#first +get a few new clothing items so i said I'll wait another week to take him out and coincidentally it was 4/20 ���

[leodeserti]

*Sighs* 😔 adding this to my "things people won't believe when I tell them I didn't do it on purpose" list

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

Hey! Hope you're having a good day.

I would like to know if you would write a short one shot about the moon boys.

Prompt: reader and the moon boys are friends and they are telling reader about their past and how Marc was married to Layla. Reader goes on a rant about how they're stupid because they let such a wonderful woman get away from them and the boys are like "we made a mistake, and now we're trying not to repeat it. We love you, and we want you in our lives forever"

~Second Chances Don't Wait~

Pairing: Moonknight trio x Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: none really, brief mention of a random guy being a creep but nothing big

Genre: fluff of course

Summary: Finding out your friend has an ex-wife is probably the weirdest segway to a confession

A/N: Hello dear~! Thank you for requesting! It's- not as short as I planned it to be but I hope it's to your liking anyway. Have a lovely day <3

***

"Marc don't burn the popcorn!" You shout from the bathroom as you change your clothes.

"I can handle a microwave y/n!" He shouts back and you can practically see him rolling his eyes from the kitchen.

You smile to yourself, switching your work clothes for a hoodie and some comfortable shorts. Marc, Jake, and Steven are over at your place pretty often these days but tonight they insisted you come to theirs for your weekly movie night. You came straight from work, only because to get to your place you would pass his first so you simply brought a change of clothes to work today. Your friendship with Marc and his alters is one for the books for sure but whenever you think about how you got here, it makes you laugh.

You'd met Jake first which is somewhat hilarious considering how much he hates people. You'd been picking up some snacks from a corner store and some guy got way too close just as Jake walked in. The dude had cornered you in a part of the shop that was out of sight of the store owner but Jake came over and told him to leave me alone so menacingly that his words chased the guy right out before he even bought anything. You'd tried to thank him for it but he walked off before you could even get the words out. So with your items in hand, you walked to the register, and upon checking out you thought of a new way to thank him.

"Hey Louie, whatever that gentleman in the cap buys, it's on me. If this doesn't cover it somehow- I'll be back 'round later in case I owe you more for it, okay?" You quietly slipped Louie an extra 10 bucks assuming that should cover it.

"Got it, dear." He nods and you walked out with your items, thoroughly pleased with yourself. Until a few moments later a voice shouted after you.

"Hey!" You spun around to find Jake stomping towards you.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I can pay for my own stuff."

"I don't doubt that, I'm just saying thank you. For taking care of that guy."

"You could have just said thank you."

"I would've but you stomped off before I could say anything. I figured you didn't wanna be bothered so I found another way." You shrugged. "I don't see why you're angry. Who gets made at free stuff?" You'd frowned. He shot you a glare that most people would've withered against but for some reason, you didn't back down.

"Whatever." He eventually muttered and stormed off. 

"What a grump." You'd muttered to yourself shaking off the icy chill of his stare. If you asked Jake today why he bothered to help you back then he'd probably deny there being any real reason for it.

It was a few weeks later that you'd met Steven and what a strange day that was. You'd gone to the museum he worked at and after a couple hours of wandering, you hit the gift shop hoping to find something to memorialize your visit. When you'd picked out a few items and dropped them on the counter you couldn't believe the face staring back at you.

"Woah! It's you again." You'd said before you could stop yourself.

"I- I beg your pardon?" Steven had blinked at you with such confusion on his face that you stepped back.

"We- we met a couple of weeks ago. At a corner store- don't you remember?"

"I- I apologize you must have me confused with someone else." He'd shook his head very hard and it was then that you realized the accent in his speech. The guy from the convenience store did not have a British accent.

"Well I'll be damned. Guess so. My mistake, you look scarily similar to a guy I met a few weeks ago. He talks very differently though. You might wanna talk to your parents about a long lost twin though- the resemblance is- uncanny." You'd told him as he rang up your items.

"Statistically every person has 7 doppelgangers. It's- though unlikely, possible this man you met and I are one of those statistical 7 for each other." Steven had told you in response.

"Ya don't say." You muttered. You wrapped up that transaction and left rather quickly, still a bit unsettled by the fact that this Steven looked just like the man from the corner store. Whose name you still didn't know at the time.

Marc you met the next day. On the bus. You had gotten on and ended up standing right next to him.

"Oh hey- you work at the museum, Steven, right?" You'd said to him.

"What are you talking about?" He'd frowned at you. A different accent this time.

"Okay. Wait you have got to be punking me."

"Do I know you?" He'd looked at you like you had two heads.

"We have met twice already! Except yesterday at the museum, you were British and three weeks ago at the corner store, you were a grumbly Latino and today you're a New Yorker. I know you said that everyone has 7 doppelgangers but I refuse to believe that in London only there are 3 people walking around with identical faces all sounding like they're from 3 different continents!" You'd huffed out. Marc had blinked at you very unsure of what to do. After all, somehow they'd accidentally revealed themselves to you and you didn't even realize it.

"How about we grab some coffee?" He'd asked after a moment.

"What?" That is not what you expected him to do.

"Coffee. Or tea if you prefer that. I'm Marc by the way. We should- talk, about what you think is going on here." He'd offered.

Reluctantly he told you about his situation, he was surprised they'd been reckless enough to get caught by a stranger but you took the information better than he expected. After all how often does someone you don't know share their medical conditions before they know your name? It made friendship kind of inevitable though, I mean- he could've lied, but you appreciated the honesty and quickly proved to be quite the confidante for the trio.

"What are you doing in there y/n?! Sewing a hoodie from scratch?!" Marc's voice from the living room ends your reminiscing.

"Shut up you impatient loser!" You roll your eyes as you grab your phone and pull open the bathroom door to join him.

"You're postponing movie night I am well within my rights to complain." He shrugs.

"We watch a movie together every week, don't whine." You take the bowl from his lap and grab a handful of popcorn as you sit down. "What's the genre for tonight again?" You ask grabbing his remote to queue up a movie.

"I think tonight is romance."

"You're actually going to watch a romance movie?!" You blink at him.

"Don't start." Marc points at you.

"Okay well- do you want to watch an intentionally bad one? We can laugh at all the Twilight films, or any Netflix original, or like something from the early 2000s. Or we can watch one of my favorites."

"You have a favorite romance movie?"

"It's only a romance movie by technicality." You shrug.

"What does that mean? Is it a Disney movie?"

"I don't like the way you said that first of all. No it's not a Disney movie. The main characters are married but it's more of an action movie than a romance."

"You've intrigued me." He hums.

"Then we'll watch that." You say finding and starting the movie before he can change his mind. When the movie ends it's Steven who's fronting.

"So they're spies and they're married but they're told to kill each other?!" Steven asks.

"Correct." You nod.

"Only you would pick something like that as your favorite 'romance' movie." He laughs.

"Hey! It's a great movie!"

"I mean we liked it, Jake especially- it's just- barely a romance really. Don't you like any of the normal ones? The notebook, princess bride, aren't those romances?"

"Well yeah but- the notebook is boring. Princess Bride, I like though, but I didn't think Marc would like something like that." You shrug.

"Oh he hates it. But if you asked him to I'm sure he'd sit through one." Steven shrugs taking the empty popcorn bowl to the sink.

"Now why do you want him to suffer?" You giggle standing from the couch to stretch your legs.

"I'm not saying make him suffer I'm saying watch a normal romance movie." He says.

"Fine. Next time we're doing romance I'll pick a 'normal' one, or you can pick one." You say just before your foot kicks a little box peaking out from under the coffee table. "Yo yall have got to get better at organizing, why is this box under your table?" You bend over to pick it up and check what's inside of it. A ring and some old photos it looks like but before you can do any more digging someone is at your side grabbing the box from you. You're not sure until they speak who it is.

"Don't." Marc says hiding the box behind his back.

"What is it?" You ask. There's a stretched period of silence and you're sure he's arguing with Jake and Steven over something so you snap a few times. "Hello! Earth to the system. I asked you something?" You frown.

"It's nothing." Marc says quickly.

"You're- keeping secrets now."

"No." He shakes his head.

"But you won't tell me what's in the box?" You quirk an eyebrow at him.

"Correct."

"Why not?"

"Because... it's not important." 

"People typically don't feel the need to hide things that aren't important." You mutter. It's not like Marc's not allowed to have his secrets but he could at least be honest and simply say it's something he's not ready to share.

"Aye this is getting ridiculous the box is about Layla, his ex-wife." Jake interrupts your back and forth with an exasperated sigh.

"Ex-wife?! Marc, you were married?!"

"It was years ago okay? It didn't work out and I never brought it up because it's- not a fun story so thanks for that Jake." Marc huffs out.

"Well sucks to suck Marc now you have to tell me about her. I can't believe you were married and never said anything?!"

"Can we maybe not?"

"Not an option." You say pulling Marc onto the couch beside you. "Start talking." You tell him. Marc sighs heavily but tells the story from start to finish. He details how they met and how impossible she was to win over at first, he talks about their wedding and their time as husband and wife, and how he up and left her like a crazy man. Steven even chimes in several details because apparently, she was part of how he found out he was an alter- Steven's review of her is glowing, almost saddeningly so. It seems like he started to love her as Marc had and you try not to let it get to you. When the storytime is over and your questions are answered you lean forward to smack Marc on the side of the head.

"Ouch! Hey, what the fuck!?" He hisses.

"You're a fucking moron!" You tell him.

"Excuse me!?"

"She sounds amazing and I can't believe you were stupid enough to let her get away. Not only that you pushed her away. What is wrong with you?"

"A lot of things! Hence the fractured conscious thanks." He huffs.

"Marc I'm being serious. Why would you walk away from her?"

"Y/n you don't need to lecture me I'm very well aware that I fucked up with her I'm trying very hard to make sure I don't make the same mistake twice."

"Wait are you going to try and get her back?" You ask. It's genuine curiosity, you're his friend before anything else.

"What? No. That door is long closed. I'm talking about you."

"Me?" You blink at him.

"Yes, you. I screwed things up with Layla obviously and I have no interest in fixing that at this point but I won't let it happen again. I'm in love with you- we all are and we really can't live without you so- yeah, there's that."

"You have such interesting timing Marc Spector." You muse.

"Look we're sorry if you don't feel the same and this makes things-" You lean forward and press your lips to Marc's gently, cutting him off.

"Don't get all twisted up, of course I feel the same. Telling me about your ex-wife is just a weird way to confess your feelings." You laugh sitting backwards again.

"Well to be fair this wasn't how I planned to tell you and I tried to tell you not to worry about the box." Marc says pulling you back towards him.

"You know better than to do that I'm far too curious." You muse.

"You're lucky you're cute." He smirks.

"I'm lucky? You're the one that gets to date me."

"Do I?"

"If you ever get to the part where you ask me on a date then yes."

"How about we go to dinner tomorrow night then? It'll be our first date." He suggests.

"Now you're the lucky one." You nod.

"Without a doubt." He says kissing the top of your head as he simply lays with you on the couch. He was never one to think everyone deserved a second chance, but if the universe was kind enough to grant him this one he was not going to be stupid enough to waste it.

***

[mintwithchoco]

loonathesmut: Tease

LOOΠΔ Kim Lip x Male Reader

Word Count: 7100 words

Categories: smut, oral, facefucking, facial, subtsundere! kim lip

note; finally after weeks of writing, i'm back with another story! this is a continuation to my first smut, so i suggest you read it first to understand the story a bit better.

this story is also dedicated to one of my favorite writer, @nsfwtwicecatcher ! since he likes giving kimberly lippington a facial, this is gift for him :3 happy belated birthday! (hopefully i'm not too late oof)

special thanks to @arrivalatdawn for helping me out with the story.

again, happy new year and enjoy! ;)

aff link

"That's all for today. Remember to read chapter 7 and 8 for our next class!" The lecturer said before everyone stood up to leave the lecture room. 

You pack your notes and laptop into your bag hastily, rushing for your next event for the day. 

"Hello, baby brother? Can I ask you for a little bit of help? I'm gonna be busy this Wednesday and we haven't finished packing up stuff for our move to the new dorm. Since half of us will be staying at the dorm to finish packing, I figured that they would need some...extra hand. Hopefully you can help out!"

You walked through the crowd of students while keeping a safe distance from them. You looked at the watch on your wrist. 12:14 p.m. You gasped silently and started to run, eventually reaching your car at the parking lot after almost hitting on a bunch of people on your way. Getting inside your car and taking a couple of deep breaths, you calmed the adrenaline rush in your body. After a few minutes, you start the engine, turn on the radio and drive off to loonathedorm.

20 minutes later, you finally arrive at the building where your stepsister's dorm was.  You parked your car at a nearby parking lot, grabbing your stuff and a few bags of snacks that you purchased from a nearby convenience store. You make your way into the building and take the elevator up to the level where the dorm was at. As the elevator reaches the designated level, the door opened, revealing two people that you are all too familiar with.

"Oh, hi oppa!" "Hello oppa!" Both Heejin and Hyunjin greeted you.

"Hey! Where are you guys going?" You asked them as you got out of the elevator.

"We're gonna get some more boxes! We have too much stuff…" Heejin said while pouting. Hyunjin just stares at the plastic bags that you were holding.

"Oh, alright then. I bought some snacks, so be quick before the others finish it. And don't worry Hyunjin, I bought bread as well." You said, making Hyunjin smile.

"Thanks oppa!" Hyunjin responded.

"We'll be right back!" Heejin said and grabbed Hyunjin's hand as they went inside the elevator. You wave at them goodbye and head towards the dorm.

You arrive at the door within seconds. A nervous feeling suddenly came over you as this is the second time you are visiting the dorm. The first time was around a month ago, when Jinsoul invited you to Yeojin's birthday party. You haven't gotten closer to Jinsoul's other bandmates besides Heejin, Yerim and Jiwoo. You got close to them during their debut concert when you visited Jinsoul backstage. You pressed the doorbell followed with a nervous sigh. A few seconds was all it needed for the door to be opened by Chuu.

"Oppa! Come on in, we just started packing!" Jiwoo said in a happy tone.

"Perfect, right on time!" You said and went inside the dorm. Jiwoo goes back to her room to continue her work while you take off your jacket and shoes in the doorway. You hang up your jacket and put your shoes on an empty spot at the shoe rack. As you walk to the living room with the bags of snacks in hand, you look around the surrounding of the dorm.

The dorm was pretty clean but full of boxes scattered around containing the girls' stuff. It was a pretty small dorm for 12 people to live in, so you were happy that they are finally moving out after 3 years. You put the bags of snacks on the living room's table. Yerim suddenly appears in front of you , carrying a box that looked far too heavy for her. You quickly went to her and grabbed the box as her hands were getting shaky. 

"Phew! Thanks oppa! You can put it there," Yerim said as she points to a stack of boxes beside the couch.

"No problem. This is really heavy, are there rocks inside?" You joked.

"It's just some clothes!" Yerim chuckled at your joke.

"Well, surely you have a lot of them. There you go." You put down the box carefully on top of a bigger box.

"Thanks oppa!" Yerim beams a cute smile at you.

"You're welcome. Have you guys eaten yet?" You asked her.

"No, we were too busy packing…" 

"Well, I bought some snacks so-" You sit down on the couch and take out the snacks inside the plastic bags that you brought.

"Let's take a break!" 

"Yeay! Thanks oppa!" Yerim sits on the couch and immediately opens up a bag of Cheetos.

"I'll get the others real quick." You stand up and head towards Jiwoo's room while Yerim munches down on the Cheetos. As you arrive there, Jiwoo is taping up a box while Jungeun is cleaning the windows. 

"Hey guys! Are you done with your work yet?" You asked.

"Uhh, just a bit more oppa. I just have to tape up that box and I'm done!" Jiwoo replied.

"Alright then. Jungeun?" 

"Can’t you see that I'm still cleaning?" Jungeun replied in a cold tone.

Kim Jungeun, a.k.a Kim Lip. Presumably, the sexiest member in LOONA. While her face emits the vibe of a charismatic woman, her personality is completely different. She has a great sense of humor as most of the memes in the LOONA fanbase are about her. She's also a caring and liable person. Jinsol once told you that she is one of the members that usually cooks for the others and she always loves cleaning around the house.

But, for some reason, she always seemed angry at you, keeping her words to a minimum and striking you with harsh facts sometimes. You asked Jinsol why she was acting that way and she simply replied with, "I don't know, maybe she's interested in you." You simply disagreed with her as there was no way you would fall in love with Jungeun since you have Jinsol embedded deep in your heart.

"Jungeun! That's not how you talk to oppa!" Jiwoo scolded Jungeun.

"It's fine. I just wanna say that the snacks are waiting for you guys and it won't take long before Yerim finishes it all,” You said and left the room to join Yerim back at the couch in the living room.

"Oh my god, you annihilated a bag of Cheetos already?!" You hold up the empty bag of Cheetos on the table. 

"Hehe, sorry oppa! Can't help it," Yerim said while drinking her Coke.

"Is there any bread left?" Hyunjin bashed through the front door followed by Heejin who was holding a bunch of folded boxes. Both you and Yerim jumped in shock because of the sudden interruption. Hyunjin quickly sits beside Yerim and searches for her precious bread. Heejin puts the folded boxes at the hallway leading to the living room and joins the rest on the couch.

"Mmm~! Ish bwead ish sho fwuffy!” Hyunjin said as her mouth was already stuffed with bread.

“Yah, don’t talk when your mouth is full! Especially when oppa’s around,” Heejin said as she grabbed a pack of candies from one of the plastic bags.

“It’s fine, it was cute anyways,” Hyunjin choked and spat out her drink as she heard your compliment. Heejin and Yerim just laughed at her as she was coughing pretty badly.

Eventually, Jiwoo and Jungeun joined in after a few minutes. The room was quickly filled with conversations, the girls talked about their successful comeback while you talked about how you almost burned your house down when learning how to make macarons.

Whenever you talk, you realize that Jungeun will always focus on you, even though she was keeping a straight face. She spoke the least out of the six of you and will constantly nod or shake her head to a question. At one point, you made eye contact with her and in a split second, she turned her face away from you, hiding her shyness. 

‘What's up with her?’ you thought. 

But the conversation that was happening was too interesting for you to think about it furthermore.

2:15 p.m. All of you start packing the girls’ room items. Your job was mainly to pick up the boxes or lift some furniture since you are the only male there. Sounded easy, right? That was your thought before Kim Jungeun caught your attention with her outfit. She was wearing a black tank top that didn't do well on covering up her black bra underneath and black tight shorts that were showing off her beautiful legs. 

You wondered why she picked that outfit for the day as it was clearly uncomfortable for her. Her top was always slipping down everytime she moved, allowing you to see her cleavage. You tried to avoid looking at her but she keeps coming into your sight as if it was intentional. Your lower region was starting to get warm and it was definitely not the right time to get a hard-on. You kept thinking about gross things that can help your boner to calm down but the moment when Jungeun bent down to pick up some stuff right in front of you, it was game over. You immediately go to the toilet to cover up your raging boner before any of the girls notices it.

About two hours later, Heejin taped up the final box, officially ending all of the work. All of you sit down on the couch and let out a sigh of relief. You were grateful that no one notices your bulge throughout all of that, otherwise you would be dying because of embarrassment. 

“Hey guys! Sooyoung unnie just texted me that they are at the arcade nearby, should we join them?” Jiwoo asked while looking at her phone.

“Heck yeah!” Heejin excitedly replies.

“Oppa, are you going too?” Yerim asked you.

“Nah, you guys go ahead, I’ll just wait for noona here.” 

“Lip unnie?” Hyunjin asked Jungeun.

“I’m too lazy…” Jungeun said and slowly laid down on the couch.

“Okay then, let’s get ready!” Jiwoo said and went to her room, followed by Heejin, Hyunjin and Yerim. 

“Don’t bother me unless it’s something important.” Jungeun said to you before going back into her own room. You just shrugged off what she said and played around with your phone. After seeing the girls leave, you turn on the TV and watched a drama to kill time. You thought that Jungeun had already fallen asleep since she is tired and you didn’t hear any sounds from her room.

An hour passes by and your stomach starts to grumble. The snacks earlier didn’t really fill up your stomach, so you decided to cook some ramen. Before going into the kitchen, you remember about Jungeun and decide to ask her if she wants some. You walk up to her room’s door and knock gently.

“Hey, I’m gonna cook some ramen, do you want some?” You asked through the door.

“Ugh..hah,” You hear Jungeun’s voice through the door. It sounds like she is struggling, you thought. You knock on the door again.

“Are you okay in there?” No answer. 

“Do you need help?” Still no answer.

Worried about her, you swiftly open the door. Your eyes search for Jungeun who was fixing the window curtains while tip-toeing on a chair to help her reach it. She didn’t notice your presence at all and was struggling with the curtains as it was stuck on the curtain rod. Before you can ask her anything, your attention suddenly diverts to her back that is facing you. You slowly eye her from head to toe a few times before locking your eyes onto her ass. Heck, you know it was wrong, but who can resist closing their eyes to this perfect and handful butt? You were hypnotized, dirty thoughts were already generated in your brain as you stared at them longer.

Suddenly, Jungeun loses her balance as her right foot slips on the chair and makes her fall. Luckily, you were there and reacted quickly enough to catch her from falling. Jungeun was shocked to see you catch her. Not to mention, she perfectly landed onto your arms and you both were in an awkward position of a bridal carry. Time stops for you as your eyes land onto hers, seeing another side of Kim Jungeun who was always giving you cold glares. You feel her body getting warmer on your arms and her cheeks turn red.

“Are you okay?” You asked her.

“Y-Yeah..you can put me down now..” Jungeun spoke in a soft tone for the first time with you, making you also blush at how cute she sounds. You gently put her feet first on the floor and removed your arms from her legs and her back. The air around the both of you was getting awkward and after a few seconds of silence, Jungeun finally speaks.

“Why did you come into my room, pervert?” Jungeun was back to her cold self but her shyness still remains visible on her cheeks.

“Chill out, I was just asking you if you wanted some ramen or not. And, if I didn’t barge into your room, you could end up with a back pain.” You answered back, making Jungeun sigh.

“You got a point. I am feeling hungry right now so why not. I’ll cook though, I don’t trust you in the kitchen.” Jungeun said before heading to the kitchen followed by you.

“The bags of ramen are on the right cabinet. If you wanna add in some more stuff, look in the fridge.” Jungeun said while washing her hands. You simply nod and open the cabinet that Jungeun pointed out. You grabbed three bags of spicy chicken flavored ramen and placed them on the kitchen counter. As you are about to check out the fridge for some ingredients, you saw that Jungeun is struggling once again, this time with getting a pot on the top of the cabinet.

“You know that it’s easy to ask for help, right?” You said and went behind her to reach the pot. Jungeun’s eyes widened as both of your bodies are closer to each other once again. She looks at your face that is focusing on the pot. Seeing how much you like to help her out makes her feel something funny. As she thinks about it longer, she starts to blush madly and her heart pounds fast until she realizes that you had grabbed the pot and saw her blushing.

“Here.” You said while giving her the pot, ignoring the fact that she is blushing.

“Thanks..” Jungeun replied, feeling relieved that you didn’t ask further.

After the little sweet moment, both of you start on making the ramen. You mostly prepared the ingredients while Jungeun does the mixing and cooking. 25 minutes later, Jungeun places the pot of hot ramen that is ready to be served on the dining table, which you have already cleaned and prepared with bowls and chopsticks. The savory aroma of the ramen fills the air, making you drool even more. Both of you sat down at the dining table, facing each other and started to dig in. You scooped a spoonful of the ramen with the ladle and put it in your bowl. You lifted up some of the ramen noodles with your chopsticks, gently blowing onto it to cool it down before putting it in your mouth.

"Mmm! So Jinsol noona was telling the truth about your cooking," You complimented her as the ramen you tasted was very delicious.

"Of course she would tell the truth. But I feel like I've added too much spice.." Jungeun said before taking a sip on her drink to reduce the heat on her tongue.

"I can handle the spice though, you're not that big of a spicy fan eh?" You said, continuing to slurp on the noodles.

“Shut up.” 

A few minutes passed by and the pot was already empty. You both are still eating the last bits of the noodles in your bowls. Jungeun is fanning her clothes, feeling hot because of the spiciness of the ramen. This allows you to have a great view of her cleavage under her tank top once more, which almost made you spat out the noodles in your mouth. Even though the air conditioner was turned on, sweat formed on her forehead and her neck and your eyes focused on the beads of her sweat that was dripping down her cleavage. You gulped. Jinsol would probably kill you right now as your cock started to grow hard again.

“I feel so hot…” Jungeun said as she kept fanning her clothes that were drenched.

“You really are hot, Kim Jungeun.” You say softly, not wanting to be called out as a pervert by Jungeun again. You both finished up the food eventually and you offered to wash the dishes since she helped to cook the food. It was also a way for you to cover your bulge that is sticking out. You cleaned up the dining table and brought the dishes to the kitchen sink to wash them while Jungeun went back to her room.

