#best bus booking system

[cwticketing]

[vijay01]

What Are The Top  Feature And Costs Of Bus Ticket Booking App Development 

With the very convenient time of doing whatever one needs at his fingertips, the trend of bus ticket booking app development has become the game changer in the travel industry. The applications avail access to booking journeys and managing itineraries as well as exploring various traveling options at the fingertips of users. 

If you are planning to build your own online bus ticket booking app, this article will delve into the essential features you'll need and break down the costs involved in the development process.

Why invest in a bus booking app?

Before we go into more details about features and costs, let's begin first by understanding why the investment in a bus ticket booking mobile app development is a good one.

Increased demand: The more digital travel solutions exist, the more passengers look for easier and faster ways to book their tickets with a bus.

Better User Experience: A dedicated application will give a better user experience since customers will be able to get real-time updates and an easy interface for booking.

It will make you look unique in this very crowded market with the proper well-designed bus booking system development.

Top Features of a Bus Ticket Booking App

1. User-Friendly Interface

First impression goes a long way. A top bus ticket booking app development should provide a clean interface and should be very intuitive. The user must be able to navigate through the app easily and without getting confused.

2. User Registration and Profiles

Provision to register or simply log in with social media facilities, ensuring a personalized experience through saved preferences and booking history.

3. Search and Filter Options

Users must be able to search for buses on specific parameters like date, time, price, or even the type of bus. Filters will help them find the perfect option quickly.

4. GPS Tracking of Buses

Integrating GPS tracking will ensure users can see the spot-on location of their bus. This feature enhances the confidence of the users and reduces the anxiety related to arrival times.

5. Payment Gateway Integration

Transactions should be secured at all costs. The use of multiple payment gateways, such as credit/debit cards and mobile wallets, would provide users with a means to pay easily.

6. Booking Management

Enable the display of bookings, make changes, or cancel bookings. This feature takes steps toward building customer satisfaction.

7. Push Notifications

Users will be given booking confirmations, schedule adjustments, and special offers through push notifications. This will keep the app always on the top of the list in the minds of users.

8. Rating and Review system

This has been the best way to enhance services to deliver worthwhile experiences to them. In this, the system allows people to read other's experiences before making a decision.

9. Customer Support

Customer support can be best availed at any time either via chat email phone, and this is an integral part of making users feel supported throughout their journey.

10. Multi-Language and Multi-Currency Support

One can make his app more attractive to people from all over the globe by allowing language options and supporting different currencies. Such efforts toward inclusivity may indeed reflect in the increasing number of your app's users.

Additional Features

Depending on the target audience and business model, consider including additional features for best bus ticket booking app development:

Loyalty Programs: Reward repeat bookings with rewards.

Social Media Sharing: The plans can easily be shared with friends or published by the users.

Administration Dashboard: Manage all bookings, users, and reports.

Development Cost

To have an effective budget and the right planning, the cost to develop a bus booking app is necessary. Based on feature complexity and the location of the development team, the actual cost will be different. Here is a rough breakdown:

1. Design Cost

The design stage comprises UI and UX designing. This cost will lie between $2,000 and $10,000. A good design is important as this directly affects user engagement.

2. Development Cost

This is where most of your budget will go. The development price is determined by many things: platform choice (iOS, Android, or both), complexity, and the location of the development team. Mostly, you can assume:

Basic: $10,000-$30,000

Advanced: $30,000-$50,000 

3. Backend Development

Creating a good backend for your application will cost between $ 5,000 to $ 15,000. Here, again, you place a server, your database, and your APIs.

4. Testing

Quality assurance also plays a vital role in ensuring that all users will be able to run the application with the least amount of conflict.

Testing may cost between $3,000 to $10,000 depending upon the complexity of the application.

5. Maintenance and Updates

Post-launch, you have to budget for maintenance and updates. You will have to spend around 15-20% of the total cost of development annually.

6. Marketing Costs

Once you develop your app, you will also be spending money on marketing. This can vary widely, but budgeting $5,000 to $20,000 for initial promotions is a good starting point.

Development Cost Factors

Location of the Development Team: The cost of development can be greatly affected by the location. It would be expensive to hire a local team in high-cost areas.

Complexity of Features: The cost of development will be higher if complex features are involved. This pushes the timeline and complexity for every added feature.

Platform Choice: It would be costlier to develop an application for both iOS and Android compared to just developing one.

Development Approach: Custom app development is more expensive than developing using a template or any pre-available platform.

Conclusion:

This could greatly benefit the bus ticket booking app development company, as it offers convenience to the users putting your business in an advantageous competitive position within the marketplace. In understanding the necessity of all the features included and what costs that would involve, you can efficiently produce an app that will be required for the needs of today's travelers.

Travel has, indeed, changed, and an application for booking a bus ticket is one of the must-haves to meet the needs of the newer consumer. If you are willing to take the plunge and build a bus booking system, do not forget to bring on board a development company that is reliable and has experience to help materialize your vision. With the right strategic approach and execution, the application can be the go-to source for travelers all over the world.

So, whether it's an app for booking tickets of your own or just browsing for an option, the journey starts here. Welcome to the future of travel and elevate the ways of people in booking their bus tickets!

[codewareltd]

Online Bus Booking and Ticket Management Software

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Bus Ticket Booking System Main Modules

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Handle everything very professionally

𝐄-𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥: info@codewareltd.com

𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐥:+8801614000401, +8801711441036

Visit our website for more details

[hyperfixating-rn-brb]

The Good Omens Fandom has had a lot of fun recently with the knowledge of Aziraphale and Crowley holding hands on the bus at the end of season 1.

Soo here's everything that went through my head as I learned of it for the first time.

For that entire scene, Aziraphale is really far gone. He's dissociating so hard he can't even realize he's been sitting on a sword. Crowley is probably the only thing keeping him grounded.

They just narrowly stopped Armageddon after a showdown with literally Satan, and still can't let their guard down. For the first time ever, they're completely on their own side. Now they have to orchestrate a body swap to save both of them. They wouldn't just be killed, they'd be completely destroyed. Everything must go exactly according to plan, but how often does that actually happen?

And on top of that, his bookshop, his home, his safe place with the demon he has to pretend not to love is burned and gone.

Crowley is so incredibly gentle and reassuring this entire scene. He's been through so much trauma himself and has spent a lot of his existence shielding the angel from it, hoping to protect some of his innocence and naivete. Crowley is absolutely familiar with every symptom of PTSD and anxiety.

Now he has to see his sweet angel see such a small bit of the horrors of heaven and hell and start to crumble inside. He's going to do his dam best to try and help Aziraphale through it. Speaking softly, ("the bookshop burned down... remember?) slowly and carefully, gradually helping to pull the angel back to reality, reminding him that he's there and will help ground him.

They get on the bus, and sit next to each other. 11 years ago, they sat nearby but separated while Crowley begs Aziraphale to help him prevent the Apocalypse. Now they are sitting together. Both an act of reassurance and unity.

Crowley sits first, Aziraphale could so easily just sit across from him, behind or in front. But he chooses to sit right next to him. And hold his hand. Aziraphale desperately needs to be near to the *former* demon he loves, to hold him, to make sure they won't be separated.

In the book, their famous lines of "none of this would have worked out if you weren't, deep down, just a bit of a good person" and "just enough of a b*stard to be worth liking" came as Satan rose from the earth, as a goodbye in case they were destroyed.

Luckily, that didn't happen and they survived. Armaggedon was stopped. But the angel is still so anxious of losing Crowley. So he chooses to reach out, to anchor himself and reassure himself that Crowley is still there beside him and that they are okay, at least for a few minutes.

And Crowley let him. He knows how badly Aziraphale needs him, he needs the angel just as much. He knows how badly he craved an anchor and support system as he was first abused and traumatized by his Fall, then further by Hell. So he's going to continue being there for Aziraphale, doing everything he can to make his angel feel safe and comfortable.

Over the next few years, Aziraphale would become so much more comfortable reaching out and touching Crowley. Leaning into him, resting a hand on his shoulder or briefly touching his chest. Somehow both reassuring himself that the former demon was still there, and reminding Crowley that he's still there for him at the same time.

Then Crowley becomes more comfortable with the touch, leaning into the angel by himself. No longer flinching at a sudden graze of a hand or reassuring squeeze.

That one moment of the two holding hands on the bus cemented so much of their relationship. "The last few years, not really..." all started on that bus the moment Aziraphale chose to sit down next to Crowley.

edited: at first this said "new knowledge" because I just found out about this all the other day, and wrote this up at 3 AM, and didn't really fact check when this knowledge became well known. I've only really been a GO fan since maybe 2021, and only really started being active in the fandom during the last few months, so a lot of info that is fairly well known is still generally new to me. soo yeah this was edited :)

source for anyone asking for it!

[emmyrosee]

 Hiiii, I have a request. Imagine a highschool AU where reader has a massive crush on Sukuna but she thinks he has a thing with Uraume, but he actually likes her. Ok ok, so hear me out. Reader is childhood friends with Yuuji and Sukuna and she notices how Sukuna and Uraume have been hanging out a lot. So she asks Yuuji if Sukuna is going to prom and he says yes, and that he is probably going with Uraume. So reader is sad and doesn't want to go to prom anymore even after already buy her dress. Buttt, the day before prom, Sukuna and Reader end up talking and she mentions how he and Uraume are going together and he is confused.  Then they both confess and end up going together. Pleaseeeeee make this as angsty as possible, I love me some good angst😫

THIS IS SO CUTEEEE-

Bro this is so long yaLL GET A SNACK- I never had a senior prom this is my venting PFFFFF-

I do want to make a disclaimer! To make this fic work I had to go and use an American based school system, where traditionally seniors are 18, can drive, and eat in cafeterias. For those about to comment my inaccuracies, thank you!

—-

Sukuna has been a little more than preoccupied lately.

He, who once would spend every afternoon driving you and yuuji home, who would blast your favorite music and take you to McDonald’s for a soda, has been more than busy with someone new.

You don’t know where she came from, hell you’ve known the two of them for years, yet this is the first you’ve ever really heard of the being known as Uraume.

“They’ve actually been friends for years,” yuuji had told you. “I’m surprised you never really met her- though she’s pretty shy. Only close with sukuna, honestly.”

Yeah. Real close.

Within just a few weeks, Uraume has snagged your place as Sukuna’s number one. No longer does he stand outside your class to carry your books to the next. Your front seat privileges go to her. He plays her favorite songs. He drops you off at home before taking her to god knows where to do god knows what. And yuuji is blind to this change, merely glad his best friend is sitting in the back seat with him, all the while it tears you up on the inside.

And it isn’t until you catch a beefy hand shift to hold Uraume’s that you realize it’s over. Your heart shatters, your lip wobbles, and you turn your body to face away from the disgusting sight.

“You okay?” Yuuji asks, gently nudging you with the tips of his fingers, and when you look up to peek at Sukuna’s frame once again, you catch his eyes looking at you in the rear view. You sigh and turn your gaze away.

“What’s wrong, brat?” He asks, and you could throw up when Uraume turns in her seat to look at you too.

She looks genuinely concerned, and you could punch her for it.

“Just… take me home, Sukuna,” you murmur.

“But we’re getting pizza!” Yuuji whines. “I don’t want you to miss out!”

You smile and gently pat his leg, “don’t worry about me, yuuji. I’m just getting car sick.”

Car sick enough you don’t car pool with him anymore.

You’re back to taking the bus, curled on your seat to stay out of other people’s way, leaving home about 45 minutes earlier than you would’ve with Sukuna. It makes you skip breakfast and washing your face, barely giving you enough time to get into clean clothes and head off onto the day.

But it’s better than seeing them interact, a crush and potential romance brewing right in your eyesight. You never told him how you were getting to school, either, not in the mood for his attempts to change your mind or force you otherwise.

Until-

“You’ve been taking the fucking bus?”

There’s a loud bark that rings through the halls of school, people moving out of the way for the one and only sukuna to come barreling down it, some looking in worry, others with their eyes rolling in their skull.

You sigh and close your locker, leaning against it, “did yuuji finally tell you?”

“No, and I’m going to beat the shit out of him for not telling me,” he snarls, leaning in close. “Do you know how fucking dangerous the bus can be?”

You roll your eyes, “people take the bus every day, Sukuna.”

“Yeah. Not you. Not anymore. I drive you. You know that.”

“Not anymore,” you grumble. He cocks a brow in challenge and you roll your eyes, “I have no interest in being in a car with you.”

“Who fucking shit in your oatmeal this morning?” He snaps. “You’ve had a punk ass attitude for the past two weeks, what the fuck happened?”

“Maybe im just not into being babied anymore?” You lie. He furrows his brows and licks his lips as the bell rings.

“This isn’t over. We’re not done.”

“I am!” You sing.

You’ve never had a day at school drag like today has.

Classes have never felt longer, teachers have never talked slower, and the clock has never ticked drowsier. It physically causes your head to pound and your stomach to become nauseous, and agony courses though your veins as the lunch bell rings.

It’s only lunch.

You manage to shuffle your way out to the cafeteria to meet your friends, two who cheer happily at your arrival and one who offers you a nod of acknowledgment. You plop down next to Fushiguro and rub your temples.

“What’s wrong?” Yuuji asks, and you flash him a small smile.

“I just don’t feel well.”

“You haven’t felt well in days,” he points out, “I hope you’ll be alright for tomorrow night!”

Tomorrow night.

Prom is tomorrow night.

You scrub your face with your hands, “I’ll feel better once I eat, yuuji. Don’t worry,” you say quietly.

The drumming of Nobara’s nails on the table don’t help the growing migraine in your skull, and you try your best to drown out the noise of so many people and so many thoughts and so many feelings about your argument with sukuna that you feel like you could throw up straight on this table.

Kugisaki grimaces, “I told your brother to be here today to talk about prom,” she says, poking her juice open with a straw. “He’s late.”

“He’s not late,” yuuji says, pointing a finger at a table just a few down. “He’s over there, with Uraume.”

The minute every vowel passes Yuuji’s lips, a shiver trails down your spine, filling your entire being with heaviness and hatred. You don’t dare look over your shoulder, instead you grab a grape from Fushiguro’s lunch to munch on. He nudges the small container closer, and you take another green grape from him.

“Besides,” Yuuji continues, taking a bite of his lunch, “I’m 98% sure Sukuna’s going with her. Something about her friend group and car pooling, I figured we could catch a ride with someone else.”

Your heart stops completely.

The man you’d assumed you were going with, the man you’d been in love with for years, is taking someone else, the day before prom.

“He WHAT!” Kugisaki snaps, and next to you, Fushiguro laces his pinky finger with yours, squeezing softly to keep you grounded. “Oh! The fucking nerve! I knew he was a piece of shit, but THIS?! Oh, Itadori, why couldn’t you have your license!”

“Hey! Why don’t you!”

“Kugisaki,” Fushiguro says softly. “Him being a scumbag is nothing new. But,” you feel blue eyes focus on the side of your head. “Let’s be a little more gentle about this, okay?”

From behind you, there’s a set of laughter that eases its way over the cafeteria, and you wish it was literally anyone else’s, anyone’s other than Uraume’s, and you hate how light and airy it sounds.

How pretty.

“I know for a fact Sukuna’s not that funny,” Kugisaki grumbles, but all you do is pick at your food and silently pretend to agree with your friend.

Sukuna is funny. Sukuna is so funny it hurts, it brings tears to your eyes and your sides and stomach to hurt, and even though you share him everyday, it hurts now to share him with her.

“Man, she’s laughing real hard,” Yuuji says, taking a sip of his water, his head turned to watch his brother interact with his friend. “Wonder what he said.”

“Yuuji,” Megumi warns.

Yuuji chuckles to himself, “it’s almost like they’re feeding off of each other, it’s kinda sweet.”

“Yuuji.”

“-and I mean, Sukuna’s usually not so open and friendly, let alone cracking jokes. It’s cute-“

“ITADORI!”

Megumi snaps hard enough at his friend to make him shut up, and when yuuji finally turns back to face you, your bottom lip wobbles and you play more with your food. Tears pour down your face, as Kugisaki reaches over to rest a hand on yours, sympathy in her gaze. “Yeah,” you sniffle. “It’s cute.” The hand not being cradled by Kugisaki comes up to wipe your tears, and before you know it, your legs stand up and carry you straight to the bathroom, locking yourself in a stall where you’re able to finally let it go. You cradle yourself in comfort, eyes screwed shut as you sob every fiber of your soul out.

Kugisaki calls your name once, twice, then she sighs, “come on. Let’s talk this out, okay?”

“I’m not going to prom,” you confess. “Not if he’s going with her.”

“You don’t know if he is, though,” she argues, leaning against your stall door. “And if he is, and he fumbles the best thing that ever happened to him, he doesn’t deserve your tears.”

There’s another person that enters the bathroom, and you hear Kugisaki scoff. “You’re like, a thousand percent not supposed to be in here.”

“Bite me,” the voice snaps, and it doesn’t take long to decode it as Sukuna’s. Your hand claps over your mouth to silence your tears, not wanting him to hear you. “I thought she was crying, I wanted to check on her.”

“She’s fine. Shoo.”

“Kugisaki-“

“Don’t talk to me like we’re friends,” she snaps, and you close your swollen eyes as she defends your honor. “Because we’re not. Don’t act like you care at all about me or her, or her peace or her business. So fucking beat it, before I snitch you out to the principal, then no one’s fucking happy.”

You hear sukuna exhale in annoyance, “just… text me, okay?” He says, and you know he’s talking to you.

“She’ll think about it,” Kugisaki growls. Once the big footprints are out of earshot, you slowly ease your way out of the stall and straight into Kugisaki’s arms, “I know honey, I know,” she soothes, hugging you tight. “You deserve so much better, babydoll. Fuck him.”

“He led me on for months,” you wail. “And he tossed me to the side like a fucking piece of trash. For her.”

“And that’s why you should go to prom,” she argues, pulling back to look at you, eyes soft in understanding. “You don’t need him to have fun- you’ve got friends who are dying to go with you. And you want to make him real jealous?” She asks, and you quirk your brow in intrigue.

She smirks, “go with Fushiguro.”

You sniffle and shake your head, “I cant do that to Fushiguro. Im not going to use him as a pawn to make Sukuna want me again. It’s not fair.”

Kugisaki nods and clicks her tongue, “why don’t you get a note from the nurse and go home for the day?” She encourages, and you ponder the idea in your head.

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a terrible idea… to go home and process the day, figure out what to do about prom, maybe even return the dress for your money back. You sigh shakily and nod your head before the bathroom door bursts open again, emerging a yuuji whose hands are clasped over his eyes. “Just wanted to bring you your backpack!”

