#gotta love the permit office

[lillaray]

Worst government employee

[hmshermitcraft]

season 10 gripearl during that april fools day where the permits office worked efficiently just for that day. Is like

10 times better when you add snowblings to it. Specially with my personal headcanon of scar being aroace, sex repulsed and not the biggest fan of romance. Best friend's with Grian and brother of Pearl.

And this poor man just has to stand there. As his friend, who's been torturing him with inefficiency and waiting room music, just flirts and hits on his sister. Pearl and Grian flirt over the counter, Grian says how he can get that stamps permit for her right away, and just for her <33

Pearl is having the day of her life, theyre so lovey dovey. It makes Scar sick. Just to be denied of his permits once again right after.

Also on another note goverment worker x goverment worker. Pearl goes over on her breaks to visit Grian. Grian is on break 90% of the time, and if Pearl happens to show up during his actual working hours? He's just taking another break! She insists she can wait, but he's like nah! I didnt feel like working anyways. The whole line of people sigh. Theyre so fed up with their relationship, mostly for the inconvenience it brings them.

"Seriously, what do you see on that guy??" -half of the server to the friendly and hardworking postmaster

"Me and the bad bitch i got by wearing a tie" or something. No really what does she see on him? God knows but she's so deeply in love

Really, they balance each other out perfectly. Imagine if they were both efficient together? The universe simply wouldn't cope with that level of productivity! Nope, somebody's gotta take the blow and Grian's more than willing to put his feet up and do it.

Numerous people have tried cozying up to Pearl in the hopes she'll put a good word in with Grian. But it's out of her hands. As much as Grian loves her, he loves not working more!

[flamingspud]

Hotguy and Cuteguy take a moment to talk to each other before their final stand.

Story below

Grian could hardly believe it. Just twenty-four hours ago, he'd been known as a normal guy who worked at the permit office, who, sure, may have been slightly antisocial at the best of times, but hey, he was getting by. 

Now, however, he was one of the two most wanted men in the city, and his face was plastered all over, for the world to see. He supposed this is what happens when you try to go against someone with fame and money, your name gets dragged through the mud and they get to walk away.

He cast his eyes to his left, where Hotguy was leaning against the brick railing of the roof they currently found themselves on. Hopefully, no one would check up here for a while. 

The superhero sighed. "What have we gotten ourselves into?" He asked, and whether it was for Grian to answer or to himself, Grian couldn't say.

"A whole load of trouble," Grian responded, a small smile on his face.

Hotguy responded with a similar expression, and the two sat in silence for a moment longer.

Just two more hours, Grian thought, and one way or another, this'll be over and done with.

"Do you think this'll work?" It had been his turn to speak this time.

His partner shook his head. "It's gotta."

The odds weren't particularly on their side in this one, the most likely outcome being them getting thrown in jail and the key being disposed of. 

"My name is Scar," Hotguy suddenly blurted out.

Grian raised one eyebrow. "I figured, considering that's what's plastered all over the city."

Scar shook his head. "I know that, but- if this goes wrong I want you to know who I really am, outside of all this," he motioned to his superhero outfit, which you had to admit fitted his figure quite well.

Grian turned his body to fully face Scar as he continued.

"I own a small shop just outside of the city, I like collecting hats and I have a cat named Jellie who I love very much, and I can't stand the thought that I might-" Scar ran a hand through his hair, and let out a shaky breath- "the thought that I might never see her again."

Grian was silent as he spoke, watching in earnest as the man he's been working with for the past six months told him basic things about himself that he wouldn't have otherwise. Twenty four hours ago, this conversation would not have happened.

"This has to work," Scar said, "it has to."

Grian let out a short breath. "It will."

He just hoped it wouldn't turn out a lie.

"Well," Grian began again after another excruciatingly long beat of silence, "it's a pleasure to meet you Scar."

He held his hand out for Scar to shake. Scar's eyes slowly moved up to look at Grian's. Grian had never seen them look so scared.

"My name is Grian. I work at the permit office, though let's face it I spend most of my time trying to avoid doing work. I like fishing, and I also have a cat, two actually, Maui and Pearl."

Scar took Grian's hand in his and shook it. "Well it's nice to meet you too, Grian."

"Someday, let's have a play date for our cats."

Scar let out a small, quick exhale of breath, a wobbly smile creeping onto his face in a way that said he really wanted to convince himself that the future was certain, and Grian had thought that he was the pessimistic one. "Let's."

The superhero duo then stood in silence, watching the city lights flicker as regular people went about their days. Grian wondered if, in another life, he’d be one of those people, oblivious to all that was going on right underneath his nose.

Suddenly, Scar’s watch began to beep.

“Well,” he said, “it’s time.”

Grian took one last breath to steady himself. “You ready for this?”

“We don’t really have a choice, do we?”

Grian couldn’t argue with that.

With that, he and Hotguy took off, heading directly towards their enemy’s headquarters.

Two hours, Cuteguy repeated to himself, in two hours we'll have knocked that crown off of Ren's head, or we’ll have died trying.

[teddybearsandspaceships]

I´m procrastinating, so here´s too many notes about yesterday´s fantastic Scar stream, ft. Tango, Etho, Joel, Cleo, Ren, Bdubs, Wels, and Grian.

Scar claiming the giant roast in his carnivore car is clown meat

Scar defending himself against chat that he knows things in Minecraft and suggests asking Etho to confirm

Scar “imitating” the neighborhood nerds coming over ^^ they want to learn some scarstone

Tango and Etho complimenting the new cars with the fish tank, and then Tango asking why there are no clownfish ^^

Scar talking about differently scary clowns, and Etho says Baby Yoda scares him more than regular Yoda

Scar offering Tango and Etho a diamond block if they can find his permits in his chest monster, they take them instead and make him worry, Scar finds out and immediately afterwards jumps down the mail chute and his permits actually go missing.

Etho is the only one who knows how to properly operate the post office door…

Scar and Etho both want to collect glass permits. Etho says if Scar doesn´t give him his they´ll have to open a shop together and that´ll be torture for Scar. “I love you Scar but you´re gonna hate me I think…”

Aww, Etho talking about how Bdubs “invented” the piston step-stool one of the first times they met

Literal pillow talk

Scar loses his headphones again, Etho teases him, Gem in chat: “I know etho isn’t talking about replacing tech” xD

Etho: “The tissue box is in good shape, I take good care of it.”

Etho making a block representation of how he sits at his desk, Scar and Tango and Mrs. T flabbergasted

Etho adding lips to Scar´s fish

Who on the server is left-handed? Keralis is, and now they have to go ask the new guy.

Touring Joel´s base with Joel! Looks very nice. There´s no magic mountain chat yet, but there is a mail system chat. Joel: we get it you do mail, shut up Etho. Etho, high-pitched: you´re very impressed though, right Joel? ^^

Etho thanks Joel for the banners, he´s using them. Joel: “I saw, I saw, you´re such a big fan of me.” Etho: “Well someone´s gotta put up with you.” Scar saying they need to get a room xD

They go find the other leftie in Ren, Bdubs joins, then Skizz…

Tango to Skizz: “So how does your wife feel that you´re attracted to her brother? Is that weird?”  

Talking about spoiling things on the server, Grian logs in just to say that they spoiled his chicken farm

Bdubs: “ZombieCleo. Former mother of mine and greatest friend.” Buttering her up ^^ Cleo tells them to use the villagers until she´s set up her shop. Bdubs jokes about getting books and then selling them, Cleo says she´ll kill him and all his horses. Good at making threats! Nobody doubted her.

Etho saying Cleo should play favorites between Bdubs and Scar xD Cleo protesting she doesn´t have any.

Cleo gives Bdubs, Scar, and Etho a Mending book each. Etho asks what he could send Cleo to help them, Cleo says emeralds or gunpowder. And she´ll take heads as well. Cleo sent redstone to Etho as thanks for the mailbox and Etho sent gunpowder and heads back and she thought that was a valid deal. Tango asks who does that, Etho: “I know my Cleo! I figured she would like a couple heads and things…” Cleo: “You know what I like, explosives and dead bodies.” THEM.

Until Scar gets around to building his actual portal he plans to continue using the mail tracks; might lead to problems with more mail being sent…

Scar: “Now that we know there´s left-handed people out there…” Cleo: “We can avoid them.” ^^

Scar, Cleo, Etho, and Tango come as Bdubs´ posse to Wels

Tango calls him B-Double-Doinkers; unsurprisingly Cleo likes it

Wels shows off his walls and tent. Cleo: You´re doing medieval, something new and different for you!

Wels calls Bdubs the master of castles. Etho, crouching: “I built a sandcastle once.” xD

Bdubs and Wels go to one side to escape all the short jokes. Wels: “Let me get down to your level…”

Etho, Tango, and Scar admire Cleo´s vtuber model that includes hands. Etho: “Can you go like you´re disciplining me?” Cleo, finger pointing: “Don´t you dare, bad Etho, no cookie.” Etho, a bit later: “I might have phrased that poorly. I was going more for a teacher thing…”

The band broke up, how sad. Cleo and Scar: let´s go steal Bdubs´ horse!

Scar jumpscared by Bdubs while talking about Star Wars

Scar and Bdubs talk about thinks that can´t be changed and Bdubs brings up when they became the Clockers! “something else was written in sharpie and you couldn´t say anything other than that thing…”

Scar doesn´t want to give Etho too much credit because, little does anybody know, that man has an ego. Bdubs, astonished: Really? Scar: no, just joking. Bdubs: oh, whew. That almost destroyed… you know they say never learn about your heroes.

Grian shows up, Bdubs asks him if he got Mending. Grian, slightly baffled: Only a week ago. Bdubs, enthusiastic: Great job!

Grian wants to experiment, gets Scar to die twice, second time to a creeper that Grian doesn´t stop from approaching Scar in time. Cleo in chat asks if Scar is okay, Scar: “No can you kill G?” “Thank you mom” Cleo: “never been able to before” ^^ (not true Cleo did actually kill Grian once in Secret Life.)

Grian, out of nowhere: “You ever wonder what life would be like if we were all lip skin?” A James Acaster joke apparently.

Scar and Grian switching to a left-handed skin for funsies and it looks veery strange.

Scar mentions his older brother is ambidextrous. Grian: “You know I don´t like it when you talk about your older brother.” Apparently Scar sometimes sends him pictures of his brother posing in the gym??

Some talk about build planning. Scar watches a creeper walk up to Grian and doesn´t say anything, Grian sees it in time and kills it. Scar says he had such Third Life flashbacks but he was on the other side of it.

Scar offering Grian they go 50-50 on the sand permit! Grian says there´ll be a joint ownership form.

Grian is not looking forward to permit office work. He´ll get the two most competent men he knows as enforcers, Scar and Skizz, and he´s pretty sure with them as enforcers he won´t have to do anything.

[renegade0897]

See?

Just to get it out there.

Lando has an attitude I cannot respect or even permit to exist. Oh and by the way I will say this. He says "you gotta respect him for that."

He's describing an idiot Constitution-violating woman hating dictatorial fascist prick in the making running for the Oval Office again this November. Yes I'm putting politics in it.

And no, I will not for the life of me acknowledge the wording "he's getting competitive, he wants to get the WDC." Listen you ignant over-obsessed fans, YOU CAN WIN WITHOUT BEING AN ASSHOLE.

Yes, I am finally admitting it. Lando is slowly turning into this douchebag because he's performed well. Just because you perform well, doesn't mean you get to be a bitch ass prick about it. I think it's time Lando learns that not all victories are meant for him and that it's okay to lose, accept it and move on. You don't need to make faces or make snide comments or act like a tantruming child because you fucking lost! Clearly, Lando hasn't matured as a person and his video gaming side is slowly coming out. I mean hey I also play video games and I rage in anger when I lose but to show it in public and be bitchy about it? It's immaturity, and it's stupidity.

Yes I will protect Oscar just like how I protected Mick from the idiots who think they know better when the kid was in a no-win dilemma because he had a shit team for starters, a fucking moron for a TP and a shitbox tractor for a car. Oscar is performing well too, he's at the same level of performance and power as Lando. But one thing I like about Oscar is that he moves on, he doesn't hold a grudge and he shows that silence is the best weapon in a sport where emotions run high when one loses.

I'm sure the head over heels in love crazed fans will come after me and say "oh you don't want Lando to win because this because that etc" GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK. You kids can't accept defeat honorably. Can't accept it? Go to fucking NASCAR, that'll suit you bitches better.

What you need is a lesson on harsh reality, harsh reality in the sense of "YOU DIDN'T WIN TODAY. THERE'S A NEXT TIME. CHIN UP, DUST YOURSELF OFF, MOVE ON AND DO IT BETTER."

Being childish is a fucking turn off for anybody. And as a reality check, Lando Norris surely is one.

[russetfoxfur]

so i dont usually do liveblogs because i never show up to streams and also im not very good at reacting to stuff. However. i will make an exception because HGCZ IS OUT!! and i have seen so much hype about it that id be a fool to not at least read it. livereact will be under the cut for spoilers and. stuff.

- ok we arent even on the actual ZINE and the opening dedication?? "Of the arts, storytelling is one of the oldest: humanity weaves an endless tapestry of heart, hope, and home that continues to shape us all to this day. To tell a story is to bridge the gap between yesterday and tomorrow; to tell a story is to inextricably connect us all." THAT OPENING PARAGRAPH DUDE

- interesting premise. im intrigued. though i am a little concerned about the "classist violence" and "body modification" warnings. I suspect this is not all Fun and Games

- "I gotta say, "Hot"Guy, this is pretty disappointing. You can be AverageGuy. MediocreGuy." "Oh! "Guy"!" the best part is this is so in-character for them to do

- the ENTIRE EXPLANATION bit omg. joel trying to interject and comic-style getting talked over, lizzie robbing cats instead of cash... and her backstory...

- i. that sudden style shift is not in fact comical and i am now eyeing the unreality warning at the beginning of the zine with sudden alarm. should i be alarmed by this? maybe this is fine. lets say its fine

- JELLIE! hcing her supername is HotCat. she DEFINITELY needs a matching HotGuy costume. and i am somewhat more reassured!

- wait hold on. went back to that first hotguy comic to see the warnings (hidden in the title, missed them) and. WAIT WAS THAT REWRITING FUCKIN MIND CONTROL

- UNREALITY MINDCONTROL SCOPOPHOBIA AND INJURY??? WAIT HOLD ON IM REREADING THIS

- wait. WAIT THAT PANEL. THAT ONE WHERE JOEL SEES HOTGUY REWROTE THE ANIMAL CONTROL VAN TO BE A MONEY VAN. WAIT A FUCKING SECOND WE ARENT EVEN TEN PAGES INTO THE ZINE AND HOLY SHIT

- joels the only one who can SEE HES DOING THIS SO HOTGUY WRITES HIM OUT. JESUS FUCKIN CHRIST. HOTGUY??? UFHODQPHFWJPFAP AND THEN HE "GOES BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD" AND FUCKIN REWRITES REALITY TO MAKE HIMSELF SEEM COOLER. BUT REWRITTEN HOTGUY HAS THE SAME PLASTIC EXPRESSION. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THIS IS ONLY ONE COMIC I THINK YOURE LYING ABOUT HIS SUPERPOWER MUTATION WHATEVER

- ALRIGHT SWIFTLY ON. WE WILL EYE HOTGUY WITH CONCERN BUT MOVE ON NONETHELESS

- :0 cuteguy appears! doody did rlly good work on this one!

- CUTEGUY IS AWESOME!!! those WINGS... agh i love comic bubbles they just have so much personality and those icy words... and cuteguy pointing HOTGUYS OWN ARROW back at him..... you could not have made a better introduction holy shit

- and then he just flies off. awesome. we should all aspire to be the same level of cool as cuteguy.

- ren would be able to just say hotguy like that. also sidenote i am hearing all these lines in my head as im reading so writers youve all done fantastically!

- UNIONIZE! UNIONIZE! UNIONIZE!

- is pearl... a journalist? or is this the wrong gal? if she is a journalist then good for her!

- oh :( everyone hates unionizing the vigelantes. sad but realistic :(

- MUMBLR?? DID MUMBO K JUMBO BECOME THE OWNER OF TUMBLR IN THIS AU? DID HE KILL MATT PHOTOSPACE WHOEVER THE CEO OF TUMBLR IS? DID THEY FISTFIGHT TO THE DEATH? THAT HAPPENED RIGHT. THATS THE ONLY THING ILL ACCEPT AS CANON. IN THIS AU MUMBLR IS TRANS-FRIENDLY! 🎉

- sweetferaline (bahm bahm bahhh)

- ok this is incredibly funny. teeth dog ftw

- CHATTER AND M JESUS CHRIST THIS IS NOW THE BEST SEGMENT IN THE ENTIRE ZINE. AMAZING COMEBACK THIS IS SO REALISTIC

- and the reply sections are always a cesspool! glad they got that right

- PIXLRIFFS RUNNING A BLOG ON TUMBLR TO EXPLAIN HERMITOPIA. THIS IS SO IN CHARACTER

- THE MAPLE PRINCE. THE MAPLE PRINCE

- THIS ENTIRE MUMBLR DASH WAS PURE COMEDY GOLD. FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS & HATS OFF TO THE WRITER

- ARIANA GRIANDE!!!! WOOOOO <3 <3 WE LOVE YOU GRIANDE!!!!!

- and now permit office grian! we are going through so many different iterations of grian... imagine we get poultry man next

- is that GEM??? IS GEM A VILLAIN? also i dont really know who the hippies are... idk its just hard for me to recognize this artstyle ig

- WAIT. HAS GEM BEEN SPYING ON GRIAN'S DETECTIVITY? or am i just reading this all wrong? i might be reading this all wrong

- alright i might have to reread that one-- WAIT MORE MIND CONTROL. AND BODY MODIFICATION??? THE MISSING CUB... guys if this is sculk!cub im gonna maul someone

- AAAA BEHIND YOU HOTGUY (i called it)

- also love how i instantly went "oh a tibbycaps comic!"

- ok i LOVE this panel where they figure out Arson. the way both conclusions are reached in tandem! and also YAY WOOO ARSON THIS BITCH UP 🔥

- OH MY GOD THIS IS HILARIOUS I LOVE HOW THE abrupt cut to disaster WAS DONE IN COMIC FORM

- THAT MERCH DESIGN IN THE NOTES APP ABSOLUTELY FUCKING SENT ME DUDE

- "i use sculk to season my pizza" ah. I see. typical cubfan behavior. carry on

- "None of us are perfect, despite what you say might feel when you look at me" this Bdubs email is SO IN-CHARACTER

- " i replied to some of these but then i kinda got bored and started sending links to cool space facts instead" honestly this is what i would do too. and i would be happy to get cool space facts in return for my hotguy email. i dont see what the issue is here

- oh is cuteguy taking issues with the supernovae. skill issue tbh

- this whole cuteguy-cub email chain is HILARIOUS. scratch that this whole email segment is hilarious jesus christ. grian is being SO BITCHY and im HERE FOR IT

- PEARLIPOP IS A REPORTER! YES! and zedaphs in this au! he isnt even going under wormman??? shocking (< says a zedaph fangirl who is completely fixated on one passing mention of him)

- oh my god this is the best storytelling format ever. the panicked exchanges between cuteguy n cub, pearl reporting as she is wont to do... genuinely i love this so much i am giggling so much im actually gonna stop liveblogging because i just want to read this. ill be with yall in a moment

- actually never mind "if he waits too long to answer it starts to play the whole Lilo and Stitch movie audio" cub i love you so much. hgcz i love you so much i almost forgive you for that very jarring first comic

- it looks like we have seven or so more years before hotguy becomes a reality... new reasons to live. also the chatter discourse is insane from what ive seen doc does just act Like That on twit/chatter

- "sumagram" well i guess we know who owns that now

- :000 HOTCAT APPEARS!!!!! WE LOVE YOU HOTCAT <3333333 EVERYONE GIVE IT UP FOR OUR BELOVED HOTCAT!!!

- THE AWKWARD EXIT. i love it

- I SEE THAT BIG SALMON DONT THINK I DONT

- SHIRTLESS SCAR.... im aroace but like. i can still admire a shirtless man cant i. artist did a good job

- NO YOU DID NOT PUT A LILACS AND POPPIES REFERENCE IN THIS COMIC I AM GNAWING THE ARTIST OF THIS COMIC WITH MY TEETH YOU ARE MAKING ME INSANE DEAR GOD THEY TEAMED UP BUT HOW IS THIS GOING TO END AAAAAA HOTGUY DONT DIE IN THE CACTUS RING PLEASE BUDDY

- CREEPER AW MAN

- horsegirl hotguy... wild stallion cuteguy... someone needs to write this au. i should write this au. actually hold on *scribbles furiously in my "crackfic ideas" notes* carry on

- update: now listening to scheming weasel for atmosphere.

