#first perfume to actually make me understand what top middle & last notes mean

[flowerakatsuka]

SNIFFING DAT MAN GOALS HAVE FINALLY BEEN ACHIEVED, ( excuse winter date kara staring into your soul. )

[dakarimainink]

Dancing Under The Stars

WARNING: Fluff, friendly, slight angst, cute

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x You (Reader)

Wordcount: 2.5K

Note: Not betad, all mistakes are my own.

This was a request by anon:

"If possible could you do a sequel to “Happy New Year” I really liked it and thought it was so cute!!"

Thank you, anon 🥰 Here is part 2 to "Happy New Year". This was fun to write. I hope you all will enjoy.

💛 Every reblog is highly appreciated and help out writers a lot! 💛

Masterlist

You had met Pedro twice now. The first time was at the coffee shop right after New Year. You had stumbled out of bed, freshened up and found him standing outside, keeping an eye out with his hat resting atop of his head. Once he had seen you, he had instantly embraced you and wished you once again, a happy new year. He had taken you in to the coffee shop where he bought you something warm to drink and you sat down in a quiet corner where he actually told you the somewhat thrilling story of his hat.

Between your first and second time meeting up, you had been exchanging some texts here and there, but Pedro being the person he was, he rather wanted to call you if you texted him. You didn’t mind at all, as it would usually turn into a facetime call and he would make some funny faces to make you smile, especially if you had a tough day.

The second time you had met up, almost four months had passed since the first meet up. You had opted for a nice walk in the park, as it was all you had time to, due to him having a tight schedule. He had been open about his career and you respected it by not poking your nose too deep. You took what he gave of information and usually spoke of everything else than his current projects. He was more interested in your life and what you were up to every day.

Today was the third time to meet up with him. You were nervous as you hadn’t seen him in a very long time and exactly five texts were exchanged during that time. He hadn’t called you and you hadn’t called him.

You were surprised when he suddenly called you late one Wednesday to ask to meet up with you. He had apologised profusely as he had woken you up with his call, not realising the difference in time zones from where he was and where you were. That was a month ago and you had finally found a timeslot appropriate for the both of you, even though it was Pedro who mostly never had time. You didn’t blame him though.

You had dressed up for the occasion and you stood in front of your mirror, looking over your form to make sure everything was perfect. You snapped your head to the side as you heard your doorbell ring. Taking a deep breath to calm you nerves, you walked to the entrance to answer.

You met a bright smile and warm brown eyes as you opened the door.

“Hey.” Pedro chimed as he met your gaze.

You opened the door wide and stepped into his open arms, feeling the warmth envelop you immediately. You inhaled deeply and slowly, sensing his earthy musk and spices of his perfume. Reluctantly letting go, you took a step back and gave him a once-over.

He looked amazing as always, with his trimmed beard, slightly rough hairstyle, black trousers and a black shirt with the two top buttons open. He had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and were wearing a silver watch.

“You look amazing.” He smiled and gestured to your clothes.

You blushed. “Thank you. So do you.” You admitted, your cheeks ablaze as you couldn’t stop staring at his arms. The shirt was perfectly hugging his form and you couldn’t help but note the slight outline of veins up his hands and arms.

You grabbed your coat and purse, before locking the door behind you and following Pedro over to his car. He held the passenger door open for you and assisted you in getting in. He went around the car and got into the driver’s seat.

“So, where are we going?” You asked as you clicked in the seatbelt.

He chuckled at your question as he secured his seatbelt and put the car in drive. “It’s a surprise.” He answered and you drove off.

You had no idea what his plans were for you, all you knew was that you had to dress up, not ballroom style, but date night style. Wait, was this a date? No, it would be strange if it was a date and he didn’t say anything about it. Right? You hadn’t seen each other in so long and Pedro didn’t seem like the man who would suddenly take you out on date without a warning.

You shifted in your seat and leaned your knees towards his side. You noted the lit up display in the middle of you with small icons of different apps covering the screen. You recognised most of them, but your eyes widened at the text message icon.

“Uhm…” You pointed at the screen with an amused smile.

“I can explain.” He chuckled as his eyes were filled with panic.

“Please do, because to me it looks like you’re ignoring people.” You laughed.

“It’s just that people text me and instead of me texting back, I call them.” He explained hurriedly. “I’m not ignoring people, but for some reason the texts won’t appear as read.”

You supressed a laugh. “Sure, sure, sure, if you say so.”

“It’s true!”

You both laughed, him trying hard not to drive off the road as you begun to drive out of town. You watched as the buildings became smaller and fewer, the amounts of cars and people grew scarcer.

When you had finally managed to get out of town, he drove uphill. Thoughts flew through your head. Is he gonna kill me? Oh god, what if he’s a murderer. No, don’t be foolish, he’s too kind to be a killer. Shake it off!

Without thinking you shook your head. In the corner of your eye, you noticed him glancing at you and a flush of red crept up to your cheeks.

“Are you okay?” He asked, shifting his grip on the gearstick. You watched his fingers caress it and it was almost like a trance.

“Uhm, no. I mean, yes. I am okay.” You cleared your throat, tearing your eyes away from his hand and out the window. “Where are we going?”

“We’re there soon.” He smiled reassuringly, and that’s everything you needed to know.

~

He finally stopped the car and you looked out. It was dark, very dark and you turned to him anxiously.

He just smiled at your worried look. “Come.” He simply said and got out of the car.

You climbed out of the car and closed the door behind you. He held out a hand to you and you grabbed it, feeling the heat envelop you immediately.

“I remember you told me, one of the items on your bucket-list was to dance under the stars.” He begun explaining as you walked towards a bushy area. “Well, I saw there would be a meteor shower today, which would hopefully make it a little more special than what this day already is.”

You suddenly noticed the sound of music in front of you. Leading the way, still holding your hand, he pushed aside some branches and revealed an open spot decorated with candles and a speaker playing soft piano music. But it was the view that made you gasp as you stepped closer.

“It was Y/F/N who helped me set it up. I hope you like it.” He smiled and let you step ahead of him, your hand covering your mouth as you looked out on the city you lived in. You turned around to look at him. “Happy birthday.”

Your eyes widened. It was your birthday? Last time you had even noted the time was New Year’s Eve. You blushed at the fact that you had forgotten your own birthday.

A confused but amused expression spread across his face. “You know it’s your birthday, right?” He almost chuckled at the sentence he just spoke.

You cleared your throat and looked down in embarrassment.

He laughed and took a step closer to you. “Oh, Y/N…” He cupped your face and tilted it back, meeting his eyes. You were both smiling at this point, amused about the situation. “Lost in time, huh?” He mumbled, more to himself. He let go of your face, took one step back and held out his hand to you. “May I have this dance?”

You nodded and placed your hand in his. He pulled you to him, placing his other hand on your hip while you raised your own free hand to his shoulder. The soft piano music hummed through the speaker and you began to move slowly.

He spun you around once, before pulling you to him again and feeling the heat radiate from him.

“Thank you.” You beamed up at him. “No one has ever done this before. I am actually surprised you even remembered my bucket-list. Especially how briefly we talked about it.”

He chuckled. “I believe it’s safe to say, I remember most, if not all, we talk about.” He seemed proud and confident in his statement. “Mostly because I have good memory, but also because I enjoy your company.”

“Really?”

He scoffed. “You sound surprised.”

You cast down your eyes to his chest. “Well, I suppose a little.” You caught your lower lip with your teeth, slightly chewing on it.

He stopped for a moment and held your chin between his thumb and finger, lifting your head to meet his gaze. He hooked your lip loose from your own grasp, softly tracing it with his thumb before saying: “I mean it, I enjoy your company greatly.” He let go of your chin and grabbed your hand again to continue your slow dance.

A slight blush crept up your cheeks, feeling almost short for breath. Without another word, you continued to slowly move in silence together, listening to the soft hymns from the speaker and the very distant sounds of the city.

~

“You’ve danced before?” He asked with a warm smile.

You looked up at him, holding his gaze. “Very little.” You admitted. You scanned his face, he seemed calm, except for a small strain in his eyes. “Is something wrong?”

The smile faded from his lips for just a moment as he assessed your question. “I just feel bad for not being more in touch.” His fingers twitched once against your body. “I have had you on my mind quite often since we last met.”

Your lips parted at his honesty.

“And I wanted to apologise for last time we met up. A short stroll wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it was-”

You shook your head with a giggle, stopping him in his tracks. Your movements stopped, but you held the position and you looked up at him. “Pedro, you don’t have to apologise. I understand you are a busy man with a hectic career.” You began and you could see his shoulders fell down. “And I know you have a family and friends you would prioritise spending time with than some random woman you met at a party.”

His eyes darted back and forth, not quite sure what to say next, so – you continued.

“Besides, the little walk in the park meant a lot to me and I really enjoyed myself. It is always nice to do something that doesn’t involve a lot of… everything. Just two people walking, talking and enjoying the scenery around them is what I prefer. In fact, I rather sit down in a park and have a lunch than go to some fancy restaurant, all dressed up and pretending that everything is perfect.”

A contempt smile had widened on his lips as you had spoken. You continued your slow dance to the soft music. Sometimes your eyes catching each other and sometimes staring out on the glittering city.

A warmth spread out across your chest as you actually realised what he had done for you tonight. You couldn’t remember last time someone did something like this for you, with no expectation to reciprocate.

“I am glad you enjoyed it.” He suddenly said. “I did too.”

You beamed up at him and he pulled you just a little closer to him.

~

Pedro escorted you up to your front door. You unlocked it and opened it, before turning to him.

“Thank you for an amazing evening and the lovely birthday-gift.” You smiled and walked into his open arms, hugging him tightly and taking in his deliciously spicy musk.

“It was a pleasure to spend the evening with you.” He emphasized as he let go of you. He fished in his trouser pockets with a smirk on his face. “But I have another gift for you.” He pulled out a small black box and your eyes widened. He noticed your change and chuckled. “Don’t worry, I am not about to propose.”

You rubbed the back of your neck and chortled nervously. You didn’t actually believe he would do it, but a small sting did shoot through your mind when you first saw the box.

He handed you the case and you darted your eyes up to him in question. A nod of confirmation let you know to open it and so you did.

A smile widened on your lips as you looked down at a long silver necklace with a pendant of a hat.

You couldn’t help the supressed giggle escape your lips. “A hat?”

He grinned widely at you as a small flashback of New Year’s Eve popped into your mind.

You shook your head with a smile, closed the box and pulled him in for another hug. “Thank you.”

He pressed you tightly against him. “I promise it won’t be long until next time.”

“I am already looking forward to it.” You said with a low voice.

You let go of each other and gave one last smile and wave before he walked back to his car. You locked the door behind you and leaned back on the door, breathing out slowly. You rose the black box up to your chest and pressed it against yourself. Closing your eyes, you slowly sank down onto the floor.

Your chest felt somewhat heavy as you saw Pedro in your mind. It was painful to know he was the only one who had wished you a happy birthday. Not even your family had reached out to you, not that you completely blamed them, you had even forgotten yourself.

You opened the black box and looked down at the small brown hat handing on the necklace. A wide smile stretched across your lips and the warmth you had felt earlier, came back and spread out across your body. You were truly looking forward to seeing him again.

Suddenly, three knocks on your door made you shoot up to your feet. You straightened your clothes before opening the door.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Your friends and family stood huddled outside with wrapped gifts and cakes. They were all dressed up and wide smiles across their faces.

You gaped at them in surprise. One by one, they hugged you, stepped inside and made themselves at home, preparing for a celebration of your day.

You went to bed that night, filled with warmth and happiness, and with a necklace hanging around your neck.

(Wanna be added to my tag list for Pedro Pascal and his characters? Let me know and I will happily add you)

@cynic-spirit, @lililolli, @notabotiswear, @sara-alonso, @blankmooon, @xoxo-callie, @mamacitapascal, @thewaythisis, @greeneyedblondie44, @stevie75, @mswarriorbabe80

[nerdypanda3126]

City of Love – Ch. 8

Luka helps Marinette with dinner and Marinette discovers something she wasn't supposed to.

Read on Ao3 

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“Stop fidgeting,” Sass snapped at Luka, swatting his hand away from his hoodie pocket for what felt like the thousandth time. “You’re making me fidget.” 

“Then stop pointing out that I’m fidgeting.” Luka let his hand drift back into his pocket and clutched at the little gift box. For some reason it felt like if he didn’t check that it was there it would suddenly disappear, or fall out, or—God forbid—randomly show up in his hand with him on one knee in the middle of Marinette’s kitchen before they even got through dinner.

They were standing in front of her apartment door, waiting to be let in, and there was a small scuffle on the other side. 

“No! Don’t let them in yet!” Marinette was saying, apparently not knowing how her voice was carrying through the door. Luka exchanged a nervous glance with Sass.

“But Marinette—”

A crash. A string of cursing. More scuffling. Sass knocked again, timidly, and Tikki wrenched the door open a moment later, with a smile plastered on her face and Marinette a little behind her, waving woodenly.

“You made it!” Tikki chirped, a little breathlessly, Luka noted, and as Tikki stepped aside to let them in, he also noticed that the coffee table was at an odd angle, like someone had tripped over it, and Marinette was surreptitiously fixing her hair that had fallen out of her bun. 

Sass nudged Luka’s ribs with his elbow and he closed his mouth to smile instead. It wasn’t that Marinette was particularly dressed up, it was just… the black dress she was wearing—that he remembered seeing on Tikki the first night they met now that he thought about it—it suited her. As did the pink apron with black polka dots she had tied over it, modestly covering what he knew was a plunging neckline that was going to kill him when the apron came off. 

He blinked and looked over and Sass had already left his side, settling onto the couch with Tikki comfortably. Sass hadn’t brought Tikki’s ring with him tonight. He had a plan and he didn’t want to risk Tikki finding out. Luka’s hand drifted back to his hoodie pocket. Why had he brought Marinette’s? 

“Luka?” Marinette asked gently. Shit. She’d been saying something.

“Um, yeah. D’accord,” he answered her apparent question. She held her hand out expectantly. For his jacket. Oh. Shit. He pulled it off, careful not to turn out his pocket, and handed it to her. 

With his jacket bundled in her hand, she blushed deeply as her eyes raked over him, too. He tugged at the rolled-up sleeve of the dark pink button-down he’d worn over his black jeans. He’d been thinking of her bandana when he’d picked it out, hoping it would be a subtle nod to her. Her eyelashes fluttered as her gaze dropped to her shoes. 

“You look nice,” she said, so quietly he almost didn’t hear her. Then her eyes were back on his and she was smiling shyly. “Good thing your sleeves are rolled up, I need you in the kitchen.” 

She pointed to the narrow kitchen before she went to hang his jacket up in the hall closet. He gulped and wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans before following her direction. As he glanced over what she had going, it seemed simple enough. Everything was already simmering and smelled wonderful. So what did she need him for? 

Before he could wonder about it anymore her perfume was wafting around him and he spun to face her. She was looking through a box of index cards, and she pulled one out before handing it to him. 

“Think you can handle this? It’s my dad’s recipe.” 

He glanced down at the card. Pain au chocolat. He’d made it a million times at the café when he’d worked there. But he felt his eyebrows pulling together as he tried to understand why she was having him make this. If it was her dad’s recipe, surely she knew how to make it? 

When he looked back up at her, she was pulling ingredients out for him already, setting them up at what was apparently his workstation. Right next to hers at the stove. They’d practically be hip to hip. He gulped. 

“Bien sûr.” 

Even though his sleeves were rolled up, he pushed them up again out of nerves. He could do this. Hot stove, hotter woman next to him, what could possibly go wrong? At least the ring was safely tucked away in the hall closet with his jacket and he could be sure it wouldn’t be discovered by accident.

So he took his place next to her and bent his head to his work. First the dough, mixing the wet and dry ingredients until they stuck together, then rolling it out on the counter until it was a flat rectangle. The recipe called for full puff, but he knew rough puff would be faster. 

“Do you have a grater?” he asked her, then his breath caught because he hadn’t realized she was so close. She glanced over at his work, then smiled, apparently guessing his train of thought. 

“It’s up there,” she pointed to the cupboards above the stove, above where she was standing and stirring the sauce she was making. But she wasn’t moving aside for him. He didn’t know what to think of that. How did she expect him to get to it? 

But he stood behind her and put his hand on her waist as if they were dancing, relying on that unspoken communication they’d already shared to communicate what he needed. With a gentle nudge, she stepped aside just enough for him to reach up to the top cabinet. For some reason he held his breath as he leaned over her. His chest pressed against her back for the briefest moment before he found the grater and stepped away again, back to his task before the butter could melt away, his ears burning with heat that had nothing to do with the stove. 

As he folded the grated butter in, one third of the dough up, the other third down, like a book, he barely noticed that she was leaning over, almost resting her head on his shoulder to watch. 

“Good call,” she noted, “using the rough puff. I don’t know if Papa ever thought of doing it that way.” 

“It’s just what we did at the café,” he admitted, “since it’s a bit faster, it made it easier to keep fresh pain au chocolat on hand.” He bent to set the dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge, then turned back to her. “Anything else I can help with?” 

“Actually, yes. Can you keep stirring this? I’ll be right back.” She pulled aside for him to take her place at the stove and their hands brushed as she handed off the spoon to him. 

Absent-mindedly, he took up the task, although out of the corner of his eye he noticed her lift the apron over her head and hang it up on a hook before grabbing a plate of hors d’oeuvres and taking it out to the living room with Tikki and Sass. He took a quick, calming breath. Don’t think about the dress. Don’t think about the dress. 

He heard laughter floating through from the living room and then she was back, and he turned to face her just as she reached for the apron again. 

He blushed all the way to the roots of his hair. He’d been able to see into the side of her dress when she stretched and she was definitely not wearing a bra. Deep breaths, Luka, he chastised himself. She was already freaked out about his confession, and tonight was his chance to make it up to her. He couldn’t blow it by being a creep. So he pretended not to notice as she tied the apron strings back around her waist, and he tried not to notice that she relieved him of his position by bumping her hip against his and fitting her hand under his to take the spoon back. 

His hands were too sweaty to work with the pastry dough again, and he wiped his palms on his jeans self-consciously. Either she was trying to kill him, or… 

Maybe she was trying to tell him something? He snuck a glance at her, and she was focused on her task, although there was a slight flush to her cheeks and he caught her glancing over at him, too. 

“I’m glad you were able to come tonight,” she ventured when she’d seen that he’d caught her, keeping her eyes down. 

“Me, too. I didn’t get a chance—well, I mean, last time we saw each other…” He ran his hand through his hair. “I think maybe I gave you the wrong impression?” 

“Non, pas du tout, c’est juste que…" She bit her lip and took the pot off the stove, stirring it still as it thickened slowly. “I wanted to apologize. I didn’t… I couldn’t say anything, tu sais?” 

“I didn’t expect you to,” he said softly. Her blush bloomed and her shy smile widened. He took courage from it. “I just wanted you to know. I haven’t felt this way about anyone before. That’s all.” 

She paused in her movements and turned to face him. She seemed to search his face for something, but what she was looking for he couldn’t begin to tell. 

Before he could say anything else stupid, he grabbed the dough from the fridge and started on his second fold. Although she stayed quiet and thoughtful next to him, she leaned her hip against his as they worked. He thought again of the ring hidden safely in his hoodie pocket and smiled. Maybe Sass hadn’t been too far off. Maybe it wouldn’t be tonight, maybe not for a while, but he was glad he had the option, at least, and Marinette’s soft smile and shy glances at him and the way she brushed her arms against his definitely more than necessary gave him a little hope that maybe she’d accept him if the time ever came. 

***

Things went well, Marinette had to admit. Almost too well. She and Luka worked in the narrow kitchen together like they’d done it for years. Although now that she thought about it, cooking together wasn’t too far off from dancing together. She blushed as she remembered Tikki’s implication. A lot of things were like dancing. 

His hand fell on her hip again to move her out of the way of the oven so he could pull out his perfect pain au chocolat. Her pink polka-dotted ruffled oven mitts on his big hands made her giggle, but he just gave her that sideways grin of his, like he was proud to have made her laugh, and it went straight to her fluttering, nervous heart. 

She wanted so badly to forget about serving dinner and maybe push him up against the fridge and kiss him senseless. But other than the small touches here and there to communicate with her, he’d been so hands-off that every time he did touch her was an electric thrill. He was being respectful, she knew, but when he pulled the oven mitts off and ran his hands through his hair as he checked his work she caught sight of his tanned forearms and her mouth practically watered. She couldn’t even try to convince herself it was because of the molten chocolate and baked butter and all the other delicious smells they’d created together. 

When they’d served dinner, Tikki had given Marinette a meaningful, loaded look. Marinette blushed, nodded, and looked away before Tikki could get any bright ideas. She would tell him. She would. Tonight in the kitchen he’d more than proved he was just as willing to be together as she was. 

Dinner was perfect. Talking and laughing with Luka was so natural and easy. She felt almost like she’d known him forever instead of just a few days. He even dared to feed her a bite or two of his pain au chocolat and she was in perfect bliss as his fingers brushed against her lips. 

All too soon, it was time for them to leave. Regretfully, she retrieved Luka’s jacket from the hall closet. A small box fell out of his pocket and onto the floor at her feet. She stooped to pick it up. It looked like a jewelry box of some kind, small enough to be a necklace or maybe a ring. 

A ring? 

She glanced up and he was distracted, talking with Sass and Tikki, laughing about something. With trembling fingers, she opened the lid. A small diamond winked back at her, nestled into the dark velvet inside the box. Her eyes popped back up to Luka. He hadn’t noticed her yet. Had he meant… No, she wasn’t supposed to find this, this wasn’t hers… It couldn’t possibly be for her. That was… insane. 

But he glanced over and saw her at last, holding the small box, and his gaze went from terrified to soft within a matter of seconds, and he smiled back at her. Her heart started hammering in her ears as he walked over. Was he—would he—this couldn’t be happening. 

When he was standing next to her, he took the small box from her hand and sighed. “I guess it was meant to happen this way, then,” he murmured, still smiling. He bent his head so he could speak only to her. “You don’t have to say anything, and I’m not expecting an answer,” he started gently. He caught her eyes and let out a soft, embarrassed chuckle. “You know, I told you before that Juleka thought I needed someone in my life. Someone to go crazy over. And this is definitely the craziest thing I think I’ve ever done.” He pulled the ring out of the box and looked at it for a moment. Between his fingers it looked so small and fragile. 

“If it helps, think of this as a promise rather than an offer. A promise that… if you’d have me, if you’d ever want this with me—” He had to pause to clear his throat and she didn’t realize that her hands had flown up to cover her mouth and tears had sprung to the corners of her eyes. When he’d regained his composure, he reached up to brush his thumb over her cheek. “That I’m ready whenever you are.”

He pulled one of her hands away from her mouth and laid the ring in her palm and closed her fingers around it. 

“I’m yours, Marinette,” he almost whispered, glancing up at her from behind his hair, a tentative half-smile lifting his cheek. He bent to press his forehead to hers briefly before he started to straighten up, but she grabbed the fabric at the waist of his shirt to keep him from turning away. 

Clutching the ring tightly in her other hand, she pushed up on her toes to meet his lips like she’d wanted to all night long. His breath hitched into her mouth before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, his eyes fluttering closed and his smile widening even as he kissed her back. 

And he was a great kisser, she noted idly as his soft lips moved against hers. He was kissing her like he needed her to breathe, like the last thing he ever wanted to do was let her go. She got a little lost in him, in his strong arms around her and the cologne he’d worn tonight—was it the same as that first night they met? God, she should’ve kissed him, then, if this was what she’d been missing. 

He pulled away to breathe, but stayed close enough that his top lip still brushed against hers. “Is that a yes?” he asked, and he sounded dazed, like kissing her was the last thing he’d expected to do tonight. 

“It’s a ‘we’ll see,’” she answered him with a sly smile, then tipped up again to press her lips to his again quickly. 

“I’ll take it.” He grinned and squeezed her to him. “Is it too late to ask you out on a date sometime?” 

“Hey, idiot, you just proposed, I think a date is a moot point,” Sass jeered at them and Marinette blushed before she hid her face in Luka’s chest. She’d forgotten they had an audience. 

When she gathered her courage and looked over, Tikki was positively beaming, her arms wrapped around Sass’s waist as she leaned into him. Luka just smirked back at him though, and flipped him off before he turned back to Marinette and leaned down to speak in her ear again. 

“Sass is going to ask Tikki on a boat ride at night on the Seine as they pass the Tower, you wanna go?” When he pulled back, his eyes were sparkling with mischief. 

“Really?” She couldn’t help it, her eyes flew straight to the two of them and she grinned at Tikki. Tikki loved France. It was perfect for her. She looked back at Luka and nodded. “It’s a date,” she said breathlessly. 

“Wait, what’d you tell her?” Sass demanded, and when Marinette looked over again she had to giggle. Sass looked terrified, just like Luka had been when she’d found the box. 

“Nothing important.” Luka winked at her and she giggled again. He held out his hand, palm up, and she passed the ring—her ring, wow—back to him. “Next time I give this to you it’ll be on purpose,” he promised as he put it back in its box, then bent to press his forehead against hers again. 

“Okay, enough of that,” Sass hissed nervously. “You’re happy, that’s great, come on, let’s go now.” 

Tikki smacked his shoulder lightly, and Marinette watched as his gaze instantly softened when it turned on her. 

“Maybe we should leave,” she suggested, “give them some… space.” As she spoke, she was curling her fingers into the fabric of Sass’s sleeve, hardly being subtle at all. It wasn’t for Marinette’s sake that she was suggesting ‘space.’ Sass got the message and gulped before he nodded dumbly. 

“Yeah, uh, we’ll head out, then. See you at the apartment tomorrow?” 

Luka’s eyes locked on hers. She understood him instantly. Only if she was okay with it. And to her surprise, she absolutely was. She nodded back and his arm that was still around her flexed as he pulled her close to him again and he let out a nervous breath. 

“Yeah, tomorrow,” he answered Sass without taking his eyes away from her. 

She heard the door open and close as they left, but she was kissing Luka again and it didn’t occur to her to say goodbye.  

Translations:

D'accord: OkayBien sûr: Of courseNon, pas du tout, c'est juste que: No, not at all, it's just thattu sais: you know

[princess-geek]

Love Lesson

This fic is dedicated to my guardian angel @storyofmychoices. Besides she's a wonderful a writer, she's an incredible human being whose kind and light are endless. I never could thank her enough for what she has been doing for me.

