s so great for this honestly. Everything she says afterwards is also great for her character, I love her (and I don’t need to read her lines with suspicion!!! I’m free!!!)

Veronika. And she’s still smiling. Go worst girl! /affectionate

“The only thing anyone can do in this killing game is to shatter.” We are… getting worryingly close to secret quote wording here.

Rose: “Are you saying Ace was pushed into killing because of things like almost being killed?” (Paraphrased) Oh God she’s gonna feel guilty too because she let Nico get the turpentine! Even if that doesn’t work if Ace had already chosen to kill Eden, still! How much self-blame can we have this trial?

Teruko: “No.” Yeah thank you.

Ace: “Did you all get the Veronika virus or what?” God I’m gonna miss him so much actually.

[To Levi] “Shut up for the rest of your life and kill yourself!” Holy SHIT he’s going out with a bang. {Hindsight: I didn’t realize how accurate this would be}

David: “You still have it in you to throw stones in your glass house.” Did this motherfucker correctly use the idiom Ace fucked up earlier? He’s such a piece of shit /affectionate.

Ace: “I don’t care if it made me a hypocrite!” AGH-! New sprite and the voice acting continues the hot streak of being absolutely fucking stellar! Holy hell!

[To Levi] “I just needed a reason to stay mad at you!” Ouchie!

[The whole Levi v Ace thing] This is just fucking incredible. Levi still doesn’t understand, Ace just wanted to stay mad so he could live with his betrayal, just peak character writing all around. And peak VAing, of course.

Teruko: “I need you to do a favor for me. It might just save your life.” YOOO I CALLED THIS!!! Blackened Blaze of Glory let’s fucking goooo!!!! Thanks to shinycrows for asking me that!!!

“Kill MonoTV for me.” Alright so. Not the best plan ever, but then again, it’s not like any plan against the killing game will work on CH2. Also the way she said that was great.

MonoTV: “Yeah, more murder!” Why’s it so funny for?

Teruko: “Arei died because you’re a coward, Ace!” YO why’s she going so hard right now?! This entire scene is incredible, I don’t even have any words for this much peak. The emotion in her voice, holy fuck- Oh yeah because Arei’s crying reminded her of something! In the playground! So Teruko does have a small connection with Arei so she’d feel real bad (for more reason than just death of someone she knew)! I didn’t put that together till now.

[Ace punches MonoTV] PEAAAK! Oh shit it actually broke! That was so fucking awesome! Let’s fucking go Ace!!!!! Also MonoTV is definitely just coming back, right?

That broken MonoTV sprite though!

Eden: “Finally, it’s over—“ The lack of music is making this really impactful, even though we know it won’t work. Holy shit.

MonoTV: “A fatal error has been detected” We breaking out different fonts?

MonoTV: “Now loading the default XF-Ture personality drivers.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AND THE CROWD GOES FUCKING WILD!!!!

Now we have the question. Was MonoTV created by XF for the game? Or did XF just create the AI, and someone repurposed it for thre killing game?

Also what are these defaults going to be?

…Wait whose voice is this? Someone we know? Please tell me I’m bad at recognizing voices! {I think it’s still MonoTV’s VA, just doing a different act, but I’m not sure}

[MonoTV speech] Didn’t expect MonoTV of all damn characters to have a badass moment, but I guess this is the world we live in now.

“But there is no reason to punish Ace a second time.” UHHH Chat are we cooked?

The death of every participant? This is about rule 14, right? “All murderers must be held accountable”? The “everyone is responsible for Mai’s death and must be punished” theory seems to be gaining ground.

It’s also saying this is why it was created, so XF likely did have a direct hand in the killing game. Min MM not looking so implausible all of the sudden.

“I will pass the punishment…” chat we’re actually immensely cooked what.

“I will now proceed with the execution of Teruko Tawaki.” UHHH LUCK BETTER COME IN CLUTCH!!!

[Machine Gun] BRO?!?!?!

Charles: “That thing will surely kill you!” Even Charles is sounding extremely distressed here, damn! But I guess Teruko is relying on her luck maybe?

Whit: “Charles! Stop talking and cover your eyes!” I mean yeah good advice but you know- More pressing things atm

Teruko: “No :)” Why’s she so silly coded?

Teruko: “Killed? I doubt it. As if something so kind could happen to me.” AAAAAAH!!!! The suicidal tendencies return with a vengeance!!!

[Her speech] Holy fuck holy fuck this is crazy she’s actually doing the unhinged Lucky Student thing of relying on luck she’s going in I’m so terrified for what’s about to happen.

“I’ll show you all what it means to be the Ultimate Lucky Student.” Shit boutta go crazy.

[LEVI DOES THE THING] OF FUCKING COURSE!

Bro I was not ready for this. I wasn’t ready in the slightest. This motherfucker better survive against all odds or it’s all over.

Bro that sprite- He’s so cooked.

MonoTV: “His injuries are not fatal” Wait are we saved? Arturo look I know you’re not a doctor but for the love of God tell me you can do something about this holy shit. I wasn’t ready for this.

VERONIKA. Holy shit she’s actually insane.

Arturo: “He could live…” Please??? For me???

Wait now that I’m thinking about it. He hasn’t said his secret quote. We might be saved.

[Whit sprite] … Huh??? Bro what the fuck is happening this episode.

Ace: “Execute me right now!” Ough this shit insane!!! I can’t- I genuinely can’t react. I’m just overcome with emotion at this point.

“I’ll have a third death in my hands!” … Wait the math. Unless he’s counting himself… does he blame himself for Taylor’s death???

[The entire Arturo - Ace debacle] I…holy shit???? The genuine distress in Arturo’s voice when he says he can’t save Levi??? Ace clinging to the hope that he can??? Bro what the fuck??? This is insane???? I can’t- I can’t compute- This is actually insane. This is so much. Levi better not fucking die after this I swear to god-

Ace: “I don’t want to die…” Holy shit dev did it. I’m feeling just as bad for Ace as I felt for Min. Bra-fucking-vo. Holy fuck. No words.

[Thanatophobia]

(Fear of death right? Fits)

… Okay, so. I know someone brought up this term in relation to Ace. Genius, first.

Second, that might just be one of the greatest executions I’ve even seen, if not the best. I usually don’t care much about how good executions are, but this… this is incredibly good. The music was banging. The execution method was unique. It wasn’t related to his talent, but his character, which makes it better imo.

(Also are the “unexplained illnesses” related to Xander’s family?)

And even through all this… dev showed the corpse. When they didn’t show Min’s. Why would you allow me to cope even further? You drop XF and show a corpse- holy shit. I just can’t even process anything.

And he didn’t say his quote. He never said it I don’t think. Levi better survive.

VERONIKA. Holy shit she’s actually getting more and more unhinged by the second the hell-? Yeah remember when she looked unnerved by Min’s execution?!?! She ain’t looking unnerved no more!

Hu: “The elevator is open!” We’re just- gonna ignore- Alright, I guess it’s fair. Surely Levi survives right?

Rose please tell me you looked away. I know you saw Levi so it’s not looking great either way, but still.

Teruko: “Go on without me.” Is she going to talk to David maybe? About the secret?

“Everyone was gone.” Alright no, she’s just going to mourn or something?

[Teruko reflects on her similarities to Ace and Arei] I really like this moment, it’s nice of her to say what the audience was probably already thinking.

MonoTV: “I must convince everyone that I’m the villain.” And what does this mean MonoTV? Genuinely too burnt out to think about it any harder rn.

MonoTV: “That is the fate that I have, to make others suffer.” HOW ARE WE TYING MONO FUCKING TV TO THE THEME OF FATE?!?!?!WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT FUCKING “TERUKO-MONOTV PARALLELS” WHAT THE FUCK?! DEV YOU SON OF A BITCH YOU DID IT AGAIN!!! /positive

[Teruko breaks down] Holy hell…

“I had known the answer…” AUGH- The character writing… it’s so good… fucking hell this is incredible…

Where do we even go from here? Teruko’s speed running the themes of trust and fate like they’re not the main themes of the series?!?! I’m going crazy.

… Are we seriously leaving it on a cliffhanger whether Levi is alive or not? Like, I know the “surviving students” thing counted him, so I’m guessing he’s alive, but… hot damn. This is an evil cliffhanger.

(Also I find it funny that David’s silhouette sprite did in fact change to what the dev said was his new default lol)

“Seems there’s something he’s not proud of” The nailbiting right.

-

General Thoughts

…

…

…

…

Bro how the fuck am I expected to even begin to summarize this shit?!?!

Okay, in… ascending order of crazy.

Did David just… not speak almost the entire episode? Did he even have any lines when Teruko was being executed? The fuck is going on with him? He didn’t even reveal Teruko’s secret???

Veronika was unhinged. Loved that for her. Hope she gets worse, it seems like CH3 will be a fun chapter for her (I hope that doesn’t mean she dies).

Whit officially gets his very own unhinged/breakdown sprite! We’ve completed the set! I mean, it’s not as crazy as others, but it matches Rose’s so…

Everyone endures further trauma, fun.

I even feel bad for Arturo! Poor guy did not ask for this shit! There’s fun foils here with Levi trying to protect the group as much as he can and Arturo being forced into the role…

Also. Of all ships. I did not expect Aceturo to get a dub here somehow.

I somehow called more or less predicted what Teruko was gonna do. Fun how that happened. And her little character reflection at the end was awesome, I loved it very much. Jesus fuck.

That’s gotta be the best execution I’ve ever seen, hands down. I don’t care that there wasn’t a single horse there. This is much better.

Also, no secret quote from Ace. So those are 100% not a good metric for defining who is at risk of death. Wonder if that means we’ll get a flashback with him?

XF-Ture Tech?!?!?! MonoTV character building kinda?!?!?!?! I’m going crazy?!?!?!

Levi??? This motherfucker better be alive. There’s no reason he should be dead, so I’m gonna assume he’s alive. But wow… I guess weightedblankettt was sorta right on the “final orbit” interpretation of Levi’s connection to Shoemaker-Levy 9, just… not in a way we expected. (If that meant nothing to you don’t worry about it).

And Ace… Hot damn. Just… an entire character arc at the eleventh minute, huh? How’s that for the people who were saying Ace wouldn’t be remembered, huh? Levi probably owes him his life, in a way. He broke MonoTV. He faced his thanatophobia to try to help Levi survive. Just… so fucking good. I said it in the reaction. I genuinely felt just as much grief for him as I did Min. And coming from me, that’s… a lot. Just incredible writing and voice acting and everything in between…

This cements it, btw. This is my favorite trial from anything DR related ever. It’s genuinely insane. I am going to make a more detailed, more coherent post analyzing the entirety of Part 2 of this chapter, because it deserves it. It deserves more thought than I’m able to give right now on account of feeling too many emotions. Stay tuned for that, I guess.

Props to the dev, the VAs, and anyone who might have laid a hand on this at some point. It’s genuinely incredible, this is an unforgettable experience. Holy shit.

I don’t- I don’t have the emotional energy to keep writing. Just… I think I need to calm down for a few hours. Genuinely loved every second of this. Thanks for reading, and see you when I gather my thoughts enough to trust myself to be coherent.

[kodathings]

𝐹𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒

Aeri Uchinaga x drunk!reader

Gender: Fluff

Warnings: drunk reader, slight mention of blood and fight with someone else at first.

a/n: Hello 😁 It's been a while since I've been here, hasn't it? Anyway, I came back with little creativity and I'm still writing something about Winter, but it will take a while to come out. I hope you enjoy what you read and if you could give me suggestions on what I should write soon. Oh, and this fanfic was inspired by a materialist about aespa that I read, I don't remember who wrote it but if you search you'll find it here on Tumblr.

"You fucking bum!" You scream, drawing the attention of the entire bar as you attack a drunk man who confronted you. With your weight you managed to knock him to the ground and punch him in the face, which were difficult to aim with in your drunken state. This all didn't last long when he pushes you, making you hit your head on the table and some glasses of drinks fall on you along with a perfect punch in the middle of your face and soon after your vision goes dark.

-

"You know how stupid that was, don't you?"

"But he was talking about you, I heard it!”

"That was stupid" Giselle shut you up by putting alcohol swabs on your wound under your eye, making the area burn. She was with you at the bar when you fought with that strong man, she was the one who brought you home in fact. You went to the bar to drink because the next day she was going to visit her family in Tokyo and you were staying because you still had to work, so it would be good drink with her before that.

You mumbled something under your breath when she pulled the cotton away with little blood this time "I was just trying to defend you...". Well, she can't send it, it was cute to see you this way, flushed from the drink and with a pout on his lips trying to justify yourself to Giselle.

"You didn't have to do this, just accept that you have a hot girlfriend." She joked trying to lighten the mood. You can't help but laugh at this and go back to sulking when you remember that guy. "But I didn't like what he said" she could even count how many times you've repeated that tonight "Drink really messes with your little head, doesn't it?"

Once again the cotton made contact with his skin, this time a new cotton that went to another wound in the corner of his lip. It was incredible how powerful that man's fist was in you face. The cotton came off and her soft fingers brushed against his skin for a perfect bandage that she had done before, she obviously knew very well what she was doing. Her glass came a little forward with her eyes focused on your bruised face, Giselle didn't even notice how you silently admired her.

"You are very beautiful" a shy murmur escaped his lips with a goofy smile. Now it is clear that the drink was messing with his head. You felt like a fool falling in love again, it was so strange in your head, out of nowhere you felt that way as if you had hearts in your eyes when you saw her.

Aeri smiled at the sight of you just being a jerk for her "You're so silly, Y/n" she pressed a quick kiss to your cheek leaving the lipstick mark there. You liked that, you really liked that. It wasn't like you to like physical contact, this wasn't really your love firm, but this time it was different because of the sparkle in your eyes and she noticed. A smile painted her lips painted wine red, the perfect tone to mark her skin as if it were a painting and she was the artist.

"Why are you like that, babe?" Cynical, she knew how to play with you according to what you was feeling. Your eyes just stared into her dark orbs, you're too stupid and in love for that. You have a headache, your nose still hurts from the punch, your hand hurts a little but you continued to look at her and your girlfriend's red lips "You're going to Tokyo tomorrow...I don't think I can stay without you around for three weeks".

It's cute, but it's sad at the same time. She felt the same way, of course she would call you every night to see how she was and not to mention that she wouldn't be alone in Tokyo since she will see her family, But knowing that I would be far from you is kind of painful to be honest. It would be fair if she left you with a memory of her even if it was just for a little while.

With a sigh she left you lying on the bed comfortably, you didn't understand anything, you just accepted your fate and the soft bed that made you lie there without protesting. She sat on top of you and leaned in close to your face, dangerously close to your lips that tasted like a strong drink that she didn't particularly like the taste of, but it would be worth it later. Your arms were wrapped around her involuntarily quickly, not letting her leave now.

"Silly..." she called you with the new nickname that would be acquired for the rest of your life. It was then that the kissing session on her skin began. First one on his left cheek, he moved up his lips to his forehead forming a path to his right cheek and chin. She was careful not to end up undoing the bandages, which was the reason to make a trail of kisses to his jaw and neck. Meanwhile you were soft with the amount of kisses you received from the Japanese woman.

You felt like you were in heaven, the angels were granting you this great woman before you entered the gates of heaven. Her hands were roaming over your shoulder and arms to make sure you would have blurs of memories the next morning.

Suddenly the kisses stopped, making an irritated groan come out of you in protest, everything was so good. Your eyes opened to see what happened but closed soon after with the quick kiss that was placed on your bruised lips, you swore you just melted like butter on the bed. Aeri had surreally soft lips, a feature you considered very advantageous.

"How it feels?"

"I won't get this off my face until tomorrow"

"Idiot"

[nightwriter357]

can you write something where Damien is comforting reader because they just graduated from a school(like masters degree or something) and none of readers friends could make it to the party? I'm so fucking miserable because that's whats happening in real life right now. i legit have four friends and I'm positive the two who said maybe will not make it

anyways, she/her pronouns for reader and if it becomes smutty I'd be fine with it

Hey there!

First of all, I want to give a huge congratulations on graduating with your degree! That's an incredible achievement and you should be immensely proud of yourself. 🎓✨ I know it really sucks when your friends can't make it to celebrate significant milestones. I've been through similar situations, and it's definitely tough. But remember, this is a moment to celebrate YOU and all your hard work.

