#dancer between worlds masterpost

[artemiseamoon]

Dancer between worlds

A fic for The Moon in May 2023

Status: hiatus, back in December 2023

Moon in May fics/ masterlist

(Read my 2022 fic here)

Summary: Being head librarian and bookkeeper for the Alliance of Shifters, Sahali spends her days inside the quiet and quaint Hudson Valley branch. When a threat surfaces, one that affects all shifters, the founders of A.O.S seek the help of one of their best investigators; the retired lone wolf Frankie Morales. When Sahali is sent to locate him, her curated world changes drastically.

Warnings: typical warnings for werewolf & shifter stuff (biting, blood, injuries and healing), typical warnings for hunters (hunting, trapping, killing), missing persons, sexual themes and situations (I’m not in a smut mood these days so there won’t be anything explicit)

Themes: supernatural elements, mediumistic abilities, shifters vs hunters, soul mate au

An: I am working on a number of things, so may or may not stick to schedule on this one. We’ll see! As usual, full chapters only post to A03, previews to tumblr.

⏱ as I have time & feel like it

Chapters

Preview on tumblr, full chapters only on A03

0. One pine road | preview | A03

1. The lone wolf | preview | A03

2. Making a decision| preview | A03

3. Title | preview | A03

4. Title | preview | A03

More chapters tba

Characters

Werecat! Sahali

Lone wolf! Mechanic Frankie Morales

Minor / Mentions only

The alliance & staff (see a moodboard at the bottom for the main ones)

Mentions of the TF guys, all wolves

Featured alliance members for this fic

1. Hudson Delmar, Founder & werewolf

2. Emi Bell, Founder & werewolf

3. James, Werebear division rep

4. Bembe, Werecat division rep

5. Ramia, Shifter/witch division rep

6. Demi, Hybrid were/vampire division rep

Background character mentions

Kai - scout/ agent

Tau - senior investigator/ agent

Moodboards | more | more

*** there will be background stuff I can’t cover in the main fic. So anything left unanswered will be visited via post fic Drabbles or one shots. 💕

[elenthyaolyenths]

"Drive Me To The Moon" by CaptainBlou - a Good Omens Fanfiction coming June 16th!!!

The final countdown is ON ! Are you ready?!

It's been a few months since I had the pleasure to discover the next fanfiction written by my dear spouse @captainblou, and OBVIOUSLY, I couldn't resist joining the team with my illustrations!

⬇Close-up shots, summary, and tag list under the cut⬇

Fanfiction post here!

DMTTM, the Summary!

At GOMENS, world-renowned sports brand and sponsor, one takes pride in endorsing the UK’s most talented athletes. On the other hand, one would like to ignore the fact that their two top of the bill, Aziraphale and Crowley, have heartily hated each other since the day they met. But what should be expected, when one knows these two?

Aziraphale is a professional dancer, Crowley a rally driver. While the former switches between fierce competitions and prestigious stages, the other goes from one track to another across the world, clearing out every prize from behind the wheel of his racing car.

Two beings, two worlds, two universes that everything should keep apart. But an unprecedented charity event is getting set up at GOMENS, and quickly, their own athletes will have to compete with and assist each other in turns.

Two worlds, two personalities... But if they want to run for a cause that matters to the both of them, Crowley and Aziraphale are going to have to find an Arrangement.

My other Good Omens illustrations: [Previous] [Next Day] [First Day]

Prints available here! - ❤️‍🔥Support me on Ko-Fi❤️‍🔥

Masterpost (Art Gallery, news)

I have opened a tag list, tell me if you want to be in or out ^_^

@goodomensafterdark @captainblou @floscrap-blog @demonsandpieohmy @amagnificentobsession

@ineffable-hyperfixation @quoththemaiden @paperclipninja @silverdphantom @neverlet

@fearandhatred @eybefioro @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @ashfae @malohkeh-main

@mad-aims

[oddinary4bts]

The Forgotten Spaces | ch 5 (jjk)

☆summary: you've been dancing on the same dance crew since your teenage years, and you finally have an important role in it. It feels like life is taunting you when your rival comes back after disappearing for a year, ready to tease you every chance he gets. Will the teasing turn into more, or are you going to take him down with you?

☆pairing: photographer and dancer!Jungkook x dancer!female reader

☆rating: 18+ (minors DNI)

☆genre: slow (SLOW) burn enemies to lovers, college!au, slice of life!au, angst (oop), smut and fluff

☆warnings: a cancer joke about eating a burned marshmallow, mentions about Jungkook's injury/scars, alcohol, curses, a hot tub, a game of Truth or Dare; explicit content: hickeys, grinding, fingering, jerking off, big dick!Jungkook, unprotected sex (please don't be stupid), choking; angst

☆word count: 15.7k (oop)

☆series masterpost here

☆a/n: SMUT IS HERE EVERYONE. I hope you enjoy reading this one!! Thank you to @moonleeai for her beta reading on this fic, I won't ever thank you enough, you're the best <3

☆Read What Was Hidden here, the fic that inspired this whole story, written by @daechwitatamic, one of my fav human beings on this app <3 It follows the story of Jo and Taehyung before The Forgotten Spaces

☆☆☆☆☆

For this meeting of our end of the world

It's with you that I want to sing

On the threshold of the memories the dead of today

Them that breathe for us

The forgotten spaces

Je t'écris - Gaston Miron (rough translation by me)

☆☆☆☆☆

Friday, July 6th

                It’s a strange thing, how when you’ve been working on something for months, the concretisation of it passes so quickly it’s like it never happened. The auditions were like that: you barely remember yesterday. All you remember is the moment you stepped out of the scene, breath ragged, and Jungkook high-fived the whole crew.

You don’t remember listening to the results. You remember the bubbling excitement as the name of the crew wasn’t said until the very last. But you don’t remember hearing the mention you got. The highest of every crew that auditioned from your state.

Because auditions for nationals are also a competition in and of itself. An innerstate competition, and you still can’t believe you got the highest mention of your level. It’s like a dream, and everything has been moving too slow, or too fast, for you to interpret.

Yesterday was a fever dream indeed. And the whole crew knows that it’s thanks to Jungkook. He refuses every congratulation you’ve all offered him, but it’s him. You wouldn’t have gotten the diamond mention without him.

Diamond… a perfect score. You landed a perfect score on your auditions to nationals.

You will get ripped up to pieces at nationals, won’t you? It makes you anxious, but then again, you’re not sure if it’s because you will have to perform at the top of your art in a few months, or because you’re sitting between Jungkook and Heather on the backseat of Hobi’s car.

Probably the latter.

You’re lucky. You were able to rent a cottage an hour and a half outside of the city, next to a small artificial lake. It was previously rented by another group, but they cancelled a few days ago, which let you have the cottage for the whole weekend.

But you don’t think you’re lucky to be sitting between Jungkook and Heather. Though both of them have been dozing off for a while.

  You’ve just been clutching your phone for dear life, because Jungkook’s head lolled to the side until he found your shoulder to be a pillow. It’s not that you mind it. You mostly mind the way Jiho’s been looking at you with the biggest shit-eating grin on her lips. She’s already taken pictures, and you’ve been planning her murder for the last fifteen minutes.

[2:37 pm] Jiho❣️: attached photo [2:37 pm] Jiho❣️: u’re so mad lmao [2:38 pm] You: delete this picture immediately or i’ll end ur miserable life [2:38 pm] Jiho❣️: 😘😘😘😘😘 [2:38 pm] You: 😤😤😤😤😤 [2:38 pm] You: and Scottie deciding not to come???? Even worse [2:38 pm] You: he’s a traitor😩 [2:39 pm] Jiho❣️: u’re just mad bc now u and jk are the only single people attending [2:39 pm] You: last i checked heather and bridget weren’t official official🙄

Jiho snorts on the front passenger seat, and Hobi throws her a curious look. She shakes her head to indicate that it’s nothing, and you watch as she types her reply.

[2:40 pm] Jiho❣️: bitch plz😂 [2:40 pm] You: besides u’re gonna share a room with me🥺

Jiho laughs out loud this time, and you wonder if the glare you bore into her profile has any effect at all. She just glances at you, an eyebrow cocked prettily. You know what that means: no. No she won’t be sleeping with you. You’re going to have to sleep on the couch, because couples get the rooms. Lance made that rule, and even though you were desperate to not let it take effect, everyone but Jungkook was against you.

You’re not usually in agreement with Jungkook. But for that you were, and you hoped the others would take it into account. You’re stupid for thinking that they would.

Jungkook sighs in his sleep, readjusting himself until he’s even closer to you. You gulp, glancing at him with a scared look on your features. You want to push him away, but he looks so peaceful you just let him be.

[2:44 pm] You: why is he sleeping on me tho [2:45 pm] Jiho❣️: i’d sleep on u too [2:45 pm] You: u can if we share a room👉🏼👈🏼 [2:45 pm] Jiho❣️: nice try but no😇

You whine, and Jiho chuckles.

“What’s up with you two?” Hobi asks, and you meet his gaze in the rear view mirror.

Jiho shrugs. “Y/n is just mad that she’s going to sleep on the couch.

“I can let her sleep with you,” Hobi says, ever so the pacifist and kind man that he is.

“Yes!” you burst out.

It gains you a whine from Jungkook and a glare from Heather, before she rests her head back against the window and dozes off again.

“No,” Jiho refuses. “I want my sexy time.”

Hobi burns bright red as you let out, “Ew”.

Jiho winks at you over her shoulder, and then you all fall silent again. The cottage is still at least fifty minutes away, so you steel yourself as Jungkook shifts again. He mumbles in his sleep and you almost let out a startled yelp when his hand moves on your thigh. He’s not holding you, just resting his closed fist on the top of your thigh. But it’s still way too much touching for your comfort, so you push him away.

He frowns but doesn’t wake up, resting his head against the window with a sigh instead. His mouth falls open a little, and you keep a laugh in. He looks stupidly cute like that. It’s a disgusting thought – Jeon Jungkook is anything but cute – but you let it slide for today. Maybe because you can’t bring yourself to care.

You eventually fall asleep, the low music Jiho’s been playing lulling you to sleep. It’s much deserved sleep after all the anxiety of yesterday, and you only wake when the car comes to a full stop, and car doors slam shut.

You wake up with a start, ready to fight whoever made the noises, and you realize you’re alone in the car. With Jungkook, who has a tight-lipped smile on his lips when your gazes meet.

“You drool when you sleep,” he tells you, and you furrow your brow as you wipe your cheek.

Sure enough, you were drooling. It takes you a few seconds to realize he’s got a wet spot on his shoulder, and you reckon you woke up with your head rested against something. Something that suspiciously felt like Jungkook’s shoulders.

“Mmh,” you sleepily let out. “Sorry.”

He smiles. Sweetly. It starts with his eyes, as you’ve realized it usually happens when he smiles genuinely. “It’s all good. You looked peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you up.”

You echo his smile, nodding your head once before stretching your arms. It makes you yawn, which in turn makes him laugh. “What?” you ask.

“You slept like thirty minutes and you’re still tired.”

You glare at him. “I’m always tired.”

“Right.”

It’s a weird conversation, and it’s even weirder that you’re still sitting in the car. So you motion towards the door as you unbuckle your seatbelt, and Jungkook has a light tint on his cheeks as he nods and opens the door before stepping out. He stretches when he’s outside, and you scooch out of the car, imitating him as soon as your feet touch the ground.

“Gosh,” you let out, and he laughs.

“Yeah.”

You glance at him, and then your gaze slides to the landscape surrounding you. To the picturesque cottage that looks even better than what you had pictured, all made of logs. It looks straight out of a fairy tale. It’s cozied up in a little forest, and the wind that picked up earlier today still makes the leaves dance. It’s loud, like the sound of waves at sea, but it’s more constant. It doesn’t recede, and it creates a background soundtrack to the summer afternoon. The sun is still high in the sky, shining bright with not even a single cloud in sight. The air smell of the woods, and bugs fly around aimlessly, or following an aim only they know. The car is parked in the shadows, but you still feel the heat, and you’re glad there’s a breeze.

You take it all in with a bright smile on your lips, and it only grows wider when Jiho and Hobi rush out of the cottage.

“This is heaven,” Jiho declares. “I’m never leaving this place.”

“She says that because she saw the hot tub from the balcony,” Hobi says as he motions over his shoulder to the cottage.

It makes you laugh, and it turns into a giggle as Jiho grabs your hand and pulls you behind her. “While you men unpack the car we’re going to take a walk to the lake.”

“How is that fair?” Jungkook complains, but he’s grinning when you meet his gaze over your shoulder. You offer him an apologetic shrug of your shoulders, and he just chuckles before turning towards the car.

Lance’s car is pulling up the dirt road when you turn on the side of the house. You wave at Chaeyeon and him, but they don’t notice you as Jiho only keeps pulling you behind her.

“Look at this!” she says giddily as you walk to the back of the house. “It’s so pretty.”

It really is. The house is nestled right next to a small lake, with a few trees separating the building and the water. There’s a hot tub on the right, and a small rock path that leads to a quay in the water. You notice a fireplace area, though it’s not a circle of rocks like you had imagined, but an actual metal fireplace with a door that’s currently swinging on its hinges in the wind. Logs are piled beside it, just waiting for someone to ignite a fire.

Jiho’s giddiness is contagious, and you find yourself giggling as she pulls you towards the lake. There’s a small shed down by the lake, and a look through the window shows you two kayaks. It makes you even giddier, and you clap your hands before turning towards the quay.

The quay moves as you step on it. Fortunately, the water is not very deep and the lake is relatively calm even with the wind. You’re able to make it to the end of it without it shaking too much, and Jiho closes her eyes as she tilts her head back. “We should come here every weekend.”

You laugh. “As fun as that sounds like, we can’t skip practice every weekend.”

“We can practice here,” she points out, shrugging.

She’s not wrong, so you just smile and nod before imitating her, taking in the sun. But you feel a little bad for those inside that are setting up the house, so it’s not even a minute later when you say, “We should go help the others”.

Jiho whines, and she opens one eye to look at you. You cock an eyebrow and she rolls her eyes. “Fine.”

You walk back up the little slope until you reach the cottage. When you make it to the front, you see that a third car has arrived: Jin, Valeria, Taehyung, Jo and Bridget are all stretching outside of it. Jo notices you and waves happily.

You think it’s funny that she is here. It’s weird to think that even though she isn’t part of the dance crew, she’s still made her way into the friend group. Like Jin, Valeria and Taehyung, you reckon. Though you barely know Jin and Valeria. But you needed more people to rent this cottage, and considering it was the only one available, you didn’t really have a choice.

You move to their group to greet them, and then you help them unpack the car. You also help Lance, who was the one in charge with food and speakers for music. It takes a moment, but soon enough everything is settled. You’re all already hungry though, so you prepare the first meal of the weekend.

Well, you watch Jungkook, Jin, Valeria and Heather prepare it. You’re on washing dishes duty though, but you’ll only do that after you eat.

It’s fun. Cheerful. A little bubble outside of the seriousness of practice and nationals and auditions that you really can’t remember, can you? The light atmosphere is much needed, and you drink as you eat, and drink some more after washing the dishes. Then you all set out to explore outside, and Lance and Jin have a fire running by the time Jungkook figures out how to get the hot tub working. It’s still hot outside though, so you decide to wait before going into the tub, but Bridget, Heather, Chaeyeon and Jo all move to it. You stay with Jiho and the others by the fire, listening to the cracking of the logs as you talk and talk and talk.

There’s laughter. A lot of it. Laughter that turns more drunk as the evening unfolds, and the sun has set by the time you get up from your spot to go pee inside. The girls have come out of the tub, and they’re taking turns in the shower upstairs, so you head to the downstairs bathroom. You’re on the way out when Jo stops you.

She says your name, offering you a bright smile. “Are you in for some shots before we head outside? I’m taking some with the others.”

Sure enough, Chaeyeon, Bridget and Heather all look at you expectantly, and you don’t hesitate even a second before agreeing. You go outside with Jo and Chaeyeon after, as you all laugh when Bridget and Heather say they’ll take a shower together. You figure it’s better to let them have the house for a time, and you all join the rest of the group by the fire.

They’ve started playing some music and singing over it, and you laugh as Hobi belts a tune as if his life depends on it. Jungkook joins him and your eyes widen a little as you hear his voice.

Jungkook can sing. His voice is melodious, clear and full and round. It’s beautiful, the voice of an angel. You feel struck as you watch him, and he bursts out laughing when Hobi messes up the lyrics next to him.

You’ve stopped walking. And Jungkook meets your gaze, offering you a small smile before returning to the action around him. It strikes you, in a weird kind of way. It makes a weird feeling form in your chest, that same feeling you felt last week when you saved his number in your phone.

It’s not a feeling you like. So you push it aside as you join Jiho in her chair, sitting on her lap and stealing the bottle of soju she’s been drinking from. You need more alcohol in your blood, and soon.

It’s night by the time the group moves again. Some of them decide to go to the lake, but you stay by the fire as Valeria and Jin bring marshmallows out. Heather and Bridget never came out after their shower, and you don’t quite feel like going inside to find them.

Instead, you start roasting marshmallows, and soon enough you’re the elected marshmallow roaster, because you’re the only one who’s managed to not make them catch fire. You make some for everyone, before roasting one for yourself.

Since Jungkook has been the one feeding the fire for the last hour, it also makes it so you’re sitting next to him. The conversation is lively around you, but you’ve noticed he’s silent. He’s just staring at the fire, and it casts a dancing glow on his features.

He notices you looking at him, and his features soften as he turns to look at you. And then he bursts out laughing, and you do too as you notice your marshmallow has caught fire.

“Oops,” you mumble.

“I know I’m pretty but you should focus on the job at hand,” he teases you.

You punch him in the shoulder, before blowing on the fire until it dies. “Still edible if you ask me,” you say as you eye the burned thing on the branch you’ve been using since you started roasting marshmallows.

“Oh, clearly,” he agrees. “If you want to get cancer, that is.”

You glare at him, and he only laughs. “What’s life without a little risk?”

“Boring,” he answers wisely, face falling serious, though he only manages to keep the serious look for a few seconds before he’s breaking into yet another fit of laughter. One you echo before taking a bite of the marshmallow. You hum in delight, and Jungkook says, “What the fuck was that?”

You have the decency to blush. “What?”

“You’re not really the kind of person that moans when they eat good food?”

“I wasn’t moaning,” you let out outrageously.

It gains everybody’s attention around the fire, and Jungkook laughs at you. You shove him in the shoulder again, but he annoyingly barely moves in his chair.

“Who’s moaning?” Lance asks.

Both you and Jungkook look startled for a time, and you glare at him. “No one, Jeon’s just being a little shit.”

“What’s new?” Jiho jokes, and everyone laughs.

The trio that went to the lake comes back – Taehyung, Jo and Hobi. Jo scans the people around the fire, brows knitting together.

“Where are Bridget and Heather?”

The whole group laughs. “They never came out,” Chaeyeon admits. “I’d advise to not go looking for them.”

Jo snorts. “Oof yeah, that’s a no for me.”

It’s not even that funny, yet everyone laughs as the trio settles around the fireplace. Hobi and Jiho share a chair, and you realize there’s no chair for Jo and Taehyung. You’re about to offer yours when they just sit directly in the grass, giggling like the two idiots in love that they are. They lie down after a few seconds, and Jo points up at the sky.

It makes you look up, and you suddenly feel very small, under the immensity of the night sky. It sobers you up, just a little, and you sit back in the chair to get a good look. You admire the stars and constellations, searching for those you know. It leads to everyone doing so, and it also creates a calmer atmosphere, until half the group is dozing off in their chair.

Someone changed the music to softer tunes, and you really listen to the night sounds now, as the melody entwines with the cracking of the logs. Soon enough, Jin and Valeria decide to go to bed. Jungkook immediately teases the older guy, saying that only elderly people go to bed so early. Jin just throws a marshmallow at Jungkook, who receives it right on the forehead. He looks stunned, and he raises his middle finger at Jin as he just laughs where he’s leading Valeria inside. Chaeyeon and Lance are the next to go, and your gaze trails them until they stop to kiss. You give them privacy then, focusing on the fire instead.

It leaves only you, Jungkook, Jo, Taehyung, Jiho and Hobi by the fire, and you sigh in content as Jungkook throws another log into the fire.

“Last one, I assume?” he lets out.

The group mumbles in agreement.

“We’ll party harder tomorrow,” Jiho promises before yawning.

It makes everyone yawn, and you laugh tired laughs as you watch the flames licking up the log.

“We should set up a beer pong table,” you suggest.

Taehyung seems to spark to life at the idea. “I’m so in for some beer pong.”

“What about a tournament?” Jungkook proposes. “Losers have to jump in the lake.”

Jiho winces. “I hope Hobi’s good because there’s no way in hell I’m jumping in the lake.”

“I got you, babe.”

You notice them exchanging a long look. It’s filled with love, grossly so, and you roll your eyes before settling your gaze on the stars above once more. You let out a happy yelp when a shooting star crosses the sky.

“Oh my God!”

Jo is just as happy as you are. “Oh shit!” she echoes. “We have to make a wish.”

You laugh, nodding your head repeatedly. The four others just look at you curiously, before Jo explains that there was a shooting star.

Everyone’s eyes are back on the night sky in no time, and you reckon you might fall asleep like this.

Stargazing, and wishing that you’ll find your own person soon enough.

Saturday, July 7th

                “I’ll kill you.”

Jungkook smiles, and the breeze of the afternoon catches in his hair, making a strand fall in his eyes. He pushes his hair back. “I’d like to see you try.”

Something changed. He knows something changed between the two of you. It’s exciting, in a childish kind of way. He feels young next to you, and he’s been following you around all day, claiming that he wants to avoid the couples. Which is not entirely a lie, but he mostly wants to be around you.

It’s a new feeling. Or almost entirely new, because he felt like that around you once before. The night after he told you about his accident. He’s pushed that away since then, but it seems being here, at this cottage in the middle of nature, brings it out.

He’s been failing at pushing it away since last night, and he reckons he doesn’t even want to try anymore.

You put your hands on your hips, tilting your head to the side. Your hair sways in the wind, and he wants to brush it behind your shoulder. He resists, because he’s pretty sure you’ll bite his head off if he does.

“You’re the one that suggested kayaking.”

He did. But throwing you in the water seems like twice the fun, so he’s been teasing you about it as you stand next to the shed.

“Maybe it was just a trap?” he says, winking at you. He takes a step towards you, and you immediately take a step back.           

Jo and Taehyung are sitting on the quay, watching the water and talking in hushed tones. Jungkook feels Jo’s gaze on him, and he resists glancing at her.

He knows what she thinks. She’s made it pretty clear in the last week. Maybe it’s contributed to the softness in him whenever he watches you.

Maybe.

“You’re annoying.”

“But yet you came with me?”

You squint your eyes, shaking your head. “Not with you. I came to kayak.”

“Right.”

“I swear.”

He bursts out laughing, and it’s his turn to shake his head. “Of course, of course.”

“Why are you…” you start before letting out a strangled sound. “I’m going back to the house.”

“No!” he immediately says, a little louder than necessary. This time, both Taehyung and Jo look at you two. “I’m just teasing, let me bring the kayak out.”

He’s blushing. He feels it coming up slowly from deep within his chest, so he quickly turns towards the shed and goes in. A few spiders are hiding in their webs, and he swats one away from the first kayak. He almost hesitates to leave it in just to spook you, but he doesn’t really want to spook you right now. Not when his heart is beating just a little quicker.