Dear Dani, I know you usually don't read Hunt's fics written by other authors, but I hope you accept this one.

I hope you enjoyed it 😊💕

Choices Book: Red Carpet Diaries (a couple of years after Book 3)

Characters: Thomas Hunt, Miss Taylor (@storyofmychoices ), mentions to Jessica Massena (my RDC MC) and Matt Rodriguez.

Words: 1748

Warnings: none

Notes: English is not my first language. Please, excuse me any typos /or grammatical errors.   

Special thanks to @alj4890 for be by beta reader.

Jessica Massena exclusive pregnancy photos -  The most handsome Hollywood parents to be talk about the challenges of parenthood.

Thomas sighed and poured some more of the expensive scotch in the glass. He has no idea why he was wasting his time reading garbage press. He'll be the baby's godfather. He knew every detail about the issue. All the sacrifices she did to conceive...how the first months of nausea got her down. But now, she was radiant...healthy...happy...with Matt. 

She had woken up his senses and melted his heart unlike any other woman in years. He never actually had confessed his feelings because it was clear like crystal whom her heart belonged to.  For a while, it drove him crazy. Nowadays, he had made peace with his feelings and he came back to his old self. He also recognized that it was nothing more than a crush, a fever of an almost middle-aged man caused by her infectious joy.  Jessica Massena was a closed chapter in his life.

He abandoned the magazine and refocused on his research. A tragic death of a beloved teacher in a shooting at a high school inspired him to approach the question of USA public schools’ problems. He had read tons of news and academic papers about it, but they were too theoretical. He needed to breath that air, step on those dirty floors, hear the sounds. So, he decided to visit some public schools in area.

Since he was invited to speak at a university conference in New York, Thomas decided to visit some schools there too.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Kids and teens. Many. Too many. It was a banal New York school. Perfect.

As he wandered through the corridors, he saw a girl crying, hidden in the corner of lockers. Thomas wanted to do something, but he didn't know what to do or even what to say to calm the girl down. He never had a good way with children.

While Thomas was still distressed in his dilemma, a brunette stopped her hurried march, stepped back, placed a giant coffee cup on the floor and knelt beside the girl.

She gently wiped the girl's tears away. Thomas couldn't hear clearly what they were talking about, but he noticed that the girl calmed down as the woman spoke to her and stroked her hair.

“After class, I promise I'll go with you to talk to the principal. They can't do that and get away with it!”  the brunette promised hugging the girl tightly.

It was the last thing Thomas heard before the bell rings.

With confusion in the crowded corridors, Thomas lost sight of the girl and the brunette. 

The school board recommended him to visit Miss Taylor's class, classroom no.51. It took a while, but he finally found the classroom. Before knocking on the door, Thomas suddenly felt nervous, with a knot in his stomach.

‘In the name of art, Thomas, in the name of art …' he murmured before knocking.

The door opened. Many pairs of expectant eyes looked back at him with curiosity. When the door opened a little more, it revealed the brunette he had seen with the girl.

His eyes fixed on her sweet chestnut for a moment, and, no matter how cliché and cheesy this may be, his heart literally skipped a beat. Thomas felt an inexplicable warmth come to his face. Fortunately, the beard would camouflage his rosy cheeks. Whatever happened in those seconds, it didn't seem to affect the brunette who looked away.

“Is this Miss Taylor’s class?”

“Yes.”

“I have permission from school board to attend your class. I’m…”

“I know who you’re... please come in,” she smiled shyly, “I apologize for not having a seat for you ... the room is at its maximum capacity ... but if you want you can sit at my desk…”

“No way, Miss Taylor! Don’t worry about me. I am going to the back of the room. You won't even notice my presence. Thank you for having me.”

 She just nodded.

“Class, let me introduce you Mr. Hunt. He is a famous director…”

“We watched one of his movies a few weeks ago, didn't we, Miss Taylor?”

“Yes, we did…”

“Mr. Hunt, Miss Taylor is a huge a fan of you…she said she watched all your movies…”

Miss Taylor's cheeks changed to increasingly reddish tones.

“Kids let me finish, please…”

“Is it true that Jessica Massena blow you off?”

“Samantha don’t be nosy! I’m so sorry, Mr. Hunt…they’re well behaves kids. I'm sure this is the excitement speaking for them,”

“I'm not making anything up ... it's in all the magazines!” Samantha protested.

“Miss Taylor is single, and she already has a soft spot for you…You could ask her out!” another girl added.

“Children, you’re crossing the line ... one more inappropriate observation and you are grounded!”

“That’s okay, miss Taylor…they’re just kids.” Thomas said.

“Thank you for understanding, Mr. Hunt...As I was saying, Mr. Hunt will be here at school for some days and attend some classes for research proposals.”

“This is for a new movie?”

“Can we be part of it?”

The students were even more excited.

It took some time for them to calm down, but little by little, Miss Taylor, in a sweet and serene voice, managed to calm them down and refocus their attention on her.

After correcting homework, Miss Taylor started her Math lesson. The way she explained it was truly remarkable…inspiring. She put in those numbers the same passion he had seen in the greatest actresses.

She was very affectionate with the students. One of them was having troubles in understanding an exercise. Miss Taylor explained it once, twice, three times ... always calmly and patiently.

“Very good! I knew you could do this.” Miss Taylor encouraged the student.

Jessica Massena was a consuming fire, but the brunette teacher was warming his soul, a kind of heat that settles on the skin, on the bones and makes us feel good and at peace.

From time to time, when she thought he wasn’t looking, Miss Taylor threw him a discreet shy look. When their eyes locked, she blushed, adjusted her hair nervously and looked away.

Thomas found himself completely mesmerized. In fact, he felt like he was in one of those cheesy movies where the main character is completely lost gazing at the girl, there is a pop romantic ballad playing in the background and the sun shines brighter.

 He didn't notice time passing, delighted to hear and observe her. The bell woke him from the trance.

“Sorry again for the kids... and for and the indiscreet remarks.”

“No need to apologize. It's part of the children's charm ... at least that's what people say.”

“I hope you found our class useful for your research.”

“Yes...thank you for having me...”

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. Whenever one looked, the other looked away.

“The pleasure was ours. If there is anything that kids or I can do for help...”

He barely heard her, captivated by her natural features. Her lips were two beautiful pink lines. Thomas had never thought of his life being enchanted by a nose, but Miss Taylor's nose was the cutest nose he had ever seen. The director was so distracted that he didn’t notice he was leaning against a desk, which, at some point, gave in to his weight, causing him to lose his balance.

She tried to grab his arm to hold him, but the force of gravity had no mercy and the director ended up falling on the floor dragging Miss Taylor with him who landed on top of him.

Just a couple of inches were separating their lips. “Kiss her!” a voiced shouted in a corner of his head, “Are you crazy, Thomas?” another inner voice replied, “You’ve only known her for a couple of hours ... What would she think of you?”

I must have hit my head very hard... his rational self thought.

“Oh Lord, I’m so sorry, Miss Taylor...Are you okay?”

“Yes...and you? I’m so sorry. I was trying help and my clumsiness got things worse like the usual…”

“No, it was all my fault, Miss Taylor.”

Her perfume. It was not like the expensive signature perfume the women who he usually crossed paths. Her hair smelled like honey and her perfume was soft with hints of flowers.

“Maybe we should get up?”

“Yes, of course, sorry.” Thomas babbled.

She got up first and held out her hand to help him. Thomas declined delicately. A gentleman must help the lady and not the other way around.

However, when he got up, he fell out of balance again, falling once more.

Miss Taylor smiled to avoid laughter.

“You can laugh. This is absolutely ridiculous,” Thomas said, allowing a smile to appear on his lips.

He rose from the ground with as much dignity as possible, shaking the dust and smoothing his blazer. Moved by the instinct of help, Miss Taylor helped him to clean up. At some moment, their fingers touched and grazed each other’s for some seconds. She blushed and took her hand from his arm.

“May I offer you to a coffee? I mean, offer a coffee to you…as an I’m sorry coffee,”

“You don’t have to do it, Mr. Hunt…”

“Just Thomas, please…and I insist…It’d be a pleasure for me.”

“I…I'd love it…”

“Great! Do you recommend any place special?”

“Wait , I can’t…I’m sorry, I promised to help a student after classes…she really needs me today…I’m sorry…”

“She…your students are lucky to have you.”

Miss Taylor blushed. “I’m not that special…I just love what I do…I think you can understand me on that point…You used to be a professor too...and, you know how it is...When we love our job, we don’t just do it...we breathe it.”

Yes, he could understand that. And he was understanding that this he was feeling was something he shouldn’t ignore.

“I’ll come back tomorrow to Mr. Somerset’s classroom. Maybe, after classes tomorrow?”

She smiled.

“Until tomorrow.”

Thomas gently grabbed her hand, taking it to his lips and planting a gentle kiss on it, “I’m counting the minutes. Have a lovely evening, Miss Taylor.”

He made his way out of the classroom, but not resisting to steal some glances of her along the way, which cost him a blow to the shin, courtesy of desk’s iron leg. When he threw a last glance at the doorway, she said:

“Danielle. My name is Danielle.”

[allegra-writes]

"Fine line" part I

Peter Parker x SHIELD Agent! Reader x Harry Osborn

Teen and Up

Warnings: Canon typical violence

Part of the "Fine Line" series. Welcome to the endgame.

SERIES MASTERLIST | MY MASTERLIST

He had never seen you fight before. It was stupid of him, and potentially dangerous, to stop and think about something like that in the middle of a freaking battle, but he just couldn't help it. You were graceful, deadly. You and Kate Bishop moving together like a well oiled machine. Strike team Delta, Fury's pride. A blur of perfectly shot arrows and high kicks. 

But not even you were enough to stop the giant monstrosity in its path of destruction, not even him was. And it had hostages now. 

"Six!"

"I know K, I'm seeing it!"

"I'm on it guys!" Peter called back as he swung by you like a red and blue meteor, following the greenish abomination currently climbing up the side of a skyscraper, carrying a sports car on his free hand as effortlessly as if it was a toy. 

"One little question though" He switched to coms, "What the hell is that thing??"

"That thing" You explained, "is Norman Osborn…"

Peter's hand slipped, sending him flying face first into the building wall,

"Say what?!" 

"We'll fill you up later, Spidey" Kate quipped, "For now, would you mind giving us a hand before King-kong over there kills anyone? I don't trust his butter fingers not to drop that Audi"

"Yes, ma'am" You could hear Peter's smile in his voice, "S.H.I.E.L.D girls are so bossy"

"Well, we are your superiors..." You noted, finally arriving at the entrance of the building when he was already halfway to the top. 

"Ugh, I hate it when you pull rank on me" He groaned, swerving to dodge the shards of broken glass raining upon him.

You snorted, 

"No you don't"

"No, I don't" He admitted, "Kinda turns me on"

"Ew! Guys, I can hear you" Kate catched up to you, shooting an arrow hooked to a line around her belt. Peter wasn't surprised to see it hit its mark flawlessly on a ledge above his head, "Hi, hot stuff, need a ride?" 

You rolled your eyes, but wrapped your arms around her shoulders nonetheless, holding on tight. 

"Hey!" Peter protested, mid swing, "No flirting with my girl!"

"I saw her first!" Kate released the latch, and soon you both were ascending at breakneck speed, easily surpassing Peter, "Race you to the top, Spidey!" 

His laughter resonated through the coms, as he sped up to follow you, guns blazing into the battle.

…

There was no laughter anymore. The friendly banter and quick comebacks had died long ago, the second you had realized it was a trap. The goblin creature was far more intelligent than you were led to believe, having set the ploy from the very beginning, his seemingly driftless rampage through the city, not so random after all. 

And far more psychotic, as you had learnt when he tore open the car in his hands to reveal the terrified blond man inside. 

"HARRY!"

Peter's horrified scream matched your own.

"Well well well, it seems you awake quite the loyalty" a massive hand closed around Harry's torso, his indigo orbs finding yours across the rooftop "for such a pathetic little worm"

"Let him go, Goblin" Kate's tone was placating, almost gentle, "you don't know what you're doing…"

The creature laughed,

"That's what you think? What your imbecilic little investigation concluded?" Kate and you exchanged a look. Of course. Your investigation about the Green Goblin and other Oscorp shady experiments relied heavily on Norman Osborn personal files. The thought of the passionate scientist, who valued his work more than his own son, lying in his own research had never even crossed your minds. He had played you like a fiddle, misled you every step of the way, and you had bought right into it.

"I worked with S.H.I.E.L.D longer than you had been alive, and Fury thinks he can sic you after me? Two little girls playing spy and my own creation??" Harry looked about ready to pass out as the Goblin waved him around, gesticulating with his hands as he spoke.

Through the corner of his eye, Peter caught a glimpse of Kate inching closer to the beast, and was only half interested when he inquired,

"What do you mean your creation?"

"Everything special about you," The Goblin's deformed visage twisted in what Peter assumed was supposed to be a smirk, "came from one of my labs!"

"That might be true, you might have involuntarily given me my powers, but you didn't make me Spider-man" Peter countered, "Mister Stark gave me the suit, and showed me what it meant to be a hero, and I loved him and admire him more than you will ever be able to understand, but he didn't make me Spider-man either. 

I choose to be Spider-man, every day. I created myself, cause it isn't who we were made to be that makes us who we are. Our choices make us who we are! You might have the powers and appearance of a monster, but you don't have to be one!"

"If you really think that, you are even more stupid than I thought, Peter Parker"

"Pe-peter?" Harry gasped through the creatures crushing grasp around his torso. Peter hesitated for a second, before taking his mask off. 

"Yeah, it's me, buddy" He admitted, watching his friend's eyes go wide, "It's going to be ok, Haz. We'll get you out of this, I promise…"

Famous last words. Peter should have known better by then than to jinx things like that. Because not two minutes later, he was seeing Kate's little ambush fail, the creature's tail whipping around with enough force to send her flying against a wall and knock her out, Peter's own kick just a little too slow to stop the Goblin from grabbing you in his free hand.

"Wings? It has fucking wings??" Peter cursed under his breath, scrambling to follow the monster as he flapped his enormous, membranous wings, soaring across the city. But the creature had no intention of going too far.

"You say our choices make us who we are, very well" The Goblin challenged him, hovering above 700 feet of empty air, and Peter's heart stopped. "Let's see what yours are. What is it going to be, your friend… or your lover?" 

"Don't do it, Goblin!" He yelled, standing on a ledge, ready to pounce, when he saw it. Or rather, saw her, purple hair blowing in the wind, standing on the air, a little lower and further behind from the Goblin, one palm pointed down, creating some sort of sonic wave that kept her up. She signaled a series of orders with her free hand, and Peter nodded almost imperceptibly, but enough for you to realize something was happening. You twisted in the Goblins grip to see what was going on at your back. Oh, fuck.

"Make your choice, Peter. Now!" 

Norman Osborn let go of you and Harry at the same time, leaving you to watch your boyfriend dive for your ex. But you weren't falling, you were floating, cushioned by a column of vibrating air. 

"Don't worry, rookie," You heard an annoyingly familiar voice say, "big sis is here…"

Great. You were never going to live this down, now. 

Meanwhile, Peter had problems of his own, the momentum the Goblin had thrown his own son away making it difficult for him to catch Harry on time.

And even after he had the other man safe in his arms, he wouldn't stop squirming, fighting in his hold. 

"Noooo! Go after her! Save her!!"

Peter managed to land the both of them in a terrace, 

"She's ok! She's fine, see? She's got this! She's got this…" Peter finally released Harry, pointing up to the place where you still were hovering in the air with that other agent. 

"She… she's… flying?" 

"I think that is actually the other one's making…" Peter shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. Harry started pacing back and forth, obviously overwhelmed, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened.

"And you're Spider-man…" he turned to Peter, who nodded. "And that thing… what the fuck was that thing?" 

Peter hesitated,

"Apparently, a crazy scientist" he finally decided on a half truth.

"A crazy… Mate, what even is your life?"

"Honestly? I've been asking myself that same question for years…"

Harry barked out a watery, hysterical laugh. He wanted to punch the shorter guy, he wanted to throw himself at his feet and thank him for saving his life. To apologize for all the drunken midnight calls, and also stab him in his boyishly handsome face for being so fucking noble and heroic and brave and impossibly perfect and for stealing his girl. 

He clutched as his chest, the burn almost making him double over in pain, and he realized he was hyperventilating.

"Harry, Harry, look at me. Look at me! Do you feel my chest? Can you feel my chest under your hand?" 

Harry noticed then that Peter was pressing his open palm, splayed against the spider logo on his own chest. He nodded his affirmation.

"Good, feel how it moves? Breath with me" Peter ordered, "inhale…" 

Harry breathed in, in time with his friend's expanding chest.

"Now exhale" 

Harry let go of his breath.

"That's right, you're doing so great" Peter's praise warmed up something inside his gut. "Inhale…" and Harry did, catching a faint whiff of your perfume. Peter smelled like you, the realization making him notice just how close to each other they were, only inches apart. And he wondered idly if that was the view you were used to, the one you favored over everything else: warm brown eyes, staring into your soul, right before leaning in. He wondered if you appreciated those hard, muscular shoulders under your hands, before pulling him close. He wondered if Peter's lips still tasted like you.

And before he knew it, Peter found himself with Harry's mouth crashing on his.

He knew he should stop it, step away, but he was rooted to the spot, caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of sensations. It was different from kissing a girl. Hard planes where he was used to soft curves. The tickle of scruff, and slightly chapped lips where he was used to your strawberry sweet lipstick. But as Harry's tongue licked his bottom lip, begging for entrance, Peter couldn't help but open up to him, to surrender to him, as his tongue conquered every inch of Peter's mouth, a greddy, hungry victor. 

"I hate you so much" Harry breathed against Peter's mouth, even as his big hands came to frame the brunet's face, the metal of his finger rings cool against Peter's cheeks

"Doesn't feel like hate…" He quipped, before scraping his teeth against Harry's lips, tearing a moan out of him.

"No, it doesn't" the taller boy admitted, pushing one thigh between Peter's, gasping as he felt one of the hero's hands coming to rest against his lower back, pressing him closer. 

"You taste like cigarettes" Peter marveled, for some reason finding the bittersweet taste delicious. 

"And you taste like her" Harry replied, diving in again.

Peter froze. Her. You. His girlfriend. 

"Harry… Harry stop" Peter muttered, between nibbles "we need to stop. This is wrong"

"Feels right" The heir protested, teeth latching onto Peter's lower lip to stop him from pulling away. Peter groaned, but managed to break the kiss anyway. 

"It's not. We can't do this to her." 

Harry sighed, resting his forehead against Peter's, still reluctant to let go completely,

"I know…" he admitted. 

They stood like that for a few moments, willing breathings to calm, and hearts to slow down.

"You should go" Harry spoke finally, taking a step back, Peter immediately missing the warmth of his body in his arms. He wanted to say something, anything, to chase away the heartbreak, the loneliness in those pale blue eyes, but he couldn't. The knot in his own throat would not allow it. 

So he just stepped away, slipping his mask on, and jumped. He caught a glimpse of Harry's teary, red face, sticking out from the balcony to watch him go, before shooting off a web and swinging away, back to the skyscraper where Kate had fallen. Because if he knew you at all, that was exactly where you were going to be, taking care of your best friend.

…

"...I'm telling you, I had everything under control!"

"Is that why you were hanging 700 feet in the air?" The purple haired girl argued, crossing her arms over her chest, "Admit it, rookie, you're lucky I arrived just in time to save your ass. Again."

You were fuming, face flushed and eyes bright, and Peter found himself struck yet again by how gorgeous you were. A pang of guilt stabbed his stomach. 

"I didn't ask you too" You replied, petulantly, "and stop calling me 'rookie', I'm a level 9 agent."

"... I'm still higher than you"

"For one level!" You cried in frustration, "One single fucking level!"

"Would you two shut up?" Kate stumbled up, and Peter broke free from his haze to hurry and wrap a stabilizing arm around her shoulders, "You're giving me a headache"

"Yeah, that would be the concussion," purple quipped, "don't worry, Simmons should be here any minute to take a look at that"

"Yay, finally a sane person to talk to" Kate deadpanned. Purple ignored her.

"And you must be the boyfriend…" She singsonged, nudging you with her shoulder, "He's cute under the mask, how did you managed to get him to go out with you?" 

"Hey!" Peter and you exclaimed indignantly, in unison. 

"I'm kidding, jeez!" She raised her hands in surrender. "Come on, won't you introduce us?" 

You rolled your eyes, but complied anyway,

"Daisy, this is Peter Parker. Peter, this is Daisy Johnson, weirdo fancies herself my sister"

"Ooh, 'fancies'! You've spent way too much time with that brit boy, didn't you?"

"Daisy, I swear to god I will-"

"You need to tell her" Kate whispered, taking advantage of your distraction.

"Wh-what?"

She scoffed, Kate had never had much patience for anyone's bullshit.

"About what just happened with Harry. She will understand, Peter, I promise. But only if she hears it from you"

"H-how do you know?"

"I see better from afar" The archer smirked, before returning her attention to you and, apparently, your sister.

"Are they always like that?" Peter whispered, a little alarmed. Kate snorted,

"Just wait till you meet the rest of her old team…"  

"Yeah, what do you say, boyfriend?" Daisy smirked, mischievous glimmer in her eyes so much like yours, "Ready to meet the family?" 

Peter gulped, he really wasn't. 

To be continued...

[ivyglow]

You don’t go out there kissing everyone - Mat Barzal NYI

Author notes: So, I got a lot of Mathew requests and some of them were very alike, so I decided to mix some. In this piece we have three prompts which are: 

99. “it’s just a kiss”; 35. “I don’t want to be just friends with benefits anymore.” and 11. “we’re not just friends, and you know it” I hope you guys like it! Feedback is always appreciated. 

Word count:  3.196

Also, IMPORTANT: It’s not proofread aaaand I wanted to know if someone wants to do it (before I post on here) with almost every piece I write. Sorry for the confusing talk, I’m at the airport rn but I wanted to post it fast since it’s been a while I got the ask.  

Things started months ago when y/n went on a horrible date and Mat wasn’t in the vibe for dating someone neither having random hookups on the weekends, so he suggested to try put some benefits in their friendship, at first it was a good idea since there was this tension between both of them but as time pass by things got a little out of planning.

It wouldn’t be a real friendship with benefits if one of them -or both- fall in love, huh?!

First, the kisses started to linger longer than usual, then they happened in moments other than sex like when y/n arrived at his house to shit talk about anything or when they were alone together and one of then needed to go. Then affection started to grow, but y/n kept telling herself that it was the kind of thing they used to do before, therefore Mat bringing her coffee at college or sending texts to remind of drink water and lunchtime wasn’t news. 

The clock hits 8am when y/n’s cell phone starts ringing and bringing the noise to all the room. She curses before reaching for the bedside table and turning it off. The bedroom was in a perfect scenario for sleeping all day long, blinds were closed, the air was cool and she was completely naked - covered only by the comforter -.

“pssst, wake up” she hears the whisper, smells the lotion and feels the hands in her hair. 

“Too early” 

“Honey, it’s already 8:30, the guys are arriving soon” 

And suddenly her eyes were wide open. 

Shit! She didn’t mean to stay the night when she got into his condo after a hell of a class. Eventually, they slept together the whole night, but not always, especially when they have breakfast with their group of friends. Mat seemed to sense her nervousness and kissed the top of her head sentencing “You were too tired last night, I choose not to wake you up.” 

“Matyyyy” she whined closing her eyes again and sinking further in the bed. He chuckles. “I gotta go home to clean clothes an-” “There are enough options in my closet” he explains finally letting his weight falls into her, but with caution, so she doesn’t get hurt. 

“You’re wet!!!!” y/n cursed one more time once she felt the drops of water hit her face and collarbone. 

“Just got out of the shower” Mat states simply. She rolls her eyes playfully and let a kiss into his chin.

“Smells good” she whispers “and you shaved…” 

He nods smiling. “I saw you were getting some scratches in the inner tight, so It was no big deal for me to solve this” 

Scratches…

Inner tig-

Her thoughts are interrupted once she understands what he meant. The pitch of her stomach gaining the well-known feeling. Mat loved to go down on y/n so once he noticed that the growing beard was a little inconvenient to her sensitive area he didn’t think twice before shaving it off. 

“I gotta go home to clean clothes before everyone arrives.” she changes the subject after the silence, actually, the silence wasn’t something uncomfortable between them. 

“I told you there are enough options here” he repeats himself and she reaches for his neck, lacing her arms around it. 

“How come?” 

“You always forget something, so I usually just wash and put it with my clothes” 

Y/n stays silent, she knew she left a pair or two of panties since the last time they ended up ripping the one she was wearing, but she didn’t think Mat was so careful and kept everything clean. 

It was kind of overwhelming, to be honest, she already had a toothbrush and some books at his place, but clothes in general? Space in his closet? That was...scary. 

It meant something and she knew it. 

“Babe, you have to get up” Mat pokes her side. 

“Honey”, “babe”...the nicknames, the soft kisses, the attention, the cuddles while sleeping at night...how they let things got this far?! This was far from the established line, wasn’t it?! 

Y/n gives no response, just trying to sink more in the cushions, Mat chuckles and stands up, pushing the comforter off. 

“Barzal, I’m naked!!!!” she grumbles covering her chest with one arm. “and it’s cold” 

“First, I see you naked always and second, it’s not cold. C’mon, go take a bath, y/n” he pleads and she puffs finally getting up and heading to the bathroom. 

She takes her time while washing her hair, brushing her teeth and choosing between a lot of clothes that -as Mat said- were at his closet. When she was finally dressed and combing her hair the doorbell rings. The voice of Tito, Joe, Emma, and Ed is heard from the bedroom and y/n takes a final look at the mirror before heading downstairs to her friends.

Joe is the first one to notice her and then Emma who’s sitting in the couch in front of the stairs, she gives y/n a well-known look, even tho y/n never talked about her ‘relationship’ with Mathew, Emma seemed to sense -but never enough to prove her point, so things usually consisted in Emma saying that she liked him and y/n denying every word. 

“Good morning, Y/n” Tito compliments heh with a strong hug. “You got here early?” 

“Yeah, it’s been ten minutes or so…”

“I see your hair still wet” Emma whispers while planting a kiss in her friend’s cheek.

