#avoids name dropping the place so it doesn’t end up in the searches idk? idk how tumblr search works exactly but I don’t want it in there

[candycryptids]

Had an enchanting time yesterday @w@ but I feel kinda like I’m hungover. Like. Emotionally/mentally. Still processing all the sights and I had nothing but weird dreams all night…. Yoof. Can’t wait to go again tho @v@

[raggaraddy]

Idk of I/someone else has already asked this but how would the yanderes react to having a mute s/o

Mute

A/N: Hi Hi. Thank you for the request, I hope you enjoy it! 💜💜💜

Trigger warning: Yandere themes, violence, abuse, unhealthy relationships, blood drinking, descriptions of medical care.

Line: Mini-Rap Line (Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jimin)

Alpha! Namjoon

"How long are you going to keep this up?" Namjoon asks, trying to mask the genuine irritation in his voice.

It's been 8 days and you haven't said a word to him. Now, if you weren't talking at all that would be one thing, but you were specifically not talking to him, and would talk to other people with no problem. Trying to make it as pointedly obvious as possible that you were avoiding him and him alone.

The blatant disrespect of this was driving him mad. But he had never set a rule that directly stated that you have to talk to him or reply to him, and he knew that you would only fight it further if he instituted the edict now.

For you though, you were having the time of your life making him suffer. It was rare for you to have so much control between the two of you, and you were abusing it to the fullest. Especially given the reason this all started.

A week ago you were whining because he wouldn't let you go to the town fair without him. An unreasonable decision he made. Because as you tried to point out, you were going to be surrounded by the pack anyhow, and the excuse he gave for not going was a very unnecessary border run that anyone else could do in his place. While he wants to deny it, you know the real cause for his refusal though. It's because you sounded too excited about seeing your new friend at the fate and he was jealous. Even though she was another girl, for whom you had no romantic feelings, he was still jealous. And petty. You could see it in the way he mentioned her name or his face when you spoke about her.

But even with all that, it was his injustice that really made you snap. The exact words he said to you as you tried to reason your point, were; If you're going pout I don't want to hear another word from you. Basically, he told you to shut up just because he couldn't come up with any valid rebuttals and he didn't want to lose. So fine, if he wanted to be a dick, you were going to simply take his own instruction and hyperbolize it.

And his frustration was worth every moment of silence.

While he was hoping not to further blow this out of proportion, Namjoon was trying to break your silence by being strict towards all your other undesirable behaviour. Disciplining you for each and every rule you broke. Hoping to wear you down, or at the very least provoke you into another argument so that he could claim victory.

He was giving you time outs, taking away your electronics, making you hold quarters to the wall, refusing you junk food and sweets, making you stay by his side the entire day and so on. Fully running through all of his most infuriating and childish punishments. But no matter what he did, you remained defiant. And he was at the end of his rope.

Sitting in the kitchen, you were talking with the Gamma and two other wolves during a patrol break. As Namjoon was putting lunch together, you were happily observing his clenched jaw. However, the aggravation their Alpha was exuding was putting the wolves on edge and they were trying to include him in any way they could. Asking his opinion on topics as trivial as shoes, in the hopes to offset the irreverence you were showing.

When they asked him which of two brands he prefered, you interrupted, sick of their transparent attempts.

"No one cares what he has to say." You snip turning your back to him. For the first time in days, you were referring to him, and all the attitude you had stored up was pouring out in those words. You didn't take a second to think about what you were really saying though.

With an almighty crash, Namjoon smacks his hand into the benchtop, catching the side of the plate causing it to shatter. All three wolves and you jump. Quickly the words replay in your head as you see their wide-eyed gawking. Then the realization hits, you were safe being underspokenly disrespectful, but being outrightly so... he had rules set about that, and now you'd just given him the right to punish you in the way he had been itching to.

Grabbing your arm before you can protest he drags you upstairs to your shared bedroom. With weak shoves and refusals, you stay determined not to utter a single word. But as Namjoon pulls onto the bed, dragging you over his lap, as he lifts up your dress and tears down your underwear, you recognise that it's not time to play anymore.

Ignoring your shouts, your foul language, and eventually your cries for him to stop, he holds you down and smacks your ass raw. After about 20 minutes and once he's reduced you to tears, he finally lets up.

"Apologize," he demands. Still crying, you're too out of breath to reply at once, and that pause costs you. His hand comes down on your bruised ass again making you scream. Your cries turning into whimpered hiccuped apologies as you cling to the tear-soaked duvet.

Satisfied with your change in attitude, Namjoon at last stops. Not letting you run away like you want though, instead he has you straddle his lap, his legs carefully spread so your bruised butt doesn't have to sit on anything.

"Do you understand why I did that Y/n?" He asks softly pulling you into his chest. His hand running over your back.

You know why he did it, but you're too bitter to answer him and can only muster a grunt.

"Still not speaking to me, huh?" He smiles knowing he has already won whether you wanted to admit it or not, "Because if you're going to continue being disrespectful, I don't care if your ass is still glowing, I will bring you back up here."

You can only grunt again. Hating him, while you nevertheless cuddle in closer not wanting him to stop comforting you. He chuckles feeling your energy. Fiddling with your clothes and hair to realign and neaten them.

"Beautiful," he purrs in your ear, "If it really means that much to you, I will have someone cover me this Friday so I can take you to the fair." He consigns, kissing your forehead. You finally look up to him, head tilted and mouth slightly open. "Do you want that?"

Looking down and away, you're pouting a little but you push the word out. "Yes,"

"Okay, I will. But you have to be on your best behaviour from now until then." Namjoon winks.

You lost, but you still got what you wanted in the end. So maybe you can chalk this up to a draw. And at the very least you've found a way to get what you want in the future. So maybe that can be considered a win.

Assassin! Yoongi

Because of your disrespectful outburst, Yoongi had told you that you were not allowed to speak until he says. So far you were 4 weeks into your 5 week deadline.

Initially, it was an unyielding torment to have to be silent. A few times you had slipped up and spoken. Each and every time, Yoongi was quick to respond. He would lock you downstairs for as many days as words you spoke. Luckily, the most you said at one time was 5 words. And he still fed you while you were down there. So while it was horrible, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

Steadily though, you found it became easier. While you weren't allowed to speak, you still needed to be able to communicate with Yoongi, so he allowed you to nod and shake your head, and smile. It was restrictive, but strangely enough, you found it becoming comfortable. Because you couldn't speak Yoongi expected less from you. You didn't have to search for words when he spoke to you in an attempt to make him happy and overall, it made your interactions less stressful.

With you not speaking, he was speaking less also. So for the past few days, you have been enjoying a wordless dialogue that you and Yoongi were having. And at this point, you were feeling more relaxed and not missing talking at all.

Although waking up this morning you came downstairs to a horrible sight, that made you wish you could scream.

Yoongi was collapsed on the floor. Stretched out on the kitchen tiles in a puddle of his own blood. Covered in bruises and cuts. His torn up T-shirt soaked in blood.

3 nights ago he had left for a job. With the ease between the two of you, Yoongi didn't lock you up when he left, although he didn't downrightly state that as the reason. He must have come home sometime last night, but clearly, you didn't hear him.

Rushing to his side, you're looking down his unconscious battered form with no idea what to do. This is nothing you know how to deal with.

With how long you have been without speaking it feels wrong, unnatural even when you think about doing it now. And you can't bring yourself to release a single word. So you do what you can to try and get his attention, and to wake him up. You shove him, clap over his head. Lastly and desperately smacking his face a few times, sighing in relief as it pulls him back to consciousness.

Groaning, his eyes look to be spinning from light-headedness. Stiffly he tries to get himself upright against the wall. Seeing his intent you help him. Pulling him, you slip a little in the puddle of blood. Your hands and feet are already covered in it. Your limbs trembling as you hold your hands away from your body. Looking down at him with pleading eyes, waiting for him to tell you what to do.

"Medic kit," he breathes, each puff heavy and wheezed.

You nod, spreading a trail of blood through the house to his bedroom. Collecting the duffle bag in his closet that is filled with a surgeries worth of supplies and running back downstairs, you drop the bag at his side, unzipping it for him.

While you were gone he's torn his ripped shirt off. Among the cuts and scars that already litter his pale chest, he has a deep long cut that runs diagonally down his torso. It looks like basic first aid was already applied, blood-drenched gauze stuck on the worst and deepest parts of it.

"I'm gonna talk you through this," he pants, with a struggled smirk, "Maybe wash your hands first, cause if I die of infection, I'll be pissed." His playful banter feels so out of place, not just for the scene but for him. Although, you're not going to question how he wants to deal with a life-threatening injury, and the ridiculousness of you being the one that needs to help him. If he wants to joke to cope, fine.

Nodding and wide-eyed through the whole run-down, it takes everything you have, but you stay calm and stop yourself from crying.

Thankfully time has seemed to stop the bleeding. As you remove the bandages the lacerations have somewhat clotted. Going step by step, you follow Yoongi's every word. First, you clean the area with a bucket of water and a cloth. Then apply an antibiotic ointment, that smells really gross. Washing your hands once again, you lower beside him, and realize you've only just gotten to the worst of it.

While the bleeding has stopped the cuts above his belly button and his hip are deep enough, the fat is exposed.

"You gonna be able to do this?" Yoongi asks as you hold the needle and thread with a tremble in your hands that is painfully obvious.

You nod, taking a deep breath. But even after 3 more of them, your exhales are still coming out shaky. You are in desperate need to calm down and your sure he can't get mad at you in this circumstance, so you're going to try what you've seen on T.V. Standing, you rummage through the cupboards and pull down a bottle of whisky from the top shelf. Watching Yoongi closely as you open the cork, giving him the chance to stop you. But he doesn't so you gulp down a few mouthfuls, shivering as the taste flows down your chest.

You're not sure if it helped your hands, but you feel a little better. So that's enough.

Returning to his side, slowly Yoongi talks you through suturing the openings. A traumatic experience you hope to never repeat. The sensation of the needing pushing through the layers of skin will surely never leave your head though.

During the stitching, you were surprised that Yoongi didn't flinch or react in any way. You're unsure if it was because the area was numb or because he was restraining himself to not freak you out. But in any case, you were grateful.

After everything and nearly 2 hours, you finally move onto bandaging.

Both of you are now able to slump back, thoroughly exhausted. For the longest time after the final step, neither of you move. You're still horrified, leaning against the wall looking over the armature medical aid you've given Yoongi's chest. Almost feeling a sense of pride through the unrelenting urge to vomit.

"You know," Yoongi grunts, shuffling back, lifting only his head to rest against the same wall. "If you wanna finish early and talk now, I think you've earned it." He chortles dryly, with a straight line smile.

Wiping the sweat from your forehead with the back of your wrist, you laugh uncomfortably. Honestly, after this, you'll be happy to have the next week without speaking.

Vampire! Hoseok

You couldn't take much more of this.

It was endless and he was ruthless.

Night after night Hoseok was coming to you. Drinking from you, hurting you in so many ways, and leaving you. If you were lucky, he'd remember to feed you his blood before he left. If not, he'd let you remain broken, making you suffer through the day.

With everything that you had to endure, you were tired of being tired. Exhausted of being exhausted. Scared and sad all the time, and hating a life from which you had no means of escape. But even with all of this, you were still holding out hope that there had to be some way to lessen your suffering. You had to believe that if you wanted to keep your sanity. You just had to figure out what he wanted.

So far you had seen no depth to him. All you had learnt was that he enjoyed your misery too much. It was like a game to him. Every sound you made, every cry, every time you begged or screamed at him, or fought him, it would only encourage him. He was trying to coax a reaction, to draw out your fear. And with no other form of control, you wanted to see what would happen if you took that away from him.

You theorized that if you did he would get more vicious, but then he would get bored. Best case scenario; he would let you go. Worst case; he would kill you. And somewhere in the middle; he would keep you only for your blood. But any of these were better than the hell you were living in now.

So partly with a plan in mind, and partly out of sheer exhausted terror, you stopped speaking. It was going to be impossible to stop all sounds. There was no way you could stop yourself from screaming or crying or reacting, but you could control the words that came out of your mouth.

And for over 2 weeks now, you haven't uttered a single word.

With the sun high in the sky and being ready to sleep, you come back to your room, jolting as you open the door. Seeing Hoseok sitting on the bed.

In an unnatural flash, he's behind you, goosebumps prickling on the back of your neck. Grabbing a chunk of your hair he jerks and twists you, moving you to face him. His other hand comes up pressing his fingers into your cheeks harshly enough to make your mouth open. Keeping your jaw spread, he moves and tugs your head inspecting inside at all angles.

"Hmm, I was just checking if I cut your tongue out and forgot. But it's there." he uses his hold on your face to throw you back. Crashing you to the floor. "So you're choosing not to speak to me." He chuckles eerily.

As soon as you hit the floor, you scramble to your feet. Struggling to do so with an injured leg, but knowing it's safer to not let yourself remain on the ground or he'll most likely stomp on you.

You croak quickly silence yourself, forcing yourself to not speak and maintain your desperate strategy. Bracing yourself instead like you're facing a wild animal.

He marches forward, grabbing the arm you hold out. You'd rather he break your limbs than your organs. But he uses the arm to yank you forward, his right fist hooking broadly, your head snapping to the side, blood flying from your mouth. "Still not going to speak baby?" He yanks you back, hitting you in the exact same way. And a third time, your mouth gushing blood inside and out. "Are you trying to hurt my feelings?" He laughs switching his target, this time aiming at your torso. Each time dragging you back into place so he can properly hit you again.

Smacking the back of his hand into your head, he lets your fly into the floor this time. Clicking his tongue as he squats, hovering over you. "Baby, it's not as fun when you're not begging me to stop," he says icily. "Maybe I'm not hurting you enough."

Finally, he's giving you the assurance that you were right. Which means just like you thought, he's threatening to become more vicious. So you can endure that, or you can try something extra and see what happens when you outrightly give him everything he already takes.

Gently and so very carefully you lift your arm to his chest, gradually and painfully getting yourself onto your knees. Watching you do so with such difficulty and while you're trying to maintain eye contact with him, Hoseok is too amused to interrupt you.

With the taste of blood flowing from your mouth, you lean in nervously, expecting at any moment to have your body broken in two. Your heart thumps enough to hurt as you lightly kiss him. Leaving a stamp of your blood on his lips. Too scared to even blink as you monitor him. With a curious expression in his eye, he licks lips clean, a trace of a smile raising the corners of his mouth.

Not receiving a negative reaction you continue. Hoisting yourself up again you begin to kiss him slowly, your tongue flicking his lips encouraging him to open his mouth. Deepening the kiss the moment he does. Kissing your blood between the two of you.

Your hands are shaking, your legs are trembling, and you feel sick with fear, but he seems to be stable. And it seems to be working. As tenderly as you kiss him, he is kissing you back the same.

After several minutes and as the pain of holding yourself up gets to be too much, you lower down, terrified that any movement could evoke a change in his response. Keeping your eyes fixed on him, you tie your hair back into a messy bun.

The smirk on Hoseok's face is fully grown as he watches you with complete intrigue. You've never been the one to initiate anything and he is beguiled by your actions.

Coming back to the same height you don't return to kissing him, instead you press your chest to his, clinging one hand into his shirt to keep you balanced, and the other wrapping around his neck to bring his mouth down to your shoulder. It's a wordless invitation that he accepts eagerly, sinking his fangs into the slope of your neck. Too sore and tired to cry out, you can only pant through the bite.

As he drinks, your hands drop and his tighten around you to keep you up. But the second he's done, he releases you and lets you fall to the carpet.

Your eyes open as you hear the bedroom door. However, you see Hoseok stall. Pursing his lips while looking over his shoulder at you. To your surprise, he turns back and in a delicate manner you did not think possible from him, he lifts you up, carrying you to your bed.

Tilting your head up, he presses his lips to yours and your first thought is one of dread. Assuming that he's not finished and he only came back to have sex with you, thinking how much it's going to hurt in your condition.

Pushing his tongue into your mouth you can feel right away that the blood pouring into your mouth is not yours but his. His tongue lapping yours, feeding you his blood the same way you did to him. Healing you in a way he never has before.

Steadily you can feel all your cuts and breaks startling to heal. Clarity returning to your sight and your breath again flowing easily. As your energy returns you begin to reciprocate the kiss. Both out of a feeling of success and clinging on to the taste of his blood, which has come to trigger a feeling of relief within you. Having attached the flavour with the sensation of having your pain taken away.

Abruptly, Hoseok pulls away, getting up without another word or look. Leaving you alone, laying in shock.

It was a reaction unlike any you had expected, but for the very first time, he was damn near humane. So you would have to try that again and see if lightning strikes twice.

Playboy! Jimin

"Ta-da" Jimin bursts into the bedroom with a small black paper bag in his hand and a massive smile on his face. He jumps on the corner of the bed snatching the remote from you and turning the tv off with a click over his shoulder. "Look, Angel." He hands it over, putting the gift in your lap.

Looking down at it, you sigh internally, leaning back you choose to pointedly ignore it. Resting your head against the headboard, you close your eyes.

Lifting the bag by the handles Jimin swings it between his fingers over your head trying to place it in your eye line. "Look, your favourite." He shakes the brand in your face, the joy in his eyes gently fading into guilt.

For 5 days now, you had been stuck in bed. During an argument about your job, Jimin was once again trying to convince you to quit. His points were the same as always. That you didn't need a job because he could pay for you. That you lived with him, and he would buy you heaven and earth. He meant it in a sweet romantic way, but you couldn't help but take it in a 1910 housewife kind of way. You knew that mostly the reason he wanted you out of work was that he was very greedy with you and hated you being around other people. He didn't like that you weren't there to keep him company and entertain him at all times.

Honestly, those 8 hours out of the house, even though you were down to 3 days a week, were so revitalizing. Jimin could be a lot of work. And he was getting more and more controlling about who you saw and when you could see them. Apart from work, it had been 3 months since he last let you go out or see any of your friends by yourself. And you were fighting to hold onto this last little bit of freedom.

However, you will admit in the attempt at making your point solid, you said something incredibly stupid. He said he paid for everything, and you said you needed your own money in case you ever wanted to leave him. And he took that about as well as you'd expect.

"Come on, this isn't fair." Jimin pouts. "I said I'm sorry."

What really wasn't fair was that he hit you, kicked you, and screamed at you. Demanding you apologize and promise to never leave him. But you were coughing up blood, too dazed to even comprehend his words at the time. And when you didn't answer he growled you can't leave if you can't walk as he threw you down the stairs.

It's only by a miracle that you weren't injured as permanently as he intended, but still, he had done plenty of harm. Your ribs and stomach were black and purple. Your face was cut up with your lips split and your jaw swollen. Your arm and hip were also deeply bruised and sore. But with all of this, you truly have no idea the full extent of the damage because Jimin refuses to let you go to the hospital.

So, due to your injuries and your own principles, you hadn't spoken to Jimin since you woke up.

The first day he was remorseful and apologetic. He pleaded and begged for you to forgive him. He tried to hold you and love you and take care of you, but despite the pain and the fact that you really couldn't take care of yourself, you refused him at every turn. On the second day, he was already becoming annoyed that you wouldn't let him near you and kept ignoring him, and on the third day, he yelled at you for being difficult, trying to put the blame for his reaction on you. Yesterday, when he saw that gaslighting you wasn't getting him what he wanted, he went back to being sweet and doting, having had better luck with guilting you in the past.

This means today when his presents don't earn him your forgiveness, he should be right on track to getting pissy again.

He pulls a small box out of the bag, flicking it open. "Ta-da," he smiles. Only to be met once more with your active avoidance. "Look," he whines holding the ring box up but your eyes are closed. "Y/n look!" He barks.

You're not going to, though. He always does this. Buys you something to resolve his guilt. And if for even a moment you express gratitude or pleasure in it, he takes it as complete forgiveness. Then when you haven't actually absolved him, he accuses you of being difficult or a spoiled bitch. Even ignoring him you know he's going to make a problem of that too, but at least this way he will have to keep suffering in his shame.

During the last few days, you've been thinking hard about why you're with Jimin. For a moment, you even thought about packing your things in the middle of the night and leaving him. Moving back in with your old housemate, returning to full-time work and picking up your life where you left it. But thinking that, even with everything bad Jimin can do, it hurt your heart.

He's yours. And out of all of the people in the world, you're his.

Really there weren't too many times that he freaked. And he only did it because he loved you too much, or because you said something cruel like you did this time. No, most of the time he was so sweet. He listened to you, and he really cared about everything you had to say. Even the smallest problems he wanted to help with. He was normally so kind and gentle and he treated you like a princess.

No matter how hard you looked you would never find anyone who treated you like Jimin did.

So even when he lost his temper, you knew you just needed to hold out, because soon everything would return to regular.

This time he just overdid it. And that's why you were punishing him by not speaking to him. Because you knew it was important to stand up for yourself.

There's a flurry of sudden movement and a hefty bang across the room. Your eyes jumping open, Jimin has thrown the ring and the box into the wall. His frustration exploding in a rampage as he attacks your makeup table. Sweeping everything off it, stomping on anything fragile that hits the floor. Throwing the table over he hurls it into the wall, finishing it off by booting his shoe into the mirror over and over until it cracks.

Turning back to you, his hands curled up by his side, it's unnervingly apparent that he is fighting to restrain himself. Even now, as you lay in bed broken, in his rage he is still considering hitting you again.

But you're pretty sure he won't.

Jimin has just never been good at dealing with consequences and he is worse at dealing with the guilt that comes because of his actions. Without you pardoning him, he's going mental. Which is good, because that means he's learning.

"Whatever," he yells, "just fucking forget it." Barging out of the room he slams the door ferociously behind him.

He may be acting harsh, but you know that more than likely he will be going out to replace everything he just damaged. And he'll buy you something even better than a ring to say he's sorry.

And as long as he doesn't hit you again, you'll know that he really is sorry and in a couple more days when your mouth is healed, you will be able to forgive him. Then the two of you can move on from this and it will be as perfect as it can be.

[frostedfaves]

All Too Well

Masterlist

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x fem!reader

Summary: A new year leads to a new argument.

Warnings: angst

A/N: this was supposed to be a super angsty breakup fic inspired by Taylor Swift’s All Too Well, but apparently idk how to write sad shit anymore so enjoy whatever this is 😔 (on the bright side, I found a nickname for Wanda to use in my upcoming series 👀)

-

“Those aren’t even the lyrics!” Wanda shouted over the radio, her laughter nearly covering her speech like a blanket.

“Of course it is!” You reached over to turn down the volume on the radio. “Take it from someone who sang this song every day for a year during every single shower.”

“Well, it’s a shame your shampoo bottles never told you that you were serenading them with the wrong words.”

A loud laugh escaped you as both of your heads turned in the same moment, yours to gaze out the passenger window and hers to watch you. The orange and brown leaves that dropped from the trees were only part of the lovely scene in front of you, and Wanda thought the colors provided a wonderful background for her own movie. She got lost in admiring your features, wishing to run her thumb along your lips as a smile formed there, or place a palm against your cheeks, warmed by the sun. Her attention turned back to the road just in time to stop herself from passing a red light, throwing an arm across your torso to keep you from lurching forward against the seatbelt.

“Sorry,” she apologized with flushed cheeks, and you couldn’t help but poke one as you assured her everything was fine. Turns out the sun can bring warmth to fingers, too.

As the two of you made your way to your shared apartment, Wanda wished for your heated touch now, instead of the cold glare you directed to the windshield. She was grateful it was pointed toward the street for now, and she was tempted to drive on forever with the heat blasting until you defrosted. Anything to avoid the confrontation she knew was coming.

“What the hell was that?”

“Baby, please,” she sighed. “The new year just started. Can’t we wait until the sun comes up again and we’ve had some sleep?”

“I’ve waited long enough, Wanda.”

Her shoulders tensed and a shiver ran down her spine because your stare was focused on her now, and the ice made its way to your vocal chords, leaving an especially thick layer around her name. You hadn’t called her anything aside from ‘honeydew’ since your first date, and she endured the teasing from her team because seeing the sparkle in your eyes was worth it. Hearing you say her name now felt like being cursed.

“Can we at least wait until we get home?” she pleaded as she faced you after stopping at the red light. “I want to be able to look you in the eye without putting you in danger.”

“Fine.”

You broke away first to turn the radio volume up, turning your head to avoid her watery eyes. Her vulnerable gaze nearly melted away your resolve entirely, and you refused to let this go on any longer. Wanda forced herself to keep her own eyes on the road and the drive went on silently aside from the song pouring in through the speakers, neither of you bothering to fight over the correct lyrics. You were back at your building within a few minutes, and while you rode the elevator up from the parking garage, Wanda took the stairs. She had no idea what she was walking into, and she just needed to pretend everything was okay for a little bit longer.

When she opened the apartment door, your coat was already hung by the door and she could hear your bare feet padding along the wooden floor to the bedroom. She took her time hanging her own coat and slipping off her shoes, following you down the hall and nearly dropping them out of her hand when she saw you staring at her from the edge of the bed.

“What the hell was that?” you repeated, watching Wanda walk past to place her shoes in the closet.

“I’m going to need more than that, detka.” Her accent became more prominent as her nerves grew, a deep crease forming between her brows as she faced you and leaned against the opposite wall. “What are you asking about?”

“That woman asked about your girlfriend and you told her it was ‘nothing serious’.”

“I was just...saving face.” She kept her arms folded as she shrugged. “She’s friends with Tony and they talk all the time. If I would’ve been all obnoxious about our relationship, he would’ve made a big deal about it later.”

“You’ve been getting teased for ten months by Earth’s mightiest heroes over a nickname and expressing your love for your girlfriend is where you draw the line?!”

“Okay, I’m sorry! It was a mistake and it won’t happen again.” She pushed off the wall and walked forward to grab your hand, but you jumped off the bed and headed toward the kitchen before she could get close. “What--”

“You’ve stopped talking to me, too.”

“We’re literally talking now! We talked on Christmas Day--”

“Oh yeah, I really enjoyed that 30 second talk we had over pancake batter before the whole team stormed in and took over,” you huffed into the refrigerator while searching for something to drink.

“If you have a problem with the Avengers, just say it.”

“I love your team!” you cried out as you closed the refrigerator door. “I probably see more of them than I do you. Three weeks ago, I went to the tower because I hadn’t heard from you all day and I had to find out from the fucking spider kid that you volunteered to join some last minute mission. And you know what? We had dinner together and I talked to him for two hours, which is probably longer than I’ve talked to you since then.”

“I can’t help it if missions come up,” Wanda challenged as she took the glass of water you offered. “This is my job, just like you have yours.”

“I know, but you had your phone with you. At least send a text, let me know you’re okay.”

“I will. Is that it?” She watched your eyes avert from hers, sighing when you headed toward the couch in the living room instead of the bedroom. “It’s not, is it?”

“I just want to know why you haven’t been happy.” You finally met her gaze again when she stopped a few feet away.

“What? I’m happy.”

“Nothing’s been the same since that day you were driving and nearly ran the red light. That was in October, and it’s the beginning of January now.”

“You’re wrong,” Wanda insisted as she inched closer. “I’m happy.”

“I drove myself crazy here while you were gone on all these lengthy trips, trying to think of why you wanted to be so far away all the time. Maybe you weren’t feeling this anymore, or you’d found someone that made you feel more alive--”

“I told you I’m happy!”

In a split second, red filled her eyes and surrounded her hand as she sent her glass flying against the wall. You stared at the droplets of water running down the eggshell colored surface to the wooden floor, flinching when Wanda placed her hand on your thigh as she knelt in front of you and relaxing when you were met with her usual eye color.

“I’m sorry.” She squeezed gently as she sighed, never breaking eye contact. “I’ve just been worried. When we’re together, I tend to lose myself in your existence, and it isn’t safe. A few seconds more, and that day could’ve ended a lot differently.”

“I had my seatbelt on,” you reminded her as you placed your palm over her knuckles, and she shook her head. 

“There are a lot worse threats than a car accident, detka. I just fear that one day, I’ll be wrapped around you so tightly that I won’t have time to free myself and protect you from danger.”

“So your solution to protecting me more was to leave me totally alone with no warning?”

“Now that I’m hearing it with a clear head, it doesn’t sound like such a good plan,” she chuckled with a shake of her head.

“No, it doesn’t, honeydew.” You squeezed her hand with a smile that widened at the sight of Wanda’s. “What?”

“I just never thought I could miss a silly nickname so much.”

-

Tags: @littlegasps @peggycarter-steverogers @imnotasuperhero @natasha-danvers @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @creepingwolfberry @honeyvenable

[hqbbg]

dense.

pairing: iwaizumi x reader

summary: you’re dense and iwaizumi is stubborn.

genre: fluff

word count: 2.0K

warnings: language

author’s note: idk why but i've been simping for this mans all week (actually nvm i do know why,, like who wouldn’t) but also it’s late at night and idk what this is but pls accept and enjoy it 👉🏼👈🏼👉🏼👈🏼

Your mother had always told you it was rude to stare and throughout your childhood, you did your best to avoid getting scolded at for staring at random people. However, while sitting at a café in an attempt to study, you can’t help but shift your focus from the notes in front of you to the boy sitting a few tables away, chewing on the eraser of his pencil as he leans over his notebook, looking deep in thought. You have your cheek pressed against your left palm, your elbow propped up on the table and your pencil not even in your hand anymore as you shamelessly stare at the stranger.

He’s sitting in your direct line of sight ahead of you and you’re sure that you’re also in his, but he has yet to notice or acknowledge you. He looks smart—or at least is trying to be—as he releases the end of his pencil from his teeth to scribble something down onto his notebook.

His eyes flicker up in your direction and you quickly avert your eyes back down to your notebook but keep your head in the same angle in order to avoid looking suspicious. You pretend to be deep in thought for a moment before your eyes make their way back to look at the handsome stranger in front of you, his own attention devoted to whatever it is he’s studying.

You’re not even sure how much time has passed before you feel someone flick the back of your head, causing you to wince and angrily turn to see the person responsible for the subtle throbbing you feel now.

“Ow, that hurt, Iwaizumi,” you frown as you rub the back of your head.

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes as he sits down across from you, effectively blocking the view. He places your coffee down in front of you and takes a sip of his own, raising a brow as he looks at your notes.

“You’ve barely made any progress.”

“I was taking a study break,” you reply as you drop your hand from your head.

“Study break my ass,” he scoffs. “You’ve been staring at that guy since I left to go stand in line for your coffee—you’re welcome, by the way.”

“Thanks,” you mutter as you lift the cup to your face and inhale the fragrant smell of coffee, taking a sip shortly after. “Also, can you blame me? He’s really cute.”

Iwaizumi looks at you and you swear that you see his eye twitch slightly.

“Your exam score is not going to be cute if you don’t focus now, you know,” he says as he sets his cup down, leaning back in his seat as he crosses his arms across his chest.

“I know,” you sigh as you pick your pencil back up. “I can’t focus, though.”

“We’ve been here for half an hour. Have you even tried?” Iwaizumi raises an unimpressed brow.

“Of course I have,” you huff indignantly. “It only took me ten minutes to get all my stuff out and then five more minutes to use the bathroom. I tried to study for at least five more minutes before I got distracted.”

“Well, now that I’m here, you shouldn’t have any distractions,” says Iwaizumi as his lips quirk up into the slightest smirk. You sigh dramatically but know that there’s nothing you can do.

His method of forcing you to at least try to study is affective for some time, but the content of your notes is utterly dry and quite frankly, you’re bored.

“You didn’t have to come today,” you say casually. You’ve been searching for an excuse to not study for the past few minutes, and this seems to be the only thing you can come up with.

Iwaizumi looks up from his phone for a moment before looking back down, his thumb scrolling through whatever app he’s on.

“Who else is supposed to keep you focused? Plus, it’s not like I had anything better to do today.”

You blink a couple times at him but say nothing.

Iwaizumi has slowly and steadily been spending more time with you lately, keeping you company practically anywhere and everywhere you went. You didn’t mind necessarily, since you two get along aside from the occasional bullying you both inflict upon each other which is all in good fun. Plus, he’s pretty easy on the eyes, so you have no complaints there.

You’d known him for quite some time now but can’t remember when exactly you two had become friends. You remember seeing him when you were both in high school, with you as a faithful supporter of your school’s boys’ volleyball team while he was part of the opposing school’s team, practically glued to his much more popular friend—what was his name? It started with an O…—and was always overshadowed by him. You didn’t see him much again until you came to college and recognized him in one of your classes. Over time, you seemed to naturally gravitate towards each other and have gotten to where you are now a whole year later.

“I really can’t focus,” you huff as you set your pencil down, leaning back into your seat with a slouch. If your mother saw you right now, she would probably scold you for your posture.

“We’ve been here for barely an entire hour,” says Iwaizumi, looking up from his phone again.

“It’s just one of those days, you know? Maybe I can try studying later tonight or something, but bottom line is that I can’t be productive right now.”

“Fine. What do you want to do instead?” Iwaizumi puts his phone down and looks plainly at you.

“I didn’t think I’d get this far,” you say to yourself, but loud enough for him to hear. “Well, I guess for starters, can you scoot over to the side a little?”

“No,” Iwaizumi says without missing a beat.

“Aw, come on,” you whine. You know it’s childish and are very aware that it bothers Iwaizumi when you’re like this, so you do it a little more to egg him on. “If the situation was switched and a pretty girl was behind me, I’d gladly move to the side for you!”

“If you want to look at some guy so bad, just look at me.”

You want to protest but a different idea comes to mind.

“Fine,” you say and lean forward to prop both elbows onto the table in front of you, cupping your own face as you stare at him.

Iwaizumi looks at you questioningly, his eyebrows furrowed but you notice the slightest tint in his face to betray the unimpressed expression on his face.

“You look like a dumbass,” he says, not looking you in the eye as you blink innocently at him.

“You know, after all this time, I think I just realized your eyes are kinda green,” you say, ignoring his statement.

“How long are you going to keep this up?” Iwaizumi also doesn’t seem to have a problem ignoring your statements.