He doesn’t know if he likes it. But he’ll roll with it for the rest of the weekend, because he doesn’t think he’ll have the opportunity to do so after that.

He brings out the two kayaks before going back for the paddles, and a moment later he’s helping you to sit in yours, holding your hand while you step in it before sitting. Jo and Taehyung are watching now, barely even talking, and Jungkook can’t wait until you’ve moved away from the quay.

He hates the way the couple has been watching you both. It feels like he’s under pressure, and he knows he doesn’t do well under pressure. Except when it came to dance, but that’s long gone now.

He gets into his own kayak as you’re already starting to move away.

“Bye losers,” you say towards Taehyung and Jo.

“Try not to drown,” Jo replies as she waves you off.

You laugh, a crystal clear laugh that makes Jungkook very aware of how Taehyung is looking at him. He catches his older friend’s gaze, furrowing his brow.

Taehyung glances down at Jungkook’s attire – a pair of pants. He looks like he wants to say something, and Jungkook knows what.

He’s not going to wear shorts. Not when it’d put his scar on display to the whole crew. He hasn’t gotten the courage to tell everyone yet, and he doesn’t want to be forced to explain anything. He just wants to focus on being in the present, because he hasn’t done that in a while.

So he glares at Taehyung, clenching his jaw. Taehyung sighs before looking away. Just like that the moment passes, and Jungkook settles in his kayak before quickly following you.

“Is it a race or something?” he asks as he moves closer.

You look at him over your shoulder, a bright smile on your lips that turns mischievous as soon as your gaze finds his. “It is and you’re losing.”

Now, bringing out his competitive side is a bad idea, but that’s who you are, isn’t it?

Jungkook pushes the paddle in the water harder, accelerating his rhythm. It makes you screech, and you quickly do the same. Your lean arms are nothing against his though, and he’s caught up to you in no time. Unable to resist, he splashes water on you.

“Jungkook!” you scream. “I’m trying not to wet my hair!”

“Oh are you?” He does it again, this time purposefully aiming for your head. You dodge but to no avail.

“I’ll murder you,” you threaten, and you send water flying his way.

He barely gets any on himself, and he cocks an eyebrow arrogantly. “Is that the best you can do?”

It pisses you off. He sees it in the way resolve fills your face, and he’s not surprised he’s thoroughly drenched by the time you finally stop. He’s just accepted defeat and let you splash him as he laughs. You laugh too, and he reckons it’s his favourite thing about you.

The way you laugh when you’re being a brat. It’s endearing.

He’s endeared by you. That’s what the feeling is. He’s been trying to put words on it since last night. Last night it was struck. He was struck as you spoke to him with that soft edge to you. And then it turned to endearment.

He reckons he missed you, while he was hiding from all of the crew because of his accident. He really did. Something about you was missing from his life.

He pushes the thoughts away as you stop splashing him.

“Oops,” you say when he meets your gaze.

His hair is wet, and he puts the paddle down to push it back. He doesn’t miss the way your eyes follow his motion, and the furrow of your brows before you frustratingly look away.

“I’m debating making you fall in the water,” he teases, pursing his lips before playing with his piercing.

Your gaze widens. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He moves his paddle in the water to get closer to you, and you quickly move away.

“I would definitely dare,” he tells you. “I’m all wet because of you.”

His brows knit together as he realizes what he just said sounded suspicious. Of course you burst out laughing, before saying, “That’s what she said”.

He rolls his head to the back of his head. “Lame.”

“You’re lame,” you counter-back.

It’s like that for the rest of the time you spend on the water. Even though he threatened to throw you in the water many times today, Jungkook doesn’t really want to do it. He likes the peace between the two of you: he’s not going to do something to fuck it up.        

You eventually get bored of kayaking, and you switch places with Chaeyeon and Bridget when the two of you return to the quay. Jo and Taehyung have gone back to the house, but Lance, Heather, Jin and Valeria are there, and you sit with them for a while, just talking.

Mindlessly, Jungkook pulls his shirt up to dry his face from the last of the water you splashed on him before getting out of the water.

He realizes his mistake only when the shirt falls back in place, and Lance is watching him with round eyes.

“What’s that scar?”

Jungkook stills. Unmoving, barely even able to breathe. The air is suddenly less warm, and he can almost see the snow again. His heart constricts in his chest, and he just stares back at Lance as if he’s a doe caught in headlights.

“You don’t just ask people why they have scars, Lance,” you grumble.

It surprises Jungkook that you said something. But then again you’re not the type to back down from a fight.

Lance seems startled by the tone of your voice. He frowns as his gaze slides to you. “It was just a question?”

“It could make people uncomfortable?”

Jin is looking at Jungkook. He’s got a careful expression on his features, and he looks between you and Jungkook a couple of times. As if this moment matters, and truthfully it does matter to Jungkook, because you’re bickering with Lance and it entirely shifted the attention away from him.

Jungkook manages to shrug his shoulders at Jin, who offers him a no-bullshit look. Valeria punches him in the arm, and Jin lets out a startled sound that has everyone looking at him.

The moment passes, and it’s dinner time when Lance moves closer to Jungkook, clearly having waited until you aren’t around to actually approach him. Jungkook steels himself for the questioning, but Lance only says, “Whatever happened, I’m glad you’re okay, bro”.

It renders Jungkook speechless, and all he can do is nod his head at Lance. Lance claps him on the shoulder, and he immediately walks away, as if his job here is done.

And maybe it is, and all he wanted to do was prove that he’s Jungkook’s friend. It makes Jungkook appreciate him ten times more, and then he takes a moment to really look at everyone. The girls are all laughing about a story Jin is telling, and Taehyung is just shaking his head in disbelief where he’s grilling the meat for dinner. Lance moves towards Taehyung to offer help, and Jungkook just stays alone for a moment, enjoying the scene.

The sun is setting, the air is warm and the light breeze from today has fallen. But the air is not still, and it smells of the rich soil of the forest, and of the meat Taehyung is grilling. The sky is still void of any clouds, and it’s turned to a rich golden glow from the setting sun.

Jungkook is stricken, once again, by the fact that he is alive. He’s alive and breathing and even though his leg hurts, he’s standing. He’s standing and walking and yes he can’t dance anymore, but there’s so much more to life than dance, isn’t there?

His eyes slide to you as he thinks the thought. You’re looking at Jin with a little smirk, the one he knows you use when you’re judging someone. But you feel his eyes on you and your gaze meets his. The smirk falls into a small, secretive smile, and Jungkook breathes in sharply.

His heart is beating a little louder, and this time he does push it away. He does try not to think of it, but it’s hard when you look at him like that. With that soft edge he saw yesterday. It fills him with wonder, the same wonder he got from watching the night sky the day before.

You’re like a star in a bleary night. It’s hard to look away from you, and he only does so when Taehyung says the meat is ready. It’s like someone cut the string between you and him, and he almost stumbles forward as he glances to Taehyung.

He gulps, taking a deep, steadying breath before he moves to help Taehyung bring the food to the table. Lance helps too, and the three of them together make quick work of filling everyone’s plate, and Jungkook soon settles down in a chair next to you, right in front of Jo.

Dinner is fun. Cheery, with lots of laughter. Everyone is already a little tipsy from the day-drinking you’ve all done, and Jungkook feels like there’s more than alcohol in his blood this evening. There are feelings, joy and happiness to be here in this moment.

He should live in the moment more often.

“Hey JK,” Jo says, and he raises his eyes from his plate.

His fork is halfway to his mouth when he lets out, “Uh?”

“How is it going with Laura?”

Everything inside of him stills, like it did earlier today with Lance but for a completely different reason this time. He freezes, and he doesn’t miss the way your head immediately snaps towards him at Jo’s question.

Jo has an insufferable smile on her lips, and Jungkook just can’t move.

Laura. She’s a girl from his class that started texting him a few weeks ago. He’s seen her once, just because she said she had questions about her camera and it would be easier if Jungkook answered in person. Laura is a sweet girl. Pretty too, but Jungkook doesn’t know if their talking will lead anywhere. He doesn’t feel like he’s ready to jump headfirst into a relationship.      

Especially not as he feels your expectant gaze on his profile.

“Laura?” he repeats.

“Didn’t you go on a date with her?” Jo asks.

Jungkook frowns, shaking his head. “It wasn’t a date,” he points out. “She needed help with her new camera.”

About that. Jungkook brought a camera with him this weekend. He’s been taking pictures once in a while, mostly of nature. Because he’s always been more of a landscape photographer. Maybe because landscapes tend to change less than people. They feel unbreakable, immovable, and it’s reassuring in some way.

“That sounds like the lamest start of a porno,” Lance jokes.

Everyone laughs. Everyone but you and Jungkook. Jungkook only shrugs, before saying, “I didn’t sleep with her”.

You scoff next to him. It aggravates him, something you haven’t made him feel in a while now. His brows knit together as he turns his head toward you.

“You want us to believe you didn’t sleep with her?” you let out.

It’s bitter. And you seem to realize it quite at the same time as he does, because you flush red, and you look away from him to glance down at your half-empty plate on the table.

Jungkook’s features relax, and a smile even tugs at the corners of his lips. He knows what Jo is doing. Especially as he sees the knowing smirk on her lips.

She dared him to find a way to make you jealous earlier this week, when he invited her and Taehyung to the cottage. As if making you jealous is a good idea.

He now sees what she meant. Because you’re playing with your food, a look of confusion creased into your features. It’s cute, and it makes the same feeling arise in him.

Everyone starts talking again, but Jungkook feels the weight of Taehyung and Jin’s gazes on him. He avoids them like the plague, focusing on trying to keep his smile in. He doesn’t want to infuriate you by making a comment.

Especially not when you’ve been forced to team up for the beer pong tournament. Which, turns out you’re a lot better than he thought you would be. Than you said you were, because you make it to the final round, getting beaten by Bridget and Heather out of all people. The two girls celebrate to the sounds of everyone whooping and cheering, and Jungkook can’t keep his smile in.

Tonight promises to be quite the party. And it is. With lots of drinking, and Chaeyeon and Lance having to jump into the lake because they were last in the tournament. It’s funny, but it leads to them deciding to go to bed early, saying something about being cold from the lake.

Jungkook knows exactly what they have in mind when he sees them staring at each other the way that they are. Like they’re alone in the universe, and maybe to them they really are.

He’s surprised when the rest of the group starts to follow Chaeyeon and Lance. The night is younger than it was yesterday when it came to an end, but there’s something in the air. It brings the couples closer together, makes them exchange secretive glances and stolen touches. Jungkook finds Taehyung and Jo making out outside of the bathroom when he goes in to pee, and they never come out after that. Jin and Valeria move in not even five minutes later, right before Hobi and Jiho, and it leaves Bridget, Heather and you alone with him outside.

He’s not surprised when the two girls decide to go to sleep too, even though Jungkook has just started the hot tub at Bridget’s request. It leaves him alone with you and the red solo cup in his hand. It’s filled to the brim and, quite frankly, Jungkook doesn’t feel tired at all. He feels alive, awake and ready to conquer the world if need be.

You look exactly like that too.

“Wow,” you let out once everyone is gone.

Jungkook feels awkward for half a heartbeat. But then his eyes slide to the house, and he notices Jo in the window. She quickly dips out of his line of sight, which makes him understand exactly what happened.

You’ve been left alone outside on purpose, and Jo’s the one that schemed the whole thing.

“They’re boring,” Jungkook says, though he feels like laughing. He hopes you don’t notice.

“They didn’t even go into the hot tub,” you point out. “What a waste of energy.”

He glances at the tub, and an idea forms in the back of his mind. He doubts you’re going to say yes.

*****

                You don’t know why you said yes. Going into a hot tub alone with Jungkook sounds like a very bad idea, and the more you think about it the worse it seems to you. Yet you make your way outside after having put on your black two-piece swimsuit, wrapped in a white towel you fished from the bathroom.

The house was eerily quiet when you and Jungkook went in to change. It is still just as quiet as you get out of the bathroom, and aim for the kitchen to make yourself a glass before you go outside. You notice Jungkook is already out there, testing the temperature of the water. He’s wearing trunks, and he got rid of his t-shirt, discarding it on a chair next to the slowly dying fire. He turns towards the window as you’re pouring a glass, probably to see if you’re coming. It’s not your fault when your eyes dip down to his leg.

Even in the darkness you see the angry knot of skin that runs from below his knee and disappears in his swim trunks. It’s ugly, and your heart stops beating for a few seconds as you see it. Jungkook was right when he told you about his accident the first time – the scar on his leg is far scarier than the one on his stomach.

You wave back at him as he waves, a dumb smile on his lips. You focus on that smile, because you don’t want to be thinking of the scar. Don’t want to be thinking about the pain Jungkook must have endured. The pain he is still enduring to this day.

You’re hesitant when you step outside, though you make sure to bring a glass for him too. He’s still smiling when you arrive, and it only widens when you hand him the red solo cup.

“Thought you might want a refill.”

He tilts his head to the side, winking at you as he grabs the glass. “Always.”

You move towards the tub, ignoring the way you feel his gaze on you. It makes you self-conscious, and you don’t want to peel the towel from around yourself. You reckon you can’t get in the water with it though, so you carefully put your glass down on the side of the tub before taking the towel off, leaving it on the same chair where Jungkook’s shirt is.

“It might be a little hot,” Jungkook warns as you move back to the tub. “I adjusted the temperature a little while I was waiting for you.”

You dip your fingers in the water, shrugging your shoulders. “Seems good enough to me.”

He laughs, and his eyes follow you as you climb into the tub. The water is hot, extremely so, but you’re drunk and the jet of the tub looks far too inviting for you to wait.

“Alright then, guess I’ll get in too.”

You watch as he does so, and your eyes once again fall to his scar. It stretches weirdly as he bends his leg, as if it doesn’t really allow him full movements anymore. It explains why his dancing has turned mechanical now, and why he can’t move the way that he did before.           

He’s noticed your gaze on the scar while getting in. You know it, because his features have fallen serious by the time he sits in front of you.

“I know, it’s ugly,” he says, and his eyes get lost in the bubbles in the water.

You remain silent for a time, waiting for his gaze to meet yours. When it does, you finally say, “Nothing about you is ugly”.

It’s smooth, the way you say it. It makes his eyes widen and a laugh bursts from his lips. You don’t even know why you flirted with him – you just had an inkling it’d make him fall back into his usual cocky self.

And of course it does.

“You think I’m hot?”

You roll your eyes, before grabbing your red solo cup from where you left it. Jungkook grabs his own, and it takes a few seconds before you’re settled back into your seat. You take a small sip from the glass, letting the rum and coke swirl in your mouth for a second before you swallow.

“I’m not going to answer that question.”

He smirks. “Then I’ve got my answer.”

You squint your eyes, fake glaring at him, and it only makes him laugh.

“You’re insufferable.”

He shrugs his shoulders, and he takes a sip from his glass. He winces then, before raising his eyebrows. “How strong did you make this?”

“Strong enough to have you shut up?”

“Oh please.” He laughs once more. “You know that won’t make me shut up. As a matter of fact, it’s probably just going to make me talk more.”

You chuckle, shaking your head a little. “My mistake.”

Jungkook really is hot, sitting there. His hair is fluffy around his face – it really is a lot longer than it was before. It curls a little at the ends, making a crown around his head. He’s buff too, and it makes you wonder how he manages to work out at the gym even with his injury. And it’s hard not to let your gaze wander to the tattoos on his shoulders, the ink that goes from his hand up to the top of his arm.

He’s attractive, damn him. You hate it, so you say, “So, Laura uh?”

He holds your gaze, his tongue darting out to play with his piercing for a time. “What about her?”

You cock an eyebrow. “You tell me.”

He’s smirking now, and his eyes dip to where your chest disappears in the water before moving up to your features again. “Why do you want to know?”

You feel hot. Not because of the water, though you reckon it really is hot. No, his gaze is burning you, in a way that makes you feel naked. You don’t know if you like it. But two can play this game Jungkook seems to have chosen.

You shrug your shoulders, wetting your lips before smiling. “Just making conversation, Jeon.”

His gaze has moved to your lips. It stays there as he says, “Seems to me like you got a little jealous earlier”.

You refuse to admit that it was jealousy, when Jo mentioned Laura at dinner time. To you, it was just surprise, and you’ve been repeating it to yourself ever since it happened.

“Why would I be jealous?” you ask, brows knitting together as a smile plays on your lips. “You’re nothing to me.”

“Right.” He chuckles, and he drinks from his cup, his gaze burning into yours. “I’m nothing and yet you’re in this hot tub alone with me.”

He’s arrogantly cocky, isn't he? It used to piss you off, but tonight it just makes your blood boil.

“Wasn’t going to waste the opportunity for a hot tub session,” you say, shrugging your shoulders. “Unfortunate that it had to come with you though.”

He fakes offence. “You offend me.”

You snort, and his features relax into a small smile. There’s a moment of silence, where you find yourself too much of a coward to keep holding his gaze. It’s your turn to let your gaze wander down to the spot where his chest disappears in the water, and you drink from your cup.

“Do you want to play Truth or Dare?” he suggests after almost a minute without any of you speaking.

You chuckle. “Are we twelve?”

He shrugs. “Just thought it could be fun.” He pouts a little, and it really does make him look like he’s twelve. “Unless you’re too much of a coward for it.”

“Me, a coward?” you scoff, rolling your eyes playfully. “Truth or Dare, Jeon?”

The cocky smirk reappears. “Truth.”

You don’t know what to ask. At all. Your mind goes empty, until he lets out a laugh that gives you an idea. “What’s the deal with Laura?”

“You really want to know, uh?”

You shrug. “You chose truth, now answer the question.”

He laughs a little, and then plays with his piercing for a few seconds. You watch him do so, eyes falling to his lips.

“We hung out once”, he says.

It’s the same answer as earlier, but you feel like a brat right now. So, you press him by saying, “And that’s it? You’re not going to see her again?”

He ponders for a time, making you wait before he replies, “We’re supposed to go on a date sometime next week”.

You feel like maybe you shouldn’t have asked the question. Because his reply makes you clench your jaw, and you take a sip from your cup to hide it. “Jeon Jungkook on a date? Are you having a fever?”

“She’s nice, just thought I’d give it a try,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. He’s still smirking, and this time it’s knowing.

He knows that the thought of him going on a date with Laura is pissing you off. And you don’t even know why it makes you feel like that. You’re not sure you should be feeling like that when it comes to Jeon Jungkook. He’s barely even a friend.

“Hope it goes well for you,” you say, though it sounds tense.

He shrugs, winking at you. “I’ll let you know.” He pauses for a moment, before asking, “Truth or Dare?”

So the conversation about Laura is over then. And he’s a fool if he thinks you’ll say truth.

“Dare.”

He looks far too happy about your choice. “Chug your glass.”

You frown. “But then I won’t have anything to drink if I don’t want to do some of your dares.”

“Oh, we’re playing adult Truth or Dare? Had I known I wouldn’t have answered your question.” You glare at him, and he laughs, shrugging his shoulders. “Just drink, you can always drink from my glass later.”

Your glare intensifies, if that’s possible, but you still give in. You’re not one to back away from a challenge, and you chug your glass in a few long swigs. Your nose scrunches up as you finish, and you put the cup down.

“Happy?” you let out, and he nods with that same insufferable smirk on his lips. You want to wipe it away, but you don’t really know how. Instead, you only ask him, “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare.”

You hate dares. You never know what to suggest. You don’t feel like making him chug his glass, so you cock your head to the side as you survey him, mind reeling for an idea.

“Go get me another glass.”

He’s surprised. So are you, but you think it’s a brilliant idea.

“It’s so far,” he complains, with that same childish pout he used a moment ago. “Can I change for Truth?”

“You’re annoying”, you say, though you don’t really mind.

Something in the way he’s been looking at you makes you want him to stay anyway.

“You’re the one that wants me to go all the way inside.”

You chuckle, before shaking your head. “Alright then, let me find you a truth.” It takes you about half a minute before you come up with an idea. “How many girls have you slept with?”

He snorts. “Wow, straight to the body count I see.” He falls silent again, and his hand plays with the bubbles in the water in front of him.

“So?”

You think he’s blushing. It’s hard to tell in the dim light – indeed, the only light illuminating the scene is the one from next to the door, and the tub’s purple light.

“I’d say…” he trails off, scrunching his nose as he thinks. “Like twenty-five?”

It’s a lot, but not as much as you expected. Jungkook has a fuckboy vibe to him, and you were pretty sure he had at least fifty.

“Only?”

He furrows his brows. “Only?”

“I thought you had more,” you admit, chuckling as you shrug your shoulders.

He sips from his cup. “Sorry to disappoint.” His eyes glint with mischief, and he adds, “Truth or Dare?”

You hesitate, maybe because something in the way his eyes sparkle makes you think he’s got something in mind. You feel it – anticipation is building in you, and some parts of you can already see the outcome before it unfolds. Like a web of possibilities, and the longer he looks at you like that, the more it closes in to the anticipated one.

“Truth.”

He’s silent for a time. His face falls more serious, darker, and he’s so hot sitting there you really have to look away. “If everyone was single here, who would you fuck?”

You refuse to admit his question makes a drop of pure magma roll down your spine, before it moves forward and settles in your core.

“Jiho.” It’s a lie. You both know it, but he lets it slide – for now. “Truth or Dare?”

“Truth.”

You hit him with the same question he’s just asked you. His reply is far more cryptic.

“You already know the answer.”

You breathe in shakily, and something tightens inside of you. “Do I?”

His mouth is a little parted, and his tongue darts out to wet his lips before he takes a sip from the cup. He seems to reconsider it, because he chugs the whole thing before putting it down on the side of the tub.

“Do you?”

It confirms the answer. And you don’t know what to make of it. It scares you, somehow, but makes the fire in your burn brighter.

“Truth or dare?” he asks then, and a smirk tugs at the corners of his lips.

“Dare.”

You don’t even hesitate. You’re afraid he’s going to ask you stuff you don’t know the answer to if you choose truth.

“Why don’t you come sit closer, mmh?”

Still no hesitation from you. You’re like the moth and he the flame – you know it’s a bad idea, but you haven’t looked away from his eyes in too long. You’re in a trance, and you think so is he.

You settle next to him. Far enough not to touch, but close enough for every inch between you to fill with electricity. Not that it wasn’t already before – you are just way more conscious of it now.

“Truth or dare?” you ask, and it’s a little breathless, the way you speak.

“Dare,” he says. His eyes are on your lips now, and all you can do for a time is to observe his features. He’s got a mole under his mouth, and a scar on one of his cheeks. It looks old, and it’s so faded you can barely see it.

You have no dare in mind. You feel like you don’t even have any thoughts. You’re stuck looking at his lips, where your gaze settles as you watch his features. “Uh?” you let out.

He chuckles. It’s deep, manly, and it makes you look up to his eyes. “No idea what to ask?”

“You already chugged your glass.”

“There’s nothing else you want me to do?”

There’s a whole lot you want him to do, but a whole lot you don’t want him to do. It’s confusing, and your heart is beating too loud for you to think straight.

“Is there something you want to do?” you ask.

He’s bold. His hand moves up, his fingers lightly touching the side of your neck. “I could kiss your neck.” They trail down until they find a home on your shoulders. “Or I could massage your shoulders, you seem a little tense.”

You are. You are because there is a war of conflicting emotions in you, and you don’t know which side will win. “Massage my shoulders then.”

