#have barely been able to focus on anything else

[obsidianpen]

Watching Tom work was fascinating.

The way he emitted magic, either from the tip of his wand or from his very fingertips, was nothing short of awe-inspiring. He moved with an enviable fluidity, weaving and unweaving enchantments as though he had always been able to do so, as effortless for him as breathing.

Well, perhaps not quite so easily, Hermione thought, observing him none too discreetly from over the top of her book. Tom’s brows were furrowed in concentration as he coaxed and prodded at the temperamental memory in the basin, forcing magic into and around it in rushing spells that were sometimes gentle and sometimes not. Beneath his hands and wand the memory flared, shimmered, or sparked in response.

My memory. The violated, tampered-with memory of my test…

But Hermione couldn’t allow herself to dwell too much on how Tom might go about fixing it—literally. If she so much as attempted to ponder what she, personally, would do to reconstruct it, she was struck with an instant and debilitating headache.

It had already happened twice, and her mind was still buzzing uncomfortably. Tom hadn’t been pleased when she’d needed to explain what was happening to her and why. 

She couldn’t try and repair her own tampered memories… because she had signed away the right to when she’d signed the contract. She could do nothing to help him—which was a shame, really, because she was quite good with memory charms of all kinds, having cast and reversed many of her own.

Hermione could hardly blame Tom for being as furious as he was when she’d told him this. He hadn’t technically yelled at her once for signing a magically binding contract with the MACUSA (with a blood quill, no less), and it was almost worse that he hadn’t. His response at the reminder had, instead, been a glare that made her feel much too small, a frigid bout of silence that made her feel like hiding under the table, and the simple, softly spoken instructions to sit down, make herself useful in some other way, and to not distract him.

At least he let me get dressed first, she thought sourly—albeit he still hadn’t revealed what clothing he may have gotten for her, if any. She was still stuck wearing his much too large clothing, and she was starting to think that the only reason he wasn’t giving her anything else was because he liked seeing her in it. 

Making herself useful, however, was proving to be difficult. Focus, Hermione told herself. She looked back down at her book, this time reading one Tom had brought about advanced warding techniques—and immediately lost focus. Again.

The broken memory in the basin flaked angrily. Tom murmured something under his breath, his eyes narrowed as he cast some new sort of magic over it, trying something else.

The MACUSA really must have done a number on my memory, for it to be this difficult to repair, Hermione lamented. But that was about as much as she could dwell on it before her head started to hurt.

Concentrate on the book—try to find some passage to convince him to alter the wards around the cottage, maybe. To let me influence them too, so I’m not trapped here.

That would be the smart thing, Hermione knew. And she was trying. But as soon as she would find herself immersed in the text before her, there would be another flash or a spark and Hermione would find herself looking up, her eyes drawn to the Pensieve and the rippling magic and—

Tom was simply too fucking attractive.

It caused Hermione no small amount of shame to find herself continuously drawn to watching him. Ogling, more like, she admitted to herself. Tom was shirtless, for one—he was wearing nothing but a pair of the same sweatpants that hardly stayed up on her, and that was all. His chest was bare, the flickering light of the magic he conjured casting shadows that enhanced every line on his torso, every muscle—and those arms. How did he have such nice arms? Which was to say nothing of his agile hands; those long, nimble fingers were mesmerizing, the way they exuded magic, the way they deftly handled his wand, and it was no wonder he was so good at—

Hermione quickly raised the book up to cover her face, grasped by the irrational fear that he might catch her staring and blushing. He wouldn’t. Tom was so deeply focused on his spell casting that she might as well have not been in the room.

Maybe I shouldn’t be in the room, Hermione realized. She wasn’t exactly focusing properly herself. I might be better off locking myself in the bedroom where I can’t see him.

She was just about to do that, had just gotten to her feet, when there was an especially bright flare of magic. Tom lifted his wand, and his face, which had been drawn in frustration before, lit up in triumph.

Hermione approached the Pensieve, and she could see at once that he had succeeded. The memory was no longer a cloudy white, furious thing, swirling like a small storm in the basin, but was calm, a languid quality to it as it ebbed and flowed, not quite liquid, not quite gas.

Exactly what a healthy memory should look like.

“You did it,” Hermione said, both deeply impressed and yet not at all surprised. “You fixed it.”

Tom wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and looked at her, grinning. A moment later, however, and his victorious expression fell, turning to that cold, analytic stare. He looked from her to the basin and back again. His grip on his wand tightened. 

“Don’t you dare,” Hermione said, as though she were in any position to issue threats. “I swear, Tom, if you think about watching my own memory without me, I will lose it.”

Tom’s lips twitched. “Am I that predictable?” he said, not denying that he was considering doing exactly that.

“Yes,” Hermione said. “You are. And if you do something to keep me out of there while you go in and watch what happened, leaving me in the dark, trust me when I say I’ll find a way to make you regret it.”

To her surprise, Tom didn’t look angered by her daring; he seemed amused. “That’s no way to thank me for my incredible prowess,” he said, nodding towards the Pensieve. “There were some very tricky spells in that memory… you probably wouldn’t have been able to break them, even if you could have tried.”

“I—yes I would have!”

“We’ll never know, will we?” Tom’s smile darkened a little, tinged once more by the rage at her past, poor decision making. “But that, hopefully, will be one of the few mysteries we’ll never get to solve… unlike this one.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. When he looked down into the basin, Hermione could see the swirling, smooth silver of the memory reflected in his eyes.

“Shall we?” he said. 

Hermione swallowed back her fear and nodded. Here goes nothing, she thought. Or everything.

Tom held her tighter, and together, they tipped into the past.

[girlthativealwaysbeen]

i think growing up is just life repeatedly sucker punching you and saying bitch you thought things were gonna better lmao no you're so naive and stupid for having hope in 20 years the world will be flaming bag of garbage and no matter how hard you work you'll get eliminated at some point

[bunnihearted]

☁️🌷

[protoformx]

One day I'll have treatment for whatever is going on w me, or some direction of answers at least. and it'll be over for everyone bc I'll have my focus back

[amiableness]

Kiss and Makeup Up

Pairing: James Potter x Fem!Reader

Summary: James ruins reader’s date and attempts to make it better.

Word Count: 2829

Warnings: Jealous!James; kissing; and reader wearing heels, jewelry and makeup.

A/N 💌: A quick James oneshot that’s been on my mind, but I’m heavily consider making a second part to this.

As usual, thank you to @moonpascal for reading!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Go on, kiss and make up!” Sirius' voice trails after you as you hurry down the corridor, James close on your heels. On any other day, you might have tossed a playful jab back at Sirius, well-accustomed to his relentless teasing about you and James. But today, the weight of everything made your throat tighten, leaving you silent, your focus fixed on reaching the safety of your dorm.

The sharp click of your heels echoed off the stone walls, and James' muttering about your surprising speed in heels barely registers. Your anger simmers, blocking out his words as you storm ahead and shove the door open. James is right behind you, catching it just before it could slam shut in his face, determined not to let you shut him out.

“Get out, Jamie.” Though your voice was laced with anger, the way you used his nickname gave him a glimmer of hope. It wasn’t hopeless—there was still a chance to make everything better.

“I’m not leaving until we figure this out.” James says, stepping forward and leaning against the post of Lily's bed as he watches you roll your eyes and turn into the room. He doesn’t say anything as you begin furiously grabbing clothes and scattered heels off the floor—remnants of you getting ready for a date, now tainted by the tension hanging between you two.

“There’s nothing to figure out! You ruined my date, plain and simple.” You spin around, clutching a black heel in your hand, and for a fleeting moment, James braces himself, half-expecting you to launch it at him in a fit of frustration. But it’s you, his sweet best friend—the one who cares so deeply for others that you always put them before yourself. It’s a trait that drives James a little crazy sometimes, knowing you’d sacrifice your own happiness without a second thought.

The realization only sharpens the sting of your anger, an unfamiliar weight he’s not used to carrying. He can recall times you’ve been disappointed—maybe after one of his careless pranks or his thoughtless disregard for someone’s feelings—but never this. Never this level of anger.

“I said I was sorry.” He tries, crossing his arms over his chest as he watches you scoff and turn away, angrily kicking off your heels. You bend down to pick them up, and despite himself, his eyes drift to the curve of your body. He knows he shouldn’t be looking, but he can’t help it—he’s never been able to take his eyes off you. And now, a bitter feeling twists in his gut, knowing you're dressed all pretty for someone else.

“You're not, though. Why the fuck did you feel the need to scare him off?” You toss the heels into your trunk and turn to face him, arms crossed. He opens his mouth to respond, but the words die before they form—because he doesn’t know how to tell you the truth. He knows exactly why, but admitting it out loud would change everything between you. And he’s not sure he’s ready for that.

The silence between you stretches, heavy and unspoken, as you wait for an answer he isn’t ready to give. You both know exactly what you're waiting for—a proper explanation.

One you’ve been holding out hope for, quietly, for years.

“It's not fair, you know.” You let out a deep sigh, turning to face your desk, your gaze falling on the mirror. James watches as you begin to remove your jewelry, your back turned to him, but his reflection still catches glimpses of you. The anger in your voice has softened, but he knows that if he says the wrong thing, it could all flare up again, as sharp and sudden as before.

“What isn't?” He hesitates, watching you carefully as he takes a cautious step forward. His eyes follow the way your lips part in the mirror, the soft exhale of frustration escaping you as you fumble with your necklace.

He wants to step forward, to gently brush your hair aside and unfasten the clasp, to press a soft kiss against the back of your neck once the necklace slips away. But he can’t—so he remains still, trapped in silence, as he watches you instead.

“Why is it that you go out with girl after girl, but when I show interest in a guy, you scare him off?” You already knew the answer—weren’t blind to it. It had been clear to everyone that you and James had been circling each other for years, dancing around unspoken words.

But he refused to admit that he cared for you as more than friends. It felt pointless to tell him how you felt when it was clear James was intent on keeping you in the friend zone.

From the moment crushes became a part of your life, James had been yours. But you were never certain about his feelings—until that one night when he got blackout drunk and confessed he was in love with you. He has no memory of that drunken night, but you overheard him later, telling the boys he’d never drink that much again because he wanted to actually remember the parties he went to. You’d felt a pang of disappointment, but you were gathering the courage to confront him about it. Then, the next day, he hooked up with a girl from Ravenclaw, and just like that, all your resolve crumbled, leaving you feeling more invisible than ever.

He didn’t remember what he’d said, and if he was out with other girls, it was clear he didn’t care enough to mention it while sober.

That was a year ago, and you still hadn’t brought it up. 

So, to cope with the mess of it all, you went on a date—a rare one, the first in nearly a year. And now, here was James, wrecking it all over again.

“I—” He stops himself, clearing his throat, the tension in his voice betraying the lie before he even finishes. “I don’t think that’s true. You go out on dates.”

He knew he spent a lot of time flirting with girls—whether it was during class, when he should have been paying attention, or at parties where conversation flowed too easily. But when someone showed interest in you? That was a different story altogether. He’d like to blame it on the fact that you were his best friend, but deep down, he knew better. He was protective of you because he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone looking at you the way he did. Was it selfish? Definitely. But the thought of losing you terrified him more than anything.

“You know that’s a lie. You saw how excited I was! Why did you take that from me?” You were fully aware of how weak and accusatory your voice sounded, but you didn’t care. You were hurt, and it was clear in the way you shook your head, disappointment heavy in every movement. James watched your reflection, noticing the way you swallowed hard as if trying to shove down the swell of emotions threatening to break free. And with that, a wave of guilt slammed into his stomach, settling there like a stone.

“I just didn't want him to hurt you!” 

"So you decided to take that off his hands and hurt me instead?" You scoffed, making James flinched as if you had slapped him. It probably would have hurt less if you had.

“Merlin, no! Sweetheart, that wasn't what I was trying to do—”

“Then what were you trying to do, James? Because I'm getting tired of this little game, we have going on.” 

He lets out a shaky breath, his eyes following your hand as you gently remove one of your earrings. For a moment, your gazes meet through the mirror, and the weight of it all presses down on him. He wishes, desperately, that you would just turn around and face him.

He was racking his brain, searching for the right words, trying to find a way to fix this. He considered stepping back, giving you space like he did when you got agitated with him. But this felt different. It wasn’t just about a moment of frustration—it was something deeper, something that could damage your friendship permanently if he didn’t speak up. He knew he had to fix this.

“You guys make up yet?” Sirius hollered, and James could practically picture him standing at the  bottom of the stairs with his hands cupped around his mouth as he shouted at the both of you.

Sirius' words from earlier echoed in his head as if they were taunting him, swirling around like a cruel mantra. 

Go on, kiss and make up.

It felt like an accusation, a reminder of how much he’d messed up. He could feel the weight of it pressing down on him, twisting in his gut. Every nerve in his body screamed that his next move would either make everything worse—digging the hole even deeper—or finally give him a chance to tell you why he’d ruined your date. But the fear of losing you pushed him forward.

“Tell me to stop, sweetheart.”

“Stop what—?” You ask, tossing your last piece of jewelry into the ceramic dish with a sharp clang before turning to face James. Your breath catching in your throat as he moves closer, and without thinking, you instinctively take a step back, bumping into your desk. The sudden movement rattles the items on top, sending a soft, anxious clatter through the room.

A sharp gasp escapes your lips as James reaches out, his hand gently cupping your cheek, his thumb grazing the edge of your jaw. You stare up at him, wide-eyed, and James can’t help but think how pretty you look—more than he’s ever allowed himself to admit. 

He’s never been able to admire you like this before, not without the constant fear of you catching him.

His hands are shaky, and his proximity to you is making him nervous in a way that he couldn’t quite shake. But he didn’t know how else to explain himself. So, tentatively, he let his fingers graze your skin, admiring how you melted into him. He watches, heart pounding, as your lashes flutter and your lips part in surprise at the softness of his touch. The anger in your eyes had faded, leaving behind disbelief and something that looked dangerously close to hope.

He startles both himself and you when the words slip out, low and raw: “You make me so fucking nervous.” You blink up at him, silent, processing the confession. His gaze drifts over the mascara you’d carefully applied, the gloss glistening on your lips—details he hadn’t noticed before, but now felt like a punch to his gut. The jealousy flares, burning hot and fast in the pit of his stomach. It was devastating to realize you were all dressed up, and it wasn’t for him. Those heels, those glossed lips—they were for a guy who hardly knew you. 

Not like James knew you.

You part your lips, and James unknowingly silences you with a gentle brush of his thumb just beneath your lower lip. A soft, satisfied smile tugs at his mouth as he hears the gasp escape you. His hand rests on your left hip, pulling you closer, grounding you against him. The tension in the room thickens, and just like that, your anger has melted.

“If you want me to stop, just say the word, sweetheart.” He murmurs, his voice low and thick with intention as he edged closer. His fingers caressing your jaw, tilting your face upwards, bringing you within a breath of him. The air between you crackles, heavy and charged, and you feel the pull—the tempting, intoxicating proximity. He was so close now, you could feel the warmth of his breath, and all it would take was the slightest movement for his lips to claim yours.

You thought about saying it—the words were right there, just on the tip of your tongue. But then his lips brushed against yours just barely, and everything else faded away. You couldn’t bring yourself to say no—not when this was something you’d wanted for years. Even with the anger simmering inside you, the frustration over James ruining your date, you couldn’t pull away.

Not now. Not when he was so close.

If anything, a strange sense of relief was starting to wash over you—relief that he had ruined it. Because if he hadn’t, it might have been another guy standing where he was now, and the thought of that made something tighten painfully in your chest.

“Last chance.” He mumbled, pulling back just enough to meet your eyes, searching for any sign that you might stop him. The only sound between you was the uneven rhythm of your breaths, erratic and heavy, pulsing with the desire that surged between you both. When you didn’t say a thing, no rejection, no hesitation—only the warmth of your breath mingling with his—he offered a barely-there smile before leaning in, his lips finally capturing yours with a slow, gentle kiss.

He started slow, cautious, as if afraid he might push you away. But the wrecked hum that escaped your throat—the sound of pure desire—told him everything he needed to know. You wanted this as much as he did.

It was overwhelming how quickly the kiss shifted—what started as sweet and searching, quickly turned frantic and hungry. The slow, deliberate pace gave way to a fiery urgency. The gentle brush of lips became a desperate meeting of mouths as the two of you gave into years of pining.

Your hands, which had been gripping the edge of the desk hard, moved slowly toward him. You let your fingers trail up his stomach, feeling the dips and ridges before reaching his chest. Your other hand found its way into his curls, you tugged softly, the motion pulling a low, pleasure-filled groan from deep within him. That sound, the sound of him unraveling, seemed to shatter something inside James. In an instant, he stepped closer—if that was even possible—until your bodies were pressed together, the heat between you two undeniable, consuming.

He pulled away just an inch, and the desperate whine that escaped your lips was enough to pull him back in, his arms circling your waist before effortlessly lifting you onto the desk. You gasped his name, the sound caught in your throat, as his lips claimed yours again, urgent and hungry. One hand slid around your thigh, pulling you closer, the heat of his body pressing against yours as he stood between your parted legs. His grip on your hip was firm, grounding, while his other hand found its place at the side of your throat, fingers warm and possessive.

You had never been kissed like this before. It was overwhelming—an all-consuming heat that ignited deep in your belly as James kissed you with a hunger, as if he'd been waiting for this moment his entire life.

And it was ruining you, because if this was how it felt to kiss James Potter, you never wanted to be kissed by anyone else ever again.

He rocked his hips against yours, the pressure making you gasp, and that breathless sound was all he needed. He deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding into your mouth, tasting you as if he couldn’t get enough. You were so completely immersed in him—the feel of his lips, the taste of him—that the low, teasing whistle from your doorway barely registered in your mind.

“Bloody hell, I didn’t expect you to actually go and kiss her.” Sirius’ voice rang out, loud and unfiltered. The words struck a panic through you, your body warming with embarrassment as you instinctively tucked your head into James’ chest, hoping to hide from the intrusion. You would recognize Sirius’ voice anywhere, and you knew you would be teased about this for ages.

James, with you still propped on the desk, remained a shield, his body pressed protectively against yours. He glanced over at Sirius and Remus, who stood by the doorway. Sirius, leaning against the doorframe, raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips, while Remus stood next to him, his usually calm demeanor showing signs of awkwardness.

“Fuck off and shut the door, mate.” James groans, his arms pulling you tighter as he fights the urge to hurl a book at Sirius and Remus. Instead, he sends them a warning glare and brings a hand up to the back of your head, the heat of the moment still burning between you, and silently dares them to say anything more.

The boys hesitate, but not before Sirius calls out with a teasing smirk, “Didn’t know you had it in you, Potter. You finally got your girl.” And just like that, the door slams shut, leaving the air thick with tension and you cringing in embarrassment.

Maybe telling him you loved him wasn’t that pointless after all.

please consider reblogging or leaving a comment! it keeps me motivated to write and spread my work! 🤍

[00kittenz]

── escapism. ( lhs ) 🏔️

๑ Your parents would flip if you had a boyfriend, let alone if you’re out past curfew... but I guess you broke both of those rules tonight, didn’t you ?

pair: bf!heeseung ㅊ gf!reader | warnings: smut, fluffy fluffy fluff, curfews (ew), small fight (nothing srs), smoochies, teasing, quickies, piv, car s.x (rainy ahehehe), slow and soft s.x | words: 1.9k

[ song inspo: himotoku kaze by ichiko aoba & fantasy by lamp ]

just smth short and sweet for hee’s birthday, ily pookie <33

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

“there you are, took ya’ long enough !” arose the voice of your overly impatient boyfriend. heeseung had only been waiting like five minutes since your arrival, though time wasn’t pressured. he was aware of how strict your parents were, but he still wanted to see you, badly. and the same went for you. “come here.”

“shut up.” you sassed, lazily rolling your eyes before cascading his lips in yours. the moment you touched him, you knew you weren’t ever going to let him go. you hated the thought of even being left alone. especially when someone like him could be beside you all day long, willingly. even as you’re kissing him, you felt hungrier, craving more of him, you were just so desperate.

“damn, baby” the giddy boy let out a bubbled laugh, full set of white on display, all because of you. you were euphoric. “i’m not going anywhere i promise,” he rubbed your lower back and even far down enough to cup your ass; giving it a little squeeze.

“how’d you find this place ?” your attention drifted away to how beautiful the beach looked as the sun began to set, how the huge rocks fit the sand and the flourishing waves shimmered like a piece of jewelry.

“don’t worry about it, just focus on me !” heeseung whined, wanting all your attention solely on him while he had it in his reach.

you hadn’t seen him in almost a week, which has probably been the longest you two went without seeing each other. you were always busy studying and with the way your parents would constantly be hounding over you over the smallest things, you barely had time to even relax. this was a much needed distraction for you, away from all your responsibilities and obligations that you had to fulfill. it was nice to just be able to shut off your brain and not have to think about anything else other than you and your loving boyfriend.

heeseung couldn’t be more than thrilled to see you again also. but you probably already knew that considering he’d text you everyday how much he misses you. not a minute goes by where he doesn’t think of you— you just occupy his mind 24/7, living in his head rent free as though you’ve casted a love spell on him. he was more than whipped for you, he was purely obsessed.

“let’s just enjoy our selves tonight? hm?” he takes your hand with his, leading you further towards the water. the view was beyond breathtaking, how the sunset casts a warm glow onto the currents below; the perfect ambiance for your little romantic getaway.

๑ ๑ ๑

you’re full of thoughts whenever you’re with heeseung, you compare your relationship with inanimate object, tv show characters, and even foods, the possibilities are endless. but sometimes you get a little too deep in thought, pondering other aspects of your life. like what if you didn’t have such strict, controlling parents, where would you be now ? what if you didn’t have so much pressure carried on you ? would things be better with you and heeseung ? you’d definitely feel more free... you only wondered why you were given the life that was set out for you.

“whatcha thinking ‘bout beautiful..” he rolled over onto his side, on the beach blanket heeseung bestowed for you. he knew that you hated the feel of sand on anywhere but on your feet, but you loved the beach. he knew you were picky about certain things, and you loved that about him, how always he listened to you.

his hand immediately went to caress your stomach, very gentle with his touches, as if you were as delicate as glass. he could seriously look at you all day and never get tired, you were just that interesting and pretty. what a catch. he’d only bet a million, trillion dollars there’s nobody quite like you in this entire world.

“nothing..” you were quick to lie, not wanting to ruin the moment with your woes and worries about your life and future. it wasn’t a good time, you just wanted to enjoy the moment here and now.

now you were lying in the same position as he, staring straight into his eyes. those big, brown eyes that carried a billion stars in them. looking at him was like a song. a love song. a love song on repeat that remained the same, but would get longer and longer everytime you saw him; a neverending song.

you wanted him more than anything, right now.

“nothing ? not even me ?” he found himself laughing a lot tonight, everytime he was with you, he was happy, unexplainably happy. he hated how he had to be hidden, he hated having to blur your face out in posts, having to get you to sneak out at your age.

but he did it because he loved you, more than anything. and to be honest, it wasn’t all that bad. he only hated how you gave away your independence to the people that want to keep you in their pocket, for you to never grow up. he just wanted the best for you. he knew you were better. you were strong. and you were beautiful. you were his.

“i’m already with you, why would i think about you when you’re here right now ?” your brows knit together, confused with his question. maybe, you shouldn’t have said that though, considering how sensitive he can be at times.

“so you don’t think about me ?! i think about you when I’M with you !” he pouted, his signature sulk coming into view.

“i miss you even when you’re here you know, i can’t believe you don’t even miss me righ—” your own lips cut off his. whatever he was going to say sunk into the abyss, it’s not that he forgot what he was gonna say. he just would rather not waste another word. actions speak much louder than words.

you didn’t want to argue. you couldn’t waste this precious time over such trivial matters. those weren’t important. all you wanted in this moment was to feel the heat of your boyfriend’s skin against yours, how he electrified all senses throughout your body.

you understood now, you two were the beach. you were the sand, he was the water. no matter the distance, he finds himself floating towards you. like a wave. the overwhelming feeling of love, and when he finally had you in his grasp. you’d call it a flood, maybe even a tsunami.

just as things were slowly starting to get more heated, you flinched as you felt tiny droplets of rain that’s fallen onto your cheek. you hadn’t realized it would rain tonight, not preparing at all for what’s to come. what began as only a light drizzle, soon brewed into a steady patter, the sky darkens, turning into a muted and less inviting atmosphere than it’s once vibrant hue.

“car ?” heeseung mumbles against your lips, not wanting to pull away even for a second. both of you were getting slightly soaked from the rain and it wasn’t stopping any time soon considering the faint rumbles of thunder off in the distance.

you simply nod in response, letting him pick you up and whisk you away. seeking refuge in his vehicle from the sudden rainfall that’s put a damper to your nightly escapades.

๑ ๑ ๑

“fuck.. i fucking love you, heeseung—” you were missionary, head resting against the window, feeling overwhelmed from how deep he was inside you. you felt every inch, every vein and ridge. the curve of his cock hitting your walls perfectly.

you could tear up just from the way you felt him in your tummy, splitting you open as your nails dug into his forearms, in a complete state of bliss. though you were all cramped up in the backseat of his car, windows all fogged up, and the heavy downpour of the rain hitting against the roof, your mind was set into a blank space. looking up at him with nothing but lust and admiration for your boyfriend.

his hands caressed your cheeks, staring down at your lips before he lazily takes them into his, passionately. he put every ‘i love you’ into it. a kiss, laced with the drug of love. and he was addicted. every stroke he entered you with was gentle and it left you with a bubbly feeling in your stomach, between your legs— it felt as though your whole body’s been set ablaze.

he was so good to you, his hand rubbed against your thigh relaxing your high. there was a continuation of thrusting his all into you slowly, watching how your juices cakes up around the thickness of his shaft. how glossy he looked everytime he pulled out. he had you and yet he still craved for you. what a hassle you were.

“prettiest girl in the world. just for me.” he whispers against your skin, resting himself into the crook of your shoulder, his teeth softly nibbling at your flesh.

“all yours baby,” your neck, your back, both parts of you arching at the feel of his rotating hips. how he stuffed your tight dewy cunt with his cock and twisted in you like a perfect match. your moaning was all he needed to tell him how you felt, and he felt the same.

the sound of him made you a dripping mess, the sounds he’d make all for you, the vibration of his voice lingering on your soft, trembling skin.

“i love you more than anything, you know..?” “do anything to be with you..” he groaned, eyes fixated on yours. his strokes were so agonizingly slow, but when he slams his cock deeper in you by surprise, you couldn’t help but whimper and cry out a bit.

his breath hitched at the feel of you clenching around him, making him hiss from the tight fit. even though he’s going slower than usual he already feels him at his breaking point.

“i think it’s painfully honest.” you giggled, exhaling at the build of your climax. you were so close, and heeseung could feel it, almost nearing the edge.

“good then. it’s how it should be.” his voice was raspy, solely focused on one thing. and that was for you to make a mess all over his cock. “shit- you’re squeezing me.”

“great then. that’s how it should be.” you repeat back to him, caressing his lower back. finding the end of his shirt to keep your composure. a light chuckle escaping your lover’s pretty lips.

“gonna come for you..”

“hm ? show me. show me who you’re coming for princess.” he picked up the pace, hooking your thighs between his arms. your whole body shuddered underneath him, spasming around his cock as you felt your orgasm approaching. he’d follow shortly after, emptying every last drop of his release inside you.

“god.. i love you.. i love you..” you were in a daze, utterly fucked out and left with nothing to say other than those three words. you truly do love him, more than anything else in this cruel, unfair world.

“i love you too mama.” he doesn’t hesitate to say it back, spreading kisses along your jawline, down to your collarbone, leaving a trail of faint hickies to mark his territory, claiming you as his.

...

no, there’s not a word that can describe your relationship with heeseung. not a word, nor a book. he was walking perfection. and you fit into him like a puzzle piece.

but you knew only of one word that could leave you at ease. you know what he was to you.

an escape.

*ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭*

[d1stalker]

No Right [Logan Howlett]

Summary: Logan’s fierce desire to protect you leads to a heated confrontation.

Warnings: Logan is emotionally constipated, arguing, making out up

WC: 2.6k - MASTERLIST

----

You pace the room, tension crackling in the air as Logan stands by the doorway, arms crossed, jaw clenched tight. His eyes follow your every movement, a storm brewing in their depths. You can feel the weight of his gaze, the unspoken words hanging between you like a heavy fog.

“Logan,” you start, your voice sharp as you finally stop and face him, “What the hell is your problem?”

“My problem?” he growls, stepping closer, his presence overwhelming. “My problem is that you’re not going on this mission. I won't allow it.”

The room was packed with the team gathered around the large table as Charles went over the details of a particularly dangerous mission. You sat near the end, listening intently, your focus on the map projected on the screen. Logan was beside you, silent but tense, his usual composed demeanor fraying at the edges.

"And you'll be going in as a team, coordinated and precise," Charles was saying, his voice calm and measured as always. "The success of this mission depends on each of you playing your part. Logan, you'll be leading the assault."

Logan's jaw tightened at that, his eyes narrowing. "And her?" he asked, jerking his head toward you, almost aggressively .

You blinked, surprised by the sudden sharpness in his tone. "I'm going in as support," you replied, though you could feel the tension starting to rise in the room.

Logan's fists clenched on the table, his knuckles white. "You shouldn’t be going at all," he muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to the two of you. You felt a flush of embarrassment creeping up your neck, but you forced yourself to hold your ground. "Logan, I’m capable of handling this," you said firmly with a hint of the anger starting to simmer beneath the surface.

Logan shot up from his chair, his voice a low growl as he spoke.

"You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t some game!”

You frowned in confusion and hurt– this had never been a game. You’ve always been strong, and able to hold your own against threats. Where was this coming from?

Everyone in the room waited with bated breaths, curious to see how the rest of the scene would play out. Charles frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Logan, your concerns are noted, but this mission requires all hands on deck. We’ve discussed this."

But Logan wasn’t listening anymore. He shook his head, anger radiating off him in waves.

"You’re all insane if you think I’m letting her go out there. Not a chance."

And with that, he stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him, leaving a stunned silence in his wake. You sat there for a moment, processing what had just happened, before you got up and followed him, your heart pounding in your chest.

You found him outside, leaning against the wall, his back to you, shoulders heaving with barely contained rage. "Logan," you called out, your voice softer now, "You can’t do this."

He didn’t turn around, but you could hear the tightness in his tone. "I’m not letting you go, okay? I can’t."

"You don’t have the right to make that decision for me," you decided, stepping closer, trying to reach him through the wall of anger he’d built around himself. "I’m part of this team, and I’m going to do my part."

Finally, Logan turned to face you, his eyes blazing. "You don’t understand, alright? I’ve lost too many people. I’ve lost everything. I can’t lose you too."

His words hit you like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, you didn’t know how to respond. But then you stepped closer, a slight tremble in your voice, trying to make sense of what he was saying”

But what about everyone else on the team? Hank? Scott? I’m not the only one at risk here."

He stared at you for a long moment, his eyes searching yours for something, anything, that might convince him. But before you could say anything else, he shook his head, frustration etched into every line of his face. "I can’t," he whispered, and then he turned and walked away, leaving you standing there, the weight of his words heavy on your heart.

For the next few days leading to the mission, he’d avoided you, barely saying a word, his silence like a knife twisting in your chest. Every time you entered a room, he’d walk right out–right past you–like you didn't exist. But you couldn’t let it end like that. So here you were, the night before operation, cornering him in the place he couldn’t escape, his room, demanding the truth.

Back in the present, the memory fades, but the emotions it brought with it linger, heavy and raw, the sting of his words hitting you harder than you’d like to admit.

"Why?" you question. He's never been against you going on a mission before.

Logan sighs, you can tell he's already losing his patience. "It's too dangerous."

You almost flinch back in offense. “Are you doubting me?” your voice is level, but it still carries all the hurt you’re feeling.

“It’s not about doubting you,” Logan snaps, running a hand through his hair, the frustration evident. “It’s about keeping you safe.”

“Safe?” You scoff, anger beginning to rise to the surface. “You think I can’t handle myself? That I’m weak?”

“That’s not what I—” Logan starts, but you cut him off.

“Then what, Logan? What is it? You’ve always trusted me before. What’s different now?” Your hands clench into fists at your sides, trying to keep your emotions in check. “Do you think I’ve suddenly forgotten how to fight?”

“No,” he retorts, his voice rising. “But this mission is different. We’re going into the unknown, and I won’t let you get hurt because I couldn’t protect you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me!” you fire back, your own voice increasing in volume to match his. “I’m not some damsel in distress! I’m part of this team, just like you. I’ve trained, I’ve fought, and I’ve survived, just like you!”

He tilts his head back, dragging his hands down his face in exasperation. “That’s not the point! You don’t understand what it’s like to see the person you care about most—” He stops himself, biting back the rest of the sentence, but the implication of his words hangs heavy.

However, you don’t seem to acknowledge it--unable to process his words in the midst of your rage.

“Then make me understand! Because all I see right now is you trying to control me, to make decisions for me like I’m some fragile little girl who can’t stand on her own.”

Logan’s eyes flash with anger and desperation. “You think I’m trying to control you? You think this is easy for me? Watching you walk into danger, knowing I might not be able to protect you, knowing I could lose you?” The words crack as they leave his mouth, and he takes a sharp breath, his chest heaving.

“I—” He hesitates, his usual confidence faltering. “I can’t lose you,” he reluctantly admits, like the words are being dragged out of him against his will.

You blink, taken aback. “What?”

“Dammit,” Logan mutters under his breath, his frustration reaching a breaking point. In a flash, he closes the distance between you, grabbing your arms and pushing you back until your spine hits the wall. The air is knocked from your lungs as you’re pinned between the cold surface and the heat radiating off him.

“I care about you, alright?” he growls, his face inches from yours, eyes blazing with an intensity that makes your heart race. “More than I should. And it’s driving me insane because I don’t know how to deal with it.”

“Logan…” You try to speak, but whatever you were going to say is caught in your throat, the raw emotion in his voice and the feel of his grip on you leaving you breathless.

“The thought of you going on this mission, of you getting hurt, or worse—” He cuts himself off, taking a deep breath in order to collect his thoughts. “I can’t handle it. I’ve lost too many people, and if something happens to you, I won’t survive it.”

Your heart pounds in your chest, torn between the anger that still simmers and the overwhelming feelings his confession brings. “So you’re pushing me away?” you manage to get out. “Trying to protect me by hurting me?”

His grip on your arms tightens, but not painfully—just enough to hold you in place, to make sure you’re listening.

“I’m not trying to hurt you,” he says, his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper. “I’m trying to protect you because I care about you, because you mean something to me, and that scares the hell out of me." His gaze bores into yours, "You’re not weak, you’re not incapable—but if something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”

You can see the anguish in his eyes, the way he’s battling with himself, caught between his instinct to protect and the reality of the situation. Your chest aches at the sight, your frustration dissolving as you realize just how deep his feelings for you run.

“Logan,” you say softly, reaching up to place a hand on his cheek. The gesture is gentle, meant to calm him, to show him that you’re not going to leave him, that nothing will happen to you. “I’m not going anywhere. You have to trust me.”

He closes his eyes for a moment, leaning into your touch as if drawing strength from it. When he opens them again, the anger has faded, replaced by a vulnerability you’ve rarely seen in him.

“I do trust you,” he murmurs. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not scared shitless”

Exhaling deeply, some of the tension leaves his body as he releases your arms, his hands lingering on your shoulders before sliding down to hold your hands. “Don’t get hurt,” he says.

For the first time since the argument started, a small, tentative smile tugs at the corner of your lips. “This isn't my first rodeo, Howlett.”

Logan chuckles, a deep, rich sound that seems to ease the remaining tension. “Never said it was,” he says, his voice softer now, though the intensity in his eyes remains. “Just… be safe, okay? I won’t be able to have my eyes on you at all times”

You nod, feeling a warmth blossom within you that has nothing to do with anger and everything to do with the man standing in front of you. “I will. I promise.”

Then, without a word, he pulls you into his arms, holding you close as if he’s afraid to let go. The warmth of his body surrounds you, and you can feel yourself slowly relax as you wrap your arms around his broad back, burying your face in his chest. His heartbeat thunders beneath your ear, a steady rhythm that grounds you in the quiet aftermath of the storm.

For a long moment, neither of you speak. Just holding each other, the room silent except for the sound of your breathing and the faint rustle of clothing as he tightens his embrace, pulling you impossibly closer. The earlier anger, the fear, all of it disappears, leaving only the comforting presence of him against you, solid and real.

“I’m sorry,” Logan mumbles into your hair, sincerity coating his tone. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know,” you whisper back, your fingers tracing soothing circles on his back. 

He nods against you, then he lets out a long, weary sigh. Almost reluctantly, he pulls back just enough to look down at you, his eyes searching yours for reassurance. When he finds it, his expression softens, and he dips his head to press a gentle kiss to your forehead, pausing there for a moment before his lips brush against your temple.

The tenderness of the gesture shoots throughout your body, straight to your heart, and you tilt your head up slightly, meeting his gaze. Without thinking, you lean up and capture his lips in a soft, lingering kiss. It’s a gentle exchange, a promise, and an apology all at once, the final remnants of the fight ebbing away as his lips move against yours.

Logan deepens the kiss, his hand coming up to cradle the back of your head, holding you close as he pours everything he can’t say into the kiss. You respond in kind, your arms tightening around him, losing yourself in the feel of him, the taste of him. Your lips part instinctively, allowing his tongue to slip into your mouth, the kiss becoming filled with even more need, more urgency.

Every touch, every breath shared between you ignites something primal, something that’s been simmering beneath the surface for far too long. Logan pulls you even closer, his other hand sliding down your back, gripping your waist as he presses you against him. It’s like he’s trying to imprint this moment, this connection, into his very soul.

When you finally break apart, both of you are breathless, your foreheads resting together as you try to catch your breath. His eyes are dark, filled with a desire that mirrors your own, and his thumb gently strokes your cheek as if grounding himself.

“Stay with me tonight,” he whispers.

You nod, your heart swelling with emotion as you give him a small, reassuring smile. “I was hoping you’d ask that.”

He pulls you into another embrace, and this time, he guides you both toward the bed, his movements slow and deliberate as if savouring the closeness between you. When the backs of your knees hit the edge of the bed, he gently lowers you down, following you onto the soft mattress.

You shift to make room for him, and he pulls you into his arms once more, tucking you against his chest as you both settle under the covers. The room is quiet, the only sound the soft rustling of sheets as you snuggle closer, your legs tangling together as you find a comfortable position. His hand rests on your hip, holding you close, while your hand rests against his chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath.

Pausing, you both lay there, the earlier argument a distant memory as the warmth of his body lulls you into a sense of calm. And then, Logan tilts your chin up, his eyes searching yours in the dim light. He leans down, pressing another tender kiss to your lips, slow and sweet.

You return the kiss, sighing into it while your hand slides up to rest on his cheek, your thumb brushing against the stubble on his jaw. The kiss deepens, but it remains gentle, a comforting connection rather than the desperation of before. When you finally pull back, you’re both breathless, faces flushed in the heat of moment.

“Get some sleep,” Logan murmurs, his voice low and soothing as he brushes a strand of hair from your face. “We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

You hum in agreement, feeling the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with you. “You too,” you reply softly, your voice already tinged with sleep.

He pulls you closer, pressing a final kiss to your forehead before settling back against the pillows, his arms securely around you. You rest your head on his chest, your eyes fluttering shut as you let the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lull you into a peaceful sleep. The last thing you’re aware of is the warmth of his arms around you, the feeling of safety and comfort that only he can bring.

------

A/N: I really enjoyed writing this one guys. Thanks for all the notes on my first two fics!

[coff33andb00ks]

Rule Breaker - Pt 1

max verstappen x single mom!reader

{next}

face claim: none, random pinterest find warnings: cursing, max is broody, jos is an asshole, fluff, barely proofread, idk red bull team aside from Max, Checo, and Horner... (y/n's bestie is named after my irl bestie bc she told me to write this, and y/n's son is not named after Magnussen i swear) Summary: Max has it all...right? Besides, he's too busy collecting trophies and completing side quests for anything else. Until... You moved across a whole ass ocean to start over, uprooting you and your son's lives to become social media admin for cars that drive in circles. word count: 4293 auth.note: hiii new to writing for f1 so I'm posting this in the middle of the night and hiding in bed - feedback greatly appreciated. also this is forbidden love/he falls first/friends to enemies to lovers

"Hey Max, come meet the new social media admin."

On his way out, he barely heard the words. But they registered and he immediately turned, knowing how important it was to have a good rapport with the social media personnel. He only had to meet them, then he could leave and go to the team apartment and… He didn't know. Pass time in his sim until he couldn't hold his eyes open. Maybe he'd go for a run until he was close to exhaustion. Or see if Lando was in the country and they could go out together. It was only when he was about to pass out that he was able to sleep and not be plagued with dreams.

His eyes swept the small office, swiveling to focus on the new face. She smiled, giving him a little wave as she set down her slice of pizza.

"Max, this is y/n. Y/n, this is Max."

"Hello," he said, watching as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Hi, sorry." She took a sip of her drink and wiped her mouth again. "Sorry – It's so great to meet you."

She was American. Walking over, he extended his hand. "Where are you from?"

Shaking his hand, she smiled up at him. "Well most recently I was with—"

"No, no, where in America," he corrected.

"Oh! North Carolina. I try to keep the country accent to a minimum but sometimes I slip up." She motioned to the pizza box on the desk. "You want a slice?"

No, he had to leave. His work was done, he didn't need to hang around and kill his precious down time. Besides, his diet was strict for the next few days, what with the race coming up. He had to focus on… Within fifteen seconds he was sitting across from her, holding a slice in one hand. One slice wouldn't hurt, he decided as he took a bite. "How long have you been in England?"

"About three weeks?" She glanced at her watch and nodded. "Three weeks tomorrow. I was staying at an Airbnb until a week ago when I moved into my apartment."

He nodded. "Are you going to be based here or go to the races?"

"Races. Gonna be living the glamorous life of travel and hotels and surviving on caffeine and sugar," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"It's not so bad."

"I'm sure I'll get used to it. You've been doing it for, what, half your life now?"

Shrugging, he took a sip of his water. "More than that, really. Are you saying you don't travel?"

"Not like this. I lucked out with my last job because I was able to do it mostly from home. I think I went up to New York or out to Cali maybe six times total? But I know I can do it," she added when his eyebrows lifted. "It'll just take a little getting used to, especially with a little one in tow a lot of the time."

That surprised him. His eyes immediately moved to her hands, which were completely bare of rings. "A little one?"

Y/n nodded, her eyes lighting. "He's three."

"What's his name?" Max asked. It was none of his business about the boy's father, anyway, so he wasn't going to ask about him. And he didn't even care.

"Kevin." Her smile was both shy and sparkling.

His chest tightened. Kevin, he knew, was one of the most loved children in the world. "What's he like?" The words came out and only after saying them he realized he wanted to know.

"He's… He's Kevin." She laughed. "He asks a million questions and will talk to anyone about anything. He's high energy but has laser focus when it's something that interests him – Like the other day I took him to the park. I expected him to be running around and trying out all the swings and stuff, but he spent an hour crawling in the grass following a caterpillar."

"Laser focus can be good at times," Max told her, earning a warm smile.

"I know. He comes by it honest because I do the same thing when I'm working."

"Will you be bringing him to the races?" Finished with his pizza, he shook his head when she nudged the box towards him and sat back to finish his water.

"Yeah. Not all of them, but to the next few. I already talked to Mr. Horner and Wanda about it," she said quickly, as though expecting him to be upset about her bringing her child to work. "He won't be in the way. My best friend – Ellie, she's his godmother – is traveling with me to Imola and Monaco to watch him for me. But her new job starts the first of June so I have to make arrangements before then."

"Does he like racing?"

"He's three," she deadpanned. "He loves anything with cars or trucks."

"You'll have to bring him to the track—"

"He also loves fart jokes and bugs."

Max blinked at her, snorting on a laugh when she grinned at him. "Fair enough."

"I do have to warn you, though," she said carefully, standing to gather the napkins and throw them into the trash. Closing the pizza box, she used a clean napkin to wipe off the desk. "He likes McLaren."

"It's the orange livery isn't it?" Max sighed. When she nodded, he shrugged. "I'll do my best to not hate him."

She giggled, letting out a snort.

And, for the first time in six months, Max felt lighter.

*-*

"There's my lil doodle bug," Viv cooed as Kevin leapt off the couch and ran towards her. Dropping her purse and work bag, she scooped him into a hug. "Hi sweetheart. How was your day, hm?"

Her son grinned, squeezing her tight. "I fell in poop!"

Viv froze for two seconds and leaned back a little. "What kind of poop?"

"Dog. Yes, it was fresh. Yes, he had a bath. Yes, I washed his clothes," Ellie announced as she came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Your dinner's almost done – How was work?"

Viv kissed her son's cheek and set him down so she could pick up her bags. "I spent the day reading protocols and policies and signing contracts. Oh, and getting my uniform."

Ellie took the knapsack stuffed with team shirts and jackets. "Good thing you love blue huh?"

"No kidding." She glanced over to Kevin, who had climbed back onto the couch and resumed lining his hot wheels along the back. "How was he today?"

"He was fine. You worry too much, mama," Ellie said gently, following y/n to her bedroom. Setting the knapsack down, she took the work bag and reached inside to switch off y/n's work phone. "Ah, ah, you're off now. You don't officially start work until Monday, so they can't expect you to be on call."

"Yes ma'am." Y/n held her hands up in surrender. "I'm gonna change and get him tucked in then I'll eat, promise."

"Perfect. Bridgerton tonight?" Ellie asked on her way out the door.

"You know it!" y/n called after her.

Once she'd changed into sweats and an old t-shirt she went to the living room. "C'mon, doodle bug," she said softly, smiling when Kevin slid off the couch without hesitation. She helped him pack his cars into their cubby, telling him about her boring day at work while she led him to the bathroom so he could brush his teeth. Then to her bedroom, wishing she had been able to afford a larger apartment so he could have his own space. But he didn't seem to mind, and more often than not he ended up crawling into her bed during the night. Something she treasured, because she knew that all too soon he would be "too big" to share a bed with his mama.

Three storybooks and a rambling made up tale about a one-eyed dragon and the princess that saved him from the evil knight later, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and turned off the light. "Good night, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," she whispered before she left the room.

"So I met Max Verstappen today," she told Ellie a few minutes later while fixing her drink.

"Ooo Mr Tu Tu Du Du himself?"

Y/n snorted. "Yeah, that one." The chicken alfredo with a side of broccoli looked so much more appetizing than the greasy pizza she'd had for a late lunch, and she almost felt like she'd cheated on her best friend for ordering takeout.

"What's he like?" Ellie asked, scooping a little more sauce over the noodles.

"He's nice."

"Just nice?"

"I mean, he asked me surface level questions and laughed at my lame jokes? Yeah, nice." Y/n pulled her plate away before Ellie could push more food onto it and sat down to eat. "Everyone's been so nice, Ellie…"

Her friend squeezed her shoulder. "I'm so glad. I have good news, too."

Y/n lifted her eyebrows, unable to speak because her mouth was full.

Ellie sat down, smiling brightly. "I spoke to HR today and Kev will be able to use the daycare."

Gulping down her mouthful of food, y/n gasped. "Oh that's great!" she cried, feeling the weight of worry that had been plaguing her for three weeks lift. "They're sure?"

"Yep, you just have to come in with me before the first and sign a document giving me permission to take him from the premises."

"Excellent, we can go in the morning? I have to go in after lunch to get my kit. Camera, laptop, all that. And Wanda told me to get more shirts so I don't have to worry about laundry while on the road – Oh and I'll be getting our passes."

"Kevin is so excited about Italy. He wants to see the leaning tower of pizza."

"Bless his heart, maybe I can take him one day."

Plans made, she finished her late dinner and did the washing up then changed into her pajamas before settling on the couch to watch Bridgerton. They were rewatching the series so she didn't feel guilty about scrolling her social media, finally biting the bullet and following all of the RedBull people she knew from headquarters.

"You are the bane of my existence… and the object of all my desires."

"Ugh," Y/N and Ellie whined in unison.

"So much nicer than you've had me hard since we met," y/n muttered.

"Let's be real, practically anything is better than that," Ellie agreed.

They finished the episode and y/n headed to bed, keeping as quietly as possible even though she knew her son could sleep through anything. Digging her work phone from her bag, she powered it on to check for any missed messages, smiling slightly when she saw Max had added her on WhatsApp. Adding him back, she was about to turn the phone off again when a new message popped up.

👋🏻

Rolling her eyes, she replied with the same emoji and waited a few seconds before plugging the phone in and turning on do not disturb. She wasn't going to have a late night chat with Max Verstappen of all people. He was probably just being nice, she told herself as she brushed her teeth and did her skincare. Wanda had told her that Max added everyone but rarely messaged anyone aside from Mr. Horner or the engineers.

Besides, she wasn't there to make friends, she reminded herself as she climbed into bed. She could be friendly, but she was there to do a job.

And no flirting with him either, she thought, immediately wondering why the idea had popped into her mind. She would never – okay, she might, if unintentionally. She knew it was a protective thing, knew it was because she had the undesirable need to have everyone like her. But she couldn't do it. Not with him, especially. He'd probably laugh in her face. He was younger than her and probably had a never ending line of gorgeous women waiting to please him.

Before she switched off the lamp she glanced over at her sleeping son. A living, breathing, very real reminder of what she'd gone through just four years ago. And she knew she couldn't go through that again. She wasn't strong enough. She refused to endure that torture and heartache. Kevin needed her, so she had to be strong for him.

Not to mention there was a no hanky-panky clause in her contract?

She had barely closed her eyes when she heard his toddler bed creak. Lying there, she listened to his feet whispering against the rug, smiling in the dark when he slowly slid the covers back.

"Mama," he whispered, and she reached for him. He snuggled close, tucking his head under her chin as she pulled the covers over them.

"Love you, sweetheart," she murmured, pressing a kiss into his hair.

"Love you, Mama."

*-*

"I think it's good, yeah," Max said, eyes scanning the screens of data from the upgrades. "It'll be great for turn seven." Nodding, he listened to the engineers as they went over potential upgrades for Monaco. Once the meeting was finished he grabbed his water bottle and left the room, ignoring the almost immediate phone call from his father. He knew it was his dad without checking, and strode down the hall, intent on leaving and heading straight for the airport to go home. Where he could ignore everything and everyone until Sunday when it was time to fly to Italy.

Rounding the corner, he lurched to a stop as a small child darted in front of him, his giggles echoing down the corridor. The little boy stopped and looked up at Max, blinking slowly.

"Hi!" He waved.

"Hello." Max heard rapid footsteps and glanced up to see y/n iquickly approaching.

"Kevin Scott—"

"I've got him," Max told her with a quick wave, squatting down to the boy's level. "So you're Kevin?"

The boy nodded, light blonde curls bouncing on his head. "I'm Kevin. That's Mama."

"I'm Max. I heard a lot about you."

Kevin's eyes widened. "You know Mama?"

"About this much." Max held his thumb and index finger barely a centimeter apart. He quickly looked to y/n, who was walking up behind Kevin. "I work with her."

"Ohh… She's gonna take me to see cars. D'you like cars Mister Max?" he asked seriously. As though cars were the most important thing in the universe.

"More than I like myself some days," Max quipped, reaching to check the miniature car the boy was holding in his hand. "I drive one like this."

Kevin gasped. "Do you got it here?"

Max chuckled. "We have a lot. Do you want to see them?"

"Please," the boy said, and Max couldn't have said no under any circumstances.

"You have to ask your mum," he said gently. "And maybe say sorry for running away from her?"

Kevin immediately turned to his mother. "Mama I sorry. Can Mister Max take me to cars?"

She sighed, squatting down to fix his shorts. "We've gotta be more careful, sweetheart. And yes, Mister Max can take us to see the cars."

Kevin spun to face Max again. "She said yes!"

Grinning, Max nodded and stood.

"Thank you," y/n said softly. "I'm sor���"

"He's three, yeah?" Max reached to place his hand on the boy's head, gently guiding him closer when he started to wander off. "Don't apologize for him being a child."

She tipped her head at that, then nodded, grabbing hold of Kevin's hand as Max turned to lead them back down the hallway he'd just left. "I only came by to get my kit, and his aunt had paperwork at her new workplace to finish up, so I had to bring him."

"I'm glad you did." Max gave her a gentle smile, using his card to open the door leading to the back of headquarters. "Have you been back here?"

"Only on my tour the other day."

"Just stick with me," he said. They wouldn't be entering the engineer or design areas, only taking the corridor to the garage. Otherwise they'd have to travel all the way to the main entrance and walk around to the back, which would be tedious for her son.

"I'm under contract and signed an NDA, and it's not like I'd know where to go to sell team secrets," she told him. "And I wouldn't even know what I overheard."

"Not a car fan?" he asked, accepting the model car Kevin was shoving at him. Slipping it into his pocket, he guided them along the curving corridor.

"Eh… Kinda? I like racing. I don't understand all the mechanics to it, I just like the adrenaline of watching twenty guys drive really fast. And I can admire good craftsmanship, like a Bugatti or a McLaren, ya know?"

"What do you drive?" Max asked, using his card to open the door to the garage. Met with the faint aroma of rubber and asphalt, he inhaled deeply, catching with it a lighter, more pleasant scent.

"Nothing at the moment. I've been taking an Uber to and from the apartment," she explained. "I'll probably get a used car after my first paycheck."

Max furrowed his brows, stopping on the catwalk. "You haven't gotten paid yet?"

"No? Well, only my signing bonus, and that's gone to household necessities like rent and food. It's fine, Max, I don't need a car right now."

What are you going to do, give her one of yours? he thought, reaching to Kevin and lifting the boy to his hip so he could carry him down the stairs to the main level. Kevin was already oohing and aahing over the neat rows of cars. "It's just me, Brandon," he called, seeing the member of the security team at the other end of the garage. "A quick tour for a new friend, yeah?"

Brandon waved and disappeared around the corner.

At the bottom of the stairs, Max set Kevin down, ushering him to the nearest car. The boy's excitement was contagious, and Max gleefully told him about each one that he'd driven, helping the boy climb into each and press buttons on the steering wheel. Laughing when Kevin made racecar noises, he pulled out his phone to pull up some videos for sound effects. Swiping away the notifications from his dad, he turned up the volume so the engine sounds echoed in the garage, enjoying Kevin's childish glee.

"This one you know," he said, guiding him to the most recent addition. Lifting him into the seat, he squatted down. "This is a car I drove last year, which—" He pulled the model car from his pocket and set it on top of the steering column. "—is just like the one you have."

"Wow." Kevin looked at him with pure awe. "Did you win?"

"I did. And I won the championship too."

"You're a champ-een, Mister Max?" the boy gasped.

"I am."

"Like Lightning McQueen?"

"You could say that," he chuckled, affectionately ruffling the boy's curls. Glancing over at y/n, he paused when he saw she was holding up her phone.

She peered at him over the top. "Is it okay to take pictures?"

"Of course." He had a feeling she'd already taken dozens. He stepped out of the way so she could get photos of Kevin in the car, then lifted him out once she tucked her phone away. "Have you seen the trophies?"

"No. Can we see 'em, Mister Max? Please?"

"You have to ask your mum." Turning, he sent y/n a pleading look as Kevin asked permission.

"As long as Mister Max doesn't mind," she said, rolling her eyes when Kevin squealed yay.

"It's a long walk, do you want me to carry you?"

Kevin squirmed, wriggling so he was piggybacking. "Thank you Mister Max."

His chest tightened, and he reached to adjust the boy's legs around his middle. "You're welcome, Kevin. We do have to make a stop on the way to the trophy case, though."

Next to him, y/n cleared her throat. "I can take him if you've got something to do."

