#her sending off extra birds to look for her brother

[hellishgayliath]

Awww frick Moon

Gesundheit

ah.. Ah.. AH- SNEEZE

sorry don't know what happened there, @hellishgayliath-

um- so- yeah I have no reason for this. I saw Clem's future design, my brain made this. so um.. if I have to envision it, so do y'all

I know you joked that Clem claimed Luci as her honorary sister, but they are also 'technically' cousins and would address her as such more than calling her a sister. If not for that reason, then because Luci wouldn't know how to deal with it (as her brain would trail to her then being Pico's sister & both of them would despise that lol) so it's probably done for Luci's sake (with exceptions ofc)

2nd thing; Sugar or Salt If this is an actually thing i don't know where its from because I made it up. But it's their version of saying 'good news or bad news'. I thought it was cute :] Sugar being to sugarcoat the situation & Salt being brutally honest/realistic. I think it'd be a thing Luci made up when Clem was really young & I think Clem would mainly ask for sugar instead of salt.

[wooattackrr]

study session

MDNI

Synopsis: student!reader comes over the study with her best friend, but comes in contact with her older brother mingyu instead

a/n: this has been in the drafts for like a week and it’s still not proofread…

——————————————————————

The late afternoon sun poured through the trees outside, casting playful shadows on the sidewalk as you made your way to your best friend’s house. Your heart raced with anticipation; studying for upcoming exams could be tedious, but at least you had your best friend, Mina, by your side to help make the time more enjoyable. You pushed open the gate, its creaky hinges announcing your arrival. You had been here countless times before, but today felt different.

You knocked gently on the door, noting the way your palms slightly dampened with sweat. Being shy made moments like these even more nerve-wracking; you had always struggled to make your presence felt around others, even those you were close to.

After a few moments, when there was still no answer, you checked your phone. As expected, there was a message from Mina. "Running a little late! Can you let yourself in?" You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You took a deep breath and twisted the doorknob, pushing the door open and stepping into the familiar warmth of her home.

“Hello?” you called out, but the sounds of the house were drowned by the low hum of the refrigerator and the faint chirping of birds outside. You were met with a silence that felt almost oppressive. You slipped off your shoes and wandered into the living room, glancing at the clock. You still had some time before Mina arrived. With a small sigh, you decided to gather your books and materials from your bag to settle in for what would likely be a long study session.

As you organized your things on the coffee table, a light shuffle of footsteps echoed down the hallway before a tall figure stepped into view.

“Mingyu?” you blurted out, surprised.

Mingyu, Mina’s older brother, stood before you like a vision: tousled dark hair framing his handsome face, his fit physique accentuated by a loose T-shirt and jogger pants. He blinked at you, an amused smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

You stammered, “M-Mina said she’d be late, so I came to study.” Your cheeks heated as you noticed how his gaze lingered on your face.

His expression shifted to one of understanding, “Ah, okay. Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I’m just about to head to the kitchen to grab a snack.” He turned to walk away, and you felt a flutter in your stomach. His casual demeanor was enough to make you both nervous and excited at the same time.

“I—uh—do you want some help?” you offered, surprising even yourself with the invitation. The words spilled from your lips before you could think about the implications.

He paused and turned to face you fully. “Sure, if you want to help! I could always use an extra set of hands.” His grin widened, and your heart raced.

As you followed him into the kitchen, you couldn’t shake the feeling of exhilaration mixed with anxiety. You watched as he rummaged through the pantry, pulling out a bag of chips. “You want some?” he asked, holding the bag up.

“Um, yeah, sure.” You took a chip, feeling the heat of his body so close to yours. You stood by the counter, unsure of where to look. The tension in the air was palpable, and each passing second felt like an eternity.

Mingyu leaned casually against the counter, his arm brushing against yours, sending shivers down your spine. “So how’s studying going for you? I’ve heard it’s pretty intense this time of year.”

You nodded, your voice barely above a whisper. “Y-Yeah, it’s been… tough. I’m really trying to get good grades.” You couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered under his gaze. He looked at you with curiosity, as if you were something more interesting than the bag of chips between you.

“I get that. School can be rough. But you’ve got this,” he encouraged, his tone sincere. Hearing him speak to you that way made your heart flutter even more. Maybe Mingyu wasn’t just Mina’s brother; he was genuinely kind—a trait not often seen, especially in college boys.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” you managed to say, rubbing your arms anxiously.

After a few more moments of small talk, the initial awkwardness melted away slightly as you found a rhythm in conversation. Yet, you couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something electric in the air, a tension that both thrilled and terrified you.

“I should probably get back to studying,” you finally said, your voice wavering with uncertainty.

He nodded, “Yeah, I should probably let you focus. I’m going to head back to my room and work on a few things too.” As he spoke, a sudden idea lit up in your mind—a bold impulse that you couldn’t ignore.

“Wait, Mingyu…” you stopped him before he could walk away completely, “Do you want to study with me? I mean, if you have time. We could… help each other?”

His brows rose in surprise, and for a moment, you thought he might decline. But then, his lips curled into a smirk. “You know what? That sounds great. I could use a distraction anyway.” He stepped back into the living room with you, and your heart leaped.

Settling back on the couch, you spread your materials across the coffee table. Mingyu sat beside you, close enough that you could feel the warmth radiating from him. You grabbed your textbook and began flipping through the pages, but it was hard to focus with the intoxicating presence sitting beside you.

“Alright, what do you want to start with?” He leaned closer, his shoulder brushing against yours. You could hardly concentrate on the questions in front of you.

You took a deep breath, your voice steadying slightly. “Let’s start with math. I could use some help with these equations.”

As you worked together, laughter filled the room. Mingyu had a talent for turning complicated formulas into something more approachable. His enthusiasm was contagious, and soon you found yourself smiling and engaging him more than you had anticipated.

Time slipped by as you dived into the material, the way he explained things making everything seem so easy. However, with each passing moment, you couldn’t help but notice his occasional sideways glance, a spark of mischief in his eye.

“Okay, next question…” You squinted at the paper, trying to keep your focus but feeling dizzy under his gaze.

“I think you're overthinking it,” he said suddenly, causing you to look up. “Just trust yourself.”

His voice was encouraging, sending warmth flooding through you. You let out a nervous chuckle, “Easier said than done, right?”

“Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?” He leaned just a bit closer, an intensity in his gaze that made your heart race. “Just look at the problem simply.”

You swallowed, the tension between you becoming unbearable. With a quick glance at him, you realized that you couldn’t ignore the charge in the air; it was intoxicating, and your body reacted with a surprising want that you never expected to feel sitting next to your friend’s brother.

Mingyu’s eyes flickered to your lips, and suddenly the space between you felt impossibly small. You could feel your cheeks heating again, and your breath quickened, but still, a part of you couldn’t look away.

The tension in the room grew thicker as you both succumbed to the heat building between you. Mingyu's kiss grew more urgent, his hands moving with purpose, unbuttoning your shirt one button at a time. His touch sent shivers down your spine, making you forget about the outside world.

The coolness of the fabric against your skin was a stark contrast to the warmth of his palms as they explored your body. You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks as his hands reached your waist, his thumbs hooking into the waistband of your jeans.

Mingyu's eyes searched yours for permission, and you nodded, too lost in the moment to speak. With a smoldering look, he tugged your jeans down, exposing your bare skin to the cool air. Your heart hammered in your chest as he trailed kisses down your neck, his teeth grazing your collarbone.

The sound of the front door opening sent a jolt of panic through your body. You froze, your eyes wide with shock as the door creaked open.

“no fucking way…”

——————————————————————

x o o o o o o

[mxtantrights]

Omg on jason having twins, i think he’d be an utter mess on their first day of school. Like you got this massive brick shithouse of a man practically trembling while barely holding back tears as he drops off his babies at kindergarten or first grade.

a/n: thank you anon for sending this in! <333 I can't thank you enough and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!!!

You thought the hardest part of seeing you twins off to kindergarten would be the kids. But it's actually seeing Jason say goodbye to them that undoes you.

He's crouched down to be at their level. The both go them, Peter and Cassie, are looking at him intently. With their books bags on their bags and their lunch pails in their hands. Cassie let Jason do her hair today, two space buns with purple scrunchies. Peter let you pick his shirt, a fresh green graphic tee.

You sniffle as you take them in.

Jason holds onto Peter's hand and cups the side of Cassie's face.

"Now, you don't have to go today if you don't want to. You can stay at home and we can try again tomorrow. It's okay." Jason says.

"We wanna go." Peter says.

"Yeah daddy." Cassie agrees.

Jason nods his head, "Of course. You two are so smart. You're gonna do so good. You hardly get that from me."

"You're smart daddy!" Cassie says, throwing herself onto him.

Jason doesn't even move when she does that. He is kneeling there and his right arm at his side, the other in Peter's hand. Peter joins in on the hug too.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Jason says.

Jason engulfs the both of them in a hug. You wanna go over there and join in but you know if you do then they might never actually go in. It's one thing to see Jason not wanting to let go, but if they see it from you they'll probably skip kindergarten altogether.

"Me too!" Peter says.

Jason lets go first. He pulls away from them and takes them in again. Then he gives them each a kiss on the top of their heads. Peter gets an extra one because Cassie turns around and runs through the front door.

Then Peter follows after her. Ever the little brother.

Jason stands up and turns to you. Now you can see his eyes that are red and brimmed with tears. You jog over and wrap your arms around him. He wraps his arms around you within hesitation and places his head into the crook of your neck.

"It's okay. We'll see them later." you say.

"Maybe we can pick them up early?" he asks, and you know he's half joking and half serious.

"No can do. We gotta let the little birds leave the nest." you answer.

[zivazivc]

What was Ish and Lena's relationship?

I made so much for this ask, don't look at me 🫣

The two trolls had a short summer romance at a "no boarders" music festival called Fusion Fest. Back then it was a pretty new and small thing, and the point of the festival is for trolls from all genres to come together and enjoy each other's music and company; celebrating togetherness and acceptance.

(Yes, I made a logo. 😅 This festival is a major annual event for the mixed trolls in my AU.)

Ish and his friend group went to check it out because they're already a colorful ensemble of different genres, and they were curious to see what it was about.

Lena and her friends somehow caught wind of the festival in their backwater village where nothing new or exciting ever happens, and they decided to go to rebel against their closed-minded, racist parents and community, but mostly because they were bored teenagers who'd never seen any trolls other than Rock Trolls before. Despite them wanting to experience something new, their reason for going was very much NOT the point of the festival; They were treating it more like a freakshow to stare at, and them rebelling against their parents was more just to anger them and not because they were any better...

In my mind Lena is very attractive (in a trashy, grunge kind of way), and a 16-year-old Ish immediately got a crush on her from across the room.

He put his Funk moves on her and left her completely flustered from how forward he was. I imagine he was really charming and smooth, but also I can't stop cringing and comparing it to bird mating dances lmao.

(The song Ish is singing to Lena. It makes it feel extra perfect because I just happened to learn the singer was also a 16-year-old when recording it!)

Lena didn't fall for him as hard as he fell for her at first, but she's one of those girls who will go for any bad boy that looks intimidating, and she thought funk trolls were scary and intimidating, because she was subconsciously racist herself too. 🧍 She did really start to like him after they hooked up though, and started liking him for him (so at least she was learning...)

But then they were faced with an unexpected surprise one morning after waking up from a night of concerts and partying (and mixing of substances that shouldn't be mixed)...

Ish panicked hard, he even tried getting rid of the egg, claiming it had to be a dud given the circumstances, but Lena stopped him saying she felt it move. Thank god, because Leslie hatched only minutes later.

Ish was so freaked out that he abruptly left and headed back to Funk Kingdom in the same day, and just abandoned Lena with the baby.

Lena was also very scared but she immediately warmed up to little Leslie and had no intention of dropping him off at an orphanage or doing something similar, despite her friends' encouragement to do just that, claiming her parents were going to kick her out if she showed up back home with a mixed baby.

I'm thinking Ish did try to reach out to Lena by sending her a letter a few weeks later (he got her address before the egg thing happened), but the letter never reached her because she really was disowned and kicked out of her parents' house when she came home and refused to give her baby up...

So Lena never heard from Ish again, and the next time Ish heard about Lena was about 9 years later when Leslie turned up looking for him with his baby brother, and he learned that she was gone...

(Ish having a weird day where he went out after Kymani poorly relayed a confusing phone call from the police station, and later came back home as the sole caretaker of two neglected kids.)

[emtb319]

Pumpkin Patch

The lovely @lenle-g made some art for my story.

Scott paced back and forth behind his father’s desk.  Colonel Casey had called him on his personal cell and left a simple message.  “Please call me, it’s important.”  At the time, he was on a callout.  Now, hours later, he had to call her back.  She never called him on his personal cell.  

While he waited for her to pick up, he mumbled to himself,  ‘why didn’t she just call John?  She knew I was on a call out…she never calls my cell.”  She heard the last bit of what he said as the call connected and took one look at his face.  She got straight to the point.

“Scott your father is home and doing well,” she started.  “You deserve time off, you all do.  Since you brought him home, you’ve barely taken half a day for yourself.  And before you try to rebuke me, I checked.”  Scott scoffed.  “Ideally, I’d like you all to take a month.  Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

“I said ideally.”  He would not change the subject.  “Listen Scott, burnout is a very real thing, and you’re on the edge.”

“A month is too long.”

“Virgil’s and Cass’s have been a great help for local authorities…new skills, practicing old skills, teaching outside of the box stuff that’s not in the books…Did you know that you can open an oxygen bottle with a seat belt?”

“It depends on the kind of seat belt, but yes actually.  I’m the one that showed Virgil that trick after he lost his 5th oxygen key, but Colonel…”

“Take the weekend,” she interrupted.  “I hear it’s pumpkin festival time in New England.  Make sure you bring some of those apple cider donuts back for me.”  There was no room for debate here.  Either he took her up on the offer, or she pulled her pink card.

“Colonel…”

“No Scott.  Downtime for all of you.  You deserve it and can use the rest.”  Scott’s shoulders slumped.  She was right, and he hated it.

“You’re as bad as Penny.”  He said, defeated.  Colonel Casey smiled.

“Worse, where do you think she learned?”  She rubbed her chin.  “Let’s make a deal.  Take Thunderbird 2 with you.  We will call you only…and I mean only…if there’s no other option.”  Scott ran his fingers through his hair, sighed, and conceded defeat.

“Do you have a favorite farm out there?”  She smiled wider.  She knew that he’d come around.

“Yes actually, and I know right where you can park Virgil’s bird.  I’ll send you the details.”

–

2 days later, Thunderbird 2 touched down on a small farm in New York state.  As soon as they touched down, Gordon and Alan took off for the biggest pumpkins in the patch.  Jeff called out to them from his hover chair.  He hated that he needed it, but it was for the best. 

“Remember boys, you have to be able to carry them out.  No strapping them to my chair.”  It was a silly rule that Lucy made when Alan was a baby.  Gordon was barely able to toddle through the patch, but he wanted big pumpkins like his big brothers.  Unfortunately, Lucy didn’t have enough arms for that, thus the rule.  Jeff smiled at the memory.

“Ok Dad.  I'll just borrow Virgil’s exosuit.  I’m sure he won’t mind,” Gordon hollered back.

“Hey, not fair,” Alan whined.

“Just try it, fish,” Virgil replied, barely looking up from his easel.  “And don’t even think about grabbing yours.  It’s back home with 4.”

“Don’t get any ideas Alan.  Mine’s up on 5,” John added in.  Both boys pouted and returned to their hut.  Scott smiled.  This was nice.

“Scott and I are going to the shop.  Is there anything either of you want?”  John asked.

“You have Val’s donuts on your list, right?”  Jeff asked.

“We won’t forget them,” Scott answered.  “I don’t think that I would hear the end of it if I did.  I’ll make sure to grab some extra.”

“Yes son, they freeze pretty well.  Grab some ice cream to take home.”

“Will do.”  They took off for the general store with their list.

It was a really nice day for this.  No worries, not too hot or cold, a few clouds in the sky, and almost the entire farm to themselves.  Jeff suspected that Colonel Casey and Penelope had something to do with that.  He sat back in his chair and enjoyed the mountain air.  It was a perfect day to just relax and play.  His boys deserved this.  It was time to make up for 8 lost years.

“Looks great son,” he said to Virgil.

“Thanks Dad.  It’s just a rough sketch for now, but I couldn’t resist.  It’s really nice out here today.”  Jeff smiled and nodded his head in agreement.  He looked out at his boys.

Gordon and Alan found their pumpkin.  It was as big as both of them and would take all of their strength to carry it.  Jeff chucked to himself.  Lucy’s rule didn’t say that they couldn’t help each other.  

“Yes it is.”  Jeff and Virgil sat together in comfortable silence while Virgil continued to work on his sketch.  After a short while, Scott and John returned.

“Everything’s stored in 2.  We even found some nice apples.”

“Grandma will like that.  She really likes making her pies with Max.”  Gordon and Alan started to make their way back.  “Did they really lift weights for this?”

