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jingabitch · 5 years ago

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Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell ch.1

Summary: When you were ten, Taehyung adopted you and gave you a home. Now that you’re eighteen, the sudden change in your scent perplexes and confounds him.

Pairing: wolf hybrid!tae x human!reader (all bts members are hybrids)

Word count: 10.5k

A/N: here it is!! I hope you enjoy it and tell me what you think; I was really unsure about writing this, especially at the beginning. Edit: I will not be doing a taglist, so please don't ask. Thank you!

Series index

“Hyung –” Taehyung whined as he sulked on the couch of the dorm.

Yoongi sighed, looking over at his team member. “What is it, Taehyung-ie?”

“I’m bored,” Taehyung replied, crossing his arms over his chest as he slid down on the couch, his usually perky ears drooping.

The snow leopard hybrid just grunted, flicking one of his ears in irritation. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Hyung, come play with me, please?”

Namjoon, who was lying on the adjacent couch, stifled a snicker. Taehyung had been more needy than usual in the past few weeks, and he was working Yoongi’s last nerve. The older man had inherited his animal counterpart’s solitary tendencies, and while he was, for the most part, happy to socialize and hang out with the rest of them, Taehyung had been cutting into his alone time a little too much lately with his neediness, and the grey-haired hybrid was Not Happy.

Jin, their resident spotted hyena hybrid, laughed, a sound very reminiscent of his animal counterpart’s trademark sound. “Yoongi, just play with him. He’s lonely.”

Yoongi scowled. “Why do I have to do it?! Isn’t this why you got a pet in the first place, to keep you company?”

Taehyung’s frown deepened. “It is, but as you can clearly see,” he bit out, upset now, “Yeontan isn’t here.”

Hoseok, seeing the snow leopard hybrid taking in a deep breath to begin ranting, cut into the conversation to save the wolf hybrid from a scolding. “Hyung, you know how Tae is. He misses the company, is all.”

“Why don’t you just get another pet, then?” Yoongi asked.

“Because the same thing would happen, hyung,” Taehyung responded drolly, unable to hide his irritation at what he clearly thought was a ridiculous suggestion. “I don’t want to get attached to another pet, and then have to palm it off onto my parents again.”

Namjoon, ever the problem solver, lit up in that way that happened only when he had a eureka moment. “Get a human, then!”

The rest of them gawked at him. “A human?!” Jin asked skeptically.

“Yah, if he didn’t have time for a dog, how’s he going to care for a human baby? They’re even more high maintenance, and for way longer!” Yoongi snapped.

Namjoon made a rude noise. “Don’t get a baby, then! There’s lots of children and adolescents in shelters that need good homes. You can get one of those; they’re more self-sufficient.”

Taehyung’s mouth dropped open in shock. “That’s genius!”

Jungkook and Jimin, who had until now remained out of the conversation, immediately leapt up excitedly. “Yes, yes, can we adopt a human, pleaaaase,” Jimin pleaded. The black-footed cat hybrid, already small in stature and adorable because of his animal genes, opened his eyes wider and pouted up at the others.

Taehyung and Jungkook, seeing him, followed suit, and before long, the other members conceded, and they’d agreed to get a human pet. Taehyung, excited now that he was going to have a new little pack member to take care of and keep him company, immediately ran to get his laptop so he could research human shelters in Seoul.

Two hundred years ago, humans created hybrids in science labs. Splicing human genes with animals was supposed to create the perfect servant, companion and soldier – with the intelligence and capacity for emotional connection of humans and the superior physical capabilities of other animals, these new creations were supposed to make life better for humans.

What the scientists hadn’t realized, in their hubris, was that it was extraordinarily likely that the hybrids wouldn’t be content merely taking orders and serving the whims of humans, who were, after all, genetically inferior to their artificial perfection. A revolution and reordering of society occurred, and now humans were the pets, bred for the sole purpose of being the best possible companions for their hybrid owners.

You understood this history well enough, thanks to the kindly old hybrid who adopted you as a baby to soothe her empty nest syndrome after her grown-up children moved out and began their own lives, and her husband sadly passed away. She’d given you far more than she was obliged to as an owner, even ensuring that you had a basic education.

It had been a couple of years since she’d unfortunately passed away suddenly from a massive heart attack, landing you in a shelter when none of her family members wanted to take you in. Now that you were ten, you understood that the likelihood of you staying in the shelter for the rest of your childhood grew exponentially each day, as most families wanted babies or toddlers that would be more attached to their adopted families.

Plus, everyone loves babies.

You sighed as you pushed the covers off yourself. You’d finally managed to get a coveted bottom bunk bed after one of the girls in your room was adopted out, and you felt like you should be happier about it.

If only it wasn’t so sad to be happy about getting a bottom bunk in a shelter, after years of waiting your turn. You hoped against all hope that you wouldn’t spend much time in this bunk, that you’d be going home with another family soon, and you promised yourself there and then that if you ever got adopted, you’d do whatever it took to make your new family happy for saving you from this drudgery.

As you made your way to the cafeteria for breakfast, you noticed that there seemed to be a lot more… buzzing than usual. You shrugged it off – you’d been here long enough to know that it just meant a high-profile visit was scheduled for the day, and all of the children were told to dress up and be on their best behavior.

Picking up a tray and lining up for your breakfast, you held in a sigh. Most people are looking for babies and toddlers, and it’s rare that anyone wants to adopt at a shelter. Even when they do, they go for younger children, who are still cute and cuddly.

Well, not that you weren’t cuddly. It was literally in your genetic makeup to crave physical affection because hybrids like to snuggle with their pets, but you’d lost that cute doe-eyed helplessness that hybrid clients like in their pets. With a sigh, you took your tray and sat in a corner to eat, unwilling to listen to the excited chatter of the younger children. You weren’t that hopeful anymore, and it hurt too much after the first few times to get all excited and put in effort, only to not be chosen at the end of the day.

Finishing your breakfast, the same porridge with kimchi and laver that you have every morning, you went back to your room to wait. It’s standard procedure – every child has to remain by their bed in their room when the prospective client arrives and takes a tour to find the child they want to bring home.

With a sigh, you sat on your bed, propping the pillow up against the metal frame of your bunk bed, to continue reading the book you’d begged off from one of the caretakers. Most of the human children couldn’t read, because it wasn’t mandatory to teach them and many of them were rescued off the streets, but the grandmother who owned you before had taught you the basics.

You were still engrossed in the story – a classic from hundreds of years ago about a boy who found out he was a wizard and went to a school called Hogwarts – when Taehyung arrives, flanked by Namjoon on one side and Jimin on the other. The leader had accompanied Taehyung to restrain him and keep him from getting every child in the shelter, and Jimin had just wanted to see cute human children and give his two cents’ worth on the human they eventually adopted.

Because, as he said, he was Taehyung’s best friend so a pet Taehyung adopted would naturally be his business. The others didn’t quite buy it, but Taehyung seemed okay with him tagging along, so he cleared his schedule and came.

The matronly caretaker at the shelter, a middle-aged dog hybrid, came out to greet them excitedly when they arrived, gushing about all the cute children they had in the shelter, and how she hoped they would find their perfect match today.

They nodded and listened politely as she ushered them into her office, where she went over the ground rules for today. No pictures, no yelling, disturbing the children, et cetera. If there was a child they were interested in, they had to ask for permission before they were allowed to approach the child, and at all times children’s safety was paramount – if they indicated that they were uncomfortable, they could be removed from the situation without any repercussions. It was all aimed at ensuring that the humans were prioritized and felt safe in their home, and this was why Taehyung had chosen to support this shelter.

Namjoon, ever the responsible one, and Taehyung, who was dedicated to becoming a good pet owner, listened carefully as the hybrid caretaker explained what the challenges were in taking care of a human child, especially one that had lived in the shelter. Older children would be harder to train, she said, less malleable, and depending on what their circumstances had been before coming to live in the shelter, may have trauma or other psychological scars.

Jimin impatiently bounced around, aware that this was important stuff, but just excited to see some cute children and hopefully take one home today. When they finally stood up to leave the office and go to the dorm rooms where the children were waiting, Jimin could hardly keep the wide grin splitting his face under control, and Taehyung was similarly excited, the muscles under his shirt periodically tensing up as he resisted the urge to bounce along behind the caretaker. She was hardly likely to be impressed with him if he couldn’t demonstrate that he was a mature adult able to take care of a human child.

Because Taehyung had made it clear that he wanted an older, more self-sufficient human pet, the caretaker skipped the first two rooms, where the young children were, and the nursery, heading straight to your room. You were still reading your book, and she tutted as she saw you sitting there.

“Y/N, sweetie, would you like to come say hello to these nice hybrids?” she asked patiently, and you looked up from your story, surprised to see that there were indeed three men clustered behind her. Most hybrids decided on the child they wanted to bring home after seeing the younger children, so it was uncommon for you to see visitors.

You were tempted to reject the offer, but remembered your earlier promise to yourself, and smiled graciously, putting your bookmark back in and leaving your book on the bed. “Yes, ma’am,” you said sweetly, standing up and brushing imaginary lint off your skirt. “Good morning, sirs. My name is Y/N. I’m ten years old, and I’m very pleased to meet you,” you recited dutifully, remembering the spiel they taught all the children to say to visitors.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Y/N-ah,” the tall wolf hybrid said, kneeling down so he could look you in the eye. His ears twitched slightly as he looked up at you slightly, and you smiled back. He had such a friendly demeanor that you couldn’t help but feel comfortable around him immediately. “My name is Taehyung, and these are my friends Jimin and Namjoon,” he said, pointing at the other two hybrids. You weren’t certain what kind they were, although you deduced that Namjoon was some kind of canine hybrid and Jimin, based on the cute rounded ears on top of his head, was a large cat.

“It’s a pleasure you meet you all,” you said politely, looking up at them. Your speech was crisp, delicate and refined from years of being the prized companion of a wealthy old lady.

“Likewise,” Namjoon said with a nod, and Jimin said nothing, but smiled so widely that his eyes all but disappeared. You smiled back, liking them already, and hoping that they would choose you to go home with them.

“What are you reading, Y/N-ah?” Taehyung asked, and you took his hand excitedly, bringing him to the bed where you’d left your book. He trailed after you, looking back at the other two members with a wide grin. It was so cute, how you lit up when he expressed interest in what you were reading, and how at ease you seemed to be, even initiating contact with him. You didn’t seem aware of who they were, which he supposed was to be expected, since he didn’t think humans really kept up with pop culture, and it wasn’t like you were walking around the streets of Seoul where BTS music was playing all over and their photos were plastered on every available surface in the city.

Sitting down next to you, he listened, his chin in his hand, as you chattered away excitedly about the book. Namjoon and Jimin came to squat on either side of you, and you basked in the undivided attention that you hadn’t had since your previous owner passed away.

“Who taught you how to read, Y/N-ah?” Namjoon asked when you wound down, his ears sticking out of the black hair on his head flicking slightly.

“My previous owner,” you replied.