He laughs, before making you turn. It’s easier to breathe once he’s not in your line of sight anymore, though the moment his hands start working on your shoulders, you tense up again. “Relax,” he murmurs, adding your name at the end.

“You’re making me anxious,” you admit breathlessly.

He stays silent as he works on your shoulders, for so long you think he won’t talk. But then he says, “Why?”

“I don’t know.”

His hands are big, and his fingers are skilled. In a matter of a few minutes he’s undid every knot in your shoulders, and you find yourself able to breathe. You still don’t want to risk looking at him though.

“Truth or dare?” he asks.

Maybe you can be bold too. Maybe you can just focus on every spot where his fingers are digging in your skin. Maybe it doesn’t have to mean anything.

“Dare.”

“Give me a hickey.”

You snort, mostly because it takes you by surprise. “What?”

His hands fall from your shoulders. “You heard me well.”              

“Aren’t hickeys bad for you?” you say, though you’ve never really cared about that. You care about it even less when you hear him move in the water.

“I think everything about you is bad for my sanity right now.” He whispers the words directly into your ear, and goosebumps form on your arms.

“Please don’t think this is going to lead anywhere,” you whisper back, right as you tilt your head to the side. You feel the ghost of his lips on your skin, but he straightens before he’s really done anything.

“Then why are you afraid of giving me a hickey?”

It is a challenge, and you don’t back down from challenges. So you turn around, say fuck it, and lean towards his neck until your mouth finds the spot where it connects with his shoulder. You suck, hard, and he hisses as one of his hands moves to your back, as if he wants to pull you closer.

You run your tongue on the spot you’ve sucked, before straightening. He’s got a deep purple mark there now, and you smirk in satisfaction. “Happy now?”

His chest is moving up and down quickly as he breathes. He’s out of breath, and the insufferable smirk is gone now. He seems a little angry, with a crease between his brows. “Yeah.”

You’re about to succumb to insanity. It’s taking a hold of you, choking you up until you say, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” he answers.

He seems just as conflicted as you. But the web of possibilities from earlier dwindled down until there’s only one left, and both of you know it.

“Do you want to fuck me?”

Your heart beats once, and then it stops in your chest. Because you meet him halfway, crashing your mouth on his so hard you think you taste blood. You don’t care: insane people do not care about anything. All you want is to feel his lips against yours, and damn him he’s a good kisser.

It’s intense, languid, and his hands don’t take their time before he’s pulling you on his lap. You straddle him, your own hands finding purchase on his shoulders, before moving up until you’ve cupped his face. And you hold him in place as you kiss, never once breaking away for air.

You don’t need oxygen when you’re kissing Jeon Jungkook. All you need are his lips, and he gives you plenty of that. And when his tongue finds yours, you moan in his mouth.

He swallows it like a man starved.

His hands are on your back. Respectfully so, even as he’s devouring your mouth. It frustrates you, because you want more. You want to feel all of him. It makes you grab a handful of his hair, and you pull his head back.

“Fuck,” he hisses.

“I’m not going to fuck you in a hot tub.”

It’s the only intelligent thing you could think of.

“We can –“

Your lips are back on his before he finishes his sentence, and you suck on his bottom lip, tongue darting out to play with his piercing. This time, he grunts in your mouth, and his hands lose their fight against his will not to touch you more. They move down until he’s cupped your ass, and he makes you grind on him.

You moan, and he breaks away from the kiss, just so he can bend down and leave a trail of hot, wet kisses on the column of your throat. You just let your hands loose in his hair and on his shoulders, nails digging in his skin when he decides to suck a hickey on you too.

You grind again then, and you feel the bulge of him press against you.

“We can’t fuck in the tub,” you say, and your voice is unrecognizable even to yourself. It’s lustful, sinfully so, and you’d be embarrassed if he didn’t meet your gaze with his half-lidded eyes.

“We can go in the shower.”

You’ve never been a fan of shower sex, so you say, “As much as that would probably be a good idea, I won’t fuck you in a shower either.”

He’s confused. You can tell by the way he tilts his head to the side. “Where do you want me to fuck you then? In the middle of the living room?”

It makes you chuckle, and an unexpected smile appears on his lips.

“I don’t think we should fuck.”

His grip on your ass tightens as his features turn dark, and he makes you grind on him again. Your eyes roll to the back of your head, embarrassingly so, as you let out a breathy moan. “Right,” he says.

“Fuck,” you curse.

He leans forward again, and this time his lips find a spot right over the top of your bikini. He sucks on your skin, and you moan as you grind again.

It’s uncomfortable. Not his lips on you, no, but the water of the tub mixed with the fabric of your swimwear. If you didn’t know how unsanitary it is, you would let him fuck you right then and there. But you don’t want to get an infection.

“Let’s go inside.” This time, one of his hands moves from your ass, trailing up your side until he’s grabbed one of your boobs. “Please.”

“Anything for you,” he mumbles against your breast, before straightening.

You kiss him again, just for good measure, and then you push away from him, reluctantly so. You feel his heavy gaze on you as you get out of the tub, and you’ve wrapped yourself in your towel by the time he’s followed you.

You forgot how tall he is. Because as he steps closer to you, towering above you, your mind goes blank again and you just let him crash his lips against yours. He’s holding your face, and his thumbs brush your skin gently before he pulls away. He stays close enough for you to feel his warm breath on you, but far enough so that you can’t reach his lips anymore.

“I need to take a shower,” you murmur.

He nods, and you feel it more than you see it. “Me too.”

“Yeah.”

He chuckles lightly, and he straightens to look up at the sky. His hands are still delicately holding your cheeks, and you watch his sharp jawline for a few seconds before he speaks.

“The stars are beautiful.”

You’re not looking at the night sky when you reply, “Yeah”.

He lets you go, then, but his hand falls until he’s grabbed one of yours. His large hand wraps around yours, and you let him do it, heart settling to a calmer beat in your chest.

“Do you want to dance?” he asks.

You stiffen. It feels strange to have him ask that. You almost forgot that he is a dancer too, in his soul, even though his physical body doesn’t permit him to let loose anymore.

“You want to dance?”

He has a soft smile on his lips when he meets your gaze. It’s miles away from the intensity it held just a moment ago, and you can’t help but offer him a smile of your own.

“Yes.”

You don’t want to refuse. Not when it feels like this moment matters. As if you’re about to create a core memory, and maybe you are.

Maybe you are.

The night sky is filled with stars. Distant burning constellations, and they wink at the two of you as Jungkook leads you through a slow dance. His steps are sure tonight, albeit a little mechanical, and his hand on the small of your back feels like a weight anchoring you into the present.

Up above, the stars just shine on and on, endlessly, for eternity. And you feel like eternity. You feel small and big, unimportant yet cataclysmic. He is cataclysmic. He is the start and the end, like the story is weaved into the tapestry of the universe itself.

And maybe it is.

“Thank you,” he murmurs after you’ve moved in time with him for a little eternity – your little eternity.

His voice is heavy. It holds the weight of the universe, and you reach up to cup his cheek, to anchor him in this moment with you.

“I’m happy to be here with you.”

His eyes are shining. Like the stars above, and the ones you’re starting to see behind his pupils. He hasn’t looked away from you since you started dancing, and you from him. You don’t think you can.

“I forgot how it felt to dance,” he admits.

Though he has danced since the accident. You’ve seen him dance, but maybe his heart wasn’t into it. Maybe his heart is in the moment now, maybe it’s beating in sync with all of your steps.

“How does it feel?” you ask, smiling up at him.

“Liberating. Like I’m just one of the stars in the sky up above.”

You don’t know what that feels like. It makes you realize you’ve never truly felt free. Jeon Jungkook looks at peace now, and you can just hope you’ll get to feel like that one day too.

A cool breeze rises around you, and you shiver as it moves on your skin. Jungkook notices, and he dips his head to kiss you again. Softly, gently, and when he pulls away he says, “Let’s go inside, you’re cold”.

You nod your head, even though you never want the moment to end. But nothing lasts in life – not even the stars above. One day they’ll die too, until all that’s left of them is an empty husk of life.

To you, that’s what love has always been like. It hits and leaves nothing of it behind. Maybe that’s why you step away from Jungkook.

“Yes.”

*****

                The shower you take is short. Scalding hot, until your skin has turned bright red. Only then are you satisfied, and you step out to dry yourself with a towel. You’re gentle with the towel, and you can still feel Jungkook’s hands on you. Can still feel the weight of his eyes on you.

If you could, you’d leave the cottage now. You’d run while you still can, but you can’t.

You can’t, so you step out of the bathroom and make your way to the living room where you both slept the night before. Where he snored softly until the noises he made were entwined with your dreams.

He’s already sitting on his couch when you arrive. His hair is wet from the shower he took in the downstairs bathroom, right next to the room where Chaeyeon and Lance are sleeping. He’s wearing black joggers and an oversized dark grey t-shirt, and he looks inherently comfortable. As if he’s comfort personified. He pushes his hair back as you come into view, offering you another one of his soft smiles.

You didn’t know Jungkook has softness in him. You feel it now: it’s in the way he looks at you, in the curve of his lips and the openness of his gaze.

“I have an idea,” he says, a little cryptically, and his smile turns mischievous. Childish, playful, and you chuckle.

“What is it?”

“I noticed your couch is tiny,” he says, motioning to said couch. “I thought…” He flushes red, before chuckling.

A blushing Jungkook is not a thing you imagined you would ever see someday.

“You thought?” you press on.

“I thought we could put all the cushions on the ground to make like a bed?”

It feels like you shouldn’t. Like you’re not supposed to be sleeping in the same bed as Jeon Jungkook. Especially not after what just happened outside – both the tub and the dance.

“Sure,” you agree nonetheless. “As long as you don’t steal all the blankets.”

He grins. “I would never.”

It’s cute, and it makes you gaze away.

Jungkook makes quick work of creating a bed for the two of you. You help him to move a coffee table away, and soon enough all the couch cushions form a mattress on the ground. You place the pillows you used last night on one end of it, and you’re sitting down just to test the makeshift bed when Jungkook throws the blankets on top of you.

“Jungkook!” you yelp, though you try to keep it to a minimum level so you won’t wake anyone.

He just laughs, and a few seconds later the room falls into darkness. While you’re disentangling yourself from the blankets, you hear a thump, and Jungkook lets out a series of curses that makes you burst out laughing, probably way too loud.

You don’t care.

“Fuck,” he finishes, and you can barely distinguish his silhouette when you’re free of the blankets.

“What happened?”

“I stubbed my toe,” he hisses through his teeth. “Fuck.”

You just laugh again, before moving until you’re on the side you chose for sleeping. “Just come here.”

“I was trying to,” he grumbles, and it sounds like he is pouting.

You’re starting to know him well enough that you know he is pouting.

Once you’re settled on your side of the bed, lying on your back staring up at the ceiling, Jungkook finally moves towards you. He lies on his side of the cushions, pulling a blanket over him. You both have your own blankets, so sleeping right next to each other doesn’t feel too indecent.

It takes your brain only three seconds before it produces an image of the hot tub, and you’re pretty sure the same thing just happened to Jungkook, because he chuckles lowly.

“What?” you ask.

“Nothing.”

You frown in the darkness. “Doesn’t sound like nothing.”

“Mmh.”

 You turn until you’re facing him. His silhouette is dark against the lighter background behind him, but you can barely make out his form next to you. You see it when he moves though, as he turns to face you too.

“What are you humming about?”

He chuckles. “Do you like cuddling?”

“You’re not going to get me to cuddle you,” you immediately reply, and you sound just as flustered as you feel.

“You grind on me in the hot tub and then you don’t even want to cuddle me? Outrageous.”

You scoff, and if you weren’t in the dark he’d see your cheeks turning scarlet. “We both know where cuddling would lead.”

His voice is husky when he speaks. “You think you can’t resist me?”

It makes the ‘never back down from a challenge’ part of you tickle until you find yourself replying, “I’ll be the big spoon”.

He snorts, but he turns until he’s facing away from you. You hesitate for a time, but you eventually move closer to him, until you’ve wrapped an arm around his stomach. You rest your forehead against his back, and you hope he can’t hear the loud beats of your heart.

His body is warm. Comfortably so, and you know you could drift to sleep easily just lying next to him like this.

Why then are you unable to fully close your eyes? Why then do you decide to move closer, until his ass is pressed against you? It makes you gulp, and some wild and foolish part of you wishes you could be under his skin.

You don’t think you could ever be close enough to him to satiate the hunger that’s forming in your core.

Jungkook moves his arm, and a second later he’s wrapping his hand around yours. You let him do it, and you’re surprised when he brings your hand up to press a light kiss on your knuckles.

You wish you were still drunk. Because then you could blame your next words on the alcohol.

“Actually, can you be the big spoon?”

He sounds like he’s smirking when he says, “Yeah, of course”.

A few seconds later the positions are reversed, and Jungkook molds his body to yours, wrapping his tattooed arm around your frame, putting his other one under your head. It fits too well, like it was meant to be, and maybe this moment really was always meant to be.

Maybe you were bound to hate him until you found yourself cuddled up to him in the dead of night at a cottage on the countryside.

“Your hair smells good,” Jungkook says, and he shifts impossibly closer. You feel his lips on your head as he inhales, and the arm around your waist tightens as he pulls you flush against him.

“Thank you,” you answer, breathlessly. Because you are breathless in his arms, you are breathless feeling all of his firm body against all of yours.

Breathless enough so that you shift, and your ass moves against him.

“Uh,” Jungkook lets out. He laughs a little, and his tattooed hand moves up until he’s brushing his thumb on the side of your jaw. “You shouldn’t do that.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you want me to do?”

He thinks for a time. “What I want you to do and what you want seem to be two completely different things.”

It’s a little somber, the way he says it, and you bite your lip. Because he’s right, sort of. You’re not sure you want to have sex with him. But what started in the hot tub is bound to finish someday, is it not?

“You’re confusing me,” you admit. “You’ve been confusing me all weekend.”

His hand leaves your jaw, and he moves your hair out of the way as he leans. His lips press a tentative kiss on your neck, and your ass immediately shifts against him again.

“So have you,” he declares. “You’ve been confusing me for weeks.”

His revelation only makes you want him even more. And you’ve rarely wanted someone the way your body has been craving for Jungkook. Because that’s what it is: your body has been craving for him since the hot tub. And you’re about to succumb to your desires, aren’t you?

“Jungkook…”

He sucks on your skin, but not hard enough to leave a hickey. It still makes heat pool at your core, and you push your ass back against his dick once more.

“Fuck,” he curses. “We should go to sleep.”

Though this time he grinds against you, and you can feel the start of his erection on your ass.

“Right,” you agree.

And you move against him, earning a grunt from him. He murmurs your name, before saying, “I don’t have any condoms”.

All your nerves set on fire. “I don’t care.”

“We shouldn’t…” His sentence is cut short as you grind again, and he sinks his teeth in the soft skin of your neck. It hurts a little, and you know he’s going to leave another hickey on you as soon as he starts sucking.

Your hand shoots behind you, and you grab the back of his head, fingers getting lost in the strands of his hair. His own hand moves down until it settles on your hip, and he guides your movement against him.

He moves away from your neck, pressing a kiss on your shoulder this time. “We shouldn’t have sex,” he says, completing his previous sentence.

“I know.”

“We’re going to have sex,” he adds.

“I know.”

You circle your hips, and his erection is turning hard by the second. You’re soaking your panties, and you just want more of him. You want to get rid of all the fabric between you two and feel his skin directly against yours.

“Oh, Y/n…” he breathes, and then he’s back to kissing your neck.

No sucking this time, just his tongue drawing circles on your skin as you continue moving your ass against his dick.

“You’re already hard.”

“The hot tub got me real horny.”

It had the same effect on you, and you shiver as he bites at your ear. Gently, not to hurt, especially not as he presses a kiss under your ear next.

“Fuck,” you say.

His breathing is warm against the side of your face, and you decide to dive in. To say fuck it with what you should do and what you want to do. You only have one life to live anyway.

The moment your lips touch feels like a dam broke inside of you. Your tongue meets him halfway between your mouths, and he swallows the moan you let out as his fingers move under your shirt. You’re not wearing a bra, and the moan turns to a hiss as he pinches one of your nipples, rolling the sensitive bud between his thumb and index.

He pulls away from the kiss to say, “Can I take off your shorts?”

Because you’re wearing baby blue PJ shorts. Nothing really attractive, but it has no hindering effect on Jungkook’s desire for you, has it?

“Yes,” you answer and he’s back to kissing you in no time.

His fingers do quick work of the knot holding your shorts in place, and he immediately slides his hand in. He slides it under your panties too, and he starts rubbing circles on your clit right away.

You’re going to go insane. He’s worth going insane for.

You grind on his hand, and he moves lower so he can dip his middle finger and ring finger inside of you, up to the first knuckle, before pulling out and rubbing circles on your clit again. Your slick juice renders you oversensitive, and you buck your hips as he starts a hellish rhythm down there, with just the right pressure.              

It’s like he knows his way around your body already.

You try to reach between you, but the way his arm is positioned keeps you from being able to palm him. You whine and it makes him stop his ministrations on your clit.

“Is something wrong?”

“Take off your pants,” you tell him.

“Please?” he taunts you, as if he wants to let you know who’s in control here.

“Please,” you hiss through your teeth, because somehow it infuriates you.

“Good girl,” he praises with his low husky voice.

You’ve never been called a good girl before, and something in the way he says it makes you grind hard against him.

“You like that, uh?” he asks.

“Just take off the fucking pants, Jeon.”

He chuckles but obeys nonetheless. You take off your shorts at the same time, and think about it for half a second before you’re taking your panties off too.

Once you’re both naked from the waist down, you return to the previous cuddling position. Only this time his dick is resting against your ass, and from what you can tell, it really is big.

“Should I finger you to make sure you can take me?” he asks, but it’s rhetorical.

Indeed, he doesn’t wait for you to answer before he plunges two fingers inside of you, arching them to hit a spot inside of you that makes you see stars, shy constellations that add light to the darkness of the cottage. You find purchase on his forearm as he starts thrusting his fingers in and out of you, and he reaches deep inside of you. His palm hits your clit every time he pushes all the way in, and you’re starting to see a whole damn galaxy of stars in no time.

But you want to feel him, want to jerk him off while he’s making you feel good too. So you reach behind you, and this time you’re successful. You’re able to wrap your hand around his cock, and you moan at the feeling of the large girth.

“You’re so fucking wet.”

You moan, nodding your head. “It’s all for you.”

“Oh, I fucking know it is,” he says.

It’s cocky, but you’re too far gone to give him shit for it.

You start jerking him off, slowly because you can’t really move quicker in this position. He stills bucks his hips, fucking your hand, and he starts moving his fingers even faster, hitting your clit even harder.

“Fuck, please play with my clit,” you beg.

“Can’t say no when you ask so nicely,” he says, and he’s back to rubbing circles on your clit.

You clench around nothing as you jerk him off, before you decide to position his dick between your legs. You grind against him, or maybe he makes you grind. You don’t really know. All you can feel is the way his length moves against you. But he never aligns with your entrance, as if he just wants to tease you, and knowing him you’re pretty sure he does.

It stays like this for a while, with him just coating his dick with your slick juice as he keeps rubbing insistent circles on your clit. Your walls clench around nothing, and you whine as he just moves his hips back and forth.

“Fuck me, Jungkook,” you say.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks.

You just whine again.

“I want to hear you say it.”

He’s infinitely infuriating, isn’t he?

“Yes, I fucking want your dick inside of me.”

This time, when he pulls his hips away from you, he makes sure to align with your entrance before pushing forward. And he pushes forward hard, sheathing all of his dick inside of you. Or all of what fits inside of you, because you’re pretty sure he’s way too big to be able to entirely fit.

The moment he hits the back of your pussy you let out a moan. It’s loud, and you immediately put a hand on your mouth to muffle the next noises you’ll make. You think better of it after a few seconds, and you grab the blanket, rolling it in a messy bundle just so you can press it against your face.

“You feel so fucking tight,” he says, and then he grunts when your walls clench around him. “Just relax, baby.”

“I’m just so close,” you admit.

You don’t know when he stopped rubbing circles on your clit. Only know that he starts again now, and you feel the familiar knot of an orgasm starting to form deep in your core.

“Such a fucking good girl”, he praises. “You’re going to come all over my dick.”

You immediately hide your face in the blanket as you moan, unashamedly loud. And then he starts fucking into you, slow and hard, and you lose it. You lose it as the knot uncoils, snaps inside of you, turning every inch of your body into an oversensitive land of pleasure.

Jungkook fucks you through your high, steadily, never once faltering even as your walls pulse hard against him. His fingers keep on rubbing circles on your clit, and he kisses a spot on your neck that makes goosebumps erupt on all of you. It feels so good you could cry, but your high still just keeps on going. Even though you’re in the dark, your vision is white, blindly so.

You don’t know when your hand found its way to the side of his face, only that once you finally come down you have a handful of his hair in your grip.

“That didn’t take long,” Jungkook teases, whispering the words directly into your ear.

He’s not wrong. You don’t think you’ve ever come as hard and quick as you just did.

“Holy fuck,” you mutter.

He has stilled inside of you, and his lips are littering small kisses on your neck. So you feel his smirk against you, and it makes you move. Circling your hips, trying to give him something in return for the orgasm he’s gifted you.

“You’re going to let me come inside of you, mmh?” he asks as you keep on going, a little sloppily from the remnants of your orgasm.

“You think you can come for me?” You’re embarrassingly breathless, still panting because of your high. You take a deep breath as you prop yourself up on an elbow, just so it’s easier to fuck yourself on him.

Jungkooks hums. “I need a little more than that, baby.”

You bite your lips as his tattooed hand finds your breast under your shirt again. “What do you want me to do?”

“Ride me?” he suggests, right as he plants a soft peck on your shoulder.

You moan as he fucks into you hard, unexpectedly. “Anyone could see.”

He whines, but then his hand moves to your hip before he starts pounding into you again. You hide your face in the blanket again, trying to muffle your sounds. Jungkook is not faring a lot better than you, and his grunts send shivers all over you. He doesn’t talk again until he’s slowed down.

“They can already see us.”

He’s not wrong, and you hate it. But you doubt someone will get up at this hour of the night, closer to the morning than to yesterday. He pushes in once more, hard and rough.

“Fuck,” he curses, and he entirely stops moving.

He even pulls out, and you turn to look at him. Your eyes have adjusted to the dark a little now, and you can see his features enough to see him wincing in pain.

“Is something wrong?” you immediately ask.

“My leg hurts.”

His three words fall softly in the night, the way a feather falls. It shifts the atmosphere, making your heart ache in your chest.

“Oh, Jungkook…”

“Ride me,” he says, and it sounds begging.

As if he needs it to forget the pain. You don’t think you have it in you to refuse, so you straddle him. Before you sink on his dick, you lean down to press a kiss to his lips, hoping to chase the pain away. Your hands hold you up on his shoulders, and his move to your hips, before sliding down until he’s holding your ass in his large palms. He massages the muscles of your ass as you kiss, tongues meeting in a deep and languid dance.

When you’re out of breath, lungs burning for oxygen, you straighten and sit on his dick. You circle your hips, teasing him a little and also making sure that he’s still hard. He is, his dick a rod of steel, and you bite at your lower lip as you grab him with one hand to align him with your entrance. He’s looking through half-lidded eyes as you do so, and his eyes shut as you sink all the way down on him, until his dick reaches your cervix.