- “Who’s the more foolish: the fool, or the fools who follow him?” stellar line. only a certified HotGuy can produce lines like these

- "after a tick or two" if hermitopians measure time in ticks like minecrafters do then thats such a cool worldbuilding detail

- FOR A MOMENT I THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO BURN DOC AND HIS LACKEYS ALIVE. THANK GODS THEY DIDNT

- testing of new weapons montage! i know hotguy is the star of the show here but god i love cub so much more. can cub be the "protagonist" here instead actually

- i. i have suspicions that cub is not sculk-free. or is this a flutterbat situation where it is all dealt with but its not but actually it is but it also kinda isnt? yknow. im gonna write this off as a flutterbat thing but i will still be keeping a very close eye on cub

- *snort* deep enough to hold twelve pieces of bamboo (i am such a sucker for in-jokes)

- grian is warming up to scar... also hotguy bandaids

- AND I GET THAT REFERENCE TOO!! very clever! grian shut up its two in the morning! "Scar doesn’t seem to know how to react, his mouth falling open and then promptly shutting again." same grian why would you bring up the nose hair incident and to an unsuspecting hotguy no less smh learn sone manners

- you know what if grian can learn first aid from the nose hair incident in alaska then scar can get injured in a volleyball incident (i have never watched scar which yes is a skill issue but also if this is also a reference i would not get it). beloved desertduo who cannot lie to save their fuckin lives

- THAT ENDING COMIC IS HILARIOUS. SUCH A SCAR THING TO DO

- alright im gonna take a break from liveblogging rn! i will be back in (my) morning with scheming weasel and a renewed spirit. goodnight yall! <3

[pearlescentmoonshippingbracket]

I know its gonna loose but idc I just made this drawing as a joke but its rlly silly so here

Gripearl propaganda.

I think Pearl had a small teenage crush on Grian (they were like 18-19 or very early 20s during evo) and suffered a lot when he got taken away by the watchers.

Then she sees him again during Last Life before meeting scott and he's hella changed both physically and in personality. He gets defensive when she tries to bring up Evo and even pretends he doesnt know her </3

She's also later on resentful of Grian cause of the whole cheating on Scar during DL (pls dont turn this into scar x pearl ship, i see them as fam and this is *my* headcanon).

Im using she/her on pearl for simplicity sake but I dont see Pearl as a woman, he's such a bigender he/she voidthing/voidgender mess. Also hey wolf Pearl not being DL exclusive! Hello!

Anyhow they're the doomed yaoi ever to me

Oh also this is during Life Series but during Hermitcraft? Specially season 10? I still gotta catch up w the latest episodes but did u know theyre goverment worker x goverment worker? Pearl got gf privilege at the permit office while scar suffered in line, watching Grian rizz up his sibling none the less!

I also made this hi. I gotta draw Pearl and Grian flirting over the counter sometime

Oh also the ship name gripearl is so funny to me cause haha sounds like grippers

Oh all of this is DELIGHTFUL

I love the "I regrettably loved Grian and all I got was this stupid shirt" top tier hilarity 10/10

God that whole story between those two during the Life series is sooo good

Government worker x government worker flirting in the permit office yes!!!! She really did feel like she had gf privileges.

I am more disappointed by the bad name but I wish it was better but alas (anything is better than grityn or cumscarian)

[zombie-rott]

Survival Is A Talent:  Epilogue.

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 4.5. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7.

Pairing: Gen. None.

Rating: Mature for difficult themes throughout.

Summary:

“Weakness was not something Phantom had ever been permitted to show back beneath the ground. His father, a tyrant leader of their pack, came down harshly on anyone who dared to show an ounce of discomfort or disdain. Male or female, grown or child; he was a brutal man with brutal ideals. But despite Phantom’s inept ability to hide his pain, he’d never felt quite like this before. Nor had he trembled quite as much as he had done since coming to the surface.”

Or

Phantom, the new quintessence ghoul, is struggling to adapt to live on the surface. What started as surface sickness has quickly developed into quintessence burn out. And with a reluctance to ask for help, Phantom finds himself down a dark path. It’s up to Papa, Aether and the pack to drag him back; kicking, screaming but alive.

In full on A03.

“Hey! Bug! We’re heading out to collect firewood with Mountain, you coming?” 

Dew threw an arm around Phantom’s shoulder and shoved a thermos of coffee in front of him in an act of bribery. The young ghoul shook his head and apologised. As much as the younger ghoul would love to help his friends collect firewood, he had an appointment with Dr Aries that he simply couldn’t miss. 

“Tomorrow then!” The fire ghoul insisted, throwing his jacket over his shoulder and making for the door, “I’ll hold you to it!” 

Phantom tipped his hand in acknowledgement and continued to read his book with breakfast. It was a modern classic according to Mountain and while it was a tad on the depressing side, the young quint didn’t mind. He wasn’t fragile like he once was, instead, he was better equipped to deal with his anxiety and overwhelmed nervous system. Consuming media often considered ‘ upsetting ’ acted as something cathartic rather than triggering. 

Still, the other ghouls fretted, as was only natural. 

Phantom greeted several of his other ghoul kin as they went about their morning routines. Cirrus made him another coffee, being sure to froth the milk just how they knew he liked it. Swiss and Cumulus, the latter carefully holding her swelling belly, took up residence beside him, while Aroura rushed by them in a flurry of ‘ I’m late, I’m fucking late! ” 

“Of Mice and Men? Really Bug?” Swiss quipped, holding the book up to inspect the blurb, “Haven’t you read this already?” 

“Yeah, but it’s good.”

“Good? It’s about the harsh reality of being human.”

“Exactly. It’s grounding.” Phantom smiled, “Makes me feel good about the life I have here, surrounded by everyone who loves me. You know?” 

Cumulus reached across and squeezed Phantom’s arm in acknowledgement. She didn’t need to tell him how proud she was, or how much she loved him; he knew. Just like he knew with all the others. The moment they were all allowed to see him after his brush with death was the moment their love was louder than anything he’d ever heard before. Even louder than the din of an excited crowd. 

“I gotta’ speak to Mounty about the books he’s giving you.” Swiss pondered, an eyebrow cocked as he nursed his coffee. 

Phantom ignored him and jumped to his feet. 

“I’ve gotta bounce. Aether’s expecting me any minute for my appointment!” 

“That’s right! Today’s a big day, eh bug?” Cirrus grinned, their eyes crinkling at the corners, “We’re so chuffed for you, buddy.” 

“Yeah, well done Bug!” Swiss added. 

“Thanks but she hasn’t even discharged me yet. It mightn’t even happen.” 

“With how hard you’ve been working? Of course it will!”

Phantom threaded his arms through his autumn coat and slipped Steinbeck’s novel into the inside pocket. 

“We’ll see.” He added, “Anyway! Catch you all later!” 

He slipped through the door to a chorus of goodbyes and made for the older quint’s office, greeting fellow ghoul-kin and siblings as he went. 

It had been over a year since Phantom went missing in the woods, and life had been a mixture of changes. His rock bottom had served as a difficult casket to climb out of and, at first, he wasn’t sure he was going to do it. There were many sleepless nights and unwilling attempts at asking for help. But slip-ups happened, recovery ebbs and flows, and some days were better for Phantom than others, especially in the beginning. 

Fourteen months later Phantom had his anxiety largely under control and with it, everything else seemed to gradually fall into place. He’d learned to be vulnerable and ask for help without feeling shame or guilt or some combination of the two. He was better able to rationalise, de-escalate and find ways to distract that wouldn’t end in blood or isolation. But most of all he was feeling more and more like the ghoul he knew he was always meant to be; happy, carefree and mischievous just like his kin.  

There was even a new spring in his step and a glow in his eyes that several of his pack loved to mention at any amble opportunity. Aether and Copia included. 

Phantom greeted the young ghoul at reception and made a beeline down the long corridor of oak doors until he crashed through Aethers, breathing heavily but smiling. The older ghoul was already logged onto his computer and chatting with Dr Aries over the video link, a mug of coffee in one hand and another set aside for Phantom. In one of the other chairs, Copia was sat in a dressed down shirt and slacks, his face painted and hair slicked back. He greeted the young ghoul with a smile.

“Nice of you to join us.” the clergyman joked as Phantom settled between them. 

“The gang kept me back.” 

“Hmm, I’m sure.” Copia chuckled. He was all too aware of the quint’s poor timekeeping. 

On the screen, Dr Aries, a cheery fire ghoul with golden eyes, smiled back at them. She greeted Phantom in the usual way, asking about his week and how he was feeling, before proceeding into what was to be their last session. 

“I think Aether and Papa would agree that you’ve made wonderful progress over the last year. All that’s left for us to do is to discuss your relapse prevention plan and the possibility of check-ins in the future.”

“You’re not just releasing me?” Phantom tried not to sound crestfallen. He thought this was it; He was better and free to live his life.

“Oh you’re still being released, if that’s what we’re calling it.” Aries giggled slightly at the choice of words, “But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t at least offer a check-up in six months, and then again in a year. If things are still on the right track we can call it quits. Fortunately for you, these check-ups can be done by Aether and will take no longer than thirty minutes depending.”

“You’re still being discharged, bug. But we can’t throw you into the deep end without at least having two check-ins in place.” Aether soothingly placed a hand on Phantom’s shoulder, “If it makes you feel any better I’ve just completed my yearly check-in with Dr Aries this morning. And while I’m very well into my recovery, I’ve decided to arrange another one for six months just to keep myself going along the right path. There’s no shame in a top-up every so often.” 

“Of course there isn’t.” Copia added, “Even I seek counsel for my mental health on occasion.” 

A smile pulled at the corners of Phantom’s lips. 

“But I’m still good to go, right?” 

“If you’re feeling ready, then we’re ready.” 

“I’m more than ready. I’ve been ready for a while. This is the best I’ve ever felt. Everything just seems so much better and brighter - who knew the world had this many colours? And -”

“You’re clearly very excited, Bug,” Aether interrupted, “And we’ll get to discharging you to continue that excitement in a little while. We just have some loose ends to tie up and then you can walk out that door and live. But formalities first, yes?” 

Phantom nodded and settled in for forty minutes of reminders and compliments. They completed a relapse prevention plan with coping mechanisms and his support network, including emergency contacts should things go south. Copia and Aether both voiced their concerns and reiterated their part in Phantom’s ongoing wellness. Finally, it was time to close off and with it, Phantom said goodbye to his weekly sessions with Dr.Aries. It was bittersweet and despite himself, the young quint felt emotion rising in his chest. This was it after a year of his life spent recovering. There was no fanfare or book-like climax; Just a burning in his throat and a feeling of accomplishment. 

“I deem you officially ‘ released ’ as you keep calling it. Congratulations Phantom.” Dr Aries beamed through the screen. 

“Thank you Dr. I-I really appreciate all your help.” Phantom’s lip quivered as he fought back tears. 

After the laptop was closed Copia pulled Phantom into a warm embrace. The young ghoul buried his nose in the collar of the clergyman’s shirt and allowed himself to cry tears of - well - he wasn’t really sure what. Happiness? Accomplishment? Pride? No matter, they kept coming in silent waves as Aether gently patted at his shoulder. 

“You’ve done so well mio divaloino . You should be so proud.” 

“I agree, it’s been a long time coming but you’re here! Not quite the finish line, there isn’t really one to begin with, but so much further than ever before.” 

Phantom pulled back from the embrace, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his jacket. A smile spread across his lips, one fueled by a sense of pride and joy. This was a new beginning, and while he still had days ahead of him, some good and some not so good, he had the tools and people he needed to make it through. No matter the issue or intrusive thought there were things he could do and people he could see that would make it all okay. 

He would never be alone again because he had a pack and Copia and countless others behind him, pushing him forward and holding him up. This wasn’t the pit. He wasn’t at the hands of his brutal father and equally as nasty kin. He was wanted and adored, welcomed to cuddle piles and movie nights. 

After centuries of struggling alone and afraid, all it took for Phantom to understand love was to lose a bit of himself in the process. 

~ Show some love on A03 ~

[deke-rivers-1957]

ECU High - Deke's Adventure

Deke Rivers Warner just received his driver's permit during the summer. His foster father, Walter Warner, started teaching him how to drive his old 1996 Chevy Impala. It might not be the newest car, or even a fancy car, but Deke has a fondness for it.

He slowly pulls up to a parking space as Mr. Warner guides him. "You're doing good, Deke. Just keep moving in slowly. A little more. And stop. There you go. You parked right in between the lines".

Deke smiles a little. "Thanks. Dad" he says hesitantly. Even though he's been adopted by the Warners a couple years ago, Deke is still trying to get used to calling them his parents. He just can't comprehend that after spending most of his childhood in an orphanage, just barely not getting adopted for so many years, he finally found a home. He has no memory of his real parents and even though the Warners have been nothing but loving, he just can't help but wonder why he was given up as a baby.

"That was a good lesson about parking in a crowded lot, Deke. I'll teach you how to back out of the parking space after school. You can drive us home so you can get your hour for the week. How does that sound?", Mr. Warner asks.

Deke nods. "Yeah. That sounds good."

Mr. Warner gets in the driver's seat as Deke gets out. "Now don't be nervous about your first day of school. I know that it can be stressful trying to find your classes, but think of it as an adventure."

Deke knows that he's trying to be as supportive of possible and tries to smile. "Thanks. I'll try to do that."

Mr. Warner starts to wave and back out of the parking space. "I'll see ya after school, son."

Deke lifts a hand up in acknowledgement and Mr Warner drives away.

Deke starts walking through the parking lot to get to the front door. Suddenly, a slightly used Maserati pulls in right where Deke was standing.

"Watch it, Louis! Ya almost hit me." Deke yells as Louis' mom is holding on for dear life.

"He's right, Louis. I know you're excited about having this car, but you're still on your permit." Mrs. Jackson nervously explains.

Louis turns red. "Sorry ma. I know ya get all nervous when I'm trying to park with people behind me. I tried to make a quick left so I didn't block traffic."

Mrs. Jackson hands him his backpack and says "I believe you. Just try to be more careful."

She kisses his cheek as he gets out and goes into the driver's seat.

"I know ma. I'll see ya later," Louis says as she drives away.

Deke's looking at someone as Louis walks up to him.

"Hey Louis. Who's that blond guy near the door?" Deke asks looking confused.

Louis looks too and shrugs saying "I don't know, Deke. Looks like Jodie. Sure don't dress like him though."

The blond turns and walks up to them asking, "Do ya fellers know where Ah can find the gym? Ah jus moved here so Ah dunno mah way 'round."

Deke and Louis look at each other before Louis speaks up.

"Are you a sophomore? I got gym for my first period too. I'll show ya round."

The new boy smiles, shaking his hand. "Thank ya. Mah name's Toby Kwimper. Wha's yer name?"

Louis looks at Toby saying "I'm Louis and this is Deke."

Just as Toby's about to leave with Louis, one of the teacher's arrives.

"Toby, come with me. I'm going to take you to the office where we can finalize your schedule."

Toby looks at him confused saying, "But Ah'll be late fer class."

The teacher shakes his head.

"You don't need to worry about that. Someone in the office will be sure to write you a note. If you're late to class, that note will excuse you."

Toby nods slowly. "Yessir." He looks at Deke and Louis before leaving with the teacher. "Nice meetin ya fellers."

As soon as he goes inside, Deke turns to Louis.

"Louis. I think he's one of them special needs types."

Louis nods.

"Yeah. Something about him makes me think the same way. Maybe it's because he had his mouth open and a blank look."

Deke just sighs as the bell rings. "Listen. I gotta get to chemistry. I'll see you later."

Louis lifts his arm up.

"You too, man. Keep an eye out on Tulsa."

Deke rolls his eyes as he walks away going, "Oh god. Don't get me started on that jerk."

Louis just laughs and head over to gym class.

Deke goes inside and walks over to his new locker in the sophomore wing. He notices a boy pining over a girl. "Who's it this time, Rusty?"

Rusty looks at Deke with a lovestruck look.

"This is different dude. She's the girl of my dreams. And she's a senior who just got her braces off. No one else noticed but me so I think I have a good chance with her."

Deke just pats his shoulder. "Good luck with that."

Deke puts his afternoon books in his locker and closes it.

"Oh hi, Deke. Isn't it a lovely day?"

Deke turns to see who's talking to him.

"What do you want from me, Walter?"

His nice act drops and looks Deke right in the eye saying, "Better play ball, Deke. I could get you shining my shoes in a heartbeat. Could sure use the money for that old beater of yours."

He goes back to the nice act when he sees a teacher walking by. "I mean, I do know your loving foster parents have been struggling financially. If you like, I can help you out easily."

Deke waits for the teacher to walk out of earshot.

"I ain't a shoeshiner for anyone. My family and I make do without your help. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to chemistry." He adds a sarcastic line. "Is that alright with you? Sir?"

Walter looks shocked but just walks away.

Deke groans and rolls his eyes as he goes down the hall to chemistry.

"Walter or Tulsa?"

Deke looks up and says, "Hey Johnny. Just Walter today. Though if we're lucky we can avoid Tulsa."

"Now why would you do that, guys?"

Johnny curses as Deke sees Tulsa behind him.

"Ain't it a little early to be wearing the sash, Tulsa?"

Tulsa smiles. "It's a privilege to wear a hall monitor's sash. The teachers and staff respect me. Lost freshmen rely on me so they won't be late for their first class. Isn't that a reward in of itself?"

Deke and Johnny just walk away.

"Johnny it ain't even 1st period and I'm already getting sick of everyone." Deke says annoyed.

Johnny pats his shoulder. "Yeah it's strange how everyone's got something up their crawl today. Least the new kid in our year's gonna be interesting."

Deke stops. "Ya met, Toby?"

Johnny nods saying "Yeah, he just came outta the office with his schedule. He asked me where his math class was then went off on a tangent bout having trouble with multiplication."

Deke sighs.

"Louis and I saw him earlier. Seems nice but real light upstairs. We said he looked like one of those handicapped kids that just gotta learn the basics to survive. Kinda sad, but nothing either of us can do about it."

Deke and Johnny continue to talk until they split off to their classes. As soon as Deke sits down in his chemistry class he looks around to see that he's in that class with Walter and Tulsa. He thinks to himself, "I have a feeling. That this adventure isn't gonna be good at all."

AN: Thank you for supporting this series. If you want to be added to the tag list, please leave a like, reblog or comment.

Tag list: @vintagepresley, @jaqueline19997, @presley72elvis, @vintagegirl50s60s70s80s, @j-v-9-2, @lawdymissclawdy68, @almightybigbrain, @arrolyn1114, @tupelomiss, @thetaoofzoe, @mydarlingelvis, @phil2135561 @just-another-boring-bisexual, @leopardandstuds, @ellie-24, @heart-of-ep, @thatbanditqueen, @gayforelvis, @be-my-ally, @xanatenshi,@alienelvisobsession, @mercsandmonsters, @ashtag6887, @whitepontiac, @richardslady121, @aliengoth3, @ash-omalley, and @eptodaytommorwforever,. 

[sunnysky-evans]

Sky had been told that under no circumstances did his new educational situation mean he was just allowed to wander around campus and certainly not off of campus. When he wasn't with Teacher Kat he was permitted to be in his room, in the library, or in the main office under the watchful eye of Mrs. Papadopoulos the very old, but very spry secretary. It was best that Sky maintained a healthy fear of disobeying her, but in truth he had her well wrapped around his finger. He had come to the office to make her smile as part of his assignment, knowing that for her just asking to see pictures of her grandchildren was quite enough. He loved hearing stories about her family so it was a win-win. He noticed that there were more people around and looked at the clock. "I gotta go Miss. I gotta go do my homework." Just outside the office he saw a familiar face and he waved, but no, it wasn't Violet at all. There was no collar and she had her hair different. He was still mid wave though so he smiled and kept waving because she had to be Violet's sister.

@highpony-betty

[moby-writing-and-stuff]

Scavenging Gone Bad

“I’ve told you, Mike, I transferred the last bit of payment for the repairs before I left,” the ginger twenty-six-year-old said as he leaned back in the pilot’s chair, his eyes not leaving the window in front of him, as he saw other ships fly around him. His hands were resting lazily on the controls, ready to grab them at a moment's notice, but relaxed and willing to let the ship’s autopilot handle everything for now.

“Well, the mechanic keeps calling me about how we stiffed him, Keith” the synthesized voice of his partner came through the ship’s intercom, crackling a bit due to the distance between the ship and where the transmission was coming.

“Ha! If anything, he stiffed us” Keith Coolidge said with a chuckle as he moved around a bit in the chair to try and find the comfy spot “Pretty sure he charged me twice as much as he should have for the work he did on the ship”

“I keep telling you we need to buy a new hauler,” Mike said, and despite the lack of visual elements to the call, Keith knew his husband was rolling his eyes “People just don’t carry the parts for it anymore, so, of course, he charged extra”

“Yeah, I’d buy that if he actually replaced anything” Keith grumbled “I’m convinced he just slapped some hyper-glue and sealant tape on everything and called it a day… Plus you know that this old girl has things modern ships don’t.”

“I know, I know,” Mike said in a tone that made it clear it was a discussion the two have had many many times over. Keith chuckled, but before he could say anything else, the lights on the chair’s arm beeped and blinked blue.

“Ugh, gotta hand up,” Keith said as he sat up a bit straighter “Got an inspection…”

“Right, hope they’re not too rough on ya,” Mike said with sympathy clear in his voice “Love ya, talk later”

“Love you too,” Keith said with a smile as he hung up the communicator and let out a sigh “Righto… Time to talk to the asshats..” he mumbled as he tapped the blinking blue button.