“She seems nice,” Jimin said carefully, and young as you were, you picked up the unspoken question.

“She was,” was all you said, a little quietly and sadly. You missed her, the woman who’d asked you to call her ‘mom’ and really had acted like a mother to you.

At least, you think so – you were bred by a breeder to be a pet, and you didn’t remember your own mother, having been too young when you were separated from her.

After talking for a little while more, they excused themselves and you smiled as graciously as you knew how, returning to your book as they left the room to go back to the office to discuss things further.

“Hyung, she’s so precious,” Taehyung fairly sang, spinning around in circles with his arms spread out wide.

Namjoon was more reserved, but he agreed internally. She wasn’t rambunctious in the way that Yeontan was, but adorable all the same, in the way she’d lit up while talking about her book and how easily she’d accepted their touch, clearly happy to have the physical affection.

Jimin, way more exuberant than Namjoon, grabbed Taehyung’s hands and bounced around with him. “We’re getting a human!” he cried out in excitement as they jumped like children up and down.

The wild dog hybrid just shook his head at his two younger bandmates, before leading the way into the caretaker’s office to settle the adoption paperwork.

You returned home with them that day, to your surprise and pleasure. You hadn’t allowed yourself to hope until the caretaker came back to let you know to pack your meagre possessions, and sends you off with them. Taehyung gives you a hug when you walk out of the building with your bag to join them, and straps you safely into his car before they take off, back to his apartment.

As you were travelling there, they chattered away, filling you in on what their home will be like. You found out that they were part of a boyband that live together, and you would be moving in with all seven of them. Apart from the three hybrids in the car with you – Taehyung, who bought you, the wolf hybrid; Namjoon, the serious-looking African wild dog; and Jimin, the adorable-looking black footed cat who was sitting in the back with you – there were another four. They were all predator hybrids, something Taehyung noted with some pride, beaming at your reflection in the rearview mirror.

You smiled back uncertainly at him, apprehensive about how different the new arrangement was from your previous one but still certain that no matter what, it would still be better than living at the shelter. It hadn’t been awful – it wasn’t like you’d been abused or anything while you were there – but with how stretched thin the resources at the shelter were, it had been impossible for you to get the care and attention that you required to be emotionally and mentally healthy after all this time.

Carrying yourself as stiffly as you could, in order to leave the best first impression possible, you hugged your bag tightly to your chest and stood ramrod straight in the elevator, resisting the urge to look around curiously. Your previous owner had been wealthy, but she hadn’t been this wealthy, and you’d never been in a lift that was so opulent before.

Taehyung tugged the bag out of your arms insistently, and you relinquished it after a brief struggle for control over it. You didn’t want to put him out, feeling that he’s already done enough, adopting you and giving you what looked like it would be an amazing home, but he was stronger than you and you were also concerned that he would think you were too stubborn or headstrong if you continued fighting him, so you let it go.

When they ushered you into your new home, though, your jaw dropped and you couldn’t hold back your reaction that time. The apartment was so nice and spacious, worlds away from the shared room you’d lived in at the shelter. Taehyung laughed at your expression and whisked you off to his bedroom, which was now a shared bedroom for the two of you, showing you where everything you would need was. After getting you settled in, he led you back out by the hand to the living room, where the other boys were gathered, eagerly waiting to meet you.

And that’s how you became part of the BTS family.

Your new home was very different from the one you had spent your early childhood in. Living with seven young and energetic hybrid men meant you suddenly had companions and playmates to indulge your more rambunctious impulses, whereas before you’d always had to be calm and docile, since there was no way your previous owner would have been able to keep up with a screaming and running child on the playground. It wasn’t like it had been bad – you were naturally a quieter child, but all children need space to run and play, to expend their excess energy, and as hard as she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to offer you that.

On the other hand, you played so much with your new family that you were completely exhausted every night, and Taehyung had to prod you to get ready for bed properly, instead of just collapsing in whatever you were wearing. He didn’t mind, though, pleased that you were having so much fun every day. Besides, having you around to dote on made all of them happy, especially Taehyung, who missed his young cousins and was still slightly bitter about how much of his siblings’ and cousins’ childhoods he hadn’t been around for, and later, his nieces and nephews.

And so you spent your adolescence in their company, making a home for yourself. It wasn’t just BTS that seemed to have adopted you – Big Hit as a whole did. The stylist noonas were utterly thrilled to finally have a little girl around on the regular, and treated you alternately like a little sister and a doll, dressing you up in all the cute girlish trends they privately sighed over but couldn’t experiment with.

Another benefit of having a human as a pet was that it was far easier to transport a person – humans were allowed on planes and buses, so you could travel with the boys. Your calming presence helped soothe frayed nerves and mediated fights, and ARMY loved watching the tender interactions between the boys, who were all predator hybrids, and the wide-eyed human child, claiming that it showed how nurturing the boys were despite their natural inclination, and how they would be good fathers someday. You even had your own little fanclub, like Yeontan had before you.

Speaking of Yeontan – the little dog had gone to live with Taehyung’s parents, so you didn’t get to see each other that often, but when you did, the two of you got along like a house on fire. Taehyung had to keep an eye on you at mealtimes to make sure most of the food on your plate wasn’t finding its way down to Yeontan, who lay casually across your feet at the dining table, while the dog was so excited to see you that he basically ignored Taehyung whenever the both of you arrived together.

The vlive of you and Yeontan taking a nap on the couch after Chuseok dinner with his family, curled up together as you whined about your tummy hurting while Taehyung, behind the camera, laughed as he teased you about being such a glutton but then went to rub your aching belly, became the most watched vlive ever, spawning a million GIFs.

It also became common for you to be somewhere in the background of Namjoon’s vlives, reading a book on his couch, while he chatted with fans. After many requests for you to appear on Eat Jin, you did eventually do an episode with him, although he spent the whole time comparing the food to meals he’d cooked for you in the past.

One might think that growing up the lone female around seven men might be awkward at times, especially with you going through adolescence and getting your period and all that, but they made it normal. Hybrids were far more open about normal bodily functions than human societies had been, and it would have been stranger for them to get squeamish about their pet’s bodily functions. There was no hiding from them when you got your period or anything like that, but they were so nonchalant about it that you were too, even warning you beforehand when you were going to start because they could smell the changes in your scent.

It was all fine – at least, until the boys went to the military.

All of them enlisted together when you were sixteen, and you went to live with Taehyung’s parents while they were serving. Living in Geochang was a change of pace from Seoul, but it was nice nevertheless. You helped out at his parents’ farm, got to play a lot more with Yeontan and the other animals running around, and had a lot more freedom since his parents were too busy to micromanage you.

During this time, you really grew into your own – enrolling in an online GED course, using the Internet and the enormous resources at your disposal to figure your personal style out, even finding human friends and a boyfriend. Who would have thought that Geochang had such a thriving human community?

Needless to say, by the time the two years had passed and you went back to live with Taehyung, you were a vastly different person, in both temperament and appearance, than you’d been the day he dropped you off.

Still, you’d missed being in Seoul with him, and you were excited to go with his parents to pick him up from the military base. You’d never been to visit him when his family members went, because they’d needed someone to stay home and tend to the crops and take care of the animals, and ever eager to please, you’d volunteered to do it even though you really wanted to see Taehyung too.

This time, though, you had to go, because everyone was going to Seoul to spend the night, and then you would stay with Taehyung. Although you hadn’t seen each other in two years, you’d kept in contact via text messages and video calls whenever he was free, and you knew that he’d decided to move into an apartment in Seoul without the other boys. It was about time – Seokjin was pushing thirty and planning to propose to his longtime girlfriend, and it was a little weird for seven men in their thirties to be living together anyway.

So you packed your things and prepared to move out of Geochang and back to Seoul. It wasn’t difficult – with technology it was easy for you to keep in contact with your friends in Geochang, and you’d broken up with your boyfriend a couple months ago on amicable terms. The most difficult thing for you had been saying goodbye to Tannie, who was getting on in years now and had relied on you more and more each day.

But move out you did, and you bounced in your seat all the way to the military base where Taehyung had been living for the past two years. When you first saw him walk out of the compound, still in his uniform, your excitement got the better of you and you flew towards him, perhaps uncharacteristically for you given how taken aback his parents were, but you didn’t care.

“Taehyung-oppa!” you screamed as you ran. To his credit, he didn’t waste any time processing the missile currently hurtling towards him, and just opened his arms for you to leap into.

“Hello, Y/N,” he laughed as he hugged you close. He’d missed you too, his cute little human, and after so long away from him, you didn’t smell anything like him anymore, something he was determined to change as he started rubbing his cheek on the top of your head. Used to it after living with him for so many years, you just stood still and let him do it.

Fansite photographers and more zealous fans who’d come to see him cooed and sighed at the cute picture you two made. You were still tucked under his arm, clinging to his shirt, as he greeted the people who were gathered, thanking them for coming all this way, and thanking his commanding officers and platoon mates for being there for him for the past few years.

Then it was over, and he was in the van with his family for a more private reunion. You were still clinging to him, not that he minded as he stroked your hair softly as he chatted with his family. He’d seen them when they’d come to visit, or during his breaks – it was just you that hadn’t had the chance to see him since he’d gone away.

During the drive back to Seoul, you tucked your face into his neck and took a nap, tired from all the excitement. While you were asleep, Taehyung asked his mother how you’d been. “Did she give you a lot of trouble?” he asked.

She chuckled. “No, she was an absolute angel. So good with the children and the animals, always eager to help out.”

He smiled. “Yeah? That tracks. The lady at the shelter told me she has an amazing pedigree.”

“It was a real joy having her, Taehyung-ah. You’re lucky to have such a sweet human in your life.”

“I am. I hope she had a good time in Geochang, too.”

Taehyung’s mother laughed at that. “Oh, did she ever!”

His curiosity piqued, his ears perked. “Sounds like you have some good stories to share.”

“The girl had the time of her life these past two years,” his mother snickered. “She had a lot more freedom in Geochang than in Seoul because it’s smaller and safer, so we let her go out on her own a lot more, and she’s really sociable. She even found a boyfriend.”

He raised a brow. “She did? Sounds like she had lots of fun in Geochang, then.”

He wanted to find out more about what you’d been up to, but since they were arriving in Seoul and would be at the restaurant for dinner, he couldn’t, instead waking you up since you always took a little while to be functional.

You untangled yourself from him sleepily and almost fell out of the car as you tried to get out, and it was only his father’s superior hybrid reflexes that saved you from eating asphalt as he caught you and put you back on your feet. Murmuring your thanks, you waited for Taehyung to climb out of the van and lead you into the restaurant by the hand.

Tonight, you were dining at a Korean barbeque restaurant, which was always a winner for the hybrid wolf family. Usually they just ate meat, not even bothering with lettuce wraps, but they were still nice enough to order some vegetables and king oyster mushrooms for you. You were in charge of grilling, of course, not that you minded, and hearing the praise from everyone else at the table made you glow a little every time.

