#but i have no doubt its gonna darken to the same colour as the rest of my body hair which is dark brown almost black sdalkjglkdfjg

[torao-chan]

i am starting to see the beginning of mustache hairs on my upper lip asldkjlgfdkgdf i am both >:3c and >~>;; about this

[jonnnysuh]

Never Not - Park Jinyoung

Pairing: idol!Jinyoung x gender neutral reader

Summary: Your bad day is turned around when your childhood best friend, Jinyoung, returns to your hometown and takes you on a tour of your favourite memories together.

Genre: angst, fluff, friends to lovers

Warnings: suggested sexual experience

Word Count: 4.3k

Requested by: Anon

A/N: Hi guysssss. I took a small break from tumblr bc I got super busy with work. I haven’t written something like this in a while, but I actually loved how it turned out. I recommend listening to Never Not by Lauv to get into the mood <33

Effort was hard to make these days. Even the way you walked had an unmistakable slouch. Your exhaustive strides were just a shallow reminder that there used to be a hop in your step. Five more minutes and you were free from the shackles of work. Free to figure out what to make for dinner, and appease the gurgles of your stomach.The seconds on the point of sale system didn't seem to move fast enough as you folded the customer's final item and shoved it into a bag.

When you were a kid, no one told you how exhausting being an adult was, and thus it became something to look forward to. You were so caught up on getting that first kiss, sneaking out to go to parties, seeing people that your parents didn't approve of, that you didn't realize that life didn't slow down from there. It was like you blinked, and you were no longer 16. Instead, you were twenty-something perpetually feeling like life was just an endless pit of "what ifs" and building up the courage to make something of yourself. Another mindless "Have a good day." escaped your lips as you bid a customer bye for the nth time that day. You wondered how many of your years would waste away telling others to have a good day, when you yourself hadn't had one in a while.

You pressed your fingers against your temple to sooth a small growing headache. Working in retail for as long as you had, you knew that the s-curved line of people didn't stop for your discomfort. With a fake smile on your face, you welcomed the next few customers as your eyes wandered around the store looking for the person who was going to take over for the next hour. Fifteen minutes past the hour, your replacement finally came. Externally, you wanted to scream and ask them what took you so long? but you knew that would only make you as good as the worst customer. Graciously, you nodded at them, before walking away to the back room to fetch your things and head out.

...

You stood against the wall at the bus shelter shivering from the cool summer breeze that was disguising just how rapidly autumn was truly coming. Today probably wasn't the best day to forget your coat.  You rubbed your arms for warmth, taking micro footsteps in place.  The pain in your feet made you romanticize the comfort of the sturdy old bus seats as a place of rest. You felt your phone in your pocket vibrate, but you let it ring out. You were determined to get a seat on this bus. A deep sigh escaped you as you surveyed the density of the crowd on the platform- the ride home was definitely going to be longer than usual. When the bus arrived, you queued behind a long line of people. Your phone rang a second time, at this point the crowd was getting larger and you knew you weren't going to get a seat on this bus.

PRIVATE CALLER 

"Hello?" you pressed your phone to your ear. Sometimes your mother used phone booths to reach you, so you expected her voice to be on the other end of the line. "I'm offended I had to call you twice for you to pick up."  The voice was much deeper, and the delivery much more lighthearted than anything that would've came out of your mother.  The absence of a greeting was distinct and direct, but no matter, you knew exactly who this was.

You felt the tenseness of your shoulders drop with just the sound of this voice. "If I had definitely known it was you, I wouldn't have picked up, Mr. Private caller." you jest with the phone  pressed between your ear and the crook of your shoulder.

"You know, I was gonna suggest that I pick you up, but just for that comment, I change my mind."

You poke your tongue at your cheek, coyly. For all the changes that occurred in your life, for some reason you could depend on Jinyoung's quick wit and humour to hit the spot even after all this time.

"That's fine, I just finished work so I was thinking of just going home anyways."  You had no idea he was even back in South Korea. Last you heard, he was on tour somewhere in North America. More than that, you couldn't even remember when the last time you actually talked was. You were curious about what he was up to these days, but you you knew any hint of urgency in your voice would lead to incessant teasing on his part. The line progressed slightly, but you still didn't feel any closer to the entrance of the bus.

  "I'm about to get on a bus home." 

"Well, don't get on." 

"If I don't get on then you're gonna have to repay me for the fare I paid to even get here." You eyed the bus reaching its capacity, and stepped aside. You twisted your fingers in hope that he was being 100% serious, otherwise you were going to have to wait out for the 6:30pm bus.

"I can't believe the cost of your attention is only $2. Do better." the voice quipped. 

"Okay, Jinyoung I guess I'll just get on, then." you threatened, although you had no intention of boarding the departing bus.

"Fine, fine. I'll pay for your fare. Just wait for me."

...

The sky had darkened tenfold since you hung up from Jinyoung's impromptu call. The streetlights glowed gold against the lavender backdrop of the sky. You sat on the bus shelter bench, swinging your feet back and forth as you waited for him. If he took even a minute longer, you vowed to somehow become the president of the Park Jinyoung hate club. Of course, you wouldn't actually, but the idea became more appealing the longer you waited. 

You weren't one to go on spontaneous outings- at least not since your teenage years. Recently, you followed the strict routine of work, home, sleep, and to stray from it seemed pointless. But the fact that he even thought of you when he came back home to South Korea was still not something you could wrap your head around.

In the distance, a glow of headlights appeared, stopping perfectly adjacent to your bus stop. The window rolled down, and there appeared Jinyoung's face in all its glory. To say all the words in your vocabulary disappeared would be an understatement. A part of you doubted he would even follow through. Without missing a beat, he returned a look to you. "You just gonna stare at me, or are you gonna get in the car?"

...

Your backpack was sitting atop your lap, bouncing with the movement of the car. Jinyoung hung one hand over the steering wheel. The orange and purple of the sky twisting, and creating a brand new colour that only seemed to grace the skies at this hour. The music was unidentifiable, but the volume was low enough that you didn't even bother trying to figure it out.

"So what'd you do today?" he asked. 

"I worked, I told you that." you replied, matter-of-factly.

"And how was it?"

"I honestly can't tell the difference between this week and last week. Or even last month. Same old, same old. Annoying customers, stale lunch, forgot my jacket at home even though it's 15 fucking degrees outside." 

"Do you still work at that clothing store you started at when we were 20?"

  Your eyes shifted, following the ever-changing scenery of the highway. No idea where he was bringing you, and yet you were brought to comfort by Jinyoung's habits.  You knew he didn't have a drug deal, or a random party planned.  Jinyoung was always the type to be home before midnight. He was a self-proclaimed goody-two-shoes, but you weren't completely fooled. You knew he could bend the rules if it seemed to serve him.

  "That exact same one."

 "Anything else?"

  You looked at him, the shock settling in that he was really right next to you-- no longer just a figure on a billboard that you used to know. The changes of his physicality were subtle; his face was more defined, but his cheeks still carried the baby fat that had been there since childhood. The shadow of his facial hair loomed on his smooth skin. The mole on the top of his lip, not necessarily gone, but faded. He looked older, but the aura of his presence remained the same.

"And then I was dumb enough to get into a car with a stranger because he said he'd give me $2."

Jinyoung side eyed you, causing you to erupt in laughter. His glare was also unchanging. "Stranger? Your memory's fading already?" He shook his head disappointedly. "I thought you still had a few good years left."

  "Oh yeahhhhhh. Sorry Jinyoungie. Didn't recognize you with all the fame." you pinched and pulled on his ear- both things a relic of your grade school years. When you were kids, you never let him forget the age gap. Granted, it was only 3 days, but that gave you the freedom to refer to him however you pleased, while he was stuck with the honorifics.

As you let go, the curve of his ear flushed red. "OWW.” he cried, swatting your hand away. “You’re lucky I’m driving otherwise I would pull your hair.”

Being raised with Jinyoung meant that you were inseparable but kind of in the worst way. If Jinyoung got  a good mark on a test, his parents would immediately flaunt it to yours. If you wanted to sneak out, he was on your tail telling you to go back home. And if he knew you liked someone, then that person would know soon enough by the words of Jinyoung. All of that warranted ear pulling, and if you did something in retaliation he would pull your hair.

He was one of the few people in your life, who encapsulated a certain time of your life.  The time in your life when you were young, and the world felt so big and everything was possible.

  The car rocked back and forth as it shifted into the elevated ramp of a parking lot. Your eyes widened as you realized where you were.  He lingered in his seat before popping his seatbelt off and exiting the car. You followed him, swinging the passenger door open.

  "So you randomly called me because you wanted to hang out at the...convenience store?" you gestured to the old, orangey building. The bricks were chipped, and the fluorescent lights illuminated the outside through the big glass window.  You remember the days when you and Jinyoung would sit on the parking blocks and split a bag of chips until you were chased off the property by the owner. He pulled on the store door, pressing his back to it and letting you enter first. 

"Well, I wasn't going to come here until you started yanking my ears. That's when I knew you were hungry."

Without stopping, you weaved through the store until you reached aisle 3- the snack aisle had become a home to you and Jinyoung when you were growing up. In grade school, you were both fearful of what was beyond the boundaries of your home and school so you indulged in after school snacks at the convenience to talk about the latest happenings in your life. As you aged, it became the place of solace after exams, or the meetup location for last minute plans.

