#bad ending fic

[bluejay-writes]

MysticTober 2024 - Day 15: Bad End: Waiting.

Rating: T (Violence) Prompt: Empty/Hurt WordCount: 2225 Summary: Saeran is saved. They've made it to the party at long last. But they didn't account for every variable, and it's going to cost them. Author's Notes: MC in this fic is named Abigail, nickname Cal, and she's the feature MC of a new full-run messenger fic I have in the works with a friend, @rogue-knifehead. If you're interested in more shenanigans with Cal, including "how did we get here" and "but what's the good ending like", stay tuned.

Saeran looked around the party venue, somewhat uncomfortable as he stood near the bar with Vanderwood. He knew what the plan was. He knew what was coming, and still, he felt like he was going to be sick.

Vanderwood quietly put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at the former agent.

“We’ve planned for this. You have to trust them to do their part, or what’s the point?”  Vanderwood was right, of course, but what Saeran was most afraid of were the parts of the savior’s plan… no, of Rika’s plan that he didn’t know about, that they couldn’t plan around. He wanted to be sure they’d be fine, but some of the pessimism that he’d steeled himself with before he left Magenta was soaking back in, despite his best efforts.  If something happened to Cal, or to Saeyoung, or heaven forbid any of these other idiots… he would never forgive himself.

Cal was busy greeting the rest of the guests as they entered, and Saeran was honestly happy to stay out of the way, out of the spotlight. Things were already tense, and he didn’t particularly want to draw the attention of the Believers he knew would be in the crowd.  They were unlikely to clock him at first glance - he was wearing a white suit, and Unknown.. Ray… they wouldn’t have been caught dead in white before they left.  White was the Savior’s Color.  But when Saeyoung had offered it to him, he knew. It was his best chance of blending in.  Sure, sure, it had pink lapels, which made the pink tips of his hair stand out more, but was that really a bad thing?  Zen had said he looked a bit like a KPop star trying to dress down, and he thought that seemed… odd, but then he knew nothing at all about music these days. Or any days, if he was being honest.

Everything he did know about Mint Eye’s infiltration plans they had a counter for. Jaehee had completely rebuilt the presentation from absolute scratch overnight, even including the graphics they’d been planning on using, given how much Saeran knew about the embedded subliminals, it was the safest choice.  Saeyoung had made new firewall algorithms to keep out hacking attempts.  Jumin had doubled the number of bodyguards, adding an equal number of plain-clothes operatives amongst the partygoers as his usual black-tie squad obviously keeping things orderly.  Vanderwood was, while a guest themselves, his very own bodyguard.  No one had even had to ask them, they appointed themselves.  It was probably because Cal was worried, but Saeran wasn’t going to turn down the friendly gesture.  The agent was part of his life at this point, no matter what else happened.

The party had gotten well underway, and nothing untoward had happened.  Everyone seemed to be relaxing, but Saeran was more and more on edge.  Something was wrong, and he knew something was wrong.  He’d moved over to stand with Cal, Vanderwood at his side as usual. He looked up, and saw something that broke the thin layer of ice holding back his panic.  Cal was holding the teal and pink sport bottle he always saw her with on the cameras, about to take a long drink of water. Only… she’d left that bottle at the apartment. 

“Cal!” He called to her, his voice choked with panic, reaching out towards her bottle.  She stopped suddenly, just as his hand reached hers, and the motion sloshed the water out of the bottle to splash at his feet. His panic spiked into abject terror as the liquid soaking into the cuffs of his tuxedo pants wasn’t white but distinctly…. mint green.  The smell of it wafted up to greet him and he clapped a hand over his mouth, his jaw locked tight against his body’s instinctive response to purge.

Cal looked at Saeran and knew she needed to get him out of there and to a bathroom where he could vomit in peace but also where she could try to rinse the teal liquid out of his cuffs.  The smell was wretched, sickly-sweet but also acrid in a way that made her hair stand on end. She almost drank that the way she drank water. She’d have had half of the bottle down her throat before she knew she had a problem.  A shiver ran down her spine, and she knew that later she was going to fall apart, but right now Saeran was in no way capable of handling the situation, and it was his turn to be not-okay. She’d worry about her own mental situation later. As usual.

“Can you take him to the bathroom? I’ll catch up.” Cal said to Vanderwood, who nodded, and started leading Saeran out of the banquet hall toward the restrooms.

She capped the bottle, turned, and caught Zen’s eye.  She’d only met the actor in person today, but he was just as insufferably narcissistic and affectionate as he had been in the messenger. Surprisingly uptight due to the internalized misogyny, but just as good a friend in person as in text. Way taller than she expected, and definitely as hot as advertised…. oh. Her focus was shot.  Apparently her look gave something away, because he came over immediately, sensing the problem, and she handed him the bottle. 

“Take this to Jaehee. Do not open it. Do not drink it. Tell her it’s evidence, and that Rika is or has been here.”  Zen nodded, and she almost couldn’t tell that he’d been shocked by what she’d said, but the slight widening of his eyes gave him away.  He turned and walked off, and Cal took a breath before turning to head out to catch up with Vanderwood and Saeran.  Sure, Vanderwood was perfectly capable of taking care of Saeran and protecting him, but the thought of leaving Saeran during all of this made her intensely uncomfortable.

Cal hurried down the hallway, grateful in that moment that she’d chosen to wear flats.  She was short enough that heels wouldn’t have made a difference in height for her the way it did for Jaehee, but the flats definitely let her move faster and more silently. She paused to take a breath when she reached the bathroom.  She knew they’d chosen the family bathroom so Saeran could have some privacy, which would also be much less awkward than her sitting in the men’s room with him. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she missed the telltale sound of heeled footsteps.

“Looks like they got a little careless, and left their new party planner all alone.” A saccharine-sweet voice said behind her, and Cal swiveled to see a blonde woman, taller than Cal but still short, with piercing green eyes. This must be Rika. She thought, considering the photos she’d seen, the woman looked sharper somehow.

“Is there something I can do for you ma’am, or someone I can find? I’m just on my way to the restroom, but—” It’d be easier to get out of this if she didn’t try to accuse Rika of anything right off the bat….. despite the sheer number of things the woman had done that were horrible, not to mention illegal.  She had to convince Rika to go back to the party, where all of the guards were, where people who knew what she looked like would spot her, where everyone would be safer.

“Oh, I’m here looking for you in particular.” Rika said, taking a step closer. “I’m surprised you managed to notice I was here before you drank your water.  This would be so much easier for you if you were cleansed, Abigail.”

Cal shivered. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her given name, but hearing it from Rika just made her incredibly uncomfortable. “Ma’am, I think you should go back to the party.” Cal said, hoping to get her to leave the area Saeran was in. “I can’t really help you with anything out here, but if you look for anyone with an RFA lanyard, I’m sure they can help you out until I return.”

“Hmm. So formal.” She stepped closer again, almost toe-to-toe with Cal, who refused to step back. She had to keep this woman from getting to Saeran or finding out where he was, no matter what.  He was safe with Vanderwood, so long as Rika couldn’t get back in his head. “That scent…”  her eyes flared hot. “You.  It’s You. You Did This.”

Cal flinched. She wanted to stand strong in the face of the suddenly angry woman in her personal space, but the fire of that anger burned so hot and fast that it overwhelmed her.

“You stole Ray from me.” Rika continued, her voice shifting manic, with a sharp laughter to it. “So, who else will you take from me? Will you take all of my believers one by one?  Will you hold all of the RFA in your tiny hands so that none of them are free to come to Paradise?”

Cal took a breath. “I have so many things I could say to you, Rika.”  She hated how airy her voice was right now, but this woman was legitimately frightening, and at this point she was just trying to buy time so that someone would come check on her.

“Lies, of course.  Would they be the same lies you told my Ray?”  Something in her tone was terrifying. All of the light had gone out of her eyes, and Cal felt herself starting to tremble from the adrenaline.

“Alright, I think we should both calm down.” Cal said, holding her palms out and taking a step back from Rika. “We’re getting agitated, and that never helped anyone.”

“Ray promised me that he would stay with me. That he would help me reach the pinnacle of our paradise together. Why would he break his promise?” 

Was she not listening to anything I just said?

“You stole Ray, and now V has also gone missing.  I created the Mint Eye and saved people… What is all that ever for, without them? You’re just the same… You’re just like those people who thrust me into darkness! I trusted them. Trusted… Believed in…  And now my light is gone. My sun. My moon.  I truly loved them, and you took them from me.  They will only come back to me when you’re gone.”

Rika lunged forward and grabbed at Cal’s collar, pulling her forward even as she sank a knife into her stomach, its blade hot and sharp.

Cal sucked in a breath through her teeth, the pain robbing her even of the voice to scream.

“I’ll finish this scene for the both of us.” Rika said darkly, plunging the knife into Cal repeatedly before pushing her away, allowing her to slump to the floor, boneless.

Saeran heard what could only be Rika’s voice raised in anger, and struggled his way out of the panic that gripped him simply at hearing her.  If Rika was here, if she was somewhere that he could hear from the bathroom, then… Cal was in danger.

“Vanderwood… Cal…”  He rasped out through the panic, and Vanderwood nodded, leaving the restroom.  

Saeran scrambled to his feet to follow the agent, making it out of the door just in time to see Cal slump to the ground.  The Savior was laughing and running the opposite direction, and Vanderwood looked at him and then at Cal, and at her attacker. The shock at seeing Cal covered in blood broke through the panic, and Saeran nodded at Vanderwood.

“Go get her, I’ve got Cal.”  He ripped his phone out of his pocket and dialed Jumin, calling for help, even as he sunk to his knees next to Cal, his suit jacket pressed against her wounds to try and keep as much blood in her body as he could.

The party had been shut down at that point, everyone sent home, and an official investigation into Cal’s attack and the cult began.  They couldn’t sit back and let it continue in quiet, not now that someone had been grievously injured by its leader.  Saeran told them everything he could, no longer afraid for his life while Cal’s hung in the balance.  

Surgery to repair her injuries took hours. Long hours under the knife, and so so much blood.  Even after the doctors proclaimed her stable, she didn’t wake.  They said this could happen, with her body under so much stress, she’d slipped into a comatose state.  She could wake up anytime… or never.

“Saeran, you need to get some rest. Go home, shower, rest.  Take a few days for  yourself. I swear to you that we will call the instant something changes.” Jaehee was worried, of course, about him. And for Cal.

He looked up from his vigil next to Cal’s bed and shook his head. “She could wake up.  I need to be here when she wakes up. She needs to know that I’m fine. That everything is going to be alright.”

Jaehee sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to win this argument. They’d had it countless times in the past three weeks.  She’d saved him, all of him, so many times.  Waiting for her was the least he could do.

Wake up, Cal, I need you. We need you.

[hajihiko]

Nice night 🌘

[mushgloomz]

A New Perspective

Joel Miller x F!Reader OneShot

• an: y’all i have been GAGGED over some of the sex pollen fics I’ve read recently and i truly couldn’t help myself. as usual, this is not proofread whatsoever and was merely written in a horny-for-Joel-Miller induced haze, so apologies for any errors you may come across <3

• warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI - SMUT/NSFW CONTENT. SEX POLLEN (DUBCON). unprotected p in v (not worth it irl!! don’t do it!!), reader is afab, able-bodied and has hair. language, descriptions of genitalia, pet names (baby, baby girl, sugar etc.), joel has a fat cawk but what’s new, creampie

• wc: approx 5.2k

Late spring had washed over Wyoming, introducing a plethora of flora and fauna to what was a barren waste of ice all but a few months earlier. Luscious greenery stretched as far as the eye could see; the snow-capped mountain range barricaded by acres of plentiful forestry. It was beautiful. A soft breeze swilled around your head as you took in the view from your vantage point.

“Would’ve asked for a different partner if I knew you’d stand around gawpin’ all day.”

Reality trickled back into focus as the grumble from your foraging partner reached your ears. Joel Miller, Jackson’s own resident asshole, had been paired with you four days prior to complete a week-long expedition. You’d been sent off to retrieve anything of value from abandoned settlements, and to stock up on ingredients for herbal remedies. How you’d fallen under the misfortune of being partnered with the most miserable bastard in the county was beyond you.

