#everything else is up in the air and we'll have to see what happens!

[dont-offend-the-bees]

Though We're Strangers 'Til Now

And now for something completely different! Now I want you guys to do me a favour here, and I need you to picture this fic as having like, a BBC Saturday night family show budget. I’m specifically talking Atlantis, but if you’ve not seen Atlantis (like most people), think Merlin. I wrote Edwin and Charles’ voices entirely as I’d write them in canon-verse, with nearly no regard to the fact I was transplanting them into ancient Greece, so it’s VERY important to me that you embrace the Camp. This is a styrofoam dungeon. Charles is about to meet his destiny in a labyrinth that’s just a quarry in Wales. The historical outfits all have zips up the back. Get on board with the vibe. This one goes out to @every-moment-a-different-sound, who not only made me aware of Painland week as a thing but also approached me for a collab! Go check out their FUCKING GORGEOUS GIFS for this fic!!! This fic quite literally wouldn’t exist without them, Robin you fuckin' rule 💛 4.7k, T-rated, also available on Ao3. Thanks again, @painlandweek!

The dungeon was a proper dingy place. Charles wondered if that's where they got the name from. Dingy, dungeon. Too similar to be a coincidence, right?

Lying on his back on the hard wood pallet, head on his hands, he stared at the pale moonlight bleeding through the window. 'Window' was being a bit generous; it was more of a slit in the wall. Narrow, barred, so high he could've stood on tiptoes and barely brushed it with his fingertips. But at least it was big enough to let in that light. He supposed he was lucky. Between the sliver of moonlight and the sputtering candle in the hallway past the wall of bars, he was bloody spoiled. He didn't know exactly where they were sending him tomorrow, but he had a pretty strong hunch that it would be dark. The kind of dark that drove men mad. Maybe the madness would get him before the bloody great beast in the tunnels got the chance.

Seemed a bit off, really. Putting him in the dingy dungeon when he bloody volunteered for this. Maybe they thought he'd change his mind and leg it in the night. Any half-sensible person would, wouldn't they? No one had ever given Charles an earful for having common sense, though. Usually the opposite.

No running away for him, that's for sure. He was bedded down for the night, just him and a handful of snoring cellmates. Despite the panic and crying, the six other lads had managed to drift into some kind of sleep, however uneasy. Not Charles, though. Too much on his mind. The stupid idea that brought him here in the first place. The near certainty that he'd fail, in the end, and he’d have no one but himself to blame for his bloody demise.

Wasn’t all bleak thoughts, though. After all, there was always him.

The prince.

He closed his eyes, letting it all play out in his head again. Stepping off the boat, being 'greeted' (shackled and marched to the dungeons) by the 'welcoming committee’ (royal guard). Him and thirteen other boys and girls, thanked like heroes and handled like criminals. The king in all his fancy regalia, booming his solemn gratitude to the brave youths for their sacrifice — as if any one of them but Charles had any choice in it. And standing there, at the king's back...

Look, Charles may have had more important things to think about, but he knew a fit lad when he saw one.

Fit didn't even cover it. The boy was just about the most gorgeous thing Charles had ever seen — or ever would see. Unless he spotted a prettier one before he died tomorrow, that is. Bit unlikely.

There was just something about him, the prince. Charles wasn't even into the posh sort, generally. Like with the more well-to-do lads from his own town — something about the baked-in entitlement soured them. Made them ugly, even if they were objectively alright looking. He could smile politely and play nice, but he’d sooner kiss a frog than a rich merchant’s kid. And a prince was a pretty big step up from a merchant's son, wasn't he? By rights he ought to be even worse. Charles probably didn't even register as a human to him. He wasn’t worth wasting a thought on.

Except Charles could still picture him perfectly, in his head. He could play out the whole welcome start to finish. How Charles' heart, all shrivelled in fear, had jumpstarted soon as he clapped eyes on the prince.

"Charles..."

He'd had dark hair all perfectly combed into an inky shine, almost prettier than the gold crown on top of it. Eyes like sea glass, clear and green and shining with a cunning light; eyes that had scanned the line of offerings and landed on Charles. Fixed him with such an intense, curious scrutiny he'd actually felt himself blush.

Hadn't Charles seen him somewhere before? That chin, that nose, those high cheekbones? He could've sworn he'd walked past him at a temple somewhere, carved from pristine marble. He could see him so clearly in his mind's eye, surely he must've known him all his life.

"Charles...?"

If he concentrated, really concentrated, he could even hear his voice...

"Charles Rowland!"

Blimey, that was scary. That sounded real.

Charles blinked his eyes open and frowned. He let his head flop to the side and looked across the cell, where the stone wall gave way to bars.

There, framed by iron and flickering candlelight, there he stood. Pretty as a picture — baffling as a dream.

Charles sat up, slow, cautious. He almost said something proper stupid, like 'what's a nice boy like you doing in a dungeon like this?'

"Um," he fumbled. "Evenin'?"

Mm. Not much better, really, was it?

"Evening, your highness?" he corrected himself, with a wince. Gods, his old man would've walloped him good and proper for talking to a royal like that.

Prince Edwin, however, didn't sneer or snap or even walk away. It was hard to see his face, at a distance in the gloom, but he almost looked amused. Charles thought he could see the barest shadow of a lifted lip, anyway.

"Good evening," said the prince. He said it so quiet, barely above a whisper, but his crisp tone carried regardless. He cocked his head slightly and beckoned with a finger. "Might I have a word?"

Charles glanced behind himself. Just on the off-chance there was another Charles Rowland he didn't know about squeezed onto the narrow bed with him. There wasn't, obviously, and he was a good few feet from any of his sleeping cellmates. No mistaking who the prince was after. He swallowed, stood up, and crept across the uneven flagstones, stepping over the sprawled legs of another boy.

As he neared, as the situation sank in and the prince came into focus, a new bundle of nerves started kicking off. Nothing like the anxious dread that had been stewing in his gut all night, the 'oh, gods, they're feeding me to a monster in the morning' nerves. No, this was different. More familiar but also, weirdly, worse than the monster dread. Fuck, but this lad was gorgeous. Not even the dungeon gloom could hide it. He was almost blinding to look at — and now those clever eyes were fixed right on Charles, no one else. Nowhere to hide. Fuck, Charles probably had sweat and cellar grime all over his face, and all!

Charles came to a standstill, toes almost touching the bars. Up close, he could see that him and the prince were about the same height. Edwin might've had the advantage by an inch or so, but maybe that was just his perfect posture. Spine straight and shoulders back, he regarded Charles with his head curiously cocked and his hands steepled. For a royal, he wasn't dressed all that flashy. Hadn't gone in for any jewellery besides the gilded circlet on his head. And under the blue silk chlamys clasped at his shoulder, his chiton was a simple white, clean and sharp and draped neatly to knee length. Expensive, pristine, put-together, but not exactly ostentatious. Mind you, that's just the sliver of outfit that Charles could see — because the prince had topped the whole thing off with a thick, practical brown cloak. A peacock disguised as a pigeon.

After a moment's quiet contemplation, the prince finally spoke. "I'm told you volunteered," he said. He kept his voice down, but it stayed crisp and clear. Highborn through-and-through. Probably wasn't even capable of mumbling.

Charles supposed it was a bit unusual, but unusual enough to bring a prince skulking down to the dungeons? He reckoned he was right about Edwin's eyes, that cleverness in them — he wasn't just a pretty face under a crown. He wanted to know things. He was staring at Charles like he wanted to pick him apart, understand him.

"Yeah," Charles answered. He forced a grin. "Not my best idea."

The prince blinked and leaned a little closer, intrigued. "Why in the world would you volunteer for this?"

His attention was sort of a lot — but it felt... good. Charles wanted to keep it. Hold onto it. He wanted this clever, gorgeous lad to think he was the most fascinating thing in the room.

Charles shrugged. "I can fight. I can take a hit. Seemed like the right thing to do. The decent thing, yeah?"

Edwin narrowed his eyes. "You’d forfeit your life to... give the beast a fight for its food?"

Charles shifted on his feet. "Not... exactly."

The prince watched him, all expectant. Charles sighed.

"Years it's been going on," he said, barely a mumble — Edwin leaned a little closer still to listen. "Lads and lasses being packed off, fed to that thing to keep it happy. Not right, is it? And I thought, well..."

He'd thought a lot of things. He'd thought well, he was already getting the shit beaten out of him every other day, so what's a little mauling on top of it? He'd thought about being his father's son, with his father's temper, and how maybe that could be a good thing for once. He'd thought about how things could change for him if he came back — and about who would even miss him if he didn't. He'd thought of all those kids less deserving than him, sent miles from home to be ripped to shreds. Sent away from bright futures and families that loved them. Gentle types who'd never hurt a fly. Kids who'd never learned to take a beating. Kids who didn't have the anger to keep them alive. Kids who weren't monster enough to survive the real thing.

"I thought, well, I'm pretty good in a scrap," he said, brightly, plastering on a smile. "Pretty stubborn. Thought if I went down there, maybe I could..."

"Could what?"

Charles raised his eyebrows.

Edwin looked at him blankly.

Charles rolled his eyes, held up one hand, and punched his fist into it twice.

Edwin's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "You mean to... slay the minotaur?"

"Told you it wasn't my best idea," said Charles.

"You have a talent for understatement," said Edwin, a sharp hiss. His voice had quickened and thinned into a hushed, incredulous patter. "I'd go so far as to describe that idea as fatuous, hubristic, and downright suicidal!"

Charles snorted. "Yeah. Sounds about right." He leaned his shoulder against the bars, brought his face closer to the prince's — which was such a brilliant idea it immediately gave him a really, really bad one. So bad it was impossible to resist.

He gave him a lax, lopsided grin — the one that he could bring out back home to make the girls giggle. "Be good if it worked, though, wouldn't it?"

Coming onto a bloody prince like he was some blushing farm lad... well, it probably wasn't a worse idea than throwing himself into a minotaur's labyrinth, but it probably wasn't much better, either. But what did it matter? They couldn't punish him, could they — they were already feeding him to a monster in the morning. What did he have to lose? Why not take a crack at the handsome prince with the pretty eyes? Sod it, it was his last night on Earth.

Edwin, to Charles' immense glee, actually seemed to get a little pink in the face. His eyes darted away and back again. "Yes, well..." He cleared his throat and straightened his cloak with a sharp tug of the front. "Have you a plan? Tactics? A weapon, at the very least?"

"Um. Well. No, not really." He dropped his fist on the bars once, twice, mulling it over. "But, I have been told my smile's pretty disarming!"

If his clumsy flirting hadn't been enough to break through the regal composure, that would've done it. Edwin's mouth dropped open a little, his brows drawing close together as he stared at Charles in abject disbelief. "Dear gods," he said, voice light and brittle. "You're doomed."

Charles chuckled, resting his forehead against the bars. "Yeah. Suppose so. Won't go down without a fight though, eh?"

He looked up through his eyelashes and found Edwin still staring, lips parted just a bit. Fuck, he had nice lips. Kissable. Charles reckoned he’d miss kissing when he was dead. What was the sentence for stealing a kiss from a prince — was it worse than death by minotaur? He might be willing to risk it.

Edwin tore his gaze away and glanced down the hall, first one way, then the other. Furtive. He seemed to come to some kind of decision. "Charles," he whispered. "Are your cellmates all asleep?"

Pulse quickening, Charles forced his eyes away from the prettiest person in the room to have a glance at the others. Everyone looked the same as they had before. Same chorus of snores and soft breaths and muttered, whimpered nightmares. "Yeah. Yeah, I reckon so."

"Right. Excellent." Edwin cleared his throat again and crowded closer to the bars.

Charles' heart was racing. He couldn't lean any closer to the bars than he already was but he wanted to. He didn't mean to, but he bit his lip, eyes flickering down to Edwin's mouth.

Edwin took another wary glance behind him, and tugged his cloak back. He reached inside. His hand closed around something under his arm and drew it out — something long and wrapped in leather.

Charles caught his breath.

"Take it," Edwin ordered, holding the hilt of the sword to the bars and looking Charles in the eye. "Quickly, and quietly."

Charles didn't need telling twice. He grabbed it, his fingers grazing Edwin's. Gods, he even had beautiful hands. Smooth on the back but a bit calloused on the pads. Didn't escape Charles' notice that the blade, though heavy, seemed to be a familiar weight in his hands.

"Cheers, mate," Charles breathed, drawing the cumbersome thing through the gap. If he was careful, he reckoned he could stash it under his thin cloak without anyone knowing.

He hadn't meant to call the gorgeous boy (who also happened to be fucking royalty) mate, but if Edwin was offended he didn't show it. In fact he ducked his head in a bashful little dip. It was so endearing Charles had to do another quick pros-and-cons list in his head about the risks of snogging him through the bars.

"Well," said Edwin, a forced lightness in his tone. "If you must embark upon this fool's errand, you must have the proper equipment."

Charles let out a ragged breath. "Thank you," he said, sincere, as he slid the scabbard through his belt. He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head. "To be honest, I've... I've never been more scared in my life."

Edwin's shrewd gaze softened. His whole face did. It actually bowled Charles over a little bit, the difference. He felt like he ought to look away, like he was seeing something he shouldn't. A prince shouldn't be looking at him like that. Not him. Like he was something special. Something he was in awe of. "I can only imagine."

Charles bit his lip. "Less scared, now," he said, fidgeting with the hilt of the sword. Even though he felt a bit like he'd been flayed open and laid at the prince's feet, he still managed a wink. "Reckon I'll show that big bugger what's what with this thing, don't you?"

The prince’s eyes twinkled over his small, indulgent smile. "Oddly enough... yes. I believe you just might." He seemed to catch himself, a pretty blush high on his cheeks as he schooled his expression back into something a bit more lofty. "And quite a feather in your cap it will be. That beast has been a thorn in my father's side for years, holding the kingdom to ransom."

Edwin's gaze flickered over Charles, head to toe, and the pretty blush deepened. "If you were to end its reign of terror, you'd be more than deserving of a handsome reward."

"Oh, yeah?" said Charles. If he sounded breathless, it's 'cause he was. "What sort of reward?"

He felt dazed. He must've been dreaming. Five minutes ago he was accepting his fate, and now he'd been brought a fighting chance. By a gorgeous prince. Who was fucking flirting with him. They must've knocked his head on the bars when they shoved him in the cell — he was probably lying in the corner, drooling and babbling.

Edwin's eyes were restless, darting from Charles' face to his feet. His throat bobbed around a dry swallow. He looked too real to be a dream — but also too good to be true. His hand lifted, fingers resting on an iron bar between them.

"Well," he said, sounding pretty bloody breathless himself. "You could take your pick."

If this wasn't a dream, it was definitely a trick. Some rich kid teasing him, waiting to pull away at the last second and laugh at him for being so easy to string along. Or waiting for an excuse to run to his daddy and bag Charles a fate worse than death for getting fresh with him.

Except for whatever reason, he didn't believe that. Couldn't. For some reason, he trusted Edwin. Felt like he knew him. Like he'd always known him. And he knew he was kind. Not necessarily nice, but kind. For whatever reason he knew Edwin wasn't the sort to mess around with someone's feelings — or pretend to be interested when he wasn't.

Why he'd be interested in Charles of all people was another thing, but... sod it. Charles was probably gonna die tomorrow, anyway. Why not pretend it was possible for a minute? What the fuck did he have to lose?

Feeling once again like the undisputed king of bad decisions, Charles took a breath, and put his hand on top of Edwin's. He almost couldn't believe his luck when Edwin didn't pull away. His hand was soft — like the little gasp he let out when their skin touched.

Swallowing past his dry mouth, Charles laced their fingers. He let them lay there, woven on the bars; the warp and weft of it felt so right he wondered how they hadn't been doing this for years. How'd he gone this long, not realising how empty his hands were without Edwin's tangled up inside them?

He looked at Edwin's face and saw all his own thoughts reflected. Saw Edwin staring at their hands like they were a bloody marvel. Like the last piece of a puzzle had clicked into place. His face was so open, so alive — so gently amazed and Charles had never wanted to kiss someone more in his life.

Charles laughed, quiet, awed. "Handsome prize, alright."

That earned him another quick, coy duck of Edwin's head — but Charles could see him preening clear as day. "Be sure you're alive to claim it," he said, soft and serious. He squeezed Charles' hand once before breaking the hold.

Charles sketched a lazy salute to distract his hand from how empty it felt. "No dying. Right-o."

Edwin smiled. A proper smile; a quick flash of teeth breaking through his tight-lipped, regal composure. Charles would've fought the bloody titans to get another glimpse of it.

"You are... odd," said Edwin, matter-of-factly. "And quite mad, I suspect."

"...Cheers?"

Humming, Edwin reached into his cloak once more. "There is just one other thing..."

He brought out something small from a pouch at his waist. Something round, with a leather cord threaded through the middle and tied off in a loop. Edwin held it aloft, thumb and forefinger pinched through the handle. The little round something glowed silky gold in the candlelight, and Charles squinted at it.

"...String?" he asked.

Edwin nodded, reaching into the cell to take Charles' hand and draw it through the bars. His touch lingered as he placed the generous clew of fine, shimmering string in Charles' palm.

"I had the idea that if you were to unspool it behind you, perhaps you might be able to navigate the labyrinth with greater ease." Head bowed, he looked at Charles through his lashes. Pretty, fluttering things they were, charcoal black. "So that when you slay the beast, you might find your way back."

Charles gawped at him. "Mate. That's proper smart."

Edwin preened again — actually, he preened more than he had when Charles' complimented his looks. Handy to know. "Yes, I thought it rather a sensible idea. I spun it myself; I’ve been experimenting with the tensile strengths of different fibres. It shan’t break."

Charles grinned, closing his hand around the clew — and Edwin's fingers, too. "Brains and beauty, eh?" he said. "Where've you been all my life?"

Edwin went pinker, his eyes twinkled. Warmer than the candlelight, brighter than the moon.

Charles would have to offer up a prayer tonight to any god who might be listening. He'd do anything, give them anything, if they only promised to get him through tomorrow alive. He needed at least a thousand more days ahead of him, just to spend finding more and ingenious ways of making this boy smile at him.

Soon, too soon, Edwin sighed, reluctantly extricating his hand from Charles'. "I must go," he said, apologetic. "Questions will be asked if I'm discovered down here in the dead of night."

"Yeah. Yeah, 'course." Charles let his hand fall to his side, clenching it around the thread — still warm from Edwin's hand. He laughed, softly. "Well, um. Thanks for... dropping in?"

"And thank you for your discretion," said Edwin, raising his eyebrows as he drew his cloak back around him. "I'm sure I need not impress upon you the fact that I was never here."

Charles mimed locking his lips and throwing away the key.

"Good. Very good." Edwin shifted his weight between his feet a moment, finger lifting, mouth opening as if he had more to say. But whatever it was, he thought better of it. He drew his hands into fists in front of him, pressed together knuckle to knuckle, and offered a tight smile instead. "Well... best of luck, Charles Rowland. I truly hope you find fortune on your side."

With a stiff bob of his head, he turned fluidly on his heel to walk away. And it hit Charles again, hard, right between the eyes. The possibility that tomorrow could be his last day alive. A few minutes ago, the idea hadn't bothered him much.

Fuck. It bothered him, now.

"Edwin," he said, almost losing control of his volume as desperation sunk its hooks into him. He grabbed the bars, white-knuckled. "Edwin, wait —"

And he did. He waited, his back to Charles, his posture so, so perfect. Still as a statue.

Charles swallowed. "Can..."

Edwin turned his head, just slightly.

Charles' courage abandoned him. He huffed, shaking his head. "Nah. Nothing."

Of course, if there's one thing Charles knew about Edwin by now, it was that he couldn't resist a mystery. He turned to face Charles, eyes bright and curious. "Is there something else you require?"

Charles forced a smile. "You've already given me two gifts, mate. Bit greedy to ask for another one, yeah?"

"Perhaps." Edwin paused, and took a cautious step closer. "But, between ourselves... I can see little harm in the asking."

Charles' grin bloomed into something more sincere, something real. "No standing on ceremony, eh?"

Edwin's eyes crinkled at the corners. "I hardly see the point. I think perhaps you and I might dispense with formalities."

"Right."

Well then. Why not? Last night on Earth, and all that.

Charles ducked his head, laughing softly at himself. "Well. I was gonna be a bit cheeky, actually. Ask you to gimme a kiss for luck. But I reckon that's a bit — mmf!"

Quick, quicker than Charles could've imagined, Edwin was right there; reaching through the bars, taking Charles' face in his hands, and pulling him into a bruising kiss.They were lucky neither of them broke their noses against the iron strips.

Charles startled, gasped, so blindsided he didn't even know what to do with his hands — so he ended up just sort of clinging onto the bars. But soon enough his eyes fluttered closed, his breath rushed out of him and he melted. He kept his grip on the bars, though, holding on tight just to keep his knees from buckling. Edwin's lips were soft, and hotter than fire. His kiss was clumsy and overeager and not even slightly what Charles would've expected from someone so elegant, so refined. But he tasted of honey and home and Charles could've got lost in him, happily. Charles felt like he'd been shoved against the wall and plundered, in the best possible way. He felt like Edwin was everywhere, filling his senses. Hard not to feel wrapped up in him, with the way Edwin had his hands cupped round Charles' face, covetous and claiming. Like Charles belonged to him.

Fuck, maybe he did. Maybe he always had.

Edwin broke the kiss, but he didn't let Charles go. Just pulled back a little, still framing Charles' face with his fingers. His eyes were dark, hooded, his pretty eyelashes fluttering as he stroked Charles' cheek with his thumb. Face flushed, breathing hot and fast, gazing at Charles like he could devour him with his eyes. Charles shivered under the possessive weight of his gaze. He felt seen, admired, treasured. He felt owned.

He wanted more. More, more, until he suffocated under it.

Edwin took a shuddering inhale. "Come back to me," he said. And just because his voice was high and wavering with feeling didn't make it any less commanding. It wasn't a request; it was an order.

Charles nodded, in a daze. "I will," he promised.

He was as surprised as anyone to find he actually meant it.

Edwin nodded, and pulled him in close once more. Quick as you like, for just one more kiss — this one dry and fleeting, almost chaste. Bit of a departure from the one before, but somehow all the more devastating. Charles could feel Edwin's palms against his jaw, pressing so tight they ought to bruise. He hoped they would. A sword and a string weren't enough; he wanted everything Edwin could give him. Every tangible reminder that this was real, wasn't just a mad dream.

When that kiss broke, so did Edwin's hold. When he stepped away, he went all the way. And with one last lingering, longing look, he was gone, fading into the night. A mirage. A ghost.

And like a broken amphora, Charles remained right where Edwin had left him. Off-kilter, rooted to the spot. His outer shell shattered; his insides pooling at his feet for all to see.

~

It would be a sombre morning, just as the others had been. A familiar and predictable tragedy; as it always was, and always shall be.

At dawn's early light, just as they always had, seven young men and seven young women would be led — marched, bullied, carried — to the mouth of the labyrinth. There, the trembling gathering would be ushered into the embrace of the earth and stone. Pushed by the merciless hands of a royal guard, who'd long learned to look past the blood upon them.

But on this occasion, quite without the guards' knowledge, one youth would hang back from the crowd. From his cloak he would draw a small token, round and bright like a golden apple. A ball of fine yarn — spun in strong, beautiful fibres by strong, beautiful hands. He would find the end of the thread and fasten it, tightly, to an old iron ring within the threshold.

Then, with the clew unspooling from his fingers, painting a trail behind him like a steady drip of molten gold, he would walk into the jaws of death. Not with fear, not even with resignation, but with purpose. He was no hapless sacrifice, no tragic victim. He was a youth who'd grown accustomed to treading lightly through the dark, lest the monster in his house leap from the shadows. A youth with steel in his hand, and his own monster in his belly; a monstrous rage, and monstrous desire. A hunger to rival that of the minotaur’s.

A youth with a promise to keep in the dark; and a path waiting to lead him back to the light.

~~

A ball of thread is known as a clew or, in an alternative spelling, a clue. To this day, we talk about following the ‘clues’ to discover something, and it’s all thanks to the story of Theseus and Ariadne’s thread. — things I didn’t even know when I came up with this idea but make me insane… everything is connected… detective boys forever… Thanks for reading guys! You know I adore your comments 💛 and don't forget to give Robin's amazing gifs some love as well! Dunno if I'll get anything posted tomorrow, but if I do it'll either be something much shorter or maybe some sketches. I will defo see you for another fic on day 4, though! Any encouragement very much welcomed, it's been a rough couple of weeks💛 Painland Week Prompt List

[bet-on-me-13]

Desperate Villain Danny AU

(this is a 17 yr old danny)

It started out slowly.

First, a few of Danny's less active Rouges stopped showing up at all. He didn't really notice, and just assumed that they had finally had their Fill of their Obsession for a while and would simmer down for a bit.

Then, some more of his Rouges stopped showing up. No big deal, but he is getting a little concerned for them. They had definitely not had their fill of their Obsessions yet, why did they stop?

Then, the worst started happen. All of his actual Ghost Friends start to disappear. Ember, Kitty, Johnny, even Amorpho, they all start to not show up at all in the Living World.

He goes looking for them in Realms, but he can't find any of them whatsoever. He tries asking around, but everybody else noticed the disappearances much earlier than him and began to hide away from whatever was taking all of the strong Ghosts. He can't find anybody, and the ones he does find won't tell him anything (or don't know themselves)

It takes weeks of searching, but eventually he gets his answer.