You snort and wipe your nose, “thank you, Yuuji.”

“You’re welcome!” He shifts his fingers to peek at you, lifting the middle one to make eye contact, “so… sorry we didn’t get to talk about prom.”

“It’s okay,” you sigh, ushering them both out of the bathroom. “I’m… I’m probably not going anyways.”

“WHAT!” He whines, his hands coming down to his sides in a saddened pout. “But! It’s senior prom! We have to go!”

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “I haven’t felt up for it since we made the plan to go. Maybe I’m just not supposed to.” When Fushiguro appears from the men’s bathroom and approaches the group, you flash him a sweet smile, “but I want you guys to still go!”

“Well if you’re not going, I’m not going!” Yuuji proclaims.

Fushiguro shakes his head, “if this is about prom, I won’t go either. We can chill at our houses instead-“

“EVERYONE IS GOING TO PROM!” Kugisaki barks, causing more than a few heads to turn in the hall. Then, she sighs, “we’re all old now. This is it. Our last chance of good memories from this shit fuck of a school. Everyone is going. Period.”

“But-“

“We’ll talk it out later,” you say quickly, noticing the duo of Sukuna and Uraume heading to the vending machines together. “I’m going home. Someone take notes for me.”

“Will do,” Fushiguro calls out for you. You feel three pairs of eyes boring into the back of your skull, but you couldn’t care less.

Not when you’re left to pick up the pieces of your broken heart.

Getting out of school was easy enough. Working up an excuse that you’re dizzy and need to be rushed home. It’s getting home that sucked.

Before, Sukuna was your ride home when you were sick, cutting classes to get you back to your home so you could take care of yourself and get plenty of rest. Now, you stand at a public bus stop, earbuds in your ears, and you wait. You’ve done this route plenty of times by now, courtesy of Sukuna’s front seat being taken by her.

The ride is quiet enough, your head resting against the cool glass of the window as your phone buzzes violently.

sukuna 💪🏻 Where the fuck did you go?

No seriously wtf

This shit with Fushiguro taking notes for you? The fucks up with that?

Why’d you even leave?

You think you can ignore me?

This isn’t over. Once this bell rings?

I’m hunting you down.

You ignore his threats and let the bus carry you home, your exhausted legs finishing the trip up and into the familiar confines of your house. You’ve got at least two hours before sukuna makes good on his word, and you decide to take that time to take care of yourself- something your heart has been too tired to do since Uraume came into your life uninvited.

After a hot shower, some skin care and topped with some pretty perfume, you make your way to the living room, stopping briefly for a snack from the kitchen.

You put on a movie, but your phone won’t stop buzzing. It’s Sukuna, it’s always going to be Sukuna, and you merely turn it on Do Not Disturb.

If ignoring his texts wouldn’t get him pissed, that certainly would.

But you don’t care. Not anymore.

There’s a ferocious knocking on the door that snaps you out of your zone, and it doesn’t take you long to render the intense energy as Sukuna’s. You pause your movie and shrug your blanket off, making your way to the front door.

Your hands tingle and your heart pounds at the idea of confrontation, but you figure you have nothing to lose as you open the door, revealing an annoyed Sukuna, foot tapping impatiently.

“You think you can hide from me?” he snaps, and you roll your eyes and try to close the door. Sukuna merely jams his foot in the frame to stop you. “Stop fucking around with me, and talk to me. And what’s this bullshit of Yuuji telling me you’re not going to prom?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” you say blankly, but all that does is aggravate him more, and he uses a big hand to force the door open more. The act would be attractive to you, had your heart not been torn into pieces by him. “Don’t break my door.”

“Don’t ignore my goddamned texts!” He barks. You scoff and step back inside your house, where he swiftly follows you. “You’re acting like a fucking child.”

“IM ACTING LIKE A CHILD?” You screech, loud enough where even Sukuna’s eyes widen. “Me? After this entire week where you’ve picked your new best friend to cling to, IM THE CHILD?”

“Yes!” He snaps. “What, I can’t have other friends?”

“You seemed pretty content with the one,” you chuckle. “Certainly didn’t need me to keep you entertained.”

“It’s not my fault that Uraume’s been hanging out with me more,” he says, crossing his big arms. “You just can’t handle sharing me once in a while? Are you that insecure?”

This, has you wincing back, his words making you nauseous and tears bite at your waterline, stinging painfully as you finally blink a line down. He takes a deep inhale and cards a massive hand through his hair, “I didn’t mean that-“

“Fuck. You.”

“Look-“

“No, you look, Sukuna,” you growl, hands coming up to shove him hard. “You don’t get to gaslight me into thinking I’m being dramatic, after you’ve completely thrown me to the side and neglected me for the week. You don’t get to make me feel like the bad guy after you led me on for months on end, only to chase after another girl. You don’t get to break my heart, and demand me to piece it back together, only to try and guilt me for protecting my peace! FUCK! YOU!”

“Led you on for what?” He asks, confusion replacing annoyance, but aggregation still in his tone. “The fuck are you spewing?” You reach up to shove him again; this time, he grips your shoulders to make you steady, “are you out of your fucking mind? There is no other girl!”

“Oh, yeah,” you scoff, your voice tight with tears. “You just hold every broad’s hand in front of me. You just rest your hand onto every girl’s thigh, clearly. My bad, Sukuna.”

“I never held her hand, I moved her hand from my thigh, you weren’t fucking paying attention!”

“Yeah? What about not walking me to class anymore? Not carrying my books for me? Not sitting next to me anymore, instead going to be with her?”

His brows furrow, and there’s nothing you’d like more than to smack the expression clean off of his face. “Doll, Uraume is a friend. That’s it!”

“Yeah? Then what does that make us?”

“Everything!” He yells, the plates rattling and doors creaking from the force. The tears in your eyes still as you stare up at him, whimpering and shaking in his grip.

“What…?”

He sighs in exhaustion, “are you so dense you don’t notice just how obsessed with you I am? The minute someone else comes into my life, you’re blind to that?”

“Sukuna-“

“I’ve fought Fushiguro over you,” he continues. “I’ve argued with teachers for being late to walk you to your class. I’ve gotten pulled over speeding to your house to be with you. I’ve fucking been here, wanting you, but I was waiting for you to be ready.”

“Well, you’ve sure had a hell of a time proving it,” you snip, and he grits his teeth to ground himself. “Talking to another girl, taking her to prom-“

“I’m not taking her to prom, I’m taking you!”

“Then why have you been ignoring me!”

Your words are silenced as he grabs you by the chin and pulls you in for a kiss, the broken bits of your soul and heart snapping back together. Your brain stops and your stomach swirls, but your arms instinctively wrap around his neck, keeping him close. He tastes like orange soda and feels comforting like a freshly washed blanket, his band tee getting fisted in your hand as your other one plays with the hair of his buzz cut. He shivers, his arms hug around your waist, panting into your mouth before hesitantly pulling back.

He leans down to your ear, “listen carefully. I’m not taking Uraume. I’m taking you. Uraume is a friend. That’s it. Once I tell her we’re together, she’ll back off, and we’re going to be fine. I’ve been ‘ignoring you’ because I figured you wanted space, but I couldn’t deal with it anymore. Got it?” You sniffle and burrow your face in his chest, letting his big arms wrap around you and keep you safe. He presses another kiss to the crown of your head, and you feel your mind go fuzzy at the moment he cradles you close.

“Missed my annoying brat of a crush. Driving to school was so fucking boring,” he says, and you scoff against him and wipe your nose on his shirt. “Ugh. Ew.”

“You’re supposed to find me pretty no matter what,” you sniffle. “Even if I use you as a tissue.”

“Maybe, just don’t use me as a tissue?” He snickers, and when you loosen and laugh yourself, he gently pulls back to look at you.

“C’mon. Show me your dress. Need to know what color tie I’m getting.”

“You want to match with me?” You whimper.

He smirks, “Kugisaki already hates me. You think she’s going to let us not matching slide?”

“You’re so right.”

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

History Repeats Itself

masterlist

note: first jess one-shot!!! (and i'm actually proud of it???) also i say their baby is one but i don't know babies to well so if she's too advanced for a one year old, just cut me some slack

warnings: teen pregnancy, food/eating

word count: 4.7 k

♡ summary: Being a teen mom is hard but without any help it's even harder, after saving up enough she can finally move to Stars Hollow to be closer to her baby's father

♡ Jess Mariano x reader

request ✓

The bus ride down was long, and it only got worse as 1-year-old Caroline woke up from her nap and decided to let everyone know of the inconvenience. Finally after the long months of working and saving up she had enough to move to Stars Hollow, unlike Jess who had a parent to send them and an uncle to stay with, she saved up and made it happen. She wanted Caroline to be around her father, and she wanted to be close to Jess.

And Y/n’s always loved the idea of a small town, a place where you felt safe, a place she would feel safe raising her child in, a place that wasn’t $2,500 a month for a closet. Here she could give her daughter a lot more, here she would have a support system in Jess and Luke. Unlike what her parents would give her.

By this point in the bus route it was only the mother and daughter and a couple strays, she saw the messy haired boy sitting on a park bench close to the bus stop, of course he had his nose in a book. She started packing up Caroline’s stuff, tucking her blanket and toys in the basket of the stroller.

When she got to the bus doors, Jess quickly made his way to help her lift the stroller down the steps, when the stroller was once again on the ground Jess squats down getting face to face with his little girl, “Hey, Care!” “Daddy!” He lifted her up by her armpits. When the little girl was out of her seat and in her dad’s arms, her mom stacked their bags on the seat.

“Hi! You’re so big! Really she is. She’s growing up so fast.” “Well she can walk way more stable now. No more scaring, mommy that you’ll fall if I look away for a second.” She says the last sentence in baby voice while she tickles the girl’s belly to make her giggle and their foreheads to rest on each other’s.  

“So you gonna show us around?!” “‘Around’?” They continued their walk around the gazebo area, walking towards Luke’s. 

“This is it, that's the record shop, that’s the bookstore, that's Luke’s, and that’s all you need to know.” “Well where’s the bank, I might need to rob it later.” “You’ll find a job. And if you don’t then work at Luke’s, he could do with the time off then maybe he’d get off everyone’s backs.” “He’s probably stressed with you always causing trouble.” “Me? Trouble? Nooo, I’m a peach.”

-

Jess had the baby today since Y/n was off to find a job, her first stop was the most promising. Luke let her know that a friend of his needed extra staff at their Inn for an event that was coming up, someone who could be an assistant of sorts. So after wearing her most capable looking top, and best fitting jeans. She kissed Caroline’s check and yelled goodbye to Luke and Jess as she began her walk.

When she walked inside she saw a man at the front desk on the phone. Waiting to ask for directions, she hung around the man’s desk, busying herself with some pamphlet. She couldn't help but listen to the man’s angry English in his french accent.

Suddenly he hung up the phone and got back to writing whatever he was writing, without looking up and with an annoyed tone said, “Yes?” “I was looking for Lorelei, I’m here for-” “The assistant job, yes.. Follow me.” He walked quickly to wherever it was they were going, mumbling along the way, “Of course, an assistant. Just what we need around here. Not like I don’t already do most of the work around here.”

He opened the door for them, it ended up being the kitchen they were now in. A tall woman holding a to-go coffee cup that said ‘Luke’s’ on it and a shorter woman in an apron fighting with a scruffy man about vegetables, which look to be parsnips. 

“The mini-you is here.” “One little comment, Micheal. I’m not saying you’re incapable. I just want more help with organising events so I focus on planning!” “Whatever.” Turning on his heels, Micheal walked out the doors making his way back to his desk. 

“So you’ve met Micheal! Sorry, we usually don’t let him around the new people but we're a little short-staffed. Let’s head to the dining room.”

They sat down at a table in the dining room, Lorelei asked all the important questions, and Y/n was perfect, now she was just asking the things she’ll tell Sookie later when the woman asks about the new hire.

Taking a sip of her sixth coffee this morning Lorelei asked, “So, are you new to town? I haven’t seen you around before.” The girl was stirring milk into her second coffee as she responded, “Yeah, I am. I just moved here with my um- my daughter, closer to her dad so…” 

Since it was of course the time most adults got horrified, thought she was a bad kid, and though she didn’t get that vibe from Lorelei, it was at least bound to shock her. “You’re daughter? How old are you? Wait- I know, it’s on your resume. I mean- I’m, deja vu y’know? Abba did say ‘the history books on the shelf are always repeating themselves’.” 

She must have seen the confused look on the young girl and explained, “I had my daughter when I was sixteen.. And came here to get a job, so just getting major deja vu. Well then, since I know what you’re going through, I won’t put you through the short mental torture of waiting for a call I was gonna do and just tell you you got the job.” “Oh, thank you! I really need this, I can’t thank you enough.” “Just change her name to Lorelei and we’ll call it even.” “deal.” Those two would get along great, much to Luke’s misfortune.

-

Y/n sat at the counter with Caroline in front of her sitting on the counter while she played with her mother’s hair. Jess was filling up cups of coffee and serving customers while he listened to Y/n’s words.

“So until you go back to school, you’ll have Caroline during the day here and when I’m done work I’ll take her.” “No, you’ll never have a break. After work you go to your house, relax then grab her after dinner.” 

Jess may have this ‘I only care about myself’ attitude but that never included Caroline and Y/n, he’d kill for either of them at any given moment. He always put them first. If thought Y/n needed a break, she was getting a break whether she wanted it or not. 

Just as the girl was going to thank him she was interrupted by another girl around their age coming to sit down at the counter, two over from her. 

“I have the book you lent me.” She said, unknowingly interrupting the conversation since Jess was facing the coffee machine to make a new batch when she sat down. “Oh, thanks.” He muttered, notably not turning to face her.

On the inside Jess felt guilty. Why did he feel guilty? He didn’t do anything, he and Y/n weren’t together, nevermind the fact that all he did was lend Rory a book. As friends. Because they’re friends. But nonetheless it almost felt like cheating. Jess and Y/n may not be together officially but that didn’t mean that they both didn’t love each other. And not just because they were the parents to a beautiful little girl. Jess had always wanted more, he’d let the girl know that more than a handful of times, and she let him know it wasn’t unrequited, yet something always came between them.

You’d think having a baby together would bring them closer, and in some ways it did; they trusted each other more. But they also fought more and being the dumb teenagers they were, they didn’t have the emotional ability to move past that and build the relationship they both wanted. And then when they felt they were ready to, Jess was sent to live with his uncle. Just another fork in the road. But now they were living in the same town and had a good system, and people to support them. It was the perfect time, everything was going right, they could feel all the feelings that never really left resurfacing.

“Okay, I have to get to work. You’ve got her?” “Yeah.” “Bye, baby, I love you. I’ll see you in a little bit, but you get to spend all day with daddy.” “Bye-bye, mommy!” 

She said bye to Jess after she walked around the counter and handed him Caroline, muttering a small ‘go see, daddy’ that Rory most definitely heard.

When the door finally chimed shut Rory shot up to follow Jess to the table he was now setting Caroline up at. She watched his gentle movements as he readjusts her shirt and places crayons and paper in front of her, which she got right into scriballing away. 

“She’s yours?” “Yeah.” “.. So that girl is your girlfri-" "I’ve got work to do.” 

-

The warm atmosphere of the dinner is a stark contrast to the cold winter air. Noticing Jess and Caroline are nowhere to be seen she assumes they were upstairs and makes her way up the stairs. Half-way up the flight of stairs she could hear her little girl’s loud giggles. She quietly opens the door to see Jess holding Caroline above his head, as if she was flying.

When she first got pregnant everyone told her Jess wouldn’t be a good dad, that she can’t rely on him for anything. God were they wrong. She doesn’t think it’s possible for her baby to have a better person as a dad. She sadly doesn’t get to watch the scene for much longer as she’s spotted by little Caroline.

“Mommy! I see daddy ‘morrow?” “Yes, you get to be with daddy all day tomorrow too.” “Yay!”

As the conversation between them goes on, Jess lets his little girl plant her feet back on the ground and starts collecting some things she’ll need during the night before she comes back here tomorrow, he then starts getting Caroline’s shoes on her feet. While Y/n sits on the couch next to their little girl.

“So who was that girl this morning?” “Who?” 

Jess always did this, it was a tell tale sign that he didn’t want to talk about it, but that’s never stopped Y/n before. “You know who.” Of course having to be difficult, Jess gives her a fake confused look, as if he’s never met another girl in his life. 

“The one returning your book.” “Oh, that girl.” “Yeah, that girl.” “She’s nobody.” “So you just lend books to ‘nobody’s now?” “Care, where’s Mr.Wiggle?” The girl lets out a gasp and reaches out for Jess to help her off the couch, when he does she runs into the closet where she previously hid while playing hide and seek a couple hours earlier. 

“What? Don’t want Care to hear about her new step-mom?” “Don’t call her that.” “What? Care? Only you can call her that?” “No, don’t call Rory Care’s ‘step-mom’.” “Rory! I get her name!” 

Jess was a quiet guy, but not this quiet, especially not with Y/n. He didn’t want to talk about Rory, maybe because it was weird talking about another girl with your baby momma. And yes it was weird for Y/n too, but for a completely different reason, she assumes. She liked Jess, and has since before she even knew about Caroline.

“C’mon, Jess, it’s me. I want you to be happy.” Sure Rory made him happy, but only because she was the only friend he had here, it wasn’t the way Y/n made him happy. Before he could deny for words again Caroline came back running into the room with her stuffie in her hands. Having already said her goodbyes, she opened the door and walked out.

“Caroline, wait hun! I think you should go for it Jess.”

She walked out the door, closing it behind her, leaving Jess to stare at where she disappeared. He decided to take her advice, just maybe not the way she meant it

-

Y/n helped Caroline pack more snow onto their snowman. Caroline wanted to do it after she heard Luke complaining about town events again, he stopped complaining when he saw how excited the girl was. They had Mr.Wiggles off the side learning against the tree, using him as a reference. 

“Mommy, no. Mr.Wiggles has more hair.” 

Caroline was getting very comfortable ordering her mother around, but in this instance Y/n let it slide, poking more sticks on the top of the snowman’s head to mimic Mr.Wiggle’s spiky hair. 

“That’s good!”

Lorelei and Rory were just one snowman down, both told Caroline they thought she would win and encouraged her before she even started. Since they were so close, they could hear the scene that had just played out. 

“Tough age, wait till you get to the terrible twos. ‘No’ is all you’ll hear.” Lorelei said, kindly as her and her own daughter walked past them. Y/n let out a laugh at the comment before she asks, “You guys done already?” “No, but after Michelangelo over there busted out the power buffer, and when Caroline busts out her cuteness, what chance do we have?” “I see your point.” “So off to Luke’s we go.” “We’ll see you there in a bit.”

