#but seriously do you think there are any in part 1?

[cressidagrey]

White Horse - Chapter 38: November 2024 - Part 1

Pairing: Max Verstappen x Isabelle Leclerc (Original Character)

Summary:

Max Verstappen is a World Champion. Isabelle Leclerc is invisible.

She watched her family give up everything for Charles’ career—Arthur’s karting, their father’s savings, even her childhood horse. She understood. She never asked for more.

But Max does. He notices the things no one else does, listens when no one else will, and puts her first in ways she never imagined. With him, she isn’t an afterthought—she’s a choice. And for the first time, she realizes she doesn’t have to be invisible.

Warnings and Notes: 

we have now moved on from Charles bashing to bashing his whole family, Discussions of toxic past relationships, talk about loosing a childhood pet, toxic families, mention of the loss of a parent.

As always big thanks to @llirawolf , who listens to me ramble

Belle hadn’t expected Jos to show up. 

Max’s father usually picked and chose his race weekends carefully—strategically. 

But there he was, Friday morning, standing in Red Bull hospitality with a coffee in one hand, his other already reaching out to squeeze her shoulder with the surprising gentleness of a man who terrified half the paddock.

“Hello, meisje,” Jos said. “You’re bigger.”

Belle blinked. “Thank you, I think?”

Jos nodded seriously. “That’s good. Baby is growing.”

Beside her, Max stifled a laugh and muttered, “Papa, you can’t just say things like that.”

But Belle only smiled, because honestly? It was kind of sweet—especially coming from Jos.

And so began her weekend being doubly fussed over.

Belle hadn’t known Jos was coming until Thursday night, when Max casually mentioned, “Oh, by the way, my dad’s flying in. He said he wants to see you.”

Which meant, apparently, see her, guard her, and silently materialize at her elbow whenever she tried to walk more than ten metres unsupervised.

This pregnancy had done something to him—cracked something open. Now Jos looked at Belle like she was an endangered species he’d been personally tasked with protecting.

“Sit,” Jos said Friday morning, pulling a chair out for her in the Red Bull hospitality lounge. “You’ve been on your feet too long.”

“I just stood up.”

“Exactly.”

Belle blinked at him. “Is this a Verstappen thing?”

“Yes,” Max said from behind her, handing her a bottle of water with the label already peeled off—he knew she hated the crinkling sound. “It’s hereditary. Sorry.”

She rolled her eyes but sat.

Jos didn’t sit. He hovered. Occasionally refilled her water. At one point, he muttered, “You tell me if you’re too hot. I’ll find someone to fix the AC.”

“I think that’s just the sun, Jos.”

“I’ll still find someone.”

Helmut Marko nodded solemnly at her like she might go into labor at any moment. GP had even brought her a footstool.

After Max’s FP1, Jos came over and asked, “You okay?” in the quiet, awkward tone of a man trying to learn how to be soft.

She’d blinked. “I’m okay. Baby’s just doing somersaults.”

Jos had nodded once. Then muttered something like, “Stubborn. Just like the rest of the family.”

And patted her shoulder. Lightly. Carefully. As if afraid she might shatter.

She didn’t.

 Instead, she smiled and leaned back in her chair while Max returned from the debrief, sweaty and grumpy about understeer but visibly lighting up the moment he saw her.

“Drink anything yet?” he asked.

“I had water, juice, and a banana. Your dad supervised it like I was on probation.”

Max had snorted, leaned down to press a kiss to her temple, and murmured, “Welcome to Verstappen hospitality.”

***

The thing about being nearly eight months pregnant during a triple-header was that Belle had mastered the art of keeping her heart rate below 120—even when Formula One decided to descend into absolute madness.

Which meant when Max crossed the line third in the sprint, she didn’t immediately jump up and scream like half the Red Bull garage did. She smiled, placed a hand on her bump—where Emilian had taken up his current hobby of bladder kickboxing—and waited for the usual post-race chaos to unfold.

Max looked annoyed, not overjoyed, as he pulled into parc fermé. Not surprising. He hadn’t loved the car’s balance since FP1, and any time he wasn’t first was basically a personal offense to his racing DNA.

And then someone handed her a phone and muttered, “You’re going to want to see this.”

INVESTIGATION: CAR 1 – VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR INFRINGEMENT

“Oh, come on,” Belle muttered.

Twenty minutes later, Max had changed out of his fireproofs but was still pacing the hospitality suite like a panther in a too-small cage and grumbling under his breath. 

Belle didn’t say anything at first. She knew better.

Max wasn’t angry in the traditional sense—he wasn’t throwing helmets or yelling at engineers. He was the other kind of angry. The dangerous, simmering kind. The kind that cracked through in clipped Dutch, in jaw-tight silences, in the way his hands ran through his hair like he wanted to pull the whole world apart.

She stood slowly and walked over, pressing her hands gently to his chest. “Hey. Breathe.”

He did.

Eventually.

“They’re giving third to Charles,” he said, tone unreadable.

Belle blinked. “Wait. Charles is—on the podium now?”

He nodded. “They’re not redoing the ceremony. Just… swapping the results after. Retroactive podium inheritance.”

“So we get the drama and the logistics headache,” she muttered.

Max’s lips twitched, just barely. “And probably a Ferrari Instagram post with too many emojis.”

Belle couldn’t help it. She laughed. Then groaned, because the laugh made the baby shift into her ribs again. “Ow. Okay. You’re both giving me heartburn now.”

Max’s hand was instantly at her back, his thumb brushing over her spine like a reflex.

 “You should sit,” he murmured, and then paused. “I’m sorry. For all of this.”

“Max,” she said, guiding his hand to her bump, “our child thinks your VSC penalty is an outrage and is kicking in protest. We’re on your side.”

He looked down at her then—really looked. Some of the tension bled from his shoulders. He didn’t say anything more about the penalty, or the race, or Charles. He just rested his forehead gently against hers and exhaled.

Outside, the media spun.

 Inside, Max was just… her Max.

***

Text Messages: Emilie Abadie & Belle Verstappen

Emilie: How. The hell. Are you surviving that weather. I am NOT pregnant and it’s driving me absolutely insane. Lando said the humidity is making his hair “emotionally volatile”.

Belle: I’m still upright, so I’m winning.

Emilie:  Your unborn child is cooking in a Dutch oven. And you’re what, just… vibing?? Are you human??

Belle: Barely. I am 75% fries, 10% spite, and 15% electrolyte drinks at this point.

Emilie:  It’s like racing in a sauna someone cursed.

Belle: I have iced towels and a Verstappen man fussing on either side. It’s a system.

Emilie: Two Verstappen men fussing?? I would not survive. Respectfully, Jos looking concerned would send me straight into orbit.

Belle: Jos brought me a parasol. Didn’t say a word, just appeared with it like I was a 19th-century duchess and nodded once.

Emilie: What in the soft grandpa energy is going ON over there at RedBull??

Belle: Honestly? No idea. I just smiled, took the parasol, and accepted my fate as the Verstappen household’s most precious cargo.

Emilie: You are precious cargo. I just hope Baby Verstappen doesn’t melt before they get to the grid.

Belle: He’s already kicking in protest.

***

A day later, after Qualifying, Max stalked into the Red Bull motorhome. 

Belle had already finished half a bottle of water and braced herself emotionally.

She could tell from the way he pulled off his gloves—snapped, not peeled—that he was past the tight-lipped irritation and heading directly toward incandescent. The kind of mood that didn’t need shouting to be loud. His jaw was clenched, his brow furrowed, and his racing suit was only halfway unzipped before he muttered something in Dutch that she didn’t need to understand to translate.

It was not complimentary.

She stayed seated, hands resting over the swell of her stomach, one eyebrow raised.

“You want to break something, or do you want a snack first?” she asked mildly.

Max didn’t answer. He paced instead. One tight circuit around the driver’s room like a lion in a gilded cage. His whole body buzzed with frustration—sharp, contained, and so very Max.

Twelfth in qualifying. Five-place grid penalty. An engine change that had already made him annoyed earlier in the weekend. And now a red flag that stopped him from putting in a second lap. All of it stacking up.

He exhaled through his nose. “I had pace. We had it. And then that flag—”

Belle nodded calmly. “I saw.”

“I had it, Belle.”

“I know.”

He scrubbed his hand through his hair. “And I’m starting from seventeenth.”

From the couch, Jos spoke for the first time.

“Well,” he said mildly, not looking up from his phone, “at least you’ll have someone to overtake.”

Belle blinked. So did Max.

Jos didn’t flinch. “No one wants a boring race. You’ll manage.”

Max stared at his father like he’d grown a second head.

Belle bit back a grin. Very calm Jos Verstappen was, somehow, more unnerving than yelling Jos. Like someone had dialed down the volume but left all the heat.

Max looked at him like he was insane. “That’s not the point.”

Belle watched them, biting back the urge to get up and tug him down beside her. But Max in this state didn’t want to be calmed. He wanted to fight air.

Jos just raised an eyebrow. “What is the point, then?”

“That it’s bullshit,” Max snapped. “The whole thing. They screwed the timing, and I get penalized for it. And now I have to make up seventeen places while everyone pretends that’s normal.”

Belle winced a little. The baby kicked hard. Possibly in solidarity.

“You’re not seventeen cars worse,” Jos said, still maddeningly calm. “You’re seventeen places hungrier.”

That made Max stop.

Belle finally spoke. “You always say you love a challenge.”

Max turned to her, and the moment their eyes met, some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. Just a fraction. Enough.

“I do,” he said, voice lower now. “But this feels like punishment.”

She patted the seat beside her. “Then punish them back.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Then—finally—he exhaled, and the storm in his chest started to settle. He dropped his gloves on the table, tugged off the top half of his race suit, and walked over.

When he sat, Belle didn’t even hesitate—she pulled his hand to her belly and placed it there. Emilian kicked once. Max’s entire face softened.

“See?” she said, quiet and steady. “We’re on your side.”

And just like that, she saw it happen—the shift. His fire didn’t go out. But it became direction. Focus. The kind that didn’t explode, but honed in.

“I’m going to need to pass so many cars,” he mumbled.

“You’ll do it,” Belle said simply. “Just try not to give me a heart attack in the process.”

***

Belle had just wanted to get back to the garage.

She’d spent the last half hour tucked into a corner of the McLaren setup, feet propped up on a stool while Emilie made pointed, mildly threatening comments about the lack of air circulation and the state of the hospitality snacks. Belle had laughed, sipped her electrolytes, and finally set off back across the paddock toward Red Bull.

It was hot. She was swollen. Her back ached. And Max had given her that tight-lipped, barely-there smile that meant he was somewhere deep in his zone, unreachable to all but engine data and tyre temps. She wanted to be there before he stepped into the car — steady, present, quiet.

She just hadn’t accounted for the obstacle course of egos between her and the Red Bull garage.

“Miss Leclerc! One moment?”

She turned automatically, the smile already half-set on her face before her brain caught up.

“Mrs. Verstappen,” she corrected, evenly.

The journalist blinked. “Sorry?”

“It’s Mrs Verstappen now,” Belle said again. “I took my husband’s name.”

Two of them had formed a vague semi-circle around her—mics angled forward, camera light blinking red, and all the faux-casual charm of a trap already sprung.

“Of course,” the first one recovered. “Mrs. Verstappen. A quick question, if you don’t mind—”

Belle didn’t say anything. She didn’t nod, didn’t invite it. But he steamrolled ahead anyway.

“Given Max’s current form—ten races without a win—would you say he’s feeling the pressure? It’s been a very un-Max-like run, don’t you think?”

Belle blinked. She could practically hear the underline on un-Max-like.

The second journalist leaned in, chin lifted like he was asking about the weather. ““Do you think maybe it’s fatherhood? A change in priorities? Some fans think he’s losing his edge.”Belle’s spine straightened.

She wasn’t new to this. She’d heard versions of the same question, the same insinuations. That love softened men. That fatherhood made them slower. That happiness and greatness couldn’t coexist.

But today—thirty-four weeks pregnant, overheated, aching, and walking toward the one person who never asked her to be anything but herself—it landed differently.

 Belle exhaled slowly. 

She tilted her head, assessing them like she was choosing which wire to cut. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft and steady, “are we pretending four podiums in ten races and a sprint win is a crisis now?”

The first reporter’s mouth opened. Then closed.

She smiled, slow and glacial. “I’ll tell you what,” Belle said. “If Max doesn’t win today, I’ll sit down with you. On the record. You can ask me every dramatic question you’ve been saving in your little notebook.”

A pause. The baby shifted under her palm like they approved.

“But if he does win,” she continued, voice sweet with the edge of steel, “I want your apology. On camera. Same tone. Same energy. I’ll be watching.”

They didn’t reply.

Didn’t need to.

Belle gave them a polite nod that somehow felt like a knife being sheathed, then turned on her heel and walked away — steady, composed, and untouchable. The Verstappen name glittered on the credential clipped to her bag. 

She didn’t glance back.

***

Max found his wife exactly where he’d expected to: tucked into the corner of the Red Bull hospitality, perched on the edge of the leather couch like she was pretending not to be exhausted. She had one hand resting on her bump, the other gripping a glass of water she probably hadn’t remembered to finish. Her expression was unreadable—carefully composed in that way she sometimes did when she was second-guessing herself.

Max didn’t need to ask. He knew her too well.

He dropped down beside her, thigh against hers, arm along the back of the couch. “What did you do?”

Belle didn’t look at him. “Nothing.”

Max raised a brow. Waited.

Belle let out a breath. “Okay, fine. Maybe… something.”

Max turned toward her, eyes narrowing in amused suspicion. “Belle.”

“I may have…” She paused, winced slightly. “I may have threatened a journalist.”

Max blinked. “Define threatened.”

“Well, it wasn’t violent.”

“That’s not comforting.”

“They cornered me on the walk back from McLaren,” Belle said. “Started asking if you were cracking under pressure, if maybe being a father was making you lose your edge—”

“Oh for—”

“—and I may have challenged them to a conditional interview-slash-public-apology wager depending on whether or not you win today.”

Silence.

Belle waited.

Max’s expression didn’t change at first. Then—

He burst out laughing.

Not a polite chuckle. Not a snort. A full-bodied, head-thrown-back, shoulders-shaking laugh that startled the Red Bull intern who had just stepped into the hospitality suite with a tray of fruit.

“You what?” Max managed, wiping at his eyes.

Belle huffed. “It wasn’t planned! I was hot, my back hurt, and they called me Leclerc first, so I corrected them, and it just… escalated.”

Max grinned at her, still wheezing slightly. “You told them to apologize on camera?”

“If you win,” she muttered. “Which, given the engine penalty, is probably not happening. So really, I lose.”

Max leaned over, kissed her temple, and laughed again. “You absolute menace.”

“I regretted it halfway through,” Belle admitted. “But by then it was too late, and the baby was kicking like they were cheering me on.”

Max looked delighted. “You know what this means, right?”

“What?”

“If I don’t win, I expect a full dramatic press sit-down. Lights. Microphones. Maybe a chair turn reveal like The Voice.”

Belle groaned. “Please don’t encourage this.”

Max pulled her feet into his lap, began rubbing small circles into her calves like it was muscle memory. “I’m going to win just so I can see their faces. You’ve given me extra motivation.”

Belle sighed. “You’re impossible.”

“You’re amazing,” he countered. “And also, terrifying when provoked. Remind me never to question your priorities while you’re eight months pregnant.”

***

Meanwhile on Twitter: 

@/gridgossipqueen: 🚨🚨NEW CLIP JUST DROPPED🚨🚨 Belle Leclerc-Verstappen being cornered by reporters about Max’s “10-race no win streak” and her saying:

“I’ll tell you what, if Max doesn’t win today, I’ll sit down with you. On the record. You can ask me every dramatic question you’ve been saving in your little notebook. But if he does win, I want your apology. On camera. Same tone. Same energy. I’ll be watching.”  Oh. She is NOT playing. 🔥

@/helmetandheels:  her tone. the precision. the “you cornered a pregnant woman and this is what you’re going with?” she read them like tire temps in the sun

@/babyverstappenfiles: max has a contract. belle has VENGEANCE.

@/f1softpower:  you don’t come for the king and expect the queen to stay silent. she gave them rope. can’t wait for the race. i hope max wins by 30 seconds

@/danielricciardosmirror:  i would simply never recover if belle looked at me and said “we can sit down on the record” like it was a threat. like she wasn’t holding back a full power unit of righteous fury.

@/gridcriersanonymous:  she walked away with her hand on her belly like a mic drop the baby already knows they’re being raised by a legend

@/chaosleclerc: max pls win i want to see that apology on air in 4K

@/wagsunfiltered:  they really tried to come for max through belle. rookie mistake. jos verstappen raised a driver pascale leclerc raised a fortress

@/redbullprmole:  i know the RB media team is already drafting the post-race caption if he wins: “we’ll take that apology now.”

@/gridwitch:  this woman is 7 months pregnant and still managed to backhand three journalists with one sentence and a single eyebrow raise

@/maxnation94: she didn’t even flinch. didn’t blink. and now I need max to win more than I need air because that man has a literal dragon defending him

@/oscarpiastrisburner:  belle looking them dead in the eye, hand on bump, and offering a conditional interview like she’s sealing a prophecy we are witnessing history

@/mclarenfangirl69: y’all remember how silent the journalists were?? like they knew they just unlocked a main character moment and couldn’t take it back

@/verstappenfangirlie:  if max wins today it’s not just a comeback — it’s revenge, it’s prophecy, 

@/charlesleclercsleftthumb:  not a single “no comment.” not a single “let’s wait and see.” she gave them a chance to be decent and then served consequences with a smile

@/tiregirlie:  “if he doesn’t win, I’ll give you an interview” MOTHER??? IS THAT YOU???

@/f1burnerwife: the way she didn’t raise her voice didn’t flinch just smiled and laid down consequences that’s leclerc blood and verstappen ferocity working in harmony

@/chaoslapcount:  belle: if he wins, you apologize on camera. journalists: 😐 me in the background: 🪦🪦🪦🪦🪦🪦🪦🪦

@/landohaus: max hasn’t even started the race yet and belle already won the pre-show grand prix the PR sector was purple, your honor

@/gridpanic:  she didn’t threaten she scheduled a reckoning

@/verstappencryptid: belle said “i know my husband. i know what he’s made of. and i know what he’s about to do.” and i believed her

@/f1dramaqueen:  “cornering a pregnant woman before a race” AND she hit them with “public apology on that same camera” she’s terrifying. i want her as my lawyer.

@/mclarensmut:  max is about to win just out of spite

@/paddockdebriefs: if max wins today, someone better be outside that media pen with a camera and a mic asking those same journos if they’re okay

@/wagsunfiltered: we do not talk enough about how belle verstappen is media trained, ice-veined, and protecting her husband from slander icon behavior

***

The rain had started as a whisper on the windows of Max’s driver room, barely audible over the pre-race broadcast. But by the time the formation lap began, it was a steady drumbeat—insistent, merciless, loud.

Belle shifted in the armchair, one hand on her belly, the other curled around a lukewarm cup of tea. She was very much not in the mood for chaos. Unfortunately, Interlagos never listened to reason.

Jos Verstappen sat beside her, arms crossed over his chest. He hadn’t said much—he never did before a race—but Belle had known him long enough now to recognize the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes narrowed at the track feed. He was calm in the way thunderclouds were calm—full of warning.

“Max looks good in the wet,” Jos murmured eventually, almost like reassurance. “He always has.”

Belle nodded. “He’s P17. He’ll be furious until he hits the top ten.”

Jos snorted. “He was furious before breakfast.”

That, somehow, made her laugh.

They watched in silence as the race unfolded—Max carving his way forward with grim efficiency, overtaking with the kind of precision that made engineers hold their breath. By lap 10, he was already P7, and Belle felt the tight coil in her chest ease just slightly.

Then came yellow flags. A virtual safety car. Cars going off the road. 

The restart brought tension back. Intermediates? Slicks? Everyone second-guessing the weather gods. Belle kept watching, even when her spine started to ache and her bladder protested. Max was staying out—he hadn’t pitted. 

A gamble.

The rain slowed. The gamble paid off.

One lap, then two, then five. He took the lead and never looked back.

Belle didn’t realize she was crying until Jos handed her a tissue without looking at her, his eyes still on the screen. He didn’t say anything—just passed it to her like it was a gear change.

“I’m fine,” Belle whispered, breathless with something between adrenaline and awe. “I just—he needed this.”

“He earned it,” Jos said quietly.

It struck her, then, how similar and different they were—Max and his father. Fire and restraint, storm and structure. And yet she knew—somewhere under all of Jos’s silence—was pride so deep it was almost unbearable.

When Max crossed the line first, nineteen seconds clear of the rest of the field, Belle didn’t cheer. She just closed her eyes for a second, let her head tip back against the chair, and smiled.

“I hope he’s not cocky about it,” she said.

Jos chuckled. “He will be.”

They watched the cooldown lap, the radio messages. Max’s voice, elated.

The victory that had evaded him for ten races finally back in his hands.

***

The rain had eased to a drizzle by the time Belle made it down to parc fermé, one hand steady on the railing, the other curled instinctively under her belly. The paddock was electric—mechanics cheering, engineers shouting updates into radios, camera crews angling for shots that would scream Redemption in the Rain. She barely registered any of it.

She only saw him.

Max was out of the car, helmet off, curls damp and sticking to his forehead. He was grinning—wide and reckless in that rare way he saved only for the victories that meant something. That cost him. His suit was streaked with grime and rain and glory, and when his eyes found her, it was like the rest of the paddock vanished.

Belle didn’t move.

She didn’t have to.

He was already crossing the concrete in long, fast strides, weaving through his crew, ignoring the cameras, the PR handler saying something about interviews. His hands found her face first—damp gloves dropped somewhere on the way—and then her shoulders, grounding himself.

“Hey,” he said, like he hadn’t just taken back a race like it belonged to him.

Belle let out a shaky breath. “That was insane.”

“You watched?”

“Jos and I both did. He cried.”

Max blinked. “Jos?”

She smiled. “Okay, fine. I cried. Jos handed me the tissue.”

Max let out a soft laugh, forehead pressing to hers for the briefest second. His hands drifted down—one to her waist, the other to the curve of her bump.

“You okay?” he asked, voice low. “Too much noise?”

“I’m good,” she whispered. “Better now.”

And then he kissed her.

Right there, under the spit of rain and the harsh lights and half a dozen camera lenses catching their every move. It wasn’t long or showy. It was just them—familiar, tender, full of relief and something heavier. The kind of kiss that said we made it through this day and came out the other side.

When they parted, she cupped his face, thumb brushing a smear of dirt from his cheek.

“You needed this,” she said.

Max shook his head, eyes still locked on hers. “We did.”

And for a moment, Belle didn’t feel the rain or the cameras or the weight of carrying the next chapter of their lives. She just felt home.

Then Max grinned, already stepping back as a team member called him over for the podium prep.

“I’ll be five minutes,” he said, backing away with one last glance. “Try not to start any fights while I’m gone.”

“No promises,” Belle said, hand resting on her stomach.

Emilian kicked. She smiled.

***

Meanwhile on Twitter: 

@/f1girlie77: MAX VERSTAPPEN. RAIN GOD. TYRE WHISPERER. FATHER TO BE. HUSBAND. LEGEND.

@/f1andfeelings:  Belle: if Max wins, I want your apology on camera Max: wins from P17 in the rain with a 5-place grid penalty, after ten winless races Me: oh she manifested that into existence

@/thepaddocktea:  the kiss. the kiss. someone write vows about that kiss in parc fermé.

@/softverstappen:  that moment when Max dropped everything and went straight to Belle after the win. kissed her. touched her bump. whispered something that made her smile. they’re so in love i’m going to cry under my couch

@/chaosgp:  the grid: fighting for scraps Max Verstappen: “I’m gonna win, kiss my wife, and make the internet explode”

@/leclercsleftbrow: the way Belle said “if he wins, I want your apology on camera” and then he WON??? that’s a WIFE who believes in her man

@/bellexrbqueen: do you think the journalists are drafting the apology right now or do they just cry in a group chat

@/griddywithmclaren: Everyone: oh no Max is in crisis Belle: bet he wins Max: bet accepted

@/dutchlionlegacy:  can’t stop thinking about how Belle looked at Max like he was the whole world after that win and how Max kissed her like the win didn’t matter unless she saw it

@/oscarpiastrisweater:  we all owe Belle an apology because apparently she made a deal with the motorsport gods last night and THEY LISTENED

@/safeforverstappen: Max Verstappen really said “watch me win this race and kiss my wife like it’s the final scene in a romance film”

@/jensonbuttongirlie:  Belle’s the only person who could make Max Verstappen smile like that before podium interviews. I don’t care what anyone says.

@/f1teaofficial: MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS IN BRAZIL. AFTER TEN RACES. IN THE RAIN. FROM P17. I AM ON THE FLOOR.

@/madforpadz: Belle making that bet with a journalist and Max delivering like it’s Amazon Prime is PEAK couple energy.

@/landofthedramas:  Belle: makes a petty bet with a journalist Max: wins a Grand Prix to defend her honour

@/dtsburner: Red Bull PR team watching Belle predict a win and Max deliver: 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♀️🧍 “well... that’s going in Drive to Survive”

@/spicygp: If I don’t get a follow-up video of that journo giving Belle the apology she’s owed, I will riot

@/teamradiochaos: I can’t decide what’s more iconic: – Belle correcting the reporter who called her Leclerc – Max winning after 10 races – THE KISS™ – or Belle smiling like she summoned rain and redemption herself

@/f1teaqueen:  BELLE VERSTAPPEN GAVE THEM AN ULTIMATUM AND HER HUSBAND DELIVERED A MASTERCLASS. ICONIC BEHAVIOUR.

@/slowpitstopguy: can we circle back to the fact that belle VERSTAPPEN threatened a journalist with an on-camera apology if max didn’t win and then MAX WON like what kind of power couple sorcery is this

@/lando4life: Max is getting the baby named after him now, right?? Or maybe Belle just names it “Pay Up” and tags the journalist 💀

@/f1teaaccount:  Max Verstappen ending his winless streak in Brazil and kissing his wife like that in parc fermé??? The DRAMA, the REDEMPTION ARC, the ROMANCE. Netflix could never. 🔥🏆💋 #BrazilGP #Verstappen

@/FormulaWivesClub:  Belle Verstappen gave us:

✨ A fashion masterclass

🍼 Pregnancy sass

🎤 Absolute media takedown

💋 Rain-soaked kiss with her husband She is eight months pregnant. She won. We all did.

@/lightsoutbliss: Someone check on that journalist Belle made a bet with. He’s probably hiding under a table writing a handwritten apology and crying.

@/McLarenLibrarian: Belle Verstappen: Makes a public bet with a smug journo. Max Verstappen: Starts P17. Wins the entire race. I have never seen two people more suited to each other in my life. 

@/charlesfanacc: charles leclerc fans watching max win, get the girl, and absolutely obliterate a losing streak like: well okay then

***

Post-Race Interview Transcript – 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix - Charles Leclerc

Interviewer: "Charles, bit of a wild race today—weather, penalties, strategy… but also, a lot of attention on your brother-in-law’s win and, uh… your sister."

Charles: (laughs softly) "Yeah, it was a bit chaotic out there. Congrats to Max though, and to Pierre and Esteban."

Interviewer: "So… were you aware that Belle made a bet with a journalist before the race? She apparently said if Max didn’t win, she’d give an interview—but if he did, they owed her an apology on camera?"

Charles: (blinks, visibly surprised, then lets out a short laugh) "Wait—what? Seriously?"

Interviewer: "Yes, seriously. On camera. She said it herself, apparently right after someone asked if Max was losing his edge."

Charles: (grinning now, shaking his head in disbelief)  "That’s… actually incredible. I had no idea.”

Interviewer: "Does it surprise you that she’d do something like that?"

Charles: (still smiling, but now a bit more thoughtful)  "Honestly? No. She might not race cars, but she’s got the same fire as the rest of us—she just channels it differently. People think Belle is quiet. Sweet. And she is, don’t get me wrong—she’s the kindest person I know. But don’t underestimate her." (pause)  "She has bite. You just don’t see it all the time. She saves it for when it counts."  (grinning)  “Good luck to whoever has to deliver that apology. She won’t let them forget.”

Journalist: “Would you ever bet on Max like that?”

Charles:  “Not while I’m still trying to beat him, no!” (laughs)  “But I respect the confidence. And I’m happy for them. That win meant a lot. You could see it.”

***

Post-Race Interview Transcript – 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix - Max Verstappen

Interviewer: "Max, congratulations. Ten races without a win, and now here we are—P1 in São Paulo. How are you feeling?"