Joel hadn’t even turned to voice his complaint, continuing to walk toward the tree line. You mentally weighed up whether being left to raiders could really be that bad, before scampering off to rejoin him with a huff. “Didn’t exactly choose to be here myself, dickwad”, you hollered, falling on deaf ears as you closed the distance between yourself and the man ahead of you.

You reached the tree line, standing to inspect the foliage before you.

“If you’ve got anything stupid to say, get it out your system now. I ain’t dying on your count ‘cause you can’t keep your mouth shut.”

He couldn’t be more condescending if he tried. He stood at arm’s length beside you, rich brown eyes staring you down, arms crossed across his chest in a display of patronising authority. A singular eyebrow raised in your direction, prompting you to break the silence. “Oh fuck off already”, you mumbled as you barged past him and onto the dirt path, intentionally knocking into him with your shoulder as you went.

The woods were thick. Shrubbery of all varieties grew between the trunks and twisted roots of staggeringly tall trees as you edged your way further inwards. Insects provided a constant thrumming sound, broken only by the twittering of small birds, high above the underbelly on which you walked. Once in a while, a twig would snap underfoot, followed by a hushed shut up from Joel trailing behind you.

You peered through branches, your mental checklist of ingredients being ticked off gradually as you foraged through the underbrush, scoping out your remaining items. The ground was unforgiving, swelling and receding with reckless abandon, threatening to throw you off balance at any given moment. You continued your trudge, until you came across a small and unusual clearing.

You kept your volume low as you enquired about the strange plant ahead of you. “What… what the fuck is that one?”, your curiosity piqued by the shrub in the middle of the clearing, seemingly warding off any and all other vegetation. You stepped forward, wanting to get a closer look at the vibrant blooms spreading across the tangled mass of deep green leaves and twisted branches.

“Christ, don’t you have any survival skills? Where’d you learn to stick your nose into plants that you don’t recognise? G’damn FEDRA didn’t teach you shit, clearly.”

The hiss of Joel’s words were delivered straight into your ear as you were yanked backwards by a firm hand on your shoulder. Not to give him any credit, but you hadn’t realised quite how close you had gotten to the bright red petals in front of you. You jerked your shoulder from his grasp and shot him a warning glare.

“Get movin’, next settlement should be ‘bout a half mile from here.”

It was Joel’s turn to barge past you, leading the way around the small glade and past the shrub. You couldn’t tear your eyes from the blossoms adorning it’s branches, the crimson colouring almost magnetising to your eyes. You hadn’t been paying attention to your footing as you passed, and before you could rebalance, you stumbled over an overgrown root and found yourself tumbling into the sprawling clump of petals and greenery.

Despite the prickle of broken branches, toppling over had been less of a pain in the ass than a majority of the expedition. The smell, for one, was divine. It was powdery and light, yet simultaneously heady and almost nauseatingly sweet. You couldn’t describe it even if you tried. And tried you did, as you sat and breathed deeply through your nose, not even attempting to right yourself. A calloused hand breached the branches directly in front of your face.

“Get. Up. Now.”

But even Joel’s sour tone couldn’t distract from the aroma. You clasped both hands around the one ahead of you, and with a grunt coming from the other side of the branches, you were hauled up and out of the bush onto your feet. The smell clung to your clothes as you brushed twigs and squashed petals from your body. Joel did the same, having leant a fair distance into the centre of the plant to retrieve you.

As soon as you were stable again, Joel took off without another word. You didn’t care particularly. You trailed a few feet behind, cautiously watching your steps to avoid another fiasco. You walked in silence, arms swinging gently by your side, ambling along. You sighed. As you scanned the environment, you realised that everything had become slightly hazy, the borders of your vision tinged with a fuzziness that hadn’t been there before.

“Did I hit my head on the way down?”, you questioned out loud. It was the only explanation you could think of; the only answer as to why everything in your field of vision had taken on an almost shimmering iridescence. Sunlight breaching the canopy of trees beamed down and quite literally sparkled. Warm hues were more pronounced - an ambience that you hadn’t noticed before surrounding you as you continued to sidle along the path. Joel didn’t answer, remaining steadfast in his pace.

Ten minutes passed, and you noticed that your skin felt hot and clammy underneath your clothing. Trailing a hand toward your neck, you unclasped the buttons of the denim jacket that suddenly felt all too much for this weather. Shit, maybe you did hit your head. But this didn’t feel like a typical concussion; everything looked far too pleasant, the melding shades of green and brown making you hum unexpectedly, as if you were purring. Everything felt… good.

“Sh-should be five minutes from here now.”

The sound reached your ears, a rumble from just ahead of you. It was warm, much like yourself, like everything else; viscous like honey and borderline blissful to hear. Heavy eyelids lifted from the path in front of your feet as you glanced toward the source. Joel. Unlike everything in your periphery, Joel was crystal clear.

You took him in, in all his glory. And glorious he was, as he swaggered in front of you, strong legs stepping rhythmically across moss and detritus. You’d never noticed quite how broad he was across his shoulders as your eyes worked their way up his back. Curls sprung from his nape, perspiration making unkempt hair even more unruly. It made you salivate. A source of light just beyond him let you know that you were nearing the edge of the forest, the settlement you’d be pitching up in for the evening just ahead. And that’s when he turned his head, painfully slow, to glance over his shoulder at you as he walked.

It was like you had been electrocuted, or stung, or something. Eyes that had rarely held anything but disdain for you now frenzied looking, pupils blown out. Ravenous. The glance lasted far, far too long, or at least it seemed like it did. A plush pink tongue swept over parted lips and you damn near gasped. A singular bead of sweat sat atop his usually furrowed brow, now knitted in a delectable blend of need and desperation. That’s when the ache started, deep in the pit of your stomach, inescapable. Your breath sat heavy in your chest, each inhale seemingly adding to this godforsaken pressure now lingering between your legs.

Not once had you thought of Joel in a sexual manner, you thought to yourself as you stepped into the sunlight beyond the tree line. He was always so unimpressed by you, so harsh and scolding. He was handsome, no one would argue that point, but his sharp tongue and unrelenting judgement of others made him unapproachable. How stupid of you, to overlook something quite so beautiful. Your stomach knotted, painfully aching as you continued to watch him head toward the small building a mere few metres away.

Each step became arduous as you reached the abandoned house, your thighs rubbing in your jeans. Joel didn’t hesitate to enter, swinging the door open, mumbling bathroom in your direction before slinking off upstairs. It was so unlike him, to act so precariously. Why did it make you wet? You eyed an armchair, hideously upholstered in a carpet-like fabric, before approaching and resting. As soon as your ass hit the cushion, your thighs pressed together as though your very own body may betray you if you didn’t seek to contain yourself. Teeth clasped your bottom lip, a stifled whimper echoing in the room. Did you just make that noise?

You were desperately uncomfortable. The armchair played no part, the discomfort stemming purely from yourself. You rubbed your legs together, the friction offering no relief. Hazy-eyed, you peered around the room. Joel hadn’t returned. God, how long had it been since he went upstairs? You crossed your legs, your core hot with an unrelenting need to act. The thought of touching yourself, slipping a hand under the waistband of your jeans, sprung to mind. You shook it off, and no sooner had you done so, you whined. Animalistic, like a bitch in heat. You were no better than any wanton animal, desperately seeking out relief from the ache that consumed you.

What the fuck was going on? Why were you acting like this, so uncontrolled, so unhinged? Your back arched against the chair behind you, eyes squeezed shut and inhaling deeply. You had to do something, anything, to settle the ache inside you. You hesitantly unfurled your legs, biting your lip harder. Your thighs trembled as you stood, and you willed them to carry you toward the staircase that Joel had disappeared up.

After braving the stairs, you could see a number of doors. One was open, a trail of wet footprints leading from it and toward another, the end of the path being cut off by a closed oak door. You followed the footsteps in reverse, heading toward the bathroom. You could smell the pine shower gel that had been wrangled from the mirrored cabinet above the sink, the cracked tile underneath you slippery.

You closed the cabinet and looked at yourself. Staring back at you, eyes wide and dazzling, pupils stretching your irises into a thin circle of colour around a bottomless pit of pitch black, was a version of you that you’d never seen before. Your hair was windswept, flyaways sticking to damp skin on your face. There was something feral about the woman that looked back at you. She was beautiful. Without thinking, you reached out to touch the cool surface of the mirror, in awe of how her lips parted just so, cheeks flushed and chest heaving. The ache returned and interrupted your admiration with a ferocity unmatched.

You wanted relief. No, needed relief. As you stood, you trailed a hand down your chest, past your naval, and down to the button of your jeans. Your fingers fumbled for just a moment before threading the button through its hole, immediately seeking out the metal zipper after. You didn’t even bother with shedding the denim from your legs. A supple hand slid its way over your mound and toward your clit, slick and saturated with want. Bracing yourself with one hand on the porcelain sink, forehead pressed against your own cold reflection in the mirror, you began to draw slow circles around yourself.

A heady moan left your mouth, your clit sensitive under your touch, the relief your fingers could offer barely scraping the surface. The frustration swelled inside you as your fingers drew tighter circles, adjusting both pressure and pace in a bid to meet your climax. A strangled sound escaped your throat, high pitched and breathy, as you came, the ache inside you merely ebbing before burning brighter than before. This wouldn’t be enough, you thought, as you rinsed your fingers under icy water from the tap and wiped them on your jeans.

That’s when you heard it. Quiet, muffled by brick and wood, coming from a different room. A groan, somehow both pained and yet drowning in bliss. You’d barely finished re-buttoning your jeans before your feet had moved of their own accord, seeking more of the sweet sound that you knew could only be coming from one person. There was something so wrong, so obscene, about you stood outside of the doorway, ear pressed against chipped wood. The breathing inside was laboured, part grunt, part sigh. It may as well have been a live wire entering your eardrums, the way that it electrified you and made the hair on your arms stand on end.

You pressed harder against the door, pleading for more of the delicious noises to reach you. Your stomach coiled and churned, painful and hot, tension brewing across your shoulders as you fought to keep yourself upright. Teeth found your bottom lip once more, stifling your own lewd sounds, praying that you wouldn’t be caught in such a compromising position. It was then that you heard it, quieter than any noise that proceeded it, but it was there. Your name, moaned at a volume no louder than a whimper, intoxicatingly melodic as it reverberated inside your head. Your jaw was slack, spit pooling, and a moan left your mouth with no warning.

You clapped a hand over your mouth the moment it had happened, but it was too late. The sound of springs shifting, of feet making contact with floorboards, replaced the lusty melody as you span on your heels and pressed your back against the wall beside the door. You sank to a crouch as footsteps neared the doorway, and clarity breached your mind just for a moment, the consequences of your voyeurism being weighed up. Joel was a dangerous man, that much you knew, and you silently hoped that he would be forgiving as the doorknob twisted.

The door cracked open ever-so slightly. You could hear panting through the gap as you willed your own chest to settle. Door edging open, you squeezed your eyes shut, as if not seeing Joel would make the whole scenario better, as if you hadn’t just been caught in the act. With your eyes closed, you could smell him, like your remaining senses had been switched on for the very first time. He smelt of vetiver and musk, of leather and whiskey. Had your eyes not been shut, you’re sure you would’ve seen stars.

The crouch that had been holding you against the wall failed you, your thighs trembling and buckling, and your knees made contact with the hardwood floor underneath. Head ducked, you opened your eyes slowly and were met with the view of unlaced boots. Your gaze lingered as you raised your head, taking in strong thighs wrapped in starched denim, a shirt thrown haphazardly over an otherwise bare torso. A trail of dark curls closed the gap between naval and waistband, a runway for your eyes to follow, leading you to the thick imprint of a cock aching to be released from its confines. You drew your eyes away from it after a moment, and with your heart hammering inside your chest, you glanced up to Joel’s face.

“Get up.”

His voice was commanding but non-aggressive. There was a hint of desperation, as if you needed convincing. He looked down at you, soaking you in, and you wondered whether he too saw the beauty in the wild woman you’d seen in the mirror. Cheeks and neck pink with warmth, he held out a hand, which you took gratefully. Touching him, touching skin that wasn’t yours, was exhilarating. His hand swallowed yours, the skin of his palm firm and coarse, fingers thick and long. He hoisted you up to your feet, dropping your hand and scanning your face.

“Can’t be around you. Ya gotta go downstairs, can’t trust myself.”