The GIW show up in Amity again after a period of absolutely no activity. They have stepped up their operations HARD. Advanced Ghost Hunting Equipment, Much more Competent Agents, and most worrying of all, they seem to know that Phantom is friends with Sam, Tucker, and Danny Fenton.

The GIW comes to his house for a Meeting with his parents, where he overhears them offering his parents a position in their Organization as Head Scientists. While there they also manage to plant Bugs in Danny's room somehow. Although he finds them quickly enough and destroys them.

And then, one night during dinner while his parents are ranting about the GIWs Labs, they mention something that cinches it for Danny.

"And today we even got to Dissect one of the Spooks! It was that Mind Controlly one, you know the one with the blue firey hair stuff that sang a bunch! We're going back tomorrow to continue our Study, this time we'll see how long it'll pretend to experience pain before it decides to give up on tricking us!"

That night, Danny packed up all his things, destroyed the Ghost Portal alongside everything else in his parents Lab, and left his house.

He tracked down the GIW Base, saved Ember from her Cell, and decimated the surrounding Area. No survivors, none of the research is preserved, and he left the Site Director alive to question him.

Turns out, the GIW had managed to Reverse Engineer the Ghost Portal from that brief period of time where they had taken control of Fenton Works. They had been using their own Portal to kidnap any Ghost they could get their hands on. Using the research from those subjects, they perfected their Ghost Hunting Tech and started going after the bigger fish.

"But good luck finding it, Ecto Scum! The Portals location was hidden to everybody, even me!" He said.

"Where are the others!" Danny cried. He was losing control of his appearance by this point. After seeing what they had done to Ember, he was too angry to maintain his Humanoid Form successfully. Even now, with most of his control, he could hear the Static in the air around him, and see the Glitching of his hands as they clenched this Monsters clothes.

"Scattered!" He said with a crazed laugh, "We knew we couldn't contain all of them, so we send them to all of our sites across the Country! You'll never find them!"

Without another word, Danny plowed his arm through the man's chest.

He turned around, picking up Embers weakened Body, before beginning his long flight to Wisconsin. Vlad still owed him a few Favors after all, and honestly his mentorship offers seemed VERY Tempting right now.

(Why reject him if you don't care about keeping your dad alive anymore?)

...

The JLA had recently received a distress signal from somewhere in the middle of some random Forest in Illinois, but when they got to the location, all they found was a crater filled with the ruins of some kind of Military Base, and so so many Bodies.

They had managed to figure out that this was a Government Site owned by an organization called the GIW. A Paranormal Investigation Wing of the Government focused on the study and capture of Supernatural Beings called Ecto-Entities, otherwise referred to as Ghosts.

As it turns out, an Ecto-Entity that had been terrorizing the local town for a few years now had made a drastic change in normal behavior and had attacked the GIW Base that had been posted there.

They would have destroyed it years ago, but this one was unnaturally powerful. It had eluded their capture and terrorized the Town for years, but they had too much pride to contact the JLA and admit that they needed help. And honestly until now, they didn't really need it. The Entity had been entirely confined to the singular town, and had not strayed from that behavioral Pattern in the 3 years since it's inital sighting. They had made the difficult choice to leave it there, sacrificing one town in exchange for the rest of the country.

But now they did need their help. This Entity, this Phantom, was one of the most powerful beings that had ever recorded, maybe even The Most Powerful. The fact that it had left the Secluded town it usually frequented meant that it was loose to wreak havoc across the rest of the world.

The JLA Needed to Find this thing, and Fast.

[dovveri]

at-home olympics

synopsis: you and your girlfriend are watching the 2024 olympics except you’re cheering for different countries. you get a little distracted during the swimming finals though…

warnings: fluff and smut! sana's a little tease so lots of teasing, 1x edging, fingering, swearing

w/c: 3.0k

a/n: ok ik the races take place over several days but for ✨plot✨ lets pretend they dont and that history hasnt happened and i dont chronologically put these races in order bcs i couldnt be bothered doing that much research LOL aaanyway this one was inspired by miinatozakiii bcs we cuddled and play fought over which of our teams was better (i won)

〰⋆｡˚

“sana! it’s starting!”

“one second!”

“babe hurry! you’ll miss australia thrashing everyone else!”

you can hear her scoff from the kitchen, her voice nearing you as she rounds the corner to the living room where you have the olympics stream set up on the tv. “no way sweetie. if any one’s getting an ego check this year it’s absolutely gonna be you guys.”

you grin at the sight of her balancing a bowl of popcorn and a tray of sweets and goods to snack on while you watch the finals.

“what took you so long?” you tease, staying put on the couch and not bothering to get up and help her set everything onto the table.

she rolls her eyes, plopping down next to you, “i was peeling all the mandarins because someone is a big baby and won’t eat her fruit if it means getting her hands dirty.”

“you like my hands.”

“shut up.”

you laugh, wrapping your arms around her and pulling her into you adoringly, kissing her cheek. “thanks babe i love you.”

she turns to peck you properly on the lips with a smile, “love you too my big baby.”

you’re about to pout and kiss her again but you’re distracted by the cheers on the screen. the announcers start to read out the names of the finalists. you squeeze your arms around her waist in excitement, “it’s starting it’s starting!”

sana pokes a piece of fruit and holds it up to your mouth. you open without looking, eyes fixed on the screen as the swimmers start walking out for the women’s 400m freestyle.

when the australian, ariarne titmus, is named, you cheer, almost knocking the bowl of popcorn out of your hand in excitement.

“she’s the one! she’s the best bet to win this race! she won the 400 and the 200 metre freestyle last time in tokyo! she holds the world record for both of them!!”

sana hums, smiling at your enthusiasm. “you never know sweetie. the american and the canadian… mcintosh? she’s new but you saw her in the heats, she was fasttttt.”

“no way she’ll beat arnie though. this is australia’s win for sure.”

the swimmers get ready on their diving blocks, and then the buzzer sounds and they’re off.

you’re on the edge of your seat, taking in each stroke and breath, sana right there next to you.

“look look! she’s falling behind! i told you the canadians might grab this one!”

“no no that’s normal for her she always starts off slower but because 400 metres is one of the longer races she’ll really shine after the second or third lap just wait and see.”

you can feel the tension wound up tight all over your body as you watch the race, yelling encouragement, eyes locked on the swimmers as arnie starts to speed up on her final lap, passing the other competitors and hitting the end of the pool first. you jump up, whooping, punching your fist in the air as if you were the one who had just won the race.

sana laughs at your antics, rolling her eyes when you turn back to her, "i told you! i told you we'd win! the aussies are gonna crush everyone this olympics!"

"it's only the first day sweetie you know you'll fall behind once the swimming events are over."

you plop back down, "not this year. our roster is too good."

"we'll see about that."

sana was originally all smiles and giggles, watching you fondly during the next few races while you cheer when australia qualifies off various heats, and slump down next to her, miserably pecking off the snack plates when they don't. but as time goes on and australia just keeps winning, she gets a little pouty, either at the little patriotic spirit that ignites in everyone during the olympics, or the fact that you've been paying these athletes more attention than her for the past few hours.

either way, she plans to get your attention back and she has a wonderfully terrible idea on how to do exactly that.

the opportunity comes during the lull of the men's events. you're droning on about how "the aussie men aren't all that compared to the women. the aussie women are the ones to watch. who cares about the men when we've got arnie, mollie o'callaghan, kaylee mckeown, emma mckeon, especially since the french have leon marchand and he's like crazy fast and- b-baby w-what- what are you doing?"

you don't notice the way sana's hand has crept up your thigh while you were talking, too focused on the tv screen and the races.

"nothing."

you look to the side where sana's watching you with a smirk and a gaze that screams bad news.

"uh huh-" you try and wriggle away from her, shuffling backwards into the corner of the couch, shaking her hand off. her hand is stuck to you though, the movement finds her fingers only closer to your core that was beginning to slowly burn up at the feeling of her trailing her fingers up and down your inner thigh like that.

"b-baby i want to watch the olympics."

"i'm not stopping you."

"but- no i meant-"

"mm? watch the olympics."

you sigh in frustration, tearing your gaze away from her to fix your gaze back on the screen.

sana giggles lightly, letting you have a break, just resting her hand on your thigh innocently.

eventually, you forget her hand's there, too invested in the races going on screen.

"c'mon aussies! oh my god these germans elijah has to speed up oh shit- c'mon c'mon c'mon-"

the race ends with elijah winnington winning silver in the 400m men's freestyle.

"he was so close! baby did you see he was so close oh my god!"

sana rolls her eyes, more interested in your reactions than the actual games. it's when the buzzer sounds for the beginning of the 400m men's freestyle relay final that she begins to move her hand again.

your eyes immediately flick back down to your legs at the feeling, hand coming up to cover sana's but this time she gives you a lot more to work with than just her hand. she leans in, starting to pepper your neck with light kisses.

"s-sana..."

"hmm?"

"t-the finals baby..."

"you can keep watching them. or you can try anyway." you can feel her sly grin against your neck, your body betraying you as you stretch out your neck unconsciously, giving her more room to work. she latches onto the newly available skin easily, sucking and licking, her other hand drifting under your shirt and fingers running up your stomach.

"w-what brought this on?"

she shrugs, lips never leaving your skin, "do i need a reason to want to taste you?"

you whimper as she reaches your ears, knowing they're sensitive she giggles, letting the soft breath of her laugh hit the edge of your ear, kissing sweetly. your hands are clenched into fists at your side, eyes still locked on the tv screen but none of the information hitting your retina was being processed by your brain. you're straining to hear, see, feel more of sana, but she's torturously taking her sweet time, touching where she wants, kissing where she feels, even when you spread your legs open wider for her, her hand on your thigh doesn't move, only squeezes gently in thanks but refuses to make any further progress up your thigh.

"sana..." you start to whine, pushing your hips up, squirming under her touch.

"what is it sweetie?"

"need you..."

"need me to...?"

"touch me."

"i am touching you." she giggles, pinching softly at your waist, hand gliding up to cup your bare chest gently.

"more."

"more what?"

"ugh sana just-" you wriggle around under her, huffing, her nails scratching gently against your inner thigh and the bottom of your tit.

"hmm?"

"you fucking tease sana c'mon just- ah!" sana's fingers come up to tug roughly at a hard nipple, hand at your shorts sliding up to rub at your clit harshly through your drenched panties.

"watch your tongue sweetie. that's not how you talk to me is it?"

you mewl, "n-no. i'm s-sorry."

"that's better. now tell me what you want again. this time with manners."

"can you touch me please?"

"touch you where? here?" she tugs at your nipple again, your hips buck up into her, the finger at your clit pressing down at the movement.

"y-yes! everywhere! n-need you e-everywhere."

"oh everywhere? you are greedy. take off your clothes for me then baby."

she sits back, her hands no longer touching you while you hurriedly rip your top off, your shorts and panties following not long after. you lean back, spreading your legs as lidded eyes find her again. she's watching you amusedly, eyes flicking between the tv screen and your dripping cunt.

she jerks her head to the side, indicating at the tv, "australia just won silver in that race baby. did you see?"

you groan, hands coming up to grope at your own chest, the other trailing down your stomach and to your core, "don't sana- please- i don't care right now just need you-"

"now you don't care huh?" she grins self-satisfied, crawling towards you and slapping your hand away playfully, "so needy."

"only for you p-please sana-"

she hums, smiling as she kisses her way up your body, tracing the marks she's already made over your neck and collarbone, finally reaching your lips with a cheeky grin.

she looks down at you with a mirthful glint in her eyes, her lips just centimetres away from yours, "ask me."

you groan, "what?"

"ask me to kiss you."

"oh for fuck's sake-"

a hand pinches at your side and you yelp in pain.

"what did i say about language?"

you whimper easily, submitting to her without a second thought, "i'm sorry. please kiss me?"

a smile, "much better."

she connects your lips at last, giggling a little at your desperation. you moan as soon as your lips meet, hungrily sucking her lip into your mouth, eyebrows furrowed in concentration and slight annoyance at how long she's been teasing you for.

her tongue swipes along your bottom lip and you eagerly open, panting into her mouth as she licks into you, tasting of the snacks you just had and something uniquely hers that made your head spin and your pussy clench.

you're obviously terrible at multitasking and sana takes advantage of that while she's got you completely focused on how good her body feels against yours and how her tongue is searching every inch of your mouth, her hands sliding down your chest to grope at your tits properly now, squeezing and relishing the moan you let out, the slow grinding that your hips start up even without you knowing.

she gives you a much needed oxygen break, moving down your neck again but making her way straight down to your chest, her hands and mouth working in tandem to drive you positively insane, massaging your sensitive flesh and licking and sucking until you were whining and panting once again.

when she takes a nipple into her mouth, your chest arches up into her, hand finding purchase in her hair, tugging her impossibly closer. she mumbles something around your nipple, and although you don't catch what she says, the small rumble and vibration sends shivers up your spine and straight down to your core, your thighs aching to rub together to find any kind of friction on your absolutely drenched cunt.

she licks across to your other nipple that she's been twisting and pinching with those long fingers of hers, taking it into her mouth as well, the hot warmth around your nipple and her hand that comes up to squeeze at the tit she's just left, causing another gush of slick to leak between your thighs.

you don't dare look down at her, nails digging into her scalp, hips pushing up against her, moans drowning out the commentary of the swimming finals still playing on the tv.

her hands inch downwards while her mouth is still attached to your chest. she doesn't tease this time, dipping straight into your heat and running her finger along your opening.

"m- please- sana there-"

she wets her fingers easily, running them up and down your cunt a few times, making sure to rub a little circle at your clit each time she does a lap, her fingers swimming around in your pussy like the swimmers on screen.

"i-inside sana pl-ease- i'm ready-"

she hums, inserting one finger gently, pumping slowly with just her first knuckle before sliding in more, curling her finger once she reaches that part of you where she can rub at the little patch of your frontal wall that has you bucking up into her and gasping.

"r-ight there- fuck- sana- god you're- so good-"

she starts up a slow rhythm, lips still attached to your breast, sucking hickies and new marks into your skin, right next to fading marks that no one else but her could've left.

she's building you up at her own leisure, pushing another finger in once she thinks you're wet enough (you've been wet enough). your hands move down from her hair onto her shoulders, gripping tightly at the feeling.

"f-faster sana i c-can- i can take it-"

she listens so well, speeding up immediately, pushing in and out of you at a pace that leaves you breathless. you throw your head back on the arm of the couch, feeling the knot in your stomach tighten with each entrance and exit, the orgasm she's building you up to so close with each thrust.

you're so focused on cumming you don't notice the way sana's ears perk up, her lips leaving your nipple with a plop as she turns her head to the side curiously.

and then all of a sudden, just as you're about to climax, sana rips away from you, jumping up from the couch and squealing in glee.

"matsushita!! he did it! y/n look he did it! france came first but that's okay because marchand was always going to win right?! but matsushita beat america!"

you're sweating on the couch, breathing heavily as you hazily look towards sana, confused at what just happened and how you didn't just have a mind-blowing orgasm 2 seconds ago. you can feel the fluttering of your stomach, the slick on your thighs still very apparent, as if you did orgasm but you just couldn't remember it.

"w-what?"

sana turns to you with a bright smile, kissing your lips sweetly, "look! japan won silver! in swimming!"

you blink dumbly at the screen, sure enough, at second place in the men's 400m individual medley is matsushita tomoyuki representing japan. you're trying to piece together the connection between this new piece of information and why you had your orgasm so violently torn away from you.

and then you realise there was no connection.

"sana!! are you serious?!"

she turns back to look at you with a confused pout on her face, why was she being yelled at? she tilts her head like a lost puppy, completely disregarding your state of undress, a total personality flip from when she was whispering and touching you in the dirtiest ways, distracting you from the olympics only to get distracted herself and stop milliseconds before she helped you reach your high.

"what?"

"i- you- we just- i was-" you gape blankly at her, flushing bright red, hands waving around dumbly while trying to come up with the words to describe this absurd situation.

you end up throwing your hands over your face in frustration, groaning and bringing your knees up to your chest, hunching over and pulling the couch blanket over your naked body.

sana giggles, plopping back down on the couch and squeezing into you. "whaaaaaaaat-" she pokes your side, trying to get you to look at her, but you're persistent, pouting and throwing the blanket over your head, shuffling around until your wrapped around in it and your head pokes back out to watch the screen as they transition over to the women's swimming again.

sana sidles even closer, trying to get under your blanket as well, "what's wrong?"

you huff, not looking at her.

"baaaabyyyyy-" she pouts.

"i was so close." you mumble.

sana grins, "what was that?"

you whine, tips of your ears still red, "i was so close sana! why did you have to- were you watching the whole time?!"

she laughs then, bright and innocent, "noooo i just suddenly heard japanese cheering coming from the tv so i looked up to see what was going on and then matsushita hit the end of the lap!"

"so you won't let me watch the olympics but you'll deny me an orgasm when you want to watch?!"

"i always said you could keep watching! too bad you just can't pay attention to two things at once." she smirks, finally able to sneak in under your arm and come in next to you under the blanket, not minding at all that you were stark naked and she was still completely dressed.

"urgh you're so-" you huff, mumbling to yourself incoherently while making sure the blanket was fully covering her as well.

"what? i'm so what?" she's staring at you with wide eyes, a knowing smile on her lips.

"i'm not talking to you. watch the olympics."

she laughs, a full body-shaking laugh, tackling you back down into the couch with the force of it, her arms going to wrap around your waist immediately as she makes herself comfortable nuzzling herself under your neck and onto your chest.

you roll your eyes, covering the both of you as you turn your attention back to the screen. once the games were over and you only had to pay attention to your cheeky girlfriend, you'd make sure she knew exactly how you felt with all your attention focused on repaying her for her antics.

[silverskye13]

Etho looks down quietly at his basket, making sure everything he needs is inside. He knows it is best to only make one trip down to the water. The water is treacherous. He is strong enough to withstand it, but of course, everyone who ever drowned thinks they're strong enough until their lungs are bursting. So. He double checks. He makes sure.

He has a week's worth of laundry. Some dishes he needs sand from the river to scour. A bucket, so he won't have to make this trip for another few days. There are a few pieces of leather armor in need of a quick rinse before they're polished. Also, he's thirsty. He tries not to drink his rain water. He needs it to last.

Finally, Etho belts on his sword, hefts the basket over one shoulder, and the empty bucket with his free hand. He looks to the short path that leads down to the dock. The water is blue as the diamond sky above, edged in gold from the slowly gathering sunset. Birds are singing. Breeze whispers through the willow branches and cattails. Across the river, a small herd of deer is moving through the rushes. One breaks apart from the others to drink. Etho sighs out a long breath, steels himself, and walks down the trail.

The water is cursed. Very few people still come to the river for chores. Most only dare to run down for a few buckets of water when the well is running dry.

_____

When Tango saw him gathering his things earlier, he'd shaken his head and made a warding gesture with his hand. Protection. For himself. For Etho. Or just to ward away the idea of evil.

"Scream, I guess," Tango had told him. "I doubt we'll make it in time, but yanno, we'll know what happened."

Etho had only offered a tense smile behind his mask. Everyone would know what happened, scream or not.

"I'll be fine," Etho said. "I've been fine before."

He said it a lot more confidently than he felt, and Tango wasn't reassured. Tango had a good nose for things like that. He sniffed the air, and made the chagrined expression of someone who could smell a coming thunderstorm.

"Yeah. Sure." Tango sniffed again, and then tapped the side of his nose with a knowing finger. "On second thought, maybe save your breath."

_____

Etho walks out onto the dock, his footsteps silent as he can make them. He took his boots off by the dock's edge. They're heavy when they're wet. He sets the basket down gently on the aged wood. He fills the bucket first. In the neat and tidy plan of his habits, he thinks the bucket is the one he least wants to be left last with. It's heavy and cumbersome, and requires leaning over the water's edge. So he fills it, trying to disturb the water as little as possible, and pads back to his boots to set it down gently beside them. Then he's back to his basket, and getting to the louder work, what he know will attract attention.

He grabs a shirt and dunks it into the water, wringing it out a few times before scrubbing it against the dock's edge. Someone nailed a washboard here, probably to make it easier for everyone else who needed to scrub up -- one less cumbersome thing to drag to the riverside. Beside it, Etho can see long scratches in the wood, vanishing off the side. He has large hands, so they don't line up to him, but the unmistakable look of nails scratching, clinging, is recognizable even still. He wonders idly who made them. Probably someone playing, before the water was cursed. Or an animal that swam across the bank and needed help scurrying out.

He is tempted to think it's something more sinister, but he knows better.

The water turns from diamond blue to sunflower yellow, then to blazing orange with rusted and bleeding edges. The herd of deer on the other side of the water wanders off, sated. A fox calls in the wood somewhere, an uncanny, very human scream. The bird calls twitter into silence, replaced by chirping frogsong. Etho wrings out the last of his clothes and wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. He checks how far the sun has dipped in the sky, and decides he has an our yet before dark settles in.

With his clothes washed, he sets them back in the basket, neatly folded. They'll wrinkle probably, but when he puts them out on the line, the wind will straighten them out. His knees are sore from kneeling, his back from leaning. His armor will be easier to clean if he can settle in, brace it on his crossed legs.

Etho looks around the water, at the deceptive stillness. It's a slow, lazy river, hardly pushing the water fast enough to put ripples on it. There is one place near the opposite bank where a long shadow stretches from a stone, broken by the reflection of red sunset. It's the kind of image he would expect to see on a lake on a windless day. He's heard before that quiet rivers make for deadly waters, that there is a current in holes in the riverbed that will devour someone.

But Etho isn't in the water. He's on the dock, and the dock is safe. Nothing will drag him off it. Nothing in the water is strong enough. It doesn't have to be. There is some comfort in that, in knowing he can't be devoured against his will. It is why he still comes to the river. It is why he dares. Etho sits back and crosses his legs, bracing his leathers against his knees. He scoops a palm full of water onto them and scrubs, trying to get blood out of the small cracks where it will settle and rot. His chainmail is back at the fort up the hill, where its heaviness can't encumber him. It cleans itself reasonably well, all the links clattering together, just so long as he doesn't roll in any mud.

There is shuffling on the dock behind him, the creaking of old wood. Etho tilts his head, breathes in deeply through his nose. His pulse doesn't quicken. After a momentary pause, he resumes his work.

"Hey BDubs," he says conversationally. "Trying to sneak up on me?"

"Wh-- no. Of course not." There is mischief in BDub's answer, a grin in his voice. "The great Etho? Never. You probably heard me coming from a mile away."

"Maybe not a mile," Etho chuckles humbly. "You going to join me?"

"Well, I don't know," BDubs laughs, leaning over Etho's shoulder. "Is it safe?"

"I don't know why it wouldn't be."

"Water's cursed," BDubs reminds him. "There could be boogiemen about."

"You trying to tell me something BDubs?" Etho asks slyly, peering up at his friend.

"What? No of course not," BDubs laughs. He sits beside Etho, plunging his bare feet into the water beside the dock. "Even if I was, you know me Etho. You? Kill you? You'd kill me first."

"I don't know about that," Etho hums, splashing another palm full of water on a buckle clasp and scrubbing at a rusted stain with his thumb. "You made pretty efficient work of Grian."

"Grian had it coming," BDubs shrugs. "Got too caught up listening to the music."

Etho chuckles. "The music was very good."

BDubs kicks his feet in the water, humming the tune momentarily under his breath. It's a haunting sound, not really meant to be sung. Not by anything human. Etho shudders in spite of himself.

"Man, don't do that."

"Sorry! Haha! Sorry. Couldn't help it," BDubs grins a gap-tooth smile in Etho's direction, his eyes bright and gilded by the setting sun. "It's probably one of the coolest kills I've ever gotten."

"I'll make sure Tango knows you said that."

"Oh, Tango's fine." Bdubs waves a hand dismissively. "He's just upset 'cause I scared him."

"You did more than just scare him."

Dark room. Dark water. Tango screaming and running, scrabbling at the walls with his nails. If they ever went back to that little cave, Etho wondered if there would be marks on the walls like the docks, played, desperate fingers, digging.

"Well he's alive, isn't he?"

"I guess he is."

"Then he should get over it!"

Etho shakes his head, laughing. BDubs' voice is over-loud on the quiet lake, but its a good sound. Full of intensity and joy, and revelry. It made the silence between his words stark and empty, and Etho was always loathe to fill it.

Bdubs suddenly wraps an arm around Etho's shoulders, pulling him into a conspiratorial embrace. "Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you, by the way."

Etho suddenly has goosebumps on his neck, his spine, his arms. BDubs' arm is cold against his shoulders. He smells of bracken and standing water, and his eyes are bright as sunset. Etho takes a long, slow breath in and holds it for a moment.

"Uh... Yeah, BDubs?"

"I've got a plan, you know, for the others," Bdubs continues, his voice dropping to something near a whisper. There is something on the edge of his tone like the ringing of bells. Excitement. Thrill. Hunger. "But I'll need some help. I mean, I'm good at redstone, you know 'ol BDubs knows his stuff. But I need an expert. Someone good at traps."

"You know you've always got me Bdubs," Etho laughs, and it is hard to keep the nervousness from his voice. He's not sure he succeeds. "I'm happy to help. Just uh--" He shrugs his shoulders, and BDubs' arm falls away. "You know. Keep your distance."