His mouth falls open and he moans softly. It’s a pretty sound, meant for your ears only, and it makes you feel powerful. You feel powerful as you move up and down, slowly, feeling every vein of his dick on your walls. You clench as you sink back down, and his hands on your ass tighten their hold for a few seconds before he moves to your hips to guide you.

He makes you go faster, and as if he can’t resist he’s soon fucking up into you.

You put a hand on his cheek, brushing his cheekbone with a thumb. His eyes flutter open and he stills, seeing the look on your face.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“I can do the work, don’t hurt your leg,” you tell him. You grab his hands from your hips to move them to your breasts under your shirt. And then you start moving, for real this time, quick and hard. You add a little bit of circling of your hips, just to make sure he stretches you wide.

And he does. Jungkook is huge, and you don’t wonder why he’s so cocky anymore. He’s got the kind of dick to be cocky about.

“Alright then,” Jungkook lets out between two soft moans.

You smirk, but it dies when one of his hands moves from your breast to your neck through the collar of your shirt. You grab his forearm, and your eyes flutter shut as he digs his fingers in your arteries, cutting the blood supply to your brain. It feels good, far more than it should, as all you can feel is his dick in you.

You let out a breathy sound, walls clenching on him again.

“That’s it, baby, you’re so good,” he praises, and he sounds different than he did before.

He’s more out of breath, as if he’s exhausted. And maybe he is, as he’s nearing his orgasm. It only encourages you more, and your nails dig in his forearm, hard enough to mark him.

“Fuck,” he curses, and he releases his hold on your neck. His hand doesn’t move, but it’s now just resting on your throat, and he’s not squeezing anymore.

“Fill me up, JK,” you say. “I want to feel you come inside of me.”

“Let me fuck you a little,” he replies. And he pulls you down by the neck, until he’s satisfied with the angle.

You want to say something about his leg but he’s already pounding into you, so hard your face falls in the crook of his neck as your hands get lost in his hair. Your lips meet his skin, and you suck hard, fully intending to leave a mark there. At this point you’re pretty convinced someone’s ought to know you’re fucking anyway, so why not show that he’s yours?

The thought sobers you up. But Jungkook is already coming, so you hold on strong sucking another spot on his neck as he groans and releases ropes and ropes of his cum inside of you. And he comes a lot, painting your insides white. You like it far more than you should.

Another thought to sober you up.

It takes Jungkook a little longer before he finally stops moving, and he lets out a content sigh as he wraps his arms around your waist to hold you close.

“We should have done this before,” he murmurs.

You try to sit up, but he keeps you from moving. “We shouldn’t have done this.” Even as you’re saying that you press another kiss to his neck. A soft one, just because he tastes too good, and you know the moment is about to come to an end.

“Uh?” he lets out.

His dick is still deep inside of you when you say, “We shouldn’t have fucked”.

He pushes you away now. Not hard, but it’s like your touch burns him and he needs to be away from you.

“Why?”

You sit next to him, and your cheeks burn as you feel his seed spill out of you, only to stain the blanket you previously used to muffle your moans.

“We’re barely even friends,” you point out.

He’s not watching you. His eyes are fixed on an empty spot on the cushionless couch next to which you’re laying. “Okay?”

“It’s just weird, no?”

You reckon you don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t know why you decided to say it right now either. It’s as if the words just need to get out.

“It’s just sex,” he says, and it sounds a little angry. “People have sex all the time.”

“But not us. You know, I don’t like you like that.”

A big fat lie if you’ve ever said one. You did like having sex with him. You’re just panicking, your fight or flight instinct having been suddenly triggered.

“Chill, Y/n,” he mutters, and he sighs heavily. “We just fucked. We can pretend nothing happened, if that’s what you want.”

You don’t know what you want. Some part of you wants to take the evening back, but at the same time not. You’re confusing to yourself, and your teeth dig in the tip of your tongue for a moment as you think.

“What would you want to say this is?” you ask after a little too long for the silence to be comfortable.

He finally looks at you. “Nothing, honestly. We just got horny and we’re the only single people here, it was bound to happen.”

Now, his words hurt a little, but you can see the truth behind them. “Right,” you say. “So, just friends?”

He holds your gaze. It’s too dark for you to be able to interpret anything on his features. “Sure.”

You feel bad. Remorseful. And you think about the hot tub, and the fucking too, but also about the dance outside. You reckon your fight or flight was triggered then, you’ve just been ignoring it ever since you came in.

Ever since you got out of the bathroom to see Jungkook and his softness. The softness is gone now, and he looks away from you before sitting up too. He searches around for his pants, and puts them on as you scan the scene for your own clothes.

“Can you…” you start, but he’s already throwing your shorts and panties at you.

He’s pissed. It’s evident now, clear as spring water, and you feel even worse. You didn’t want to upset him. There’s just too much history between you, too much individual history on your part too.

You’ve never been in a relationship. You’ve never been able to even imagine being in a relationship. And it usually leads to scenes like this: the men you sleep with getting upset with you. You don’t blame them, can’t blame them.

But it feels different with Jungkook. Worse, as if you don’t want the outcome to be him being upset with you. You just don’t know anything else, and so you put your clothes on. Even as he gets up to go clean up in the bathroom, muttering that he’ll be right back.

Even as he comes back and settles on the makeshift bed again, his back turned to you. The message is clear then: he doesn’t want to talk to you. You reckon you can always talk to him tomorrow. Can always let the night pass, and with it the fight or flight. It’s not like he’s going to be gone tomorrow, and you won’t be either.

You get up, sighing heavily as you go to the bathroom to clean up too.

 Jungkook is dead silent when you come back. If he was asleep, you know he would be snoring softly, as last night showed you. But no, he’s dead silent, as if he’s just ruminating in his corner.

It makes you feel too bad to remain silent.

“Jungkook,” you let out softly, his name barely over a whisper.

“Mmh?” he hums.

“I’m sorry if I upset you.”

He sighs, long and deep, before turning on his back. “Don’t worry about it.”

He’s stupid if he thinks telling you so will make it so you don’t worry. You’re always worrying anyway.

“Okay,” you still say. “It was great though, don’t take me wrong.”

He chuckles, and it’s bitter. “Listen, if you want us to pretend like it never happened, let’s start right now.”

He’s closed off. He was open earlier, a book for you to read. Maybe you’ve ripped the pages away, or maybe you’ve thrown the book off a cliff.

But it’s safer this way. It’s safer to keep Jungkook at an arm’s length. It’s where you keep everyone besides Jiho anyway.

“Okay, sorry,” you apologize. “Good night?”

He sighs once more. “Yeah, good night.” And then he turns away, and it hits you.

You won’t ever be the one to see Jungkook’s softness again.

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.............................. please don't hate me <3 how was this chapter? How was the smut? I hope it hit good haha! Let me know what you thought!

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[catiecat1320]

Very proud to announce that I am participating in the Sonic the Hedgehog Big Bang (@sthbigbang)!!

Thank you to my wonderful artists, @lofithetanuki, @therealsinnohdawn, and @sleepingcircus; as well as a thank you to my beta reader @thesummoners!! I <3 you all!!

[MasterPost]

Summary:

Shadow has never been the kind to think of himself as special. Aside from a talent for music, he’s just your typical guy. Nothing more, nothing less.

That is, until he meets Sonic. Until something about the unremarkable him catches the eye of the world famous solo dancer. Until he’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with a legend. 

There’s so much more to the star than he could have ever imagined. There’s so much more to himself that he never knew. And there’s so much more between them that blooms in the time they spend with each other, beautiful, foreign, and absolutely hectic.

Standing in the face of chaos, the only logical step is to find a rhythm to dance to.

Chapter 1 Below 🔽

“And… I think that’s all I have planned for today,” Shadow announced, idly stretching before gently lowering the piano lid. “10 minutes of an early end. Nice job, Cream, as always.”

His protege beamed, her wide grin proudly displaying the gap of a missing tooth. He chuckled as she tapped out a happy little jingle on the piano in celebration, the sound reverberating throughout the pastel room.

Mere moments later, a soft knock sounded, and Cream hurried to let her mom in. 

“Are you finished your lesson?” Vanilla asked, carefully closing the door behind her.

“Yeah!” The bunny exclaimed, “how’d you know?”

Her mother patted Cream’s head, though her attention seemed to be elsewhere. “Well, sweetheart, you always play that tune when you’re done.” She then turned to Shadow, bowing her head slightly as if she were apologetic. “May I have a word with you?”

He nodded, curiosity perking in his ears as he shifted his shirt collar. “Of course, Mrs. Vanilla.”

“Please, just Vanilla is fine,” she remarked, smiling at his formality. She seemed nervous, he noticed, tense. “I need a favor. I’ve already scheduled Cream’s next lesson, as you know, but yesterday she… Cream, why don’t you share the news? You’re practically bouncing off the walls.”

Her mother’s comment was definitely accurate— if felt as if one little tap would send the bunny zipping around the room. “I won a dance competition! And they gave me tickets to see Mr. Sonic!” Cream piped, vibrating with excitement. Shadow pretended to know who she was talking about as the gears turned in his head.

“That’s… great. I’m so proud of you,” he picked her up in a congratulatory hug before turning his attention back to her mother. “I’m assuming that this event coincides with the lesson? If so, canceling it is no problem.”

“Mr. Shadow, Mother has an appointment when it happens,” Cream interjected, grasping his hand before he could fully let her go, as if by some magical power, her thoughts would translate through the touch. Vanilla only nodded, allowing her daughter to lead.

“Oh, you want me to take you, don’t you,” the hedgehog realized, his response laced with teasing undertones. “And if I don’t?”

“Pretty please?” Cream locked gazes with him, face morphed into a painting innocent and pleading. Caramel eyes grew big and glistening, a deep pool that threatened to drown him should he decline. Shadow twitched involuntarily at the display. 

“Don’t give me that face. I’m just joking— of course I’ll take you,” the tutor breathed, and that seemed to satisfy the bunny enough for her to tuck away the act for another day.

Vanilla breathed a sigh of relief, squeezing her daughter’s shoulder in silent acknowledgement of her effective (although slightly questionable) communication skills. “Thank you so much, Shadow.”

“No problem at all.”

………………………………

Cream’s little hand wrapped around Shadow’s fingers, gloved in protection against the chilly February air. The kid skipped along the line, dragging her chaperone with her, hyperactive from the sugar in the donuts he should not have bought her.

That pleading act was just too convincing…

The auditorium was crowded with fans young and old, most settled down in their places a long time ago. Although it was expected with how late they were in the acceptable entry frame, it posed a problem as the pair awkwardly scooted past the legs of the already seated, many scoffing in annoyance as he waved in apology.

Somehow, they made it to their spot before Cream exploded from anticipation, and soon the overhead lights went dim, shushing the audience. Different lights switched on, one after another, highlighting the stage in all kinds of pretty colors that seemed to captivate everyone but Shadow.

He really should have found out what this show was about beforehand, huh? Sorely regretting putting off the task in favor of an unnecessary house cleaning, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath. That blinding rainbow cascade was going to give him a headache. Glancing at Cream to make sure she hadn’t bounced out of her seat, he reached over to take her already shed jacket before working at his own. The building was heated quite nicely, so he folded them neatly and put them aside for the time being.

By the time he was done, a soft melody had already begun playing— violin, Shadow recognized, partnered with a quiet piano. The song was unfamiliar to him, but having grown up in a world of music, he’d developed a deep understanding of it, and having that knowledge helped him relax. His fingers flitted upon an imaginary instrument, picking apart the tune as the sounds filtered through his mind. 

Beside him, he felt Cream go completely still, a sharp contrast to the excited jumble she had been seconds ago. In fact, it felt like the whole room was holding its breath. A little suffocating, in all honesty, but he followed the general example and looked up.

Just in time. Right then, a lithe figure sprang onto center stage, striking a deeply bowed pose in time with a dramatic thrum. All eyes focused on him at once, everyone shifting forward in unison as if connected by one single mind. Shadow just squinted, unimpressed.

A blue hedgehog, dressed up all prim and pretty in something that seemed like it would be awkward to wear, he assumed that the dancer was the “Mr. Sonic” Cream had been so ecstatic to see. As multicolored lights swirled around them, Shadow couldn’t deny that there was a certain air of elegance to them that almost seemed magical. Yet he could not understand what the big deal was.

That is, until Sonic moved, along with a sharp crescendo in the melody, gracefully gliding across the stage akin to a figure skater— there seemed to be no hindrance, no friction, as if he didn’t touch the ground at all. Their eyes were closed as he twisted and twirled, complete confidence that their steps would land and they would be beautiful. 

For once in his life, Shadow didn’t pay attention to the music.

Suddenly they flipped, once, twice, much to the audience’s delight as everyone surged forward in their seats. And even as the dancer landed at the edge of the stage, they never once looked. Never once feared falling, as they maneuvered the border like a tightrope walker, delicately making their way around.

It wasn’t a specific style of dance they were doing, at least, not to his limited knowledge of the art. They were just moving. Yet there was a story hidden behind it all, one that was told without the use of words, but still communicated so clearly that Shadow could understand everything, could feel everything.

It was like magic.

At last Sonic came to a stop, once again at center stage, and dropped into a bow. A beat of silence resounded before the audience cheered, exploding with thunderous claps and shrill whistles. Beside Shadow, Cream grabbed his hand, exclaiming something he could not hear. He could only nod in response, which only kicked off more of the one-sided conversation that he sorely hoped was not important.

On stage, the blue hedgehog shouted something he barely missed, and Cream excitedly tugged at his sleeve. Sonic flashed a bright smile that gleamed in the stoplights, and Shadow swore several people swooned as sparkling emerald eyes passed over them. 

Someone who had gotten up to leave obstructed his view for only a moment… but when they made their way out of the row, he found himself locking gazes with the dancer.

It felt like someone was staring straight into his soul, yet it wasn’t a cold feeling. More warm, like a fire, swirling in his gut. 

Shadow could not, for the life of him, get his body to move.

Sonic winked at him, saluting to the general crowd before disappearing backstage. As he and Cream were caught in the mass of people moving out, he gripped their things tightly in one hand and held on to the bunny with the other, unable to do anything but wonder, what was that?

………………………………

As he found out much too late, Cream had neglected to tell Shadow that they were invited to the Meet & Greet after the show. He figured that was what’d slipped past him among the chaos. Keeping a vise grip on the bunny’s wrist, he followed the rest of the lucky few to a different room. 

It was quieter here than in the auditorium, and much more well lit. He assumed that this was originally a practice room of sorts, repurposed for this mini event. As they filed in a line to spend a few moments with the dancer, Shadow took the opportunity to text Vanilla about the change of plans. Easier said than done, because Cream had reverted to a bouncing ball of energy, and she took every chance to yank him forward in line, startling him every time.

Somehow, he managed to send a less-than-refined message to Vanilla without dropping his phone. But before he even had the time to look up, Cream tore herself from his grasp with a squeak. “Mr. Sonic!” 

“Heya, kiddo,” her idol replied with a grin, patting her head gently. She beamed, introducing herself excitedly, her pitched voice making it hard to decipher her swift speaking. But Sonic seemed to have no problem, answering all her rapid-fire questions like they planned specifically for this moment. 

Shadow let them have their time, picking up the things that had fallen from his arms when Cream had so abruptly pulled away. It was cute, really, the way the two interacted as if they were old friends. The dancer was making a very exaggerated motion to accompany the story that they— he, as per the pronouns displayed on his poster— was telling, his one person audience very engrossed.

Eventually Cream settled down long enough to take a picture, which was then printed and signed for her with a wink. But before they left and let someone else take their turn, Sonic got to one knee and whispered something to Cream that made her face light up like a firework. She somehow yelled and whispered at the same time. “Really?!”

“Would I lie to you?” The dancer grinned, much to Cream’s elation. Shadow sighed softly— he had no idea that she could get more excited than she already was. If this kept going… well, Vanilla was in for a very long night.

He hadn’t realized he was zoning off again until he felt a tug on his sleeve. Cream stared at him with expectant eyes, then cocked her head in Sonic’s direction. 

Shoot. Shadow looked up to see the dancer wearing a lopsided smile. Once he realized that he had the other’s attention, Sonic clapped his hands together. “So! How’d you enjoy the show…?” 

“Mr. Shadow,” Cream helpfully chimed, to which her idol nodded in thanks.

Said hedgehog rubbed his arm nervously, unsure how to respond. He settled for a shrug. “It was okay.”

Emerald eyes sparkled knowingly, although their owner seemed to have a great poker face. “Well, take care of little Cream here,” he patted her shoulder, to which she perked, again, “she’s got lots of potential.”

“Mhm.” That he knew. Who better than her teacher to assess her skill? Sonic’s brow furrowed ever so slightly, indicating the want for something more. Panic began mottling in Shadow’s stomach. Sue him, it was nerve-racking for a famous person to stare you down when you’re already bad at social interaction. What did he need…?

Both people in the room were staring at him now, the awkward silence doing nothing to help his nerves. On instinct, he shifted all his things to one arm and reached out for a handshake— something he found both polite and a good way to end conversations— with a “It was nice meeting you,” for good measure. However, Sonic took it in an entirely different way than he intended.

Soft lips, rosy from the previous exertion, pressed against the back of Shadow’s hand as emerald eyes stared teasingly into his own. Heat flooded tan cheeks instantly, and he clamped his jaw shut before it could fall open. Dimly registering a giggle from Cream, he was much too caught up in the fact that Sonic was kissing him.

Who the hell did that anymore?

Sonic straightened once more, the moment over as fast as it began. Yet somehow it felt as if hours had passed. The dancer was either oblivious to Shadow’s mental meltdown or he just didn’t care, bouncing on the balls of his feet like there was nothing wrong as he winked, giving a mock salute similar to the one he’d left the audience with. “It was nice to meet you too, Shadow. ‘Til we meet again!”

Shadow made a sound like he was being strangled, only serving to deepen his embarrassment along with the furious bloom of blush on his face. Somehow, he managed to keep a grip on everything tucked under his arm, despite it going slack in shock.

Before he could properly process everything, or even save himself some face, he and Cream were already outside, Shadow fumbling with his keys as he tried to get a hold on the one for his motorcycle.

Sometime in the building, amongst his memory lapse, they’d both put on their coats, leaving the bunny with one arm hooked around her chaperone’s. She was staring, caramel eyes worried. “Are you okay, Mr. Shadow?”

No.

“Yes. Now hop on, your mother’s waiting.”

[naruto-ol-protags]

What are each of the Naruto Online Protagonists backstories?? I wasn’t aware they had any, or if they had a lot of profiles with that listed their own attributes. If you could describe them or provide a link for me to check them out I would really appreciate it!

This is kind of a complicated question, mainly because they are split into: the Orichara contest versions, the first beta versions, the second beta versions (some info on them was retconned), and the current game version (the question is whether browser and mobile count as the same or canon divergence XD). There is also the scrapped intro cinematic video where the protags are kids in the Ninja Academy who seem to be friends? It's honestly a mess that doesn't add up a lot of times unless you follow exactly one version and disregard everything else.

I've been working on a spreadsheet/masterpost on all kinds of canon info available for each protag but it's still being put together and has some personal commentary... Please feel free to take a look at it though 😅

You can also go through the #character trivia tag for more details!

A condensed version would be:

Azure Fang - she is determined to cure illnesses of the world and specializes in medical jutsu and chakra control. She's compassionate, curious, lively, and often shows her cute/girlish side. Despite being a medic she also readily uses poisons. In fights, she's shown to favor her tantō. Her mobile voice lines suggest that she's rather casual with others when at work and socializes easily.

Breeze Dancer - she's said to be a "royal sister type" and a few of the game ads have suggested her being in some way tied to Sunagakure and the Three Sand Siblings. Interestingly enough her nindō is intertwined with Orochimaru (although they don't seem to be on good terms). She has travelled a lot and thanks to that gained a mature outlook on society. Breeze is the only one who is vocal about having a distinction between good and evil, it seems to be one of her motivations for fighting. She fights using her metal fan, multiple clones, and seduction tactics (on men). Funnily enough, she prefers the company of girls.

Crimson Fist - he's liked and trusted by others and looks more mature than his age would suggest. He specializes in taijutsu and close combat. Crimson is a calm guy who cares for his friends a lot and trains hard to be able to protect them. He also likes to cook and garden, and occasionally sass at the other guys (usually to show off his manliness). Nothing is known about his clan but he has the wood release and a kekkei genkai.

Midnight Blade - younger by one year from the rest, works as a bounty hunter, knows an ANBU skill (up to interpretation whether he just picked it up from someone or was/is in the organization), and fights mostly using kenjutsu. He's cold, not talkative, and pragmatic, his main motivator seems to be money. His ideal setting is a 1v1, when faced with more opponents he loses his advantage. Despite being very professional and concentrated while on duty, he has been, in fact, portrayed as disliking work.

Scarlet Blaze - his lineage is connected to the Uchihas (not said to what degree), he also experienced a clan massacre, it's unclear if he's the last survivor or has some living relatives. He's calm and collected, hardworking, pragmatic, interested in all kinds of the world's ninjutsu, and aware of his good looks. Prefers to engage with opponents by his genjutsu first, and is good at finding their weaknesses. Preferred weapons seem to be kunai but he has been getting some variety with the latest skins.

I'm also putting the relevant profiles under the cut:

^ Above are presented the beta profiles (longer and shorter versions)

^ The more detailed profiles released on the official forum website and in-game

^ My Ninja Way intro screens with each character's phrase in the bracket

[herbalsingularitea]

Holly Jolly (Chapter 13)

Summary - So they were non-humans with pointy ears who wrapped things and sent them out into the world. They cursed in holiday themed expletives. Bernard rode a reindeer who could glide named Dancer.

The answer was indeed obvious, but she just couldn’t believe it. 

Pairing - Bernard x Female OC

Word Count - 4799

Check my pinned masterpost for ‘Bernard x Reader’ and Male OC versions!

Previous Chapter -- Next Chapter

Chapter 13 - Somebody Waits For You

Holly was shaking.

Bernard must know that she was shaking. 

He'd led her out the front door after retrieving a light cloak for each of them, claiming that the air was warmer within the barrier so heavy coats wouldn’t be needed. She hadn’t noticed before, but there was definitely a warmer, more inviting atmosphere here as opposed to the bitterly cold wind that constantly flew over the arctic tundra outside. 

He helped her into the cloak, draping it over her shoulders. She trembled under his touch, but he didn’t react. She worried what expression he was making, but couldn’t bring herself to look up at him. She hated that she might be making him sad, but really, she couldn’t help it. 

She was scared. 

The pieces were lined up in front of her and for once she had the wherewithal to try to put them together. And she was trying to, honest. But her gut was screaming at her that she needed to run, now. Whatever instinctual feeling of unease she’d had when they first met was back in full force telling her how stupid she was to ignore it and continue seeing this man. 

This man who was not a man. 

This man who was something else entirely. Something not human. 

She knew if she could just think things through, the answer would be obvious, but she just couldn’t stop shaking. Her frantic panting clouded the air and she realized belatedly that she was having a panic attack. 

“Holly.”

She jerked to awareness at the sound of her name. They were standing in front of Bernard’s house, about to head out to the lake. Hazy white obscured everything in the distance. The lights that she’d figured were from other houses were all turned off now and the only thing she could really see through the icy fog was a dip in the white horizon that she assumed was the lake. 

Bernard’s face suddenly appeared in her field of vision, looking profoundly sad. His dark eyes pulled her in, their depths familiar and warm. But the way they made her feel was too intense for her now, and she looked back at the wide white of the frozen landscape, it's sparkling maw threatening to devour her. Her vision started tunneling, black creeping into the edges. 