“I came right after a bath, so yeah”. 

“Mhm, sure, gonna pretend I believe you” the blonde girl jokes and y/n rolls her eyes playfully. 

Ed and Joe are the next ones, Joe lingering a little bit longer in the hug and adding a small kiss in y/n’s cheek. “You look good today” he smiles before letting her body finally go. That, however, didn’t pass unnoticed by Mat. 

“So, what you guys brought to breakfast??” Barzal asks while walking to the kitchen, followed by the others.

“I brought the watermelon juice, y/n’s favorite” Joe states while walking right behind his friends.

Mathew discreetly rolls his eyes and y/n is fast to see, shooting him a small giggle. 

Everyone putting their designed plates in the table minutes before the loud voice and laughers start along with mouths full of food and eventually some choking and more laughs. 

The group of friends left Mathew’s house around lunchtime, but they would meet at some Tito’s friend party in the evening, which probably was the main reason why y/n went home...or maybe she needed some alone time to put straight her thoughts. Barzal drove her home and they said their goodbyes with a small wave, something seemed off and both could feel it, the tension almost touchable. Happens that during all morning Joe kept flirting with y/n in a way he never did before, which was funny to all of their friends who were seeing all of that as one of Joe’s typical class-clown behavior. He was a funny guy, but Barzal was sure at that moment he was not kidding, he meant it and the way his eyes were trailing her body made his blood boil.

But what Mathew could do? 

Nothing! 

They were not dating, he couldn’t simply demand him to shut up, not when y/n didn’t look at him pleading help with her eyes or showed some kind of discomfort, she was apparently seeing all the situation as comic. 

He wanted to feel comfortable with someone praising y/n cause Mat was sure she deserved all, but he was afraid. And not from the praise or guys at all, he was afraid of her falling for someone else, seeing the possibility of the same relationship with someone that wasn’t him. 

Hell, he wanted to show her off to the whole world and praise her in every way possible. 

In the monarchy times, she surely would be his queen almighty. And him...he would be just a fool in love.

In love.

These words were his only company all day long while his mind raced with thoughts about what the hell was happening until he felt tired enough to fall asleep. 

Mat woke up with the call from Tito asking if he would make it in time and he was confused once the sleep made him forget about the party. Mathew raced for the bathroom, taking a batch, changing and finally leaving thirty minutes later for the party. 

Bruno Mars was blasting through the speakers of the club while the group of friends talking in a discreet corner. Y/n standing beside Emma with her drink in hands a small smile displaying on her face. Her waist was moving slightly and as much as she wanted to feel the music and delightfully dance something was missing…

Almost forty minutes later his perfume is close, her stomach does some flips and finally, the voice is heard. 

“I fell asleep, sorry guys” he states while going to compliment everyone in the friends' circle.

Tito is fast to start chatting and so the night goes with a lot of talks, dance, music, laugh, and glances. When the club started to get full and they wanted to keep the conversation and subjects between their group Emma suggested to go to Ed’s house that was close from there. 

They did as suggested and when everyone was getting comfortable in the living room Joe started “we should play truth or dare”.

“Don’t we have something better to do” it’s Ed’s turn to speak and he glances at his friend with a curious and sarcastic face. 

“C’mon, it will be fun! We gonna talk shit anyway…” Emma jokes and y/n chuckles, her friend was always open for adventures and since it was only their group she felt safe to be who she was and to do all the things she wants as well. 

“You see, Em’s by my side?!” showing his tongue Joe disappears into the house getting back some minutes later with a bottle.

All the five already sitting in a circle in the middle of the room. Emma is by y/n’s right and by her left is empty and then Tito talking with Ed and Barzal. Joe takes the opportunity and sits by her side which doesn’t go unnoticed by Mathew one more time, but whatever, they were all friends, it was normal to eulogize and give attention and take care and...right?! 

Because of her excitement, Emma is the first to start throwing the bottle that lands with the bottleneck pointing to Edward.

“Truth or dare, Ed?” 

“Truth” he exhales. 

“Ok...were you in love with our physic teacher in college?” she’s straight into the point and Joe laughs seeing his friend become bright red and then pale.

“Oh, c’mon Ems, we don’t even have this class anymore!!”

“You said the truth” Tito chuckles standing for his friend. “Let’s go, man, answer fast.” 

Ed grumbles before giving their friend a positive answer that made all of them cheer and laugh.

When Ed spins the bottle and it lands for y/n she arches her brows. 

“Truth or dare?” 

“Dare” she rolls her eyes and takes a sip from her drink. He would probably send her to ring the doorbell of the neighbor or walk barefoot in the sidewalk, or so y/n thought.

“Kiss Joe”

“What?” Tito chuckles not believing in Ed’s command.

“You gotta be kidding me” y/n curls her lips into a funny way.

“Am not. I dare you to kiss Joe” 

She rolls her eyes that land into a pair of honey already staring. His eyes were dark and he had this stressed face that he does when some player hits him in the ice. Mathew wasn’t happy with that little game not even a little. 

She waited to see if he was going to say something, but as nothing left his lips she used hers to kiss the boy by her side. Joe's hand’s found her cheek and he was looking for some kind of dominance in the kiss, trying to get her close every second so so different from Barzal kisses, she remembered. Mat always holds her close, wait for some sign of consent and usually tangles his long fingers into her curly hair. 

Emma does this surprise noise when Joe and y/n break the kiss and Mat looks a little disappointed. 

“I’m gonna grab some air,” the number 13 of the nyi says before leaving the room. Y/n was fast to notice the change in his tone, he was mad. 

Emma glances at her and she stays still, not really being able to understand everything including the mood swing from Mathew. “Your turn to spin the bottle” Ed mumbles noticing that his dare wasn’t one of the best ideas. 

“I...I gotta talk to Mat” she stands. 

“You should wait h-” Emma was not able to stop y/n from standing up neither changing her mind. She knew her best friend and she knew that once y/n decided to do something it was pretty hard to convince her otherwise. 

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking, right?” Tito’s voice is the last thing y/n could hear before leaving the room. 

Mat was leaning in the wall, the empty corridor not doing much to hide her presence even with the constant beep of the elevator. 

“What the hell was that?!” She was starting to get angry, but with the fact that he acts like something was happening, he left evidence to their friends when they had made it clear that thein fling could never ever be known. It would make the friendship a little complicated. “What?” “Don’t act like you have no idea about what I’m talking about. That scene in the living room in front of our friends...it was so...childish!” 

“C’mon, I’m not gonna stand here to hear you say that shit” he answers.

“We’re friends, Mat, that was not the attitude of a friend and you know it! Emma is always talking about us and I know Tito is all about jokes with you too.” 

“We’re what?” 

“Friends, Mathew!” 

“We’re not just friends, and you know it!” he speaks almost softly. 

Y/n freezes in her spot, the elevator still not there, but Mat wished it was for some seconds. It was not easy to start a relationship discussion in the middle of their friend’s apartment corridor. 

Knowing y/n like he knew, Barzal expected her to say some shit about his statement, some sass comment or even a roll of eyes, however, just like she had nothing against it she said: “Ok, but it’s just a kiss…” 

“You don’t go out there kissing everyone!” 

“Don’t you?!” she furrows her brows.

“Gosh, what image do you have of me? I’m your friend…”

“But if I recall we both agreed with the not serious status, and the main reason is our friendship.” She bites her lips and starts to tap her bare feet in the ground. 

“See, that's the thing!” he sighs. “Mat, stop talking to me like I’m able to fucking read your mind!! You have to tell me stuffs, we should take like we usually d-”

“I don’t wanna be just friends with benefits anymore” 

She goes silent and the elevator finally arrives. It’s like her mind still racing and processing what he just said. He was jealous. He confessed he didn’t want to do that anymore. But what did that means? Mat want them to be over or does he wants to start something serious?! 

Before she was able to speak he enters the elevator, however y/n’s able to see the look of disappoint in his eyes, the eyes that she knows so well..the eyes that she woke up beside during some days of the week, the eyes that usually made her body shiver, the eyes that spoke into words that not ever she could read. 

So when she finally put the things together she calls the elevator, praying for the time to be by her side. That’s what they say in the rom-com movies, that the time works perfectly when it comes to two lovers.

This time it does not take long to the elevator arrive and she hops in, barefoot, messy hair and a racing heart. 

When it comes to a stop she runs looking for his car in the parking lot of the building. It’s not even open yet, he’s standing in the side of it. Hands holding the door like he was looking for some kind of strength to his body. 

“Mathew!!” she tries to run faster catching his attention.

“I…” he starts but she cuts him off. “I guess I don’t wanna be just friends with benefits anymore too…” her voice was puffy, gasping for air. Mathew opens his mouth to talk once again, but she rolls her eyes speaking first again “Why couldn’t you just wait for my answer?! I’m not a professional athlete like you…” 

He chuckles. 

“Sorry” it’s a whisper, she knows it’s not just him making her run, it’s about no being patient, not waiting for things to calm down to talk...not telling her before. But as they said, love has its own time huh?! Or that’s what he wants to believe. 

She gets closer, hands holding his shoulders. 

“And now?” 

“I mean...we go on a date or our nights' count as it?” he jokes and laughs softly. 

“Where would you take me?” she asks, brows furrowed.  

“As I already know you, I know you know where I would take you...but let me make this as a surprise” he pecks her lips. 

“With how many dates we can kiss?” y/n gets closer.

“I don’t know, you tell me” 

“Can we start it with the kiss first and then the date?” she jokes and lean even closer, her barefoot almost leaving the ground.

“We can start however you want”

And so they kissed, in the underground of the building, in a very unexpected night. Just like that, no complications, no need to worry. Things would find its ways for the better. Call it fate, love or simply their actions. Y/n and Mathew were ready to face it together. 

[dexiao]

Play me (m) | Part 1 of 2

Gif originally posted by @weishenkun​

Synopsis: Living with Kun was perfectly fine until he tried to teach you how to play the guitar

Pairing: Qian Kun x female reader

Words: 1k

Genre: roommate!au, smut (oral, safe sex), fluff

A/N: This is my first fic in English and it is not my native language, so if you find any mistakes pls let me know! Smut will be all on part 2, hope you enjoy it :)

This is a work of fiction. It does not portray the real personality of the member.

Going to college was my dream since I was a child. Born in an Argentine family that struggled with money, I was always grateful for the help I got from my teachers - sometimes by lending a book, giving extra explanation when I needed and even helping with my college application. So, with a warm heart, I chose to major in pedagogy.

The first months were really tough. I had to share an apartment with 3 people I didn’t know before for a whole semester and it really pissed the hell out of me. My sleep was all fucked up and it was hard to focus on my studies at home, so I stayed until late night at the library. That was before I moved in with Kun.

Just like me, he was born in a family of foreigners – his parents came from China – and was an art student. To be precise, we only met because we’re foreigners. 

In the middle of last semester, he needed help composing a song that had to have at least one third of its lyrics in Spanish. Fortunately, we had a friend in common that suggested him to try asking for my help, since I knew a lot of Spanish because of my family. It took us three encounters to finish the lyrics and we became friends from that. Just friends, two people who got along.

We knew each other for about three months when I moved to his apartment. His previous roommate had to go back to his hometown and the rent was almost the same as I was paying before – but this time, I could have peace.

Since both our classes were during the daytime, we almost always had dinner together, eating in front of the TV and talking about our lives. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I had tennis practice, so Kun cooked. I did the same on the days he went to the gym and we cooked together on other days. Kun really was a sweetheart.

Tonight, he promised to teach me how to play the guitar.

It was Wednesday, so when I got home Kun was already cooking as I went for a quick shower. Fresh out of the bathroom and with my hair still dripping water, I just slipped into a pair of yellow shorts and a black tank top, with a sports bra underneath.

We ate while watching the latest episode of Itaewon Class and I told Kun about how my coach tried to kill me during the practice.

“I mean, my thighs were so tense that even when I was showering the muscles were still contracted.” I said, putting my legs up and straight so Kun could look at them.

Kun looked at my thighs and nodded.

“They surely look more muscular than usual." He laughed, making me blush, though I love my thighs.

Kun went to his room to get the guitar while I took the dishes to the kitchen. As I headed back to the living room, I met Kun holding the guitar.

“I think it’d be more comfortable to play on the bed, if that’s ok for you.” He said shyly.

“Yeah, sure.”

We entered his bedroom and sat on his bed facing each other. Kun first explained what each part of the guitar was – body, neck, strings, frets, etc. and then positioned the guitar carefully in my arms.

“So, when you play a song in the guitar, you actually play a sequence of chords, and a chord is a combination of notes. When you hold a string in a fret and play it, you play a note” he explained, playing the third string while pressing it in different frets to show me how it worked. I nodded and tried to replicate what he just did, but Kun only released a nasal laugh and it was enough to understand that I was doing it wrong.

“Here, let me show you.” He smiled, crawling on the bed and seating behind me, his legs spread on each side of my body. He grabbed my hands with his own and positioned them the right way, paying especial attention to the left.

“You have to be careful because touching other strings can drown the sound or make it sound completely different than what you want”. I could feel his breath on the left side of my head as he taught me what to do. “Let’s try a simple chord here, the A chord. Everything will be on the second fret. Place your first finger on the fourth string, second finger on the third string and third finger on the second string.” He instructed. “Now play.”

As I played the strings, I tried to pay attention to Kun’s reaction, but it was hard since I couldn’t see nor hear him. That made me surprised when he grabbed my hands again, pushing them down so he could play. Involuntarily, I jolted at his touch, my back straight on his torso.

"Oh-"

“Oops, I'm sorry." He laughed. "This is how it should sound, but in the beginning it is really hard to press the chords since we have weak fingers.” He said. My heart was still beating fast from the pseudo scare and his breath hitting the base of my neck didn’t help. When I tried to take a deep breath, all I could smell was his perfume.

“Well, I guess that’s it for today. I can keep teaching you other chords and soon you will be able to play some songs if you want.” He said, letting go of my hands but not moving from his place.

I put the guitar to the side and got up from the bad, but Kun reached for the guitar and held it in front of himself even before I could turn to face him again. His cheeks were red.

“Thank you, Kun. I really enjoyed it and I think it would be fun to keep learning.” I said happily, but feeling my face become red at the sight of Kun.

Am I going crazy or he’s just hiding his boner?

[clansayeed]

Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ― Chapter 17: The Psychic

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ⥽

While struggling with nightmares of lives she’s never lived, a shadow from the past looming over her city, and the proposed idea that her life may just be a little bit too weird to handle alone, Nadya makes sure to tell herself that everything is perfect just the way it is. If only. When the self-proclaimed King of Vampires (and Maker of her sometimes-girlfriend and always-boss, can’t forget that little tidbit) Gaius Augustine returns intent on claiming Manhattan as the throne that was promised, she and her friends find themselves forced into the task of saving the world. But with millennia-old vampires and an Order of hunters on their heels as well as allies hiding catastrophic secrets at their backs… it won’t be an easy task. Too bad destiny didn’t exactly ask for her input.

Bound by Destiny II and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny II tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

The group's patience is rewarded when Serafine finally arrives in Paris. But with her comes the reality that it's time to buckle down and do what they came here to do. Seeing as none of her previous experiences with psychics have been even remotely good, Nadya can't shake her doubts.

note: from this chapter and going forward this series will contain Adrian x Serafine content/mentions

[READ IT ON AO3]

It’s the longest week of Nadya’s life. A week of unknowns and uncertainties that somehow both keep her exhausted and refuse to let her sleep for fear they would go ignored. Like there’s any chance of that happening.

The suckiest part is there’s no escaping the worry. She doesn’t stray too far from the block the apartment building is on for fear of losing her way, or worse — losing her life.But it’s not like their apartment was the most spacious thing in the world. Only Lily and Nadya are used to living with each other. They aren’t used to living with two grown men.

They scour newspaper stands, memorize the channel numbers for every news station and use Adrian when translations are necessary. Digging almost obsessively for any information on New York and their loved ones. After all, you’d think a giant pitfall in the middle of Central Park would get even one 24-hour news cycle of international attention.

You’d think.

“The police have the entire park sectioned off,” Adrian summarizes; eyes flying over the newsprint of that day’s issue, “looks like they’re trying to write the event off as a scaled-down natural event. Hartfield’s sent out their geology department but I’m guessing that’s for the newspapers rather than to do actual good. Manhattan isn’t exactly known for it’s sprawling underground caverns.”

They stop looking at the papers after that. Or — they stop asking Adrian to expose himself to all of the things he feels he walked out on. He’s got enough on his plate.

And isn’t that an understatement. Yes; Adrian’s worries about being unable to reach Serafine are definitely everyone else’s problem too. But every time he seems to be getting a little too heated or intense Nadya reminds herself of their first night here and the talk they had. He may not admit it aloud but much of his worry for her is personal.

The side effect is as unanticipated as it is worrisome. Adrian’s a vibrant personality; never one to boast his success but always the center of attention because he’s just that interesting. So to see such an extroverted person retreat into themselves as harsh as he does has everyone on edge. He’s quieter at meals and outright avoids the rest of them in the apartment’s lone bedroom most afternoons.

When Nadya tries confronting him about it (she starts off subtle, but screw subtle they’re all in a bad way right now so if he’s going to be miserable he can at least be miserable with the rest of them) he at least does her the courtesy of not pretending to be oblivious about it.

“I’m just worried, that’s all,” he insists; pushy enough that it’s clear he’s trying to convince himself of it too, “about Serafine, and everyone back home too.”

“You think you’re the only one?”

“No, of course not. I —”

“Okay, so stop acting like it. We can’t do this without you.” I can’t do this without you, but she doesn’t need to say it for Adrian to know.

His excuses are always the same; so are the apologies that inevitably follow. Finally Nadya just forces herself to accept that if Adrian won’t confide in her there’s not much she can do about it. Not that acceptance keeps it from hurting her deeply.

The only consolation the universe decides to offer her is a few (worry-addled) days wandering around a snowy Paris at night with her best friend. It gets them out of the claustrophobic confines of the apartment though, so she’ll take it.

Still rosy-cheeked and shivering from their metro ride, Nadya fumbles to Lily’s delight far too long before she manages to get the key into the lock and her butt into the apartment.

“Karma is real you know,” though her huffs of discontent are made less malicious by the way her scarf muffles her words and makes her glasses fog up to the point of blindness, “and it comes after people who watch their friends suffer.”

Lily laughs in the face of karma. “Oh you poor baby, all cold from your visit to the top of the Eiffel Tower. My heart goes out to you.”

“It should!”

“It does!”

“Good!”

They laugh in unison. When Nadya is finished shedding her many wintry layers she grabs for the takeout bag at her feet. “Looks like Jax is still out,” she comments, and doesn’t miss the indescribable look of continued confusion that gets thrown her way. Yeah, she didn’t understand it either at first, but turns out he’s never been out of the country before and likes walking the streets alone.

A woman’s rich and chiming laughter stops both of them in their tracks. Nadya knows full well it’s impossible for her key to have opened any other door in the building yet still she does a quick double-check to make sure they are indeed in the right apartment. Jax’s sword is where he left it on the coffee table, and Adrian’s suit is still hanging over the bedroom door; so it’s definitely their place.

And Adrian doesn’t laugh like that.

“Hold on,” comes Adrian’s voice from the kitchen, “I think I heard the door.”

The laughing woman’s voice is richly accented when she replies. “If your hearing has gotten so terrible, mon chéri, I’m surprised you’ve survived this long.”

Lily wiggles her eyebrows suggestively before calling out; “If you need a minute or ten, we can circle the block!”

Nadya claps her hand over her mouth to stifle her snort, and the fact she can hear Adrian’s rolling eyes when he talks doesn’t help in the least.

“Ha ha, very funny Lily. Come on in — there’s someone here I want you to meet.”

The woman sitting very close to Adrian at the small kitchen table needs no introduction but Adrian gives one anyway. “Nadya, Lily; this is Serafine Dupont.” And she’s a startling beauty to be sure; hair falling in bushy and effortless curls around features that manage to look flawless even under the harsh yellow light overhead. But Nadya can’t look away from Adrian from the moment she sees him.

Adrian who is smiling; really genuinely smiling, for the first time in a long time. She’d almost forgotten what it looked like, but the sight of it is like an old friend and gives her an immense relief. Not just for his sake either — because just maybe something is finally going right for them.

The girls are barely one foot through the doorway when Serafine descends upon them. Feather-light fingertips brushing through the wool of Nadya’s sweater with gentle kisses gifted to her cheeks. She smells of rose perfume and spring morning dew, and carries herself tall and proud in a way that is so familiar it makes Nadya’s heart ache.

Lily returns the kisses enthusiastically. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since we got here,” she admits to Serafine’s delight.

“Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” The woman smiles sweetly at the both of them before taking up her seat again. “Adrian’s been talking the both of you up for hours. I told him that I could not remember the last time he spoke so highly of anyone!”

“Well we are admittedly awesome.”

“And modest, too, I see.”

Her oh-so-courteous vampire friends wait until Nadya’s settled in with her food unpacked to get down to business. There are only two chairs for the table so Lily joins her up on the counters; their legs dangling and colliding on lazy occasion.

“So, Serafine,” and there’s a depth to her warm brown eyes that Nadya recognizes; they may not have discussed it before but she has no trouble believing that Serafine is much older than her current companions, “no offense — but you’re a hard woman to track down.”

At least she seems genuinely apologetic. “Ah, oui. I’ve spent the better part of the evening giving Adrian my apologies but I should offer them to you as well.”

“She’s been in hiding.” Adrian comments, and with no small amount of sympathy.

Nadya and Lily exchange surprised looks. “Are you okay?”

Serafine nods with a hum. “I am alive, and that is more than can be said for those who fell victim to the Order.”

The Order. Nadya’s heard that name before — though never with her own ears. She may not remember all of her visions but they’ve come up too frequently for her to fully forget. With that name comes the chill of fear and the weight of loss. Serafine radiates it and so much more.

“The Order of the Dawn, you mean.”

Which makes Serafine regard her with surprise. “You know of them?” she asks, and because she’s working really hard on this whole being-honest thing Nadya just shrugs in a noncommittal answer.

Lily raises her hand. “And for those of us who skipped Vampire History 1-0-1?”

“The Order of the Dawn is the oldest enemy to our kind. Legend says they have been around since the time of the First Vampire Herself, and with the amount of wealth and influence they have gathered the world over… I would believe it. They are the worst of humanity. Radicals who exist solely to exterminate us. By their teachings, from the moment we are Turned we cease to be people. They paint us as savages; animals controlled by our need for blood and nothing more.”

“Sounds a bit like —”

“Ferals?” Adrian nods grimly. “They’ve been used as a tactic for the Order’s indoctrination for decades. But they don’t see the difference between a Feral or the likes of you and I. To them it’s all the same.”

Indoctrination, he says. And judging by the pain that flashes across Serafine’s face when he isn’t looking it’s not a word chosen for melodrama. When she tries her hardest to recall what few memories she can that even so much as whisper the Order in her ear, it’s not an unfounded fear the older vampires share.

However there’s one thing Nadya doesn’t fully understand.

“If they’re so powerful and connected, why haven’t you mentioned them before?” Frankly it would have been nice to know of yet another reason to look over her shoulder.

“Because I didn’t see any reason to scare you over something that you wouldn’t have to deal with. Or… so I’d hoped.”

Serafine offers Nadya a sympathetic smile; something a hair’s breadth from pitying. “Don’t think too little of him for it, petit. America has the luxury of letting the likes of the Order fade into history. They fought hard enough for the right to do so, after all.”

Her hand falls over Adrian’s with a feather-light touch; offering a look with it that Nadya only sees half of but that’s more than enough to know the feelings behind it. The tension melts from his shoulders in a steady wave.

“There was a secret war in the middle of the 19th century; the War of the Dawn. A decade-long campaign to wipe every vampire from the face of North America; and the Order’s last and bloodiest attempt at killing Gaius and damaging our entire species beyond repair. They all but abandoned Western Europe and poured every resource into the fight. Unfortunately we were forced to do the same… and because of it they very nearly succeeded.”

He’s had Lily’s interest since ‘secret war’ but everything after is meant to frighten them. It succeeds — rightfully so.

It wouldn’t hurt for him to stop there but Adrian continues almost like he’s duty-bound to finish the story for the warning it is. “We won because we were connected to the human world in a symbiosis. Gaius spent years weaving his court into the very fabric of American history and it paid off when the time came. Politics, industry, big business — when we formed the Council we didn’t create these connections, we merely stepped in to fill the void our coup left behind.”

She gets it now. “You have more power than the Order does.”

“And so they can’t touch us. Not without losing for a second—and final—time.”

For all of the terrible things Gaius is and will always be, he can play the long game well. Nearly every vision he showed up in left Nadya confused as to how such a terrible tyrant could inspire such loyalty. Now… it makes a little bit more sense.

Not that it makes him any less of a villain.

“But it is not my enemies that bring you so far from home, Adrian.”

If Serafine was hoping to cut even the smallest hole in the tension between them, sucks to be her. She takes the defeat with grace though. “I relish this chance to reconnect… though I have a sense our night would be better spent with why you are here, in Paris with her dangers, at all.”

His laugh is as dry as it is fake. “Where to start…”

There’ve been enough psychic vampires probing around in Nadya’s head lately that she knows the look their new friend gives her right away. Before she can even open her mouth Nadya feels the itch of Serafine’s psychic influence right at the base of her skull.

“The beginning should suffice.”

While Nadya may not have picked up on much of the French language in their short time here, she has little trouble imagining the long string of words that roll off of Serafine’s tongue are the pretty woman’s equivalent of swearing like a sailor. Judging by the way Adrian raises his eyebrows and suddenly finds the bottom of his wine glass the most fascinating thing in the room… she should have bet money on it.

“You okay there?” Lily asks, and passes what’s left of the bottle wordlessly back to the table. As vampires, they may not be able to get drunk like humans could but Nadya’s coming to realize her favorite thing about the French is handling stressful conversations with an alcoholic buffer.

Serafine looks between the girls in a strange emotion possibly named ‘wild sadness,’ which is valid honestly.

“Non, Lily, I am not. But I cannot fathom how minuscule my emotions must be compared to your own. And you, Nadya,” who tries her best not to cringe under the emotions that make her voice thick and accent thicker, “to have endured what you have, so young and in the prime of your life. I would not wish such a fate on my worst enemy.”

