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perfinn · 1 month ago

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you're out of touch, i'm out of time

aegon ii targaryen x reader - part ii

wc: 4.6k

summary: you search for answers on why aegon is here, and find you rather enjoy his company

cw: f!reader, aegon the cringefail king, kinda just a lot of hanging out, a little make out session, aegon almost pushes toward dubcon advances but he's quickly stopped

masterlist, read on ao3, divider by saradika

You hardly sleep a wink that first night with Aegon in your flat. You’re too worried about him, and the carpet in the living room. You’re still not an expert on history, but you’re quite sure that vodka hadn’t been invented yet when Aegon was supposed to be alive. If it had, Westeros hadn’t yet set up any trade routes beyond the Bone Mountains. You still remember your first vodka hangover, even if you don’t quite remember the night that preceded it, and it was not a good time. Aegon is in for something of a shock if he hasn’t drowned in his own vomit– cheap as your vodka is, it’s a lot stronger than that piss water from the Arbour the historians all say he drank.

You rise from your bed with your alarm, not snoozing it as you usually do and instead going to go check on Aegon. Thankfully, he’s right where you left him and alive and well, if his open-mouth snoring is any indication. He’s splayed out on your couch, legs falling over the side and bottle of water you’d made up for him spilled on the floor. Hells, at least it’s only water he spilled.

Leaving him to sleep a moment longer, you pad into the kitchen and rummage around for the electrolyte tablets you keep for this exact scenario. Well– maybe not this exactly. Usually it’s reserved for your own hangovers, not for when the time travelling king of Westeros has broken into your drink cabinet and passed out on your couch. But close enough. You make up a drink for him, deciding he can cope with the orange flavour even if he doesn’t like it and come back over, setting the glass loudly down on the coffee table and waking Aegon with a jolt.

He almost falls from the couch, gasping and throwing his hands over his ears. “Get out!” He demands, wincing at the sound of his own voice. “Five more minutes!”

“Not your chambermaid, Aegon,” you say, folding your arms over your chest. “Drink this. And no, yesterday wasn't a fever dream, you’re still in the future.”

Part of you had hoped yesterday's events were a weird dream of your own.

Aegon cracks his eyes open, taking in the sight of you slowly before he groans and presses his fists hard into his eye sockets. “Fuck,” he mumbles. “My head…”

“Yeah,” you say, picking the glass back up and holding it out to him. “Straight vodka will do that to you. Drink.”

He lowers his hands and eyes you suspiciously as he reaches for the glass, sniffing it. You roll your eyes. He’ll drink from a random bottle he finds in your home but not something you’re offering to him?

“It'll make you feel better,” you say. “It's orange flavoured.”

“Well, that makes it alright then,” he grumbles, taking a slow sip and moving to sit upright. “If I’m getting poisoned, at least the poison tastes like oranges.”

You make your way over to the kitchen and fish around your cupboards for instant coffee as Aegon makes a noise of confusion.

“Why is it-” he stops, brows furrowed as he looks for the word. “Bubbles?”

“Oh,” you say, looking back at him while you clutch the Garfield mug you found at the thrift a few months ago. You lean over to put the kettle on, sighing as you realise how much of modern life you’re going to have to explain to Aegon. You wonder how much of it can be avoided, skirted around so you don't have to explain the entire industrial revolution to him. “Yeah, it’s fizzy. It’s not poison, just science.”

Aegon stares at you indignantly. “Are you a witch?”

“Gods, it’s not a magic potion, Aegon. Why can’t you just accept that we’ve made a bit of progress in the last thousand years? Things are different, that doesn’t make it magic. Just drink it, it’ll help you feel better.”

Aegon takes a slow sip, lips turning down as he seems to decide he likes it well enough. You turn your back to him and scoop a spoonful of the coffee into your mug, wondering what you’re going to do with him. You’ll have to call out of work, at least for today. You don’t trust him to be left alone; Gods know where he’ll end up, if he’ll contract some disease his immune system isn’t ready for or get hit by a car as he so nearly did yesterday. You hear him groan softly and turn back to see him leaning back on the sofa and sipping slowly at the drink.

You suppose he probably wants your attention, but you withhold it until you’ve taken the first sip of your coffee. It tastes as shit as you expect instant coffee to taste. Gods, you need to buy a proper coffee machine. You make your way back over to him, sitting down on the other end of the sofa.

“Ready to talk yet?” You ask him.

Aegon grunts, rubbing at his temple. “Quietly,” he mumbles. “I had hoped yesterday might be a dream.”

“Me too,” you say, sipping slowly at your coffee. “I’ll be frank with you, Aegon, I don’t know what to do with you.”

Aegon scoffs, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table. You’d tell him to take them down, but it’s not exactly a nice coffee table. You can see him staring at the plastic dragon figure on the TV unit. The bags under his eyes are so heavy. “That often seems to be the case,” he says, leaning forward slowly and picking up the dragon. It’s a small one, red and gold. “I wonder how this feels for Sunfyre…”

“Sunfyre was your dragon, right?” You ask, voice still quiet as he requested.

He nods, frowning as he moves the hard plastic wing of the toy. “He’s a fine beast,” he says. “Should he think me dead?”

“I wouldn't know,” you say. “Aegon, I think we need to get you home.”

Aegon goes quiet, almost as though he knows, somehow, that a grizzly fate awaits him in his own time. But he nods. “Yes,” he agrees. “How?”

“No idea. We’ll need to go to the library.”

He looks over at you, setting the dragon down and raising an eyebrow. “So you really can read?”

“Really really,” you say with a slight smile. “We peasants have been literate for centuries. I’ll make you some breakfast and then we can go.”

Aegon leans back again, watching you with wonder as you go back to the kitchen. “You know, I thought we might teach the smallfolk to read,” he says. “I think after the war I’ll bring it up.”

You glance over at him and smile. “Maybe you will.”

“They like me, I think,” Aegon says. “The smallfolk. Aegon the Magnanimous.”

You raise an eyebrow, pulling down a box of cereal. “Kind of lame.”

Aegon sighs. “Yes. We are working on it.”

Once Aegon has eaten his fill of your off brand cereal (which he decides he hates) you get him up and lead him out of the house. Aegon still seems fascinated with the world outside.

“I suppose it does still look like King’s Landing,” he says, staring up at the buildings around him. He refuses to look at the cars, and you can’t blame him. You can’t imagine they’d be an easy thing to process right off the bat. Still, he’s going to have to deal with it when you get onto the bus.

You stop at the bus stop with him, pulling out your phone to check when it’ll arrive. You can feel Aegon staring at you, you glance up, seeing that confused look on his face. You put the phone away. “Bus’ll be here in five minutes.”

He nods, but doesn’t ask what a bus is. “It is strange,” he says. “It looks so different, but much the same.”

You nod, offering him a small smile. “A lot of it is heritage protected, so it can’t be altered. We’ve expanded a lot, so all the outer city is newer, but this is the centre.”

“This is Flea Bottom, right?”

You smile, laughing a bit. “Yeah, it is. They called it Flea Bottom back then too?”

Aegon nods, sniffing the air. “It doesn’t smell so badly these days, but the buildings are the same.”

“Yeah, well, rent’s cheapest here. There was some government initiative to clean it up. Or gentrify it. The university bought out a bunch of the flats for student accommodation, it was the best I could afford.”

“This… university, it is like the Citadel?”

You nod. “Citadel’s a university too, but yes.”

“No, the Citadel is the Citadel,” he says, scoffing.

“Okay, it’s a university now. Certainly not one I can afford,” you huff, reminded of the rejected scholarship you’d applied for. You suppose it wouldn’t have helped– rent in Oldtown is something else entirely. You crane your neck to spot the bus, seeing it coming close enough to flag it down. Aegon immediately steps behind you, eyeing the huge vehicle warily. You reach back, gently taking his hand and squeezing it without thinking.

“It’s okay,” you tell him. “Just trust me and follow me.”

You feel Aegon’s breath falter, and somehow you know he’s staring at your hand in his. You gently lead him up the step and ask the bus driver to tap on for two. The busdriver raises an eyebrow at Aegon, but nods and lets you on. You scan your card, leading Aegon up to a seat by the back.

Aegon sits down, frowning at the interior. “This is like a wheelhouse. But with no horse. And uglier.”

“They’re not really made for style,” you tell him.

He nods, looking at you again. He glances down at your hands, still intertwined. When you notice, you begin to pull away with the thought that he doesn’t like it. But Aegon only holds you tighter. You meet his eyes and find something desperate in them, a silent begging for you not to let go. Strange. But you oblige.

“So,” you say softly. “Can you tell me what you last remember?”

Aegon exhales slowly, puffing out his cheeks and glancing between you and the window. He settles on watching the world pass by, no doubt faster than any wheelhouse could carry him. He must decide he trusts you enough.

“It was nothing,” he tells you, leaning his forehead against the window. “I was with my favourites. Drinking, talking. Discussing my sobriquet. Everything after that is nothing. I didn’t even go to sleep. It is as though I blinked, and I was in the street. Then I met you.”

“Well that's…” You purse your lips, leaning back in the bus seat. “Nondescript. You weren't doing anything out of the ordinary? Not fucking with any ancient rocks? Weirwood trees?”

“No,” he says, sliding his gaze toward you. “I was on the throne, in the Keep.”

None of this helps. You scratch at your chin as you try to make sense of any of it. You pull your phone from your pocket, opening the browser and typing in – dreading the targeted ads you’re inadvertently signing yourself up to get – ‘accidental time travel firsthand account.’

Aegon peers over, watching the screen with fascination as you scroll past various untrustworthy conspiracy sites.

“Do you suppose perhaps Rhaenyra paid a witch to curse me?”

“Why would she do that?”

Aegon's lips pull down in a pouty frown. “Well, my brother did kill her son.”

“Yeah, well, that'll do it,” you sigh, closing your phone and leaning back in your seat. You glance out the window, watching the city go by. The people milling about the street go by so quickly you cannot see their faces. However strange a day anyone thinks they may be having, it cannot be more than yours.

“Witches. Woods witches. Weirwood, maybe,” you murmur, tilting your head this way and that. “Even if you weren't directly fucking with any, there's one in the Keep’s godswood. I went on a tour when I first moved here.”

“A tour…?”

“It's as good a place to start as any. Weirwood, woods witches, and rock formations. The library will have plenty on it.”

You get off the bus at the campus library soon after. The university sits upon Visenya’s hill behind the sept, which you’ve never really bothered to enter. It’s a strange thing, living in such a city rather than visiting it. Apart from your dead boring tour of the Red Keep, you've never visited the tourist traps. Growing up in the Riverlands, you never once visited any of the old castles. You always thought you might see more of King’s Landing when you came. Perhaps you would if you could, but you find you rarely have the time between study and work.

As you ascend the steps with Aegon in tow, he stops and turns, gazing across the city. You glance back at him, following his gaze up Aegon’s High Hill, where the Red Keep sits. You stop in your footsteps, coming back down toward him.

“You okay?” You venture.

“Yes,” he murmurs. “Just odd, I suppose. It looks the same.”

“Lots of it still does, I guess. The dragonpit is still there too.”

You nod your head to the other end of the city, pointing him to the ruins of the building.

Aegon pales. “It's… what happened to it?”

“Time,” you murmur. In part because it's true, but also because you don't know why it's in ruins. You’ve never been that far up the hill. You’ve never had it in you to wonder.

“I don't believe you.”

You look over at him, and an intense purple gaze meets yours. You scoff. “I think I’m getting used to you not believing me,” you say. “Come on.”

You continue up the stairs and Aegon follows after a moment. “You really won't tell me what happened to the dragonpit?”

“No. Because I don't know. It's been like that for centuries, as far as I’m aware. And even if I did know, I feel like there has to be some sort of rule against it.”

“Against what?”

“Against telling you about the future!”

“What? But I’m already here! If the Gods didn't want me to know about the future I wouldn't be here!”

You purse your lips. He makes a good point, but still. “Well all the movies say it's bad. What if I send you back and you change things, and make it so I cease to exist? And I can’t tell you anyway because I don't know, so don't worry about it.”

“You know, I don't understand half the things you say,” Aegon says as you push the door to the library open, gesturing for him to enter first.

“Likewise.”

Once inside, you make your way up to the librarian’s desk, the older woman immediately perking up with your presence. You smile at her.

“Hi, um, I’m after pretty much anything you have on weirwood trees, woods witches, and, uh, like rock formations–”

“And any scrolls you have on Aegon the Second, thank you.”

“No.”

You look back at Aegon, who pouts at being denied. You imagine he’s not used to that.

“Don't worry yourself with the Aegon stuff,” you say, looking back at the librarian sheepishly. “He's uh… easily distracted.”

The librarian smiles anyway, putting her glasses on the end of her nose and leaning into her computer. “Let me see what I can find you.”

A few minutes later, Aegon and yourself are seated at a secluded table surrounded by soft chairs and lit by dusty sunlight, tucked away between bookshelves only matched in age by Aegon. Old books and new are scattered across the table, and Aegon marvels at the shining pages of a new textbook, thumbing at the photographs of Harrenhal.

“Can I see that one?” You ask, holding your hands out for it. Aegon slides it across. He folds his arms on the table, leaning forward and resting his chin on his arms.

“Do you do this often?” He asks. “Seems dreadfully dull.”

You shake your head. “Not as often as I ought to.”

“I assume this is what my father did all day,” he grumbles, thumbing at the worn cover of a book on the Old Gods. “Before he, you know.”

“Died?”

“No,” he says. “Well, yes. But I think his soul left long before his body gave out.”

You nod, unsure what to say. From what you can gather, Aegon didn't have much of a relationship with his father. You’re not sure if it's wise to pry. You’re not sure what you’d say if you did.

Aegon begins to make a clicking sound with his mouth as you flick through the pages.

“You could help,” you say after a moment.

“You want me to read?” He scoffs. “Your magical little drink didn't work that well. I just wish we had a bard or something.”

“A bard,” you repeat, voice flat. You roll your eyes, fishing into your pocket for your phone. He watches you with curiosity as you set the phone down and begin playing something at low volume. As soon as the song begins, he jolts upright and leans forward. He snatches up the phone, turning it over in his hands, shaking his head in disbelief. It’s some old synth song, something you remember watching your parents dance to when they’d have their friends over on the weekend and drink late into the night.

“Incredible,” Aegon murmurs. “How do you look at dusty books when you have this thing? Bards and scrolls at your fingertips.”

“I’m actually trying to get my screentime down,” you say sheepishly. “It’s uh… it’s pretty rough.”

Aegon gives you a quizzical glance before he’s distracted by your screen lighting up. He seems quite entertained by your lock screen and is silent for a few moments. You turn your gaze back to the books, resting your temple on your fist.

Your phone buzzes after a moment, and you glance at it only momentarily before you school yourself back toward the books. You’ve been trying to stop being so trained by your phone.

“Messages. Jeyne– and there’s a little drawing of what I suppose is a seashell –” You bolt upright as Aegon begins reading out the message. You try to snatch it from him, but he moves it out of your reach. “I just got YiTish dick – Seven Hells, then there’s more of these drawings, they look to be peaches? – freaky as everyone says.”

You stare, stunned into silence, at Aegon as he processes what he’s just read, looking at you with a wicked sort of grin. He sets the phone down, now playing some modern house music you barely remember adding to your playlist.

“I’m to understand this is some sort of raven, yes?”

“Yes,” you say. Gods, what else could you even say to that? Your former roommate was never the most couth person, and you were never her biggest fan. But even though she’s disappeared to the other side of the world, you’re still subject to her unprompted oversharing.

“This Jeyne is quite something.”

“Yep,” you mumble, managing to grab your phone back. “How about we wrap this up for today? I’m suddenly craving YiTish food.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Aegon snickers. You realise that this may be the first time you’ve seen him smile, however wry and mocking it may be. It’s a lovely expression, but one you suspect he doesn’t wear very often.

“Come on,” you say, picking up several of the books. “Grab a few. We’re taking them back. But I’m borrowing this weirwood tree one.”

Aegon groans in protest, but gathers up the remaining books to balance in his arms. Once you’ve borrowed the book and created a list of the others, you escape the dusty library into the waning sunlight.

Aegon is a chatterbox when you’re on the bus again, and as you order the both of you some YiTish food. Clearly his hangover’s worn off. You smile apologetically at the young girl behind the counter as you take the bags of food. You shoot Aegon a look in hopes of shutting him up, but you have no such luck. The walk back up to your flat is accompanied by the sound of Aegon's voice.

When you get inside, he finally stops. Now that you’re in private, he wishes no longer to speak? You glance back at him with a raised eyebrow, but he's watching you unpack the food.

“I got you sweet and sour pork,” you tell him, handing him the little box and a fork. “Should be free enough of any major allergens… if not, Jeyne left behind an epipen.”

“I’m growing quite tired of asking you what things mean,” he says, opening up the box and sniffing at it. He pulls his lips down but doesn't look to actually be frowning.

You grab your own food, moving to sit down on your worn sofa and beckoning for Aegon to join you. “I’m guessing your time doesn't have YiTish food,” you say.

He huffs, nodding as he sits down and kicks his feet up on the coffee table. You’d tell him to knock that off if you had a nicer coffee table, but as it is – a piece of shit wooden box with shaky wheels on the bottom – you don't bother. “Not by far.”

“I’m not sure how authentic this is,” you say, poking your chopsticks into the box and searching for a nice crunchy bit of cabbage. “But it's cheap, and has never done me wrong.”

Aegon takes a tentative bite, and you watch as his face twists in curious acceptance of the new flavours. It’s… Gods, well, it's sort of cute.

“I like it. I think,” he remarks, taking another bite and leaning back comfortably. “Much has changed.”

You nod, glancing out of the window at the city lights. How had it looked all those years ago? How has the skylike changed? Brightened?

“You say you can't tell me what you know about my life,” Aegon says slowly. You nod, opening your mouth to sigh and tell him again that you won't budge, only he stops you. “I’m not going to ask. I only want to make sense of your world. And what remains of mine.”

“Oh,” you murmur. “Okay. Well, I’ll try.”

Aegon nods, looking down contemplatively. “Hm… the Dothraki?”

Not… exactly where you expected him to start. “Yeah,” you say with a small smile. “They're still around. They're kind of baller, actually. Like they gained all the modern stuff but still live nomadically.”

“Are they still so… brutal?”

“Oh, no,” you say. “Really kind of a peaceful state now. Jeyne reckons she'll be heading to the Sea after YiTi.”

Aegon nods slowly. “This Jeyne girl is quite something. She used to live with you?”

You nod. “Yeah. We were assigned the same flat… I can’t say I ever really liked her much, but she was tolerable.”

“And she… left? Escaped? “

“Mhm. Decided she was unfulfilled by higher education and fucked of to YiTi to ‘find herself.’ Alright for some, I guess.”

Aegon stares at you in silence for a moment, smiling ever so slightly. “You speak in such a strange and wonderful way,” he murmurs.

You can't help but smile. He has a nice smile about him. You suspect it's not an expression he uses much, at least not in a real, involuntary way.

“So do you,” you say softly. He’s… goodness, he’s beautiful in this light. You know you shouldn't think that.

(But then, why shouldn't you? He's a grown man, he’s sober, what’s stopping you? Responsibility? Expectation? You’re not certain.)

He must see the budding conflict on your face because he reaches out to touch your cheek. He lifts his thumb up, pressing it between your eyebrows to smooth out the crease there. “Why the frown?”

You smile wryly at him. “Just thinking,” you tell him as he sets his food down.

“Of course. You do a lot of that, don't you?”

You huff a soft laugh. “Too much.”

He shifts closer, and you find yourself less and less willing to stop him with every second. “Take a break from thinking,” he says, leaning forward and catching your lips in a kiss before you can respond.

There's a moment of hesitation, the briefest second where you contemplate pulling away. You should. The last thing you should be doing is letting Aegon entangle himself with you. He's misplaced in time, practically a stranger. Not to mention married.

(Unhappily, and to his sister, but all the same.)

But the moment passes. And you let him. And you lean into him and return the favour. Encouraged by your response, Aegon shifts closer and grabs at your waist, trying to pull you closer.

It happens fast, he doesn't seem to want to waste time building up to a point before he's shoving his tongue into your mouth and crashing his teeth against yours.

“Aegon,” you murmur. He only grunts in protest, continuing his advances. “Aegon, slow down.”

Aegon huffs as he pulls away just a fraction, hands groping a little too harshly at your hips. “What for?”

You frown at him, gently pushing him away. He relents, but begins to scowl. You place your hands firmly on his shoulders. “There's no need to rush,” you say quietly.

You realise then that Aegon is used to taking. He is used to taking what he needs and not bothering with any sort of lead-up beyond unrefined kissing. He surges forward to kiss you again but you place your hand in his face and shove him away.

He cries your name indignantly, unused to being denied either.

“Sit down,” you say firmly, shoving him back onto the sofa cushion. “And stay.”

Aegon looks stunned, but readily obeys. He leans back against the cushions and watches you warily as you shift closer to him, throwing your leg over his lap so you straddle him. Aegon seems almost afraid to touch you all of a sudden, so you take his hands and place them gently on your hips.

Should you be encouraging this? Absolutely not. But some touch starved little sect of your brain has staged a coup on your good sense, so here you are.

“Have you never done this before?” You ask him softly.

“Been ridden?” He scoffs. “Of course I have.”

“No,” you say. “I’m not riding you. Have you ever just made out with someone for a little while?”

Averting his eyes, Aegon shakes his head.

“That’s okay,” you murmur, catching his lips in a gentle kiss that seems to startle him. You place your hands on his chest, closing your eyes as you kiss him again. He’s hesitant now, unsure. But you press on, sucking gently at his lip before slowly, gently, sliding your tongue into his mouth and dragging it over the flat of his. Aegon makes a soft noise of shock, hands grasping a little harder at the soft of your hips.

Before, he hadn’t seemed to know what to do with his tongue in your mouth except to have it shoved in there, desperate to have some sort of dominance over your mouth. You can tell he’s still fighting the urge to take over, but he sits nicely for you, only gently pushing back against your tongue. He seems to rather enjoy the feeling of not being in charge, of simply being guided. Not told what to do, not commanded, just… treated gently.

After a while, you gently pull away, your thumb brushing over his wet bottom lip. “Do you want to keep going?” You ask, though you know you shouldn’t.

Aegon looks up at you with dilated eyes, pupils almost sparkling as he blinks slowly. Almost dazed. “I’d like to keep doing this. It’s nice.”

You smile, gently pecking his lips and nodding. “Okay,” you whisper. “We can keep doing this.”

You decide your research can wait. It’ll still be there tomorrow.

#my work #aegon targaryen x reader #aegon x reader #aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon ii targaryen fanfic #aegon targaryen fanfic #fic: you're out of touch i'm out of time #DONT EVER THINK ITS OVER #IM ALWAYS COMING #WATCH UR BACK

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gurugirl · 10 months ago

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Can We Start Over | Ch. 3 The Mistake

Series Summary: From the first day you and Harry meet, your relationship is beyond complicated. A one night stand leads to hurt feelings and then a job opportunity that you simply can't pass up is offered. But can you handle working for a man like him? rich!harry x plus size!reader | enemies to lovers

A/N: This is a 5 part series commissioned by @justfattiethings (thank you hon!).

Chapter 3. Summary: Things are a little hot and cold with Harry but then when you learn the truth about what happened that first night it feels like everything changes. But maybe it's a mistake to allow yourself to feel anything more for him.

Word Count: 9.5k

Warning: 18+ only, smut, alcohol consumption, feelings of confusion and turmoil, angst

Can We Start Over? masterlist

Harry had thought a lot about the way he treated you that night. He knew that what he’d done was shitty. Shittier than what you did to him. You were only retaliating. And he had to admit, your method of revenge was quite genius. It was cold and clever. And it gave you the upper hand in some ways.

It made him like you even more. And having heard it from your own mouth that you’d still been thinking about him after that night (even if you only told him as part of a drunken declaration) had him feeling things he shouldn’t. He wondered what had possessed him to insist on having you as his personal assistant. So far, things had been very professional between you but you’d only just gotten started and Harry, knowing himself, was quite aware that he could easily find himself falling for you, as crazy as that sounded. And he hadn’t had sex with anyone since you.

Not that he couldn’t go without for a bit… it’s just that having you in his home, sleeping down the hallway from him, seeing you every day in his office in your perfectly professional outfits and pretty face, and grabbable hips… his thoughts could tend to become inappropriate.

But as much as he enjoyed how cute you were he was tired the day after he had to pick you up from the club. You’d interrupted his nightly routine with your drunken antics and his mood was rather foul. It was also not wise to have been thinking about you the way he was so the following morning when you were still raging with a terrible hangover he was very curt with you.

“I want to have sympathy for you, Y/n, but I don’t. You put yourself into that situation last night and these are the consequences.”

He stood at his desk as he spoke and you had barely dragged yourself into his study. You weren’t going to bring up how your head was pounding or how queasy you were so you were surprised when he did. Perhaps he could see it on your face. You could hardly remember the night before. Except that Harry had helped you get home.

“I know. It was a bad idea. I went overboard. I’m sorry. But…” you sat down and opened up your laptop, “thank you for helping me and bringing me here last night –“

“I hope that will be the last time. I don’t like to deal with drunks and if it happens again on a night you have to be at work the next morning we will end our contract. I won’t tolerate it again.”

Yeah, he was in a bad mood. And you were his punching bag for the next few days. You could tolerate his bad attitude for the money for only a while longer before you’d quit. It was surprising to you how he’d gone from rather pleasant to suddenly cold and uncaring.

You wished you could recall what had happened, what you’d said to him while you were drunk but you knew better than to blame yourself. Harry was just an asshole with a few, rare nice moments you determined. You’d keep your distance and not allow yourself to feel as if he was a kind man again.

. . .

“Mr. Styles, the car is here. Your suitcase is already ready.” You poked your head into his office.

It was time to head to Vancouver.

You enjoyed traveling. When you worked for Alfred you had the occasional opportunity to do so. However, normally, he didn’t go with you. He’d send you alone. Mr. Spector preferred staying at his home unless the destination was Italy, where you’d stay with him and some staff at his lovely Italian villa.

Another thing you enjoyed about flying with or for someone wealthy was that you would normally get the larger business class or first-class seats. You did, however, hate flying coach now that you’d become accustomed to early boarding, free snacks, large seats, and generally better service all around.

But now you were working for Harry, who was still treating you coldly. And you’d booked the seats next to each other but you wished you’d booked them apart. It would have been nice to have a bit of a break from his attitude. Well, it was more just that he was hardly speaking to you unless it had something to do with work.

“Comfortable?” Harry asked as he buckled himself in. You hadn’t expected him to say anything to you at all. Much less ask about your comfort.

“Uh, yeah. This is great actually.”

It was great. In fact, the whole experience of flying that day had not been bad at all. Harry didn’t talk to you much but he wasn’t acting like your presence was a burden like the days prior.

When you got to your hotel you checked in and were each given key cards for your rooms. Harry needed your room to be attached to his so he could call you and you’d be right there if he needed.

You showered and enjoyed the view from your balcony before dressing and getting ready for the first meeting you’d have with Mr. Radatz, the owner of the gallery who kept the art piece for the owner. You were excited to watch Harry in action. To see how he worked and better understand what being an art dealer’s assistant entailed.

You knocked at Harry’s door to see if he was ready. It was nearly time to leave. He answered wearing a Lavender suit.

“Did you know I was wearing this?” He looked at your lavender blouse and up to your face.

You laughed as you shook your head, “I did not. Just a coincidence I guess.”

. . .

When the driver parked in front of the gallery you realized that it was closed to the public. This would be the first meeting with the gallery owner, Mr. Radatz, and his wife. Harry wanted to see the piece before moving forward with making an offer to purchase. If it looked legit he’d agree to meet with the woman who owned it to negotiate.

You followed him inside and Mr. Radatz greeted you both, “Welcome. I have the work in the back for you to look at. Follow me.”

The lights were off throughout the large space except for the area at the back where the painting was hung with spotlights shining over the small piece.

Mr. Radatz showed Harry the folder the owner had provided so he could verify the provenance of the artwork, including a signed certificate of authenticity from the original artist, an appraisal, as well as a document containing information about the artwork itself.

“And where is the receipt with the most recent purchase?” Harry slid the paperwork back into the folder.

“Oh, the owner has that with her. Hallie didn’t want to part with that. She can show you tomorrow.”

You knew this should have been some kind of red flag from what you’d learned. Though all the rest of the provenance seemed good, the bill of sale should have been provided as well. You supposed you’d see that tomorrow.

“Perfect. This all looks very good. I’d like to negotiate with the owner tomorrow. I have a client who wants this. Will you let her know we’ll set up dinner to discuss?”

Mr. and Mrs. Radatz made arrangements with the owner before inviting you and Harry to dinner at their favorite spot.

And of course, once at the restaurant wine was ordered which you hoped you could avoid. The less alcohol around Harry the better you figured.

“Oh, Y/n, you must have a glass. I insist! You simply can’t come here and not have some wine. I promise you won’t regret having some,” Mr. Radatz said as he poured a glass for you.

Well. You tried.

And it turned out that the wine was quite amazing. Better than you thought it’d be and after Mr. Radatz kept refilling everyone’s glasses you realized how close Harry was sat. He seemed much more relaxed once he’d eaten his meal and had a few glasses himself. But he was still mostly ignoring you.

Mostly. Because a few times you noticed Harry’s eyes on you. And when you excused yourself to go to the bathroom he stood with you and helped you out of your chair. Which you certainly did not need.

You knew you’d had too much to drink. Maybe one glass too much. You weren’t trashed. But you were definitely a bit tipsy and feeling very warm. And Harry was looking very good. You could admit to yourself that you were horny. Despite how he’d been a bit cold with you since the night he had to pick you up after you were so drunk you could hardly stand.

Harry was sitting next to you while the gallery owner sat across. Harry had done quite well to mostly ignore you. He’d spoken to you when he needed something but otherwise, his attention wasn’t on you. Which for some reason, had you feeling absolutely insane. The way his suit fit him, the style of his hair was just right, the bit of unkempt scruff on his face, the way he handled himself with the gallery owner… he was sexy and confident and you couldn’t stop watching him. You blamed the alcohol.

“I think it’s time for us to head home. You and Hallie can work out the final details tomorrow for purchase. It was nice to finally meet you,” Mr. Radatz stood and shook Harry’s hand and then yours.

You and Harry stayed back a bit. Another drink and you finally had the nerve to say what you wanted, “You know…” you swallowed, “I get why you’re being so standoffish with me but it would be nice to put this behind us. Makes everything much easier if you can just let go a bit. I’d like us to be amicable, Harry.”

He snorted and looked around the bar before turning back to you, “Amicable? Why?”

“It just makes things easier, like I said. I know you didn’t like me being drunk and having to pick me up from-“

“Y/n, you and I will continue to have a professional relationship. You’re the perfect personal assistant and I really would like to keep this going. I’m trying my hardest to be reasonable here. You don’t make it easy.”

You blinked and looked down at your nearly empty glass, “Reasonable? What am I not making easy for you, Harry? The first week I worked for you wasn’t so bad. But after you had to pick me up that night you’ve been hard to deal with and honestly, it kind of sucks. You’re not rude, but you’re not nice either.”

You watched as he clenched his jaw and nodded before finally setting his gaze on yours, “What do you want me to do? Hmm? I know I’m not always nice but it’s a fine line for me. If I’m too nice I find myself wanting to do things I know you don’t want. But if I’m keeping my distance it’s easier to remain professional.”

You scrunched your face in confusion, “What would I not want you to do?”

Harry laughed and you watched as his eyes dropped to your mouth and he tutted, smacking his tongue, “Kiss you. Have a repeat of that first night.” He looked away and toward the edge of the room, “Things like that.”

You laughed and shook your head. You hadn’t expected him to say that, “Wow. Okay.”

“Exactly. Not the best way to conduct a professional relationship.”

“Well, you’re forgetting that when I decline your advances you don’t get to have a repeat of that night. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Oh I’m well aware,” Harry turned back to look at you, “You’d never want me in your bed again. I get it. It’s well deserved. I fucked up when I treated you like shit that first night we met. I regret how I went about things.”

You nodded and hummed, “Tell me what happened with that. You never really explained to me about what happened. I’m curious who called you and why you suddenly went from hot to cold.”

