#i needed to write this for... personal reasons

[onlymingyus]

Deny

pairing; kim mingyu x f!reader x jake sim (enhypen)

genre; smut (minor dni), mild angst, toxic themes, fluff, comedy

summary; When your boyfriend's stepbrother spends the summer with you things get a lot more interesting for you and a lot more complicated for him.

content warnings; reader is around the same age as mingyu, jake is younger, college au, stepsibling au, poly themes, "cheating" themes, teasing -- eating/drinking, alcohol, sunghoon/heeseung side characters, other cameos mentioned.

smut warnings; Dom!mingyu, sub!reader, sub!jake, mild stepcest, some mild mlm, semi-protected sex, unprotected sex, double penetration, pet play (names and degradation), fingering, oral (m & f receiving/giving), masturbation, accidental exhibitionism/voyeurism, purposeful exhibitionism/voyeurism, choking, impact play, cum eating, praise/degradation, pet names/degrading names, dumbification, panty fetish, sub/Dom themes -- patreon bonus has it's own warnings

w/c; 27.1k and some change (34k ~ patreon) 

a/n; thank you to @junkissed for proofreading for me and as always giving me the courage to finish something when i feel like it's going to crash and burn. this one is a lot and i didn't mean for it to be as long as it is. it's very dirty and heavy on kinks. if this isn't for you, i completely understand. i just let myself enjoy writing and getting into a story, but i do hope if you read you enjoy it!

before continuing remember reblogs are incredibly important and please read how to support me here

“Baby… He's lived in a fucking dorm room for half a year. He’s not gonna give a shit if his pillows are fluffed.” 

Making a face as you mock Mingyu’s words, you continue what you were doing. You didn’t care what his stepbrother Jake was used to. You were only concerned with what he was going to get while he was staying with you and Mingyu for the summer. “Gyu, can you please put extra towels in the spare bathroom like I asked?” 

Scoffing, Mingyu leans his head back and nods before turning out of the room to do as he is told. He loved you and he had a deep respect for his family; that was the only reason he was willing to deal with this shit. Getting a place with you—that was a simple decision—but you turned into hostess of the year when someone came to visit and it was even worse when you found out the guest was staying long-term. To Mingyu, the guest in question didn’t need the red carpet laid out for him—it was just his little brother; more than that, he wasn’t even that close with Jake. 

Mingyu's mother and Jake’s father had met when Mingyu was in his first year of college; Jake had been in high school so there had never really been that time to connect. It wasn’t that Mingyu didn’t want to see Jake as his brother, but it was just easier to be his friend. You, on the other hand, had been in Mingyu’s life almost as long as Jake had. You had always adored Mingyu’s stepbrother. It was all too easy for you to harbor a soft spot for the awkward teenager who seemed to have a small crush on you. 

“He’s not even getting here until later this evening…” 

You could still hear Mingyu sulking from across the hall as he folded towels and placed them in the cabinet. This was going to be an adjustment for everyone, but you couldn’t help but feel a bit excited about it all. You had finally gotten the house exactly how you wanted it and now you were going to have one more person to share it with. On top of that, you hoped that Mingyu and Jake might bond a bit over the summer before he would head back to his dorm and back to barely answering texts or calls. 

“Well, when he does get here, I’m sure he’s going to appreciate the towels and the comfy bed.” Sliding your hands around Mingyu’s waist, you smile against his back, feeling him take in a deep breath at your touch. “Thank you for letting him stay.” 

Sighing, Mingyu turns in your arms to slide his hands along your hips, taking a step towards you. "Well, he’s my family, so I don’t know why you are thanking me.” Watching your lips pull up into a smile as he leads you back towards the sink, Mingyu narrows his eyes, letting his fingers tighten on your hips over your leggings. “He’s not a kid anymore, Y/N, so don’t treat this like I’m giving you a doll to play with. I know that look.” 

“Gyu, I’m not! I know he’s not a kid.” Pouting into your words, you furrow your brows when Mingyu lifts you from the ground, placing you on the countertop next to the sink. “I never treated him like—” 

"Oh, I know exactly how you treated him. You babied the hell out of him.” Settling between your thighs, Mingyu reaches up with one hand to brush his fingers along your neck, letting you lean into his touch. “I’m not upset at you, honey. I’m just sayin’, he’s 22 years old.” 

“You were still a baby at 22.” Shrugging, you smile into your words, making Mingyu narrow his eyes playfully at you. Fingers grip your thigh tightly as he sighs your name, brushing his lips against yours before pulling away, daring you to chase him. 

“Yeah? It’s only 6 am, baby... I got two hours before I have to be at work. How about I show you how much I’ve grown up, huh?” 

Squealing in delight, you cling to your boyfriend’s shirt as he lifts you once again, this time putting you over his shoulder so that you feel the blood rush to your head with each one of his large steps towards the bedroom. “Ming—Ah! Gyu!” The sting of Mingyu’s hand coming down hard on your ass has you kicking your legs under his strong grip before he uses the back of his heel to kick the door shut. 

Resting the phone between his shoulder and his ear, Jake wrinkles his nose, doing his best to balance the bag on his arm and put in the door code he was given. “Nah, man… They both work until like 6 or something. Mingyu told me they’d bring home food at least.” 

“You got it fuckin’ made, that’s all I’m saying.” Wiping down another table, Sunghoon swipes the cash left under a plate and pockets the tip before sighing loudly. “You don’t gotta be at your folks place; you aren’t spending your money, and you get to see Y/N.” 

Glancing around as he kicks his shoes off next to the door, Jake drops his duffle bag and furrows his brows. “Yeah, whatever. I—I haven’t seen Mingyu in a year and Y/N…” Your name made Jake feel like his mouth was dry. It was stupid that he still had some ridiculous crush on his stepbrother’s girlfriend, but you had been like a sexual awakening for Jake. “I haven’t seen her in forever. She didn’t come to the house the last time he did, so it’s whatever. I gotta go. Gonna figure out this place and put my shit away.” 

Sunghoon wasn’t an idiot; he knew that Jake still had a thing for you. No matter how many times Jake tried to date or even just get his dick wet for a night—they weren’t living up to the legend that was Y/N. “Yeah, sure. Let me know how it goes later. I wanna know how fuckin’ hot Y/N is now.” 

That was enough to get Jake to hang up the phone. It wasn’t the first time that he had hung up on his best friend and it wouldn’t be the last. Shoving the phone into his jacket pocket, Jake picks his duffle bag back up and purses his lips before slowly making his way through the house. It was nice—nicer than what he would figure his stepbrother would be living in, but then again, you were living with him now and it was so obvious. It smelled good, like candles and perfume. There wasn’t shit laying around everywhere, but Mingyu had never been one to be messy either. 

Finally moving up the stairs, Jake glances to the right down the hall and then the left. Mingyu had told him that he was to the right and that his bathroom was across the hall. If that was where he was staying then—curiosity often killed the cat. Adjusting the bag on his arm, Jake glanced back down the stairs before taking a left and slowly opening the first door he came to, only to be hit with a strong wave of the perfume he had picked up on downstairs. 

The bedroom was a bit less neat than the rest of the house, as if you and Mingyu had been in a rush this morning—probably his fault Jake realizes as he looks around a picture catching his eye. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen pictures of you and Mingyu recently; he followed you both on Instagram and his stepbrother was addicted to attention, but there was something about this one and it being on the bedside table. You were gorgeous and Jake could feel the lump in his throat getting stuck as his eyes followed the way Mingyu’s arms protectively wrapped around you. He understood why... if you were his, he’d probably act the same fucking way. 

Closing the door behind him, Jake shakes his head to clear it before finally moving back down the hall and opening the doors that would belong to him for the entirety of the summer. He hadn’t expected much, just a bed and a shower, but what he found was so much more. There was no way that Mingyu had gone through all this effort to make his room look this comfortable and to stock his bathroom with this much stuff; no, this had to be your doing. 

Laying his bag on the bed, Jake runs his hand over the comforter and then pushes down on the pillow, feeling how it springs back up under his palm. This was nicer than his bed at home and a hundred times nicer than his dorm; he was already feeling spoiled. With one glance across the hall, Jake couldn’t help the way his lips pulled up into a smile before he tugged some shorts and a t-shirt from his bag and sighed in relief at the idea of a comfortable shower. 

You weren’t exactly sure what you expected when you got home. Mingyu was bound and determined that you were not going to change your routine just because Jake was staying with you and him, but you couldn’t help feeling a little nervous as soon as you stepped through the door and saw the extra pair of shoes. Taking a deep breath, you shake out your hands and nod once before dropping off your purse like you always do and jogging up the steps, only stopping long enough to glance towards Jake’s room, seeing the door closed. 

Another thing you had promised to do was not to crowd him or make him feel like anything was expected of him. If he wanted to hang out with you and Mingyu, he was welcomed to, but neither of you would force it—but as you looked at his closed door, you couldn’t help but think of the sweet boy that you had last seen before he started college. Swallowing hard, you press your lips together and work up a bit of confidence before letting out a breath as you turn towards your bedroom. “Hi, Jake! I’m home.” 

Glancing up from his laptop as he hears your voice, Jake’s eyes widen when you say his name. He has to instantly fight the urge to slide off the bed and go find you, but that wouldn’t be very chill of him and Jake Sim was a chill guy—at least that was what he was reminding himself as he steadied his breath and stared at the video on his laptop screen. “I—ok!” 

You’d take it. That was better than nothing; at least you knew he was alive behind the door. Mingyu said he wasn’t your doll, that he wasn’t a child you were taking care of, but right now he could have fooled you into thinking he was the same kid that you knew back when you first got together with Mingyu. “‘Kay…cool. Gyu will be home in like an hour; he’s bringing home some dinner. I’m gonna shower and then watch something downstairs.”

What did you want him to say? What was Jake supposed to reply to after learning that information? He already knew that his brother was picking up food, but learning that you were going to shower and watch television—did you want him to watch something with you? By the time that Jake decides that maybe that’s what you were hinting at, it’s been long enough that he’s heard the water turn on and then turn off; your shower finished before he is on his feet and pacing at his door and opening it, trying to keep his mouth closed.  

Fuck. Holy shit. No picture could do you justice. Especially not when you were standing in the hall in short cotton shorts that barely peeked out from under what was probably one of Mingyu’s shirts as you ran a towel over your head to dry off. 

Seeing movement out of the corner of your eye, you hum in surprise and out of happiness that Jake decided to come out of his room, but it’s short lived when you see him for the first time. What happened to the awkward, almost geeky-looking kid that you knew? This wasn’t that kid; he had been replaced by someone who had grown into his features and his looks seemingly overnight—Mingyu had been right, he wasn’t a kid anymore. “Oh… Hi—hey Jake. How was the bus here?” 

Taking a breath to get over your nerves, in an attempt to push past the shock of seeing Jake all grown up, you toss the used towel into the hamper and flash him a sweet smile before heading towards the stairs, not waiting for him to answer you. It was better than staring at him like an idiot and you could hear him following behind you down the stairs, his accent a bit thicker as he swallows hard, letting his eyes travel along your backside. 

“It was alright. Uh, thanks—thanks for letting me stay here and for all the stuff in my room.” There was more that Jake wanted to say but as he worked his eyes back up your legs, moving into the living room, you turned to sit on the couch and he had just made it back to your stomach before looking away quickly.  

“No biggie. I wanted you to be comfortable while you were here with us.” You pull your legs under you as you reach for the remote on the coffee table. Tilting your head, you watch Jake stand awkwardly between the living room and the kitchen as you pat the couch beside you. “You can sit. Here, or if you want the recliner. Your brother loves the reclin—” 

“Here’s good, Y/N... Thanks.” Plopping on to the other side of the couch, Jake holds his phone tightly in his palm as you study him for a long moment before finally looking towards the television and scrolling through apps. When you finally settle on a show, Jake lets out a breath and relaxes into the cushions, biting at his bottom lip as he scrolls through his phone, seemingly not paying attention to the television in front of him. 

Jake: I’m not gonna make it dude. SOS 

Hoon: What’s up? 

Clearing his throat, Jake glances at you from the corner of his eye as he shifts on the couch so that he can rest in the corner to get more comfortable. Watching you over his phone, he carefully takes a picture of you letting out a breath before switching his phone back over to his messages, sending the picture to Sunghoon and waiting for his reaction. 

Hoon: Nothing can be done. RIP 

Hoon: Where's Mingyu? 

Jake: Not home yet. She wanted me to watch something with her. He’s gonna kill me right? Seeing her dressed like that with me here

Hoon: In the ground, 6 fuckin feet 

Jake: Worth it… 🥵

Pushing the door closed, Mingyu leans his head towards the sound of the television as he balances the takeout bags in one hand and his work bag in the other. Normally you’d be at the door saying hello to him but maybe you just hadn’t heard him come in? “Baby?” 

Jake watches, a small disappointed breath slipping from between his lips when you jump up from the couch so fast for his brother. Of course you would; it was stupid for him to think otherwise. You had been with his brother for years; his family was expecting Mingyu to put a ring on your finger at any point now, but that still didn’t make it any less disappointing to watch you whine his name as you moved through the kitchen towards him, leaving Jake behind. 

“Hi! Oh my god, the food smells so good, I’m so hungry.” Moving to your toes, you kiss Mingyu before taking the takeout from him. “I missed you.” 

Mingyu doesn’t even try to hide the grin on his face when you fawn over him. You acted like his pretty little wife already, even without a ring on your finger. He loved getting a kiss from you when he got home from work and hearing about your day, but today was already different as he followed you into the kitchen after putting his bag with yours in the foyer. Nodding to Jake on the couch, Mingyu’s brow raises as he lets out a soft breath, sliding a hand over your hip. “Hey, Jake. Hungry? I got pasta; it’s Y/N’s favorite.” 

It was clear that you and Mingyu, but mostly you, were trying to keep the vibe chill and not let any tension build, but that felt almost impossible. Swallowing hard, Jake runs his fingers through his hair, drawing your attention to the longer length ending at the nape of his neck. 

"Uh, yeah, I’m hungry. Pasta is great.” Sliding from the couch, Jake puffs up his cheeks with a deep breath before sitting at the kitchen island while you work to plate some of the pasta for each of you. “How—um, was work okay, Mingyu?” Jake wasn’t great at this, and neither was Mingyu. It wasn’t either of their fault, just a product of their mistimed relationship. 

Jake had another brother; he lived with his mother back in Australia. Mingyu’s little sister was his pride and joy, even if he rarely got to see her as she studied abroad. To you, that meant that Jake and Mingyu should have tried to make the most of their situation, but it wasn’t something you’d ever really understand. It was easier for them to talk about sports, music, chicks—nothing deep like real brothers, and that was okay for the most part in both of their opinions. 

“It was good. Same shit, different day.” Smirking a bit at his own words, Mingyu sighs when you give him a disappointed glance. He knew what it was about; he wasn’t trying hard enough. “I mean, I—it’s just a lot of office politics and shit, dude. It’d bore the fuck out of you. Tell me about school. How are your friends? How’s the girls?” 

That was more like it, and yet at the mention of girls, you can’t help but roll your eyes. Sliding a plate in front of Jake, you almost coo in appreciation when he smiles at you and thanks you under his breath. “‘Course Jakey. Eat up…” Putting a plate in front of Mingyu, you pick up your own fork, trying to keep up with their conversation, even as Jake stumbles over his words hearing you call him the nickname you used to call him before he left for college. 