“Yeah well…” she has no idea what to say to that; so she drinks until something comes to mind, “I would. If only to show him what it feels like.”

Serafine gives a fitful nod. “But it doesn’t do any good to sit here and ruminate on the tragic things which have already passed. Whatever is in my power is yours.”

“Well that’s the thing — I wasn’t sure if it was in your power.” She looks offended that Adrian would even think of doubting her. He doubles-back; tries again.

“You’re the strongest psychic Kamilah and I know, Serafine. But I’ll admit I don’t know much about the skill. Is it even possible to undo the damage that’s been done?”

Nadya doesn’t disagree that damage is right but it still hurts to hear it. He glances at her quickly and utterly remorseful. “I mean —”

“I know what you meant. Let it go.”

Serafine shrugs. “Let me see what I’m working with first. Nadya, darling, if you would?” She gestures and Nadya slips from her stool without argument, is glad for the fact that Serafine stays seated only because she knows the woman would tower over her. She cups Nadya’s face in her cool palms; thumbs brushing over her cheekbones.

Isadora had touched at her mind subtle and with caution. By comparison Jameson had all but swung a hatchet at her brain; chipped away at her until he found what he needed and that was that. And Serafine, too, is different in her own way. But it’s more than the simple differences between individuals.

There’s a power in Serafine’s touch. Impossible for her to ignore. A compulsion of the will that drags her eyelids closed and brings her deep within and along for the ride.

Images, emotions, thoughts. Nadya sees them coming from a great distance but doesn’t have time to brace herself before they hit her like a truck.

Grasping for Lily’s hand on the plane—Kamilah’s lips on her forehead tears welling in her eyes emotion choking her throat—pleasedon’tmakemeleaveyou—I’mrighthereI’vegotyou—fear and worry and the brief flicker of joy—Taylor’s inconsistent eyes Kathy’s rich violet hair—all those months of lying begging for the end in those moments just before succumbing to sleep and the horrible things that alwaysinevitablycome…

And then there’s Gaius. Gaius whispering in her ear feeling Nadya’s heart pounding in her chest Vega two steps behind don’tlethimcatchyou! Gaius entering the dining room with silent fanfare — the glamour fading to reveal the rotting corpse beneath — his shoes taptaptap echoing in the Chamber the blood of the First staining his teeth before he rises up upup and into the oblivion of the night—

Serafine tries to pull back her psychic reach — but something, certainly not Nadya, holds her down. Keeps her still and there and demands of her to watch. As I have watched, as I have seen.

Nadya knows so very little but she knows without a shadow of a doubt the images that follow are memories, too. Serafine’s memories. Surprised to be pulled from some abyss, out of order.

The smell of spice and ocean sea-salt freshly sanded wood on beaches sand still warm with the sun’s heat sinking between her bare toes — electronica pounding through modern speakers club lights shining down on her skin slick with sweat her head thrown back in laughter — Adrian’s lips on her neck on her breasts lilted language on her tongue slow down darling we have a long day ahead of us fingers intertwining skin burning where the barest sliver of sunlight catches on their shared bed—

Paris bright and both new and old history not yet written in cobbled streets an empty void in the skyline where the Eiffel Tower will be and the smell of burning flesh and bone wafting up from deep within the earth tears and ash smeared over her skin—Youwillseejusticeatthehandsofyourenemies—and a burning hatred that ignited the flame.

Nadya tastes something unfamiliar and metallic on the tip of her tongue. Blood, her mind tells her — though her body struggles to accept it as more than just another memory.

She opens her eyes just as the red slips from Serafine’s own gaze. Shame and confusion burn hot in her cheeks and she barely registers the combined cries of “Nadya!” from both of her friends before she’s emptying the meager contents of her stomach in the kitchen sink.

Nadya reaches with a shaking hand to push her hair out of her face. Lily beats her to it; holds her through every shaking heaving breath without a word.

The two glasses of water she all but inhales help soothe the sting of the cut inside her cheek. Still, Nadya keeps the flat of her tongue against it out of habit. And though she’d like nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep off the vertigo a nd nausea still churning in her belly Nadya knows she can’t. Sits back on the counter like a good little Bloodkeeper while Lily scrubs the sink before the smell can linger.

“Je suis tellement désolé, Nadya,” apologizes Serafine, to which Nadya only nods to reply. Words are a little bit beyond her right now if that’s alright with them. “I had no idea even a simple exchange would be so… violent.”

Which is a word for it. Though Nadya would almost prefer they find something more dramatic for the future.

Adrian looks between them in a silent war with himself. Torn between apologizing to Nadya and asking Serafine the inevitable. What had she seen?

“Do you truly wish to stay your current course?”

She appreciates Serafine asking; it’s a consideration she hasn’t gotten much of so far. Unfortunately it doesn’t change anything.

“You—gh,” the three vampires wait patiently while she swallows and regains her words, “you saw what happened. You saw what Gaius became. This is the only way.”

Lily throws an arm around Nadya’s shoulders. “Unless you magically happen to have a God-killing stake you can pull outta your back end.”

Serafine’s laughter is more polite than amused. “Would it spare you further pain, I would. But alas. And I would not ask you to try again so soon. Too much has already been forced upon you.”

“So you’re saying I’m damaged beyond repair.”

“Non, I am not. Psychic intrusion is rarely so simple, and cannot be compared to the likes of physical injuries. Judging by what you have told me and the little I was able to see… most—if not all—of your previous encounters within the mind were done without consent?”

Nadya nods slowly; the heartbreak is plain on Serafine’s face. “Then it is of no surprise that you have put barriers in place; even unconsciously. It will take time to bring down those walls safely and without risking further harm to you both mentally and physically.”

“How much time?” asks Adrian.

“I could not say. Up until tonight I too thought the Bloodkeeper only a myth. Even if there were a clear path to recovery, that alone will undoubtedly bring complications.”

He looks down and away. But he doesn’t have to say it — and they don’t need to be psychic to know what he’s thinking.

They don’t have time. The people they love don’t have time.

Nadya inhales shakily. “How big is the risk if we just wing it?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Humor me.”

And the distinct lack of humor in her voice makes all three vampires uncomfortable. If she could, Nadya would laugh. They aren’t the ones with anything to be worried about. Serafine glances at Adrian, almost like she hopes he’ll interrupt before the silence becomes a deliberate refusal to answer.

Frankly she’s getting really tired of people making decisions for her. “Adrian didn’t ask you, I did.” She snaps her fingers. “It’s my head and my risk.”

“Nadi’…”

She shoulders Lily away. “No, no ‘Nadi,’ just tell me. If you dig back in for the memory we need right now, how big is the risk?”

There’s no doubt in Nadya’s already-fractured mind that Serafine won’t spare her from the truth. She’s been inside the woman’s head and that kind of knowledge is a dangerous thing. As dangerous as Serafine herself can be, has been, might become.

Maybe some part of her knows this too, because she finally stops holding back.

“Your body would not be able to cope. Your mind would be so focused on the task it would forget to send signals to the rest of your body. Your heart would forget how to beat and you would even forget how to breathe. You could die before I even came close to the answers you seek.”

“So we put me on a respirator or something.”

Adrian looks up at her sharply. “Stop. We’re not entertaining this; that’s not even an option.”

“Well neither is waiting however long it might take,” she snaps back, “they’re risking their lives for us back home — I think the least I can do is return the favor.”

“That’s not true and you know it.”

“I’m tired of everyone risking their lives for me! It’s not worth it!”

“Getting you out of New York was worth it!”

“Obviously not, since I’ve got too much brain PTSD to be of any freakin’ use!” Nadya gestures wildly, arms spread. She’s got no idea where any of this is coming from but that doesn’t make it any less true; that doesn’t make it any less painful. “Every day we’re sitting here tiptoeing around what we need to do is another day Kamilah or Maricruz or Arnold or anyone could be killed.”

How are they not getting this, she thinks, incredulous and bewildered and borderline angry at them all. How can they let others put themselves on the line and not ask the same of her? Because she’s fragile; because she’s human?

Nadya doesn’t realize she’s on her feet until the dizziness hits her. She doesn’t let it or Adrian’s desperate “Nadya, wait, come back!” stop her from leaving them behind. It’s easier when she doesn’t think about what she’s doing. Just lets her feet carry the rest of her aches and pains and all out of the apartment and down to the frigid streets below.

She doesn’t know how far she has — or could have — walked in her half-conscious daze until a firm and supernatural grasp brings her back to the present.

“Whoa there — where the hell is your coat?” Jax’s frown only deepens as he watches her become aware of her surroundings. Even if she had the strength left to try and pull away, she isn’t sure he’d let her go.

“I… left it back at the apartment.” She means to look back over her shoulder but the thought of their disappointed faces, despite not being there, is too much. It keeps Nadya frozen (literally) in place, shivering under his hands.

“Uh-huh… well, let’s go get it.”

Nadya barely manages to dig her heels into the pavement. It’s just enough resistance for Jax to notice. “Don’t… don’t make me go back there.”

He raises an eyebrow silently, but thankfully doesn’t push it. “I’m not leaving you out here on your own though.”

“Probably for the best.”

After a long moment the man sighs; shouldering off his coat and letting it hang on her shoulders comically large and smothering. “Lead the way.”

Though the pair of them isn’t one often found, well ever, Jax must have understood and accepted the moment they began their shared walk that eventually she was going to unload on him. He takes it all with great grace and stride honestly; and only shows his disapproval in a look rather than an outright argument when she makes them stop for another chocolate-stuffed crepe.

“Don’t I always miss out on all the fun…” he mutters, something Nadya probably wasn’t supposed to hear so she goes back to her sniffly mouthful of sweet pastry like he never said a word.

“What was it you saw that upset you so much?” And that she was supposed to hear. No doubt about it.

It’s to Nadya’s surprise that Jax waits with an uncharacteristic patience for her to answer. Eventually there’s no avoiding it.

“It wasn’t what I saw that… it wasn’t a vision or anything.”

“Then what had you running out of there so fast?”

“How I acted.”

“Well yeah, that was pretty dumb.”

She pretends it’s an uneven bit of pavement that makes her trip and not, well!

“Uh, thanks… I think.”

Jax gives her a careless one-shoulder shrug in return. “What did you expect me to say? Because I’m not going to tell you that you weren’t in the wrong, Nadya. You know that’s not my style.”

Yeah, unfortunately. “I just don’t think she gets how… how crucial time is.”

“If you really believed we had such little time you wouldn’t be here right now stuffing your face.”

“Joke’s on you, I’m always ready to stuff my face.”

He stops; Nadya gives herself three steps ahead before she accepts he won’t be joining her another step further. She turns back and, luckily, manages to hide most of her face with crepe. But Jax doesn’t spare her even the tiniest bit of sympathy. His frown is stern; almost harsh. It’s hard to see what’s in his eyes with the lights of the city glowing behind him but she can’t imagine it’s anything consoling.

“You really don’t get it, do you.”

It isn’t a question. Nadya doesn’t answer. “Alright, okay, I guess it’s gonna be up to me to do this. But I’m warning you,” pointing a stern finger her way, “you’d better listen, and listen good. Because I’ll only say this once.”

“Say what, Jax?”

“None of this is about you.”

“I don’t think —”

But Jax cuts her off. “You’re right; you don’t think. If you did then you wouldn’t have had me go behind Adrian’s and Kamilah’s backs. But that one’s on me — I had to agree to it. So that’s your one free pass. But skirting Lily and me and getting yourself kidnapped was what gave Gaius the lead on the Amulet in the first place.”

“I didn’t exactly choose to give him the memory, Jax.” And it’s really hard to keep the I can’t believe you right now from her offended voice but that doesn’t help things in the least.

“No, but you don’t let anybody forget it either. Have you ever considered that if you spent half as much time helping out as you did moping and crying things might be at least a little bit better?”

“Wow. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Oh I am,” he snorts a dry, humorless laugh, “because everyone else might want to spare your feelings but I don’t see any point in it by now. Not when there’s so much at risk. Do you honestly think for one second I want to be here, thousands of miles away from everything and everyone I’ve spent my entire life caring for? Do you think Lily wanted to leave Espinoza behind, or that Adrian wanted to leave his Clan without a leader? These are genuine questions, by the way. Because I really don’t know what reality you’re living in, but from the way it sounds the only one any of this sucks for is you.”

Word after word comes at her each one like a blow to the face, to the gut; fighting skills Jax has honed but Nadya never knew she needed to prepare herself for that leave her bruised and just barely standing.

“I… no.”

“‘No?’ No what?”

“No I… I know I’m not the only one hurting.”

“Damn right you aren’t. But just like all of us, Nadya, you have a part to play. Of course all of us — you included — would rather have stayed in New York; tried to fight. But standing here crying about it isn’t going to turn back time. All it does is make the sacrifices of those like Arnold, like Sayeed and Espinoza and countless others we’ll probably never meet meaningless. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not!”

“Then act like it! Take responsibility and realize everything we’re risking for you. You’re our friend, and a sweet girl and all, but sometimes you’re so self-involved it drives me insane! Newsflash — you’re not the only person hurting right now. But the rest of us can put that aside for the greater good. Now it’s your turn. You keep talking about how much it hurts, well take it from someone who has dealt with a lot of pain in a short amount of time. There comes a time when you have to make all of that suffering mean something. Not just for yourself, but literally for the world.”

Nadya’s way passed the verge of tears but that doesn’t mean she’s not doing everything in her power to keep from falling into a blubbering pathetic mess. Jax is right; worse still, Jax knows he’s right, Nadya knows he’s right. If anything that only makes it hurt more.

“I—I’m… I’m sorry.”

In less than a stride Jax is standing in front of her. His hands on her upper arms this time less forceful, less confused. But kinder than his words and tone would allow for.

“Come on now…” he admonishes; softer but no less insistent, “I’m not saying this to make you cry. I suck at dealing with crying people, actually, so I’d really prefer it if you stopped.”

Which works about as well as politely asking Gaius to not go through with his crazy plan would, which isn’t a surprise to either of them. He sighs and pulls her forward into the world’s strangest hug but it works for them both. He doesn’t want to watch her cry. She doesn’t want him to see her break down against his shirt.

“I—” she hiccoughs, “—I didn’t aa-ask for any of this.”

“I know that. But neither did we. And crying about it doesn’t change what happened. We know what we’re giving up to be here — and… maybe I was a little harsh. Don’t think we don’t care about you or keeping you safe. But, hey—hey. But —” Jax gently pries her back and fixes her glasses where they’ve gone askew, “— that’s our job; to keep you safe. And yours is to figure out how we can stop Gaius.”

“I know. I…” I don’t know what to say. And maybe that means it’s best she not say anything at all.

“Remember —” he waits until she can compose herself enough to look at him without wet hiccups spasming in her lungs; and when she does he surprises her with a small smile, “— whatever it takes.”

Whatever it takes. And isn’t that the kind of mentality that had landed them in all of this in the first place?

Though it was also the mentality that gave her the courage to save Adrian in the Bloody Cellars, to confront the Trinity and evade Vega for as long as she did.

It’s obvious Jax isn’t letting her go until she says it back, and out of the two he doesn’t feel the cold on his cheeks. He can wait her out.

“Whatever it takes.”

[clydeloganisababe]

What I Wouldn’t Do (1/3)

Sometimes, you just need to write the incredibly niche, indulgent smut you wish to see in the world. So, in honor of Adam’s latest SNL appearance, please allow me to present a flower shop ABO au featuring the one, the only, the king, Robbie the Biscutie.

The whole thing is going to be 3 chapters, with the third chapter being a no holds barred smut-fest. Chapter 1 is the meet-cute, Chapter 2 is the date, Chapter 3 is the heat/rut.  Now on AO3.

I’d love to dedicate this fic to other writers whose work has sustained and nourished me over the years and to other Robbie enthusiasts, especially @theweddingofthefoxes. Let me know if you want to be removed or added to any updates! 

Author’s note: Robbie has a girlfriend at the start of this mess, but there’s no cheating.