-

Y/n was standing talking to one of the decorators when she saw Lorelei and Sookie step out of the kitchen, quickly finishing her directions she wrote down a note on her clipboard then made her way to meet them at the entrance of the dining room.

When Sookie sees her, she asks, “What’re we looking at today?” Sookie was really fun to work with, like Lorelei she was very chill as a boss, but Sookie was also so kind and always took it upon herself to make sure Y/n has eaten and that her and Caroline are taken care of. She could tell the woman was going to make an amazing mother.

“This is last on the list.” She replied, after she took a quick glance at her clipboard, then continued, “We’ve got trumpets, the madrigal singers-” “Sorry to interrupt, but I’m not playing squire of Bracebridge.” 

Sookie and Lorelei must have finally told Jackson to play the squire, they told her earlier in the week that they were playing to ask at the last moments so he had to. It was a flawless plan, especially when Jackson can’t say no to Sookie.

She saw that Lorelei and Sookie were just ignoring him, so she played along and continued down her list, “All the servers are lined up. This is just for the recorder players and harpists.” She stopped at the recorder players and let Lorelei talk to them, “Hi. Lay some on us, guys.” 

The two recorder players played the soft tube they were going to come accustomed to in the next few days. The three of them shared positive looks and when their playing came to an end, Sookie said, “Hey, you cats really know how to blow those things.” Lorelei continued Sookie’s comment by saying, “You’ve got the gig. Y/n here will call you later with the details. Thanks.” 

Recorder players started packing their things, Jackson started again on the fact that he wouldn’t play the squire, and the three women continued to ignore him.

“When do the quests arrive?” “Thursday at four on their own jet.” “After buying out the whole inn.”

“Must be nice to have money.” Y/n added, checking off and writing down more notes on her clipboard.

“You know what struck me today?” “-Was it the fact that I am not the squire?-""We’re crazy for doing this.” “We’re beyond crazy.” It did feel crazy, Lorelei told her they’d never done a function this big before and that’s the reason they hired more help. Like her, but also that they were planning to do a lot more big things like this, more weddings, and such. 

“We’re ‘Anne Heche speaking her secret language to god and looking for the spaceship in Fresno’ kinda crazy.” “Oquinis no-goodo noto.” Sookie said, causing Y/n add, “Il ecnatra dos guidan.”

Their nonsense was once again interrupted by Jackson, “And spring this on me at the last minute too. I mean, that’s just manipulative.” Suddenly a cook pops his head out of the kitchen, saying calmly, “Sookie- fire!”

Sookie rolled her eyes softly, this happened far too often, before saying, “I gotta get back in the kitchen. You guys handle the harps?” Both women nodded and replied in unison, “You got it.” 

“Alright. I’ll do it. I’ll play squire Bracebridge if that’s what you want.” Everyone knew he would cave eventually. Sookie patted his arm and said a quick, “Thanks, sweetie.” before walking back into the kitchen to hopefully deal with the fire. “As long as it’s not just because I fit the costume.” Jackson looked back at Lorelei and Y/n, Lorelei had a grin on her face while Y/n wore a tight-lipped smile. “It’s because I fit the costume, isn’t it?” He followed after Sookie.

Lorelei put her arm around Y/n and led them to the harpist, “Go ahead.” The harpist played the same tune as the two recorder players. But just as the woman started, Lorelei got a call. She patted Y/n’s arm, “I have to take this, you handle the harpist.”

The girl tried to stay calm, nodding her head and going back to listening to the music. Lorelei trusted her, yes it wasn’t a big job by any means, but still it was a step into a bigger role down the line.

-

The next day, Sookie and Y/n had all the waiters/performers in the dining room going over what their job was. And teaching them the old English words to use for things.

Sookie was just telling Rune that he couldn’t just talk like an old man whe Lorelei came in with a disappointed look on her face, and let them know the dinner was off.

The three women, as well as Rory and Caroline were now sitting at a table at Luke’s, Caroline was happily eating her pancakes, plain just as she liked and completely unaware of the collective disappointment of the group.

Lorelei has really welcomed Y/n into her life. She may not be Jess’s biggest fan, but she would always help another teen mom out. Especially since she sees so much of herself in Y/n. She’s grown to really love the girl in the short time they’ve known each other. And aftering hearing Y/n didn’t have her family in her life she was more than happy to help and maybe become that family for her one day. Just like Mia did for her.

“I’ve got 30 pounds of aged beef, trays and trays of trout, mountains of prune tarts. I diced pumpkins until my hands turned orange. I’ve got pumpkin hands!” Sookie showed the table her hands, it apparently caught Caroline’s attention since she grabbed Sookie’s right hand and held it in her left while she continued eating. Sookie lets her hand rest in the little girl’s while she freaks out more and asks Lorelei, “How can you stay so calm?” “There’s nothing we can do about it.” 

Rory was just as upset, mostly because she knew how hard her mother worked on the planning, “I can’t believe they got snowed in.” Y/n hasn’t told Jess, but she’s become pretty close to Rory, the girl sometimes comes to the Inn and helps around and Rory’s become kinda her only friend, that was until Rory invited her to the record store with Lane. After that day she had two friends. 

After knowing Rory more, she realised how much she and Jess have in common, and even though Rory has a boyfriend she can tell there’s an attraction to Jess she’s trying so hard to hide. 

Y/n zoned out for a moment, looking outside, she was upset that the first event she helped organise wouldn’t even happen. She was broken from her stare out the window from Caroline jumping in place while sitting on her mom’s lap, the cause of which was Luke coming to the table. 

“You girls want anything besides coffee?” He asked, adding on with a pat on the girl’s head, “Or pancakes?” “Hey, what about Luke?” “What about him?” “He eats, and Jess eats. Doesn’t Jess eat?” Sookie directs the question at Y/n, before the girl could say anything Luke cuts her off, “What’s she doing?” “I think she’s inviting you for dinner.”

Getting distracted while trying to convince Luke to come to dinner, the four decide to still put on the dinner for the town. Like an out of control slumber-party.

-

The dinner was going great, the secret amazing part of inviting the town was that Y/n and Caroline could actually meet everyone. Miss. Patty and Babette loved Y/n and Caroline (mostly Caroline), Caroline loved Kirk, and everyone loved that Caroline could do whatever she wanted and Talor wouldn’t say anything. And Y/n got to meet Paris after all the stories she’s heard.

Caroline and Y/n were in line for the horse drawn carriage rides, when Caroline saw her favourite person, Lane. “Laney! I ride with you!” Lane, before agreeing, made eye contact with Y/n to make sure it was okay. Y/n gave them the go ahead and helped Caroline get settled. After their carriage left she made her way to the next one. Telling the driver it’s just her.

It was nice to get a break from everything. It was quiet and peaceful. Well that was until Jess ran up and hopped on the carriage next to her. Without a word he put the blanket that was over the girl’s legs on his too. 

“I thought you and Care were going together.” “She’s one ahead, with Lane.” “Ahhh. Well it’s two to a sleigh no more, no less. So you were breaking the rules, you're welcome for saving you.” “You could have hurt yourself.” “Aw, you care about me.” “You are my baby's father.” 

She wished she just agreed with him. She didn’t just care for him because he was Caroline’s dad, and she doesn’t think she says it enough. But then again, maybe it would mess things up if she admitted that. But that decision was made for her.

“I’m touched.” “Jess. I don’t mean it like that. I care about you, Caroline or not.” 

Trying to change the topic to something she thought was more lighthearted, she says, “So, how are things with Rory?” “There are no things with Rory.” “C’mon, Jess, we can talk about this stuff-” “Why are you so insistent that I date Rory?” 

She wasn’t expecting that outburst. Not from Jess. He rarely ever yelled at her, and when he did it was always misplaced anger, never actually angry at her. This time it was her, it was what she said.

“I just want you to be happy-” “C’mon, Y/n. Be serious.” “I am. I want-” “If you want me to be happy so bad, why won’t you give me a chance?!” 

He turned his face to her, looking right into her eyes, she could see the hurt in his. Did she put it there?

“What’re you-” “Since we found out about Caroline, I’ve tried and tried to help you realise that I love you. And not how you mean ‘I love you’. I don’t love and care for you because we have a family and I have to. I love you, because I want to. I want to be with you. And I know it will be hard, but I’ll do the work.” 

If she had more social awareness at the pent she would have hated that the coachman heard all of that. But after what Jess said, the look in his eyes; that was so full of love. She felt like it was just them two in the world. No, that it was just their little family in the whole world. He and Caroline were all she would ever need.

“I love you too, Jess. I have for so long, long before Caroline, but I thought you wouldn’t want to be tied down to me, especially after I had Caroline, that any sign I thought you gave me was all in my head.” “It’s not.” 

He brought her in closer to him, an arm around her shoulders and when her arms wrapped around his waist he left a kiss on the crown of her head. The small kiss brought her eyes up to him, which led to their first real kiss in one year and nine months. 

His lips were softer than she remembered, but they still fit into hers as if they never left.

She broke away from their reuniting kiss to place her head in the crook of his neck, wanting nothing more than to be close to him.

“My mom didn’t want me to come home.” She took her head out of his neck to look at him fully. They were always that person for each other, the one you can tell your problem to and they knew when to help and when listening was enough. Right now, she knew listening was enough.

“I’m sorry, Jess.” “It’s fine. Just sucks.” “I know. Well, Care and I will always want you to come home.” After her words, he brought her closer than before. She was always just what he needed. 

Wanting to change the subject, Jess nodded his head to the snowman Y/n and Caroline built. “It’s good.” “What?” “Your snowman, well Caroline’s snowman I'm sure she’d want me to say.” “You know which one’s ours?” “Definitely shows her personality… It kinda looks like Mr.Wiggles.” “That’s what we were going for. But everyone thinks the one on the end is going to win.” “Really? It’s so overdone.” “I agree.” “You and Care’s should win.” “Agree again.”

-

The dinner was filled with Jess and Luke confused at what exactly was in the food, Jess and Y/n trying their best to keep Caroline sat which about half an hour in they gave up and just let her walk around the lobby, as well as saying hello and talking to everyone at the table. Having an interesting conversation with Mrs.Kim about grace, ‘helping’ Kirk by sitting on his rolling food cart, and even talking with Paris for a while. 

Overall it was a great night. Even better when Jess, Y/n, and Caroline got to their shared room, putting Caroline asleep together for the first time in a while. And falling to sleep in the same bed together, holding each other, listening to each other’s breaths, as well as Caroline’s. Everything was just how they both always secretly wanted. And now get to have openly and freely. 

- 

In the morning Y/n got up early since she was technically working, and she still was when Luke, Jess, and Caroline left to open the diner for the day. It was around noon when Y/n finally left, walking to Luke’s to spend the day with her two favourite people. Which was when she saw Michelangelo’s snowman fallen to a large pile of snow on the ground.

She didn’t even have to think for a second to know that Jess did it. Sometimes he did the weirdest things to show his love.

The bell rang as she pushed open the door, she sat down next to Caroline, saying ‘good morning’ and getting one back before she made her way to the counter.

“I saw what you did.” “What’d I do?” “Caroline will be happy she won.” “Anything if my girl’s win.”

[fanworks-library]

bemerkt | △

(you get a tattoo at a shady parlor. It ends badly, or perfectly, depending on who’s doing the telling) - suggestive; bill x enthralled reader

—

It’s 1am and everything is funny. The people, the cars and even the buildings look hilarious, sliding and wavy as if the world is running on a damaged projector. It’s all so entertaining that you barely feel awkward when you duck into a late-night tattoo parlor, tacky neon signs screaming about $50 micros into the night. You laugh gregariously when the grim-faced employee tries to hand you the design book and wave it away, telling them to choose.

That was probably your first mistake.

An hour later, you stagger your way home with your shoulder stinging. Your eyes can't really focus too well on the final design, but you can vaguely make out the basic shape of a yellow-and-black triangle through the wrap, pain radiating out of the ink like you've been branded.

Every step aches.

—

The next morning the tattoo is gone.

Humiliation burns at the idea of paying 50$ for a temporary tattoo. You can't even remember the address of the little hole in the wall and like a moron you paid in cash, so you decide to eat the cost and pretend it never happened.

Foolishly, you think that's the end of it.

—

At first, you think it's bugs.

Little darting things flick over your legs, your arms, your face, so fast and uncomfortable you can't help but squirm. It takes you a few days to realize that it’s not even bugs, plural, it’s a single entity—the same size and shape every time. You try to get a better look at it and are rewarded exactly once with the sight of three sharp corners and a shell so bright it resembles gold.

—

That's when the twitching starts. Your limbs misbehave randomly, knocking over items and grabbing without any input from you. You watch as your hands stiffen around things that are, without fault, dangerous. Gasoline. Razors. Your fingers lock around a butcher's knife and you spend 10 minutes prying your grip loose, ignoring the odd sense of disappointment that follows. The gold hallucinations appear more and more often, too, something like whispering creeping into your mind. 

Move that. Break this. 

Then, eventually; Not bad!

At first you ignore it, but the volume gets louder and louder until you forget what else you’re supposed to be doing and relent, letting the alien movements pull you along like a fish on a line. In return the voice spoils you with praise, drenching you in flattery so thick you almost drown. You let it string you along, burning bridge after bridge in pursuit of more and more. Even your intimate moments are invaded, your sense of privacy burning away under the spotlight of a single glowing eye. What you want becomes what we want, what he wants—you stop bringing home hookups from the clubs and open yourself up to him, letting the voice talk you through the highs. You’ve perfected a system; through you he makes his intent known, breathlessly watching your own hands cup your chest, pinch the fat of your thighs.

He tells you that you can call him Bill. Says he doesn’t need your name because he’s calling you his. The best thing he’s ever had. With those words ringing in your ears like church bells you pack your bags, leave your keys with the landlord. It’s not important anymore. You have a bus to catch.

Heads up; we’re taking a trip, he says, his voice rushing through your head like the tide. Oregon’s not too far!

You nod, already dozing off. The distance is so irrelevant— you’d go to the moon if he asked. Almost asleep once more, you nearly miss when he speaks again.

…I’ll think I’ll keep this one.

—

(just being normal rn. don’t even worry)

ao3 mirror

[buckyalpine]

Work Wife

Bucky x reader 

Some angst, past crappy relationship with cheating but Bucky is a sweet baby and makes it all better. Lots and lots of fluff

“See you soon doll” Bucky pecked a kiss onto your head before making his way out to a new job he had taken up at a small bookstore. He’d taken a few months off of missions, needing a break from it all and the store that wasn’t too far from the compound was perfect. 

You smiled watching him run off, not wanting to be late. It warmed you seeing how happy he was, it had only been a couple of weeks and he was glowing. 

He clearly loved it. 

Every day he’d come back, excited to tell you about how his day went; the new book he read, how his coworker, Rosa, introduced him to a new coffee, the puppy that visited the store, the new café he went to with Rosa, how to processed an online order for the first time, how Rosa walked him through the whole thing. 

You were curled up in bed with Bucky, your head on his chest while he cuddled you close, telling you about the most recent events that took place that afternoon (which of course, included Rosa). He laughed about how the owner of the store, Dave, told them to stop flirting so much, it was going to make the other customers sick. 

“Almost followed her home today, she made these almond cookies that were so good, I wanted to bring you some but Dave finished them” 

You hummed, shaking off the tiny inkling of insecurity and jealously that had started to crawl up your spine. You were over thinking. It was nothing. Rosa was a coworker.

Bucky would never cheat. 

He loved you. 

“Come visit soon?” He whispered, before kissing your forehead and turning the lamp off so you could both fall asleep. 

“I will” You kissed his chest, biting your lip, wondering if it was a good idea. You had been meaning to visit for ages but missions and recovery had taken up your time. Now you feared actually seeing everything in person would make everything too real. 

You didn’t know if you could go through that again. 

*****

“Sounds like you have a work wife” Tony snorted, over hearing bits and pieces of Bucky’s day at the book store while you both sat at the kitchen island, eating dinner. 

“A work wife?” Bucky looked confused, having never heard the term before, he was already on the struggle bus trying to find the courage to make you his wife, what was this additional fuckery. 

“Y’know, like a close bond you have with someone at work and it almost feels like you’re married to them cause you get each other and there’s some banter and bickering in there. Like a wife”

Bucky nodded, it made sense. His relationship with Rosa was sort of like what Tony was describing and he certainly felt a deeper connection with her than just someone else he worked with. 

“Pepper says Nat is my work wife but Nat said Steve is her work husband, Cap still doesn’t understand the concept, so we’re all in a bit of an entanglement until further notice” 

Your heart started to hammer in your chest. You knew they were all just joking and you kept reminding yourself that Bucky would never, never cheat but...

That’s also what you thought in your last relationship. 

When he said they were just co-workers. 

When he literally introduced you to her as his work wife.

She was in every single one of his stories. 

His day wasn’t complete unless she was in it. 

You tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but surely being a work wife didn’t entail sending each other nudes. 

You swallowed thickly, trying to calm yourself down before you got ahead of yourself, Bucky was different. 

*****

“So...” You fidgeted with your fingers, watching Bucky get ready for work, letting your curiosity get the best of you. “Whats-whats Rosa like?”

“She’s super sweet. We have a lot in common, its incredible. I don’t think I’ve had that type of connection in a long time. She’s caring, she listens, more patient than I am, that’s for sure” Bucky snorted to himself, embarrassed over the number of time’s he had asked her to help him go over the system they used for returns. She didn’t mind, showing him again, every single time. 

“Oh” You felt your heart sink, you didn’t know what answer you were expecting from him but his words felt like salt rubbed on a wound. You didn’t want to dump your insecurities onto him, it wasn’t fair when he hadn’t done anything wrong. He gave you a kiss good bye as always before heading out the door. 

It was getting late. Bucky was never late. You couldn't fall asleep, your stomach churning at the number of reasons he could be late but nothing brought you comfort. 

“You’re still up?” Bucky had walked in quietly, expecting you to be asleep but you were up, reading a book, still waiting for him. “Sorry baby, I got caught up with Rosa, I lost track of time. She really is like my work wife” He strode over to the closer to change out of his clothes, not seeing the tears that had welled in your eyes. 

That did it. You couldn't swallow the lump in your throat or mask the sniffles that escaped you. You tried to bite your lips shut but you couldn’t hide the tiny whimpers that slipped through.  

“Doll?” Bucky frowned when he heard your soft cries, rushing out to come by your side, his heart racing when he saw how distraught you looked. “Babygirl what’s wrong”

“It’s-it’s nothing, it has nothing to do with you” You shook your head, not wanting to go into the way you had trusted your past boyfriends so much, only to end up hurt every single time. You were practically watching history repeat itself and you hated it. 