Max: (grinning, still breathless from the cooldown lap) "Yeah, it feels good. We’ve had some difficult weekends, some weird luck, but today everything clicked. The car felt great. Strategy worked. I’m really happy."

Interviewer: "We heard some… interesting rumors before the race. Apparently, your wife made a bet with a journalist in the paddock? That if you didn’t win today, she’d give them an interview?"

Max: (laughs immediately, shakes his head) "Ah, yeah. I heard about that."

Interviewer: "Care to comment?"

Max: (deadpan, but clearly amused) "Well, obviously I couldn’t let my wife be forced to do an interview she didn’t want to do. So I won."(pause, smirk growing) "Also… I’m waiting for that apology she’s owed. On camera. Same energy."

Interviewer: "She really said that?"

Max: (smiling now, just the tiniest bit smug) "She did. And I love her for it."

Interviewer: "Does it add a little extra pressure, racing with Baby Verstappen on the way?"

Max: (genuine now, softer tone) "It adds perspective. But pressure? No. If anything, it makes everything more meaningful. I want to make our kid proud. And their mom, too."

***

Text Messages: Emilie Abadie & Belle Verstappen

Belle: Just checking in on you. I know this one’s a gut punch.

Emilie: … You mean the moment Lando’s championship hopes fell off a cliff and spontaneously combusted in sector two?

Belle: I was trying to be gentle 😬

Emilie: I love your husband. I do. But right now I would very much like him to stub his toe on a trophy.

Belle: He’d still win the race on one foot, Emilie.

Emilie: Ugh. I know. God, I know. Lando’s pretending to be fine but he’s barely touched his post-race pizza. That’s how I know.

Belle: Okay but… that is cause for concern.

Emilie: Exactly. Also, what the hell was that last stint from Max?? Did he just decide physics wasn’t real?

Belle: He was very calm after. Said, “car felt good.” Like he didn’t just drive like Poseidon was co-piloting.

Emilie: I hate him. (I don’t.) (I love you both.) (But still. Let me sulk.)

Belle: Permission granted.

***

Text Messages: Lando Norris & Belle Verstappen

Belle: Hey. I know you’re probably surrounded by people right now, but I just wanted to say—you were brilliant today.

Lando: Didn’t feel like it. Didn’t look like it either.

Belle: You kept it clean. You kept your head. In that weather. That’s more than most of the grid managed.

Lando: Max won by nineteen seconds.

Belle: You’re not Max. And Max isn’t you. You’re not in this sport to be a carbon copy. You’re in it because you’re Lando freaking Norris and you’ve earned every bit of your place here.

Lando: You sound like Emilie. (Which is mildly terrifying.)

Belle: She’s the smarter of us. Obviously. But also: you’re allowed to be disappointed. Just don’t let it eat you.

Lando: How do you not let it?

Belle: You let people hold it with you. And then you go again. (Also snacks help. I recommend whatever Emilie keeps hidden in her travel bag.)

Lando: …She has Kinder Eggs. She’s hoarding them like we’re in an apocalypse.

Belle: There you go. See? Everything’s survivable with the right sugar to sadness ratio.

Lando: Thanks, Belle. Really.

Belle: Always. You’ll get yours. I believe that down to my rib-bruised organs.

*** The hotel room was quiet when they returned.

Max had been silent the entire way back from the track—still in his team kit, cap pulled low, hand resting absently on Belle’s thigh during the drive. She could tell he wasn’t fully there. Not in a dangerous way—just… suspended. Caught somewhere between the high of victory and the exhaustion dragging him down.

The room was dimly lit. The sky outside was already dark, São Paulo’s storm clouds casting a heavy grey over the skyline. Belle kicked off her shoes by the door and turned toward Max.

He was standing in the center of the room, just staring. At nothing. His jaw tight. Shoulders high.

“Max?” she said softly.

He didn’t answer.

She crossed the room slowly, her hand brushing his back, and only then did he move—like something inside him cracked and gave way. He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and pulled off his cap with one hand, dragging the other over his face. When she stepped closer, he finally looked up at her.

His eyes were glassy. Distant.

“I didn’t think I could do it,” he whispered. “Not today. Not anymore.”

Belle crouched down in front of him, her knees protesting but her heart louder.

“You did,” she said gently.

He shook his head. “You don’t understand—every race, it felt like it was slipping. Like I was the problem. Like I’d peaked. Like maybe this was the start of the decline, and I wasn’t ready for that. I—” His voice broke. He looked away, jaw clenched hard against the rising tide.

Belle reached for his hand.

“Max.”

He pressed his knuckles to his eyes, the way a boy might try to stop tears he couldn’t control.

“I couldn’t breathe after quali. I was angry, and tired, and I saw everyone’s faces like they were waiting for me to fail again. And I thought—what if I do?”

He exhaled hard, chest stuttering like a misfiring engine.

“I don’t want them to think I’m done. I don’t want you to think that.”

Belle’s heart cracked open.

She brought his hands into hers, kissed the inside of his wrist, and said, very clearly, “I don’t care if you win again this season or not at all. I love you for who you are. Not for what the leaderboard says.”

His eyes finally met hers.

“I love the man who comes home to me. The one who makes me tea I and tells the baby they’re not allowed to arrive before the off-season. I love the Max who spoils the cats and who gets so focused he forgets to blink. That’s who I married.”

A long beat passed.

Then Max exhaled again, and this time it sounded like surrender. Like letting go. His shoulders slumped forward and Belle stepped into his arms.

He buried his face against her shoulder, arms winding around her back as if she were the only thing tethering him to the earth. She felt it then—the trembling. Not dramatic, not loud. Just the body of a man who had been carrying too much for too long.

She held him tighter.

“You’re allowed to feel it,” she whispered. “Even when you win.”

He didn’t say anything.

But when he finally pulled back, cheeks damp and eyes red, his voice was steadier.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Belle smiled, pressing her forehead to his. “Always.”

He kissed her—softly, gratefully—and then rested his head against her belly, one hand splayed protectively over their unborn child.

“I’m okay now,” he murmured.

And maybe he was.

But Belle would stay there anyway.

Just in case.

[idk-karla]

The Neighbor, pt. 2

Pairing: bucky barnes x single!mom!reader (Post Thunderbolts)

Summary: Bucky helps you with the groceries and stays for dinner.

Author's Note: I'm gonna be so real with you my guy, I have not edited this so I apologize for any mistakes. Also there are barely any long hair bucky memes. I love short hair bucky but long hair buckt is so fucking daddy idk. Especially that little cunty blow out out in the Thunderbolts post credit. 😭

Part 1

It started with a cookie. 

Then I started seeing him more often. He would pass me in the mornings on his way out with a smile, putter around the porch in the afternoon. And then he started sitting balcony every afternoon at 4pm. Which coincidentally was the same time Ellie and I played outside. 

And just like that a tradition was born. Ellie would bring him a new “delivery” every day on her way in from school. A flower she picked from the sidewalk, a crayon drawing of a purple dinosaur, a single cheese puff in a napkin. He took every offering with that quiet nod and tiny smile that I was starting to recognize as rare currency. Sometimes he gave her something back- a shiny coin, a folded paper crane, a soft high-five that she beamed about for hours.

He still didn’t say much. He would watch. He would smile, softly like if he did it too hard it would hurt, he would wave. Sometimes, when I turned my head just slightly, I’d catch him watching me like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to. Butterflies swarmed my stomach everytime he looked at me like that.Like he didn’t quite know what to do with the way he was looking.

Truthfully, I barely knew either. I hadn’t been with anyone since I left Ellie’s dad when she was barely two and I hadn't had much interest in dating after that. Not trying to balance a full time career and a very active kid. Not to mention, Ellie’s dad hadn’t quite made me want to be with another man again. I knew he was never going to be my forever guy, but I had stayed for a while hoping he would change. Then I got pregnant and I really thought he would change. Instead, he got worse. I had been anticipating my exit since Ellie was still in my womb but I didn’t have the resources until it was almost too late. We were never going back. 

We’d started over. Fresh. Clean slate. Now with a broody neighbor that had my curiosity peaked, 

We hadn’t seen him for two weeks after a full month of quiet interactions. Ellie had been sad the first few days, worried he had moved out. But I’d reminded her he was an avenger and he was probably out working or something. I think I was trying to convince myself just as much. 

I hated to admit my heart skipped a beat when I pulled into my usual parking spot and spotted the familiar heavy bike stationed. Ellie didn’t notice and I didn’t alert her that he was back. Instead, I parked, got her unbuckled and continued our animated conversation while she put on her big girl strength and helped me with the grocery bags. 

We were standing in front of the trunk, gathering as many bags as we could carry while Ellie talked animatedly about something that happened in class today when a familiar voice sounded behind me.

“Need some help?” The voice startled me to dropping the bags, sending Ellie into a fit of giggles. 

“Mr. Soldier!” Ellie squealed.  “You’re back!”

He titled his head at her and gave her a small salute. “Ma’am,” he said seriously, which sent her into giggles. 

“Hi,” He greeted me quietly. The butterflies in my stomach were having a frenzy. 

“Hi,” I replied. Somehow the exchange felt intimate. I hated to admit, seeing him now after so much time made me relieved. I hate coming home the last few weeks with no Bucky on the porch, hated not seeing his bike parked next to my car. 

I wanted to tell him I’d missed seeing him. That I hated how… empty the afternoons had felt without him. That I checked for his bike every day, hoping it would be back. But the words stuck somewhere between my chest and my throat. So I just smiled.

“I missed you!” Ellie wrapped her arms around his knees without permission. 

Something passed across Bucky’s face. A flicker of surprise, emotion, something I couldn’t quite name. He crouched carefully to her level.

“Sorry I missed our daily delivery, I had to go work for a little bit.” Bucky finally replied.

I leaned against the car, watching as Ellie cupped his face like he was some long-lost best friend. I saw it when his face caught he reflection of the light, a split lip, faint bruises blooming along his jaw.

“Thats okay! I put all the deliveries in your mailbox!” She giggled diabolically. 

My eyes widened. “You did what?”

“I didn’t have space in my toy box, Mommy! And Bucky wasn’t here to pick them up. The mailman leaves stuff in our box when we’re gone, remember?”

I didn’t have the heart to be mortified, I was mostly kind of intrigued to find out exactly what she had put in his mailbox. Bucky looked… stricken. Like someone had slapped him in the face. 

Ellie grabbed his cheeks again. “Did you beat up all the bad guys?”

He nodded solemnly.

“Thank you, Mr. Soldier!”

His voice softened just a touch. “My friends call me Bucky.”

Her eyes lit up like a thousand suns. “And we’re friends!!”

Bucky looked back to me for permission. “If your mom says it’s okay.”

I sighed, but I couldn’t help smiling. “I suppose it’s too late to stop it now.” Ellie gave another excited yelp and turned to grab the grocery bags. 

“Let me help,” he offered, glancing between us. “Put me to work, boss.”

And just like that, we were playing “how many bags can fit on Bucky’s metal arm.” Today’s count: fifteen.

I tried not to look flustered as I opened the door and let him carry the groceries into the kitchen. His eyes swept the space like he couldn’t help himself; quick, cataloging. Like he was assessing danger, even here. 

Ellie ran off into her room. Now alone, Bucky finally turned those piercing blue eyes back on me. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said as he set the bags down.

“I know,” he answered, setting the bags down gently on the counter. “You looked like you needed a third arm.”

“Or two,” I muttered. I hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but he heard. Of course he heard. He was quiet for a beat longer than necessary, and when I looked up, he was staring at me like he wanted to say something but didn’t.

“You do this alone?” he asked, those eyes trained on me

I leaned on the counter, tilting my head at him. “The groceries?”

He gave me a look that said he didn’t mean just the groceries.

“Yeah,” I started unpacking said groceries to avoid his watchful gaze. “It’s just me and Ellie.”

He nodded slowly, like he was filing that away. “You’re doing good.”

The words were simple, but they landed heavier than they should have. Maybe because no one really said things like that to me. Or maybe because it was him.

“Thanks,” I whispered, warmth blooming in my chest.

I scratched the back of my neck. “Also… sorry about your mailbox. It’s probably full of dirt and rotten snacks.” I said sheepishly. 

A flicker of something crossed his face. Not annoyance. Something closer to... wonder.

“That's okay, I don’t mind…” he said, voice almost too soft to hear, looking around the room anywhere but at me. “I- uh- I think it’s sweet. She was thinking about me.”

My heart ached. This sweet, lonely man who didn’t expect to be remembered.

“I… thought about you too.” I admitted quietly. “I wondered if you moved. Maybe  the noise and glitter scared you off.”

Now his eyes locked on me firmly when he shook his head. “I had to work.” He repeated solemnly. “I like having you and Ellie as neighbors.” 

Neighbors. 

“Neighbor friends,” I teased, nudging his shoulder lightly.

“Friends who are neighbors,” he echoed, smiling that rare, crinkly smile.

And suddenly, we were both grinning at each other like idiots. The moment broke when Ellie came barreling out of the bedroom at full speed, toy gun in her hands. 

“Mr. Soldier!” She yelled in a playfully authoritative voice, weapon trained on him. Bucky turned around with wide eyes, hands above his head. 

“Don’t shoot!” He pleaded dramatically.

“Did you take Captain Glittersword with you to work?” Ellie raised a serious eyebrow, jiggling her weapon. 

“I did, ma’am!” Bucky saluted her again. 

“Show me prooooof!”” 

“I keep my promises, General.” He pulled the sparkly plastic toy from one of his many utility pockets, presenting it with exaggerated care. “Captain glittersword got me home safe and sound.” 

Ellie cheered and accidentally let off her gun, hitting Bucky in the chest with a foam ball. 

“Sorry!” She squeaked sheepishly. Bucky roared playfully and took off after her, the sound of their laughter spilling out onto the porch. 

I watched them through the window as Bucky chased her in a circle, clearly letting her evade his hold on purpose. My heart was heavy in my chest. 

After a few minutes they made it back inside, crashing onto the living room floor in a heap of sweet and labored breathing. 

“Hey,” I said, voice soft. “We’re doing tacos tonight. You want to stay?”

“Tacos!!!” Ellie cheered. “They’re chicken! You have to stay Bucky!” 

His face shifted, surprised, like he hadn’t expected to be asked.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

***

Ellie was in charge of the cheese, which meant about half of it made it into her mouth before it made it onto the tacos. Bucky helped chop tomatoes with a carefulness that made me think he’d never done it before, or like he was terrified of doing it wrong. He held the knife awkwardly in his right hand, the left one curled loosely around the vegetable, as if it didn’t quite know what to do when it wasn’t a weapon.

I tried not to stare. But I couldn't help myself.

“You weren’t lying about not being able to cook, huh?”

His lips tugged into a sheepish, almost boyish smile. “Not unless it comes in a can I can heat with a lighter.”

I stepped closer. “Can I show you?”

He nodded once, quiet and still.

I reached out, slowly curling my fingers over his, repositioning the knife in his hand with gentle pressure. A jolt of warmth sparked down my spine when my finger grazed over his. My breath hitched.

“Knife goes here,” I murmured, guiding his grip. “Firm, but not stiff. Let it do the work.” His gaze was trained where our hands touched. “And you curl your fingers in, so you don’t accidentally cut yourself.”

I gently nudged his vibranium hand into the proper position, ignoring the smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I literally can’t cut it off,” he murmured.

“I know. Humor me.”

I kept my hand on his, guiding the first few slices, our arms pressed close. He leaned in, just slightly, but enough that I felt the warmth of his chest at my back. My hips shifted, the softest, subtlest movement and I felt him freeze, a breath catching somewhere deep in his throat.

The air around us changed like something unspoken had just brushed the edges of what could be. And then Ellie dropped a spoon and we pulled apart like teenagers caught by their parents.

By the time we finished assembling the tacos, they were a gloriously soggy mess of loose food, sauces, and questionable amounts of cheese.

Bucky eyed his with skepticism, then took a bite. A low groan of approval rumbled from his throat.

I smirked. “Better than canned beans?”

He looked almost offended. “We eat military rations. Vacuum-sealed mystery meat. This is gourmet.”

A flush crept up my neck. “Thanks.”

“Mommy looooves to cook,” Ellie announced proudly, tomato sauce on her nose. “I help her.”

“You must know a lot, then,” Bucky said seriously, leaning forward. “You’re gonna have to teach me.”

“I can be your cooking teacher!” she declared, chest puffed out.

Bucky gave a solemn nod. “Deal, Chef Ellie.”

She beamed.

Ellie kept up a steady stream of chatter through dinner- stories from school, a play-by-play of her imaginary army base in the backyard, questions about Bucky’s arm (which he answered patiently and honestly), and whether or not he knew how to ride dragons.

“No, but I did ride on top of a tank once,” he told her. “Pretty close.”

Her jaw dropped, awestruck. “Mommy, he’s so cool.”

I smiled behind my glass. “Yeah. He kinda is.”

Bucky looked at me just then. Not just looking seeing. That soft, searching look again. Like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. It made my heart do that slow, warm curl in my chest.

After dinner, he followed me into the kitchen, sleeves pushed up, plate in hand.

“I’ve got the dishes,” he said.

“Oh, you really don’t have to-”

“I want to. Let me.”

Ellie tugged on my shirt. “Mom, can I have TV time?”

It was Friday. “Yeah, bug. Go grab your arsenal- I’ll set you up with dessert and a movie.”

She raced off like I’d just handed her a mission from NASA. I packed a little snack board; cut-up fruit, mini cookies, a juice box. Bucky rinsed the dishes beside me. The kitchen felt warmer with him in it, our bodies moving in sync in the small space, shoulders brushing here and there. Not rushed. Just comfortable. Intimate.

At one point, I reached past him for the dish towel, and his arm grazed my waist.

We both paused. Neither of us moved. We’d just stared at each other for a few seconds. I’d watched his eyes flicker down to my lips and back up almost like he was asking a question I was going to definitely say yes too.

“Thank you for dinner,” he said. His voice was quiet, almost unsure. “You have a… a nice home. You’re nice. This is nice.”

His face crumpled like he hated every word the moment it left his mouth. He ran a hand over his face and groaned. “God, that sounded better in my head.”

A grin tugged across my lips. I couldn’t stop it if I tried.

He moved toward the door, clearly flustered, hands in his pockets like he didn’t know what else to do with them. “Anyway. Thanks again.”

I followed him to the door. “Thank you for spending the evening with us. Ellie loved it.” I paused, nerves catching in my throat “I did too.”

He turned slowly, meeting my eyes. The porch light cast golden shadows across his face.

That look again. The one that said: If I could explain what this means to me, I would.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Buck.”

The door closed behind him, but I stood there for a while, hand on the knob, breath caught in the quiet.

Part 3

[ahedderick]

Fair Queen

I may have told this story sometime in the past - but I can't recall. It's time to be thinking about the county Ag fair, so I'm remembering . . the Fair Queen.

I was sixteen. In high school. Very busy on my parents' farm; milking the cow and or two dairy goats, taking care of my horse, and generally speaking doing any work my mother was unable to do due to medical issues. Early in the summer I got a letter in the mail urging me to consider entering the competition for County Fair Queen.

I scoffed and tossed it aside. Then. You know. Got just a little curious. I called the organizers and asked about eligibility. I was not a member of the 4-H club nor the FFA (Future Farmers of America). I was just - actively involved in farmwork every single day. Could I? Enter?

"Yes!" they said, "You don't have to be a member of 4-H.

Details followed. There was to be an interview with each contestant to evaluate her farm knowledge, followed by a showy event in the grandstand early in the week of the fair. I. LOVED the fair. I'm. I'm going to DO this!

I attended my interview, and talked about Home Farm and my responsibilities therein. It went quite well. I asked for details for the 'pageant-y' part. "Wear a nice dress," I was told. I told them I had nothing even approaching a 'prom-type' formal dress. Not necessary! Just a nice dress will do.

The most recent thing I had sewed was a halter dress made of robins-egg-blue crinkle cotton. I loved it. Definitely more of a party dress; not something I could have worn to school or church. So - that would be my dress! I was psyched. Ready to do this!

The evening of, I found myself in a waiting area under the grandstand (which was freakin' FULL). Then, I saw them. Them. The other two contestants. There were only two! And they were both from the Important family. The family that, I came to find out, 'wins' nearly every contest at the fair. They were stunning in elaborate gowns.

I looked down at my blue dress, and my palms started to sweat. My escort for the evening was a fellow student I knew pretty well, and liked but did not always 100% get along with. I clung to his arm as he walked me out onto the stage like a drowning person.

I felt a bit frozen as I sat at the side of the stage with Glamour Girl 1 and Glamor Girl 2. The announcer was a jovial, big-voiced middle-aged Guy in an astonishingly ugly plaid suit. He called me up first to interview. He (sincerely) complimented me on my dress and noted that I had made it myself. "It's lovely!"

My dears, I had nothing left to lose. And I had already calibrated myself to his level of humor.

"Thanks!" I told him modestly. Clutching the microphone with white knuckles. Then I looked him and his suit up and down and said, "I wish I could say the same!"

The audience hooted and chuckled, and the guys looked at me with a little grin. It was on. He was going to match that energy, yes he was!

I proceeded to have the best public speaking experience of my LIFE. Made me seriously consider taking up standup comedy. The audience was ROLLING. To be fair, anyone who has ever milked cows has at least one humiliating hilarious cow story. When I sat back down at the end, I felt faint and woozy, but triumphant.

The other girls were called up in their turn, and nervously answered his questions. Um. I take care of the chickens. Sometimes. After cheer practice. Um.

Then it was time to crown the new Fair Queen. I was called up as second runner-up. Which, you will note, in this context means LAST PLACE. Glamor Girl 2 was first runner-up, and GG1 was crowned the Queen.

The next time I saw my schoolmate/escort, he told me that, in his opinion, I had only been invited because the event organizers needed someone for the Important Girls to beat. Which, yeah. That tracked.

But they'll never be able to take away what Suit Guy and I had together for 3 minutes in 1985.

[moash]

when are they gonna release a moash pov chapter? <- delusional

[gabriellerudessa]

While I do agree in parts, I don't think that The Outer Worlds narrative being as it is cheapens the setting, no, it only ends up making its critics more poignant. Not only that, the silliness and way the narrative sounds as if not taking itself seriously is like that only because the Colonist is an Outsider to everything happening in the system in more drastic way than the Courier (or even the Sole Surivor), but the people in it do take everything seriously. We have to remember that:

1: We don't have the details of everything that happened in the Earth between centuries 21 and 23, but considering what I see TODAY, no, I'm absolutely not surprised at people developing scurvy despite FTL technology, because despite all we have today there ARE PEOPLE developing scurvy and other vitamins based diseases because of crazy diets that get famous (carnivorous diet, anyone????). There are actual to God flat-earthers in our present times. (and don't get me started on everything we saw during the covid pandemic or anti-vaxxers)

2: If the Earth in TOW is half as dominated by corporations as the Halcyon System, which I find highly probable, yeah, that's exactly what the corporations WANT, they're not answering to any governemnt, they can do whatever they want and they will do whatever they want because of profits. It's indoctrination since birth to people be exactly as they want and work happily, tightly controlling information access to the lower classes/workers. And yeah, we do see corporations and governments making dumb decisions because of profit and incompetence all the time... And common people too (imploding billionaire submarine, anyone?).

3: The Groundbraker, the first colony-ship, arrived in Halcyon before 2285. The Hope was launched from Earth in 2285 and the Colonist is woken in 2355, 70 years AFTER being put to sleep. How many people we see out and about that look over 50, specially outside Byzantium? Not many. The Halcyon system is easily in its third generation, if people are having kids in their 20s. Considering our present reality, a lot can change in three generations, and its CLEAR the corporations made it so the lower workers know their work but information acess beyond it is disencouraged. I think it tells a lot that our doctor companion was born rich and in Byzantium.

4: The fucking experiments conducted in Gorgon. Seriously, just that already explains a lot of the general recklesness of people in the system, even it not everyone ended up as marauders in my sincere opinion.

The Outer Worlds exagerates its worldbuilng and narrative, yeah, but with the clear purpose of criticizing capitalism, corporations, corporate-cities, and the power and stronghold corporations can have on governments, to the point they themselves became the government, and on people, to the point of, well, dumbification (something already being observed in younger generations growing up with unlimited access to technology and internet).

Unlike Fallout New Vegas, whose reality is a lot easier to distance from our present reality just because of a nuclear war throwing the world back in development and how fractured the region is, The Outer Worlds doesn't have this luxury. There was a great war, yeah, but no nuclear war or resource war like the Fallout world. Everything that happens in The Outer Worlds happens in another system but at the same time it's way too close to our present reality and to how it was during the Industrial Revolution and later.

Considering what we're seeing with the space race with billionaires? I sadly do see a Outer Worlds reality possible, people being borne and dying in corporate cities in the space, knowing only that reality, information access being highly controlled to the point they would look dumb to us, making choices that cheapen their lives... It would be all again those company and corporate cities where your home, food, everything, is provided by the company you work for. That's what goes on in Outer Worlds. The higher ups KNOW the food in the system lacks vitamins... But they absolutely aren't telling the lower workers they see as less than cannon fodder. They KNOW there's no more contact with Earth... They aren't telling. They FOUND the Hope and immediatelly hid it away despite knowing how to possible wake them... But they don't want to because these people represent a threat to the power they have.

The thing is, most of the people we interact in The Outer Worlds, before arriving at Byzantium, where the higher ups and richs live... Are the lower ones. The slaves that don't know they are slaves, whose lives have been dictated and controlled by the Corporations for at least 70 years. It's a dictatorship masquerading as freedom of choice. There are people that see beyond, that try to escape, but it's not easy, specially because there's nowhere to escape: it isn't like our Earth and multiple countries, it's a whole system light-years away that was totally set up by corporations. The factions TRY, but it's hella hard without input from outside the system.

The Outer Worlds may seem silly and absurd, but in the end, only because we are lucky to not be living in a corporate-city or to not be vulnerable enough to live in a slave-like situation with no information access whatsoever. Or even to be smart enough to not fall for any and all fake-news we see and the new diet being marketed or whatever else. If the covid pandemic showed me anything, is that people are extremelly vulnerable and 70 years is a long ass time to be easily indoctrinated to live a certain way and hardly think for oneself, so yeah, in the end I do think that The Outer Worlds narrative ends up being a lot more poignant and as a grim prediction of the future, even if seems to not take itself seriously.

One thing (among many) that Fallout: New Vegas gets right which its sort-of spiritual successor The Outer Worlds gets wrong is how to pull off ridiculous worldbuilding.

The worldbuilding of Fallout: New Vegas is incredibly silly. There's a faction of Elvis impersonators, a faction of Mongol cosplayers, and a faction of Rome cosplayers. There's a cult of zombies trying to reach the promised land via an old rocket, and one of the members is a human who deluded himself into thinking he's a zombie.

The reason for why it works so well is that while it's ridiculous to us, it's not ridiculous to them. The narrative treats these people and their lives seriously because as people, they would take their own lives seriously, no matter how silly they are to us.

In The Outer Worlds the factions are also ridiculous. But the problem is that the narrative is also ridiculous and doesn't take itself seriously. The first region of the game involves a corporate town that's dying from a "plague" which turns out to be scurvy because even though they've got FTL technology, they don't know about vitamins.

The characters are incredibly dumb, making decisions that make no sense and devaluing their own lives and circumstances for the sake of the joke. It really cheapens the setting and the plot and makes me resent them rather than treasure them.

[youremyonlyhope]

I'm not a "new musical theatre style music" person. Never have been.

Even when I was doing voice lessons, I'd steer towards the golden age or jazzy musical theatre songs. My voice teacher would have to drag me kicking and screaming towards adding anything new musical theatre to my repertoire. For a while, the most modern song in my book was I Know The Truth from Aida, and I wouldn't count that as new musical theatre style since I mean more the Pasek&Paul or Joe Iconis type.

And now I have an audition coming up for a small production of a show in that style and I'm supposed to sing a song in a similar style. And I'm looking at all my sheet music like... let me do some Cole Porter... or Gershwin... at least Sondheim please...

[sturionic]

Donald Trump Is Not Joking About Annexing Canada: A Fucking Timeline

December 3, 2024: Trump's quip about Canada becoming 51st state was a joke, says minister who was there (CBC News 🇨🇦) <- This is when it could have feasibly been a joke

January 7, 2025: Donald Trump is quoted in a press conference directly stating his intentions to annex Canada (New York Times, timestamp 0:45 🇺🇸) <- This is where Americans should have stopped telling Canadians it's just a joke

REPORTER 1: Are you also considering military force to annex and acquire Canada? DONALD TRUMP: No. Economic force.

February 7, 2025: Trudeau says Trump threat to annex Canada 'is a real thing' (BBC 🇬🇧) <- This is where the Commonwealth starts to take it seriously

Trudeau suggested Trump has floated the idea of taking over Canada and making it the "51st state" because he wants to access the country's critical minerals. "Mr Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing," the prime minister said.