And now, without further ado:

~~~~~

Many customers, regardless of their designations, liked the sweet smell of the shop. Actual product varied by day but there were almost always roses and lilies in stock, which incidentally were among the most fragrant flowers. When customers weren’t looking for floral arrangements they could also sample the various soaps, diffusers, oils, candles, and perfumes that littered the store front. The barrage of scents was almost overwhelming, but that was how you wanted it. You took great care to hide your own scent, but it was still difficult to hide the odor of an unmated omega without a little extra help. Working in a fragrant shop made it that much easier to blend in, and for that you were grateful. Decorum, and at times your safety, depended on it.

There was an enormous wedding this weekend so by Tuesday you were already in pre-production. You were in the middle of taping floral foam to a tray when you heard the tell tale tinkle of the door bell.

“Welcome! Come on in, I’ll be right with you!” you called, drying your hands on a nearby towel. You were almost to the front when it hit you: the unmistakable musk of alpha pheromones. You whipped around, trying to find the source.

Striding up to the counter was an absolute beast of a man. His navy suit draped attractively against his broad frame, but his languid strides revealed rippling muscles underneath the wool. The first button of his brightly patterned shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a flash of gold at his throat. His messy black waves were pulled back into a knot at the back of his head. You typically thought that man buns were silly, but this guy was pulling it off.

The rational part of your brain said that he looked like a bad New York stereotype. But the secret, primal part of you whispered he’s big and broad and smells like sandalwood and cinnamon, he’d give you healthy pups and a big fat knot.

How could you smell him this clearly? You were on very strong suppressants and shouldn’t be able to smell him, let alone separate the notes of his scent. Maybe he wasn’t on blockers? He looked like the type.

As you slipped behind the counter, his dark gaze finally found yours and a ripple of understanding passed between you both. There you are. Judging by the look on his face he could clearly smell you too.

“Hi, do you need some help today or are you just browsing?” It’s easy to slip into the friendly, customer service persona, even when you are beginning to tremble at his proximity.

“Yeah, I need something for my girl.” His voice is a deep, rough rumble. Fuck. Of course he has a girlfriend. You sniff delicately, trying to be subtle. He’s got a girl, but you can’t smell anything lingering on him. Beta.

You go over all the details as professionally as you can: he needs the bouquet tonight, she likes roses, money’s not a problem because my girl deserves the best. “I wanna pick it up at 5 o’clock sharp. I’m surprising her at dinner and I wanna to be on time.” He’s going on about his girlfriend, but his dark eyes linger over your form. He feels it too.

“Of course! I’ll have the bouquet ready for you right at 5.” It’s an innocuous statement, but his eyes darken at your quick obedience. He pays with a shiny black card.

“Thanks sweetheart, I’ll see you at 5.” He turns to leave and you can’t help but watch his thick thighs as he slips out the door, bell chiming in his wake. You want to be mad about the pet name, but you aren’t. You hope he’ll say it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 pm rolls around and the hot alpha from before is punctual. His credit card had the name Robert on it, but you don’t think it suits him. Robert sounds much too formal. Does he go by Bob? Maybe Rob?

As promised, his rose bouquet is waiting for him on the counter, spilling out from a delicate crystal vase. You chose pink and white roses, but added some burgundy ranunculus and white anemones for texture, framing everything with eucalyptus, salal, and seeded eucalyptus. The effect is soft and romantic.

“I wanted you to see it before I wrapped it up for you,” you explain. He remains silent, inspecting the bouquet. “Do you like it?” You shift nervously. He’s taking a long time to answer.

“It’s perfect,” he finally announces. “Better than I imagined. She’s gonna love it.” She’s gonna love it. Right.

“Excellent! I’ll wrap that up for you.” You snap to work, trying not to waste anymore time.

“Did you make that?” he asks, leaning against the counter. You catch another whiff of his sweet, spicy scent and you stifle a whimper.

“I did!” you offer, topping off the plastic wrap with a cream ribbon. He whistles lowly. “Stunning work, sweetheart.” He takes the vase from you, his hands engulfing yours for the briefest moment. “I’ll have to remember this place for next time.” You practically gulp. “Please do! I’d be happy to make you something else.” He holds your gaze for just a moment too long, then turns and slinks out the door, off to a date with his girlfriend. Goddammit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life moves on and you try to forget about the hot alpha with the incredible scent, who pinned you with his gaze and complimented your work. Until the next week when the store bell tinkles and the warm telltale notes of sandalwood drift through the shop. Your gland itches and you snap to attention.

“Welcome back!” you call to him as he swaggers confidently up to the counter.

“You remember me?” he teases.

“I do. You’re very memorable,” you admit, blushing. He smirks, pleased with himself. Your gland prickles and you clench your fists, resisting the urge to scratch it in front of him. “So what can I get you this time?”

“I need something classy. Elegant.” He looks at you expectantly, like you know exactly what that means.

“Of course. What’s the occasion?” You hope your probing isn’t too obvious.

“I wanna surprise my girl. She’s been going through a rough time lately.” He briefly looks away and seems momentarily embarrassed. Trouble in paradise? You suddenly feel bad for flirting with him.

“Absolutely. Would she prefer pastels or jewel tones?”

“Whichever one, just make it real pretty.” Fair.

“You got it. What’s your budget?” You hate this question, but it’s necessary.

He smirks. “Money’s not an issue.”

“Alright. Do you want to pick up your arrangement or should I have it delivered?”

“I’ll come by around 5.”

“Perfect! I’ll see you then!” You flash him a winning customer service smile and he extends his hand. “I’m Robbie, by the way.”

Robbie. His hand is huge and warm. You give him your name and unable to resist, you overextend your hand, slipping a finger outside of his grip to brush the gland at his wrist. His scent spikes with arousal, flooding your nose with his intoxicating scent. He growls softly, sending a shiver through you. You know you’re playing with fire, but you can’t let go. Don’t leave me, alpha. He finally releases your hand and stalks out of the shop, leaving you an itchy, unsatisfied mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You fall into a routine. Robbie comes in every Friday, orders an arrangement for his girlfriend, you both flirt, then he leaves. You look forward to it. You know it’s not going anywhere, that he’s just the hot alpha customer and you’re just the cute omega shop girl, but seeing him still makes your day.

In fact, he’s due any minute to pick up his arrangement. The bell tinkles and you immediately perk up. But the scent is off, it’s a little too woodsy. It’s another alpha.

“Welcome, how can I he-“

He cuts you off. “Hi, do you have any yellow roses?”

“I don’t believe so, but let me check.” You scan the back room and peer through the coolers. You’ve got a handful of spray roses, but you can tell that’s not really what he’s looking for.

“I’m so sorry, we only have small spray roses, were you interested in an-“

“Well, do you have anything yellow?” he huffs. His smell is bitter.

“I’m sorry, we really don’t.”

“You really don’t? What kind of florist doesn’t have yellow flowers?” You miss the tinkling of the shop bell, but it’s impossible to miss a sudden waft of sandalwood.

“I’d be happy to order some for you, I could get them by tom-“

“My anniversary is tonight! What good does that do me?” You fumble for an answer, but Robbie doesn’t.

“The fuck you say to her? Is that how you talk to a lady?” Robbie barks from across the shop. He barrels towards the front and the other alpha visibly shrinks before him, his damp scent souring with fear.

“This is so unprofessional,” the other alpha whines. Robbie starts to crowd him but he immediately backs away.

“Then find another florist before I throw you out myself,” Robbie growls. The other alpha shoots you one last glare, but slinks out of the shop with his tail between his legs.

Robbie finally turns to look at you and you exhale a shaky breath that you didn’t realize you where holding. “Robbie, you didn’t have to do that,” you insist weakly.

“Yes I did,” he comes behind the counter and wraps you in his arms. “I couldn’t let him talk to you like that,” You bury your face into his chest and he purrs, a deep rumble. A shudder ripples through you. “Thank you for saving me,” you murmur, running your hand along his spine. “Any time, doll,” he chuffs.

You linger against him, much longer than is appropriate, but you can’t bring yourself to care. You nuzzle into his chest, soothed by his purring. Robbie’s hands wander up your back and one settles between your shoulder blades, fingertips just shy of your mating gland. You tremble at its proximity. The other snakes its way along your ribcage, just shy of your breast.

The shop bell tinkles and you break away from him, the moment shattered. ‘I’ll be right back with your arrangement,” you murmur. You hand him the flowers and he fixes you with one last smoldering look.

“Have a nice dinner,” you offer weakly. It breaks the spell and he finally looks away. “Right,” he grumbles, taking the vase. He moves towards the door but he stops, looking back. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone,” he calls. You smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Robbie.” He gives you one last lingering smirk, but then he’s gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The week drags by slowly. Robbie hasn’t placed an order yet, which is odd, and you wonder if you’ll ever see him again. Maybe your obvious connection is too much, too inappropriate. He has a girlfriend and that should be the end of it, you begrudgingly remind yourself. But you’ve been itchy and antsy all week, and you’re worried that you’ve started something out of your control. Like your heat. You should have another month or so to go, but the close proximity of a compatible partner can still mess with even the best suppressants.

The shop phone rings and it’s a welcome distraction. “Hey, doll,” he rumbles through the receiver. Both relief and anticipation shudder through you.

“Hey, I was beginning to wonder if I would hear from you this week,” even you can hear the needy whine in your voice. “What can I get you this time?”

“Actually, I was hoping you could help me with that.” You can hear him shifting on the other end of the line. “I want you to make something that you would like. Can be anything you want, big or small, any budget, I just want you to make something that you would want.”

“Really? I’m surprised you are letting me decide, you always seem to know exactly what you want.” You can’t help but tease him. Designer’s choice was always a popular option, but it’s odd coming from someone as decisive as Robbie.

“Oh, I do babydoll, make no mistake about that,” he growls. “When do you get off work on Friday?” You gulp. “Usually around 6 unless there’s an event. Nothing this week though.”

“Good. I’ll pick it up at 6.”

“Sounds great, see you then, Robbie”

“Bye, babe.” You both linger on the line, but you finally disconnect the call. It’s not weird, Robbie just likes your designs, you reason. It’s expected that a floral designer should design an arrangement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unfortunately for Robbie, you have expensive taste. You lose yourself in the creation of the handtied that you are making, an asymmetrical bouquet spilling over with greens, black baccara roses, plush dahlias, ranunculus, anemones, queen anne’s lace, and thistle. It’s wild but soft, dark and deep. You throw in some carnations for a pop of color. You have no idea if Robbie’s girl will like this, carnations can be controversial, but you like it, and that is what Robbie had asked for. That thought makes you smile to yourself.

You are a little nervous to see Robbie when he rolls in at 6 pm on the dot. “I wanted you to see it before I wrapped it up,” you explain, handing him the bouquet. He’s silent, inspecting it on all sides. His thorough examination puts you on edge. “I can change it, if you want, that’s not a problem,” you can hear yourself blabbering, but you can’t stop yourself. “It’s unexpected,” he finally offers, looking over and pinning you with his dark stare. “But so were you. This is perfect.” He leans closer and you instinctively inch towards him.

“I got a confession. These ain’t for Sophie. We broke up a week ago,” he pauses, scanning your face for a reaction. “If you want ‘em, they’re yours. If you don’t want ‘em, then I’ll keep ‘em to remember you by. But I hope you want ‘em.” You are stunned into silence. No one has ever done something like this for you before. You gape up at him.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” the sour taste of nerves invades your senses and he begins to back away. “I can be pushy, I’m sorry if I-“

“Robbie,” you reach up and rub the glands on his neck and he moans openly. “Is that a yes, baby doll?” he rumbles. Taking the bouquet, you reach up on your tiptoes and gently press your lips to his.

“That is definitely a yes, Alpha.” He groans, scooping you up and burying his face in your neck. You shiver at the hot swipe of his tongue against your gland. You can feel the gentle rumble of a purr beginning in his chest and you clench around nothing.

“I’m taking you to dinner.” He presses his lips to your neck, eliciting a soft gasp from you. “And then after that, I’m taking you to bed.” He draws back, tilting your chin so you look into his eyes. “Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.”

[shesawriter39049]

|CHALLENGE| M| 1|

SMUT/ANGST/HUMOR-ISH

**SUGAR DADDY AU WITH A SLIGHT TWIST***

CEO HOSEOK X MATCHMAKER OC

Hoseoks’s kinda an entitled little shit

The OC is sassy AF...his mother would hate her..so she’s perfect!

He’s also smooth,and fine AF and he knows it...but so is she!

There’s not much of an age difference there both in there mid-late 20’s

Hoseok is first-generation Korean Amerian BTW New York-born and raised 

Jimin is Hoseok’s assistant so he will pop in and out of this

5K

ABOUT- Hoseok is currently CEO of “Diamond Supply” a company within “Carbon Black INC“ which is a multi BILLION dollar company founded by Hoseok’s family and four others! The current CEO is Hoshi, which is not Hoseok’s father he’s actually the VP. Hoshi,doesn't have children and he needs to step down from his position. So over the next 6 months, there will be almost like an election period if you will, and the13 board members within the company will be tracking all four of the candidate's business and social stats with a fine-tooth comb. Prior to voting the next heir into his position as CEO of “Carbon Black Inc”!

That’s where Y/N comes in ...Hoseok has everything working in his favor expect the” Imagine” or at least the type that would appease there more “traditional” investors and board members. Y/N who works as a recruiter for Y.G.K. was initially hired to find him a “Sugar Baby” ! Someone to stand by his side and look pretty for the next 6 months to give him a more.”Settled down” image….Initially, that was the plan…..

WARNINGS: There’s just a lot of teasing and sexual tension in this one, light daddy kink reference, Hoseok is a whole dom,  it’s so clear there fucking next chapter lol…. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimins Face alone already had you ready to barge in there before you wasted anymore of you clients time! Damn near throwing the phone at you , not even bothering to say hello in the process! You still couldn’t understand what the issue was, honestly, this was one of the simplest charts you’ve ever had, besides how obnoxiously specific the physical traits were ! It was 80% superficial, personality wise they didn't ask for much!  Just Someone who could take direction well,non-confrontational...submissive is actually what they noted ! Essentially a woman to say yes sir with no questions asked ,damn near wanting a puppet you could feed a script to! That’s exactly who she was ...basically a pretty cockatoo so why isn't this working?!

Yes, yes  you were eavesdropping on your clients “Interview”, and you had no shame,actually, this was Jimin’s idea he was just as annoyed by this shit as you where, the two of you had been going back and forth for damn near a month now! Practically besties at this point! Ariel, the girl currently sitting in Hoseok Jung’s office would be your fourth recruit. He’s rejected three! THREE! You've never had this happen...EVER..and you just can’t wrap your head around it, initially you thought he’d be your easiest client to place. He’s younger than most, richer than most..and more importantly finer than most, whoever landed this job wouldn't have to fake a damn thing! Yet, none of your picks worked..the last girl lasted 12 days...if the bitch would've just made it 2 more you would've gotten your bonus! Which meant you could have finally walked out of YSL, with your new crossbody you've been eyeing for the past 2 months! 

But no such luck, so here you were, sitting next to Jimin, eavesdropping praying for the best, honestly, things where going well..for all of, oh I don't know 5 minutes “Did she really just say her favorite Korean dish was sushi!?” Jimin’s eyes cut in your direction and you literally can’t even at this point. Placing your index and middle finger around the bridge of your nose because suddenly you had the worst headache of your life! “Lodrt” 

“Oh fuck meeeee” Whined from your lips in nothing but defeat, she couldn’t handle him if her life depended on it! Hoseok was far too quick, witty,sarcastic, charming from what you could tell, he didn't seem rude but you could tell he was very..intellectual...she wasn’t. She was young, nothing but arm candy, and he was eating her alive! Dropping your head down on the desk with a long sigh..already giving up, the feeling of Jimin’s hand soothing your shoulder as if he already knew...she was done! Back to the drawing board for the fifth time! 

It wasn’t even a full 10 second before you heard his door creek open, insitally shuffling behind a filing cabinet, as you didnt want to hurt her pride by letting her no you came! I mean, technically it’s not her fault, you don’t want your girls to fake something there not, the reason you get such high reviews is one of your main focus..outside of the aesthetic is the genuine compatibility! Clearly she and the other 3 girls didn't have it, but why couldn’t you read that prior to sending them? This is what you got paid to do, and your typically damn good at it, why wasn’t his chart giving you what you needed to properly satisfy him!?

“Fuck it…” Ripped from your throat as you sauntered into his office once you observed her step into the elevator, Jimin didn't even attempt to stop you. A smug smirk tugging on the corner of his lips as he awaited the results..the glint in his eyes indicating he already knew how this would play out! “Hoseok! We need to talk!” Blurted from your lips as you welcomed yourself into his office, as if you’ve known him for years, closing the door behind you, tossing your bag on his chasie. Hoseok didn't speak initially instead he just took his time,taking you in from head to toe, somewhat impressed actually. It’s not every day someone just barges into his office as if they own the place..now the real question is..who the hell are you?!

There was suddenly a look of nothing but pure mischief dancing along Hoseok's face as he observed you, only you were far too focused on your little spiel running through your head at the moment to notice! Swaying in his direction, in your oversized black blazer that you were currently wearing as a dress. Legs on full display as a pair of black strappy Giuseppe heels laced your feet, just enough cleavage peeking between the lapels to have him curious! Big vintage Chanel earrings dangle from your ears as you welcomed yourself to take a seat in front of his desk.The sweet, yet slightly husky scent of your perfume grace his nose, delicately crossing your legs, reclining into your seat.

“I’m sorry, would you prefer I call you Mr.Jung instead?” Cocking your head to the side slightly, the warm somewhat inviting tenor more than evident in our voice as you batted your lashes in his direction!, Still well aware of the power you possess in a situation like this and you weren’t afraid to use it in your favor! Hoseok was intrigued it didn't matter if it was solely physical, you had his undivided attention... and you planned to spend it wisely! 

A low chuckle rumpled in his chest as he took his own set, dusting his fingers through his dark mane of hair, that sat tousled on top of his head. Hoseok, had a slight undercut, which was lined to perfection..the top long enough where if he parted it to the middle you almost wouldn't know how nicely his sides where faded. The outline of his sideburns framed his disgustingly chiseled jaw to the Tee! A couple not so modest diamonds dusted his ears, fanning against his caramelized complexion. A burgundy paisley dress shirt, laid along his skin caressing every muscle on his body perfectly. Lips naturally pouty, forming almost a heart at their peak, sitting at the perfect shade of pink! 

“Hoseok, Mr.Jung is my father...and you are?” Brow quirked in curiosity, the base in his voice catching you off guard, so was his avid eye contact… but you were smoother than that, this wasn’t your first rodeo!

“I’m Y/N...the recruiter for Y.G.K-”

There was a dry scoff that left his lips at that, nothing subtle about the current disposition he had towards you and to be fair you couldn't blame him so you bit your tongue! “ I stopped in to see what the issue was, I've never had to place more than one girl...ever! Yet with you...she was my fourth..I just needed to see for myself where the disconnect was coming from…”

A low hum leaving his lips at that, appearing almost amused as he reclined in his seat  “And? Are you just here to waste more of my time or are you actually going to tell me what the issue is?” Flailing his hand in the air as if he’s already lost all patience for this conversation. The bite more than evident in his voice,clearly Hoseok’s a grade A smartass but again,in this situation you understood. So inteased of getting an attitude you took a deep breath..and answered the question nevertheless.

“Your charts the problem which is essentially my lifeline! I overheard part of the conversation with Ariel and your nothing like your stats, I'm assuming that’s probably your CEO persona... but not the person you are behind closed doors.  Which doesn't help me because my goal is to match you with someone who can handle the real you!” 

The low hum that fell from his lips almost had you hopeful, feeling as if he was starting to ease up a little and actually hear you out. You really where damn good at your job in this instance you were just fed bad information! “Hmm, I'm glad it took all of a month for us to realize this but yes, I agree with the fact that my “chart” as you like to call it was clearly total bullshit, and a waste of my time. You would have done better calling me instead of whatever generic Buzzfeed esque pick your match quiz you had us submit!” 

God he’s really, really, testing every negative ounce of patience running through your body, you could literally feel your jaw twitching “I wouldn’t say the questionnaire is the issue..more so the way it was filled out. It’s meant to be a tool to work in your favor, but you have to make it work” Pausing to lock your eyes with his, yet you knew what you were doing, you gaze was taunting, not angry, playfully challenging him at this point.  “I’m not here to argue, I'm here to sasifty…. so let me fix this.. I know your deal came with a specific deadline, If I’m not mistaken, we still have about a week left, that’s more than enough time for me to find you what you actually need!” 

An almost offensively loud groan left his lips at that, eyes rolling to the back of his head, the blatant disrespect had your nose scrunching into your face, brows furrowed “Excuse me? What do you mean “Mmmm”!?  I told you-” Now you were losing your patience..he’s officially pushed all of 2 of your buttons,and it took everything in you not to call him out of his name at this point! How dare he not take some accountability for the lack of effort he put into his personality chart even when you emphasize how important it is! Is he aware how much of YOUR times he;s wasted? The fact that you could’ve had these girls secured with other clients instead of also wasting there time!? No because all his spoiled ass can think about his himself! 

“Where the hell do you get off getting an attitude with me Y/N? None of this is my fault, I hired you because I didn't want to be involved,I have enough on my plate! We've been through damn near 20 pretty faces and-”

“Four! Hoseok, four!” The base suddenly hit your throat, you were starting to get defensive voice elevating ever so slightly “And again, did we not just establish that you, or your assistant or WHOEVER, screwed up your chart to begin with!? So how the hell-’

“Ohh so now we're playing the blame game? Reallll mature....Great save , oh I fucked up so let me blame my client, great customer service with that one!” The chuckle that left is throat was meant to sound taunting and it really fucking worked!

“It’s not the blame game, I’m just asking for a second chance to actually help you, you spoilt asshole! You just sat here and admitted you chart was total bullshit!” Abruptly rising from your chair, eyes narrowing in his direction, a second away from completely losing your shit  before you caught yourself! Yet, oddly enough so far he didn't even seem remotely fazed by your current disposition! 

“I have every right to be an asshole right now Y/N why the hell should I even trust you?! You knew going into this that ...we had a damn deadline and now we're damn near grazing it with the tip of our tongues…with zero results!” Now it was Hosoeks turn to loose his composure,voice dropping what felt like an entire octave suddenly rough and gritty the more he spoke. Which was actually really sexy but ...we’re going to try and ignore that for the time being! 

“What about that would make me want to even consider giving you another chance? Am I missing the part where you actually did what you were hired to do orrrr??”

“Oh for fucks sake, that's not my damn fault!” Yup, and there it goes again, all your self control ...Unintentionally stomping your foot against the floor as if you were almost having a temper tantrum.

“Awww, is baby whining now? Hmm? Is that your new tactic to try and get your way with me? ” Brow quirked in amusement, God you wanted to smack that smirk off his face. His tone was nothing short of condescending, though you found yourself more pissed at how good “Baby” sounds rolling off his tongue! Regardless of the context

“No I’m bitching which clearly you know a lot about since that’s all you've been doing since I got in here!!!” There was a sudden pause,a long one it was almost nauseating and it had you questioning if you'd finally crossed a line by saying that. You couldn't read the expression on his face right now, and that kinda scared you, so instead of just sitting in silence...

“ I place people based on the information I’m given, clearly we've never met so maybe if you actually put what you actually wanted we wouldn't have this damn issue to begin with! I gave you shallow and passive because that’s what you chart said you wanted.” Everything that radiated off your body was mounds calmer at this point, tone slightly tranquil “Your running out of time, and you need my help, I’m sorry we got off to a rocky start okay? Just... ...let.Me.Do.My.Job…”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do this entire time, do you think I want to sit here and play “ Are you smarter than a fifth grader” with these recruits? ! I didn't want to deal with this shit!I don't have time to deal with this shit!”  Throwing his solid gold pen across the desk, sliding back in his seat to hastily ruffle his fingers through his hair. To be honest it wasn’t Hoseok’s intentions to keep bantering back and forth like this, he was just stressed! He didn’t want to go this route to begin with so it’s not helping that it’s not flowing smoothly! 

“Great so it’s settled, you give me 48 hours and I'll find you perfect counterpart” Instantly turning around to head for your bag and see yourself out before the two of you were at each other's throats again. 

“No.”

Stopping dead in your tracks, whipping your neck around so fast it almost looked painful!

 “What do you mean no!?” Why, why won’t he just let this go!?

“N.O. You CAN help but in a different way….” Rising from his seat slowly pouring himself a glass of Scotch which he inhaled before it even fully settled at the bottom of the glass. 

Brow arched in annoyance and curiosity 

“Clearly when this is left in your hands I get malibu barbie with an I.Q of negative six...so let me pick….”

“I- fuck, whatever, fine, I’ll send you my roster and-” Fine sure, why not...if that kept him happy and had you signing a contract and hopefully reciving your bouns for landing him a susscessful recruit then sure! Pick all damn day Hoseok! 

“I don't’ need it…”

“What?! I thought you wanted to pick?” 

“  I don’t want your damn roster, if you care so much about redeeming yourself and actually doing what I paid you to do...then give me your best player…”

“That was my plan but you just said you didn't want me to pick.” Geunilly confused at this point, the slight attitude wasn’t even intentional. 

“You can, as long as we're on the same page..”

“Which is what Hoseok? What?” Mentally exhausted was an understatement, if your pride wasn’t in the way you’d just leave...

“You.” The word left his lips so calmly it almost went over your head! 

“If you want the deal then the Y.G.K. recruit I want is you...or theres no deal…I don’t have time for these rookies you keep sending my way”  You screamed everything his mother would hate and he fucking loved it, it also didin’t hurt that you were fun to look at. You had one hell of a backbone, your whitty, determined,sassy ...everything he would've put on his chart if he actually made it himself! You haven’t taken your foot off his throat since you’ve walked in, Hosoek was always one for a good challenge, makes the word “Daddy” sound even better when it rolls off your tongue! 

“What!? I’m not even up for hire, I’m a recruiter Hoseok, not a damn sugar baby! You can’t just snap your fingers and think I’m hired” Arms crossed tight against your chest, though...the idea was far more tempting than you let on  you’ve damn sure missed this. 

“No disrespect, but for you to be a recruiter..that probably means you’d have to have some prior experience right? “ Brow quirked at the implied question that he already knew the answer to “I don’t care how rich someone is...there not just buying Snakeskin Hermes bags for any “average” woman now are they?!”Tone blatantly challenging you as his head flicked over to your bag that set on the leather chaise diagonal from him.

“Trust me baby, it didn't go over my head the way you finessed your way in here like you owned the place , you know what you have working for you and your damn good at using it in your favor! I’m not here to judge, I finesse millions out of people all damn day...weather it be with my skill or my charm, either way, I'm closing deals and that’s all that matters!” I wonder if Hoseok could also tell how weak your knees were getting the more he called you “Baby”! More importantly how caught off guard you were for him calling you out on your shit!

“I’m retired…” Fell from your lips, it was all you could think of your mind was frazzled right now, but it was a true statement, you had not been on that side of the fence in almost 2 years! 

“Yeah and so was Jay Z and yet we got a good 4 albums and a tour after that so what’s your point!?” 

“My point-”

“Name your price.”

“Excuse-” 

“Your.Price.Y/N...Name.it...Tell daddy what you want” Smug, nothing but smug, Hoseok didn't even try to be discreet, he was living for his!

“$150K signing bonus off rip…” Thatta girl! Hosoek had you tripping over yourself for a moment, but the minute he said that he flipped a switch! 

You didin’t even know where that number came from..it was just like your body reacted on autopilot...he may be a total entitled smartass..but your not a damn fool. He’s right you got that bag because you are good at what you do, these sugardaddie’s aren't the only ones who know how to work there magic and get what they want. Your charm was deadly when need be, it takes a special kinda persona to finaness the “system” the way you do...or did I guess I should say! He wanted a price well...there ya go! 

The smirk that danced up his face was just as sexy as it was offensive “Right, so essentially what I just made on this deal I signed off on?” Cocking his head to the side slightly, tongue playing at the corner of his mouth “Done.” He was so nonchalant about this it was almost comical, you would have sworn you asked for a Big Mac or something! Tossing the contract aside as if it didn't mean shit, because it didn't you knew Hoseok's net worth! 

“I- you...what!? ” Did he really just agree that fast!? After you just yelled at him, and cussed him out!? 

Clearly he found your state of shock amusing a gritty chuckle rumbling in his chest as he poured himself another drink. “Don’t act surprised, you know you aren’t used to hearing the word no, which I can appreciate because neither am I!” 

“Why!? Why me, you don’t know shit about me, you could’ve easily had Ariel, or anybody else and none of them would have even cost you a fraction of that price!  Why are you so willing to pay me whatever the hell I want even after I failed to place someone else in the position?”Slowly sauntering over in his direction until you were so damn close to him your eyelashes could almost flutter against each other. “ And I dare you to tell me that your any different than any other man I've dealt with in you position. That your reasoning runs  ....deeper than you wanting to bend me over this damn desk” God, his lips were a problem, his damn jawline was a problem, why the hell did you get this close again!?