“Babygirl, talk to me, please” Bucky pulled you into his lap, doing his best to soothe you but it didn’t seem to work. 

“W-would-would you ever-ch-cheat on m-me?” You hiccupped between sobs. 

“Never doll, I’d never do anything to hurt you baby, you’re it for me. No one else comes close to you. Where’s all this coming from sweet heart” 

You sucked in a breath, your body feeling hot, almost embarrassed to tell Bucky about your past relationship but he had to know. You told him about how your ex endlessly spoke about his coworker and how amazing she was. It started off fine. Then he started coming home late. He gave her that glorious title. Then he tripped and put his dick in her. 

“You-you said work wife, I guess it just reminded me about him” You shrugged, “I know you like working with her a lot, Its just hard because I trusted him when he said there was nothing between them” 

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that baby” Bucky wrapped his arms tightly around you, peppering kisses onto your face. “I promise you it’s nothing like that with Rosa” He could tell by your face you were not convinced even though you were trying hard to believe him. You nodded against his chest, closing your eyes, hoping sleep would help you feel better. 

“I think you should me et her” Bucky smiled softly while you blinked up at him, his sweet hopefully eyes looking down at you. “Please?” 

****

You gripped Bucky’s hand tightly as he walked with you down the sidewalk, your heart racing while his was jumping with excitement. The bell jingled as he opened the door, the soft scent of books immediately evading your senses, calming you slightly. Soft music from the 40′s played in the background on an old record player. 

“Rosa!” Bucky called out, grinning when he heard the tiny footsteps rustling between the rack. 

“James! It’s your day off darling” A tiny old lady popped her head from around the bookshelf; she was wearing a soft pink cardigan, her grey hair tucked in a bun and thin gold framed glasses perched on top of her head. She was half Bucky’s height, standing on her toes to pinch on of his cheeks before looking at you with bright eyes. She was adorable. 

“Rosa, this is my girlfriend, y/n” 

“Oh! I see why you call her a doll, what a sweet heart” She didn’t hesitate to pull you down for a hug, cupping your face gently in her soft hands “He talks about you so much darling” 

“Y/n, this is my work wife, Rosa” You felt your cheeks heat up while Bucky smiled bashfully, excited you finally got to meet the people and see the place that brought him so much happiness. 

It all made sense now. 

Of course she understood him well. Of course he felt happy here. They reminded him of all the things he had missed out on. When he was with them, he felt like he had a small piece of his old self back. 

“What are you doing here Barnes” Dave snorted, shaking his head “Here to flirt with my wife again?” An older gentlemen made his way over, cane in hand, dressed handsomely, nudging his wife playfully. “I hired you to work here, not flirt with the punks that come in here” 

“We’ve been married 60 years, he still insists we’re just colleagues” She shook her head, elbowing his side while Bucky chuckled, enjoying the typical banter between the two, something he hoped he’d have with you one day. 

“When you’re on the clock you work for me” Dave shrugged, giving her a gentle kiss before sitting down and sorting a pile of books. “Shouldn’t have hired this one to work here, he’s been distracting you” 

“Can you blame me, look at how handsome he is” Rose threw him a wink before helping her husband while Bucky blushed beside you, walking you through the store. “Handsome little devil” 

“He’s a little shit” 

“They won’t let me call them Mr. or Mrs or Sir or Mam” Bucky shook his head, thinking back to the utter struggle her had the first week, getting bonked with Dave’s cane every time he slipped up. 

“Don’t age me, I’m younger than you, if anything I should be addressing you as Sir, Sergeant. You were already in your 20′s when I was born” 

“They’re so sweet” You giggled, squeaking when Bucky tugged you to the back of the store. 

“They are” Bucky hummed, wrapping his hands around your waist, pulling you closer “I-I want that with you some day doll” He whispered, nervous with what he was hinting at. 

“and what’s that my handsome devil?” You stood on your toes, kissing his lips sweetly, your heart fluttering while he rested his forehead on yours. 

“Be happy with you, love you, grow old with you” 

“I want that with you James”  You could feel your eyes sting a little, snuggling into his chest, nothing would have made you happier than getting to spend the rest of your life with your soldier. 

“Propose to her already!” 

“Shut up and let the boy be” 

Bucky chuckled, his eyes twinkling as he looked down at you, giving you a few more kisses before spending the rest of the afternoon, cuddled up with you on the couch with some coffee, books, and his mind planning how he wanted to ask you to marry him. 

(and eventually he does propose to you. At that very bookstore. Dave and Rosa are 100% at the wedding. They’re more excited than anyone else that their son is getting married because Bucky is like their baby now. Your babies call them grandma and grandpa. Bucky still teasingly calls her his wife and she blushes like a little girl every single time)

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[lustspren]

Queen of Hearts ft Jihyo, Dahyun

length: 13k words✦

Jihyo, Dahyun & Male Reader. 

genres: dom! Jihyo, sub! Dahyun, threesome, blowjob, lesbian, oral sex, dirty talk, titjob, voyeur, creampie, slight fluff, slight squirt, ✧ 

✦✧✦✧✦✧

For a reserved and shy person, college, as well as high school, could be either a normal experience, or hell on earth itself. Fortunately for you, the second case never came to pass. Not because of you, nor because of how the society on campus behaved towards you, but because of a person who was with you from the first moment you met her, and who had never let you down even until now, when you were already in the room. semester of your degree.

Kim Dahyun was sitting next to you at the desk, her hair in a messy bun and her glasses on as she wrote notes in her notebook. You had an important exam in two weeks, and you were doing your best to find the best methods, and find the best possible way to retain as much information as possible. You had an open book of Theoretical History of Urbanism, and you were helping her to highlight the most important points.

You had installed a fully adjustable and customizable LED lighting system in the bedroom, it was at a dim level, fulfilling the perfect level of relaxation and concentration that you needed. The light that you lacked to read was complemented by a table lamp with a flexible arm, which pointed directly towards your hands.

The conversation was not something recurring during your study sessions, only for specific things, but you really valued that a lot. You weren't exactly good at socializing, you lacked charisma, eloquence, and conversational skills, but with Dahyun that was never a problem. She would always get you out of trouble when you tried to talk, she would bring up topics for you to talk about, she would make you feel comfortable, and most importantly, she would never pressure you to behave in a way that you weren't. She appreciated you and cared for you, just the way you were.

You rarely questioned yourself, but with her you could never understand if what you felt was pure and simple brotherly love, or if it was something more. A lot of times she was a little of one thing, and a lot of times a little of the other, but they both had one thing in common: she was by far your favorite person. You couldn't feel safe with anyone but her, and when you didn't have her close to you, you didn't feel complete.

"I think we can stop for now..." Dahyun said quietly, not breaking the calm atmosphere you were in, "Do you want me to prepare something to eat?" She put the pencil to the side of the notebook and looked at you.

"I don't know, are you hungry?" you asked, your eyes still on the book as you looked at the illustrations.

"Pretty much, yes," she sighed, "I'll make ramyeon."

"Uh... do you need help?" You looked up to meet her eyes for a second, but instantly lowered them to look elsewhere. Eye contact made you extremely nervous, making it impossible for you to look someone in the eye for more than 5 seconds.

"No, silly," she smiled, ruffling your hair, "just come with me, I don't want to be alone in the kitchen," you just nodded.

You and Dahyun were roommates from a few months after you met in college. It was a nice, cozy, medium-sized apartment that was about 10 minutes by bus from the university. It belonged to Dahyun's aunt, but she had let her use it since she was moving to China for work. At the time you were looking for a small apartment to rent, but Dahyun was a bit pushy with you, and you really weren't too sure even when you accepted the proposal, but to this day you had absolutely no regrets.

Coexistence was perfect in all aspects, she respected your personal spaces and you respected hers, and despite the fact that you shared a bedroom, there was never a single argument or awkward moment between the two of you.

You went out and into the kitchen, and Dahyun turned on the light while you sat on a stool with your phone in hand. She opened one of the cupboards next to the oven and took out two bowls of instant ramyeon to set on the worktop. She then took out a small pot, filled it with water and put it on one of the burners to wait for it to boil.

"Are you... nervous about the exam?" she asked, leaning back against the worktop.

"A little..." you replied, scrolling down to twitter on your phone.

"Why? You haven't failed at anything so far, you're an excellent student!"

"I've passed everything with the bare minimum," you sighed.

"But you've been passing, haven't you?" she giggled nervously, "it's the important thing."

"I know... but I'm always afraid of failing, I don't like it," she took a few steps forward and gently pinched your cheek.

"Hey, everything's going to be alright, okay?" She said in a low, reassuring voice, "You know I've got your back, besides, we're in this together, literally."

You looked up to see her for a moment, and not knowing what to say, you just gave her a small smile when you returned your eyes to the screen of your phone. She stood there for a few more seconds, you noticed that she wanted to say something, but she finally turned around and went back to look at the pot.

It took about two minutes for the water to boil. Dahyun turned off the heat, then opened the two bowls of ramyeon, took out the seasoning packets, and poured the water into both. She then opened the envelopes one by one, and poured the contents onto the ramyeon. She opened a drawer to her left, took out two stainless steel chopsticks and set them to the side of the bowls, then covered them. It took an additional five minutes or so for the ramyeon to be done.

"There you go..." Dahyun said, setting down your bowl of ramyeon on the counter in front of you, with the two chopsticks inside, "bon appetit!"

"Thank you," you nodded, placing the phone on your lap and reaching for the chopsticks to stir the noodles.

The next few minutes were as silent as ever as you ate any meal at any time. Dahyun knew that you didn't like to talk while eating, and she was completely silent at all times. This would have continued to be the case, had it not been for an unexpected notification from her that arrived on her phone. You weren't going to pay attention at first since what she did with her phone was none of your business, but seeing her read the text she just received so attentively and seriously piqued your curiosity. You looked sideways as she wrote, and then saw her face for a second as you lifted some noodles to your mouth.

"Something happens?" you asked while chewing, but covering your mouth with the back of your hand.

"Wait..." she mumbled, still typing for a few more seconds, "Okay," she put the phone down and turned to face you, "Do you want to go to a party?"

"What? No, you know I don't," you answered convincingly, before going back to eat some of your noodles.

"It's just, ugh," she settled into the chair and moved her closer to you, "It's not a party, it's more of a…" she thought for a moment, "a private meeting."

"Whatever it is, I don't want to go," you said again, completely sure and firm in your position.

"It's a good friend of mine's birthday," Dahyun said in a low, listless voice, as if she was resigned that you weren't going to give in no matter how hard she tried, "I've known her since we were kids!

"Then why don't you go by yourself?" you asked, eyes on the noodles. You wanted water, they were a bit spicy.

"You're my… best friend," Dahyun said that with some difficulty on each syllable, "I really want you to meet her, and well, I'd be so excited if you went with me."

"Dahyun…" you dropped the chopsticks, and clasped your hands in your lap to give her your attention, "I… it's not my vibe, really," you shook your head, "I don't feel comfortable around people who I don't know."

"I wouldn't part with you at any time, you know that right?" She placed her hand on your wrist, and you watched her press her fingers lightly around it, "Besides, I wouldn't make you go somewhere I know you'd hate."

"You don't even know how everything will be."

"I know Jihyo, the craziest thing I've ever seen her do is drink straight from a vodka bottle."

"Does that seem little to you?"

"Compared to what other girls her age do, yes," she shrugged.

"I… I don't know, Dahyun," you started breathing slightly faster, you were getting anxious.

"Hey, hey," she cupped your face with both hands and made you look straight into her eyes, longer than you were used to, "Do you trust me?"

"I-I..." you tried to take your gaze away from her, but she kept fixing your eyes on hers.

"Just answer me, please..." the soft touch of her hands and her sweet voice made you gradually relax, to the point where your breathing returned to normal.

"Yes… I do, more than anyone," you replied, now taking a deep breath as you concentrated on holding her gaze.

"Then you know I'll do everything I can to make you feel good," she stroked her thumbs over your cheeks, "and we can leave whenever you want if that's not the case."

"Whenever I want?"

"Yes, I promise," she nodded, and then you noticed that she stared at your lips for a few seconds before returning her gaze to your eyes.

"I…" you sighed, thinking hard about your answer, "alright, I'll go," you nodded.

"Really?!" she squealed excitedly with a beaming smile on her face, letting go of your face to jerk to her feet, "Ahhhh! Thank you thank you thank you!" She lunged at you and nearly knocked you off your stool, wrapped her arms around your neck, and pulled you into a tight hug. You froze completely for a moment, and seconds later you wrapped your arms around her torso to return the hug.

"Yeah, yeah… it's okay," you said quietly, cheek resting against her chest, "And when is it?"

"In an hour."

"What?!" you never raised your voice, but there were small exceptions. Dahyun broke away from you, and sat back down in her chair.

"Yeah, sorry," she laughed a bit nervously, "she told me at the last minute."

"God, Kim Dahyun..." you put two fingers to your septum, closed your eyes, and sighed.

"It's okay if we're a little late, don't stress," she reached her hand up to your forehead and poked you with her middle finger, "come on, finish your meal."

You wanted to say something else, but you decided to shut up and save energy for the tremendously long night that was ahead of you. You and her finished your ramyeon bowls in no time, and as soon as you did, you left the chopsticks in the dishwasher and discarded the bowls.

"Are you going to shower first or...?" Dahyun asked.

"No, you go first, don't worry," you nodded toward the hallway.

"Very good, but go planning what you are going to wear, okay?"

"I'll try," you sighed.

—----------------------------------

What the hell were you going to wear? The reality was that you never frequented places or meetings of this type, so the simple fact of dressing for the occasion was already complicated enough for you. You stayed sitting on the edge of your bed, analyzing the best options. You lost track of time, so it was a good few minutes before Dahyun walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around her milky body.

"Uhm, what are you supposed to be doing?" she asked, standing next to you and looking where you were looking.

"I don’t know what to wear."

"Oh come on," she crouched down carefully, placing a hand on her chest to keep the towel from falling off, "just put those shoes on, with those pants, and that cute sweater you always wear."

"The blue one?"

"The blue one," she nodded.

"Okay, I'm sorry," you sighed, "It's just… you know."

"Yeah, I know, you don't have to apologize silly," she stood up again and squeezed your cheek with two fingers, "Now cover your eyes, please."

You fell back on the bed, grabbed a nearby T-shirt and pulled it over your face to completely block your vision. You waited patiently for a few minutes, fiddling with your hands as you once again seriously reconsidered whether to go or not.

"Can I see now?" you asked.

"Give me a second," you heard a click, then a small silence, and then another click, "done."

You took the shirt off your face and stood up again, the first thing that caught your attention was the color contrast between the walls of your bedroom with Dahyun's outfit, all shades of yellow. A dark striped champagne skirt a little above her knees, a lemon yellow sleeveless top with small white squares, and a headband of the same color on her head.

"Wow, you look so pretty…" you said, looking her up and down, from her wide hips to her pretty bare shoulders. It was the first time you said something like that to her, so her first reaction was to remain silent, her hands clasped on her belly while she nervously moved her feet.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, playing with her fingers.

"I mean, yeah," you nodded, looking into her eyes and then away, "that color looks really nice on you."

"I… thank you," a small smirk spread across her face, and then she looked down at herself.

"It's nothing," you smiled back, and then stood up, "turn around, please."

"Oh no, I'll go out to put on my makeup and finish getting ready, don't worry," for some reason, Dahyun's smirk or twinkle in her eyes didn't disappear, and it stayed that way until you saw her walk out the door. You were stunned for a minute, staring at nothing. You felt something tickle in your stomach, and a slight warmth on your cheeks. You completely ignored how you felt so as not to overthink it, and you began to undress, bathe, and then change your clothes.

When you went back to the living room you were already dressed as Dahyun had told you, and to be honest you felt quite comfortable that way. She was sitting on the couch, looking at herself in a hand mirror as she rubbed a blush on her cheeks. Her shoulders were now covered by an open sweater of a much lighter yellow. As soon as she saw you walk out of the hallway, she looked you up and down and smiled at you again.

"Do I look ridiculous?" you asked naively, sticking your fingers into the pockets of your pants.

"Oh come on, don't be silly, you look great! I told you the blue sweater was a good choice," with that said, she went back to what she was doing.

"If you say so..." you went to sit next to her, leaning your back against the sofa as you stared at your phone.

About ten minutes passed between Dahyun finishing her makeup and retouching her outfit. She stood up, and went to look for her handbag on your coat rack in the entrance.

"Can you call the taxi? I need to go to the bathroom before we go," she said walking into the hallway.

"Oh sure."

And that you did. You called the taxi to your location, and when you were both ready, you went down from your apartment to wait for the car on the sidewalk in front of the building. It arrived after a few minutes, Dahyun indicated the direction to the driver, and you set off.

You spent the whole way moving your leg as if it were a nervous tic and looking out the window while nibbling your fingernails. You had rarely felt this nervous in your life, in fact, you could count those occasions on the fingers of one hand. The most recent being when you went to the My Chemical Romance concert in Japan, but not even seeing your favorite band in person for the first time had you as scared as going to a simple birthday party.

"Hey, calm down," Dahyun put a hand on your knee, and you stopped moving your leg, but you didn't stop biting your nails or looking out the window.

"I can't believe I'm going to a party," you muttered, staring off into the streets.

"You know that not all parties are the same, right?" Dahyun was cross-legged, her phone in hand and an open chat you didn't have to read to know it was Jihyo's, "It might be something fun for you."

"I highly doubt it, I don't even like people."

"If you can tolerate my existence, you can also tolerate the existence of a few other people."

"As long as they're not loud and insufferable, yes, perfectly."

"I can promise you they won't be insufferable, but I'm not so sure about the other."

"Great."

It was quite a short trip, Jihyo's residential building was not as far as you thought, in fact, you could have walked there and arrived in less than ten minutes, but it was already quite dark, so you never even considered it as an option. The driver parked in front of the building, Dahyun paid him, and you got out of the car to start walking through the small square around the residential complex. Dahyun took her phone out of her clutch bag and made a call.

"Unnie! I'm here. Come down to open the door for us," there was a silence while Jihyo answered her on the other end of the line, you couldn't understand what she was saying, but you did realize one thing: she was a very, noisy person, "Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

"My God, I could hear her from here," you said, looking at a bush on the other side of a small metal fence.

"I told you I couldn't promise you they wouldn't be loud," she sighed, then linked her arm with yours.

You entered the building within a few seconds. Dahyun took the phone from the entrance gate, and dialed the number of what you assumed was Jihyo's apartment phone, seconds later, you heard a beep coming from the gate. Dahyun pushed it, and it opened inward.