He sighed and took a gulp of his whiskey, “It was a friend. Someone who started to get attached and it was my fault for stringing her along. I was a coward to not break up with her sooner. It was never meant to be serious. I didn’t even know at first that she was serious about me,” Harry licked his lips and twisted the glass around on the dark wood tabletop. “But when I realized she’d stopped seeing other people and got her feelings hurt when I took someone else out for dinner I should have confronted her.”

You nodded, “So you kicked me out of your room because you invited her and forgot?”

He shook his head, “She was meant to be my date for the ball. But we had different flights and hers got cancelled and I didn’t know she was coming. Didn’t know she’d rebooked. The last thing I knew was that she couldn’t come. But then when I got her call she was already just outside of the hotel on her way up,” he looked at you, “I made a choice between hurting her feelings and yours but that blew up in my face, obviously. I thought I’d never see you again and so…” he sighed, “I’m sorry. It was a shit move. I’m shit. I know. I just… I had no time to think it through and Aster and I have mutual friends and sometimes we cross paths for work so… I was spineless.”

“Aster? That’s a pretty name. Have you spoken to her since?”

He shook his head, “No. I’m sure I’ll see her again at some point. Should be an interesting reunion.”

“So she found the condom and note,” you smiled with a laugh as you finished off the last of your drink.

Harry nodded with a chuckle, “Of course she did,” he shook his head exasperatedly, “If I could go back in time, I’d have been nicer to you. Had you stay. I’d have gone down to the lobby with Aster and explained what was going on to her. Tell her the truth. I would have told you the truth too. Of course, you probably would have left just the same once you knew about Aster. But at least I wouldn’t have been such an ass to you both.”

You pursed your lips as you looked toward the window in thought. So he hadn’t technically been cheating on someone but you would have probably bolted the moment you learned there was another woman there for him. Wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with that. But it was true, had he just told you the truth things would have been different.

Still, his knee-jerk reaction to treat you like shit wasn’t something you could just let go. You understood it better now, sure, but it still had your skin crawling and your tummy twisting when you thought about the way it made you feel.

But you were happy to know what had happened. And with all the alcohol in your system, you were looking at him in a different light.

It didn’t help that Harry kept whispering to you, pressing his shoulder to yours, trying to make you laugh. You figured he probably had a little too much as well. He was much looser. Laid back. Flirty. Kind of felt like the man you met that first night.

And of course, with all those thoughts mixed with alcohol, you almost didn’t care about the way you met him and left that night. Almost. Except that now you were thinking about it and that’s all you needed to remember who you were with.

“We should head back to the hotel, Harry,” you said, regretfully. You were having a good time with him. Your tipsy brain was enjoying the attention from him.

Harry silently looked you over. His eyes roved over your features as he nodded, “Sure.”

The ride to the hotel was quiet. You tried to make sure there was a safe distance between you and Harry. Because he was awfully close at the bar and one or two comments were a bit suggestive. But either way, you couldn’t go back down that rabbit hole.

As you were swiping your room card Harry stood behind you. You pushed your door open and turned back to him, “Everything okay?”

He placed his palm on the wall next to your door frame and nodded, “Just making sure you get in safely. Want to be a gentleman.”

You coughed out a laugh in surprise, “A gentleman?”

He grinned softly, “Yes. Why? Did you not want me to be a gentleman?”

“Harry…” you warned. He was definitely stepping past a boundary. Even his own boundary. Maybe he’d had more to drink than you realized.

“Sorry,” he put his hands up in yield, “I’ll go to my room. You know where to find me if you need anything.”

You certainly did know where to find him. And it was even harder not to feel tempted when your rooms were adjoined by a door staring at you as you lay in your king-sized bed alone and imagined he was with you. That your fingers were his. That he was making you come.

You pressed your face into your pillow as you gasped with your fingers rubbing your clit.

There was a moment where you tried to imagine anyone else. Anyone but him. But it was difficult when Harry was so attractive and his comments to you were so suggestive. So you gave in to your fantasy. No one would ever know anyway.

. . .

Hallie, the woman who owned the painting, was at the restaurant before you and Harry arrived. She shook Harry’s hand and then walked him inside to the hostess who seated the three of you.

At first, you didn’t think too much about the way Hallie treated you. She focused on Harry from the moment you met her. And he was the buyer and ultimately the one she needed to impress. But the longer you three spent together you realized she was actively ignoring you.

It really ramped when she pulled out her chair to sit right next to Harry and leaned in to whisper something to him that you couldn’t hear. He didn’t seem to notice it. At first. But you kept it professional and ignored it the best you could.

When the waiter came to take your order she looked at Harry, “What wine do you like? I was thinking of a Bordeaux.”

Harry hummed and looked at you, “That sounds fine to me. What about you Y/n? Bordeaux?”

Hallie made a strange sound and spoke over you before you could say that anything was fine, “Well, it’s all about you, Harry. What you want. Not her,” she laughed as if what she was saying should be obvious.

Harry looked at Hallie and squinted his eyes in puzzlement, “I’m not sure what you mean, Hallie. She’s sitting here at this table with us, so she’ll be sharing the wine too.”

Hallie let out an exasperated sound, “Pfff…” she looked at you, maybe for the first time directly since you’d met her, “You’re probably not going to want to drink such expensive wine anyway being just an assistant. Right?”

You didn’t want to argue. Didn’t want to cause a scene, “Oh… no it’s fine. I don’t need to–“

“She’s going to share the bottle with us. Of course, she will. I know she enjoys wine,” he turned to look at you, “Don’t you, Y/n?”

You looked between the two. You had been treated this way in the past. Some people assumed you were just a lowly assistant. No one to bother with too much.

“I mean… I like nice wine but it’s not a big deal,” you shrugged.

“See?” Hallie gestured toward you while looking at Harry.

Harry shook his head and leaned toward you, “You’ll have some of the wine.”

Dinner was slightly awkward after that display. You kept quiet and ordered a cheaper option off the menu. Hallie clearly didn’t think you deserved to eat an expensive dish. You only had one glass of wine, despite Harry trying to get you to have more.

Harry and Hallie discussed the most recent bill of sale. Which, Hallie had not brought.

“Well, I’ll need to see that so I can give you a fair offer. Without it, there’s not going to be a deal.”

“I’ll make sure to get it to you. After this, we can get it. It’s in my office.”

“I was really hoping to have this deal finished by the end of dinner so I could meet with the Radatz’s and have the painting packed for moving it from the gallery.”

Hallie put her hand over Harry’s, “Don’t worry. We’ll have everything ready for you by the end of the night. The Radatz’s know to wait for my call.”

“Is anyone feeling like dessert?” The waiter asked after your dinner plates were cleared.

“Harry, you need to try their flourless chocolate cake. It’s to die for.”

“That sounds good,” he said as he looked down at the dessert menu and then looked at you, “What about you? What would you like, Y/n?”

You appreciated that he kept including you, despite Hallie practically brushing you off the entire day. You smiled, “I was thinking the cheesecake. With the raspberry compote.”

You chose the cheesecake because it was one of the cheaper desserts. You didn’t want to hear Hallie balking about you wanting the $25 frozen hot chocolate sundae with Belgian chocolate truffles and strawberry glace.

“Oh, Y/n…” Hallie tsk’d, “Are you sure you want that? Cheesecake? I mean,” she looked at the menu and pointed out the fruit salad with mint, “The fruit is probably going to be better, don’t you think?”

You had seen that option but it had pineapple in it, “I’m allergic to pineapple. I don’t have to get a dessert if it’s too much money or something.”

Hallie scoffed, “Allergic to pineapple?” Her laugh felt like an insult. Like maybe she didn’t believe you.

“Get whatever you want, Y/n. Don’t worry,” he looked at you but you could see he was getting frustrated with Hallie.

You could hardly enjoy your cheesecake. It felt like you were doing something wrong. You weren’t sure if Hallie was trying to get you to go with the fruit option because it was cheaper or because it was healthier and she was making a jab at your weight. Probably both really. And that had you feeling a little nauseated. Like she was scrutinizing you and despite having ignored you for the most part was suddenly very interested in your dessert choice.

When the bill was paid and the three of you exited the restaurant Hallie’s driver pulled up and Harry’s just behind.

“Look,” Hallie grinned at Harry and put her slender fingers on his forearm, “My office is at my home, and this transaction might be better done with just the two of us.” She looked at you, “You can have his driver take you back to the hotel, right, Y/n?”

You began to nod but Harry moved to stand next to you and put his hand at your low back, “That’s not going to be necessary, Hallie. I have to say, I don’t appreciate how you’ve treated her and that you think you can suggest that she leave by herself. In fact, this transaction is not going to happen at all. You’ve really left a sour taste in my mouth.”

Hallie’s red lips dropped open and she looked shocked, “What?! Why not? I just paid for your dinner and hers and you’re telling me this isn’t happening?”

Harry pulled his wallet from the inside of his suit jacket, “How much do I owe you for the inconvenience?”

She put her hand up, “It’s not that. It’s just that you should have told me before we got to dinner that you weren’t interested.”

“I was interested before I met you in person,” Harry looked down at you, “Go get in the car. I’ll be right there.”

You walked away and waved at the driver as he ran to the back passenger door and opened it for you.

Once inside the car, you watched Harry and Hallie. You wished you could hear what they were saying to one another. You could see Harry’s body language indicated he was relaxed and uncaring. But Hallie was stiff and her face wore a scowl as she looked toward the window you sat near (though she couldn’t see in through the dark tint) and then back to Harry.

However that conversation ended, Hallie was not happy with the outcome as she stormed off toward the car waiting for her.

Harry slid into the backseat next to you, “Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah. I’m fine. It’s not the first time I’ve been treated that way by other executives. A lot of people look at me like I’m just an errand girl or something–“

“Well, I won’t tolerate it. I didn’t recognize what she was doing until she said something about your dessert.”

“I’m sorry about that. You lost the deal and it feels like my fault.”

Harry took your hand, “No. I didn’t lose the deal. I called it off. I don’t want to work with someone like her. Can’t trust someone like that.”

You weren’t sure how to feel about the way Harry was acting around you. The night before had been confusing but you kept a level head and assumed he was acting the way he was because of the wine. You couldn’t deny you liked it when he flirted with you even though you knew you shouldn’t. And now that he took up for you and canceled a deal that could have been worth the cost of a small bungalow in Los Angeles had you even more confused.

“I still feel bad. If I hadn’t been there–“ Harry sat back in his seat, letting go of your hand, “None of that. I’m not going into these meetings without you so whoever I deal with will have to treat you as a colleague just as they would me.”

You looked out your window and smiled to yourself. You were starting to feel like you and Harry would work very well together. It had turned out much better than you thought it would. He seemed to be more easygoing after the previous night when you finally talked, and at that moment you were feeling fond after he didn’t go along with the way Hallie had treated you.

“Let’s grab a drink at the bar. Heard good things about their martinis here,” Harry said as you both walked into the hotel together.

“Okay. Yeah. Sounds good.” You could go for a martini. And it would be nice to chat a little more with Harry. Spend a little more time with him before you both parted ways for the night. And you resolved that it would only be a drink and nothing more. You and Harry and alcohol didn’t mix well. Or perhaps all that mixed a little too well and that was the issue.

The bar was full of people. You and Harry found the only little spot in a corner opposite the bar area. A high-top table with two tall stools that you found a little difficult to climb into. Harry steadied you as you planted yourself onto the cushion and he stood behind you. “What kind of martini would you like?”

You liked how close he was standing. Liked that you could smell his cologne again. You turned to look at him, “I don’t know. I’ve only had like a dirty martini and a Cosmopolitan. Didn’t like either much.”

“We’ll both have a French martini. How’s that sound?” His hand wandered to your upper arm; fingers softly pressed into your skin. His face was so close to yours that you swore he was about to kiss you. That he was–

You stopped breathing for a second when he leaned in and kissed your cheek. You thought he was going for your mouth. When he pulled away he turned around to find the bar and order your drinks.

You were very well aware at that moment of Harry’s intentions. And you weren’t sure what to think. On the one hand, this was the man who had taken up for you in front of a client and lost out on a lot of money because he didn’t like the way she treated you. He was also flirty, attractive, and you knew how good he was in bed and it really seemed like that’s what he was going for. And being a bit horny lately wasn’t helping matters either so you were wondering if it couldn’t hurt to let your hormones make that decision for you.

But. On the other, much bigger, hand the way he’d treated you that first night you’d met him, the way he kicked you out of his room… You couldn’t forget that he’d done that. Though, you had finally learned about what had happened and it made you feel less angry at him overall.

You laughed at yourself at how silly you were being. Clearly, the answer was going to be no. He did something pretty fucking shitty and that really should be the end of it. Right? Yes. So that would be it. You’d definitely turn him down should he try to take things any further.

Your pretty pink martini was sat down in front of you and then Harry’s next to yours as he dragged his stool right next to you and sat down, his body teasingly close.

Oh, he was dangerous.

He lifted his glass toward you, “Cheers to us.”

Your brows snapped together, “To us?”

“Yeah. I think we make a good team. We dodged a bullet working with someone like Hallie today and I’d much rather be here with you and this cocktail than spending a ridiculous amount of money on a painting.” He smiled with those mischievously seductive dimples.

“But that painting would have made you a ridiculous amount of money too. Your client was ready to pay well above whatever Hallie probably paid for it.”

Harry shook his head, “There’s no way I’d work with her. Even if that painting would have made me hundreds of thousands of dollars. Don’t like how she acted like you didn’t matter.”

You smiled at him as you clinked glass to his.

“Oh, this is actually good!” You were surprised you liked the taste.

Harry smirked, “It is good, isn’t it?”

You nodded.

“I’m glad you like it, Y/n. I hope you know that when I say I think we make a good team, I mean it. You’ve already made my life so much easier. I feel lucky that I get to work with you.”

You had one arm on the table, your fingers daintily gripping the glass stem, and your other hand was in your lap when you felt his fingers gently pushed in between yours as he took another sip.

You needed to shut it down. He was coming on strong and it was making your head spin too fast. Another sip of your absolutely delectable drink and you figured you could tough it out through one full drink and then before he could order another you’d make up some excuse to go back to your room. Alone.

“I’m trying really hard to be good here, Y/n,” Harry spoke, his body turned toward you, “But I like you a lot. More than I should given that you’re my employee.”

You cleared your throat and blinked as you looked down at your drink, “So, tomorrow morning you’ll get a wake-up call from the concierge and I’ll come get you at 10:30 before we need to meet the driver to take us to the airport.” You began rattling off the following day’s schedule. His hand wrapped around yours had you feeling so discombobulated that you weren’t sure what to say in response to his sudden confession. You just had to get through the drink. Then you’d call it a night.

“Why don’t I just have you as my wake-up call tomorrow morning?”

You sat your drink down and let out a laugh of disbelief, “What?!”

“Just a suggestion. We’re two adults. No one has to get hurt.” Harry leaned in closer and you arched away from him slightly

“Harry, you’re my boss and this is not a good idea.”

“At this moment I’m not your boss. I can take on two different roles if that makes you feel better.”

You shook your head. You tried not imagining his grunts that night. Right before he started to come, the little moan, and then when he filled up his condom he was breathy and raspy, and the jerk of his hips... It was so sexy.

“Not only that, but the way also you treated me when you kicked me out that night? That, I’m sure you would agree, is a good reason for this to not go any further. I can’t just forget that.”

Harry nodded, the smile faded from his mouth as he took a drink of his martini. “That’s fair. I fucked myself over by doing that to you. Then fate, or whatever, brought us back together and now I have to live with it. I know I said sorry already and that probably doesn’t mean as much to you as I wish it did, but I really am sorry, Y/n.”

“I can forgive you but how could I ever forget it? That was humiliating, Harry. I’ve never been treated like that before.”

He shook his head and looked down at the tabletop, “I’m sorry. I know. I was a proper dick to you,” he lifted his gaze to yours. “I can’t ever forget that I did that either.”

You squinted your eyes and folded your lips into your mouth in thought as you remembered that night. But it felt like such a long time ago in some ways.

He squeezed your hand and his handsome blushed lips wound upwards slowly.

Another sip and a reprieve from his eyes and his cologne did nothing to stop your mind from wandering. Maybe it was the scent that was bringing back all those memories from that night.

When he first revealed his sturdy chest and all its tattoos you were floored. You just remember wondering to yourself what Harry possibly saw in you. You didn’t figure you were his type at all. But the way he lavished you with attention... The way his mouth wandered over your body and how he looked at you… the way his hands smoothed over your skin and how eager he was to go down on you.

You shook those thoughts from your mind as he finally let your hand go. Maybe he could tell you were in turmoil.

“What?” Harry pressed his shoulder into yours.

“Nothing.” You didn’t look at him as you answered. He was too close and you weren’t sure you wouldn’t let your eyes drift to his pretty lips.

“I know I was flirting and I shouldn’t have been. That’s not fair to you. I promise to be good from now on.”

You smiled as you looked at him. And just as you knew would happen, your pupils dropped to his lips before you brought your sight back up to his eyes, “Thank you, Harry.”

You had only a few more sips of your martini before Harry spoke again, “Do you want to know what I told Hallie when I had you sit in the car?” “Of course, I do,” your eyes widened as you turned toward him.

“I told her she was trashy for treating you the way she did. That she ruined a deal that was ready to go and lost out on a lot of money which was stupid of her. I told her I was disgusted by her and that I knew what she was trying to do and that would never be happening.”

You laughed, “I do appreciate that you took up for me that way, Harry. I still can’t believe you did it, though. Could have been a big payout.”

He smiled at you softly, “It was an easy decision, Y/n. I love making money but I need to have anyone I work with to be respectful of me and you.”

And perhaps it was the martini that was making you look at him differently or maybe his words, it was an easy decision. For him to choose you over thousands and thousands of dollars?

Even though you really didn’t want to, you and Harry both made your way back to your rooms once your martinis were done. You kind of wanted to keep talking to him. Wanted to bask in his attention a bit longer. Despite you knowing that was a bad idea. You hated that you liked it.

Not unlike the night before, Harry stood by your door as you unlocked it, “I guess this is goodnight.”

You turned to look at him and shrugged, “Probably should be.”

He nodded, “Right. Um,” he scratched the back of his neck, “If you need anything, just knock. I won’t be going to bed for a bit.”

“Thanks, Harry.” You smiled at him as he waved and stepped away from you, leaving you to finally enter your room and close your door.

And for some reason, it felt so disappointing. Like it was a mistake to let him just walk away. A perfectly healthy and handsome man who clearly wanted to have a little fun with you. You could do no strings. It could be just something between two adults, like he said. Right?

You shook your head as you removed your clothes and turned on the shower to let the water warm. You couldn’t get him off your mind. It was impossible.

Standing under the running water you sighed and hated that you felt the way you did. Your own mind and body were betraying you. And it was nuts to be thinking of Harry the way you were but he was so goddamn attractive and he’d been so nice to you. Choosing you over all that money.

When you stood in front of the mirror and dried yourself off you felt pretty. The way Harry looked at you and flirted… you had to quit thinking about it. Had to quit picking apart all the details and his words and the way he looked at you.

But you were just a human like he was. And you had needs that you could both fulfill for one another. Harry could make you feel good and you knew you could make him feel good too.

“Stop it, Y/n.” You chided yourself as you slid the fuzzy hotel robe on before putting lotion onto your face.

But you couldn’t stop it. You kept thinking about his body and the night you met him. He was cocky but he was sexy. And he knew how to work you properly. He’d really gotten under your skin that night.

You plopped down onto your bed and clicked your TV on but your brain continued spiraling and that made you feel hot and despite your shower, you were already annoyingly slick between your legs. You couldn’t understand why you were so horny lately. Ovulation perhaps? Or maybe it was just Harry in general. He was too fucking attractive. In all honesty, it wasn’t fair.

You closed your eyes and before you knew it you were already using your fingers to rub yourself. But it wasn’t cutting it. The man just next door was more than willing. And you could say for certain that he was going to make you feel so good. So good. Better than your fingers would.

You moaned and rolled over to face the door that adjoined your rooms. You wondered what he was doing. If he was still awake like he said he would be.

Somehow it felt like the door was calling to you. Just to press your ear to it. Just to see if you could hear anything.

But there was hardly any noise you could make out. It could have been anything. TV. He could have been showering. Or maybe… you began to imagine him lying in his bed stroking his cock and thinking of you. Imagining that he was fucking you with that big thing…

“Stop…” you shook your head as you whispered to yourself. But just as you started to move away from the door you did hear something. A voice. Harry’s voice. He was on the phone perhaps. You strained to hear him but there was no other sound.

For some very strange reason, you decided to put your hand on the doorknob and twist. Just to see. If it was unlocked you’d just leave it. Or maybe you’d lock it. You hadn’t checked since checking in. It hadn’t dawned on you.

To your total shock, it was unlocked. The knob twisted easily and you felt the latch disengage from the spot that held the door shut but you stopped yourself. Letting go of the knob you backed away before you could open the door. It was unexpected that the door was unlocked but now your heart was pounding. All this time the door had been unlocked.

You heard a knock, “Y/n?”

You pressed your hand to the door, “Yes? Did you need something?”

“No. I thought I heard you at the door. Were you trying to open the door?”

You blinked your eyes and reached for the handle, opening the door only to realize that the door on his side was still closed, “No. I only just realized the door was unlocked.”

“Oh really?” You could hear his voice a lot better when suddenly his own door opened up. He was, to your surprise, only wearing pajama pants. His bare chest was still wet from a shower he’d clearly just taken. His hair was wet on his head.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you,” your voice came out weak as you and Harry stood in your rooms holding the adjoining doors.

“S’okay. Not disturbing me. I just got out of the shower and heard the doorknob.”

You nodded as your tummy flipped. You didn’t know what to say. And you didn’t know what to do either. Except to freeze and keep your eyes on him. It was almost like you were in someone else’s body when you reached for him and pulled him to your body, his mouth crashing into yours and hasty hands feeling his arms and his back and his shoulders as he wrapped his own around your body and stepped into your room fully.

You were naked beneath your robe, which had opened at the bottom as you stuffed your fingers into his wet hair. And you felt him against your hip. He was hard. Already. Just like you were wet. Already.

It was clear you’d both been pent up and thinking about the other and now there was no turning back.

Harry gasped as he parted from the kiss and looked down at you, “Do you want this? Y/n I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable–“

You drew his mouth back down to yours. Less thinking. More doing. The more you thought about it the less likely you were to go through with it. Your body had a great need and Harry could fulfill it.

He moaned as you pulled at him and made it to your bed. “I want you, Harry. God I need,” you pulled him with you into your bed and laid on your side with your lips attached to his.

You felt his hand roam up your hip and over your soft terry robe that had opened wider letting your breasts fall out. When he palmed over your tits you reached down to cup his large cock.

“Was just thinking about this exact thing, Y/n,” he whispered against your mouth, “S’why I’m so hard. Couldn’t stop thinking about you and your body.”

You moaned and pulled his hand down between your legs so he could feel your slick, “Me too, Harry. I want you.”

Your lips moved together wetly as you were pushed to your back. He took your breasts in his palms and kneaded before ducking down to lick and kiss softly. It felt so good. It was making you dizzy to have his hands on you again.

When he untied your robe the rest of the way he grasped your thighs and looked up at you, “Am I allowed? Can I eat you out, honey?”

You nodded with your brows stitched together and felt him lifting your legs, parting your thighs, and then running his fingers through your sodden crease.

But the moment his lips found your clit your body was elevated and soaring. His strong shoulders dug into the back of your thighs and you felt him suck and lap at you. Like he needed it so badly. Like he couldn’t wait to get a taste of you. The first time you had sex he took it slow but now things were feeling shaky and rushed and desperate.

His lips and his tongue and then his fingers added in had you moaning loudly and you’d barely even gotten started.

“God, it feels so good, Harry…” you placed your fingers into his hair and basked in the sensation of having a gorgeous man licking your pussy. It was a rare thing for you.

“That’s what I want,” he spoke against your clit and then lifted up to look at you, “Want to make you feel so good. Want to make you smile, Y/n. Want to make you happy.”

Your mind was spinning. He was too much all at once but you couldn’t stop it. Your body was in need.

His tongue ran up and down your folds and you could feel the warm breath puffing out of his nose as he worked your pussy over. The gushy sound of your hole taking his fingers and your gasps didn’t feel like reality. You must have been dreaming. Must have been imagining it all.

When he smacked his lips over your clit you groaned and pulled at his hair. He nuzzled down into you further, his fingers pumping into you smoothly.

He peeked up at you, kissing your mound, “You’re so fucking sexy, Y/n. I could spend all night down here,” he flattened his tongue through your crease and then licked over your clit teasingly.

“Oh my god…” you were feeling out of your mind. You pushed yourself up to your elbows so you could see him and you realized you wanted his cock. Right away.

Pushing at his forehead he lifted his lips from your cunt, “What’s wrong?” His chest heaved.

“I want you to fuck me. I want your cock.”

Harry moaned and sat up to peel his pajama pants down. His gorgeous dick coming into view with that one thick vein down the center.

He stroked himself and shifted between your parted legs, “Need to feel me, honey?”

You nodded quickly as you watched him line himself up with your pussy right where you wanted him. That yummy stretch and the feel of him moving into you had you crying out pathetically.

Harry hovered over you as he pushed himself in and then pressed his lips to yours, licking against your tongue as he drove his cock into the hilt.

You gasped into his mouth but he continued moving his lips against yours, stuffing himself in until he couldn’t push in any further.

The strength of him on top of you and the way his thighs flexed as he pushed in was dizzying.

And as he continued kissing you he pulled back and then plunged back in sharply. Over and over again deep presses of his hips against yours, rocking into you and slipping out to the tip, wet skin colliding in a perfect rhythm.

Your TV was still on in the background and the doors that joined your rooms were both wide open as Harry worked himself into you. The press of his balls to your ass as he ground himself in had you gasping.

“Oh fuck!” You whimpered.

“Yeah? S’deep in there isn’t it? M’cock fits inside of you perfectly, Y/n. Fucking opening up for me, sucking me in, squeezing around me…” He moaned.

He hardly knew what he was saying. He only knew how good you felt. How your walls split apart as he moved in, the way he could work you open bit by bit, and how filthy wet you were.

“Ohh… so deep like this. Jesus Harry,” you opened your eyes and watched his face as he fucked into you. It was ecstasy. It was relief. You could see it on his face how good he felt. How good your pussy was making his cock feel.

There was a delicious sting every time he buried himself into your guts. The achy stretch. Your walls warm and slick, accommodating his length and his girth just how he needed.

And you had the pleasure of hearing those sexy grunts again. The way he sounded as he fucked you and enjoyed your body. Grunting in time with every thrust, every smack of his hips into yours, wet skin pressing together, blankets under your back shifting with your body as you were railed into the bed.

“Sounds like it feels good, Y/n. Yeah?”

You whined, “It’s so good. Feels so good. Holy… holy shit!”

Harry knew it felt good by the way your body was shaking, your sexy moans, and how he could hear your wet pussy taking his hard cock.

He swiveled his hips in a circle, rutting into you as he lowered his mouth to yours again, needing to feel your soft mouth against his, your warm tongue on his tongue.

Thrust after thrust had your heart pounding, your cunt clenching, and when he angled himself over you with his pelvis against your clit your entire body began to vibrate.

You felt him moan into your mouth. He was drooling just the tiniest bit, you felt saliva dripping over your lips and down your cheek.

Sex with Harry the second time was frantic and heated. So different than the first time, but just as good. It felt even better somehow.

But Harry was going to come too fast. His go-to was usually to wank first and then get into it again so he could last longer but this time he’d been interrupted when he thought he heard the doorknob so he was already halfway there by the time you pulled him into your room.

He sat back, stilling his hips before moving his hands over your soft breasts, and looked at your pretty face, “Love how you take me, Y/n. Kept dreaming about you since that night.”

You moaned and rocked your hips up when Harry brought his hands down your sides and nudged himself in shallowly with a hiss. He watched his cock slide through your opening and repeated again before pulling out completely, “Sorry. I’m about to come,” he panted as he took your ankles and lifted your legs up, pushing your calves against his shoulders.

“It’s okay,” you chuckled as you watched his strong arms lift your legs. His long fingers held your calves, “I haven’t stopped thinking about that night either, Harry. It was so good.”

He grinned and you watched him drag his eyes over your body, “Rub your clit for me okay? Need you to come,” he smoothed his hands up and down your legs as you reached down to find your clit, pressing over it gently as you watched his face.

When you felt his tip pressing through your tight muscle again you both moaned together.

Slowly his thrusts got harder and deeper as he got into the motion of fucking you once again. His cock was so hard you swore it could rip you in half if he went any harder.

Your body jolted from the force of him, tits swaying up and down as his hips smacked into you harshly.

“Fuck…” he gritted as he watched your pretty face twist up and your lips part. He loved that he was making you feel so good. Loved how you were moaning and panting.

The bed began to lightly creak under the force of Harry’s thrusts. His back and his thighs were flexing with each plunge.

And you were rendered speechless as your pussy took him long and deep. His smooth punches into your cunt, his tip smashing into your insides had air being forced from your lungs and it was the only sound you could make as you panted and gasped.

You could see that he was sweating. He was trying so hard to hold off for you but it was sexy as hell. He wanted your release first and you certainly wouldn’t complain about that.

Slick and hot and sticky, Harry pushed into you over and over again until he felt you gripping him tight and your parted lips dropped open further and you began to cry, “So fucking hot, Y/n. You coming on my cock baby? Yeah?”

You had no idea what you answered him but you knew you nodded as your body melted and your pussy throbbed around him. Having a big cock sliding back and forth through your walls as you spasmed in your orgasm was incredible. Harry’s own grunts and the grip he had on your calves were just making it that much better.

He let you finish completely before he dared stop fucking you or allowed himself to come. He wanted to watch you fall apart on his cock like you had that first night. It was the best thing he’d ever seen.

When you moans slowed down and Harry felt his balls tighten he released your legs and pulled out, stroking himself over your pussy as he unloaded right there on your low tummy and over your cunt, his white come dripping down your pussylips.

You watched his face scrunch up as he threw his head back and moaned loudly into your room. His big palm slipped up and down his long shaft coated in your arousal, working himself to his end, spurt by spurt.

He nearly collapsed over you as he pressed a palm down into the comforter and lowered to kiss you again, “So good. So fucking good, Y/n.”

You moaned into his mouth and agreed. It was good. So fucking good.

Somehow you both wound up falling asleep in your bed. You normally would clean up but you were spent and so was he.

. . .

Your eyes peeled open and you blinked slowly as you realized that what had felt like a wild dream had been real. Harry was right there next to you in your hotel bed.

You smiled at first. Thinking of how hot it had been. How much you needed a release. How much he enjoyed himself. You slid out of his arms and sat up, noticing that your TV was still on. Everything had been so frantic. But you needed it. Right? You needed to have him again.

But did you really? You looked down over your body and felt a wave of disappointment. You remembered how you felt it could have been a mistake to let him walk away. But that wasn’t right. Letting him go back to his room hadn’t been a mistake. You should have left it at that. You pulled your robe over your body and frowned.

This was the mistake. Giving in to your desires was the mistake. It should have never happened.

You began to panic. You couldn’t kick him out of your room. Well, there was that flash of the thought that you should kick him out of your room like he had to you that first night.

But you weren’t Harry. You were a nice person who felt things deeply. It was almost 6 am. Perhaps you’d take a walk and clear your mind. Get a coffee…

And all you knew was that you needed to get out of there. You couldn’t stay in that room with him looking so innocent with his face smushed into the pillow. Nope. Because he wasn’t innocent. He was far from it and you’d fallen for his antics.

Letting it happen again had been a mistake.

NEXT PART

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mochinomnoms · 6 months ago

Note

*slams open door*

Mochi! Mochi! I have an idea.

So a troupe I see on pixiv fanart is a character swapping with their future selves. I saw one where Azul wakes up in bed with his future wife Yuu and she's teased him because she can tell it's past Azul and he doesn't recognize her. She gives him a hint how to recognize her by some birthmarks she has on her chest.

I've seen a couple artists do it with Floyd as well, and a fanfic with past and future Yuu swapping with each other and poor younger Malleus is overwhelmed because OMG this beautiful woman is flirting with me and she's my future wife? There's something hilarious about the younger guys just not knowing how to handle the future version of Yuu.

