#hobi likes that hat huh

[thatgoddamngingerundercut]

Agust D - Daechwita MV Shoot Sketch

[the-kr8tor]

Hi! I hope you're well! I've got a bit of a request (maybe? idk can be whatever u want it to be:D) So- R recently has had their wisdom tooth removed, and I think you've seen how people get so loopy afterwards. I think it'd be hilarious writing Hobie trying to keep a straight face and talk to R rambling on about some random things in the most serious manner he can muster lol

Thank you for requesting! Muah 😘 ❤️

Pairing: Hobie Brown x fem! Reader/ Spider-Punk x fem! Reader

Tags: No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader, TW blood, Fluff.

ʕ⁠·⁠ᴥ⁠·⁠ʔ

Hobie's nervous for no reason, he knows you're alright behind the tooth shaped door but the sound of the drill’s muffled whirring has his spidey senses going haywire. He thinks it's the weird smell of the dentist's office and the stark white of the walls that adds to his anxiety. His leg nervously bounces to the beat of the crappy music that the dentist's assistant keeps playing on loop (torturing him basically.)

He kneads at his temple to get the scraping sound out of his ears, due to his enhanced senses that includes super hearing, he can hear every pull and tug of your tooth, unfortunately. But he thinks you have it worse since you're the one who feels every tug and pull. Or maybe he just hates it when you get hurt, especially if he can't help you or even see you. He curses the tooth shaped door for hiding you from his view. Seriously, who makes a door shaped like that?

With a sigh, the toothy door finally opens, and out you roll out of it in a squeaky wheelchair. Hobie stands up lightning quick to get to your side. The dentist smiles at him with her perfect teeth, hands guiding you out of the sterile room.

“She’s good, don't worry.” The dentist senses Hobie's worry, or she just sees it etched on his face. “Your girl's a bit loopy because of the meds but it'll wear off in a few minutes.”

Hobie kneels down to face you. He almost laughs loudly at your swollen cheek that makes you look like a squirrel that's hiding its nuts inside its mouth. He rubs your knee softly to wake your foggy self based on how glossy your eyes are. Drool drips from the cotton in your mouth and he swears he almost loses it right there and then.

“Hi, love, ready to come home?” Hobie smiles softly like he usually does when he finds you endearing. Despite all the bloody saliva dripping out of your mouth.

“Hat?” You ask, voice murmured by the cotton. Hobie guesses you said ‘what?’ instead of asking for his invisible hat.

Raising your hand to his face, you give him a good pat on his cheek, you then let out a giggle that sounded more like a cackle. It all makes him raise an eyebrow.

“You gave her the good stuff huh, doc?” He asks, never leaving his eyes off your disoriented self.

The dentist chuckles, “just give her paracetamol for the pain and don't let her eat or drink anything for an hour or two if she can help it.”

“Thanks, doc.” Hobie gives her a polite smile while standing back up to his feet. “Ready to walk with me?”

You narrow your eyes at him, eyebrows knitted, hands balling at your soft pants. You dressed for the occasion, or rather, dressed down for it. You had the foresight to know that you'll be bleeding all over your clothes right after. Like how you are right now with one of Hobie's old band shirts. He clearly doesn't mind since he owns a hundred like them. But he won't miss the opportunity to tease you about it once you're sober and well awake.

You look at him like he told you the copper you gave him is in a poor state. “I hab boyfriend.”

“I know you do, it's me.” He sees the dentist crack a smile. “Get up, love, you'll kick my arse if we miss your episode.”

“Episode?” You once again ask with wonderment.

“Yeah, that dragon show you like so much. Up you go.”

“Dragons?!” Your voice echoes out in the room, like he just told you dragons are real. You stand up quicker than he thought you could. “Really?” Your question cements what he thinks. “They're dragons right? Not wyverns, they're different creatures y’know.” He tamps down a laugh.

Holding you by your biceps, Hobie flicks his eyes behind you and over to the dentist who just shrugs with a grin. “Her tooth was stubborn. Sorry, I could've given her the lighter stuff but she would've felt it.”

“That's alright, doc, this is how she usually is.” He jokes, which you chortle at. Well at least you recognize humour amidst the fog of whatever concoction the dentist gave you. “Thanks again.” He waves goodbye whilst he guides you out of the clinic.

“Why are you so pretty?” You look at him with sparkling eyes like you're about to cry from his sheer beauty. Tapping his chin, cheek squished against his shoulder, you don't look at where you're walking as you continue to admire him in the sun. “So p-pretty…like a-an angel.”

Hobie does all the walking for you, his arms are looped around your waist, effortlessly lifting you off the pavement. The tips of your shoes grazes the concrete as you squish his cheeks in your hand, making him pout from your cuteness overload.

“An angel? Just last night you called me a dick for eating your mango.” How could he know you were trying to save it inside the fridge?

You giggle, “mmm, mango.”

“I'll buy you a hundred more if you continue to dote on me.” You two finally make it to the van, he thanks his abilities for not getting winded out by the trek.

You lean back dramatically, making Hobie catch you in his arms. You both look like a cover from a romance novel.

“I can't! I have a boyfriend.” You say with your whole heart, and as serious as you can with your mouth full of cotton.

“Fuckin' hell.” He laughs, lifting you back up before someone in the street sees. “I'll buy you some ice cream if you get in the car. Mango or chocolate flavour?”

“I will,” you poke his chest, “not be,” poke “bribed by you–you stranger!” You poke him several times.

Hobie catches your finger mid poke. Leaning closer to your face, he smells the iron from your mouth. You sniff, moving your head away from him with a pout.

“Love,” he says sweetly, catching the back of your head before it falls further back. Laying his forehead against yours, he gives you a minute to recognize him from his warmth alone. He'd give you forever if he can. Holding your hand, he raises it to his chest, letting you feel the familiar thump of his heart. He remembers that you do it whenever he gets home from patrol. “It's me, yeah?”

Hobie doesn't realize the tears brimming in your eyes. He stands up straight at the sound of your quiet sobbing.

“We're gonna miss the dragons.” Fat tears roll down your cheeks, the cotton in your mouth threatens to fall out as you weep in the parking lot with him trying his best to wipe the tears while he coos softly at you.

Hobie definitely has his work cut out for him, now to get you home without crying about dragons or acting like he's kidnapping you. Yet, he'd gladly do it all over again if it's you.

[kookieswan]

Of Blooms & Bounties - Petunia

Pirate!Jungkook x Explorer!Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Genre: Pirate!AU, Magic!AU, Semi-Historical!AU, slightly fluffy, very silly.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, mentions of prostitution, nothing too serious though!

Summary: Namjoon had wanted the gold, Jimin had wanted the fun, and Jungkook had wanted to lay low. All in all, you’d say that two out of three were successful.

Notes: Here we go, another look into their shenanigans lmao

This is from the Of Blooms & Bounties Series. Find it here!

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

“It’s a super simple but very effective plan; Minnie is going to pretend to be Petunia while Tae, Hobi, Jin, and Yoon escort him back to the boat so we can take him home. _____, JK, and myself are going to stay here to make sure nothing tips them off. Pose as customers at the tavern and keep a lookout for Minnie…”

And lookout you do; both you and Joon sitting in the corner of the tavern, eyes scanning the area for the bandits that have purchased Petunias time. It wouldn’t have been as big of a quest to return him home if the man wasn’t expecting customers at almost every hour, but apparently his services are a hot commodity and his boss is… Demanding, which means your options are very slim. The poor man wants wants to to be home with his family again, and since they paid you nicely, it’s the least you can do to help.

“Everything’s going to go to plan, we have the perfect set up.” Namjoon’s dressed down a bit, lacking his usual hat and numerous layers of clothes for a more simple shirt and pants combo. You’re wearing something similar to blend into the background, not wanting to stand out all that much. You don’t think you’ll be found out anyway, not with how intense the partying is tonight.

“I know it will Joon, I’m not worried.” The tavern’s in full swing, a large crowed covering most of the floor space and seemingly very drunk. Other pirates mostly, some prostitutes, even a few performers. The bards play music over the roaring crowed, fun songs you wiggle in your seat to, wishing you could get up and dance.

Min sits idly at the bar, legs daintily crossed in his finest leather pants. He looks dangerous but in the best of ways, his charms drawing in a number of patrons around the shady tavern. He dones a billowy white shirt as well as high laced leather boots, coal around his eyes and red on his lips, the exact look Petunia told his customers he’d be wearing. A little scandalous, a little saucy, a perfect trap.

Kookie had excused himself to hit the toilet a while ago, and so you scan the room to try and spot him in the chaos. It’s a few seconds before he stumbles around the corner, eyes doe like and head swiveling to watch out for your target. It’s a passing thought that he looks pretty, the true flower in your group as he spots you and smiles with his pretty bunny smile as he speeds toward the table.

“Oh, I think this little daffodil is the company we purchased.” You’re so focused on him that you miss the new faces; Jungkook is almost back to the table as he’s stopped, a small hand wrapped around his wrist. He looks down at the small woman as her voice booms out over the patrons, two more women that aren’t much taller by her side. Kookie dwarfs them by quite a bit, tall defined muscles towering over them like a shaking tree. You and Joon both tense, ready to fight this out if things go south.

“I- Huh? Me!?” His voice is frantic but quiet enough you almost miss it. You suppose they’re wearing somewhat similar outfits, but Jungkook has certainly never worn skintight leather pants in his life like Jimin. Trying to hide your giggles as you settle a bit, you swig down your beer and pretend not to notice Namjoon’s bugging eyes. Min watches from across the tavern with wide eyes, lips twitching up and down, clearly not sensing any danger.

“Yes you beautiful, you’re exceptionally stunning. Look at that tiny little waist under that pretty little shirt, I could just eat you up.” Well, things certainly aren’t going as planned… They’re going better. The woman places her hand on Jungkook’s chest, slowly trailing a finger down until she reaches the low-cut collar. It’s humorous how far she has to stretch her arm up, but you remain mostly quite as Namjoon gently pokes your leg, a code for ‘shut up’. Jungkook looks like he’s about to pass out: from the implication of him being a prostitute or from being touched so boldly, you’re not sure.

“Um, yes. Yes that’s right, I-I’m Petunia.” Even with the taverns light being dim, you can still see the pink hue that lights up Jungkook’s cheeks as you glance at him, maybe a little shy but also a little flattered. It’s enough to make you coo to yourself, Namjoon’s slowly lowering his forehead till his face is planted firmly against the table. Your poor captains plans just don’t seem to be owning our recently, a true pity but also a secret blessing. Seeing JK flustered is always a little treat, it makes you wanna melt into a puddle.

“Give us a little dance sweetheart, I’ve heard the way your hips move casts shame on the sea herself.” It’s tense as Namjoon raises his head just enough to watch, Jimin staring with intensity from the bar now. Jungkook clears his throat noisily a few times, then slowly starts to sway his hips to the tune of the bards song.

Perhaps he tends to be a little awkward, maybe a smidge outspoken, but he’s always been stunning. A captivating personality, a beautiful face, and now apparently hips that might be able to rival Jimin’s. The poet sways to the music almost sensually as the women cheer him on, rowdy as the sit at the table relatively close to yours, drinks in hand and eyes shining with glee. There’s a shout for him to “take it off”, and strangely enough, he starts to slip out of his shirt without a second though. Hm.

Glancing over at Jimin with a raised brow, he purses his lips and shrugs, clearly enjoying the show as Jungkook finally trips over his own feet. The crew of women don’t seem to mind though, cheering him on in their drunken state. Namjoon sighs noisily to your right, face defeated as he starts to stand up. It’s an unspoken rule; all damage control is in the hands of the captain.

“… I can’t believe it’s come to this, you all are very lucky I’m a nice captain. Slip out when you can _____, I’m sure Minnie will stick around as a watch out.” Apparently the charade has been going on much too long by Joonie’s standards when in reality, Jimin was supposed to lead them into the alleyway and knock them out. This, however, had been much more fun to watch. You continue to watch with an slightly open mouth as Namjoon swaggers up to Jungkook as he sways around with his shirt now mostly off, hands on his hips. He taps the younger man’s shoulder, Kookie turning and freezing like he’s been spotted by a walbear.

“Petunia! How COULD you!?!?” Namjoons voice is shrill over the music, some people turning to stare, others not caring at all. It takes everything in you not to cackle, and so you down the rest of your beer to keep quiet. If you thought Kookies acting was bad, well…

“W-what?” JK looks like he’s nearly about to cry, eyes big and watery as he stares up at Joonie. You can’t see the other man’s face, but something must silently cross between them because Kookie noticeably relaxes in the next few seconds.

“I can’t believe you’re dancing for other people again, you-you harlot! That’s it! I’m taking you home to our eight children!” … Eight? That’s quite a lot. Namjoon actually picks up poor Jungkook and runs out of the building with the smaller man over his shoulder, the three women who bought his time gaping like little fishies. Things could have went a lot worse if they weren’t such a lighthearted and very drunk crew…

Standing slowly from the table, you notice Jimin had departed from the bar at some point, now standing close to the entrance and watching you with expectant eyes. Grabbing your duster, you walk past the women and hide your grin as they mourn the loss of Petunia quite loudly. Jimin ushers you out of the tavern, leading you to the alleyway behind it where the two other men are waiting.

“Woooow JK, that was quite the performance love. Outshined me in every way.” Jungkook starts to sputter and hides his face as Jimin laughs at him, not cruelly but with clear intention to tease. Namjoon just sighs and pats the youngest man’s back, trying to comfort him as he attempts to get over the loss of his own dignity. You silently grab JKs hand, rubbing your thumb against his warm honey skin comfortingly as he glances at you with a shy smile.

“…The things I put up with for some gold. I’m about to walk my own planm”

[brokenhardies]

The Butterfly Effect p4 drabble? draft? w/e?

Under the cut is a small test run of TBE's 'prequel' story, written from the perspective of Fool!Naoto (he/him). Featured in this prologue are Fool!Naoto, Hierophant!Eri, Justice!Yuuta and Aeon!Yu. Word Count: 714

@latenitewaffles, @inkwell1013, @mushroomfusion245 @rollthedice-playthecards @thehedgehogat221b @sterling-writes @wonderguards @hobie-doh

Naoto Shirogane didn’t like trains that much. The long ride from Sendai down to Yasoinaba bored him immensely - the only thing he could do was scroll through his phone and listen to gossip about a local member who was having an alleged affair with a news reporter. He frowned, he wasn’t even sure where he was going, but was surprised when he’d received a text from the woman who would be taking care of him - at least, until his grandfather recovered;

Eri: Yuu-kun and I are waiting outside Yasoinaba Station

Eri: Text me when you arrive, okay?

Naoto: I’m on my way - I think it’ll take about 15 minutes

Eri: All right then! See you!

The train pulled into Yasoinaba Station, and Naoto sighed. He was here for a new beginning, that was what it was. A new beginning that had been met with awkward silence from his classmates at Sendai High - after all, he’d only just arrived there in his first year when suddenly, his grandfather’s illness got worse. At the end of March, he was taken out of Sendai and moved to a ‘family friend’ - Eri Minami, a woman who had been close to Naoto’s mother.

She’d also been forcibly moved from the city - following a divorce from her husband - alongside her son Yuuta - the Yuu-kun that she referenced in the text. So, she could relate to Naoto’s struggles moving from a big city to a small town. Naoto’s train of thought delayed somewhat as he left the train, with nothing but a small bag of luggage, with clothes and important items. He placed his hat back on, and sighed as he looked in his reflection in the windows of the train that was leaving.

It was strange, actually going to a place that recognised his gender… But it would work, after all, new beginnings and all that. He left the stairs at Yasoinaba Station, and was immediately greeted by his new legal guardian.

“Good morning, Nao-kun!”

Eri Minami was a tall, slim woman. She was probably in her mid-30s, Naoto assumed. She had wavy brown hair tied into a low bun, fair olive skin, and wore a simple, pale pink undershirt tucked into a pair of burgundy trousers, paired with a pair of magenta-coloured slippers. Over her undershirt was a matching burgundy peacock coat, stitched together with a deep purple ribbon. Naoto waved at her, picking up his luggage with a muted apology.

“How was the trip?” She asked, “It’s quite hard travelling such a long distance. I’m Eri Minami, by the way, but I think you already understand that.”

“It’s nice to meet you in person, Minami-san.”

Eri laughed. “Please, no need to be so formal! We’ll basically be family for the next year.”

Naoto noticed that standing awkwardly beside her was a brown haired boy, who appeared to be about 5 or 6 years old at most. The boy hid behind Eri’s pant leg, looking down awkwardly. Eri smiled.

“Yuuta, this is Naoto,” She greeted, “Naoto, Yuuta. You’ll basically be brothers for this year.”

“Wow, must be weird hearing that for the first time, huh?” She grinned. “Don’t worry, I got the information from your grandfather before you arrived here. It might be a struggle to get binders, but you can always ask someone to make them, I guess?”

Naoto nodded. It did seem quite difficult, but Eri seemed to be helpful. She began to walk off to her car, Yuuta in tow, and Naoto was about to follow them, noticing an individual who was walking up to the station — a tall, tan skinned young man, with a grey bowlcut, wearing a black jacket over a grey turtleneck, matching grey pants, a pair of bright yellow headphones around his neck and yellow sneakers.

As Naoto was about to leave, he heard the young man call out.

“Hey.” He said, as Naoto faced him. “Is this yours? You dropped it.”

The young man walked over with a small sheet of paper, which Naoto recognised as his handwritten version of Eri’s address. He paused, blinking.

“Thanks?” He said, as the young man nodded.

“I’ll see you around, stranger.” The young man said, walking off.

Naoto paused. What a strange encounter. It seemed like this would be normal for Yasoinaba going forward…

[sugalaritae]

Oooohhhh Griddle!!!!

Random question: if you had to cast all 7 guys in Titanic, who would they be?

And you CANNOT make Tae Jack!

LUCE!!!

ok ok ok but like who said i was going to cast tae as jack?! huh??! you know me that well??

(you do)

it's been a decade or two since i've seen titanic but here's my casting (oh and you bet your fine ass that i'm genderbending the characters and queering this the fuck up):

oh, before i do this i would like to take a moment and recognize the douchebaggery and asshole status of both james cameron and billy zane.

now, really onto the casting...

kim seokjin as captain thomas andrews - look, we have the evidence that he looks good in that getup (see folio) and that is what i'm using for proof of this casting choice. i also think that he would be a good captain and go down with his ship.

jung hoseok as margaret "the unsinkable molly" brown - the personalities are there. she was apparently very kind and nice to people. many uptight jerks people thought she was "too much" just like i know people feel about hobi's laugh. another reason is because they both look(ed) fucking good in fancy clothes.

kim namjoon as brock lovett (bill paxton's character) because they both have the same sort of interest in art and history and i can't remember any sort of character that namjoon would be ON the titanic.

min yoongi as tommy ryan the lovely irishman that befriends jack and rose. both of them look good in hats, ok?

jeon jungkook as jack's best friend fabrizio. supportive boy who is quiet and goes with the flow and follows his friends everywhere? that's jjk baby.

park jimin as jack!! i don't have much of a reason except that i can see it.

kim taehyung as rose. he'd look great in that dress!

[willowfey]

sometimes i think wow i’m insecure and then i see a post like “getting in bed to sleep at night is so embarrassing” or i see a tiktok that’s like “outfits i love but i’m too insecure to wear” and it’s like. a tshirt tucked into jeans. and i’m like oh huh i guess i’m pretty confident after all ok

[jungkook97]

why didn’t you wait for me? ;; jjk

pairing + characters: jungkook x female reader, taehyung and hobi word count: 10k ⭐️  rating: 17+ (for cursing mostly)

genre/warnings: childhood best friends turned strangers to enemies (!) to lovers, non idol!au, ANGST ANGST ANGST, the classic “jungkook was a nerd turned hot fuckboy” trope, some fighting and very loud confessions and lots of guilt and misunderstandings like oh my god poor jungkook :(

summary: y/n attends a wedding in hawaii with her old high school buddy taehyung for a much needed reunion. little did she realize that the last person she wanted to see would end up attending.

notes: read @taegularities’ stars behind waves and i felt very inspired! there’s no smut in this bc i suck at writing it so read that instead if you want them to fawk. 😗

© jungkook97 2022. do not repost or modify. please ask for permission to translate.

All you can do is glare at your best friend at this point. 

“Damn, it’s been a minute huh, Taehyung?” he greeted your best friend with a neck-breaking embrace. You gritted your teeth together with your arms crossed tightly, unwilling to stand up to say hello to one of the unexpected plus ones to this dinner date. 

You should’ve known, really. After all, one of your guys’ high school friends was getting married this weekend on the picturesque but tourist trap of an island Oahu and it was only a matter of time that your least favorite person would end up being here too. 

At least, Jeon Jungkook wasn’t your least favorite person forever. He was, at one point, something to you. 

Not anymore.

Taehyung licked his lips nervously as he slowly let go of one of his former water polo mates, laughing nervously while you cleared your throat loudly and obnoxiously as possible. 

You stood up slowly, completely ignoring Jungkook to give Hoseok, the other plus one, a big bear hug. You could feel his dark eyes boring into your back, but you didn’t care. You almost wanted him to be bothered. After all, he was the asshole, not you.

“Ah, it’s been a year or two for us, huh?” Hoseok beamed his infectious smile at you. He had a baby blue bucket hat on with a white tee, cargo shorts, and of course, his trusted mini shoulder bag adorned with all kinds of bright colors and toys. It fit the Hawaiian vibe, which is unsurprising due to his fashionista status.