“It’s—ya know, school. It’s okay.” Pushing the fettuccine around on the plate, watching the sauce spread along the ceramic. “I—my friends. They’re good. Sunghoon stayed close for the summer too. He might come by some time if you guys don’t care.” 

Before Mingyu can even speak, his mouth full of fettuccine alfredo, you wipe your lips and hum in appreciation. “Of course. It’s your house too, Jakey. As long as you are staying with us, you don’t have to ask things like that, okay?” 

That was going to be easier said than done, especially when Mingyu sighs and gives you a long look before faking a smile at Jake. “Yup, what Y/N said.” Taking another bite of pasta, Mingyu sighs out of his nose as he chews, wanting to keep the conversation lighthearted. It was almost as if Jake was avoiding things and like he was embarrassed. He had never been embarrassed to talk about girls before. “Glad classes are going well, but that’s not all uni is for. Spill, dude, got a girlfriend we should be worried about you inviting over too?” 

Jake had been doing okay with the conversation. You were so sweet,besides being incredibly distracting by just existing. He was able to eat and when he had started to take a big drink of his water, that’s when Mingyu asked him that question. Coughing as he feels the water start to burn his chest, Jake shakes his head and blinks moisture from his eyes as you look at him with concern, while Mingyu just chuckles and leans over to smack him on the back hard. 

“Breathe… Jesus christ. You alright? The conversation that difficult to—” 

“No! I—no, Mingyu. I don’t have a girl—girlfriend. I wouldn’t invite a chick over here anyway. That’s not—that’d be rude to Y/N, right?” Shaking his head, Jake looks down, avoiding Mingyu’s eyes, but mostly yours as you tilt your head. 

“‘Kay, no girls. I’m picking on you, Jake.” Picking up the beer in front of him, Mingyu takes a long sip before clearing his throat and sitting back to watch his stepbrother push his food around a bit more. "But I appreciate you worrying about Y/N and if she’s comfortable with who you might bring around. You know—” Meeting your eyes, Mingyu sits forward, resting his forearms on the countertop, even though he hears you sigh, having a feeling where this is going. “This might be a good time to go over the house rules.” 

Jake should have known it wasn’t going to be as easy as just showing up and getting a room. Swallowing hard, he nods before taking another sip of his water, hoping it will calm his growing nerves. 

“Cool. First, like Y/N said, you can have guests over; we apparently don’t care, however—” 

It sounded a lot like Mingyu cared and it was making Jake wish he could crawl into a hole. 

“Just don’t have parties in our house. I know I sound like Mom and your dad, but sorry to be an asshole. You don’t pay the mortgage, and once you do pay one, you’ll get it.” 

Leaning your head back briefly, you sigh and slide off your chair, feeling full from not only the food but Mingyu’s bullshit. You loved him completely, but you knew this whole dominance act was coming and it was the one thing he asked for you not to get in the way of. It was taking everything in you not to call him an old man and to tell him it was probably getting close to him for him to take out his dentures and crawl in bed. He treated Jake more like a child than you were. 

“Two, I know you have your part-time job. I don’t expect you to pay for anything while you are here, however—” 

Oh my god. Jake was literally sinking down in his chair as his stepbrother kept saying however with each rule. Glancing towards you, he says how you were mocking Mingyu and that was the only thing keeping him sane, though it was almost causing him to crack a bit of a smile. 

“If there are special things you want to eat, buy them yourself. If you see something with my name on it, or Y/N's, use your brain.” Furrowing his brow at Jake’s shit eating grin starting to spread across his face, Mingyu glances in the direction that his brother keeps looking only to see you mouthing along with him, mocking him. “If you two are done? I’m trying to be the fucking responsible one and lay some foundational rules so this house doesn’t become chaos and my girlfriend and brother seem to think I’m a jo—” 

“No! What! No, man. I’m listening. No parties. Get my own snacks. Don’t eat shit with your name on it. See!” Sitting up quickly, Jake slides his hands over his knees and grimaces into his smile as Mingyu stares at him. 

You, on the other hand, just laugh and hold up your hands as if you are surrendering. “I’m sorry, baby. Go back to your rules. I’ll leave you and Jake to talk and finish cleaning up.” 

Watching you move out of the room with a smirk on your face, Mingyu sighs and shakes his head. “Brat… Anyway, I’m glad at least one of you was listening to me. That brings me to the most important rule, alright?” 

Jake had been watching you leave too. He couldn’t help it. You were in those little shorts and they hugged your leg right under your ass cheeks. God, how was Mingyu okay with you wearing them with him around? This was crazy! Hearing Mingyu say his name, Jake blinks and meets his brother’s eyes, nodding along with him. 

“Don’t make Y/N clean up after you, got it? She already is trying to baby you. She thinks you’re still a kid.” Waiting to see the acknowledgement in Jake’s eyes, Mingyu nods and sits back in his seat, bringing his beer to his lips and taking the last couple of sips. “If anything, I don’t know, show a little respect and appreciation and help her—us out? I like that you’re here, okay? I really do. I’m just not babysitting. I’m spending time with you.”  

The other rules had made sense to Jake, but this last one got to him. He really understood why Mingyu had needed to say it. If the situation were reversed, he probably would have done the same thing. Nodding, Jake slides off his chair and picks up his plate, using his foot to open the trash can so he can slide the last of his pasta into it. “I’ve gotten pretty good at taking care of myself, Mingyu. I’m not gonna take advantage of you and Y/N. I’m thankful you all are letting me crash here, alright? Seriously. I know I’m not a kid.” 

Watching Jake move to the sink with his plate and glass, Mingyu sighs into a nod, feeling like his words made the impact he wanted them to despite your reaction. “Good, and like I said, happy you are here, man. Looking forward to the uh—what did Y/N call it?” 

Glancing over his shoulder as he opens the dishwasher, putting his dishes into it like a puzzle piece, Jake can’t help but smile as Mingyu makes a face recalling your words. 

“Our brotherly bonding time over the summer.” Shaking his head, Mingyu finally gets to his feet and starts to take care of his dishes when Jake reaches for them, muttering he’ll do it. “Thanks… You don’t have to.” 

“I don’t mind. You worked all day and like you said, ‘help out’ and shit.” 

Smirking, Mingyu ruffles the top of Jake’s hair and sighs into a long breath, feeling the length of the day weighing on him as the silence of the house starts to set in, knowing you are upstairs. “Alright. I’m heading up. I need a shower and as lame as it is, we turn in kind of early since we get up early.” 

Carefully fitting the last of the dishes into the dishwasher, Jake snorts out a laugh and pulls his head away from Mingyu’s hand before glancing towards him as he gestures towards the stairs. “It is lame; you sound like our parents... but I get it. I’m pretty tired today anyway. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Gyu.” 

It had been a long time since Jake had called Mingyu anything other than his name. Hearing the shorted version of his name made Mingyu’s lips pull up into a bit of a smile as he rolled his eyes at the parent comment. “Yeah, night Jake.” 

By the time that Jake made it back up to his room, it seemed like everything was pretty quiet. Either Mingyu had taken the quickest shower possible or he had changed his mind. Settling back on his bed, Jake sighs, propping the pillows under his head as he balances his laptop on his stomach, getting ready to press play on the video he had been playing earlier when his brows furrow. He had to be hearing things. There was a linen closet separating your and Mingyu’s room from his but as another moan and the sound of the headboard smacking into the wall reach his ears, Jake knows it’s not his imagination. 

Wrapping his hand around your throat, right under your jaw, Mingyu groans low against your lips as you whimper underneath him. He hadn’t taken the time to prep you, but after fucking you this morning, you didn’t need nearly as much help to take his cock as you usually did. “Being so fucking loud, baby.” 

You weren’t trying to be. It wasn’t your plan for this to happen but the moment that Mingyu had come upstairs and seen you in just his shirt and your panties laying in the center of the bed, there wasn’t much to be done. You had been a brat downstairs and though you hadn’t meant to rile him up, that was exactly what you had done. 

“Such a pretty little slut, aren’t you? Taking my cock so good.” Mingyu grins against your bottom lip as he brings his free hand under your thigh, pushing it up towards your stomach so he can bury himself into you deeper. With one hard thrust, the bed meets the wall hard and Mingyu thinks about the sound for a moment before it leaves his mind at the sound of you sobbing his name. “What, brat? Just a bratty little slut who only listens when she’s stuffed with a cock, right?” 

Staring at the ceiling, Jake takes a deep breath, realizing just how much of his stepbrother’s dirty talk he can hear and how each one of your breathy moans goes straight to his cock. It was enough that he looked at you and lusted after you; this was another level. This was so fucking wrong. Jake knew the moment he realized what he was hearing; he should have put his headphones over his ears and tried to forget about it, but then you cried out like you were seeing heaven and Jake wanted to know what you looked like right now. 

“Shit—” This wasn’t his fault. Sure, headphones, whatever, but he wasn’t the one who was fucking with a guest right down the hall. Surely both of you realized that he could probably hear... right? God, why did that make Jake’s cock twitch harder in his shorts? Biting his bottom lip, Jake considers for a split second taking his cock out and wrapping his hand around it—giving into temptation—but one loud cry of Mingyu’s name as him putting his headphones tightly over his ears. 

Not his. You weren’t his. You’d never be his. 

Goddammit, Jake wanted just one fuckin’ chance to make you scream like that. 

Closing his eyes tightly, Jake turns his movie up as loud as possible and tries to ignore how hard his cock is and how he can still hear every single time the bed hits the wall. 

“Look at this, you brute." Whining at Mingyu, you lift your dress up to your hips to show him the bruise forming on your ass cheek from where he had gripped you so hard the night before. 

With a cup of coffee in his hand, Mingyu leans against the counter and smirks at his handiwork, admiring the bruise rather than feeling bad about it. He loved seeing his marks covering your body. He knew there were more, but that one was probably the most tender at the largest for now. 

“I—sorry!” Turning around quickly, Jake averts his eyes, seeing you with your hand holding your dress up and your ass exposed to Mingyu. If he had been smarter, he would have stayed quiet and enjoyed the view for a moment longer, but panic had set in. 

Mingyu laughs and helps you smooth your dress back over your ass, purposely pressing into the tender area, watching you muffle a whine as you stumble away from him and towards the fridge. “No harm done, Jake. Why are you up so early? Work today?” 

Checking over his shoulder that you are covered, Jake hopes his face, ears, and neck aren’t turning as red as they feel. He watches how Mingyu sips at his coffee like he has no troubles in the world; he’s on top of the world, and Jake realizes that he probably is. Jake kinda knows what that feeling is like—getting some really good pussy—the kind of pussy that makes you feel like you've conquered something impossible, but Mingyu gets you anytime he wants. 

“Not until around noon. I have a short shift today and then I’m gonna hang out with Hoon for a bit." Meeting your eyes, Jake starts to shy away when you smile at him so sweetly he can’t do it. Instead, he matches your smile and takes the glass of juice from you, whispering a thank you. “You both work today, right?” 

You start to slide on to a seat, but grimace, only sitting on one side, feeling the tender spot on your right side that causes you to shift uncomfortably and glare at Mingyu. “Gyu does, but I work from home on Friday’s. So you’ll have me annoying you unfortunately, Jakey.” 

“Oh—you’d never… I mean, I don’t want to be in the way of you working, Y/N. I can go hang out in my room.” 

Stepping closer to you, Mingyu sets his empty cup on the counter so he can slide his hand along your right hip. You hear him chuckle when you jump slightly at his touch and mutter his name before meeting his eyes before his lips brush over yours. “What? I’m trying to say goodbye, beautiful. Give me a kiss?” 

Jake starts to look away, but he doesn’t fully. His eyes only glance away and back when you sigh a small fine on Mingyu’s lips before giving into the tender kiss. The air felt different than it had last night. Maybe the conversation he had with Mingyu had made a difference in their relationship—maybe Mingyu getting laid had put him into a better mood, but as Jake watched you smile into the kiss, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows curiously. 

“Love you, baby. Have a good day.” Mingyu loved leaving you breathless. He knew he was being a bit rude to Jake with all the PDA, but it wasn’t really public. It wasn’t Mingyu’s fault that Jake was in his kitchen and he wasn’t going to change his affection for you when he was madly in love with you and you made him feel insane by just existing. 

Sighing softly, Mingyu presses one more kiss to your cheek before stepping back and picking up his jacket, finally meeting Jake’s eyes, surprised to see him looking in his direction. He had half expected him to be looking away like he had when your dress had been pulled up, but no—Jake wasn’t shying away this time. Interesting. What was that about? With no time to figure it out, Mingyu smirks slightly and tilts his head, half challenging the look on his brother’s face. “Have a good day, Jakey. Remember the rules.” 

Mingyu had never called him Jakey; he could feel the lump in his throat, but Jake just nodded and muttered his goodbye. That had been weird and slightly unsettling. There was a lot of work out mentally, but Jake didn’t have time when your sweet voice brought him back to reality as you both heard the front door shut. 

“That good for breakfast?” 

Blinking a few times, Jake tilts his head and you smile into a laugh at how cute and puppylike he looks. At times like this, he really reminds you of Mingyu and it’s almost possible to see a “family” resemblance without there being any blood shared. “You are so cute, Jakey. I was asking if pancakes sounded good for breakfast. I’m craving something sweet.” 

Jake sighs, his cheeks once again heating him as he licks his lips, trying to hide how much your works effect him. “Oh. Su–sure, Y/N. Whatever you want.” 

Shaking your head, you giggle as you turn back to the fridge, taking things out for breakfast. Glancing over your shoulder, you find Jake still watching you, his eyes moving over your back and you almost swear lower, before finally he meets your eyes shyly. “Careful, don’t spoil me like that. I’ll get used to you giving me what I want and then you’ll be trapped.” 

You were kidding, right? Obviously… but Jake’s stomach was flipping and his heart was in his throat. He would; he’d give you everything you wanted. Did you want him on his knees for you? Just ask and he’d crawl for you everywhere he went. Did you want him to bring you treats from the restaurant every day? He would. He wasn’t even supposed to use his discount for shit like that—but for you… fuck management. 

“Well—” Scoffing, trying to sound nonchalant, Jake swallows hard and brushes his fingers through his hair unconsciously, drawing your attention not only back to it but also to the definition of the muscles in his arms. He wasn’t as big as Mingyu, nowhere as close, but he wasn’t the scrawny little teen that you knew before. God, you were being reminded at every turn that Jake was all grown up. Using the thin hairtie on his wrist, Jake pulls his hair up into a low bun and smirks slightly at you. “Doesn’t sound half bad. Mingyu seems to be doin’ alright.” 

Oh, you hadn’t expected an answer like that. He was teasing you back? God, why was that making you want to push your thighs together? It was because his words instantly made you start to feel wet. That was crazy. And watching him tie up his hair, you were almost salivating. You were salivating and getting wet over your boyfriend’s stepbrother in your kitchen on a Friday morning when you were supposed to be making him pancakes. This was pathetic. Or was it? He looked like a walking wet dream. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t like you were doing something wrong. It was just your body’s natural reaction. 

“That so?” Pouring ingredients into the bowl, you watch Jake as his eyes almost boldly move over you now until you meet his eyes and the confidence seems to falter. You see him lick his lips and how he looks down his phone on the counter, fidgeting with it. Maybe he was all talk, but he had started it. “You think Mingyu does anything I want him to? I snap my fingers, say bark, and he answers like a well-behaved dog?” 