Taehyung was the center of attention that evening, of course, as he regaled his family with tales of his time in the military. He was the first member of BTS to be discharged, although since they’d all enlisted at around the same time, the others were due to be discharged in the coming few months, so unfortunately there weren’t funny stories of his bandmates coming to visit him, but Bang PD had, and so had some stylist noonas.

There were also stories about silly punishments and shenanigans, water parades, being made to hold the wall and shout, “Help, help! The wall is falling,” because he’d been caught leaning against it once, that made everyone crack up and you almost drop the tongs right on the grill.

Eventually, though, he started asking about how everyone had been, which turned, perhaps inevitably, into everyone ganging up on you and trying to tell the most embarrassing story they could think of. You sighed and whined as one by one, they all took turns rehashing your various mishaps to Taehyung – you trying to climb a tree and getting stuck like a cat, your various fashion disasters as you tried to ‘find yourself’ – complete with pictures, of course, and worst of all, your theatrics when your GED certificate came in the mail.

Well, you were really proud of that last one, but did they really have to describe your joyful outburst as helpless histrionics?

Still, though, the way Taehyung squeezed your hand as he told you how proud he was of you made everything better.

Soon enough, dinner was over and all of you piled back into the van to go to Taehyung’s new apartment. It had already been set up by the multitude of assistants that BigHit had, with some input from his parents, so it was basically already liveable. With so many people helping, it wasn’t long before all your things were moved into the apartment too, and then the two of you were left alone, for the first time in two years.

Since you had so much spare room in the apartment, you had your own bedroom, and it was beautifully decorated just how you’d pictured it, with a very pretty queen-sized bed in one corner with a white cushioned headboard and pink-and-grey patterned sheets, a reading nook in front of floor-to-ceiling windows with an overstuffed chair and foot rest, a lamp, and a large bookshelf with a ladder occupying the adjacent wall, and a little coffee table with a scented candle already on it next to the chair. Fluffy rugs were strewn across the room, and a wooden dressing table sat on the opposite side of the room. It was beautiful and comfortable, everything you’d dreamed of, but when you got ready for bed, you found yourself missing Taehyung.

Which led to you in your pajamas, all scrubbed down and ready for bed, knocking plaintively on Taehyung’s bedroom door. He seemed to know that you would be there even before opening the door, which he probably had, with his enhanced senses (and the fact that there was no one else in the apartment).

When he opened the door for you, clad in just his pajama pants, all you had to do was pout up at him and he was standing aside to let you in. Generally, he indulged your every whim, because according to his life philosophy, why have pets if you weren’t going to spoil them rotten? Making a beeline for his bed, you made yourself comfortable by burrowing under his sheets and fluffing up one of his pillows.

Shaking his head at you, Taehyung followed you back to the bed, getting into the other side with an indulgent huff. “You know, I paid a lot of money for your bedroom,” he said drolly. Ignoring his remark, you cuddled close to him and shut your eyes stubbornly, and he capitulated with a sigh, stroking your head as you drifted off to sleep.

Somehow, you smelled different than he remembered. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, and it wasn’t bad by any means, but it was just… different. And he didn’t quite know what to do about it.

For some reason he’d been reluctant to ask his parents, even though they’d been the ones living with you for the past two years, if they’d sensed anything different about you. He’d rationalized it to himself at the point – since they’d been with you every day it was likely that they wouldn’t notice anything different if your scent had changed gradually, and if it had been sudden and enough to cause worry, they would already have let him know about it.

Still, his mind wouldn’t stop racing with the possibilities as he leaned in closer to take a good whiff. He could still smell the base notes of your scent, which had always been somewhat citrusy, but now it was slightly… earthier, with a musky, deeper aroma threaded through it. Was it vanilla? Perhaps cinnamon?

Whatever it was, it was nice, and he shut his eyes to allow himself to drift off after deciding to do research on humans’ scent changes tomorrow. He didn’t think it was anything to worry about – any illness would definitely have a sharper, less pleasant scent – but he didn’t know why your scent would suddenly change again. It had changed gradually once before, as you went through puberty, but based on what he’d read about humans, it shouldn’t change again for many years yet.

No harm finding out more about what could be causing it, he thought as he slipped after you into slumber. Maybe he would take you to a doctor, too, if it became necessary.

Morning dawned, and Taehyung woke up leisurely for the first time in too long, slowly blinking his eyes against the morning sunlight streaming in from the windows. As he slowly became conscious of his surroundings, he became aware that he was the most comfortable he’d ever been, probably in his life, and he nuzzled closer behind your ear.

Wait a minute. A second later, he drew back. He didn’t remember going to sleep with a lover, and he definitely hadn’t had a girlfriend since his last one broke up with him while he was in the army. So who was he currently wrapped around…?

When it dawned on him, he recoiled in horror, and almost crab scuttled away from you. Thankfully, you were still asleep and hadn’t noticed his morning boner pressed against you, because it was beyond inappropriate for him to feel that way about you, his pet.

Unfortunately, his abrupt movements pulled on the duvet that you were sharing, and jostled you awake. He froze, wide-eyed, as you stirred. “Taehyung-oppa?” you said, voice raspy with sleep.

“Shh, I’m just going to pee,” he lied. “Go back to sleep, sweetie, it’s still early.”

You hummed wordlessly as you burrowed back into the covers, and despite his own inner turmoil, he smiled at you as he straightened the duvet over you before he left the bedroom.

He darted into the bathroom, where he sat on the edge of the tub, his head in his hands. God, what the hell was wrong with him? You weren’t a hybrid, and he didn’t understand how this could have happened. In that moment before he’d woken up fully and realized what was happening, his instinct had been to treat you like a… lover. He shuddered at the thought.

Okay, he thought, getting up. He was going to take a shower, rub one out, and then pretend like everything was fine. This was an aberration, just a weird fluke. You were warm and in his bed, and it had been a really long time since he had any action, since military service tended to inhibit such activities.

He just needed to get laid, and get used to your new scent, and then everything would be fine. No one would need to know about this embarrassing little slip-up.

With renewed determination, he started stripping off his clothes to get into the shower. All soaped up, he started sliding a hand down his body to grasp his erection firmly, which had never really gone away. Biting his lip, he started stroking it slowly, running his thumb over the head on the upstroke. His mind, however, remained unfocused, flitting between various memories and porn he’d watched, never able to focus on anything long enough to immerse himself.

That is, until his enhanced wolf hearing picked up the rustling sounds in the bedroom. He could hear, even over the sound of the shower, so clearly what you were doing that his mind had no problem filling in the blanks. The rustle of the sheets meant you were pushing the covers back; the soft thud on the ground meant you’d sat up and put your feet down. Then you stretched, and he definitely had no problem imagining it – or an overly erotic version of what actually transpired. Your soft moan of satisfaction as you cracked your spine sent a shiver running through him.

After that, it was basically a race to the finish line, as he fisted himself as hard as he could, leaning forward to brace his free hand against the wall in front of him. Usually it took a little longer, and he would play with his balls more, but it wasn’t going to be necessary this time, he could feel it. Remembering how good you’d smelled this morning was enough to push him over the edge, and he muffled his groan in his shoulder as he came all over the wall of his shower, the hand on the wall curling into a fist.

“Fuck,” he panted as he washed the cum off himself and the wall. Needless to say, he didn’t feel any cleaner after that shower.

When he came out of the shower, you were already getting breakfast ready. Another perk of having a team of assistants dedicated to making your life easier – the fridge came fully stocked. You’d washed up and pulled a sweatshirt on over the cami and pajama pants, and he couldn’t help but smile when he saw that it was a BTS merchandise from several years ago.

“Good morning,” you chirped, flipping the bacon. “I didn’t know what you wanted for breakfast, but I remember how much you love bacon, so I figured this would be safe.”

He leaned his elbows on the island and watched you warily from a distance. “Are you sure you should be cooking?”

“I got better,” you shot back defensively. “You shouldn’t have let me take cooking lessons from Namjoon-oppa in the first place.”

“No, I really shouldn’t have,” he agreed absently. You really had improved in your cooking, he thought, watching how easily you moved around the kitchen. It wasn’t long before a giant helping of bacon was sitting in front of him, with a more modest, human-sized portion on your plate, and some toast.

“You really should have let me make you breakfast,” he sighed, even as he started to tuck in. “I miss spoiling you.”

You shot him a cheeky grin. “Not to worry, you spoiled me plenty while you were in the military,” you sassed him.

He huffed out a laugh. “I know, I saw the credit card statements.”

Giggling, you eat another bite of your breakfast and smile at him with your cheeks stuffed, and his heart clenches with fondness. How could someone so plainly adorable drive him so crazy this morning? It must have been a fluke; his instincts misfiring. He just needed to get laid, and then everything would be fine.

Update: everything was not fine.

Things got progressively worse over the next couple of weeks, until Taehyung was honestly filled with dread every night when you came into his room and slid under the sheets on the side of the bed you’d claimed as yours.

It was getting to the point that all you had to do was sidle up to him for some cuddles and he would start getting sidetracked from having your scent invading his personal space. And yet it wasn’t like he could ask you to dial it back – it was in your nature to be physically affectionate and needy; it was literally what you’d been bred for. What could he possibly say, anyway? “Sorry, but can you stop touching me, it turns me on”? You’d be horrified, and rightly so. You trusted him, he could see it every time you smiled up at him like the sun, looked at him with complete adoration in your eyes, came to sit on his lap for cuddles. His reaction was a complete betrayal of that trust.

There was definitely something wrong with him. It was sick for a hybrid to be thinking about his human pet in this way. Maybe he should be the one to see a doctor, but he’d probably be arrested.

Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing, if it guaranteed your safety from him.

Amidst all the angst and worrying about whether he was a danger to his own pet human, there were some bright moments. All of his brothers were discharged from the military, and after Jungkook, the last to be discharged, was released, they’d all gone for a massive reunion/celebration. You’d wanted to join, but he’d said no, knowing that there would definitely be plenty of alcohol that night, which meant that firstly, he wouldn’t be in any position to look after you and/or resist your charms, and secondly, your underage self was definitely not going to see how depraved your precious oppas were going to get.

The night started off well enough, with a nice dinner at an exclusive new restaurant in Seoul. The wine flowed freely, and by the time they were done, everyone was more than a little tipsy. They then moved to a club – again, exclusive and new – where they were automatically ushered to the mezzanine. A bottle of whisky was brought to their table, but soon enough, several of them had left to hit the dance floor – Jungkook, that brat, was of course looking for someone to spend the night with, and Hoseok and Jimin just wanted to tear up the dance floor.

“How have you been spending your time off?” Namjoon asked. Taehyung had been a little off all night, quieter than usual and when he thought no one was watching, he had a little frown perpetually affixed to his face.

Taehyung forced a nonchalant shrug – or at least, what he hoped passed for nonchalance. “Just hanging around,” he said vaguely, hoping to fend off any more probing into his life. “What about you?”

Namjoon looked amused. “Tae, I was discharged three days ago. I spent it sleeping and fixing up my apartment.”