  He picked up a package of gummy worms, and shook them in your face. "Do you remember what happened the last time we ate theseeee?" Jinyoung smirked. For a moment, you were taken aback by how much he had grown. In your teens, you and Jinyoung met eye to eye. Now, you felt like you had to look up at him in order to be taken seriously.

  You crossed your arms, "Yeah, we ate them in the parking lot and you made me confess who I had a crush on." 

"Chan, right?" 

You nodded, with a sulk as you reminisced. "That wasn't fair."

 "Why? Do you still have a crush on him?" 

"I haven't thought about him in so long. You really think I'd have a lingering crush on a guy I haven't seen in years?"

Jinyoung shrugged, and shifted his feet. "You had a huge crush on him, though. You even stared at him like this." He rested his palm to his cheek, letting out a deep sigh while trying to maintain an enamoured expression. You snorted, hitting him on the chest. "You'd write his name all over your notebooks AND you bullied me into giving you one of my new ones." he added.

You let out a belly laugh. "And then I wrote his name all over that one too."

Jinyoung rolled his eyes. "They were premium quality notebooks. My aunt sent me them from the states!"

 "You had a kabillion of them. Besides, you pestered me for-like-ever to know who I liked, but you never even told me who you had a crush on." You grabbed the bag of gummy worms from his hand and placed it in your shopping basket. Your attention shifted, as you realized you should be in search of your favourite chocolates. You knew that you were far too old to be eating junk food for dinner, but there was something familiar about being hyped up on food that you knew would rot your insides. Your eyes landed on the top row of the wall, and before you could grab your favourite chocolates, Jinyoung stripped it from the wall and dropped it into the basket. He piled on a bag of sour cream and onion chips, and then you both ventured to the drink refrigerators.

  Both of you stared deeply at your drink options. On each level of the fridge, stood several different colourful drinks. If you knew Jinyoung, then you knew he would pick a Coke- it was something he swore by in your younger years. You hummed, mentally deciding between an iced tea or a vitamin water.  You weren't sure why it bothered you when Jinyoung picked up a Sprite, but you tried to hide your dismay. With an ice tea in hand, and a basket full of both of your favourite things, you made your way to the cashier.

  At the last moment, Jinyoung placed a bright yellow umbrella on the checkout counter. He looked down at you, surely, “You never know when it’s gonna rain.”

...

The following car ride to your next destination only lasted about 3 minutes before he parked on the side of the road and dragged you down the street, with the plastic bag full of your foods in hand. 

"I should've known you were going to bring me here." you said, strolling down the familiar gravel pathway towards your elementary school. All colour in the sky had disappeared now, finding it hard to see anything but the outline of each other and some features.

  Both of you settled on the grass field, onlooking the tall school building that was the foundation of your formal years. As soon as you opened the bag of chips, you found yourselves deep in conversation, talking about what life had been for him the last few years. You couldn't help but be in awe when he explained the rush he got when he got on stage, and how he got anxiety when he thought he wasn’t doing his best.  The candidacy of his thoughts drew you in and you were surprised that he trusted you with his secrets. 

All these years, you had always wondered what he was up to, if he was living a life far better than the one he left at home.  To everyone else, he was this huge pop star that had travelled the world 3 times over, but to you, he was your best friend who left home at 16. You had seen him through the bad hair phases, the adolescent temper tantrums, the voice cracks, and the questionable fashion choices both your parents had put you in.

  He leaned back on his arms as he gazed at the school. "Are you afraid of change?" You were silent for a moment as you thought. "On a scale of 1-10?" you rocked your head back and forth. "It's a 15."

Jinyoung raised his eyebrows. You held your legs to your chest, and looked at him. "Why?"

He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it and looked smugly in the other direction. "Heyyy." you poked him repeatedly. "You can't just ask me that and not tell me why."

He enclosed his hand around your finger, forcing your poking to come to a halt. It felt like he was studying your face. Never in your life had you ever felt like you were under the scope of Jinyoung's gaze. The darkness of the sky acted as a mask, hiding your blushing face.

"It was the last thing I asked you before I left." he admitted. "I asked you that when things were about to change big time for us… I always wondered if you resented me for leaving you behind."

  The last day before Jinyoung left to become a full-time trainee, you two snuck on to this very same field. Both of you ran across the grass, picking up dandelions; believing that if you gathered enough and blew on them, that they would fuel your wishes.

  “You thought I could resent you?” He nodded. “Well, for starters, I hate your guts.” You replied sarcastically, causing him to look at the ground with embarrassment and your face softened at the sight of it.

  “You know what I wished for on all of those dandelions, Jinyoung?”

 “Not to fail the math exam.” Even in a soft moment, he couldn’t help but be sly. “No!” You exclaimed. 

“Well, you should’ve. You got a 48.” He sensed your killer look on him. “So what’d you wish for?”

You played with your fingers. You thought you’d take this secret to the grave. “I wished that you’d be successful in whatever you chose to do.” His eyes enlarged, alarmed at your confession. “but maybe I should’ve wished for the math thing.”

  Jinyoung giggled, inching closer to you so your legs were pressed against each other. 

“What did you wish for?” You asked. He smiled with the side of his mouth, shaking his head. 

“I wished that I’d always find my way back home.” “Oh goddd.” You gagged. “you’re so corny.”

 “What about you, huh? You used your wish on me!” he bellowed, his voice echoing against the school playground. 

“Hey, I might just be the reason why you’re famous.” You fought back.

You flipped your phone over, 7:53, the brightness of it only barely illuminating the dark. You thought about what you would be doing at this moment if you weren’t here, if he hadn’t picked you up.  Mmm probably falling asleep to a tv show. Probably dreading tomorrow. Probably not as happy.

"But what did I say? You know… the first time you asked me that question?” You couldn’t even begin to imagine how 16-year-old you answered.

  "You said you were excited to see who we were going to become.” The words of your younger self were so hopeful, yet your current self felt hopeless. Your expression sank, and Jinyoung offered a small smile to revive it. He felt guilty having asked you the question in the first place.

You sat in silence for a bit, dwelling on the excitement for life that you once had. Where was it? And how could you get it back?

“I feel like I’ve let myself down. I don’t even know who I am now.”

Jinyoung blinked slowly, watching his childhood best friend crumble. He rested a hand on your shoulder.  "I just look at you, and in so many ways you're the same. I still know what makes you laugh, and the way you say things. I can still pick out your favourite snacks, and know you’re gonna pull my ears when I do something to piss you off.” he yanked on yours softly. "Everything about you feels just how I left you. I feel my youth when I'm with you. But at the same time I’m comforted by how much you’ve changed.”

“I don’t think I’ve changed much.”

“You don’t see it, do you?” You shook your head no. “Do you remember how scared you were to even leave the house when we were kids? Now you live on your own. You never took anything seriously back then, but you’re now one of the hardest working people I know…” his voice softened. “And you let yourself be vulnerable with me when it used to take hours to drag it out of you.” You laid on his shoulder, and he rested his head on top of yours, snuggling closer. “You fear change, yet you’re changing right before your own eyes. And maybe one day, I’ll come back here, and I won’t even be able to recognize who you’ve become.” You sniffled, the idea of Jinyoung not remembering you broke your heart. You held your chest. “But if that day does come, it’ll be okay. Because I know that the person that you’ve become will have it all figured out.  I’ll always be rooting for every single version of yourself even if it doesn’t include me.” You sobbed quietly, interlocking your fingers with his. He held your hand tightly, rubbing his thumb against the back of your hand. For once, there was an action not done out of habit or relic. It was an action evoked just for this moment, and it was a change that you didn’t mind.

…

Jinyoung held your hand, leading you down a narrow road a few minutes away. The sound of crickets, barking dogs, and distant vehicles could be heard as you stood in the middle of the road of your childhood neighbourhood.

  You hadn’t been here since you moved in 2016. You looked up at the large modern house that sat on what used to be two lots. Yours and Jinyoung’s childhood homes were purchased by a wealthy business man and demolished to build the business man’s dream home. You stared at the foreign house that sat on the place of your childhood dreams and frustrations.

  Jinyoung placed his hands on your shoulders and stopped you at the exact halfway point between what was once his house and your house. You rubbed your arms as a gust of wind rushed by. Without thinking, Jinyoung slipped off his hoodie and placed it on top of your shoulders.

“I remember racing you down this street.” You piped up, pointing down the end of the road. Jinyoung always won that race. No one was faster than him on this street.

“I remember finding that stray puppy and fighting over who got to keep it.” He responded.

“It should’ve been me.” You bickered. Jinyoung laughed, amused at how you were always one to hold a grudge.

“Do you remember that day when it started raining soooo hard and we had to walk shoulder to shoulder under my umbrella?”

You nodded. “Ya, that was the same day with the gummy worms, you dummy.”

“So do you remember what happened right here?” He pointed at the exact spot you were standing. You racked your head for a memory, but nothing stood out to you clearly. You shook your head no. “We always said bye to one another here...but…?” you trailed off.

He took a step forward, both of you standing directly under the streetlight now. You watched his face light up as he likely played the moment back in his head. “So that day, standing under my umbrella, we were about to go our separate ways. You turned into me.”

He took another step closer, popping open the bright yellow convenience store umbrella and holding it over your heads.

You could see it now. It was drizzling so hard, even your hair wasn’t protected from getting soaked.   You wrapped your hands around the handle, just like how you did back then. Chest to chest, huddled under the umbrella. Jinyoung locked eyes with you, your heart beat faster.