I hope you enjoy the story and that it helps brighten your day a bit. I tried to get to this as soon as I could, hope it didn't take too long. 🫣🫣

Sending you lots of love and congratulations again! 💖

Summary: In this smutty(18+) one-shot, Damien comforts you after disappointing news about your graduation party, showering you with love and affection. His support turns passionate, leading to an intimate encounter where he makes you feel cherished and desired.

You were curled up on the couch, staring blankly at the TV. The joy of your recent graduation was completely overshadowed by the news that none of your friends could make it to your party. You felt a mix of sadness and embarrassment, convinced that nobody wanted to be around you.

You're too special to be sad for too long.

Damien came through the door, juggling bags of groceries. His cheerful expression immediately changed when he saw you. "Hey, babe. What's wrong?"

You wiped away a stray tear, trying to smile. "Nothing, just...my friends can't make it to the party. I guess it's not a big deal."

He set the bags down hurriedly and rushed over to you, gently lifting you up and onto his lap. His arms wrapped around you tightly, pulling you close against his chest. "Of course it's a big deal. You worked so hard for this, and you deserve to be celebrated."

You buried your face in his chest, feeling the tears start to flow. "I just feel like nobody wants to be around me. "

Damien tightened his embrace, his hand rubbing soothing circles on your back. "Hey, don't talk about yourself like that. You're amazing, y/n. You're smart, beautiful, and you've accomplished something incredible. I'm so proud of you."

His words and touch made you feel a bit better, but the sadness still lingered. "But it's still so embarrassing, Damien. It feels like...like I'm not important to them."

He leaned back slightly, cupping your face in his hands and making you look into his eyes. "Of course you're important. You're the most important person in my life and anyone who doesn't see how incredible you are is missing out. You should be feeling great in this moment, you deserve all the love and admiration in the world."

You felt a small smile tug at your lips, his sincerity warming your heart. "Thank you, Damien. I just...I feel so alone right now."

"You're never alone," he whispered, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "I'm here, and I'll always be here for you. You're my everything."

He continued to hold you close, his hands gently stroking your back and hair. "You've achieved something amazing. You've worked so hard and come so far and you did it all with such grace and determination. I'm in awe of you, baby."

You let out a small sob, touched by his words. "But it feels like it doesn't matter if nobody cares."

"Don't say that," he said firmly, his hands moving to caress your cheeks. "It matters, you matter, and I care. More than anything. I love you, I love everything about you. Your kindness, your strength, your intelligence."

His words were like a balm to your wounded heart, soothing the pain and bringing a warmth you desperately needed. "I love you too, Damien."

He smiled, his eyes shining with love and affection. "Good. Now, let's make this a celebration, just the two of us. You deserve to feel special."

You nodded, feeling a bit better. "Okay."

He kissed you softly, his lips lingering on yours. "I'm so proud of you."

You felt the sadness start to melt away, replaced by the warmth of his love and support. "Thank you, Damien. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll never have to find out," he promised, kissing you again. "I'm here, always."

His hands roamed your body, his touch both soothing and arousing. He made you feel cherished, loved, and desired. "You're so amazing" he whispered, his fingers tracing the curve of your waist. "You've worked so hard. You deserve to feel so good."

You gasped as his fingers found their way under your shirt, his touch igniting a fire within you. He gently caressed your skin, his fingers tracing the waistband of your panties, sending shivers down your spine. "See how good you're doing, baby?" he murmured, his voice a low, comforting rumble. "Such a good girl."

He took his time, his fingers playing with the edge of your panties, teasing you with light, feathery touches that made you whimper and squirm. "You're amazing, baby," he praised, his eyes filled with admiration. "I love seeing you like this."

His fingers finally slipped inside your panties, moving with deliberate slowness. He traced your folds, feeling how wet you already were. "Look at you, so beautiful and ready," he whispered, his voice husky with desire. "Does this feel good, baby?

"Yes," you breathed, your body arching into his touch. "So good."

"So fucking pretty like this," he murmured, his fingers exploring you, finding the spots that made you gasp and moan. "I want you to feel amazing, to forget everything else. Just focus on me, on how good I'm making you feel."

His thumb circled your clit slowly, his other fingers teasing and exploring without ever entering you. He savored every moan, every shiver that ran through your body. Damien wanted you to long for him, to forget your sadness and only think about the pleasure he was giving you.

"You're so wet," he murmured, his voice filled with awe. "I love how your body responds to me. You're so perfect, baby."

"Damien," you whimpered, feeling the tension and sadness melt away under his touch. "You're not supposed to be able to make me feel like this right now."

He chuckled softly, his eyes never leaving yours. "I'll always make you feel good, no matter what. You're too special to be sad for too long."

He smiled, his eyes never leaving yours. “I want you to feel incredible,” he murmured, his fingers continuing their gentle exploration.

He coated his thumb in your juices and brought it to your clit, rubbing it lightly while his other fingers traced the contours of your entrance, teasing you just enough to drive you wild with anticipation.

“Please, Damien,” you begged, your voice a desperate whisper. “I need you.”

“I know, baby. I’m here,” he soothed, finally pushing a finger inside you. The sensation was intense, and you cried out, your body responding instantly to his touch. He moved slowly at first, allowing you to adjust to the feeling, then began to pump his finger in and out of you, his movements steady and deliberate.

"You feel incredible, y/n," he whispered, his voice filled with awe. "So tight and wet for me."

You whimpered, your hips bucking against his hand, seeking more of his touch. He added a second finger, stretching you and making you moan louder. His thumb continued its slow, torturous circles on your clit, building the pressure inside you.

“Do you feel good, baby?” he asked, his voice a soothing rumble. "I want you to feel amazing, to forget everything but this."

"Yes," you gasped, your body trembling. "I feel...so" you couldn't fully form the words.

"Look at you,” he said softly, his eyes full of adoration. "My pretty girl, being so good for me, taking my fingers so well."

He increased the pace, his fingers moving faster and harder inside you. He could feel your body tensing, your muscles clenching around his fingers. "You’re doing great, baby. Just a little more. You can do this," he whispered, his voice filled with love and encouragement.

The tension inside you built to an almost unbearable point, your body trembling with need. "Damien, please...I'm so close," you moaned, your hands clutching at his shoulders.

"I know, baby. I’m here. Let go for me. I’ve got you," he murmured, his fingers pumping into you with an intensity that made your whole body shake.

Your orgasm hit you like a wave, crashing over you with an overwhelming force. You screamed out his name, your body convulsing as the pleasure washed over you.

Damien held you tight, his fingers moving relentlessly, guiding you through the waves of your orgasm. "That's it, baby, look at me. Just like that, god, you have no idea what you're doing to me," he whispered, his voice filled with fascination.

He didn't stop, his fingers pumping in and out of you hard and fast, prolonging your pleasure. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world who gets to touch you like this, feeling your sweet pussy clench around my fingers," he murmured, his eyes never leaving yours.

Your body trembled with the intensity of your orgasm, your mind blank except for the sensation of his fingers inside you and his loving words. He continued to hold you, his touch both firm and gentle, his eyes filled with adoration. " Wow, still so pretty," he whispered, his voice soft and tender.

As your orgasm finally subsided, he slowed his movements, gently easing you down from the heights of pleasure. He held you close, his fingers still inside you, his other hand caressing your cheek. "You did so good, baby. I’m so proud of you," he murmured, Damien said still holding you tight.

You lay there in his arms, your body trembling and your mind reeling from the intensity of your orgasm. "Thank you, Damien. I love you," you whispered, your voice filled with emotion.

"I love you too, baby. Always," Damien replied, kissing you softly.

You put your hand against his cheek, "You know, this is the best party I've ever been to."

He chuckled, putting your hand in his, "and I haven't even unpacked the snacks yet.

[urdrowning]

bad day / a. russo

AN - definitely not a self insert. definitely not making this to make myself feel better. definitely not about me.

“you’re home!”

the cheerful voice of your girlfriend calls through the house as you enter, despite yourself, you muster a smile at her voice. something about the girl does wonders to cheer you up.

you’ve had a tragic day, your manager was extra harsh in you today in training and the weather wasn’t any kinder. the harsh rain spilling down on you and the combination of your manager’s shitty mood was enough to make you feel awful. you could already feel yourself beginning to develop an illness. throughout the day, the only thing you wanted to do was go home and collapse in alessia’s arms.

“go see mummy!”

you can here her yell whisper at your dog, and you hear the excited pounding of paw prints down the hallway and straight towards you.

“hi sweetie”

you sigh happily yet tiredly, petting the dog. alessia comes behind you and is about to hug you from behind until she realises that you’re soaked through from the rain. she grimaces and grabs your hand instead of hugging you. placing a kiss on your hand she then playfully scoffs.

“no hello for me?”

you playfully roll your eyes and begin to take off your shoes and coat

“hey there, pretty.”

her face lights up at the petname. whenever she smiles, her already bright blue eyes shine so bright that you firmly believe that they could rival sun itself. you lean in to place a quick kiss on her cheek before putting your bag away, quickly making your way upstairs to the shower

“long day?”

she follows behind you, understanding what you need instantly and quickly runs into the bathroom to start a warm bath for you as you begin to get a spare change of clothes for yourself.

“you have no idea.”

she looks at you sympathetically and caresses your cheek affectionately, hoping that at least the smallest bit of her presence would help make you feel better.

“want me to join you in there?”

she nods slightly to the bath, but you shake your head no.

“i’m coming down with an illness, and i refuse to be the reason you get ill.. you’re way too dramatic, less.”

she gasps in mock offence as she tries to hold back her laugh. she mumbles an okay and kisses your cheek before leaving you to enjoy your bath.

“i’ll boil the kettle for you!”

——

after getting changed from your bath, it’s as if you’ve been re-birthed. you feel like a whole new person. despite the illness making itself incredibly more apparent (the stuffy nose will be the death of you) you feel incredibly rejuvenated. you walk out the bathroom and down to the kitchen with a skip in your step, hugging your girlfriend from behind as she warms up some food at the stove. she grins at the contact and leans back into it, before twisting her neck and angling for a kiss. you move away from her, rejecting the kiss.

“uh, no. i’m ill, remember?”

she turns to you and pouts slightly, before faking annoyance playfully.

“wow, even after i made you tea? why do you hate your girlfriend, y/n.”

you grin at her and squeeze her bicep as you go to reach for your tea.

“you’re incredibly dramatic, miss russo. did you, by any chance, take drama for GCSE?”

she laughs at you and shakes her head before turning around and getting back to warming up the food, you grin at her. just watching her in such a domestic atmosphere overwhelms you with love for her.

“you should quit your staring and go put on a film for us, y/ln!”

you playfully salute her as you head into the living room with your tea in hand, scrolling through the films before deciding to put on a comfort movie (because obviously, comfort movies will cure you of your illness.)

——

alessia came in shortly after with food for the both of you and cuddled up to you on the sofa. she made a comment of complaint, saying that avengers infinity war was way too sad for you to watch together (you watched it anyway, she can never say no to you) your dog was fast asleep on one of the spare chairs, in a state of content with having both of her favourite people with her.

halfway through the film, alessia fell asleep on your shoulder. you found yourself drifting in and out of sleep as well. the comfort of your lover in your arms sending you into a state of peace, but the scratch of your throat keeps you from properly resting.

alessia makes a noise of murmur and stirs out of her sleep.

“you okay?”

you whisper to her, stroking her hair in hopes to help her relax.

“nuh-uh. can’t sleep good. didn’t get a kiss goodnight.”

she mumbles slightly incoherently. you cant help but laugh at her determination, even while she’s half asleep.

“alessia, you’ll get ill-“

she cuts you off quickly, sleepily shaking her head in protest.

“i won’t! i’m.. i’m strong..”

she trails off mid sentence in her sleepy state before she suddenly perks her head up, looking at you expectantly.

“fine, but don’t complain to me when you feel like death itself tomorrow.”

you lean in and give her a soft kiss. it’s not deep, or passionate, but it’s so full of love. it’s warm and cozy and is one of your favourite feelings in the world. you pull away and rest your foreheads against each-other. alessia has a dopey-grin on her face as she moves her head on your chest, sleepily muttering as she drifts off to sleep.

“i won’t get ill.. i love you.”

spoiler alert; alessia got sick the next day :)

[vinsmokesangio]

happy anniversary!

pairing: taz skylar x gf!reader (original character)

summary: sky rivera (oc) and taz skylar finally decide to show up on instagram their relationship, posting photos of their trips together to celebrate their date anniversary.

type: instagram au

a/n: hi! long time no see, huh? this is just something that is on my mind because I love to create a whole universe with characters pairing with my obsessions. i have moodboards on pinterest and etc (oh how i love being delulu). this is kinda personal too, but i hope you enjoy anyway! 🤍 my masterlist is here

edit¹: ok, now I'm sad while writing this bc I want to be her.

skysrivera:

and suddenly, it's been 1 year since our adventures. little by little, life shows me how worthy I am of your love and your company. I love you forever, bub. <3

tagged: @/taz_skylar

liked by emilysteaparty, inakigo, bookofjacob and 5.322 others

taz_skylar: life is more comfortable and beautiful with you by my side. happy anniversary, I love you forever, bub - ❤️ liked by author

↳ user: omg you two are so cute together ↳ user: that should be meeeeee ↳ user: girl im so jealous (in a good way)

emilysteaparty: i miss you both so much 🥺 - ❤️ liked by author ↳ user: that should be you, they dont have any chemistry ↳ user: what are you talking about, sky's literally the female version of taz, stop h4ting - ❤️ liked by author ↳ skysrivera: we love you!

user: oh my god you were made for each other ❤️ liked by author user: sky and skylar, this makes the shipp name easier

______________________________________________________________

taz_skylar:

my most incredible partner in any adventures I have had the pleasure of experiencing. you light up my 'sky' 😛 i love you!

tagged: @skysrivera

liked by emilysteaparty, inakigo, mia.goodoy and 148.289 others

user: sanji finally has a gf! user: sagittarius couple be like bookofjacob: couple goals - ❤️ liked by author ↳ user: GO DRINK WATER ↳ user: jacob/usopp this is the perfect opportunity to ask me out on a date, go ahead

user: @skysrivera, what is it like to live our dream?? skysrivera: not the pun 😂 you light up my sky! - ❤️ liked by author

user: i can see the heart eyes of taz <3 ↳ user: MELLORINE ↳ skysrivera: hahahahahah 😂

[summertimemusician]

Linktober 2024, Day 1, Mirror (Self)

Alright here we go again.

Technically a sneak peak of a bigger thing to come in the future that I'm repurposing, and the result of my final playthrough and readthrough before EoW dropped being Four Swords Adventures and that made me sad about Shadow Link again.

Note that this is for the Four Swords Adventures iteration of Shadow Link that might evolve into an LU Shadow, not Dark Link in either LOZ or LU, I have other plans for him.

This one shot was brought to you by Scars by The Crane Wives, Ribs by The Crane Wives, Ruin by The Amazing Devil and Two Minutes by The Amazing Devil because the author's playlist decided to be incredibly cheeky when they blacked out to write this like an ancient seers being cursed with visions and then called mad and hearing they've been put up for execution.

As always the nature of the relationship can be romantic or platonic, mostly due to the author's time constraints and further plans.

Anyway enjoy the reading!

It was cold.

The sort of cold after a wildfire, when everything's turned back to ash, the sort that left burned your vision white after the flames licked through your veins and left an ache in your bones. He shuddered, coughed black onto the stone floor, shaking with a muffled whimper.

It never got any easier, being dragged from the Dark World and into the Realm of Light, the goddesses' world itself revolting against an intruder, wanting the wound torn asunder into their oh so precious realm cauterized. To purge the intrusion and smite it where it stands.

Too bad for them (and for him), his master didn't particularly care about what the world wanted. Didn't particularly care that he hadn't grow accustomed to the pain or the cold, he had to stand up. There was work to be done.

(Shadow gritted his teeth, willed himself not to think about the prophecy of a golden haired princess- because whether he liked it or not, it was prophecy. As those with divinity running through their veins are wont to spill from their throats so carelessly- of violet eyes and a smile a third moonlight and hands holding a hammer.