So now I'm thinking how funny it would be for Past!PTMYuu swapping places with future!PTMYuu. Like P!Yuu wakes up in an unknown house in somebody's bed and confused as fuck and gets even more confused because suddenly these little kids are running in, telling Mommy it's time to get up and Yuu's like, who's mommy? Then who should walk in but Jade telling the kids to let Mommy rest and then he notices that the Yuu in their bedroom is not his wife(Yuu's still wearing her NRC uniform and shouldn't fit it anymore after getting older and having kids) and ohh he's going to have fun with this. He'll start in with the thoughts "ohh my beautiful pearl was absolutely adorable back at NRC, look at how tiny and cute you were, I know you can hear me pearl..." And fuck he knows about her telepathy. Poor Yuu overloads with the fact that Jade actually married her, they have kids, and is still so damn in love with her as he was at NRC.

Meanwhile F!Yuu is back at Past NRC and is calming down Yuu's friends. No, your Yuu is fine. If I'm right she's with my husband and kids right now and he'll take care of her. Some of the cast are obviously curious about Yuu's husband and F!Yuu is all "nah... sorry I can't say, don't wanna mess with the future." and of course the one who wants to know the most is Jade. F!Yuu is laughing to themselves because man, they remember how down horrendously Jade was in school and he doesn't know at this time that Yuu can read his thoughts. I'd like to think Yuu learned to better control the telepathy so she just tunes into his thoughts every now and then and it's just his thoughts bouncing around like "Oh seven my pearl is absolutely gorgeous in the future. Please tell me I'm your husband. I have to be! What would our kids look like. How many would we have? Do they look like my pearl or me? I hope one looks like my pearl they'd be the cutest baby!"

Eventually somebody figures out how to send the Yuu's back to their right time. Hugs for everybody but P!Jade gets a quick peck on the cheek before F!Yuu hops into whatever portal is sending her back and the last thought she hears from P!Jade is him screaming in his mind how much he loves her.

P!Yuu gets back and now has to deal with Jade's even more thoughts about the future and apparently a few others people thinking that man, Yuu's gonna be such a milf in the future.

Somebody please help Yuu, poor thing can only take so much.

Ah I love silly time travel stories (I ignore paradoxes) and this is one of my favorite tropes! It's what one of the fics from the poll is based on, but with all of the overblot cast instead!

I'm so excited to write it, I have many ideas for everyone, especially Leona and Idia's chapters!!

For Jade though, I think it would be so funny. He's positively enamored seeing milf/dilf Yuu. He's internalizing everything, of course, so no one except Yuu and Floyd and Azul can really tell he's being affected.

He's staring a little longer than he really should, but he's surprised that future Yuu doesn't seem to mind. In fact, they're much calmer than usual. Usually they'd be excitable with their friends and quite shy and quiet with him. But future Yuu looks at him with such fondness that Jade lets himself dream that they look at him like that because they're future spouses.

(In the back of his mind, there is a mix of hope and dread. That's a wedding band on their hand. They're taken, but was it by him?)

Imagine everyone's surprise and shock when, right before leaving, future Yuu walks up to Jade (even in the future, they haven't grown much) to tip toe and press a sweet little kiss to the cheek as they cup his face with the absolute most tenderness.

Jade's frozen, the others are murmuring to each other, and future Yuu disappears and in their place is their original Yuu. Red-faced, covered in a large brown coat that most definitely does not belong to them, and staring Jade down.

Covering their red-face and all. Poor Jade is now giddy and a bit concerned (he hopes that scream was due to flusteredness and not fear, though he does love how entertaining they always are), while Yuu is screaming into their couch as they try to process several things, including the knowledge that they weren't at all displeased knowing that they married Jade.

#mochi asks #twst #twisted wonderland #jade leech #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #jade leech x reader #ptm

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aliceintheworld · 13 days ago

Text

PURE ATTRACTION | JJK | TATTOO ARTIST

Pairing: TattooArtistJungkook X NaiveReader

summary: "I shouldn’t be watching a man undressing, specially not from the house next door."

Warning: angst 😭 (I know, but I promise it will pass soon) kiss, crying, Jungkook being an idiot, but regretting later (he will suffer a bit more in the next chapters, I promise) alcoholic drink, confession 😍

A/N: I know, I promised I would post this yesterday, but my internet stopped working and there was nothing I could do 🤷‍♀️ anyway, here it is: finally things are aligning a little bit. Spoiler alert: the OC's mother will soon find out what’s going on, and things will get ugly 😬. Speaking of which, PURE ATTRACTION is coming to an end, and I'm already thinking about new projects. I hope you can join me on this journey 🤟

Previous Chapter

CAPITULO 11

The fright pulls me away from Y/N instantly. When I look back, it's Bora calling me. She stops walking and stares at us for a few seconds. Then she smiles in a mischievous way, almost as if we were doing something more than a near kiss. I can't ignore the bad feeling that overwhelms me when I can't achieve my goal. I know I'm confused and should avoid playing with someone else's feelings, but being apart from her these past few days, has been my greatest martyrdom.

“Sorry to interrupt.” She giggles, biting her lower lip.

“You didn’t interrupt anything.” Y/N quickly shakes her head, embarrassed. “I need to see Hayun. Is she around?”

“Yes.” Bora nods in agreement. “Jungkook, Namjoon was looking for you. Please go see him. No one can stand him anymore, seriously. It feels like a funeral over there.”

“I’ll be right there.” I sigh, feeling I have no choice. I didn't want to go, but I know I need to. I glance at Y/N one last time before heading inside Yoongi's house. I try to maintain a calm expression, but I can’t. I’m so dazed by everything happening that I can barely think straight.

Namjoon came to Busan out of the blue, and even though I have some regard for him, I didn’t want him to do it. I shouldn’t have mentioned the party to him, but I'm so used to having him in my life, I didn’t expect him to travel, just to see me. I didn’t want to do this to Y/N; she must be thinking horrible things about me—part of which are true—but before heading to Seoul, I wanted to talk to her and clear things up, not this mess that just happened. When she left my apartment that day, I spent hours in my room, echoing her words in my head.

I’m a proud person. I don’t like being wrong, and when I am, it’s hard for me to stop, breathe, and ask for forgiveness. However, that same day, I knew I needed to do it. I knew I needed to talk to Y/N and resolve everything before it was too late. Contrary to what she says, I really do like her. She makes me feel good, makes me happy... whenever I’m with her, I don’t think about anything else. My world, filled with problems and worries, becomes a world that is only hers. I wanted to say this to her, but I'm so confused about Namjoon that I'm afraid to make the situation worse and regret it even more.

As I approach the house, I see him among my friends, leaning against the wall. He seems unfazed by the grim situation, but I know he is bothered. I’ve known him for years, and I know he liked everyone before all the shit hit the fan, throwing our dreams and what we built together, in the trash. He smiles at me when he sees me, and I can’t reciprocate in the same way. The pride I once felt being with him, no longer exist.

“Is everything okay?” I ask when I reach Namjoon. He shrugs and shows me a red cup with a clear drink. It looks like water, but I'm pretty sure it isn’t.

“I’ve been better.” He explains in a slurred voice, watching Taehyung and Yoori kissing in the corner. It used to be the two of us, the lovey-dovey couple. “Is everything okay? You were with that girl for a good while.”

“I needed to talk to her.” I say honestly, feeling anxious; it’s like I’m doing something wrong when I know I’m not.

“She seems important... the way you looked at her...” He suggests, but it doesn’t seem serious. It’s as if he’s saying all this, but knows there’s no possibility of any involvement. Y/N isn’t the type of person I would have approached with interest, in the past, and Namjoon knows that.

“She is important.” I confirm, trying to stay relaxed. Namjoon bites his lip and looks at me with an expression I can't decipher.

“You’re joking, right?” He asks; his jaw tightens, waiting for a response.

“I’m not.” I shake my head; my heart pounding almost as loud as the music. “We had a connection, and she’s important to me, that's why we talked.”

“Wow.” Namjoon scoffs, drinking more of his drink. He rolls his eyes ironically, and then sighs. “You really bounce back quickly.”

“What did you expect me to do? Wait for you?”

“No, just that you’d wait until everything could align.”

“You didn’t wait, Namjoon.” My throat burns with my growl. How can he be so hypocritical? “You ended everything. You slept with that guy from your work when we were about to move in together.”

“I made a mistake. You needed one mistake to end everything.” He replies.

“I needed one mistake to realize you weren’t the right person for me.” I say, clarifying the fact for both him and me. “Love doesn’t hurt, doesn’t deceive. What you did... you just ruined everything. What are you really doing here?”

“I thought I was welcome in your life.” He argues, and it’s the first time I see pain and regret in his eyes. He steps closer to me, his short breaths hitting my face. Him being taller than me never bothered me, but now it feels like he’s a tower over me. A mountain. “I thought you still loved me.”

“I loved the person I thought you were.” I say, closing my eyes. My throat tightens and my chest feels heavy. All the good moments we had together flash in my mind. The first time I saw him, the first time we made love. The first time I said I loved him, scared that he wouldn’t feel the same, and Namjoon reciprocated, exceeding all my expectations. All of that no longer exists. The Jungkook who was crazy about him, who admired him, is just a shadow of who I am now. I loved him so much that I almost overlooked his betrayal for us to be together. I no longer see a future for us, I see nothing but emptiness.

“I made a mistake once, Jungkook. Just once.” He says with a slurred tongue. He looks drunk and sad. A bad combination.

“Namjoon, that’s enough. This is serious now. I want this to end. Go back to Seoul. Stay in your apartment. You need to forget me and move on. We’re not good for each other.”

“We can fix all this. We can move on together.”

“We can’t, because I’ve already made my decision. You no longer fit in my life.” I’ve never been so decisive as I am now. I remember, in the back of my mind, the way I feel every time I see Y/N; none of this feels right.What he did is unforgivable, and I could never trust him again. It just seems wrong. His dark eyes fill with tears, and he takes another step closer to me. His scent mixed with alcohol is still good, but doesn't draw me like three months ago.

“I can show you that you still want me. That I still have you.” He whispers, and even though I don’t want to, I close my eyes to welcome him. For the last time. Just this once, and then everything will be over.

His mouth crashes against mine with ferocity. He seems to show through his actions that he’s regretful, and I can feel it, but it’s not enough. In the midst of the kiss, I take everything from him. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him against me. Namjoon is mine, for the last time. All these years together, I thought it would be forever, but we can’t be anymore. His tongue meets mine in a wildness I recognize. I grunt between his lips as I feel his hand on my back, so forcefully that it’s as if he wants to merge with me. The kiss is sexual, but devoid of feeling. Y/N echoes in my head once again, from when we kissed in your room while her mom was knocking on the door. When our lips met, I felt so much more than just physical contact or her touch. It’s then that I realize it’s not worth it. All the suffering has passed, and I don’t need this anymore. I abruptly pull away from him. Our heavy, quick breaths mix as I stare into his eyes. He tries to get closer again, but I don't allow it. I push him away with my hands, trembling, anxious and sad.

“It’s over.” I whisper. His face contorts as if I’ve punched him. I feel sorry for him, but I can’t deceive us anymore. “It’s over. That was the last time we kissed. The last time you touched me. I didn’t end our relationship. You did.” I conclude; my voice comes out hoarse and in a grunt from deep in my throat. There’s no anger, no resentment towards him. Namjoon doesn’t respond, completely silent, and how could he?

I cover my face with my hands, and let out a sigh mixed with relief and anguish, escaping my soul. When I turn around, my eyes unconsciously go to the woman who, since I met her, changed something within me. Her eyes, however, are filled with tears; her cheeks flushed as if she’s holding back an impending cry. Only then do I realize that Y/N must have seen the kiss with Namjoon, and I can’t imagine what she must be thinking. Before I can react, she turns her back and walks away from the crowded room.

“Y/N!” I shout through the people, but my voice sounds low amidst the music. I move instinctively and hurry after her. Her body almost disappears down the hallway, but I run faster, pushing past two guys who look like they want to kill me, and a girl, who yells at me for bumping into her. None of this stops me until I manage to catch her by the arm. “Y/N, stop!”

“Let me go!” She twists her wrist, shaking her body so I’ll release her. I loosen my grip on her skin, afraid of hurting her, and she pulls away again, faster this time. She heads for the main door of the house and flings it open.

“I’m not letting you go!” I yell at her, walking faster as the facade of the house gets further away from us. “Y/N, listen to me!”

“Stop following me!” She screams at me; her usually sweet and soft voice sounds angry and hurt. I run faster until I can stand in front of her. I don’t touch her, but I don’t let her pass, using my body like a wall to block her path. “Let me through, Jungkook.”

“No.” I shake my head. Her face twists. Her nose crinkles, and her forehead furrows. I’m sure if she could hit me right now, she would.

“Let me through.” She pleads again, taking short steps that I once again block.

“No, not until you listen to me.” I say with such force that she flinches. Her angry, hardened face transforms into an ironic laugh, which fades as more tears fill her eyes. Her white, smooth neck is filled with veins, as if she’s about to burst with rage. Her breath comes fast, as if she doesn’t have enough air.

“You’re a fucking bastard, a total son of bitch. I don't want to listen anything.” She growls at me. It’s the first time I’ve seen her curse; it’s so strange that it feels like those words don’t belong to her. “How can you do this to me? Yo-You are... I don’t even have words to describe you!”

“I know! I know! I’m a fucking mess, do you think I don’t know that?”

“You’re a son of bitch!” She screams again at me, pushing against my chest. “I want to punch you right now! I want to hit you until you turn into someone Irrecognizable.” She pushes me again, but I hardly budge. Although she’s angry and furious with me, I’m much bigger and stronger than her. I remain silent, watching as the trapped tears begin to flow down her face. The face that so often had been lit up with joy when she was with me, now looks defeated.

“I know... Y/N, I know.” I respond in a whisper. I stop her from pushing me again, holding onto her fist. I imagined she would use her strength against me and pull away one more time, but she doesn’t. Her silent crying takes over her body, and her shoulders shake. The pain I feel seeing her this way, knowing that I caused it leaves me frozen, but my arms move before I can think, and I hug her.

Her face aligns against my neck, and her sobs grow deeper. I open my mouth to say something, to apologize for everything I’ve caused her, but the words stick in my throat, and a voice in my head tells me that even if I tell her how sorry I am, nothing changes what I did. I hurt her, regardless. Apologies, unfortunately, don’t help much in this case.

“I’m sorry.” I say, contradicting all my thoughts. Even knowing that words don’t help at all, I say again: “I’m really sorry. Forgive me, Y/N.” I plead, closing my eyes. I feel her arms wrap around my body, bringing me a pleasure I can't even describe. How long has it been since I felt that excitement from just a hug?

“Stop apologizing.” She asks, pulling away from me. In the place of her warm body, only coldness remains in mine, with her distance. “Why did you kiss him? Why did you say all those things to me and then kissed him?”

“Because I needed to.” I clarify. Y/N opens her mouth to say something, perhaps to curse me again, but I’m quicker. “It’s over. We are nothing more than strangers now."

“How come?”

“That was the last time we were together, after almost five years. After everything, I needed this ending. I realized he no longer fits me.” I say, and not feeling the sadness I felt before, just imagining such a situation, brings me hope. Hope that I won’t have to suffer for Namjoon anymore. That I won’t have to feel anguish and pain over him.

“I don’t... I don’t know what to say.” Y/N shrugs, wiping her wet, swollen face. “But I don’t take back what I said. You really are a bastard.”

“I know.” I agree, unable to deny any of her statements. “And I also know that I hurt you, but I want to fix what I did. I want to fix all the shit I made you go through.”

“I don’t want anything from you.” She presses her lips together; those red lips I love so much, that for a second, I get lost in thought. I miss kissing her. Talking to her. Observing the little wrinkle at the corner of her right eye, every time she laughs. Not when she smiles, but when she giggles heartily. I never thought this could happen so quickly, even after Namjoon, but my heart leaps just thinking about her. Thinking about our kisses.

“Y/N, I can finally fix what I did wrong. That day I was so confused. I told you I didn't want something serious, but I did. I was scared; I just didn't want to get hurt again.” I confess to her, recalling the memories of that morning, when I turned my back on her because I couldn't bear to look into her eyes, as she left my apartment.

“Do you really think I'm going to believe all of this? After everything you've done to me? You're being a damn liar, a manipulative jerk." she grunts; I can see the anger in her eyes, the disbelief radiating from her.

“Y/N, I needed that. To finally know what I wanted.”

“You needed a kiss? You're a joke. Seriously.”

“Believe me.” I plead, my voice a whisper. I lean closer to her, holding her face in my hands. Her cheeks are flushed from crying, from the turmoil of emotions. “I want you.”

“I won’t be your consolation prize.” She whispers back, furrowing her brows. Y/N seems so determined and strong, that it's like all my words means nothing to her.

“You’re not.”

“I won’t be your second option.” She repeats, grunting at me.

“You’re none of that.” I repeat, irritated that she even thinks that way. She tucks her hair behind her ear and looks away, as if she could be saved by someone amid the darkness of the neighborhood. When she finds no one else, she sighs, biting her lips hard.

"I wish you had said all of this earlier. How can I believe anything you say now?" she asks, and unfortunately, I have no answer for that question.

"I'm sorry again," I beg, defeated. "Y/N, can I take you home? Can we talk about this somewhere else?" I ask, a bit hesitant. I want her to understand that even though I made many mistakes, I'm willing to do anything to show her how important she is to me. Y/N shakes her head, however, breaking all my hopes.

"I can't be near you. Every time I'm close, I end up losing control." She says, and I completely understand what she means. Whenever we're alone, I feel an energy between us that draws us together like an invisible magnet. I smile, agreeing with her.

"I can't control myself when I'm with you, either," I respond earnestly, and her previously sad face lights up with embarrassment.

"Jungkook, stop," she pleads, almost through clenched teeth. Her cheeks are flushed now, thanks to my words.

"I'm telling the truth. Deal with it."

"I really need to go," she changes the subject, shaking her head. Then she sighs, looking at her fingers. "I... I’ll call a taxi." She turns her back to me, before I can react.

"What? What do you mean?" I follow her again, as she walks back to Yoongi's house. Y/N looks at me, as if mentally questioning what I'm doing so close to her, but I don't care.

"Jungkook, go back to your party," she commands, walking faster.

"I'm not letting you take a taxi home at this hour. Forget it." I shrug, annoyed. She may not want to listen to me or look at my face, but nothing will convince me to let her go with a stranger in the middle of the night.

"What does it have to do with you?" she questions without looking at me, and I have to walk faster to get in front of her again. Her irritated, mocking, and sarcastic expression fades, when I look her in the eyes.

"Stop talking like that. Do you really think I don't care about you?"

"You are a—"

"I’m a jerk. I know. I just asked if you really think I don't care about you. Do you really think I don’t want what’s best for you?"

"I don’t know," she replies, shrugging. "After tonight, I can't think about anything else," she argues, furrowing her brows. I step closer to her, taking a short step forward. Her perfume, different from Namjoon's, completely captivates me. It's as if everything about her is designed to drive me crazy.

"Y/N, let me take you. My car is over there, across the street," I whisper, locking my gaze with hers, noticing how her pupils dilate when she accidentally glances at my mouth.

"I don’t know," she repeats, as if she’s fighting something internally.

"I'll take you. We don’t have to say a word to each other. You get in the car and then get out when we reach your place," I conclude, hopeful. She pauses for a moment and sighs, looking at her fingers again. It seems she's contemplating my offer for a few seconds, still uncertain.

"Okay," she says softly, as if afraid of her own decision. Her voice, once filled with anger, now sounds neutral. If I could choose any superpower right now, it would definitely be the ability to read her mind.

I clear my throat, nodding, and slowly step back from her, wary that any sudden movement might make her change her mind. My car isn’t too far away, so we walk in silence for just a minute. Yoongi's house still seems lively, with people coming and going through the main gate. I take one last look at the place, mentally thanking myself for leaving the car key in my pocket, as I glance at Y/N without saying a word. She remains silent the whole time, while I quickly open her door and then mine. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice how she pulls on her seatbelt and looks at me for a moment, as if she’s examining me.

Even under her gaze, I don’t utter a single word. My whole body feels tense, alive, electric. I dare to contemplate her, the same way she does with me, taking in her from head to toe, from her Converse sneakers to her dress that’s much larger than her body, with a small slit opening on her left leg that, for God’s sake, reveals her smooth, soft skin –the same skin I had touched and taken everything from, just days ago. I clear my throat and start the car, reluctant to leave my spot.

A sudden rain starts to wet the windshield, and I thank the universe for, even if not intentionally, give me more time with this. The entire drive is a torture and, at the same time, a source of pleasure. I keep thinking to myself that if I can’t convince her, this might be one of the last times I ever see her before I go to Seoul. I savor everything about her: her scent, her presence, her calmness amidst so many storms, trying to imprint all these details in my mind. How did I get to this point? How could I be so confused about Namjoon when I’m clearly in love with her? Obsessed with everything she does?

When her house comes into view, I swallow hard, feeling my mouth dry. I want to say so many things, yet no words seem right. I look at her face, and almost immediately, she looks at me too. We both sit in silence, listening the rain and lost in thought. Then she smiles shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you for bringing me," she says, looking down. "And I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have cursed at you. I shouldn’t have said all those things. I... Jungkook, I wanted to see you hurt, just like I felt, but I had no right. I was wrong for that. I want you to be happy. I want you to be loved, no matter who you’re with." She confess, and her eyes crinkle the way only hers do, calm and serene. I open my mouth to say something, to affirm she had every right over me, but she gets out of the car before I can tell her everything. "Goodbye." She whispers with a weak smile, giving me her back and entering before the rain makes her wetter.

I stay there for a moment, frozen, breathing heavily. I look at the door of her house, and then at my mother’s, thinking that, unlike my father, I’ve always considered myself brave. I’ve always seen myself as a confident person. With everything that has happened in my life, I have never taken a step back, and I have never let fear paralyze me or hold me back from anything. I get out my car hesitantly, but I don’t stop. I walk quickly to the short steps, and ring the doorbell, freezing with cold and the water. Y/N opens the door a second later, almost as if she was waiting for me on the other side. Her face illuminated by the yellow streetlight.

"Y/N, I don’t want you to leave my life," I declare breathlessly; my heart pounding so hard it feels like it’s about to jump out of my chest. "I have no right to say this and I don’t even deserve you to listen to me, but I want you to know that since the first time I saw you, at your bedroom window, everything about you caught my attention. The way you speak, the way you look at me, how you listen to everyone as if they all deserve your attention, how empathetic you are, and how simply good you are... I can’t stop thinking about you. I talk about you to my friends, to my mother. I miss you even when we haven’t seen each other for a short time... I don’t want this to end. Us. I don't want us to end." I laugh desperately, not even knowing what I am doing, filled with hope and moments of us together in my mind. I can literally feel my blood rushing through my body, pulsing strong like never before.

"Jungkook, you—" She tries to say, but I stop her by placing my hands on her cheeks. I lean in so close I can feel her breath on my face.

"I know I’m an idiot, but I’m so damn in love with you that I deserve a second chance, just to show you that I’m worthy of you, that I can make every day, from now on, the best day of your life." I whisper, gazing into her eyes. They widen in shock and surprise. Tears form in them, and one falls onto my thumb, on the apple of her cheek.

"I’m in love with you too," she confesses in a whisper, and I have to lean in closer to assure myself that I’m not dreaming. She smiles, as if she senses my confusion. "I’m in love with you too," she confirms, just for my ears.

And I can’t hold back any longer. I can’t anymore. It's when I kiss her, so intensely and suddenly, that it takes her a few seconds to respond. Her soft lips form a sweet smile against mine, and I can't help but chuckle too, happy, content, all at once. She places her hands on my face, tenderly, and then winks at me. Her eyelashes brushing against the tops of her cheeks because of the rain.

"Come in, I don't want you to get sick from the cold," she invites me, pulling me in. Then she kisses me one more time.

Thank God for this fucking rain.

Ask for a TAGLIST in the comments

@ane102 @joonwater @ttipa @kookienooki @missbangtangirl @kelsyx33 @minimoninini @myjungkookthighs @elivision

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monsteraddict1 · 2 months ago

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Chapter One

Nineteen

Can't even think of a song to listen to today. It doesn't even seem like a real age. I mean nothing happens at nineteen, unless I wanna travel to Canada and drink. Eighteen you become an adult, twenty you're no longer a teenager and twenty one you can drink...

Legally.

We can ignore the empty bottles of Bulmers that are hidden under my bed from my trip to Ireland last year. I did end up meeting with Darragh and Damien and we had a good time. I invited Jackie but she was going down to Mexico to visit her family. I don't blame her. Much better food and the sun is always out. I went with her once to visit family and I can't wait to go again someday. We spent a lot of last night planning it out. We are just waiting till we get more money and she finishes school for the year.

I'm really not all that depressed. It's kinda more of a guilty feeling. I watched my step mom die but now I don't have to live with her. My life is better but it cost her life.

My aunt Kate said not to dwell on it too much. I know her death affected her as well. I mean it was her sister. Though she was always better at hiding her emotions. Must've been in the CIA training. Or she's always been like that.

I walked downstairs to the living room. Aunt Kate wasn't home but I knew she'd be back tonight. She's been a little stressed recently, like way more than normal. I've been doing my part around the house to try and make things more relaxing.

I would always ask about her day but she would brush me off. Never in a rude way, I understand she wants to keep me safe and all with her line of work but what would I do? Tell my friends? Probably. But last I checked we weren't terrorists.

I hope.

Damien would be one. Though he wouldn't be able to keep that to himself.

I wiped down the table and began cooking dinner. That's when I heard the keys go into the door.

"(Y/n), what are you doing?" Aunt Kate asked. She wasn't mad or anything she just looked confused.

"Making dinner?" I replied in a confused tone.

"Absolutely not." She stated and put her bag on the couch. "It's your birthday. We'll go out."

"We don't have to." I told her. "I like cooking." I smiled, spatula in hand.

She gave a thin smile. (I swear she can't move her mouth more than that.) "Did you do anything today?" She asked after a few seconds.

"Na, I cleaned up a bit. All my friends work today. We might do something later though."

"That's all you did today?"

"I took a nap."

She rolled her eyes with an amused huff. "You do that everyday."

"I don't understand how you don't."

"Coffee." She deadpanned. I laughed a bit.

"Fair play."

We talked a bit more as I set the table and served our food. As we sat we spoke about work and other things that were going on in her life. She obviously couldn't tell me everything but I could pick up on what she was putting down.

I told her how boring my job was and how I wanted to go on vacation again. That I was planning on going to Mexico but I really wasn't too picky. I didn't have time to go on vacation nor the money because I was trying to move out as quickly as possible. She was very understanding in my financial situation.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" She asked suddenly. I paused mid bite to look at her.

"A little. My dad took me hunting a bunch as a kid." I swallowed my food. "Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Well." She stared and put her fork down on her plate. "If you want to travel, You could join me and my friend John. We are going to Amsterdam."

"Isn't that your British friend?"

Aunt Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes. He's my British friend."

I squinted my eyes. "What's the catch?"

"You'd have to enlist." She spoke so calmly.

My eyes went wide. "What?!"

"Only if you want to." She finished her plate.

"I need time to think." I said slowly. "It would be fun to travel, but I don't think I'd be any good actually fighting."

"We leave next week."

———————————————

I spent the rest of the night thinking about it. I had so many more questions.

What would I be doing?

How long would I be gone?

What even was this mission for?

Would I be in danger?

Could I talk to my friends?

What about my job?

Who is gonna be there?

Will they all be British?

I listed out a bunch of pros and cons with the information I've been given.

Pros:

•Vacation

•Time off work

•Meeting new people

•New experiences

Cons:

•I'd technically be working

•Meeting new people

•Only some clue on how to use a gun

•British people (it's a joke I swear)

•I could die? (Still not too sure on what exactly I'm doing)

I weighed out the pros and cons and eventually decided on what I call the "fuck it. We ball." Method. It might be a good experience and if it's not it sure as hell will make for an interesting story.

So the next day I went downstairs and found my aunt Kate at the table. She was on her laptop but I couldn't see her screen.

"Can I ask a few questions? About this trip." I looked at her as she drank from a white ceramic mug.

She put the cup down on a coaster. "I assumed that's why you came down so early."

"If I were to enlist, am I like, stuck serving?"

„If you'd like, you can leave after this mission."

After a few more questions I decided that I'd go. I mean, do it for the plot right?

I went upstairs and started packing.

#simon riley x reader #cod x reader #cod mw2 #ghost x reader

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dlthedescent · 1 month ago

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INTERMISSION I-IV: BEFORE WE PART WAYS...

Segment taken from Side Quest Story: Lending A Hand

The prosthetic arm looked crude and clunky, a skeletal framework of scrap metal, bolts, and screws. It was functional but basic, powered by an old battery pack.

Nobody expected miracles, but the flaws became more apparent the longer Noam worked on it. The biggest issue was the fingers—they had to be controlled manually with joystick switches, requiring clumsy extra steps.

Clank!

Two fingers and a thumb clamped too hard, shattering a cup in the test.

Jack's eyes widened, alarm bells ringing in her head. There was no way they would put this on the lad and everyone agreed silently.. Noam swept the shards away, terrified as the fingers twitched, almost as if the contraption wanted to grab him, only stopped by its heavy weight.

"That's a bear trap," Freakazoid stated the obvious.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Doesn't help that it needs a 35-kilo battery, and a controller that short-circuits!"

Frustrated, Noam yanked out the wires, watching the disastrous metallic beast power down.

"Alright. What do we need?" Crane asked.

"Nothing," Noam replied, slumping in his seat. "Hate to break it to you, but you're gonna need hardware. Know anyone who can help?"

"If we were in the Outskirts, the Grads might have an idea," Jack offered.

"Any chance they can help out?"

Jack shook her head. "It's hard enough traveling along the Coastline without the military breathing down our necks."

Crane wasn't an engineer, but he knew this mechanical upgrade was a long shot. The prototype on the table wasn't even the first attempt.

"...What about asking Tolga and Fatin?"

Jack's eyes widened in disbelief for hearing the worst suggestion possible. Noam, however, looked confused—those names weren't as infamous to him as they were to both Runners.

Crane already regretted the suggestion before he said it. They were the last people on Earth he'd ever want to ask for anything.

"No," Jack said firmly.

"I don't like it either," he admitted.

"Absolutely not."

"They're difficult, sure-"

"That's not my problem. You're asking two mad scientists to work on a child's arm."

"They're not going to strap a rocket launcher on him," Crane said, though Jack immediately picked on the slight doubt in his voice, narrowing her eyes further.

Because he could actually see those two do the impossible. Not for a kid, hopefully.

Still, what other options did they have?

"Let me talk to them."

All of a sudden, Jack crossed her arms, brow furrowed. Why?

This was the first time Freakazoid had volunteered to talk to someone, let alone two people Jack could barely tolerate.

"I mean, sure. Give it your best shot."

"Trust me. They'll make that hardware for us."

No backing down from Freakazoid—another first for Jack. Was he really sold on the brothers' brilliance for making that harpoon gun? Jack glanced over to Noam, hoping for an alternative. Another safer option.

"I got nothing," Noam said, still lost in the conversation. Any solution seemed better than his failed contraptions so far.

Jack didn't feel any more confident, but she decided to let it play out.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she muttered, both amused and puzzled, as she walked out of the garage.

Crane followed, initially confident. But as soon as he left the garage—with no one paying attention—he groaned, his steps feeling heavier.

"...Maybe they won't recognize me. My voice's fucked anyway."

Quest Stories, Special Delivery, Out With a Bang and Lending a Hand can be found at these links: FFN and AO3.

#dying light #dying light game #DL: The Descent #dyinglight #fanfiction #dying light fanfiction #intermission chapters #intermission #Kyle Crane #Mad Jack #ocs #fanfic #quest stories #Dying Light: The Descent

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lfghughes · 2 years ago

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Me + All Your Reasons (pt.4)

a/n: the nico one won by a whole lot on that poll so here you guys go!

Summer came and went but you didn’t feel any better by the end of the summer season. While Nico was gone you tried your best to avoid talking to him which was hard because every once in a while he would send you a message that you’d end up ignoring. But you supported him from a distance, watching all his games while he was playing for his national team. Your heart broke for him when they were eliminated but you weren’t going to text him that.

You knew Nico was back from his summer break because you saw on his private story that he was back and a part of you was hoping to see him while a big part of you was still trying to avoid him. Soon enough the season would start and you knew it would be awkward after the way things ended.