Jung Hoseok, the popular street dancer senior who took you to prom when nobody wanted to go with you, was elated to see you, as you had been catching up with him for years after graduation. In fact, you still kept up with everybody in that little crew that Taehyung was a part of, seeing them from time to time in fun little dinners and weekend getaways. It was always a joy to see Bangtan in pairs and trios, but even then, you didn’t see a certain someone in these hangouts. Actually, Jungkook was the only one you haven’t seen since your senior year of undergrad and for a good reason.

“It has,” you grinned widely, rubbing his shoulders as he gripped you tightly, patting you on the back. “It’s so nice to see you as always,” you emphasized the last word, making sure Jungkook heard you loud and clear. Unsurprisingly, he did, prompting him to smack his lips and hands together.

“Why don’t we sit down and catch up, yeah?” he suggested, trying to meet eyes with you as you pulled away from Hoseok and turned toward his direction. 

“Yeah,” you said nonchalantly, your right hand reaching for the chair to sit right down, unwilling to give what the man wanted. You could sense Jungkook stiffening up for a millisecond before brushing it off, sitting right in front of you because of course he would. Three years of radio silence or even a small cameo in your life and now he wanted to be front and center so you can notice him.

You sat directly next to Taehyung, who heaved a sigh at the sight of you two still not speaking to one another. Grabbing the cooled apothecary glass bottle from the table, he began pouring the sparkling water amongst the group evenly.

“Look, I know you guys aren’t really on the best of terms per se—” 

“‘Best of terms’ is a very mild way of saying it,” you interrupted, taking your filled glass immediately to your lips, finally meeting eyes with him. 

There he was, sitting there staring at you back. He mostly grew out of his baby features from the last time you saw him, developing an incredibly sharp jawline and his nose no longer a prominent feature of his face. He gathered a few piercings since you last saw each other, and his black tee draped over his broad shoulders just enough to make him look much larger than before. A singular silver dog tag necklace dangled from his neck as he pulled his right arm up to rub his neck, revealing an entire tattoo sleeve that probably took weeks to complete.

Frankly, the man looked like he quite literally leaned into his fuckboy image much to your dismay. You still remembered that big doe-eyed little kid from years ago who couldn’t say a single word to pretty women without stumbling his words and would play Overwatch for hours, wearing the oversized white tee, blue jeans and Timberlands combo for months on end. He was a big dork from what you remember growing up, and the full 180 of an image was giving you whiplash and major disappointment. 

It only took one semester in undergrad and a dare from Jimin for him to join a fraternity when he grew up fast, dressed fashionably and started to gain a body count quickly. To this day, you still hated Jimin for that, despite him being your favorite party friend all during your college years and into young adulthood. It wasn’t that you wanted Jungkook to stay an innocent baby forever, but shit, did you really have to completely lose him to the frat boy club? It was like losing a parent. 

It wasn’t entirely Jimin’s fault though. After all, he wasn’t the one who abandoned you at your lowest point in your life.

Was it petty for you to be angry at him for this long? Perhaps. However, Jungkook didn’t help his case. It wasn’t just that he wasn’t there one time for you, he completely disappeared from your life with no explanation. Rather than spending late nights talking to Jungkook about your struggles of finding a job post graduation or healing from your four-year whirlwind of a committed relationship turned engagement turned absolute shit, you found solace in Taehyung instead. 

Rather, he was too busy with his new lifestyle, going to endless raves and getting shit-faced drunk with absolute strangers every spring break even after graduation. He became a much different person, an empty shell of who he was before. It irked you awfully knowing that, as you could never comprehend why anybody having that bright of a future just waste their time getting blasted and forgetting the entire world around them. It was selfish and immature, something you never thought would end up describing Jungkook in his early twenties. 

The only times you got updates on Jungkook was through the Bangtan men during your trips with them as they spoke about him in amusing anecdotes. You found out about his first big boy job, his first serious partner and eventual breakup, and a bunch of other milestones that you weren’t a part of.

Like it really mattered to you. He wasn’t there for your milestones either. Not that you had many besides graduation and a retracted marriage proposal. 

And so the four of you ate with not much fanfare or drama, exchanging funny stories with each other that had happened in the past year. You two didn’t say many words to one another, only acknowledging each other’s presence by a hum and a nod, directing your guys’ attention to Taehyung and Hoseok. You could still feel Jungkook’s eyes gazing at you from time to time to check your reactions to certain things. He was testing the waters, wary of when to speak, say something to you or even address anything for that matter.

As everyone departed from the cafe, Jungkook pulled his black raven hair back to put on his Louis Vuitton shades, extruding an effortless coolness to him. You rolled your eyes at it, following him. In a predictable chain of events, he slowed down his walking pace to match yours, walking side to side as Hoseok and Taehyung were a full ten steps ahead of you two. 

After a while, he finally broke the silence.

“You seem better these days.”

You scoffed. 

“Yeah, I had to figure that out without you, remember?”

Jungkook groaned, putting his hands on his hips as you two finally reached the grandiose hotel lobby.

“Are you really going to hold that over me forever? It’s been three years.”

“It’s not just three regular years, Kook,” you leaned in to push the elevator button. “My ex-fianceé cheated on me, got kicked out from my own place and lost a shit ton of friends, you being one of them.” 

You crossed your arms once more, looking up towards your former childhood best friend. He had pulled his sunglasses off and folded them on his collar, his expression dark and reminiscing on those lost three years. He stepped into the elevator with you after. It was empty with only the two of you in it. It was a long ride up as Taehyung booked the second biggest suite for the week. 

“I was busy,” he said simply. Those three simple words were incredibly loaded, harboring a kind of energy you couldn’t quite place. Anger? Resentment? Bitterness? You couldn’t make it make sense for you. 

You laughed mockingly. Busy? Wasting your life away is being busy?

“Yeah, weren’t we all? You weren’t the only one juggling everything, you know. Like…” Should you say it? “Like, you weren’t there. You were too busy screwing the whole campus and the entire Caribbean to care.”

You were getting heated, breathing more shallow with every word you spoke. Jungkook’s tongue poked against his cheek in annoyance as he leaned against the railing of the elevator. His wary but friendly demeanor was gone, replaced with the asshole you last remembered. 

“I wasn’t fucking everyone,” he defended himself. “I was networking.”

“Is that what you fuckboys call it nowadays?” 

“Stop before you start saying shit you’re going to regret,” Jungkook threatened. 

With the distant humming of the island elevator music, you continued. You didn’t care. You had to say your piece.

“You really think you’re hot shit,” you cursed with a resentful smile on your face. The three years were cycling in your mind at rapid speed, compounded by your strong emotions about the matter. “You joined one fraternity over a dare, wore some hypebeast clothes, fucked a lot of bitches and somehow, that got you out here thinking you’re the fucking man. Well newsflash: you’re not. You’re not shit, Jungkook. You don’t even give a shit about your own friends going through shit.”

He closed his eyes, grinding his teeth.

“Stop. Now,” he growled.

You stood right in front of him, eyes leveled with his closed ones. His eyes were shaking inside from all the anger. Good, you thought. You wanted him to feel as angry as you have been for the past few years. 

“What would you be if Jimin didn’t dare you that night? Where the fuck would you be now, Kook?”

He laughed bitterly, opening his eyes slowly to see yours. You could see the venom coming out of them and he was absolutely sick of you. 

“You know what it sounds like?”

You pursed your lips. 

“What?”

“It sounds like you’re jealous that I was fucking everybody but you.”

Ding.

“Fuck you, Jungkook.”

You left the elevator immediately, dizzy from the heated conversation. You couldn’t believe the words that came out of the fucker’s mouth. It was expected though, after all he has become a version of those e-boys you two used to make fun of. He made a promise he would never be like that no matter how much he glowed up.

What a bunch of shit that was.

“Can we leave the two of you alone for 3 seconds without you guys looking like you want to kill each other?” Taehyung exasperatedly exclaimed as the both of you arrived at the suite. It was up to Taehyung’s taste with dark oak wood finishes all throughout the unit, complete with a full kitchen and a spacious living room fit for at least ten people comfortably. 

With the wind blowing through the lightly sheer white curtains, you walked past your best friend in contempt to go towards the balcony for some fresh air.

All you wanted was some time off. It was a rough time at your job as you were struggling to make the stupid metrics the company was giving you, and were desperately anticipating this Hawaii trip for weeks. Just as you thought the vacation was going to be perfect, the person you grew to resent so deeply would appear in your life again. It was as if you couldn’t catch a break and the endless cycle of bullshit just continued on like some sick joke. 

As you look at the beautiful sunset unfolding in front of you being enveloped in all shades of purple, orange and pink, you close your eyes with some tears on the creases of them. You exhaled deeply to relieve the pent up energy, your sore and tense muscles relaxing. You deserved this more than anybody else on this trip and you knew it in your heart. No one was going to prevent you from having a good time, not even Jeon Jungkook and his stupid fuckboy face.

“It sounds like you’re jealous that I was fucking everybody but you.”

Those words continued to echo in your mind for the next few days as the four of you made a mark through the whole island, eating and partying your way through. There was joy and laughter for the most part, but there was still a lot of stonewalling and ignoring from both parties, only acknowledging each other when it was necessary. You half expected Jungkook to apologize for his extremely incorrect assessment, but he didn’t bring it up to you or anybody for that matter. It was as if it never happened. Typical of a fuckboy. 

You were successfully pretending Jungkook didn’t exist for the most part, spending more time with the other two and leaving him in the dust. Jungkook did the same, occasionally disappearing for thirty minutes on your guys’ night outs. All of you assumed he was probably working his tongue, fingers and his dick in someone, local or visiting. You caught a couple of glimpses of him sleazily dancing with someone else or buying someone a drink, only hastily looking away and chugging yet another mai tai to forget about it. 

You could sworn though, Jungkook seemed to enjoy it, almost digging his words in your skull through his actions with a glance he gave whenever you caught so much as him flirting with someone you knew he would be railing minutes after. It was a mild annoyance to say the least. If there was one thing you two had in common, it was being extremely petty. 

It wasn’t that you thought Jungkook was unfuckable. He wasn’t ugly by any means; he was that kid in your guys’ friend group who was more of a late bloomer. You knew he was going to grow into his features eventually, growing taller and wider as he worked out regularly. And when he began to give a fuck about his body and looks, he was at his most dangerous at that point, only for you to already be deeply involved in your ex-fianceé at the time. Perhaps it was impeccable timing that you were taken because God only knows what would’ve happened if you two were still close and very much single. 

Was there tension between the both of you? Of course. Neither of you wanted to admit it, especially after he joined the college’s water polo team after you joked that he could never rebrand himself as a jock. After all, he was still playing MapleStory and watching Marvel movies like it’s his religion. How can he possibly scrub all of that away so easily?

It ended up working for him of course, as it does with everything Jungkook does. He was the golden maknae, just capable of anything he set his mind to. It was all the more frustrating that he took his brains and talent into the gutter by his senior year of undergrad, partying his life away with people who didn’t end up caring for him. It was only recently when he returned back to Bangtan, also trying to make up for lost time. 

The boys forgave him with open arms of course. You, on the other hand, couldn’t be on the same page. 

A change of scenery had to happen and soon enough, Hoseok suggested a light hike. Since the hotel was by the shore, you guys figured to go on a little walk for some scenic photos for Instagram and to bask in nature. 

Of course, it was ill-timed as you were extremely hungover and dehydrated from the night before, body aching from God knows what. It was high noon when it happened when you started to slow down compared to the others’ brisk walks down the perfectly easy paved trail, feeling unbearably hot. You knew it was 100% you when it wasn’t that bad earlier as the humidity caught up to you. Beads formed into light drips of sweat on your face as you found yourself heaving, feeling light. It wasn’t looking too good, your vision was blurry.

“Hey.”

You felt a tight grip around your waist as you looked up dazed looking at a broad shouldered silhouette of a man. You knew who it was immediately, pushing him away with little strength you had left.

“No, leave me the fuck alone, Kook,” you urged, your legs starting to feel like pudding. You would rather pass out at this point than have Jungkook help you in any capacity, but your body was giving out, leaning against his built frame.

“You’re going to pass out,” he sighed, grabbing onto you tighter, his biceps rock solid against your waist, pushing you toward a nearby bench to sit down. “Did you not bring any water?”

“Hoseok said it wasn’t a super long trail,” you said meekly as Jungkook pulled a portable fan out and held it by your face. The cool air comforted you almost immediately as he pushed the fan into your hand before pulling out his stainless steel tumbler and uncapping it, offering you a swig of his water. “Ew no, I don’t know where that’s been.”

Jungkook sighed deeply, pushing the top of the tumbler toward your lips.

“Stop being stubborn and drink.”

You obliged, taking three full gulps. He cupped his hand underneath your chin to catch the excess water while steadying the flow of iced water down your mouth with his other hand. When you were done, he patted the excess water he caught on your forehead to cool you down more before patting and massaging your back to help you breathe. 

It was nice. You two gazed into each other’s eyes once again and you could see the worry etched in his furrowed eyebrows, his lips sulking. You couldn’t help but to feel a pit in your stomach at his genuineness, something you haven’t really seen in a while coming from him. It was as if the old Jungkook was still lingering in there somewhere, still caring. His touch was hesitant and awkward, as if he wasn’t sure how to touch you. He didn’t want to come off too strong or have you miscode his actions. It was the most intimate you two had ever been in a while, and it wasn’t laced with any sexual intentions, a stark contrast to what you were seeing and hearing him to do other women in the past few years.

“Better?”

His tongue was dancing along with his lip ring when you patted his back to indicate you felt better. He nodded, pulling you up with one arm slowly, not letting go. 

“Let me carry you back,” he suggested, turning his back against you and bending back, his arms extended behind his back and beckoning for you to hop on. Without much arguing, you climbed on, your arms tightly wrapped around his neck as he grabbed your thighs tightly, pushing you up and straightening himself out. You were too tired to argue at this point, and desperately just wanted to go home. 

With your head against the top of his shoulder blades, he took you home without much conversation, humming quietly to himself as onlookers passed by and gushed at his charitable deed. You cringed a bit at the glimpses of other women enamored by him, almost regretting the choice you just made. It was inescapable how much women just love Jungkook, and how easy they just fall for his looks and charisma. If only they saw his pimpled face at seventeen, yelling at a computer screen when his team lost on Overwatch—

Stop it. Jungkook grew up. Why can’t you just admit that to yourself? He wasn’t that kid anymore, he had grown into a very attractive twenty something. 

I just can’t. 

Maybe I was jealous.

It didn’t take long before you dozed off on his back, only realizing it when you finally woke up in your bed, sheets spread out underneath you. With the fan whirring softly in the background, you groaned and stretched out your whole back, cracking every inch of the way. With your eyes focusing, you slowly got up to sit, realizing that there was someone else in the room.

There Jungkook was, manspreading on the lone eggshell colored barrel chair feet away from you underneath a blanket. He had put some of your clothes on the side for him to sit down, apparently to monitor your wellbeing, but ended up dozing off into a light nap. Your heart skipped a beat at the sight of him, but you pushed that down so deep somewhere else, pushing yourself off the bed to see anybody else was still around, just anyone. It didn’t take long for you to realize the two of you alone, and after checking your phone, Taehyung and Hoseok were already off to dinner somewhere else without extending the invite to either of you.

It felt like a setup. Perhaps they devised this plan to leave you two alone for you to make up, but this also opened some avenues you didn’t want to explore, especially knowing the track record of Jungkook being alone with any woman. It wasn’t that you didn’t feel safe around him, but if there was anything that was consistent in your life right now, it was the fact that anything could very much happen.

“You feel better?” 

Jungkook’s voice echoed in the empty space that was the living room. You turned around, sheepishly grabbing your own arm to comfort yourself from the sheer panic that you were spending an awful amount of time alone with him. 

“Yeah. Just hungry though.”

His slippers skidded through the floor as he entered the room, wearing yet another dark oversized tee and matching shorts. You could feel your heart pounding in your throat as you two met each other’s gazes. His was a lot softer compared to when you two last spoke, his walls had disintegrated and his presence felt very familiar to you once again, like specks of old Jungkook was peeking through. 

The caring, soft-spoken and attentive side of him was ringing in your head for the past ten minutes, your brain trying to make sense of it all. This whole time you thought that side of him was long gone and had been replaced with someone else completely but alas, he was right in front of you, just older. 

You missed him. You missed that Jungkook deeply.

Before you could say something stupid, he opened his mouth. 

“You wanna eat at that buffet downstairs?”

You nodded.

“Yeah, why not?”

You were unraveling. It was definitely a result of the combination of the quiet sexual tension between the two of you all week and the whiplash of the Jungkook you once knew making a reappearance that you feeling a certain type of way. You found your eyes lingering too long at his back while waiting in line for some steak at the meat station. He seemed rather oblivious by you checking him out fully, fully fixated on the spread of meat before him. 

You could still feel his back against your cheeks and how formidable his neck felt with your arms slung around his neck. The absolute comfort you felt, the security of knowing he was very capable of taking you home safe and sound. It didn’t fully hit you at the time, but you realized how much you missed him, the real him. 

After stealing a few more glances from across the table, you finally saw a moment to finally speak your piece after the events from earlier today. 

“Um, hope this doesn’t sound weird in any way, but I just want to thank you for taking me home earlier. That was very sweet of you.”

Jungkook looked up from his mountainous plate food, cheeks filled with meat. He stopped in mid chew, his big brown doe eyes looking back at you in surprise. He was absolutely adorable.

“Mmm, of course,” he mumbled his words before drowning the contents down with some wine. Clearing his throat, he looked down and continued picking at his food with a fork. “I couldn’t leave you there, Taehyung would quite literally kill me.”

You smiled, first time in his presence in a while.

“Yeah, he really would.” 

His lips formed into a small soft grin as well, stabbing a cherry tomato right in the middle before gobbling it up. 

The two of you kept eating, grabbing more plates of food. Eventually, conversation soon sparked up, and you found yourself finally speaking to him normally just like old times. It felt as if time didn’t pass at all and the negative feelings surrounding the both of you existed in a different alternative universe. It wasn’t that you actively forgot, but you realized that being petty wasn’t going to get anywhere at this point. It was clear you two had moved on and no longer wanted to keep it up anymore.

After your third drink and a few more laughs, it grew a bit quiet. As Jungkook finished the remaining pieces of his dessert, he put his small spoon down as it clinked against the ceramic bowl. Pensive, his mind was thinking about something for a while based on your observation, and you knew it was on the tip of his tongue. 

He sat up, straightening his back before saying his piece as well.

“I know we haven’t been kind to each other this whole trip and I just wanna say…I’m really sorry for what I said earlier. I was being incredibly immature, and I regretted saying that.”

Your tongue swirled inside your mouth at his sudden apology as your fork clashed against your own plate after it got loose from your hand. This whole time you felt that Jungkook was being firm in his words and was convincing you that he was right, but in actuality he was remorseful the whole time. 

If he wasn’t enjoying rubbing his sexual activeness in front of you, then what was actually happening then?

You gulped at the thought, replaying all of those moments in your mind. Surely, everyone assumed Jungkook’s disappearances were hookups for him and you assumed this based on the couple of times you caught him flirting with someone. Weirdly enough, he wasn’t fully attentive towards the girl in question in both instances, always catching you watching him as he stared at you back, seemingly…melancholic. Like he wanted to be somewhere else. With someone else. 

Was that someone else you? 

You shook away those thoughts. There was no way he was pining for you this entire time. If he did, he would’ve said something when you were engaged for two years to who you thought was the love of your life. You two were just childhood close friends and nothing more. 

“It’s okay, Kook,” you finally answered after some time, not realizing you were this deep in thought. “I’m sorry for saying all of that too. Like yeah I was hurt, but I’m not gonna be mad at you for spreading your wings, you know?” 

The past was the past. It was clear to you in the past few hours that Jungkook may look different and have a complete 180 of a lifestyle now, there were still parts of Jungkook you remembered and cherished within him (although it took a while for that guy to come out). Perhaps he was lost during those three years like you were, trying to understand and grasp the world as much as possible with his young adult hands. Now that his life was less chaotic, he can regain some of that old him back, just like you have been healing from your own traumas the past three years through this trip.

“Yeah…” was all Jungkook could say, leaning back against the cooled leather booth with his arm sprawled across it. He was thinking about something once again, eyes dark. You could feel it hovering over you, and perhaps that was what Jungkook wanted to do as well. 

Or at least, you were hoping that he felt that way. 

After stacking the plates up, you two went back to the suite, making light conversation here and there. The gap between the two of you was decreasing as you touched shoulders with him, not being bothered about it one bit. 

“See, I told you they’d make up,” Hoseok quipped to Taehyung with a big fat grin on his face, amused as you came into the living room with Jungkook trailing behind.

You laughed a bit, cheeks flushing a light pink. 

“Spoiler alert: we are capable of forgiving.” 

“It took a while,” Jungkook piped up, plopping against the big sectional next to you. He looked small against it and a part of you ached to sit next to him as his eyes beckoned you to do so. “Anyway, what are we doing right now?”

“Drinking,” Taehyung said simply, giving Jungkook a glass immediately. “We are exposing ourselves tonight.”

You froze. You participated in this game for quite some time now everytime you were with the Bangtan boys and have witnessed and told all kinds of wild confessions and stories. Normally you would be more than happy to join, but in lieu of your recent feelings blooming rapidly for your childhood best friend, you would rather not partake in such activity.