Scrolling through Instagram as if it’s a lifeline, Jake’s eyes widen almost theatrically at your words as he glances up at you, then back down at his phone to take a deep breath. “I—what are we even talking about, Y/N? Kinda a weird way to imagine my bro—” 

“You started it, Jakey. Is it too hot in the kitchen?” 

That was fair. You had him there. Smiling as he keeps his head down towards his phone, Jake nods before finally meeting your eyes and holding up a hand as if he’s surrendering. “I’m sorry. I was out of line.” 

You laugh, your bottom lip caught between your teeth as you stir your pancake batter, watching Jake come to terms with his own teasing. “You weren’t. I was having fun.” Humming softly, you pout at your bowl and look up at Jake before tilting your head. “Chocolate chip pancakes, Jakey?” 

God, you were going to be the cause of his death. Jake’s head was spinning with how you could tease him and then flip the conversation back to breakfast just like that. Nodding, Jake lets out a slow breath and licks his lips, turning his attention back to his phone. “Yeah, sounds yummy.” 

Staring out at the road, Jake shakes his head as Sunghoon turns yet another song off before it finishes. That was one of Park Sunghoon’s fatal flaws and subsequently Jake’s least favorite thing about his best friend. “Dude, if you touch that phone one more fuckin—” 

“What is stuck up your ass? This is my car and my phone.” Sunghoon glances at Jake as he drove, trying to split his attention between the road and his friend. Jake could be moody, but today he had been in a weird mood all day. “You not sleep or—” 

“Sorry.” Jake’s voice was meeker than he meant it to be, but he had a lot on his mind. He was replaying his first week at his brother’s house on repeat in his brain and it was giving him a headache and other issues. “Thanks for the ride home again. Gyu keeps sayin’ that he’s gonna let me use Y/N’s or something, but that feels weird.” 

Shaking head, Sunghoon sighs as the reason for the weird mood comes to light. Jake hadn’t been less open about shit since he had gotten to his stepbrother’s house. It was starting to make Sunghoon worry. Was Jake like a live-in servant or something? Was this a cry for help? Or was something else going on? “I say use it if they are gonna let you. I mean, not like I care driving you around but you’re gonna have to dish out for gas eventually.” 

Groaning under his breath, Jake leans his head back against the headrest and nods along with Sunghoon’s words. “I’ll get you some money, asshole. I just—it’s hard to be around her and her shit, ya know?” 

Finally. The first night was the only night that Sunghoon could get Jake to talk about you and how it was being around the dream girl. It had been radio silence after that and any prodding had only made Jake mad. "Sure, but why? What happened? Did Mingyu get pissed off about something?” 

Jake wished it were that simple. It would be so much easier if his brother were biting his head off about him looking at you or saying something wrong, but no. Shaking his head, Jake knocks his head back against the headrest again and sighs loudly, finally realizing he has to talk about this or it’s going to eat him alive. “I don’t know what I expected living with them. I mean, even you know the stories about Mingyu and how much of a—” 

“Slut?” 

Snorting into a much-needed laugh, Jake nods, starting to relax in the seat even as they start to get closer to your street, knowing he would have to go inside and see you. “Yeah, a slut. He’s practically a legend at uni, but then he met Y/N and blah blah, love of his life; he’s only got eyes for her.” Seeing Sunghoon nod with a small smirk on his lips, Jake sighs and continues. “And you know how much she gets to me. It’s like being put in front of a buffet and being told, ‘Just look at it but don’t touch it.’” 

It had always been that way with you. From the moment that Mingyu had brought you home and introduced you to his family, Jake had been obsessed with you. He dreamed, wished, and prayed to find a girl like you that would take his mind off of you, but that girl so far didn’t fucking exist. “They fuck constantly, Hoon. Loudly. Excessively.” 

While Sunghoon had been paying attention and ready to listen to whatever Jake had been telling him, he hadn’t quite been ready for that. Swerving slightly as he looks at his best friend, Sunghoon opens his mouth and closes it before finally laughing at not only how he had reacted but also Jake's face. Jake looked like he wanted to die or be buried and that was so dramatic. 

“What? So… Let me get this straight.” Glancing into each mirror, Sunghoon hits his blinker and pulls off to the side of the road just outside of your house to park. “You can hear your brother and Y/N fucking on a regular basis?” 

“Almost daily. My headphones block out most of it but their fucking bed hits the wall.” Jake knows he sounds pathetic. He must also look pathetic because Sunghoon is no longer laughing; instead, his brow is raised as he looks towards the house and shakes his head. 

“Dude… It’s weird, but... the spank bank material you are gathering will keep you running for years. Can you hear her?” 

Sunghoon had to be Jake’s strangest friend, and yet he was his best friend for a reason. Jake was lying to him and himself when he gawked at him, his mouth wide in faux horror and disgust, muttering out excuses of why he couldn’t jerk off to you and his brother fucking. 

“I would. I’m just sayin’! The girl of your motherfucking dreams is screaming for more a room over and you aren’t going to picture it’s you while you can and get off to it? Missed opportunity in my humble, fucked-up opinion.” 

Fucked up was right, but correct. God, Jake wanted to scream as he glanced towards the house, seeing the porch light on for him. You always left it on for him when he was coming home for work later. 

“Text me later?” 

Sunghoon’s words bring Jake out of his daze and back to reality as he nods and mutters he will before pushing the car door open. Glancing back at the car, Jake waves before heading up the driveway and finally the steps as he digs out his key with you still on his mind. 

“Just like that. What a good girl.” Groaning under his breath, Mingyu tightens his fingers around your hair as your fingers dig into his thighs. Your throat constricts as you gag around his cock, feeling him thrust his hips up towards your mouth. This hadn’t been the plan, but being home alone with you gave you both the opportunity to enjoy each other like you used to. 

Before Jake was spending time with you and Mingyu, it didn’t matter what room it was or what time of day you might find yourself turned over and your panties around your ankles. It was kind of nice to have a moment of normalcy and to feel completely exposed and overwhelmed as you choked on your boyfriend’s cock in the living room, forgetting about the time. 

Yawning, Jake turns the corner into the kitchen, going towards the fridge to look for leftovers, when he stops in his tracks at the sight in front of him. He had maybe started getting used to hearing Mingyu fuck you, but seeing you with a cock in your mouth was a completely different story. 

“Shi—all of it. Swallow it, baby.” Groaning your name, Mingyu leans his head back as he cums into your mouth, his chest rising and falling quickly, feeling you swallow around his hard cock. He thought he had heard the front door open, but his attention had been clearly elsewhere; that had been until his eyes met Jake’s in the kitchen, seeing his brother’s eyes move from his over you and back up. 

What was there to say or do? Mingyu could move you quickly and get the slowly softening cock out of your mouth, but you were warm and wet. Why would he do that? Especially when Jake wasn’t moving. He looked stunned and something else. Smirking his eyes fixed on Jake’s, Mingyu runs his fingers over your head, whispering praises to you as you giggle, happy to have done a good job. It’s only then does Mingyu see Jake move quickly out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. 

“Pretty girl, enjoy sucking my cock?” 

It was quiet by the time that Jake came out of his bedroom the next morning. He felt a bit mortified about the entire situation. Not only did Mingyu very clearly know that Jake had seen them, but he knew that Jake had watched. The thing that was killing Jake was that Mingyu had let him watch and he hadn’t come in his room to cuss him out or to tell him to pack his shit; there was none of that.

But the worse part was that Jake had stuck to Sunghoon’s advice after the visual inspiration. He had been so hard that he had no choice. He felt like if he didn’t cum, if he didn’t think about you, his cock might fall off. So he had done just that. Jake had laid back on the bed you had set up for him and he had wrapped his hand around his cock and stroked it hard and fast until he came hard, cum covering his hand and the front of his shirt as he whispered your name like a prayer. 

Now as he carried his dirty clothes in his hands, Jake glanced around the seemingly empty house timidly until he knew he was actually alone. Relief washing over him, he moved into the laundry room and opened the washer, dropping his clothes along with the freshly cum-stained shirt in. It was a dream come true to have all the amenities of home accessible to him while he was staying with you and Mingyu, especially if he was going to keep fucking up and ruining the limited amount of shit he had brought to wear. 

Pursing his lips, Jake narrows his eyes as the washer settings, hoping he’s done it right before starting to turn out of the room when his eyes land on the basket of laundry in the room near the door. A quick glance inside tells him what he already knew; clearly it was your dirty clothes mixed with Mingyu’s. If he was nice, Jake could have thrown some in with his own. He still could. 

Weighing his options, Jake carefully picks through a few of the clothes to make sure the colors match before bringing the basket closer to the washer, stopping the load he had started adding some to his own. It isn’t until he brings out a lacy pair of your panties that he stops in his tracks, almost dropping them back into the basket before stopping. 

The normal, gentlemanly thing to do would be to either figure out if he could add them to the washer or drop them back into the basket, but Jake was neither a gentleman nor normal as he stared at the lace between his fingers. Taking a breath, he glances towards the open laundry room door, listening for anyone, knowing he’s still alone, before giving into his urges and bringing the panties to his nose and closing his eyes. 

Furrowing his brows, Jake groans under his breath, leaning against the washer with the lace still against his nose even as he opens his eyes. You were perfect. This wasn’t even close to the real thing and it had Jake getting hard in his sweatpants. He didn’t want to add the panties to the washer or the basket so he didn’t. Instead, Jake closed the washer, letting it start, and pushed the basket back where it was before slipping the lace into his pocket. You’d probably wonder what happened to them at some point, but things got lost in the laundry all the time. 

“Jakey!” 

Pouting as you glance over your shoulder at your floor-length mirror, you stretch your fingers but just can’t quite reach the zipper of your dress to zip up your favorite dress. A smile quickly takes the place of your pout when the crack in your door slowly widens and Jake’s eyes meet yours in the reflection before he glances over your body, swallowing hard. 

“Yeah, Y/N? You okay?” God, what were you trying to do to him? It was supposed to be another evening where Jake was going to have the house to himself for most of the evening. You and Mingyu were going to some business dinner with Mingyu’s boss. Sunghoon was going to be over any second, and here you were with your clothes half off...

“Help me, Jakey... My fingers are too short to reach.” 

You had no idea, or maybe you did, the effect of your words on Jake. The way you phrased things, the way you smiled so innocently while looking so incredibly sexy in a dress that hugged your curves so well. Jake stiffles a groan and nods before moving into your bedroom and towards you as you turn towards the mirror. “You look—you are really nice, Y/N.” 

Biting at your bottom lip, you lower your lashes as you meet Jake’s eyes in the mirror, feeling his fingers run along your spine until he finally reaches the zipper, working it up for you. “Thank you. I was hoping I might look better than nice. Pretty maybe? Sexy?” 

Scoffing, Jake has to bite his lips in order not to make any more sound than that when he meets your eyes once again, seeing you holding a necklace up and expecting him to clasp the chain around your neck for you. “You are pretty and sexy. Beautiful even. I’m sorry I didn’t use any of those adjectives before. You make me kinda—” Shaking his head, Jake laughs and furrows his brows, focusing on the small clasp and managing to get the necklace secure for you. “Nervous.” 

Your cheeks heat up slightly at Jake’s compliments, the words reminding you of Mingyu’s and even when the two of you first got together—that new love excitement. “Oh?” Turning towards Jake, standing almost too close to him, you smile, reaching up to push his bangs from his eyes as he takes a deep breath to calm himself. “Why? Do you still have a crush on me, Jakey?” 

Opening his mouth in surprise, Jake wants to answer you—to defend himself when he’s saved by the bell, literally. Turning his head towards the sound of the doorbell, he whispers Sunghoon’s name and you laugh sweetly, leaning to press a kiss to his cheek close to his lips. “Go on. I’ll be down in a bit. Thank you for zipping my dress and helping me with my necklace.” 

If Jake’s face hadn’t been red before, it was now. Running his fingers over the spot where your lips had been, Jake gives you a dopey smile as he takes a step backwards, hitting the end of your bed before almost tripping out of the room and towards the hall. "No—yeah, no problem.” Another ring of the doorbell has Jake moving faster even as you laugh again, enamored by him. “Yeah! Coming! Stop touching the fuckin’ bell, Hoon!” 

Surprised when the door flings open quickly, Sunghoon’s eyes widen and he takes a step back, giving Jake a once-over, seeing how flushed he is. “Were you jerking off? I don’t want to be part of it. Not without a 24-hour notice.” 

"Oh, my fucking god. If you don’t get in the house and shut your fucking mouth—” 

“Fine! But seriously, why are you—oh...” 

Holding onto the banister to keep balance so you can put on your heels, you smile at Jake and Sunghoon, feeling both sets of eyes on you. Jake made you feel a certain way, but Sunghoon was just adorable with how he was gawking at you. “Hi Hoonie! Why don’t you come over more often? You must have girls crawling all over you.” 

You were speaking but Jake couldn’t really keep up. Sunghoon, on the other hand, just smiled sideways and let out a disbelieving breath that you thought he could pull in girls like that. “You—you look hot as fuck, Y/N. Where are you off to?” 

Grabbing your coat, you slip it over your shoulders and hum in appreciation, hearing the door opening again as Mingyu slips inside, already dressed for the night. “Gyu and I have dinner with his boss. Have to make a good impression so he can keep making enough money to afford me.” 

There were a lot of people in his foyer currently, but Mingyu’s eyes quickly found you and moved over you with a mixture of lust and appreciation. “She’s expensive and worth it. Goddamn baby, you look beautiful. You ready to go?” 

Taking his hand, you smile against Mingyu’s lips, having to push him away when his free hand wraps around your waist, trying to deepen the kiss. “Apparently even more than you.” Turning back towards Jake and Sunghoon, you lift your shoulders and meet Jake’s eyes specifically. “There are leftovers in the fridge for you both.” All three watch as a slight pout forms on your lips. “You’ll probably be in bed when we get back, so night Jakey and, oh, bye Sunghoon.” 

Mingyu shakes his head letting you slip out the door before him before he turns back towards Jake barely glancing at Sunghoon. “Probably early morning before we’ll be back, but if you need us just call.” 

“Dude… I’m 22.” 

Laughing, Mingyu starts to turn towards the door before he holds up his finger and leans out the door. “Baby, I’ll be right there. I need my cuff links.” 

Jake and Sunghoon watch Mingyu jog up the stairs, both slightly dazed, before Sunghoon scoffs and pushes Jake’s shoulder. “She’s so fucking hot. Literally, no fuckin’ wonder no chick at uni meets your standards; they have to live up to Y/N? Who’s gonna do that?” 

Starting to tell him to shut up, or at least to lower his voice, Jake starts to speak to Sunghoon when he sees Mingyu back at the end of the stairs with that same smirk on his face that he had seen from the couch. The lump in his throat is hard to swallow but he manages to swallow it as his brother moves back towards him, ruffling his hair and winking at Sunghoon, telling them both to have a goodnight before closing the door behind him. 

"Oh, my... god. Do you think he heard me?” 

“Fuckin’ obviously you, moron.” 

You had enjoyed just enough wine to make you sleepy and feel that euphoric fuzzy kind of numb feeling in your brain. Mingyu’s hand was resting on your thigh as he drove back from the city towards home and you were smiling at the color of the sky. The sun wasn’t quite rising but the moon was starting to set. It was such a funny thing, but so beautiful. 