“Right, right,” he said, staring studiously into his glass of whisky as if the amber-coloured liquid could tell him the secrets of life.

“How’s Y/N?” Yoongi piped up. Of course, he would be the one to bring you up first. For all his bitching and moaning when Taehyung adopted you, he quickly grew the most attached, and the feeling was mutual. He was your very favourite oppa after Taehyung, and sometimes – like when Taehyung has no choice but to discipline you – he was pretty sure Yoongi was your favourite.

“She’s fine,” Taehyung said, aiming for the innocent enthusiasm he used to have when talking about you, but from the way Namjoon’s eyebrow went up, he knew he’d failed.

“Is everything okay?” Namjoon asked slowly.

Taehyung gulped. The jig was up. Curse his inability to hide his feelings. Well, no matter. If pretending like everything was okay at home wasn’t going to work, there was always good old avoidance.

“Yes, everything’s fine!” he exclaimed a little manically, knocking back the rest of his drink in one gulp. “I’m going to hit the dance floor,” he said, making his escape quickly.

The others, a little surprised, didn’t react, letting him leave, although they exchanged suspicious glances. Something was up with Taehyung; he’d made that obvious enough.

Stepping onto the dance floor, he saw Jungkook in one corner getting hot and heavy against a wall with his chosen companion for the night, and he sighed enviously. He wished he could still do that. It wasn’t that they were afraid someone would go to the press – this club really was exclusive, and only celebrities and the ultra-wealthy (read: chaebol relatives) could even enter the club, so discretion would be guaranteed by both parties.

Instead, it seemed that as his attraction for you grew, his ability to find other, more suitable hybrid women attractive… diminished. Which was another pretty significant part of the problem that he didn’t even know how to address. He’d tried hooking up with hybrids over the past couple of weeks, but none of them ever smelled right. There was always something that felt a little bit off that prevented him from taking things further with them, no matter how much he might want to.

He was going crazy, he was sure of it. How could his sexual attraction be focused completely on one human woman? There was no way that this was okay.

He just had to hide it from others. He didn’t know what he was going to do about it yet, and it wasn’t like he didn’t trust his brothers, but this was a little different, and as much as he wouldn’t blame them, he couldn’t imagine the judging or pitying looks they would direct at him if he told them what was going on with his life.

No, better to keep it to himself for the time being.

His resolve seemed, unfortunately, alcohol-soluble. When the night ended, Taehyung returned to his apartment, saw that his bed was empty and immediately turned around to go to your room, where you’d settled in for the night since you weren’t sure what time he would come back, if he came back at all – hey, you weren’t one to judge. Spotting the human-shaped lump under the covers of your bed in the darkness, he stumbled over to the bed and lifted the covers to slide in.

It was then that Taehyung discovered that those cute camis and pajama pants that shouldn’t drive him crazy but did were you dressing more modestly than usual for bed, out of consideration for him. Because tonight, you weren’t wearing pants.

His brain seemed to short-circuit as he stared at your panty-clad ass, but he must have lifted the covers for too long because the cold started to make you stir as you turned over, patting the area around you looking for the blanket. Not finding anything to grab on to, your eyes opened slowly, and you squinted up at Taehyung.

“Oppa?” you croaked. “You’re back.” Clearing your throat, you reached for your phone on the bedside table. “What time is it?”

He groaned as he watched the way your body stretched out as you turned away from him. “You smell so good,” he whined, flopping down on the other side of the bed, and squirming close to you.

You allowed him to press himself against you, knowing that he was a needy drunk. This wasn’t exactly new for you – Taehyung didn’t get drunk as often as his other members did, but he still did occasionally, and you’d been with him for so many years now that you had a routine by now.

“Oppa… are you still dressed?” you whined as your bare skin came into contact with his jeans. You hissed in displeasure as the cold metal on his belt buckle pressed against your thigh.

“…No,” he said unconvincingly after a moment.

You squirmed out of his grasp, and he let out a forlorn whine that reminded you of his animal half. “Come on, you should get changed at least, you won’t sleep well in your clothes. I’ll go get your pajamas, okay?”

“Nooo,” he made grabby hands at you. “Don’t leave.” He pulled you back into his embrace, pressing his face into your throat. “You smell so good,” he slurred, rubbing his face against you.

You giggled at the ticklish sensation, resisting the urge to push him away. “At least take your pants off, okay?” you negotiated. “I have some water here, you should have some before you go to sleep…” Your voice trailed off as you reached for the bottle you always kept on your bedside table, and his head fell to the pillow with a soft thump as you pulled away. His eyesight was far better than yours, and he took the opportunity to stare at you while you weren’t able to notice it.

While he drank, you wriggled yourself back into the bed, blinking sleepily in the dark as you listened to the rhythmic sound of him gulping down the water. When he’d had enough, he started to lay down, and you quickly intervened. “No, you can’t sleep in your clothes!”

He laughed in response. “You’re very eager to take my pants off, love,” he teased.

Your whole body flushed with heat and you drew back, sulking. “Fine, sleep in your clothes, then. Just don’t complain in the morning,” you snapped, turning over to go to sleep.

Instead of doing the same, Taehyung scooched closer and threw an arm around you. “Don’t be like that, baby,” he purred. “I was just teasing. I’ll take off whatever you want me to,” he promised.

Hearing him speak to you in that tone, though, had you all kinds of worked up. It wasn’t unusual for him to call you baby – he’d always used that pet name on you, and Yeontan and all his other pets as well. It was just the way he’d said it… it reminded you of the way your ex back in Geochang used to talk to you when he was horny. And you found, to your shame, that you’d reacted to it with a small shiver.

That couldn’t be right, though. Humans and hybrids weren’t compatible in that way. You’d just been reminded of Jong-in in that moment – even though you’d broken up, it had been amicable, and you’d always enjoyed physical intimacy with him; it was a natural reaction.

While you were busy rationalizing it to yourself, though, the scent of your arousal hit Taehyung and he pressed himself closer with a groan. “Why do you smell so amazing, Y/N-ie?” he asked, pushing his nose insistently into the crook behind your ear. Unfortunately, his belt buckle pressed into the strip of skin on your lower back exposed by the way your camisole rode up.

“Agh,” you cried out in displeasure, squirming away from him. “It’s cold!”

“What? What’s cold, baby?”

“Your belt,” you heaved out, and his hands immediately went to it.

“Okay, it’s going,” Taehyung responded placatingly, undoing it and throwing it onto the ground beside the bed. Now that he’d gotten started, his pants were quick to follow, being scrunched into the corner of the bed under the covers where he’d kicked them, and his button-down shirt. Finally, clad in just his boxers and undershirt, he relaxed into the mattress, and you cuddled close, satisfied now.

“Good night, oppa,” you murmured as you slotted yourself into your usual spot in his side, your eyes drifting shut as you clutched his shirt in your fist.

He mumbled something indistinct in response, but you could feel his hand resting on your back, and you went to sleep peacefully.

(line break)

Taehyung woke up in a bed that wasn’t his own, half-dressed, and was confused for a moment, wracking his brain for memories of last night. Had he finally managed to get some?

Rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, he propped himself up on his elbow and peered around, realizing that it was your room. So he hadn’t broken his dry spell, then. Damn.

Pushing the covers away, he meandered out of your bedroom to the kitchen, where you were already working on some hangover breakfast for him. “Good morning,” you chirped, turning away from the stove to point at the glass of water and hybrid painkillers you’d laid out for him. “In case you feel bad,” you explained.

He sat down and downed the water, ignoring the painkillers – he didn’t feel that bad – as he took you in. You’d put some pants on, and a cardigan over the camisole you’d worn to bed, and tied your hair back in a messy ponytail. As a hybrid, he naturally ran warmer than you, so during winters you made sure to pile the layers on to remain warm.

This line of thinking triggered a memory of you squealing in protest at the cold metal of his belt buckle touching your skin last night, and he paled as he remembered how inappropriately he’d acted with you. He watched you carefully, but you seemed the same as always, and he wasn’t sure if he should just pretend it never happened or apologize for it.

When you deemed the yukgaejang ready and took it off the stove to serve together with two bowls of freshly cooked rice, his guilt at how boorishly he’d treated you last night overwhelmed him and he blurted, “About last night – ”

You looked up from the drawer where you were picking the utensils out. “Yeah?”

“Um… about what I said…” he trailed off awkwardly.

“Oh, you mean the scent thing? Don’t worry, I get it,” you laughed it off, waving a hand in the air dismissively. “It’s because of the pack bond, right?”

“The what?” Completely confused, he just stared at you as you poured some soup into your rice.

“The pack bond? I read about it, that some hybrids can form pack bonds with the people around them. Like you did with the other members, or your pets, I guess,” you said, shrugging.

Instead of responding immediately, Taehyung chose to shovel a huge mouthful of stew and rice into his mouth to give him more time to think about how to respond. You’d given him the perfect cop-out for any overly affectionate behavior he might display. He was sure you didn’t know enough about hybrid pack behaviours to actually call him out on his lies.

“Y- yeah, that’s it,” he said, the visible relief on his face making you smile at him cheerily, your triumph at guessing correctly written all over your face.

As you both went back to eating, you felt something that had tensed up inside you last night unclench. It was just the pack bond. You could stop thinking about it, and you wouldn’t misinterpret anything anymore.

Returning to the studio to work on their comeback was a relief for Taehyung. For one thing, it meant that he would be spending most of his time away from you and your maddening scent. For another, he’d worried (perhaps needlessly, given the outpouring of support and congratulations on their social media when they were each discharged) that they wouldn’t be relevant anymore and he would be out of a job.

He’d also really missed his brothers, and was excited to work with them again.

However, what he hadn’t anticipated was that they’d missed you just as much as him, and you felt the same way. Every evening when he came home you were there, waiting for fun stories about the other members, and they pestered him incessantly for updates about you or, better yet, pictures or videos, or best of all, bringing you to the studio.

Since you basically begged for the same thing, he’d pretty much had no choice.

You chattered on excitedly from the front seat of his car as he drove to the studio. It was unbearably early, but that didn’t seem to deter you. Most mornings you were the one who woke him up anyway, since you were by far the most patient out of the members and producers. Even without you being there most days, the members knew that any time Taehyung showed up for practice on time and awake it was because of your efforts.

You fairly skipped from the carpark all the way to the studio where the boys were supposed to be working today, dragging Taehyung along in your wake. You knew the building like the back of your hand by now, having spent much of the time you’d been with Taehyung here. Even the boys from TXT knew you, and often kept snacks and things in their studios for you when you dropped by.

Reaching the corridor where the studio was located, you ran down it and burst into the studio, a ball of almost frenzied energy. “Hi!” you cried exuberantly, causing the current occupants of the room to look up at you. Almost all the members were there, sans Yoongi and, of course, Taehyung, who was following you at a more sedate pace, and they grinned at you.

“Y/N!” Jungkook leapt up from his seat and rushed over to you, and as you hugged him he picked you clean off the floor to swing you around, giggling. The tiger hybrid’s ears flicked excitedly as he took you in. “Don’t you look pretty today?” he cooed, rubbing his cheek over the top of your head. You stood still to let him, used to all the members attempting to scent you since it was basically an affectionate gesture.