A knock at your front door snapped you out of your thoughts. You figured it was some kind of package you had to sign for but when you opened the door your heart stopped when you saw Nico instead. “Oh uhm, hey.” You said, confused as to why he was here at your front door. “Do you mind if I come in for a little? I was going to text you but well…figured you wouldn’t answer.”

That was a fair shot at you considering you had ignored every single message he had sent out. You were sure if he had sent one you would have either treated it the same or come up with some excuse. “Sure, come in.” You stepped to the side and let him into your place. “I guess there’s no reason for me to beat around the bush. I thought maybe with me traveling and playing that I’d forget about everything that happened that one night but I can’t stop thinking about it. I can’t stop thinking about you.” You stood there stunned by his words, unsure what to say back.

“Tell me, to my face that you don’t feel the same way. That you don’t think about that kiss. That’s why you can’t answer my texts because you feel it too.” He hit that nail on the head but you weren’t sure what a confession would really do. It didn’t change the fact that this could affect your job especially if this was something that didn’t work out. “Nico, I..I can’t say that but you know it’s so much more than just us two.”

Your hands were tied here and you wanted nothing more than to be with him, actually be with him. “I just don’t want us twenty years from now looking back at this moment and regretting not following our hearts. I’ll talk to whoever I need to talk to, make sure that your job won’t be affected. Or we don’t have to say anything if you want to keep it a secret we can.”

“Nico…I” Before you could finish your sentence his lips were on yours, moving against them just like they had last time. You melted against him, your arms wrapping around his neck as you returned the kiss. You wanted to stay in this moment, not pull away from him but you knew eventually you would have to. You couldn’t deny your feelings any longer for him and maybe there was something you two could work out but you needed to follow your heart and your heart was screaming for Nico. You pulled away from him “Yes..” You whispered against his lips.

#nico hischier #nico hischier x reader #nico hischier blurb #nico hischier imagine #( me + all your reasons ft nico hischier )

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lookismaddict · 2 years ago

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Lookism: Rendezvous 🔞 (Ch. IV) || Gun Park x Fem! Reader ♡

Author’s Note: Hello, thank you for being patient! I’m glad that there are people who read the chapters to my Rendezvous series. If you noticed that in the previous chapter the first part of the chapter got deleted, this was because I realized that it didn’t align to the story at all. It was better to remove that part to prevent confusion in the story. I hope you all don’t mind me doing that. This chapter will be a special one since it’s longer than the other chapters and there will be lots of light-hearted fluff with some playful spice. Also, I included some IRL stuff, like actual locations in Seoul, but my descriptions for each place may not be accurate because I’ve never been there, so I apologize in advance. Consider this 2-in-1 chapter as a gift from me to you for reading this far. I hope you’ll enjoy it! ;)

NSFW Warning: Violence, strong language/cursing, vulgar language, and sexual content (teasing, suggestive content, groping, penetration, degrading, etc.).

Story Summary: You traveled abroad to help support your mother who is sick, back home in Japan. However, once you reached Korea, everything went downhill until you met a stranger who offered you a deal that could benefit you. But who knew that this special encounter would turn your whole life around…

Almost two weeks had gone by so quickly, that you’ve gotten so tired from the continuous training that Gun put you through. He wasn’t kidding when he said that training would get even more intense each day.

All this time, he’s been training you mainly in Kyokushin Karate. You adopted the basics really well in the first week and everyday, he made you endure harsh training.

For instance, there was a day when Gun had assigned you to run twenty laps around in the backyard to improve your stamina. Afterwards, he made you practice one hundred punches and one hundred kicks all on the last day of the first week. Did you eat lunch that day? Well, you better believe that you didn’t! Gun had made you suffer to turn your heart and soul into fighting.

Most of the time, however, he had gotten even more harsher towards you and he became more and more absent each day. He would just assign you to practice certain techniques and then leave you to do the rest, as if he was avoiding you. You realized that this started on the third day of training…

Out of nowhere, you woke up from loud banging on your door. You jolted up from your bed right away, wondering who was making such a racket early in the morning.

“(Y/N) wake up! What the hell are you sleeping in late for?! You have five minutes just to get ready, then meet me downstairs!!!”

You heard Gun’s voice boom in anger from behind the door. You’ve never heard his voice so angry like that, that it made you nervous as hell.

Shit! What time is it?!

You checked your phone and it was a bit past six forty-five in the morning.

Crap, I’m late! Why didn’t I turn my alarm on before I went to bed? I always did that! How could I have forgotten?!

You hurried to the bathroom to get yourself ready and while you got out of the bathroom to get dressed, you remembered that last night you were watching Korean drama on the couch. You could’ve sworn that you did that, yet you wondered how did you even get back to your bed?

What even happened last night after I dozed off? Ugh whatever, this isn’t the time to worry about that right now!

After you got dressed, you ran out of your room then sped down the stairs like your feet were made of lightning. When you got downstairs, there was a protein bar left on the table where you met Gun. This time, he was dressed in one of his many proper suit and tie outfits. He was just sitting there while crossing his arms, waiting in silence. When he locked eyes with you through those wide-rimmed sunglasses of his, he gave you the most deadliest glare that you’ve ever seen in your life.

You apologetically bowed at him multiple times while saying “I’m sorry!” while pleading for forgiveness. However this time, he didn’t let it slide.

“I told you last time not to be late, and for what? Did that not stick into your head at all?! Did you not understand our deal, (Y/N)?! You’re supposed to take this seriously and yet you arrived late like I’m your fucking dog who’s willing to wait for you! How the hell did you manage to […]”

While munching on your protein bar, you got the gist of his morning earful of a lecture. The scolding of a man who was once calm and collected converted into a monster, suddenly disappeared as your ears tuned out the harsh words while it goes into one ear then comes right out of the other.

Ten minutes had passed and he didn’t hesitate to make your life a living hell. Instead of continuing his lectures on how to punch and kick properly, he decided that you should be the one to demonstrate to him what you’ve remembered so far as if you’re the student who will recite back a poem to their teacher. But this time, you had to mimic and show Gun how it’s properly done. For this occasion, he got out a foldable chair and placed it underneath the tree where he had the Makiwara at.

His rules were simple. He’ll tell you to do an action or a technique on the spot and then you’ll have to do it properly in front of him. If you don’t do it right, then he’ll tell you to repeat the move again until he says it’s right.

That’s simple enough. I already done them countless of times, so I should be fine.

For the first move, he told you to do a kick aiming towards the head of your opponent. You did so, by mimicking what Gun did from your previous training sessions. The look on your face says it all, as you smiled proudly at what you just did. Your mood at that moment was starting to get better until you heard the words, “Do it again.” by Gun.

Okay then, one more time.

You repeated the move again then turned to Gun for approval. “Again.”

You repeated it five times, which turned into ten. Then twenty. Then fifty. Then eighty. Then one hundred and thirty.

Your legs was already tired from doing the move repeatedly. You had it with the last, “Again.” that left his mouth as you stormed towards him in anger.

“I’ve been doing this at least a hundred times already, even though I’ve been doing it right all this time.”

Gun raised an eyebrow. “Says who?”

You gritted your teeth while clenching your fists. “Since you think that I’ve been doing it wrong all this time, are you really just going to sit there and behave like an asshat without giving me any tips or clues on HOW to improve myself?”

“Hm…” Gun folded his arms while looking up at the clear sunny sky. “Yes. It’s your fault that you’ve been doing it wrong all this time. I bet you didn’t even pay attention that well.”

This sadistic bastard…

During that time, you swore on your life that you were about to punch that man in the face.

“Gun…”

“Mr. Park.”

“What?”

“It’s Mr. Park.”

This man is just begging for it.

“MR. PARK. Did I do anything wrong to upset you?”

“No, not really.”

“Then… why the petty treatment?”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘petty’ if you couldn’t even handle the training in the first place.”

“Oh, is that so?”

You inched closer to Gun then stopped right in front of his seat. All of a sudden, you grabbed onto his tie and pulled him towards you, forcing him to look up at you from his seat. You leaned in closer to him and whispered in his ear.

“You really just woke up today and chose violence huh, Mr. Park? If it’s a fight you want, then it’s a fight you’ll get…”

Well that took an unexpected turn. Gun was so shocked that he didn’t know what to do at that point. If you hadn’t looked even further down, you would have seen how turned on he was at that moment. He was definitely going to have some UNUSUAL dreams that week. However, he smacked your hand away from him then stood up immediately while straightening his tie.

You looked at him confused as he walked past towards you then said, “Go ahead and do fifty punches, fifty kicks, and fifty sit-ups for today. I have other business to take care of. Right after you’re done here, remember to heat up some food again from the fridge.”

Gun was about to leave until you decided to confront him about what happened last night.

“Wait.”

He stopped in his tracks as you turned to look at his back.

“Did you bring me up to my room last night while I was sleeping on the couch?”

He turned his head around to meet your eyes with a cold dead stare.

“What are you talking about? You must’ve been dreaming too deeply if you’ve decided to confuse your dreams with actual reality.”

At that, Gun left you without even saying a word. For the rest of the day, you haven’t seen him at all since you locked yourself in your room. Until the following day, he started assigning you things to do and left without providing any proper reasons to why he had to go. After that day, that became your actual routine.

When the second week came around, you barely got to see him in the mornings and afternoons now. There was this never-ending tension between the two of you that it made you anxious to the core to even look at him every day for only about ten minutes.

One night, you were heading upstairs to your room right after finishing a k-drama. It was five minutes before midnight and when you were about to open the door to your room, you heard the front door from downstairs open. From the second-floor balcony, you were curious to see Gun again so you took a quick peek.

When he returned home, he was dressed up in one of his fancy gray suits. But this time, his suit was mostly covered in blood. Not like when he just finished beating up people which was not much, but this time, he’s ACTUALLY injured.

Your eyes widened in fear, worried that he might have seriously damaged a part of his body. Without hesitation, you dashed down the stairs towards him.

“Oh my god, what happened?! Are you okay???”

He looked at your worried eyes then immediately tried to dismiss you saying, “This is nothing. Just go to sleep already.”

“No, I won’t! You’re bleeding!!!”

Your eyes scanned his body, seeing that there was blood seeping out from his chest area, and blood coming out from one of his arms.

“Do you have a first aid kit anywhere? I’ll help you treat your wounds.”

It looked like you were determined to stay by his side until you treated him, so how could he say no? Gun knew that you’d keep insisting regardless if he refuses your assistance. Because of this, he decided to just accept it and just get it over with.

“It’s behind the bar.”

You hurried behind the counter of the bar and found the first aid kit. While he watched you get it, he sat on the couch. Quickly, you grabbed onto it, then scurried back to him as you sat next to him on the couch. You helped him remove his suit first. As your hands were about to unbutton his white long sleeved shirt underneath his suit, you completely hesitated while questioning yourself if this was a good idea in the first place. He saw the hesitation in your eyes as he said, “Hurry up. I’m bleeding over here.” to push you to get it over with.

“R-right…” you slowly unbuttoned his shirt for him from his collar all the way down to the bottom of his shirt then helped him removed it afterwards. You noticed how muscular and how in-shape his body was. His muscles were toned and you’ve never seen such good-looking features so close like this before, which made you so astonished.

Finally, you opened up the first aid kit then started by disinfecting his wounds. You got the alcohol from inside it, then dabbled a bit of it on a cotton ball while handling it with a tweezer.

“This is going to sting a bit, so don’t move too much.”

With a tweezer, you lightly patted it onto the wounds on his chest. You were impressed by how he didn’t even flinch at the stinging sensation of the alcohol meeting his wounds. You thought that he must’ve gotten used to it, since this was his life after all.

Gun sat there patiently while watching you treat his wounds properly. All this time, he’s been avoiding you so the both of you wouldn’t get too close to each other. That day when he carried you to your bed was the day that made him realize that he needed to cut his physical attachment to you. It’ll only just cause him to worry about the littlest things that shouldn’t even be important.

However, now that he’s back within your grasp again, his plan failed. It was unavoidable for him to be physically associated with you, especially if you live in his own house. This made him realize how he was the one being the fool here and he shouldn’t have been cold towards you ever since that day when he started to distance himself from you. He could sense that you didn’t have any bad intentions towards him, despite how coldly he’s been acting towards you. You were more kind-hearted in nature compared to him. A horrible man who lives in the world of violence and corruption. Even if he tried to maintain his businesses the legal way, they always ended up in ruin.

Sometimes, whenever he’d come from that exhausting world of bloodshed, he thought that it wasn’t so bad to have someone there to come home to who would greet him. Even if that someone was you. You had made his days more eventful by seeing you and by being with you. He missed the constant bickering between you two and the way you’d sometimes tease him for acting a certain way. Even when you had done something out of the ordinary from most women that he’d met. That all never fails to make him look forward to the next day and the next.

“And… that should be good.”

After bandaging his arm, your job was done. In addition, even the wounds on his chest were patched up nicely. You’ve handled his wounds pretty well, despite not having a degree in the medical field.

“Make sure not to move around too much or else your wounds will open up again. Don’t touch them either and just let them heal for a while. Well, I’ll be going to bed now. Goodni-“

When you got up from the couch and was about to return the first aid kit from where it belongs, Gun suddenly grabbed onto your wrist, not letting you go. You reacted by turning your head around quickly in confusion as you looked at him staring deep into your eyes.

“I’m sorry, for leaving you alone all this time. You must’ve been lonely without me being here and for that, I’m sorry.”

Your eyes widened as you abruptly looked away. You bit your bottom lip, trying to hide back the tears that started to form in your eyes. All this time, you blamed yourself for how distant the two of you grew apart from each other these past few days. You were wondering what you did wrong for him to act so coldly towards you, and if the real reason ran any deeper than that.

His grasp on your wrist slowly released, as you swiftly wiped your tears away feeling embarrassed that he might see you like this.

“It’s alright. I understand that you were just busy.��

After putting away the first aid kit, Gun stood up while carrying his clothes over his shoulder as he walked around half naked. At the same time, you both went up the stairs together then stopped right in front of your room.

“Well, this is my stop. Goodnight.”

He nodded at you once again. Before heading to his room, he said, “Thanks for today.”

You smiled at him then said, “Anytime.” before opening and closing the door behind you. You leaned against the door of your room and smiled to yourself, thinking about what just happened between you two.

“I hope his wounds heal quickly.”

Nearing the end of the second week, your training became more gruesome than before. Since Gun had already taught you the basics, he wanted you to be put to the test.

He decided to hold mock fights, which were fights that shouldn’t be taken lightly but not too much to kill someone. After all, he still needed to keep you alive. When these mock fights took place, Gun was excited to see how much you’ve really grown in progress.

All of your movements were almost perfected. Your punches, your kicks, and your blocks combined became sights to marvel at for him. Compared to the week before, your strength became terrifyingly stronger.

Now, your movements were more agile and you were much more cunning than a fox. From this, he found you even more attractive by the day. Your hits and attacks were more powerful as the impact from getting hit once will definitely land him on the ground this time.

During the mock fight, you came at him at every direction. From the front, from his sides, even from up in the air, you didn’t hesitate at all. Your stamina from your previous training sessions have improved, barely even stopping to catch your breath. Really, you were in the zone. Your eyes remained sharp and focused. Also, your breathing became more controlled than before.

While Gun was about to come for a jab, you dodged him swiftly as he barely missed you by a hair. Eventually while he reached out to you to grab onto your shirt by the collar to pin you down, you bent your knees almost as low to the ground then spun wildly in front of him, kicking him by the ankles and knocking him off of his feet. You saw that even from that low kick you just did, he was about to pull himself up with one hand but you grabbed onto his arm then pressed it onto his chest. At the same time, you pinned him down by sitting on top of him. You trapped him in between your legs, locking him with your knees. With one of your arms, you kept his arm pinned on his chest then striked with a punch to the ground, right next to his head as his eyes were staring right at yours from below you. The punch near his head had caused a major fracture on the ground due to the hard impact of your fist.

At that very moment, your body finally gave up its strength as you collapsed onto him. You were too tired to notice that you were pressed up against his body, as you laid there on top of him heaving heavily. As you were trying to recollect your tired self, you felt Gun’s free hand lay on top of your back.

“Well done, (Y/N). You’ve improved immensely.”

You looked up at him and smiled while sweating profusely. “Thanks!”

“Also, since it’s almost the end of the month, I’d like to give you a reward.”

Your head tilted a bit to the side, curiously. “A reward? For what?”

“For your hard work. You’ve kept up with the training and your skills have blossomed greatly. And for that, I’m taking you out to eat dinner for tonight.”

Your eyes widened in excitement. “What? Really?! Oh my god, I haven’t been out in a while! I almost felt like a hermit being stuck in here-”

“Don’t push it.”

“Sorry…”

It’s true though.

Just seeing that huge smile on your face made Gun feel some type of way. It was a strange feeling that he still couldn’t quite figure it out. It was like his chest was being squeezed from the inside. Was it because you were still pressing against him that he’s feeling this way? He couldn’t tell.

“(Y/N).”

“Hm?”

You sat up properly then looked down at him.

“When are you going to get off of me?”

Huh?

Finally, you realized that you were still sitting on top of him, with your hands on his chest.

“I’m so sorry!!!”

Panicked, you stood up as soon as possible as you took a few steps back from him. You placed both of your hands on your face, pressing your sweaty palms onto your burning cheeks.

Ugh, how embarrassing.

Gun saw your rushed reaction from the corner of his eye, then chuckled lightly to himself.

“What a strange woman.” he mumbled.

He cleared his throat after getting himself up and patting his clothes down from the grass.

“I almost forgot to mention. When you’re out with me, dress decently. I’ll come pick you up in a few hours. I still have some things to take care of outside. Make sure that you’re ready to leave by the time I get back.”

As he walked in front of you to head back inside, you nodded before walking side by side with him.

It was close to five in the evening and you were getting dressed until you heard the notification ding go off from your phone. You grabbed your phone from the bedside table and checked to see who it was from. It was a text message from Gun that said,

“Meet me in front of the house in 10 min.”

You replied with a thumbs-up emoji as you got your small brown satchel before leaving your room. The history behind that satchel was that you bought it from the weekly outdoor neighborhood market held at your old neighborhood back in Japan. You named it “Old Reliable”.

Hehe, my favorite bag.

When you got to the bottom of the stairs, you made sure that you had everything with you before you opened the door to leave.

Phone? Check. Wallet? Check. Alright, everything’s here. Time to head out!

You swung the door open then slowly closed it behind you. Right on time, Gun pulled up into the driveway right in front of you in his tinted Rolls Royce car. As he unlocked the right door next to the driver’s seat, he rolled down the window for him to speak to you. He was already dressed fancily, in his black evening Louis Vuitton gentleman’s suit that he rarely wears for special occasions. On his sleeves, you spotted gold cufflinks that matched his expensive suit.

“Get in, we’ve got-”

His voice trailed off into silence as he stared at your outfit.

“What are you wearing?”

“What? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

He was eyeing your “I <3 Tokyo” shirt and your Bermuda shorts that was paired with cheap sandals.

“I told you to wear something decent. Your outfit looks like you’re just going to buy a quick meal at a convenience store.”

“What? What do you mean?! You told me to wear something ‘decent’ so I’m wearing something decent. At least I don’t look like a bum!”

Gun’s poker face spoke louder than words.

“Just get in the damn car. Now we have to make a few stops before we eat.”

“Hmph.”

Irritated, you scrunched your eyebrows as you opened the door then got into the seat next to him. Afterwards you slammed the door behind you before turning away from him in your seat while crossing your arms. The dinner hasn’t even started yet and the two of you were already in a bad mood.

In about thirty minutes, Gun parked the car in an empty spot right in front of a classy looking building, with very unique architecture. It was a beautiful building that you’ve never seen before, as its design rivaled all of the other buildings surrounding it. The glass panes were designed so curved-like that it drew you to it in fascination.

While the both of you exited the car, you asked Gun, “Where are we?”

Gun simply replied by saying, “Cheongdam-dong.”

You looked around you, observing your surroundings until one building in particular caught your attention and it was the one that so happened to be standing right in front of you.

“Wow, pretty.” you breathed out loud as your eyes twinkled, until you realized that this place was no ordinary place.

Wait a minute… he must be joking.

Your mouth dropped to the floor when you read the huge words, “Louis Vuitton” that was framed on the building in front of you.

LOUIS VUITTON?! WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE? I THOUGHT WE WERE HAVING DINNER?

Gun then walked ahead of you then turned his head around as a smug smile was plastered on his face.

“Are you just going to stand there?”

You blinked at him a few times dumbstruck, as you hurried and followed right behind him.

A bunch of store employees bowed and greeted him right as he entered the store. You just watched at his interactions with one of the employees as you stood there behind him.

“Good evening, Mr. Park. Are you here to pick up any orders that you’ve made?”

“No, I’m here to buy new clothing for someone.”

“Oh? This is so rare Mr. Park! Who will you be buying clothes for today?”

Gun gestured towards me. “For her.”

Your eyes widened in surprise as you harshly whispered to him from behind, “Hey, what the hell are you saying?! I don’t need anything, so you can just forget it!”

The employee peeked from over Gun’s shoulder, as she silently scanned you from head to toe. You stood there awkwardly as you stopped whispering to Gun abruptly. Afterwards, she turned back to Gun again as if you didn’t exist.

“Oh my, sir. You’re so generous! What type of clothes would you like to buy for her?”

For some reason, the employee’s tone when she said “generous” rubbed you the wrong way as you glared at her from behind Gun.

“Something elegant and proper that would pair her with what I’m currently wearing.”

“Alright sir, I’ll see what I can do. You may pick any piece from our updated catalogue.”

She grabbed a binder on top of a counter that displayed expensive jewelry then handed it to Gun.

He flipped through the pages and pointed at a few clothing, while showing her the ones that he chose as he stood side by side with the employee.

“Have her try, this one… this one… this one… this one… and this one right here.”

The employee smiled then bowed at Gun. “Will do, Mr. Park. Please take a seat over there while we fit her into the right clothing that you’ve chosen for her.”

He nodded at her, then turned around to face you. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“W-what…?”

“Oh and, give me your bag.”

“What?! What are you going to do with Old Reliable?!”

“Old… Old Reliable? Who names their bags? And besides, it’s not like I’m going to do anything bad to it. Just what the hell do you take me for?”

You were suspiciously eyeing him as you hesitantly handed it over to him.

Once he had your bag in his hands, he smirked at you before walking towards one of the empty seats in front of the fitting room. As he sat down, he dropped your bag nonchalantly onto a seat next to him then picked up a “Men’s Trending Styles” magazine and looked through it. However, when he let go of it, your bag skidded off of the nearby seat as it accidentally dropped onto the floor.

That son of a…

“Gun, wait!”

You were about to chase after him until the employee that he was talking with had grabbed onto your arm and guided you towards the opposite direction where the fitting room was.

“Right this way, ma’am.”

You had no choice but to comply and trust them with your new chosen wardrobe look.

. . .

Fifteen minutes have passed, as Gun glanced at his Rolex watch and saw that it was six past ten. He was wondering what it was taking you so long for you to get changed.

Gun placed the magazine he had back on the table where he found it from. He grabbed onto your bag then stood up. He was about to walk towards the fitting room until he saw the curtains to the fitting room draped open.

“Damn, what took you so long to…”

Right in front of him, was a you that looked like a completely different person. Gold glittery hoop earrings dangled from your ears that had the letters LV on each side. You were dressed in a two-piece black silk top and pencil skirt with a slit on the side, barely showing off your left leg. The delicate black silk top was a long-sleeved blouse which had intricate gold buttons centered all the way down the blouse and was tucked into the skirt. The skirt was sleek and had a gold embroidered LV print on the side, showing off your elegant figure. On your shoulder was a special edition black and white Louis Vuitton handbag, which had the LV pattern spread throughout its surface. And lastly, your shoes were tall black high heels which had LV gemstones centered at the front of each shoe.

As Gun looked at you up and down, he thought for a second that he was staring at a goddess. He couldn’t stop staring at how drop dead gorgeous you were in the clothes that he had chosen for you. At that very moment, he was left speechless. Throughout the store, all of the focus was on you that even the employees were marveling at how pretty you looked in your new outfit.

Gun cleared his throat before walking towards you. You shyly looked away from him as you looked down at the expensive clothes that you were currently wearing.

“H-how does it look…?”

In Gun’s mind, he was thinking of the words “breath-taking” and “stunning”, yet not even a single word could escape from his mouth.

You took the silence from him as a sign of disappoint, as you bashfully twirled your finger on the side zipper of your skirt.

“I knew it. These types of clothes doesn’t even suit me. I’m sorry that I wasted your time. I’ll just go and-”

As you turned on your heel to go back to the fitting room, he grabbed onto your arm, preventing you to leave from his sight.

“Don’t. It really does suit you.”

You slowly turned your head around to view his face, which looked like he just mustered enough courage just to say it in front of you. In your head, you couldn’t help but laugh and thought that he was adorable. You warmly smiled up at him, placing your hand on top of his hand, that was still gripping your arm. While doing so, you felt your heart started to beat rapidly as the both of you inched closer together while still locking eyes with one another. The room was moving in slow motion around you, until-

“Mr. Park, You have excellent taste! I already removed the tags already, since it looks like that you’ll be purchasing the items right away. Also, I put her original clothes in a separate bag just for you.”

The employee who helped you out held out her hand, holding a Louis Vuitton shopping bag with your old clothes in it.

What a way to kill the mood.

You immediately backed away from him, startled by the employee. While you were backing up, one of your heels tripped on a cable wire on the floor which was connected to a nearby light display of featured bags, which caused you to stumble backwards. You closed your eyes, expecting your back to come in contact with the floor, but you didn’t. When your eyes slowly fluttered open, you saw Gun’s face right in front of yours. Not to mention, the feeling of his strong arm wrapped around your waist while his other arm was supporting your back from falling, was enough for your face to turn bright red.

What in the k-drama shit is this?!

Your mind couldn’t process what was currently happening, as you were almost at the edge of disassociating. Meanwhile, the employees who saw what just happened were squealing in excitement at what they just witnessed in front of them. For instance, one employee said, “Oh my god, did you see that? She’s so lucky!” While another one said, “I wish I had an Oppa who would buy me stuff then save me from falling like that!”

“Are you okay?”

Gun was staring at you with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion while still holding onto you in his arms. Embarrassed, you quickly regained your balance by holding onto his shoulders to help yourself stand up properly.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

He sighed while taking the bag from the speechless employee that was still standing in front of you two.

“Be careful next time and don’t be an airhead.”

“An airhead?!”

As he walked towards the cashier to pay for the clothing and accessories, you scoffed while crossing your arms.

“How can he be such a gentleman and a dick at the same time?” you whispered to yourself while waiting for him to finish the payment.

After buying the clothes for you, all of the employees walked you both out of the store then waved goodbye at the both of you. You were just following Gun while walking down the street to your next apparent destination.

“Oh, I’ll take that.”

As you reached for the shopping bag with your old clothes in it, he dodged your reach while holding the bag even farther from you.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be the one to carry it for you.”

“Um, okay. But where are we going though?”

“You’ll see.”

When you reached your destination by foot, your feet were already killing you due to the heels as you went inside a fancy beauty parlor with Gun.

The cashier at the front desk greeted the two of you as she said, “Hi! What can I do for you?”

Gun pointed at you then told the woman behind the counter, “Give her the best treatment you’ve got.”

“Okay sir, just wait here and we’ll take care of her for you right away!”

With just those words, you were sent off to the wild once again.

A hair stylist made you sit down on a hair salon chair, where they styled your hair with an iron hair curler. Afterwards, a makeup artist and a nail manicurist did your makeup and your nails for you. They were gossiping away about famous Korean drama actors and actresses when they were pampering you nicely. All this time, you were wondering if this is what it really means to be living as a real “woman”.

All of these became new experiences for you. You’ve never dreamt about doing all this since you didn’t have enough money to even waste on such things that didn’t matter to you. However, you came to the realization that you wouldn’t have done this once-in-a-lifetime thing if it wasn’t for Gun, who took you to all these expensive places so far.

The hair stylist that did your hair caught you smiling to yourself as she asked, “What’s this? You thinking about your boyfriend waiting for you at the front?”

“Huh? Oh, no no no! He’s not my-”

The makeup artist jumped in as she said, “Awww, how cute. You’re so lucky to have such a handsome man as your boyfriend!”

“No, really, we’re not a-”

“Don’t be shy dear, and have some confidence! Be proud that you have such a hunk of a man. We’ve all been dying to see one come in here, but we rarely even see such fine eye candy. Right ladies?” said the older manicurist in admiration.

The rest of the beauticians nodded in agreement.

You just laughed in full embarrassment.

He’s not my boyfriend though…

“You’re all set ma’am!”

One of them brought over a mirror for you to take a look, and wow. They really did a good job. Once your eyes met the reflection of that mirror, you were completely unrecognizable. The work they did on you was incredible, especially the makeup. Who knew that the power of makeup would turn you into a different person? Your hair was all feathered and curled softly, while your makeup seemed natural. Not too bold, but still managed to make you look a little different. Your nails were done as almond French tipped nails, which were classic and beautiful at the same time. The tips of your nails were painted white while the rest of their color were polished in light natural pink.

“Oh my god, you’re so pretty! You really do look like a famous person!”

“Ah, to be that gorgeous is such a blessing. If you and your boyfriend ever do get married and have children one day, they will definitely be beautiful!”

Your cheeks started to heat up from that last unexpected comment as you watched the stylists around you giggle in delight.

. . .

After they were done with your treatment, they finally released you. They guided you back to where Gun was waiting for you near the front desk. While slowly walking towards him, your eyes met his as he stood up to see your final reveal.

Gun believed you were already pretty, but who knew that you could be even more beautiful than any woman he’d ever crossed paths with. Just standing there in front of him made him admit to himself that you are definitely his dream girl. Just everything about you was perfect. Your gorgeous face, the way your curves show off your perfect figure, your silky smooth hair, your relentless strength, your selflessness, and your amazing personality made him feel something different towards you. Even your imperfections were perfect to him, even though he wouldn’t have thought so at the very beginning of your encounter with him. However, he wondered what you were doing to him that made him feel so unlike himself recently. What type of effect did you really have on him? How can someone as cold as himself, suddenly be so moved by someone who’s the complete opposite of himself? All of these thoughts running through his head made him lose track of what was happening right in front of him.

“Gun, is everything alright?”

His consciousness seem to have returned to him as he saw you waving your hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

“I’m alright.”

The beauticians who were watching the two of you were smiling and giggling. You heard one of them said to the rest of them, “Aww, look at them having their little moment. He’s so speechless to see his girlfriend all dressed up and fixed just for him!” While they started to cheer you two on behind you, you turned around to see what they were doing behind you then reacted shyly as your face started to burn in embarrassment once again.

Ah geez, not again. Why can’t they just take the hint already?

From Gun’s peripheral vision, he glanced to see the specialists who gave you your treatment to be watching the two of you, which made him take a step back from you then cleared his throat. “They did a great job at taking care of you.”

“Oh yeah? I think so too. But I’m even more grateful towards you, so thank you.”

Gun suddenly turned around, trying to contain his cool when he heard those words leave your mouth. While looking away, he then said, “Don’t misunderstand my intentions. I just don’t want to be seen out with a woman who doesn’t fit my tastes.”

And we’re back to square one again.

“Wow, you never fail to ruin a heartwarming moment. You should keep a track record of how many times you’ve done it so far.”

He sneered. “At least I don’t dress like a tourist.”

The two of you started bickering once again that the stylists who were still watching believed to have witnessed a “lover’s quarrel”.

. . .

After thanking the parlor staff for their excellent service, you bid your farewells to them as you and Gun walked back to the car.

When you finally got in the car with Gun, the thought of your precious bag came in mind.

“Old Reliable! Where did you go?!”

With such a quick reaction, you turned around on your seat then rummaged through the backseats of the car. As Gun started the car and was about to put it in reverse, your sudden outburst caused him to release the break. However, he caught himself by stomping on the break with force, preventing the car from almost crashing the parked car that was in front of you. The sudden halt of the car then made half of your body fall down below, into the backseat car mats.

“The hell are you doing?! Just sit down already!”

“Where’s my bag?!”

“What do you mean? I put that thing in the shopping bag with your clothes! They’re in the trunk!”

“Really…?”

You sighed in relief as you picked yourself up from the mats then slouched back down into your seat.