“And you looked at me, and I swear I was going to say everything I wanted to tell you right then and there.” Your mouth opened in shock. “This was the place where I almost told you I loved you.”

You studied the eyes of the boy you watched grow up. He looked scared, but sure. There was no doubt in your mind that Jinyoung meant what he said. He lowered the umbrella, not letting his gaze veer from you.

  Your life was just a build up of what if’s and trying to gain the courage to make something of yourself… but you didn’t want that anymore. With your heart beating out of control, you leaned into him, taking the risk and kissing his lips. He wrapped his arms around your waist, deepening the heat of the kiss.

A round of thunder boomed above you, and little by little, raindrops began to pour from the sky.

You and Jinyoung separated to look up at the sky. “I did say, you never know when it’s gonna rain.”

You both ran for the car, shoulder to shoulder, under the umbrella. From your heads to your toes, you were soaked in the rain, but neither of you cared. You silently thanked the world for every bad thing that happened to you today that led to this.

…

You blinked your eyes awake, surveying the damp clothes strewn across your living room floor, and the heat of the bare body laying next to you on the couch. You stared at your sleepy childhood best friend, a smile spreading across your lips. This was a change you were ready for. 

[thrillridesz]

black magic ▫ sangyeon

➳ pairing: best friend!sangyeon x fem!reader ➳ genre: fluff, magic!au ➳ warnings/rating: PG ➳ word count: 2.7k ➳ requested?: no

a/n: this is written as a birthday special for tbz’s best leader sangyeon! happy sangyeon day everyone ^^ this story is also inspired by little mix’s ‘black magic’. This is unedited as of now and I finished this real quick so I’m sorry if it isn’t up to standard!

“Thanks for the surprise, I really appreciated it.”

The night was young as the luminous moon hung high in the dark sky, casting a soft, white glow on the earth below. A cool, night breeze whipped gently against your cheeks while you strolled the quiet streets with Sangyeon, a tranquil silence in the air safe for the soft scraping sounds of the fallen autumn leaves against the gravel ground as it got caught in the wind. Wrapped up tightly in your coat, you felt a sense of warmth spread across your chest, a warmth more cosy than anything else.

“It’s no problem! It’s your birthday, it had to be perfect.” You replied, shooting him a bright smile as you stuffed your hands into your coat pockets.

Sangyeon grinned, his eyes crinkling into crescents.

“It was, don’t worry. Not gonna lie though, I didn’t think it was Eric in that bear costume even for a second. You guys really scared me right there.”

Your laugh rang through the night as his smile grew wider.

“Well, it was a pretty impromptu idea! It was literally on sale for like 10 bucks, we just had to get it,” you threw your hands up in defense as Sangyeon chuckled softly, his breath coming out in white puffs from the cold.

“Always on the hunt for good deals, y/n. Always.”

“Of course! Though since you’re my best friend, I’m usually willing to pay just a little bit more.” You replied thoughtfully, tapping your chin as if deep in thought.

The two of you have been friends ever since you could walk. For the longest time, it was just the two of you against the rest of the world. When you got bullied by the other kids in the courtyard in second grade, it had been Sangyeon who stuck by you and defended you from them even if it meant he was to take some of the punches in your place. Likewise when Sangyeon had been dangerously close to repeating a year in eleventh grade, you had persisted in staying by his side to make sure he studied and understood everything the teachers’ had to teach. All through middle school and high school, the both of you have been thick as thieves. Whatever you did, he did as well and whatever he did, you did too. Things like spending Halloween and coordinating outfits, going to school and studying for exams… The two of you were each others’ constants and if anyone was to ever look up the term ‘best friends’ in the dictionary, they would no doubt find both your names in there.

What sort of ‘best friend’ would you be not to at least fork out a few extra dollars for the sake of an amazing birthday for the one and only Lee Sangyeon?

You didn’t notice the slight frown that crossed Sangyeon’s face which he quickly replaced with a soft smile but the look in his eyes were hardened and detached.

“Right.”

“Wait, what’s that?”

You stopped dead in your track, squinting as you pointed into a distance. Before Sangyeon could reply, you grabbed onto his hand, pulling him behind you while you made your way over. The colour in his cheeks darkened as he scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly, peering at you shyly. You were too engrossed in staring at the display in front of you to notice him, your nose practically touching the glass panel.

“Black Occult?” You mumbled under your breath, your eyebrows furrowing together.

“What’s going on?”

You turned to Sangyeon, a look of confusion etched in your face.

“You don’t find this weird?”

“What about it?”

“This was never here.”

At that, Sangyeon narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the store’s exterior. Wrinkling his nose, you saw the belated realisation dawn upon him.

“Oh, right. Didn’t this used to be an arcade?”

You rolled your eyes.

“You’re so dense sometimes, it’s unbelievable.”

“Can I help you guys?”

The two of you whipped around to see a certain pink haired boy standing with his arms akimbo at the entrance, staring at the both of you. His eyes were blue, almost unnaturally so, and he was clad in just about the most colourful suit you’ve ever seen anyone don on.  It felt like an assault to your sights, with all the neon colours yet somehow there was such a mysterious aura to him. In a way, it felt like there was an almost mystical vibe that you got from him that made you inclined to think that he wasn’t in any way human.

“W-We… Oh, we’re sorry. We didn’t know you were open.” Sangyeon replied and you could hear a slight tremble in his voice. He definitely felt the same.

“Are you guys looking to purchase anything?” The scowl on the boy’s face disappeared as his eyes widened.

“Um…”

“Excellent! Please, come on in. I was wondering why you guys were standing outside acting all weird but I didn’t realise you guys wanted to come in. It’s this goddamn black glass, isn’t it? I’ve told Haknyeon so many times we should change it. Makes it so hard to look in, I swear.” He rambled on, holding the door open with a wide grin on his face.

“Come on in! Feel free to look around. If you need anything, I’ll be here. Just call my name, Chanhee.”

You and Sangyeon exchanged a look as if hesitating to enter but one look at Chanhee’s enthusiastic expression prompted you to see foot into the store. Seeing that you were going in, Sangyeon shrugged as he followed suit.

The moment you entered the store, the overwhelming scent of lilies and peaches hit you with a pang while the dim lighting made it difficult to navigate even within the store. Yet once your eyes adjusted to the dimness in the room, you couldn’t help but marvel at the oddities that surrounded you.

On the wooden shelves attached to the wall, were rows and rows of oddly coloured liquid, too bright or too unnaturally coloured to have come from a source of nature. Several sprigs of unknown herbs hung on the walls, tied into bundles by string while on another side, candles of all shapes, sizes and scents lined the table. Well-polished crystals were arranged meticulously on an old mahogany coffee table near the counter and a particularly interesting looking bird flitted around in a wrought Victorian-style iron birdcage. It was small with a white beak and purple and yellow feathers with its wings flapping so fast, you could barely see it moving. You have never seen a bird like that before and although you started towards it, something else caught your eye entirely.

Picking up a small bottle, you inspected the glowing golden liquid in it, Tilting it in your hand, the viscosity of the mixture and the velvety look it had was almost mesmerising to stare at. As you turned it over, you leaned in to read the faded label on it.

“Love potion.” You said aloud, causing Sangyeon who had been looking at a bunch of tarot cards to look up at you.

“Ah, yes! One of our bestsellers that is!” Chanhee exclaimed, his eyes shining with joy and excitement. “Guaranteed to work! It’s only 15 dollars.”

“Why would you need anything like that?” Sangyeon scoffed, folding his arms across his chest as his biceps bulged ever so slightly.

“You never know… I just thought it looked pretty.”

Somehow, you couldn’t stop staring at it. It was as if it was whispering your name to ‘just buy it’. Then again, it could really just be the impulsive shopper in you but there was something so alluring and magnetic about it that you just felt like you had to have it in your possession. It was like letting a child go lose in a candy shop and finally seeing that one lollipop with the most beautiful swirls and crazy colours that just screamed flavour. You didn’t exactly care even if it wasn’t an actual potion, it just looked so aesthetic that you had to buy it.

“I’ll have it!”

Sangyeon looked at you as if you had just sprouted horns on your head as you handed over a dollar bill over to Chanhee who accepted it readily.

“Surely, you don’t actually believe that it’s a love potion.” He blurted out much to the disgruntlement of Chanhee who shot a deathly glare at him.

“It is! It’s been tried and tested. It works, okay?” He said with an air of haughtiness which Sangyeon grumbled at and instantly, Chanhee knew. He should have known earlier in all honesty, from the way he had seen the man stare at you. A slow smile began to spread across his face.

Interesting.

As Chanhee watched the two of you leave the store with Sangyeon still rambling on about how you ‘just wasted 15 bucks for nothing’, he leaned into his chair contentedly. With a snap of his fingers, a cosy glass of grape wine materialised in his hands and with a sip, he sighed.

“Darling didn’t even need a love potion.”

“I can’t believe you actually bought it.” Sangyeon said, his voice still carrying a tone of disbelief.

“Look at it though, isn’t it pretty? I mean even if it isn’t actually a love potion, it’s nice to look at.” You said, still looking at the glowing liquid in the tiny bottle. Slotting in the key and entering the shared apartment the two of you shared with Younghoon, a childhood friend to the both of you and Hyunjae, a mutual friend from university. Since Younghoon was away in Spain with his girlfriend, Bea, it was really only Hyunjae in the house who you found clad in a dinosaur onesie as he lounged in front of the television with a big bowl of buttered popcorn in his lap.