“Uh…” you trailed off, mind scrambling to come up with an excuse. Taehyung raised his eyebrow in enjoyment, taking a sip of wine before crossing his legs graciously like a prince of sorts. 

“You’re not joining us?” he hummed, chuckling to himself. He knew you better than everyone else: if you weren’t participating, it’s because you were hiding something. 

“No, I’m tired. You know, from heat exhaustion and whatnot,” you lied.

Hoseok snickered, leaning on Taehyung to whisper something to him. You squinted your eyes. 

This was deliberate. Very deliberate. They knew something. 

After a while, they separated, both nodding to each other. Hoseok waved you away, leaning against the chair. 

“Fine, have a good sleep.”

It wasn’t a good sleep. In fact, you spent the last two hours just staring at the ceiling, brain just going through all kinds of emotions at a million miles per hour. It felt nonstop and endless as you plopped yourself up, sighing into the dark abyss. Your vacation was ending and you weren’t looking forward to going back to reality. 

It didn’t help that it was humid and hot at 2AM, and you were extremely dehydrated once more. Sliding on some slippers, you made your trek toward the kitchen. 

As expected, the boys were still in the living room conversing. There were at least 3 empty wine bottles now, with the fourth one being poured by Jungkook himself. You sauntered into the kitchen, your hands reaching for a cup on the top cabinet before slinking toward the cooled stainless steel fridge. As the water light tinged a light blue while water was being dispersed, your ears caught a bit of the topic in question. 

“Yah, I didn’t realize that my love life is that sad,” Taehyung laughed acridly. “Like, am I really incapable of keeping someone interested?”

You snorted to yourself, knowing the answer. Taehyung was the worst at commitment out of all of them. 

“I can’t speak for you buddy,” Hoseok smacked his lips together. “You kind of messed up with Jennie. Now she’s back with that guy now, huh?”

“Don’t remind me of it please.” 

All three of them laughed heartily. 

You began downing the water, turning around toward them. Jungkook’s body was facing you, although you were sure he couldn’t see you from the very faint glow of the countertops. He was incredibly drunk and stretched out on the sectional, scrolling through his phone as Taehyung and Hoseok were in their own worlds sitting on the floor. 

“Yah, Jungkook,” Hoseok beckoned. 

“What?”

“Have you ever been in love before? I feel like you haven’t.”

Your heart started to thump wildly in your own chest as you did your best not to choke from the water. They would ask this question when you’re present. 

“Ay, I have,” Jungkook defended himself, not looking up from his phone. 

“Really?” Hoseok nudged the youngest’s leg, very interested. “How many times?”

Jungkook looked up, but rather than looking at Hoseok, he looked directly at you. 

“Once.”

You cleared your throat, eyes immediately down toward the sink as you washed the cup furiously before putting it on the washing rack. The other two looked over as well, realizing you were awake the whole time. Before any of them could speak, you were already back in your room, deep in your sheets as you muffled your screams. 

There was no way. You’re simply imagining things. 

“Once.” 

“Ay wake up girl, the wedding is in a few hours!” Hoseok’s sing-song voice chimed through the air as he pulled the curtains wide open. Your brain was frazzled as he started to shake you playfully awake, the room filled with his infectious laughter. 

You felt weird. Surely, you were well rested after the events from yesterday, but you could’ve sworn something happened last night that you couldn’t place what it was. Your dream consisted of a snapshot of the week thus far but convoluted, and you found yourself unsure. One of the dreams you had was Jungkook confessing he was in love with you to Hoseok and Taehyung, but for some reason, that felt extremely vivid to you. 

You slowly got up and began your morning routine as a whiff of toasted bread, bacon, and eggs filled the air. Hoseok was making his infamous toast for everybody, humming an unknown but catchy tune as he did so. 

“Morning my dear,” he said sweetly as you made your way to the kitchen. The glass you left last night disappeared, meaning that memory you had last night was fabricated. You exhaled deeply, relieved before taking a seat on the kitchen island.

Taehyung came out from his quarters shortly after, his brown permed hair still in disarray as he yawned loudly and stretched his body out for everyone to see.

“Man, we drank so much last night,” he commented, pointing to the five empty wine bottles perched on the counter. “What time did we sleep last night?”

“Don’t know,” Hoseok chimed, plopping the scrambled eggs neatly on one of the plates of buttered toast before handing him an opened jar of blueberry jam. “Jungkookie drank the most too and he’s still not awake yet.”

You look toward the direction of Taehyung and Jungkook’s room to see it still half ajar. Loud snoring was emitting from the room itself, indicating the youngest was dead asleep. 

“I’ll go wake him up,” you piped up, slipping off of the chair and making your way toward the room. Pushing the door back, you saw Jungkook’s head popping out from sheets as he continued to snore loudly into the AM hours. 

Slowly making your way to the bed, you sat on the edge of the bed, leaning in to start lightly shaking him awake.

“Kook, wake up.”

He stopped mid-snore, breathing sharply before beginning to pull the sheets off of—

Jungkook was naked. Very naked. 

You stood up immediately, your eyes widened at the realization that he was starting to peel off the sheets below his shoulders, exposing his upper chiseled body. He was murmuring complete nonsense in his sleep as his eyes were circling around in its sockets, waking up. You found yourself panicking, heat rising to your face as he began pushing the sheets even lower. 

No. Not today. 

Before you would see more, you turned around quickly and shut the door aggressively, making a beeline towards the kitchen island again. 

Hoseok noticed your change in demeanor immediately as your butt slammed on the chair cushion, your eyes glued to the plate in front of you. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you blatantly lied, picking up a fork and not looking at Hoseok or anybody for that matter. Pushing your fork into the toast in one hand and cutting up the toast in another, you were doing your best to keep it together and not replaying Jungkook’s buff chest in your mind or a flash of his well defined abs or whatever else you saw in a split second. Hell, you were sure you saw more, but you were too stunned to speak. Why you forgot that Jungkook slept naked was beyond you. You knew this about him and walked into that completely oblivious about it.

It didn’t take long for Jungkook to find clothes, wearing a fresh set of pajamas, this time a dark green see-through one out of all choices. He sat down next to you with a delivery of Hope Toast from Hoseok himself right away. 

“Morning,” Jungkook greeted with the most groggiest voice, eyes blinking several times in the attempt to stay awake. He seemed oblivious to the interaction you two had earlier, unaware that you saw 80% of his bare body. 

“Look at you being a total rockstar,” Hoseok complimented, in awe of his cool pajamas. 

You, on the other hand, were not having a great time. His tattoo sleeve was all the way up to the top of his shoulders, peeking through in great detail through the holes. Your brain was able to delete the holes altogether, seeing the full picture in 4K. You could see his little black boxers underneath in the corner of your eye, tightly wrapped around his massive thighs. 

If you weren’t noticing his body before, you were extremely distracted by it by now. The silence wasn’t helping either. 

“I’m going to make some juice,” you broke the silence and got up, trying to not look Jungkook in the eye. Pulling the juicer from the pantry and the fruits from the fridge. “Who wants some?”

“Me,” Hoseok and Jungkook replied at the same time. 

You began cutting up the fruits and began loading into the machine. With whatever energy you had left over, you began pushing the stick down the chamber and the frustration you had toward Jungkook. With every push, you were attempting to erase all the pent up tension away to no avail, still remembering his glances and genuine attentiveness and kindness and—

There was a bit of resistance, no, a lot of resistance. Your eyebrows knitted together as you pulled the stick up and looked inside. The orange slices you had cut up were lodged deeply in there, caught right in the middle of the dividers. You groaned, trying to fish out the contents with a nearby utensil before pathetically pushing the stick down one more in an effort to clear it.

After a few moments of struggling, you heard someone moving from their seat and heading toward you to assist you.

“Thank—”

Jungkook’s arms popped up from either side of you as both of his hands grabbed the top of yours holding the stick. He was incredibly close to you, his sturdy and buff body pressed up against yours as he grunted repeatedly in your left ear to push the contents down for you. You felt every hot breath of his, as you struggled to find your own. It felt like you two were in an embrace as your brain went to space yet again, not even catching a single break from quite literally five minutes earlier.

The slices gave way and broke apart with his strength alone as you found yourself flushing madly at the amount of contact Jungkook was initiating without warning. He must know what he was doing, otherwise it didn’t compute for you. It was one thing you saw him grow confident in making moves, but another to actually experience it yourself. 

No wonder girls fell at his feet now. Jungkook is incredibly dangerous. 

The whirring of the juicer droned on as you two finished the last few slices, generating more than enough juice for the three of you. You shut the machine off while he took the stick from you to clean it immediately. You turned around to see Taehyung and Hoseok whispering amongst each other before separating a millisecond after, pretending it didn’t happen, looking in opposite directions.

Shut up.

It didn’t take long for you guys to get ready for the wedding. Well, at least for Taehyung and Hoseok anyway. Taehyung had to leave immediately after he finished his breakfast to be a part of the groomsmen (in which he reluctantly said yes for, as he hated being a part of anything that required actual work) and Hoseok had to set up the audio equipment for music. It left you and Jungkook alone again for most of the day from the ceremony itself to even sitting together at the reception. It was an open reception by the beach filled with candlelights and leis everywhere, making it a very typical but beautiful island destination wedding. 

You wore a simple YSL black dress with a heart print on it as Jungkook wore a very casual black leopard print suit. It would be a lie to say that he didn’t steal the show away, gathering a great deal of interest amongst the wedding guests. 

As the night progressed after the usual wedding moments passed, you found yourself downing a few drinks and there (open bars were great!), grooving along in your seat and eating what was left of the wedding cake that was served an hour ago. Jungkook was beaming and cheering his former water polo mates on, occasionally hollering and hooting whenever someone busted into a head spin or other ‘90s dance moves they were too young to partake in at the time of popularity. You laughed and egged them on as well, leaning against your chair as Hoseok finished up his set with Beyoncé’s “BREAK MY SOUL”. 

In the middle of it, you felt a tap against your shoulders. Looking up, you realize Jungkook was gesturing to you to come with him to dance. You smiled warmly, grabbing his hand as he navigated through the guests to the dance floor. He had taken off his jacket at this point, his white satin shirt billowing in the cool breeze as his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows to alleviate the heat. Hoseok was right; he really was a rockstar.

Just as you two began to groove along with the music, the audio was cut off unexpectedly, followed by major mic feedback that irritated the guests. 

“Ah, sorry,” Taehyung stumbled on the stage, his hand extended in apology as the other was gripping the mic rather tightly. He changed out of his formal wear for a lighter blue Hawaiian shirt and white pants, adorning 4 different leis that were put on him throughout the night and it was clear he was incredibly drunk. Not realizing he was yelling, he continued, “SORRY, I just want to dedicate this song to my man Wooshik who not only is my favorite guy in the fucking world but…” 

He exhaled, sniffling a bit.

“...you deserve a happy life and a happy wife. Congrats man.” 

Taehyung gestured to Hoseok to start the music and so he did.

The lights began to dimmer as Taehyung began his rendition of “Unchained Melody” as his deep voice echoed throughout the beach landscape. The guests who were formerly getting wild were paired up almost instantaneously, grabbing their partners to slow dance. 

You stood there in horror as Jungkook chuckled to himself, his hands on his hips.

“He would do this, that bastard,” he cursed to himself, his ears turning incredibly red. You flushed as well, not really sure of what to do. 

“We can sit back down,” you suggested, already starting to turn back towards your seat, but Jungkook grabbed your hand, pulling you toward him. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you instinctively rested your arms around his neck, mind just dizzy. 

“No, let’s dance anyway. Fuck Taehyung,” he chuckled, swinging the both of you ever so slowly to the beat. 

As the song progressed and Taehyung began to croon through the high notes to much fanfare, you found yourself slow-dancing with your childhood best friend, turned enemy, turned friends again against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful places in the entire world. As the string lights began to flicker on slowly for the ambiance, you could see the warmth in Jungkook’s eyes reflecting on the light. 

It felt like you two were teenagers again, not knowing anything else besides school and pop culture. He was your first slow dance at your middle school prom, and you could remember him and his braces grinning at you with excitement. This time, he was older, his smile was more reserved, soft and gentle as he always was with you. All the memories of you two together for the past week started to come together as you wished you had more time to spend with him, more time to laugh with each other instead of the last 48 hours. Three years felt like eternity, but this past week felt even longer than that.

“You look beautiful tonight,” Jungkook said breathlessly. Your heart skipped a beat once more. You? Beautiful? He was perfect. 

“You too,” you replied, making sure he felt the same.

He leaned closer to you and gripped you tighter. His eyes suddenly turned dark as his smile fell a bit. You looked at him with confusion, unable to piece it together. 

All the words he wanted to say were forming in his brain as it began spilling out once more.

“I’m sorry.” 

Sorry?

“I’m sorry for abandoning you…for…” he stopped for a moment, clearing his throat a bit, breath seeping in alcohol. “...for leaving you to deal with that fallout, that heartache by yourself. I was so selfish back then and I’m so sorry.” 

As Taehyung reached the highest notes, Jungkook started shaking a bit and not from the cold. He had more to say. Your stomach was bubbling with acid as you felt your throat tighten, feeling a bit sick. The drinks were catching up to you, and it was compounded by the weight of emotions you were feeling up until this point. It was being validated, but you had a sickening feeling where it was going.

🎶 And time goes by so slowly,

And time can do so much 🎶 

“You’re right. I thought I was the man, the top of the world. I thought maybe, just maybe, I would find myself, like I can change everything about me or something. And then I realized…” 

🎶 Are you still mine? 🎶

“...I realized that I just needed you.”

You felt incredibly nauseous at this point and as Taehyung kneeled to the ground behind you next to the groom and his new bride with a crowd cheering him on, you felt the need to throw up and it was definitely not on the dance floor. 

Before you knew it, Jungkook was leaning in closer to you, closing his eyes. Unfortunately, you couldn’t take it anymore. 

🎶 I need your love 🎶

You unwrapped your arms off of Jungkook’s neck and turned around immediately, eyes looking toward the nearest exit. You could feel Jungkook’s grip loosening fast as you left the dance floor almost immediately and to the outskirts of the reception. You knelt down and unloading the bile that was pushing up your throat for the past five minutes onto the clear white sand. Tears formed in your eyes as you began wiping away the fluids from your face as you continued to cough and spit toward the ground. 

The world was shifting underneath you as you stumbled back up slowly, hearing faint clapping ringing in your ears. Your mind was also swirling in the same fashion, unable to digest what just happened. 

Here you were, on the last night of your trip, slow dancing with your childhood best friend only for him to dump you a boatload of intense human emotions. Sure, you forgave him for saying those words and perhaps for the lost time, but this whole thing of him realizing his fuckboy era was a distraction from him actually missing you. You wondered if this was a huge game to him or if he was being serious. If he had feelings this whole time, why was he slipping in the middle of the night every night for the past week in the arms of other girls? Why didn’t he say anything at all while you were with your ex? You didn’t have the patience anymore to be played, and truly, Jungkook was driving you insane. 

It didn’t take long for him to find you kneeled over by the sand staring at your vomit as he called for you, asking if you were okay. He knelt down too, putting his hand on your back. You had enough. 

You finally mustered up the courage to say it.

“What…what the fuck is wrong with you?” 

“What?” 

You turned toward him, standing back up. 

“What is wrong with you? Like, what is your end goal here?”

Jungkook followed suit, his eyes flickered from your question. 

“I don’t have one.”

You grinned bitterly. 

“You…you spent the past three years disappearing off the face of the planet ‘exploring yourself’ and now you’re telling me you were actually lost and confused? And…” you stepped closer to him. “And you needed me? Needed me for fucking what?”

You scoffed, extending your arms out in frustration and confusion. Jungkook on the other hand, was making himself smaller, his hands tucked away in his pockets as he was searching for an answer himself.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know.”

“No, I do know,” Jungkook corrected himself, inhaling sharply, his eyes everywhere else but you. He groaned in frustration, his shoulders lifting up into a shrug. “I don’t know, what the hell do you want me to say? That I fucking missed you? That I…” he swallowed, crossing his arms, “...that I wasted my early twenties away to forget you? Is that what you want me to say?”

He exhaled sharply, his eyes closing ever so slowly out of frustration. You were stunned, trying to defend yourself. 

“Well no, but—”

“But what?” he rebutted. “You think I’m this huge fuckboy with no morals or whatever, but honestly, do you wanna know where I went for the past week? I wasn’t fucking anybody, you know. I was outside at every bar we went to, angry at the fact that you spent the past week ignoring me like I was nothing to you. Like, was I really nothing to you this whole time?” 

“You…” Jungkook grimaced, biting his bottom lip. “You said you were okay with me spreading my wings, but you had no idea what I was going through, how much I longed to be with you instead of seeing you with that asshole. You wanted me to be there for you when you two finally broke it off, but fuck, I couldn’t. I had to get away and forget everything, forget about you.”

You were eerily quiet, unable to say anything. Although you chalked up his downward spiral and your engagement happening at the same time to be a pure coincidence of you two going in very different life paths, it didn’t occur to you that your engagement was the catalyst for everything else. It made sense to you.

Jungkook’s voice was trembling. 

“You know, I wasn’t even formally invited to this wedding. Taehyung asked me about being his plus one and I said no. It wasn’t until he mentioned you were coming, I finally decided to go because…I guess, I wanted to be able to tell you all of this, for you to finally take me seriously.”

You got very tense, already about to see what was going to happen. 

“Kook—” you began to interject. 

“I’m in love with you, okay?” he put his hands up in defeat. “It’s really just that. Maybe you didn’t see it before, but I always have. I just got lost in between trying to forget that I did. Can you really blame me for that?”

He started laughing indignantly, tears forming in his eyes. He knelt down soon after, hands buried in his face. He was unraveling in front of you, more vulnerable than he has ever been. You always thought Jungkook’s heart hardened after his misadventures for the past few years, but the man still wore his heart on his sleeve as he always did, still sobbing his eyes out as if it was his first heartbreak ever in his life. You wondered how long he must have felt this way, how much pain he must’ve felt when you first told him you loved that ex of yours. Self medication was never a good look on anybody, and he was the worst when it came to drinking until he forgot even before things spiraled out of control.

This whole time you felt that your worst years of your life were purposely missed by your childhood best friend, but in reality, he was suffering at the same time in a much different way. If only you knew then rather than harboring so much resentment toward him for the past three years. You accused him of being a terrible friend, but truly, you weren’t there for him either. Instead, you casted his phase as him wasting his life away. 

“Jungkook…” you called out his name softly, leaning down to his level to touch the top of his head gently, rubbing it. “I’m so sorry I didn’t see how much you were hurting yourself. I should’ve been there for you…”

It didn’t matter anymore. You couldn’t make up for the lost time and the words and actions that could’ve been said or done. If anything, you didn’t deserve him, and yet, he still wanted to be with you. Why, you wondered. 

He continued to sob loudly, hiccuping from time to time in attempts to catch his breath. Fully leaning onto you, he embraced you as you two fell into each other, not saying much. 

There were too many emotions still swirling in the air, and you didn’t want him to say more things that ached your heart more and more. The more you thought about it, the more you wanted to blame yourself for not seeing what was right in front of you the whole time. Even the words “I’m sorry” weren't cutting it anymore. You didn’t know how else to make him less hurt than just resurfacing your buried feelings for him, but even then, it wasn’t fair for him. He had years on you while you went and loved another man completely. 

Absolute silence fell between the two of you as he lifted his head up finally to meet your eyes again. He was in a lot of pain, and you couldn’t stand seeing more of it. You wanted it to go away, and you wanted him to forget all of it.

And so you leaned in and your lips touched his ever so lightly. He didn’t take long before he pushed his lips deeper into yours, sealing a deep and passionate kiss between the two of you. Your lips dance in between his as his mouth opens for you, taking you all in. You found yourself taking a light gasp before following along with the rhythm, your hands cupping the sides of his face. His arms enveloped your whole body, holding tightly as if he wasn’t going to let go anytime soon. For minutes you two were just like that, deeply exploring each other for the first time, one of the potential many times after. 

As you two slowly retracted from each other, he let go with his lips pursed together in a soft pout, his eyes still swirling in its sockets. You could tell his mind was pulling in so many different directions like yours, having a hard time fully grasping the weight of what happened. There wasn’t really much to say, and with everything unfolded the way it did, it was best to just let the moment sink in for the night and figure out what was next later. 

It didn’t take long before both of you realized that the reception had been over a while ago as there weren’t that many guests remaining and the clean up crew had arrived. You pulled yourself back up with Jungkook doing the same as well, wiping his knees clean of the specks of sand stubbornly still attached to his designer pants. 

Silently, the two of you started walking back toward the car with Hoseok and Taehyung present, faces spelling massive worry.

“Where the hell were you guys?” Taehyung interrogated, enveloping you in a towel as Hoseok gave Jungkook’s jacket back to him. “We’ve been calling you for the past fifteen minutes.”

He was right. You opened your phone to see a flurry of messages and missed phone calls from the two.

“Sorry…” was all you could muster at that point. Your mind was clearly elsewhere and you were in need of a shower and a nice warm bed. “We uh…had a bit of a serious private conversation, that’s all.” 

That was all you could really say without divulging more before pulling yourself up into the van with Jungkook following suit, seated closely next to you. The other two immediately took notice of your guys’ sudden closeness, but rather than teasing the two of you about it, stayed quiet.

“Yeah,” he agreed blankly, also not giving much away. “It was much needed.”