“You are attempting to leave the Sovereign Territory of the Othrys system” came the automated voice of the Border Security “State your name, citizenship, and occupation”

“Keith Coolidge,” the ginger said in a flat tone “Citizen of Othrys, planet Kronos. Occupation is Scavanger.”

Keith had gone through this particular routine so much he could do it in his sleep. It was one of the costs of living in the Othrys System Republic, one of the most calm states in the galaxy. Through the past thousand years, humanity had left its cradle in the Solar System and spread outwards through the entire galaxy after the discovery of Tunnel FTL drive and never really looked back. Nowadays, humans were spread through the entire galaxy, settling and building up on every habitable planet they could find, and even those that weren’t in the case of particularly daring and crazy. And when enough planets shared some kind of culture or ideals they tended to unite into a Sovereign System, of which there were so many it got difficult to count and each was unique in its own way. Some horrible and some near utopian.

Really, living in Othrys wasn’t that bad, Keith knew that. Clean cities, fair laws, good standard of living. Kinda came with being known as the Cultural and Humanitarian Center of Humanity’s various states. Most people in Othrys studied to become great artists, musicians, medics, and scientists. Most people.

And Keith wasn’t most people.

“Accessing…” the computerized voice of Border Security said, “Please stand by for Organic Security Officer…”

“Of course…” Keith said with a sigh as the line went dead for a second, only to be picked up by a rather gruff and bored-sounding voice.

“So, you are heading out to pick through the bits, Scavver?” the officer said

“Yes,” Keith said, rolling his eyes “And I’ve got all my permits up to date and signed”

“Huh, sure. Just upload em” the guy said. Keith sighed and hit a few buttons on the ship’s console, uploading the forms to the guy’s ship. Scavengers, or Scavvers as most people called them, weren’t exactly the most popular vocations in the galaxy, especially in societies like Othrys that prided themselves on being highly educated, high-class society. And people who went into space to pick through old shipwrecks and old alien ruins for valuable salvage and old alien artifacts weren’t exactly high on that list.

“Right, everything seems to be in order,” the guy on the other said “Try not to trespass into Shiva Empire territory, we’ve gotten way too many idiots who decide to go and poke through their wrecks, and it’s always a headache.”

“No worries there,” Keith said with a shiver. The Shiva Empire was one of the biggest Sovereign Systems in the galaxy and one of the nastiest. A bunch of expansionists, military-obsessed nutters who were only not actively conquering everything because every other system put immense pressure on them. And they did not take kindly to people who trespassed in their space and they certainly didn’t appreciate scavvers looking for a payday. “I’m heading in the complete opposite direction from them”

“Good. Got enough headaches to deal with. Now move along, you making a line” the officer said as he cut the comms.

“Real friendly guy…” Keith mumbled as he grabbed the ship’s controls and activated the thrusters, flying forward and officially out of Othrys. He twisted and manipulated the controls a bit, flying the ship further out before bringing up the communicator and dialing his husband again.

“So, everything went fine then?” Mike asked as soon as the line connected

“Considering the fact you're talking to me and not a Security Officer who doesn't get enough personal time, yeah” Keith joked as he piloted the ship towards the minimum safe distance to FTL. “But anyways, was just giving you one more call before I tunnel into FTL and wanted to talk one last time. I have a good feeling about this tip, the guy seemed really convinced that Ghost Ship he stumbled across could be worth something.”

“Thanks, Kit” Mike said “Wish I was there with you”

“I know,” Keith said with a sad nod “Wish you were too, but honestly it's for the best you stay home.”

“Ke-”

“Mike, we’re not having this argument again and definitely not having it over a comm unit,” Keith said in a serious tone “You had a full-on panic attack last time, Mike. A really bad one.”

“It wasn’t that bad…” his partner said

“Mike, we had to turn around to leave and I damn near had to sedate you,” Keith said in the same serious tone. Keith usually scavenged with his partner, but a few years ago, Mike got caught in a collapsing tunnel that cost him his arm and legs. While he had gotten holographic prosthetics that pretty much allowed him the same functionality he had before, he was still working through the mental trauma he got as a result of it. Most of the time, it was something the two of them could work through, but the last time it had been a rather serious one, and now the ginger wasn’t taking any chances. “Plus, I paid for those sessions for you with Dr. Hypatia already. And you know she doesn't do refunds”

“Fine,” Mike said, the tone of his voice making it clear he was throwing up his arms in defeat which made the ginger pilot grin a little “Have a safe trip, Kit”

“Thanks, Mikey,” Keith said. The comm unit cut off a second later, and Keith typed in the coordinates of his destination. 

Tunnel Drive…Online came the voice of the ship’s computer Drive warmed up…Coordinates accepted….Tunneling in 3…2…1…

Keith gripped the sides of the chair tightly as the entire ship lurched forward and blasted ahead, a rainbow of colors replacing the blackness of space as he entered the FTL tunnel. Keith kept a tight grip on the chair for a few minutes before letting go with a sigh and unbuckling himself.

“Right…inertia dampeners still holding…” Keith mumbled as he stood up and shook his head. “Computer, estimated time to arrival?”

Calculating….Estimated arrival time is…4 hours and 40 minutes

“Right… guess I better go get some shut-eye,” Keith said with a small yawn “Set alarm for 4 hours and thiry minutes” There was a small beep as the computer accepted the command. Keith yawned again and headed for the back of the ship to try and get some extra sleep before he got to the rather hard work of scavenging.

=============================================

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Keith grunted as he woke up, blinking and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as the dull sound of the alarm rang out. He hit the off-button on the panel next to his bunk as he sat up, but the beeping continued.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Oh come on…” he groaned as he gave the panel a smack and hit the button again, this time with more force behind it. A second later the beeping stopped, the only sound being the background hum of the Tunnel Drive. “Finally…” he said, rubbing his eyes as he stood up “Just one more thing in this tub that needs fixing I guess…”

The ginger scavenger yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he stood up and stretched, his eyes traveling around the small quarters. The ship he and his husband owned wasn’t exactly what people would call a luxury vessel. Most people would charitably call it a ‘flying hunk of scrap metal’. It was old, around seventy years out of date and almost every piece in it just wasn’t available on the market anymore, making repairs a complete pain in the ass which often ended with jury-rigged repairs. 

“One day we’ll be able to get a new ship…” Keith mumbled as he grabbed his boots and slipped them on with one hand and tapped the panel with the other. It beeped for a second and a small rectangular box dropped out, which he grabbed and jabbed into his neck. He shivered as a wave of energy rushed through his body and any sense of drowsiness evaporated from his body. “And someday we’ll get a ship with a coffee machine instead of using WakeUp Stims…” Keith mumbled as he chucked the now empty box into the garbage can in the corner of the room. Keith and his husband were always hard up on credits, mostly from where they lived. Living on Orthys was not cheap, even in the relatively less affluent area where the two had their apartment. Combine that with the fact the two needed to buy equipment for their scavving trips, repairs on the ship, and the day-to-day ways they needed to spend money, the two were not in any position to buy a new spaceship. Keith let out a small sigh as he stood up, grabbed his belt off the table next to the garbage can, and stepped out of the quarters, the door sliding shut behind him, leaving him back on the ship’s bridge, the never-ending rainbow of FTL blasting through the windows.

“Right, let’s take another look,” Keith said as he took a seat again, tapping the controls on the armrests. A second later, a hologram flickered in front of him, showing a map of the Milky Way Galaxy.

“Computer,” Keith said “Give me a description of the area.”

Accessing… the computer said as the map zoomed in on the area the ship was heading According to the Orthys’ galactic map, the territory is currently determined as ‘Non-Viable’

“Meaning its useless for colonization or industry” Keith mumbled

Correct. All terrestrial planets in the sector are too hostile for colonization. Gas and Ice Giants are considered unviable for fuel extraction due to isolation.

“So, it's the middle of bumfuck nowhere,” Keith said with a small smile. “Means no chance of anyone getting annoyed at me. Not counting the guys at the bar anyways” he turned back to the map “Give me Galactic Archeological records of the area. Who lived here?”

Accessing… the computer beeped as the map of the galaxy began to be separated into separate colors and names. Keith’s eyes washed over some of them as he waited for a response. The galaxy, as much as people could figure out, worked in a cycle of some kind. An alien species became advanced enough to spread out amongst the stars, they would expand, colonize, conquer, go to war, and then, eventually collapse. So far, archeologists have identified four previous alien civilizations that had expanded through the galaxy, with hints of there being even more in the distant past. While the idea of the cycle was something theologians and philosophers were fascinated by, for Keith it had a much simpler meaning. 

Alien tech was worth a fuck-ton of credits to the right buyer, no matter what species it belonged to.

Results found. According to the Pan-Galactic Archeological Organization, this sector belonged to the Cok'ex species. 

“Cok'ex?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow “Not familiar with those… Elaborate”

The Cok'ex were one of the smaller galactic communities, as far as current research shows. They are believed to resemble humanoids, with large horns on their heads. They were extremely advanced, with cybernetics and robotics being extensively used throughout their civilization, but no working examples of their technology have been recovered to date.

“Heh, well then that sounds perfect,” Keith said with a grin. A ghost ship in an area that barely any humans really cared about, but was once the territory of one of the most advanced extinct alien civs? That had the sound of a perfect payday to him. He tapped a few buttons and deactivated the hologram. 

Warning. Arrival imminent. Brace for Tunnel-Exit

“Here we go,” Keith said with a grin as he grabbed the controls “Time to get rich!”

He grunted as he was jolted forward, the rainbow of colors evaporating back into the normal star-speckled blackness of space. He groaned a bit and shook his head as he started piloting the ship himself.

“Right time to get a look around…” the ginger mumbled as he tapped on the controls “Launch Scanners”

Understood the computer answered and a THUD rang out across the ship as the ship’s multi-directional scanners were launched.

“Okay, let’s take a look at what we’ve got here…” Keith mumbled as he tapped a few more buttons, a hologram of the system popped up in front of him. The scanners were designed to pinpoint the location of anything manufactured when scanning, so he just gave it a second as he stared at the holograms of the planets and the star of the system he was currently in. Then, a small red dot appeared on the hologram and a PING rang out through the ship’s speakers. 

The ginger’s grin grew as he grabbed the controls and began to fly over to the coordinates the scanners had given him.

“Time for payday,” he said with a grin as he boosted the engines. =============================================

“Right…” Keith mumbled as he stood in the airlock, making sure he had all of his gear “Flashlight… check. Holo-armor… check… emergency blaster….” he tapped the side of his belt and let out a sigh “And this is why you do checks every time, Keith” he said as he reached over the to the small locker next to him and grabbed a small pistol. He tapped the top of it, and the square on top glowed bright green and hummed lightly “Right, blaster is charged in case of emergency…” he muttered as he slipped it into his holster and stepped closer to the airlock. “Computer, is the scan of the vessel complete?”

Yes the computer answered Scans show the vessel’s structure is intact but there is no breathable atmosphere within

“Right, breathing equipment then,” Keith said as he turned back to the locker and began fishing through it “Sealed environment or vacuum?”

Sealed and pressurized. Scans do not show any risk of structural weakness in the hull, so a breach is unlikely

“Huh, guess these guys built their things to last then,” Keith said as he grabbed a pair of goggles and a breathing mask, slipping both on. “Power readings?”

Minimal the computer said Archeological records show that Cok'ex vessels have extensive power storage, meant to keep a ship active for centuries. It is likely that backup reactors or capacitors are active on the ship but are disconnected.

“Hmm, that could be handy or dangerous,” Keith said, crossing his arms and then shrugging “Well that’s a bridge I’ll cross when I get to it.” he walked up to the door and activated the Airlock Cycle. A loud hiss rang out all around him as the door behind him that led back to his own ship slammed shut and sealed. A second later, the door in front of him opened with a slow his. Keith took a deep breath as the atmosphere of the ship rushed in, the mask converting the alien atmosphere to oxygen and nitrogen for him to breathe. He pulled out his flashlight and stepped out of the airlock and onto the alien ship proper.

The ship’s interior was big, clearly built for beings far taller than Keith could ever hope to be. He pointed his flashlight upwards and could see catwalks and doors leading to other areas of the ship. The walls and floors were made up of dark green metal with no sign of visible light fixtures on them, at least none that Keith could see. He took a deep breath and ventured deeper, the clacking on his boots on the metal floor echoing all around him. He shone his flashlight over everything, seeing if there was anything to grab.

“This ship is… surprisingly spartan…” he mumbled to himself. He couldn’t see any decorations, flourishes, or any real personality of any kind. The ship seemed to be built with utility as literally its only function. “These aliens must have been really boring to talk to…” he said, shaking his head and moving deeper into the ship, passing under the catwalks. As he walked, he felt his foot hit something. Out of reflex, he pulled out his blaster and pointed it at whatever he hit, alongside his flashlight. “What the…” he mumbled, slipping the blaster back into his holster and crouching down “Is that a glove?”

It was indeed a glove. A rather large one, made of what seemed to be hard black rubber with green lines. Frowning, Keith gave it a poke with his boots before reaching down and grabbing it. “Wow, this thing is surprisingly heavy for a glove” Keith mumbled as he held it in his hand “Weighs about as much as my blaster…” he pointed his flashlight to the inside and grinned as the light illuminated a maze of green circuits all through the inside of the glove. Almost every inch of the thing’s interior was covered in them. “Oh, you alone are gonna make this trip worthwhile. I can get tons of credits for alien computer parts!” Keith said with a grin as he patted it. He carefully slipped it onto a small loop on his belt and after securing it, kept going forwards. 

“I might have just found a piece of power armor…” he said to himself, thinking out loud as he passed through an open door and into the ship’s darkened hallways. “If that’s the case, there’s probably even more in here somewhere, I doubt they just brought along one glove…If I can get an entire suit of the stuff, we’ll be set for years! Hell, if I do that, I could afford to come back with a full team and properly strip this thing! We’d be set for life after something like that!”

He was lost in his musings, so he didn’t notice where he was going until he ran smack into a large sealed door, making him almost fall on his ass.

“Gah..Shit, focus Keith” he mumbled, shaking his head “Don’t get lost in your head while scavving” he took a deep breath and looked around a bit.

The door was massive, almost twice as tall as him and like the rest of the ship, was made of dark green metal. Frowning, the ginger leaned closer and knocked on the door gently, listening to the sound to see how thick it was. “Well nuts…” he mumbled “I’m not cutting through that with my blaster…” he moved his flashlight over to the walls around the door, and smiled a little, seeing a small bulb next to it. “Right, the door is motion activated,” he said, reaching down with his free hand to tap the glove “So getting it open means turning the power back on… Or I could just go…” he glanced back at the way he came in, then down at the glove resting on his belt and smirked. “Yeah, I’m not leaving without a full suit of this stuff. Guess it's time to track down the backup generator.”

=============================================

Keith let out a contented sigh as he plugged a wire into another socket, smiling as he felt the hum of power moving through it. 

“Perfect” he muttered “Just a few more and this thing will be done.” It hadn’t taken long to find the backup generator which was in the large room where he first entered, and even less to crack it open and start rewiring things as necessary. He held out his right hand, and a small hologram of an identical generator appeared out of a projector in his hand. It was an image of a Cok'ex’s generator from the museum back home, which had been jury-rigged to work. “Right, now all I need to do is….shift one more plug…” he mumbled, doing that with his free hand “and hit the reset button!” he jammed his thumb on the bright blue button next to the mess of wires spilling out of the generator. 

The thing hummed and the wires began to glow bright neon green, power flowing through them. A few sparks blasted out the side of it, making the ginger scavver scramble back a bit out of reflex. A second later, the lights on the wall flickered and began to glow in different shades of green, and many parts that were pitch black began to turn on with alien characters. 

“Perfect,” Keith said with a grin as he scrambled back to his feet and wiped the dust off his body. He turned around and headed back to the hallway he had been at before. He reached the door and grinned as he saw the bulb shining green “Heh, guess I can guess what this species’ favorite color is” he said, chuckling as he walked up the door. The light blinked blue and the door hissed open. “YES!” he cheered, dashing inside to see what exactly was his prize for this trip.

Inside was a series of tubes, six in total, two on each wall except the one with the door. Five of them were occupied, much to Keith’s joy. He walked up to the nearest one, a massive grin on his face as he looked through the transparent material.

Inside the five tubes were massive figures, almost three times as tall as Keith and built like professional bodybuilders. They seemed to be made of the same shiny, glossy material as the glove he had found earlier. They mostly resembled humans, except for their heads which more resembled a bull, with a snout and a pair of massive horns pointing out of the sides of their heads. There weren’t any visible eyes, but from the light reflecting off them, the ginger could tell that in place of eyes, there were screens.

“Five entire suits of Cok'ex’s gear…” Keith said with a huge grin on his face as he looked around. All five of the figures were identical, down to the smallest detail. He rested his hand on the barrier, thinking of how much these would be worth as soon as he got them out. “Now…where’s the release switch…” he mumbled to himself as he looked around, but couldn’t see anything. Each of the tubes was completely free of any sort of panel or interface, the only thing on them apart from the transparent material being a soft blue light at the base, similar to the one by the side of the door. 

“Damn it…” Keith mumbled as he took a step back and looked around the entire room in more detail. Again he didn’t see any panel or form interface. All there was were some wires connecting the tubes to the ceiling “Great, controls are probably on the bridge or something…” he shook his head as he looked at the tube separating him from his prize “Why would you put the controls to the armory on the bridge? That just seems needlessly complicated…” he tapped the transparent material, frowning a bit as he heard the ‘thunk’ echo out across the empty room. “Hmm…I might just be able to cut through this….”

He pulled his blaster out of its holster, aiming it at the tube, and pulled the trigger. A loud hum rang out from the weapon as a bright green beam blasted out of the barrel, sparks flying out as it began to slowly cut through the material in front of him. 

“Right…” he mumbled as he increased the power output, the beam shifting to red as the heat increased “There we go…. Just a bit long- GYAH!” Keith’s words were interrupted as he felt something cold and metal wrapping itself around his arm. A second later, he felt another one attach to his other arm, the sudden tightness around his wrist making him drop his blaster “W-What the hell!?” he shouted, looking down at his arms, going pale as he saw that it was two metal cables with green glowing lines on them, much like the rest of the tech around him. He looked behind him, his eyes going wide as he saw that the empty tube had hissed open, and the cables had come out from it. Around it, bright orange lights were flashing and a very soft, almost unhearable buzz was ringing out of the walls. “S-Shit…” the ginger mumbled as he saw the back of the tube opening up and more cables shot out towards him. Two wrapped themselves around his ankles, tightening around so much he wouldn’t be able to wiggle free at all. The scavenger barely had time to react as the cables retracted, dragging him into the tube

“GAH!” he grunted as his back slammed into the wall, the tube closing with a hiss around him. “W-What’s going…”

Aoinga gadlea Mandgayu a voice intoned in an alien tongue that Keith didn’t understand a single word of.

“L-LET ME OUT!” Keith shouted, trying to break free of the cables, but unable to move a single inch from the wall. 

Aoinga gadlea Mandgayu the voice intoned again, either ignoring Keith or unable to understand him period. The tube shifted, changing from transparent to an opaque dark green. Keith’s eyes went wide as that happened, leaving him trapped in darkness, but that did not last, as a few seconds later, a series of bright green beams appeared on top and bottom of the tube and began moving towards him.

“Shit!” he hissed, wiggling as he tried to break free “Shitshitshitshitshit!” he closed his eyes and braced himself as the beams reached his feet and the top of his head.

There was a loud buzzing sound and the smell of something burning as the beams crisscrossed over his entire body. As they moved, they turned his clothes and any hair on his body into ash, which was rapidly sucked up by a built-in vacuum cleaner on the ground. He was left completely nude and free of hair in the tube after the first passing of the beams, and his blaster and the glove fell to the ground, clanking against the metal floor as they now had nothing to hold on to. The scavver opened his eyes slowly as he heard the sound of the items hitting the floor and looked around. As he did, he moved his head and realized what the beam had done.

“Fuck!” he groaned, shaking his head “That’s gonna be a pain in the ass to fix…” he looked down at the floor, his face going a bit red as he saw his freckle-covered bare form, but he focused on the floor and the items on the ground.

Kjadad mnad…Edaknag the voice spoke again as a series of blue beams formed on the ground, scanning the items. The ones touching his blaster turned bright red and flashed, and the smell of burning flooded Keith’s nostrils again as it was reduced to ashes.

“I’m so fucked…” he mumbled, trying to wiggle free again with no dice. The beams hitting the glove however, changed to green and a high-pitched beeping noise rang out instead. An arm popped out of the ceiling and picked it up, moving it closer to Keith

Kioad….gadn keatpo the voice said one more time before the glove lit up, the green circuits on the glove starting to glow a bright green, as did lines on the surface of the glove. It hissed as it opened up as well. The tubes holding Keith’s arm began to move as well, forcing his hand forward and into the open glove.