“Unbelievable. Over a bag…” Gun grumbled in an annoyed tone. He got a cigarette from his pocket then lit it for a quick smoke, just to relieve the unnecessary stress that you have brought upon him. Not in a million years, did he think that he would have to go through this. But if he had a choice to choose who to go out with between you or Goo, he would’ve chosen you. Goo was just on a whole other level of chaos that Gun thought that it’d be impossible for himself to get through it if there were to be a car accident. He won’t be able to stand him if he was stranded with him for days or else he’d have to resort in killing him before a stranger finds them. This whole “stranded” scenario occupied his mind while he drove the both of you to the dinner location that he chose for the night.

Gun brought you to a five-star restaurant called “Pierre Ganaire à Séoul,” located on top of the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. When you got there, the whole restaurant literally displays high-class service.

The whole entire restaurant had dimmed lights surrounding the entire French gold interior. Glass chandeliers were suspended from the ceiling above illuminating dim lighting, which was complimented by the dimmed lighting of candles on each table. The ambience in the room was definitely classy and the mood from its customers was definitely romantic, fitting for a high quality French restaurant.

While you stood there looking around in astonishment, Gun held his arm out for you to be properly escorted to the table that he reserved for the both of you.

“Shall we? While I’m being nice.”

Smirking, you politely took his arm in yours, wrapping yours around his as the two of you walked side by side towards your table. While you passed by some tables on your way over there, many of the people who were already seated turned their heads to glance at you and Gun. The impression that the both of you exerted together was very noticeable, as if you two were a power couple. A woman who you passed by gasped as she whispered to her friend saying, “Oh my god, did you see what she was wearing? She had on the newest collection of Louis Vuitton!” Her friend replied saying, “I know! And did you see her boyfriend too? He’s so hot!” Other people around you were even convinced that you two were celebrities.

The eyes that you felt on you and the gossip surrounding you made you uncomfortable, making you glance at your feet shyly, but Gun reassured you by leaning into you and holding you closer to him. Whispering, he said, “Don’t worry too much and just let them stare and gossip. They’re just wishing that they could be us right now.”

When you got to the table that he reserved, you couldn’t believe your eyes. The table was located near a big window that had a breath-taking view of Seoul, with its city lights twinkling below. There was a big bouquet of red carnations sitting on the side of the table, with a small lit candle placed beside it. And centered right on the table, was a gold placard displaying the words, “Reserved for Jong Gun Park & (Y/N) Sasaki.”

Gun went around you to pull your seat for you in such a gentlemanly manner, making you feel slightly touched by the treatment he was giving you.

“Oh Mr. Park, you’re such a gentleman.” You teased as you sat on the seat that he offered you.

When he took his seat right across from you, a waiter appeared right in front of you.

“Good evening sir, and madam. Welcome to Pierre Ganaire à “Séoul. My name is Hyeon-Jin and I’ll be your server for tonight. Right now, we are offering our best alcoholic beverages for the evening. Most of our wine have recently been imported from France, and they are now available. Here are your menus.”

When the young waiter handed out your menus, you flipped through it to see what they had to offer.

What in the world? I’ve never seen so many zeros before for just food!

Most of the beverages and food that you’ve looked through seemed to be very expensive, that even if you converted the prices into yen, you know that you couldn’t even afford to pay it with the money you currently have. Also, most of the food on the menu weren’t familiar to you since you’ve never had French cuisine before. Just looking at the names for each dish made your head ache when you tried pronouncing it to yourself while reading the menu. Gun noticed that you were struggling to choose a meal from the menu so he took the initiative to offer for you.

“We’ll have two glasses of your finest red wine. Make it Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru. Also, we’d like to have today’s evening special from the Grand Menu.”

“Alright sir, I’ll get that for you right away.”

The both of you handed back the menus to Hyeon-Jin then watched him dash away towards the kitchen. You finally turned your attention to Gun and asked, “How?”

“How what?”

“How do you even know what to order from that? And how can you afford to pay for something so expensive, even for just food?”

“I have my ways.”

“Of course you do.” you said sarcastically, as you looked down at the incredible scenery from the window.

“Here.”

Without warning, he reached inside his suit pocket and took out a small narrow envelope then handed it to you. When you took it, you asked, “What’s this?”

Gun raised an eyebrow while crossing his arms. “Don’t tell me you forgot about our deal.”

“What? But isn’t it a little too early to give me the money now?”

“It won’t make a difference anyways if I had given it to you later so consider this as one of my gifts to you.”

Sighing, you unwillingly put the envelope into your Louis Vuitton bag.

“I swear, I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t. It’ll take you too long to pay me back.”

“No, no, I will. Mark my words, I’ll pay you back for everything. For the clothes, the shoes, the bag, the makeup treatment, the dinner. Everything.”

Gun chuckled arrogantly. “Are you sure? They’re all pretty pricey.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. It doesn’t feel right to pay you back. Just tell me how much did everything cost.”

“Alright…”

Gun leaned in closer to you from across the table then whispered the total cost of his expenses into your ear. Right when you heard the amount, you could already hear God calling to you from up above because of how screwed you were.

“On second thought, I’ll just return everything that I can and I’ll just pay the rest of the things. Haha…”

I can already feel myself fading into dust…

Gun thought in his head that your reaction was priceless. He enjoyed these little moments with you that became so amusing to him, that it grew on him. He never had anyone offer to pay him back before, for something that he had personally given. To him, this was a first. If it was any other woman that he’d offer gifts to, they’d gladly accept them without hesitation. But you? From the start, you said that you didn’t even need them. That was already a rare sight to behold as you became a rare jewel to Gun. A true diamond in the rough. Your simplicity may be overlooked from the start, but your growing strength and charms were getting to him and he doesn’t know what to do.

On the other hand, you seemed to have noticed how close the two of you had gotten. A month hasn’t passed, yet it felt like the two of you had gotten closer than before. Almost like old friends who decided to have dinner with one another. In the candlelight, you admired his handsome caricature, his wide shoulders, his muscular body seeping through his expensive clothing, and his rich fashion sense right in front of you. He was definitely out of your league, but you still felt drawn towards him regardless of how you two live in completely different worlds. However, you weren’t just physically attracted to this man. This mysterious guy sitting right in front of you became so captivating to you. You felt like you just wanted to unfold all the little secrets that he had lying underneath his perfect physique. You liked the way he was mostly direct with you, when he needed to. His face was serious all the time, but you always looked forward to seeing his rare facial expressions. The constant arguing about the most littlest things that you both always got into was pretty ridiculous, that it was almost laughable. But looking at it now, the memories of those times somehow brings a smile to your face. Just having him with you, or even seeing him right in front of you, made your chest ache. These factors made you feel lucky and glad that you chose to be with him instead of accepting Goo’s offer. You wouldn’t have met such a great companion if you hadn’t. A companion? For some reason you thought that word didn’t suit him. How do you even label him? A roommate? As a trainer? A teacher? A partner? A friend? A close friend? They all seemed to have confused you. What even is your relationship with this man? You were unsure of yourself but why does it feel like you want something more than that? Were you actually starting to… like him?

“Hey, remember you told me on the first day that I’m not supposed to tell anyone about what our plan is and what we do?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, what if someone sees us? I know that the people that you’ve mentioned before from those gangs may not know me, but they DEFINITELY know you.”

“Yes, and?”

“And… wouldn’t it be bad if they stop to question us when they see you?”

“Okay, well think of it this way. You and I can technically say anything to them about each other, as long as we don’t disclose any information to them that involves our plan. It’s like acting. And besides, those crews aren’t from Seoul so we have a low chance of ever coming into contact with them.”

“Ah I see. So… I can say that I’m your cousin or something?”

“Yes, you can.”

“But… I can’t date my cousin though…”

“What do you mean by tha-”

“Sorry for the wait, sir, madam!”

You jumped a little, startled by Hyeon-Jin’s abrupt appearance. From the candlelight, no one could see how much of a fluttering mess you were, embarrassed by the possibility that Hyeon-Jin could have listened in at the wrong time. On the contrary, Gun cleared his throat, trying to hide his enjoyment from your sudden reaction.

“Here are your beverages.”

He pulled out two wine glasses from the bar cart of beverages that he was strolling around with, then placed a wine glass each on your sides. Afterwards, he brought out a wine bottle, then opened the bottle with a pop by using a wine corkscrew opener.

While pouring each of you a drink, he explained the significance of the wine in his hand by saying, “Domaine Leroy Musigny Grand Cru is a red wine that has a refined taste. It is of the finest quality, as it is usually enjoyed during special occasions and is normally purchased by the rich and powerful. Are the two of you celebrating anything tonight?”

“Erm…”

“Yes, we are, actually.”

What?

Your eyes turned to Gun looking at him, all puzzled.

“Oh wow, no wonder you reserved such a popular spot sir! We always get a lot of requests to reserve this specific table, mostly for romantic dates or anniversaries. And it’s pretty difficult to get a hold of this spot since there have been many calls who ask us to save this seat for a particular event. Did you reserve this table because you wanted to celebrate your anniversary?”

Aw man, not another misunderstanding! How many times have we been experiencing this today?

“Hyeon-Jin, we’re no-”

“Yes, something like that.”

What is this guy talking about? This isn’t even an anniversary!

While you were listening in on their not-so-true conversation, you decided to take a sip out of your wine glass.

“Ah, I see. That’s very thoughtful of you to reserve a special spot for you and your wife, sir!”

All of a sudden, you started choking on the wine you were sipping on as Hyeon-Jin’s words caught you off guard.

Hyeon-Jin gasped, as he said, “Oh no, madam! Don’t drink your wine too quickly! Here, have some water…”

While suffering in your coughing frenzy, you were patting down your own chest while coughing before accepting the water that Hyeon-Jin poured for you in a new glass.

Gun caught your reaction as he was trying his hardest to hide his smugness, by turning his head away from the small chaotic scene happening in front of him. He was doing his best to focus on the scenery from the window with such a straight face, when clearly, he’s enjoying your reactions by the minute. Who knew that he’d be entertained at a place that’s meant for sophisticated tastes and refinery?

“What was up with that reaction?” he whispered to himself.

Gun managed to compose himself as he turned his attention back to Hyeong-Jin saying, “I have to apologize, my wife can be a little clumsy while drinking sometimes.”

He managed to get a reaction from you, since you could feel the heat rise in your cheeks again in huniliation.

This guy… How can he say it with such a straight face like that? So, if he wants to play around like that, then fine. I’ll play his game.

After taking a few sips of water, you turned to Gun and smiled at him, with a hidden malicious intent.

“Oh honey, you’re such a jokester!”

You slowly reached your hand out to him, as yours met his. Your hand caressed his hand teasingly and ever so slightly, which lit up something inside of Gun. That playful smirk on your face gave him a reason to continue this hidden game between the two of you.

As you stared into Gun’s eyes, you already knew that your pretend date with him has commenced. Now, you two get to show each other’s acting skills.

Time to become a snobby rich person.

Gun asked Hyeon-Jin, “Will the food be arriving soon? My wife wants to eat as soon as it gets here.”

You laughed like what a haughty rich person would while smacking Gun’s hand in a bashful manner. “Oh stop it honey, I’m not a pig! But I’ve always been dying to taste the food here!”

“Oh yes madam, the food here is exquisite! You’ll definitely like it, I guarantee it. The food will be ready in just a moment. I’ll be taking my leave for now and I’ll come back with your meals.”

Hyeon-Jin bowed respectfully before leaving you two alone to converse with each other, honestly this time.

As you quickly let go of his hand, Gun jeered in on you for your delivery.

“And that’s how you deliver a proper performance. I’m impressed, you really are good at acting. Did you take any acting lessons?”

He made you laugh, while waving your hand dismissively. “Oh please, you’re such a jackass! I should be the one to ask you that. Luckily, I caught on to your scheme. But now I get what you were talking about. Now, let’s see how the exceptional Gun Park lasts before he burns out in his acting skills.”

He chuckled at your cute taunts before saying, “You’re on.”

Eventually, Hyeon-Jin came with the food in his hands. As he propped the two plates above his shoulders with both of his talented hands, he carefully placed both of your meals in front of you and Gun with elegance then gestures for you to try the food.

“There you are, sir, madam. I hope you’ll enjoy the food!”

“Don’t mind if I do!” You eagerly grabbed your silverware knife and fork before digging into your meal.

Each of you had the foie gras meal. The duck livers that had been sacrificed for your meals cooked to the point of perfection. Making the meat tender, to the point of it falling apart easily with just a poke from a fork, and for it to leave a savory taste as it melts in your mouth. What a delicacy. The foie gras had a special mushroom sauce, which consisted of vinaigrette dressing and finely sliced mushrooms. Its taste had a hint of sweet and sour, but was balanced marvelously as it complimented the texture of the duck liver.

As you cut a piece of the foie gras, you hooked onto it with your fork then slowly popped it into your mouth. As the foie gras hit your taste buds, you felt yourself melting along with it, in pure bliss. You sighed happily, as you said, “Oh my, this dish is so delectable! I can almost feel it melting on my tongue! It was so worth coming here! Right, honey?”

Gun patted his mouth with a cloth napkin after he tried the food as well. “Yes. Give our compliments to the chef for us, Hyeon-Jin.”

Hyeon-Jin sighed in relief, as he saw that the two of you had enjoyed the food then nodded happily. “I will gladly do that for you, sir! Madam!”

While you were happily eating your food, you noticed Gun leaning in closer to you all of a sudden.

“Babe, you got a little something on your face.”

Your eyes looked at him in pure confusion. “Huh? Where?”

And… “Babe”?

Gun grabbed your chin lightly as he slowly brushed his thumb across your bottom lip, all the way up to the right corner of your mouth. As he sat back down, he looked into your eyes while licking the tip of his thumb seductively, which had some sauce from the foie gras, that was previously smeared on your mouth.

When you watched him lick the sauce from his thumb, you sat there completely frozen. Eyes widened. Cheeks flushed. Heart racing. Thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour in your head, wondering if what you just witnessed in front of you was real.

What was that just now?! Did he so happened to just do that naturally, or did he do that on purpose? Wow, I can’t believe this. This man’s ego is truly something. How outrageous! And he managed to get me flustered like this too? How could I like someone so ballsy, such as him?! You’ve got to be kidding me right now. He thinks that he can top all of the other k-drama actors like that, huh? Not even Lee Min Ho can pull that stunt, but he can? Is he an expert at doing that?! No, he can’t be. Whew, unbelievable! Why do I feel hot right now and why is my heart pumping like I’m about to have a heart attack?! This isn’t helping!!!

“Uh… madam, is everything okay?”

“Huh?”

You turned your head towards Hyeon-Jin’s voice, who was still standing there next to your table.

With a quick “Ahem!” from your throat, you nodded at Hyeon-Jin while smiling. “Yes, thank you for your concern Hyeon-Jin. You should go ahead and tend to the other customers right now. We’ll be fine.”

“Oh alright madam, if you say so. Excuse me!”

As a result, he left you two alone in a new type of tension that you’ve never dealt with before.

“Hey. What the hell was that? Some sort of fan service?”

“Fan service? I didn’t know my wife wanted other things. How greedy.”

“What the-” your words were cut off, as you facepalmed yourself while groaning in frustration.

Now the tables have turned. It wasn’t you who has the upper hand now but instead, it was him. And you know damn well that he’s enjoying it.

“What’s wrong babe? You haven’t finished your food yet. If you wanted me to feed you, then you should have been more honest with me.”

Gun cut up a piece of his food then held it out in front of you for you to feed on in shame. At this point, he was clearly mocking you from the last comment you had about his acting skills. Just seeing your flustered expression was already giving him such a huge ego boost, that you had to come up with a way to turn the tide around.

When you raised your head up from your palm, you gave him a cold smirk.

“Oh, you’re good, no doubt about it. But don’t think that this is over yet. You haven’t seen what I’ve got up my sleeve…”

I must be crazy to try and pull this off, but if this is a war to see who breaks first, then I must do everything within my power to win. Even if that includes using my womanly charms! He is a man after all, so he might break with this little stunt. (God, please forgive me for this. I swear, this will only happen once.)

As you leaned in towards him, he thought that you finally accepted your food of shame, until you swiftly smacked the fork with the liver right out of his hand as it landed on the floor a few feet away from him. He looked at you with true confusion, wondering why the hell did you do that.

“Oh, sorry honey. Let me go get that for you.”

Gun’s eyes watched you intently as you got out of your seat then bent over in front of him to grab the fork with the liver still stuck to it, from the ground. His view was suddenly focused on your curvy ass, in which his eyes had trailed down your pencil skirt as it crept a bit up your thighs, giving him a bit of a sneak peek of what was underneath from the slit. As you stood back up again, you flipped your voluminous hair back while holding onto the fork in your hand. When you returned to your seat, you crossed your legs while holding out the fork with the piece of liver, out to him.

“This was yours right, my love? Say ah~”

Hehe, checkmate.

Damn. You’ve never seen such a speechless Gun in your life, and that goes to show that you’ve won this round. If you were to somehow go underneath the table right now, you’d definitely see how rock hard he had gotten from watching you bend over in front of him like that. Gun never knew that you had it in you to do such a thing in the first place, which made him form a mischievous smirk on his face while looking straight into your eyes with dangerous malice. The last words that he had for you during that dinner was, “You better watch your back.”

. . .

After Gun had paid for the food, your walk outside the streets of Seoul towards the car was very silent. As you followed him from behind, you stared at his tall figure while walking. Not a word was said ever since the dinner, and it was starting to worry you. You were carrying a fancy take-out bag that held your complimentary desserts in it, since Gun asked Hyeon-Jin to put it to-go right away.

Is he mad at me? Geez, I must’ve taken it too far. Or is he upset with what I did? Honestly, who wouldn’t. He must think that I’m a shameless woman now. Ugh, I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t think I’d be able to do such a thing in my life. I’ve only seen those types of scenes from badass action movies, where the female lead asserts her dominance. But, I’ve never seen him so quiet before. I hope I didn’t upset him or made him mad in any way.

Suddenly, you heard a voice from afar that ruined your train of thought.

“Hey, is that Gun and (Y/N)?!”

Who…?

Right away, you turned around to see Goo waving at you with a bloodied sword in his hand. However, Goo wasn’t alone. This time, there was a big guy with him who had a serious look on his face. Him and Goo were both dressed in suit and ties, but their outfits were stained with some blood splatters on them.

Is that blood…? What have they been doing all night?

You waved back at him, while walking towards him. Goo whistled as he saw a better view of you from up close.

“Woah, that is you! I almost didn’t recognize you until I saw that you were walking with Gun from that fancy hotel over there. What got you so dolled up, anyways? Did you two…?” Goo’s mouth curved to an impish smirk.

You heard the guy next to him let out a short gasp, as he said to himself while gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in frustration, “I-if that was me and Z-Zoe… then I would’ve been the happiest man in the world right about now! Damn that little Pikachu bastard, stealing my girl!!!”

Goo looked at the guy in irritation saying, “Hey, Logan. How many times did I have to tell you to get over that girl, and just continue to get stronger! At least make me proud here! Tsk.”

Goo turned his attention back to you. “So… did you and Gun hit it off…?”

“Huh? No, no, you got it all wrong! We were just-”

The words wouldn’t come out from your mouth as you paused. You couldn’t tell him that you two were there because you were celebrating your hard work of training. You believed that he isn’t allowed to know of what goes on between you and Gun. Plus, you couldn’t tell him that you two just came out of dinner as a pretend couple either, which would be an even worse scenario to explain.

“Hmmm…?” Goo and his friend were staring at you, waiting for a reply until…

“Didn’t I tell you to fuck off?”

As you turned around towards the sound of Gun’s voice, you saw him walk towards you three. He stood there, lighting a cigarette right in front of the three of you as he blew out smoke that exhaled out of his lungs.

Goo grinned wildly at the sight of seeing Gun again, to tease him once more.

“Gun, we were just talking about you! So what were the two of you doing at a hotel together? Did you two have ‘fun’ ?”

Gun took another puff from his cigarette before saying, “You can think whatever the hell you want, nosy prick. Even if I did explain, it wouldn’t change the fact that you’d still think the way you wanted about the situation.”

“Awww, no fair! I wanted to hear all the juicy deets from you.” Goo fake pouted, while Gun scowled back at him in annoyance.

You sighed in relief at how Gun handled Goo’s questions.

I wouldn’t know how to handle Goo if it weren’t for Gun being here. Thank god.

Unexpectedly, you felt a sudden urge to pee. You thought that it must’ve been the wine since you heard that alcohol does make people pee.

As you turned around to go back towards the hotel to use the restroom, you called out to Gun first before heading back the direction where you just came from.

“Gun, I need to go back to use the restroom real quick! I’ll be right back!”

Gun nodded, but before he let you go, he told you to hand over the bag full of desserts in it. You obliged, as you quickly handed it to him, for him to hold it in your place.

From far away, he made sure that you made it into the building safely by watching you. The sway of your hips moving while walking in those heels and those long legs of yours mesmerized him to the point that Goo definitely caught him checking you out from behind.

“Gun, you naughty boy! I caught you staring at (Y/N)‘s ass just now!”

“Tch. Can you shut the fuck already? You always say the most craziest shit out loud, that it makes me want to beat you senseless just for you to actually shut up.”

Out of nowhere, Logan towered in front of Gun, as if he were to protect his own master from him. Goo suddenly patted him on the back saying, “Hey, hey, it’s alright Logan. Gun here wouldn’t do that right now. He’s waiting for (Y/N) after all and like she said, she’ll come back real quick.”

Logan grunted as he returned back to his original position. Gun continued to let out his aggravation through that single cigarette in his hand.

“You know Gun, you should just make her yours already. Because if you don’t do it soon, she might be out of reach by the time you decide on pursuing her. You’ll soon regret it, and then you’ll end up all alone, without anyone being there for you.”

“You know, for a bastard like you, you really ARE a nosy prick. Why the hell do you keep pushing me to go after her?”

“Because you’ll hit rock bottom earlier than when you’re supposed to. Once you hit rock bottom, it should be by me and not by her. Remember, we’re rivals and we’ve got our own shit to deal with. So now, who’s the ACTUAL bastard here?” Goo said in a smug tone.

Logan let out a quiet, “Daaamn…” under his breath as Gun let out his last puff of smoke from his cigarette before throwing it to the ground and smashing it underneath his shoe. Eventually, you came out of the hotel after your long pee break and once you returned, you felt that you missed something important. You couldn’t help but think that something went down while you were away on the toilet, since you felt the serious tension among them. As Gun started to walk back towards the car continuing onwards in silence, you said your goodbyes to Goo and that other kid whose name that you caught was Logan.

Goo yelled out during his goodbyes, saying, “Until we meet again, (Y/N)! And next time will surely be much more interesting!”

You didn’t quite understood what he meant by that last part, but you were just exhausted at that point from everything that has happened.

When you finally got in the car, Gun finally pulled the car in reverse then started to drive without saying a word once again.

The silence was deafening, that even you could tell that it was pretty awkward to just sit there without saying anything. You couldn’t take it anymore with the silent treatment, as you suddenly decided to turn on the radio for some music.

However, when you turned on the radio, Doja Cat’s song called Streets was introduced in the radio as it just started playing right from the beginning. And as you listened to the song, it only just made the tension between you two to worsen. Your heart began to race and your hands began to sweat uneasily as your hands held onto your seatbelt. Just listening to the lyrics didn’t help the situation at all. From the side of your eye, you glanced at Gun to find him just concentrating on the road without saying anything. Weirdly, he didn’t seem too bothered by it. Eventually, you decided to finally turn off the radio right after the song finished playing and just sit there in uncomfortable silence throughout the way home.

. . .

Finally, you made it home. As Gun parked the Rolls Royce right in front of the house, the both of you got out of the car.

While you got the rest of your stuff from the trunk of his car, he eventually locked it with an advanced-looking car key, which resembles a remote.

It felt like an eternity just to get inside, due to the painful and awkward silence. While walking up the steps and following him from behind, you decided to just apologize to him right there and now.

God, I can’t take this anymore. I’ll just apologize to him and I hope he’ll forgive me and he’ll be alright afterwards.

When Gun finally stood in front of the door, he was in the process of inputting the passcode to the door. At once, you blurted out your apology to him.

“Gun, I’m sorry for what I did! I know that it was wrong to act so indecent while I was out with you. I got carried away, and was blinded by my need to win that little ‘game’ of ours. I’m sorry for being so immature. I’m truly ashamed of my actions, and […]”

When Gun managed to unlock the door, you followed him inside while still apologizing to him. You were going on and on about how sorry you were, and how shameful you acted during the dinner. During that time, you were setting down the bag of desserts on a table near the staircase, including your bag of old clothes for a second. You were getting hand cramps just holding onto the bags.

“[…] you know, I was just playing around, right? But it’s ok, you can call me shameful if you want to! You could even call me disgusting, and impudent, for how I was acting. I deserved it anyway, so I’m so-”

“Didn’t I tell you to watch your back?”

“Huh?”

You turned around to see Gun standing right in front of you, with his glasses already off of his face. However, you could’ve sworn that he was just near the door. He was closing in on you, as he made you back up onto the wall, right in front of the staircase. He blocked both of your sides by planting his hands onto the wall, trapping you while your back was now against the wall. His eyes was looking down onto yours, while his face was leaning in closer to you. While doing so, you could smell the scent of cigarettes from his warm breath.

“W-wait… Gun, what are you-”

“Shut up.”

Gun suddenly cupped your face and tilted your head upwards before he forcefully pressed his lips onto yours. His body was pressed against yours as you felt his pelvis grind against you. While he was leaning in closer to you more and more, you realized that this was technically your first kiss with a man. And you couldn’t imagine that the man who stole your first kiss, was no other than Gun Park.

The kiss that you two were sharing was tender for only a second, until he started to change the pace of the kiss into a more aggressive make-out session. The feeling of his lips became harsher, as his tongue entered your mouth while it played with yours, giving you the most heated French-kiss of your life. His tongue tasted of nicotine, while yours tasted like rich wine. His touch got rougher, as he started feeling up every inch of your body. You felt his right hand pull onto your top due to how it was previously tucked in, before it crept up from underneath your blouse, all the way to your soft breasts. His hand then started playing with your breasts, fondling one in his hand then grazed your nipple in circular motions with his thumb, making it peak. His left hand, however, sneaked its way up your pencil skirt, in between your legs. He then shoved his hand into your panties, feeling how wet you’ve gotten from his touch just by rubbing his fingers onto the entrance of your heat.

Embarrassed, both of your hands smacked his chest, desperately trying to push him away from you as much as possible. “Gun, stop- Ahh~”

What is this feeling? Why does it feel… good? Am I actually enjoying this? Have I gone insane?!

Your hands tried pushing him away but you felt your strength getting weaker, as this new feeling in your body had taken over, making your mind go blank. Weird noises began to emit from your mouth uncontrollably. While Gun was simultaneously pleasing you in multiple ways, his eyes adjusted to your face, seeing your pleasured reactions from the way he was touching you.

His lips pulled away from yours while still teasing your sensitive parts. “‘Stop’? That’s very hypocritical of you to say that. See? You’re already wet down here. And plus, didn’t you want this to happen? You were clearly begging for your ‘husband’ to do such things to you back at that restaurant. Who knew that my ‘wife’ would be so naughty…”

For some reason, your body was reacting on its own to his touch, that you can no longer control yourself. You felt your body heating up and your core aching with need. When his mouth pressed against yours for another time, his digits underneath your underwear started to pierce through your vaginal lips, barely pumping your insides. Just by feeling the inside of your heat, Gun can tell that you’re a virgin just from how tight you felt as his digits was already enveloped by your walls, barely entering into your depths. With that, he believed that he should be careful. Yet, his patience is already waning thin.

A new look in his eyes met yours. A look of deep insatiable lust. The words, “I think I’m going insane. I don’t think I can control myself any longer.” escaped through his gritted teeth as he didn’t hesitate to crash his lips onto yours once more.

Urgently, he grabbed onto every piece of clothing you had on just to tear them right off of you. Including, your new top and skirt with your bra and underwear.

What the hell, what’s gotten into him all of a sudden?!

You pulled your lips away in surprise, as you scolded him in alarm, “Hey, those were expensive AND brand new! Why did you have to do that?!”

“Tch. They’re just clothes! I’ll get you better ones later…”

“But-”

Gun silenced you with his mouth, as he suddenly hoisted your naked body up in his arms. His hands glided against your soft legs, forcing you to wrap them around his waist as he wrapped one of his strong arms around your waist. He started making his way up the stairs with your naked body pressed against his clothed self. His right hand was on the railing for guidance, and your arms were wrapped around his neck for support.

The two of you still had your lips on each other, even while Gun was carrying you towards his room. You found it impressive that he could multi-task like that. Soon, your need for him became desperate as you were starting to match his energy with yours, by running your fingers from the nape of his neck to his hair while you were sucking on his tongue. Gun didn’t like it when his hair was messed up by someone, especially during a fight. However, when it comes to you, he’ll make an exception. When the both of you got to the top of the stairs, both of his hands grabbed onto your cute ass tightly, as he rushed you straight to his room.

When he opened the door, he immediately slammed it right behind him then pushed you onto the bed, making you land on your back with a soft thud on the mattress.

You haven’t realized yet that this was actually the first time that you’ve ever been to his room, but that doesn’t matter to you right now. What matters is that he wants you and you want him in return. You stared up at his eyes full of longing. In exchange, he looked down at your eyes with incredible desire. Gun didn’t think that in any point in time, he’d ever get you on his bed like this. Short flashbacks of those times that he’d been with you started to appear in his head, reminiscing the times of when you smiled at him, when you’ve fiercely fought with him during training, and when you would constantly annoy him from time to time. But that strength of yours, was what captivated him and had him obsessed with you. It was like love at first sight. Even Goo’s words from tonight had been annoying him nonstop ever since he told Gun to make his move on you. But now, at this very moment, he got you in his grasp and he finally decided to act upon how he thought of you. Even when he always got the impression from you that you only saw him for the strict jerk that he was, it was time to show you how he felt about you. On the other hand, you’ve changed your views on him. You admitted that you thought that he was an ass at first, but when you got to know him, you couldn’t help but want to stay by his side. For the first time, you admitted to yourself that you wanted to be with someone, other than your own mother. This isn’t just lustful thinking or a phase that appeared at the moment. These are actual feelings that you’ve just come to realize now and you wouldn’t mind if the man standing in front of you, would touch you. It was time for you to show him what you really meant to him.

“I’ve always wanted to do this with you.” He said, as he confessed to you unexpectedly. At that moment, you could tell that he wanted you so badly that nothing is going to stop him now.

Silently, you watched him take off every piece of clothing that he had on his entire body and just by observing, he immediately got you flustered. Quickly, he started to unbuckle his belt, removing his pants and throwing them across the room. His suit came right off, then his white long-sleeved shirt as he unbuttoned it without even stopping to fumble through any of the buttons with such skill, revealing his muscular body and his solid abs which made you blush a tint of pink. You even caught his toned and tattooed arms flex as he threw his shirt across the room. If you were already blushing, then you probably won’t be prepared for what’s about to come next. Lastly, it was the moment you’ve been anticipating for. Your legs were quivering in anxiousness as you felt your core beating in between your legs, knowing that he’ll join with you soon. As he removed his black Louis Vuitton briefs, you saw his erected member sprung out from underneath them. You gasped, since you’ve never seen a guy’s penis so up close in your life. Sure, you’ve seen those stick-figure-like penis drawings on the desks at school sometimes, or those naked statues from Renaissance artwork, but this? This was much more detailed. This was the REAL DEAL. You couldn’t help but stare at his huge veiny member. His girth and his length somewhat intimidated you, which made you wonder how he’d fit inside of you.

Once all of his clothes ended up across the room, he immediately towered on top of you on the bed, trapping you in between his strong muscular arms once again. Underneath Gun, was your beautiful naked self. He gets to see every exposed feature on your body. Every scar, every mark, and every spot that he’ll stimulate just to make you go crazy.

His eyes pierced yours directly with a hint of desire in them as he said, “Are you ready, (Y/N)? I’ll make you even more worthy to become my woman than any other woman could. I’ll make sure that you’ll become mine.”

At this point, you couldn’t take it anymore either. In your head, you finally became obsessed with this man that you finally surrendered to his touch.

As you wrapped your arms around his neck, you pulled him closer to you saying, “Then, show me how I can be worthy of you.” initiating the start to a neverending night of passion.