“Yes Dad, just like when they were little,” Scott answered.  “Ever since Gordon decided that Mom’s rule wasn’t ‘fair’”.  Jeff shook his head.  It was a silly rule, but every time they’d come out to the pumpkin patch, he would smile and chuckle.  Scott patted Virgil’s and John’s shoulders.

“Whatcha say fellas, let’s find some real pumpkins and show them how pumpkin carving is really done.”  Jeff didn’t think he could smile any wider.  It really was a perfect day.

[pumpkincarriage3]

A Fluttering Annoyance | Leona Kingscholar X Reader (Valentine's Special)

Prompt: "I think I've fallen in love with my self-professed mortal enemy."

Synopsis: Leona hated his attendant. They were always buzzing around, making a nuisance of themselves, and sticking their nose where it didn't belong. Leona hated them. But with that said, Leona was also the only one who got to tell them off.

Extra: The reader is not Yuu (They are implied to be a bird beastmen, but you can ignore it.). The Reader is also gender-neutral in this. They start off as children.

Leona watched in a mild feeling of horror as he came to a dawning realization upon looking at the child before him. Kifaji's cousin's child they had said. Someone that was set to become his retainer. Kifaji himself was bad enough, but now he had to deal with his relative? Leona knew that this kid was going to be his mortal enemy. His worst nightmare.

Leona didn't even know why they bothered with giving him a retainer, seeing as he was only the second prince anyway. He would never amount to anything, but here he was. With a too-straight-laced child staring at him with a much too serious look.

"I'll be at your service, Prince Leona." They practically chirped. Leona didn't say anything, until he was nudged by his older brother forward.

"Just try not to make my life difficult." Was all Leona said on the matter. His brother look disappointed, but Leona couldn't find it in him to care. Instead wondering when this meeting would be over with.

In the end, Leona's retainer did nothing but make his life more difficult. Not heeding to his one request. But what was he expecting. For someone to actually listen to him, the second prince? They were always nagging him. And when they were around, he could never manage to get any sleep.

"Prince Leona, it is time for your morning lessons." (Y/n) declared, ripping the blankets right off of him. Leona growled at them, but all they did was give him a blank look in response. Not at all caring that a predator was in front of them. The fact that Leona couldn't even manage to ruffle their feathers slightly always put a sour mood in his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up, I'm up." Leona huffed, sitting up. Glancing towards his door, Leona noticed some of the palace staff cowering. He thought it was odd that they decided to send in the baby bird. Turns out, they're all just a bunch of cowards.

Though (Y/n) was far from cowardly. Walking around the room, as if they owned the place. Pulling out Leona's clothes for the day and plopping them on the table.

"I expect to see you in the dining hall in half an hour. And in your morning lessons an hour from that. Prince Leona." They stated, walking out probably just as quietly as they came. Not at all worried that Leona may retaliate. Leona gritted his teeth, not being able to stand being called 'Prince'. For it was just a reminder of when he was born and who he was born after.

His new retainer's meddling didn't just stop at waking him up either. They also didn't seem to have a problem bossing around and nagging the rest of the palace staff. So, Leona supposes he isn't special in that regard.

"Crown Prince Falena is such a bright and cheerful young man. I don't understand why his younger brother has to be so moody all the time." One of the palace workers whispered to another worker beside her.

"And he possesses such a terrifying power! Imagine being able to turn anything to sand!" The other whispered back in agreement.

"Both of you, cease this conversation right now! What if someone overhears you?!" Leona scowled at those words, choosing to hang back and not intervene. Not saying anything. If he did say anything, it would just end up being the moody second born being dramatic over nothing.

"Oh? So if someone didn't have the chance to overhear, it would be fine to say anything then?" A familiar voice called out in a cold tone. Leona peaked his head out to see his annoying little retainer that was always fluttering around glaring at the palace staff.

"It's true isn't it? You should know that better than anyone else here, (Y/n)!" The first voice retorted, but (Y/n)'s expression didn't change. They never flinched, still looking just as cold as before.

"I think if you are such a coward that you must whisper between one another like a bunch of rats, you deserved to be turned into sand." (Y/n) snapped. Not at all caring when the other palace workers flinched back from them. "Learn to hold your tongue and acquire some manners. Second born or not, Prince Leona is still just that. A Prince. And you will treat him as such befitting his station. If I ever hear you all saying such words again, if you even imply it, I will have you thrown out of these walls myself!"

Leona remained silent. Not getting involved. If anything he found it to be a bother. The rumors would probably get worse. Only now it would probably turn into the moody second born prince and his tyrant of a retainer that's let the power go to their head. Leona sighed to himself, not wanting to deal with the oncoming headache that he knew was coming. Instead choosing to walk away from the situation entirely.

And (Y/n)'s nagging didn't just stop there. They even pestered him about something as small as the things he ate.

"Prince Leona, you still have food on your plate." (Y/n) pointed out, pointing towards the vegetables that Leona had intentionally avoided eating. He was a carnivore, not a herbivore.

"I don't like it. So I'm not going to eat it." Was Leona's firm reply. He smirked once he saw how (Y/n) puffed up in annoyance. Seems he's finally found the right buttons to push.

"Vegetables are important to a healthy and nutritious diet. You can't just refuse to eat it, Prince Leona." (Y/n) all but demanded, waving their hands around in a way that was most familiar. Something they did when they got particularly animated while talking.

"Hah? Aren't you the one always telling others to respect my station? And yet you have the gall to made demands of me?" Leona retorted, in a tone that was almost teasing. (Y/n) began to shake. Not from fear like the other palace workers. But instead from annoyance.

"No, I'm not making any demands Prince Leona. However, I highly advise you eat the rest of the food on your plate." (Y/n) affirmed not backing down, even having the courage to push his plate even closer to him.

"You said it yourself. You're not making any demands of me. So I, the second born Prince, am choosing to ignore your suggestion." Leona pushed the plate away from himself, standing up and began walking away. His tail swishing behind him in a way that he knew would only set off (Y/n) more.

Hilariously enough, the very next day, they barged into his room with a thirty-page report on vegetables and their nutritional value and why it was important to eat them and the determents to not eating them. Leona laughed and laughed and laughed at the report. He didn't think he had gotten under their tail feathers that much.

"What's this baby bird, still pouting over yesterday?" Leona teased, waving the report around. Still laughing as if it was the first time he had laughed in his entire lifetime.

"I am not pouting! And this is not a laughing matter. You must take this seriously, Prince Leona!" (Y/n) demanded, their words not having any real bite to them. "Not eating your greens can increase your risk of chronic disease, possible bowl troubles, nutrient deficiencies, among other things!"

(Y/n) was incredibly passionate in the way that they spoke, but Leona couldn't bring himself to take them seriously. And surprisingly, he couldn't even find himself being annoyed with their actions. Instead laughing at the sheer amount of gall that his too-straight-laced retainer always seemed to show.

"And is that an order, baby bird?" Leona taunted with a grin on his face, swiping at them with his tail. (Y/n) sputtered, swatting his tail away, and giving him a look that Leona found as about intimidating as a kitten.

"It is not an order, Prince Leona! It is just a highly advisable suggestion!!" (Y/n) deflected.

"Then I'm choosing to ignore your suggestion!" Leona countered. (Y/n) squawked in annoyance, stopping out of the room. Not being able to stay in the same room as the prince that kept laughing at their pitiful attempts for negotiation.

From there on out, Leona would find post-it-notes all over the place. Always listing dietary reasons as to why it was important to eat vegetables, all written in (Y/n)'s penmanship. Words that never failed to bring a smile to Leona's face, completely failing at their chosen directive.

(Y/n)'s overexuberance didn't stop there. It was like Leona could never get a moment for himself. For anywhere he went, they always managed to track him down.

"Prince Leona, what is it that you're doing all the way out here? Do you even recall what time it is currently?" (Y/n)'s voice tittered. Leona opened his eyes, coming into contact with a pair of sharp (e/c) ones. Leona sighed to himself, not bothering to get up from his spot.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking a nap." Came Leona's affronted reply.

"At least do it within the palace walls. Not outside Prince Leona. This is hardly dignified." (Y/n) lectured, and Leona couldn't help the shot of anger and annoyance even if he wanted to.

"What? Am I not princely enough for you? Sorry, but you'll have to seek my brother out for that one. Or should I say kingly enough in that case?" Leona snapped. (Y/n)'s eyes widened before their lips set into a firm line. But in the end, they didn't say anything. Instead, stomping back into the palace.

Leona ignored the part of himself that wanted them to stay. They were just an annoying baby bird that was always fluttering around him after all, he should be happy that their finally gone. Just like everyone else.

But in the end, and Leona really should have expected this, they continued to defy his expectations. Instead coming back outside with an arm full of books, plopping themselves beside Leona and opening a book to read.

"What are you doing?' Leona asked, curious despite himself.

"Well, someone has to look out for you. As you seem to so often forget, you are a Prince of this country. Leaving you on your own simply isn't an option." (Y/n) huffed, rolling their eyes at him. 

"I don't need any protection. Especially not from you." Leona all but growled. But (Y/n) wasn't intimidated, they never were. And Leona was beginning to think they never will be.

"Of course not, Prince Leona. But it is time for you lessons, and as you have seen fit to skip those very same lessons to come out here and nap, I will read them to you." (Y/n) decided all on their own. Leona had come out here to skip those very same lessons, already knowing everything.

"The point of coming out here was to get some peace and quiet. If you expect me to engage in your little mock lesson, you're sorely mistaken." Leona firmly stated, rolling over to continue his original endeavor. Not even wanting the possibility of looking at (Y/n).

"I never asked you to, Prince Leona." Came (Y/n)'s oh so antagonizing reply, before they began to read off some of the most boring information they possibly could. Against his will, their voice seemed to soothe him to sleep. Coaxing him into a peaceful slumber that he hadn't been able to achieve in a long while. Damn song bird.

He can't believe he's fallen for a tittering little brat.

[arpmemething2]

Victorious starters

Send one for my muse’s reaction...   Feel free to change pronouns as needed.

"I like waffles."

"Are you done with your little sabotage game?"

"Is it eating tuna fish on a ferris wheel? ...Cause I did that once, and I threw up on a bird."

"You were invading my privacy!"

"This is a car. The car...of the future!"

"I thought he was homeless."

"You have a pimple under your arm."

"Please go take a shower."

"I was choking on a pretzel!"

"Hey, waddup, girl? You got a numb tongue?"

"So what do you want with us?"

"I just made 2 little girls scream and run away with their cookies."

"I'm gonna grab him and wrestle him to the ground."

"Oh, great, so she gets an A- and I get a broken eye and a black nose"

"DO NOT LICK THE BALLOONS!!!"

"That's not my only plan... Someday I'd like to plant a vegetable garden"

"Yep, I've got the talent and she's got the strong teeth. You know, she's never had one cavity."

"Is that mac and cheese?"

"I get nervous when my brother eats things that aren't food. ...Seriously, I think he ate my charm bracelet."

"I'm a tutor, and I don't like to talk about things I do at my house!"

"You were with another puppet."

"I've been telling you people she's stupid, but did anyone believe me?"

"She's not supposed to be laughing on the bunny!"

"Is there some reason your brother replaced his seat belt with a rope?"

"I've got a gun!"

"Ok, I believe you! Don't hit me!"

"I squirted hot cheese all over my friend and her current boyfriend, who was my ex-boyfriend, and then I kissed him right in front of her, which I felt really bad about. But then it was okay, 'cause she punched me right in the face."

"You pay extra for the sushi and you pay the extra money."

"Well, you're dressed in sad colors, and you were playing a sad song... oh, and you're wearing a button that says, "I'm sad, ask me why.""

"She threw a rock at me."

"I don't think you can, I'm pretty scrappy."

"Tell your puppet to quit being mean to me!"

"Fish pee, you are drinking fish pee."

"We can only blame the earth."

"Aw, you want me to tickle your tummy?"

"I'll give you this dollar to get to the point."

"That is some juicy coughing and hacking."

"Its going to be the first time she's left the house in six years."

"WILL YOU KILL THE DISCO?!!"

"Hey. Look at the new costume I made. Can you guess who I am?"

"I don't want to be doinked, I'm not ready!"

"Is it a transporter from the future that can beam you to another table, because if it is, what button do I push?"

"Shut up! I'm opening a Christmas Present!"

"I AM A POLICE OFFICER!"

"I have a MUSTACHE...and I think I like it."

"Look at my tounge It's massive!"

"I can't handle being trapped like this. We're like animals!"

"We're blondes! Wooo! We're like princesses!"

"I bet SHE'S been stung by a bee."

"How do you know so much about animal hospitals?"

"Haven't you ever wondered what it's like to be a blonde?"

"Free hugs! I want to give free hugs!"

"Aw it's okay. I read on the Internet that coffee works great for getting rid of fur bugs."

"Normal's boring."

"Oh, no, now I'll never win the prison beauty pageant!"

"I don't talk like that!"

"If you don't take your hands off me in two seconds, you won't have hands."

"BUTTERNUT! BUTTERNUT!"

"For so many years I prayed every night to be hotter. (pauses) ...THIS ISN'T WHAT I MEANT!!!"

"You don't have to be afraid to put your dreams in action!"

" Look! It's a little...ceramic guitar. I made it at Color me Pot."

"An escaped prisoner crashed through our window and was dragged out by Yerbian soldiers!"

"Who put my dog in a wedding dress?"

"Can I have my trombone back?"

"I thought caffeine makes you vibrate."

"Don't make that face."

"This Hambone battle is really scary."

"I admire how you're never afraid to say what you think."

"Oh, it's you two. I thought I smelled failure."

"You're all suspects."

"Why did you make them leave?"

"Nice piano."

"I'M FREE! I'M FREE!"

"Your mobile phone is once again mobile."

"Try not to talk."

"I use an appropriate amount of ketchup!"

"I don't wanna be gotten!"

"This is kidnapping!"

"SILENCE! I'll get you, my pretty and your little fish, too!"

"How come everyone's being all weird?"

"I spy a fly, with my little thigh!"

"Okay, I can picture me, sitting on a pony, wearing a bright purple hat. I-I was wearing the purple hat, not-not the pony. Do they even make pony hats? Anyway, I was looking fabu!"

"My hair color has nothing to do with my psychological problems!"

"Your daddy know how to shoot a bow and arrow with his foot?"

"Look, I just wanna say you guys make me sick."

"Sweating is gross, so I don't do it."

"I tell you, nothing warms my cockles more than lookin' at this magical pile of baby here!"

"You wanna see a kidnapper?! KIDNAPPER! Let go!"

"NO ONE can kill disco!"

"Oh, come on, for his ten year teaching anniversary you guys don't think he deserves a better present than a one cup coffe maker?"

"Aw, don't be sad, little one. I think your head looks great like that."

"She chewed through our leash!"

"I wanna live! There's things I've never tried! There's things I really, really, really wanna do!"

"You wanna get slapped with a sausage?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, were we all supposed to dress stupid today?"

"She can't get her boobs in the hamburger."

Just drag the body out by the dumpster and don't say nothing to nobody!

"Eat your pants!"

"I was just walking around and I saw this kite stuck in a bush and, and it's broken and someone needs to fix it!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!?!"

"No, this is my mean sister and her rude friend."

"You know, why don't I just lie on the floor so you can start kicking me?"

"Do you have any aspirin?"

"Oh my god!  Underwear that floats!"

"I have a science project due tomorrow. I have to turn in my mold bush."

"I have a mole on my bum shaped as a fish."

"NO! YOUR MOTHER GAVE BIRTH TO THE WRONG THING!!"

"Ok. I'll keep your dirty secret."

"She saw a Rabbi in a bikini eating pancakes"

" So, you just happened to have that wig here in your house?"

"Under "special skills" I put gymnastics and karate, and that made them think I could do stunts."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?!"

"Are those real cheekbones?"

"Why are you rubbing my boyfriend?"

"This one time I ate a hamburger and an hour later I started sneezing but i don't think it had anything to do with the hamburger."

[tetsunabouquet]

Heir To The Lands Chapter 33

A Whirlwind Is Taking Over Masterpost

All of Dru's recently expanded friend group had gathered in her bedroom. Tomas went over some kind of list of necessities with Tavi, who had her hands on her hips. "I know I suck at packing, but I really thought of everything this time Tom-Tom." Zeynep giggled behind her as Tomas groaned. "How many times have I asked you not to call me that?" "As many times as I asked you the route." Tavi replied which only earned her another groan. Thais frowned at her and Tavi replied, "Tom-Tom is one of the biggest GPS bussinesses and is based in the Netherlands. Many a Dutch refer to the GPS system as a Tom-Tom. Much to the pain of many a Tom." "I hate the GPS jokes so much." He said, pulling his girlfriend into a dramatic embrace. She wrapped her arms around him, sending a look of warning to Tavi. She pouted and with a huff she went over Zeynep's bag. "Have you got any snacks other then sunflower seeds with you this time?" "I packed one of those biscuit packs that we always get at the Action, but I doubt Catarina will make the portal that far removed from Kit's residence though." Laura sat on Thais' bed quietly, sending some texts to her family because her grandmother would give her the biggest scolding ever if she disappeared from school grounds with no reason. A knock on the door was heard, and Catarina peeked her blue head into the room. "Good, you are all ready to go. I hope all of your parents are ready to yell at Luke, not me." Tavi and Dru both chuckled as the group grabbed their luggage, the bag where Shadowcat had been put was moving in a panic and Tavi hushed the creature. "It's okay, we're going back to Europe sweetie!" She cooed to the bag as Catarina went to put the Portal up.