“W-Wait, what the fuck are you doing?” Keith stammered out, more confused than anything at this point. The machine, once again, ignored his words. Instead, it put his hand into the glove, which hissed and slammed shut around it. He blinked and wiggled his hand, barely able to even make the gloves twitch due to how much larger than his own body it was. A second later, the glove hissed and opened, the tendrils forcing his arm back against the wall. The trapped scavver let out a nervous chuckle and shook his head.

“R-Right…this thing is probably some k-kind of Power Armor station…. Thought I was a recruit or something…. G-Guess it figured I wasn’t one… H-Hopefully it will let me out now that it sees I don’t fit into the- GAH!” Keith hissed as he felt something jab into his left butt cheek, followed by a small amount of heat.

Dakre agda….bamda the voice said as from the ceiling, a pair of arms appeared and moved downwards to Keith’s body.

“Um…” the former ginger mumbled, eyeing the two arms, which seemed to have some kind of device at the tip instead of a claw like the one holding the glove “Are you gonna be the thing that lets me out?” he asked with a nervous smile on his face. There was no answer from the machine, instead the two arms pointed at his arms and shot out a bright purple laser. The scavver’s eyes went wide as he saw that, but all that happened when the beams hit his skin was a light tingling running across his muscles. The beams moved up and down across his entire arms, from his hands to his shoulders. Before he could say anything else, the tingle transformed into a pulse of arousal and pleasure ringing out from his arms, making him shiver and moan rather loudly, his dick springing up, hard as a stone.

“W-What the fuuuuuuuuuuu….” he moaned, biting his tongue to stop himself from moaning. He looked over at his arms, blinking as he saw that they were…growing. With each pass of the laser, the muscles in his arms grew more and more, taking him from his normally twig-like build and closer to something akin to the arms of a bodybuilder. He heard some more whirring from above, his eyes going wide as more of those arms dropped down and fired the same purple lasers across his body.

One beam hit his chest, stomach, and shoulders, and began to move back and forth across them, the muscles underneath the beam being sculpted into a perfect six-pack, his chest into a firm pair of pecs that anyone would be jealous of. His shoulders shifted, becoming broader to fit not only his larger chest but also his new arms, which now looked perfectly at home with his more sculpted chest.

The next two beams hit his legs and a very similar process began there, whatever had been injected into his behind allowing the lasers to mold his body as they saw fit. He blinked as he felt his bare feet touching the floor of the tube, his legs having gotten longer as well as more muscular, his feet being made bigger to match his new height and build. He moaned as the changes sent another wave through his system, making him shiver in place and close his eyes, trying to find anything to focus on besides the sensations the beams were sending through his body.

After what felt like an eternity to him, the arms retracted back into the ceiling and the haze of arousal finally began to lessen, though he was still panting as he blinked his eyes open and leaned his head back forward. Panting, he looked down at this body and gasped, seeing his new build properly for the first time. The only thing that reminded him that this was his body he was looking at was the freckles that dotted his skin, because aside from that his build was nothing like the beanpole he had been when the cables had dragged him into the tube, now more akin to a professional weightlifter or strongman than the skinny scavenger he had always been. There was a hiss as cold air rushed into the tube, making him both shiver and moan as his now sensitive skin felt the cold air hit it.

“W-What the….” he panted, shivering as he looked at the glove, which opened up again with another hiss. His arm was moved forward again and his hand slipped into the high-tech gear, which closed around it. This time, it was skin-tight against his now bigger hand and arm. He blinked and wiggled his fingers, seeing that there was no resistance from the rubbery material thanks to the micro-motors in the glove. “R-Right…I-I fit the armor now….And that’s all I’ve got on me…So can I just go now?” he asked, looking up at the ceiling of the tube.

Dakng….gadnab Yuakhda the computer spoke. Before Keith could even react, his other arm was brought forward and another glove was slipped on, hissing as it was sealed up

“T-The hell!?” he shouted as both his arms were slammed against the wall again “W-Where did that come…” his eyes went wide as he saw an opening in the ceiling of the tube, where new pieces of the suit were being produced in front of his eyes. He saw a pair of boots being assembled in front of him, starting with a glob of the rubber-like material taking on the needed shape, then circuitry seeming to grow out of the rubber, then the micro-motors forming and finally another layer of rubber, which had the glowing green lines the gloves did. As soon as they were done, they were brought down to the floor and opened up with a similar hiss to the gloves. “S-Stop!” he shouted as the cables holding him lifted up his feet, slipping them into the boots and sealing them before bringing them back to the same spot as before. He groaned and tried to move his toes, but unlike the gloves, he was met with a lot of resistance. He couldn’t move his toes an inch. He winced and shivered as another jolt of pleasure rang through him thanks to the cold air.

“W-What’s next?” he asked as he looked up, gasping as he saw the suit’s mask being assembled and lowered. It looked exactly like the ones he’d seen on the other suits, a large horned mask with a muzzle and a screen for eyes. The arms turned it around and opened it as it approached his head. The cables forced him to bend forward, and the mask was right in front of his face. His eyes went wide as the mask was fitted around his head his mouth being forced onto a small mold for his mouth at the base of the mask’s muzzle, which connected to his nose as well, the hiss that rang out making it clear it had been sealed around his head. He then felt his body being shoved back into position. Felt being the keyword as he couldn’t see anything inside the mask, only hearing the sound of his breathing through the mask’s filters.

Ddatea ad came the voice again, muffled. A second later, the mask began to glow green as it turned on. He shivered as he felt something being placed into his ears and light-flooded into his vision as the screen turned on, showing just two blue dots in front of him

“Whas happnenin…” he mumbled around the mouthguard.

Bda-uange adaptation complete the voice said, now sounding in an understandable language Updating visor UI with translation for ease of drone efficiency

“Drone!?” Keith said, trying to break free of the wall again with renewed effort, but it was still in vain. Even with his new build, the cables had too tight a hold on him. 

Subject of Non-Cok'ex origin. The voice continued, now sounding like it was coming from inside Keith’s head Drone Work Suit adapted to new physiology. Commencing full suiting procedure.

Keith blinked and then shivered, moaning loudly as he felt something cold flowing out of the pieces of the suit he was wearing. Unseen to him, more of the rubbery material was flowing out of the mask, gloves, and boots and coating the rest of his muscular body in the outfit, manufacturing the suit on his body as the individual pieces had done before. The lack of hair on his body meant there wasn’t a single obstacle as the base rubber formed, coating every single pore and spot of his skin. His still-hard dick was encased and entrapped in a large bulge between his legs. A second later, the circuits and micro-motors began to form on the rubber as well, feeding all the telemetry into the mask, with a HUD forming around the two blue dots that dominated his vision, giving him a readout of his surroundings and the status of the suit’s integrity. And finally, one final layer formed on top, giving him the same glowing green lines that all Cok’ex technology shared.

Finally, the cables holding his body in place released him and he stumbled forwards blind, leaning against the tube as he reached up and grabbed the suit by the horns, attempting to rip it off.

“Geoff me” he said, tugging again and again in a vain effort to get the material to give and let him go.

Error. Subject non-complaint. The voice said Adjusting parameters to match…

Before Keith could even wonder what that meant, he felt the motors in the suit seize up and freeze him in place. A second later, he felt a light tickle in his ear as what entered before began to work.

Accessing biological memory storage….the voice said Accessed. Beginning total memory wipe.

“Wait wh-” the words died in his throat as suddenly everything became hazy. His memories disappeared instantly, flashing before his eyes for a split second before evaporating into nothingness. He blinked and tried to shake his head as a sense of confusion and panic began to form “W-Where am I? W-What’s going on?”

Memory Wipe succesful

“W-What?! Memory wipe?!” he shouted

Error. Subject emotional levels elevated. Compensating. The voice said as the guy in the suit felt a tickle in his ear.

“W-What do you mean compenssating? What are you….” he blinked as he felt his emotions…drain away. Anger, fear, confusion, everything just drained and evaporated out of his system.

Emotional Center accessed. Emotional Suppression System installed and fully functional.

The guy formerly known as Keith just stared ahead blankly as the voice spoke, the words being processed by his mind but not really generating any response beyong the logical understanding of them.

Beginning Drone Program Upload…. The voice said as the figure felt his arms being moved back to his sides and being made to stand up straight. While that happened, the tickling on his ear returned and information flooded his mind.

He….It was Worker Drone Alpha. The first unit made by this vessel since it was abandoned by its organic occupants. Information on the workings of Cok’ex techonology, engineering and everything required to keep this ship functional, as well as all the abilites and functions of it’s suit flooded into it’s now empty brain. A second later, the screen in front of it’s eyes flickered to life, showing the transparent material separating its recharging tube from the rest of the ship.

Drone Alpha. Report status

“Drone Alpha operating at 100%,” it said in an emotionless, synthetic voice through the mask’s built-in speakers “Previous data has been wiped. Emotional Suppression system is fully functional. New data has been uploaded with no errors or corruption”

Stand-by for structural analysis of the vessel

“Understood,” the drone said with a nod, as a hiss rang out and stepped out of the tube, it’s heavy boots clunking against the metal floor.

Structural analysis complete. Errors in superstructure detected and uploaded to Drone Alpha’s systems. Begin repair routine then report to recharge pod when task is complete.

“Orders understood,” Drone Alpha said, the path being highlighted on its HUD “Begining repair routines immediately” it began stomping through the halls of the ship, the only thing in its mind was its work and nothing else.

================================================

Been a while since I posted a full fic, but damn this one took a bit of work. But in the end, I think I'm proud of it!

It's the first NSFW fic set in a sci fi universe of my own making. I gave a look at it in my collab fic Finders Keepers, but this is mostly what this is setting will be for. One shots of my boy Keith getting in trouble as he explores space looking for stuff to scavange!

Hope that you all enjoy it and if you have questions about the setting or ideas for other things that could happen to this unfortunate scavver, let me know in the comments!

A massive, massive thank you to my Patrons, who support me and my stories! If your interested in getting early access to them, seeing my writing progress in action or getting in an early vote during the start of my Poll Stories, please consider supporting me on there! Special shout-out to my top-tier Patron, Viketren!

I also have a Ko-Fi account if you prefer to drop a single donation instead of monthly support

[belleyellsaboutturtles]

Nah but Mikey not realizing how badly he actually needs glasses is so realistic too

I’ve had glasses since I was like 3. I knew my right eye was weak and my left eye compensated for it, but I didn’t realize how much it compensated. I thought I was fine without them, so I wouldn’t wear them all the time. This was a strong enough belief that when I went to get my drivers permit, I tried to get it so my glasses weren’t mandatory for driving. When you want this, they check your eyes real quick in the office. They use a machine that looks something like this:

So I walked up the counter, all confident and happy bc I’d just passed my exam and was gonna get my permit, and when I inquired about making my permit so I can drive without glasses, the DMV lady on the other side pointed to this machine and went okay yeah sure you just gotta pass the eye test. I went awesome! I can do that! I put my left eye to the machine, she asked what I saw, and I rattled off the letters/numbers/whatever they were. She went great, now do the right. I put my right eye to the machine and the following conversation ensued.

Me: I don’t see anything.

Me: Is it on?

DMV Lady: It is…try moving a little. Maybe it’s not centered.

Me: …I still can’t see anything.

DMV Lady: …Oh. Well…

Me, accepting defeat: Yeah, I’m gonna need glasses to drive.

And that’s how I find out my bad eye is actually, like, super bad. I had no idea and I was 15. I’d just been going about life. Totally unaware that my left eye was working like an overworked and underpaid Starbucks barista.

I also had a thing as a kid where I had to use eyepatches for awhile to strengthen my bad eye and whatever that was messed with my depth perception. If I’m somewhere that’s not well lit or it’s just generally dark, I have. So much trouble. I do not drive at night for this reason.

ANYWAYS YEAH I LOVE THE IDEA THAT RISE MIKEY NEEDS GLASSES BUT DOESNT REALIZE IT

Rise Mikey doesn't wear glasses often because his brothers will have a heart attack thinking it's Dr. Feeling or Dr. Delicate touch

like "HIS WEARING GLASSES! RUN!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!" - Leo, for sure

Ooooh now I have a hc that he’s actually pretty bad at seeing hence why he crashes quite a lot with his “razzmatazz”. I am slowly developing an idea where he does actually need them but doesn’t realise/doesn’t bother as it’s not bad enough to halt his actions. But like, sometimes he’ll just crash into something or take a moment try and see what’s running towards him because it’s just a blob. This actually makes his reaction time insanely fast.

Stop tempting me with headcanons istg

[chrrywvea]

✨cyclone babysits for the first time✨

iceman: alright, there we go... *sets maverick down next to him* i'll pick him back up at seven, *takes out his checklist and hands it over* make sure he gets food and water every other hour, keep the jets away unless i permitted it...

cyclone: but sir-

iceman: let me finish-... so keep the jets in the hangar and, hm, maybe lock it... he can do a hop or two unless you want him to get more cranky than usual, shove him into his office twice a day and he'll get the paperwork done... shut the door though, or he will escape

cyclone, under his breath: whAt

iceman, pecking mav on the lips and ruffling his hair: i gotta go honey, love you! *death glaring at cyclone* one scratch on him and you're done.

cyclone, sweating profusely and watching the admiral saunter out the door: y-yes sir?

meanwhile maverick has already disappeared to the hangar, 11 little duckling daggers right on his tail

[rwwinton]

Oh hey the Society of the Cincinnati still exists. 

[ladyartemesia]

All I Want For Christmas is You

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Female Reader

Summary: When Park Jimin is unable to escort his precious sister through the gauntlet of corporate holiday galas, he blackmails his best friend Taehyung into being her chaperone. After all, who better to safeguard his headstrong sibling than a man who would never want her for himself? (She and Tae have spent the better part of a decade mutually disliking each other, and that’s putting it mildly.) Yet, even the best laid plans may go awry at Christmas and Kim Taehyung is about to discover that the girl he never wanted has become a temptation he cannot resist...

Genre: Comedy • Fluff  • Smut

Tropes: Brother’s Best Friend (Reader is Jimin’s Sister) • Enemies-to-Lovers

Collab: This work is part of the Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tropes Collab featuring original holiday themed works by @ppersonna • @xjoonchildx  • @underthejoon • @yeojaa​ • @untaemedqueen • and @snackhobi

Word Count: 17K (I know—I am shocked too honestly)

Rating: Explicit (18+)

Warnings: suggestive photographs • mention of accidentally being hit with a baseball • hints of jealousy and possessiveness • light tit slapping • explicit sexual content • m/f oral sex • consensual unprotected sex (shield it before you yield it y’all) • Viola’s mirror kink makes yet another appearance •

Acknowledgements:

To @ppersonna​ (Lindy) @underthejoon​ (Fal) and @xjoonchildx​ (Ana) you guys are my heart. Your support, willingness to read (and re-read) and give honest feedback made this fic special. Your friendship is my daily dose of awesome. Truly, I love you.

To @untaemedqueen​ (D) all of the above applies to you, but I owe you a little something extra for the LITERAL HOURS you spent in the doc with me. This fic would not be here without you. You kept me moving. You inspired me. You were amazing. Thank you so very much. This story is lovingly dedicated to you. 

To @hobi-gif​ for being the most thorough and incredible beta reader and for having all the important girl chats with me. I think you learned more about my past than you wanted... Either way you made this story better and I am profoundly grateful for the hours of time you spent. I have removed all the Hope-No-No words in your honor. 

To @lemonjoonah​ as always, you knew EXACTLY what I needed to tweak to make this story work. (Gotta pass that Lemon Litmus Test or no dice lol.) My lovely soul twin. You’re a bloomin’ rockstar. 

Please Picture This Taehyung:

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Yes. Because you absolutely owe me.”

“Then send me a bill, not your unmanageable harpy of a sister.”

Jimin raised a single unimpressed brow. 

“Kim Taehyung. It was exactly five years ago today that I carried your drunken naked ass two miles in the rain after you set your clothes on fire and sprained your ankle at that Beta Phi party.” He paused dramatically. “Do you remember what you said to me that night? After I deleted several pictures off phones and paid off half the party to keep it out of the papers?”

The man in question shifted uncomfortably.

“That incident is a bit hazy in my memory. I’m not sure I recall—”

“Jiminie—you’re the best and I—I owe… you. I owe you the most, Jiminie. I do—I owe you a favor—one BIG favor—anything you ask… Even though... I actually like being naked. I don’t think we need clothes. We should all be naked. Everyone. Then there would be world peace.”

Taehyung’s jaw dropped. 

“You RECORDED IT?!”

Jimin grinned, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

“Naturally. And I had it all ready to go—just in case you needed extra convincing.” He crossed his arms and fixed his best friend of nearly fifteen years with a triumphant smirk. “I’m calling in that favor today, Taehyung. Now are you a man of your word or not?”

“He did WHAT?!”

Your mother winced. 

“Jimin was... uncomfortable leaving you alone for the holiday season. He normally accompanies you to the galas but this year—”

“This year I was going to go alone and finally build my reputation as an asset to this family!”

Park Soomin sighed as she watched her daughter pace fiercely around the living room of their luxury suite. 

“No one doubts that you’re an asset, but… in light of recent events...”

Rage and embarrassment flared up in your chest before you could stop them. 

“This is about Milo… isn’t it?”

The silence that greeted your statement was confirmation enough. 

“Are you ever going to trust me again?” you whispered. 

“Oh sweetheart... it isn’t you we don’t trust...”

Tears burned at the corner of your eyes, but you ruthlessly blinked them back. 

You would play along with their humiliating schemes. 

For now.

“So which one of Jimin’s Ivy League brat pack did he blackmail into babysitting me? 

For the first time in the entirety of the conversation, your mother looked truly nervous. 

“Kim Taehyung.”

You tripped over your own feet and face-planted into the sofa. 

“Jungkook, I need to look into faking my own death. Nothing too over the top. Just a tasteful disappearance—”

The man in question could barely restrain his grin. 

“You don’t pay me nearly enough to deal with your mother in the event of your tragic demise and miraculous resurrection.”

“I could pay you more.”

“Or,” Jungkook replied with a heavy dose of judgment coloring his tone, “you could put on this ridiculous tie and stop trying to weasel out of it.”

“Sometimes I wonder why I pay you at all,” Taehyung growled, yanking the tie from the younger man’s grasp. “Clearly I’m not the one in charge.”

“Your words, sir, not mine. Now shall we go over the details and itinerary?”

If Jeon Jungkook wasn’t the best executive aide in the city (and one of his closest friends) Tae would have drop-kicked him right then and there.

“Could you at least try to look like you’re not enjoying this?”

“I’m sorry, sir. It was insensitive of me to ignore your suffering in this delicate time. The trauma of escorting a beautiful woman to a series of glorified buffets weighs heavily upon you.”

Taehyung tightened the tie so aggressively, he almost strangled himself.

“Beautiful woman?!” he wheezed. “We’re talking about the girl who showed up to our formal graduation party looking like she just escaped from Azkaban.”

Jungkook bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. 

“Tae… how long has it been since you’ve actually seen Ms. Park?” 

“Seen? Maybe three—four years.”

The heir-apparent of Kim Holdings avoided the public end of corporate culture like the plague, preferring to leave the requisite schmoozing to his personable cousin, Kim Seokjin. 

However, he had crossed paths with his adolescent nemesis in... other ways. 

Taehyung was romancing a lovely young socialite who suddenly ghosted him after someone told her that he wanted at least eight naturally-birthed children. 

Soon after, your favorite charity received an anonymous 30,000 dollar donation requesting that you be featured in the dunk tank for an upcoming benefit carnival and then the same anonymous patron paid for at least fifteen little league teams to attend. 

In retaliation, someone petitioned the National Aviary Society (chaired by a very influential senator’s wife that no one ever refused if they wanted their permits to go through) to make Taehyung the MC at their annual awards ceremony—knowing full well he was allergic to birds (not dangerously allergic—just enough to be miserable).  

Taehyung had sniffled and sneezed through approximately one hundred parrots, parakeets, and other assorted fowl until he was ready to commit murder. 

The last several years had been littered with similar incidents of the two of you taking thinly veiled potshots at one another. 

“I can’t imagine she’s changed very much,” Taehyung bit off absently. His mind was abruptly consumed by how he could get revenge for those demonic birds. 

He didn’t notice the smile creeping over Jungkook’s face. 

“No, sir. I’m sure she hasn’t changed at all.”

Taehyung had only ever had the wind knocked out of him once before. 

He was Dionysia High School’s star pitcher for three seasons and during one particularly tense game against JY Prep, Lim Jaebeom whacked a line drive right into his solar plexus. 

That’s how it felt to look up and see you at the top of the stairs. 

In his head, you were still the mischievous imp from his childhood. Every prank he played was directed at the fierce little fiend with braids and braces who’d knocked him and his date into the university fountain while experimenting with her friend’s skateboard. 

But she was gone… and in her place was something far more dangerous. 

A woman. 

Silken fabric wrapped tightly over curves you definitely didn’t have four years ago. That wild hair had been tamed into shining waves and pinned elegantly at the nape of your neck. The wicked slit that traveled all the way up your thigh teased a smooth shapely leg that all but demanded the viewer fantasize about running their hand up the length of it. 

Suddenly it was very clear why Park Jimin wouldn’t let his sister venture into the corporate cesspool alone. 