[End of Ch. IV]

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weasleys-wizard-writes · 2 years ago

Text

Betrothed Part III

Fred Weasley x Reader x Draco Malfoy

Series Synopsis: Having been raised in a pureblood family obsessed with keeping the bloodline pure you’re betrothed at birth to a boy you’ve never met. Unaware of just how strange this is, you have few qualms with it, until you meet Fred Weasley and find that love is much more complicated than you ever could’ve imagined. But what happens when everyone is all grown up, and the real world can’t be stopped?

Genre: Angst

Content Warnings:

Angst

Death

Forced Marriage

Word Count: 3,516

“Sorry for the mess.”

You muttered softly as you unlocked the door to your apartment, sighing in relief at the sight of it. Your mother had called you foolish when you’d told her that you had no intention of breaking your lease with the landlord, but evidently she hadn’t taken Draco’s odd post war demeanor into account. He would stay anywhere if it kept him from that damned family manor, and that was becoming all the more evident as time inched forward. He had grown significantly less tense the further away you had traveled from his family home, and now that it was confirmed that he could stay elsewhere, that hint of a smile that you had seen during the wedding had returned to his lips once more.

“Nonsense.”

Was Draco’s only response to your previous apology, his words soft and almost uncertain as he turned to look at you, before suddenly dropping his gaze towards the ground, his hand fiddling with the ring on his finger once more.

“Is it uncomfortable?”

You asked suddenly, trying to make up for the heavy silence that was slowly filling your apartment. You didn’t want to feel uncomfortable here, it was all that you had of yourself and your comfort now that you were married, and if that changed you weren’t sure how you could ever remain sane.

Draco’s head snapped up to meet your gaze once more, his brow cocked in confusion as he tried to make sense of the question you had just asked him.

“I beg your pardon?” He asked sincerely, causing you to gesture down to the ring on his left finger.

“The ring,” You murmured, suddenly less sure of yourself as you tried to push forward with the conversation, desperate to keep the silence from eating away at you any longer. All of these months of hearing Fred’s voice so consistently had made you dreadfully afraid of what could be waiting on the other side of the sound he was almost always providing.

“You’ve been playing with it a lot.”

You clarified gently, clearing your throat in hopes that it might make your voice sound less weak as you continued.

“I thought it could be because it’s making you uncomfortable. I’m certainly not used to mine yet.”

You touched your ring finger as you said that last part, feeling the cool emeralds housed within their silver setting against your skin, a reminder of the promise you had made today, and the agreement others had made for you prior to your birth.

Draco nodded in understanding as you clarified before he cleared his own throat, a nervous smile gracing his lips as his gaze returned down to the ring on his finger. He seemed happy to have it there, and you wondered again if he had worn one there before.

“No, it isn’t uncomfortable.”

Draco’s voice was soft as he spoke, so different from the boy you had grown up with and the man you had thought you would be marrying prior to the war. The man you had been dreading lying to for the rest of your life.

“I uh...”

He trailed off, breaking into a chuckle while bringing one of his knuckles to his mouth, something you had seen him due a great deal of times when you were younger. He always did that when he was nervous, because back when his adult teeth were growing in, Astoria had told him he looked like a rabbit when he smiled. Afterward, he had taken to biting down on his knuckles when he laughed, and as he grew older, biting on his knuckles when his nerves got the better of him. You were surprised to know this, and found yourself aware that maybe this man before you wasn’t as different as the boy you had known as a child, before the stress of being the Malfoy heir had turned him into someone new.

You were broken out of your thoughts as Draco began to speak once more, his fist slowly lowering back down to his side, before it moved to his other hand once more, fiddling with his ring even as he talked about that very action.

“This is a little bit embarrassing, so please don’t think less of me, but...”

He began, letting out a small sigh as you motioned for him to continue, your expression soft and curious.

“I started wearing a ring on this finger when I began my attendance at Hogwarts. I didn’t want to give any of the girls there the wrong idea, and thought it would be best to let them know in advance that I was taken. Plus I uh... I thought it would be good practice for the real thing someday, but mostly it just led to this habit of fiddling with it when I think.”

You found yourself nearly wide eyed at Draco’s confession, unable to force a response to your tongue as you stared at him, watching as he continued to twist his silver band on his finger repeatedly.

“I never knew...”

You began quietly, watching as Draco looked up to meet your eyes as you spoke, letting you know that your next words should be chosen carefully. He was paying attention now, and slowly but surely you were getting the feeling that he always had been, even if you hadn’t noticed.

“I never knew you cared that much about our betrothal.” You finished softly, feeling yourself begin twisting your own wedding ring to keep your hands from shaking.

This was not how you had imagined your wedding night. That being said, although you would never admit it aloud, your wedding night dreams died with Fred Weasley, and anything that came after would always pale in comparison, because the most important piece of the puzzle was gone for good.

Draco laughed softy, a cool tone to his voice that you recognized from all of his in between years, the ones that rested between his gentle childhood and his tortured present. This sounded like the Draco that you had thought you could never know, the one that angrily stalked the halls of your once shared school, looking for a reason to argue with anyone on the off chance that it might earn him some praise from one of the many deceitful and hate filled patriarchal figures in his life. It never had. Perhaps now, that was why he had returned to that gentle childhood. Why he lived in this tortured present.

“I know you didn’t. I was always too proud to admit how I felt, but Y/n...”

That coldness you had heard before disappeared the second the man in front of you said your name, a softness returning to him that you had not even realized had momentarily faded away.

Draco was watching you intently now, his eyes staring into your own from where he stood just a mere two feet away, beside the door to the apartment that you supposed the two of you now shared.

“There was not one moment growing up where I wasn’t near bursting with excitement over the fact that I could call you my wife someday. Even if I never said it, and even if you never noticed, I swear to you that what I say is true. I felt a great deal of pride over being your betrothed, even when I knew the truth.”

Your eyebrows creased at that last part, confusion creeping into your expression as what he said started to sink in.

“The truth?”

You asked, your head tilting as you waited for a response, your breath caught in your throat and unwilling to spill forth as Draco chuckled once more, that shake returning to his head, as if he were exasperated or shocked by your response.

“The truth,”

Draco muttered, raising his gaze to meet your own again, taking multiple steps forward until he was less than a foot away, his eyes flickering down to the way your calves pressed back against the couch, as if he had cornered you there during your efforts to escape. For all that you knew, maybe he had. You could no longer recollect if you’d moved in response to his steps forward. You could barely breathe at all. The air was so heavy with something you couldn’t quite put your finger on, and for some reason you felt as if you could burst into tears at any moment.

“Is that you loved that Fred Weasley more than you could ever love me.”

You felt as if you had just been punched in the gut as Draco spoke these words, your balance faltering and ultimately failing as you toppled backwards onto the couch, your gaze turning into a blank stare as he continued.

“And I can’t even blame you.” Draco spoke, laughing cruelly under his breath, seemingly oblivious to your blank stare and your freshly seated position. It was as if he was lost in his own world, his words having as much power over him as they did you.

“I have never been much more than the monster my father wanted me to be.”

These words were whispered, as if the man speaking them wasn’t sure he wanted you to hear. As if he were hoping it was a secret he was telling, rather than a truth that you had long since accepted.

Suddenly, Draco’s eyes snapped up to meet yours once again, and when he found himself met with that blank stare, he seemed to understand immediately that he had said something he shouldn’t have.

“Y/n,”

He spoke, his tone concerned and almost pained as he knelt in front of you, his hand reaching out to grasp your own before he suddenly pulled back at the last second, as if afraid he would burn you with his touch.

“Salazar, I’m sorry.”

He muttered, running his hand through his hair before continuing his familiar ministrations on his ring, his eyes searching yours for any signs of emotion or life as his eyebrows creased with concern. You had never seen him look worried over anyone before, and it was this face of near horror that brought you back, the dim light of feeling returning to your eyes once more. If you could see yourself through your new husband’s eyes, you would have found yourself wondering if that light had been brighter before, but thankfully for you, the only eyes you had to gaze into right now belonged to the man in front of you.

“Y/n please say something, I didn’t mean to upset you, I just wanted you to understand...”

Draco let out another gravelly sigh before continuing, his hand raking through his platinum locks, messing up his carefully done wedding night hair.

“I don’t have any expectations for this marriage.” Draco continued, his hands moving to seek yours once more, only for him to stop himself again, his eyes squeezing shut as if he were struggling with some deep and rolling agony within.

“I know you loved him, and I don’t want you to think that I expect you to lo-”

“I never told him.”

You whispered suddenly, cutting Draco off before he could finish his sentence. Your voice was shaky and full of fear as you spoke, and as you looked deeper into your new husbands clear blue eyes, you found that your reflection looked just as terrified as you felt.

“What?”

Draco asked, his hand finally moving to rest almost weightlessly above your own, as if he wanted to help soothe whatever fears you had but didn’t know if he had the right to do anything more than a slight hover, the heat of his skin more prevalent than the actual touch of his hand.

“I never told him that I loved him. He was never supposed to know.”

You finished, that fear never leaving your eyes nor your voice even as you tried desperately to quell the shake of your body beneath the gaze of this sometimes familiar and sometimes unknown presence that you now called your husband.

Draco looked more confused than ever, slowly withdrawing his hand from above your own as he tried to understand what meaning your words held.

“Did I do something wrong by saying it aloud?”

He asked finally, his eyebrows still creased with curiosity and something close to fear that told you how bad he felt and how scared he was to have messed up.

Clearly, some things never changed.

“Oh, no, I just uh...”

You desperately searched for an answer to his question, trying to silence the deafening noise behind your eyes as you stood, dizzy and desperate to be alone.

“I just wasn’t prepared to have someone say it.”

You finished, knowing full well how nervous you sounded and how much of a lie it was.

“I’m so sorry, Y/n.”

Draco whispered in response, as if he had been waiting his entire life to say it. This apology was different from all of the others, and there was a pain within it that made you stop before you could excuse yourself to your bedroom.

You looked down to meet that strong gaze once more only to find it full of tears, a broken man behind those usually strong and sure eyes.

“Draco, I-”

“I’m sorry for being so selfish for so long. I’m sorry for never just admitting it to myself and letting you go. I wanted so badly to be a different husband, a better husband than the one that I had grown up under, and somehow I ended up worse.”

That cold and cruel chuckle returned as Draco turned his gaze downward, seemingly unable to look you in your eyes as he continued.

“If I had known what was going to happen, I never would have held onto you. If I had allowed myself to see it sooner, I wouldn’t have remained an obstacle on the path of you finding someone who actually deserved you. I have tried for so long now to convince myself that I never held you back, but I know it’s all a lie.”

Draco sniffled softly, his tears dripping to rest on his cheeks and slowly slope down his nose as he struggled to meet your eyes once more, his sincerest words yet forming on his lips,

“Please just know that I never wanted this to happen, that I would have set you free in a second had I been strong enough to admit to myself that you loved him far more than you ever could me. I never meant to do this to you, and I swear that I will spend every second of this marriage making up for what I’ve done, and what I never had the strength to do before.”

With those words, Draco straightened out, drying his tears on his jacket as he took a deep breath to steady himself once more.

Watching him as he desperately tried to tape the broken and guilt riddled pieces of himself back together felt wrong, so on shaky legs and with long held breaths you walked silently over to the linen closet, pulling out a comforter and a few pillows, which you dressed with carefully selected matching pillow cases, the act of choosing forcing you to consider anything but the conversation you had just had, and the voice that was raging in your mind.

“Thank you.”

Draco smiled genuinely as you handed the blanket and pillows over to him, his eyes reading your expression before you even had the chance to speak.

“I’m perfectly fine with sleeping on the couch for the time being.”

He stated calmly,

“I’m just grateful that I don’t need to stay back at the manor. I’ll gladly sleep on the sofa as long as it takes if it keeps me away from there.”

He nearly shuddered as he spoke, making you wonder once more what he must have endured there to feel so uncomfortable within its walls.

You watched as Draco settled in, making sure he had everything he needed before you ended up standing against the wall opposite the living room that he would be sleeping in, your hand poised over the light switch. You had said your good nights, pleasantries had been shared, and now the only thing left to do was turn the light off and leave. But even still, watching the blond laying there on your sofa like that, you couldn’t help but feel like you had to say something more.

“Draco I -”

You began softly, your voice shaky as tears threatened to spill over your cheeks just as they had done his not long prior.

“I know you’ll probably never believe me, but I want you to know that I don’t blame you.”

You said gently, feeling the confusing urge to comfort the man in front of you further, despite the fact that you had absolutely no idea how to do so.

“I was a coward. He was never meant to know, betrothal or not. Please don’t let this eat away at you the way I know so many other things do. You were a victim, not a villain. I have never seen you as the monster you think that you are.”

You finished quietly, not waiting for a reaction or a response to your words as you switched the light off quickly before taking long and gentle steps to your bedroom, latching the door behind you before you sunk down against it, finally allowing the tears to fall.

“I am so sorry Fred.”

You whispered weakly after a few moments of gentle sobs and painful hiccups, the agony in your words prevalent as you recalled the way that his pained voice had echoed around your mind when Draco had accidentally told him your biggest secret of all.

“You loved me?”

It had asked you, softly at first, as if in disbelief, before it increased in volume over and over and over again until you felt as if your head was about to split in two.

It had taken a painstaking amount of effort to not respond to him as he begged you to tell him that it was a lie, that choked up voice playing endlessly as he pleaded for an explanation.

“Godrich Y/n, I never made you explain what I saw before I died, and I never asked you why you never told me about this godforsaken betrothal, but I need you to tell me this isn’t true! I need you to say he’s making this up, or that this is some dream you can’t wake yourself up from! Tell me he’s lying!”

Your tears fell faster as you remembered those words, your body shaking in a nearly violent manner as you curled up on your side, wishing with everything you had that he were here to hold you together.

But he wasn’t.

You were all alone, an emptiness in your heart that you had not felt in quite some time. Since before you had heard his voice in your head for the very first time, just two days after his death.

“Please come back.” You pleaded, not caring if Draco heard you from the living room as you did.

There was a strong silence within the air, before that familiar voice appeared once more, making your tears fall faster, but your heart beat slower.

He wasn’t gone forever, at least not yet.

“I don’t know what to say.”

His voice sounded hopeless, and entirely humorless in nature. You had never heard him like this before, and it further solidified for you the fact that you weren’t just hearing things after all, something you had tried to convince yourself of for months following your best friend’s death.

It as an easier thing to accept than the idea that he was there within your mind, but not outside of it, never to be seen again. Oh how you wished that you could look into his eyes just one more time.

“Please don’t hate me.”

You whispered, more tears threatening to spill over as you awaited Fred’s response, your cheeks cold with half dried sadness.

“I could never hate you.”

His voice spoke soothingly, almost as if he were hurt that you could ever think such a thing.

There was a long silence between the two of you before finally, Fred spoke up again,

“I think that is the worst part of all of this,”

You could almost feel him sigh as you waited for him to continue speaking, your breath stuck once more within your strained lungs.

“I love you, Y/n L/n,”

His words sounded tearful as he spoke, as if his disembodied voice were crying the same way that you were.

“I was just too afraid to tell you. I was so sure that you could never love me back that I...”

Fred never finished that sentence, and for the rest of the night, you lay on the cold floor of your nearly empty bedroom, choking down tears in an effort to stop them from flowing endlessly down your face and into a puddle on the wood below.

masterlist

Ko-fi

#Draco Malfoy x reader #Draco x reader #Draco Malfoy #Draco #Harry potter x reader #Draco x reader angst #Draco x Reader x Fred #Fred Weasley x reader #Fred x reader #fred weasley #Fred weasley angst #Fred weasley x reader angst

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where-dreamers-go · 5 months ago

Text

"Future Treasure Seekers" Riley Poole x Reader

(A/N: And we’re back with the third/last prequel to the Riley Poole series. This one happens after “Lunch Rescue” and before Part One “Charlotte”. Here we have what happens when Ben talks with Reader about their feelings for Riley and Ben’s theory about the treasure’s first clue.

I tagged the same people from the series, I hope that’s okay. Some have changed though..

Also: HAPPY 2,000 FOLLOWERS!!! <3

Warnings: Tiny bit of angst in beginning. Fluff. Mutual pining. Use of (Y/N) for your name. Two different point of views.

Word Count: 3,491 words)

~~~

Adult life could be anything if given the specific circumstances. The good, the bad, and the neutral.

Living next door to your best friend tended to be an enlightening addition to living in an apartment complex. It not only saved you two on phone bills, but also a quick travel distance when wanting to catch up with the other’s life.

“Better than the frozen meal you had yesterday?” You quipped from the other end of the small table.

“Yeah.” Ben admitted, “The edges were burnt.”

“I hate when that happens. Or when I randomly find a piece of corn in something.”

“That brownie?”

“It was weird. Never having that again. I’ll make my own.”

Chuckling, Ben took a sip of his drink. “At least you know what you like now.”

“True.”

“And you’ve learned a lot. Learned about yourself.”

You nodded before frowning slightly.

Where’s he going with this? You wondered suspiciously, hesitant to take another bite of dinner.

“There’s still a lot out there you haven’t experienced.”

“Why do I feel like you’re going to give me a big brother talk of life advice?” You asked, fully suspicious of your friend.

“Because I am.” Ben stated firmly. “You clearly like Riley.”

“Ben.” You set down the utensil.

“I like to see my friends happy.” He continued.

“Me too, but—”

“What are you afraid of?”

You sighed, slouching back into the chair. Time to be honest. “I don’t want to ruin anything. As it is, I’m having to learn that getting older means drifting away from friends I’ve made in school. I don’t want to push him away or make things awkward times a million. I can’t—,” you swallowed. “I don’t want to risk losing Riley because of . . . me.”

Quiet filled the space at the small dining table. You could see the twinge of sadness in Ben’s eyes.

“You’re a good friend, (Y/N). Maybe too good?” Ben inquired.

Staring down at your unfinished dinner, you grumbled somberly.

Maybe if I was brave enough, I’d do something.

. . .

Attempting to put on a light jacket while simultaneously slipping on your shoes tended to take longer in the mornings. As early as it was, you still tried. One elbow bracing by the front door, one shoe refusing to cooperate, and growing determination was how your morning began.

It only became odd with an urgent series of familiar knocks from the other side of the front door.

What the—?

Peering through the peephole, your confusion remained steady at the sight of Ben Gates.

It’s not even eight o’ clock yet, you thought as you unlocked and opened the door.

“Ben?”

“(Y/N),” he greeted brightly. “I think I figured it out.”

You opened your mouth to response, but he was just getting started.

“The Charlotte. It’s not a place and it’s certainly not just a thing. The Charlotte is a ship. A ship that was sailing through the Atlantic years ago.”

“It’s a ship?”

“Yeah. I’ve been researching to know where it was built, what it was supposedly carrying, and it’s destination.”

You shoved your foot into your shoe. “So, where’d it port?”

Ben stuck up his finger and announced, “That’s just it. The Charlotte never did.”

“Well, dang. Okay, um…”

“We just need to figure out where she landed.”

“Ben,” you said firmly. “I have to go in to work today.”

His eyes widened in realization. “Right. Of course.” Ben nodded, thoughts no doubt rushing through his mind. “I’ll call Riley. He’ll work it out on the computer and we’ll let you know everything when you’re off work.”

“Sounds like a plan.” You smiled. “Hopefully my workday goes by fast.”

Ben returned your smile and said with every ounce of determination and hope, “We’re going to find the Charlotte.”

. . .

The afternoon had been full of excited chatter and theories flying around.

Too bad I couldn’t have been here sooner, Riley thought.

Sitting at the small dining table in Ben’s apartment, Riley Poole waited for the results on his laptop. Tracking models took time, but Riley’s was up-to-date. He pushed up his glasses on his nose and waited patiently.

Much more patiently than his friend, Ben, who stood looking over his shoulder in anticipation. His gaze glued onto the tracking model as it moved North into the Arctic Circle.

Looming with crossed arms and no commentary, stood Ian by the kitchen counter.

I’m not sure if it’s comforting or alarming that he’s quiet. Maybe both, if possible.

Half a minute more and the tracking model stopped and delivered its results.

Breaths were held.

Riley blinked.

“There she is,” Ben announced in awe.

“And no one even knows its there?” Riley inquired, squinting at the screen.

“Let’s hope not.” Ian said.

“We have to go.” Ben urged. “All of us.”

“Certainly.”

“Okay, but how are we going to afford proper equipment? For the arctic?” Riley asked.

“I’ll take care of the costs,” Ian announced confidently and shared a smile with Ben. Although each smile was vastly different, one seemingly smug and the other grateful.

“Thank you.” Ben said genuinely.

How much money does he have? The ticket prices alone could be questionable. Then again, I don’t know how much equipment we’ll need. Or if we can get it there. Riley sat back in the chair.

“Okay.” Ben exhaled. Taking quick steps over to a less cluttered part of the table, Ben picked up his cell phone and started dialing.

“Who are you calling?” Ian raised an eyebrow as he took a closer look at Riley’s computer.

“(Y/N).” Ben revealed simply.

“Ben, (Y/N)’s at work.” Riley reminded his excited friend. “The exhibition is still new.”

“I know,” he waved off his friend gently. “It’s close enough.”

(Y/N)’s going to flip when they find out we tracked down a ship, Riley thought with a growing smile. Or run around.

Phone at his ear, Ben waited for a response while moving about the space.

Glancing at his laptop again, Riley checked the time.

They don’t work late today, do they?

“(Y/N).” Ben’s voice filled the apartment with his enthusiasm. Yet that did not stop the man’s feet as he crossed from one side the room to the next. “It’s about Charlotte.”

Riley smirked, fully knowing that there was no way you wouldn’t know what the phone call was all about.

“Okay. I won’t.”

Riley spoke loudly towards Ben, “How fast can you come home? Ben is pacing.”

Ben stopped abruptly and gave Riley a complex expression that made him suddenly self-conscious of his question.

Was that weird to ask? Riley wondered as he awaited your reply.

“They’ll be back soon,” Ben confirmed with a grin that soon dropped, “and . . . I wasn’t pacing the whole floor. No.”

Riley chuckled just as Ian covered his mouth to suppress a laugh.

Treasure, he thought. It could be anything.

Riley looked over to his laptop screen feeling more free and like himself than he ever had. For, he had helped and contributed.

Ben’s theory has to be right.

. . .

Everything’s going to be all right. You got this.

Being rushed usually involved tardiness and unwanted appointments. Strict deadlines as well.

Shouldering open your apartment door, you had a building excitement. One you knew would likely be tiny in comparison to your best friend’s next door.

After practically throwing your things onto the coffee table, you pocketed your keys and cell phone before heading right back out into the hall.

Stepping up to Ben’s door with a raised hand, it opened before you could knock.

“We know where the Charlotte could be,” Ben announced holding the door wide open.

You hadn’t seen him that happy before, practically about to giggle in glee. If Ben was one to giggle that was.

“Hi to you too.” You chuckled as you walked inside.

Ben’s apartment had a buzz of activity even with only two other people present. Ian stood off to the side, seemingly waiting, and Riley sat on the couch with a bright smile.

“Hi, Ian,” you greeted. “Has Ben filled your ears with enough history today?”

“Almost,” the man smirked. His expression could be read as both amused and confident with everything that had transpired that day.

“We’re one step closer.” Ben said after he closed the door and walked towards Ian. “I just know it.”

“Who would be silly enough to doubt you.” You added. “Certainly not me.” You made your way towards the small dining table where Riley sat with his laptop.

“Not me,” Riley raised his hand.

“And I’m guessing you helped?”

“With the computer. Yeah.”

“Yeah. Big deal,” you said and went in for a hug that Riley almost stood up for. “That’s awesome.”

“Not as big as when we actually find treasure.” Riley stated with a smile as you pulled out of the hug and sat in a chair beside him. “It could be worth millions.”

“If it’s a ship, it could have historical artifacts. Not just including the ship itself.” You said with a grin. “And you managed to find it on the computer?”

“I have a tracking model,” Riley gestured to his laptop.

“Oh dang.”

“We’ll be going to the Arctic Circle.” Ben revealed to you. “An area without much activity.”

“Or any at all,” Riley murmured.

“With who knows how many layers of snow and ice,” you added.

“Which is why we need a team.” Ian announced.

Right, you thought and mentally figured the four of you were not enough.

“I have people in mind.”

That’s convenient, you thought as you looked between the confident Ian and the ever-grinning Ben. And makes this a lot easier. Hopefully.

“But…uh. This is happening soon?” You asked, unsure of the chances of your participation. “Or do we not know yet?”

Ben turned to you with a firm point of a finger. “You’re coming too.”

“I have work. The exhibit has barely been up for over a week. Wouldn’t it be weird if I just took off?”

“You’re great at what you do. They have to let you have time off. The exhibit is perfect. They can handle a few days without you. Hopefully.” Riley added, “They can email someone else.”

Overwhelmed with his compliments, you bumped his knee with yours.

“Thank you.”

Turning at the sound of Ben’s chuckle, you caught Ian rolling his eyes. It only made you overtly aware of your knee still touching Riley’s.

You tore your gaze away from everyone and grumbled in thought, If I’m going to do this… I’m going to have to juggle some things around or something. Without letting people know specifics.

“But, you can make it work?” Ben asked, fully attentive.

Feeling yourself internally caving to the idea of discovering history, you said, “If anything, I haven’t called out sick in months. I could use sick days. I’ll talk with them tomorrow or…when we know for sure when we’re going.”

“Excellent,” Ian said with a determined nod. “I’ll make some calls.”

. . .

Things were moving fast. Tickets were bought and plans were made. Phone calls were more common and expected between friends.

Check list in hand, you sat on your bed thoughtfully. Curtains closed to conceal the city lights of the city. Luggage sitting on the floor as other items were strategically scattered in your room.

Less than a week stood between you and the possibility of discovering treasure. That left you with much to settle and organize.

Thank goodness you weren’t doing it alone.

“You have a good hat, right? To keep you warm?” You asked into the phone.

“Yeah. Found it in the pocket of my coat.” Riley replied.

“Good place to find it.”

“Speaking of finding things. You have extra batteries, right? Extra film?”

“I have some somewhere,” you muttered, hopping off the bed to venture out of your bedroom and into a makeshift office. Shuffling through a set of drawers took a few moments. “Yup. There’s the right kind too.”

“Nice. Are those from your storm prep stash?”

“Yeah. I’ll get more when we come back.”

“From the Arctic Circle.”

You walked back into your bedroom and placed the pack of batteries by your camera bag.

“So much for traveling extra light. Snow…lots of layers and just-in-case items.”

“Like a bag for all of my chargers.”

“Extra long socks and snacks.”

“Mittens and gloves.”

“And we’ll be wearing most of it. I don’t know what we’ll be carrying.”

“Whatever Ian supplies, I guess,” Riley muttered. “He acted as if getting everything was easy.”

“For him it might.”

“How much money does he have?”

“Don’t know. Don’t think we’ll ever find out.” You stated while marking over a checkmark on your list again. “Equipment alone is a lot.”

“In the thousands, probably. Ben said something about us not having to worry about walking. What’s with that? Did Ian hire dog sled teams too?”

“I have no idea, but Ben’s happy.”

“I’m happy.”

“I know.” You smiled and set your list aside. “And it’s really cool that you found it with the tracking model.”

“Well, uh, if it’s right then we’ll all be shoving snow to get to whatever’s in the ship.”

“It’ll be a lot of work.”

“Hopefully not too much.” Riley added, “We’re looking for treasure not doing hard labor. Then we can spend it however we want.”

However we want, you mused over his words. You had no idea what you would buy first if rewarded with money for your treasure seeking efforts.

“Speaking of spending. Do you think Ian will treat everyone to food?” You asked, glancing at your secret savings in an old notebook.

“Uh. Let’s not push our luck. No matter how nice that’d be.”

“I’ll bring snacks then.”

. . .

Late afternoon light filled corners of your apartment. Time was ticking down to when you would all leave to search for the Charlotte. An air of change circled through the air.

Even your day at work had felt different. The feeling continued inside your apartment where Riley had left his bags in your spare room.

Definitely different, you thought as you made sure you had your basic essentials. Keys, check. Phone and IDs, got them.

“Why do you have to go back?” Riley asked, standing behind your couch.

You tilted your head.

“I mean—you just got off work.” He clarified quickly.

“I just need to give them a few things from my office. I would have done that earlier, but I didn’t know they needed that too. Museum stuff…no big deal, but I’ll be back in no time.” You twisted your keyring between your fingers. “Make yourself at home. The money for the pizza is on the counter if they beat me here.”

Riley nodded. Blue eyes following your movements to the front door.

And it’ll give me time to wrap my mind around Riley staying in my apartment tonight.

. . .

Looking over his electronics, all were either plugged in to charge or packed away. Riley was thankful that the outlet by the spare bed was visible and connected to a surge protector.

They really know how to use their space, Riley thought as he looked about the spare room. An office, bedroom, and probably storage area. He eyed the closet beside a desk. Not wanting to intrude in your space, Riley kept his distance. Yet he could clearly see the setup around the desk with a calendar stuck to the wall with important dates marked in various colors. This is definitely theirs.

Out of the many times Riley had visited your apartment, he had never been inside alone. Being surrounded by everything that had your specific touch to it was intriguing. Then again, Riley had never been hours away from starting a search for treasure and he certainly had never been in the spare room knowing full well that was where he would sleep for the night.

Sleeping over. Riley thought as he wiped his palms over his jeans and exhaled slowly. It’s just Ben’s place has no room. And he’ll probably be on the phone with Ian every other hour. It’s fine. It’s just us then we leave in the morning. Riley swallowed. And I’ve never had breakfast here either. It’s fine.

Quiet hadn’t fully settled in your apartment. The television was set to an animal documentary. Riley hadn’t thought of changing it even as he sat down to watch.

He had to keep his mind busy, for the moment, away from the treasure and you. Waiting was all he really could do and not just because you called an order for pizza.

Blinking, Riley refocused on the show.

“ . . . now grown, he will do his best to attract a mate.”

Riley threw his head back into the couch cushion and uttered, “You and me both, buddy.”

Ben better not give me that talk again after this, he thought as he bounced his leg anxiously. Who am I kidding? He probably has one prepared.

A knock on the door startled Riley off of the couch.

The pizza had arrived.

. . .

A jingle of keys and a shove, you walked back into your apartment. The smell of pizza clinging to the air.

“Hey,” Riley stood from the couch, “did you get everything done?”

“Uh. Yeah. Everything’s good.” You answered and closed the door. Words left you oddly from feeling a little warm at the sight of Riley in your home and comfortable. You could get used to that image. “So…where are you hiding the pizza? I can smell it.”

“Oven. Keeping all the heat from escaping.” He headed straight for the small kitchen area.

“Thank you.” Setting your keys and such down on the kitchen counter, you watched Riley retrieve the pizza box.

“You’re thanking me?” Riley lifted the cardboard lid. “I’d be bunking with a sleep-deprived Ben if it weren’t for you.”

“Who says I’m not sleep-deprived?”

“I can tell.”

Smiling to yourself, you grabbed two plates from an overhead cabinet.

“For one,” Riley continued, “you’re talking coherently.”

“We’re about to eat pizza. So I don’t know how long that’ll last.”

With a quick smile, Riley distributed a couple of slices for the both of you and headed to the small dining table nearby. “But seriously, thank you.”

“It’s not a problem. You’re always welcome here.” You said and quickly added, “Treasure or no treasure.”

“Hopefully we find something.” Riley said after a bite of pizza.

You nodded, thoughtful.

“Even a small fortune.”

Laughing in agreement, you stated, “It’d be a great addition to my vacation.”

Blue eyes peered up. “You used your vacation days?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s great! The exhibition will be up for a few months anyway.” Riley exclaimed. “Maybe we’ll find something you could add to a new exhibition.”

“That would be really cool and a bonus considering I don’t exactly have a substitute for my position, but it’ll be fine.”

Both agreeing, you returned to eating. Thankfully the pizza hadn’t gone to room temperature while you were on route back.

The general silence was comforting. Perhaps it was the busy day or the adventure planned ahead of you, but you liked sitting down with Riley without needing to fill in the space with words.

Don’t go off on imagination overdrive while he’s here. Just eat your pizza. You thought to yourself, glad Ben wasn’t there to add commentary for just once. At least Riley’s comfortable here. I just gotta go over my list again after cleaning up. Set out a pair of socks for the flight.

“Hey.” Riley’s voice interrupted your thoughts.

You glanced up.

“You have everything packed except your phone. You haven’t forgotten anything.”

You sat up straighter. “Did I say something out loud?”

“No.” A smile curved his lips. “You had that overthinking look.”

. . .

Nighttime was a particular thing. It gave freedom to how one used their time away from work and offered a more suitable atmosphere for sleep.

Walking out of the bathroom and ready for sleep, you found Riley asleep on the couch. The television was still on and hushed forest sounds emitted from it.

I guess he didn’t head to bed after all. You mused, or I took that long in the bathroom.

Quietly, you knelt down by the couch. “Riley?” You touched his shoulder gently.

“Hmm?” Drowsy eyes glanced your way.

“Time for bed.”

Nodding and closing his eyes again, Riley pushed himself up. Then, with shuffling feet, he headed away from you and the couch.

You watched on.

“Left, Riley,” you instructed as he had been walking towards your room. You covered your own chuckle while Riley redirected himself to the spare room. “Sweet dreams.”

And don’t think too much about where he was heading, you thought to yourself and knowing full well that would be an extremely difficult task to follow through. Riley being adorable and finding treasure among friends, this could be fun. I might be too excited to sleep. Anything can happen.