"No, it's fine, a quick stop," Max assured her, motioning for her to go up the stairs first.

"A pit stop?" Kevin asked, giggling as Max jogged up the steps.

"Exactly that. No more than ten seconds," he promised.

Fifteen minutes later, he was squatting down to fix the collar of Kevin's new shirt. "There you go, mate. What do you think?"

Kevin grinned and gave him a thumb's up.

Max looked up at y/n, who rolled her eyes. "He has to be Team Red Bull," he explained with a shrug, adjusting Kevin's new cap with a grin. Thanking the merch manager, he handed over the bag of goodies he'd grabbed and motioned for Kevin to climb onto his back.

"Thank you!" Kevin called, waving enthusiastically as he was carried out.

"Thank you, Max," y/n murmured while they walked towards reception. "But please don't get him anything else."

"I won't," he said softly. "If I overstepped—"

"No, no, it's fine. He'll wear the shirts until they're too small and he'll play with the models until they fall apart. I just don't want him to think he'll get this type of treatment all the time."

"I understand." He nodded. She didn't want her son to be spoiled. Which he found admirable. "…So giving him one of my old cars is out of the question?"

She halted, jaw dropping. "Max!"

"A joke!" he promised, flashing her a grin as he jogged ahead.

"Not funny," she scoffed behind him, and he heard her huff as she ran to catch up. "Those things cost probably a million—"

Max swung around, easily catching Kevin and swinging him back onto his back. "The car for Miami was about sixteen million."

Her eyes widened. "Sixteen—" She pressed her hands together right in front of her mouth. "Million? As in sixteen then six zeroes behind it?"

Nodding, he started walking backwards, amused at her reaction. She was staring at him in shock, and her son was giggling. "It's hard to pinpoint an exact cost, because we reuse some components from race to race. A chassis, or wings, yeah? If you really wanted to know I can pull up the data and get the price for each part—"

"No," she said, shaking her head slowly. "Please don't. I'd probably faint."

"It's an expensive sport, y/n," he reminded her.

"Yeah no shit," she muttered, exhaling harshly. "I've got so much to learn."

"You'll be fine." He'd meant it to come out in an offhand manner. A generic it's okay so feelings wouldn't be hurt. But it came out gently, laced with reassurance and promise. And, before he could stop himself, his mouth opened again. "If you have any questions you can ask me."

"I can Google," she told him.

"I can change my Wikipedia to say I'm eighty-six. Doesn't make it true," he quipped.

To his relief, she laughed. "Fair point. I'll be sure and ask you."

He turned his attention back to Kevin, swinging him from his back to his hip. Reception was empty, and he set the boy down so he could explore the various displays. "He can't hurt anything," he reassured her, knowing she was watching carefully as Kevin ran over to a wing displayed on the wall.

"I just worry," she sighed.

"Why do you sound like you're apologizing?" Folding his arms over his chest, he watched Kevin walk around the large room, drinking it all in. "You're his mother, you're supposed to worry. If you didn't you would have to apologize."

"Thank you."

"He's a good kid, y/n," he said softly.

"I think so too." He could hear the smile in her voice and turned slightly to see it on her face.

Every other time he'd been in this room the weather outside had been cloudy or rainy. He couldn't remember the sun ever shining as he'd stood there to soak in all the history. Until now. It poured through the windows, causing the trophies in the cases to sparkle and the polished floor to gleam. It shone into her eyes, and he could only stare at her as she squinted a little, a tiny dimple appearing in her left cheek.

God, she was lovely.

She glanced at him and his breathing kickstarted. Unconsciously licking his lips, he cleared his throat. "You seem to be doing well, for a single mom."

Her smile faltered and he mentally kicked himself. She looked to Kevin, who was studying the Red Bull logo on the wall, and looked at Max again. "I didn't have a choice."

"I'm sorry," he said automatically.

"Oh he's not dead." She watched her son, her smile gone. "Just dead to us."

"Then I'm sorry for bringing it up." It had ruined the day. Well, alright, not the day but the moment. They'd been having fun, he'd been having fun.

You always fuck up don't you?

His jaw clenched as the angry voice from years ago echoed in his mind.

"It's okay, Max." Her gentle voice cut through the echoes of the past and he forced his jaw to relax.

Nodding, he uncrossed his arms and called to Kevin, taking him by the hand and leading him to the towering trophy case. "Come on, y/n, time to learn some history."

She snorted on a laugh but joined them, and he could tell she was paying attention as he rattled off years and races and drivers to Kevin.

You're going to fuck this up too, the voice sneered.

[greyskyflowers]

The idea of hell having a claim on Edwin's soul is such a fun avenue to explore. There's a lot of ways I like to think that could manifest.

Personally, I like the idea of the claim mark being inked around his throat like a tattoo, the whole way around it like a collar. It's why he wears his shirt buttoned up all the way and his bow tie all the time.

Something in another language or comprised of runes or other designs that indicate his soul is claimed, but it just looks wrong. There's no good way to describe it but even someone who didn't know it was a claim from hell would be unsettled by it.

And Charles hates it from the first time he sees it.

Especially the more he gets to know Edwin, the more it really sinks in how wrong the whole thing is.

And because the universe apparently just loves to fuck with Edwin, it also hurts. Ghosts can't bleed but sometimes it just kind of oozes a thick black liquid. It will burn, similar to the way iron burns, and it itches. Edwin will mindlessly scratch at it to the point where he'd be bleeding if he was living.

When he's in hell, it manifests as a actual iron collar. It's the same collar each time he comes back after being killed so it's rusted with old blood and forms jagged edges, ripping into the skin while it burns. When he scratches at it, he digs at the skin until it bleeds and sometimes further.

Edwin did not tell Charles about the physical collar. That might have been a misstep on his part, however in his defense he wasn't planning on ending up back in hell or Charles being in hell with him at any point.

So Charles, who's already burning with worry and rage, finds Edwin and learns what actually happens to him down here and finds out the whole time Edwin is collar like a dog... well. It doesn't go well.

Charles wants it off. The mark was bad enough but now he's got an actual fucking collar?

He wants it off Edwin. He wants it off right now. But there's no seam on the collar, it's like it was welded on. It's not meant to come off and it won't, not while they're still in hell.

It's burning into Edwin's skin when he tells Charles he's in love with him and honestly, Charles can barely focus on anything except getting Edwin out of there and that stupid fucking collar smoking and drawing blood.

But he knows he doesn't want to tell Edwin he loves him back right now. Not when they're still in hell with a monster chasing them, both of them exhausted and Edwin hurt.

He'll say it after they're safe and out of hell, after that collar is gone.

He's going to hit the ground running on figuring out how to break the whole damn claim. He hadn't pushed it as much as he should have. Edwin didn't like to talk about it or call attention to it and Charles respected that. He shouldn't have. He should have pushed it because even if Edwin only had the physical collar in hell, he still had the mark constantly.

Charles had spent many nights glaring at it, nights where it was just them in the office and Edwin actually let himself relax, undoing the buttons on his shirt until the mark was visible. His attention would always end up being drawn back to the mark, Edwin too focused on other things to notice.

If he said anything, or even got caught staring at it, he knew Edwin would snap shut. He wouldn't ever let it show again and he deserves a place to be able to relax and not worry about it. Plus, Charles knows that sometimes the mark is sensitive enough that the clothing rubbing against it makes it raw, being able to expose the mark and let it air out was a relief.

The claim gets pushed to the side with everything else that happens but when Charles gets Edwin off the table Esther had made, to torture him and Charles was rapidly coming to the conclusion that he was more than okay being incredibly violent if it means people will leave Edwin and him alone, the mark is dark and black liquid is rolling down his skin in big drips.

He's ready to get Crystal involved by the time they're finally back in the office, even though he knows Edwin has no desire for her to see or know about the curse, but things actually start to go their way.

They're given the okay to stay together and keep solving cases, and Edwin doesn't have to worry about going back to hell.

They're giving the night nurse some shit, welcoming her to the agency with tongue in cheek comments when she mentions something about the cursed claim and both of them straighten up.

It's nothing concrete, but it's worth a shot. Charles feels a little bad for flinging her off the cliff at the lighthouse because there must be something good in her for her to give them this. She could have said nothing and they never would have even thought to ask her.

She can't promise it will work and she doesn't even know if it's the right information but it gives them a place to start and that's more than enough.

Once your soul has been cursed and claimed in such a way, especially by something like hell, it can't ever be completely free again. Something with the makeup of the soul being altered. Ownership of the claim must be transferred to someone else, it isn't broken just shifted.

So, in the end, the only thing that can transfer a claim on a soul like Edwin's is a stronger claim.

Charles is like fucking finally. He's ready to rip Edwin's soul out of everyone else's hands at this point. No one's got a stronger claim on Edwin than him and he'll fight hell to prove it if he needs to.

And honestly, Edwin can't think of anyone else he'd want to have it.

The spell for the transfer works and the mark changes completely. The dark ink lightens to a off grey silver color that's hardly visible unless you look right at it. The edges of the letters/runes/shapes go from jagged and sharp to curved and soft.

The mark doesn't hurt, ooze black, burn, or itch anymore. In fact, Edwin would argue that it's warm, like it's trying to soothe more than anything else.

He would almost say it's pretty.

Charles gets a version of it on his wrist, wrapped around it like a bracelet. It shows more on him with his skin color and Edwin would say it's pretty.

Maybe it's sensitive and touching it on each other feels good. So Charles gets in the habit of brushing his hands over Edwin's throat and petting at the mark. Edwin gets in the habit of grabbing Charles's wrist and holding it, fingers soothing over the mark and the soft skin of Charles's inner wrist.

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙

Idk just fun thoughts 🤷‍♀️

[hannieehaee]

Hey I have an idea!

Could we have another type of angst like "if their s/o gets hurt (seriously or not) while they are touring away"

Please 🙏🙏

(sorry English is not my first language)

their s/o getting hurt while they're away on tour

content: implied accident (but nothing explicit), established relationship, fluff, angst, etc.

wc: 767

a/n: i left the reason why reader was hurt ambiguous to not make it too specific!

masterlist

seungcheol -

would absolutely blame himself for it even when it was completely out of his control. being leader, he probably wouldn't be able to leave whichever schedule he had (at least not right away), but he'd move hell and earth to make sure you were okay while he made his way back to you. would probably be super snappy at everyone bc of how bad he felt he was away from you in such a time.

jeonghan -

he'd be sad and apologetic, but would hide it behind some of that kidnergarten teacher humor, wanting nothing but to comfort you. would be on the phone with you every second up until he could be with you in person, always cooing at you and pouting through the phone. his caring persona would shine through so much.

joshua -

cannot focus on anything that's not you and it'd show on both his behavior and appearance. if he cant get to you, he'd be constantly checking his phone to hear from you as much as possible. would feel guilty for having to be away but would swallow that in order to focus solely on you.

jun -

worried sick and it'd show in his behavior immediately. if he was on tour, the audience would be able to tell he's a little off, not being his usual silly self. would spend every waking moment on the phone with you, maybe even flying out and missing a show or two to make sure you were okay.

soonyoung -

would literally be unable to function from the moment he heard you'd been hurt. he'd be a completely deflated version of himself, feeling guilt and pain from your own pain. rambles endless apologies to you the moment he gets to call you or be by your side.

wonwoo -

would fly out the moment he heard something happened to you. realistically, he'd probably be unable to stay with you due to tour, but he'd wanna make sure he had you under the best care and knowing you were his main priority even if he had to fly back right away.

jihoon -

makes sure you have everything a person could possibly need despite his distance. constantly on the phone with you, barely paying attention to the outside world bc you're his main concern at the moment. it'd take one single plea from you to get him on a flight home to you, everything else be damned.

seokmin -

terrified and super guilty, and it would show. if he had no way of getting to you immediately, he'd be spamming you and your loved ones for constant updates on your state, constantly apologizing to you over the phone for not being there for you. takes a short break to take care of you as soon as possible.

mingyu -

goes into caretaker mode immediately. will be on the phone all day with you and making sure you have everything you could possibly need to feel better and get properly taken care of during his absence. if he's unable to be with you, he'd still take a flight on his day off even if it means staying for half a day and taking another flight back immediately.

minghao -

doesnt give a fuck if there's some schedule in the way, he'll get to you with or without his company's support. he'd know the members would understand and thats all that mattered. he'd want to beat himself up over not being there, but would put that in the back burner, not wanting to make this about himself.

seungkwan -

he'd be such a mess, he'd have to be sent home immediately upon finding out. he'd be so sad and apologetic for not being there, swearing it'd never happen again. from now on, he'd either take you with him or stay with you (as irrational as that sounded), blinded by emotions as he took care of you.

vernon -

he'd try to be logical about it, finding a way to take care of you despite the distance while he found a way to get back home to you in order to take care of you. this would be one of the few moments in which he'd hate the nature of his job, cursing at himself for not being able to be there for you as soon as humanly possible.

chan -

he'd be a worried mess, feeling like shit due to having not been there for you when you got hurt. super guilty and regretful, constantly sending you flowers or food delivery due to his absence. makes up for it tenfold as soon as he gets a few days off.

[thexsilentxwordsmith]

Simon "Ghost" Riley x Fem!reader

Part 2 to Truth or Dare

Fandom: Call of Duty

Character(s): Simon Riley, Reader

Summary: After a game of Truth or Dare leaves you and your lieutenant breathless and yearning for more, will you both be able to leave things alone or will one of you not be able to hold out? And what happens when you meet again?

Word Count: 5 k

Part 3: READ HERE

So many questions are left on Lt. Riley’s tongue as he finishes another cigarette and leaves the group of officers behind in the rec to make his way back to his quarter, the spectre's touch of your full lips still causing the skin on his mouth to tingle from the sudden lack of all that delicious pressure. There is so much he wants to make clear, even more he wants to do, but where to begin? It’s all so confusing.

As he lays down in his empty bed staring up at the ceiling, struggling to relax his feverish limbs as it still feels like he has been struck by a live wire, he fails to keep his wandering mind focused on his breathing to ignore the gnawing emptiness that is filling his chest from the absence of your presence. That’s when the questions start to roll in.

Did you feel something too? Maybe it was all just an act? Does that even matter if it was?

“No,” Simon mutters to himself through the silence to stop his train of thought from running rampant. He’s allowing himself to get distracted worrying about the unknown and that is something that will only cause more problems, but he is in turmoil.

Unsuccessfully he tosses and turns in the darkness that fills the space, his thoughts drifting back to that feeling of heat from the proximity of your bodies, the residual pressure from your mouth plastered to his, the look of pure lust in your gaze, and the gnawing compulsion of his fingers to get at your curves. 

But this isn’t a lover’s island, there is a job to be done here and he has seniority. Maybe it is better to leave this alone where it stands; who knows what disaster could come from getting involved with another officer in such a capacity. And yet…

There is no stopping his mind from wandering ceaselessly back to those breathless moments where his lips fought yours for dominance with the mind-numbing electricity flowing between you, the attraction so strong it did not seem possible for you both to pull from it. 

He has a problem and it isn’t going away.

Across base, laying in the dark in your own bed, your heartbeat pounding heavily in your chest, an ache runs its course throughout your limbs. There is a need for something to ease this overwhelming desire to be craved in a desperate, debilitating way, though you really don’t want to admit it. No, you don’t need something…you need someone. You need him.

You hadn’t been ready to admit it then, but there was a spark between you that is no longer possible to ignore now that you are alone, but you don’t know how to handle things any other way than to just ignore and move on; maybe the desire to have him again will die away if you just let it be. Even as the thought enters your mind you know it’s pure bullshit. There is no denying that things became complicated the second your lips met, that it was like igniting gasoline with a blowtorch. What was once mere infatuation that you could handle, has now grown into an untamed beast inside that leaves you feeling delirious and out of control. 

Rolling onto your side, you convince yourself to leave all these questions alone and focus on something else, anything to get your mind off of what you would be doing with the lieutenant at this moment if you both had not been interrupted. As you close your eyes to force sleep to come, visions of a bare and glistening officer thrusting between your legs fills your subconscious and you hope the morning comes soon enough because sleep is going to be short tonight.

Luckily, life around base rarely stands still long enough for anything other than work to get tended to. Any hopes of exploring that tension and ecstasy has to be put on the back burner as life in the taskforce resumes its usual chaos. Daily operations keep your schedule packed completely full all week so that certain thoughts get pushed to the back of your mind. And yet, during those slower moments of the day, they come creeping back up just like they never left. 

“ ‘ello?” Soap says as he waves his hand in front of your blank face. “Ye in there, lass?”

Your fork hangs limply from your hand, teetering over your plate lunch and threatening to fall with a clatter as you realize that you drifted off again. This is the third time this week that you have gotten so lost in thought trying to recall that feeling of the lieutenant’s lips that it’s becoming apparent to your fellow sergeant that something is off. Blinking a few times, you shake your head to clear your mind.

“What?” you shoot back at him as you stab the food and push it around the plate, pretending to eat even though you aren’t hungry.

“I’ve been talkin’ for a good five minutes and ye ain’t heard a word,” he says with a hint of agitation. His steady glare gives you the once over as he tries to read your face. “Where ye at these last few days, hmm?” 

You mask your face behind your customary smile. “Maybe I’m just trying to imagine a more engaging conversation than the one I’m currently in,” you pick, but Johnny isn’t letting this drop.

His eyes are still on you, scrutinizing your body language even as you stare down into your food to avoid his gaze. From the corner of your eye you can see the gears turning in that mind of his as if he is trying to put things together. You let it go on a few more seconds before you speak up.

“You got a problem or something?”

“It’s just strange,” he chuckles and you raise an eyebrow as you tilt your head to the side. “It’s just…I was speakin’ to Gaz yesterday and he mentioned that the lieutenant seems…distracted…as well lately. Same vacant look ye got goin’ on. Ye wouldn’t happen ta know why, would ye?”

Your heart leaps with a strong thud in your chest. Just what the hell is he implying? You had been certain that Johnny knew nothing, but now you aren’t so sure. Maybe you aren’t being as convincing as you think. “Why the fuck would I know that?” you play it off as you swallow down the lump in your throat. “Do I just know everything that goes on with everyone around here? I’ve got enough on my mind then to worry about the rest of you lot.”

Johnny leans in a bit closer over his plate and lowers his voice as he says the next part, making your blood run cold. “Must be a coincidence then, that both a ye just happen ta be actin’ different at the same time, ay? Ye know, on account a tha other night.”

The heel of your boot immediately connects with his foot only hard enough to make him yelp and pop back upright in surprise. You always forget that Johnny is smarter than he lets on and it’s clear he has been paying attention. Too bad you will never give him the satisfaction of admitting anything. With a laugh he sits back in his seat as you stare him down before rolling your eyes. 

“Why are you so worried about the lieutenant? Seems like someone’s a bit too obsessed and that can be a problem. You should probably talk to someone about that.”

He shakes his head. “Whatever ye say, lass,” he says, punctuating it with another chuckle as he tucks back into his lunch. “Whatever ye say.”

Firearms and ammunition is on the schedule for the rest of your day. It is your job to take inventory of all the munitions you’ll need for tomorrow’s end of week training. At least the repetitious task will keep you busy enough that hopefully you won’t be thinking about a certain lieutenant and what he could be up to right now.

At least that is the plan that you start with, but just as every other day this week soon that hulking officer begins to creep his way into your mind. Has Johnny been lying about how distracted the lieutenant seems lately? Could it be about what happened the other night or could it be something that has nothing to do with you? Little by little, it chips away at your calm until that is all you can focus on, even as you try and get through counting and gathering all the materials you’ll be needing for tomorrow. 

There is no way for you to know, but at that exact moment there is someone coming your way with a burning question that needs answering. 

All week Lt. Riley has gone about his days as usual, except try as he might to focus only on the tasks given to him, all he can do is mull over the same question in his mind: did you feel something in the kiss the way he did? It is eating him alive to know the answer and no matter where he is, who is speaking with, or what he is doing, the question is there to make him restless.

Until finally he has had enough. Just as the question overwhelms his mind again he throws down the work on his desk, shoves his chair back to get out, and leaves his office in a flurry. He doesn’t know where he’s going, but as he walks he passes by Captain Price’s office, the one person that would know where you are stationed today. Quickly he steps inside the doorway to ask. 

Price checks his computer screen that has all that information already pulled up. “She has firearm trainin’ tomorrow with the newer recruits, so she will be takin’ inventory in munitions today,” the captain relays the information, curious as to why his lieutenant seems tense and sounds a little out of breath. 

Before the captain can ask any more probing questions or mention to his officer that he will need to speak with him in a bit, the lieutenant heads off in a rush towards the munitions depot. No matter, the captain will let him conduct his business with you and send a messenger in a bit to bring him back.    

Lt. Riley crosses the base with nothing else on his mind but to get to you and when he does he finds you are completely lost in your work, none the wiser that you aren’t alone anymore until it’s too late. You don’t hear that signature click that means the main door is opening, nor the careful, but heavily booted footsteps padding across the floor in your direction. Just a few feet from you he stops and stares silently, waiting to see if you notice his presence. 

It doesn’t take long for you to feel a pair of eyes on you and looking up you come face to face with the person that was just on your mind. You can’t stop the way you hold your breath the moment your eyes connect as every involuntary process in your body gets interrupted by his sudden appearance. Desperately you try to regain composure and shake off that initial surprise; there is no need to make this awkward, it will only make things worse for yourself in the long run. 

Clearing your throat, you shoot him a smile. “Sir,” you greet him with a nod and a slight tremor in your voice that you quickly swallow back down. “Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here. Did you need something?”

The adrenaline makes your limbs tingle and instead of just standing there awkwardly as you wait for him to respond, you put your hands back to the task before you hoping to cause your nervousness to settle. If you have to stand looking into his face in the stillness of the room for much longer, you might combust and the risk of looking like a fool is enough to make you act out being too busy to give him your full attention. 

Standing this close with the lingering feelings from the reaction that happened the last time you were together, the lieutenant is overwhelmed and it makes him pause. That same magnetism that he had felt that night is already pulling him to you, until his composure falls apart faster than he can calm it. Still, there is a question on the tip of his tongue that he is choking to ask; it’s the whole reason he’s here and he’s not leaving without an answer no matter what.

“I need ya to stop and look at me,” he says as he steps in towards you. You discreetly take a deep breath as you set your things down to turn your face back to look up at him. 

He’s already scrutinizing your body language, focusing on any sign that might give him an idea of where your thoughts are at this moment. Those brown eyes catch how tense your shoulders are through your t-shirt, how your pupils seem dilated as you meet his gaze, and finally the way your hands tremble as they hang at your sides.  

“I want ya to tell me the truth, yeah?” he says with a nod.

You stare back at him, big doe-eyes sparkling in the overhead lights as your pulse runs fiery hot through your limbs with the growing anxiety from wondering what the hell is going on. “Yes, sir?”

The mask covering his face clings a little too tightly and the clothing on his chest traps in the heat rising in his body, making his skin clammy as he struggles to vocalize that loaded question he’s had swirling in his mind for days. Lt. Riley clears his throat; he thought he’d come up with something better than this, but thinking clearly has long gone now. All he can do is just spit it out. 

“Mactavish’s stupid fuckin’ dare, ya remember it? I keep thinkin’ ‘bout it and I need ya to tell me somethin’: was it all an act, the way we kissed?”

Fuck, how are you supposed to answer this?

There is warmth blossoming in your cheeks as the thumping grows stronger in your chest. His question is simple enough, yet there isn’t a simple way for you to answer. Tell the truth? Could you actually go through with something that risky? For all you know he could be asking just to tell you that the kiss is to mean nothing because it will never happen again, that he wants you to let it all go to clear the air of any misconceptions. You pray that that is not what he’s about to say, but as you silently think about how to answer, he pushes for you to stop avoiding the question.

“I need ya to answer me,” he says firmly, eyes never leaving yours. “Were ya pretendin’ or did ya not want it to fuckin’ end?” 

A sharp inhale of air does nothing in helping to calm your nerves; you just have to get on with it. “I-it…wasn’t an act,” you say. 

The lieutenant has his answer, that’s what he wanted, right? Just to hear you say that the spark ignited between you in those few ecstasy-fueled minutes were genuine; that is it, isn’t it? His curiosity is sated and he should be able to move on, but he can’t. With your confession comes something more, something that he can’t let go of, and that is now that he knows it was real he wants it again. It consumes him to the point that he cannot move away and instead steps in closer as he grabs your biceps, forcing you to move backwards until you find yourself against the wall directly behind you.

“Sir?” you ask to get his attention as he continues to stand there staring intensely into your face without so much as a sound. You hadn’t felt this overwhelmed by his presence since the night you two kissed, but now it is back to cloud your mind and set your pulse pounding through your limbs. 

Your furrow-browed stare wavers as you clear your throat and repeat your question again. “Sir?”

Consequences are an inconceivable concept right now; the only thing playing in his mind are how fucking soft your lips look and how he desperately wants to get lost in them again. The sensations of reliving that experience from that night in the rec consumes every molecule in his body until there is nothing left inside him except for you. 

He needs it, he needs it now, and as that deep, longing ache settles itself in his chest to cause his heart to pound so hard that he can hear the beat in his ears, he throws sensibility away as he moves to grab your hips firmly in his gloved hands. 

“We really shouldn’t be doin’ this,” he says, his body pressing against yours as he draws you in. “Ya know it’s trouble.”

His actions don’t match his words and the contradiction causes your mind to falter on what you should do. Did he want this to end or not? Does he even really know?  

“Do you want to stop, sir?” you ask timidly as your body begins to vibrate with the sudden, intense pleasure of his hands as they are back on you again. “You know we can just forget it; it’s really fine.”

One of his hands leaves the curve of your hip and travels upwards so that those long, covered fingers can string themselves through the strands of hair at the back of your head. “Who said I wanted ta forget, hmm?” he admits with his eyes firmly on your lips, watching as they part slightly so you can take quick, short breaths in and out. “Do ya think I wasn’t there, that I didn’t feel what was happenin’ between us that night? Ya think I could just forget all that? Do ya think I want to?”

His gloved thumb wraps around your face so that he can brush it over your bottom lip, letting the electricity pass through the fabric from his fingertips into your mouth. You gasp from the ache his touch leaves behind and he exhales heavily at your reaction. “Do ya know the fuckin’ power ya have over me after that? Shit, I’m riskin’ a lot just ta be here like this with ya again, knowing what could happen when we’re alone. All because ‘a one fuckin’ kiss.”

You swear if he doesn’t do something soon you are going to pass out; your mind is spinning in circles as the warm tension gathering between your bodies becomes unbearable. Only a small swatch of fabric covering his face keeps you both apart and yet you can still sense the heated air from his mouth as it sweeps across the delicate skin of your lips the closer he lowers his head.

He can’t do it, he can’t stop the way he craves you to the point of insanity right now. No, if he was going to stop it should have been long before now. As his hands cling to your body, there isn’t any chance that he is going to let you get away. He needs you, he has to have you, and it has to be right this fucking second to ease the painful longing that has kept him up all week.

Lt. Riley is gone; in his place is a depraved being that only yearns to feel that overwhelming passion that you gave him once again.

“I need more of the way it felt,” he groans adamantly. “I need ya, now.”

Before you can properly react to his heart-stopping statement, the lieutenant frantically wrenches his mask up and completely off his face, not wanting to be hindered at all from you anymore. All you catch is a crown of short blonde hair as he lets the cloth fall to the floor, closes his eyes, and leans in without another word to harshly smash his juicy lips together with yours in a reckless abandon that makes your knees buckle. 

Fucking hell it’s everything that he remembered and so much more; you taste like the best type of sin and he is ready to pay everything for it.

The force of his advance shoves your head backward into the wall as he takes your mouth with dizzying harshness, not hesitating to shove in his tongue to fill the cavity behind your lips to capacity. The tip of that wet muscle strokes across the roof of your mouth and the sensation causes your eyes to roll back into your head. If there was any doubt left in your mind, it has all dissipated now that his mouth is back on yours.