"You're not scared of me, are you Etho?" Bdubs laughs, and it's loud and boisterous, and perfect. It echoes off the water like glass. Bells and ringing. He gives Etho a prideful, knowing look. "No, you're not scared of little 'ol BDubs. I know what you're scared of."

BDubs suddenly turns and slips into the water. Not all the way. His hands are still clinging to the wood, his elbows resting on the dock like it was a pool side. But the splash hits Etho's side and makes him shudder so hard, he drops the armor he'd been polishing. In a flash he's on his feet, backing away two, three steps. His movements feel too slow and heavy, and there's an instant of panic in him.

"Woah man!" Etho snaps, startled. He reaches for something, anything-- "I said keep your--!"

But BDubs is laughing, kicking his feet, stirring up the mud at the bottom of the river. "Oh come on Etho. It's water."

Etho takes three long breaths, filling his lungs to bursting before pushing the air out again heavy through his nose.

"You're fine you big baby," BDubs grins, resting his head on his crossed arms. His legs stop kicking, stop stirring up the mud, and Etho can see the water is shallow enough that he's standing on the bottom. He'd thought-- he'd thought-- "You'd think I tried to drown you, jeez."

He thought it was deeper.

Etho held his breath for a moment, counted slowly. He wanted to reach his hand to his neck, to check his pulse. To see how fast his heart was beating. He moved his hand to, and at a mocking glance from his friend, decides instead to stoop to pick up his dropped armor. He walks carefully to his basket and places it inside.

"Why'd you come down here, anyway?" BDubs asks. "If you're so scared, I mean."

"You know me, BDubs. I always come back," Etho answers, almost a reflex. A rehearsed answer. "Who else would I go to?"

"Tango and Skizz?"

"They won't keep me safe like you will." Etho points out. He shudders again, the cold from BDub's touch had seeped into him more than he thought it had. He's acclimating though, like jumping into a pool. It's a cold that seeps out of him, warms as it settles. "It's me and you to the end, right buddy?"

"Of course Etho. I'd never betray you."

Etho looks through his things one last time, then frowns. He turns the basket with his foot. He glances at BDubs, who still watches him from the water's edge. Then he takes a chance and crouches down beside his basket, rifling through with both hands.

"Lose something?" BDubs asks, standing on his tiptoes to get a better look.

Etho looks around, checking first the dock, and then the water beyond. In the deeper water over the side, he sees the flash of a buckle in the dying rays of the sun.

"Oh, huh," BDubs hums disinterestedly. "Guess you'll have to get that."

"BDubs," Etho scowls.

"Fine! Fine. I get it. You don't wanna get wet." BDubs puts up his hands, as though surrendering. "The water really isn't all that bad." He offers Etho a quick little salute. "Be right back."

He takes an exaggerated breath and splashes beneath the dock, stirring up mud and river plants. He breaks the water's surface shortly after, holding up the fallen armor piece triumphantly. "Ta-da! Hold your applause. I know I'm great."

Etho, in spite of himself, chuckles. He shivers again -- the evening is getting cold -- and reaches a hand out. BDubs places the buckle in his hand, then reaches his other hand up to clasp Etho's gently. It's awkward and off-balance, Etho leaning precariously over the side of the dock, and BDubs on his tip-toes, holding him in place. It isn't a hard grasp. At any moment, Etho can take his hand away. He has always been stronger than BDubs.

"Hey, Etho, I really have missed you, man," BDubs says, smiling fondly, his voice soft. It isn't a whisper. It simply isn't loud and brash like he normally is. Heartfelt. The kind of tone that beckons, that wants to be listened to. "I mean-- I've missed us doing things together. It reminds me of the good 'ol days, you know? NHO and Mindcrack. We make a good team."

"We do," Etho agrees. He takes a long, slow breath. He shivers.

He frowns.

Etho pulls his hand out of BDubs, and BDubs offers no resistance. Etho looks down at his hand, at the wrinkled, waterlogged skin. He rubs his thumb across his forefingers, feeling the odd texture, grounding himself on it. Etho takes a deep breath in, lets it out again slowly.

"How long have I been in the water, BDubs?" Etho whispers.

Etho is still holding the belt buckle in one hand, still looking down at the wrinkled fingers of his other. BDubs is still in front of him, only his head and shoulders above the water. Etho looks back over his shoulder. The dock is startlingly far away, the basket sitting on the very edge. Beyond it, his boots and water bucket are sitting in the grass beside rushes and willow branches.

"Does it matter?" BDubs asks, smiling gently.

Etho takes a long, deep breath through his nose.

"Oh, don't be scared," BDubs says, moving silently closer. He reaches out his hands and grasps Etho's arms, a gentle touch, reassuring. A friend trying to assuage fear. His eyes are blazing red and orange with the setting sun, but the sky is black and salted with stars. "I didn't drag you down here, Etho. You came to me, remember?"

"BDubs--"

"You know I'd never betray you," BDubs continues, taking a slow step backwards. He pulls Etho with him, and Etho, by habit and familiarity, takes a step forward. The allure of BDubs' voice tilts his vision. He's on the dock, holding the buckle that fell in the water, and BDubs is clasping his hands, and the sun is setting. The water is up to his chest, and the world is dark star-filled, and BDubs is taking another step backwards, and Etho is following. "I could have betrayed you day one, and I didn't. I'm just asking for your help, Etho. You and me together, right?"

"BDubs--"

"It's the deep water, isn't it?" BDubs croons, like he's speaking to a child. "The deep water scares you? It's okay. You're fine."

Etho is fine. His breathing is slow, his heartbeat even. He wants to be scared. He should be scared. But BDubs is his friend.

BDubs reaches up to Etho's neck, not to strangle or to threaten, but to gently cup his hands around him. He pulls gently on Etho, not to drag Etho down, but to raise himself up, so they're nearly eye to eye. Etho feels water around his shoulders, and shivers.

"It's okay," BDubs says. "I would never hurt you, I promise. We don't have to go any deeper." His voice even and calm, inexorable. Etho's pulse doesn't quicken when he says, "You know how many people drown in shallow water? It's easy. I'll be with you the whole time."

The water is around Etho's neck, and BDubs is above him just slightly. One hand raises slowly to the back of Etho's head, fingers gently tangling in his hair. It is the caress of someone who cares for him deeply, someone who wants him to stay. The feeling is wholly dissonant from the words being spoken. Water? Drowning? How could someone who loves him so much drown him?

"You want to stay with me, right?" BDubs asks. "You and me together, we'd be unstoppable, Etho. The best duo the Life Series has ever seen."

BDub's hand on Etho's neck moves just slightly, the thumb pulling around to rest on his adam's apple. The hand in his hair clenches just a little. A warning. "You're not thinking about betraying me, are you?"

Etho shivers again. He wants to be afraid.

"You know, Grian said some things before he drowned," BDubs's hand on his neck tightened just a little. Etho could feel his pulse against BDub's thumb, finally, finally beginning to quicken. "He said you were a survivor. He said you'd leave me -- heh -- high and dry. You wouldn't do that, would you, Etho?"

Etho's pulse quickened more. There was a cold numbness in his limbs that he hadn't even noticed gathering, and his sluggishly awakening panic pushed it from him.

"BDubs," Etho said, his voice small and hoarse in his throat, "let me go."

"Etho..." BDubs said warningly.

"Let me go!" Etho shouted, planting his hands on BDub's chest and shoving backwards away. What he felt, in that brief second, was neither skin nor flesh, nor the softness of fabric. He felt tangled river weeds, and fish scales, slimy and cold against his skin. The cursed thing that looked like BDubs but wasn't, released Etho spitefully. His claws tore from Etho's neck, scraped along the back of his head to come free with pale strands of his hair. Suddenly there were arms around him, and Etho screamed and thrashed as he was dragged.

"I've got you dude! I've got you!"

It was Skizz, his voice a thunderous bellow in Etho's ear, his arms feverishly hot against him where they clamped like vices around his waist. Skizz dragged Etho from the water like he weighed nothing. Etho got his feet underneath himself and clung to Skizz, staggering out of the water as quick as he could. He heard feet pounding on the dock, and glanced over to watch Tango sprint across the wood. He stooped, grabbed up Etho's basket, and sprinted back with it, the reaching, clawed hand of the thing that looked like BDubs snapping for his ankles and missing.

"I got him!" Skizz shouted to Tango, scrambling onto the grass, refusing to let Etho go until they were well up the path. "Did you see how close he was?!"

"Yeah I saw!" Tango snapped, choking on his own fear, gulping in air and coughing it back out again. "It tried to drag me in!"

"Oh my god, are you okay dude?" Skizz demanded, and, when Tango nodded, he turned back to Etho. "Are you okay? I didn't see you go under. Can you breathe?"

Etho, who had collapsed into the grass the moment Skizz released him, lay there gasping like a hooked fish. He shivered, pale and cold from how long he spent in the water-- how long had he been in the water. He could still feel the thing's burning claws in streaks across his neck, and a tickling of blood at the back of his head.

"Etho?"

"I'm okay," Etho gasped, "I'm sorry I just-- I needed-- I wanted--"

"I know what you wanted!" Tango snapped angrily, the anger of someone who had risked his life. The anger of someone who thought a friend of his was dead, or dying. "But it's not him, Etho."

"It sounds like him," Etho whispered. He threw an arm over his eyes and shivered again. "It sounds like him, though."

"I know it does buddy, I know," Skizz said, his voice full of sympathy and pity. He waited with mountainous patience as Etho pulled himself together, and then helped Etho stand.

Together, they walked back to the fort.

Behind them, something cursed and hungry in the dark water, sang, and its voice was sweet and familiar.

[11cupids-tarot11]

A Letter From Your Future Spouse

➽───────────────❥

1 -> 4

Cupid's Services Cupid's Master List Socials

Tips appreciated!

C@sh app and P@ypal only!

$minnieplant3

@janellec03

LOVE U

- Cupid 𖥔 ࣪ ᥫ᭡ꗃ⋆࣪.

︻デ═一 ✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

Pile 1- Four of Wands, The Fool, Page of Swords, Nine of Cups, Page of Wands, The Wheel of Fortune.

"Hi you! I've been sleeping a lot, can't seem to do anything else lately because of how tired I've been. Finally. I can sleep as much as I want to now because of a situation that just so happened to end recently. Death.

What now? See, I've been wondering the same thing. But let's not even worry about it, let's just sleep as much as we want to because we finally can, even if it's only a little nap time out of your day do it because I gotta see you one last time later, I've got a message for you in your dreams. Spirit will tell you, don't worry about missing it or when <3

Resting so much so when I do have to work, you know, find that balance again between work and fun, I can focus on what's so important to me a lot better, I mean really give it my all... You know? Lol

Sorry, I dream a lot, you might notice my head is always in the clouds. I have very air energy like a Gemini.

Things are finally clearing up for me! I feel at peace, maybe we mirror each other and things are also getting better for you too? You have to let me know, okay? I feel like I can finally breathe again, be optimistic without being scared the rug is going to get snatched from underneath.

I've been working so so hard on my craft, putting in so much love and effort into my work and I feel really hopeful that all of my productivity will pay off soon, consistency is key, right?

I really like the color yellow, 😄 talk again soon!"

Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to do the poll below 👇🏾 ✨

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

Pile 2- Knight of Wands, I forgot to write down the rest of the cards I'm so sorry 😞

"I have no problem with putting in hard work for anything I want, even you, you know? If you don't want me the moment we catch eyes I'll make you ;)

The moment I catch you I'm going to make sure I never stop loving you, I'll make sure every day is beautiful, even on our bad days we'll kiss each other good night before bed still. I love you!

Why do you keep worrying yourself? All of that doubt in that pretty little head of yours isn't good, you should lay it all to rest before you make yourself sick baby. Sleep more, practice some self care before you run yourself crazy, okay?

I'm so proud of you, you know, for whatever amazing things you've accomplished lately. I believe in you, I'll always be your #1 cheerleader!

You should go out and celebrate! Enjoy the sun, you deserve it my angel! Promise me you won't let this go by like it's just not that big and you'll go out and do something? Pinky promise?

Stay focused! You're on the right path, you're doing amazing! I promise you, all of this will be worth it, it's worth our future 💓 keep going, I know you can do it! 🎉"

Hope you enjoy!!☺️ Don't forget to do the poll below!!

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

Pile 3- Queen of Cups, Justice, Four of Cups, The Moon, Three of Swords, The Star.

" Hi my love, you know I don't talk a lot haha, so I'll make this quick as usual and get out of your hair so you can go on.

I just want to remind you, you're my queen, my favorite, my whole world ❤️ I think red looks really pretty on you btw but anyway, I love and miss you like crazy at times like these.

I am going through something right now, a legal situation, a situation I wish would come to an end right now because it's so heavy on me, it's hurting me but I know at the same time it's happening to me because it's part of my karma, something that's forcing me to look so closely at myself, at every shadow because I think it leads me to you. My everything. We're going to get married, I'm so sure of it.

I'm keeping hope alive, I'm hanging on to every thread of it I've got. I'm working on everything right now, I'll catch up with you soon sweetheart 💋 I'm going to kiss you when I do, you won't be able to get rid of me. ;) "

Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to do the poll below!!

✮ ⋆ ˚｡𖦹 ⋆｡°✩

Pile 4- Ace of Cups, The Hanged Man, King of Wands, Nine of Cups, Knight of Cups, Nine of Wands.

"I want to come to you with amazing news but I can't, I'm sorry to say, I've taken a turn for the worst right now. Don't worry, it's temporary.

I am slowly building myself back up, that's what I'm doing right now if you're wondering what I've been doing all this time. I'm healing day by day and I hope you are too sweetheart. I might be a bit stuck and tangled up right now, but I'm clearing through it!

I'm the kind of guy who will pursue you with nothing but kindness until I make you fall for me with your charm, I'm cute, I know I am, you'll love me, I have curly light hair, and a really cute smile. You'll think I'm so adorable.

I want to offer my heart to you, fully, 100%. You have me, all of me as long as you give me you in return, I hope you do, I can't be without you once I know you.

Take care my love ❤️."

Hope you enjoyed ❤️ Don't forget to do the poll below!!

[jmdbjk]

Well...

I've always harped on their "chemistry" and its no exaggeration. They fit together so naturally. They are so very in tune with each other, when you are with that person and you feel like everything is right and it doesn't matter what you are doing, where you are going or if you are doing anything or nothing at all.

This episode was completely different than any of the previous episodes.

By the end of November they both knew what was going to happen and embracing the idea that they were about to "go in" and they were doing this together. They flat out said they were making memories to take with them while they served their military obligation.

Jimin and Jungkook clearly see themselves as just ordinary people living extraordinary lives, and they want to and expect to experience ordinary things.

The convenience store visit.

They ran like kids sliding on the ice, stomped in the snow, threw snowballs at each other, even though occasionally, Jimin's pragmatism burst their cozy little bubble:

Jungkook: "When it snows during our military service I think I'll recall this moment."

Jimin: "Right now, we're watching the snow from a hotel window but soon we'll have to sweep it up."

Ever the romantic, that Jimin...

Walking on the street with the general public, getting coffee, making their way to the train station... just like everyone else...

Yes, they had a crew with them, leading them and following them through the streets of Sapporo. But everything they did was ordinary.

When they are ordering food or drinks, their attempts at reading and speaking Japanese are endearing. They just dove right in. I love them. See? Don't let language be an obstacle when traveling in a foreign country!

I don't know if that's his personal little round furry money purse or if the staff used that for this trip's spending money and just handed it to him... but it was cute as fuck.

There is nothing pretentious about them. Yes they can whip out the black card to pay for expensive whisky but Jungkook took pleasure in choosing what he wanted himself, carrying his armload of 18 year old whisky to the counter and paying the $4000 for it himself at the distillery. He could have had someone else do it for him.

We saw these purchases in his refrigerator during his live on Dec. 8:

As ordinary as it was, there were still some very WTF moments that everyone has already pointed out:

That moment from the car ride on the way from the airport to the hotel at 11 o'clock at night, no seatbelts, Jimin practically sitting in Jungkook's lap and both smushed against the door. Jungkook looking like he is about to get lucky or just did.... man, I don't know what that was all about and how it stayed in this episode instead of getting edited out. I mean... there is a cut so we are not seeing the entire thing but what they left in was... ok?... I guess?

The train ride sequence (even though it was highly manipulated in post-production to wipe out all the other people)...

That culminates in this... we hope it ends up being a selca in the photobook. The moment was so sweet.

At the distillery, cosplaying their pickup lines at a bar...

Jimin's moment of clarity when he envisioned himself a girl dad and Jungkook thinking "uhhhhh... ok, Jimin, whatever you say"...

Gotta say though, Jimin envisioning himself a father at some point in the future was very sweet.

They reminisced a lot, talking about how much they and the other members have changed over the years and still remarking to each other how young they both look when back outside in the cold air, cheeks flushed from whisky and beer and a hot meal.

Their point of view regarding their looks, "they enjoy watching us gradually get raggedy and fat."

Yet, their age difference is exactly what makes them click. Jimin being older, caring, watchful, responsible in the early years, and Jungkook, so young, still socially awkward, always watching Jimin, always sticking close by him, learning how to maneuver the situations they faced in their profession. Through the years they evolved and matured personally and professionally into the men they are today.

If they had been same-agers, the outcome may not have been the same.

Again, props to the staff for everything they did to make this happen for Jimin and Jungkook. It appeared that some of the time they remained outside in the cold while Jimin and Jungkook were indoors eating or getting coffee.

This trip was their final trip before that "rite of passage" that every Korean male is obligated to fulfill. There was a poignant edge to a lot of this episode, in what they talked about, in the imagery. Jimin has always seemed to want to hang on to his "youth" and now he was about to cross that line and he knew it.

I also keep harping on the fact Jimin and Jungkook are together as we speak and I am thankful for that every day. I firmly believe they are thankful for each other, even if they are not same age friends.

Two more episodes.

[meo-eiru]

Breaking my lurker status (forgive my english I don't speak the devils tongue/j)

1.-I LOVE YOUR BLOG SO SO SO MUCH PLSSS-- you write so good and you draw even better it's so fun to see a notification pop up bc it also means I can see the silly people that also like your characters just as much as I do! I find it so cute to see all the different ways people live this characters I love it💥💥

2.- I beg of thee, to spare a crumb if One Eyed monster once again (when you have time bc remember to rest, eat and drink aguita💥), I've been OBSESSED with that one since I saw your first post about him, I just find him so endearing!

Like imagine scene! He is just so head over heels over by us but be doesn't have the courage to come talk to us, but oh! What's this? We are going out of our way to talk to him? HE MUST BE DREAMING! And we are just gushing over how cute he looks with his hair covering his face bc it makes him look so tiny and sweet that we can't help but reach to touch his face and in his daze we move just a little bit of his hair and he only notices that we have seen his full face when he can see more clearer (bc having so much hair in front of your only eye must never tough) and he just PANICS-- like just completely and utterly scared that he takes off running already crying and thinking that we will never wanna see him again and that we are disgusted by him, he only stops in an alley far away to catch his breath.

But in his break down he fails to notice how we ran after him, yelling for him to stop, following him to the alley and seeing in a front row seat how he is just completely broken saying between sobs how we'll hate him now.

But we never had hated him to begin with, we found him cute at the start so we got close to him, and when we saw that big doe-eye it was like staring at the most beautiful star in the sky, we would never hate him after all.

He doesn't hear our steps towards him, he only reacts when he feels our hand lightly touch the top of his hair, his head snapping up to see who it was, his heart almost jumping out of his chest when he sees it's us, both with joy and sorrow, I mean, we are probably there to mock him right? To tell him how ugly his one eye is and to tell him we never wanna see him again, after all,

¿If not for that why else would the one person he loves more than everything be there before him after seeing his one eye?

When he only manages to babble a weak - why? Here? You...Huh...? -

But we don't say anything, we just kneel down and hug him, holding him close, letting him cry in our shoulder, with one of our hand rubbing comforting circles on his back and the other petting his hair, waiting for his cries to stop.

When they do all we say is a simple couple of words, almost got loud enough but just for him to hear, leaving his once broken heart renewed and beating so fast he feels he might have a heart attack.

- You are even more beautiful than I could ever imagine... -

Something so little to anyone else, but something so big for him that he doesn't think his fragile heart could take anything else.

But he doesn't need anything else, he only needs this,

He only needs you

(I propose the name Jade for him, ¿why?, bc when I first saw him I related him with one of my favorite gemstones💥)

-Yummy-

Oh my god this healed my soul, improved my grades, my eyes and skin are shining, world peace is happening, global warming ended and there’s no longer world hunger.

It just means so much to him, he’s so different from everyone else, he’s a monster. There’s no way you could love a creature like him who can’t even talk to you directly without exploding from nerves. He’s not handsome, he’s not charismatic, he’s not funny, he’s just a stalker who’s too pathetic to breath the same air as you.

Only thing bringing a bit of solace to him is the fantasies he has about you. Holding hands, going on dates, watching movies and cuddling, you saying you love him even if he’s a monster… Yes fantasies, such a thing can only happen in his fantasies.

So what’s happening right now? Is he dreaming? You’re so warm he can’t think straight. You think he’s beautiful? This can’t be real surely he misheard you. He can’t talk from the tears rolling down his eye. Please forgive him for getting your shoulder wet. He’s so just so, so happy right now. All he can do is hug you back and sob as he prays this is not just a dream.

[multi-fandoms-posts]

A Nighttime Disruption

It's late at night, and the room is bathed in gentle moonlight. Charles and I lie wrapped in each other's arms in bed, his arms holding me close. The room is silent, and all I can hear is the sound of our breathing. I feel the warmth of his body against mine, and it seems as if we could shut out the whole world, just for this one moment.

"I could lie here forever," I whisper, my voice soft, almost a breath, as I snuggle closer to him. My fingers glide gently over his chest, and I can feel the faint smile on his lips.

"So could I," he murmurs back, his voice deep and soft. He pulls me even closer, his lips finding their way to my forehead where he leaves a gentle kiss. "There's no place I'd rather be," he whispers. I smile at his words and look up at him. Our eyes meet, and for a moment, it seems as if the world around us stands still. Charles slowly leans down to me, his lips meeting mine in a slow, passionate kiss. I feel the warmth, the tenderness flowing between us at that moment, and everything else fades away.

But suddenly, a loud crash shatters the silence of the room. Startled, I pull away from Charles' lips and look at him alarmed. "What was that?" I ask. Charles sighs deeply, as if trying to hold onto the moment of calm. He lifts his head and listens for a moment. "It sounds like some of our students decided to test their powers in the middle of the night," he says.

"Again?" I ask incredulously, sitting up. Reluctantly, I separate myself from him, even though I hate to give up the warmth and closeness. "They know they shouldn't be doing that," I say.

"They do," Charles replies calmly as he gets out of bed and grabs his shirt from the chair beside it. He puts it on but leaves it unbuttoned, so his muscular chest is still partially visible. The cold night air brushes against my skin as he turns back to me, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"Come on," he says with a slight smile, offering me his hand. "Let's go see what's happening before they tear the place apart," Charles says. I take his hand and stand up. Together, we make our way through the dark corridors, the silence around us only interrupted by the increasing noises coming from the fighting students. It gets louder as we get closer, with voices shouting over each other and the crackling of energy slicing through the air.

"They just don't stop," I murmur as we turn the corner and see the source of the noise.

In front of us stand two students facing each other in the middle of an empty room, their eyes full of anger. One student is shooting bolts of energy across the room, while the other is forming flames in his hands, ready to release them. Their powers clash.

"Enough!" Charles' voice cuts through the chaotic scene with authority. Immediately, the students freeze and drop their powers when they see us. The flames extinguish, and the energy dissipates as both students lower their heads in shame.

I step forward and cross my arms over my chest. "What do you think you're doing here?" My voice is stern, and I see the students shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"He started it," one of them mutters, while the other immediately protests, "No, he started it!"

Charles raises a hand to interrupt the argument. "It doesn't matter who started it. You both know there are rules that must be followed, especially at night. Your powers are not tools for fighting," Charles says, slightly tense.

I step closer to the two of them, my voice calming but no less determined. "You're going back to your rooms now. We'll talk about this tomorrow morning when you've calmed down," I say. The students nod silently and immediately make their way out of the room. As their footsteps fade away in the distance, I turn to Charles, who is still standing there with his shirt half open, his chest slightly glistening with sweat. A small smile spreads across my face at the sight.

"And I thought we were finally going to have a peaceful night," I say with a slight smile.

Charles laughs softly, his tension easing as he steps closer to me. "Maybe we can still salvage the night," he murmurs, before gently pulling me into his arms and giving me a loving kiss on the lips.

"I hope so," I whisper back, letting my fingers glide over the unbuttoned buttons of his shirt, pulling him closer. "Let's go back to bed before anyone else gets the idea to cause chaos," I say. He nods and briefly closes his eyes, as if savoring the moment. "That sounds like a perfect plan," he replies softly before taking my hand.

Together, we head back to our room. As we slip under the covers again, I know that we have the rest of the night to ourselves, undisturbed, ready to make up for the lost time.

[tinytinyblogs]

Out? i don't think you need it, darling.