Joel could’ve been speaking in tongues for all you knew. All you had heard was a throaty grumble, your attention all but consumed by the shape of his mouth as he spoke. The way his jaw tensed as he paused, Adam’s apple bobbing as he gulped in air. You swear his cock twitched in his jeans as your name left his mouth. You felt hotter than the sun, resisting the urge to double over as pressure reached a crippling peak between your thighs. “J-Joel, I need you to help me”, your voice cracking, pleading with him. You watched pink swipe over his lips, now glistening, hand reaching out and clutching at his bicep to steady yourself instinctively. “I don’t know what’s happening to me, please. Please, just-“.

Your sentence was cut short as a firm thumb found its way to your lips, coaxing them to part as it pulled the lower one down. Strong fingers held your chin up. Muscles flexed beneath your hand, tensing much like the ones you watched in Joel’s jaw. Tears welled in your eyes, threatening to escape as your insides boiled, only fueled by the contact on your skin.

“Shhh now baby. You feelin’ it too? Reckon it was that damn plant, not been able to walk straight since you fell in it.”

Baby. The way it rolled from his tongue so naturally, like he’d always wanted to call you it. It made you feel giddy, head lulling harder into his grasp. You didn’t attempt to stifle the whine that left you. His fingers flexed around your chin, and he hummed his approval, the sound emanating from low in his throat.

“Oh darlin’, gotten yourself in a real state ain’t ya? Tell me what you need. Tell me how I can make it better.”

Was this really happening? His thumb brushed over your bottom lip before he removed his hand, placing it on your upper arm and squeezing gently. Your breathing was shallow, words unable to form. A wave of pressure swelled low in your abdomen and without thinking, you tip-toed, tilting your head up to reach Joel’s, and kissed his cheek. Stubble scratched at the swell of your lips, and the smell of him so close drove you to the brink of frenzy. It appeared the same happened to Joel, as he tightened his grip on your arm, bringing his other hand to sit flat on the small of your back and pressing you toward him in one fluid motion.

His mouth met yours with a vigour unparalleled; his tongue forcing its way into your mouth, all-consuming and dominant in its nature. You were putty under his touch, his hand following the arch in your spine up toward your hair. Breathing was no longer a priority - you needed this man more than oxygen. A fistful of your hair found itself wrapped around Joel’s hand, and with a firm tug, your neck was exposed. You were his for the taking.

Lips traced along the length of your neck, occasionally nipping and sucking as they made their way down to your clavicle. Flat-tongued and panting, Joel worked his back up toward your ear, licking as he went. Any self-restraint you may have possessed was long gone; begging him to give you all that he had. “Please, I need - oh fuck - I need you”, your hushed tone perceptible only to his ears. He stopped his attack on your neck and collar, eyes dark with desire, releasing his grip on you only for a moment before grabbing at your wrist and pulling you into the room that he had left.

The room contained little more than a double bed, a nightstand and a dresser. The bed was in a state of disarray, sheets peeling at the corners, a pillow lost to the floor. The smell of sex hung in the air, the aroma giving Joel and his earlier activities away. You squirmed from his grip to remove your jacket, far too aware of its weight on your aching body. Hands deftly made their way to the hem of your t-shirt, before lifting and shedding yet another layer. You stood, your upper half bare, and looked at Joel.

“Fuck, look so pretty for me baby. Gonna make you feel so good, promise.”

The words fell from his mouth, rumbling and low, and it sent chills up your spine where his hands had not long been. You’d no doubt soaked your panties, and at this rate, your jeans wouldn’t be far behind. With an almost pained expression, Joel tore his eyes from you and moved toward the bed, shrugging the shirt off of his bare torso and letting fall to the ground. He turned, facing you again, and sat himself on the edge of the bed, patting his thigh, beckoning you over. He leant back on a single propped arm, shifting his hips to accommodate the somehow still growing bulge in his jeans. It was vulgar to witness, and you moved quickly toward him.

Hands found your hips as you stood before him, feet planted between spread legs. He worked one hand over your zipper, and tucking both thumbs into your waistband, pulled both your jeans and panties to the ground in one fell swoop. He drew his lips toward your stomach, placing wet kisses in a downward direction, his breath hot against your exposed flesh. Goosebumps prickled along your legs, blood replaced entirely by red-hot adrenaline, as he neared your core.

“S’all mine, you hear me?”

No sooner had the words reached your ears, did you feel Joel’s hand snaking it’s way up your inner thigh toward your cunt. In a desperate bid to stop yourself from rocking your hips forward, you instead opted to nestle your hand into thick brown curls, tugging hard and reaping the rewards - a moan cascading from Joel’s mouth. “Please, Joel, I can’t - need something, anything”, you begged, as though your life depended on it. It very well may, you thought; the heat in your core reaching a precipice and threatening to bring you to your knees with its blistering pain. You felt a number of fingers drag through your folds, hot and slick, before two were pushed inside you without warning. You yelped, not with pain, but with a scorching desire for more.

“So fuckin’ wet for me baby. Must be hurtin’ real bad.”

You whined as the fingers inside you curled, brushing against the velveteen walls of your cunt, deeper than you’d ever been able to reach yourself. You felt yourself clench around the soaked digits, pumping themselves in and out, stilling only to drag themselves across your g-spot.

“Make me wanna cum just watching you, sugar. See what you’re doin’ to me?”

You glanced down past the curls still tangled around your fingers. Joel had unbuttoned his jeans, his cock thick and leaking, almost purple and just begging to be attended to. He held the shaft steady around its base, his other hand continuing to unravel you from the inside out. “P-please, I need-“; your words were cut short as Joel moved his thumb to your clit, nothing more than a strangled moan escaping you. He pressed firmly as he swept the digit left to right, his fingers now curling inside you - you felt as though you’d left your body as your orgasm drew closer, grounded only by the rhythmic motion of thick fingers and the blissful sounds of Joel’s humming.

“Cum for me baby, I know you’re needin’ it. Wanna see you make a mess of this pretty little pussy.”

Spurred on by the obscenities leaving his mouth, you held your breath as your orgasm rushed through you. As the wave of pleasure hit, momentarily replacing the ache in your abdomen, a cry left your parted lips, your head tipped back. Joel’s fingers worked you through the bliss, coaxing every last sound he could from you, murmuring as he went.

“Such a good girl for me.”

“That’s it darlin’, gonna make it all better.”

“So tight around me baby, don’t think I can hold on much longer.”

Your breathing was rapid, your chest rising and falling in shudders, knees desperately trying to refrain from buckling beneath you. And yet, before you could discern exactly what had just happened, your stomach tensed with a vengeance - it simply wasn’t enough. With his jeans still around his thighs, you gawped at Joel, sat cock in hand, precum dripping in glistening beads from its tip. Your fingers unwound themselves from his head as he slipped his fingers from your heat, slick release coating your inner thighs. You stepped out of the remaining clothes that sat bunched around your ankles, and made for Joel’s lap, wide and inviting.

He leant back further, using both arms to hold himself upright, as you climbed across his thick thighs and sat on him. Your chest was at his eye level, and he took full advantage of such a fact, dipping his head toward your breasts and nipping at the swells. God, if only you had the foresight to see what you’d been missing out on this whole time.

You weaved your hand between your bodies, further down until you made contact with his cock. It was girthy and solid, the weight of it surprised you as you curled your fingers around its length, your thumb not quite reaching the other side of your hand. Hesitation zipped through your mind, questioning whether or not you could actually take him, but the visceral groan that met your ears was enough to dismiss any and all doubts.

Steadying his shaft in one hand and balancing yourself on your knees, you lined him up with you. He stared up at you, brows pinched and pleading, surely feeling the heat radiating from your core. Hands remained at his side as you made your descent, the stretch as you engulfed him inch by inch borderline painful, but oh so worth it. The gasp he let out as you reached the hilt of his cock was downright criminal, his face flashing with both shock and desire. You let yourself adjust to his size, the fire in your belly quelled for now.

“Don’t know how long I’m gonna last; been a while since I last-“

You’d rocked your hips as he was speaking, and in turn had unintentionally cut him off, your name interrupting his flow of words, jolting out of him as if it were the most obscene curse word he could muster. It was music to your ears. You’d never felt so full, packed to the brim with Joel, cock-drunk and giddy as though you’d been fucking him for hours. He’d not done so much as thrust, and yet he had you enraptured.

“You’re so tight baby girl, I can’t - Christ - I can’t think straight.”

You rolled your hips, not just once but repeatedly, making light work of the friction that the smattering of curls at the base of his cock offered against your throbbing clit. You mewled as you pushed your hips down harder, seeking as much purchase as physically possible, Joel twitching against your walls.

“Such a pretty girl, making me feel so good. Always knew you’d take me so well.”

If it weren’t for your state of bottomed-out delirium, you’d have questioned Joel on what he meant by always. Had he pictured this exact scenario before? Was it as good as he’d imagined it would be? Selfishly, you didn’t care. You had started to lift yourself along his length, finding a pace that quickly filled the dank room with a cacophony of moans. Your knees ached against the mattress as you brought yourself up and down repeatedly, thighs trembling once more. You couldn’t be contained; a woman unraveled. Joel dug his nose into the crook of your neck, breathing you in deeply, muffling his groans of pleasure with your shoulder. He filled you to such a degree that you could feel him pressing against your cervix, hard and wanting.

“That’s it, fuck yourself on my cock, sugar. Gonna squeeze the cum straight outta me, so g’damn tight.”

The crude description alone would’ve been enough to send you tumbling into your next climax, even without the swell of Joel’s cock inside you. You bore down and rutted against him, dizzy and blissed out as you sought out your release. You choked on his name as you came, bracing yourself against his tensed shoulders, milking his cock as your walls quivered and clenched around him. As you rode out your climax, Joel wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you in place. He lifted you ever so slightly, creating just enough leverage for him to buck his hips up into your pussy, chasing his own orgasm.

You watched as he set a ruthless pace, sloppily thrusting upwards, eyes screwed closed. The slapping sounds as his hips met your own nearly overpowered the guttural moaning escaping his mouth. “Cum for me Joel, p-please - fuck - please fill me up”, you babbled, too enthralled by pure lust to consider the consequences. You needed him to fill you, claim you.

Your begging tipped him over the edge, and with a groan he shuddered his hips up, painting the walls of your cunt with hot, thick ropes of cum. You could feel him pulse inside you with each spurt, the muscles in his chest and stomach tensing, shoulders heaving with strain. He pressed his damp forehead against your chest, still hard inside you.

“Don’t think I’ve ever cum so hard - damn near knocked me out, pretty girl.”

He chuckled, still panting as he spoke. You shifted your weight and leant against his shoulders as you lifted yourself off him and to your feet. No more than a minute after you had unsheathed him from your walls, his spend still dribbling down your thighs from your slit, did the ache return. It brewed inside you, bubbling low in the tender flesh of your stomach, freshly bruised from the frivolities you had just taken part in. The building pressure made you whine, and as you glanced at Joel, cock still throbbing and stood to attention, you realised that your evening was far from over.

[collophora]

Do yourself a favor and go read the entire fanfic work of @fanfoolishness

(In order: Under sun and shade, Blind Side, and Breathless (patching up is one of my fav too, I just had no cool sketch idea for it)

[shouyuus]

OH MY FUCKKK. college roomate!vi is fucking killing meeee. the last one made me literally squeal when i read about vi's vape 😩😩 i am a silly little smoker myself and i was wondering if you'd write something about vi introducing reader to smoking? like one night they're sitting and talking on the couch, maybe watching a movie or something and vi whips out her lost mary (i KNOW thats what she'd smoke) and reader asks kinda out of nowhere to have a hit, and vi laughs a little and then teaches her how to use it (it is an art form), and their faces keep getting closer and closer and they're basically kissing because they're hitting from the same vape, right? RAAAHHHHHH 😩

college roommate!vi cinematic universe not me having to google the brand but yES ur rite she woULD

+18, no sex but vape usage, mdni

"l-like that?"

"yeah, just like that -- breathe in -- hold it -- breathe out --"

you let out a soft groan, the "cherry peach lemonade" flavored smoke slipping from the corners of your lips in streams, vi's eyes flickering down and back up again, her own lips parted, her pupils dark.

"it's -- it's a good flavor," you say, blinking as you hand the vape back to vi, who grins and takes a long hit, leaning back slow, one hand on the vape, the other slung lazily across the sofa back, letting the smoke unfurl from her mouth. you watch, mesmerized as she rounds out her lips and blows out little smoke rings just to make you laugh.