“Stop callin’ me sir. Say my name,” he forcefully demands in that husky, breathless tone, a yearning in his voice that makes your soul burn as he speaks those desperate words onto your skin. “Call me Simon.” 

You break from his mouth, your lips instantly desperate to form the word and say it aloud. “Simon,” you moan and it breathes new life into his name that he could never have predicted he needed.

Pining you tighter to the wall, he overtakes you rougher and rougher until the harshness of his movements abrades the skin of your mouth to make it swell and bruise. Relentlessly he siphones the breath from you to keep him going. That moist air fills his mouth so that he can speak. “Say it again,” he orders in a growl.   

It’s like honey as it rolls off your tongue and you can’t help but want to repeat it. “Mmm, Simon,” you whimper onto his mouth and goddamn the euphoria of having to swallow down the desperation in your voice suddenly awakens an insatiable ache that will need more to quench.

His gloves have to go, now, as his bare hands are burning to get their fill of your curves. Those thin pieces of fabric are hindering him from being able to connect with all that silky skin so that he can know what it feels like against his calloused palms. It is torment to be kept from all that ecstasy. Struggling to peel them off his fingers as he cannot pry his mouth away from yours at all, he finally frees those long, brawny digits and they waste no time in pawing wildly at your body. 

Greedy fingers recklessly claw and tear at your clothing, searching for an opening where he can penetrate to find enough balmy skin available to fill his hands until he cannot hold anymore. Deliriously and without looking he rips the pieces of your uniform up until he can get underneath them and let his fingertips get that first touch he has craved nonstop since the second he had pulled away from you that night. Those hungry lips continue to overwhelm your own as Simon is able to grab the hem and his hands have finally found their prize.

Laborious panting breaths fill up the space between you as the roughness of his hands grip into your hips and square them up against his own, pelvis’ grinding together in search of as much friction as they can find. Only a few layers of clothing keep your bodies apart, but that doesn’t stop Simon from rutting against you and you matching his movements. There is nothing else inside your head except the overwhelming euphoria of his touch along the lines of your body and the growing bulge in his pants that drills into you harder and harder the more it grows. 

No immediate danger is there to keep you both tame, no time limit looms over your heads that will force you to stop, and when two desperate things have nothing to lose, they simply let go. 

Every single one of his senses is overflowing with all of you: the feeling of your lips against his, the taste of your sweet breath in his mouth, the warmth of your skin brushing over his, the beat of your heart that he can feel through his fingertips, the sound of your quiet whimpers making his head spin. Goddammit you are eager, so willing to meet his advancements with everything you have; there is no question about what you want. And he cannot lie that he wants it too. You’ve both started down this path and there is no turning back; he knows it’s wrong, he knows he should stop, but he won’t.

You are in his veins, circling inside his mind, part of the very air he breathes; whatever risk comes with this could never outweigh the reward of getting to sate the hunger that has been driving him insane.

“Fuck it all,” he growls and suddenly his hands are under your arms and you are being hoisted up off the ground. 

Your body reacts from pure instinct by spreading your legs wide and wrapping them around his broad hips, securing yourself to him with a clench of your thighs together. Simon knocks a gasp out of you as he slams your back up against the wall to use it for leverage, his body crushing yours as he begins to grind up into you with that throbbing, engorged cock that is straining to break the zipper of his pants. 

Through your clothes he thrusts up into you with powerful strikes, hips rolling into yours over and over with desperation as he tries to get just a little bit more friction between your bodies. You use your thighs to help push yourself up off of him, bouncing over his crotch in response to mimic the way you’d fuck him. 

Simon knows he shouldn’t go any further, that he should slow things down because this isn’t the place, but he won’t. Everything is already so close, but still not close enough. He needs the real thing, not this cheap imitation. Even in the haze of this delirious union, there is only one thing he knows he has to do.

He has to get you both naked. 

Feverish fingers claw into the negative space between your bodies at the bottom of your shirt until Simon can find the hem. The cooler air outside of your clothing hits your skin with a tingle to make goosebumps appear as he pulls it up off your stomach and over the swell of your breasts.

“Lift up your arms,” he says quickly and your eyes flutter open so that you can follow the demand. 

In one swift motion the shirt is off and Simon doesn’t waste any time in ripping off his shirt as well. The feeling of skin to skin sends shivers of ecstasy down his spine as he presses against you. So soft, so warm, fucking hell is he in over his head. He leans in, bending forward so that he can kiss the tops of your breasts through your bra as he hands wander again between your bodies to the clasp on your pants.

Just as his fingers loop through the waistband, you hear the tail end of it. There is no mistaking it, it’s the signature sound of the door to the armory closing shut. You have no time to act as a private with a message from Captain Price enters in a hurry, not paying attention, and stumbles upon something he shouldn’t have under no fault of his own. 

“Lt. Riley, Price needs to see y–” the messenger says as he finally looks up, immediately stopping dead in his tracks as his cheeks flush bright red at coming face to face with the two of you half naked and twined together. 

The private is tripping over his words as an exasperated growl shuts him right up. “Outside; now,” Simon barks harshly through a heavy pant as he turns his head enough to lock eyes with the now terrified private. Quickly the young man turns tail and bolts for the door, stumbling over his feet to get out as fast as he physically can. Once the click from the door closing shut is heard, those brown eyes turn back to you.

Simon draws in a deep breath before his head falls forward to rest up against yours, foreheads pressed together as he just holds onto you for a moment. “Goddammit,” he curses under his breath in disappointment. 

Carefully he untangles his body from yours and sets you back down onto your feet. “Times up,” he repeats the phrase that ended your encounter the last time, though his tone is markedly more miserable this time, and you can’t help the way your stomach knots tightly. 

Simon grabs all your clothing back up off the ground, handing you your shirt back as he goes to put his own back on. You immediately redress and straighten your uniform as best you can with your unsteady hands. Everything gets tucked back in place once again as you wait for him to head out without a word, since this seems to be following a certain pattern now. 

But instead of simply walking away leaving you to agonize about if you will ever get a chance like this again, his arm reaches out and those long gloved fingers wrap around your belt buckle, gripping it tight in his hand so that he can drag you back against him. The other hand finds its way under your chin to force you to maintain eye contact with him; he needs you to hear him and make no mistake about what he is saying. 

“This isn’t over,” he murmurs as he guides your head forward to place one last, lingering kiss on your lips before he breaks away to situate his mask back down over his face. 

With that he turns and heads outside to the private patiently waiting to finish giving him the message from the captain. You let your eyes follow him the entire way out the door and only when he’s gone do you finally release the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding. 

This isn’t over. The words repeat on a loop in your mind. Fuck, you sure hope so.

Now the question is: when?

Tagging: @spooky-pomegranate

[ybklix]

𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧

╰┈➤ part 2 / part one / part three

★ pairing: ceo!leeminho x fem!reader

✦summary: After that unexpected and magnetic encounter, Minho can't get you out of his head and he’s slowly going insane wondering if you’ve been with other men.

✭ content - tags - warnings: smut / dom!possesive minho / slight bondage / use of sex toys / public fingering / unprotected sex, creampie / sugar daddy

word count: 11.5k

(masterlist)

a/n: ty for reading! my next one shot is ab chan🙂‍↕️

That day for you was more unusual than the previous one, you sat up confused and somewhat hurt when you heard his tone. You rubbed your face trying to wake up completely then you saw clothes spread out on the end of the big bed. Confused, at least you thought he had the dignity to let you go with other clothes and not in an embarrassing way with the previous night's clothes full of sex.

Carefully you removed the big, high-padded sheet from you and, still naked you walked around to get a better look at the garments, Jacquemus black mini skirt, a nice simple blouse with crystal detailing around the neck by Miu Miu, classic Prada loafers and new white underwear. You thought the choice of outfit was somewhat questionable but you still recognized high fashion brands, you were about to put on your clothes until you got a little surprised when you heard the bedroom door open, it was Minho who didn't flinch at seeing you standing naked and, with half of his body peeking out suggested to you in a soft tone:

“You can take a shower if you want.” he gave you a very small smile and walked out.

You weren't sure how to feel and wanted to get out of there quickly, so you cautiously looked around for the door leading to the bathroom, which you had used the night before. You looked at yourself for a few seconds in the mirror realizing that you hadn't checked the time on your phone and embarrassment consumed you as you thought it was late. You also realized you were still wearing those cute earrings so you took them off with the silly little idea of not being able to get them wet, leaving them on the sink counter.

The warm water felt so good on your body and you tried not to focus on anything else. You just had an exquisite night of sex that made you even shiver and weaken, you had never felt anything so extremely strong, nor had you ever cum with such intensity before, no doubt Lee Minho knew how to take care of you and at least you would come out of there with nothing but a pleasant and strange experience… and wearing Prada shoes.

You did your best to be quick and doable, grooming yourself with ease and finally grabbing your phone to get out of there, it was only a few minutes past 10 a.m. You tried to remember the way you were dragged from the entrance to Minho's room, ending up in a point of the house where you didn't remember being a few hours ago, just late at night you were only deeply focused on the lips of the owner of the house, frustrated you released air from your cheeks until you heard a slight noise and practically ran towards it, arriving, in the incredible maze that mansion seemed, to the kitchen where attractively by the counter was Minho sitting, drinking from his cup of coffee and concentrating reading news on his phone.

You caught Minho's attention instantly as he sensed your presence and looked you up and down, approving of how well you looked in everything he ordered to be bought for you. What started with a sweet look at the sight of your still wet hair, ended with him enjoying the sight of your smooth bare legs, intensifying his gaze, making you feel a little intimidated. But of course he would make sure that everything is made to your measure; after having had a magnificent sex and resting your agitated bodies the necessary, once you came back from the bathroom, sorry and with your cheeks tinted in pink, Minho suggested in a strangely tender tone for him “sleep here, it's late, I'll go to the guest room”.

At that moment you wanted to melt, you hadn't heard such a peaceful tone in him during all your journey together and, impulsively you wanted to beg him to stay with you, but nothing came out of your mouth. He watched you sleep for a moment, breathing so calm and confident in his presence, which did in him, awaken a feeling that had left his body years ago. Minho finally slipped away and being alone, without thinking clearly about his actions since he was trapped by the emotion of the return of that strange feeling, he hurried to check Hyunjin's messages that he had ignored so much, in his chat section, where there were screenshots of all your information in that app, at first he was annoyed by the fact that you were in that kind of site, then he took care to study every detail of you. Weight, size, measurements, your birthday two days before his, your young age, your photos… At dawn he quickly ordered them to get you new clothes no matter that most of the stores were closed as it was Sunday, somehow or other they had to get them for you. All this until, seeing you wake up brought him back to reality and he discovered himself acting senselessly for a girl, or what he thought for an instant, a prostitute who slept with him for money; so he shielded himself with his coldness and temper, convincing himself that everything previously planned had been simply polite, and it wasn't because he suddenly cared about you.

You stood for meters away from him, not quite sure what your next move should be, to which he was quick to say:

“Come, eat your lunch.”

You looked at him puzzled, he really was bipolar, you thought, minutes ago he practically ran you off and now he was inviting you to eat.

“Mm, I guess I should-” you tried to wriggle out.

“Eat.” he said abruptly dropping his gentle voice.

That took you by surprise and you noticed the plate of food next to him, you walked over, rounding the counter and sitting uncomfortably next to him. Without saying anything you began to eat, wondering to yourself if you would be able to get out of there soon as he seemed to be holding you back. Still you enjoyed the tasty omelette of your lunch, you wanted to talk but didn't know what to talk about, you didn't really know him and doubted that he was interested in listening to you; however for him, it was more than obvious that he was interested, from the simple detail that he cared about you eating, however he didn't have the courage to accept it to begin with. Minho felt the tension, not sexual, just an incredible invisible pressure on your bodies, he felt nervous to have you around and every now and then he would watch you eating, out of the corner of his eye, tenderly as he pretended to be reading an article on his phone.

Once you finished you realized that he was the one who had run out of words so you jumped out of that high chair, making noise as you stepped on the floor. Minho stared at you.

“I have to go” you said this time, “thank you”.

Minho looked at you confused for a second, wondering to himself if that thank you was the food, the clothes, the fuck or the whole general. You understood, but you didn't want to explain further. Just thank you, and goodbye. Minho didn't want to say goodbye to you like that, he hesitated long enough if he should take you by the waist and kiss you passionately, and even make you his again before leaving his house, after all it wasn't in the initial plan to meet his house, Hyunjin had planned the fuck at his hotel; but all his thoughts were in vain since, you were on the other side of the counter, away from him. Minho wondered for a moment if in order to do everything he thought he had to pay you first, he would do it without hesitation, but he really didn't know the way you worked… or just the way you were. It bothered him so much that you were that kind of girl, just like it pissed him off that you made him hesitate in seconds when he always categorized himself as someone confident.

You picked up your purse that was on the corner of the table next to a medium sized box.

“The box too, it's your dress and shoes” he added trying to sound nonchalantly.

Minho stood up from his seat and led the way out, watching you sway your hips one last time, until you walked straight out towards the big black polarized windows van.

You noticed the driver gave you a naughty look as he deduced that it was a simple wild night as he was the one driving you home and not Lee Minho himself. Minho thought that dropping you home would be too much, although he was dying of curiosity to know where you live and what you did in your free time, he just refused to take him any further. The driver was surprised to ask you where you were going, as it was clearly somewhere less luxurious.

You admired that home one last time, feeling that somehow it would not be the last time you would see it; something in you wanted to believe it.

On the way home you finally had the realization that you had had a great night and that, in a way, you had behaved like a real whore by fucking Felix days ago and then suddenly doing it with another man.

When you got home the only thing out of place was you and your expensive clothes. As was the incredibly high amount in your bank account.

You didn't want to worry anymore thinking about how bad you felt about Felix, it wasn't like you were sure you would see Minho again, but now you questioned if you really saw yourself in a relationship with your friend. So you laid back on your bed and ignored his messages. You were ready to delete that app and deactivate your account which, a day before the encounter Hari set up on your phone and taught you how to use it until you received a message notification from that app, it was Hyunjin, asking without further ado if you had fucked Minho.

On the other hand, Minho tried to distract himself on a non-working Sunday, but he couldn't relax. When the driver arrived, he asked him for your exact address, causing Minho satisfaction to know your location, then he locked himself in his office to work and during the afternoon, after sunset he proposed to watch a movie, but he found it so boring to do it alone… after a long time, for the first time, he missed someone's company. He asked himself what your favorite movie would be.

As he went upstairs to sleep he saw the sheets still impregnated in the scent of the two of you in your night of passion, seeing your image once again in his mind; he let out slightly exasperated air for several reasons, one of them being that he had to make his bed by himself with clean sheets because the clean lady would be coming tomorrow. And another reason for his frustration was the fact that he couldn't think of you being touched and satisfied by another man. And, as she entered the bathroom, his last sign of hope, your diamond earrings over his sink. Minho picked it up and watched carefully, delusionally believing there were only three options as to why that jewelry was there: you genuinely forgot them, you thought he hadn't really given them to you, or you had left them there on purpose to create the perfect excuse to see each other again. Minho questioned whether he should make that happen, a second meeting.

[...]

You had avoided Felix all day during college until in the afternoon you received a text from him that sent chills down your spine, «why didn't you tell me you quit your job? did something happen?». You had to read it twice, surprised that he had to look you up at work. You felt terrible, you couldn't ignore it.

You replied that he doesn’t need worry, you were fine, he offered to let you stay in his apartment but you quickly declined, writing him that you are still fine in your apartment and that you are just studying a script that you would like to talk about later. You weren't good at avoiding Felix, you loved telling him the smallest detail of your life but… you felt that what you had done wasn't so small after all, much less something he would like to hear. However for your best girl friend it was the opposite, she wanted every detail of your night with Minho and your opinion about that very secret job. You couldn't say anything other than, it was fine. You were still processing it and didn't feel comfortable talking about it, but Hari understood.

That same Monday morning, now at Lee Minho's company, he found himself thinking about his love life, on his way to his office, he looked at his secretary and a couple of other women who worked for him… wondering to himself why not them, why not simple women with a normal job, one of them, who Minho knew they were dying for him… but no, he had chosen you as the woman who would not leave his deepest and craziest thoughts. It seemed absurd to him that only one night was enough for him —although he couldn't really classify himself as satisfied with you, he needed more—; but the only information he had about you were those data sent by Hyunjin and the exhaustive search of your social media, as well as your public profile of all your works and small jobs where you were attributed as an actress. Minho noticed the infinity of small projects you had been part of, you seemed to work non-stop. After a few moments he stared at the icon of that app on his screen, app just installed, he wanted to know if your profile was still active and if you were going to continue doing what you did with him, but with other men, that was making him uneasy, also thinking that before him there were a couple of others. He was really considering whether to make an account and see it with his own eyes since, Hyunjin could not give him more details, much less dare to ask him and, when Minho was determined to create an account, two light knocks on his door stopped him, showing in it just the man he was thinking about.

“Come in” he shouted.

His secretary opened the door, peeking out her body.

“It's Mr. Hwang Hyunjin that if you can…”

“Send him in” he interrupted her before she could finish.

Minho thought why not just his secretary, she was pretty, two years younger than him and worked for him since 5 years ago and since she knew the breakup between Minho and Soyul publicly, his worker was in charge of giving him small details on Minho's birthday and Christmas. But he couldn't think of anything else but your overwhelming and exquisite perfume that he smelled near your neck when his chest was touching your naked back while he was touching you and making you his without mercy.

Hyunjin smiled broadly at the sight of his friend sitting behind his desk; he didn't get to see him on Sunday as he was taking care of his next gallery in another city and settling a couple of things left over from the night before at his big gala on Saturday, plus he and Minho weren't the types of men to use their phones to communicate, they needed to see each other to speak to each other.

“How was it?” said Hyunjin amused.

Minho frowned and pretended not to know what he was talking about.

“What brings you here?” replied Minho disinterestedly.

Hyunjin ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth amused letting out a chuckle. And sat down in the chair at the front of his desk.

“You know, Minho…? I noticed something different about you, even your eyes look brighter. I told you what exactly you needed.”

Minho shifted in his seat, defensive to what his friend implied, so once again his impulses took over as a defense mechanism.

“My eyes brighter? For having sex with a hooker? It's not like I was eighteen and just lost my virginity looking for more sex.”

Hyunjin smiled wider.

“So you did fuck, tell me all about it, don't omit any part” Hyunjin exclaimed excitedly wanting to hear it from his older friend since, you had confirmed it to him since Sunday.

Minho thought of you and was infuriated by the fact that he had to refer to you with such a derogatory term. And that every time he talked about you, something horrible had to come out of his mouth. He had to end that once and for all. He thought of you too just now, the softness of your skin, your wet, sweet and tight cunt wrapping around his hard cock so well.

“It was fine” he replied curtly and cleared his throat trying to clear the sudden dirty thoughts of you.

“Just fine?” Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, hoping for more.

Minho let out a chuckle.

“The newly hormonal deflowered kid looks like someone else. I don't tell my sexual encounters anymore, I'm too old for that.”

“You stopped doing it unless you're in a relationship, are you even in a relationship with her now…?” Hyunjin couldn't wait for a response to the prompt wordness he blurted out and only expressed, “God, y/n looked beautiful that night, I bet she was excellent, I envy you.”

And suddenly something sparked a reaction in Minho, the heated and fun conversation turned serious for him.

“Do you know her name?”

Hyunjin was silent for a second.

“Yes, she told me.”

Minho said nothing. He knew your name too but he didn't think you would go around revealing your identity so easily in this kind of situation.

“Don't play hard to get, I wouldn't just call her a prostitute, but a high class escort, seriously it was a high price since she had apparently joined recently, there was a lot fighting over her. Plus she looked stunning in that Versace” said Hyunjin more relaxed.

But that only made Minho more tense, he wanted him to stop complimenting you, to know the exact amount, how recently you had joined that service… but he found it totally indecent to ask the man who only paid heartlessly. He wanted to talk to you, to hear your point of view.

“But hey, we can finally move on once you finally had sex. I have a normal girl for you available, remember Kim Minjeong from school?”

“Kim Min Jeong” stammered Minho without paying attention.

“Her younger sister, Minkyung just came back from studying abroad, she's 24, she's incorporating in the city again and she's amazing, she really grew up. Rest assured she's totally free from knowing the drama between you and you-know-who. Plus girls love a sad, tormented guy like you who wasn't to blame for the infidelity.”

Hyunjin noticed his distracted friend's serious expression, frowned with a small grimace and decided to play a little.

“Don't tell me you fell in love with y/n, I knew you fell fast but I didn't believe you that fast” he commented jokingly.

Minho raised his gaze and locked his gaze on the Hyunjin…. Minho wouldn't exactly call it being in love, he couldn't accept the term, he didn't even know you, just for the moment you lived in his head all the time and it was getting on his nerves and he wants to refute if he just needs to see you to cease the feeling. What Hyunjin jokingly mentioned, became serious to him once he deciphered the silence in the room so he hurried to say.

“I don't judge you. You see, Chan with that girl, he just bought her an apartment and…”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” replied Minho annoyedly hinting that he actually had feelings for you.

He couldn't feel anything —or so he thought— he just wanted to see you again and fuck you hard. Use you for his pleasure over and over again. But he thought it was necessary to get to know the person he would be inserting his penis inside a bit first, it wasn't like he was interested in you beyond sex —or at least he thought that—, he was just curious. But Hyunjin knew Minho was just tricking himself.

“If you want to see her again go ahead, twice is better than once. I promise not to touch her.”

“Of course you never will” Minho sentenced tensely, piercing his gaze with Hyunjin's.

Hyunjin knew instantly that Minho was in that denial phase and that, he was starting to doubt every feeling and emotion that his body emitted and Hyunjin understood it perfectly, after he was betrayed like that, he knew it was hard for Minho to open up again.

“Have you been with other girls from there?” added Minho more calmly once he realized he was being intense.

Hyunjin smiled sideways.

“No, I've only done sexting when I'm bored. No one would convince me until I saw y/n, so perfect not to see her in person; maybe she's worth it” encouraged Minho. “She's pretty, about to graduate from a good college, looks decent and nice.”

Minho wondered if you were worth it. That day once Hyunjin left his office, Minho concentrated on working and it wasn't until late that he remembered again that he'd go home alone and convinced himself to do so, to see you again since he was stressed and was a man with a heavy load every day, so you could help him with that. Minho finally tried to create a profile for himself, he spent minutes stressing sitting behind his desk waiting for his ID to verify until he could finally proceed, he was a little embarrassed about the process of posting pictures of himself and once he had everything ready he quickly looked you up, hoping that you had deleted your account, but at the same time to have a means in which to contact you. And to his greatest response, there you were; your face in some pretty selfies, a couple of others posing outside a club with a radiant smile, he scrolled down looking at all your information until he got to the bottom of your profile with blurred picture and a padlock on it with the description 'For more private content from Cheryl'. Minho blinked naively and tapped the screen, leading him to put in his bank card details and the description 'You will be charged ₩ 10 million when you unlock this feature'. Minho didn't even take 10 seconds as his data were on his phone and quickly unlocked that which he was curious about, he wished he had never done it, it was about pictures of your glorious semi naked body, a body he had touched days ago and was thirsty for more. He looked deeply and in detail at every photo, every angle and noticed that someone else had taken them, but who? He took his time analyzing them and the more he looked at them the more he was furious and clenched his left fist until he exited the app and locked his phone abruptly. He was annoyed and mildly aroused, and that could only be summed up in that he wanted to have you right now on his lap, fucking you furiously to remind you that no other pathetic man in that app could be better than him, make you come and scream better than him. He needed you now.

Minho impulsively opened the app again and offered a huge amount for you, quickly and without thinking he went to your private chat and simply typed «Accept me».

That evening you were relaxing on your couch watching TV, feeling bad because you missed Felix a little, hearing his deep voice saying anything and going out to eat together anywhere he had seen recommendations or trending on the internet.

You received a notification from your bank app and thought it would be another deposit for which you were grateful, you decided not to accept for the moment any other proposal and you would survive for a while with the money from the unlocking of your photos, although there was no regular number of income, and that frustrated you. By inertia you decided to browse a little in the app and saw something that stopped your heart for a second, a message from Lee Minho, you opened it quickly, you didn't believe it was Minho himself, he wasn't the type to be on apps like this, but there it was, his picture. You smiled without realizing it when you saw the small picture in the icon next to the message bubble, in which it said «Accept me». Your smile slowly faded and confused you were about to reply «what?» to him, until he saw that you had seen his message and quickly wrote «Or you need double». You quickly understood and checked your notifications, there it was: Lee Minho offered ₩ 900 million for a meeting. You opened your mouth in surprise, then remembered that he had said if you needed double which offended you that he had put 'need', you accepted it without thinking, impulsively.

You went back to his chat and were about to ask him what exactly he wanted to which he replied with the default message of clarifications: Hwang Palace, of Gangnam tomorrow at 7 o'clock at the restaurant in the Monet section. I need to talk to you.

You let out a sigh, having no idea why he would want to talk to you, besides you were a little hurt that he would have to pay to do so, you would have agreed to talk to him like any normal person with no money involved, sadly you thought he might never see you as anything other than... a woman who has to be paid for her service; you had no other choice, you thought that you had earned that reputation, even if you were just a little bit grateful for this unusual job already, if it wasn't for it you would have never met Minho or gone to an incredible and beautiful event like the one on Saturday…. well maybe it is possible for you to live that experience if you go out with Felix, but that hectic night no one else could have given it to you. A little annoyed you clicked on his picture icon showing his profile, you almost sighed again, seeing how gorgeous he looks, a mirror selfie, wearing a black button up shirt, looking disinterestedly down at the device. You looked at his details, CEO of Sweet Factory, a globally known snacks brand you usually bought at some convenience stores, you had no idea it was his, his birthday, two days after yours, yet he was older than you by almost 10 years, his blood type and even his MBTI, you lowkey had skipped that question. Suddenly you reacted, you were going to see him again tomorrow, your heart was racing.

[…]

The next day you made use of that money and bought a strapped pale yellow thigh-length sequin-detailed dress from 16Arlington, with a square neckline; you spent the day shopping for the perfect complement to your outfit and rushed home to get ready.

Two hours before your meeting, Minho texted you again, asking if you wanted him to pick you up; to which you said yes. Now you were twice as nervous and anxious.

Minho arrived half an hour earlier than planned due to his reservation, you were unsure about giving him your address but you still did it, you wanted to act as normal as possible and not like he had to pay to get the best of you, a nice attitude and appearance.

You got into his car, he had his left arm relaxed and holding the steering wheel, he swept his eyes over you and a smile came across his face seeing you looking so cute and dolled up for him.

“Hello, again” you mumbled shyly.

Minho kept looking at you with a smile and started his car. The drive was not uncomfortable despite being silent, you saw his profile side from time to time and noticed how truly attractive he looked, his strong and sharp nose, his round eyes showing with his elongated eyelashes, his upper lip finely bigger than the lower one and his marked jaw, you could watch him for hours.

He was dressed all in black, with his button down shirt tight to his body and the sleeves rolled up his arms, he was wearing tight jeans that showed off his thick and worked thighs so appetizing, you wanted to suddenly let out a gasp thinking how much you want to feel like sitting on his lap. Minho knew you were looking at him shamelessly and it almost made him blush.

He looked relaxed, but he wasn't, he had meticulously practiced every word he would say to you tonight. He was slyly looking at you all of a sudden and couldn't contain his excitement.

You arrived at the same place where it all started, Hyunjin's hotel, this time heading towards the restaurant where Minho mentioned the reservation on your behalf and soon you were guided to the place, entering a beautifully lit place, inspired by Claude Monet's paintings. You walked behind Minho the whole time and when you reached his table you bit your lip nervously before sitting down. You wanted to build confidence so you looked him straight in the eyes and he quickly caught your gaze too; you said:

“If you wanted to invite me to dinner you should have done it like any normal person.”

Minho tried to act cool so as not to raise suspicion of his nervousness, he looked at you without interest and raised an eyebrow.

“Normal?”

“You were able to look up my Instagram and ask me without... having to pay me” you whispered the last sentence.