“Oh, you guys are back. I was wondering where you guys went after the party.”

“We were… A little caught up.” Sangyeon said slowly, casting you a knowing glance which you avoided.

“Figures. You guys left earlier than I did.”

“Because you were busy fraternising with anyone you can possibly bring home, which I can see you’ve failed.” You joked and Hyunjae tossed a pillow at you, with a scowl on his face.

“Ugh, get out of my way.”

You laughed out loud as you set the bottle on the kitchen tabletop, causing him to turn to look. When he did, his eyes widened almost comically large as he leapt to his feet.

“What’s that?” He shuffled over quickly with a look of awe.

“Some stupid love potion thing,” Sangyeon replied curtly before you could even open your mouth to say anything. You turned to him with a frown at which he merely shrugged off carelessly as he preoccupied himself in rummaging through the refrigerator for a late night snack.

Taking the bottle from you, Hyunjae held it up against the light, his dark eyes shining with overflowing curiosity and doubt. The light reflected off the smooth,clear glass, making the gold liquid inside it look even more luminous and even wispy with the liquid swirling almost in slow motion no matter how you look at it. You have never seen anything like it and judging from Hyunjae’s expression, neither has he.

“Looks interesting.” He declared after a moment of inspection as Sangyeon turned to him in disbelief.

“Not you too. That guy definitely ripped y/n off. Seriously, y/n.” He tsked, sauntering over and snatching the bottle from Hyunjae.

“Doesn’t seem like anything special. A love potion? In this day and age? I don’t buy it for a second.” There was disdain in his eyes as he pursed his lips in disgust. Popping open the bottle, a sweet scent of tangerines and pineapples rapidly permeated the small apartment and maybe it was just you but you thought you felt your heart flutter just a little. A smile made its way onto your lips quite unconsciously and a tiny jolt of electricity shook you in the most delightful way possible.

Could it be…?

You lifted your gaze to see Sangyeon stare at the bottle in his hand with a startled look on his face, his mouth slightly ajar and you knew that he had felt the exact same thing. Though that look of surprise disappeared just as quickly as it came and his expression hardened.

“That’s a lot of artificial flavouring for one bottle.” He clenched his jaw as his grip on the glass bottle tightened and you could see the veins protruding ever so slightly from his forearm.

You narrowed your eyes.

“If you’re just going to whine, then give it back to me. Just don’t look at it.”

As you leaned forward, Sangyeon took a step back.

“Why? Are you going to try giving that to someone?”

Raising an eyebrow, you regarded him with suspicion.

“Sure, why not? There’s a really cute guy in my statistics class, even if it doesn’t work - which I’m pretty sure it doesn’t so don’t worry - it’s still worth a shot.”

You barely noticed the flash of disappointment in Sangyeon’s eyes and how his shoulders sagged ever so slightly as you ripped it from his hands. Yet before you could cap it back, he grabbed it back so hastily that you didn’t even have time to react. Throwing his head back, you and Hyunjae could only watch in shocked silence as you gulped down almost half the bottle.

Wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt, he shot Hyunjae a piercing glare as the latter let out a wolf whistle, his eyes filled with mirth and genuine adoration.

“Damn. That was... Ironic.”

You didn't say anything except stare at Sangyeon and a moment passed without anything out of the ordinary happening. There was no burst of sparkles or anything growing out from anyone’s body, nothing crazy at all. 

Huh. So maybe it was actually a hoax.

“That should be enough proof,” he said in an ‘I told you so’ tone which you rolled your eyes at. “That's some nice potion though or whatever you wanna call it.”

“Really? Let me have a taste.” 

Reaching over, Hyunjae took a sip and hummed merrily. 

“Oh dang, this is amazing. It’s like an orange smoothie except a million times better.”

Lifting his head, he turned to look at you and what you saw made you almost stumble back in shock. The colour of his eyes held a faint flash of pink before they returned to normal but when they did, they no longer held the playfulness and casual air that Hyunjae always wore but rather, they were filled with such intense passion and affection. It was like looking into the eyes of someone who was extremely, completely, slap me silly and deeply...

In love.

“Have I ever told you how pretty you look? I know I’ve never said this but... I think I love you,” Hyunjae said in a low, soft voice as he reached out to hold your hands in his.

“I...I...” You spluttered at a complete loss of words, wringing your hands frantically. 

At that, Sangyeon swivelled around to stare at the two of you. 

He could only watch as Hyunjae lifted his hand to gently brush your hair away from your face as his other hand reached up to cup your face. 

“How could I not have notice- Hey!”

Grabbing him by the collar from behind, Hyunjae practically flew back as Sangyeon pulled him away with a disapproving frown on his face. There was a deep frown etched onto his face, his eyes crinkling as he looked at the latter with an almost irritated expression. Though somehow, you could detect a faint hint of fear in his demeanour. In a way, the uneven and volatile energy radiated so strongly off him that it was hard not to see it in any other way.

Was Sangyeon perhaps jealous?

No. It couldn’t be, he was your best friend. Furthermore, how did the potion work on Hyunjae but not Sangyeon? Unless...

You let out a soft gasp as the realisation dawns upon you. It seemed as if Sangyeon may have come to the same realisation almost as soon as you did because he turned to you with such an expression of sheer panic, the sound of his heart pounding so loudly you could hear it. 

The potion didn’t work because he was already in love with you.

[reddesertcolbs]

balcony dream // colby brock

this is smut, so 18+.

requested: yes 

summary: you and colby are chilling on his balcony, which leads to one of your fantasies coming true. 

word count: 3.5k words. 

warnings: swearing, fingering, sexual intercourse, slight praise kink.

my writing

//

without a doubt, balconies are one of your favourite places to hang out, especially colby’s. 

the mornings when you wake up before him, almost every day, you like to hop out of the bed quietly, careful not to wake the sleeping man to the right of you, and stalk down to the kitchen. you make yourself a cup of coffee or tea, depending on the mood you’re in before climbing the stairs again, back into colby’s room and towards the door, opening it wide and stepping out. a smile is on your face, when the warmth of the morning sun touches your skin, warming it instantly, and the sound of the birds singing a beautiful song rings in your ears. 

without a second thought, one of your favourite moments is spending time with colby, your gorgeous boyfriend, on the balcony at night time. normally he is typing away on his laptop or phone, answering work emails or editing, whilst you sit beside him reading a book, scrolling through your phone or doing whatever your heart feels like doing at that moment. you especially love it when the sun has set, the moon sitting in the sky glowing a beautiful milky white colour and the stars twinkle above the two of you. 

so here you are, with your legs perched on top colby’s lap, shivering under his touch when the pads of his fingers ghost along your bare shins, and from the slight breeze from the brisk night air. a book is sitting in your lap, your eyes skimming the page and occasionally glancing up from the paperback to see what colby was doing, grinning to see him looking at himself through his phone camera checking out his fresh hair colour, purple. the small light that’s planted on the wall above colby’s head makes the purple strands stand out even more, and you can’t stop your mouth from watering at the sight.

watching him with an amused grin, you can’t help but chuckle quietly when the man pouts his lips, posing for a snapchat picture before flicking your gaze back down to the book, trying to make it less obvious that you were studying him. 

your eyes dance across the pages, lip tucked between your teeth in concentration, taking in every emotion that the character is portraying, before flipping the page over, repeating the action.

“have i ever told you how incredibly sexy you look when you’re nose deep into a book?” colby’s voice is low, observing the way the corner of your lips tug upwards in a gentle smile, cheeks flushing slightly at his words. your eyes leave the page, lifting up to meet the icy blue eyes of your handsome boyfriend. 

“maybe a couple of times.” you shrug with a smirk, watching his hand that’s moving along your leg, glide up to your thigh and stopping, giving it a gentle squeeze. he stretches his right hand forward, hand meeting the side of your face and cupping your cheek gently. his thumb glides along the smoothness of your bottom lip, eyes darkening slightly as his eyes never leave his thumb. 

closing the book slowly, not before placing your bookmark into the middle of the book, you lean down and place it onto the floor, sitting back up to give the man in front of you your full attention. 

“come sit on my lap, wanna hold you.” he mumbles, dancing his fingers across your thigh, drawing shapes and random patterns into the softness of your skin, the feeling making your release a shaky breath through your mouth against the pad of his thumb, making colby smirk because he can see the visible effect he has on your mind and body.

immediately you raise, crawling over to him and straddling his hips with your knees sitting on either side. his hands circle your waist, tugging you closer to him to make your chests touch. your body feels like it’s on fire from the sudden touch of colby’s bare chest against your vest top, even though the coolness of the air blows over your skin. 

looping your hands around his neck, you can’t stop your fingers from playing with the brown locks that are sitting on the nape of his neck, tugging softly. one of his hands moves from your waist, up to your cheek again, pulling your face towards him so your lips are inches away from his. 

“wanna make you feel good.” he mutters, hot breath clouding your face, as his eyes glide across your face, studying your features with loving eyes. 

“out here?” you inquire, voice dropping to a whisper out of lust and because it was late, pitch black sky with only the moon beating down brightly against your skin, making your features glow beautifully. 

“out here.” he nods, his thumb returning to its position onto your bottom lip, swiping over softly, making you part your lips and wrapping them around the tip with a hum, pulling away with a quiet pop and blown out pupils, when the man lets out a throaty groan from his chest. 