“You’re okay Holly. You’re safe. Just try to breathe.”

His voice was muffled and far away. 

His mouth continued to move but she couldn’t hear him anymore. The dip in the distance seemed wider now, the white expanse swallowing the horizon in a way that left her confused and disoriented. A hand swam in front of her and she tried to focus on what Bernard was saying to her. But she just couldn’t comprehend his words. The fingers on the hand uncurled more, the palm tilting towards her; she grabbed it, desperately seeking an anchor. 

Warmth came back to her slowly, traveling up her arm and into her chest. The large hand holding hers was firm but gentle, a thumb stroking back and forth over her skin in a steady rhythm.

The sound of blood rushing in her ears began to ebb, and she found that she wasn’t just holding his hand; she was also wrapped up in his embrace, his cloak enveloping her smaller body. His chin rested on the top of her head and their clasped hands were squished between them against his chest as he breathed deeply. Her own breaths matched his as her heart slowed to a steady beat once again. 

She blinked the remaining panic away and buried her face in his neck. His curls tickled her nose. 

She was starting to feel better. Confusion still muddied her thoughts, but she was coming to terms with the fact that her very dear friend was not who she thought he was. She had meant what she’d said before, she wanted to just have some fun for now and deal with this later when they weren’t expected to meet his friends—who most likely were also not human—but the initial shock of her realization couldn’t be easily pushed down. 

“I promise you’re safe, Holly. I would never hurt you,” he murmured into her hair. 

She believed him. 

She didn’t know what he was yet, but he was her friend first and foremost. She trusted him and he trusted her. 

He brought her here to meet his friends, because they meant a lot to him. And so did she, now. The weight of that was a lot heavier now, being important to someone like Bernard. She needed to take this in stride. So she would. 

Holly pulled back from his embrace and he reluctantly let go of her, watching her carefully for any more signs of distress.  But she was already forcing her thoughts and fears to the back of her mind, until her carefully constructed calm had returned to her. She was trying to put it out of mind for now and just focus on getting through the next part of their night. She heaved a great sigh, a somewhat fragile smile appearing on her lips.

She reached for one of his hands. He surrendered it to her without resistance and she entwined her fingers in his, letting their joined hands swing between them as she turned towards the lake on the horizon. 

“I think I'm okay now, Bernard," she sounded more sure than she felt. " We’re okay. Let's go.”

She pulled him forward, building her confident front back up brick by brick as she started towards the lake. The stress gradually left his body as he fell into step beside her, but he kept a careful eye on her the whole way, t heir fingers clasped tightly together in shared comfort. 

--

This was the most incredibly decorated party she had ever been to. 

A series of ice sculptures depicting figures in various loving embraces were dotted here and there around the lake. Some of those poses made Holly blush. Each one had pointed ears, she noted, but she didn’t dwell on it, instead shifting her attention to the candles set up in bunches on wooden trays or along pathways shoveled in the deep snow for easy walking. There were floodlights, but they were turned off now. However the light from the barrier and the moon shining through it were plenty of illumination. The candles cast a warm glow on several pits carved into the snow, each one with a rug laid out inside it and a table at the center. The tables were odd, though. They had a blanket skirt around them and pillows instead of seats. 

They looked cozy. 

The tinsel and arches and ribbon and lights all set up in elaborate red and gold displays were masterfully crafted. Several gold halos were stuck into the ground between the snow pits, golden fairy lights illuminating the rims while perfect red roses floated in the middle of the circle. These weren’t just decorations. They were straight up art pieces. There were just too many little details to notice them all, but the overall effect was incredibly romantic. 

She took in the long table set out with sweets and treats and finger foods of all kinds. She didn’t recognize half of the things available there, but they looked delicious nonetheless.  The drink bar for custom cocoa and cider beside it caught her eye. There were recipe suggestions up behind the bar. She was impressed with the ingenuity of the selections. 

“This is amazing, Bernard! Morozko really know how to throw a party!” 

Her companion grinned cheekily. “No one does it better.” 

“I’ll say! I don’t know where to start.” 

The sound of boots crunching through the snow drifted their way and they turned toward the sound. They were met with two beaming faces of the prettiest little women Holly had ever seen. 

And they really were little women, weren't they?

Like Bernard, they were proportioned like adults. Unlike Bernard, however, they were much shorter and slighter. If she had never met Bernard and had just passed them on the street then she might have made the assumption that they were children. However, their bone structure and mature figures showed plainly that they were not actually that young.

She knew Bernard’s distinct features quite well at this point. She was surprised she had ever mistaken him for a teenager, and had actually begun to suspect he must have a very elaborate skin care routine to look as smooth and rosy as he did. 

Of course, now those thoughts had thoroughly left her. Whatever caused his unusual otherworldly appearance was certainly not due to lotions and serums. 

Now that she had more of—whatever they were—to compare to, she was able to discern what it was exactly that set them apart in her mind. She thought Bernard had looked ethereal and lovely when she first met him. Inhuman. Which certainly made more sense now. 

All three of these beings were just too perfect. That’s what it was, really. Their faces were too smooth, too rosy, too soft. Like someone had airbrushed over their features. For humans, this sort of perfection was only found in the faces of children. Smooth as a baby’s bottom and all that. But for these people, it wasn’t youthfulness, it was just how they looked. 

They had sparkling pink cheeks and bright intelligent eyes. The way they walked was measured and smooth, almost like dancing. 

Their eyes were knowing and sharp, a disturbing feature on a face untouched by wrinkles. 

The kind smiles they flashed at her showed the barest hint of a too-pointed canine. Not that different from a human’s, but Bernard also had some unusually sharp teeth so perhaps whatever they were as a species had slightly sharper fangs than humans. Not vampiric by any means, but enough to light up that primal part of her brain again that said they were dangerous. 

What really struck her though was right there, in plain sight—little pointed ears sticking out from their hair. They didn’t even try to hide them. 

“You must be Holly! It’s so very wonderful to meet you. I’m Judy.” The shorter one said. She was dressed in red velvet and white leather, an odd combination, but maybe not that unusual considering how Bernard tended to dress. Her smooth brown hair hung loose, framing her squared face. Although they had just met, Holly could tell Judy had a sweet, serene manner about her. 

“And I’m Belle! It’s so rad to finally meet you, Holly,” the taller one said excitedly, bouncing on her toes. She wore a matching outfit with her sweetheart, the white leather standing out more against her brown skin. Her shiney hair was pulled tight into a single smooth braid that went down the length of her back. Belle seemed very energetic. 

Normally Holly would have appreciated the friendly welcome, but her recent realization had made her muted and cautious. She returned their smiles with a strained one of her own. 

“Yeah, hi! It’s nice to meet you too. Bernard’s mentioned you both a lot.”

“Good things, hopefully.” Judy remarked, shooting a sly look at the dark haired male standing in front of her. 

“Oh, yeah, for sure. All good things.” Holly shot back automatically. She struggled to think of what to say next though. Introductions and small talk were strange for her. She knew how to perform to a certain degree, but there always came that lull after the initial script where she just didn’t quite know how to break the ice. 

Luckily, Belle seemed undeterred by the awkward silence. 

“This is so exciting! We hardly ever get to meet anyone new. Have you ever been ice skating, Holly?”

“Oh! Uh, well, I guess I went a couple times when I was a kid. I fell a lot though. I’m hoping I’ll be a little better at it now.”

“You probably won’t if you haven’t done it in so long,” Belle laughed, her good natured tone not quite matching with her blunt words. “But that’s alright! I'm sure Bernard won’t mind catching you.” She waggled her brows, bright eyes sparkling in mirth. 

Bernard sputtered at that, mouth gaping a moment while he looked back and forth between Holly and the newcomers. 

“Belle,” he cried exasperated, “knock it off, will ya? Give Holly a minute to get to know you before you go saying stuff like that.”

But Holly found it funny, actually. Not enough to actually laugh, but enough to bring a genuine smile to her face. She didn’t know how to reply, but she shared a conspiratorial look with Belle who waggled her brows again. 

Judy giggled at her girlfriend’s antics. 

“We aren’t going ice skating, remember?” she nudged Belle affectionately. “We’ll be leaving soon for home. I’ve made us a nice pudding.” 

“Oh, yeah," Belle said, hand coming up to grab her chin. Then her finger jabbed up into the air as she abruptly switched gears. "Well! We can have some drinks together at least and talk, right?”

Judy nodded, smiling placatingly at her distractible partner. 

Bernard clapped his hands together once and stood a little straighter. “Okay, sounds good! Let’s get some treats and grab a kotatsu.”

He put a hand on Holly’s back and started leading her over to the food and drinks bar. Belle ran ahead excitedly, pulling a giggling Judy with her. Once they were a ways ahead, Bernard leaned over level with Holly’s ear and whispered, “You good?”

She felt a bit overwhelmed honestly. She wasn’t the greatest at social things. Bernard was kind of the exception to that. Their meeting had been a crash course in getting to know each other, so they didn’t really go through this whole song and dance. It must be jarring for him to see her so toned down and shy. 

“I’m okay, just... I don’t know. I’m not very good at this sort of thing," she muttered. At his concerned look, she perked up, quickly adding, "but they seem really nice!”

“Are you having a good time, at least?” he asked, hand returning to her back. 

“I think so. I will be. I just need to get into the groove more,” she smiled weakly.

He rubbed a reassuring hand across her upper back and she leaned into him gratefully, the warm weight grounding her. 

Once they reached the food table, they began loading up their plates with little snacks to try. Holly had already eaten, but she couldn’t resist some of the more interesting looking spreads. Bernard piled his own plate high, but that wasn’t surprising. He was always up for eating no matter how much he’d already had. Judy and Belle were sharing a plate apparently, but were also arguing about what exactly should go on it. 

“I hate those puffs!”

“So don’t eat them.”

“They’re touching my cream crackers, though!”

“What if we put the sausage between them, then?”

“Judy, that’s gross!”

“Is it? And stop yelling, I’m right here!”

“Now who’s yelling?”

They giggled together as they pushed the food around, moving down towards the drinks bar. Bernard snickered at the back and forth, shaking his head as he shared a look with Holly who was biting her lip to hold in her own laughter. 

“Why don’t they just get separate plates?”

“You’re asking me?” he said, still chuckling. 

The pair reached the drinks bar right as Judy and Belle had finished pouring theirs. 

“We’ll go set up at the kotatsu near the roses.” Judy waved with her free hand. Belle also tried waving but neither of her hands were free, one balancing their plate and the other holding her full drink which sloshed onto the snow with her enthusiastic motion. 

“Belle, be careful!”

“I’m always careful, babe!”

Holly couldn’t hold in her laugh anymore as she waved back at the little women. Bernard started fixing a cider for himself, not even glancing at the recipe cards, apparently confident in his choice of drink. Holly looked carefully at the selection before choosing to follow the recipe with the goat’s cream. She actually liked goat’s milk quite a lot but such a combination had never occurred to her.

But hey, it was a night for new adventures, so why not? 

Once they were both ready, they grabbed their plates and cups and started heading off in the direction where the other two had gone. 

“So, what’s a kotatsu?” she asked.

“It’s a Japanese table for winter. It’s got a sort of blanket that you tuck your legs under. It’s great, nice and cozy.” 

She hummed. 

“You’re doing great, by the way. I think they really like you.” He shot her a warm smile. 

“I think I like them, too! They’re funny together. Belle’s a chaotic delight.”

“She is! Don’t take anything she says too seriously, though. She can be kind of scattered sometimes, but she means well.”

They trudged over a snow drift and looked down into the valley near the foot path leading into the woods. The pine woods . 

“Holy shit, there really are trees here! I mean, I saw some at your house but those were small and decorative. This is an actual, real-life forest!”

“Told ya! And you doubted me," he smirked, nudging her arm. 

“Hey, c’mon, can you blame me? This is just one of the many impossible things that are somehow possible with you.” She nudged him back. 

“And yet you continue to doubt!” he chuckled. 

The smile slipped from her face as she was reminded of her current predicament. “Yeah… sorry, it’s just going to take some time for me to get used to all this.” She wasn’t talking about trees anymore and they both knew it. He also sobered, the grin he'd sported before shrinking into a more patient and reassuring one. 

“It’s fine, Holly Jolly. Take all the time you need. We’re still gonna talk later, right?”

“Yeah, definitely," she replied, shaking off the brief moment of solemnity. "But for now, drinks!” She held hers up in a mock cheer that he reciprocated. They bumped mugs lightly, giggling together as they both spilled some onto the white snow.  

“Over here!” Belle shouted from a pit beside the haloed roses as they made their way over. 

The area was dug out in a decently sized square, similar in dimension to Bernard’s den at his house. A blue and purple bohemian rug was placed over the dug out area with a short table at the center and candles set up in groups of three or four on metal torch stands along the edges of the pit. 

Judy and Belle were already tucked under the thick red blanket of the kotatsu, sipping their drinks and encouraging each other to try the other’s food choices. 

“The cream crackers are so good, though! Just a bite, come on.”

“If you try the puffs, then sure!”

“Blergh!”

Bernard and Holly took the remaining sides of the table, sitting on the plush pillows that were set out beside it. Bernard immediately tucked his legs under the red blanket, and Holly followed suit. 

“So, what did you guys get to drink?” Judy said, eyeing their cups. 

“Cider, of course,” Bernard quipped. 

“Of course. With cinnamon and a splash of orange, right?”

He sipped his cider with a low, “Mmhmm…” 

“Predictably Bernard,” Judy said, eyes crinkled with fondness. “What about you, Holly? Did you get cider too?”

“Ah, no, I actually got that one cocoa recipe with the goat’s cream. I don’t know, it looked interesting,” she smiled nervously, Judy returning her smile warmly. 

“That was Noel’s recipe. He’s a student of mine—all those recipes are from my students actually. I'm teaching them drinks.”

“Oh! You’re… in charge of drinks?” Holly blinked, interested. 

“Amongst other things. My department mainly deals with, well, I suppose you could call it morale. Bernard takes care of the more nitty gritty detail stuff in Operations.”

“So Bernard really is Head of Operations?”

“He’s Head of everything! He runs this place!” Belle cut in, smacking her lips after a big gulp. 

“O-oh, I see…” Holly looked nervously at Bernard, who was trying to look nonchalant as he sipped his cider. He didn’t deny what was said, though, which was telling in and of itself. 

Judy sensed the human’s unease and tried to pull focus away from the Head Elf and his role there at the North Pole. “So you’re a researcher? That must be very rewarding work.”

Holly seemed relieved at the change of subject, shoulders unwinding as she warmed her hands around her mug.

“It is, yeah! We study ecology in the arctic circle. Polar bear numbers have been on the decline and we’re trying to find out why.”

Belle seemed especially interested in this topic. “ Do you know why?”

“We think it’s probably climate change. And I know that’s not exactly a popular theory with some people—“

Bernard raised his head from his cup, shooting her a confused look. “It’s not? Why? That is the most likely reason.”

“It’s… complicated," she explained. "Some companies have their businesses tied up in using methods that further the rate of climate change, so of course, they’re not very eager to admit that what they’re doing has real negative impacts on the environment.”

He squinted at her explanation. “So, what? They’re lying about their involvement?”

“Yeah, pretty much." She shrugged. "And they’re blaming other things that are unrelated all while trying to push a disinformation campaign to confuse the public. It’s been a mess for the scientific community to try to sort out.”

Bernard scoffed, agitated. Judy tsk’d while shaking her head. 

“That’s ridiculous,” Belle cried, “surely humans aren’t falling for that!” Judy nudged her partner’s side and Belle squeaked. “Nutcrackers! I mean, uh, not humans. I mean, you are humans. But so are we?”

“It’s fine, Belle,” Bernard said, rubbing his eyes, “don’t worry about it.”

The reminder that they weren’t human wasn’t as alarming this time, probably because whatever they were didn’t seem very different from humans anyways. Judy and Belle were nice and personable. 

“Yeah, no, it’s fine really,” Holly said, “um, yeah, it’s frustrating for sure because the public does tend to fall for the disinformation. So that’s why I’m up here, basically. The best that we can do is have real recorded data to show exactly how the climate is changing and at what rate. If we can show the public hard numbers and cute footage of the wildlife that’s impacted, hopefully we can get them back on our side.” 

Bernard was smiling proudly at Holly’s declaration. “We’ve gotten some really great footage so far too. Holly caught George and Matteo’s big fight last week and we got a glimpse of Crystal recently.” 

“That’s great!” cried Belle, bouncing in her seat, “I’d love to see that footage sometime. George is my favorite.”

“Sure thing,” Holly nodded, “do you work with the bears yourself then, Belle?”

“No, I just like them. They’re pretty rad animals," Belle beamed, wiggling excitedly in her seat. "I work in wrapping.”

“Wrapping?” Holly blinked, trying to understand how that particular job could apply up there. “What do you wrap?”

Belle froze, looking at Bernard uncertainly.

“We wrap a lot of things actually," he cut in, answering smoothly for her. "Then we ship them out all over the world.”

Judy was watching Holly intently as she took this in. 

“Uh huh, okay.” A wrinkle appeared between her brows as she squinted at the other three. So they were non-humans with pointy ears who wrapped things and sent them out into the world. They cursed in holiday themed expletives. Bernard rode a reindeer who could glide named Dancer . 

The answer was indeed obvious, but she just couldn’t believe it. 

Maybe she could accept that Bernard wasn’t human. She was a scientist after all, and was never one to dismiss evidence of a new species. But this was something else. This was truly fanciful. 

What’s wrong with a bit of fancy?

Bernard’s words from days ago rang in her head. Nothing, she’d said. And there wasn’t anything wrong with it, truly. But her mind needed more time to catch up with what her heart already knew. She blinked, giving her head a little shake to clear it. 

“Well, wrapping sounds pretty interesting.”

Bernard and Judy looked as if they were holding their breath, but Belle was giggling madly, oblivious to the dilemma that Holly was struggling with. 

“No, it doesn’t!” she cried, amused. “You don’t have to pretend it does, Holly. Wrapping is fun for me, I like making the perfect little bows. But most everyone else finds it pretty mind numbing.”

“I probably would too, actually,” Holly admitted sheepishly. “But if you like it, then that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, exactly!”

They chatted easily for awhile, drinking slowly and ranking their favorite snacks. Belle and Holly shared a good many interests. They spoke at length about The Nightmare Before Christmas, a movie that had come out last year that they both adored. Judy said it was too scary for her, and Bernard had never seen it. Belle suggested they play it at the next movie night and invite Holly. Bernard and Judy shared a look and said they’d think about it

Conversation continued as their cups got lighter and lighter.  

“So, Holly—“ Judy said abruptly, her fingers tented in front of her face as she leaned forward, “—what’s the worst thing about Bernard?”

Said man choked on his cider at his friend’s sudden inquiry. Holly blinked at the question, unsure. 

“Wha—um, what do you mean? Bernard’s great! We make a really great team out there.”

“I’m sure that’s true. But that’s not what I’m asking.” Judy’s eyes were intense and calculating. Holly felt trapped in her gaze. “I’m asking if there’s anything that annoys you about him.”

Holly gaped, thrown off by the seriousness of the moment. Judy, noticing her reaction, softened her stare and offered a cheeky smile. “For instance, I think he works much too hard. It’s his biggest flaw, in my own opinion.”

Holly’s breath left her in a rush as the pressure receded. 

“Oh! Well, I can’t disagree with that.” She cut her eyes over to the dark haired man at her side, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable. “He showed up on my doorstep practically half dead the first week we met. I’m trying to convince him to relax more.”

“I definitely think that’s working,” Judy beamed, “I haven’t seen him this keen on non-work related recreation in years.”

“Good to know my efforts aren’t being wasted then! It’s hard to tell sometimes since he’s so on-the-go all the time,” Holly chuckled. “Honestly though, the thing that annoys me the most is how anal he is about schedules." She shot him a cheeky smirk, a hint of frustration coloring her words. "Like we can’t even hang out and eat snacks together without an itinerary, it’s ridiculous! Does he do that with you guys?”

Judy and Belle shared an amused look, peeking over at a now grumpy Bernard grumbling into his cider. 

“Oh, yeah. Definitely. But since he’s technically our boss, that makes sense. I bet that’s annoying when you don’t even work for him, though.”

“ So annoying!" Holly cried, "I call him ‘Saint Bernard’ when he gets like that since he acts all high and mighty about it. Y’know, it’s okay to let loose and have fun without a plan sometimes, right?” she poked his cheek, grinning fondly at him despite her obvious exasperation.

“Yeah, Bernard,” Judy directed her words at the man beside her, “it is okay to enjoy yourself." Her brows raised and her head tilted down as she peered up at him with an oddly significant look. "Even when it’s not in the plan.”

Bernard lifted his head to make eye contact with his friend, a heavy moment passing between them. Judy smiled warmly and Bernard looked relieved, his shoulders dropping. 

“I hate when they do that. Their weird silent communication thing. I just don’t get it,” Belle snorted. “You two wanna share with the rest of us?”

“Nope!” Judy swiftly stood, grabbing her cup and their shared plate. “Actually, it’s about time we head out, Belle.”

“What? Just like that?”

“Just like that. C’mon!” 

“I’m not even done with my drink, babe!”

Judy pulled her partner up and began leading her away. “It was so nice to meet you, Holly. I’m sure we’ll see you again soon.”

“Yeah," Holly blinked, thrown by their sudden departure, "uh, it was nice to meet you both! We should definitely do this again some time.”

“For sure!” Judy said, waving. She didn't slow their retreat however, dragging a confused Belle behind her who nonetheless waved enthusiastically as they left. 

“Bye!”

“Goodnight!”

And then they were alone. 

[polizwrites]

PoliZ’s WI Pride Prompt Party FicRecs

Gathering my fic recs (self-recs)  for the  WinterIron Discord server Pride Prompt Party event so I can link to them in my upcoming masterpost!

Day 8: Nonbinary Vibes --  Wait and See (if it’s the best you ever had)

Rating: Mature (with Explicit final chapter)

Pairing(s): Bucky/Tony

Warnings/Triggers/Tags:  Identity Porn,  Exotic Dancer AU,  Coffeeshop AU,  nonbinary/genderfluid character,   eventual smut, face blindness

Summary:  To celebrate him finding a full time job after a rough patch, Bucky Barnes' friends -- Steve and Sam -- take him to a burlesque show. Antonio, (who may or may not be a drag king), catches Bucky's eye, and vice versa. Bucky also strikes up a friendship with Ton-E, a possibly-genderfluid barista working at the 24-hr coffee shop in the lobby of Stark Industries, where Bucky now works. Will he be able to choose between one or the other?  (Spoiler: he doesn’t have to.)

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14802497/chapters/34247855



Day 17. Soul Searching  --  And Your Heart Beats In My Blood

Rating:  Teen

Pairing(s):   Tony/Bucky

Warnings/Triggers/Tags:  young!Tony, Soulmates AU,  kinda angsty,  Canon Divergence,  Time Skips, Canonical Character Death, hopeful ending

Summary:  Tony Stark's soulmate died when they were both young; or so he thought. When a ghostly heartbeat continues to haunt him, Tony's AI proposes an unlikely hypothesis.

Link:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/18857017



Day 28. Making friends with one's demons --  The Devil Is in the Details (Sign on the Dotted Line)

NOTE: Co-written with Faustess/ @psychiccatpanda

Rating:  Teen

Pairing(s):  Bucky/Tony/Clint

Warnings/Triggers/Tags:  No Powers AU,  Demon Summoning,  Gaslighting,  witch!Tony,  Demon!Bucky, Demon!Clint, Bureaucracy and Lawyers,   Asshole!Ty Stone  

Summary:  Things go from bad to worse when Tony Stark accidentally summons a demon while trying to cook his mother's osso bucco for Ty to woo him back.