It always hurt more, after one of the heroes liberated one of the maidens, or the jewels, the pain lingering for days afterwards and carving a home in his metaphorical bones. But just this once he'd take the cold bite of the Four Swords over the pain in the hole in his chest that Vio's betrayal had left, something that felt so much worse than every other time before.

Just this once he wished that maybe, just maybe, the hurt would be too much to bear, that he wouldn't wake up again-

Why? Why does it hurt so much but he's still here? He already knew the Light was uncompromising and unforgiving, but he thought them at least above curses.)

His ears twitched as soft, almost silent footsteps came up to his side. Someone crouching by his fallen form, setting a cautious hand over his own that Shadow couldn't help but draw away from with a hiss, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the world again, to your face, carefully blank as you guided him to lean against your side, a silver choker with a crimson gem winked mockingly at him, the shade closing his eyes and going boneless against your side.

Shadow was so, so tired.

He heard you quietly sigh, plucking his cap from his head and running your fingers through dark amethyst, smoke and mist made hair. "I told you so."

"Shut up." He grumbled, nuzzling further into the crook of your neck. One clawed hand curling against your free wrist, digging into the skin. Absentmindedly noting there were new scratches just above the metal.

It was routine by now, the warmth of your existence against his own a welcome balm, not quite of the Realm of Light where it's unpleasant, not too close to the Dark World where he felt like melting back into the embrace of the darkness, only to howl in agony at being dragged out.

Memories not quite his own bled into his mind all the time. How you'd shape ice into flowers for the princess in winter with nary a though, of blinking and from one second to the next you'd have whatever sword he had hostage if you though it was time for a break with a smile brighter than the sun.

His master had changed that though. It took months for you to stop trying to claw the collar out and to stop trying to fight Vaati.

(Funny how holding a mage's dragon as a bargaining chip is just as effective as kidnapping a ruler.)

Your gaze flicked to the polished obsidian of the Dark Mirror, to the gold, ornate frame. "The offer is still open, you know. Let me take the suffering from you."

"No." He scowled, leaning back to glare into your eyes, a hint of fangs poking out from a maw struggling to keep the shape of a human jaw, "You helped him. Helped them." Shadow spat, there is that hurt again.

You shrugged, a movement that's just slightly awkward as you flinch, "That I did." You confirmed simply, it almost made Shadow see red as he leaned away, knocking your hand from his head in the process, but if there's anything him and the heroes shared, was a lack of a desire to hurt you. It was a little grating to be honest, "Vio even offered to take me with him, to be honest."

"Then why didn't you leave?" He demanded.

Why did you stick around?

Your eyes shuttered, a hint of conflict in your pursed lips. Before you found your words, they come out softly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you why. You'll just have to find out yourself."

You tug your wrist from his grasp, and Shadow lets you go.

(Stubbornly pushing down on memories and emotions that arearen'tarenotanymore quite his.)

You stand and turn away, pushing the curtains away from your sight, you turn your tired eyes to Shadow with an emotion he can't put a name to. "Just keep it in mind that there's more than one way to end this. Nothing is truly inevitable."

Shadow watches you go. 'There's nothing that can be done. He tells himself, hand hesitating above the Dark Mirror, briefly, it curls into a fist. The hero's original self stares back at him.

'… Does he really believe that?'

He shakes his head, and focuses on willing the Dark Mirror to show him his counterpart.

His chest still hurts.

[girltalkcollectives]

Solo Dating: Why Taking Myself Out Changed Everything

Remember that restaurant you've been dying to try? The one with the cute fairy lights and the pasta that looks amazing? Yeah, I finally went there last week. By myself. On purpose.

Listen, I know what you're thinking – because I used to think it too. "That's kind of sad." "People will stare." "Only lonely people eat alone." But can we talk about how weird it is that we've been conditioned to think we need someone else to do the things we want to do?

It started with a cancelled brunch plan. My friend had a last-minute emergency, and there I was, all dressed up with nowhere to go. I stood in my room, staring at my outfit that I'd spent way too long picking out, and thought: Why can't I just go anyway?

So I did.

I walked into that restaurant, asked for a table for one, and ordered exactly what I wanted (yes, including both the french toast AND the eggs benedict – no sharing required!). At first, I felt like everyone was watching me (spoiler alert: they weren't). I awkwardly played with my phone, pretending to look busy. But then something magical happened – I actually started enjoying myself.

There was something incredibly liberating about sitting there, taking up space, not having to make conversation or worry about anyone else's preferences. I could eat at my own pace, think my own thoughts, and just... be.

Since then, I've been on quite a few solo dates with myself. Some highlights:

A morning at the art gallery where I spent 30 minutes staring at one painting because I felt like it

A sunset picnic in the park with my favorite book

A spontaneous movie showing (and yes, I got the popcorn all to myself)

Window shopping without feeling rushed

A fancy coffee shop where I journaled for hours

Here's what I've learned about dating myself:

1. It's helped me get comfortable with my own company

2. I've discovered what I actually like, not what I pretend to like for others

3. My self-confidence has skyrocketed

4. I've become more spontaneous

5. The voice in my head has become a much better friend

And can we talk about how empowering it is to take yourself out? There's something about saying "Table for one, please" without flinching that makes you feel like you can conquer the world.

Of course, some people still don't get it. My mom thinks I'm "giving up on finding someone" (Mom, that's not how this works), and I still get the occasional pitying look from servers. But honestly? Their discomfort is not my problem.

The plot twist? Dating myself has actually made me better company for others. When you're comfortable being alone, you stop depending on other people for your happiness. You start choosing to spend time with people because you want to, not because you're afraid of being by yourself.

To anyone thinking about trying it:

Start small (coffee shops are great for solo dates)

Bring a book or journal if you want a security blanket

Choose off-peak times if you're nervous

Dress in whatever makes you feel confident

Remember: you're not alone, you're taking yourself out

The truth is, learning to enjoy your own company is a superpower. It's not about being antisocial or giving up on relationships – it's about building the most important relationship you'll ever have: the one with yourself.

So here's my challenge to you: Take yourself on a date this week. Go somewhere you've always wanted to go. Order what you actually want. Stay as long as you like. You might just fall in love – with your own company.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #17

Lost in Fairy World

Opening scene, the Fairywinkle-Cosmas are gobbling candy... Throwback to when Poof ate 11 pounds of chocolate.

I don't know why I'm only now realizing he probably likes chocolate so much because Wanda is obsessed with it. I feel like that's something I should've clocked long ago, but I don't think it's in my character notes.

I... think he's been hanging out with his posh British counterpart too much.

Hey um. Didn't the OG series canonize Fairies getting drunk and hungover on candy and soda, like... multiple times!? Isn't that why Cosmo and Wanda were put on probation in the OG series (around "Power Pals" & "Where's Wanda?" iirc)? and/or why Jorgen gave Wanda severe levels of probation when he saw the chocolate smeared on her face?

They invite their son over to chill with them and drink a little wine with dinner, sdfklj. Yeah, this is gonna go great.

They're all waking up hungover after this.

They are making me incredibly nervous.

They're totally gonna get ants.

I think Jorgen would be really mad, but H.P. (who cracked sodas open with Sanderson to chill after taking over the world in the Musical) would be like... "These are my people."

Them...

Peri being this close to a giant candy cane is giving me so much anxiety considering that when he's Teen Poof in Cloudlands AU, he's constantly taking peppermint to get high as a way to avoid thinking about his incredible amounts of trauma. I know it's a me thing but... hey. what.

Aw, Dev's first time seeing Fairy World. Thank you Dev for giving me everything I was sad we didn't get to see with Hazel because she skipped to the clothing store and bounced out :') I was really sad about that, but maybe we'll get to see a godkid exploring this world.

I like Hazel telling Dev he "has that Dimmadome look in his eye." That's so funny. She's been his friend for like, a couple weeks max and she can read him to filth...

Her love of french fries is very funny to me. Too sweet; needs salt.

Okay, Peri ready to take Dev to Fairy World despite Cosmo and Wanda telling them not to go because "They're not his godparent and he can handle this" is 100% backing up my theory from "Battle at the Dimmsonian" that he's way too overconfident and inexperienced. Uh-oh...

Oh! I misinterpreted where this was going- He's actually trying to put his foot down. He DID learn something!

Peri is speaking up!! After a lifetime of being spoken over!! I'm so proud of him <3

Pfft, Dev outsmarting Peri by wishing to go to Fairy World anyway, and Cosmo and Wanda teasing him about it. That's incredible. "Aw, our son's first godkid loophole!"

I love them... He is so overwhelmed. I'm really enjoying these background moments where it's super obvious that Cosmo and Wanda are highly experienced and Peri is new to this gig.

-> I like how Peri's hair has a swoop from back to front while Wanda's is straight. It's got a li'l bit of Cosmo's curve in it :)

OMFG-

I made a joke in Post #10 about how "We should send the babies back to Lightning Walrus Hell," but I didn't mean it!!!

Dev, you literally cannot take Peri there. That is where that man went to get vaporized from reality as a toddler by a society he was taught to trust. Multiple authority figures voted unanimously to place the value of rules above his life and he's got issues about it. He's been here like, two days. You cannot do this to him.

- Are... are we going to get to see Peri face his trauma? Will it be better this time in the company of his family? - If they find Foop there, I'm gonna lose it. Neither of them should be there, but I feel like Foop would taunt some deity and get his butt thrown in there if he's not careful.

omfg, Peri is

LOSING IT.

and by "it" let's just say I mean... his cool.

He is doing his best, but he's just... Little by little, the dominos are falling in the way his facial expressions get increasingly tense. I love that itty-bitty little pause and head shake he does while steeling himself before telling his mom he's got this and to let him talk. I'm crying. This is the best spin-off ever.

Like... take a moment to appreciate Cosmo and Wanda's calmer postures and faces compared to Peri freaking out. I love him.

I like how Dev put his shades back on when he was being sneaky

Dev is full-on going to the Hocus Poconos and frankly if Peri did not go after him, I wouldn't blame him. That's his most traumatizing plot point in the canon. You have one job, Dev!!

They already implied "Secret Wish" was canon earlier in the series, but I'm glad it's even more canon now! I'm sad I often see people dunk on that episode since it's one of my very favorites; it's so creative and it haunts me every day. I want to write something that horrifying :')

I am eternally haunted by a show that spent 8 seasons implying that under the surface, the Fairies care more about their personal safety and rules than child happiness and then gave us a movie that showed them dropkicking toddlers out of the timeline and said toddlers went down screaming and clawing for help. Foop did that to himself and had to deal with the fact that his parents weren't there to say good-bye and Cosmo and Wanda didn't hug or comfort him despite his begging to be protected. gosh I wish that were me. where do I get merch from the Council. I support their rights and wrongs.

Awww! Peri is standing up for himself to his parents! "What was that? I had that handled." He struggled with boundaries in the OG series (See also, pushing himself to exhaustion in "Fairly Old Parent" & 4 seasons of people speaking for him or over him).

It's super cool to see him setting limits (and expressing his frustration to his parents that they kept speaking over him in front of Dev). Let the boy talk!!

-> It's always been my headcanon that Foop struggles to outgrow his habit of speaking for Poof (and I portray Poof going nonverbal when he's stressed), so... idk, this one touches me personally. This is cool.

I do miss him being called Poof, though. He's a big cotton ball and I'll probably slip up and call him Poof in present-day a bunch of times, not just when discussing the OG series.

........ No way are we in the star field from that one Jimmy-Timmy crossover comic where Carl and Sheen were sent to stab sticks into stars. I haven't read that thing in years and don't feel like digging it up right now, but how deep do the lore references go?

I'm lying; I decided to look it up. Here's a Fandom Wiki link to all the pages of the "Career Day!" comic. It wasn't a field, but Jorgen does send Carl and Sheen out to stab sticks into shooting stars to create their wands. So... basically the same thing!

Crying at Cosmo like "It's a good thing we all have location tracker on our wands!" and Peri's like "... I turned mine off because you're so clingy. #Sorry Not Sorry."

Face of a man whose brain is torn between two horrible thoughts: "My godkid is untraceable and running around Fairy World unsupervised" & "I have to tell my doting parents I'm actively preventing them from tracking my location." I love.

I need a character analysis dedicated to Peri specifically. Also I want to see an episode about and/or the story bible for what the heck is going on with his backstory and what he did with his parents gone for 10k years.

Peri: My parents ditched me for 10k years Also Peri: Ew, my parents are so smothering. Why don't they understand I need space?

Wanda talking about Peri's lack of muscles is extremely funny to me since at this stage of his life in my Cloudlands AU, Poof plays sports and exercises a lot.

I am JUSTIFIED!!!!! I knew Sparky moved in with these two! My crops are watered, my skin is clear! That's one of my favorite headcanons <3

Friends hanging out on the Fairy World sign...

oh my glory, the kids are in the Hocus Poconos. I never, ever thought we were coming back here in show canon. why are they doing this to me. This episode is an attack on me specifically.

I'm a little disappointed Chuckles the Fairy-Eating Cockatiel isn't here, but I have no issues with new wishes appearing.

lmao, from Timmy's theme song because he doesn't need this wish anymore:

Okay, well. After all that self-inflicted tension, I'm a little disappointed Hazel and Dev got out of the Hocus Poconos without Peri going after them (and that it wasn't grayscale in there), but I can't say I'm surprised. Peri's butt was NOT going in there without severe prompting, I'm sure.

-> If this is all set-up for some big special episode where they have to go back there for some reason and THEN Peri has to go after them... I'll lose my mind. I doubt we'll be here twice, but they should write that plot because I would like it <3

These children saw twisted things they can never unsee. Peri happy Dev is okay after that is important to me.

I need a 'fic where Peri is way too aggressively comforting and coddling towards Dev after this and Dev is like. hey man how's it going.

Everyone's taking blame for what happened. Is Dev going to be like "This isn't my fault."

-> Pfft. Yes.

I can't believe Peri has been around Dev for like 1 week and almost had to go back to the most traumatizing location of his canon, though. That's horrifying. Where do you even go from here? I need an entire arc of 'fics dedicated to this. wtf? This wasn't even on the same continent as my bingo card.

-> Poof had so many traumatizing moments in the OG series. I'm remembering why he has so many issues in my 'fics. lol. get wrecked.

10/10 episode. I especially liked the implication that Jorgen was this close to giving Peri a surprise inspection when Peri was stuffing his face with candy on the job.

The Treble with Rivals

Okay... Time to relax with some filler. Which I probably need. This sounds like a music episode!

I wish I knew a little more about Winn and Jasmine's home lives. I don't know much about their interests beyond some surface-level stuff.

-> Oh... THAT'S why they have 2 music rooms! I dunked on them in my "Weird Science" liveblog, but now I understand... It was there the whole time...

I really don't have much to say about this one, but Dev playing the saxophone is worth noting. Hey, where's Peri? I've not seen Dev have notable purple items, really...

It's funny to see Cosmo and Wanda being such big fans of another fairy. They're so starstruck... Honestly, I can see why. She seems nice.

-> Noting this episode down as one where a lot of time seems to pass (Auditions to reveal to concert).

ANTONY!!!

They love each other so much...

Rattleconda Racers

Aw! He's home for break! That does give us a timeline. I'm a little confused though. Is this winter break? I would've expected we were farther ahead. Maybe it's summer.

It's nice to see Hazel being Very Much 10 and jealous that her brother has a new friend. Antony doesn't play with her for 2 minutes and she's in the other room like "Maybe he doesn't want to play with me anymore :)"

Oh man, Hazel really wants everything to be like it used to be. That was pretty much cited as her big issue back in "Fearless" and it's nice to see it come into play again as she doesn't want to change the game; she wants it to stay the way she and Antony used to play.

I like how Cosmo and Wanda can't get them out of the game because that would be cheating, which is against Da Rules.

I really enjoy the personalities Cosmo and Wanda have in this show. They seem refreshed and recharged.

I love Hazel and Antony so much. You can tell they were raised in a family where they were taught to express their feelings.

Full moon inside the game?

Dig a Little Deeper

I'm glad Hazel stated she wants to be a geologist. One of the only kids from the OG series we got a straight answer for life plans from was Kevin, who wanted to be a dentist. You can logically conclude Remy will take over the Buxaplenty's trains and we have A.J. now, at least, but... I'm glad we know this information.

Hazel's so grateful <3

Her ace Pokémon would be Core Form Minior.

"I want to catalog you. Respectfully. For science :)"

I enjoy Peri's headphones form.