“Did you have fun, sweetheart?” Mingyu could hear your soft, sweet hums and breaths as you looked around, finally meeting his eyes briefly before he looked back at the road. Giving a gentle squeeze to your thigh, he grins when you giggle under your breath. He loved you all the time, but there was something about you when you were completely relaxed like this. He loved seeing you without a care in the world. 

“So much fun. Do you think your boss liked me? Did—” Hiccuping, you giggle again, putting your fingers to your lips and whispering an apology, finding Mingyu still smiling at you. “Did I make a good impression for you?” 

Mingyu knew what you were asking, but that was the first time in the past hour that you had made his smile fade even slightly. He never wanted you to feel like you had to put on a face or a show for him or anyone else. He knew why you might think you needed to, but that was another reason he hadn’t pulled the ring out of the top of the closet yet and gotten down on one knee. It would put even more pressure on you to perform and to be Mrs. Kim. He wanted to give you more time to just be Y/N. His sweet, precious, perfect Y/N. 

“You are perfect. I don’t care what Mr. Lee thinks of me... and I—baby, it’s not that I don’t care what he thinks about you, but I don’t value his opinion. I only value you.” 

Your lips form a pout and Mingyu can literally see the tears forming on your eyes. He knows you are an emotional drinker. He hopes the tears aren’t from disappointing you or making you sad—

“Why would you say that to me? Right now? Gyu!” 

His eyes widening, Mingyu checks his mirrors and pulls off the side to the side of the road, putting his car in park so he can cup your cheeks in his hands wiping your tears away. “I’m sorry. Baby… sweetie. Aww… no. I didn’t mean to upset you.” 

Weakly smacking at his chest, you sob, fat tears falling over his thumbs as you take a deep breath and let it out as you say his name. “You’re too sweet. I don’t deserve you. Oh my god.” 

Staring at you, Mingyu presses his lips together as you lean your head back dramatically and he knows you aren’t sad, but once again just overly emotional with the alcohol running through your system. "Sweetheart, you aren’t mad at me?” 

Feeling your stomach twist with anxiety, you turn your head towards Mingyu and sniff hard, seeing him smiling at you. His handsome face almost breaks your heart in that moment. “Oh my god! No!” 

That told Mingyu all he needed as he laughed through his nose on a breath, forcing himself not to let you know he was amused by you. Leaning across the center console, he presses a kiss to your warm, wet cheek, whispering that he loves you before checking his mirrors once again and pulling the car back out onto the road heading towards home. 

“I don’t know why you’d think I’m mad. I could never be mad. You are handsome and perfect and the love of my life.” Whining out the words, you feel your tears finally start to dry up even as you hold Mingyu’s hand in yours tightly, hearing him laugh under his breath. “Don’t laugh at me. ‘M serious. Why are you so pretty? How are you and Jakey so pretty? Oh my god… It’s crazy to be in the house with you both.” 

Lifting his brow at your words, Mingyu slides his thumb along your palm, hearing you sniffling once again. Jake was pretty too, huh? That was interesting. “Is it, baby? Are Jake and I too pretty to live with? Do you want me to have Jakey leave?” 

Smacking at Mingyu’s arm, you whine his name and shake your head. “No, please. I like having him around. ‘M sorry, Gyu. I won’t look anymore. I’ve been bad, right? Shouldn’t look at Jakey.” Lifting your hand, you cover your eyes and Mingyu can’t help but grin at how cute you are and how innocent it is with such an obvious sinful meaning. You were ashamed of something. He knew he should wait until you were sober to talk about this, but you were being so forthcoming now...

“Oh, you’ve been looking?” Pursing his lips, Mingyu turns at one of the last redlights that counted down the minutes until he could get you inside the house and into a warm bed. “Tell me, bad girl... how have you been looking? Elaborate.” 

Lowering your hand, you glance over at Mingyu, feeling the warmth in your stomach spreading as you think about Jake and watching him tie up his hair. You think about his fingers trailing up your back; you picture sitting over his lap. “He’s not a kid anymore.” 

That wasn’t what Mingyu had asked you. That was what Mingyu had told you several times. Narrowing his eyes at the road in front of him, Mingyu slides his hand from yours and slides it along your thigh, feeling you take in a deep breath at the contact. “I’m well aware. I told you to elaborate on how you’ve been looking at Jake.” 

Was Mingyu mad at you? He didn’t seem like it. You were enjoying how his fingertips were kneading into your flesh at the end of your dress as he urged you to talk. “Mm, like I look at you, Gyu.” 

That told Mingyu what he needed to know. “Oh. That's why you don’t want me to tell the pretty Jakey to get out of the house? You want to keep looking at him? Rubbing your thighs together while looking at him?” 

He could read you like a book and you were doing that right now—rubbing your thighs together. Whining Mingyu’s name, you nod and lick your lips, hoping he will give you something—anything that you’d want—but then the car pulls into the driveway and Mingyu’s hand slides from your lap. 

“Time for bed, darling.” 

Phone propped up against his water bottle, Jake lifts a spoon of cereal towards his mouth and sighs around the bite. He doesn’t take his eyes off the screen in front of him until he sees you out of the corner of his eyes. It isn’t even just that; he sees your skin as you lean against the fridge door, taking out a bottle of water with a pout on your face. 

You couldn’t be bothered with much of anything once you woke up. You hadn’t even wanted to be awake but you had a boyfriend who, even on a Saturday morning, had a desire to stay in shape. So at 8 am, his alarm clock was going off and your head was busting. Now you found yourself standing in your kitchen with a dry mouth in one of Mingyu’s shirts that reached just under your ass and a pair of panties. It hadn’t even dawned on you that Jake was in the room or that he would be awake. You only thought was the water to wash down the ibuprofen waiting for you in your bathroom. 

“You want a picture, Jake? It’ll last longer.” 

Mingyu’s teasing voice brings you back to reality and you wince at the light shining from the window behind him as you turn around to see him and Mingyu both watching you. "Sorry, my fault. Just wanted—” Holding up the water in your hand, you don’t find it necessary to finish the sentence before you pout at Mingyu and trudge past him back towards the stairs. 

Laughing under his breath, Mingyu runs his fingers through his hair before taking out a bottle of water for himself and meeting Jake’s uncertain eyes. “She’s hungover. She’ll be fine in a couple hours.” Mingyu watches Jake nod slowly as if there is something else he is waiting for, and then it dawns on him. Jake is probably waiting to get bitched at for how he was looking at you. It probably should piss him off; honestly, he had threatened to beat someone’s ass for less, but it was something about who it was and what had been said just a few hours earlier that had Mingyu holding his tongue. “With that said... I’m headed to the gym with Jungkook. Can you check in on her in a bit? Make sure she eats something. I’d owe you.” 

Jake nods and lets his eyes follow his brother all the way to the front door until it closes behind him, leaving Jake alone in the house with you. Glancing towards the stairs, he listens for sounds of you being alive, but at first there is nothing and Jake wonders if perhaps you had gone back to sleep. Maybe that was what you needed. He had never seen you quite like that before. Yes, you had walked around in tiny little shorts, but that look on your face—Jake had never seen that one before. You didn’t give a shit because you felt like shit. 

Hangovers were something that Jake knew all too well. Mingyu wanted you to eat something and maybe, just maybe, this was where he could come in handy. Sliding off his chair, Jake cleans up his dishes and moves to the fridge to take out a few things before moving to the stove to get to work. 

Forcing yourself back out of bed, you whine at the persistent headache that clings to the back of your eyes. You could smell something from downstairs but as bad as you felt, you couldn’t even think about food right now. All you wanted was a shower and to get back in bed. Mingyu had told you to take your meds, drink your water, and eat, but his ass had gone off to pick up heavy things with his best friend so you could do whatever the fuck you wanted to do. Right now that was to stand under hot water until your skin melted off. Okay, maybe that was dramatic, but at least that was how you wanted it to feel. 

Dropping clothes on your way across the hall, you leave the door to your bathroom cracked as you turn on your shower and step under the hot water, letting out a relieved sigh when the water starts to massage your sensitive skin. You always felt like you had 92 extra feeling receptors on your body when you were hungover. You didn’t care if Mingyu told you that didn’t make any sense; it made sense to you. Everything felt better or worse depending on what it was, but this shower was perfection. 

Sliding the avocado toast to a plate, Jake bites his lip and opens the fridge one last time, looking at the different juices and water you and Mingyu stocked. He had doubts that Mingyu was the one buying all of them, but then ones labeled “extra protein” made him second guess that you were the one buying them. Grabbing the coconut water, Jake pulls a glass from the cabinet and pours it 3/4ths of the way full before glancing around for how he was going to carry all of this up to you when his eyes land on a tray tucked into one of the bottom cabinets. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who thought of this sort of thing. 

Eyes focused on the food in front of him, Jake balances the tray on his hands as he walks up the stairs towards your room, stopping at the top when he sees clothes on the floor. Those hadn’t been there this morning. It’s only then that he hears the shower and notices the steam billowing from your cracked bathroom door. 

“Oh fuck—” You hadn’t closed the door? Glancing behind him, Jake sucks on his bottom lip, making sure his palm is firm under the breakfast tray in his hands before he starts towards your bedroom and tells himself he’s not going to look in your bathroom. He won’t disrespect your privacy like that, but then you sigh so pretty and sing under your breath. It’s like a siren’s song pulling Jake towards the door. 

Leaning your head back under the stream of water, you close your eyes and hum along with the song in your head, starting to feel the medicine kick in. You don’t notice Jake standing in the crack of the door, his eyes moving over your body through the steamed-up glass shower door. 

Jake watches for a few seconds longer, his breath quickening as his eyes walk the shape of your breasts down to your hip, where the glass is too steamed up for him to see you clearly. He wants to stay longer and watch you the entire time, but guilt sinks in when you lift your hands to your hair, squeezing water from it and Jake worries you’re going to catch him. Taking a step back, he takes a deep breath to calm himself, not realizing you had opened your eyes, catching a glimpse of him just before he is out of sight. 

Leaning his head back, Jake curses at himself under his breath for how much of a perv he is being when it comes to you. He thinks about your panties tucked safely away in his duffle bag, soiled with his cum. He considers dropping your food off on your bed and locking himself away in his room with them beating out the latest growing problem, but he’s too late. 

“Oh, Jakey! Hi…” 

Hand on your bedroom door, Jake closes his eyes and sighs before opening then and glancing back at you. What the fuck was going on today? “Y/N…” 

Tucking the towel under your arm, you smile at Jake and lean down to pick up your discarded clothes, feeling water dripping down your legs as you do. You could feel Jake’s eyes on you right up to the point that you straightened your body in front of him and his tray of food. “What’s all this?” 

Licking his lips, Jake attempts and fails to keep his eyes on your face when a bead of water rolls from behind your ear and down the side of your neck to your collarbone. “We—I thought—well… Yours. Your breakfast. Gyu told me to make sure you ate.” 

He was adorably flustered and it was going straight to your head. How much had he seen of you? God, why was it turning you on so much wanting to know? Smiling sweetly, you push your bedroom door open with the tips of your fingers. “That’s so sweet, Jakey. You made me breakfast in bed.” 

Jake takes a deep breath, a half-dopey smile on his face, feeling proud of himself as you walk in the room before him. “I—yeah. Um, he said—he said you had a hangover and I know that when I wake up feeling trashed, this kinda helps me.” 

You had glanced at the food on the tray. You could see the fatty, oily avocado toast with an egg and you had smelled the coconut water—electrolytes. You could almost picture him on the phone with Mingyu getting the after-party cure-all recipes because you had gotten similar breakfasts from your boyfriend before. 

“Mm, it looks so yummy.” Dropping your slept-in clothes into the hamper, you lift your brows as Jake stands in the doorframe of your bedroom staring at you. He really was so cute and oblivious. “You can leave it on the bed, sweetie. I gotta get some clothes on, unless you are dying to see me naked.” 

God was he... But you asking him that outright made Jake’s face flush instantly and his feet move. “Oh shit, sorry. Here you go.” Setting the tray safely on your bed, Jake shyly lifts his eyes back up to you as you rest your thumb under your arm, ready to unwrap your towel. Would you take it off? It was wrong of him to hope so. 

Biting your bottom lip, you keep your eyes locked on Jake's, almost daring him to stay where he is until he chicken’s out and whispers he’ll see you later closing your door behind him. The moment the door is closed, you let the towel drop to the floor with a pout. 

You weren’t really paying attention to the movie. You had other things on your mind as you leaned against Mingyu’s chest, feeling his fingers press into your waist. Glancing towards the end of the couch where your feet brushed against Jake’s thigh, you bit back a smirk watching him take another deep breath as you “stretched” and “got comfortable” between the two men. 

“You okay, baby?” Mingyu could tell you were a bit restless. It wasn’t like the couch was massive, but when Jake had offered to sit on the recliner, you had almost thrown a fit. Moving his eyes along your body, Mingyu purses his lips, seeing your toes tucked against Jake’s leg and Jake's hands wring with nerves. “Stretch your legs out. I’m sure Jake won’t care, right, dude? You don’t care if she puts her legs in your lap, do you?” 

Oh good, they were both trying to murder him. Slowly meeting his brother’s eyes, Jake shakes his head no and fakes a nonchalant look. “Nah, course not.” But the moment you giggle, happy to have seemingly gotten your way, able to stretch out over top of them, Jake wants to die. Resting one hand on his chest and the other on the arm of the couch, Jake hopes and prays to every god listening he won’t pop a boner from just the weight of your legs. 

“You don’t have to be so rigid, Jakey. I’ll move... You look uncomfortable. Am I making you uncomfort—” 

“What? No!” You had started pouting not even after a full minute of seeing Jake move his hands around anywhere but on you. Resting one hand on your calf and the other on your ankle, he taps your leg, showing you he’s fine. “I’m so comfortable, see?” 

Meanwhile, Mingyu smirks behind his fingers, rubbing his lips. You were causing Jake to spiral and Mingyu knew that feeling all to well. You had played him like a well-tuned instrument, and now he knew the song and dance seeing it with someone else. 

“Okay, thank you.” You giggle into your words, nuzzling against Mingyu’s chest. Sighing happily, you stretch your legs over Jake’s lap even more, causing them to drag over where he had hoped they wouldn’t. 

Leaning his head back, Jake brings one of his hands up, closing it into a tight fist as he forces himself to stop breathing until you stop wiggling. His other hand holds your calf firmly, but not so tight that you realize something is wrong. It’s Mingyu who catches on first when Jake takes that first shaky breath and he watches how his fist relaxes. 

“You good?” 

Jake wanted to lie and stay where he was, but it was like you were moving on purpose. Any hope that he had of trying to keep himself from popping a boner of his brother’s girlfriend was basically out the window as you flexed your toes and sighed at the movie, not really paying attention to either Jake or Mingyu. 

“Ye–yeah. No… I mean yes, but I have to use the bathroom. Sorry.” Carefully moving your legs, Jake doesn’t meet your eyes even when he hears your whine before he’s quickly out of the room and up the stairs. 

Mingyu’s eyes follow Jake as he keeps his arm around you, not letting you sit up too far. You had done enough damage for one night. “Stop it. Are you that needy?” 

Pouting, you pull your legs close under you, drawing invisible shapes on Mingyu’s stomach over his abs as he teases you. “I don’t know what you’re talking—” The sharp slap to the side of your thigh causes you to yelp and stop lying. “Should I apologize to him?” 