February 9, 2025: "Trump's national security adviser: 'I don't think there's any plans to invade Canada'" (NBC News 🇺🇸) <- CANADIANS NOTICE THAT THIS IS NOT A VERY STRONG DENIAL OF POSSIBLE MILITARY FORCE

February 10, 2025: Trump Confirms He’s Serious About Wanting Canada As 51st State (Forbes 🇺🇸)

Fox News host Bret Baier asked Trump whether Trudeau was right in telling business leaders the U.S. president’s threat to absorb Canada is a “real thing,” to which Trump agreed with Trudeau and responded, “Yes it is.”

February 12, 2025: ‘Trump effect’: How US tariffs, ’51st state’ threats are shaking up Canada (Al Jazeera 🇶🇦) <- This is where the rest of the fucking world outside America starts to take it seriously

February 18 2025: CBC releases podcast episode: "What if the U.S. invaded Canada?" (CBC's Front Burner 🇨🇦)

March 4, 2025: Canada Eyeing NATO Ally's Nukes To Deter Trump 'Threat': Candidate (Newsweek 🇺🇸), British nuclear weapons can protect Canada against Trump, says Trudeau party candidate (The Telegraph 🇬🇧)

“I would be working urgently with [European Nato allies] to build a closer security relationship… in a time when the United States can be a threat,” said [Canada's] ex-foreign minister and finance minister at the final Liberal leadership debate last week.

March 4, 2025: Prime Minister Trudeau: "What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that’ll make it easier to annex us” (CTV News 🇨🇦)

March 7, 2025: BC Premier David Eby: “We know the president in back rooms with Canadian officials has said he wants to redraw the border" (Global News 🇨🇦)

Eby: "If this president wants to annex Canada, he should save his breath to cool his soup, it is never going to happen.”

March 7, 2025: How Trump’s ‘51st State’ Canada Talk Came to Be Seen as Deadly Serious (New York Times 🇺🇸) <- This is where American news media starts to treat this as maybe possibly not a joke

March 9, 2025: U.S. Congress bill aims to prevent funding of invasion of Canada (CTV News 🇨🇦) <- This is where you should understand that military force is ON THE TABLE

March 11, 2025: Canadian opinion of U.S. falls sharply; 63% take Trump's threats 'very seriously' (National Post 🇨🇦)

March 13, 2025 (TODAY): Trump threatens to acquire Canada, Greenland while next to NATO chief (Global News 🇨🇦)

“To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state...This would be the most incredible country visually,” [Trump] said. “If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it, between Canada and the U.S., just a straight artificial line. Somebody did it a long time ago, many many decades ago, and it makes no sense.” -Donald Trump

And hey, just for fun, let's contrast that with another quote:

First of all, I would like to emphasize that the wall that has emerged in recent years between Russia and Ukraine, between the parts of what is essentially the same historical and spiritual space, to my mind is our great common misfortune and tragedy...I am confident that true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in partnership with Russia. -Vladimir Fucking Putin, the year before launching an attack on Ukraine, which everyone also said he was joking about and definitely wouldn't do (2021 essay, Kremlin official website 🇷🇺)

I know you're overwhelmed, Americans, but please stop saying this is a joke. Canadians are anticipating an invasion, possibly within the year. This is not a fucking drill.

[honey-tongued-devil]

[Arcane preference]reacting to their s/o calling them husband/wife for the first time

I’ve finished the first chapter of the long fic about Universe 7 (Anytime it rains). As soon as my second beta reader gives me the okay, I’ll post it. While I wait, I’ve written the first headcanon (out of three I’m definitely planning to write and post in the next few days) and picked up the drawing of Steb I’d left unfinished. I’m slow, as usual, but English isn’t my first language, and I’m juggling a lot of things at once. Enjoy!

socials: | INPRNT | | Tip Jar | | X | | BlueSky | | Ao3 | poster: | Jayce poster | | Silco poster | |Silco +self insert poster 1| | Steb poster | if you want to read the fluff longfic with vander and his happy family + Silco x reader you can find it here! ↠ Masterlist

Jayce:

-This man is planning to put a ring on your finger as soon as possible, okay? -Between the academy, public appearances, and both theoretical and practical studies, there isn’t a single moment when he’s really in the right mindset to bring up the topic -The worst part is that, deep down, he’s terrified of putting pressure on you -That’s why, the first time he hears you refer to him as “my husband” during a gala with noble families, he almost chokes -He has to gather all his strength not to grab the interlocutor by the shoulders and ask if they also heard you say that word -He’ll try to keep his composure, maybe responding to your remark with, “Yes, exactly. Her husband really did say/do/design that.”

Viktor:

-It’s not a thought he’s ever really entertained; it never crossed his mind -Part of it is that science is his priority, and part of it is that marriage doesn’t seem like something meant for people like him, -The first time you call him “your husband”, that thought suddenly becomes real in his head, and he can’t help but lean against a wall and wait for the other person to leave -“So, I’m your husband now, huh? Mmm… I don’t mind, a bit pretentious, though…” he jokes, making you roll your eyes -Now, more than ever, he has no idea what to do. He’ll give you a bronze ring from a machine he’s building -“Until I can get one worthy of you.”

Ekko:

-Yes -That’s it -The end -Okay, seriously. The idea of being certain that something will last forever is probably his greatest wish -The first time you call him your husband, he doesn’t see it coming -“Wait, you’re married?” -“I was talking about you, Ekko.” -The moment you say it, he points to his chest, you see his lip tremble slightly, and his eyes grow shinier -He won’t stop talking about it for a week, and at least once a day, he’ll ask if you still want to marry him, if you’re sure, if you love him -No rings before S2; the promise is made by drawing something for each other on your masks and clothes -After S2, he still can’t afford a ring, but now that life is more stable, he can start thinking about a more traditional gift, like a piece of jewelry

Vander:

-This man is ravenous for any family role you might offer him—fiancé, father, husband. Anything goes -The first time you call him “husband”, he plays it cool but will seize the first opportunity to return the favor by telling a customer you’re married -As soon as he can, he’ll squeeze your hand, even under the counter -The idea of being married and having a complete family is everything he’s ever wanted -He won’t stop calling you “my beautiful wife/husband” from that moment on.

-You said it first; you can’t take it back. Now you have to get married

Silco (old man):

-This man’s only sin is loving too much, but I’ll save that reflection for another post -Having no ties other than his illegitimate daughter doesn’t make him someone who’s particularly keen on formalities -The first time you call him “your husband” is in front of Sevika, and he slowly turns to look at you, while she slowly turns to look at him -“Did I... miss something?” Sevika asks, but he doesn’t reply, still perplexed, before glancing at her and saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” -He’s relieved but doesn’t show it. He can’t afford to just yet -As soon as he confirms you were serious, your name will be flamboyantly forgotten—he’ll constantly refer to you as “my wife/husband”

Silco (young):

-The man who survives on love -The first time you call him your husband is in front of Vander, and while Vander bursts out laughing, Silco chokes on his drink -“Are you serious?” He’s so happy that his pale iris are completely swallowed by his dilated pupils -He grabs a pen and draws a ring around your finger -To his credit, he works in a mine, so it’s hard to do better than that, but it becomes the goal that keeps him going -Completely focused on family, the future, and anything that sees the two of you together and happy

Steb:

-The first time you call him your husband is at a dinner among enforcer families, and being mute doesn’t stop him from stealing the spotlight -He whips around, blinking slowly with only his third eyelid in a gesture of confusion -When he’s 100% sure he understood what you said, his eyes widen, the small membranes under his eyes flutter madly, and even the barely visible gills near his jaw gasp for a moment -Someone says, “I didn’t know you were married,” and he immediately nods enthusiastically, not giving you time to take it back -Within 48 hours, he’ll have the ring ready

Jinx:

-The first time you call her “your wife”, she freezes -“What did you just call me?” -She’s used to being a little sister, a big sister, a daughter—she’d never thought she could be a wife. Family ties aren’t chosen, but the idea that someone would want her in their life so much they’d marry her feels incredible -“You want to marry me? Really? Why?” -She bursts into tears, and it’ll take at least 24 hours of cuddling in bed to calm her down -After that, she’ll run to her father to announce that she’s now a married woman

Vi:

-She might not be Silco and/or Vander’s blood daughter, but she’s inherited their deep desire for family -From her family’s tragic fate to Vander’s, she’s always seen family as the ultimate aspiration -When you call her “your wife” for the first time, she doesn’t notice right away, but a full minute later, she whirls around to look at you, as if to ask for confirmation -“Say it again.” -“...You need to buy bread?” -“No, all of it.” -“My wife needs to go buy bread.” -“Again.”

-"My... wife?"

-"Again"

Caitlyn:

-Has she thought about it? Yes -Was she planning to act on it? Not exactly -Caitlyn struggles with emotions and feelings, which is why she hesitates and takes her time -But when you first call her “your wife”, her brain completely shuts off—she just stares at you, unable to hear a single word being said -If you or someone else asks her a question, she’ll snap out of it and respond, -“My wife/husband said everything.” Even if it makes no sense as an answer, making you laugh and leaving the other person baffled

Mel:

-Not a single flicker of surprise—the first time you call her “your wife”, she remains completely composed -“So, I’m your wife?” she asks as soon as you’re in private, approaching you like a feline. You can almost hear the purr in her voice -She’s amused but also intrigued by whatever game you’re playing -The idea of marriage is complicated for her—on one hand, it feels like it would limit her freedom to act, while on the other, unresolved family issues seem to devour her at the mere thought of starting a new cycle -She’ll tell you to go ahead, to get married, but she’ll also ask for time -In the meantime, though, she’ll start using the term “husband/wife” with you—she likes the way it rolls off her tongue

Sevika:

-Between the work she does, the environment she lives in, and all the interesting circumstances of her life, marriage has never been on her radar -Not to mention that in Zaun, it’s not exactly a common practice—people just move in together and build families when they can, without much fuss over formalities or bureaucracy -The first time it happens, she’s playing cards with the other goons, and you casually ask if “your wife is winning” -Her first reaction isn’t even hers—it’s the others’. Dustin, the blond goon with the lazy eye, almost starts crying, embarrassing her -Don’t worry, she’ll make you pay for it at home -She won’t ask to formalize anything, but in true Zaunite fashion, she’ll consider you married, plain and simple

[kpopstaytiny]

Say please

Pairing: Bang Chan x F!reader

Word Count: 7251

Genre: smut, fluff, friends to lovers

Warnings: smut (minors DNI), softdom!Chan, sub!reader, oral (female receiving), fingering, edging, dirty talk, pet names (baby, love, sweetheart), unprotected sex, choking, hair pulling, praise!kink, she's a little bratty, cursing, feeling a little homesick, aftercare.

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

He's always working until the stars blur outside the studio windows—my night owl, my relentless creator. The hallway smells like soundproofing foam and the air carries the faintest tang of citrus—probably from the half-empty pineapple juice carton I know is perched on his desk—as I raise my knuckles to the door, pausing to listen to the faint click-clack of keyboard strokes before knocking—the familiar weight of a paper bag swinging from my arm, a taste of Australia tucked inside.

His head jerks up, fingers freezing mid-keystroke. For one suspended moment, he just stares—eyes wide, lips parted—like I'm some sleep-deprivation mirage. Then his shoulders drop, tension bleeding out as his mouth curves into that private smile reserved for 1 AM confessions.

“Hey,” his voice is rough with disuse, warm with recognition. “What’re you doing up so late?”

"Says the man who thinks sunrise is a suggestion," I counter, stepping into the familiar cocoon of his workspace. The door clicks shut behind me, sealing us in this blue-lit universe of his making.

“You know I work late.”

“I do,” I close the distance between us, the paper bag in my arm rustling with its precious cargo. "Couldn't sleep." A shrug that doesn't fool either of us.

“And you came all the way here?” His brows rise, voice tipping toward disbelief.

"I went for a walk. Ended up at that 24-hour mart down the street." I gesture vaguely toward the window where neon signs glow in the distance. "Next thing I knew..." The unspoken truth hangs between us—my feet always know the way to him.

His gaze flicks toward the bag on my arm, curiosity softening his features. “That what’s in there?”

“Sort of,” I let the bag swing temptingly. “Not exactly.”

When he takes it, his fingers brush mine—just enough to send a spark up my arm. The moment stretches as he peers inside, then—

"Tim Tams?" His whole face transforms, boyish delight breaking through the exhaustion. "Where the hell did you find these?"

I bite my lip, feigning nonchalance. "They might've fallen into my basket at the international grocery."

"Liar." His laugh is all warmth, no bite. He knows—knows I called three stores, knows I asked Felix where to find them, knows this was never about cookies but about stitching a piece of his homeland into this endless night.

“What’re you working on?” I nod toward his screen, the glow painting his profile in liquid blue. My voice comes out steadier than I feel, trying to shift gears before the moment swallows me whole.

“New song,” he says, gaze flickering back to the monitor. But his voice has changed—slower now, syrup-warm. Not distracted. Inviting.

“Duh.” I roll my eyes, aiming for casual. But it’s too soft. Too fond. “Figured.”

“Wanna hear it?”

I blink. “Seriously?” My pulse stutters like a skipped track. He never shares unfinished work—not when there are still seams showing, not when the lyrics haven’t settled into their final shape.

But tonight, he just nods, easy as anything. “Yeah.” Then he pats his thigh. “Come here.”

For a heartbeat, I forget how to move.

We’ve been closer than this. Done more than this. But this—him pulling me into his creative space, into the part of himself he usually keeps locked tight—feels like stepping over a threshold neither of us named.

I settle into his lap with deliberate slowness, but he doesn’t give me room to overthink it. His arm bands around my waist, tugging me back against his chest like we’ve done this a thousand times. The familiarity of it unravels me more than any grand gesture could.

His free hand moves across the keyboard—click, drag, a flurry of shortcuts—before passing me headphones still warm from his skin. I catch the faint scent of his shampoo as he leans in to adjust the volume, his breath fanning across my temple. Then—play.

The first notes bloom soft and hesitant, piano keys pressed like a question. Layers build: the sigh of strings, a heartbeat rhythm, something that sounds like rain against studio glass. Then his voice—not the polished perfection of recordings, but the raw, sleep-rough version that exists only in these midnight hours. He hums where words fail, fills gaps with melodies that ache with unfinished honesty.

It wraps around me like a shared secret. Like being let inside a dream.

When I pull the headphones down, they catch on the rapid flutter in my throat. “Channie,” I whisper, the nickname slipping out unbidden. “This is… fuck, this is good.”

He’s already watching me, eyes dark with something perilously close to hope. “You liked it?”

“Liked it?” I twist in his lap. “I loved it.”

The grin that breaks across his face could power cities—all boyish delight and sudden sunshine. His hand splays across my stomach, anchoring me as if I might float away. “It’s nowhere near done,” he mutters automatically. “The bridge needs—"

“No.” My fingers find his jaw, turning him back to me. “It’s perfect. You’re perfect.”

The headphones fall silent, but the song lingers in the air between us. My blood hums with it. So does his.

His thumb draws lazy circles over the fabric of my shirt, slow and absentminded. The room feels warmer now. Denser. Like we’re standing on the edge of something unnamed, hearts tipped forward, waiting.

The chair creaks as I shift, my knee bumping the desk. His grip tightens reflexively—not restraining, just keeping—as the monitor lights carve shadows across his face. That damn lower lip caught between his teeth, the flutter of his lashes when my fingers brush his wrist.

I should leave. Let him work.

But then his hand rises, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind my ear. His fingertips linger, tracing the shell before skating down to the sensitive hollow beneath my jaw. The shiver that follows is beyond my control.

His breath hitches in answer, fingers flexing at my waist—not pulling me closer, not pushing away. Just holding on. Just staying.

The screen flickers, casting jagged blue shadows across the curve of his throat as the track stays paused mid-chorus. Neither of us moves to restart it—the song forgotten, the world narrowed to this: the solid warmth of his chest against my back, the way his breath hitches when my head tilts instinctively toward his shoulder.

He looks at me. Really looks. Like I’m the only thing his eyes know how to focus on, like the studio—the city outside, his precious music—has dissolved into static.

I feel it then, that electric hum building between us, live-wire and inevitable.

"You're distracting me." His voice is rough, frayed at the edges like he's been holding the words back for hours.

"I mean," I tease, but it comes out breathless, "you could use a break."

His thumb presses into the dip of my waist, a silent counterargument. "Is that so?"

I nod, too quick. He notices—of course he notices—his lips curving as he tracks the flush spreading down my neck.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" Controlled. Careful. But his gaze keeps dropping to my mouth, betraying him.

My throat tightens. Words pile up behind my teeth, half-formed and trembling.

He reads them anyway. "You're thinking about it," he murmurs. "Right now." Not guessing. Knowing.

My pulse thrums under his touch. “Maybe.”

“Maybe,” he echoes, voice dark with amusement. He leans in, nose brushing mine. “Tell me.”

I stay frozen. Barely breathing.

His thumb grazes my bottom lip, feather-light. “Use your words.”

“You’re—” I swallow hard. “You’re enjoying this.”

His smile is slow, devastating. "Yeah. I really am." His hand tilts my chin up, forcing eye contact. "So tell me. What do you need?"

My hands find his hoodie before I can second-guess myself. Fisting the fabric. Pulling.

Or maybe he moves first.

All I know is his mouth—hot and insistent, the groan vibrating against my lips as his fingers dig into my hips like he's trying to fuse us together. His hand tangles in my hair, angling me deeper as the kiss turns filthy, deliberate. Every slide of his tongue sparks liquid heat down my spine. When I whimper, he smiles against my mouth—just a quirk of lips, but it's enough. He heard that.

"God," he pants when we break apart, foreheads touching, "I've wanted to do that all week."

I can't speak. Can't think.

He kisses me again, softer this time. A promise. "Still distracting," he murmurs.

"Then stop pretending you mind."

And this time—he doesn’t.

The second kiss is all pent-up hunger—weeks of stolen glances and almost-touches poured into the way his teeth catch my lip, how his hands roam my back like he's relearning my shape. I fist his hoodie again, dragging him closer until there's no space left between us.

And I feel it in him too—the moment hesitation shatters. His touch turns bolder, palms skating up my ribs, thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts through my shirt.

I shift in his lap, turning slowly to face him fully—knees sliding to either side of his hips, thighs bracketing his. The movement presses our bodies together in a way that steals my breath, and I feel his hands slip to my hips, steadying me without thinking. His fingers flex once. Then again. Like he's memorizing the weight of me there.

"Fuck," he hisses when I roll my hips.

I don't look away as I reach for his hoodie. His eyes flare—surprise giving way to raw hunger—before he lifts his arms in surrender. The fabric catches on my headphones, the cord snagging around my neck, but neither of us cares.

Not when he's revealed like this: black tank top stretched taut over his shoulders, the muscles of his arms flexing as he grips my thighs. My palms slide down his biceps, tracing the ridges I've missed more than I'd admit.

He watches me look, his gaze heavy. "Better?"

I nod, thumbs brushing the neckline of his shirt, feeling his pulse hammer under my touch. "Much."

His fingers toy with the headphone cord still looped around my neck. “You planning to keep these on?”

"I forgot," I admit, flustered.

"Let me." He removes them gently, tossing them aside without breaking eye contact. His other hand stays anchored at my hip, thumb drawing slow circles that burn through my jeans.

Then his mouth is on mine again, hotter this time, his tongue sweeping in like he's chasing the taste of my laughter. His tank top is soft under my palms, but the body beneath is all hard lines and tension. I push the fabric up, needing skin—

He breaks the kiss with a gasp when my nails scrape his abs. "I thought you were working," I murmur against his jaw.

"I was." His teeth graze my earlobe. "Then you showed up."

I tilt my head back to give him more access. “You make it sound like an inconvenience.”

His laugh ruffles my hair as he nuzzles into my neck. "You're the opposite of that."

My fingers rake through his hair, tugging just enough to make him groan. "That night," I whisper, "it keeps replaying in my head."

His grip tightens. "Yeah?" His voice drops to that register that liquefies my bones. "You think about it too?"

"More than I should."

A beat. Then his hands slide under my shirt—not asking, not hesitating. “Then let’s stop pretending this is just some accidental drop-by.”

His lips crash into mine again—no patience left, no question remaining. Only the sharp creak of his studio chair protesting beneath us as he drags me closer, his hands desperate against my waist like he's been counting seconds since I first showed up in his doorway.

The kiss shifts—slower now, but devastatingly deliberate. Controlled in that way of his, all coiled restraint and simmering intent. As if now that we've crossed this line, he intends to map every inch of it with his mouth, savoring the way my breath hitches when his teeth graze my lower lip.

I feel it everywhere—in the rough pads of his fingers skating up my ribs, in the way his palms mold against my back like he's relearning my shape. Not just touching. Claiming. But always, always asking.

“What do you want, baby?” the words rumble against my mouth, warm with promise.

His voice thrums low—not a command, but an invitation woven in velvet and smoke.

My nails scrape lightly down his shoulders, delighting in the full-body shiver it wrings from him. "I think you already know."

He huffs a laugh, the sound vibrating through my chest where we're pressed together. "Say it anyway."

I trail my lips along his jaw, tasting salt and exhaustion. "I want you."

His grip on my waist goes vice-tight—like those three words just short-circuited his last shred of self-control.

“Then you’d better hang on.”

His hands slide up my back with agonizing precision, slipping under my shirt to brand my skin with his heat. I arch instinctively when his thumbs brush the underside of my breasts, the thin fabric of my bra doing nothing to mute the electric shock of contact.

“Can I?”

The question ghosts across my swollen lips as his fingers pause, trembling slightly against my flushed skin.

I lock eyes with him, my voice ragged. "If you don't, I might lose my mind.”

That pulls a rough chuckle from him—the kind that lives in the space between amusement and utter desperation. "Impatient?"

"No," I breathe, rolling my hips just to watch his pupils blow wider. "Just done pretending I came here for fucking Tim Tams."

The groan that tears from his throat is half-laughter, half-suffering as he lifts my shirt over my head, dragging it off with agonizing slowness. The air between us goes thick and charged, his gaze raking over me like I'm the last sip of water in a desert.

"Still the prettiest thing I've ever seen," he murmurs, calloused hands skimming down my sides like he's committing every curve to memory.

I let him look—let him feel the way my pulse jumps under his touch, the way my body leans in like a compass finding north. My own hands slip beneath his tank, rediscovering the familiar planes of his torso. "You're staring."

“I’ve earned the right,” he says simply, his voice gone gravel-rough.

A pleased hum vibrates in my throat. “You planning to keep me on edge like this all night?”

He tilts his head, eyes glinting with mischief and something darker. “Depends. You gonna ask nicely?”

My palm flattens against his chest, fingers splaying over his hammering heartbeat. “I’ve got better things to do with my mouth.”

His jaw flexes, and I know I’ve got him.

“Gonna be trouble tonight, aren’t you?”

“Only if you’re lucky.”

Something primal flashes in his eyes before he manhandles me closer, the sudden friction wringing a gasp from my lungs. “You tell me to stop, and I stop. You understand?”

“Yes,” I whisper—not submission, but surrender.

“Say it,” his voice drops to that register that liquefies my spine.

“I want this, Chan.”

And God, the way he reacts to that.

The kiss is rough, impatient—a clash of lips and teeth and pent-up longing. His fingers tangle in my hair, tilting my head back with a gentle urgency that sends sparks skittering down my spine. His breath is warm against my mouth, flavored with the faintest hint of mint and something darker, smokier.

“Jeans off.” The command is a grunt, barely more than a vibration against my lips, but it crackles through me like live wire.

I slip from his lap, my knees unsteady as I toe off my shoes and shimmy out of my jeans. The air is cool against my flushed skin, but his gaze is hotter—a slow, deliberate sweep from my bare thighs to the lace clinging to my hips, lingering where my nipples peak beneath the flimsy fabric.

“You really came here with an idea in mind.” His smirk is all wicked amusement, dimple flashing as he pats his thigh. “Come sit again.”

I roll my eyes but obey, settling back against him with a huff. His chest is solid against my back, his heartbeat a steady thrum beneath my shoulder blades. “Like you weren’t thinking the same thing the second I walked in,” I mutter, grinding down just to feel him shudder beneath me.

His breath hitches—a sharp, fractured sound—before his lips brush my ear. “Open.” The word is a whisper, a plea wrapped in velvet. His hand taps my thigh, but his own legs are already nudging mine apart, his cock a hard line against my ass.

“Always so fucking eager,” he murmurs, but his hands betray him, sliding up my sides with agonizing slowness. His fingers trace the lace of my bra like he’s memorizing every stitch, every flutter of my breath. “These need to go.”

The clasp gives way with a whisper, and then his palms are on me—warm, rough from rehearsals, perfect. He cups my breasts like they’re something holy, thumbs brushing my nipples in slow, maddening circles. A moan spills from my lips, unbidden, and his chuckle is dark, triumphant, as his mouth finds the curve of my neck.

“So fucking perfect.” His voice is a growl, low and reverent, as he kneads gently before pinching—just hard enough to make me gasp. “Love how responsive you are. How pretty you look when you fall apart for me.”

His teeth scrape my shoulder, a sharp contrast to the slow, deliberate drag of his hands across my skin—as if he’s committing every curve, every shudder, to memory. "Every sound you make is fucking perfect," he murmurs, his tongue flicking over the spot he just nipped. "Gonna ruin you just to hear how pretty you beg when you're desperate for me."

One hand slips lower, tracing the lace edge of my underwear with torturous patience, while the other stays busy—rolling a nipple between his fingers, tugging just enough to make my hips jerk. A whimper escapes me as I squirm in his lap, but he holds me still, his breath hot against my ear.

“Tell me.” His fingertips trace slow, taunting circles over the damp lace, teasing but never giving me what I need. “Tell me how bad you want it.”

I bite my lip, thighs trembling as his palm presses flat against me, the heat of him searing through the thin fabric—so close, but not enough. “You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re stalling.” His teeth graze my earlobe, his free hand pinning my hip down when I try to rock against him. “Use your words, sweetheart. Or do I need to tease it out of you?”

A frustrated groan tears from my throat as his thumb finally—finally—strokes along my clothed seam, once, twice, the touch achingly light. My nails dig into his thigh, but he tuts, catching my wrist and pressing it to my stomach.

“Hands here. Let me take care of you.”

He doesn’t rush, just traces idle, maddening patterns over my clit through the soaked lace, letting the friction build in slow, torturous waves.

“Chan—”

“Tell me,” he coaxes, his other hand wrapping around my throat—not squeezing, just holding. A reminder. “What do you need?”

I arch, my head falling back against his shoulder. “Your fingers. Now.”

He laughs, low and rough. “Uhm… say please?”

“Or,” I pant, “you could stop pretending you don’t want this just as badly and put them to use.”

His grip tightens—just a fraction—and his breath hitches against my neck. “Fuck, I love your mouth.”

“Then quit admiring it,” I gasp as his thumb presses harder, “and give me a reason to put it to work.”

A growl rumbles through his chest, but his fingers finally slip beneath the lace, stroking through slick heat. “You’re impossible,” he murmurs, though the crack in his voice betrays him.

“And yet,” I twist in his grasp, just enough to meet his eyes, “you’re the one who can’t keep his hands off me.”

His grip tightens on my throat—not cutting off air, just enough to make my pulse hammer against his palm. “Cheeky.” His lips brush my jaw, the words a dark hum. “You really think you’re calling the shots here, sweetheart?”

I open my mouth, but he silences me with two fingers pressing against my entrance—not pushing in, just teasing. “Try again.”

My breath hitches. “Make me.”

“Mm. Wrong answer.” His thumb grazes my clit, so light it’s agony, and I jerk against him. “You want my fingers? Ask. Nicely.”

I arch into his touch, gasping. “I don’t recall you needing an invitation.”

A pause. Then his laugh is rough, warmth bleeding into my skin as his forehead drops to my shoulder. “Fuck, you’re gonna ruin me.” His hips roll up, betraying his own desperation, but his fingers stay maddeningly still—until his teeth sink into my neck, sharp and claiming. “But I’m still the one who decides how this goes.”

His voice drops, velvet and threat. “Imagine how good it’ll feel when I finally let you come. My fingers fucking into you, my thumb right—” A fleeting stroke over my clit. “—here. Getting you ready for me. You’d take me so pretty, wouldn’t you? Let me feel every sweet pulse of you around me? I'd ruin you with how good I'd make it."

I rock against him, pleading without words. "Then do it."

This time, when he slides two fingers in, it’s with aching slowness, curling just there, his thumb circling my clit—too gentle, too much. I clench around him, overwhelmed, and his groan vibrates against my ear. “Always so tight. So perfect.” His teeth scrape my earlobe. “Gonna beg for me yet?”