Poatazel Potahzel

Title card and opening scene gives me the vibe that Hazel's going to wish all food was potatoes / french fries.

-> Hazel Antoinette Wells.

Waning crescent.

Hazel is so very 10 years old and I support it.

Big redesign for Mother Nature, but she's very magical and ethereal and I don't mind that.

Him.

lmao, Cupid's mom and Mother Nature would be friends in my 'fics (Preserving at least one of every species).

Is Hazel going to propagate new potatoes somehow?

Wow, I don't think even Timmy ticked off Mother Nature. Hazel...

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

Do you think that Aegon was whitewashed this season? As in, they realised they went too far with him in s1 and wanted to rectify it in s2 at the expense of other characters, mostly aemond and alicent. The problem is, you can't retcon everything. He is still a bully and rapist in show canon, but for some reason they now want to downplay it and focus on his incompetence, but also on him wanting to make something right while constantly being undermined by his family. I can't even enjoy such a confusing arc because it's inconsistent and manipulative. Also, it seems they wanted to nip Aemond's popularity and propping up Aegon at his expense apparently worked. It's true that TGC is extremely likeable, he was even in s1 when they wanted to show his character as a drunken rapist who doesn't understand consent, and he is now when they want to show Aegon as a tragic victim of his traitorous and unsupportive family. However, it's not enough to rely on actor's talent and charm when the writing is all over the place. Finally, I must say that I'm really disappointed with the green fandom, I even had to left their sub on Reddit because of the hate they constantly throw at Alicent and even more, Aemond. Like someone on other blog said, they never turned on Aegon after s1, they were relentlessly stanning him and blamed everything on the writers, but now won't do the same for aemond. Seriously, Aegon stans behave identically as Daemyra stans and that is something. It's sad because I've liked both since s1 but it's a fact that the green side of the fandom is much harsher and unjust to aemond, it's enough to check out the mentioned subreddit and some blogs here to get the picture.

Hello!

I think that Aegon's character was not so much whitewashed as used for a very unsavory purpose which was to make other Green characters, especially Aemond and Alicent look bad (here is the link to a post where I expressed my opinion on that matter). In order for that to work there was not a lot of actual embellishment needed - Aegon's story is a compelling and a tragic one as it is. The problem, however, lies in that the writers did their damnedest to use the most touching and relatable aspects of his arc to the detriment of other characters - who were supposed to love, cherish and support him.

As for the fandom reactions, I have always had an impression that among the hardcore TG supporters sympathies for Aegon run wider and deeper than for Aemond anyway. IMO there is a combination of various reasons at work here: him being the leader and the beating heart of his faction (in the book, that is), his incredible character journey, the way Tom's charm and charisma fill even the underdeveloped and kind of warped show version of Aegon with color and life (if we're talking about the adaptation) - and/or the simple fact that someone likes one character more than the other, sometimes even without being able to name a reason for it.

The thing is - while it doesn't sit right with me when people are not willing to cut one character some slack and at the same time cut the other (their favourite one) all of it - I can't really judge the favoritism per se: we are all human after all. What I do have hard time stomaching is the fans (in that case Aegon's - or more precisely exclusively or heavily prevalently Aegon's fans) being unnecessarily vicious about it.

As someone who loves both Aegon and Aemond, I for that exact reason have always felt disheartened by seeing fans of one Targtower brother shitting on the other one (or even worse, the fans getting personal with each other). Over the two years of being in the Tumblr fandom I have seen a number of posts made by Aemond's fans where they bashed Aegon by downplaying his good qualities and heavily focusing on the negativity ("useless drunk", "atrocious bully" etc) - and obviously have never agreed with them (to put it mildly) and am not about to start agreeing now. But - even in comparison with that - not even the amount of the posts but the intensity of the hate Aemond has been getting from Aegon's supporters is something else. And the worst part is that some of the posts I saw positively reek (sorry, I can't use any other word here) of schadenfreude. Guys, I understand the anger and frustration about having your character being heavily mistreated by the writers (which is exactly what happened to Aegon in season 1) - in fact I was right there with you when it happened. But now, when the exact same thing is happening to other character, maybe you can recall just how much it sucked and hold yourself back a little? Yes, Aemond is being brought down in great part by the script having him treat Aegon horribly, so your current lack of love for the former is understandable. But in season 1 the same was happening in reverse (although to a considerably milder degree - brotherly bullying, as shitty as it might be, doesn't equal an attempt on one's brother's life) - and in spite of some Aemond fans tearing Aegon to shreds in their blogs I personally saw far more people who like Aemond still expressing their irritation and outrage about the way Aegon was written in season 1. I am not trying to shut anyone up - but is making an effort to show some understanding and compassion for your fellow Greenies so much to ask? HotD has all but destroyed the Greens as a team and a family - but the fans don't have to (if you ask me - should not) mirror that atrocity.

[twilighttrekkie]

‼️Warning: Spooky Month Spoilers Ahead!!!‼️

just watched the new spooky month episode and. wow. i'm so normal (lie) i cannot wait for the next episode aaaaaaaaaaa

ahem. anyways. the part with the priest asking where skid's father was and skid looking so crestfallen and the part with pump asking "but if they love me, then why're they never here?" had me bawling /lh waaaaa skid and pump are so sweet, they don't deserve to feel so sad 😭😭😭😭 ANYWAYS. I AM EXCEEDINGLY NORMAL ABOUT KEVIN AND I'M SO HAPPY THAT HE GETS AN ACTUAL FRIEND TO WORK WITH. Here take my Kevin and Radford screenshot collection because they're incredibly pfp-able AND THEIR EXPRESSIONS ARE SO FUN HERE.

OK CAN WE (and by we i mean me) TAKE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE ANIMATION FOR A SECOND. BECAUSE HOLY SHIT. IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER!! IT STARTED OFF AS ALREADY GOOD IN THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, BUT NOW IT LOOKS COMPLETELY PROFESSIONAL, INCREDIBLY FUN, AND CERTAIN SEQUENCES ARE STRAIGHT UP BREATHTAKING.

ALSO MOLOCH AND EYES COMING BACK??? LIKE HELLO?????? THERE'S SO MANY CALLBACKS IN THIS ONE, LIKE SKID AND PUMP LIGHTING THAT HAPPY FELLA ON FIRE IN THE STORE, DEXTER BEING MENTIONED, THE CULT REAPPEARING, OH AND CAN I JUST SAY THE SEQUENCE WHERE MOLOCH POSSESSED ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PEOPLE WAS SICK. THE DESIGNS WERE ALL REALLY FREAKY IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE, SHOUT OUT TO WHOEVER MADE THOSE DESIGNS!!!

admittedly i kinda wish we got to know more concretely whether streber is actually dead or not, but i completely understand putting it off to build suspense. that's literally my only criticism of the episode rn lmao and even then it's more of a personal curiosity thing than something i actually have against the episode

10/10 episode: much like every other spooky month episode i've had the pleasure of seeing as it came out instead of years afterwards, it has permanently changed my brain chemistry 🔥 guys if you're spooky month fans pleaseee go watch the episode. and if you have no idea what this show is, go check it out, it's completely free to watch on youtube!!! it starts off very shitpost-y, but quickly gets very dark (while still keeping the humor that made the first 2 entries special!! Spoky Month evolves more and more with each episode, but never loses its roots, which is something I really enjoy).

[ray4hotchner]

Fate's Gentle Nudge

Chapter 6: Unbreakable (part two)

<<previous chapter

❀ 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘: aaron hotchner x reader

❀ 𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕪: fluff, fluff, angst, happy ending

❀ 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥: 23k (part one and two together)

❀ 𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣’𝕤 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖: Hi, besties! Sorry for taking so long to finish the last chapter. It's finally done, and it's a long one. Since it took me a while, I wanted to complete it entirely and not leave you guys with a cliffhanger. I hope you enjoy the last chapter. I'm thinking about writing small drabbles for this story, so let me know if you have something in mind. Anyway, I love you all. Thank you for reading!🤍 [18+ MDNI]

❀ 𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤: blood and violence, stalking, knife attack, mention of suicide and murder (let me know if there are any missing)

❀ 𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕒𝕔𝕔: @iyv-ray24

┌─❀*̥˚──❀*̥˚─┐

On Ao3

└──❀*̥˚──❀*̥˚┘

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Emily and Derek return an hour later, and Emily hands Y/N a bag with some of her clothes and essentials.

"Sorry that I had to go through your stuff," Emily apologizes.

"Are you kidding me? You guys are my heroes right now," Y/N smiles at her with appreciation.

At the same time, Derek informs Aaron that the apartment is clear, with no signs of forced entry or anyone being inside.

"Did Garcia find something new?" Derek asks.

"No, she didn't. The security camera was a dead end, and there are no other leads," Aaron responds with a frustrated sigh.

"Then, for now, we can't do anything but keep her safe, Aaron."

"I know, whether I like it or not, we have to wait for now," Aaron answers, looking through the glass of his office where Y/N is talking to Emily.

Aaron and Y/N spend the rest of the time in his office. She looks around at his trophies, awards, and pictures while he works on some papers. She asks questions about things she finds interesting, and he always answers. She walks around his desk and stands beside him, taking the framed baby picture of Jack and coos, “he was so tiny.”

Aaron puts his pen down, slings his arm around her waist, and rests his head on her stomach. “Yes, he was. Every time I picked him up, I would get scared. He seemed so fragile,” he says.

Y/N takes the frame next to it into her hand, a picture of Jack and Hailey, and says softly, “She was so beautiful. She resembles Jack a lot.”

“Yes, she was, and she was a great mom. So selfless and loving.”

"You must miss her a lot," she says, caressing his hair.

"I do, but we were separated long before she passed. And I can't say that I was home most of the time during our marriage. I made a lot of mistakes with her that I regret now. But mostly, I'm sad that Jack has to grow up without her."

“You didn’t know any better. You couldn’t imagine that things would go this way. And Jack, he is incredible. You are raising him to be a great person,” Y/N reassures him.

Aaron looks up at her and says, “I know, I am not the same person I was then. And I don’t intend on making the same mistakes I did with Haley. I can’t mess this up with you, and I can’t lose you.”

She puts the frame down and cups his face, whispering, “I’m right here, and you won’t lose me,” before she kisses him tenderly.

Her growling stomach interrupts their kiss, and he chuckles as her cheeks turn red. He stands up, gives her a kiss on her rosy cheeks, and says, "I’ll get us some food.”

Aaron walks up to the glass window and looks down into the bullpen. Most of the team has already left, including Emily, who offered to take Y/N home with her. However, Aaron wanted Y/N to stay with him as long as possible and assured her that he would drop her off later.

“Let’s get you to Penelope, Derek is probably there too. They can keep an eye on you until I get back. I need to talk to Strauss too before she leaves.”

“Why can’t I wait in your office until you come back? We are in the FBI building, Aaron. What could happen here?” She asks, confused.

He walks up to her, holding her hand. “You, my love, won’t be alone until we find out who that person is. Not even for a second,” he says in a sweet voice and leads her out of his office to Garcia's.

Penelope's door is already open as they enter, and to their surprise, it's JJ who's sitting there with Penelope.

"Guys, can I leave Y/N with you for a little?" Aaron asks.

"Of course! Come into my casa," Penelope instantly agrees, pushing a chair toward Y/N.

"I'll be back soon. Have you girls had dinner?" Aaron inquires.

"Yes, we're good, Hotch. Thanks," JJ replies. Aaron nods, then turns around and leaves the three women settled in Penelope's office.

"I'm sorry that you guys have to play babysitter", Y/N apologizes as she sits down. JJ looks at Y/N with a warm smile. "You don't need to apologize, Y/N. It's not a problem at all. We're more than happy to have you here."

Penelope chimes in excitedly, her eyes sparkling. "And we've been dying to meet you finally. You and Hotch, are adorable together!"

Y/N blushes a bit at the mention of her relationship with Aaron. JJ leans in a bit, her curiosity getting the best of her. "How did you two meet?"

Y/N smiles at the memory. "We met at a parents night. Jack's previous teacher had a baby and I replaced her."

Penelope remembers the time Y/N brought Jack to the office and how they briefly met. "I remember when you brought Jack here. He's such a sweet kid. You seemed really nice back then, too."

Y/N nods. "Thank you. Jack adores the team. He's always talking about everyone."

"Does Jack know about you two?" JJ asks curiously.

"No, he doesn't. Not yet at least. All this is a little complicated because I’m his teacher, that's why we were really reluctant at the beginning," she explains. JJ nods understandingly. "I can imagine it's not an easy situation to navigate. But from what we've seen, you and Aaron seem really happy together." Penelope adds with a knowing grin, "Love always finds a way, right? So how is Hotch as a boyfriend,”she asks shamelessly and the three share a laugh, and Y/N feels grateful for their support and friendly curiosity.

Later, Aaron and Y/N have a quiet dinner together in his office. As the night grows late, they make their way to Emily's place and she welcomes them warmly and shows Y/N the guest room, leaving them alone for a private moment.

In the middle of the room, Y/N hugs Aaron, her emotions a mix of gratitude and concern. "I wanted to ask you something," she begins.

Aaron, holding her close, responds, "Of course, sweetheart. What do you need?"

Y/N sighs, her worry evident in her eyes. "Liz has been calling me all day. She knows something is up, but I didn't tell her, like you said. But you know how she is, she's worried, and she's threatened multiple times that she'll just come over to my place. Can I please tell her what's going on?"

Aaron considers this carefully and Y/N adds, "I'm telling you if she goes over to my place and I'm not there, and I haven't told her where I am, she will storm the FBI building next."

Aaron smiles softly, though there's a hint of concern. "I know you're joking, but I'm also worried you're not," he chuckles. "Okay, fine, you can tell her."

"Thanks, honey," she says, giving him a grateful kiss. "You should go. It's getting late and Jack should see you before he goes to bed." Their shared concern for Jack is palpable as they part ways for the night.

Y/N changes into comfortable clothes and joins Emily in the kitchen, where Sergio, Emily's cat, has taken a liking to her lap. She dials Liz's number and answers, trying to calm down her frantic friend. Emily prepares tea for both of them, listening to Y/N's side of the conversation.

Liz's voice on the other end is filled with anxiety and desperation. Y/N does her best to reassure her. "I'm safe, Liz. This is the safest place I can be right now, and I have the best agent watching over me," she says with a playful smile at Emily.

As Y/N continues to speak with Liz, it's clear that her friend is not easily swayed. Y/N protests Liz's insistence to come over, but Liz remains determined. Y/N finally hands the phone over to Emily with an apologetic look. "She wants to talk to you," she says softly.

Y/N is left in confusion as Emily communicates with Liz on the phone, only hearing vague responses from Emily like "yes" and "no." Emily finally ends the call and Y/N watches as she texts something on her phone, then hands it back to Y/N.

Y/N looks puzzled. "What just happened?" she asks.

Emily sighs. "Your friend is scary, and I just texted her the address. She's coming over."

Y/N's eyes widen in disbelief. "What the hell did she tell you?"

Emily shakes her head. "I don't think I can repeat that," she says with a bemused expression.

Not long after Liz arrives and Emily buzzes her in. "I'll kill Aaron the next time I see him. How could he stop you from telling me right away," Liz exclaims, engulfing Y/N in a bone crushing hug.

Y/N chuckles. "Maybe you shouldn't threaten an FBI agent in front of his friend and colleague," she jokes, playfully nodding toward Emily, who stands nearby.

Liz smirks and turns to Emily. "And you must be Agent Prentiss," she says, looking Emily up and down with a raised brow, her tone slightly challenging.

Emily doesn't back down. "And you need to be on the FBI watchlist," she counters with a playful smirk. "I'll get you guys some drinks. Go get comfortable," Emily says, heading off to the kitchen, leaving the two friends to catch up.

Liz turns around and mouths a silent "OMG" to Y/N. "Why didn't you tell me how hot she is? I wouldn't have been that harsh on her," she says, and Y/N laughs, pulling her towards the living room.

The three of them sit together, discussing everything that happened that day. Emily explains the usual procedures in their line of work, and Y/N can't help but notice the glances Emily and Liz exchange throughout the night, making a mental note to tease them both about it later. It's already the middle of the night, when Liz decides to head home, and they all stand at the door saying their goodbyes.