Because the sight of you could make a man desperate. 

Betrayal—of all things—slowly crept over Taehyung as you descended toward him like some sort of angel floating down from the heavens. 

His mind went blank. Just watching the seductive shift of your hips as you swayed ever closer felt like a violation of his friendship with Jimin. He could feel the judgmental stares of an imaginary Bro-Code Council boring into him from on high. 

“I see you’ve recovered from your memorable tenure as the Aviary Society’s Master of Ceremonies.”

And just like that the brat was back. 

Taehyung breathed a hefty sigh of relief, secretly thrilled to be in familiar territory with you. 

“Naturally I was delighted to help Senator Mitchell’s wife. In fact, Mitchell’s office just fast tracked all my pending permit requests for the new year.” He tilted forward, coming into your space a bit. “I should really send you a thank you card.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you scowled, breezing past him like an indignant queen. 

Tae could practically see the steam pouring out of your ears. 

“Of course not,” he chuckled.

The first gala of the holiday season was an extravagant annual affair hosted by Min Corp., a Seoul based investment firm that commanded billions in assets. This year, the theme of the event was the Joseon Dynasty and the entire ballroom had been gloriously transformed into a stunning celebration of the Min family’s royal heritage. 

Attendees were gifted their own traditional fan, each uniquely crafted by artisans from Damyang. Taehyung’s was all black with bold silver calligraphy while yours was a beautiful bamboo and silk piece decorated with pomegranate trees. 

You had already whacked three people with it by the time dinner was served. 

“It really is a pity these fell out of fashion,” you lamented. “They’re quite useful.”

“You are deranged,” Taehyung mumbled, massaging his temples in exasperation. 

“Nonsense. I only fanned those who deserved it.”

“Harkins?”

“He was staring at my rack for a solid minute.”

Taehyung could hardly blame the man, it was a battle he himself was losing after all, but Harkins was twice your age and married—therefore his ogling was in especially poor taste. 

“Okay... What about Kang?” 

“He was verbally abusing one of the waitstaff.” 

“Alright, fair enough, but why on earth would you go after sweet old Mrs. O’Malley?”

“She was about to grab your ass.”

Taehyung’s mouth dropped open.

“She’s eighty-five!”

“And still kickin’ apparently.” You shook your head in disgust. “As if I’d whack an eighty-five year-old woman for anything less than non-consensual touching.”

“I- I- mean—surely you must be mistaken,” he coughed. 

“Oh, there’s no mistake. That nasty old crone is a serial offender. She likes to play it off as dementia, but she’s as sharp as a tack. Last year she got a whole handful of Jimin. Honestly, I’d call the police on her, but the commissioner is her grandson so I doubt I’d get very far.”

Taehyung turned to the woman in question just in time to see her totter lecherously toward Jung Hoseok, fingers already twitching in anticipation. 

“Is nothing sacred?” he mused hollowly. 

You shrugged. 

“Many people who accumulate as much as our families have start believing that they are entitled to whatever strikes their fancy.” Your eyes met his with a hint of bemusement. “Surely you should be used to this sort of thing by now?”

“Yes, but I was hardly expecting it from little old ladies!”

The remainder of dinner was a terse affair where you pretended he didn’t exist for the entire meal and he in turn pretended that the spunky young heiress seated to his right was the most darling creature to ever walk the earth. By dessert she was ready to get married and you were ready to vomit. 

Afterward, Taehyung found himself quickly converted to your views on fan usefulness as you began strolling through the crowd intent on strengthening your family’s corporate ties. 

“Kim Taehyung,” you ground out through clenched teeth, “how am I supposed to do business if you keep stabbing everyone I speak to!”

“I don’t know what you’re implying. I’m simply not used to carrying one of these. I may have accidentally grazed a few overzealous individuals—”

“My last three conversations have been rudely disrupted by the blunt end of that accused fan.”

Taehyung crossed his arms smugly. 

“And what of it? Jimin sent me along to keep an eye on you and the gentlemen in question were hardly behaving themselves. No one has to put their hand in my back or lean that close to me when they’re talking business.” 

“That’s because no one wants to get that close to you,” you replied sweetly. “You’re gross.” 

A devastating grin slid slowly over his features as he leaned forward to whisper in your ear. 

“I can think of several women who might disagree.”

He just barely caught the hitch in your breath before- 

“Like who? Miss Blushes-and-Giggles from dinner?”

“Jealous?” Taehyung drawled cockily. 

“Only in your dreams, Kim.” Then, with a deliberate flick of your fan, you turned your back to him. “I’m headed for the ladies room. Do yourself a favor and don’t follow me in.”

It was twenty minutes before Taehyung realized that you slipped out the back entrance of the restroom. 

It took another ten for him to locate you on the balcony flirting outrageously with Min Yoongi. 

The young heir of Min Corp. was just leaning closer to whisper sweet nothings in your ear when a black fan slid right in between the two of you. 

“Lovely weather we’re having,” Taehyung observed cheerfully. His eyes bounced between you and Yoongi with barely concealed fury and you let out a miserable groan. 

“Mr. Kim,” Yoongi cleared his throat significantly. “What an… unexpected surprise.”

Frustration clawed at your chest as your overbearing guardian nodded smugly in response. 

It was time to teach him—and Jimin—a lesson. 

“Yoongi,” you sighed, sliding your hand pointedly through the crook of his arm, “I’m not feeling at all well. Would you perhaps… escort me home?”

Taehyung suddenly looked as if he’d swallowed a live octopus. 

Yoongi grinned, clearly thrilled with the prospect of simultaneously spending more time with you and irritating Taehyung. 

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Jimin is gonna kill me,” Taehyung grumbled as he watched Min Yoongi help you into the passenger seat of his Aston Martin. 

An ugly green feeling he refused to identify twisted sharply in his gut when you smiled coyly at the other man. 

“This is ridiculous,” he snarled to no one in particular before yanking his phone out of his pocket. 

Jungkook picked up on the second ring. 

“Sir?”

“I need you to drive to Ms. Park’s apartment and tell me if she goes in alone or if Min Yoongi goes in with her.”

“You want me to what?!” 

“Just do it!” he snapped, downing an entire glass of champagne before signaling his own driver. 

Fifteen minutes later his phone vibrated from the car seat next to him. 

1 New Message from: Jungkook

Her building has four separate entrances. Which one do I watch? 

Taehyung could practically feel the vein pulsing in his forehead as he scrolled through his contacts. 

You picked up on the fourth ring. 

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

“Oh it’s you… Wait—how did you get this number?”

“Jimin. Obviously. Now please answer the question.”

“Oh a ‘please.’ Who knew you had manners?”

“Answer the question, Park. I’m tired.”

The distinct sound of a zipper unzipping carried through the speaker. 

“I’m at home, of course. Where else would I be? I just got here like a minute ago.”

He had a sudden vision of Min Yoongi helping you out of your dress. His grip on the phone tightened. 

“Are you alone?”

You snorted. 

“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”

Taehyung saw red. 

“I’m coming over.”

There was a loud crash and several colorful words in at least three different languages. 

“Wha- No! I’m trying to go to bed!”

“With who?!”

“With myself, you idiot!”

“Prove it!”

“Fine! I will!”

The line disconnected and Taehyung swore loudly. He was just about to direct the driver to your building when his phone went off again. 

1 New Message from: Park Gremlin 

He almost choked on his tongue. 

You were clearly in the middle of undressing and—in your irritation—probably hadn’t looked too carefully at the picture you sent.  

At first glance it was simply a shot of your empty room (presumably “proof” that you were alone) but you neglected to consider the floor-length mirror hanging in the far corner…

A mirror that showed you angrily holding up your phone with your gown pooled deliciously around your waist and the soft round swells of your breasts strapped into lacy red lingerie. 

You were exquisite. 

A fierce, hot sensation gripped him ruthlessly, and this time there was no mistaking it. 

Desire. 

Your phone lit up on the bed where you tossed it after snapping a photo for your tightly-wound man nanny. 

1 New Message from: Kim Grinch 

I didn’t know you liked Van Gogh. 

Your head tilted in confusion. 

There was a Van Gogh print in your room, but he couldn’t have seen it because it was behind you when-

Oh NO.

You gasped, scrolling back up to confirm what deep down you already knew to be true. 

… You just sent Kim Taehyung a topless mirror selfie. 

Several miles away, smiling smugly in the backseat of his town car, Taehyung was sure he could almost hear you screaming. 

“Good morning, sir. Which would you like first; the bad news or the worse news?”

Taehyung groaned from underneath his covers. 

“Don’t you ever knock? I could have a woman up here.”

“You’ve never brought a woman up here.”

“Is that the bad news?” Taehyung yawned. 

“No,” Jungkook tossed a small stack of newspapers and printed digital articles into his lap, “this is the bad news.”

Pictures of you, Min Yoongi, and even himself were splashed over the front pages of all of them. 

PARK ANGEL TRADES ONE CORPORATE HEIR FOR ANOTHER AT MIN GALA

WHO WILL WIN THE PARK ANGEL’S HEART? KIM TAEHYUNG OR MIN YOONGI? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS

NEW ROMANCE ALERT? PARK ANGEL LEAVES JOSEON BALL WITH MIN SCION 

“The Park Angel?” 

“That’s what the media calls her... The public is rather fascinated with her actually.”

“Can’t imagine why,” Taehyung mumbled. 

“Of course not, sir. It’s a great mystery.”

As usual, Taehyung chose to ignore his aide’s lethal snark and pressed on to the matter at hand. 

“This is a flaming disaster.”

“Oh I don’t know. I really appreciated the picture of you staring on forlornly while she and Yoongi climbed into the Aston Martin. Takes a real gift to capture all that drama in a single frame.”

“Which one was that?!” 

“It’s right under the MAN DOWN: PARK ANGEL LEAVES KIM TAEHYUNG HEARTBROKEN headline.”

Tae ran his hand down over his face in exasperation. 

“I’m surprised my mother hasn’t called.”

“She has. Twice.”

“I don’t suppose that’s the ‘worse news’ is it?”

“No.”

“Of course it isn’t. I’m never that lucky.” He collapsed backwards into his pillows with a beleaguered huff. “Go ahead then. Tell me.”

“Park Jimin is on the line for you right now.”

After a small eternity on the phone with Jimin (assuring him that NO Min Yoongi had not despoiled his precious sister and YES he would definitely do better next time), Taehyung was forced to attend an impromptu brunch with his mother. It took considerable effort, but he was eventually able to convince her that you were neither breaking his heart nor expecting his child. 

By the time he arrived to collect you for this evening’s event, Taehyung was already sick of hearing your name (he’d spoken it no less than three hundred times since Jungkook woke him this morning).

You were in much the same boat as Taehyung, having spent most of the afternoon pacifying Jimin and clearing up your own mother’s romantic delusions regarding the Min and Kim heirs respectively. 

Tonight’s gala was a Victorian Christmas Ball thrown by the National Literary Fund and the entire venue had been transformed into a Charles Dickens fever dream. 

Unlike the Min Gala (whose theme was guarded like a state secret every year) the Literary Fund’s tribute to A Christmas Carol was tradition and you were dressed accordingly in a custom corset gown with gorgeous detailing. 

Every second of effort it took to lace yourself into the monstrosity was worth the look on Taehyung’s face the moment you slipped off your cape. 

“Something wrong, Mr. Kim?”

Taehyung was desperately trying to look literally anywhere but your chest, where said corset was serving up your breasts like a debauched buffet. 

Jimin. Think of Jimin. Think of what Jimin will do to you. Think of how much trouble she’s caused-

He peeked again.

I would pay a million dollars to suck those tits. 

“Nothing at all,” his voice cracked. 

The itinerary for the evening included performances by a local children’s choir, a traditional waltz, and—of course—dinner.

You both managed to get along without snapping at each other during the choral performance, but as two of the largest donors to the Children’s Literacy Initiative, neither of you could escape being drawn into the waltz. 

The energetic socialite who Taehyung flirted with over dinner the previous night eventually lured him onto the floor while you graciously accepted an invitation from a lovely older gentleman who chaired the Fund’s event committee. 

For the first few movements, you were thoroughly enjoying yourself. Mr. Lee was charming, respectful, and still an excellent dancer despite his advanced age. It wasn’t until a familiar sound caught your attention that the lightness in your chest suddenly felt heavy...

Taehyung was laughing. 

You heard him do so many times over the years, and in each instance, the carefree magic of it never failed to make your heart flutter. 

But now he was smiling down at the pretty little heiress and laughing for her… and the flutter in your chest was accompanied by something else. 

Something that felt an awful lot like longing. 

“Does he know you look at him like that?” Mr. Lee asked quietly. 

Your eyes flew guiltily to his, but it was too late. The old man had caught a glimpse of the secret you buried deeply for more than a decade; so deeply, in fact, there were times you almost forgot it yourself...

Almost. 

“No,” you whispered, “he has no idea.” 

Disaster struck at dinner. 

Taehyung quite liked dancing with the lovely Miss Something-or-Other. She was sweet and funny and (unlike with you) he wasn’t constantly torn between agitation and raging inappropriate lust in her presence. 

The cold shoulder you offered him when he took his seat seemed even more frigid than usual and he spent half the meal wondering what he’d done to earn your amplified disdain when suddenly—

Your hand smacked down on his wrist, seizing it in a vise-like grip. 

Taehyung nearly choked on his steak and was about to give you a searing set-down over your spontaneous grabby-ness when he noticed your expression. 

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, leaning forward in concern. 

“I-I need—” 

It looked as if you were in some sort of physical pain and Taehyung was rapidly becoming worried. 

“I need your help,” you finally managed to whimper and the next thing he knew, you were dragging him away from the table and into one of the secluded alcoves near the main entrance hall. 

“Is there anyone around? Can anyone see us?” The look on your face bordered on unhinged. 

“No. There’s no one. Park, are you okay? What’s going on I—”

“I need you to unlace my dress,” you hissed frantically. 

At that moment, a bomb could have gone off and Taehyung wouldn’t have blinked. 

You, however, were completely preoccupied with your own distress and therefore oblivious to his. 

“My earring broke during dinner and fell down there and now it’s stabbing me—”

Your eyes were beginning to tear. Taehyung remained frozen, still trying to figure out whether or not this was a lucid dream. 

“—it’s definitely pierced the skin and there’s a possibility I’m gonna start bleeding through the fabric—”

The mention of blood snapped him out of his daze somewhat. 

“A-Alright. Just turn around—brace yourself on that wall.”

You quickly did as you were told and Taehyung began to tug fruitlessly at the ties cross-crossing your back.

“Why won’t this—”

His fingers fumbled over the knots, desperately trying to loosen them, but they simply wouldn’t budge. 

“I can’t—I can’t get it. Whoever helped you into this thing made sure you weren’t getting out of it.” 

You whined in frustration and the earring shifted a bit in response. 

There was only one other way to fix this (and you would almost rather be in pain). 

“Taehyung I—” you turned to face him again, forcing your eyes shut before reluctantly doing what had to be done “... I need you to reach down the front of my dress and get it.”

He blinked. Twice. 

“I’m sorry—What did you just—”

“Please, Tae,” you whispered desperately, letting your lip tremble in a way he had never been able to resist, “it hurts…”

He gulped. 

His eyes dropped to the matter at hand.

This is fine. Everything’s fine. She’s in pain, right? You’re basically a doctor right now. You’re just going slide your hand in between the most mouthwatering pair of breasts you’ve ever seen and then—

Taehyung’s manic inner monologue was interrupted by the sound of his own moan. He immediately faked a coughing fit to cover it and prayed you hadn’t noticed. 

(You hadn’t. You were actively being stabbed.) 

“I can’t believe I’m actually doing this,” he muttered, curling his fingers over the scalloped edge of the bodice. 

You bit your lip, desperately trying to hold back any reaction, but when his knuckle brushed the pebbled tip of your nipple, you gasped. 

Oh.

His hand stuttered, lingering a moment too long over the tight little peak as his gaze suddenly shot up to meet yours. Both of you had been studiously avoiding eye contact, yet now it was as if neither of you could look away. 

Taehyung wet his lips reflexively. 

“It’s too tight,” he whispered, “I need more leverage.” 

Then his arm wrapped over the curve of your lower back and he drew you tightly against him, anchoring your hips just enough to fully slip his hand between your body and the corset. 

You were so warm.

So soft...

“I can feel it,” he grunted, “but I can’t get a good grip on it.” 

His mouth pressed into a tight line as he leaned forward, bringing your back up against the wall. You let out a little squeak and his eyes darted briefly down to your mouth before he spoke again. 

“Hold on to me.”  

You nodded and wordlessly slid your arms around his waist.

If you concentrated hard enough, you could almost pretend that this wasn’t one of the most erotic moments of your life. 

You could almost pretend that it meant nothing. 

Your mind was spinning wildly, wondering what he was thinking, wondering if he noticed how strangely you were breathing or how hard your heart was beating...

“I’ve got it,” he murmured. Shivers shot down your spine at the dark timbre of his voice. 

He was so close. You could feel every word he spoke brushing softly against your skin. 

“On ‘three’ I’m going to pull it out… Are you ready?”

You drew in a final steadying breath. 

“Do it.”

He nodded. 

“One… Two… Three—”

Taehyung yanked his hand back and several things happened at once. 

Your breasts bounced almost entirely out of the corset. 

The decorative clasps on the front of your gown tangled with the buttons on his shirt and when he pulled back, three of them went flying off like stray bullets. 

And finally, the corset didn’t relinquish Taehyung’s hand quite quickly enough and, as a result, you toppled forward and crashed down on top of him, smashing your newly bare breasts to his newly bare chest. 

It could have been ten seconds or ten hours that passed by while the two of you lay there, breathing heavily in a pile of confused arousal when—

“... Is… everything alright here?”

You both looked up to find a thoroughly scandalized member of the waitstaff standing over you. 

Taehyung saw his life flash before his eyes—ending (of course) with Jimin murdering him for this. 

He gulped again. 

“I can explain.” 

It was decided—for the sake of appearances—that you would both leave the venue (immediately) in separate vehicles. 

Taehyung dropped a cool three hundred in crisp bills on the unfortunate waiter in order to help him ‘forget’ whatever he may or may not have seen. 

Neither of you spoke another word to each other in the ten minutes it took to bribe all the appropriate parties, gather your coats, and call for two separate town cars. 

Something had happened when he touched you; a subtle shift in the precarious balance of your relationship that you both felt keenly, but could not possibly begin to define. 

Taehyung barely even remembered climbing into the back of a vehicle. His body was firing on auto-pilot after the sensory overload of the last half hour. It wasn’t until he was nearly home that he realized he was still holding onto your earring. 

His mind began to wander as he examined the troublesome bauble in his palm. It was a striking piece; deceptively complex and unexpectedly beautiful. 

Just like you.

He told himself that the heat pooling low in his belly was anger—that the strange anxiousness to be near you was simply a desire for retribution—that it was merely platonic curiosity that left his hands aching to explore the rest of your curves. 

Lies.

… and pitifully transparent ones at that. 

Still, he clung to them desperately out of self-preservation. 

The gentle hum of his phone suddenly disturbed Taehyung’s silent contemplation. 

1 New Message from: Park Gremlin 

I made it home safely. 

Taehyung’s fingers were typing a reply before he could properly consider the consequence of his actions. 

To: Park Gremlin

I require proof… like last time. 

He nearly threw the phone the moment he sent it, running his hands down over his face in disbelief. 

You’re playing with fire, Kim Taehyung. 

And he was burning up already. He had no business sending you texts like that. Maybe you wouldn’t catch it. Maybe he could just-

The phone went off again and it was embarrassing how quickly he scrambled to open your response. 

His heart stuttered in his chest. His breathing ceased entirely-

And he knew—he knew—there was no coming back from this.

At first glance the photo was nearly identical to the shot you sent him last night. Same room, same angle… 

same mirror.

Yet this time, the reflection was quite different. 

The temptress in the glass wore nothing but that sinfully delicious corset and a pair of silky lace thigh highs, each accented with a green satin bow. 

He wanted to rip them off with his teeth. 

 “Oh Taehyung,” he whispered, as a dark wave primitive longing tore through him, “you are in so much trouble.”

Across town (buried beneath a pile of blankets) you were still struggling to process the boldness of your own actions when his response lit up your screen. 

1 New Message from: Kim Grinch

Green is my favorite color. 

“WHERE IS HE—”

Taehyung awoke to a series of crashes and shouts echoing from the floor below him. 

Jungkook was already seated in the corner of the room reading a newspaper. 

“Good morning, sir,” he said without looking up. “Would you like the bad news or the worse news?”

Suddenly the french doors of his bedroom slammed open and one very irate Park Jimin stormed through. 

“I swear I should have seen this coming. The two of you have always been obsessed with each other, but I never imagined—”

Taehyung’s eyes widened guiltily. He quickly schooled his features into a confused glare. 

“Jimin, I’ve only been awake for fifteen seconds. What the hell are you talking about?!”

Another stack of newspapers hit his lap and this time the pictures were mostly of him with his shirt ripped halfway down his chest. 