Catarina had guided the group as quickly as Dimmet Tarn as possible, knowing Tessa could use the extra magic power to expand upon Dimmet Tarn. The group stood awkwardly as Dru was pulled into a tight hug by her older brother. "I was so scared that I lost you too!" He said as he squeezed the air out of her lungs. Dru whimpered with a loving smile as Kit and Jaime stood around just as awkwardly, not knowing how to break the ice with Dru's friends. But things would change quickly enough.

This was, because everything right now was happening in a whirlwind. Janus walked through Central Park and could tell things were in motion. Everything was too quiet. Whilst the entrance was in a quiet area and he did not expect to see any mundanes, there were no pixies or birds to be heard. He decided to move slower, allowing himself to focus on the tiniest of sounds and movements as he felt like he was walking into an ambush. It was because of this, that he managed to move away from a vein trying to latch onto his leg. He quickly turnt around just in time to see two werewolves jumping towards him. Usually, fighting off two werewolves was not much of a biggie to Janus, but these werewolves were highly trained. He wondered if they belonged to the Praetor Lupus, but he doubted they would allow themselves to be assisted by a faerie on a mission like this. Either Alec had ushered in a new age of cooperation, or they belonged to some gang of sorts organized by enemies of the Seelie Queen. Whichever was the case, Janus could not afford to ponder on it too long. He slashed at one werewolf who missed his blade in just the nick of time. From his other side, the second werewolf charged and Janus felt the floor underneath him grow more slippery, muddy. Damn Faerie magic, he cursed as he missed the second one's claw which only made a shallow slash near his eye. He lunged at the wolf, the two tumbling into the mud. "Benjamin now!" The man roared, knowing it was far too late. Janus mercilessly drove the blade into the werewolf's throat with the last thing he saw being his teary eyed younger brother who managed to snatch the bag just as Janus pulled out his blade.

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 153 Rundown

Spy X Family: Fiona gets her big mission with Loid and we get a neat little loredump about the War which I’m all in favor of, this world could use a bit of fleshing out. So apparently at the end of World War X there was a guy that was just like ‘okay everyone let’s just forget all the war crimes both sides have committed and make peace’ but he also kept a ledger of all the fucking human atrocities both sides did and if it ever becomes public EVERYONE’s gonna be pissed and the clue to finding it is in a painting that’s a prize for an underground Tennis tournament… is it just me or does this sound like a Lupin the Third plot? Anyway yeah Fiona and Loid are a a fake married couple literally named Phony and blast through the tournament because apparently actually knowing how to play tennis is no match for whatever the fuck WISE training does to a person. Like some of these matches make The Prince of Tennis look downright sensible for as wacky as that series was. But yeah by the time of the Finals we’re dealing with rocket powered tennis rackets, tennis whips and drugging as well as a collapsible course but they’re no match for the power of a yandere and the six million dollar man, so let’s see how much blatant cheating happens next time.

Inuyasha: So Inuyasha gets the page from Kikyo’s cherubs and Kikyo’s just like ‘bro this is a fucking trap, Naraku’s gonna steal Kagome’s eyes, don’t send her with you to attack Abi’ and that’s kind of a problem because they need Kagome to find the fucking jewel shard in the first place and Kikyo’s solution is to just go kill Naraku right now which sounds cool but she’s basically already half dead and she was already kind of half dead before so she’s like three quarters dead so she has to give up and go ‘fine here’s an extra magic dirty arrow for her then’ which is kind of nice that Kikyo’s seeing Kagome as a more competent ally after she saved her life and their relationship is developing beyond the Inuyasha love triangle. There’s a small moment of ‘Kagome’s upset because Kikyo was mentioned’ but luckily Inuyasha cuts it short by saying it was all business and gives Kagome the arrow. Meanwhile Naraku comes to visit Abi and Tekkei and is like ‘hey bros, heard you gave my castle the good succ, your mom all better now? Can she come out and play?’ and Tekkei pops out of the mountain and just fucking eats Naraku in her giant bird form. Which like, idk if that’s a good idea like even if you COULD digest Naraku he’s literally MADE OF POISON like they watched him stand in the poison that made Tekkei sick to begin with and then gas bomb the brothers of the demon that poisoned Tekkei, no wonder she needed so much human blood if she just keeps eating every poisonous thing she comes across like a damn housecat. But yeah Inuyasha and co. get there but Abi and Tekkei don’t get to gloat about being the new series antagonists too long because turns out being eaten didn’t even scratch Naraku and he just rips his way out of her head and blows off Abi’s arm by self-destructing the bone trident (note: do not use the weapon made out of the bones of the guy you’re trying to kill on said guy, if he can manipulate his bones into a trident he can probably take it back) but yeah Abi’s reward for helping Naraku kill her mom is a painless death and now Inuyasha’s group and Naraku both get to go to the afterlife thanks to Tekkei’s magic phoenix hell blood or whatever.

Yu Yu Hakusho: The Three Kings Arc is to my understanding an arc of ‘Well, what now? Why are we still doing this?’ it’s a shonen series having an existential crisis of why it’s still going after all its story beats have been filled, like if the Buu Saga was self aware about how pointless it was. And that theme really starts coming in as we get the second half of Hiei’s backstory as he fights Shigure. After he was yeeted as a baby he was taken in by some ogre bandits and flashed his Mom Bling around to purposely start fights and kill anyone that tried to take it, but turns out people don’t like it when you’re just fucking killing everyone so the bandits kick him out and he loses his Mom Bling in a fight and has to go to Shigure to get the Jigan Eye implant and learns a bit more about swordplay. We cut back to the fight against Shigure and turns out it’s over pretty quick, like one pass does it in classic samurai movie fashion but it’s pretty cool how they choreograph exactly what happens and how Hiei sacrifices his arm to parry Shigure’s sword and take his arm while using the backswing to cut off part of his head, it’s quick but it’s basically what you imagine happens whenever they do one of those ‘they run past each other and someone explodes in blood’ deals. Mukuro gives Hiei back his Mom Bling and Hiei’s like ‘yeah guess I’ll die’ since he’s missing an arm and got ripped open a bit in that fight. Turns out he found his original village already before the events of the story but decided the best revenge was letting them all live in the emotionally stunted hell they created for themselves, though Rui does tell him about Yukina and he’s just like ‘guess that’s a good new life mission for now’ and he finds Yukina along the course of the series and her finally trusting him enough to give him her stone put him at peace enough that he’s just feeling done and is just like ‘okay I’ve run out of life missions, time to die’ which seems kind of abrupt but like I said, the theme of searching for meaning after a climax is kind of the point of this arc. Either way Mukuro puts Hiei in her rejuvenation chamber and strips naked to show off her horribly scarred third of her body yet somehow completely immaculate ass and is like ‘here’s a titty Hiei, we’re gonna do fights and shit so don’t worry I got another life mission for you’. Which you know, fair, titties will restore your will to live even if she only has one intact one.

Jujutsu Kaisen: After all the main bad guy shit and Chunin Exam character shenanigans we’re back to a mission of the week arc which is kinda nice, always felt like some of these shows ramp up too fast and don’t give enough of these (that aren’t just filler) to get us into a good fleshing out spot with the characters. Speaking of fleshing out, it’s Megumi time (personally think Nobara could use a hit of character fleshing at this point but Megumi’s good too) the new mission brings him back to his middle school and Nobara and Yuji realize how little they know about their local Sasuke. Seems a Cursed Spirit is doing an It Follows and leaving peoples’ doors open and killing them two weeks later and they track it down to people who were in school together and it turns out that Megumi’s bedridden sister is among the potential victims within a week’s time and since Gojo’s on his ‘I’m too strong so they keep sending me on vacation to balance me’ retreats it’s up to the main trio to exorcise the spirit to save Megumi’s sister and also all the other people we’re supposed to care about. It’s nice to see the main trio working together again given they didn’t have a lot of time together between when they started and Yuji’s death and then everything at the Chunin Exams was basically separate character studies so it’s nice to have a simple relatively low-stakes activity where they kill a whack a mole and his friend with too many mouths.  

Zom 100: THE TITTIES ARE HERE, THE TITTIES ARE HERE!!! It’s kinda funny how ridiculously brief Beatrix’s introductory period is, like she just kinda slides right into the group like she’s been there all along. She makes a fantastic first impression by basically aligning with Akira’s philosophy and being a samurai and actually bringing a fucking weapon to the zombie apocalypse instead of trying to punch the zombies out or find a new method to dispatch them each time, it’s like when Michonne was first introduced in The Walking Dead and we got that neat rush of someone who actually knows what the fuck they’re doing in melee combat (also helps since because this is in Japan guns are ridiculously unlikely to play any major role). But yeah she’s a German weeb with big tits who just wants to see the land of anime and sushi for herself, though she does seem to be more interested in the legitimate cultural heritage and knowledgeable about it as such rather than your standard pop culture loving tourist. But yeah there’s a fun mission about getting fish to a sushi artisan to get an all you can eat pass and Shizuka gets to pull out her inner Zhou Yu which was a lot of fun to see considering I’m playing Samurai Remnant right now. Then there’s a standard hot springs episode because we have the full fanservice roster now so we can get straight to the gimmick episodes without worrying about Shizuka bearing the whole brunt of that. I like how we get the titty girl and IMMEDIATELY jump to the plot that strips the girls naked, though I also appreciate how there’s significantly less sexual tension about the group being naked around each other partially because they’re not hormonal teenagers that squirm from brushing a boob and also half of Japan has seen Kencho’s dick by now so while they’re not just gonna strip for each other it’s less weird and taboo than it is in most anime and it’s nice. There’s also some good shipping fuel for Akira and Shizuka where she shoots down his romantic ideas again but apologizes about it later and talks about how her relapsing into her father’s ideology is mostly a reflex of regret for having lived like that and trying to justify the resentment by claiming she was right all along even though deep down she really has changed, which is kind of a neat touch like her progress isn’t a straight line but it’s also not like her character refuses to change for the joke of her being the stick in the mud. She wants validation that the way she lived her life up till now was worth it but also knows that she’ll be freer if she cuts ties with it and starts living today rather than regretting how she used to be. And then Beatrix gets her tits out and I forget what I’m even talking about, 10/10 episode.

Ranking of Kings: Time for a good old wrap-up episode, Bosse’s soul shows Daida the final part of his backstory with Miranjo as he’s giving him back control of his body. Miranjo was basically suicidal after the whole thing with her mom and the village being burned down and being mutilated but over time they healed enough of each other’s wounds to keep living toether and Miranjo felt like Bosse had given up on his own dreams to take care of her which is literally not what he said but okay. So they challenge the regional god and he fucking kicks Bosse’s ass so Miranjo goes to an old demon friend and it turns out the more wishes a demon grants the more demony they become and Miranjo promised to never ask anything of the demon but breaks that now for Bosse’s sake which now comes with the penalty of robbing Bojji of all strength in order to double Bosse’s power where he finally kills the regional deity and establishes the kingdom and all that shit but he feels really shitty about it and then dies which kickstarts Miranjo’s plan to revive him through Daida even after Bosse is like ‘oh yeah take care of my son for me’ and we make it perfectly clear Miranjo has only been hearing what she wants to from Bosse’s speeches. But yeah back in the present they manage to sucker punch the demon into granting them a wish but instead of Despa wanting to save Ouken, Bojji and Daida agree to wish to save Miranjo. (Which may have been for the best because if you just remove Ouken’s immortality while he’s still a goo marble inside the rock does he just turn into a mortal goo marble and fucking die in the most painful way possible?) But yeah turns out Daida’s a pretty cool person now, like he hasn’t done a lot in the plot but he’s grown tremendously as a character and it’s good to see. That being said, it’s still weird as fuck to have him ask Miranjo to marry him, like sure, take your father’s Daughter-Wife and make her your Mom-Wife, I’m sure Freud will fucking love that, everyone’s suitably weirded out by this but it still comes out of nowhere though it does have the added effect that no one can come after Miranjo for all the shit she did because she’s now the Queen Regent so yeah. Hilling has a nice scene of marveling at how her sons have grown and Desha hears Plan Demon has failed so he’s switched to Plan Eldritch Relic From the Divine Vault that Kills Everyone (it’s the second plan, they didn’t get around to editing the name) so yeah the arc’s wrapped up nicely but there’s still enough plot threads to pull on from here.

Vinland Saga: Picking up right after Askeladd and Bjorn’s duel, it’s time for Thorfinn to fight but he’s hesitating, seeing a small bit of humanity in Askeladd but also blinded by rage enough like he always is so Askeladd kicks his ass bare-handed and he’s just like ‘man this is getting old, they could legit just reuse animation from our past four fights dude’ and it looks like Askeladd almost considers actually killing Thorfinn for a moment and burning all bridges from his life as a Viking but Canute stops him and wakes Thorfinn the fuck up. Askeladd just sits down and is like ‘alright bitches, you want some Count of Monte Cristo shit, HERE’S how you kill a father figure’ and gives his full backstory, some of which we already know. Askeladd was the bastard son of a lord and had a crazy sick slave mom who was a King Arthur fangirl and to avoid her being killed he fights his Lord Dad and does pretty fucking well for his first time ever holding a sword so Lord Dad’s like ‘good killing skills, my sperm is strong in you’ and takes him in. And for two years he trains and builds up trust before killing Lord Dad and Lady Step-Mom in their sleep and pinning it on one of the legitimate kids. So yeah moral of the story, if you hate your father figure and want to kill him don’t be a pussy and just fucking do it. No but really, the real moral is the general theme that’s been going through the whole arc that waiting for paradise won’t save anyone, and that only by working to take it here on Earth can anyone be saved. Askeladd ends off by telling Thorfinn off and telling him there was never any real chance of him beating him and humoring him is just the dues he felt he had to pay to get a useful member of the crew and that if anything he’s thankful to Thors for wrapping Thorfinn in such hate in turmoil that he chained Thorfinn to Askeladd for ten years. And that just kinda hits Thorfinn with the ‘what have I been doing with my life’ truck as he’s kind of known for a while this wasn’t what his father wanted but still can’t get over the grief and rage propelling him forward. Canute asks Askeladd why he doesn’t just become king without him and Askeladd’s just like ‘bro did you hear my backstory just now? I murder everyone I disagree with, you really want that as king?’and it’s specifically Canute’s reluctance towards fighting that makes Askeladd believe in him as a leader and believes he’s too old and too embroiled in warrior culture to properly be anything but an advisor. But yeah Thorfinn’s in a bad way and I think/hope that this will finally be the chance for him to reflect on what he wants and not just scream and stab things all the time.

[changingplumbob]

Knightstone Household: Chapter 7, Part 1

Next household for this rotation is the Knightstone household. Just your regular neighbourhood aliens. Hot-headed art critic Adam, toddler Silas and scientist Suzanna. In part 1 the family have a pretty chill Saturday, playing with Silas and doing chores. Then I have the audacity to host a dinner party and send the charmer toddler to bed before the chatter begins.

The Knightstone household. Or as I think of it, the lot where the bird life mod goes manic. Pictured are three different areas where the birds love to pile up.

6am and toddler Silas is up! He's an early riser. He goes in to his parents room and wakes up Suzanna.

Silas: Mummy! *cries*

Suzanna: I'm awake, I'm awake

Adam: I'm not

Suzanna: Liar

Silas: Mummy I sad, made potty mess

Adam: Eww

Suzanna: Don't worry starshine, pops will fix it

Adam: I will?

Suzanna: Just as soon as he wakes up

Adam: *pretends to snore*

Silas: Mummy I did bad

Suzanna: What do you mean

Silas: Big puddle

Suzanna: Come here, don't worry about that now starshine, you're still learning

Silas: Breakfast

Adam: Not cereal, can't trust it

Suzanna: How about some nice yogurt huh

Silas: Mummy, why yoghurt not come with spoon

Suzanna: I don't know

Silas: It should

Suzanna: I agree

Silas: Mummy not sad about my potty mess

Suzanna: Do I look sad *pulls funny face*

Silas: *giggles*

Adam: My squeamish self is sad

Silas: Pops sad

Adam: Don't worry son, I'll be fine, keep up trying

Silas: Pop look bad

Adam: It's those frogs, so slimy

Silas: Don't worry pop, I sing, make it better

Suzanna: How kind of you Silas

Silas: I made this

He launches into a new composition, featuring words such as yoghurt, cube, and frog, mixed with the traditional nonsense sounds. Adam rates it 7/10

Suzanna: What do you want to do this morning

Silas: Outside time

Suzanna: You got it, let me help you out

Silas: Thank you

Adam: Good boy using your manners

Silas: Thank you *beams*

He spins into his hot weather outfit and is ready to have fun while his parents tend to chores.