"Are you sure you can make it home? It's already late so feel free to stay," Emily suggests.

"I'm a big girl, Agent. And if you're trying to get me into your bed, at least buy me dinner first," Liz says in a suggestively low voice, poking Emily on the chest, before walking out the door, leaving Emily open-mouthed. Y/N bursts into laughter at Emily's reaction, thoroughly entertained by the exchange.

Unable to shake off the creepy feeling that had haunted her earlier in the day, Y/N finds it difficult to fall asleep. Alone in the quiet of the night, her mind races with thoughts. Grateful that Emily had packed her laptop and journal, she distracts herself until sunrise.

In the morning, Y/N makes a call to the school, informing them that she won't be able to come to work for the week. Midweek, the team receives a new case, and Y/N can't help but feel guilty that Aaron and Emily are staying behind to watch over her. Though she understands it's for her own safety, she can't shake the feeling of being confined in the apartment. The days drag on, and she feels like a burden, especially since no new messages or threats have been made. She cries a few times, once into Aaron's shoulder, finding solace in his comforting embrace as he reassures her how much he loves her and that she's not a burden at all.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

On Friday morning, Jack enters the kitchen still in his pajamas. Aaron, while preparing breakfast, notices his son's unhappy expression.

"Why haven't you changed, buddy?" Aaron asks, looking at Jack with a raised eyebrow.

"Dad, I don't want to go to school today," Jack protests. Aaron looks at him with a raised eyebrow. Jack typically loves going to school and has never refused before. Aaron picks him up and sets him on the kitchen counter so they are at eye level.

"Why? Aren't you feeling good?" Aaron looks directly into his son's eyes, waiting for an explanation, his expression a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"No, I'm fine," he just answers still not giving him a real explanation.

"Then why don't you want to go, buddy?" he asks lovingly and ruffles his hair.

"Miss Y/L/N is sick, and she wasn't in school the whole week. It's no fun when she's not there," Jack explains, and a warm feeling spreads through Aaron's chest.

He places a gentle hand on his son's shoulder and speaks with comforting warmth. "Don't worry, bud. I'm sure Miss Y/L/N will be back at school soon. Sometimes people get a little sick, she'll be fine."

“But is she really really bad sick?" Jack asks, concerned.

"I don't know, but I don't think so," he reassures Jack, patting his shoulder gently.

"But aren’t you supposed to know?" Jack asks in an almost accusing tone.

"What do you mean, how would I know?" Aaron asks back, confused.

"Aren’t boyfriends supposed to know when their girlfriends are sick?" Jack asks as if it's the most obvious question, and Aaron can only look at him with an open mouth.

"What are you talking about, bud? Where do you get the idea that I’m her boyfriend?” Aaron asks so caught off guard.

"Dad," Jack protests with a whine, "I’ve known for a while now."

Aaron sees no point in denying but still confused he asks, "What… how?"

"Dad, I’m not 5 anymore, I’m almost 8," Jack explains with a serious expression, resembling Aarons, "You ask about her every day after school. And then you smile really big. And when you see her, you look at her all funny and stuff."

"I guess you’re right, my big guy and little profiler," Aaron says and pulls him into an embrace. He steps back and asks, “And you are alright with this?”

“Yes, Miss Y/L/N is the best. But I want her to come back to school already,” he whines.

"She will, honey, really soon," Aaron promises, "but until then, you still need to go to school, or she will be really upset." He carries Jack to his room to get him ready for the day, their bond stronger than ever.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

After dropping Jack off at school, Aaron makes his way to the headquarters. The team returned last night after a thankfully short case. Rossi joins him in his office for a morning coffee.

"How is she holding up?" He asks about Y/N.

"Slowly going crazy in Emily's apartment, but at least she's safe."

"I'll suggest something, and I know you won't like it, but just hear me out. What if she just returns back to her normal life,"

"So she becomes a target, Dave? No, definitely no."

"She won't be a target if we’re all around. We can take turns again and watch her. You'll be by her side most of the time anyway. Without any new leads, we will not make any progress, and you know that."

Aaron considers this idea, realizing it might be a way to keep Y/N safe while not making her feel like she's in hiding.

Aaron listens to Rossi's suggestion, clearly conflicted. After a moment of contemplation, he finally responds, "I don't like the idea of putting her in harm's way, Dave, but if it's the only way we can move forward, then I'll talk to her about it."

Rossi nods, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Let's hope this stalker reveals themselves soon so we can put an end to all of this."

Later in the day, Aaron goes over to Emily's apartment. It was Spencer's turn to watch over her. He thanks him for keeping her company, and Y/N hugs him goodbye before he leaves.

"That's new," Aaron says, pointing at the closed door Spencer just left.

Y/N looks puzzled. "What's new?"

"He usually doesn't hug people, especially the ones he's not close with."

They go over to the kitchen, and Y/N puts the coffee mugs into the dishwasher as Aaron takes a seat at the kitchen island.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something," Aaron begins.

Y/N hums in response, encouraging him to continue.

"We don't have any new leads or threats, and Dave suggested something."

Y/N turns around, closes the dishwasher, and sits down beside him, her curiosity piqued.

"He's thinking that maybe it’s the best you return to your daily routine."

Her eyes light up with enthusiasm. "Yes, yes, Aaron, please, I’m suffocating in here."

Aaron hesitates, his worry still evident. "I know you want to get out of here, but I'm so worried that something will happen."

Y/N leans in closer, her expression earnest. "Please, Aaron, let's do it. I don't want to sound ungrateful for all the things you guys are doing for me, but I'll go insane if I stay here any longer. I feel helpless and like the biggest burden to everyone."

Aaron sighs, giving in to her pleas. "If this person is really stalking you, we should try some of your usual activities."

Y/N immediately throws her arms around his neck, grateful that he is giving in.

"But," Aaron continues, "if we do this, you will follow my every order, okay? We can't risk putting you in danger."

Y/N playfully teases him, "Yes, my big, strong FBI agent, anything you say, sir."

“Stop it”, Aaron's smile widens and he pokes her sides. "Jack told me to say hello to you and that he misses you."

"Aww, I miss him too, but wait...” Y/N's expression shifts to one of surprise, “why is Jack telling you to tell me?"

Aaron hesitates before answering, "Well, he kind of figured out that we're dating."

Y/N's eyes widen in shock. "He did what!?"

"The school told them that you're sick, and he asked me how you're feeling. I said I don't know, and he scolded me for not knowing how my girlfriend is feeling," Aaron explains with a grin.

Y/N looks at him, blinking away the shock, and bursts out laughing. Aaron watches Y/N's reaction with a mixture of amusement and affection. Her laughter fills the room, and he can't help but chuckle along with her.

Y/N continues to laugh, her eyes sparkling with glee. "I can't believe he figured it out, and I can't believe he scolded you!"

Their laughter fills the room, temporarily pushing aside the worries about the stalker that have been hanging over them.

Y/N's laughter subsides, and she smiles warmly at Aaron. "Thank you for telling him, even if it was unintentional. It means a lot."

Aaron reaches out and takes her hand, his gaze locked onto hers. "Y/N, I would've never kept our relationship a secret anyways, if the circumstances were different. So I'm really happy that he knows actually."

She leans over and gives him a tender kiss before asking enthusiastically, “So when can I go back to my place?”

“Let’s pack up, and I'll drive you over.”

She immediately jumps up and almost sprints to the guest room, starting to pack up her things. Before she leaves, she takes a piece of paper and writes Emily a note expressing her gratitude for everything Emily did, adds Lizzie's number at the end with a tiny heart, and pins the note on the fridge.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

After almost a week Y/N finally returns to her apartment. Aaron is right beside her when she unlocks the door but he can’t help but notice the subtle shake in her hands. She steps in and lets out a breath she felt like she was holding. Nothing is unchanged, exactly like she had left it on Monday.

“You ok?”, Aaron asks putting her bag on the couch.

Y/N takes a moment to look around her apartment, her heart still pounding from a mix of anxiety and relief. She turns to Aaron with a faint smile.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," she replies, though her voice still carries a trace of unease. "It's just... strange being back here… I don’t know."

Aaron steps closer to her, his protective instincts still in full force. He wraps his arms around her and holds her close.

"We'll make sure everything's safe, Y/N," he reassures her. "And if anything feels off or you get even the slightest bit uncomfortable, you call me immediately, okay?"

She nods, feeling comforted by his presence. "Okay, Aaron, I promise."

They spend the next hour checking the security of her apartment, ensuring all windows and locks are secure. Aaron insists on it, even though Emily and Derek have already double-checked everything.

Finally, when they're satisfied that her place is as safe as it can be, Aaron pulls her into another warm embrace.

"Now that Jack already knows about us, you could stay at my place you know," Aaron suggests, his concern for her safety still evident.

"I know, baby, but I missed my home so much. And even if he knows, let's not put too much change on him at once," Y/N responds with a soft smile, her eyes reflecting the exhaustion of the past week.

Aaron knows she's right, she always is, but he can't bring himself to leave her alone.

"Alright," he concedes with a sigh, "but I want you to promise me something." Y/N looks at him attentively, waiting for his request.

"If anything feels off, even the slightest bit, you tell me or call me immediately, okay? I don't care what time it is or how trivial it seems. Your safety is my top priority."

She nods, understanding the seriousness of his request. "I promise, Aaron."

His face breaks into a warm smile as he says, "Let me take you out on a date." "Right now?" she asks, a hint of surprise in her voice.

"Yes, why not," Aaron replies. "Dave said to do our usual activities. We had to cancel our dinner date, so why not go now? I'll be by your side the whole time."

Y/N's eyes sparkle with excitement. "So where are you taking me?" she asks, her fingers lightly playing with the collar of his shirt.

"Well, since we're making up for the canceled dinner date, I was thinking of taking you to that Italian place you love so much. How does that sound?" Aaron suggests with a charming smile.

Her face lights up at the mention of her favorite Italian restaurant. "That sounds perfect, Aaron. I'll go get ready."

Y/N heads to her bedroom and quickly rummages through her closet. She chooses a long black elegant dress and slips into black stilettos. Not wanting to keep Aaron waiting for long, she swiftly curls her hair, creating natural waves, and expertly applies her makeup. She knows Aaron appreciates it when she wears jewelry, always commenting how much it suits her, so she carefully selects some pieces to complete her look.

Minutes later, she emerges from her bedroom and Aaron can't help but be captivated by her beauty as she walks up to him.

Aaron stands up, his eyes filled with admiration as he takes Y/N's hand. "You look stunning, my love," he murmurs, planting a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

"Thank you," she chuckles softly and steps closer to him. Her hands find their way to his shoulders, sliding down to his tie. Aaron looks at her with curious eyes as she slowly loosens his tie and removes it entirely. With a skillful hand, she opens the first button of his shirt, her fingers adjusting his collar with a playful yet affectionate smile.

"Now we are ready," she says, her fingers gently patting his chest. They both grab their coats and head out for their long-awaited date.

At the Italian restaurant, soft candlelight flickers on the cozy table for two. They enjoy a delicious meal of pasta and wine, engaging in conversations filled with laughter and love. Aaron can't help but admire Y/N's smile, her eyes sparkling in the intimate ambiance of the restaurant.

After dinner, they take a leisurely walk through a nearby park, holding hands under the starry night sky. The city's hustle and bustle fade into the background as they savor each other's company, cherishing the simplicity of the moment. It feels nice to pretend that everything is alright, forgetting their worries for a short time.

As their date comes to an end, they stop by a gelato shop for a sweet treat. Sharing a scoop of their favorite flavors, they talk about their dreams and the future.

Aaron's insistence on staying over at Y/N's apartment prevails, and they settle into the comfortable atmosphere. As they get ready for bed, Aaron admits, "You know, I've missed being here with you. It feels like we haven't had a moment to ourselves in a while."

Y/N smiles and nods. "I've missed it too honey."

He gently cups her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin. "Well, tonight, we have this place all to ourselves. Anything special you'd like to do?", he asks with a mischievous smirk. She leans into his touch, her voice playful. "Hmm, I could think about one or two things." Aaron grins and pulls her into a warm embrace. "That's what I was hoping you'd say."

In the middle of the night, Y/N stirs and finds Aaron wide awake, standing at the window, arms crossed, looking outside. She sits up in bed, covering herself with the sheets. "What are you doing?" she asks in her sleepy voice.

Aaron turns to her, a faint hint of worry in his eyes. "It's nothing, go back to sleep, my love."

She can sense that something is bothering him. Y/N protests softly, "Aaron," as she stands up, pulling the sheets close around her. Aaron's distant gaze worries Y/N as she joins him by the window. Wrapping her arms around herself, she leans against him, trying to see what has caught his attention. They both gaze outside at the quiet, dimly lit street. The moonlight paints a serene landscape, but Aaron's expression remains pensive.

“Talk to me please”, her voice filled with concern. He takes a deep breath, his eyes still fixed outside.

“I can't help but think about the stalker, Y/N. I know we've been taking precautions, but I can't shake this feeling of helplessness."

Y/N turns her gaze to the street outside, and in the dim light, she sees nothing unusual. "You've done everything you can to keep me safe," she reassures him. "We're together, and we have the team looking out for us."

Aaron holds her a little tighter, afraid that she might slip away. "I know, it's just... I can't help but worry about you."

She notices a black SUV parked outside, similar to Aaron's but clearly not his car.

"Did you put agents outside to watch my apartment?" Y/N asks, with curiosity in her voice.

Aaron nods, his arms wrapped around her as they stand near the window. "I told you we'll have someone watching over you until we find this person."

She turns around in his arms, her expression puzzled. "Then why are you not in bed with me, If someone is already watching the street?”

A smile tugs at Aaron's lips, and he doesn't need further encouragement. He lets her lead him back to bed, the worries of the night momentarily forgotten as they seek solace in each other's arms.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

The next morning, Aaron and Y/N are having breakfast together and he's trying to convince her to come to Jack's soccer game, knowing she's hesitant about it.

"Using your son to manipulate me like this, Hotchner is just dirty," she says playfully, giving him a teasing, dark look.

Aaron chuckles, always enjoying her playful banter. "Come on, it will be fun, and..."

She raises an eyebrow, completing his sentence. "And you'll be able to keep an eye on me."

He nods with a smile. "And yeah, maybe that too."

"But isn't it dangerous for the kids if I'm there and the stalker shows up?" she asks with concern.

Aaron reassures her, "According to our profile, no, it won't be. There were no signs of violence or new threats at all. So we don't think there will be a lashing out towards anyone else."

"Okay, if you say so," she replies, still somewhat hesitant.

"I do," he says, giving her a gentle peck on the lips. "And also, I can finally show you off as my girlfriend, now that Jack knows."

Y/N lets out a soft laugh, her resistance melting away as Aaron's sincerity and Jack's longing tug at her heart.

Y/N smiles, unable to resist his charm. "Fine, fine, you win. I'll come to Jack's soccer game. But you owe me ice cream after this."

"You got it," he replies, sealing the deal with a kiss. It's a small victory for Aaron, knowing that she'll be safe with him.

As Y/N hops into the shower, Aaron calls up his team, making sure they are ready. He informs them that they'll be at the soccer field in the park, and he shares how they should set up surveillance. Y/N is unaware of all the precautions Aaron is taking because he knows how guilty she feels about all the work they put into her safety.

"Rossi is my co-coach, so he will be close by," Aaron explains over the phone. "There are multiple parking spots that have a clear view of the field, and walking around in the park should not seem suspicious either." The team acknowledges the plan and prepares to ensure Y/N's safety without her knowledge.

As they arrive at the soccer field, Aaron and Y/N spot kids running around in their red uniforms, a clear sign of the soon beginning soccer game. Y/N takes a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves, and Aaron gently grabs her hand, providing reassurance.

"I'm nervous," she admits.

"You've been to a game before, and you see Jack almost every day," he says, caressing her hand with his thumb.

"I know, but it's the first time I'm seeing him officially as your girlfriend," she confesses, looking at him with slightly terrified eyes.

"You'll be fine, my love," he reassures her, giving her hand a comforting squeeze, and then leads her toward the bustling soccer field.

As they approach the group of parents and children, Jack spots them. He calls out enthusiastically, "Miss Y/L/N!" His eyes shine brightly as he runs toward them. Y/N kneels down and opens her arms as she sees him sprinting without slowing down. He collides into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you?" she greets him.