You took the elevator to the seventh floor, got out, and walked along a wide corridor that led you to the door of the apartment. From outside you could already feel the rumble of the bass of a stereo playing music, it wasn't really that loud, but it was loud enough to ruin the sleep of a person who simply wanted to take a nap. Dahyun rang the bell on the side of the door once. There was no answer, so she rang a second time. Within seconds, the door was opened by a short woman, roughly the same size as Dahyun. She had fairly short hair, with a small part of it tied up at the back of her head. She was wearing a woven cotton shirt, with buttons that she only had fastened in the area of her big chest and a thin necklace of white nuggets, jeans, and black vans shoes.

"Dubu! Ahhh!" she screeched, lunging at Dahyun to hug her tight.

"Hey, you're going to take my breath away," your best friend joked, her arms still attached to her body as Jihyo clung to her like a koala to her branch.

"Right, sorry," Jihyo laughed, then released her and took her hands with a big smile on her face.

"I know I told you early, but happy birthday," Dahyun smiled back, squeezing the girl's hands.

"Thank you, sweetie," she blew Dahyun a little air kiss, and then looked at you, "oh, you didn't come alone."

"Oh right, unnie, he's my best friend, you can call him Balto," Dahyun said, stepping aside to draw attention to you, "Balto, this is Jihyo."

"I-It's a p-pleasure, Jihyo," you stuttered at first like an idiot, "happy birthday," Jihyo stared at you for a few seconds before answering, apparently something about you had caught her attention, but you couldn't figure out what.

"The pleasure is mine, thank you very much," she smiled at you, "Why Balto?"

"It's because of the wolf from an animated movie that I really like," Dahyun answered for you, since she gave you that nickname.

"Oh, that's so cute," Jihyo said, "just like him," you didn't know what to say, and neither did Dahyun, but you did try to say something to no avail, only a slight lisp came out of your mouth, "come on, let's go inside," she invited with a giggle.

The three of you entered the apartment, first passing through a narrow corridor that led directly to the living room. It wasn't a much bigger apartment than yours, in fact, they could perfectly be the same size, with the difference that Jihyo had the furniture arranged in a somewhat more messy way, which led to the feeling that it was less spacious. 

There were few people in the room, you could count them perfectly with your eyes, 6 people, 3 girls and 3 boys. Three of them were settled on the sofa, with cans of beer in hand and a glass bowl of chips on the small glass table in front of them, while the other three were scattered around the kitchen. You were relieved, as you thought the environment would be something completely different, but still, your first instinct was to get behind Dahyun and avoid looking at anyone.

"Hey, look on the bright side, I don't know anyone either, just that guy over there," Dahyun nodded at a short, muscular guy, who was doing something in the kitchen you couldn't see.

"That doesn't put me at ease, Kim Dahyun," you said behind her, taking a few more steps until Jihyo stopped a few feet from the sofa.

"Guys, I wanted to introduce you to two friends, they're from architecture," Jihyo stepped aside, and the three people, who were two girls and one boy, looked at the two of you, "Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Han, they're Dahyun and Balto."

You didn't see any of the three of them directly in the eyes, and you didn't say anything either, you just smiled somewhat awkwardly and imitated Dahyun with a small bow. The three of them imitated your gesture respectfully, with friendly expressions on their faces.

"My pleasure," Dahyun smiled.

"What a great outfit! You look so pretty," Nayeon said, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her legs.

“Yeah, and your hair is beautiful,” said Jeongyeon, the girl next to her, who, oddly enough, had short hair.

"Ah otoke..." Dahyun gave an embarrassed giggle, brushing her hair behind her ears.

"Hey dude, you look great too," the boy said.

Did he just talk to you? It took you a moment to sink in, you didn't even react at first until Dahyun nudged you.

"Me? Uh... thanks," you looked at him for a second, flashing a small smirk.

"You're welcome, that sweater is really cool," he smirked back at you, and then picked up the bowl of chips to hold with one arm and eat from it.

"I told you," Dahyun said, turning her head to look at you.

"Yeah, I know you told me."

"Come this way, the Three Stooges are missing," Jihyo said, and you walked behind her towards the kitchen. A girl was sitting on a counter next to the blender, a guy next to her, and the other was chopping potatoes on a counter away from the two of them.

"Jihyo-ya!" said the boy who was cooking as soon as he saw her out of the corner of his eye, "do you have olive oil?"

"Ah yeah, over there," Jihyo pointed to one of the cabinets, "guys, this is Dahyun and Balto," she said looking at you, "And this is Chaeyoung, Seungmin, and the crazy guy cooking is Changbin."

Once again you repeated the same trivial process as always, wave here and wave there, nothing important, and this time none of the three said anything to either of you. Chaeyoung was focused on her conversation with Seungmin, and Changbin on don't cut his fingers.

"Are you making French fries?" Dahyun asked Changbin, and he didn't even bother to look at her.

"Yup!" he said, pouring the olive oil into a skillet.

"Anyway, come this way guys," Jihyo nodded the other way, and you all went back into the living room, "Have a seat. Want something?"

"I want a beer," Dahyun turned to look at you, "And you?"

"I don't like alcohol, just water, thanks," you said.

"I have berry juice, will it work for you?" Jihyo asked, taking slow steps into the kitchen.

"It's perfect, yes," you nodded, then Jihyo went to the kitchen, returning with the can of beer and a carton of blackberry juice to deliver both.

You and Dahyun sat next to each other, with the dining room table very close to you. In the center was a two-tiered red velvet cake, piled high with chocolate-dipped strawberries, disposable plates, and disposable spoons. Jihyo dragged a chair from the other end and positioned her to sit next to you, much closer than you'd expect. You immediately felt nervous.

"And tell me, cuties, you live together, don't you?" Jihyo asked, crossing her legs facing you.

"How do you know?" Dahyun smiled, opening the beer bottle.

"I don't think he left the house of his own accord," Jihyo said, looking at Dahyun, "And he seems like the type to leave you on watch and go to sleep.”

"And you're right, that's exactly what he does," Dahyun sipped her beer, while you opened your juice.

"I only did that once, and it was because you were asking me to go jogging with you in the park," you sipped your juice through a straw, discreetly looking around.

"Really? What time?" Jihyo asked, resting her elbow on the table to look at you.

"8 in the morning, it was Sunday," you said, as Jihyo stared at you so intently that you thought he was analyzing every fragment of your soul.

"Ahhh, Kim Dahyun! How did you expect him to go with you!" She laughed, "I think that was even nice enough, I would have told you to go to hell."

"It was one of my many attempts to get him out of the apartment," Dahyun sighed, also cross-legged in a much more elegant and delicate posture than Jihyo's, "most of the time he's studying, or playing, or reading."

"Oh really? So it's truly a miracle you're here today," Jihyo raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that," you replied, daring to look into her eyes for just under 2 seconds, "I was very tempted to lock myself in the bathroom so Dahyun couldn't make me."

"You need social contact, dumbass," Dahyun gave you a little kick on the ankle with her foot, "you'll be an architect."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm like this," you took another sip of your juice, inadvertently it was already half full, "I wish I wasn't, believe me."

"Hey! Don't say that!" Jihyo complained, her brow furrowed now, "there's nothing wrong with you being like that, you seem like a friendly and calm boy, besides, you're very cute. You just have to work on it, taking small steps each time."

"Exactly, I never said it was a bad thing, silly," Dahyun said, placing her hand on your shoulder and giving it a little squeeze.

It was the second time in a few minutes that Jihyo had told you that you were cute. You were tremendously slow and stupid for those kinds of compliments or situations, and at that moment you couldn't tell if it was just simple kindness or if it was something more. Your gaze met Jihyo's in a short moment of silence, and for some reason, the place your eyes landed on when you broke eye contact went straight to her pair of round, tight big breasts. She wasn't dumb, she saw right away where your gaze was, and in response she undid just one button on her shirt, enough so that you could see a few inches of her cleavage.

"I-I know... I know, I'm sorry," you took a deep breath, and set the carton of juice on the edge of the table to sink a little into the seat and force yourself not to show your nervousness.

"Hey, cheer up a bit, I promise to make it worth your while," Jihyo placed a hand on your knee and patted it. You stared at her hand, and from there your gaze went up her body, her cleavage, and once again, into her eyes, "Dubu, do you know what music he likes?" she shifted her gaze to your best friend.

"It's disturbing how varied his playlist is," Dahyun was already downing her first can of beer, judging by the lightness with which he picked it up, "the other day he went from listening to Kanye West to Bonnie Tyler."

"Total Eclipse of the Heart?" Jihyo asked.

"Aha," you nodded, more embarrassed than anything else.

"We'll do karaoke, I can sing that one for you if you want."

"Can you sing that song?" you asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah, she's a very good singer, don't underestimate her," Dahyun said.

"I'd like to see that," you admitted, cracking a small smile.

"Then let's get to it," Jihyo nodded toward the couch in front of the TV, where Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Han were still drinking and eating. You three stood up, Jihyo in front of you two. She stood between the TV and the sofa, placing both hands on her waist, "Hey, shut up everyone!" she called the attention of everyone in the apartment, "it's time for karaoke."

"Just in time!" Changbin said, coming back from the kitchen with a large plate full of perfectly browned fries, "don't be fucking cute and eat them all so fast!" he walked past you and set the plate down on the coffee table next to the already empty bowl of fries.

“I don't promise anything at all,” Chaeyoung said, also walking past Seungmin to sit on one of the individual sofas.

"Sit down guys, I'll be over there," Jihyo said to you, pointing to the large sofa and then to the chairs near Chaeyoung and Seungmin.

Hearing this, Nayeon and Jeongyeon made enough space for you on the couch so that you could all fit a bit tightly together. Dahyun was about to sit on the end of the sofa, but you grabbed her forearm before she did, giving her a look that made it clear that you didn't want to sit so close to Nayeon, so she sat down next to her, and you sat on the end of the sofa right next to the armband.

Jihyo turned on the TV and went to YouTube, and then took a wireless microphone out of one of the drawers under the TV and connected it to the sound system.

"Alright, who wants to sing first?" there was a long silence in the living room, until the person you least expected got up from the sofa.

"Well, if no one else wants to start, I will," Han said, rolling up the sleeves of the sweater he was wearing.

"I must admit I'm surprised," Jihyo laughed, "What do you want to sing?" Han thought about it for a moment, narrowing his eyes as he watched the TV.

"Maniac, the one by Michael Sembello."

"Sure? I could play you the Conan Gray one and that's it," she raised both eyebrows, then met Han's poker face, "very good very good."

Jihyo searched for the song on youtube, and when she hit play she held out the microphone for Han to pick up. To your pleasant surprise, Han was a better singer than he appeared, he wasn't singing the song in exact Michael Sembello key, but his voice color was quite distinctive and cool. While he sang, Changbin went back to the kitchen, only to return with multiple beer cans in his hands and held against his body. He handed it out to everyone in the room, and when he was going to give yours to you, you were forced to shake your head.

"I don't drink, thanks," you brushed him off as nicely as possible.

"Oh no problem then, I'll get you a Pepsi mate."

"But-" before you could protest he was past you and into the kitchen again, taking with him the can of beer that was meant for you.

"Do you still think that the whole society sucks?" Dahyun asked from the side of you, nudging you slightly as she opened her can of beer. There was already enough space on the sofa, but even so she was still very close to you.

"Well, I have to admit that these people are… nice," you said, looking at the TV screen and following the lyrics of the song in your mind.

"I told you," she placed a hand on your thigh and shook it a little, "you're going to have fun, silly," Dahyun grabbed your face with her free hand and pulled you close for a peck on the cheek, "Thank you for coming with me."

You didn't know what to answer at first, you kept a lost look when you felt Dubu's delicate lips on your cheek. It wasn't the first time she'd done something like that, but in every situation you were just as stunned as the previous one.

"Uh… thanks to you," you replied, and it wasn't until seconds later that you realized what a fucking stupid thing you said. Dahyun could only burst out laughing.

Changbin came back with you, a can of Pepsi in hand.

"Sorry bro, I couldn't find it among so many beers," he said, handing you the can.

"No problem, thanks," you smirked and picked up the can, then Changbin went to sit next to Jihyo, who was talking and laughing with Chaeyoung and Seungmin.

The song was over for Han, and all of you in the room gave him a collective applause more than deserved since he had killed the song completely.

"Okay, who's next? That guy just set the bar high," there was another long silence, as everyone stared at her. Jihyo sighed, "Okay, I'll sing," apparently it was a moment they'd all been waiting for, as they erupted in cheers and applause.

Jihyo stood up, took the microphone from Han and took a few slow steps towards the center, as she did so she stared at you and raised an eyebrow, wanting to make sure your eyes were on her at all times. As usual, you almost peed your pants at how intimidating and hot she looked and how clumsy you were in those situations.

She searched for the song that you had asked for a few minutes ago in the search bar, and when she played it you couldn't believe that she was really fulfilling your desire to hear her sing one of your favorite songs of hers. It only took a few seconds for Jihyo to completely captivate you.

You didn't need to be an expert in singing to realize that Jihyo knew what she was doing, her voice was strong and clear, with a powerful volume that you were sure didn't even need a microphone to resonate throughout the apartment without any problem. Her voice wasn't as raspy as Bonnie Tyler's, that was completely impossible to imitate, but she perfectly offset each of the song's high notes without any effort. She was putting her soul and her sweat into killing that song, and you couldn't help but stare at her, totally stunned and impressed.

About a minute and a half into the song had passed when Jihyo did a dramatic turn, and when her head turned, she caught your eyes on her, realizing, she gave you a beautiful smile that felt like an arrow straight to your heart. She turned around again to look at the television, and you were left with a hot sensation on your cheeks, you had blushed.

That had left you partially isolated from your surroundings, you were no longer looking at Jihyo, your gaze was now lost in absolute nothingness while your heart began to beat slightly harder. Everything around you began to be heard as if you were a few meters underwater, the screams, the applause, the cheers, the laughter, it became in the background while you completely disconnected and began to stir nervously. That could only mean one thing, your social battery was running low and you were having an anxiety attack.

"Hey, Balto..." you heard once, like distant waves, "Balto!" you heard a second time, this time clearer and louder, with a little shake in your arm that brought you back to reality, "Hey, something wrong?"

You looked around, quickly remembering where you were. You looked at Jihyo, who was still singing, and then you looked at everyone else, drinking and having fun. Finally you looked at Dubu, who was looking at you with a worried expression on her face.

"Ah… yeah, I'm fine, I just need to wash my face, I'm a little sleepy," you jerked your thumb back, pointing to the kitchen.

"Are you sure? We can leave in a bit if you want..."

"No, no," you said quickly, "don't worry, I just need to walk a bit to wake up," you took a drink of your Pepsi, then set it down on the small table in front of you to stand up and walk to the kitchen. Jihyo noticed that you were gone, she had seen you out of the corner of her eye, but she kept singing anyway.

You reached the kitchen with your breath still somewhat agitated. You walked over to the sink, turned on the tap, and cupped your two hands to start pouring water on your face. After a few seconds you turned off the tap, and grabbed some kitchen towel to dry your face while you looked around. You hadn't noticed it when you arrived because of the curtains, but on the left side of the kitchen was a door that led to a small balcony outside. You walked over there, slid the glass door to the left and went outside.

The fresh air and the gentle breeze made you take a long breath that helped you begin to relax your body. The views from up there were beautiful, allowing you to see a good part of the city of Seoul and the hills that bordered the city in every corner. You walked over to the railing, which was about the height of your stomach, and leaned idly on it to look up at the beautiful, clear sky.

Nothing was going through your mind at that moment, you were just enjoying your solitude and the absolute peace of the moment, without people shouting and without so much fuss around you. You were really feeling comfortable a few minutes ago, but your brain was not used to it, you assumed that it would take time for that to happen, in the meantime, you had to settle for panic attacks that took absolute control over your body and made you just run away.

It didn't take more than five minutes when you heard the door open a few meters behind you. You thought it was Dahyun, and that's why you didn't bother to turn around, but the surprise almost made you fall over the edge.

"I did it so badly that you had to go outside to not listen to me?" Jihyo said from behind you.

"Fuck!" You gave a little jump, and you put your hand on your heart to let out a sigh and turn to look at her, "You didn't do it wrong, in fact quite the opposite, you're incredible."

"Oh yeah? Then why did you run away like that?" She said, raising an eyebrow, she took a few steps forward and took one of the chairs that were on the balcony to sit cross-legged on it.

"It's just… my social battery is dying, it's already dead, actually," you sighed, going to sit in the other chair next to her, "I'm just used to being around Dahyun all the time."

"I see..." Jihyo nodded slowly, looking up at the sky with you, "Hey, how did you two meet? You seem to be very close."

"It's not really a special story," you began, "we met on our first day, it was the first math module, if I remember correctly. And well, as you saw, I have terrible social anxiety that comes from when I was a kid, and just having to ask a basic question to the teacher terrified me. Dahyun helped me that day, and if it wasn't for her, I would have failed every single test. From then on she always showed interest in me, and never left me alone for a day."

"Aw, that's so cute!" Jihyo said, pulling the chair a little closer towards yours as she looked at you.

You and Jihyo from that moment started a conversation that flowed better than you could ever expect. She was a girl with whom talking was quite easy, she was attentive and very kind, she didn't overwhelm you too much with a lot of words, and she understood perfectly that what you liked the most were those kinds of conversations in which the wind could be heard perfectly above your voices. Normally you wouldn't be talking for so long with a person almost unknown to you, but for some reason you felt comfortable with her, it was something about her aura, her smell, or something as simple as how pretty she was.

About 10 minutes passed, in which you only told stories about each other while looking at the sky and the city, she laughed at your silly awkward jokes, and you at the grace with which she told her stories, but you noticed something quickly, and it was that with each passing moment, Jihyo discreetly moved her chair closer to yours, to the point where they were pressed against each other. You didn't really care at first, but when the conversation fell silent, she leaned her head on your shoulder, and that completely changed the landscape for you.

Your first natural impulse was to try to pull away, since that was what you had been doing your whole life, but she completely ignored your attempt to pull away and left her head there. You had no choice but to take a deep breath, close your eyes and get used to the sensation, which stopped feeling like a nuisance and felt more like a relief, something you felt you just had to enjoy and that's it.

"You know something Balto… it's hard to find people like you," Jihyo said quietly, as you both watched the dim moon behind the clouds.

"What are you talking about?" you asked.

"You are a genuine person... nowadays everyone is hypocritical and fake with everyone, but you are special."

"How are you so sure of that?"

"I just am. Besides, Dubu would never have liked a bad boy, she's too pure and lovely for that."