"yeah, it's nice," vi says, her voice soft as she glances back at you, at the way your eyes have gone just a bit hazy. she leans forward, tugging your chin towards her with a thumb and forefinger, a mischievous grin sweeping across her face.

"open your mouth for me, pretty girl."

you do, letting your mouth fall slack as vi takes another long hit and blows the smoke into your mouth. like this, you can feel the cool of the smoke, the warmth of her breath, the strange duality sending tingles shooting down your back, a coil tightening in your gut as you breath in.

your lashes flutter as the high slips through your body, the weightlessness gathering in your loosening muscles.

"i-i've seen people do that before --" you say, grasping for something to fill the strange, ethereal silence, "at parties," you clarify, hoping for... you're not entirely sure what.

vi chuckles, "yeah? it's called shotgunning. it's... a bit gentler than just taking a hit straight from the vape so --"

she pulls you towards her again, this time, you lean in and your lips are so close you can feel the heat of her skin against yours.

you open your mouth without her prompting, and you don't miss the way her pupils dilate at the motion. and just for a second, you can taste your own heartbeat -- the sweet cherry peach lemonade tang of it at the back of your throat -- before vi's blowing another steady stream of smoke into you and you're breathing it in, tasting her -- wondering if her lips would be just as sweet without all the flavored smoke --

"there... think that's enough for you for tonight?" vi asks, pulling back with a grin.

you lick your lips, glancing at the tv screen.

"we've missed like... half the movie."

vi laughs, grabbing for the remote, "yeah well. we were busy. luckily, there's a rewind button."

you keep quiet as she rewinds through the parts of the movie the both of you missed, your mind a berry-tinted haze of half-formed thoughts. you inch closer to her, pressing your thigh to hers, letting your head drop onto her shoulder.

"thanks, vi," you say, your eyes cast towards the tv but not really seeing it at all.

she stills beneath your touch.

"what for, princess?"

you nuzzle your head deeper into her neck, "nothing just... glad you're here."

after a beat, vi curls an arm around your shoulder and gives you a squeeze.

"i'll always be here, princess. whenever you need me. and even if you don't. got it?"

you giggle, closing your eyes and letting the bright neons of the movie play out behind your eyelids like the passing of so many days and nights.

"i'll always need you, vi... even if you think i don't." and your voice is so, slow, honest. so honest that vi feels her chest squeeze. she settles for brushing her lips along the seam of your hair.

"then i guess we're stuck with each other for the long haul, aren't we princess?"

you let out a sleepy little laugh, nodding.

"yeah. guess we are."

[nanaslutt]

YOUR DRABBLES GIVE ME LIFE AHAGDJSH if you ever write about virgin gojo somehow being really good even on his first time i might lose it !!!!!!!

THANK YEEWWW NONNIE<3333

virgin gojo is very special to me i will HAPPILY expand on this idea, ty sm for the ask~

contains: fem reader, dirty talk<3, virgin!gojo, established relationship, choking, size kink if you squint, two seconds of plot for context

MDNI

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔

before getting into a relationship with gojo you thought he was arrogant, albeit for good reason but he was always so confident and snarky, it drove you insane

the way he would flirt with the cashier at the coffee shop when he took his students out for a break, never failing to fluster them

you’ve seen the way he teases his opponents and coworkers alike

there’s no way that a man with no sexual experience who speaks like he’s trying to seduce you constantly, has never got his dick wet

even hearing yaga say something about how he wears his glasses when he meets with women, so of course you thought he had some experience under his belt (literally)

so it’s safe to say you were a little shocked when you were straddling gojos hips, steadily rocking back and forth on his growing bulge, reaching between the two of you for his belt when one of his hands left your hip and gripped your wrist, stopping you in your tracks mumbling against your lips “slow down baby, never done this before”

it’s not like he consciously tried to stay a virgin for most of his life,

being the strongest he doesn’t exactly have time to relax all that often, so before he knew it he was twenty seven and still, had never had sex

you two have been together for a couple months, you’ve had your fair share of partners, but working at jujutsu tech yourself, you and gojo didn’t have a ton of private time for things like this

sure he’s pulled you into a janitors closet once or twice to slide his knee between your legs and sloppily make out with you till you lost your breath (only adding to the illusion that he’s done this before)

coming to the realization one day that you two haven’t gone much further than that, and wanting to feel closer to him you invited him over to your place after work,

so here you currently were

pulling back from kissing him you looked into his crystalline eyes with an unreadable expression, the gears turning in your mind

memories of him saying sentences straight out of porn when he was kissing you, the way he always knew the spots on your body to caress to make you melt into him

and what did he just say? 𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦???

“did i break you baby? heh, sorry i never told you it’s a little embarrassing” he looks away for a second, rubbing his big hand over the back of his head before placing both hands back on your hips, caressing the skin there, “jus saw were things are headin n thought i would let you know.”

this didn’t make any sense to you, you couldn’t wrap your mind around it but you had to say something, “that’s- but you’re- you- how-“ okay, not exactly what you wanted to say but it made him giggle

“‘s that a problem princess?,” caressing your legs up up up, sliding his lithe fingers under the hem of your shirt and teasing the soft skin of your tummy, he snapped you out of your daze,

“sorry, ‘s not a problem, really satoru, jus had my own assumptions about you, but this doesn’t make me want you any less” you succeeded in forming a coherent sentence, squirming and squeezing around his legs as he stimulates your body, “good to hear baby, ur gonna have to show me what to do right? how to fuck you n make you feel good?,” his teasing voice returns

it was the truth, gojo being a virgin weirdly make you feel hotter, being the first one the worlds strongest sourcerer will be inside of filled you with a sense of pride, “jus sit back baby, let me do all the work.” a wave of confidence filled your chest and he returns his own sinister looking smile

“𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬” you said. so how did you end up here? currently face down, ass up with gojo’s girthy cock splitting you in two as he gives you the most devious backshots, his long middle and index fingers rubbing your own juices all over your clit, adding to the already intense stimulation you were feeling

“fu-ck ‘s-toru-uuu” words getting cut in half as he gives you deep, heavy thrusts, “cant believe ive been missing out on 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴” he punctuates with a hard thrust, knocking the wind out of your chest

“though you d-didnt kn-ow what to d-ooo,” you were trying and failing to speak in an intelligible way, “am i doin a good job?,” he giggles, biting his lip at he looks down at the thick ring of cum you’re leaving at the base of his cock

“so good ‘toru, fuckin me s-so so good.” you turned your head to look at him to the best of your ability, feeling slight better as his words might’ve seen composed but his face and chest were flushed the prettiest shade of red, his chest heaving like he just ran a marathon

“yeah? fuckin ur pussy that good? tell me more baby, tell me how good ‘m makin you feel,” not suprised gojos love of praise transferred into the bedroom, you indulged him

“dick ‘s so big toru,” you cried out, “feel you in my tummy,” your jaw dropped as his cockhead kissed your cervix, making your eyes roll back in your head

“fucckkk,” he clenched his teeth together, leaning over you and pressing his sweaty chest to your back, reaching his big palm for your face as he crashes your lips together, a kiss full of need

how the fuck was he a virgin? no one has ever gotten you this close, this fast

he pushes his tongue into your mouth, fingers spelling his name messily on your clit, cock fucking your gspot like he has a personal vendetta against you

“‘m gunna cum pretty, u close? huh? tell me ur close, gotta feel you cum on me first.” his filthy words has the coil in ur belly tightening steadily, “wan u to choke me ‘toru please.” you manage to get out, right on the edge of your orgasm

“i got you baby,” he wraps his massive hand over your throat, almost completely enveloping it, and he squeezes at the perfect strength, coil in ur tummy snapping as your pussy pulses and swueezed round his pretty cock

“oh god, he pulls back from the kiss and whines, thrusts becoming erratic, loosing his pace, “squeezin so tight, haaa-“ his jaw is completely slack, eyes screwed shut before his orgasm follows, right behind you

“yesss give it to me toru,” you smile against his slack jaw, and he’s never sounded as pretty as he does right now, cumming so hard, fucking his come as deep as he can into you, some spilling out around his dick as his large figure collapses onto your back

“toru…ur fuckin heavy.” strength in your arms completely gone as you try and fail to wiggle him off you, realizing that the strength in the rest of your body has completely abandoned you as well

“js… jus- gimmie a second, please,” all teasing in his voice completely gone, he’s still inside you and you feel his cock twitch every so often as his breath hitches against your neck

you let his weight press down on you for a couple seconds, letting him regain his own strength

“never cum that hard in my life, think i just died for a second.” he says, lifting himself off of you and sliding his softening cock covered in your combined cum, out of you

you wince at how sensitive you are, groaning as he wipes you down with his discarded shirt, “sorry heh, got a little carried away,” he giggles at your protests

coming up on your side and wrapping his arms around your figure, burring his face into your neck, peppering kisses there

“soo,” he purses his lips, lifting his head a bit to get a good view of your face, “any feedback?”

“cant feel my body, you virgin freak.” you sigh, wrapping your arms around the ones encasing yourself, “how did you just fuck me an inch from my life and you’ve really never had sex before??” you ask your boyfriend in disbelief

“porn :p” he cheeses into ur neck

“i’m gonna forget you said that.”

[furiosophie]

[ghostbsuter]

Danny had everything under control! He did!

It's dark out, time ticking to zero, and he's desperately trying to hide the baby yeti along the shadows of the alleys.

He's so so dead. Even more than he is right now. Turning full ghost even.

When Frostbite finds out that he'd taken his eyes off Snowdrift for five seconds and ended up in the living realm with no preparation, very short notice, or plan, he will never trust Danny with babysitting again!

Oh ancients.

"Hey there— is that a yeti?"

Great, a hero.

Swirling around, Danny stands in front of Snowdrift, hiding their form barely, their fluff and form peeking from behind the legs.

"No—"

"Greetings! My name is Snowdrift!"

Danny glances at the yeti cub as they stand next to him.

"Snowdrift, this is a stranger danger situation, remember what I told you about those?"

The cub peers up at him, confused. "Name no name and call for Dad?"

The teen nods.

Snowdrift looks at the hero, and a light bulb goes off. They quickly slide back behind Danny's form, simply peeking from the side now, curious.

"You saw nothing." The halfa turns to the hero, grinning nervous yet threatening.

"I'm not sure this is how it goes—"

[decapitationposting]

Honestly it’s so tiring having to fight for ace/aro hcs in fandom. Like they’re never anyone else’s first pick unless the character is nonhuman (usually robots and aliens, because of course) or inherently un-pair-able for whatever reason. If the character falls outside that slim margin by even a little bit you have to fight tooth and nail to find any scraps of someone, anyone with a similar interpretation to you. Even if the character does have stuff in canon that supports an ace/aro read it still feels like you have to fight to prove it’s there. It’s just thoroughly disappointing.

[aesthyuckic]

Faking It | L.DH

Summary: Haechan is a for-hire-boyfriend and gets a new client that likes to take the ‘boy’ off of ‘friend’

Genre: Romance, Hurt Comfort, Angst

Word Count: 4.1K

Warnings: insecurity

Pairing: Lee Donghyuck x Reader/OC

The boy walked at leisurely pace down the flowery path before him. His hands rested in his pockets as some petals from the blossoming trees blew in the wind. The soft, barely pink petals attempted to find a home in his hair as well as on his clothes.

He sighed to himself. His eyes barely able to stay open. Just one more date for the day…

He finally stumbled upon a girl sitting on a bench. A picnic basket rested in her lap. Her hair covered her face almost as a way to keep it a mystery. she seemed unaware of the boy’s presence as her attention remained on her phone in her hand.

Couples holding hands walked passed them, yet he felt as if they were the only ones there in that moment. Something in him begged to be seen but he knew it was no use. He finally decided to walk closer and bend down slightly next to the girl.

“Are you Y/n?” He asked, softly, yet it still startled her.

“Oh, Haechan.” She laughed, nervously.

Her face was no longer a mystery to him. She jumped up off the bench before she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as she mumbled some words that were muffled to him. His heart jumped in his chest at how pretty she was but she wasn’t aware of the slight pink in his cheeks as her eyes avoided his own. She brushed the back of her dress off with one hand while the other held onto the handle of the basket.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to not scare you.” He apologized. “I can take that for you.”