“You don't want the money?” he replied curtly as he lowered his gaze to the menu.

You didn't know what to answer, but before he could assume an answer you rushed to tell him.

“I can give it back to you.”

Minho let out a chuckle and raised his gaze again to you.

“I don't care, you can keep it. Just like… something you forgot at my place.”

You frowned and Minho reached into his pants pocket, leaving the pair of earrings he'd bought you on Saturday on the table, you'd forgotten all about it.

“Agh, the old excuse of forgetting something at the other person's house so I'd be forced to return it to you and have to see you.” Minho smiled, playfully, “They're yours, keep them.”

You smiled shyly and took them, putting them away in your bag, you wanted to argue that you had genuinely forgotten them, but seeing Minho this proud made you feel somehow happy, he looked cute with his sideways smile and bright gaze.

“You planned all this just to return me a pair of earrings?” you played along.

“They're real diamonds, sweetie.”

Then Minho stared at you, from your groomed hair to the perfect slit in your chest, it became serious for him, he had to say what he had to say.

“I want you to delete your account on that app and work for me” Minho suddenly blurted out, you manifested confusion on your face, not sure what he was referring to, so he continued, “… as my personal assistant. You will have to follow me everywhere and be with me all the time.” he said, in a funny and proud way the last sentence.

You were still speechless, you didn't know where that was suddenly coming from, to which Minho continued.

“I'll pay you well, more well than you can earn doing that, plus it's a decent job.” he proposed, practically begging.

“Why?” was all you could articulate.

“Because I want you to quit…”

You pinned your gaze on his big eyes that were shining brighter than usual.

“Why should I work for you.”

“Why would you want to be doing the other thing for money anyway?” he replied submissively, on a pretty and pity look of his you never saw before.

You blinked suddenly, formulating the right words.

“I mean, why would I work for you if I don't know you… I don't know what you do…”

“You didn't see my information in my account?” he replied now in a funny tone, “I know you're not related to companies so I won't make you do that. Think about it. I'll leave you my number, I know you're still in college, tell me your schedule.”

You released a soft laugh, suddenly not believing what he just said.

“What’s so funny?” he said serious. “I never joke about work.”

You nodded, trying to decipher every hidden message he wanted to give you.

“What are you going to order?” he smiled at you.

[…]

“He wants you so bad.” said Hari from the other line of the call.

“I was so confused the whole time, I'm afraid he just wants to you know, fuck me.”

“So? I thought you loved sex with him.”

“Yeah… it's just that it won't be far from reality, he'll pay me to fuck him.”

“What? Why the sudden embarrassment about expressing your sexuality? He'll pay you normally for working with him, the sex will add a special touch. So, will you take him up on his offer?”

“I don't know, Hari…”

“Doesn't it turn you on that he's an older man with experience and money crazy about you? Because it works on me with Chan all the time. it's so funny, they're so needy, you'll have him wrapping around you finger soon.”

You had really loved every part of having sex with Minho, but you were in doubt whether you would feel bad about taking the offer. But today had been dreamy, he was a gentleman with you, asked about you, looking interested and dropped you off at your place without even touching a hair on your head and looking at you with lust.

Then you got home, after a nice dinner with Minho, you did the inevitable and deleted your account and existence from that server. You had a lovely night, you didn't think you could exchange more than two words with Minho, but he wasn't as cold and curt as he wanted to portray himself after all; this time he opened the door for you as you got in and out of his car. On the other hand Minho was so obsessed and on the lookout for you that he knew instantly when you deleted all your information, causing him to smile, after 5 minutes a message telling him that you could start in the afternoon.

[...]

When you woke up the next day, the first thing you saw was a new message from Lee Minho, depositing more money and telling you it was for you to start your new closet of elegant outfits. And so after a couple of classes you headed out to buy your first Chanel suits suitable for work.

And there you were, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon wearing a tweed style skirt and pale pink coat. You were feeling pretty and extremely nervous. Minho's secretary greeted you kindly and showed you what she could on you way to Minho's office up to the top floor of the building.

“The young lady is here.” his secretary informed Minho over the phone.

Minho smiled broadly and swiveled on his chair, ready to see you walk through his door. And there you were, looking as angelic as ever, you had taken his breath away, no doubt all those outfits were made for you no matter what, or what you were wearing you looked beautiful in his eyes, Chanel, Versace, Gucci or Prada, or naked in his arms, either way you stole Minho's breath away. You smiled shyly at him and walked towards him, Minho quickly stood up from his chair and moved dangerously close to you, bringing your bodies together, you raised your gaze to see his eyes better.

“Welcome to your first day of work,” he whispered sweetly, “they'll explain everything better outside and give you a tour.”

You looked into his eyes and then straight to his lips, you realized you hadn't kissed him in three days and you were dying to feel it. Minho liked to tease you, bringing his body closer, looking provocatively at you from above with a lascivious look, he couldn't wait to taste you. After he achieved his goal and saw your breathing getting heavy, he pulled away from you with a playful smile.

“Get to work.” he said to you.

You almost whimper not feeling his touch.

[...]

The rest of the working girls tried to socialize with you with the hidden intention of finding out who you were and why someone so young would work for Lee Minho as his assistant. You didn't know what to answer them, really your career was not related to her work environment but you thought that... being an actress who must build her way little by little, maybe in one of those jobs you could have been the assistant of a famous actress so you thought so to motivate yourself and not to think that you were only doing it because in a way your body and mind were asking you to be close to Minho and the opportunity had been opportune. You needed him.

You worked the rest of the day while his secretary told you what to do and what your job was from today, set up Minho's meeting times, set up meetings, etc. Occasionally when he would leave his office and return to it, he would see you tenderly concentrating with a frown trying to figure out whatever you were doing on the computer. It didn't take long for the rest of his employees to notice and the gossip began to detonate without you noticing. You still awkwardly hoped for some message from Minho, telling you whatever, but talking to you, you were frustrated and desperate, he never wrote you or addressed you, so in a way you were happy that it was a normal job and he treats you decently as an employee, but another part of you was so sad that he wouldn't talk to you to sneak into his office and fuck you hard, not even to give him a simple blowjob, you thought.

Your day was about to end, between work and the occasional flirtation with men, of whom you were not interested in the least, the man you wanted was now locked in his office and had total command and the highest position in the pyramid.

Everyone was starting to leave and you realized that you didn't discuss your departure time with Minho, so, almost hopping towards his office, you were going to see him to ask him; hoping that your presence in that room would escalate to something else quickly.

You knocked softly on his door until you heard a “Come in” in a fiery demanding tone. You quickly arranged your hair and skirt before entering, until you stepped through the door. You met a serious and concentrated Minho reading some sheets on his desk, you didn't want to interrupt him, but he realizing that someone opened the door and no one spoke, was about to complain annoyed and frustrated until he saw you and his face relaxed and lit up.

“What are you doing here?” he asked you softly.

“Everyone is leaving, I was wondering if I should…”

“What time is it?” sighed Minho frustratedly checking the watch on his wrist. “Agh,” he gasped in exasperation closing his eyes and dropping back in his chair, which you found extremely appealing, “I didn't notice the time.”

You swayed on your spot, still not receiving a response as you watched Minho try to recover, he looked tired, after all he worked more than 12 hours a day. So you slowly approached him, trying to hide your smile and, without him noticing your actions, as he was carving his face hard to be able to strip a little, you were already in front of him, with your butt leaning on his desk. Minho saw you with surprise as he noticed you were close by and cheekily watched your silhouette as he smiled sideways in satisfaction.

“You look stressed…” you said seductively leaning towards him and massaging his shoulders. Minho closed his eyes enjoying your touch, he really did need something like this. “Can I help you?”

Minho opened his eyes watching you piercingly and lustfully, you were starting to make him horny and there was no turning back.

“Will you do it? Will you work overtime?” he answered you with a deep voice and smile plastered on his face enjoying every second of your company.

“I'd do it for free” you approached him, brushing the tip of your nose with his. “Besides it's for the good of the company's head.”

He let out a chuckle as he watched your lips inches away. Minho finally grabbed you around the waist and made you sit roughly on his lap, bringing his lips together slowly, being careful in every detail of the kiss, even intensifying it by playing with his tongue in your mouth. At last, you were back crazy, you felt so wet in seconds, and one of your fantasies came true, you were sitting on his firm legs, whose worked muscle was not the only hard thing, you could feel his hard erection sticking to your ass and your sex throbbing in desperation as if she had a memory of her own remembering the sensation of Minho's big cock choking inside you.

You could only hear the sharp sound of your heaving breaths and your lips check in wet kisses, you were so turned on you could cum from just kissing him, Minho started slow and passionate and that soon rose to something more desperate and rough, you loved every bit of it. Breathlessly, you broke away from him without breaking eye contact, he loved seeing your innocent eyes full of desire. You were so exasperated to feel his hands on your body so you awkwardly and excitedly began to unbutton your coat, your heart was pounding and you felt every beat pounding in your ears and your eyes throbbing with excitement. Minho watched your movements, your fingers struggling against the buttons until finally opening it, revealing your bare chest and abdomen only wearing your bra. Minho bit his lips completely horny, however he didn't agree that you had nothing down below on.

“You were walking around like that, with nothing on underneath” he tried to scold you.

You smiled playfully at his angry reaction. If that was his reaction of you wearing a bra, let alone the tiny, provocative underwear you were wearing in case he wanted to fuck you, and he was about to. Although Minho wanted a great fuck, something to say how much he missed you… but the way you were teasing him and playing like a slut, so he thought, drove him crazy, he couldn't stand the thought of you walking around susceptible to catching the attention of other men.

“You'll get angrier taking my skirt off, then” you moved closer to his left ear muttering.

Minho let out an annoyed sigh, almost snorting, he wanted to take your ass and whip it until he made you cry and understand that you could not provoke anyone but him. As you slowly pulled away, brushing his cheeks you saw Minho's dark stern countenance, he was no longer smiling enjoying himself and playing. You thought he looked fucking good this upset, that he even scared you a little, you smiled in nervousness.

“Take that off” he ordered you, smacked looking down at your bra and jacket.

You obeyed him instantly and, you still saw the darkness of desire in his big brown eyes, but his expression was still serious, annoyed. Minho settled you, turning your body with agility, so that your back was pressed against his chest, pulled your hair back from your right side and positioned his head next to yours between the space of your neck and shoulders. He stroked your thighs with his right hand until he slipped his large hand inside your skirt and deftly searched your delicious crease line from your clitoris to your soaking wet entrance. Minho smiled softly feeling your body contract at his slightest touch to your pussy. On the other hand, his left hand and forearm held and squeezed your breasts tightly; having you completely overwhelmed and compressed to his body roughly.

Minho parted the thin fabric of your underwear with his fingers while with the rest he began to play energetically with your pussy, massaging in slow and delicate movements your weak spot making you tremble and producing more and more slippery and thick fluids sliding down your entrance, you were so ecstatic. And, to further increase your pleasure combined with torture, he took it upon himself to pinch your nipples and squeeze your breasts hard. Minho never took his caresses away from your clitoris taking you to the extreme and in surprise he started to fuck you with two of his long fingers quickly causing you to let out a little scream.

Every now and then you let your head lean back on your boss's shoulder giving you pleasure, your body was tense, every muscle in you felt stiff from the position you were in and the sudden pleasure you were getting. You were about to relax, let go and cum, but once Minho noticed, he abruptly released you and took your chin to look at him, leaving you no time to whine about your first missed orgasm.

“Suck my cock now” he commanded you fiercely almost pushing your head down.

You opened your mouth in amazement, until you got on your knees and stripped him of his tight belt and his suffocating pants and underwear. Even your mouth became wet as you saw again Minho's big manhood firm and hard in front of your eyes, you were so ready for the to suck him off. You felt it so exquisitely in your hands, there was no other cock like Minho's you had ever tasted, let alone wanted to surpass, you loved that it was perfect and so well kept, Minho kept his area very well waxed and clean; you couldn't tell it was to size because it hurt from how swollen and big it was as he fucked you through your vagina.

You leered at Minho, heart and pussy throbbing; he was looking down at you from above with a serious expression, his mouth was pulled together in a thin line and his trademark high cheekbones on his face showing no emotion, you knew he was aroused by his breathing and his latent cock in your hand. You stuck out your tongue and flicked his hard cock in it, while making eye contact with him for a few seconds. You sighed and began to devour his manhood. Minho gasped, grabbed your hair in a fist and lifted his hips a little, accidentally ramming your mouth making his cock reach to touch a little deeper into your palatal uvula.

“Fuck me deeper, princess” Minho whined, pushing your head and moving his hips.

It was huge, you took slight gasps of air every now and then, you were pleasurably suffering, your eyes were watering, you were leaking cum and saliva and Minho's gasps and little grunts were your favorite soundtrack, you were delighted both sensorially and aurally. Minho pushed you further until you felt him touch your throat a little, your body reacted and he quickly pulled your hair back, pulling his full length out of your mouth all at once, the sudden movement made it splash little droplets of liquid in the air falling on your bare tits, you were a mess, your lips and tip of your nose were red and swollen, your eyes were watering, and you were so flushed, you tried to catch your breath, looking loosely towards Minho who smiled so broadly showing his teeth, his tender uneven front incisors in the shape of a bunny.

“Oh, look at you” he said huskily in a look of pure pride, seeing his greatest treasure, your pleasure.

Minho, extremely excited took the base of his stiff cock with his fingers and wiggled it close to your face, slapping your pretty face gently.

“Come here and show me your nice ass, love.”

You gave everything to stand up again, you were weak, trembling and so soaked in your fluids. He turned you roughly by the waist, making you rest your palms on his desk. You raised your ass for him and arduously Milnho tried to pull up your skirt but the material was somewhat thick and unmanageable.

“Take my skirt off” you whimpered in supplication as you felt his hands run up and down your thighs.

“You have no right to tell me what to do unless I ask you to” Minho demanded and roughly pulled the skirt up as best he could, squeezing your waist tighter due to it being high waisted, you groaned at the friction.

Minho finally stood up, stroking your soft buttocks, his outside cock jumping at the movement. You felt the tip of his cock rub against your skin even though he was withdrawn, you wanted him to fuck you now, you wanted it to ache so good just the way he knew how.

Minho took his time, sliding down your soaked panties, appreciating the sweet liquid dripping into you, once he pulled the fabric down.

“Shit, y/n, did you cum already or are you just this wet?” he said in a sigh, sad that you didn't deserve to have your pussy eaten today.

You nodded and whimpered as you felt an unexpectedly hard spank.

“Yes what? I'm not a fucking mind reader, use your words.”

“I-i'm so wet” you whined.

“All that…?” Minho let out a haughty chuckle, thinking all that, just for a few touches from him. “Now, how many spankings for you to understand that you shouldn't act like a whore and go around with nothing on under your work clothes? Speak up!”

You couldn't think straight, last time Minho whipped you so hard that he left you sore for at least up to twelve hours after the blow.

“Five” you stammered without reasoning it out. Minho laughed derisively.

“Let's make it ten because I really met you being a fucking whore. Count them or we start again from zero.”

You screamed as you felt the first spank and gasped breathlessly “One.”

By the fourth spank you couldn't take it anymore, his hand was too heavy and the sound of the smack against your skin was so grotesque. You leaned limply back on your elbows on his desk, biting your lip hard and almost crying, you were still saying the scourge number as you were not thinking clearly, you did not want to be hit twice as hard again. Despite feeling so much pain, you felt strangely so much pleasure, you could feel the tip of Minho's cock brush against your entrance as he came on you.

“Did you learn your lesson, baby?”

“Yes” you cried, your buttocks were burning and you felt the flow of your blood travel fast fighting for your well being.

“Did it hurt?” whispered Minho excitedly leaning into your ear.

“Yes” you pleaded again.

You felt his rough balls and penis rub against your spine, then he pulled away from you, Minho unbuttoned his shirt quickly so it wouldn't get in the way of what he was about to do and, without warning, finally you cried out as you felt him all the way inside of you.

“So you want me to go slow, doll?” he asked ecstatically.

But despite your growing pain, you denied, you wanted to feel every millimeter of his cock inside, you had been looking forward to it so much that you even endured horrible strokes.

“No?” asked Minho incredulously. “Well, you said it. You love being fucked like a slut.”

And he began to penetrate you roughly and deeply, touching your sensitive buttocks; it felt so good, reaching all the way to your cervix with no problem. You gasped endlessly, it was pleasure to feel his cock filling your pussy roughly and your miserable body destroyed, strangely you loved it.

“I'm going to fill your pretty pussy, I'm going to cum in you, you like that, yes?” panted Minho speeding up his onslaught.

After minutes of thundering sex, your bodies joined together creating moaning sounds and skin on skin collisions, your aching body could take no more and you exploded enveloping and lubricating more of Minho's veiny cock, which was still thrusting in and out mercilessly, until after a small whimper, Minho's abdomen contracted and he cursed something barely understandable throwing his head back in complete pleasure, filling your insides with his semen. He slowly slid his length outward, opening your tight pussy a little with his thumbs, satisfied at the grotesque scene of his cock emerging from your orifice bathed in his thick white liquid.

You lay there for a few seconds, sprawled on his desk trying to catch your breath while Minho did the same, resting his cock on your buttocks. He tried to lift you up, you were in pain and lying down, he made you turn to look at him, cleaned the rest of the residue around your mouth and kissed you sweetly.

You received the first care after Minho's sex.

[…]

Your butt hurt so bad but you still followed Minho home since, according to him he had an important meeting at another company and wanted you to help him pick out the perfect outfit. And then you walked into his huge closet, almost making you sigh, it was a room that could easily be for rent in a crowded city like this. His shelves with his Gucci suitcases, his bags perfectly arranged and hung, you stopped looking perplexed at the space and returned your gaze to Minho who was watching you.

“What should I wear?” he said.

You walked over to the clothes and started searching without any idea in mind, you didn't know what he had in his closet so it was hard to think of the perfect outfit, you knew he would outshine any simple businessman anyway. You grabbed clothes at random choosing a white shirt, pants, jacket and tie, all in black.

“It looks good, do you want me to try it on?”

You mumbled a soft “Mm?”, but you were surprised to see Minho look down at his pants as he took them off, embarrassed you reflexively looked away as if you hadn't seen it all before. He noticed your reaction and smiled. However you couldn't help it, you had never seen him get dressed before so looking guilty and slyly you managed to see how the pants went up with agility but got slightly stuck on his package, Minho had to adjust it and, he put on the shirt so attractively raising his arms and sliding them inside the sleeves. Minho took your hand and directed it towards the terminals of it, indicating you to help him button it, he watched you carefully, wishing he could live like this with you on a daily basis. Suddenly the tension grew in you again, you looked up, into his eyes….

“It looks good on you” you murmured in front of his face.

Minho pulled you to his body pushing your ass ready to kiss you, but you moaned in pain.

“How can I make it up to you?” he said sympathetically noticing your pain.

You didn't know what to reply, to which Minho silenced your thoughts with a tender, slow kiss. Without realizing it and very carefully, you sat down on the stool in the middle of the closet; Minho was ready to make you happy again. He spread your legs apart and once again ruined your skirt by roughly lifting it up, he fiddled with your cunt which was just starting to get wet, Minho thought it looked just as nice and tidy, almost as if a few hours ago it hadn't been completely destroyed.

Minho buried his head between your legs, positioning your legs on his shoulders, he squeezed your thighs hard and you felt some of his warm saliva lubricate your pussy further. He was devouring you alive. His tongue digging at your entrance and his nose rubbing your center, you rolled your eyes in pure pleasure.

[…]

You had mentioned to Minho that you would be more comfortable if he took you home, so he did, he offered you to stay with the condition that early in the morning he could not attend you, that even when you were able to wake up he would not be at home due to his important day of meetings, so he would be at each of them as early as possible.

You said goodbye to him, both with an intense look and warm smile. You headed to your apartment and to your surprise, Felix was waiting at your door.

“Sorry, I wanted to see you and you weren't answering your messages” Felix sketched a smile once he saw.

Felix examined you and noticed your expensive suit, but wanted to save himself the question, he sensed something was up and preferred to live in ignorance than to know something that could hurt him. You smiled tenderly at him and invited him in.

“I missed you” he said and kissed you quickly on the cheek.

You felt horrible, he had stolen that kiss from you but… even if you had washed your face, you had had another man's cock around your face. You knew you and Minho weren't exclusive but… you couldn't be with two men at once. But the way Minho drove you crazy, there was no comparison, his sex slapping against yours, his skill in everything he does, making you beg if necessary.

“Is something wrong?” you were distracted by Felix, you denied softly. “Will you sit down?”

Oh, you couldn't do it, your ass was still burning with pain from Minho's spanking. And you weren't the least bit upset.

[…]

The next day was just as Minho had told you, he would be busy outside the company, you almost didn't see him even though you followed him everywhere as his assistant. There you were, in 7 different waiting rooms, just watching him move around with other executives as you tried to keep up with them. You could tell how focused he was and how important it was to him because he barely saw you.

Once his long day was over, almost two hours before the end of the working hours he set for the workers, you both walked silently to the car where the driver started off towards Minho's company.

You looked at him, he was serious, wearing exactly the suit you had chosen for him and, he almost seemed annoyed, you wanted to ask him what it was that suddenly made him angry, but he turned to look at you and smiled sideways, caressing your hand that rested on that long seat, both were sitting at each end of the side of the window.

After the silent ride, Minho went straight to his office and you felt like you were stranded there. Ten minutes later you got a message from him that he wanted you in his office now. You smiled, thinking he would be willing to talk.

You walked in and once he saw you, he held up his hands waving them in a sign for you to come closer.

“Come here.” he ordered you.

You walked confused and understood that he wanted you on his lap so you sat down… it wasn't the kind of encounter you projected, you really thought he wanted to talk but… if he wanted to do that, you didn't complain.

Minho suddenly had a sad, sorrowful look on his face and, there it was in him, the question that drove him crazy.

“Tell me, y/n, have you been with other men?” he suddenly blurted out.

You watched him for a few seconds examining his expression… that puzzled you too much, he seemed genuinely sad. You didn't know what to say, so you laughed in nervousness, thinking about what kind of question that was. Why he suddenly cared.

Minho had had a horrible experience among pure men, secreting contemptuously about girls like you, at least about your version of the secret, past life of yours. Something inside of him… he became angry little by little, until he felt stranded, he couldn't think about the fact that you were touched by someone else and, the worst was when he had to see how other guys approached you to flirt with you during his little business trip.

Minho saw you laugh but didn't find it the least bit funny, he actually almost cried in front of you, asking you that question.

“Well, clearly I'm not a saint…”

“I am referring to men before me who also received your… former service.”

You stared at him trying to decide if he was drunk from his nonsensical questions. But Minho was only crazy about you, it was his doom in dope. He couldn't resist it, little by little he realized, that he wanted you together with him and for him.

You laughed again and without answering him you kissed him, you had never seen him so yielded and submissive, his eyes shone almost wanting to shed tears, strong emotions made Minho sentimental despite being a rough man. You didn't think he was like that.

And for the first time he let you take control, he felt so lost in you, you lowered your kisses down his neck, unsure if you should continue, Minho saw you hesitating before him and placed his hand over yours near his shirt. He looked you straight in the eyes, suddenly darker than usual and said:

“Let's do something fun tonight.”

You smiled. There was the Minho you knew. He let you unbutton his shirt and a matter of a couple of minutes, your desperate hands masturbated his cock as you sought to adjust it to your pussy, mounting him in his chair. That dangerous game was getting out of hand, you felt so good that without thinking about it you could become obsessed.

Hours later that night, Minho took you to his room where you quickly noticed sex toys lying on the bed. You swallowed and let out an incredulous chuckle and looked at Minho who was calmly taking off his watch leaving it on his TV cabinet without paying attention to you. You liked his definition of fun.

“I can't believe it, you're like Christian Grey in real life.” you said amused.

Minho turned to look at you.

“Who?”

“You don't know 50 shad-, never mind, you must be too old for that.”

He smiled sideways at your comment and moved dangerously close to you.

“You think I'm too old for you?” he whispered to you.

You denied in amusement biting your lip, you loved it when he had the dominant one.

“Let's try something new,” he spoke curtly “get undressed.”

Your imagination flew at the sight of the objects on the bed and you nimbly stripped off all your clothes, waiting for more orders from Minho.

“Get on your knees on the bed.”

Confused, you tried to follow his instructions and, you saw him take the pink rope from the bed, your breath hitched, thinking he was going to tie you up.

“You know how I love camping? I'm very good with knots.” you looked at him smiling.

Minho slowly started to wrap you in that rope, passing it across your abdomen, breasts, tying your wrists behind your back, as well as your feet and suddenly you had lost your balance, you were completely immobile and tied tightly.

“We should go camping sometime.” you replied.

He took the ball gag and without saying anything, placed it in your mouth, this was getting interesting for you. You were lying on your side, impossible to move, Minho arranged you so that you were facing him, uncomfortable in your position as your hands and legs were attacked right behind.

And then the tantalizing game began, with Minho taking the vibrator he had prepared, sticking it on your clitoris as you moved in desperation in search of relaxation of your muscles, thinking about how you had come this far, being sexually pleasured every day.

“I'm going to fuck you hard” he warned you.

He did it the only way he could get away with it, your moans were drowned out by the ball gag and Minho faced the amusing and slightly humiliating sight of your needy body, wanting to escape the restraints.

Minho loved sex with you and the myriad of sensations you made him feel… but now he was so curious that there was connection beyond something sexual. He wanted to walk you and spoil you while you dressed so pretty for him. He would do anything for you.

[…]

“What is y/n doing here?” asked Hyunjin as he approached Minho.

Hyunjin had visited him since, despite being busy, he had something important to tell him. However your presence on his way to Minho's office surprised him.

“She works here.” replied Minho, leaning on his desk reading papers and not looking at Hyunjin.

“She works here? Isn't she like 20?” he repeated incredulously.

This time Minho raised his eyes and gave him a dirty look. Hyunjin understood instantly, the almost forgotten detail he noticed from the beginning, the obviousness in which Minho liked you.

“Speaking of age” Hyunjin continued, “I'm here because you know I don't hold back surprises and… you're very likely to ditch me or cancel at the last minute on the date, but this is something you can't cancel, since it's about your surprise birthday party.”

Minho looked at him confused, he hadn't even asked for a party.

“Hyunjin, I appreciate it but… you know you could have done something small.”

“I know, I remembered it once I had invited everyone. It will be this Saturday at my mother's country club. You got to celebrate welcoming your thirties.”

Minho checked the time, he didn't want to rush Hyunjin but you and him would have their first normal date…

And for both of you, it couldn't have been better, you talked so much, you knew Minho's various giggles and the weirdness in which he explained each of his stories, using gestures, you remembered every detail about him. Just like his sudden news that he would help you in your real professional career, you didn't want to accept it at first, but he had awkwardly said something to about how pretty you would look on every red carpet, blushing all over you. And you found yourself terrified that… you might like him. Since you'd had everything just the way you envisioned, a tender, perfect date, involving roses and ending… having sex so sweetly it makes you doubt if it's love.

You had asked Minho to give you the next day off, since you wanted to support Felix all the time in his short film project that he created and directed. The ceremony started and, almost like a revelation, you wanted to cry, it had been beautiful and it was about love, something unknown to you… you wondered if… after all… it could be Minho the person with whom you could cry without worry.

Felix saw you sad and knew you so well that he understood every single sign you gave as if you were in love, but sadly, they were not towards him. It was time to let you go.

And to you, almost as if reading your mind, you received a message from Minho, saying he was having a party tomorrow and needed you to help him pick out an outfit.

[…]

Everything was ready thanks to Hyunjin, people chatting with champagne glasses in their hands on the large green grassy area celebrating Minho's birthday in advance. You thought he looked so good in well pressed black cloth pants, black boots and a light blue shirt, with the Gucci cherry baseball jacket with white adding a great touch.

When you sat down to eat at the elongated table, you sat next to Minho, who, with a mischievous smile, and under the table, with guests present, slipped his hand under your dress, playing with your pussy a little. You thought he was unbelievable, always looking for an excuse to have your attention and reaction, you stopped him, once you were so wet and you were barely going to get to slowly approach your climax.