Yandere!skz react when you wanted to go out yourself

Hyung line, maknae line

Stray kids masterlist

Your insights and reactions make these posts come alive. Love reblogs, comments, and all the good vibes welcome ✨

Han

Han's laughter erupted like a thunderclap, filling every corner of the room with wild, unrestrained mirth. It grew louder and more maniacal as you meekly mentioned your desire to go out alone. His eyes sparkled with disbelief, as if you had just told the most absurd joke. "Why on earth would you want to do that, honey?" he choked out between giggles. His laughter echoed off the walls as he wiped tears from his eyes. "Oh, sweetie, you don't need to go out… You need me," he declared. His fingers brushed your cheek tenderly before he planted a kiss, leaving a chilling sense of his dominance. "You know you can never be away from me," he continued, his tone dripping with arrogance. To Han, the notion was beyond absurd—it was laughable. He lived in a delusional world where you were irrevocably his. The thought of you stepping out alone was the height of comedy for him. Why would you walk away when you'd inevitably yearn for his presence? He pulled you closer, locking you under his arm in a grip that felt both protective and suffocating. "You want more affection, don't you? I understand," he whispered, his voice a velvet trap.

"Now, let’s forget that ridiculous idea. I'll be your shadow, your guardian. I’ll watch over you every second." His words were a vow and a threat, his laughter now a distant memory as he settled into his role as your overseer. The room seemed to close in, making the outside world feel like an impossible dream. Han's grip tightened, his eyes boring into yours with possessiveness. "I know what's best for you," he murmured, soothing yet sinister. "You don't need anyone else. Just me. Always me." His certainty was unnerving, reflecting his deluded belief that your life revolved around him. He leaned in closer, his breath hot against your ear. "We'll be together forever. No need to venture out into that big, scary world when you have everything you need right here," he said, his voice a chilling blend of love and control. "Remember, you belong to me." The room felt smaller, the air heavier, as his presence engulfed you. His laughter had been replaced by cold determination. He was your protector, your jailer, your world. The idea of leaving, of stepping out into the unknown, was now a distant, laughable thought. Han's reality had become yours, and there was no escaping it.

Felix

He lay with his head nestled in your lap, a picture of serenity, his breaths slow and even. For a moment, everything seemed perfect—until you mentioned wanting to go out alone. The change was immediate. He sat up abruptly, his eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that made your heart skip a beat. He struggled to maintain a semblance of a smile, but his eyes betrayed his concern. "You know," he began, his voice low and urgent, "something bad might happen to you if you go out." His body tensed as he adjusted his position, sitting up straight, his posture rigid with anxiety. "I wouldn't let it happen," he vowed, the words coming out almost as a growl. "Don't go out, don't ever go out," he repeated, his tone laden with a mix of desperation and determination, as if the very idea of your leaving was the most reckless, absurd notion he had ever encountered. "Everything you need is here," he insisted, gesturing around the room as if it were a fortress against the chaos outside. "Comfort, safety, and me—your favorite person," he added, a touch of possessiveness creeping into his voice.

His eyes bore into yours, an intense, almost hypnotic stare that seemed to weave a spell around you. He was trying to reshape your desires, to make you see the world through his lens of protective fervor. And maybe, just maybe, he thought, if he spoke with enough conviction, you would understand. You would listen to him, wouldn't you? "You wouldn't go out, right?" he asked, his face drawing closer until you could feel his breath on your skin, his hand gently threading through your hair. There was an intensity in his eyes that made your heart race. "Tell me," he demanded, his voice soft but insistent. You slowly shook your head, indicating your agreement to stay. A slow, satisfied smile spread across his face as he leaned in to kiss your forehead, the gesture tender and reassuring. He then settled back down, his head resting in your lap once more. "Don't dare say those stupid words again, love," he murmured, his eyes fluttering shut. His voice dropped to a low, almost dangerous whisper, "Or I'll have no choice but to make sure you understand, even if it means using force." There was a finality to his words, a possessive edge that sent a shiver down your spine.

Seungmin

He fell silent when he heard you wanted to go out alone. His demeanor shifted, and he looked down at your hand, holding it gently as if afraid to let go. After a moment, he asked softly, "Why?" There was a vulnerability in his voice that hadn't been there before. "You don't like being with me?" His expression grew more forlorn as he spoke, the sadness in his eyes becoming more pronounced. "Am I not enough for you?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" You tried to explain, your words coming out in a rush. You just wanted to buy something, nothing serious, just a quick errand. But your explanation seemed to fall on deaf ears. He continued to look down, his grip on your hand tightening slightly. As time ticked by, his eyes lifted to meet yours, now brimming with unshed tears. "Does being with me not make you happy?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. The raw emotion in his tone was unmistakable, and it cut through the air, making the room feel smaller and heavier.

Even though your intentions were innocent, his reaction was deeply emotional, leaving you feeling guilty and trapped between your need for a small bit of independence and his overwhelming fear of being left alone. As guilt slowly crept into your conscience, you found yourself holding him tighter, the conflicting desires to assert your independence and comfort him wrestling within you. With a sigh, you reluctantly pulled away, the urge to go out by yourself gradually diminishing in the face of his palpable need for reassurance. He sighed deeply, his tension seeming to melt away as you wrapped your arms around him. His embrace was warm and comforting, and he buried his face in the crook of your neck, seeking solace in your presence. But as you held him, something shifted in the air. You couldn't quite put your finger on it at first, but then you noticed it—the faintest hint of a smirk playing on his otherwise innocent face. It was a subtle expression, almost imperceptible, but it was there, lingering in the corners of his lips like a secret.

Jeongin

With a cute, fox-like smile adorning his features, he tilted his head slightly as he regarded you. "You want to go out by yourself?" he asked, his tone light and playful. You nodded in confirmation, expecting his smile to fade, but it persisted, almost unnervingly so. As you began to prepare yourself to leave, you noticed him quietly following your movements. "Jeongin, I'll go alone," you asserted, hoping to convey your desire for independence. However, despite your words, he continued to trail behind you, as if he hadn't heard you at all. It was only when you repeated yourself, a touch more firmly this time, that he drew nearer, his eyes locking onto yours with an intensity that sent a shiver down your spine. In that fleeting moment, you could have sworn his gaze flickered, the usual warmth in his eyes giving way to something deeper, more profound. "Sometimes, I believe I treat you too well," he murmured, his voice a soft whisper that seemed to resonate within the depths of your soul. His hand tenderly caressed your cheek, the gesture simultaneously comforting and possessive.

"You can go anywhere you please, but it's rather bold of you to think I'd ever let you go alone. I'll always be here with you, no matter where your adventures take you. You know as well as I do that I could never bear to leave your side." His words hung in the air, laden with a mixture of affection and determination. Despite your initial intentions of seeking independence, you couldn't help but feel a sense of security in his unwavering presence. It was as if he were a steadfast guardian, always watching over you, ensuring your safety and happiness above all else. And as his reassuring touch lingered on your cheek, you couldn't deny the undeniable truth in his declaration—wherever you went, he would be there, a constant presence in your life, bound to you by an unbreakable bond of love and devotion. With that innocent smile gracing his features once more, he gently took your hand and resumed walking by your side. Amidst the admiring glances of passersby, who saw him as the epitome of the perfect partner, you couldn't shake the feeling that there was more beneath the surface.

[acourtofthought]

"Gone to the mat again and again to fight for that future with Feyre"

Rhys may have stepped back and kept his distance for months when he thought Feyre would be happy with Tamlin but what Cassian said is true, Rhys did consistently show that he was willing to fight for Feyre.

Lucien fighting for his future with Elain:

Lucien breathed, "Where is he keeping her?"

"I don't know. Rhysand has a hundred places where they could be, but I doubt he'd use any of them to hide Elain, knowing that I'm aware of them." "Tell me anyway. List all of them."

"You'll die the moment you set foot in his territory." "I survived well enough when I found you."

"I need to find her."

I asked Lucien to escort me, and he'd been more than happy to do so, given that his own status of mated male made him uninterested in any sort of female company these days".

"I'm getting my mate back."

"Tell me about her - about Elain," Lucien said quietly.

"My mate is engaged to a human male." I want to see her. Just once. Just-to know." "To know what?" "If she is worth fighting for. And then I'll ask your mate how he survived it - knowing you were engaged to someone else. Sharing another male's bed."

"I would like to see them first. I know you're anxious -" "Just do it," Lucien said, bracing his forearms on the stone rail of the veranda. "Come get me when she's ready."

But Lucien was standing in the doorway. And from the devastation on his face, I knew he'd heard ever word. Seen and heard and felt the hollowness and despair radiating from her.

Lucien stiffened - not at what I'd said, I realized, but at the tone. A hostess. But he asked, "What of - Elain?" "I need to think about it," I answered plainly.

"I would never hurt her."

"She needs fresh air." "We'll judge what she needs." "Take her to the sea. Take her to some garden. But get her out of this house for an hour or two."

"I sensed no ill will, no conniving. Only concern for her. And ... sorrow. Longing."

"Let me do something. About Elain. I heard - from my room. Everything that happened just now. It wouldn't hurt to have a healer look her over. Externally and internally."

"Please tell me," Lucien said when I crossed the threshold into the foyer. "What the healer says. And if- if you need me for anything."

"I'll go." Lucien was staring at Elain as he spoke.

Lucien, haggard and bloody, panting for breath. As if he'd run from the shore. His gaze settled on Elain, and he sagged a little.

"I heard - what happened. I'm sorry for your loss. All of you."

"I heard you made the killing blow."

Lucien now stood in the sitting room, close to Elain's side.

"How is she?" "Good. But is she still..." A muscle flickered in his jaw. "Does she still mourn him?

Lucien had encountered him, I realized. Somehow, in living with Jurian and Vassa at the manor, he'd run into Elain's former betrothed. And managed to leave the human lord breathing.

"The bigger box is for you. The smaller one is for her."

Cassian's heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien's face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing. "

Two years after their bond snapped "he tried to hide his disappointment and longing."

From the start of their bond snapping until where we are currently at in the series Lucien is still fighting for Elain.

Is he being pushy? No, because that's not what would best for a female who recently had a broken engagement with someone she loved.

But does he still think of her? Does he still long for her? Has he been loyal to only her?

That is the author showing us that Lucien remains committed to their bond, he is fighting for their bond.

Authors do not write loyal kings as not ending up with their HEA and Elain will always be able to take comfort in the fact that he wanted her, he waited for her, he allowed her to set the pace of things while he suffered for her.

That is how you write a real love story. Not a guy who rejected her at the first real test to their love as Graysen did, not a guy like Az who hadn't thought of a future with her beyond his sexual fantasies and proceeded to feel a spark in his chest at the thought of another female's happiness mere hours after he rejected Elain.

Lucien is loyal to Elain regardless of what he's getting out of the situation and that's exactly what we saw from both Rhys and Cassian with their mates.

[peppermint-pearl]

Free will !!!

It has come to my attention that I can do literally whatever I want , so here’s a Mouthwashing OC !

Her name's Hope , she's another mechanic intern on the Tulpar (my justification for this is that an internship under Swansea was always part of the plan but Pony ended up saddling him with two--) .

She was in college for aerospace engineering but after tuition prices increased she was forced to drop out and find work , which lead her to the position at Pony Express . So she's decently qualified for the position but she's like . bitter about it because it's a mere shadow of the dreams she once had for it herself .

She acts pretty jaded / tries to be pessimistic about everything because she believes her life is over and she's afraid of further disappointment , but still holds a bit of that same naivety she thinks she stomped out of herself . I think maybe she tries to act a little like Swansea but it doesn't really land the same way because she's got literally none of the life experience to justify how completely over everything she is KASLHFJ - she's like . 'ah yes . kindred spirits' but still gets flustered at making little mistakes in a way that makes it obvious she really just wants to be liked and do a good job .

I think she's most comfortable around Anya partially because she'd be the only other girl on the ship , and partially because Hope sees her as an older woman (older than her at least SDKHJ) still working to achieve her dreams (getting into medical school!) and feels better knowing there's still time for her to do what she wants . Maybe also Hope had an older sister at home Anya reminds her of ? that one's a little up in the air but I'm thinking thoughtfully of it !!

I think she'd also be close with Daisuke because he's her age and she's able to see him more as a peer than an authority like she does everyone else on the ship (and what if they kissed . just a little bit . for my happiness .) . She probably tried very hard not to like him at first due to his general lack of ability with . internship things . but pretty quickly warmed up to him just because of how earnest and well-meaning he is . I think they'd speak to each other in niche pop culture references no one else on the ship knows ASFLHJ

Swansea and her would constantly be insulting each other but in a way that feels familiar if that makes sense ? I think she does get under Swansea's skin a lot but 'at least she can get the job done' . He definitely thinks it's funny to point out little imperfections in her work to get her a little panicked -- like 'ah , you scratched the reflection here , unacceptable . we'll need to throw you into space for this .' and then laugh at the split second Hope actually believes it ALSDJKF.

I think she holds some respect for Curly and Jimmy as authority figures , but would probably feel better being friendly with Curly just because Jimmy is . unfriendly . and horrible KLJHSD

When the crash happens , she probably slips deeper back into the doom spiral she'd been on before - if she thought her life was over before , it's suPER NOT LOOKING BETTER BY THIS POINT ,, Taking a leaf from Swansea's book , she'd probably try getting absolutely blasted off the 3498239478 Dragons Breath bottles they'd been transporting .

As for how she dies , I think . as pathetic as it is . she either drinks too much of the mouthwash or she chokes on her own vomit from it . Which also makes me think that if she was actually in the story she'd be maybe the first to die ? Like it's maybe the least directly violent / most unrelated to the final spiral of events that leads to everyone else's death but it IS also partially a result of negligence and another sign of what's to come . Jimmy would probably have tried to sweep it under the rug , saying it was her own fault , but it super would noT have helped tensions on the ship .

UHH YEAH that's all I have brainstormed , I might do some stuff with her later -- if you got this far thank you for humoring my brainrot ASDFLJH

[seospicybin]

TOO HOT TO HANDLE.

PART II

I.N x reader. (s)

Too Hot To Handle Masterlist

Synopsis: You and Jeongin become contestants in a reality dating show, Too Hot To Handle. (12,4k words)

Author's note: Sorry for the delay. Enjoy this one too x

YOU: I grew up in a strict family and my mom thinks I'm a saint if only she knew... [chuckles] I'm not good at following rules [shrugs] I'm a natural flirt, I can't help it [bites lips] Jeongin is hot, he has a cute smile and I would love to break rules with him [smiles] I know I'm coming a little late but I think everything is a fair game.

-

It's not the kind of impression you want to give him when you almost trip on the steps as he leads you to the villa, you blame your wedged sandals for it.

"You okay?" Jeongin asks, offering his hand to you.

"I'm okay," You laugh it off and use it as an excuse to grab at his arm and help you walk.

"I think everyone is on the terrace," he mutters.

Instead of being nervous, you're so excited to meet the rest of the guests that you start giggling as he takes you climbing another set of steps to where everyone is.

"Hello, everyone," Jeongin greets everyone.

You wave your hand and put on your best smile at everyone sitting on the sofa. One girl with blonde hair has her jaws drop open seeing your hands are linking around his arm.

"Hi!" You sweetly greet.

While Jeongin introduces your name around, you look at each and every face, and notice that a girl is slightly not pleased to see you. You can safely assume that it's the girl Jeongin mentioned.

"How was the date? What happened? Tell us everything!" The guy with dirty blonde hair asks.

"It was fun," Jeongin answers, then glances your way.

"We had cocktails, we shared a fruit platter, it was sweet," you continue his sentence, smiling as you reminisce your date with him.

Someone raises his hand in the air and you both stop talking altogether, "Was there any rule-breaking?"

You look at Jeongin but he lets a moment pass in silence so you decide to answer it for both of you.

"No, there was no rule break," you confirm.

Jeongin lets out a chuckle and holds his hand up at the guy who asked, "Relax, Mick, we didn't spend any money," he assures him.

"Have a little faith in me," he adds with a laugh.

You go around getting to know everyone by their names and act calm when you find out the name of the girl Jeongin is currently with.

Then you decide to join them on the sofa and talking to the girls is always a good start.

"So, what is your type?" The blond girl asks which you learned her name is Francoise.

"Uhm..." you subtly point at Jeongin, "He is my type."

"Oh?" She responds with another surprised look on her face.

Just because Jeongin refused to kiss you doesn't mean you're already giving up on him. He doesn't want to do it because he's already with someone and he doesn't want to do it behind her back, you must admit that's an admirable thing to do.

But that's not going to stop you from also getting to know everyone else here.

-

YOU: I don't know how involved they are with each other so we'll have to see about that.

-

Jeongin finds Justine in the dressing and she's probably been waiting for him to talk. She smiles when she sees him coming into the room.

"Let's have a chat," she says.

He knows they'll eventually talk about the date and since everyone else is already in the bedroom, he decides that it's the right time to do it.

"Just a minute," he says, taking a moment to put on a t-shirt before sitting on the chair next to her.

Justine is playing with the make-up tools on the table, tapping her nails against a bottle of facial toner.

"So... tell me all about your date," she says with a low sigh.

Jeongin doesn't want to lie but he knows he shouldn't be too honest about it either. He puts his forthright self to the side and picks his words carefully.

"It was nice. We had a good chat, and we enjoyed getting to know each other," he decides to stop there even though he still has so many things to say about it.

"She's pretty. Very pretty," she comments, playing with her make-up brush next.

"Yeah," Jeongin agrees but in a weak tone.

Justine can't hide her feelings, it's obvious that she does not like this conversation so whatever she asks next, he should be more careful with his answers.

"And what do you think about her?"

"She's nice and

"But you guys didn't kiss," she says.

"Yes," Jeongin shortly answers.

She faces the mirror but he can feel her eyes on him, "Why?"

There's a difference between being a player and being disrespectful, and Jeongin believes that kissing a girl behind Justine's back is the latter.

"I don't want to be disrespectful to you," he answers.

Justine nods and lets him talk more about his decision not to kiss you.

"If the roles were reversed, I don't think I would like it if you kissed someone else," he explains.

A smile blooms on her face and she turns her head at him, acknowledging that he did that because he considers her feelings.

"I appreciate you for that," she says.

It wasn't easy to come to that decision but God, ain't he glad that he refused that kiss? That way he came to the right decision and hurt no one in the process.

She swivels her chair to face him and rests her hand on the side of the chair, "I'm not going to stop you from getting to know everyone, that's our deal but..."

She licks her lips and takes a second to pick the words to say, "If you want to be with her, I want you to tell me."

Jeongin agrees to it with a strong nod because that's the deal the two of you made, "Okay."

"Just be honest with me," Justine reminds him.

"You don't have to worry about that," he assures him because he's been nothing but honest.

Well, except when he told Linda what his favorite feature on her.

-

JEONGIN: I have this instant connection with the new girl but at the same time, I care for Justine.

-

It's not something you both planned, you bump into the other new arrival, Lou, he's about to head out when you come into the bathroom.

Since you both are new arrivals, you may as well talk to him about your respective dates or any potential connections.

"I took Bianca on the date but as soon as I saw Francoise, I think I messed up," he shares.

You can't say much as you're busy brushing your teeth so you nod while looking at him through the reflection in the mirror.

"The whole time we talked outside, she was looking at me," Lou continues, sitting on the edge of the tub while playing with his wavy hair as he talks.

"That gets me thinking that the guy she's with is just someone she's with, you know what I'm saying?"

You wash your mouth with water and move on to the next step of your nighttime routine, "Change of plans, huh?" You playfully say.

Lou's chuckles are echoing in the room, he clicks his tongue then looks at you through the mirror as you wash your face, "And Jeongin is still your top pick?"

You pick up a clean towel from the cabinet and slowly dab your face with it, "Yeah."

Lou also sees the complications in it since Jeongin is with Justine at the moment, "How serious do you think he is with her?"

You grab your tube of moisturizer and take a dollop of it onto the back of your hand, "I don't know but we got that sexual chemistry, we almost kissed," you explain and you're aware of how adolescent you sound saying that.

Even Lou notices that and gives you a strange look, "Mmm?

'I'm telling you, he definitely wasn't so closed off at all," you confidently say, lathering the cream all over your face while talking to him.

Lou cracks a laugh then says, "Fuck, they're going to hate us."

Well, it's not your fault for coming late and crashing the party. Isn't that the purpose of bringing in the new arrivals? To see how they handle temptations so now, it's up to them whether they can resist it or not and you're simply going for the one you want, Jeongin.

"You got to go for what you want to go for," you remark.

-

YOU: If I want something, I get it. I don't let anyone get in my way.

-

Even though it's your first day in the retreat, you find yourself having a good night's sleep that you wake up feeling so refreshed. You sit on the bed and rest your back against the headboard, reaching for the tumbler on the bedside table to have a sip of water.

Lou is groaning as he shifts on the bed and his eyes meet yours with his wavy hair covering his face, "Morning" he croaks.

As new arrivals, you and Lou have to share the bed and since he doesn't snore, you don't have any problems with him.

"Morning," you greet him back.

A while later, the cone chimes and your head snaps to see where Lana is. You spot her on the other end of the bedroom.

"Good morning, everyone," Lana greets.

"Morning!" Linda cheerfully replies to her while the others are too busy forcing themselves awake.

You get startled when Lana calls your name and then Lou, you intently listen to what she has to say to you.

"I hope you enjoyed your dates yesterday and your first night in the retreat."

"I slept well, Lana," you tell her even though you're not sure she'll hear it.

"I hope the other guests have been making you feel most welcome," she continues.

You fix the strap of your camisole and your eyes catch Jeongin looking at you, you hold the gaze for a few seconds before looking away.

"Glad to be here," you respond to Lana.

Jeongin may share the bed with Justine but he's been giving you these cheeky little looks and it makes you more confident that there's something there.

Just like now, Justine is clinging to his arm but his eyes are on you. You tease him by shyly looking down onto your lap but when you glance up, you give him an intense stare.

And the eyes, the eyes tell so much.

-

YOU: I'm looking forward to today. I'm going to be sexual because that's how I am and if anyone has a problem with it, I don't give a shit [laughs]

-

After working out, Jeongin joins the rest of the boys lounging by the pool to cool down before taking a shower. He chugs his water from a tumbler while listening to the guys talking about random stuff.

Something catches everyone's attention and makes them abruptly stop talking. Jeongin turns his head to see what everyone is looking at when it turns out to be you.

You're tying the bikini straps on your back as you walk out of the villa.

"Sheesh," Kurt quietly hisses, having a partner doesn't stop him from ogling at another girl.

You probably sense everyone's eyes on you as you walk across the pool. However, you don't seem to feel bothered with all these eyes on you.

"She's too fit," Mick lowly mutters as now the boys are silently watching you go for a swim on the beach. Even you can turn the sex cop's head and that says something

"She's literally too hot to handle," Keith says, embracing his availability and turning it into an opportunity.

Jeongin takes a moment to witness the boys acting like a bunch of horny teenagers seeing a grown woman for the first time, then shakes his head in disbelief realizing that he's one of them.

"Oops, boobies!" Kurt jokingly says seeing how your bikini top rides up and almost exposing your breasts.

That's so childish coming from a grown man with a big body like him but Jeongin finds himself laughing at it without realizing it.

What people say is probably true, boys will always be boys.

Seeing that you're making your way back to the villa, the boys hurriedly sit on the lounger and act like they didn't just watch you swimming from afar like a bunch of creeps.

The boys make it obvious that they're talking about you as they turn quiet when you walk past them, brushing your wet hair to the back and heading back into the villa.

"Fuck me..." Damon sighs, his jaws hanging open as his eyes follow where you're going.

It's the beads of water running down your skin, the way your hips swing as you walk, your body... oh, Jeongin can think of so many things he could do to your body.

The sound of the door being shut behind you snaps him out of his daze. He hurriedly collects his senses and reels himself back to reality.

"Man, don't ever leave me alone with that girl or I'll turn into a bad cop," Mick jokingly says with an overwhelmed sigh.

The boys are laughing at that while Jeongin can only lightly chuckle as he sips his water again.

"Don't worry, mate. I'll always be around her," Keith says.

Everyone has been good for these past few days and it only takes one girl to make them fall back into old habits, proving that no one is really taking the retreat seriously.

Jeongin admits that he may have failed it too because now he regrets not kissing you yesterday.

-

JEONGIN: I don't know what it is about her that makes us all go wild [laughs]

-

There's a good chance that Justine feels threatened by your presence that you always see her around Jeongin. She's been by his side the whole day and making it hard for you to talk to Jeongin.

In the afternoon, the boys are out for a workshop and the day has gone without a result.

You decide to get your make-up done early so you'll have time to find Jeongin and if you're lucky, you can talk with him.

Francoise joins you not long after, sitting on the usual spot at the end of the vanity table.

"Hey, girl," she says, putting all of her hair to the back and tying it into a messy ponytail, "how are you?"

"Good, great," you answer without looking away from the mirror and once you're done filling your eyebrow, you look at her, "You?"

Francoise digs into her makeup purse to take her things out and lay them out on the table, "Good."

She starts by applying cream all over her face, then dabs the rest down her neck.

"Tell me all about the boys," she suddenly says.

"They're all attractive," you give an obvious answer just to be safe.

"Anyone you like?" She asks, now applying a different cream to her face.

Not sure if Francoise is merely curious or she has intentions of asking you that but you're not going to lie and say something just to please someone.

You sheepishly smile and give a moment for the setting spray you applied to dry, "There's one."

Francoise lowly gasps, "Oh, who is it?"

You catch that glint in her eyes that threatens you to not say the name of her current partner and she can relax because it's not Kurt.

"It's the uh..." you pause as you look for your brush, "The one I took on the date."

"Oh?" She gasps loudly this time, sensing what your answer could cause.