He reached out and took the basket from her.

“Thank you.” She blushed.

He smiled at her before reaching out to take her hand. He didn’t expect to have her pull it back in the matter of seconds. It left him dumbfounded as he hadn’t experienced that happening after all dates he had been on. She seemed to catch on to the lost look in his eyes.

“I know you’re a boyfriend for hire and everything but you don’t have to hold my hand.” She said with a small smile.

Something about it seemed so melancholy to him even though she was trying to be reassuring.

“I just…” She started. “Wanted company I guess, and I haven’t seen any friends for hire. So you don’t need to hold my hand and act like a boyfriend.”

“Okay.” He nodded, respecting her wishes.

There it was… She was lonely, as were most of his clients but she didn’t even want the fake romance she paid for. For some reason, that seemed much sadder than anything else to him.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her as they walk side by side down the park’s path together. A small smile rested on her lips as she watched the blossoms above their heads. One of her hands held onto the other’s fingers. She didn’t look at him once.

They quickly found a picnic table to settled down at. Even after everything was set up and as they sat across from one another, watching the flower petals fall she never spoke a word. Donghyuck would intentionally stare to try and get a glimpse of the warm brown eyes she had once more.

“How old are you?” He asked to break the silence.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him blankly, almost like she was lost at him starting a conversation.

“21.” She answered.

“Do you go to school?” He followed up.

“Uh, yeah.” She nodded. “I do usually, but I’m out for the summer.”

“How did your classes go?”

He would just ask more once she finished responding. Every answer seemed to bring a little more to the surface bit by bit. The shy, quiet exterior dissipated quickly as he got her talking. She was bubbly and passionate once she got comfortable enough.

The smile and sparkle in his eye as she talked about her major in school was evident only to the strangers around them. They went on a walk around the stream that ran through the park after being done with the picnic.

Before the both of them knew it, the sun was setting which meant their time together was coming to an end. They stood across from each other on the bridge that overlooked the water. Donghyuck handed her the basket she brought back to her.

“Thank you.” She smiled and bowed a little to him.

It wasn’t just about the basket though.

“I guess our time has come to an end.” He sighed.

“I guess it has.” She responded, bittersweetly. “Thank you for the last couple of hours. Goodbye, Haechan.”

“I can walk you home.” He was quick to offer.

She was about to turn to walk the other way but his words made her stop in tracks. A familiar blank expression, her eyes rather wide as she looked at the boy.

“I don’t-“ She started.

“It wouldn’t cost anything.” He shook his head. “It’s just… the gentleman thing to do with the way the world is.”

The explanation made her chuckle.

“I’ll be fine.” She reassured. “I always am… It’s a very kind gesture though. Thank you again, Haechan. I’ll see you later.”

She walked away, never looking back and he watched as she disappeared into the distance with the light. Only then did he turn the other way to leave the park and get back to his own apartment. The whole walk home he was thinking of her very last words before she left.

‘I’ll see you later.’

Did she actually mean that? Or was that just her saying goodbye like other people do? He hated to admit he spent the night laying in his bed thinking about it. He hated admitting that he woke up late the next day because of it and it led to being late to a bunch of dates and many unhappy customers.

It wasn’t just the lack of punctuality, it was also how out of it he was with his customers. It made him so upset to be like this, over a client of all people too. He had never felt such a way over a customer let alone be been such a mess over one. Of course it was gonna cause a disturbance in his life.

For days, he waited to see a notification pop up on his phone from that girl to book him again. Every time his phone buzzed he’d look at it only to be sorely disappointed.

Just when he was about over it, her name popped up on his screen when a new date notification popped up on his phone. He rushed to open the app to see when it was scheduled and where.

It became a regular thing for her to book him every two weeks. The cycle became familiar and a comfort to him. He’d always have something to look forward to so he was always on his best behavior for his other clients.

He found himself getting giddy whenever her name would pop up. The type of giddy that would make one jump on their bed to scream in their pillow and kick their feet in the air out of joy. He would always happily open the booking to check where she wanted to go this time. He saw arcade this time around which they never had done before together.

He found himself in front of the claw machine, extremely focus on getting the plushie she wanted after several failed attempts. He adjusted the claw’s placement, tediously

“Am I ever gonna get a turn?” The girl huffed from behind him.

“If I lose this round, I promise it’s your turn.” He said as he turned around to look at her. “But I don’t lose so-“

She rolled her eyes, “You’ve lost five times already.”

“Just watch.”

He finally pressed the button which landed in the mount of stuffed animals. The claw grasped onto one plushie and moved back up. Both watched the mechanism intently as the object started to slip from the metal prongs so slowly. It was agonizing to see it fall before it could fully stop in the corner. It bounced off the plastic barrier and into the chute which had the both of them cheering along with the machine.

Donghyuck happily bent down to retrieve the pink elephant out of the compartment. It was soft and cool to the touch.

“For you, m’lady.” He smiled as he handed it to her.

“I don’t get a turn now.” She sighed, faking her sadness partly. “Thank you, Haechan. I love it.”

“It was fun getting it for you.” He confessed. “Now, let’s go get something to eat. Then we come back and you can finally get your turn.”

They managed to find a booth available in the food court portion of the arcade. They sat across each other and shared an order of fries with each other. It was quiet between the two of them but the atmosphere around them was bustling with conversation and others having fun. He looked up from the basket of fries in the middle of the table to see her enjoying a french fry dipped in ketchup.

“I’ve wanted to ask you something.” He said.

“And what’s that?” She responded.

“You have a pattern when you book an outing.” He pointed it. “It’s usually every two weeks. I kinda wonder why.”

“I get paid every two weeks.”

“Oh. I didn’t mean to-“

“No, it’s okay… I don’t have much of social battery for more than what I already do. I don’t like being alone weirdly enough and I don’t have many reliable friends. Having money is no fun for me when I don’t have anyone or anything to spend it on. That’s actually why I booked with you for the first time. I didn’t want to be alone in celebrating the end of my semester.”

His eyes remained on the pink elephant that sat in her lap. Her finders made their way to the ears of plushie, running over the fur.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

“I said it was okay.” She laughed. “As I’ve told you before, I’ll be fine. I always am. I’m use to it anyway. I like spending time with you, its fun but I guess its your job to do that.”

Looking into her warm eyes, he could see a tinge of sadness in them even though she laughed and kept an upbeat tone to hide it.

He started to move over to other side of the booth that she sat on. He sat right next to her before he reached out to grab her phone that rested on the table and opened up the camera app. He held the phone up in the air to capture the both of them.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Taking a picture with our son.” He smirked.

“But I wanted a daughter.” She played along.

“They can just be our kid.”

He patted the elephant’s head and it took everything in him to remember it wasn’t an actual date. He wanted to kiss the top of her head so badly but he simply turned back around to face the lens with a smile as he snapped the picture.

“Can you open your phone?” He questioned as he handed her the phone. “I want to send it to myself.”

“Yeah.” She murmured before she unlocked the device and handed it back to him.

With that, he texted the picture to his number and thanked her while giving her the phone back. Donghyuck and her enjoyed the rest of their outing together before spilling ways until the next time she scheduled.

She forgot he had sent that image to him. The message sat on top of that app. He found himself staring at the number for days on end. He had net number and he debated on reaching out to her. It’s what he wanted. He didn’t want to have to wait to see her anymore…

unknown number: [image]

haechan: hey…

The random text showing up late in the evening startled to girl as she watched a show in the comfort of her bed. It was from a number, she didn’t recognize and then another came through

unknown number: hey

unknown number: y/n??

She opened up the messages to be greeted with the familiar picture. A wave of relief washed over her but then she was bombarded with confusion as well.

y/n: haechan’s?? that is you right?

haechan: yeah…

haechan: am i interrupting anything? can i call you?

y/n: is everything alright?

haechan: i think so… but i want to talk to you

y/n: call me

Within moments, her phone lit up in her hand with his call. She swiped right to pick up.

“Haechan?” She mumbled onto the phone.

The sound of her voice made his heart flutter as he laid in his bed looking up at his ceiling.

“Hey.” He said, softly.

“What’s going on?” She questioned.

“I don’t want you to book with me again.”

There was a moment of silence over the line. The girl felt her heartbreak almost hearing those words and being quiet in pain always proved to be better in the long run.

“I don’t want you to spend your money on me again.” He stated to break the absence. “I want to spend time with you and not for money.”

“If this is about what I said on our outing the other day-“ She spoke up.

“It’s not.” He interrupted. “I’ve been thinking for about this for some time now... Please tell me if I’m crossing a boundary but I like being around you. I don’t need money for it be rewarding because your presence is all I want.”

His arm rested over his eyes as he confessed to her. Another silence lingered in the air.

“I don’t know you though.” She reminded him in a melancholy tone.

He sat up in his bed at her words. She was right after all. He never gave many personal details of him or his life because part of his job is to focus on the client.

“I go by Haechan.” He introduced himself. “I’m 24 years old and I-“

“Things that aren’t on your profile.” She chuckled. “I know those things…”

“My full name is Lee Donghyuck. I was born on June 6th, 2000 at 10:30 in the morning in Seoul. My favorite colors are red and black but I have a mild form of color blindness. I have a bachelor’s degree in music composition. I’m allergic to cats. I bite my fingernails in my sleep sometimes. I still want to be a singer. Oh and I-“

The girl got rather lost quickly in the sea of information he was given her.

“Woah, slow down.” She laughed. “We can just… talk. I know it can be hard to give random facts about yourself… First off, do you want to be called Haechan or Donghyuck?”

“For you?” He asked. “Hyuck.”

“Okay, Hyuck.” She said, softly over the phone. “So you want to be a singer? Why don’t you tell me more about that passion, if you’d like.”

Neither of them expected to be on phone for hours with one another. They hadn’t even realized the clock striking three in the morning. Only then did they bid goodbye to one another because they both had to go to work in the morning.

While she no longer popped up on his phone in the way she previously had. He still scheduled time with her and instead of booking notifications, texts with her would come up instead. He would often get so excited about he had to turn off his phone whenever he went on one of his dates.

Every time they went out together, the girl out of habit would try to pay but every time Donghyuck would lightly slap her hand away from the bill. Whenever she wanted something, he’d get it for her without skipping a beat. He always loved to spoil his people and she had become just that. He also thought it was his turn to spoil her after all she spent on him over the course of months.

When she finally invited him over to where she lived, he saw every plushie he got for her all sat comfortably on her bed. The scene made his heart swell with an unexplainable joy.

Friendship was enough but of course, the boy yearn for more. He came to find out the girl adorned the moon and at nights they spent with one another at her place, he’d find himself with her on the balcony, stargazing.

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked.

There was a brief moment of silence that had him turn his attention to her, wondering what took her so long to respond. She blankly stared at the sky before her expression turned into a small smile.

“It is.” She answered.

This night, she went inside rather quickly. He hadn’t seen her this quiet since the first time they met and he realized how much he hated the uncomfortable silence between them. He walked into her room, where she laid on her side with her back to him. The familiar pink elephant peeked over her arm to look at him.

He climbed into the bed next to her which had become a rather normal thing between them. Since her, he realized how many things he hated like how he would sleep in a cold, empty bed every night after being surrounded by dozens of people everyday. He come to realize that he wasn’t that different from her even in the beginning, they just happened to handle loneliness differently.

“Did I do something wrong?” Donghyuck whispered.

“No, not at all.” She mumbled back rather quickly. “Sorry, if I seem off… when you said that on the balcony I just ended up remembering something.”

“We’re friends now,” He reminded her.

Ah, that word…

“You can talk about if you want, you know?” He murmured.

“I’m okay. Thank you.” She responded, softly.

She turned over to face the boy again. She snuggled up next to him, her head resting on his chest as she closed her eyes once more. Yet another thing that had become normal between the two of them. The boy wrapped an arm around her as the other relaxed at his side.

It was interesting to see how far they had come in less than a year... Months ago, it's not like he didn't or couldn't imagine it but it would've never compared to the real thing. The closer he felt to her, the more dissatisfied he felt with his job.

Every date he had, he felt like he was playing a video game and while his job paired well with his socialable and talking skills, he didn't feel like himself. The only time he was one with his body was after hours when they'd meet up or talk.

"Am I too much?" She always asked. "I feel like I take up so much of your time and you never get anything in return for putting up with me."

"Never." He always answered back. "Being with you is enough."