“Thank you, Kookie-oppa,” you said politely, smiling up at him.

“You’re such a polite girl,” Seokjin complimented you, pulling a Tupperware of your favourite spicy baby octopus out of his bag. When Taehyung had texted them last night that you would be coming today, he’d immediately gotten to work preparing some of your favourite snacks.

“Ooh, thank you, Seokjin-oppa!” you sang as you stood to take it from him – with both hands, of course, and accompanied by a deep bow.

“Don’t you mean Seokjin-samchoon?” Jungkook ribbed, causing the hyena hybrid to snarl at him.

By the time Taehyung entered the room, you were sandwiched between Namjoon and Jimin, happily sharing your food with them, while Jungkook and Seokjin were playfighting, Hoseok egging both of them on. He sighed as he headed to the last empty couch and dropped down on it heavily, used to the chaos of his members.

“Where’s Suga-hyung?” Taehyung asked, looking around.

You shrugged. “Probably still in bed,” you responded to the amusement of everyone in the room.

Unfortunately for you, the man in question walked through the doors just in time to hear your remark, and he scowled. “For your information,” he bit out acerbically, “I was in my studio. I’m not Jimin,” he said, rolling his eyes, even as he bent down in front of you and opened his mouth for the proffered mouthful of food you were holding in your chopsticks for him.

“Hey!” Jimin protested. “I thought we were past that.”

“Never,” Taehyung promised, and you giggled. To ease the sting of his members teasing him, Jimin aggressively scented you, and you leaned into him to facilitate it.

Taehyung, observing your interaction with the other hybrid, tried not to show his irritation on his face, mostly because he knew it was ridiculous to feel that way. When you’d first come to live with them, the others had been cautious about getting their scents on you, just in case it was something that bothered him, but he’d made sure to assure them that he didn’t mind. After all, all of them were pack. It made sense for them to smell like each other, and it had even comforted him sometimes when you came to him drenched in the scents of his members.

Now that your scent was different, though, he didn’t like it as much when the other members rubbed up against you. It was a shameful, terrible feeling to be possessive over you like that, and he noted somewhat wryly that he could add it to the list. He really hadn’t been a paragon of virtue when it came to you recently.

When the boys started working, you pulled out the book you were currently reading and settled in. By now, you knew how to entertain yourself when at the studio, and tuned them out for the most part. As a result, you didn’t notice the way Taehyung’s attention would drift over to you instead of his members, but Namjoon did.

The older man raised his brow as Taehyung stared at you, sitting on a couch in the corner of the studio, instead of listening to the melody that Yoongi had just been working on. This was uncharacteristic of Taehyung, to say the least, and though as a leader he was somewhat annoyed at Taehyung’s inattention, he was also worried, remembering how strangely the wolf hybrid had acted the other night. He was still watching Taehyung out of his peripheral vision when he saw Taehyung catch himself staring, shake his head and frown.

He followed Taehyung’s gaze to you, wondering what it was that had captured Taehyung’s attention. You seemed unaware of it, turning the page on your book and continuing to read with a soft, relaxed expression, eagerly devouring the page. He couldn’t detect any differences, either – aside from the fact that you’d grown a little and carried yourself differently, you were much the same as you were when they’d left for the army.

Still, there must be some explanation for Taehyung’s sudden change in behavior, and he ran his eyes over your face more closely, watching for any hints.

Unfortunately, Taehyung, looking up from his notes, saw Namjoon staring at you, and before he could stop it, he growled at the wild dog hybrid. A second later, he realized what he’d just done, and shame flooded him. He got up so suddenly that the chair he was sitting in rolled away, bumping against the studio board, and fled the room.

Immediately, you put your book down and got up, ready to follow him to ask what had gotten him so upset, but Namjoon stopped you. “I’ll go talk to him,” he assured you, and looking up at the serious set of his jaw, you nodded, knowing that Taehyung was in good hands.

Namjoon found Taehyung in the restroom, bracing himself against the sinks with his head bowed. Hearing the door open and able to identify his leader by his scent, Taehyung’s hands tightened.

“You doing okay?” Namjoon asked mildly, leaning against the restroom door.

“Go away,” Taehyung grumped without moving.

“Tae, I’m worried about you. You’ve been acting weird since we came back from the military. Tell me what’s going on, please?”

“Nothing’s going on, everything’s fine,” Taehyung denied, his voice becoming increasingly whiny.

“Tae, come on. We’re brothers, you can tell me what’s up.” Namjoon went over to the wolf hybrid and rested his hand on his shoulder.

Resolutely, Taehyung stayed silent.

Left with no other recourse, Namjoon started guessing. “Is it because your heat is coming soon?”

Taehyung’s head shot up, and he stared at Namjoon in the mirror. “My what?”

Namjoon quirked his brow at the younger man. “Your heat?” he prompted. “The one you’ve had once a year for about ten years now?”

Taehyung paled. With all that had been going on with you, he’d totally forgotten about it. Fuck. He was not going to get through this heat alive.

#kim taehyung #taehyung x reader #bts #bts fic #bts hybrid au #hybrid bts #taehyung smut #kim seokjin #min yoongi #jung hoseok #kim namjoon #park jimin #jeon jungkook #bts future au

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nerdypinupcrystal · 5 years ago

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Every Breath You Take Chapter 9: Girls Night

I’m BAAAAACK! I’m so sorry for taking forever to update, guys. I had so much going on; school and work back to back, I seriously get no days off! My aunt was in the hospital for a month, but she’s okay now. And I was also hit with the dreaded writers block. But I’m finally here with a new chapter, it’s a fun lengthy one, I hope you guys enjoy it!

Masterlist

Chapter 9: Girls Night

After our talk in Matt’s apartment, he walked me back to my place to rest, obviously noticing how drained the talk left me. With one more lingering, spine tingling kiss, he walked back to his apartment with the promise to see me later.

I called Lucy to invite her to have a sleepover with me. This day of honesty has encouraged me to want to open up to my new “best friend” as Lucy fondly titled herself.

I slept the day away until a knock on the door woke me up. I reached for my phone to check the time. My eyes widened with disbelief at reading the large bright numbers on the screen. 6:15 PM

Holy shit that talk really did drain me!

The knocking continued until I heard a familiar voice through the door.

“Iris, open up! The strippers are getting restless!” Lucy yelled impatiently.

I let out a snort of laughter as I made my way towards the door, opening it to reveal my quirky best friend wearing a yellow dress and carrying a green stuffed animal with little tentacles in its face.

“Good evening, Miss. Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior Cthulhu?” Lucy asked, sounding every bit like a missionary.

“I was under the impression you brought strippers with you.” I replied, arching one brow up as I patiently waited for her response.

“They got impatient and went back to Chippendales. Now you get Cthulhu.” She responded as she thrust the green stuffed Cthulhu doll into my hands. “He like praises, occasional human sacrifices, and cuddles.”

I giggled as I held the stuffed monster like a baby. “Thank you, I’ll do my best.” I opened the door wider for her, “You may enter if you dare.”

“Thank you, kind gentlewoman.” Lucy replied with a curtsy. She stepped inside carrying a medium sized overnight bag on her shoulder, but surprised me with the tall pink train case she rolled in behind her.

“Please don’t tell me you have luggage for Cthulhu.” I pleaded, my brows furrowed in slight worry.

Lucy was quick to respond. “Nope! I came prepared with some essentials.”

She unlocked each compartment of the large case and proceeded to open and separate the case. Each compartment, to my amazement, revealed an assortment of pastries and desserts from the bakery. The top compartment had a protective container filled with a variety of cupcakes; the second compartment held a wide selection of French macarons, truffles,and fruit tarts; and the third compartment held various cronuts, puff pastry treats, and dulce de leche cookies.

My eyes nearly bugged out of my head at all the sweets. “Holy shit, Luce! There’s no way we’re gonna finish all of this tonight!”

“Oh don’t be silly!” She replied as she started handing me the desserts to put in the fridge. “Some of this can be our breakfast too. Maybe you can even take some over to Matt.” Lucy wiggled her eyebrows at me with a smirk.

I blushed at the thought of Matt, my lips still tingling from our kiss this morning.

“And besides,” Lucy continued, interrupting my thoughts. “You haven’t seen the best part. Guaranteed to hype up that appetite.”

With that, she opened the bottom largest compartment. Revealing six bottles of Stella Rosa wine.

“Three for you, three for me!” Lucy exclaimed in excitement as she pulled out the bottles and set them on the counter.

“Holy shit.” I said, too speechless to say anything else. But then I realized to my dismay, “I don’t have a corkscrew.”

Lucy, being the ultimate problem solver replied. “No worries, I have one on my keychain.” She held up said keychain in all its pink bedazzled glory.

“Always prepared.” I spoke with admiration.

“Never know when you’re gonna need it. My sister and I learned that in Girl Scouts.” Lucy replied as she uncorked one of the bottles.

My eyebrows raised in surprise, “They taught you about corkscrews?”

“My mom was our scout leader, she insisted. But enough about that,” She thrust the open bottle to my hands as she opened a second bottle. “Let’s drink.”

“Shouldn’t we get some wine glasses?” I asked perplexed.

Lucy scoffed. “Sweetie, please. We’re ladies. We drink straight from the bottle.” I let out a laugh as I put the rest of the bottles in the fridge to chill. “Now let’s sit down, drink up, and talk about what’s going on with you.”

We got to the couch, I took a healthy gulp of the wine and told her everything.

She took it pretty well.

“I’m gonna fuckin kill him.” Lucy growled as we both wiped our tears. “I’m gonna fly out to Miami, and kill him to death!”

I let out a snort of laughter. “How do you kill someone to death?”

“Oh there are ways.” Lucy was quick to reply. “I can get quite creative when the inspiration hits me.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second,” I chuckled. “But I just got away from him and I hate the idea of you being in the same room as him. What he did to me was horrible enough. The thought of him doing anything to you or anyone else I care about terrifies me.” I felt a chill of fear go up my spine just saying it.

Lucy frowned in sympathy and pulled me into a comforting embrace. “Hey now, get that thought out of your mind. He’s thousands of miles away back in Miami. We’re in New York. You changed your look, it’s a huge city, and he thinks you’re dead. And most importantly, you’re not alone anymore. You have me, and two adorable kick ass lawyers that will fight for you. Especially Matt.” Lucy finished with a wink.

My cheeks reddened at the thought of my sweet, gorgeous neighbor. “That’s a pretty valid point.”

“Does he know?” Lucy asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, I told him this morning before I called you.”

“How did he take it?”

I hesitated before I answered. “Better than I thought. At first, though, he was silent. I guess he was processing everything, but I was so sure he hated me.” Lucy looked confused before I elaborated. “For lying. For running away from my problems like a coward.”