Bucky and Clint are just demons working for the weekend. Only they're in Hell and there aren't any weekends. But, if they collect enough souls and fulfill enough contracts, they'll be able to pass the business on to two pairs of lost souls to do their work for them. (Yes, the soul collection business is a multi-level marketing scheme. Remember, this is Hell.)

What happens when these two worlds collide?

Link:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/38977104/chapters/97489515

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 21, part one

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Reunions

All together in The Unclean Realm, The Yunmeng trio find a spot inside where they can sit down and have a proper Yanli-Wuxian reunion, while Jiang Cheng sits across the table watching them. 

For years Jiang Cheng has been rejecting Wei Wuxian's free and easy affection; now Yanli might be the only person Wei Wuxian offers to hug until Wen Yuan comes into his life.

Jiang Cheng is really going through it. He'll do nearly anything for Yanli--except, uh, stay in the goddamn inn with her when she's sick and the Wens are hunting them--and what makes her happiest is Wei Wuxian. He's brought them together, and so he's happy, even though he's excluded from their dynamic. This absolutely fucking kills me.

Here Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian are sweetly pledging to always keep the trio together and put each other first. Neither of them will keep this promise. 

Wei Wuxian will leave first, to take the Wens to the Burial Mounds. Jiang Yanli will leave second, staying in Lanling at Jin Zixuan's request instead of accompanying Jiang Cheng to retrieve Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng will be the last to let go.

(more after the cut)

Nie Huaisang comes literally running in, filled with joy at Wei Wuxian's return. When he goes to pat his shoulder Wei Wuxian flinches away.

I feel like something important is happening in this rapid sequence of glances and expressions between Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang. NHS is startled, and WWX realizes he's shown something about himself that he didn't want to show. He glances at Jiang Cheng and back at NHS before laughing and covering his slip with a squeeze of NHS’s hand.

NHS switches from shocked to cheerful just as quickly, helping with the coverup. It’s like they have a quick mutual agreement, rooted in their history of shared shenanigans, to not point out that something is wrong.

Meanwhile, Lan Wangji is wandering around the grounds, having feelings. At this point it's presumably been at least a couple of weeks since their breakup fight. 

He sees Wei Wuxian sitting contemplating his flute, and as he sees him he goes from sort of neutrally apprehensive to full on angry judging, complete with sword clenching. 

Part of this may be that his feelings are hurt over their fight, but the larger issue is his distress over Wei Wuxian's apparent heretical cultivation.  That, at any rate, is what's on his mind when he's selecting music, later in the episode, and when he's selecting flashbacks. 

Party Time

Later, the Nies host an excruciating party to celebrate Wei Wuxian's slaughter of Wen Chao return. Jiang Yanli is sharing a table with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng is sharing a table with his crippling social anxiety. 

Everyone starts grilling Wei Wuxian about his sword, because that's suddenly all anybody cares about even though Jiang Yanli, Nie Huaisang, Meng Yao, and probably plenty of other people don't carry swords most of the time.

Wei Wuxian says "after the Wens caught me, Wen Zhuliu crushed my core, so I can't use my sword any more, too bad so sad, can we change the subject?" And everyone is very understanding and admires his resiliency. HA HA HA HA HA. Of course he doesn't opt for that simple lie, but instead mopes audibly without saying anything.

Nie Huasiang tries to change the subject by asking how he killed Wen Chao. Apparently "I had a sexy ghost mostly flay him" isn't good party chat, though, so neither Wei Wuxian nor Jiang Cheng opts to tell the story. 

Everyone lapses into awkward silence, all the more noticeable because there are no dancers, musicians, or entertainers of any kind at this event. OP has gone to audit-kickoff meetings that were more fun than cultivator banquets.

Moment of Clarity

While the awkwardness builds, we hear the sounds of the Song of Clarity. Lan Wangji is skipping the party, which is part of why Wei Wuxian is so mopey. But instead of sitting and stewing in his anger, Lan Wangji has shifted gears, and is starting to work on his "save Wei Wuxian's soul" plan.

This isn't the God-botherer version of soul saving, however. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian disagree about correct practice, but they both are still practitioners within the same spiritual system, and the majority of their beliefs are closely aligned.

Lan Wangji has powerful magic at his disposal, and now he's taking a step back from his plan of forcing persuading Wei Wuxian to give up heterodoxy, and instead he's preparing to use his magic to offset the consequences of Wei Wuxian's choice.

He still isn't ready to accept that choice, but he's working on it. This is a big moment for Lan Wangji's relationship with Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji is a deeply, deeply uncompromising person, as well as being super bossy, and he’s taking his first steps toward supporting Wei Wuxian’s free agency. 

Wei Wuxian leaves the party in the middle of Yao's toast, saying "I have to see you and your lover all over my tumblr dashboard but I am NOT going to listen to you talk!" He takes his wine to go roam around near Lan Wangji's quarters to pine and feel conflicted.  Lan Wangji has thoughtfully set up a projection scrim to catch his shadow and make the pining easier.

Jiang Cheng comes looking for Wei Wuxian, partly to reprimand him for rudeness and partly to see what the hell is wrong with him. Jiang Cheng is trying very hard to be pleasant. He's bad at it, but he's trying.

Wei Wuxian is trying to be unpleasant and he's pretty good at it. He won't say why he isn't using his sword. He’s obviously super fucking depressed about it, calling his former self childish for liking to spar, and only smiling once during the whole exchange.

He finally tells Jiang Cheng that he will always want to do the opposite of what Jiang Cheng tells him.  Jiang Cheng lets this go with an eyeroll.

(Point Break Quote Alert)

But actually this is a sign of trouble, right here in River City, with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for abandoning the Jiang Clan. Wei Wuxian has just told Jiang Cheng he has no intention of obeying him; not just about the sword, but in general. That's no way for a disciple to talk. 

OP has nothing to say about this gif. OP watches gif over and over and over and over

Wei Wuxian ends the conversation by tapping Jiang Cheng's chest with his flute and then walking away. The (still nameless) flute has no problem with this - does it, like Subian, recognize Jiang Cheng as an extension of Wei Wuxian?

The next day, Wei Wuxian is chilling in his room, looking ungodly sexy in his bold slashed robe, holy frack. I mean, he is sex-on-toast at all times, but the cut of his post-burial-mounds combo is particularly heart-stopping when he decides to stick a knee or two out. 

He's meditating and flashing back to being in the burial mounds, where he was also meditating. I admire his ability to fractally meditate about meditating. 

Chenqing

He didn't put a sock on the doorknob, so Jiang Yanli comes in and startles him. He brandishes his flute at her before calming down. The flute definitely does not see her as an extension of Wei Wuxian, because when she touches it, it smokes and then knocks her out of the frame so fast it's comical.

Did they put her in a jerk vest for that shot?

Wei Wuxian hides the flute from her, freaked out by its behavior. She, however, is unfazed, and gives him the first & only affirmation he's gotten about his new cultivation path, and says the flute is "like Mother's Zidian."  She kind of walks him through the whole "first class spiritual tool" concept, beaming with approval and telling him he must name the flute.  

Jiang Yanli is hardcore Jiang Clan, seriously. Freedom and impossibility. You survived 3 months of mystery trauma and now you're all fucked up? We'll roll with it. You have a demon flute now? Rock on. You're going to use necromancy to beat the other clans in a group hunt? Gold star for you.

He names the flute Chenqing, which @hunxi-guilai​ translates and explains in depth over here.

Bichen

Lan Wangji has finished practicing the Song of Clarity, and regardless of whether it's had an effect on Wei Wuxian, he himself seems much calmer. 

As Wei Wuxian contemplates Chenqing, Lan Wangji contemplates Bichen and remembers Wei Wuxian's assertions about resentful energy way back in Gusu summer school. 

This time when he grips his sword, it's loosely, as if he's made some progress with his anger.

Soup

Jiang Yanli sits Wei Wuxian down for some soup, and talks to him about what's going on with him, saying he's changed. He insists he's fine and works very hard to be convincing.

She's not convinced but says she won't press him, and then abruptly shifts tone and works very hard to act like everything is fine. She leaves, taking a lot of soup with her, and Wei Wuxian remarks that it's unfair she is giving so much to Jiang Cheng. But of course, some of it is secretly for Jin Zixuan.

Everything isn't fine, as Wei Wuxian scream-meditates with resentful energy just rolling off of him. He's got some of the dark energy stored in the Yin sword in his bag of holding, but I get the impression that a lot of it is just stored in his body.

Club Ruohan

At some point in the episode we stop in to check on Wen Ruohan. He and his wind machine are mad that Wen Chao is dead. 

Meanwhile, his interpretive dances with the Yin iron now turn his puppets into...Klingons? Sure, why not. 

Literal Stand-Up Meeting 

Jiang Cheng needs Wei Wuxian at games night a meeting and comes running to Jiang Yanli to find him. He is freaking out and she tells him to chill. 

No matter what fuckery is going on in the world, Jiang Yanli is going to find herself a nice little outdoor table and she is going to sit her ass down and have some tea and civilized lady activity. Queen.

This shot of the meeting is composed so nicely. The blocking (placement of actors) in this scene encapsulates the familial dynamics, and I’ll talk about that as soon as I finish admiring Jiang Cheng’s proportions. 

Here we have four clans represented by four family pairs around the game war table. The Jin cousins, despite their differing personalities, are side by side, matchy-matchy, in lockstep. Jin Zixuan lets Jin Zixun do the talking for him, so maintains his own rep as a reasonable guy.  

The Nie brothers are even closer together, also in matching greys, Nie Huaisang giving all of his attention to his brother/clan leader. You can see his careful watching of his brother's temper...not fearful for himself, but fearful for Mingjue.

The Lan brothers have a growing distance between them; they are in different colors (which is pretty usual for them), and Lan Wangji is standing well away from his brother and the rest of the group. Partly this is his personality, but it's also symbolic of his growing distance from his brother and other proper cultivators. He's carrying WWX-related secrets, and he's wrestling with what he's learned.  

While Nie Huaisang is looking at Mingjue, Lan Xichen is turning around to see what's up with his own volatile sibling.

Lastly you have Jiang Cheng, alone in the room, with his shidi nowhere to be found, and seriously feeling the heat because of his isolation. 

He's alone in his purple, but the color value (lightness/darkness) of his robes exactly matches Xichen's. 

And Xichen, bless him, makes a point of speaking to him respectfully as a fellow clan leader, gives him a path out of the "where is your brother" conversation, and is just generally his kind and helpful self with Jiang Cheng.

Next: Awkwardness Increases!

[starlightinhumanform]

Friday Night Lights: Chapter Two

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Ship: Romantic Prinxiety, Platonic Sleepxiety 

Summary: Roman and Virgil play opposite positions on their rival high school football teams. It’s the Homecoming game and tensions are high. Neither are willing to lose but one must rise above the other...

Warnings: Descriptions of pain/injury, Moderate language, One mention of drinking (Please tell me if anything needs to be added)

Genre: High School AU, Rivals to Lovers, Fluff 

A/N: Well... nearly a year since the first chapter came out I’m finally writing again!!! I really love this AU (even though I know very little about football lmao) and I have a lot of ideas about how I would like to include more Sanders Sides characters into this world. If I can get some more of my unfinished fics done, I really want to expand this series. Until then, I hope you enjoy! Love you all 🖤✨

Chapter One   Ao3   Fic Masterpost   Fic Request Info

The first play passed by in a blink. Most of the guys at the front went down quickly, even the largest crumpling under Prince and his brigade. Somehow in the chaos, the ball had been passed to Remy instead of Virgil and the fullback was tackled to the ground.

Virgil rolled his eyes at Remy as the team fell back into formation, only a few feet forward from where they had begun, “Dude, why’d the fuck did it get passed to you? It’s not like a knucklehead like you would know what to do with it.”

Remy huffed a laugh in response, “I have no clue. I’ll make sure it gets to you this time… hopefully.”

He glanced over in the direction that Remy was grimacing. It was Prince, of course, lumbering toward his position with what seemed to Virgil to be nothing but brutish arrogance. Roman acted like the entire game was about him; he acted like it was West Shore Vs Roman instead of West Shore Vs Knights. He probably didn’t even care about the game— it was all about showing off.

Crouched in the back of the formation, it was hard to see anyone at the front but he could picture Roman, somehow managing to smirk behind his mouthguard. Virgil hoped that Remy would rub his face in the turf.

—————————————-

Roman prepared for the second down, glad to see that the jock in front of him wasn’t looking nearly as confident as he had at the first down. Knocking someone to the ground always seemed to do the trick.

The ball was hurled straight back to Tempeste and the bitch who had growled at him earlier didn’t even try to block Roman. Good. All that was left between him and the weird little halfback was Remy Ristretto.

Roman tried to steady himself before the expected slam, but Ristretto’s tackle hit him low in the stomach, managing to knock him off balance. From the ground, he could just barely see the purple form of Tempeste weaving down the field and avoiding every single one of the Monarch Knight’s defense.

Roman tried to throw off the weight of the boy on his back but found himself thoroughly pinned down. His mouth was filled with the taste of plastic turf and dusty rubber and almost the entirety of his vision was blocked by the grape juice flavoured uniform on top of him. It was humiliating. And Tempeste was still running, reaching the end zone without being touched by a single Knight. It was like his feet didn’t even touch the ground, flying across the field.

The West Shore team were given the chance to make a field goal, and made it, but Roman hardly noticed. He was too busy grumbling about how he was going to get back at Tempeste the second he got the chance.

—————————————-

By halftime, Virgil felt like he had been driven over by a steamroller. Multiple times. A steamroller covered in baseball bats.

As the marching band paraded past where Virgil was sitting, he wondered vaguely about the operability of a steamroller that had baseball bats attached to it. Maybe the hit he had taken to the head earlier in the game had been harder than he thought.

Remy sat down besides him, “What’s going on in that big old head of yours?”

“Uhhhhh, a lot of cartoon gong sound effects. Now that I think about it, that might just be the band.”

Virgil looked out across the field as the marching band made their final pass around the turf. The sky was completely dark by now but the stadium glowed bright as day under the huge lights. It was always wonderfully surreal to Virgil, the time of night when the field became its own little world still holding onto the glory of day. He hoped glory was still how he felt about this field by the end of the game. The alternative would be shame; the alternative would be defeat.

And defeat was not an option for a game right before homecoming. It’s not that Virgil particularly cared about the school dances, quite the opposite in fact, he hated them. They were crowded, noisy, and you had to wear uncomfortable clothes and stand around with a bunch of people you don’t like instead of being at home watching scary movies and eating pizza in your pajamas. But there’s only one thing worse than going to a school dance— going to the a school dance after losing the biggest game of the season.

“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Remy’s voice broke through Virgil’s thoughts, “Well stop it. We’re ahead of the Knights—“

“Barely.”

“—you’ve made some great runs so far—“

“I’ve gotten blocked plenty of times too.”

“—and you’re always at your best in the second half of the game. Now stop putting all your energy towards making the little hamster wheel in your brain turn faster and go use it on the field. C’mon man, the third quarter is about to start.”

Virgil shook his head as if to dislodge the distracting thoughts, letting his purple bangs fall in front of his face for a moment before brushing them back and putting his helmet on. Remy was right. Virgil had started football as a way to channel his anxiety, not to cause himself more. He just needed to get on that field and start running.

He jumped up and started bouncing on his feet, letting the adrenaline flow through his body until it felt like he was buzzing. Virgil was ready to win.

—————————————-

Roman was ready to win.

He could feel it boiling in stomach, the drive, the push to alway be the best. The teams had been neck-and-neck the entire game but West Shore’s grape-coloured menace had managed to scrape by with a slight lead by the end of the second quarter. Roman had no idea how Tempeste could even run that fast; he had short little legs and was about as delicate as a twig. Maybe West Shore just hooked him up to a car battery and gave him 20 energy drinks before every game.

However they made it happen, the kid could run. He didn’t look like he belonged on a football team, more like a trackstar or even a dancer. Roman knew he looked like a football player— tall, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, his extra weight part of what made him such a good defense. But Tempeste... he was like no player Roman had ever seen. Maybe that’s why Roman couldn’t beat him like any other player.

As the teams fell into formation, Roman looked across the row of helmets and accidentally made eye contact with Virgil. His stare burned with intensity. Roman hated to admit it, but he liked that about the rival school’s halfback, the feverish energy that seemed to storm around him. In fact, if Roman was being really honest, he loved playing against the West Shore because he loved playing against Tempeste. The energy was infectious. Playing against him made Roman want to run faster, hit harder, be better.

Roman smiled behind the mouthguard that rested on his bottom teeth. Maybe he did know how to beat Virgil; maybe he had to be just as crazy and vicious as his opponent.

—————————————-

Virgil knew what it felt like to get tackled. In his high school career he had gotten jumped on top and thrown to the ground by various sweaty, muscly dudes more times than he could ever dream of counting or would ever care to. He had been dragged to the ground, sat on, and pushed over from every angle and in every way.

But he had never, never felt a tackle like Roman’s in the beginning of the third quarter of that game.

He saw it coming, practically in slow motion, before Prince actually hit him. The boy’s shoulders were nearly twice as big as Virgil’s even with all his gear. He came charging towards Virgil head-down like a bull, his bright red helmet set with a direct trajectory to Virgil’s solar plexus.

Virgil tried to sidestep, skirting just past the moving wall of Roman Prince, but somehow Roman was moving simply too fast. The impact struck just at his core and a deep kind of pain, like a bruise that goes all the way to the bone, resonated outwards through his entire body. A vibration ran all the way to his fingertips.

Virgil could see the crowd going wild, booing and cheering and maybe just screaming with no inflection, making noise for the hell of it. He couldn’t hear any of it. Maybe the entire world had been put on mute or maybe the ringing in his ears was drowning it out.

He fell backwards and Roman flew over him, momentum carrying him forward. When he landed— and boy, did he land— he fell on directly onto Virgil’s chest. Virgil thought Roman had knocked the wind out of him by hitting him in the sternum. By landing flat on his chest with the entire bulk of his body, Roman found another ounce of breath left in Virgil’s body to shock out of him.

His vision and hearing tunneled out, focusing on the one thing capturing his entire attention: Roman. The boy on top of him was heavy, crushing Virgil through his thick shoulder pads. The heat of Prince’s body spread through his gear as well, although, based on the sweat damping his hairline, Virgil really wasn’t one to talk.

Roman was strong, stronger than him. Virgil tried to squirm away but he could feel Prince throwing his weight downwards and his arms straining to keep Virgil caged to the ground.

Just as intense as his physical strength, Prince’s eyes seemed to burn. Before, they always seemed to be depthless, simply dark and brutish like a bear. Now, breathlessly close, there seemed to be a light behind them, a thousand times brighter than the stadium lights. Gold tones shining through the dark brown of his eyes. It was the most beautiful thing Virgil had ever seen. It was also easily one of the most terrifying things he’d ever seen.

Virgil kept the ball close to his chest. As long as he could keep it, the West Shore team would still have possession and could continue to move forward across the field. They could still win.

—————————————-

Roman had Tempeste pinned to the ground and somehow it was the most exhilarating thing he had ever done. Which isn’t to say he had never tackled the halfback before— they had been playing against each other for several years now— but this was different somehow, more personal.

Tempeste growled beneath him, wriggling to escape the tackle like water slipping between his fingers. Roman push down harder, refusing to let him go.

Footsteps pounded behind them, turf crunching under the stampede of Knights quickly charging forward. Roman braced himself for the pile-up he knew was coming, over a thousand pounds worth of his team jumping to join the tackle.

One guy slammed into Roman’s back then another, then another. The pressure of the game must have been getting to them as well because they threw themselves at Roman and Tempeste like a pack of wild animals.

It felt like every single Knight, including the offense players, were joining the tackle. And feel was the correct term. He could hardly see anything besides Tempeste’s face within his purple helmet. But he could feel everything, every hit of his teammates as their full weight fell against his back. Beneath him, Tempeste’s breath began quickening, like he was sprinting again. But of course he wasn’t, he was pinned down just like Roman was.

Roman glanced down into the depths of Virgil’s helmet, searching past the grill. Shining in the dark, his eyes caught a small reflection of the stadium lights. They were large, startled, and obviously panicked. He looked like a trapped animal and his breathing only continued to become more rapid.

Their eyes met as Roman looked down and he realized this was the first time he had ever seen Virgil look really, truly afraid. He had seen Tempeste in the fourth quarter, 20 points behind and looking as determined and fierce as ever. He had seen Tempeste sprint across the field, followed by the entire Monarchs team, with a huge grin on his face like there was nothing he would rather do than be hunted after. He had seen Tempeste stand toe-toe-to, small chest puffed out and jaw set confidently, with some guy over a foot taller than him because he tried to mouth off about Virgil’s ability. He had never seen him like this.

“Hey, it’s going to be ok,” Roman set his helmet grill against Virgil’s. He knew Virgil couldn’t hear him and probably didn’t even know why he was putting his face so close. Hell, Roman didn’t even know why he was doing it. There was something about Virgil’s genuine fear that he felt the need to comfort him, tell him that it was just a game, that he would be alright.

The weight of another player hit him and Roman was slammed against Virgil’s chest. The sudden shift forced Roman onto his wrist, the small joint carrying him and the entirety of his team. Something cracked. He gasped sharply as pain struck every molecule in his body. Roman’s vision went black.

—————————————-

Virgil sat in the locker room, staring vaguely across at the rows of blue shelves in front of him as he held a pack of ice against his shoulder. The nurse said that it might have been dislocated in the pileup.

He wished he could blame it on Roman, that oaf was the one who had tackled him to begin with. He couldn’t though. It was Roman’s job to tackle him and that’s exactly what Roman had done and as much as it confused and somewhat infuriated Virgil, he also knew the other boy had protected him from the blunt force of his teammates. Why? Why would he do that?

Dull pain throbbed through the entirety of his body, clouding his mind. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t quite wrap his head around what had happened.

Virgil was pretty sure Roman got hurt too. As he had walked off the field, gritting his teeth, he caught a glimpse of Prince cradling his hand as he walked in the opposite direction.

It was one hell of a pileup; four years of football and he had only been in a tangle that bad the first time he had played against the Monarchs. Maybe he and Roman were just destined to create disasters.

Virgil grimaced as his mind kept wandering back to Roman. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help but worry if Prince was alright. Virgil had no idea what was going on in his mind, or on the field, or in the locker room on the other side.

—————————————-

Roman was bored. He sat on the bleachers, watching the game drag on ahead of him as he held a pack of ice to his wrist. The nurse had told him it was probably just strained but Roman wasn’t convinced. He could feel the ache throbbing up his arm with every beat of his heart. Between the pain and the pressure spreading out from grinding his teeth, Roman’s head was trapped in a haze that he could barely see through.

From what he could tell, the Monarch Knights were winning. With Virgil out, Westshore’s offense had been greatly weakened. Roman hardly cared; he wasn’t out there, Virgil wasn’t out there, none of the spark was left in the game. What was the point of winning if there was no one to win against?

The crowd roared as the final quarter came to a close. The Knights won, but Roman didn’t. He felt disappointed, dejected, and like he didn’t quite understand where he was. This wasn’t his game.