“Excuse us” Minho said grabbing you by your forearm, making you stand up.

Minho couldn't hold it in any longer. The crowd made him anxious and he found a certain safe space in you, so he dragged you out of sight of the crowd, and as he did so, you managed to quickly grab a cupcake from the dessert table.

You were about to eat your cupcake, slightly disinterested in whatever Minho was going to tell you, until you looked at Minho's pale expression, it alarmed you a little, you blinked worriedly but he interrupted you.

“I want you to be mine, I want to help in whatever you do, I want to be there for you all the time…”

Minho spoke, only as he knows how, trying to be gentle, but with a certain intensity in his actions and look.

You smiled sweetly, thinking of the rare way to say 'I like you', playfully smeared a bit of cupcake cream on the tip of his nose, causing him to tenderly giggle.

“I like you too, Minho.”

You smiled and licked the polish off his nose. Minho grabbed you by the waist bringing your bodies closer and looked at you sweetly.

“Tomorrow is your birthday, what do you want to do? I would do anything for you.”

--------------------

₊˚⊹ ᰔ TAGLIST: @stayceebs97 @linocz @kimseungminsprincess @xhazmania @strayzid

[aggieslittlebunny]

PLEASE TALK TO ME

MEN/MINORS DNI!!!

Pairing: University Student!Reader x Older!gf!Wanda

Summary: Reader’s life has always been hard, but as of late, it seems to be extremely harder for you. Your girlfriend, Wanda, is always ready to support you, but you push her away as your condition is getting worse and things escalate.

Trigger Warnings/Tags: angst, hurt/comfort, contain heavy/sensitive topic, mental illness, depressed reader, anxious reader, negative self-talk, self-harm, suicide attempt, suffering reader, reader have suspicion of being an ADHDer (but doesn’t get diagnosed). You have been warned, so don’t read this fic if there is a chance that you might get triggered, no matter how small the chance is. Please never hesitate to reach out to someone close to you or any professional help if you’re struggling mentally. You matter <3

Author Note: English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for any gramatical and spelling errors ^^

Word Count: 3.5k

Life has been hard for you lately, much harder than usual. You can’t exactly tell since when this has happened and the reasons behind it. Being a university student has always been a challenge. To be completely honest, despite getting A- for most of the courses you had, you always feel like you barely survived. Other students appear to be able to understand whatever topic the professors deliver right away. Besides that, it seems very easy for them to raise their hands and ask questions. Meanwhile, you? You can barely sit through three and a half hours of each lecture, let alone be focused throughout the whole thing. Being glued to the classroom chair for that long feels so horrible. Oftentimes, you think of excusing yourself to the restroom, but you are way too anxious to do that. All you can do is shift yourself in your seat every once in a while, but you can’t do that too much either because then people will notice how fidgety you are. You will attract unwanted attention.

Speaking of unwanted attention and being anxious, those are why it’s hard for you to ask questions during lectures. You don’t like having people’s eyes on you. You also keep asking yourself “what if my question is strange?” or “what if my question doesn’t make sense?” right after your brain makes a question, which gets you stuck in your head and prevents you from being an active student. That doesn’t mean you never ask questions. You pushed yourself to do that sometimes. You need to keep up with other students after all. But you truly despise it. You don’t like the feeling of your hands becoming clammy and how your heart beats very fast, making you breathe heavily.

Before you ask a question, you need to come up with one. That is also a problem for you since you believe that you have a short attention span. Your brain loves to wander, even when all you want to do is focus. You can pay attention to the professors’ voice and write down the important information you want to keep, but before you realize it, your train of thoughts are somewhere else and your hand has already stopped writing minutes ago. You have a lot of questions in your head, but you are afraid that they actually have been discussed and you just weren’t paying attention. You believe that you will look or sound ridiculous.

Your older girlfriend, Wanda, is aware of your struggles, but you haven't told her everything. You just let her know some bits without much detail. She is the most supportive girlfriend you have ever had. Well, she is your first girlfriend so that statement can’t be wrong. Seriously though, she is very supportive and sweet to you. You love her so much and will do anything to make her stay, even if that means hiding most of your problems and keeping your negative feelings bottled up.

You have been doing such a good job hiding how you feel in front of Wanda— and everyone. Thinking of people worried about you filled you with guilt, so you tend to just put on a happy or at least neutral look on your face. These past few weeks, your mask slowly cracks. Wanda started to notice the empty look in your eyes (no matter what expression you are making), the bag under your eyes, the forced cheerful tone escaping your lips, how you space out more frequently, how you seem to avoid people including her, and other behavior changes from you. Everytime she asks how you are doing, you will simply tell her that you’re fine, maybe a little tired. She knows you are not, but she doesn’t want to put pressure onto you and keep praying that you will open up soon. She keeps waiting and waiting. A couple of months passed and you seem to be getting worse. This makes her persuade you harder to tell her what is going on, but no matter how hard she tries, you never tell her the truth. You keep denying her that you are behaving really off and telling her that she is just overthinking.

“Sweetheart, you know that you can talk to me about anything at any time, right?” Wanda randomly blurts. Both of you are currently sitting on a bench in a park, eating ice cream while watching people minding their own business.

“Mmhm.”  you replied shortly with a faint positive tone. You can feel her gaze pointed at you, but you decide to keep your eyes watching a little girl laughing with her parents as they play catch with their dog.

“I’m sorry to keep bringing this up. I can’t help but be worried about you, baby. The more time passes, the more I notice how you seem to not be doing well. You don’t need to pretend that you’re okay in front of me. I want you to rely on me. I might not be able to solve all of your problems, but I will always be with you. We can face this together if you let me. You’re not alone. Please tell me what is going on.” one of her hands reaches yours. You look at Wanda the moment she holds your hand.

“I’m alright, seriously. Maybe I'm just a little bit tired. The finals week is getting near and I need to be ready for that. I don’t want to fall behind. Thank you for caring about me, but can we not talk about this right now? Maybe we can talk about it later, just… not now.”

“Okay, baby. I understand. Do you want to grab some lunch after this?”

A day after that, you suddenly stopped meeting Wanda. Most calls from her are ignored by you. The ones you picked up never last longer than five minutes. You told her that you need to focus on your study, but Wanda doubts that. She knows from one of your friends that you have been skipping a bunch of lectures. She considered visiting you in your dorm, but you always refused whenever she asked for your permission. You gave her a hard no right away, every single time, no consideration. She tries to respect your decision, but it is getting harder each day for her, and unbeknownst to her, for you either. You are getting worse and it is actually out of her expectation and imagination.

Now it has been three weeks since you stopped meeting Wanda. She always waits for any message from you that appears to be sent to her less and less as the days pass. Today she hasn’t received any. She is beyond worried, but she also knows that you are having finals this week. The semester ends soon and she hopes she will be able to hang out with you again since you will have lots of free time for a month. She gave you some space since she thought that is what you need. She tries to act chill about it, but each buzz coming from her phone never fails to make her jolt. She will check her phone right away and gets disappointed when she doesn’t see your name (or ‘my baby’ since she set your contact as that) on her notifications.

She heard from you on Friday. It is almost midnight, but she can’t sleep unless she does her daily reading before bed. Therefore, there she is. She is sitting comfortably in her bed, her back against the headboard, and there is an open book in her hand. It was peaceful until her phone buzzed. When she takes a glance at her phone, she swiftly picks it up and opens a message from you. You sent her a link. That link leads her to a letter written by you. Her eyes scan each word carefully. You are thanking her for being a wonderful girlfriend. As Wanda keeps reading, she hopes that you are just giving her a sweet letter of appreciation. Deep inside, she fears that you are breaking up with her, but she tries not to judge quickly since it is a pretty lengthy letter and she barely reaches the quarter part of it.

“When you are reading this, I have done something stupid.”

Wanda freezes for a solid ten seconds. After that, she stands up and runs to her car. She forgets her car keys so she sprints back in to grab it and then she leaves her house with her car. She left her house unlocked and she is still wearing her pajamas, but those are none of her concern right now. Her head chanting your name as well as prayers that you are safe. As she drives, she continues reading your letter. Her eyes moved from her screen to the road repeatedly until she finished reading it. After that she completely focuses on the road and might have crossed the speed limit several times. She reached your dorm room in twenty minutes, thanks to one of your close friends that is still awake and messaged her the number of your room.

She expected that she would have to break the door open, but she was wrong. The door isn’t locked. She knows right away that it was left like that by you on purpose. You told her so many times that you always lock your door twice because you’re afraid of the possibility that a stranger can get into your room easily. The sound of her footsteps echoes in your room. Your room is dark, but there is light from the sideroad lamp slipping through your window. She saw the lump of your body covered with your favorite blanket in your bed and she approached you in a hurry. She cradles your face in her palms. She noticed your irregular breathing and that you are breathing through your mouth. She also quickly noticed that there is a kind of chemical smell coming out from your mouth. Her hand reached the phone in her pocket and she dialed the emergency number, asking for an ambulance. It will take around ten minutes for it to arrive.

Just when she is about to wake you up, she accidentally knocks over a mug on your bedside table. It is now on the ground and the liquid inside it seeps into the rug. At first she thought it was tea, but after a quick sniff into the air, she realized that it is not tea or at least not just tea. The smell is exactly the same as what is coming out from your mouth. She checked the water bottle that was sitting beside the mug. She remembers how you brought the bottle with you all the time. It has such a bold pink color and there is a picture of a rabbit saying ‘life is beautiful’ on it. She opens the bottle and at first glance it looks like it’s filled with normal water, but the somewhat gray look as well as the strong chemical scent said otherwise. Shortly after that, her eyes spot a little trash can near the bed. She noticed some tissues covered with blood as well as an empty bug spray can.

“Shit.” she thought.

“Baby? Baby, wake up. Please. Can you hear me?” Wanda tries to wake you up with panic in her voice. She pulls your blanket away to take a look at your arms and wrists. She found nothing. But a second later she saw some dried blood prints on your shorts, the left thigh part to be exact. After that, she taps your cheek and shakes your body firmly which elicits a groan from you.

“I’m sorry, Wanda. I’m so sorry. Please don’t be mad at me.” You replied faintly. It is clear that you are slipping in and out of consciousness.

“Shh, you will be okay. There is nothing to be sorry for; I’m not mad at you. I love you very much. Please don’t go back to sleep. Stay with me, sweetie. I’ll get you to the hospital. The ambulance is coming.”

The paramedic comes soon after that and you are brought to the hospital. The emergency room is very cold and quiet. Maybe not that quiet since you hear people’s voices, but everything is so faint and blurry to you. After you get treated, Wanda is allowed to see you. She sees you smiling a little and she smiles back as she walks closer towards you.

You start telling her what has been happening in your life. Wanda sits on the hospital bed that you occupied, holding your hand as she hears your story. You tell her that you always feel so different throughout your life. You always feel like you are always in a race to keep up with other people around you. It gets harder and harder, especially with the fact that you’re a student in a top university. You tell her that since you get into university, your life is way messier than before. Keeping up with other students almost feels impossible. You try and try and try, but it is never enough. You are never satisfied and you feel like you are the most stupid student compared to other students in the same year as you.

Your grades might say different things, but there are endless efforts to get those grades. You are a procrastinator, but it is not because you don’t want to do your responsibility. Most of the time, you just can’t. Your body and brain won’t function the way you want them to and you despise that part of yourself because that makes you feel lazy. But you also barely get any sleep to finish your assignments, prepare your part in group assignments, and sometimes you cover your friend’s part or any extra part. That caused you to sleep like three hours a day. Some days four, the other days two, and this rarely happens but you can go two or three days without sleep. You have been living with this terrible sleep schedule for three years now. All you want is to be like other students. You’re scared of falling behind. You know you will not survive by yourself so you want your classmates to be able to rely on you on group projects. You want as many classmates as possible to like you. 

“I’m so tired, Wanda. I’m exhausted.” You sighed painfully.

You proceed to tell her how your head was slowly becoming evil to you. It’s never peaceful in your head. Different things are piling up inside it. They’re messy piles and your brain seems to insist on unpacking them all at the same time. You can feel the chaos within your body and mind. The chaos streaming in your blood makes you want to curl up and disappear. Then it’s getting worse. Your brain started telling you various negative things:

“No one likes you.”

“Your friends hate you. They talk about you behind your back”

“You’re a terrible person.”

You began to believe those things. Watching your friends surrounding a table in the cafeteria leads you to think that they were talking shitty stuff about you. Especially after a friend of yours noticed that you were crying in front of the class but said nothing. After that, you started to spend lots of time hiding in the restroom stall to cry, usually before class. You were terrified by people around you and your own brain. Then you seek out some help. You reached out to a counselor provided by your university. You confessed to her about the problems you have been having as of late, and talking helps, but not much. Your brain is still very mean to you. At some point you really want to know what is going on with you. You desperately want an explanation on why you feel so different compared to others since you were a little kid. You dived into the internet, researching stuff based on your struggles. You are very sure that you’re suffering from depression, maybe even anxiety. But you believe that there is something more. After weeks of researching, you have a suspicion that you might have ADHD. You read some books, watched lots of videos, and asked some of your online friends who are ADHDer. 

“I can never be sure until I get a proper diagnosis and I can’t get a diagnosis from a counselor. But if my counselor can at least agree with my suspicion, I assume it will be easier for me to get actual diagnosis. Therefore I talked about it with her, my counselor. I didn’t explicitly say to her that I think I might have ADHD. Instead, I tell her my life experiences that relate to the symptoms. At one point she cut my story.”

“Aren’t you just lazy?” the words your counselor threw at you echo in your brain.

“Am I just lazy, Wanda? Please tell me it’s not true. I’m trying. I always try! Please believe me! I-”

Wanda instantly cups your face in her hands and rests her forehead against yours.

“Breathe, sweetie. Deep breath. I’m with you. You’re not lazy. Not at all. You have been trying your best. I know it, baby.”

“It’s so painful! It feels like she throws away my self-image I’ve been building all my life. The sleepless nights… The notes covering my dorm walls…” you take a sharp breath and continue, “Even as a kid, my parents pushed me so hard to study. In elementary school, they will make me study until midnight during test weeks. In middle school I fell behind, but managed to push myself so that I could get into a good highschool. I push myself all the time to keep up with everybody else. Maybe I also do it so my parents will keep loving me. To them, my grades define who I am. They expect so much from me. It hurts…” you cry at the last two words and Wanda embraces you in a warm hug.

“The day when my counselor said that, I walked back to my dorm room with tears streaming down my face. I sobbed as I walked, maybe some strangers saw me in that state, but I was in too much agony to care. I stopped seeking out help from anyone. I just want to know why I am the way I am. But I can’t stand it anymore. I can’t stand feeling so different than anyone else. I also throw that suspicion away. I can’t face it since then.” you pushed Wanda away gently to look at her face. You can see tenderness in her eyes. How can you be so lucky to have her?

“I guess that pushed me further to this point. I didn’t get any help. I pushed myself even harder. I carried way much more stuff than I can handle. Last week, I constantly had my nose bleeding. That keeps going for like five days. I hurt myself too several times. It’s like I’m literally sacrificing my blood, sweat, and tears to survive. Then my head started telling me harmful stuff and questioning my worth of living.”

“Why are you still trying?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why don’t you just kill yourself?”

“You should just kill yourself.”

“You should kill your family members too. They are in danger and you need to end their lives to save them.”

“I’m terrified, Wanda! I’m scared! I’m scared of myself so much. You have no idea. That’s why I ended up here. I thought this was the only way to fix this. I’m so sorry…”

“Baby…” a tear runs down Wanda’s cheek and she leaves a kiss on top of your head before speaking up again, “Thank you for telling me this, sweetheart. I know there is still so much left unsaid and I know you’re telling me as much as you can at this moment. Thank you for trusting me with this. I’m not mad at you. I’m not angry. I’m not disappointed. But may I know why you kept telling me that you’re fine on those days?”

“I’m afraid that I will become a burden and you will think that I’m too much and…”

“I will leave you?” you nod.

“I'm sorry, Wanda. I truly am sorry.”

“Stop that, baby. It’s fine now. You will get proper help after this and I will always support you. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s take it slow, yeah?” you nod once again and pull her into a tight hug.

“Thank you.”

Wanda’s hand begins to stroke your hair lovingly, “Please never hesitate to tell me anything in the future. You can stay at my place when your head is being very mean to you. In fact you can stay at my place anytime. I won’t mind seeing your little cute face every morning, I would love that. We can work on your sleep schedule together and maybe find a study method that suits you. I know it’s not easy and you’ve been struggling very hard by yourself, but you don’t have to do that anymore. You don’t have to be by yourself. You have me. I got you, sweetheart.”

“What did I do to deserve you, Wands?”

“You don’t need to do anything to be loved by me. I love you, more than you know.”

“I love you too. I love you to the moon and back.”

[pedroscowgirl]

buttons

Emily Prentiss x fem!bau reader

Pics are for aesthetic purposes only and is not an indication of what reader looks like! and these pics don't belong to me

Warnings: smut! minors dni!!

semi public sex? fingering, squirting, age gap(reader is in her twenties) , use of 'mommy', lmk if i forgot something!

summary: you and Emily are on a mission in a club and she can't keep herself from touching you x

wc: 2.8k

A/n: idk why but i was listening to 'buttons' from the pussycatdolls and had to think of her so enjoy! also this is actually my first time ever writing a smut with a woman and idk why cuz i've been bisexual for years

The club is pulsing with energy, neon lights casting vibrant shades across the room. The music is loud, drowning out any casual conversation, and bodies are moving on the dance floor in sync with the beat. You're here on assignment, undercover as Emily's partner. The two of you have been tasked with observing a target—a high-level suspect mingling among the crowd. Morgan is across the room, keeping a close eye on things from a distance, but it's Emily's attention that's making your pulse quicken.

Emily leans casually against the high-top table, her drink untouched in front of her. She’s wearing a sleek black dress that clings to her in all the right places, and the confidence she radiates is undeniable. Her dark eyes flicker over to you, and she arches a brow, a small smirk playing on her lips as she notices the way you can’t help but keep stealing glances.

"Keep your head in the game," she murmurs, but there’s a teasing edge to her tone. She steps closer, her body brushing lightly against yours. To anyone watching, it would look like a casual move, nothing out of the ordinary, just two women at a bar—but you can feel the tension between you crackling in the air. The heat of her body so close to yours is intoxicating, and the mission suddenly feels much more complicated.

Her hand rests on the table, fingers casually tapping to the rhythm of the music, but you feel her other hand brush subtly against your lower back, pulling you ever so slightly closer. Her knee presses gently between your legs under the table, the movement subtle, but unmistakable. Your breath hitches for a moment, but you try to keep your face composed, knowing that Morgan is watching from across the room.

"Act normal, sweetheart," Emily whispers, her voice low, just for you. There’s a glint of mischief in her eyes, and the corner of her mouth curves into a wicked smile.

You shift in place, trying to focus on the mission, but the sensation of her knee between your legs sends a shiver down your spine. Her touch is just enough to drive you wild, but not enough to be obvious to anyone else. You bite your lip, trying to ignore the way your body is reacting to her nearness, to the teasing pressure of her leg against you.

"Emily," you whisper, barely able to find your voice. You glance over at Morgan, who seems oblivious to what’s happening, still scanning the crowd for your target.

"What?" she asks, feigning innocence as she leans in closer, her lips just brushing the shell of your ear. "You seem a little distracted."

You stifle a smile, your heart racing. "You know exactly what you’re doing."

Her chuckle is soft, and she moves her leg just a fraction, enough to make you squirm against the pressure. "Focus," she purrs, her lips so close to your ear that her breath sends a shiver through you. "We’re here for the mission, remember?"

But it’s hard to focus on anything else when her touch is driving you to the edge of distraction. The weight of her presence, the warmth of her body so close to yours—it’s all you can think about. You’re hyper-aware of everything, the way her fingers now lightly trail down your arm, the subtle way her body shifts ever so slightly closer to yours, the way her knee presses into you in time with the music.

The target appears at the edge of your vision, and you snap back to attention, trying to focus on anything other than the throbbing heat between your legs. You nod subtly in his direction, signaling to Emily that the target is on the move. But even as the two of you start to follow him through the crowd, the tension between you remains, simmering just below the surface.

Emily’s hand slips to the small of your back as you walk, guiding you through the throng of people, her touch steady and reassuring, though there’s a lingering intimacy that makes your pulse quicken. You can still feel the ghost of her knee between your legs, the way she teased you when you were supposed to be focusing on the mission.

As you both weave through the crowd, you steal a glance at Emily, and she catches your eye. Her smile is small but knowing, as if she can read every thought running through your mind. "After this," she murmurs, leaning in close so that only you can hear, "maybe we’ll finish what we started."

Your heart skips a beat at the promise in her words, but you quickly force yourself to focus. You can’t let your guard down now, not when the target is so close. But the thought of what might happen after the mission ends is enough to keep your blood racing.

For now, though, you push those thoughts aside. You and Emily fall back into step, the professional edge returning to your demeanour as you move together, both of you focused on the task at hand. Still, the undercurrent of desire simmers between you.

The night after the mission feels like a blur. You and Emily make it back to the BAU, your bodies still buzzing from the adrenaline of the assignment, and from the charged moments between the two of you. Everyone is packing up, heading home after a long day. You’re still wearing the outfit you had on during the mission, a white blouse and a skirt that clings to your figure. Emily, still in her sleek black dress, looks as poised and composed as ever, though there's a glimmer in her eyes that tells you she’s not done with you yet.

As the last of your colleagues trickle out, Emily stays back. Her gaze lingers on you as she leans casually against her desk, arms crossed, a knowing smile playing on her lips. You feel the weight of her stare, heat pooling in your stomach, and a blush creeps up your neck as you realize you’re completely alone with her now.

You start to gather your things, but before you can finish, Emily takes a step toward you, closing the distance between you with slow, deliberate steps. The room is quiet now, save for the soft hum of the lights overhead. You can feel the tension crackling between you, and before you know it, she’s right in front of you, her hand gently resting on your arm.

"Stay," she says softly, her voice low, almost a whisper.

You look up at her, your breath catching in your throat. There’s something intense in her gaze, something that makes your heart race. Without another word, she moves closer, her body brushing lightly against yours as she gently backs you up until your hips bump against the edge of her desk.

Her hands slide to your waist, holding you in place as she leans in, her lips hovering dangerously close to yours. "You’ve been driving me crazy all night," she murmurs, her breath warm against your skin.

Your breath hitches as she closes the gap, her lips meeting yours in a slow, deliberate kiss. It’s soft at first, but it quickly deepens, her hand sliding up your side as her fingers trace the fabric of your blouse. The kiss is intoxicating, sending a wave of heat through your body. You feel her hands move to the buttons of your blouse, and with a skilled, practiced motion, she begins to undo them, one by one.

The room feels warmer, and your heart races as she breaks the kiss, her lips moving to your neck. She trails soft, teasing kisses along your skin, her hands working their way down the rest of your blouse, exposing the delicate skin of your collarbone and the tops of your breasts. Her touch is gentle, but there’s an intensity behind it that makes your pulse quicken.

"You have no idea what you do to me," she whispers against your skin, her lips brushing the exposed part of your chest. Her hands slide lower, brushing against your thighs as she presses you further against her desk.

You’re completely lost in the sensation of her touch, the way her hands and lips seem to know exactly how to make your body respond. The world outside fades away, and all that exists is this moment, just you and her, the connection between you growing stronger with every breath.

You feel the wetness between your legs, your breath growing uneven as her hand slips further up your thigh, just under the hem of your skirt. Her fingers graze the fabric of your panties, and you can’t help the soft gasp that escapes your lips.

"Does Mommy make you wet?" she asks in a playful, teasing tone, her voice thick with amusement.

You moan softly, heat rushing to your cheeks, unable to form words as the sensation of her touch makes your mind go blank. "Please, Emily," you whisper, but it’s not enough for her.

She raises an eyebrow, her smile widening. "Please who?" she asks, her tone firm but laced with that teasing edge.

You look up at her, feeling a mix of desperation and excitement. "Please, Mommy… touch me," you finally manage, your voice trembling with anticipation.

Emily’s smile turns softer, almost affectionate. "That’s better," she whispers. "Such a good girl."

Her fingers dance over your skin as she lifts you slightly, helping you adjust your position on the desk. The cool wood beneath you is a stark contrast to the warmth of her body so close to yours. She slowly slides your panties down, her movements deliberate, making every second feel stretched and heavy with tension.

Your heart pounds in your chest as she places a gentle kiss just below your collarbone, her hands exploring the newly exposed skin of your thighs. The intimacy of the moment overwhelms you, every inch of your body hyperaware of her touch.

"You're so beautiful," she whispers softly, her eyes flicking up to meet yours. There's no rush in her movements, no urgency, just a deliberate, unspoken promise that she’s taking her time because she wants this to last.

She presses her lips to your neck, trailing soft kisses down to your collarbone as her hand moves between your legs. Your breath hitches as she touches you, gently at first, her fingers moving in slow, rhythmic circles. It’s a feeling that sends a wave of warmth through your entire body, and you can’t help but lean into her, your hands gripping the edge of the desk as your head falls back, eyes fluttering shut.

"Mommy..." you moan softly, but she hushes you with a quiet "Shh, just relax, sweetheart. Let me take care of you."

Her movements remain gentle yet purposeful, building tension with every slow stroke, every soft touch. She’s in complete control, and the trust you feel in this moment is overwhelming. Her lips return to your neck, peppering kisses along your skin as her hand continues to explore you, coaxing soft sounds from your lips that you can barely control.

Time seems to blur. The tension that’s been simmering between you for so long is finally spilling over, but there’s something more than just desire here. It’s the way she looks at you, the way her touch is both tender and sure, making you feel cherished, seen, and completely in the moment.

She presses her forehead gently against yours, her breath hot on your lips. "You’re so good for me," she whispers, her voice filled with affection. "So perfect."

The words wash over you, and in that moment, everything else fades away. All that matters is her, her touch, and the connection between you. Your hands tighten on the edge of the desk as the intensity builds, and you feel yourself teetering on the edge, completely lost in her.

As your body tenses, her pace quickens, her hand expertly guiding you to the brink. Her name falls from your lips like a prayer, and she smiles against your skin, knowing exactly what you need. And when the release finally comes, it's overwhelming—a wave of sensation that makes you gasp, your hands gripping the desk for support as your whole body shakes with the force of it.

Emily holds you through it, her hand never leaving you, her lips pressing soft kisses to your cheek, your neck, as you come down from the high. Your breathing is ragged, your body trembling in the aftermath, but she’s there, grounding you, keeping you steady.

When you finally catch your breath, you open your eyes to find her watching you, her smile soft and full of warmth. She brushes a strand of hair from your face, her fingers lingering on your skin for a moment longer than necessary.

"You’re amazing," she whispers, her voice filled with something deeper than just desire.

As the last tremors of your shared moment with Emily begin to settle, the room grows quiet once again. Your body still tingles with the aftermath, your breath slowly returning to normal as you sit on the edge of her desk, adjusting your skirt, trying to regain some composure. Emily leans down, brushing a soft kiss against your lips, her touch lingering, her hand gently smoothing the fabric of your blouse.

But then, there’s another sound, a soft thud, faint but noticeable, coming from Hotch’s office. You both freeze, listening. The noise isn’t loud, but it’s unmistakable, a chair scraping against the floor, perhaps? Papers being shuffled?

You exchange a glance with Emily, the thrill of the moment between you still fresh, but now mingled with a new tension. Emily straightens, her usual composure returning as she quickly buttons the top of your blouse, her movements careful and precise. “We should get out of here before anyone sees,” she murmurs, her lips curving into a small, mischievous smile.

You nod, still catching your breath as you slide off the desk, smoothing down your skirt. But as you reach for your underwear that had been carelessly discarded during the heat of the moment, Emily is quicker. She picks them up with a sly grin, twirling the fabric around her fingers before tucking them into her handbag without a word.