~~~

(If you love my writings and want to support me, I have a Ko-Fi where you can buy me a coffee. I would be eternally grateful.

Best wishes and happy reading.)

~~~~~

DreamerDragon Tags: @cubedtriangle

Riley Poole Tags: @darkenwolfy @wesleeporstudy @yearning-warmth @thecaptaingingersnap @nervousfandom

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#riley poole #riley poole x reader #riley poole x reader series #national treasure fanfiction #where dreamers go #riley poole fanfiction #riley poole fluff #riley poole imagines #2000 followers celebration

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veeluvss · 2 years ago

Text

dirty secrets.

a jemily x tara oneshot

18+

first time writing this. very scared.

The team had been called out to Delaware, they’d been there two days and still had no advancements in the case. They were starting to lose hope - completely. It wasn’t typical for the entire team to be stumped and now with Emily as section chief, she felt the added pressure.

On top of the pressure of being section chief, she also had those blue eyes watching her every move. She could feel the tension in her pants. The gaze, the naughty gaze, she recognised and knew far too well. She couldn’t control it anymore, not with her standing there in her button-up - her arms crossed under her chest. She’d never been able to control herself and for the last three years, she fucked JJ whenever she felt like it. JJ had no arguments, she made her feel incredible, better than any man would ever make her feel. It was their dirty secret, their shared glances and secret touches that kept it going. Now, she couldn’t hold it back any longer. She looked at JJ and then scanned the room.

Emily cleared her throat: ‘Jareau,’ she said with authority. JJ looked up, pretending to be in trouble and Prentiss nodded towards the bathrooms. Emily led the way and the team stared in confusion, Luke was going to speak up but Tara’s hand on his arm stopped him. The team turned back to the case, hoping that JJ wasn’t in too much trouble.

Emily couldn’t keep her hands off JJ and as soon as they were out of sight, she threw her against the wall of the bathroom, hand around her neck.

“You are such a fucking tease,” Emily hissed in her ear as JJ whimpered at the sudden contact. Yet the blonde couldn’t help but smirk.

“I wasn’t even doing anything,” she mumbled, between passionate kisses.

“You were looking at me,” Emily confirmed, travelling her lips down JJ’s mouth and jawbone. Her hands were on her waist, grabbing JJ and pulling her closer to her. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence but it never happened in the bathroom before - especially in another district's precinct.

“Em-” JJ whimpered at the lack of touch, she felt the throbbing in her pants that were suddenly too tight. Will could never make her feel like this, ever.

“You don’t beg, baby,” Emily warned, moving down her body, and unbuttoning her shirt with ease. She landed kisses on her body, worshipping every inch of it: her boobs, her abs, her stomach and stopped where her pants started. The one thing Emily hated about their secret sex was that she couldn’t mark JJ as hers, there was to be no evidence left on JJ’s body and Emily despised it - she hated looking at her girl knowing no one knew. Yet, she wouldn’t give JJ up for the world.

Prentiss looped her fingers in JJ’s pants before softly tugging them.

“Here?” JJ whimpered, her legs weak at the kisses and the soft touches.

“Shhh, angel. I’ll use you wherever I want,” Emily told her, standing up briefly and kissing her hard on the lips - forcing JJ to not speak any longer. JJ was liquid under Emily’s soft fingers. She knew it was wrong but that only fueled her harder. She loved Emily, she always has and always will. And she adored it when Emily used her with such confidence.

“Have you kept clean for me baby?” Emily asked gently, tugging her pants down to her ankles.

“Always,” JJ whispered, feeling overcome with all sorts of sensations as she felt Emily’s breath through her underwear. Emily laughed, planting a gentle kiss on the outside of her underwear.

“You’re such a good girl, getting all wet for me.”

Prentiss trailed her hands along JJ’s shaking thighs. Scattering love bites across her skin, pleasuring her, teasing her.

“Emily please,” JJ cried out as she teased her clit through her underwear.

“You know the rules, baby girl,” Emily replied, moving her hands away. JJ whimpered again, her eyes filling with tears quickly. She didn’t want to be punished - not now! Not here!

“I’m sorry,” she cried, letting one tear fall from her eyes - she was desperate for Emily and every time they did this, she found herself crying. Emily smiled, gently cupped JJ’s cheeks and kissed her lips tenderly.

“Will you let me take my time? Let me treat you and worship you the way I know you deserve?” she asked, planting more soft kisses on JJ’s lips. JJ nodded.

“I will, I’ll stop begging,” she whispered.

“That’s my good girl,” Emily praised, kissing JJ’s forehead before sliding her hand down the front of her underwear and slipping her fingers between the girl's wet folds. JJ let out a loud moan, lifting her hips, trying to gain more friction and Emily began kissing her neck, fiercely.

Emily quickened her pace, closing the gap between their bodies just as the door swung open. JJ gasped and Emily pushed her to the cubicle, quickly shutting the door behind them.

“Hey, Prentiss?” Tara asked the room, seeing if she was in there. Emily silently cursed, putting her head on JJ’s shoulder and JJ whimpered, silently pleading she isn’t noticed but Tara was far from stupid and they instantly heard the familiar chuckle.

“Open up guys, I want a turn,” Tara chuckled, knocking on the cubicle door. JJ’s eyes went wide and then she noticed her pants, curled at the bottom of the door, peeking from under it. “Come on gays, let’s not gatekeep pretty women!” Tara whined, pushing the door. Emily laughed then and kissed JJ’s cheek. She pulled her back, from the door, hiding her behind it as she opened it for Tara.

Tara stood there, fully clothed with lust in her eyes. Tara had known about their dirty little secret ever since it started. It had been three years and she still hadn’t joined in. However, she never let on that she knew but she knew, it was obvious. Again, Tara was not stupid.

“You want to join?” Emily asked and JJ gasped from behind the door. Tara smirked and nodded.

“Never wanted anything more,” she whispered, uncuffing her sleeves.

“Let me ask the princess,” Emily smiled, holding up one finger. “Please hold.” Tara smiled and put her hands up and Emily quickly turned to JJ whose eyes were still wide, now with her mouth open.

“What are you doing?” JJ asked, quietly shouting at Emily.

“Baby, I’m giving you more fun,” she teased, running her eyes up and down JJ’s body.

“B- but Will-” JJ practically cried. Emily’s eyes darkened.

“If you still think about him when we’re doing this JJ-” Emily sighed.

“No- no not like that,” JJ interjected, putting her hands on Emily’s arms. “It’s just more secrets from him.”

“Your respect for him went right out of the window the first time we did this JJ and it is long, long gone,” Emily stated matter of factly. JJ just dropped her head. “So we can either allow Tara to join, I’d like some new fun or you can get dressed and leave us two alone,” she said sternly. JJ stood there, still for a minute. She was thinking about Will - she couldn’t help it. They were married! Hell, they had kids! But Emily made her feel so much better and Tara too, she shivered at the simple thought of Tara touching her body. JJ looked at Emily through her eyelashes to be greeted with a stern glare. She might actually be in trouble now, she gulped.

“She can come in,” she nodded. She wanted Tara and Emily was right, the respect for Will was long gone.

Tara shut the door behind her and locked it before turning to the blonde baby in front of her.

“Well aren’t you just a talllll drink of water,” she smirked, licking her lips. JJ blushed.

“We were just getting to the fun bit,” Emily muttered, dropping to her knees in front of JJ. She pulled on her underwear, smirking as JJ’s legs shook around her. “I think she may need some assistance to stay upright,” Emily teased. Tara nodded authoritatively and got herself into position, putting her cold hands on JJ’s exposed waist. She waited as JJ whimpered under the cold touch and goosebumps arose on her skin.

“Do as you please,” Emily granted permission to Tara. “But no marking, no evidence.” Tara nodded, understanding and leaned into JJ’s soft lips. Instantly, JJ grew even wetter and Emily watched it happen before softly sliding one finger inside her girl. JJ moaned through Tara’s kiss. Emily slid another finger inside JJ, feeling how loose she was and began to pump rhythmically.

“Good girl,” Emily praised, as usual, and Tara moved her kisses down JJ’s neck, leaving the girl free to be as loud as she needed to be. Her legs shook violently at the lead-up and she was desperately waiting for the stimulation. Then Emily’s hand reached up, grabbing Tara’s hand which was groping JJ’s boobs. She put Tara’s hand on JJ’s clit, knowing exactly where it was from their many secret adventures. Tara smirked, beginning a slow circular motion and JJ let out a loud moan, throwing back her head. Emily and Tara shared a sneaky look and they both increased their pace. JJ grabbed Emily’s hair, pulling it. She slid her fingers through her hair, pushing her head closer to her and Emily quickly replaced her fingers with her mouth, pleasuring her girl with her tongue. Tara played with her clit, massaging it and kissing JJ passionately. JJ was a groaning, moaning mess under the hands of both women and she never knew how she got so lucky.

“Fuck, I- I’m gonn-”

“Not yet baby,” Emily warned, taking her mouth away for the split second.

“Emily,” she cried, begging her. Emily didn’t mind at this point.

“Hold it, baby girl, wait until I tell you,” Emily said again. JJ screamed out in annoyance as Tara changed her pace, rubbing her clit with more fierceness.

“You can do it, good girl,” Tara pleased JJ, moving from her lips to her neck, kissing her ear and her neck.

“Emi-” JJ cried as she came all over Emily’s face. Gasping, Emily licked it up, cleaning her girl as she rode out her orgasm, collapsing against Tara. She panted and shook, whimpering and letting tears fall from her eyes. Tara rubbed her back, running her finger through JJ’s hair.

“Baby,” Emily said sternly, standing up once JJ was cleaner.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She was usually so good, she could usually hold it so much longer. Her head shot up from Tara’s shoulder and she gave Emily a pleading look. Emily turned away, grabbing some toilet paper, she gave it to Tara softly, silently instructing her to clean JJ up properly. JJ whimpered as Emily left the cubicle, going over to the sink.

“It’s okay,” Tara whispered, wiping some of JJ’s tears.

“She’s mad,” JJ whined back, secretly annoyed at herself.

“Baby, that only means it will be even better later,” Tara chuckled.

“B-bu” JJ began to whine but Tara cut her off, shaking her head and putting a hand on her lip.

“I promise, she’ll make it up to you.” JJ couldn’t help but smile. Maybe Tara was right, when Emily was mad, it only made for angry sex - she used JJ like a toy then, grabbing her, dragging her around the room like a doll. JJ loved that, being completely controlled.

“Will you be there too?” JJ asked softly as Tara began wiping her legs gently.

“If you want me to be princess,” Tara smiled and JJ nodded enthusiastically.

Emily had already left the bathroom when JJ and Tara emerged from the bathroom. After dressing herself back up, all properly and making her face look like she’d been crying - they needed some sort of excuse to be in the bathroom for so long after all. She and Tara left the bathroom.

In the office with the rest of the team, Reid was announcing his new findings whilst they’d been gone. Apparently, they’d made a break in the case. Perfect timing to return.

“Call SWAT and get them to meet us there,” Emily said, standing up and grabbing her phone. She glanced at Tara and JJ with a fierce glare: “You two are with me.”

#emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #tara lewis #jemily #temily #criminal minds #criminal minds evolution #fanfic #criminal minds fanfiction

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jupiterwrites99 · 2 years ago

Text

You're On Your Own, Kid

Chapter 3

Waking up alone in the quiet room wasn’t exactly what the young girl had expected. Sage thought that they would have a guard dog on her at all times after she had tried to escape. She sat up, noticing the chair Paul had been sitting in was still in place beside her bed, but he was no longer there. A full glass of water, however, was next to it on the side table.

The wolf cooed at the gesture.

Sage made her way into the living room to find Paul's sleeping figure on the rustic couch. He looked so peaceful. No angry lines, or locked jaw. He looked much younger asleep, though she had a tough time deciphering his age.

Clenching her fingers at her side, her inner turmoil worsened. As much as she wanted to leave, to be on her own again where it was safer, she can’t leave him. Not with the way her wolf was whining so loudly. If it trusts him, then she should too. They’ve never been on the same page on the topic of trust, now's a good time to start considering her wolf hasn't let her down yet.

Listening to the soft sounds of his breathing, Sage sits on the floor next to the couch. She had decided that sleep wasn’t needed, she had practically slept all day anyways. But there was no way she was going back into that room where she could easily be locked away at Sam or Sues account. She didn’t trust them. She couldn’t.

It's better than the bed, she decided as she laid down. She pulled her knees to her chest, curling up into a ball.

Another thing she had to learn quite quickly, don’t let your weak spots be exposed when relaxing. One claw to the stomach and she’d be a goner. That, she knew from experience.

She purposefully listened to the sound of Paul's heartbeat, the steady rhythm providing more comfort than she could understand. She enjoyed knowing he could relax and sleep peacefully, even if it meant being on a couch that was two sizes too small for him.

Though, the wolf made it clear why it wanted to stay, humming one word she never thought she would hear again.

Mate.

Blinking her eyes open, the morning sun stunned her eyes.

Sun? Here? In La Push?

She stretched her limbs only to be tangled up in a blanket. She noticed she was now on the couch and Paul was nowhere to be found.

Great. He left me alone, she thought.

Sage could hear Paul and Emily bickering on the other side of the wall, though she was confused at the context of their conversation. She tiptoed around, if she’s quiet enough she can sneak out the door without either of them hearing. Or so she hoped.

“Don’t be an insensitive klutz, is all I’m saying. That's the last thing she needs right now.” Emily mused, it didn’t sound like an insult. Whatever an insensitive klutz is. It sounded like a mother reprimanding her son.

Emilys so young though, there's no way she’s his mother.

Sister, maybe?

She could hear as Paul scoffed in annoyance, “I’m not.”

Emily was quick to put him in his place again, “Paul, you know you’re intimidating, you revel in it most days.”

“Not with her,” He stressed out.

Who is he talking about?

Sage tripped over her feet and put her hand on the wall to stop herself from falling. A small thud sounded on the impact she had made.

Fuck.

I can still make it, she thought.

She moved quickly in the direction of the open door. Do they always leave it open?

A large figure rounded the corner, causing her to stop in her tracks. Looking up at Paul, his hair dishevelled and tired eyes. She let her eyes continue to travel down, still no shirt and sweatpants that hung low on his well defined hips. Very low.

Was she purring or was that the wolf?

Looking at her amused, Paul purposefully blocked her exit before he asked, “Hungry?”

Sage shook her head no.

He sighed, running his fingers through his black, cropped hair, “You barely ate yesterday, come eat something.”

Growling, she dug her heels into the ground like a little kid. All she wanted was to go outside and breathe some fresh air, away from these people who refused to let her leave. She could tell from the open windows that the sun was shining, a rarity in Washington. She didn’t want to be stuck indoors.

Taking a deep breath to clearly hide his annoyance, he muttered, “Sage,”

“Air,” She croaked out. Not knowing what else to say, she had never been much of a talker. Talking always got her in trouble. His intense stare made her nervous.

“Air?” He looked confused. What was so confusing about needing air? Everyone needs it.

“Fresh air, Paul.” Emily chimed in.

“No.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest, “Not after what you pulled yesterday.”

Sage frowned at his response. He’s gonna lock her back in that tiny, suffocating room.

Panic mode, activated.

Sage whipped her head around the room, looking for an alternative exit. Her breaths began to become shallow as she realised he truly was blocking her only real exit.

Try hurling yourself through the window, the wolf taunted.

“Calm down,” Paul said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder which she immediately jerked back from.

Now he’s frowning, “Fine. But just know, I am faster and stronger than you if you try to run.”

Wasn’t planning on it, buddy.

She sighed in relief as soon as the sun hit her skin, a smile gracing her face at the warm feeling. She hadn’t felt the sun on her bare skin in years. In wolf form, she liked the sun in small doses, overheating was easy and when you can’t find a consistent water source, it was deadly.

Sage was aware of the older man watching her every move, with each step his eyes followed.

She crouched to the ground to touch a small flower that had grown in the grass, or maybe it was a weed. Plucking it with her fingers, she used the pad of her index finger to feel its texture. Everything felt so foreign.

She wished she had pockets to stuff the tiny wildflower in.

Pauls got pockets, maybe he’ll -- Her thought was cut off as Emily began speaking to him in hushed tones. She turned to look at them and realised he was no longer watching her.

She watched them interact curiously as Emily handed him a piece of paper before scruffing his hair and heading back inside. Definitely his sister.

“Emily suggested I take you grocery shopping.” He said to her, his eyes flicking down to the small flower in her hand before looking at the paper in his, muttering, “If you’re up for it.’

She walked towards him as she made a sound on content. Though she really just wanted to scope the town. Which roads lead where so when she did decide to leave, it wouldn’t be that hard.

Paul's eyes travelled down her body, making her squirm before he brought his eyes back up to hers, “You’ll need some pants.”

----

“What about these?” Paul asked, shaking a box of sugary cereal. They had been doing this for nearly ten minutes. He would point out a food item, ask if she wanted it and when she said no, he would bite back a groan while putting it back.

Sage shakes her head,

“Okay” He stopped abruptly, leaning against the card that was still empty even though they had been down nearly every aisle, “What did you eat before you phased?”

“I don’t know.” She mumbled, looking away from his hard gaze.

“Come on, kid, give me something to work with.” Paul muttered.

Sage scowled at him, “I’m not a kid. I ate whatever I was given, I didn't have a choice.”

His eyes scanned her face as if he was thinking before looking down at the list in his hands, “I don’t know if you’ll like any of this, Sage.”

“I can find my own food.” Sage brooded, “I always have.”

“Always?” He asked shocked.

“Well, yeah.” She started “We’re wol--”

Paul's eyes widened as he realized what she was about to say. He quickly reached over and covered her mouth with the palm of his hand to cut her off. Sage glared at him before roughly pushing him away from her.

“What is your problem?!” She asked, annoyed by his actions.

“What is my problem? We’re in public, Sage. Keep your mouth shut.” He snapped back at her.

The younger girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, “You’re a fucking jerk.”

“Yeah, I’m a jerk,” Paul jeered, shaking his head with a laugh of disbelief, “Nothing new there, princess.”

“Fuck you,” Sage sneered before turning on her heel and walking out of the aisle. She could hear the string of curse words that left his mouth as she rounded out of the aisle, beeling it for the exit of the small grocery store. She ignored her wolf's voice in her head, pleading with her to turn around and go back to him but she had promised herself five years ago to never be somebody's doormat. She was stronger than that.

Stepping outside into the fresh air, she only made it a few steps before a warm hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her. Sage turned to see Paul. She couldn't read his expression, angry lines framed his already dark features but she could tell it wasn't just anger, there was something more.

“I think I liked you better yesterday.” He started.

Sage scoffed, “The feeling is mutual.”

The older wolf's jaw shifted at her response and she smirked, she liked that he was on edge around her. He was so much bigger and intimidating than she was but she was the one in control of her emotions making her less predictable.

“I'm sorry, Sage.” He apologized, though she could tell that it left a bitter taste in his mouth to be the one conceding, “Can we please finish grocery shopping before Emily wrings my neck?”

“Only if you stop calling me stupid names. I’m not a kid, and I’m not a princess.” She spoke harshly. She was a runt, she knew that. She had been told it for years by her own father. Sage wasn’t going to let her own mate treat her like one, not after how hard she fought to survive out on her own.

He nodded in response, “Won’t happen again.”

The two wolves walked silently next to each other as they re-entered the grocery store. Paul asked for a second time what she liked to eat, and to stop him from questioning her again, she picked the first thing she saw off the shelf and tossed it into the shopping cart. A bag of marshmallows.

Satisfied that Sage had picked out something that wasn’t on the list Emily had given him, he dragged her back down the aisles to fulfil the list. Grabbing heaps of vegetables and fruits, before stopping in the meat section. Though she didn’t understand why. They were a house full of wolves who could easily go out and catch a deer and she told him exactly that, “Why are we buying meat? We can just catch it.”

“That's true, but we don’t know how to skin it or whatever butchers do.” He said placing the different meats from Emily's list in the cart.

“So?” She squinted her eyes, looking at the weird meat.

“Humans can’t digest raw meat.” He told her softly. The softest he’s spoken to her since finding her in the woods. She liked this side of him.

Right. Forgot about that.

Paul crossed off that last of the items before ushering her in the direction of the cashiers. As they waited, the sounds and smells around her began to become overwhelming. One smell in particular nearly made her snap the handle on the cart from how tightly she was holding it.

She knew that smell.

“We should leave.” Sage spoke quickly and quietly to Paul.

“Hm?” He mumbled, looking down at her, His face turned from confusion to concern quickly at the now antsy girl beside him.

“I need to go.” She rushed out.

He grabbed her hand as she let go of the cart, telling Sage in a hushed tone, “You're okay.”

She calmed at the touch but shook her head, turning her body into his so that all she can sense is his cologne and scent. Breathing deeply as he rubs soothing circles on her back. She was so comfortable in his arms it made her nervous, though she had bigger issues to avoid at the moment.

To the average person in the grocery store, they looked like your typical young couple. Unaware of the fact that the trembles running through her weren’t from the frigid air, but the cusp of a panic induced shift. Sage wasn’t sure what scared her more, the familiar scent that she loathed to catch a hint of again or the fact that she might get stuck on four legs again if the cashier didn’t hurry up.

Sage admired Paul for keeping his composure as he paid for the groceries before whisking her away and out of the store underneath his arm, tucked into his side. She can’t help but feel guilty for making such a mundane thing so difficult for him.

They crossed the parking lot together and as he opened the trunk of his SUV, he glanced at her, their eyes meeting for a split second before she turned away. Shame and embarrassment written all over her.

Paul placed his hands on her shoulders and she instantly relaxed into him, as he whispered, “Breathe.”

Sage grimaced. It’s not like she's not trying. She focused on the warmth emitting from his palms and onto her shoulders. Warm and cosy like a blanket. She acts before she thinks, wrapping her arms around Paul's torso. A sigh escapes her lips as her entire body is enveloped in his warmth. Breathing feels easier as all the panic subsides.

“You’re okay,” He reminds her, bringing a hand up to her hair and holding her against him.

“Can we go?” Sage pleaded quietly.

The drive back to Sams was quiet. Sage was acutely aware of his hand on her hand that she had resting on her thigh as he drove back to Emilys. Sage fought the urge to slot hers completely into his much larger hand. She can’t help but wonder how he knows exactly how to comfort her. She barely knows what comforts her. Sunsets were her only true comfort for the last five years. It meant the hunters were leaving, very rarely did she come across any during the night. She could sleep through the night without the lingering anxiety of human threats.

“Hot chocolate.” Sage said out loud, almost as if she had a revelation. And maybe she did. Her grandma would always make her hot chocolate, for any occasion, happy or sad. It was a comfort.

“Hm?” Paul hummed, glancing at her before looking back to the road.

She smiled softly to herself, looking out the passenger window as they passed a bunch of little shops,“I liked hot chocolate before.”

He squeezes her hand gently, “Sue’s got a great recipe. We can make some tonight.”

A blush formed over her cheeks at the gesture, before she gingerly said, “I want to go to the beach.”

A smile formed on his face, softening all his hard features, “Yeah, whatever you want, Sage.”

#paul lahote smut #paul lahote fanfic #paul lahote x oc #twilight wolf pack #paul lahote #paul lahote imagine

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radiocrypt-id · 2 years ago

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I wonder if Elody considers our Gerard to be her husband. Think about it, she saw his body. She found him in a pile of corpses, destroyed animated objects, next to a dead fairy with a giant shard of glass embedded in his chest, more frog than man. But I'm wondering how she found him. Happenstance? traveling between fights? was she truly so close by and Gerard had no idea? No one had mentioned a lady in golden armour with a mace and a lily pad on her tower shield. It's convenient that she stumbled upon him, isn't it?

What if, when Cinderella found her, Elody didn't want to leave. She's a protective woman, sacrificed everything to save her people the best she could, Elody doesn't run away. And she would view it as running away, I have no doubts on that. A princess strides up to you in glass armour and tells you that your life is a lie, love is fake and the world is unkind by design; But she and her friends have a plan, they understand the world better, they've done many things many times over in copies of this world for longer than can be grasped. Elody would not have taken that at face value, Elody wasn't dead like Rosamund was. She was alive and fighting and angry, Elody wouldn't have just stopped. She had a stupid husband to find and yell at some day, if he's alive in whatever hole he's hiding in. She has a kingdom to save, monsters to slay, a world to set to rights, she can't just leave!

But Cinderella knows Gerard and his party is dead. She knows where they were, she was moments away from meeting Rosamund alive in that first world, she knows where they died. So imagine a frustrated, desperate Cinderella offered slim options. She could force Elody along, sure, but that would make a fast enemy. She could give the usual spiel about princes' being useless and cruel parts of the story, they don't love you or grow, they don't save you, they trap you; but Elody wasn't saved, she saved someone, so that fight is not familiar to Cinderella. or, she could prove Elodys world view wrong. What if Gerard wasn't hiding in a hole somewhere? What if even he was fighting? What if this world took him? What if Cinderella told Elody she knew where her husband was, that if she really wanted to save him, they could bring him along. Just don't regret it later, because this stuff is hard to do. Elody goes along with it, she's always wondered what happened to him, she's always hoped he was safe. And then she sees him, her silly frog, dead from trying to fight odds designed to destroy him. A destroyed person is so much easier to manipulate and move. A broken woman, feeling every bit a failure and guilty for a death of a loved one she couldn't prevent, whose last words shared were in anger and exasperation, who went out to find her, against all odds, instead of staying in his pond.

Imagine Cinderella telling her that Gerard died here, but he's twice upon a time now, he's in the next world still hoping to find her somehow. HER, not the Elody of the next world, but her specifically. Why, of course she'd go. Of course she'd rush to the next world, damned be the danger and confusion. That leaves her surrounded by women that hated the way their lives were meant to end, hated the suffering they were forced to endure, hated the princes meant to save them and then their lives were simply over. She resonated with some of it. How could she not?

When the party returns with Mira, Elody isn't surprised to see Gerard, meaning Snow White told her about him. She's expecting the same man that ran away but he's not. He's considerate and guilt ridden and honest to a fault. He's trying so hard. And maybe she started to believe he's changed. Maybe with the strangeness of their last interaction, the last "If I don't return, repunzel got me", the clear proof that he's still the silly frog, he's just trying to be better than that now too. Maybe she would have been ready to listen.

But then he ran away again, bleeding and dying, off across the snow. A seed left in her chest, heavy and cold: a lie to manipulate her? a warning to someone he loves? Could the people that helped her find him again truly wish to destroy it all? Her problem with their lives together was that it ended at marriage, why would she want to erase everything? but that can't be true, they can't be planning that. They've been right about so much. look here, like they said, he's the exact same. Running away from his problems, from the fight. Off to go get killed again pretending to be a hero. Just a dead frog on the ground with glass in his chest. Was she crying on the ramparts because she was scared for him? because she was frustrated at his fleeing?

Or was it from the pain and fear of believing him, of knowing he tried to reach her, nearly died for the second time, and chose to live to try again later, that he would return and fight again and maybe die to her new friends?

Does she ask them, on the ramparts, as they watch the snow flurry in the parties wake if what he told her was true?

#neverafter spoilers #d20 neverafter #neverafter #neverafter elody #elody of greenleigh #princess elody #neverafter gerard #gerard #siobhan thompson #brennan lee mulligan #brian murphy #princesses neverafter

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weirdestbooks · 4 months ago

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Secrecy and Deception Chapter 5

Sinews of Peace (Wattpad | Ao3)

Table of Contents | Prev | Next

Event: Iron Curtain Speech

Location: Westminster College, Fulton, State of Missouri, United States of America

Date: March 5, 1946

It was odd to see the former British Prime Minister giving a speech at an American college while standing by the President of the United States. But there was Winston Churchill, up on a stage with President Truman, Caleb, and, unbeknownst to him, DC.

DC was keeping herself disguised, just like Missouri was. While they had been less of a secret when Missouri’s father was still new at the whole “being a country” thing, they now didn’t talk about their existence that much, mainly because none of them wanted to deal with other countries, although everyone did have their own reasons.

Missouri brought my focus to the stage, where Winston Churchill was preparing to speak. Missouri just hoped he didn’t go on for too long, as Missouri didn’t think he could keep his focus for that long.

Churchill started by saying how glad he was to come to Westminster College and how he was familiar with the school's name, as there was a Westminster in England. He then explains how it is an honor for him, a private visitor, to be introduced to an academic audience by the president of the United States.

Missouri smiled at the last sentence, which echoed his thoughts on this experience. It was certainly not a common occurrence.

Churchill then explained that, among his duties and responsibilities, the President traveled to the College to magnify what Churchill had to say and allow him to address a kindred nation and anyone in Britain who would hear the speech.

Missouri wouldn’t call his family, and Britain kindred nations. He didn’t think they were anywhere near close enough to be called that, but maybe that was because they were still learning to get along. Caleb also turned his head slightly to face Winston Churchill as he said that, possibly just as confused as Missouri. Missouri sighed. At least their nations were better friends now and not trying to go to war anymore.

Churchill then explains that it was the president’s wish that he had full liberty to give his counsel to the people because of the times. He talks about how he’s doing this because his ambitions in his younger days have been satisfied; therefore, he was not speaking for any mission but only for himself.

Well, typically, when someone says that, there is a chance that they are lying. Missouri pushed that thought aside. Even if Mr. Churchill had ulterior motives, Missouri would still listen to what he said, especially because of how tense things seemed to be getting. It made sense. Even if Churchill wasn’t in power, he was still an incredibly important person.

The best way to determine where you need to stand is to figure out where everyone else is and what that means for their beliefs and goals.

Churchill then began talking about how he could use his experience to review the problems their victory brought them and ensure the good they did would be preserved.

The experience of a lifetime? That was funny. Maybe it was just because Missouri was way older than Churchill, but that line was very amusing to him. Churchill had the experience of a lifetime, but Missouri has had the experience of several, and his father has had even more than him.

“The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power.”

They had. They were a world power now. Dad and the others had been getting increasingly stressed because of it, and some of the Thirteen had been making remarks about how if they had told Britain about it during the Revolution, he would have never believed them.

Still, despite the jokes at Britain’s expense, everyone was starting to feel the stress of the fact that they were a world power—the world power. All eyes were on them, for better and for worse. Missouri’s siblings and he might be unable to stay secret for much longer, which was incredibly stressful for some of them.

They were at the pinnacle of world power. And Missouri hated it.

Churchill then states that it is a solemn moment for American Democracy because its strength as a world power also gave it accountability for the future and that anxiety must be felt unless it falls below the level of achievement.

Churchill was right about that. They now had more duties and responsibilities and a very high bar to reach. If they failed at what was required of them…well, Missouri didn’t want to think about it. Think about the possibility of another world war. Missouri was glad he didn’t have to deal with international affairs like his father, but that didn’t mean the affairs Missouri had to deal with were any easier.

Churchill then began discussing how the opportunity was there for both of their countries and that to reject, ignore, or fritter it away would end poorly. Churchill explained how the UK and the USA must guide and rule the conduct of the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in the war and how he believed both nations were up to the task.

Missouri knew they needed to prove themselves equal to their requirements, but why only English-speaking people? Louisiana preferred her French, just as Pennsylvania did her German, although they were just in a war with Germany. Hawaii preferred her language, however illegal it was; New York preferred Dutch, and Delaware preferred Swedish sometimes. Hell, even Missouri would speak French from time to time.

The US isn’t just English-speaking people, and Missouri didn’t like that that was all Mr. Churchill saw when looking at them. Caleb looked annoyed, which probably meant he would ensure Missouri’s father never spoke English to Mr. Churchill again. Sure, English was this nation’s most preferred and widely spoken language, but it wasn’t the only one.

Churchill then began to discuss how, when the American military encountered a serious situation, they wrote “Overall Strategic Concept” at the head of their directives. Churchill explained that that was wise and asked what overall strategic concept should be inscribed today. The concept, Churchill believes, should be nothing less than the safety, welfare, freedom, and progress of every family in every country.

Missouri smiled. That would be a great world to live in. It was a seemingly impossible goal, though, which meant it was the perfect one for Dad to try and achieve. He took the word impossible as a challenge. If anyone would try everything they could to achieve that world, it was Missouri’s father.

Churchill then clarifies that he speaks mainly of the cottage and apartment homes where wage-earners strive to guard their families against privation and raise their families in fear of God or upon ethical conceptions. Churchill explains that to secure those homes, they must be shielded from the marauders of war and tyranny.

War and tyranny. Problems created by humanity’s want for power and resolved by humanity’s desire for peace. These two things will most likely always exist, no matter how much effort is put into stopping them. Missouri and his family can defend people from it, but the only way to destroy tyranny is through war. Missouri sighed.

Power and Peace. Humanity’s greatest desires.

Churchill then explained how they all know the disturbances of war that cause the breadwinner of a family to leave and hurt those the breadwinner provides for. Churchill explains how the ruin in Europe and Asia are prominent examples of what happens when wicked men or aggressive states dissolve the frame of civilized society and humble folk are confronted with difficulties they cannot cope with. For those people, Churchill says, all is distorted.

Missouri sighed tiredly at that. Europe suffers so much from destruction. Wars don’t usually happen on Missouri and his family’s land, as they were too far away from most conflicts. But when it does occur here, it happens in the territories, and Missouri never sees it. The Civil War was the last time their country was destroyed by war the way Europe was.