The night came to an end and Roman opted to go straight to the locker room instead of shaking hands with the other team, blaming it on his wrist.  Usually, he loved facing the other team after a win— admittedly because it gave him a chance to gloat over them— but he just couldn’t find that same feeling tonight.

—————————————-

Virgil leaned against a cold concrete wall of the bleachers, staring up at the stadium light’s false sun above him. If he looked far enough, he could find the dark sky and the twinkling lights of the city below him and beyond the intense glow of the school.

A cool breeze was picking up as the world shifted into night. It was beautiful but Virgil couldn’t appreciate it. He just wished there had been some sort of ending, a closure of some kind. He and Prince’s last hurrah against each other. But they hadn’t gotten a hurrah, all they got was a game that petered out and came to sputtering stop as they both sat on the sidelines. Virgil didn’t even care that West Shore lost; it was never about West Shore and the Monarchs. It was about him and Roman.

Someone cleared their throat behind him, “You mind if I join your sulking or would you rather be left alone to mope?”

Virgil spun around, his body tensing at Roman’s voice and sending a twinge of pain down from his shoulder, “What do you want?”

Roman stepped closer, “I told you, I came to sulk with you because that’s obviously what we’re both doing.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, “Yeah, right well... fuck off.”

“Man, I thought you might bite before but now I’m sure of it.”

Prince took another casual step forward as Virgil’s mind began racing. What is he doing? Virgil’s eyes swept over Roman. He had never really seen him out of his football uniform and damn. In denim jeans and a red tee shirt, Virgil was actually able to see him for the first time. Most guys were greatly exaggerated by the uniform, making them look bigger and stronger, but nope, Roman was really just built like that. His gaze reached Prince’s face. Like the rest of his body, his features looked like they had been sculpted and chiseled like some type of statue. He was reminded of how beautiful Roman’s eyes were when he actually took the time to look at them, the warm shades of brown filtering through each other.

“Uh, what are you looking at?” Roman laughed, a hint of nervousness creeping into the edge of his voice.

Virgil felt blood rushing to his face as a deep blush rose to his cheeks. He had been staring, hadn’t he? “Sorry.”

Roman stepped even closer, clearing his throat again, “I actually came over here because... I wanted just wanted to tell you I’ve really enjoyed playing against you. And it can’t just be summed up by saying ‘good game;’ it’s been a hell of a good four years... you’re a phenomenal player.”

Virgil stared down at his feet. This was not what he had been expecting, not that he had been expecting any of this, “You know... it hasn’t been easy to be the smallest person on the team— shit, I’m the smallest player in any of the district teams. I don’t think I would have kept playing, or would have tried as hard to stay on the team if I wasn’t absolutely set on kicking your ass.”

Roman laughed— a deep, genuine sound flooding from somewhere in his broad chest— and Virgil couldn’t help but grin.

“So yeah... thanks for that. And good game,” Virgil smiled up at the other boy.

“Well, we can’t exactly shake hands like usual,” Roman glanced down at his swollen wrist and Virgil’s shoulder that he was still nursing.

“Can we do something else then?” Virgil moved so he was standing face to face with Roman, his heart pounding in his ears.

Virgil could feel Roman’s breathing quicken as he reached up with his good arm, sliding his hand to the base of Roman’s neck. Put he didn’t startle, he didn’t try to move away. If anything, he seemed to be leaning into the touch.

Virgil moved forward, standing on the tips of his toes to press his lips against Roman’s. For a horrific second, he thought Roman wouldn’t return it but after a moment of apparent shock, Roman bowed his head to deepen the kiss. He tipped them forward, supporting the entirety of Virgil’s weight with his uninjured hand.

When they finally broke away, Virgil was completely breathless. He definitely hadn’t seen that coming at the beginning of the evening.

Roman looked equally surprised but he began grinning like an idiot as the realization of what had just happened settled over him, “Can we do that again??”

Virgil laughed at Roman’s eager, puppy-dog-eyes expression, “At least buy me a drink first.”

“Well, I can’t exactly do that seeing as we’re both like 17–“

“Excuse you, I’m 18,” Virgil stuck his tongue out in mock indignation.

“Yeah, well, uh, would you maybe want to go to homecoming with me?” Roman began rushing his words out, “I mean, I totally get if not. There’s absolutely no pressure. And I’m sure you already have plans so—“

“That’d be cool,” Virgil broke in, “I’d really, really like that.”

Roman’s face once again broke into a beaming smile, “Really??”

“Yeah you big idiot, that’s why I said it. Besides, it’s awful going to a dance after losing a game so I might as well bring a trophy,” Virgil slipped his hand into Roman’s and began leading them out of the stadium and into the parking lot. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened tonight. He had started the evening determined to win, but even though West Shore lost, he didn’t feel disappointed.

Virgil looked at the silhouette of Roman against the fading campus lights as he walked alongside him. Maybe he had won something even more important than the game.

if you would like to be added to the Friday Night Lights taglist, please just send an ask or reply to this post ;D

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[artemiseamoon]

WIPs this week and beyond!

Loose eta - coming up!

Dates may change! Based on how close to done they are & if I have the time/energy. Places May shift.

Arte takes a break: indefinite hiatus

Now

Damage control updated 1/25 - next tba

Is this how it ends? updated 11/15 - next tba

Ghosts of our past - updated 12/5 - next tba

.

Other projects

🎃Artes Frightfest - next in 2024! | 2022 masterlist - high hopes for 2023 but had no time

🐺 Dancer Between Worlds return from hiatus tba! Fic info * - back in mid February 2024 💜

🥹 Arte’s Year of Whump - complete ! Masterpost

🔥 Narcos October prompts - complete! masterlist

.

February 2024 tru April 2024

It’s all poetry

Our lonely hearts

Python & Hawk

Dancer between worlds *

The road to you

A hermits journey

.

Tba - this year

Take two - hiatus but will be back

Burn the Shadow - A Gray Man/ Shifter au

Nocturnes of Melancholia

Immortal Seduction

The viking & the princess

End of the line

Just don’t let go

.

Might be coming back….tba

His muse

The three of us (with oc no RC)

In the depths of darkness

.

🎉🎉🎉Now complete! 🎉🎉🎉

Queen of Poisons

The Edge of Dawn

Elysian

Stay in the light

Sin

Death Kiss

Deep in the woods, the Goatman lives

Decided by Fate

Labyrinth (klonnie) a03

Secret Santa fic - Pero Tovar

More recently completed fics here

.

More lists…

Everything I’m prioritizing right now (into 2024)

Competed fics

Fics on hiatus

List of cancelled works

[justplainwhump]

Lead and Follow (aka ‘The Dance’)

For the wonderful @whumping-newbie ‘s birthday, the long-awaited continuation of our whumpee's birthday - finally featuring the promised dance... combined with some other pain, of course, for good measure.

Happy birthday, friend! Hope you enjoy it!

Cw - intimate whumper, strangling, humiliation,  captivity, lady whump, noncon touch, noncon kiss, implied fade-to-black noncon at the end 

[Masterpost Charlie/Marissa]

The third and final* installment of the little birthday subseries [pt 0 | pt 1 | pt 2] - but it can totally be read alone.

*at least until I learn to write explicit NSFW

###

Charles' hand was resting between her shoulder blades. His touch was gentle, almost affectionate, had his palm not pressed onto fresh cut wounds in her skin.

"You make me the luckiest man in the world", he whispered into her ear. She stiffened in her seat at the choice of words and he let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah. That's what your husband said, at your wedding. I must admit, he was right. You're perfect, babydoll." His fingers idly played with the buckle of her collar. 

"You know how to make any man happy, don't you? He was just the wrong one. Didn't know how to keep a whore like you in line."

Marissa fought back the hot, angry tears rising in her eyes. "Keep Jason out of-"

His hand closed around the collar, a sudden, brutal twist cutting off her breath. She wheezed for air, panicked, but there was nothing. Her feet pushed into the ground trying to get herself away from him, her arms flew up to pull him away, but he easily caught them with his other hand.

"No talking back", he hissed into her ear. Black spots danced into her vision. "That was our deal, remember? This was supposed to be a nice and peaceful evening."

He held it for some more seconds, held the collar and her body, that thrashed and spasmed beyond her control, before he finally let go. She collapsed to the ground, curled together on her side, coughing and crying and breathing again, finally. Still not dead.

With a sigh he stepped into her vision, perfectly polished leather shoes under perfectly ironed suit pants. "I like you like this, Marissa, you know that, but it's utterly unelegant. Doesn't suit the occasion." His shoe tip pushed under her cheek to lift up her face and the casual cruelty of the notion, mixed with smell of leather and shoe polish almost made her gag. "You don't want to anger me on your birthday, do you? This day is yours, after all. No restraints. Bathing. A nice dress. Gifts. Your favorite food. I even got your favorite music."

Dimly, somewhere beyond her desperate wheezing and the too loud beating of her own heart, she heard it. Innocent tunes, happy and energetic, a voice singing of love and joy.

"Get up now", he commanded. "Behave. And show me you deserve this kindness."

Bastard, she thought. His gaze met hers from where he was standing, that smug grin on his face that he never seemed to drop around her. And why should he. He had won.

Gingerly she propped herself on her arms, but his foot on her chest stopped her.

"Apologize first."

Her words came too easy. "I'm sorry", she whispered, her voice still rough from coughing. 

"What for?", he pushed.

"Speaking up."

"Saying his name", Charles corrected softly. "You will never ever say your pathetic husband's name. You're mine now. I won. So. Say it. You're sorry for forgetting your place. You're sorry for saying that loser's name. Say it and look me in the eye while you do."

She looked at him, into these green eyes that were speaking of hunger and hatred, and she only hated herself. "I'm sorry for forgetting my place", she said flatly. "I'm sorry for saying J-" His eyes narrowed and she cried out, when he kicked her down again. "The loser", she corrected with a half sob. Charles looked satisfied. She felt sick as she went on. "I'm sorry for saying the... the loser's name. It was wrong. I... I'm yours."

"Good", he replied softly and withdrew his foot from her chest. "Perfect. Now let's try again to make this a pleasant evening, shall we?"

He extended his hand to help her up, and despite her urge to slap it away, she took it and let him pull her to her feet.

When he kissed her, she didn't fight. He was gentle, placated by the words he had forced out of her. His lips trailed down her neck, past the collar, along the cut wounds on her clavicle and she shuddered at the burning sting when one of the cuts opened again. "You're delicious, babydoll", he purred as he pulled her closer. "I love that rare, perfect obedience."

His hand wandered down her side, caressing the smooth fabric of the dress he had given her, and ended on the small of her back. "Let's dance, Marissa", he whispered into her hair. "Like on our first meeting. Let's dance and celebrate how far we have come since then."

She was grateful for the way his face was buried in her neck, because she couldn't hide the pain flaring in her eyes, the tears welling up that she had to swallow back because everything, everything he'd come up with when he saw her facade crumbling would be infinitely worse.

Slowly, she lifted her left hand and rested it on his upper arm. His shirt felt soft and expensive under her touch, like the one he had worn at their first dance indeed, and she idly wondered if he had planned all this. 

"I've wanted to have you since that day", he said, as he took her other her other hand and caressed her palm with his thumb. "Since he brought you to my wedding to brag with you. He put you into my arms for that dance, all beautiful and half undone, just to mock me."

He didn't. He brought me, because he loves me. She wanted to shout at him, but she kept silent.

A new song started, as if on cue, the rhythm quick and powerful. Jive. Her favorite dance. And Charles'. They had danced socially, often, the two best dancers in their circle of friends. She had truly enjoyed it, often enough. Now, it sickened her just to think about these moments.

Charles' fingers drummed to the beat on her side, before he lead her into the dance. He moved smoothly, and she simply followed. It was of no use to think. As long as they danced he couldn't hurt her. As long as they danced, she could forget. The song was fast, a challenge for less experienced dancers, perfect for their caliber. The weeks she had spent down here had weakened her, but the combinations and steps still came to her easily. The wounds on her arms hurt when she stretched them for the figures, but she'd once danced a tournament with a strained ankle. She could switch off the pain, the disgust, the fear. She could ignore the confined space of this prison and the vile grin on her captor's lips. She could lose herself in the dance, in the rhythm of the music, in the tiny cues that she knew exactly how to react on.

If she focused on the music and her body, she could just block out the words he whispered, just reduce them to a background noise that couldn't hurt her. Strands of her hair flew out of the updo and over her shoulders, and somehow this tiny taste of freedom made her smile more real.

Charles sent her into a fast outside turn, and she spun, reached for his arm - into nothing. He didn't catch her. Just stood and watched.

She stumbled back, off balance, yelped as she crashed into the cheap couch. Everything was back at once. The clammy, constricting basement air, the barred windows, the sting of her wounds, the constant dull ache in her body. And him, stepping back into her vision, pressing her into the cushions. "I always admired this about you", he said, as he followed her onto the couch, knelt over her. "You can act so annoyingly loud and determined, but when dancing, you ease into place perfectly. You, babydoll, in your very core, you love to follow, don't you? You love to subordinate yourself. This was just beautiful."

His hands were on her hips, pushed up the short dress, a vile smile rising on his face as he looked down on her. He hadn't given her anything to wear underneath. 

Her head was spinning, her breath still racing from the exertion.

"Let's just keep that up, babydoll, huh?" He reached down to open his belt, his own breath going as fast as hers, hot against her skin as he kissed her neck. "Show me how good you are at following."

[catiecat1320]

The Rhythmic Nature of Chaos MasterPost!

This fic was made for the Sonic Big Bang 2024, hosted by @sthbigbang

Summary:

Shadow has never been the kind to think of himself as special. Aside from a talent for music, he’s just your typical guy. Nothing more, nothing less.

That is, until he meets Sonic. Until something about the unremarkable him catches the eye of the world famous solo dancer. Until he’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work with a legend. 

There’s so much more to the star than he could have ever imagined. There’s so much more to himself that he never knew. And there’s so much more between them that blooms in the time they spend with each other, beautiful, foreign, and absolutely hectic.

Standing in the face of chaos, the only logical step is to find a rhythm to dance to.

AO3 Link (It's better formatted there)

Tumblr Links (Read Below the Cuts):

C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C5 | C6 | C7 | C8 | C9 | C10 | C11

All posts are tagged as #The Rhythmic Nature of Chaos

Huge thank you to my artists, @lofithetanuki, @therealsinnohdawn, and @sleepingcircus!! You can find their amazing work here, here, and here, respectively!! Also a huge thank you to my beta reader, @thesummoners!! I love you all <33

(Feel free to send me asks about this AU/fic <3)

[agrlsname]

Fic Masterpost

I’ve signed up for Fandom Trumps Hate for the first time, and thought it an excellent moment to share a guide to my 32 fics.

If you want me to write a fic for you, you can bid on me here!

If you want to check out my works first, I’ve written some lists that can help you find something to your tastes. The most popular fics, my own faves, and those with the main themes I keep coming back to, I’ve written about in more detail. Below the cut you can find the fics sorted by more standard genres. I hope this helps you navigate my AO3!

FIVE FAVES of the fandom My most popular fics - the ones that made my name.

1. What Friends Do 23k, E A story about the blurry limits between friendship and romance. A long, fluffy first chapter, an angsty second chapter, a third chapter with smut, topped off with a super fluffy epilogue. Apparently that’s the recipe for success – this fic is twice as popular as my second most well-loved fic!

2. Who I Really Am 13k, T John’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance. With the help of Harry, he slowly comes to terms with his bisexuality. One of the rare fics I’ve written which takes place post-s4, but the only things I’ve really cared about from it are the existence of Rosie and the Hug. Podfic from Podfixx available.

3. The General Idea 3k, T A short story about how their relationship shifts when Sherlock asks John to retire with him. Podfic from Podfixx available, and there’s a sequel too now (A Home for Bees and Beekeepers).

4. Coldness/Heat 3k, E My first PWP, featuring my fave trope of all time: Bedsharing! This turned into a series of fluffy and/or smutty fics posted annually on New Year’s Eve (New Year’s Kiss).

5. Tomorrow’s Song 24k, E When John confesses his love for Sherlock, Sherlock isn’t ready to hear it. Heavy angst ensues when they both try to deal with Sherlock’s return from the dead, and Sherlock battles with his demons. Writing this fic is what made me Understand Sherlock and I’ve loved him fiercely ever since.

FIVE FAVES of agirlsname The fics that I’m the most proud of – the ones I still love years after posting them.

1. Who I Really Am 13k, T I’ll mention it again, because it’s the most important thing I’ve ever written. I wrote it while I went through this journey myself, and many readers have messaged me over the years saying it helped them realise/come to terms with/come out as bisexual.

2. The Sky is Full of Fiddles 25k, T A teenlock AU set in rural Sweden in the 1890s. Sherlock is a folk music fiddler, John is a fiddle-maker-to-be, and they’re both skilled folk dancers. This is where I finally took the boys home to me and put them in the culture that I truly know, and gifted them with the music and dance I love most in the world. Magical, nearly mystical atmosphere, young summer love, the pull of music and dancing… the story turned out almost like a fairy-tale.

3. This Is Your Song 80k, E I’ve always loved the Moulin Rouge movie, and I had such a blast putting Sherlock in the role of a fiercely talented actor forced to work as a prostitute, and John as the writer who falls in love with him… Many people skip this one because of the MCD, but with its poetic language, heartbreaking versions of the characters and familiar story, to me this might be my best piece of writing ever.

4. Your Daughter 9k, G The story of Sherlock’s relationship with John’s newborn baby – the way he feels about a baby that isn’t his, but that he becomes a second parent to. There’s none of the things I hated with the later seasons (Sherlock and John’s frayed relationship, Mary, or any of the fuckery that was s4) – the only thing I kept was John having a baby (not called Rosie unless you HC it). Another story I lived while I was writing it.

5. 52 Years 4k, M A string of headcanons from every year Sherlock and John spend knowing each other. I like the way I wrote this one – a little odd, pretty poetic, sometimes angsty, mostly sweet. Underappreciated because it ends in death (of old age), but it isn’t there for the sake of angst but is meant to be beautiful.

Main theme #1: BISEXUALITY These stories deal with John coming to terms with his bisexuality, under angsty or fluffy conditions. Or both.

Who I Really Am 13k, T Every internal argument, every attempt to escape, every fear, and all the joy of coming to terms with bisexuality. Sprinkled with Johnlock angst that obviously ends in Johnlock happiness.

A Singular Friendship 28k, E John struggles with the implications of having a close physical relationship with his male friend. He takes several missteps and dates a woman for a while to prove his heterosexuality, but he deals with his crap in the end.

I’m the Rainbow in Your Jail Cell 2k, G A short, weird ficlet about taking the leap while you still have the chance.

What I Really Want 1k, M A short unilock fic where John has known Sherlock since he was a kid. The first time he has an almost feverish sex fantasy about his best friend.

Main theme #2: POST-REICHENBACH I have worked through my Reichenbach feels over and over. Let me break your heart and then put it back together!

Tomorrow’s Song 24k, E While Sherlock was gone, John realised he had feelings for him. When Sherlock comes back he isn’t ready for John’s love confession and turns him down. They drift apart, John proposes to Mary, everyone is miserable until Sherlock gets his shit together.

gravity 1k, T When Sherlock comes back, they can’t stop touching each other. No anger or hate, only sweet hurt and comfort.

The Secret Blog of Dr. John H. Watson (series, 3 works) 43k, E Sherlock and John get together before Sherlock falls. Here’s how that plays out when he comes back…

We could. 10k, M Sherlock casually jokes about suicide, which triggers John’s trauma from watching him fall. They finally talk it out. Established relationship.

My Messy Miracle 16k, M Sherlock calls John twenty days after the fall to reveal he’s alive. John has to let him go on his mission alone, but after a while he goes after him to save him.

52 Years 4k, M After the many years they spend together, John reflects on the fact that all the happy years more than make up for those difficult years at the beginning.

The Zebra Sheets 13k, M Sherlock isn’t “dead” as long as in canon, and John hasn’t met Mary. Sherlock is traumatised by the torture in Serbia, and John is exhausted from the grief he’s gone through. They go on a vacation to a cottage and grow closer to each other.

Here are suggestions on what to read if you want…

… to focus on Sherlock’s background, emotions and growth: What Friends Do 23k, E Tomorrow’s Song 24k, E Your Daughter 9k, G A Study in Kissing (series, 2 works) 11k, E The Zebra Sheets 13k, M

… a John who’s already 100% fine with his bisexuality (or doesn’t make a fuss when he realises): The Secret Blog of Dr. John H. Watson (series, 3 works) 43k, E New Year’s Kiss (series, 4 works) 11k, E This Is Your Song 80k, E The Sky is Full of Fiddles 25k, T My Messy Miracle 16k, M

… angst and ache in your heart (but almost always with a happy ending): Friends (series, 2 works) 51k, E Who I Really Am 13k, T Tomorrow’s Song 24k, E The Secret Blog of Dr. John H. Watson (series, 3 works) 43k, E This Is Your Song 80k, E We could. 10k, M Not Actually a Girl’s Name 5k, G 52 Years 4k, M Hurry to Love 1k, G

… fluffy, romantic, sweet stories: About the Beekeeping Years (series, 2 works) 6k, T New Year’s Kiss (series, 4 works) 11k, E Undersea-Rainbows 11k, E Your Daughter 9k, G The Sky is Full of Fiddles 25k, T A Study in Kissing (series, 2 works) 11k, E All Hearts’ Day 400 words, G The Zebra Sheets 13k, M

… sexy, short stories without much of a plot: Coldness/Heat 3k, E Iron Sparks 2k, E Sex Holiday Manners 2k, E The Adventure of the Ugly Jumper 4k, E The Largest Sex Organ 200 words, E What I Really Want 1k, M

… an AU: This Is Your Song 80k, E The Sky is Full of Fiddles 25k, T What I Really Want 1k, M

… to laugh: Solution of the Final Problem 6k, G The Lost Kiss 3k, M Iron Sparks 2k, E Socks! or A Delicate and Unpredictable Operation 2k, G

… a bite-sized fic on the go: gravity 1k, T I’m the Rainbow in Your Jail Cell 2k, G What I Really Want 1k, M All Hearts’ Day 400 words, G The Largest Sex Organ 200 words, E Hurry to Love 1k, G

[shewhospeakswiththunder]

Perhaps you’re feeling bored at home or, if considered an “essential” worker like me, you need a little fun and stress relief. Here is my masterpost of fic recs from my two years of reading so far. Maybe you’ll find something new, or reconnect with an old favorite. Either way--

Enjoy! 😷💕

Reylo Fics that Deserve All the Love

Near Kinsman by englishable

Englishable is just one of the best writers I’ve encountered in fandom. This historical western mail order bride AU is top notch quality.

The Masochism of Self-Defence by greyorchids

The Reylo dynamic in this Boston PD AU is steamy, but also heartfelt. 

So Much Thin Glass by walkingsaladshooter

Never knew I loved modern day Gothic AUs until I ran across this one.

Heaven Forbid by DarkKnightDarkSide

I was stunned by the author’s creativity in this Priestlo fic. So smutty. So... inventive 😉🔥

Sonder by deathbyhumidity

Two strangers passing each other by on the train. Soft, dreamlike, somber, poignant. Modern AU.

And Still I Would Remember by Inmyownidiom

A Victorian era AU of two souls that parted and come crashing back together.

So, You've Decided to Glamour a Human Girl. by selunchen

Faeries AU! Ben, a fae, and Rey, a human. Shenanigans ensue.