"He is with Justine though so... what are you going to do?" She asks, propping a hand under her chin and genuinely concerned for you.

"I caught him looking, you know, giving me the eyes," you tell her while putting everything back into your make-up pouch.

Francoise is getting so invested in the drama already that she stops doing her make-up to talk to you, "Is he your number one or..."

"Yeah," you shorty reply.

"But is there anyone you like besides him?" She asks again with the glints returning to her eyes.

You check your make-up once again in the mirror and then lean back on your chair, "Uhm... who's the English guy with the wavy hair?"

"Keith?"

"Yeah, Keith, I like clean, pretty boys like him," you openly share with a smile.

"Yeah, he's cute, a real English lad," she agrees with a giggle.

Your chatter dies down once Bianca and Justine enter the room and Francoise continues doing her make-up while you take it as your cue to get your move on.

-

YOU: If Jeongin wasn't giving me any signals he was interested, I wouldn't try but I need to find out exactly what's going on.

-

Justine may have said that Jeongin is free to get to know anyone but since you came, she feels the need to sink her claws deeper into him.

How is he going to get to know you better if she keeps him around all the time?

When he finally gets time for himself Jeongin grabs a glass of wine and chooses the firepit as the place to enjoy the drink.

Not long after, he hears footsteps coming his way, he's about to dread it thinking that it's Justine. Instead, he finds you walking toward him, looking stunning in a skin-tight dress that accentuates every curve in your body.

You stop in front of him, standing and looking at him with a sweet smile on your face, then you cutely ask, "Do you mind if I join you?"

How can he say now when you sweetly asked him like that? Jeongin swallows his drink fast then stifles a nod.

You slowly sit so close to him even though the sofa can fit five people in it, you tuck the strand of hair escaping your messy bun and smile at him.

You don't say anything for a good minute, just staring at him with a smile lingering on your face and Jeongin starts getting comfortable with the silence too.

It's when Jeongin stares back into your eyes, that you look away and let out a light chuckle.

"Last night, I watched how you guys were in bed and stuff, and a few times I caught you looking at me," you say.

That's not what he expects to hear you say when you start speaking to him but he can't deny that because that's true.

"I mean it's okay, it's more than fine but it gets me wondering," you pause to tuck another strand behind your ear.

He gets what you're saying even without having you explain it. You want to know if the looks he gave you mean something or not. Honestly, the reason he did that is because he's simply attracted to you, something about you keeps luring him to look at you and he doesn't know how to make it make sense to you.

"I'm still trying to figure out our connection and if it's leaning towards friendship or—"

You cut him off with a question, "But are you sexually attracted?"

That gets him gulping air, "To you?"

"Yeah."

Isn't it obvious? But you want to hear him admitting it out loud. However, Jeongin finds himself nervously chuckling instead of answering.

"It's not a friendship then," you say, taking his chuckle as a confirmation.

He's the one shyly smiling at you right now and about to fold under your hypnotizing eyes.

You shift on your seat, sitting with your body fully facing him, and say, "But would you say I'm in a position where I shouldn't try to pursue you at all or..."

You gently place your hand on his knee and tilt your head to the side as you continue your sentence, "Would you still like me to continue getting to know you?"

Strangely, that question is easy and hard to answer at the same time. Easy because he is indeed attracted to you and wants to explore this connection with you but he's aware that he could do the same with the connection he has with Justine, not to mention, that she's been with him since day one.

Not getting an answer from him, you make the question simpler for him, "Would you rather me keep trying or would you rather me fully close off?"

Jeongin is only afraid that he wants to be with you because you're this exciting new girl and choosing you means that he throws away what he has with Justine.

But does he want you to fully close off on him?

"I don't think you should fully close off," he mutters then slowly exhales air.

"So it's a yes?" You demand to hear a verbal answer this time.

He yet again responds with a sheepish smile and you have to conclude yourself.

"It's a yes," you confidently remark, giving yourself the answer that you know is true.

-

JEONGIN: I really want to behave but she's making me hot and flustered. She's so tempting [groans]

-

All the attention you receive from the boys and these jealous eyes you get from the girls, they're nothing new to you.

It's not your fault that these boys are crowding around you, you're this shiny new thing and they're curious about you. You guess it's because you offer something different than most girls in here.

One guy in particular has his eyes on you all the time, Keith. He keeps standing on the side of the sofa instead of sitting on it.

"Get comfortable, babe, I don't bite," you playfully say, patting the space next to you.

He cracks a crips laugh, showcasing his perfect teeth at you, then hesitantly sits down.

"I don't think we talked before?"

Keith looks stunned that it takes him a moment to process such a simple question, "Yeah," he answers.

"Keith, right?" You ask just to be sure, sipping on your wine while at it.

"Yes," he excitedly answers.

On the outside, Keith is this tall man with a built body and effortless hair but what you see in him is this big golden retriever and you can imagine his tail is wagging as he speaks to you.

"So Keith, tell me what your hobbies are. What are you into?"

"Uh... travel? I like traveling a lot," he answers, getting a bit serious now.

"What do you like to do when you travel?"

"A lot of things. I'm an adrenaline junkie, surfing, snowboarding, bungee jumping..."

"Oh? I never tried bungee jumping before," you share, then take a sip of your wine.

"You should. It's really fun," he says, brushing his hair to the back with his hand.

You lick your lips before speaking, "Then we should do it together next time."

That gets him blushing and then cracks a laugh, "I'd love that."

You bring your glass close to his and clink it with his, "That's a deal!"

Keith is smiling ear to ear and you can hear the excitement in his voice as he speaks, there's nothing cuter than seeing a guy fawning over you.

"You're really beautiful," he blurts out and looks like he didn't mean to say it out loud.

You smile at that and tilt your head to the side, "Am I?"

"You're absolutely gorgeous," he emphasizes every word.

"Aw, thank you," you coo at him.

You're liking what you get from him, the attention and the soft gaze, but it's a bit disappointing that you don't get it from the guy you like.

On the good side, now you know where to go if Jeongin decides not to reciprocate.

All of a sudden, the cone in the corner of the room chimes and orders everyone to go to the cabana.

This will be your first time experiencing this session with Lana in the cabana so you don't get why everyone's mood instantly changes once everyone is seated on the sofa.

-

YOU: I don't know why everyone acts like somebody just died like... what's going on? It's just Lana.

-

Everyone gets tense when the cone chimes and then it suddenly turns quiet in the cabana. You don't know what's the drill here but your eyes are glancing side to side, looking at everyone's faces that show almost the same groggy expression.

"What's up, Lana?" Justine asks since no one is saying anything.

"I regret to inform you there has been a breach of the rules," Lana announces.

Someone messed up and Lana is about to out them, now you get why they're so nervous. You're scanning the faces to spot the guilty ones.

"Who's been bad?" Linda says with an accusing tone.

Your head is turning to see if anyone raises their hand or does whatever it is when they're trying to confess their rule break. However, everyone stays tight-lipped and acts innocent.

"Why are you so silent? You need to speak up!" Mick says, a bit too aggressive.

You look around again to see if someone falters at Mick's angry remarks and then notice the sly grin on Damon's face. You're not the only one noticing it, Mick glares at him and sighs.

"Not funny, man," Mick says, looking disappointed and fed-up.

Damon grins again then scratches the back of his head, "Uhm... Bianca and I shared a kiss," he finally admits.

"Again?" Francoise's eyes widen in horror.

"Felt right in the moment to do so," Damon says, adding a nonchalant shrug in the end which only annoys everyone.

"What are you doing?" Linda sharply gasps, her small round eyes almost popping out of her sockets.

You watch as it turns into a whole argument in the cabana over something that isn't should be a problem: kissing someone.

This time, Courtney asks the most important question of all, "You guys kissed and that's it, right?"

Her question only puts more pressure on both Damon and Bianca that either of them hesitate to tell the truth.

"A little something–something else happened last night," he meekly says after a while.

Lana decides to take control of the situation and reveals the rule breaks to everyone, "Last night, Damon and Bianca kissed multiple times but that is not all they did."

Next to you, Keith is constantly sighing and then lowly muttering, "Oh, come on..."

"They also engaged in prolonged, mutual gratification," Lana further reveals.

No wonder Damon and Bianca are so afraid to come forward, Lana basically tells the whole group that Damon and Bianca gave each other a hand job. You don't have any problems with the rule breaks but being exposed for the things you did, that's crazy.

"What even is that?" Linda asks in utter confusion.

Everyone is way too disappointed or too busy groaning in complaint to even answer her question.

"Damon and Bianca, your multiple kisses have cost the group $18,000," Lana informs.

Does that mean 6 grand for a kiss? Okay, now you see that should be a problem.

"Your prolonged, mutual gratification has cost the group a further $30,000."

Your jaws drop open hearing how much money have lost for some hand jobs under the cover at night.

"In total, these rule breaks have cost $48,000," Lana delivers the final bill.

"I'm speechless," Courtney says, planting her head in her hands.

It turns quiet again while the tension keeps building and animosity fills the air, making you afraid to even take a breath.

"The prize fund now stands at $128,000."

-

YOU: It's gone from bad to worse in a second.

-

What Jeongin is hearing is bad news after bad news and it's coming from one couple doing the same thing again and again which pissed him off.

They knew the consequences of their actions yet they chose to keep doing it and what do you call that? Selfish.

"Damon and Bianca, I asked you to respect my rules but instead of working on building a deeper more meaningful connection, you have continued to show signs that you may not be here for the right reason."

At this point, they deserve what's coming for them and he wouldn't be surprised if Lana decided to kick them out of the retreat.

"Therefore, I'm setting you the ultimate test," Lana announces.

"Damn..." Damon curses, holding the sides of his head in distress.

Jeongin doesn't know why Lana bothers to put them on a test, isn't it obvious that they're going to fail?

"To see if you adhere to my retreat rules under the most trying of circumstances."

Oh, no, wait. Lana, please don't say that—

"You will spend the night alone in the private suite."

-

JEONGIN: Lana, you're making a huge mistake.

-

This is going to be bad.

Jeongin thinks that everyone else agrees with him with how many groans and moans echo in the room. They broke the rules when everyone else in the room with them so what makes him think that they won't do anything when they're left alone?

"We're screwed," Linda meekly says.

"Just great," Justine mutters with an insinuating tone.

Damon looks at everyone and tries to convince everyone that he won't break any more rules.

"I'll be good, guys. I promise I won't spend any money," he says with a not-so-convincing facial expression.

Maybe Jeongin can give Damon the benefit of the doubt but when he looks at Bianca, she's just suppressing her laughs like it's just a joke to her.

"Bianca, you're not saying anything it's a bit worrying," Keith says, speaking everyone's concerns out loud.

Bianca only laughs harder at that, she covers her face with her hands and tries to contain her laughter. How can anyone believe her when she acts like this?

She then clears her throat and tries so hard to put on a serious face, "I won't break rules," she says.

Francoise shakes her head in disbelief, also not buying her statement when they sound like they're merely words.

"Please make your way to the private suite," Lana instructs both Damon and Bianca.

If there's one type of person that Jeongin hates in the world is the one who can't keep their word.

-

JEONGIN: Let's hope that Damon and Bianca keep their promise.

-

"Morning," Kurt sleepily greets everyone as soon as he wakes up.

"Morning," Courtney also greets from her bed, twisting her hair and securing it with a hair claw.

The moment everyone wakes up from their beds, the attention is on the empty bed at the end of the room which belongs to Damon and Bianca.

"What did you think Damon and Bianca did last night?" Mick asks, not sure who he's asking but everyone is not ready for that.

"Could be a lot of things," Lou mindlessly answers.

Hearing his answer, you snort as you sip your water next to him.

"It's a hell of a lot of money," Linda sighs with her eyes blank and heavy with sleep.

"I think if they broke the rules, that would be so disrespectful of them," Francoise says, clutching the duvet on her knees.

"Yeah," Kurt nods in agreement next to her.

While everyone else is busy thinking about whether Damon and Bianca break the rules or not. You're busy watching the bed across from yours, at Justine who has her head rested on Jeongin's shoulder and digs her long nails into his arm.

Ugh! You can't stand waking up and seeing Justine all over Jeongin. You have to do something about it.

-

YOU: Today, it is my mission to make it happen. It should be me on that bed.

-

No one wants to deal with Lana first thing in the morning and even worse is to deal with a potential financial loss.

The fact that Damon and Bianca take so long to get out of the private suite only makes everyone uneasy with each passing minute.

"Here they come," Courtney says, spotting Damon and Bianca making their way to the cabana.

Linda looks away after seeing them then slumps on the sofa next to you, "Oh, no. They're looking guilty," she meekly mutters.

It's eerily quiet even after Damon and Bianca take seats on the small sofa on one side of the room. People are trying to get clues on what happened in that suite from the looks on their faces and it's concerning.

"Have anything to say?" Mick asks them.

Looking at Damon and Bianca and how they avoid everyone's eyes only assures you that you're right to prepare yourself for the worst.

"Let's hear what Lana says," Damon says, losing that usual smug on his face this morning.

Lana shortly chimes and everyone gets quiet to hear her talk, "Last night, I gave Damon and Bianca a test to see if they could adhere to my rules while alone in a suite."

"Did they do it or did they not?" Justine impatiently asks.

Mick looks at the two again with blank, hopeless eyes, "I hope you guys don't let me down," he says.

Lana continues with her announcement, "Additionally, there's something I did not tell any of you."

Not only for them, that one catches everyone off guard, and with Lana, we never know what's going to happen.

"After numerous rule breaks, I wanted to know how committed Damon and Bianca were to my process. That's why if they failed to adhere to my rules in the suite, proving they're not here for the right reasons."

Damon and Bianca's faces turn to panic at the unknown terms of the test that Lana has only revealed now.

"And I will be sending them home."

-

YOU: Damn! Lana is not messing about.

-

The question is did they break the rules?

Jeongin looks around and everyone is just as nervous as him. Justine is fiddling with her nails next to him, Linda covers both of her ears not wanting to hear anything, and Mick has his head in his hands.

It's not just about the money, Lana will be kicking them out of the retreat if they break even a single rule and Jeongin feels a little faint, getting the feeling that they will be going home.

"I must tell the group that..."

And Lana dragging the suspense isn't doing everyone a favor.

"Damon and Bianca did..."

Jeongin lets out a sigh but his chest keeps tightening in every passing second.

"... not break any rules."

Cheers and applause erupt in the room, everyone shooting up from their seats and going at Damon and Bianca. When he thinks about it, it's funny that everyone is celebrating people for not having sex yet Jeongin joins the celebration.

"Bianca, girl, I am proud of you," Justine says as she hugs her.

When everyone has settled down, Damon and Bianca can finally let out a big breath of relief and laugh everything off.

"It wasn't easy, you guys," Damon shares with a dramatic sigh.

"Oh, yeah. We almost folded," Bianca adds with a laugh.

"The prize fund still stands at $128,000," Lana concludes with an update on the money.

After a very thrilling session in the cabana, Jeongin chooses to hang out in the firepit and it doesn't come as a surprise that Justine follows him there.

He lays on the sofa and places a cushion behind his head, facing the swimming pool instead of the sea view while Justine sits on the end of the sofa.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asks, hugging a cushion on her lap.

"Yeah, it's so nice in here," he sighs.

Behind her, Jeongin sees you walking out of the villa and going to the sun lounger next to the pool. Instead of sitting on it, you slowly bend down to put suntan oil all over your legs and eventually, your hands are going to your backside to rub it on both of your ass cheeks.

It seems like you're doing it on purpose to get his attention and you know what? That works. Jeongin instantly stops listening to Justine's talk as he puts all of his focus on watching you standing there and touching your body all over.

You finally sit on the lounger and your eyes eventually meet his, you don't hesitate to wave your hand at him with a flirty smile on your face.

His hand somehow raises on its own to wave back at you, he can see himself foolishly smiling too without having to look all the while Justine continuously talking to him.

"I don't think that we should —" she abruptly stops talking as she notices his eyes are looking nowhere at her.

Jeongin quickly looks the other way and shifts his attention back to the girl sitting next to him, "Sorry What were you saying?"

However, Justine turns her head around to see who's been stealing his attention away. Her eyebrows knitted after seeing you sunbathing across the pool, in other words, she's not pleased.

-

JEONGIN: Oh, fuck! [Facepalms]

-

It's time.

Justine had enough time to get to know Jeongin and you had enough of waiting for Jeongin to make up his mind so let's not waste any more time being stuck in this love triangle.

Tonight, Jeongin has to choose between you or Justine because he can't have his cake and eat it too.

Justine has had his chance and now it's your time but she's been making it an unfair game, always clinging to Jeongin and giving you a hard time to find a chance to be alone with him so what you're going to do is play by her dirty rules.

While Justine is busy doing her make-up, you sneak out of the dressing room and easily locate Jeongin, because he always chooses the bathroom to get dressed.

You find him leaning against the sink half-naked, styling his hair while holding a tube of pomade in one hand and the crease between his eyebrows shows how focused he is at the moment.

What catches your attention is the milky skin, the toned muscles on his back, and the evident veins coiling down his arms, he gets you biting your lips at the sight of his back figure.

You quietly enter the bathroom and lean against the glass wall of the shower, looking at him through the mirror and putting on a smile. You hold that pose until he notices you.

You crack a soft laugh when he turns around to see you, "Hey, how's your day?"

Jeongin has one corner of his mouth rising higher than the other and curls into a half-smirk after taking a look at you from head to toe and flicks his eyes back to your face.

 "Good," he shortly answers.

You tilt your head to the side and keep your sly smile on, "Want to make it better?"

You can see Jeongin slowly catching up to your intention as the other corner of his mouth curls and forms a full smirk on his face. He shyly touches his ear and is unable to speak.

You look him in the eyes and seductively say, "Meet me at the beach in 10 minutes?"

After a while, Jeongin breaks the eye contact and lets out a shy smile. He doesn't know what to do with himself but holding the edge of the sink behind him.

You let the tension build by taking a step closer to him and then stopping right in front of him. In this proximity, you can see the glints in his eyes, flickering like fireworks.

Without waiting for his answer, you tell him, "I'll see you there."

-

YOU: It's time for me to make my move.

-

"Fuck!"

Jeongin quietly curses once you leave the bathroom, biting his fist to hold himself from cursing again. He has to actively tell his brain to calm down and continue dressing up if he wants to meet you there.

Regardless of who he wants, you deserve a chance to try and change his mind.

Jeongin walks through the dressing room to check if Justine is still there and she is, she is too busy doing her hair to even notice him making his way through the doorway and then out of the villa.

He doesn't know if ten minutes have passed or not but he's nervous, not wanting to make you wait long. He fixes his shirt as he walks down the path to the beach.

Squinting his eyes, Jeongin finds you sitting alone by the beach with your toes dug into the sand. Your hair is floating around with the soft gust of wind coming from the sea.

Sensing his arrival, you slowly turn your head to the side and smile the moment you see it's him.

Jeongin doesn't say anything but sits there on the sand with you, looking at the beach and how the water level recedes as the night gets late.

When he turns his head back at you, his eyes instantly meet yours.

"I feel like we need to have this chat 'cause I feel some type of way every time I see you with Justine in bed," you say.

You tuck the stray hair covering your face and put it away, "It should be us on that bed," you add.

It seems like you and he shares the same vice, you both are very straightforward, and he finds comfort in that.

"So what happened? Why am I not on your bed?" You ask with that head tilt you always do like a cat that asked to be pet.

"Because..." Jeongin's mind suddenly turns blank, he turns his head back to the sea like it would help him find the answer.

"Because Justine and I got it since day one," he finishes his answer with a safe one.

"But I'm here now," you tell him, your hand goes to the side of your head to keep your hair from being blown away.

"Then you came, yeah," he sighs and he doesn't know why, he feels like holding his breath when he's with you.

"And your head turned," You say with a flirty smile.

The way that you said it not as a question but a statement like you know for sure his head is turned... now that level of confidence is attractive.

"Obviously, you're a beautiful girl," he couldn't deny this and you know that it's true.

His head is indeed turned but that's not the problem here. He doesn't know if you've been ignoring it or completely don't care that he's currently with someone right now.

"But I'm with Justine," he remarks.

Your glossy lips curve into a smile and simply answer, "You think I care?"

So you don't care that he's with Justine or with someone else for that matter.

"I wouldn't take you here if I cared and you know what?" You tuck another strand of hair stuck to your lips, "You wouldn't come here too if you're not interested."

You really got him there that he has no reasons or excuses left in him to deny his liking towards you like it isn't obvious enough.

"I'm going to be honest," you say, shifting your body to face him and daringly staring into his eyes, "I know what I want, and what I want is you."

Oh, fuck, he curses inside his head.

Your confidence, your directness, your honesty, and your overflowing sex appeal, all of those things make you one dangerously alluring girl and it makes him even more nervous.

You prop your hand against the warm sand and ask him such a simple question, "So what are you going to do?"

-

JEONGIN: The eyes she's giving me right now are making me weak.

-

Even so, Jeongin can't answer that question. Not because he doesn't have the answer, but because he has so many things running through his head at the moment.

Getting no answer from him, you help him find the answer by suggesting a wild idea.

"How about we lose some money right now?"

That caught him off guard that his head snapped your way, "What?"

"A kiss," you lightly say like it doesn't cost $6,000 and potentially get burned at the stake by the group afterward.

The last time he did break a rule, it wasn't a nice experience and he certainly doesn't want to go through that again.

"Once we kissed and you don't feel any sort of feelings for me then... you can walk away," you devise a compromise with him.

Jeongin is interested in that idea. One kiss to see how connected he is with you, one kiss to know which one he should choose, and ultimately, one kiss that answers it all.

You don't wait for his answer and gesture him to get closer, "Come closer," you sweetly whisper as low as the soft gust of wind blowing his way.

Jeongin obeys without complaint, closing the gap between your bodies, and sits really close to you.

You reach for his jaw and hold the side of his face as you murmur, "You think I'd let you refuse my kiss again, huh?"

He opens his mouth to say something to that when your lips get ahead of him and shut his mouth with a kiss.

The way you passionately kiss him tells him how much you want him and it's arousing him that he finds himself returning your kiss as hard.

Jeongin doesn't really seek that spark but he feels that fluttering feeling, stirring and swirling, like a kaleidoscope of butterflies flying around in his stomach.

He opens his mouth to have you more and kisses you harder and deeper, his lungs start screaming for air. He lets the kiss continue for another moment before breaking the kiss and he can hear you gasp for air the moment he lets go of your lips.

"That was good," you say, licking your lower lip as if you seek the taste of the kiss that lingers there.

Jeongin sheepishly smiles and finds something to say to you that he knows is true.

"You're a good kisser," he compliments.

"I know," you coyly say.

That confidence never ceases to amaze him which assures him that the connection is there and it's getting deeper the more he knows you.

Aware of how dangerous things get, he draws a sharp breath through his mouth, "Oh, you put me in a predicament," he mutters.

On the contrary, you triumphantly smile because the kiss seems to have answered all of your questions yet you still come up with another one.

"So, see you in bed tonight?"

-

JEONGIN: I've got two beautiful girls making me feel a type of way. What am I going to do?

-

The night goes on but Jeongin can't tell which one he fears most: Lana reveals the kiss he did with you or Justine finding out about it.

Consider it his lucky day because Lana chooses not to spoil the rule break today and saves it for tomorrow. But that doesn't mean he has passed the hard thing, he still has to do the other hard thing.

Not telling Justine about the kiss would only make it worse so whether he likes it or not, Jeongin has to tell her about it as soon as possible.

He comes to the bedroom knowing that Justine is already there and yes, he's aware of the glare you aimed toward him right now as he sits on the edge of the bed.

Since Justine is talking with Courtney on the next bed, he reaches for her hand to get her attention.

"Can I talk to you?" He quietly mutters, trying not to draw any attention to both of them.

"Okay," Justine says.

Jeongin chooses the dressing room because it's the closest room, sitting on the empty chairs facing each other. This is his chance to tell him but he keeps retreating, not because he's scared but because he's aware of his bad habit of being so forthright with his words.

He takes a moment to carefully pick his words and exhales air before talking.

"Here's the shitty situation and it's going to make me sound like an absolute prick," he begins.

He tries not to look her in the eyes, afraid that it would make him keep retreating with his intention.

"But I'm going to be completely honest because it's the best way to be," he continues.

And he's right, Justine is already sensing that she wouldn't like what she's about to hear and starts making these wistful eyes at him.

However, Jeongin stands firm and reminds himself of what he needs to do here, "I can't lead two girls on and it's not fair."

He knows that he needs to soften the blow by telling her the reasons why to avoid her getting it all wrong. He arranges words in his head before saying them out loud.

"I like being with you, we've got a connection," he tells her, "But what I have with her—"

Justine cuts him off, "The new girl?"

It's unclear why she always addresses you as 'the new girl' but he's not going to mix that issue into this. He nods and continues talking, "I think the connection that I have with her is not worth giving up. I'm willing to give it a go."

The radiance on Justine's face gradually fades in each passing second like someone turns the brightness down. She looks down on her lap and fiddles with her nails, and he gives her a moment to process this.

"Did you guys... talk?" She meekly asks.

"Yes, and we uh..." he struggles to finish the sentence knowing that it'll be unpleasant for Justine.

But he has to, he promised to be honest so here it goes, "We kissed."

Once it's out, he feels so much lighter and he can confidently continue, "I feel something deeper with her."

Justine is lightly bobbing her head whether as a gesture that she accepts it as it is or she only does it to get things over with.