He didn’t respond right away, letting his eyes trace over every element on your face, and it took everything in you to pretend you knees weren’t caving in. Once his eyes landed on our lips, licking his in the process. Leaning forward, bracing his weight on the desk, hands resting on either side of you body as he hovered over you. Yet your stance never faltered he was challenging you ...AGAIN and There was no way in hell you’d show how consumed you were! Not when it was your decision to invade his personal space to begin with! The scent from his colgen filling your nose, having to physically remind yourself not to moan….. Hosoek knew exactly what he was doing, lips sitting slightly ajar, teasing you to arch up ever so slightly! You could damn near taste the liquor on his tongue...

“I’m a man, more importantly a man with damn good taste!  So yes, the idea of having you face down ass up sounds, sinfully appealing” Fuck your throat was dry as hell right now…”But no that’s not why I’m offering. Your not blind, clearly I dont need to pay for sex, I’m not some 60 year old man with a saggy ballsack so I’ll be frank with you! The contract has a deadline because so do I…” Now we're finally getting somewhere...

 “This was my families idea, hints all the confusion and my very short fuse, they want someone by my side as I embark on a new... Business venture. Clearly you can tell no one you’ve sent can even remotely stacks up to what I require in a partner, fake or not! I failed drama I don’t care how many cameras are in my face..I don’t act! Either I vibe with someone or I don’t..”

“We haven’t vibed Hoseok, we've argued! Since you think you can do my job better than I can...what's your rationale for pairing us together oh wise one!?” Nothing but sass dripped from your tongue at that...and he fucking loved it. The smirk that dance up hid lips said it all. A low hum fell from his lips as he leaned in, even closer, chest thumping so hard you questioned if he could even hear it. Fuck, you really wanted to grab him by the back of the neck and find out how good he tastes! 

“You tell me ...tell me what I need…” Something about his delivery had heat pooling between your thighs, voice getting dangerously low, and so where his eyes …”Since my charts fucked and your claiming that’s what screwed you up...tell me what I actually need…”

Clearing your throat slightly, trying to pull your shit together yet you didn't pull back from him, you didn't want to...you liked the intensity! If you were smart you’d disregard his question but, you felt like you needed to prove yourself….. 

“Someone to stimulate, and balance you out you mentally...” Purred from your lips earning a hum of approval, which , followed behind and confirmed every other bullet point …

“Someone well dressed..”

“Hmm…” - fuck he really needs to stop doing that

“ Cultured..”

“Mmmhmm..”

“Whitty..”

“Mmm, keep going…” 

“Quick on her toes, Sar-”  A dramatic sigh leaving your chest at that, eyes rolling to the back of your head more times than  you could count once you realized what he was doing. Hoseok was having you describe yourself, because ideally, you were the type of woman you’d try and set him up with.

The level of smugness that danced along his lips proved he was proud of himself “And you were sayinggg???” Purposely Letting the last syllable roll off his tongue sing song like.

You should've realized this the minute you met him…. Hoseok only needed a “Sugar Baby” for the contrational purouses, the fact that once signed it’s the person's job is to be whatever he needs! That  type of control would allow his family to insure she's adding to whatever “Aesthetic” he needs for this business venture..it was purely about control! That’s the disconnect, his family wanted the pretty faced puppet that they can morph into whoever they wanted. And clearly that's the last quality Hoseok wants in a partner, even a fake one! Now it makes more sense why a man like him..would have even signed up for something like this! 

“I’m sayingggg...EVEN if I considered, and if I did it wouldn't have shit to do with you and everything to do with the money...there would be no contract because I’d get fired! I’m a recruiter Hoseok, I can’t use the information I get to look out for myself, that's the definition of conflict of interest. Once you find a girl we make a contract.. We get a monthly percentage of what you pay per outside of gifts and little bounces..there's no way they wouldn't know and-”

“So we cut Y.G.K out...“In all honesty, you haven't placed a girl yet, I’ll have Jimin write a very nice email, so it doesn't make you look bad. Will just say I’m going to try looking for love on my own or some bullshit! They’ve already made there fee to add me to the roster ...” Letting his gaze pry into yours only to snatch you by the throat “Then, me and you make our own contract...I’ll pay you directly...problem solved…” Hoseok was starting to work his own angle and you hated the knots forming in the pit of your stomach as he changed his entire vocal presentation. It was smoother, husker..slightly breathy..everything it needed to be to get you to say yes, but again you weren’t a rookie, you were still somewhat thinking clearly!

“No, not problem solved..what happens if pictures get out!? I’ve done my research, it’s a part of my job your Korea's resident bad boy..the press love to hate your ass over there! Yeah,granted I go to events that you’d probaly frequent and network or  whatever the fuck you wanna call it! But what happens if someone gets a pic of us in Malta or something!?” 

The slight shrug in arrgrence really didn't help … “See! You don’t stay with one person which is why I’m sure you got sucked into this..the minute were seen together more than twice it’s news! How the hell do I rationalize that!?” There was a sudden growl in your voice and you weren;t sure where it came from, maybe because you were slightly annoyed that the hustler side in you really wanted to say yes. Fuck rational, fuck how this would probaly all blow up...you missed getting paid to look cute! Maybe it was also because you really wanted him to bend you over and fuck the shit out of you on top of this desk…

“Then, will take it as it comes, I know that’s why you asked for a signing bonus..incase that happens and work finds out, or once this contracts over and we go our separate ways...so your not on your ass..your smart!”  A slight smile tugging on your lips because he’s right $150K is about three years pay...at Y.G.K before taxes ...enough where if something happens at least you wouldn't be royally fucked!

There was a beat of silence eyes searching his for all the answers...

“I’ll give you until midnight...if you think there's a recruit in your roster that can actually keep up, I’m open to it. But if not we will be respectfully parting ways with Y.G.K. it’s solely business.  I've actually already paid 2 other companies I just haven't used their services because I was trying to hold out for you...but were getting a little too close for comfort !” Pulling back from you painfully slow and it took everything in you not to chase after those pouty lips of his! 

Instinctively you reached up pulling him back by his silk tie “What are you actually looking for Hoseok?” You’d be lying if you said you weren’t intrigued, especially with the low growl slipped past his lips at the sudden tension pulling along his neck. An amused smirk forming yours “Hmm..someone likes pain I seee….” Tone blatantly flirtatious you licked your lips

“Hmm..someone likes to tease I see...” Mimicking your tone to a tee, you were so stupidly turned on and this was all your fault! The sudden shift wasn’t as discreet as you hoped either “Don’t play if you can't handle it baby…just because I’m younger than probably anyone you’ve delt with...that stll doesn't take the “Daddy” part out of the equation”  Oh fuck you! As if you ever even questioned that for a nanosecond!

“Answer. The.Question Mr. Jung…” Bounce back game sill on point, regardless of how your panties currently felt! 

“You just said it... everything that’s NOT on my chart. I don't want some young bright eyed, bushy tailed girl who will cry everytime I take her to Chanel...or someone I have to order for at every damn restaurant. That's not for me...I dont have the want to desire for that. Like I said I don't have an issue getting laid this contract was never sexual for me it’s a…”Aestheic” if you will…” He was clearly being very selective about how much he told you about this job...which only had you gears turning, creating your own scenarios as we speak.

“I personally didn't want “This” to begin with but if I have to do it, even if it’s only for 6 months..I want it to be with someone I can actually tolerate. “ At least you could respect his honesty…he’s not desperate, nor is he begging, he’s just simply saying he doesn't have problem paying for quality! Especially if it’s going to make his life easier, either way he’s entering a contract that’s going to cost him money, why not pay top dollar for the premium package then?!

“Someone to look good on my arm at events, but also be able to hold her own if a mic gets pointed in her face, someone to stand next to me at board meetings. Attend gallas, charity events, company parties and just look like the, supportive partner that all the other men within my brigade have. And of course the fun part...because none of that shit’s fun, so whoever she is, she deserves to be spoiled.Wined and dined, shopping sprees, spontaneous trips to London, Pars, Spain,  I live multi coastal so that’s always fun! All the perks your use too only I’m not expecting you to fuck me...if it happens... it happens ...”

A low hum leaving your lips at that, gazing up at him through your full set of lashes...“If you keep looking at me like you already want me to bend you over this desk, were going to have some problems…” 

“You sure I actually even really want that?” Trickling your fingers up his chest “As you said, clearly I’m damn good at my job…” A subtle wink flutter in his direction earning a slow nod that essentially read “Touche” 

“True, but your eyes have been pacing between my jawline and my lips the entire time you've been in here…” Reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear and it took everything in you not to lean into the contact. “Now if you excuse me, I have a very tedious conference call to get ready for, get my personal email from Jimin on your way out. Send your picks to me directly and will go from there…”  Swiftly returning his gaze back to the stack of papers on his desk, it’s not even a full 20 seconds before his phone's ringing and Hoseok’s groaning!

“Mr. Zyang, how are you? How’s Linda?” Smiling from ear to ear as if the person on the other end could see him, charm on full blast! Shifting the bottom end of the phone away from his lips so he could whisper “I gotta go, get my number from Jimin, will talk tonight” His eyes were reading a little different right now, they were softer and you were turning into putty! 

A slight smile tugging on your lips as you swayed past him, you could feel his eyes burning straight through as you walked, grabbing your bag off the chaise. Not even giving him the satisfaction of looking back at him before you exited the room. You knew he was waiting for it too, just so damn sure you needed one last look at him, which honestly you did…

Feeling a little more than accomplished that you didn't cave like you thought you would, seeming to remind yourself that at the end of the day..this was solely business! A permanent smile engraved on your cheeks as you closed the door behind you.

“SOOOOOOOOOO!? You were in there long enough! What’s the game plan!?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A WHILE! PART 2 IS HALFWAY DONE..IF THIS GETS ENOUGH LOVE ILL GET IT UP....IF YOU LIKED IT “LIKE IT” COME HIT UP THE ASK...

LOVE YOU GUYS AS ALWAYS,

ROCKI

[exobyharu]

PCY - One Shot

Image source to follow. I just Googled it like this

“Yeah, look, listen, are you uh…”

Summary: A flustered PCY? It was a close call. He was definitely going to tell Baekhyun about his minor fuck up. He may need more than “just make sure you smell good” from him. He got what he came for, though. You can’t say it was a bad idea either.

⏰ 2:10 PM 🌏 7-11, near Chanyeol’s imaginary radio station ☁️ Just immediately after a heavy thunderstorm 👥 YN, Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun

Notes: Another one shot because I’m busy for the holidays. :( First person: It’s my first time! Next update will be on the series. Happy Holidays!

Words: ~1,700

💙💙💙

I just want to be in a proper relationship and stay in it. Instead, the only eligible guy within my social circle is my childhood’s worst nightmare, Byun Baekhyun. I know that I seem way too ungrateful, seeing that countless women would kill to be in my place, but if they had only grown up with the guy, they would know that it would be almost impossible to see him more than a pesky little brother.

Trust me. I tried.

I could barely get the facts straight in my head: He’s actually older than me – even though he behaves way too much like a stubbornly mental teenager and five hyperactive puppies, all combined in one body.

My life was set. Until last night, my life is going to be with this guy I’ve been in a relationship with for the past five years. At least until I discover that he had been cheating for at least half of it, because I turn out to be too boring (his words) for his fun-loving, go-getting ways.

I was told and it explains why I suddenly –  and oh so desperately – want to try something crazy to change that. By my albeit too boring standards, a slow drive down the outskirts of the city in the middle of an afternoon thunderstorm seems like the perfect kind of reckless to me.

There isn’t even alcohol in the picture. Just me, my father’s hand-me-down-SUV-slash-motherwagon, and a bag of chips and soda on the passenger’s seat. The plan is to get moving, reach the shore in a couple of hours and make it back before it gets dark. I will bring my journal with me, binge on junk, and stare out into the sea with the liftgate as the roof over my head and hopefully a stray dog for company.

So yeah.

I am boring.

I leave three text messages anyway, for those in my Top Three Most Important People In My Life list, who have recently ascended up the ranks by default, simply because the Love Of My Life TM, is no longer in it. 

I’ll be out. Be back my midnight, I tell my sister. 

Borrowing the car. I’ll be safe. Driving over to Baekhyun’s, I tell my dad. 

And of course, for my one and only best friend: Let’s go SuperM! Dear leader, told dad I’m driving to your place. Please don’t kill me. I just need to be at my usual spot. I’ll be safe. I promise. Enjoy your tour!

And after a couple of hours preparing and getting my shit together, my eyes are finally dry enough from all the crying. I have my favourite rain jacket on, just in case, and my journal. With my last ritual stop being the nearby convenience store, I know that I will be well on my way to the beach in a few minutes.

It’s a little funny how the thunderstorm has cleared, right when I finally decide to leave the house and head out of the driveway. So much for being reckless. Still, the skies are adequately grey, perfectly sympathising with my sentiments.  

Also, why do they play sappy love songs on the radio at this hour?

I leave the radio on anyway, telling myself that I have to get used to this whole self-partnered concept. Well, for the record, it’s been about six hours into this and all I can say is that it sucks. I miss my stupid, good for nothing, ex. That’s normal, right?

Biting my lower lip, I pull up at the parking space, making sure that my brokenness and frustrations do not reach my eyes once again. Thinking of nothing but the tantalising image of the bag of Lays that I am to devour in a couple of hours, I head straight into the store, the comforting sound of door chimes signalling my entrance. I grab an extra bottle of Mountain Dew just in case, as well as a Snickers bar. And a bag of m&m’s. And a can of Dr. Pepper. And another bag of cookies.

What?

Nobody will see, save for the kind lady by the counter. What’s there to be ashamed about? I am a brokenhearted girl. That means I deserve it. That, and I’m unstoppable.

In about ten minutes, the chimes sound once again, and I am out, running back to the car even before I grab more than what I can actually eat.

“Ya ya ya, slow down!”

The startled voice is too easily recognised. I whirl around, a giant bag of salt and carbohydrates in hand, and am faced by Park Chanyeol, frozen in place with an outstretched hand.

First of all, why am I not surprised? Second of all, I already know too well, what this conversation is going to be all about.

“What a weather to be up and about. Always a busy one, our YN.”

Right. The weather. What a perfect conversation starter. And did he just say our YN? A pout grows on my lips when he comes closer. This can’t be good. 

“I could say the same and have you explaining to me, you know.”

“If it gets rid of this,” he says, and presses a light finger on the wrinkled skin between my brows, “then I will tell you that our radio show got cancelled because of the storm. The station’s just couple of blocks down this street.”

Too bad for him, I’m not easily convinced. “So you’re down here, actually buying something for yourself?”

“And I can’t?”

I close my eyes, unsure if engaging in our usual banter will help nurse my broken spirit. “Don’t you have personal assistants to get you stuff when you need them?”

His shrug makes me even more suspicious. “It’s rare to have the streets empty. You know we don’t get this chance whenever we want.”

Celebrities. Right. Sometimes, I forget. My mind travels back to the time when I went with Baekhyun and his brother to catch a movie on a Sunday night. That will never happen again.

“Look, I don’t want to be blunt or anything, but…” Chanyeol comes even closer – close enough for me to smell his perfume. He must have emptied a bottle over his head.

“But …what?” I watch him take a deep breath and pause. The movement of his lips is subtle, but I don’t miss it. It’s like he’s carefully choosing his words but he eventually gives up after a few tries. Now that’s a sigh.

“Were you crying,” he says instead.

Is this guy serious? It does not even sound like a question. “Are you asking because you’re not sure?”

“It’s just your eyes. The skin around it, actually. It’s bugging out, kind of. You cried a lot, didn’t you?”

Bugging out, huh? When I don’t answer, he gets it. I hope he does.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I’m stupid. Call me stupid.” Now he’s frantically raising both hands in front of me as if to defend himself. The heck. I’m not going to punch him or anything.

“Damn it. Forget I asked,” he says, when I stay quiet more out of confusion than anything else. It makes him look up into the sky, muttering something that sounds very much like goddammit said over and over. He does this while he rakes at his hair with both hands and it lasts too long to be a simple show of frustration.

What now? It makes me look up too.

Just clouds. Just nothing, really.

When I glance back at him, his eyes are now screwed shut. It takes a few seconds before he finishes his deep breaths and slowly stuffs both of his hands inside the front pockets of his jeans.

Jesus, Chanyeol, quit weirding me out.

“Um, hey?”

It’s like summoning his consciousness back to earth. “Yeah, look, listen, are you uh…” He purses his lips to the side, looking thoughtful and possibly, forcing that crooked smile. “You going somewhere?”

“Yeah, Look, listen, I am going somewhere.” I almost laugh when I answer. Look? Listen? What’s he being so nervous about? He doesn’t need to hide anything – they would not stand a chance. I know that Baekhyun sent him. Cut the shit. I’ll be fine. You can enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you very much.

I wave him off. “Stop pretending, Chanyeol. You know already.”

“Yah! You don’t understand, YN. I just want to know…” He looks at me sheepishly, if not stuttering. “Is there beer in that bag?”

The drink did not even make it to my Reckless Afternoon shopping list. It makes me shake my head and sigh. “What can I say? I’m a terminal case of boring.”

What I said makes Chanyeol’s eyes grow wide. “That’s loaded. Wanna talk about it?”

Nope. So I cross my arms, fake indifference, and change the topic. “Did Baekhyun send you? Cause if you’re here to stop me, that’s his job. Not yours.”

One side of his lips rise – a sign that a smile is starting to ease in. He gets it. That topic’s off limits and he goes along with it. “Baekhyun…” he starts, tilting his head in thought. “He said that you would be here, yes. But as for coming here, that’s on my own volition.”

I’m sure. I snort. “Obviously, you wouldn’t let him force you.”

“Obviously,” he says back. And then nothing else.

He just flashes a perfect smile and stares meaningfully into my eyes making my brain short circuit. I don’t know what he means. My eyes refuse to process such sensory input.

Stop this, Chanyeol. Stop this now.

“What I’m saying is that this is Baekhyun’s job,” I explain, avoiding his gaze. “It’s not your responsibility. So why don’t you go and do your musician stuff?”

“Hmm… YN, it’s like this…”

I just know that I’m fucked whenever Chanyeol switches gears and transforms into the argumentative version of himself. “If your best friend feels responsible for you, then I feel responsible for my best friend. The line of responsibility can extend as far as it can go. I can even send my mom over here to watch over you, if you won’t let me.”

By experience, I know that I could argue for an entire afternoon. However, also by experience, I know Chanyeol to be the type to argue until much later in the morning. Long conversation short, I’m stuck in a hopeless situation. “Baekhyun’s right. There’s no reasoning with you, sometimes.”

And it’s clear to him that he’s won. That grin is him, claiming his prize. “That’s because I’m bright, people say.”

“You can’t stop me though. My mind’s set.” It’s a promise.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that.”

I blink. Then what’s this all about?

“Leave your car here”, he says. “I’m just here to take you there.”

And my best friend’s best friend never takes never for an answer. I’m not even surprised that Chanyeol knows the way to my favourite place. That is how I end up falling asleep, smelling his strong perfume, with the sound of the road flying beneath the wheels of his car.

💙💙💙 - end -

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer II: Project - Leviathan

I’d used my father’s Nibelungen gate to steal away with Johann for Hanami in Chizuru in the middle of the night, and felt much better for it. Johann had gone to Chizuru and sent me a picture as I instructed. I visualized the place in my head and stepped through the gate to be with him, wearing the blue and white kimono gifted to me by Caesar over a year ago. Chizuru was twelve hours ahead of Paris, it was the middle of the night. It was a lovely two hours in the sun and the glory of the flowers. Anjou was none the wiser.

Returning to my hotel room in the dark made it seem even more like a dream. My fingers ran across my lips. They still burned where Johann had kissed me. My body still reacted to the memory.

Master List

The room was huge and alien and it made it hard to get any sleep. I tossed and turned in the unfamiliar bed. My thoughts turned back to my Chicago home, not to Cassell. That burned too, taking my whole foster family with it. It was the last place I’d truly felt at home. Ever since I left there, I’d never slept in so many different beds in my entire life. 

Back in January, Johann told me that after graduation he would find a place for us. I had thought it was just him being dramatic. He’d been upset and tired at the time he said it. But now as I lay in the dark, in strange surroundings yet again, I realized he might have been completely serious, that he picked up on the fact that we’d both been uprooted, and looking for a place to settle.

The sun came up and I was still tired. Dressed in a plush robe provided by the hotel, I spoke with Johann over video call. He was in an airport, preparing to return to Chicago.

“Do you know who you’ll be working with?” He asked.

“An Agent Robertson…” I yawned. “Sorry, still a little jetlagged.”

To this day, I was captivated by the strands of dark hair framing the golden eyes that peered over his dark glasses, his cool so-called expressionless face. It wasn’t expressionless to me any more. The subtle flicker of his eye lids, the inflection of his voice, the tilt of his head said far more than his words did. To me, they spoke to his quick wit and profound intelligence, the ability to sort and catalogue his thoughts to say and express exactly what he wanted to in a single precise motion.

“I know him. You’re in good hands.” Johann nodded his stoic approval. “He’s been with the Executive department for about fifteen years. His skill is called Desolation and will turn anyone who stands in front of him to solid rock to a distance of 50 feet. It’s an A-rank devastating talent I’ve only seen him use once. He’s also very conscientious and hardworking. He’ll keep the other agents in line.”

I rubbed my eyes and blinked. “Anjou said something about being concerned about the agents here.”

“There was a scandal about three years back. Robertson was assigned from New York to get a handle on things. But some of the people who were responsible for it still work there. I’d be cautious around the French Agents if I were you.”

“Noted.” I rested my chin in my hands. “Are you doing alright?”

His eyelids lowered and my heart skipped a beat at the ghost of a smile. My persistent worry for him never failed to provoke a reaction. “Don’t worry about me. I want you to have a good time in Paris.” The amusement left his face. “I mean it. You’re going to Fashion Week starting today. I want you to get lots of cute outfits and take pictures for me. Eat pastries at La Pâtisserie du Meurice par Cédric Grolet. Take pictures of those too. The pastries they make are very cute.” He ticked these things off as if they were a list of objectives on a mission. But that’s not what drew my attention.

What made me sit up a little straighter was his flawless pronunciation of the name of the bakery. “Johann… do you speak French?”

He tilted his hand back and forth, but didn’t comment. “I’ll send you a care package through Robertson. That way, you won’t have to worry about anything but having fun. Europe doesn’t have the same products that you’re used to.”

Johann had become well studied in the concept of black hair care. My braids and my curls were unique to me and he understood that these locks would accept no substitutions.

“I love you, Chu Zihang.” I said in Chinese.

“I love you, Bai Meixiu.” He said. “Call me again after Fashion Week. I’m interested in this mission of yours.”

“I have to get ready but… can I ask you something?” When prompted by a nod, I continued. “When you said you would find a place for us after graduation… did you mean it? What did you mean?”

He suddenly wasn’t meeting my eyes any more, a faint color coming to his face.

I explained, one hand running down a thin braid. “I was just thinking last night… how hard it was to sleep in so many different beds. It sounded nice to have a real home again. I think I’d like that.”

The color on his face suddenly deepened. “I’d prefer to talk about that in person.”

“Okay… I’ll see you again soon.”

*****

Apparently, the Paris Fashion shows themselves were so exclusive that you had to receive a personal invitation or be a member of the media to attend. Even so, the city was packed. Our ritzy accommodations were fully booked. The fact that we could stay where ever we wanted, eat wherever we wanted, and go to the shows all over Paris spoke volumes about the level of clout Anjou had. Never once were we refused entry, or had to wait. Our tickets of admission were immediately accepted by the staff.

He mingled about the immaculately dressed crowd at the show, shaking hands, giving hugs and leaning in to give little kisses on the cheek. He was introducing me to the people he knew. I suddenly realized that as the top student at Cassell, Anjou was showing me to his inner circle of friends, getting me acquainted with the top brass of Hybrid hierarchy throughout the world. Many were successful businessmen. Many were ancient families with a long history of wealth and power. Some were currently heads of state.

All of them were Hybrids.

I wore a long white dress with white gloves up to my elbows and a white fluffy hair piece in the shape of angel wings. It immediately attracted attention to me. I didn’t speak any French, but I didn’t have to to understand that they were very curious about Anjou’s little debutante.

We took our seats for the actual show. “Am I doing okay?”

“You’re doing just fine my dear.” Anjou, holding his own glass of wine, smiled. “Ah… this never gets old.”

“Can we buy some of the outfits?” It was the first time I had asked to buy anything.

Anjou laughed. “So you’ve finally come around to Paris! Just point to whatever you like!”

I rubbed my hands together eagerly watching for anything cute that I liked -- that Johann might like. With sudden motivation, I found myself spinning in dressing rooms, feeling the fine fabric on my skin. My dancer’s physique was perfect for the French style and the women there had more than enough fun dressing me up for my own personal fashion show. There was even a photographer. A burly African man leaned over with a camera to take pictures of me pretending to be a model. I noticed a familiar emblem on his jacket. 

“You’re from Cassell!”

His bright smile glowed on his face. “Agent Robertson at your service!” His New Yorker accent was obvious.

My eyes widened. “They sent you to take pictures of me? Someone as experienced as you?” 

He smirked. “Heh. I’ve been following you two all over town. My assignment is to be your security detail… but discreetly.”

“Are the other agents here too?” I asked. 

“That they are. Once fashion week is over, you’ll be off to work.”

“Johann Chu says hello.” I swayed in the mirror, making my skirt swirl.

“That guy…” He flipped through the photos on the camera. “Tell him to come back to Paris so I can beat him at basketball again. Nobody else here play.”

I turned to him the moment he said that. “I play.”

His jaw dropped. “Well, well, well… this is going to be a fun assignment.”

My security doubled as paparazzi as I made my way around Paris. I hung out in the first Arrondissement, admiring the parks, the fountains, and the Louvre Museum. I stalked A-list celebrities and got Robertson to take photos of them for me.

All the photos were sent to my social media account at Cassell. Johann Chu liked every one of them. He left comments of which clothes I should take home. When I asked if he wanted a souvenir, he simply replied. “No, this is enough.”

The heat rose in my face. “Sweet talker…”

When it was time for me to leave the hotel, Anjou left a final message for me on a gold embossed perfumed card. “Congratulations on your first assignment. May it be the first in a long career.”

Under a bright spring sun, we traveled in a convoy of black armored vehicles to the safe house. Men brandishing AK-47s opened the gate to allow us in. We drove down a winding narrow road through a forest to the massive chateau. 

Robertson grew quiet and serious, constantly on his walkie-talkie, giving orders and receiving feedback and updating our position. He referred to me as ‘The Asset’. I was escorted to the heavy wooden door. It opened. Four other men stood before me. They were all European, in suits and sunglasses despite their being indoors. 

“Agent Lavigne, IT. Monet, Logistics. Blanchet, Security. Garnier, Security.”

The French agents. I nodded to them politely. “Nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte.”

Agent Lavigne, lowered his glasses to reveal bright green eyes. He was pale with freckles and a shock of red hair. “Allow me to show you where you will be working.”

My heels clicked against the marble tiled floor. There were columns and statues and art everywhere. We went up the stairs to a large master suite. “This room has all the amenities you need. Unless required, you should be able to stay here and not leave it. There is a balcony in the back for fresh air.”

“Not leave my room?” I asked in dismay.

“There is an extensive amount of work you must do here. Your playtime is over.” 

I pressed my lips together, glaring.

“Don’t antagonize her. Anjou said she needs to be kept happy.” Robertson immediately placed himself between me and Lavigne. I glanced between them, unsure of why there was this sudden tension.

Lavigne cleared his throat. “I meant no offense. My English is not that good.”

Lame excuse, I thought, but I nodded. 

“The laptop you’ll be working with is directly connected to EVA. Your task will be translation and interpretation of the text. Nothing more.”

“Why fly me all the way out here if I’m just going to work with EVA?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it have been easier just to stay at Cassell? What’s with all the security?”

“That information is unfortunately classified.” Robertson said.  Despite his serious demeanor, he smiled a little. “I will tell you this. Sometimes, Cassell doesn’t want to show it’s directly involved in a project.”

“Oh… … Okay…” I said. I nodded once in determination. “I’ll work hard!”

“We’ll leave you to it.” The two agents shut the door.

I jumped up onto yet another strange plush bed and opened the laptop. “Agent Meixiu!” I declared. 

Immediately, the machine registered my face and voice. It spoke to me in EVAs vocal AI. “Welcome. I hope your stay in Paris was enjoyable.”

“It was! So what are we doing here?”

“We’re interpreting and translating the draconic text found underneath the slums of Mumbai. It’s a densely populated place, but the ruins are accessible through the sewers. Wells dug by Cassell are reaching even greater depths.”

Pictures of the locations of the dig sites and maps flashed across my screen.

“Your initial assignment will be to translate this document. It is composed of 15,000 symbols, 5,000 of those are unknown draconic.”

“Five thousand?!” I whispered. I sighed. “Okay… Let’s get to it.”

“Your acceptance of the mission has been logged. Welcome to Project: Leviathan.”