It didn't matter how many times he said to her, that question would appear occasionally. Maybe she just liked hearing it and he didn't mind saying it.

Another one of his days went by, the only thing getting his through was that dissociative state he'd enter and looking forward to see her face once more. He'd always race over to her place which had become like a home to him.

That evening, he help the girl build a blanket fort similar to how kids usually do. They found each other under the sheets, giggling with one another. Seeing her laugh brought him back to reality in which they were just friends.

"I'm thinking of quitting." Donghyuck mentioned, abruptly.

The laughter died down.

"Huh? Why?" She questioned, assuming he was finally pursuing his music career after all the encouragement she gave him after that one faithful night months prior.

"Because..." He started, avoiding her eyes as he looked at his hands in his lap. "Of you."

Silent fell upon them.

"Ha ha, funny joke." She laughed. "No, for real, tell me the reason if you're comfortable."

"I did..." He looked up at her, the smile on her face dropped at his words. "It's not a joke. I just..."

She must’ve just thought it was him flirting like always.

“It’s not funny anymore, Haechan.”

She hadn’t called him that in awhile, it actually took him back. She quickly left through one of the openings and he was shortly behind. Outside the fort, she stood with her back to him, her arms crossed.

“I’m being serious when I say this,” He started. “I like you.”

“Don’t do this to me…” She sighed. “I’ve dealt with this enough in my life… Coming from a friend, it hurts so much worse.”

When she turned around to face him, tears streamed down her cheeks, the whites of her eyes were red as her lips quivered to prevent more from slipping.

“Y/n…” He murmured with a softened look as he tried to rush to her side.

She back away with her hand up as soon as he came toward her. The girl couldn’t even look him in the eye.

“I knew this was a bad idea.” She admitted. “It was so easy to remind myself it wasn’t real at all when I was paying for your time… It was so easy to keep that barrier up with money. I couldn’t get hurt that way.”

“I’m sorry if I ruined things…” He apologized. “I really don’t know what you’re referring to when you say it wasn’t real because it has been, since the very beginning. Since the moment I met you, I’ve like you.”

There was this look of hopelessness and disbelief in her eyes as she looked at the boy in front of her. He pleaded silently to her, there must of been some type of misunderstanding, at least he hoped it was that.

“Are we not too old for this game?” She mumbled.

“What game?” He asked. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Please, just tell me what is it.”

She had him begging and graveling on his knees, quite literally as he crawled over to take one of her hands in both of his own.

“You’re doing this for a laugh.” She said, bitterly. “Because why would someone like me ever think you’d be interested in me?”

“Someone like you?” He questioned. “Now I know you’re talking crazy. The real question is why would someone like me not be interested in you. And to answer, we’re both in our 20’s we’re well passed that stupid trick. You’ve known me long enough, you really think I would pull that?”

That cheery demeanor of his was quick to come back as he stood up and took both of her hands in his. Something about it soothed the girl instantly.

“I like you, a lot.” He admitted to her. “You’ve never left my since that day months ago and I want you to be the only woman in my life. That’s why I want to quit. Every one of those stupid dates I go on, all I think about is you but it’s not you and that breaks my heart.”

“Hyuck…” She uttered as she looked at him with tearful eyes.

“Tell me you feel too?” He asked as his hands moved to cup her face gently.

Her hands came to rest on top of his own, “Of course I have.”

He smiled at her and couldn’t help but stare so lovingly at her while he wiped away the tears that spilled down. Something still lingered between the two of them. A question unanswered that hung in air.

“Will you kiss me?” She whispered to him, only inching closer.

“I wanted to for so long…” He confessed.

He gently closed the space between them. A taste of salt from prior tears mixed with the softness and warmth of her lips left him with a sense of sweetness he couldn’t get enough of.

He broke away for a moment, only to come back to leave a few more light kisses on her this time filled with a bit more passion.

So much for professionalism…

not proodfread. aesthyuckic © 2024. all rights reserved.

[arrowheadedbitch]

Tim:

Tim: Do you wanna have sex on the hood of my batmobile?

Kon, a little too quick: YES!!

Kon: Ahem, um, yes.

Kon: ...answered that a little to fast...

[smilesrobotlover]

The sun felt warm as it shone against Talon’s skin, making his eyes grow heavy as he and his carriage slowly moved across Hyrule field. He had just sold some Lon Lon milk in Castle town, and left early in the morning so he could get home as soon as possible. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t a morning person, so he was doing everything in his power to stay awake. The last thing he needed was to fall asleep and get robbed by bandits.

The field was quiet and peaceful, the world not yet awakening from the sun barely peeking over the horizon. The gentle clip-clop of his horse’s hooves against the ground was soothing, and Talon began to feel too relaxed, finally giving in to his desires of dozing off.

A distressed whinny caused him to jolt awake. He looked around, expecting to be attacked by bandits or monsters, but all he saw was a small horse running to him, whinnying frantically at Talon.

“Oh my, where’d you come from, little one?” He wondered out loud, stopping his carriage and hopping off. The horse was noticeably young, with a beautiful chestnut coat and cream colored hair. It was a mare from what Talon could see, and looking at her coat, she seemed awfully familiar to him. She stomped up to Talon and gently bit his hand, attempting to drag him.

“Woah woah woah!” Talon pulled back, giving the horse a weird look. “What do ya think you’re doin’ little one?”

The horse whinnied again and started to shuffle to an area, clearly trying to get Talon to follow. Talon didn’t have much choice but to follow; a horse only acted like this when something was wrong.

“Where’s your rider?” He muttered, following the horse reluctantly. He didn’t know what he was being led to specifically, but seeing the size of the filly with a saddle of all things made him worried for a young rider, possibly injured somewhere. Seeing that Talon was finally following her, the filly started to trot towards a cluster of trees, stopping at a patch of bushes where she began to stomp around, impatiently nibbling and nudging the leaves on the bushes. Talon let out a sigh when he reached the spot, looking around to see if anything was out of the ordinary, but there was nothing. Was this filly just lost and was panicking, hoping to get help? Talon had to admit she seemed to be a smart horse, but he didn’t understand why he was led to a patch of bushes.

“Are you lost, little one?” He asked, watching as the young mare nibbled on the bushes. She nudged the leaves away with her snout while snorting, and Talon was able to catch a glimpse of blonde hair. He gasped and got on his knees, moving the bushes out of the way to reveal a young, blonde-haired boy with green clothes that blended in with the plants surrounding him. He looked to be about the same age as his daughter Malon, barely eleven, and his face was pale and covered in sweat. He wheezed as he breathed and he had a pained expression on his face, and Talon lightly touched his head to feel a burning fever. He frowned and began to shake him gently, seeing if he would wake up. The boy groaned and reacted to his touch, his eyes fluttering open. They landed on Talon immediately and several emotions flickered through his face.

“M-Mr– Bart—ten…” He choked out, his eyes tearing up as he stared at Talon. The farmer blinked for a moment, confused about what he was saying, but he let out a sigh and went to gather the boy in his arms. The poor thing was clearly delirious, and he needed medical attention.

“It’s ok, kiddo, I’ll take care of you,” he assured. The boy felt fragile in his strong arms, and he whimpered in pain as his head rested against Talon’s chest. The farmer wasted no time finding a spot for the boy in his carriage, having to move some empty bottles out of the way and laying strands of hay to add a cushion for him. He gently laid him down, finding a quilt tucked away in the corner of the carriage and swaddled him the best he could. It didn’t look comfy, but it was better than nothing. He tucked the empty bottles away to make sure they didn’t fall on him, and he grabbed a spare rope to tie to the back.

“I hope you don’t mind this, I have a feeling that boy is your rider,” Talon explained, tying the rope to the filly. The young mare surprisingly seemed willing to be tied to the carriage, and waited patiently as Talon hopped on his carriage, resuming his journey with more haste. He tried to keep a steady pace so the carriage wouldn’t jostle, and so that the mare wouldn’t be dragged behind, but he knew he needed to move fast if he wanted to get back to the ranch. He fortunately had medicine stocked up at home, knowing that if he, Malon, or Ingo got sick, he wouldn’t have time to go back and forth getting more, so the boy should be fine when they got there. He just hoped it wouldn’t turn into anything serious—Talon was knowledgeable on illnesses and injuries, but he was no doctor.

The sun was beginning to set when Talon arrived at Lon Lon, and he hopped off the carriage in front of his house, untying the mare and collecting the feverish boy in his arms.

“Daddy!”

Talon glanced up to see his little girl running towards him, an excited smile on her face. Talon smiled back and shifted the boy in his arms slightly.

“You’re back! Did ya get me anything?”

“Why yes, I did,” Talon said, pulling the boy out of the carriage and showing Malon. “I got you a new friend, but he’s a little sick right now.”

Malon’s eyes went big and she stepped forward, gently patting the boy’s arm. “Fairy boy! It’s Fairy boy! Don’t you remember him daddy?”

Talon looked down at the boy again. He was so distracted on getting him into his carriage, he didn’t recognize him as the young boy that visited Lon Lon Ranch over a year ago. Memories of him and Malon playing music at the ranch flooded in, and Talon only felt more inclined to take care of him. The situation became more personal.

“Epona!” Malon squealed, giggling at the filly who trotted towards her excitedly. Talon stared at the two’s reunion, Epona nuzzling Malon’s chest while she sang her favorite song. He smiled warmly at them and quickly headed inside, not wanting to wait much longer. So this boy and that horse used to be here in Lon Lon? Goddesses, it had been a while since Talon’s seen him, and yet it felt like it was only yesterday. Though the fairy boy was in their lives for such a short time, he left an impact on the ranch, specifically with Malon. He was the first kid her age that she’s met and played with, and Malon talked her father’s ear off about him since he went away with Epona in tow. Talon began to grow curious about where he was all this time, and why he was hidden in bushes with a burning fever.

The farmer walked up the stairs that led to his room and he set the sick boy gently on the soft mattress. He stared at him for a moment, his brow furrowed, trying to remember anything else about the little one, but nothing came up, so he turned around to get medicine, water, and a damp cloth. The folks at Lon Lon didn’t get sick often, so he hoped he remembered enough about taking care of a fever. When he went back upstairs to his room, he heard the boy whimpering, shifting in the soft bed. Talon quickly took off his shoes to make him more comfortable and rested his hand on his head. The fever was concerningly strong.

“Excuse me,” Talon said softly, gently shaking the boy. He groaned and his eyes fluttered open again, staring over Talon’s shoulder. He squinted his eyes and frowned.

“Romani? … How…?”

Talon raised an eyebrow and looked behind him, flinching when his daughter suddenly appeared.

“Goddesses, Malon, don’t sneak up on me like that!” He scolded. Malon gave an apologetic look, her dimples appearing as she smiled slightly.

“Sorry, daddy. I just wanted to see Link! It’s been a while!”

Malon leaned over the fairy boy (or Link, Talon supposed), brushing his hair away from his face. Link looked horrified as he watched Malon, clearly looking uncomfortable.

“Malon, sweetie, let’s give him some space,” Talon spoke up, noting Link’s strange expressions. “I oughta give him some medicine anyhow.”

Malon hopped back and gave her father an excited look. “Can I help?”

“Oh! Well…” Talon glanced at the bowl of water and the cloth. “You can help wipe his face when I’m done givin’ him medicine, ok?”

Malon nodded excitedly, watching as Talon helped Link sit up. The boy was so weak that he could barely move on his own, and Talon eventually pulled him into his lap so he could lean against him. Talon gripped Link’s arm firmly so he could stay in place and began rummaging his hand all over the nightstand to grab the medicine. His daughter noticed his searching and grabbed the medicine for him and Talon gave her a grateful nod, uncorking the bottle and bringing it to Link’s lips.

“You think you can drink this?” He asked, and Link nodded, clumsily grabbing at the bottle and drinking it with Talon’s help. Talon had to pull it back a couple of times to make sure it didn’t spill everywhere, but Link was surprisingly cooperative for an eleven-year-old drinking the disgusting medicine; he remembered he always had to fight Malon whenever she needed it. The bottle was soon gone, and Link leaned back against Talon’s chest, his eyes closed. The farmer cradled him for a moment, figuring that Link needed that type of comfort, and Malon walked over as she watched him with her father, her head tilted with fascination.

“Is he gonna be ok?” Malon asked, and Talon looked up at her, nodding confidently.