"Are you going to sleep with her?" She asks even though she wouldn't like the answer.

"Yes," Jeongin replies.

He understands well that it's a lot to take in and the fact that it's hard for him too proves that he does it out of care and mostly, out of respect for her.

He places his hand on her shoulder and slowly brings her close for a hug, it won't do much to comfort her since he's the one causing this inconvenience.

"Sorry for putting you in this situation," he murmurs his sincere apology.

But Justine chooses to accept her defeat in silence.

-

JEONGIN: I feel bad for being abrupt with Justine but it's the only way.

-

Is it just you or everyone else is also anticipating his return to the bedroom?

You saw Jeongin left with Justine and that means, they're having the talk right now. It's either about the kiss or the bed situation, or even both.

You're restlessly waiting on the bed thinking about who is he going to pick to be his bed partner. Is he going to stay with Justine or will he switch bed to be with you? 

Honestly, you hate losing but what you're going to hate more is seeing Justine all over Jeongin every day for the rest of the retreat, and you feel bitter just by imagining it.

The kiss not only assures him but also assures you that you want him and you want him to want you too.

You're hardly listening to the conversation going on in the room but you notice that everyone stops talking when Jeongin returns to the bedroom by himself.

He looks around the room and notices that everyone's attention is on him. The moment his eyes meet yours, your heart skips a beat.

While the conversation in the room continues at a lower volume than before, you quietly watch him walk to his usual bed with Justine and then sit on the edge with his back facing you.

He chose her, you mutter inside your head and your hopeful heart drops to your stomach, making you feel sick.

You look away, not wanting to keep watching how your endeavors turn into a major fail. You slump on the bed and pull your duvet, wanting to get this day over with.

It turns quiet again and you reckon it must be Justine coming into the room, you quickly shift your body to the side with your back facing the door.

Then you see Jeongin come and put his things on the bedside table. You glance up to see if it's really him and your heart inflates with hope again. You hurriedly get up from the bed to make space for him.

"Do you want to take this side or this side?" You ask, offering him which side of the bed he prefers.

"Doesn't matter," he answers.

You scoot to the side to make more space for him on the bed, throwing away the extra cushions onto the floor. You're too ecstatic with the fact that Jeongin chose you and you're not going to let all these judging looks everyone is giving you right now ruin it.

Jeongin settles himself next to you, getting under the cover and also ignoring all the curious eyes wanting to know what has just happened.

Lou notices that his role as your bed partner has been replaced and without saying anything, he goes to Jeongin's former bed to sleep with Justine by default.

"Sorry," you mouthed at him.

"It's okay," he mouthed back with a thumbs-up.

You put your attention back on the guy next to you and now that he's here, you suddenly feel awkward talking to him. You hesitantly reach for his hand resting on the space between you, you take it and put it on your lap. You've never seen such an attractive hand, it's big with long slender fingers but what catches your interest is the veins coiling down his arm.

You turn it over and put your hands together to compare the sizes, "it's bigger than mine."

Jeongin smiles at that and jokingly says, "Nah, your hand is too small."

You wrap your hand around his thumb and Gosh, that makes you wonder if he's big elsewhere too.

Using your index finger, you trail down the evident veins that go from his forearm to the back of his hand, and at the end, you turn his hand over and place your hand inside his hand.

"It's a bit rough there," he says.

It is rough but not the uncomfortable kind, "I like it."

You look at him and curiously ask, "Do you play instruments?" 

He looks down at the way your fingertips lightly rub his palm and answers, "I play piano."

"That explains why your hand is beautiful," you compliment him and you like how he gets all shy whenever you do that.

Jeongin touches his ear even though he can't do anything to hide his reddening ear but it makes you want to do more so you slip your fingers in between his and hold his hand.

The moment is interrupted by Justine's dramatic entrance to the bedroom, she glances your way and probably sees that Jeongin is already on your bed. She then goes to her bed and acts as if nothing happened.

And you're not going to let that ruin your happiness too.

-

YOU: You know what? All's fair in love and war [shrugs]

-

Last night, the two of you talked a little more before sleep, said goodnight to each other then turned away from each other.

However, when Jeongin wakes up in the morning, he finds himself spooning you and his arm is around you. He carefully retracts his hand away and accidentally wakes you up in the process.

You turn your head to look at him and sleepily smile, "Morning!"

Jeongin brushes his messy hair to the back and hoists himself up, "Morning," he says back.

You stretch your arms and legs out with your eyes screwed shut while making adorable noises like a kitten waking up from a nap. 

Jeongin grabs his water tumbler, taking a sip as he watches everyone else also getting up from their bed after the lights turned on.

"Morning, everyone!" Linda sweetly says while holding her tousled hair on the top of her head.

"Good morning!" Courtney beams from the other side of the room.

Even with his eyes still heavy with sleep, Mick takes his duty as a sex cop seriously by asking the important question.

"Did anyone break the rules?"

Jeongin has been considering of doing a different strategy, instead of keeping it until the last minute, he figures it's best to tell everyone about his rule break now.

He raises his hand and keeps it in the air until Mick notices, "We kissed last night," he simply admits.

Mick shoots him with a glare then sighs, "I kind of guessed you guys did," he says while scratching his shoulder.

It's probably too early for them to deal with it or that they knew from the moment he switched bed with you, they seem to let this one slide easily.

Jeongin can't believe that his strategy works.

"Anyone else?" Mick asks with eyes meticulously scanning the room.

All eyes are on the most spending couple in the retreat, Damon lets out a chuckle and scratches his head, "No, we didn't," he coyly denies.

Unlike Justine, you give him the space he needs and Jeongin can freely do what he wants. He starts his day by working out as usual and getting some breakfast after a shower. He doesn't see you until it's time to go to the cabana.

"Miss you," you cutely say with a delighted smile on your face.

Jeongin sheepishly smiles and lets you link your arm with his as he sits next to you.

As expected, the group doesn't say much about his rule break and takes the $6,000 deduction well. And also because, they're more curious about the gifts on the table.

"As you can see, I have a gift for you all," Lana finally addressed the small boxes that matched the number of guests in the retreat.

"The purpose of this gift is to help you learn how to be motivated by genuine feelings of connection, as opposed to lust," Lana further explains.

"So, we're making progress?" Kurt asks around.

"That's a good thing, yeah," Courtney agrees.

"You may now open your boxes," Lana orders.

Jeongin takes two and hands one to you, everyone is exclaiming almost at the same time when they find out what's inside: a watch.

"When I observe two people forming genuine connections, they will be given a green light, like this."

Lana demonstrates by turning everyone's watches chime and lights up in green which excites everyone.

"While your lights are green, retreat rules do not apply for a limited amount of time."

"For how long?" Damon asks.

"She said a limited amount of time," Justine answers with a sly grin thrown his way.

"With this green light, there will be no more spending money," Mick remarks in all seriousness.

Jeongin is not sure that the existence of these watches would stop these people from breaking the rules, especially those who can't wait for them.

"Now that you have the watches, if you do not abide by my rules, there will be severe consequences," Lana warns for the last time.

-

JEONGIN: I'm so happy to get this watch. Now I can focus on my connection with her.

-

While the girls are still getting ready, the boys are gathering in the firepit and Jeongin is there as a quiet listener to all the random talks going on all at once.

"I wonder how Lana is going to give these green lights," Kurt says while observing the watch around his wrist.

Rather than answering him, Keith comes up with a different question, "Who do you think is going to be the first one getting a green light?"

"I don't know," Lou sighs.

"Definitely not me," Damon jokingly says.

Jeongin always thought that if there's one couple more established than the other it's Damon and Bianca but hearing that makes him doubt it.

"It's Lana, she's not going to make it easy," Lou says, being the reasonable one among the bunch.

Jeongin strongly agrees with him so he nods and says, "Yeah, I think so too."

Kurt puts his foot down and leans forward, "But bro, if they go green, you can do anything," he says with bewildering eyes.

"Anything you want, yes," Lou emphasizes it for everyone, then sips his drink.

"I need to know how long though," Damon reclines on the sofa and spreads his arms out on the headrest of the sofa, "Like is it long enough for just a kiss or long enough for a quickie?"

Mick almost spits his drink when he hears it, "A quickie?"

Kurt foolishly grins and slaps Damon's knee, "That's what I was thinking."

Lou has his forehead wrinkled into a questioning look on his face, "How are you going to, like... shouldn't you get it up first, bro?"

"It turns green and you just go at it," Damon simply resolves.

Everyone bursts into laughter and there's no denying it anymore, boys will always be boys.

"How about you though?" Damon says to Jeongin.

"It's going to be tough for you, man," Keith says, grinning at him but in a way that hints he's both jealous and concerned for him.

It's indeed a little concerning and Jeongin has only shared the bed with you for one night, so far things are good but knowing you and your alluring charms, he gets that feeling again that it's only about time.

"How was it sharing a bed with her?" Kurt curiously asks.

"It was nice and fun, she's so friendly," Jeongin sincerely answers.

"Friendly, huh?" Damon says with a wink, taking his answer out of context.

"Let me know when you need to tap out," Keith jokingly says.

However, Jeongin knows that it's not a joke to him but there's a more important thing than kissing and that is getting a green light with you.

-

JEONGIN: All I want to do is kiss her so I'm going to try and get a green light.

-

It's going to be a good night, you can feel it.

You feel good in your dress, you feel good when you check your appearance in the mirror and you feel exceptionally good about yourself.

It feels even better now that you have someone to share this feeling with.

"You look nice," you compliment him.

He's indeed looking nice in a simple outfit of blue jeans and a white shirt, but he knows how to make such a basic look work.

That's another thing you like about him, he has this impeccable way of dressing and it shows.

"I like your shirt," you say.

The short sleeves of his shirt showcase his bulging biceps as he stretches it on the sofa.

"Thank you," he sweetly says with a smile.

You poke his dimple before it disappears and compliment again, "I like your dimples too."

He cracks a laugh this time and watches you lift your arm in the air, shaking your hand.

"I think it's not catching any signals," you playfully say.

Jeongin breaks into another wave of laughter and brings your hand down, "Do you think by complimenting me you'll get a green light?"

"Mm-hm," you innocently nod.

He lightly shakes his head and drains his glass of wine, "I think Lana won't fall for that," he says.

Everyone else is there and can see what you're doing so you can't do much but put your legs on his lap and your arm across his chest.

"And you don't have any compliments for me?" You ask, batting your eyelashes at him.

He puts away his empty glass and looks at you, "I think you look gorgeous," he says.

"You think?" You pout to show your displease.

"You are gorgeous," he corrected his earlier remarks.

"What else?" You demand more compliments while maintaining eye contact with him.

"Hmm..." he cutely purses his lips as he thinks, "I like your dress."

"Okay, what else?" You demand more.

Jeongin looks at you from head to toe to find something to compliment, he places his hand on your shin as he says, "I like your shoes."

You playfully kick your feet in the air to show off your laced-up heels to him, "Cute, right?"

He slides his hand down to your ankle and you like seeing his hand on you, "They're cute," he agrees.

"They kind of painful to wear though," you share with a pout.

You've been finding a way to be alone with him and blatantly doing it would spoil it but now, you have found an excuse you can use.

"I need to change my shoes," You slowly get up from the sofa and offer your hands to him.

He does nothing but look at your hands, then at you.

"Come with me!" You say, taking his hands and dragging him with you to the dressing room.

Once you're there, you take off your shoes and put them under your closet. Not giving him time to escape, you grab him by the elbow and lead him to sit on the chair.

"We're going to stay here for a minute," you tell him, sitting sideways on his lap to not let him get away.

Jeongin clearly catches up to your intention, it's not about the shoes, it's you wanting to get him alone with you.

"What if someone comes in?" He asks.

You laugh at that and simply respond, "But we're not doing anything."

"You're doing things here," he says to you with a knowing smile.

You rest your hand on his chest to hold him down, "We're not going to do anything you don't want," you assure him.

-

YOU: Jeongin is so hot and I just want to rip his clothes off [chuckles]

-

As you stare at his face, you get reminded of how you saw him in a picture when they told you to pick one to get on a date. But you know what? The picture doesn't do him justice.

Jeongin is much more beautiful in real life. He has a pair of eyes like a fox, angular jaws, a sharp nose, and plump lips that get you biting your lips, tantalizing you to feel how soft they are.

You place your hand on his chest and lovingly gaze into his eyes, deciding to continue your train of compliments for him.

"You're so handsome."

He has all these masculine features on him but when he smiles, it softens all of the edges and he turns into this cute guy with a warm smile.

"Thank you," he calmly replies.

You put your hand around his shoulder and the other hand is feeling the toned muscles through his shirt.

"You're so hot," you seductively say.

"Thank you," he shortly responds.

You know compliments won't get you far so you take a bold move and run your hand through the nape of his neck. Jeongin shivers when you do that and that gives away the fact that his neck must be one of the sensitive parts of his body.

You gently tug at the hair on the back of his hair and at once, you pull his head to the back, sending him looking up at you.

You tantalize him with your lips, dragging them down his jawline before placing a kiss on the skin behind his ear. You feel his hand on your waist, gripping the fabric of your dress.

You smile knowing that you get him good and continue the trail of kisses down the column of his neck. This time his other hand grabs at your thigh but doesn't go higher above the knee.

"I know you want this," you whisper at him.

"But we can't," he hisses.

Feeling mischievous, you take a playful bite at his ear and a breathless moan slips out of his parted mouth. He grabs at your thigh again and you can feel his nails digging into the flesh.

"I can't promise I'm not going to try and break any rules tonight," you tell him.

Sooner or later, you both will break a rule, it's inevitable, not with this much sexual chemistry you have between you.

"We just got the watches," he reminds you.

But his arm is tightening around you and his other hand is inching closer to the hem of your dress.

You kiss him on the neck again and softly whine into his ear as a way to complain to him, "It's going to take a long time though."

"We don't want to risk getting kicked out, mmh?"

Jeongin is the most reasonable one out of the two of you but that means the chance to break rules stays at fifty percent.

-

YOU: Obviously, I want to get a green light but talking about feelings, it's just a bit... [cringes]

-

Jeongin should consider that he has passed one of the hardest tests in retreat so far.

You should trust him when he says it takes everything in him not to fold when you sweetly ask for a kiss and he won't give it to you. It even surprised him how much he restrained himself from temptations.

And even though it's bedtime, Jeongin remains cautious.

You're the last to join him on the bed and stay quiet as you climb onto the bed. That gets him wondering if you're mad about him refusing to rule break with you.

As you sit on the bed next to him and apply hand cream on your hands, he reaches for your head and softly gives your hair a ruffle.

"What took you so long?" He carefully asks.

You slowly turn around on the bed and look at him, "I chatted with Keith for a bit," you answer.

His eyes hover on the hunky guy occupying the bed at the end of the room and silently boring a hole in between his eyes with his laser eyes.

He knows Keith won't give you up that easily.

"Goodnight, beautiful people!" Courtney mutters as the lights are off.

You pull the duvet up to your chest and peck him on the cheek as a goodnight kiss.

"Night," you mutter before turning on your side of the bed and giving your back to him.

Jeongin is not the kind of person who holds grudges over something or someone, but he hates to go to sleep with this tugging feeling at his chest.

He puts his arm around you and pulls you close until your back meets his chest. He can hear you smiling without having to look at it.

Jeongin can let out a sigh of relief and when he inhales air, he can smell the sweet scent of your shampoo clinging to your hair.

"You smell so good," he murmurs at you.

"Thank you," you murmur back.

You start rubbing your hand up and down his arm in a fluttering way that makes him tingle inside. You bring his hand close to your mouth and kiss it.

Jeongin buries his nose in your neck and kisses you there, he can feel how soft your skin is as he places little kisses down your bare shoulder.

"You're so soft," he compliments again.

"Thank you," you mutter in a giggly tone.

-

JEONGIN: We've only just got our watches, but I'm really struggling to not break the rules right now.

-

The next thing he knows, he has your body molded against him until there's no gap left between your bodies.

He lets his hand freely explore your clothed body, feeling every curve of it and picturing it in his head as he goes. He stops when he meets the skin he can touch, feeling how soft it is under his fingertips.

"Mmh... so soft," he delightfully hums.

He continues the exploration and turns to the side where he rests his hand on the curve of your hips, he rubs the skin in circular motions before sliding it down the side of your thigh.

"You're so soft all over," he whispers with his hot breath fanning your neck.

You turn around on the bed and lying on your side facing him, you lift your head to place his arm under and use it as your pillow.

Then you slip your arm under and pull him close, letting his body eclipse yours. This way, he can feel your body against him, your body heat, your softness, your curves and edges, just you under him.

Jeongin uses this as an opportunity to get back at you, doing what you did to him, kissing your neck and nibbling at your ear.

As Jeongin switches to the other neck, you whisper to him, "Everyone is sleeping."

From the quiet and stillness that hangs in the room, Jeongin can confirm that everyone else is already sleeping but that's not the problem here.

He lifts his head and props his elbow against the mattress, he looks at your face under the low light of the sleep lamp. And honestly, teasing you has been making him horny too and he can't resist it anymore.

Slowly, Jeongin places his lips on yours and quietly makes out with you as you pull the duvet to cover both of you.

The kiss is so good that he keeps kissing you and you keep giving it to him, opening your mouth for him so he can taste more of you.

You keep things interesting either by biting his lips or twirling your tongue with him in between kisses and Gosh, he loves every bit of it.

Fuck money, it's worth more than that.

Jeongin is so fully immersed in the kiss that he doesn't notice your hand that goes down to the waistband of his boxer, tugging at it to find access inside.

He forces himself to pull away from the kiss to say, "You can't do that, baby?"

You slyly smile and boldly say, "Why don't you try and stop me?"

You waste not another second to slip your hand inside his boxer and instead of stopping you, Jeongin lays back on his side of the bed and closes his eyes as he feels your hand wrapped around his length.

-

JEONGIN: A part of me just thinks "fuck it" [laughs]

- 

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[mybworlds]

Chapter 9: Emptiness

Pairing: joel miller x f!reader (no use of Y/N) | Rating: 18+ Minors DNI | W.C.:

Summary: Your life sounds perfect: you live with a perfect man, you live in your dream house, you do the job you love, you don't miss anything, except love and passion.

Warnings: no use of Y/N, use of you, reader is a photographer, reader has no physical descriptions except hair (no type or color) long enough to hold on to, unspecified age gap, Joel and reader are two cheaters, for a while. Smut, use of pet names, dirty talk, masturbation, unprotected PiV but the first time, creampies, comeplay, oral (both f and m recieving), exhibitionism, size kink, personal use of an unspecified sex toy. No outbreak here. Let me know if I missed anything!

Masterlist

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Thx for the dividers @saradika-graphics

Taglist @harriedandharassed

The air suddenly becomes suspended, as if charged with a strange electricity. Patrick no longer speaks and Joel seems to have become a statue, you don't know what to do or say. You wish you hadn't been so direct and hasty in your words, but now it's done, you can't go back.

“Patrick?” you resume “I'm sorry, but I had to tell you the truth. It's not fair that you still believe or hope that we'll get back together.” you are lapidary even though you don't know if there will actually something with Joel, but you really hope so.

Patrick sighs, “I see.” He sighs again, “Are you happy?”

You feel a tightness in the pit of your stomach, you close your eyes and look up at Joel who instead is not looking at you anymore and you feel empty. Is he afraid? Does he not want to? Does he not care about you?

On the other hand, he’s always been clear, he told you since your first meeting that he doesn't want a relationship with you or anyone else, why should he change his mind now? For you? Not even before you were in bed, he told you that he wanted a future with you, he just told you that he was fine, but... while for you that might mean having feelings, for him it might not be like that.

“I'm confused.” You are sincere in your response to Patrick.

“He doesn’t want you?” he asks you.

You look up at Joel who has his back to you now, his body turned toward the kitchen and his hands resting on the sink, his head still low.

“I don't know.” You answer him and in those moments, seeing his reaction, you can't help but wonder if deep down you didn't do everything wrong with Joel and Patrick. “Patrick, I'm sorry,” you add, clutching the phone tighter.

“We’ve both hurt each other, baby.” He sighs. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with him, but I hope he makes you feel more important than I did.” he adds with a regretful tone.

You wanted to tell him that given Joel's expression, it's highly unlikely that you can or he will want to continue seeing you. But you don’t say anything.

“I wish you every happiness,” Patrick tells you again.

“Yes, you too.” there’s still a moment of silence between you, then he ends the call.

You place the phone on Joel's kitchen peninsula and then look up, taking in the weight of the words you just said: Joel is silent and motionless as if everything he has heard has robbed him of the strength to move and speak. He still doesn't look at you.

“Joel?” you call, getting up from the stool. “I’m sorry you heard it that way, but… it’s the truth.”

He sighs, looking towards the window next to the kitchen, “Do you know why I never wanted to bond with someone again?” he asks without looking at you.

You shake your head, even though you know he's not looking at you.

“Because I can’t stand to see or hear words like the ones I heard. D’ you know what my ex-wife said to me when I tried to find a way to get back together?” he pauses, a long one and that's when he turns towards you “That she had fallen in love with someone else, that she was confused, that things between us weren't workin’. Do you know how that made me feel? Useless, a useless man." he nods “And the worst thing is that Patrick is my friend and I did what I did to him.”

You frown, “There were two of us, there have always been two of us who were together, in confiding in each other.” You tell him almost in a pleading tone “Please, don’t feel guilty. We both wanted it.” he shakes his head. “Joel? Please don’t.” a horrible creepy feeling spreads inside you, Joel doesn't want you. He's pushing you away.

Your eyes fill with tears, your lips tremble, you look down, while timid tears fly towards the floor. You feel like throwing up, a feeling of rejection, of pain tightens your stomach making you almost unable to breathe.

“Please, talk to me.” you beg.

His face becomes tense, then he finally looks up at you and the sweet look you had found there until a few minutes ago has disappeared. He looks cold, his gaze hard, then shakes his head, “I can’t.” his gaze is empty, unrecognizable.

“Maybe we could...”

“No.” his tone is cold, he doesn’t allow for replies “There’s no us.” you freeze in place "You better go.” he adds, looking everywhere but at you.

The world around you is spinning wildly. Suddenly nothing seems to make sense, every thought you have is jumbled together so meaningless. Your lower lip is trembling, shy tears are streaming down your cheeks, “That was the reason why I just fucked. Now even that won't be possible anymore because every time it’ll happens, I won't be able to help but wonder if I will see your same look in another woman, or if any other woman won't want to change her life because of me." his is a thin whisper in which each word is well articulated and impossible not to hear.

You’re about to tell him not to shut himself away, not to treat you like this, but he interrupts you again, “When you go out, make sure you close the door tightly.”

You're about to repeat his name and beg him not to treat you like this, but nothing comes out of your mouth, not even a sound. He gives you one last long, silent look, then you're left alone in his house.

You look desperate and absent at the same time, you don't even know where you're going. You only know that you're empty, completely empty. Your heart is beating hard in your chest, it hurts. You are speechless and almost breathless. What happened has completely shaken you. You are struggling not to give in to the tears that are building up in the back of your eyes.

Everything is destroyed. Everything is lost.

You have lost everything.

You have nothing left and what could have been a beautiful project that you could have shared with him, with Joel, has disintegrated because by his own admission he himself has already lived everything and does not intend to do it again. He's always been clear from the beginning. His previous relationship burned him so much that even his heart is reduced to ashes and now maybe hearing it beat again for someone pains him so much that he doesn't want to feel it.

You wipe away your tears a couple of times, not wanting to attract anyone's attention. You know that surely no one will even look at your face, but crying for you has always been an act to be done alone.

You have now arrived in front of your shop, the seat of your great infinite pride, your job. Maybe everything can start from here, from who you are, a photographer, a good photographer. And it's not you who says it, but the people who turn to you.

You struggle to concentrate, your mind often goes back there, to that silent goodbye. Joel won't go back. If his ex-wife hurt him as much as he says, he won't look for you again.

No matter how hard you try to think positively, to focus on something else, your mind always takes you back to that exact moment, to when you destroyed three lives at once, when you uttered those fateful words.

I fell in love with someone else.

You feel stupid because for a day you really had illusions that Joel could choose you, but then all of that dissolved before your eyes, shattering your hopes and your heart.

Emptiness.

That's what you feel.

Emptiness.

Just a deep, unbridgeable void.

As the hours pass, the situation does not improve, indeed it seems always be worse.

You feel weak, cowardly, maybe the problem is not Patrick or Joel who clearly rejected you, but you are the problem. Maybe you need so much love, passion, desire that you don't care about making others feel bad if you're fine.

What kind of person have you become?

Daisy's words that should comfort you make you collapse into a state of great despair. She’s very sweet, she takes great care of you in every possible and imaginable way, but all this doesn't lift your spirits.

You don't know what kind of person you are anymore. You once knew exactly who you were and what you wanted, you thought you knew it and you went straight down that road.

The result?

You hit a wall called Joel Miller. A wall that left your heart broken, bleeding and humiliated you like no one had ever done before.

But you want to make a last desperate attempt, you want to talk to him. You want to do it calmly, find the right words and not be reckless. You know it will almost certainly hurt to hear certain things, but you want to hear them. You have two.

Are you a masochist?

Yes, maybe.

But then you tell yourself that if he's cruel to you again, you'll be the one who doesn't want to think about him anymore. You want him, you want him in your life, but you don't want someone who makes you feel weak and vulnerable, who uses you and then throws you away like that.