Adam practices his cooking to stock the fridge while Silas toddles outside.

Silas: Birdies!

The seagulls and pigeons carry on, undisturbed by the tiny alien.

Silas: Come here birdies

And Silas launches himself forward, scaring all the birds away in the process. He laughs it off, funny things happen.

I remembered to set all the plants to blossoming stage so Suzanna is able to harvest her garden this morning.

Silas: Vroom vroom, watch out birdies

Suzanna: Drive careful starshine

Silas: Mummy you want food

Suzanna: Do you have a menu

Silas: Burger, fries, shake shake, it milkshake with extra shake

Suzanna continues tending the garden, whistling away. Silas joins the whistling with his songs now and then before he's finished with the food truck.

Silas: Mummy time how fast I do tunnel

Suzanna: Okay Silas

Silas: I ready

Suzanna: Go!

Silas squeezes himself through the tunnel

Suzanna: So fast

Adam comes to check on Silas as soon as he's finished his work prep task.

Silas: Pops play with me

Adam: What do we want to play

Silas: Adventure

Adam: Watch out, we dropped into a pit! Oh no, I have lost Silas in the dark

Silas: *giggles*

Adam: I hear you cheeky monster. Let's fly out of here!

Silas: Pops have to work today

Adam: Yeah son

Silas: *sulks*

Adam: How about I try working from home, then we can still see each other

Silas: YES. Will I be big brother soon

Adam: Maybe, mummy and pops are trying

Silas: I be great big brother, I fun

Adam: Hello fun, nice to meet you

Silas: *giggles*

Work task 1 is to write a book. Adam has only done columns before. Since he's feeling flirty he tries to craft a romance novel. Silas busies himself playing with toys and occasionally singing to himself. Suzanna has some expert repairs to do and gets a head start on this weeks laundry.

Silas is fascinated with disguises. He tries applying make up to see if he can be disguised without going full human. He seems upset but then he laughs, deciding he looks fabulous.

Suzanna: Who are you? What have you done with my son

Silas: *laughs* It's me mummy

Suzanna: Silas? surely not

Silas: Mummy pretty, can I make more pretty

Suzanna: You want to give me a makeover

Silas: Yes, I very good

Suzanna: Okay then

Silas: This goes on pips

Suzanna: Lips

Silas: lips, and powder make the shapes on face

Suzanna: *coughs*

Silas: Now we do nails, they be colourful like us

Suzanna: Wonderful

Silas: All done

Adam: You are- a vision

Suzanna: All thanks to Silas. Now come on, this vision wants afternoon tea

Adam: Brownie time

Silas: What pops writing

Adam: A romance book

Silas: What romance?

Suzanna: Kissy love

Silas: kissy kissy *blows kiss*

Adam: That's my boy

Suzanna: Let's see what you remember about shapes

Silas: Cube has squares for sides

Suzanna: You got it. What shape is the steering wheel on the truck

Silas: Circle!

Suzanna: And this one *positions hands*

Silas: Tri- Triangle!

Suzanna: You're learning so well starshine

Silas: Learning fun, I fun

Adam finished his book and now has one task left, recommending hangouts. That means it's time to invite over some humans Suzanna knows for dinner. Silas is angry at being fed early and missing out on the fun. He chews angrily while Suzanna introduces everyone to Adam.

Jessica: Aliens in artwork, how strange

Faye: Oh I don't believe in aliens

Suzanna: All finished

Silas: Yes but why I have to go to bed, I fun

Suzanna: You are fun but you're also sleepy and grumpy from the brownies

Silas: I *yawns* I not

Suzanna: Snuggle in starshine, have good dreams

Nalani: This pasta doesn't have fish does it

Adam: No fish

Faye: It tastes pretty good

Kayleigh: Will Suzanna be back soon

Adam: Oh yeah, sometimes it just takes a while for Silas to settle

Jessica: I hope you don't mind me wearing a hat inside

Adam: That thing? I didn't even notice it

*group laughter*

Suzanna: I'm back, what did I miss

Faye: I was just wondering how we're meant to tell your husband Adam and fitness instructor Adam apart

Kayleigh: It seems rude to call one "the other Adam"

Jessica: We can't separate by hair colour

Nalani: Or having tattoos

Human Adam: Maybe bulky Adam and skinny Adam

Alien Adam: Hey, I have some muscles

Human Adam: But dude, I'm ripped

Suzanna: Maybe clean plate Adam and non eating Adam

Alien Adam: Oh shoot I forgot to eat

Suzanna begins to clean up the plates while Adam remembers to recommend some restaurants and museums for the dinner guests. Work task 2, check.

Everyone heads home and the exhaustion hits Adam.

Adam: Pretending to be human is tiring

Suzanna: Having to ask about personalities instead of mind reading

Adam: Ridiculous. You know, Silas was going on about being a brother

Suzanna: He was

Adam: Shall we try again starlight

Suzanna: We shall

Previous Part (Goth) ... Next Part

[lordrethandus]

Daily Writing Challenge August 2023 Day 4

Relationship / Somber ( @daily-writing-challenge @corohveldha )

World: Final Fantasy 14

Theme: Misha Mishenko - Decadence

Coroh gently stirred awake as the last remnants of the setting sun faded from the top of a nearby window. Bathed in the soft blue glow of her mushroom lamps along the walkway, she slowly pushed herself onto her hands and knees, arching her back as far as it would go and popping her lower spine in multiple places; she then used the bed frame as support to roll her shoulders with a satisfied grimace flashing across her face. "Goooood evening, my little pudding cup~" 

Avanta was curled up in her blankets beneath her mother, but only woke once her plump round face fell victim to a barrage of smooches. Angrily she wiggled a hand free of her swaddle and rubbed at her face to block Coroh's annoying lips in protest! Her mother planted one last kiss on her forehead before throwing her feet over the side of the bed, and rising up to her full height– only to yawn and stretch again. Coroh could hear her firstborn Nolas running amok upstairs, likely keeping his father Leo from doing any work for more than ten minutes at a time; but before the nocturnal women of the family could join them, however, they needed to bathe.

She stripped herself and her daughter down into their birthday suits and hurried across the basement to the tub, where the water was already waiting for them. As per tradition she started to hum softly to soothe Avanta, before she even had the chance to wiggle and complain about the water; she hated the feeling of being wet, just like her older brother did when he was her age. Yet her will to resist vanished the instant her body was gently lowered into the hot water, washing away any stress she accumulated from her sleep during the day. "I think someone likes their bath." Coroh beamed, balancing her with one hand and keeping only her face above the steamy water. Slowly she rubbed soap into her golden crown, her nails carefully scratching at her scalp and behind her ears. Avanta was in paradise, her eyes half open, her hands flexing and unflexing, and her drawn out exhales turning into the softest purrs Coroh has ever heard. They stayed like this for as long as it took the water to lose its heavenly warmth. Avanta was dried off and put into her extra-comfy moogle pajama onesie, with her mother preferring a simple silk gown.

"Good morning sleepybones!" Cried out Nolas once he noticed them appear from the stairs. He ran over excitedly to show his mother a new toy; an aldgoat with a cowboy hat. "Look! Look!" He lifted it over his head and pressed the single button on the nose, causing the automaton to start singing in a familiar and drunk voice. 

"Raain! Suuun! Haaail! Don't matter the weather, me love fer ye ain't never gonna… *buurp* … FAAAIL!" Nolas laughed hysterically every time he pressed the button and it got to the burping part. No doubt Augusta and K’thalen are planning to send more of the loudest and most annoying toys possible to Nolas.

"Very cute…" She gave him a tender smile and a comforting scratch behind his ears. "I'll have to thank Uncle Thalen for his… gift… later. Go have fun Nolas!"

"Fun! Fun! Fun!" The boy darted upstairs to the second floor with the toy under his arm, most likely off to harass her husband.

Avanta had already dozed off on her shoulder by the time Coroh made it to the kitchen. Another barrage of kisses stirred her awake long enough to plop her down on the counter nearby, freeing her mother's hands to check up on their dinner; a succulent dodo sizzled in the oven, marinated in bubbling juices and glazed and seasoned just right. Simply looking at it made Coroh's stomach flex– with luck this bird was tender enough to fall off the bone.

"Roooaar!!!" Shouted her husband upstairs! Nolas came scurrying down as he giggled hysterically, almost falling over twice before jumping behind a potted plant to hide. Stomp, stomp, stomp! Each foot coming down the steps caused the boy to jump, his ears pinned to the top of his head and his big purple eyes dilated as large as they could go. Coroh pulled out the dodo and set it on the table, catching a glimpse of her husband in a hastily made vanu vanu suit! "WHERE IS THE BOY?!" He demanded in a low and gravelly voice. "I! MUST! EAAAAT!!!"

Coroh locked eyes with her son, who stared up at her from across the room with both fright and excitement in his dinner-plate eyes. He was covering his mouth with both hands, trying to stay quiet and out of sight– but Avanta had no such restraint. Their daughter wiggled and writhed on her back, excitedly kicking her stubby legs in the air as the cloth monster came lumbering around the counter.

"WHAT’S THIS?! A SUCCULENT AND UNATTENDED CHILD?!" Carefully he scooped up Avanta and lifted her to the mouth opening of his suit, mercilessly tickling her with his hands and his kisses. "MMMMM… DELICIOUS! BUT NOT QUITE RIPE ENOUGH I THINK!"

Coroh couldn't help but chuckle at how delighted Avanta was in her father's grasp. She was laughing harder than ever before, futilely pushing against Leo's face as he dove in to kiss at her neck and belly. "Okay, vicious beast~" She cooed, showing Avanta mercy by plucking her from his grasp; she didn't want the infant to pass out from laughing too hard. Leo gave her wife a big grin before leaning forward and planting a wet smooch on her lips. "Good evening, handsome." Coroh whispered to him, before quickly planting a smooch on his lips in return. "By the way, he's behind the plant~"

Leo immediately turned and locked eyes with the boy! Nolas squealed in delighted terror once he was found, with barely enough time to slip out from his hiding place before Leo was whipping around the counter to give chase! The boy made a fatal error trying to go outside– the door was locked and he was still too short to reach!

"Noooo….!!!" Nolas squealed when his father's hands grabbed him by the legs and flipped him upside down! "AAAAHHH!!!" 

"OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!!!" Coroh watched her husband stuff the flailing boy into the mouth of the suit, listening to him giggle and scream all the way down! "MMMMM…. THAT HIT THE SPOT! SCRUM-DIDDLY-UMPIOUS!!!"

Sure enough the knife sliced through the bird like butter, the succulent dodo practically falling apart in her hands while she prepared the plates. Coroh let her husband wrestle with their son for a little bit more until the food was ready; she needed their energy spent if they were to enjoy dinner as a family together. When it was finally time to eat, Nolas and Leo were out of breath and almost lethargic, with the boys’ stomachs howling for food– and with that Seeker of the Sun wild-side to them both, it wouldn’t be long until they were darting around again.

“Yummy!!!” Nolas eagerly tore into his haunch the moment he licked his greasy fingers. He was a loud chewer of course, taking on the same terrible habits of his father; like a duckling he followed his every move, with nearly everything he’s learned coming from watching Leo. His father, upon seeing his boy going crazy for the meal, decided to taste it too… and like father like son, he too dug in!

“This is really good, dear!” He beamed at her, before stuffing his mouth. Coroh didn’t answer, gently squeezing their daughter as she silently breastfed with a blanket over her head to avoid any distractions. She sat back and listened to the loud smacking of their chewing. Normally it would be an insufferable sound, but Coroh loved it; it was the sound of her family thriving, after all. At the end of the day the beautiful melody of her family was all that matter-

“BWAAAARP!” Leo’s belch vibrated the table, causing Nolas to roar with laughter!

“AUGUSTUS LEO VELDHA!!!” Coco couldn’t believe her ears!

“... bwarp!” 

“NOLAS!!!”

[ihaztea1]

Alright. I have to share this story and I hopr some of you laugh.

Of a Tuesday night, my brother runs a DnD 5e game that he homebrewed for me, our sister, our mom, and a guy I know from University. He's a new DM, so my character - a 7'2" silver dragonborn named Fayne - is using a homebrew reflavoring of hexblade Warlock to be a DM helper character.

To make this easier on myself, I will be refering to people by their character names so: Sister = Viv(dampir shadow monk), Mom = Jac(human champion fighter), Guy I Know = Mae(anthrofox whispers bard).

For my Pact I took Pact of the Tome which means I get extra cantrips, spells, and access to a nifty featire where I no longer need sleep. Not relevant, but feeds into my character's personality.

The relevant part is, I took the spell Find Familiar as a ritual and now have a raven/crow familiar that can either appear as a normal bird or a void bird full of stars, like a little piece of space.

So we're hunting a cult, as a party does, and have come to a cave base. I send in my raven to scout and see if it can't lead the guards to us for an ambush. The bird does *fabulous* and the entry guards are taken out handily. Fast forward a few combats and we're bottlenecked by the base's cafeteria ready to lay waste to the place. We know the people on the other side are expecting us cause a cultist escaped our initial attack, so we send in the bird to get them off balance and perhaps luring someone into our trap. It works, again, and all the people in the cafeteria sees is their friend looking left... Right... Cursing, and then falling down dead as two swrods flash out to end him. Viv and Mae were on either side of the door with readied actions to stab the first poor, unfortunate soul who stepped through the door.

As their comrade fell to the ground, the rest of the cultist saw The Bird standing in the hallway, its wings mantled, and it let out a mighty *caw.*

I laughed and recited, "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings! Look upon my works ye mighty and despair!"

Mae laughed along and said it was fitting for a raven/crow.

After this incident, I decided, 'F it, the bird's name is now Ozymandias. We call him Oz for short.' So now we have Ozymandias as a foul mouthed, sassy, winged party member who can't actually attack but is quite content to ride into battle on Viv's shoulder and help her deal death to our enemies.

[themusesof75]

Long Ago, chp 4

Wolf, there it is.

Back when I shipped the subtext of Clawdeen/Draculaura.

As a pup, Clawdeen would get her hair braided by her older sister. Clawdeen would watch her sister tighten and braid their other siblings' manes, it was very boring but very helpful to many monsters. The regular charge of Clawdeen was her younger sister, Howleen's hair every waxing moon. Howleen was less than grateful and yipped in complaints the entire time, Clawdeen couldn't help but twist extra hard at the scalp. The two wolves barked unkindly words until Clawdeen gave up half-way. Howleen said she was fine with the unfinished look, and she would make it a trend.

The night was early, Howleen banged her sister's door as she left. The tween werewolf walked the streets. She had planned to meet a friend in the shadows. The stranger in the shadows didn't let her go despite the mauling her big paws left on his arm.

The next morning, Princess Cleo pushed open the door to the Wolf's Needle.

"Draculaura! Ghoulia and I experimented with a potion, in which a single drop of her undead blood became a full liter. Tell us if it's rich enough for the head Night-Walkers, would you?" Princess Cleo announced as she sat in her usual chair and waited for her friends to praise her.

Ghoulia saw the mood was grim. Draculaura held Clawdeen as the wolf held her face in her claws.

"Tel me what's wrong." Princess Cleo said, uncomfortable asking about other creature's undead existences but concerned with the werewolf's mysterious pain.

Clawdeen growled then turned her tear-streamed face up, "My sister is missing."

The princess and Ghoulia knelt down at the wolf-woman's side. "Tell us more."

"The little mutt left last night and didn't come home. She's not answering our howls and my brothers have looked everywhere in the city." Clawdeen said, her voice raw and low.

"We'll find her, my Heart." Draculaura said, stroking behind Clawdeen's pointed ears.

"Have you told Lady Medusa? She has extra foot-monsters to help the search." Princess Cleo stated.

"My brother Clawd told his friends in her group and they're looking but they don't really care. That over-stuffed griffin said it's for morale and not likely they'll find one lost pup." Clawdeen said, "I want to maul him because I know it's probably true."

"I swear to Ra, I will have that bird chopped over my salad." Princess Cleo stated, "I can send the guard out to search."

"Cleo, they'd put her down before bringing her home." Clawdeen stated, "I'm not making you a dress today so you might as well beat it."

Princess Cleo stood up, "You might as well take a long flea-bath, you filthy mongrel!"

"Cleo, please-" Ghoulia started to moan.

"Get out, you spoiled, diamonds for brains, all-bark-no-bite mirage!"

Draculaura grabbed her ghoulfriend's arm, "Sweet-fang, before you say something you regret-"

The princess wheezed, " You are ashier than the Night-Walkers on mid-day and your table-manners are closer to an animal! You have lost me as a customer! Run off a cliff!"

"There are no cliffs in the desert!"

"Stupid mutt, there are just find one!" Princess Cleo said as she slammed the door. Ghoulia ran after the princess, gave a look of apology to her friends, then left out the door.

"Oh my fangs. I'm shaking." Draculaura said, "Clawdeen, are you alright?"

Clawdeen sighed, "She's a good friend. I needed that."