You dry off your hand with a cloth near the sink after washing all of the dishes. You walked back to the living room and saw Jungeun doing yoga in front of the TV. She was still wearing the tank top from earlier, but has changed her shorts into leggings which hugged her thighs and her cute butt perfectly. She is doing a position where her feet and her hands are on the ground while her hips and her torso are kept high, like a certain sex position. You were stunned at your place, completely seduced by her sensual aura that is making you hard for the third time. You watch every part of her body like a hawk, gradually increasing your arousal level as you already think about how to take her down. You quickly put that thought away once Jungeun realizes that you are looking at her.

“W-Why are you doing yoga at this time?” You ask her before she could say anything in hope that she won’t call you out.

“I wanna work off the ramen that we just ate.” Jungeun said before moving into another position. This time, she lays down her body flat onto the yoga mat and lifts only her torso up with her hands, allowing her butt to clench and showing you how perfect it looks. You bit your lips at the sight, thinking how easily you could rip her leggings off and fuck her ass right at that moment. But you surely don’t want to be killed by Jungeun for suddenly invading her privacy so you have to keep your cool. 

You slowly walk towards the couch and sat there while Jungeun is focusing on the TV that is playing a yoga guide show. You pull out your phone from your pocket and play around with it to distract yourself from staring at her body. As she wasn't looking at you, you fixed up your pants to hide your boner. You scroll through your phone, opening up apps that you never really open while burning the image of you fucking Jungeun in your head. After a while with a few more position changes, the yoga guide show is almost at the end as there is one more position to do. Jungeun lays down on her back and raises up her legs while bending her knees. She places her knees around her shoulder area and her arms on her feet to exert some pressure on it. 

The position is called Happy Baby as said on the TV, but to you, it just looks like she was ready to receive a cock in her pussy. Because she is on the floor, her crotch area is exposed to you and your imagination of stripping her naked in that position is starting to flow. Your dick was painfully hard at this point, and your patience is starting to run out. Eventually, you stand up, planning to let out your desires in the toilet until Jungeun stops you.

"Giving up already?" Jungeun said in a teasing manner.

"I'm sorry?" You pretended to be confused.

"Hm, still want to defend yourself eh? I know you're having a boner right now." Jungeun releases herself from the position earlier, stands up and gets closer to you. Your eyes widen as you are getting exposed by her.

"I've noticed that you've been eyeing my body, especially my ass." Jungeun gives you a little smirk while crossing her arms.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Shh...There's no need for that. I'll forgive you, but with one condition..." Jungeun gently pushes you back to the couch and straddles your lap. She brought her lips to your right ear and blew hot breath onto it, making you squirm under her body.

"Please me, just like how you did to Jinsol unnie." 

The gentleman switch inside your body was turned off once you hear those alluring words. You wrapped her legs around your hips and lifted her up to carry her to somewhere comfortable. You made your way to her bedroom and pinned her down to the bed, not caring to close the door since there is no one else that can witness this sinful act.

"You are going to regret saying that, Miss Kim Jungeun." You leaned your head closer to her and pressed your lips against hers. The taste of her cherry lips makes its way into your taste buds while she reciprocates by moaning into your mouth. You feel her body is getting warmer with each passing second and her kisses are getting a bit more rough. Her tongue asks for entrance in your mouth, so you part your lips and both of your tongues dance while exchanging saliva into each other's mouth. Your hands makes their way down to her thick thighs, the culprit that has made your dick feel pain throughout the three times you got hard for her. You moved your hand up and down, caressing it to show your affection. As you continue to explore each other’s mouth, both of your breaths are decreasing overtime so Jungeun pushes you away from her lips and pants heavily.

“Jinsol unnie was right, you are a great kisser.” Jungeun says and wraps her arms around your neck. You looked deep into her brown eyes and admired her facial features. You gotta admit, she is one of the most beautiful women that you have ever seen, alongside Jinsoul of course. Her gaze that was filled with lust enamored your heart, making it beat faster than normal. 

“Do you want me to suck your cock?” Jungeun asks you and you unhesitantly nodded to her question.

“Eat my pussy out until I cum, then I’ll let you fuck my face.” Jungeun moves her body back to the headboard of the bed, inviting you to strip her naked. Like a cat, you crawl towards her and tower over her body. You grab the bottom hem of her tank top and pull it upwards. Jungeun raises her arms to allow you to remove it from her slim body and throw it away somewhere in the room. Even though Jungeun is not as thick as Hyejoo or as curvy as Jinsol, her body is still a killer, packed with a sexy ribcage, a small waist and of course, beautiful legs.

Your lips instantly latched on her neck, giving her a few kisses here and there to increase the tension between you both. The sweet scent of her perfume was still there despite her being sweaty because of the spiciness of the ramen and the yoga that she did earlier. Jungeun moaned softly at your kisses but tries to silence herself to keep her cold act. Feeling a bit bolder now, your hands slowly reach behind her and unhook her black bra. You heard the hooks come off one by one, eventually letting her bra fall down by itself. A sigh of relief was also heard by you as Jungeun felt the tension on her chest was released. Her perky breasts were finally revealed to you - Jinsol is bigger than her, but you can say that they are pretty handful.

“Fuck, you’re so hot Jungeun.” You say before planting a quick peck on her lips.

Unable to contain your lust for her anymore, you forcefully grab onto her leggings and rip them open, earning a screech from Jungeun that you always hear in the LOONA memes compilation videos on YouTube. “Hey! Calm your hormones down! Thank god that this is already ripped, otherwise I will be chopping your dick off.” Jungeun was slightly mad at you for destroying her leggings but thankfully, she was okay with it.

You continue to strip her naked by peeling off the ripped leggings off her legs. As you throw away her bra and her leggings off the bed, you are slightly shocked to see Jungeun wasn’t wearing any panties underneath her leggings and is now fully naked right in front of you. Fully mesmerized by the sight, your cock was begging to be released from its confines. But, you already had a deal with her - make her cum and you’ll get a facefuck. Easy. 

“Are you gonna eat me out or-ahh..” Jungeun let out a soft moan as you drive your hands towards her clit that is already wet with her juices. You traced her clit with your fingers as you watch Jungeun’s face gradually easing into the pleasure. Jungeun closes her eyes and leans back while you smirk, thinking that she is now under your control. As you continue to move your fingers on her clit, Jungeun spreads her legs and throws her head back, giving you the approval to taste her.

Your hands have moved itself to her thighs to keep her in place while you eat her pussy out. Steadily moving your head down to her glistening clit, you stick out your tongue and lick the juices on her clit, making Jungeun squirm slightly. She tastes sweet and you are addicted to it right away. Not wasting anymore time, you capture her clit with your lips and swirl your tongue, making small circles around it. Jungeun’s hands made it to your hair, gripping onto it tightly as you keep giving her clit the attention that it wants. You feel the burning sensation on your scalp but nothing matters at this point. The only focus that you have at this point is to give Jungeun what she desires.

No progress will be made if you keep using your mouth, so you start moving your hands to her clit and use your fingers to stimulate it. Jungeun's pussy continues to flow out more nectar and her eyes roll back in satisfaction. You pull your lips away from her clit and teased her splayed lips using two fingers before pushing them into her warm and tight cavern. Jungeun reacted with an erotic moan once your fingers enter her body. Moving the joints of your two fingers inside her pussy causes her to flinch around and breathe heavily. She equips herself with a pillow nearby to muffle her moans in reason to keep her tsundere character alive.

You pull your fingers away from her clit slowly and thrust it back inside her deeper than before. You repeat this action several times and eventually find a perfect rhythm. Jungeun was not expecting you to be this good as her moans were getting louder each time you thrust into her. After a few more thrusts, you felt a certain type of flesh inside her pussy has made contact with the tip of your fingers. Jungeun immediately reacts by pulling your hair harder and bucking her hips onto your face even more.

“F-Fuck yeah, that’s the spot...keep doing that,” 

Upping the pace of your thrusts into her, you continue to hit her g-spot. Your lips latch onto her clit once again, this time with your tongue assisting your fingers to thrust into her pussy better. Jungeun has lost control over her body, shaking violently and constantly screaming out curse words into the pillow she is holding. 

Suddenly, Jungeun lets out the loudest scream into the pillow. Her thighs spontaneously wrap itself around your head, locking you in as she climaxes. You feel her juices flowing into your mouth like a waterfall and drenching your palm at the same time. Her orgasm was really big as you failed to keep all of her juices in your mouth. When you feel that her thighs have weakened its grip on your head, marking the end of her orgasm, you pull out your fingers from her pussy and lapped up the excess juice on her folds. You gulp down on her sweet cum and with a big sigh, you move your face away from her thighs.

There is no other sight that can beat the sight that you have now right in front of you. Jungeun’s face was flushed with satisfaction, her legs were still spread open and her chest was heaving up and down as she was still in a daze after her strong climax just now. You smiled, admiring how much of a mess that she has made.

“Hah..v-very well then, you have impressed me. Now, for your reward.” Jungeun said before moving herself away and pushed you to the headboard, replacing her spot earlier.

She straddles your lap once again and smashes her lips onto yours, tasting herself in your mouth that was filled with her cum just now. In the meantime, her hands find the hem of your pants, reaches inside and drags it off your legs. Pulling her lips away from you after several minutes, Jungeun’s face makes its way down to your crotch that shows off your prominent bulge under your boxers. You squirmed as Jungeun cups your bulge and blows a hot breath onto it. She licks the tip of your penis through the thin fabric of your boxers before pulling it down to uncover your penis. You felt the cold air around the room on your shaft, making it throb and twitch harder. 

“Hmm, not as big as I thought, but surely this is enough.” You felt a bullet was shot through your heart.

Jungeun places her hand on the base of your cock, causing it to leak out precum from your slit. She licks her lips before painting a strip of saliva along the underside of your shaft and stopping on the tip. You moaned as Jungeun spits all over your cock and starts sucking on your tip. Her tongue collects all of your precum while her hand spreads her saliva all over your cock, not leaving any parts of it dry. Your cock continued to throb in her small hand alongside your moans that are beginning to increase in volume. 

You can’t believe that the cold Kim Jungeun is now on your cock, giving you the fantasy that you desired. Spitting more saliva onto your cock, her hand glides up and down you with no resistance. Her lips detached itself from your tip, giving her fingers access to it to trace your slit and releasing more of your liquid. Jungeun giggles at the expressions that you were making.

“You really are a pervert…” Jungeun said before indulging your cock into her mouth.

Your body weakens once you feel the insides of her mouth with your cock. Jungeun began to bob her head up and down while still grabbing a hold on the base of your shaft. You brought your hand to her head, running your fingers through the soft blonde strands of hair. As she looked up at you, you realized that she looks gorgeous with a cock in her mouth, a sight that will surely make any man happy. Her mouth continued to fill itself with your length until you felt your tip reach the back of her mouth, causing her to gag loudly. Your hands automatically hold her head as the warmness of her mouth and the lustful gag that she lets out is driving you into maximum pleasure.

Jungeun taps on your thigh after a while as she was losing some oxygen. You quickly removed your hand from the back of her head and Jungeun releases her mouth from your cock with a pop, leaving strings of saliva along the way. She takes this time to breath properly to prepare herself for the next act.

“Get off the bed and fuck my mouth.” 

You got off the bed quickly while Jungeun gets on her knees. After you remove the last piece of your clothing, she parts her lips, ready to receive your cock again. You hold onto both sides of her head and push a few inches of your cock into her mouth. You start your thrusting with a slow rhythm to make her feel comfortable. As she looks up to you with a gaze filled with lust, you push your shaft even more, causing saliva to escape from the sides of her mouth. When your shaft hits the back of her mouth, she gags on your cock, followed by teardrops on her eyes as she is on cloud nine on how well you are using your reward. 

Developing a faster rhythm as time goes by, Jungeun’s face is starting to get messy with her tears and her saliva. You didn’t care about it since you were chasing on your own desires. Sweat formed on your forehead as you fuck her mouth harder. An idea suddenly popped into your mind and after one final deep thrust, you withdrew your cock out of her mouth. Jungeun hyperventilates once you release your grip on her head and wipes off the excessive saliva on her face with her hand.

“Impressive...considering that you haven’t cum yet, you are allowed to fu-” Jungeun was cut off by you grabbing her arms and pinning her to the bed.

“I’m done with you being in charge, now let me take over.” You said sternly, emphasizing on the words, ‘take over’.

Your lust for her was unstoppable at this point. Turning her body around, her face was now buried into the bed. You forcefully grabbed her hips and bent her knees, allowing her hips to stay up. Raising her head slightly to look at you, Jungeun was stunned at your changed behavior. She found it rather attractive, how your eyes were burning with lust and how rough your actions were getting. 

As your hands were still on her hips, you moved them to her butt and gently squeezed her cheeks, causing Jungeun to squirm under your touch. Seems like your idea is starting to work out. Using your right hand to stroke your hard cock a few times, you line it up with the pink lips of her pussy that was radiating with heat. Jungeun feels your tip nudging at her entrance and bites her lip once you push it in further. With a satisfied grunt, a few inches of your cock is finally in her cunt. Her walls were suffocating your cock with its tightness but you ignored the pain that you were feeling. Your hips begin to move, thrusting your shaft into her in a slow manner. Her juices were smearing your length, allowing it to slide in and out of her pussy with ease. Jungeun buries her face into the bed to silence her moans, not wanting to show herself falling into your dominance.

You realize what she was doing and you definitely didn’t like it. So, you grab a handful of her long blonde hair and pull it towards you, raising her head so that you can hear her lewd moans. Jungeun stayed strong however, holding her breath a few times and biting her lips harder to resist herself from moaning. Increasing the rhythm of your thrust into her tight cavern, your goal is to make her moan and give up on her tsundere character. Her body shakes in your arms as your thrusts get more aggressive, considering how you are gritting your teeth while pounding her. You lean your body onto her back and rest your head on her shoulder, giving kisses on her neck right after. 

“I know that you’re enjoying this, so drop the tough act already,” You gave her butt a harsh slap before bringing your lips closer to her ears.

“And moan for me.” 

Like a spark ignited in her body, Jungeun finally lets out her beautiful moans. You smirked, delighted at the fact that Jungeun is now under your spell, which is the pleasure that you are giving her. You continue to thrust into her warm walls even further, increasing the volume of her moans before putting an end to your rhythm and pulling out your cock out of her body, earning a whine from Jungeun.

“Tell me how much you love my cock.” You grab her by the neck and gently squeeze it to force out an answer from her.

“I love your cock so much oppa! Please keep fucking this slut until she cums!” Jungeun screamed.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” You said and gave her ass two hard slaps.

“Ahh! I-I’m sorry oppa…” 

“Lay down on the bed. Now.” Your cold tone sent shivers down Jungeun’s spine and quickly enough, she laid back down on the bed and waited for your actions.

You climb back on the bed and move towards her, putting her under your body. You gave her a quick peck on her lips before spreading her legs apart and lining up your cock with her damp pussy once again. 

“You can’t cum until I say so. If you cum, I won’t hesitate to punish you.” You said and immediately inserted your cock back into her pussy, making Jungeun scream with ecstasy.

The intensity between you both was at its limit as Jungeun leaked out more and more of her juices from her pussy and your cock throbs harder inside the tight grip of her pussy. Your head leans closer to hers, intently gazing into her heavenly brown eyes that filled with passion and desire. At that moment, Jinsol was completely lost in your mind as you have fallen in love with the woman right in front of you named Kim Jungeun. The rhythm of your pounding never slowed down, instead it keeps going faster and harder. Although your back is starting to emit sweat, your lust for her powers your body to keep going. 

No other sounds were heard in the room except for the squelching of her wet and warm walls receiving your shaft, the squeaking of the bed because of your hard thrusts and the symphony of moans from the both of you. Challenging Jungeun’s endurance, your hands land on her perky breasts and begin to knead it gently, aiming to stimulate her into her orgasm. Her pink nipples erect once you use your fingers on them, pinching and pulling it until you replace it with your lips. Gently sucking on her right nipple, a persistent flow of high-pitched moans escapes Jungeun’s lips as the pleasure was too much for her.

“Oppa…please...” Jungeun begged you.

“Giving up already?” You said with a smirk, referencing her words earlier.

Without giving a care to her words, you keep penetrating her hot flesh while teasing her tits. The tip of your cock came into contact with her g-spot and Jungeun screams out your name. You were in euphoria, the pleasure that you were getting was a lot for a man to have. The knot in your stomach is starting to build itself, signaling your upcoming orgasm. 

"Do you want to cum baby?"

"Yes please! I want to cum all over your cock pleease!" 

"Then, cum. Cover my cock with your cum." You demanded.

Jungeun came instantly. You feel as the walls of her vagina gripped onto your shaft. Her juices gushed out everywhere, mainly coating your cock and your balls. Some leaked out and landed on her bed. Her orgasm was bigger than the first one, acknowledging how you have successfully raised her senses. 

"B-Baby..I'm close..." You alerted her.

"O-Outside…" Jungeun weakly replied.

Hearing her words made your brain come up with one decision. You fuck her in a relentless pace as the knot in your stomach grew tighter. Feeling your cock is twitching inside her, you immediately pull out from her tight pussy and straddle her torso, aiming your cock right in front of her face. Jungeun was still weak from her orgasm just now and didn't realize what you were doing. You stroke your cock with a fast motion, easily sliding in and out of your hand because of her juices lubricating it. Eventually, with a big groan, streaks of white and thick semen burst out of your tip, painting Jungeun's enticingly beautiful face. She closes her eyes as she comes back to her senses with more ropes of cum landing on her cheeks and her forehead.

After the last streak of your cum lands on her nose, her gorgeous face is fully covered. You sighed and admired the mess that you had made, the cum that was dripping down and the satisfied expression pictured on Jungeun’s face. Jungeun slowly opened her eyes to be greeted with your sweet smile and your cock that was still throbbing. She was lost in your eyes for a brief moment but suddenly, she pushes you away from her.

“Goddamnit, now I have to clean your filth off, ugh...” Jungeun said and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

“Jungeun I-” You sighed as she closed the bathroom door. 

Jungeun looked at herself in the mirror from head to toe. Her thighs were stained with her own cum, her nipples were still erect due to your teasing and of course, her face was coated with your semen. She smiled. Licking a bit of your creamy semen on her lips, she squealed at how she finally tasted a part of you. Worried that you might leave soon as she has another plan set up with you, she quickly washed her face at the sink and got out of the bathroom. You didn’t realize that Jungeun was already out of the bathroom and were about to wear your clothes before a hand stopped you from doing so.

“Shower with me?”

[munsonenthisiast]

Then & Forever

A/N: I wrote this in like five days and had my bestie edit. This is my first time writing anything, but I love Josh so-

Summary: Since you started working for GVF, you and Josh had grown close to each other over the years. This time you hope your feelings don't get in the way of ruining everything you built.

Contains: Smut, drinking, smoking, cursing

WC: 10.9k

"So you're saying that. . . you've never played an instrument before?" Sam pointed at his bass. You laughed at the question, sipping your beer. "Correct." Sam furrowed his face in confusion. "Then why do you have a degree IN music if you can't play?" Josh hit Sam on the shoulder with a pencil making a small face. You shrugged your shoulders, swishing the alcohol around your mouth. "I don't know, It's just something I've never wanted to do, you know. I guess it's one thing knowing about an instrument rather than playing it."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Well, if you did play anything I'm sure you'd be really good at it." Josh smiled towards you. He went back to writing in his journal while everyone else went back to respectively playing their own instruments.

But for you, it seemed a long way home. Never did it cross your mind that you would basically be living with four different people from time to time. Especially not so quickly. Greta Van Fleet was your first job, and really, first anything. From high school until now, you were alone. Which made you a little grumpy when working with people, but none the less you warmed up to them quickly. Especially Josh, who always seemed attached to the hip with you.

Josh may have annoyed you a tiny bit at first, but his euphoric mind is what intrigued you in the first place. He always seemed so wise, knowing the right answer to everything. And the way he wrote the lyrics to songs, just naturally appeared to him somehow. It was truly magic.

Jake smacked you on the arm, calling for your attention. "Ok, what do you think of this." He pulled the guitar over his lap, playing the notes he came up with. You quickly wrote down the notes he played, looking out for any correction. "So what do you think?" He asked, flailing his arms around. Running your pencil down the piece of paper, you started to shake your head. "I think it sounds pretty good," you said looking at Josh, who also nodded his head in compliance. "What would also sound cool is if you gave it a little vibrato during a live show."

Jake smiled writing the commentary down on a sticky note. "You know, for not knowing how to play, you really are smart with this kind of stuff." You glared your eyes at him, snickering just a little bit. Everyone worked for a couple of more hours, before calling it a night. Danny and Sam were practically sleeping on each other.

You shook Sam awake, snatching his car keys from his hand. "We'll both be dead if you drive, and were the most important in the band. Well, besides Danny. And Jake. And Josh." You twirled the keys around your finger while Sam stretched to get awake. Josh flipped all the pages over in his journal, turning to you. "We got pretty far today, don't you think?" Josh smiled at his brothers, who were already arguing about something. "Yeah. Maybe we'll get better stuff done tomorrow, you know. This is supposed to be the 'fun' part," you said using air quotations, "but the most boring part out of everything. But maybe, in the end, it'll all be worth it." you hit Josh's arm softly.

"Are you going with Sam?" you nodded quickly. "Yeah, I kind of promised him I would help him with some stuff in the morning." Josh looked sadder than ever. You smiled at Josh, noticing Sam waiting by the door with Jake and Danny. "I'll see you later." You gave Josh a quick kiss on the head.

"Let's go." you wiggled a finger at Sam, practically dragging him to the car. The ride to Sam's house was fairly quiet other than the little snores coming from him. It was nice to get a moment or two of peace to yourself. Working and living with four grown men gave no room for privacy. Everything is shared between you all. Which you had to admit, scared you a little at first because you've always grown up with a sister and maybe a few girlfriends here and there; but you were never as close to them, then as you were to the band.

The house was quiet when you walked in, dark and dim from the night sky. Sam immediately walked to his bedroom, and passed out on his bed. Which left you alone in the kitchen. Putting some of the items away in cabinets, you looked around at all the brothers' family photos, including some of Danny. It made you smile to yourself to see some of them so young and happy. Maybe a little vulnerable too. You were a little envious of how confident some of them had been with their work, just being able to put themselves out there, accepting failure. Not you though. Failure made you angry, furious even. Sometimes it got so bad, you'd hide away for days without any contact with the outside world.

After putting all the trash away, you headed back to the spare room. You turned on all the lights, changing into some warmer clothing. Crawling under the sheets, sleep came easy that night.

-

When you woke up, the blinds had been left the night before causing you to shoot out of bed. Quickly rubbing your eyes, you went to the bathroom to clean up a bit. When you walked towards the kitchen, your feet padded beneath you. Sam still wasn't up, which was pretty normal. You started some coffee and cooked breakfast for the two of you. Though, something triggered you to open a forbidden drawer and bum a cigarette. Quickly lighting it, you messed around with food until it was cooked.

"A cigarette at 8 in the morning?" Sam questioned groggily, clad in just sweatpants. "Well, you know me; I only smoke when I'm forgetting something." You both said in unison. You quickly waved him off, pouring food onto a plate for both of you. "I wonder WHO you're forgetting." You scrunched your face, looking around the room. "What do you mean who?" Sam scoffed. "Josh," You quickly rolled your eyes, slamming the plate down on the table "Eat the fucking food you loser." You both contently ate in peace while making some playful banter here and there. "So what exactly do you need help with?" Sam pulled out a cigarette from the cartridge, silently lighting.

"I need help with a decision." Sam stared at you while you nodded your in question, pretending like you at least understood what he was talking about. "Look, I just want you to go with me to buy another bass, ok. And I want to go to the record store." Narrowing your eyes, you pulled the cigarette from him. "I feel like this is something completely different than what you're telling me." Sam shook his head slowly. "Nope. I still want to keep the mint-colored bass, but I just want to have a cool collection, you know. Oh, let's buy something expensive!" He pointed the smoke at you, while you collected the dishes to put in the sink. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, please. We can not go broke. Not like last time." You shuddered at the thought.

"Thanks for the food. I'm gonna get ready." You flinched your eyebrows and kept washing the dishes, putting them in the dishwasher. You quickly went back to the room for a change of clothes. By the time you were done, Sam was waiting at the door for you. Grabbing your coat and your shoes, you both headed out the door. Sam was walking coolly beside you, as you both looked around the town. Shops were lining down the small street, with cars passing through. He put his arm around your shoulder as you both passed through large crowds. Finally finding the music shop, you both walked in, heading to a certain section.

"So remind me," He paused to look at a sleek grey bass, flipping it over a couple of times. "Why don't you ever get with Josh? I mean he obviously likes you." You scoffed a little bit at his statement. "I thought we were here for you Sam, not to talk about me." You picked up a dark wood bass, showing it to Sam. "I mean with that same logic why don't I ever get with you? I mean we're close, right?" He rolled his eyes, still playing with the instrument you showed him.