Warm fingers rub over where he had spanked you just seconds before, soothing the burn as Mingyu’s attention returns to the television and the last few moments of the movie you had barely watched. “Not tonight. He’s busy dealing with a problem you caused, I’m sure. Besides… you’re about to be busy too.” 

Your panties were beyond ruined at this point, so much so that Jake hadn’t even pulled them out of his duffle bag. Instead he had his face buried in his pillow as he rutted his hips against his bedding, his palm against the outline of his hard cock, remembering how it felt to have your legs rubbing against him. Did you really not know what you had been doing to him? Were you that naive? 

The sound of your bedroom door shutting pulls Jake back to the present and has him lifting his head for a breath of fresh air. The movie must be over. Fuck… He felt bad now. He had lied about where he was going, but there was no way he could have stayed on that couch with you and Mingyu, letting his cock get harder and harder under your pretty legs. 

Pushing his hand into his shorts, Jake wraps his fingers around his cock and grunts softly to the feeling. He had done this so many times at this point that his wrist was starting to hurt. He jacked off at school, but in the couple of weeks at your house he had done it every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. 

Giggling and then the bed hitting the wall. Fuck. Fuck his life. You and Mingyu were fucking again. Jake was going to need a wrist brace and you two were going to need to patch the fucking wall with how many times the two of you fucked. 

“Gyu, ah! Yes… I’m sorry, daddy.” 

Daddy? That was new, but it had Jake kicking his shorts across the room and him pulling one of his pillows further down in the bed between his legs so he could rest his cock against it. You were whining so loudly tonight, almost like you wanted him to hear you. Jake felt like his skin was on fire as he rolled his hips against the pillow, slowly at first enjoying the drag of his cock against the cotton. 

Groaning loudly against your folds, Mingyu pushes your legs up towards your stomach. You were so fucking wet. He knew you would be. You always were after teasing him or anyone. You had felt Jake getting hard, you knew exactly what you were doing and you had played dumb. He’d treat you just like you were acting, like a dumb little slut. His dumb little slut. 

“Taste so fucking good, baby. This is what you are good for, right?” Leaning back enough to admire your soaked pussy, Mingyu smirks before spitting right on to your folds, watching the glob of spit mix with your slick. “All dumb sluts want is to be fucked? You’d lay here like this all day and let anybody do it, wouldn’t you?” 

Shaking your head no, you sob out Mingyu’s name when he sucks hard at your clit, not letting you have any wiggle room. In the position you were in, there was no where for you to go, no getting away from him. All you could do was hold on to his hair and beg for mercy, not that you wanted him to stop. You loved it. You wanted it. “No! No, not true. Ah! Daddy… no! Just you.” 

God, what was Mingyu doing to you to have you whining and screaming like that? Grunting out your name against his arm, Jake rolls more on to his stomach and thrusts into his pillow before falling onto it. Each one of your yelps and moans has him chasing his high, humping the pillow pathetically almost like a dog. 

“Don’t lie to me." Licking your cum from his lips, Mingyu untangles your legs and pulls one over his shoulder as he lines up his cock with your clenching entrance. With one smooth motion, he buries himself completely in you, relishing in your loud moan of his name. He knew at the end of the day no one else mattered for you. He was your earth and sun, just like you were his moon and stars, but that didn’t mean that you didn’t like to play and want playthings. "But it’s cute when you try.”

You were lying and you’d keep lying if it kept Mingyu’s cock inside of you like it was now. The moment that Jake had gotten to your house, the sex had been even more mind-blowing. At first you had been convinced that it was Mingyu’s possessive nature, but now it was something else. He enjoyed watching you pursue Jake. He enjoyed watching Jake get flustered and panic over you. 

Kissing the shell of your ear as he ruts his hips against yours, Mingyu grins into his words, keeping them low. “Wish that he was in the room, hmm? Want Jakey to watch your pussy get ruined?” God, you were squeezing the life out of him. It was tempting to tell Jake to stop fisting his dick and get his ass in here, but Mingyu instead groaned loudly to the feeling. 

There was no slowing down now. Jake was panting and moaning your name with every bang of your bed against the wall until finally his cum was sticky painting his pillow and stomach. Turning over on his back, Jake tries to catch his breath listening to you scream out Mingyu’s name one more time as you cum, followed by a loud groan from his brother as he seemingly follows you over that edge. 

This was so fucked up. 

“Mm, thank you, Jakey. Mingyu hates helping me do laundry.” 

Jake smiles at you until you bend over in front of him, your tight jean shorts gripping your ass perfectly as you dig in your laundry basket. “It—it’s no biggie. I said I’d help out around the house. Wan—” Taking a deep breath, Jake has to take a step back when you stumble backwards against his hips, making him catch you, hands on your waist. “Woah, you okay?” 

Giggling, you look over your shoulder at Jake, moving from his lips to his eyes, nodding. “Yes, I got a little lightheaded bending over like that. Sorry…” You could move, you should move, but you are enjoying feeling Jake’s body against your back and his fingers pressing into your sides. 

“Oh… You wanna sit down? Are you feeling better?” 

He was so precious. He believed you no matter what you said. It was like he actually bought your innocent routine, but that is what made this so much more fun. Nodding, you slide your hand over Jake’s forearm before taking his hand and letting him lead you out of the laundry room and into the kitchen towards one of the chairs. 

“Up you go, beautiful.” 

Now Jake had your face feeling warm and flushed. He had started doing that, calling you beautiful or pretty, but never around Mingyu. “Mm, you are so sweet, Jakey. You make me feel so pretty. How many girlfriends do you really have on retainer back at school?” 

Laughing, Jake starts to step away when you turn the kitchen island chair towards him, catching him between your thighs. Fuck. Looking down at your legs resting on either side of his hips, Jake takes a steadying breath and tries to keep his cool, resting his hand on the counter beside of you. “You are pretty, the prettiest. Mingyu tells you all the time so... don’t need me to remind you.” Your sweet smile and laugh make Jake feel like he’s floating, your fingers timidly walking along his, doodling absentmindedly as you listen to him talk. “I don’t fuck around much at uni, Y/N. College girls don’t do it for me.” 

You could feel his eyes move over your face and along your neck to the v-cut of your shirt before he met your eyes again. “Oh? You breaking their hearts?” Jake laughs, rolling his eyes as he glances away from you, shaking his head as you keep prodding about his relationships. “If college girls “don’t do it for you," what kind of girl would? Just curious, what my Jakey might bring home one day.”  

Licking his lips, Jake scoffs, keeping his head turned away from you as he considers how to answer you. Your Jakey. Fuck. He wanted to be yours. In truth, in every way that he could be, he already was. He had been in bed with girls at parties before and muttered your name, leaving them crying and asking who Y/N was. If Jake had found himself in a relationship, it never lasted for more than a couple weeks before she was annoying him with how immature she was. “I’m not looking for a girl. Too whiny and—” Jake’s smirk gets wider, another scoff slipping from his lips as he lifts his free hand to brush through his hair you like so much. “Young. I want a woman. I’m not bringing anyone home.” 

Oh, that was interesting. Tilting your head, you nod along with Jake’s words, circling his knuckle with your nail before biting at your bottom lip. “I see. What am I going to do with you, huh?” You watch Jake’s brows furrow, the confusion settling in on his face as he meets your eyes once again. “I’d say it makes me sad that you aren’t getting any at school but..." Biting at your lips once again, you let your eyes move over Jake openly and he feels exposed and raw. 

Shifting uncomfortably, Jake isn’t sure if he should try to escape from between your knees or if he should step forward, but you don’t give him the option to choose. Sliding forward in your chair, you sigh his name and Jake groans quietly, feeling the warmth between your legs. “Y/N… shit. Uh… I—the laundry, I’ll switch it out.” 

Jake tugs his hand from under yours, and you watch with a smirk as he adjusts his shorts, heading back for the laundry room, muttering under his breath. 

“Thanks for the help, sweetie.” 

“She was practically on me. I’m projecting, right?” Whispering loudly into his phone, Jake paces in front of his bed as he tugs at his hair, holding his phone with his other hand. 

Sunghoon was getting to wonder if he should double major in psychology as many times as his best friend was coming to him to interpret his life lately. He should start charging him for sessions with all the great advice and therapy he was providing the motherfucker. “From what you told me... it depends. Probably. What like some hot little pre-milf is going to present her ass to you? Empty handed? I doubt it.” 

Making a face as if he tasted something sour, Jake moves to lean against his dresser, looking at himself in the mirror. Sunghoon was probably as on point as he was disgusting. Calling you a “pre-milf” was insane, but it was also insane to think that you were coming on to him. You were is stepbrother’s girlfriend. Hell, you were practically Mingyu’s wife at this point and Jake had no business looking at you like he was. “Nah—no, you’re right. I’m stupid; there’s no fuckin’ way Y/N—” 

“Yeah, Jakey? You calling for me?” 

Gasping at your voice, Jake’s eyes widen, wondering how much of his conversation with Sunghoon you had heard. Had you just come upstairs, putting things in the linen closet and just happened to hear your name? Or had you been at his door for longer? “I—no, Y/N.” 

“Dude… What is going on?” Confused, Sunghoon sits up at his desk, sliding his computer mouse away from his hand, hearing the panic in Jake’s voice and your name. 

“Oh, you sure? Can—can I… Actually, can you help me in my room? I have a bunch of laundry to fold. Some of it is your towels. I was going to just do it on my bed.” 

Now Sunghoon could hear your voice and it was making sense. “I’ll let you go.” 

“No, man! I can’t—” 

“Grow some fuckin’ balls!” 

Hearing the beeps in his ear as Sunghoon hangs up on him, Jake leans his head back and closes his eyes when you say his name again. “I—sure. I’m—yep. Coming.” Fridays were becoming the bane of Jake’s existence. You working from home consisted less of you "working," taking a phone call here or there, checking your email once or twice, and more of being around to make his head explode. 

Taking a deep breath, Jake knocks softly on your cracked bedroom door before pushing it open to see you sitting in the middle with laundry piled at the end. At least he would have a task to help you with again. He wouldn’t be staring at your tits or feeling your warmth against his half-hard cock—

“Hi! You never came back; I thought you got mad at me. Here, sit. If you can work on towels, I can work on undies and stuff for me and Gyu.” 

You were pouting at Jake again. Sitting down on the side of your bed, Jake sighs under his breath and reaches for the first towel as he watches you fold some of Mingyu’s boxers before you pick up a pair of lace that reminds him of now a few stolen pairs hidden in his room. “Could never be mad at you.” 

“That’s a relief.” Smiling, you purse your lips and shake your head as you look over your laundry before scoffing in disbelief. “I can’t believe I need to buy new panties already. I swear to god the dryer eats them worse than the socks. Meanwhile, I can’t get Mingyu to throw out his underwear.” 

Jake should feel bad seeing you pout over your missing panties, but instead the rush of knowing he had used a pretty red pair just the night before, covering them with his cum makes his heart race. “Throw them away when he’s not home.” 

“That’s really smart, Jakey.” Smirking, you pick up a faded pair of Mingyu’s boxers, tossing them into the floor. “Fun what you can get away with when Daddy’s not home, right?” The look on Jake’s face makes you laugh before you reach over and shake his shoulder playfully, getting him to laugh a bit in disbelief with you. "God, I have to get you to loosen up. You look like you’re going to throw up.” 

Jake did feel like he might throw up. He could hear you screaming Daddy through the walls and now he was sitting on the bed where Mingyu made you cum night after night after night... It was making him feel like he was going to pass out if he thought about it too hard. "No. I won’t—I’m not—I’m loose.” 

That was the biggest lie that Jake had told while he had been here. Shaking your head, you laugh under your breath as you move to your knees to grab a different bit of laundry, sliding it to you on the large bed, feeling Jake’s eyes move over your body. “Yeah, okay, Jakey.” Sitting back, you shake out one of Mingyu’s shirts you use as a nightshirt, meeting Jake’s eyes. “This is what happens when you don’t get laid every once in a while, baby boy. You get all wound up. You wait and you wait for a woman to fuck and suddenly you are made of glass.” 

This wasn’t happening. You were not saying these words to him and you did not just call him what Jake thought you called him. Blinking a few times, Jake visibly swallows hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he does while he shakily folds another towel. “N–no… what? I don’t… I’m fine.” 

“But you aren’t, are you?” Putting the shirt on your lap, you pout at Jake sympathetically. “When was the last time someone touched your cock?” Watching his mouth open to answer you, you speak first. “That wasn’t your own hand?” Jake’s mouth closes and you coo at him, feeling your panties getting wetter thinking about how needy he must be. “Jakey… I’m so sorry. Is it my fault? You can tell me.” 

Jake tries to speak again, but you are moving on the bed, your fingers pushing his hair away from his cheek as your knees press into the comforter. Every time he tries to look anywhere else, his eyes find yours or your lips; if he moves them lower, its the cut of your shirt and the peek of your breasts spilling out of your bra. “I—yeah. It’s your fault, Y/N.” 

Faking sympathy, you scoot closer to Jake, feeling a pile of your laundry fall off the bed and into the floor as you do. “Oh no… The girl’s weren’t good enough cause—” 

The shock of feeling your fingers on his thigh sliding upward causes Jake to gasp. His fingers wrap around your wrist, but he doesn’t dare stop you. “They aren’t you. Wait, Y/N—��� Biting his bottom lip, Jake groans, feeling even the slightest pressure of your touch over his half-hard cock. “Shit… Mingyu will murder me.” 

Your warm, sweet breath lulls Jake as he tries to calm down, his other hand grasping at the comforter under him as if it will ground him and bring him back to reality out of this dream. “Daddy isn’t home, Jakey.” 

This wasn’t happening. Taking a shaky breath, Jake laughs in disbelief when he feels you sit over his thighs, your hands resting on his shoulders. He was asleep and this was the most complex and realistic wet dream of his entire life. He would surely wake up any second now, but no… Instead of waking up, Jake feels your lips brush over his cheek as you rock your hips over his. 

“Do you want me to move? You don’t want to play with me? I thought I was what you want—” A rush of excitement runs through your veins when Jake finally gives in to your teasing. His fingers grip the back of your neck tightly as he hisses against your soft lips before claiming his first kiss from you. The kiss is urgent and messy while Jake’s free hand slides over your ass to squeeze as you feel his cock hardening between your legs. 

Jake knew he was dead. There was no fucking way that this was happening and he would survive the rest of the summer around you and come out alive. Mingyu would find out and he would murder him. Not only would he lose the girl of his dreams but his own stepbrother would bury him in the backyard and tell their parents that he moved back to Australia or something. It all starts to seem like too much, not worth it… But then you moan into Jake’s mouth and his cock literally twitches in his boxers. It was worth it. 

Yawning, Mingyu shakes his head as he shrugs his work bag off his shoulder and pushes the door closed with his elbow. He was exhausted from work and all he wanted to do was stay at home with you but dinner plans had been made and he knew you were looking forward to it. “Baby? I’m home. I talked to Wonwoo before I left the office. He said that he and Anna are gonna meet us at Luxe at 7 pm instead of 8.” 

No answer. Glancing around through the kitchen to the living room, Mingyu furrows his brows and starts to head for the stairs when you smirk at Jake rolling your hips over his one last time. “Mmkay, Gyu. I’m finishing up laundry with Jakey and then I’ll get ready.” 