In the DeNile palace, Princess Cleo went into her sister's personal room. Princess Nefera was absent, so the room was welcoming. Standing in the corner, her nose to the wall, was the genie.

"Gigi, you’ve got to hate your captor." Princess Cleo stated with a hand on her hip.

The genie’s voice was very high, "Your Highness, I am forever loyal to my Finder, and we really have much fun tog-"

"I am plotting to bring her down from her pedestal and bury her beneath our pyramid's tunnels." Princess Cleo said, a thrill deep down in her heart.

Gigi turned from the wall; her large eyes had tears of hope. "Praise the stars! She is literally the meanest Finder I've ever had in, like, three thousand years!"

"No surprise here." Princess Cleo gestured to her face, "Join me in dismantling her."

Gigi began to agree but then closed her lips. "I live by rules to never harm my Finder. Or trade to another until the present Finder's thirteen-wishes are done."

"That would be too easy, wouldn't it." Princess Cleo said warily, "Tell me what do you know about her. Seen any weaknesses? Any secrets?"

"Everything horrible she has done everyone is privy to watch and view. I am sorry, Princess Cleo."

"Fine for now. Keep a watch. Are you certain you can't shift to another Finder? My friend needs a wish." Princess Cleo said.

"My rules have bound me, but I am curious to your, err, friend wants." Gigi said in genuine concern.

"Her sister, a mere child, has been lost. Or stolen more likely, and my influence cannot help in the slightest. Truthfully it would hurt the child since she is of wolf blood."

Gigi put an armored hand to her mouth. Princess Cleo noticed the flesh of the monster was layered in shiny, tough scales of sort. The princess thought of the scarab beetle's back. 

The genie sighed, "I would like to grant such a mercy, but it is not in my power. All the magic in the cosmos and I cannot even leave this room. That was your sister's first wish."

"Dear Ra, that sounds like a dull life." The princess said.

"Hmm. After many centuries of solitude, I do know how to amuse myself." Gigi shily said. She then perked up, her long ears twisted, "Oh! Princess, I do have one friend in this room. She could assist."

The genie pointed to her shadow. Princess Cleo felt fear and slight pity for the genie's slipping sanity. 

"There is a monster that lurks in the shadows, she's quite sweet, and I could ask her for help."

"Uh huh, in what exactly?"

"The search! She can go into places others don't think twice about."

A candle went off in Princess Cleo's mind. "Fine idea, Gigi, you do that. Dear thing, I will keep you in mind when releasing the other prisoners."

The genie waved as the princess left the room. Princess Cleo smiled until she was out of sight. She met with Ghoulia in her own personal quarters. The undead lady-in-waiting asked how the genie visit went.

"The worse crime of Nefera's yet. Poor thing is cracking like a snake's skin on a midday rock." Princess Cleo said, "Though she did give me an idea. Ghoulia, how often do werewolves get arrested for walking by the palace's gate?"

Ghoulia took a torch as she stepped down into the DeNile tunnels. Under the palace the royal family kept treasures and bizarre interests. Ghoulia didn't want to learn more than necessary so she stuck to Princess Cleo's drawn map. The idea was the royal guards grabbed the wolf-child to put into the family's secret menagerie. The undead girl opened the door the princess marked as XII. Inside Ghoulia found a room of tiny humans on shelves. Ghoulia examined them closer and discovered they were clay-made toys; their glass eyes still chilled the zombie's veins.

Ghoulia reread the map and considered the XII may have been XV. She retraced her steps and made her way to the next, presumably correct door. Behind that door were jars as tall as Ghoulia herself and small as her palm. A peak inside and Ghoulia found bits of brain, the smell was fresh and rather floral. Through a reed, Ghoulia slurped from the jar as she walked deeper into the tunnels. She was becoming unsatisfied with the mission because her mission had too many chances with less and less possibility of finding Howleen Wolf. 

Ghoulia sat down and thought about what she could tell Princess Cleo. Telling her it was a big waste of time, and a dumb idea, would only hurt her friend's feelings. And lead to screaming which hurt Ghoulia's ears. 

"Umm, excuse me?"

A whisper from the pitch black had Ghoulia look around. She lightly hoped there were other undead humanoid-creatures in the tunnels. She'd have a proper conversation, finally. Ghoulia met with a child-ghoul stepping out under the torch's glow.

"Hi. Gigi sent me."

"Hello. Are you a ghost of some kind?" Ghoulia asked.

"My kind aren't undead. We're connected to the supernatural in-between of dreams and reality. My name is Twyla." The ghoul had deep rings under her violet eyes, as if she was in desperate need of sleep. Yet her health seemed prim and fine.

"The princess's lady-in-waiting. Ghoulia." The zombie said with a polite nod, "Have you seen a young wolf girl? She looks about your age. She has sand-red fur and yellow eyes."

"I have. She isn't here." Twyla said, looking down the narrow, drippy tunnels. "I do like coming here. A lush snack-spot for fresh nightmares."

Twyla told Ghoulia what she saw. Ghoulia told Princess Cleo, who then told Draculaura and Clawdeen. Dracualura left the seamstress shop and went to the wing of the palace where her coven took residence.

"Draculaura, pet! Try this new concoction! The twang is divine." Lady Gory said as she held up a goblet of blood.

The vampire smiled and took a sip. The taste was too familiar, and she wanted to sob. "Oh! Fangtastic, are those notes of beasties I taste?"

"Dearest, we don't ask from where gifts come from! Not when I wish to keep this flowing." Lady Gory said as she took a long gulp. "I swear on this life, this batch gives me ten-times the energy I need."

"You glow in the moonlight, Gory darling. Where would I get my own fill?" Draculaura asked with a big, fake grin.

Behind a locked door, Howleen Wolf laid drained on a pillow. Draculaura bit the leash around her neck and took the ghoul in her arms. The sight broke the Night-walker's heart, but she kept her will strong as Howleen whispered swears on all vampires' heads. Princess Cleo's guards placed Howleen in a sarcophagus and carried her out of the palace.

In the Gorgon camp site, Lady Medusa tended to Howleen's dehydrated condition. The seasoned Lieutenant knew some rough wolves in her day. This young ghoul was tougher than any of them before. The wolf pack hovered around with plates of food. Lady Medusa told them Howleen wouldn't be able to eat until later, they each said it was for when she was ready.

"You said your kind avoided hunting us." Clawdeen said to Draculaura, not looking at her love's face.

"My kind states they can't stand the smell of you but, in actuality, your kind have the most delicious blood. No sweet words from me, Clawdeen. The wolf's blood has nutrition to keep us up for days, it's almost too strong to take without crashing."

"Don't touch me." Clawdeen said, pulling her furry arm from Draculaura's embrace.

Draculaura sighed, "I'll have to do something special to make this up to her."

"Is there jewelry big to bribe back her trust?" Princess Cleo asked, they sat in a tent separate from the recovering Wolf pack.

"There must be." Draculaura said, looking at her long fingers.

Princess Cleo rarely saw her Night-walker friend without the layers of protective clothing. Bared to the world, Draculaura was a thin, pretty, and very small creature. Beside the fangs and air of regal breeding, she was too precious to be considered threatening.

Princess Cleo leaned down to her friend, "So your kind has a secret kink for wolf's blood."

Draculaura’s pale face blushed blue, "Inapprops, Cleo! Can we talk about that later?"

"Oh sure, let the wolf children we haven't found get sucked dried. We could speak of that or, you could help me in taste-testing my new invention."

The Night-Walker put her foot on the wall and walked up the side until she was eye to eye with the princess.

“You yell and stomp and you haven’t helped any of us yet! What are we suppose to follow those windy words?” Draculaura said, her fangs grew as her eyes became black beads.

“You won’t even promise anything because we all know you’re too weak to try.” Princess Cleo said, wishing for a real bite. “You are a waste of good breeding and supernatural powers!”

Draculaura’s ears folded inward at the princess’ attack.

“You don’t resist biting me for the backlash, you resist because I would swat you like a gnat. But thank you, Dracualura, for this very stimulating pep-talk!” The princess yelled. She watched the Night-Walker morph into a bat and fly away. There was squeaking that may have been animalistic or may have been sobbing.

“Stupid ghoul can’t even protect her ghoulfriend’s litter.” Princess Cleo stated to Ghoulia, the undead ghoul shrinking in the corner.

Princess Cleo grabbed a Greek helmet and threw it the tent. “They think I can just buy an uprising like shoes? No, it takes planning, it takes reinforcements, I’m not Nefera I-“

Behind a bronze shield, Ghoulia waited for the princess’s continuing rampage to strike her. By accident, of course. Ghoulia looked over the protection and saw a twisted smile on her gold-painted lips.

“I’m not Nefera. Thank Ra for that.” Princess Cleo said joyfully. “Ghoulia, grab my bag. Let’s get home.”

That night, orders from the crowned princess said to release all prisoners in the jail and in the Night-Walkers’ private rooms.  The people and creatures were told to wait as the council re-evaluated their individual punishments, until then they could walk and fly the streets free as a cat.

“Why under Ra’s sun would Nefera cause such a disaster? It’s not as if we keep a record of all the rats that enter our first-rate prisons.” A council-member inquired at a meeting.

“I’m sure her highness has her reasons. Your grace, could you please explain your probably brilliant reasons behind this possibly terrible turn in judgement?” The other council-member asked.

“Ugghh, I told you not to speak before I have my coffee.” Princess Nefera said as she watched the coffee-maker-servant grind the beans. “You’re too sweaty. Start over.”

From the balcony of Princess Cleo’s private room, one could see crowds of creatures and humans running from the palace’s open walls. The second-born princess was fed grapes by her servants as her friends watched over the scene.

“There’s going to be a party-riot tonight.” Deuce said with a grin, “Babe, this was a great idea. Too many dudes get thrown in for small, dumb reasons.”

“Glad to see you taking initiative but, Cleo, some of those people were dangers to society.” Ghoulia groaned with worry for the innocent.

“If they’re stupid enough to cause trouble against the guards will grab them no question. One improvement is Nefera,” Princess Cleo curled her fingers as she spoke her sister’s name, “edited the rules of what qualifies as trouble. Walking as a monster doesn’t count as trouble anymore.”

“I like.” Deuce said, thumbs pointing up.

“I’d like more if I could believe the prejudice guards would be checked before being sent out.” Ghoulia said, and then wrote down her ideas and proclamations for such reforms in the systems.

“One fix at a time, Ghoulia dear. We’ll clean this up. And have some fun on the way.” Princess Cleo said, a wicked smile as a servant fed her a grape.

[spunkymoth]

Chapter VI- The Lovers, Red in The Water

A flock of birds take flight outside the window, startling me from a foggy dream. 

It takes me a moment to realize I’m slumped over a desk in the library, books and papers scattered around me. 

...That’s right. This morning Portia told me I’d have the day to myself, on account of the Countess’s headaches. 

With no other tasks needing urgent attention, I’d decided to try my luck once more in the library. 

I sit up with a groan, peeling a piece of parchment off my cheek, and survey the mess. 

… Nothing. No extra traces of Julian, no information to tell me what really happened.  

“Oh, come on. I really need to get in there!” 

Is that Portia’s voice, coming through the open window of the garden? It seems to carry across the treetops. 

It sounds like she’s having an argument, though I can’t quite hear the other party involved. 

I stand slowly, stretching sleep from my limbs. And leave the library, making my way to the gardens. 

“Please? You’re really trying my patience here.”  

“HOW DARE YOU? DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!” 

I hear the second voice as I get closer to the commotion. 

It’s a shrill shriek that pierces even the heavy foliage still blocking my view. 

“Yes, Yes, I know. I swear to everything above that if you don’t move, I’ll have roast cockatoo for dinner!” 

Gnarled branches are the only thing that obscure my sight now. I pass a final tree, and emerge into a small clearing. 

Settled squat in the middle of the copse is a squished looking cottage, surrounded by an overflowing garden. 

“That’s it! Pepi, honey... get’em!” 

“Mow!” 

A seal point cat with a pudgy face and round eyes hops onto Portia’s shoulder, batting at a pure white cockatoo.  

The bird is pacing on the roof of a small work shed, shrieking and nipping at Portia as she tries to enter. 

A particularly well-aimed swipe from the cat dislodges the cockatoo, sending it flying.  

It clips Portia’s head with its wing in its escapre, muttering in anger at its undignified treatment. 

“They’ll never forget me. They’ll never survive without me!” 

“Oooo, that awful bird. He makes me so MAD, Pepi!” 

“MC! Umm. Fancy seeing you here.” 

Portia’s cheeks color in embarrassment. She smooths her apron and quickly recovers, smiling at me.  

“I’m surprised you managed to find this place. It’s a little off the beaten path.” 

“Where are we?” 

“Oh! How rude of me.” 

She clears her throat, and then spreads one arm out to show off the cottage.  

“Welcome to Casa de Portia. My own little oasis on the palace grounds.” 

“Just watch out for the graspgourds. They’re feisty today.” 

A curious vine grasps at Portia’s ankle as she says that, but she swiftly kicks it off. 

“Why don’t you have a seat? It must have been a walk to get here, huh?” 

She gestures to a bench carved out of a large log that rests against the exterior of her cottage. 

I pick my way carefully through the overgrown garden to the seat, stepping over the fantastic plants I don’t recognize. 

Portia picks up a rake from nearby, and looks at me with a wry smile.  

“You don’t mind me working a little while we talk, do you? I’ve got a lot of work in the garden today.” 

Now that I’m settled, I realize I have a million questions I want to ask Portia. 

“So... Julian’s your brother?” 

If I wasn’t sure before. I am now. The naked shock and hurt on Portia’s face tells me all I need to know. 

“Yes. I’m sorry about that scene outside your shop, you know. I was just... surprised to see him there.” 

I think back to Julian exiting my shop, caught red handed breaking and entering again. 

“I was, too.” 

“He’s got a real flair for the dramatic. I’m glad to see that hasn’t changed.” 

“You didn’t know he was here?” 

“Not until I saw him yesterday. What he thinks he’s doing here...” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t smack him a little harder for the trouble, honestly. He could be in huge trouble.” 

The mood doesn’t stay heavy for long. Portia waves it away and squares her shoulders, giving me a determined smile. 

“I didn’t know you two knew each other.”  “That happen before or after milady hired you?” 

My cheeks flush under the scrutiny. 

I tell the truth. 

“I first met Julian the night the Countess visited my shop. He arrived shortly after she left.” 

I can still remember the glassy eyes of Julian’s mask, piercing my soul.  

“Hmm. That sure sounds like my brother.” 

“Why didn’t you tell milady?” 

The look on Portia’s face is not unkind. I feel as if I can tell her anything without consequence. 

“I didn’t know enough yet. I didn’t want to condemn a man on incomplete information.” 

“If it’s my word that knots the hangman’s noose...” 

“How can I send a man to death before I’ve investigated his innocence?” 

“I’m glad to hear you say that, MC.” 

“I don’t really know what mess Ilya’s gotten himself into, but...” 

“If he has you in his corner, I get the feeling everything will work out alright in the end.” 

“Portia...” 

“Hmm?” 

“Thank you.” 

“Of course! That’s what I’m here for, you know. Pep talks and expert gardening skills.” 

“Oh my, it’s getting pretty late, huh?” 

She peers overhead at the sun, already well past noon. Late light dapples the clearing, dancing on her face. 

“I’d better get back to work, MC. But... I’m glad you came to talk to me.” 

“I knew we’d be friends eventually.” 

With the sun at my back, I turn from Portia’s garden, head swirling with thoughts of Julian and his predicament. 

Strangely enough, I feel more at ease after speaking with Portia. The trials ahead of me seem less insurmountable. 

I decide to take another route back to the palace, wandering aimlessly through the ancient foliage. 

The further I get from Portia’s cottage the darker the sku above me grows. 

That’s strange... it should still be mid-afternoon. 

Dread growing in the pit of my stomach, I turn deeper into the darkness. My feet move as if possessed. 

The palace’s soaring spires emerge from the top of the trees and the rest of the gleaming building soon follows. 

Thick foliage opens up to rolling fields, cut across with a nearby brook that serpentines through the grass. 

At first my eyes pass over it, before the color registers and fills my stomach with dread. Red. 

There’s no mistaking it. Crimson stains the slow-moving stream, seeping steadily into the banks. 

I scramble away from the banks and take a deep breath. With trepidation, I follow the flow upstream with my eyes. 

Seeping from the stonework of a forgotten corner of the palace... 

Poison. 

It would be easy to miss. The brook is small, tucked away on a side of the palace I imagine isn’t patrolled often. 

I turn back to the garden in horror, and realize the source of the darkness. 

Rot and decay. The trees at the edge of the field here are dying. It seems as if all the color has left them.  

I swallow hard and resolve to follow the stream to its end. With heavy feet I start the long journey beside its banks. 

Soon, vast open fields give way to rocky cliffside, and the stream transitions to lemonstone structure. 

An aqueduct, one of many flowing towards the city, designed to provide water for its many denizens.  

From this high, balanced on the first stone of the unconventional path before me, I can see all of Vesuvia. 