Live Long, and Prosper by SaintHeretical

For the Reylo Trekkies. Hell, even if you don't do Star Trek, read this. PHENOMENAL.

Mr. Solo & Miss Wellfound by LinearA

“Regency/Victorian AU, Ben sees Rey's stockinged ankle by accident.”

Diyari by Nervoustouch

Modern archeologists AU. Snarky banter with dashes of Indiana Jones, The Mummy, and Sahara vibes.

Drawn to the light of your burning sorrows by Kyriadamorte

The Mothlo AU you didn’t know you needed. Both gritty and soft.

Crown Glass by RebelRebel

Fantasy AU, with lots of beautiful imagery and engaging character dynamics.

Kohelet 3:16 (Call Me A Cab) by LinearA

NYC Jewish Leia and Ben. Skillfully layered plot, nuanced characterization. Smut is HOT.

By the Shores of Varykino Lake by hipgrab (merrymegtargaryen)

Unhealthy dynamics, definitely read the tags. “There’s a lot of fucked-up-ness”, in the author’s own words. But it’s good writing. Fair warning.

Let Me Put My Darkness In You by ArdeaJestin

Canonverse. Hux is an insufferable, pompous ass and Kylo Ren writes terrible, melodramatic poetry.

Wintertide by Zabeta

Whimsical and primitive in turn, this lives up to the style of a true fairytale AU.

The Forty Thieves by PoetHrotsvitha

Peaky Blinders/Gangsters AU. Rey starts as Ben’s bartender and ends up as so much more.

I Said to My Soul, Be Still by LinearA

Dark!Rey takes her man. 🥵🔥💕

Hux's Rousing Pep Talks by Riels_shorts

This fic is hysterical. It’s not Reylo, and I don’t care. My list, my rules.

It's All I Can Do To Leave You Alone by TazWren

Office AU. Silly, spunky, with a bashful Ben. 

Sip the Honey Sweet by dietplainlite

Anne of Green Gables-esque/Edwardian era AU, the title really says it all.

The Pull to the Light by HarpiaHarpyja

Entrancingly macabre. This modern/fantasy/monsters AU catches your attention from the get-go, and never lets you off the hook.

lay then the axe to the root by sciosophia

All the Bronte goodness, plus smut.

The Golden Age by TourmalineGreen

Golden Age of Hollywood AU in which Ben is a jaded actor in serious need of an image fix, in the form of fresh-faced actress Rey.

Never Be Your Curse by Kate_Reid 

Kylo Ren is a go-go dancer in this AU. That was enough to get my attention 😘

Gallows God by Killtheselights

Bursting with deliciously grim imagery, an intelligent take on Norse mythology.

Thunderstorms, Clouds, Snow, and a Slight Drizzle by aNerdObsessed

Who doesn’t love an ugly sweater Christmas party? Ben Solo, that’s who. All the nostalgic wintertime feels in this modern AU.

Though My Soul Has Set in Darkness by englishable

It’s not long, but it’s good. A lyrical dive into the mindspace of child Ben Solo. A true gem. Also not technically Reylo. Still don’t care.

I Dare You by tinylittlebrain

Daredevil Kylo has pissed off ER doc Rey Kenobi for the last time. Spicy!

stuck in colder weather by redbelles

Professor Ren stops grad student Rey from biking home in a snow storm. And takes her to his home. You can guess where this goes 😉

Between Sky and Sea by nessalk

Serious Indiana Jones vibes with a Caribbean flair. Painstakingly researched, and moments of true beauty and joy.

But Before Tomorrow by Kate_Reid

Such good writing. Canonverse.

The Sword of Prince Hector by englishable

Exploration of what redemption might feel like for Ben, canonverse. 

if compassion be the breath of life, breathe on me by Victoryindeath2

All the angst and unknowns that we were left with in the wake of TLJ are soothed in this canonverse piece.

build a ladder to the stars by redbelles

An exploration of events post-Crait. Fantastic, beautifully written.

nor are we forgiven (which brings us back) by TolkienGirl

Both Kylo and Rey get to see what life would have been like if they both got exactly what they thought they wanted after TLJ. Fascinating read. 

Forsworn by Erulisse17

This Mando/ST crossover has everything you could want--action, witty banter, space romance! So much fun!

Reylo Favorites & Classics

One Shots

59 Minutes by delia-pavorum (literaryminded)

For Science by KyloTrashForever, ohwise1ne

He Made It Through the Wilderness (somehow he made it through) by LovesBitca8

light carries on endlessly by lachesisgrimm (olga_theodora)

Grey by ocjones

The Idiot's Guide to Flirting by Violetwilson

High School/College AU

I Caught Fire by KyloTrashForever

Mountain Springs High School by animal

Epithumia by pontmercy44

Soul Searching by OptimisticBeth

Office/Workplace AU

Sensual Storytime by andabatae

The Food of Love by LovesBitca8

Historical/Dystopia AU

Hiraeth by Ferasha

a manner of virtue by neonheartbeat

The lamb's thirst by animal

Wanted by Inmyownidiom

She Who Would be Queen by sasstasticmad

go i know not whither and fetch i know not what by voicedimplosives

ABO

Knot My First Time by KyloTrashForever

Canonverse/Canon-divergent

variations on a theme of you by diasterisms (Reydar)

i will be the wolf by diasterisms

Sky Marked Souls by AnonymousMink

The Death of Kylo Ren by nymja

World In My Eyes by sasstasticmad

i'm always in this twilight (in the shadow of your heart) by diasterisms

Catch Me I’m Falling by violethoure666

Sword of the Jedi by diasterisms

You'll Be the One to Turn by postedbygaslight

Dark Crown by Violetwilson

Harry Potter AU

Nocturnal Studies And Other Peculiar Magic by WaterlilyRose

Otherwise Modern AU

Pretense by Celia_and

Insta-heart by slipgoingunder

Serotonin and Dopamine by pontmercy44

The Elusive Mating Dance of the Porgus Adorabilis by andabatae

Hanging by a Moment by crossingwinter

WAR DOGS by fulcrumstardust

miles from where you are by Mooncactus

Charcoal by luvkurai

Stay by jeeno2

coarse and rough and irritating by frak-all (or_ryn)

Blades Crossed by the-reylo-void (Anysia)

Embers by sciosophia

Mitan, Midi by animal

Janus by englishable

Say My Name by Graendoll

Thank You for The Music by hipgrab (merrymegtargaryen)

darling, so it goes by akosmia

This is the Sign You've Been Looking For by RebelRebel

Broken Things by midnightbluefox

One-Night Stand by delia-pavorum (literaryminded)

The Rebel Side of Heaven by jeeno2

On The Bumpy Road (To Love) by violethoure666

we could plant a house, we could build a tree by Like_A_Dove

I’d Like My Obituary to Hint at a Sequel by Violetwilson

Only If You Want To by Violetwilson

Not Reylo, Still Awesome

Gingerflower/Gingerrose, Armitage Hux/Rose Tico 

Between Sand and Sea by Brit Hux-Tico (birchwoods01)

If Ever I Would Leave You by Weddersins

Her Yellow Rainboots by Weddersins

Merrical, Cal Kestis/Merrin (Jedi: Fallen Order)

The Stars Alight by FlyingMachine

Heavy Ice by FlyingMachine

Caltrilla, Cal Kestis/Trilla Suduri (Jedi: Fallen Order)

No One Else by xanderwilde

call it what you want by xanderwilde

tear you to pieces by xanderwilde

Dramione, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter Universe)

Now Is A Gift by SenLinYu

Sex and Occlumency by Graendoll

Zutara, Katara/Zuko (Avatar: the Last Airbender)

oracle bones by an orphaned account

Fics by Me

Virtue Ethics

Reylo College AU (completed)

Dr. Ben Solo, adjunct philosophy professor and part-time martial arts instructor, discovers a young woman in his Intro to Philosophy course whom he thinks may not actually be enrolled at the University.

Chiasmus

Reylo Role-reversal canonverse AU (WIP)

Scourge of the galaxy, Kira Ren, is tasked by the First Order to eliminate the last of the Jedi. When she captures hotshot podracer Ben Solo to extract Luke Skywalker’s location from him, things do not go according to plan. 

This Dance of Light, This Sacred Blessing

Snapshots of a modern Reylo AU. Smutty, prosey one-shot.

Listen Up, Kid

Canonverse Reylo Post TLJ one-shot

The ghosts of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren's past are back to haunt him with a vengeance. A well-meaning, familial kind of vengeance. Or, A Star Wars Carol.

Ben’s Body

Reylo Modern AU (completed)

Rey is an up and coming sculptor specialising in human shape and form. Her new next door neighbour has a body to die for and she's determined to preserve it in marble forever. Now she just has to convince dashing and reclusive Ben to model for her. Preferably naked.

Growin’ Up

Reylo High School AU (completed)

Ben Solo was supposed to only be ruining his own life with his bad decisions. Rey Niima was just trying to pay attention in class. Both get stuck in detention.

Seven Texts, 2 AM

Reylo Modern AU, smutty one-shot

Ben has good reasons not to have sex with his neighbor, Rey. She has other ideas.

Song of the Forest

Reylo Fantasy/BatB/Fairytale AU (completed)

Once upon a time, a girl with an unknown past appeared on the doorsteps of a lord’s manor, and now the forest at the edge of the lord’s property is calling to her.

A Season of Frost & Warmth

Modern Reylo P&P AU (completed)

When Ben shows up to a Halloween party with no costume, it only confirms Rey’s certainty that he is the world’s biggest jerk. Until it comes to light that maybe... he isn’t. 

Follow Me Home

Modern Werewolf Reylo AU (completed)

Rey gets stone drunk and brings home a big cute husky she found in an alley. The next morning, she finds a naked man built like a fridge sleeping on her living room floor, and no dog in sight.

The Gentleness That Comes

Reylo Modern AU one-shot

Underground boxer!Ben is resigned to his life of violence, until he meets a pretty new bartender one night.

Unlikely, Unbidden, Unbound

Gingerflower canonverse AU (WIP)

General Hux is imprisoned by the Resistance when the First Order falls. He had known his death was coming, it was simply a matter of course. He’s disappointed to learn the Resistance has other plans, and an unwavering policy of giving people second chances.

@thereylowritingden @reylofic @nancylovesreylo @grlie-girl @lilia-ula @greyforceuser @tazwren @mhcalamas

[galvus]

prompt: aberrant • words: 2,093 • era: shadowbringers patch content • [ masterpost ] straying from the right or normal way. “You aren't very talkative.” Irony written into her features with a heavy hand, Bianca stared into Xeven's face mere inches away from her own as she mended the wound in his shoulder — gunfire, Garlean, heavy enough to tear open the tough leather of his robes on either side of his bicep. The golden ember of his uncovered eye glinted curiously in Bozja's cloud-blotted sunlight. Her lips thinned into a line. Rather than replying in an instant, she bowed her head forward to get a better look at the freshly healed wound. The blood on his fur was still wet, but the blow he'd taken and the pierced muscle were good as new. “You can't be serious,” she murmured. “Serious,” Xeven said, along with a quiet offering of, “and curious. Your friend—” “— is endlessly charming.” “— never shuts up.”

Bianca's nostrils flared in a quiet cough of a laugh. Unlatching her canteen from her belt, she dampened the hem of her skirt with a little of the water and used the white fabric to wipe away the blood around his wound. “One of us has to,” she said simply, growing quiet again as she cleansed the skin, as she handed Xeven the canteen to drink from, as the adrenaline in her blood faded and she felt the world slow all around her. “Jadeite had as much to say as I do, so... it has to be Halvar who keeps spirits high.” Xeven gave a shake of his heavy head. “You were a diplomat.” He flicked a clawed finger against the brim of her hat. “You must have something to say.” She paused, her hand resting on the broad curve of his shoulder. “I hope that I can keep healing all of you,” Bianca said after a long lapse of surprisingly comfortable silence. “I would rather do this for years than ever have to bury any of you.” The hrothgar stared at her. His golden eye narrowed, but then, softened. She looked away, unable to maintain such revealing eye contact. “How is that for talking?” —  Bozja existed in shades of brown. It was oft-trampled dirt turned to mud by the weighty, unforgiving rains. It was wind-weathered buildings tanned by dust and debris. It was low-hanging clouds made of the smoke of war strewn against faded copper skies, so different from the blue and white Gridanian backdrop she knew better than any other. It was red blood drying on green leather that turned into a color that was barely prettier than rust. But that was during the day. At night, Bozja was black velvet and crystalline stars and dancing orange fires. At night, the sound of stories and song colored the air in every hue imaginable, not just browns and grays and drying reds. And Isolde's voice rose above them all, as clear as a bell and suited for a stage rather than a battlefield. The songs were unfamiliar to Bianca, but she understood the heart beneath the lyrics and the frantic twang of Isolde's bowstrings. She felt the joining of hope and loss, like interlocking fingers. The Bozjan bard collapsed onto the ground beside Bianca, her long blonde hair twisted into twin braids that danced with every toss of her head when her legs couldn't. “Do you sing?” Isolde's thin brows rose as the corners of her mouth twisted into a cheeky smile. “I've got a wager with Stanik that you can.” Bianca curled her tired hands around her cup. She hated answering questions about herself. Nothing she said ever felt genuine. Nothing she said ever felt true. She was blood and bones and magic... and little else. “Do you really have a wager?” Isolde's shoulders bowed forward as she pulled  her bow onto her lap and began loosening the strings. She pursed her lips, then relaxed them, her expression taking a turn towards the thoughtful. Then, with what was left of the breath in her lungs, she heaved a heavy sigh. “Nah, there's no wager, but I've been wondering...” One of the strings popped loose, and her finger curled inside of the gentle coil at the end. Every movement she made was both elegant and energetic. She belonged somewhere else, like so many members of the Bozjan resistance. “Does the Warrior of Light know how to carry a tune?” Bianca blinked at her for a moment before ducking her head, peering into the half-full cup cradled between her palms. “I'm... not sure.” The words felt genuine. And disappointing.  — The heat of buffeted flames still ached. They did not burn, but the searing heat of a barely diverted fireball burned her nostrils. It soaked the blouse she wore beneath her armored coat with sweat. It forced her to curl in on herself and closer to the paladin who had launched himself towards her the moment Sartauvoir pivoted his attention in her direction. His resolve manifested itself in a full-bellied shout as he rooted himself into the muddy ground and forced the magicked ball of flame in the opposite direction with every bit of strength in his massive body. A pure, holy light pierced the rain of fire that followed. “Are you hurt?” Stanik asked, his hurried words raining down upon her like a balm. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” Only on two shaky hands could she count the number of times someone had asked that of her. Two hands, ten fingers... twenty-eight years. “I... I-I'm okay.” Bianca gathered herself up and turned, drawing the staff she'd held flush to her chest down to her side with a flare of her own light. She pulled her shoulders back and stared across the scorched field into the lined face of Sartauvoir quo Soranus, shadowed as it was by the wide brim of his hat. “I'm sorry that you—” Stanik huffed through his broad nose before setting off in the direction of the mage with a rousing, “No apologies!” Her lips parted to respond, but he was already gone, his sword and shield in-hand and his attention turned fully towards the enemy. Drawing in a deep breath, her hand curled into a white-knuckled grip around the length of her staff. “No apologies,” she echoed, in a voice that held such confidence that she barely recognized it as her own.  — Burns were easier to heal than frostbite, but the screams of the burning were more harrowing than the sharp gasps that accompanied a snap of cold. They echoed into the ceiling, shrill as glass shattering and heart-breaking. The soldiers were trained to fight through their suffering, but there was only so much you could do to separate yourself from the pain when your armor was melting. Looming above what remained of the Bozjan resistance, the twisted form of Trinity Avowed spun elegantly as it blasted another torrent of flames down onto the battlefield. Heat was nigh impossible to weather in such a magnitude, but weather it they did. Sweat poured down Bianca's face from her hairline, whorls of ash-blonde hair sticking to her cheeks as she whipped around to find another body to heal, another person to save. Shortly after, the room was flooded with a dense fog as the amalgamation of three spread an icy wind in every direction. A young miqo'te woman to Bianca's right swayed on her feet before collapsing, her limbs rigid and her lance keeping her somewhat aloft. Even gravity could not drag the determined woman all the way down to the floor. She gripped the shaft of her polearm as she struggled to stand, her head hanging low and her shoulders stiff with visible discomfort. White magics swirled around the woman, lifting her from the ground with a rush of comforting warmth. Without missing a beat, she rejoined the fight, even as the amalgamation lifted Xeven's staff in one of its many arms. Bianca panted, the labored breath tearing at her throat as much as the chill. You aren't very talkative. At the helm of the battle, Halvar slammed the flat of his hand into the join of Trinity Avowed's leg, forcing a crack in its armor that glowed a fearful shade of molten gold. He reared his head back to bark orders meant for the ranged fighters on his flank to prepare for another volley of flame. And then, without missing a moment, his massive frame twisted sharply downward before twisting into a deadly spin and a flurry of kicks that might have downed some other foe. And Bianca... Bianca was quiet, even as her mind raced to keep up with those around her, even as weariness threatened distraction, even as what remained of her power began to wane. Bianca was quiet, even as her head filled itself with thoughts and memories and pain that was sharp and fresh and bloody. Twin auri dancers spun in time with each other, their chakrams thrown at precise points on Trinity Avowed's back. Repeated blows to the poorly joined arms left two of them hanging onto the creature's torso on precious few wires before even those were cut. And the bow fell to the ground. I've been wondering... Does the Warrior of Light know how to carry a tune? Bianca bit back a sob. “Not now,” she murmured to herself, the words lost to the ever-building cacophony of combat that rose from every side of her. A surge of power curled at her fingertips, growing with every blow that landed against the creature, the twisted being born of men and women who had become something greater with time. Friends. “Not now. Not now. Not now.” Loss sought to be nothing more than another hand dragging her down, but she refused to be shackled, not when the destruction of this creature meant release for Xeven, for Isolde, for Stanik. The heels of her feet left the ground first, followed by the armored toes of her boots. As she rose into the air, her body whirled around to face the enemy before them. She brought her staff to bear, holding it aloft as a crown of light exploded outwards in every direction. Trinity Avowed hefted its shield to protect what was left of its battered torso. The few arms that remained intact rose at its back, threatening those who stood behind. Including Halvar, and Jadeite, and Kasumi and Minato. Including Bajsaljen and Marsak and countless other resistance fighters. Including Bianca. But before the creature's blow could land, the air crackled with a power unlike her own, unlike any she'd ever experienced until crossing paths with Fordola. The tiled floors cracked and fell away as massive pylons of stone rose in a line broad enough to nearly cut the room in half. Jadeite stood at the very center, his hulking form standing straight for once as he thrust his greataxe into the air. Trinity Avowed's arms crashed against the stone, unable to break anything but themselves against the barrier. The scream of twisting metal ended with another rising to take its place —  this one inhumanly guttural and belonging to the viera who shielded them all. Jadeite's eyes glowed an unnatural red on a field of ink, leaving a swath of that same scarlet as he leapt forward onto the first of the pylons. The stone crumbled beneath his crushing weight, rubble falling away like rain as he heaved himself forward in a second jump. He crashed into Trinity Avowed, the momentum of his body dragging the broken creature to the ground. For a moment, everything was quiet, but then, as victory settled around them, the Bozjan resistance and those who stood with them realized that the next rain of fire would not come. The next glacial wind would never shatter another sword or blacken another limb. There was more fighting left to come, but for a moment... Relief sounded like tears, tears and determined footsteps. Bianca lingered in the room, standing among broken tiles and stone mountains and the contorted body of what had been. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself. “No apologies,” she whispered to no one. The sentiment hung off of her lips, as unwilling to let go as the rest of her. Turning towards the hallway that led in the direction of what she hoped would be their final fight together, Bianca drew in a deep breath, her pointed chin tilting upwards and her hands curling around her staff. There were no apologies, but there were goodbyes. The time to say them would be later, once all of this was over.

[thecat-inthehat]

16. Crane

Set somewhere around 2.x

(781 words) [Masterpost]

---

The markets of Limsa Lominsa were a hodgepodge of sights and sounds, as well as races and wares. Sharlayan was no stranger to a diverse culture, having hosted people from all around the globe, but it had nothing on this port city. All manner of trade flowed through Mealvaan’s Gate, and even more interesting people accompanied it -- Xaela from the far east with their brightly colored clothes, Malmooja from the New World, Thavnarian dancers weaving through the crowds… It was overwhelming to G’raha Tia’s senses. 

“Out of the way, catboy!” A gruff voice barked, and he lept back into the corner as a passel of sea wolves passed, each carrying crates bigger than his whole body. He stepped on the paper someone had laid down to show their wares, and the lalafell merchant yelled at him, shooing him off by batting at his boots. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He yelped, and quickly dodged out of the way, trying not to bump or run into anyone else. He managed to make it through the next alley with no one snapping or yelling at him, but it was a near thing. 

He found a low wall off to the side and sat down, dragging a hand through his hair and letting out a breath. He’d been in Eorzea for just over a moon now, but by the twelve it was still overwhelming and confusing. He just wanted to make it to Mor Dhona and possibly get to work on his research on the Tower…

“Too much?” A voice asked, and he looked up. And up. And up some more. 

Red was his first impression -- the hellsguard woman had reddish skin, long loose red hair that reached her waist, and a deep red coat that fell to her knees. Her eyes were orange though, a bit like embers. 

“Is it that obvious?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked at her again, and felt a bit uneasy. Had he seen this woman somewhere before…? 

She laughed and moved to sit on his right, and flipped her hair over her shoulder, revealing the winding tattoo on her smooth cheek. “A bit. You’re looking a bit wide around the eyes.” 

“Apologies,” he laughed softly and looked around the markets. The bustle didn’t fade at all. “I thought I knew insanity when I stepped into the halls during politics season, but that doesn’t even come close.” 

“What are you doing here, then?” She asked, crossing one long leg over the other and dragging a hand through her hair. “Surely you should be back safe in Sharlayan then?” 

The hair raised on the back of his neck, just a little. He did have his archon mark, but… Maybe she just knew what it meant. He was sure he’d seen her somewhere before though. But where?

“Maybe, but then I wouldn't be able to get my research done,” he chuckled instead, to cover up his nervousness. “I got a grant to be able to come here and I’m not about to squander it.” 

“Alright, alright,” she laughed, and it sounded just this side of too musical. A little too perfect. She gazed out on the rest of the markets, her eyes flicking between people like a coeurl tracking prey. 

“What brings you to Limsa, then?” he asked, trying to be polite instead of getting up and moving away. There was just… something about her that wasn’t comfortable. 

“I’m looking for my family,” she said easily, and dragged a hand through her hair again as she watched the crowd. 

“I hope you find them,” he said earnestly, and fidgeted his fingers. “I … I should go. I need to catch something to eat before I head out for Eorzea proper. It was nice talking to you, miss…?” 

She merely smiled at him and shooed him away. “Go, don’t stay on my account.” 

He stood up and nodded to her, turning away to dive back into the crowds when he heard her speak once more. 

“Safe travels, G’raha Tia.” 

He whirled around to look at her, to demand how she knew his name, but the spot she had been sitting at was empty. A flash of red disappeared into the crowd, but when he ran after it it was just the scarf of a sailor. He didn’t see the woman at all.

-

Later, when he met Shining Comet for the first time, he was struck by how similar she looked to the woman, down to the shape of her brow and the ember eyes. They even had the same tattoo on their cheek. But she said she had never met him before, or even been to Limsa Lominsa.