KIM HEIR AND PARK ANGEL CAUSE AN OLD-FASHIONED SCANDAL AT VICTORIAN BALL

FORGET MISTLETOE: KIM TAEHYUNG DISCOVERED UNDER THE PARK ANGEL AT CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

NAUGHTY NOEL? PARK ANGEL’S STEAMY AFFAIR WITH CORPORATE PRINCE 

PARK ANGEL TOPS KIM TAEHYUNG’S CHRISTMAS TREE

He winced a bit at that last one. 

“You have ten seconds to explain before I start throwing things.”

Taehyung opened his mouth to do just that, but he was interrupted when his mother marched into the room waving the same articles that Jimin had just thrown at him. 

“KIM TAEHYUNG I raised you better than this! How could you!? That poor girl!”

“Mother!” he squeaked, yanking his blanket up over his chest like a frightened debutante. 

Jungkook began surreptitiously filming the whole debacle from the corner. 

“Indeed,” Jimin added darkly, crossing his arms over his chest, “how could you?”

Taehyung sighed heavily. 

“Is anyone else going to come charging into my bedroom?”

“Just answer me once and for all, is she pregnant?” 

“WHAT?!” 

“NO! Mother! Oh my—”

“Why does your mom think my little sister is pregnant?!”

Taehyung waved his arms wildly in exasperation. 

“My mom thinks everyone is pregnant! You know this!”

Jungkook could no longer contain his hysterical cackling. He very nearly fell off the chair trying to hold it all in. 

“Mr. Jeon,” Taehyung ground out irritably, “if it’s not too much trouble, could you please escort everyone out of my bedroom so I can get dressed!” 

“So you see—I was basically like a doctor,” Taehyung finished emphatically. 

He spent the past twenty minutes explaining to the entire table (which now included both you and your mother) why it was necessary to shove his hand down the front of your dress. 

Park Soomin had shown up at his door looking for answers (and dragging you behind her like a sacrificial lamb) about three minutes after Jimin. 

You had taken one look at Jimin’s murderous expression and insisted that the situation be evaluated over breakfast at the cafe down the street (where there were lots of witnesses). 

Which was how you, Taehyung, Jimin, and both your mothers ended up discussing your cleavage over coffee in a public restaurant. 

Jimin was the first to break. It was a few snorts at first, but he was basically in tears by the end of it, wheezing about how he never doubted Taehyung for a second and holding on to his sides from laughing too hard. 

Taehyung’s gaze met yours for a brief, heated exchange. He conveniently forgot to mention your slightly-less-than-explainable ‘check-in’ texts, but their existence was palpable in the air between you. 

“I think I’ll take a walk,” you muttered, excusing yourself from the complicated atmosphere at the table. 

Taehyung’s eyes lingered on you a tad too long as you wandered away, a fact that wasn’t missed by either of your mothers.

“Just a few more events and you can go back to not seeing her at all,” Jimin chuckled, patting him on the back. 

“Yeah,” Taehyung answered with a tight smile. “That’s… great.”

The cafe had a lovely little balcony area decorated with all sorts of comforting Christmas foliage. It was far more inviting than the awkward conversation and confusing stares you and Taehyung had been trading all morning. 

For the first time in the nearly fifteen years of your relationship (such as it was) you didn’t know where you stood with him… and it bothered you more than you cared to admit. 

Taehyung had always been important to you, whether you wanted him to be or not. He mattered—effortlessly—from the first moment you met him and continued to do so without regard for your sanity. 

Whatever was building between you now would almost certainly bring change… though what kind of change was anyone’s guess. 

It was hard to imagine the years ahead without the strange excitement he always brought to your life, but some things were simply out of your control…

“I never thought I’d see you here.”

A profoundly unpleasant feeling (something similar to falling through the ice on a frozen pond) overtook you. 

“Milo.” Even saying his name felt gross. You sighed. “What is so strange about seeing me here?”

The man in question blushed in a way you once found irresistible. 

“I looked for you everywhere. All your usual places—”

“I avoided them.”

I avoided you. 

Milo nodded. 

“I—I figured.” 

He took a step closer and you instinctively moved back. The hurt in his eyes was unmistakable, but you had long since become immune. 

“What are you doing?” you hissed angrily. “I thought I made myself clear the last time we spoke.”

“Yes, but—” his hand reached out to curl over your forearm and you recoiled, “you didn’t give me a chance to explain—”

“Excuse me.” 

You both turned to see Kim Taehyung with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at Milo like he was a roach that crawled across his dinner plate. 

“Your mother sent me to come find you. She wants to leave.” 

You nodded and moved to pull away, but Milo’s grip tightened on your arm. 

“No—please if you just give me a minute—”

“That is enough,” Taehyung snarled, seizing the other man’s hand and forcibly removing it from your person. He angled his body between the two of you protectively. “I think it’s time for you to go.”

Milo’s eyes narrowed. 

“You’re Kim Taehyung. I read all about you in the papers this morning.” His lips twisted into an ugly sneer as he addressed you. “You really think you’re better off with him if that’s the way he treats you?”

Taehyung tensed menacingly beside you, but you laid a gentle hand on his arm to calm him. 

“None of that is any of your concern.” Your gaze rose to meet his defiantly. “Nothing about me is your concern anymore.”

Milo’s eyes fell to where your palm rested on the other man’s sleeve, noticing the way you both unconsciously leaned toward one another. 

“This isn’t over,” he muttered, storming off. 

After he was gone, you let out a breath you hadn’t known you were holding. 

“Thank you,” you whispered (though you couldn’t resist adding), “I could have handled it myself of course…”

Taehyung laughed. 

“Oh I know. I was at that party where you knocked out Tyler Jung for grabbing your ass.” 

You grinned. 

“I’d forgotten about that.”

“Well I’m sure Tyler hasn’t.” 

(He neglected to mention that he split Tyler’s lip behind the library the next day, just to make sure it was extra memorable for him.) 

“I wish I could forget about Milo.”

“... Are you still in love with him?” 

The words tasted like ash in his mouth. 

“No.” You smiled softly. “I’m not sure I was ever in love with him actually. It’s more—” you sighed, “—embarrassment… wounded pride.”

Taehyung tilted his head curiously and you found yourself continuing. 

“In the beginning, he was very playful and charming—and obviously handsome. He reminded me so much of—”

you. 

You cleared your throat. 

“Anyway… I was quite taken with him at first. I didn’t suspect any ulterior motives.” You shrugged, trying to hold back the unpleasant emotions that always threatened to overrun you in moments like this. “I just thought he liked me.”

Taehyung’s eyes filled with sympathy and understanding as you spoke. It felt oddly natural to open up to him this way. 

“Jimin is very protective of me—with good reason it turns out. He was suspicious of Milo and hired people to do some discreet digging.”

Your hands wrapped around your body for both warmth and comfort. 

“Milo’s family owns several companies, just like ours, but they’re all struggling. His father sent him to me hoping that he would eventually get compromising information… a sex tape or photographs—something of that nature. They intended to blackmail Jimin into doing business with them.”

Taehyung felt his jaw clench painfully. Fury, hot and profound, rolled through him. 

“I should kill him.”

You shook your head, amused in spite of yourself. 

“That’s exactly what Jimin said.”

“He has good instincts.”

“Scum like Milo aren’t worth it,” you chuckled. “He never got what he wanted… but I was still mortified. I felt like such a fool for believing him.”

“No,” Taehyung’s hands slid up to cup your shoulders, “it’s not foolish to believe that someone cared for you.”

It would be so easy to care for you. 

“Besides…” his eyes fell briefly to your lips as he searched for the right words, “I saw the way he looked at you and—even though he’s clearly a terrible person—I believe his feelings may have been genuine.”

You nodded. 

“That’s what he keeps trying to tell me—that he did have bad intentions, but ended up falling for me anyway.” You shook your head. “As If I could believe a word he says.”

The silence between you stretched comfortably. Taehyung sensed you had more to say, so he waited until you were ready to voice it. 

“I think that’s why I’m so sensitive about handling things on my own lately… and just now even. I want to prove to everyone—to myself—that I’m not a liability.”

“Hey,” he whispered, tipping your chin up till your gazes met, “no one thinks you’re a liability. And even if you are capable, no one should have to fight their own battles all the time—especially when they’re emotionally compromised…” His thumb gently brushed away the small tear that escaped down the curve of your cheek. “That’s the benefit of having people who care about you.”

“... Like you?” 

The words left you so softly, you could almost imagine they were still in your head where they likely should have stayed. 

Taehyung’s eyes widened in surprise. His gaze became even more intent and you ceased breathing altogether. After a moment his lips parted as if he was about to speak- 

“What’s going on, guys?”

You both jerked back at the sound of your brother’s voice. He was standing in the entrance to the balcony, gaze darting suspiciously between the two of you. 

Taehyung was a bit dazed, but you were always quicker on your feet. 

“I ran into Milo… Tae was calming me down.”

Jimin’s eyes hardened immediately. 

“Where is he?”

“Long gone,” you mumbled, ambling over to the familiar warmth of his arms. “I just want to go home.” 

The Black and White Ball was one of the most coveted invitations of the holiday season. 

The dress code was quite strict (all black or all white—no exceptions) and it was one of the few events where people actually arrived in limousines. 

Taehyung loathed limousines. He felt absurdly pretentious pulling up to your building in such a gauche ride, but traditions and appearances meant too much in his world to simply disregard them. 

His ensemble for the evening was a beautifully tailored black suit with hand-stitched baroque detailing. Oddly, he found himself wondering what you would think of it... 

“You look like a vampire.”

Taehyung turned at the sound of your voice and was struck, yet again, by how incredibly beautiful you were. 

You had chosen to wear white, donning an exquisite gown with delicate pearl beading and a daring sweetheart neckline that molded perfectly to your frame. 

If he looked like a vampire, you were surely an angel. 

Still…

Angel or not, he couldn’t let that comment pass. 

“I think I’m offended.”

“I can’t imagine why. After all, loads of women are attracted to Nosferatu.”

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed. 

“There are so many sexy vampires in popular culture, but you just had to lump me in with the creepy bald one...”

You shrugged playfully. 

“I wouldn’t want you to think I was going soft.”

A wicked grin danced over your lips as you strolled past him regally—just as you had many times before... 

This time, however, he let his eyes linger a little longer on the view. 

Lord have mercy. 

“Of course not,” he coughed. 

“You’re what?!”

You rolled your eyes.

Tonight had been going rather well. 

The two of you formed a mutual unspoken agreement to pretend that your last encounter on the balcony (and on the phone) had never happened and (despite the heated glances you occasionally traded) the bickering and playful banter characteristic of your relationship had all but returned to normal...

Until Taehyung learned of your participation in the evening’s main event. 

“I told you, I’m part of the date auction this year.”

“Does your brother know about this?!”

“I didn’t see any reason to bother him with it.” You were suddenly preoccupied with your nails. 

“Woman,” Taehyung sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “are you trying to make my life difficult?”

“No, I’m just naturally gifted in that respect.”

You turned and began making your way to the front, but Taehyung was hot on your heels and clearly not ready to let the matter rest. 

“I cannot believe you’re actually going through with this! It’s not 1810, you know. We shouldn’t just auction off women for dates—”

“You’re absolutely right, Tae Tae.” You brushed a condescending pat over his cheek. “Nowadays we auction off the men too.”

Then you sauntered off to join the rest of the participating women—and men—backstage, leaving Taehyung to stew about the entire situation from the crowd. 

“As you know, all proceeds from tonight’s auction go to fight childhood hunger right here in our city. For legal purposes, I must advise all bidders that you are only bidding on the company of the individual in question.”

Taehyung shook his head. “Jimin is probably going to kill me for this.”

“If you place the winning bid, then you and your date will receive two VIP tickets to the Governor's Winter Wonderland Gala which comes with a variety of amenities including; a luxury limousine service, one of the private and famously romantic Winter Wonderland dinner experiences—”

His eyes fluttered shut. “Jimin is definitely gonna kill me for this.” 

“—unlimited free drinks, ten complimentary tickets for each of the grand prize raffles, photos with the Governor and his family, along with many more surprises!”

Taehyung grabbed a champagne flute from a nearby waiter and downed it in one go. 

“And now for our first date of the evening! Mr. Jackson Wang!” 

Jackson went for a cool six grand because no one was brave enough to outbid his girlfriend. 

After him, the beautiful Manoban heiress and her handsome cousin Kim Namjoon went for twelve grand each.

Jung Hoseok started a frenzied bidding war between two young socialites and Mrs. O’Malley. He ended up going to the lovely Ms. Ana Fallon for a staggering twenty thousand dollars. 

Taehyung’s own cousin, Kim Seokjin, paid a jaw-dropping twenty-one thousand dollars for Lin Yuna, the young CEO of Lin Cosmetics. (Taehyung made a mental note to ask him about that later.) 

Then it was your turn. 

“The next lady on our list needs no introduction. The lovely Park Angel has graciously agreed to a date with one lucky bidder tonight! Who will it be? Do I hear ten thousand?”

“Ten thousand.”

Taehyung swung his head toward the first bidder and breathed a sigh of relief. 

Tam Martin, one of your best friends and very gay. 

“Eleven thousand.”

“Twelve thousand.”

“Fifteen.”

“Sixteen thousand dollars.”

“Seventeen thousand.”

“Eighteen.”

Taehyung was having trouble keeping up with all the bidders. His ears were starting to ring again and a strange unpleasant nausea was building in his stomach. 

“Twenty thousand.”

“Twenty-five thousand.”

“Thirty thousand!”

At the sound of the last bidder’s voice, you noticeably paled. Your eyes flew to Taehyung’s and immediately he knew exactly who it was. 

Milo.

Before he could even react to the new information, another voice joined the fray. 

“Forty thousand.”

Min Yoongi smiled smugly from the other side of the room and even had the audacity to throw you a wink. 

You smiled shyly at the young heir’s boldness and Taehyung felt something downright unholy rise up in his chest. 

No. 

Milo was still bidding. 

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

Not her. 

“Sixty,” Yoongi countered.

She’s mine. 

Suddenly Taehyung was on his feet. 

“One hundred thousand dollars!” 

The silence in the backseat of your limousine was deafening. 

Tension charged the air like an electric current as the significance of the last hour weighed heavily between you. 

The spacious luxury vehicle allowed you to sit facing one another. Taehyung’s eyes were focused on his hands, but you were looking at him—letting your mind run wild with speculation. 

And hope. 

Part of you was still there, on the stage, watching him stand up and bid a fortune for the pleasure of your company. 

His gaze was so fierce when he spoke, like an ancient emperor calling out his decree for the people to obey. 

You dreamed about him bidding on you when you signed up for the auction (even before Jimin bullied him into accompanying you). You let yourself imagine him speaking out again and again till the others stepped back—

Yet you never dared hope for it. 

However, the last several days marked an unexpected turning point in your relationship. 

For years, you and he were like magnets with a too-similar charge, but something had shifted irrevocably between you, and somehow your stubborn similarities became opposites that could not resist their attraction. 

Kim Taehyung was one of the wealthiest men in the city…

But he didn’t need to buy your heart. 

It had always been his, even if you didn’t want to admit it. 

He had claimed you tonight—and every single soul in that ballroom knew it. 

The next move was yours and you intended to make it. 

“Mmm,” you hissed a bit, bringing your hand to rest just below your breasts. 

Taehyung’s gaze flew up in concern. 

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, it’s just that scratch from the earring,” your fingers rubbed gingerly at the spot, drawing his focus to it, “it still stings.”

“Oh… I—” he shook his head, “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

“Do you want to see?” 

Taehyung’s eyes rose slowly to yours. 

You watched the subtle rise and fall of his chest as he considered your words. Anticipation vibrated through your blood like notes struck on a piano—

Then he nodded...

And you both were lost. 

Trembling fingers slid the zipper down the side of your gown. The dress itself was a marvel of physics designed to support you without the need for a bra. 

Taehyung drew in an impossibly deep breath as the fabric drifted to your waist, baring the perfect mounds of your breasts to him entirely. 

“Here,” you whispered, pointing to a small red mark just under the curve of your left one. 

He bit back a moan. 

“I—I see. That looks… painful.” His fingers dug into the seat beside him. “Is there anything I can do to help?” 

You nodded. 

“Kiss it better.”

Taehyung felt the air knock out of his lungs like a sucker punch. 

This must have been how Adam felt when Eve offered him the forbidden fruit all those millennia ago. 

He knew he shouldn’t—

but he could never deny you. 

“Of course.”

You watched as his tongue darted out to wet his lips. He looked like a man possessed and you reveled in the power of it. 

It was for you. 

He wanted you. 

Your back arched up the slightest bit, beckoning to him—offering him a taste of what he was so desperately craving. 

Touch me… please. 

Large palms landed on either side of your thighs, bracing him on the seat beneath you. The tip of his nose teased the delicate line of your collar bone and he swore violently under his breath. 

Then his lips were on your skin and your mind went blank. 

“Taehyung—“ you moaned. 

Hot open-mouthed kisses spread over the soft swell of your breast and you gasped— shuddering helplessly as a fierce wave of pleasure tore through you.

Sweet merciful heavens. 

Over the years you imagined a moment like this thousands of times in your head—only to discover now that you had pitifully underestimated both his passion and his skill. 

You had dreamed of a quiet fire—but he had unleashed an inferno. 

The lewd sounds of his mouth nipping and sucking at your tender flesh filled the small space around you as he poured himself into each obscene contact—stopping briefly to flick his tongue over the taunt peak of your nipple. You trembled breathlessly at the sharp snap of sensation, letting your head fall back against the seat as you buried your fingers in his soft curls. 

“T-Tae—”

Finally his mouth fastened over the tiny scratch, and the kiss deepened. You knew what he was doing, what the result of his efforts would be—

He was marking you. 

And you wanted it. 

Oh how you wanted it. 

Suddenly the car took a sharp turn, causing Taehyung to lose his grip on the seat. His arms wrapped around your torso for balance, dragging you fully against him.

“Does it feel better, Angel?” he growled. 

You nodded frantically and he nipped at the underside of your breast. 

“Speak up.”  

“Yes, Taehyung,” you whimpered, “it feels so much better.” 

“Mmmm,” he hummed, brushing his mouth along the sensitive column of your neck. “Who knew you could be such a good girl?”

Then his hand came up to grip your chin, turning it so your lips were almost against his—

“Madame. We’ve arrived.”

The driver’s voice cut over your senses like a shard of ice. 

Taehyung jerked backward and immediately buried his face in his hands. 

Your fingers hastily yanked your dress up and you stumbled out of the car in a daze, letting your feet carry you forward until you collapsed on top of your bed. 

Did we just...

You hadn’t even begun to collect your thoughts when your phone buzzed from inside your purse. 

1 New Message from: Taehyung 🙄🥴🙈

I need to know you made it safely to your room. 

You grinned. 

Greedy boy. 

Back in the limousine, the boy in question was nervously tapping the corner of his phone against his chin as he waited for your reply. 

1 New Message from: Angel 🤬🥵😅

Oh? But you saw me walk in… and I’m already in bed.

Taehyung growled in frustration. 

She would be a tease. 

To: Angel 🤬🥵😅

I tend to worry. Put my mind at ease. 

He shook his head. 

I have officially gone insane. 

The phone buzzed again. 

1 New Message from: Angel 🤬🥵😅

Well… We can’t have that can we… 

Taehyung literally felt the whine tear out of him as he opened the picture. 

Your gorgeous body (the body he’d had his hands and mouth on for one glorious minute) was nestled decadently atop a pile of fluffy blue blankets and wrapped in nothing but a tiny silk robe. 

The neck gaped open just enough to show off the pretty red marks he left on the delectable curve of your breast. 

He groaned, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

To: Angel 🤬🥵😅

That's all I get after I made the pain go away? Good girls send real proof, Angel

The screen lit up again almost immediately. 

1 New Message from: Angel 🤬🥵😅

Guess I’m not such a good girl after all...

Jimin came tearing through the Kim Manor front gate at precisely 7 AM—only to find Jungkook camped out at the entrance with several outdoor space heaters and a giant mug of hot chocolate.

“He told you not to let me in, didn’t he?”

Jungkook took a long satisfying sip of his cocoa. 

“I hope you don’t feel singled out, sir. I’m not allowed to let his mother in either.”

“I need to talk to him.”

“Of course, Mr. Park, let me just pull up his schedule—”

“I need to talk to him now.”

“I’m afraid Mr. Kim is booked solid for the morning.”

Jimin stomped his foot like a petulant child. 

“I know he’s up there.”

Jungkook grinned. 

“You’re welcome to climb the trellis and check. I promise not to stop you if you make it all the way up.”

“COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME YOU COWARD!” Jimin shouted at the top of his lungs. 

Jungkook took another long pull of his drink. 

“Might I inquire as to the reason for your visit today, sir?”

“The reason for my visit,” Jimin yanked out his phone and angrily began typing into the search bar, “is that your boss paid ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS for my sister at a date auction last night and I want to know what the hell is going on between them!”

The article Jimin pulled up (DEVILISH KIM TAEHYUNG BUYS HIMSELF A $100,000 ANGEL) featured an image of the two of you entering the Black and White Ball. Your head was thrown back in laughter and Taehyung was grinning down at you as if you’d personally hung all the stars in the sky for him. 