Jake was freaking the fuck out. Mingyu’s voice sounded close and you were practically laughing at him as you took your time to slide off his lap and back on to the bed to pick up the discarded laundry, talking to his brother as if nothing was going on. You were too good at this; it was scary.

Meeting Jake’s eyes, you lift your brows and gesture to the towels with a nod of your head. “Unless you want to be sitting on the bed with a tent in your pants, Jakey... maybe you should take your towels to your bathroom.” 

That was a good idea, brillant actually. Nodding quickly, Jake swallows the lump in his throat and picks up the folded towels, managing to unfold half the stack as he groans under his breath, slipping out of your bedroom door and down the hall away from your bedroom before Mingyu makes it halfway up the steps. 

Lifting his brow to the door slamming on his left, Mingyu sighs and turns to his right and towards you. “He needs to stop slamming the fucking doors. I get why it used to piss my dad off now.” Mingyu takes in a deep breath as he sits on the bed behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and letting you fold a shirt in your lap. 

“You are such an old man. Leave him alone. He’s had a hard day.” 

Mingyu could hear the smirk on your voice and it had him narrowing his eyes. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” 

“Just has…” 

You weren’t fooling him. Mingyu knew you better than anyone. You thought you could play coy and use word play, but Mingyu saw right through it. “So that means you have been torturing him—” 

“That’s so dramatic.” 

“It’s what you do when you get your claws in a new plaything, but remember this one comes with strings attached.” 

Turning your head to meet Mingyu’s eyes, you pout at him, letting him kiss you softly. You knew the warning was real, but you knew what you were doing. “Stop being so serious, Gyu. You said I could.” 

Sighing against your lips, Mingyu nudges his nose against yours and nods. “Play fair. Just don’t break him.”  

Glancing into the bedroom from across the hall, you look back into the mirror with a half smirk before picking up your perfume and spraying some on to your wrist. Mingyu was finishing up getting dressed, finishing touches just like you, but you weren’t done just yet. 

“We gotta get going. Are my good socks still in the laundry room?” 

Mingyu sighs, his brows furrowed as you lean your head back to tap your wrist against your neck before nodding. “I didn’t get around to bringing them up. They should be in the dryer or in one of the baskets. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” 

You knew that you and Mingyu might be a few minutes late, but you had heard Jake’s door open and the sound of water from down the hall. Curiosity was getting the better of you. The heat in the pit of your stomach was getting the better of you. 

It had taken close to an hour for Jake’s boner to go down and it still wasn’t what he would call gone. One stray thought about you on his lap and his cock would be right back at attention so Jake’s only saving grace was that you and Mingyu were going out. 

Humming along with the song playing through his phone on the bathroom counter, Jake sighs as he leans into his shower, turning on the tap. He had already heard Mingyu jog down the steps so it seemed a good time as any to jump in the shower and try to relax. Had Jake been avoiding you both since Mingyu had gotten home, absolutely, but how was he going to face his stepbrother with a tent in his pants? He could have gone into his room and rubbed one out, but that routine was starting to get old, especially after feeling the weight of you on his lap. 

“Jakey?” You smile at the soft sound of Jake’s humming and water hitting the shower tiles as you push open the bathroom door carefully. The water had just started running, so you hoped you might catch Jake before he got in. Tell him goodbye. Maybe see him for just a moment to ease that fire in you but you got more than you were bargaining for. “Oh, I—” 

“Shit! Y/N—I…I’m—” Turning his back to you quickly, Jake feels his heart threaten to beat out of his chest. You had already been easing back into his mind, but he hadn’t meant to practically summon you out of thin air. Any chance that he had of keeping himself from getting hard again was off the table. Jake could feel his cock coming back to life no matter how hard he willed himself to behave. “What—why? I thought you and Mingyu were going out.” 

Glancing over your shoulder to the crack in the door, you bite your bottom lip before taking a step further into Jake’s bathroom, unable to convince yourself not to. “Yeah, we’re going. I was just checking on you. ‘M sorry, Jakey. Are you okay?” 

Nope. No, Jake was not okay. How was this okay? How could he possibly be okay standing completely buck ass naked in front of you? Shaking his head, Jake glances over his shoulder at you and finds out quickly that is a mistake when he meets your eyes and sees your teeth pulling at your pretty bottom lip. “Fu—fuck, no. I’m—” 

You could tell Jake wasn’t okay. You weren’t stupid. You knew exactly what you were doing and you knew you didn’t have time to do any of it—yet here you were stepping even closer and trailing your fingers along Jake’s back near his hip. “Oh no. Can I help? Since it’s my fault?” You mimic the way Jake furrows his brows, the lust and confusion mixing together. “Please, Jake. I can help and it’ll be quick.” 

“Wh—” He should say no. Jake knows that he should refuse and ask you to leave, but instead he finds himself nodding along with you. Letting out a slow, shaky breath. Jake’s brows knit together tightly when your smile turns into a smirk and you whisper his name, turning him so that his ass can rest against the bathroom counter. “This is so wrong, Y/N.” 

“Shh, Jakey. Don’t talk, just enjoy it.” Brushing your lips over his, you laugh under your breath when Jake gasps against your lips, feeling your hand wrap around his mostly hard cock. He was big—bigger than you had anticipated, and you weren’t complaining. You had been with Mingyu for so long that you were used to a man who was well endowed and knew how to use his cock so it would have almost been disappointing to know that Mingyu’s little brother couldn’t hold his own. “You are so pretty, baby. God, I’ve wanted to touch you since you got here.” 

It was taking everything in Jake to not groan as your hand moved over his cock. You knew what you were doing. It wasn’t like Jake was surprised that you knew how to handle cock; clearly you would, but assuming, hearing, and experiencing were all different. “You—please, Y/N. Can’t say that shit to me, not right now.” 

Nipping at Jake’s lips, you pull back from him just far enough that you can watch your hand move. You marvel at the amount of pre-cum oozing from his tip that you use to make the slide of your hand easier, letting you speed up your strokes. Soft, urgent grunts mixed with your name bring another smirk to your lips as Jake’s fingers claw at the counter for something to ground him. “Why, Jakey? I’m just telling you the truth. You don’t like it? Don’t want to know all the other things I want to do before summer is over?” 

Mingyu sighs, glancing around the living room and up the stairs when he doesn’t see or hear you. There was no telling what you were doing but it didn’t really matter; plans had been made and you knew that. “Baby, hurry your ass up! We are already going to be late.” 

Jake was starting to panic; he had never gotten to his climax this fast in his life. The idea of you wanting to do more with him before the end of the summer had him panting for air, but then Mingyu’s voice and the reminder that he was in the house sealed his fate. Muttering your name on a breathy groan, Jake leans his head back and thrusts his hips towards your hand until his cum drips from your fingers and on to the tile floor at his feet. 

Smirking, you lift your eyes from your fingers and to Jake’s eyes as you carefully unwrap your hand from his softening cock. “I’m coming, Gyu! Stop being so impatient.” Knowing that Jake is watching your every move, you lift your fingers to your lips and lick them clean before sighing. “I’ll miss you, Jakey. We’ll be home in the morning.” 

Jake wants to say something, anything—that he’ll miss you, thank you for the most amazing hand job he’s ever received—but instead he just gives you the same dopey smile that he always does as you wash your hands. “Uh huh… Have fun, Y/N.” 

Waving at Jake, you push his bathroom door closed and bite your lips, feeling the rush of what had happened really hit you. You were soaked, practically dripping through your panties as you made your way down the stairs, but that was the thrill of it. Meeting Mingyu’s eyes and seeing the raised brow of suspicion has you putting on a sweet, faux innocent face as you lean to put on your heels, letting him hold you steady. 

“Took you long enough, darling.” 

“Did it? I wasn’t the one who changed the time. If we were still meeting at 8 instead of—” 

Sighing to cut off your words, Mingyu helps you stand back up straight, his eyes meeting yours before he playfully narrows them and leans to kiss you gently at first. With a nip to your lips, Mingyu hums into the kiss and groans low, almost a growl as his kiss becomes more forceful. The dampness in your panties all that more apparent as your knees buckle and his hand wraps around your waist to keep you upright against him. “You taste like cum, little slut.” 

Instead of feeling shame, you rest your palm against Mingyu’s chest and smile into the kiss, causing him to groan once more. “We’re going to be late, Daddy.” 

With one sharp slap to your ass, Mingyu rolls his eyes and opens the door for you, ushering you out towards the car. “Oh, I know, baby…” 

Hoon: LOL later? 

Jake: You know it. 

That had been the plan, but then the plan went off the rails. Jake was seconds from throwing away the plan because, while Mingyu had gone “out with the boys,” you were pouting. 

“Jakey I won’t bother you; I’ll just hang out with you while you play your games. That’s okay, right? I watch Gyu play games on his Xbox all the time…” 

So that was how Jake found himself sitting at the small desk in his temporary room, headphones halfway on his head as you lay on your side on his bed scrolling on your phone. Glancing over his shoulder, hearing you take a deep breath, Jake quickly turns his attention back to his laptop when he hears another of his and Sunghoon’s friends, Heeseung, complain in his ear that he is letting the team suffer because he’s distracted. “Sorry…” 

“We’ve barely got a chance to play since you’ve been at your brothers and now you’re dragging everyone else down, dude. Get your head straight.” 

You could see the way Jake’s shoulders were tensed up. He didn’t seem to be enjoying his game. Was it your fault? Did you make it that awkward to play or was it sitting at the desk in that shitty chair? “Jake…” Trying to keep your voice low, you sit up on your elbow and lean forward, another pout forming on your lips when Jake doesn’t seem to hear you. 

“Hee… Chill the fuck out. He’s been workin’, just like I have. You haven’t been up my ass about it.” 

Jake appreciated Sunghoon coming to his defense when it came to this. While it wasn’t just work that had him distracted, it had played a factor. “I’m doing my best, for real, but—” 

“Jakey…” 

Your voice comes through a bit louder, finally getting not only Jake’s attention but those in the party with him. Turning his head towards you with his eyes widened slightly, Jake dips his head down as if it will keep the conversation more private. “Yeah? You—You okay, Y/N?” 

“Who the fuck is—wait? Mingyu’s Y/N?” Hearing Heeseung say your name, the realization in his tone made Jake’s cheeks flush instantly and spread to his ears. Now he could hear the teasing in his friend’s voice. “What’s Y/N need, Jakey?” 

God, Jake wanted to die right there and then, but you looked so sweet and devastatingly hot all at the same time as you lay on his bed so no amount of teasing was going to make him go anywhere. 

“Oh… I’m okay. You’re so sweet.” Sitting up more, you tilt your head, letting your eyes move over Jake’s slumped shoulder and bent spine, knowing how he was leaning over his laptop just a moment before. “Your back looks like it hurts. I was just going to suggest that maybe the bed might be more comfortable? And I could see your game more. I wanted to watch... It’s hard to see all the way over here.” 

“She wants to watch him game, Hoon. That’s so cute.” 

Swallowing hard, Jake clears his throat and lets his eyes move over your body back up to your expectant eyes as Heeseung and Sunghoon both tease him. 

“I’d move to that bed so fucking fast my laptop might not even make it.” 

"Honestly, I get why you are distracted.” 

“Dude, you don’t know the half—” 

“What was that?” Nodding along as if he were listening to his friend’s explain something, Jake makes a sound like he is disappointed before putting a faux pout on his face. “Really? That’s too bad, Hoon. We can play again later.” 

“What the fuck are you talkin’ about, man?” 

Watching Jake turn back around to his laptop, you lean back on the pillow as Jake mutters under his breath, hoping you can’t hear him. “Shut the fuck up. I’ll text you guys later.” Without waiting for more response than a sigh or a huff, Jake ends the party call and exits his game with an exaggerated shrug. “Hoon had to get off so...” 

You weren’t stupid; you could tell Jake was lying, but you also weren’t going to call him out on it—not this time. “Oh, I’m sorry, Jakey. What are you gonna do now? Wanna watch a movie or something?” 

Blowing out a slow breath, Jake puts his headphones on his desk and looks towards the open door. “I—sure. We could go downstairs—” 

“No! We could just use your laptop, silly goose.” Turning to sit on your butt, you pat the bed beside you before adjusting the pillows against the headboard, waiting for Jake to join you. “I love watching things in bed. Mingyu and I do it all the time; it’s so cozy and fun.” 

Fun. That’s not the word that Jake would use for something like this. Torturous would be a good word and yet he managed to force a smile and pick up his laptop to move over to the bed with you. Keeping a good distance, Jake sits back against the headboard and puts the laptop between the two of you, opening one of the many streaming apps he has borrowed from Mingyu, gesturing for you to go ahead. 

"Well, that isn’t very cozy, Jakey.” Sighing as you pick up the laptop, you wiggle closer to Jake to put the laptop on his thighs before curling against his side. Only when you are snug against him do you start to run your finger over the trackpad to scroll through the site and search for a movie. 

It was bad enough that Jake had you pressed up against him, but now he had the reminder of your hand on his lap as you slowly scrolled through movies and sighed, seemingly disappointed with every single one. “Anything is fine, Y/N.” 

“But it’s not. They are all so boring. I don’t want to be bored.” Meeting Jake’s eyes, you give him the same pout that you have had on display since Mingyu walked out the door for boy’s night. “Why are you trying to bore me?” 

Gasping in disbelief at your question, Jake furrows his brows and shifts against you. “I—what? I’m not. We can watch whatever you want. I’m not going to bore—” 

“Okay, do you just look things up on Twitter, or are you more of a pay-for-porn kinda guy?” 

Stunned once again by your question, Jake stares at you until you meet his eyes, a smirk growing on your lips until you look back at his laptop. 

“You strike me as a Twitter guy. Mingyu’s a Twitter guy too…” 

Jake’s brain is misfiring; he doesn’t remember how to function or what words are until his eyes move back to his laptop screen to see you scrolling through his Twitter. You weren’t wrong, not even close to it. He was shocked at how easily you read right through him, but the shock wears off when he sees you click on his profile and then likes. “Woah, Y/N!” 

Sliding the laptop from Jake’s lap and onto yours when he panics, you bite down on your bottom lip as you scroll. “Interesting.” Taking note of the types of videos that Jake took the time to press the like button on, you lift your legs, keeping Jake’s fingers from siding underneath the laptop. “I like seeing what you are into. Tits and thighs, typical... but you sure do like watching girls get eaten out, Jakey.” 

Clearing his throat, Jake shifts uncomfortably beside you before shrugging at your commentary. “I—what guy doesn’t.” 

“That’s fair, but isn’t eating pussy yourself better than watching someone else do it? Don’t you get bored fucking your hand? I mean, baby... You keep treating yourself like a priest; you aren’t gonna know how to handle a pussy the next time you see one. You won’t know how to go down on a girl.” You were being cruel and you could see the shift in Jake’s eyes. Finally, he looked annoyed. How long were you going to have to push and poke until he finally took? 

“I don’t just watch, Y/N. I know how to handle pussy just fucking fine; better than fine, I’ll have you know.” Who did you think he was? A virgin who had never made a girl cry on his tongue before? Jake had girls begging him to fuck them but they bored him; he had already explained this to you; maybe you just needed a demonstration. 

“Sure, okay, Jakey!” The last syllable of Jake’s name comes out an octave higher when Jake narrows his eyes at you and finally takes the laptop out of your lap before putting you on your back. “Fuck…” 

“You talk so much, Y/N. You are always teasing me and I keep telling you this is fucked up, but I can’t—” Humming into a groan, Jake grips your thighs as he kneels between them, letting his eyes move up your body. He had dreamt about this exact thing countless nights. This didn’t feel real seeing you on his bed on your back in front of him at his whim. “Tell me no.” 