“Oh sweetie, you’re not a coward!” Lucy exclaimed, her eyes meeting mine. “You were being abused, you were alone and scared! You said yourself that cops couldn’t help you. It would’ve gotten even worse the longer you stayed. You did what you had to do, and on top of that, you snuck out to move your mom and faked her death to protect her even though you knew that you were gonna get hurt for disappearing like that. That took a lot of guts, you must know that by now.”

I nodded shakily, fighting the tears threatening to shed. “I do now. Matt said as much himself.”

Lucy’s face brightened. “See? That man is as smart as he is gorgeous...”

“And kissable.” I muttered as I took a sip of my wine.

Lucy continued, “Just like my Foggy- time the fuck out!”

My eyes widened at the sudden outburst. “What?”

“You kissed Matt?!” She asked excitedly.

“Oh, yeah, I did.” I replied with a timid smile, my cheeks flushing into a rosy pink.

Lucy could barely contain her composure, her hands were flailing and her body jumping from excitement. She shot up off the couch and rushed to the fridge, returning with the container of cupcakes before going back to the fridge to grab two more bottles of wine. She gingerly sat back on the couch, her legs folded like a kid eager for story time.

“Okay, I’m ready! Tell me everything.” She begged with glee.

Exasperated, I shook my head and replied. “Luce, there isn’t that much to tell. It wasn’t hot and heavy, it was sweet and tender during a vulnerable moment.”

“You say there isn’t much to tell, but I don’t care. Tell me about it anyway!” Lucy exclaimed impatiently. “Finish your first bottle and we can share all the dirty fantasies about our guys.” Her eyebrows wiggled suggestively as she nudged my open bottle towards me.

“Luce!” I laughed out. “I don’t really talk about this kind of stuff.”

“Oh you will,” Lucy stated. “Now sip sip.”

30 minutes, one and a half bottles of wine later….

“Matt’s so fuckin beautiful, it’s unfair!” I cried out dramatically, fully feeling the effects of the sweet wine. Lucy giggling like a drunk hyena as I continued.

“Like, he’s so sweet and precious with that smile made of sunshine, but he’s also sexy as fuck with that body- oh God, that body! I’ve bumped into him like a billion times, he even caught me in his arms once, and sweet baby Jesus that man is pure muscle! I wanna play with it like a jungle gym. Like every time I look at him...I feel it in my bones,” My eyes welled up with drunk tears, “I know his dick is big, I know it! I know it’s big! Oh God, my heart hurts!”

I was full on sobbing as I bit into my fifth or tenth cupcake.

Lucy was no better off than I was. She was on the brink of tears as she hugged me sympathetically. “My poor, sweet, thirsty flower child needs to get Murdocked so bad.”

“I really do!” I replied as I wiped my tears. “I’ve never had an orgasm and I really really wanna know what one feels like before I die of old age or something.”

“You what?!” Lucy exclaimed with and inhuman sounding gasp of breath. “How have you never had an orgasm?!”

I rolled my eyes and took a huge gulp of wine. “I was a virgin when I met Paul. He insisted we wait until after the wedding to make it more ‘special’. And the whole time during our honeymoon, it was uncomfortable and kinda hurt like hell, but he was a little gentle with me.” My mood began to dampen as I went on, “When he showed his true colors, he stopped being gentle. He took what he wanted and I just laid there and let him. It was better if I didn’t fight.”

I took another gulp of wine as Lucy processed everything. “Could he be any more of an asshole?!” She yelled in disgust. “If he has to be so controlling that he doesn’t care whether or not you cum, then he’s probably shit in bed anyway.”

I nodded in agreement, “That actually makes so much sense. He’s…..” I hesitated for a second.

Come on, girl. Say what you want about him. He’s not here to stop you.

I stood up on the couch, holding my bottle up high and proudly cried out, “Paul Burney is a fuckin asshole! I hate him with every inch of my body, and I deserve a better man that will give me all the love and orgasms I want!”

“Fuckin A, babydoll!” Lucy cheered as she clumsily stood up on the couch alongside me, holding her own bottle up high as she pledged, “Love and orgasms for us! A lifetime of STDs and...um...unlubed anal for Paul!”

I laughed so hard, I couldn’t control the sudden spray of wine from my mouth. I collapsed onto the couch, struggling to breathe through my drunken laughter.

“What the fuck?” I managed to ask.

Lucy hopped off the couch to sit back down. “It’ll be my birthday present to you.”

“My birthday isn’t until October.” I replied.

Lucy’s eyes widened in excitement. “Ooh only two months away then! What day? I wanna start planning now.”

I snorted in amusement as I replied. “The 31st. “

Lucy looked almost ready to have a heart attack. “NO WAY!!! Your birthday is on Halloween?!” She waved her hands ecstatically. “Halloween is my Christmas! And you get to have it for your birthday! That’s so cool!! It must’ve been so fun celebrating it.”

My smile dimmed. “It was when I was with my mom. When I got married, I didn’t get to celebrate either holiday anymore. Paul doesn’t like celebrating holidays, especially Halloween. He finds them childish.”

I looked down at my feet in shame, hating myself for letting him control me for so long. Lucy’s smile dropped; her face turned red, either from anger or the wine, or possibly both. She shook her head in disgust, relaxing her face back into a smile.

“Well he’s not here, and this is a new start for you, right?” I nodded for her to continue. “So it’s decided. I’m throwing you the spookiest, most epic Halloween birthday party ever! Costumes, Halloween themed birthday cake, booze, candy, the works! What do you say, birthday ghoul?”

Lucy wasn’t prepared for me to pounce onto her into an attack hug, she let out a yelp as the impact caused us to fall off the couch and onto the floor. She giggled hysterically as I peppered her face with drunken kisses.

“I take that as a yes?” She asked with excitement.

“Can we make jack-o-lanterns?” I asked, my eyes widened with childlike glee.

“Are you kidding? That’s gonna be the first thing we do, of course we can make them!” Lucy replied happily. “We’ll have a day at the pumpkin patch, ooh and I’m sure there’s a corn maze out there too. This is gonna be so much fun!” She clapped with excitement.

I was too drunk to keep any ounce of composure, l squealed and kicked my feet in the air like I just didn’t care. Then a thought occurred to me.

“Do you think Matt and Foggy would wanna join us? Would they even be into that sort of thing?” I asked, starting to feel a smidge of doubt.

Lucy gave my hair a gentle tug. “If they’re as into us as I’m pretty positive they are, then they’ll totally wanna join in. You can find out when you see Matt tomorrow.” She replied with a wink. “Besides, you pretty much have to be a soulless asshole to not wanna celebrate Halloween- let alone someone’s birthday!”

“Well, that explains Paul.”

Lucy scoffed. “Fuck that dumpster fire of a human being with something hard and sandpapery.”

I let out a snort of laughter, “Oh Luce, you have such a way with words.”

Lucy grinned with pride. “It’s a talent. However speaking of assholes…”

I caught her finger before it had the chance to poke at my bruised cheek.

“Who’s the asshole that hurt your cheek? What the Hell happened? Tell me everything!”

My clouded brain didn’t understand what she was talking about, until a certain sexy vigilante in black pajamas flashed through my mind.

“Oh my god, I totally forgot about that!” I exclaimed. “I had a crazy night last night.”

“Well don’t leave me in suspense, Woman! What happened???” Lucy asked impatiently.

I sat up before I started my tale of the night before. “So, I didn’t go home after seeing you. I needed to go somewhere to breathe. And while I was out, I made some new friends. Like this nurse who I ended up spilling my guts to about my situation, and she gave me a checkup. Her name’s Claire, very cool chick, she gets a free treat from the bakery, I can’t wait for you to meet her. Oh and I met this super cool group of musicians and jammed with them at Guitar Center, they’re my own band of gypsies, you’ll love them!” Focus, girl. “Anywho, I was walking home and it was dark. Then this dirty creepy guy dragged me down an alley. My dumb ass thought it was Paul, but nope, I was just being mugged. I tried to get away, but he threw me against the wall, which caused this,” I gestured to the bruised scrape in my cheek. “He started groping me and wanted to do other stuff to me,” I shivered at the memory. “But then, out of nowhere, this guy shows up, throws the mugger off me, and beats the mad shit out of him!”

“No way!” Lucy exclaimed as she sat up facing me. “Who was it?! Ooh was it one of the Avengers?”

I shrugged, “I don’t think so. Do any of the Avengers dress in head to toe black and fight like some kind of sexy acrobatic ninja?”

Lucy let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh my god, you lucky bitch! You got rescued by Daredevil!”

“Who?” I asked, not familiar with the name.

“Oh that’s right, you haven’t lived here long enough to be familiar with him. He’s our local vigilante, also known as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. He’s been around for about a year now, I think, trying to clean the streets of criminals and scumbags with some epic ass kicking from what I’ve heard. And you got rescued by him!” Lucy finished excitedly.

I sat there in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that not only did someone care enough to save my life, but that it was by an apparently famous crime fighter.

“What happened after that?” Lucy asked. “Did he talk to you? Or did he disappear mysteriously into the night?” She finished with a dramatic whisper.

I blushed as I remembered how close and intimate my moment with the masked man felt.

“He spoke to me…” I trailed off.

“And????” Lucy asked impatiently.

She wasn’t going to let it go until I told her, so I let out a sigh and continued. “He asked me if I was okay. He got really close to me, he touched my cheek…” I felt my heart race remembering his touch. “It felt so intimate. Like he really genuinely cared about me. Like he wanted to hold me, you know?” Lucy dreamily nodded as I continued. “He told me to go home and be safe. I thanked him, and then he was gone.”

Lucy sighed. “That sounds so romantic. Having your own superhero to keep you safe. What a dream!”

I couldn’t help but agree. “He certainly got my heart racing, that’s for sure.”

“I heard he has a killer body under those black pajamas.” Lucy pointed out. “How did it look? And most importantly, did you check out his ass?” She asked, causing me to almost choke on my wine.

“Oh my god, Luce, warn a girl next time!” She simply shrugged. “And seriously? I was in danger. I saw him beat up that creep who wanted to hurt me!”

Lucy’s excitement deflated , “You’re right, I’m sorry-”

“Of course I checked out his ass!” I cut her off. “I’m not stupid! If my life was about to end, I needed something good to look at.”

Lucy let out an excited giggle. “And how was it?”

“Round and juicy, like a perfect peach. If I were to rate it, I’d give it two palms up.” I replied, holding my hands palm side up with a grabbing motion; causing Lucy and I to burst into hysterical laughter.

“You’ll have to get a good grip on that peach the next time you see him.” Lucy wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

I snorted, “Groping a vigilante? Oh yeah, I see that working out well. He’ll probably have me arrested!”

Lucy shrugged, “You know a couple hot lawyers that’ll defend you.”

Matt.

The thought of him instantly sobered me up.

“Fuck, how could I have forgotten about Matt? I shouldn’t be thinking these things about some masked stranger! What’s wrong with me?” I asked, frustrated with myself.

Lucy seemed unfazed by my thoughts. “Don’t worry about that. He won’t mind.”

“What makes you say that?” I looked at her in slight confusion.