Maybe they could help. Rebuilding a nation from almost nothing was a very hard thing to do. And that’s what most of Europe, and some of Asia, probably, had to do.

Churchill then explained that it scared him to visualize what was happening to those millions of people and what would happen when famine began. Churchill then explained that no one could understand the sum of human pain the war caused, that their supreme duty was to guard the common people against the pain of another war, and that they all agreed on that.

Missouri nodded. They definitely agreed with that. Missouri doesn’t want another world war, not after the first two. The wars have changed everything, and not in a good way. Even with the war over, the suffering was not. The suffering would probably never be over for some.

Churchill then began talking about how once the overall strategic concept is established and available resources computed, they must move onto the method, something which Churchill claims also has widespread agreement, and brings up the newly created UNO, the son of the League of Nations, who had already been put to work to establish peace.

UNO, United Nations Organization, or UN, as everyone called him. Dad described him as hopeful, stubborn, demanding, but also naïve because he thinks he can get the other countries to agree on peace. North Dakota said that it reminded him of Dad in a way that caused Dad to become very embarrassed and offended.

North Dakota wasn’t entirely wrong. What UN is trying to do with the countries Dad does with the states, although with much more success than UN. Still, having someone who is trying to get the countries to get along is better than having no one.

Churchill then explained that they must ensure that the UN’s work is fruitful, that its help is a reality, that it takes action, and that it will be a temple of peace. Churchill clarifies that before they can give away the national armaments for self-defense, they must ensure that the UN is built on a stable foundation, rock, not sand.

Missouri nodded. They definitely had to ensure that the peace sticks this time and doesn’t end up falling apart. However, if Missouri continued with the analogy, his father was good at building things on sand and then going back and making the sand rock.

Not that it was a good idea.

Churchill then explained that anyone could see that the path ahead was complex and lengthy, but he reassured them that persevering together, as they did during the wars, would ensure they reached their common goal.

Yes, Missouri hoped things would not turn out like they did between the world wars. The Great Depression, organized crime, and the eventual war were on the horizon in the interwar period. He hoped this postwar world would actually lead to more peace and not another world war. Missouri didn’t think Europe could survive that.

Or his father’s patience with Europe. If another world war broke out there, his father would probably just decide to drop nukes on the whole continent to get them to calm down.

Churchill then explained that he had a proposal to allow for action and said that the UN must have an international armed force. He then explained that to do this, they have to go step by step and start now and proposed that all countries should be invited to dedicate a certain amount of air squadrons to the UN, which would not be used against their nation but be directed by the UN. Churchill explained that while it would start on a modest scale, it would soon grow as confidence in it grew.

Missouri nodded in agreement. He had seen several times what happens when you make a law that no one will enforce. Giving the UN his police force would allow him to enforce peace better. The League of Nations couldn’t ensure peace. Maybe if the UN had enforcement methods at its disposal, it could.

Provided they don’t get used for the opposite means.

Churchill then explained that it would be wrong to tell UN the knowledge of the atomic bomb while he was still young. He explained that it was madness to tell an agitated world of that knowledge, and people still sleep safely knowing it exists because the knowledge was still in America's hands.

Missouri knew his father would never give up the secrets of the atomic bomb willingly unless he had been convinced it was for a good reason. It was a mighty weapon, and giving it to his enemies would be terrifying. Besides, Missouri didn’t think the UN should be given that knowledge. World peace shouldn’t require the destruction of anything but tyranny, which can be destroyed without the power of the atomic bomb. Besides, if the UN had that information, it would be easier for a tyrant to get their hands on it.

It’s best to keep that secrecy under lock and key in the hands of responsible defenders of democracy.

Churchill then says that no one would have slept soundly if any communist or neo-fascist state had monopolized the bomb and explains that the fear of those nations using them might have enforced totalitarian systems everywhere in the free democratic world, something with appalling consequences.

Missouri shuddered as he thought of what could have happened if Germany had gotten his hands on the bomb. That would have spelled disaster for every ally they had. If he had used that weapon to take out the rest of Europe…so many more would have died. And Poland, and Uncle Free State, and all those nations who had recently gained independence would have had it stripped from them once more.

Missouri didn’t think Uncle Free State would have been able to handle that.

Churchill then explained that God had willed that not to happen and had given the Allies breathing room to get things in order before any future conflict. Churchill also explained that the bomb is an effective deterrent against future conflict, and when the UN is grown and completed, the bomb could be given to him.

Missouri hoped they could prevent more use of the bomb. It’s a powerful weapon but an awful one. It’s better to ensure that it isn't a weapon commonly used but a weapon of last resort. The everyday use of that weapon would kill them all.

Churchill then explains the second danger of war threatening ordinary people: tyranny. No one can be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by the citizens of the British Empire don’t exist in many countries.

“And aren’t given to everyone in your empire,” Missouri muttered. His dad, uncle, and many others weren’t given the same liberties as the English. However, Missouri supposed he was a little hypocritical, as many people in his state and throughout the Union weren’t given the same rights as others.

Though they had more than some, and that was better than nothing.

Churchill explained that in countries like that, police governments enforce control that overwhelms and is contrary to every principle of democracy. He explains that these states show no restraint of power, and dictators or oligarchies command all power.

At least the people with fewer liberties here could protest and do something about it. In those governments, a want for change was a death wish. That’s how they could do so much damage in a short period of time. Missouri thought back to what had happened during the war. What dictators could do was awful. He could get better, but it could only get worse for some.

Churchill then explained that it was not their duty at this time to interfere in the affairs of countries that had not been conquered in war but that they must never cease proclaiming the principles of freedom and human rights. Churchill then explained that those were the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and that the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English Common Law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”

A British man talking about how the Declaration of Independence was necessary and great. Missouri held back a laugh but was not able to hold back giggles. Caleb also looked incredibly amused by that. Britain would probably get a call from Caleb or Missouri’s father laughing about this.

Missouri hoped he would be allowed to listen in on the call.

Churchill then explained that that meant the people of all countries have the right and should have the powers of constitutional action, have free elections with anonymous ballots, the ability to change their government, freedom of speech and thought, unbiased courts and executives that enforce fair laws. Churchill explains that those deeds of freedom should be in every home and that it was the message of British and American peoples to mankind.

Missouri didn’t think his dad and Britain were the only countries doing that, but regardless, it would definitely benefit many people if all countries did that. Obviously, not all of them would, but if the majority did, it would still be better than the minority being the only ones to have those rights.

Churchill then explained that although poverty and deprivation caused much of the prevailing anxiety, without the dangers of war and tyranny, science and cooperation could expand material well-being beyond anything that had yet to occur in the human experience.

Missouri sighed. That’s hopeful, but war and tyranny can never be defeated. They can be prevented, and they can be small, but they are there. Science and cooperation might become more widespread, but they will not replace war and tyranny because they cannot be removed from the world.

Churchill then spoke about the world's hunger and distress caused by the war but explained that it would pass quickly, as only human folly or subhuman crime would deny nations the enjoyment of an age of plenty. Churchill then explained that a friend of his once said that the earth would provide for everyone if they had justice and peace, and Churchill said that he agreed with that sentiment.

Sure, the world has enough, but that’s not enough for some people. And that’s why some are left with nothing. The world provides, but the people don’t sometimes. People like to hoard things they don’t need. Or they just don’t care enough to help. Missouri knew that well.

Churchill then said that he had come to the crux of his message, which was that neither the prevention of war nor the rise of world organizations could be achieved without the “fraternal association of the English-speaking peoples” and that there should be a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and the USA.

So Mr. Churchill wants Missouri’s father to fix his relationship not only with Britain, which he’s started doing, but with his siblings as well? That’s easier said than done. His father had a lot of them, siblings, that is, but he hadn’t even met half of them.

Churchill then said that he wanted to be precise and that fraternal association requires growing friendship, mutual understanding, and an intimate relationship between their militaries to share weapons and information and study dangers. Churchill said that the joint-use facilities should continue to be used to double the mobility of American forces and expand the forces of the British Empire. They would also be good for financial savings due to the large number of islands in the hands of the British and Americans.

It was weird to Missouri that they were working so well with the British and administering land alongside them. They almost went to war the last time they did that with the Oregon territory. However, the Commonwealth was still a crucial military ally, so cooperation with them would be beneficial.

God, this was so weird. His dad’s younger self would be shocked by this.

Churchill explained how the US had a Permanent Defense Agreement with Canada, which Churchill described as “devotedly attached to the British Commonwealth and Empire.”

Missouri snorted. That was an understatement. Based on what he had heard from some other British colonies and Commonwealth members, Canada would do anything to stay in Britain’s favor, including turning on his family and going against his morals.

Churchill then explained that the agreement was more effective than formal alliances and should extend to the British Commonwealth. That way, the Commonwealth and the USA can work together, support themselves, and do no harm to any member. Churchill then explains that the principle of common citizenship could come up, but that can be left to destiny.

Yeah, Mr. Churchill is definitely trying to get Missouri’s family to fix their relationship with the rest of Britain’s family. Missouri looked at Caleb, who looked both amused and…Missouri couldn’t really identify the other emotion on his face, but it was the funniest face he had ever seen Caleb make.

Churchill then mentions an important question about the nature of a special relationship between the USA and the British Commonwealth: whether it would be inconsistent with their loyalties to the UN. Churchill says it is not, and the special relationship would be the only reason the UN will succeed.

He’s right about that. The UN will only survive if most countries that are part of the UN can get along. Since Britain is a whore, if Missouri’s father can get along with his siblings, it would be better for the UN.

However, his siblings are siblings and do not get along, especially the ones estranged from time and war.

Churchill then discusses the USA’s unique relations with Canada and its relations with the nations of South America. He also discusses the British treaty with the USSR, which Churchill is convinced will last fifty years, before ending by saying that the UK aims at nothing but mutual assistance and collaboration.

Well, Britain may get along with Soviet, but after Mr. Kennan’s telegram, Missouri didn’t think his father and Soviet would get along for much longer. And if Britain wanted to remain their ally, if they really had this so-called “special relationship,” then they might abandon that Twenty-Year Treaty that they think will last fifty years.

Churchill then discussed the British's unbroken alliance with Portugal since 1384, causing Missouri to snort in amusement. Everyone and their mother knew that the alliance had been formed because England and the late Kingdom of Portugal had been madly in love and didn’t want to ever go to war because of their love.

Churchill then explained that alliances did not clash with the idea of world peace or the UN and that they would actually help it, so long as their design was not incompatible with the UN Charter.

International cooperation outside of the UN will be essential in ensuring the UN's survival. Hopefully, that means some countries will be willing to let go of useless grudges for the sake of peace.

Oh, what was Missouri saying? Who the hell was going to do that?

Churchill then brought up the analogy of the Temple of Peace and how people from all countries must work together to build it. If the people were already close and shared tools, then the temple would be built quickly. Churchill emphasizes that this is necessary to prevent the temple from collapsing and war from resuming.

He has a point. If allied countries work together to ensure peace through the UN and other means, they would have a much easier time doing so. Hopefully, in the process, they would prevent World War 3, something Missouri was sure nobody wanted.

Anyone who wants World War 3 was an insane fool or a power-hungry maniac.

Churchill then explains that the blessing science gives humanity could later lead to its destruction. He warns that time may be short and that events shouldn’t be allowed to drift along until it’s too late. Churchill then explains that if there is a fraternal association of the kind he has described, it should be known to the world and ensure that it helps bring peace, as prevention is better than a cure.

Churchill was right about that. Missouri didn’t think there was a cure for humanity's desire for power and other factors contributing to wars. Military support, international cooperation, and preventing the spread of greedy powers were the best ways to stop any future war.

Churchill then discussed how a shadow had fallen on the Allied victory in the form of the Soviet Union and its Communist international organization’s goals for the future and its expansive and proselytizing tendencies. Churchill then clarified that he strongly admired the Russians and Stalin, that there was sympathy and goodwill from Britain to establish lasting friendships, and that they understood that the Russians needed to be secure on their western front by removing all the Germans there. Churchill then said they welcomed Russia to its spot among the leading nations and wished for peace between Russia and the rest of the world.

Missouri’s father wanted to preserve his relationship with Soviet, and so did Missouri. He understood what Churchill was saying, but still, after Mr. Kennan’s telegram, Missouri feared that things might not go the way Mr. Churchill hoped. After all, with what was happening in Iran, Missouri just didn’t know if a lasting friendship with Soviet was possible.

Churchill then said he would explain the facts about the current situation in Europe without his opinion. He explained that an iron curtain had fallen across Europe, separating Western Europe from Central and Eastern Europe. That region lay in the Soviet sphere, subjected to Soviet influence and control.

Missouri’s father and Britain allowed for Soviet to have influence over those states, not because they liked it but because it was the best opinion for peace. Mr. Churchill knows this. Still, Missouri understood what he was saying. Soviet had already illegally annexed the Baltic states, and it was possible that he would annex the states he was allowed to influence.

Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen, but if there were anything countries and states like Missouri knew well, it would be that you can’t fully trust anyone.

It was too risky.

Churchill then discussed how Greece could decide its future through an election under British, French, and American observation. In contrast, a Russian-dominated Polish government was encouraged to mass-expulse Germans and commit crimes against Germany.

Missouri sighed. The new Poland was rumored to be a puppet of the USSR, but no one could confirm anything with the chaos of the post-war world. But if the new Poland was a puppet, he had possibly one of the worst starts to life a nation could have.

Churchill talks about how the small communist parties in those states had been put into power and given power beyond their numbers and that they now seek totalitarian control. He describes them as police governments and claims that only Czechoslovakia has a true democracy.

Missouri hoped Czechoslovakia was okay. The other countries under the Soviet Union’s influence had been forced to do a lot because of him, and he hoped Czechoslovakia would escape that fate.

Missouri hated how they had given Soviet influence over other countries, especially Poland—both the new Poland and the old one, the government-in-exile who remained in London.

Churchill then talked about how Turkey and Persia were both alarmed by the claims and pressure on them from the Soviet Union and how the Russians in their part of Germany were attempting to create a Communist Party there. Churchill also explained that when the Americans and British withdrew per their agreement, the Russians occupied this land that the Western Democracies had conquered.

Persia—Iran—whatever you called him, he was in the midst of a fight that was being caused, to an extent, by Soviet. Soviet refused to withdraw like his father and Britain and was now supporting rebel groups in Iran’s land. And they had withdrawn troops to give Soviet the influence he wanted, which now seemed to be backfiring on them.

Churchill then explains that if the USSR tried to build a pro-Communist Germany in their area, it would cause problems in the American and British zones and force the Germans to choose between the USSR and the Western Democracies. Churchill then says that regardless of what conclusions you draw from the facts, Europe as it stands now was not the one they fought to build, and it did not contain the essentials of permanent peace.

Missouri sighed. He’s right about that. Soviet still occupied the Baltics, and all the countries he was allowed influence over weren’t actually liberated because they weren’t actually completely free. Missouri understood why his dad and Britain did what they did, but he wished a better route could have been an option. However, everyone had their interests, and compromise was necessary to ensure everyone got at least some of what they wanted.

Churchill then began talking about how the world's safety rested on unity in Europe because Europe started the world wars. He said that because of Europe’s division, the United States keeps getting unwillingly dragged into conflict and sending men to die because war can find any nation.

Yeah, we had to send our people to help save your European asses because, apparently, neutrality doesn’t mean anything to anyone. Missouri thought irritably. Neutrality violations are how they’ve gotten involved in three different wars. If it pulled them into another, Missouri was going to beat the definition of neutrality into the head of whoever attacked them.

Churchill then explained that he thought they needed to work with a purpose to pacify Europe within the structure of the UN and its charter. He feels that the cause of policy of great importance, and even in front of the Iron Curtain, are causes for anxiety, like Marshal Tito’s claims to former Italian territory and the Italian Communist Party’s support of that, which has led to Italy’s fate hanging in the balance.

Poor Italy. The kid hasn’t had it very easy, especially since he has the duty of cleaning up his son’s mistakes. The country that replaced Japan would have to do similar things: clean up their mother’s mess. Although, with Germany dead, the new Germany would have it the easiest since they would be the child of either Soviet, France, Britain, or Missouri’s father—maybe more than one.

Whatever the case, a least they won’t be related to the Germany that started World War Two.

Churchill then explained how a regenerated Europe needed a strong France, something he worked for and believed in.

World War Two seemed to have effectively made countries that were formally enemies or rivals close. But Missouri guessed that’s what happens when you are in a global conflict for power. Missouri knew that Britain and France had almost united into the same country in 1940, which was a surprise to everyone and something his father had fun reminding them of.

Churchill then explains that in many countries, communist parties have been established in unity and with absolute obedience to directions from the Communist Center. Aside from the UK and the US, where communism was in its infancy, the communist parties presented a growing challenge to Christian civilization. Churchill said that although there were somber facts to follow such a unified victory, they needed to face those facts squarely while the time remained.

Political party problems—that would be fun to deal with. However, it’s not like they, and by they, Missouri means his dad and his siblings can ban communism. With the First Amendment, all that will do is make people very mad.

Churchill explains the anxious outlook in the Far East and Manchuria and how the Yalta Agreement was incredibly favorable towards the Soviet Union because they didn’t know when the war would end. Churchill then points out that the Americans were friends with China and didn’t need that situation explained.

Yeah, Missouri and his family were aware of the influence Soviet had been granted and China’s anxiety over Soviet supporting the communist party she was fighting against. His father was also worried about that but couldn’t do much, having promised Soviet the influence and being busy dealing with Japan.

Churchill explains how he felt bound to portray the shadow that fell upon the world. He also describes his time at the Versiallies Treaty and how, at that treaty, the people had hope, which they lacked now after World War Two.

Of course, we don’t have the same hopes. Missouri thought They thought things would get better, and then this happened. The war, the concerns with Soviet, everything. It didn’t seem like peace would be achievable soon if the worries about Soviet proved legitimate.

Churchill then explained that he hated the idea that a new war was inevitable or imminent because he believed their fortunes were still in their hands and they had the power to save the future. He also explains that he doesn’t think the Soviet Union wants war but rather the fruits of war and the indefinite expansion of their power and doctrines.

Missouri hoped Soviet didn’t want war. It’s not what the world needs. But Soviet wanting the fruits of war? That was believable and probably true, from what Missouri had heard from Virginia, DC, and Dad about the conferences. Soviet had many demands and therefore, many goals.

Churchill then explained that today, they had to consider the permanent prevention of war and the establishment of freedom and democracy in all countries. He said that difficulties and dangers would not be removed by ignoring them or through a policy of appeasement and that the quicker a settlement came, the sooner the danger would pass.

Yeah, appeasement really hasn��t worked out at all, and continuing to do it seems like a very stupid thing to do. They couldn’t give Soviet whatever he wanted. Missouri and his family had to stand their ground and tell him to fuck off when he tried to encroach where he didn’t belong. Otherwise, he would get too comfortable walking over them.

Churchill then explained that the Russians admired strength and had no respect for weakness, especially military weakness.

Soviet did admire strength. Alaska could tell; he said Soviet seemed too much like their father, and Missouri’s father agreed. Missouri had heard his father talking to the Thirteen once. He didn’t think Dad expected him to overhear, but Missouri did. His father had said Mr. Kennan’s telegram concerned him, and Soviet seemed almost amused by his injury.

Churchill explained that the old doctrine of power balances was unsound because they could not afford to work on narrow margins and the temptations of a trial of strength. Churchill explains that if Western Democracies stand for the principles of the UN charter, they will further those principles without being molested. However, if they falter in that duty or become divided, then catastrophe is imminent.

So Mr. Churchill thinks they must have unity or disaster. That’s the way Missouri heard it, at least. That would be hard to achieve. Countries liked to fight and be at odds with one another; it was their nature. Peace and unity with each other was going to be impossible. They all cared too much about their own interests.

Churchill explained that he saw it coming last time, but no one paid attention. But if they had, Weimar Republic might have been spared from her fate, and the world would have been spared from Hitler. Churchill explains that the war could have been prevented before it had begun, and Weimar Republic would be powerful, prosperous, honored, and alive today. Still, since no one listened, she was killed, and war followed. Churchill explained that that could not be allowed to happen again.

Missouri sighed, back to the whole preventing war thing then. Some wars can be prevented, although sometimes preventing them only worsens the injuries causing the war. You can only delay the inevitable for so long. War will happen. It’s too ingrained in the blood of countries and their people.

Missouri would love peace, but he didn’t think he would ever see world peace, not in his lifetime, anyway.

Churchill explained that it would only be achieved by achieving an understanding on all points with the Soviet Union under the UN's authority and maintaining that good understanding through the peaceful years supported by the world and the strength of the English-speaking world and its connections. Churchill explains that that was his solution, which he titled “The Sinews of Peace.”

The solution is to make sure Missouri’s father and Soviet understand each other? Well, that’s certainly a solution they could try, although Missouri didn’t know how effective it’d be. His father was already pissed about Soviet fucking around in Iran and was prepared to get involved. Still, the UN was trying to resolve that situation so things might improve.

Churchill then said that no man should underrate the British Empire's and its Commonwealth's abiding power. Churchill explained that just because they had a smaller food supply and have had difficulty restarting their industries, they would recover, and in half a century, 70-80 million Britons would be spread around the world and united in defense of their traditions, way of life, and of the world causes.

Yeah, the war did hit Britain hard. Still, Missouri thinks some people would appreciate Britain taking a step back for a while. Lord knows he’s fucked and fucked up people’s lives more than enough times.

Churchill explained that if the population of the English-speaking Commonwealths were added to the US with cooperation across all fields, then there would be no precarious balance of power to tempt anyone. Instead, there would be an overwhelming assurance of security, with everyone adhering to the UN Charter. The future would be peaceful. No one would attack each other for land or try to control the thoughts of man. If the British and the Americans united, the future would be bright for a century to come.

That was a bit ironic for him to say, considering what both of their nations have done in the past. But still, this was about the future. Britain can change, and so can they, hopefully for the better. It seemed like the speech was over now, and Missouri turned to leave. He didn’t feel like staying for much longer, even though Caleb and DC had to.

The speech contributed to the anxiety his father and his siblings were feeling. Missouri just hoped that it didn’t mean anything too bad. He sighed.

Things were really about to get very complicated, weren’t they?

———————

Event: Iranian Crisis of 1946—Resolution 3

Location: Westminster Central Hall, London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Date: April 4, 1946

America was pissed. It had been months since the deadline, and Soviet had yet to pull out of Iran. America had already gotten UN and the rest of the current Security Council, China, France, Dad, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, and, slightly to America’s surprise, Soviet, to pass a resolution that told them to pursue negotiations.

A resolution that seemed to have done nothing, as they had once again needed to pass a resolution addressing this problem. Thankfully, Soviet wasn’t here at this meeting, as America was pretty sure the nation would have been doing his best to slow down the passing of the resolution if he had. America wasn’t sure what Soviet was doing to cause him to be absent, but it most likely had something to do with his actions in Iran.

“I don’t like it. It’s strange and foreboding.” James commented.

“You don’t like most things,” Unorganized Territory commented lightly.

“Resolution of 4 April 1946, obviously, we know the date,” UN said as he began reading out what was written in the resolution before they voted on it. UN was interesting. He was nice but always seemed very nervous. Then again, his father, League of Nations, had failed to stop a world war, so he might just be anxious that he would fail at that as well. Still, UN was a very hard worker, even if he did have an annoying habit of calling everyone by their full names.

“The Security Council, taking note of the statements by the Iranian representative, that the Iranian appeal to the Council arises from the presence of USSR troops in Iran and their continued presence there beyond the date stipulated for their withdrawal in the Tripartite Treaty of 29 January 1942,” UN began.

America was the first country to withdraw from Iran, followed by his father. They started to get worried when the Soviet Union didn’t withdraw by the date he was supposed to, but America was alarmed when he expanded his military presence there and helped set up those two puppet states.

“A coward's move,” Caleb hissed, venom in his voice, “Making a puppet countryhuman to further your own interests should be punishable by law.”

America sighed at Caleb but knew the human had a point. Soviet was after influence, which was only solidified by the creation of the puppets.

America was also getting worried about what that influence would mean. He regretted what he had let Soviet get away with at Yalta and Potsdam, but he wasn’t looking to provoke a conflict, and for the sake of peace, America was willing to let him have what he wanted.

But if Soviet was going to start conflicts because what he had been given wasn’t enough for him, America should’ve just started a fight right there, and then we wouldn’t be in this mess.

“You always regret things when you look back at them. The best we can do now is fix any damage and prevent him from gaining any more power,” James said, masterfully helping America deal with his stress. James was always good at that. He had a way with words and was good at soothing anxieties while finding a way to insult Britain in the same breath.

America sighed. Hopefully, this pressure from UN would help convince him to back down, although America was willing to help Iran if he didn’t.

If only Kennan’s telegram had been created earlier, perhaps things would have been different.

“Taking note of the replies dated 3 April of the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Iranian Government pursuant to the request of the Secretary-General for information as to the state of the negotiations between the two Governments and as to whether the withdrawal of USSR troops from Iran is conditional upon agreement on other subjects, and in particular taking note of and relying upon the assurances of the USSR Government that the withdrawal of USSR troops from Iran has already commenced; that it is the intention of the USSR Government to proceed with the withdrawal of its troops as rapidly as possible; that the USSR Government expects the withdrawal of all USSR troops from the whole of Iran to be completed within five or six weeks; and that the proposals under negotiation between the Iranian Government and the USSR Government ‘are not connected with the withdrawal of USSR troops’, being solicitous to avoid any possibility of the presence of USSR troops in Iran being used to influence the course of the negotiations between the Governments of Iran and the USSR,” UN said.

America sincerely hoped that Soviet would pull out his troops within the time limit and not try to use them to make any negotiations favorable to him. That would make things much more complicated.

“Yeah, because everything is so simple already,” Caleb snarked.

“Recognizing that the withdrawal of all USSR troops from the whole of Iran cannot be completed in a substantially shorter period of time than that within which the USSR Government has declared it to be its intention to complete such withdrawal,” UN said, causing Netherlands to snort.

"Then why did he set that date?” he muttered in Dutch, getting a curious look from Brazil.

That was true…still, Soviet needed to withdraw quickly, regardless of the time limit he gave himself. This crisis needed to end quickly. They had just wrapped up the world war last year, and there were still occupied countries, trials for war criminals, and all that other stuff they had to do.

America hated being a major power so far. All it gave you was too much work. He didn’t want to have to deal with Soviet’s bullshit.

“It can’t be worse than dealing with your kids,” Caleb said, causing Unorganized Territory to let out a noise of protest.

“We aren’t that bad, Caleb!’

“Resolves that the Council defer further proceedings on the Iranian appeal until 6 May, at which time the USSR Government and the Iranian Government are requested to report to the Council whether the withdrawal of all USSR troops from the whole of Iran has been completed and at which time the Council shall consider what, if any, further proceedings on the Iranian appeal are required.”

America groaned. He didn’t want to have to do more things to clear up Soviet’s mess. God, America was going to have to do this even more, do stuff like this all the time, since he’s a permanent member of the Security Council.

America was not that prepared to deal with this. Knowing the other countries, this would be like dealing with his states, but possibly worse, something he didn’t even think was possible.

“Excuse you!” Unorganized Territory said, prompting a laugh from Caleb.

“Provided, however, that if in the meantime either the USSR Government or the Iranian Government or any member of the Security Council reports to the Secretary-General any developments which may retard or threaten to retard the prompt withdrawal of USSR troops from Iran, in accordance with the assurances of the USSR to the Council, the Secretary-General shall immediately call to the attention of the Council such reports, which shall be considered as the first item on the agenda.” UN finished.

“Let’s hope this resolution actually does something this time,” France said. UN sighed.

“I hope so. I assume that means you are voting yes?” UN asked. France nodded.

“I will be voting yes as well.” Netherlands chimed in. UN nodded.

“I will not be voting,” Australia said.

“Why not?” America asked.

“Reasons. You are voting yes, I suppose? You were the one who kept pushing for these resolutions.” Australia asked. America nodded.

“I am voting yes,” I said.

“And so am I,” Dad added on. UN nodded.

“Republic of China?” He asked.

“I’m voting yes.” She said.

“Federative Republic of Brazil?” UN said, moving on to the next country.

“Yes.”

“Republic of Poland?” UN asked. America was curious about Poland’s vote. They had agreed to let Soviet have some influence over him and for the Soviet Union’s provisional government to remain. The Poland from before, the government-in-exile was pissed and, much to the annoyance of many, still alive.

This Poland was young, the new Poland and most people aside from Soviet had yet to properly talk to him.

“Are we sure he even has free will at this point? We know Soviet likes his puppets,” James commented.

“I’m voting yes,” Poland replied, his hands fidgeting with a pen.

“Kingdom of Egypt?” UN asked my brother, who nodded.

“I am voting yes.” He said.

“United Mexican States?” UN asked the last country, who nodded.

“My vote is yes,” Mexico said. America sighed, leaning back in his chair. That was good news. Hopefully, this would prompt Soviet into more action.

“Alright then. This resolution is adopted with nine votes, the Commonwealth of Australia not voting, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics absent.” UN finished.

“Great. Hopefully, that’ll convince Soviet to actually do something instead of making us endlessly tell him to resolve the issue.” Brazil said.

“I mean, he could always ignore it,” James said. “Lord knows your states do that often enough.”

“Agreed. I want this issue wrapped up, as I have a bunch of other things to do.” America said.

“We all have a lot to be doing. Rebuilding after the war is very hard, not that you would understand that much, being so removed from it.” Dad commented.

“I know how hard it is to rebuild after a war, Dad,” America said. He had to do it after his War of Independence and after…that other war. It wasn’t fun or easy. Maybe America could do something to help Europe.

“Do we have to?” Caleb asked. James snorted but voiced his agreement.

“Just cause we’re the world power doesn’t mean we need to make everyone’s problems our own.”

America resolved to have a more thorough discussion with those two once they were out of the UN meeting, as he couldn’t talk to them without looking crazy. But still, with all that was happening, something told America that Soviet and him wouldn’t be friends for much longer, especially with what George Kennan said.

#countryhumans #statehumans #statehumans missouri #countryhumans america #historical countryhumans #secrecy and deception by weird

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