“Keep what up?” You can’t help but smile smugly at him.

Iwaizumi inhales deeply before he also leans forward to mirror your position, his face dangerously close to yours. You never realized how small the table between the two of you was and now it’s your turn to blush.

“I can sit here all day like this if you want,” he teases, a confident smirk plastered on his face. He still can’t meet your eyes for too long before he has to look away, but you don’t mind because suddenly, you are also having trouble maintaining eye contact with him.

“Maybe not all day,” you say, doing your best to not look fazed by any of this. You’re also feeling very aware of how the two of you must look to other onlookers and can’t help but feel the embarrassment heat your face up even more.

“You can always give up first,” he taunts, maintaining his smirk.

You internally curse his stubborn resolve and the fact that you are able to match it, refusing to give up first.

“The more I look at them, the prettier your eyes seem to be,” you decide to use a different approach in getting him to give up first.

“That’s not going to work on me,” Iwaizumi rolls his eyes, shaking his head slightly.

“Wow, do people just tell you that all the time then? Must be nice.”

“I’m surprised it took you this long to notice,” he retorts.

“Clearly, I’m not the most observant person in the world,” you push your lower lip out just the slightest bit to form a small pout. The flicker of his eyes to your lips does not escape you.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he says. “Something can be painfully obvious and in front of you and you still wouldn’t notice because you’re just that dense.”

“Pfft, notice something like what?” You frown, furrowing your eyebrows. Sure, sometimes you were a little clueless, but you didn’t go as far as to consider yourself dense.

“Like a test or quiz answer—”

“Lame. Everyone misses things like that from time to time,” you scoff.

“—or if someone likes you.”

“Well, someone has to like me in order for me to notice that kind of stuff,” you retort back.

“You’re literally not seeing it right now and it’s right in front of you,” Iwaizumi frowns, unable to look you in the eye.

You feel like you’re catching onto what he’s saying now but decide once more to give him a hard time just to confirm your thoughts.

“Wait, do you think the guy behind you is into me then?”

You see the irritation on Iwaizumi’s face and do your best to not laugh.

“Forget I even said anything,” he scowls as his eyes fix onto something behind you.

“If I’m dense, then maybe you can just enlighten me,” you say, your eyes searching his face for any signs that he might be upset with you, just in case. He just seems a little dejected.

“There’s no point,” Iwaizumi sighs. “Maybe the guy behind me can tell you for me.”

“Wait, I was just teasing you,” you pout your lips slightly again leaning to the side to get into his view. You hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings or anything. “Just tell me.”

“I’m not good at this stuff,” he grumbles as he looks away from you again.

“You can tell me anything, Iwaizumi,” you say, removing one hand from your face to reach over and poke his arm. Sometimes you forget how toned and solid his arms are.

“You’re just giving me a hard time now, aren’t you?” Iwaizumi looks at you skeptically and you can’t resist the small grin on your face. “You’re a crappy person, you know that?”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” you whine, your grin leaving your lips as quickly as it came. “You still haven’t told me.”

“Should I spell it out for you?”

“If that’s the method you choose, I won’t stop you,” you shrug as you bring your hand back to cup your face. Iwaizumi gives you a look, unamused.

“I like you.”

Your hunch is confirmed but hearing it out loud from him makes you feel different.

“Can you say that again?”

“No,” Iwaizumi frowns as he relents, dropping his arms and leaning back, looking away from you. You can see his cheeks and ears are reddening by the second and can’t resist the smile on your face.

“I guess I am pretty dense when it comes to that stuff,” you say as you also drop your arms and sit up straight. “On a serious note, can I have some time to process that?”

“Sure,” Iwaizumi nods as he grabs his coffee cup, getting ready to stand. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Where are you going?” You look at him with curious eyes.

“Do you not want me to leave you alone?”

“No,” you shake your head. “If anything, can you just tell me again? I want to make sure I heard you right the first time.”

“You really are a crappy person,” Iwaizumi says, but you can see the small smile on his lips. “You would’ve gotten along well with my friend Oikawa.”

“Ah! That’s his name!”

[imdreaminadream]

The results pt 2 ~ “What about it makes you cringe?” Category 1

( - prologue.   - part 1  - category 2  - category 3)

Okay so this is the results to the question in the quiz, What about it makes you cringe. In reference to the questionnaires core subject about smut fanfics.

 Also quick psa there will be a part for the results for the other question -  “In kpop fics, Korean words i.e. jagiya, seem to be a no no, would you like to elaborate why?”

Now note these particular results are going to be split into 3 posts because I decided to split the results into 3 categories. 1 - Writing Aspects. 2 -  Personal Preferences. 3 - Genuine Problems.   

>THIS POST IS CATERGORY 1<

DISCLAIMER BELOW. (please read that before continuing)

This is going to be a long post. The responses were very enlightening but please don’t take this as an attack. Consider this more as constructive cheat sheet to good smut writing or just ignore it if you don’t agree with it. Some of this did get a bit deep appropriate trigger warnings will be put on the appropriate posts but I’m not sorry it got deep fics can also affect real life as much as we wish it were something that didn’t mix in with real life, it does. I’m no official like sex guru or big-time writer, or what ever BUT I did add little advice underneath each answer, which are just a reflection of the people’s answers. Again if you don’t like the sounds of this don’t take it personal and click off. 

Writing aspects.

Poorly written/typos – Nearly all of the people said that, poorly written, bad grammar and lots of typos made them cringe. Answers said that sometimes works are so poorly written it comes across as though the person writing doesn’t know how sex works. Now by poorly written they talked about, the plot being non sensical, choppy or lacking decent grammar, too many typos, using words in the wrong context, repetitive language. They also specified they understand not everyone’s first language is English but the least that can be done is proofreading of the works by them or someone else. And many people cried over the use of first person, they felt it brings them out of imagining the fic. 

Language used – So they we’re talking about strange words for body parts especially genitals, and just weird terms and phrases in general. Regarding body parts, everyone mentioned that childish or full-on scientific names for genitals was the worst. Feedback suggests calling it a dick, cock – although some commented that cock sounded too vulgar, and pussy. Also referring to female’s arousal as juices was a common answer, to quote one of my fav answers “so none of that her juices coated my fingers’ Like bitch it aint orange juice.” Then for weird terms and phrases, no specific example was given but I’m certain they meant things that literally every man and their dog would not say, ever! Personal opinion here but, “you like what you see?” and “Your wish is my command.”, and “tongues fighting for dominance.” should die off. It’s overused and I’m sick of seeing it – pretty sure no one says that during sex in real life anyway.

So, to avoid it alls you need to do is use second or third person, proofread, and learn how sex works if you don’t know. Also, best way to proofread it to leave it a few days then come back and read it again – also there are apps like Grammarly that help with your writing too. (PSA I personally love proofreading work, because I’m weird like that, so if you ever want me to proofread drop me a message/anon.)

So, take a moment to consider what you are writing, again proofreading is very helpful, and just stick to the mature ways to say dick/pussy. Suggestion here if you can’t write it the mature way, stop writing smut fics because clearly you’re either not mature enough or uncomfortable (to be) writing smut. 

Dialogue – Too much dialogue and not enough action cropped up a number of times. Also that the dialogue written is cringy essentially, Then there was too much dirty talk, and dirty talk that shouldn’t even be considered dirty talk which commented a lot in regards to dialogue. And although I think I wrote about this answer previously but weird words, exaggeration, and choppiness in the dialogue. (someone commented over use of buzzword but idk what buzzwords are.) May I also personally add that written fake stutters irritate the living day lights out of me just stop.

---- I actually did another questionnaire about this, it didn’t garner same amount as this one but it gained a good few responses. The answers should be available to see, if you want you can take a look at that to see more about people thoughts when it comes to dirty talk in fics. ----

Advice is, keep in mind when writing dirty talk what sounds good, to plausible, to terrible. Just think about what sounds realistic as well, draw on your own experiences or what you want to be said to you. Also, if you don’t find it sexy don’t write it for everyone else’s sake or to fit in with the trend, stay true to yourself but try to vary it up for each fic you write.

No build up – They talked about how some fics go straight to the dicking down, to action, with no build up or a bit of sensical plot, and it doesn’t work. Or if the characters haven’t even talked and suddenly, they’re down to fuck. They expressed it doesn’t make sense and doesn’t feel like the characters are even that interested, as though they’re fucking for the sake of fucking. This also ties in with some comments that said sometimes people fail to remember smut isn’t just about being railed, it is also about connections with people and making love so going straight to the fucking, fails to make the reader want to continue reading.

The solution to this is to reference history/tension or build up the tension between characters, or just set the scene a little bit before getting straight into it. Also remember no one is having sex without some foreplay and if they are it isn’t very good, so don’t let it be like that in your writing. 

Lack of realism/inaccuracies – Okay so this was mainly in regard to sex, the way the body works and some scenarios. To elaborate, people said that there are just some sex positions and places to have sex that just don’t work. In example one person wrote how sex in a gaming/office chair doesn’t work well and they know through personal experience. So, for the readers it’s just super unrealistic that it happens, and it leaves the reader either fixated on figuring out how that is possible or cringing because they know it’s not possible rather than reading the rest of the fic. There’re also just some ways the body doesn’t work I’m not going to go through examples there are so many, but we all know what is meant. Also, I’ll mention that kinks also were apart of the lack of realism, I’ll talk more about that in the next post.

So, based on this the only thing I can say is keep it real and keep it accurate as possible. Like we know its fiction but consider how ridiculous some of the stuff you’re writing may be, how impossible it is. Just don’t be afraid to google things – you can actually freeze and delete your search history – to double check or educate yourself about. Or ask for advice, draw from experience, or maybe try it out yourself with or without your partner then reflect that in your writing.

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

END OF CATERGORY 1

(Feel free to discuss in comments, in my messages or send anons or anything like that if you want.)

Tag list

@nctsworld, @lauraneuuh, @jooniyah, @ceoofxiaojun, @lovemayble @hyucksie​ @myelle-n

- if anyone else wants to be tagged for the next parts let me know via anon or dm -

[punkscowardschampions]

Rio & Liam

Rio: Erm, hi, what the actual fuck

Liam: how can I help you

Rio: Okay no, do not try to be cute with me right now

Rio: How do you even know my sister

Rio: do you

Liam: we’re both taken, ain’t we, and your sister wouldn’t like me being cute with anyone else rn

Liam: it’s a long story, I dunno why you’d wanna hear it from me instead of her

Rio: Believe me, I am trying to contact her

Rio: Do you really think this is appropriate?

Liam: you’re gonna tell me why you don’t think it is, that’s why you’re here

Liam: not my pov, yeah though

Rio: I’m here to ask you what you’re doing and why, both of which you’ve avoided answering so yeah, that’s not worrying AT ALL

Liam: you can see what’s happening and as she’s your sister I assumed you’d see why anyone would think it’s worth doing

Rio: You realise how that makes you sound, yeah

Rio: So you’ve just hit up a random girl who’s two years younger than you because you think she’s fit

Liam: you’re twisting it to make me sound like that bc you’ve already decided how this convo is gonna go, like I said

Liam: I didn’t know anything about her when we first started talking but am I mad she ended up being fit, no

Rio: If you had anything to say for yourself then I wouldn’t have to fill in the blanks

Rio: You aren’t exactly making it sound like you’re anything but guilty

Rio: Did you start talking to her or her to you?

Liam: [a screenshot of her post on the ARG thread and your reply because of course you have that]

Liam: guilty of what, having a common interest

Rio: Aren’t those places anonymous

Rio: So, what, she’s just giving out her info to anyone on the internet?

Rio: Great

Liam: she’s smarter than that

Rio: She’s my sister, I know what she’s like

Rio: Just say what you mean and what happened, it shouldn’t be difficult if you have nothing to hide

Liam: then you know she made we work for knowing more about her and I did

Rio: And you like her, do you

Liam: why are you phrasing it like I shouldn’t, she’s incredible

Rio: I’m not

Rio: that’s twisting it

Rio: but you’re an older lad, she’s never had a boyfriend

Rio: I just don’t think this is ideal for her first experience

Liam: what’s better about a lad from her year, I’ll look after her

Rio: It isn’t really about the age, it’s about experience

Liam: I dunno what Lex has told you but it sounds like she’s lying

Rio: I know Lex too

Liam: it didn’t work with her, maybe she’s still annoyed about it

Rio: She hasn’t said anything against you, FYI

Liam: she’s your mate, you wouldn’t really say if she had

Rio: It’s not about Lexie anyway

Rio: I still don’t understand how you and Edie started talking, outside of the forum thing

Liam: how we are, we found out who each other was and moved it here

Rio: Right…

Rio: And you have things in common, that’s more than how it seems

Rio: Can you like, not break her heart

Rio: Because then we will have a problem

Liam: we won’t ever have a problem

Rio: I know she looks and acts mature, but she’s not

Rio: well, she’s still just a kid, you know what I mean

Liam: she’s not a kid, but she 👀 at the world how they do, sometimes, not having that in common is why I wouldn’t hurt her

Rio: Does that not put you off?

Liam: it’s not a - it’s a +

Rio: She doesn’t need a protector, that isn’t your job

Liam: it’s not your job to tell me what she needs, I know it’s not me

Rio: What do you think she needs?

Liam: I’m not gonna out her like that

Rio: What does that even mean

Liam: my thoughts are coming from what she’s said to me, maybe it’s private or maybe you already know, but if you don’t, I’m not betraying her trust

Rio: If there’s something wrong or she’s in trouble you need to tell me

Liam: she’s not, and there’s nothing wrong, she could just be happier

Rio: Well couldn’t everyone

Liam: everyone don’t get the chance

Rio: I’m not going to rail on you if you think you can make her happy

Rio: that’s sweet and I’m not a massive bitch

Rio: I’m just a little shocked

Liam: me too when it ended up being her, it’s a massive thread

Rio: I’m not trying to out her, or anything like that and if you say anything about her it’s over for you

Rio: but have you considered she searched you out specifically?

Rio: She’s really smart

Liam: why me

Rio: Come on, Liam

Rio: She clearly thinks you’re amazing, and she’s not the only one interested

Liam: she was as surprised

Rio: Okay, if you’re sure

Rio: You don’t know anything about what’s been happening to Lexie, do you?

Liam: I’m camping with my dad, what’s happening with Lexie

Rio: Edie hasn’t mentioned anything?

Liam: what’s it gotta do with Edie

Rio: Hopefully nothing, don’t worry

Liam: you’re seriously not gonna fill in the blanks

Rio: Ha, the level we are not at there yet

Rio: I believe you, so the Lexie stuff is clearly unrelated to this, you don’t need to know

Liam: she did message me asking questions that made no sense, so if she thinks I did something I wanna know

Rio: Someone did do something, she’ll work it out

Rio: it isn’t my information to spread around, that doesn’t seem sensible

Liam: if she’s spreading round it’s me, it’s uncool of you to not give me any info at all

Rio: She isn’t

Rio: she’s looking at all eventualities and you are her ex, that’s how your name came up, she hasn’t told people it was you, by any means

Liam: the timing is funny, I get a new girlfriend and she’s trying to make me look bad

Rio: I can see that

Rio: but there’s been videos, things left at her house

Rio: I don’t think it was you, I’m not saying that, but she’s shown me

Rio: What would that mean, she’d done it herself? idk, also sounds funny

Rio: it’s clearly just an unrelated weirdo and the timing is a coincidence

Liam: she should be more careful what she posts, if some random has found her house

Rio: It must be someone else from her real life

Rio: even peripherally

Rio: I don’t know, but you’re fine, she’s not talking shit about you

Rio: even if she’s a little salty, she’s not going to stoop that low, truly

Liam: I don’t think she’s still hung up on me or something, my ego’s not crazy big

Rio: She liked you, but it was a while ago now

Rio: and she isn’t going to say or do anything to hurt my sister in front of me, or behind my back if she knows what’s good so

Liam: she came across happy for us in my comments, but I never could read her

Rio: No?

Rio: well, reading her isn’t your priority now, right

Liam: it’ll make me sound like a dick if I admit it wasn’t ever enough of a priority for me, but you clearly respect honesty

Rio: It’s okay, you weren’t well-suited, it’s not a crime

Rio: it would be more problematic if you were still trying to make things work now

Rio: sorry, I should say I never thought you were a match, and I’ve told her so I’m not being two-faced by dropping that here

Liam: I shouldn’t have done it

Rio: I don’t blame you

Rio: neither does Lex, I’m sure

Liam: would she forgive me if I can find out who’s doing this to her, it’s not the same, but I helped Edie with some lads in her dms, I might be able to

Rio: You did?

Rio: I didn’t even know

Rio: but then, she hadn’t mentioned you until today’s announcement so, I guess that’s an us thing

Rio: I mean, yeah, I’m sure she’d be really grateful for that; you really think you can?

Liam: I can try, Edie’s busy getting ready for a show and it’s fucking boring here

Rio: Is it just you and your dad?

Liam: yeah

Rio: I feel for you

Liam: we got off on the wrong foot at the start and I’m not trying to go back to there, I wanna be clear that, like, this has been quick and I know how it looks

Rio: I appreciate that

Rio: I’m also not trying to start anything here, it isn’t personal with regards to you, it only was because she’s my little sister

Rio: But if you like her and she likes you, then this is fine

Liam: she’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met and I know loads of people

Rio: She is

Rio: She’s special, even if I’m biased

Liam: I’ve told her she can do better but she don’t believe me

Rio: If she wants you, then I support her

Rio: It’s not about ideals, or some other in-theory notion like that

Liam: it was about the view you had of me that you got from somewhere, apparently not Lexie

Rio: You said yourself, it looks suspect

Rio: she hadn’t mentioned you until this and I had no idea you knew each other

Liam: but if it was only that you wouldn’t be throwing out lines about experience like there’s something you wanna say about me specifically

Rio: Do I need to spell that out?

Rio: I just meant she’s 14 and hasn’t had a boyfriend before, you’re 16 and have had girlfriends… that’s all I was saying

Rio: if that was your intention, I wouldn’t want that for her

Rio: but you’ve made it clear it’s more than that

Liam: no I’ve not, if there were any girls between her and your sister the Lexie thing wouldn’t be as weird as it is

Rio: Oh, sorry, I just assumed

Liam: I still don’t think she’s doing it herself it’s just the timing that’s making me ??!

Rio: You don’t think it’s Edie, do you?

Rio: I didn’t want to say before because I’m sure she’d be furious at me for even suggesting that but

Liam: even if I could think of a why, she wouldn’t have had time, with setting the show up and this ARG we’re making, that’s the shit I know about, there’s gonna be loads of surprises she’s sorted for when I get back too

Rio: I am not going to pretend I remember what ARG stands for but that’s a relief

Rio: I really do not want to come at her with that energy

Rio: You guys are sweet, it’s nice to see

Liam: you should come to see her perform, Lex too if she wants

Rio: When is it? She never tells me anything

Liam: [the date and the place]

Liam: she wasn’t gonna go but I’ve never seen her on stage

Rio: Typical, I was meant to be in London then

Rio: I’ll see if we can swap and be here instead

Liam: there’ll be others if not

Rio: She’s not going to invite me herself, at least this time I can say you did

Liam: cool, throw me under the bus, that’s fine 😏

Rio: it’s the honeymoon phase, she isn’t going to get mad at you 😉

Liam: 🥺 will work

Rio: I don’t want to hear about your tactics, thank you

Liam: don’t worry, it ain’t what I’m gonna really do

Rio: I should hope not!

Rio: would not be the move to tell me about it

Liam: I probably shouldn’t have talked to you this long, if she don’t tell you things

Rio: She doesn’t NOT tell me things

Liam: no massive secrets implied by me for a second time

Rio: It’s a part of growing up, right

Rio: you don’t tell your parents everything either

Liam: how I grew up isn’t the standard, I dunno

Rio: It must’ve made you all close

Liam: we still didn’t tell our parents anything, must be universal

Rio: I think so

Rio: what they don’t know, eh

Liam: yeah

Rio: Well, I’ll let you get back to not loving camping then

Liam: and I’ll let you get back to trying to contact Edie

Rio: I’ll see her at home

Rio: Can’t avoid me forever

Liam: I couldn’t bring her, next time 📴👋

Rio: It’s a bit soon for sleepovers, honey

Rio: Nice try though

Rio: Thanks for talking to me, eventually 😏

Rio: See you around 😊

Liam: it's a yearly tradition, no need to go back to that way of thinking about me

Rio: I’m just joking, your dads there too, I know

Rio: it’s your birthday, right?

Rio: Happy Birthday for the actual day

Liam: I didn't realise you knew when my birthday was

Rio: I remember it being sometime in the summer, we have been in the same classes forever, that’s not weird, right

Liam: you remember my name on the list of all the kids getting that shared happy birthday cheer in final assembly before school ended, you mean

Rio: Hey, my birthday is in December so you’ll get no sympathy from me, all anyone cares about is their own presents 🎅

Liam: 💔 sorry

Rio: No need, I still find a way to get spoilt

Rio: Are you doing anything when you get back?

Liam: my ma'd be 💔 if I don't

Rio: Duh, I meant with Edie or your friends though

Liam: can't let my parents have all the fun

Rio: Definitely not

Liam: you know Edie, I won’t be bored even when summer’s been and gone

Rio: That’s true

Rio: for 😁 and 😬

Liam: you added the 😬 not me

Rio: that is exclusive to my big sister role, for sure

Rio: it’d be rude if you were

Liam: I used to get loads of 😬 off my own big sister, she’d have called it a + too

Rio: that’s our job

Rio: guinea pig and middle man

Rio: You must miss her even more, on special occasions

Liam: it’s easier to find ways not to on special occasions, mates buy you rounds, think nothing of keeping the party going for a couple of days, I miss her more after, when shit’s meant to go back to normal

Rio: No, that makes sense actually, when you say it like that

Rio: it’s the everyday, little things, they affect you more

Liam: she’d be 18 and too cool to 🥳 with me, but yeah, later on, that’s when she should be around, to tell me what she did on her 16th was better

Rio: It’s fucked she didn’t get to her 18th, it really is

Rio: I’m sure it would have been epic and you’d happily take that 🥈

Rio: Still, make sure you have a good day, yeah?

Rio: 16 is a biggie too

Liam: I will, I’ll be with Edie

Rio: 😊🧡

[jinxthequeergirl]

Promise I'm Not Slipping Away (pt.1)

Poe Dameron x Solo! Reader

Summary: You are placed in charge of finding the map to skywalker over your brother but it doesn't necessarily last long

Warning: swearing,idk star wars stuff basically?