Lucy’s eyes widened as she took a huge gulp of wine. She hesitated for a second before replying. “Maybe...he’s into kinky shit and would be open to a sexy three way. Then you really would be the luckiest bitch in the world!”

I just barely swallowed my wine before cracking up. “I don’t think Matt and I are at that stage of our relationship to talk about that kind of stuff yet. We haven’t even really talked about what we are yet. And besides, I doubt he’s into threesomes and stuff like that anyway.”

Don’t act like the thought didn’t cross your mind. I shrugged at my thoughts.

“Hey, don’t rule it out,” Lucy insisted. “Just because he’s blind and catholic, doesn’t mean he’s not kinky as hell. In fact, he’s probably very adventurous indeed.” She finished with a wink.

I rolled my eyes and replied, “I’ll keep that in mind, you weirdo.”

“Dancing!” Lucy exclaimed out of nowhere, immediately changing the subject. “We have to have dancing at your party! Ooh the Time Warp is a must, remind me that we seriously need to go out for a Rocky Horror night, by the way. Ooh we can do the rockabilly stroll! That’ll be a fun and easy dance to do.”

“What’s the rockabilly stroll?” I asked once Luce stopped to take a breath.

She immediately jumped up and ran for her bag. She pulled out a portable speaker and her phone. A moment later, rockabilly music filled the air. Lucy grabbed my hands, yanking me to my feet.

“You’re gonna learn today.” She declared before my new dance lessons began.

The rest of the night was spent dancing, eating, drinking, and leaving all my troubles behind.

Next Morning

I woke up the next morning expecting a killer hangover despite Lucy making me take some aspirin and orange juice before passing out, but no such hangover occurred. I wanted to go back to sleep, sure, but thankfully there was no splitting headache from all that wine.

The smell of coffee brewing prevented me from falling back asleep. I slowly started to rise up from the scattered pillows and tangled blanket on the...floor?

I guess we were too tired or too hammered to make it to the bed.

“Rise and shine, Ginger!” Lucy called out from the kitchen.

I forced myself up and clumsily stumbled towards the kitchen. Lucy stood at the counter wide awake and perked full of energy.

“How are you so full of energy?” I groggily asked her.

“High metabolism and an iron liver. I get that from my mama.” Lucy replied with a cheeky grin. “How do you take your coffee, my sleepy ginger snap?”

“Sweeter than Matt’s smile.” I replied dreamily, still half asleep.

“What was that?” Lucy replied with a chuckle.

“More cream and sugar than coffee.” I clarified, blushing at the realization of what I said.

Lucy complied, handing me my fresh cup. “One sweet ass coffee for one thirsty ass lady.”

“Thanks, darling.” I replied, drinking the coffee. “So what time are we opening the bakery today?”

“Well I think we can get away with opening up shop a little later today. The boss is pretty lenient.” She winked. “So we can take our time getting more awake and ready for the day.”

“Sounds like a great plan.” I readily agreed. “I love my boss.”

“Love ya too, doll.” Lucy replied with a wink. “But first thing’s first.” She made her way to the fridge. “You’re gonna brush your teeth, get dressed, and take some goodies over to the handsome Mr. Murdock.”

“You don’t mind if I leave you behind for a few minutes?” I asked, not wanting to be rude to my friend.

Lucy put that worry to rest. “Don’t worry about me. I might take advantage of your shower if you don’t mind?”

“Knock yourself out. I’m just gonna freshen up real quick.” I replied as I raced to my room to change and brush my teeth as well as my birds nest-looking hair.

I was ready in no time; I rushed over to the kitchen where Lucy had just finished putting together a container full of pastries for me to take.

Lucy looked at me knowingly. “Wow, someone is eager to get Murdocked.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, you perv.” I replied innocently as I reached for the container. “Thanks for putting this together, Luce. I think I’ll bring him some coffee too. I think he’ll appreciate that.”

“Aww that’s so sweet!” Lucy gushed. She grabbed her overnight bag and pulled out a small stack of to-go coffee cups and lids. “Here, take one of these. Last thing we need is a coffee accident.”

“Thanks, Mary Poppins. You seem to carry everything!” I exclaimed.

Lucy scoffed. “Sweetie, Mary Poppins has nothing on me. Now go get your Murdock fix!” She started nudging me out the door. “I want details!” She finished with a slam of the door.

I shook my head with a giggle as I walked over next door. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I raised my hand to knock on Matt’s door.

The door opened after the first knock, revealing Matt, who was looking absolutely sinful in a black suit and tie. His beautiful eyes were already covered by those familiar red sunglasses.

“Morning, Matt!” I greeted cheerfully, feeling more awake in his presence.

“Good morning to you too, Iris.” He replied, flashing that gorgeous smile I love so much. “You sound better today.”

“I feel better today.” I replied, the memory of our kiss causing me to blush.

Matt opened the door wider. “Would you like to come in? I have to leave soon, but I can definitely spare a few minutes for you.” He finished with a wink, causing my organs to bounce.

I cleared my throat before I could get lost in my dirty thoughts.

“Why thank you, don’t mind if I do.” I replied with a slight curtsy before entering the apartment. Matt smirked as if he could see my gesture.

“How are you?” He asked as he closed the door, moving towards me. “I know yesterday had taken a lot out of you. Are you okay?”

He lifted his hand to my shoulder, giving me instant warmth at his thoughtfulness.

“I am.” I replied with a smile. “For the first time in a long time, I really am.” I leaned up to kiss those sweet lips of his, which he eagerly and gently gave back in kind. “Thank you for listening. And for accepting me and the truth.”

Matt smiled as he caressed my cheek. “Anytime. Thank you for trusting me. I know it wasn’t easy.”

“It wasn’t.” I agreed. “But it feels better to not have to keep this to myself anymore. I even called Lucy over to tell her.”

I looked down at the goodies in my hands and remembered the initial reason I was there.

“And speaking of which, she brought over practically half the treats from the bakery, and I thought you might like some for breakfast. You can maybe share some with Foggy if you want.” I gently nudged the container into his hands.

Matt’s smile was priceless. “Thank you so much, Iris. That’s so thoughtful of you. Foggy will appreciate this for sure.” He then sniffed the air. “Is that coffee I smell?”

“Yup!” I replied, carefully placing the hot cup in his hands. “I thought you could use a pick-me-up.”

“Wow, thank you! You’re a goddess.” He sighed appreciatively as he smelled the coffee.

I blushed at the comment, “It’s no problem. I don’t remember how you take your coffee, so I left it black.”

“I actually do take it black, so you did perfectly.” He praised. He took a sip, letting out a soft moan, giving me goosebumps. “Thank you so much, you saved me from having to make some myself.”

“Anytime.” I replied. “I’m happy to help.”

Matt smiled back; he was about to speak, but he was cut off by a robotic voice calling out “Foggy. Foggy. Foggy.”

Letting out a huff he pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m sorry, Iris, can you give me just a second?”

“Of course, go ahead.” I assured him as he answered the phone.

“Hey, Foggy.” Matt greeted.

I couldn’t hear what Foggy was saying, but from Matt’s expression, I would guess Foggy was getting impatient.

“I know, I’m sorry I’m running late. I overslept.” He explained. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He tightened his grip on the container of pastries in his hand. He continued with a smirk, “And I’m even bringing breakfast. Courtesy of our favorite ladies.”

I felt my face flush even redder at the comment. Matt had to have known how he was affecting me, his smirk grew with a chuckle. Either at me or at what Foggy was saying, I have no idea.

“Okay. I’ll be there soon.” He finished before hanging up.

“I take it this is your cue to go?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

Matt nodded apologetically. “Yeah. I’d rather stay, to be honest, but we’re meeting a client today, and we have to prepare for that.”

I immediately felt guilty. “Oh god, Matt, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you late.”

Matt tilted my chin up to look at him. “Hey, don’t ever apologize for coming by. You’re a very welcome distraction.”

Our noses touched oh so softly, only a breath between our lips. My heart pounded in my ears, I think even Matt could hear it.

This man will be the death of me. But what a way to go.

The logical part of me should back away before we get carried away. But the aroused part of me wanted to keep going.

I gave in and eagerly pressed my lips against his, feeling lighter than air. I could feel Matt’s hand lightly grasp the back of my neck, his fingers combed through my hair as he held me closer to him. My hands clawed at his back, trying to get him even closer.

I felt the tip of Matt’s tongue at the seam of my lips, begging for entry. I let out an eager gasp in response, I softly began to greet his tongue with mine….

“Foggy. Foggy. Foggy. Fog-”

Letting out a groan of frustration, Matt broke apart from our kiss and answered the phone while still holding me close to him.

“What, Foggy?” Matt asked through clenched teeth.

The deep growl sent thrilling chills up my spine. Why does it sound so familiar?

“I knew it!” Foggy yelled on the other end, which I could hear loud and clear this time. “Get your tongue out of Iris’s throat, and get your ass over here!”

Foggy hung up before Matt could even respond.

We both let out a sigh of disappointment, Matt leaning his forehead against mine.

“I guess you really have to go this time, huh?” I asked dejectedly.

“I don’t want to, but he’ll hunt me down if I don’t.” He replied with a half hearted chuckle. “May I walk you back to your door?”

I giggled back, “Of course. Don’t forget the container. You’re gonna need those pastries to calm him down.”

Matt chuckled again, “You might be right about that. Though I think we’ll have to stop by the bakery so he can see Lucy in order for him to forgive me.”

“That can be arranged.” I replied as we made our way out the door.

He locked the door just as I noticed something was missing. “Oh Matt, you forgot your coffee.”

He turned to me with a smirk. “It’s okay. I already had my pick-me-up.”

Damn he’s smooth.

“You’re incorrigible.” I responded, flushing as red as a tomato.

“And you’re irresistible.” Matt replied with a wink as he held my hand.

“And you’re running late.” I replied back, trying to control my racing heart.

Our short walk ended as we stopped in front of my door, our hands still clasped together.

“You’re right,” He said, sounding disappointed once again about leaving. “Thank you for stopping by. It really made my morning.”

I grinned. “Anytime.” Then I decided to continue my bold streak. “In fact, would you like to come over for dinner tonight? We could whip something up in the kitchen together, it’ll be fun.”

I felt unreasonably nervous waiting for his answer.

You just soft core made out with the man in his apartment. I don’t think he’s gonna say “no”.

Matt smiled sweetly and replied, “I’d love to. What time should I come over?”

“How about 6:00?” I asked. Lucy won’t mind letting me off before then.

“Perfect.” He replied. “Want me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself.” I said, not wanting to let go of his hand. “Are you craving for anything in particular?”

I know what I’m craving for.

Matt smirked as if he heard my thoughts and replied, “How about we bake some dessert for dinner?” His calloused fingers lightly caressed my hand. “I’m suddenly craving for something sweet.”

I suddenly felt hot enough to break a sweat, and my rapidly beating heart certainly didn’t help. Keep it together.