"I think I like this one." Sam brought it up to the counter, talking to the girl up front. Who seemed to really enjoy the conversation they were having. Turning on your heel, you waited by the door playing with some random drum sticks. Sam eventually walked over and led you out. "It'll be delivered in a couple of weeks. I bought a whole new one." You pursed your lips smiling at Sam. "Did you also manage to snag that poor girl's number?"

Sam pushed you upside the head as you walked into the record store. You both parted ways looking at different sections. You flipped through vintage albums, picking out random ones you thought everyone would enjoy. After looking through some more, Sam found you and walked to the front to pay. "You found quite a lot there," Sam said, peeking through the ones in your hand.

"Yeah, figured I could add a bit to my very depressing collection." you chuckled, looking at one of the sleek covers. "Don't you have like two?" you glared back at Sam. "Which I believe are both of your band's albums." Sam laughed. You both paid, bags in hand.

"So what now?" you asked Sam as you both mindlessly walked around. "Probably go home. Want me to take you back?" You nodded in agreement and headed back to his car.

-

After saying goodbye to Sam, you walked back up the stairs to your apartment. When you opened the door, Josh appeared from your room, causing you to nearly break the table in the hallway.

"What the hell Josh!" He shrugged his shoulders, making his way to the couch. "What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting until you got back from hanging out with my brother. What were you two doing anyway?" Pouring a glass of water from the sink, you took a sip, and made your way to the couch next to Josh. You leaned your head back on the cushion, staring at the ceiling. "Sam bought a pretty hefty bass, and bought more records." You looked over at Josh. "What about you?"

"Well you know," he sighed. "Tried to work on writing up some new lyrics. Even went over to Danny's and Jake's to work some stuff out. It's coming along nicely." Setting the cup down on the coffee table, you looped an arm around Josh's, leaning your head on his shoulder. "Good. It'll come out beautifully in the end," you said patting his hand. You sniffed, sitting up in your seat. "Are you staying for dinner?" Josh hummed looking up at you. "Oh yeah. I was actually wondering if I could stay for the night; get's kind of lonely at my place." You nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine." You walked over to the kitchen. "Anything in mind you want to eat?" you asked. "Uh, how about that chicken. The one you make with the rice, mushrooms, and asparagus." You started to pull out the pots and pans, placing them on the stove. You leaned back on the counter watching everything cook. To be quite frank, you didn't know how you would handle Josh staying over. Of course, you and Josh were rather close, it even shocked people that you knew each other so well. After all, he knew you better than your own blood.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. On one hand, it would give you time to think some things over and ponder the questions Sam had asked you earlier today. And then you could for sure decide what you wanted to do. You grabbed some plates and moved the food over to the table. Josh was already seated, patiently awaiting your arrival.

"Looks good, as always." he complimented, raising his hands towards you. "Thanks, Josh." you smiled.

"So," he said, chewing his food. "What happened at the music store?" Rolling your eyes at the thought of Sam annoying you, you told him about how he was flirting with the girl at the front desk. "I mean just giggling, and laughing, it was like watching teenagers make out." You made a small coughing noise thinking about Sam flirting with that poor girl. "But, you know, as they say, there's someone for everyone," you said sarcastically, shaking your head. Josh let out a high-pitched laugh at Sam. "That's Sam for you. He bore you with anything else?"

You thought about all the moments were Sam had bullied you over liking Josh or falling in love with Josh. Of course, you loved Josh but you weren't sure whether you were 'in love' with him per se. He was practically your other half. Nobody else could compare to that. But it was hard to decipher whether you even liked him like that. "You know. The usual; stuff about when you all were younger and more embarrassing moments."

Josh covered his face with his hands, groaning. "I hope it wasn't all too bad." He shook his head, eating the last bits of food. "Not at all, actually." As you both finished your plates, you sat in comfortable silence. That was until Josh spoke out about something.

"Hey remember that time- ugh geez, when was it," he asked, pressing on his face. "Probably around the time I first met you, and I pretty much knew then you hated my fucking guts, man" You let out a breath at the thought of Josh thinking you hated him. "But that was also the time I kept catching you listening to the album at the time. Just over and over and over again." Josh just shook his head thinking of you. "I didn't- hate you," you confessed. "I just really didn't know how to be around people so much. I did like that album though." you laughed, pointing at Josh. Who also laughed along with you. "Look, I'm sorry I made you feel that way; I just, I've never really had close friends like you." Before he could say anything back, you picked up the plates, placing them in the sink.

From inside the kitchen, you could hear him talking to his brothers on the phone. The usual screaming, laughing, and anger from whatever stupid joke someone told. It honestly made you wish you were closer to your own sister. Whom you haven't spoken to in the past ten years. After you finished off with the dishes, you walked to your bedroom. Which was hard to admit, but you had an entire wall full of Greta Van Fleet photos from when you first started working with them because you had a hard time telling who was who.

"Oh, I remember these photos!" Josh exclaimed as walked into your room. He marveled at all the photos you had printed out and plastered on the wall. Some even had labels of all the boy's names. "Yeah, a little creepy, don't you think?"

Josh shrugged. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because you didn't know who we were, and I know some people have a hard time differentiating between us twins." You turned around and opened up the bag full of record vinyl, handing some to Josh. "Here, I bought some for you earlier, and I figured I could use some- given the only two I have are from your band." He giggled, flipping through the different albums. "Oh, Bob Dylan! What a legend and old Michael Jackson! Very good stuff." You patted his shoulder as you put away all the other albums on a shelf.

"So, the spare bedroom should be good-" Josh cut you off. "I was hoping to sleep with you, actually. Unless that makes you too uncomfortable." You nearly choked on your own spit when Josh asked you that. You really didn't think he'd be that lonely. "Um, no that's fine. I'm sure I have someone's clothes here you can use." He grinned.

"Thanks." You handed him some spare clothes and left him to change in the bathroom. When you returned he was already tucked in, facing the wall with the pictures. Turning off the light, you quietly slid in next to him. You'd never really been in this much of an intimate situation, no less next to Josh. It wasn't awkward, but it was just hard to decipher the feelings of the both of you, and where he was going with his suggestion. "Can I ask you something?" Josh whispered. He turned around to face you closer.

"What was your initial thought when you first met me?" You laughed a little to yourself. "When I first met you I wanted to be exactly like you." Josh propped himself up on his elbow, leaning even closer to you.

"What about me?" he asked. "I don't know. You were always so confident, and the way you carried yourself; just, it made me so mad and angry that I couldn't be like that. Maybe that's why it came off that I hated you a little bit." Josh laid back down.

"Listen, you'll always be the best thing that happened to me. When I first met you, I thought you had the most brilliant mind out of everyone I ever met. Except for Danny. He's got an excellent brain." You smacked his arm laughing out loud.

"Thank you, Josh." You rolled over onto your side, hoping to fall asleep soon. Before you did though, you felt Josh slip an arm around your side; his face falling into the back of your neck. Soon, both of you fell asleep together.

-

When morning came the next day, Josh was still entangled in your back, but this time his arm was hugging you tighter. At any slight movement, he just pulled you closer. Finally giving up from moving away from Josh, you laid there silently in his arms. You silently traced the creases in his hand, thinking absentmindedly. He stirred a tiny bit but never woke. You took this time to turn around and look at him. His arm still wrapped around tightly on your shoulder; causing you to bury your face into his chest.

Inhaling his warm scent, you just about closed your eyes imagining a world where you were in love with him, and he loved you back. At this moment, he started to finally wake up. You decided to keep your eyes closed, too embarrassed to see what his reaction would be to find you both like this. You could feel Josh's eyes looking around the room before they made their way down to you. Feeling the certainty of him staring down at you made you panic a little. But then you could feel his hand start to part through your hair, moving it out of your face. His movement followed by leaning forward, giving you a long slow kiss on the forehead.

Then there was the fine sensation of his lips lingering on your skin. He started whispering your name, shaking you awake. You slowly blinked your eyes to make it look like you hadn't really been awake all this time. He smiled brightly when you both made eye contact. "Good morning," he said softly. You smiled, placing a hand on his chest. "Good morning Josh."

Letting out a little yawn, you turned over and sat up on the side of the bed. You sipped on some water that had been on you bedside for a while, then stretched out. "What do you plan on doing today?" you asked groggily. "Everyone wanted to meet up today and go over some stuff. Wanna join?" you quickly nodded your head.

"Great. Well then, I'll go take a shower and get ready." He walked away silently, leaving you all alone once more. Deciding against the better of things, you too got up to shower. While waiting for the water to heat up, you traced against the spots where Josh's hand had been.

It's like there was a space left on you, but you could only feel the invisible touch leftover from him. Jumping in the shower felt like you were committing a terrible sin. The handprint of Josh washed away as every drop of water hit your body. But it felt just as warm and comforting as him. After quickly getting dressed, you met Josh at the front door who was holding it open for you. The crisp autumn air surprised you in the face when you walked outside. The sidewalks weren't too busy but crowded to perfection

You both got in the car and drove to the studio. Everyone was already there by the time you two made it; For some reason, Josh had wanted to stop to get everyone coffee and a bagel, which you really couldn't say no to. Sam raised his eyebrows at you when you walked in with Josh pretty late. You hit him on the arm lightly. Sam rubbed the part of his arm, cursing you off. Everyone, including you, walked into a backroom set with all the instruments anyone could think of, and two very well-loved on couches.

The lights in the room were set to a dim, vintage-style brown, illuminating everyone's tan features. Josh handed the food out, starting the conversation. It varied from topic to topic.

"How is everyone?"

"Are there new ideas anyone wants to talk about?"

"How about we do this instead of that."

Josh snapped his fingers in front of your face, waving his hand around. "Hey silly, I asked you a question." you looked up quickly, meeting everyone's gaze. "Huh?"

"I said do you have any ideas on what we should wear?" You pulled out a small sketchbook from your jacket pocket showing Josh, and the rest of the band on the different aesthetics for clothing. "I was thinking about stitching some nudity art on the back for Josh. I'll probably go shopping for some silk and thread. I found this really cool jacket piece for Jake; I'll add some things on it, and a shiny blazer for Sam. As for Danny, I found these really nice pants, but I have to tailor them. I'm still trying to find a smooth shirt to go with."

You wrote down some reminder notes giving the rest some time to process anything and get started. Josh sat next to you on one of the couches, pulling out his note journal. He pointed out some of the lyrics, whispering to himself before showing it to you. "I came up with these this morning." your cheeks turned red, though you doubt Josh could see given how dark it was. You read through the lines in each glorious manner. They each had a delicate touch to them, written with something personal

It reminded you of something ethereal. Like being in outer space, and getting to look at all the planets from afar. "What are you thinking?" Josh asked. You let out a short breath before answering. "I think it's good. Really good in fact. I can feel it's personal to you, you know."

Before he could respond, there was a line of curses causing you both to look up. Jake was yelling at himself and the guitar in his hands with a tiny string poking out from the neck of the guitar.

"This fucking piece of shit keeps breaking," he he groaned, with gritted teeth. Rolling your eyes, you went to the other grabbing some new guitar strings. Handing them back Jake, he mumbled out a thank you. "Guess what, it's not that hard to get up and get new strings, Jake. I just did it by myself." Everyone laughed at your taunting to Jake, getting rid of his frustrated mood.

"Well, you're the best." He poked your shoulder. You headed back to another room to think about some more things. Possibly about Josh; but the majority for the band. Really working with them, never gave you time to put yourself out there. Which wasn't a terrible thing. In fact, you preferred not to out. You've always had a one-track mind. Focused too much on one thing, forgetting completely about anything else. It's probably why you'd failed out of most schools during your high school and college career. It always ended up being too much for your brain to handle.

Maybe that's what you feared most. Things always getting in the way; either making you angry, or angry enough to run away and never look back. You didn't want that with Josh. Nor did you want that for this band. You made some more scratch notes, listening to the muffled sound of music. After a while, you doodled in your notebook for some clothing ideas. Stitching had been one of the many skills that stuck with you since when. You never really knew where you learned to do such a thing.

Josh always told you how marvelous your work was. That it belonged in a museum of some sort. He knew somehow that you'd do great things with art. When sketching became boring, you shopped around online for some fabric, and thread, ordering what you needed. When finished some smaller portions of work, you fell back on the couch pushing your hair out of your face. Josh walked in at the right time, pulling you back into the studio.

"We hashed some things out, figured what don't and do want for some of the songs. Think we'll be ready to record in a few weeks." All the boys cheered each other on, pushing each other around. "I think this calls for a celebration over some drinks."

"Great idea. There's a bar a couple of blocks from here. What do you say?" Everyone hummed in agreement, piling out the door. Josh had a hand on your back as he walked you out through all the doors.

-

When you walked inside there were a few people seated around. It wasn't overbearing crazy. Everyone took a seat at the bar ordering drinks. You had already taken a couple of tequila shots to loosen up for the night. "So tell me," Josh slouched down in his seat. "What do you think the future holds for this band." You giggled, already a little drunk.

"What I think doesn't matter Josh. I think that you'll be successful in whatever you choose to do. I think it's you as the leader to help everyone along. In my opinion, they're here to support you and your ideas. I mean, of course, they have their own input but you get what I'm saying." Josh nodded along, sipping his drink. "That's quite a mouthful, but yeah. I'd do anything for these people. For Christ's sake, three of them are my brothers. And Danny I've known for like ever." He pointed to them, which they were all fighting about something.

Josh shook his head, looking down at the floor. He placed a hand on your shoulder as he left for another drink. Sam soon replaced Josh, slouching in the same position. "What were you two talking about." He waved a finger around your face. To which, you quickly swatted away. "He loves you, Sam. We love you. I love you, Sam."

Sam pursed his lips, squinting his eyes. "You're that drunk already?" You hummed looking at your watch seeing as only twenty minutes had passed. "Well Sam, the night's still young, so I'm willing to get fucking wasted if you are." He quickly nodded his head, ordering the two of you more drinks. As the night went on, all of you managed to play twelve rounds of pool (none of which you won), a game of cards, and meet totally random people. You, including the boys, were completely wasted and it wasn't even one in the morning. Danny and Jake had left to go god knows where, leaving you, Sam, and Josh talking to some random girl at a table. Looking over at Josh, you felt your heart hurt a little.

Sometimes you wish you had the assertiveness that Josh had to talk to him. Deep down you knew he would never reject you. He would randomly bring up why you never got together, but you always dismissed the conversation too scared of what might happen. Sam slipped next to you, turning his chair around to face you. He followed your line of sight, his eyes landing on Josh laughing with the same girl who's been here for hours.

"Look, if it pisses you off that much, talk to him later. It's not like he's gonna hate you for the rest of his life. He practically loves you to death." You shook your head, taking another drink of your beer. "I'm just- I'm not mad- I'll just never be able to be that person who can just randomly walk up to a person and fall 'in love' with them." You cried. Every time you think about it, you just want to go to bed and hide. "But how come I never end up with people like you or Jake or even sweet people like Danny. Why does it have to be Josh?"

Sam sat up in his chair, turning it back around to face the bar. "Why don't you try it. Maybe you fighting inside that big head of yours really doesn't like Josh after all." Sam said as he cradled your face, shaking it around. "Really?" Sam shrugged. "What's the worse that can happen? If something happens, so be it. Never hurts to try anything."

Sam bent down quickly, kissing you softly. His lips felt smooth against yours like running a hand over pliable silk. He swiftly ran a hand through your hair, pulling your face closer to his. Finally, he pulled away, smiling down at you.

"Nope." you shook your head. "Well hey, at least we know." He patted your shoulder, walking away towards a game of cards being played.

-

The next day you woke up with an intense headache. There was some leftover water and Ibuprofen on your nightstand. You didn't know how you made it back home or really remember anything at all from the night before.

You downed the pill and some water, making your way slowly to the bathroom, balancing yourself on a wall. You turned on the shower letting the hot water settle the uneasiness in your stomach. The pounding inside your head kept going on for what felt like hours. It didn't help either that you were trying so hard to remember the night before. Of course, you knew that you drank more than you could handle. Then there was Sam. But it all stopped there.

The shower helped a little bit. You danced around to find some clothes to get ready, or at least look decent. After getting ready, you drove back to Sam's. When he opened the door, you noticed Jake and Danny were there already. Except for no Josh. Not that it was out of the ordinary, it was just something you expected.

You made your way through his kitchen, pulling out a cigarette. "I don't think you really wanna be smoking that right now." You glared at him before putting the smoke out. "Um, do you remember what happened last night?" You asked, rubbing the small spot on your head in hopes to get rid of the pain. Sam bit into a piece of food, answering with his mouth full. "We kissed. Yeah," he nodded in assurance. "Yeah, we kissed." You let your head fall into your hands, groaning.

"How'd I get home?" Sam hummed, pointing his piece of food at you. "Josh. Although, he seemed pretty pissed at me. You were also super drunk." Right, you thought. Of course, this would happen to you. Partially you blamed yourself for being so stuck-up and bitchy most of the time, but part of you wishes Sam just pushed you away. Why were you so indecisive all the damn time? For once, it would be nice if you could make a whole-hearted decision without going out and fucking everything up.

You scratched around your eye, watching Sam as he went to go sit next to Jake.

4 weeks later. . .

It really had been almost a whole month that you had gone without talking to Josh. Some nights you wish you could pick up your phone and just text him, but you know it would go unnoticed. It hurt just a little bit. Every day you blamed yourself for screwing things up. When was it not your fault that something went wrong?

You sat bored at home. You tried to catch up on different things like laundry, cleaning, reorganizing literally everything, but nothing seemed to work. You muffled curses under your breath at nothing. That was until you got a text from Jake saying that everyone needed your 'strong womanly brain' to work with. Over the four-week period, you hadn't really talked with the other band members except for Danny (who seriously cares for anybody and everything), and Sam who just random stuff.

You flipped through a random magazine, flipping through the pages reading about the different styles and how to flaunt them. That was until a text from Sam disturbed you saying that everyone needed you at the studio ASAP.

You ran to your door faster than ever, quickly putting on your coat and shoes. When you arrived, no one was seen at first, so you went to the back and everyone was gathered around in a large, huddled circle. Jake was the first to greet you, Sam following close behind.

"Hey! I haven't seen you in a long time." Jake towered over you, pulling you into his side. "Yeah, my mom called. Wanted me to go see her." you lied, looking at Sam, who had just turned in the other direction. "Well, I hope she's doing good. Look, I wanted to see your opinion on some things. Just general stuff, okay?" you nodded. He led you back to a table and passed some papers around, and a little CD that had pre-recorded music. Before any of you could speak though, a door creaked loudly, and out came Josh with a petite girl beside him. His smile immediately disappeared when his eyes landed on you.

The girl looked. . . nice. In other words, she looked like a pleasant enough girl Josh would pick from a crowd. She had a tan, rich skin like his. With wavy, brown hair. Unlike Josh, she had more hazel-green eyes. Everyone stood there awkwardly, looking around at each other. You scratched the top of your head, eyes facing down towards the table. Jake cleared his throat before grabbing a seat for Josh, and the girl.

And of course, to make more room they were both seated in between you and Jake, making her sit right next to you. You smiled nervously towards her as she got herself situated. For a while, you stared at the velvet walls as Jake led on the conversation. You felt a little poke on your arm and noticed she was trying to talk to you.

"Hi, I'm Logan," she whispered. The one thing you noticed about Logan was her smile. It reminded you of Josh. His naturally bright teeth could make anyone instantly happier. "Y/N," you said curtly. You weren't the one to start a conversation, but luckily she made it easy.

"So, how do you know Josh?" she asked, pointing to him. You played around with your nails, turning to look at her. "Uh, I work for him," Not 'I'm his best friend or anything. Totally just ruined the relationship I had by kissing his younger brother because I'm really in love with the man your dating' "And them too, of course." you gave a hesitant laugh, pointing to the rest of them. She bit her lip, turning to listen to the conversation, and then back to you.

"How long have you known all of them, or like worked for them I guess?"

"Around three years. This will be my fourth I think." she nodded with your answer. Finally, she turned back around to listen to what Josh was saying.

You looked back down at the disc, swirling it around on the table. This is hard, you thought. It's all you can think about. Logan's so kind towards you; not the weirdly hostile type. She's not annoying, not inconclusive about anything. Logan's perfect in her own way. She's perfect to Josh. Something you've always wanted, but you, yourself stopped you from having.

"So, uh Y/N, can you take a listen to the CD?" Jake asked you. "Yeah. It'll just be a little later though. I have to finish some other stuff." There was silence as everyone stared at you. Including Josh, who seemed to have a permanent look on you.

"I can listen; if you're busy," Logan speaking up caught you by surprise. It may have angered you a bit because that was your job, to listen. You just looked back at Sam anxiously, who shook his head at you.

"Oh, my bad," Josh said loudly. "This is my girlfriend- Logan. Who you have all met before, but not Y/N. Forgot to introduce you two." If everyone hadn't been in the room right now, you would've gotten up and hit him right across the head. Logan kindly smiled back at you. "Yeah, we were talking earlier," She said pointing to you. "Well, as I said, I can listen if you can't."

If it was anybody else, you would've said something back already. But who were you to yell at this kind, beautiful woman next to you? Though, Sam must've read you wrong since quietly grabbed your wrist. "Sure," you said, handing the CD to Logan. Sitting back in your chair, defeated, what else were you supposed to do?

-

Another lousy week passed, and you wanted to jump off a roof. It had been raining for the past few days, never letting up once. No one had really made contact with you except Danny (you secretly loved him to death), and Sam. You were pretty sure the rest had picked up on the tense atmosphere and didn't want to bother you. No doubt, you probably wouldn't want to speak with yourself either.

You shrugged off a sweater, playing with the end of your sheets. Life was so boring now without any entertainment from anyone. You eventually rolled over on your back, staring a hole into the ceiling. You went over every excuse and explanation you could give to Josh. You understood why he was mad, you figured that much. But sometimes you wish he had his smart wisdom back to understand you better.

You fell to the floor sometime later, reading something random off the shelf. You flipped through the pages mindlessly before you heard some knocking at your door. You ran quickly, opening the door to find Sam standing there with bottles of gin and tequila in his hand. Laughing quietly, you led him inside, finding some bottles for drinks.

"What brings you around?" you raised your eyebrows, pouring some tequila for you and Sam. "Josh," he cleared his throat, taking a few sips. "What about Josh?" Trying to hold your breath, made you curious as to why Josh's younger brother was so angry at him. In fact, you wanted to burst out laughing. "He's so stubborn with everything, and the way he talks about you. God- it's like- I've never seen so much hatred from him." Sam shook his head downing the rest of his drink. He poured some more in his cup and your cup.

You took Sam's hand leading him to your room. You put on Labi Siffre, an old, classic album. You also turned on one of your dim colored lights. They lit up Sam's cheekbones perfectly, making his pale skin glow flawlessly. It looked smooth enough to run a finger over and feel the gentle, velvety skin of Sam.

"How does he talk about me?" Sam closed his eyes, thinking. "He just doesn't let go of the subject. Anytime you or I come up, it's just this rage of fury from him. He almost shuts down essentially. You know," he burped. "They all went out tonight."

You hummed at that. "They all went out, leaving behind you and me." You scoffed at the thought of Josh with Logan at your favorite bar or restaurant. "I'm so sorry Sam." You rubbed his arm, looking down at the floor next to your bed. "That was you and your brother's relationship, and I just," you flicked your hands, making a whoosh sound. Sam laughed, leaning into your side. "Don't worry about it. I like helping you out. Josh can be a little much sometimes."

You elbowed him in the side thinking about something. "Hey whatever happened to the girl from the music shop? You ever talk to her lately?"

"Yeah," he huffed out. "We've been talking lately. She wants to meet up sometime soon, but I don't know." You cocked your head to the side. "Why not. You clearly like her and she really likes you. I don't remember when the last time some actually liked you." Sam pretended he was hurt, pushing you to the side. "I'll ask her sometime when I'm not busy. She's nice."

"And pretty?" you questioned. Sam let out a laugh, swirling the alcohol in his cup. "Very pretty." You both let out sighs sitting in comfortable silence. Although, your mind was occupied with thoughts of Josh, swirling around and never-ending. There were times you just wanted to get up and say fuck it and try to at least explain. But of course, the rejection of him never wanting to be your friend again would kill you. Maybe this was the universe's cruel way of saying you and Josh were never meant to be together in the first place.

If so, you hated it.

-

Surprisingly, Sam was the first to wake up. Which rarely happens considering how well you knew him. The poor boy slept through everything. He started shaking you awake, poking and tickling your sides. "Are you dead, jeez?" You quickly rubbed your eyes, sitting up. "Sorry, the alcohol must've really knocked me out." Sam stifled a yawn, sitting on the edge of your bed. "Well, we can do one of two things today," he noted. "We can either go to the studio and face my brother, or we can- do nothing else. That's really it. I kind of swore I would be there today."

You couldn't stay inside any longer. You decided against the greater good to tag along with Sam. Maybe you could talk with Josh, and clear the air. "Can I go with you?" Sam nodded feverishly. "Of course; that's like your job."