Song: From the Pinnacle to the pit: by Ghost (PINSA Playlist X )

~~~~~

You walked down the path holding yourself high as you did so. Earning a look from the masked man who already stood at the end of the path.

"Y/n, how nice of you to join kylo and myself." You stared up at the image of snoke that towered in front of both of you. "Of course sir."

"I would like to congratulate you." He stated. Both you and your brother tensed up in confusion. "I...uh...Con...Congratulate me sir?"

"It was you who lead the last raid? And you who's idea it was to begin with? Was it not?"

You cleared your throat and stood up straight. "Yes..yes sir it was me."

"Very good! Because of your excellent lead we have more information than we could have hoped! I would like you to lead the next mission...Hux has all the information please find him and begin making arrangments."

"Yes sir!"

"You are dismissed!" You nodded again and turned quickly on your heels exiting the room.

"What about me sir?" You heard kylo ask as you headed for the door.

"You are also dismissed Ren." Kylo made a sound as if ready to speak but snoke cut him off.

"I simply needed you to see how your sister is thriving above you! She alone has taken the first order above and beyond! and strikes fear into the hearts of those who hear her name! All while you...what!?... sit around expecting the work to be done for you!?"

Kylo said nothing clutching his fists tightly. "Now leave me!" Snoke demanded.

Kylo stormed from the room thundering through the halls. And with in moments found himself tearing apart one of the rooms. Slashing and cutting through anything and everything in the room with his light saber.

"Awe poor big brother...things didn't go your way?" You mocked from the door way. He growled and turned to you throwing his helmet. You held a hand out stopping it mid air. "Really Kylo? Are you five? Because you are acting like a child!" You hissed lowering your hands allowing the piece of metal to move closer to you and land in the palm of your hands.

"I Am NOT a child!" He started angrily storming towards you. "You forget yourself little sister! You forget who was there to show you the way! Who saved you from being left alone Or killed? You forget I saved you from our parents! I saved you from Skywalker! If it wasn't for ME! you would be nothing but a lost CHILD!"

You looked at him with an almost unimpressed and bored look, Almost. He could see you felt the truth in his words by the way you avoided his gaze.

You let out a breath turning his helmet over in your hands. "Well...that all may be true Brother. But that doesn't change the fact that I am the one in charge of YOU! So if you are done throwing a tantrum." You pushed his helmet into his hands and turning to leave the door frame.

"You are more than welcome to include yourself while Hux and I make the arrangements for our next task." You walked down the hall briskly disappearing around the corner.

~

"Poe Dameron!" The old man smiled as the younger dark haired man stepped inside of the tent. "It's good to see you! Please have a seat." He nodded with a smile and sat down across from the man as offered.

A small orange droid rolled up and stayed besides him. "So..do you have it?" The old man smiled and pulled a small bag from beside himself.

"Took a helluva lot to get it." He handed it over to poe. Who was quick to open the bag and pull out the contents. A little piece of silver metal fell from the bag and into the palm of his hand. "So this is it?" He asked.

"Sure is...promise you won't let it fall into the wring hands." Poe grinned and closed his hand around it. "It's safe with the resistance."

Before another word could be muttered or even thought of a loud crash followed by a few screams filled the air outside of the tent.

The droid beside poe let out a string of deeps and whirs. "Yea I know BB." He leaned forward opening a compartment on the droid placing the metal inside and sliding it shut. The three of them left the tent in time enough to see several storm troopers shooting almost anyone and everyone they saw.

"Let's go BB-8!" He said quickly and the two of them moved fast over the sandy area in an attempt to make it back to the ship they had arrived on. They both dove behind a large pile of scraps in hopes to not be seen.

Poe peered over the edge trying to devise a plan in his head. As he did he watched a larger ship land and two figures dressed in black step off followed by more troopers.

Two of the already established group of storm troopers dragged the old man behind them presenting him to the two in black.

The smaller of the pair stepped forward drawing a yellow light saber and pointing it at the mans neck. "Where is it?" He could hear her say.

"Where is what?"

"Don't play Dumb with me old man, the map I want it!" She spit. And the old man winced as a sign that she had moved the saber closer to his neck threatening to cut it.

"I have no idea!" He cried out, sobbing now he begged and attempted to convince the pair.

Suddenly there was a flash of red and silence. Poe turned away pressing his back against the pile shutting his eyes tight.

"I want the entire area swept and searched! No one leaves until we have what we came for! Leave no rock unturned, no person unquestioned until we have it!"

"Yes ma'am"

Poe turned turned to his droid "Alright when i say so we make a break for it?" the BB unit beeped in response and poe stood ready to run. He heard clunky footsteps approach and placed a hand around his blaster.

"Ready....." He whispered.

You tensed up lifting your head from the pleading alien in front of you.

"What is it?" You heard Kylo ask from beside you. You turned away from him looking out at the shadowed area of the dessert.

"And...NOW BB GO!" the droid took off and as it did so poe turned around and shot a trooper before it could reach him. He took off only to stop mid stride.

You smirked at him. "Shit..."

You pulled him across the deserts floor the toes of his boots dragging across the sand until he reached you.

You dropped him and two troopers grabbed his shoulder forcing him to his knees infront of you and your brother. You knelt down in front of him. "You know where it is...don't you?"

He smirked at you. "Ah I would be more than happy to tell you....but i just met you for an answer like that i would require a couple dinners at least...even then...you'd be disappointed." He couldn't necessarily see your face do to the dark hood you wore but he could tell you weren't having it.

You stood up waving your hand in front if his face and instantly his eyes sgut and his head lulled forward. "Bring him a bored, finish up here we have what we need."

You turned and headed back to your ship kylo following behind you. "what are we doing with the pilot?" He asked watching the troopers drag his limp body abored.

"You found it necessary to kill the fist one...though we could have gotten much more from him. So you piece together why I'm keeping the pilot." You said sharply before moving away from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tagging!: so no one asked to be tagged cause i didn’t put a thing out asking but if you where tagged uhhh you where very enthusiastic about this so i hope you enjoyed!

@theamazingprincessofgifs​

@stella-nebella​

@leilei-draws​

[gingerwritess]

Hi ! May I request Loki bringing reader and Elliot for the first time in Asgard ? I really love your writing !

ahh thank you!! this is such a good request omL

okay idk what time period this is, for my purposes Odin Badparent is still on the throne but lovely Frigga has died, but Loki was with you instead of in prison. idk pls be nice.

whoops i made it a lil angsty

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

You still remember the first time you saw Asgard: the bifrost had dropped the two of you off at the end of the rainbow bridge and you had promptly grabbed Loki’s hand and used it to punch yourself in the face.

Needless to say, you weren’t dreaming, and the mighty Heimdall’s first impression of you would forever be tainted by Loki shrieking “WHY IN THE NAME OF ODIN DID YOU DO THAT?!”

…followed by you screaming “I FORGOT YOU’RE, LIKE, MYTHOLOGICAL OR SOME SHIT!!” right back at him.

Then you had taken off down the bridge dragging your boyfriend sputtering behind you.

You had ended up staying in Asgard for probably over two months (you kind of lost track of time) and every single day was an adventure. By the time you decided you should really go back home and get your earthly life sorted out, you’d made sure to sneak secret kisses in every tiny closet the palace provided, and every single night had been spent on the highest palace balcony, staring at the stars until you fell asleep in each other’s arms.

It’s easily the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen. Golden buildings rising in the middle of bustling streets, mountains and waterfalls and rivers and more natural beauty than you’d ever beheld, and then there’s the food. The food alone is enough to make you seriously consider leaving the entire planet earth and just becoming a full time Asgardian.

You’d taken every opportunity to go back any time you were able to escape your life on Earth, and when you had finally decided to get married, the two of you spent another extended period of time in the realm during your first few months as a newly wed couple. It has certainly become your home away from home, and even Loki has started to enjoy being there more. The smug bastard says it has something to do with a change in the political dealings of the realm, but you know it’s just because you love it so much.

Not that he’d ever tell you such a sappy, hopelessly romantic thing like that.

He suggests you go visit as often as he can, just so he can see the shock on your face when the bifrost surrounds you, so he can hear the excited squeal when you see the golden castles in the distance, and of course so that he can laugh at you when you fail to address his family and the rest of the royal court properly (you do believe you’re the one being who has ever called Odin Allfather “dude” and lived to see another day).

But after his mother’s death, the realm eternal lost every ounce of its appeal. Wonderful memories became painful, tensions rose, and any joy that had come from Asgard was forgotten. It had taken ages just to get your lover to smile again, and you knew better than to suggest returning to the realm.

It was Elliot’s birth that finally brought a sliver of light back to his life. Yes, he tried to stay positive for your sake and still tried his best to keep your spirits lifted, but you could tell that something was missing from his life, a little light had gone out and needed rekindling.

Nothing does the job quite like a baby.

Once Elliot was born, travelling across space and time into another universe became the furthest thing from your mind, so it took you by complete surprise when Loki suggested you all spend the weekend showing the three month old baby around Asgard. Of course you agreed right away, hoping this could be a chance for him to reconcile old disagreements and even possibly gain closure on a treasured but lost relationship.

Now you find yourself at the foot of the rainbow bridge for the first time in a very long time, this time with a baby tucked in one arm and Loki’s hand locked with yours. Almost as an instinct, Loki looks at you when you step into the glaring Asgard sun, waiting for your face to light up when you see the city as it always has.

Your excitement doesn’t disappoint.

It’s wonderful to be back, but this visit is bittersweet; you’re excited to explore again this time with your son, but something about Loki still seems off.

The three of you spend the day traipsing through the lower levels of the city, mingling with the commoners and enjoying the street food and everyday life of what you guess are normal Asgardians.

It’s pretty obvious that Loki is avoiding the palace.

But he reluctantly agrees to return to the palace for dinner, knowing he owes his father the chance to meet his grandson. Hopefully Thor will be there to help keep things civil at the reunion.

Once again, baby to the rescue.

At first it was extremely tense around the table, but the Allfather seemed to have a soft spot for your little boy. He kept trying to hand him drumsticks of some kind of dark meat, which you politely tried to decline and secretly pushed onto Loki’s plate. Come on, the baby isn’t even one year yet. At one point you even caught Loki smiling when Odin asked to hold Elliot; your heart twisted when Loki caught your eye with an excited gleam in his own at the thought of his adoptive father favouring his son, something of his creation.

He’ll always be searching for some kind of validation from the man who lied to him, whether he realises that or not.

You kind of lost your husband and your son after dinner.

You had taken a quick run back to your room to go get your phone (Loki and Elliot were being too cute at dinner and you had to get a picture) but when you came back, they were gone.

After asking around for a bit, a chambermaid tells you she saw Loki step outside a few minutes ago, and she points you to a winding path leading away from the palace, away from the city into a dark expanse of land.

Figures, doesn’t it? What a great, totally not-threatening place for Loki to take his three month old son.

But despite your fears, the path leads you to a little garden, beautifully well-kept and so brightly coloured that the flowers seem to glow right through the darkness of the night. Out of the corner of your eye you spot Loki, walking slowly between the trees with Elliot in his arms.

For some reason you don’t call out to him just yet, and you follow him until he comes to a stop in front of an exquisitely painted mural on a stone wall. The mural is breathtaking, it looks like it’s been painted with actual gold—wait, these are gods. It probably is.

The scene painted is of a woman, you can’t tell who from the distance you’re watching, but you can tell she is beautiful, elegant, and in every way regal, judging by the golden crown that adorns her head. She’s standing in a forest, it seems, a forest or garden of sorts that looks strangely similar to the one you’re in. Loki is staring at it, and he reaches out a hand to brush his finger over the chipping paint.

Something about this is weirdly familiar.

You silently watch as he sinks to his knees on the damp grass before the mural, Elliot cradled in one arm as the other hand brushes across the ground—a strange type of darkly petaled wildflower sprouts from the soil where his hand touched, an oddly shadowed addition to the beautiful garden you find yourself in.

You’re about to call out to him when you hear him speaking in a barely audible, noticeably pained voice.

“Hello, mother.”

Your breath catches in your throat.

“Have I…have I made you proud?”

Should you go to him? Leave him be? You don’t want to interrupt. You hear him continue speaking before you can decide what to do.

“Look, mother. After all I’ve done, every—every mistake I’ve made, I’ve still somehow been given a son.” He slightly lifts the bundle of blankets in his arms, pulling the blanket away from the baby’s face. “We’ve named him Elliot…and he is the most beautiful child ever created.”

He’s just talking quietly into the air. You’re not sure if he’s speaking to the mural or just to himself; it seems as if his words are swallowed by the wind and cast around every living thing in the lush garden. You might just be sleep deprived and going crazy, but it’s almost as if the flowers and trees are bending towards the god and his son—listening.

Elliot is waking up, slowly starting to gargle cries as he squirms in his father’s arms, and Loki quickly shifts to hug the baby to his chest, shushing him and running a soothing hand over his back.

The simple movement nearly breaks your heart. You step out from behind the tree and quietly walk over to your family, placing a gentle hand on Loki’s back as you take a seat on the grass next to him.

He looks at you in surprise when he feels you, his cheeks faintly flushed at the state you’ve found him in. He never meant for you to see him like this, so exposed, vulnerable…weak.

You put a hand on the side of his face and reach up to kiss him softly, pouring every ounce of reassurance and strength into your lips. His cheeks are slightly wet against yours and when you pull away with a comforting smile, it’s a new, fresh tear that races down his face.

“Your majesty,” you suddenly call out, an idea forming in the back of your mind. You turn to the mural and lean against Loki’s side, squeezing his hand tightly in your own. “Your son is the most incredible father.”

…it feels kind of stupid when you say it. You’re not sure if this is how it works, if just anyone can speak with deceased goddesses by talking to a painting of them, but you push your doubts aside and keep speaking. If anything, Loki is the one who needs to hear this.

“You know, he’s changed my life,” you continue, laying your head on his shoulder and reaching over to rub a hand on Elliot’s back. “The life he’s given me, our son, whatever the future holds for our weird little family…I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like him, but, um, I think I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to repay him.”

“You don’t need to lie in attempt to comfort me.” His voice is so quiet you can barely hear him. “I don’t need your false reassurance.”

If it weren’t for the sensitivity of the current situation, you would have smacked him across the face and kissed some sense into him, but that doesn’t exactly seem appropriate for right now. So you resolve to rolling your eyes and moving your hand to cover his mouth. “Shh. Just listen to me, please.”

Pulling yourself to your feet, you take Elliot out of Loki’s arms and step closer to the mural, lightly bouncing the little baby when he gives another cry and stretches out a tiny, tired arm to the painting on the wall. “You know, Loki has changed, your majesty.” You wince; this probably isn’t how you should speak to a goddess-queen. “He’s changed a lot the past few years. He’s…opened his heart. To me, to our son, even to his brother and father at times. You raised a-a god with a beautiful mind, and yeah, his heart is a little stormy most of the time, but, well…” you catch Loki’s eye and smile. “Most of the time he lets me dance in the rain.”

Loki’s behind you now, his arms around your waist and swaying the three of you gently side to side. You’re cradling Elliot to keep him warm from the chilly night breeze picking up, and Loki’s lips are pressed to your temple, not moving, just wanting to feel you.

“Thank you, my love,” he whispers, and you don’t expect him to say any more.

However, he holds out a hand, and that same dark, unnaturally ominous flower from earlier appears in his palm. There’s a handful of threatening thorns lining the stem, but Loki runs a finger down the stem and the thorns promptly fall to the ground. Thank goodness, too, because then he tucks the flower behind your ear, brushing his hand along your cheek with a small smile as he withdraws his hand.

An unusually sweet gesture from your lover, an action strangely…midgardian.

“‘He lets me dance in the rain’?” He repeats, tilting your head up to look at him. An amused smile is hinting at his lips—meaning you’ve done your job. “My dear…that was awful. So tasteless. Honestly,” he chuckles at the feigned hurt on your face. “I thought I was training you better.”

“Hey, geez, sorry for caring!” You laugh and slap him in the chest, shifting Elliot to your other side. “Sorry I’m not some ‘scholarly poet’ like you, oh exalted one…my mediocre mortal vocabulary will have to suffice.”

Laughing, he takes Elliot out of your arms and wraps the blankets tighter around the little boy, then slips an arm behind your neck to pull you closer to him. “I suppose I appreciate the sentiment.” Thankfully chipper and smiling again, he leans down to give you a quick peck on the lips. “Sentiment. Such a fickle thing.”

You slip your arms around his waist and hug him tighter than you probably should, but hey, he’s a god. He can handle it. “Yes, sentiment, idiot…good thing a mighty god such as yourself would never stoop so low as to actually share his sentiments with another being.”

He sighs and nods in agreement, trying to pry your arms from his waist while holding his son in one arm. “Your sentiments tend to be overtly physical, dear.”

“Shh. You need it, and I know you love it.”

Loki pauses and you take the opportunity to grab his face and kiss him, not letting go of your hold around his waist. Then Elliot lets out a squeal and frees a tiny arm from his cocoon of blankets, grabbing Loki’s shirt and pulling himself tighter against his father’s chest—you almost laugh.

The baby is trying to hug Loki too.

There’s absolutely no way Loki can’t smile at that, and he hoists the baby further up on his chest to press his lips to Elliot’s forehead. “You’ve broken me. Ruined me, softened me, demolished my reputation…”

He gives a dramatic sigh and finally wraps his empty arm around you.

“And I can never thank you enough for that.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

hope you enjoyed, feel free to send me ideas!

loki tags: @bluediamond007 @himitoshi @drakesfiance @destiel1597 @dangertoozmanykids101 @archy3001 @jcalpha1 @yzssie @skullvieplu @forthesnakeofdragons @skulliebythesea @wegingerangelica @storiesfrommirkwood @agarwaeneth @adaliamalfoy @laurfangirl424 @paradisaicsam @fitzsimmons-is-forever @ladylokimischief @katelinwrites @tarynkauai @polaristrange @loavesofmeat @canadian-ravenpuff-multishipper @lou-makes-me-strong @holyn0vak @chocolatealmondmillk @swtnrholland @kenzieam @jessiejunebug @catticas @the-republic-and-face-of-texas

[bigskydreaming]

I'm not the anon from last night, about Ionaperidot's story, but no offense I kind of feel it shows how you are pretty quick to judge stuff. And that's maybe why people have such strong reactions to your posts about Ao3. Nobody likes seeing the stuff they like criticized and you're no exception so I would hope it'd be understandable that when people do respect your opinions on stuff & they see you shutting down things they like without giving it a full chance, it does seem kind of hypocritical.

LOL. Quick question.

Are you freaking KIDDING me?

Okay, see this is EXACTLY what I was trying to avoid and why I was doing my best to be vague and circumspect last night and shift the topic away from just that story in particular, because I’m actually not out here trying to start things about other writer’s work just because they did something that bugged me. I’m blunt as hell. If I want to say something, I say it. If I want to condemn something, I condemn it. If I want to criticize something, I criticize it.

I don’t play games about this shit and so I was legitimately TRYING to refrain from going into specific issues I had with a specific piece of fanfic. But what I’m not gonna do, is sit here and be told I’m a hypocrite who doesn’t give things enough of a chance before forming my admittedly strong opinions, because LMFAO.

You want the truth? I actually read a LOT of that particular story, AND even checked back in on its sequel in the hopes it’d addressed the specific issue that killed my enjoyment for it, because I WANTED to enjoy it, I enjoyed a LOT about it and how the other characters’ stories were played out.

My specific issue with that story ONLY arose at the point when Bruce stopped his research into trying to find a way to undo the Talon changes to Dick...on TIM AND JASON’S RECOMMENDATION. One of the things I actually really loved about the fic before that was how much it prioritized the personal agency of the kids as they coped with their various traumas, such as when Bruce made a conscious effort to let J’onzz ONLY use his telepathy enough to let JASON make the choice if he wanted a ‘quick/sci-fi fix’ to his brain damage related issues, or if he wanted to heal from it naturally and organically and in his own time. 

But all of that went out the window with Dick and Dick’s character alone, as the good Batdad who prioritized letting every one of his other kids heal naturally in their own time and on their own ways....listened to his two teenagers’ take that it would be too damaging for Bruce to undo the Talon changes to Dick, as they and the ways it had changed his brain were in THEIR OPINION the only things that made him able to cope with what he’d done as a Talon. Let me reiterate. Two teenagers with acknowledged mental health issues AND their own personal skews to how they viewed Dick that were born entirely of the version of him THEY’D known in their alternate universes....were given the deciding vote on how Dick was allowed - or rather not allowed - a full range of options in whether or not he got to heal from his trauma naturally and organically - the way they were allowed to.

That was what I was not okay with. That wasn’t their call to make, it wasn’t their opinion Bruce should have sought - especially not when he’s got alternate reality tech that gave him access to multiple other versions of DICK to ask HIS OWN ACTUAL OPINION on what he could or could not cope with. His own reality had a grown up version of Dick Bruce could have consulted. He could have asked the Dick from Tim’s universe when he visited. He could have asked the Red Hood version of Jason to ask his Dick. He could have kept searching through universes until he found a version of Dick who HAD been a Talon, and who found a way to undo the Talon changes...and ask HIM if he was glad he’d done so or if he regretted it and should have stayed the way he was.

But none of those things happened, or were even considered or raised as potential avenues of exploration, and even though I gave the fic a good long while after that before calling it quits in the hopes that it was leading up to somebody pointing out that there was a clear double standard underlying the logic used there....eventually it just seemed more and more like the reason Dick’s storyline was treated differently was because it allowed for keeping him as ‘cute and little and kinda broken’ and thus made it unlikely that he was ever going to grow up to be much like other versions of Dick...and thus unlikely to ever take any kind of lead in the family dynamics, which here would potentially ‘take away’ from say, Tim’s position in the family. THAT is what bothered me enough to quit the story. That a fic that was so fundamentally about mental health and recovery and allowing traumatized children the courtesy of applying their own damn agency to their methods of recovery....didn’t blink about doing the exact opposite to one specific character who’s noted for more usually occupying the position in the family ‘hierarchy’ that others were now able to occupy instead....and that seemed to me like the kind of character preference - that while totally understandable - is a mistake to allow to play out in a story with these SPECIFIC themes.

(Also, I’ve been pretty damn regular about expressing that I personally have a huge problem with the trope that Dick is ‘too good/too pure/too filled with light’ to ever kill, and that being made fully aware of what he’d done in the past would have broken him in the story...like, obviously falls into all my issues with that particular trope. 

I hate that it off-handedly implies that every character that HAS killed as a child, like Damian or Cass or even Jason whose first kills happened while he was a teenager....like, it basically suggests that they’re fundamentally LESS good, LESS pure, LESS filled with light....or else they would never have been able to kill in the first place, or else would have somehow been damaged or broken or irreparably LESSENED by doing so. And I think that throws all of THEM under the bus, rather than actually doing anything to uplift Dick’s character or express anything positive. 

Honestly, its just another form of infantilizing him. Especially when you consider that per Last Laugh, he has killed in canon and he ALREADY WORKED THROUGH having killed someone...like, it literally happened. On panel. It wasn’t easy, it did affect him, he did angst about it, but it didn’t fundamentally CHANGE him as a person or make him any LESS of who he’d been before.....and all of that is just further reason why I push back against the idea that Dick ‘just couldn’t kill someone ever’ or the tendency to sweep Last Laugh and what happened with the Joker under the rug. 

Because it doesn’t actually do Dick or his character any favors. Actually, its more that while nominally its said to be in defense of him and his character....its really more like people are saying ‘Dick can’t HANDLE killing someone’ - especially when you consider how much fandom as a whole celebrates and glorifies the characters who are able to kill in the name of victims and obviously doesn’t see it as a slight against Jason and others).

So yeah, THAT was my real issue with the story and why I dropped it and what I was trying to refrain from spelling out because I’m actually NOT out here trying to tell everyone what to think and DIDN’T have any interest in trying to turn people off the story or give them reason not to read it and form their own opinions about it, without mine clouding the issue.

But fuck that, if its gonna just lead to people giving me shit about how I don’t give things enough of a chance before making a judgment call against them, because lol actually, the last time I peeked in on that series was just two weeks ago, where I skimmed the latest updates to the sequel in the hopes that maybe the introduction of Roy had brought that issue to light, like he compared this Dick to the one he’d known and disagreed with their assessment of what Dick could or couldn’t handle, or else at least just flat out said no version of Dick he knew would ever be okay with his brothers deciding for him what he was capable of overcoming and what he needed to be protected from. Especially not if the end result was going to leave him permanently altered by what his abusers had done to him.

So...is THAT having given the story enough of a chance before forming a ‘snap judgment’? Did I do it right, per your official overview of the situation? Or should I still be reading it and waiting to form an opinion, same as I apparently should be still waiting for SOMETHING before deciding that....I don’t like how people react to criticism of Ao3?

Idk, I mean, maybe I actually AM pretty consistent about the things I do and say and post about and believe. And maybe the problem ISN’T that I’m kinda hypocritical.

Maybe its just that like you said, nobody likes seeing stuff they like criticized, and rather than working through that for yourself, you’ve decided to make it MY problem, SPECIFICALLY.

[you-never-liked-this-sweater]

Hi! If you don’t mind I have a request for you: A reader X Connor, where the reader is a innocent person who always attended a private school. So when she ends up going to her first public school and meets Connor they eventually become friends. Jared wants to mess with Connor (for idk what reasons) and decides to try to make the reader un pure (if that makes sense) So then Connor try’s to protect the reader from Jared.

Connor Murphy XReader: Prep

Words: 7184

Warning: Swearing, sexual innuendo

Reader Pronouns: she/her

Author’s Note: Sorry this took a little while. I decided to do some writing on my fall break, and decided to do one of my requests! I was inspired by this request and it’s a little longer than most of my other stories, so I hope this is something like what you had in mind. Enjoy~

Part 1: ((You are here))Part 2: Here

It was raining. You always likedthe rain. It made everything fresh and brought a certain smell with it thatmade you feel relaxed.

Yes. Today was going to be a goodday.

You stood patiently in front ofthe bus stop for your new school with your plain black umbrella overhead. Thepaint was chipped away from the edges of the sign, and the picture of the bushad a symbol of some sort which obscured the image. The graffiti held your gazefor a moment and you felt your stomach twist uncomfortably. It was the middleof the school’s fall term, barely November, which meant a new set of classes,and a new curriculum you would probably be behind in. Hopefully you could findsomeone to stick close to that would help you catch up or at least point you inthe right direction.

The sight of a yellow bus with thenumber ‘201’ in bold black letters heading toward you made you straighten up,pulling your bag close to you. You smiled at the bus driver as she opened thedoor and you gave a small wave, “Good morning.”

The bus driver seemed momentarilyconfused as she looked you over, “Are you sure you’re in the right place,kid?”

An uneasy feeling set in and youreyes moved down to your outfit.

Plain white button up shirt. Darkblue blazer. Green and blue plaid tie. Blue and green plaid skirt. Plain blackshoes. White knee-high socks. Brown leather messenger bag.

No. You hadn’t forgotten anything.You didn’t know what to wear to your new school because they hadn’t given you anew uniform so you decided to wear the uniform from your old school. It wasbetter to look professional than to show up in casual clothing.

You looked back to the driverconfused, “No, I checked the online map of stops twice. This should beright. Bus route 201 to Westside High School?”

The driver nodded, confirming theroute number, and then gestured onto the bus, “Well, hop onboardthen.”

You nodded back, smile returningas you got onto the bus, closing your umbrella as you went. As you got to the topof the stairs and turned, you realized why the driver was so confused. Youlooked on into a sea of leggings, jeans, and t-shirts, and you felt yourstomach sink.

Your new school didn’t haveuniforms. You were wearing a uniform.

You tried to find an empty seatquickly, nearly sprinting to the very back of the bus, and sat down, pullingyour bag onto your lap and avoid eye contact with everyone else. The bus beganmoving again and you stared out the window, trying to take your mind off ofwhat the day may hold.

Maybe you could call your parents andget them to drop something off for you to wear at school. No, you didn’t wantto bother them. You would be fine.

You could do this.

You let out a quiet breath andlooked up as more students filed onto the bus. Most of them slid into seatsnear the front and you looked away again, staring at the rain as it hit thewindow and slowly dripped down the glass. The bus started moving again.

A rather aggressive thud from yourleft grabbed your attention and you turned to see a boy towering over you,drenched dark brown curls framing his face, sticking to his cheeks in oddangles from the rain. He was strikingly beautiful, you realized almostinstantly. His face was all angles, skin flawless and pale like porcelain, and beautifuleyes. Your gaze followed down his torso, and along his arms. That’s when yourealized his hand was resting on the back of your seat and he was staring downat you almost expectantly, “You’re in my seat.”

“I’m sorry-” You saidquickly, gathering your bag up close to you as your cheeks heated up, realizingthat you’d been staring at him, “-I’m new. Sorry. I didn’t realize the bushad assigned seating-”

The boy quirked an eyebrow,“It doesn’t. Not really.” He seemed to watch you for a moment,blocking you from getting up before he looked at the other seats on the bus.All full. He hesitantly sat down beside you in the seat, the sleeve of hishoodie was cold and wet as it pressed against your arm and you could feel therain soaking into your jacket sleeve. His gaze turned back to you almost nervously,“You said you were new.” It was more of a statement than a question.

You nodded once simply as youmoved over slightly, giving him more room in hopes that you would remain dryfor the most part, “Yeah, I used to go to Saint Vincent Prep. But my parentsmoved closer to this school district so now I’m going here. It’s my firstday.”

The boy beside you smirkedslightly, glancing down at your uniform, “Yeah I can tell.” There wasa small pause as his eyes flickered over your face.

After a moment you gestured toyourself, “I’m uh…I’m Y/N by the way.”

He let out a breath, soundingalmost disappointed as he finally looked away from you and back to the front ofthe bus, “And I’m not someone you want to actually be acquainted with.”

Your smiled faltered and youlooked to him in confusion, “I’m…sorry?”

“Look,” He straightened up in hisseat and continued to avoid your gaze now, “You don’t know this because you’renew, but I’m that kid that everyone avoids. And for good reason. Just doyourself a favor and forget about me the instant we get off this bus.”

You stared at him, eyes moving tohis clothes, his bag, his general appearance. You couldn’t figure out whyanyone would actively avoid him. His fingers fidgeted with the strap of his bagas if he could feel your eyes on him. Slowly you spoke, your voice quieter thanyou expected, “Why would people avoid you?”

He huffed almost angrily, “BecauseI’m not exactly a football player or one of the popular kids okay? I’m-” He stoppedvery abruptly, jaw locking before he spoke much quieter, “You’ll find out soonenough anyway.”

You moved to open your mouth whenhe suddenly got up and all but ran towards the front of the bus, disappearingout the doors as soon as they opened. The other students followed suit and youlooked out the window to see the school. You took a moment to mentally prepareyourself for the day ahead before heading off the bus toward the lobby of theschool. You entered the rather large building, making your way to a doorlabeled ‘Main Office’ where a well-kept man in a blue button up shirt satbehind a large desk.

He glanced up upon seeing you andgave a tired smile, “Hello, dear, you must be Miss L/N, our new student?”

“That’s me, yes,” You nodded andfelt a bit of the worry melt away, they were expecting you. Maybe this wouldn’tbe so bad.

He nodded and hummed to himself ashe dug through a file on his desk with loose papers inside. Eventually hepulled out a chart and handed it to you, “Here is your class schedule. Theschool is actually having an assembly during first and second period today, soI would advise hurrying to your first class while they’re still takingattendance.”

“Thank you,” You say, taking theschedule from him before making a beeline out of the office, “Have a greatday.”

“You too,” His voice came frombehind you.

English. Room 128.

You nodded to yourself as youbegan scanning the doors around you. After a few minutes of searching, youfound your classroom and gently knocked on the door before opening it slightly.

“Jenna Carver-” The teacherstopped and looked up at you.

The rest of the students stared atyou as you entered and you smiled nervously before looking back to the teacherat her desk. The teacher seemed momentarily confused as she shifted her bodytowards you, “Yes, can I help you with something?”

“I’m the new student? Y/N L/N? I’min this class, I think,” You said, trying to jog the teacher’s memory of somesort of mention of you.

She noddedonce and looked back to her computer screen, eyes scanning up and down beforeshe clicked something and looked back to you, “It appears you are on my class list, and you are nowmarked as present. My name is Mrs. Giddeon, but ‘Mrs. G’ or ‘Giddeon’ is fine.Take a seat. I’ve just got to take the rest of attendance and then we will allbe heading down to the gymnasium shortly.”

You nodded and looked around theclassroom at the desks which were tables that sat two or three people. Moststudents had someone already sitting with them, and some tables had already hitfull capacity. Your gaze landed on an empty table at the back of the classroomthat no one was currently sitting in. Slowly you made your way towards theempty table, past all of the talking students, and then took your seat in thespot closest to the aisle.

“Hey.”

You turned to the people sittingbeside you. There was a boy there looking in your general direction. He pushedhis glasses up his nose slightly before gesturing towards you and leaning a bitcloser, “You’re new so you might not know this, but you definitely do not wantto sit there.”

“I’m sorry, what? Why?” You lookedat the desk in confusion, eyes checking it for some sort of fatal flaw.

“There’s this kid who sits there.Connor Murphy. Total freak. He’s got crazy anger issues and screams at peoplein the hallway, shoving, punching, whatever. Y'know? Literal school shooter inthe making. I’d advise staying away from that desk, that way you can get coverwhen he eventually snaps,” He says, shifting over slightly, gesturing to the seatbetween him and a girl who seemed intently focused on her phone, “You can sithere if you want. Wouldn’t want you to end up as collateral damage.”

“Jared Kleinman.” The teachercalled out a little louder as if she had repeated herself a few times, grabbingyour attention in the process. She must have been calling attendance the wholetime and you just hadn’t realized.

“Shit- Here,” The boy beside you quickly called out before he lookedback to you expectantly.

You hesitated and looked to theseat beside Jared and slowly shook your head, “No, I think I’ll be alright.Thank you for the offer though.”

“Suit yourself,” Jared said,leaning back in his seat, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He paused for amoment before looking back to you again, “If you change your mind, the seat isalways here.”

You nodded and looked back to thefront of the classroom where the teacher was still doing attendance. She leanedtowards the computer screen and crossed her arms, “Elliot Monroe.”

“Yep.” A kid near the frontresponds.

“Connor Murphy?” Mrs. Giddeonlooked up at you and you froze, unsure if you had done something wrong withoutrealizing it. Then she sighed and looked back to the screen, muttering toherself, “And no Connor Murphy, like usual. Might as well write up his lateslip now…for when I see him sneak into the assembly last minute.”

Your brow furrowed and you lookedat the empty seat beside you, was this what the boy on the bus was talkingabout earlier? Was he Connor? It seemed probable but you weren’t exactly sure.

You leaned against the back ofyour seat, looking down and playing with your tie. Slowly you looked over atJared, “Hey Jared?”

“Hm?” He hummed, glancing in yourdirection.

“Connor. What does he look like?”You ask, fingers still fiddling with the tie in your hands.

Jared quirked an eyebrow and letout a breath, “Uh, well. Wears dark clothes. Freakishly tall. Lanky. Long hair.Kinda reminds me of a skeleton with a dirty mop on its head.”

“Oh…” You looked back down at yourtie, fingers moving over the plaid material, smoothing it out.

“Why?” Jared asks, seeminglyconfused.

“I just ran into him this morningand I wasn’t sure what his name was,” You said honestly, giving a small shrug.