Sprawling, chaotic, and vibrant. Swirls of smoke leave chimneys to dance in the air, twining together like lovers. 

Overhead, a raven circles me, swooping lower as I walk the bridge. He seems familiar, somehow. 

The raven lands with a thud onto my shoulder, tilting its head at me. 

“Um. Hello.” 

The raven opens its mouth as if to scream, but simply nibbles on the hem of my shirt instead. 

Its beady eyes watch me warily. In fact, all its feathers are ruffled as if it was on high alert. 

I open my mouth to say something else, but a noise startles the bird into flight, leaving me alone once more. 

Eventually, the aqueduct lowers and joins together with another water line, both headed deeper into the city.  

I can see buildings around me now, the first signs of urban life, as I reach the outskirts. 

There’s doubt in my mind no longer. Crimson poison running from the palace grounds is in the city’s water supply. 

“...MC?” 

I whip my head to the right, and see a figure slowly emerge into the dim light of a city lantern. 

Face half cast in shadow, standing on the aqueduct with me, is Julian. 

[arobinwithoutbatman]

"That's my job!" Tim chirped, his lone voice becoming layered in that moment. Hundreds of children's voices. "I'll watch you from here and keep him safe. Mama will help. She'll make sure the sex workers and street kids are hidden extra well tonight." He looked up at Her, pure white smile spread across what was supposed to be a face. "Right, Mama?"

The wraith like figure nodded. Her face equally hidden behind a veil of shadow but her echoing words fond and warm.

"Of course. I do my best for my children." She shifted, facing Jason again. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. You were so far outside my borders. I'll focus on you tonight. It's the least I can do for My Risen Bird."

"Keep still and hold tight." Another childish chirp from Tim. "Mama will send you back. I'll come pick you up when I have the strength."

Shadows swirled around Jason once more, lifting him up up up, surrounding him in cold darkness and gently leaving him back in the centre of The Bowery. Instead of rest, Tim wrapped himself around Dick's form, forming a loose screen to give him at least a little privacy. Then the rest of him curled up catlike on his brother's chest, purring away as he drifted off too.

The shadows feel... off tonight. Winding around Nightwing's fingers like always when he returned to Gotham but somehow slower. Almost sluggish. It's usually fluid like smoke. They don't gather into a solid form tonight, simply drift back to the ground, choosing instead to curl up by his ankles. Even its little chittering sounds have a sleepy tinge to them tonight. Can shadows get sleepy? -arobinwithoutbatman ((have a cryptid Timmy))

A step in the dark, a clattering of lids as some cat escaped a trash bin. It was eerily quiet in the streets of Gotham tonight, but Dick hasn't been afraid of the dark for a long time now.

He stepped through shadow, feeling the thickness of it wrap around its fingers as he marched the dark alleyways of Gotham, clad in his vigilante attire. He could almost feel the dark mist's drowsiness as it gathered around by his ankles, how tired the gloom felt.

He reached up, cleaning a speck of blood that had persistently stuck to his chin. He feasted not too long ago, the pair of razor sharp fangs glinting in the dim street lights protruding from the main street, noticeable for only a moment as he opened his mouth to run a finger across his lower lip before his tongue passed over it as well.

"Come out, Timothy." Dick's voice lulled across the alleyway, satiated by his last meal, feeling the presence of his brother. The pulsating shadows, the caressing flow of the darkness. "I know you're there. I know it's been a while, but you didn't really think I can forget the embrace of my own sibling?"

@arobinwithoutbatman

[ladyartemesia]

All I Want For Christmas is You

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Female Reader

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

Genre: Comedy • Fluff  • Smut

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

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

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

Rating: Explicit (18+)

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

Acknowledgements:

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

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

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

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

Please Picture This Taehyung:

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Yes. Because you absolutely owe me.”

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

Jimin raised a single unimpressed brow. 

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

The man in question shifted uncomfortably.

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

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

Taehyung’s jaw dropped. 

“You RECORDED IT?!”

Jimin grinned, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

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

“He did WHAT?!”

Your mother winced. 

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

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

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

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

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

“This is about Milo… isn’t it?”

The silence that greeted your statement was confirmation enough. 

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

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

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

You would play along with their humiliating schemes. 

For now.

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

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

“Kim Taehyung.”

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

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

The man in question could barely restrain his grin. 

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

“I could pay you more.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jungkook bit the inside of his cheek thoughtfully. 

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

“Seen? Maybe three—four years.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A woman. 

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

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

Because the sight of you could make a man desperate. 

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

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

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

And just like that the brat was back. 

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

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

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

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

“Of course not,” he chuckled.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Harkins?”

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

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

“Okay... What about Kang?” 

“He was verbally abusing one of the waitstaff.” 

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

“She was about to grab your ass.”

Taehyung’s mouth dropped open.

“She’s eighty-five!”

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

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

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

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

“Is nothing sacred?” he mused hollowly. 

You shrugged. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taehyung crossed his arms smugly. 

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

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

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

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

He just barely caught the hitch in your breath before- 

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

“Jealous?” Taehyung drawled cockily. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It would be my pleasure.”

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

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

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

Jungkook picked up on the second ring. 

“Sir?”

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

“You want me to what?!” 

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

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

1 New Message from: Jungkook

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

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

You picked up on the fourth ring. 

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Are you alone?”

You snorted. 

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

Taehyung saw red. 

“I’m coming over.”

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

“Wha- No! I’m trying to go to bed!”

“With who?!”

“With myself, you idiot!”

“Prove it!”

“Fine! I will!”

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

1 New Message from: Park Gremlin 

He almost choked on his tongue. 

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

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

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

You were exquisite. 

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

Desire. 

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

1 New Message from: Kim Grinch 

I didn’t know you liked Van Gogh. 

Your head tilted in confusion. 

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

Oh NO.

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

… You just sent Kim Taehyung a topless mirror selfie. 

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

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

Taehyung groaned from underneath his covers. 

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

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

“Is that the bad news?” Taehyung yawned. 

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

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

PARK ANGEL TRADES ONE CORPORATE HEIR FOR ANOTHER AT MIN GALA

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

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

“The Park Angel?” 

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

“Can’t imagine why,” Taehyung mumbled. 

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

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

“This is a flaming disaster.”

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

“Which one was that?!” 

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

Tae ran his hand down over his face in exasperation. 

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

“She has. Twice.”

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

“No.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Something wrong, Mr. Kim?”

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

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

He peeked again.

I would pay a million dollars to suck those tits. 

“Nothing at all,” his voice cracked. 

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

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

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

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

Taehyung was laughing. 

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

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

Something that felt an awful lot like longing. 

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

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

Almost. 

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

Disaster struck at dinner. 

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

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

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

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

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

“I-I need—” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why won’t this—”

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

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

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

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

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

He blinked. Twice. 

“I’m sorry—What did you just—”

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

He gulped. 

His eyes dropped to the matter at hand.

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

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

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

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

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

Oh.

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

Taehyung wet his lips reflexively. 

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

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

You were so warm.

So soft...

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

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

“Hold on to me.”  

You nodded and wordlessly slid your arms around his waist.

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

You could almost pretend that it meant nothing. 

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

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

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

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

You drew in a final steadying breath. 

“Do it.”

He nodded. 

“One… Two… Three—”

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

Your breasts bounced almost entirely out of the corset. 

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

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

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

“... Is… everything alright here?”

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

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

He gulped again. 

“I can explain.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just like you.

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

Lies.

… and pitifully transparent ones at that. 

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

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

1 New Message from: Park Gremlin 

I made it home safely. 

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

To: Park Gremlin

I require proof… like last time. 

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

You’re playing with fire, Kim Taehyung. 

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

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

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

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

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

same mirror.

Yet this time, the reflection was quite different. 

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

He wanted to rip them off with his teeth. 

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

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

1 New Message from: Kim Grinch

Green is my favorite color. 

“WHERE IS HE—”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PARK ANGEL TOPS KIM TAEHYUNG’S CHRISTMAS TREE

He winced a bit at that last one. 

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

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

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

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

Jungkook began surreptitiously filming the whole debacle from the corner. 

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

Taehyung sighed heavily. 

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

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

“WHAT?!” 

“NO! Mother! Oh my—”

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

Taehyung waved his arms wildly in exasperation. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I never thought I’d see you here.”

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

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

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

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

“I avoided them.”

I avoided you. 

Milo nodded. 

“I—I figured.” 

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

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

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

“Excuse me.” 

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

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

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

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

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

Milo’s eyes narrowed. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Taehyung laughed. 

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

You grinned. 

“I’d forgotten about that.”

“Well I’m sure Tyler hasn’t.” 

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

“I wish I could forget about Milo.”

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

The words tasted like ash in his mouth. 

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

Taehyung tilted his head curiously and you found yourself continuing. 

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

you. 

You cleared your throat. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I should kill him.”

You shook your head, amused in spite of yourself. 

“That’s exactly what Jimin said.”

“He has good instincts.”

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

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

It would be so easy to care for you. 

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

You nodded. 

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

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

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

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

“... Like you?” 

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

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

“What’s going on, guys?”

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

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

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

Jimin’s eyes hardened immediately. 

“Where is he?”

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

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

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

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

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

“You look like a vampire.”

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

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

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

Still…

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

“I think I’m offended.”

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

Taehyung’s eyes narrowed. 

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

You shrugged playfully. 

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

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

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

Lord have mercy. 

“Of course not,” he coughed. 

“You’re what?!”

You rolled your eyes.

Tonight had been going rather well. 

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

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

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

“Does your brother know about this?!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then it was your turn. 

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

“Ten thousand.”

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

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

“Eleven thousand.”

“Twelve thousand.”

“Fifteen.”

“Sixteen thousand dollars.”

“Seventeen thousand.”

“Eighteen.”

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

“Twenty thousand.”

“Twenty-five thousand.”

“Thirty thousand!”

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

Milo.

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

“Forty thousand.”

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

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

No. 

Milo was still bidding. 

“Fifty thousand dollars.”

Not her. 

“Sixty,” Yoongi countered.

She’s mine. 

Suddenly Taehyung was on his feet. 

“One hundred thousand dollars!” 

The silence in the backseat of your limousine was deafening. 

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

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

And hope. 

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

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

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

Yet you never dared hope for it. 

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

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

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

But he didn’t need to buy your heart. 

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

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

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

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

Taehyung’s gaze flew up in concern. 

“Is everything alright?”

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

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

“Do you want to see?” 

Taehyung’s eyes rose slowly to yours. 

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

Then he nodded...

And you both were lost. 

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

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

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

He bit back a moan. 

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

You nodded. 

“Kiss it better.”

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

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

He knew he shouldn’t—

but he could never deny you. 

“Of course.”

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

It was for you. 

He wanted you. 

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

Touch me… please. 

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

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

“Taehyung—“ you moaned. 

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

Sweet merciful heavens. 

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

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

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

“T-Tae—”

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

He was marking you. 

And you wanted it. 

Oh how you wanted it. 

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

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

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

“Speak up.”  

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

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

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

“Madame. We’ve arrived.”

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

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

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

Did we just...

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

1 New Message from: Taehyung 🙄🥴🙈

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

You grinned. 

Greedy boy. 

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

1 New Message from: Angel 🤬🥵😅

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

Taehyung growled in frustration. 

She would be a tease. 

To: Angel 🤬🥵😅

I tend to worry. Put my mind at ease. 

He shook his head. 

I have officially gone insane. 

The phone buzzed again. 

1 New Message from: Angel 🤬🥵😅

Well… We can’t have that can we… 

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

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

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

He groaned, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

To: Angel 🤬🥵😅

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

The screen lit up again almost immediately. 

1 New Message from: Angel 🤬🥵😅

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

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

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

Jungkook took a long satisfying sip of his cocoa. 

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

“I need to talk to him.”

“Of course, Mr. Park, let me just pull up his schedule—”

“I need to talk to him now.”

“I’m afraid Mr. Kim is booked solid for the morning.”

Jimin stomped his foot like a petulant child. 

“I know he’s up there.”

Jungkook grinned. 

“You’re welcome to climb the trellis and check. I promise not to stop you if you make it all the way up.”

“COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME YOU COWARD!” Jimin shouted at the top of his lungs. 

Jungkook took another long pull of his drink. 

“Might I inquire as to the reason for your visit today, sir?”

“The reason for my visit,” Jimin yanked out his phone and angrily began typing into the search bar, “is that your boss paid ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS for my sister at a date auction last night and I want to know what the hell is going on between them!”

The article Jimin pulled up (DEVILISH KIM TAEHYUNG BUYS HIMSELF A $100,000 ANGEL) featured an image of the two of you entering the Black and White Ball. Your head was thrown back in laughter and Taehyung was grinning down at you as if you’d personally hung all the stars in the sky for him. 

A genuine smile crept over Jungkook’s face as he studied the photograph. 

“That’s quite a headline.” He handed Jimin’s phone back. “Have you asked your sister about it?”

“No, I swung by earlier, but she wasn’t home so—” His eyes widened. “Oh my—is she—”

Jimin suddenly took off running for the trellis, and Jungkook scrambled out of his chair to chase him. 

“KIM TAEHYUNG IF MY SISTER IS IN THAT ROOM—”

He was already three feet off the ground when Jungkook yanked him back. 

“I thought you said I could climb the trellis!”

“Yes,” Jungkook wheezed, “but I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” That trellis is a hundred years old! A few more feet and I’d be scraping you off the antique brickwork!”

Jimin scowled and crossed his arms. 

“Are you by any chance open to bribes?”

“Normally yes, but Tae promised to double my Christmas bonus if I didn’t accept them today.”

Jimin continued to eye the trellis speculatively, clearly willing to take his chances. Jungkook sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

“Mr. Park, I promise you… He came home alone last night. In fact, they both returned earlier than usual because your sister had a 7 AM finance meeting.” He paused significantly to glance at his watch. “Which is probably where she is right now.”

“Oh… Well.”

Jungkook bit his lip to hold back a snort and Jimin’s eyes narrowed. 

“He has to come down eventually.”

“One would think.”

The young Park heir glanced toward Taehyung’s window again just in time to see the man in question dart back behind the curtains. 

"I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE, KIM TAEHYUNG, YOU PHILANDERING SLEAZE BAG!" 

Jimin made another jump for the trellis and this time Jungkook caught him in mid-air. 

“Sir, I’m sure it was just the maid!”

“It’s not the maid! I’d know that raggedy mop of his anywhere!”

Jungkook was out of breath at this point. Park Jimin might be small, but he was fierce. 

“Perhaps it’s best if you took a moment to collect yourself,” he grunted. “There’s a lovely new spa down the street and they sent Taehyung two free deluxe packages.”

Jimin stopped struggling. 

“Oh?”

Five minutes later, Jungkook sighed deeply and fished his phone out of his back pocket. 

“He’s gone, sir.”

“Excellent work, Jungkook. I never doubted you for a second.”

“However…”

“... However?”

“I had to give him your spa passes.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

“Are you headed for a gala or the guillotine?”

Taehyung rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t pay extra for commentary.”

“It’s complimentary, sir.”

The Kim heir tugged absently at the material of his absurdly expensive evening wear. 

Why do these events always have to be so uncomfortable? 

“Seriously, Tae… you seem,” the young aide searched for the right words, “unusually tense.”

Taehyung’s mind flashed back to three nights ago when he had his mouth wrapped around your breast. 

“Not at all,” he coughed, loosening the collar of his shirt. 

Jungkook bit his lip.

“Is this about Ms. Park, sir?”

The cufflinks Taehyung was attempting to fasten suddenly went flying across the room and hit a lamp. 

Both men winced. 

“I think that was your grandmother’s.”

Taehyung sighed. 

“I admit there have been… some developments.”

Jungkook nodded nonchalantly, trying to disguise the fact that he was internally frothing at the mouth for details. 

“... Such as?”

Taehyung gulped. 

“It started out rather innocently I suppose…” he cleared his throat, “but there may have been some suggestive photographs.”

“There may have been? Are you not sure?”

Taehyung colored guiltily. 

“Well—”

“Do you need me to check for you, sir? I have an art history degree.”

“Absolutely not.”

Jungkook grinned. 

“That’s what I thought.”

Taehyung yanked his tie out of the younger man’s hand. 

“Things have… escalated a bit.”

“Escalated how?”

I licked her tit in the back of a limo.

“Physically.”

It was everything Jungkook could do to maintain a straight face. 

“That’s… shocking.”

“Then why don’t you seem shocked?” Taehyung grumbled. 

A small smile played across Jungkook’s lips as he pointedly ignored the elder man’s observation.

“So what are you going to do, sir?”

Taehyung was silent for a long moment. 

“I honestly have no idea.”

Watching you walk toward him was an experience.  

Taehyung wondered absently if this was how it would be from now on; if for the rest of his life just the sight of you would be enough to scatter his mind and his pulse and even the way he breathed. 

Your dress tonight was deadly. 

It was a decadent red satin halter that clung to every curve. The truly wicked detail, however, was a daring slit that ran the entire length of your leg. 