A genuine smile crept over Jungkook’s face as he studied the photograph. 

“That’s quite a headline.” He handed Jimin’s phone back. “Have you asked your sister about it?”

“No, I swung by earlier, but she wasn’t home so—” His eyes widened. “Oh my—is she—”

Jimin suddenly took off running for the trellis, and Jungkook scrambled out of his chair to chase him. 

“KIM TAEHYUNG IF MY SISTER IS IN THAT ROOM—”

He was already three feet off the ground when Jungkook yanked him back. 

“I thought you said I could climb the trellis!”

“Yes,” Jungkook wheezed, “but I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” That trellis is a hundred years old! A few more feet and I’d be scraping you off the antique brickwork!”

Jimin scowled and crossed his arms. 

“Are you by any chance open to bribes?”

“Normally yes, but Tae promised to double my Christmas bonus if I didn’t accept them today.”

Jimin continued to eye the trellis speculatively, clearly willing to take his chances. Jungkook sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

“Mr. Park, I promise you… He came home alone last night. In fact, they both returned earlier than usual because your sister had a 7 AM finance meeting.” He paused significantly to glance at his watch. “Which is probably where she is right now.”

“Oh… Well.”

Jungkook bit his lip to hold back a snort and Jimin’s eyes narrowed. 

“He has to come down eventually.”

“One would think.”

The young Park heir glanced toward Taehyung’s window again just in time to see the man in question dart back behind the curtains. 

"I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE, KIM TAEHYUNG, YOU PHILANDERING SLEAZE BAG!" 

Jimin made another jump for the trellis and this time Jungkook caught him in mid-air. 

“Sir, I’m sure it was just the maid!”

“It’s not the maid! I’d know that raggedy mop of his anywhere!”

Jungkook was out of breath at this point. Park Jimin might be small, but he was fierce. 

“Perhaps it’s best if you took a moment to collect yourself,” he grunted. “There’s a lovely new spa down the street and they sent Taehyung two free deluxe packages.”

Jimin stopped struggling. 

“Oh?”

Five minutes later, Jungkook sighed deeply and fished his phone out of his back pocket. 

“He’s gone, sir.”

“Excellent work, Jungkook. I never doubted you for a second.”

“However…”

“... However?”

“I had to give him your spa passes.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

“Are you headed for a gala or the guillotine?”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t pay extra for commentary.”

“It’s complimentary, sir.”

The Kim heir tugged absently at the material of his absurdly expensive evening wear. 

Why do these events always have to be so uncomfortable? 

“Seriously, Tae… you seem,” the young aide searched for the right words, “unusually tense.”

Taehyung’s mind flashed back to three nights ago when he had his mouth wrapped around your breast. 

“Not at all,” he coughed, loosening the collar of his shirt. 

Jungkook bit his lip.

“Is this about Ms. Park, sir?”

The cufflinks Taehyung was attempting to fasten suddenly went flying across the room and hit a lamp. 

Both men winced. 

“I think that was your grandmother’s.”

Taehyung sighed. 

“I admit there have been… some developments.”

Jungkook nodded nonchalantly, trying to disguise the fact that he was internally frothing at the mouth for details. 

“... Such as?”

Taehyung gulped. 

“It started out rather innocently I suppose…” he cleared his throat, “but there may have been some suggestive photographs.”

“There may have been? Are you not sure?”

Taehyung colored guiltily. 

“Well—”

“Do you need me to check for you, sir? I have an art history degree.”

“Absolutely not.”

Jungkook grinned. 

“That’s what I thought.”

Taehyung yanked his tie out of the younger man’s hand. 

“Things have… escalated a bit.”

“Escalated how?”

I licked her tit in the back of a limo.

“Physically.”

It was everything Jungkook could do to maintain a straight face. 

“That’s… shocking.”

“Then why don’t you seem shocked?” Taehyung grumbled. 

A small smile played across Jungkook’s lips as he pointedly ignored the elder man’s observation.

“So what are you going to do, sir?”

Taehyung was silent for a long moment. 

“I honestly have no idea.”

Watching you walk toward him was an experience.  

Taehyung wondered absently if this was how it would be from now on; if for the rest of his life just the sight of you would be enough to scatter his mind and his pulse and even the way he breathed. 

Your dress tonight was deadly. 

It was a decadent red satin halter that clung to every curve. The truly wicked detail, however, was a daring slit that ran the entire length of your leg. 

Taehyung was certain he was going to trip over his own tongue at some point if he looked directly at you for too long. 

Oh help. 

Memories of your previous encounter flooded his senses. Every second you were getting closer and he didn’t know what to do—what to say. 

So he didn’t say anything at all. 

Not a word when you reached the bottom of the stairs. Nothing but silence as he opened the door of the limo for you. More silence and no eye contact as he settled into the seat across from yours—

And you tolerated that for about three minutes. 

“I never thought I’d see the day when Kim Taehyung didn’t have a comment about something. Perhaps I should mark this down on my calendar.”

The words were lightly spoken, but you were shaking on the inside. The last time the two of you were alone together he had your dress around your waist and you were moaning his name. Now he wasn’t talking and you were torn between panic and irritation. 

Taehyung, however, latched onto your passive barb like a lifeline. 

“Is that a hint of sarcasm I hear from the benevolent Park Angel?” He grinned. “Surely not.”

“Red is not a particularly angelic color. Perhaps I’m feeling feisty today.”

Taehyung leaned back in his seat and indulged himself in a thorough examination of your outfit. The urge to run his hands over the satin-covered lines of your body was nearly unbearable. He curled his fingers into fists to keep them from doing just that. 

She is definitely trying to kill me. 

“Should I be worried?”

Now it was your turn to grin. 

“I guess we’ll find out.”

The Governor’s Winter Wonderland Gala was by far the most extravagant event of the holiday season. Tickets cost a small fortune and sold out almost immediately. 

But it was well worth the price of admission.

Thousands of lights sparkled overhead as you made your way through the great hall of Governor Kim’s mansion. 

It was like stepping into a fairytale. 

Taehyung couldn’t take his eyes off you. The sheer wonder in your expression was breathtaking. 

You were breathtaking.  

“Governor Kim, it is such an honor to finally meet you.”

The Governor was a handsome man in his early fifties with a smile that was every bit as lethal as it had been twenty-five years ago. 

“The honor is all mine, Ms. Park. I trust my nephew is treating you well.”

Your eyes widened. 

“N-nephew?”

Taehyung shrugged. 

“I don’t really talk about it much.” 

The Governor chuckled and you cleared your throat to cover your nervousness. 

“Yes, he’s been a very capable escort.”

“Is that so?” Governor Kim smiled charmingly. “Well if it doesn’t work out, my son Seokjin is still single—”

“Thank you, Uncle. It was lovely to see you as always.”

You squeaked as Taehyung placed his hand firmly on the curve of your back and practically dragged you away. 

The Governor just shook his head and laughed. 

“Oh kid, you’ve got it bad.”

Everywhere you looked there was beauty. 

Whoever planned the gala this year had truly gone above and beyond. Surrounded on all sides by glittering trees and snowy vignettes, it was easy to be swept away in the festive magic of the evening. 

All in all (despite some initial awkwardness), you were having a fantastic time...

Until she showed up. 

“Kim Taehyung! Is that you?”

Every single hair on your body stood on end, but before you could determine the source of the shrill squealing, you found yourself being nudged aside by a blinding golden gown and some very high heels. 

“Aubrey,” Taehyung grunted as five-and-half feet of gorgeous wrapped herself around him like a clinging vine. “Long time no see.”

“Not since that vacation in Aspen,” she giggled. “We had quite a time, didn’t we Tae Tae!”

Suddenly you had the most unholy urge to slap the spray tan right off this woman. 

Instead, you plastered on a vibrant smile and placed your hand on Taehyung’s sleeve.

“Um. Excuse me, Tae Tae, perhaps you could introduce us?”

Taehyung looked as if he’d just been served raw fire ants for dinner. 

“Yes. Of course. This is—”

“Aubrey Alicia St. Valentine,” she interrupted with a smug little smirk. “Taehyung and I go way back.” Her expression grew just the slightest bit tighter. “And you are?”

“His date,” you deadpanned. 

“Aubrey,” Taehyung cleared his throat, “I’d like you to meet Ms. Park she’s—”

“Oh my goodness! You’re Jimin’s little sister aren't you!” Aubrey slapped her hand over his chest and he winced. “That is so precious of you to take her around like this!”

Your eyebrows raised right up into your hairline and Taehyung groaned. 

“Yes, he was kind enough to sign me out of the nursery for the evening.” You offered them both a painfully vacant nod. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I see one of my play-dates near the buffet.”

Then you turned on your heel and sauntered off without another word. 

Taehyung moved to follow you, but Aubrey curled her fingers into the crook of his arm and pulled him back. 

“Oh let her go, Tae. You and I have so much catching up to do.”

Taehyung pointedly removed her hand from his elbow. 

“Some other time perhaps.” 

Aubrey pouted prettily. 

“You’re not running off after her are you? She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.”

Taehyung crossed his arms and fixed her with a knowing look. 

“Funny... that’s not what you were implying a moment ago.”

“A moment ago I didn’t have you all to myself. Now I do.” She had the decency to blush. “Perhaps I got a bit jealous.”

“You don’t say.” His eyes continued to search the crowd for any sign of you. 

“It seems I had good reason to be,” she murmured quietly. 

“Aubrey... Listen I—”

She cut him off with a finger to his lips.

“Don’t bother Tae Tae. I’m petty, but I’ve never been pathetic.”

He grinned. 

“Never.”

The lady sighed and gave him a heated once over.

“What a shame.”

Then she strolled off with a rueful smile. 

“You know what I don’t understand?”

You turn to find Min Yoongi leaning casually against a nearby column. He looked absurdly handsome as always, but his grin was just the slightest bit mischievous. 

“What don’t you understand, Mr. Min?”

The question was clearly a bait, but you were still fuming from your earlier encounter with Ms. St. Valentine and therefore desperately in need of a distraction. 

Yoongi pushed off the column and lazily made his way toward you.

“I don’t understand how a man pays a hundred thousand dollars for an evening with the most beautiful woman in the city, and then leaves her all by herself.” He leaned forward with a playful grin. “Perhaps you could enlighten me?”

Oh he’s good. 

You made a show of tapping your chin thoughtfully. 

“I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for that one.”

Yoongi sighed and shook his head. 

“Couldn’t be me.”

You laughed then. He really was a delightful man. In fact, if you still had your heart, you might have considered letting him take a shot at it. 

Alas. 

You tilted your head speculatively. 

Surely there was no need to brush away good company...

After all, no one else is interested in spending time with me. 

“Since my escort is otherwise occupied, perhaps you could join me for dinner?”

Yoongi held out his hand. 

“I’d be delighted.”

Taehyung wandered around the mansion for nearly forty-five minutes looking for his date.  

Panic was just starting to build in his chest when he finally spotted you

—at his private dining table with Min Yoongi. 

It was everything he could do not to storm over and yank the other man out of his seat by the lapels. 

Alright, Angel. If this is the game you want to play… then let’s play. 

Taehyung felt his anger rise with every step, but he ruthlessly suppressed any sign of it and instead adopted a charming smile. 

“Min, I didn’t expect to find you here. What a… delightful surprise.”

Yoongi’s expression was just a shade too satisfied. Taehyung could already feel his blood pressure beginning to skyrocket. 

“Yes, Ms. Park believed that you were otherwise occupied and invited me to share the meal with her.”

“I see,” Taehyung practically snarled. “However,” his gaze landed heavily on you, “since I paid for this table, I hope you won’t mind if I join you as well?”

You avoided looking at him up to this point, but now you were choking on your wine

“Easy there, Angel,” Taehyung murmured as he pulled up a seat extremely close to yours—so close that your thighs were nearly touching. 

Oh boy. 

Over the next several minutes Yoongi continued to flirt openly and you continued to smile prettily and pretend Taehyung wasn’t there (which naturally infuriated him). 

You should have known he wouldn’t let you get away with such behavior so easily. 

This was Kim Taehyung, after all, and if there was anything that could be counted on when it came to your shared history, it was that one (or both) of you was always ready to escalate. 

You had just offered the young Min heir yet another flowery compliment when you felt Taehyung make his move. 

Two warm fingers slid under the silken slit of your dress, coming to rest possessively over the soft flesh of your inner thigh. 

You squeaked and nearly spat up your drink. 

Taehyung leaned forward in fake concern, wrapping his arm around you as if to offer aid. 

“Are you alright?”

His hand continued to move significantly beneath your gown, but his face was the picture of innocence. 

You glared. 

“Just fine, thank you.”

A slow grin crept across his features as he began to trace soft intimate patterns over your skin.  

On the other side of the table, Yoongi tilted his head in genuine solicitude. “Are you sure?”

You nodded sharply. 

Satisfied, he resumed speaking about whatever it was he’d been saying—though you couldn’t understand a word of it at this point because the torturous strokes Taehyung was leisurely drawing over your thighs were moving closer to your center with each passing second. 

Yet you made no move to stop him. 

You should have. 

You should have slapped his touch away—rebuked him for his boldness—

But you didn’t. 

So he just kept nodding and smiling while Yoongi spoke, even as his fingers teased you with the maddening persistence of a man who knew very well what he was doing. 

You gasped aloud when he finally brushed the pad of his thumb over the thin cotton of your panties. 

“T-Taehyung—” 

“Hmm?” he turned to you, seemingly surprised by your attention (it was—after all—the first time you’d addressed him since the beginning of the meal).

“Could you pass me the salt,” you sputtered (hoping to cover the fact that you moaned his name involuntarily). Unfortunately, Taehyung seemed wholly aware of your ruse, offering you the salt shaker with a superior smirk.

You seriously considered stabbing him with a fork. 

However, before you could carry out any bloodthirsty plans, he pressed his fingers directly over your clit and your eyes rolled back in your head

“Oh my g—” you bit your lip stubbornly, “this lamb is just so good.” 

Sweet mother of macaroons, he is too skilled at this. 

You shoveled another bite into your mouth to cover your whine as Taehyung began to rub tight little circles over your sweet spot. 

Across the table, Yoongi nodded in blissful unawareness. 

“Yes, I agree, the lamb is excellent—very tender.”

Taehyung took advantage of the momentary distraction to slip beneath the fabric of your undergarment. 

Your fork clattered to your plate and your hand came up to cover your mouth as he began running his fingers up and down your soaked slit.

It was everything you could do to hold back your depraved whimpering. 

“I can’t wait to taste it,” Taehyung replied, flicking your clit in a way that guaranteed he wasn’t referring to the lamb. 

At this point Yoongi seemed to notice you were in some sort of distress. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and leaned forward. 

“Ms. Park, are you well?”

Taehyung chose that moment to sink his finger into the welcoming heat of your pussy. 

“Yes,” you almost sobbed, “I’m-I’m very well—thank you.”

“Excellent,” Yoongi smiled as he rose to his feet. “If you’re feeling up to it, perhaps you could favor me with a dance?”

Several attendees were already making their way to the center of the floor and the orchestra was beginning to play.

Your entire body, however, was vibrating like a plucked harp string and Taehyung was still brushing back and forth against your clit, driving you toward a release that promised to be explosive. 

There was no way—simply no way—that you would be capable of hiding it. 

“Yes! I would love to dance with you,” you squeaked, grabbing hold of Taehyung’s wrist frantically. The feel of him pulling out of your sopping core was nearly enough to have you coming right there. 

Thankfully, Yoongi remained utterly oblivious to the debauchery unfolding beneath the table. He took your hand and helped you to your feet with an eager smile (and it was a good thing too because your legs were still shaking). 

When the two of you reached the dance floor, you turned back for the briefest instant—

just long enough to meet Taehyung’s heated gaze as his lips closed over the finger he buried in your cunt. 

Emotions were a funny thing. 

They impacted your judgement, affected your body, altered your behavior… 

And occasionally eroded your common sense. 

Sitting alone in the corner of the Governor’s ballroom, Kim Taehyung found himself experiencing a full spectrum of emotional side-effects. 

His hands clenched as he watched Min Yoongi spin you around the floor. 

His heart pounded every time he caught a flash of your shapely leg peeking through the slit in your gown. 

His blood boiled when you threw your head back and laughed at something the other man said. 

It was difficult to pinpoint which emotion was to blame for each of these reactions. There were certainly a number of them boiling over in his subconscious. 

Frustration—

I didn’t even want to talk to Aubrey! How are you acting like anything she said was my fault?!

Rage—  

Why is challenging people to duels illegal? I would fight Min Yoongi at dawn. I would fight Min Yoongi now. 

Jealousy—

You asked her to dance while my fingers were in her pussy. We are not the same. 

But perhaps the most persistent—the most overwhelming— emotion twisting through him was longing. 

You and Taehyung spent nearly four years apart, and he was so desperate to be near you—even then—that he resorted to childish pranks in order to remain a part of your life. 

He hadn’t recognized his actions or desires for what they were. He hadn’t realized what you meant to him...

But now, after spending the last several days with your hand on his arm and your laughter in his ear, he could no longer imagine spending another moment without you. 

Everything seemed to crystallize as he watched you laughing and dancing in the arms of another man. 

Uncertainty became clear. Complications became simple. 

And when he saw Min Yoongi’s hand slide dangerously close to the perfect swell of your backside—

Emotion became action.

“Mind if I cut in?”

It wasn’t a question really. Taehyung was already shouldering his rival out of the way and pulling you into his arms. 

“Taehyung,” you hissed, shooting the bewildered Yoongi an apologetic look over his shoulder, “what are you doing? This is so rude—”

“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed, sweeping you through the couples on the floor with practiced ease. “It is unpardonably rude to steal someone else’s date. He’s lucky all I did was steal you back.”

Your mouth dropped open. 

“Oh? So you finally remembered that I was your date?”

Taehyung’s grip on the curve of your waist became a shade rougher as he pulled you through the next turn. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means—” you stepped forward vigorously, nearly smashing your body into his, “—that you spent forty-five minutes with Aubrey Alicia St. Valentine when you were supposed to be having dinner with me!”

Taehyung growled and yanked you flush against him. 

“I spent forty-five minutes looking for you while you were giving away my table to Min Yoongi!”

The two of you sailed through the next several movements glaring at one another before you snapped again. 

“None of this would have happened if you had just told Aubrey St. Spray Tan that you were with me—”

“I did!”

“Instead, you let her call me a baby!”

“What let? Aubrey is a grown woman!”

“But—”

“And—you stormed off before I could say anything, so how would you know what I let?”

“You didn’t come after me!”

“Yes actually I did—but she grabbed my arm!”

“Really? Well what else did she grab?”

Taehyung abruptly realized how silent everything around you had become. 

People were staring—and not even discreetly— just full on staring with their mouths hanging open. 

Well that’s great. 

Taehyung’s hand closed around yours and you suddenly found yourself being marched across the dance floor at a breakneck pace.

“What are you doing?”

“Continuing this discussion in private.”

“We can’t just go somewhere private in the Governor’s mansion!” you sputtered, struggling to keep up with his larger strides. 

“You mean in my uncle’s house? Yes—actually we can—and we will.”

Taehyung proved to be a man of his word, dragging you past two security guards and into the roped off section of the manor with nothing more than a nod. 

The residential wing of the Governor’s home was beautifully decorated with traditional Korean artistic touches—all of which you were unable to appreciate while Taehyung was speed walking you through the halls. 

After a surprising amount of turns and archways, he yanked open an ornate wooden door with the words Reflection Suite written on a plaque above it in beautiful calligraphy. 

You almost giggled when you got a look inside. 

On the surface it was a tastefully furnished guest room with a simple cherry wood desk and a cozy double bed set in an elegant matching frame.

However—

The ceiling and one full wall were nothing but massive mirrors. 

Reflection suite indeed. 

The door slammed shut and Taehyung rounded on you with a stormy expression—though you weren’t waiting on him to fire the first volley.

“This is definitely going to get us in trouble.”

“I told you, I can go wherever I want in this house. It’s fine.”

“Then why did you take us here?”

“Because you were shouting—”

“I was shouting?! You were shouting I just—”

Suddenly your back was against the wall and Taehyung’s mouth was on yours. 

He hadn’t brought you here for this. When he grabbed your hand, he was only trying to get away from the crowds. He told himself that he needed privacy so you could talk—so he could clarify things. 

But the minute the door closed and you flared up again in all your magnificent rage, he was lost. 

He had to kiss you then. 

You were so lovely. So fierce. So wildly irresistible and he was too utterly smitten to fight the need to be near you—to be with you in every way that he could—for a single second more. 

The shock of Kim Taehyung pressing his lips to yours lasted about two full seconds—and then there was nothing but ravenous insatiable need. 

Finally. 

Everything was him. 

Everything was this—this sweet indescribable ignition of a desire that spanned years. You moaned eagerly against his mouth in wanton delight. After a decade of sparks, you were more than ready to burn. 

“Taehyung—”

His name poured out of you like a prayer. You needed him everywhere and miraculously he seemed to understand—

Not that he was prepared to be polite about it. 