“okay.” you whisper breathlessly. having sex with colby on his balcony has always been one of your fantasies, and the thought of it actually happening makes your head spin, and wetness to spread in your knickers immediately. 

he wastes no time, bringing his lips to connect with yours, slotting them together in a lustful kiss, soft hums in content erupting from the back of colby’s throat when he can taste the sweetness of your watermelon lip balm. your left hand rests on the side of his neck, whilst the other busies itself into his new purple locks, fingernails scratching his scalp gently as you begin to move your hips against his, emitting a breathless sigh from you and him at the same time. 

the feeling of his tongue prodding at your bottom lip causes your lips to open, his tongue meeting yours within a heartbeat. they rub together messily, sounds of wet kisses flooding the balcony and the slight squeak of the outside sofa that the two of you are sitting on, but you couldn’t give two shits as he releases his mouth from yours, with a pant. 

one hand releases itself from your waist, to your neck, tilting it sideways, so he can trail his wet lips down past your jaw to the column of your throat, leaving open mouth kisses all across it before sucking hot red hickies next to your sweet spot, causing you to whimper. the man smirks against your neck, continuing his attack on it as he brings his other hand to palm your breast, releasing a deep groan at the feeling of your braless chest and hardened nipple, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

“god, colbs.” you whine, waves of pleasure rushing south and straight to your core as you feel your swollen clit rub against his now rock solid cock. “please fuck me, can’t wait any longer, so wet for you.” 

colby bites back a moan at your words, and his hands fly down to your waist, encouraging you to stand up for a moment, in which you oblige straight away. you watch him with knitted brows, confused as to why you’re now standing, but a warm smile is plastered onto your face when the man glances up at you with a benevolent grin. 

“can i take these off, baby?” he asks, hands reaching forward to play with the waistband of your shorts, fingers dancing on the inside of them. you nod with a quick yes, and a loud gasp is released when he tugs your shorts and knickers down your legs forcefully, them pooling at your feet. the sudden breeze of the wind rushes past your core, causing you to whimper. 

releasing his hands off your hips, colby raises his own, pulling his shorts and boxers over the swell of his bum and down his thighs, letting them pool at his feet as his rock hard cock slaps against his stomach. your eyes are trained on his red tip, leaking with a bead of precum from the grinding of your hips, and you can’t stop yourself from biting your lower lip in anticipation. 

reaching forward, colby grips your hips, tugging you back onto his lap and connecting his lips back onto yours hungrily, teeth clashing in the process but you didn’t care. soft whines are released from your precious mouth, when colby reaches down, middle finger running between your soaking wet folds, teasing your entrance with the pad of his digit, before bringing it up to your clit, collecting your wetness along the way and circling your clit harshly, causing your hips to jolt forward. 

“shit,” you pant, pulling away from his lips briefly to catch your breath and to focus on his middle finger that is rubbing fast circles into your swollen bud. “fuck, feel so good and you’re not even fucking me yet.” 

colby chuckles softly at your words, before he groans slightly when he feels some of your slickness fall from your hole, onto his shaft from his fingers rubbing patterns into your clit. within a second, your mouth is back onto his with a whimper as the knot in your stomach is building, hands clawing his shoulders to help you keep up right as your body starts to tense. 

“so close,” you breath against his lips, pulling away to rest your forehead against his chin as he plants a soft kiss onto it, dipping his fingers down and slipping his middle finger into your entrance with ease, causing you to cry out as his finger immediately curls up against your spongy wall, hitting your gspot deliciously every time. “holy shit.” 

“gonna cum all over my fingers, pretty?” he teases, thrusting his middle finger into you deeply before adding his ring finger, the added stimulation making your head fall back and eyes roll into the back of your head with a loud groan, not having a care in the world right now that someone could hear or see you both. you nod your head up and down frantically, the pleasure making it unbearable for you to verbal respond to him, making the man grin in satisfaction as he watches you come undone because of his fingers. “you have no idea how fucking beautiful you look right now.” 

colby's right. the moon shining over your body makes you look even more gorgeous than you already are, because it helps to enhance your features, causing you to glow beautifully and he can’t help but feel his heart burst with pride that you’re his. 

“that’s it, that’s my girl.” he praises, feeling your smooth warm walls start to clench around his two digits, keeping his deep and steady rhythm, as you let out pants and whines. “cum for me, baby.” 

your orgasm hits you like a brick, your walls pulsating quickly around his fingers as he continues to thrust them in and out, helping you ride out our high and you cling onto him for dear life as your body tenses and shakes. you cry out his name loud, as his hand wraps around your body tightly to keep you upright and to stop you from falling back, as the sound of your slickness and your deep heavy breaths fills both of your ears. 

eventually, colby removes his fingers from inside of you with a grin, bringing them up to his lips and sucking your release off them with a moan, loving the way you taste. 

“taste so fucking sweet,” he groans, releasing his fingers from inside his mouth to grip his cock, which is throbbing from the lack of stimulation that he’s had, but he could care less because he gets off from making you feel good. “i could taste you all day, princess.” 

whimpering loudly at his words, you lean forward to press a kiss to his swollen lips from him biting his lip, and moan when you taste your release on his lips. with a grin, he parts his lips, tongue hitting yours and rubbing against each other frantically, as he runs his leaking tip through your wetness, causing your hips to stutter from sensitivity. 

“gonna make you feel so good, baby girl,” he mumbles against your lips, one hand leaving your hips to rest onto the base of your neck, as the other teases your entrance with the tip of his cock, making you whine pathetically. “the whole neighbourhood is going to know my name by the end of it.” 

“wait, baby,” you whisper quickly before he could have the chance to push his tip through your warm entrance. your words nearly cause the man to gain whiplash with how quick he whips his head up to look at you, features laced with concern. pressing a barely there kiss to his lips, you mumble out, “i want you to fuck me against the railing.” 

he releases a low groan from your vulgar words and presses a hard kiss to your mouth, before lifting you up off his lap and standing up in the process, before spinning you around and bending you over so your forearms are resting against the cold metal railing. your eyes close at the feeling of his hard cock pressing against the flesh of your bottom, and the feeling of his large hands ghosting the skin by your hips, before moving down to cup your bum with a squeeze, with his other hand wraps around his length, pumping it a couple of times with shaky breaths. 

spreading your cheeks open, he runs the tip of his swollen cock through your wetness, before sinking into your entrance with a sigh, a loud gasp followed by a moan from you. he moves his hips forward, stopping when he can no longer see any of his length on display before retracting his hips and thrusting back into quickly, making you cry out. 

“colby, yes!” you whimper, your hands gripping tightly onto the white railing, whilst colby’s hips snap back and forth against yours fast, skin colliding together ringing through both of your ears. one of his hands leaves your hips to trail underneath your shirt, hand cupping your breast immediately and pinching your nipple between his thumb and pointer finger, causing your back to arch. 

“god angel,” he grunts, your walls wrapping around his cock dreamily, making his vision blur slightly. his hand that’s resting on your waist digs into your soft skin, as he thrusts his hips deep into you. “your pussy was made for me.” 

“fuck, colby. you feel so good, don’t stop, fuck baby.” you beg, one hand leaving the railing to grip his arm that’s placed on your waist, clawing the skin on his forearm as the tip of his cock hits the spot that makes you see stars every time, earning a loud moan to fall past your lips. 

“yes, yes, yes, fuck!” you cry, his cock rubbing against warm velvet walls enchantedly, and you can feel the coil in your stomach tighten. colby is fully aware of this, knowing how your body reacts to him and the way your walls tighten around him, and his hand leaves your breast, and moves down to swirl fast and harsh circles into your swollen clit. within an instant, your head tips back and animalistic moans fall freely past your lips, not giving a care in the world who can see or hear you both right now. all you can think about is the waves a pleaure that are racking through your body and colby’s cock. “colby, shit need to cum so badly.” 

“cum for me pretty, don’t hold back.” his hand leaves your waist to loop around your shoulders, pulling you up so your back is resting against his sweaty chest. the new position makes you cry out louder as it helps colby bury his cock even deeper inside you, and you’re pretty sure you can feel him in your stomach. his lips attach to the side of your neck, leaving wet kisses all over it with throaty groans. “so fucking beautiful, my girl aren’t you.” 

you nod pathetically in response, your pussy clenching around his cock signalling that the knot in your stomach is about to snap any moment. your whole body feels like it’s on fire, as he pounds into with so much force, your breasts bounce up and down every time is hips collide with yours.

“gonna cum, holy shit.” you choked out, eyes squeezing shut tightly and your hands grip colby’s lower back, leaving crescent shaped moons into his fleshy skin. colby’s finger against your clit speeds up, circles becoming sloppy but still harsh, as he snaps his hips into you with crossed brows of pleasure, loving the way that your body is reacting to his touch and cock. 

“fuck, cum for me baby, i know you want to.” he coos into your ear, feeling you clamp around him at his words. 

“colby. colbs, fuck!” his words cause your orgasm to hit you like a wave, his hips slapping against yours as your body trembles uncontrollably, shocks of pleasure taking over it as you release all over his cock with loud whimpers. your toes curl and your stomach tightens as the rhythm of his hips doesn’t slow down, fucking you through your orgasm and catching his with grunts. 

“fuck, you’re gonna make me cum so hard.” he purrs into your ear, mouth hanging open wide and the feeling of your release pooling over his cock eggs him on, slamming his hips into you repeatedly. overstimulation from your two orgasms starts to kick in, as your hands cling onto colby’s body the best you can with breathless whimpers, and your core tightens around his shaft, making the man see stars.