"It doesn't feel like it. Logan's pretty much taking over, so what's the point of me." You scoffed thinking of the mellow girl who seemed to get along with everyone. You hated to slander her, but you just wanted Josh back. You and Sam left in a rush, hastily driving to the studio. You walked inside with a cigarette dangling from your lips, smoke escaping through your nose. Sweat seeped from your palms making you excited and nervous at the same time. You felt like an outsider coming in on your job. Thinking about seeing Josh made it worse.

"Hello, Hello Y/N" Danny strutted over, hairs sticking to his forehead. He pulled you in for a tight hug, nearly suffocating you. "Hey, Daniel." you moved the hairs around his face so you could see him better. "Long time, no see, man." He laughed walking back to his seat behind the drum kit. You followed Sam to the other rooms where Jake and Josh might be hiding. Sure enough, Josh was standing next to his twin, listening to a riff he was playing. They immediately stopped talking to each other. Josh scoffed at you as Sam led you inside, beside him.

"Look what the cat dragged in!" Josh said it lowly, spitting it towards you. Your eyes looked down, not daring to ever lookup. "Hey Josh," Sam patted him on the shoulder. You looked awkwardly around the room looking for a means to escape. When you realized there wasn't one, you looked back at Josh. He quietly talked to Jake about something before turning to you. You tried to look away fast enough, but his eyes caught yours. Josh started to stalk close to you, exhaling a breath. "Hey," you thought he might've not heard you, but his response caught you off guard.

"Hey, Y/N" He sniffled a little bit before turning towards you. "Care to take a walk with me? Could use some fresh air." You nodded your head silently, following after him. If your anxiety hadn't kicked in yet, it sure as hell did now. Josh was never a person to scare you. He was too light and giddy for him to be somewhat freighting.

He walked slightly behind you with a hand on the small of your back. Josh eventually let go of you when you both made it to the sidewalk. The people around you made the silence slightly more comfortable but you wished you had something to think about other than Josh. After a few more moments of silence, you decided to speak up, but Josh beat you to it. "I'm sorry for being an ass," he cleared it all out on one breath. You scoffed at him. "I think you were being more than an ass, Josh." He suddenly slowed his walking to match your pace.

"You pretty much left me in the wind. I thought I lost my best friend," you nudged him softly in the ribcage, laughing. He held a hand over his chest, heaving out a relieved breath. "I thought you were going to hate me forever." You pointed at him before saying: "Pull anything like that again, and I'll do more than just hate you forever."

Josh held his hands up abruptly like you had caught him stealing something. "I promise." You smirked. The both of you walked around endlessly making small talk here and there. Part of you was glad that you and Josh had cleared the air. Although, you hadn't really talked with him about Sam. It embarrassed you just thinking about the whole situation.

After you made a full round of the streets, Josh walked you back inside the studio. It was hours before anyone ever got to go home. The moon had fully risen and was shining brightly in the sky. You stared up like a child, holding on tightly to your coat. When you were making your way towards Sam's car Josh had grabbed you by the elbow.

"Y/N," Josh fiddled around with the collar of his jacket, looking down at the concrete. Even though it was pitch black outside, you could tell Josh's face was heating up. "I was wondering if you wanted to come back with me? I know Sam was taking you home, but I still feel like we need to talk." A small smile started to quickly form. You nodded not thinking about the harm that could come from staying with Josh.

"Yeah, sure." you let a hesitant sigh before following him once more. When you arrived inside Josh's home it felt almost foreign. There were slightly disheveled things around, but nothing had really changed. It still had all the same scattered records on the coffee table as well as random books set around the countertops. Josh flipped on the light switch and went towards the kitchen. He came back out and handed you a cup of water before taking off his coat.

"I know, it's been a long time since we spoke," he started. "or even hung out together."

You nodded, sipping some of the water. "Yeah, I kind of missed that."

-

After you and Josh got situated, he led you back to his room. There was a dim lamp, along with some new fairy lights scattered around the ceiling. "Fairy lights?" You pointed to the little bulbs sparkling brightly. "Oh, yeah," Josh was picking out a record, finally placing it on the player. It was an album you hadn't heard before, but it seemed to fit the mood well enough. Looking around for a little bit longer you come to find some old pictures on the floor. Squatting down, you noticed they were photos of his brothers and Daniel when they were younger. But what really caught your attention was a stack neatly dedicated to you.

Some of the photos had showcased some of you and Josh's late adventures, and the concerts you had appeared to. One in particular in which Josh had his arms wrapped around your middle, seated around a bonfire. That was a night you remember very clearly. That was when you realized how much you loved Josh. He never left your side and coddled you close to him. The memory warmed your heart making it beat a tiny bit faster.

"That was a very hot summer night if I remember correctly." Josh peered over your shoulder, studying the picture. "Yeah, it was. Then I passed out inside the van right after that," you laughed loudly, tossing your head back. Running a finger over your face in the picture still reminiscing on the sweet memory, you could feel Josh watching you from across the room.

"Can you come up here for a sec?" Josh patted his mattress, motioning to you. You could tell he was nervous still when he started to fumble around with his nails, not making much eye contact. "Do you remember when I asked you why you envied me so much?" He let out a slow breath, nudging you a little bit with his elbow. You realized the change in the situation and started to mirror his nervous tics.

"Yeah, I just- wish I could carry myself like you. You're always the most confident person in the room; you know things Josh that no one could ever know." The two of you sat in silence for a little bit after you answered. Josh hesitated before speaking again but continued on after pondering for a bit. "Well, I never felt that way around you. For the longest time, I would beat myself up just thinking about how wonderful you are Y/N. The way you think of me is how I always thought of you. Just not as confident because of how quiet you are sometimes." He laughed out the last part making you smile back.

"God, sometimes I just want to cry because of how amazing you are Y/N. Everything you've done for this band, everything you've done for me; I just - I love you." You slowly turned your head to look at Josh, replaying the words over and over again in your head.

He loves you.

"I'm going to assume you mean in it in that way Josh or this would be very embarrassing." Josh snickered, putting both hands on the side of your face. "I mean it in every way possible." He finally pressed his lips to yours, feeling the velvet touch of each other. Josh ran his fingers through your hair, pressing his tongue in an open-mouthed kiss. You moaned quietly when he started to press kisses along your jaw, down to your neck. You could feel his hands start to travel down to your waist, hugging you tightly as it showed in the picture.

Josh continued to bite down on your skin and sucked, leaving bright red marks behind. His fingers squeezed down on your hips before traveling under your shirt. He placed a knee between your legs, pushing you further into the mattress. You looked at each other momentarily as Josh slipped you out of your shirt. He ran his hands over your stomach making you flinch at the sudden touch.

"Josh," His name came out as a whine as Josh slipped off your bra, throwing it towards the floor. You caught the look of awe when his eyes landed on your breasts, your chest heaving slightly. He returned to kissing down your neck making his way down your collar bone. Your hands made their way to his hair, tugging at it when his mouth made contact with your nipple.

He sucked gently, swirling his tongue around the hardened bud. All you could think about was the euphoric thoughts running through your brain. All you could see were stars, showing up in random directions making you lost in the feeling. Josh continued for a while before slowly traveling down to your legs.

Josh looked at you for approval, to which you vaguely nodded in return, before pulling off your pants. You shuddered at the delicate touch of his fingers ghosting along your skin. His hands traveled back up your calves, pressing at your thighs. The room suddenly became too hot as his fingers wrapped around the strap of your underwear, pulling them down your legs. Your breathing was so ragged by now that you thought Josh might've pointed it out already, but he continued to stare down at you with the most mesmerizing look in his eyes. You knew at this point if this had been anyone else, you probably would've wanted to hide under the bed. Something so comforting about Josh made it feel natural to in his grasps.

Josh started down at your ankles, pressing hard kisses up your legs. He hovered over your pelvis just before kissing around your clit. Your legs immediately started to close at the feeling, but his hand pushed them back farther. "Josh, oh my god!" You moaned out into nothing. He continued sucking hard on your clit making the stars in your head come closer to earth.

"Josh, please," Your hands pulled at his curls as he lapped around your center. "You're so fucking wet for me Y/N. Jesus," He moaned into your heat making you squirm on the bed.

"Please Josh, use your fingers, please." You whined mercilessly at the thought of coming around his fingers. It wasn't long before you felt two fingers drag inside of you, along with the feeling of him sucking your clit. You could feel yourself getting nearer to your orgasm as he curled his fingers against your g-spot. "Josh, don't fucking stop!"

At the perfect moment, everything seemed to fall apart in the most beautiful way. You leaned your head back into the pillow as your vision turned white with little black dots appearing randomly. Josh's breath fanned over your heat before he stood up to take off some of his clothes.

"Can't really have sex if I'm still dressed like I'm going to fucking prom or something, Jesus." You giggled loudly while you watched him crawl back over you. Josh pressed a soft kiss to your lips, grinding his hips against you. Your hand slowly ran over his chest, grabbing onto his belt. You fumbled around until you managed to get it undone along with his pants. Josh stared at your face, admiring your features. "I don't think I'll be able to take you seriously for much longer if you don't do something," you whispered.

"Oh yeah?" Josh raised an eyebrow, smiling at you. You slowly reached past his briefs making contact with his hard-on, causing him to moan quietly and start kissing you again.

"Uh, I don't think I have any condoms on me; I didn't really envision fucking you tonight." You smirked, wrapping your arms around his neck. "It's okay. I'm on the pill." You pulled his underwear down, hiking your legs around his hips loosely. You could feel yourself getting wetter as he passively rolled his forefinger over your clit. You kissed him hard, sucking on his tongue. "Fuck me, please," you begged. Josh looked deeply into your eyes, then grabbing your legs and wrapping them around his hips, tightly. He teased you, rubbing himself up and down your center.

You exhaled as he entered you, wrapping a hand around his bicep to steady yourself. Josh's head fell into your neck, feeling his warm breath as he trusted in slowly. He lifted his head to kiss you; He used his hand to move the hairs out of your face, wrapping it around your cranium. "You are so- prepossessing." He whispered, his thrust becoming faster.

Your nails dug into his shoulder blades after he set such a brutal pace that you didn't think you'd be able to keep up with. You took note of how his curls stuck to his forehead. Whenever he thrust in, you could feel yourself getting closer and closer. His thrust started to shake the bed only spurring you on more. Your hands grabbed at his torso, holding onto him tightly.

"Josh," you breathed out, words lost as they left your mouth. "Don't stop." Josh looked between your bodies as they pressed together. He thrust in deep, pressing you into the bed further. You cursed under your breath, trying to hold back the moans only releasing small high-pitched whines. Your head fell back against the pillow, all the tension releasing your body slowly. "Fuck," Josh moaned into your collarbone. He tightened his grip on your thigh, quickening his thrusts.

You ran your fingers along the nape of his neck, feeling the little hairs stick to his body. Josh moaned, feeling him cum deep inside you. His head fell into your neck as you both tried to catch your breath. Josh smiled, pressing kisses to your chest before laying down next to you.

"Fuck you're amazing," Josh mumbled into your ear. He wrapped an arm around your shoulder pulling your head to his chest. His hands ran down your arm, squeezing the tiny bit of flesh. "Tell me something I don't already know Joshua." You flipped over onto your side, Josh following in pursuit. He tightened his arm once more around your stomach this time. He pressed small kisses along your shoulder, laying his face into your hair.

"I love you," He mumbled.

"I love you too." You placed your hand over his, peace finding you easy tonight.

-

When you woke up the next morning, Josh still had you in his arms, snoring softly. Like you, he liked to get up when it was still dark out, but given last night you couldn't blame either of yourselves for wanting to sleep in. Josh woke up sometime after, pressing small kisses into the nape of your neck down to your shoulder blades.

"Good morning," he said quietly, wrapping his legs around yours, pulling his body closer to yours.

"Morning Josh." You closed your eyes allowing the quiet of the room to comfort you. It seemed pretty peaceful outside, from what you could hear at least. But your mind was running a thousand miles a minute. How did a three-year friendship change so drastically? If someone told you that three years later you'd be sleeping with Josh, you probably start cursing them out at the bare minimum. Josh infuriated you at the beginning, but what changed that you couldn't get enough? Maybe it was his style? Everyone loves Josh's style. He doesn't really care what goes together, as long as it fits him and his outrageous personality. Speaking of which, Josh's personality was unspoken of. People turned heads when he walked through doors because he was always the life of the party. Normal people just naturally gravitate towards him. Heck, you couldn't even keep up the 'holding a grudge' façade for too long because Josh helped you. Maybe you thanked him for that instead.

"I think we need to get up," you said, patting his hand. He protested that you two keep sleeping longer because it's too early. "Josh it's like," you squinted your eyes towards the clock. "Nine am." You yelled, pushing his arm of you.

You ran into the bathroom to pee before jumping in the shower. After taking some time cleaning yourself and changing into something more comfortable (which ended up being one of Josh's old college sweatshirts because he insisted you looked really good in them) you both left to the studio. Of course, the first one to greet you was your favorite out of the four, Daniel. After he finished talking with Josh, he led the both of you to a back room. It was a large decorated room that you hadn't really been in much. The walls were in stripes of inverted red along with carpet having a velvet touch to it. Plaques labeled the wall with other types of scandalous music art.

Jake and Sam walked in together already arguing about something. "Lookey here," Jake pulled you into a side hug, and Sam passed you a drink. "I thought my smoking habits were bad, but drinking at ten in the morning?" you tutted Sam away from you, taking a seat at a large table. "It helps me think more clearly."

Josh took a seat next to you, placing a hand on your thigh. "Hey, you never showed me the finish drawing for your clothing ideas." You raised your eyebrows and said: "I wonder why." You cocked your head to the side, and Josh frowned at you. Snickering to yourself, you handed him a sketchbook. "These are- really good, Y/N. I forgot you could draw so well." You doodled around the paper of a sketched-out Josh in what would be fashion attire for next year. "One of my many hobbies."

He patted your leg before turning his attention to his twin. Sam waltzed over to your side, a cigarette hanging from his lips. "Is that my brother's sweatshirt?" You glared at him before answering a subtle yes. Sam gasped in a fake manner, holding a hand across his heart.

"Are you two in love with each other finally?" Sam laughed at you giving him a side-eye. "Good. you make Josh happy." Content with that, he left to go sit next to Danny. You played around with the drawing some more, later on, moving to a computer to work there. Everyone left you alone to go play in another room which seems to help numb the background noise. Though, it didn't last long until Josh walked through the door. He strutted over to you, rubbing a hand on your back before sitting down.

"How's it goin' in there?" You closed the laptop, turning your attention towards him. Josh talked about how everything's coming along nicely, and Jake is stubborn about everything or how Sam is always messing up. You hummed, following along. Not that you would ever tell Josh, but sometimes you never would really listen to what he was saying, but you loved to watch his hand movements or the expressions on his face. It added to his character. "I meant to ask you some time ago, but uh- whatever happened to Logan?" Josh immediately froze, looking down to the floor like a scolded puppy.

"I told her I would talk to her later this week." You shook your head, crossing your arms. "What?"

"Nothing; I was just thinking we wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me oodling with your brother." Josh laughed at your choice of words, placing his hand softly on yours. "I think it was both us Y/N."

'Well, in my defense Sam is kind of hot now that I think about it." Josh slapped your shoulder. "Mmmm, you're right Sam does have that 'sense' to him." Time seemed to fly by the five of you, constantly arguing, laughing, or just goofing off with each other. It felt good to be back with everybody, and not walking around on eggshells. Sometimes the moment was so pleasant, you never wanted it to end.

-

It was eerily quiet when you walked inside Josh's home. It was nighttime, and the moon was full, shining brightly through the curtains. "Don't you ever wish you could see the stars?" Josh asked randomly.

"Light pollution man," He mumbled out, yeah, heading towards his bedroom. You peeked outside the window one more time, catching a glimpse of the clouds in the sky. Josh had changed into some comfier clothing and slid under the covers. You followed in pursuit, still wearing his old college t-shirt. "Where do you think we'll be in ten years?" The question had taken you by surprise. You knew he had a tendency to think a lot about the future, which was kind of admirable, but you had a hard time figuring out what the future would hold for you.

"That's hard to tell; Not unless I kill you first, but uh, I think we'll still be together, and so will the band. I guess it's just up to the rest of us." Josh hummed at your input. He flipped over on his side to look at you. "I hope we're together forever." Your face started to blush, although you doubt Josh could see, this time you wished he did.

"Me too." Your voice came out with full confidence knowing every ounce of you could never let him go. "Hey, do you think you'd ever let me wear your outfits after this next tour? They're kind of stylish if I say so myself." Josh laughed out loud. "I don't think they'd fit you, honey." You scoffed, pouting.

"Josh, I hate to break it to you but you're not that big." A playful laugh escaped your mouth while you pinched his arm. He pushed you back in return. "I meant your height." He shook his head. You turned around, allowing Josh to trap you in his arms.

"I hope I get to see you in heaven. If there is one." The sound of his voice made you want to cry. It was soft whisper that it felt so delicate at this moment.

"I think if you've seen me then, you will see me forever."

[angel-riki]

Dazed & Dreaming {Ch. 4}

summary: Y/N's life was always quite normal, some may even consider it boring. However, Y/N enjoyed her simple life and the little pleasures it brought. Unfortunately, that all changed the day she found out her best friend's biggest secret. Her discovery leads her down a rabbit hole of a new and confusing world she never knew existed. She must now navigate this new life filled with love, fear, and the supernatural. What awaits her down this path?

pairing: enhypen x reader (vampire au)