Taehyung was certain he was going to trip over his own tongue at some point if he looked directly at you for too long. 

Oh help. 

Memories of your previous encounter flooded his senses. Every second you were getting closer and he didn’t know what to do—what to say. 

So he didn’t say anything at all. 

Not a word when you reached the bottom of the stairs. Nothing but silence as he opened the door of the limo for you. More silence and no eye contact as he settled into the seat across from yours—

And you tolerated that for about three minutes. 

“I never thought I’d see the day when Kim Taehyung didn’t have a comment about something. Perhaps I should mark this down on my calendar.”

The words were lightly spoken, but you were shaking on the inside. The last time the two of you were alone together he had your dress around your waist and you were moaning his name. Now he wasn’t talking and you were torn between panic and irritation. 

Taehyung, however, latched onto your passive barb like a lifeline. 

“Is that a hint of sarcasm I hear from the benevolent Park Angel?” He grinned. “Surely not.”

“Red is not a particularly angelic color. Perhaps I’m feeling feisty today.”

Taehyung leaned back in his seat and indulged himself in a thorough examination of your outfit. The urge to run his hands over the satin-covered lines of your body was nearly unbearable. He curled his fingers into fists to keep them from doing just that. 

She is definitely trying to kill me. 

“Should I be worried?”

Now it was your turn to grin. 

“I guess we’ll find out.”

The Governor’s Winter Wonderland Gala was by far the most extravagant event of the holiday season. Tickets cost a small fortune and sold out almost immediately. 

But it was well worth the price of admission.

Thousands of lights sparkled overhead as you made your way through the great hall of Governor Kim’s mansion. 

It was like stepping into a fairytale. 

Taehyung couldn’t take his eyes off you. The sheer wonder in your expression was breathtaking. 

You were breathtaking.  

“Governor Kim, it is such an honor to finally meet you.”

The Governor was a handsome man in his early fifties with a smile that was every bit as lethal as it had been twenty-five years ago. 

“The honor is all mine, Ms. Park. I trust my nephew is treating you well.”

Your eyes widened. 

“N-nephew?”

Taehyung shrugged. 

“I don’t really talk about it much.” 

The Governor chuckled and you cleared your throat to cover your nervousness. 

“Yes, he’s been a very capable escort.”

“Is that so?” Governor Kim smiled charmingly. “Well if it doesn’t work out, my son Seokjin is still single—”

“Thank you, Uncle. It was lovely to see you as always.”

You squeaked as Taehyung placed his hand firmly on the curve of your back and practically dragged you away. 

The Governor just shook his head and laughed. 

“Oh kid, you’ve got it bad.”

Everywhere you looked there was beauty. 

Whoever planned the gala this year had truly gone above and beyond. Surrounded on all sides by glittering trees and snowy vignettes, it was easy to be swept away in the festive magic of the evening. 

All in all (despite some initial awkwardness), you were having a fantastic time...

Until she showed up. 

“Kim Taehyung! Is that you?”

Every single hair on your body stood on end, but before you could determine the source of the shrill squealing, you found yourself being nudged aside by a blinding golden gown and some very high heels. 

“Aubrey,” Taehyung grunted as five-and-half feet of gorgeous wrapped herself around him like a clinging vine. “Long time no see.”

“Not since that vacation in Aspen,” she giggled. “We had quite a time, didn’t we Tae Tae!”

Suddenly you had the most unholy urge to slap the spray tan right off this woman. 

Instead, you plastered on a vibrant smile and placed your hand on Taehyung’s sleeve.

“Um. Excuse me, Tae Tae, perhaps you could introduce us?”

Taehyung looked as if he’d just been served raw fire ants for dinner. 

“Yes. Of course. This is—”

“Aubrey Alicia St. Valentine,” she interrupted with a smug little smirk. “Taehyung and I go way back.” Her expression grew just the slightest bit tighter. “And you are?”

“His date,” you deadpanned. 

“Aubrey,” Taehyung cleared his throat, “I’d like you to meet Ms. Park she’s—”

“Oh my goodness! You’re Jimin’s little sister aren't you!” Aubrey slapped her hand over his chest and he winced. “That is so precious of you to take her around like this!”

Your eyebrows raised right up into your hairline and Taehyung groaned. 

“Yes, he was kind enough to sign me out of the nursery for the evening.” You offered them both a painfully vacant nod. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I see one of my play-dates near the buffet.”

Then you turned on your heel and sauntered off without another word. 

Taehyung moved to follow you, but Aubrey curled her fingers into the crook of his arm and pulled him back. 

“Oh let her go, Tae. You and I have so much catching up to do.”

Taehyung pointedly removed her hand from his elbow. 

“Some other time perhaps.” 

Aubrey pouted prettily. 

“You’re not running off after her are you? She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself.”

Taehyung crossed his arms and fixed her with a knowing look. 

“Funny... that’s not what you were implying a moment ago.”

“A moment ago I didn’t have you all to myself. Now I do.” She had the decency to blush. “Perhaps I got a bit jealous.”

“You don’t say.” His eyes continued to search the crowd for any sign of you. 

“It seems I had good reason to be,” she murmured quietly. 

“Aubrey... Listen I—”

She cut him off with a finger to his lips.

“Don’t bother Tae Tae. I’m petty, but I’ve never been pathetic.”

He grinned. 

“Never.”

The lady sighed and gave him a heated once over.

“What a shame.”

Then she strolled off with a rueful smile. 

“You know what I don’t understand?”

You turn to find Min Yoongi leaning casually against a nearby column. He looked absurdly handsome as always, but his grin was just the slightest bit mischievous. 

“What don’t you understand, Mr. Min?”

The question was clearly a bait, but you were still fuming from your earlier encounter with Ms. St. Valentine and therefore desperately in need of a distraction. 

Yoongi pushed off the column and lazily made his way toward you.

“I don’t understand how a man pays a hundred thousand dollars for an evening with the most beautiful woman in the city, and then leaves her all by herself.” He leaned forward with a playful grin. “Perhaps you could enlighten me?”

Oh he’s good. 

You made a show of tapping your chin thoughtfully. 

“I’m afraid I don’t have an answer for that one.”

Yoongi sighed and shook his head. 

“Couldn’t be me.”

You laughed then. He really was a delightful man. In fact, if you still had your heart, you might have considered letting him take a shot at it. 

Alas. 

You tilted your head speculatively. 

Surely there was no need to brush away good company...

After all, no one else is interested in spending time with me. 

“Since my escort is otherwise occupied, perhaps you could join me for dinner?”

Yoongi held out his hand. 

“I’d be delighted.”

Taehyung wandered around the mansion for nearly forty-five minutes looking for his date.  

Panic was just starting to build in his chest when he finally spotted you

—at his private dining table with Min Yoongi. 

It was everything he could do not to storm over and yank the other man out of his seat by the lapels. 

Alright, Angel. If this is the game you want to play… then let’s play. 

Taehyung felt his anger rise with every step, but he ruthlessly suppressed any sign of it and instead adopted a charming smile. 

“Min, I didn’t expect to find you here. What a… delightful surprise.”

Yoongi’s expression was just a shade too satisfied. Taehyung could already feel his blood pressure beginning to skyrocket. 

“Yes, Ms. Park believed that you were otherwise occupied and invited me to share the meal with her.”

“I see,” Taehyung practically snarled. “However,” his gaze landed heavily on you, “since I paid for this table, I hope you won’t mind if I join you as well?”

You avoided looking at him up to this point, but now you were choking on your wine

“Easy there, Angel,” Taehyung murmured as he pulled up a seat extremely close to yours—so close that your thighs were nearly touching. 

Oh boy. 

Over the next several minutes Yoongi continued to flirt openly and you continued to smile prettily and pretend Taehyung wasn’t there (which naturally infuriated him). 

You should have known he wouldn’t let you get away with such behavior so easily. 

This was Kim Taehyung, after all, and if there was anything that could be counted on when it came to your shared history, it was that one (or both) of you was always ready to escalate. 

You had just offered the young Min heir yet another flowery compliment when you felt Taehyung make his move. 

Two warm fingers slid under the silken slit of your dress, coming to rest possessively over the soft flesh of your inner thigh. 

You squeaked and nearly spat up your drink. 

Taehyung leaned forward in fake concern, wrapping his arm around you as if to offer aid. 

“Are you alright?”

His hand continued to move significantly beneath your gown, but his face was the picture of innocence. 

You glared. 

“Just fine, thank you.”

A slow grin crept across his features as he began to trace soft intimate patterns over your skin.  

On the other side of the table, Yoongi tilted his head in genuine solicitude. “Are you sure?”

You nodded sharply. 

Satisfied, he resumed speaking about whatever it was he’d been saying—though you couldn’t understand a word of it at this point because the torturous strokes Taehyung was leisurely drawing over your thighs were moving closer to your center with each passing second. 

Yet you made no move to stop him. 

You should have. 

You should have slapped his touch away—rebuked him for his boldness—

But you didn’t. 

So he just kept nodding and smiling while Yoongi spoke, even as his fingers teased you with the maddening persistence of a man who knew very well what he was doing. 

You gasped aloud when he finally brushed the pad of his thumb over the thin cotton of your panties. 

“T-Taehyung—” 

“Hmm?” he turned to you, seemingly surprised by your attention (it was—after all—the first time you’d addressed him since the beginning of the meal).

“Could you pass me the salt,” you sputtered (hoping to cover the fact that you moaned his name involuntarily). Unfortunately, Taehyung seemed wholly aware of your ruse, offering you the salt shaker with a superior smirk.

You seriously considered stabbing him with a fork. 

However, before you could carry out any bloodthirsty plans, he pressed his fingers directly over your clit and your eyes rolled back in your head

“Oh my g—” you bit your lip stubbornly, “this lamb is just so good.” 

Sweet mother of macaroons, he is too skilled at this. 

You shoveled another bite into your mouth to cover your whine as Taehyung began to rub tight little circles over your sweet spot. 

Across the table, Yoongi nodded in blissful unawareness. 

“Yes, I agree, the lamb is excellent—very tender.”

Taehyung took advantage of the momentary distraction to slip beneath the fabric of your undergarment. 

Your fork clattered to your plate and your hand came up to cover your mouth as he began running his fingers up and down your soaked slit.

It was everything you could do to hold back your depraved whimpering. 

“I can’t wait to taste it,” Taehyung replied, flicking your clit in a way that guaranteed he wasn’t referring to the lamb. 

At this point Yoongi seemed to notice you were in some sort of distress. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and leaned forward. 

“Ms. Park, are you well?”

Taehyung chose that moment to sink his finger into the welcoming heat of your pussy. 

“Yes,” you almost sobbed, “I’m-I’m very well—thank you.”

“Excellent,” Yoongi smiled as he rose to his feet. “If you’re feeling up to it, perhaps you could favor me with a dance?”

Several attendees were already making their way to the center of the floor and the orchestra was beginning to play.

Your entire body, however, was vibrating like a plucked harp string and Taehyung was still brushing back and forth against your clit, driving you toward a release that promised to be explosive. 

There was no way—simply no way—that you would be capable of hiding it. 

“Yes! I would love to dance with you,” you squeaked, grabbing hold of Taehyung’s wrist frantically. The feel of him pulling out of your sopping core was nearly enough to have you coming right there. 

Thankfully, Yoongi remained utterly oblivious to the debauchery unfolding beneath the table. He took your hand and helped you to your feet with an eager smile (and it was a good thing too because your legs were still shaking). 

When the two of you reached the dance floor, you turned back for the briefest instant—

just long enough to meet Taehyung’s heated gaze as his lips closed over the finger he buried in your cunt. 

Emotions were a funny thing. 

They impacted your judgement, affected your body, altered your behavior… 

And occasionally eroded your common sense. 

Sitting alone in the corner of the Governor’s ballroom, Kim Taehyung found himself experiencing a full spectrum of emotional side-effects. 

His hands clenched as he watched Min Yoongi spin you around the floor. 

His heart pounded every time he caught a flash of your shapely leg peeking through the slit in your gown. 

His blood boiled when you threw your head back and laughed at something the other man said. 

It was difficult to pinpoint which emotion was to blame for each of these reactions. There were certainly a number of them boiling over in his subconscious. 

Frustration—

I didn’t even want to talk to Aubrey! How are you acting like anything she said was my fault?!

Rage—  

Why is challenging people to duels illegal? I would fight Min Yoongi at dawn. I would fight Min Yoongi now. 

Jealousy—

You asked her to dance while my fingers were in her pussy. We are not the same. 

But perhaps the most persistent—the most overwhelming— emotion twisting through him was longing. 

You and Taehyung spent nearly four years apart, and he was so desperate to be near you—even then—that he resorted to childish pranks in order to remain a part of your life. 

He hadn’t recognized his actions or desires for what they were. He hadn’t realized what you meant to him...

But now, after spending the last several days with your hand on his arm and your laughter in his ear, he could no longer imagine spending another moment without you. 

Everything seemed to crystallize as he watched you laughing and dancing in the arms of another man. 

Uncertainty became clear. Complications became simple. 

And when he saw Min Yoongi’s hand slide dangerously close to the perfect swell of your backside—

Emotion became action.

“Mind if I cut in?”

It wasn’t a question really. Taehyung was already shouldering his rival out of the way and pulling you into his arms. 

“Taehyung,” you hissed, shooting the bewildered Yoongi an apologetic look over his shoulder, “what are you doing? This is so rude—”

“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed, sweeping you through the couples on the floor with practiced ease. “It is unpardonably rude to steal someone else’s date. He’s lucky all I did was steal you back.”

Your mouth dropped open. 

“Oh? So you finally remembered that I was your date?”

Taehyung’s grip on the curve of your waist became a shade rougher as he pulled you through the next turn. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means—” you stepped forward vigorously, nearly smashing your body into his, “—that you spent forty-five minutes with Aubrey Alicia St. Valentine when you were supposed to be having dinner with me!”

Taehyung growled and yanked you flush against him. 

“I spent forty-five minutes looking for you while you were giving away my table to Min Yoongi!”

The two of you sailed through the next several movements glaring at one another before you snapped again. 

“None of this would have happened if you had just told Aubrey St. Spray Tan that you were with me—”

“I did!”

“Instead, you let her call me a baby!”

“What let? Aubrey is a grown woman!”

“But—”

“And—you stormed off before I could say anything, so how would you know what I let?”

“You didn’t come after me!”

“Yes actually I did—but she grabbed my arm!”

“Really? Well what else did she grab?”

Taehyung abruptly realized how silent everything around you had become. 

People were staring—and not even discreetly— just full on staring with their mouths hanging open. 

Well that’s great. 

Taehyung’s hand closed around yours and you suddenly found yourself being marched across the dance floor at a breakneck pace.

“What are you doing?”

“Continuing this discussion in private.”

“We can’t just go somewhere private in the Governor’s mansion!” you sputtered, struggling to keep up with his larger strides. 

“You mean in my uncle’s house? Yes—actually we can—and we will.”

Taehyung proved to be a man of his word, dragging you past two security guards and into the roped off section of the manor with nothing more than a nod. 

The residential wing of the Governor’s home was beautifully decorated with traditional Korean artistic touches—all of which you were unable to appreciate while Taehyung was speed walking you through the halls. 

After a surprising amount of turns and archways, he yanked open an ornate wooden door with the words Reflection Suite written on a plaque above it in beautiful calligraphy. 

You almost giggled when you got a look inside. 

On the surface it was a tastefully furnished guest room with a simple cherry wood desk and a cozy double bed set in an elegant matching frame.

However—

The ceiling and one full wall were nothing but massive mirrors. 

Reflection suite indeed. 

The door slammed shut and Taehyung rounded on you with a stormy expression—though you weren’t waiting on him to fire the first volley.

“This is definitely going to get us in trouble.”

“I told you, I can go wherever I want in this house. It’s fine.”

“Then why did you take us here?”

“Because you were shouting—”

“I was shouting?! You were shouting I just—”

Suddenly your back was against the wall and Taehyung’s mouth was on yours. 

He hadn’t brought you here for this. When he grabbed your hand, he was only trying to get away from the crowds. He told himself that he needed privacy so you could talk—so he could clarify things. 

But the minute the door closed and you flared up again in all your magnificent rage, he was lost. 

He had to kiss you then. 

You were so lovely. So fierce. So wildly irresistible and he was too utterly smitten to fight the need to be near you—to be with you in every way that he could—for a single second more. 

The shock of Kim Taehyung pressing his lips to yours lasted about two full seconds—and then there was nothing but ravenous insatiable need. 

Finally. 

Everything was him. 

Everything was this—this sweet indescribable ignition of a desire that spanned years. You moaned eagerly against his mouth in wanton delight. After a decade of sparks, you were more than ready to burn. 

“Taehyung—”

His name poured out of you like a prayer. You needed him everywhere and miraculously he seemed to understand—

Not that he was prepared to be polite about it. 

“Where’s that smart mouth now, Angel?” he growled, tangling his hands in your hair to expose the tender column of your throat. “Nothing to say?”