“Jesus,” He sat up in his desk andturned to you, “Did he scream at you or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Yousay quickly, “I met him on the bus this morning. He seemed nice.”

Jared’s eyebrows shot up and hegave you a look of utter disbelief, “I’m sorry, did you just say Connor Murphyseemed nice?”

“I…” Your brow furrowed, “Yes?”

Jared opened his mouth to saysomething when Mrs. Giddeon rose from her seat, “Alright class, we’ll startmaking our way down to the gymnasium for the assembly. You can leave your bagshere or put them in your lockers but there are no bags permitted in the gym.”

You put your schedule into yourbag and placed it on your seat as you stood, making your way to the front ofthe classroom with the rest of the students.

Jared seemed to stick close to youas the crowd moved together out the door. He smirked, “You know, I think you’rethe first person who has said anything nice about that asshole.”

Your body tensed slightly at that,not used to somebody swearing around you. You cleared your throat, shaking offthe stiff feeling as you smiled weakly, “I like to believe anyone can be a goodperson if you give them the chance to be. And so far he hasn’t given me areason to hate him.”

Jared smiled almost knowingly andpatted your shoulder once, “Give it time. He’ll scare you away too.” He glancedup at the doors to the gym and then back to you, “Anyway, I’ll catch you later.Don’t wanna be seen in there with the weird kid in the preppy school uniform.”

Your smile fell completely as youwatch him head into the gymnasium by himself, leaving you alone. Slowly youfollowed behind him into the gym, fingers fumbling with your uniform nervously.Your eyes scanned the seats as the seniors filled up the back rows of thebleachers. You moved towards the seats closest to the far wall, hoping yourpresence would be left unnoticed as more kids began filing in from youngergrades. The seats around you began to fill up slowly but people seemed to avoidsitting directly beside you.

A few minutes passed and younoticed the exit door crack open slightly. You recognized Connor almostinstantly, his clothing still drenched from staying outside for so long, hischeeks and nose tinted a pink from the cold. He made eye contact with you andyou smiled warmly at him, giving a small wave. He looked behind him as if you weren’twaving at him, before he slipped into the gym, closing the door behind him. Heglanced at you again as you patted the seat beside you, inviting him over. Hemade his way over to you, taking a seat on the bleachers about a foot away,leaving a small space between you. At first you thought it was because he didn’twant to be seen with you either but then you noticed the puddle of waterpooling around him since he had been outside in the rain.

You spoke up first, “Your name isConnor, right?”

He tensed and looked to you with asort of disgust, “That was fast. Rumors dospread like wildfire, I guess. Not sure why I’m surprised.”

“You only came up in conversationbecause I was sitting at your table in English and this other kid told me Ishould move because that’s where you sat and you just weren’t there forattendance,” You say, a small frown on your face, “Where were you?”

Connor seemed surprised and slowlylooked down at his hands, picking at his nail polish almost nervously, “I’msurprised you even care, honestly. Uh…I was smoking, I didn’t get to thismorning at the bus stop. Too much rain. The school has an overhang wherestudents can go, so I thought I would get one in before the assembly.”

“You smoke?” You asked, shiftingyour body towards him.

He rolled his eyes, a ghost of asmile playing on his face, “I-”

“Murphy!”

You both jumped and turned to seeMrs. Giddeon a few seats over with a frown on her face, “No bags in thegymnasium. Take it to the classroom and take this with you.” She held out alate slip toward him. Connor sighed and slid off of the seat, walking down thebleachers and over to her. He reached for the slip which Mrs. Giddeon held backfrom his momentarily, “I expect to see you back in the gym before the assemblystarts.”

You perked up slightly, hand halfraised, slightly unsure if you needed her permission to speak or not, “I can gowith him, if you’d like?”

Mrs. Giddeon seemed surprised asshe looked to you, then after a moment of thought she smiled and gave a smallnod, “If you don’t mind. Make sure you see to it that he makes it back here,alright?”

You nodded and stood up as well,carefully making your way down the bleachers toward Connor. As you made it tothe bottom, he snatched the late slip from Mrs. Giddeon’s hand and began makinghis way out of the gym.

“Careful everyone, Murphy’s got abag. Think he might be planning on shooting up the school today!” A voice fromthe back of the bleachers called out, but you couldn’t pinpoint the origin ofthe voice.

Laughter rippled through the crowdas you watched Connor tense at the words. His strides picked up speed and itfelt like you had to sprint to keep up with him. Connor pushed open the doorsand disappeared into the hallway with you following closely behind him.

“Are you okay?” You asked, reachingout to him.

He continued walking, notbothering to turn and look back at you, “Just go back inside the gym okay? Idon’t know what kind of shit you’re hoping the gain from doing this. I don’twant to be your friend, okay? Go bother someone else.”

You hesitated and froze where youwere, no longer matching his pace as you watched him create a distance between thetwo of you. You thought of what Jared said before he abandoned you at thegymnasium doors. Slowly you began following again, fingers fidgeting with yourtie, “I’m sorry you feel that way. I’m just trying to be nice.”

His strides slowed and he stoppedin front of the closed classroom door. He sighed and looked over his shoulderat you, uncertainty in his eyes. Then he pushed open the door and noddedinside, “Come on.”

You hesitantly moved towards theclassroom and slipped inside before he closed the door behind the two of you.He moved towards the back of the classroom towards the table that he had claimedas his, moving around your chair as he pulled out the other chair at the desk.He slipped the strap of his bag over his head and tossed it onto the seatbefore he unzipped his hoodie, almost peeling off the soaking wet material. Youwatched him momentarily, eyes flickering over his chest and abdomen, his t-shirtsticking to it giving you a view of his muscles. He placed the hoodie over the back of the chair and glanced up,meeting your gaze and effectively catching you staring at him. Your faceinstantly flushed pink and you looked away, trying to pretend as if you hadn’tbeen caught staring at him.

He chuckles and glanced back athim to see him looking away from you, a slight pink tint to his cheeks and asmall smirk on his face as he unstuck his shirt from his chest. He cleared histhroat and looked back up at you, “Look, just, come here.”

You walked over to him and hestared down at you for a second, appearing to look you over. You felt self conscious,crossing your arms over your chest as if that would hide yourself from hisgaze. After a moment he gestured to your blazer, “Take that off.”

Your cheeks turned red and youreyes widened, “I-I’m sorry?”

His smirk widened and he shook hishead, “Jesus, I’m not trying to get into your pants, you just stick out like asore thumb in that dumb uniform. Just take off your weird jacket thing.”

You looked away from him and unbuttonedit before slipping the blazer off your shoulders. You folded it carefully andplaced it in your bag before looking back up to him expectantly.

“Tie too,” He says, gesturing tothe material before you obliged and removed that as well. Connor seemed to bethinking again before he reached out carefully and began undoing the top few buttonsof your blouse. Then he took a step back and looked you over, his eyes movingover you carefully.

You avoided his gaze in hopes thathe couldn’t tell how red he was making you.

“Okay, come on,” His voice grabbedyour attention.

You looked up at him as he began makinghis way back out of the classroom with hand thumbs in the front pocket of hisjeans. You hurried after him and looked down at yourself, feeling incrediblyexposed without the top buttons of your blouse done up. Then you noticed hewasn’t leading you back to the gym and your brow furrowed, “Where are we going?”

“My locker. Don’t worry, itshouldn’t take long,” He said.

You nodded and followed behindhim, staring at his back as he led the way. You found yourself staring at the waterdroplets as they continued to drip down his dark wavy hair. Quickly you shookyour head and commanded yourself to get a grip and to stop staring at this guywho obviously wasn’t interested in being your friend.

You ran into something warm andwet and stumbled back a little in shock. You looked up and found yourselfstaring at Connor who seemed confused, “Watch where you’re going.”

“Jeez, sorry,” You bit your lipand looked away from him again.

He huffed and opened a locker,rummaging through it for a moment before he removed another hoodie. This onewas dark grey and lined with a soft lighter grey material. He held it out toyou, “Put this on.”

Your brow furrowed as you staredat the hoodie, “But this is yours.”

“Just give it back to me tomorrowor something,” He shrugs and closes his locker, gesturing towards you with it abit more forcefully, “Take it. Put it on.”

You took it from him and put it on,zipping it up most of the way. The sweater covered your skirt almost entirelyconsidering how much bigger Connor was than you. You looked back up to Connorwho was staring down at you. Slowly he met your gaze and nodded, “You uh… youlook nice.”

A smile pulled onto your face, “Really?”

“Yeah, you won’t stick out now.Let’s just get back to the gym before I get you in trouble,” Connor says, startingto make his way back towards the gymnasium.

You felt a bit of your nervousnessfade as your smile widened, “Thank you.”

There was a moment of silence thatpassed between you, and you could have sworn you saw the tips of his ears turnred as you stared at the back of his head. He cleared his throat and muttered aquiet, “Don’t mention it.”

The rest of the walk to thegymnasium was quiet and uneventful. You both made your way in through the doorsand took your seats on the far side of the gym beside the emergency exit. Mrs.Giddeon nodded at you as you passed by, quietly thanking you.

You smiled and nodded in returnand turned towards the middle of the gym where the principle was standing, talkingabout some issues regarding drug use and abuse in the school. The wholeassembly was on the topic of drugs and various guest speakers you had neverheard of addressed the topic. Eventually the assembly ended and the studentswere filed out of the gymnasium, one class at a time.

Mrs. Giddeon eventually rose upand gestured for her students to follow her from the gymnasium. You and Connor rosefrom your seats and made your way down the bleachers. When you got to thebottom of the bleachers, Connor stretched, his shirt rising up over his stomachslightly revealing the trail of fine hair that went from his bellybutton downwards.

Your face heated up again and youavoided looking at Connor, burying your face in the collar of his sweater inhopes to hide your blushing face.

Connor chuckled and startedleading the way back to the classroom, “You do that a lot.”

“Do what?” You asked, playing withthe sleeve of the sweater, still avoiding his gaze.

“Turn red,” He says, glancing downat you with a smirk on his face.

“My old school had a strict dresscode and I’m just not used to…this,” You say quickly, gesturing at himhaphazardly, still avoiding his gaze.

“What the hell does that mean,” Hiseyes narrowed slightly as the two of you walked behind the rest of your class.

You chuckled nervously, trying tofight off the blush, “U-Uh…cute guys? All the guys at my old school wore likethree layers of clothes with their uniforms so we don’t see much? You know? Butpeople at this school wear whatever they want. And you’re still kind of wet soyour clothes are sticking to you and I keep catching myself staring at your um…”You trailed off, cheeks turning a dark red as you thought about what you weresaying, “-your body? I’m sorry, I’m being super weird. Um…”

“Jesus Christ,” Connor mumbledunder his breath, shaking his head as you approached the classroom, “Have you actuallybeen so fucking sheltered that you think I’m even remotely attractive?”

It felt like your face got evendarker, if that was even possible, and you kept your eyes glued on the floor, “Isthat a rhetorical question? Uh, yes? I guess? I mean, I don’t think I’dconsider myself sheltered, but I do…um…find you attractive?”

He laughed incredulously, hischeeks pink as he looked up at the classroom door, talking to himself as hewalked inside the room, “Where the hell did you come from?”

Your brow furrowed as you walkedbetween the rows of tables towards the back where your things waited for you atyour desk, “Saint Vincent Prep? I told you that like-”

“No- Shut up, that’s not what Imeant. You weren’t actually supposed to hear that. Uh…” He said, taking hisseat and shoving his bag onto the floor beside him as he rubbed the back of hisneck, “I meant that you’re actually going out of your way to try and talk to meand you didn’t instantly treat me like some ugly freak like the rest of theschool does. It’s nice, I guess. To be treated like an actual person instead ofsome kind of…monster.”

Your eyes eased as you sat downbeside him, “You haven’t done anything to make me dislike you. I get that youmight have a temper but I still want to spend time with you. I want to be yourfriend even if that’s not what you want.”

“I don’t think we’re quite thereyet,” Connor says, looking to the top of his desk where his hands rested,picking at the already chipped nail polish, “You don’t know me. I don’t knowyou. How about you wait a bit and we’ll revisit the whole ‘friend’ thing onceyou actually know me? I’m sure I’ll be able to scare you off by then.”

You let out a sigh and nodded, turningyour attention to the front of the classroom, “If that’s what you want.”

Connor went quiet after that andwhen the bell rang signaling the start of lunch, he was out of his seat beforeyou had a chance to talk to him. You tried to follow him as quickly as youcould, fumbling with your bag as you pulled the strap around your shoulder. Butwhen you made your way out into the hallway, he was already lost in the sea ofstudents that filled the hallways.

Lunch was slow and uneventful, aswere your other two classes for the day. Neither Connor, nor Jared were in yourother classes. Not that you were looking for Jared considering how rude he wasto you before the assembly. The only real reason you noticed at all was becauseyou were hoping to see any familiar faces but you weren’t.

When the end of the day rolledaround, you began making your way towards the front of the school and out thefront doors. You found your bus relatively easy and climbed on, making your wayto the back into an empty seat you assumed Connor sat it. Around ten minutespassed and the bus filled up before the engine came to life and the doorsclosed, but there was still no sign of Connor. Your brow furrowed but youdecided not to worry about it too much. He could take care of himself.

The next morning you decided onsome casual clothing that would hopefully make you stick out less. You settledon your favourite jeans, a warm sweater, and your favourite shoes. You stood atthe bus stop, your bag around your shoulder, Connor’s hoodie tucked neatly overyour arm.

Almost right on time, bus 201pulled up to your stop and you smiled at the bus driver as the doors opened, “Goodmorning.”

“Morning again,” The bus driverreturned the smile with one of her own.

You climbed onto the bus and movedto the very back, sitting in the seat you had the day before. As soon as you tookyour seat, the bus started moving again and you took care to note where Connor’sstop was as you approached it. When the bus came to a stop, you looked to thefront of the bus, waiting for Connor as a few other kids got onto the bus. Youwatched them take their seats, but…there was no Connor. The bus started movingagain and you looked outside the window, confused, eyes scanning the houses tosee if you could possibly see Connor running out last minute, but there was nosign of him.

You looked down at his sweater inyour hands, running your fingers over the soft material as you contemplatedwhere he could have gone. There had to be a logical explanation.

First class was slow. Math alwaysseemed to drag on. When lunch eventually reared its head, you decided toexplore the school in hopes of running into a familiar face. The hallways wereless populated than you expected, most students opting to spend their lunch ina classroom, outside, or in the cafeteria rather than endlessly roaming thehallways. You decided that heading to the cafeteria would be a good firstchoice considering you didn’t have a lunch packed today.

When you entered the cafeteria, itreminded you of a movie. All of the tables were separated by cliques and friendgroups with similar interests. Jocks. Cheerleaders. Band kids. Then your eyes foundhim, sitting at a table by himself against the far wall. You headed towards thecounter, deciding that food would be a good start. There was almost no line, sogetting a few of your favorite foods from the selection the cafeteria offeredtook almost no time at all. When you had a tray of food, you began making yourway towards Connor at the back of the room; glad he hadn’t fled when you weren’tlooking.

As you approached, you noticed hisbody tense as if he could sense you coming towards him. Then his eyes flickeredup and he met your gaze, confusion crossing his features as you sat down acrossfrom him. He straightened up in his seat, brow furrowing, “What are you doing?”

“Sitting here so we can both pretendlike we have friends for a little while,” You say, placing your tray on thetable in front of you before you looked up at him, a gentle smile on your face,“And you looked a little lonely.”

He sighed and leaned back in hisseat, pinching the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes, “Jesus, you’re toonice to me. Why are you so nice to me?” Connor let out a huff and opened hiseyes, dropping his hands back to the table. Before you had a chance to respond,he gestured vaguely in your direction, “No uniform today. A bold move. That’slike, your signature look now.”

You cracked a smile and shook yourhead, “Yeah, I thought I should take your advice and try to blend in a bitbetter.” Then you remembered his sweater and reached into your bag, pulling itout and handing it out to him, “Here, by the way. Thank you for letting meborrow it yesterday. I was going to give it to you this morning but you weren’ton the bus.”

“I got a ride with my sister, Zoe.I usually go with her but she left without me yesterday. I try not to take thebus if I can,” Connor says, taking the sweater from you and stuffing it intohis bag, “And it was no problem. Sorry if it smelled like smoke, or whatever.”

“No, it smelled nice actually,”You smiled gently, “It was very cozy.”

Connor huffed and looked away fromyou, a pink blush dusting his cheeks as he went silent.

“So… you have a sister?” Youquestioned, hoping to change the topic.

He nodded, “She’s a year youngerthan me. Into jazz band. And planet stuff.”

“Are you two close?” You asked,looking through your food tray and picking something to eat.

“Not at all. She doesn’t want tohave anything to do with me. And honestly, I don’t blame her,” Connor says, pickingat the polish on his nails again, which was mostly gone at this point.

You paused a moment before asking,“Do you have any hobbies?”

His gaze turned to you, “Why areyou suddenly so interested in me?”

You gave a small shrug and lookeddown at your food nervously, “You didn’t want to consider me as a friend untilI got to know you. So, I thought we could do that. If that’s okay.”

Connor shrugged, keeping his eyeson his hands, “I’m sure if you ask other kids at this school, they’ll gladlytell you everything that you could possibly want to know.”

“I’d prefer to hear things fromyou, actually. Hearing other people talk about you makes me…I don’t know…uncomfortable?They’re all so mean from what I’ve heard and it just seems wrong to talk aboutsomeone when they’re not there,” You said, looking back to him, “I want to getto know you. Like, the real you. Not the version of you that the rest of theschool sees.”

There was a wave of silence thatpassed between you and for a while you thought that maybe he didn’t want totalk to you anymore.

“I read a lot, I guess.”

You glanced up to see Connor and asmile pulled back onto you face as his eyes met yours. It was like from thatmoment on he felt like he could open up to you. It was only small things fornow, which was fine with you. You could tell Connor had a lot of issues, butyou also knew that pushing him was not something that would be helpful to him,so instead you took it slow with simple questions. You talked about your likesand dislikes, your family and any pets you’ve had, hobbies and interestsoutside of school. But those small things meant a lot to you considering thetype of person Connor seemed to portray himself as. It seemed like the two ofyou had been talking for hours despite your lunch block only being an hour long.Eventually the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, bringing the two of youout of your conversation.

You stood up from your seat,pulling your bag onto your shoulder and picking up your empty food tray, “Weshould get going to English.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Connor said,getting to his feet as well as he glanced towards the emergency exit, “I mayactually get a smoke first before we head in.”

Your brow furrowed, “But won’tthat make you late?”

“Not if I do it quickly,” Connorreasons with you as he shrugs, turning to head towards the door.

“So, am I allowed to call you my friendyet?” You asked after him.

He hesitated and glanced back atyou, seemingly contemplating the question for a minute. Then he smiled slightly,“Not yet. You’ve only made it to acquaintances.”

“I guess I can live with that. Butyou better believe that I’ll be patiently awaiting the upgrade to the ‘friends’status in the future,” You beamed at him.

He rolled his eyes, a small smile playingon his face as he made his way out of the cafeteria.

You watched the exit door closebehind him before you made your way towards the main doors to the cafeteria.You made your way to the English room and gave a small wave to Mrs. Giddeon asyou entered, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Giddeon”

She returned the smile but itseemed half-hearted, “Afternoon, Y/N.”

You made your way to the back ofthe room, taking a seat right against the wall at your shared desk with Connor.You placed your bag beside your chair and pulled out your notebook for theclass, getting ready for when the class started shortly.

“Still sitting in that desk, huh,Prep?”

“Huh?” You looked toward thevoice, brow furrowing as you made eye contact with Jared.

“You know? Prep? It’s this superfunny nickname for you that I came up with because you came from a prep school?”Jared says, waving a hand dismissively, “Nevermind, it was funnier in my head.Anyway, you’re still sitting with the school shooter?”

You felt your stomach twistnervously and you looked away from him, not enjoying the was the conversationwas heading, “At least Connor isn’t embarrassed to be seen with me…”

“It’s not like it’ll hurt his reputationsince he’s already the most unpopular kid in the whole fucking school,” Jared’ssmile fell as you winced at his words, and he looked to you in confusion, “Wait,does insulting him actually make you uncomfortable?”

“I don’t like it when people talklike that about anyone really, not just him. And the swearing and stuff too. I’mjust not used to a lot of this kind of rude or vulgar stuff. I was never reallyexposed to this kind of stuff before starting school here,” You muttered,playing with the edge of your sweater.

Jared’s eyebrows shot up, “Wait-wait- wait. So, you’re telling me that you’ve never swore before?”

“It wasn’t allowed in my school,”You say, “So we all got out of habit of saying it or hearing it.”

“It’s not allowed here either butthe teachers really don’t give a shit,” Jared says. You wince again and he cringes,“Sorry.” Another pause. “What about like…sexual stuff?”

Your face goes pink, “I’m sorry?”

“Are you kidding me?” Jared’s facelights up as he grins, you could practically see the stars in his eyes, “Oh mygod, this is too good. Have you ever even kissed someone before?”

You couldn’t even look at him, thethought of kissing anyone made you stomach twist nervously and your cheeksflush red as you stared at your hands.

Jared barked a laugh and leanedtowards you, “Have you ever even thought about that kind of stuff before? Likewhat it would be like to do stuff like that or would that like, corrupt you or something?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I’venever, um…” You could barely form a sentence as you tried to keep yourselftogether.

Jared was beaming at this point,seemingly enjoying your discomfort, “Have you ever wondered what it would belike to get fingered?”

“Please stop.” You could feel yourcheeks burning.

Jared smirked, leaning in closeras he spoke, almost as if he cared about being loud enough that others mighthear him, “And look, I know you just met the guy, but you seem to have a softspot for him so like, have you ever thought of Connor that way before? Likefingering you-?”

A hand slamming down on Jared’sdesk made him jump and stop his words mid-sentence. You looked up to see Connor,and instantly a wave of relief swept over you.

“Do you get off on being acomplete dick to people, Kleinman?” Connor hissed, eyes narrowed as he leaned towardJared menacingly, “Just do yourself a favor and leave her the fuck alone, unlessyou want me to knock out those giant teeth of yours.”

Jared seemed speechless in thatmoment and Connor instantly approached you, taking a seat in the chair betweenyou and Jared, creating a wall. He looked down at you and his brow furrowed inworry, “You seem pretty red, are you doing okay?”

“I’m okay,” You say, trying to be reassuringas you looked down at your hands, “I um…how much of that did you hear?”

“None of it, really. I just got tothe door and saw him harassing you so I decided on acting instead of lettinghim be a complete ass for any longer,” Connor said with a shrug.

You let out a quiet breath asanother wave of relief washed over you. You looked up to Connor with a smallsmile on your face, “Thank you for that. It means a lot to me.”

Connor shrugs again and plays withhis fingers, “Don’t worry about it. It’s what friends do.”

A beat passed between you beforeyou realized what he said. You looked over at him and a smile pulled onto yourface as your eyes eased. He said he was your friend. He glanced down at youagain, meeting your gaze as a soft smile pulls onto his face, a certain warmnessreaching his eyes.

A friend.

You liked the sound of that.

[alex-baebae]

Pieces of honor

Pics are not mine, credits to the respective owners 😊

Chapter 2

Pairing: TOPXreader, DAESUNGXreader, GDxreader, OCs x reader.

I stayed at my house a whole week before starting high school, I didn’t want to go somewhere, after all I had no friends there. Of course, I called my friends from Mexico, many of them went to study in other countries and some other stayed at Mexico as Ricardo and Max.

The entrance ceremony took place the Monday. I woke up quickly I was not expecting high school to be a “nice” experience for me, so I was not exactly excited. It was raining and I walked to the garage “Good morning, Mister Choi” I greeted him “good morning, how are you?” long time no hear that question from Mister Choi “fine” almost a routine.

A guy took me to school, he was Korean as Mister Choi, probably he recommended the guy to my father as he recommended Amber and her mother. “So, do you know where Amber is?” I asked as he drove through the streets of the capital, I caught him out of guard “ah, ah sorry, I don’t know her” he told me “no problem” I said.

We arrived, he left when I entered in the school main building. The ceremony was okay, I mean normal, the classes were normal as well. I talked to no one, I didn’t want to experience the same as before, you know when I did my best to make friends but I only got my tears falling on my bedroom’s expensive floor.

The rain didn’t stop, I was waiting for the driver in the entrance of the school. When that guy arrived, I got rapidly in the car “How are you, Miss ___?” he asked “fine, thanks” I answered “Mister Zhao told me to take you to a store, so you can buy what you need for the party at the shore” I was confused “what party?” he looked at me through the mirror “your welcome party”. I forgot it, whatever that party was not a big deal, I just wanted to sleep.

One day I was eating my breakfast outside, it was cloudy, it was going to rain. I felt strange for a second, that feeling made me look to the main entrance, there was a tall guy walking through, he was slim and he had an amazing black hair, well he was handsome as hell.

I continued eating, the break ended. I went to my classroom, everything was fine, however I heard many people talking about me, my chest hurt again. However, this time I had friends, my friends from Mexico, so I didn’t feel as lonely as when I was a little child. We used to talk about many things until Mrs. Renata or Miss Liu told us to go to sleep, Max still called me lovely princess. Then I didn’t care about what people say, I preferred to be alone, you know, loneliness is addictive.

September 12th, I was waiting for Daesung, he was the driver who took me to any place instead of Amber. I was in the garden “hello, Miss ____” I suddenly didn’t felt the rain drops on my skin, I was being covered by an umbrella held by a guy, I saw his eyes, I couldn’t believe who I was seeing “Maybe, you don’t remember me, Miss. I’m Choi Seunghyun” I was so surprised “ye-ah I remember you, how are you today?” it was all I could be able to speak “fine, thank you, my father told me to bring you this umbrella so your clothes won’t get wet while you wait, I hope this doesn’t bother you” he explained “oh thanks” I was about to take the umbrella when Mister Choi came “Good morning, little princess, would you mind sharing your car with my son?” he asked, I shook my head “well then, Daesung is going to be here in a minute” he said before leaving.

I was quiet as always, at some point of that endless minute I felt Seunghyun eyes on me while he held the umbrella for the both of us, I looked at him so he just avoid eye contact “please, Miss ____ let me help you” Daesung arrived, he was going to open the door for me “I can do it myself, thanks” I said, I opened the door and got in, then Seunghyun did the same.

...

“Can I sit here?” Seunghyun asked me during the break “sure” I said, he was trying his best to keep talking to me “Seunghyun, you don’t have to do this” I commented “what?” I asked me confused “talking to me, is not your job” I said “But I only want to be your friend” he told me back “But you can be friends with many interesting people,” I said. “you don’t like me, do you?” he said after three seconds “I like you, but it feels strange that someone wants to be my friend” I explained him “I see”.

In no time I discovered Seunghyun has a funny and rare personality, well maybe he felt the same as me at some point of his life due to that personality.

Highschool was not as terrible as I had imagined, Seunghyun made many things better. We graduated together, we did homework together, we studied together. All that time we also were training for join the business, you know… my dad wanted us to became better than his elite group, so when we 'apply' for enter to this mafia we could be the best of them all, we were like a ‘special project’ for him.

I was in since I born, I mean I was his daughter, but… my mom decided I had to do this the right way, which was the only one that was going to teach me how to continue doing our business in the best sort of way, soon my father as obsessed with making us the best mercenaries he had ever seen .

So today, is the day… I have been preparing my clothes for the 'exam'… I guess it’s gonna be difficult. “Are you ready?” mister Choi was waiting for me, when I got in the car Seunghyun was there with a blindfold covering well his eyes ���do I have to cover my eyes too?” I asked “well, you are the daughter of the boss so, I think is optional” Mister Choi commented “I’ll do it” I took off my tie and did what I said. I searched Seunghyun's hand and held it “nervous?” I asked him “a little, what about you?” I smile “a little too” he chuckled.

The car stopped “we arrived” I heard the voice of Mister Choi, we removed our blindfolds.

“So now you are going to prove if you deserve to be here, or you’re just bullshit from the ghetto” a man trying to intimidate us “this is one of the most important proves” he continues talking “you have to knock your opponent out as soon as possible” he is explaining the rules…

“Well you'll have the name of your opponent in no time, Lu Feng give them the sheets” that tall Chinese man gives us first our papers “Li Yu” Seunghyun whispered “Giorgio Sfeir” I comment what my small paper has written on. “First fight” the announcement… “Sfeir vs Zhao” no way, it’s me ‘shit’ I say to myself, I walk towards the 'arena' when I look up, I noticed that the Arab guy was enormous, I gulped “fuck is even taller than Seunghyun” I whisper, even his body was big as hell, I guess it’s over.

“Three. Two. One” that Arab guy starts moving, I’m moving as well “what about ending this fight and go for a coffee” he say flirting I just put my middle finger up “fuck you” I say smiling with an arrogant expression “don’t think that I’ll be gentle with you because you are a little girl” he says “hahaha, so cliché” he tries to punch my face, I moved quickly and kicked his face “you bitch, I really wanted to fuck you, but you’re such a pain in the ass” he tells me “c’mon man that’s why nobody wants to fuck with you” the same arrogant expression on my face.

We have punched each other a little however suddenly he knocks me down, he is punching my face hard, I'm so dizzy, my heavy breathing, my blurred vision… “____” Seunghyun worried calls me in a whisper.

I kicked him between his legs, I stand up as quick as I can although I’m still dizzy, finally I kick his head, he just fall over, I almost run to hit him again this time with my fist, everything is happening so rapidly, I cannot control my actions, it’s like instinct is taking over my body.

I punched his head so hard many times as MMA taught me “over, over” I heard that man’s voice, I stood up “y-you killed him” he says as he checks his pulse, I cannot speak “you broke his skull”. Applauses and amazement expressions were filling the air. I feel less dizzy now “nobody calls me a bitch” I said, I spit to the Arab guy, he deserved it I guess “see you in hell, piece of shit” I murmur.

I walk to my designated place, near to Seunghyun's. “Are you okay?” he’s more worried than I thought “yeah” I sat down, all the guys there are looking at me, I just wipe some blood off my face and check my nose. “Miss ___, let me check you” mister Choi kneels in front of me “no, it’s okay” if Mister Choi did so, everyone would think I have privileges, that's not gonna be good for me in the future.

What do you think? Let me know.

I looooooove you all!!! 💞😘

Have a good night, day Idk ♥️

Alex

[felassan]

RE: The New(ish) EA Trademarks - “Project Apex” and "Apex Legends”

So there’s some talk about and in articles like the ones here (dontfeedthegamers.com) and here (Comicbook.com) about a couple of new[ish] trademarks that EA have registered, “Project Apex” and “Apex Legends”. They definitely seem to be related. It looks like the main source of the burbling (and origin of the discovery of the trademarks) is the video that both articles contain. The vid is worth a watch for yourself. Anyways, the trademark listings can be seen here. They’re near the top, dated October 12th 2018 and have the following descriptions/key phrases associated with them:

[either] Computer game software; Video game software; Downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices

[or] Entertainment services, namely, providing an on-line computer game; Provision of information relating to electronic computer games provided via the Internet     

i.e. it’s a video game and probably the stuff associated with it like the provision of related online services, multiplayer, a mobile app, whatever.

Some assorted thoughts, with emphasis on the video:

We already know from various hints and teases from the devs that Mass Effect is not dead & that they’ll go back to it some day - than in itself is not news, they’ve said it numerous times

dang maybe this is just me but that vid title is clickbaity for views and kinda misinformation-y

I think the next game from BW after Anthem will be DA4, not the next ME. A trailer dropping at E3 2019 for a new ME game seems way too soon imo

In places imo the vid is reaching and/or wildly speculating. in fairness the person self-admits the tinfoiling.

Shepard doesn’t always die at the end of the trilogy so idk why the person says that.

when I search ‘Project Apex Electronic Arts’ (without quotations) myself on Google, the Mass Effect website doesn’t come up for me in the first page listing like it does for the person in the vid. iirc this is because your previous Google searches and other analytics influence what’s at the top of the search result pile for you in Google, so yeah. that in itself doesnt mean much if Google has likely been influenced by the prior research the person’s clearly done in order to make the vid.

EA is a huge publisher with lots of IPs in the works from multiple studios. others have noted that the Apex stuff could be for the Star Wars franchise.

that said! the potential connection to “Apex” as it is in Mass Effect is definite, in that Apex in Mass Effect is definitely a thing. Recall that in Andromeda, Tiran Kandros is the leader of APEX, the militia formed in the Nexus on arrival in order to protect the colonists and AI interests. APEX strike teams are coordinated from APEX HQ and that’s the in-universe lore explanation behind Andromeda’s multiplayer component. The ME APEX logo is below -

thats all I have to say atm cuz its only a possibility, we know ME isnt dead anyway and I try to avoid wildly speculating in case it misinforms.

[harrypotterandthefandomaccount]

Hufflepuff Reunion

request: Hey! So I'm writing a Harry Potter fanfiction called the Matron's Assistant. It's an OCxSeverus Snape. OC is named Eliza Mikaelson, (she's a hufflepuff, infp personality, loyal, warm, kind, but also likes to work alone, interested in people,) and she's also a Leo, meaning she likes to be the center of attention. She's based on my hogwarts mystery oc, meaning her brother Jacob was missing, but now he's back, distant, and she doesn't really talk to him. she's the same year as Tonks. Was wondering if you might like to a one shot with Severus and Eliza with prompt 31? Thanks!

Summary: (based on the game Hogwarts Mystery which is a great game so go download it) Eliza(OC requested by @enchantingsims97​ ) is a Hufflepuff who had attends Hogwarts, dealing with bullying by Merula Snyde. While at Hogwarts, rumors start arising about the Mikaelson family and Eliza’s lost brother, Jacob. When she gets word from her parents that Jacob had indeed returned and is finishing off his years at Hogwarts, Eliza isn’t entirely sure how to approach or even associate with Jacob. Professor Snape, not very fond of the older Mikaelson sibling, pays attention to Eliza and tries to help any way he can, causing sparks between the two. Jacob gets controntational and demands why Eliza won’t talk to him, and things explode. based on #31 on my writing prompts list!!

note: i think next to Eliza’s name I’ll put (Y/N) just in case others would like it in an x reader POV but idk yet. read to find out what i did lol. all in all, this was a lot of fun to write and im actually proud of it?????

warnings: none except one single curse word

6-23-18

-

Another day had started for Eliza Mikaelson at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And another day of bullying by Merula Snyde and her pets. A couple days ago, her and Merula had gotten into a duel in the courtyard and she protected her friends Rowan and Ben. However, Professors Snape and Flitwick had caught them. Flitwick was not happy that Eliza had used his private lesson for bad.

Merula had been more persistent with her bullying about Eliza’s brother, Jacob. He had gone missing after searching for the Cursed Vaults, apparently gone crazy after searching too long. That, or he couldn’t handle what was inside. Almost every day, people stopped to look at Eliza and asked if she knew anything about Jacob or helped him with what he was doing.

Today was one of those days.

Walking into the dining hall, Eliza headed over to the Hufflepuff table and heard voices coming from all directions. One stuck out; Merula Snyde’s. She chuckled as she watched her victim walk past her, “you stayed up late last night, Mikaelson. Contacting your brother in helping him form some kind of crazy cult?”

Eliza tightened her lips and turned around, “no, actually. Studying for our potions test today so I don’t take an L like the one your parents took by putting one in your name.”

Barnaby Lee started cracking up, falling off the bench while Merula scoffed and crossed her arms, “whatever, Mikaelson. At least I’m not part of the crazy crew.”

Eliza nodded, “right, just part of the disappointment one.”

Happy with how the new wit had come up, Eliza took her seat and gave high fives to those who patted her back. There was at least some kind of good that came from fighting back to Merula. Unbeknownst to her, Professor Snape had seen and heard the whole thing. As a Slytherin, he understood why Merula was rude, but not to this extent. He and other teachers agreed; she was a bitch.

Owls had then started to come in, flying to students who had gotten mail from relatives or anyone they knew. With an owl flying by, one had dropped a letter off to Eliza, interrupting her breakfast. Putting down her chocolate chip and banana bagel, she grabbed the letter and tore it open. However, she wasn’t entirely ready for what was inside.

Dear our precious Eliza,