You two exchanged glances at each other, having so much to say but not enough time to say it. Surely, it was the beginning of a next chapter together, and frankly, both of you weren’t sure if any of you were ready for it. But truthfully, truly, who really is? 

“Well, you guys sure looked rather cozy with each other tonight,” Taehyung quipped from the passengers’ seat with the sun visor mirror fully open and on as the van took off, leaving the shore behind. He was allegedly checking out the current status of his face, but you could tell he was monitoring the two of you in the back being way too comfortable with each other. 

Jungkook couldn’t help but to return a silent smirk to himself, looking outside to the city lights. Instinctively, he grabbed your hand, intertwining his tattooed fingers with yours without much thought. 

“Of course. We’re an item now, didn’t you know?” 

- end - 

[jinkookspencil]

bts x halloween couples costumes

Description/Tags: Fluff / OT7 Scenarios / No Smut At All / This is an OT7 post that is basically little scenarios of each member and their s.o., but they’re inter-connected - they’re all getting ready to go to a couples costume Halloween party hosted by Hobi and his S.O! I'm sure you can guess what Hobi has planned.... You don’t have to read every member, it’s just that that’s the setting in my head and some members are mentioned in some of the other members’ scenarios.

Author’s Note: I had the idea to write a post on this a while ago, but I completely forgot about it and I just wrote this on a whim. I wanted to try something different! Pretty happy with how it came out, it’s my first time writing like this for a few of the members so I’m at least glad I tried that. I’m sorry it’s taking me longer to post my other WIPs! I’m not that proud of my Namjoon drabble I planned to post but I might just upload it soon. Also I sincerely want to thank you guys for all the love on take off your glasses - i didn't expect it to blow up and i think i reached 2 follower milestones since then, so thank you sm!! (gifs are not mine! can't find original sources, so please lmk if i should just remove them from the post)

namjoon

“Honey, I have a couples costume idea for Hobi’s Halloween party!”

“Oh, really?”, Namjoon asks, walking over to you from his office chair upon hearing you at the door. “I thought you were matching with Jin’s girl? And me and Jin were gonna do a Pokemon one? Wasn’t that the plan?”

“It was… Wait did you and Jin get your costumes yet?”

“No,” he sighs. “It felt weird if one of us was Ash and the other was Pikachu then we just couldn’t decide who got which Pokemon onesie. Now he wants Charmander and I want Bulbasaur, but they only had Eevee and Squirtle and.. forget it. I, of course, want to match with you instead. What’s up, what’s your idea?”, he rubs your shoulder. 

“Okay so, I have two ideas.”

“Of course you do.”

“Shh,” you smile. “The first one is a bug catcher and a butterfly. You’ll be the bug catcher and I’ll be a butterfly. You can wear a khaki or brown vest and shorts with a bucket hat and a net in your hands, and I’ll wear wings and do my makeup all pretty,” you say proudly, batting your eyelashes jokingly before looking at Namjoon to see his eyes in a crescent moon shape due to the wide smile on his face.

“That’s adorable, baby. I love it. My pretty butterfly,” he says, squishing your face. “I’m good with that, it already beats me and Jin’s onesies. What’s the other idea?”

“I think you’ll like this one more.”

“Oh?”

“So…. we’d need some more help with this, maybe Jungkook can come over and help us out since he’s a great painter, but…. What if we were Van Gogh and his sunflowers? We ca-,” you stop for a moment and restrain your smile, taking in the sight of Namjoon’s eyes widening. 

“We can do it in so many different ways, babe. We can both be covered in paint, you’re his self-portrait and I have sunflowers painted all over me. You can just dress as he does in that portrait of his with the hat? Maybe even with the bandaged ear? And I’ll have sunflowers in my hair either way. What do you think?”

Namjoon doesn’t answer, but pulls your head closer to his to meet your lips, sighing against them after a kiss. “I love you.”

“Nice, huh?”

He quickly kisses you again on the lips, staring at you in adoration with a big, heartwarming smile on his. “Amazing. My beautiful genius.”

“So? Which one?”

“The second one,” he laughs. “Is that okay? Let’s leave the butterfly for next year…..” Namjoon’s voice trails off, and suddenly he’s staring at the corner of the ceiling.

“Wh…. You’re thinking of more art costume ideas we could do, huh?”

"There's American Gothic too...." he mumbles before his gaze returns to you. “Have I told you that I love you?”

seokjin

“Seokjin, no.”

“Honey!”

Your plans for Hoseok's Halloween party were set. You and your bestie would match while your respective boyfriends - Seokjin and Namjoon - would match, a genius twist on Hoseok's "couples costume" theme this year. But when she texted you telling you the plans were off and that she’d be matching with Namjoon, you were back to square one and broke the news to Seokjin.

You didn't think it could get any worse..... But he got an idea when he heard that one of their initial costume ideas was a bug catcher and a butterfly.

“Seokjin. I am NOT dressing up as a FISH.”

“Why not?!” he pouts. “You’ll be a fish and I’ll be a fisherman! It’s cute!”

“Seokjin, I’ve been to Hoseok’s parties before, everyone is going to be in their most amazing, creative costumes and I’m going to be a fish? I still have to make a good impression on some of your friends!”

“Honey, everyone already loves you, don't worry about that. And we’ll be sitting in the corner talking to each other and the guys like we always do.”

“But a fish, Seokjin?”

“Yes, what’s wrong with it?” he defends. “You know I love seafood!”

“To eat! But dressing up AS a fish?!”

“You don’t get it, honey. It’s because you’re a CATCH.”

Seokjin’s expression brightens at his own ‘genius’, and you try to restrain a smile - you always admired his ability to make a pun out of every situation.

“But I’d be a FISH, Seokjin. A DEAD and SMELLY CATCH.”

Now it's his turn to laugh, but he erupts rather than holding it in. “Honey, you’d be my favorite hobby! Well, you already are,” he winks, “but you know what I mean.

Put on a little extra of that floral perfume you always wear and we'll say you're a magical fish from a pond that smells like roses and can survive out of water."

“I can’t believe I’m dressing up as a fish for you, Seokjin.”

“Yes!!!!” he cheers, kissing your forehead. “Thank you, honey. Ah, be prepared, I’ll go around all night making that catch joke.”

“Why couldn’t we have been Mario and Peach? We have those costumes in our closets….. Can’t I at least be a mermaid?”, you slump. “Like you caught a mermaid?”

“Honey, that’s not realistic.”

“I’ll find a way to be a sexy fish,” you pout.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

yoongi

“Okay.”

“Okay?” you make sure.

“Yes,” Yoongi nods. “I like it.”

“Tell me honestly.”

“Honestly?,” Yoongi asks. “It’s a bit uncreative for a couples costume idea, darling, but I like it……… But judging by the expression on your face, you don’t believe me.”

You hadn’t noticed your eyebrows were furrowed until Yoongi pointed it out. “You just said it was uncreative, Yoongi.”

“Gomez and Morticia Addams is not a creative couples costume idea! It’s been done, but I like it.”

“Well, you come up with something, if you’re so good at creative costumes!”

“Darling, let me finish. I like it. You know why? Because it’s accurate,” he says.

“Accurate? What does that mean? Because you’re pale?”

Yoongi chuckled before turning his chair to face you completely. “It’s accurate to me and you. I remember watching that Addams Family movie and Gomez was so in love with his wife…. And I’m madly in love with mine. What’s that thing he tells her? ‘To live without you, only that would be torture’? That.” Yoongi blinks. “I like it because it’s accurate. Okay?”

You grab Yoongi by his cheeks and pull him towards you in a kiss.

“What the fuck, Min Yoongi?!”

“What?! I just said it’s accurate! Just draw the mustache on me. Gomez and Morticia Addams…. I like it.”

hoseok

“Wait, what did you tell everyone we were dressing up as?”, you ask your boyfriend from the makeup chair.

“Woody and Bo Peep from Toy Story,” Hoseok replies from the armchair beside you.

“Oh that’s going to be hilarious,” you smile for a moment before instantly suppressing it so the makeup artist couple complete your look. “They won’t see this coming. Are you completely done?”

“Yep,” he replies.

“So are you,” the makeup artist replies with a final stroke of her brush. “Take a look, Mrs. Frankenstein.”

When Hoseok said he’d take care of everything and would go all out, he really meant it. The makeup artist he hired did a great job at somehow making you look both fabulous and creepy, and so did the hairstylist, who gave you permanent white streaks in your hair as per your request, to surprise Hoseok after the party. Even the sort of wedding dress you wore was tailor-made as per Hobi’s insistence, but he let you have a hand in designing it, resulting in an edgy, fitted white dress that was a mini at the bottom to show off your thigh-high boots and a lacy corset on top of a short-sleeved lacy top. You looked like a rockstar version of the Bride of Frankenstein and turning to Hobi as he got up to take a look at you, you realized he looked like one too. Green all over with dark circles under his eyes, but a rockstar nonetheless… Hell, he even made the bolts on his neck look natural and cool. Where did he find this team of artists to put together your looks?! Sure he loved spoiling you, but this was almost too much, even for Hoseok.... and it didn't help that he was fidgeting all day, which he only did when he was incredibly nervous, setting you on edge as well.

“You look so cool, baby,” he smiles, hands in his pockets. “Ready for the party? We should get going now so we can start welcoming the guests in.”

“I think I am... Baby, you look amazing… we look amazing,” you say, taking in your look. “But there's something.... different about tonight. Don't you feel it? You don't seem like yourself too."

As soon as the words leave your mouth, you regret it, because suddenly, it's as if he hadn't had jitters the entire night. "I'm fine, baby. I'm excited! This is going to be the best party I threw, I planned so many things that even you don't know about. How about you? How are you feeling?"

"I can't describe it. I’m kinda nervous or… excited but in a way, I’ve never felt before.”

“Why?,” he laughs. “This isn’t the first time we’ve hosted a party together.”

“I know, but this feels…. big? Different? I don’t know why.”

“It’s nothing, honey. Forget that stuff about it being the best party, it's just another party! Besides that are you feeling okay or is something bothering you?”

“No, I’m fine, it’s just…,” you look Hobi in his eyes, “something feels different.”

Hoseok’s smile grows as he shakes his head. “It’s just a Halloween party with all of our friends, who love us. No reason to be nervous.”

You nod, taking his hand in yours. "I don't think it's nerves."

“Can I tell you something funny to help ease you?”, he says.

“What?”

“I heard Jin made his girlfriend dress up like a fish.”

You and Hoseok burst into a cackle, despite that he already knew of the fact.

“Knowing her, she’ll find a way to make it cool, though,” you say. “That helped, baby. I’m ready.”

“Good,” he smiles, touching over his jacket pocket before grabbing your hand. “Let’s go, my beautiful bride.”

jimin

“Jimin, are you home?” you yell from the bedroom upon hearing the front door slam.

“Yes!” he calls out. “Who else would enter with a key?”, you hear him gush under his breath. His voice and his excited face are too adorable for you to get annoyed…. and you had a pressing issue at hand.

“Baby, hi. So I’m kind of stressed because I couldn’t come up with anything to wear for Hoseok’s party.”

“Oh, right, when is it?” he asks calmly.

“Jimin, it’s Halloween. It’s tomorrow.”

“Oh!”, he gasps. “Then I’m in trouble too. Isn’t it supposed to be a couples costume thing too?”

“Fuck. What do we do?”

“I actually think I still have my Mickey Mouse ears that I got from that Disney trip with the boys…. How about Mickey and Minnie?”

You had discovered that Jimin was even more of a sweetheart than he seemed as you got to know him, but this was damn near one of the sweetest suggestions he had ever made in all your time together. “Mickey and Minnie?!”

“Yes! Do you have Mickey or Minnie ears?”

“No….” you reply shyly.

“Then let me ask Jungkook, and I’ll make a note to take you to Disneyland,” he smiles, but it almost immediately turns into a frown. “Ay, I forgot he got Donald Duck.”

“I can probably do my hair up in little buns?” you suggest.

“You’d look adorable, baby.”

“But what would we wear?”

“Just black? We might look weird, huh?”

“Why did we both forget?! I want to match, Jiminie, you can’t suggest Mickey and Minnie and just give that up, it's too cute but we'll look like Mickey and his weird rat girlfriend instead of Minnie.... but I can’t think of anything!”, you whine with your forehead against his chest.

You feel his chest vibrate beneath your skin, and the sound of Jimin's giggles nearly makes you forget the issue entirely. “Baby,” he giggles. “You won't look like Mickey's weird girlfriend. It’ll be okay, even if we show up in our normal clothes with no costumes and say we’re dressed as us.”

You lift your head up and stare at Jimin. “Dressed as us?”

“Mm,” he says calmly.

“I have an idea," you reply. "What if we dressed as each other?! I know we borrow each other’s stuff sometimes but we still have different styles right'? What if I went dressed as you and you dressed as me?! I think we can use whatever’s in our closets…”. You stare off in the direction of your wardrobe trying to form a mental image of all the outfits you both had. “What do you think?”

Jimin tilts your head so he can look you in the eyes. “I love it. Unfortunately for Hoseok, for a couples costume party, we’ll be the most coupley couple there and we didn’t even have to think about it too much… this is why we’re PERFECT together, babe...." He brings his soft lips to the top of your head. "I love you."

taehyung

“Taehyung, isn’t this a bit of a sad costume?”, you ask your boyfriend while applying lipstick in the mirror.

“What do you mean?”, he replies suddenly appearing behind you in the reflection, in full costume.

“Well, Bonnie and Clyde?”

“Yeah?” he raises his eyebrows.

“Well, you know…” 

“I know…. what?” his eyes widen.

“Well, it’s a real story and I know we’re going off of the movie, but they die at the end.”

Taehyung licks his lips, his eyes darting around the room…. 

“You didn’t finish the movie, did you?”

He cringes, a faint shade of red appearing in his cheeks. “I slept before the ending.”

“And you didn’t even see it coming?”

Taehyung covers his mouth with his hand, biting his index finger. “I’m sorry.”

“Baby,” you sigh, turning around and cupping his face in your hands. “Why are you sorry? It’s a classic couples costume. I just said it’s kind of sad but you know what else it is?” His eyebrows raise quickly in question.

“It’s sexy. Well, not Bonnie and Clyde, that feels kind of weird and wrong to say. But this whole 1940s type of clothing on you, on us,” you say, your hands roaming over Taehyung’s chest before fiddling with his suspenders. “I know you like to wear this type of thing often, I mean, hey, you didn’t even have to buy anything, you just got everything from your closet but…. It feels good to actually wear them, you know? I’m not sad at all. I wanna walk into that party with my partner in crime.”

He brings the tip of his index finger to your chin, slowly kissing you… and as he breaks away you notice a bit of your red lipstick stains his upper lip. 

“Partner in crime, huh?”, he asks, a smug smile on his face.

“Uh-huh,” you giggle, wiping off the lipstick from his lips.

“I like that. Let’s go, pudding,” he jokes in an exaggerated, undetectable accent as he wears his fedora, grabbing your hand too excitedly as he makes for the door in a laugh.

jungkook

“Baby, isn’t Hoseok’s party in like 3 weeks? It’s the beginning of October!”

“And we’re already too late!,” Jungkook complains. “Look, I don’t mean to outshine anyone in that party, especially not Hoseok since he’s got a lot planned, but we need to have an amazing costume, baby, just for our sake.”

“Okay, so, any ideas?”, you ask.

“Too many to choose”, he says. “It’s a couples costume party, right? So I thought about the most romantic place to look for inspiration since I’m so in love with you and this is an opportunity for me to show everyone how madly we’re in love with each other.”

“Oooh, I like where this is going… Let me guess. Something from Jane Austen? Pride & Prejudice?! Or Shakespeare? Is it Romeo and Juliet?”

“Shakespeare? Jane? What? No, that feels like something only Namjoon and his fiancee will understand. No, baby….,” he pauses for dramatic effect. “DISNEY!”

“Disney?” you ask.

“Yes!” he says excitedly. “Do you… not like it?”

For the split second before your answer, you cringe at the idea of you having to wear a Cinderella-like ballgown, or an Aurora-esque dress… It was the first thing your mind went to, and it was the farthest thing from a costume you’d like to wear, but seeing the sparkle in Jungkook’s eyes, you couldn’t say no.

“I like it!” you reply, trying to match his excitement. “Which couples were you thinking? Cinderella? Snow White? Jane and Tarzan? Belle and The Beast”

“Cinderella and Snow White? Me, the Beast? What? Baby.....no,” he laughs. “ Where is your head at today? Imagine you in a Cinderella gown, I mean I think you’re always beautiful but that’s just not you.. Right?” he asks.

….Well this surely isn’t what you were expecting.

“Right…. Then… What did you have in mind?” you ask, more intrigued than ever, which Jungkook could sense, judging by the readiness in his eyes, and you immediately regret the disappointment you felt when he brought up the idea. Fuck, you could never hide your emotions from him.

“Okay,” he continues with a smile on his face, pulling up a collage of Disney characters on his phone. “I thought of many and I did my research. The only one we can’t do is Woody and Bo Peep because that’s apparently what Hoseok’s doing but I have other options. There are many Disney couples - baby we have to do a marathon soon. Anyways, there are some where one suits me and not you, or you but not me. I went through people like Aladdin and Jasmine, Peter and Wendy, Hercules and Meg, Flynn and Rapunzel…. I know some of those are princesses but they seem more like you? Or we could do Mickey and Minnie - we could borrow Jimin’s Mickey ears but it seems like a last-minute costume so, actually scratch that. We could do the Dalmatians? I know Bam will like that! What’s more ‘us’? I think some cool ones might be Mr. and Mrs. Incredible from The Incredibles? Or what about Jack and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas? Baby, there are so many options and I just don’t know what to do and -“

You stop Jungkook by kissing him on the lips - it takes him a moment before he responds and kisses you back.

“Uhm….”

“Jeon Jungkook…..I love you.”

“I love you too,” he replies shyly. “Are my ideas that good?”

“They’re that cute. I’ll tell you what, you pick your favorite.”

“Baby, that's the whole point of this, I can’t pick - you probably know Disney characters better than I do. Which characters are more like us? Or, actually, which ones are the most in love?”

“I don’t know I guess every couple’s love is different.”

“Is there one that’s similar to ours?,” he asks, eyes wide.

“No, our love is ours, Jeon Jungkook.” 

He smiles. “That doesn’t help. See? Do you see, baby? We need something as romantic as that. I’m starting to think we’re more romantic than Disney movies….”

“I have an idea, baby. Let’s pick a few of the couples, work on the costumes for the next few weeks, and then we’ll see what suits us best. I think you have the charms of Peter Pan, but you have the emo soul to be a good Jack Skellington…. and you’d make a pretty accurate Hercules….”

“Hercules, huh?” he raises his eyebrows. “I’ll show you the strength of Hercules rescuing his damsel in distress”. He begins to tickle your waist, and you instinctively attempt to push his hands away, knowing they were making their way to your thighs. 

“Okay, Jungkook, you really need to watch these movies because Meg says that she’s not a damsel in distress!”, you get out, with shrieks and giggles in between.

“Just let me make out with my princess,” he giggles, finally firmly grabbing your waist and pulling you up to his chest, kissing your lips more sweetly and lovingly than any prince in any fairytale you ever watched or read about.

[king-of-the-rain-and-wolves]

Ty for tagging me fishy! ily!

Last song you listened to

Like other folks have said, I also have music tastes all over the place, but the song I happened to be listening to last was Curses by The Crane Wives

Currently watching

I'm currently watching One Piece!! It's super fun and goofy and also really emotionally impactful. Everyone on the straw hat crew is an idiot in their own unique way 😌❤️ They are all absolute goobers, and because/despite that I've cried while watching at least 3 times. Probably more. (and I'm only on the 6th arc/ep 43! For those who have watched - I'm just finishing up Arlong Park.)

Context for those who have not watched: me finishing the 6th arc & being on episode 43 of the anime may sound like it'd be pretty far in most shows, but one piece ~ isn't like other girls ~ I may be on episode 43, but that's out of 1,071 episodes (as of August 6th). Yes, you heard me right, over ONE THOUSAND EPISODES. Wtf Eiichiro Oda?? (← The writer) Chill!! (jk, ily)

Currently reading

Not a ton currently. Today is actually the very last day of a class I've been taking for the last couple months over the summer (the Theology of Death and Dying - cool stuff!), so I've been reading the textbook a lot (The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying by Lynne Ann DeSpelder & Albert Lee Strickland - also really cool stuff! I genuinely recommend checking it out, it's really fascinating stuff). I haven't read a ton other than that, but I have been able to sneak in a couple punkflower and taakitz fics on ao3 :)

Current obsession

Definitely across the spiderverse, & especially hobie, & also especially punkflower :) @weirdfishy and @jennsterjay and I have been feeding off of each other's brainrot, which is dangerous because 1) I now have an especially fucked up sleep schedule (it is currently ~3am), but 2) I also started (one of my first!) pieces of digital art based on an idea we bounced around together, and 3) I apparently have the beginnings of a fic written??? I was writing a comment on one of fishy's fics on ao3 and I looked up and realized that I had written like 600 WORDS?? By ACCIDENT?? Huh?? Anywaysss... 😂

Here's some people I already know (but haven't seen in a while so it's always nice to hear from them :)) & a couple newer friends <3

@starrylolo @where-does-it-hurt @friendlyneigborhoodnerd @morgsaborgs @bootleg-exe @jennsterjay @weirdfishy (ik you already did this but you're one of the besties now so I had to) (<3)

Nine (or so) People You'd Like To Get To Know Better

I've been tagged twice in this game, so I should probably finally go ahead and do it. First by @drivingthesehillsaway like a week ago. Sorry I didn't reply sooner! I was in the middle of something and sent it to my drafts and then forgot about it. And I was tagged again today by @stealingyourbones. Both threads had a lot of replies, so I figured I'd just make a new chain.