warnings: light swearing

words: 1,409

chapters: [Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3]

~~~~~~~~~~

You stood at your locker while stuffing all of the books needed for this weekend's homework into your backpack. You tapped your chin while scanning your locker. Hmm I think that's everything I'll need. You looked down at your phone to check the time. However, the date caught your eye instead as the realization hit you. Oh my god. Jake's birthday is tomorrow. You had completely forgotten. Jeez I'm a terrible friend, you sighed. There had just been so much going on recently, it had completely slipped your mind. You hadn't even gotten him a present yet. You stood there contemplating what to get him when suddenly, almost as if on cue, Sunoo appeared.

"Hey, Y/N!" He said with a cheerful smile.

"Oh, hi Sunoo!" You smiled back, although you were a bit confused. You and Sunoo had never really talked much before. You just met him for the first time last week, what business could he have with you?

"Sorry to bother you Y/N, but I just had a quick question for you," he began.

"Oh sure, what is it?" You ask. His eyes lit up as he continued.

"Sooo, it's Jake's birthday tomorrow and we were thinking of throwing him a surprise party! And since you're one of his closest friends, I was wondering if you'd like to help plan it with me and the rest of the boys." You were caught off guard by his request, it was almost like he knew that you were just thinking about Jake's birthday. What a funny coincidence. Regardless, you were excited to help out.

"Oh, that's a great idea, I'd love to help!" You replied.

"Yay! This is gonna be so fun, I can't wait!" He was full of excitement as he spoke. You chuckled. Cute. You and Sunoo continued discussing the party for a few minutes and it was decided that you were going bring the cake. You loved to bake so you were more than happy to do so. Shortly after Sunoo went off on his way, Heeseung approached you.

"Hey, Y/N," he said warmly. "Sunoo told me that you're in on the surprise party now, and I was actually going to grab some supplies after school so I was wondering if you'd like to come with me,"

"I'd love to," you said, smiling at him.

"Great," he replied, seeming quite happy that you accepted his offer. He didn't know what it was about you but as soon as you became friends, he wanted to be around you all the time. Something about you was just so addicting to him.

*****

You and Heeseung stood in the party aisle staring at the huge array of party supplies and decorations.

"Wow, there's quite a lot to pick from," you said. Heeseung nodded in agreement. Eventually, you both decided on some simple streamers and balloons as well as some birthday themed plates and napkins. Everything was black and ivory colored since those were Jake's favorite colors.

"This'll do," Heeseung said, satisfied.

"Yeah, let's go pay," you said while interlocking your arm with his. He had a difficult time keeping a smile from creeping onto his face as you did so.

You decided to go to the self-checkout since you were only buying a few things. You scanned all the items before putting them into a paper bag. The total appeared on the screen as you reached for your wallet.

"Oh don't worry about it, I got it," Heeseung said while pulling out his card.

"Don't be silly, I owe you for driving me around all the time. Let me pay, please?" You asked, although it was more of a command.

"Nope, I'm not letting you." He said with a teasing grin.

"Well, you're too late." You said as you beat him to the card slot. You faced him and stuck out your tongue. He rolled his eyes as you both laughed.

"I'll pay you back later." Heeseung said, not wanting to give up.

"Whatever you say," you retorted.

After you left the store, you headed back to the parking lot. Heeseung unlocked the car and put the bag in the backseat (he insisted on carrying it). He then shut the door before turning to you.

"Have you gotten a gift for Jake yet?" He asked.

"Uh, no not yet..." you answered. You were a bit embarrassed to admit that you still didn't have a present for him when his birthday was tomorrow.

"Perfect, I haven't either actually. Do you wanna go look around some shops and see what we can find?" He suggested.

"Oh, yeah. That sounds good," you said, relieved that you were both in the same boat.

You decided to check out the nearest clothing shop. After entering the store, you began looking around for something that Jake might like. Heeseung began his own search as well. You were looking through a rack of coats when you saw a huge faux fur coat. You giggled at the thought of Jake wearing it. You slipped it on and called out to Heeseung.

"Oh this is totally up Jake's alley, dontcha think?" You asked while striking a pose in the ridiculous coat. Heeseung snorted at you and nodded.

"Totally." He agreed sarcastically.

You continued to look through the rack a bit more before you found another hideous jacket. This one was neon green and covered in random zippers and buckles. It was incredibly tacky. So of course, you put it on.

"Gosh I look terrible in this. Then again, I don't think anyone would actually look good in it." You chuckled. Heeseung laughed along and shook his head.

"I think you'd look nice in anything," he uttered under his breath. Thankfully, you didn't hear him because if you did, your heart probably would of burst.

After looking around a bit longer, you eventually settled on a brown corduroy jacket and a bottle of cologne that you thought fit Jake's taste. Heeseung had picked out a nice pair of sneakers and a small ring. You both checked out before making your way back to the car. It had gotten rather chilly outside as you shivered and rubbed your hands together in attempt to keep them warm. Heeseung noticed you shivering and set both of the shopping bags down (he insisted on carrying them again) before turning to you and wrapping his hands around yours. You were caught off guard by his gesture. Your heartbeat picked up rapidly. He kept his hands around yours for a moment before looking back up at you.

"Better?" he asked with a kind smile.

"Y-yeah, thanks," you were definitely much warmer now, considering how hot in the face you had become. Luckily, it just seemed like your face was flushed from the cold. At least that's what you hoped Heeseung assumed. You made it back to the car and quickly climbed into the passenger seat as Heeseung put the rest of the bags in the back. He then returned to the driver's seat and immediately turned on the heat.

The ride home was pleasent as you both chatted and sang along to the radio. You were surprised to find out that Heeseung has a lovely singing voice. Could he get any more perfect?? You were a little bit sad when you arrived at your house, not wanting your time with him to end. You thanked him for taking you shopping as you climbed out of the car.

"No problem, thanks for coming with me. I had fun." He said happily.

"I had fun too," you said. You smiled and waved goodbye as he drove away. After heading inside, you went to grab your phone out of your jacket. As you stuck your hand in your pocket, you felt something else in there along with your phone. It felt like paper of some kind. You pulled it out to see what it was. It was a $20 bill. You stared at it in confusion before you realized where it came from. Oh my god, how and when did he even put this here?? You rolled your eyes and giggled. Heeseung did promise to pay you back after all.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I didn't intend for the shopping trip to take up the entirety of it, but here we are hahaha. Regardless, thank you for reading and supporting the series, it really helps me stay motivated! :)

~Elle <3

[jonnnysuh]

Never Not - Park Jinyoung

Pairing: idol!Jinyoung x gender neutral reader

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

Genre: angst, fluff, friends to lovers

Warnings: suggested sexual experience

Word Count: 4.3k

Requested by: Anon

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

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

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

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

...

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

PRIVATE CALLER 

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

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

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

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

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

  "I'm about to get on a bus home." 

"Well, don't get on." 

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

...

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

"So what'd you do today?" he asked. 

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

"And how was it?"

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

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

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

  "That exact same one."

 "Anything else?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Chan, right?" 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I don’t think I’ve changed much.”

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

…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…

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

[whattodowithace]

The Weight Of Lies (Byeongkwan)

Title: The Weight Of Lies

Pairing: Byeongkwan x Reader

Genre: Fluff; (In Ju's words) Spicy

Word Count: 3,043 Words

Writer: Whattodowithkpop [Lio]

Summary: Much like the adored story of Pinocchio, Byeongkwan has a tell for when he lies. After receiving an interesting gift from his aunt, whenever he lies, a peculiar anomaly occurs with this gift...

*****

Little, dark headed Byeongkwan runs through the house as soon as he sees the familiar car park in the driveway. This familiar car belonged to someone he hadn't seen in a long while, making his excitement go through the roof.  He runs through the house, finding his parents in the kitchen where they sat enjoying each other's company. He uses his limited vocabulary and animated finger pointing and arm pulling to draw their attention to the driveway. The person he was waiting for had yet to hear the boy speak, making Byeongkwan that more anxious to showcase his development. His parents watch as the young boy fidgets at the door, waiting for the familiar figure to enter the home. The door creaks open, revealing a tall, slender figure, hair down to her waist and dressed to the nines. She looks down, seeing the boy with bright shinning eyes staring up at her with amusement.

"What do we have here?" The woman's low voice travels through the house, making Byeongkwan squeal.

He runs up to the tall figure, wrapping his arms around her legs as his bright eyes look up at her.

"I hear from a little birdie that someone has some things to say."

"It's me!" Byeongkwan giggles as the woman leans down, bringing him into a full hug.

"He has been waiting to see you since he spoke his first words." Byeongkwan's mom speaks up, stepping forward to hug the woman as the two laugh.

"I'm sorry to keep him waiting." The woman winks at Byeongkwan. "How are you doin' sis?"

"We're doing good." Byeongkwan's mom smiles as her husband comes up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

There is a tug on the woman's clothing, a light doe eyed Byeongkwan catching her attention and looking up at her with anticipation.

"I promise I didn't forget." Byeongkwan's aunt leans down with a laugh, coming face to face with her nephew as she lays her purse on the ground.

Her fingers dig through its contents, offering Byeongkwan many facial expressions to make him laugh. She pulls out an orange box, handing it to the small boy who takes it with much gratitude. His eyes sparkle as he opens the box, pulling out the item that rested inside. The sterling silver twinkled in the florescent lights that brightened the room, the singular chain clasped together deeming it a bracelet.

"It doesn't much fit you now." His aunt explains as she takes the chain from his small hands, clipping it into a circle. "But when it does, it will be very useful to you." 

At the time Byeongkwan didn't comprehend her words, nor did he get the chance to ask her for her full meaning. However, it felt natural for him to wear the bracelet once he got old enough. It still dangled on his wrist the first time he put it on for kindergarten, due to the lankiness of his still small wrists. This small setback didn't stop him from wearing it as much as possible.

His aunt had passed away a year after giving him the bracelet. She was a scientist, one that accomplished many things. Unfortunately, because of this, she was sought after by many people, good and bad. Her death records as an accident, the suspicious case undergoing no investigation left the family feeling uneasy about the true nature of her death. Byeongkwan doesn't remember much about his aunt, however he does remember loving and her visits. Even though he couldn't remember much about her, him wearing the bracelet made him feel close to her in some way. That's why he took special care to wear it always.

It was an eye catching gift, piquing the interest of many other students. One that was particularly interested in the silver chain was a little girl. She would stare at it as it dangled off Byeongkwan's wrist, her eyes shinning as they focused on the small piece of jewelry. She asked him many times to play with it, to which he agreed on the condition that it stayed on his wrist. She would intertwine their fingers, causing a mad blush to overtake Byeongkwan's cheeks. With their fingers intertwined, she would trace the delicate chain with her fingers as she admired it.

This became a common occurrence, her taking his hand in hers to play with the bracelet always ending in a blushing Byeongkwan. One of the many days of this common action, she had looked up from the bracelet, noticing his red ears.

"Are you blushing?" She had asked him, her head tilting as her hand kept a tight grip of his.

"No..." Byeongkwan whispered, his lips pouting out.

Without warning, his wrist feels heavier making him look down at it in wonder. As the two children look to his wrist they see a small little charm now attached to one of the chains. It was a yellow hat, rocking back in forth with the direction of the changing winds.

"When did you get this?" The little girl asked Byeongkwan, her eyes shinning even brighter, using the pad of her finger to flick the charm with care.

"I... I.. I didn't.."

"Is it because you said you weren't blushing when you actually were?" She teases with a small giggle.

"I was not!" Byeongkwan yells, his face turning a deeper shade of red.

Once again, his wrist felt heavier, the little girl squealing beside him as she lifts their hands, showing a red overalls charm.

"It was!"

"It was not!"

Another charm, one looking like a black top hat nestled between the two others.

"I think it's when you lie."

Byeongkwan looks to the bracelet in concern, feeling an uneasiness in his gut.

"Tell another one!" Her eyes sparkling, putting the stars on a clear night to shame.

Byeongkwan watched her excited eyes stare at his bracelet, want to give in to her wishes.

"I don't like you."

She looks up in shock, her bottom lip quivering, tears filling her eyes to the brim as her fingers slack against his. Byeongkwan feels immense guilt wash over him.

"No, no, I was lying." Byeongkwan tries to reason as he pulls his bracelet up, another charm in the shape of a black cat on it now.

Her tears stop as she watches all the charms dangle in front of her. She sniffles training her fingers across the charms.

"You really like me?"

"I do."

His face blushes again, laugh erupting from her at the sight, prompting her to hug him before intertwining their fingers again.

"I'll keep your aunt's magic bracelet a secret." She puts her finger to her lips, Byeongkwan nodding in agreement.

~

Years later and the two are still inseparable. Byeongkwan had done well in keeping his lies to a minimum, only acquiring a few more small charms to add to his collection. They had tested the bracelet in many aspects, including letting her wear it for a day as she tried her hand at some lies. It resulted in zero added charms, but she finally got to wear it for a short while before having to give it back to let it rest on its permanent home. They never could explain the science behind the bracelet, no matter how hard they tried. The secret behind it most likely passed on with its creator, leaving it a forever question mark in their lives.

As The pair grew they always appeared to be a couple, this was likely due to her unbreakable habit of intertwining her fingers with his any chance she got. Every new school year, the other students assumed they were together, neither gender wanting to intervene. Unfortunately, their final year of high school was Byeongkwan's biggest nightmare. The boys were beginning to notice her, her awkward stage far from over meaning many more boys were shooting their shot. Byeongkwan couldn't lie, he hated the extra attention she got. Not because he was jealous, but because he had a crush on her, so any competition for her affection he saw as a threat and therefore disliked them. She didn't accept many advances, unfortunately for Byeongkwan, there was the occasional suitor she would give a chance. However, she was often quick to drop them, much to the relief of Byeongkwan.

One day she enters their last class, a large grin adorning her face, directed towards him.

"Byeongkwan." She grabs his attention, sitting next to him and pulling her chair closer to him so she could whisper.

He hums as his head stays resting on his crossed arms, his eyes closed for a few moments before the teacher came to start class.

"You know the new quarterback?"

The mention of the new student caught his attention, His head lifting to meet her eyes.

"What about him?"

"He asked me out."

"You said no, right?"

"Why would I say no? Of course I said yes." She laughs.

Byeongkwan's heart drops as the aforementioned quarterback enters the classroom, his eyes training on her and offering her a wink and a smile. She waves at him and winks back, making Byeongkwan sick to his stomach.

"He's so handsome isn't he?"

"A real dreamboat." Byeongkwan mumbles, feeling a new weight added to his bracelet. He had forgot about the consequences of lying in that moment, hoping she didn't notice the lapse in behavior.

Class starts before they can discuss it more, all Byeongkwan could do was hope she wouldn't stick with him for too long.

~

Weeks passed, many weeks at that and the quarterback was still around. Of course Byeongkwan didn't like him for obvious reasons, but there was something more that irked him. This guy was very cocky and spoke bad about everyone that he knew. He treated her with little regard, calling her names, saying terrible things about her when she wasn't around. Byeongkwan wanted to punch him, but he knew he couldn't lie his way out of that fight or explanation.

He had butted into almost all of their time together, meaning Byeongkwan hadn't had the chance to tell her how horrible her, now deemed, boyfriend was. However, every time he made plans with her, the new boyfriend seemed to come along as well.

He was so thankful when she asked to study with him for their upcoming test. She had told him her boyfriend was busy so he couldn't study with them. Byeongkwan stayed quiet, knowing if he said anything he would be adding unnecessary charms to his arm.

They studied as if all was back the way it was. It was the first time since she started dating the star quarterback that Byeongkwan got to enjoy his time with his best friend. He hadn't seen her genuine laugh since her new relationship. It filled him with joy, but also despair as his thoughts clouded with the reason he hadn't heard it.

Byeongkwan decided to be cordial, asking how her boyfriend was, even though he didn't have an interest in how he was.

"He's busy with practice." She tells him, no change in her normal inflection.

"He's been busy with practice a lot lately." Byeongkwan comments, being as nonchalant as he could be about his ill feelings towards his busy schedule.

"I'm guessing he always is, even before transferring here."

"That sounds believable."

"You don't like him." She states more than asks, catching Byeongkwan by surprise.

"I never said that." A half truth to cover up the full truth in that Byeongkwan had a strong distaste for the man.

She stands, stepping closer to his already upright form, his back hitting his desk as he backs away from her approaching steps. He lays his wrist with the bracelet on the desk, hiding it from her knowing gaze. In the sudden movements, his glasses slide down the bridge of his nose, resting at the end as he watches her from over the frames.

"What do you not like about him?" She inquires, looking up at him with curiosity.

"He says things about you behind your back." Byeongkwan tells her, not wanting to keep that a secret.

"I'm not surprised." She shrugs, not seeming hurt by this information.

"Then why are you still with him?"

"Do you have someone better in mind?"

Byeongkwan wanted to die right there, the way her eyes were looking at him made his heart beat faster and his breathing go irregular. She was waiting for an answer and he only had one truth in his head and knew he couldn't admit that. The lie left his mouth without so much as a thought.

"No."

Her head tilts as he feels his wrist bare the weight of his new lie.

"Byeongkwan." She approaches him, her body mere inches from being completely flush with his. "Do you like me?"

Byeongkwan felt the room heat up, his skin feeling on fire as she awaited his answer. He gulps, feeling a heavy lump sit in his throat that sat there without so much as a movement.

"No."

Another charm added, Byeongkwan's hand becoming tired from the collection appearing on the silver chain.

"You have no attraction to me?"

He shakes his head, not trusting his voice.

"Use your words, BK." She uses his nickname, one she didn't use often, causing a strong inhale to come from his nose.

"No." His voice was shaky, as shaky as his arm holding the weight of his lies.

"You don't get nervous when I hold your hand?"

"Please don't make me answer these." He could feel his face burning as he tried his best to avoid her eyes.

"If you were telling the truth I wouldn't ask them."

"I am telling the truth." Another charm.

"Byeongkwan, I can tell when you're lying cause you are so terrible at it."

She reaches her hand out to his shoulder, his eyes squeeze shut as he braces for her next move. The shoulder her hand rests on begins to tingle, the feeling following her fingers as they trail down his arm at an excruciating slow pace. The heat in the room increasing to unbearable temperatures as her fingers reach his bare forearm.

"Can I see your bracelet?"

"Please don't make me." He pleads in words and deeds as he opens his eyes to convey his pleas that way.

"Why not?" She asks, her face twisting into sadness, a face much like the one from all those years ago when he told the lie of not liking her.

Byeongkwan wanted to avoid the truth, knowing it would expose all his lies. However this sad face of hers was something he couldn't bear to see.

"Because I can't." He breathes, his voice shaky and weak from the heat his body had experienced.

"Yes you can, I would never make you feel terrible about this."

"It's.. It's not that." He sighs, the weight he felt on his chest creating an unfamiliar anxious feeling, that paired along with his mind swirling with a million thoughts he felt he could pass out. 

"My wrist is stuck from all the charms..."

"Byeongkwan, you could have told me the truth." She scolds him through her giggles, her fingers reaching his, an electric shock going through him at the contact.

Her fingers intertwine with his, like they had done so countless times before. However, this time, something felt different. Byeongkwan felt warmth throughout his body and fireworks in his stomach. He wasn't sure if these were pleasant feelings yet, but he wasn't going to stop her as she brought his wrist from behind his back.

The chain was full of charms now, various objects adorning Byeongkwan's wrist as she inspected it with care.

The pad of her finger traces the charms, them swaying even heavier against the friction. Her eyes trail upwards to their intertwined hands, her eyes darting to Byeongkwan's for a quick second before staring back at their hands.

"Our fingers have always intertwined perfectly." She notes.

Byeongkwan watches her, a blushing heat covering his whole body as she inspects him with great intent.

"I wish the bracelet worked on me."

She took a step closer to Byeongkwan, her chest meeting his as she looks deep into his eyes.

"That way I could say how much I adore you and want you to be mine. I could say it all without a single charm appearing on the chain. I could say that I love you and you could believe me without a doubt because my bracelet would show no deceit."

Byeongkwan's mouth hung open as she stared at him, waiting for his response. He believed her. All the words she spoke, each sentence felt like truth to him, he didn't need a bracelet to believe that. However, he couldn't get the words out to convey that to her, so he did the only thing he could think to do.

With his free hand he wraps it around her waist, still holding her hand like his life depended on it as he introduces theirs lip, his kiss passionate to pour years of feelings into the kiss. She made a small sound of surprise at the weight of the kiss, but kissed him back with as much passion as he was giving off. Her hand went to the nape of his neck, pushing his lips further into hers. Their oxygen was running out, however neither one seemed to care as they stay lip locked, trying to get enough air through their noses as they clung to each other.

She pulls away, her breath coming out in heavy puffs of air as her chest pushes against him with every breath out, his demeanor similar to hers. Their lips were still touching as he spoke his next words through his panting.

"I love you."

It was barley a whisper, but she heard it and when she looked down to his wrist to see if his bracelet would become heavier, her smile widened as she watched the bracelet stay the same, he spoke no false words.

She looks back at him, her eyes boring into his as love danced in them. They had a lot of kisses and touches to catch up on, so it comes to no surprise when they lean back in again to share another passionate kiss.

MAIN MASTERLIST

[cherryblossomstars]

II. Navy (W. Ushijima)

Taken from my AO3 series of one-shots & reposted here

Pairing: Ushijima x F!Reader

Word count: 1,446

Genre: Fluff, birthday fic

Summary: Aoba Johsai's volleyball team has never been able to defeat the Great Ushiwaka of Shiratorizawa. Their manager, however? She can bring him to his knees in mere seconds.

Or, Ushijima Wakatoshi is helplessly in love with Seijoh's Ace's twin sister, and the Aoba Johsai VBC is not appreciative of it.

Previous | Next

It's no secret that Ushijima Wakatoshi is a baby when it comes to matters of love or any emotion that comes with showing affection. His movements on the court are lithe, careful, and precise. Mistakes rarely happen when he's playing his beloved sport, and errors will almost certainly never happen if he's at his peak concentration- then he's at a completely different and untouchable level. He has a degree of grace and beauty on the court that a professional figure skater would be jealous of (not to mention his incredible stamina).

And yet, when it comes to you, he may as well be an infant struggling to walk. It's messy, he's not sure what he's doing, and sometimes he gets hurt trying to figure it out. He knows you, that much he's sure about. You've both known each other for years now. So why, why is it so hard to figure out something to do for you on your birthday?

Around the holidays and on his birthday, he would always tell you not to get him something. He's not a big fan of presents. If he needed something, he'd simply ask his family and then in 1-2 business days, bam. The item in question would be at his front door. And yet, every time, you've still found a way to give him something meaningful.

In the three years he's known you, you've given him a scrapbook, a jar of reasons you love him, and, his most favorite gift of all, a volleyball with everyone's signatures on it. Not just his team's, but other teams as well. People from the Fukurodani, Johzenji, Nekoma, Itachiyama, hell, even Karasuno and Aoba Johsai. You'd somehow managed to coerce Oikawa into signing it. When he'd asked about Oikawa, you'd simply shrug and say "he owed me one". He decided not to press any further. While some people opted to simply write their name on the ball, others wrote little messages too. Iwaizumi Hajime had written a simple happy birthday, while Tendou had to be stopped by you from practically taking up the entire damn ball, a story told to him by his teammates later on. He even cracked a small chuckle imagining your small figure trying to restrain Tendou Satori of all people. He also learned that Oikawa likes to sign his name with a star next to his signature. Ushijima thought it was tacky, but it fit his personality well. Every year you didn't have a physical present for him, you'd take him out on a date or give him one of your homemade bentos.

He was not a fan of presents, but he's certainly grown to look forward to receiving yours.

Yet, every year, he struggles to figure out what to get you. In the past years, he'd given you something simple, but nice or something you just happened to need at the time. One year it was a phone, since Oikawa had accidentally broken yours that year. Ushijima had to visit Oikawa himself and convince him not to buy you a new phone, since Ushijima would be the one handling it. After some debate, Oikawa finally gave in. Another year he'd gotten you a simple silver band, one that you keep on your index finger. He rarely sees you go out without it on, something he's found very pleasing. It brings a sense of satisfaction to his mind when he sees it on you.

Perhaps it was the weather, he rationalized, that was getting in the way of his ideas. Or maybe it was the fact that he had another practice match coming up soon, so he was also coming up with game plans in the back of his mind. He needed to focus. Ushijima was normally ahead of things when it came to plans with you, but he's been so busy with volleyball these past few weeks that he hasn't been able to buy you your gift yet. And now it was six in the evening on a Friday, and he still wasn't sure what to get you for your birthday tomorrow.

He grumbled under his breath, he'd just have to swallow his pride and ask for help. He took out his phone and called the first person he could think of- Tendou. You two were good friends, after all.

"Helloooo? What's up Wakatoshi?" Tendou sang.

"[Name]." He said.

"You're gonna have to give me more context than that." His friend pointed out.

"We're celebrating her birthday tomorrow and I'm unsure of what to get her."

"Something sweet. She's got a pretty awful sweet tooth after all."

"I want something she can keep. Something that will last."

"Oh wow. What a doting boyfriend. Hmm... Well I don't think she needs anything right now... Oh! Why don't you just give that ace from Seijoh a call?"

"...I do not have his number."

"I'll text it to you. Later." And with that, the line went dead.

Damn. He had to ignore his pride just to call Tendou, but Iwaizumi? That was a different level. He'd do it, though, because it's for you.

Ding!

Tendou: It's +81-XXX-XXXX-XXX

Tendou: good luck~ (*´ I `)ﾉﾟ(ﾉД｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

Ushijima: Thank you.

Should he call or text? Maybe texting would be the better option. You never answered any unknown numbers, who's to say your twin wasn't the same way? He gave your brother a contact before sending a text.

Ushijima: Hello, Iwaizumi. It's Ushijima. Do you have any good gift ideas for [Name]?

Iwaizumi: dude how'd you get my number?

Ushijima: Tendou had it.

Iwaizumi: cool. follow up question: why does he have it?

Iwaizumi: nevermind. not sure I wanna know.

Ushijima couldn't help but think about how you and your brother text the same way.

Iwaizumi: dunno. she likes meaningful gifts i guess. maybe an album? or a scr:"//ad39E

He furrowed his brows in confusion. A what?

Iwaizumi: sorry. oikawa made a grab for my phone. i was gonna say maybe a scrapbook.

Ushijima: I don't know how to make those.

Iwaizumi: painting?

Ushijima: I am bad at art. What are other people getting her?

Iwaizumi: im getting her a new video game for her switch. oikawa's getting her concert tickets to that band she likes so much. yahaba and kyoutani pooled their money together and got her a bunch of new clothes. kunimi's giving her $20. the rest of team pooled their money together and got her a new tablet. i know the players from fukurodani, karasuno, johzenji, nekoma, itachiyama, and inarizaki got her stuff but i dont know what.

Iwaizumi: wait actually those twins from inarizaki got her a stuffed animal and a box of cookies from a bakery she likes

Yahaba and Kyoutani got her clothes... A lightbulb lights up in his mind.

Ushijima: Thank you. I know what to give her.

Iwaizumi: yea no problem

Ushijima went to the shopping district for no reason, then. He went back to his dorm, stepping inside and immediately opening his closet.

"Figured something out?" Tendou greeted from his bunk.

"Yes." He responded, taking one of his sweaters off from a hanger and holding it out in front of him.