"Wait," you frowned in confusion, "liked?"

"Oh come on, haven't you really noticed?" Jihyo chuckled.

"What thing?"

"Dahyunie is crazy about you, Balto, I can see it in her eyes," your gaze was lost for a moment while your brain processed the information.

"Nonsense... she's just being nice, she loves me like her best friend," what Jihyo said made all the sense in the world, in fact, more than once you had suspected it, but for some reason you didn't leave the stage of denial for never having noticed it.

"Honey, we women aren't that 'nice'," she made the quotation marks on her fingers, "to our best friends."

"But… why has she never told me?" you asked, still incredulous.

"For the same reason that you haven't told her. You're afraid it will make things different."

"Uh? W-What are you talking about?" all the nerves that you hadn't been feeling a few minutes ago came back to you at that moment.

"Oh sweet boy, you're hopeless," Jihyo sighed, lifting her head from your shoulder to turn to you and bring her mouth to your ear, "I'm going to ask you just once, and I want you to be completely honest with me, if you're not, I'll know," she whispered, her lips brushing against your ear.

"..."

"You like Dahyun, don't you?" she asked. You remained silent and you began to think about it, in all the times in which you had suppressed your feelings and you had left it as something insignificant, but the reality was that there was no person in the world that made you feel so bad. loved as she did. You remembered her radiant smile, the one that would brighten the darkest of your days, and quickly your heart gave an answer.

"I…" you started, but as soon as you were about to reply, Jihyo placed her index finger on your lips to silence you. Then, she got up from her chair and with a quick movement completely unexpected for you, she climbed onto you and sat on your lap, leaving the full weight of her ass against your crotch. You gasped in surprise, your body completely paralyzed as you felt totally controlled by her. She leaned forward, pressing her big tits against your chest and leaning in close to your ear once more.

"I know you like it, you don't have to answer," she whispered with a slight giggle, "I won't tell anyone, don't worry, but if you want I can help you get together."

"Y-you… can you do that?" you asked, still unaware of Jihyo's real intentions.

"Of course, darling," she straightened up and looked into your eyes, "but you'll have to trust me."

"O-okay..." you nodded, again unable to meet her gaze for even more than two seconds.

"Now then, I have another question for you," she leaned forward once more, but this time with her face only inches from yours, her lips almost brushing against yours, "do you think I'm hot?"

That question surprised you even more than the first, but for this one you did have a more than clear answer. You had been seeing her since you arrived at her apartment, and her body was perfect in absolutely every way, big tits, wide hips, nice abdomen, and a tight round ass.

"Yes… you are," you murmured, looking away to avoid her eye, only to notice a smile on her face.

"Put your hands on my waist," she commanded.

"Uh? A-are you sure?" You raised both hands, but left them floating on either side of Jihyo's body.

"Yes, honey, go ahead," she nodded calmly, and you did, holding the woman's fleshy waist in your hands. She placed her hands on your shoulders, and began to rock her hips slowly back and forth, pressing against the growing bulge in your pants with each brush.

You put pressure on her waist with your fingers, gasping at Jihyo's sensual movements. She began to give you small kisses all over her face, from your chin to your forehead, ending with a delicate kiss on your lips.

"You must be very romantic with Dubu, you know?" she whispered against your lips as her ass rubbed against your erection, "she really loves that," Saying that, she returned to your lips to plunge you into a slow, deep kiss, you let her have absolute control over you, even letting her tongue enter your mouth whenever she wanted. She began to move her hips harder when she noticed that your cock was hard under her, "you can touch me as much as you want honey, don't be afraid," she said in the middle of the kiss, before continuing to attack your mouth with her tongue.

Now with a little more confidence, you took your hands from her waist directly towards her ass, giving her buttocks a slight squeeze and then going up her lower back and ending up with your hands on her tits, which almost didn't even fit in them.

"I noticed how you saw them earlier," Jihyo teased with a giggle, "but don't worry, you can touch them as much as you want...even do other things with them later," she kissed you again, and you left yourself for her while your hands massaged and squeezed her soft tits.

While you were still in that intense and sensual making out session, Dahyun was in the living room still sitting where she had been before you left. The people were already drunk, but they were still singing and joking as happily as ever. She had stopped drinking when neither you nor Jihyo showed up anymore, so she was the only completely sane and sober one in that room. At first she thought it was good for you to socialize and experience other people's social contact than hers, but it had been so long that she couldn't help but suspect something was up.

She had to come up with an excuse just like you did to get out of there and go to the kitchen. She didn't see you there, but what she did see was the balcony door open between the curtains that billowed from the wind outside. Dubu walked slowly towards the door, and parted the curtains to find something a few meters away that she never thought she would see in her life.

Dahyun stood in the doorway, her hands on either side of her body as her mouth dropped slightly open in astonishment. She wrinkled her skirt between her fingers, watching you kiss in such a hot way without being able to believe that you were the same guy who a few minutes ago couldn't even look Jihyo in the eye without first shitting his pants. Her body started to feel a little hot, and her cheeks flushed red, seeing Jihyo had unbuttoned her shirt so you could grab her tits over her top, but she still felt that she shouldn't be there and that it was wrong to spy on you, for so she just turned around and went back to the living room to look at her phone and try to erase what she had just seen from her mind.

"Hey, let's go to my room, okay?" she murmured breaking into the kiss, and you put on a somewhat fearful expression, "it's all part of the plan, just let yourself go," she winked at you, and then she gave you a small kiss on the lips before standing up, you followed her

The corridor leading to Jihyo's bedroom could only be seen from a certain angle in the living room. Jihyo led the way, hoping Dahyun was sitting right at that end of the room. Her hopes were fulfilled, but Dubu was focused on her phone, so he had to intentionally slam the wall so she could look up, Jihyo played dumb, and then took your hand to go straight to the bedroom.

As soon as you entered the room Jihyo pinned you against the wall, grabbed your face and kissed you again, but this time in a more intense and fiery way. Her hand went straight to the hard bulge of your pants, and she gently squeezed your cock through the fabric as she kissed you.

"I haven't been able to take my eyes off you since you got here..." Jihyo murmured, pulling away from your lips and burying her face into your neck to begin dishing out wet kisses on it, "you're so, so fucking cute," she unbuttoned your jeans, unzipped them and reached into your boxer to grip your cock between her fingers, "and from what I feel, you have a big juicy cock," she broke away from you and took a step back, "sit there honey," she nodded at the bed, and you complied.

You went to sit on the edge of Jihyo's bed, and she walked over to stand right between your legs. You fixed your gaze on her, and she began to remove her clothes slowly. She first took off her shirt, and then she took off her top, letting you see the white bra that contained her juicy pair of milkers. This was followed by her pants, which she unbuttoned and pulled down very slowly, revealing her meaty tummy, a pair of gorgeous legs, and most of all, the thin lace panty that did little to hide her plump pussy. You gaped, almost drooling at such a fucking incredible body, but as if that wasn't enough, she reached behind her back and undid her bra, it fell off her shoulders, and now her pair of big, round, perfect tits were released right in front of your face.

"J-Jihyo..." you stammered, completely stunned by the pair of melons mere inches from your face.

"Shhh..." she put a finger to your lips, "the best is yet to come," Jihyo took a step back, turned around, and grabbed her own buttocks just to tease you, then grabbed the curb of her panties, lean forward, and begin to slide them down, showing you her plump juicy pussy. She was now completely naked in front of you, and your cock did nothing but throb, screaming to be released. Jihyo was going to turn back to you, but she suddenly looked at the door, noticing something you didn't, she quickly walked over to it, flung it open, grabbed Kim Dahyun's wrist and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her.

"Oh shit!" Dahyun exclaimed, immediately covering her eyes. You widened your eyes in shock, was she really spying on you? Was this part of Jihyo's plan?

"It seems we had company all this time," Jihyo said with a giggle, "It's okay sweetheart, you can watch," she walked over to Dubu, grabbed her wrists, and gently pushed her hands away from her face so she could look at her body.

"I-I, uh… fuck, I can explain," Dubu's face turned red as a tomato, which was easy enough due to her pale skin tone. She didn't know where to look, at one point she looked at you and the marked bulge under your boxers, but then she always ended up looking at Jihyo's tits or pussy.

"You don't have to explain anything, I know you were spying on us, even on the balcony," Jihyo reached out and caressed one of Dubu's cheeks with the back of her hand, "I was hoping you would come here, and you made it easy for me."

"I-I'll go, no problem, I'll just pretend I didn't see anything," she looked away, tilted her head towards Jihyo and tried to turn and leave, but Jihyo grabbed her wrist.

"Uh uh," she shook her head, "we've been waiting for you honey, you can't just leave like that."

"For me?" Dubu asked, her face still red, her breathing ragged from arousement.

"You're the lynchpin of all this, darling, of course," Jihyo closed the distance to inches, grabbed her face and gave Dubu a little kiss on the lips, who was so turned on and surprised that she didn't even flinched, "or don't you want to give Balto a more… special kind of treatment?" She and Jihyo looked at you, but then they locked eyes.

"Of course I do," Dubu agreed slowly, biting her lower lip and finally succumbing to her carnal urges. She took off her jacket, revealing her pretty shoulders and closing the distance between her and Jihyo. They merged in a very hot kiss, Jihyo had wrapped her arms around Dubu's waist, and Dubu had taken her by the neck while she moaned against her lips.

Jihyo wasted no time in getting down to business, first focusing on removing her top and then her skirt, Dubu helped her by taking off her shoes, and now she was just in pink panties and a white bra. They continued kissing for a few seconds, until Dubu herself took off her bra. You were still completely stunned by the incredibly hot scene that was happening in front of you, but also because it was the first time you saw Dubu's naked body in its full splendor, you knew that she had a very pretty figure, but seeing her like this way It made you realize that your best friend had an enviable body, curvy, pale, and toned. Dubu took her hands to Jihyo's tits to squeeze them firmly, while Jihyo massaged her wide and round ass.

"Stop cutie, I think our sweet boy wants some attention too," Jihyo said as she parted from your best friend's lips, and then turned to look at you, "why don't you go join him? I want to play with that cock for a bit."

"Of course," Dubu gasped, also turning to look at you, she walked slowly towards you, climbed on the bed, and disappeared from your sight to kneel behind you. Meanwhile, Jihyo knelt between your legs and grabbed your pants and boxers and lowered them to your ankles and then took them off.

"Fuck... look what we have here," Jihyo gazed at your cock like a shining treasure between her eyes, took it in one hand and shook it gently, "who knew our shy boy was hiding such a beautiful cock."

Dubu said nothing behind you, you tried to turn your head over your shoulder to see her, but what was happening in front of you also demanded your attention. Dahyun helped you remove your sweater, and then ran her hands around your torso to caress your abdomen and chest with her soft, delicate hands.

"Oh Balto… I've been missing that cock all this time," Dubu whispered in your ear, and you shuddered slightly.

"Dahyun… I..." Before you could say anything, Jihyo's pretty lips latched onto the tip of your cock without full warning to make you gasp. She slowly sucked on the tip of it, and then released it to give the base of your shaft a long, sensual lick before pushing you back inside her, this time her lips lowered further, until most of your cock was gone inside her warm mouth.

"Don't say anything, just enjoy, silly..." Dubu whispered, starting to kiss your neck, your shoulders and also your back.

Jihyo placed both hands on your thighs, and began to slowly pump her head up and down. You put your hands on the mattress, and wrinkled the sheets thanks to the sensual pumping of Jihyo's head on your cock. She made sure to make it nice and slow for you, knowing that you wouldn't like something quick and messy right away. You were grateful that she made that decision, because you felt like you were in heaven as her lips went up and down, leaving a slippery and shiny trail.

You leaned back, turned your head to the left and finally found yourself facing Dubu, she looked you in the eye, with flushed cheeks and parted lips, she wanted to say something just like you, but in the end your first impulse was the same, to unite in a kiss that you had been anticipating for months. It may not have been in the right or more romantic circumstances, but you did feel butterflies in your stomach while your lips danced and collided with each other.

"Mission accomplished," Jihyo said, pulling you out of her mouth, you completely ignored her, and she just went back to her business. She sucked on your cock for a few more seconds until she pulled you out of her mouth again, you felt her hands remove from your thighs, and the next thing you felt was your cock being surrounded by soft flesh. You pulled away from the kiss just to see what it was about, only to find Jihyo's pair of big tits sandwiching your cock right in the middle.

"Oh fuck..." you gasped, watching as Jihyo grabbed her tits to press them around your shaft.

"Dubu, would you help me?" Jihyo asked looking at her, "I think it's still a little dry," Dahyun didn't hesitate for a second before kneeling next to you on the mattress, leaning forward being careful not to fall, and spitting out all the accumulated saliva of your kiss between your cock and Jihyo's tits.

Jihyo made sure that her tits were well lubricated as well, using her own saliva apart from Dubu's to make it more slippery. Having made sure that both your cock and her tits were salivated enough, she pressed them firmly and began to move her chest up and down slowly. You moaned out loud, feeling the soft slide of your cock between her incredibly soft tits.

"Balto... touch me please," Dahyun moaned from next to you, you turned to face her, and once again you kissed, but this time your hands went to her pair of modest mounds, slowly massaging them before taking your hands all over her statuesque body, your fingers traversing every possible curve, and finally ending up on the hem of her panties, which you pulled forward a little just to reveal more of her milky buttocks.

Jihyo had started to move her chest faster, letting you use her tits as a personal cocksleeve. She made sure that all of your cock went in and out, so that when she hit your pelvis with her tits, the tip of your shaft would brush against her tongue. It was the first time you received a titjob, and definitely between that, and Dubu's soft skin under your fingers while you kissed, you weren't going to last long.

The constant, quick pumping of Jihyo's tits around your cock didn't stop until at least a minute later, when without full warning, you moaned against Dubu's lips and suddenly exploded.

"Oh!" Jihyo exclaimed, moving her chest slower than her as you unloaded thick strips of cum against her tongue and between her tits. You parted from Dahyun's lips, and you both watched as Jihyo's chin and tits were painted with your thick liquid, "Fuck honey... do you like my tits that much?" Jihyo asked with a mischievous tone, wiping her chin with two of her fingers to put them in her mouth.

"Y-yes… I love them," you gasped, your cock still throbbing and leaking precum as she unwrapped her tits from around it.

"I noticed," she blew you a kiss, "Dubu, do you want to clean me up?" Jihyo raised an eyebrow.

"I…" Dahyun licked her lips, she looked at you, and then at Jihyo's tits, "yeah, I'd love to."

Dubu got off the bed and knelt down next to Jihyo, who turned to Dubu, and she leaned forward to hold her breasts in the outline of her hands, bring her lips closer, and stick out her tongue to start collecting all the cum from Jihyo's tits. You stared at the scene, Dubu licking your cum, and at the same time eating Jihyo's tits, who let out little moans every time your best friend's tongue touched one of her nipples.

Once Jihyo's tits were clean, Dahyun looked at you and settled down facing you to grab your cock with one hand, look into your eyes for a few long seconds, and finally begin to clean it with her tongue as well, adding little kisses all over it. your shaft.

"You love your best friend's cock, don't you dear?" Jihyo asked, running through Dahyun's hair between her fingers, "I bet you've thought about fucking him more than once..."

"He's so nice and attentive to me, he's the cutest guy ever," Dubu murmured, placing one last kiss on the tip of your cock, "I've been wanting to suck his dick for months now."

"Dubu..." you gasped, somewhat surprised at her small confession, and feeling fucking stupid for never expressing your feelings to her.

"You can do it later, as many times as you want, but right now I want to jump on that cock," Jihyo said, standing up.

"But..." Dubu said.

"You'll have your turn later darling, consider it the small price for getting you together."

"Dahyunie, sit on my face," you said, and she and Jihyo both turned to look at you in surprise.

"Oh... is that really what you want?" Dahyun asked with her cheeks turning red again.

"Don't ask, just come and do it," you gasped, and then Dubu stood up to climb back on the bed.

Jihyo turned around and bent her knees, her ass now hovering just inches above your cock. She spat into her hand, slipping it between her thighs to cup your cock with one hand and rubbing the tip against her wet slit a few times before lining it up, holding it still and slowly lowering her hips as your shaft worked its way inches further between her fleshy, silky folds.

"Shit baby, that fucking cock is stretching me so fucking good!" Jihyo moaned, looking over her shoulder at you as your dick was engulfed in her pussy, and a few seconds later, she rested her ass against your pelvis. You moaned together, feeling absolutely every inch of your shaft inside her wet cunt, the only things visible were Jihyo's round buttocks and her folds wrapped around your base.

"I'm sorry you won't get to see that ass bouncing, darling, but you just made me a promise," Dubu said behind you, grabbing your shoulders and gently pulling you back until you were lying on your back on the mattress, while Jihyo began to move her ass very slowly up and down, your cock sliding smoothly in and out.

Dahyun stood next to you and quickly pulled her panties down, giving you a bottom view of her pretty pink pussy. She got on top of you, her feet on either side of your arms then kneeling down and pressing her big tight ass against your chest. She leaned back, until her thighs were on either side of your head, and she arched forward to gently lower her hips so that her pussy brushed against your lips.

You took your first lick of her slit, a slow one at first, and then you began to move your tongue slowly along her cunt. You raised her hands to grab her waist and make her lower her hips completely, so that she suffocated you with her pussy, that made your whole mouth now involved. You weren't exactly an expert at what you were doing, but you learned pretty quickly thanks to the sounds Dahyun made to tell you that you were hitting the right spot.

Meanwhile, Jihyo had grabbed onto your knees and started to slam her ass harder and harder against your pelvis. Her moans were considerably louder than Dahyun's, you weren't surprised, after all those lungs must be able to hold a lot of air.

"That's it honey, eat that little pussy while I jump on this big juicy cock," Jihyo moaned, moving her ass in such a way that with each jump only the tip of your cock was inside her, "Fuck fuck fuck!"

Jihyo had already gotten to the point where the pounding of her ass against your pelvis was pretty loud, but feeling like she was on the verge of tearing you in half with each crash had you moaning against Dahyun's pussy, who was now moaning almost as loud as Jihyo, while you eat her out with all the dedication and effort you could. Your hands went from being on her wide hips to being directly on her buttocks, squeezing and spreading them to make your work easier, and Dubu responded to the attacks of your tongue on her pussy with hip movements that caused her slit to rub even with your nose.

"Fuck Balto... you do it so... oh fuck!" Dubu moaned, straightening her back to put even more weight on your head, which meant less oxygen to breathe, "so fucking good!" she continued to grind her hips, but this time leaned back slightly so she could hold onto your hair tightly as she did so.