You are not like that, you know it. You know you are worth so much more than this. You deserve better. And if that better is being without Joel Miller, then so be it.

Daisy of course advises you against it. She says you aren’t thinking clearly yet. You feel confused, but determined.

It's been almost three weeks and now you're sure you want to talk to him, you need to. Even if you know you probably won't get a different answer than the one you've already had, but as much as it may hurt you now you want to put an end to it.

The emptiness he left in you has given way to disappointment and anger.

You reach his house thinking about what to say to him, but everything seems stupid or incoherent. You are in front of his place.

You ring the bell.

What the fuck are you doing here?

You hear a voice shouting ‘comin’, it’s a woman. Your heart skips a beat. A moment later, a beautiful woman opens the door. The woman is wearing a bathrobe, she looks strong and determined, but above all happy. She smiles at you, “You’re the delivery guy, aren’t you? You were fast!”

You're shocked, “No... uhm, is Joel there?”

“Yes, are you a colleague of his?” she asks you, pulling the edges of his bathrobe a little tighter.

“No.”

“So, who are you?” she asks.

“Uhm…”

“Tess, who’s there?” another voice from inside reaches your ears. It's Joel.

Joel appears behind her, opening the door a little wider. His expression changes from puzzled to astonished, then he becomes gloomy, “What are you doing here?” he asks you.

What are you doing there? You're wondering that too.

Tess looks at your face, then at Joel's. You don't know what to answer.

You kind of expected it, but not in such a brutal way. He replaced you even though he told you he couldn't do that anymore after what you told him.

“Sorry, I was wrong to come.” You don’t know what else to say to them.

How stupid!

You turn your back on them, feeling a lump in your throat. You move away quickly from Joel’s place. You were wrong to go there, but now more than ever you feel like you can move on and stop thinking about him. He has already replaced you. There’s nothing left for you.

You decide you don't want to think about Joel Miller anymore, since you met him you have fallen into a vortex of passion, he has satisfied you every time, but no one has shattered your heart like he did. You hold your hair with both hands, tonight you stay in your shop where you tinker with the computer. You look back at all the photoshoots you've done over the last two years and think about how many times you've put yourself aside to please others, but making yourself unhappy and pretending it was your decision.

Now all this has to end. From now on you will only think about yourself, for a while enough with love. You have only known how to make a lot of messes. You go through some old emails and find one from a few years ago that you received for a fashion show of a prestigious fashion house. You never wanted to trash it because you liked to remember that moment and then because in the email as a post scriptum they had written to you that if you had been interested there would always have been a place for you. It was really a great service that you did, you remember that they wrote to you that the sales had even tripled after your work!

You smile while looking at the screen. Why not!

Maybe Saint Barbara will do you good.

[andvys]

We'll burn the sky | part thirteen

Warnings: angst, mentions of unrequited love, reader feeling used, lots of depressive thoughts, insecurities, reader talking about being groped by fans, fluff

Pairings: Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Rockstar!fem!reader | slight Steve Harrington x fem!reader

Summary: An unexpected person might help you realize Eddie's feelings for you.

Word count: 7k+

Series masterlist

-

What just happened? 

You take deep breaths, letting the cold air fill your lungs as you look up into the dark sky. 

You try not to overthink again, you try to hold onto the Eddie from the night before, the one that held you, the one that came back for you, the one that was possessive of you. You place your hands on your knees and close your eyes for a moment. 

They didn’t answer when you asked them if it was all just some sick joke. They just stared at you in shock and confusion. 

Idiots. 

You can’t help but wonder if this was all just some sick fantasy that they wanted to fulfill, one that neither Chrissy nor Nancy wanted to be a part of. 

What were they talking about before you interrupted them? 

‘Fuck this, don’t even think about it, don’t think about anything,’ you tell yourself. 

It’s okay, you are okay. 

You liked it, you enjoyed yourself and you don’t regret it for a single second but the thought of why they did it, lies heavy on your chest. What are you to them? 

You straighten your back and bring your hands up to your hair, running your fingers through it, you take another deep breath. 

Whatever, fuck this, fuck everything. 

You wanted to go back to the beginning and that’s what you will do so you push the pain away and tell yourself that you were just overwhelmed by everything else, just not by this or them. 

You knock on his door again and it opens instantly, you are met by concerned eyes, you almost want to laugh at their states. Messy hair, smudged lipstick stains on their lips.

You plaster a smile on your face, looking between them for a moment before your eyes settle on Steve. 

“Are you coming?” 

They both furrow their brows in confusion, eying you up and down. Both men could swear that you were just on the verge of breaking down as you looked at them– at him with a heartbroken look in your eyes. 

“W-What–”

“You wanted to drive me to the motel, remember?” you ask, smiling sweetly. 

It throws them off, they feel unsettled, both not convinced that you are as okay as you pretend to be. 

“Or do you want me to walk home? I could run into the crazy Henry Creel,” you joke, laughing a little. 

Steve shakes his head, frown still sitting deeply in his features, “I’ll drive you of course.” 

He grabs his jacket and quickly puts it on, checking for his keys in the pockets, he pulls them out and steps out. 

You walk down the steps and make your way towards his car, not seeing the concerned glances both men share. Eddie follows you, rushing towards you before you even manage to open the car door. He grabs your hand and pulls you back so he can see your face. 

“Sweetheart,” he whispers, squeezing your hand gently. 

“Yeah?” 

He can see the conflict in your eyes as you stare at him. 

“Are you okay?” 

You nod, trying to act the same as you did before. 

“Yeah, I’m okay, why wouldn’t I be?” 

He shrugs, brown eyes flickering with sadness when he thinks about the words that just left your lips a few moments ago. 

Please tell me this wasn’t some sick joke.

“You didn’t seem okay before you left. Did we– was it too much?” 

His concern softens your heart and your gaze a little. You shake your head, squeezing his hand back. 

You chuckle at his words only confusing both him and Steve even further with your behavior, you seem amused, you didn’t seem like that before, at all. It makes them nervous. 

“No, it’s not the first time I’ve been with two people,” you shrug, not seeing the frown on Steve’s face, you only see the one on Eddie’s face, “you just surprised me, that’s all.” 

What?

Eddie’s eyes flash with anger and jealousy. You have been with two people before? 

“Anyways,” you sigh, stepping closer to him, you grab his chin and pull him closer, pecking his lips, “good night, Eddie.” 

He hesitates for a moment, eyes still filled with irritation but he is also pleading, begging you to stay without saying it out loud. 

“Good night, Sweetheart,” he whispers sadly as he watches you get into Steve’s car. Both men share another look before saying their goodbyes as well. 

He stands in the driveway for what feels like hours, even after you already left. 

You were so happy to see him earlier, you smiled at him and took his hand with a glint of happiness in your eyes, you walked into the trailer excitedly and then he ruined it, they both did. 

When you pulled away from Steve’s kiss, you turned around and looked at him with tears in your eyes, fear and panic. You didn’t want him to kiss you, you just wanted him. You wanted him to pull you away from Steve, you wanted him to take your hand and pull you into his arms, you wanted him to show Steve that you are his but he let him touch you, he let him kiss you, he let him because he wanted to see how you’d respond to his touch, if you were different with Steve than you were with him, if you enjoyed his touch more. He didn’t realize the damage that he was causing. 

He can guess what went on inside your head after the bliss began to fade. He made you feel used, he made you feel like you are nothing special, he made you feel like it means nothing to him to push you into another man’s arms. 

“Fuck,” he mumbles, cupping the back of his neck, he looks up into the dark sky, “you fucking idiot.” 

Tears threaten to spill as he realizes what a mistake he made, it even hurts himself, thinking about the way you must feel now. He knows how he would feel if this was done to him, unloveable. He knows what it’s like to feel used. 

You pretended to be okay, you pretended to be unbothered before you got into the car but your mask has already slipped before. You are not okay. 

There is no way that he will walk into his trailer and go on about his night like before. You need space, he knows you do but he can’t let you go, especially not like this. 

The drive back to the motel is mostly filled with silence between the two of you, neither of you speak up, letting the music fill the white noise. You play with the loose strings on your skirt, staring out the window. 

Steve runs his fingers through his hair nervously, glancing at you every few seconds or so. 

He is worried that he overstepped, that he made you uncomfortable. You didn’t seem uncomfortable before, you seemed fine, you enjoyed yourself, he knows you did and yet, he feels like something is off now. Do you regret it? Did he hurt you? Do you think that they used you?

“Hey,” he whispers, “uhh.. y/n?” 

You turn to look at him, tilting your head, you draw your brows together, “yes?” 

Please don’t bring him up, please don’t bring him up. 

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” 

“No, why would you think that?” 

He shrugs, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

“It wasn’t some sick joke, you know?” 

“Huh?” 

“Before you left, you asked if this was some sick joke to us,” he explains, not looking at you just yet, “it wasn’t.” 

You raise your brows, “no? You didn’t use me to prove something to each other?” you chuckle as though it’s funny. 

He shakes his head, eyes flashing with something unreadable, “no,” he says honestly, “I would never do this to you and neither would he, I hope you know that.” 

You shrug, putting on a stone cold expression as you lean back in your seat, “it’s whatever, even if you did, at least I felt good.” 

He frowns, your words cause a weird feeling inside of him. 

“We didn’t,” he frowns, “we didn’t use you and it wasn’t some sick joke, okay?” he says almost angrily as he tries to convince you. 

“Okay.” 

The rest of the drive is spent in silence, you look forward to a long and hot shower and get under the covers and sleep the day away. 

The red lights from the big Motel sign illuminate the car, allowing you to see his face more clearly. The soft and caring look in his eyes makes you feel a little less bad. 

He is telling the truth, right? They didn’t use you. 

“Thanks for the ride,” you whisper and turn away from him, reaching for the door handle but Steve stops you with a gentle touch on your thigh. 

“Please wait.” 

“Why?” 

“Talk to me,” he whispers, waiting for you to turn back to look at him, “please.” 

You sigh nervously. You are not ready to talk to him about his apparent feelings for you or your dad, he has yet to confront you about the things that Chrissy said while he was there. 

“What about, Steve?” 

You finally turn around and meet his eyes. 

You are so overwhelmed by everything, at this point, you feel like you’re drowning in all these thoughts and worries. It’s all too much. 

“I just– are we okay?” 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?” 

He smiles sadly, glancing down at your hand, he reaches for it, placing his on top of yours, “you don’t have to lie to me, you know?” 

“But I’m not lying–”

“You thought that we were using you and left with tears streaming down your face and now you act like everything is fine. I know we haven’t known each other for long but every time you’re hurt, you hide it and pretend to be alright when you’re clearly not.” 

You part your lips to say something but find yourself feeling unable to. 

“When I first met you, you acted like everything was fine between you and Eddie when it wasn’t, you were hurt and heartbroken but for my sake and everyone else’s, you lied and put this act on.” 

Your mask slips a little, you blink as you stare at him. He figured you out so quickly, just like Eddie did and you hate it, you hate that you are an open book to them. 

“I’m fine, Steve,” you mumble, ignoring everything else he just said, “I was just overwhelmed earlier.” 

“Because we touched you?” he asks. 

You shake your head, “no, just by other things,” you shrug, “the whole thing with Chrissy and the things she said and then I upset Eddie last night,” you pause, eyes shifting away from him as they fill with sadness, “also, christmas eve is in two days.” 

He knows what that means. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, oh,” you mutter under your breath, “then it all got too much and I felt like shit for a second but it’s got nothing to do with you,” you lie. 

Nancy’s words keep replaying in your mind and it worries you to no end. You don’t want to hurt him. 

“If it does then you can tell me and I-I will fix it, okay?” 

You turn back to him, nodding at his words, “okay,” you whisper, “I’ll get going.” 

“Alright.” He wishes you didn’t, he wishes that he could take you back to his house. 

“Good night, Steve.” 

“Good night, honey.” 

You give him a small smile, leaning closer to him, you kiss his cheek before you pull away and let go of his hand and get out of the car. 

He waits until the lights in your room are on before he leaves. 

-

You feel a little lost when you are back inside your lonely and dark motel room. The urge to leave and run back to him is so strong. You wish you could turn back the time and repeat the previous night, despite the pain you were feeling in your heart but he was here, he was holding you, making you feel safe and cared for but now, it’s all different again. 

You take your clothes off and throw the ripped tights into the little trash can in the bathroom, taking a long and hot shower, you let the water wash away the day.  

Eddie has feelings for you, he made that very clear a few times already. 

But does he love you? Surely not.

You love him so much and you feel it so deep within your soul, your heart belongs to him, you gave it to him so willingly but you wonder what he feels for you. 

‘He is my friend and I love him but every time he touches you, I want to rip his hands off! You are mine.’ 

His words are like an echo in your mind, only worsening the pain as they repeat themselves over and over again. 

What changed? 

Your ears are ringing, your heart is pounding in your chest, how? You don’t know, you can’t help but wish that it would just slow down and stop. 

You don’t let the tears fall, not this time. You don’t want to cry anymore. 

You walk back into the room with a big Corroded Coffin shirt, the hem reaching your mid thighs, fluffy socks warming your cold feet. Your hair is wet, staining the thin material of your shirt but you don’t bother to blow dry them right now, you just want to fall asleep and forget this night. 

You turn the TV on, flipping through the channels until you find something other than a romantic christmas movie to watch. You stop searching when you hear the familiar soundtrack of Halloween. Thank god. 

“I’d rather deal with you than love,” you mumble bitterly as you stare at Michael Myers on the TV. Quickly regretting those words when someone startles you by pounding on your door. Maybe you shouldn’t have wished to deal with a serial killer. 

You stare at the door nervously. 

“Sweetheart?” 

You sigh in relief but still roll your eyes in annoyance as you turn to look at the TV screen again. 

“Open the door.” 

Don’t open…. Don’t open it. 

“Please.” 

You cave in, you always do. 

Eddie Munson will be the death of you. 

You open the door and find him standing there with an apologetic look in his eyes. 

“You’re not Michael Myers.” 

You snort at the confused look on his face, easily pushing back all the emotions and showing him a side of you that isn’t damaged. 

“What?” 

“I thought I was about to get murdered, was about time that something weird happened in this motel,” you mumble, confusing him yet again when you pretend to be completely fine. 

How is he supposed to act around you when you pretend that nothing happened? Should he voice his concerns? Should he apologize? Or should he just do what you do, pretend like nothing happened.

“Don’t say that,” he frowns. 

You chuckle, leaning against the wall, you eye him up and down, “what are you doing here?” 

“I miss you.” 

Your heart softens the way it always does, his words and the look in his eyes are able to make you forget for a moment. 

“I miss you too.” 

You don’t know it but your words mean everything to him. His previous love was a one sided one. She never showed him genuine affection, care or love. Maybe she did before they started dating but never once did Chrissy show him love. Her ‘I love you’ or ‘I miss you’ never truly had a meaning but yours does.

Eddie shouldn’t be here, you need some time to yourself, you need to be alone but not tonight. 

“Do you wanna come in?” you ask, stepping aside already. You watch the way he relaxes, the way he breathes a sigh of relief and smiles at you with appreciation in his eyes. He steps inside, closing the door and locking it, he takes his shoes and his jacket off, glancing at the TV. 

“I actually have his mask at home,” Eddie says, giving you a small smile, “the Micheal Myers mask, I mean.” 

You raise your brows at him, smiling, “for kinky times.. or?” 

He snorts, shaking his head, “no, I stole it from red for Halloween, one time and I never gave it back,” he chuckles. 

“Oh, Max is a Halloween fan too?” you ask, pointing to the TV screen as you sit down on the bed. 

His eyes widen, nodding at your words, “big fan.” 

“See, this is why she’s my favorite.” 

“I’m not your favorite?” 

You scoff with a smirk on your face, “nope.” 

Eddie watches as you get under the covers, opening the blanket for him and you invite him into the bed. His eyes light up with excitement.

You lean your head against your hand and watch him strip out of his clothes. For someone so chaotic, you always expected Eddie to discard his clothes somewhere, not caring about folding them but he does the opposite. Folding his jeans and the flannel, he places it on the chair. Wearing nothing but boxers and his favorite black Metallica shirt, he joins you. Grunting a little as he adjusts the pillows behind him, glancing at you with a sheepish smile on his pretty face. 

“Lights on or off?” he asks. 

“I’m more of a lights on kinda girl, I wanna see–”

“Y/n,” he mumbles, shaking his head. 

“What– don’t tell me that you’re a lights off kinda–” before you even get to finish the sentence, he presses his lips to yours, kissing you softly. He cups your cheek, pulling you closer. 

You freeze a little, eyes wide open as you stare at him. His eyes are closed, brows drawn together, his lips are moving almost too softly against yours, as though he is scared of hurting you. 

He can feel the tension in your body, the way your lips aren’t moving against his, the way you aren’t melting into his touch. He can feel your eyes on him. You aren’t kissing him back and that’s how he knows that you aren’t as okay as you pretend to be. 

You wrap your arms around his neck and finally kiss him back, the tension leaves your body and you melt into his touch but he still knows you aren’t okay. 

He missed you, he missed this. 

Holding you, lying in bed with you and kissing your soft lips. 

He regrets what he did before, what was he thinking? 

This kiss is nothing like the one from before, it isn’t rough or needy, just soft and one of love. He runs his fingers through your hair and pushes it back, tucking it behind your ear. His hand slides down to your waist, lying back, he pulls you on top of him, holding you against him. 

His heart is fluttering and he feels like crying when he thinks about all the pain he had already put you through.

You are the best thing that ever happened to him and he hurt you so many times already. 

You cup his cheeks and deepen the kiss a little. There is nothing sexual or desperate about this kiss, nothing at all. You just want to feel each other. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers after you pull away from each other and lay your head on his chest. He holds you tightly and plays with your hair, pressing soft kisses on the top of your head.  

“What are you sorry for?” you mumble into his chest. 

“I’m sorry for everything,” he whispers, “I’m sorry for not telling you about her, for making you feel like I was leading you on or that I was using you,” he pauses, blinking as he stares at the white ceiling, the TV is quiet in the background, “and for earlier, we– I shouldn’t have done that.” 

“It was nice though.” 

You aren’t lying about that, it was nice. You like Steve and you love Eddie, they didn’t do anything you didn’t want to do, you felt good in that moment, it’s just about what happened afterwards.

“You asked us if it was some sick joke to us, babe,” he whispers, beating himself up for not answering the question. He was too shocked and confused about why you would even think such a thing, “it wasn’t, I hope you know that.” 

“Steve told me the same thing.” 

“It’s the truth.” 

It better be. 

“Okay,” you whisper, “you wouldn’t lie to me again, would you?” you ask, lifting your head to look at Eddie to find him staring at you already. The look in his eyes is genuine, soft and filled with… love? It can’t be, right? Does he love you? 

He cups your cheeks, admiring you for a moment before he opens his mouth to speak, “no, I will never lie to you again.” 

“Promise?” 

“I promise, sweetheart.” 

“Good,” you whisper, you reach for the guitar pick necklace around his neck, using it to pull him closer, you press your lips against his and kiss him again. You can feel him smiling into the kiss as you close your eyes, he pulls you in deeper and flips you both over until you are underneath his body. He lets his hand wander down your body and under your shirt, caressing your stomach. 

He kisses you like he used to do, before it all went downhill. Only now, there’s something more behind it, something deeper. There’s more passion and desperation in the way he kisses you, like it’s the last time, like he is scared that you might disappear if he parts from your lips. Unbeknownst to you, this is exactly what he fears, for you to disappear, for you to push him away, for you to only kiss him this once and then he will lose you again. 

This is his biggest fear, losing you. 

“I missed you so much,” he mumbles against your lips, “I missed this, kissing you, sleeping with you, just being with you.” 

Your heart flutters at his words, your gaze softens and you give him a small smile. 

“I missed you and this too, Eddie.” 

“Yeah?” he whispers with hope in his eyes. 

He feels like this is just a dream, everything moved so quickly. Two nights ago, you didn’t even want to be around him and now you are here, in his arms again, kissing and cuddling him. This is too good to be true. 

“Yeah,” you whisper with hesitation in your voice and in your eyes. 

He frowns a little, heart already beginning to beat quicker than before, “but?” 

“B-But maybe we shouldn’t move too quickly, maybe we still need time to ourselves. I think we both need to heal.” 

He nods but he isn’t shy to show the sadness in his eyes. 

“Do you wanna see other people?” 

The insecurity in his voice is so deep. He is still damaged from his relationship with Chrissy, from the things she had done to him while she was with him. 

You shake your head, “no,” you say with honesty, “I don’t want to see other people.” 

He sighs in relief. 

“Do you?” you ask quietly with a dreadful feeling. 

His eyes widen and his brows furrow as he shakes his head, “no! I only want you.” 

He watches you smile, relief written all over your face. 

“But there’s some hot girls that want you.” 

He scoffs, “I don’t want any of them,” he mumbles, leaning in to kiss your neck, “and there’s no one hotter than you, my pretty girl.” 

You smile as you wrap your arms around him. 

“What about Steve?” 

“What about him?” He snorts.

“You seemed to enjoy kissing him.” 

“Are you jealous?” He smirks as he continues to kiss your neck. 

You close your eyes with a sigh, tilting your head to give him more access. 

“No, it was hot,” you giggle, “didn’t think you were into him, you always hated when he touched me.” 

“I do,” he grunts. 

“Then why did you let him touch me today?” You ask in confusion. 

“I thought that you wanted it,” he whispers, “y-you liked the way he kissed you and I didn’t want to make you mad.” 

“Why would I get mad?” 

“When I called you mine, you didn’t like it so I thought that I had no right to pull you away from him, that it would make you angry if I got so possessive again,” he explains, “I wouldn’t have let anyone else touch you that way though, I trust him and you do too. I know that I should have pulled you away though… and I know that you are full of shit.” 

“Huh?” 

He leans back, parting away from your neck, he finally looks at you again, possessiveness and anger in his eyes, “you haven’t done that before.” 

“Done what?” You frown. 

“Threesomes.” 

Oh.

A smirk tugs on your lips, he is jealous. 

“Oh but I have.” 

“Bullshit,” he mumbles. 

You can’t even help it, you chuckle at his anger, “I fucked two guys at once, one was a guitarist and the other was a drummer, they looked so good and their di–” he cuts you off by smashing his lips against yours, kissing you possessively again. 

“Tell me the truth,” he mumbles against your lips. 

“I told you the truth.” 

“No, you haven’t,” he rolls his eyes when he sees the smug look on your face. 

“But I have.” 

He shakes his head, “I know when you’re lying. You are an open book to me, sweetheart.”

You wish you weren't. You know that you can’t hide your true feelings from him, no matter how much you try, he can see right through you and your act, every single time. You know that he knows you aren’t as okay as you pretend to be, still you keep smiling at him as though nothing ever happened. 

“Are you jealous?” 

He scoffs, “of course I am.” 

Your mask slips for a moment. 

“Then why weren’t you jealous before?” 

He can see the insecurity in your eyes and it makes him feel awful. 

He whispers your name softly, he is about to comfort you when you shut him out again, putting the mask back on and changing the topic as you lay your head on his chest. 

“What are you doing tomorrow?” 

He doesn’t want to change the topic, he wants to talk about your feelings so he can reassure you but he also doesn’t want to push you. 

“I’m taking Henderson to the mall, he wants to buy some last minute christmas presents,” he chuckles, “do you wanna come with us?” 

You shake your head. 

“No, I think I’m gonna work on some songs and I’m meeting up with Robin.”

“I’m glad you made new friends.” 

“Me too.” 

Eddie is quiet for a moment, stroking your back and playing with your hair, he looks at the TV screen but he isn’t watching the movie, too deep in thought about other things. You fall asleep quickly, you always do when you are in his arms. 

As he looks at you, he notices the soft and content expression on your face, you feel safe with him, despite all the things that happened, you still feel safe and comfortable with him. 

You love him. 

And he loves you, more than anything else in this world but he knows that saying the three words to you, means nothing if he doesn’t act upon them. He keeps messing up, he keeps making mistakes and throwing obstacles in his way to you, he has to do better and he will. 

He will do anything to prove his love for you. 

-

Your day was uneventful so far, after sleeping in with Eddie, you got ready and went out for coffee with him before you parted ways. He went to pick up Dustin, while you decided to check out the old record store and the bookstore in town. 

You bought some new cassettes for your walkman and a book to read for when you go back on tour. 

As the days draw closer to Christmas, the dreadful and depressing feeling comes back to haunt you, you try your best to distract yourself so you don’t think back to that day or him but it’s not easy, especially when you step inside the cafe, you and Robin met at before, you hear your Dad’s voice through the speakers, a song that used to be your favorite playing in the background. 

You want nothing more than to run back out but then you spot Robin at the last booth by the window, a smile appears on your face when she waves at you. 

You walk over to her and take a seat on the other bench, scooting closer to the window, you greet her with a big smile. 

“Thank god, you’re smiling.” 

You tilt your head in confusion, chuckling at her words and the relieved look on her face. 

“Why wouldn’t I be smiling?” 

“Steve has been sulking all goddamn morning!” She complains, throwing her hands up, “I don’t know what happened to him but he has been complaining and bitching about everything.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, oh,” she chuckles nervously, rolling her eyes at her best friend’s behavior. She has been trying to get him to talk but he refuses to say anything and it’s driving her crazy, Steve usually tells her everything. 