“No.” The word trembles.

“No?” Amusement laces his voice. His thumb slows to a torturous glide, every pass sending shocks up my thighs. Just as the coil inside me tightens—he stops.

The sound I make is raw.

His grip flexes at my throat, controlling, as his fingers twist deep—one sharp drag—wringing out another moan. “Look at you, baby,” he murmurs, “all worked up over two fingers."

His thumb skims my clit once, twice, and my hips buck. “One word, love.”

I grit my teeth—but my body arches, traitorous, needing.

Chan’s chuckle is dark, knowing, vibrating through me like a struck chord. "Stubborn." His fingers withdraw with deliberate slowness, dragging through my slickness before pressing against my lips. His voice is rough, but there’s something beneath it—warmth, a thread of admiration tangled in the command. "Taste yourself. Then show me how you’d touch yourself if I weren’t here."

I don’t hesitate. His fingers slip into my mouth, and I keep my eyes locked on his, defiant, relishing the way his pupils swallow the dark brown of his irises. The taste of myself is salt-sweet, intoxicating, and I swirl my tongue around his fingers just to watch his jaw clench, his breath hitch. Good. Let him ache too.

A grunt escapes him as his free hand grips my hip, guiding me back onto my feet before steering me toward the couch. He drops into his chair, thighs spreading—a gesture that would earn an eye roll any other time, but now feels like pure provocation. "Go on," he murmurs, voice gravel-rough. "Let me watch."

A challenge. A dare.

His gaze burns as my fingers hook into the lace at my hips, thumbs tracing the delicate edge. I drag the fabric down inch by inch, letting the cool air kiss my skin, letting him see the way my thighs tremble—just slightly. The underwear catches at my knees, and I pause, biting my lip like I might reconsider.

A muscle jumps in his jaw. "Don’t fucking stop."

I exhale a laugh, shaky with anticipation, and step free of the lace, kicking it aside. His stare follows the movement like a brand, searing every exposed curve. The power of it coils low in my belly—the way his chest rises faster, the way his grip whitens on the arms of the chair. This is what control feels like: the weight of his want, the silent plea in the way he spreads his thighs wider.

“Happy?” I murmur, palming myself again, this time with nothing between us.

His voice is wrecked. “Getting there.”

My pulse thrums in my throat, part defiance, part thrill. If he wants a show, I’ll give him one. My hands trail down my body, fingertips skimming my ribs, the dip of my waist—teasing, just like he would. His nostrils flare when I finally brush my clit, my own gasp sharp in the quiet between us. The contact is electric, but it’s not enough, not after the way he wound me tight and left me trembling.

Chan’s fingers flex against his knees, knuckles whitening with restraint. "That’s it," he murmurs, gaze dark and unblinking. “Let me see how pretty you are when you fall apart.”

I bite my lip, arching into my own touch—but it’s hollow compared to the way he commands my body. My hips stutter, frustration coiling hotter.

He notices. Of course he does.

“Problem, love?” That voice, all honey and smoke, curls around me before I even see his smirk.

My breath hitches, sharp in my throat. “You’re distracting me.”

A laugh, low and knowing. “I’m not even touching you.”

“You’re watching.” And God, it’s worse. His gaze lingers like a touch, slow and deliberate, leaving me exposed.

Then he moves—fluid, effortless—caging me against the couch without laying a finger on me. The heat of him radiates through the sliver of air between us. “Admit it.” His breath fans over my lips. “You’d trade every stroke of your own fingers for one of mine.”

I bite my tongue. But my body betrays me, thighs pressing tight together, and his grin turns lethal.

“Beg.” His thumb grazes my lower lip, a whisper of pressure. “Just once. Let me hear it.”

My hands freeze, but his covers mine, guiding me back into rhythm with firm insistence. “Don’t stop yet.” His scent—cool mint and warm vanilla—floods my senses, his mouth hovering just shy of mine.

A heartbeat of hesitation. Pride wars with the ache between my thighs, crumbling under the weight of his stare.

“Please.” The word cracks, raw.

“That’s my girl.” Triumph flares in his eyes a second before his lips claim mine, swallowing my whimper as his fingers sink deep, curling just so. I moan into his mouth, back arching off the couch, but he doesn’t relent—his kiss is fevered, his touch unyielding, and when his thumb drags over my clit, the pressure is perfect.

“You’re close.” His voice is rough against my lips. “I can feel it. That desperate little clench—” A twist of his wrist. “You feel incredible like this—so tight, so eager.”

Then his fingers slip free, glistening, and before I can protest, he’s sliding down my body, breath scorching between my thighs. “But I want to taste you when you come.”

The first lick is slow—agonizing—drawing a broken sound from my throat. His hands anchor my hips as his tongue flicks over my clit, once, twice, teasing. “Fuck, even sweeter than I remembered,” he murmurs, teeth grazing my inner thigh.

“Chan—”

His name shatters into a gasp as his tongue swirls in slow, torturous circles. The couch dips under his weight, his grip firm but not restraining—steadying. Every flick is a promise, every suck a silent mine, until my legs tremble around his shoulders.

“That’s it,” he murmurs against me, the warmth of his breath sending another ripple of pleasure through my core. “Just like that. Let me feel you.”

And God, I do. His mouth is relentless, not in punishment but worship, broad strokes wringing whimpers from my lips. A hum of approval vibrates through me as he glances up, eyes dark.

“You’re shaking,” he whispers, lips glistening. “Gonna come just like this? Just from my mouth?”

Before I can answer, his fingers press inside, one deep, unhurried thrust. The stretch pulls a moan from my throat, but he doesn’t stop—just crooks them there, curling ruthlessly as his tongue circles my clit again.

The orgasm crashes without warning. A sob tears free as I arch off the couch, clenching around his fingers in helpless waves. He doesn’t pull away—gentles his touch instead, working me through it with slow, reverent strokes, lapping up every shudder until I’m limp beneath him.

“Perfect.” His lips brush my inner thigh, my hip, the flutter of my stomach. “So fucking perfect for me.”

When he finally sinks onto the couch and pulls me against his chest, his breathing is ragged, his skin scorching where we touch—proof, even now, that I unravel him too.

His arms lock around me, his clothed body a furnace against my bare skin. The hard line of his cock presses into my hip through his sweats, insistent, impatient. A shudder ripples through him when I shift, my fingers twisting into the fabric of his tank top.

“Still with me?” His voice is rough velvet, lips brushing my temple. The contradiction of him—hands tender as they smooth down my spine, like gentling something wild—makes my throat tighten.

I tilt my head back, meeting his gaze: dark, hungry. “You’re still dressed.” My voice is wrecked, but the challenge in it is clear.

His smirk is slow, deliberate. “Observant.” His palm spreads over the small of my back, pressing me flush against him until I can’t ignore the heat, the way his hips roll once—just once—against me. “You gonna do something about it?”

I don’t hesitate. My hands slip under his shirt, nails skimming the rigid planes of his stomach. He hisses, muscles jumping, but I don’t stop—pushing the fabric up until he growls and tears it off himself in one impatient motion.

The sight of him—bare, sweat-slicked, control fraying at the edges—sends a fresh throb of want between my thighs. My fingers dart toward the waistband of his sweats, but he catches my wrist, grip firm.

“Ah-ah.” His other hand fists in my hair, tilting my head back. “You don’t get to rush me.”

I arch into him, breath catching. “Then what do I get?”

His laugh is dark, delicious. “Everything. Just not yet.”

Then his mouth crashes into mine, hot and claiming, and I taste myself on his tongue—sinful, sweet. His hands roam, gripping my waist, palming my breasts, thumbs teasing my nipples until I whimper into his kiss.

When he pulls back, his eyes are black with need. “Up.” The word is ragged.

I don’t need explanation. Heart hammering, I rise onto my knees on the couch, bracing one hand against the backrest. His fingers dig into my hips as he drags me back against him, his cock a heavy, aching pressure against my ass.

“Tell me you want it,” he demands, teeth grazing my shoulder.

I exhale a shaky laugh. “You already know.”

“Say it.”

I twist to look at him over my shoulder, letting him see the raw want in my gaze. “Fuck me.”

His groan is filthy, broken. “Good girl.”

Then his sweats are shoved down just enough, his hands spread me open, and he’s pushing in—slow, so slow—until the stretch burns and I’m gasping, nails clawing into the couch.

“Fuck—you’re tight.” His voice is rough, strained, as he sheathes himself fully inside me with one sharp snap of his hips. “Gonna take every inch, yeah? Just like this?”

Words fail me. I can only nod, overwhelmed by the stretch of him, the way he fills me so completely it steals my breath.

Then he moves.

The first thrust is punishing—deep enough to blur my vision, to leave me gasping—but he stills abruptly, his body trembling against mine. “Fuck. Need a second.” His fingers dig into my hips, holding me in place, his breath hot and uneven against my neck. Like he’s fighting for control.

I whimper, clenching around him instinctively, and he curses under his breath. “You’re killing me.”

“Then stop being gentle,” I pant, pushing back against him.

A dark laugh rumbles through his chest. “Who said anything about gentle?”

But instead of giving me the rough pace I expect, he rolls his hips in a slow, deliberate circle, letting me feel every inch of him. His hand slides up my spine, fingers tangling in my hair to tilt my head back. “You just came,” he murmurs, lips brushing my ear. “Gonna make sure you feel everything this time.”

And then he starts moving—not fast, not frantic, but with deep, measured thrusts that burn through me like liquid fire. Each one drags just shy of brutal, his hips working with a precision that leaves me writhing. He adjusts my body slightly, tilting my hips up, and suddenly he’s deeper, the stretch bordering on unbearable.

“There.” His voice is raw, lips skimming my ear. “That’s how I remember you. Taking me so perfectly, like you were made for me.”

I arch back against him, nails biting into the couch, and let out a breathy laugh. “Someone’s greedy.”

His rhythm falters—just for a heartbeat—before his grip tightens on my hip, his next thrust slower, deeper. “Oh?” A challenge laces his tone. “Explain.”

“Mmm.” I clench around him, relishing the way his breath hitches. “The way you take what you want. Like you can’t get enough.”

A groan vibrates against my skin as he nips lightly at my shoulder. “And if I can’t?” His hand gentles in my hair, angling my face toward his. “Tell me to stop.”

A lie. A game. We both know I won’t.

“Never,” I whisper.

“That’s what I thought.” His free hand slides down, fingers circling my clit with just enough pressure to make my thighs shake. “But since you’re so observant…” His hips snap forward, punching the air from my lungs. “…let me show you just how greedy I can be.”

And then he does.

No more measured thrusts, no teasing restraint—just pure, relentless possession.

He drives into me with a rhythm that borders on brutal, each snap of his hips forcing me deeper into the couch, the slick, rhythmic sound of skin on skin filling the space between us. My gasp catches in my throat, fingers clawing at the backrest, but he doesn’t slow—doesn’t stop. One hand fists in my hair, arching my spine to his will, while the other grips my hip hard enough to leave marks, anchoring me exactly where he wants me.

"Fuck," I choke out, voice frayed at the edges. "Just like that—God—you feel so good."

A dark chuckle vibrates against my back. "Yeah? Tell me how much you like it."

"So deep," I pant, rocking back to meet him. "Love it when you take me like this—when you use me—"

His rhythm stutters for half a second, a rough groan tearing from his chest. "Christ, listen to you." His fingers dig harder, dragging me onto him with bruising force. "Dripping all over my cock like you’re made for it."

The sound of it—the filthy, wet slide of him inside me—sends heat licking through my veins. My breath hitches, and he notices, lips curling against my shoulder.

"Hearing it turns you on, doesn’t it?" He punctuates the question with a sharp thrust, wrenching a moan from my throat. "The way you sound? The way we sound?"

I can’t answer—not when he’s hitting there—but my body does, clenching around him in helpless, fluttering pulses.

"Knew it," he growls, teeth grazing my ear. "Every time our skin slaps together, every fucking noise you make—you get even wetter. Can feel it." His hand slides between my thighs, gathering slickness onto his fingers before dragging them up to my mouth. "Taste yourself. Taste what you do to me."

I suck his fingers in, moaning around them, and his hips jerk. "Fuck. Keep doing that, and I won’t last."

"Promises, promises," I taunt, breathless.

He laughs—low, dangerous—before hauling me upright against his chest, his arm a steel band around my waist. "Think you’re clever?" His mouth finds my pulse, teeth scraping. "Let’s see how smart you are when I’ve got you on your back."

The world tilts in a dizzying rush as he flips me onto my back, his grip unrelenting. The sweats and underwear still tangled around his thighs are shoved aside in one impatient motion, finally freeing him completely—and then he’s looming over me, all sweat-slicked muscle and dark, devouring eyes.

“Beg me to ruin you properly,” he rasps, voice rough as gravel.

I open my mouth—to taunt, to challenge—but the words dissolve into a gasp as his hands hook under my knees, yanking me toward him with a single, brutal tug. My calves hit his shoulders, hips lifting off the couch, and then he’s there, the thick head of his cock pressing against me with deliberate, taunting pressure.

“Oh—!” The sound punches out of me before I can stop it, my back arching.

He doesn’t give me time to adjust. One sharp thrust, and he’s buried to the hilt, deeper than before, the angle ruthless. The air rushes from my lungs in a broken moan, my nails scrabbling at the cushions as my vision whites out for a heartbeat.

“Fuck,” he grits out, his own breath ragged. “Look at you—spread open, taking me just like this.” He pulls out almost completely, then slams back in, the force driving a cry from my lips. “Gonna ruin you so good, you’ll feel it for days.”

Every drag of him is a live wire, every snap of his hips stealing my breath. I’m pinned, helpless, my thighs trembling where they bracket his shoulders, my moans loud and unchecked.

“That’s it,” he growls, leaning forward to cage me in, his mouth hovering over mine. “Let me hear how much you love it.”

And God help me—I do.

He lowers himself, balancing his weight on his forearms, and the shift makes my legs rise higher, the new angle bordering on too much—too deep, too intense. A whimper escapes me, and he stills, his voice a ragged whisper.

“Touch yourself for me.”

I don’t hesitate. My fingers slide between us, circling my clit in frantic, desperate strokes. His gaze drops to watch, his pupils swallowing every bit of light, and for a heartbeat, he’s utterly still—just the ragged rise and fall of his chest betraying him.

Then he loses it.

His thrusts turn punishing, deep and fast and hard, the slap of skin echoing in the room. I arch beneath him, my voice breaking around his name.

“Chris—”

His rhythm falters. A groan tears from his throat, his hips jerking like I’ve struck him. “Fuck. Say it again.”

“Chris,” I gasp, and he curses, his mouth crashing down to my breast—nipping, sucking, teeth scraping my nipple until I cry out. The dual sensation of him fucking into me and the sharp, sweet pain pushes me higher, my thighs trembling where they’re hooked over his shoulders.

“Come with me,” he demands.

And I do, shattering around him as he follows me over the edge.

The air hangs thick between us, charged with the aftermath. Chan stays buried inside me, forehead pressed to my shoulder, his breaths ragged and warm against my sweat-slick skin. His hands slide down my thighs—gentle now, almost reverent—as he lowers my legs from his shoulders, fingers tracing the curve of my calves like he’s memorizing the shape of me.

I wince when my knees protest, and he stills. "Hurts?" His voice is rough, but his touch is featherlight.

"Worth it," I murmur, brushing damp hair from his brow. He turns into my palm, lips grazing the center, and something in my chest tightens.

When he pulls out, it’s with a low groan, collapsing beside me and dragging me half onto his chest. The studio is a wreck—his hoodie tangled with my top near the mic stand, the armchair shoved out of place from when he’d yanked me toward him earlier. My fingers drift over his sternum, catching on the chain around his neck as his heartbeat slows beneath my touch.

"You’re quiet," he says after a while, thumb brushing my hip.

I tilt my head to meet his gaze. "So are you."

A smirk tugs at his mouth. "Recovering." His hand slides up my spine, possessive even now. "You wrecked me, love."

The endearment slips out like it belongs there, and neither of us acknowledge it. Instead, I nod toward the forgotten Tim Tams on the counter. "Still hungry?"

He laughs, warm and surprised, like he’d forgotten. "Fuck yeah." But he doesn’t move, arms tightening around me instead. "Later."

His fingers trace idle patterns along my arm, mapping constellations only he knows. For the first time tonight, there’s no urgency—just the distant hum of the city and the weight of his silence, heavy with words neither of us will say.

Eventually, he reaches for his sweats, pulling them on with a grunt before crossing the room in two strides. He grabs the paper bag I’d brought earlier, returning with Tim Tams and a water bottle pressed into my hands.

"You’re spoiling me," I tease, cracking open the package.

His lips brush my shoulder. "Taste."

I break a cookie in half, offering him the other piece. He takes it, but his eyes stay locked on mine as he chews—slow, deliberate. "Missed this," he admits, voice so soft I almost miss it.

The chocolate melts on my tongue, too sweet. He watches me swallow like it’s the most fascinating thing he’s seen all night, thumb swiping a crumb from my lower lip. When he kisses me, I taste it—sugar and us and something dangerously close to longing.

He tugs me closer, my back against his chest, my head on his shoulder. His fingers trace slower now, heavier with fatigue. The chocolate lingers on his lips when they press to my temple, but it’s the warmth of him that lulls me—the steady rise and fall of his breath syncing with mine.

I don’t remember closing my eyes.

When I blink awake, the studio is bathed in the blue glow of his laptop screen. Chan’s back at his desk, headphones on, one hand scrolling through waveforms while the other taps rhythmlessly against his thigh. The sight is so ordinary, so him, that my chest aches with something tender.

I smile into the blanket—the same thin, scratchy one he keeps under the desk for nights when the city noise keeps him working till dawn. It smells like laundry soap and him, and for a wild second, I consider tugging him back to the couch.

His chair creaks as he shifts, and for a heartbeat, I think he’s noticed I’m awake. His fingers pause mid-adjustment, hovering over the dial. But the track needs fixing, and after a second, he dives back in—though his foot taps restlessly against the chair leg.

[sunnami]

the 5 times you did (not) love each other and the 1 time you did.

summary. as the title suggests. this one was a request! i hope you enjoyed my version of this anon.

pairing/s. poly!marauders + lily / reader.

wc. 4.1k

tags. hurt/comfort, angst, peter pettigrew mention, not proofread, like seriously, fluff, happy ending.

cws: brief mention of violence and blood.

note: i am alive?? crazy. i began this fic, whilst sick, around august, nursing the worst headache ever. i wrote the middle of this fic, sick. and i think it's only fitting that i finished this fic. sick... honestly, i did not proofread any of this, i just know i lowkey love it. after the first one-thousand words, i just spiral and become delirious, so i don't even know what happened here. my first request finished! yippee! and thank you all for 2k :< i love you all so much.

i. 

SIRIUS BLACK did not love you—not even close, not even a little bit. Not even at all.

After Peter Pettigrew’s slight against his family, Sirius would never hold warmth or pity for the skittish mouse ever again. He was played for a fool. And, he did not know which betrayal had hurt more. Peter’s—or yours. (Had you known all along of your adoptive brother’s plans? Did you not think for one second that Sirius would, without a sliver of hesitation, put himself in the way of a killing curse to keep you safe? He’d have died before ever letting the fire in your eyes wither to ashes. Clearly, you did not share the same sentiment.) 

He wanted nothing to do with you. Ever. And if the rat-bastard dared to show his face, not even Death would know where to put Peter’s body to rest. Sirius would keep him alive until he begged for death—until the idea of living frightened him more than dying. And for you—beholder of his heart, captor of his soul, and co-possessor of his mind—he could only hope that you stayed far away. You had wrecked him—all of them. 

He wanted—

He did not know what he wanted. 

For when it came to you, Sirius Black was reduced to a man wandering the deserts—mistaking clouds for water, and the sands for grass blades. You had ravaged every fiber of his being; consumed his every thought and word. The most ironic part of all was that if you had been the one standing there—Sirius would have let you Avada him. Dumbledore could scold him in the afterlife—Sirius could care less. He’d have snapped his wand in half and asked someone else to fight you because Sirius had vowed from the moment he met you that he would never harm a hair on your head. He would never be the reason that tears stained your pretty cheeks. 

Well, apparently, trust and promises were not worth a damn thing nowadays. 

No, he did not love you—even as you stood on the steps of Grimmauld, your hair ruined by the downpour of rain. Your lips bruised and bitten from a nervous habit Sirius had yet to break out of you. 

“I didn’t know, Sirius,” you whispered—your voice the only sound falling on his ears amidst all the thunder and lightning. He only saw you. “Y-You have to believe me. If I knew—Gods, I would have told Dumbledore in a heartbeat. Fuck. I thought you knew me better than that.” 

He thought so, too. 

“Did you know?” Sirius began, taking a step forward and into the storm, a demeaning sneer on his lips. “That when Voldemort stood in our home, your portrait was right behind him? That was all I could look at. If I had died—you would have been the last thing I saw.” 

You had not replied. 

Sirius grit his teeth. “Go,” he said, voice hoarse. 

“Go!” he yelled, grateful for the rain as it masked his own tears as you flinched from the sound of his voice. Not the thunderclap, the lightning strike—but it was him who scared you. 

(But you had done so first.) 

When you apparated away, Sirius crumbled to the ground and pounded his fists against the asphalts where you were moments ago, screaming and cursing until he saw blood flowing with the rainwater.

It was laughable, really. The way he did not love you. 

It was not love that drove him to madness, pummeling Gideon Prewett into a bloody pulp for mentioning your name during a meeting with the Order. He had presumed you to be a Death Eater alongside your brother—Sirius instantly saw nothing but red. (He condemned Bellatrix, his own cousin, for becoming a madwoman. Yet, here he was, unraveled by the very thought of you. The very whisper of your name.) 

But whatever it was that had turned him into a fool and a hypocrite all at once, it was not love. 

ii. 

JAMES POTTER had no love for you—make no mistake about that. He loved love, and he did so fiercely and truthfully. But you and Peter had broken his trust—defiled his loyalty from the moment your brother had brought Voldemort to his doorstep. (Did you know that as he begged and screamed for Lily to hide with their son, Harry—he thought of you? For a fleeting moment, he saw your face, marked by fear and tear-rimmed eyes. And James knew straight away that he would spit on Tom Riddle’s bare feet if only to keep his family safe. If only to see you once more. Alive and well. But, you must not have thought the same—if you had conspired with Peter to sell him and Lily out to the Devil reborn.) 

The thought of you breathing was enough to keep James alive. 

But, that was not love. It was a mockery of it. 

No, he did not feel so much as a twinge of emotion for you. Not even as Mad-Eye Moody brought your limp body back to Grimmauld. It was not love that threatened the magic in his being—that simmered in his blood until the painted walls saw an indent of his fist. (“Poor thing,” McGonagall cooed as she pressed her palm over your forehead. Despite some of the members’ growing distrust for you, you still took an Unforgivable in their stead. “We can only wait. . . Four Cruciatus curses. . .”) 

What more did James need to want to rip Peter apart limb by limb? 

It was not love that rooted his feet by your side. Sitting hunched on a chair too small for his height, bags beneath his eyes, and the pale of his lips becoming noticeable to everyone who spoke to him. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to you lovelessly—hands desperately clutching your own. Sirius stood across the room, arms crossed over his chest, dagger-like eyes waiting for so much as a twitch of your finger. “I’m sorry.”

It was a plea this time.

He only hoped you did not ask him to love you. For James could give you the world, hand-pick the stars, and burrow his body deep beneath the ground if you had asked for it—but he could not love you. 

Everyone had told him not to hope that you would wake up. That your pretty eyes would not flutter open, and you would no longer look at him as you had before. But James was stubborn. He was selfish as he was stubborn. He did not love you—but he needed to hear the sound of your voice. And James would take it any way that he could. The soft cadence of a whisper, or a rough utterance of a single word. Molly Weasley told him to accept reality for what it was. (“You need sleep, dear,” the matriarch fussed. “There’s nothing we can do. Look at the Longbottoms. . . We can do no more for this one as we had done for them.”) 

In the still of the night, he left his reveries on the cold of your skin. “Wake up,” he demanded. 

“Wake up or else you’re the traitor everyone thinks you are,” James hissed. 

But his words held no heat—and his heart held no love for you. 

Make no mistake about that.

Then, when you finally woke up, disoriented and throat parched—a hazy recollection of the weeks before—James made sure that no more than four people could enter the room. He did not care if a hurricane, or if Voldemort himself—James had faced him once already, after all—threatened to break the door down. You were theirs to protect.

 (But not to love.) 

“We need to begin the questioning, James, you know that,” said Kingsley Shacklebolt, almost exasperatedly; weary lines written across his face. James would not allow even a toe beyond the doorway. An interrogation meant you had something to do with the attempted murder of James and his family. Whether or not you were innocent, James did not care—he just wanted you safe. 

(And a small part of him already knew that you were not your brother’s keeper. Just as they had absolved Sirius of his family’s sins. It would be unfair to not show you the same grace. But before his mind knew that, James’s heart and soul had known the truth all along.) 

He found Sirius gently tending to your every need, and already James knew that was Padfoot’s way of begging for forgiveness. The ebony-haired man hung onto your every word. He winced when you flinched, and pressed his apologies to your forehead, rasping for a kindness he did not deserve. Not after what he did. How he turned you away and cursed your name. How they betrayed you. 

James did not love you. 

But what else could he call the manacles that bound his hands and forced him to his knees when it came to you? 

Not. Love. 

iii. 

REMUS LUPIN could not bring himself to love you. But, he could not love Sirius, Lily, and James either. He was undeserving of such a privilege. But he was not allowed to love you; Remus could only hope that you saw even a shred of worth in him—to wrest each word from his lips and every breath from his lungs. But, he did not love you. No. 

Because loving you meant he was to tell you of your brother’s crimes. And Remus could not hurt you like that. 

“P-Peter?” you had asked, wearing the eyes of a fretful sibling. Remus lifted his hand to tuck a strand of hair gone astray behind your ear. Bellatrix had done a number on you—just as she had done to Alice and Frank. Remus was fairly certain that Sirius was off on a hunt for his cousin, his mind toyed with by the barbarity of war. What they could not do for the Longbottoms, they’d wring themselves dry to do for you. After the Lestranges’ attack, you suffered damage to your throat and memories. Remus could not bear to see you in such pain. 

He could not give you love, but Remus would offer up to you his every limb, and the weary skin upon his bones. 

“They. . .” Remus grimaced. How could he act as the bearer of bad news? He’d rather dive headfirst into shark-infested waters. Be anywhere else but here. In fact, Remus would rather snatch you away from the funereal walls, and hold you in his arms in the quietude of dawn, than be the one to bring anguish to your eyes. “They’re looking for him at the moment, love.” 

One question lingered in your eyes: Why? 

Luckily, Sirius was always the better one at sharpening a blunt knife. “He was a traitor,” he spat like acid. “A traitor to the Order. A traitor to us. He’s no friend of ours. Not anymore.” 

But Sirius knew—better than anyone else—how difficult it can be to truly hate little brothers, especially once they’ve gone. 

“No. . .” You trembled, almost retching as you sobbed into your palms. 

Remus held you then, the front of his shirt soaked in your tears, eyes firmly shut as you trembled and heaved in his arms. The sound of your guttural screams bounced off the four walls, and Remus had to bury his nose in your hair. You were alive. Safe. Breathing. But you felt cold as ice; an empty husk stripped bare for grief to take over. And Remus could do nothing but hold you. (He just hoped that wherever Peter Pettigrew was, Remus would not be the first one to find him. Otherwise, they would not be able to recover even a fingernail from his remains.)

“Hush, love,” Remus whispered into your ear as you cried yourself sick. Mourning the loss of your brother, reeling from the betrayal of a bond that was supposed to be stronger than blood. Remus would make him pay, he vowed as much to you. No, Remus and the wolf in him did not know how to love. But he knew how to hurt. And, that, he’d gladly do for you. His body was for you to use as a shield, his soul for you to strip bare, and his heart for you to thieve and never return. 

“Don’t cry,” said James, a shadow cast over his frames. “Not for Peter. Never. Fucking bastard will get what’s coming to him.” He laid on the vacant space of the bed, gently untangling your hands that were pressed over your heart. “I’ll make sure of it.”

They all would.

But not because they loved you. 

It was not out of love, Remus had to remind himself in the coming days, when he stayed diligently by your side as you recovered. Daily sessions with the best healer St. Mungo’s could offer—as if James would allow anything else. There were days your eyes would glaze over, your words rough and sluggish, and Remus would try his damndest to make you smile. 

It was the least he could do. 

For failing to protect you. 

But that was not love. 