He pulls back with a big smile. "I'm fine. Are you feeling better?"

"I am feeling much, much better,” she pokes Jack's tummy and he giggles.

"So, are you coming back to school?" he asks with hopeful eyes. Y/N looks back up at Aaron, questioning, and he nods.

"I guess I am," she says, ruffling his soft blond hair, and Jack's face lights up with joy.

"School was so boring without you, Miss," Jack says, and Y/N chuckles.

"You know, Jack, when we're not in school, you don't have to call me Miss. You can just use my first name."

"What is your first name?" he asks curiously.

"It's Y/N," she answers with a big smile. Aaron stands beside them, watching them talk and not disturbing their moment.

"Y/N? That's a nice name. Can I call you that because you're Dad's girlfriend now?"

"Yeah, I guess. How do you feel about that?"

"Will I see you more often now that you are together?"

"If you want to, yes."

"Then I'm alright with it," he says and hugs her again, sealing their newfound bond. Aaron smiles, his heart warming at the sight of Y/N and Jack getting along so well.

As they stand together, Aaron's arm wrapped around her waist, Y/N feels a sense of warmth and belonging. Jack rejoins his friends, and Aaron leans down to whisper, "I love you," into her ear, planting a gentle kiss just beneath it.

Jessica approaches them with a kind smile, expressing her sympathy for what has been going on. Y/N thanks her sincerely for her understanding and support.

More families start to arrive at the soccer field, and among them is Rossi, carrying a large clipboard, clearly ready for his coaching duties. The park is buzzing with activity as the game is about to begin, and Y/N feels a mix of nerves and excitement, grateful to have Aaron by her side.

“Hi Aaron!!”, YN hears an annoying voice yelling across the field. Aaron turns around, taking her with him since his arm is still wrapped around her. Nancy's overly enthusiastic waving comes to an abrupt halt as she takes in the sight of Aaron with his arm around Y/N.

Nancy approaches them with a forced, tight-lipped smile, her discomfort evident. Y/N can't help but feel a touch of amusement as she observes the awkward encounter.

"Hello, Nancy," Aaron greets politely.

"Hi, hi!”, Nancy's voice is even more elevated than usual as she responds, "The teacher from the museum, what was your name again?" Her head tilts to the side in an almost comical fashion.

"Y/N," she replies with a forced smile.

Nancy's insincerity becomes painfully evident as she exclaims, “You guys are such a cute couple, so adorable."

"Thank you," Aaron acknowledges with a nod before turning his attention back to Rossi, effectively dismissing Nancy. But her overly cheerful facade doesn't go unnoticed by Y/N. Her disingenuous compliments send shivers down Y/N's spine, and she can't help but feel like Nancy's eyes are still on them as Aaron turns his attention back to Rossi.

As the game begins, Aaron and Rossi switch into full coach mode, and Y/N can't help but find it somewhat amusing. They're clearly passionate about the team, and their intense focus on the game is endearing. Y/N tries to concentrate on the soccer match unfolding in front of her, but that lingering feeling of unease gnaws at her heart.

Unbeknownst to Y/N, Emily, Derek, and JJ are discreetly keeping an eye on their surroundings, ensuring her safety without drawing attention.

Throughout the game, Nancy inches closer and closer to Y/N, standing now uncomfortably tight beside her and cheering far too loudly. Suddenly, she makes a pained sound, as if someone punched her in the gut. Y/N immediately turns to her, concerned.

"Are you alright?" Y/N asks, worry etched on her face.

Nancy hunches over slightly, clutching her stomach. "No, no, I don't think so," she replies, her voice strained. She grabs Y/N's arm to steady herself and continues, "I'm pregnant, it's still really early but something doesn't feel right."

Y/N's initial instinct is to call for help or an ambulance, but Nancy stops her abruptly.

"No! No, there's no need for that," Nancy insists, her voice shaky. "Could you just help me get to the bathroom? I don't think I can walk there on my own."

Y/N nods, her concern deepening. She quickly turns to Jessica and informs her that they're heading to the bathroom, then gently assists Nancy in walking away, supporting her as they make their way to the restroom.

As Y/N and Nancy make their way to the public restroom, Nancy continues to make pained sounds, and Y/N's concern deepens. She regrets not telling Aaron about the situation.

"We're almost there," Y/N reassures Nancy, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's just around the corner."

They enter the bathroom, and Y/N immediately scans the stalls, searching for the cleanest one.

"Here, Nancy, come to this one," Y/N says, turning around to guide her. However, as she turns, she's taken aback to find Nancy standing by the door, her expression completely devoid of pain.

Y/N feels a rush of alarm as she senses the anger emanating from Nancy's eyes. Her instincts kick in, and she goes into fight-or-flight mode.

"Are you feeling better?" Y/N asks, her voice calm, though she's ready for any potential confrontation.

Y/N's heart races as she hears the faint click of the bathroom door, and she instinctively scans for another means of escape, but there's none in sight.

"Nancy, what's going on?" Y/N asks, her voice shaky, as Nancy approaches her with deliberate slowness.

Nancy's eyes are filled with fury as she accuses Y/N, "You whore, just couldn't keep your hands off my man." She spits the words, advancing closer and pushing Y/N further against the tile wall with each step.

"What are you talking about?" Y/N tries to reason, her back now firmly pressed against the wall as Nancy corners her.

"Did your mommy teach you how to steal another woman's man?" Nancy seethes with rage, and Y/N desperately attempts to defuse the situation.

"Nancy, you're not making any sense. Let's go back to the game," Y/N pleads.

"Shut up!" Nancy screams, and to Y/N's horror, she pulls out a pocket knife. Y/N's eyes widen in fear as she stammers, "Nancy, what—?"

Fear courses through Y/N as Nancy's rant continues, each word laced with venom.

"For months, I've been flirting with him, trying so he would ask me out," Nancy seethes, the knife swinging dangerously close in front of her. "I already knew you were trouble when you came to the first game," she accuses Y/N. "The way you threw yourself at him," she adds, her voice dripping with malice.

"What? No! We weren't even together back then," Y/N tries to reason, but her pleas fall on deaf ears.

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT THE HELL UP!" Nancy's voice rises to a dangerous crescendo, her grip on the knife tightening, “and when I saw you two at the museum, I had my confirmation. The way you were grinding on him like the little whore you are,” she yells and it finally dawns on Y/N and her anger begins to flare.

"You sent the picture?" Y/N asks, finally connecting the dots.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Nancy taunts. "But I guess that wasn't enough. Who knows how you manipulated him into sleeping with you."

Y/N's patience wears thin. "Did you force him? You definitely threw yourself at him," Nancy continues her tirade.

"I didn't do anything. We love each other, Nancy. Move on!" Y/N's voice rises in defiance, pushing back against Nancy's unfounded accusations.

“And waste months of work? I even tolerated his annoying kid. What's his name Jeff or John?”, But Nancy doesn't stop there. She continues her verbal assault.

Y/N can't tolerate it any longer. She snaps, her patience worn thin. "Don't talk about him or his son," Y/N warns. She clenches her fist and lands an unexpected punch on Nancy's cheek. Nancy stumbles back, surprised and hurt, clutching her jaw.

"What the fuck you slut!" Nancy yells in response and swings the knife toward Y/N. She manages to dodge to her right, narrowly avoiding a direct hit, but the knife still grazes her arm, causing her to wince in pain.

Y/N's heart races as she tries to stay calm and assess her situation. Nancy is still holding the knife menacingly, and Y/N knows she needs to find an opportunity to escape. She remembers the self-defense classes Liz had convinced her to take last year, and it suddenly feels like a lifeline.

As Nancy continues her tirade, Y/N carefully gauges the distance between them, searching for an opening. She knows she needs to act fast.

Meanwhile, JJ notices Y/N's absence on the field. She immediately radios Emily and Morgan, who are patrolling the area.

"Guys, do you have eyes on Y/N?" JJ asks urgently.

Derek and Emily pick up their pace as they jog back to the field. Derek responds, "We're coming up to the field now."

Emily adds, "Is she not there?"

"I can't see her from here. Maybe she's sitting down somewhere," JJ replies.

Derek and Emily arrive at the field and begin scanning the crowd, searching for any sign of Y/N.

Aaron's heart races as he sees Derek and Emily approach. The urgency in JJ's voice is evident, and he knows something is wrong.

"What's going on?" Aaron asks, his concern evident. He turns around, scanning the area, and quickly realizes that Y/N is nowhere in sight.

"Where is Y/N?" he asks urgently, his voice tinged with worry.

"We don't know," Derek replies, furrowing his brow. "She was just here."

Aaron's anxiety deepens. He turns to Jessica, who seems to have some information.

"Y/N?" Jessica repeats, "She went to the bathroom with one of the moms."

"When was this?" Aaron asks his voice tight with anxiety.

"Just now, a minute ago," Jessica replies. "I don't know her name. The blond one with the long hair that flirts with you all the time."

Aaron's face pales as he processes this information. He knows exactly who Jessica is talking about. Dread washes over him as he realizes that Y/N might be in danger.

Aaron's voice cuts through the tension like a command from a general. He quickly assigns tasks to his team before they run off to the park's restrooms.

"JJ, Rossi, get the kids and the families away from here. Tell them the game is postponed," he instructs urgently. "Number 11 is Nancy's kid, take him with you. Derek, you take the restrooms on the west side. Emily, you're coming with me."

His team nods in acknowledgment, and they split up to cover more ground. Every second feels like an eternity as they rush to find Y/N and put an end to this terrifying ordeal.

Inside the restroom, Y/N is putting up a fierce struggle. She manages to kick the knife out of Nancy's hand, but the deranged woman still has a tight grip on her. Y/N is pressed on the ground with Nancy on top of her raining down io punches down on Y/N's face as she desperately tries to escape.

With a surge of adrenaline, Y/N finally pushes Nancy off of her and scrambles to her feet. She races towards the door, her hands trembling as she reaches for the lock. But before she can unlock it, Nancy grabs a handful of her hair, yanking her back with brutal force.

Y/N cries out in pain, and her voice carries through the restroom, reaching the approaching team members. Aaron's heart clenches at the sound as he reaches the locked door. He calls out Y/Ns name and relief washes over her as she hears his voice.

The door crashes open, and Aaron rushes inside, his heart pounding with a mixture of fear and anger. Emily is right behind him.

Y/N is on the floor, her hair disheveled, and her face bruised. Nancy stands nearby, shocked by the sudden intrusion. Aaron's eyes narrow in anger as he sees the pocket knife on the ground.

Her eyes land on the pocket knife on the ground and Aaron follows her sight. "Stay right where you are," he growls at Nancy but she makes a swift attempt forward to grab it.

Emily acts quickly and grabs Nancy, restraining her and ensuring she can't reach the pocket knife. Nancy struggles and curses, but Emily keeps her under control.

Meanwhile, Aaron focuses all his attention on Y/N, gently helping her sit up. He checks her injuries, his worry evident in his eyes. "We need to get you to a hospital," he says softly, his voice filled with urgency.

Y/N nods, still feeling shaken but relieved to be in Aaron's protective presence.

He gently cradled Y/N's face. "Are you okay?" he asks, his voice filled with concern. Y/N nods weakly, her eyes locked on Aaron's. She's battered and trembling, but at least she's safe now.

As Aaron helps Y/N out of the restroom, she clings to him, she knows she's safe now. Outside, Nancy is apprehended and handcuffed, ready to be taken into custody. The team springs into action, calling for an ambulance and coordinating the transfer of Nancy to Quantico.

Aaron, his protective instincts still in high gear, holds Y/N close. "Let's get you checked out by a doctor, just to be sure, okay?" he says to her softly. He wants to be absolutely certain that she's okay, not willing to take any chances with her health.

As they ride in the ambulance to the hospital, Aaron keeps a reassuring arm around Y/N. Luckily she has no big injuries other than the cut on her upper arm. Her right eye and cheek are bright red, swollen and already turning purple and she has scratches on her neck and arms. But to be honest, Nancy didn’t look any better and Aaron is so proud of her for keeping up a fight. He's relieved that her injuries aren't more severe but still upset that she had to go through this terrifying ordeal. He can't help but feel an overwhelming amount of guilt.

Once at the hospital, Y/N is promptly attended to by medical staff. They cleaned and stitched up her arm, addressing her other minor injuries as well. Aaron watches closely, his concern never leaving his eyes. He remains by her side throughout the process, offering comfort and support.

Y/N breaks the silence when the nurses leave the room, her voice still shaky but determined. "What's going to happen now?"

Aaron gently brushes a strand of hair from her face and answers, "First, we'll make sure you're well taken care of here. Then, I'll do anything in my power to ensure Nancy is brought to justice. You won't have to worry about her anymore. You were really brave in there," he says softly, taking her hand in his. "I'm so proud of you." She manages a weak smile.

They drive back to the BAU, where the team is already waiting for them. Aaron gives her a sweater from his go bag, and JJ lends her some clean pants so she doesn't have to walk around in the same clothes she rolled on the dirty restroom floor.

With her wounds cleaned and now wearing new clothes, she feels more grounded as she joins the team in the briefing room. Penelope immediately stands up, walks up to her, and embraces her in a big hug, which she gratefully accepts.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay," she says.

"Me too, Penelope. Me too."

"Take a seat. I have some information you all need to hear," Garcia says, and Y/N takes the seat beside Aaron. He instantly holds her hand and pulls her closer.

Garcia begins with her briefing, detailing Nancy’s complex past. "Nancy Harris, 37 years old, originally from Texas. She's been married four times, and interestingly, three of her husbands died of what appeared to be natural causes, even though they were relatively young and had no prior medical issues."

The team listens intently, absorbing the information about Nancy's suspicious history. Garcia proceeds, "Nancy has a son from a previous boyfriend who is currently in prison for unrelated charges."

Y/N, still holding Aaron's hand, can't help but shiver at the thought of what could have happened if they hadn't intervened in time. She leans into Aaron's comforting presence, grateful for the support of her newfound family in the BAU.

"Now it gets really interesting," Garcia continues, "three of her husbands were divorced right before they got married. One was a single dad. Her last husband, who is still alive, pressed charges for aggravated assault, obtained a restraining order and now resides in Canada. She has restraining orders against her from different states, all with almost the same statement. These are either single dads she knew from proximity, like work, school, or straight-up married couples but all with children. She would stalk the husbands and try to get them to cheat," Garcia finishes.

"So this is her thing?" Y/N asks.

"Apparently," Garcia confirms, "her phone is filled with different dating apps and social media accounts, all portraying a different persona.”

Rossi's voice filled the room, "It seems like her pattern involves manipulating dads, and yes, trying to push them into cheating if they're in a relationship. She's been using various dating apps and social media accounts to identify and approach her targets. Her history of restraining orders suggests that she doesn't take rejection well."

Aaron's grip on her hand remained steadfast as he listened intently, his expression a mix of concern and determination.

"So, we have a woman who's obsessed with taking other women's partners," Emily summarized.

Rossi nodded. "And it looks like Y/N became a target because of her association with Aaron."

Y/N furrows her brow and speaks up, "She seemed convinced we were together before we actually were. She said I was trying to 'steal' him from her."

As the team discusses Nancy's situation and what will happen now, Y/N can't help but feel a sense of guilt and she speaks up, "What is going to happen to her son?" Y/N asks, concerned.

"CPS picked him up. Sadly, she was already on their radar, but they moved so much over the years that no one could really keep track of them. They will reach out to other family members so he has someone to take care of him," JJ informs, and Y/N nods.

“She told me she was pregnant. She acted like she was in pain and needed help. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone with her."

JJ reassures her, "She knew you have a soft spot for kids. She used your kindness. This is not your fault."

Aaron remains unusually quiet throughout the conversation, and Y/N looks at him with concern. He's just watching their intertwined hands, lost in his thoughts.

"Where is she? Tell me where she is!" They hear someone yelling downstairs from the bullpen.

"Liz?" Y/N asks, standing up and walking out of the room toward the commotion. The rest of the team follows her. Liz is in the bullpen, arguing with a younger agent, but when she catches sight of Y/N, she rushes up the stairs. The agent is about to follow when Aaron signals to him that it's okay.

Liz wraps her arms around Y/N and hugs her tightly. Y/N lets the emotions she'd been trying to repress flow freely, and tears stream down her face as she cries into Liz's shoulder.