“that’s it, keep doing that. good girl, my good girl.” his hips stutter, his own high nearing him as his stomach starts to tense when you clench around him again, helping him reach his high. with a low grunt, his hips stop, pressing his hips into your bottom deeply when his cock twitches, and his load spills into you in white ribbons. he holds you tight against his body, your shaky breaths piercing his ears as you try to regain your breathing, hands still holding onto him tightly as your eyes close, head falling back onto his shoulder. 

after a couple of minutes of staggered breathing, colby retracts his hips, cock slipping out of you with ease from both of your releases mixed together, spilling out of your hole once he has released himself. the feeling of both of your releases dribbling down your thighs and the lack of contact from colby’s cock makes you whine, causing the man to chuckle lightly. 

he spins you around, holding your hot and clammy body against his chest when he feels your legs tremble, causing him to pull the two of you to sit down onto the chair again, him pulling you onto his lap with a warm smile. 

“you okay, love?” he whispers, lips planted soft and gentle kisses to your forehead as you wrap your tired arms around his neck. 

“yeah, i’m okay.” you smile, lifting your head up to look at him and pressing your lips against his for a loving kiss, slow and lazy. one of his hands glides across your back, whilst the other holds your thigh, giving it a soft squeeze. 

“come on, let’s go for a shower then we can get in bed and cuddle.” he says, pulling his lips away from yours to mutter against them. with a nod, you press one last kiss to his pink lips, before standing up, his hands wrapping around your waist as soon as he is standing too, to hold you close to him so you don’t fall. 

he guides you over to the shower, turning it on and waiting a couple of minutes for it to warm up before pulling the two of you into it. the warmth of the shower relaxes you further, making you shut your eyes as colby works his fingers through your hair, trying his best to wash it for you, since it’s clear to him your energy is very low. 

“i love you so much.” he mumbles, tugging you close to him by your hips as you rest your chin onto his wet chest, eyes glancing up at him as he looks down at you, pupils filled with love and awe, as water droplets cascade down his face making him look so handsome, your heart squeezes with adoration.

“i love you so much, more. you have no idea.” you respond with a lazy grin, standing on your tiptoes to slot your lips with his for a quick kiss, before spinning the two of you around so he is now standing under the stream of water again. “now hurry and shower so we can cuddle.”

you watch as he tips his head back, water dripping over his toned body before his head lifts again, his hands moving up to his face to rub some of the water that is clouding his vision with a smirk.

“the whole neighbourhood is definitely going to know my name after that.” he chuckles, cocky grin sporting his face as your face warms, eyes rolling playfully at him. 

“shut it.” you giggle, hands smoothing over the slickness of his body from the water droplets, as he cranes his head forward, pressing a quick kiss to yours with a hum in satisfaction when you pucker yours against his too. “besides, it’s not the neighbourhood who will hate us the most, it’ll be the boys downstairs when they hear us fucking on the balcony more often.” 

“yeah, we’re definitely fucking out there again, baby. not up for discussion.” he grins when you nod your head quickly in agreement, placing one last kiss to your soft lips before continuing to wash his body, with the help from you. 

request here

[theunaccomplishedwriter]

The Differences That Divide Us - Part 3: The One They Forgot

Well it’s back, my fanfic that I will get finish one day. Hope you like this new installment. Please reblog, leave comments, reviews, likes, and go check it out on Fanfiction.net as well!

Pushing through the revolving doors into the darkened square, Nick paused for a moment outside the ZPD. After four hours of overtime with what seemed to be the largest stack of paperwork ever assembled by mammal kind, Nick was glad to have the chance to just stand for a moment and inhale the crisp night’s air as it tingled his nostrils, before softly soothing his entire being, the tensions slipping off as easily as a coat.

Heading off into the amber tinted night, Nick took in the strange stillness of everything. The raging rivers of people had reduced to mere trickle, all heads down into their phones or staring off with vacantly glazed over eyes that take in nothing and mere walk on their automated path to their usual haunts and homes. The noises of bustling pawsteps, cars horns, ringtones, shouted greeting, and incensed accusations had vanished, the low hum of the streetlights being the only note played this quite monotonous part of Zootopia’s usually vibrant soundtrack. The explosive colour of day had been transmuted into a more subdued beauty of night which, even with the benefits of night vision, Nick readily appreciated, having spent enough nights out in the open to recognise its wonder.

Nick’s legs led him on his own automated path, letting his mind warm up after hours of tedious information having been its only lacklustre nourishment. He tried to think back when he last ate, wading through the spreadsheets and crime reports before finally landing on the doughnut which Judy left on his desk before leaving. It was a nice parting gift, with blueberry jam bursting out in every direction on his first bite, staining his muzzle and paws, which Nick gleefully lapped up.

It had been a while since Nick had been without his ever-present bunny partner. It had been a running joke in the office that they were joined at the hip when they first were partnered together. Not only were they on every case together, but their desks were right beside one another, they had lunch together, got spotted going to the pictures together, got ribbed and asked probing questions when Nick was seen leaving Judy’s place on more than one occasion. The couple jokes were ZPD daily routine, even when Judy and Nick revealed the true nature of their partnership, everyone laughed.  Even Bogo let out a snort of derision. It was only when Judy’s anxious face turned into her trademark steely gaze and calmly stated that she wasn’t joking that the laughter abruptly stopped. Any remnants of doubt were gone when Nick took hold of her paw and looked up at everyone, the same daring expression on his usual relaxed face.

In hindsight, although the jokes were sometimes a bit too crass for Judy’s, and sometimes even Nick’s liking, they made the acceptance of their relationship at the ZPD a lot easier. Even Bogo, notorious for his dislike of work relationships, let it slide, stating in characteristic bluntness that he trusted ‘Hopps to keep everything professional between them at work’. Nothing changed really, other than the fact that they were stuck together even more than they had been before and the jokes became interested questions.

But even so, after being together for so long, it was an incredibly strange feeling for Nick to be walking home alone. He kept expecting to hear the pawsteps of the tired but still joyous bunny walking beside him, probably listening to Gazelle while holding his paw. He almost could feel her soft fur entwined with his.

It wasn’t as if Judy hadn’t a valid reason to be away and he for being ‘the responsible one’, a role which he was still finding an odd to adjust to, even after becoming a police officer. Indeed, after months of vacillating with work and general procrastination, Judy had finally got her parents to come up to Zootopia and get the business of their blessing ceremony in Bunnyburrow done and dusted. Nick had been sprawled out on the sofa many times while Judy paced the floor on the phone with her mum or dad trying to get this whole thing sorted, he was just delighted that this ongoing soap opera was nearing its end.

After bimbling through the streets, Nick finally reached the flats, the building lit like a beacon in storm, calling all weary travellers to it.  After a swift lift ride up, Nick strolled down the corridor and, after fumbling with his keys, pushed the door open and swiftly flung onto the sofa burying his head within the cushions.

Mulling over whether to slip into sweet unconsciousness, the sound of footsteps softly approaching his made his ears twitch and a smirk to creep around the corners of his face. The sofa bounced a little as Judy hopped onto its edge before lying down on top of him, with her entire being only taking up his torso. Feeling her little frame on his back, her small nose breathing him in, her leg reaching down and entwining with his own, Nick felt complete, as if that lost limb had returned, making him whole.

Turning her head softly, Judy gently whispered to his ear; “Good day then?”

“The. Best”. Judy chuckled at Nick’s half-hearted and half-muffled sarcasm.

“I’m so glad to hear that. It is a shame though, ‘cos if it had been a bad day I might have had something special for you.”

With that Judy sprang off the now bemused Nick, who shot up like a bamboo, his eyes wide at the prospect of losing something he didn’t know was being offered. Judy stood at the edge of the sofa, her cunning, violet eyes glinting with glee at Nick’s bewildered look. Nick quickly composed himself into his trademark half-lidded nonchalance, attempting to capture that elusive prize.

“Oh it was the worst.” Nick replied, hamming it up for her. Judy smirked. “Oh was it now?” Judy replied, folding her arms and resting on her weight on her back foot, the classic ‘I totally don’t believe you pose’. “How bad was it?” Judy questioned, spinning on her heel as she did so before slowly making her way towards the kitchen. Nick hauled himself off the sofa to follow.

“Oh yeah, you don’t even know the half of it. I mean, Bogo dropped a massive pile of paperwork on my desk, and then I had to give Clawhauser the Heimlich manoeuvre to stop him from chocking on a donut, I had to save the mayor from a gang of raccoons, and… and the coffee machine wasn’t working. Utter mayhem!”

Having climbed up her small step so she could see over the counter, Judy remained facing away, slowly making a cup of green tea in that forced slowness that betrays the façade of the act. Nick slipped his arms between her, holding her against him as he nuzzled the side of her face his muzzle.

“Oh that sounds really bad.” Judy replied, still not looking at him but hamming it up right back. “In that case, since it was such a bad day you’re probably too exhausted to get the special something.”

Even though Nick could feel her giggling, Nick knew when to play the drama queen. “Oh, how you could you treat me so Judy!” Nick said, his voice going an octave higher and throwing his hand in the air in mock despair. “A poor, defenceless fox being thrust in the hazardous world of overtime being promised some delectable treat from a bunny as charming as yourself only to have it snatched away, is there no justice in the–”.