(It was hope. Wretched, disastrous hope as he fell to his knees, and your name in between his teeth.)

iv. 

LILY EVANS was a fighter in all the ways that mattered. 

And from the very first moment she held Harry in her arms, eyes raking over his wrinkly, bloodied skin; all ten fingers and toes, her soft cries over his loud screaming—Lily knew she would trade her life for his in a heartbeat. Little, lovely eyes that would soon see the world in his own time. Lily adored him. Cherished every tear, snore, and giggle. She knew then, that a mother’s love was entirely different from any emotion she’d ever felt before. 

This was proven the first time Harry had gotten seriously ill. A few weeks after the attempted murder on the Potters, Harry was ceaselessly crying—screaming, even, every night—red-faced as he fussed every breakfast and dinner. Lily found herself at wit’s end. Her protectiveness had gone up a hundred measures; wouldn’t let anyone besides family or Madam Pomfrey see Harry. Yet, even with all the draughts and silly-flavoured syrups, Harry wasn’t getting better. 

“Lily dear, you cannot actually be thinking about this,” worried Molly Weasley as Lily stood in front of your door, holed away in the room where you had been recovering for the last few days. It would be the first time she saw you since the incident. More than anything she was afraid. Frightened that you would look at her differently. Whether or not that fear stemmed from love, Lily was not concerned. “We can call for another Healer from Mungo’s to have a look at Harry. . . Who knows what might. . .” 

Lily held Harry closer to her, lips firmly pressed, attempting to ignore the way his temperature was unnaturally high. “Might what, Mrs. Weasley?” She knew Molly was only talking out of concern, from a mother’s perspective at least. But she knew you better than anyone else. You would never hurt her, or Harry, that much she was certain of. And if you were the traitor everyone else was afraid of accusing you of, a sentence delivered by association to Peter—then let the guillotine fall, Lily would carry your crimes for you. 

She remembered ever-so clearly in her sixth-year, you with dreams glistening in your eyes. (“I’m going to be a Healer, Lils! Minnie said I’d be a great one. . . I want to protect those I love. . . I know I can do it. . . Oh, I can’t wait to tell Peter that I’ve gotten recommendations already to work at Mungo’s after graduation.”) 

And Lily recalled at that moment, she had felt a different kind of emotion that she had never experienced before. It was not love, of course. Tuney said she was too young and too stupid to know what real love was. But, at sixteen, what else could describe the way her heart fluttered and the way her lips threatened to break out into a smile whenever you lit up talking about your future? (It was just a crush, young Lily told herself.)

Only to be crushed and cast aside in the face of the war, where fighters took their place at the forefront of the lines, mothers and children hid; healers stretching themselves thin to be here, there, everywhere; where traitors walked in plain sight. 

“There is no one else I trust more with my life,” replied Lily. 

And that was that. 

Lily skirted around Molly and opened the door to your room, where Sirius, James, and Remus all stood at attention at the sight of her and Harry. She ignored them, and headed straight to your side. 

“Hello, love,” she greeted with all the gentleness she was made of, a smile creeping up to her eyes as Lily watched you turn your head at the sound of her voice. Truth be told, she did not know what her end-goal was in coming here. But being by your side had always made life a little more bearable, like all the illnesses in the world could not bring her down. And so, her magic had instinctively summoned her person to you. She, at least, was relieved to see colour returning to your cheeks, though the red in your eyes had dulled the hues she adored so much. 

“Is that. . .?” you croaked. 

Lily nodded. “Harry, meet—” 

One of the loves of my life, the most loyal and pure witch anyone ever has the privilege of meeting, someone I want to stay in my life forever. 

Lily’s smile wilted. “A friend.” 

Later, she would place Harry in your arms—her little hope embraced by her dream—and Lily would wonder if it was by pure magic that Harry calmed in your presence. 

For if love could hurt and destroy, could it mend and heal the broken as well?

But what a shame, for not one in that room carried an ounce of love for you.

(She would die for Harry, yes—but she would live for you.)

v. 

YOU did not love them, either. 

The very idea, thought—insinuation—was absurd. (Why, they deserved much better than you, after all.) With hands that failed to protect them, were you even allowed to hold them anymore? Did your heart have the right to breathe for them? You had failed as a sister and a friend—how much more would you have failed as their lover? Well, you’d never know. 

Because you did not love them. 

Merely wished them happiness and for the world to extend them kindness. For the sun to look brightly down on them, and for time to heal their scars and wounds. For if they were in pain, the earth would stop spinning. But such a request was not borne from love. 

Surely not. 

Because, then, that would have meant that it was love that teared you apart when Sirius cursed your name, when James turned you away, when Remus could not look you in the eyes, or when Lily—for all your history together—called you a friend. 

The whole of you was made by the parts of them. Each memory welded into the crevices of your soul. From the moment you had all found each other in the same train compartment, same common room—there was a shift in the fates that bound all five of you together. (The ties were red, but the thread was not of love.) You did not believe in Professor Trelawney’s talks of providence and destiny. 

Because if you did, then why was the universe so cruel? 

Falling—not in love—for four people who could very much do without you in their lives. Lacking severely as a sister to the point you had not noticed your brother fading and fading away into the shadows. 

Was love that unkind? That merciless? 

Then, you did not want to love at all. 

Oh, but magic or not, every creature on this earth selfish. 

You were no different. 

You wanted. 

Oh, how you yearned. 

“I LOVE YOU.” 

You barely had enough time to react before Sirius pressed his lips to the side of your head, arm covertly sneaking around your waist. The sound of the train whistling as parents yelled their goodbyes filled the station. You stood in the midst of the crowd, eyes never leaving one window in particular as you waved at Harry, now eleven-years-old and now off to Hogwarts. 

“Quite a random thing to say, husband,” you murmured, leaning into his warmth. “What for?” 

“Just because,” he replied in turn with a fiendish grin. “Well, perhaps for choosing us, for choosing me despite all my fuck-ups. For existing. For being the beautiful, wonderful, kind, precious you. I could keep on going, my darling. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” 

You wrinkled your nose, eyes rolling from fondness. “I love you too, quite unfortunately.” 

He only laughed and pulled you closer to him. “Let’s go home.” 

–

“I love you.” 

In the house built by new memories, warded by stronger protection charms, and filled with warmth and love—James said this to you each morning before he left for the Ministry, promoted after the war as Head of Magical Law Enforcement. Not one foot out of the door until he had showered you in kisses and the symphonies of his heart. James had always been loud, even in his time at Hogwarts. The war had not taken this part of him, and you figured James was too loud to let it be taken from him. He was unapologetically and unabashedly him. 

And you had loved him fiercely for that. 

“I’ll be home early tonight,” he said, a quiet intimacy washing over the both of you. The early birds of the cottage. “Wait for me?”

“Of course,” you answered without an ounce of hesitation, delicately chasing after his lips. “I love you. Be safe.” 

-

“I love you.” 

“Are you saying that to me or are you reading from the book?” you teased from where you laid on Remus’s chest, hours after James left for work, the afternoon bringing you two together in the living room. Lily was in the gardens, and Sirius was in the shed working on his motorbike. It was perfect. You felt the rise and fall of Remus’s chest beneath you, his heartbeat close to your ear. He was perfect. It was a miracle you had not fallen asleep to the tender lull of his voice. 

“Both,” he responded, hand coming up to trace the bare of your skin—a miracle you did not crumble or burn instantly from his touch. 

You hummed. “Then, I love you, too.” Then, you grinned, lifting your head to stare up at him. “You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you.” 

And, oh, how photographs could not capture the beauty in Remus’s smile as his eyes regarded you with such fire.

“My heart, my light, my desire,” Remus began, one finger ever-so softly tracing the curve of your cheek. “In vain I have struggled, it will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” 

–

“I love you.” 

Said Lily as she lied in your shared bed, red-nosed and her cheeks pale, sluggish. The Christmas holiday was generous enough to gift her with an unfortunate cold that had been going around the wizarding world. “But, please, go,” she commanded weakly, gesturing for you to join Harry who was stood by the door. “It’s a lovely day outside for making snowmen with carrots as noses and snow angels. Not for taking care of poor old me.” 

You rolled your eyes as you sat by her side, swiftly pressing a kiss to her forehead. “And I love you, which is why I would rather much be here, taking care of the prettiest snow angel to ever exist,” you countered, bringing a spoonful of broth to her lips. “Besides, Harry here has something to tell you. He’s made friends at school. One of them is Molly’s little one.” 

“Oh, you did?” Lily cooed, before sniffling weakly. “That’s lovely, darling. Tell me all about them.” 

“That’s not all, Lily mine,” you began mischievously as Harry’s eyes narrowed at you through his glasses. “This friendship apparently formed after fighting a troll.” 

“You what?” Lily croaked, emerald eyes shimmering with concern and near-dread. 

“Did you really, Harry?” James popped his head in the doorway, clapping his son on the shoulder before ushering him inside the room. A spitting image side-by-side as they took the empty space by the foot of the bed. “Good boy. Father approves.” 

“Of course you would,” Lily shot at him weakly, melting when Sirius then entered the room and greeted her with a kiss to her cheek. “And where are you all coming from?”

“Outside,” announced Remus, tugging his tie from his neck. “Sirius and I took a quick trip to Diagon Alley to get some things that’ll make you feel better, Lily love.” 

And as the snow fell outside, lazy winds against the window, your little family gathered in one room, there was one thing you knew for certain.

You loved them. 

And they loved you. 

a/n: i wrote all 4k words while sick. crazy. but anyway, i wanted to believe in love again so here i am. thank you all so much for being patient with me. i promise to do even better in the next fics!

[dcxdpdabbles]

Batman: Come with me, I can take you somewhere safe Homeless Danny: No offense, but I'm not about to follow a man dressed the way you are to a secondary location. Homeless Jazz: I agree. Do you think we were born yesterday? Homeless Tucker: Not only that, but why would we leave this abandoned hotel after we just got its power grid up and running again? Homeless Sam: ....I miss showers. The steam. The little creaking sound when you turn the nobs. The clean. Batman: Is she okay? Danny: Yeah, she's fine. She used to be part of the 1%. It's taking her a while to accept poverty. Not that it matters, you can not get any of us- Batman to Sam: If you come with me, I can guarantee you'll have somewhere warm and safe to shower. Sam, half-crazed: Shower? Shower.Shower.Shower. Tucker: No, Sam! It's a trick! He wants to harvest our organs! Batman: I do not. Danny: Why are you talking in that tone then? Sounds like an organ harvester to me. Jazz: Not only that, but he's hot. Hot guys are usually hiding evil in them. Danny: .....You lost your speaking privileges, Jazz. Tucker: Why? She speaks the truth. Danny: You also lost your speaking privileges, Tuck. Sam: Danny, I know you don't want to hear this, but I really think we can trust this man. He may be hot, but he provides. I think it's worth a shot. Danny: Am I seriously going to be outvoted because you three can't stop being teenagers for one second!? Jazz/Tucker/Sam: It's a democracy, and you lost. Danny: *throwing his hands in the air* Fine! But if we die, I'm haunting you all. Batman: I'm glad you're willing to go somewhere safe, but I will have my partners move you. You're comments make me uncomfortable. Danny: .....Damn hot and not a creep. I see it, guys. I'm sorry for yelling at you.

[jungwnies]

f1 grid (1/2) | oops wrong name

୨ৎ : featuring : max verstappen, lewis hamilton, george russell, carlos sainz, charles leclerc, lando norris, oscar piastri (click here for part two) ୨ৎ : synopsis (requested by anon) : accidentally calling them the wrong name for shits and giggles - tiktok trend

୨ৎ : genre : comedy / pranks ୨ৎ : tws : playful banter ୨ৎ : word count : 2305

୨ৎ masterlist ୨ৎ 10k event | masterlist ୨ৎ

ᡣ𐭩 a/n : i was ctfu while writing this LMFAOO i think my bf would KILL ME if i called him the wrong name 😭 the charles gif makes me wanna 😩

ʚ・max verstappen

you were lounging on the hotel bed while max sat at the little desk beside it, tapping something into his phone. his hair was still damp from the post-qualifying shower, messy and sticking up in tufts. the tv was on, but you weren’t watching. not really. you were focused on your plan.

“tom,” you said casually, stretching out across the mattress. “can you pass me my water bottle?”

max didn’t respond at first, too focused on his phone. but then he froze.

his head tilted slowly, like a machine turning to scan a threat.

“sorry, what?”

you glanced at him, innocent. “water, please?”

now he was fully facing you. his eyebrows raised, that signature are you serious look all over his face. “who the fuck is tom?”

you shrugged. “just asked for water.”

“yeah, but you didn’t ask me.” he leaned back in the chair, arms folding. “you asked tom.”

you bit back a laugh. “you’re overreacting.”

“i’m overreacting?” he repeated, tone flat. “you’re lying on our bed calling for 'tom' and i’m overreacting.”

you picked up your phone like you were checking something. “maybe i got the names mixed up. tom, max. could happen to anyone.”

“not unless tom’s been around enough to replace me in your muscle memory.” you glanced at him and saw he was trying really hard to keep his expression unreadable, but his brow was twitching. “seriously...tom?”

“it’s a joke,” you finally said, unable to hold the straight face any longer. “you’ve been pranked.”

max didn’t speak for a moment. then he shook his head, muttering in dutch under his breath.

“you’re lucky you’re cute,” he said finally, getting up to hand you the water you never really wanted in the first place. “but if i hear that name again, i’m revoking cuddling privileges.”

you grinned. “noted.”

but later that night, just as you drifted off, you whispered, “thanks, tom.”

max shoved a pillow in your face.

ʚ・lewis hamilton

you were in the middle of organizing lewis’ growing sunglasses collection in the closet when he walked in, shirtless and relaxed, holding two smoothie bottles. one was your favorite.

“thanks, marcus,” you said sweetly, taking it from his hand.

he stopped mid-step.

“…come again?” he asked, lips parting just slightly.

you didn’t look up. “hmm?”

he blinked. “what did you just call me?”

you sipped your smoothie. “i said thanks. for the smoothie, babe.”

there was a pause. then—

“marcus?” his voice pitched up at the end like he was genuinely trying to figure out whether he heard wrong… or whether he was being cheated on in real time.

you blinked innocently. “huh?”

he slowly put his bottle down. “babe, i don’t want to jump to conclusions, but...who the hell is marcus? is that some guy from soulcycle or something?”

you stifled a laugh and shrugged. “that name jogs my memory...i thin he just brought me a smoothie once at work? very thoughtful.”

lewis crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway, eyebrows up. “wow. okay. and what does marcus do? race? rap? make smoothies for girls who forget their boyfriend’s name?”

you bit your lip, holding the laugh deep in your chest.

he looked away, shaking his head, grinning despite himself. “unbelievable. seven world championships and i’m getting marcus’d in my own house.”

you walked over to him slowly, trying to look apologetic. “lewis—”

“no, no. marcus is probably better at opening jars too,” he said, deadpan.

you finally broke, laughing as you wrapped your arms around him. “it’s a prank, babe. from that old trend. there is no marcus.”

he let out a long sigh, dramatically resting his forehead against yours. “you play too much.”

“but you looked so betrayed. it was kind of cute.”

lewis kissed your cheek, then whispered, “you’re lucky you’re adorable.”

as you turned to leave, he added, “but i’m calling you katie all day tomorrow. just for balance.”

ʚ・george russell

it started over breakfast. you were seated at the little table in george’s apartment, scrolling through your phone while he made tea. he was shirtless, hair still a little messy, humming some fleetwood mac song to himself, completely unaware he was about to be mentally ruined before 9 a.m.

“jake, can you pass the oat milk?”

george froze.

you didn’t look up. you scrolled a little more. very nonchalant.

he didn’t say anything at first. he just slowly reached for the oat milk and set it down in front of you — quietly, methodically — then walked around the table and sat across from you with that look.

“who’s jake?” he asked, voice light but suspicious.

you took a sip of your tea. “what?”

“you called me jake.”

“no i didn’t.”

he narrowed his eyes. “you absolutely did.”

you shrugged. “maybe you misheard.”

“i don’t think i did.” he leaned forward, elbows on the table now. “do i know this jake?”

you bit the inside of your cheek, trying not to smile. “i don't know, probably? that's what you heard right.”

george blinked once, then leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms like he was preparing to take you to court. “does jake have better hair than me?”

you snorted.

“is he taller?” he asked, a little more seriously now.

“george.”

“no, because if jake is over six feet and makes a good cup of tea, i’m leaving.”

that did it — you burst out laughing, nearly spilling your drink.

george tilted his head. “wait—oh my god. you’re doing that bloody trend, aren’t you?”

you nodded, face buried in your sleeve as you kept laughing.

he exhaled, rolling his eyes as he picked up his mug. “you’re awful. i nearly had a personal crisis.”

“i noticed,” you said between giggles.

“swear to god, if i ever call you ‘sophie’ and you cry, i’m just gonna say it was balance.”

“who’s sophie?” you blinked.

he gave you a look. “exactly.”

ʚ・carlos sainz

carlos was sprawled on the couch, flipping through the channels with one hand and lazily draping the other across your thighs, completely unbothered. it was one of those rare, quiet evenings where neither of you had to be anywhere, the kind that made you feel domestic and soft.

you were curled up at the end of the sofa, scrolling through your phone, when you looked over at him and said, casually, “matteo, can you turn the volume up?”

carlos froze.

the remote paused mid-click. he turned his head, eyes narrowing with laser focus. “what did you say?”

you blinked at him sweetly. “volume, carlos. i can’t hear.”

silence.

then, he sat up slowly — dramatically, even — his hand still hovering in the air like he was physically trying to process what just happened. “who,” he began, “is matteo?”

you shrugged. “what do you mean?”

“i mean,” he said, placing the remote down like it offended him, “you just called me matteo. that’s not my name, cariño.”

you bit your lip to hold back the smile. “oh, i must’ve been thinking of someone else.”

carlos leaned forward, one eyebrow raised in complete disbelief. “someone else? so now i am… easily confused with other men?”

you snorted.

“no, no, it’s fine. maybe matteo has better hair than me. maybe matteo owns a vineyard and serenades you with a guitar.”

you lost it at that. but he wasn’t done.

“does matteo also say ‘smooth operator’? or is he a rough operator?” he added, now fully invested in this imaginary rival.

you leaned in, resting your chin on his shoulder, voice soft. “carlos, i was kidding. it’s a trend. i called you the wrong name on purpose.”

he stared at you for a beat, lips pursed. “you’re playing with fire, mi amor.”

“i know,” you grinned. “but matteo would’ve let it slide.”

carlos lunged at you with a laugh, wrestling you into his chest. “then go be with matteo! but first, tell him i’m coming for him.”

ʚ・charles leclerc

you were doing your makeup at the vanity in your shared monaco apartment when charles wandered in, fresh from his shower, towel around his waist, hair a fluffy disaster. he looked at you through the mirror, all sleepy eyes and boyish charm.

“lucas, can you hand me my lip liner?” you asked offhandedly, still focused on your face.

you heard the towel drop.

not in the hot, sexy way.

in the he's shocked and spiraling way.

“lucas?” he echoed, voice higher than you’ve ever heard it. “who the hell is lucas?!”

you turned slowly, biting your lip to hide the smile. “what?”

he stared at you like you’d just run him over with a ferrari. “you just called me lucas.”

you shrugged. “did i?”

“YES,” he said, wildly gesturing. “you didn’t even hesitate. you were so confident—like it was natural! like you say it all the time!”

you turned back to the mirror, calmly applying mascara. “you’re overreacting.”

charles dropped onto the bed like he’d been mortally wounded. “lucas. mon dieu. that sounds like someone who wears boat shoes with no socks.”

you bit your lip harder.

“is he french?” charles asked, sitting up. “or worse… italian?”

“it was just a mistake, love.” you said airily, brushing your cheeks.

charles stood, eyes wide. “mistake?! i literally brought you pain au chocolat this morning and kissed your forehead like some guy in a rom-com!”

you finally broke, letting out a full laugh. “charles—”

“no, no, no. this is worse than the monaco curse. lucas. i can’t believe i lost you to someone named lucas!”

you got up and walked over to him, wrapping your arms around his dramatically tense shoulders. “babe. it’s a tiktok prank. i made it up.”

he blinked. “so… there is no lucas?”

you grinned. “no lucas.”

he exhaled. “good. because if there was, i’d have to challenge him to a karting race. or maybe just cry.”

you kissed his cheek. “you’re so dramatic.”

he whispered, offended. “it’s my birthright.”

ʚ・lando norris

you and lando were chilling on the couch, deep into a gaming session. or, more accurately, lando was gaming and you were curled up next to him, offering the occasional sarcastic comment and stealing his snacks.

he was laser-focused, headset on, tongue poking out a little as he tried to win some online match.

you waited for the perfect moment, just as he landed a kill and started celebrating.

“nice job, ethan,” you said sweetly, clapping once.

lando froze.

like… absolutely no movement. not in his hands, not in his mouth, not even a breath.

then, very slowly, he turned to look at you. headset slightly askew. brow furrowed.

“did you just call me ethan?”

you blinked. “hmm?”

“hmm?” he repeated, his voice cracking halfway through. “who the fuck is ethan?!”

you shrugged. “just… ethan.”

lando set the controller down like it was made of glass. “is he one of your gym guys? does he have better curls than me? wait, is ethan taller than me?!”

you laughed under your breath. “does it matter?”

“of course it matters!” he cried, fully spinning to face you now, hands on his hips. “you can’t just ethan me and then expect me to cope. i’m not built for this emotionally.”

you fought so hard not to crack. “just someone i know very lightly at the gym, he's a big motivator.”

“oh my god,” lando said, flopping backwards like he’d been shot. “i’m being replaced by a walking affirmation board.”

you finally broke, snorting as you leaned over him. “lando. baby. it’s a prank.”

he peeked up at you. “no ethan?”

“well..." you pause, "just kidding, of course there's no ethan."

he exhaled dramatically. “okay. good. because i was two seconds away from dming every ethan on your follower list and challenging them to a race.”

“you can’t race them all.”

he grinned, eyes gleaming. “watch me.”

ʚ・oscar piastri

it was a quiet sunday morning, the kind that begged for soft sheets, slow cuddles, and no alarm clocks. you were both curled up in bed, tangled under the duvet, with the curtains barely cracked to let the light in.

oscar was scrolling through something on his phone, his head resting against your shoulder, calm and cozy.

you stretched lazily, then nudged his thigh. “asher, can you hand me my water?”

he blinked.

paused.

then, with terrifying composure: “sorry, who?”

you yawned. “water, please. it’s by your side, osc.”

he slowly turned to look at you, expression blank, voice deadly even. “you just called me asher.”

“did i?”

“you definitely did.”

you shrugged, pretending not to notice the sharp turn in atmosphere. “just slipped out.”

oscar sat up a little straighter. “do we know an asher? is there an asher in the paddock? because i swear i don’t know an asher.”

you casually rolled over to the other side of the bed. “he’s someone from uni... no one special just someone i talk to during class for a little laugh.”

oscar scoffed, tone still flat but deeply offended. “he sounds like a real crowd favorite. must be hard, competing with asher and his sunshine energy.”

you were fighting so hard not to laugh, clutching the duvet to your face.

he wasn’t done. “tell me—does asher also give you the inside line into turn 3 at silverstone? does he organize your sock drawer? does he know your coffee order by heart?!”

you burst out laughing.

oscar narrowed his eyes. “you’re pranking me.”

you wheezed, nodding. “i couldn’t keep it going, you looked like you were going to call asher’s imaginary mother and file a complaint.”

oscar leaned back, smug smile on his face. “good. because i was five seconds away from changing your contact name to ashtray and never explaining why.”

you grinned, wrapping your arms around his waist. “no asher. just you.”

he kissed your forehead, muttering, “i don’t trust pranks. but i trust revenge.”

2021-2025 © jungwnies | All rights reserved. Do not repost, plagiarize, or translate

[timmydraker]

PART 2 OF CLONE BABY

Bruce: You need to tell the rest of the family, but mostly Dick.

Tim: why...?

Bruce, remembering how mad Dick got when he didn't tell him about Jason or literally any other kid: just trust me, it's not worth it

Tim: but I haven't told Kon yet *biggest pouty face ever made*

Bruce: Tim, he's still dead... isn't he?

Tim: I mean... for now.

Bruce:

Tim: FINE. Give her back to me then.

Bruce: ... five more minutes?

*Later:*

Dick: Hey guys, what was so important I had to get here so quick? Is everyone okay? Did someone... y'know?

Bruce: Opposite, actually.

Tim: I had a baby

Dick: you fucking what.

Tim: I had baby.

Tim: lil bubba

Tim: I made it myself :)

Tim, holding up his baby girl: see!

Dick, rapidly going through several emotions at once before letting out such a high pitched squeal that Clark Kent breaks a mug out of shock: A BABY!!!

Tim: a baby!

Bruce: a baby...

Damian, who had come out of his room as soon as he saw that Dick had gotten to the house via his trackers: a baby?

Tim: not for you, go away

Bruce: Tim.

Tim: what? She may have been a scientific miscalculation but she is mine and I will not risk her being stabbed by your miscalculation baby.

Damian: what did you just call me?!

Tim: you heard me!

The baby stirring and whining:

Tim: shhh, it's okay little one. Did Damian's shouting upset you? That's very mean of him, isn't it? It's okay, it's okay

Dick: omg im an uncle

Tim: yes you are!

Dick: and who's the mother?

Tim: 1 am.

Dick: oh... okay, then who's the dad?

Tim, in all seriousness: Kon.

Dick, naturally assuming Kon came back to life like people do all the time: oh, he's back?

Bruce, making a silencing motion:

Tim, trying not to cry: not yet...

Damian: I am confused, why does Drake have a child?

Bruce: he was trying to clone his dead best friend and accidentally mixed his DNA with one of the subjects and made a clone hybrid baby.

Dick: more like dead situationship but okay

Damian: oh, like my brother but an acciden

Bruce: your WHAT?

Tim: yeah! But she's going to grow up like a normal human/kryptonian clone baby and not in like a week.

Damian: very well, I will craft some training weapons for her so she can at least have a chance fitting into this family.

Tim: no the fuck you will not Tim: I mean fudge

Damian: she will also grow up without a father apparently.

Tim: oh like Slade is a better option? And also, so did you???

Damian: beside the point. This baby will be too much like its parents, you are better to let someone else raise her so she won't be a blubbering fool.

Tim: BLUBBERING FOOL?!

Dick: hold on, go back-

Bruce: so l don't have a second blood son?

Damian: and anyway, you can hardly be a n when you practically weren't raised at all, 1 other hand was raised by an exceptional woman-

Damian: and anyway, you can hardly be a mother when you practically weren't raised at all, I on the other hand was raised by an exceptional woman-

Tim: oh HELL no

Tim: first of all, my parents have nothing to do with how I myself will parent! I will be everything in wanted to have and I will not let my baby girl feel unloved for a single second of her life, thank you very much.

Tim: secondly, you're saying that Taliah is a good role model for parenting? When was the last time you spoke to her that didn't involve her using your or Bruce for your granddaddy? Huh?

Damian: ...

Tim: that's what I thought.

Bruce: maybe we should calm-

Tim: and anyway, now that I'm a mother I understand a lot more and I'm not letting you raise my kid because you are a kid, Damian. I know your almost fifteen but that doesn't change the fact that you have Child Developmental Syndrome as well as severe CPTSD and deserve to be carefree and not hold as many responsibilities as some people, *glares at Bruce* seem to think is okay!

Tim: so, no, you can't take my baby but you can be in her life because while I still kind of hate you and think you should suffer for trying to kill me and cutting my line, I can truely see now that you are a baby yourself.

Tim: now, who is going to help me pick out a paint for the nursery l'm making at my apartment?

Damian: ...

Bruce: ...

Dick, who has been slowly inching forward to try hold the baby: ...

Damian, still seething but also a little... honoured?: may I suggest the colour China Rose?

It will go well with the rest of your apartment.

Tim, smiling happily and rocking his baby: good idea!

Tim: Dick, you can hold her while I find Alfred.

Dick: oh thank god, gimme, gimme, gimme, oh hi baby!!! Oh, just look at those chubby wittle cheekies~! Aren't you the most precious wittle thing? Yes you are! You are! Awww!!

Bruce: I forgot to ask, do you have a name?

Tim: oh yeah... that's a thing

Dick and Bruce, integrally: *He is not going to be able to do this alone.*

ーーーーー

QUESTION: what should the baby be called?????

Also wonder how long it will take to end up on

TikTok lol

[whosmariaaa]

— part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 !