Aaron's heart shatters into a million pieces as he watches Y/N cry. He takes a step toward her, but Liz's angry eyes halt him.

"Is this happening because of you?" she snaps at him. Y/N pulls away from the hug, wiping her tears.

"Liz, please," Y/N implores.

"Y/N, you got attacked," Liz says, her voice laced with concern.

"How do you even know what happened?" Y/N questions.

"I called her," Emily speaks up from behind them. "I'm sorry I should've asked before, but I thought you might want her here."

Rossi intervenes, "Girls, come on, let's get you to a quieter spot." He guides them both into his office, closing the door behind him.

Aaron turns to the rest of the team and says firmly, "I’ll interrogate Nancy."

"Hotch, do you really think it's the best idea for you to question her?" Derek asks, concern in her voice.

He doesn't answer, instead, he simply walks over to the interrogation rooms.

Aaron entered the interrogation room, and Nancy's demeanor shifted as if she were meeting him at a coffee shop rather than sitting with her hands cuffed to the table in the FBI headquarters.

He wasted no time and got straight to the point. "Nancy, let's talk about what happened."

Nancy smirked, her eyes cold. "Oh, Aaron, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

He ignored her taunts and got down to business. "Why did you attack Y/N today?"

Nancy leaned forward, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Why, Aaron? Isn't it obvious? She's stolen you from me. I had to do something."

Aaron's jaw clenched. "Nancy, there was never anything between us. We never had a relationship."

She laughed a manic sound that sent shivers down his spine. "Oh, Aaron, you always were good at pretending."

Aaron used his years of experience to rattle Nancy, knowing that he had to push her buttons to get the truth out of her. He leaned in closer, his voice dripping with disdain.

"Face it, Nancy. No one will ever want you. You're a pathetic woman with a history of failed marriages. Your husbands divorced you or... maybe they just wanted to escape. Maybe they were having affairs, cheating on you, and they wanted out."

Nancy's face reddened with anger. "You're wrong!" she shouted. "Those idiots were lucky to have me. No one would ever dare to cheat on me."

Aaron continued to press her, stoking the flames of her anger. "You would let them leave, huh? Maybe they died, maybe they killed themselves just to escape from you. They realized you were suffocating them, and they wanted freedom."

Nancy's voice cracked with fury. "No! I loved them! I did it because I knew they would never find a better woman than me. No one would ever dare to cheat on me, and they wouldn't dare to leave anyway. That's why I killed them!"

Aaron's tactic had worked. Nancy's confession was now on record, and they had the evidence they needed to ensure she faced justice for her crimes. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw a smirk form on Aaron's face. Then she realized what she just had done.

He stands up and leans in over the table, his voice low and controlled. "Listen to me carefully. I'll do everything in my power to ensure you rot in jail for daring to lay hands on Y/N. Do you understand me? You will die, alone and unloved in a cold cell, forgetting what freedom feels like, and that is a promise," he says before leaving the room.

Returning to his office, he's relieved to have secured her confession. Rossi enters right after him, holding a file.

"What is this?" Aaron asks.

"Y/N's written statement. She felt comfortable talking to me," Rossi says. Aaron nods, opening the file and reading the detailed account.

The pain in his heart grew with each word as he absorbed the details of what Nancy had said to her.

"Talk to her, Aaron. Don't close off," Rossi advises, then leaves him alone.

Rossi's words echoed in his mind, and Aaron knew he needed to talk to Y/N, to be there for her. He entered the room where Y/N, Liz, and Emily were seated, ready to offer his support and comfort.

"I could drive you home now if you want," Aaron asked, his tone tinged with a hint of shame.

"Yes, thank you," Y/N replied.

"I'll stay with her," Liz interrupted, but Emily intervened with a gentle touch on her knee, whispering, "Let them have some alone time." Then she spoke louder, "You guys go I will drive Elizabeth home." Liz blushed at Emily's use of her full name.

Aaron took Y/N's hand, and they left the building, driving to her apartment. She promptly took a shower and changed, though she kept Aaron's sweater on. In the kitchen, Aaron prepared a meal, and they ate together in mostly silence. As Y/N settled into the couch, Aaron moved restlessly around the room, and she couldn't bear it any longer.

"Aaron, enough, please don't do that," she begged. "Don't distance yourself from me now. Don't push me away. Right now, I need you to hold me as close as you can," she said, her voice breaking, her eyes brimming with tears.

Aaron listened to Y/N's heartfelt plea, her voice filled with emotion and her eyes teary. He knew that he had been distancing himself, perhaps as a way to protect himself from the pain of seeing her hurt. He understood now that what she needed most was his support and comfort.

Without hesitation, he walked over to her and sat down on the couch, wrapping his arms around her. Y/N leaned into his embrace, her head resting on his chest, and he held her as close as he could.

"I'm here, Y/N," he whispered softly, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I won't push you away. We'll get through this together."

“I don’t know if you can ever forgive me but,” Aaron began, “But I am so, so sorry that this happened to you, Y/N.”

She looked up at him and put her hand on his cheek, “There is nothing to forgive. I told you this before, none of this is your fault.”

"But it is. My life, my job, everything I do seems to put people I love in danger."

"This has nothing to do with your job, Aaron. That person is sick, she did this to so many different people and could have done this to anyone else too" she assured him.

As tears welled up in both of their eyes, Aaron shared his fears with Y/N. "But it was about my job once, and I couldn’t save her that time, and I almost didn’t save you," his voice breaks.

Y/N's heart ached at the pain in his voice. She gently cupped his face and said, "But you did! You did save me," burying her face into his neck, seeking comfort in his embrace.

"I feel like I attract the evil, and being with me gets people hurt, eventually," he continued, his voice trembling.

Y/N immediately understood what he was implying and pulled back to look him in the eyes. “Aaron, I am not going to leave you, you understand me? I love you like crazy, you are my heart.”

At her words, the tears in his eyes overflowed, and they both cried, holding each other tightly, finding solace in their love and shared pain.

They ended up cuddling in Y/N's bed, Aaron shared details of the interrogation, and Y/N listened, her head resting on his chest while he gently caressed her hair.

“I just feel bad for his son," she said. "Growing up without a parent is hard, and not having both… I can't imagine.”

Aaron continued to stroke her hair. “She wasn't a good mother. She used him for her games. I hope he will have it better from now on.”

“I hope so too,” Y/N agreed, her voice filled with compassion.

They enjoyed a comfortable silence before Aaron broke it. “How about we go away for a couple of days? You, me, and Jack.”

Y/N lifted her head slightly to look at him. “Like a weekend getaway?”

Aaron nodded. “Yes, just to get our heads cleared for a while. What do you think?”

A warm smile spread across her face. “That sounds amazing, actually.” Her expression turned a little more serious, and she said, “I've decided that I'm going to tell the school about us. There's really no point in hiding it anymore. Some parents saw us at the game, and I'm sure everyone knows about Nancy already.”

Aaron considered her words. "I guess you're right. When will you tell the principal?"

"Tomorrow morning, I'll drive there first thing. I'm on sick leave next week, but I want to get it over with already."

He nodded in understanding. "I'll come with you," he offered, and she agreed with a nod, appreciating his support.

The next morning as they drove to school they decided, to purposefully choose a time when the kids were in the classrooms so they wouldn’t see her injured face.

As Aaron waited in front of the office, he heard footsteps approaching, and someone stopped beside him, leaning against the wall just like he was. He didn't need to look up to know it was Liz. The two of them stood there in silence for a moment, both lost in their thoughts.

Finally, Liz broke the silence. "She's strong, you know," she said, her tone a mixture of admiration and concern.

Aaron nodded, not taking his eyes off the hallway ahead. "Yeah, she is."

Liz continued, "I want to apologize for the way I talked to you yesterday."

"No, I deserved that," Aaron replied, his voice laced with sadness. "I promised you I'd take care of her."

She sighed, her expression troubled. "I just hope she'll be okay. I hope you both will be."

Aaron glanced at her, seeing a mix of emotions in her eyes. "We will be," he said with conviction, his gaze returning to the office door where Y/N was talking to the principal. "We just have to."

Y/N left the principal's office a couple of minutes later, letting out a breath of relief. She walked up to where Liz and Aaron were waiting.

"And?" Liz asked eagerly.

"I still have my job," Y/N began.

"Thank god," Liz exclaimed.

"But boy, I don't want to a talk like this ever again with her. She is scary,” Y/N whispered the last part.

Liz led them into her empty classroom, and Y/N continued speaking. "God, I felt like a teenager getting caught with her boyfriend. Anyway, she basically scolded me, and, like I guessed, everyone is already talking about Nancy and what happened. Some crazy rumors are going on, let me tell you that."

She continued, pointing at Aaron, "About us dating, she was definitely not happy that we kept it a secret. But she told me no school policy could force us to end things. She won't force me to change classes. I just have to have meetings with HR every month where they will basically lecture me about… I don't even know."

Aaron listened as Y/N recounted her conversation with the principal. He felt relieved that she didn't face any drastic consequences for their relationship but couldn't help feeling annoyed by the HR meetings she would have to endure because he knew how insufferable these could be.

Liz crossed her arms, "HR meetings every month? That doesn't sound pleasant."

Y/N shrugged a genuine smile playing on her lips, “I can handle it. It's better than losing my job or having to transfer to another school."

Aaron nodded in agreement. "As long as you're safe and still teaching, that's what matters."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Y/N appreciated Aaron's unwavering presence and care during her recovery. His commitment to staying by her side reminded her of how lucky she was to have him in her life. The wounds on her body were gradually fading, but the love and support he showered upon her were the real remedy for her soul.

As she healed, the two of them spent quality time together, cherishing the moments they had. Aaron's dedication to changing her bandages and tending to her wound showed the depth of his love and concern.

When a new case came in midweek, Y/N initially tried to persuade him to go. She didn't want to hold him back from his duties. But Aaron was resolute.

"I told you, I won't make the same mistakes I did with Haley. You need me right now, so there is no more important place for me to be."

Y/N couldn't argue with his heartfelt words. She realized that having him close was exactly what she needed for her recovery, and she welcomed his presence with open arms.

Spencer came over to check up on Y/N because he was away in Vegas with his mom when everything happened. His visit was a pleasant surprise for both Y/N and Aaron. Despite the relatively short time they had known each other, Spencer seemed to trust Y/N a lot, which Aaron found surprising.

After lunch, when Spencer left with good wishes and a warm hug, Aaron couldn't help but express his amazement. "He really trusts you a lot, that doesn't happen too often," he remarked.

Y/N smiled at Aaron's comment. "Spencer is an incredible person, and I'm grateful that he's comfortable around me. We've had some meaningful conversations when I was staying at Emily’s place and it's clear he values you as a boss and your friendship."

Aaron nodded, appreciating how easily Y/N seemed to connect with people, even those in his own team. "You have a way of making people feel at ease, and it's one of the many things I admire about you."

Y/N blushed at his words, feeling a warm sense of contentment. They shared a sweet moment, both grateful for the support and trust they had in their relationship.

The weekend trip to the beach was a much-needed break for all of them. As they arrived at the cozy beach house in Virginia Beach, Jack's excitement was contagious. The weather might have been a bit chilly, but the beauty of the landscape made up for it.

Y/N wrapped herself up in a warm sweater and a scarf, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the shore as she and Aaron walked along the beach. Jack was busy collecting seashells and building sandcastles nearby.

"It's so peaceful here," Y/N remarked, leaning against Aaron as they watched the sunset over the ocean.

Aaron smiled and held her close. "That's why I chose this place. We all need a break from the chaos."

The weekend was filled with beach walks, cozy moments by the fireplace, and watching movies with Jack. It was a time to heal, reconnect, and create beautiful memories together.

Y/N's return to school was met with a heartwarming reception from her students. The flowers, welcome back card, and the kids' eagerness to hug her filled her heart with immense joy. She felt truly appreciated and loved by her students, and it was a touching moment that brought tears to her eyes.

Jack, now fully accustomed to having Y/N around, had grown attached to her presence and he would get cranky if she didn't come over at least a couple of times a week. So Y/N started staying over, and it soon became a regular occurrence. Whenever Aaron returned from a case, they would have baking and movie nights together, creating special memories as a trio.

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Y/N stood in front of the mirror, calling out, "Babe, could you zip me up?"

Aaron emerged from the bathroom, wearing his new sweater vest over his button-up shirt. "Wow, look at you, handsome. I knew this would suit you," she said, giving him a peck as he approached.

"Thank you, darling. Now, let me help you with that," he replied, gently turning her around to zip up her dress. As Aaron lovingly zipped up Y/N's dress, his fingers gently traced the path of her scar. It had become a daily ritual for him, a reminder of the day he almost lost her and a testament to their enduring love. He placed a soft kiss on top of the scar, cherishing each moment they had together and vowing never to take a single day with her for granted.

"You are breathtaking, my love," he complimented her, his arms enveloping her waist as they made eye contact through the mirror. "Maybe we should skip the party and stay home," he groaned in her ear, kissing her jaw.

She sighed and leaned back against him. "It's Christmas, and Dave would kill us," she chuckled. Turning around in his embrace, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "But I promise you, you won't be disappointed by your present later," she added suggestively, brushing her lips against his, causing him to whimper at the enticing thought.

At the Christmas party, the warmth of the season enveloped them. The house was beautifully adorned with twinkling lights, wreaths, and a towering Christmas tree that seemed to touch the ceiling. Laughter and the chatter of friends and colleagues filled the air.

They indulged in a delicious holiday dinner filled with traditional dishes, and Jack couldn't resist sneaking cupcakes when he thought no one was looking.

As Y/N watched Liz and Emily share a feisty kiss, under the mistletoe, with Emily pressing her against the doorframe, she couldn't help but smile at their ongoing game of cat and mouse. It was evident to everyone around them that there was something going on between the two, but neither seemed willing to make the first move.

She had seen Emily sneakily placing extra mistletoes around the house earlier, a clear sign that she was hoping for a chance to steal a kiss from Liz. Y/N secretly prayed that this Christmas might finally be the time when one of them would confess their feelings but both were stubborn as hell.

The room was filled with the joyful sound of Christmas music as everyone danced and swayed to the rhythm. Y/N was carrying Jack in her arms, his small hands resting on her shoulders as they moved gracefully together on the dance floor. Her smile was radiant, and Jack's laughter echoed in the room, adding to the festive atmosphere.

Aaron stood across the room, watching them with a heart full of love and gratitude. Seeing Y/N and Jack dancing together, so full of happiness, was a sight that filled him with an overwhelming sense of joy. He couldn't help but feel lucky beyond words.

As he gazed at them, he knew, without a doubt, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Y/N. The love in his chest was so profound that it felt like it might burst. He felt blessed to have found such a wonderful woman to share his life with, and he was determined to cherish every moment they had together.

As the lively Christmas song changed into a gentle, slow melody, Y/N carefully lowered Jack to the ground. The little boy, still filled with excitement from the festivities, joined some of the other kids nearby, leaving Y/N free to turn her attention to Aaron.

Their eyes met, and there was an unspoken understanding between them. Aaron extended his hand, and Y/N took it with a soft smile. They stepped onto the dance floor together, finding their place in the gentle sway of the music.

Wrapped in each other's arms, they danced with a tenderness that spoke volumes of their love. Aaron's warm breath brushed against Y/N's ear as he whispered sweet nothings, his words filling her heart with warmth.

The world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them, lost in the moment. The soft glow of Christmas lights added to the enchantment of the evening.

He leaned in, brushing his lips against her forehead, a sweet and tender kiss that spoke volumes of his feelings for her. "You are my world, you mean everything to me, Y/N," he whispered. "I can't imagine my life without you. I love you more than words can express."

Y/N looked him in the eyes and whispered, "You are the love of my life, my one and only. I love you." They both felt the weight of their pasts lifting, replaced by the promise of a bright and beautiful future together. And for the first time in a long while, Aaron felt a sense of hope and anticipation for what lays ahead. With Y/N by his side, the stars seemed to shine brighter, and their love illuminated the path before them.

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𝕋𝕒𝕘 𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥: @mrs-ssa-hotch @aaronhotchswife @aaronhotchner135 @lambsheepsheeping @teenagegoateecollectorposts @hmett20 @callm3c0nfus3d @superskittles @carolinelec @emobabeyy @prentissim @perpetuallyconfused10 @topguncultleader @ttzamara @wingedcoffeechaos @gffesegjoiegj tags don’t work if your blog is private

[quibbs126]

could i get a mintrock fankid,if possible?