   we have some exciting news; Jacob has returned home! He has been home for a couple weeks now, needing some space before he told us everything. Writing all of what happened would take ages, so with some convincing, we talked to Headmaster Dumbledore and decided that Jacob should go back to Hogwarts. Your dad and I know it’s a lot so when you told us that Professor Snape was your favorite professor, we also got his opinion. He reassured us that you’d be fine and he would fill us in if you seemed uncomfortable. We know it’ll be awkward, but when Christmas break comes along, we’re keen on fixing our family. Try your best to see him as your brother, Eliza. We love you.

                                              Mom and Dad

Eliza’s breath quickened as she dropped the letter, “holy fu-” Her friend Penny hit her shoulder, “hey! What was in the letter? What, is Jacob back?” Eliza knew Penny never meant those jokes seriously and sometimes they made her laugh, until now. Eliza turned to her friend, her face losing its color. Penny’s eyes widened, “wait, what?”

She grabbed the letter and read it over, glancing up at Eliza whose hands covered her mouth and eyebrows furrowed. Penny put the letter down, “Eliza, it’s okay. He’s your brother! How bad could it be?”

The younger Mikaelson turned to her friend, “Penny?! He’s been gone for years and now I’m in my 6th year, close to graduating. H-he, Jacob, can’t just show up out of fricken-”

Dumbledore had interrupted what Eliza was saying by starting a speech, “today, I had received some news that may make people happy or confused. From the Mikaelson family, we have learned that Jacob had returned and is starting his 7th. . .”

Eliza turned to Penny, “oh my he-who-must-not-be-named.” 

Penny’s eyes widened as she listened to Dumbledore and whispered to Eliza, “Jacob is here. Like, physically.”

The younger Mikaelson turned around, meeting eyes with her brother who stood at the end of the dining hall, looking straight at his sister. “No, nope, this is not happening,” Eliza said, tears forming in her eyes as she looked around. All eyes were on her as if they were waiting on her next move.

Professor Snape saw Eliza get up as she was unsure of what she was supposed to do. Her ears rang and she wasn’t sure if it was because of all the blood rushing through her body with such speed or the all-too-quiet room. Snape swooped past her with his hand on her arm, dragging her down the hall where Jacob was.

The professor stopped and looked the boy over. He looked like Eliza except taller and scrawnier, yet with the same hair and eyes. He looked to his sister who hung her head with tears still threatening to spill. Soft chat went throughout the dining hall, waiting to see what would happen.

Snape shoved the boy out of the way and went through the doors, Eliza following right behind him. The two went through the hallways of the castle until they reached the Potions room, heading inside and locking the door. The Hufflepuff students took quick breaths, hands going between shaking and moving her hair all over the place.

The DADA and potions professor looked at his student, “Eliza?” He put his hands on her shoulders and that’s when she looked up at him. “Deep breaths with me, Miss Mikaelson,” Snape said while doing so, trying to help the girl out.

Eliza nodded and followed what Snape was doing until she calmed down, looking into Snape’s eyes. He slowly raised a hand to her cheek, rubbing his thumb over the skin softly. Professor Snape and Eliza’s lips met and she was pretty sure her world had stopped.

Eliza melted with every touch she felt by Snape, and she entwined her fingers in his hair as they kissed. At the moment when everything seemed perfect, the door had busted open and the two broke apart, Eliza crossing her arms and Snape looking down at the 6th year Hufflepuff.

Turning around, Eliza was met with Jacob. “What?” she asked, eyes red from crying. Her brother walked towards her slowly, “Eliza, please. When I tell you everything, I promise I can be your big brother again. I’ll be in your life again, I promise.”

Eliza scoffed as Snape put a hand on her lower back, silently telling her that he was there. “Jacob, please,” Eliza started, “if you were my brother, you wouldn’t have left in the first place.”

The older Mikaelson gave his sister sad eyes, “Eliza. . .”

Eliza turned around and looked to Snape for a second opinion. He looked her in the eyes, saying to do what she felt was right. Eliza turned back to her brother and glared at him, “you. . .you explain yourself, ok? There better be a damn good reason why you left us.” Jacob sighed happily and opened up his arms for Eliza to rush into.

Hogwarts had been filled with talk about the oldest Mikaelson being back, but Jacob had stuck with one story; he thought he was getting too powerful with magic and needed some time off. The story stuck with everyone except Eliza, who knew that he had been getting nightmares from Voldemort and started to talk Parseltongue. Wanting to get more powerful until he realized his wrongdoings(by trying to find the Cursed Vaults), he left.

The siblings had gotten along alright with the old-but-new arrival, yet he still seemed nervous about being around Eliza. He had been avoiding her for the last couple days and she knew one day, it would come to this.

Seeing her brother walking down the empty halls of the school(there was a Quidditch match today, Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw), she knew it was time to confront her brother.

Jacob looked up at the owner of the footsteps other than his. Seeing it was Eliza, he put his head back down and tried to walk past his sister. Tonks had then come out from the entrance to the field where everyone was, seeing Eliza. “Eliza, hey! You coming to the game?”

The Hufflepuff looked to her friend, “I’ll be out there in a couple minutes, just gotta get my scarf. Save me a seat, yeah?” Tonks nodded and smiled, closing the door behind her and headed back to the game.

Jacob hadn’t gotten far and Eliza grabbed her brother’s arm, pushing him against the wall, “Jacob William Mikaelson. When I said you can come into my life again, I meant it, but not for you to be a total asshole after a couple weeks. What the heck is your problem?”

Jacob scruffed off his sister’s grip on his jacket, “listen, it’s weird me being back here. Especially with you.”

Eliza let out a sarcastic laugh, “yeah, no way. How do you think I feel? Why do you keep avoiding me?”

Jacob bit the inside of his cheek even when he towered over his sister. He placed a hand on her shoulder, “with all the things I told you about, I met people and learned things and I just,” he took a breath, “. . .because when people get close to me, they get hurt! You. . .you’re not someone I can risk losing.”

Eliza squinted, “Jacob, you’re not gonna lose me. I can take care of myself.”

Her brother sighed, “if you-know-who comes back. . .I just can’t risk losing you. So I wanted to lose you before I lost you for real.”

His sister crossed her arms, “shut up. We’re siblings, so we stick together. Now let’s go watch this Quidditch game. My money’s on Hufflepuff; they got Cedric this year, he’s the best third year seeker I’ve ever seen!”

note: also yes i made cedric a third year bc this is when talk of voldemort started so like ykno

[a-splash-of-stucky]

Starshine

Pairings: 40s!Steve x Reader

Summary: The stars feature in some important moments throughout your life.

Warnings: Unprotected sex (not a good idea irl), major character death, loss of virginity

Notes: My entry for @nataliarxmanxva season’s change writing challenge. My prompt was: Stargazing.

Idk guys, I tried out a different writing style with this one, not sure if it worked.

Starts off cute, but ultimately, it’s angst without a happy ending (fair warning yo). I had this planned to go one way, but then this story decided to march itself in the other direction and took me along for the ride. Hope you like it nonetheless.

“Steve,” you hiss.

Steve grumbles in his sleep, then turns his back to you as he rolls over. You huff indignantly. Unfazed, you poke his side insistently until he stirs awake, blinking the sleep out of his bleary eyes.

“Y/N?” Steve yawns, “What’re you doin’?”

“C’mon, ya big lug,” you whisper, grabbing his thin wrist and pulling him off the bed, “It’s a clear night,”. You pick up the small canvas bag you’d dropped on the floor, pulling it open to show him the contents. “See? I snuck some apples from home and packed some papers and a graphite for ya,”.

Steve shakes his head, trying his best to look more disgruntled than he really is. “You go on up,” he says, flapping his hand at you in a shooing motion, “I’ll join you in a bit,”.

You flash him a grin, then slip out of his window and climb up the fire escape, all the way to the top of the building. You make your way across the mottled roof, taking care to avoid the murky puddles and dodgy weak spots, heading towards a pair of overturned crates in the far corner. It’s a path that you know by heart, as familiar to you as the back of your hand; you’re positive that you could make this journey with your eyes blindfolded. The canvas bag gets dropped onto one of the crates and you collapse in front of the other, feet planted against the brick wall, face tilted towards the sky.

The view that greets you is one you could never tire of.

The stars are beautiful, twinkling like the lights you see strung up along the sides of the boardwalk — except, of course, so much more magnificent; ethereal in their own right.

Steve’s head pops up over the edge of the roof. He gives you a brief wave, then clambers over. One of his mother’s blankets is slung over his shoulder. He crosses the roof with quickness and ease, as familiar with the path as you are, if not more.

“Hey,” Steve murmurs, handing over the blanket as he sits down beside you, “Thought you might get cold,”.

“Nah,” you drawl, not bothering to tear your gaze away from the sky, “It’s the middle of summer. I’ll probably use it to wipe off my sweat,”.

“Don’t,” Steve warns, dragging the bag closer to pull out the graphite and a couple of sheets of paper, “Ma’ll have my head if she has to wash it again,”.

“Only jokin’, ya great mook,”.

Steve shakes his head, muttering darkly under his breath as he begins to draw. Dark lines bloom over the page in an entrancing show. Nothing could make this moment any more perfect, there’s nowhere you’d rather be; you’re always happiest when you’re by Steve’s side, despite how mundane and unexciting that may be.

You smile internally as you observe him, feeling your heart twinge with longing. In the stillness that falls, you drink in Steve’s profile, memorising the crooked slope of his nose, the angular lines of his jaw, the gentle curve of those lips you yearn to taste. When his fringe flops over his forehead, your fingers itch to comb it back into place.

Fearful that Steve might catch you staring, you force yourself to revert your gaze to the skies above. In all honesty, you’re terrified of these urges. They creep up on you when you least expect, and have been making their presence known more and more frequently in the past few weeks. You’re not sure what to make of them. They’re probably indicative of something more — feelings and thoughts you’re not quite ready to pull out and examine, let alone acknowledge.

Time passes.

You don’t know how long the two of you sit there, shoulders pressed together, you nibbling on an apple and Steve concentrating on his drawing. You’re so absorbed in your own thoughts that it takes you a while to realise that Steve’s hands have stopped moving altogether. When you turn to face him, Steve has a funny expression on his face — awe and reverence and guilt all rolled into one. A flush spreads across his cheeks and down his neck when he realises that he’s been caught.

Steve casts his eyes downwards and fiddles with his chunk of graphite, scratching it idly on the edge of the page. “There’s something I need ta tell you,” he says quietly.

Instead of replying, you rest your cheek against his shoulder, a silent invitation for him to continue.

Steve hesitates for a second. When he speaks, his voice is slow and hesitant, in a way you hardly ever hear it. “There’s…a girl,”.

“A girl?” you repeat, tone questioning and confused, even as dread swirls in the pit of your stomach.

“I like her,”.

“Oh,” you murmur, suddenly thankful that your face is hidden from Steve’s gaze, because you know that the expression you’re wearing is anything but neutral. You feel as if pieces of your heart are crumbling away, tumbling into a yawning chasm of despair. Of course he likes someone else. Why would Steve want a girl like you?

“And…I’m hoping, really, really hoping, that she likes me back,” Steve continues, hooking his finger under your chin and tipping your head up towards him. You catch something flickering across his eyes; apprehension mixed with…an emotion you can’t name.

“I’m sure she will, Stevie,” you reply, forcing a smile onto your features to mask the agony lancing through your chest, “You’re…the best kind of fella a girl could ever want. You’re kind, and thoughtful, and you…why’re you looking at me like that?”

Steve barks out a nervous laugh. “It’s you. I like…you,” he confesses, a tender little smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

The first kiss you ever had happened under the stars. Turns out, the night could become more perfect, after all.

———————————

When his mother dies a year later, you bring him up to the roof.

Steve has been strong the entire day, not shedding a single tear or even twitching a muscle as they lowered her casket into the grave. His face had been a stoic mask, seemingly unaffected by the day’s events.

What a lie.

After the funeral, Steve had wandered through the burnt orange and burgundy leaves of the cemetery with Bucky by his side, probably in search of a fight to take his mind off things. Bucky had invited him back to the Barnes’ for dinner, but Steve had said that he could get by on his own, thank you very much, in that stubborn way of his.

Steve put up no resistance when you drag him up the rickety fire escape and haul him over to the crates. You push him onto the floor and sink down beside him, encircling your fingers around his wrist. His body is as rigid as a board, like he’s fighting to keep himself in check.

“It’s gonna be okay,” you whisper.

They’re just four simple words, but they break him all the same. Steve collapses into your arms, burying his face into the crook of your neck as his shoulders heave and tremble with grief. Heart-wrenchingly broken sobs rip free of his throat. You hold him tight as silent tears trickle down your own cheeks and fall onto his fine blonde hair.

As much as you want Steve to let it all out, your instincts kick in when you register the nature of his breathing; far too ragged and strained for your liking. You do your best to calm him down, murmuring soothing words with your lips pressed to his forehead. They’re meaningless words, really, words that he doesn’t hear, too distraught to even process.

Eventually, Steve’s sobs quieten down as his breathing evens out. It takes you a moment to realise that he’s fallen asleep. Thankfully, Steve is light enough for you to be able to shift him into a more comfortable position, with your back against the crates and his body curled tight against your side. His cheek is pillowed on your collarbone, and one hand clutches the front of your dress. You tip your head back, in search of those sparkling diamonds that never fail to put you at ease.

It’s a cloudy night. They’re not there.

In a way, that is fitting. The stars — magnificent and pure as they are — should not be out on this night, when heartache and loss are thick in the air, suffocating you by the weight of their misery. On the night of Sarah Rogers’ funeral, the skies paid their respects and Steve Rogers took comfort in your embrace.

———————————

“The stars are beautiful tonight,” you sigh, as you lay your head in Steve’ s lap.

“Sure are,” Steve replies, twirling a strand of your hair around his fingers.

Your eyes flick up to glance at him. “You’re not even looking at them!” you protest, when you see that Steve’s gaze is trained on your face.

Steve shrugs one shoulder. “Don’t have to. I trust your judgement. ‘Sides,” he continues, stroking the back of his hand over your cheek, “I got a prettier view right here,”.

“Charmer,” you tease, even as a rush of uninhibited joys dances up your spine.

———————————

Bucky ships out the day after tomorrow.

It’s rare for him to join you and Steve on the roof, but understandably, he wants to spend as much time with the two of you as possible. The three of you have stayed up late, talking into the wee hours of the morning. Steve’s just dozed off, head pillowed on your shoulder, feet propped up by Bucky’s legs.

“You’ll look after him?” Bucky asks abruptly, pulling you out of your thoughts.

“Of course I will,” you reply, voice as sincere as you can make it, “I swear on my life,”.

“Good,” Bucky says curtly. There’s a tense set to his shoulders that wasn’t there when Steve was awake. You know how close the two of them are; Bucky has known Steve for longer than you have, loves him like Steve’s a part of his very soul. Getting his orders had been hard on them both, but Bucky’s been desperately trying to put on a brave face.

“Can’t stop him from gettin’ into trouble,” you tell him,  “But I’ll patch him up as best as I can after,”.

Bucky’s lips twitch at that.

“I need you to promise me something,” he says quietly, reaching over to grasp your hand.

“Anything,” you reply, swallowing back the lump in your throat.

He hesitates, chewing on the inside of his cheek. When he speaks, his voice is thick with sorrow. “If I—don’t—come back…you’ll…you’ll make sure he moves on?”

“Bucky…” you breathe, placing your other hand on top of his, “You—,”

“I can’t promise that I will,” Bucky says, twisting his head away, but not before you catch the glimmer of unshed tears in his eyes. “I might, I might not. He can’t…he needs…”

“Okay,” you whisper, “Okay, Bucky, I promise,”.

The stars bear witness to your oath.

———————————

The two of you sit side-by-side in stony silence the day after Bucky leaves.

Steve does not cry. He has not spoken for the entire afternoon. He is, for all intents and purposes, a lifeless zombie.

Bucky had been a part of him, present in the blood that courses through his veins, formed the very fibres of his heart. To have something so crucial ripped out of your life so viciously — you can’t even begin to imagine what kind of horrendous agony Steve must be suffering through.

There are no stars that night.

( Neither are they there a few years later, when Steve comes back and says — in a choked, wretched voice that holds all the anguish in the world — two syllables: “He’s gone,”. )

———————————

Steve is overjoyed.

“I’m going, Starshine!” he cries, for perhaps the hundredth time in as many minutes, “I mean it’s only basic, but—,”

“—it’s still something,” you finish, lips curling up into a tired smile. A part of you is ecstatic for him; little Steve Rogers, the punk ass kid from the back streets of Brooklyn is finally getting a chance to live out his dream, laying down his life for the country.

A larger part of you is terrified. What if his lungs give out? What is his back aches too much? There’re no boys in that camp who’ll know how to rub away the pain, let alone want to.

“Hey,” Steve murmurs, cupping your face in his hands, noticing the concern pinching your features, “It’ll be okay. I’ll be okay,”.

“I’d just like you to be more that okay, Rogers,” you grumble, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Unexpectedly, Steve pulls you into a fierce hug, wrapping his bony arms around your shoulders. He verbalises nothing, but the silence says everything; a million unspoken words, more potent than anything you could have ever articulated.

When you look up, there are stars in the sky, but they are not dancing. They look dimmer than normal. But then again, maybe that’s just your outlook on life, now that Steve’s being taken away.

———————————

“Starshine?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you still love me?” Steve asks.

Do you? Is this still your Steve?

He looks different at first glance, bigger and broader and soldier-like now, a body to match the fighting spirit raging inside him. But, if you study him for long enough, you can still see the same bump in his nose from when it set wrong after he broke it in ninth grade (during an alleyway scrabble, of course). The curve of his smile is unchanged and his eyes haven’t lost their mischievous sparkle.

Yes. This is still your Steve.

“Yeah,” you reply, not a hint of hesitation in your voice, “Big or small, you’re still my punk ass sweetheart and I love you all the same,”.

Steve showed up out of the blue tonight, arriving on your doorstep looking like a whole new person on the outside, but still fumbling and gentle and tender at heart. He can’t — or, perhaps more accurately, won’t — tell you what’s been done to him, but you can see that he’s healthier, that he’s breathing properly and hasn’t even broken out in sweat after climbing up the fire escape to the top of your brownstone.

It’s strange having to tuck your body against his, rather than having Steve curl around yours. It takes some work, figuring out how to fit yourselves together, how to rest your cheek on his chest, where his arms should go. You manage in the end, both your faces tilted upwards, admiring the lights that sparkle prettily against the backdrop of night.

“I can see ‘em better, y’know?” Steve murmurs.

Of course. His astigmatism meant that to him, the stars were little more than bright, blurry dots in the far-off distance. You remember attempting to teach Steve the names of the constellations once, but it’d been too difficult for him to see the formations, so you’d given up partway. Now, with his enhanced vision, he can probably see them better than you can.

“Can I try again? Teach you?” you ask, twisting your neck to look at his face.

“Sure,” he replies, voice rumbling deep in his chest.

You cast your eyes upwards and point towards the left of your field of vision. “Orion,” you say, gesturing towards the cluster of stars that make up the fabled hunter. “That’s you,” you quip, poking  his shoulder playfully, “He’s a fighter, just like someone else I know,”.

“Really, now?” Steve hums, lips curling up into a half-smirk, “So if ya miss me, all ya gotta do is look up and look for Orion, huh?”

“Or, I could just look down a couple’a alleyways,” you retort, “I’d find ya quick enough,”.

He snorts indignantly, shaking his head in amusement. “Probably not wrong,” he mutters.

———————————

Steve has to go to the other side of the world.

You have to let him go.

Though he’s stronger now, sometimes when you look at him, you still see the ghost of his past self, the boy with the frail, uneven shoulders, permanently stuffed-up nose and wheezing lungs. Steve has always been insistent on getting by on his own, but is now actually capable of doing just that, you know this.

But knowing and knowing are two different things.

“Don’t cry, Starshine,” Steve whispers, dragging you into his lap and wrapping his tree-trunk arms around you. “I—it’s gonna be okay,”.

“That’s what you’re supposed to say,” you mumble. Steve chuckles mirthlessly, rubs his thumb in soothing circles at the small of your back.

He tips his head back to look at the stars, goes quiet and pensive for a moment as he chews on his bottom lip. “If I don’t—,”

“Don’t say it,” you interrupt, smacking his shoulder hard, “Don’t you dare say it, Steve Rogers,”.

“Okay, but if—,”

“I said n—,”

“If,” Steve says, louder this time, to get your attention, “If I don’t—,”

“Listen here, you punk,” you growl, angrily brushing away your tears as you sit up straighter and look him dead in the eye, “You listen ta me, Steve Rogers, you will come home, alright? You’re gonna come home to me, because you’ve come out of every damn fight ya pick — bruised, battered or worse, I don’t care, but you will come back,”. Your voice breaks at the last word, a terrified sob clawing its way free of your throat.

Steve is silent.

He cups your face with both hands, uses his thumbs to wipe away the tear stains on your cheeks. “Starshine,” he murmurs, the familiar endearment rolling off his tongue and touching your heart in an intimate caress, “If I don’t, you’ll look up, yeah? Orion, remember? I’ll always be there for you,”.

“But I want you here, not there,” you sniffle, leaning forward to bury your face against Steve’s neck. You inhale deeply, in the hopes of memorising his smell; crisp and clean, like ripe apples on a summer’s afternoon, like the salty sea-spray on your face as you walk along the beach. Your fingers map out his shoulders, his collarbones, his chest — thick and muscular and strong, where it used to be nothing more than bones wrapped in fragile skin. You don’t know this new body well enough, though you ache to, need to—

“Kiss me,” you breathe, lifting your face to look at Steve as you wipe your snotty nose on your sleeve. He smiles at you — though it’s only a shadow of his real one — then tilts his head down, grazing his lips over yours. Steve wants to go slow, but you’re done with slow, there’s no time for it. You surge forward, tangling your fingers through his hair as you crush your lips against his, not bothering to be gentle because this body is built for war, built to battle the demons on the other side of the ocean.. Steve is no longer your delicate china plate.

He never was, really.

You kiss like it’s the last time you’ll ever kiss him — and who knows, maybe it is (but don’t think about that now, don’t think about that). It’s passionate and heated, all lips and tongue and nipping teeth. Steve moans into the kiss, lets his hands slide further down your back—

—and all of a sudden, you realise what you want. You convey your desires to him by not-so-subtly grinding into his crotch, relishing the way Steve involuntarily bucks his hips against you, gasping against your lips.

“Starshine,” he breathes, pulling back a fraction to look you in the eyes, “Are you—,”

“I want this, Steve,” you whisper heatedly, fisting your fingers in the front of his shirt, “Please—I—you—,”.

“Okay,” he soothes, peppering soft kisses down your cheek, “Okay, I want this too,”.

“I can tell,” you giggle, pointedly flicking your eyes down to the front of his pants, where an impressive bulge is starting to form.

Steve lays you down with your head pillowed on his jacket. The two of you had not dared to do this before, mostly because Steve was too sick most of the time. Even on a healthy day — by Steve standards — you didn’t want to take the risk, for fear of triggering an asthma attack or something.

This new body comes with its advantages, it seems.

He is tentative at first, careful to touch only above the waist, and even then, avoiding your breasts completely. His fingers tremble when they unbutton your shirt, but his palms are warm against your naked skin, his artist’s fingers worshipping every inch of your body they can get to. Steve’s touch is exhilarating. No one has ever seen you like this, but you are not ashamed, not when it’s Steve, not when it’s under the stars.

Steve closes his lips around your nipple and you gasp, arching your body skywards as the electric sensations radiate through your nerves, stoking the embers in your core. You whine and whimper with need, tugging frantically at his shirt, desperate to feel his bare skin against yours.

You bring Steve’s fingers to touch your wetness and his eyes widen in awe, expression curious and thoughtful as he traces his thumb over your slick folds. Steve watches how you squirm and writhe beneath him; you’re going crazy from the pleasure he is bestowing upon you.

When your bodies become one, the stretch is unlike anything you have ever felt before, too much, too full, too overwhelming, but at the same time not enough — you can never get enough of this man. Steve growls low in the back of his throat as your walls flutter around him. Heated gasps and impassioned moans spill from your lips as he slowly, carefully rocks into you.

You surrender everything you have to Steve, trusting him completely — if you cannot follow him into the jaws of death, then you can sure as hell give him something momentous to remember you by. You’re holding him as tightly as you can, legs hooked around his waist, one hand laced through his hair and the other digging into the meat of his shoulder.

Pleasure bubbles low in your gut like a swirling, sticky syrup that makes your body feel like it’s floating on a cloud of bliss; high on Steve’s scent, drunk on his taste, intoxicated by the feel of his body over yours. When you reach your climax, Steve kisses you passionately, swallowing your helpless mewls as your body trembles in his arms. He noses at the underside of your jaw, mouths wet kisses against your neck as his hips rut wildly into you—

—and then he’s spilling his release inside your body, filling you with his warmth. Steve slumps down, forehead resting on your shoulder, breathless and sated and overjoyed. Your heart feels full, holding inside it a love for Steve that is as big as the universe, as bright as the stars shining above.

You look up at them and smile, knowing that whenever your heart aches with longing, whenever the burden of his absence becomes too heavy to bear, you can always look up, look for Orion and find peace. Steve will never be too far away, regardless of where he goes, because the stars will always be here. They will forever remind you of Steve; of sweltering summer midnights on grimy Brooklyn roofs, of a boy with charcoal-dirtied fingers and a sharp mouth, of too-ripe pears and a threadbare blanket.

The stars will always be there to remind you.

———————————

The war may be over, but you’re not done fighting your battles.

It’s a struggle to have to wake up everyday, to look into your daughter’s gorgeous blue eyes, comb your fingers through her soft blond hair and be reminded of what you never had. She has Steve’s smile, and — unfortunately — his stubbornness, but you love her all the same. You treasure her fiercely, because she is all you have left to remind you of him.

Tonight, the battle is especially tough.

The plane crashed on this day, three years ago.

You’re lying on a picnic blanket in your garden, Sarah’s head pillowed on your stomach and your fingers idly braiding a few strands of her hair. It’s a muggy summer’s night, not a breeze about to stir the humid air, so your shirt sticks to your sweat-slick skin.

“Mama?” Sarah asks.

“Yeah, baby?” you reply, stroking the back of your hand over her forehead.  

“Tell me ‘bout the stars again,”.

When you look upwards, you see that the sky is clear and the stars have come out to play. “Okay, well, there’s Leo, the lion,” you begin, gesturing skywards, “Ursa Major—,”.

“Big dipper!” Sarah cries.

“Uh-huh,” you laugh, “And then Ursa Minor’s the little one,”.

You continue teaching her the constellations as you spot them, chuckling whenever Sarah stumbles over the more complicated names, like Aquarius. When you get to Orion, your voice sticks in your throat, blocked by a sudden lump. Tears sting at the corners of your eyes.

“What’s wrong, mama?” Sarah asks, sitting up to look at you, concerned by your silence.

“It’s—nothing, baby,” you whisper, “It’s—Orion. That’s the last one up there,”.

Sarah nods, leaning her head back to look in the direction you’re pointing. “That’s daddy, right?”

“Yeah,” you whisper, fighting to hold back the sob that is tickling the back of your throat, “That’s your daddy, sweetheart. He’s watching over us. Watchin’ over you, baby,”.

“Will he ever come down to see us?”

A wet laugh wrenches free of your throat, giddy and sorrowful at the same time. “He’s not comin’ down, sugar,” you reply, taking her wrist and pulling her to your chest, “He’s up there forever,”. Sarah hums, turning her head to pillow her cheek on your shoulder. You press a kiss to the top of her head.

“I never got to see him,” Sarah says quietly.

A couple of tears escape. You take a shuddery breath. “You can see him any night you want, sugar,” you tell her, “All you gotta do is come out here, find Orion, over there, and say whatever you want. Daddy’s listening. He’s so proud of you, baby, he’d be so happy if he got to see ya. Why don’t ‘cha give daddy a wave?”

Sarah does, giggling a little at the silliness of it.

The realisation dawns upon you then, blinding in its truth and leaving you awe-struck by your ignorance.

Sarah is not the only piece of Steve you have to hold onto. There was something to make you think of him before she was even created, something ever-present and never-changing.

They remind you of ice packs and bandaged cuts, knobbly knees and bony shoulders.

They remind you of plump pink lips and joyous laughter, sneaking out way past curfew and sharing kisses when you realised what love was.

They remind you of a boy with a spirit bigger than his brain, fuelled by a fire that blazed brighter than the sun; a boy always raring and ready for a fight, fists perpetually up and nose nearly always bloody. A boy with a pure heart and kind soul, who loved you unconditionally.

They’ll be there to remind you of the best night you’ve ever lived through, when you gave yourself completely to the man you loved.

The stars will always be there to remind you.

[hijoonie]

Ace

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader Rating: Explicit Genre: Fluff, smut, angst / athlete!jungkook, artist!jungkook Word count: 24,263

Summary: Jungkook only cares about three things: Baseball, painting and his team, but soon he’s adding you to that list when love comes flying at him fast and hard, knocking him right on his ass. 

A/N: .... listen.... idk how 24k happened, but it did. I can’t stand looking at this any longer lol so please forgive any minor mistakes. Big shout out to @taechulo for helping me out with the plot for this bad boy & @jacksonsjams for being such a wonderful beta reader 💕

It could have been his imagination, but Jin swears he feels the slightest tickle of rain on his face, so he reaches out his hand, palm upturned, to confirm his suspicions.

“Hmm.” He narrows his eyes at his dry hand, then glowers up at the overcast sky and heaves an irritated sigh. The weather forecast had lied. Again. This was the second time this week that, instead of sunshine and high temperatures, they were instead given downpour and gloom. Well, it wasn’t pouring yet, but Jin wasn’t about to get his hopes up.

“Alright boys, let’s pick up the pace. I want to get in at least some practicing before it starts to rain,” Jin calls over to his team, all stretching their limbs and grumbling a collective ‘Yes coach.’ They all look as miserable as Jin assumes they feel and just the tiniest part of him feels almost sorry for making them practice. Almost. The team needs to kick their practicing into high gear if they want to be ready in time for the new season and that meant no slacking, so Jin shakes off the slight guilt with ease.

He instructs half the team to do interval throwing – a partner drill where they throw the ball back and forth - while the other half of the team does base running.

Three rows down, doing the interval drill, Jungkook nurses a wicked headache and catches the ball that comes whizzing at him from the opposite end. He throws it back and Jimin catches it in his glove easily, yawning tiredly and putting little effort into his next throw.

“Fuck,” Jungkook grumbles right as the cowhide ball meets the leather of his glove “Why couldn’t he have just moved practice to tomorrow? He knows we’re all fucking hungover from Yoongi’s party.”

To his right, Yugyeom snorts “Because it’s Jin. Just be thankful he didn’t give us a lecture like last time.”

Jungkook only sighs, tips the brim of his baseball cap lower and shakes his head. He’s not done complaining; probably won’t be until the ibuprofen kicks in and the stabbing in his temple subsides. “And how the hell does Taehyung always survive the night and come out unscathed?! I mean, look at him! He’s literally doing cartwheels over there!” Yugyeom looks and yes, Taehyung is doing cartwheels in the grass while he waits his turn to run the bases. Yugyeom snickers but Jungkook doesn’t see the amusement in it.

Jungkook is a miserable bitch while hungover and he will never understand how anyone could not be. He always feels like a pile of shit – twice stepped on – the very next day. So seeing Taehyung so upbeat and… okay, makes Jungkook overcome with an urge to chuck a water bottle at his head. But he likes his friend too much, so he refrains and instead throws the ball back at Jimin.

“Whoa. Who’s that?” Hoseok says from Jungkook’s left, drawing him out of his self wallowing and making him turn to look in the direction Hoseok is drooling in. Jungkook’s eyes dry quickly from how hard he stares; jaw dropping only a sliver so that a whine of air could escape his lungs.

During Jungkook’s moment of awe, the baseball clocks him right in the forehead before Jimin can squeak out his name in warning.

[Seokjinnie]: Left my wallet sitting on your counter this morning. Think you could drop by the field and give it to me on your way to class :D?

[You]: … you gotta be kidding me

[Seokjinnie]: Pleeeeease~

[You]: This is the third time this week you’ve forgot it!! I swear to god I’m going to glue this damn thing to your forehead.

[Seokjinnie]: You wouldn’t dare! It’s made of premium leather!

[Seokjinnie]: ….soooo you’re going to drop it off… right?

[You]: Yeah yeah, after I buy a coffee with your card

[Seokjinnie]: Brat!! <3

With a nice, steaming to-go cup full of coffee and Jin’s wallet securely placed away in your bag, you weave through the early morning hustle and bustle of the city, dodging elbows and biting back the urge to scream whenever you get trapped behind someone exceptionally slow paced.

Although it’s Spring, the weather reminds you much more of Autumn. The air has that crisp bite to it like like how it feels in October and you’re glad you hadn’t packed away all your knit sweaters just yet, feeling nice and toasty in the oversized grey one that you’re currently wearing.

By the time you reach the university, strolling across campus and to the baseball field, the remaining sip of your coffee has grown cold and so you toss it in a nearby bin, nearly discarding your phone with it and giving yourself a mini heart attack. You clutch the device to your chest for only a moment and yelp when it vibrates between your collarbones.

[Seokjinnie]: Are you here yet?? I’m hungry and want to buy snacks from the vending machine…

You roll your eyes at the message and slip your phone into the pocket of your jeans. You can see Jin standing between home base and third, staring down at his phone and fidgeting his thumbs above the screen, probably contemplating sending another text. He hates it when you don’t reply quickly.

Ducking into the dugout, you avoid tripping on scattered shoes and bags, crinkling your nose at the sour smell of sweaty socks and men’s body odour, and pop out onto the dirt.

“Jin!” You call over to your friend who lifts his head and waves. He wanders over to where you stand, offering him his wallet at the end of your outstretched arm.

“Took you long enough.” He takes the wallet, then rubs at the top of your head, ruffling your hair. You whine, swatting away his hand and trying to pat down the mess he’s made; running your fingers through your strands until you think you’ve tamed it all.

“Be grateful I even brought it, I-“

Your sentence is cut short by the thunk! and loud yelp coming from a few feet away. You glance over Jin’s shoulder to see a crowd of guys standing around their teammate who was lying on the ground. Jin is quick to spring into action, jogging over to the group and without really thinking, you follow suit.

“What happened?” Jin questions, easing into the heart of the group that makes way for him. Somehow you find yourself right in there with him, peering down at a young man with his eyes screwed shut and half his face covered by his two large hands.

Jimin looks up from where’s he’s crouching on the ground next to the other boy. “I-I hit Jungkook! I threw the ball and he apparently wasn’t looking and it got him in-“

“Ow, fuck! My head!” Jungkook bellows.

“Yeah, there.” Jimin’s voice quavers, blanching the longer he stares at the bloodied gash on Jungkook’s forehead.

The rest of the team murmurs amongst themselves, idly standing by until Jin instructs them to keep practicing. There was nothing to see and standing around wasn’t helping anyone.

“Y/N, take care of him while I go find the first aid kit.” Jin nudges you forward, hand pressing into the small of your back and you bumble towards the guy on the ground.

“W-what?!” You awkwardly stammer.

“You’re a doctor!” He calls over his shoulder, already halfway to the dugout.

“A veterinarian!” You correct, though really, he isn’t wrong. You were just a different kind of doctor. One who treated furry friends, not grown men.

The low moan of pain coming from around your feet draws your focus back to the situation at hand “Oh. Okay, okay.” You drop to your knees, not caring that the dewy grass was staining your jeans, and reach your hands out to where the guy clutches his head. He’s reluctant to let go when you try to gently pry them away.

“You gotta let go – uh..” You glance towards the other male – Jimin, you believe his name is – in hopes that he’d provide you with the bleeding one’s name. But he doesn’t, just remains still, worrying his bottom lip and occasionally blowing deep breaths upwards so that the air flutters his caramel coloured hair.

“Jungkook,” The injured boy provides instead, letting his hands fall away and resting them across his stomach.

“Jungkook,” You parrot. He likes the sound of his name wrapped up in your silvery voice.

“You’ve got a pretty nasty cut here, how about you sit up a bit so I can get a better look at it, hmm?” Jungkook simply grunts in response but does as he’s told, though the movement makes his head spin a bit and he feels like he wants to throw up. Was it the injury or was that just his hangover acting up? He wasn’t sure, but what he does know is that the way you press your hand between his shoulder blades, aiding his movement, has him feeling just a tad bit more stable and alive.

You dig around in your purse, retrieving a water bottle and a few napkins you had stashed away. You pour some water onto the napkin and very gently press it against the wound. The coolness and the pressure makes Jungkook hiss and you whisper an apology. You use your free hand to push back his sweaty bangs and try not to blush from the way he’s silently watching you. He’s cute, you have to admit. Probably looks cuter without all the blood on his face.

“Got it!” Jin exclaims, waving the first aid kit in the air and placing it in the grass beside you.

“Ah, Jimin! Do you mind grabbing me the antiseptic wipes and gauze?” You thought it best if he was distracted with helping because the queasiness written all over his face was really beginning to worry you, and you did not want to deal with vomit too.