Your only answer was a desperate whine as he spread hot-open mouthed kisses down the soft skin of your neck all the way to your collarbone.

Now was not the time for patience. He would be tender with you later. You absolutely deserved soft sweet caresses and slow leisurely love making and he was absolutely going to give them to you—every day if you’d let him. 

But not today. 

The minute his mouth encountered the barrier of your dress, he gripped onto the sides and yanked it down to your waist.

“You knew just what you were doing in the back of that limo, you little brat,” he hissed, taking one swollen nipple into his mouth and tormenting it with his tongue.

“Tae-ahhh!” Your back arched involuntarily in ruthless pleasure. 

“I spent hours—days even—wanting to get my hands on these perfect tits.” He licked the other nipple obscenely, squeezing the soft mound till it bulged through his fingers. “And you offered me the barest taste with that coy little grin, knowing it wouldn’t be enough—” 

He reared back and landed a firm slap on both breasts and you screamed.

It was so so good. 

“Look at them now,” he murmured, “so swollen and needy and mine.”

If any other man had said those words, you would have cut his heart out with a butter knife. 

But you had always belonged to this man body and soul, and to hear him acknowledge it so primitively felt like the sweetest vindication. 

“Yes!” you sobbed.

The affirmation only inflamed him further. He teased and fondled the tender flesh till you were shaking.

Your fingers curled into the soft waves of his hair as he indulged himself. He looked so ridiculously good sucking your nipple, moaning lewdly with his eyes pressed shut in cathartic bliss. 

“This is all your fault, Angel,” he groaned. “You just don’t know how to behave.”

His hands gripped the curve of your backside, lifting you right off the floor and into his arms. Your mouths fused together heatedly as he carried you to the bed, and you giggled against him when his words finally processed. 

“You’ve been saying that for years.” 

“It’s been true for years,” he muttered, pulling one of your legs up around him so he could grind against your cunt while you kissed. 

Your fingers tugged at the buttons of his shirt, tearing them off when they didn’t unhook fast enough. You waited too long to be with him like this to care about anything other than the feel of his skin against your own.

“Impatient, are we?” he chuckled, bringing his lips around to nip at your ear. 

“You’re one to talk,” you shot back, yanking the ruined garment right off his shoulder just so you could sink your teeth into it. 

Taehyung moaned loudly, snapping his hips against yours with an involuntary jerk.

“You really are such a brat,” he hissed, fisting his hands in the satin length of your skirt. “Let’s see how fierce you are with my tongue in your pussy—”

His words were so filthy and raw, yet they stoked a frenzied need in your belly like nothing you had ever encountered. 

“This dress is evil,” he snarled, fumbling with the zipper for a moment before switching to a more destructive tactic. “It has tormented me all night and now it’s in my way.”

The stitching proved no match for his resolve, and—after a few vigorous tugs—he ripped it apart from the slit on up, leaving you covered in nothing but the thin cotton underwear he had breached earlier that evening. 

After disposing of your shredded gown, Taehyung paused for a moment just to take in the sight of you. 

“What a perfect little angel,” he taunted playfully, snapping the band of your lingerie against your hips with a cocky grin. 

Then he brushed his nose right up against the sopping fabric and inhaled deeply. “You smell just like heaven,” he growled before licking you right through the cloth, “and you taste even better.”

The sensations twisting through your body were merciless. You needed more or you were going to shake apart. 

“Taehyung please,” you whined, pressing against him shamelessly.

“Oh a please?” he chuckled, throwing your own words from the first night back at you. “Who knew you had manners?”

You would have screamed in frustration, but he cut you off with an open mouthed kiss right over the wettest part of your panties.

“Perhaps I can make a good girl of you yet,” he chuckled, as you opened yourself wider to encourage him. 

You nodded frantically, letting out another moan when he yanked the flimsy little scrap of lace down your legs—smearing a line of arousal over your thighs.

“So messy,” he tsked, tapping his finger right above your knee where the naughty little streak ended. “What am I going to do with you?” 

Then he pressed his tongue over the shiny trail of slick and licked it right off. 

You gasped loudly and his lascivious smirk was almost beautiful enough to make up for all of the shameless teasing. 

Almost. 

"You want my mouth, pretty Angel?” he whispered, letting the words brush maddeningly against your folds. “You want me to feed on this sweet little cunt?”

Every cell in your body cried out for release. He already edged you under the table at dinner and now he was determined to unravel you entirely. You would say anything—do anything. 

"Please—" you whispered.

"Please who?" 

Normally you met his arrogance with a cutting riposte, but an entire evening of methodical torment had left you beyond desperate. 

"Please Taehyung,” you begged needily. 

He grinned. 

“That’s right, Angel. Kim Taehyung. Not Min Yoongi or any other pathetic trust fund prick that’s panting for a taste of this pussy.” His eyes fastened on yours significantly. “You belong to me.”

Then his tongue licked a flat stripe over your glistening slit and you sagged onto the bed in relief—only to be thrown back into oblivion when his lips closed over your clit. 

Your body arched involuntarily as a ruthless wave of pleasure tore through you. Your eyes and mouth flew open in a silent scream and it was in that moment you remembered exactly where you were. 

Underneath a giant mirror. 

The passionate woman staring down at you was nearly unrecognizable. Her body was littered with her lover’s marks. Her hands gripped feverishly into the sheets beneath her—-

And Kim Taehyung was kneeling between her thighs, suckling on her weeping cunt with obscene satisfaction. 

It was the sexiest thing you had ever seen in your life. 

Your hands reached down to tangle in his hair, using it for leverage as you ground against his face. 

Then suddenly his grip on your legs tightened and his tongue plunged roughly into your trembling core. 

“Tae—ahh oh my—I can’t—”

The sensation was so intense that your hips bucked violently. You could not keep still. You were charging towards an explosion and your body was shaking itself apart. 

The noises tearing from you were incoherent. Everything around you focused in on the juncture of your thighs where Taehyung was licking inside of you again and again until—

You shattered. 

And the force of it nearly bent your back in half. 

Delirious sobs poured from your lips as he worked you through it, letting the obscene flood of your cum soak his face. 

The sight of him slowly lapping at the release between your folds, was unspeakably erotic. He ran his hands in soothing circles over your skin while you twitched and fluttered back down from your high. 

Then he was kissing you again. 

It was softer this time, but you felt truly depraved—and instantly obsessed—with the taste of yourself in his mouth—on his skin.

You could barely understand this ravenous hunger. You’d just found relief, yet you were already reaching for more. 

Your hands snaked down and wrapped around his still covered cock and he hissed in ragged pleasure. 

“So eager,” he gasped, as you pushed him back against the headboard—but you didn’t have time to bother with his teasing.

You were gonna blow Kim Taehyung into space. 

He bit his lip when you yanked down his pants and boxers together, freeing his arousal with stunning efficiency. 

It was almost unfair to discover that his cock was every bit as beautiful as he was.

“Of course,” you muttered. 

The sultry smirk he shot you in return had your cunt flooding all over again.

“You think Min Yoongi has a cock like mine?”

“I don’t think about Min Yoongi’s cock,” you retorted, wrapping your hand around his length, “you’ve always been the biggest dick I’ve ever met.” 

“I knew you thought about my dick,” he groaned as you began to work up and down the swollen shaft. 

After a moment, his hand slid over your chin to grip your hair, drawing you forward till your lips were almost touching. 

“I wonder what this pretty mouth can do,” he whispered. 

You gasped against him and he smiled. 

“Do you know how often I pictured your lips around my cock, Angel?”

You mewled shamelessly and he growled, cupping your cheek as your hands continued to service him. 

“Do you know how often I imagined this perfect throat stuffed full of my cum?” 

His palm slid down to lightly grip the soft flesh of your neck and you shuddered against him with a needy whimper. 

“I know you could suck me so good, Angel. I’ve wanted it for so so long...”

Your mouth actually watered with anticipation. 

The desire to be good for him—to give him whatever he asked for—consumed you. 

Taehyung let his head fall back against the headboard with a groan at the first brush of your lips along his shaft. His hips rutted involuntarily as your tongue wrapped around the tip and you hummed with pleasure at his enthusiastic response. 

After a moment you slid him into the welcoming heat of your mouth, taking him in as far as you could in one stroke. His jaw dropped open and his entire body jerked forward. 

“Yes, that’s it, Angel—feels so good.”

His praise was addictive. 

You loved that you could bring him to this. You loved to see the haughty Kim Taehyung coming apart as you sucked him. 

It made you feel beautiful—powerful even—and you reveled in every second of it. 

Your eyes were starting to tear. His length began to throb and pulse against your tongue and you knew he was close—so close you could almost taste him—

Yet suddenly he was pulling you back and you whined pitifully at the loss. 

Taehyung chuckled, dragging you toward him till your dripping core slid across his cock.

“I’m not coming before I get inside that pretty little pussy,” he swore, working your hips over his sex till it was drenched in arousal. 

The crass words filled you with the fiercest, most incredible want and you clenched reflexively against him in response. 

“Is that what you want?” Taehyung whispered as he bore you back into the mattress, pinning both your wrists above your head. “You want me to fill your empty little cunt?”

You did. 

You wanted it so so bad. 

“Please.”

Taehyung gently lowered himself closer to you, resting his forehead intimately against yours as he lined up his cock at your entrance. 

“Are you sure, Angel? Because there’s no going back after this... If you give yourself to me, then you’re mine—and I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep you.”

“Taehyung, you idiot,”—a tender smile spread over your face as you wrapped your arms around his neck—“... I’ve always been yours.”

He swore violently—letting the slight tremble in his voice betray just how deeply your words affected him. 

Then his fingers tightened on the soft flesh of your hip and he filled you to the hilt with one delicious thrust. 

There was a moment—the smallest space in time—where your eyes locked together and everything seemed to suspend; a strange perfect calm before a monumental storm. 

Then your world caught fire. 

Taehyung drove himself into you with passionate fury, letting years of denial fuel the insatiable rhythm of his strokes. 

Every time he told himself no. Every time he held himself back—

Every bit of it burned away as you screamed his name. 

The feel of him was indescribable. 

You imagined it too many times to count, yet your dreams fell pitifully short of the visceral reality. 

He was bloomin’ magnificent. 

Your fingers clawed up and down his back, desperate to hold on to something while he pounded into your g-spot like an animal. 

“This tiny cunt is the tightest thing I’ve ever had around my cock,” he gasped and you whined needily at his praise. “Like it was made for me—” his hand came up to grip your breast, “like you were made for me.”

“Yes—”

Taehyung’s need seemed to amplify with every whimper and moan that fell from your lips. The feelings you sparked in him were fierce and unapologetically primitive.

He would go to war for you—build a fortress for you—fight a dragon if one dared come close. 

You were his. 

And he felt like a savage every time you cried out for more. 

Suddenly an unexpected movement in his periphery caught his attention.

He’d been so consumed with the extraordinary rush of claiming you that he’d forgotten—

This guest room was thirty-five percent mirrors. 

And now… he couldn’t look away. 

The sight of your bodies tangling together in headless bliss played out before him like a scene from his most debauched and forbidden fantasies. His reflection grinned back at him in fascinated ecstasy while his beloved nemesis lost herself in the pleasure of his cock.

Something dark and wild began to burn in his chest as he studied the lovers in the glass. 

“Look at you, Angel,” he whispered softly, “you really are perfect.”

Then he pulled out of your core and you whined bitterly in protest, chasing his body to rid yourself of the sudden unacceptable emptiness. 

“Still so needy,” he taunted, gripping your hips and flipping you on your stomach before you could even think to protest.

“I want you to watch that pretty angel in the mirror come on my cock,” he groaned, plunging back into you from behind. 

The new angle was somehow impossibly deeper and your body shook as another wave of pleasure overtook it. 

Your fingers clawed into the mattress for purchase as he pistoned into your trembling mound. 

Only Kim Taehyung could rail you like a whore while he worshiped you like a queen. 

He gave you a moment to adjust before drawing your body back against his chest. His arm wrapped over your stomach as he slowly eased your legs apart, unfolding the lewd tableau of your bodies joined together for the voyeuristic gaze of the glass.   

“Look at yourself, Angel,” he growled, mesmerized by the way your breasts bounced with every thrust. “Look at how well you're taking me.” 

Then his fingers slid down to rub your clit and you screamed. 

“Tae! Ah-ahh!”

The pleasure building within you now was violent. You were coiling too tightly, too fast—

“That’s right Angel. Take it all.”

Your eyes locked with his in the mirror for the briefest instant.

And then you flew apart. 

Taehyung threw his head back with a carnal moan as you clamped down around him. His body was hurtling toward its own release with reckless speed. 

“I’m close,” he panted, “where can I come?”

“Come inside me please,” you begged, and Taehyung’s eyes widened in frenzied lust. 

“That’s what you want? Huh?” his thrusts became rougher as he chased his relief, “You want me to fill this puffy little pussy with my cum?”

“Yes, I want it so bad—“ you sobbed. 

“Sweet Angel,” he groaned, gripping at your breasts as he pulled you tighter against him. 

Then he met your gaze in the mirror again. 

“I want everything with you; a home—a family—your body in my arms every morning when I wake up—” his voice trembled, “I want it all.” 

The raw vulnerability in his eyes nearly broke you.

“Tae,” you gasped softly, too overcome with joy to manage anything else. 

His mouth pressed hungrily against the curve of your shoulder. You could feel his cock throbbing in your core as he bent you forward, pounding into your sex with exquisite precision. 

"Stay with me, Angel,” he whispered. His thrusts became erratic as he neared his high. “I don’t want to live without you anymore.”

The glorious thrill of his words tore over your senses with euphoric brutality. Your walls tightened greedily around his cock and the taunt cord of pleasure finally snapped. 

He came with a broken groan, flooding the welcoming heat of your womb with his release. 

“KIM TAEHYUNG!”

The sound of his name being shouted by the absolute last person in the world whose voice he wanted to hear woke Taehyung from a dead sleep.  

His eyes widened in panic as he began yanking pillows and covers from all over the bed in a frenzied attempt to hide—

The doors to his bedroom flew open with a resounding crash. 

“Jimin,” he squeaked, trying to look as casual as possible next to a giant pile of bedding. “What uh—what brings you here at—” his eyes darted to the clock on the wall, “—7:30 in the morning?”

Then he frowned. 

“And how the hell did you get past Jungkook?”

Jimin’s murderous expression broke momentarily to allow for a smug grin. 

“Kendra.”

Kendra Jackson was Jimin’s executive aide. She was fierce, capable, intelligent—

And insanely gorgeous. 

Taehyung groaned. 

Poor Jungkookie never stood a chance. 

To the surprise of absolutely no one, yet another newspaper landed on Taehyung’s lap.

KIM HEIR BRINGS NAUGHTY ANGEL HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Underneath the headline was a picture of you and Taehyung (dressed in clothes you stole from Jin’s childhood bedroom) kissing passionately against the side entrance of the Governor’s mansion. 

One of your legs was wrapped around his waist and he was clearly grabbing your ass. 

“Ah… well you see the camera distorts everything from this angle—and-and the lighting is bad so it’s not really what it looks like—”

“Is that so? Cause it looks like you’ve got your tongue down my baby sister’s throat!”

“Okay—okay,” Taehyung massaged his forehead nervously, “so maybe it’s sort of what it looks like but—”

“I’ll kill you.”

“No wait—” he held up his hands to delay an already advancing Jimin. 

“Why should I wait?!”

“Because—”

“—I trusted you with the most important person in the world to me—”

“The situation is just not that simple.” 

“—and you grabbed her ass in public!”

“Admittedly not my finest hour.”

“So you tell me right now—”

“But you don’t understand it’s—”

“—Why the hell would I wait?!”

“BECAUSE I’M IN LOVE WITH HER!”

For a moment there was absolute silence. 

Then your head popped out from the massive pile of bedding. 

“Really?”

Jimin’s mouth fell open. 

Taehyung groaned again. 

“As usual, your timing is impeccable.”

You rolled your eyes, ignoring his comment.

“Are you really in love with me?”

“Of course I’m in love with you! What part of I want you to have my children did you not understand?!” 

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Jimin choked. 

“That’s not the same thing!”

“It is for me!”

A radiant smile lit up your face. 

“I’m in love with you too.”

Taehyung’s expression softened. 

“Angel I—”

Then you were kissing and Jimin swung around with a horrified shout.

“Oh! No no no—Come on!”

He stumbled out of the room, hands firmly clamped over his eyes. 

“This is not over, Kim Taehyung!” the scandalized young Park heir howled in exasperation… but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 

Back in the bedroom, Taehyung shook his head at Jimin’s ridiculous caterwauling. 

“No, it’s not over,” he laughed, pulling you deeper into the comfort of his arms. “It’s only just begun.”

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story. 

This baby took FOR-EVER to write. I started it in November and literally worked on it a little every day. 

If you enjoyed it— even just a tiny bit—please consider taking a moment to leave me some feedback. It is so incredibly uplifting and rewarding to hear reader thoughts and reactions to my work.

I promise to treasure every word like gold. It took a lot to bring this story to life. Your kind words would mean the world to me.