Tendou raises his eyebrows in shock, "she's gonna be swimming in that."

"Yes, but she likes to take my volleyball jacket all the time. She says it smells like me, so I may as well give her this one since she can't keep the volleyball jacket." Ushijima holds in front of him a large maroon sweater with the word Shiratorizawa printed in white on it. It was bought to fit him and all his 189 centimeter glory.

"She'll love it."

"Why are you giving this back to me? I gave it to you." Ushijima tilts his head slightly.

You stood in front of him holding out the sweater he had given you for your birthday a few weeks ago, neatly folded in your hands. You felt your face grow hot in embarrassment. "It... Doesn't smell like you anymore. There's no point if it doesn't feel like I'm close to you."

He's quiet for a moment before taking the sweater from your hands. "So you are returning it?"

You can't look at him in the eye, "for now. I want it back, of course. Just... wash it or something with whatever laundry soap you use and give it back so it smells like you."

He smiles softly at you and presses a light kiss to your forehead. He doesn't look like someone who could be soft. His sheer strength on the court and his powerful spikes on the court can attest to that, but he can't help it when it came to you.

"I love you."

Fin.

[jjmaybanksblog]

Where Were You in the Morning?- John B pt 4

Summary: Based on 'Where Were You in the Morning' by Shawn Mendes.

Word count: 1,252

Warnings: None

You paced in your bedroom. 'Why did I leave him? I felt something there, but I was a little bitch and left.' You thought to yourself, combing your hands through your hair, noticing you were still in his clothes. 

You took a look at yourself in the mirror, suddenly feeling disgusted with your  actions. You had walked out on one night stands before, but in this case it felt as though you had a 300 pound weight on your chest. 

You never expected to care so much about someone, especially someone you had just met. You changed out of his clothes and folded them neatly, placing them on the bed. Staring at the items of clothing, you were unaware about how you would get them back to him.

You nervously nibbled on your bottom lip, until you realized there was only one thing you could do. Pulling out a notepad, you took a pen and wrote 'I'm so sorry. Whenever you're ready please text me.

Y/N xxx-xxx-xxxx"

Closing your eyes, you tried to remember where his house was. After getting a mental image of which way John B drove, you realized his house should be close to yours. You hopped into the car with the pile of clothes in the passenger's seat. You gripped the steering wheel, knuckles turning a shade of white for a moment. You backed out of the driveway, and headed to his house, sitting in silence, but your thoughts louder than ever.

'I can't believe I just left him like that'

'He deserves so much better'

'Im such a whore. I'm disgusting.'

'But I'm also just another girl who got passed along.'

'He was so different from the others, why?'

Your thoughts wondered to imagining what it would be like to be in a relationship with John B, how much of an amazing person he is. 'He could treat me right. In that one night I got him, I felt much more than a physical connection. He understands me, solely from taking one look in my eyes. He welcomed me into his life so easily, like it was the easiest decision he has ever made.'

You squeezed a small tear drop out of your eye, quickly wiping it as you approached his house. Parking the car, you placed his folded clothes on his front step. You made a fist and was about to knock on the door, but abruptly stopped. 

Backing away from the door, you took one last look before heading back into the car. As you sat in the driver's seat, you slammed your head on the wheel, accidently honking the horn. Jumping from the noise, you turned on the car and drove away. Slowly watching his house leave your vision.

_____________________________

*1 week later*

John B turned around in his bed, and saw the blonde girl he had met last night at a Kegger. His eyes stared at the back of her head, not satisfied with how things went. 'She doesn't compare to Y/N, why did I even bother trying?' This was his 4th time trying to get over you, but something about you kept drawing him back.

'Y/N.' That was the only thought on his mind as he stared at the unknown girl. You left his clothes at the doorstep with your number, and he has been so tempted to text you. Tell you that he couldn't get you off his fucking mind. Fuck it. He reached behind him, grabbing his phone.

"Meet me at this park at 3 p.m. Keep walking till you get to the lake, there's one bench next to a rose bush. I'll see you there- John B"

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. The mystery girl shuffled, turning herself around to look at him. "Thank you for last night." She flirtatiously smiled at the attractive brunette.

"You're welcome." Was all he said before getting out of bed.

________________________

Your heart raced as you stared at the text. 'Am I ready to talk to John B face to face? Even if I wasn't, I can't just leave him, again.' It was 1:30, giving you plenty of time to get ready. Never have you ever been this anxious to see somebody. 

You showered for a bit taking your time thinking about what you would say to him, how to explain how you felt. Why you left him like that. You wished you didn't, he was the best guy you had ever come across, and you lost him because you were too worried about your own feelings.

__________________________________

You sat down at the bench, waiting for John B. Your leg began to shake as you got anxious, your stomach felt empty even though you had eaten before. Your heart was racing, hands were shaking, you felt like you were on the verge of throwing them. Rustling of leaves behind you made your nerves worse.

Faster than you knew it, the familiar scent of his cologne filled the space next to you. You didn't look at each other, instead simply stared at the lake in front of you two. 

For a few minutes, the only thing that could be heard between you was the sound of the wind, the bushes rustling, and birds tweeting every now and then. "I'm so sorry." Your breath hitched. "Leaving you there was one of the shittiest things I've ever done." 

"Do you know how much it hurt? Thinking that maybe we could've been more than a one night stand?" John B sighed, looking at you out of the corner of his eye. 

"I was scared of falling for you. I know that sounds so fucking stupid but please let me explain." For the first time, John B turned his head towards you, looking right into your eyes. You didn't want to blink, starting into his eyes was so intimidating. 

"I get so attached to it easily. With everyone I get attached to, they end up leaving me, hurting me. It's been that way since my childhood. It was like a lesson, every time I tried, I would get hurt. I'm afraid to let people in because the more I let in, the more it will hurt when they leave."

"I would never hurt you." John B mumbled to her, his thumbs fiddling together. "I know that now. And when, when we were in bed, even before that, I felt this connection with you and that scared me. Because it was so easy to feel something with you, I knew that this feeling wouldn't last and you would leave. When I woke up and you had your arm around me, everything felt so right. It was like a dream I didn't want to wake up from." 

John B reached over and held onto your hand. "When I woke up and you weren't there, I felt like I wasn't enough for you. I tried to stop thinking about you, I really did. So many nights I tried to find someone new, but they didn't compare to you, Y/N. I didn't feel anything next to those girls. But when I was with you something in my mind felt complete. I honestly don't know why but you're one of the only girls I have spoken to that haven't just used me for games or to get what they want." 

"What does this make us?" You asked, looking down at your locked hands.

"I don't know yet, but I would like to find out." 

[curiousconch]

Free Fall

Chapter 4 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Chapter Synopsis: Bryce takes Heather out to distract her, while a real threat looms closer than ever.

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song) | Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song) 

Words: 1.9k | Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / hints of violence, stalking

Author’s Notes: I always wanted to try trampoline basketball (not sure if that's the right term?), it looked cool on videos. BUT lockdown happened, so here I am manifesting what could've been a great date night alternative. I have also long imagined to bounce around in slow motion while the chorus of Fallin' All In You by Shawn Mendes was playing on the background. Hope I made the wait for this chapter worth it. Also, disclaimer: majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song.

Please let me know if you want me to tag you for the rest of this series. Thank you for reading!

Jordan whistled as he walked through the off-white hallways, pushing a cart full of cleaning supplies forward. Although he knew that this was just a temp job, a means to an ends, it didn't mean he can't enjoy its perks.

His gray overall was already damp, as he just finished mopping the hallways of the building's seventh floor. He was heading to his last assignment for the day, which was also his favorite. His black sneakers squeaked against the tiled floor, but he didn't seem to mind. He was feeling accomplished today, seeing his art splayed across the local news. He gave himself a mental pat on the back, knowing he's running closer toward the finish line of his master plan.  

He adjusted his baseball cap before tapping his key card on the scanner by the glass door, then stepped inside the empty office. 

He cleared the tables of assorted food wrappers in record time. But there was a table where he liked to linger a little bit longer. 

His fingers grazed on the surface of the desk - she always kept hers tidy. He read through the pages of the medical books browsing where bookmarks were sandwiched in, trying to get an idea of where she left off. He then reached out to the purple bottle of hand cream on the left side of the computer screen, and pumped it to get a few drops on his palms. He loved the jasmine scent of it, reminding him of the same fragrance of the clothes in her closet. 

He tapped on the keyboard and the screen display came to life, revealing a picture of her and her mother when she was a teenager. He logged himself in, checking her emails. He found what he was looking for, and took a picture of the itinerary using his phone. He closed the applications and locked the computer, the screen display reverting back to the wallpaper earlier. He smiled sadly as he looked on, thinking what a waste it will be when her day of reckoning comes. It's a pity that she threw herself in the middle of a crossfire, so he had no choice. He felt bad for her, recalling the months of stalking he did to know her life. He always thought she was no different from him, alone in a city, no parents to turn to, no one but themselves to rely on. 

After switching off the computer monitor, he retrieved his cleaning supplies and sprayed a disinfectant on the surface of her desk. He was about to wipe it when he heard the distinct beep of the electronic lock, followed by the subsequent opening of the glass door behind him. 

"Oh, hey Pete," Heather waved at him as she approached. "Sorry for uhm, interrupting. I'm just here to get some of my books."

He tried to hide his initial shock, grinning goofily at her then stepped back from her desk. "No problem, doc. I'll get out of your hair so you could do whatcha have to do."

She smiled back at him. "No, no need. I'll just grab these," she took the bundle of books sitting on top of her desk, "and then these..." she trailed off as she unlocked the drawers and retrieved a small bottle of the hand cream and a few markers. She put the small items in her purse and stepped back.

"Thanks, Pete. I'll see you around," she bid him goodbye, hastily getting out of the diagnostics office.

Jordan followed her figure until she was out of his sight. He then approached the glass windows and slid his fingers in between the blinds, waiting until he saw her crossing the parking lot and got into a familiar silver Camry.

Aha, so you're with the ADA. No wonder he didn't see her with the special agent. She stayed with someone else. 

It was smart for her to stay somewhere he wouldn't expect. But it didn't matter now. Phase 2 didn't concern where she lived at the moment. His lips twisted into a sinister smile, knowing she never had a clue of what was to come.

Oh doc, I'll see you soon.

***

Bryce honked his horn the moment he saw what was cradled in her arms. "Nerd alert!" he shouted.

"Ugh, shut up!" she groaned, her eyes rolling as she dropped the books into the backseat of his car.  

"Seriously, Heath, you are such a dork. It's Sunday!" he said as he began driving out of Edenbrook's parking lot.

She snapped on her seat belt and leaned back, crossing her arms. "You are a hypocrite, Lahela! Deep down you know we are on the same league," she said as she glared at him. 

"Nope, not at the moment, I'm no hypocrite. Do you even see me checking my phone for emails?" 

"Psh, you're driving, you just can't," she ruffled her bangs, annoyed. "So, what's the plan here?" 

"Lighten up, Doctor Song, have some little spontaneity!" he shuffled his shoulders as he said the last word. "I promised to distract you today, did you not trust this handsome face when you said so this morning?" Bryce pouted in an effort to mock her. 

She huffed in reply, settling into silence. She did trust him. She trusted him last night when she poured out her heartbreak to him. She also chose to trust him this morning, taking up his offer to go out today. He gave a convincing pitch about what he had planned for the day. But really, Heather would take any opportunity to get her mind off from the incidents of the past two days.

Besides, it was easy to say yes to Bryce. She was comfortable around him. He reminded her of her carefree days before her life all went downhill. He balanced her out, his dazzling personality never failed to brighten up even the starkest days for Heather. And this was her darkest season in recent memory. It was just apt to let someone like Bryce shine upon it. 

So she agreed to leave at noon, but asked to swing by the hospital to get some of her books so she could catch up on some reading. She wanted to stay sharp since she'll be flying back to Maryland to continue her cancer research.

Now they're driving along the freeway, she had no idea where their car is headed. After almost an hour, Bryce took an exit and then a few turns, before entering a parking lot full of cars. 

"We're here!" he said as he tapped the steering wheel and turned off the ignition. She got out of the car along with him, staring at the white signage in front of the building. 

"Sky zone?" Heather squinted at him, a queasy feeling rising in her stomach.

Seeing her hesitation, he practically dragged her to the front door and pushed her inside. A sight of kids and adults alike bouncing up and down on various complex trampoline structures welcomed her. 

She'd never seen Bryce this giddy, who went straight to the reception to register both of them. She was left alone and dumbfounded. She had no idea a place like this in Boston existed. But all the laughter surrounding her made her suddenly excited. 

He pulled her into an area full of lockers, and helped her shove her shoes and purse inside an empty one. He shoved his into another beside hers. 

"So? What do you think?" Bryce walked up to the nearest trampoline platform looking at her expectantly. 

"You sure you're an adult?" she said sarcastically, chuckling as she said it. 

"Aha! I knew it! I just know you'll like this!" he teased. "Dibs on the first bounce!" he leaped onto one then did a backflip, as Heather watched in amazement. He did another flip, even posing midair to make it look effortless. Seeing him enjoying himself, she couldn't resist any longer and dived right in. 

"This... Feels... Awesome!" she shouted to him in between bouncing, trying to propel herself higher with each jump. Bryce simply nodded back, giggling with her as they alternated between bouncing and running to the different trampoline stages in the park. 

Heather never felt as exhilarated as she was at that moment. With every jump, she felt a piece of her heartbreak shedding away. In her mind, she screamed at the looming threats that washed over her the past few weeks. It was getting more and more difficult to hold on to the grudges that wrapped her heart. So she let herself go. She leaped on every surface, on every stage, on every setup. She bounced until there was nothing left of the anxieties that seemed to anchor her with heaviness in the past 48 hours. 

When she started losing steam, she lifted herself with all her might and leaped into a pit of sponges, savoring the few moments of free fall. She then stood up on her feet and went down, found somewhere to sit and rest. Bryce followed her shortly after. 

While they were sipping ice cold water from one of the vending machines, he watched her. She was lost in her thoughts, a pensive look in her face. He perked up when she finally spoke. 

"The metaphor isn't lost in me. I get why you brought me here." she punched his arm playfully, before wiping the sweat on her forehead with a paper towel. 

"I never doubted you'd get it," he nodded, his face turning serious. "Look, let me tell you a secret," he leaned forward closing the gap between them. "This is where I kinda sulk after I lose a case, or when my head gets caught up in a rut," he paused for a few moments, pursing his lips. "Look, I know you've been through some hard times recently, but in my gut I know you're tougher than that. You're strong, you're a victor, you always, always overcome. Even when things get difficult, you just leverage the situation so you could bounce back. If there's anyone who can emerge from all of this triumphantly, it's you. Because you know why? You're one hell of a woman, Heather."

He stopped himself from saying anything more and finished his speech, as he gave her an endearing look.

She was taken aback by his words, unsure how to react. It took her a few moments before it sunk in - that he was exactly right. When times did get rough, she always managed to rise above it. She didn't buckle. But she had a tendency to forget, not because she's overwhelmed, but because she buzzed right through every painful experience. She used them as stepping stones, as fuel to her dreams and desires. She only needed a rousing reminder.

And that's what Bryce gave her today. With her spirit lifted by his overwhelming encouragement, she placed her hand over his and gave it a soft squeeze. Without thinking, she planted a quick peck on his cheek. 

"Thank you, Bryce. Thanks for bringing me here. I needed this." she whispered, staring back at him. 

It took all of Bryce's strength to stop himself from kissing her. Instead, he settled on ruffling her damp hair, smiling brightly back at her. 

"Like I said, I always got your back." He opened his arms and shrugged, a smug smile pasted on his face. "So if you're done moping around, you wanna play some more?"

Heather can't help but laugh. 

They hit the trampolines again, with Bryce flipping himself and shooting into some hoops. They even had a contest, where they tried besting each other over dodge ball. They didn't stop until they got both hungry. He eventually drove them to a nearby food truck, and together they ate hotdogs and greasy fries in his car. Heather's friends called her while they were parked, inviting them both for a quick hangout at Donahues. 

As they drove back into the town center in silence, she couldn't ignore the tugging in her heart that this wasn't just two friends hanging out. Yet she didn't feel guilty or confused at all. That Sunday afternoon, she felt entirely certain that she was with someone who she was supposed to be with. It didn't feel forced, exhausting or boring. It simply felt good. 

Tags: @choicesficwriterscreations for Fics of the Week

Ricochet AU tags: @eleanorbloom @ramsey-lahela

[justinsdaysinthedark]

Post # 6 - It is what it is

I'd be lying if I said I haven't spent the past half an hour with tears flowing from my eyes staring at a blank screen wondering how I'm going to get everything I've got floating in my head out. I suppose listening to Coldplay live in Argentina probably wasn't the best choice of music to set the mood. I'll work on that one in the future...

Where do I start? It's been a question I'm often asking myself at the start of these blog posts and it's certainly not the easiest one. What do you guys know? There's been so much happen since my last post on Thursday night.

Friday July 26th: I saw my doctors around lunchtime who came in quite concerned. Whilst they were confident my lymphoma was one called DLBCL (Diffuse Large B- Cell Lymphoma), some tests had come back with suspect results that it could be a more aggressive and harsh type of lymphoma called Burkitt's lymphoma and if confirmed, chemo was starting that night with no time to waste. There was also one marked in the middle (a cross of the two) called Burkitt's Like Lymphoma which is treated similarly to DLBCL. Whatever it was, I couldn't change it. I just wanted answers and if treatment needed to start, let's get it underway!

Adam, my incredible haematology doctor sent off another test of my gall bladder to finally get the confirmation I was after. It was urgent. He had to know. It was reassuring of Adam to state "Justin, we need to know what this is. Preliminary results are due back later this afternoon and that will hopefully rule out Burkitt's. if it is Burkitt's, we'll start chemo tonight and I'll be with you every step of the way - even if I have to stay back a few hours."

I know doctors earn a fair coin on a lazy day, but how many give you that much confidence that you and your health is important to them? I'm going to have it a guess and say not many but alas, I am so incredibly lucky with the team of doctors I have.

4:00pm and Adam strolls in the door heading straight for my room. My heart drops, similarly to what it had when Michael dropped the news I had lymphoma. "Good news. Preliminary results are back and we're confident it's not Burkitt's. You can't rule out anything in life, so there still is a small chance it could be. We're happy to wait for the final results on Monday, figure out a treatment plan from there and start Chemotherapy next week. Spend Saturday and Sunday on day leave and I'll see you next week."

This was news to my ears. In a time of what has been negative or no news, I could spend the weekend with family relatively freely and forget everything was happening for a few hours each day. My Uncle Bob and Aunty Denise were down from Tasmania to see me, as was my Aunty AJ and cousins from Bairnsdale so it all felt like it fit into place.

Friday night saw me considerably more relaxed with this news...that was until Collingwood started and it was the demolition it was. Slightly humorous side note, the nurse came in around 9pm for my nightly observations. Naturally, my heart rate was up a bit more than normal watching the football (118BPM - normally between 70-85BPM). This caused the nurse to call in the team of doctors who wanted to put me on an ECG machine for the night and monitor my heart. I assured them it was because Collingwood were on and if they gave me an hour, I'd be okay. It took some convincing, but it finally worked. Back they came an hour later and it had gone down - crisis averted.

Saturday afternoon and evening was wonderful. I went down to dads for dinner and was fortunate enough to spend some much needed time with family over a beautiful dinner and good laugh.

Sunday was much the same. I went home, mum did a fair chunk of washing for me as I spent it being me. Seeing Courtney, napping in my own bed and even headed over to Fountain Gate and got some much needed new clothes and other miscellaneous items - something that seems so simple but is such a luxury when you've spent the past 15 days in hospital.

Monday July 29th: They say the more you think positively, the more positive news you shall receive....or it goes something like that right? I woke up this morning the most upbeat and best I'd felt in weeks. I felt fine. I felt no pain, almost like I'd woken up from a shitty hotel! In all honesty, I felt like I'm abusing the system however I keep being quickly reminded how much I need to be here. Did I wake up so positive because I lived my old life for 16 hours over the weekend? Is it because I was hoping to hear a reasonably positive outcome with this lymphoma test? Probably a mix of both if I'm honest. But whatever it was, I was hopeful.

Adam came around at roughly 10:00am. Didn't really have much for me in terms of news but more of an outline of the day. If they hear the results of the test they were waiting on, they'd write me up a treatment plan ASAP and get chemo started this afternoon. At worst, I'd be starting it tomorrow (Tuesday). They just needed that definitive answer of what type of lymphoma I have - an answer I'd love more than anybody.

Either way, we agreed i'd need a PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line in which basically is a long-term cannula. It runs from the inside of my arm right up and around and stops basically just outside my heart. This is for easy access for the chemotherapy and even an easy exit for blood tests - something that's proven incredibly difficult to take from me over the past few days. Additionally, these lines can last up to six months verses the three days you get from a cannula. There were too many positives to say no to!

This wasn't scheduled for any time in particular, so 1:00pm came around and I was about to be taken to get the PICC line in.

Just as I was about to leave, Adam came in with a few words I'm all too familiar with. "Well, the pathology tests we were waiting on have come back inconclusive..."

Woah. Wait. What? How do tests of my gall bladder that was removed six days ago come back inconclusive? How does one of the main sources not have enough 'data' to tell them what sort of lymphoma I have? I was just stunned.

Adam continued "As a result, we can see some signs of Burkitt's lymphoma and that's what we're going to treat you for. You're young. You should be able to handle it and it's better to over treat you than under treat and be stuck where we are at the moment. It's an intense 16-day chemo treatment that will totally wipe out your red and white blood cells as well as your platelets. We foresee you being in here for another 3-5 weeks, depending on how well your body goes getting these levels back up to normal post this first treatment..."

I honestly say this but that's all I remember from this conversation. I was hoping I'd be heading home this week but looks like that definitely won't be happening. Today marks day 40 of the past 55 days in hospital (day 15 of this stint) and if I go off the longest suggested time expected, I have another 35 days to go. That honestly crushed me.

I got taken down to get my PICC line in - quite an easy process. Very similar to putting in a larger cannula, just a whole lot longer and uses local anaesthetic as well as being guided by an ultrasound and X-ray. I'm lucky enough to have two ports, which will hopefully speed up some of my medication and how much they can pump in. Does it feel weird? The only weird part was feeling it slide down past and near my heart - but that's okay now!

By the time I return, dad made his was in to try and help process the news. We get Adam in to once again explain the process. In layman's terms, I'll be starting an intense and high-dose 16-day chemotherapy program kicking off tomorrow (Tuesday) morning. Most of the time across the next 16 days, I'll be hooked up via IV drip getting whatever medication is required. I think I saw I have rest days on days 7 & 8 which I suppose will give me two days to look forward to. At the end of the day, it's something I'm not certain on and will be a day by day process and constant learning about what's going into my body to help fight with me.

I do have one request for you all. With my body not producing red or white blood cells or platelets over the next few weeks, I do request if you are planning to visit however are sick to stay away those extra few days. With my immune system going to be at the lowest it's been, I don't particularly want to pick up something I don't need. Additionally, as much as I'd love flowers, they're also banned due to the infection risk of the spores mixing with the chemotherapy and causing some dangerous damage from the inside.

At the end of the day, if you're not sure please message me and check as I'm not entirely sure myself about everything. I'm constantly learning as I'm going.

How am I feeling? I'm nervous. I'm nervous at the unknown. How will this affect me? How bad am I going to feel? Will I lose my hair? What will my energy levels be like? In advance, I do apologise if over the next few weeks I'm not myself. Truth be told, that's because I probably won't be.

In a way, i'm finally excited to start my treatment first thing tomorrow morning (after yet ANOTHER lumbar puncture). I was so envious of both people next to me getting their first rounds of chemo today. I know mine will be intense but I just can't wait.

I've learnt so much about cancer and chemotherapy over the past four days and I know there's so much more to learn. Today I learnt I'll be incredibly highly cytotoxic, which basically means all needles and anything used on me need to go in a separate bin just for me. Additionally, I'll have to get used to the good old double flush after the toilet to ensure all waste is disposed of. Mouth ulcers are a big issue with most chemo patients as well. I'll have to start brushing my teeth after every meal and taking a special mouthwash 3x daily to assist with keeping these under control. There's plenty of other little things, but they're two I least expected.

Everything really hit me last night....not like it did tonight though. I just had twenty minutes to reflect and it just became a sudden realisation. What I'm going through is real. It's not a 'joke' anymore. It's not something they're looking at as a potential cause. It is the cause. I have a legitimate medical issue and it's finally time to fight lymphoma. All well and good to be talking the talk like I have been - it's now time to walk the walk. This sits well with me. If I give somebody my word, I do whatever I can to get it achieved. Unfortunately for the lymphoma throughout my body I've given it my word and it's time to fight it. Round one begins tomorrow morning.

I leave tonight feeling a whole lot better than I did when I started tonight's post. I didn't learn from my words earlier as Coldplay live from Argentina is still playing however I'm in a much more comfortable mind space.

My best friend of a lazy 20 years, Dylan visited tonight with his partner, Jacqui. One phrase popped up more than most and they made me aware it was a common phrase coming out of my mouth.

"It is what it is."

I can't control what's happened to me as "it is what it is." What I can control from here though is how I fight lymphoma. Thanks for the visit tonight guys, I appreciated the two hours spent here in what's been an incredibly tough afternoon.

Much love.

Juzz xx

[the-letter-horror-lover]

But soon enough, he had all four boys through the water-closet and trooped them down to the last bedroom at the end of the hall. The room was freezing cold, having been shut up for the last few years, but that couldn't be helped at the moment, and Tanaka had already spread thick wool blankets on the bed; that would have to do until they could get the fireplaces stocked with coke fuel and burning to warm the rooms up. He'd have to order more coke immediately, as well as contact Abberline at Scotland Yard, and contact the managers of his Funtom Company to either delay or find a new venue for the board meeting he had scheduled for three days away (it would be impossible for them to meet here while the manor was so packed with refugees); one more thing to take care of in the morning, and the list in his head was already entirely too long...

"All right. All of you shake out your blankets, and drape them over yourselves like tents, to hold in the heat," Ciel ordered. And once the four boys had done that, he told them, "Now undress, down to your smallclothes. When you are done, wrap the blankets around yourselves. Leave the clothes on the floor, just this once." Sebastian would probably have fits later, when he found out that clothes had been strewn about so many rooms of the mansion, but Ciel simply couldn't find the energy to care; he just wanted to get this lot in bed as soon as possible, so he could start on the next.

Once all four boys were standing before him with their blankets wrapped about their shoulders, Ciel gave them their last orders: "Keep the blankets with you while you get into bed and under the covers; you two take the middle, you get the left side, and you're on the right side. No wiggling about once you're under the covers; at four to a bed, there's not a lot of room, but there'll be no shoving others out of bed.” Once they were all lying in bed, he told them firmly, “Now stay there until someone comes to fetch you in the morning! Someone will be along soon with some warm milk for a snack, but it's fine if you fall asleep while waiting for them; you’ll be woken up just long enough to get your share."