“Okay,” He mutters, searching around the first aid kit until he comes up with each item you requested.

You instruct Jungkook to keep holding the pressure to his head while you tear open the antiseptic package. Once in hand, you replace his hand with yours and peel away the bloodied napkin, beginning to wipe around the wound and biting back a sadistic laugh that bubbles in your chest each time Jungkook let’s out a soft whimper or whine, sounding far more delicate than he looks.

“Gauze?” Jimin hands it over and you hold it to Jungkook’s head “Oh, and that tape right over there,” You wag your finger at a roll of medical tape and Jimin snatches it up with a look of question “Yup! Thanks.”

You manage to do a pretty decent job at patching Jungkook up, if you do say so yourself, leaning back a bit and taking a look at your handy work. “Hmm, not bad.” You unfold yourself at the knees and straighten out on your feet while Jimin helps Jungkook onto his own.

“He’ll probably need to head to the clinic though. Might have a concussion but if not, he should still get some rest,” You tell Jin who nods his head.

“Thanks, Y/N. Would you mind taking him there on your way to class? Since you’re right next door?” He feels bad for asking so much of you today but he’ll make it up to you with dinner later on.

You smile and nod your head, allowing Jimin to maneuver him around so that Jungkook was slinging an arm over your shoulder and you were wrapping yours around Jungkook’s waist.

“I can walk, I’m fine…” Jungkook speaks softly; embarrassed.

“I know you can, but just lean a little on me for a while okay? You just got hit in the head. Don’t want you stumbling ‘cause you’re dizzy and smacking the other side, now do we?” You grin when he titters a little and shakes his head no, letting you lead him away from the field and the team that hoots and hollers after him. You don’t know why they do it, but you assume it’s just a baseball thing (you don’t want to assume anything else).

“There we go.” You slip out of Jungkook’s hold after you seat him on the edge of an empty bed, waiting for the nurse to finish up with another patient.

“Thank you,” He mumbles through a shy smile, peeking up at you through his lashes and dear god – the sight makes you want to melt into a puddle on the floor because he’s just so darn cute and you want to pinch his cheeks and pat his head and- you carefully remind yourself that he is not a puppy no matter how much he may look like one right now.

“No problem at all.”

Now that it’s just the two of you and there’s less blood, less people and less open space, you take the opportunity to take in his appearance. He’s dirty – grass stains on the knees of his off-white coloured pants and dirt up the side of his outer right thigh, grime on one cheek and drying blood trails on the other. He’s wearing a black jersey with the number one printed on the back; ‘Jeon’ underneath it, ‘Jets’ written in red across his chest. Dark brown hair hangs into matching rich, coffee coloured eyes and you get lost in the way he licks at his soft pink lips.

Jungkook fidgets in his spot, feeling self-conscious from the way you’re so obviously eyeing him up, but also feeling confident because he has yet to see a reaction that’s anything other than interest.

He waves a hand in-front of your face and you blink a couple times, stiffen and flush in humiliation for having been caught. Not that you were really trying to hide it.

“S-sorry, I just-“

“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain,” He clears his throat a little “So, your name’s Y/N?” He remembers from earlier on.

“Yeah, it is. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. Are you, uh… Jin’s girlfriend…or something?” Jungkook feels silly for asking, but his curiosity was getting the better of him and he just has to know.

Has to know if he has any chance at all with you.

You snort and toss your head back, laughing “I love the guy, but not like that. He’s my best friend actually. Met him a few years back when he was tutoring for some spare cash. I sucked at chemistry and he saved my ass from failing.”

“Ahhh.” Jungkook nods slowly and stamps down the relief that was threatening to spill out and paint ‘Please let me rock your world’ across his forehead. He wants to say more, has this urge that’s scratching in the pit of his belly to get to know you but you’re glancing at the clock on the wall and frowning.

“My class is about to start so I gotta run. Take care of that head of yours, yeah?” You throw him a wave over your shoulder, already halfway to the door before he can even process fully what you just said. So he dumbly waves back, looking a little dazed.

He doesn’t even get a chance to ask for your number before you’re out the door and leaving him alone in the room with nothing but a throbbing head and a weird fluttery feeling in his stomach – Constipation? Or was it nausea? Maybe he should get the nurse to check his temperature too.

The repetitive vibrating beside your head makes you groan tiredly as you reach over and blindly grab at your phone, fully intending to deny the call but ending up accidentally accepting it.

“Y/N?” You can hear faintly “Y/N? Hello?” A little louder this time. The third time you hear your name you suck in a deep breath and peel your eyes open, pat around for your phone until you find it half under the pillow.

“Hello?” You reply, voice hoarse.

“Are you seriously sleeping right now? It’s two in the afternoon!” Jin’s voice is too damn loud in your ear and you have to pull the phone a good distance away.

You wipe at the drool at the side of your mouth and sigh “I was up all night working on a stupid paper.” Your eyes squint and burn from way the sun reflects off your floor boards and shines right in your face. “What’s up?”

“What are your plans tonight?”

“Uh, nothing. Probably going to just order some takeaway and watch Netflix, why?”

“Change your plans. I want you to come to the baseball game tonight. Hey! Don’t whine! I know you hate baseball but at least come and support me. The team has been working hard all spring and this is the first game of the season. It would mean a lot to me if you came.”

You mull the idea over in your mind: Baseball? Boring. Lot’s of people? Too loud. Hot dogs and pretzels? …

“Alright, I’m in. But only for the damn pretzels. I’m not going to enjoy myself and you know it.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. We’re throwing a party after whether we win or lose, so either way, prepare to drink your face off.”

It wasn’t often that Jin held parties, or condoned them, but when he did that meant everyone was getting shitfaced and no one was waking up without feeling like they’ve emerged from the pits of hell.

“Yes dear,” you coo sarcastically and Jin scoffs.

“Game’s at six, so get out of bed you lazy troll.”

“Rude.”

“Love you~” is all he says before cutting the call.

Half of you wants to ditch the game just to spite Jin for calling you a troll, but the other half is feeling very curious about seeing the state of Jeon Jungkook, and because your curiosity has always gotten the better of you, the latter half wins. So you toss the covers back and trudge out of your room and into the bathroom for a shower.

~ 

By the time you reach the baseball field it’s nearly seven and the game has long since started. The Jets have a score of two to one against their rival team, The Eagles, and as you awkwardly shuffle past people in the stands to find a seat, the crowd begins to roar and the announcer comes over the speaker shouting: ‘Number 23; Kim Taehyung with a homerun!’.

You squint out into the field and see said player jogging around the bases with a wide smile and bumping fists with another teammate who you remember as Jimin.

You’re quick to find a seat after the audience settles back down. You’re far enough away that Jin can’t possibly see you and you briefly contemplate leaving since he’d have no clue, but the smell of fresh pretzels keeps you rooted in your seat and waving the vendor down so you can get your hands on one.

Baseball is not a sport that interests you. Matter of fact, you’re not interested in any sports, so you find yourself feeling rather bored and out of place. You watch as both teams run around, hit balls, catch balls and throw balls without a single clue about what any of it means or what the purpose is.

It isn’t until the seventh inning that your phone dies and you no longer have anything to occupy your time, that you start to (semi) pay attention. The home team is playing the field while the visiting team is batting. You glance around at each player on the home team, vaguely remembering names and trying to put them to faces.

Often, when you and Jin would get together he would talk about the team and the boys. He’d once listed off all twenty-five of their names but you couldn’t remember a single one, so he narrowed it down to the nine main players, telling you not only their names but also a bit about their position on the team.

If memory serves you right, then you think it goes like this:

Yugyeom: first base

Taehyung: second base

Hoseok (“The boisterous one” Jin had said “You’ll know what I’m talking about when you meet him”): third base

Jimin: shortstop

Yoongi: left fielder

Jackson (or was it Jason?): center fielder

Chanyeol: right fielder

Namjoon: catcher

And last but not least…

Jungkook (the ace): pitcher

Ah yes, Jungkook. He was easy to pick out from the many guys all dressed in their uniforms and sporting baseball caps. At first you aren’t completely sure if it’s him but when he pops up the brim of his hat and you catch sight of his full profile, you know. His features are soft but distinct and he stands tall and proud on the pitcher’s mound, gaze fixed ahead of him as he positions himself in the dirt, fist in his glove. You watch as he inhales deeply and at the end of his exhale he pulls his arm back and throws his pitch – a splitter to be exact (so says the announcer. Not like you had any clue what that meant). It flies so damn fast that by the time you blink, it’s already in the catcher’s mitt and the first strike is called.

It carries on like this for two more innings; The teams alternating between batting and playing the field. Jungkook throwing pitches, some batters struggling to hit, other’s getting their moment and cranking it out into the field. You find yourself fascinated by the way Jungkook licks his lips after every pitch as if he can taste the speed of it this way.

From his head, you work your way down his body, watching the way he throws himself into his sport; raising his leg and twisting his hips, gracefully regaining balance after he turns. You swallow hard when your eyes come down to his round, accentuated butt that looks too damn good in his pants and his thighs that flex beautifully each time he moves. You want to smack yourself when you get so caught up in the sight of him that you choke on a piece of your pretzel, eyes watering and struggling to breathe.

By the ninth inning the scores are tied. The Eagles have two men on bases three and one, and all they need is one more player to reach home plate in order to win. The atmosphere is tense, everyone anxious to see how it’ll all play out. You even find yourself at the edge of your seat, holding your breath.

Jungkook reels back and throws a pitch that has far too many hopes riding on it. The crowd is silent and the only thing that slices through it is the loud crack of the ball meeting the bat. It soars out into left field and Yoongi is running towards the wall, head turned back with his eye on the ball. He has his glove out, ready, and collides with the back wall when he jumps for it, desperate for the catch.

There’s a brief moment where you think he has it, but instead of throwing the ball back, he’s instead snatching his cap off his head and tossing it to the grass in frustration. It’s a homerun. Knocked right out of the field. All three of the players make it to home plate with big smiles and the cheers from the opposite side of the audience clash with the disappointed cries on your side.

The Jets lost.

This only meant one thing: Jin was busting out the expensive tequila tonight and you were guaranteed to be completely smashed by the end of the night.

Needless to say, by the time eleven o’clock rolled around, you had become everyone on the team’s new best friend (all thanks to the alcohol).

You dance with Jimin, Hoseok and Yugyeom; smack dab in the circle and not complaining about the way they move against you. Welcoming it, really.

Get destroyed in a game of beer pong with Jackson as your teammate, Namjoon and Taehyung on the opposing team.

Excitedly chat with Yoongi and Chanyeol about the newest Drake album and discuss your favourite songs.

But there was one guy missing from the mix.

You had seen Jungkook briefly when you arrived at Jin’s. He had waved at you from his seat on the couch as Jin dragged you to the kitchen to get a drink. From there you had become too preoccupied with officially meeting everyone and participating in activities that you hadn’t found the chance to slip away and find Jungkook. Not that you had been looking for him, even though your constant peeking around the room said otherwise.

He seems to always disappear like smoke each time you think you catch a glimpse of him, turning back around only to find someone completely different in his spot. So, you stop looking and focus more on enjoying yourself.

The amount of alcohol in your system was enough to make a heat pool in your stomach and creep across your skin. Things grew a little fuzzier and Jin’s lame jokes became a little funnier.  You were glad you dressed comfortably – opting for black jeans and a white tee, matched with your favourite pair of sneakers –  because a number of times you were having to pee was excessive and would be annoying wearing something a little more complex.

On your way to the washroom (again) Jin jumps out of nowhere with a mischievous grin and two shots in hand, both looking a little discoloured and suspicious. He shoves one towards you, spilling a few drops on the carpet and you take it, eyeing it warily.

“Shots!” He yells over the loud music and you snort and roll your eyes; because, obviously. You bring the shot up towards your lips but when you get a whiff of it, you pull it away quickly.

“What in the fuck is this?”

“Uhm,” Jin furrows his brows, thinking hard “Tequila, vodka and a little splash of whiskey.”

“Oh hell fucking no. Get this shit away from me.” Holding it with only your thumb and index finger, you hand the shot back

Jin whines and starts to pout, clearly drunk as fuck and unhappy that you’re denying his death concoction.

“C’moooon~ Just drink it! It’ll taste so super good, I pinky swear.” He bats his lashes but you stay firm, shaking your head and crossing your arms.

“Nope. Not a chance. Go try and kill someone else.”

“Fine! …Namjoonie~!” He scampers off towards the back deck where Namjoon was sitting with Yoongi and Taehyung, all three of them passing around a blunt (and hastily snubbing it out the moment they spot Jin coming their way).

You sigh and shake your head, not looking forward to that fucking mess in the morning, before you find your way through the crowd of sloppy drunks and down the hall with your sights set on the bathroom.

Once inside you lock the door and reach for the button of your pants. A sudden, loud sigh causes you to yelp and slap a hand to your racing heart. You stare down the shower curtain with confusion and curiosity, stepping over to it and pulling it back.

“What in the-“

“Hi!” Jungkook smiles widely, showing all his teeth and eyes curving.

You giggle at the sight of him – lounging in the bathtub, a glass of water between his legs and hair a tousled mess. Even in his odd and messy state, he looks good. Drunk, but still good.

“What are you doing in the bathtub?” You ask, seating yourself on the edge of the tub near his hand. He stretches his fingers as if to touch you, realizes they don’t quite reach, and gives up.

“Hmm, it’s comfortable here.” He simply shrugs and looks at you as if that was the most obvious answer.

“I doubt it’s comfortable, you’re just drunk and think it is.”

“Okay, maybe. But it has water!” He gestures to the tap like it’s some grandiose item on display and you crinkle your nose.

“Please don’t tell me you’ve been drinking water from this tap,” You mutter through a sigh, holding back more laughter.

“Uh, no?”

You’re almost disgusted by how cute he is. Disgusted by the fact that even though he’s been sitting here drinking tap water from the bathtub, you still want to lean in and kiss him.

Just because. There’s no reason. People are allowed to kiss. It’s fun.  

“I see your heads all better.” You reach out and brush a lock of his hair away from the spot he once had a gash, noticing the faintest scar in the florescent lighting.

Jungkook nods his head, takes another sip of his water and places the half full cup back down on the floor of the tub. You’re impressed that he’s taken time to find somewhere quiet to sober up, knowing full well that your dumbass would probably still be downing shots if you were in his position.

“It is, yeah. All thanks to you.”

You only flush in response. The two of you just kind of sit there, staring at one another, not sharing what you’re both really thinking and only enjoying the swim of your heads and the way the room seems to spin even though it definitely isn’t.

It isn’t until you notice yourself sagging, leaning in towards Jungkook who doesn’t seem to be backing away, that you find yourself again.

“I-I should go. Jin’s probably chugging a bottle of whiskey right about now.” You go to get up and as you pull yourself away, Jungkook leans forwards and grabs hold of your wrist, spinning you back towards him.

Now, he definitely didn’t mean to do it, but somehow you end up toppling over (from lack of balance in your drunk state) and come crashing down into the tub and right on top of him. His body cushions your fall, but it doesn’t save you from the cup of water that spills onto your leg and seeps down towards the crotch of your pants.

You squeal when the coolness soaks against your warm skin, gaping at the damage.

“I look like I peed myself, Jungkook!”

“Did you?”

“No!” You swat him in the chest and turn to glare at him but the slight anger is snuffed out by the pleasant way he’s looking at you.

He’s hugging you against him, his right arm around your waist and the left across your back holding your hip, with both your legs in a tangled mess; damp and bent to fit.

You suck in a shaky breath, blushing down at him from where you hover above, hands pressing against his chest.

“You’re really beautiful, you know? I thought that the first time I saw you. Actually! That’s the reason I got hit in the head.” He giggles cutely and the sound makes your heart jump. You want to scold him for being so dumb but in this moment you feel nothing but flattery and highly aware of how warm he feels against you.

“Can I kiss you?”

You jerk your head back in bewilderment, eyes wide and ears ringing. You wonder if he’s joking, but he shows no sign of laughter or teasing; just a look of patience.

“O-okay.” Your words come out practically a whisper and habitually you let your eyes fall closed, waiting.

“You, uh… you mind leaning down? I can’t reach.”

You crack an eye and let out a slight laugh, feeling thoroughly embarrassed but regardless of that, you lower yourself down anyways.

His lips are soft and warm, a little slick from when he licked them nervously. He parts them only a little – enough to fit them against your own, and presses in a little firmer. The tip of his tongue shyly licks at your bottom lip, coaxing you into more and you readily let your jaw go slack.

Jungkook licks into your mouth, tasting the tequila and lime on your tongue and as silly as it sounds, he thinks he can get even drunker off it.

His tongue tangles around with your own and he sighs happily into it, hands smoothing up the expanse of your back. You’re familiar with the touch of a man, the way they grope your ass and try and touch any and all parts of your body that you will let them. But Jungkook isn’t like them. He finds enough joy in kneading his fingers into your waist and dragging his hands up to your shoulders where he can press you just the tiniest bit more against his chest. He makes no move to dip a hand into your pants or reach a hand under your shirt to cup a breast. It’s refreshing; makes you want to melt into him all the more and kiss him breathless.

It feels like hours, lying there and kissing him in a bathtub with water-soaked pants and a drunken haze, but in fact it has only been mere minutes. Minutes that are rudely interrupted by Taehyung.

He comes crashing into the bathroom, door banging against the wall and just stands there with his mouth hanging open. You’re quick to pull apart from Jungkook, though very much reluctant, and stare at him feeling extremely embarrassed.

“Are you fucking in the bathtub!?” He yells a little too loud. You want to smack him upside the head because Jin would kill you if he heard.

“What?! No!” You wiggle out of Jungkook’s hold, not missing the slight pout he has on his face as he lets his arms fall away from you. “How the hell did you even get in here? I locked the door!” You clamber out of the bathtub and wobble a little when you get to your feet.

“I have m-my ways,” He hiccups and stares you right in the eyes (or at least he tries. He can’t really see straight right now) and you can tell that he is way too far gone. That and the way he’s swaying from side to side gives it away. A spark oh hope lights within you and maybe if you’re lucky because Taehyung’s so drunk, he won’t remember this in the morning.

Jungkook manages to get himself out of the bathtub as well, smoothing out his clothes and trying to look at least somewhat composed. Taehyung looks him over once, smirking and shooting his friend an overly exaggerated wink, then looks back over at you. He trails his eyes down your body, getting lower and lower until he gasps.

“Did you piss yourself?!”

You’re going to kill Taehyung if the liquor doesn’t do the job first.

Two weeks have passed since Jin’s party, and two weeks since you’ve seen Jungkook. Of course, if you really want to see him, you could easily show up to one of baseball team’s games, but you didn’t want to risk the flurry of questions you’d surely get from Jin since never before have you gone to a game willingly.

You thought it best that Jin remains in the dark about your interest in Jungkook. There was no sense in telling him when there was to say – you had no idea how you you felt about Jungkook other than thinking he was attractive. You barely even knew him at all and other than the kiss you shared, there was zero going on between the two of you. Plus, Jin has always been overly protective of you simply because he ‘views you as his younger sister’. He never believed any guy was good enough for you and has this annoying habit of driving away any potential boyfriends because of it.

You love the guy and appreciate how much he cares about you, but sometimes he’s a pain in the ass, cock blocking you so much that you can’t even remember the last time you got laid.

So, you settle on keeping it a secret from him, for now. Possibly for a long time if anything were to happen between you and Jungkook, you weren’t sure. Either way, you didn’t want Jin fucking this one up.

“Y/N,”

“Hmm?” You pull your eyes away from the ride that kind of reminds you of a spider, only it’s spinning rapidly with flashy lights and blaring music, unlike the real pest.

Your close friend, Sunmi, is at your side with a cone of purple and pink cotton candy “Me and Hyojin are gonna check out the shoot drop ride! Wanna come?” You glance behind Sunmi’s shoulder and spot Hyojin staring up at the shoot drop, watching in horror as it plummets towards the ground quickly. You giggle and turn your attention back to Sunmi.

“I’m good, I’ve been waiting in line for almost twenty minutes for the ferris wheel and there’s no way I’m giving up my spot now.”

Sunmi just rolls her eyes and sighs “Fine, suit yourself.”

“Good luck getting Hyojin on that thing,” You gesture to the said girl and Sunmi turns to look, smirks and turns back to you.

“Oh she’s getting on it. We made a bet and she lost, so she’s got no choice.” Sunmi giggles before giving you a small wave, running off to Hyojin and leaving you alone once again.

You and your two friends decided that after a long and tiring week of studying for upcoming midterms, you needed a break. So when Saturday rolled around, the three of you made your way to the pop-up fair that came to town that week. It was conveniently timed and just what you all needed.

Ahead of you were a group of young teenage boys and girls who were trying to get on the ride without tickets, buttering up the ride operator in hopes of getting their way. Unfortunately for them, their tactic did not work and they’re booted out of line which meant that you were now second in line and would have to wait one more round before getting on.

“Ticket please.” The operator drawls, taking the ticket of the person in front of you and also pulling away your ticket the was sticking between your fingers.

The guy must have thought that you and the person ahead of you were together, and you suddenly start to panic, not at all interested in riding with some stranger.

“Ah! W-wait I-“ The operator ushers you forward and you stop short on the platform, gawking at the young man sitting in the seat.

“Y/N?” Jungkook says with surprise, not expecting to see you and certainly not expecting you to be his partner on the ride. He was planning on going on it alone, just like you.

“Take a seat, ma’am.” The ride operator urges and you think you can hear a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Well, at least riding with Jungkook was better than riding with someone you didn’t know.

You seat yourself next to him, trying not to pay too much attention to the way your knees bump together. The operator lowers the bar down and once he checks to make sure it’s secure, he steps back and starts up the ride.

Neither you nor Jungkook really say much for the first few minutes, slowly going higher and higher. It’s only when the ferris wheel begins to circle you back down that he finally breaks the silence.

“Are you here alone?” He questions and you kind of want to laugh because normally people start off with a ‘Nice to see you again. How are you?’ But you’ve now grown accustomed to the unconventional conversations and odd meetings you have with Jungkook, so it doesn’t bother you.

“Nah, I came with some friends. You?” You glance away from the view of the crowd and flashy rides to look over at Jungkook with a small smile.

“I’m here with Yugyeom, Tae and Jimin,” He tells you.

Jungkook would normally be looking over the expanse of the city, taking in the way the lights shine in this late evening and the way the buildings tower high above him, even at the height he is now, swaying in the seat at the top with you by his side. But instead, Jungkook is looking at you – ignoring the awkward I-want-to-talk-but-don’t-know-what-to-say atmosphere between the two of you – and taking in the pleasant features of your face and the way the wind tangles your hair, causing it to fall into your eyes. Or how you nibble on the inside of your cheek in what he assumes is a habit of mindlessness.

He wants to reach out and run his finger along the outline of your lips, along your jaw and down the slope of your nose. Run his fingers through your hair and draw you close. Jungkook bets you feel soft and warm underneath your hoodie and he itches to indulge himself in it.

You’re beautiful, painfully so, and Jungkook can’t help but get completely lost in it each time he’s in your presence.

It’s been a long, long time since he’s felt this desperate to get close to someone.  

The ride stops with the two of you nearly at the top again and with you stuck with him for the time being, Jungkook takes this golden opportunity to get to know you.

“So what’s your story, Y/N?” He speaks softly, trying not to startle you out of the silence that the two of you were caught up in.

“My story? Like… what? You want to know my life’s story from day one?” You snort, finally looking at him once again and it makes him feel giddy. Makes you feel shy.

“Well, maybe not that far back, but yeah.”

You become painfully aware of how close he is to you when he reaches up to push the hair out of his eyes and his arm rubs against your own. Even through the thick hoodie and Jungkook’s own layers, you can feel the warmth that he radiates and you have to physically grip the bar across your lap in order to hold yourself back from curling up into his side.

“Hmm,” You click your tongue in thought and stare off into the distance; thinking “I moved here after I graduated high school and ended up working a bunch of different jobs for about a year in order to save up for tuition. I’ve always been fond of animals and knew that caring for them was the thing for me, so I applied for the veterinarian program at our university. I really underestimated it though,” You pause to take a breather, glancing over at Jungkook to make sure he’s actually listening and sure enough, he is, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “It was really hard in the beginning. I struggled a lot and almost failed a few classes. That’s when I met Jin. I couldn’t really afford a tutor, so Jin let me pay him in the form of books instead. Oh, yeah! I forgot to mention, I worked in a used bookstore for quite some time. Anyways,”

The ferris wheel moves yet again, and you’re now getting lower as people get off and a part of you starts to panic. You weren’t ready to get off yet. Jungkook seems to sense this and pulls two more tickets out of his pocket.

“Don’t worry, we can go again,” He reassures you and you nod.

“Okay. Anyways, so Jin tutored me for quite a long time and we became really great friends. The classes got a little easier… though to be honest it was mostly because I started to apply myself. I was pretty lazy in the beginning.” You laugh, giving Jungkook a sheepish grin “I found a new, better paying job and was able to move off campus and into my own apartment. And… Honestly that’s about it, there’s nothing all that interesting to tell.”

“What about your parents?” He questions.

“Still back home. They live on an orchard and my mother wanted me to stay behind and run it with them, but my father wanted me to chase after the things I want in life. So, of course, I didn’t listen to my mother.”

When you reach the bottom, Jungkook hands the guy his two tickets and instead of getting off, you begin to lift backwards.

At some point in the middle of you talking, Jungkook’s left arm had found its way behind you, the tips of his fingers just ghosting against your shoulder. You say nothing about it and let yourself relax further, leaning yourself more towards him.

“So what about you? What’s the ace pitcher’s story?”

Jungkook snorts and takes a deep breath while you try your best not to stare at the way his chest puffs out and the t-shirt under his sweater pulls taut against the muscles there.

“Moved away from home as well, for school. When I first got to the university I met Hoseok and Taehyung, who then introduced me to Jin and the rest of the boys. At that time, Jin hadn’t graduated yet and was only captain of the team. I’d never played baseball before, but Jin saw potential in me so he made me work like a dog one Spring and put in a lot of time training with me. By the time game season came round, I was unstoppable and the teams new lead pitcher. Not to brag or anything.”

Jungkook often feels embarrassed talking about his success in baseball and with the team. He doesn’t want to come off cocky, at least not to you, but you don’t seem to think he is because you’re sitting there and smiling up at him, listening intently.

“What are you studying then?” You ask. Not that you meant to assume, but your mind automatically goes to some business program or even something to do with fitness. Mostly because of how he looks and his interest in sports, or maybe just because you group him together with all the other jocks you’ve come across.

Jungkook visibly blushes, scratching at his chin and looking a little hesitant. This tugs at your curiosity and you poke him in the side, telling him to spill the beans. He jerks at the sensation and coughs out a small laugh. It tickles him and you smirk, storing the information in the back of your head.

“Ah, well…” He licks at his bottom lip “I’m in the fine arts program. Majoring in studio arts. Painting, to be exact.”

You can’t control the way your jaw drops and your eyes widen, taken aback by the completely unexpected information he gives. You definitely did not peg him to be an art lover. Guess that goes to show how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“So you paint?! What’s your preferred medium?” You weren’t necessarily and art lover but you did appreciate it.

“I like using oil paints.” He peeks over at you and you kind of really want to kiss him right now.

“So you’re a popular jock, slash sensitive artist, slash mega hottie? Wow. The whole package, hey?”

Jungkook quirks a brow and smirks “Mega hottie? I didn’t know you viewed me that way, Y/N.”

You feel the flush of your cheeks and look away, shrugging; trying to play it off “I mean…”

“Let me paint you,” Jungkook blurts, surprising himself and you all in one go.

“W-what?” You tug the sleeves of your sweater so that they cover your hands “N-no way,” You laugh “I’d make a horrible subject.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Really,” He’s speaking softly. Honestly. “I know I was drunk when I said it, but when I told you I thought you were beautiful, I really meant it. From the moment I saw you that day at practice I just knew I had to paint you. Everything about you is so stunning and I just – I want to capture that on canvas.”

Your heart stutters inside your chest and you feel so flustered you can’t even think straight. There was nothing special about you, or so you thought. So, why would Jungkook want you?

He does want you, though. And he makes it very clear and now the question is looming over your head and Jungkook is gnawing at his bottom lip, feeling nervous that maybe he’s come off too strongly and made you uncomfortable.

Your expression softens and you give a small nod. What harm would it do if you just sit there and let him paint you?

“S-sure, Jungkook. If you really want to…”

Jungkook huffs a sigh of relief and lights up “I do. I really do.”

The ferris wheel comes to a stop again, and you’re brought out of this odd, warm moment with Jungkook when the operator jostles the safety bar. You’re the first to get off this time and you feel a heavy disappointment settle in your stomach. You still want to sit there with him and talk, maybe build up enough courage to get close to him. You’d sit on that ferris wheel all night, if that meant spending just a little more time with him.

When the two of you touch solid ground, Jungkook turns to you and you don’t miss the the spark of excitement in his eye.

“If you’re free tomorrow, do you want to meet me at the arts building?”

“O-oh! You want to paint me… like… right away? I thought you meant in the near future.”

Jungkook’s face falls and you wave your hands in the space between you two. “No, no! Tomorrow’s perfect. What time?”

“five in the evening? That’s when it’s usually empty so it’ll just be us two, no one will bother us.”

Ah, fuck. You could feel the heat in your cheeks again and you might as well just tattoo yourself red because this was getting ridiculous. Nearly everything he says has you feeling shy and flustered.

“Okay, five it is.”

“Y/N!” You turn around to see Sunmi and Hyojin approaching you. They come up to you and Jungkook, and Sunmi starts to babble about how Hyojin nearly passed out on the ride. And while she’s chatting with you, Hyojin shares a look with Jungkook. One filled with familiarity and hurt on her end – reserved and awkward on his.  

“Hey! Jungkookie! There you are we’ve been looking all over-“ The boys come up to all of you and Taehyung cuts his sentence short when he spots Hyojin. “Oh… hey, Hyojin. Nice to see you again.”

You’re paying attention by now and wonder if Hyojin knew them all. Maybe they were in the same class?

“Sure, Taehyung.” She’s curt with her response but only you and Taehyung seem to notice.

Before you all part ways, Jungkook kindly asks for your number and you enter it into his phone. Hyojin grows oddly cold and closed off but you choose not to pry and instead turn your attention back to the boys, waving them off and wishing them a goodnight before you and your friends head off in search of the mini doughnut truck.

What exactly are you supposed to wear to a painting session, when you’re the subject to be painted?

“No,” you grumble, sliding an old, raggedy t-shirt out of the way “Hell no. Why the fuck do I even have this?” You question as you stare down at a black, fishnet top in horror. Then it clicks – it was Sunmi’s. Moving on. You contemplate a little black dress but this was not the club you’re going to, nor a date, so you move past it.  

“Hmm,” You pull out a pair of light denim overall shorts with frayed legs, looking them over and thinking. You check the weather on your phone, confirming it’s warm enough that you can get away with the piece, and match it up with a simple black floral short sleeve top. It’s not fancy, nor too frumpy, and all together the outfit makes your confidence climb just one more tier upwards.

You choose to keep your hair down and your makeup light, not wanting to look as though you’re trying to impress Jungkook (even though you are, but you’d never admit that out loud). By the time you’re done and slipping on your low top white Chucks and throwing your bag over your shoulder, it’s already four thirty.  

You make it to the train station just in time. If all went smoothly, then you should end up at the campus about five minutes to, which would give you just enough time to get to the arts building.

You settle in for the ride, plugging your headphones in and zoning out with your music. It’s relaxing, which is what you really need because you’re more than nervous for tonight. Normally you exude confidence but the way Jungkook looks at you, get’s close to you but not enough at the same time, makes you shy and jittery.

Stupid Jungkook and his stupid affect on you.

You jolt when your phone vibrates against your hand and you tap the notification, looking over the message you received.

[Jungkook]: The studio is empty!

[Jungkook]: i’m just setting everything up rn so when you get here come up to floor three. room 312.

[You]: K. getting off the train in about 10 so see you soon.

Alright, so you lied a little. You get off the train in fifteen minutes because it was running a tad bit behind schedule. By the time you make it to the university the sun was already beginning to set and you marvel at the way the sky begins to turn a pretty pink and orange.

Why Jungkook chooses to paint you and not this sunset, you’d never know.

When you reach the room, you knock on the door before pushing down the handle and opening it up.

Jungkook’s perched on a stool, large canvas in front of him and a table at his side holding all of his painting instruments and colours. He’s wearing a black beanie, a loose grey tank top that shows off his arms, black sweats and worn out dark brown boots. It’s simple but it’s magnificent.

The sight of him has you sucking in a sharp breath and absentmindedly checking for drool but nope, there’s miraculously none there.

“Hey! You made it!” He calls from his seat, waving at you with a paint-stained rag clutched between two of his fingers.

You close the door behind you and walk over to his side, glancing at the huge array of oil paints on the table before smiling up at him “Yup! So, uh, where do you want me?” You ask, looking for a safe, paint free spot to place your bag and decide that on top of his backpack would do just fine.

Jungkook guides you over to a platform, and in the middle of it is a medium sized block with a cherry red sheet draped across it. For the background there is an equally red sheet pinned up and the whole set up gives you this odd feeling that maybe you hadn’t quite dressed appropriately for this, but then again, Jungkook never specified when you had asked. He just said it ‘didn’t matter’.  

Jungkook glances over at you, his bottom lip caught between his teeth and a wavering look of uncertainty in his eyes.

You narrow your own eyes at him “What?” You ask suspiciously.

“Uhm, well…” Jungkook looks between you and the set up “I was hoping that you’d be okay with modelling for me… nude.” He drags the ‘u’ in the word and finishes with a hopeful smile.

You just blink up at him, processing his request in your mind before laughing “Yeah right, funny joke, Jungkook.”

“Really, I’m not kidding.” And he really isn’t, if the very serious expression on his face is anything to go by.

You shrink into yourself just the slightest, a pang of fear stabbing into your gut. Was he insane? Did he really think you’d just strip down in front of him and let him paint the very precious parts of your body onto a canvas that may or may not be seen by others?!

The hesitation and guarded look on your face makes him splutter, waving his hands in the air. “It’s strictly for artistic purposes! I swear! I’m not some weird pervert.” He reassures you.

Although he did enjoy the female body in sexual circumstances as well, when it came to his art he was very professional.

“I-I don’t know Jungkook. You haven’t even asked me on a date and you’re already trying to get me naked.” You rub at your arms self consciously, half joking and half being serious.

Jungkook only laughs behind a closed fist “Okay, well how about this? If you pose for me nude, I’ll take you on a date, whenever and wherever you choose. Hmm?”

You poorly try and hide your pleased smile behind pursed lips. The thought of going on a date with him wasn’t all that bad and so against your better judgment and the little voice inside your head protesting against this loudly, you agree.

Jungkook is thrilled and not just because you agreed. Sure, he’s happy that he has a new, beautiful subject to paint and he’s positive that the painting will come out perfectly, just because it’s you. However, at the same time, his little heart was rattling around inside his chest because oh my god he’s going to see you naked. He’d be lying if he said he hasn’t imagined it before and now he was about to lay eyes on the real deal.

Jungkook’s secret crush on you was really fucking with him.