“I’m sure he will be,” he said, carefully moving Link so he could get off the bed. He laid him down and pulled the blankets over him, giving his hair a soft ruffle before pulling away.

“I’m gonna put the carriage away, Malon. You keep an eye on him, ok?” Talon said, and his daughter nodded back at him. Talon lingered for a moment, worriedly watching them, but finally left the room. Ingo was outside staring at the carriage annoyed, but he quickly scurried away when Talon showed up. The farmer glanced over at Epona, who was watching him silently. Talon frowned and walked over to her, giving her a gentle pat on the snout.

“That boy doesn’t have a family, does he?” He asked, knowing that Epona wouldn’t answer. It was something Talon noticed when Link first arrived. Though he didn’t remember much, he did remember that Link was by himself whenever he saw him. The only company he had was his fairy. Talon shouldn’t be too surprised—if Link really was a Kokiri, then it’d make sense why he’d have no family. But Kokiris died when they left the woods, didn’t they? Or was Link finally experiencing the death a Kokiri had when they were out of the woods? Talon rubbed his eyes with a soft grumble. He really didn’t know if any of that was true, but it made Talon slightly worried. Despite remembering that Link was from the lost woods, Talon couldn’t help but feel that he was a Hylian. Everything down to his mannerisms made him seem far more mature than the Kokiri ever were. They remained as children, their bodies and mentalities never changing, even for centuries. But Link…. His face held a mature understanding of the world that Talon only saw in adults. Either way, Talon couldn’t risk him dying. If he needed to return to the woods, he would take him there, he just needed to learn more about him.

Talon led Epona and his carriage to the barn, letting her and the horses roam with the others before returning to the house with warm Lon Lon milk. He was expecting Link to be sound asleep, but to his surprise, he was already trying to get out of bed despite Malon’s protests.

“Link, honestly! You can’t be gettin’ up now! You could barely drink the medicine my daddy gave to you!” She shouted, trying to shove him back to bed.

“I… I’ll be fine,” he mumbled, his voice raspy and hoarse. He brushed Malon off and reached for his shoes, but grew out of breath.

“Link! You’re sick! Lay back down!”

“I can’t stay…”

Talon entered the room with haste, setting the bottle of milk down as he walked up to Link. The boy stared up at him, his light blue eyes wide with guilt.

“Do you need to go to the woods?” Talon asked him, and Link frowned.

“What?”

“The woods? The lost woods? Where all them youngins are in?”

“O-oh, Kokiri forest?”

“Yeah, that. I hear Kokiri die when they’re away from the forest for too long. You… you’re a Kokiri, right?”

A devastated look took over Link’s exhausted face, his eyes spacing out as he looked down. “No…”

Talon frowned at his reaction, and he glanced over at Malon who looked concerned.

“No?”

“I-I’m not going to the woods… I’m not a Kokiri… I don’t belong there anymore. I don’t–I don’t belong anywhere,” Link’s voice grew so quiet that Talon almost didn’t catch what he said at the end. It was quiet in the room, and Link slowly went to grab his shoes, but Talon stopped him.

“What’s the rush then?”

“I… can’t stay….”

“Why not?”

“Because I…. I…” Link stammered, trying to push out a good argument, but with his feverish mind and exhausted body, he couldn’t. Talon sighed and gently pushed him back, and Link obliged, laying down on the pillow, his eyes half closed.

“At least get some rest before you decide to travel, ok?”

Link’s eyes went wide for a second, before closing, and he was finally asleep. Talon sighed and gave his head a pat, giving a proud smile to Malon.

“You handled that well, dear.”

Malon brushed some hair out of her eyes and sighed. “Thanks daddy. He sure is a stubborn one, ain’t he?”

Talon shrugged and stared at the young boy. So he wasn’t a Kokiri, that meant he wasn’t dying, thank the goddesses. But everything else about Link confused him. If he seemingly didn’t belong to the Kokiri anymore, then where did he call home? Did he even have a home? Talon sighed and began to head out of the room.

“I trust you’ll keep a good eye on him?”

Malon nodded. “I won’t let him try to get up next time.”

Talon snorted. “Try not to hurt him too much. You got some Gerudo blood in you, while he’s a simple Hylian,” Talon glanced at Link, “I think. Give him that milk when he wakes up.”

Malon nodded again and plopped herself in a chair, staring at the strange boy in bed. Talon smiled at her, leaving the room once again, feeling exhausted himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Link’s fever was persistent. Talon spent a long time with him to see if he was getting better, but he was not. He wasn’t getting worse though, which Talon supposed was better than nothing. Link stayed in bed most of the time, unable to get out due to the fever and to Malon forcing him to rest. Talon always had to make sure she was gentle with him. He knew she had such a gentle and kind soul, but her Gerudo strength, despite having only a little bit of it, was not to be underestimated. Malon stayed by Link’s side the entire time, only leaving when she had chores to do. She would talk the boy’s ear off when she was with him; talking to him about her chores, her favorite animals, and the songs she wrote. She would occasionally sing to him, and he would always listen. Talon couldn’t tell if he wanted to listen, but considering the small smile on his lips whenever his daughter spoke to him, he assumed that he enjoyed the company. Many times, Talon decided to do Malon’s chores for her so she could spend time with her friend, and eventually, Link started to feel better.

Talon allowed him to walk around the ranch, knowing that being in the same room for days couldn’t feel good for anyone, and Link happily obliged. He always seemed anxious, as if there was something he had to be doing, so being able to at least walk around made him a little more cheery than normal. But as soon as he was able to walk around, he once again tried to leave.

“Where do you think you’re goin’?” Talon asked when he caught Link packing up his things, trying to talk him out of it before he was gone. Link didn’t say anything for a moment, a guilty look on his face.

“I–I need to be elsewhere,” he finally said, finishing packing up his few items scattered across the room.

“Already? I know you’re feelin’ better, and exercise is good for you, but you can’t push yourself.”

Link let out a huff. “I’ll be fine. This fever will go away in due time.”

“Yeah, if you take care of yourself,” Talon argued, and Link shot a glare at him.

“Why do you care?” He suddenly snapped. Talon’s eyes widened at the boy’s sudden hostility. He scratched the back of his head and looked away.

“Is it so wrong for me to care about a sick kid?”

Link’s expression softened and he turned away. “How much do you remember?” He asked softly.

“Huh?”

“How much–how much do you remember of me?”

Talon was taken aback at the strange question. Though he’s only seen Link a couple of times last year, he remembered them pretty well now that he spent more time with the kid.

“I remember you woke me up with a cuccoo and told me my daughter was waitin’ for me. Good thing too ‘cause I didn’t mean to fall asleep at the castle of all places. Poor Malon.” Link stayed still as stone so Talon continued, “I remember you came by our ranch and found my special cuccoo. I teased you about marryin’ my daughter and you got all shy ‘bout it.” Talon chuckled at the memory. Link looked away with an embarrassed look on his face so Talon moved onto the next memory. “I remember you and Malon played all day, and played music as loud as you two could. It sorta annoyed me when I was tryin’ to sleep but I ain’t never seen Malon sing with all her heart like that before. So I let it continue.” Talon sighed and racked everything he remembered about Link, but only one more memory remained. “And then I remember you buyin’ Epona. It broke Malon’s heart to part with that horse but she cared about you and knew you would take great care of her. And that’s about all I remember of you.”

Link continued to face away from Talon, staring blankly at the wall. Talon frowned and walked up to him.

“Why are you askin’ this?”

Link sighed and hugged himself. “You just don’t know me like you used to.”

Talon was taken aback again. “Now what in Farore’s name do you mean by that?”

Link opened his mouth but was interrupted by Malon entering the room. She spotted Link’s packed up possessions and frowned.

“You’re leaving already?” She asked as he quickly finished gathering his things. “Are you sure you feel well enough for it?”

“I’ll be fine,” he said softly, looking up at Talon with another guilty expression. “I’ve already overstayed my welcome.”

Talon tilted his head. “You didn’t overstay nothin’ boy. It was my pleasure to have you here.”

Link smiled slightly, but he quickly turned away, a sad and distant look in his eye. Talon stroked his chin and squinted at him.

“Where do you call home?”

Link glanced at Talon, then at the floor. “I—um…”

“Do you… have a home?”

Link didn’t react, and he shifted uncomfortably. Talon sighed.

“Oh… Link, if you have nowhere else to go, you can always stay here—“

“No! I-I mean,” Link shrunk away, clutching onto his shirt. “You-you guys have been very kind but I–I don’t want to be a bother anymore.”

“You were anything but a bother! We loved havin’ you here!” Talon reassured, but Link didn’t look convinced

“I-I can’t stay here for free… I—I don’t—“ Link whimpered slightly, pressing himself further against the wall. Talon backed up slightly, realizing he was being too forceful with the boy. He took a deep breath and tried again.

“Ok, if you don’t wanna stay for free, then you don’t have to,” he said softly.

Link finally looked at him, a sad look on his face. “I don’t have any rupees though.”

“Who said anythin’ about money! How old are ya? Eleven? I can't expect an eleven-year-old to be able to pay rent!”

Link stared at him confused. “Then how…?”

“Well, I can always have ya work around the farm, do whatever chores you’re capable of doin’, in return you get a place to stay and food to eat.”

Link stared for a moment, the gears in his mind turning as he thought about Talon’s offer.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Sorry to put pressure on you,” Talon quickly added, realizing he was still being forceful. “But if you want, we’d love to have you.”

Link was silent for a long time, swaying slightly as Talon and Malon watched him. He finally let out a sigh and looked up at Talon.

“Can I…. Think about it?”

Talon was relieved slightly and nodded. “Of course you can, just know that wherever you go, you’ll always have a place to stay in Lon Lon Ranch.”

Link gave a more genuine smile at him.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Talon escorted Link to the entrance with Malon in tow, the two Lon’s chatting about mundane things with Link listening silently. When they reached the entrance, Talon turned to his daughter and nodded.

“Malon, could you get his horse for him?”

“Of course, daddy!”

Talon watched as his daughter ran to where the horses were, then he glanced at Link who still had an unsure look on his face.

“Link?”

Link pursed his lips. “I… I wish there was a way I could repay you for this…”

“Oh, it was on the house,” Talon said, waving his hand. “It’s the least I could do for you.”

Link smiled, his hands clumped up on his chest. “You don’t know how much this means to me… I… thank you…”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. And my offer will always be here for you, or… if you ever wanna visit,” Talon shrugged, “you’re free to visit as well if you don’t wanna stay.”

Link’s face twisted slightly, and he shyly leaned into Talon, which surprised him. He was always so distant from the others, but he was almost hugging the old farmer. Talon wrapped his arms around him and rubbed his back gently, only pulling away when Malon returned with Epona. Link quickly hopped on the horse, discreetly wiped his eye, and he gave the two a nod.

“I guess I’ll… see you around?” He said, and Talon nodded.

“Of course, you be safe out there boy!” Talon said, waving him goodbye.

“Yeah! Come visit! I want to sing with you again!” Malon exclaimed, waving enthusiastically at him. Link grinned at her and nodded at the two. Then he clicked his tongue and ran off on his horse, heading to Din knows where. Talon watched sadly as he disappeared into the field, almost wishing there was more he could do for him. It was strange how much the boy had changed since he first met him. Link was a very playful and hyper boy when they first met him, matching Malon’s hyper energy. But now, he was jaded and serious, almost as if he was an adult trapped in a child’s body. Talon didn’t want to think about what he went through in the past year to get to that point, but he hoped that now Link knew that he didn’t have to face any of it alone, and that he had people to turn to.

He just had to wait for him to reach out.