Once they were all in bed, he closed the door behind him and walked with Lizzie back to the great hall, to start the whole process over again with another group of boys. "I'll do just what you did, with girls in groups of four," Lizzie said quietly and with the most serious expression he had ever seen on her face, "but before I do, let me use the telephone in your study. I want to tell my parents what's happened, and ask them to send over as many servants as we can spare to help your people out while they’re all here. I don't mean to insult you or your staff, Ciel, because Sebastian is truly amazing, but caring for so many children... you're simply going to need more help. I'll also ask Mother to send over all of my and Edward's old clothes for the children to wear; she went through our wardrobes just last week and pulled out several items we'd outgrown, but I don't think they've been given away yet."

"I'm not insulted at all, and thank you for the offer," Ciel said just before he smothered another yawn with his hand. He was so very tired now, having gotten up before dawn for breakfast duty back at the circus, but there were so many more children to deal with first...

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It had been a long time since Bard had ridden a horse bareback, or ridden at night. But with close to a hundred kids suddenly showing up at the manor and in a helluva state, he wasn’t in the mood to slow down for niceties like saddles. Thankfully, there was a full moon lighting up the night, and the bay horse ‘Righty’ (named that by Finny because he was always hitched to the right side of the carriage) seemed to catch his mood and was not only agreeable to being ridden with nothing but a bridle and reins, but broke into a steady canter the second they were clear of the stables. Not nearly fast enough to take Bard’s mind off the sight he’d seen when he’d stepped briefly into the main hall before leaving (Christ, all those poor kids, their faces; no wonder the young master called ‘em half-dead!) but plenty fast for a cross-country ride at midnight.

In less than ten minutes he was hammering on the door to the dairy farmer’s cottage, bellowing, “Open up! Earl Phantomhive’s got an emergency!” It took too damn long for the farmer to get his arse out of bed and answer the door, and Bard was damn tempted to blow it open with the explosives he always kept handy, but he refrained—barely. Instead, the second the door opened he barked in the blinking man’s face, “The earl wants every damn cow you have milked right now, and all the milk brought to the manor as fast as you can get it there!”

“What, right now? But it’s hours before milking time!” the famer protested. “Doesn’t the earl understand how much such a huge schedule change will upset the cattle?”

Bard growled back, “Do you understand that right now the earl doesn’t give a shit for schedules?! Not when we just got damn near a hundred children brought into the manor, all of them rescued from some really nasty characters, and most of them looking starved half to death!”

The farmer stared at him in shock for a second. “Are you jo—”

“No, I’m not joking!” Bard snapped back at him before he could finish. “For Christ’s sake, who would joke about this?!”

The farmer spun around and shouted into the house, “Martha, wake the boys! And Nellie, too!” Less than ten minutes later the farmer, his wife, two strapping teenaged boys and a little ten-year-old girl were all heading out to the dairy barn with lanterns in hand and with their coats thrown on over their nightclothes.

Bard went with them and rolled up his sleeves, figuring that milking couldn’t be that hard. But after he told the farmer honestly that he’d never milked a cow before, the farmer asked him, “Will you give our Nellie a hand, then? The cows will take more kindly to people they know disturbing them at this hour, and Nellie knows all the equipment we use for collecting and carting the milk but she’s not strong enough to lift some of them yet.”

In short order Bard found himself taking instructions from a little girl half his size, and whose attitude flipped every few seconds between bossy and apologetic towards him; good thing he was already used to being ordered around by a kid. He paid close attention, and once he’d sussed out with her help how to wrangle all the equipment they used, he told her, “I can take it from here, if you can pitch in and help your folks with the milking; we've got lots of hungry kids to feed.”

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

With nothing else she could do at the moment, Lizzie fretfully twiddled her fingers while she counted eleven rings before someone picked up the telephone at home. "Midford Hall," she heard in a deep male voice, one that sounded decidedly grumpy. "May I ask what is the emergency? Because surely it must be an emergency, to call at this hour..."

"It is an emergency, James," Lizzie fervently told the Midford family butler.

"Lady Lizzie?" James gasped. "What's happened—oh heavens, is Phantomhive Manor being attacked again?!"

"No, it's not that, but Earl Phantomhive needs our help! Go wake up Mama and Papa, James; I need to talk to them!"

"At once, my lady!" Lizzie heard him set the telephone receiver down, and the rapid beat of his footsteps running away.

Perhaps two minutes later, she heard a clicking sound and her Papa's voice saying urgently into what must have been the receiver in his study, "Lizzie, what's happened? Are you hurt? Is Ciel hurt?"

"We're not hurt, Papa, but Ciel needs our help! He just came back from some case he was on for Her Majesty, with dozens of children that he rescued—maybe a hundred of them! I couldn't count them all, there are so many—and there's something so wrong with them; they're so—they're like wooden dolls, their faces are so lifeless! They just sit there, or stand there, and they only—"

As she spoke, she heard a fast clatter of footsteps echoing down the line, and swift rustling and clunking sounds before her mother said urgently into the receiver outside the servants' quarters, "Elizabeth, what's happened? Who's hurt? James said you and Ciel need our help..."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Having finished carrying all the children inside, Sebastian picked the grimiest-looking child and took him into the downstairs bath while Finnian went to get hot water from the kitchen. Coming back with two buckets of steaming hot water, the gardener told Sebastian, "When Bard left to wake up the farmer, he told me to tell you that he already added honey to the milk he put in a pot on the stove, so it would be ready to serve as soon as it was warmed up. I just felt the pot while I was in the kitchen, and it's nice and warm now; it looks like a whole gallon's worth, too, but I guess we'll need lots more than that. How many more buckets of hot water will we need?"

"You've brought enough for this bath, but we’ll need plenty more hot water throughout the night. Given the deplorable state of these children, we shall need to drain and change the bathwater for each one," Sebastian said grimly as he finished stripping the dirty clothes off the first boy, to reveal the skin underneath; not only was his skin just as filthy as the rags he'd been wearing, but it was riddled with sores, some of which began bleeding anew as the clothing that had been sticking to them was peeled away. "And we will likely need to bandage each of them as well; fetch me the first aid basket from under the sink in the master's bathing room. Then fetch the first aid basket that Bard keeps in the kitchen, and give it to Mey-Rin for her use."

Finny nodded and turned to leave, but Sebastian had more instructions for him; "And then go find Tanaka, and tell him that milk is ready for serving to the children already in bedrooms; I think it best that I remain on bathing duty. I have far more recent and frequent experience with bathing young boys, as part of waiting on the young master." And when no other servants were looking, he could change the water between each bath and dress the youngsters in borrowed clothes far faster than Tanaka could. Given that they had thirteen boys to bathe and clothe tonight, bursts of demonic speed were definitely called for.

"Yessir!" as Finny ran off to fetch the first aid supplies, and relay his instructions to Tanaka.

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

After he’d finished putting quilts and heavy blankets on all the beds in the west wing, Tanaka was heading for the downstairs bath to take over bathing the male children when he ran into Finnian, who advised him of Sebastian’s suggestion. Tanaka nodded his agreement with the idea, since in truth Sebastian did have more experience with bathing children than he, and then followed Finnian into the kitchen.

While the young gardener emptied two pots of water into his buckets and refilled them before putting the pots back on the stove, Tanaka took the pot of milk that had been slowly heating (on the stove’s lowest setting; goodness, Bard was actually capable of heating with something other than flamethrowers) poured milk into a row of teapots he’d lined up, and fetched a set of matching teacups from the cupboard. Mm, not the Wedgwood; plain china would do for serving tonight. Guests to the mansion always received the full measure of Phantomhive hospitality regardless of their station in life, but children weakened from exhaustion and deprivation would be prone to dropping and breaking the delicate wares.

His fingers lingered for a moment over a tin of digestive biscuits, before he shook his head. Most of the children would have to be served just warm milk with honey, as the young master had ordered. They did not have nearly enough biscuits on hand, including both plain digestive and the fancier shortbread, to feed all the children. And from what he’d seen of the poor creatures lined up in the grand hallway, it would be wise to save the few they had on hand tonight for those in the most desperate stages of starvation, which would likely be the ones who had reportedly been found locked in cages like animals.

Tanaka knew well the signs of starvation, from when he’d been a mere footman in the Phantomhive employ; he could still remember the gaunt faces and limbs of those desperate Irishmen who had come to London during the years of the Potato Famine, those who were too poor to afford passage for emigrating to America. He also remembered the faces of those that he had helped the young master’s grandfather free, while breaking up that child slavery ring back in 1853. He would look over the rows of children dressed in rags to determine the worst off of the lot, and slip them each a simple digestive biscuit to tide them over while waiting for more of the warm milk that Bard would be bringing soon.

Come the morrow, they would no doubt be very busy in the kitchen indeed, working to feed so many children. Tanaka might even have to forego his tea in favor of preparing other hot beverages for their guests, a thought that made him blanch and shudder in anticipated horror. But the duty of a Phantomhive servant always came before personal comforts; he would bear up under the strain, just as he had done back in 1869 during that dreadful affair with the Red Nuns.

With the milk and tea service set on a trolley and a few items tucked into his pockets, he set out to distribute the sweetened milk they had on hand in the west wing, nodding in passing to the young master as the earl led a group of four children to the water-closet. “I take it Sebastian decided to stay on bathing duty?” the young master asked, and when Tanaka informed him he was correct, he muttered something under his breath before nodding to the teapots while asking, “How much do we have on hand?”

“Roughly three and a half quarts altogether, my lord,” Tanaka said with a bow. “But I am quite sure that Bardroy will be able to procure much more.”

“Right, then; give what we have now to the boys in the two bedrooms at the end of the hall. Two cups each or close enough,” the earl directed, with a glance at the six-ounce teacups Tanaka had set on the trolley. “After that, you can take over for me in putting children to bed.”

“Yes, my lord,” Tanaka said with a bow, and served the lads in the last two bedrooms as he’d been bidden. After all the milk had been served, he returned to the grand hall and took a few moments to inspect the children sitting or lying in rows, giving close inspection to the ones dressed in rags and filth that were lying instead of sitting. As he’d suspected, two of them were considerably worse off than the rest, perilously close to death from starvation. Perhaps because they had been captive longest, or perhaps they had refused to eat from despair, but the reason why scarcely mattered now.

Murmuring reassurances, he carefully propped them upright and hand-fed them each a plain digestive biscuit from the tin he’d tucked into a pocket, softened beforehand and washed down after with water from the hip flask he’d tucked into another pocket. There, that small bit of food should begin the process of restarting their failing digestive systems, and should keep them from passing on for at least the next few hours.

The young master came back for another group of boys just as he finished feeding the second child and laid her back down. The master frowned and furrowed his brow at Tanaka for a moment, before opening his eyes wide in realization. “They were that close?” was all he asked.

“Indeed, young master,” Tanaka said as he rose to his feet and bowed. “But now they should survive long enough to be tended in their turn with the rest. However, we shall have to take considerable care with their diet over the next few days; only one small cupful of milk to start with, followed by another in a few hours only if they can keep the first cup down.”

The young master nodded his gratitude, before turning to frown at Finnian as the lad rushed up to them with empty buckets in hand and his features creased in worry. “Master? I’m very sorry to bother you, but Sebastian’s already busy with bathing the boys, and I think Mey-Rin’s having problems…”

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Ohhh, this was dreadful! The young master was counting on her, and these poor little girls needed her help, but Mey-Rin couldn’t see! The steam from the bathwater kept fogging up her glasses; she kept pausing to wipe them off so she could work, but it only took seconds for the lenses to fog up again. But if she just left them off, then all she saw with her terrible farsightedness was a flesh-colored blur on white instead of a little girl in a bathtub… how could she properly clean these children and bandage them, if she couldn’t see the grime and the sores that needed tending?! Whimpering under her breath, Mey-Rin told herself this was absolutely not the time to burst into tears of worry and frustration; that would only make her vision worse…

“It will be all right, Mey-Rin,” she heard Tanaka say soothingly from off to her right, and then his silver-and-black blur stood next to her, nudging her more towards the head of the tub. “Here, give me the sponge; I can bathe and tend to these young girls, if you will remain as chaperone.”

Mey-Rin gratefully passed the sponge and soap over to Tanaka, and when he made a suggestion and put the shampoo bottle in her hand, she washed the child’s long brown hair while he bathed the rest of her. Washing hair was easy; she was used to doing that on herself and didn’t need eyes for it, just her sense of touch. Oh dear, this girl had dreadful tangles matting up her hair; it would take some time and care to comb them out…

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

An hour after they’d started work at the dairy farm, Bard helped the farmer Josiah Vale and his sons load the last of the five-gallon canisters of milk onto their wagon, while the farmer’s wife Martha hitched their donkey to the cart, and their little girl Nellie came running out of the house with extra blankets for the farmer to bundle up in, as they were all still wearing nightclothes.

“Gee up, Jenny! There’s hungry kids waiting for this!” Josiah barked as he slapped the reins, and the donkey grunted as she began pulling the wagon. As Bard hopped back onto Righty to ride alongside, the oldest son Dan worried aloud, “But Da, what if bandits are out tonight? Remember, we heard that the baker’s family got robbed on the road just last week!”

“Any bandits we see tonight, ain’t gonna live to rob anybody else,” Bard grimly promised the teen, whose eyes went wide as Bard briefly showed him one of the guns he was carrying. “Right now that milk’s more precious than gold to the earl and those kids. But thanks for speaking up about the bandits; we hadn’t heard there were any in the area recently. I’ll let the earl know, and we’ll see about doing something about them once the kids are all taken care of and back with their folks; Earl Phantomhive doesn’t stand for any of that on his lands.”

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Finny finished bringing Sebastian and Mey-Rin the hot water for another set of baths, and returned to the kitchen with empty pails just as Bard came in from outside, lugging a big steel container with handles on it. “Here, give a hand hauling the rest in, so the farmer can go home,” Bard grunted.

Finnian dashed out and picked up the other three containers all at once, with two hanging from the fingers of his left hand; the nice dairy farmer who’d brought the milk gaped at him for a moment before blinking, shaking his head a little and getting back into the seat of his cart to go home. Finny didn’t mind the stare (much), he was used to people being surprised by his strength.

After going inside with the milk, Finny told Bard what everyone was doing now as the chef poured some of the milk into two of the water pails, since those were easier for normal people to carry, and stirred in lots of honey. When they went into the great hall, the young master looked up from where he was just gathering another group of four boys and grumbled, "It's about time! How much did you bring?"

"Just under eighteen gallons, your lordship. The farmer said that they can give you just as much and at least six gallons more for the evening milking, and the same again tomorrow morning," Bard added.

"That's enough for two teacupfuls per child tonight, with… ten gallons left—no, eleven, Tanaka already took care of some of the boys—eleven gallons left over serving with breakfast and for cooking tomorrow's meals," the young master muttered while rubbing tiredly at his face. Then he seemed to catch himself and straightened up while ordering, "Here, give these four their supper before bed, two cups each."

Finny and Bard each filled teacups for handing to the silent children, while the master continued, "All the children, both down here and already abed, will get the same amount. Bard, take care of the children still in the hall, and then you'll be hauling water for the baths while Finny makes the rounds of the bedrooms. Also, ask Tanaka to step out here long enough to identify the two children that should receive only half as much, because they've been starved too long and their stomachs will reject too much food, even if it's just milk."

"You want me to give milk to the children in bedrooms?" Finny asked, surprised that the master had that much trust in him. He was always breaking things on the grounds outside, because he didn't know his own strength—and all these poor children looked so fragile, so easy to break!

"You carried them inside the house without breaking any of them, didn't you?" Master demanded. And when Finny said he was right, he nodded while saying firmly, "You can feed them milk without hurting them either. These days you mainly break things when you get too happy or excited and forget yourself. Well, nobody's happy about this turn of events, and there's nothing exciting about serving milk. Now in the west wing, start with the second bedroom from the end on either side; Tanaka already fed the boys in the last bedrooms. Wake them up if they've fallen asleep while waiting, but don't let them get out of bed for supper, either; understand? You'll have to be careful to not let the milk spill, but just this once, they're allowed to dine in bed; it's better than letting them get chilled while standing about in unheated bedrooms."

Finny said he understood, and after helping Bard feed the first four boys and seeing how it should be done, he carried a pail, a dipper and a teacup with him up the stairs. The master trailed behind him with the four boys in tow while muttering under his breath, something about a dairy budget. Finny felt a little sorry for the young master, who looked so very tired now; when he himself was tired, thinking was really hard, but right now the master had to do so much thinking...

Finny was very, very careful as he opened the door and didn't quite tiptoe into each bedroom, roused each group of children with his very gentlest shakes and taps, and helped them sit up in bed long enough to drink the milk he'd brought, filling the teacup twice for each of them. He was really worried about spilling the milk, because it had taken him a long time to learn to eat and drink without making a mess. But all these children must have had teachers just as good as Mr. Sebastian, because none of them spilled even a single drop.

When each bedroom full of children had had their supper of sweetened milk, Finny very carefully tucked them into bed again, using the same words that Mr. Sebastian had told him after giving him his very own bed in the servants' quarters. "Now you go to sleep, and stay under the covers until I come for—I mean, until someone comes for you in the morning."

And then, because these children had probably come from families instead of from laboratories and Finny remembered one of the children's books he'd been given explaining what normal families did at bedtime, he sang a lullaby before leaving each bedroom. Finny knew, because Bard had explained it to him the first time he'd seen the word, that a lullaby was a special song that was sung to help children go to sleep. But he didn't know any of those special songs; nobody had ever sung him a lullaby before. So he improvised, saying in a singsong as he turned the lights back off, "Go to slee-eep, you're all safe now. Go to slee-eep, things will be better now..."

00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00oo00

Sebastian had already bathed, bandaged and dressed nine children in borrowed clothes, and was still washing the hair of the tenth when Bard came into the bathroom where he was working, carrying a nearly emptied pail of milk, a dipper and a plain servant’s teacup. "Supper's served," he announced with an attempt at humor, though the grim expression on his face ruined the effect. "I already gave some to each kid still in the hall. Finny's making the rounds of the kids already in bedrooms."

Sebastian looked at him sharply at the last sentence. "What is Tanaka doing now, if not serving milk?" Soon after they’d begun their contract, when the master had brought Tanaka home from the Royal Hospital, he’d made it clear that Tanaka was on the books as a steward but unofficially retired, and no one except the master himself could order him to do anything. But immediately afterwards, Tanaka had quietly assured Sebastian that when situations were particularly tense or urgent, the former butler would pitch in with no need for orders and give his best effort right along with everyone else.

"He's helping Mey-Rin give baths to the girls that need 'em; told Finny that he's too old to care even if they were prime beauties in perfect health, and right now I don't think the girls are gonna complain either." Bard shrugged. "Finny said he heard Mey-Rin fretting that her glasses keep fogging up on her, and if she takes them off she can't see what she's doing either."

Sebastian gave a small frown and shook his head as he commented mostly to himself, "I should have realized that at the start." Mey-Rin had been hired on his recommendation, and he knew of her eyesight issues better than anyone. For the first time in a very long time, the question was not rhetorical but self-castigating: how could he be the Phantomhive butler, if he didn't anticipate and compensate for the other servants' human shortcomings in a situation like this?

"Hey, nobody can think of everything all the time," Bard said with another shrug, as he set down the pail and used the dipper to fill the teacup with warm milk. Sebastian held the boy he'd been washing upright and steady as Bard carefully brought the cup to his lips, crooning, "Come on, suppertime... this is fresh from the cow, and sweetened with honey; can't get better than that! Good stuff, right? Let's put some meat back on those ribs..."

After the still-nameless boy drank two teacups of warm sweetened milk, Bard set the cup and pail down and rolled up his sleeves. "His lordship put me to hauling water for baths, but that leaves me some time to spare. How about I take over washing kids for you, so you can take over for the young master? You know I've got experience with bandaging too, and it looked to me like he's just about sleepwalking now; don't reckon he had any sleep at all before you came here with the kids."

"No, he had not. Thank you, Bard," Sebastian said as he stood up and dried his hands. As he rolled down his sleeves and put his tailcoat back on, he almost commented on how surprisingly competent the soldier-turned-chef was being tonight, but refrained at the last second. Instead he picked up the pail of warm sweetened milk and took it to the kitchen, to be poured into a more appropriate container for serving the earl.

When he found his young master, who was indeed stumbling with fatigue, the little earl still stubbornly insisted on seeing through his self-appointed task of putting the current group of four boys to bed. But the very moment those four were under the covers and the light in their room put out, he turned to Sebastian and all but fell into his arms. "Bed," was all he mumbled, but that was command enough for them both.

"Yes, my lord," Sebastian said, and then carried the young master to his bedroom, aware that he must make quite a sight; it was not unheard of for servants to carry tired children to bed, but one did not normally do so while balancing a loaded tea tray on one's head. Under the circumstances, however, exceptions had to be allowed. Indeed, they passed Finnian coming out of another bedroom with a milk pail and teacup, and all the gardener did was nod a drowsy greeting to them without even blinking at Sebastian's unusual chapeau.

Once in the master's bedroom, he set down first Ciel and then the tea tray, and gave the boy a cupful of warm sweetened milk to drink while he swiftly and skillfully divested him of all his clothes and got him ready for bed. Ciel barely seemed to notice, his eyes fixed either on the teacup or on nothing at all, automatically switching his grip on the cup from one hand to the other as Sebastian gently tugged his jacket and shirt off of him and slipped his nightshirt on.

Sebastian said as he deftly buttoned the nightshirt, snaking his fingers up between the boy and the teacup, "I do apologize for not drawing you a bath before bed, my lord, but under the circumstances..." The young master made only a grunt of acknowledgment in response before draining the last of the warm sweetened milk, handing the now-empty cup back to the butler and turning to gracelessly flop into bed. With an affectionate tsk at his lack of manners, Sebastian tucked him in properly and bowed himself out of the room, aware that the young earl had fallen into dreamless sleep even before the light had been put out.

Next Sebastian tracked down Lady Elizabeth, who was also quite tired from lack of sleep... and at first just as determined to see to the finish the task her fiancé had asked of her, that of putting all the female children to bed. He very gently rebuked her with, "But my lady, to see you doing the duties of a servant, when a servant stands here ready for orders; surely your mother the Marchioness would not approve."

"But it's not proper for a man to put girls to bed," Lizzie said stubbornly, before covering a yawn with her hand.

Sebastian gestured to the current group of four girls who were crawling into bed as he said persuasively, "When the girls in question are keeping themselves well-covered with blankets, my lady, surely that satisfies propriety."

"Welll..." Lizzie almost visibly wavered before finally giving in. "All right; there are only a few more girls left anyway, and two of them still need Mey-Rin to give them baths first."

"Quite so, my lady. Do allow me to escort you to your room and serve you a nightcap of warm sweetened milk."

As he walked her back to her guest bedroom, Lizzie said between yawns, "Sebastian, my parents will send over some of our servants in the morning, to help out for the next few days that all these children are here. And Mama said she'd have some more clothes brought over, too."

"They will all be most welcome," was all Sebastian said in response. After they reached her guest room, he served Lizzie some warm sweetened milk before bidding her good night and returning to the great hall, where more children awaited.

As he trotted down the grand staircase, he met Finnian coming back down with an empty pail and a tired but pleased expression. "All the children have been given warm milk, Mr. Sebastian. And I only spilled one time, and it was just a few drops!"

"Well done then, Finnian," and Sebastian was mildly surprised to find that the praise was actually sincere, and not the near-meaningless flattery he occasionally doled out to the boy and to Mey-Rin to get them to stop weeping or howling about their inadequacies. The task of dispensing warm beverages to dozens of children, when Finnian himself was operating on less than adequate sleep, must have taken prolonged concentration on the boy's part. To complete the task with only one minor spill was far better than Sebastian would have expected of him; really, nearly the entire staff was being far more competent than usual tonight. "Now do resume hauling hot water for baths, while I take care of putting the remaining children to bed."

He put two more groups of boys to bed, and then the last group of four girls after Mey-Rin and Tanaka had finished bathing and dressing them (three of them in clothes borrowed from the young master’s closets, after they had completely exhausted Lady Elizabeth’s travel trunk.) Rather than stand in the bedroom giving directions, he undressed them himself and re-wrapped them in blankets at his top speed, which was considerably faster than any of the children could have managed. Lady Elizabeth would have protested if she'd known, but as Bard had pointed out, the girls were really not in any state to complain about his methods, particularly since it got them under the covers faster.

The last girl he put to bed didn't need to be undressed, since all she had on her was Lady Elizabeth's spare nightgown; a blue flannel affair with many colorful butterflies printed on the fabric. But since it suited his butler aesthetics to spend an equal amount of time with each child, he produced a small hairbrush from a pocket and spent a few seconds brushing the child's hair before tucking her in with the others already in bed.

The girl gave him a weak but clearly grateful smile, and whispered "Thank you." When she spoke, Sebastian abruptly recognized her; this was the same girl who had said "Please" to the young master a few hours ago, back in Baron Kelvin's mansion.

He smiled back at her, approving of her good manners; he neither needed nor asked for expressions of gratitude for doing his duties for the young master (which was just as well, because the earl hardly ever said them), but he did appreciate them when they were given sincerely. "You are quite welcome. Now sleep, child; you're safe here." After she'd obediently closed her eyes, he put out the light and returned downstairs.

Returning to the baths, he took over for Bard so the chef could go to sleep, and sent Finny tottering off to bed as well once he'd brought the hot water for the final bath. After the last group of three boys had all been bathed, bandaged and dressed in clothes borrowed from the master's closet, he led them all through the bedtime routine and tucked them in. Checking his pocket watch, he frowned at the time it displayed; well past four o'clock in the morning. But now that everyone was asleep, he could stop acting quite so human and be more efficient.

The master had given him permission to use his full abilities 'just this one time', and Sebastian chose to interpret 'this one time' to refer to this entire, unprecedented and still ongoing situation. Lady Elizabeth had informed him that members of the Marquis Midford's serving staff were coming on the morrow, and while he would admit that more people would be needed to properly tend so many children, he would not have the Marchioness Midford or anyone else thinking that more servants were needed to tend to the estate itself; the Phantomhive reputation was at stake.