Taking a deep breath, you smile at Jake’s words as you enjoy the feeling of his hands through your leggings. He was shaking slightly and you could tell he was trying to hold himself back. He wanted you to tell him no—give him any reason to walk away, but why in the fuck would you do that when you were finally getting something you wanted? “Mmm, please, Jakey? I’ll never tell you no.”  

“Fuck, Y/N.” Pushing any thoughts of Mingyu from his head, Jake slides his hands to the waistband of your leggings. You weren’t only giving him permission; you were lifting your hips; you were wiggling your hips side to side as he worked your leggings down your perfect thighs. “You are so goddamn gorgeous. You’re ruining me.” 

That was the first time that Jake made your stomach twist, but not with fear or worry but instead with desire as it mixed with pure lust. That was something that Mingyu would make you feel, but nothing that he could ever say to you. There was nothing you could do that could ruin Mingyu. He had ruined you. You had been a sweet, innocent rose until you met Kim Mingyu and now you were happily tainting something of your own. “Yeah? You want me to, Jake?” 

Pressing his lips against your thigh, Jake groans not only to the feeling of your soft skin against his lips but also to your words. He was already struggling, his cock twitching in his sweatpants, but if you kept that up, he would cum untouched. “Yeah. Fuck, yeah. I want that, Angel.” 

You could get used to that, Angel. Jake was so sweet, even as he whispered curses under his breath, his fingers working their way back up from your ankles to your thighs as you spread your legs. “You are such a good boy. You gonna prove something to me?” 

Licking his lips, Jake has to force his eyes from your panties and the damp spot at the center so he can meet your eyes. “Mm, yeah. Can I? That okay?” Jake had a feeling he didn’t need permission; perhaps you didn’t even really want him to ask for it, but he wanted it. Scooting down in the bed, he groans, massaging his fingers into your soft skin and taking in a deep breath of you. He had stolen so many pairs of panties that looked just like the ones you were wearing now, but none of them had looked, smelled, or probably tasted as good as they did while you were wearing them. “Please, Angel. I’m good at it, I swear.” 

There was no doubt in your mind that Jake would be good at eating you out. You were soaked from anticipation, but meeting Jake’s puppy dog eyes from between your thighs as he begged you for permission had you clenching around nothing. “Fuck. Of course, Jakey. Show me how good you are, hm?” 

That was all Jake needed to hear. Your words were like a dinner bell and his meal had been in front of him like a puppy waiting for a treat. Burying his face against your clothed pussy, Jake groans quietly at first, his thumbs pressing hard into your thighs to keep your legs spread. You were heaven, truly his angel, and your pussy was his one gift from God. He wasn’t going to waste it. 

Just when you were about to tell Jake to do something, anything, the warmth of his tongue through the cotton of your panties rendered you silent. Instead, you sigh his name and run your fingers through Jake’s hair, furrowing your brows as he groans louder, able to taste you when your panties mold to your wet folds. 

“So sweet, fuck, angel. Trying to savor this, but—” Jake wasn’t lying; he wanted to enjoy every sensation—the taste of your panties on his tongue, your skin, your cum, your fingers in his hair—but he was already rutting his hips into his bed from just a few swipes of his tongue over your pussy and he hadn’t even seen it yet. He had to see you—really see you. Pulling the center of your panties to the side, Jake rests his cheek against your thigh, almost in awe of how perfect you are. “Unfuckingbelievable. I only get this probably one goddamn time—” 

“Better make it worth it then, huh?” Mingyu had come home probably twenty minutes ago. He had started to call out to you or Jake to see where you were, but the moans and groans told him everything he needed to know. He had been missing you. You had looked so sad when he left so he had cut his boy's night short and now he came home to find you in a much better mood with his stepbrother between your legs looking at you like a three-course meal. At least he had been, until Mingyu had spoken and all the color had drained from Jake’s face when he met his eyes as Mingyu leaned against the doorframe. 

“I—Mingyu—it’s not! I’m not tryin—I didn't mean to—I’m so sorry!” 

Jake really was the cutest boy you had ever seen in your entire life and Mingyu had the worst fucking timing you had ever seen. Leaning your head back in annoyance as Jake sits up quickly, you whine loudly before meeting Mingyu’s eyes as he smirks at you and then shifts his eyes to Jake as he tries to side back on the bed before falling off of it and having to quickly stand up. 

“Didn’t mean to what? Bury your face in my girlfriend’s cunt?" Shrugging, Mingyu looks at you again for clarification and you know he’s going to be even more annoying before this goes the way you want it to. “How does one accidentally do that? Did you trip and fall into her pussy face first? Is that what happened, sweetheart? Did Jakey stumble into your slutty little cunt?” 

Sighing loudly, you sit up in the bed and reach your hand out to Jake, who gives you a shocked, scared face, only shaking his head as if you don’t also see Mingyu in the room. “He’s being an asshole, Jake. Come back, baby…” 

“I might be being an asshole, but I’m enjoying it and I wanted to know the answer because it’s entertaining.” 

Opening his mouth, no words come out as Jake looks from you to Mingyu and back when Mingyu moves to kiss you and you slap him playfully, making him laugh. Was this some sort of joke? Was Jake the joke? “I don’t unde—I don’t get what’s happening right now.” 

Taking an exaggerated breath, Mingyu doesn’t meet Jake’s eyes as he speaks; he instead sits down beside you and slides his hand along your inner thigh. “I know, you’re behind and I told Y/N not to torture you, but she doesn’t listen well. Do you?” When a gasp slips from your lips as Mingyu’s hand comes down hard on your thigh, his lips pull up in a smirk. “I know, baby. You really are just a needy little slut, right? Can’t keep your hands to yourself?” 

If everything leading up to this moment had been a wet dream, now Jake was stuck in a fever dream. This was worse. He could run away. He could run right out the door, down the steps, and out the door and forget any of this happened, but Jake couldn’t take his eyes off Mingyu’s hand as he traced the same path he had taken earlier, leading up to where Jake wanted to be most. 

“You are soaked, darling. I know that isn’t all for me. Was Jake doing a good job?” Nodding along with you, Mingyu smirks barely pushing his fingers between your wet folds, feeling two sets of eyes on him. “And I was mean and interrupted him? Such a bad guy, huh?” 

“Yeah, that was mean. Let me have him.” You pout at Mingyu, lifting your hips towards his finger until he shakes his head, causing you to start to whine before his hand comes down hard on your thigh again, leaving it hot. “Please! ‘M sorry, daddy! Please? Please, can I play with him? He’s like a puppy.”

That made Jake’s mouth feel dry—not just your words and hearing you call him a puppy, but watching Mingyu’s hand slap your thigh over and over again. He’d never have the strength to do that to you, but seeing it be done to you... Pre-cum was dripping down his thighs and he was barely holding back his whines. 

“You want a pet that bad, sweetheart?” Looking towards Jake, Mingyu smirks, seeing him practically drooling over you. He understood why. You were perfection, especially when you were like this, all laid out and wanting. Meeting your eyes once again, Mingyu nods along with you and mocks your whines before cooing in faux sympathy and patting his hand over your wet pussy after putting your panties back in place. “Fine, but we aren’t staying in this tiny ass room and this bed. We are moving the party.”

Whining once again, you lean your head back, hearing Mingyu laugh at your reaction. You didn’t know why you couldn’t just stay where you were. You and Jake had been doing just fine, but then he had rudely interrupted. 

“You see the shit I have to deal with on a daily fucking basis?” Rolling his eyes, Mingyu moves to one knee, sliding one arm under your knees and the other behind your back, pulling you into his arms. “And this is the woman you fantasize about? A bratty little princess…” 

Nodding quickly, Jake swallows hard and moves towards you and Mingyu. “I–-you want me to carry her? I don’t mind.” He knows he sounds pathetic, too eager but the pleased look on your face makes it worth it, even as Mingyu scoffs at your reaction. 

“You have him whipped, sweetheart.” Shaking his head, Mingyu laughs under his breath as Jake waits for him to make up his mind. “Tell you what, Jake, I’ll carry her this time. Wouldn’t want to risk you dropping her. Hit the gym with me a few times and then we can talk about it.” Not waiting for Jake’s reaction, Mingyu narrows his eyes at you playfully as you lean your head back on his arm, enjoying the attention. “He’d fucking crawl to the bed if you asked him to. Are you pleased with yourself?” 

It only takes a few long strides from Mingyu for you to bed in your bedroom and to be laid on your own bed. Smirking up at him, you bite gently on your bottom lip and nod in response to his question. “Incredibly pleased. I’d love to watch him crawl. You’d never do it for me.” 

Scoffing once again at your words, Mingyu’s brows furrow. "No, I fucking wouldn’t but I’d make you crawl until your knees are sore.” You had gotten so cocky he might just make you do it and not make such an empty threat, but the sound of the wooden floor creaking reminds him that the two of you aren’t alone. “Come here, Jake.” 

This was fucking torture. You had been torturing Jake before, but Mingyu was doing something else. Jake had been ready to eat you out and then he had been ready to carry you, but then his fucking brother had taken both of those things away from him only to keep them dangling like a promise in front of his face. Biting at his cheek, Jake moves closer to the bed when Mingyu speaks to him, even as his heart beats hard in his chest, causing his head to feel heavy with each loud thump. “Y–yeah?”

Meeting Jake’s eyes, Mingyu rests his hand next to your waist, still leaning over you. “If we are doing this, you do as you are told, got it? Don’t make me fucking regret it. I don’t want to hear about you fucking my girlfriend from your horny little friends.” Jake nods, but that isn’t enough for Mingyu. You and Jake watch as he takes a deep breath and stands up straight in front of his stepbrother, tilting his head. “What did I say?” 

Had Mingyu always been that fucking tall and wide? Opening his mouth once and closing it, Jake’s eyes widen before he nods again and lifts his hands. “You said to do as I’m told and not to talk to my friends about it!” Shaking his head quickly, Jake starts to panic, his eyes moving from Mingyu to you and back. “I swear, dude.” 

Smacking Jake’s shoulder hard, Mingyu feels Jake move a good inch and a half from the force as he smirks at him and his understanding. “Good, I believe you. I know you like Y/N, but I love her. There’s a difference. That’s all I’m gonna say.” Clapping his hands together, a smile on his face, Mingyu turns to look at you, seeing a fond smile on your face even though you try to look annoyed. “Let’s fuck, huh? Jake, shirt off. Give her something to look at while you eat.” 

You wanted to keep that same look on your face but the moment that Mingyu tells Jake to take off his shirt and moves to slide the chair from the corner of the room closer to the bed, you fail. Instead of looking half annoyed, you look hungry as Jake nods, his shirt quickly being pulled over his head before he shakes his hair back out, letting it settle around his face. “God… He’s so fucking cute.” 

Rolling his eyes, Mingyu sinks into the chair beside the bed and lets out a deep breath as you ogle Jake. You were rubbing your thighs together like a cat in heat; it was pathetic and had Mingyu’s cock rock hard in his jeans. “Yeah? You like him that much? Take your panties off, sweetheart. Hand ‘em here.” Leaning forward to take the lace from your fingers, Mingyu smirks when he meets your eyes. “Good girl, now you lay back and let Jakey eat. I think he deserves a good meal after all the shit you’ve been putting him through, don’t you?” 

Falling back against the pillows, you pout at Mingyu even though you know he’s right. You had been putting Jake through it for the past few weeks and over the last few days you had only amplified your teasing. “Yes, daddy.” Spreading your legs, you attempt and fail to hide your smirk when you hear Jake curse under his breath at seeing you laid out in front of him. 

Jake wished you were completely naked, but this was pretty damn good. Your shirt was pushed up near your tits and he could see how wet you really were without your panties in the way. You were literally dripping onto the comforter and Jake’s mouth was watering so much that he was having to swallow his saliva in order to keep himself from drooling. 

“You gonna fucking stare all night or are you gonna get in there? Do you know how to—” 

“He said he knew how. Didn’t you, baby?” Lifting your hand, you gesture Jake closer to you, happy to see him follow your wishes as he crawls on to the bed, moving to his knees between your legs. “He said he was good at it. Right? Gonna show me and be a good pet?” 

Nodding quickly, Jake whispers your name, his brows furrowed. He loved this. This was better than anything else he had ever experienced in anyone’s bed. Jake could have a girl choking on his cock and he wouldn’t feel as high as he did right now with how you were looking at him and talking to him. “Fuck—mhm. So good for you, angel.” Scooting down in the bed, Jake wraps his arms around your legs, one pulling you closer at your hip and the other resting on your stomach as his mouth hovers over your pussy. “You smell so fucking good.” 

You knew that Mingyu was watching you and Jake closely. It made everything better, from running your fingers through Jake’s hair to feeling his nose nudge against your clit for the first time—Mingyu’s eyes burning your skin heightened the experience. "Ah, do I? You like it that much, Jakey?” 

Groaning so deep in his chest that his body shakes, Jake nods to answer your question before he gives in and finally uses his tongue to spread your folds apart. He knew it would be life changing but he hadn’t expected his entire body to react. From his head to his toes, Jake felt like he was standing beside a live wire and the worst part was his cock. He knew as he buried his face against your soft lips and let his tongue explore that he wasn’t stopping the inevitable. Pushing his hips hard against the mattress, Jake grunts and hisses against your pussy, listening to how you whimper his name, causing him to cum untouched. 

Mingyu knew that desperate feeling—he could see the way Jake was humping his bed and practically eating you alive. It had been a long time since Mingyu had experienced it himself, but if anyone was going to make someone cum in their fucking pants, it’d be you. “You better make her fucking cum since you didn’t wait or ask.” 

Tightening his grip around your hips, Jake leans back to take a breath. His eyes meet Mingyu’s for a split second as he acknowledges what he had said before his mouth is right back on you. Jake wasn’t one to back down from a challenge and he was dying to make you cum. You tasted too fucking good for him to stop anyway. If Jake could die between your legs, that’d be the way to fucking go. He’d go out of this world the happiest man that ever lived. 

“So good, Jake! Oh, my god…” Throwing your head back, you whine as you tighten your fingers in Jake’s hair, feeling him trying even harder than he had been after Mingyu opened his mouth. You weren’t in a rush. You were enjoying having such a handsome boy between your legs and having his mouth on you. You didn’t know why Mingyu was so insistent that you had to cum right in that moment, but Jake was on a mission now and your body was giving in. “Fuck! There! Right there, baby! Don’t stop!” 

If there was one thing that Jake had learned from other girls, it was if they told him where to go and not to stop—he kept going and he stayed where he was. Sucking hard on your clit, Jake only releases long enough to take a breath, humming in the process and sending a vibration through you that sends you barreling over the edge. Thighs close around his head and Jake slides his palms along your soft legs, enjoying the feeling, not caring that his lungs are screaming for air because the moment that he feels lightheaded, your ass falls back to the bed. 

Taking a deep breath of your own as you come down from your orgasm, you reach back between your legs to guide Jake to rest his head on your stomach. Eyes closed, you lick your lips and run your fingers through his hair, enjoying the feeling of Jake’s warm breath and wet lips against your skin. “You are so good.” 