Rules: Answer the 4 questions and tag 9 people you'd like to know better.

Last Song You Listened To:

It's a fantastic song. Everything by this artist is amazing and I cannot recommend him enough.

Currently Watching: I'm part of the way through a rewatch of Good Omens Season 2 because holy shit.

Currently Reading: Excluding fanfic, I'm most of the way through an audiobook of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. I took a break to watch Good Omens, though, but I think I can go back to it. A lot of exciting things are going down.

Current Obsession: Well, it should be pretty obvious that the main one is the DPxDC crossover fandom. But there's also Good Omens. And my hands are itching to pick up my crochet hook and finish the second panel of the blanket I'm making. It doesn't take much to rekindle my obsessions for Jane Austen, Newsies, and the Bandstand Musical, either.

And 9 people I'd like to know better! I'm gonna tag people I don't talk to very often (or ever) because this is who I want to know. (No pressure, though.) In no particular order, and this in no way encapsulates all of you:

@gremlin-bot, @addie-lover-of-stories, @sangotori, @sjrose1216, @vythika96, @thederpclub, @georgelight, @foxachu, @serasvictoria02

[likeastarstar]

8:05 PM when the sun met the moon.

(A/N: this is a short prequel to my fuckboi hobi drabble series which you can read here, listed in chronological: Snow Child, 2:37 PM , 9:00 PM, 2:54 AM. this takes place like...a year before 2:37 PM and is from Hobi's POV of the first time he sees OC.)

The first time Hoseok saw you, it was snowing.

Snow was rare where your college was- there were tons of people playing in the streets, adults suddenly reverted back to children making snow angels and drawing messages into the pure white sheets beneath their feet. I love you, happy holidays, multiple expletives that Hoseok may or may not have contributed to.

He should've known something special was about to happen, the freak weather should've been a clue because there you were- his own personal version of an angel.

You had snow in your hair and your cheeks were flushed, the tip of your nose red from the cold and a bright look in your eye. He hadn't ever seen someone smile the way you did, running around in the snow that day. It felt like someone had muted everything in the world other than you.

It was cheesy, he knew that.

Still, he was the kind of guy who was constantly moving- never focusing on one thing for too long, always seeking a new thrill in whatever form it came in- so a moment of focus as intense as the one he had when he first laid eyes on you was rare.

He stood there, transfixed by the way you laughed without a care in the world, jostling a taller boy trying to throw a snowball at you. Hoseok ignored whoever that was- focusing instead on your presence.

He scanned your outfit, noting absentmindedly that he liked the hat you had on, it was fuzzy and over dramatic and matched your equally as flamboyant coat in a matching tone. He liked how warm your eyes looked, staring at them for too long before realizing you noticed his gaze and were walking towards him.

Shit- there you were, walking towards him.

His mind whited out in the moment, trying to think of what to say. He was good at this sort of thing usually- always knew exactly what to say to a girl like that.

"Hey, Jimin!" You said cheerily, sidelining Hoseok completely, "Jin shoved a snowball down my back- wanna help me get him back?"

Hoseok looked to his left blearily, having completely forgotten that the only reason he was out here was because Jimin had dragged him outside to see the snow and meet his friend he wouldn't shut up about.

Was this her?

Hoseok's head snapped between Jimin and you, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Jimin had gone on and on about a girl he had met in a film class he had taken as an extracurricular- about how interesting you were, how funny. He said wanted to introduce Hoseok and the rest of his friend group to you to make you an official member- with one stipulation.

Hoseok was not allowed to hit on you.

"Hell yeah- this is Hoseok, by the way." Jimin responded, smiling broadly at you before gesturing over to Hoseok.

"Oh- hi," You grinned, stating your name in response. He repeated it in a soft tone and your smile widened- a good sign in Hoseok's mind. You nodded, tilting your head to the side, "Nice to meet you- are you any good at making snowballs?"

He decided that he liked saying your name, wondering how it would sound to have you say his name, in multiple contexts but especially a sexually charged one. He spaced out for a moment, imagining your voice breathy and broken, the sounds you would make if he touched you.

Someone else called your name and he liked it coming out of their mouth less, narrowing his eyes at the taller boy behind you as you ran off towards him, pelting the world's shittiest snowball in his direction. Hoseok was about to follow you before he was stopped by a gloved hand on his arm.

"Don't."

Hoseok stopped in his tracks, daydream evaporating within seconds, "Huh?"

"I know exactly what you're thinking- you wanna fuck her." Jimin whined, annoyance bleeding through his tone.

"I do not want to fuck her," Hoseok lied, scoffing dramatically.

"Oh really? So you've just been making sex eyes at her for five minutes for no reason?"

"No, of course not." Hoseok said lamely. "I've been staring at her because she's, like, gorgeous."

"You're trying to get in her pants!" Jimin looked outraged, stomping his foot down indignantly all while you ran around obliviously in the background, flailing your arms about like a cartoon character.

"Okay- Fine! What's wrong with that?" Hoseok snapped, "She's a girl, isn't she? Is she not straight? Does she have an aversion to good dick?"

"First of all- ew," Jimin cringed. "Second of all, she is off limits, okay? She's my friend and I refuse to let you do your little fuck boy routine with her because when it doesn't work and I have to choose between the two of you, I will choose her. Don't make me choose."

"Damn," Hoseok pouted. Suddenly, visions of you under him were shifting into ones of you crying, which did nothing but make Hoseok sad. "You'd choose her, seriously? You're my best friend."

"That should tell you something," They said lightly. "Promise me- you won't hit on her."

Hoseok whined but conceded, knowing his chances with you were probably slim to begin with. "Fine, I promise. I won't hit on her."

Hoseok really did intend on keeping the promise, if it weren't for one cold night a couple months later.

masterlist.

[xpeachesncream]

bands | five

[ series masterlist ]

summary: jeon jungkook has it all: the looks, the fame, the money, the women. being considered the sexiest man in the industry, he finds no complaints about the way his life is going nor does he find any reason to apologize for the way he approaches it. he is a force to be reckoned with - until he meets you.

pairing: stripper!reader x idol!jjk

genre: (18+) strip club/nightlife au, post grad au | fluff, angst, smut

words: 3.2k

warnings: cussing, mature language/implied sexual content, implied nudity/nudity (at the nightclub), teasing, sprinkle of breast touching, alcohol consumption, pole dancing, straddling/lap dances, slight degradation/implied degradation, rough handling, flashback scene

note: took a stab at this jungkook one shot + wips are updated!

tags: @brightcolorsoffendme @min-nicoleee @eggbutnotyolk @ra-mun-e @miinoongi@ephemeralkookie @ppeachyttae @thebeebi @bluesharksandfish @kooafraid @liriaus​ @thisartemisnevermisses​ @ggukkieland​ @preciouschimine​ @sunniejinnie​ (please message me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)

'Do better' is exactly what Jungkook does, because he wants you, and he wants you bad. He thought he had you wrapped around his finger, when in fact, you had him wrapped around yours and he was crumbling by the minute. It's a little entertaining to you, seeing his name pop on your phone throughout the day with texts like:

[jungkook]: have a good day today, pretty lady.

[jungkook]: :)

[jungkook]: can't stop thinking about you and how good you looked last night.

[jungkook]: hope you aren't overworking yourself.

[jungkook]: can i call you tonight?

You would chuckle every single time, seeing him weak for you. You weren't gonna lie - you were fucking weak for him too, cause lord, who wouldn't be with Jungkook? The only difference is that you were just the stronger one between the both of you.

Ha, ain't shit but a hairflip. You for sure got this from your mama.

"To the club for Yoongi hyung's birthday!" Taehyung yells after they finish rehearsals for the next set of performances scheduled to happen in the next week and filming some content for Youtube.

"To the club-club!" Namjoon responds, throwing his hat back on.

"Excited to see some pretty girls shaking their ass and titties in my face." Yoongi lets out a cocky laugh.

"No private show?"

"No, hell no. I want 'em all." Yoongi smirks. "Jungkookie is the only one who loves his private shows."

"Yeah, yeah." Jungkook brushes it off with a chuckle.

"Are we finally gonna figure out who she is tonight?"

"Nope. She's not working tonight. Good try." He feels relieved saying that because to be honest, he's feeling completely and utterly selfish with you. He didn't wanna share, not with the guys. Hell no.

Except he's gonna have to tonight and he has yet to learn that.

» FLASHBACK

Jimin had just solidified the plans with Yoongi a couple of hours ago, learning that he wanted to head to the strip club for his birthday. And yeah, everyone has their own favorites. Everyone has their own agenda coming to the club. But, Yoongi says he wants to shut down the club for the evening so all 7 of them can enjoy the general floor together.

So, Jimin makes it a goal to grant Yoongi's wishes, but he also has another thing on his mind.

He had been picking up on Jungkook's little habits lately, even though he was notorious for always being on his phone and for barely paying attention to the environment around him. Jimin just knew he had it bad for you, miss new girl, simply by how his mood would change whenever he looked at his phone. How he was always at the club. How he always got shy and beat around the bush whenever you were brought up.

He just knew.

And to be honest, he was concerned. Moreso for Jungkook and his safety. Jungkook and his feelings. Things didn't sit right for him, and he worried that you were only out for his money. For his fame. For the attention. For all the wrong things. And he didn't like that shit one bit. He wasn't gonna let anyone take advantage of his little brother like that, he wouldn't give anybody the chance.

He wants to figure out who exactly you were. He wants to find out what you're all about. He wants to finally meet you face to face.

"Mr. Park Jimin!" Mr. Bigs says with a loud laugh. Jimin gives him a small smile as he tugs the brim of his hat down and approaches him. "How can I help you?"

"Yoongi's birthday is coming up at the end of the week, is it possible to shut the club down so the rest of the guys can enjoy the general stage together?" He pulls out an envelope and hands it to Mr.Bigs, his smile getting bigger the more he counts all the dollar bills inside.

"Whatever works for my boys." He laughs.

"Thanks." Jimin chuckles. "Uh, one more thing - if it's not too much of a bother, could I request a specific dancer to be out on the floor that night?"

"Yeah, of course you can. Who's the lady we're thinking of?"

"Whoever Jungkook's lady is." Mr. Bigs laughs so more and nods.

"Ah, I'm assuming he wants her there, huh? He really loves watching that young lady, but hey, whatever works and makes ya'll happy right?"

"Yeah, I suppose he does. I'd like to keep the request between us though." Jimin lies.

"Don't you worry about it. I'll make sure Phoenix is there that night. I'll have all of this covered so Mr. Min Yoongi has a fantastic birthday." He winks.

"Thanks, sir. We'll see you then." Jimin nods his head before heading out. Mr. Bigs waits until Jimin is out the door before pulling out his phone to give you a call.

"Hello?"

"You need to be here Friday, special request."

"From who? Can't I just take the—"

"Stop questioning me little girl, you hear me? Your ass better be here on Friday or else I'm taking a chunk out of your fucking tips and check." He abruptly ends the call.

» END FLASHBACK

And so the infamous Bangtan Sonyeondan boys are dressed, whipping out their cleanest, black attires from their closets. They take a couple of shots back to back before they're loading into their cars to be driven to the strip club. The club is empty, except for a few body guards, bar staff and the dancers.

"Oh shit, we get our own private show? Like actually?" Yoongi says, stepping into the empty club that was more than ready for the boys' arrival. There were topless dancers waiting alongside the stage with trays filled with different drinks and shots.

"Happy birthday, hyung." Jimin says, playfully massaging his shoulder.

"God, this is such a good way to end the day." Namjoon takes a shot from one of the beautiful ladies near the general stage. He smirks at her as he eyes her up and down, licking his lips when he realizes how fucking skimpy the bikini bottom she has on actually is. "Sheesh."

"Boys!" Mr. Bigs' deep voice comes from the other end of the club as he approaches them. "Please, enjoy and help yourself to whatever you like. Happy Birthday, Mr. Min Yoongi." He winks.

"Thank you, sir!" Yoongi yells as he grabs another shot from the tray. The rest of the boys follow suit, taking more drinks and eyeing the ladies around them, but Jungkook helps himself to a seat in the front of the general stage.

"Someone misses his private lady." Hobi jokes, causing him to shake his head.

"Whatever, as long as I don't have to share her with you guys." He spits out. "What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine." Jungkook finishes jokingly with his infamous line. It seems like a full house of dancers tonight, either on the sidelines or now entering the general stage. Jungkook rests his foot on his knee, ready to get the night started so he can enjoy, but also hurry on home afterwards to try and hear your voice.

But you were in the back room of the club.

No one really knew what was going on outside unless you had been outside already. Mr. Bigs gave you all a pep talk saying each and every single one of you needed to be on your best behavior, especially out on the floor. Bigs and his men refused to name the special guests just so none of you would psych yourselves out and mess up. You didn't know you were soon going to be catering to the BTS boys together, and Jungkook didn't know you were going to be one of the main dancers on stage either. His eyes were glazing over the rest of the girls on stage because they weren't you, to be honest. I mean, hell. It's always nice to be around topless, beautiful women. But he had gotten so used to seeing you. Your face. Your body. Touching you. Smelling your strawberry scent.

Jimin situates himself next to Jungkook, the rest of the group aligning themselves along the seats in front of the stage. He eyes Jungkook, taking note of how uninterested and bored he was - so bored that he even caught him trying to hide his yawn. Maybe he was just tired, as with everyone else, but that just meant his special lady friend wasn't out yet.

"You three, up. Now." Bigs says, coming into the backroom from the floor, pointing his finger towards the curtains. "Phoenix, remember. Don't throw no stupid ass attitude out there, playing hard to get like you're some kind of queen." He scoffs in disgust before dismissing the three of you. You roll your eyes, already highly irritated being there since it was originally your day off and no one wanted to give you answers as to why you needed to be there. Mr. Bigs had almost all the dancers out here to tonight, why the fuck would he need you?

The lights are off for a quick second before they dimly shine onto the stage, the music playing loudly in the background. You step onto the stage, your eyes instantly landing on the man front and center.

Jungkook.

You swallow the lump in your throat seeing the rest of the boy band around him, already smirking and licking their lips at the sight of you and the two other dancers on the stage. Jungkook adjusts himself in his seat, fixing his jacket as he sits upright to lean forward onto his knees. His eyes are glued onto you, almost like he's confused as to why you're here right now.

Why you're giving him and his boys a show.

Jimin catches Jungkook's slight uneasiness, his gaze following Jungkook's onto the stage. His eyes were set on you, the pretty lady swirling her body around the silver pole in the middle of the stage.

"She's fucking beautiful." Yoongi says, immediately getting up and reaching into the inner breast pocket of his jacket to pull out some bills. He stands in the front, almost blocking Jungkook's view of you. He catches Yoongi placing a couple of hundreds under the bottom portion of your fishnet bodysuit. The bodysuit that captured your curves so perfectly - thighs thick and full, ass cheeks popping out of the thong portion, your titties and pussy very visible through the fishnet material. God, you were a fucking beauty. Jungkook watches as you squat in front of Yoongi, bouncing up and down before you get up scandalously and shake your ass in front of his eyes. "Ohhhh shit." Yoongi bites onto his bottom lip as he laughs and tucks more bills near your thigh.

"It's his birthday!" Hobi yells, causing you to smirk at Yoongi and grab his hand to let him feel up on your breast. Jungkook shifts in his seat, a little envious of how Yoongi was able to touch you in that way before he was able to. Like fuck? Could it be my birthday too? Could it be my birthday everyday? He was never gonna let this one go. He continues to watch as you push Yoongi back onto his chair and give him a birthday lapdance.

"Happy birthday." You say softly in his ear before getting back up on the stage to do some tricks on the pole.

One, two: Turn upside down.

Three, four: Wrap them legs around.

Five, six: Treat the pole like a slip and slide.

Seven, eight: Flip back up and slide back down.

"Damn, it's my birthday over here too." Jin says tapping his lap and tossing a roll of bills near you before looking over at Taehyung. He's also throwing bills onto the stage, but he's focused on the other main lady off to the side. Still doesn't mean he isn't throwing bills your way either, cause he is every chance he gets to look over at you.

"Like what you see?" Jimin jokes with Jungkook.

"Yeah." Is all he says as he's approaching you. He gives you this look, which you don't understand what it means, but you didn't have the time to decipher it right at this moment. You watch Jungkook closely, his mouth pressed tightly together as his eyes are still scanning your entire body before he brings them back up to meet your eyes. You crawl towards him seductively, your fingers lightly brushing down his neck before you gently tug on his jacket. He doesn't say anything as he tucks bills near your titties, giving you one last look before sitting back down in his seat.

The main show comes to an end pretty quickly afterwards, other dancers making their way to the poles if they wanted or kept serving the boys whatever they needed. You hop off the stage, collecting your bills and folding them tightly together, tucking it deep on the side of your breast to keep it hidden. You head outside to get some air because what the fuck just even happened? You weren't expecting that whatsoever, even though you knew better than that. You should have always thought there would be a chance you'd have to do what you just did. You should have always been prepared.

"Lil mama, you looked good dancing up there in that tiny ass suit you got on." One of the men in Bigs' crew said as they lingered outside the backroom door, smoking cigarettes. "What do you say? Wanna come home with me so I can help get that off?" He smirks, approaching you.

"I'm only out here to get some air, please don't come up to me with all that bullshit." You spit out, causing the guy to furrow his brows at you.

"This one's got a little fire in her." He laughs, coming closer to you. "Whatchu gonna do if I don't take no for an answer, miss thang?" He grips your wrist tightly. You try to break free, but after tonight, you were too fucking tired to even deal with his stupid shit. "Oh, she's weak now?" He grips tighter, making you wince as you try to pry him off. He brings you closer, his face inches away from yours - so close you can smell the smoke and alcohol mixed together, coming off of his breath. Suddenly, you hear someone clear their throat behind them, their attention going from you to the individual. "Oh shit, it's Jeon Jungkook." You watch as the man lets you go, Jungkook standing there with his hands in his pockets and jaw clenched. He doesn't say anything besides nod to acknowledge them. "Big fan, dude."

"The fuck? I had my private show scheduled with Phoenix almost 10 minutes ago. You guys have been holding her up?" Jungkook is obviously throwing on an angry act because you didn't have any private shows booked tonight.

"Shit, my bad. I didn't know—"

"You didn't know cause you were too busy being a jackass?"

"Mr. Jeon, no disrespect here. I'm sorry I took time away from your show. Please, take whatever time you need with her - on me." He says, his friends silently standing by as they throw their cigarettes and go back inside.

"Yeah, it should be on you for fucking wasting my time." Jungkook doesn't say anything else, but he does glare at him until he's almost tripping over himself making his way back inside the club. "You okay?" Jungkook asks, coming closer.

"Yeah. Thanks." You rub your hand up and down your arm, the cold air nipping at your skin.

"I thought you said you weren't working tonight."

"I wasn't supposed to. Bigs just told me I was requested to be here tonight." You raise your eyebrow. "Wait, how did you not know? I thought it was—"

"You thought it was me that requested for you?" He chuckles. "Funny that you think I'd share you with the guys."

"Sooo?"

"I don't know." He shrugs. "Maybe he just wanted his best dancers to be here."

"Hm." You slightly smirk at the compliment. "Best dancers, huh?" He rolls his eyes and playfully sighs.

"Yeah, don't milk it." A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips.

"You gonna be here all night?"

"Possibly since it's Yoongi's birthday." You nod. He stays silent as he looks at you for a bit, his head slightly cocked to the side.

"So does he get a pass for tonight?" Jungkook chuckles and shakes his head.

"Only cause it's his birthday."

"Mm, not even because he's your senior or anything of the sort?"

"Nah." He smiles a bit. "Not at all. I hope you know I'll never forget it."

"Please, I didn't know Jeon Jungkook was a drama actor, too. What can't he do?" You sarcastically say.

"Okay, say whatever you want." He kicks the dust below his shoes as he lightly chuckles with you. It's silent again, but it's a calming silence. There's no awkward vibes or anything of that matter. You begin to rub your arms again, the cold nipping at your skin harshly. "You should get back inside, it's freezing." He watches you shiver in front of him. He isn't sure if he should hand you his jacket, even if he does want to help you out in the slightest bit, but he figures he shouldn't since you still needed to finish your shift.

"Okay." Your expression softens. "See you in there?" He silently nods, watching your hips sway back and forth until you're deeper in the club. The night doesn't end for everyone until a little bit past 2, close to 3am. You're hauling your tired ass back home, Kai struggling and barely making it alive as soon as you walk through your front door.

"Jesus fuck, thank god." He shuts the TV off and covers his entire body with the blankets.

"Kai, I told you that you didn't have to wait."

"Well until you're out of the club, this is my life now." Why was everyone so dramatic tonight? You chuckle to yourself.

"Okay, if you say so. Night bubba."

"Night." He yawns. In about 2 seconds, he's back to snoring loudly, causing you to laugh to yourself as you get ready for bed.

[jungkook] 3:14am: home?

[y/n] 3:17am: yes. you?

Maybe Kai didn't have to stay up for you after all.

[jungkook] 3:23am: yeah.