"These are mine now," she whispers with a teasing lilt, her eyes gleaming with playful possession.

Your heart races again, not from fear of being caught, but from the intensity of her actions—how she continues to assert her control, even in such small, intimate ways. You give her a knowing look but say nothing, biting your lip as you fight back a smile.

Emily places a hand on the small of your back as you both begin to walk toward the door, the sound of your footsteps light against the polished floor.

You hold your breath, wondering if Hotch is still inside, completely unaware of what had just happened just outside of his office. The thought sends a shiver down your spine, but Emily remains calm, her confidence unshaken. She leads you out of the bullpen, her hand sliding lower until it’s resting just under the hem of your skirt.

As you pass the office door, the sound fades, and you breathe a quiet sigh of relief. But then, just as you're about to turn the corner, Emily’s hand gives your ass a firm squeeze, her touch bold and possessive, hidden beneath the fabric of your skirt. You gasp, shooting her a look of disbelief mixed with excitement, but she only smirks, her eyes glinting with mischief.

“Keep walking,” she murmurs in a low voice, so soft that only you can hear it. “You wouldn’t want Hotch to come out and see us now, would you?”

Her words send a rush of heat through your body, but you keep your composure, biting back a moan as her hand lingers for a moment longer before slipping away. You manage to walk a few more steps before daring to glance at her, and the look in her eyes is enough to make your pulse race all over again.

As you exit the building together, the cool night air hits your skin, grounding you back into reality. The thrill of almost getting caught, of knowing your underwear is hidden away in her handbag, sends a flush of warmth through you. Emily walks beside you, her expression casual, but you can still feel the heat of her presence, the tension between you crackling in the night air.

Before you part ways, Emily leans in close, her lips brushing against your ear as she whispers, “I’m keeping these as a reminder.” She pats her handbag, where your underwear rests, and gives you one last, lingering kiss. "Next time, you’ll have to earn them back."

You shiver, your body still humming with the memory of her touch, and you know that this is far from over. As she walks away, you’re left standing there, breathless and anticipating when your paths will cross again, when you’ll feel her hands on you, her control over you, her claim on you, once more.

[earlysunshines]

oh say it ditto

danielle marsh x fem!reader

synopsis: you have to help out at the elementary school for service hours and of course you’re paired with true girl you’ve literally been in love with since middle school.

warnings: literally none. just fluff. so cute. they're so cute. i need to be put behind bars for this. it's so... cute. what. ; loser!!!!!!yn i fear ; anything else not mentioned ; not proofread ; i'm so giddy. they're so cute. i hate couples. i cnat breathe theyre so gay and in love.

a/n: I MISSED WRITING FOR MO DANI UGGHHHH MO DANIIII!!!!!

danielle marsh is perfect. she’s smart, kind, and easily the most beautiful person you’ve ever seen. people always say she’s too good to be true, like a disney princess pulled right out of a movie, the kind of person who seems flawless in every way.

but to you? that description feels like an understatement—an understatement times ten.

there is not a single metaphor that could ever capture the way her presence lights up a room, or the way her smile—bright and contagious—makes your heart do flips. she’s beyond comparison, beyond words. you’ve known her since middle school, and in all that time despite barely having time with her, the feeling has only grown. she’s the type of person that’s just barely out of reach, so you’ve learned to cope with it.

which is exactly why, when your teacher had pulled you two aside after class, announcing that you’d be paired with her for your volunteer hours at the local elementary school, your stomach practically dropped to your shoes. she’s the type of person that’s just barely out of reach, so you’ve learned to cope with it. but now? she’s just within reach. 

“some others filled out the form, but i only needed the two of you since it’s for a smaller group.” mr. jeong explained. “and you two are the perfect candidates. thank you for your interest in this, my wife is really glad that we’re able to send the two of you over to help out—she works at the school.”

you clutch the strap of your bag a little tighter, trying to stay visibly and mentally composed. danielle is beside you smiling at your physics teacher, and then you catch her smiling at you from the corner of your eye. turning a bit, you shoot a small grin, then excuse yourself out.

just your luck, but maybe you’ll survive. this could turn out great for you!

as you walk down the hall, you feel someone tap on your shoulder. turning around, it’s her. 

danielle is behind you smiling. “see you monday!” she says with that honeyed voice of hers.

knowing yourself, maybe it won’t turn out so great. you might be doomed considering how much of a loser you are compared to miss sunshine.

—

you arrive at the elementary school the following monday, heart pounding as you push open the heavy doors to the small classroom where the after-school program is being held. a group of kids are already gathered, some working on crafts, others running around, their laughter filling the air. but none of it matters because standing near the teacher's desk, helping a kid tie their shoe, is danielle.

she looks up just as you step in, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "hey! looks like we’re partners in crime for the next few weeks," she says with a smile so genuine it makes you dizzy. “i’m glad you’re here.”

you force a grin, trying to play it cool. "yeah. um, and likewise.”

the teacher quickly assigns you both to work with a small group of students on some arts and crafts. you watch as danielle sits down with the kids, her voice soft and encouraging as she helps them cut out construction paper shapes. you, meanwhile, sit on the opposite side of the table, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you're mere feet away from the girl who’s had your heart for as long as you can remember.

as the session goes on, you find yourself slowly relaxing. the kids are lively and fun, and danielle's easygoing nature makes everything feel less intimidating (though the only thing that really made everything seem like that was her). she’s chatting with the students, laughing when they show her their goofy creations, and every now and then, she glances your way, offering you a smile that makes your heart skip a beat.

"how are you so good with them?" you ask her while cleaning up the table, genuinely curious.

danielle shrugs, her eyes twinkling. "i don’t know, i’m just fond of kids. they’re honest, you know? and they don’t care if you mess up or say the wrong thing."

you smiled, nodding, but her words hit closer to home than she realized. if only you could believe that—if only you could let yourself stop overthinking everything when it came to her.

“like you could ever do that,” you mutter under your breath. danielle catches it, but doesn’t comment on it. “i guess you’re right. i didn’t think of it that way.” you say at a normal volume, and danielle doesn’t have a hard time catching that.

as the afternoon starts to wind down, one of the kids tugs on your sleeve, showing you his glitter-covered drawing of what appears to be a dinosaur. "do you like it?" he ask, his eyes wide with anticipation.

you glance at danielle, who’s watching you with a curious expression, and suddenly, it feels like this moment matters more than anything. you take the drawing, smile at the kid, and say, "i think it’s awesome."

out of the corner of your eye, you catch danielle beaming at you, and for a second, it feels like maybe—just maybe—this whole thing won’t be as hard as you thought.

–

as the kids rushed out of the room, their laughter echoing down the hallways, you found yourself lingering behind, picking up scraps of paper and wiping glitter off the tables. danielle was still there too, helping the teacher gather leftover supplies. the room felt quieter now, just the two of you in the aftermath of the chaos, and for a moment, you both moved in comfortable silence, the air between you lighter than it had been earlier.

"it’s been a while, huh?" danielle said softly, her voice breaking the quiet as she stacked a few cups of markers on the shelf. you glanced over at her, heart suddenly racing again, because it was true—you hadn’t really spoken to her much since middle school, despite always being around. besides, she had been taking different courses than you, so there weren’t many shared classes. even if their were, you two had your respective groups, and danielle was quite popular compared to you, so you stayed out the picture while admiring from afar.

"yeah," you nodded, tossing some crumpled-up paper into the trash bin, smiling when you make it. "guess we’ve both been pretty busy."

she smiled, that same soft, almost shy smile that always made your chest tighten. "swim has been taking up your time, huh?”

“oh, yeah, haha.”

“i’ve seen you around at your practices, you’re really good!”

“y-you have?” your eyes widen with surprise, gaze staying on her as she throws something away. 

“my friend hyein is on the team, you know her?”

“ah,” the underclassmen that tried to drown you (in a playful way, because that’s playful to hyein. allegedly so). “yeah.” you giggle thinking about your swimmate. “she’s very… fun.”

“she’s always up to something.” danielle giggles.

quiet fills the air as you two continue cleaning. danielle is stacking chairs, and you’re lifting each stack over to the edge of the classroom. neither of you say anything for a while, mindful of the other in a semi-awkward silence as you help the janitors out. 

danielle breaks the silence again.

“i didn’t realize how much i missed seeing you around until today," she admits, her words gentle but carrying more weight than you expected. she’s looking at you, standing maybe ten tiles away and her eyes are stuck on yours. you feel like you’re being mushed into the ground.

you blinked, caught off guard by her honesty, and suddenly, you weren’t sure how to respond. so you just smiled back, hoping it didn’t look too awkward. "yeah… same here, actually."

the silence stretched once again as you both continued cleaning up, but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. it felt like something was shifting between you two, the years of distance slowly fading away, replaced by an old familiarity that had never really gone away.

once most of the mess was cleaned up, you found yourselves standing near the door, neither of you in any real hurry to leave. danielle looked down at her phone for a moment, then back up at you. "hey, do you drive?" she asked, her voice a little hesitant.

you nodded. "yeah, i do. why?"

"i was thinking... we should probably carpool for this," she said, motioning to the classroom. "since we’re both gonna be volunteering here for the next few weeks, might as well make it easier on ourselves, right?"

the idea of seeing her more often, spending more time together, made your heart skip a beat. "yeah, that sounds like a good plan," you agreed, trying to sound casual. "i can pick you up if you want?"

her eyes brightened at that, and for a moment, you could swear there was a bit of relief in her expression. "that’d be great."

you pulled out your phone, opening up your contacts, and as you handed it over to her, your fingers brushed hers. it was a small, brief touch, but goosebumps were poking at the inside of your shirt after. even the hairs on your arm started to stand noticeably. danielle didn’t seem to notice—or maybe she did—but either way, she calmly typed in her number and handed the phone back to you with a smile.

"there," she said, her voice light. "now you have no excuse not to keep in touch."

you laughed, feeling your heart swell. "no excuses," you promised, and as you both left the classroom together, you couldn’t help but feel like something had shifted between you two—the connection that had always been there but was finally starting to come into focus.

—

swim practice took up most of your days, which you didn’t mind. most of your friends were on the team anyway, so it just gave you an excuse to hang out when you weren’t practicing for your respective races.

it always went like this: ten minutes of warmups—light stretches and a couple of easy laps to get your muscles moving. then came fifteen minutes of drills, laps back and forth with barely any rest in between, focusing on your form, speed, and turns. the coach would shout instructions from the edge of the pool, calling out corrections or praise when you hit the perfect stroke. after that, you’d usually break into smaller groups, each focusing on different parts of the race. whether it was freestyle, butterfly, or backstroke, you’d put everything into perfecting your technique—freestyle was your forte—until your muscles burned and your lungs screamed for air.

finally, after what felt like an eternity, practice would wrap up with a cooldown: slow laps, easy strokes, and a few more stretches. additionally, there would be playful banter, and hyein would always find a way to bother you since she was also focused on freestyle. you two were inevitably always together, she was like the younger relative that would pester you any chance you got. 

your body always felt heavy afterward, but in a good way. exhausted and accomplished.

you were dripping wet as you pulled yourself out of the pool, every step feeling heavier than the last. practice might’ve ended, but the exhaustion clung to you as you made your way to the locker room, the sound of splashing water and your teammates’ chatter filling the space around you.

you changed quickly, glad to get out of your damp swimsuit, and ran a towel through your hair as best you could. it was still dripping slightly when you finally stepped out of the locker room, feeling refreshed but undeniably drained.

and then you saw her.

danielle stood just outside the entrance, her presence so unexpected that you almost stumbled in surprise. you should be used to this, maybe, considering you saw her yesterday. your heart jumped to your throat, tiredness vanishing in an instant. she was leaning casually against the wall, scrolling through her phone, but when she noticed you, her eyes lit up, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"hey!" she called out, pushing off the wall and stepping closer. "fancy seeing you here." she says sarcastically.

your heart was pounding, suddenly hyper-aware of the way your hair was probably sticking out at odd angles, still damp and messy. "h-hi," you stammered, mentally kicking yourself for sounding so awkward. "what—what are you doing here?"

danielle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking a little sheepish. "i’m actually waiting for hyein.." she glanced away, then back at you with a small, hesitant smile. "but, um, i wanted to see you too. just to say hi."

your heart practically stopped at that. she wanted to see you. you felt your cheeks start to burn, or maybe they were always a little warm, you took a hot shower earlier and that would make a lot of sense, but also danielle is—

you scramble to find something—anything—to say that wouldn’t make you seem like a complete idiot. "oh, uh, really? that’s… nice. i mean, it’s great. i—it’s good to see you, too. again. we saw each other yesterday."

“why yes, we did.” danielle laughed softly, her eyes crinkling in that way that always made your stomach flip. "you’re cute— and funny."

you blinked, completely caught off guard. your brain was short-circuiting. did she really just say that? were you more cute or funny? was the cute just thrown in there? you think for a bit, you make people laugh easily and— you need to stop thinking.

"oh, um, thank you? you too." you respond. she laughs again, shaking her head.

"i’m just teasing," she said, though there was something almost… nervous in her gaze as she looked at you. like she wasn’t sure if she’d overstepped. "but really, it’s nice running into you like this. you look different to how you did yesterday." 

you glanced down at yourself, still dressed in loose sweats and hoodie, hair a mess. "different good or…?"

"definitely good," she confirmed, her smile widening. "you look… relaxed. it suits you."

relaxed, right. you can’t help but chuckle.

before you could come up with a response that didn’t sound completely ridiculous, someone called your name. you turned to see wonbin waving at you from the other end of the hall where the boys locker room is, sohee trailing behind him. it "hey! you done?" he asked, his voice carrying over the distance.

you blinked, glancing back at danielle, and she gave you a small, understanding nod. "you should go," she murmured softly. "don’t want to keep your friends waiting."

"yeah, um, i guess i’ll see you next week" you hate how reluctant you sound.

danielle’s smile softened, something almost wistful in her eyes. "yeah, can’t wait to get glitter all over my hands again." she says jokingly. she waved as you turn to join wonbin and sohee, her gaze lingering on you a moment longer. "bye, y/n!"

"bye," you called back, lifting a hand in a half-wave.

you turned away, walking towards your friends, but couldn’t resist glancing over your shoulder one last time. danielle was still standing there, watching you leave, and when she caught you looking, she flashed you another quick grin, eyes crinkling and teeth showing. your heart did a flip against your chest.

wonbin nudged your shoulder as you reached them, smirking knowingly. "danielle marsh?" he questioned as if it weren’t the obvious, drawing her name out teasingly. "what’s up with that?"

"nothing is up. get your head out the gutter," you muttered, shoving him lightly, but you couldn’t stop the grin that tugged at your lips. "we were just talking."

sohee snorted. "right. just talking. sure."

“we literally had a brief conversation, i hope you guys inhale water.”

they both laughed as you rolled your eyes, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through your chest. even as you headed out with them, thoughts of buying a sandwich swirling around, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted between you and danielle—that maybe, just maybe, your friendship was returning with ease.

—

the next week you’re with danielle again. this time she’s heading towards your car, getting in your car, sitting in the passengers seat in your car, and clicking her seatbelt in next to you.

“hey.” she greets, smiling.

“hi.” you respond nervously. you check the time, you’re very early but you’re not sure if you can even drive properly with the prettiest girl in the school next to you. “ready to go?”

“yup!”

“okay!” you respond with the same energy, making her giggle. you just made danielle marsh giggle. 

accompanied by you is the sound of music playing in the middle of the silence—a little too loudly—before you glance at her nervously. you apologize, but she shakes her head in your peripheral, putting her hand on the side of your upper arm as she does so. you clench your jaw, forcing a smile as you turn the corner.

she puts a hand over her stomach. “hey, can we stop by and grab a snack? there’s a little convenience store on the way there i always pass by.”

“yeah, of course.” 

you pull into the small convenience store’s parking lot, your heart still racing from the brief moment earlier when danielle had laughed at your overly energetic response. you had to focus on driving, but her presence beside you was making it impossible to think straight.

(you’re not that good at doing anything… straight….)

“i’ll be quick,” she says with a smile, unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

“who said i’m not coming with?” you reply, “i’m not just gonna let you in by yourself.”

“wow,” she smirks, “what a gentle-lady.”

you follow her inside, letting her lead the way. it’s a cozy little store, shelves stocked with snacks, drinks, and everything in between. danielle heads straight to the snacks aisle while you find yourself wandering toward the drinks, hoping to calm your nerves. you scan the selection, pretending to be interested in a row of teas when you feel a sudden gaze on you.

turning slightly, you catch danielle staring at you from across the aisle. her eyes are soft, almost thoughtful, as if she’s studying every little movement you make. your heart skips a beat, and for a moment, you freeze, unsure of what to do with yourself.

“uh—” you clear your throat, lifting a tea bottle. “this one any good?”

danielle blinks, snapping out of her thoughts, a shy smile spreading across her face. “oh, yeah! it’s really good. you should try it.”

you nod, trying to play it cool as you glance at the label, but you can still feel her gaze lingering on you. there’s something electric in the air between you two—unspoken, but undeniably there—something that wasn’t there before. 

—

the second time you and danielle help out at the elementary school, the day is warmer, and the kids are outside, running around with boundless energy. you’re supervising the chaos, but also playing along with the kids—throwing a frisbee, helping them climb the jungle gym, and laughing as they chase after you.

danielle stands nearby, watching with an amused smile. it’s been a short amount of time since the last time you volunteered together, and she realizes how much she’s missed your presence. she’s always known you were sweet, but seeing you like this—so good with the kids, laughing and having fun, so personally and naturally—makes something inside her chest tighten.

it had been a while since she’d last seen you, not including the first volunteer hours, but just in general since middle school. sure, you had that one class freshman year, and gym during sophomore year, but that wasn’t really much.

between your current classes and different social circles, the chances to bump into you had become rare. but the moment you stepped into the classroom that day, something in her stirred. she couldn’t help but notice how much you’d changed since the last time she saw you. she was able to observe you fully: taller, more confident, but still with that same sweetness in your eyes that had made her stomach flutter before the transition into high school. additionally, you looked good—better than she remembered—and that realization had her heart skipping a beat.

she tries to focus on her own task, playing hopscotch with a few of the younger kids, but her eyes keep drifting back to you. you’re crouching down to tie a little girl’s shoelaces, smiling up at her in that easy, charming way you do. danielle’s heart races as she thinks about how effortlessly kind you are, how even the small things you do make her feel warm inside.

as you finish helping the girl, you catch danielle’s gaze—not for the first time that day. your eyes meet, and for a split second, neither of you looks away. she quickly glances down, a soft blush creeping up her cheeks. she can’t help but think how much you’ve changed since middle school—how you’ve grown into someone who’s not just good-looking but incredibly thoughtful, too.

you jog over to where she’s standing, slightly out of breath but grinning. “having fun?”

“yeah,” she replies, her voice a little softer than usual. “you seem like you’re having fun, too.”

“can’t help it,” you shrug, glancing at the kids. “they’re pretty contagious.”

danielle laughs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. the way you talk to her, so casually and effortlessly, makes her more nervous than she should be. you’ve always been easy to talk to, but now it feels different—like there’s something more beneath the surface.

as the afternoon goes on, the kids' energy only seems to increase. you end up sitting on the grass, surrounded by a group of them, laughing as one of the younger boys insists on “fixing” your hair. his tiny fingers tug gently at the strands, doing his best to style it into something creative—mostly a messy combination of pigtails. you wince occasionally, but you let him continue, his determination too adorable to resist. 

danielle watches from a few feet away, trying not to laugh too obviously. she’s been watching you all day, and she can’t help but feel charmed by how good-natured you are, even in moments like this. there’s something so endearing about the way you don’t take yourself too seriously, how you just go with the flow and let these kids have fun with you. she can’t help but sneak a picture, for… the memories of course.

“you look… really good,” she says, teasingly, as she approaches. 

you glance up, one eyebrow raised, trying to look at your reflection in the window nearby. “oh yeah? should i make this my new look?”

danielle grins, sitting down beside you. “i think it could be a trend. maybe you’ll make it on the cover of vogue.”

“right, 'styled by six-year-olds' is definitely going to get me scouted. maybe i’ll even be dressed head to toe in like… i don’t know— celine or something luxury.” you chuckle, letting the boy keep working on your hair. "i’ll give you credit for the idea when i get famous.”

danielle laughs, the sound light and soft, and her heart beats dangerously hard. you’re never trying too hard yet still manage to make people feel good just by being yourself. it’s been like this since middle school, but now, it feels more intense, like every small interaction with you is enough to make her stomach twist in turn—in the good way of course. 

“do you ever get tired of being everyone’s favorite?” she asks, playfully nudging you with her shoulder.

you blink, looking genuinely confused. “me? everyone’s favorite? what are you talking about?”

“you,” danielle says, smiling. “you’re so… easy to like. look at these kids—they’re obsessed with you. i don’t think i’ve ever seen someone win over a bunch of first-graders that fast.”

you shrug, looking a little bashful. “they’re fun and young, that’s all.”

the kid working on your hair finishes and steps back to admire his masterpiece. “done!” he announces proudly.

danielle bursts into laughter when she sees the final result—your hair is sticking out in all directions, a combination of tiny pigtails and knots. you make a dramatic face, pulling a mock-serious expression. “so… how do i look?”

“like a work of art,” she teases, leaning closer to inspect the chaos. “mona lisa is jealous.”

you can’t help but laugh along with her, feeling the warmth of the moment. even though you’re clueless about how much she’s been thinking about you, about how every little thing you do makes her heart skip, the playful energy between you two is unmistakable. there’s something so natural about being with her like this, so comfortable. it feels right, just like how it was back then.

as the kids run off back toward the adults, you and danielle stay sitting side by side in the grass, the conversation flowing easily as she fixes your hair. it’s like no time has passed since middle school, but at the same time, there’s a new layer to your dynamic.

“you know, i always liked you a lot in middle school.” danielle says suddenly, accidentally pulling out a strand of your hair with the hairtie. you wince, but not at the feeling of your hair being pulled out. “sorry about that.”

“you liked me?”

“i mean, who wouldn’t?” danielle shrugs. “everyone wanted to be your friend, of course i wanted to be yours too!”

that kind of ‘like’---the platonic kind.

“oh,” you mumble, “right, thanks. i liked you a lot too, um, like, you know, as a friend.” you’re lying right in front of her face, well, kind of. 

you thought she was just someone sweet and gorgeous, a great friend for maybe two weeks max. she started getting more touchy and affectionate, throwing compliments and making your cheeks flush a little too much. all of it confused you at the ripe age of thirteen, and then the points connected: you had a crush on her.

the moment you realized you liked her was burned into your memory, a core memory that never left. it wasn’t some grand gesture, not some dramatic revelation. it was just the two of you, sitting under the sun after finishing fitness exams early, finding a quiet spot in the grass to relax. you remember her finding a tiny flower in the grass, something you hadn’t even noticed, and without hesitation, she tucked it behind your ear, smiling as she called you wonderful and sweet, like it was the easiest thing in the world—like it was true.

her eyes had lit up, like you were something to be admired, like you were a constellation that she’d stumbled upon. your heart raced in that moment, faster than it ever had during any of the laps you’d run earlier. she just smiled at you, oblivious to the storm she’d created inside of you, and that’s when it hit you: nothing was going to be the same again.

from that day on, thirteen-year-old you couldn’t stop crushing on danielle marsh. it became a constant, something that wove itself into your everyday life, even when you barely saw her. every stolen glance, every random smile she threw your way, things you were sure meant nothing to her, but they were everything to you.

years passed, and even though you both grew older, matured in so many ways, the feelings stayed the same. maybe you were still young, still figuring out your place in the world, but one thing you knew for sure—you were undeniably, hopelessly in love with danielle marsh, and you always would be as long as she existed anywhere near you.

“i know it’s a little late, but i hope we can be friends like that again.” danielle admits, breaking you out of your memory. “i can’t help being so enamored by the person you are now.”

“woah.” you accidentally say, turning away from her and laughing. “sorry, i just— that was really sweet it um, caught me off guard. thank you danielle.”

“you can call me dani, just like you used to.”

“okay.”

her eyes narrow just a bit as her head tilts. she’s hugging her knees to her chest and staring at you while the sun starts to shine golden rays. you blink a few times, tilting your head the same way, and then she smiles again out of nowhere.

“seems like they’re ready to clean up. we should help.”

“for sure.” you say quietly, not budging. “i’ll go when you go.”

danielle giggles, “alright.”

—

after your second day at the elementary school, you and danielle somehow ended up walking to class together. it wasn’t planned, not exactly, but after bumping into each other the next morning, the conversation flowed so naturally that it just made sense to keep talking as you both headed in the same direction. 

danielle walked beside you, glancing at you every now and then as you talked about anything and everything—how tiring the kids could be, your classes, random stuff like favorite snacks or the latest movie you wanted to see. you two were passing time, walking in loops around the first floor of the school since the bell would ring in fifteen minutes. every time you said something that made her laugh, her eyes sparkled just a little more, and it wasn’t lost on you how easy it felt to be around her. 

eventually, you reached her class as your time together shortened. you stopped and turned to face her, giving a small wave. “i’ll see you around?” you asked, a smile tugging at your lips. 

“yeah, definitely,” she said, her cheeks flushing the slightest bit. she gave a little wave back, her smile soft and warm. “thanks for walking with me.”

“no problem,” you said, trying to play it cool despite how fast your heart was racing. you turned, heading off to your own class, but you couldn’t help glancing back once, catching her still watching you. 

what you didn’t see was danielle running into minji and hanni a few minutes later. the two of them were standing near the classroom and got there a few seconds after danielle, noticing immediately how flustered she seemed as they approached her at her desk.

“was that y/n you just waved goodbye to?” minji asked, her eyebrow raised. 

“yeah, we’ve been, uh, talking again. like friends! of course…” danielle said, her voice soft, a blush creeping up her neck as she tried to hide her smile.

hanni grinned, catching on instantly. “getting close again, huh?” she teased, nudging danielle’s arm playfully. 

danielle’s cheeks turned a little more pink, and she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. “something like that,”

minji smirked. “you look way too happy about it.”

danielle looked down, biting her lip to stop from grinning. “it’s nothing,” she muttered, but even she couldn’t believe her own words.

because, really, it felt like everything.

—

later that day you head toward the locker room after a tiring swim practice. sohee is teasing you for messing up during a lap, and hyein continues to add on. you manage to shake sohee off after splitting ways, but hyein is still poking at you.

you shower quickly, dry yourself, and change into your usual hoodie and sweats before waving to your teammates who aren’t done packing up.

once you open the door, you immediately catch danielle leaning against the wall. she looks up as soon as you step out, her features lighting up.

“hey!” she greets.

“hi.” you respond as you walk up to her. “waiting for hyein?”

“um, yeah.” danielle is lying again, this can’t be a good habit. maybe it lying isn’t so bad if it’s to see someone as wonderful as you, danielle thinks. “how was practice?”

“i was kinda slow today, but it was fun.” you sigh, “how has your day been?”

“tiring as well,” she huffs. “but i’m really caught up with schoolwork and the student council meeting was really short.”

“that’s lovely.” you catch sohee and wonbin in the corner of your eye and purse your lips. “those idiots,” your eyes turn towards them and danielle briefly glances at the idiots in question, “are hungry. they’re like vacuums… i swear.”

“i understand, my friends are like that too.” danielle snickers, directing her attention back to you. “hey, i was also wondering if you’d um, like to walk together in the morning? like we can walk or you can eat breakfast. it doesn’t matter. i’m just saying i’d like to be with you tomorrow morning.”

you freeze, parting your mouth to say something, but everything is caught up in your throat.

your brain stops functioning for a moment as you try to process quite literally everything. you manage to respond a few seconds later, “yes!” the eagerness makes you cringe, you cough. “yes, i mean. i’d also like to be with you! u-uhm, in the morning, obviously. yeah. we can do whatever you’d like, just say the words and i’m uh, i’m down.”

her lips turn up and you swear the universe just slapped you in the face. “great,” she says, “i’ll see you tomorrow. you should go feed your friends.”

“yeah, they… eat—a lot. sorry, yeah, i’ll get going. see you!”