— cw :: suggestive, murder, violence, attempted roofie

college! sukuna was not planning on giving up on you any time soon, no matter how upset you were. to put it simply, he was obsessed. checking your socials all the time, still trying to reach out every single day.

no girl had ever gotten under his skin like this. no one had ever made him feel like this. he didn’t even know he was capable of feeling like this about someone. and sukuna would be damned if he let you go now.

though it barely seemed to be working, because you weren’t falling for it. didn’t exactly stop him, as you would think, but gojo and toji decided to help him out for once.

they were in the lockers after basketball training, gojo and toji yapping about one of the cheerleaders. sukuna wasn’t listening. he was thinking about you, of course. how the hell could he not get you off his mind? did you put a spell on him or something?

then, gojo sat down next to him. “yo, sukuna. toji and i were thinking,” he started.

“shocking. didn’t think you two fucking idiots were even capable of that,” he sneered. gojo’s eye twitched, but he continued nonetheless.

“it’s kind of sad to see you still chasing y/n even after all that shit went down, and you’re kind of pathetic about it too,” gojo told him.

“kind of? you’re really fucking pathetic about it. seriously man, i’m pretty sure you’ve killed people before, and you’re all soft hearted for a girl who hasn’t shown you a speck of attention,” toji criticized.

feeling irritation rise, sukuna was about to snap back, but gojo quickly interrupted, “what toji’s trying to say, is that we want to help you. you’re our best friend for a reason,” he explained.

“why don’t you try to shit you used to pull with other girls? pretend like you don’t care, and they come running back, always works, right?” gojo added, resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

sukuna scowled, “you two know how i feel about y/n. she isn’t just a quick fuck. and how the hell would that even work when she doesn’t even look my way?”

“yeah, we get it. but you should try it. because what you’re doing right now isn’t working for shit,” toji replied, sitting down next to gojo.

when sukuna went back to his dorm, he thought about it. maybe, it could work. maybe, it’d catch your attention. maybe it’s not such a bad idea.

so, plan in action, he stopped coming to you every single day. he practically was ignoring you now. he stopped talking to you altogether. stupid as it sounds, it was starting to piss you off. you had every right to ignore him. he in fact did not. was this perhaps a little petty? sure. did you care? no.

but, much to sukuna’s dismay, you let it rest. he had gotten on your nerves enough. he was finally leaving you alone, so you might as well take peace in it.

your not-so-secret admirer was however not taking peace in it, at all.

“damn, she’s still not crawling back?” toji noted, scratching his head when he saw how infuriated sukuna was with the entire situation.

“she’s just playing hard to get,” gojo replied, “she’ll be on her knees before you know it!”

honestly, sukuna would be on his knees for you a whole lot sooner than you would be for him. gojo and toji knew that too, but they were a little afraid of their friend breaking, so they were trying to keep their hopes high.

“no, she won’t. why the fuck did i fall for such a fucking bitch?” he scoffed.

“yeah, she is kind of bitch, though—” gojo laughed.

“don’t fucking talk about her like that,” sukuna warned firmly, grabbing gojo by the collar again.

“you literally said it first—”

“shut the fuck up.”

sukuna was again pried off gojo by toji, before he actually hurt him. though his friends finally stopped being asses about the entire situation, he still felt like losing his shit.

and that feeling continued when even the week after that, you didn’t seem to be losing sleep at all over his absence, while he definitely was over yours (you were actually still feeling petty he was ignoring you now, but you didn’t show it). it was ridiculous. why was he so infatuated with you? sukuna didn’t even know himself, and yet, he couldn’t bare to let you go. he was hooked.

he needed to get his mind off things. when toji invited him to a frat party, he immediately decided to go. last time he went was weeks ago, and he wanted to take his mind off things. what better way to do that than with alcohol, weed, and girls?

when he arrived at the party, gojo gave him a few shots to ease up. and sukuna immediately had his eyes on a girl, pretty, nice body. he just needed some more alchohol and weed to soothe the weird ache in his chest when he thought of other girls. girls that aren’t you.

though, that didn’t matter now. he took a few more shots, took a few blows of toji’s blunt, and went over to the girl. they talked for a bit, he was charming, and before they knew it, the girl was in his lap, making out with him while the music blared in their ears.

when she separated for some air, sukuna looked at her with his intense red eyes, then looked around his surroundings a bit. that’s when he saw you. you were chatting with some friends, but then your gazes met. neither of you were looking away, for a good 8 seconds.

“hey, c’mon babe, we can go upstairs to a room,” the girl whispered in his ear, dragging him back to reality. a scowl appeared on his face. he wasn’t thinking about sex, and definitely not with her.

which was strange, the old sukuna would’ve flashed her his signature grin and took her upstairs without a doubt. it seems you’ve genuinely tainted his mind. for the better or worse, he didn’t know.

he pushed her off his lap. “the fuck are you talking about?” he snarled. she gasped, catching herself barely as he went on his feet. he didn’t spare her a second glance as he went over to you, which is exactly when you two locked eye contact again.

“and what do you want?” you huffed impatiently, though the intense eye contact made you slightly nervous. huh? since when did sukuna make you nervous?

“why the hell are you here?” he demanded. you rolled your eyes, “and why does that concern you?”

he took a step closer, dangerously close as he hovered over you. “don’t play fucking games with me, y/n. i’m not in the mood. let me repeat myself, why the hell are you here?”

you furrowed your eyebrows. “because it’s my friends party? what’s your problem?” you responded.

“my problem is that you’ve been ignoring me for weeks, and i’m fucking sick of it. it was just a project, and you’re such a bitch about it,” he sneered.

“i had every right to be pissed about it, and you know that too. and i didn’t want to talk to you, because you’re an ass, but apparently you’re just stupid and can’t take a hint,” you snapped back, starting to feel annoyed again.

now you didn’t care about the unbroken eye contact, or your friends staring wordlessly, because this man was a champion at getting on your nerves.

“cry me a damn river. maybe you’re just a pissy bitch that can’t handle when life doesn’t go her way,” he scoffed.

you suppressed an offended gasp, but you definitely weren’t suppressing the slap you were about to give this man again. but, just when you were about to hit his cheek, sukuna caught your wrist, in a bruising grip too.

“don’t even fucking think about it. i’m not letting you get away with shit anymore, be glad i’m not breaking your wrist,” he warned. you were silently glaring at him, and he was glaring right back.

then, he dropped your wrist and walked off. “asshole…” you mumbled under your breath. seriously, what was his problem?

safe to say, both of you spend your night at the party away from each other. sukuna making out with several different girls, even around 2AM taking another upstairs, needing to think about something else.

you, however, spend your night with your friends, drinking a few shots, but not too much to get drunk or anything. you were trying not to think of his words, but damn they kind of hurt.

your friends eventually went back to their dorms. they asked you several times if you wanted to come too, but you knew that if there wasn’t any loud music, talking and drama surrounding you, you’d probably wallow in silence, so you refused and stayed. maybe you’d find some distraction, who knows?

and as if someone heard your thoughts, next to you suddenly sat a man with blue hair and pale skin.

“you look distressed,” he commented. was it really that obvious?

“nah, it’s nothing, really,” you smiled, shrugging it off. the guy smiled back, letting the topic rest.

“uh huh, y/n right?” he asked. “people know you’re off limits, because you’re apparently sukuna’s girl. but what i saw from earlier, that’s not so true, is it?”

your smile disappeared, and you rolled your eyes. “seriously? that’s what he’s been telling people? what a loser, honestly,” you grumbled. the guy chuckled.

“so it’s not wrong for me to assume you’re single?” he questioned. your eyes shot to him. maybe he was the distraction you were desperately needing.

“huh, no, not at all. what’s your name, then?” you queried.

he rested his chin in the palm of his hand, looking at you with a charming grin. “mahito, nice to meet you, y/n,” he greeted. you smiled at him. you did recognize his name. it gave you a suspicious feeling, but it was merely fleeting, so you shrugged it off.

you two talked for like an hour or so. mahito was a nice guy, but he did give you the creeps with what he was saying from time to time. but it was probably just the alcohol in your system, so you shrugged it off.

then, he eventually went off and got drinks for the both of you. you quickly checked your phone.

“hey babe, hope ur feeling better by now, lemme know how the parties going xxx” your friends text read. you smiled at the sweet message, and quickly texted back about the tea, telling about how you met a new guy.

then, a few seconds after you send press and shut your phone off, he sat down next to you again. the two of you continued talking, and you took a few sips of your drink. but as the minutes past by, suddenly you felt like things were spinning. you felt dizzy.

your heart sank.

with quick thinking, you got on your feet and excused yourself to the bathroom with a calm smile. you were anything but calm. you couldn’t think clearly. you went into the bathroom, locking the door.

had he put something in your drink? had he drugged you? did he attempt to roofie you? you were panicking. all of your friends had gone to their dorms, and they would never make it on time. you didn’t know a soul in this party, and everyone was either drunk or stoned. what the hell were you supposed to do? and when mahito was going to inevitably notice you were gone for too long… you were starting to hyperventilate.

your head was spinning like crazy, and you felt your throat close up.

sukuna wasn’t focusing on shit right now. he had a girl on his dick, but he still felt slightly off. but he forced himself to enjoy it nonetheless. that was until his phone rang. he hung up without looking at the name. it was probably gojo or toji trying to pester him. then, his phone went off again, and again.

“who the hell is that?” she asked, breathlessly but still irritated.

he didn’t even care to reply to her. when his phone went off once more, he let out an annoyed sigh and looked at the name. it was you. he felt his irritation rise.

but he did pick up after two rings. “what the fuck do you want, y/n? if it wasn’t clear already, don’t try shit right now,” he snapped angrily.

it was silent on the other end of the line. sukuna was tempted to hang up, until he heard a little sob. he suddenly felt a rush of confusion, and maybe even concern.

“where are you?” you sniffled quietly.

“still at the party,” he replied as he sat up. the girl, just as stoned and tipsy as him, looked at him confusion.

“please help me, sukuna. i don’t know what the fuck happened, but i— i was talking with this guy, mahito or something, and i think he put something in my drink,” you stuttered out. his breath hitched slightly at the implication, and then he felt his fists clench, a wave of anger hit him.

sure, you guys were fighting, or whatever it was, but that man was still head over heels, no matter how much he wanted to push it down. and he was going to beat this guy to death for ever thinking he could touch you.

sukuna had already pushed off two other girls for you before, might as welk make it three. the girl whined drunkly, but he couldn’t care less. he pulled on his boxer and pants, and quickly threw on a shirt.

“where the fuck are you?” he asked, his tone dangerously low as he left the room, not looking back at the girl.

“bathroom d— downstairs,” you stammered. things were going fuzzy, some parts of your vision even black. you could barely keep your eyes open. “please hurry,” you cried softly.

and that tone, that panicked, helpless tone set something off in him. he was downstairs in just a few seconds, roughly shoving aside anyone in his way. no one dared to say anything, because no one had ever seen sukuna this angry before. people around fell into a tense silence, wondering what the hell happened.

as soon as he saw the bathroom door, he went to open it. and when it didn’t budge, he slammed his fist into the wooden door without a doubt, and turned the lock from the inside. his fist was covered with his blood, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

then sukuna saw you, on the floor, barely conscious. you were trembling, big tears rolling across your cheeks. it was so unlike you. you were always so fierce, and just then, he decided that he loathed seeing you cry.

he grabbed you, an arm around your waist. “it’s okay, baby, i’m here. no one’s fucking touching you,” sukuna reassured. you felt… safe in his arms, as much as you hated to admit it.

“i still fucking hate you, don’t get me wrong,” you mumbled, though your voice cracked slightly.

“uh huh, sure thing, baby,” he replied. but then, everything went black. sukuna had made it on time, but he felt a strange ache in his heart thinking about what if he hadn’t. he picked you up, weirdly gently for his doing, and went to the other side of the house, where he knew toji and gojo were at.

“yo, sukuna, we heard you finally had sex with a girl aga— is that y/n?” gojo questioned, flabbergasted. toji immediately turned his head.

“what the hell happened?” toji asked, immediately stepping over.

“some fucking idiot roofied her. take her to my car,” he ordered, putting you in toji’s arms. but gojo and toji were too slow for his liking.

“i’ll shoot both of you in the fucking head if you don’t get her out of here in two seconds,” sukuna said in a tone that told them he wasn’t playing around.

“chill out, man,” toji replied, though he was already on the move. sukuna had threatened them many times, but this was different. he was genuinely angry now, and he could get dangerous when he was.

“you’re going to kill that guy, aren’t you?” gojo asked, his usual teasing tone gone. he was dead serious. sukuna’s silence told him all he needed to know. gojo nodded and went after toji.

as soon as they were out of the frat house, he turned on his heel and approached the first person he saw.

“where’s mahito?” he asked. everyone knew the guy, everyone but apparently you. he was a real creep on campus. he’d never roofie anyone before, but honestly, no one’d put it past him.

“uh, in the bathroom. the same bathroom of which you kicked my door down, by the way, you’re paying for that—” the guy started, but sukuna’s menacing stare shut him up real quickly.

and just like he said, there mahito was. in the bathroom where you said you were going a while back, he looked around in confusion, oblivious to the storm behind him.

just when he was about to turn around, his head smashed into the stone-tiled wall three times, the white tiles now colored red.

“you fucking dumbass,” mahito heard in his ear as he was turned around, his back now slammed against the wall. a strong hand on his throat keeping him there.

“well, well, well, if it isn’t sukuna,” mahito taunted playfully, as if he didn’t have blood dripping down from his forehead. “was starting to wonder when you’d start looking for your little y/n,” he added.

“say her name again, i fucking dare you,” he snarled. mahito knew better than that.

“i’m just saying, i could’ve had a great time with her, until you had to go and ruin things,” mahito teased, flashing him a sickening smile. then a harsh left hook to his face shut him up, sending even more splatters of blood to the wall.

“let’s see if you can talk this tough when we’re outside,” sukuna replied, his tone scarily even. just like that, he dragged mahito outside, not like anyone was watching anyways because everyone went back to partying.

sukuna beat him up till he was bloody and bruised, and even then he didn’t stop. it was a gory sight, one that would’ve made anyone sick. he didn’t care, even as mahito’s face was crooked from amount of punches he had taken. mahito couldn’t even scream or beg for his life anymore, even though he was in excruciating pain. he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak.

he had no mercy. his hands were painted red from mahito’s blood, he punched until there was practically nothing to punch anymore. and then, nothing. he wasn’t breathing anymore, no pulse.

sukuna had indeed killed people before, he wasn’t ashamed of it. toji and gojo had done so too, none of them had been caught before. none of the other murders were necessary, just guys who pissed them off. but mahito?

he crossed a line thinking he could hurt you. no matter how much you hated him, sukuna was scarily attached to you ever since that day you called him out. so much so that he would apparently kill for you. romantic, no?

as he stared at mahito’s mangled face, he suddenly got a call from gojo. “what?” sukuna grumbled.

“y/n woke up a few minutes ago, she’s asking for you, well, more like demanding,” gojo replied. you were asking for him? that shamefully made his heart skip a beat.

“you kill the guy yet?” toji asked.

“yeah, we’re in the alleyway. can you guys clean this shit up and take him with your car? i’ll be with y/n in a second,” he proposed. they agreed, and before he knew it he was in his car with you in the passenger’s seat.

you were shaken up, confused, but you felt oddly safe. sukuna was quiet too, giving you time to process as he drived you to the dorms. you decided to not comment on his bloodied hands for your own sake.

and eventually, you found yourself in his dorm. you took a shower, and he gave you his hoodie to sleep in. he even gave you food and water.

all that frustration you felt for sukuna this past weeks, suddenly just disappeared. he had saved you, maybe even saved your life, and now he’s treating you so well.

sure, you were still upset about you failing your class, but you could finally forgive him for all that. honestly, if you told yourself a week ago that you forgave him, you wouldn’t possibly believe yourself.

and you would also never believe yourself if you said that you were now laying in sukuna’s bed, wrapped in his arms.

“how do you feel, baby?” he asked softly, a tone you’d never think he’d be able to use.

“could be better,” you murmured quietly. a silence fell over you two, it wasn’t uncomfortable. you didn’t feel uncomfortable either. who would’ve thought?

you looked up slightly at him, meeting his eyes. “thank you for all that,” you told him, smiling lightly. “i think i can perhaps, maybe forgive you now for that 49%.”

sukuna just slightly furrowed his eyebrows, before grabbing your chin and pulling you into a kiss. you leaned into it, not pushing him away.

he pulled away, looking into your eyes. “no one’s ever going to fucking hurt you again, i’m serious, you got that?” he promised.

“yeah. sounds pretty serious to me,” you replied, not being same to hide your smile. he just huffed, and kissed you again. a few hours later, you fell asleep in his arms.

now, college boyfriend! sukuna was the happiest man alive. he still dominated the basketball court, still got plenty good grades, had his best friends gojo and toji. and the one thing he will forever love most and cherish in life, you, his girl. and with that, sukuna was ready to kill and die for you, always.

──★˙🍓̟!! expectations were high for me, so i think i delivered guys!! genuinely proud of this one. this is kinda crazy since it’s the last part, and again i can simply not express how thankful i am for all of you!!!! and i HAD to eventually let sukuna do something violent for once, because it’s sukuna ofc. and no, i do absolutely not, ever ever, condone violence or murder!!!!! love sukuna to death but if he was real you wouldn’t catch me in a 100 km radius from him🥀🥀

— taglist ! @imlikeacoffeeconnoisseur @totallygyomeiswife @sukubusss @seizecherry @xlilycoco @v1x3n @go-go-gadget-autism @elizabeth-von-winken-universe @paradisestarfishh @misticsilver @whosmarjj @aquariusscollection @satorushousewife @rwirxles @anonnieghost @bitchpleaseeeeeeeeee @iminloveweveryone @poopooindamouf @phisen @ryomku @erintaro @clp-84 @mastermasterlist1p1 @katsukiseyebrows @iioveoldermen @happy2delivur @jup1tersuccubus @nxcxllxsevens @realalpacorn @kxgumi @crankyarchives @itsjustisa @junitries @kodzukensworld @desiretolive @bnbaochauuu @tomsxslvt @flwerie @bwlol7 @szuuyl @yourfavbabigirl @grignardsreagent @my-sin-my-soul-my-hell @nothankyew @yourangel04 🍓

[lady-luckk]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ you reap what you sow

# pairings: yandere sugar daddy harem x sugar baby reader

# synopsis: you’ve been dating eight guys all at the same time for they’re money. hopefully they never find out about each other

# warnings: this will contain dark themes such as obsession and possessiveness. if you are uncomfortable, please block me. viewer discretion is advised. minors DNI.

# notes: inspired by that one tiktok vid. Ifykyk. reblogs, comments, and likes are appreciated!

# parts: part 1 𖤓 part 2 𖤓 part 3

love is a transaction, and you’ve mastered the art of the deal. eight men, each convinced they’re the center of your world, each blind to the truth. they call you when they’re lonely, when they need an ego boost, when they want to feel wanted.

you play your part well—sweet, devoted, just naive enough to keep them comfortable. they see you as temporary, something to be enjoyed and discarded. but that’s fine. as long as the gifts keep coming, as long as the money flows, you’ll let them believe whatever they want. you don’t care as long as the money keeps coming. they’re all your darlings.

they think they’re using you—another pretty thing to entertain them until they get bored. but you don’t mind. boredom works in your favor. their wallets open easier when they don’t take you seriously.

you smile, you flatter, you play your role to perfection. eight men, eight lives, none the wiser. they think they hold all the power, that you should be grateful for whatever scraps of affection they toss your way.

but in the end, you’re the one collecting the rewards.

you’re a master at time management—you’ve been dating these guys simultaneously for a year. one year perfecting the balance, juggling their schedules, their tempers, their affections. none of them have discovered the others' existence. too dumb to suspect a thing. they all think they’re the one you love most. they often feel troubled and annoyed by your affection toward them, and they’ve repeatedly told you to know your place, not to harbor any unrealistic hope.

HA HA HA.

the only unrealistic hope you have is for their money.

you don’t need love—you need their money. their attention. their willingness to spoil you even as they look down on you.

and as long as they keep giving, you’ll keep playing along.

you often cycle through the messages on your phone, each conversation carefully tailored. each boyfriend is a puzzle piece slotted into your perfect game. some of them are cruel, sneering when they hand you gifts. others act indifferent, as if their presence alone is payment enough. you smile and nod and let them think they own you. none of them do.

you’ve rehearsed every lie. when one calls late at night, you’re just getting out of the bath. when another wants to meet, you’re swamped with work. if two of them go to the same café, you warn one about a sudden stomach ache. they eat out of your hand without realizing it.

but something has changed.

they used to forget little details about you, dismissing you as just another fling. now, they remember too much. one recalls your favorite coffee order, even though you never told him. another shows up at places you frequent, acting surprised to see you. one leaves a bouquet of your favorite flowers at your doorstep, carefully arranged with a handwritten note that simply reads, thinking of you. you never told him you liked those flowers. in fact, you don’t even remember mentioning them at all.

their texts, once careless and sparse, become suffocating. "thinking of you," one writes at midnight. "dreamed about you last night," another says. the words feel heavier than before. they ask more questions, ones that dig too deep. "what do you do when we're not together?" "who else do you spend time with?" their words are sweet, but there's an edge, a demand for something unspoken.

their texts, once careless and sparse, become suffocating.

for example,

elijah

elijah never used to care about your whereabouts. he would text you lazily, sometimes going days without responding. but now, he messages you constantly. "where are you?" "who are you with?" "send me a picture."

you laugh it off, telling him he’s being silly, but one night, you catch him outside your workplace. he’s leaning against his car, arms crossed, watching the entrance.

"thought i’d surprise you," he says. "you didn’t answer my texts."

he drives you home without asking, his fingers tapping anxiously against the steering wheel. "you wouldn’t lie to me, would you?" he asks suddenly. his voice is calm, but his grip on the gearshift tightens. "i don’t like being lied to."

you smile, reassure him, say all the right things. he finally relaxes, but his eyes stay sharp, watching you like he’s memorizing your every move.

lucas

lucas has never been the affectionate type, but lately, he’s been pulling you closer, holding onto you longer. his hands linger on your waist when you say goodbye, his fingers curling slightly, as if reluctant to let you go.

"you’re mine, you know that, right?" he whispers one evening, his breath hot against your ear.

"of course," you say, pressing a kiss to his cheek. but inside, something twists. his grip is a little too tight, his smile a little too forced.

the next morning, you wake up to dozens of missed calls from him. your phone buzzes again. "answer me." another message. "don’t ignore me."

you turn off your phone and tell yourself it’s nothing.

nathan

nathan always acted like he had other girls, like he didn’t need you. but now, he’s different. he clings to you in ways that feel desperate, his arrogance cracking.

"i don’t know what i’d do if i lost you," he admits one night, his fingers tracing circles on your wrist. "you wouldn’t leave me, right?"

his voice is soft, but there’s something hollow beneath it, something dark.

"never," you say, and he relaxes—but his grip never loosens.

kai

kai never used to show up unannounced. now, he does. first, at your work. then, at your gym. then, outside your apartment.

"i was just in the neighborhood," he says each time, flashing that easy smile.

but his eyes are always scanning, searching. as if he’s looking for something. or someone.

"i love you, you know," he murmurs one night, his fingers brushing over your cheek. "you wouldn’t betray me. not you."

you laugh, tell him he’s being dramatic.

but when you get home, your apartment door is unlocked.

matthew

matthew was always indifferent, treating you like an afterthought. but not anymore. now, he watches you closely, studying your every move, his head tilted like he’s trying to solve a puzzle.

"you’ve changed," he says one day, his tone unreadable. "you’re hiding something."

you laugh, brush him off. but his gaze lingers, calculating.

"i’ll figure it out," he says finally, and something about the way he says it makes your stomach twist.

leo

leo used to be fun, lighthearted. but now, there’s an edge to him. a quiet intensity that makes you nervous.

"i had a dream about you last night," he tells you one evening. "you were leaving me. i didn’t like it."

you smile, joke that he’s being paranoid. but he just stares at you, unblinking.

"don’t ever do that to me," he says. "not even in a dream."

his fingers tighten around yours. you don’t pull away.

xavier

xavier never asked for more than you were willing to give. but now, he wants everything.

"move in with me," he says suddenly.

it’s not a request.

when you hesitate, his expression darkens. "why not?" he asks. "you love me, don’t you?"

you nod quickly, knowing it’s what he wants to hear. his smile returns, but his eyes remain cold.

"good," he murmurs. "because i won’t let you go."

damien

one night, damien insists on driving you home. he's never offered before. usually, he barely walks you to the door, too preoccupied with himself to care. but tonight, his grip on your wrist lingers a second too long when you try to leave the restaurant. "let me take you home," he says. his voice is smooth, but there's something off in his eyes, something unreadable.

you try to decline, but he doesn’t budge. "humor me," he says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

in the car, he doesn't speak. the drive is quiet, too quiet. when you glance at him, his knuckles are tight around the steering wheel. your apartment building comes into view, but instead of stopping out front like he always does, he pulls into the empty lot and turns off the engine.

"damien—" you start, but he cuts you off. "stay a little longer," he says. his voice is soft, almost pleading. "i just... don’t like saying goodbye so soon."

you smile, playing along, though something about the way he's looking at you makes your skin prickle. "next time, okay?"

for a moment, he doesn’t move. then, he exhales sharply and unlocks the doors. "yeah. next time."

as you step out, you feel his eyes on your back the entire way inside.

lately, you feel eyes on you when no one should be there. the messages come faster, their tones more insistent. “where were you last night?” one asks. “you’re mine, aren’t you?” another demands. you brush them off, just as you always do, but the uneasy feeling lingers. they’re getting restless. possessive.

one night, as you return home, you notice something strange—your apartment door is unlocked. your stomach twists. you always double-check. always.

inside, everything is untouched. but the air feels different, charged. you close the door and step forward cautiously. the silence is suffocating.

you shake the feeling off. no one knows. no one has found out.

not yet.

[bubblyi3]

Residuals PART 1 | JJK

"he held her first everything, and became her quietest goodbye."

pairing: jungkook x female reader

genre: childhood best friends, lovers to enemies to strangers, fratboy!jungkook, heartbreak, uni!au

word count: 12.2k

content warning: angst, mild smut, mild languages

summary: jungkook used to be your everything. your best friend, your first love. but you both grew up and grew apart. he’s now the campus heartbreaker, a cocky frat boy who runs with the worst crowd. when a cruel dare asks him to destroy you just for the fun of it. everything shatters. trust. hearts. and maybe the chance to ever put it back together.

author's note: hi hello heyyyy everyone! wow, i’m honestly amazed by how much you all loved the prologue i really didn’t expect such amazing reactions! the taglist is still open, so if you’d like to be notified when future parts go up, just let me know :) i’ve proofread this like a million times (and i’m probably going to read it over again). my writing isn’t perfect, but i’ve given it my best shot. i really hope you all enjoy it! <3

© disclaimer: please do not copy, translate or reproduce any part of this work without my permission. thank you!

🏷️ taglist: @whoa-jo / @username23345 / @kelsyx33 / @toosweetforyall / @junniesoleilkth / @literallyjimin / @jeeykey / @stars4kooo / @delulutofr / @smoljimjim / @elithenium / @mysoulherofriend / @ukndtwme / @nikkiordonez12

You didn’t see Jungkook for days after that night. Maybe it was weeks but the exact stretch of time blurred together, swallowed up by the routines and noise of university life. His absence was loud, the kind of silence that echoes louder than any shout.

Whispers reached you, fragments carried on the edges of campus chatter. Stories of him slipping further into the frat scene, like he was sinking into quicksand and just letting it pull him under.

Rumors spread about the parties he showed up at. The kind of wild, reckless nights where faces blurred and memories faded by morning. Girls said he was charming, magnetic even, but a ghost when it came to texting back. One night stands, fleeting moments, nothing real, nothing that lasted beyond a sunrise or a hangover.

He wasn’t just part of the crowd anymore. He was the crowd. The center of it, like a king in a castle built on noise and neon lights.

And you? You kept your head down, burying yourself in lectures, drowning yourself in coffee and energy drinks, and nights of textbooks and assignment deadlines. Your hands shook a little when you tried to type on your keyboard, not from exhaustion but from the ache in your chest you couldn’t quite explain.

You pretended your heart hadn’t been dragged across glass. Pretended the sharp edges didn’t still scrape at your skin every time his name slipped into a conversation or a memory.

Sometimes, when the library was empty and the world outside faded to a dull hum, you let yourself think about what you lost, or what you thought you had. But then you’d shut those thoughts down before they could consume you, forcing your focus back to the pages in front of you, your lit up screen and the plans for your future.

Because that was easier than facing the truth.

Just as you were finally forcing your mind back into the case study, the quiet was shattered by the familiar sound of laughter and voices outside your dorm room. Before you could even look up, the door swung open.