You didn't know exactly what you were supposed to be doing, but it's not like you could focus much on doing anything else either. Jihyo was completely destroying you, she was jumping on your cock like her life depended on it, and you were thankful that you weren't close to cum yet, otherwise you would have been forced to focus on only one thing at a time.

Fortunately for you, Dubu's climax was not long in coming. She pressed her thighs tightly around your head, that was the first sign, and then stopped moving and moaning, as you hit a single spot on her pussy with your tongue that you knew was driving her crazy. Seconds later, Dahyun finally released her orgasm with a loud moan straight to the ceiling, and resumed grinding her pussy against your mouth as her spasms made her body shake every second. As her orgasm ceased she fell forward, pressing her tits against your abdomen with a first person view of Jihyo impaling herself completely on your cock over and over again.

"I'm going to cum, fuck!" Jihyo screeched, almost digging her nails into your thighs as her ass wildly bounced  on you, "I'm going to cum all over your big cock honey!" you just closed your eyes, counting sheep in your mind so you don't cum with her. 

It only took a few more slams of her ass against your pelvis for Jihyo to land one last downward thrust and her entire body began to shake from her intense orgasm. Good thing they were drunk and singing outside, otherwise, everyone would have found out what was going on in there thanks to Jihyo's moans (more like screams). She didn't seem to care that her body was in the grip of the strong spasms that shook her, and she kept moving her ass up and down not as fast, but just as hard. Her pussy was constantly clenching around your cock, and it really took a lot of concentration not to succumb to the incredible sensation and cum.

"I want... I want his cock inside me, please, I beg," Dubu implored Jihyo as Jihyo continued to move slowly on your cock. Jihyo turned to see her, finding her just centimeters from her ass, and she smiled mischievously.

"I know, sweetheart, the price is already paid," Jihyo pulled you out of her and stood up to climb on the bed and fall face down on one of her pillows. Dubu, also a bit weak from her recent orgasm, got off of you and knelt to the side to look at you.

"Go lie down on the pillow, I'm going to ride you, honey," Dubu told you, and then leaned over to give you a little kiss on the forehead.

You propped yourself up on your elbows and climbed all the way up on the bed, crawling back until you lay on the pillow next to Jihyo's head, who looked at you and winked before raising her head, waiting to see what you were about to do.

Dubu joined you, climbing on your lap and sitting against the back of your cock, causing it to rub against her wet slit. She took the yellow headband that was still on her head and threw it to the ground, letting loose her silky and shiny black hair, you looked into her eyes, and blushed at how incredibly beautiful she looked on your lap.

"Dahyunie... I like you, a lot," you blurted out almost automatically, without thinking about it and without holding back. Dubu blushed too, but she couldn't help but smile.

"I like you too, silly," she replied, brushing your cheek with her thumb, "but I hate you for waiting until now to tell me."

"S-sorry..." you made a sad face, looking up at the ceiling.

"You're welcome," Jihyo said from beside you.

"Shut up, unnie," Dubu said, then flopped forward and cupped your face with both hands, "And you have nothing to apologize for, you'll repay me by making me cum soooo hard," Dahyun raised both eyebrows mischievously to stand upright again.

Dahyun had to put one foot against the mattress to get a grip on your cock, rubbing it up and down a couple of times, aligning it with her pussy before putting her knee back on the mattress and starting to lower her hips slowly. She closed her eyes, and bit her lip as she took a deep breath. Her pussy was considerably tighter than Jihyo's, and your cock couldn't get much past the tip.

"Wait, let me help," Dubu lifted her hips, and Jihyo spat on her hand to grab your cock, stroke on it very well,  and leave it well lubed up for Dahyun's pussy.

Your "best friend" pressed down again, and this time your cock slid slowly and smoothly deep into Dahyun's tight pussy. She rested both hands on your chest, opening her eyes and looking down to see you with her mouth parted between rapid gasps.

"It's so fucking big, what the fuck," she moaned, leaning forward slightly to begin to slowly move her hips up and down, not enough to bring you pleasure, but enough to make you enjoy all the sensations.

"Yes it is, honey… but you can take it all," Jihyo said quietly, lying on her side to lift one leg up and begin rubbing her pussy with two of her salivated fingers.

Dahyun clung to your shoulders tightly, and when she felt that her pussy no longer presented any resistance to your cock, she began to move her hips in a constant and sensual rhythm. You moaned in unison, placing your hands on her waist as she made long, deep movements with her ass, and she showed no intention of moving much faster than that. She didn't just want to fuck you to get her own orgasm, but so that you both could enjoy your first time to the fullest.

Jihyo also began to moan quietly next to you, the woman kept rubbing her pussy slowly, following your rhythm at all times. She didn't say anything else, she had understood that this moment was only yours, and that it would be quite anticlimactic for you if she was talking dirty to you.

Your hands ran all over Dahyun's body, starting with her thighs, then her hips, and then her incredibly sexy back to caress it with your hands. Her skin was soft and pale like cotton, and you knew that after that night you would become completely addicted to just feeling it against your fingers. Your hands went from her back to her ass in one swift movement, squeezing and massaging her round buttocks as she moved her hips at a slightly faster pace, but retaining the sensuality and delicacy.

Dahyun groaned out loud, and flopped forward with her hands on your neck. Her face, flushed and distorted by her pleasure, was only inches from yours, and you, following the natural impulse of your body, wrapped your arms around her body and snuggled her against you to kiss her. She moaned against your lips and you against theirs, but even so your kiss was loaded with feelings that you had been repressing for a long time, love, gratitude, desire and affection, all of that was combined in a beautiful dance between your lips.

"I love you, darling…" she gasped against your lips, "just the way you are, and I don't want you to ever change that," her words preceded another moan against your lips. You were speechless, but you were staring into her eyes as she moved her hips up and down in the perfect rhythm to start slowly bringing you to your climax.

"I... love you too, Dubu," you managed to say, affectionately rubbing her back, "I would never stop being the boy you're in love with."

"God..." Dahyun whimpered, kissing you again as she grabbed your face and moved her hips a little faster, slightly letting go of her delicacy.

In the midst of that whirlwind of love and passion, the only audible moans were those of Jihyo next to you while she quickly rubbed her pussy, since yours were all silenced by your own lips. All of Dahyun's hair was down in your face, but it was the last thing you cared about right now.

"I'm going to cum Dubu..." you gasped in the middle of the kiss, "where..."

"Inside, darling, cum inside… cum with me," she moaned, grabbing her thighs on either side of your torso as she cast aside all traces of sensuality and finesse and began bouncing quickly on your cock.

"Are you sure?" you made sure, clearly wanting to.

"Just do it, I want to feel it, fuck!" She clung to your shoulders again, this time slightly digging her nails into them as she concentrated on moving her hips.

You let yourself be carried away for the moment, and you just closed your eyes as you held on to her with your arms, the scent of her hair, her moans, her pretty face of pleasure, her incredibly tight pussy, everything made the perfect combination to take you to your second orgasm of the night, both yours and hers. You exploded inside her with a loud moan, which seconds later was imitated by Dahyun but at least two decibels above. She returned to the sensual movements as her body succumbed to the intense spasms. Meanwhile, your cock was shooting thick strips of cum into her pretty pink pussy, which was being completely filled by every second you spent inside her. Dubu dropped her head next to yours in the middle of whimpers, while she cupped the side of your face with one of her hands and with the other crumpled the pillowcase.

Jihyo had kept rubbing her pussy all this time, and it wasn't until your orgasm passed that hers took center stage. Her body shook uncontrollably all over the side of her mattress amid screams of pleasure, a small squirt came out of her pussy, which stained her own thigh and part of the sheet under her. She continued rubbing and rubbing, until the liquid that was now coming out in little streams stopped coming out.

Knowing what had just happened between the two of you, Jihyo didn't bother to regain her energy before getting behind Dahyun's ass and making you pull your cock out of her, letting your cum run free out of her pussy and straight down in your shaft again. She grabbed your dick at the base and began to clean your cum with her tongue until it was clean again, then she concentrated on Dubu, firmly grabbing her ass and immersing her mouth in her pussy, eating and cleaning any trace of your cum in between her sensitive folds.

After leaving you clean, Jihyo lay down next to you again, while you still kept your eyes closed and your arms clinging to your... girlfriend? There was no sound in the bedroom, just gasping from the three of you.

"Well… rest up, there's still a cake to cut out there," Jihyo said, with a small giggle.

You and Dubu ignored her, and just fell asleep.

———————————————————————

Spren Notes:

Well, this story is definitely a bit different than what I usually do with OCs, but I hope you like it! By the way, I broke records for words written in a single day with this. 6k in a single day, lmao.

If you, dear reader, are interested in buying me a commission, do not hesitate to go through my inbox, I’ll be delighted!

[aziraphales-library]

Hello :D ! love the work that's being done here! could yall recommend some angsty touch-starved aziraphale fics? happy ending though, i cant bear to have him be sad at the end 😔

Hi! We have a #touch starved tag, so make sure to check that. Here are some angsty touch-starved Aziraphale fics to add...

Our Touch Through Time by oddityofstars (G)

Over the years, Aziraphale started to notice how lovely Crowley was, and how much he longed for him to be his. - Or, a realization over time through touch and small moments, Good Omens style.

and instructions for dancing by astrhae (M)

Aziraphale stood from his seat. He stood, abrupt, and there, in the small, stained aisle of the bus, he knelt. Knee, against dented metal. Knee, against rusted hope. And he reached out, until his hand found Crowley’s – until they both flinched at the open cut of touch. ----------- “And they aren’t talking.” ----------- Or, three car rides in silence, and one bus ride in hope. (Featuring an elevator, the Bentley, a train, and making out in a bus. Sort of. That's not the point. The point was: The elevator jerked to a stop. Crowley jolted forward, and instinct – carved deeper than light – forced Aziraphale forward to catch him. Hand, against elbow. Hand, against open wound.)

A Hug a Day by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

Crawley doesn’t really like to be touched. But when he realizes that Aziraphale needs physical contact, he does his best to oblige. Can they find a balance between too much touch and too little?

The Place You Don’t Belong (you do) by MagpieWords (G)

After the apocalypse doesn't happen again, Aziraphale tries and fails and tries again to repair things with Crowley. The human words for emotions are confusing and complicated, but so worthwhile. Inspired by Almost Heaven by Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon.

Touch my Tears with Your Lips by IneffableDoll (T)

In Heaven, there was nothing to touch. Aziraphale re-tied the knot of his bowtie again and again and again. He was alone, and nothing was real, and he was alone, and nothing was real. * The emptiness of Heaven is punishment itself, a torture for a very Earthly angel. He has no power. The Metatron lied to him. Crowley is somewhere else. Aziraphale is alone. When he eventually escapes back to Earth – where he belongs – Aziraphale and Crowley have a lot to work through, even after averting the Second Coming, a renewed attempt at taking away all they hold dear. They need to be gentle with each other’s fragile, fractured hearts and together, figure out how to love one another the way they’ve long wished to. A story of trauma, healing, and love. So, so much love.

There's a Special Place on Earth for Beings Like You by Kipje (T)

Set two years after Aziraphale leaves to become Supreme Archangel. It’s the Second Coming. Aziraphale is tasked with finding parents for the new Christ and returns to earth. He needs Crowley’s help, but the two haven’t spoken since the break-up. Crowley doesn’t want to forgive the angel, nor does he want to help out with the baby, but he finds it incredibly hard not to get involved. OR Aziraphale and Crowley raise the new Christ together; a girl named Eden. While they try to sort out their feelings and avert the apocalypse. Excerpt: Crowley had always assumed Aziraphale would want to run away with him in order to be together. He had never bothered to ask if there was a version where they would be an ‘us’ on earth. What was Aziraphale supposed to do once they arrived in the Alpha Centauri system. How would that even work with his book collection? Sure, Aziraphale had fallen in love with the demon – and it had taken him a while to be able to admit that – but he had also fallen in love with humanity, with earth. He had never planned on leaving. He knew earth would be no fun without his favourite wily serpent, but that did not mean he would be fine anywhere as long as Crowley was there. He had standards.

- Mod D

[dangerkittenclaws]

Are your requests still open? I’d love a fic where the (AFAB) reader is in a situation where she’s forced to share a bed with Vessel (maybe she’s a musician who’s touring with ST and the hotel is short on rooms? lol I know it’s super cliche) and in the middle of the night he wakes her up by initiating sex? 🥰

This was so fun to write, thank you!! And thank you for being my first request/ask, I'll never forget it! Sorry it took me a hot second to finish. To be honest, I feel I got a tad carried away but I hope I did our lean bean of a man justice! <3

vessel x f!band!reader

warnings: smut MDNI +18

You were waiting in the lobby of the hotel your tour agent had booked, spinning your luggage case lazily by its extended handle. The staff had been frantic as your large group entered the building.

 IV was at the counter talking to the man who was clicking desperately at his computer. Something clearly was wrong with the reservation, but you were so tired that you really didn't care, you just wanted to slide into a cozy bed and sleep like the dead. It had been a long day, not including the show tonight and piling into a van afterwards. 

Two of your best friends and bandmates, Alexis and Maggie were sitting on one of the lobby couches quietly showing memes to II. Vessel, III, and Liv, your bassist, were sitting on the bench right next to them. You all had gotten to know each other fairly well considering you inhabited a bus for numerous hours, watched each other practice, and went out to eat together. 

You had noticed Vessel staring at times the past few weeks. You didn’t particularly mind the man was checking you out, it felt good to be wanted in a genuine way. You were not opposed to something new. You had become aware of him giving you glances that were a few seconds too long, a hand grazing just a little slower, him waiting for you so he could walk with you to wherever you were going. 

And the teasing and bickering, god, it never ended. You didn't expect any different, being in close quarters with four boys and your three raunchy best friends, it was a constant war. You didn't quite know how to navigate these waters with Vessel though, it had been quite a while since your last boyfriend.

Your attention was brought back by IV walking back over to where you stood, a grimace on his face.

“Something happened to their booking system, they’re overbooked and we're going to have to share rooms until tomorrow.” 

Some sort of seniority took over his voice, “Maggie, Alexis, Liv you can share the two-queen room, II, III, and I will share the other. That leaves you and Ves with the last king room”, he said pointing between you and Vessel. 

Your eyes could’ve popped out of your head at that moment, but you schooled your expression hopefully before anyone noticed. You looked over to your bandmates and saw how Liv wanted to protest, but closed her mouth before she could say anything, knowing it was futile and everyone was too exhausted to care. It was nearing 3am and you were only spending two nights here before traveling again. 

Vessel's eyes instantly shot towards yours, a small smirk forming on his lips, his arms crossed over his chest. Those lips. 

“I guess it's you and me, then, love.” He gets up, standing to his full height before grabbing his duffel bag from beside him. The rest of the group rises and gathers their things, IV giving out key cards in silence. 

You look at your girls, bidding them goodnight with a small wave and suddenly your hands are empty. Vessel had taken it upon himself to steal your suitcase and start walking towards the elevators. 

Startled, Maggie giggles behind you at your expression. Breath leaves your mouth in a sort of sigh and laugh, and your tired legs begin to move in his direction. He is already in the elevator, keeping the door open for you. 

“Damn your long legs.” 

He turns to you once the doors shut, “I hope you have a little bit of energy left in you,” 

You look at him confused, “What do you mean?” You know what kind of tone he has, a playful, flirtatious one that makes you blush. 

“I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?” the doors open to the new floor and he darts out, immediately walking in long strides and searching for the correct door. You try to keep up, watching him try the key card on the fifth door down the hall and entering. You walk into the blackness of the room knowing he's just in front of you. He nearly giggles as he turns on the bedside lamp and watches your face scrunch up at the sudden light. 

“You could at least warn a girl,” you yawn. Just as described, there is one large plushy looking king bed in the center of the room, a tv mounted to the wall, a little breakfast counter, and a door ajar on the other side, the bathroom. 

Vessel drops both of your bags at the end of the bed, “Okay, me first, I need a shower.” he announces. You scoff and nod anyway, both of you taking out your pajamas and toiletries you'll need to set them aside. 

Vessel puts his hand on your hip from behind you, the boldest move he’s made yet, “I’ll be quick” is all he whispers near your ear. The warmth of his hand lingers on you even though you hear the door shut. You finally breathe again, you had stood frozen for too long. Is this really happening? 

You finally search out the TV remote, finding some mind-numbing home renovation show. You watch a few minutes, zoning out entirely, before the knob of the door twists and you turn your head. Your eyebrows raise at the sight before you. 

He is a little damp, clothes in hand, the last few water droplets running down his lean torso, hair scruffy from the towel dry he did before wrapping it lowly around his waist. You almost drool before looking back up to his eyes. 

“My eyes are up here, darlin,” he smirks. You feel your entire being light up red hot before you want to implode for getting caught staring at the very… enticing area that he is putting on display. It's not like he wears those pants for no reason at shows, it leaves little to your imagination and he knows it. 

You jump up with your head down, grabbing your things and dipping into the bathroom without another word. You shower hot, needing an excuse to be as pink as you were with that fine man that you had been roomed with. Your pajamas were just an oversized Sleep Token shirt and a short pair of plaid shorts. 

After scrubbing the day off of you, you change into your pajamas before your hand hesitates at the knob. You breathe out. We are just sleeping. We aren’t even anything yet. Why am I being so dramatic about this? 

You summon all of your courage to open the door and look out to see Vessel in bed, scrolling his phone, the room only illuminated by the TV. You put your leftover toiletries and laundry on top of your bag before plugging in your phone and pulling back the covers on the other side.

Vessel looks over to you, “Come here, love”, opening his arms to you. You snuggle into his side and onto his chest, as his hand rubs up and down your back. You involuntarily let out a little sigh of relief, finally you can rest. You fall asleep like that, him holding you close and warm. 

You wake up a few hours later, having turned to your side in your sleep, one of his still around your middle and the other under your neck. 

You move slightly and become aware of something pressed against your ass. You immediately hold your breath.

You slowly breathe out, and try to inch yourself away. His arm tightens around you. Oh shit, he’s awake. 

Like he reads your nervousness, he starts to kiss along the back of your neck to the side, underneath your ear. You shiver at his warm breath. 

“Hmm, I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it with your ass backed up to me darling.” You smile and blush at his words, knowing the effect you have on him. He grinds a bit into you as his hand slowly moves towards the waistband of your shorts. 

You realize your shirt had bunched up just below your tits just as his other hand reaches up and runs through your hair, long fingers pulling just enough for your head to move back. You turn to your back when he easily grazes over your clit and you clench your thighs together. Vessel gives you a little growl in your ear and your thighs cave open as quick as your resolve. 