[jungkook] 3:24am: i'm assuming you had a really long day today so sleep well, Y/N. can i call you tomorow?

[y/n] 3:20am: you can, i don't know if i'll answer though. :) goodnight jungkook.

And so Jungkook smiles to himself before grabbing a water and heading back to his dorm room. He was slowly getting used to your sarcasm and attitude, being that he has never had to deal with someone being this way towards him. It was fun, and new.

"So was your lady actually there tonight?" Taehyung asks with Jimin sitting next to him.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jungkook scrunches his nose before turning on his heel to walk away.

"Wow, Jungkookie is being selfish. Namjoon hyung go scold him." Namjoon laughs.

"Jungkookie don't be selfish." Joon says nonchalantly just to keep Taehyung happy.

"Yeah, yeah." He shuts himself in his room to get ready for bed. Jimin silently sits next to Taehyung as they relive the night's events before going to bed. He had seen you and Jungkook talking outside, which only solidifies his assumption.

And he was onto you.

i'm good on that pussy shit; i don't want what i can get, i want someone with secrets that nobody, nobody, nobody knows

track six: gangsta - kehlani

[theangryjikooker]

This is just a little rant cause I thought I was so sure but please read the whole thing 😂😭

So literally like a couple days ago (literally like 2/3 days ago) I was so sure about jikook. Like I was responding to asks on other tumblrs about jikook and my 90-10 rule. 90: being that I believe they're real and 10: because of inconsistencies, but now I'm really not sure anymore 😂.

Like I'm a person who is very stubborn in my beliefs and isn't swayed easily. I literally picked up the habit of reading people and their body language and expressions because I'm an only child and most times alone, so I developed that habit.

What's fueling that too, is that I'm a baby army, like baby baby army. I just became an army late May 2022. I rewatched all their content to get a better understanding of the group without any fan made storyline and in the midst of that, I saw jikook. They're weird. They're weird in their behavior. One thing that stood out to me was the hesitancy. Alot of things that the members do naturally, sometimes be weird to them. Why are you hesitating to put your arm around his shoulder when you do that for everybody else. In the video for the commercial (I can't remember the name but it was butter era) jimin interlocked their fingers, jk interlocked his too but removed his hand and looked at the camera. Why? Jm's behavior towards jk nowadays is very questionable behavior in my books. Why? This and many other things were in my 90% along with many other subtle moments and that's the thing, the grand gestures don't move me. Rosebowl would never be on my list of questionable jikook things.

Recently I've been hearing things about jk and girls which is an inconsistency with my thoughts. There's a lot of holes that have been popping up in my thoughts for the last 2 days. Besides the tone of voice they use with each other or jm looking like he's been struck by fucking cupid, I'm now not seeing a difference in behaviors. Now I'm not saying there isn't any, I'm just telling myself "maybe you let your bias formed a thinking". But when I tell myself that, it doesn't make sense.

There has been a time(s) when I have been right with real people (friends) and now they on the 3rd year of marriage, so I have confidence in my habit of reading people but those 2 make me question myself.

But like I said there's alot of inconsistencies in the being real and in them not being real for me I always think about why make such a big deal in not being seen in each other's room. They're bandmates nobody would bat an eye, why the secrecy? The amount of times jimin slipped up and said "our room" is about (to my knowledge) 3 times. One where he did a vlive the next day after the osaka live, one where everybody thought jk was in jm's room when hobi came into his room and the other when he said he would invite jk but if he invited him, they wouldn't focus on the vlive itself. 3 times so far, now it could mean he might have not meant jk but (tin hat on) I think he did. His bday vlive was awkward (even though many don't think it was) but not in a bad way. That shit made me feel like i was suffocating, like I deadass felt like I shouldn't be watching that and I have not watched it a second time. Again with his bday vlive, nobody would bat an eye that you're in his studio because yall are bandmates why the secrecy? And hobi immediately saying "let's go to my room"...huh? To go from one bandmate's room to another? Huh? Jm's whole vibe SWITCHED in the hopevminkook live when jk came in. When I tell you that shit shook me, IT SHOOK ME. I said "wtf?!". But that ain't the part that really got me, what really got me was that jk could've sat next to Tae if Tae moved across, there was room that all 4 could've sat on the couch but he immediately when to jh and tapped him to move, he moved and he said sorry.......sorry....jh said sorry. 🤔 Excuse me? Why the hell would he say sorry, that's his fucking room. This is what I mean when I said I like subtlety. The unspokenly spoken, the subconscious gravitation. Now this might just seem like a lot to me and not you which is fine (that's why we're human, to have different views). This was under my 90%.

Then I came upon your Tumblr which became a good wake up call to me and it became my personification of smelling salts 😂😭😭. You have me thinking that maybe I DO need to be on the neutral side of things until I see definitive proof in which we may never get.

There's so much that I want to get into but I don't want to make it too long but for further interactions (cause I'll be sending asks in the future too 😭😭) you can call me assassin anon🥷.

Hahaha, assassin anon. I tag people by their usernames when they use one, but if you'd like me to refer to you as "Assassin" when writing to you, I'm more than happy to do so.

Anyway, hear me out: my feelings on Jikook aren't meant to influence anyone's feelings on them. The main reason why I encourage neutrality in shipping is because of what happens when people do go overboard. Sometimes the fantasy doesn't line up with reality, and people either get really upset or they double down on a narrative that is only ever rooted in speculation; for others, especially popular Jkkrs, they completely disregard how much of an influence they have and impart their ideations to a younger and more impressionable audience, which I personally believe can have repercussions.

I never really say things like more people should be like me or should adopt a "healthier" parasocial relationship, unless they're genuinely concerned about their fixation on shipping. I think I've only had 2-3 anons (more in my DMs) who were quickly becoming upset with their participation in shipping or recognizing that shipping Jikook was developing into an obsession for them. These are usually the only times I'll ever directly tell someone to not do what shippers/supporters tend to do as part of the fandom experience (i.e., analyzing).

Otherwise, I don't actually mind the stance of Jikook supporters (provided it isn’t delusional). If we can agree to disagree, I use the opportunity to see why the other side has their beliefs. I'm not much of a daydreamer by nature and am partial to logic. I can only entertain Jikook things so far, but my inability to ignore the incongruous aspects is what keeps me "grounded." But because I do like Jikook and their dynamics, and because I'm also fond of the idea that they would work together as a couple, I have to reconcile that logical side somehow. Ergo, I'm "neutral," a.k.a. Schrödinger's Jikook a.k.a. they are/aren't until something comes up when it's known that they are or aren't.

Just do you, Assassin. Whether you do or don’t take away anything from my blog isn’t really for me to comment on because your experience and how you choose to interact with your world from your POV is yours alone.

Thanks for sharing your views!

[al1x00]

⚠️CHAPTER 4 SPOILERS⚠️

Ngl as soon as I saw this I went " Oh shit better grab emotional support life-sized Hobie cutout" (yes I made a giant cutout of him)

Read the first paragraphs and already started to cry my eyes out😭 it's the longing that gets me istg.

THE LINGERING GAZES THE THOUGHTS ABOUT HOBIE'S SCARS I'M SOBBING I JUST DSJMHBDAHAJSD AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LET THEM SMOOCH AND LIVE HAPPILY I'M BEGGING.

MY GIRL MY WIFE MY PAL MY HOMEGIRL MY ROTTEN SOLDIER MY GOOD-TIME GIRL YURII AAAAA I MISSED HER SO MUCH

I swear Yuri makes me weak in the knees everytime with her damn nicknames😭 I'm simping for her right now ngl

Me reading Hobie's description:

“Or enhances what's lacking.” YOU DID NOT- HELPP THE WAY SHE JUST ROASTED HIM I'M CRYING SHE CALLED HIM OUT ON HIS NON-EXISTENT ASS

Don't mind me I'm just having intense BDAS chapter 7 flashbacks like a retired war veteran while reading the duel part

Oh so R really does come from an abusive family, we got this theory confirmed. I kinda had a feeling about it when I read that one part of the last chapter that said that R's aunt called her "broken" or something along those lines.

But why did they punish R? Maybe because they didn't want her to see Hobie because he didn't have a good status and was considered a simple peasant while R's family was a bit more rich?? Hobie implies many times that R came from a financially stable home. IDK THERE ARE SO MANY THOUGHTS SWIRLING AROUND IN MY MIND RN😭😭

A new horse?👀 I already love her tbh, and she's Bucky's opposite colors!!

THE HAT THE FUCKING HAT I'M GOING FERAL OVER HERE

HE JUST DID THAT SO NONCHALANTLY HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO ACT WHEN I KNOW THE HAT RULE EXCUSE ME SIR

"he still loves you" AAAAAA I'M CRYING I KNEW IT. He isn't that dumb to deny his feelings for R, even if he sometimes tries to basically gaslight himself into thinking he changed and that R doesn't love him anymore.

Me personally I would pounce on him first chance I get to see him after five years of being apart and just never let him go again. I'd basically attach myself to his side with super glue.

GODDAMMIT JUST WHEN I THOUGHT WE WERE MAKING PROGRESS SOMEONE HAD TO FUCKING INTERRUPT HUH?

God I can't wait for the next chapter, I already loved this one and how the situation's evolving and I have a feeling the next ones will be even better.

You always amaze me with your writing it's insane, I said it a million times before and I'll say it a million times more but I genuinely love how you describe situation seen from the reader's eye, it really makes you feel like you're in the story and it's amazing, so thank you for this amazing chapter😽

Where the River Flows

Pairing: Cowboy! Hobie Brown x Fem! Reader

Word count: 7.4k

Tags: Use of Y/N sparsely, no specific physical description of the reader (except for her clothing), CW food mentions, TW Blood and violence, TW death, CW injury, CW guns, CW alcohol. Old west AU, cowboy AU

Our Place in the Middle of Nowhere Masterlist

Navigation

CHAPTER 4 >>> CHAPTER 5

You haven't slept this well in years, the last time you had was back when you've last slept next to him on the same lumpy mattress of his flat that you've once called home. Your eyes blink awake, cheek pressed against a pillow, it's soft, so soft that for a second you thought it was Hobie's arm. You stare at the ceiling, a carved magnolia tree stares back. Its branches are full of blossoms, perfectly carved just like the illustrations in your books. It's so vivid that you could practically see its pinkish hue. It's weird, you think, the carving, when the rest of the room is sparsely decorated; filled with drab oak, and cheap lamps. The room smells old, lived in by hundreds of travelers before you.

A creak echoes out at the far end of the bed, prompting you to look upon Hobie's bareback. Healed bullet wounds litter all over his flesh that you once held on. Raised scars dotted along his lower back like stars, stars that were once drenched in ruby. You wonder if it still hurts, the stars, like how the hole he left in your heart five years ago. You hope it doesn't hurt as much for him, you'll never wish agony upon him; even if a part of you thinks he deserves it.

Maybe you should tell him, tell him what agony has befallen you since he left. The pile of letters sewn into your skirt remains to be read by his viridescent eyes; its wax seal remains closed, the words of longing and hate are still scribbled upon the yellowed paper.

Your eyes dart along the expanse of his skin, frown getting deeper and deeper with every new scar you find. Hobie puts on his shirt, buttoning each one, the cloth hiding his own misfortune from your weary eyes.

“You talk in your sleep.” He finally breaks his silence. Looking over his shoulder, he regrets it immediately. The simple sight of your bed head and puffy eyes brings back memories of when you'd wake up next to him.

“I know,” I've been told. You grunt as you lift yourself off the pillow, elbow propping you whilst you watch him put on his cowboy boots and clinking spurs.

He blinks, hand pausing along the buckles. “It's new, you've never done that before.”

“Just like you said, a lot of things can change in five years.” Sitting up, you place your chin atop your knees, legs tucked under the covers, arms holding your legs in place. “What was I saying? In my sleep, I mean.”

“You were mumbling…” my name, he sighs at the thought of telling you the truth. “Someone's name I think, and egg soup for some reason.”

“I'm hungry.” You ignore whose name you might've been saying in your sleep. And you think it's not his.

“We need new clothes first, people must've gotten our descriptions by now. So we need to change.” Hobie puts on his leather vest, the metals of it clinking against one another. Then the hat comes after, he stands up, walking towards his gun belt.

“Okay, breakfast after?” You fight a yawn, palms rubbing harshly on your eyelids.

“Yes, breakfast after.” He secures his belt on his hip, silver guns shining in the early morning sun. “I don't think they have egg soup though.”

You crack a small smile. “It doesn't matter, anything will do.”

“The saloon has pumpkin soup I think, does that sound good?” Hobie has no idea why he's prolonging the conversation about soup out of all the things he could discuss with you.

You nod, staring at him through fond eyes. “Mm-hmm, sounds good.”

“Good, we need something warm to eat.” He realizes that he's been standing awkwardly at the doorway. Clearing his throat, you fight a smile. “Get dressed.” With the door shutting close behind him, he slaps his cheeks to wake himself. He needs coffee, or something stronger for that matter.

Meanwhile, you watch the space he just left with hope in your heart.

—

The dress shop smells nicer than the inn, it's elegant, looking like it doesn't belong in the middle of the dingy town. Every pile of clothing is neatly folded over the other, different outfits are displayed over the windows and display cases. Both leather and cotton are the most prominent ones, but there are a few chiffon dresses, lace and silks placed alongside the rougher fabrics. They're all wonderfully made, each having their own brand of beauty in every stitch.

You watch yourself in the floor length mirror. Dark trousers instead of a skirt hangs around your waist. A nice crisp white dress shirt on your torso fits perfectly on you thanks to the friendly tailor.

“You need a vest, or you'll get cold during your travels.” She taps your shoulder, genuinely smiling at you through the mirror. “Are you sure you don't want to wear a corset and skirt? You'd look just as marvellous.” Her eyes shine just like the dainty rings around her fingers.

“I'm sure, skirts and corsets are an inconvenience.”

“Well, you've given me a proper challenge then. But is it a challenge if everything looks good on you?” Her long dark hair sways behind her as she peruses her own shop, dozens of embroidered cloth folded neatly on tables.

“You're good,” you watch her sashay along her shop, colourful vests piled on her arm. “Just as good as the tailors back at home.”

Yuri, you learned her name just a few minutes ago, returns to you with her arm full of vests. “‘Just as good?’ oh sweetheart, I'm better.” She grins mischievously at you, red lips curled into a smug smile. Yuri would be friends with Hobie, you think, maybe in another life. “Arms up, my darling.” She holds up numerous different vests upon your body until she settles for a royal blue leather vest that has hydrangeas embroidered on it. “This is it!” Gasping excitedly, you let her help put the vest on. “Fucking beautiful! If I was your husband I'd be jumping your bones.” Grasping your shoulders, she places her chin atop it, smiling at you.

Your heart thumps loudly at the word ‘husband.’ “Thank you, Yuri.” You fiddle with the empty gun belt around your hips.

“Now for a coat or a jacket befitting a glorious woman like yourself.” She winks, twisting around in search of another dozen or so outerwear in her stock.

“Oh I think this is enough.” You don't want to use up all of Hobie's money, especially when he's still in the dressing room, none the wiser.

Yuri turns towards you abruptly, hand on her chest, feigning hurt. “Enough? Do you like prancing around town in your birthday suit?”

“No—”

“Then you shall have a jacket. The best one I've got.”

You bite your lip, a nervous tick of yours that Hobie once pointed out after kissing it off you. “I just don't want to spend too much.”

“You mean you don't want him to spend too much?” Yuri saunters over to you, boots clacking on the worn out floorboards. “What are husbands good for if not for spending their money for your own gain, hmm?” There it is again, your heart thundering loudly inside your chest. “Besides, you'd look marvelous in this coat. I'll give you a discount because you're the nicest customer I've had in years.” She leans closer to you, draping the leather coat on your shoulders for you to see. You beam at her, thankful. “It's similar to the one I gave to him, you'd be matching. Well, except this one is in a lighter shade.”

The coat reaches down to your knees, cream coloured with little fringes up front right where the front pockets are. It's beautiful with its white threads weaving around its seams. If you look closer at the bottom, you see that it gets darker as it gets closer to the hem. An almost brown shade that reminds you of the oak tree back home.

You inhale, staring at your reflection that you barely recognize in the new clothes. “Do you think it suits me?” Your voice is small, Yuri watches your expression, understanding what you truly meant.

Her playful voice lowers to a softer one, hands rubbing along your arms comfortably. “Of course, sweetheart. You're more than ready for the badlands.” You smile at her, nodding along to her encouraging words.

She twirls you around to face her, you chuckle at the sudden good hearted movement. “Now, my favourite part, the boots!”

—

You pick lint off the armchair while you wait for him to exit out of the dressing room. You're comfortable in your new clothes, it snuggles you cozily, you've never felt like this in any clothing at all; whether it be silk or velvet, all the dresses back home don't compare to what you have on. You look at your dark cowboy boots once again with a faint smile, its gorgeous spider web-like design has your heart bouncing in glee. It's a stark contrast to the threadbare shoes you had on. You make the shiny spurs clink on the floor, chuckling to yourself.

“Careful, don't scruff my floors.” Yuri appears next to you, handing you a small messenger bag.

“What's this?”

“A bag, every woman needs one to store her belongings.” She gestures towards the worn out skirt on your lap. “Especially the important ones.”

“I—”

“It's on the house, just this one though.” She chuckles before handing it to you.

“Thank you, Yuri. That's awfully kind of you.” The leather is rough against your bare hands.

“No worries, darling.” She shrugs, “after all the things you've bought it's only normal that I'd give you a little freebie.”

A door suddenly creaks open, and out comes Hobie in his new outfit. A light airy dress shirt fits perfectly on his torso, the same black bandana still hangs around his neck, hiding the large scar. He fixes the fit of his dark blue vest even though it clearly doesn't need fixing. It has a typical western embroidery on it, saved for the almost invisible peonies dotted along the buttons. His gloves are the same, lighter around the palms where friction is usually present. You flick your eyes over to his coat, Yuri's right, it's almost the same as yours. The length is shorter to accommodate for the warmer weather coming in. The shade is in this mahogany brown, warm in the eyes, a hue lighter around the hem, almost as light as your own coat. Frills are lined around the arms, the silver spikes placed atop the shoulders makes it more unique. His belt buckle this time is different, a spider trapped in amber in place of the deadly scorpion. It's cradled in silver, laurels weaving around the corpse of the spider like an elegant coffin.

Your eyes shine at his handsome appearance. “My, don't you look dapper.” You drink him up, every new thing satisfying your need. Roaming your eyes downward, you tilt your head at the odd material on his legs. His boots are the same, even the spurs, but you can't quite place the new fangled blue thing around his legs. “What's that?”

Both Yuri and Hobie follow your gaze. But Yuri seems to be the only one who could form a coherent sentence. “They're blue jeans, or work pants. Much more comfortable than the old pants. Looks nicer on the behind, eh?” She nudges you, winking at your flustered expression. “Or enhances what's lacking.” Her last comment trails off as you unabashedly ogle him.

“Fuckin' hell.” Hobie finally speaks, his eyes avoid your form. Especially the vest that cinches you right where it matters. “Why do you have a bag?”

You stand up, slinging the bag over your shoulder. Yuri watches the whole thing with amused eyes. “For my things.”

He furrows his brows, “you don't have things, Y/N.”

Eyeing the riding gloves on the table, you cross the small distance, taking it, but before you place it inside the bag, you spot a pretty pink lace ribbon next to it. You also take it for good measure and to annoy him further. Putting it inside your bag, you teasingly smile at him. “Now I've got things.”

Yuri gives you a nod and a thumbs up whilst Hobie takes out bills to pay for everything.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” She victoriously smiles, counting the money.

“Not a pleasure on my part.” Hobie grumbles, you clamp your mouth shut to prevent a laugh from coming out.

—

The saloon is bustling with people even though it's still early in the morning. Some drink their fill next to you at the bar, some are just like you, looking for something warm to fill their bellies with to survive the rest of the day. The whole place smells of hard liquor and broken dreams. You have no idea which smells worse, the sticky floors or the lavatory at the far end of the place. The wide windows help brighten up the place at least, sunlight streaming into the carved establishment. Animal heads stare down at you, an elk’s and a buffalo's empty beady eyes look over yonder the drunkard's solace.

A piano sits just behind you, its stool is currently empty, maybe you should put all the lessons drilled into you to good use. It's better to wait for your meal there than sit right next to a stranger who looks like he's about to expel his breakfast onto your new clothes. Besides, some good music could tamp down all the drunken mumbling and the annoying scrapping of plates.

Hobie notices your heavy look, abandoning his coffee, he taps your shoulder and you almost jump in your skin.

“You still play?” He asks, eyes flicking between you and the old piano.

“I dabble, but I'm a bit rusty. I prefer gardening nowadays.” You lock eyes with him, “and shooting.”

Hobie chuckles in his seat, eyes avoiding your own smile. “You should play, I'll call you when our food is ‘ere.”

“Are you sure?” A soft smile spreads across your lips.

“I’ll watch your back, don't worry.”

Hope weighs you down again. You leave the bar stool, walking the distance towards the familiar black and white keys. Sitting down, you wrack your brain for the notes you've made a long time ago. A song that you've written yourself for the man who watches your back.

Hobie watches you intently, ears perking up at the unfamiliar music. Your hands move precisely, fingers pressing quickly as the song quickens. He smiles, glass now lay forgotten on the bar to watch you play your music. The rest of the bar quiets down a smidge, even the drunkards pause their lips at the mouth of their glass to listen to you play. The song crescendos, from a fast happy beat to a tone that is slower, a forlorn one. All in all, you play it with grace, and weaved with so much emotion.