[sweetieviktor]

"it's the tradition", feat. viktor.

summary: it's christmas in runeterra and couples are sharing kisses under the mistletoe.

word count: 1.000. (yes! exactly 1k im happy with it :]

content warning: just fluff as always! :DD (written with s1 viktor in mind!!!

author notes: ITS 5AM AND IVE WRITTEN 2 FICS IN A DAY, maybe im going to die but fuck it we ball. love viktor and love xmas, i wish i could use sweaters but in brazil december is sooo hot but yeah, here it is a lil something for the holidays. hope u like it!! :)))

whenever some holiday approaches, piltover academy is adorned in it's colour by students. it's december and the halls are decorated with reds and greens all the way, bringing joy to those who look up and see the fairy lights blinking slowly to them. christmas is coming, and so is winter.

everyone is using their thickest coats, but there's still some people who are cold, even if they are holding hot drinks to warm up both their hands and their body, or if they are rubbing their arms, creating some friction that could maybe help it, or sharing kisses under the mistletoe meticulously placed on the tree near the entrance of the academy, which have all kind of things hanging on it. some letters addressed to santa, little brilliant baubles made in all type of materials you could think of, red bows and colorful lights, all made by it's students.

you wanted to spend your day like this, enjoying over your partner's warmth under the mistletoe. well, life isn't fair. he was already working and you needed to work too, but maybe you could bring him some sweet milk and cookies on your lunch break, right?

so once the clock hitted midday, you walked to the cafeteria, the same one you and viktor got out on your first date, and ordered enough cookies for both of you. the women on the other side of the counter packed them to you, putting the little bag on your right hand, while you carried the cup of sweet milk on the other. finally, you got out, hands full, hoping that you could bring him some of the christmas spirit when leaving those in the lab.

when you made it to the academy again, it was even more crowded than earlier, students going in and out, chatting and joking around, throwing snowballs at each other and playing in the snow. and again, the couples kissing under the mistletoe. and all you could think of was him. oh, how you missed his kisses. so you hurried up, the flashy holiday themed colors in the halls blending together in an indistinguishable blur.

once you reached his lab, you knocked on the door, anxiously waiting for an answer. you could feel how your heart thumped against your ribs, maybe it's the nervousness or just because you runned all the way to come here in time. “come in,” was all you could hear from inside.

you turned the door knob, pushing it so you could enter the lab. he was hunched over his desk, but once he looked past his shoulder, realizing you were the one who got in, his golden eyes immediately lighted up, just like the fairy lights, but shined even brighter when he seemed the baked goods you carried, then turning again to his work, “just wait a bit, i will finish this, ehh- hopefully soon.”

you came from behind him, leaving both the bag and the cup over his desk, “i know these are your favorites,” you put your hand on his shoulder, “and it's my break now, but soon i need to get back to work,” his hand stopped, no longer making calculations. he looked up at you, then at the papers in front of him, thinking if he should or not give in.

sighing, he let the pencil over the papers. you knew he would keep working if you didn't say it. “i guess i could give myself a break, then,” the corners of his mouth quirking up while he reached for the bag, opening it and letting the smell of the cookies bathe the place, bringing coziness alongside it. he shoved his hand on the bag, picking one up and biting onto it, humming softly when it melted on his tongue, then bringing the almost half cookie to your lips, only to put away and eat it himself.

he was laughing loudly, keeping a hand over his mouth, to prevent any crumbs from coming out. “you ain't fair,” you huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. you knew he was just joking, but you wanted to eat too, “i brought those so we both could eat. together!”

“i know, i know!”, he said, getting the cup of sweet milk and taking a sip of it, “but it's fun to tease you. can't help it,” he shrugged, looking at your pouty expression turning into one of anger. picking another cookie, he proceeded to feed you first, your frown immediately disappearing. he was trying to not laugh again, but he couldn't contain it, as he did so, soon the frown came back to your face.

“stop making fun of me and let me eat, for jannas's sake,” you also couldn't keep your smile from growing, it was such a good atmosphere that, even if you were mad at him for stealing your cookie and laughing at you, you couldn't be mad for longer than thirty seconds.

you were laughing with him, happy with how your lunch was going, eating and talking, so busy with everything that you didn't see him fidgeting, looking for something inside his jacket pocket. once there was no more food nor milk, he cleaned his hands, bringing one over you both, holding something up. a mistletoe.

you scoffed, running your hand over your face, “really, viktor?”, you were astonished, he truly got one of those just he could have an excuse to kiss you?

“well, it's the tradition, isn't it?”, he grinned, placing his free hand on your waist, bringing you closer, “any person who's under the mistletoe must kiss, it's correct?”

“yes, absolutely correct,” you put both hands on each side of his face, kissing his lips softly, tasting the sugar on his mouth. “but you taste like milk and cookies,” you kissed him again, just to make sure you got it right, “maybe next year i will bring you more of these, so we could kiss under the mistletoe again.”

“oh, christmas may be my favorite holiday now.”

[hanfourz]

— m.jh thought [✷]

🪼- this has been rotting in my brain for weeks and i had to get it out. (also making this into a longer drabble bc whew; so enjoy this little snippet ig)

warnings: suggestive towards the end, kissing

thinking abt college bsf!myungjae who has a massive crush on you. he doesn't even try to hide it, he's literally so obsessed with you. if someone is looking for jaehyun, they look for you first because wherever you are he follows not too far behind. you can't even fully recall how you two became best friends. you remember him coming into the cafe you worked at a lot with his friends, conveniently around the time you would start your shift. he was always really friendly and sweet, making conversation while he waited for his order to be finished. you remember watching him and his goofball friends bicker loudly in the middle of the coffee shop and when you'd accidentally let out a giggle he was the first to look your way. you remember him one day asking you when your shift was over and him telling you to find him in the library once you were done. since that day, you two have been practically inseparable.

finals were coming up and the two of you had decided to become study partners. terrible idea really because he didn't have a serious bone in his body. whenever he came to your dorm to "study", you two always ended up studying for maybe ten minutes max before yall were huddled up on the couch watching tv. you had to resort to studying alone once he'd left. bad decision number two was letting him convince you to come study at his dorm because his roommate would be out and you'd have "peace and quiet" (as if that was a thing around myung jaehyun). when you got there wearing a baggy tshirt and shorts, jaehyun visibly gulped. everyone but you was very aware of his crush on you and it was times like this that made it especially difficult for him. because how was he meant to act somewhat normal when you looked like that. he wasn't sure he wanted you to be aware of how he felt about you, too scared to lose you as a friend entirely.

jaehyun was even more touchy than usual, body pressed right up against yours as you two sat on his bed. touchiness wasn't uncharacteristic for him, he was like that with everyone but today it was much worse. you didn't really understand why he seemed to be attached to your hip today but you can't say you were complaining. you never minded jaehyuns clinginess, it was actually one of the things you came to rly love about him. once your (very short) study sesh was over, he offered to walk with you back to your dorm since it was dark out. you never turned down spending more time with him and you two headed to the elevator. as you walked you had started yapping to him about something going on with some friends from one of your other classes. he wasn't really paying attention though, hyper focused on the way your cut-neck shirt was falling dangerously low on your shoulder.

as soon as you two were in the elevator, jaehyun was extremely close to you again. when you looked up at him, you were shocked to see the way he was looking at you. and when his hands found the curve of your hips and he was asking to please kiss you, the puzzle pieces started to click in your head. truth is, you'd always found him devastatingly attractive but refused to entertain those thoughts, trying not to catch feelings for someone who was just supposed to be a friend. but you'd be stupid to deny him right now and you'd be a liar if you said you hadn't wanted to kiss him since that first day you saw him in that cafe. so you gave in, you let him kiss you breathless on that elevator and you invited him into your dorm when you realized that your roommate was out. you let him indulge in every lewd fantasy he'd had of you right on your very bed.

[hopeslastkiss]

sometimes solas and rook are not symbolised by a wolf and a rook. sometimes their mural is of two wolves. fangs clamped in each other's throats, pride and spite keeping their jaws clenched. and when you look passed the violence, there's an intimacy between two people who know what the other person's teeth feel like, who are bound by the same sin. and when you stand far enough away, you could mistake it for two wolves embracing and refusing to let go.

[serqphiim]

short klance fic + art that goes with it :3

once more to see you.

Keith was always good at keeping things to himself, keeping things secret, but this was getting hard to hide.

Every day was the same, the team called in to be briefed on their mission, and everyone sat together in one room. Keith and Lance as far away from each other as possible, Lance’s gaze flicking to Keith every so often. It was unnoticed by the rest of the team, but Keith always knew. He would quickly look up at Lance, but then turn his attention back to the mission. He couldn’t let himself indulge in things like that for more than a second.

Not here at least, not with everyone watching.

He knew the risks. They all did. The team wasn’t exactly the kind of group to be open about relationships—especially not one that involved the two of them. The consequences would be too big, too...complicated.

————————————

After yet another mission, the paladins all sat down to debrief. Everyone but Keith. The others didn’t seem to notice, but Lance did. Sure, Keith had this whole lone wolf thing going, but it wasn’t like him to just walk off without a word.

Lance excused himself and headed to the training deck, assuming that’s where Keith went.

As he approached the door he could hear heavy punches being thrown.

“Don’t you think you’re pushing yourself a little hard?’ Lance said as he walked into the room.

Keith turns, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. “What do you want, Lance?”

Lance smiles, but it’s a weak attempt at his usual bravado. “You just walked off. I figured I’d come check on you.”

Keith doesn’t respond, just grabs a towel and starts wiping his face. But there’s a tension in his movements, an unspoken acknowledgment of the weight between them.

“Keith,” Lance says softly, his voice losing its edge. “You have to take breaks sometimes. You’re gonna burn out otherwise.”

Keith finally looks at him, his eyes sharp but tired. “What else am I supposed to do? We don’t exactly get breaks, Lance. There’s no time for distractions.”

The word lingers heavily in the air.

Lance stepped closer to Keith. He cautiously turns to see if anyone else is around, not wanting anyone to hear this conversation.

“Is that what this is?” Lance asks, his voice barely above a whisper. “A distraction?”

Keith doesn’t answer for a moment. He looks down, his hands now gripping the towel so tightly his knuckles have turned white. “You know that’s not what I meant. It doesn’t matter what it is anyway. We can’t—”

“We can,” Lance interrupts, his voice stern but still quiet. “No one has to know, we don’t have to say anything. We can keep it—”

“Secret,” Keith finishes, finally meeting Lance’s eyes. “Because that’s what we do, right? Keep it a secret and pretend it’s not there when everyone else is around?”

Lance swallows hard, his chest aching. “I hate this just as much as you do, Keith,” he said, his words laced with frustration. “I hate having to act like nothing’s going on when I—when we—both know the truth.” He’s looking down at his feet now, afraid to look Keith in the eye. “If you want it to stop, it can. Is that what you want?”

Keith’s silence is answer enough. He doesn’t want to stop. But he doesn’t know how to keep going, either—not with the war, the team, the weight of all of it bearing down on them.

Keith reaches out for Lance’s hand before stepping closer to him. The two of them mere inches apart now, Lance looks up at him again.

“You know I don’t want to stop Lance, you know how I feel,” Keith says softly as he leans his forehead against Lance’s.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just stressed. The team already constantly has their eyes on me because they think I’m too impulsive. Imagine how they’d be if they knew about us…” Keith trails off.

“I know, trust me I know,” Lance says as he brings a hand up to Keith’s face, cradling it. “But you can’t let it get to you this much. We might not get to be open about everything, but we still have each other. No matter what.”

Lance held Keith’s face as he planted a soft kiss on his lips.

“You should really take a break though.” He said as he pulled away. “Go take a shower and get some rest.”

Keith let out a small laugh

“Yeah, alright. I’ll see you in the morning.” Keith says as he squeezes Lance’s hand. As he walks out of the training deck, he turns back one more time. “Goodnight Lance.” he waves before slipping away to his room.

——————————————

The next morning, all the paladins were abruptly woken up by Allura’s voice coming from the comms. Something about an urgent distress call, another planet being attacked by Galra.

After suiting up, Lance headed to the hangar to meet up with his teammates. When he arrives, however, the only paladin there is Keith. For a fleeting moment, it’s just the two of them, waiting in a comfortable silence, their hands intertwined, both enjoying the time alone with the other.

But the moment shatters as the doors open. Keith and Lance step away from each other, the space between them now vast as the other paladins walk in. Shiro begins discussing the plan, everyone listening intently. Keith’s eyes flit up, seeing Lance already staring at him. For an instant, he feels like time is frozen, everything else in the room has disappeared and all he can see is the look in Lance’s eyes. A sympathetic look that he knows is saying I see you, a small, unspoken acknowledgment of the feelings they were both keeping hidden.

Keith forces himself to look away, focusing back on Shiro’s instruction. Lance did the same. Both could feel an ache in their chests.

With everybody watching them, every move they made under constant scrutiny, they would keep their secret. They would protect it, bury it deep where no one could reach—where no one could ruin it. For now, they would endure the silence, waiting for the moment the fate of the universe no longer stood in their way.