“I've wanted you for so long, sweet thing, and I've got you all to myself now.” His fingers move in slow, small circles over your clit and your hands go to his bicep, grabbing at him for more. You let out a small moan as you lose yourself in the feeling of warmth of both of his hands touching your body and the building starry sensation in your belly. 

You reach down towards his stomach, caressing down, trying to burn the feeling of his skin into your mind before coming into contact with the curls of his hair. You hesitate slightly and he quickly attacks your lips, like he's reading your mind again. 

You continue on to wrap your hands around his long, hard dick and begin tugging on it. He smiles against your neck and brings his other hand up under your shirt to massage your tit before pulling your nipple taut and thumbing over the hard bud forming. He does the same with the other while his fingers work their way into your wet cunt, one slender finger at a time. 

You are getting impatient now, kissing his lips and neck, sucking his soft skin into your mouth to leave your mark. He lets out a whimper before seemingly regaining control of himself. Noted for future reference. 

He slides down your body in a quick moment before licking up your slick cunt, making you nearly cry out. He tongues your entrance before making his way up to your clit and practically latches on. You claw at the bed sheets beneath you eventually finding his grown out hair to pull. You don't know if you want him to stop or if you want more, this is so much better than your own fingers. You buck up into his mouth and he locks his arm around your thighs to keep you from squirming away. That feeling in your stomach is burning. 

He makes a few deliberate swipes of his tongue in succession over your clit and he watches that you come undone beneath him. Your eyes roll back, your hips tighten, and you gasp out his name. He keeps his tongue flat against you, tasting your cum before coming up to kiss you. 

The moment you taste yourself on him is the moment you feel him press against your swollen pussy. You moan into the kiss, wanting more of him. He grabs himself to properly press his dick into you. He does it slowly, making sure you savor every inch. 

“Please, please, Vessel, please”, you beg him. 

“Please what, kitten?”, that slow devilish smirk comes back with a vengeance on his wet lips. 

“Please fuck me, I need you to fuck me.” You mumble out, embarrassed but full of anticipation. 

He thrusts into you fully, making both of you moan out curses. Ves sets a pretty quick pace but makes sure to hit the one spot inside you that makes your pussy tighten around him on every pass. He bottoms out, touching the beginning of your cervix and you see his eyes roll back. 

“God, you are better than I ever imagined.'' He reaches his hand down between the both of you to play with your clit again. This time though, your orgasm is quick to approach with him inside of you. His fingers move swiftly as you grind yourself down onto his cock to meet his every thrust. 

You are scratching down his back trying to find purchase with how full he makes you feel. Soon enough, the pool of white hot in your belly is overflowing again and he changes the angle just slightly, fucking you through your orgasm. You moan out knowing your pussy is clenching around his dick in a vice grip. Just as you cum around him, he settles deep within you and his fingers dig into your hips. His thick ropes of cum spill into you and he pulls out to leave your cunt messy. 

You open your eyes half-lidded after a moment, trying to catch your breath, “Jesus, did you… did you plan that all along?!” 

He smiles wide at you, “Which part, the room sharing or the me-getting-you-to-myself?” 

“Either?” 

“The rooms being short just happened to play into my favor, but I was plotting to get you alone this weekend, my sweet kitten.” He pecks your lips before moving to the bathroom to get a warm towel for you both. 

You sigh out as you watch him, “I didn’t know what I was missing out on, really.” 

You hear his sweet laugh as he comes back in, gently running the towel over your pussy, cleaning you up. You squirm a bit but are easily distracted by the kisses he leaves on your inner thigh. You let out a small yelp when you feel teeth graze and a quick nip before he pulls away. 

He slides in next to you again, pulling you close, “If I have it my way, you’ll be mine forever.” 

“I’d really like that,” you murmured against his chest. You feel him press his lips to the top of your head before you fall back into a satisfied dreamless sleep.

[vijay01]

Online Bus Ticket Booking App Development increased demand for user-friendly and efficient travel solutions. With the rise of smart devices and seamless online transactions, travelers are looking for apps that provide convenience, affordability, and a range of services in one platform.

[codewareltd]

Online Bus Ticketing System - Bus Booking Software

In today's fast-paced world, where convenience and efficiency are paramount, the evolution of transportation systems has significantly impacted how people travel. One such essential component of modern transportation is the bus booking system. This article delves into the intricacies and advantages of bus booking systems, shedding light on the technology, benefits, and the convenience they bring to travelers.

FAQs

Is it safe to book bus tickets online?

Yes, reputable bus booking platforms use secure payment gateways to protect your information.

Can I change my travel date after booking a ticket?

It depends on the bus operator's policy. Check the terms and conditions before booking.

Are there discounts for group bookings?

Some bus operators offer discounts for group bookings. Check the platform for details.

What should I do if my bus is delayed?

Stay informed by checking real-time updates on the bus booking system or contacting customer support.

Can I book tickets for intercity travel?

Yes, most bus booking systems cover both intercity and intracity travel. Check the available routes on the platform.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Deb Chachra's "How Infrastructure Works": Mutual aid, the built environment, the climate, and a future of comfort and abundance

This Thursday (Oct 19), I'm in Charleston, WV to give the 41st annual McCreight Lecture in the Humanities. And on Friday (Oct 20), I'm at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.

Engineering professor and materials scientist Deb Chachra's new book How Infrastructure Works is a hopeful, lyrical – even beautiful – hymn to the systems of mutual aid we embed in our material world, from sewers to roads to the power grid. It's a book that will make you see the world in a different way – forever:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612711/how-infrastructure-works-by-deb-chachra/

Chachra structures the book as a kind of travelogue, in which she visits power plants, sewers, water treatment plants and other "charismatic megaprojects," connecting these to science, history, and her own memoir. In so doing, she doesn't merely surface the normally invisible stuff that sustains us all, but also surfaces its normally invisible meaning.

Infrastructure isn't merely a way to deliver life's necessities – mobility, energy, sanitation, water, and so on – it's a shared way of delivering those necessities. It's not just that economies of scale and network effects don't merely make it more efficient and cheaper to provide these necessities to whole populations. It's also that the lack of these network and scale effects make it unimaginable that these necessities could be provided to all of us without being part of a collective, public project.

Think of the automobile versus public transit: if you want to live in a big, built up city, you need public transit. Once a city gets big enough, putting everyone who needs to go everywhere in a car becomes a Red Queen's Race. With that many cars on the road, you need more roads. More roads push everything farther apart. Once everything is farther apart, you need more cars.

Geometry hates cars. You can't bargain with geometry. You can't tunnel your way out of this. You can't solve it with VTOL sky-taxis. You can't fix it with self-driving cars whose car-to-car comms let them shave down their following distances. You need buses, subways and trams. You need transit. There's a reason that every plan to "disrupt" transportation ends up reinventing the bus:

https://stanforddaily.com/2018/04/09/when-silicon-valley-accidentally-reinvents-the-city-bus/

Even the cities we think of as motorists' paradises – such as LA – have vast, extensive transit systems. They suck – because they are designed for poor people – but without them, the city would go from traffic-blighted to traffic-destroyed.

The dream of declaring independence from society, of going "off-grid," of rejecting any system of mutual obligation and reliance isn't merely an infantile fantasy – it also doesn't scale, which is ironic, given how scale-obsessed its foremost proponents are in their other passions. Replicating sanitation, water, rubbish disposal, etc to create individual systems is wildly inefficient. Creating per-person communications systems makes no sense – by definition, communications involves at least two people.

So infrastructure, Chachra reminds us, is a form of mutual aid. It's a gift we give to ourselves, to each other, and to the people who come after us. Any rugged individualism is but a thin raft, floating on an ocean of mutual obligation, mutual aid, care and maintenance.

Infrastructure is vital and difficult. Its amortization schedule is so long that in most cases, it won't pay for itself until long after the politicians who shepherded it into being are out of office (or dead). Its duty cycle is so long that it can be easy to forget it even exists – especially since the only time most of us notice infrastructure is when it stops working.

This makes infrastructure precarious even at the best of times – hard to commit to, easy to neglect. But throw in the climate emergency and it all gets pretty gnarly. Whatever operating parameters we've designed into our infra, whatever maintenance regimes we've committed to for it, it's totally inadequate. We're living through a period where abnormal is normal, where hundred year storms come every six months, where the heat and cold and wet and dry are all off the charts.

It's not just that the climate emergency is straining our existing infrastructure – Chachra makes the obvious and important point that any answer to the climate emergency means building a lot of new infrastructure. We're going to need new systems for power, transportation, telecoms, water delivery, sanitation, health delivery, and emergency response. Lots of emergency response.

Chachra points out here that the history of big, transformative infra projects is…complicated. Yes, Bazalgette's London sewers were a breathtaking achievement (though they could have done a better job separating sewage from storm runoff), but the money to build them, and all the other megaprojects of Victorian England, came from looting India. Chachra's family is from India, though she was raised in my hometown of Toronto, and spent a lot of her childhood traveling to see family in Bhopal, and she has a keen appreciation of the way that those old timey Victorian engineers externalized their costs on brown people half a world away.

But if we can figure out how to deliver climate-ready infra, the possibilities are wild – and beautiful. Take energy: we've all heard that Americans use far more energy than most of their foreign cousins (Canadians and Norwegians are even more energy-hungry, thanks to their heating bills).

The idea of providing every person on Earth with the energy abundance of an average Canadian is a horrifying prospect – provided that your energy generation is coupled to your carbon emissions. But there are lots of renewable sources of energy. For every single person on Earth to enjoy the same energy diet as a Canadian, we would have to capture a whopping four tenths of a percent of the solar radiation that reaches the Earth. Four tenths of a percent!

Of course, making solar – and wind, tidal, and geothermal – work will require a lot of stuff. We'll need panels and windmills and turbines to catch the energy, batteries to store it, and wires to transmit it. The material bill for all of this is astounding, and if all that material is to come out of the ground, it'll mean despoiling the environments and destroying the lives of the people who live near those extraction sites. Those are, of course and inevitably, poor and/or brown people.

But all those materials? They're also infra problems. We've spent millennia treating energy as scarce, despite the fact that fresh supplies of it arrive on Earth with every sunrise and every moonrise. Moreover, we've spent that same period treating materials as infinite despite the fact that we've got precisely one Earth's worth of stuff, and fresh supplies arrive sporadically, unpredictably, and in tiny quantities that usually burn up before they reach the ground.

Chachra proposes that we could – we must – treat material as scarce, and that one way to do this is to recognize that energy is not. We can trade energy for material, opting for more energy intensive manufacturing processes that make materials easier to recover when the good reaches its end of life. We can also opt for energy intensive material recovery processes. If we put our focus on designing objects that decompose gracefully back into the material stream, we can build the energy infrastructure to make energy truly abundant and truly clean.

This is a bold engineering vision, one that fuses Chachra's material science background, her work as an engineering educator, her activism as an anti-colonialist and feminist. The way she lays it out is just…breathtaking. Here, read an essay of hers that prefigures this book:

https://tinyletter.com/metafoundry/letters/metafoundry-75-resilience-abundance-decentralization

How Infrastructure Works is a worthy addition to the popular engineering books that have grappled with the climate emergency. The granddaddy of these is the late David MacKay's open access, brilliant, essential, Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air, a book that will forever change the way you think about energy:

https://memex.craphound.com/2009/04/08/sustainable-energy-without-the-hot-air-the-freakonomics-of-conservation-climate-and-energy/

The whole "Without the Hot Air" series is totally radical, brilliant, and beautiful. Start with the Sustainable Materials companion volume to understand why everything can be explained by studying, thinking about and changing the way we use concrete and aluminum:

https://memex.craphound.com/2011/11/17/sustainable-materials-indispensable-impartial-popular-engineering-book-on-the-future-of-our-built-and-made-world/

And then get much closer to home – your kitchen, to be precise – with the Food and Climate Change volume:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/06/methane-diet/#3kg-per-day

Reading Chachra's book, I kept thinking about Saul Griffith's amazing Electrify, a shovel-ready book about how we can effect the transition to a fully electrified America:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/09/practical-visionary/#popular-engineering

Chachra's How Infrastructure Works makes a great companion volume to Electrify, a kind of inspirational march to play accompaniment on Griffith's nuts-and-bolts journey. It's a lyrical, visionary book, charting a bold course through the climate emergency, to a world of care, maintenance, comfort and abundance.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/17/care-work/#charismatic-megaprojects

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[brandogenius]

Omg your boygenius x young artist hc was so cute!! Just like think of how they’d tease you like a little sibling (maybe muna does too if you’d wanna write them in) like maybe your parents send you your senior yearbook since you might have not gotten it yet and they are just horrified you JUST graduated highschool and tease you about how young and cute you look in your photos😭 Imagine them just SCREAMING when you win a grammy like for best new artist and the way they’d go to WAR for you if the tabloids were going after you or your getting a lot of hate or like something happens. Think they went to your graduation and we’re just so proud! ok i’m ranting but your writing is so good and being 19 also maybe i’m projecting but you write them SO WELL!!

THANK YOU 😭😭😭🫶 i’m glad you like them!! i love it so much the dynamics between younger reader and the boys in a younger sibling way is my ultimate favourite!!

tiny bit of projecting in this one too mainly because i live for this trope / (if it’s even a trope) hc blurbs whatever you call it !

i’m trying my hardest to base it off an american school system but since i’m not american i apologise if it isn’t correct trying my best to be as actuate as possible !

i’m not too familiar with muna unfortunately! id love to write them in but feel like i wouldn’t do them justice! in the future 100%

‼️ RPF‼️

HC - boygenius & younger! artist

adding on from here :D

- taking away with some stuff anon said the boys are absolutely HORRIFIED when they realise you graduated school last year. what do you mean you were class of 2023?

- “this is a whole ass child we’re talking to”

- i like to imagine they DID go to your graduation. you knew of the boys since your junior year of highschool. opening for them on their tour when they were in your state.

- so many photos taken. ones with you and the boys in your graduation outfit. it was such a sweet moment. your parents meeting the boys for the first time and they surprise you by going to a nice restaurant. you, your parents and the boys.

- booking the biggest table in the restaurant it’s chaos. laughter and chatter is made. phoebe demanding your parents to bring the yearbook when they drop you off for tour.

- i can imagine the boys forgetting you’re not legal, you’re only 19. the boys going to after party’s with your for music awards and freaking out. “SHIT YOU’RE A FUCKING CHILD” julien is grabbing the car keys to drag you back to the tour bus

- when you get your year book you wish the ground would swallow you up.

- the scene unfolds by the boys acting like a pack of wolves that haven’t eaten in months. all grabbing the book to try and peak into it. lucy being the tallest holds it over all of yours head having the perks of being the tallest

- phoebe turns into an ankle biter in that moment. desperate to laugh at your photos and gossip with you about the tea

- you and the boys spend the rest of the night surrounded by the small tour buss table going through all the photos.

- “that guy? he is a bitch don’t like him. used to be mean to me in class”

- the boys got personal beef with some teenagers they never even met before “it’s on sight for real”

- trips to the theme park. it’s so random but you really wanted to go so up they went one day with you like “road trip!”

- the day you win a grammy is the day they feel like they’ve achieved in life.

- at this point they feel like they raised you. i feel like you might be like 25 or something when you get the grammy “they grow up so fast sniff sniff”

- absolutely goes chaos. standing on chairs and cheering (like julian on sunday 😭)

- they’d go ankle biter mode when tabloids and news articles come for you. it is fake news and rumours yet they are prepared to defend you on their LIFE

- defending you, subtly indirecting / actually going as far as @ ting on main twitter. they don’t take no shit and will immediately be by your side!

[cyberbeast99]

Werewolf HRT: Prologue : The Clinic

I’m running through the woods, with the wind whipping through my fur. The rhythmic thump of my paws on the earth matches my frenetic heartbeat, as I lope past the trees on all fours. The scents of dirt, of foliage, and cool night air fills my nose. I stop and savour the breeze, eyes closed in bliss. Then I tilt my muzzle up to the sky, gaze into the full shining moon, and ululate a mournful howl…

I shake off the daydreams as the bus screeches to a halt. I stand, and leave the bus, politely thanking the bus driver. I notice him staring at the faux-fur plush wolf tail strapped to my belt. I’d gotten occasional compliments on my gear and far more frequent insults, but I’ve learned to tune them out. Instead, I look forward as the bus drives away. I compare the address to the one my friend Kayla sent me.

This is it… I enter the clinic and take in my surroundings. There are about two dozen chairs scattered around the waiting room, but there are only four people besides me. A receptionist is seated behind the counter, reading a book.  A woman in a sky-blue crop top who seems to be covered in iridescent orange scales is arguing with a large draconic creature with deep red scales, a pair of wings, and two horns poking through a shock of blond hair. 

Wow, this place is weird…

Across the room, Kayla waves me over. She’s dressed in her signature flannel shirt and beanie. I sit down next to her, and sensing my anxiety, she squeezes my hand and gives me a reassuring smile. Just then the receptionist calls her name and she stands up and strides into the office. In an effort to tune out the arguing duo, I pop in my earbuds and listen to my favourite metal band, Powerwolf. Lost in the thrashing guitars, I almost don’t hear the receptionist call my name.

“Eric, the doctor will see you now.” I turn off the music. The arguing couple is gone. I’m the only patient in the clinic.

I walk into the office and sit in front of the infamous Dr. Theodore Erian. He doesn’t greet me, just rummages through his files. We spend five minutes in complete silence. Finally, he inquires “Werewolf hormone treatment?” “Yes,” I say stiffly.

He stares at me for about a minute, then sighs “Look, I’m going to be frank here. I’m not here to tell you what to do with your body. I’m just here to make sure you know what the risks are. That way you can’t sue us.” I wait for him to burst out laughing, but he’s completely serious. “After reading your files, I’ve found the best-fitting treatment for you. Due to the infective nature of lycanthropy, it takes hold quite fast. You’ll see a full transformation at the next full moon, a month from now. Just one shot will be required to administer the treatment."

Erian looks at me sternly. “Now I must also warn you that, while lycanthropy is not as much of a risk for identity and memory loss as other treatments, it can cause hormone imbalances that lead to incredible aggression, especially during transformations. Because of this, I strongly recommend that you restrain yourself during your first full moon. I’m also required by law to have your files sent to the police and be entered into the system. This way, if you do end up harming anyone during the full moon, you will be identified and prosecuted under the full extent of the law.” 

“Now, are you sure you want to go through with this?” I take a moment to process. Suddenly, I’m terrified of hurting people. Images of waking up covered in blood flood into my brain, and a third of me is screaming for me to walk out of this office and never return. I take a deep breath. And then I say, “Yes, I’m sure.” Cameos from @welldrawnfish, @ayviedoesthings, and @kaylasartwork!