She continues to complain about him, unaware of the look on your face. You’re quiet, letting her rant and get it all off her chest, it’s not until after you ordered your food that she realized how silent you have been this whole time. 

She puts her hand under her chin as she leans her elbow on the table, eying you closely. Recognition flashing in her eyes. 

“Okay,” she mumbles, “what happened?” 

“What do you mean?” you laugh, nervously. 

“You know exactly what I mean,” she mumbles, squinting her eyes at you. 

“Do I?” 

She nods, “yes, you do.”

Playing dumb will look bad on you so you won’t even do it, you sigh. Looking around the half empty diner before you look back into her curious, blue eyes. 

“Something happened.” 

“Clearly!” She laughs. 

“I mean, with uh.. Steve and me and Eddie,” you mumble as you look away in embarrassment. 

She furrows her brows in confusion, “what do you– oh!” Suddenly, her eyes are wide open and she gasps, cupping her hand over her mouth, “no fucking way,” she mumbles as her facial expression twists into a mortified but amused one. 

Rolling your eyes, you lean back in your seat. 

“You fucked both of them?” She yells in a whisper. 

Your eyes widen at her question. 

“No, oh my god,” you mumble, “we didn’t go that far.” 

“How far did you go?” 

Your cheeks feel warm and your eyes are filled with shame, still a smirk tugs on your lips. 

“We kissed and uh– Steve he… you know..” 

“Wait!” She yelps, waving her hands in front of her face, “I don’t wanna know!” She says in disgust, not wanting to hear that about her best friend. 

You laugh at her, shaking your head. 

“Wait– why is he such a bitch today then?” 

Guilt creeps up in you, you didn’t want to ruin his mood or make him feel bad. You tried to show him that you’re okay but he didn’t believe you, just like Eddie didn’t believe you. 

“I-I kinda stormed out on them afterwards, they think I regret it.” 

Her eyes widen and she nods, “oh,” she mumbles. She knows there is more behind his behavior than only this. 

“Do you regret it?” 

You shake your head. 

“No,” you say truthfully, “I don’t but I-I thought that they were trying to prove something to each other, like they didn’t want me.” 

She looks at you in surprise, staring at you in silence for a moment. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” 

She scoffs, running her fingers through her short hair, she crosses her arms over her chest as she leans back. 

“You are just as much of an idiot as they are. Steve adores you and Eddie is like literally obsessed with you,” Robin says, “it’s almost disgusting how obsessed he is!” She mumbles. 

“You think he is obsessed?” 

“In the cutest way possible,” she says with a genuine look in her eyes, “listen, I know that he fucked up before but I don’t think that he would ever do anything to ruin things between you two again, he is trying his best, I know he is. Don’t mind his stupidity, he is a man, they can’t help it. But trust me, he would never lie to you or hurt you again. As for Steve, he likes you a lot and he would never use you or do anything with you to prove something to Eddie, he is not like that.” 

Your gaze softens at her words. 

“They adore you,” she says, smiling, “we all do.” 

While your conversation with Robin took some weight off your shoulders, you still had so many questions and thoughts running through your mind, it was difficult to distract yourself from all of it. All those negative thoughts and feelings were piling up, intensifying more and more. Despite what Eddie and Steve or even Robin have said to you, a part of you wasn’t convinced. 

Does Eddie have true feelings for you? What if you were only the one that was supposed to save him from a loveless relationship? What if he thinks that he has feelings for you because you made him feel things other than the pain that she put him through? What if he is the one for you but you're not the one for him? 

Suddenly, your mind goes back to the state it was in after you came down from the haze last night. You feel like the air is being sucked out of you, again. 

What will happen when Eddie decides that you aren’t meant to be together? 

The thought makes you feel heartbroken yet numb at the same time. 

Sighing, you stare at the blank page in your notebook, the untouched apple pie sitting on a white plate in front of you. The smell of the hot chocolate that you have ordered after you walked into Benny’s diner has probably cooled off already. 

You went back to the motel after meeting up with Robin but quickly realized that you wanted to do anything but be by yourself in the too silent room so you grabbed your notebook and went to the diner that you have first met Wayne at. 

You came here to write but so far, your page has stayed empty. You were too in your head to think about anything else. 

“Did your boy toys get sick of you?” 

Oh no. 

Just the sound of her voice makes you want to throw your pie into her stupid face after all the things she has said and done. 

You put your pen down and look up at her, she is eying you up and down with distaste in her eyes. 

“Hello to you too, Chrissy,” you give her a fake smile before you turn back to your notebook, flipping through the pages instead of looking at her. 

“You have a lot of nerve sitting here.” 

You lean back in your seat, reaching for the mug, you start sipping on your hot chocolate and look out the window, watching the passing cars in the darkened streets. 

You don't have energy for her or a fight with her, you also want to avoid speaking about your dad, knowing that she will only bring him up again.

“It’s bad enough that you came to Hawkins and now you’re here, acting like it’s your town.” 

Her voice is high pitched and she sounds angrier than she did last time, it’s amusing to you. 

“You take Eddie and fuck his friends while you’re at it too! First Steve and now Robin too?” 

Nothing happened between you and Robin but it’s funny to you that she even thinks that. 

“You just take everything, huh?” 

You know that she is irritated by you, irritated that you are ignoring her. 

“You take it all and you still don’t have enough.” 

You almost laugh at her words, is she not hearing herself? The spoiled rich brat is saying these things about you. 

“You’re a greedy bitch! No wonder–”

“Jesus Christ, girl!” You exclaim, rolling your eyes at her as you finally turn to face her. Her cheeks are red and her eyes are wide open, “shut the hell up,” you mumble in annoyance, “anyone ever tell you that your voice is fucking annoying?” 

She frowns at your words, opening her mouth to speak, only to get interrupted by you once again. 

“Piss off, Chrissy. I’m not in the mood.” 

Suddenly she is quiet, you can still feel her eyes on you when you turn away. 

She watches you for a moment, eying the look on your face and in your eyes. Rolling her eyes, she sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. 

“Are you okay?” 

You can’t even help it, the laugh falls from your lips almost instantly, you furrow your brows and look back at her with both confusion and amusement in your eyes. 

“Did you just ask me–”

“Yeah,” she mumbles, “I asked you if you are okay!” She says, rolling her eyes again.

You raise your brows in surprise when she sits down on the bench across from you. 

What?

“Are you okay?” You smirk, “you’re a little red.” 

“That’s because I’m angry.” 

“Why?” 

She looks into your eyes as she shrugs. 

“Are you angry because I told you the truth the other day or because I hit your boyfriend?” You ask, tilting your head, “or are you angry that things are not going your way anymore? Or because Eddie isn’t your lap dog anymore?” 

Suddenly her big eyes fill with guilt and she shifts uncomfortably. 

“Or are you angry that you are not getting everything that you want and that you are turning into your horrible mother?” 

Her eyes widen even more, lips parting in surprise. 

“Or–”

“Okay, I got it, stop it!” 

You snort at her, placing the mug back on the table, you lean back. 

She looks away from you and huffs, clenching her jaw. For a moment, neither of you speak. You watch her as she looks out the window. 

What does she want from you? Her presence makes you feel sick and angry. 

Suddenly she turns back to you after taking a deep breath. 

“I don’t want to be like my mother.” 

Wow.

“You’re right. She is horrible, she is forcing me to do all this shit I never even wanted to do! Don’t get me wrong, I love cheerleading and I love being a trainer now but I don’t want to go to church and I don’t wanna marry Jason and have five kids with him!” She exclaims with a frown on her face, “I don’t want to do book clubs and gossip with other mom’s and be a bitch like mine!” 

What the fuck.

You raise your brows at her, lips twitching. Why would you care?

“I just want to be free… like you.” 

Oh.

“You don’t have to deal with all of this,” she mumbles, “toxic family and all this bullshit she is forcing me into. I mean, I love my dad but she is… a monster.” 

Yeah, you know that feeling. 

“My life isn’t all that great, Chrissy.” 

She glares at you, running her fingers through her long hair, “well, at least you’re famous.” 

That’s what this is about?

“You think that being famous is great? I just want to do music and see the world. You don’t wanna know what it’s like to deal with all these sexist assholes. People make up shit about me all the time, reporters ask fucked up questions that they’d never dare to ask Eddie or the other guys. I get called slut or whore on a daily fucking basis and get groped on the way to my concerts, it’s not all that great, Chrissy.” 

Her eyes shift away from you and she squirms in her seat. 

“You might have a shitty mom but you can always leave, you don’t have to be like her, you don’t have to live her life. Live your fucking own and stop being a fucking coward.” 

She clears her throat, looking down at her perfectly manicured pink nails.

“And stop hurting people because you are unhappy. That makes you a horrible person and so far you’ve been a super horrible person, Chrissy. It's bad enough that you treated Eddie like shit throughout your whole relationship, now you are making up shit about him too and trying to sabotage him, fucking move on and stop being a bitter asshole."

She seems to take your words into consideration as the anger in her eyes dissolves. Her shoulders slump and she sighs, eyes moving back and forth. 

For a moment it’s silent between the two of you. 

“I lied.” 

“About what?” You raise your brows at her. 

“Everything,” she pauses, taking a deep breath, “Eddie never told me about you, he never called me,” she admits with shame in her eyes, “he never used you. I only said that because I was mad and yeah, you're right, I treated him like shit and he maybe- he didn't deserve it."

You are stunned, not knowing what to say, you just look at her and wait for her to continue. 

“I liked the way he made me feel, he was the only one I could talk to, the only one that never judged me and my mom hated him so it only made me want to be around him even more.” 

“So you used him?” You ask her angrily.

She shrugs, “I’m not proud of it but yeah, I guess so.” 

Scoffing at her words, you shake your head. 

“He never deserved that.” 

“I know. W-We should have just stayed friends. I was horrible to him.” 

You clench your jaw at her words, knowing how much he was hurting because of her makes you so incredibly angry. 

“Why did you stay with him for so long? You were cheating on him the whole time.” 

She shrugs. 

“I don’t know, it felt nice knowing that he stayed with me even after all of that.” 

Oh god. 

“That’s fucked up, Chrissy,” you frown. Anger rushes through you, staring into her eyes, you see the shame and the guilt but her words still make you want to slap her. 

“Yeah well, he left town because of me and then he found you so I guess something good came out of it,” she mumbles, shrugging. 

“Yeah and he picked up your habits and lied to me for months.” 

Her lips part as she stares at the stoic look on your face. 

“He never actually told you about me?” 

“Nope,” you mumble, “he never told me anything. I wouldn’t have been with him if I knew he had someone.” 

She blinks, an unreadable expression takes over her face. 

“I only found out when you came to surprise him.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah oh, imagine my surprise,” you say, chuckling as though it’s funny. 

She isn’t laughing though, if anything she almost looks like she feels sorry for you. 

“Nothing happened between us that night. I uh– I tried to kiss him but he didn’t want to, he didn’t want to do anything. He also kind of looked like he felt sick when I mentioned marriage and kids before," she snorts, "I-I mean, it's not what I wanted either, I didn't even want him. I never loved Eddie."

This feels like a fever dream. If anyone would’ve told you earlier today that you’d be sitting at a diner with Chrissy Cunningham tonight, you would laugh in their face and call them crazy but here you are, sitting across from the woman that broke Eddie’s heart before. 

“But he loves you, everyone does,” she mumbles, rolling her eyes, she looks you up and down once again. 

“I don’t think he loves me,” you mumble, chuckling a little. 

She scoffs at you, “yes he does, I see the way he looks at you, he never looked at me like that, which is fine cause I never wanted him to."

Jesus Christ. 

"He is in love with you."

How much truth is behind her words?

"He was never in love with me," she says, seemingly not having a problem with that.

“But you still hurt him, a lot.” 

“He has you now.” 

Yeah but you did a number on him, you think to yourself. He let Steve touch you because he wanted to see how you respond to another man’s touch, if you enjoy Steve’s touch more than his, if you make different noises for him, if you are more desperate for him. He wanted to be sure that he is the only one for you, maybe he wanted you to pull away from Steve. 

Eddie is insecure because of what she did to him. 

Chrissy keeps her eyes on you, watching how you put your notebook into your purse and reach for your wallet. You open it and she catches a glimpse of the small polaroid picture you have in there. She tries to take a closer look without giving herself away. It’s a picture of you and your Dad when you were little. His arms are wrapped around you as you hold his guitar, a happy smile is on your face, the same one she saw on your face when you were on stage with Eddie, his smile mirrored yours. 

You make Eddie happy and he makes you happy. 

Her eyes flash with guilt and her stomach drops, her eyes flicker back to you. Chrissy doesn’t know you, yet she chose to hate you. It was never about Eddie though, it was about something else. 

She envies you, the way you are so free, the way you don’t care about what others think of you, the way you do whatever you want to do. 

Chrissy wanted to destroy you because of her anger towards herself. First it was Eddie who had gotten all the punches and now it is you, a clueless girl who was pulled into a mess that she had no fault in, one that loves Eddie the way he is supposed to be loved. You can give him something that she couldn’t give and if she wasn’t so unhappy and angry with herself, maybe she would be happy for him for finding someone who actually loves him.

You place a few dollar bills on the table and begin to put your jacket on. You think about her failed relationships and about the way she reacted when she mentioned Robin earlier.

"Hey," you mumble, "have you ever considered that you might not be into men?" You ask, catching her off guard.

Her wide eyes are even bigger now, her cheeks flush red as she eyes you.

"W-What?"

You shrug, it's in the way she looked at you when she mentioned Robin that made you feel suspicious and also her whole history with relationships and men.

"I have a friend, Jamie," you begin to explain, "she had a boyfriend when she was younger, he was this really cute and nice guy, never did anything wrong but she treated him horribly, was always a bitch to him and would lash out on him. She hated dating him, she hated touching him and being with him, turns out that she wasn't into him or any other man for that matter. She is into girls and back then she had a problem with it because of her parents."

She listens to you intently, watching you with curiosity in her eyes.

"I hated what she did to that poor guy but then she opened up to me about her sexuality and I understood why she was behaving that way. She hated herself and wouldn't accept herself for the longest time, at first she didn't even realize what was actually going on."

"A-Are you saying that I'm into... girls?" She whispers, leaning closer to you.

"I'm not saying anything, I don't know anything about you, I'm just saying. You don't want marriage and kids and yeah, maybe you just don't want that because it isn't the right thing for you. You could go and live your single life right now and do whatever the hell you want without caring about what others think of you, leave relationships behind," you shrug, "or there might be more, maybe you just need to explore."

She nods at your words. Maybe you are right, maybe you just voiced what she was thinking about deep down, for years.

"Why are you telling me all that?"

You shrug, sighing, "cause I know there is more behind that bitchy attitude of yours," you roll your eyes, "or maybe you're just an asshole who thrives of chaos and from what I've seen, it might make more sense but you kind of reminded me of my friend so.." you shrug, looking around the half empty diner.

"Or you just wanna see the good in people," she whispers, regret flashing in her eyes, she looks at you and for a moment she is silent. Her lips part, like she is trying to say something but no words come out, suddenly she jumps to her feet, “I gotta go, I’m sorry,” Chrissy mumbles with a pale look on her face and guilt in her eyes, she walks away, rushing out of the diner, leaving you more confused than ever. 

-

only tagging friends & mutuals!

@prettyboyeddiemunson @littledemondani @wroteclassicaly @corrodedcorpses @mysticmunson @aftermidnightwriting @sherrylyn628 @yearwalker96 @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint

[nicoline1998enilocin]

The good, the bad and the loopy

PAIRING | Husband!Chris Evans x Wife!Female!Reader

WORD COUNT | 1.1K

SUMMARY | You and Chris have been married for a few years but can't seem to start your lifelong dream of having a family. When you go to the doctor's office to find out what's going on, you hear the news no person ever wants to hear: You can't get pregnant. This news hits you hard, but you have your fantastic husband by your side to help you through this in every way you need.

WARNING(S) | This is your official trigger warning. Do not proceed if any of these topics upset you. Talk about infertility, fainting/collapsing, mentions of a panic attack, swearing, Reader is a bit loopy from a head injury and medicine.

A/N | This has been requested by @cevansbaby-dove and dedicated to @cutedisneygrl for the tough time they're going through. I am extremely honored to be asked to write such a thoughtful piece like this, and I wish everyone who goes through this all the strength they need to come out stronger on the other side! 🖤

Likes, comments and reblogs will be very much appreciated 💚

Divider is made by @firefly-graphics | 18+ banner is made by yours truly

Main Masterlist | Chris Evans Masterlist

You are at the doctor's office for your umpteenth appointment to discover what's happening with your body. Or Chris'. Either way, something's going on, and you are desperate to find out what because the two of you haven't been able to get pregnant yet.

It has been nearly four years since you and Chris got married, and your wish to start a family of your own has only grown stronger this entire time.

''Are you okay, Pumpkin?'' Chris asks, and that's when you're pulled from your thoughts; you zoned out after the doctor said 'infertile' because you couldn't bring yourself to anything else he said.

''I- I'm not, sorry. I have to go,'' you say as tears well up in your eyes, and you run out of the room and quickly outside, needing fresh air in your lungs. Your mind is going into overdrive, and it's all too much, so you collapse as soon as you set foot outside.

Those past few years are catching up with you, and Chris is right behind you but not fast enough, so you fall on the ground and hit your head hard.

''Fuck!'' he curses loudly as he sees you fall to the ground, and within no time, he's by your side.

''Pumpkin? Please say something,'' he says, trying to see if you're conscious, but you made a pretty nasty fall, and a few nurses are coming to your rescue, and a doctor from the ER of the hospital.

''What happened?'' the doctor asks, and Chris is panicking because you're not responding, and he can't do anything, making him feel useless right now.

''Sir? Can you tell me what happened?'' the doctor tried again, and he snapped out of it.

''We had an appointment, and she got the news that she's infertile, so she ran outside, and the last thing I know is that she collapsed and hit her head… Please tell me you're doing everything possible to save her; I can't lose her!'' Chris says, panic taking over again at the thought of what you're going through.

''Alright, we'll take her inside and care for her. You can wait in the waiting area of the ER while we're checking her out, and as soon as you can see her, a nurse will get you,'' the man said again, and Chris agreed.

While seated in the waiting room, he fixed his gaze on the door you had been wheeled through. The second those doors opened, and you were back, he was by your side again.

You're awake but still loopy from the fall, but he didn't mind. All Chris needed to know is if you're okay.

''Hi, Pumpkin,'' he says as he's sitting by your bed again, and the doctor left the two of you alone for now.

''I like you. Do you have a girlfriend?'' you ask him, with a goofy smile as if he is the most beautiful thing on this earth, and honestly, he is to you.

''I have a wife, actually,'' he says. ''She's the most thoughtful, amazing, caring, sweet, and loving person I know. And she makes the best cookies I've ever tasted.''

''Oh, I like chocolate chip cookies! And I like you. Maybe you need to leave her and come home with me; I make better cookies,'' you say, and Chris can't help but laugh at your comments, knowing you won't remember any of this later on.

''Hm, I don't know. My wife is perfect already, so I don't think I can leave her. But I can settle for a kiss if you'll have me,'' he offers, and your eyes widen.

''Don't tell her, okay? It's our little secret,'' you say, and Chris smiles at your loopiness right now.

''It's our secret, I promise,'' he says, placing two fingers under your chin to lift it a little while he leans down to you. When your lips touch, your heartbeat rises quickly, and the monitor goes wild, making you laugh at the kiss.

''See? I told you I like you,'' you say when he breaks the kiss.

''It's a good thing that I like you too, but this will always be our secret, okay?'' he asks, and you agree softly. You're getting sleepy, and Chris lets you rest for a while, ensuring you strengthen enough to go home in a few days.

When it's finally time to go home, Chris is there to pick you up after leaving for a few hours to get the house for you to come home. He also made you a little care package to welcome you home.

He got a basket to use for your blankets once it's empty, a new thick blanket to add to your growing collection, flannel pajamas with flamingos on them, two pairs of fuzzy socks, your favorite tea, three books from your Amazon wishlist, a new Starbucks tumbler, and a gift card to go along with it for when you're all better.

''Hey there, Pumpkin!'' he says when he's coming to pick you up, and you cheer up when you hear Chris' voice, and the nurse immediately notices the change in demeanor.

''So, you're the husband I've been hearing about all this time?'' she says with a knowing smile, and he nods.

''The one and only!'' he says as he walks into the room, giving you a soft kiss on your head.

''I got you a care package when you're home, so you can just relax and enjoy that for the time being,'' he says, and your interest is immediately piqued.

''Did I get new pajamas?'' you ask, and when he nods, you get a smile from ear to ear.

''He always gets me pajamas when I've been in the hospital for a few days,'' you tell the nurse, who can't do anything other than laugh at your comment.

''Well, you shouldn't end up here too often in that case; otherwise, he runs out of pajamas to buy for you!'' she jokes, and when she finishes checking you over, you're released and ready to go home.

''Alright, let's get you out of here so you can relax for a while,'' Chris says, and he helps you up and out of the hospital.

''Thank you for being by my side through all of this. I'm so sorry this happened,'' you sigh when you sit in the car, and Chris takes your hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly.

''None of this is your fault, Pumpkin. Please, don't ever say that again because there is nothing to apologize for. I love you so much; I can't even explain how much. With you by my side, I'm the happiest I've ever been, and we can figure out the next steps when we're ready. Right now, it's you, me, and Dodger, which is more than I ever thought I would ever have. Never forget that,'' he says, and the tears are welling up in your eyes again.

''I love you too, Chris. More than you'll ever know,'' you say, lifting his hand to your lips and kissing his knuckles before looking out the window and just thinking about nothing for a while.

[vioartemis]

Scared to lose you

(Emma Myers x fem! reader)

Summary: Emma and you are dating, but you play Wednesday's love interest in the series, and your girlfriend doesn't enjoy it Warnings: so short it can't even be called a one shot 💀 (sorry, I ran out of inspiration for that one) (English isn't my first language, I'm sorry if there are mistakes or if something doesn't make sense TvT)

Emma and you had known each other since high school, and you started dating just a bit more than a year ago. You didn't even tried to keep your relationship secret; neither of you was famous enough to have paparazzis behind you, and you liked it like that.

You had wondered what it would be like to work together, imagining all kind of scenarios, but didn't actually thought it would happen. And here you were, both hired to play a role in the Wednesday series.

And Emma wasn't liking it. At all.

It wasn't working with you that bothered her, absolutely not. It was the fact that she had to watch you kiss another girl. A beautiful girl. She couldn't deny it.

She tried to rationalize: you played Wednesday's love interest, so the chances that there would be a lot of kisses were low. And she was right, you had only one kiss scene.

And she was fine with it; she knew it was for work, and it was just one kiss.

At least that's what she was thinking before seeing you kissing Jenna almost 10 times, as you couldn't seem to get the scene right. There was always something that 'you didn't do right'.

And your girlfriend was starting to get really pissed. And jealous. And hurt.

"Okay, let's take a break, it's not working. Both of you, get some fresh air, eat something, I don't know, distract yourselves, and in 15 minutes we'll try again" the director told Jenna and you

You both nodded, and stretched, before parting ways. You went to your girlfriend, who was clearly not doing okay.

"Hey babe, is everything okay...?" you asked as you got closer to her

"Yeah, it's just... hard, to see you kiss someone else..." Emma said, looking down, as if ashamed to feel that way

"I'm sorry, I thought we'd get it right the first time, I don't know what happened..."

There was a moment of silence, before she finally talked.

"... Maybe she just wants to kiss you over and over again..."

You looked at her in disbelief, not expecting her to say that about your costar.

"What? No, of course not. She knows we're dating, everyone knows. I don't think she'd be the type to do that"

Emma sighed. She knew you were right.

"I- I know, I'm sorry, it's just... I'm just... scared..."

"Scared? Of what?"

"... Scared to lose you... I mean look at me, and look at her... She's so much prettier that me, she has it all, and I'm just... me... I guess I'm just scared you would leave me for someone better..."

"Hey... don't say that..." you took her hands in yours "I don't care about others, okay? I love you, Emma Myers. You're the sweetest, nicest, funniest, prettiest, most perfect girl I've ever met" you said, smiling "And you're a way better kisser than her" you added jokingly

You attempt to lighten up the mood seemed to work, Emma chuckled, giving your hands a soft squeeze.

"Thank you, for reassuring me... I'm sorry, I'm just... really insecure, and I don't want to lose you..."

"It's okay to be insecure, don't apologize babe... Plus I'd gladly show you how much I love you" you smiled

"Oh yeah? And... how do you plan on doing that?"

"I'd shower you with kisses, cuddle you all night... Y'know, that kind of things..."

To emphasize your words, you cupped her cheeks, and started kissing her face; her cheeks, her forehead, her nose, and finally her lips. All that while Emma was giggling, her hands resting on your waist.

"Mm... I think you will have to do more to fully reassure me" she said playfuly

"Of course, my love... Just wait until we're alone, and I'll give you all the attention you need"

You both smiled, as you rested your forehead on hers.

"Hey lovebirds! Sorry to disturb you, but we need to get back to work" Jenna interrupted you, slight smirk on her face

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm coming" you told her, before turning back to Emma "I promise I'll try to be quick"

She smiled and kissed you softly.

"It's okay, take your time"

You nodded, and started to walk to the set again, when you heard Emma's voice again:

"Try not to enjoy the kiss too much!"

"I won't!" you replied with a smile, rolling your eyes

At that moment you were only sure of one thing: you would have to make up for these kisses this very night.