Hana burst in, her bright smile lighting up the room, followed by a couple of your other uni friends, Mina and Jess. They dropped their bags by the door, eyes instantly locking onto your face.

“Hey, you okay?” Hana asked, dropping onto the edge of your bed, her voice softer now but still urgent. “Seriously, we’ve been worried."

You tried to muster a smile but it came out more like a grimace.

Mina crossed her arms, eyes sharp. “And don’t even bother with that asshole. He’s not worth a single second of your time.”

Jess nodded fiercely, “Honestly, if a guy treats you like that. He’s a fucking idiot. You deserve way better.”

You felt the sting of their words but also the warmth. It was nice, for once, to have people who saw through the bullshit and had your back without question.

“Yeah,” you said, voice a little raw but steadying, “I know. I’m done wasting time on someone who can’t even show up when it counts.”

Hana reached over and squeezed your hand. “Good. Because there’s so much more out there for you. Don’t let him mess with your head.”

You nodded, feeling a flicker of strength return. Maybe it was the caffeine, maybe the company, but whatever it was, you were starting to believe that maybe, you could just move on.

The frat house buzzed with heat, music, and too much alcohol. Bottles clinked together, laughter bounced off walls, and someone had already spilled beer on the carpet. No one cared.

It was the unofficial post-midterms blowout. Two weeks of freedom ahead, meant for studying, naturally, but more often used for making questionable choices and pretending the start of the new term was a lifetime away.

Jungkook sat on the couch, half-draped with a girl whose name he hadn’t bothered to remember. She might’ve told him, but it hadn’t felt important. Just someone he’d flirted with earlier when Taehyung had dragged them over to where the nursing students usually hung out. Now, she was tracing lazy patterns on his thigh, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered something he didn’t catch. His mind was elsewhere. Or maybe nowhere at all.

Namjoon clapped his hands from the center of the room, drawing attention like a magnet. “Alright, listen up. Truth or Dare time.”

A loud cheer erupted. Within seconds, a circle formed. People stumbling over each other, red solo cups in hand, their eyes already gleaming with tipsy anticipation.

The bottle spun. Two rounds of tame truths and half-hearted dares, the usual kiss the person to your left, take two shots, confess your crush.

Then the bottle landed on him.

“Jungkook,” Taehyung drawled with a smirk, raising his shot glass in mock salute. “Truth or dare?”

Jungkook leaned forward, tongue tapping against his cheek, dark eyes flashing.

“Dare.”

A chorus of oohs followed. The girl beside him giggled, her fingers now trailing up his chest.

Namjoon didn’t skip a beat. “Alright. I dare you to make a girl fall in love with you over this semester break.”

Jungkook raised a brow. “That’s it?”

Namjoon’s grin stretched wider, all teeth and something colder behind his eyes. “Make her fall for you. Sleep with her. Then break her heart.”

The room stilled.

Jimin frowned from across the circle. “That’s seriously fucked up."

“Is it?” Namjoon shrugged. “It’s uni. Classes by day, chaos by night. Girls know the game. Parties, hook-ups, heartbreak. It’s practically on the syllabus.”

The room went quiet for a beat.

"It’s a challenge," Namjoon corrected. "A full-on charm test, baby. But hey, if anyone thinks they’ve got more game, step up. Nail it, and you’ll get bragging rights... and drinks on us for the rest of the year. If you can, that is.

Hoseok laughed, head tipping back. "Alright then, Kook. If you're gonna pass. I'll take it... I'll be choosing Y/n."

That name dropped like a lead weight.

Jungkook froze, jaw tightening. No way he was going to make you part of this so called dare. "Don't you fucking dare."

“What?” Hoseok said, grinning. “She’s perfect for this. Bet she still thinks you’re the same guy who walked her home every day after school.”

Namjoon raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. Sounds personal.”

“Used to be,” Jungkook muttered, taking a long drink.

Taehyung chuckled. “So what’s the problem then? If anything, you’ve got a head start. You already know what makes her tick.”

"Plus, don’t you guys live right next to each other?" Seokjin, who wasn’t much of a drinker and didn’t really roll with the guys, piped up.

Jungkook didn’t answer.

Didn’t move. Didn’t throw a punch. Didn’t walk out. Just… sat there, expression unreadable. A storm under calm. Namjoon leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Unless it’d bother you?”

Jungkook looked up slowly, a half-smile curling at his lips. Hollow and sharp.

“Why would it?”

He took another drink, shrugging. “The only thing that’ll bother me is if my parents find out. They’d kill me.”

Laughter erupted again.

“That’s what makes it fun,” someone shouted.

Jungkook didn’t see who said it. He didn’t care.

He’d already lost the moment to walk away. His ego was too big. His heart and whatever was left of it was locked behind layers he didn’t even understand anymore.

You already thought he was a bastard. So what was one more sin?

If anyone was going to break you…

Jungkook made damn sure it was going to be him.

The dare had been set.

Laughter slowly faded into the background noise as the party began winding down. The music was still playing. A little slower now, a little more muted. Half of the people had already disappeared into Ubers or stumbled upstairs in pairs. The floor was sticky with spilled liquor, and the smell of smoke clung to the curtains.

Namjoon tossed empty cups into a trash bag, yelling half-heartedly for everyone to get out.

"Party's over, people! Go ruin your livers somewhere else! But most importantly enjoy your fucking uni break."

Taehyung was sprawled across the couch arm, drunk-texting God knows who. Jimin leaned against the wall, sipping water, a brow raised as he watched Jungkook.

Jungkook ignored the looks. He had the same girl draped over his side again, maybe her name was Bora. Didn’t matter to him. He didn’t really give a fuck.

Her lipstick was smudged, pupils dilated. She pressed against him like they were already halfway to something dangerous.

“Your room?” she whispered, fingers toying with the hem of his shirt.

“I’ve been waiting all night.”

He didn’t answer. Just nodded once, mechanically, and led her up the stairs.

Every step felt heavier than the last.

It was dimly lit, the warm glow from the desk lamp casting soft shadows across the walls. For a frat boy, it wasn’t what most people would expect. Not entirely, anyway. The space was surprisingly organized. His desk was cluttered with film cameras, old rolls of undeveloped film, a half-charged laptop still open on an assignment, and a stack of books that looked more read than decorative.

But the closet told a different story. Clothes crammed in, some half-folded, some forgotten. Drawers slightly ajar, shoes piled in the corner. He sighed internally, rubbing a hand across his jaw.

Fuck, I really need to start packing, he thought absently.

Behind him, the girl closed the door, letting her jacket slip off her shoulders. She crossed the room without hesitation, fingers already sliding up the hem of his shirt.

But Jungkook wasn’t really there.

He stood near the bed, still, watching her or maybe watching himself. Like an outsider peering into someone else’s life.

That’s when his eyes flicked to his bookshelf across the room.

Second shelf, far right. Tucked inside a worn copy of the Little Prince, a photo peeked out like a forgotten bookmark. Faded from time and touch, the edges curled slightly. It was of you and him, probably no older than fourteen. His mum had captured the moment. You were both grinning, ice cream melting down your fingers, sunlight catching in your hair. He had kept it hidden for years. Sometimes he told himself it was nothing. But he never once took it out.

Bora kissed him then, pulling him back into the moment. Her hands on his chest, her mouth moving fast, desperate and practiced.

Jungkook didn’t kiss her back.

He let it happen for a second. Let her think he was game. Let her think she was winning.

But when her hand dipped lower and started fiddling with his belt, his voice came out hard.

“Stop.”

She froze, lips grazing his jaw. “What?”

He stepped back, eyes cold. “I said, fucking stop.”

Confused, she blinked at him. “Seriously?”

“I’m not doing this,” he muttered.

“You brought me up here for what then?” she scoffed, grabbing her jacket.

He didn’t answer.

“Whatever,” she hissed, storming past him and slamming the door behind her.

Silence fell again.

Jungkook exhaled and crossed the room, pulling the book off the shelf. The photo slipped out, landing in his palm.

There you were, frozen in time. Before everything got messy. Before he turned into someone even he didn’t recognize.

He brushed his thumb over your smile and sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands.

How the hell did he let it get this far?

This wasn’t him or at least, not who he used to be. Not the boy who used to sneak snacks into your window during sleepovers, or carry your backpack when it was too heavy, or make you playlists when you had a bad day.

He had made a promise, to your parents and his own. That he’d always look out for you.

And now he was here. Planning to ruin you. For what?

Some twisted game? Ego?

Jungkook let out a bitter laugh and leaned back on his bed, staring at the ceiling, haunted by your face in his mind. Your smile. The way your nose scrunched when you were deep in thought. The sound of your laugh echoing through his memory.

Jungkook’s mind drifts back to that night. The night you confronted him, asking what had happened to him. The way he brushed off those memories like they were nothing, like you were nothing. He acted like the years they shared, the bond you once had, didn’t mean a damn thing.

And then, almost as if running from himself, he found himself tangled up with some girl he’d barely noticed before. Someone one of the guys had mentioned at the party. That night wasn’t supposed to end like that. It wasn’t meant to be a reckless escape or a way to numb the ache he’d caused you. But there he was, using someone else’s warmth to bury his shame, trying to erase the guilt he felt.

Cowardly.

And now, this dare wasn’t just a game anymore.

It was a storm he’d just agreed to walk right into…

And the worst part? You were the one who’d get soaked in the rain.

The next morning, one by one, people trickled out with backpacks slung over shoulders, hugging their friends goodbye before heading home for the break.

Jungkook leaned against the doorframe, watching it all unfold. His duffel bag sat by the couch, packed but forgotten. He raised a hand in farewell as Taehyung and Hoseok piled into someone’s beat-up car, Jimin tossing him a lazy salute before following.

Namjoon, finishing the last of his coffee, clapped a hand to Jungkook’s shoulder. “Don’t forget the dare, Kook. Two weeks.” He grinned.

Jungkook gave a half-smirk, the kind that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Yeah. I remember.”

But truth was, he couldn’t wait to get out of this fraternity that he's been living in. He missed home. Missed familiarity. Missed something that wasn’t drenched in cheap beer, fake flirting, and expectations.

Just as he was about to call for a ride, his phone buzzed.

Dad: Don’t worry about finding a lift. I’ll come grab you. We’re picking up Y/n too. Your mothers have planned some big feast. Make sure you guys don't leave me waiting.

Jungkook stared at the message.

You.

Of course you were going home too. Of course the two families had planned something.

Like the two of you were still joined at the hip. His chest ached with something he didn’t want to name.

He texted back a short “okay” and ran a hand through his hair.

Jungkook let out a slow, steady exhale as he slung his own bag over his shoulder. Being the last to leave, he made sure to lock up behind him before stepping out into the quiet evening. The walk to campus wasn’t far. Close enough to count the steps yet every inch felt heavier than the last. It had been far too long since he’d seen you, and the thought of facing you again stirred a knot of tension deep inside.

As he approached the front gates, his eyes immediately found you. You stood there, two bags in hand, waiting patiently. Jungkook’s lips twitched in a faint, almost involuntary smile. He’d never forgotten how you always overpacked, insisting on bringing “just in case” everything. It was a small, familiar detail that softened the moment, even as the late afternoon sun cast a warm glow around you, making you look breathtaking. You always had that effortless beauty, but right now, illuminated like that, it was almost too much to bear. Fuck, Jungkook cursed silently, scolding himself for thinking it.

He took a few careful steps forward, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far. Your eyes lifted from your phone just as he drew near, and the silence between you stretched, thick and heavy with unspoken words.

Jungkook swallowed, then decided to be the one to break the ice. “So… are you excited to head back home?” His voice was softer than expected. Tinged with a warmth and care you hadn’t heard in a while. You looked up, surprised by the gentleness, almost like the Jungkook you once knew was trying to break through the distance.

He was about to say more, to reach out beyond the silence, when the sudden sound of a car pulling up cut through the moment. His dad’s voice called out, and just like that, the fragile thread between you snapped.

The break had barely begun, yet it was already testing him in ways he hadn’t anticipated.

And you? You had no idea what was about to come.

You heard the car pull up before you even saw it, the sudden crunch of tires on gravel cutting through the quiet between you and Jungkook. The sound caught you off guard, stealing away the moment, and with it, your chance to respond.

Mr. Jeon stepped out from the driver’s side, his presence steady and grounding as always. He gave a cheerful wave as he moved to toss Jungkook’s bag into the trunk, then turned to greet you with that familiar warmth. The kind that made you feel like you were still the little kid who used to tag along with Jungkook everywhere.

Before Jungkook could say a word, his dad pulled him into a firm, heartfelt hug. One that spoke of quiet pride, unspoken support, and the deep bond between father and son. The embrace was comforting, like a shield against the weight of the world, reminding Jungkook that no matter what, some things stayed constant.

You slipped into the front seat quickly, earbuds in, eyes trained on your phone. Not because you were texting anyone, but because it was easier to pretend you were. You didn’t want to look up. You didn’t want to see him.

But you felt him the moment he opened the back door. The air shifted. The seat shifted. He used to call shotgun every time. No matter what.

You never had to ask for it before.

But now?

Now, he let you have it. And that felt like a bigger deal than you wanted it to.

The drive started, slow and familiar. Mr. Jeon chatted away about dinner plans and how excited your moms were. You responded politely, nodded where you should, even cracked a smile at the bit about your little brother refusing to do the groceries unless Jungkook came with him.

You didn’t turn around. Didn’t look at him. But you knew.

You knew he was watching you.

Out of the corner of your eye, in the side mirror. There he was, slouched back in the seat, hoodie drawn up but not enough to hide his stare. You didn’t know what pissed you off more. The fact that he kept looking at you, or the part of you that kept wondering if he missed you.

You hated how quiet he was now.

How calm.

How the boy who used to tap your shoulder to share dumb thoughts every five minutes was now silent. Like he didn’t deserve to speak to you. Maybe he didn’t.

Not after that night, he made you feel like you didn't mean anything to him anymore.

At the next red light, his dad asked, “You two doing alright?”

You gave a neutral “yeah,” not turning.

Jungkook’s voice followed a beat later. “Fine.”

You closed your eyes. Liar.

The trees passed by. The sun warmed your skin. You should’ve felt relaxed, going home. You should’ve felt lighter. But instead, the weight of him just pressed harder into your chest.

Because he’d let you go.

He’d chosen to become someone you barely recognized. And no matter how close you sat in this car, he felt like a stranger all over again.

The moment Mr. Jeon turned the corner onto your quiet street, your heart clenched.

There it was. Your house, and right beside it, the Jeon residence. Still the same distance apart. Still sharing the same trimmed hedges and side fence that separated the backyards. Still carrying the same summer breeze that used to drift through your bedroom window when you and Jungkook would whisper to each other past curfew with flashlights and walkie-talkies.

You almost wanted to laugh at how little had changed out here, while everything inside you had.

Mr. Jeon parked in his usual spot, right between both houses. The engine cut. You reached for your duffel just as the front doors opened.

“Y/n!” your mum beamed from your porch, stepping out with open arms. Jungkook’s mum was right behind her, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel, still in her cozy floral apron.

You stepped out of the car, nodding politely as Jungkook opened the door behind you. He let you pass first. You didn’t thank him. Not this time.

“Look at you two!” Jungkook’s mum said, pulling you into a hug while your mum fussed over your hair. “Back from uni and thinner than ever. Are you eating? You’ve been studying too hard, haven’t you?”

You smiled, playing the part. “Just trying to survive midterms.”

Jungkook’s mum reached over and gave his cheek a playful pinch, her eyes narrowing as she leaned in. “So you weren’t joking about the lip piercing?” she huffed. “I thought you were messing with me on the phone.” 

Jungkook chuckled, leaning away slightly. “I told you I wasn’t kidding, but you said, ‘Over my dead body,’ and hung up on me.”

She clicked her tongue, her gaze drifting to the tattoos on his arms. “And this! do you want to give your poor mother a heart attack?”

Jungkook grinned. “You’re still alive though, so I think we’re doing okay.”

She shook her head, though the smile tugging at her lips betrayed her amusement. Her tone softened as she glanced toward you. “Just tell me you’ve been taking care of Y/n like you promised. Did you help her pack?”

He looked at you for a beat, then back at his mum. “Always.”

You didn’t even flinch.

Your mother clapped her hands, excited. “Well, let’s not waste any more time. Dinner’s all ready next door. Come on now, both of you.”

You followed her up the steps to the Jeon house like you’d done hundreds of times as a kid. But everything felt different now. He wasn’t just the boy-next-door anymore. He was the boy who let you down. The one who changed the minute campus swallowed him whole.

The Jeon house smelled like comfort. Grilled meat, garlic, soy, rice. Pretty much your childhood in dinner form. The table was already full, banchan dishes spread like a celebration.

“Y/n, sweetheart, sit here,” Jungkook’s mum said, patting the seat beside her. “Jungkook, go grab the rice cooker.”

You sat quietly, folding your hands in your lap, while Jungkook passed behind you without a word. His shoulder brushed yours.

Neither of you reacted.

The dinner chatter began. Your mum and his mum swapping stories, catching up like nothing was wrong. You just nodded when spoken to, eating slowly, eyes fixed on your plate.

Across the table, Jungkook watched you. Or maybe he didn’t. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking up to find out.

Because you both used to walk home together. 

Used to climb your tree when you couldn’t sleep.

Used to swear he’d never be one of those guys.

And now he was sitting across from you, pretending he still knew how to be close.

"So, two weeks off, huh?" your dad called out from the far end of the table.

Both you and Jungkook nodded, murmuring a quiet "yeah."

"What's the plan?" Jungkook's mum asked, eyes twinkling. "You two going to visit your old spots, or just bury yourselves in assignments all week?"

You forced a small smile. "No and yes... for me at least. I'm hoping to balance it out. I've missed home a lot, so I want to soak it all in before heading back."

Jungkook paused, then reached for another kimbap.

“Same here,” he said eventually. “I’ve got a film project to prep over the break, so I’ll be working on that but yeah… I’ve missed this. A lot.”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. How could he sound so… unaffected? So normal?

And maybe you stared too long, because when you blinked back to reality, he was looking right at you.

You coughed and diverted your attention, steering the conversation back toward whatever the parents were chatting about next.

By the time dinner wrapped up, the dishes were emptied, laughter had filled the room more than once, and everyone’s stomachs were happily full. You stood to start clearing the table.

Of course, Jungkook helped. He always did. It didn’t matter whose house it was. He’d gather the dishes, wash, dry, and put them away with you. It was second nature. Respectful. Familiar.

And for just a fleeting second, it felt like old times. Like your Jungkook was still there. Maybe just for tonight.

Both sets of parents waved you off, insisting you two should relax, settle in, rest after all the hard work. But that was never your style and you weren’t about to let Mrs. Jeon and your mum do everything alone.

In the kitchen, silence hung between you. Comfortable. Strange. His presence warmed the space, his clothes carrying that same scent you used to bury your face into when the world got too loud.

You missed him. God, you really did.

You rinsed a plate, passing it to Jungkook without a word. He took it, dried it gently, and stacked it neatly on the rack like always. The rhythm between you felt automatic, muscle memory stitched into routine. But underneath it, the quiet was anything but easy.

Eventually, he broke it.

“Your dad hasn’t changed at all,” he said softly, a half-smile in his voice. “Still talks like he’s trying to interview everyone at the table.”

You let out a small breath. Half a laugh, half a sigh. “Yeah. He gets worse when he’s nervous.”

“Nervous?” Jungkook looked over, his eyes catching yours for a second too long.

You shrugged. “It’s been a while since we were all here. You know what that does to him.”

He nodded slowly, his fingers brushing yours briefly as he reached for the next bowl. You pretended not to notice, but the heat lingered.

“I meant what I said earlier,” he said, voice quiet. “I really did miss this.”

You kept your eyes on the soapy water. “It’s easy to miss things when you’re far away from them.”

That hung in the air for a moment. Sharp. Honest.

Jungkook didn’t say anything right away. Just dried the next plate, slower this time.

“And… can you please keep whatever’s been happening on campus. About my reputation there, under the bus.” His tone was careful now, laced with something like guilt. “Don’t bring it up to my parents. Especially my mum.”

And just like that, the version of Jungkook you’d held onto in your memory. The boy you grew up with felt like he’d slipped away for good.

You stilled, hands submerged in the warm water. “Are you serious right now?” you snapped, voice rising before you could stop it. You turned toward him, brows pulled tight.

He straightened, finally looking at you, face tense. “Hey... can you not-” His voice dipped low. “Tone it down, alright?”

You blinked, stunned.

He exhaled, leaning into the counter, not quite meeting your eyes. “I know, I know. I probably sound like a complete douche. And maybe I am. But I can’t have them finding out. Not about that.”

You turned to face him fully, searching his expression. For a flicker of the boy who used to knock on your window at midnight, who swore he'd always be on your side.

“You left me to figure it all out on my own, Jungkook,” you said, the words thick with the weight of everything you hadn’t said until now.

“You started treating me like I didn’t matter the second people on campus started learning your name.”

That one landed. His jaw tightened. His eyes dropped.

The overhead kitchen light above flickered slightly. The dishes were almost done.

And for the first time in months, you felt like something was finally about to break.

Just then, Jungkook’s phone buzzed on the counter beside him. Once. Then again. Then again. You didn’t have to look. You already knew.

The constant stream of notifications was all the confirmation you needed. It was the guys' group chat. Loud. Persistent. Like the version of him you didn’t recognize anymore was calling him back.

You quietly placed the last dish in the rack, wiping your hands on a tea towel.

From the lounge, laughter spilled into the kitchen. Your parents and his, watching whatever drama or variety show was on, lost in their own version of comfort.

You and Jungkook returned to the living room. The moment your parents saw you, your dad chuckled.

“Done already? That might be a new record.”

Normally, dish duty took longer because of playful bickering, soap flicked in faces, elbow nudges, stupid arguments about whose turn it was to dry.

You forced a smile. “Yep, all done. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Jeon. Dinner was amazing. It was so nice seeing you both again.”

They stood, warm and familiar, exchanging hugs. Jungkook followed suit, giving your parents a hug and telling them it was good catching up over dinner, offering his own easy smile like nothing had shifted just moments earlier.

Mrs. Jeon turned to your mum, eyes lighting up. “Oh, we have to go to the Saturday market together in the morning. It’s been ages.”

Your mum gasped in agreement, already mentally planning the morning. “Yes! You, me, and our reusable bags. It’s a date.”

Mrs. Jeon looked between you and Jungkook. “You two should come along. Jungkook can drive us all. Right, sweetie?”

You nodded. “I’m keen.” You missed those early morning strolls, the smell of fresh bread and brewed coffee floating through the stalls.

Jungkook scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll see how I feel,” he said noncommittally. “Might have stuff to work on.”

You just nodded. Of course he might.

With the evening winding down, your family said your goodbyes and stepped outside. The Jeon house was right next door to yours. A perk of a lifelong friendship. Even now, you still found it a little surreal that your parents had managed to buy houses side by side. Soulmates, in their own way.

Your mums, always inseparable. Just like you and Jungkook used to be.

Until you weren’t.

After you and your parents stepped out into the night, laughter still trailing behind you, the Jeon house fell into a quieter rhythm.

Jungkook and his parents lingered in the doorway for a moment before turning back inside.

It wasn’t exactly how things used to be. But it wasn’t unfamiliar either. The kind of stillness that only came from being back home after a long time away. The air held something warm and nostalgic, even if a little too quiet now.

“Go wash up and get settled in, sweetheart,” his mum said as they walked back into the lounge. She gave his arm a soft squeeze. “I changed the sheets and aired out the room, but I left everything else just how you had it.”

His dad added with a nod, already making himself comfortable on the couch again. “We’re gonna stay up a bit, finish this show your mum’s obsessed with. You know how it is.”

Jungkook laughed lightly. “Of course. You two and your midnight TV marathons.”

They both smiled, and his mum reached up to smooth his hair. “It’s good to have you home, Kook.”

“Yeah,” he said, hugging them both. “Missed you guys.”

He kissed his mum’s cheek, gave his dad a pat on the back, and made his way up the familiar stairs. Slowly, like each step was stirring something deeper.

When he reached his room, he hesitated at the door before pushing it open.

Everything looked the same.

His old posters still lined the hallway, the same spot on the wall where he'd once drawn on the wallpaper with crayon still hidden behind a framed photo.

Bed made with navy-blue sheets, desk still stacked with random comics and knick-knacks, photos still taped above the headboard—some curling at the corners now. His guitar case was right where he left it. A faint layer of dust coated the windowsill, but otherwise, it felt untouched. Preserved.

Like time had been waiting for him.

He stepped inside, exhaling slowly, letting the weight of the day settle in his shoulders. Tossed his hoodie onto the chair. Sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor for a moment, caught in the hum of everything familiar. The scent of laundry detergent, floorboards creaking in all the right places. It made his chest ache in a way he couldn’t name.

Then he remembered about he buzzing from earlier. The group chat.

He grabbed his phone, the screen lighting up with a dozen missed messages.

Jin-hyung: yo i'm already losing my mind w my cousins here Namjoon: been catching up on readings… send help Jimin: i’m not doing any work this week. i’m feral now. leave me Hoseok: my fam made this huge feast and i’ve been watching my old dance vids + workshop recaps since i got home Taehyung: jungkookkkkkkk you bonding yet or what don’t forget the terms, golden boy Jimin: LMAO NOT THE DARE Namjoon: bro you better have got it started. Taehyung: a bet’s a bet. clock’s ticking. Namjooon: once you make her fall for you… break her. fuck, i’m looking forward to how you’ll pull it off Hoseok: public humiliation? exposure? fuck i can’t wait. but tbh kookie i’m kinda jealous. y/n’s a smash for me. Namjoon: hobi just stfu. Jimin: You guys are lethal. Jin-hyung: yo, i love you all but i’m out of this bs Yoongi: no fun, hyung.

Jungkook stared at the messages, his jaw tight, teeth pressed together.

That guilt was back. The same one that clenched his stomach earlier when he asked you to keep things quiet. The same guilt that rose when he caught that look in your eyes. Like you saw everything, even the parts he didn’t want you to.

He turned the screen off and tossed the phone facedown onto his bed.

The silence returned. He leaned back, eyes tracing the familiar cracks in the ceiling, the soft flicker of light from the street filtering in through his curtains.

You were just next door.

But somehow, you felt miles away.

Drawn by some quiet impulse, Jungkook stood up and walked to his window. He could see your room from here. The lamp had just flicked on, casting a soft, golden glow behind your curtains. He could make out the silhouette of your gentle and slow movement. Maybe you were brushing your hair. Maybe you were changing. He didn’t know.

But he remembered a time when he did know everything.

You two used to talk from your windows, yelling across the small gap between houses like there was no one else in the world. Sometimes so loud his parents would storm in and tell him to quiet down.

Those were the nights when he could make you laugh until your voice cracked.

Back then, when you looked at him, Jungkook felt like he was somebody worth being.

He stayed at the window until your light flicked off.

Then it hit him. You’d gone to bed. Closed off from him again.

He sighed, shoulders dropping, and turned away.

His dad had already brought his bags upstairs. He made a mental note to thank him tomorrow. For now, he just needed to wash up. Get his head straight.

Before stepping into the bathroom, he picked up his phone again. Just to check the chat.

He hovered over the keyboard for a second too long.

Then, almost without thinking. Whether it was anger, pride, or fear. He fired off a reply to the group.

[Jungkook]: Don’t worry. I've got it planned.

He tossed the phone back onto the bed.

The words didn’t even feel like his. But maybe that was the point.

Maybe this version of him, the one they all expected was easier to play.

Maybe if he played the part well enough, it wouldn’t hurt so much.

He made his way into the bathroom, the floor cool beneath his feet, the lights humming quietly overhead. As he splashed water onto his face, he caught his reflection in the mirror. Eyes tired. Jaw tense. Something unreadable just beneath the surface.

If anyone was going to be in your life. It had to be him.

Because no one knew you like Jungkook did.

And maybe, a little game wouldn’t hurt and tomorrow the act would begin.

Just like old times.

Back in your own room, you’d gone through the usual routine. Washed up, brushed your teeth, pulled on your oversized sleep tee. The kind that still smelled vaguely like your old high school fabric softener. You switched off the lamp, slipping under the covers, the soft rustle of sheets the only sound as the world outside dimmed.

Everything in your childhood room was exactly how you left it.

Posters still tacked onto the closet door. Your bookshelf, slightly crooked, still carried the dust of years past. YA novels, a few worn diaries, old photo booth strips stuffed between the pages. The small glow-in-the-dark stars on your ceiling had long lost their shine, but you never took them down. They were part of it. The history of you.

And him.