Okay so I feel like I went a bit off prompt, but here you go, I finally made her, this is Mint Toothpaste Cookie

Admittedly, maybe I could have given her a more occupational name instead of Mint Toothpaste, but I can’t think of one. Maybe I could come up with one in post, and if she has a different name, you know I changed it. I do at least have her character down, so

Anyways, Mint Toothpaste here is actually a scientist working at Astronaut’s agency (I don’t remember the specific NASA pun and right now I’m too lazy to look it up), and she specifically works with the Xylitolians, trying to learn and integrate their technology with their own. She’s also a bit of a fan of their fashion sense and has altered her outfit to more resemble theirs

Okay I know this angle is completely out of nowhere for a mintrock kid, but let me explain. The idea was based on her being made of toothpaste, and wanting to incorporate that into her character. Originally my idea was to maybe go a dentist route, though it felt a bit boring to me. Then I remembered Planet Xylitol also has a dentist/teeth theme, so I decided to use that concept and say that they’re connected

Also, I couldn’t think of anything interesting/something I liked that had to do with Mint Choco or Rockstar’s music angles. All I could think of was basically just going into a different genre of music, and that felt incredibly boring, so why not go in this sci fi route? In retrospect maybe I could have found something to ground her more to normalcy, but screw it

I don’t really know how she came to the scientist conclusion in her life, but shut up, she just did, don’t ask questions. Maybe it was Pink Choco

She does however still have music in her life, it’s just more of a hobby than a lifestyle. She is in fact, an accordion enjoyer and player (though I’m realizing it doesn’t look super good in that sketch now). She also enjoys music from video games she plays, and will sometimes play some of those songs on her accordion. She’s not the biggest strings fan, which is somewhat disappointing to her parents, but at least they didn’t have to compete over whether she would like the violin or guitar more (she thinks they’re just okay)

She’s a bit of a know it all, and while she does good at her job, and the Xylitolians like her, outside of work she kind of lets her job of integrating with an alien culture, being part of intergalactic history, go to her head. She’s sort of become that person who’s annoying after coming back from a study abroad (or so I’ve heard that’s a thing, I haven’t experienced that yet. Or maybe that was me with Britain last year), except she never left to go there and isn’t planning on ending her communication with them. Hopefully she gets better

And yeah, on to the design

So I called her Mint Toothpaste because it’s mint, and I like to imagine Rockstar as being made of shaving cream, and thus I like to imagine his kids not really having the most normal flavors. I didn’t really do that previously, but I did here. I believe the original name was going to be Mint Sauce

Mint toothpaste:

One thing I will say right off the bat, I’m sad that I couldn’t make her hair look as good as it did in the sketch. I tweaked it enough so it doesn’t look horrible, but in my opinion it looks much better in the sketch

But anyways, so her design was mainly based off of the Xylitol NPCs, since she was going to be connected to them. I actually didn’t decide until late whether or not she was living with them or working remotely, but regardless it’s a way to tie them in together. Though I also put in some Mint Choco flair with the coattails so she had something to separate them

I’ll admit right now, I don’t think she looks a lot like Rockstar, at least in the outfit. I used his jacket color in the accents, and she has his eye color, but I don’t know. Or maybe I only think that way because a lot of her colors come from Mint Choco

Also the little triangle in her top part of her suit is supposed to look like Rockstar’s necklace. It was just added to make her have a bit more to do with Rockstar, but I think it looks good on her

Honestly, I actually quite like how her design turned out. Yeah it’s not the most complex, it works with what she’s trying to do, and I think I did better than last time

And yeah, that’s it for Mint Toothpaste. I hope you like her!

[mildmayfoxe]

big fan of your romance novel complaint posts (love to see a fellow hater living it up) but i’m also curious if there are any you would recommend? not looking for anything in particular, just would love to hear your thoughts as someone else with nitpicky reading habits and a taste for trash

ok hello. i left you hanging for a FULL week and for that i am sorry but i wanted to be able to have some time to sit down and type out a real answer to which the short version is YES of course there are several that i have enjoyed!! my disclaimer is that i almost solely read gay romance so if you are looking for lesbian or even straight reccs i don't have much for you (although i will put a couple at the end anyway). hopefully something in this list is interesting to you or at least interesting to someone else! links are mostly to goodreads. break bc i'm gonna write too much

-kj charles is one of my fave authors in this genre bc they're all pretty reliable and there's a ton of them. they're all historical fiction and usually there's at least one murder- she's good at keeping a plot going while developing a romance. often supernatural or magical elements. sometimes cults! i've read almost all of the books she's written and have enjoyed them all

-charlie adhara wrote a really incredible werewolf series that i loved, the first of which is the wolf at the door. this is one of the only series i've read which keeps the emotional stakes up through the whole thing & kept me interested in a relationship after it was established bc sooo many series get boring the second the leads get together. i actually read the first book of the spin-off series (a pack of lies) first which is technically possible but i don't recommend bc i was like "wow they're really throwing me in here. i love it" and then i read the first series and i was like "oh i was supposed to know all this stuff." but i actually liked the dynamic between that couple better and i'm suffering every day because the next one still doesn't come out til 2025 and i read it in 2022. also worth noting that this (the original series) is cops-ajacent (~federal special agents~) and one of the characters is really prejudiced at the beginning & imo doesn't have enough character growth before it's waved away but if you can ignore that it's really good. mysteries! werewolves!

-speaking of werewolves (i could suggest several but i'll keep it to two) tj klune's wolfsong ends up at the top of a lot of gay werewolf novel lists (i'm keeping tabs) and there's a good reason. i enjoyed it a lot. made me kind of sad which is always a good sign to me. the writing voice was very fresh and novel at first but i did find it a little grating by the end so i've put off starting the second book in the series (it's also about a different couple which was disappointing) but i will get around to it. i enjoy tj klune in general although his recent stuff has a very different vibe than this and lightning struck heart is very 2015 in a bad way imo

-bone rider by j fally is a standalone that really delighted me. the russian mob? aliens? vaguely western? possession? throuple? it's got it all. very fun

-ok speaking of westerns there's this other series called magic & steam (yes it's steampunk. sorry. it's very silly) that starts with the engineer. a federal agent is sent to a town to apprehend a ~madman engineer~ except he runs into an infamous outlaw in the process. and the outlaw is really sexy. and probably why i enjoyed the series so much. the series also keeps them apart a lot in a way that i enjoy- i love when things take a long time. it's ongoing so this is another one that i keep checking for updates on

-i've read a lot of stuff by nr walker and they tend to be VERY hit or miss for me but one of my faves is evolved which is almost pure smut. it's about a sex robot that gains sentience. what more do i need to say. she also wrote a three-book series about an amnesiac that made me cry cry cry. and her cowboy (australian rancher) series is pretty ok. i could go through a list and tell you which novels of hers aren't worth it and which ones are good; i've read most of them

-salt magic skin magic by lee welch was a big surprise to me. cool magic, good folklore, fairies in there too. historical. big kj charles vibes which makes sense bc she edited it. welch also wrote a book called seducing the sorcerer which i had more mixed feelings about but had magic in it that i think about OFTEN (the horses)- that one's about an imposing sorcerer and a rundown groom cum handyman. and they're in their FORTIES!!! 🥳🥳🥳 (i love when books are not about 23 year olds)

-another one with a magic system i enjoyed was magician by kl noone. this was the first book i read by this author and i liked it but generally i find their books are too "nice" for me. i'm in the middle of one right now that i started months and months ago that i keep trying to go back to and it's sooo rough for me. but this one and the twelfth enchantment are pretty ok

-emily tesh wrote a duology of silver in the wood and drowned country that i loved because i am suuuuch a sucker for a wild man/green man story. really good. haunting! evocative! kj charles has a green man story too which was actually the first thing i read of hers (spectred isle)

-i complained about the monsterfucker book i was reading a while back but despite that i will also recommend the series it's from: lily mayne's monstrous, which starts with soul eater. are they messy? yes. are they repetitive? yes. are the monsters usually disappointingly humanoid? yes. are a lot of them about the military? also yes. so we're starting off on a bad foot. but the world building is interesting and there's LOTS of kinds of monsters and most of them were pretty fun. the one i just read (#7) was the worst one of the bunch though imo. and i have problems with #6. but 1 2 and 5 were good

-ok i should do a quickfire round. honeytrap: about two enemy agents during the cold war. put it off for a long time bc i didn't love that but it takes place over a VERY long period of time which is always interesting to me. zero at the bone: about a hitman who needs to protect a witness to a mob hit. really strong start but fell off a bit in the middle to the end imo.

-you'll notice a lot of these have subgenres of like fantasy historical supernatural etc but here's some regular contemporaries. a lot of these are about sad guys bc those are my favorite. best laid plans: hardware store owner helps a guy fix his house. in the middle of somewhere: same author actually. guy moves to small town to work at a college. mr jingle bells: this is a christmas one. bad title. fake dating. part of the reason i think i liked it so much is because i expected it to be awful but it was actually pretty good. good emotional stakes. published 2021 but feels very 2014. ignore that part. work for it: i rated this five stars but actually don't remember much what it was like. i think they were both really sad which i love. give me big emotions and i eat them right up with a spoon. i should read it again

-OK now i've got some straight & lesbian options. talia hibbert's brown sisters series is good and cute. she also wrote work for it, above. the unhoneymooners is the first real Romance Novel that i read and it really surprised me because i had fun! previously i had kind of written off romance novels as not for me but this kicked off a reading habit that is still going strong (primarily reading romance novels). i read this in 2020 so it might not be as good as i remember. as for lesbian options olivia waite has a series that i enjoyed that's also historical, and a friend of mine really enjoyed delilah green doesn't care (but i haven't read that one myself). and while not really romances i will always be a sarah waters fan: you may recognize her as the author of fingersmith, which is the novel park chan-wook's movie the handmaiden is based on. if you haven't seen the movie or read the book i recommend both. her books are very dramatic lesbian historical fiction; they don't always have happy endings but they're all very good

ok i think that's the end! regular disclaimer that romance is generally not a genre notable for Good Writing so a lot of these are just things i had fun with or just stuck out in my memory for having fun conceits etc. i can't guarantee that any of these are actually good, especially because this is a list solely based on my own taste and bad memory. would love to hear anybody's thoughts and/or if anybody has recommendations for ME!!! this post took me over three hours to write! crazy!

[zapreportsblog]

Hey stink stink 😘✌🏾 just came to bother you. I was wondering if we could get a 42!miles morales x black! Reader who listens to Lana del Rey. He’s gonna be like “ wtf is this 🤢“ while I’m just hanging out in his uncles house? His room ? Low key don’t care fr . then listen to it and ended up liking her 🧍🏾‍♀️cuz she’s got that calming vibe anyways. Have a good night

You have a goodnight as well, you’ll actually be my last request before I go to bed, it’s like 2am here now and I gotta be up in like 5 hours but I hope you enjoy this fic :)

A Song of Emotions

➥ summary: miles can’t escape his girlfriend’s favorite artist

➥ earth 42 miles x reader

➥ a/n: do leave feedback if you’ve enjoyed it, it’s much appreciated :)

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow across the tranquil neighborhood where Miles resided. It was a peaceful evening, and anticipation tingled in the air as (Y/N) prepared to visit Miles at his home. She clutched her phone tightly, her heart brimming with excitement. There was something she couldn't wait to share with him—the latest song from her favorite artist, Lana Del Rey.

As (Y/N) arrived at Miles's doorstep, a wide smile illuminated her face. She greeted him with a cheerful hug, her enthusiasm palpable. "Miles, you won't believe it! Lana Del Rey just released a new song, and it's incredible! I've been listening to it on repeat all day. I can't wait for you to hear it!"

Miles, not particularly familiar with Lana Del Rey's music, raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He had always appreciated (Y/N)'s enthusiasm for music and her passion for exploring various genres. Still, he couldn't help but feel skeptical about this particular artist. "Lana Del Rey, huh? I've heard her name before, but I can't say I'm a fan. Well, I guess I'll give it a listen for your sake."

The duo settled into Miles's cozy living room, where soft ambient lighting created a tranquil atmosphere. (Y/N) connected her phone to the speakers, her fingers dancing across the screen as she selected the song that had enthralled her heart. With bated breath, she pressed play, and the ethereal melodies of "Sad Girl" filled the room.

As the haunting voice of Lana Del Rey caressed the air, weaving a tapestry of emotions, Miles's initial skepticism began to melt away. He found himself captivated by the melancholic beauty of the song, its poetic lyrics resonating within him. The soft piano chords and the dreamlike atmosphere drew him deeper into the music, allowing him to appreciate its raw vulnerability.

(Y/N) watched Miles closely, her heart filled with anticipation, hoping that he would feel even a fraction of the magic she experienced when listening to this song. Seeing the transformation in his expression, she couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. She knew that music had a way of connecting souls and transcending personal preferences.

“Well that’s enough for me,” miles say getting up mid song and leaving off to the living room where his uncle Aaron was chilling, but little did miles know his girlfriend wasn’t giving up so easily, she was going to make him listen to this song especially after she binged the song like five times in a row now.

As Miles left the room, he made his way to the living room, where his uncle Aaron sat on the couch, engrossed in a book. Miles settled down beside him, ready to engage in some much-needed relaxation.

Meanwhile, (Y/N) couldn't contain her excitement. The melodies of "Sad Girl" still reverberated within her, filling her with a surge of uninhibited joy. With a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, she stepped out of the room and into the living room, her voice soaring with confidence.

She began to sing, her voice carrying the enchanting lyrics of the song, blending harmoniously with the atmosphere. (Y/N) swayed to the rhythm, her movements fluid and graceful, as she focused on Miles, ignoring the presence of his uncle Aaron.

"Now I'm a sad girl, I'm a bad girl. I'm a nasty girl," her voice resonated through the room, each word filled with emotion. She danced around Miles, inviting him to join in, her eyes locked with his.

Miles's eyes widened in surprise, caught off guard by (Y/N)'s impromptu serenade. He glanced at his uncle Aaron, who was observing the scene with amusement. With a shrug and a playful smile, Miles decided to indulge his girlfriend's infectious energy.

"All right, fine, whatever cariño,” he said, using a term of endearment. "It's not that bad of a song. Especially if it's coming from your lips." Miles stood up, allowing himself to be drawn into (Y/N)'s dance, letting the music guide their movements.

They twirled and swayed, their bodies moving in synchrony to the haunting melodies. As (Y/N) sang, the lyrics painted a picture of their emotions, interweaving their souls through the power of music.

Uncle Aaron watched the couple with a fond smile, recognizing the connection they shared. He understood the importance of embracing moments of joy and vulnerability, especially when it came to matters of the heart.

(Y/N) continued to sing, her voice growing stronger and more captivating with every verse. Miles couldn't help but be enchanted by her performance. He found himself smiling, fully immersed in the moment, as they danced together in a harmonious blend of affection and shared enthusiasm.

The room filled with an aura of warmth and lightheartedness, as the three of them—Miles, (Y/N), and Uncle Aaron—embraced the joyous spontaneity of the moment. It was a reminder that life was meant to be experienced fully, with all its quirks and delightful surprises.

As the song reached its crescendo, (Y/N)'s voice soared, her eyes fixed on Miles with unwavering devotion. With a final note, she brought the impromptu performance to a close, her voice fading into the silence.

Breathless and smiling, (Y/N) stood before Miles, their hands still intertwined. "See, even Lana Del Rey thinks we should dance and be happy," she said, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

Miles chuckled, his heart warmed by (Y/N)'s infectious spirit. "You're right, cariño, Sometimes it's good to let go and embrace the joy that comes our way. Thank you for reminding me of that."

Uncle Aaron, who had been quietly observing, joined in with a clap of his hands. "Well, you two certainly know how to liven up an evening. Keep dancing and singing, my dear niece. Music has a way of bringing people closer."

And so, in the cozy living room, amidst the shared laughter and the echoes of Lana Del Rey's lyrics, Miles and (Y/N) reveled in the simple pleasure of music, knowing that their bond was strengthened through every song they danced to and every melody they sang together.