Hobie scoffs, yet the fond smile stays. “Rusty my arse.”

The bartender appears behind him, plates in hand. “Your girl plays well.” The man places your meals on the bar, pumpkin soup sloshing on the sides of the bowl. Hobie turns towards him, not fully so he could still see you in his peripheral vision. “Is she for hire? Our player retired a few weeks ago, the saloon has never been this drab.”

“No, we're just passin’ by.”

The bartender leaves with a nod. “Too bad.”

Hobie takes his sandwich, twisting around to continue watching you. His eyes zeroes in on the sudden presence next to you. The brim of the stranger's hat hides his face, yet, Hobie knows exactly who he is based on his confident stance. Or who he was before Hobie single handedly destroyed his gang.

You finish the song with a flair, chest heaving, grinning from ear to ear.

“Bravo!” The man leaning towards the piano claps, then a chorus of scattered applause follows right after. “Amazing, sweetheart! Where'd ya learn how to play?”

“A tutor.” You smile shyly.

“Ah, what's the song called? I don't think I've heard of it before.” His long beard moves while he makes casual conversation.

“I-I made it actually.”

“Oh? I didn't know we had a composer in our humble establishment.” He taps the old piano with his gloved hand, his other hand rests on his gun belt, golden pistol shining in the sun. “What's the story behind it, eh? My ears picked up some sad depressing story through the notes.”

“I'm not a composer, a-and yeah, I made it for somebody.”

“Well, I—”

“Culver!” Hobie's booming voice echoes out in the entire saloon, everyone stops what they're doing. “You want to talk to me? Come over ‘ere instead of pestering her.” He has had enough of the conversation, and the danger that you've unknowingly put yourself into.

“Mr. Brown.” Culver says through gritted teeth, standing up straight, flicking the brim of his hat to reveal his face. “Fancy seein’ you here. You're in my territory, spider.”

You notice every single patrons’ faces turning into something akin to a person seeing a ghost, or the reaper itself. Slyly, you move your eyes over to the man, Culver, his name is familiar, you're sure you've heard of it before. Inhaling, you look back at Hobie, whose hand is placed on his gun belt, ready to whip it out if needed. He silently communicates with you, run, his eyes says, but you're paralyzed by fear when you finally remember where you heard the name Culver. It was what that old man Arthur said back then, he's the man whose men were killed by Hobie in a single night.

Heaviness hangs in the air, tension so thick that you can't even poke a hole right through it with a bullet.

“Is she someone precious to ya?” Culver says, suddenly gripping you by the scruff of your blouse, your back hitting the piano keys harshly. You yelp, and Hobie abruptly stands up, eyes aflame. The bearded man smiles, blackened teeth in full display. “She is, isn't she?” He wiggles your head in his hand. You sit there frozen, unable to even breathe. “What if I do the exact thing you did to my men, eh?” You hear chairs scraping against hardwood floors and boots frantically running towards the back exit. It's just you three in the saloon. He taps his finger in between your eyes, flaking leather on your soft skin. “A bullet in between her eyes would look lovely on her, don't you agree?”

“Your quarrel is with me. Let's take this outside, shall we?” Like a strike of lightning, Hobie cracks his bullwhip towards Culver. Dust in your eyes, the high pitched sound ringing in your ears. You then see Culver getting dragged away from you by his arm. The whip wraps around his flesh, threatening to skin him from the force Hobie pulls him towards the swinging doors of the saloon.

You inhale the gunpowder like scent it left, standing up, you quickly follow Hobie out into the sun. As the light hits your eyes, you watch Hobie cracks his bullwhip again. Culver yells in pain as Hobie releases him in the whip's clutches before placing it neatly back on his belt. He stands ways away from him, just across the screaming Culver.

“Painful, innit? This is what you did to two of my mates.” You walk to Hobie's side, he spares you a glance, roaming his jade eyes over you to check for injuries. Satisfied, he then returns his attention towards his target. “Remember that fuckin' pain, because my bullet hitting your heart would hurt much more than this.”

Culver holds his aching arm, kneeling on the muddy ground, hat fallen next to him, revealing a shiny head. “You lettin’ me go?” He cackles, you don't hide behind Hobie. “Just like that? Oh that woman has softened you up, Mr. Brown.”

“D’you want to keep talking or do you want to fuckin' start?”

You knit your eyebrows, fear encompasses you. “W-what’s about to start?” Your hand finds his bicep, holding on to him tightly like he's about to leave you. Again.

“A showdown, go to the side, love, I don't want you ‘ere when the bullets start flyin’” He watches Culver slowly stand up in the corner of his eyes.

“A fucking duel? Are you crazy?” You grip tighter.

Hobie gives you a smile, the same smile he lets you see every night before you head home. It's a boyish smile, innocence hidden behind it. “Go, I'll be fine.”

“And if not? He looks like he's a gunslinger. What if he wins and you die?”

“Then I can't burden you anymore.” He whispers, green eyes glimmering in the sunlight.

“Burden—? What are you talking about?”

“Go, I'll win, don't worry about it.”

“Hobie—!”

“Go, Y/N!”

You move without question after he yells at you. Your hands trembles, knees going weak, tears brimming in your eyes, and he can't even look at you.

As the two men move further away without turning their backs towards each other, you hold onto the saloon's pillar lest you crumble from fear of losing him. Again.

Bystanders look on, watching the spectacle unfold right in front of their eyes. Some hide behind windows, children hide behind their mother's skirts. While you have nowhere to hide. Your nails dig into the wood, Hobie squares his shoulders, fingers brushing along his holster. You spare a look towards his target, his hand already resting next to his yellow-gold gun.

Silence hangs in the air. Death waits for the loser.

Hobie squints his eyes, attention fully on the man before him. He leans back slightly, right foot stepped forward, silver gun shining in the sun; you can even see your reflection on it.

With a single breath, it's all over.

Culver was too slow to quickdraw, probably from his still aching arm. He drops his gun before he could fully draw it out. Hobie's bullet has left a sizable hole in his dominant palm, a gaping, bleeding wound that you can see through if you stare long enough.

Culver screams, a gutteral shriek that worms into your mind. He drops to his knees, eyes wide in panic and shock, trousers drenched in his own blood. Gunpowder still lingers in the air when you run towards Hobie's side. Your hands grip his shoulders, breath stuck in your throat, as you check for any bullet wounds.

“Are you hurt?!” You scream, ears ringing from the loud shot.

“‘m fine,” your wandering hands find reprieve on his jaw. “Love, ‘m fine.”

He sees fear in your eyes like never before, not even when you get punished, cheeks stained with tears from whatever they've thrown at you. You've never looked like this terrified. Scared like a starving doe caught in a bear trap.

“Remember what I told you?” You can't speak or even think. “Breathe, Y/N.” Hobie takes your hand off his skin, there's a reluctance that you're not privy to. “Just breathe, inhale and exhale.” He holds your hand, squeezing once before leaving your side. “I need to finish the job.”

You exhale and he's gone, the golden gun kicked far away, aiming the still warm barrel against Culver's head. “No…” Running after Hobie, you refuse to see another dead man. “Stop! Please.” Gripping his gun once again, you plead with him. “Don't kill him.”

“Step aside, Y/N. If I don't—” he can't fathom what Culver would do to him, to *you if he doesn't end it right there and then. The cycle must stop, he can't accomplish it if you're standing in between his gun and Culver's soft head. “Don't get involved.”

“Please.” You breathe out, warm hands placed around his shooting hand. “Take him to the sheriff, let justice take its course. He's backing down, I don't want to see you kill another one.”

“The sheriff won't do shit. Just like now,” he nudges his head towards the man amidst the crowd. “Let me do this, or he'll follow us and hunt us down.”

“I won't!” Culver suddenly yells, even louder than his painful screams. “I won't follow! I'm tired, Mr. Brown. I don't want to do this no more.” He looks up at the two of you, remourse evident on his face. “I'm sorry about your friends, I really am! But we're already even, you've taken mine too. Every single one I've got.”

“Promise to never exact revenge,” you tell the groveling man as you watch his salty tears mix in with the warm crimson.

“I promise,” Culver cries. “I promise, miss.”

You look back at Hobie, your eyes meet his own. Anger subsides in those emerald eyes, face turning soft. “He promises, Hobie.”

“An outlaw's promise doesn't mean shit—”

“You’ll have to shoot through me to get to him.” You point the barrel right on top of your chest, its warmth seeps through you.

“He wanted to hurt you.” Hobie softly says, fingers wrapping around your own.

“I’m not hurt. It takes more than threats to hurt me, Hobs.” You both stare at each other, hearts beating together. “Can you holster your gun please?”

Together, you help him lower his gun. Together, you let Culver go.

—

You need to leave town immediately. Strawberry's sheriff might've been easily placated with a good duel, but other lawmen pursuing Hobie might not be. Bucky neighs loudly at the sight of you, moreso when he sees your intertwined hands.

“Hi, Bucky.” You start to place your foot on the stirrups but Hobie stops you halfway.

“You need a horse. Might as well put your new gloves to good use, hmm?” You smile as Hobie whistles for the stable hand for help. A teenage boy with worn out blue jeans appears. “She needs a horse. Anythin' fast, or hell, anythin' you have available. What do you have?”

Their conversation drifts into the background. Your attention and breath is taken away by the gorgeous mare that stands behind a stable door. Her shining blue eyes watch you as you approach, hair as white as snow, the same hue as her body, she glimmers in the sunlight that filters through the wooden cracks. She huffs, head leaning away when you hold out your hand. You could only wait for her to make the move, watching you with peculiar eyes like she's sizing you up.

The stable boy does a double take, “wait, ma'am, that's not—!” When he says it, the white mare leanes closer to your touch. “Well I'll be. She never lets anyone touch her except my boss. She's as fine as cream gravy that one is.”

“I think she likes me.” You tilt your head as she sniffs your hand.

“That's a fuckin' arabian, love.” Hobie says breathlessly, watching you and the hot tempered horse interact like you've been her rider for years. “Can't you pick another horse that doesn't cost three horses combined?”

You laugh, feeding the mare hay. “I could, but I really think she's the one for me.” Hobie scratches the back of his neck. “I can choose another one, Hobie.” As if understanding your words, the mare nudges your shoulder. Hobie feels like he's being robbed in broad daylight. But he'll spend a million for you if you ask.

The stable boy pipes up from the side. “You can't actually, ma'am, I was just tellin’ your husband here that we only have her available. The rest already have owners you see. She was abandoned six months ago.”

“How could anyone abandon you?” You whisper towards the horse, petting her head as she welcomes your touch.

“I think her last owner died, and no one has since picked her up, or bought her. My boss is more than willing to get rid of her now to make space.”

“We'll take her, on a discounted fee of course, since she's second hand. And a saddle too.” You grin at Hobie's words.

The stable hand sighs. “At half price too I bet?”

“Now you're speakin’ my language.” Hobie pats the boy's shoulder as he negotiates prices. The mare huffs again, asking for more hay while you are distracted by Hobie's wink thrown your way.

—

“She still doesn't have a name.” Hobie finally breaks his silence, he rides alongside your horse, making sure that your ill tempered mare doesn't buck you off. His hands guide Buckeye, but his eyes are completely on your form.

The road is long and empty, save for a herd of bison roaming just below the mountain you're both trudging. There are small graves littered around the road, worn out crosses, wood eaten by termites. Etched names forgotten, lives scattered in the wind amidst the dirt and blazing sun. You wonder how they died without getting to their final destination. The sun has completely risen, humidity making your lips dry, heat stuck in between your skin and the leather of your gloves. The canopy shields you from the rays, luscious greenery everywhere, trees and grass littered all over the mountain side. You can hear wild horses neighing far away from where you are, their hooves thumping freely on the soil.

You pause from braiding your horse's hair, securing the braid with the pink lace ribbon. Your eyes meet with familiar emerald eyes. “I've been thinking about it actually.”

“Well? What are your options?”

Your lips curl into a mischievous smile. “‘Blue jeans’”

“Oh fuck off.” He rides ahead to hide his growing smile.

You quickly follow, pulling the reins, clicking your tongue to make your horse trot alongside Hobie. “Why not? I like it, I think it fits her.”

“No it does not. You're fucking with me, lovie, and my blue jeans.”

You like him like this, bathed in the sun, in warmth as he smiles back at you; just like the days when you were still just friends, friends with lingering feelings that you're both too afraid to confess. If he doesn't love you back just as before, you'd settle for this, just friends who laugh and talk, and tease each other. It's better this way because friendship means that he still cares for you, that there's still a space for you in his heart no matter how small it is, that you're not forgotten.

“Oh you and your precious blue jeans!” Your laughter echoes around.

“Will you be like this the entire time?” You both turn a corner, where no trees shield you from the sun. He notices you narrow your eyes, palm above your eyes to see him better. “‘ere.”

“W-what?” There's suddenly a hat atop your head, his hat. “Oh!” You run your fingers along the brim that shields you from the light. The leather is soft, a few bumps here and there but you can feel that it's been taken care of. Hobie clears his throat, and your cheeks run warmer than the summer sun. “T-thank you.” You're not an idiot, you've been here for weeks so of course you've heard of the ‘hat rule’ in passing. But you don't know what to do, or what he wants to do when it's in reverse.

“No problem, you've already taken my money, might as well hand you my hat, eh?” Hobie inhales, the mere sight of you wearing his beloved hat sends his heart into overdrive. Maybe he shouldn't have given it to you.

“You make it sound like I'm robbing you blind. I was alright with my old clothes.”

Hobie has the opportunity to say either of the two things that popped up in his mind. One, tell you that you've only robbed him of his heart. And two, make a joke about how much Bucky disdained carrying you with your musty clothes. So he does neither.

“We had to, or we'll be recognized faster than a mother recognizes her child.” You both finally reach the foot of the mountain, successfully surviving without anyone shooting at you, kidnapping you; or hell, getting eaten by a bear. With both of your luck, it's possible.

“Weird analogy but okay.” Your stomach grumbles when you two come to a stop at a fork in the road. One goes to the right, the other on the left. There's nothing else distinguishable on either one of them. The signage is long gone, taken by strong winds, or just time itself. You wince, hoping that he didn't hear the sound your stomach made.

He raises a brow, chuckling deeply at the sight of you hiding your face with the brim of his hat. “I forgot we didn't get to eat. That sandwich smelt really fuckin' good.”

“I really want that pumpkin soup now.” You groan, leaning forward to rest your head on top of your horse who barely notices your movement.

“C’mon, I know a place.” He taps your boot with his own.

“Where?”

“On the left, it's not that far but it'll delay us on our journey.” It's not a bad deal, he thinks to himself.

You suddenly perk up, this is what you were asking for back in that cave, the road less traveled, the road where you get to just spend more time with him. And postpone your homecoming.

“What are we waiting for then, cowboy?” With a kick, and a laugh in your throat, you bolt over to the direction he pointed out.

“‘Cowboy?’ bloody hell.” He really regrets giving you his hat because now he doesn't have anything to hide his flustered face anymore.

—

“You said it was a restaurant,” you huff at the wide river before you, hands on your hips, stomach growling. “Not that we have to catch our own meal!”

Hobie can't help but laugh, a hearty, genuine one that also has you smiling. This suits him, just happy and without a gun in his hand. You like him in every conceivable way possible, even if you're still getting used to his new self. “I just said, ‘I know a place.’ I ain't no liar. Did you expect a café in the middle of nowhere?”

“Yes! And no— I'm hungry now, Hobs!” Your horse agrees, hoof digging into the dirt. Buckeye stands hitched next to her, eyes glued on her white mane. Weird, you thought. “Look, even blue jeans agree!”

“Instant gratification,” Hobie pulls his jacket off and places it on the saddle; he then takes out a folding fishing rod from Bucky's saddle bag. “You should work on that because it's not gonna work well ‘ere, love.” He walks towards the river bank, toeing off his boots, folding up the same trousers you love to see him in. And also folding the sleeves of his shirt to reveal his toned arms. “And her name can't be ‘blue jeans!’” Yelling back, he trudges the rushing cool water that goes up to just below his knees.

“Okay, fine!” You start to strip, taking off your coat and his hat— folding your trousers and sleeves, you follow him to the rocky river bank. “How about ‘trout’ then.”

He hears your voice closer, he laughs at you when you almost slip on a rock. “Careful, it's slippery. You can't name her ‘trout,’ she's too pretty for that.”

“Now you tell me,” you roll your eyes at him as he casts the line. The bait and hook plops in the deeper water, now the waiting game begins. “‘Too pretty?’ you once nicknamed me beetle just because it bit me once!” Warmth spreads across your chest at his laugh. You feel at home in that cold river.

“And? You callin' yourself pretty?” His smirk takes you back at that oak tree.

You have an urge to kiss it off him. You don't, it's not the time yet, or you may ruin everything. “Yeah, you did, I remember you calling me pretty…” you lean closer, face dangerously close to his own. Breaths mixing in together, but you still give him enough space to move away. He doesn't. You don't mention it. He thinks about your lips upon his. “And gorgeous, and then absolutely stunnin’!” You copy his drawl, but before he could even laugh at your teasing, the fishing rod starts to move, yanking him forward.

“Oh fuck!” Hobie reels it in, and you gasp in disbelief at the sheer strength the fish has. “Help me or we'll starve!”

“You don't have to tell me twice!” You embrace him from the back, arms squeezing him, face smothered by his shoulder. He feels warm, he still feels the same. You dig your heels in while he fights with lunch. “Come on, cowboy!”

He almost let go of the rod. “Shit!” You laugh into his shirt and he almost falters once again. “Come on you little—!” With one hard yank, he finally sees the fish fly up, the sun hits its scales, body frantically flopping around. But he pulled too hard, and down he goes on the river bank, with you catching him. “Fuck—!” With a splash, you get a face full of river water.

Hobie immediately jumps to the side to not squash you and drown you in two feet of water. His eyes are full of worry when you emerge coughing. He almost lets go of the rod to tend to you, but your smile and guffaw has relief flowing through him.

“How big is it?!” You ask, entirely drenched.

He gently wipes your face, calloused palms over your soft skin, fingers carefully wiping away a piece of grass stuck on your cheek. You close your eyes, letting him hold you.

Hobie inhales and drinks you in— he still loves you. It's always been there, his love for you, but he refuses to acknowledge it with what he knows just before he left, with what *he said before he took a slice at his neck. Hobie still dreams of you, still dreams of saying those three words again, he's a fool to bury the feeling, especially when you're in front of him again— close to him again, loving him again.

He has no idea what to do now, other than to stand up and give you a helping hand.

—

Hobie's been silent and you have no idea why. You warm yourself on the fire he built, the fish you both caught is now cooking wonderfully on the open fire. The river's currents are a lot stronger now, so it's a lot harder to catch anything without getting carried by it. Your clothes are slowly drying as you wring your sleeves free of water.

“Cherry.” You suddenly break the silence. “I think I'll name her cherry.”

Hobie sits across you again, gazing at you through warmer eyes. “Why cherry?”

“Because horses love fruit, and cherry is a fruit.”

“Brilliant thinkin’ love, horses definitely eat cherries.” He says in a sarcastic tone.

You furrow your brows, “wait, they don't?”

He blinks, “Huh, ‘m actually not sure. Maybe if you take out the pits and cut it in half?”

“That’s…that's plausible, they contain cyanide though.”

“Maybe we should ask them?”

“What?” You chortle, and Hobie cups his hands to yell at the horses.

“Oi! D’you lot eat cherries?” They only stare at him. “Guess not.” You laugh, he finds it infectious so he also does.

“Horses can't talk, Hobs.” You say in between giggles.

“You never know, I might be a horse whisperer.” His smile falters, and you frown at the sudden shift. “‘m sorry for yellin’ at you.” His voice is soft under the cackle of the fire. “I shouldn't have yelled.”

“Apology accepted.” Your nerves calm down, beaming at him, scooching closer to him until your knees grazes his own. He doesn't move away, even nudging your shoulder with a faint smile. “I'm sorry for making you spend so much. But thank you for the nice clothes, and being— just…kind.”

Hobie reaches for your hand slowly, your breath is in your throat, freezing you un place. His pinky brushes along your palm when a twig snaps Hobie quickdraws his gun.

“Who's there?! Show yourself or I'll fuckin' shoot.” Standing up, he hides you with his own body.

You also stand up, hand wrapping around the barrel of the rifle that was leaning next to you. Both yours and Hobie's hearts thump loudly with trepidation. The bush moves and out comes two men brandishing their own weapons. They dress like gentlemen, but their sneers say they are not.

“We came out to piss and we find the spider of the west, guess we're just lucky.” The one with a scar across his nose says, voice scratchy, nudging his companion. “And would you look at that?”

“You’ve found yourself a pretty companion, Hobart, one that has a very high bounty on her head.” The other finishes his partner's sentence. His mustache is all twirly at the end, golden tooth shining in the sun. “Y’know, sweetheart, the whole country's after ya.” You don't falter in your stance.

“With both of your bounties combined, we're aimin’ at ten thousand dollars right now.” The scarred man chuckles.

“Ten thousand?” Hobie whistles, “Can we bring ourselves in instead?” You snort, still aiming at the man's head.

“If only that was possible, Hobart.” The man gives you a twisted smile.

“Are you lawmen?” You ask, “Or pinkertons? You two don't look like either of them.”

“What do we look like then, sweetheart?” The mustachioed man taunts with a toothy smile. “A couple of handsome cowboys?”