“Okay so just get undressed and place your clothes over there,” He points to where the both of your bags are “It’s the safest spot where they wont get anything on them.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and waits.

You stare him down, expecting him to turn his attention to something else while you undress but he makes no movement to do so. You clear your throat a little before speaking.

“You mind turning around? It’s bad enough you’re going to see me n-naked. I don’t want you watching me strip also.”

Jungkook blushes deeply and spins on his heels, pressing his palm to his forehead “Shit! Yeah, sorry. I’ll just... look this way,” He mutters, staring out the window. He thinks he can see the lights of the fair in the distance but he can’t be sure. There are too many lights in Seoul that it makes it hard to differentiate between this and that.

While he’s turned around, you nervously unhook the straps of your overalls and let them fall, the metal bumping against your bare thighs. You step out of them and toss them to where your purse sits and then peel off your shirt.

The overalls catch Jungkook’s eye and he looks to where they land perfectly on top of the bags, then your shirt follows and he has to take a deep breath to calm his beating heart. The pale blue panties and bra that land on top of it all has him gulping, running a hand down his face and convincing himself to get it together. He’s here to paint, not fuck. Though at this moment he really prefers the latter.

“Okay,” You practically whisper and Jungkook takes one last deep breath before turning himself around.

You’re completely naked (duh), just as he figures you would be, but what he wasn’t expecting was how fucking good you look standing there, arms crossed just beneath your breasts and knees turned inwards – nervous. He can see how badly you’re embarrassed by the warm tint to your skin and he desperately wants to express how amazing you look but he doesn’t; fears it’ll make you curl in on yourself even more and that’s the last thing he wants.  

“R-Right, okay,” He finally stutters out, moving from his spot to come up to your side. “I want you to sit on the block up over there,” He points to the block draped in red and you move, slowly seating yourself on top “And I want you to lean yourself backwards so a quarter way down your back is pressing into the edge.”

You position yourself as instructed; lower back pressing against the edge of the block, leaning back until your shoulders hit the platform underneath you. It’s not cold, thanks to the red sheet but even still the goosebumps form on your skin.

“Okay good, now I’m gonna place this smaller block under your feet, okay?” He grabs said block and shuffles over to where you awkwardly plant your feet. When you give him the nod he’s looking for, Jungkook places it down, lifting your legs just slightly out of the way with one hand, while the other positions the block where he wants it.

Jungkook goes into artist mode without really thinking, wrapping his fingers around your ankles and gently positioning you to how he wants you. One of your legs is bent at the knee, your foot flat against the small block, while the other is straightened out. He runs his hand up and over your knee, stopping about mid thigh where he coaxes your leg to spread just the slightest.

Your heart is thumping so loudly in your ears that you can barely hear yourself think. He touches you so delicately and it sends a chill up your spine and against you wishes your nipples begin to harden both from the feeling and the slight draft, so you bring your arm up to your face to hide behind your hand.

When he’s happy with the placement, he makes his way up towards your head, eyes briefly skimming their way up and along the length of your exposed body. When he gets to your shoulders, Jungkook reaches across you to adjust your right hand so that your upper is flat, elbow bent and the edge of the block presses into your palm as your fingers drape across the top of it.

His shirt brushes against your chest, making you inhale shakily. You wonder if he notices how sensitive you are when he gives you the side eye, but he says nothing, and so you say nothing as well; just let him adjust your other arm so that it’s the exact same on both sides.

“Just relax,” He whispers “Can’t have you all rigid.” And you really try but it’s so damn hard when he’s looking at you the way he is and his hands are on your naked body. You almost want to whine about it and demand he be naked too, to make things even, but then things would really get out of hand because there’s no way in hell you’d be able to control yourself in that kind of situation.

Jungkook gently grabs hold of your chin, thumb brushing against your bottom lip and did he do that on purpose? He’s turning your head away from him, just slightly, so that you’re staring at red and he’s got just enough of your side profile that the features are noticeable but not too distinct.

It feels like a lifetime, just lying there having him poke and prod at you, adjusting this and that until he’s content with the positioning. It isn’t until he’s fanned your hair out a bit, and draped the remainder of the sheet down and around the rest of the platform, that he steps back.

“Perfect,” he breathes “Now don’t move until I say so, okay?”

“Mhmm,” You take in a deep breath. You don’t even want to know what you look like right now and you don’t even want to think about how horrifying it would be if someone walks in. So you focus on something else, occupying your mind with errands that you have to run and remembering which chapters of your textbook you need to read.

Jungkook takes his time with choosing colours and placing them on the palette. It’s mostly because he wants to pick out the perfect ones he needs but it’s also because he’s giving his shaking hands time to calm down. He’s never been to jittery and unsettled while painting. You were the first of his subjects to turn him into such a mess and he’s had a lot of different models.

When he does finally put the brush to canvas, everything just flows from there. His strokes are smooth and precise and he’s no longer seeing you, but the art that is you. Jungkook drags his brush along, curving it when your body curves and taking his time to get it right. He wants to stay true to how you are, lying there perfectly exposed and completely vulnerable, but he adds his own flare to things when he sees it fit. He blurs some of the contours of your body, strays away from fine details and relies on contrast values to fill in the blanks.

He smirks to himself when his eyes sweep over your chest, your nipples standing tall and proud, and he pleasantly breaks focus to entertain the idea of what they would feel like caught between his teeth.

On the other side of the spectrum, you yourself are entertaining a very sinful idea of Jungkook naked and on display, just as you are, but instead of painting him, you’re riding him.

How your thoughts went from what groceries you needed pick up to this? You weren’t sure, but you were enjoying yourself nonetheless.

As they progressively grow dirtier, the heat between your legs progressively grows wetter. You shut your eyes and take in a deep breath, aching so badly but not wanting to be caught. You very discreetly try and press your thighs together, searching for some sort of friction that will make your desperation that much easier to bear, but when you do Jungkook clicks his tongue and asks you ever so nicely not to move.

When you do it again, he places his things on the table and gets up from the stool, the wooden legs screeching against the flooring. You hold your breath and look slightly to the side where he stands at your feet. He reaches out and presses his hand to your thigh, spreading them back apart and pauses for the briefest second before pulling his hand away, making sure to let his fingers drag across your skin which makes you nearly moan, but you bite down on your tongue to deny it an exit.

Jungkook is definitely not expecting to come over to a sight like the one he is blessed with. You’re glistening between the legs, dripping onto the sheet so that it darkens in it’s damp state and making everything all too obvious. He almost groans when he sees it and fights himself from sticking his head between your legs and tasting you. He has to remain professional. It wasn’t uncommon for nude models to become turned on in the middle of it. But what was uncommon was the artist getting turned on as well, which Jungkook was currently trying desperately not to be.

Twenty more minutes pass and you really can’t handle it anymore. Not just the desperation to touch yourself, or be touched, but also the ache in your back was starting to really bother you as well.

“Jungkook,” You say his name with a little too much whine and a little too much need “Are you done yet?”

Jungkoo swipes his tongue along his bottom lip “Not quite. Just a little bit longer, sweetheart.” It was a lie. Jungkook finished about a half an hour ago and didn’t need you to pose any longer. He got the outline of your body and all that was really left was colouring and background work, which all could be done without you. He just didn’t say anything because he was enjoying looking at you, daydreaming of what it’d be like if you were in his bed rather than in the studio.

The endearing nickname makes you tremble and you’re almost at the point where you’re ready to demand he come and fuck you, but you have more dignity than that.  

“M-my back hurts and it’s getting late,” Both were true but it was mostly because you couldn’t stand the sexual frustration any longer.

Jungkook tosses the paint brush down and comes over to where you lie with his palette in hand.

“Okay, you can move. But don’t stand up just yet. I’ll move the blocks.” He pushes away the small one first until the balls of your feet are on the platform. Jungkook then pushes away the large block and smirks when you lie flat on your back with a sigh of relief.

“Why can’t I stand up?” You question, not that you were in that much of a hurry now. Lying down flat felt really good.

“I just… want to try something.” His voice is gruffer than before.

“Like what?” You no longer feel so embarrassed having him look at you naked. It’s been over and hour and a half of him doing it, so by now, it’d just be silly.

“Can I paint you?”

You give him a weird look “You just did?”

Jungkook pauses, looks to his palette and then to your body. “let me rephrase that. Can I paint on you?”

He’d never painted on another person’s body before, only ever having done it on canvas. Though, as he was quickly finding out, everything about you was different and he was finding himself tempted to feel and try new things with you.

You don’t really have to think about it because having him touch you sounds heavenly. You give him a nod and simply watch as he dips his index and middle finger in blue, a half smile on his face.

Jungkook starts in a safe zone, dragging his fingers down the length of your arm, leaving a trail of blue behind. He traces a circle into the back of your hand before scooping up some more paint and starting at your shoulder – where the other line began – and traces down and across one side of your collarbone. He did this on both sides of your body, taking his time to outline the curve of your waist, over your hips and down your outer thighs. When he finishes off the circles on the top of your foot, he goes for the white.

You let a soft whine when Jungkook’s fingers slowly trace around your nipple, circling the erect bud. A shiver runs up your spine when he does it to the other, and when he paints a line down between your breasts, slowly travelling down to your navel and stopping right at your pubic bone, your stomach dips and summersaults.

“Pretty,” He sighs.

“Please…” Your voice is barely a whisper and he has to strain to hear you “Touch me more, Jungkook.”

You ask so nicely – desperately – that he can’t find it in himself to say no.

Jungkook reaches behind himself and wipes off his paint slicked fingers on the rag in his back pocket until there’s no longer any traces of blue or white. He leans over you, looks over your appearance and the way you bat your lashes at him; waiting. He never would have predicted that he’d have you like this – naked and trembling, begging for him to touch you while he finger paints your body – but he’s not complaining. Fuck, he’s not complaining at all and it’s taking everything in him not to jump your bones and ravish you right here, right now.

He knows he’s played long enough. Made you wait for too long and you are way more patient than he ever could be. Jungkook reaches down with clean hands now, gently running his finger tips along the length of your neck until they find their way into your hair, tangling them in the strands as he leans down to kitten lick at the seam of your lips.

This Jungkook is different. Different than the one in the bathtub. Different than the one in the university clinic. Though he’s still slow and gentle, taking his time with you and you appreciate it, but inside you’re screaming for him to be quicker; rougher.

He throws himself over you, legs on either side of your own, caging you in. Jungkook wastes no time, ducking down and pressing his lips against yours, tongue coaxing your lips to fall apart and they do, giving him access to your mouth where he licks at your tongue. He groans when you respond immediately, kissing him so fervently that his head swims. You nip at his bottom lip and he growls, putting distance between you not because it hurt, but because he wants to seek out your jaw where he plants a kiss.

Jungkook drags his tongue down your throat, sucks at the base of it until it’s discoloured and bruised. He makes his way lower, listening to how you whimper from above; spurring him on. He flicks his tongue against your left nipple and your hands fly to his head, yanking his beanie off and grabbing at his hair, jolting from the sensation. Jungkook reaches his hands up and wraps long fingers around your wrists, gently pulling them away from his hair before pinning them beside your head.

Normally he’d allow you to touch him, put your hands wherever you pleased, but right now? Right now Jungkook wants you pinned to the ground, completely at his mercy. He went far too long just looking and now he was ready to touch and play, completely undisturbed.

“Ah!” Your back arches off the ground when Jungkook sucks your nipple into his mouth, circling his tongue around and around before he catches it between his teeth and tugs just the slightest. It’s not painful, the opposite actually, but it does leave you breathing heavily. You clench your hands into fists when he pulls away, dragging his tongue down your torso right next to the line of blue. He kisses and bites across your hips, smirking when you plea for him to stop teasing already.

Jungkook gives a squeeze to your wrists, a silent command to keep them beside your head and you so you do, no matter how badly you want to clutch onto him – dig your fingers into his shoulders and just feel some part of him.

Jungkook adjusts himself accordingly so that he’s in between your legs, face level with your core and you’re not ashamed by how wet it is. He nips at the insides of your thighs and trails kisses inwards until his breath – hot and heavy – is fanning against your heat, making you tremble.

One lick and your jaw’s already dropping, bunching the red sheet in your fists. It’s languid and long, starting from your slit and running all the way up to your clit where he circles it around, testing the waters. Jungkook is pleased with the way you react when he drags his tongue across the sensitive bud, a strangled moan leaving your throat. The sound makes his cock throb in his pants, so he continues to do it over and over, feeling you buck up against his tongue, seeking more.

He curls his arms under your thighs, grabbing at the tops of them, long fingers digging into the soft, warm flesh. He holds them firmly, sliding his tongue down until it’s at your entrance and he’s dipping the tip inside. It’s only then that your hands fly from your head and into his hair once again, grasping onto the strands and urging his face further between your thighs. You fear he might scold you, but he says nothing other than a wordless grunt, licking into you and tasting how sweet you are.

“J-Jungkook,” You mewl beneath him, your stomach knotting and muscles tensing. You want to cum, so badly, but he’s swatting your thigh and murmuring ‘Not yet’ into your core and you start to pant.

It isn’t until your shaking all over and whimpering, begging him to let you cum, that he slips one hand away from his hold on your thigh and replaces his tongue with two fingers.

You jerk your hips up at the same time as a cry leaves your lips. Jungkook uses his other hand to hold your hips down while his fingers curl inside of you, stroking your sweet spot over and over. He’s licking at your clit, drawing patterns on and around it, humming against you each time you moan his name and the vibrations make your head tilt back.

You screw your eyes shut, moan out an incoherent string of curse words and his name all mixed in one as you come undone. Thrown off the edge and plummeting head first into your orgasm.

Jungkook pulls his head away, wanting to watch the way your face contorts as you cum around his fingers, stroking you through your high. The sight is just as beautiful as the one of you smiling.

When you whimper from the sensitivity, he slowly slips his hand out and wipes his fingers on the sheet, then wipes his mouth off on the back of his hand, licking his lips and picking up whatever lingered behind.

He’s straining in his pants but he knows his time will come some other day. Or at least he hopes. So he ignores it and focuses on the way you lay limp, panting with you eyes glazed over and he can’t help but laugh at how cute you look.

“We should probably get you cleaned up.”

“Y-yeah. I’m all blue and sticky now.”

“I kinda like you blue and sticky.” He smirks and you nudge him in the side with your knee.

“Shut up and help me to my feet.”

When you’re as clean as you can get, you slip back into your clothing. You ask Jungkook if you can see his painting and he says you can, though he warns that it’s not finished yet but you don’t care.

The painting causes you to smile brightly, stepping forward to get a closer look – completely in awe. It’s absolutely beautiful and you can’t believe how talented Jungkook is. The way he captures you makes you see yourself in a different light. A better one.

Before you leave, you make sure to get Jungkook to promise that he will show you the finished piece the moment it’s done and also to never show it to anyone other than you (though you wouldn’t be that mad if he did).

It kind of just happens; you and Jungkook’s relationship.

He stays true to his promise – taking you out on a date which consisted of grabbing lunch, spending time at an animal shelter and playing with all the fur babies and eating ice cream while browsing through the market. It was simple, enjoyable and everything you could have asked for.

Jungkook had held your hand without a word, lacing your fingers together and not letting go. He snapped photos of you with the animals and swallowed hard from how cute you looked side by side with them. He even boldly licked the ice cream from the corner of your lips when no one was looking, which you elbowed him for because ‘that’s embarrassing!’. Jungkook even walked you to the train station and kissed you goodbye, and on his way back to campus he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

You had him hooked already.

Everything from there just fell into place. Both you and Jungkook agreed to keep things on the down low – not that you were ashamed of your relationship but because it caused fewer problems that way. You told him how you wanted to keep it from Jin for as long as possible and he didn’t pry as to why, because he too felt the same (for his own reasons which he didn’t express to you).

When around the team or your friends, the two of you just played things off as though you were really close friends now. When he’d walk you to class, going completely out of his way, and Sunmi would question it, you would just laugh and say that you two were having a really good conversation and he had the time. It was a lame excuse, you knew, but she seemed to buy it. And if she didn’t, well… she didn’t say anything to you.

You even attended all of his baseball games, cheering the team (mostly him) on from the stands. Jin had grown suspicious in your sudden interest in the sport and you simply explained that you were now good friends with them all, and good friends come out to support each other. He just smiled widely and gave you the biggest bear hug, saying how happy he was that you were finally out and enjoying yourself and that you could see all his hard work of coaching pay off.

You went from a university student who spent most of her free time studying with little to no social life, to a social butterfly with the baseball team and your two female friends as your group. Many people gawked when all of you would gather in the dining hall, laughing and talking maybe a little too loudly. Many girls on campus would give you the coldest looks when you’d walk with Jungkook, arms brushing and his lips grazing your ear as he whispered something to you. You didn’t blame them. He was popular and hot, you weren’t, and so of course the girls would act hostile towards you.

The only thing about all of it that threw you off, was Hyojin. She was quiet and reserved when you were all together, stealing glances at Jungkook when she thought no ones was looking. But you were. You saw them all. You wondered if she had a crush on him like many other girls in the school and would frequently send silent apologies her way.

For the most part, everything was good. All of it from friends, the relationship and school were calm and perfect and you hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

~

“Jungkook~” You purr, sidling up beside him on the couch and resting your chin in your hand “Play with me? I’m so bored.”

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, feeling tired and one hundred percent done with studying. But he had a big test tomorrow and he’d already left the studying until last minute so he really has no time to spare, even if you’re looking at him so adorably.

“I can’t baby, I really have to finish these notes.”

The two of you got together earlier that afternoon to study and you did, diligently. However, somewhere around seven o’clock you became fed up and could no longer handle reading your molecular biology textbook.

“Take a break, hmm? You deserve one and if you don’t give you brain a moment to regenerate, nothing will stick.” You peek up at him through your lashes, batting them and giving him those puppy eyes that you’re too damn good at, and all he does is give you a sideways glance before letting his eyes fall back to his textbook, scribbling down some more art history notes. Nope. He wasn’t going to let those eyes work on him, even if it was incredibly hard to hold himself back from giving in.  

You pull away and sigh, drumming your fingers against your knee before whipping your head back in his direction “How about I do that thing you like?”

Jungkook peeks up and over the rim of his glasses “What thing?”

Gotcha. You smirk and lean in a little closer until your lips tickle against the shell of his ear. “You know; That thing I do with my mouth and the little bullet vibrator I keep in your drawer.”

Jungkook slams his textbook closed and throws his shit to the empty cushion beside him. “A short break won't hurt.” And you can already see the tent in his pants.

You win. You always win.

You hurry off to his bedroom, rummaging through the bedside drawer until you’re pulling out a black velvet bag. When you return back to the living room, Jungkook’s shorts and briefs are already around his ankles and his cock is standing swollen and tall, while his bottom lip is caught between his teeth, eyeing the bag in your hand.

“Eager, are we?” You snort, rolling your eyes and kneeling in front of him. “How long do we have?”

“I-I don’t know. Twenty minutes, maybe? Not sure what time it is,” He groans when your fingers wrap around him.

Twenty minutes turns out to be five, because just as you’re about to suck Jungkook into your mouth, Hoseok, Taehyung and Namjoon come barreling through the front door.

You jump back from Jungkook as though his cock had electrocuted you, shoving the vibrator into your pocket and flipping your textbook open while Jungkook yanks his shorts back up and painfully throbs against the material, grabbing at his notebook and pen.

“Are you guys seriously still studying?! It’s been like, five hours already!” Hoseok says while crashing down on the couch beside Jungkook who twitches just the slightest.

The other two plunk themselves down around the table, dumping a plastic bag full of snacks out onto its surface. Namjoon starts to pick through them and Hoseok leans over to do the same, but Taehyung is staring at you curiously.

You glance from side to side, furrowing your brows “What?” You ask, fidgeting with the corner of the page you were on.

“What were you guys doing?”

Both you and Jungkook visibly stiffen, but Jungkook shrugs “Studying, why?”

“Why are you both so pink??”

“It’s hot in here,”Jungkook says as though that was obvious.

“The A/C’s on,” Taehyung deadpans.

“You overheat when you work hard, Tae, and we’ve been working hard using our brains too much,” You pipe up, though you’re only being sarcastic, hoping he’d just tell you how dumb that is and drop it.

But he doesn’t.

“How can you study when your text book’s upside down, Y/N?” And sure enough, when you look down it’s upside down. By now, both Namjoon and Hoseok are looking at you and Jungkook skeptically.

“O-oh,” You start to laugh “No wonder this hasn’t been making sense. God, I’m so tired. I should probably head home.” You pace yourself while gathering your things, not trying to rush and make their suspicions grow.

“Talk to you guys later,” You wave, throwing your bag over your shoulder, smiling at the three goons and catching Jungkook’s eye for only a moment before you head for the door, slipping on your sandals and getting the fuck outta there.

Nothing more is said as the boys munch on snacks, Jungkook upset that his boner deflated without any fun and completely fed up with studying and so he joins them on the floor, pouting only slightly.

It isn’t until Hoseok and Namjoon retire to their rooms and Jungkook and Taehyung are left in the living room playing video games, that Taehyung touches on the events of earlier once again.

“Seriously, what were you two doing when we walked in?”

“What? Nothing, I told you.” Jungkook keeps his focus on the game, doing his best not to die while running out into the open where he could easily be seen and shot.

“Oh so you’re telling me that huge fucking erection you had was nothing?”

Jungkook chokes on the gummy worm in his mouth, feeling all sorts of disappointment when the disturbance causes him to die from a headshot.

Taehyung just cackles at his side. Nothing gets past him. Not a single boner went unnoticed on Taehyung’s sex radar.

“No but really, are you two fucking or nah?”

“We’re dating,” Jungkook confesses.

Now it was Taehyung’s turn to choke on a worm and Jungkook cackles when his character ends up getting blown up by a grenade.

“What the fuck! Don’t bullshit me, Jeon. You don’t date.”

“Yes I do!”

“Oh yeah, since when? You haven’t had a girlfriend since the eighth grade. All you’re interested in is humping and dumping, not that I’m saying you’re a douchebag or anything… well, I guess that kind of makes you one now that I think about it, but you get my point.”

Jungkook just sighs, waiting for his character to re-spawn “I don’t know, that’s the old me. I really like her, Tae. She’s special.”

Taehyung snorts and rolls his eyes so hard Jungkook thinks they’ll fly out of his head “The old you, my ass. Just a couple of weeks ago you met that chick at the bar and fucked her in our bathroom! I walked in and she was sitting on my toothbrush.” He frowns, thinking about how he had to throw it away after having it for so long. They had a good run.

“Okay! I get it! But that was before me and Y/N started dating.”

“You mean before you ate her out?”

“How the fuck-“

“Yoongi saw you. He went to see if you wanted to come out to eat with us since you stopped answering your texts. Poor dude’s scarred for life.” Taehyung pops another gummy in his mouth, running around the map and going ham on anyone in his way.

“Wait… does that mean everyone knows?”

Taehyung shrugs “Basically, except Jin. No one really tells him anything since he’s such a prude most of the time.”

Jungkook lets out a huge sigh of relief and focuses back on the game “It’s different this time,” he mutters.

“Mhm, that’s what you said about the last girl too.”

“I mean it!”

“Okay buddy, I believe you.”

And just because he feels like it, Jungkook takes Taehyung out with a missile launcher, making the other boy whine when his character explodes into pieces.

~

Later that night, while lying in bed, you get a text from Jungkook.

[Jungkook<3]: Soooooo… the guys found out…

[You]: What?? How?!

[Jungkook<3]: Apparently Yoongi saw us in the studio…

[You]: omg..

[You]: Jungkook!!!!!!!

[Jungkook<3]: I know I know! I’m sorry :( I didn’t think anyone would come .. well other than you lololol okay no, but seriously he just came unexpectedly and I guess he saw us in the middle of things. Told the others.

[You]: Omfg… well does Jin know too???

[Jungkook<3]: Nah. Tae says they left him in the dark about it so it’s all good.

[Jungkook<3]: Don’t worry babe, they’re all really cool about it and things wont be weird. Everything will be the same so don’t stress.

You let out an irritated sigh, pinching at the bridge of your nose. You seriously could not believe Yoongi had seen you in such a way. You’d never be able to look at him the same way again.

[You]: Okay

[You]: Gonna try and sleep now, night <3

[Jungkook<3]: Night cutie. Dream of me~ <333333

Jungkook was right. Nothing was weird (other than the fact that neither you nor Yoongi would meet each other’s eye). Everyone was really chill about it, except for Sunmi who was one of the last to find out when Jimin had let it slip during lunch one day. She screeched so loudly you thought your ear drums had burst, but no, you could hear her loud and clear when she started giving you shit for not saying anything while everyone else laughed.

It wasn’t until a month later that everything just kind of… snowballed.

Jin stayed over at your house after a night out drinking with his co-workers, banging at your door around two in the morning and scaring you half to death. Of course, you let him in with no qualms and put the big baby to bed on the couch, making sure he had water and a bowl.

You woke up fairly early, though you were hoping to sleep in since you didn’t have class until the afternoon. But the construction next door and god awful sunshine had the opposite in mind.

You head for the kitchen, still dressed in your pajamas and pull out all the ingredients for breakfast before turning the coffee pot on.

You’re frying away an egg when Jin comes dragging his half dead body into the kitchen and making you yelp when he leans over your shoulder to stare down at the egg.

“What the fuck!” You elbow him only lightly but he complains like you’d just given him the uppercut. He’s nauseous and irritable, with a horrible headache and feeling weak all over.

“Sit down, I’ll bring you your food,” You tell him, placing the over-easy egg on top of a bowl full of steaming rice. You grab the full glass of water you already poured and the pain killers, along with the food, and carry it over to where he sits with his face against the table, groaning.

“Water,” You place it in front of him “Pain killers for the headache, and your favourite hangover meal: fried egg and rice with ginger mixed in- for the nausea.” He looks between you and the food and cracks the widest grin.

“You’re an angel.”

“Oh, I know. Now eat up.” You reach for the mug of coffee already sitting on the table, plopping yourself down in the seat across from Jin. While he wolfs his food down, moaning every so often about how good it tastes, you scroll through your social media newsfeeds.

Jin quickly finishes up his food and shoves the bowl away, less nauseated from the hangover now and more full to the point of explosion. He takes a moment to appreciate how you made him breakfast and nearly sheds a tear thinking about how blessed he is to have you in his life. Nearly, because he still remembers how you had taken away his box of cookies last night, telling him to stop being such a pig and that was just rude.

“So…” he starts and you peek up from your phone, taking another sip of your coffee and swallowing it down.

“So?”

“You and Jungkook, hey? When did that happen?” You startle at his words, mentally cursing.

“How’d you know?”

Jin scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest “I’m not dumb. Plus, I heard the guys talking about it one day when they thought I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Oh… yeah… Me and Jungkook.”

You’re expecting him to have that usual teasing tone he has when it comes to you and guys (it’s playful of course, he means no harm), wiggling his eyebrows and giving you a stupid grin before he does a one eighty and goes into lecture mode. But this time is different. Jin’s not smiling, in fact, he looks like he’s holding back a frown, and his tone comes off so serious that you’re suddenly feeling nervous.

“It’s… new. We’re still getting to know each other.” You defend, wiggling in your seat uncomfortably, not liking the way he’s scrutinizing you.

“So it’s not serious?” He asks, hoping that it isn’t.

“I didn’t say that. It is. He’s my boyfriend.” You begin to feel frustrated with how he looks like he’s so disappointed in you. You know he’s always been protective, but this was Jungkook. He’s sweet and good to you. Jin has no reason to not like him.  

The silence weighs heavy in the air. You bounce your leg impatiently, waiting for him to say something but he’s just mulling it all over in his mind, nodding his head slowly and humming every so often.

“Just say it!” You finally blurt “Just say whatever the hell you’re thinking. And be honest.”

“Honest? Alright.” Jin lays his hands flat on the table and looks you directly in the eye “Don’t date him.”

You roll your eyes at him, but he shakes his head and presses his lips into a firm line “I’m serious, Y/N. Don’t date him. Don’t get to know him any further, don’t kiss him, don’t fuck him, don’t anything with Jeon Jungkook.”

“And why not?” You can’t help the venom that laces your voice. Why shouldn’t you date him? What the hell was the big deal? Did Jin just not want you to get close to a member of his baseball team?

“He’s a playboy, Y/N. Always has been and probably always will be. He’s with a new girl practically every week and I don’t want you with someone like that. He’ll only hurt you. Jungkook is only interested in getting laid.”

Jin scowls when you burst out in laughter.

“Are you kidding me? Are you sure we’re talking about the same Jungkook here? He’s gentle and caring. Really sweet and bashful and I really fucking like him. If he was a playboy, I would have caught on by now. You sure you don’t have the wrong idea about him?”

Jin sighs deeply “I’m sure. One hundred percent. I’ve seen him take home one girl from the bar, and then come back two hours later in search for another. I’m serious, Y/N, don’t get tangled up with that guy. I love the kid, I really do, but I care about you just as much. He’s bad news.”

There’s this funny jumble of feelings that washes over you – a feeling of denial but at the same time, this teeny tiny sliver of belief that maybe, just maybe, Jungkook was who Jin was making him out to be because really, why would Jin lie to you? He did know him better, even if you had been dating for almost two months.

You feel uneasy and fidgety, unable to keep your leg still as it bounces even harder under the table.

You know Jin would never say or do anything to hurt you, but you stick firmly to your belief that Jungkook is a better person than that.

“I appreciate you looking out for me, Jin. I really do, but I really like Jungkook. I haven’t been able to get him out of my mind since that day he got injured. And it’s silly, I know. He’s a year younger than me and we don’t have all that much in common. I don’t know him fully yet, and he doesn’t know everything about me but… but when I’m with him it feels so right. He’s someone really special in my life and I think this could really work out, you know?” You shrug. “I love you and you know that. You’re my best friend. But please, can you just… mind your own business with this? He makes me happy, so why can’t you just be happy for me?”

Jin clamps his mouth shut, not saying what he truly wants – that you’re being stupid and blind. But you’re right. He should mind his own business. It was your life and he should just support you and be happy for you.

“Okay,” Jin lets out a sigh and pushes himself out of the chair, walking over to your side and wrapping you up in a big hug “I’m sorry. I’ll support your decision.”

You close your eyes and nuzzle against his shoulder “Thank you,”

You held a lot of belief in Jungkook. Really thought he cared for you and maybe, jus maybe, even loved you.

But you were just a fool and you should have known better. Should have known to trust Jin, whom you’ve known for years, over someone you’ve only known for a couple of months.

It’s a little after three thirty by the time you step out of class and into the hall, heaving a sigh because damn, that class was boring and made you feel overly sluggish than usual for a Tuesday afternoon.

You have about an hour and a half before you have to be at work in time for your shift, so you make your way to the dining hall. You pick up two sandwiches – one for you, one for Jungkook. He was currently at baseball practice and you had a sneaking suspicion that he probably had no time for lunch today, so you decide you’d pop by and bring him something to eat. That and it never hurt to see his face.

The playoffs were nearing and the Jets were practicing for longer, playing harder and aiming higher to come out on top as the champions for the postseason tournament. They still had a little under a month to make sure they secure their spot and stay on top of the rival teams, so the pressure was on.

Between practice, game days and classes, you and Jungkook were finding less and less free time to spend together. You didn’t mind too much though. You were preoccupied with your own things, juggling work, school, sleep, and preparing for your clinical practicum. The two of you were managing somehow.

“Hey!” You call out to the boys as you reach them on the field. They’re all either lying down or sitting on the grass, sweating through their t-shirts and looking worse for wear.  

“H-help us, please.” Jackson reaches out and grabs at your ankle “We’re dying,” he wheezes.

“Jin working you to the bone like usual?” You laugh, shaking Jackson’s hand off of you when tries to claw his way up, dragging his weak body with him.

Yoongi snorts from underneath the baseball cap that covers his face “I swear to god he wants us dead,”

“Yeah yeah, quit your bitching. At least I gave you a break!” Jin spouts, coming up behind you and laying an arm across your shoulders.

“For only five minutes!” Yoongi barks back.  

“At least it’s better than no minutes,” Jin turns his attention to you “Looking for Jungkook?” He asks.

“Mhm. Brought him some food,” You shrug “Where is he?”

“Oh, so you bring Jungkook food but not us?! Friends off, Y/N, friends off.” Taehyung shakes his head, and both Hoseok and Namjoon cackle so you flip all three of them the bird and smirk when they gasp in mock hurt.

“Ahh, I think I saw him heading towards the stands over there to take a leak,” Yugyeom jerks his thumb to his left.

“He couldn’t do his business in the toilet just down the path?”

“Nah. Why piss in a toilet when you can piss in the great outdoors?” They all giggle and you roll your eyes.

“You do realize we’re smack dab in the middle of a giant city, right? This ain’t no great outdoors,” You point out and Yugyeom just waves his hand in the air.

“Minor details, Y/N.”

Fools. All of them.

You wave goodbye, not wanting to stand there and kill anymore brain cells trying to converse with these dimwits, and head over to where Jungkook supposedly is.

It takes only a split second for your heart to pang hard against your ribcage before falling into your stomach (or at least that’s what it felt like) and then you’re sagging, feeling even more deflated than earlier. You take a step back as if some otherworldly force is forbidding you from going any further and a soft puff of air slips past your lips.

Jungkook is there. Oh he’s definitely there, with his back pressed up against one of the metal beams, Hyojin pressed up into him, small hands holding the sides of his face.

And they’re kissing. Not some small, innocent peck that’s the result of a buildup of courage and nerves. No, it’s a heated, desperately needy kiss chockfull of a desire so strong that it would make a person’s head spin.

The worst part is, is that you can see it. So clearly you can see the way she’s licking into his mouth, saliva coating her purple stained lips, pressing her obnoxiously large tits against him and whimpering as if his hand was stuffed under her skirt. It might be, you don’t know. You can’t see him very clearly.

It all weaves together in your mind. The odd looks Hyojin gave Jungkook, the awkward atmosphere between them. How she grew cold and insensitive towards you, and now seeing the two of them kissing.

You feel so stupid for not having caught on sooner.

Without even thinking you reel back your arm and chuck the sandwich you had bought for him, right at the two of them. Even in a state of rage, you still manage to have good aim and get Hyojin right in the back of her big, fat head.

They pull apart and she turns to scowl, a ‘What the fuck!’ on the tip of her tongue but she get’s no chance to yell it. She gapes at you with frantic eyes, hands suddenly shaking.

And then it’s Jungkook’s turn to look. He has this confused expression written across his face, mixed with unpleasantness. But the moment he locks eyes with you, he’s blanching, looking panicked yet nauseous.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” You laugh but it’s not a joyous one. Jungkook opens his mouth, snaps it shut and opens it again, a strangled whine and the start of a sentence slipping past his lips but you don’t even give him the chance to make himself sound intelligible.

“I don’t want to fucking hear it, Jungkook.”