“Okay,” Why did I sound so breathless? I cleared my throat before continuing. “I’ll think of something for us to make. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Looking forward to it.” He said as he leaned down to leave a soft, lingering kiss on my lips. “See you tonight.”

“Bye.” I whispered, biting my lip to try to hold back my bashful grin.

I could faintly hear Lucy’s footsteps shuffling quickly away from the other side of the door. Matt had an amused grin on his face as he turned away and walked towards the elevator.

I drifted through the doorway of my apartment like I was floating on a cloud. Even Lucy’s knowing smirk couldn’t distract me from the excitement tonight will surely bring.

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

A/N: And that was chapter 9!!! I hope it was worth the wait and that you loved the bonding between Iris and Lucy. I love them so much! And Matt...*sigh* he makes my heart sing! I hope y’all liked it, please be sure to follow me, reblog and leave a comment telling me what you think. Your comments truly make my day! Well that’s all for now and I’ll do my best not to take forever on the next chapter. Until next time...*kiss noise*

@jobean12-blog @cametobuyplums @tomhollandeu @writeyourmindaway @annavega333 @lullabylike @persephone-of-tartaros @emilymarie0422 @andrasta14

#Every Breath You Take #Daredevil #daredevil fanfiction #Matt Murdock #matt murdock x iris #matt murdock x oc #matt murdock x reader #daredevil au

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kaylinwrites · 6 years ago

Text

Life of Pi, The Martian, and Man vs. Nature

[Started January 2019]

By: Somebody who firmly agrees that chemistry is a sloppy b****, and got irrationally upset when Richard Parker didn’t say goodbye. What an animal.

I’ve been out of the loop on here for a while, and I’ve got oversharing-syndrome, so I originally started this essay with a very long explanation of how reading on my phone made me suddenly into reading again. But then I was like, what, is Audible sponsoring me or something? As if.

So I’ll spare you the backstory. The short of it is, I ended up reading Life of Pi, and finished it within a few days. Reading a really good book is practically a drug, so I started a new book right away, another book everyone seemed to have read, The Martian.

I got about four chapters in before I started to think things were looking familiar.

If you haven’t read either book, you should. I’ll wait.

. . . . . . . . .

If you don’t have the time or patience for that right now, I’ll give you a quick summary of what goes on in each. If you’ve already read them and don’t care for my summaries, skip on down to the next row of dots.

Life of Pi is about an Indian guy named Pi, naturally. The first part of the book explains his childhood. Pi is the son of a zookeeper, so he knows a lot about animal behavior. When he’s sixteen, his family decides to move to Canada, so Pi, his brother, his parents, and a collection of zoo animals also headed for the Americas hop on a boat to cross the Pacific. On the journey, their boat sinks, and Pi is the sole human survivor. Other survivors and inhabitants of Pi’s 22 foot lifeboat include a zebra, a hyena, and briefly, an orangutan. (RIP Orange Juice.) Oh, and there’s also the tiger, but Pi doesn’t notice that at first because the tiger is seasick and was hiding under the tarp for the first, like, five days.

(Side note, that’s a very fun reveal, because everybody knows Life of Pi is the book with the tiger boat, so when we think the tiger isn’t there, it’s all like “Hey, where’s the tiger? I feel cheated out of a tiger”, and when the tiger shows back up, it’s all like “Oh s***, there’s the tiger.” Extremely good book.)

So the second half of the book is about Pi’s very unglamorous day-to-day life at sea. He eats raw fish and drinks turtle blood, and walks the fine tightrope of keeping the tiger happy so it won’t eat him, while also making sure the tiger knows he’s in charge, so it won’t eat him. Good thing he grew up in a zoo! Pretty stressful, constant threat of death, but a happy ending.

The Martian is a book set in, I’m assuming, the near future, wherein a group of astronauts are on a research mission to Mars. Six Sols (Mars days) in, there’s a big sandstorm, and the team has to evacuate and leave Mars altogether. Mark Watney, botanist, mechanical engineer, and all-around great guy, gets separated from the group as they make their way to their rocket (MAV, but whatever), and the team has reason to believe he’s totally dead, so they leave without him.

Surprise! Mark’s not dead, but he’s soon-to-be, because Mars is a deserted, uninhabitable, hell-planet. So, naturally, he has a crisis, but then decides he’s going to try to survive long enough for rescue. He starts growing potatoes, and tries to keep his equipment running long enough to contact NASA and tell them they messed up big time. There’s a lot of Mars shenanigans, which is to say, Mark almost dies a bunch of times, but he’s pretty smart. Good thing he’s a mechanical engineer! And botanist, I guess, but potatoes are less exciting than blowing up rocket fuel. Very stressful, constant threat of death, but a happy ending.

. . . . . . . . .

Way back in middle school, when we learned about conflicts, they taught us there were three types: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, and Man vs. Nature. I’ve heard they’ve added more now, but the only one I care about for this essay is Man vs. Nature anyways.

Man vs. Nature is all about the character(s) winning against a force of nature, be it a wild beast, a natural disaster, or even a zombie plague. Examples of Man vs. Nature stories could be anything from Lost to Jaws to Little House in the Big Woods to The Hunger Games. There’s a lot of possibilities, but the Man vs. Nature books that I’m interested in are survival stories.

More specifically, the type in which the main character is alone for most of the story. I haven’t actually seen Castaway, but I’m imagining that fits into this category. The idea is to throw a character into an unknown and hostile place, and see how they manage to survive alone.

I believe the first story of this type I read was in elementary school: Hatchet. Looking back on it, it doesn’t seem nearly as hardcore as getting stranded on Mars or being trapped in a lifeboat with a tiger, but that’s hindsight. When I was reading this at 11, it was an absolute thriller. It even had a moment of sick horror for me. I remember reading the chapter where Brian find the pilot’s decaying corpse and freaking out a little because it was the most graphic thing I’d ever read up to that point. Nevertheless, I remember that book as being adventurous, riveting, and very real.

I think one of the most interesting traits of these stories are the realism. If you’ve ever read The Martian, you know that the author definitely did his research. There’s something very cool about watching a character work out problems not with magic, or because they’re the chosen one, but with their wit and sheer determination. Life of Pi would not be nearly as fun to read if the tiger was just magically chill. Pi only survives because he knows how to work with wild animals, and while to some, that may seem convenient, I find it makes for a fascinating story.

This brings me to the first characteristic of survival stories that makes them so compelling: good old fashioned gritty problem solving. Because any problem that crops up in a survival situation has to be solved immediately or the outcome is likely death, it forces characters to find solutions. Sometimes these solutions are quite creative. Sometimes they go horribly wrong.

This connects to the second reason survival stories are so interesting: the main character is alone. They have to do everything themselves. And if it goes wrong, there’s no one there to pull them out of the s***.

The Power of Friendship is a fantastic trope. No one can deny that seeing characters band together to accomplish their goals and become closer as a result makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And exploring the way characters interact with one another and develop their relationships is interesting, sure. But isolating a character is also a goldmine of a trope. Think of the episode of a show where the rest of the team is incapacitated and the remaining team member has to save the day all on their own. It allows that character to prove themselves as a competent problem solver, and show their strengths, and in the end, they save their friends, and there’s all the more Power of Friendship.

But when the character that’s isolated doesn’t have any friends, so to say, what happens? Being indefinitely cut off from the rest of the world makes for some interesting exploration of humanity as a whole.

From a writing perspective, it’s a fascinating challenge. For one, when your main character is your only character, they have to be able to carry the story by themselves. In Life of Pi, the first half of the book is devoted to letting the reader get to know Pi, so they’ll be rooting for him, and understand his thought process a bit better. The Martian throws backstory to the wayside and tosses the reader headfirst into a catastrophe. The reader is hooked for the time being, and by the time the initial catastrophe is over, Mark has proven himself charismatic and likable, so the reader is alright with following this story through his lens.

There’s also the psychological side of things, the reflection, which is the third thing survival stories do that’s weird and awesome. The writer can decide how much focus to put on the character’s sucky situation. The Martian plays this pretty light: Mark has a few moments of existentialism, but he hangs on to his humor and general will to live throughout the entire novel. Mark’s narration never truly loses the personality that made it so likable in the first place, even if it gets a stronger undercurrent of “F*** Mars” as the story progresses. In his situation, the threat of death is looming and ever constant. Everything seems to break, potato plants die, and one misstep means suffocating in the cold wasteland that is Mars. Life of Pi has a more passive dread. Once the tiger is reasonably under control, not a lot happens. This is the classic ‘stranded in the wilderness’ type of survival story, but with even less space to do things. All Pi can really do is collect water and fish. This makes his narration more introspective, and sometimes more numb. He spends a lot of the story grappling with his faith, which is a key component of his character.

(Mark and Pi are interesting to compare in that regard: Mark is so obviously a man of science. He trusts in NASA’s work, and his own calculations. Pi has enough faith to practice three religions, and though he sometimes loses trust in God, in the end, his faith is stronger than ever.)

What I’m saying is, these stories can go one of two ways in regards to reflection. If a survival story is more immediately threatening, the story will focus more on the problems and solutions that come up and the writer will build a story more based around the events, though the main character’s personality is still important to keep the audience caring about the outcome. If a survival story is more slow moving and passively threatening, the story will focus more on introspection, and the writer will build the story around the character and how they react to their situation. Both serve the purpose of seeing how people deal with things alone, physically or mentally.

An honorary mention for things that make survival stories compelling is the lack of antagonist. Some may say the point of Man vs. Nature is that Nature is the antagonist (duh) but I would argue that it isn’t. Nature is really just doing its thing, and Man is the poor schmuck with bad luck. Despite what Mark Watney might say about Mars, it isn’t actively trying to kill him. It’s just existing and coincidentally killing him. And I know I said Life of Pi is more passive, but it might have a stronger claim to an antagonist in the tiger than The Martian does in Mars. But even then, Pi and the tiger reach a sort of understanding by the end, and there’s no longer a true threat besides starvation or one of the many other side effects of being stranded in the middle of the Pacific.

(Speaking of side effects of being stranded in the middle of the Pacific, Life of Pi absolutely had my suspension of disbelief snatched right up until the part where Pi, half dead, meets another lifeboat out in the middle of the mcfreaking Pacific ocean. There’s no way he didn’t hallucinate that. It’s probably a metaphor, but it gave me so much whiplash I couldn’t figure out what for. Still a fantastic book.)

Survival stories above all give us perspective on our place in the world. As the world grows smaller and smaller, I hope we can remember to keep telling stories like them. They remind us of things we shouldn’t forget: Nature will always be stronger than us, though we can hold out against it. Mankind has a strong will to survive-- for ourselves, for our relationships to others, for our faith, or maybe just out of pure spite. I love both Life of Pi and The Martian for their exploration of these topics, and for being so unexpectedly but delightfully similar.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go live in the woods, surviving off berries and pheasants that I’ve shot with my bow, and contemplate the nature of man.

[TL;DR What does Mars and tigers have in common? They’re both orange. And also trying to kill the main characters of two well-loved novels.]

#writing #essay #reading railroad #book report #the martian #life of pi

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