Mid-speech, Judy span around, grabbed him by the tie, and tugged him in for a kiss. Momentarily startled by her forcefulness, Nick relaxed into the kiss, reciprocating and enveloped his arms around her, holding her in a soft embrace.

There was something revitalising about Judy, no matter how down or exhausted Nick became, Judy always managed to perk him back up, whether it be a kiss, a hug, or occasionally scratching behind his right ear, a weak spot that Judy used sparingly but maliciously. It wasn’t as if Nick didn’t know and do the same things for Judy. There were many an occasion when walking through the ZPD Nick would gently rung one of his claws up Judy’s back, making her shiver in ecstasy before turning in fury and threatening to punch him. It was still worth it, despite the bruises.

“Alright that’s enough you” Judy said, pushing the hungry fox away. “I’ve got to get ready anyway. There’s some leftovers in the microwave if you want. I’m just gonna get changed.” Any protest Nick might have had evaporated as his stomach snarled at the mere mention of food. Judy giggled and stepped into the bedroom, leaving Nick holding his belly and blushing under his fur.

Nick swivelled the microwave dial without checking what was in there and flopped down on the sofa, the time marked by the growing grumblings of his gut. Soon the microwave pinged and Nick brought out a piping hot plate of veggie stir fry. Popping the plate at the table, and grabbing a pair of chopsticks, Nick wolfed down the plate, placating his body’s need for sustenance and ignoring the stinging heat on his tongue.

Just as he finished the last morsel, Judy reappeared complete in ZPD uniform, rubbing the badge with the back of her paw to a gleaming shine.

“Being fancy, are you?” Judy remarked, gesturing to the chopsticks resting by his side.

“Hey, you’re just jealous you can’t use them.” Judy brow knotted with frustration. Watching Judy try to use chopsticks was like watching Clawhauser trying not to eat donuts, both ended messily.

“How was the family anyway? You finally get anything sorted?” Nick asked, quickly changing conversation.

“It was great!” Judy exclaimed as her face lit up, a wide smile instantaneously covering her face cheek to cheek. “Mum and dad even brought up a few of my nephew and nieces. It’s been so long since I’ve seen any of any of them my family so it was good to see a few of them.”

“A few?”

“Well, only a couple really. You could hardly get 275 siblings in here!” Judy laughed.

“Nice, so how many of the clan did you squeeze in here? Ten? Twenty?”

“Yeah, and about twenty kits as well. It was like a little burrow in here!”

The thought of forty bunnies jammed packed into their flat, with twenty young and hyperactive bunnies hopping, swinging, and running everywhere shot through Nick’s mind. He was surprised that everything was still neat and tidy, probably neater than it usual. Judy had definitely done the whole ‘parent clean’ to impress them or at least make us look halfway civilised, with all the pizza boxes and tea mug rings disappeared from the coffee table and the kitchen still clinging on to that freshly cleaned smell unmistakable in last minute cleans.

“Must have been snug” Nick grinned. “Get any of the nitty gritty details sorted when I was away?”

“Yeah, we talked about tonnes! Johnny’s finally gotten engaged to Linda Warren, I swear they have been going out since primary school so it’s about time they got together. You should have seen the look on his face when dad brought it up, he was practically beat red! The wedding’s happening later so mum’s gonna have to get more burrows sorted for the new bunnies soon, which could be very soon if you listen to what Jillian say. Mum and dad’s partnership is going really well. Apparently, blueberry pies are going down a storm at his bakery. According to mum he’s got order months in advance and, since he’s started doing morning tea, he gets a queue of rabbits so long down the street he’s had to get help! It’s great to see his life turn around after everything while growing up. Oh, and also…”

Judy wittered on for what to others might have seemed an eternity but to Nick was a frankly brief catch up on what was going on back in Bunnyburrow. Despite knowing all the Bunnyburrow’s juicy gossip and being married into the family, Nick had never had the chance to go down there to see everyone who’s life he knew in deep, vivid detail.

It was hard to get the time off, what with being part of the ZPD as well as being partnered with its most enthusiastic member, but even going on their days off never seemed to happen. In any case, Stu and Bonnie had come up and met them in Zootopia several times. Nick had been nervous on their first meeting, but they got on well enough now, Stu even cried for joy and hugged them both when Judy told them they were engaged.

Since then Stu had been trying to get them down to Bunnyburrow for a proper family meeting but it always remained a forever next time, with things just coming in Bunnyburrow that Stu and Bonnie had to sort out that stopped them short of going down. Not this time though, Stu had a look of determination in his eyes at the weeding. Nick could tell come hell or high water, they were destined to go down to the Hopps’.

“That’s great and all Carrots” Nick interrupted “but I did mean about the blessing that we’re meant to be doing. You know that thing we’ve been trying to get done for months?”

“Oh right! Yeah, sorry, I can get a bit carried away sometimes. Well we got all the guests sorted out that aren’t family sorted out so expect quite few there, it is a majority bunny event. We’re going to be using the barn so we can most the family to fit in and the rest can watch from the door, and Father Hareton will do blessing. Apparently, it’ll be his first interspecies blessing so he’s quite excited.”

“That’s good, I don’t think we can use Mr Big’s persuasion every time we need the clergy for something.”

Judy giggled. “Don’t worry, I don’t think word of that made it down the grapevine to Bunnyburrow quite yet so I think we’re alright. We’ve settled on 17th next month so we can get the time off and they can get everything sorted for us.”

Nick nodded in agreement, finished up his dinner and, with Judy’s eyes boring into the back of his head, made the conscious effort to stick his plate in the dishwasher instead of its usual home of the sink to be met by seven or eight of its brethren over the coming days. Judy jumped out the chair and started heading over to the door.

“Have you told your mum yet?”

Nick let out a sigh. “I’ve been waiting till we had everything confirmed with your side. You do not know how many texts I’ve had off her?”

“I think I do, you keep forgetting to put the thing on silent And I wake up to your ringtone going off at three in the morning. Does your mum ever sleep?”

“God knows. Knowing her I wouldn’t put it past her to set an alarm at ridiculous o’clock in the morning just to send those messages and then go back to sleep.”

Nick’s mum Vivian was one of those vixens that, having reunited with their child after so long of being kept apart due to Nick’s previous lifestyle, had sought to make up for lost time by being the embarrassing mother she had missed out on and was revelling in every moment. The wedding had been no different, with her telling every story she could remember from Nick’s childhood to embarrass him to his ZPD colleagues, deliberately trying to be ‘cool’ and ‘hip’ and ‘down with the kids’, as well as loudly proclaiming what her grandkits would look like, making both he and Judy so red they could have been roses.

There was no doubt in Nick’s mind that this wouldn’t change at the blessing but he wouldn’t miss it having her there for the world. She may embarrass him but she felt he deserved it. For so long he had been an embarrassment, a con artist fox, the perfect stereotype. Now that was all different. They reconnected, they bonded. She met Judy and loved her for all she was and all she had done to help Nick from the very first instant. If there was anyone to fight their corner, it was his mum, so if a little embarrassment was what he had to pay, then so be it.

“What time will you be finished?”

“Sometime about four or five I believe, unless somebody gets too drunk then it might be later.”

Doing the overnight shift wasn’t a pleasant prospect, but all the money they’d spent on the wedding they needed some coppers in the bank.

“Okay, well I’ll be especially quiet for when you get in then.” Nick said, walking over to her and hugging her goodbye.

“You better be” Judy shot back. “otherwise a certain fox will be sleeping on the couch for quite a while.”

“Love you too.” Nick chuckled. “Now go on or you’ll be late.”

Judy smiled. “Dumb fox.” Planting a small peck on his cheek, Judy whipped round and bounded out of the door.

With the sounds of her paws quickly receding down the stairs, as Judy and apparently slow moving lifts were never a good combination, Nick relaxed back into his usual place in the old sofa and began to idly flick through the TV stations, eventually settling on some low budget noir film from the 50’s. He’d not seen it before but right from the off he knew the villain would be a predator of some sort, seeing as how all the main detective was the stereotypical hard drinking ram tormented by his past and doesn’t go by the book but he gets the job done, dammit!

That and it was the 50s. All predators were villains in the 50s. And the 60s. Well the 70s, 80s, 90s and even to an extent the 00’s if you wanted to be pedantic about it, but it was changing slowly. Last year he saw a film with a panda as a villain. Not the main villain but, it’s a start at least.

Felling quite snug, Nick’s eyes began to close, allowing his mind to switch off while the noir film became background noise and then silence.

Waking up bleary eyed and slow witted, his brain not fully woken up from the short nap, Nick turned his head to see the film had ended and the late night ZNN news was on, with a snow leopard having a difficult time interviewing the almost evangelical preaching of giraffe, emblazoned with a massive Herbivism badge on his suit lapel. Nick swiped up the remote and turned the TV off in a single well practiced motion, before making his way to bed.

Switching on the light, Nick made for the en-suite. Nick was proud of the fact they had an en-suite attached to their bedroom. Whereas Judy had had a communal bathroom at the Grand Pangolian Apartments and, before Nick went on his apartment hopping days, Nick either had to use public bathrooms or very public bathrooms.

As Nick opened the door and reached for the light switch inside, his ears perked up to the sound a small creak coming from within the bedroom. Swivelling his head around, Nick saw the wardrobe door slowly moving open, creaking all the way as it did so before stopping half open.