Your gaze drifted across the room. You could still picture Jungkook sprawled out on the rug during sleepovers, stealing your snacks, teasing you for your stuffed animal collection. You remembered the blanket forts. The whispered ghost stories. The night he cried after his first heartbreak and you pretended not to see the way his shoulders trembled.

So much of your room carried him. And yet now, it felt like he didn’t belong in here anymore. At least, not the version of him you saw tonight.

You turned to your side, reaching for your phone. The screen lit up with a single unread message from Hana.

[Hana]: omg are u alive or buried under family obligations yet? how was dinner w golden boy? spill. missing you alr though

You smiled faintly at the nickname. Golden boy. She’d started calling him that after you shared your long, messy Jungkook lore. Nappies and all. Hana had become your go-to. The one person you trusted at uni to hold that story without twisting it.

You typed back quickly.

[You]: lol I survived. Dinner was… good? weird? idk. will explain everything when the time comes. And yes, I miss you too!

You hit send, then placed your phone on your nightstand, screen-down.

But sleep didn’t come easily.

Not when Jungkook’s words kept circling back.

“Can you keep whatever’s been happening on campus… under the bus? Don’t bring it up to my parents.”

The audacity.

Who did he think you were?

Some quiet little side character in his new story? As if you didn’t know who he was now. As if you hadn’t heard things. As if you hadn’t seen the photos, the whispers, the rotating of girls, the club nights, the film school fanbase he seemed to thrive off.

He used to tell you everything.

Now he was asking you to lie.

You had to admit, Jungkook was smart. He knew you wouldn’t dare say anything. Not when it meant disappointing his parents. Not when the truth would hurt the people who still greeted you with open arms, who still saw you as part of their family.

You rolled onto your back, exhaling sharply into the stillness of your room.

What hurt the most was how close he was. Just one window away. And yet, somehow, it felt like he was miles from you. That brief silhouette in the kitchen, the quiet tension thick in the air, the group chat notifications you couldn’t see but knew were buzzing beneath his skin. Everything pointed to the same painful truth.

He wasn’t the Jungkook you used to know.

Not anymore.

And the scariest part was… a small part of you still wanted to believe he was. Eventually, your eyes grew heavy, the ache in your chest softening just enough to let you sleep.

The next morning, the scent of toast and brewed coffee nudged you awake.

You blinked your eyes open slowly, sunlight already spilling through your curtains. The world outside your window was glowing. Familiar. Safe.

You sat up, stretching as the sound of light chatter floated in from downstairs. Your parents.

After slipping into some jeans and a clean hoodie, you padded down to the kitchen.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” your dad called out, already at the stove, expertly flipping eggs.

“You hungry?”

“Starving,” you replied with a sleepy smile.

“Morning, sweetie,” your mum chimed in from the other side of the kitchen island. She was already dressed for the day. Hair neatly tied back, sunglasses perched on her head, a canvas market tote slung over one shoulder, and practical walking shoes on her feet.

“I’ve been waiting on you,” she said with a playful glance. “You’re still coming to the market, right? Jungkook’s mum is ready too, we’ll go over there soon.”

You nodded, stretching lightly. “I’ll go get washed up and ready then.”

Before you could leave, your dad slid a plate in front of you. Toast still warm, butter melting into the surface, eggs perfectly done. He gestured toward it with his spatula. “Eat first. Didn’t you just say you were starving?”

You sat down and took a bite, nodding with your mouth full. “Good call.”

He grinned. “Saturday markets are sacred, Y/n. Fuel up.”

The morning felt good. Warm. Comforting. For a moment, everything felt right again.

However, on the other side. Next door, someone was still sleeping. Sunlight filtered through the edges of his curtains, casting soft stripes across his blanket-tangled form.

Downstairs, Mrs. Jeon was already dressed and ready for the Saturday market. Hair pinned back neatly, sunglasses perched on top of her head like a crown, canvas tote over her arm, and a familiar gleam in her eyes. The one that meant today was for errands and bonding.

She bustled through the kitchen humming to herself, wiping down counters that were already clean, checking her phone and then her watch like time owed her something.

Her husband had already eaten and slipped out not long ago, off on one of his routine morning walks around the neighbourhood park. Something he proudly called his “retired cardio.”

By 9:45am, she was tapping her foot at the base of the staircase.

“Jungkook-ah!” she called up the stairs in that half-sing-song tone only a mother could master. “Wake up! We’re going to the market and you’re driving!”

No answer.

She called again, louder this time. “Kookie! I already told Y/n's mum that we'll be ready by 10!"

Still nothing.

She sighed, muttering under her breath as she marched toward the stairs. “This boy acts like he’s filming a movie in his dreams…”

Up the stairs she went, each step announcing her arrival like a one-woman parade. When she reached his room, she didn’t bother knocking. Mothers didn’t have time for boundaries when produce was on sale.

She flung the door open.

“Jungkook!”

He was sprawled out like a starfish, one leg off the bed, the other tangled in a blanket, face half-buried into his pillow. His phone was still lying face-down by his side, forgotten. Hair an absolute crime scene.

She crossed her arms. “Yah, do you know what time it is? It’s already late for the good tomatoes!”

Jungkook groaned from the depths of his bed. “I thought you gave me options if I wanted to go or not. And right now I'm not feeling it....”

“Well... I changed my mind. Get up now."

He cracked one eye open, grumbling. “Why?”

“Because I want to spend time with you.” She softened, patting his leg through the blanket. “Come on. Just like old times. You and me and a lot of fresh greens.”

He groaned again, but this time the stubbornness was softer, almost defeated, as he rubbed his face. “I’m going back to sleep.”

“Not a chance. We’ll get candied nuts. And those dumplings you can’t resist.”

That finally pulled him upright, his hair a wild mess, like he’d just survived a tornado. “Okay, okay! I’m up. But don’t drag me out in my boxers.”

“Then move faster before I do.” She shot him a grin and strode out of the room.

“Ten minutes, Jeon Jungkook. I’m timing you.”

He swung his legs over the side of the bed with an exaggerated groan, shuffling toward the bathroom. “Can a man just get some decent sleep around here?”

From downstairs, his mom’s voice came back without missing a beat. “Hurry up!”

The morning was crisp, sun soft and golden as you and your mum stepped out the front door, reusable market bags tucked under one arm. The walk to the Jeons’ was short. Just a few steps, really but the air buzzed faintly with something unspoken. It always did when he was involved.

Mrs. Jeon was already outside with a bright smile on her face. She turned just in time to see you both approaching.

“There they are!” she beamed, arms opening wide as she leaned in to hug your mum. “Good morning, you two. The weather’s perfect, isn’t it? I told Jungkook the market gods were smiling on us today.”

Your mum chuckled, “Told you it wouldn’t rain, didn’t I?”

Mrs. Jeon then turned her gaze to you, her expression softening with genuine care. “How was your first night back?”

You returned her smile and wrapped her in a hug. “It’s really nice to be home.”

And just as you pulled back, you heard the door creak open behind her.

Footsteps on the porch.

Then came him.

Jungkook stepped out wearing a loose, dark plaid short-sleeve shirt layered casually over a crisp white tee. His light-wash jeans hung baggy and relaxed, the kind of effortless style that suggested he’d rolled out of bed not long ago. Twenty minutes tops, if you were being honest. His hair still held that tousled, just-woke-up look, soft strands falling naturally.

The sunlight caught his face at just the right angle, drawing attention to the silver glint of his lip piercing, shimmering subtly beneath the curve of his bottom lip. It hadn’t been so noticeable last night, dimmed by the kitchen’s soft lighting. But here, in the clear brightness of day, it was impossible to overlook.

And then there were the tattoos, now fully revealed across the backs of his hands, weaving up the veins of his forearms like inked stories waiting to be read. Stark black lines against his golden skin, each mark a sketch hinting at secrets you hadn’t yet uncovered.

He glanced at you briefly before dropping his gaze, jangling his car keys in one hand.

“We ready to go?,” he said simply, voice low and half-scratchy with sleep.

Your mum looked at Mrs. Jeon, a little amused. “Look at him, ready to chauffeur us.”

Mrs. Jeon clapped her hands together. “He’s driving. It’s the least he can do after making me drag him out of bed.

“Mum,” Jungkook muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck, but there was a flicker of a smile.

Mrs. Jeon turned to you then, placing a gentle hand on your back. “You take the front seat, darling. Jungkook’s used to me yelling directions from the back anyway.”

You hesitated. “Oh no, it’s okay, I don’t mind sitting in the-”

“Nonsense,” she waved you off. "Front seat’s yours.”

Your mum nodded in agreement. “Go on, we’ll sit in the back and talk produce.”

You blinked, caught between your own resistance and the weight of four parental eyes.

“Okay…” you muttered, making your way to the passenger door.

You could feel Jungkook’s presence beside you as he unlocked the car, the soft click of the doors breaking the stillness. As you slid into the seat, the familiarity of it all hit in waves.

Not with the new version of him beside you, hands inked, lip pierced, shoulders broader than you remembered.

He got in, adjusting the mirror with a quick glance at the back seat. “Everyone good?”

“Yep,” Mrs. Jeon chimed. “Let’s go get some vegetables.”

As he pulled out of the driveway, the silence between you buzzed louder than the morning radio.

Because you’d thought he wouldn’t come. You really did.

And yet here he was. Driving, casual, unreadable.

And suddenly, a memory bubbled up before you could stop it.

You were sixteen, nervous hands gripping the steering wheel of his dad’s old Toyota. Jungkook beside you in the passenger seat, half-eating a popsicle, half-coaching you through parallel parking.

“Ease off the brake. Not slam it. Ease. You’re not trying to throw me through the windshield,” he’d teased.

You’d glared at him. “Do you want to teach me or not?”

He’d smiled then, soft and crooked. “I always do. Just don’t kill us.”

Back then, you’d learned how to trust the road and trust him.

Now, you weren’t so sure of either.

You turned slightly to glance at him. He was focused on driving, hand casually resting on the wheel, the ink on his fingers visible as he shifted gears with practiced ease.

You folded your hands in your lap and stared out the window again, silence thick in your throat. The radio hummed something soft in the background. Your mums chatted lightly in the back seat, comparing shopping lists and debating what market stall had the best sourdough.

But between you and Jungkook, the silence felt heavier than ever.

He was close. Right there in the driver’s seat beside you, the hum of the engine filling the space between you. Yet emotionally, he felt miles away.

Still, a small part of you clung to memories of the boy who had cheered the loudest when you nailed that perfect reverse park, telling you it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

But now… he was someone who made you feel invisible.

Still driving the same car.

Still offering you rides.

Just not in the way he used to.

The local Saturday market was already in full swing by the time you arrived. Tents lined the footpaths in bursts of colour. Fresh flowers, handmade crafts, overflowing crates of seasonal fruit. The scent of brewed coffee, warm cinnamon, and the faint salt of the sea in the distance wove through the morning air.

You stepped out of the car, the gravel crunching softly beneath your sneakers, your mum already calling dibs on the walnut loaf from her favorite bakery stand.

Mrs. Jeon smiled warmly, looping her arm through your mum’s. “Come on, before it all sells out.”

“You two can just mingle together. If you lose us, remember to call,” your mum said with a knowing smile.

With that, the two mums melted into the crowd as if it were their usual Saturday ritual. Which, judging by how easily they slipped away, it probably was. And just like that, you were left alone with him.

Jungkook trailed a few steps behind you, hands tucked in his jean pocket, lip ring catching the sunlight when he glanced to the side. You could feel his eyes on you. Too aware. Too observant.

You didn’t say anything.

He didn’t either. Not yet.

Because internally, he was trying to calculate the angle.

This shouldn’t be that hard.

You had history. Long, tangled, intimate history.

He knew how you looked when you were crying in the dark. When you laughed with your whole chest. When you wore oversized t-shirts in summer and leaned your head on his shoulder like it meant nothing.

The way your mouth twitched when you were annoyed. How your eyes always flicked to the left when you were trying to lie. How you twisted your bracelets around your wrist when you were nervous.

He could read you like a book.

And right now, Jungkook was thinking this bet? This dare?

It was already in the bag.

You used to like him. Hell, maybe you still did. That part of you that lingered, that looked at him in the kitchen last night like you were waiting for an old friend to return.

And yeah, maybe you had every right to hate him now. But he also knew you well enough to know…

You never stopped caring completely.

He could tell.

So all he had to do was dial it up.

The eye contact. The soft teasing. The subtle call-backs to childhood memories. Play the long game. Make you feel like he’s still in there somewhere.

Make you trust him again.

And when the time came?

Well, the ending was supposed to hurt, wasn’t it?

He wasn’t proud of it. But the bravado of the group chat still echoed in his head. Golden boy. Star of the show. No one ever expected him to fall. Just deliver the twist.

“Hey,” he said, suddenly at your side as you passed the fresh fruit stand. His voice was soft, casual. “What do you say we check out that stall with your favorite tteokbokki and fried chicken?”

You slowed your steps. Hesitated. The air felt thicker for a second.

Part of you wanted to say no. To turn away. To remind him that things weren't the same. But your stomach gave a quiet nudge, and the thought of something warm and spicy. Something comforting sounded… nice.

So you nodded. Small. Reluctant. But real.

His grin widened, smooth as ever.

Still, you fell in step beside him, the gravel crunching underfoot as the two of you wove past toddlers with melting ice creams and couples in linen pants holding mason jars of cold brew. The sounds of the market wrapped around you. Vendors calling out, oil sizzling in pans, laughter in the distance.

He led the way like nothing had shifted, like the months of distance. The silence, the sharp edges of everything unsaid didn’t hang in the space between you. You followed, unsure why.

Maybe it was the scent of the food stalls up ahead.

Or maybe it was just easier than confronting the weight in your chest.

“Still can’t handle spice?” he asked, glancing at you sideways, the corner of his mouth twitching into something playful.

You gave a small shrug, eyes focused ahead. “I’ve gotten better.”

“Liar,” he said, light and teasing. And for a second, just a split one, it almost felt like nothing had changed.

He ordered for the both of you like he always used to. Two servings of tteokbokki, one with extra spice “for him,” and crispy fried chicken to share. You stood to the side, hands shoved in your sleeves, watching the steam rise from the giant steel trays, the sauce bubbling thick and red.

He handed you your bowl carefully, making sure the lid was on tight before offering chopsticks with a little flick of his wrist, like it was muscle memory.

You murmured a quiet “thanks,” sitting on the edge of a nearby planter box where the stalls opened up into a clearing. Jungkook sat beside you, just close enough that your arms almost brushed.

You ate in silence for a while, save for the hum of market life around you. Music playing faintly from someone’s portable speaker, a child whining for another bite of cotton candy.

“I missed this,” he said suddenly, picking at a piece of chicken. “Being back home. Seeing the same faces, hearing the ahjummas shout their usual nonsense. Just… being around the people who actually know me.”

Your chopsticks froze mid-air. You didn’t look at him.

“Funny,” you said softly, not bitter. Just tired. “Not long ago, you made me swear to keep your ‘fratboy’ antics under wraps."

His hand paused, the piece of chicken halfway to his mouth.

The words settled between you like a weight. Quiet but sharp, impossible to ignore.

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stared off into nothing, like the noise of the market had suddenly become miles away. And for a second, you caught a glimpse of the boy behind the ego. The boy you grew up with before university swallowed him whole.

“I didn’t know how to come back from that,” he finally said, voice low and raw. “So I ran. From everything. From you. I thought avoiding it would hurt less.”

You looked down at your bowl. The food was still warm, but the taste had changed.

“You thought wrong.”

And still, somehow, you kept eating. Because that’s what people do. They sit in the wreckage and try to feel normal. Bite by bite.

Even when the taste is tinged with regret.

It was warmer now, the late-morning sun filtering through the trees. You paused to swipe hair from your face, nearly bumping into Jungkook when he suddenly stopped in front of a vendor booth.

He turned to you with a strange glint in his eyes. “Wait here.”

You blinked. “What? Why-”

But he was already weaving through the small crowd, leaving you with a confused crease between your brows.

A minute later, he returned, something hidden behind his back.

You narrowed your eyes. “If this is some kind of market prank, I swear-”

Then he held something out to you.

A delicate stem of crochet tulips, hand-stitched with vibrant yarn in shades of soft pinks and creams, the green stem twisting gently in his fingers.

Your breath caught.

It wasn’t a typical bouquet, but it felt more meaningful than any fresh flowers could. Each petal carefully crafted, a small work of art. You could tell it was from one of the local artisans at the market. Jungkook had been thoughtful enough to pick something handmade, something to support the small businesses.

His grin softened, warm and genuine, a hint of boyish pride in his eyes.

“Figured you’d like something unique. Plus, I wanted to help out the local makers.”

Your hand hovered briefly before reaching out. “You haven’t given me something like this since we were kids.”

“Since we were eleven,” he said quietly, offering the tulips closer.

You took them slowly, your fingertips brushing his as you accepted the gift.

For a moment, the distance between you seemed to shrink.

The silence. The unspoken words. The weight of all the time and space in between.

It was just you and that little stem of crochet tulips. An unexpected reminder of simpler days.

You turned the flowers over in your hands, and a memory surfaced.

You were eleven, sitting on the porch swing at dusk. Jungkook, always a little quieter back then, had picked wildflowers from the field behind your houses and handed you a handful, shy but sincere.

“These are for you,” he said softly. “Because you make everything better.”

Your chest tightened, that memory hitting with a bittersweet pang.

You looked away quickly, blinking back the rush of feeling. “You’re such a dork,” you murmured.

And just then—

“Y/N! Jungkook!” a cheerful voice broke through the moment, pulling you back to the present.

You turned to see Mrs. Jeon a short distance away, waving a bunch of kale enthusiastically in one hand as she called for both of you. Your mum stood beside her, sharing a quiet laugh as if they’d just exchanged a secret you weren’t quite part of yet.

Jungkook chuckled under his breath. “Crisis alert. Kale mom is back.”

You shook your head, relief flooding in from the distraction. “We should go before she starts preaching the benefits of green juice again.”

He gave a smile. “Yes, of course."

Walking side by side toward them, you held the crochet tulips a little tighter. Like a fragile thread of hope you weren’t ready to let go of. But at the same time, you weren’t about to give Jungkook your heart so easily again.

Because even if you weren’t ready to admit it…

Some part of you still remembered when Jungkook made you feel like you were everything.

And that part?

It was stirring.

Market day had come and gone in a blur. By late afternoon, you were back home, barefoot and content, the crochet tulips resting gently on your desk. Not stored away, but not forgotten either.

Lunch had stretched into an early dinner, your dad had whipped up a simple yet comforting spread. Kimchi fried rice topped with a fried egg, and a side of his homemade japchae noodles that he claimed were unbeatable. You didn’t complain. Meanwhile, your mum had settled into one of her rare naps on the couch, a well-loved novel slipping quietly from her hands onto the floor.

Now, back in your childhood room, you had an annotated PDF open, pen between your teeth, and the kind of concentration only caffeine and obligation could summon. Until your phone buzzed beside you.

Once.

You didn’t think much of it.

Then it buzzed again.

You glanced over.

[Jungkook]: what you up to?

You froze.

The message sat there like a riddle you weren’t sure how to answer.

It wasn’t the words that threw you. It was the fact that he’d sent them at all.

He didn’t text you anymore. Not like that. Not since first year when he started gaining more attention, when people began whispering about his name on campus like it was some kind of currency.

Back then, you'd gone from being the first person he shared everything with to… no one at all. The calls slowed. The texts faded. The responses became one-liners, then emojis, then silence.

So why now?

Why this?

Your fingers hovered over the screen, hesitant.

Because part of you. The part you’d buried under logic and pride and every reason not to care, still remembered what it felt like to open your phone and see his name.

Still remembered what it meant when it was him reaching out first.

You sighed, leaning back against the headboard, the glow of your desk lamp soft against your skin.

This didn’t mean anything.

You stared at the screen a second longer, pulse just slightly faster than before.

Then you texted back, short and safe.

[You]: just catching up on some business case studies. why?

You hit send and placed the phone beside you, trying to ignore how your heart skipped just a little. Trying not to overthink the silence that followed.

Meanwhile, just next door, the Jeon house was dim and quiet, save for the low hum of a ceiling fan and the occasional clack of Jungkook’s keyboard.

He was in his room, hunched over his desk, storyboard sketches spread out in loose clusters. His laptop was open, film project templates blinking back at him while he scribbled notes in one of his lined journals. Jungkook had music playing faintly in the background, something instrumental, lo-fi. The kind of thing that made him feel like he was getting things done, even if most of the evening had passed in more thinking than actual work.

Still, the ideas were coming. Slowly, but they were.

His film pitch was due after break. A short docu-style feature about perception versus reality. He’d circled the word duality three times on his mind map. If he was honest, the concept hit a little too close to home.

His phone was propped up against a half-empty cup of iced coffee, the group video call buzzing on speaker as he multitasked. Or at least tried to.

Taehyung’s voice cut through his scattered focus first.

“So how's it going Kook?”

“Did she fall in love with you again yet?” Jimin teased, the grin practically audible over the connection.

“Shut up,” Jungkook muttered, biting the end of his pen. “We just went to the market. Some bonding time with the mums. That’s all.”

“That’s it?” Hoseok scoffed. “That’s like K-drama Episode 3 material. You’re slacking, golden boy.”

Namjoon chuckled. “Yeah, man, what’s next? Movie invite? Old hangout spot? Sleepover like the good old days?”

Jungkook groaned, leaning back in his chair. “Hyung, it’s not that simple.”

But the guys weren’t letting up. They kept poking and prodding, tossing half-serious suggestions his way.

“Take her to the movies.”

“Get boba, go down memory lane, use that stupid line like... ‘Remember when we used to-?’”

“Or just send a damn text already.”

Jungkook exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temple. He hated to admit it, but they weren’t wrong. He knew exactly how to get under your skin. He’d done it for years. Familiarity was a weapon, and he wielded it well.

But still, there was a pause.

He stared at his phone for a long moment. Because the last time he’d seen your name pop up, it hadn’t been casual. It hadn’t been playful.

It was months ago.

[Y/n]: hey, are you still walking me back after class? you said you’d wait

He hadn’t responded.

He was supposed to be there. You’d planned it. Talked about grabbing Korean BBQ on the way back, catching up. Just the two of you.

But he never showed.

At first, he thought he’d be five minutes late. Then the guys had pulled him aside. Something about a pop-up party. A girl in a leather jacket with silver eyeliner and too much perfume, had laughed at his joke. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Once, twice and he ignored it.

By the time he’d remembered?

It was hours too late.

And you never followed up. Never double-texted. Just… silence.

Which is what made texting you now feel like walking into a room he once trashed.

But still he had to keep up the image. Play his part.

He let out a slow exhale, jaw flexing.

Then, ego first, he typed a short what you up to.

It took a few seconds, maybe even minutes before your reply finally came through. You talked about being buried in case studies. Deep down, Jungkook still admired that about you, your fierce dedication, the way you threw yourself into everything with such passion. He loved that about you. Still did. But admitting it? That was a different story.

[Jungkook]: wanna catch a movie tmr? like old times. just us. my shout.

He hit send and flipped his phone over, face-down, like that would stop whatever was coming.

“Okay. I asked,” he muttered to the phone, more to himself than anyone. “Happy now?”

Taehyung howled on the other end of the call. “That’s our boy.”

The other guys chimed in, egging him on. But under the noise, Jungkook felt something twist in his chest. Not quite victory, not quite regret.

Somewhere between ego and guilt.

Just next door, you stared at the notification on your screen. Your heart thudded in your chest like it used to, back when his texts meant something. Back when the idea of just the two of you made you feel safe, not suspicious.

Was this genuine? Was this a joke?

Your mind spiraled. You remembered the afternoons in the park, movie marathons, late-night talks, the way he used to make you feel seen in a way no one else did. And yet, the hurt lingered.

You sighed, leaning back in your chair.

Maybe it was too soon.

Maybe it wasn’t.

You typed back slowly, fingers trembling slightly.

[You]: I don’t know, Jungkook. It’s been a long time.

You hit send and stared at the screen, waiting for whatever would come next.

[Jungkook]: I know but just trust me. It'll be fun.

You stared at his reply.

You read it once. Twice. And then again, slower this time. Hoping the words would reveal something deeper. A hidden meaning. A trace of sincerity.

But it was plain. Casual. Carefree, like he hadn’t ghosted you that night outside the lecture hall. Like months of silence didn’t exist between you.

So casual, so simple, as if he hadn’t spent the last few weeks making it clear that whatever you two had as kids didn’t mean a thing to him anymore.

Trust me.

You scoffed under your breath.

Still… a part of you hesitated.

As if he hadn’t looked you in the eye before and said, “That shit doesn't mean anything now.”

And maybe you could’ve let it go. Maybe you could’ve convinced yourself he didn’t mean it, that he was just trying to seem tough.

Jungkook was now this carefully curated version of himself. Confident. Distant. The kind of guy who laughed with his friends about dares and pretended emotions were weaknesses.

What happened to him? Who made him believe he had to become this?

You weren’t sure. But you did know one thing. You weren’t going to be his emotional safety net whenever he felt like slipping back into the past. You weren't going to sit beside him on a couch and pretend that watching a movie would make things okay again.

So you didn’t answer. You read his message, let your thumb hover for a second, then locked your phone and threw it on the bed. Do Not Disturb on. He lived next door. If he had something worth saying, he could knock.

Jungkook, on the other hand, stared at the message thread longer than he’d ever admit. He was pacing. He thought the text would get your attention. That it would spark something. Annoyance, sarcasm, even just a roll of your eyes. But instead, silence. No reply. No reaction. Just… nothing.

And that nothing started to dig its way into him.

He scoffed to himself. “Cute,” he muttered, tossing his phone onto his bed and rubbing the back of his neck like he wasn’t annoyed. But he was. Not because he cared. At least, not in the way he used to. No, this was about something else entirely.

The dare.

He wasn’t used to being doubted. Especially not when it came to girls, and especially not when it came to you. You were supposed to be easy. Familiar. A done deal. History, chemistry, emotional leverage. All of it stacked in his favor.

So when you ignored him? When you didn’t fall into the trap like he expected?

That stung. Not just because he fucking missed you. God, he did. But because losing to you would be a brutal hit to the one thing he guarded like hell. His pride.

Leaning against the wall, Jungkook peeked through the curtains of his window, eyes flicking toward your house like he could summon your attention just by looking. He didn’t care if it was real or fake anymore. He just needed to win. Needed to show the guys and maybe to himself that you were still in his orbit. That he still had you wrapped around his finger, whether you liked it or not.

Because in his mind, this wasn’t about friendship. It wasn’t about nostalgia.

This was about control.

And the game had only just begun.

You were thirteen, and Jungkook was as always, barging in next door, like he owned the place. Today’s mission? Drag you into what he insisted was the ultimate way to spend a Saturday: a Marvel movie marathon.

“Come on, you gotta watch these,” he said, practically dragging you by the wrist into your living room. “Especially Iron Man. He’s the best.”

You rolled your eyes but secretly didn’t mind. You had always admired how he could get excited about the smallest things, how his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning whenever he talked about Tony Stark’s snarky one-liners or those crazy flying suits.

Halfway through the second movie, Jungkook leaned back on the couch, chewing on a piece of popcorn like it was the most important thing in the world.

“You know,” he started, voice low and hesitant, “there’s this girl in my class. Sana. I kinda like her.”

You glanced over, curious but careful not to stare. You knew Sana. The popular girl with the effortless charm, the kind who always had the nicest high-end stationery and an easy smile that made her stand out.

“So, I asked her if she liked Marvel,” he continued, “and she said no. Not even a little. She said it’s dumb.”

Jungkook let out a long sigh, the kind that made you want to hug him. “I guess it’s just a silly crush. Nothing serious.”

You smiled softly, nudging him with your elbow.

“But you’re serious about Iron Man,” you teased.

He chuckled, but then his eyes shifted, locking with yours in a way that made your heart skip.

“I think… I love you,” he blurted out.

The room seemed to still around those words, and your heart jumped.

You blinked, caught between surprise and confusion. Love? At thirteen? You had liked him, sure, but love was something else entirely.

Then, almost instantly, Jungkook’s eyes widened. He scrambled to correct himself, his words tumbling out fast.

“No, no, wait! I mean... I love you. As a friend. You’re, like, the most important person in my life. You mean the world to me.”

He scratched the back of his neck, cheeks heating up. “I didn’t mean it like… that way. Not like that yet. I’m just bad at saying stuff.”

You laughed softly, relieved but also touched. “I like you too, Jungkook. But yeah… love’s a big word.”

He smiled, eyes warm and honest. “Yeah, maybe it’s just something we’ll figure out later.”

And there, on the worn-out couch, two kids tangled in feelings bigger than them, settled for the quiet comfort of a friendship that already meant everything.