“Where’s that smart mouth now, Angel?” he growled, tangling his hands in your hair to expose the tender column of your throat. “Nothing to say?”

Your only answer was a desperate whine as he spread hot-open mouthed kisses down the soft skin of your neck all the way to your collarbone.

Now was not the time for patience. He would be tender with you later. You absolutely deserved soft sweet caresses and slow leisurely love making and he was absolutely going to give them to you—every day if you’d let him. 

But not today. 

The minute his mouth encountered the barrier of your dress, he gripped onto the sides and yanked it down to your waist.

“You knew just what you were doing in the back of that limo, you little brat,” he hissed, taking one swollen nipple into his mouth and tormenting it with his tongue.

“Tae-ahhh!” Your back arched involuntarily in ruthless pleasure. 

“I spent hours—days even—wanting to get my hands on these perfect tits.” He licked the other nipple obscenely, squeezing the soft mound till it bulged through his fingers. “And you offered me the barest taste with that coy little grin, knowing it wouldn’t be enough—” 

He reared back and landed a firm slap on both breasts and you screamed.

It was so so good. 

“Look at them now,” he murmured, “so swollen and needy and mine.”

If any other man had said those words, you would have cut his heart out with a butter knife. 

But you had always belonged to this man body and soul, and to hear him acknowledge it so primitively felt like the sweetest vindication. 

“Yes!” you sobbed.

The affirmation only inflamed him further. He teased and fondled the tender flesh till you were shaking.

Your fingers curled into the soft waves of his hair as he indulged himself. He looked so ridiculously good sucking your nipple, moaning lewdly with his eyes pressed shut in cathartic bliss. 

“This is all your fault, Angel,” he groaned. “You just don’t know how to behave.”

His hands gripped the curve of your backside, lifting you right off the floor and into his arms. Your mouths fused together heatedly as he carried you to the bed, and you giggled against him when his words finally processed. 

“You’ve been saying that for years.” 

“It’s been true for years,” he muttered, pulling one of your legs up around him so he could grind against your cunt while you kissed. 

Your fingers tugged at the buttons of his shirt, tearing them off when they didn’t unhook fast enough. You waited too long to be with him like this to care about anything other than the feel of his skin against your own.

“Impatient, are we?” he chuckled, bringing his lips around to nip at your ear. 

“You’re one to talk,” you shot back, yanking the ruined garment right off his shoulder just so you could sink your teeth into it. 

Taehyung moaned loudly, snapping his hips against yours with an involuntary jerk.

“You really are such a brat,” he hissed, fisting his hands in the satin length of your skirt. “Let’s see how fierce you are with my tongue in your pussy—”

His words were so filthy and raw, yet they stoked a frenzied need in your belly like nothing you had ever encountered. 

“This dress is evil,” he snarled, fumbling with the zipper for a moment before switching to a more destructive tactic. “It has tormented me all night and now it’s in my way.”

The stitching proved no match for his resolve, and—after a few vigorous tugs—he ripped it apart from the slit on up, leaving you covered in nothing but the thin cotton underwear he had breached earlier that evening. 

After disposing of your shredded gown, Taehyung paused for a moment just to take in the sight of you. 

“What a perfect little angel,” he taunted playfully, snapping the band of your lingerie against your hips with a cocky grin. 

Then he brushed his nose right up against the sopping fabric and inhaled deeply. “You smell just like heaven,” he growled before licking you right through the cloth, “and you taste even better.”

The sensations twisting through your body were merciless. You needed more or you were going to shake apart. 

“Taehyung please,” you whined, pressing against him shamelessly.

“Oh a please?” he chuckled, throwing your own words from the first night back at you. “Who knew you had manners?”

You would have screamed in frustration, but he cut you off with an open mouthed kiss right over the wettest part of your panties.

“Perhaps I can make a good girl of you yet,” he chuckled, as you opened yourself wider to encourage him. 

You nodded frantically, letting out another moan when he yanked the flimsy little scrap of lace down your legs—smearing a line of arousal over your thighs.

“So messy,” he tsked, tapping his finger right above your knee where the naughty little streak ended. “What am I going to do with you?” 

Then he pressed his tongue over the shiny trail of slick and licked it right off. 

You gasped loudly and his lascivious smirk was almost beautiful enough to make up for all of the shameless teasing. 

Almost. 

"You want my mouth, pretty Angel?” he whispered, letting the words brush maddeningly against your folds. “You want me to feed on this sweet little cunt?”

Every cell in your body cried out for release. He already edged you under the table at dinner and now he was determined to unravel you entirely. You would say anything—do anything. 

"Please—" you whispered.

"Please who?" 

Normally you met his arrogance with a cutting riposte, but an entire evening of methodical torment had left you beyond desperate. 

"Please Taehyung,” you begged needily. 

He grinned. 

“That’s right, Angel. Kim Taehyung. Not Min Yoongi or any other pathetic trust fund prick that’s panting for a taste of this pussy.” His eyes fastened on yours significantly. “You belong to me.”

Then his tongue licked a flat stripe over your glistening slit and you sagged onto the bed in relief—only to be thrown back into oblivion when his lips closed over your clit. 

Your body arched involuntarily as a ruthless wave of pleasure tore through you. Your eyes and mouth flew open in a silent scream and it was in that moment you remembered exactly where you were. 

Underneath a giant mirror. 

The passionate woman staring down at you was nearly unrecognizable. Her body was littered with her lover’s marks. Her hands gripped feverishly into the sheets beneath her—-

And Kim Taehyung was kneeling between her thighs, suckling on her weeping cunt with obscene satisfaction. 

It was the sexiest thing you had ever seen in your life. 

Your hands reached down to tangle in his hair, using it for leverage as you ground against his face. 

Then suddenly his grip on your legs tightened and his tongue plunged roughly into your trembling core. 

“Tae—ahh oh my—I can’t—”

The sensation was so intense that your hips bucked violently. You could not keep still. You were charging towards an explosion and your body was shaking itself apart. 

The noises tearing from you were incoherent. Everything around you focused in on the juncture of your thighs where Taehyung was licking inside of you again and again until—

You shattered. 

And the force of it nearly bent your back in half. 

Delirious sobs poured from your lips as he worked you through it, letting the obscene flood of your cum soak his face. 

The sight of him slowly lapping at the release between your folds, was unspeakably erotic. He ran his hands in soothing circles over your skin while you twitched and fluttered back down from your high. 

Then he was kissing you again. 

It was softer this time, but you felt truly depraved—and instantly obsessed—with the taste of yourself in his mouth—on his skin.

You could barely understand this ravenous hunger. You’d just found relief, yet you were already reaching for more. 

Your hands snaked down and wrapped around his still covered cock and he hissed in ragged pleasure. 

“So eager,” he gasped, as you pushed him back against the headboard—but you didn’t have time to bother with his teasing.

You were gonna blow Kim Taehyung into space. 

He bit his lip when you yanked down his pants and boxers together, freeing his arousal with stunning efficiency. 

It was almost unfair to discover that his cock was every bit as beautiful as he was.

“Of course,” you muttered. 

The sultry smirk he shot you in return had your cunt flooding all over again.

“You think Min Yoongi has a cock like mine?”

“I don’t think about Min Yoongi’s cock,” you retorted, wrapping your hand around his length, “you’ve always been the biggest dick I’ve ever met.” 

“I knew you thought about my dick,” he groaned as you began to work up and down the swollen shaft. 

After a moment, his hand slid over your chin to grip your hair, drawing you forward till your lips were almost touching. 

“I wonder what this pretty mouth can do,” he whispered. 

You gasped against him and he smiled. 

“Do you know how often I pictured your lips around my cock, Angel?”

You mewled shamelessly and he growled, cupping your cheek as your hands continued to service him. 

“Do you know how often I imagined this perfect throat stuffed full of my cum?” 

His palm slid down to lightly grip the soft flesh of your neck and you shuddered against him with a needy whimper. 

“I know you could suck me so good, Angel. I’ve wanted it for so so long...”

Your mouth actually watered with anticipation. 

The desire to be good for him—to give him whatever he asked for—consumed you. 

Taehyung let his head fall back against the headboard with a groan at the first brush of your lips along his shaft. His hips rutted involuntarily as your tongue wrapped around the tip and you hummed with pleasure at his enthusiastic response. 

After a moment you slid him into the welcoming heat of your mouth, taking him in as far as you could in one stroke. His jaw dropped open and his entire body jerked forward. 

“Yes, that’s it, Angel—feels so good.”

His praise was addictive. 

You loved that you could bring him to this. You loved to see the haughty Kim Taehyung coming apart as you sucked him. 

It made you feel beautiful—powerful even—and you reveled in every second of it. 

Your eyes were starting to tear. His length began to throb and pulse against your tongue and you knew he was close—so close you could almost taste him—

Yet suddenly he was pulling you back and you whined pitifully at the loss. 

Taehyung chuckled, dragging you toward him till your dripping core slid across his cock.

“I’m not coming before I get inside that pretty little pussy,” he swore, working your hips over his sex till it was drenched in arousal. 

The crass words filled you with the fiercest, most incredible want and you clenched reflexively against him in response. 

“Is that what you want?” Taehyung whispered as he bore you back into the mattress, pinning both your wrists above your head. “You want me to fill your empty little cunt?”

You did. 

You wanted it so so bad. 

“Please.”

Taehyung gently lowered himself closer to you, resting his forehead intimately against yours as he lined up his cock at your entrance. 

“Are you sure, Angel? Because there’s no going back after this... If you give yourself to me, then you’re mine—and I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep you.”

“Taehyung, you idiot,”—a tender smile spread over your face as you wrapped your arms around his neck—“... I’ve always been yours.”

He swore violently—letting the slight tremble in his voice betray just how deeply your words affected him. 

Then his fingers tightened on the soft flesh of your hip and he filled you to the hilt with one delicious thrust. 

There was a moment—the smallest space in time—where your eyes locked together and everything seemed to suspend; a strange perfect calm before a monumental storm. 

Then your world caught fire. 

Taehyung drove himself into you with passionate fury, letting years of denial fuel the insatiable rhythm of his strokes. 

Every time he told himself no. Every time he held himself back—

Every bit of it burned away as you screamed his name. 

The feel of him was indescribable. 

You imagined it too many times to count, yet your dreams fell pitifully short of the visceral reality. 

He was bloomin’ magnificent. 

Your fingers clawed up and down his back, desperate to hold on to something while he pounded into your g-spot like an animal. 

“This tiny cunt is the tightest thing I’ve ever had around my cock,” he gasped and you whined needily at his praise. “Like it was made for me—” his hand came up to grip your breast, “like you were made for me.”

“Yes—”

Taehyung’s need seemed to amplify with every whimper and moan that fell from your lips. The feelings you sparked in him were fierce and unapologetically primitive.

He would go to war for you—build a fortress for you—fight a dragon if one dared come close. 

You were his. 

And he felt like a savage every time you cried out for more. 

Suddenly an unexpected movement in his periphery caught his attention.

He’d been so consumed with the extraordinary rush of claiming you that he’d forgotten—

This guest room was thirty-five percent mirrors. 

And now… he couldn’t look away. 

The sight of your bodies tangling together in headless bliss played out before him like a scene from his most debauched and forbidden fantasies. His reflection grinned back at him in fascinated ecstasy while his beloved nemesis lost herself in the pleasure of his cock.

Something dark and wild began to burn in his chest as he studied the lovers in the glass. 

“Look at you, Angel,” he whispered softly, “you really are perfect.”

Then he pulled out of your core and you whined bitterly in protest, chasing his body to rid yourself of the sudden unacceptable emptiness. 

“Still so needy,” he taunted, gripping your hips and flipping you on your stomach before you could even think to protest.

“I want you to watch that pretty angel in the mirror come on my cock,” he groaned, plunging back into you from behind. 

The new angle was somehow impossibly deeper and your body shook as another wave of pleasure overtook it. 

Your fingers clawed into the mattress for purchase as he pistoned into your trembling mound. 

Only Kim Taehyung could rail you like a whore while he worshiped you like a queen. 

He gave you a moment to adjust before drawing your body back against his chest. His arm wrapped over your stomach as he slowly eased your legs apart, unfolding the lewd tableau of your bodies joined together for the voyeuristic gaze of the glass.   

“Look at yourself, Angel,” he growled, mesmerized by the way your breasts bounced with every thrust. “Look at how well you're taking me.” 

Then his fingers slid down to rub your clit and you screamed. 

“Tae! Ah-ahh!”

The pleasure building within you now was violent. You were coiling too tightly, too fast—

“That’s right Angel. Take it all.”

Your eyes locked with his in the mirror for the briefest instant.

And then you flew apart. 

Taehyung threw his head back with a carnal moan as you clamped down around him. His body was hurtling toward its own release with reckless speed. 

“I’m close,” he panted, “where can I come?”

“Come inside me please,” you begged, and Taehyung’s eyes widened in frenzied lust. 

“That’s what you want? Huh?” his thrusts became rougher as he chased his relief, “You want me to fill this puffy little pussy with my cum?”

“Yes, I want it so bad—“ you sobbed. 

“Sweet Angel,” he groaned, gripping at your breasts as he pulled you tighter against him. 

Then he met your gaze in the mirror again. 

“I want everything with you; a home—a family—your body in my arms every morning when I wake up—” his voice trembled, “I want it all.” 

The raw vulnerability in his eyes nearly broke you.

“Tae,” you gasped softly, too overcome with joy to manage anything else. 

His mouth pressed hungrily against the curve of your shoulder. You could feel his cock throbbing in your core as he bent you forward, pounding into your sex with exquisite precision. 

"Stay with me, Angel,” he whispered. His thrusts became erratic as he neared his high. “I don’t want to live without you anymore.”

The glorious thrill of his words tore over your senses with euphoric brutality. Your walls tightened greedily around his cock and the taunt cord of pleasure finally snapped. 

He came with a broken groan, flooding the welcoming heat of your womb with his release. 

“KIM TAEHYUNG!”

The sound of his name being shouted by the absolute last person in the world whose voice he wanted to hear woke Taehyung from a dead sleep.  

His eyes widened in panic as he began yanking pillows and covers from all over the bed in a frenzied attempt to hide—

The doors to his bedroom flew open with a resounding crash. 

“Jimin,” he squeaked, trying to look as casual as possible next to a giant pile of bedding. “What uh—what brings you here at—” his eyes darted to the clock on the wall, “—7:30 in the morning?”

Then he frowned. 

“And how the hell did you get past Jungkook?”

Jimin’s murderous expression broke momentarily to allow for a smug grin. 

“Kendra.”

Kendra Jackson was Jimin’s executive aide. She was fierce, capable, intelligent—

And insanely gorgeous. 

Taehyung groaned. 

Poor Jungkookie never stood a chance. 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, yet another newspaper landed on Taehyung’s lap.

KIM HEIR BRINGS NAUGHTY ANGEL HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Underneath the headline was a picture of you and Taehyung (dressed in clothes you stole from Jin’s childhood bedroom) kissing passionately against the side entrance of the Governor’s mansion. 

One of your legs was wrapped around his waist and he was clearly grabbing your ass. 

“Ah… well you see the camera distorts everything from this angle—and-and the lighting is bad so it’s not really what it looks like—”

“Is that so? Cause it looks like you’ve got your tongue down my baby sister’s throat!”

“Okay—okay,” Taehyung massaged his forehead nervously, “so maybe it’s sort of what it looks like but—”

“I’ll kill you.”

“No wait—” he held up his hands to delay an already advancing Jimin. 

“Why should I wait?!”

“Because—”

“—I trusted you with the most important person in the world to me—”

“The situation is just not that simple.” 

“—and you grabbed her ass in public!”

“Admittedly not my finest hour.”

“So you tell me right now—”

“But you don’t understand it’s—”

“—Why the hell would I wait?!”

“BECAUSE I’M IN LOVE WITH HER!”

For a moment there was absolute silence. 

Then your head popped out from the massive pile of bedding. 

“Really?”

Jimin’s mouth fell open. 

Taehyung groaned again. 

“As usual, your timing is impeccable.”

You rolled your eyes, ignoring his comment.

“Are you really in love with me?”

“Of course I’m in love with you! What part of I want you to have my children did you not understand?!” 

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Jimin choked. 

“That’s not the same thing!”

“It is for me!”

A radiant smile lit up your face. 

“I’m in love with you too.”

Taehyung’s expression softened. 

“Angel I—”

Then you were kissing and Jimin swung around with a horrified shout.

“Oh! No no no—Come on!”

He stumbled out of the room, hands firmly clamped over his eyes. 

“This is not over, Kim Taehyung!” the scandalized young Park heir howled in exasperation… but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

Back in the bedroom, Taehyung shook his head at Jimin’s ridiculous caterwauling. 

“No, it’s not over,” he laughed, pulling you deeper into the comfort of his arms. “It’s only just begun.”

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. 

This baby took FOR-EVER to write. I started it in November and literally worked on it a little every day. 

If you enjoyed it— even just a tiny bit—please consider taking a moment to leave me some feedback. It is so incredibly uplifting and rewarding to hear reader thoughts and reactions to my work.

I promise to treasure every word like gold. It took a lot to bring this story to life. Your kind words would mean the world to me.

[pagetreader]

"You ever make a sale before, Red? The customers here either buy or trade, so ya gotta be prepared to haggle with this lot."

"I haven't, but I was a school teacher for some time, so I know a thing or two about dealing with stubbornness." Clara reassured Mrs. Maddox.

"Then again, judgin' by the way you've got that Major Tallmadge wrapped around your lil' finger, I think you'll be just fine with these prawns."

Clara grinned, rather pleased with herself.

"How'd you get into his social circle anyway? The man's tightly clinched."

Gaze turning upward to watch Tallmadge disappear into the other side of camp, she shook her head and shrugged, "Just sheer dumb luck I s'pose..."

---

A few weeks had passed, allowed Clara to find herself a rhythm of work. There were moments were she'd recognize certain things, items and implements that had been preserved and displayed at the Saint Denis chapter of the DAR. As fascinating as it was, it also induced apprehension. The longer she remained there, the less certain she was that she'd ever find her way back.

It made her wonder what had become of those she cared about in the gang. Would Jack be alright? Would Arthur be able to make sure he was? What about John, Mary Beth, Pearson, Tilly, Charles, Karen, and Sadie? As badly as she wanted to pray for their safety, she wondered if it were futile. After all, none of those she cared about had even been born at this point.

Another thing that unsettled her was that the outlaw accent she'd developed over the last couple years was starting to fade back into that of the southern belle she used to be, though she supposed that mattered very little considering it was still fairly unrecognizable in this era. The only difference was she sounded as educated as she actually was.

To distract herself from all these things, Clara had spent time befriending the many women who worked around camp, making a mental note of those she thought might suffice best for Major Tallmadge. With the number of red flags some of them possessed, it was easy to weed out the candidates with potential from the ones that would surely gobble him up sooner than he could greet them.

Major Tallmadge had mentioned a ball that Washington and a select few of his officers would attend in Philadelphia, so she was determined to find him the right one before that time. A challenge that would keep her occupied.

"Maria Brown is a sweet thing," she said to him one day, while he pretended to peruse the cart, permitting them to speak more candidly sans suspicion. Any time she named a new girl, she would glance in their general direction so that Tallmadge could sneak a peak.

"Maria he comes from a good family who raises cattle and she loves to read. Then there's Esther Simmons. She has a habit of letting the occasional profanity slip, and she's illiterate, but hell, she's clever and resourceful. Blonde curls too."

She watched him for any sort of reaction, wondering if he had a preference outside of Mrs. Maddox's teasing that he liked redheads.

"Diana Talbot is a widow of a Continental officer. He died at Saratoga and she chose to stick out the rest of the war here in his honor. She's quiet, but witty when she decides to speak up."

“Relax, Major, I’m teasing you,” Clara said. Her hand slapped his back and he jerked upright. “Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to emphasize your largest asset… Your brain.” 

Torn between embarrassment and disbelief, Benjamin scoffed, not finding the humor in her jest. "I'd like to know where this good cheer was before you stabbed me," he muttered. "Still, I do appreciate what you're doing for me...as unorthodox as it may seem."

"What's this then?" Cilla asked, folding a blanket and looking between them. "I thought those calfskin breeches o' yours already did a mighty fine job of accentuatin'. What do you need her for?" Cackling, she started re-adjusting the inventory along the table. "I never thought I'd see the day when Major Boremadge started feelin' 'round for somethin' other than rum and whiskey." She shrugged. "Then again, who needs a stiff drink when you've got a nice, stiff-"

"That's enough, thank you," Benjamin said, flushing up to the tips of his ears. Bowing to them, he said, "I'll take my leave. I can stop by later in the evening to check on your progress."

As he stalked off toward headquarters, his gait tense and ramrod straight, Cilla quipped, "Ya sure his brain is his largest asset? The girls 'round here certainly won't care beyond makin' babies." Motioning Clara over, she added, "You ever make a sale before, Red? The customers here either buy or trade, so ya gotta be prepared to haggle with this lot." She nudged her. "Then again, judgin' by the way you've got that Major Tallmadge wrapped around your lil' finger, I think you'll be just fine with these prawns. How'd you get into his social circle anyway? The man's tightly clinched."