“Odd” Nick thought, moving across the room to close the door. Just as his paw reached the wooden door, force already prepared in his arm to slam the door shut, a pair of small paws caught his eye. A pair of small bunny paws. Too small to be Judy’s. Swinging the door open, a tiny grey blur at his feet. It only took a moment for the vagueness to take the form of a half-turned bunny, with bright blue eyes staring up at him.

For a moment both Nick and the bunny remained motionless, as if blinded by headlights, unable to move away from the oncoming danger yet still not realising their imminent fate.

“Hey kid,” Nick said, coming to senses first “you alright?”

Nick moved an inch in the bunny’s direction and it was if the bunny was electrocuted back to life, jolting back to life, launching herself away from Nick and straight up against the wall behind her. Her eyes were truly open now, taking in the fox before her and the rest of her body reacted accordingly, her nose began to twitch; her body hunkered down against the wall with only her paws gripping against the faint bumps and crevices keeping her from collapsing; her breathing becoming rapid and harsh, her eyes momentarily darting away looking for an escape. A trapped prey.

“Woah! Hey, hey, hey!” Nick said, throwing his paws up. “I’m not gonna hurt you. You alright there?”

The bunny’s eyes stopped darting and looked at him with such intensity that it almost made Nick feel guilty. She looked at him as if everything for her had melted out of existence, everything around her, everything outside the room, the building, the city, the state. Only she and he remained, with this being the last thing her deep, sapphire eyes would see.

“So” Nick began tentatively “I’m guessing you’re one of the Hopps’ aren’t you?” The bunny’s ears perked up a little, the intensity of the stare became less fearful and more curious. Okay, Nick thought, it’s a start.

“Guessing I’m right then, aren’t I?” Nick chuckled. A smirk quickly flickered on the bunny’s face. “Were you here to visit your sister Judy?”

The bunny eye’s widened with surprise, before she gave a tentative nod.

“Okay and you were here with you mum, right? And your brothers and sisters?”

Again, the bunny silently nodded, having now come out of her attempt to merge with the wall and now stood straight, cautious but not totally afraid now. Looking at her, it was kind of hard to believe that she was related to Judy in anyway. For one thing, she was miniscule. She barely came up to Nick’s thigh, with her shortened ears just creeping above his waist. Nearly everything about her was miniature, her paws, feet, legs, almost every aspect of her was diminutive. Except her eyes. Compared to the rest of her tiny body, her eyes seemed alert, as if possessing another form of sight granted by the two vast oceans of ultramarine iris’.

“Yeah” the tiny, sharp voice escaping from her.

Nick relaxed a bit. “Good to know. Sorry but seeing as there’s a couple hundred of you, I lose track of who’s who. What’s your name?”

“Molly” she replied, her body relaxing as if all the tensions simply fell away just by simply introducing herself.

“Nice to meet you, Molly. My name’s Nick.” He said, gently offering a paw.

Tentatively, Molly moved forward and gripped onto Nick’s smallest paw pad, with Nick being careful to shake gently and not to fling around this sentient plush toy of a bunny.

With Molly now out of the wardrobe and sitting on the sofa, fiddling with the TV buttons which was almost the size of her, Nick dialled Bonnie’s number, wondering if Nick was the first or four hundredth and first person to report one of her kits being left behind somewhere.  If I had that many kits, Nick thought, I could probably go years without noticing twenty of them gone, let alone a small one. After a few rings, a monosyllabic voice came down the phone.

“Yeah?”

“Er, hey, is Bonnie?”

“Yeah.”

Helpful child, Nick thought.

“Can she come to the phone, please?”

“Yeah.”

Still nothing.

“Can you ask her?” Nick asked, his patience already wearing thin.

“Kay.” The rabbit replied followed by a loud shout “MUM! PHONE!”. A little while later, with a few notes of scolding in the background, Bonnie’s familiar voice came on the line.

“Hello, who’s this?”

“Hey Bonnie, it’s Nick.”

“Oh Nick!” Bonnie replied, her voice going up an octave. “How are you? Judy told us you were doing a long shift today. Sorry we missed you but we had to get back and get the young ones to bed.”

“Er, yeah, about that…” Nick said, his free paw almost instinctively rubbing the back of his neck. “Seems you’ve left a small one back at ours.”

From the noise that came down the other end, it was safe to assume that Molly was indeed the first she had lost and that the entirety of Bunny Burrow, and anyone who with a sense of hearing within a five-mile radius of the phone Nick was holding at ear drum disintegrating distance, now knew.

It took a while for the power of speech to put the power of panic into a headlock, with Molly now paying full attention to Nick who was both holding the phone at full arm’s reach away from him and soothing the remnants of his ear with this free paw, but soon Bonnie calmed enough for intelligible words to stutter out of her mouth.

“Who – oh cheese and crackers – wh-wh-who is it? I thought we got them everyone?! Stu, get everyone up! We’re doing a headcount right now! I could have sworn I got everyone, oh carrot sticks.”

“Bonnie, calm down.” Nick said, eventually getting through the panicked warble and hopefully preventing the military inspection going on in the background. “It’s Molly, I’ve got Molly here, okay. Please calm down. You’re kind of panicking her and me as well to be honest.” Nick looked over to Molly, already clasping one of Judy’s cushions to her body, her eyes fixated on the wailing receiver.

“Molly? It’s Molly! Stu I told you to keep an eye on Molly! Well clearly you didn’t ‘cos Nick’s got her! I’m sorry Nick is she okay?”

“Yeah she’s fine. To be honest I almost jumped out my pelt when I saw her coming out my wardrobe.”

“Coming out your wardrobe?”

“Yeah, that was a bit weird.” Nick admitted, trying to laugh it off. “Guess they were playing hide and seek or something and she fell asleep.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. She does end up in some weird places that one. Always wandering off somewhere.” Bonnie replied, her tone with an air of slight exasperation.

“Good to know, so when should I bring her down?”

“Huh?”

“Molly. I’ve got the day off tomorrow, I can drive her down if you like.”

“Oh no” Bonnie cried “Th-there’s no need for that! I, I can come and pick Molly up! I can be there before dawn if I get the next train. Stu, when does the -”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Nick interrupted. Bonnie was a great mum, but sometimes her maternal nature kicked into overdrive.  “There’s no need for that. If you’re dead set on coming up, then by all means come up but you don’t need to rush. Molly’s fine and I’ll get her all sorted for when you come up tomorrow, sound good?”

“Erm” Bonnie hesitated “okay, if that’s alright with you and Judy.”

“It’s fine and I’m sure Judy will love having one of her siblings over for a little bit.”

“Oh, so where’s Judy then? Has she just popped out then?” Bonnie asked.

Nick remained silent. Surely Judy told her that she was on duty tonight? That’s not something Judy would forget about. No, she’s definitely told them, Bonnie’s just forgot that’s all. Just as the first breath of his reply came out, Bonnie quickly interrupted him.

“Well, I’m sure Judy will be back soon. She just loves her siblings so I’m sure Molly will be fine with her. I’ll ring tomorrow to let her know when I’m coming up then, okay? Lovely to talk to you Nick. Bye!”

Before Nick could utter even the first sound of the word bye, the hang up tone rang into his ear. Shoving the phone back in his pocket, Nick looked over to the expectant bunny, her eyes wide with anticipation.

“Is, is mum coming then?” her voice still barely over a whisper.

Nick sighed. “Yeah, she’ll be here first thing in the morning Little Miss Hide-and-Seek. And” looking at his watch” I think it’s time someone went to bed. We can discuss the whole you being in the wardrobe thing tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Molly yawned in reply, the tiredness seeping in as soon as bed was mentioned.

Turning the TV back off, Nick herded Molly to their room and plonked her in Judy’s and his bed. With her tiny head placed in front of two massive pillow and her body not even fifth of the bed’s length was almost too cute for words.

Stifling an almost compulsive aww, Nick headed to the door to fall asleep back on the sofa.

“Mister Fox?” the tiny voiced called out.

“Yeah?” Nick replied, turning back towards her, his hand on the doorknob.

“Why are you in Judy’s house?”

That threw him for a loop for a moment.

“Erm, I live here.”

“Why?” cam to instantaneously reply.

“Because I married Judy. I’m her husband.” Nick replied, half laughing.

Molly just stared at him, eyes wide and jaw dropped. In a weird way, it was almost refreshing to have someone so openly shocked at the thought of a fox-bunny couple instead of just getting the usual looks of disdain.

“But you’re a fox.”

“Very good detective skills there, Molly” Nick replied, a little sarcasm peeking through.

“But isn’t Judy married to a bunny?”

Nick stiffened up. Why would she think that? Why would she say that? A million other thoughts passed through his head while the young bunny looked on for an answer.

“Well really” Nick replied in a faux offended tone. “she could have at least told me!”

Molly giggled, causing Nick to smile. It was cute, not that he;d ever say it.

“When she gets home I’m going to have a word with this naughty bunny about and her other husband but before then I want you to have a good night sleep, alright little-un?”

“Okay” came the giggled reply, before Molly turned over, tucking the covers round her as Nick left, switching the light off before closing the door.

Grabbing a spare blanket, Nick tried to make himself comfy on the sofa but the sleep that had come so easily before now eluded him expertly. Why would Molly say that? Surely, we must be the talk of Bunnyburrow by now? A fox and a rabbit married? The way Judy told him about the place it would have been going through the gossip mill for at least another century. Something was wrong here and, turning over and shutting his eyes to try and catch some needed sleep, Nick knew, one way or another, he was going to find out.