The reams of draconic script opened themselves before me. There were so many unfamiliar words mixed in with familiar ones. One thing was immediately clear. These weren’t ancient chants, prayers or curses. This was a history, a record of actions. What was stranger was that the actions weren’t of a dragon, but of a human man.

I stood up and looked around the room. It would take me months to translate all this and I was not interested in spending that much time away from Johann. There were several framed pictures on the wall. I got off the bed and pulled down one. Then I fished out a permanent marker from my luggage and drew a time dilation rune on the wall. When activated, three hours here would only be one hour outside the room. I rehung the picture over it.

I would not need EVAs assistance. As a supercomputer, she could only make guesses based on available information, and that was not always accurate. I had someone who had direct access to draconic script and was a native speaker. She spun out from my dragon scale necklace, floating there.

Ielia, a version of me from another dimension, appeared like a glowing ghost in the room. “Please help me translate this?”

She gave me a solemn nod.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #261

“i hate you for every time you ever bled for me.”

If you have a job, how long is your shift? I'm unemployed. Do you ever wear your hair in a pony tail? It's too short for that. What language did you take up in high school? Latin for one semester, then I took four of German. Do you like sunflowers? It's illegal to live in the South and not lmao. Have you ever held hands with someone in a car? Yeah. Would you rather be called honey or baby? Hunny. What is your favorite card game? Even though I never learned it super well, I used to enjoy Magic: The Gathering and have actually been like dying to play it for months lmao. How many emails were you sent today? None. What was your favorite Christmas gift you got last year? Well I mostly got money life chose I didn't get to use, lol. I honestly don't really remember anything else prominently... sounds bad, but yeah, so is my memory lmao. What have you thought up yet for this year’s list? Well it's only April, but a treadmill or something like that is at the top right now. Do you have any embarrassing usernames? Ha ha, none that I still use. Do you have a backpack in a shape of an animal? No, but I almost got a meerkat one. But it was too small. :'( Have you ever waxed your legs? OW no. My hair is too long and thick. Have you ever taught a little kid to flick people off? lol wow no. Have you ever itched yourself until your skin was raw? I do that remarkably easy, especially on my legs. I literally have long scars from it. Do you always clear your history after using the computer? No. Have you ever had your food stolen by a bird? Ha ha nah. Are you responsible for stuffing someone's stocking? No. Do you make your own smoothies or juices? No. Do you like oatmeal raisin cookies? I absolutely hate raisins. What age do you think is too old to still live with your parents? It greatly depends on a lot of things: the person's health, financial position, etc. Have you ever watched Bob's Burgers? A couple times. It was pretty funny if I remember correctly. Denim, leather or varsity jacket? UUUUGGGGGHHHHH leather. I've wanted one since middle school. ;_; Has a teacher ever caught and read a note you were passing in class? No. I honestly didn't pass notes, but I find it mean as FUCK when teachers do this. Privacy is a goddamn thing that should be respected. I do not support passing notes in class, like you're there to learn, but having it shared in front of all your peers is not the fucking answer. I get heated about this shit. What's your favorite perfume that you own? I only own one that's called "Blush" from rue 21. It smells really nice, though. Do you clean things that are already clean when you're bored? No. I'd rather clean something that isn't already. Do you have an older brother? Yes. What do you do when someone overweight complains about being overweight? Lol I'd probably say "mood," but it depends on our relationship of course. Like there're times to be humorous and light-hearted about it and other times when you don't make it about you. If they're clearly more sad and especially if I don't know them well, I'd say something like "I understand," because I can almost guarantee I do about this. Have either of your parents ever been to jail? No. Have you ever been to jail? No, I'm a good noodle. :) Are your collarbones prominent? No. ;_; You can see them, yeah, but they're not like very obvious. It's one of my biggest motivators to lose weight though because I am dyinnnnggg for dermals there, but I think it would look weird without that contrast. Have you ever in your life worn overalls? When I was a kiddo. Ugly things. Do you own anything tribal print? No. Do you watch any beauty gurus on YouTube? I'm not even very interested in beauty, yet I love Jeffree Star??? Nikkie is cool too. I've found I watch more for personalities than content, in all genres of vids. Do you like Skittles? More like LOVE. Do you have a PillowPet? No. If you do, what kind of PillowPet do you have? N/A Do you have sleep paralysis? Thank the fuck to god no. That shit sounds absolutely terrifying. Is there anyone at home right now you wish wasn't? No. Do you like Placebo? Tbh I can't think of one song by them rn. I know I've heard them, Mom's even got a CD I'm sure I've tried out long ago when I got into her music, but obviously nothing stood out well enough, at least back then. Has anyone ever carried you to bed? As a kid, yeah, usually my dad. Could you happily date someone prettier than you? Yes???? Do you know anyone with cancer? Both my mom and grandmother right now. Are you easily offended? No. Do your parents buy you most anything you want? HI we've always been poor so no. Not just that, but they knew better than to spoil us. Have you ever tried to jump a fence? I have. Do you watch My Strange Addiction? No. How attracted are you to the last person that kissed you? A bit above moderately ig. Have you ever known a white supremacist? HUNNY I live in the South. In regards to who do you think "what if?" Jason as a fucking whole is my absolute "what if." Do you like the smell of a barbecue? Yes, even though I enjoy like almost no food at most of them. Doesn't stop it from smelling good. Has anyone ever called you apathetic or unemotional? I can't even imagine someone calling me that, no. I'm the polar opposite. How much money do you spend in a month on clothes or accessories? None in the average month. What was the last clothing item you wore that doesn't belong to you? A pair of Mom's pants. I didn't have any clean pairs. Do you own anything with your state or providence's name on it? No. Got no interest in sporting anything relating to a boring-ass, bigoted, racist state. How often do you hold back from saying what you are thinking? WOW A LOT!!!!!!!!!!! Do you like the Paranormal Activity movies? Yeah, I do. I mean yeah, they're fake, but what horror movie isn't even though it claims it is, honestly. How do you like your oatmeal? Apples & cinnamon with a bit of sugar. Does it make you feel better when an ex starts dating someone unattractive? No. Appearance doesn't mean shit when it comes to what the heart wants. What's your favorite way to eat peanut butter? In a sandwich w/ grape jam. Do you fall in infatuation easily? Infatuation, I'm not sure. Who has initiated most of your first kisses? Considering almost all previous relationships, usually me as they all knew I needed to go slow. I'd only do it if I was aware they'd wanted to kiss already, though. Do you like bows? Omg yes, cute shit. Has a boyfriend ever made you breakfast? Yes. Jason first went to college to be a chef. Are you more likely to show affection through your words or your actions? Probably words when you consider I'm slow with physically doing that, but I'm honestly really affectionate either way when I'm comfortable with you. Do you like Cheez-Its? VERY MUCH SO omg keep them away from me. Do you ever use coloring books? Not anymore. How do you feel about instrumental music? I have to be in the mood for it. Have you ever been on a trapeze? No. What's the coolest natural event you've ever witnessed? I still don't know to this day what it was, but I THINK it was a star exploding. Scared me, man. Seeing the big lunar eclipse last year was also wicked cool. Do you know how to use chopsticks? HA, I never could. Not with my tremors. Do you buy chocolate after Valentine's Day when it goes on sale? No, I don't need chocolate. Do you think bunnies are cute? I would fight God to give a lop-eared bunny one (1) pet. Do you personally know anyone who is an author? I've had a friend get something published in a magazine before, and during one stay at the psych hospital, I met a published poet. His stuff was really good. Last time (if ever) you were on an airplane, where were you going? Otw home from Illinois. Do you know anyone who is left-handed? Yeah? I'd assume everyone would at least know one... If people could read your mind, what would they usually find? The thought "I'm bored" every five minutes. What's a song that makes you feel happy? "Jump" by Van Halen came to mind first. How did you meet your best friend? YouTube. Do you need money to be happy? To a degree, yes. Money can buy happiness - but again, to a degree. Saying it doesn't is bullshit. What's a good idea you've had recently? Probably just OC ideas, lmao. I've thought of some decently cool stuff recently. what is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cinnamon rolls uggggghhhhhh How many slices of pizza do you usually eat? Two or three if I'm seriously hungry. If you could switch places with someone for a day, who would it be? Is "Mark's girlfriend" even remotely surprising lmao but no seriously she's an amazing and productive person like I WISH. What's the last song you listened to? "Roots" by In This Moment is on rn. Do you like the movie Zootopia? Ye! Do you ever go on Pinterest? Yeah. What's the last kind of chocolate you ate? A Reese's. Tell me a line from the song you're listening to: "I'm stronger than I ever knew - I'm strong because of you." Have you ever participated in a march/protest? No. Have you ever performed in front of a large audience? Yeah, for dance classes and school stuff. What did you eat the last time you went to the movies? Popcorn. I may have gotten sour gummies, too? Idr. Who was the last person to see you cry? Mom. Do you listen to music every day? There are rare days where I don't. I'll be watching too many actual videos. Do you have a hard time making decisions? A STUPID hard time. I'm extremely dependent, including when faced with decisions. I second-guess myself with everything. Do you start the shower water before or after you get in? Before. How many times have you been to a museum? A good number of times. We live pretty close to an art + science one. Are you going to be getting any new pets soon? Most likely not. Would you rather be a Panda or Grizzly bear? A panda so it wouldn't be legal to shoot me lmao. Do the stairs in your house have carpet? We only have one floor. Can you do a twirl like a ballerina? Oh wow, no. Even when I was a dancer, I SUCKED at that. When you were younger, were you ever in a relationship with someone you now realize was way too old for you? No. Is your family dysfunctional? To a degree. How old were you the first time you travelled alone? 22? What's the longest hotel stay you've ever had? I don't know. Not long. We only ever really stayed at one when we had to go to Myrtle Beach for annual dance competitions, and those were only like, a weekend. What architectural style was your childhood home? Uhhh idk. Very normal. Tell me a bit about your last relationship. What was it like dating them? It was great, but also stressful because of distance. What's the largest animal you've seen in the wild? Maybe like a large buck or something. Do any of your friends or family members have strange occupations? Not that I'm aware of. Have you ever been in weather so severe that you feared for your safety? Oh yeah. What political issues are the most important to you personally? Gay rights and the pro-choice stance. Does your neighborhood have a community garden? I've never even heard of such a thing. What small thing makes you automatically distrust someone? Acting secretive or cryptic about who they are as a person. Of all the states/provinces in your country, which one is your favorite? Visually that I've seen a good number of pictures of, Utah. Are there any obscure foods you've eaten that most people have never tried? I very much doubt that. What's the kindest thing a total stranger has done for you? I'm unsure. Have you ever used a meal kit delivery service? Yeah, I did one of those diet things before... but the name is evading me, even though it's super common. Nutrisystem, maybe? Do you have any pets? If so, how old are they? Venus is around five, and Roman is two. Do you have any psychological issues rooted in events from your childhood? My psychiatrist and former therapist predict my discomfort around men, particularly when they're behind me, and extreme fear of rape is rooted in two kids from pre-k that used to chase, randomly hug the hell out of, and try to kiss me. I'd actually entirely forgotten about it until we really started to dig deep, so I guess it's a repressed memory. Do you remember your locker combinations from high school? WOW no, son. What's your favorite DIY crafts youtube channel? I don't watch DIY stuff. What was your high school's mascot? Firebird. Who were your best friends in high school? Hannia, Megan, Maria, Girt, and Dennis were The Crew. Who was your first boyfriend or girlfriend? Aaron was my brief puppy-dog love, but Jason was my first real boyfriend. Would you rather sleep on the top bunk or bottom bunk? Bottom. If I slept on the top, but bottom is getting crushed lmao. As a little kid though when Nicole and I shared a room, I had to have the top bunk until I got a bit older. What insects are you afraid of? BEETLES, CICADAS, AND LARVA GET THE FUCK OUT. Honestly most insects scare me to a degree. Have you ever had a secret admirer that left you notes? I think the aforementioned Aaron did in middle school at least once before we dated. What was your favorite thing to do at sleepovers when you were younger? Swimming in the pool, if they had one. What's one way in which you're still a child? I'm dependent as shit on my mom. What's one way in which you're old? I now say "back in the day" sometimes lmfao. Do you feel old or young? Or do you feel both at different times? Both at different times. Did you ever skip a grade or get held back a grade? No. When you look at your baby pictures, do you recognize yourself? Only once at a certain age. What is your favorite thing to do in the pool? Just kinda swim around and think, or watch nature. Have you ever taken a picture at the perfect moment? I know I have, but they're evading me, gaaaah. What color(s) eyeshadow do you wear the most? I only ever wear black. What’s your favourite brand of peanut butter? Uhhh never really paid much attention to brands. Do you put all your stuff for class in one binder or several? When I was in school, I had one binder with dividers, but I also had specific folders too. What’s your favourite Lunchables meal? The nachos. How many languages can you recite the alphabet in? Two. What’s your favourite flavour of sunflower seeds? I hate those. What’s your favourite flavor of muffin? Chocolate oof. Have you ever had carpal tunnel? I do. I haven't had problems in a couple months, though. Are you one of those people who is really smart but has no common sense? OW FUCK OFF. How old were you when you met your first love? I was just shy of 16. Did you get ice cream from the ice cream truck when you were little? Do they still have an ice cream truck where you live? We occasionally did as a kid, but they definitely don't have that where we live now. Has the last person you kissed met your family? She met my mom, dad, and younger sister. What was the last strong emotion you experienced? Who was responsible for it? Remorse. Myself. Have you ever had to cancel a bank account? Yes. Was the last conversation you had an argument? No. If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? I am not in the financial or mental position to get married right now. Where was the last place you got completely wasted? I've never been "wasted." If you could have anyone as your roommate, who would you choose? Sara. Have you ever changed the prices of items at a store? Wow no. Well, MAYBE when I actually worked in stores and I was supposed to, but I don't remember doing that. Do you go for walks often? I never do because of having no area to (my house is along a dangerous curve), and I need to be very careful because of muscle atrophy in my legs. I need to have easy access to a place to sit and recover or else I get very close to collapsing. As mentioned, I desperately want a treadmill. Would your parents disown you if you got pregnant? No, I'm 24 years old. My mom would never in her life do that at any age anyway. How strange do people say you are? Idk?? That's not something I really try to find out because my AvPD would possibly make me cry asldkfjwe. Have you opened food at a grocery store & ate it without or before paying? I would never do that without, but I have before in cases of being very dizzy and knowing I desperately needed food. How artistic are you? I think I'm pretty artistic, but more in concept than actuality... Like I have so so so SOOOOOO many ideas, particularly with drawing, I just don't. Do it. Can you legally drive? Not currently, because my permit has been expired since last year. Did anything dramatic go down yesterday? No. Do you find smoking unattractive? Very. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to be around your ex everyday? No, thankfully. Have you seen someone recently you used to talk to, but don’t anymore? No. Are you comfortable sharing drinks with your friends? No; I don't even share drinks with family. Honestly, have you ever written something on a bathroom stall? No, I hate that shit. When you were a kid did you ever look up “sex” in the dictionary? Actually no. I literally didn't learn anything about it 'til family life in the 5th grade. Is there anything written on the shirt you’re wearing right now? No. Are you shorter or taller than most of your friends? I'm a normal height, really. Honestly, do you double dip? If I'm sharing, no. All you have to do is break the chip. What was the last junk food you ate? I had a little bit of popcorn yesterday.

[valenciat91]

The First Time

By V.C. Turner

She lies on the bed next to me, and all I can think is that we shouldn’t be here. We’re friends. Friends don’t do what I think we’re going to do with one another. Friends don’t touch each other like I want to touch her … and like I think she wants to touch me.

A faint light shines around the room, but it’s bright enough that I can see her. She’s perched atop the emerald green sheets on the bed. She’s wearing a pink button down shirt and a pair of yoga pants. I’m wearing a burgundy tank top and a pair of denim shorts.

           I’m entranced by the way she licks her lips. She tilts her head at me and my heart starts to race so fast I think it’s going to pop out of my chest.

The air in the room soon charges, and we’re both waiting to see which one of us is going to be bold enough to make the first move.

I had no idea I felt this way about her. Then again, maybe I did.

It’s only now that I realize it.

All those times I found myself staring a little longer than necessary -- it wasn’t just about admiring her lipstick. It was because wanted to kiss that mouth. Her mouth. I wanted to taste her and feel her breath on my face.

I now realize I wasn’t just admiring her top all those times.

I was admiring the way it fell across her chest, caressing the tops of her breasts like I’ve wanted to do all this time.

I reach for her. I don’t even realize I have until I run the back of my hand against her cheek and watch her close her eyes and smile. I trace my hand down her neck, noting how incredible she feels, and how incredible I feel just touching her skin.

But this isn’t enough.

My finger traces over her cleavage. I hear her breathing pick up, so I make the assumption that she wants me to keep going.

Maybe I just need to keep going, so I do.

I start to unbutton her top, scooting closer to her because I feel it – I feel everything. I feel this pull toward her that’s growing more intense with each button I tug free from the fabric.

As I undo the last button, she lets the top slip down her shoulders and pool in a heap behind her. She tosses it to the side, but I don’t see where it goes because I’m too busy looking at her with an impossible amount of want.

She’s got on this deep red bra that’s straining to keep her breasts from spilling out.

           All of a sudden, my mouth begins to water. I guess that means I’m drooling over her, but I can’t imagine who wouldn’t drool over this woman. Her dark hair is falling in waves on her shoulders. Her olive skin is glowing in the low lamplight. Her full lips are taunting me – calling me.

           I really want to kiss her, but I honestly don’t know how. I’m stuck. I’ve never been with another woman before and I really don’t want to mess anything up.

I didn’t think this far ahead and I should have.

Would kissing her be any different than I would a man? I always like it gentle. I just don’t get that from the men I date.

           I open my mouth to speak, but I can only whisper because there isn’t enough air in my lungs.

           “I – I don’t know what to do,” I confess, “I don’t know how to kiss you. I just know I want to.”

           She gives me her usual, kind smile, touches my face and responds.

           “Kiss me like you want me,” she said.

           Before I can tell her how much I do want her, she places her hands on my waist, leans in and kisses me first.

           I’m lost. I can’t see. My eyes must have rolled back into my head the second she touched me.

Nothing in my life compares to this – the sensation of her lips gently brushing against mine. My nipples harden, pressing so hard against my own bra that the delicious pain it causes sets my core on fire.

My skin tingles. I grab her and pull her close because I need to hold onto her or else I’ll faint.

It’s too much.

We topple onto the bed, our heads hitting the pillow beneath us but we don’t break the kiss. Her tongue slips inside and strokes against mine. I find myself moaning as I kiss her back, our tongues dancing a sweet waltz in unison.

As a woman brought up to believe that this, this feeling is wrong – now --while I’m in the moment, I can’t imagine anything about this being “wrong.”

I caress her as she lies on top of me. I run my hands up her soft back and unsnap her bra.

She lets out a soft giggle, then slowly rises, seductively pulling off the restraining fabric and dropping it on the floor. I look up and her in wonder, her full breasts summoning me from above.

I reach up to touch them, but she stops me.

Crap. I did something wrong, I think, immediately regretting my eagerness.

She hops off the bed, standing up to face me. She pulls me up with her, takes my hands, and places them on her hips.

“Someone needs to finish what she started first,” she flirts.

Heat surges to my cheeks and I’m so glad she can’t see that I’m blushing.

Her stomach is at eye level and I can smell her lavender perfume and her vanilla soap and it’s driving me insane. She bites her bottom lip and bats her eyes at me. She’s waiting and I’m going to fumble this whole thing, but fuck it, I’m not stopping.

I take a deep breath and pull the yoga pants down to her ankles so she can step out of them. I kiss her stomach and she threads her fingers in my hair as I do. Her breath catches in her throat as she tries to moan my name.

I hook my fingers into her matching red panties and drag them down to the floor, kissing my way back up her thighs.

I hear her panting.

Soon, she groans and yanks me up so that we’re both standing. She pulls me into an aggressive kiss. This one is hotter and possessive and I can’t believe how turned on I am right now even though I’m still dressed.

I feel like I could kiss her forever and that’s exactly what I want to do. I can’t rush this. If this is our only time together; if we never do this again or talk about it again, or even if we go our separate ways afterwards, I just can’t rush this.

She breaks the kiss long enough to pull the tank top over my head. I unhook my bra and let her pull the straps down. As if I haven’t always been naked around her, now I’m stripped almost bare.

She pulls down my shorts and panties and I can’t help but be amazed at the fact that she looks as hungry as I feel. Words can hardly describe it.

Again, it hits me: I have no idea what to do and I don’t know if she does either.

I lie down on the bed and she crawls over me to lie at my side. I don’t know where to start and I’m wishing I could start everywhere.

She looks divine – actually divine - like a Botticelli painting waiting to be appreciated and explored like the art she is. I run my hand over her stomach and notice that goose-bumps are breaking out all over her skin. I ask her if she’s cold, she just shakes her head.

I need to caress her everywhere and she’s allowing me this gift of her warm, eager body.

I cup her right breast in my hand and notice that the hardened nipple tickles my palm.

I lean over to kiss her again. I’m so intoxicated by her that I almost don’t notice her stroking my breast too.

We’re pressed up against each other, writhing in the near darkness.

           My God. I can’t get over how soft she is; how good her skin feels as it’s pressed to mine. I can’t help but touch it because it calls to me. I run my hand down her back, cupping her behind and pulling her closer.

           I don’t think I can ever have enough of this. Her kiss. Her touch. The way she feels in this bed with me. I am praying time stops so this moment is as endless as I need it to be.

           She kisses down my neck until she reaches my breast. She draws a nipple into her mouth, giving it a soft suck before she flicks the tip with her tongue.  She reaches down and runs her hand up my thigh. She dips a finger into my moistened folds.

           Only another woman can understand the need she’s generating in me right now. She teases me, circling my clit with slow strokes that are meant to make me climb the walls.

I need to hold onto something or I’ll fly apart. I know I will. This can’t end this soon and it’s not fair. I want please her too. This isn’t about me. It’s about us. She’s my friend. I have to give her something. She deserves so much.

I pull her up toward the pillow beside me and kiss her again. I then lick down her chin to her collarbone and between her breasts. I pull the left nipple into my mouth and suck on it the same way she sucked on mine. I hold the sensitive bud gently in place with my teeth and flick it with my tongue.

Her back bows off the bed.

I place my hand on her stomach, then trace it down between her legs. I slip one finger inside her, then another. I stroke her folds slowly, then speed up the pace when I hear her breathing pick up again.

She’s moaning. She reaches for me, pulling me up into a kiss as she places her hand between my legs.

As we touch, and tease, and torment each other’s bodies, our moans grow louder. We find a rhythm all our own. I pick up the pace when she does. She slows down when I do. The sensations build up so high I think I will explode from too much pleasure.

Until this night, I never believed there was such a thing: Too much pleasure.

She begins to buck against my hand, so I stroke faster, making sure to send her over the peak of ecstasy. She shudders against my hand, biting my neck as she comes and whispers my name in my ear.

I kiss her softly because I’m so elated right now that I don’t even care if I come – but she does.

She pulls away from my lips, and planting wet kisses down my body as if she’s putting out a fire, although she’s starting one instead.

           My eyes close. My hands clutch the pillow beneath my head. My heart begins thundering again. By the time I feel her tongue swipe against my clit, I arch off the bed – nearly stripping the sheets off as I cling to them.

           She laves at the bud relentlessly as she slips her middle finger inside me and strokes my G-spot. As her finger slips in and out of me, sucking my clit between her lips, I start to squirm out of control.

           She’s winding me up so tight, too tight, I fear my orgasm will kill me once it hits.

But it’s coming.

Oh god it’s coming.

           And then, because my body just can’t take it any longer, my release slams into me, sucking all the air from my lungs and all the vision from my eyes.

           The sensations wash over my body like an unyielding wave of pleasure. She keeps licking, and stroking and sucking – trying to draw every bit of pleasure out of me she can before letting me go.

           When she finally does, I feel heavy and weightless at the same time. She climbs back up next to me, and I have to touch her again. I have to embrace her. I have to hold her. I have to kiss her, so I do.

           She kisses me back and we begin fall asleep like that – kissing in each other’s arms.

I don’t understand what this means for us and for our friendship – but I do understand this: It won’t be the last time.

[petuniatom]

Kiss Me at Midnight [1]

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader (slight Harrison Osterfield x Reader vibes)

Rating: M

Summary: It’s the middle of the holiday season, and you have your eyes on Harrison. But Tom has a suggestion that you can’t resist. (Inspired by this prompt: I invited you to Christmas dinner as my boyfriend/girlfriend so that my family would stop pestering me about being single, but we can keep this up until New Year’s, right? AU) [COMPLETE]

Warnings: The reader smokes. References to alcohol. (Eventually, we’ll start to get a little bit smutty, but none of that is in this chapter.)

A/N: Welcome to my new, short series to celebrate the holiday season! And it’s a cute holiday, fake-dating story! There will be about four parts to this, and I’m really excited about it! I’m hoping the next update will come out in the next two days or so. Please note that this is somewhat of an AU. Tom’s a celebrity, but instead of living in England, he lives in LA in a loft and Harrison’s his roommate. There’s lil details like that I changed for the sake of the story. 

SERIES MASTERLIST | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR

Playlist

It was your favorite time of the year — the month of December.

You were in an especially perky mood with the roll-in of the holiday season. You loved passing by storefronts and seeing the holiday-themed decor, and spotting all the carolers singing around the blocks of your own neighborhood. But you especially enjoyed seeing all the couples who got together during this time of the year.

But mostly, you dreamed that you’d be a part of one of those couples this year.

You always got a little bit more lonely around the holidays, but this year in particular, it felt more real. You’d been eyeing a close acquaintance of yours for a while, named Harrison. He had blue eyes that showed all of his kindness, and blond hair that practically glowed when the light reflected on the snow. Truth be told, you’d been infatuated with him for some time now, but you were certain now — this would be your year.

“So, what’s your plan here?”

You’d been doing some last minute Christmas shopping with a close friend of yours, named Tom, who also happened to be your inside source to Harrison. He was one of the first people to know about your crush, and as you’d become closer over the course of the year, he started to become more of a confidante.

You’d been eyeing a candle to give as a possible gift for your mother, when Tom asked you the question.

“What do you mean?” you asked, lifting up the candle to sniff it. You immediately decided you didn’t like the scent, and promptly set it back down.

“How are you planning on getting with Harrison?” Tom asked again. “You said this year is your year, but what’s different from the other holiday seasons?”

You smiled at his question and strode over to another shelf stocked with perfume. “The other day, when we drove to Zendaya’s holiday party together, he said something really interesting to me in the car,” you said smugly. Tom’s eyebrows peaked up. “We were talking about relationships and he’s like, ‘I’ll always regret not exploring more options before things started getting crazy with my career.’”

Tom squinted, “All right, but what does that mean?”

You paused from browsing the selections in front of you to answer his question. “Well, he went on to say, ‘There were people that I knew I could make something happen with, but I kept telling myself I wasn’t ready yet. And now, I’m about to be in another film, and I don’t have the time I wished to start building a foundation.’”

Tom still didn’t seem to get it, and you rolled his eyes and flatly said, “Tom, he was talking about me.”

Tom pursed his lips, “How are you so sure about something like that though? Did he ever say your name?” You shook your head.

“Tom, I just know,” you insisted, turning back to the perfume shelves in front of you to test some out. “I could tell by the way he just said it in the car. He like glanced over at me after he said it. I mean, haven’t you done that before when you like someone? Like subtly brought up relationships to make that the topic of conversation to kind of hint at things?”

Tom hesitated, and you weren’t sure to be worry or hopeful with what he was going to say next. “Well, sure, but I don’t think- I don’t know if it ever has been that subtle. Darling, men aren’t that smart or calculating about anything.”

“Harrison is though,” you pointed out. And you were right. Harrison was typically considered one of the most quick-witted, kind, and sensitive people in your friend group. He went to lengths to convey how he appreciated people, but he was normally too shy to fully put himself out there — often putting together secret surprise parties or giving meaningful gifts that he felt like showed how he felt better than his words could. He was all about using hints rather than being blunt; you knew him well enough to know that.

Tom shrugged, “Okay, maybe then. I don’t know, it seems like a bit of a stretch, but I wasn’t in that car with you so…” He trailed off.