“A bunch of dead men.” You push Hobie away, kicking hot coals in their faces, embers flying, smoke filling their lungs. While they're both distracted and yelling at the searing heat— Hobie fans the hammer of his gun, shooting all six bullets into each man's bodies until their lifeless corpses fall atop each other.

“I've seen better.” You stand next to Hobie as he checks for something in their pockets. Their blood slowly spread to the tips of his boots. “What are you doing?”

Hobie rubs a hand across his face, “Lawmen,” he raises the identification papers he found. “We need to go. Pack the fish.”

“But they're dead?” You ask but you still do what you're told.

“Lawmen are like rats, if there's two ‘ere, there's a dozen more near us, hidden under the crevices.” He walks near the banks, head downturned, eyes scanning the plants. “And they've got their noses on us now.”

“Where are you going?” You stand, wrapped fish in your arms. “Hobie!” You start to yell when he has walked a few ways away from you.

Hobie crouches down, hunting knife digging into the soil. You watch him take a bushel of grass, he walks back and now you get a closer look at what he's carrying. You thought your eyes are deceiving you, instead of the familiar green hue, the plant is pink, a very bright shade. There's still dirt clinging to the stems when Hobie carefully covers it with a handkerchief.

“That's oleander, Hobie.” You stare at him, concerned. “And that many could kill a fucking elephant.”

“I know, you taught me, remember?” You nod as shoves it inside your messenger bag. He pauses at the sight of the bundle of letters, then he dismisses them, closing the bag. “It might come in handy.”

“What's your plan?” You're terrified.

“We head to a train station.” He sighs, completely winded, and worried for your safety. “Bounty hunters and outlaws I can manage, but them?” He points at the two bodies. “They've got more resources than either group, and more people in their pocket.”

“Wouldn't that be obvious? Riding the train? We can handle them, just like we always have—”

“They hate my guts more than anyone, Y/N, and they don't fear me as much as bounty hunters or outlaws.”

“But a train…” you shudder. “We'll be in the south in a few days instead of weeks— that's quick, too quick…I don't—” I don't want to leave. “I can't.”

“You wanted the scenic route, right?” He starts to unhitch the horses. “It's the last place they'll look for thinking that we'll be traveling by our lonesome out on the backroads.”

“Yes, but—”

“Nothing’s more scenic than a train ride. C’mon, love, get on Cherry. Before more come out of hidin’”

You nod, tears threatening to spill out. Walking around the corpses, you get on Cherry with a far away look in your eyes. “To the train station then.”

[brokenhardies]

Ignorance Is Not Bliss Prologue Update

alright! an updated prologue! keep in mind this is still a draft, but im happy to get it sorted. under the cut is a preview of the arcana swap au for persona 4 (set in the same universe as Break In To Break Out) featuring fool!naoto, hierophant!eri, justice!yuuta and aeon!yu. word count 1241

@latenitewaffles, @inkwell1013, @mushroomfusion245 @rollthedice-playthecards @thehedgehogat221b @sterling-writes @wonderguards @hobie-doh

Naoto Shirogane didn’t like trains that much. The long ride from Sendai down to Yasoinaba bored him immensely - the only thing he could do was scroll through his phone and listen to gossip about a local member who was having an alleged affair with a news reporter. He frowned; he wasn’t even sure where he was going, but was surprised when he’d received a text from the woman who would be taking care of him - at least, until his grandfather recovered;

Eri: Yuu-kun and I are waiting outside Yasoinaba Station

Eri: Text me when you arrive, okay?

Naoto: I’m on my way - I think it’ll take about 15 minutes

Eri: All right then! See you!

The train pulled into Yasoinaba Station, and Naoto sighed. He was here for a new beginning; that was what it was. A new beginning that resulted in him being forcibly moved from his hometown just as he was coming into his first year of high school. It was a completely sudden change, however, he couldn’t exactly fight it. At the end of March, he was taken out of Sendai and moved to a ‘family friend’ - Eri Minami, a woman who had been close to Naoto’s mother.

She’d also been forcibly moved from the city - following a divorce from her husband - alongside her son Yuuta - the Yuu-kun that she referenced in the text. So, she could relate to Naoto’s struggles moving from a big city to a small town. Naoto’s train of thought delayed somewhat as he left the train, with nothing but a small bag of luggage, with clothes and important items. He placed his hat back on, and sighed as he looked in his reflection in the windows of the train that was leaving.

It was strange, actually going to a place that recognised his gender… But it would work, after all, new beginnings and all that. He left the stairs at Yasoinaba Station, and was immediately greeted by his new legal guardian.

“Good morning, Nao-kun!”

Eri Minami was a tall, slim woman. She was probably in her mid-30s, Naoto assumed. She had wavy brown hair tied into a low bun, fair olive skin, and wore a simple, pale pink undershirt tucked into a pair of burgundy trousers, paired with a pair of magenta-coloured slippers. Over her undershirt was a matching burgundy peacock coat, stitched together with a deep purple ribbon. Naoto waved at her, picking up his luggage with a muted apology.

“How was the trip?” She asked, “It’s quite hard travelling such a long distance. I’m Eri Minami, by the way, but I think you already understand that.”

“It’s nice to meet you in person, Minami-san.”

Eri laughed. “Please, no need to be so formal! We’ll basically be family for the next year.”

Naoto noticed that standing awkwardly beside her was a brown-haired boy, who appeared to be about 5 or 6 years old at most. The boy hid behind Eri’s pant leg, looking down awkwardly. Eri smiled.

“Yuuta, this is Naoto,” She greeted, “Naoto, Yuuta. You’ll basically be brothers for this year.”

“Wow, must be weird hearing that for the first time, huh?” She grinned. “Don’t worry, I got the information from your grandfather before you arrived here. It might be a struggle to get binders, but you can always ask someone to make them, I guess?”

Naoto nodded. It did seem quite difficult, but Eri seemed to be helpful. She began to walk off to her car, Yuuta in tow, and Naoto was about to follow them, noticing an individual who was walking up to the station — a tall, tan skinned young man, with a grey bowlcut, wearing a black jacket over a grey turtleneck, matching grey pants, a pair of bright yellow headphones around his neck and yellow sneakers.

As Naoto was about to leave, he heard the young man call out.

“Hey.” He said, as Naoto faced him. “Is this yours? You dropped it.”

The young man walked over with a small sheet of paper, which Naoto recognised as his handwritten version of Eri’s address. He paused, blinking.

“Thanks?” He said, as the young man nodded.

“I’ll see you around, stranger.” The young man said, walking off.

Naoto paused. What a strange encounter. It seemed like this would be normal for Yasoinaba going forward…

xxx

They had to stop before going to the Minami house, mostly as Yuuta needed to go to the bathroom. The Moel Gas Station was the best stop, and it also meant that Eri’s white SUV could also get a slight pick-me-up. After letting Yuuta out to go to the bathroom, Naoto noticed Eri step out and have a conversation with the gas station attendant, as Yuuta stood in confusion.

“Bathroom’s in the back, to your left,” The gas station attendant helpfully informed Yuuta, “You know which way’s left? The side you don’t hold your chopsticks in.” 

Yuuta nodded, seeming quite frustrated that this person saw him as being a child - which he was. But it didn’t matter - being raised by a single mother probably meant that he felt more mature for his age. Naoto understood the feeling. Naoto left the car, watching Eri and the gas station attendant's conversation continue.

“So, are you guys goin’ on a trip?” They asked, as Eri shook her head.

“No, we just went to pick him up,” She gestured to Naoto with her head. “He’s living here for a year. He moved in from the big city.” 

“The city, huh?” The attendant asked, raising a brow as they looked at Naoto. 

“I’m gonna go check out some stores while I’m waiting,” Eri said, “Same as usual, okay? I’ll tip you real good.”

The attendant nodded. “Thank you, Minami.”

Eri walked off, leaving the gas station attendant next to the SUV and Naoto, standing there awkwardly in wait for Yuuta.

“So, does it surprise you how little’s around here compared to the big city?” The attendant asked, “There’s not that much to do. I think you might get bored, going through the same grind over and over - meeting friends, doing part-time jobs…”

They gave Naoto a wry smile that he could feel in his bones. It didn’t seem like a typical customer service smile, but something much more mischievous and impure. They walked towards them, and a small part of Naoto felt inclined to just race off. However, he didn’t want to appear like an ‘impolite city slicker’, nor did they want to startle Eri or Yuuta. 

“Speaking of which, we’re looking for part-time help right now,” The attendant explained, “Give it some thought, won’t you? We won’t mind if you’re a student.” 

They extended their hand, and Naoto shook it. Suddenly, he felt a strange feeling overtake him. It was like his body was ricocheting back and forth - like he was on a strange rollercoaster that he just couldn’t get off. It was uncomfortable, even as he noticed Yuuta leaving the bathroom and watching him stand, silent, overwhelmed as the attendant went back to work on Minami's car. He looked at Naoto, eyes wide.

“Are you okay?” He asked, “You didn’t get sick in the car, did you? Eri’s a pretty bad driver…”

Maybe it was just car-sickness, Naoto thought. Oh well, it didn’t seem to matter, especially as Eri seemed lost in her own little world. He had a few minutes to recover before she got back. Once Eri got back, they continued driving off to the Minami house.

[kpopfanfictrash]

Road Trip

Author: kpopfanfictrash

Pairing: Jungkook

Word Count: 1,901

Rating: PG-13

Summary: An accompanying drabble to The Rich Man’s Crochet Club. This drabble takes place after the events of RMCC and follows Jungkook (a side character) + a road trip where seokjin “accidentally” gets left behind.

[ PART OF MY JUNGKOOK BIRTHDAY DRABBLE GAME ]

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Seokjin said from the back of the van.

“Should’ve gone at lunch,” Jungkook said, grip tightening on the wheel.

Yoongi dozed beside him in the passenger seat, both feet propped on the dashboard and a hat pulled low over his head. Behind Jungkook sat Taehyung, though he had headphones in and was bopping to a beat unheard by the rest of them. In the farthest row sat Seokjin, sprawled out on the seats in order to take a nap.

The van was one of two cars on their great summer road  trip. Hoseok drove the other, containing Namjoon and Jimin, but they were currently several miles behind because Hoseok drove like a grandma.

“It’s only been an hour.” Jungkook sighed, checking for Seokjin in the rearview mirror. “Do you seriously have to go?”

It was the second day of said great summer road trip – around noon the day prior, they’d left most hallmarks of civilization behind. Now they were surrounded by wheat fields and blue skies; it had been pretty at first but now, Jungkook had an urge to drive over the fields just to see something different.

“I really do,” Seokjin said, looking pained. “Unless you want me to go in an empty soda bottle, or something. Wait. Taehyung!” Leaning forward, Seokjin tapped Taehyung on the shoulder. “Hey, Taehyung.”

“Huh?” Taehyung started, pulling out an earphone. “You rang?”

Seokjin nodded towards the empty Coke bottle in his hand. “You finished with that?”

“... with my Coke?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean, sure,” Taehyung said, finishing it with a swig. He handed it back. “Why, what do you need it for?”

“Well, I –”

“No!” Jungkook blurted, horrified by the situation unfolding. “You are not peeing in that bottle, Seokjin.”

Taehyung’s eyebrows shot straight up. “What?”

Seokjin was already unbuckling his seat belt. “It’ll be fine,” he assured, clambering into an awkward position with one foot on the ground. “Let me see. If I just twist at the waist–”

“What’ll you do with the bottle after?” Taehyung asked, seeming curious. “Are you just going to keep the pee bottle in your cup holder? What if you accidentally drink it?”

“No and no,” Jungkook said, already pulling into the next lane. “I’ll find you a bathroom, alright? No need to piss all over the rental van.”

“Suit yourself,” Seokjin said, settling back on the seat.

Reaching over the console, Jungkook nudged Yoongi’s side. “Hey. Yoongi.”

Yoongi barely stirred, curling tighter in on himself. “Bite me,” he muttered.

“Yoongi, I need you to find us a restroom.”

“Why? Seokjin’s got a pee cup.”

“Yoongi!” Jungkook huffed, and he finally cracked a smile.

“Alright.” Yoongi yawned, pushing himself into a seated position. “What’m I doing?” 

Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he pushed his cap back and forth a few times.

“Bathroom,” said Taehyung, leaning to rest his chin on Jungkook’s seat. “I already texted Jimin in the other car that we’re stopping.”

Yawning again, Yoongi rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s an exit in five miles,” he said as he flicked through his phone. “Should be a gas station there, or something.”

“Alright,” Jungkook said.

He made it there in under five minutes, pulling off a dusty ramp and into a gas station. The building was rundown and under normal circumstances, Jungkook wouldn’t have trusted the bathroom to wash his hands, but it was better than the prospect of Seokjin’s pee bottle.

As soon as Jungkook had the car parked, Seokjin yanked the door open and stumbled from the van. He nearly sprinted towards the restroom sign hanging from the side of a dilapidated building. Jungkook winced as he watched. Another bad sign was having the restroom entrance outside the gas station.

The three of them sat there a moment until Taehyung sighed.

“Well,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Might as well go, since we’re stopped…”

Although he spoke loftily, Jungkook saw the awkward way he walked when he left the van. He also had to go to the bathroom – it wasn’t just Seokjin.

Yoongi unbuckled his seatbelt.

“You, too?” Jungkook asked in dismay.

Yoongi shrugged and pushed open his door. “Might as well.”

Once he was left alone, Jungkook sat in the car and after a moment, sighed and pulled out the keys. Climbing from the van, he lifted one hand to his brow and squinted at the horizon. Paris, Oklahoma looked nothing at all like its French counterpart, or so Jungkook assumed based on the photos he’d seen.

There was only one road which led from the highway to the town. Even the word town seemed to be a misnomer, since all that remained was a meager cluster of buildings. One or two cars parked at the curb and more than half the buildings appeared to be boarded up.

While Jungkook watched, a second car pulled off the ramp from the highway. Jungkook recognized Hoseok by the glacial speed at which he took a left turn.

As they pulled into the gas station, Jungkook smiled and waved, but Hoseok remained concentrated on parking the sedan in its spot. Only Jimin beamed and waved back, seated in the passenger seat to combat his carsickness.

“JK!” he yelled, pushing open the door. “This it?”

“Yep.” Jungkook jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Seokjin’s inside.”

As though on cue, the door to the restroom banged open and Seokjin stumbled out, shaking his hands as though they had been sullied.

“Phew.” He whistled, passing a disgusted-looking Taehyung. “That place has not been cleaned in a while. Hey, JK!” Seokjin walked towards the main building. “I’m going to get some gummies!”

“Alright!” Jungkook called back. “I’ll fill up on gas.”

“Make sure to give it more than one pump!”

Cracking up at his own joke, Seokjin headed into the building. Jungkook glared at his backside for a moment, burning holes in his jacket.

As soon as Seokjin was gone, Jungkook whirled around. “Alright,” he said, clasping both hands together. “New plan. Who’s down to prank Jin?”

Hoseok, who had just exited the car, looked at him in alarm. Namjoon, who had followed suit, gave Jungkook a bemused glance.

“That’s never a good idea, JK,” he cautioned. “Seokjin always retaliates, you always get mad and things always get way out of hand.”

“Yeah.” Hoseok bent to stretch his hamstrings. “Remember that one time you put salt in his soda, so Seokjin put a laxative in yours and you spent the whole night shitting on the toilet?”

Jungkook grimaced at the memory. “Okay, but that was one –”

“Or the time you put saran wrap on his toilet,” Jimin said, appearing beside them. He gently rubbed sunscreen into the bridge of his nose. “Seokjin responded by barricading your room with beer cases while you slept. He trapped you and your date inside.”

“Okay, that wasn’t great either – but this will be!” Jungkook insisted. “It’ll be totally harmless. You’ll just get back on the road and we’ll hide in town. Seokjin will come outside and freak, thinking we left him. Then we’ll come back and pick him up!”

“It’s a bad idea,” Namjoon said right away.

“It is,” agreed Hoseok. “But I kind of want to see where it goes.”

“Jimin.” Namjoon looked around. “You’re the tie-breaker.”

Jimin pondered for a moment, glancing again at the gas station. Taehyung had finished going to the bathroom and was walking their way, which meant only Yoongi needed to go. Seokjin could be seen just inside the store, picking out gummies with a serious expression.

“Alright, fine.” Jimin turned. “But whatever happens in retaliation better not slow our speed towards the west coast. I promised Olivia we’d Skype once I got there.”

“Deal,” Jungkook said with a nod.

They immediately dispersed, heading back towards their cars and once Taehyung arrived, he was filled in on the plan. His response of ‘hell yes’ was a positive indicator of his enthusiasm. Yoongi didn’t seem to care either way; all he said was, ‘don’t wake me up,’ and climbed into the front seat.

Jungkook entered the front, putting the car in reverse to exit the gas station. Seokjin continued to linger inside – it took him a good five to ten minutes to pick out the right bag of gummies; they all knew this from experience and had seen it first-hand.

Hoseok’s car pulled onto the highway – they’d catch up to him soon – and Jungkook drove behind a building in town to wait. It didn’t take long before his cell phone was vibrating.

“Hello?” he said pleasantly, answering on the third ring.

“JEON JUNGKOOK. YOU RAT BASTARD, YOU LEFT ME!”

Jungkook winced and held the phone from his ear. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Look in the backseat!” Seokjin yelped. “I’ll wait. AM I THERE?”

In faux concern, Jungkook peered over his shoulder. Taehyung cackled, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Yoongi remained dead asleep on the passenger side.

“Shit,” Jungkook gasped, returning the phone to his ear. “I thought you were riding in Hobi’s car after the stop.”

“WHY WOULD I DO THAT?”

By this point, Jungkook was laughing so hard, he had to set his phone down for Seokjin not to hear. Managing to compose himself a bit, he lifted the phone to his ear.

“So, like, do you want us to come get you, or…?”

“OR WHAT, JUNGKOOK? OR. WHAT?”

“I don’t know.” Jungkook shrugged. “You could always hitchhike, or something. Isn’t that a great, American tradition?”

“Sure, it is. If you want to DIE.”

“Jack Kerouac did it and he didn’t die.”

“Jack Kerouac was white,” Seokjin said. “And he was on drugs half the time! Dude probably didn’t even know he was in danger.”

“Okay, okay,” Jungkook laughed, pulling from behind the building. “We’re on our way back.”

They were close enough to the gas station that Jungkook saw the very moment Seokjin’s jaw dropped. He stared at the van as they approached; Jungkook imagined the look on his face as similar to Cesar right before Brutus stabbed him. Utter betrayal.

“You little… wet-faced weasel,” Seokjin declared as the car pulled to a stop. Jungkook pushed the button for the door to open. “You were just waiting behind that building?”

“Yep!”

“Why –”

“Hop in!” Jungkook said, trying to contain his laughter.

Taehyung was also dying, laughing so hard tears slid down his face. “Wet-faced weasel,” he gasped.

Seokjin made sure to step on his foot as he climbed in the backseat. Settling down and facing the rest of the van, Seokjin menacingly leveled a finger at Jungkook.

“You’ll pay for this,” he said. As dignified as he could, he dropped his bag of gummies beside him. “This, I swear. May I never dance to WAP at a party again.”

“That’s not really a deterrent,” muttered Yoongi, unmoving from the front seat.

“May I ALWAYS dance to WAP at parties!” Seokjin remedied.

In the rearview mirror, Jungkook saw Seokjin crack a smile and relaxed, knowing everything was alright. Seokjin would get over this fast and they’d return to normal. Who knew – maybe Seokjin would even forget and there’d be no returning prank.

Obviously, this wasn’t what happened.

A week later, Seokjin crouched behind a cactus for over three hours just to startle Jungkook when he went out for his morning jog. Jungkook toppled into a bunch of smaller cacti, leaving his ass in a sorry state for the rest of the trip.

Namjoon had been right, Jungkook decided after that. The prank had not been worth it.

© kpopfanfictrash, 2020. Do not copy or repost without permission.

[borathae]

Du weißt ja, dass ich grad SA lese..

Heute morgen hab ich im Bett gelegen, Balkontür war offen, als ich das Kapitel Blasphemy geöffnet habe.

Lemme tell you, bei dem Aufschrei müssen meine Nachbarn gedacht haben, ich wurde abgemurkst... 🤣

Because I didn't see that coming🧍🏼‍♀️

Und dann grad bei Punishment... Ich so out loud "oh nein, nicht schon wieder..."

Aber ich muss sagen, dass dein Buch halt schon echt huh ist. Ngl. Like ich hätte Jungkook für das was er mit Taehyung gemacht hat, den Kopf von den Schultern geschlagen.

Aber dann diese Vorstellung, wie Jin und Hobi zusammen sitzen mit ihren Blutbeutel und aus denen trinken, wie Capri Sonne - ich hab bei der Vorstellung erstmal so herzlich lachen müssen😅🤣🤌🏻

Oder Jin, der nem Waschbär mitten in der Nacht quer durch den Garten hinter her rennt ist zu geil🤣🤣

Und ohje, ich bin ehrlich so soft für Hobi!🥺

Und das Ende von Jimin... Boah ey. Didn't see that coming, again - 🧍🏼‍♀️

Okay aber du klingst so als wären diese zwei chapter nicht singlehandledly die hottest chapters 🥵 10/10 mein größter Stolz ahahahah

Und honestly 2seok sind solche cuties in der Story, die zwei sind einfach zu sweet 🥺😂😂

Me choosing Jimin’s end: pain :-)