“see you y/n!” she waves, and you wave back, walking towards two idiots trying to hold laughter and snarky remarks.

—

you’re helping out the kids as they all tend to their artwork. this time everyone has watercolor, which is a little less messy than your first rodeo at the school. you sit at the table with five children, all of them eager to earn criticism and compliments from their work.

“y/n! y/n! how do you like mine? it’s good right? do you like it?” one girl says, holding up the paper to your face with her little hands.

you chuckle, moving back a bit to get a better view of the work. it’s (what you assume) a scene from the country side; different shades of green line the bottom of the page to imitate grass, and there are different colored flowers peeking out getting shined on by the sun from above.

“it’s gorgeous annie.” you assure, “but i think those flowers are a little lonely without bees.”

the girl brings her paper back and turns it around to inspect. she squints her eyes, biting her lip before nearly slamming it on the ground and beginning to color again. “you’re right! i should’ve done that… also piggies and cows and… the flowers need friends.”

“you’re very creative, i love it!” you beam, patting her shoulder. she turns and smiles at you.

danielle’s palm holds her chin as she watches the interaction from a table away, grinning without knowing. her smile only grows when you give suggestions to another kid, and then she’s breaking away after a child tugs at her hair subtly.

“miss danielle, why are you staring at y/n so much?” the boy asks shyly. 

“o-oh.” danielle’s cheeks start to tingle with heat. “sorry, did you want me to check your work out?”

“why are you staring at y/n?” he asks again, tilting his head at her. 

“it’s nothing, really. i was just um… daydreaming.”

“about y/n?” kids are getting clever these days, though thankfully they lack the snarkiness. “is that why you’re staring at her?”

“um, no.” um, yes. danielle is lying to a child. “i just, she’s– she happens to be in my vision. um, let’s see your artwork!”

the kid shrugs, pushing the paper over to danielle who is in awe of how well done it is. this kid isn’t just smart, he’s remarkably talented too. 

now it’s your turn to look over at danielle, who’s tending to kids. you admire her for a bit, a small smile creeping up to your lips before you return to your own tasks.

—

the three of them—hanni, minji, and danielle—were huddled on the floor of minji’s room, surrounded by blankets and snacks. they’d been talking about everything and nothing for the past hour, the usual mix of gossip, random stories, and playful teasing filling the room as they have their monthly sleepover.

but as the conversation died down, danielle found her mind wandering back to the past few days—the past month—specifically to you. it had been happening more and more lately. volunteering with you at the elementary school had brought back feelings she thought she’d outgrown, but being around you so often was starting to get to her. all the walks to class were getting to her, the shared glances and grins, really just the awareness of you existing was making her think hard.

“are you okay, dani?” hanni asked, noticing the way danielle had fallen quiet, her face a little red.

minji narrowed her eyes playfully. “yeah, you’ve been acting weird all night. what’s going on?”

danielle sat up straighter, nervously picking at the hem of her oversized sweater. “um… okay, i’m probably just overthinking this, but—” she hesitated, biting her lip before blurting out, “i think i still like y/n.”

both hanni and minji exchanged looks, and then hanni grinned. “still? dani, i didn’t even know you ever stopped.”

“you never stopped,” minji added with a teasing smirk. “you’re just aware of it now because you two interact. i still remember how often you’d mention her back then when we were underclassmen. it wasn’t much, but i thought you always had eyes for her.”

“ugh.” danielle groaned, covering her face with her hands. “but like, it’s different now. we’ve been spending time together at the volunteering thing, even after that, and—” she paused, her voice softening, “she’s just so… sweet. and cute. like, even when she’s not trying, she’s just… ugh, i don’t know.”

hanni grinned, sitting up and leaning toward her. “oh my god, are you gushing?”

danielle peeked out from behind her hands, her face red. “no,” she muttered, but even she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “okay, maybe a little. yeah.”

“what’s she been doing that’s got you all flustered?” minji asked, genuinely curious now.

danielle sighed, her heart racing just thinking about it. “it’s like… little things, you know? like, she always makes sure i’m okay when we’re with the kids, and she’s so patient with them. and then there was this one time where a kid was playing with her hair, trying to style it, and she just let them do whatever they wanted without even complaining.” danielle laughed softly. “she just looked so cute and clueless, and i couldn’t stop staring. and she’s so, so sweet. she walks me to class and asks how i’m doing and we do gas station runs before or after volunteering and she’s so… crush worthy. i don’t know!”

hanni and minji exchanged knowing looks again.

“and like, we’ve barely talked since middle school, but now it’s like… i don’t know. it feels like nothing’s changed, but everything has? i just—” danielle paused, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “i’m starting to realize how much i like her again. we grew up kind of distant and it feels like there’s so much more to her that has me falling deeper than i ever had.”

minji smiled softly. “sounds like you’ve got it bad, dani.”

danielle groaned, lying back on the floor and covering her face again. “why is this happening?”

hanni laughed, poking her side. “because y/n’s cute, and you can’t handle it.”

“exactly,” minji agreed, her teasing grin in full force.

danielle sighed, letting her friends’ teasing wash over her as she tried to calm her racing heart. it was hopeless. she’d never stopped liking you, and now that you were back in her life, it was like everything was coming back all at once.

“what do i even do?” danielle muttered, staring up at the ceiling.

hanni grinned, nudging her. “easy. tell her.”

danielle blushed harder, shaking her head. “no way. i’ll just… i’ll wait.”

minji snorted. “yeah, good luck with that.”

—

that same night, you’re playing basketball with sohee at the court near your houses. sohee moved across the street from you right before high school started, and ever since that you two have been best friends. he’s someone you trust and love with your whole heart, but simultaneously a leech stuck to your side.

the night was cool, the court illuminated by the soft, dim glow of the overhead lights. you and sohee had been at it for a while, your usual one-on-one basketball game to unwind. except tonight, something was off. sohee was easily scoring on you, his movements quick and smooth while yours were sluggish and distracted. you missed shots you’d normally make without a second thought, and every time you tried to focus, your mind drifted back to danielle.

“y/n,” sohee called, catching the ball after your latest missed shot. “what is going on with you? you’re way off.”

you wiped the sweat from your brow, feeling the frustration rising. “nothing, i’m just… tired,” you muttered, but even you didn’t believe that excuse. sohee didn’t either.

he dribbled the ball lazily, walking toward you. “tired? no way. you’ve been off this whole game. i’ve scored more points in the last ten minutes than i usually do in an hour.” he nudged your shoulder with his elbow, his eyes narrowing playfully. “what’s going on?”

you hesitated, biting the inside of your cheek. it wasn’t like you to talk about stuff like this, especially with sohee, but the thoughts swirling around your head were starting to get overwhelming. you couldn’t deny it anymore.

with a sigh, you sat down on the edge of the court, sohee plopping down beside you. “it’s… danielle,” you finally admitted, your voice quieter than you intended.

sohee blinked, raising an eyebrow. “danielle?” he repeated, leaning back on his hands. “okay… go on.”

 you put your head in your hands, suddenly feeling vulnerable. “i don’t know. like, we’ve been hanging out more because of the volunteering stuff, and… i don’t know. i can’t stop thinking about her. like, at all. and it’s messing me up. before it was just a small, lingering crush. it’s so, so bad now.”

sohee’s expression softened, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. “so you’ve been crushing on her hard, huh?”

you groaned, leaning your head back and staring up at the night sky. “yeah, i guess you could say that.” it felt like an understatement—it was an understatement. “but it’s more than that. i feel like… every time we’re together, i’m losing my mind. like, i don’t know what to do with myself. i’m always trying to act normal, but she’s so sweet and adorable and cute and i—” you stopped yourself, feeling embarrassed by how much you were rambling. “jesus, i sound like an idiot. don’t look at me—it’s bad.”

sohee chuckled, shaking his head. “honestly, from what you’ve told me, it sounds like she probably likes you too.”

your heart skipped a beat at his words, but you shook your head. “no way. she’s just… being nice. that’s how she is.”

“nah,” sohee stood up, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands. “you don’t see it, but i’ve seen you guys together. and besides, people don’t just act like that for no reason. the way you described her, she’s gotta be into you.”

you raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “you think?”

sohee shrugged. “i mean, you won’t know until you ask her. but from where i’m standing, she’s been giving you all the signs. you are the only one who doesn’t catch her smiling at you, even looking at you. she has to be losing it just as much.”

you sat there for a moment, letting his words sink in. maybe he was right. maybe danielle did like you, but it was hard to believe, especially when you felt so off balance around her. still, the idea of it made your heart race in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

“you’re overthinking it,” sohee said, tossing the ball to you. “just… be yourself. she clearly likes who you are, whether you realize it or not.”

you caught the ball, your grip tightening around it as you glanced at him. “and if you’re wrong?”

he laughed, shrugging. “then you’ll live, you always make it. but honestly, i don’t think i am.”

you exhaled slowly, standing up and bouncing the ball a couple of times. “yeah, maybe.”

sohee grinned, motioning for you to start the game again. “come on, let’s finish this. i’m not letting you off easy just because you want marsh.”

you laughed, feeling a little lighter as you dribbled the ball and faced him. “i’m gonna beat your ass—maybe stick to swimming.”

—

the next time you and danielle volunteer at the elementary school, the kids are in full creative mode, diving headfirst into arts and crafts. you watch as their tiny hands work with paper, markers, and glue sticks, their faces lit up with excitement. you and danielle sit side by side at a low table, helping them cut shapes and fold paper, but soon enough, the kids start getting ideas of their own.

"we’re gonna make you guys princesses!" one of the little girls announces with a grin, holding up some colored paper.

"yeah, princesses need crowns," another chimes in, already working on what looks like a very lopsided paper tiara.

danielle laughs softly, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "oh, wow. we’re honored, huh?" she says, glancing at you, her smile wide but a little flustered.

you nod, trying to play it cool even though the idea of you both as ‘princesses’ is making your head spin. "i guess we’re royalty for the day."

soon enough, you and danielle each have paper crowns placed carefully on your heads, the kids squealing in delight at their creations. you catch a glimpse of danielle out of the corner of your eye, and even though the crown is crooked and made of construction paper, she looks... perfect. she always does. she looks even better than any princess from the movies.

"okay, now you need to get married!" one of the boys shouts, bouncing on his feet as he holds out paper rings he made from scraps of old coloring sheets.

both you and danielle freeze for a second, the word ‘married’ hanging in the air like it’s some forbidden territory. you and danielle: married. but the kids don’t give you much time to process because suddenly, two of them grab your hands, pulling you up from your seats.

"come on! princesses have to get married!" they insist, giggling wildly.

danielle glances at you, her eyes wide, but she’s smiling, clearly trying to suppress how flustered she is. "uh, i guess we don’t really have a choice here," she says softly, her voice slightly shaky but still playful.

"nope, none at all," you respond, trying to sound as casual as possible, even though your heart is practically beating out of your chest. you reach out and take the paper ring they offer, pretending it’s all part of the fun as you slip it onto danielle’s finger. “but i don’t mind you as the princess.” you whisper.

danielle’s cheeks flush as she does the same, her fingers lightly brushing against yours as she slides the paper ring onto your hand. for a second, the whole room seems to blur, and it’s just the two of you standing there, awkwardly exchanging paper rings with a bunch of kids cheering you on.

"you may now... be married!" one of the kids declares, causing an eruption of giggles all around you.

you and danielle exchange a quick look, both of you clearly trying not to burst into laughter, but also kind of… lost in the moment. her smile is soft and shy, and you can’t help but feel the warmth spreading through your chest like always.

"well, that was... something," danielle murmurs, her voice quieter as she glances down at the ring now wrapped around your finger.

"yeah," you manage to say, your own voice barely steady. "guess we’re officially paper royalty now."

“i suppose so ‘your highness.’”

both of you laugh, but it’s the kind of laughter that lingers—nervous, sweet, and a little unsure of what it all means. you sit back down, the kids going off to make more crafts, but the paper rings stay on your fingers. neither of you make a move to take them off, both pretending like everything is fine, even though the butterflies in your stomach are telling you otherwise.

—

it was a typical friday after swim practice. you were tired but in a good mood, feeling the pleasant ache in your muscles as you pulled your hoodie over your head and adjusted your sweatpants. as you walked out of the locker room, your hair still damp, you see danielle waiting outside, leaning against the wall with her phone in her hand.

she looked up when you stepped out, and the smile that spread across her face was like a breath of fresh air. “hey,” she greeted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

you smiled back. “hey. waiting for hyein?” it was your automatic assumption since danielle usually hung out with her after school, and you were trying to play it cool, despite the sudden spike in your pulse.

danielle shook her head, biting her lip as if she was a little nervous. “no, actually. i was wondering… if you wanted to grab a bite with me? i mean, if you're free? if you’re going to grab dinner with sohee and wonbin though—i understand.”

for a second, you just stared at her, completely thrown off. danielle marsh, standing there, casually asking you to hang out. it felt surreal. she was looking at you expectantly, her eyes bright and hopeful, and it took everything in you to not freeze up completely.

“just us?”

“who else would be coming? i wanted to… spend time with you.” danielle fidgets with her fingers.

“uh, yeah, sure!” you finally managed to respond, hoping you didn’t sound too eager, but internally you were freaking out.

from the corner of your eye, you spotted sohee and wonbin leaning against the vending machine nearby, watching the whole thing unfold. sohee gave you a sly smirk, while wonbin raised his eyebrows in playful encouragement, clearly trying to get you to go along with it. they didn’t say a word, but their teasing looks were enough.

you ignored them, focusing back on danielle, who was smiling wider now that you’d agreed. “great!” she said, looking genuinely happy. “there’s this place nearby that makes really good sandwiches. hyein loves to eat there after practice.”

“sounds perfect,” you replied, unable to stop the grin spreading across your face as the two of you made your way toward the parking lot.

as you walked side by side, you couldn't help but sneak glances at her, wondering how the universe had aligned for this to happen. danielle, who had been so distant for years, was suddenly in your life again, and now you were about to grab sandwiches together.

you reached your car, and as danielle slid into the passenger seat, you tried to act normal. after all, this ins’t the first time danielle has been in your car. she clicked her seatbelt and looked over at you with a soft expression, and for a moment, everything felt easy.

you turned on the engine, glancing at her with a smile of your own. “let’s go get those sandwiches.”

—

you noticed one of the kids, a little boy named max, slumped over at his desk, his tiny hand still clutching a crayon while his head rested on his arm. he was fast asleep, the exhaustion from the day finally catching up to him. you smiled to yourself, gently lifting the crayon from his hand and setting it down before carefully scooping him up in your arms.

max stirred slightly but didn’t wake, his small body curling into you instinctively. you carried him across the room, making sure your steps were light and quiet, and set him down gently on a blanket in the corner. once you made sure he was comfortable, you knelt beside him, adjusting the blanket around him so he wouldn’t get cold.

as you stood up, brushing off your hands, you felt a pair of eyes on you. turning around, you caught danielle watching the whole scene, her gaze soft and warm. before you could say anything, she spoke, her voice quiet but filled with admiration.

"you're really sweet, you know that?" she said, almost like the words slipped out without her meaning to.

your face heated up instantly, a deep blush spreading across your cheeks. you rubbed the back of your neck, trying to play it off. "thank you," you mumbled, avoiding her gaze because the way she was looking at you made your heart race even more.

but danielle wasn’t letting it go that easily. she smiled at you, that same smile that always made your insides twist in the best way. "no, i mean it. you’re just... really good with them. it’s nice to see. you’re so sweet and so like, cute. sorry."

you blinked, caught off guard by the sincerity in her voice. "uh, thanks. i just... i don’t know." you tried to brush it off again, but you could feel her eyes still on you, and it made you flustered beyond words.

danielle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks a little pink now too. she quickly looked away, biting her lip like she couldn’t believe she’d just said that, and you swore you saw the smallest hint of nervousness in her expression.

you both stood there for a second in the quiet classroom, neither of you sure what to say next. but something unspoken passed between you, something warm and sweet, and even though neither of you acknowledged it out loud, it hung in the air like a gentle breeze.

maybe she didn’t just see you as a friend after all.

—

after leaving the elementary school, you and danielle decided to grab some smoothies, neither of you really wanting the day to end just yet. after picking up your drinks, you drove to a nearby park, parking in a spot that had a perfect view of the sunset. the sky was painted with soft pinks and oranges, fading into a deep blue as the sun dipped lower on the horizon.

sitting side by side in the car, both of you sipped on your smoothies, the air between you comfortable yet charged with something unspoken. danielle was flipping through her phone, looking for something to watch, and eventually settled on a short movie you both had heard about. you propped your phone up on the dashboard, the two of you leaning back in your seats, the glow from the screen illuminating your faces.

the movie played on, but your mind wasn’t completely on it. not really. it was hard to focus when danielle was sitting so close, her laugh quiet but making your heart race every time. you could feel the warmth of her next to you, and each little shift she made only reminded you of how much you liked her.

as the movie reached its peak, the two characters on screen began to confess their feelings for each other. it was a sweet, heartwarming moment, and as you watched, you couldn’t help but feel the growing urge to say something. the way they looked at each other, the vulnerability, the raw emotion—everything felt so familiar.

you glanced over at danielle, who was also watching the scene intently. her hand rested on her lap, fingers lightly tapping to some rhythm only she could hear. your heart pounded in your chest, and before you could stop yourself, you opened your mouth to speak, but then—

“i like you.”

the words tumbled out at the exact same time. both of you froze, eyes wide as you turned to face each other. danielle’s hand smacks over her mouth at the same tiem as you. for a second, it was like the world had stopped, the air between you electric, charged with a mix of surprise and relief. 

danielle’s eyes blinked in shock, and then she laughed softly, her cheeks turning pink as she ducked her head slightly. "what? you, you like me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

you nodded, feeling equally flustered but relieved. you turn toward your wheel and put your hands over your face as you lean against it. “yeah,” you mumble against your skin. 

there was a beat of silence, the tension dissolving into something lighter, something sweet. you both smiled at each other, the nervousness fading as the reality of the moment settled in.

"i thought it was just me," she admitted shyly.

"same," you replied, grinning despite the butterflies in your stomach. "but... i'm glad i wasn’t." you lean back in your seat, unable to look at her.

danielle let out a little laugh, and for a moment, everything felt right. you weren’t just friends anymore, not after this. and as the last light of the sunset faded, the two of you sat there in the quiet of the car, your hands slowly finding each other in the space between you. it felt like something had shifted—something you’d both been waiting for.

she looks at you, her eyes still wide, her smile soft but curious. "how long?" she asks quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. the question hung in the air, and you could feel the weight of it.

you swallowed, feeling the heat rise to your face. "uh... since middle school," you admitted, glancing down at your hands nervously. "it was after we finished the fitness testing... remember? you put a flower in my hair while i was sweaty and tired and gross."

danielle’s eyes lit up with recognition, a soft giggle escaping her lips. "wait, really? you liked me then?" she asked, her smile growing as she leaned in a little closer, clearly caught up in the moment. 

"yeah," you nodded, feeling the giddiness rise in your chest. "i remember being so embarrassed because i thought i looked terrible, but you just smiled at me like... like it didn’t matter."

danielle blushed deeply, covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled. "oh my god, i didn’t know! and now i feel even worse because... i’ve liked you since middle school too."

your heart nearly stopped at her words, your eyes widening in surprise. "wait, what? since when?"

"remember that science project we did together?" danielle asked, her cheeks still flushed. "you finished most of it because i was sick for half the week... and you didn’t complain once. you just did it and made sure i didn’t feel bad about it. you even emailed me to drink water and take care of myself. how could i not like you."

“oh"

"yeah," danielle smiled, a little shy now. "i think that’s when i realized you were really special."

both of you were blushing now, giggling nervously in between your confessions, like you couldn’t quite believe what was happening. it was surreal, this moment you’d both been unknowingly waiting for since you were kids. and now here you were, sitting in your car, finally on the same page after all these years.

"i can’t believe we’ve both been... waiting this long," you said, still grinning like an idiot. you smack your forehead with your palm.

"me neither," danielle agreed, her voice soft as her gaze lingered on yours. her smile grew, her eyes sparkling with that familiar light you’d always admired. "but i’m really glad we know now."

"yeah," you whispered, feeling your heart swell as you looked at her. "me too."

silence settled between you two after the giddy confessions, but it wasn’t awkward. it felt... comfortable. like a new kind of peace, where everything was finally out in the open. danielle fiddled with her smoothie cup, glancing at you every now and then with a soft smile, while you kept sneaking looks at her as you drove, your heart doing little flips each time you caught her eyes.

the drive to her house felt shorter than usual, and before you knew it, you were pulling up in front of her place. you turned the engine off, the soft hum of the car dying down as you both sat in the lingering quiet. you wanted to say something, anything to keep her here just a little longer, but your mind was blank—except for the thought of how much you didn’t want this moment to end.

danielle turned to you, her eyes warm and sparkling under the dim glow of the streetlight. "thanks for today," she said quietly, her voice gentle, but there was something more behind it, something unspoken that hung between you.

you felt your heart race again. "no problem, anytime."

danielle looks like she wants to say something. she looks at you with an uncertain expression, biting her lip to hold back something.

“i want to kiss you so bad right now danielle.” you admit quickly, almost out of breath. “you look so cute right now i kind of want to get run over because of how adorable you look. like, oh my god.”

“no, yeah, i feel the same. can we— can i kiss you? oh my god, i’ve never done this before.”

you giggle, “me neither.”

there was a brief pause, and before you could stop yourself, you leaned in—just slightly. it was almost instinctual, like the air between you both had been pulling you closer this entire time. danielle noticed, her breath hitching softly as her eyes flickered to your lips, and in the next heartbeat, she closed the distance.

the kiss was soft, tentative—both of you so nervous, yet so eager. her lips were warm and gentle against yours. danielle’s hand slid into your hair, ruffling it up a bit more and sending shivers down your spine. you couldn’t help but melt into her touch. your own hands trembled as you cupped her cheek, everything feeling new and exciting, yet strangely right.

when you finally pulled apart, both of you were blushing so hard, it was almost embarrassing. you could barely look at each other without grinning like idiots, your hearts pounding in unison. danielle let out a soft laugh, her cheeks bright pink as she quickly glanced at the door.

"um... i’ll—i’ll see you tomorrow?" she stammered, clearly flustered, but there was a giddy, breathless smile on her face that made your own heart stutter.

"yeah, tomorrow," you managed to say, your voice shaky from the rush of emotions. you were still trying to process what had just happened, your lips tingling from the kiss as you watched her open the door to leave. “one more?”

danielle laughs, then gives you a brief kiss before pulling away and avoiding your gaze from nervousness.

she waves a quick goodbye before disappearing into her house, but not without one last smile that made your heart swell all over again. you sat there for a moment longer, your face burning as you replayed everything in your head. the kiss, the confession, her soft touch—it all felt like a dream, one you were still floating in.

and for a moment, all the nerves, all the unspoken feelings—everything just melted away, leaving behind a feel of tranquility between you both. you weren’t just two people holding onto a crush anymore. you were finally something more, and it felt like everything had just fallen perfectly into place.

[pastryfication]

Heyy I loved your cochlear implant story! I was hoping you could do something similar where reader has really bad eyesight if she's not got her glasses on? It's a big fear of mine bc I can hardly recognize different faces without my glasses 😊🤞

the thick lenses help you navigate a world that would otherwise be a blur of shapes and colors, and you rely on them more than anything, so you’ve always been very careful with your glasses. that’s why, when you hear the sound of them hitting the floor and that awful crack that follows, your heart sinks.

you stare down at the bathroom floor, but it’s just a hazy blur of light and shadows. the outlines of your broken glasses are barely visible, and the realization that you can’t see them clearly makes your chest tighten with fear. you sink to your knees, fumbling to pick up the pieces, but your hands are shaking so badly that you can’t even grasp them.

“no, no, no…” you whisper, your voice trembling as panic starts to build. you know how dependent you are on your glasses, how lost you feel without them, and now you’re faced with that terrifying reality.

“oscar!” you call out, your voice cracking with desperation. you feel a wave of helplessness crash over you, the room spinning as you struggle to keep your breathing under control.

oscar’s footsteps echo in the hallway, and within seconds, he’s at your side, his expression shifting from concern to alarm when he sees you on the floor, your hands clutching at the broken glasses. “hey, what happened?” he asks, his voice full of worry as he kneels down beside you.

“they broke,” you manage to say, your voice trembling. “i don’t have a spare… i can’t… i can’t see anything, oscar.” the words come out in a rush, your panic spiking as you try to explain just how bad it is, how everything around you is just a terrifying blur. “i don’t know what to do. what if something happens, and i can’t—”

oscar cuts you off with a comforting hand on your shoulder, and immediately wraps his arms around you, pulling you close to his chest. “it’s okay,” he murmurs, his voice fighting hard to stay steady and calm, though you can hear the underlying worry. “i’m here. you’re going to be okay. i’ll help you.”

you clutch onto his shirt, your knuckles white with the force of your grip. you’re trying to breathe, but the fear is overwhelming, making it hard to focus on anything other than the fact that you can’t see, that you’re completely vulnerable. “i’m scared,” you admit, your voice barely above a whisper. “i just feel so helpless.”

oscar tightens his hold on you, his hand gently stroking your hair in a comforting rhythm. “i know,” he says softly. “but i’m not going to let anything happen to you. we’ll get through this together, okay? we’ll get you new glasses as quickly as possible.”

you nod, but the panic is still there, making your heart race and your thoughts spiral. “but how… how can i do anything without my glasses? i can’t see, i can’t…” your words are choked off by a sob, and you press your face against oscar’s chest, trying to hide how scared you really are. it may be an overreaction, you’re well aware of that, but the thought of being completely dependent on someone else, the thought of not being able to do anything, is making your heart beat faster, feeling like it’s pushing hardly against your rib cage in an attempt to get out.

“hey, it’s alright,” oscar says gently, pulling back just enough to be able to study your expression. “you’re not alone in this. i’m going to guide you through the whole day, and we’re going to take it one step at a time. you don’t have to worry about anything. i’ll be your eyes until we get new glasses, okay?”

you nod again, feeling a small flicker of relief at his words, though the fear still lingers. “okay,” you whisper, leaning into his touch as he cups your face, his thumb brushing away the tears that have started to fall.

“let’s start with breakfast,” oscar suggests, his voice gentle as he helps you up from the floor. “i’ll guide you, and we’ll take it slow.”

your grip on his arm is tight as he leads you out of the bathroom, every step feeling uncertain without being able to see anything.

oscar’s presence is a lifeline, his calm, steady voice reassuring you as he carefully guides you through the apartment. “there’s a step here,” he says softly, pausing to make sure you’re steady before continuing. “and here’s the table—i’ve got you.”

he helps you into a chair, then places a plate in front of you, gently guiding your hand to it. “scrambled eggs,” he says with a smile in his voice. “your favorite.”

you manage a small smile, though your hands are still shaking slightly as you reach for the fork. oscar doesn’t leave your side, watching closely to make sure you’re okay, his presence a constant source of comfort.

the rest of the day is a blur of anxiety and dependence, but oscar is there for every moment, helping you navigate the world that has suddenly become so much more daunting. whether it’s walking you around the apartment or helping you find your way to the couch, he’s right there, his hand steady on yours, his voice a calming presence in the midst of your panic.

at one point, he pulls you into his lap, wrapping his arms around you and holding you close. “you’re doing great,” he murmurs into your hair, his lips brushing against your temple. “i know it’s scary, but you’re handling it so well.”

“i don’t feel like i’m handling it well,” you admit, your voice small as you cling to him, your fear still simmering just beneath the surface.

“you are,” oscar insists, his voice filled with quiet confidence. “you’re being so strong, and i’m really proud of you. just remember, you don’t have to go through this alone. i’m here, always.”

you nod, burying your face in his chest again, taking comfort in his warmth and the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. you’re still scared, still feeling vulnerable and lost without your glasses, but with oscar holding you, guiding you, you know you’ll make it through the day. he’s your anchor, your calm in the storm, and you know that as long as he’s with you, you’ll always be okay.