“I think he’s interested, and I don’t know for sure what I’m going to do either than just like let it happen. Maybe one day when we’re alone it will,” you said, shrugging.

“Maybe,” Tom said simply.

You rolled your eyes at his lack of interest, then continued, “So, are you going home for the holidays?” you asked. Tom shook his head.

“Actually, my family is coming here,” he said. “My mum said it’s been enough of Christmas in London, she wants to come to America this year. So, we’re all going over to Colorado for the holiday for a bit, then coming back to Los Angeles for New Year’s.”

“Are they all staying in your apartment? Aren’t there like six of you? That’s so small,” you said, scrunching up your nose. Tom shook his head and laughed.

“No, they’re staying in a nice hotel along the beach that’s rather nice,” Tom said. “Should be an all around good holiday. What about you? Are you going home?”

You shook your head. “No, I couldn’t fly out this year, so I’m sending my gifts to them.” Tom frowned.

“Well, I’m sorry about that.” You shrugged. “What are you going to do instead?”

“I’ll be there for a bit over the summer, so it’s all okay,” you said, perking up. “I was thinking about maybe just staying in and watching a Christmas movie or something. You know, everyone’s busy that day, so I was just going to keep a low profile.”

Tom’s frown deepened. “Well, I know I won’t be here, but I’ll be a call away if you need anything, love,” he said.

“Well, thank you,” you replied, and genuinely meant it. “Anyway, this store is tiring me out. There’s not really good things here. Want to go somewhere else?”

Six stores later, you both were sufficiently exhausted and thankfully, done with your Christmas shopping. You both hustled into a coffee shop, ordered, and practically plopped down, weary from all the work you two accomplished during the trip.

The barista came over to deliver your latté, and you saw him check you out for just a second, before giving you a smile and going back to work. Tom rolled his eyes and took a sip of his black coffee.

“So, let’s talk about you and your love life,” you started. Tom groaned. “Who is the girl you’re into today?”

He rolled his eyes, but answered anyway, “Just this girl I met at the bar the other day. We’ve been texting, but I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

“Why’s that?” you prodded on.

He let out a long sigh. “She’s just not... really interesting. Doesn’t really hold good conversation.” You squinted at him. This was usually the last thing Tom prioritized. He was a casual hookup guy, and in all the time you’d known him, you’d never really seen him in a committed relationship.

Harrison told you once he had been seeing someone for a long time, way before the two of you met. That relationship promptly ended after he walked in on that girlfriend having sex with another boy.

Since then, there’d been no girlfriend for Tom.

It’d been weird to hear he was devoting so much energy to a girl. He seemed to understand your thought process, since without question, he provided an explanation, “My mom has really been bugging me lately about starting to get serious with someone. So, I’m trying it out.”

“And your luck so far hasn’t been good?” you guessed.

“Not at all.” He set down his coffee and rubbed his eyes. “And well, at my last Christmas in London, I guess my brother Harry slipped to my mum that I’d been just going about casual hook-ups, so my mum was absolutely pissed. After dinner, she gave me this whole lecture all about taking things more seriously and how even though I’m in my 20s and a ‘movie star-’” he used air quotes, “I shouldn’t be living so much like a bachelor. So, this year, I know that’s going to be the topic of conversation again when I don’t have a girlfriend.”

He continued, “It’s just so fucking hard to find someone in LA! It manages to be one of the biggest cities in the world and yet, I can’t fucking find anyone! And on top of all of it, you’ve got all these people monitoring you all the time, wondering what you’re doing and even more who you’re doing.”

You actually laughed at his outburst, and he shot you a glare. “Sweetie, I think you have a lot more options than you think.”

Tom rolled his eyes and continued, “Whatever. Might just date Harrison or something instead.”

“Fuck off,” you said and he chuckled.

***

Today was the day.

It was the day you were going to get Harrison alone, and finally have him confess his feelings for you.

When you were out shopping with Tom, you picked out a dress that you knew would look amazing on you, but was just casual enough for Jacob’s holiday party. It was a sweater dress, paired with a pair of pantyhose and knee high boots. You pinned a christmas tree pin to your dress for the sake of including some holiday spirit into the outfit, and then headed off.

You walked up to the door of Jacob’s loft, prepped with a homemade dish and a big smile on your face. You could feel the energy coursing through you as you knocked on Jacob’s apartment door, and were promptly let in by a random attendee.

It was crowded with people inside. You knew Jacob had a lot of friends, but you’d never seen them all gathered in one space before. There was Christmas music playing lightly through the room, and a nice Christmas tree by the fireplace people were already taking photos by.

You dove into the kitchen, knowing that you’d probably find your friends near the back of the room near the alcohol and the food. You carefully set your dish on the counter near some of the snacks and removed the wrap from around it, tossing it into the trash. 

“You look great,” a voice complimented in your ear. 

You turned around, meeting the eyes of your longtime friend, Zendaya. She looked amazing, wearing a nice satin dress with a light cardigan over it to keep her warm. It was a bit more on the casual side, but she pulled it off perfectly. 

“Thanks,” you said, doing a small twirl to show off the outfit. “You look amazing, as always.” And she smiled gratefully.

She held up a champagne flute to you and said, “Want some?” Which naturally, you did, so you started sipping slowly on a glass and grabbing some finger foods as you staked out the room for Harrison. You did a quick glance around the room, spotting Jacob in the corner, socializing, but no Harrison yet in sight. Or Tom for that matter, which probably meant they were still on the way. 

“What do you think of the party?” you asked Zendaya. She scrunched her nose. 

“He did a good job. Not as good as mine though, right?” There was a playful twinkle in her eye, and you knew for the most part she was joking, but she was slightly asking for verbal affirmation. 

“Of course, yours was amazing,” you said. You continued flattering her by discussing some of the memories of that night, which appeased your friend.

It wasn’t long before more people in your friend group came to find you. You briefly talked to Laura, an old costar of Zendaya and Tom’s who you’d become close with over when they filmed Spider-Man. Though, a lot of the other people, you hadn’t met yet. You kept close to Zendaya, who always did a wonderful job at incorporating you into the conversation and introducing you to new people. While you chatted with various party guests, you kept your eye out for the blond boy you were especially excited to see. 

It wasn’t until thirty minutes after you arrived that he finally slinked his way toward the two of you, and you could feel yourself grow with excitement. He looked beautiful today, with his blue eyes sparkling underneath all the Christmas lights and a nice green sweater that hugged his body nicely. Zendaya giggled, probably at your reaction when you finally made eye contact with him. You always made it a bit too obvious when you were attracted to someone, but Harrison was always completely oblivious to the signals that you were sending.

“Hey ladies,” Harrison drawled, giving you both a hug.

“Hey Haz,” you swiftly replied, “what took you so long?”

“And where’s your roommate?” Zendaya added in.

“Well, I had to finish getting ready and then drive here. I have no idea where Tom is, but he told me he was coming tonight at some point,” Harrison said, shrugging.

“Tom has never been on time for anything in his life,” you joked. “Anyway, how are you?”

“All right,” he answered, eyeing the glass in your hand. “Where did you get the champagne?”

You pointed to Zendaya, who pointed to the refrigerator and the array of champagne flutes stacked next to it.

“Be right back,” he said, winking at you both and walking over to the fridge.

“Oh girl, you’ve got it bad,” Zendaya commented lightly, taking a sip out of the flute. You let out a long sigh.

“I know.”

He came back over to you both, this time with a flute full of champagne and continued your earlier conversation, “So, how-”

But before he could fully state his question, Jacob yelled his name from across the room, and then quickly came over to give Harrison a hug. Quickly the two boys became immersed in conversation, mostly about a topic you weren’t aware of. Soon enough, the two were heading toward Jacob’s living room to do karaoke together, and you sat on the couch awkwardly squished between Zendaya and other attendees.

You laughed as Harrison and Jacob sang a slightly out-of-tune version of “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by NSYNC. At one point, the two started holding hands and singing to one another, making the crowd giggle.

Your eyes perused the crowd for Tom, but you didn’t see him anywhere. You figured he was probably still running late.

You thought maybe that after Harrison and Jacob were done dancing, they’d plop by you two, but instead, they sat in the corner of the party, far away from you and Zendaya. You hoped that your face wasn’t showing your disappointment, as you mindlessly became to thumb through your phone. Now that karaoke was in full swing, no one would really be moving around as much to mingle, so you’d really have to find a way to craft getting Harrison alone again.

In the meantime, you figured you could at least use a smoke.

You quickly whispered to Zendaya that you were going to step out for some air, and scurried to the balcony of Jacob’s loft. There was a light breeze coming through Los Angeles and you knew you were stupid for not at least grabbing a light jacket. But you weren’t planning on staying out for very long, so you lit your cigarette and enjoyed your personal time.

You heard the balcony door swing open behind you, and you turned around, figuring it was either Zendaya or Tom had finally arrived, but were surprised when you saw Harrison instead. You mentally thanked the universe. This was the moment you’d been wanting so badly throughout the whole party — just you and Harrison all alone.

Tonight was truly your night.

“Didn’t know you were a smoker,” he said, wandering slowly over to you. “Mind if I share?”

“Not at all,” you replied, passing over your cigarette to him.

He took a quick drag and passed it back to you, giving you a slightly childish smile that made your heart melt.

“So, you’re a fellow single smoker in LA, huh?” you teased.

“It’s one of my best kept secrets,” he admitted. “After I saw you wondering out, I figured this was what you had to be doing, and I always enjoy smoking more when there’s company. Thought you could use a bit of mine.”

“Well, thank you. I do enjoy your company.” You passed him the cigarette. “So, what’s new with you? It’s been a while since we chatted one-on-one.”

“Nothing much to be quite honest,” he answered. “I’m going to London a bit for the holiday, and then I’ll be back here in time for Zendaya’s New Year’s party. You’re going to that, right?”

“I am,” you answered.

“Good,” he replied, smiling. “Other than that, just work, bit of auditioning, not much else. What about you?”

“Same old, same old,” you answered, waving it off. “It’s been a little quiet around the apartment lately, since everyone has been so busy. I miss the company.”

“Oh, so you don’t mind when we force our way into hanging out with you at your home?” Harrison teased and you grinned, shaking your head.

“Not one bit. Wish you in particular came ‘round more often.”

There. You’d planted the seed. His eyes brightened considerably at the statement as he took yet another drag out of the cigarette, and he eyed you straight-on with interest you’d never seen from Harrison before. You definitely had this whole thing in the bag.

“And why’s that?” he asked.

You knew your next answer would seal the deal. You poised your lips, ready to say something that sent enough of a signal for Harrison to make a move. Though, right when you were about to, the door to the balcony swung open.

Finally, after nearly an hour and a half, Tom Holland revealed himself to you both at the party.

“Y/N, love, I’ve been looking all over for you!” he announced, walking over to you both. Harrison looked a tad bit startled, meanwhile you were just upset. You tried to give him an urgent look so he could bug off, but you knew in your head the mood was ruined.

The worst part was that Tom knew what you were up to tonight, and yet, he completely ignored all the social cues you were trying to send as he gave you and Harrison both a hug.

“Hi Tom,” you greeted, your voice a tad bit sharp.

“Darling,” he said. “Do you have a moment? I need to talk to you really quick.” He shot a quick look over at Harrison, who raised his hands and passed you back your cigarette.

“I’ll let you two have a moment, and uh, Y/N, I’ll see you ‘round,” Harrison said, before disappearing back off into Jacob’s loft.

As soon as he was gone, you shot Tom a look. “You dickhead!” you said, taking another drag out of your cigarette. Tom sighed.

“M’sorry, all right? But it was urgent,” he said.

“You couldn’t have just waited until after I was done?” you asked. He shook his head.

“Uh, no because well… I kind of pulled something that’s a bit messy and I need you on board with it as soon as possible.”

That didn’t sound good.

“Tom, what did you do?”

“So I was on the phone with my mother right,” he started.

You blinked. What did that have to do with anything?

“And so she was asking about how I was doing in my love life and whatnot, and whether I was finally seeing someone and like… you know we’d just had that conversation the other day,” he continued. You nodded your head, following closely along, but not understanding how this conversation still connected with you. “And so, I panicked and I said I was seeing someone.”

Oh no. You had a sinking feeling of exactly where this was going. After knowing Tom for a while, you’d known his tendency to concoct elaborate situations to keep himself out of trouble, and you had a feeling that now you were wrapped up in one of his plots.

“Tom, please tell me you didn’t tell your mother we’re in a relationship,” you stated flatly, pinching the bridge of your nose. He raised his hands in surrender.

“Well… I did,” he confessed, giving you a sheepish smile.

There was a beat of silence.

“And now she wants you to come to our family trip with us,” he continued.

You finally said, “Tom, you absolute fucking idiot.”

“What?” he pushed on. “M’sorry, but please hear me out. This could be good!”

“How could this be good?!”

You were on edge admittedly. You were so close to finally getting somewhere with the guy you wanted to date for so long, and then Tom interrupted. Now, you were in this mess!

“Listen, I know Haz,” he stated calmly. “He’s my roommate. And no matter how much you try to send him subtle signals or try to get him alone, he’s too shy to do anything about any of his feelings. So, think about this. We play it up, you get Haz a little bit jealous, maybe getting him a little bit more eager to talk to you alone. And then, I get my parents off my back about being more serious. It’s a win-win!”

You contemplated the thought for a long minute. He did have a point here. While it could be potentially messy, Tom seemed for the most part to have an idea of where to take this and use this to both of your advantages. And so far, a lot of his guidance on Harrison hadn’t led you completely astray. In all honesty, the main reason you were so comfortable with talking to Harrison one-on-one now was because Tom helped set up that arrangement on numerous occasions. Tom was the main reason you’d gotten so far with Harrison so far, and maybe, this was the way to make sure the relationship could happen.

You finally asked, “So, in this theoretical relationship, what’s our backstory here?”

Tom grinned, pressing on. “We’ve been going on dates for about a month now, and recently decided to be exclusive.”

“Okay,” you said slowly. “And how are we going to explain this to Harrison? You’re roommates.”

“It’ll be easy to hide. You and I go out all the time together to begin with, and I’m absent enough from the apartment to where we can build it into the schedule.”

You nodded your head. You had to admit, this was good. “I’ll have to tell Zendaya though.”

Tom frowned. “Why?”

“She literally caught me eyeing Harrison in the kitchen earlier today and we had a conversation about it. Besides, I can’t hide anything from her. Ever.”

Tom waved it off, “Okay, okay. Tell her. But that’s it. We can’t let it get out anymore. Jacob will tell Harrison inevitably or one of my brothers, since they’re all close enough. All right?”

“Perfect,” you agreed.

Tom grinned. “All right love, looks like we’ve got a deal.”

***

You and Tom pulled a slightly dramatic exit from the party, eventually letting him drive you to your apartment complex. You agreed to letting him stay the night, just for the sake of playing up the image, but also because you had a plan you both needed to nail the logistics of.

Zendaya texted you after you left, asking, “So… is Tom your mans now?” You opened the text, but didn’t respond yet, promising yourself you’d call her later and explain everything. In the meantime, you need to figure out more things with Tom.

You pulled out a piece of paper from your printer and grabbed a pen. You both sat at your small counter, Tom eating some of your potato chips you had lying around as you took a sip from a glass of water.

“So, when do we leave for this trip exactly?” you asked.

“December 22nd, but they’re coming on the 20th in the evening,” he answered. “They’re probably be too tired to really chat, so we’ll have brunch together on the 21st, that all right?” You nodded your head. “All right, so we’ve got five days that we need to play this up to our friends and for practice.”

“And when are we stopping?” you asked.

“Let’s keep it up through around January 3rd, unless it needs longer. My parents leave the 2nd. We can say then we learned we were just better off as friends, add in some details about how meeting my family really forced us to think about our relationship or something, and have an amicable break-up. Or if the Christmas trip ends up being a disaster, we break it off earlier, sound good?”

“I like the way you think, Holland,” you replied. You bit your lip, looking over the tentative calendar you two arranged. It seemed a bit daunting, but with the way Tom was planning the whole thing, you might have an actual chance at pretending this whole thing was real. “We need some rules though, I think.”

He gave you a long look. “What kind of rules?”

You wrote the first one carefully: 1) No one can know about this agreement (except Zendaya).

It was one you both established earlier, but it was good to be written down as well. You passed the pen to him and he wrote another rule on the piece of paper. Soon enough, you had a lengthy enough list for the whole arrangement:

No one can know about this agreement (except Zendaya).

Tom and Y/N should always be communicating with each other.

Tom and Y/N should expect to buy each other a romantic Christmas gift.

Tom and Y/N should anticipate pushing for some alone time on the trip, as well as spending a sufficient time with Tom’s family.

Pet names are allowed and encouraged.

Tom and Y/N are both okay with kissing, cuddling, and sharing a bed on the trip. All things should be done tastefully though, since many of this will happen in front of Tom’s family.

Tom will sometimes spend the night at Y/N’s apartment. It is okay if Tom leaves some of his stuff in Y/N’s apartment.

Y/N doesn’t want to be in any of the social media posts from the Holland family on the trip, due to Tom’s celebrity status and that’s okay. Tom will openly communicate that with his family, saying that you’re both waiting until things get more serious to open up about it to the public.

It’s okay if Y/N or Tom need a little bit of space away from each other to relax.

Y/N cannot smoke in front of Tom’s parents.

At the end of the day, Y/N and Tom will always be good friends, and it’s important to be respectful of one another.

“I like it,” you said. You bit your lip. “You think we’ll be okay with doing this? Do you think any paps or anything will catch on? I just don’t want to be under your fanbase’s eye... like more than I already am.”

Tom waved it off, “Everyone still thinks I’m dating Zendaya. We’re good.” He then hesitated. “But to be positively sure, your accounts are on private right?” You nodded your head. “Good, otherwise I’d suggest keeping a low profile on your public ones, but… as long as no fans are following you or anything no one can really bug you with questions.”

So, that was settled there.

***

The night went along easy enough. Tom crashed on your couch, and you fell asleep in your own bed. He was gone before you woke up in the morning, and used the spare key you left out for him to lock your own bedroom door.

You made breakfast and shot a quick text to Zendaya, asking her to come over and promising chocolate chip pancakes.

She was over in ten minutes.

“I want to know everything,” she said, as she strutted into your apartment, her assistant, Darnell following closely behind her.

“Z told me all the deets about the party last night,” he said, plopping down on one of the stools. You giggled, pouring more the pancake batter on the stovetop. It was good you made extra batter, since you had the slight suspicion Darnell might be following Zendaya around today.

“Well, what exactly did you say?” you asked Zendaya. She was washing some of your strawberries in the sink, making herself right at home. While it might bug other people, it was one of your favorite attributes of your friendship with her. You often did the same whenever you were at her place.

“I told him about how Harrison came out on the deck with you, and then suddenly Tom appears just for Harrison to leave. Then, you and Tom suddenly left in a rush,” she said. “I thought it was weird that you let Tom interrupt Haz like that, so I started thinking something dramatic happened in between the two of you. I talked to Haz about it, and he told me that Tom seemed like he had to talk to you urgently about something. Haz told me later that you two went home together.” She plopped a freshly cut strawberry in her mouth and then continued, “So what exactly happened? Do you like Tom now?”

You shook your head. “No, it’s a bit more… anti-climatic. I was about to make the move on Harrison last night, before Tom interrupted and said it was an emergency.” You flipped the pancakes on the stovetop over. “Turns out Tom has a big problem with his mom thinking he’s been acting too much like a bachelor.”

Zendaya nodded her head. “I knew that.”

Darnell raised an eyebrow and said, “I didn’t, explain please.”

“So his mom found out he’s been casually hooking up with people since his brother leaked it to her. Last Christmas when they were all together, she gave him hell about it, and so this year, he was really urgent about finding someone to show his family he’s starting to take things a bit more seriously. But as we all know, that didn’t happen.”

You started pouring more pancake batter onto the stove top and continued, “Tom’s solution was to tell his mom that we’re in a relationship.”

Both Darnell and Zendaya gasped. You nodded grimly.

“Is that what he came to tell you about out on the balcony?” Zendaya asked. You nodded your head again. “Did he even talk to you before about it?”

“No, but like… it’s okay. He pitched it to me and said that we could also use it to my advantage.” Zendaya and Darnell shot each other a look. “What?”

“How does it work in your favor?” Darnell asked.

“Well, Tom said it could make Haz jealous-” They both groaned.

“Y/N, no! We’re not doing that! Not in 2018!” Zendaya exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” you asked, wrapping up cooking the pancakes. You set the plate on the counter in front of them and started grabbing more plates as Zendaya explained.

“It never works,” she said. “It just pushes people away because then they think that you’re taken, and it turns into an even bigger mess.”

“Tom knows Harrison better than all of us though, and he said it’d force Harrison to recognize his feelings. So, of course nothing would happen while we’re dating, but maybe after it would,” you replied, shrugging. “You two have to keep it secret though.”

Zendaya sighed. “I really think Tom’s overestimating how much this is going to work to your benefit, but… if you want to go along with it, do it. We’ll keep your secret.”

“Yeah, I definitely don’t plan to tell anyone,” Darnell said, picking a pancake up from the plate. “How are you two going to go about this though? I mean, are you going to have to get brunch with his parents or something?”

“Oh, I’m going on a full Christmas vacation with them,” you said. Zendaya’s eyes widened in surprise. “I know, but if it helps Tom out then...” You shrugged.

“You really are doing the most for that man. Are you sure you don’t like him?” Darnell teased.

You rolled your eyes. “Oh please. I adore Tom, but I would never.”

[zombiiesque]

Nocturne Alchemy Osirian Purnima Perfumes Part One

Originally 3/22/2019

Hey, y'all! It's a gorgeous spring day here in Florida, and I happened to catch a preview from Nocturne Alchemy on their Facebook business page - new Osirian Purnimas are coming! Eeee. I love these - incense is my jam, and to be able to smell like incense? Well, I must be in heaven. There are currently a total of 16 in the line, and of these, I have 11. That's quite a lot, so I'm going to break this up into two parts.

All of the Osirian Purnimas (OPs, for short) have the same base, so from the website: "Each Osirian Purnima includes the original OP recipe in addition to the notes above for each individual perfume. The Osirian Purnima blend uses the most beautiful and exotic of ingredients, including the tuned recipe of Bastet’s Zamsara: An exotic Blue Incense blended into the dark sensuality of aged Kashmir in Mahogany wood and a drop of Santalum Black, Black Frankincense, Black Hessonite, Bastet's Amber and aged Eternal Ankh Vanilla Absolute. This was then blended into Purnima Incense: Blue Coriander, Italian Bergamot, Ambrette Musk, NA Incense Accord, Egyptian Cedar Chips, Palo Santo Chips and genus of three beautiful Frankincense Olibanum Resin: B. Carteri, B. Thurifera and B. Serrata. Solid Myrrh wood is then stirred in and taken out, leaving a trace element of sweet wood within the blend. Intoxicating blend of Labdanum Extract, Benzoin Syrup and Oakmoss stir in the incense ephemeral element to the blend. Five Sandalwood perfume oils swirl throughout the Osirian."

The labels are gorgeous. They're done by Trista Musco, an artist from New Orleans. If you click on my photo up top, you can have a closer look. Little, beautiful works of art, representing each God or Goddess. All the names are from the Egyptian pantheon.

A caveat: The components of this series are delicate due to the very nature of the oil compositions with their finite incense notes of absolute, essential and steam distilled nature. Travel really disturbs them. The impulse is to open them and at least sniff them, if not try them immediately, but they're going to be very off. Whenever I get a new OP, I won't even open it for a week. It's entirely up to you, of course, but I would hate for someone to get the wrong impression and miss out on something special. When they first came out, this was the one request Seth had for us, to please give it a few days, so as to have a proper first introduction. I have also found that giving these a full month aging really changes them. I was a little underwhelmed at first by OP Pakhet, my first choice of the series, and I didn't understand what I was missing. Everyone had rave reviews. So I stuck it away in a dark box, and went back to it about a month after I got it. The change was mind blowing - it was an incredible scent, far from underwhelming! /soapbox

Enough jabbering, let's get to it!

OP BASTET: The personification of Isis, daughter of RA and Goddess of Love. Bastet’s Amber is the underworld helm of this incense perfumed with soft wisps of amber smoke, NAVA ICONIC Rose Oudh brings a smoke and NAVA floral throughout this OP. This, of all the ones I have tried, surprised me. Rose can be a little funky on me, it's not very appealing, but there's a deep, lush, sweetness to this rose, and it's incredible balanced against the incense and smoky oudh. This smells like a dream on me. I think this is probably the first time I realized that I could indeed wear rose, if it is done like this! I had a chance to sniff Iconic once, and it is pretty divine. But it's not something I'll ever own, so I'm happy to have this option. It has a very gothic feel to it. One thing I want to contrast it to is Polychrome, which I recently wore my sample of - Polychrome is more dry feeling than OP Bastet. I think the sandalwood blend, which is gorgeous, is what gives me that impression. This feels more resinous, almost sticky, and with the rose that's a really neat juxtaposition.

OP HATHOR: Her name means the House of Horus. She is the Goddess of beauty, music, dance, motherhood and love. NAVA Leviathan Oudh ICON brings warm amber and soft billows of desert wood to this OP. Hathor is one of my favorites, I find myself reaching for Her often. Let's be honest here, there isn't one of these I've tried that I don't love, but for some reason, She's just so easy to wear, and is comforting. You could wear this with jeans and a hoodie, and pull it off. Of course, it also would go with a little black dress. Hah! There's an easy appeal, is probably what I'm trying to say. And it inspires confidence when you wear it. It's rich, golden resin, smoky wood, bright amber, against the base of OP incense. It's just so beautiful.

OP ISIS: Goddess of magic, healing, birth and rebirth. – With White Amber Resin and Sky Amber as the base of this perfume, the Goddess of magic brings notes of amber and incense with the notes of Eternal Egypt blending into this Goddess Incense. Isis is absolutely gorgeous. Bright, fresh amber. Complex incense at the base. The closest thing I've ever smelled to Leviathan, one of the original Icon series that I've lusted after for years. This makes me think of bright blue days, a little coolness in the air. Of course I would love this, considering how much I love the ambers of Eternal Egypt. This is such a happy scent to me, I cannot wear it and be in a bad mood. If you love NA's amber, this is an absolute must have, in my opinion.

OP PAKHET: Huntress and Goddess that took over in the Middle Kingdom when Bastet became the domesticated cat and Sekhmet became the Lion – NAVA Samar Oudh ICON purrs with resins, smoky wood and elementals of our entire SL Vanilla offerings throughout this perfume. This is the first OP I chose, I had such a hard time deciding what I had to get right away, so I went with an obvious winner. As mentioned above, I liked it, but after I aged it, it absolutely blew me away. Although this is billed as having all of the vanillas, I don't think it's vanilla heavy. I find it very well balanced between the woods, resins, incense and vanillas. It's sultry, yet somehow a snuggly scent.

OP TAWARET: Goddess of maternity, protection and fertility. Black Fig and Frankincense Tears are the bounty of OP Tawaret. There's almost a spiciness to fig notes at times. This fig is dark and delicious, not the green variety. I feel like that fits well with the incense, and the frankincense is just a perfect accompanying note. I was in love with this right away, I've always had a weakness for their figs. It was pretty amazing fresh, if you like fig, and it's only gotten deeper and more delightful with age. This one is pretty straightforward, of all of the OPs I've tried, but that's not to diminish the beauty of it, I think. All of the OPs have definitely have complexity! It's got a lush, sexy feel to it, somewhat akin to Fig Noir Ombre, but they're not dupes - they just have a similar vibe.

OP THOTH: Scribe of the Gods and the God of Wisdom - Ancient Kyphi and exotic Guaiacwood make up this God of knowledge. My second OP. I chose this to ride along with Pakhet, because I've always had a soft spot for Thoth. When I first got this, I have to tell you, it took a while to settle on the skin. Like, a good ten or fifteen minutes. I almost wanted to scrub it, it was so jangly. I didn't know what was going on. But once it settled, holy BATS it was exquisite. I think of all of the OPs, this one seems to fly furthest under the radar, but those who love it, really, really love it, and I'm no exception. I've had this for a few years now, and I'm happy to report that initial weirdness goes away with age. It's quite sexy, and a little dark. The kyphi is intoxicating - it's not your typical wine, this was made according to an ancient Egyptian recipe, I read. The guaiacwood provides a nice balance to the richness of the wine, and the OP base comes in further into wear, a while after drydown. It's a beautiful combination, rich, a little sweet, but tempered by the incense and wood.

I forgot something, and I feel like it's important to add this in. So, the OPs are all quite potent - especially aged. They last a wonderfully long time on me, and they are not in any way skin scents - a little does go a long way. I would start out with a light hand, and if you want more, you can always add to it! Also, I wanted to mention that I wear these year 'round. You might think, looking at the notes, that they're too heavy for spring or summer, and in my experience, they actually do great in the humidity down here in Florida. So give them a try, you might find yourself really enjoying them in warmer weather!

That's it for the first part. I've got five more coming up for part two, I'll try to have it done by the end of the weekend for y'all! Do you have any OPs yet? Which are your favorites, if so? I'm excited to see what the new ones will be, that's going to have me drooling.

Edit: If you want to jump right to part two, here is the link!