First, stocking the pantry and larder. He went downstairs to the kitchen and storerooms, and swept a hand over the shelves as he summoned and bent aether to his supernatural will. In short order every shelf was laden to the groaning point with sacks of flour and other baking essentials, jars of honey and preserved fruits and vegetables, and dozens of cured hams and smoked fishes. Then he restocked the root cellar in seconds with plenty of potatoes, onions, turnips and the like, and after a moment's thought he conjured four bulging sacks full of lemons, limes and oranges from the Americas; good for treating scurvy, which he'd seen signs of in nearly all the boys he'd bathed.

As a final touch, he left two haunches of venison and an entire side of beef hanging in the chilled air of the meat-smoking shed. Sebastian made a note to advise his young master of the full restocking, to give the earl time to come up with a plausible lie if anyone should ask how they’d acquired so much on such short notice. Perhaps the master could say that they’d raided the baron’s mansion for supplies as well as children, before burning it to ashes.

Now, the fuel for heating. He stocked the coal cellar to the brim with high-quality coke, before stepping into a shadow—and stepping out again in the east wing's furthest guest room. Traveling through shadows eliminated the possibility of children being awakened by the creaking of little-used doors opening and closing.

In that first guest room as in all the other rooms occupied by the recently freed children, he silently created a suitable supply of coke in each fireplace, set it ablaze with a gesture, and put the steadily burning results behind a metal screen that would both block the light from sleeping eyes and prevent stray embers from setting the floor or throw rugs alight. And before leaving each room he took an instant to neatly fold all the clothing that had been discarded for sleep, and set each tidy little pile at the foot of the bed.

Now, the general tidying up. After dropping the corpse back through the broken window in the hallway by Lady Elizabeth’s guest room, Tanaka had tacked a thick wool blanket over the shattered glass; now Sebastian converted the blanket into new glass for the window, and made the bloodstains on the hall floor vanish. Then he rebuilt the damaged grand staircase, replaced the statues Finny had tossed as ammunition (except for the bust of Aristotle; the master had mentioned before that he didn’t like the looks of that one), and swept the floor clear of even the smallest speck of rubble.

That took care of the interior; time to deal with the house exterior and grounds, with maximum efficiency. Dropping his corporeal form entirely, the demon swept over the outside of the mansion in seconds, searching out every bullet hole and cracked surface remaining from Mey-Rin and Finnian’s battles and seamlessly filling them in.

After finishing the mansion's exterior, he fetched back the bodies of the three performers that had been killed, and he instantly shredded them into bloody fertilizer, which was mixed into the root soil for the new trees he set in place of the ones that Finnian had knocked down. Only Finnian would be apt to notice the replacements, but Sebastian had schooled that one well, and knew he would say nothing to anyone. As an afterthought, he put the leftover fertilizer into the flowerbeds for the master's prized white and Sterling roses; they would surely benefit from the bloodmeal as well.

And one more errand: flitting across the countryside and into the heart of London, Sebastian retrieved the master's violin from the townhouse. Once the children were awake, he was sure they'd be far too busy at the manor for carriage rides to the city for quite some time, but the young master would need his violin to keep up his lessons. As an afterthought, he picked up the box of marbles as well; he was rather sure that the master would agree that they now had a far more destitute group of children on hand to give the marbles to.

After returning to the manor and to corporeal form, Sebastian took a moment to haul the large hay wagon he'd created around to the back of the barn on the off chance that it would be needed again for transportation while the children were here, though they would need every coach horse in the stable to pull it when filled to capacity. He checked his pocket watch again as he returned inside, and nodded to himself in satisfaction. Not quite 5:00 a.m.; he still had time for one last task before going to the kitchen to start the day’s baking.

Trotting down to the wine cellar with lantern in hand, he checked in on the three circus performers he'd stashed down there until the young master had time to decide what would ultimately be done with them. Still tied up and gagged, they'd gone so far as to wriggle towards each other, and Dagger and Beast were currently lying in awkward back-to-back positions, trying to undo each other's bonds. He tsked at their lack of imagination before he advised them, "If you'd thought to work to loosen on each others' gags first, one of you could have then used your teeth to begin chewing through the ropes. Not that you likely would have succeeded with that either before I arrived to put a stop to it. But you'll be free of those bonds soon enough, now that I finally have a little time to provide you with more suitableaccommodations. If you'll excuse me," as he stepped past them and around a corner of the cellar to where the racks of champagne were resting, well out of sight of the trio.

He created and then dragged out of that corner, one or two sections at a time, the walls of an iron cage that was just the same size as the cages that he'd pulled twenty-two children out of a few hours ago. It was but the work of moments to bolt everything together, and then he ripped the bonds and gags off the prisoners even while tossing them into the cage one-two-three. Lunging as best he could on just one leg, Dagger tried to scramble out but just got the cage door slammed in his face as Sebastian locked them in. "Bastard! Treating us like animals, after we took you and Smile in as friends!" the boy shouted while grabbing at his now bloodied nose.

"On the contrary, it is not my intention to treat you as animals. You are being treated just as the children that we rescued tonight were treated by your patron," Sebastian informed him pleasantly. "I did say suitable accommodations, did I not? It seems quite suitable, for you to be treated in the same fashion as the children you kidnapped." He would have to inquire from the master later as to how they should be fed as well as how often. Given the signs of scurvy and general malnutrition he’d already seen in the children, he suspected the usual diet consisted of one meal of gruel per day, but how should it be administered? He rather doubted decent china dishware and silverware were involved.

The cage was far too small for any of the three to stand up in; they ended up sitting on the cold metal floor, lined up in a row and glaring out at him as he tidied up their torn bonds and the hand tools he'd created and used for bolting the cage together. Beast growled, "You could at least give us back our prosthetics!"

"Ah, yes, the prosthetic limbs that the late Doctor provided for you," Sebastian said as he walked over to the heap of prosthetics he'd left by the base of the stairs.

"The late... ye killed him?!" Joker cried out in outrage, lunging forward to grip one of the bars of the cage with his remaining hand. "Ye soulless bastard, how could ye?! Th'doctor was a good man! He had nothin' t'do wi' the kidnappings; he wouldna' harm a fly!"

That got Sebastian to turn and blink at him in surprise. "You really didn't know? He duped the lot of you?" He chuckled as he held up Beast's leg, admiring the handiwork by the lantern's light. "Liars who've been lied to; my, that is amusing!"

"What're ye talking about?!" Joker demanded.

"Why, I'm talking about the use that 'good man' made of the children you brought to the baron's mansion. The 'special ceramic' that your artificial limbs are made out of? Were you really entirely unaware of what made them so special?" as he tapped the limb with a gloved finger. On a whim, he inhaled deeply, to see how much of a scent of the original person or persons remained. Ah, yes; when it had been attached to Beast, her scent had overwhelmed everything else, but now he could ever-so-faintly detect traces of the bones used in its composition. A male child had gone into this limb's making... no, make that two different children.

He told the three performers what their doctor had said and done right in front of his and his master's eyes back at Baron Kelvin's manor, savoring the looks of growing horror on their faces. He'd grown to enjoy playing the perfect butler, but he could not deny that it was also enjoyable to be a source of horror now and then; quite refreshing, really.

"N-no! It's all a lie! You're lying!" Dagger screamed, his face gone completely white.

"I don't tell lies," Sebastian informed him rather frostily. In point of fact, he couldn't tell lies, as that was one of the restrictions his master had set when they'd formed the contract. And dealing with that restriction, one of the more challenging aspects of this contract, was part of what made it the most interesting contract he'd ever had. He admitted to the prisoners, "I will occasionally prevaricate, mislead or misdirect. But every word that comes out of my mouth is indeed true!"

He tossed the prosthetic limbs into the cage at their feet with a genial, "Here, by all means, re-equip yourselves with the remains of some of the children you once kidnapped." But the performers shied away from the limbs as if they were poisonous serpents, instead of scrambling to put them on. Sebastian left them there as he turned to head back up the stairs, consulting his pocket watch again. Hmm, he'd best get started baking the day's bread; they would need quite a few loaves to feed so many...

"Wait!" Joker cried out suddenly. "We've more to tell ye; more that ye an' Smile need to know about!"

Sebastian turned to him with a dash of impatience. "Such as...? I can spare you exactly one more minute, so whatever information you have, say it quickly."

"There be more children involved than ye know about; th' children at Renbon Workhouse! Th'baron owns th' workhouse, he's patron of all the children there, our lil' brothers 'n' sisters! 'Tis why we did as Father wanted, kidnapping other children for him; he tol' us if we didn't, he'd cut the workhouse off an' let them all starve t'death!" All three prisoners stared up at him imploringly as Joker begged, "Ye can hang us, aye, we deserve it an' we know it, but they's innocent children too; don't let them starve!"

"I shall inform the master when there is time for him to deal with them, after we have properly dealt with the children we have just rescued," Sebastian informed them, before proceeding up the stairs to the kitchen. He estimated that they would need at least sixteen loaves of bread for the morrow—ah, no, Lady Elizabeth said that the Midfords would be sending staff over to assist in caring for the children; make that eighteen loaves of bread, to feed the adults as well... He'd best bake a full twenty loaves, to be on the safe side.

Once the first batch of bread was baking in the oven, Sebastian loaded the stove with pots of water for preparing porridge. But he paused just before lighting the burners, when his supernaturally sharp hearing caught a sound from outside; someone approaching the manor, riding a horse at a fast canter. And the sun wasn't even up yet; who could it be at this hour?

Next: The Cavalry, Or...?

[luvrott]

𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗲; 𝘆𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗶𝗻

𝗴𝗶𝗳 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀 : onemessylibra

synopsis : yeonjun didn't believe in fate, but soobin did.

CHAPTER 3 : taehyun !!

chapter two & chapter four !!

masterlist !!

♥︎

yeonjun rolled over in his bed and grabbed his phone off of his night stand. he didn't have any notifications, but his alarm was going off.

"shh, c'mon!" he tried pressing the stop button but it wasn't working. he slapped the screen repeatedly and a few seconds later, the alarm stopped, left on snooze. yeonjun rolled his eyes, now awake, with a splitting headache.

he turned off his alarm, not giving it another chance to be annoying and ring once the snooze time ended, and laid face down in the bed. he thought about saturday night again, but ultimately ended up rolling his eyes and getting in the shower. these bills weren't going to pay themselves.

after he finished getting ready, yeonjun left his apartment and walked to his job, the "thrift" store, as people referred to it. he usually walked with hueningkai, but he was coming in a bit later than usual today.

yeonjun used the keys to open the door and went to the back of the building. he checked the listings for today (some clients came in for people to help them with choosing clothing, specially designing clothing, etc. they had to make sure the people that specialized in those catergories were there on those days.) he put on the company hat along with his name tag. employees could dress how they wanted (as long as it followed the dress code), but those two items were required.

yeonjun skimmed through the list of clients for today once more and walked back to the front of the building. hueningkai was there, waiting to be let in.

yeonjun rushed to the door and let him in. "sorry i wasn't there to greet you before you arrived. i was looking at todays listings. not too many today. i thought you were coming in later..."

"oh, its fine. and i just got kinda bored. only half-an-hour early... so what do we need to do?"

"oh, we should probably wipe down the crafting table and such. and then we have to restock the shelves because they didn't do it at yesterday's night shift. check the dressing rooms for leftover clothes the nightshift might have forgotten... the usual."

"okay. i'll check the dressing rooms first."

yeonjun gasped, suddenly remembering something. "ALSO, remember, next week is the meeting for the new partner. we have to be there. if it goes well, we'll have truck a few days after." :')

"everyone in staff has to be there?"

"no, just a few managers."

"don't the bosses, or higher ups or whatever, usually handle that stuff?"

"yeah, but they selected a handful of us at different stores to go in. you and i were chosen because minghao said we had an 'eye for fashion'."

"oh. well, he owns the company. he'd know. i'll wipe down the sewing and crafting tables, after. you can restock all the clothes."

hueningkai hated restocking clothes; he hated that there were multiple articles of the same clothing. yeonjun suspected he had a minor individuality complex, but he never really brought it up.

"okay. oh, another reminder; the new customization machine arrives some time today, and i have no idea what it looks like or how it works. the others will be here soon, too."

- - -

the store opened a few hours later and people came walking in, looking around. the six staff members helped many people, and a familiar face walked in.

"oh my god, i know you!"

taehyun looked around, pointing to himself in question. "me?"

"yes! oh god, you probably don't recognize me. i'm yeonjun! i was close friend's with beomgyu in high school. he had the biggest crush on you, but i was totally skeptical. my bad for that; i definetly thought you were a catfish for a while."

taehyun chuckled, walking up to yeonjun. "up close, i kind of recognize you. your face structure and hair kinda changed, but yeah, i recognize you. you lost your chubby cheeks..."

yeonjun smiled. "oh my god, its crazy that you're here. of all places! okay, sorry, i'm getting ahead of myself. what are you here for?"

"oh, i have a scheduled appointment. its under the name tae..."

yeonjun smiled. "i never would've guessed it was you."

taehyun sat with yeonjun, discussing the style he was going for and all of his measurements. yeonjun gave him a few ideas, showing him clothing that was already there, and soon enough he was trying on clothes. he found a few articles of clothing he liked and went up to purchase them.

"and hey, if you ever want a custom piece, just schedule another appointment or order from our website!" yeonjun said cheerfully at the register.

"oh, okay. thanks!"

yeonjun nodded his head, watching hueningkai attend to the other customers.

"you know, i'm not even that serious about clothes. but beomgyu seems to have taken an interest in it. i wanted to dress up and see if he'd like it.."

yeonjun smiled. "i swear, you two are adorable. you know, the crazy thing is that i just ran into him the other day. did you guys just get to seoul?"

"yeah, we arrived a few days ago. we're staying with my aunt for now, but we're looking for apartments to move into."

"oh my god, my apartment complex has a few apartments open for renting! hold on, let me write down the name."

yeonjun grabbed a sticky note and wrote down the name of his apartment complex.

"oh my god, thank you so much ! it'd be so nice to have neighbors we know."

"no problem! hueningkai actually lives in the same complex, too."

"oh, yeah, i remember him! hopefully we all can hang out and get to know each other."

"oh, that'd be cool!"

yeonjun finished checking taehyun's items out. taehyun handed him the money he owed and walked out, waving slowly. "bye~ i'm glad i could have a conversation with you."

-

"hey, guys,  i'm gonna have to head out. my headache is..."

he stumbled a bit, but the others were so busy with customers that they didn't notice. yeonjun pulled himself together and left the building, speed walking home.

-

when yeonjun got home, he went under his covers and took a deep breath. he'd encountered two people of his past.

maybe its a sign...

he shook his head. he wasn't the kind of person to believe in fate, and things associated with that. it just isn't real.

meeting these people from his past didn't mean he was going to somehow bump into him.

yeonjun thought about the concept of fate before slowly drifting to sleep, his headache worsening.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

end of ch 3 !! :)

notes;

this is a very "trust the process" kind of fic

[flusion-i-am]

Distractions-1

What stood in front of him now surprised and confused him. A young woman, perhaps his age, was blocking his escape from the Cipher laboratory. This woman was clearly his enemy, but… there was just something about her that felt different. She was strange-looking. Yes, that could be it. She was his height, but she was nearly impossibly thin and slender. The lightest, and faintest hint of curves on her body told him that she was naturally this way.

She had bright pink hair, and not just streaks or the tips dyed. No the woman in front of him had hair nearly the length of her body, and every bit of it was colored pink. Her pink strands were all put up into two long tails. She obviously spent an incredible amount of time caring for her hair. Coupled with her hair was a set of glaring green eyes, and they were focused on him. They where a type of forest green he knew was not natural. Michael couldn’t help but wonder if she wore contact lenses or had surgically dyed her eyes. It probably wasn’t surgery as it was uncommon due to being somewhat dangerous to vision, as well as expensive.

Lovrina suddenly stopped and looked around.

“Where is Naps at? He let the professor go. He was naughty again wasn’t he? I'll so have to punish him after I deal with this kid. He’s really in for it this time.”

Michael was a little flustered by her tone of voice, and a little angry at being called a kid, but that could wait.

She didn’t waste time, and moved forward without a word. Lovrina threw out two pokeballs releasing her Pokemon to the field, and Michael followed suit, and proceeded to battle with her. For all his efforts though, he was unable to keep up with her. She was distracting.

He tried to focus, but her clothing was skin tight and distracting.

Before he knew what was happening his new shadow pokemon Houndour, that he had saved that morning upon his arrival to the lab, went down. He had to call out his Spinarak. The poor pokemon had not had any battle time with him at all yet. The creature was completely fresh and probably a new shadow pokemon as well. It wouldn’t know that to think or feel, if, it could think or feel. That was the problem with turning a Pokemon into its shadowed version. It removed all free will. It turned them into mindless machines with a cure.

Michael knew that his Espeon, as powerful as it was, would not last the battle, and then it would be up to his Spinarak to carry the day. If he failed here, Professor Krane would be impounded again, and Arceus only knows what they would do with Michael. Cipher was one of the most hardcore criminal organizations in the world, and they did not shy away from torture or murder.

In front of him stood one of the top leaders of this organization. She was a women only about his age, and she had doubtless performed many heinous acts. Strangely, he did not fear for his life if he lost to this woman. Even if she was a top leader of of the deadly Cipher.

Sure enough, the battle came down to her Delcatty, and his Spinarak. Fortunately for Michael though, before Espeon went down, she had delivered a powerful confusion attack that sent Lovrina’s Delcatty into a tizzy. The poor cat couldn’t keep straight and delivered a take down attack into the wall behind him. Michael took the opportunity to finish off Lovrina’s final Pokemon by wrapping it in a shadowing version of string shot.

Lovrina looked at Michael, and with a tremendous pout, she huffed her way out of the lab. The assistant with her panicked and followed her up the elevator. In his panic he dropped a case onto the ground.

Professor Krane walked over and bent to picked up the item. He then stood straight and looked at Michael.

“This could have valuable information on it. We should take this back to the lab with us” Krane said.

The professor looked directly into Michael’s eyes, but he didn’t see it. Krane simply quirked his eyebrows up slightly. Michael was busy staring at the now empty elevator, devoid of the pink haired woman who bothered him so.

On the drive back, Michael couldn’t keep his head straight, and to the concern of Krane, nearly crashed them into a sand dune or a tree several times.

On the ride back to Headquarters Michael recalled words his father had spoken to him four years ago, before he disappeared.

“When you see her you’ll know. It will be blatant as the sun who she is when you first lay your eyes on her. With your mother it was instant from both sides… hehe… but you may have to work for it. Don’t be stupid and don’t play around while you wait. Take it serious, because it is,“ his father had said that to him, when giving him "The Talk.”

He knew, but was he ready to face it? Nobody could find out, he decided. She was the enemy. She caused harm to other people and pokemon. Doubtlessly she had killed some people.

Michael knew what he had to do. He would try to lock it away. He should not be feeling these kinds of things during a time of war, and definitely not with someone on the opposite side of the spectrum. He could not afford to try something so stupid.

Michael dodged a rock in the way, swerving to the side and nearly sending both him and the professor flying.

He looked back to Krane and said, “sorry.”

Michael straightened out his bike and moved on. It was another few days of travel yet, and he wanted to get there in good time. Soon the thriving wasteland of the desert would give way to a vast forested region. These two distinct and very different places gave Orre its reputation. Behind him Professor Krane gave out a yawn, and it was this that made Michael realize that it was becoming night.

“You don’t mind sleeping under the stars do you?” Michael asked the professor.

Michael stood in the back of the room, arms crossed, behind his mother and the professor. On all sides of the room stood the research team who had devoted five years of their lives to making the new and vastly complicated machine a reality. By the door to the purification room stood many notable professors who had been invited for the glorious unveiling of the new technology.

Professor Krane stepped forward once he was sure every necessary person was in the room.

“This project has taken us five years to complete. It was five long and hard years with tests, retests, and no test subjects to test. Through all of the struggles and recent set backs though, we have succeed in creating a marvelous machine, which is at the peak of what human technology can do. We are beginning to step into the realm of legends, as we continue…” professor Krane said, but Michael began to lose his attention.

Truly he had made a strong attempt the past several days to ignore his thoughts, and as a matter of fact, he had spent more time telling himself to stop thinking, than actually thinking about Lovrina. He didn’t understand, what it was exactly, that he was feeling. He knew one thing, and that was that he wasn’t in love. He knew what love was, and this wasn’t that. He, as far as he was able to tell, was merely infatuated with her. He just didn’t know what to think of it, as he had never felt anything similar towards and girl before. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. That was just an old fairy tale.

He was a guy, and had experienced attraction to a pretty girl before, that was just nature. But to him now, he was beyond attraction, and he had only seen her once. He had lost all control over his reactions. He couldn’t get it out of his mind.

“Michael,” somebody whispered into his ear.

His thoughts were broken, and next to him stood his mother with a serious look on her face.

“Michael you have to go and officially test the machine with a pokemon remember?”

Michael snapped out of his delusion and stepped forward.

Professor Krane laughed a good natured laugh, “Haha forgive him, our resident shadow recover-er is still wiped out from his recent foray in the field. Now watch as we begin the processes of purification by machine before your eyes. This machine can purify up to ten pokemon at once.”

Michael pulled out a two pokeballs, the one containing Houndour, and the one with Spinarak. He released them from their captivity, and the two living machines materialized onto the purification platform. Shadow pokemon who had yet to start the process of opening their hearts were literal machines. His Houndou though, was beginning to gain some feeling, and he began to display some emotion. Many shadow pokemon, he had been told, would act up as they began to recover their emotion. His Houndour seemed to be the exception.

“These two Pokemon where very recently rescued from team Cipher and have seen minimal human care and treatment. The machine can do far more than simply purify Pokemon, because it also unlocks their sealed hearts. It can free them all in one step, though the machine takes a bit of time to do its work,” Krane said.

Professor Krane stepped over to a wall of computers and proceeded to punch in a security code. The shadow pokemon had not moved even an inch from their spot. Now, they began to fade away from sight, as the machine began to glow and dematerialize the shadow pokemon. A large circular monitor above the machine began to display information about the two pokemon that the system had absorbed. It included their physical condition, and basic information like typing, moves, and sex. There was also a small bar with a number to represent how close each of the pokemon was to purification.

“For a freshly made shadow pokemon, the machine can take as much as an entire week in order to purify pokemon. As you can see though, Michael has had the Houndour for some time. It should be complete within the next two hours. The Spinarak though, won’t be fully purified for about six days. This is proof that spending time with your pokemon accelerates the process of opening its heart, as Michael caught both pokemon with a few hours of each other, but he spent time battling with and caring for the Houndour.” Krane said.

Michael could hear various hrrms and Mhmms from the small crowd of professors. He stepped back from the chamber and moved back behind professor Krane. His mother gave him a small and light pat on the shoulder.

“Thank you Michael for willingly giving your pokemon for the experiment,” Krane gave Michael a nod, “Let us take a recess and convene when it is almost time for the Houndour to be completely purified. I am sure that you have plenty of questions that you can direct towards our staff or me. Feel free to travel to the second floor were there is a cafeteria with food and coffee. You can also enjoy a television casting the local news,” Krane finished.

With that everybody split and went about their various tasks. Every one of the staff quickly became ensnared and interviewed for information. Michael committed to quietly slip out of the room unnoticed. He hadn’t eaten lunch and wanted to hit the food before it was gone. Unfortunately for him though, sneaking out of a semi crowded room with one door was a challenge with professors prowling for questions.

An older gentleman stopped him. He looked to be about in his mid sixties and had a rather square shape for a body.

“Nice to meet you Michael. My name is Oak, professor Oak. I doubt you have heard of me, as my work pertains mainly to cataloging pokemon. Since there is not a single pokemon unique to the Orre region, the trainers I send on journeys don’t usually spend much time here, when they can gain information about pokemon in easier areas. Either way I’m curious to know how you managed to capture other trainers pokemon, especially when they know about your snag machine like Cipher does.” Oak said.

Michael looked him over, “yeah it’s kind of hard to rescue them from Cipher, because they know I’m going to try and take their pokemon. I usually have to distract them with something, and it doesn’t work often. I don’t often manage to rescue many from them.”

“Hmm yes,” professor Oak said, “I see… another question then, my boy. Are you aware of how your aura reader works?”

“I’m afraid not sir,” Michael sighed, “I know that it can tell which one is a shadow pokemon though.”

“You see that’s the thing. The aura reader doesn’t actually detect shadow pokemon, and as a matter of fact the snag machine itself is simply a hacking tool. The aura reader is perhaps more technologically impressive than that purification machine over there,” Oak said, cryptically, “Enjoy your meal then.”

Oak walked off, humming to himself.

He had left Michael with a strange information bomb. Michael went to lunch but he knew that he wasn’t going to be chewing on just food.

Michael was the first person to make it up to the cafeteria from the purification chamber. This gave him a great deal of seating and food choice. Michael picked out a decent meal for himself and sat in front of the television to watch ONBS news. They were talking a lot of how Cipher was infiltrating this place, and that place. And about general things too, like the weather, or the most recent murder in Gateon Port. From professor Krane, Michael knew that ONBS had several members infiltrate throughout the Cipher organization.

After a good twenty minutes, professor Krane came up to him.

“Michael there you are. I came to tell you some news. We are going to have to ask you to go ONBS headquarters. An old buddy of mine works there. We can’t figure out the encryption on the disk but, he could. After this thing with the chamber is done, I would like you to take it out to him,” Krane said.

“Yeah sure,” Michael said, half paying attention.

Suddenly some kind of disturbance appeared to be happening on the news channel. The sound of screams could be heard and the news reporter began shouting.

“Cut the footage,” she managed to say, before somebody came crashing through the view of the screen knocking the reporter down.

The screen went blank in a flash. A commercial came on for premium pokemon feed.

Krane looked at him in shock, “Michael scratch what I said, you have to get Pyrite town yesterday. Go, move it.”

Michael sprang into action. On his person he only had a few items. That included a few pokeballs, Espeon, and his clothing. Nevertheless, he didn’t stop to grab extra supplies. His absent brain went into overdrive as he sped out of the cafeteria and took the small service stairway down to the first floor. Not many people knew about the service area of the building. The building had a few janitors, though much of the staff never saw them because they did most of their work late at night.

From the service hall Michael jogged to the garage to grab his motorbike. Only a few people at the lab had seen what happened at ONBS, so Michael didn’t have to deal with panicking or confused people as he ran down the halls.

Michael’s feet hit the garage floor and the smell of oil gasoline, and rubber hit him. The research team parked in the garage, and that included his bike. There was a small spot in the corner were he always left his bike. As usual, it was right were he left it sitting there looking dead. He knew it would come alive to service him well though. It always had.

That motorbike had been his good accomplice for several years, and would hopefully serve him fell in the future. For now though, it had an immediate purpose.

Michael mounted the cushioned seat of his bike and stuffed his key into the slot. He twisted it and revved the engine. The garage door was always open, and only closed during the night after most of the staff had left the building. Michael gripped the handles hard and sped out of the building and into the forest. All of his muddles thoughts were left behind as he made way for Pyrite town. He knew a bad situation from a simple and uncomplicated situation. It was Cipher.