You turn on your heels and book it back towards the field. You’d be amazed by the speed if you weren’t so focused on keeping yourself upright.

You make it to where the guys are and you have absolutely no intention of stopping, but Jin steps in your way and you slam into his chest and all the air in your lungs exit your body in a broken sob.

“What’s wrong?!” He asks, panicked and looking you over to make sure everything is where it should be.

“Jungkook?” Jimin looks confused as he comes up beside you two.

“H-Hyojin?” Taehyung chokes out her name from where he stands with the rest of the boys.

Jungkook skids to a stop when he reaches everyone, bending over and holding onto his knees as he catches his breath.

“Y-Y/N, please…” He pants but you don’t get a chance to tell him off because Jin is spitting out his own words.

“What the fuck did you do, Jungkook?!” And everyone is silent. Jin doesn’t often get mad but when he does, everyone is left speechless and uneasy.

Hyojin hesitantly steps up next to Jungkook, keeping an arms length of distance between them. She rubs at her lips, face flushed and meets no one’s eye.

“Jungkook…” Taehyung says softly, carefully as he steps forward.

Everyone looks so disappointed and angry with him and all Jungkook wants to do is scream. Every time he tries to speak, either you or Jin is yelling at him and he doesn’t get a single moment to defend himself. To explain. Hyojin makes it worse by not speaking up and in this moment, Jungkook greatly wishes the ground would swallow him whole.

“Y/N, just let me explain. I swear, it’s not what you think.”

Instead of yelling, you just shake your head, wiping at your wet eyes “No, there’s nothing you can say.”

“There is! I di-“

“Don’t you dare yell at her!” Jin shouts, hugging you a little tighter.

You just want to go home. Go anywhere, because anywhere would be better than here. You’re embarrassed, ashamed and wanting nothing more than to cry – a good cry, with the fat tears and the runny nose. The one where you wail until your throat goes raw.

“I gotta go,” You say suddenly, yanking yourself out of Jin’s arms and he scrambles to pull you back, but you’re stepping away too quickly and now everyone turns and is looking at you.

“Y/N,” Jungkook steps forwards and reaches out to grab onto your hand but you pull it away quickly, throwing him such a cold look that he has to step back, press his hand to his chest where his heart aches.

No one says a word. What can they possibly say?

You don’t mind because the silence is better than hearing any bullshit. You just drag yourself across the field, listening to the way Jin venomously tells them all to go home.

He chases after you and when he reaches your side, he doesn’t say a word. Just guides with you with a hand on the small of your back until you reach his parked car, getting in and shrinking against the seat.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asks after a while of driving, feeling anxious from the silence.

“No,” You deadpan. “Just take me home. Or to your house. I don’t care, just as long as there’s ice cream and a lot of liquor.”  

“Okay.”

Jungkook looks around the bar, watching the patrons laugh and talk and it irritates him. He feels like shit and he doesn’t want to be here. Doesn’t want to keep drinking his glass of beer and doesn’t want to keep dealing with the way his friends cautiously tip-toe around him, their questions obviously written on their faces but uncertainty holding them back from voicing them.

They’d brought him here after you and Jin left the field in attempts to cheer him up and get him to spill the details about what the fuck even happened. He knows what they’re all thinking – that he’s been cheating on you with Hyojin. That the fling he had with her last year was more complex than he leads them to believe.

They were wrong. All of it was wrong.

“Alright, enough with this pity party,” Yoongi sighs, reaching for the jug of beer “Spill it Jungkook. What did you do?”

“Nothing!” He yells and the booth of people next to them turn to look at him but swivel their heads back around when Jungkook glares. “I didn’t do anything. It’s all just a big fucking misunderstanding.”

“Okaaay, then explain it to us?” Jimin puts his elbow on the table and holds his head in his hand, staring at Jungkook and waiting. They all are.

Jungkook knocks back the rest of his beer and slides the empty glass away when he’s done.

“Hyojin came out of nowhere. It was really weird, actually. She must have seen me leave you guys.” Jungkook runs a hand through his hair and tugs a bit at the strands in frustration “She cornered me. Started spewing this crap about how she’s in love with me and that I really hurt her when I ghosted her.”

“That was kind of a dick move…” Namjoon mutters around a fry in his mouth. Jungkook narrows his eyes at him.

“I’m aware, thanks. I know it was a dick move, I’ve been a dick, I’ll admit that.” Jungkook chooses to ignore the way they all nod in agreement “Whatever, anyways. She was asking me to give her another chance. Told me how she was miserable without me and that it was really affecting her life. I mean, I felt… feel bad about it, yeah. I should have let her down properly, but it’s been a year. I figured she got over it by now.”

“So, you kissed her as a sort of apology?” Jimin questions.

“What? No! Nothing like that even crossed my mind. I just wanted to get the hell out of there so I just told her that she’s pretty and all, and that the time we shared together was fun but I just don’t feel the same. I told her that I-“

“Love Y/N?” Namjoon finishes.

Jungkook presses his fist to his heart when it starts to ache again “Y-yeah. I think I really do love her.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious,” Taehyung smiles over at Jungkook “When we talked while playing games, you said that she was different, that things with her were different. I didn’t believe you but… Watching you two together, I can see she’s really changed you. For the better.”

If Tae wasn’t so far away from him right now, Jungkook would hug him.

“I know I have a shit reputation but I really like Y/N and I don’t want to fuck this up.”

“But you already did,” Jungkook sighs, because Yoongi wasn’t wrong.

“Yes, but it wasn’t my fault. Hyojin just pounced on me and started kissing me. Yeah, okay I fucked up because I didn’t shove her off but I was in shock! I didn’t fucking expect it and I couldn’t even think straight for a solid minute. By the time it dawned on me that she was kissing me, Y/N had already seen it.”

“Ahhh,” They all say collectively and Jungkook slumps back in his seat with an exhausted sigh.  

“So tell her and make it right,” Yugyeom squeezes his shoulder in reassurance “Y/N’s a reasonable girl, she’ll listen. Just tell her the truth and then from there she can decide what to do.”

“And what if she doesn’t want anything to do with me?”

“Well, then that’s her choice and you’ll just have to respect that.”

“Here here.” Hoseok raises his glass before taking a sip.

It wasn’t exactly the answer he wanted. Jungkook wanted them to say that you’d take him back and that everything would be okay and you’d be in his arms by tomorrow. Only, that would give him false hope. Yugyeom was right, it’s all up to you and even though it pains him to think that possibly this could not go in his favour, he’d respect your choice no matter what.

Jungkook grabs his phone from the table and stuffs it into his pocket “I’m gonna leave. Find Y/N.”

“What? You’re leaving now!? I thought like, maybe you could leave in a while, or do it tomorrow. You promised me a game of pool!” Chanyeol, way down at the opposite end leans across the table, already drunk and feeling extra sensitive.

“Next time, I promise. I have more important things to take care of.” Jungkook points a finger at him and Chanyeol settles, grumbling to himself so Yoongi pats him on the arm and slides him another full glass of beer.

“Go get her, tiger.” Tae gives him a wink.

Jungkook feels the smidgen of gloom hanging above his head lighten up just a little at the thought of rectifying this mess.

“She’s not here,”

Jungkook’s shoulders slump. Jin’s glaring over at him and it makes him fidget uncomfortably.

“Do you know where she is?”

“No and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t tell you anyways.”

Jin’s anger was justified but Jungkook really really wanted Jin to cut him some slack because he was trying to make things right and Jin’s bitterness was not helping.

Jungkook sighs in defeat, nodding his head and turning to walk away. Before he can get far, Jin’s closing his front door and stepping up behind him, calling his name. Jungkook turns around and notices how Jin looks so closed off. It makes his stomach twist.

“Don’t talk to her.”

“Wha-“

“Don’t talk to her. Don’t go see her. Don’t anything, you hear me? You fucked up Jungkook. You hurt her and if I find out you’re trying to weasel your shitty self back into her life again, you’re off the team.”

Jungkook balks, not believing what he’s hearing. Was he serious? Jin couldn’t do that, could he? Baseball had grown to be one of his passions and it was the connection between him and his friends. If he lost that, then he fears he might lose them all too and he doesn’t think he can handle that. They’re his family, after all.

“Jin, you don’t get it. I didn’t do anything. Just let me explain it to you and you’ll understand,” Jungkook’s bottom lip wobbles like he’s going to cry.

It doesn’t phase Jin. “I don’t want to hear your excuses and lies. I know you, Jungkook. I know the type of guy you are and trust me when I say that you’re not good enough for her. She deserves so much better than you. So, you’re going to stay the hell away from her. Let her move on and be happy again. I’m not going to let you hurt her.”

Maybe Jin was right. Maybe Jungkook was no good for you. In his mind, you always kind of were unreachable. This beautiful deity that he wanted so desperately to have and when you gave him the chance, he spent countless nights wide awake thinking about how unbelievably blessed he was. There was just something about you that flips his world upside down. Makes him wish that he could rewrite his past so that he can proudly stand by your side and be the good man that you believed he was. He wasn’t that man though, and he wasn’t sure if he ever could be.

It’s hard to break old habits, no matter how hard you try and maybe Jungkook was just fooling himself into believing he has changed.

“Okay.” The word tastes like acid on his tongue and he wants to take it back, to tell Jin that no, he wasn’t going to give up on you. But maybe this was all just some sick dream and he was never really meant to have you.

Jin says no more, only turns back around and slams his door behind him, leaving Jungkook to stand alone in the hall before he also leaves.

“Who was that?” You ask, looking away from the movie and up at Jin.

“No one, just the neighbor,” He lies.

“Oh, okay.”

You lift the blanket and gesture for Jin to sit down, draping it over his long legs when he does. He’s warm and gives you a sense of comfort. Being with him makes you almost forget about Jungkook.

Almost.

Jin’s surprised by how well Jungkook obeys him. He really thought that the boy would at least try and go behind his back to contact you but he doesn’t. He would have known because you would have said.  

So he doesn’t kick him off the team. Even though he still kinda wants to just because the tension between them is unbearable and quite frankly making his job as the coach a little bit harder. But it’s more bearable than Jungkook messing with your feelings, so he bites the bullet every practice and game and tries not to let Jungkook under his skin. A small sacrifice for your happiness.

Little did he know that your happiness was right there under his nose, standing almost as tall as him and pitching balls like his life depends on it.

~

It hurts. A lot. More so than any other breakup that you’ve ever experienced.  

A month passes and he doesn’t call or text. Never messages you on facebook or comes knocking on your door. You don’t see him in the halls and only catch glimpses of him in the dining hall or library with the rest of the team. Your eyes never meet and you wonder if it’s on purpose, or a dreadful coincidence.

You’re still mad, of course. Jungkook cheated on you and you know in your heart you could never forgive him for it, but the fact that he doesn’t even try breaks your heart even further. He doesn’t bother to explain things to you or make things right. Doesn’t apologize and try and win you back. As dumb as it is, you’re pissed that he doesn’t even try and fight for you at all.

Deep in your heart you think this hurts more than the fact that he cheated.

It shows that he never cared about you and that nothing between you was all that important. You were probably just something fun for him in his time of lonely boredom and the thought stings.

You loved him. Still do, and every day is a challenge because he’s not there to embrace it with you.

But at the same time, you hate him. Hyojin too. It was petty but you knew your reasons were valid.

~

Sunmi stretches her arms up above her head and whines when her muscles stretch and loosen. The two of you have been up in the library for the better half of your day, catching up on reading and working diligently on assignments. The two of you made a pact that you would get serious for the last leg of the semester. It was helpful, not only for your grades but it also kept you distracted from getting caught up in your ugly thoughts.

“I’m gonna grab a coffee, want one?” She asks, shoving her books off her lap and getting to her feet.

“Ugh, yes. I don’t think I can last much longer without it,” You laugh and she sends you the ‘O.K’ sign.

You watch as she walks off and you can’t help but wonder how in the world she’s still single. She’s beautiful and curvy, with long dark brown hair and pretty eyes, always dressing her best and taking care of herself.

Your line of vision is disturbed when someone steps in the way. You shake your head and bring back your focus, only to find Hyojin standing on the opposite side of the table you were sitting at.

You automatically frown, glowering up at her and gripping your pen even tighter. It was safe to say that you two were no longer friends and the both of you did your absolute best to avoid one another at all costs. So why she was standing in front of you now, rubbing at her arms nervously and looking at her feet, you had no idea.

“Do you need something?” You question rather impolitely.

“Uhm, can I – can I talk to you?” Her voice wobbles and if you didn’t dislike her so much, you’d want to soothe her nerves.

“What could you possibly want to talk about?”

“It’s about… Jungkook.”

You slam your book shut and roll your eyes, sighing. You go to get up but she scrambles and begs you not to go.

“Please! I really need to tell you something. It’s about that day. Please.”

You immediately stiffen at the mention.

“Fine,” You agree, albeit a little reluctantly “Sit.”

“Safe!” The umpire calls and Hoseok shoots Jungkook a wide smile from first base.

The both of them occupy base one and base two and they’re relying on Jackson to bring them home.

The pitcher sends a curve ball his way and Jackson goes to swing, but he misses only by a hair. The first strike as called and he shakes his head, irritated that he was so close but not close enough.

Jungkook eyes up third base and sways just the slightest. The second baseman has his focus on the pitch ahead so Jungkook takes his chance and darts off towards third base. He can hear the opposing team shouting and the pitcher whizzes around and throws the ball so fast that Jungkook can literally hear it travel through the air. He thinks he’s toast but still presses on, close enough to the base that he slides in right as the ball meets the third baseman’s glove.

But he’s fast enough and his foot touches the bag before the player can get him out.

“Safe! The ump calls and Jungkook pumps his fist, pleased with himself.

Jackson cranks out a solid hit right out into the alley between center field and left. Jungkook makes it home, Hoseok gets to third and Jackson makes it to first in just enough time.

Jungkook feels good. He’s focused and determined to put his all into this game. They made it to the post season finals and if they were to win this game, they’d walk off the field as champions.

He pitches with precision and strength, a flow of good luck and talent running through his arm. The gods must be in their favour tonight because Jungkook’s serving strikes left and right, and the team is pushing hard, all on their game.

They play hard, bat hard and run hard.

The Jets are the last to bat for the final inning. The score is toe to toe with the opposing team at 10 to 8. The Jets need to get three more home in order to win this.

Yoongi’s batting before him. He doesn’t hit on the first pitch but come the second, he bunts it beautifully and the other team scrambles for the ball. Yoongi gets to first with time to spare.

It’s Jungkook’s turn.

The bases are juiced. He has to hit damn good in order to win this right here, right now.

He rolls his ankles, then his head and gets into position. He takes a deep breath and watches the pitcher’s movements. The pitcher’s got a good poker face, so Jungkook can’t really guess what kind of pitch he’ll be getting, but he’s ready for anything.

The pitcher sends a nasty slider his way and Jungkook throws himself into the hit. The ball goes deep and flies completely out of the park.

It’s a homerun.

Jungkook is overcome with sheer euphoria, smiling so big and throwing his hands up in excitement. The sound of cheering from the crowd sends a tingle up his spine and he feels damn good.

Yoongi, Chanyeol and Taehyung all make it home and Jungkook follows after, making his way around each base. When he reaches home plate the entire team is crashing into him, circling him as they shout and cheer in celebration. Jin is hugging him and Jungkook can see how proud he is in in the way that he happily smiles down at him, patting his back and praising his strong hit. They won the tournament and are taking home the title of Champions.

~

When all is said and done and the crowd has thinned out, Jungkook takes a moment to sit down and breathe. He’s sweating bullets, can feel them trickling down his temples and under his jaw. He seeks out water and gulps it back without pausing for even a second. The boys are all chatting around him, kicking off their cleats and stripping away their jerseys.

“Jungkook?”

Yugyeom is waving him over and so he gets up from his seat and follows him out of the dugout and as soon as he steps foot into the late evening sun, he stops.

Here you stand, with a soft smile and looking so perfect. Yugyeom heads back to the rest of the team and leaves the two of you alone.

Jungkook can hear his heart racing so loudly in his ears. All he can manage to do is stare at you and blink. He hadn’t seen you in what felt like a lifetime and to see you standing here, smiling, sends him into shock.

He looks so good, dirty and sweaty, red in the cheeks from playing hard. It’s the exact same way he looked when you first met him.

“Hi, Jungkook.”

“H-hey.”

You notice that he’s not going to make the first move, and you understand the reasons behind why, so you do it instead. You cross the short distance between you two, getting up nice and close so that you’re only a few inches apart. The heat that radiates off him is so strong that you can feel is wash over you and you bask in it for only a moment.

He remains still, just staring and you want to tell him to close his mouth before he catches flies but you hold off. There are more important things to say.

“Hyojin,” You start and he visibly winces “She came to me yesterday. Told me the truth about everything that happened.”

“S-she did?” He asks, swallowing the lump in his throat. He so badly wants to wrap you in a hug and kiss your face.

“Yes. She cleared everything up for me and at first I didn’t know how to feel. I was really conflicted and confused but… I took the night to think it over and I just want to tell you that I’m sorry.”

Jungkook feels his heart sink. You were sorry. Did that mean that you were done with him completely?

“I’m sorry that I never gave you the opportunity to explain yourself. Sorry that I never stopped to listen. God, I’m just so sorry.” You drop your eyes to look at his chest “I’ve missed you so much, Jungkook. Missed us. I-I want to go back to the way things were. I want you in my life, Jungkook. I want to put this whole entire misunderstanding behind us and just go forward from here.” You let out a heavy breath when you finish.

Jungkook just stands there for a moment, letting everything register in his mind. You quietly wonder if maybe it was too late and the damage was already done. If maybe he’s already started to move past things.

But you’re given your answer when his arms wrap around your waist and he pulls you in, hugging you tightly to his body. He buries his face in the crook of your neck, breathes you in and lets out a shuddering sigh.

“I’ve missed you too. And I’m sorry… for everything.”

You pull away just enough so that you can kiss him silly. It’s sloppy and mostly teeth because the two of you are smiling so widely, but it’s perfect.

From behind him, Jungkook can hear the other’s whistling and hollering.

When the two of you finally part, but not far enough where you can get out of his hold, he questions whether or not you were watching the game (more so, him) the entire time.

“I did. This time willingly,” you laugh “And I’m so proud of you! Congratulations on your big win, Jungkook.”

The blissful reunion is made even more perfect when you pull him down by the collar so that you can whisper in his ear.

“After the celebratory party, take me home so we can really celebrate.”

He didn’t think this day could get any better but boy was he wrong.

“Oh yeah, Jin also admitted to me that he threatened to kick you off the team.”

“Oh?”

“I gave him a lot of shit for it so I don’t think he’ll be sticking his nose in our business again anytime soon.”

Halfway through partying at the pub, the two of you leave without a word to the others. Unlike everyone else, neither of you are drunk, wanting to stay completely sober for later, and so when you start whispering in his ear and kissing his neck, Jungkook practically drags you back to the parking lot where his car is parked.

The moment he unlocks the front door of his dorm, you’re shoving him through the entry way and pushing him up against the wall. You attach your lips to the base of his throat, licking and kissing at it as your fingers work on the buttons on his jersey.

Jungkook just lets you be, thoroughly enjoying the way you take the lead and chase after what you want.

You push the jersey off him and watch as if flutters to the floor, then yank his t-shirt up and over his head because that didn’t need to be worn any longer either. When he’s bare chested in front of you, pushed up against the wall and just watching you with curious eyes, you take a step back.

You remove your top and toss it to the floor, then shimmy out of your jeans shorts. Jungkook gulps hard when he looks your body over, taking in the view of how sexy you look in only a deep red coloured lingerie set.

“Were you planning for this to happen?” He questions you suspiciously, quirking a brow.

You just shrug, smirking “I was preparing for anything. But yes, I had this in mind as a potential end game for the night.”

Jungkook’s laugh is interrupted by a gasp when you suck his nipple into your mouth and follow the shape of his waist with light hands.

“Ow!” He jerks away when you nibble on the overly sensitive nipple, popping it out of your mouth and straightening out.

“What? Don’t like it?”

“I prefer your nipple in my mouth, thank you.” He reaches out and cups the back of your neck, drawing you into a hot kiss, wasting no time in dipping his tongue into your mouth and licking and caressing your tongue with his own.

While he kisses you, sliding his lips against yours and drawing a whine out of you each time he pulls on your bottom lip, you slip your hand between your bodies and run your palm against his forming bulge. To your satisfaction, it grows almost immediately in your hand.

“Hmm, there we are,” You say playfully and a little bit breathlessly when you break away from the kiss.

You move your hand along his length, stroking him through two layers of material but even still, you can feel the heat of his cock against your palm. Your other hand goes to work on undoing his pants, Jungkook keeping himself occupied with sucking hickeys onto the tops of your breasts, hands squeezing at your ass.

When his pants finally loosen, you shove them down to his ankles and out of your way, dropping to your knees and holding back a smirk when he groans from the way you slowly pull him out of his briefs.

He’s red and swollen, leaking precum from the tip and you waste no time in getting to work.

You swipe the pad of your thumb along his slit, spreading out the precum and lubricating the rest of your hand with it by stroking the head of his cock. You use your other hand to drag your nails up along his thigh until you reach his hip, grabbing hold of it. You give him a few pumps with your fist, twisting your wrist just right so that his breath catches.

His hands are tucked back behind his head but the moment your tongue licks at the tip of his cock, they’re falling into your hair and grabbing hold of the strands.

You drag your tongue along the underside of his cock, swirling it around the head before trailing back down just to do it all over again. He licks his lips and tugs a bit at your hair when you take him into your mouth.

You start slow, giving yourself the time to adjust to the intrusion before pulling back and sinking down even further until the entire length of his cock disappears past your lips. He weighs heavy on your tongue and you like the way he sucks a breath in sharply when you swallow around him, so you do it again.

Jungkook’s head knocks against the wall when he throws it back, lips parting to let out a moan that never comes; only a strangled breath in its place. You slide your lips along his length and take all of him so well without any complaint, swallowing around him and making him buck his hips forward.

You hum around him and his eyes drop down to look at you, tears pricking the corners of your eyes and fuck, you look so pretty like this. You pop off of him and replace your mouth with your fist, swirling your tongue around the head, sucking at it as though it were a lollipop.

Jungkook reaches down to place his hand over your own, coaxing you to tighten your hold on his cock, using both your hands to drag him even closer to the edge.

He slows his pace when he gets too close. He doesn’t want to cum like this – right here, right now. There’s so much more he wants to do to you first.

Jungkook pulls you up by your elbows, only whimpering slightly when his cock falls out of your hand. He grabs at your chin with one hand to tilt your head up so that he can lick a long stripe up your throat, while his other hand reaches between your legs and drags three fingers across your panty covered folds.

“You’re soaking, baby,” He breathes into your ear, taking the soft lobe between his teeth and pulling.

You whine when he presses his fingers firmer against you, his fingers getting coated in your juices even through your panties. He makes sure to press circles into the spot where your clit hides and even though he’s not touching it head on, the sensation is enough for you to jolt forward, knocking your forehead into his shoulder.

Your breathing is heavier and your whines become more frequent as he rubs you through the material. It’s so good, but not enough and you grip his forearm tightly.

“Jungkook,” You sigh and the sound of his name falling from your lips sends a bolt of electricity straight to his cock.

“What is it, baby? Hmm? What do you want?” The way he’s purring into your ear and sucking on the sensitive skin just below makes your head spin and your knees even weaker.

“I-I want you, babe, please. Take me to your bedroom and fuck me already,” You beg and it comes out so needy and high pitched that for a second, you wonder if it’s even you who’s speaking.

Jungkook wastes no time and taps your ass, waiting for your jump up and when you do, he hooks his arms around you and holds you by your ass, making his way to the bedroom and trying not to bump into too many things along the way.

He tosses you onto the soft bed and steps back to look you over. He can’t believe how lucky he is to have someone like you spread out like this, pupils dilated and swollen lips, looking up at him with an expression of pure lust painted clearly across your face.

“Fuck,” he growls, bending down to yank your panties down your legs and tossing them over his shoulder. He grabs your knees and spreads you wide, staring down at your folds and admiring the way you glisten even in the dim lighting from the lamp.

“Ah-ahhh!” You moan into the crook of your elbow when he presses in two, thick fingers. Jungkook is no stranger to your body and easily finds your g-spot, mercilessly stroking it repeatedly when he curls his fingers, pumping in and out of you.

If he keeps it up, you won’t last long because already you can feel your stomach tightening and a heat pool inside you. He can tell just where you’re at by the way you arch your back and the pitch of your moans and so he only continuous is ministrations for a few more pumps before he’s pulling his fingers free.

You don’t bother complaining because you know what he’s giving you next will be even better. Jungkook pushes your legs together and rolls you just a little so that your legs and hips are angled to the side and you're twisted comfortably at the waist.

Jungkook fumbles with the condom he grabs from the bedside table, tossing the wrapper away without any thought and rolling the condom down the length of his cock, shuddering at the feeling of being touched.

“How do you want it? You want me to be rough with you? Or do you want it slow?” It takes you absolutely no time to think on it at all.

“Rough, please.”

Jungkook’s pleased with your answer, leaning down and planting a kiss on the side of your ass cheek before giving it a slap and watching it jiggle.

“Tell me to stop if it’s too much.”

And when you nod your head in understanding, he brings one knee to rest on the bed beside you and braces himself with the other leg still on the ground.

Jungkook spreads your apart and pushes himself in between your folds, right into your heat and god is it even tighter inside in this position. He slides all the way in and once he’s buried to the hilt, he pulls back out only to slam forward again.

He fucks into you hard, pacing himself and each time his hips smack into your ass, your body slides forward. But you don’t go far because Jungkook holds on tightly to your waist with one hand, the other grasping your thigh and he drags you down and into each one of his thrusts.

“Oh-oh my god,” You gasp against the blanket when the pace picks up and he starts to pound into you, already breaking a sweat.

Jungkook has incredible stamina and agility and manages to keep it up without any struggle, grunting and groaning at the way you clench around his cock, the soft, wet walls hugging him perfectly.

You awkwardly reach behind you and unclasp your bra, wiggling out of the garment and discarding it up around the pillows. Jungkook takes his gaze away from where he fucks into you and zeroes in on the way your breasts bounce in time with his thrusts.

“Ahh, fuck!” He tosses his head back and shuts his eyes. Already he can feel himself reaching his climax and he needs to express himself somehow so he smacks at your ass and grins when you moan in response.

“J-Jungkook. Jungkook lift me up.”

Jungkook slows himself and pulls out completely, watching as you roll onto your back and get to your feet, standing tall on the bed with shaky knees.

Similar to how he carried you to the room, you latch on to him and he grabs hold of your ass, kneading into the soft flesh. The only difference this time is his cock is pushing deep inside you. This new angle feels equally amazing for the both of you as you moan in unison with Jungkook and you’re more than happy that his stature and muscles can handle the position because it’s by far one of your favourites.

You lock your legs around his hips and in he uses his hold on your ass to drag you up and down, aiding the thrusts of his hips.

You claw at his back, surely leaving behind angry red trails as you bounce on his cock. Jungkook tilts his head down and latches onto your right best, sucking and licking at it before the feral part of him takes over and he bites into the supple mound, leaving behind indents of his teeth.

It hurts but it’s so fucking good at the same time.  

You toss your head back with a low moan, eyes rolling to the back of your head as he repeatedly pounds into you, stroking your g-spot with every jerk of his hips.

“J-Jungkook. Fuck! Jungkook I’m gonna cum,” You pant and he pops off your nipple and growls out his blessing to do so.

You manage to snake a hand between the tight space between your bodies, reaching all the way down until your fingers find your clit. You rub at it, desperate for your release as you repeatedly moan his name like some mantra.

Jungkook can’t take it anymore. The way you tighten around his cock and the ever growing buildup in his loins has him racing to the finish line, the sound of his name dripping from your lips sending him crashing; cumming into the condom with a guttural moan and eyes screwed shut.

He doesn’t stop though, not until you’re throwing your head back and crying out his name so loudly he thinks that even the neighbours can hear. It feels amazing as he fucks you slowly through your orgasm, easing you off and onto the bed when it becomes too much for the both of you.

There’s nothing but both your pants and the sound of traffic filling the small room. Jungkook slips the condom off and ties it before tossing it in the trash can, coming back over to the edge of the bed where you lie and flops down next to you.

Automatically your curl into his side, resting your head against his chest and just listening to the way his heart races rapidly.

When you’ve both finally catch your breath and the two of you are calmer, you clear your throat and speak through a sated smile.

“So, the teams Ace scores the second homerun of the night. How do you feel, Mr. Jeon?”

Jungkook’s laugh sounds much deeper with your head pressed against him. “I feel like this is definitely my most favourite homerun of the night.”

The two of you laugh, naked and curled up into each other, enjoying one another’s presence. However, only five minutes pass before you’re popping up from his chest and looking over at him with a devilishly.

“What?” He asks, raising his eyebrows in question.

“You still got that little black bag with that little silver toy in it?”

Jungkook lights up at the mention, cock twitching in interest. You’re wiggling your brows at him and he thinks he’s dreaming as he stumbles over to the bedside table and snatches up the bag, flopping back down on the bed and tossing it your way.

Jungkook would be a fool to say he wasn’t in love with you, because if this wasn’t love, then he has no idea what is.

[davetheshady]

It Devours! liveblog 4

Part 1 here

Part 2 here

Part 3 here

Chapters 21-30!

Nils and Darryl have a cunning plan: dress up like giant bananas.

By which I mean they’ll put on JoyCon’s ceremonial yellow robes, hats, and hoods, but, you know.

Nils will take Darryl’s place during the JoyCon service, while Darryl searches the offices for incriminating evidence – if he gets caught, they probably won't do anything too drastic. Despite trying to believe in Darryl, Nils still doesn't trust him, but doesn't have any better ideas.

and the simplicity of sPILLING IT ALL OVER HER DESK WHYYYY

Do you think this means, like, the Night Vale Erin Brockovich features Julia Roberts going on a telekinetic rampage?

Nils makes her way into JoyCon's main... churchy... place. They keep referring to the "stained glass columns" but I think they're actually just stained glass windows that are tall and skinny (so, like a lot of stained glass windows). Unless I'm wrong and they're an architectural installation by noted artist Dale Cthulhuy.

The proceedings begin and we find out too late that there is... 

folk music

Any relation to the Man in the Yellow Hat? Is Curious George the Leah Remini of the JoyCon community?

Pastor Munn then starts her sermon/slideshow.

This is literally just Tumblr.

FUCK OFF SPACE EGG

Honestly one of the biggest twists in this part is that everyone concludes prayers with "Amen", suggesting that JoyCon has roots in Judeo-Christian traditions. 

The more Nils hears, the more suspicious she becomes:

Ok, so this is probably going to turn out to be right, but hilarious I did not even blink at the rhetoric of the sermon, because most religions have their weird jargon, and you’d think that’d go double for Night Vale. This is like going to mass and concluding that Catholics are about to perpetrate vampiric cannibalism, what with all the body eating and blood drinking. (And no, you're not wrong, that would be an awesome horror story.) So it seems, idk, hasty that Nils treats this as an admission of guilt (and not just a potential admission of guilt, it IS pretty suspicious). 

This just in: Nils is a walking OSHA violation.

The Pastor calls on Nils to participate, but she pukes to avoid having to answer and blow her cover. Good thinking! She fake flees to the bathroom (again) and meets up with Darryl, who has found stuff a bunch of suspicious papers.

Unfortunately, they've been rumbled. Pastor Munn and Gordo(n) pull Nils and Darryl into the office, and Nils accuses JoyCon of plotting to summon the Smiling God to eat everyone.

Well, at least DARRYL knows what a metaphor is

Pastor Munn confirms that Nils is, in fact, totally correct about the Smiling God.

Eat them all and let God sort them out

Poor Darryl but also: this is hilarious

We then have a brief interlude with JoyCon member Martin for some reason, and I only mention it because apparently he's related to Shallan Davar. MOSTLY VOIDBRINGERS, PARTIALLY STARS.

o/` lightweaver, lightweaver / we know how to do it o/`

Munn and Gordo(n) let Nils go, confident that Darryl is a faithful member of the JoyCon and that there's nothing she can do to stop them. She agrees with them, to her despair, but she's determined to find Carlos and see if they can come up with anything. So she heads to the Grand Reopening of Big Rico's (for the record, still a big hole filled with worms).

Before she can clue him in, they run into John Peters - you know, the farmer - who apparently never remembers Nils' name:

And then they run into Janice, Abby, and Steve!

Adorable.

Speaking of families, Nils had gone back to visit hers, but it doesn't always work that well:

Sidenote: I have friends who celebrate it as a cultural/secular event, but Diwali is also a religious festival? Is Nils cool with family members potentially being practicing Hindus? That seems like it would be relevant.

Nils starts telling Carlos what she's learned, but they're interrupted by a gathering of hooded figures. John Peters - you know, the farmer - is trapped and falls in the pit! Nils tackles a hooded figure to save him! It's all very exciting and I have no idea what the point of any of it is, but she’s eventually able to join back up with Carlos. 

I am also screaming

.FINALLY, Nils tells Carlos what’s going on.

Nils is now determined that if anything is threatening HER town, she's going to stop it. Then she and Carlos discuss the hooded figures (which apparently are attracted to entrances to other dimensions??? So... all of Night Vale?? Those things are everywhere) and Carlos drops a huge bomb about the desert otherworld:

I don't know why he WANTED to stay there, with Cecil, if that's the case (c.f. “A Carnival Comes to Town”, “Monolith”, “Faceless Old Women”, etc etc) but whatever: that sucks.

Meanwhile at JoyCon, Darryl gets grilled by the church higher-ups, but his friends stick up for him. Awww, Darryl's friends. We also get some interesting info about JoyCon's history.

So... going by "Triptych", I guess Strex Corp forced Kevin into the Desert Otherworld, and when he got back he'd been brainwashed into the creepy person we know and... know, and started or perpetuated the Smiling God as Strex's official religion?

Anyway, the chapter ends with everyone shouting things like "For teeth's sake!" and "Joyfully, it devours!" Drink!

Nils wakes up from a nightmare she doesn't remember (lucky) and watches some TV.

Truly, Night Vale is a crazy backwards world.

But then!

Oh no! The gym! Janice! Nils' pants!

However, I think having Janice be in danger is actually less effective than the other pit victims? We definitely know she's still alive and playing basketball in the most recent episodes. But with Larry Leroy and Big Rico's and the Ralphs, it's hard to remember when they were last mentioned, so while we were assuming everything was fine with these Night Vale institutions, instead everything was NOT fine. There were horrible tragedies and we didn't even know.

Also, it turns out Janice is fine. There's a nice scene where Nils interviews Josh Crayton, who's upset that he froze and couldn't do anything when the pit opened up, but Janice took charge and saved a whole lot of people. However, as someone who works at a high school I have some SERIOUS concerns about their safety procedures throughout this whole section. Please evacuate the room with the GIANT HOLE IN THE FLOOR and don't let random people onto the campus, even if they are the main character!

Even though Janice is okay, Carlos is like, freaking out, man, and needs Cecil to comfort him.

...asphalt? Like, outside? Unless there's asphalt in the gym? Look, I don't know, it's Night Vale.

Take selfies!

Eww Pamela's tongue

Pamela tells Nils to stop interfering, because contrary to popular belief they're NOT actually cool with a giant centipede eating Night Vale, and if Nils stays involved she might make the Smiling God situation worse. However, we end with Carlos vowing to start interfering even more, because no one's almost eating his niece on his watch.  

As Nils leaves, one of JoyCon's sketchy white vans starts following her again. She snaps and decides to turn the tables.

Perhaps a sort of salute, with one finger?

She traps the van behind the Best Buy and demands a confrontation, and who should emerge but Darryl and his friends??

Well, okay, I guess that's not THAT surprising. We only know, like, five people in JoyCon.

Although I guess the centipede could have been driving. Now THAT would have been a surprise.