“And as cute as watching you two cuddle is—” Mingyu smirks against his fingers as he moves his eyes over you and Jake. He wasn’t lying; he had enjoyed it all, from watching you cum on Jake’s face to wondering if Jake was going to make it from between your thighs alive, but enough was enough. “Get the rest of her clothes off, and yours.” Standing up from his chair, Mingyu stretches his neck from side to side before he tugs his own shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. “Then look in the bedside table and grab a condom.” 

Feeling Jake slide from your hands, you pout into a whine but it’s quickly replaced by a smile when he grabs your hand, helping you sit up. 

“I’m not leaving you.” Biting his lip, Jake lets his eyes linger on your lips for a few seconds before sliding his hands along your sides, pushing your shirt up your torso. “I really want to kiss you again.” 

Lifting your arms, you let Jake slip the shirt over your head, a groan escaping his lips once he realized that was the only layer left keeping him from the rest of you. “Then why aren’t you kissing me?” 

“Because he’s supposed to be getting naked and getting rid of his cum-stained pants, Y/N. Stop fucking distracting him and get your ass over here.” Shaking his head as he kicks his pants and boxers from his foot, Mingyu sighs watching you pout at him. “Whose damn bedroom is this?” 

Crawling across the bed towards Mingyu, you glance back at Jake, feeling his eyes move along your body as his thumbs press into the top of his sweatpants. It isn’t until you are close enough to Mingyu that his hand is on your jaw, turning your face back towards him, that your attention is fully back on him. “Ah… Yours. ‘M sorry.” You weren’t scared of Mingyu. He was rough with you, but only because he knew that you liked it. You had begged for it when the two of you had first gotten together and he had teased you with the idea. Now you were spoiled with it. 

He wasn’t sure if he believed you were sorry, but Mingyu smirked anyway when you apologized. Sliding his thumb along the column of your neck, he presses ever so slightly, feeling you swallow under his grip as he takes a step towards the bed, knowing you won’t move until he tells you to. “That’s right, it is mine, and who do you belong to?” 

Swallowing hard once again as Mingyu’s hand wraps around your neck loosely like a necklace, you close your eyes, enjoying the feeling. You were already wet from cumming once, but you were leaking down your thighs at the feeling of his hand on your throat. "You, I belong to you.” 

Jake was swallowing hard too watching Mingyu with you like this. It was like getting whiplash. With you, Jake wanted to do everything little thing you said, but then Mingyu spoke and you were like putty, ready to be molded. Jake just watched and admired you both in awe. He’d never have the guts to talk to you like that. He wouldn’t want to. You were were precious to him and he couldn’t get off on it the way he could hearing Mingyu do it… 

“Whose bedroom is this, Jake?” 

Fuck, it was as if thinking about him had reminded Mingyu that Jake was in the room. Jake’s eyes widen at the question and he moves to the bedside table, picking up a condom as he answers. “Yours, Gyu.” Barely meeting Mingyu’s eyes, he moves back towards the bed and turns the foil square over in his fingers out of nerves. 

“Damn straight it is, and she’s mine. I’m being generous, Jake. What do you say to me?” Looking up from your eyes to meet Jake’s, Mingyu lifts his brows and waits until Jake straightens his back and nods. 

“Th—thank you.” 

Sliding his fingers back up your neck to your jaw, Mingyu tilts his head carefully, leaning your head back so he can look into your eyes. “How do you want to do this? One at a time?” He should have known you wouldn’t like that suggestion when you pout up at him and shake your head. “No? Such a slut… Fine. You want someone in this hole?” Letting go of your neck, Mingyu leans over your body to slide his hand between your asscheeks, feeling your body go slack under him. 

“Nuh, uh... not tonight. Can’t I just—both of you?” You knew what you wanted, and you knew it was a lot to ask and to handle, but the look on Mingyu’s face and the sound of Jake’s breath made it worth it. 

“Shit… Say it if that’s what you want. Gotta be able to ask for something properly like a big girl if you want something like that, sweetheart.” It wasn’t like Mingyu didn’t know exactly what you wanted and from the look on Jake’s face, he did too. In that moment, Mingyu was wondering if Jake had ever done something like that. It wasn’t like Mingyu had done it often, but for you, he had done a lot of things he never thought he would do. 

Whining Mingyu’s name, you fall on your stomach and pout as you roll to your side, looking up at him and feeling his fingers brush over your cheek. You were being a brat and not exactly acting like a “big girl,” but this was half the fun. Watching Mingyu’s brows raise and seeing the smirk on his lips has you blowing out a breath. “Fine. I want you both at the same time.” 

That wasn’t exactly what Mingyu had meant, but it was a start. His smirk growing a bit bigger, he nods along with your words before glancing up at Jake. “She wants us both at the same time. Know what that means?” When Jake doesn’t answer right away, instead he takes a breath and nods as if he might explode. Mingyu laughs, grabbing your arms and turning you on your back, causing you to gasp in surprise. “Means she wants us to stuff her pussy full of both of our cocks, Jakey, ‘cause she’s a greedy little whore tonight.” 

Jake’s eyes fall from Mingyu to you as his cock twitches almost violently at the thought. That was something else Jake wasn’t ready to do—call you degrading names; to him, you were this perfect angel. It didn’t matter how many cocks you wanted in you at the same time; you’d still be his angel, and he’d make sure you were filled to the brim. 

Shaking his head, Mingyu smirks down at you as you try to feign innocence after being called a whore. You weren't fooling him in the slightest, but he could play along for the fun of it. “Do you both need to be walked through it?” Letting out a breath, Mingyu tilts his head, watching a smile pull at your pretty lips. “My poor girl, already fucked dumb by some tongue? Can you take one cock in this cunt?” Tsking as he palms your wet pussy, he carefully pushes two fingers into you, feeling you instantly clench down on him. “How can you take two?” 

“I—oh fuck!” Rolling your hips over Mingyu’s fingers, you dig your fingers into his bicep, throwing your head back to the feeling of him finding your spot almost immediately. “Please? I can. You know I can.” 

Mingyu tilts his head to the other side, listening to the wet sounds of his fingers fucking into you almost brutally. “I know a lot of things, baby.” Glancing over his shoulder to Jake, who still looks dumbstruck, Mingyu rolls his eyes and gestures towards the bed. “Sit beside her on the bed. Once I make sure she can handle us, you can be under her. Don’t say I’ve never given you anything.” 

Watching a third finger being worked into your tight pussy, Jake groans under his breath as he quickly nods and moves to your side, swallowing hard. You were moaning so sweetly as you dripped down Mingyu’s hand. Jake was so hungry again. All he wanted to do was beg Mingyu to crawl back between your thighs and lick you clean; maybe Mingyu would even let him have what was left over on his hand, but fuck that was insane—but it seemed like such a waste to see it left on his hand. “Feel good, beautiful? You full?” 

Jake seemed shy as he spoke to you, but that made it even sexier. You could hear the slight lisp drawing out the end of his sentence that reminded you of Mingyu, and that only made you push down harder on Mingyu’s fingers. Nodding quickly, you turn your head towards Jake and whine his name as you lift your hand to cup his cheek, urging him towards you, feeling his fingers slide over your stomach towards your breast, where he timidly circles one of your nipples, enjoying the feeling of the pert bud. 

"Ah—Jakey, if you don’t kiss me right now..." Moaning, your head falls back, drawing both sets of eyes to your face. You smile and lick your lips as another wave of pleasure rips through your body, finding yourself on the edge of your orgasm. "Jake, I won’t let you fuck me if you don’t kiss me.” 

Fingers cup the side of your head, pulling you back upright as your lips are brought to Jake’s urgently, causing Mingyu to scoff in amusement. You were good at getting what you wanted when you wanted it. Jake wasn’t immune to that at all; it seemed as his tongue glided over yours and his cock leaked obscenely on his thigh to just the taste of your mouth. 

“Two sluts.” Pushing down on your thigh, Mingyu circles your clit with his thumb, making you whine loudly into Jake’s mouth. He knew you were cumming. He had felt you cum around his fingers, tongue, and cock so many times that he could almost tell when you were closer easier than he could sense his own climax. “Give it to me, Y/N—” Smirking, Mingyu quickens the thrusts of his fingers, mimicking your words back to you. “Or I won’t fuck you.” 

While you knew Mingyu was lying, there was almost no way to stop your orgasm as it hit you in waves, his fingers not slowing down until you closed your thighs around his hand. “Ah—enough, Gyu.” The feeling of Mingyu’s thumb on your clit had become almost painful as your thighs tensed and jerked at the slightest touch. 

Bringing his fingers to his lips, feeling Jake’s eyes following his every move, Mingyu smirks around his fingers as he sucks them clean. “Can’t handle it, sweetheart? You still want our cocks?” He knew the answer before you even started whining, but even if you had said no, Mingyu wouldn’t have been disappointed, and he had a feeling that Jake would have gotten over it eventually too. You were already tired, and what you were asking for was going to ruin you, but you were greedy. “Alright, baby, come here.” 

You let Mingyu lift you in his arms, taking the time to rest and have your body moved into place. You only realize that Jake is lying where you were when Mingyu ushers you onto his lap. Smiling at him, you press your lips to Jakes and slide your hips forward, furrowing your brows to the feeling of the latex against your skin before you break the kiss to pout. “Don’t need it.”

Jake groans under his breath as you trail a finger along his shaft over the condom. At first he’s confused by your words until you look back at Mingyu and continue to pout at your boyfriend, who climbs back onto the bed behind you to look between your legs. 

“It’s just a condom, Y/N. You’ll get used to it. Don’t complain; be grateful. He is…” 

That wasn’t a lie. Jake was incredibly grateful. Did he want to be inside you raw? God yes, but he was just stunned; he was still sitting under you right now, knowing he was getting to fuck you. 

Meeting Jake’s eyes, you pout at him before sighing and leaning to kiss him again. You feel your hips being lifted by Mingyu as he runs his fingers through your wet folds. “Mmm, stop teasing me, Gyu. Wanna be full. Put it in, Jakey…” Running your nails along Jake’s neck, you smile at him, staying close to his face as Mingyu smirks behind you, squeezing at your hips and watching you leak over Jake’s thighs. “You wanna fuck me, puppy? Put your cock in me.” 

“Fuc—” Hissing between his teeth, Jake squeezes the base of his cock as he looks over your shoulder, meeting Mingyu’s eyes as his stepbrother nods, giving him the okay. “Yeah, yeah, I wanna fuck you, angel.” While you were good at pushing Mingyu’s buttons, Jake was hearing his words over and over in his head and being reminded to be grateful, and as you sank down on his cock, he had never been more grateful in his life. “Oh, my fuckin’ god.” 

Resting your forehead against Jake’s, you whine as he bottoms out in you. It felt good; you could feel full if you wanted to. This would satisfy you, but you knew there was more waiting for you. You knew it was a bit insane to be sitting on a rather large cock as you had an even bigger one waiting for you. “Please—ah…” 

Mingyu wasn’t a believer in letting someone adjust. Adjusting meant you could get used to what you had, and in this situation that meant your body might just want Jake’s cock and you had asked for two. Fingers tightly holding your hip, Mingyu bites at his bottom lip as he nudges the head of his cock at your tight hole, pushing in next to Jake’s cock. At first the resistance makes him wonder if he had stretched you enough, but the moment his head slips in and you sob out his name, the rest seems like a dream. “Holy shit, baby... You are so goddamn tight like this.”

Both men knew that it wasn’t just your walls clenching around them that made it tight, but their cocks pressed together, but that was something Jake was trying very hard not to think about as Mingyu groaned low and pulled your hips down over them. It felt good—great even—but there was something that kept it from being perfect—though Jake wasn’t going to complain. Instead of Jake being the one to complain about it, first it was you; even though Mingyu’s brows furrow, feeling the latex against his cock, making the slide almost uncomfortable. 

“Gyu… It’s not—” Shaking your head, you push down over both of them, trying to push past the feeling of both of them not feeling the same inside of you. No matter how wet you were, something didn’t feel right. “The fucking condom. I told you. Why don’t you ever listen—” 

Pressing his lips against your shoulder, Mingyu rolls his eyes and thrusts up hard into you from behind, hearing you cry out in pleasure just as Jake whines to the feeling. He could make it feel good; it could work, but your complaining and the fucking feeling of that condom against him... “Fine! You fucking brat.” 

Jake hadn’t expected Mingyu to suddenly pull out of you, so when he did—bringing him with him—it not only left him wide-eyed but gasping for a deep breath. “What the—” 

“She gets everything she wants." Grumbling under his breath, Mingyu shakes his head, and with one tight stroke from base to tip, he rolls the condom from Jake’s cock and tosses it on to the floor. “There, everyone fuckin’ happy?” When Jake just stares at him in shock, Mingyu rolls his eyes and looks back down, muttering once again. “Making me regret this. Put it back in, dude.” Even though he tells Jake to do it himself, he doesn’t wait; instead he pushes forward, letting you rest on Jake’s chest as he lines Jake back up with your entrance and then himself before slowly pulling you back down over them both like a toy. “That better, princess? Everyone fuckin’ happy?” 

You were happier, but you could also tell that despite the display and dramatics that Mingyu was too. From the way he was fucking you to the groans coming from his chest, everything about this was better. “Uh huh, god, it’s so much better. Harder, daddy.” 

Meanwhile, under you, Jake was trying not to lose his mind completely. From what had just happened to feeling you on his cock like you were now, he couldn’t help but thrust up into you, matching Mingyu’s movements. He was chasing his high now as he teetered on the edge of a cliff with your name slipping from his lips like a prayer. “Plea—please, I gotta... I’m gonna cum. Can I cum?” 

You enjoyed hearing Jake begging to cum. Mingyu had never asked you before; it was always the other way around, so this was different and empowering. Gasping between moans, you nod and scratch lightly at Jake’s chest before glancing over your shoulder at Mingyu, who smirks at you holding your hips tightly. "Oh, yes, baby. You can cum. Nothing stopping you now; I want you to fill me up!” Feeling Mingyu’s hand come down hard on your ass, a possessive growl slipping from between his teeth, you reach a hand back to find his as you meet Jake’s eyes. “Can you do that for me, hm?”

Mingyu hated the idea of someone else cumming inside of you, but as he linked his fingers with yours and pulled your arm behind your back, he couldn’t help but lift his brow to how this was making him feel this time. Maybe it was okay this time. He could handle it once with Jake. Maybe it was because he was inside of you too, and he could fuck the cum out of you and replace it with his own. Yeah, that had to be it. “Do it, Jake. Don’t make her wait. Don’t make me wait.” 

He didn’t want to make either of you wait, or himself at this point. The moment that Jake has permission, he lets go. Soft groans slip from his lips as he spills cum into you with each deep thrust. “So good, fuck—wait." Jake wasn’t sure what he had expected to happen once he had finished; he didn’t think he would outlast you or Mingyu, but what came next hadn’t occurred to him. All he did know was that now his cock was starting to soften inside of you and Mingyu wasn’t slowing down. With each thrust into you, Mingyu was overstimulating Jake and had him digging his heels into the mattress as he held on to your waist tightly, begging for mercy. 

“You wanted this, Jakey. Now we get to finish.” Groaning, Mingyu throws his head back and chuckles as you clench down on both of them again, your eyes closed. “You feel that? She’s gonna cum. You didn’t wanna last long enough to feel her cum around your cock? Pathetic, pup.” 

That was so far from the truth. That was all Jake wanted to feel, but now he was afraid his cock was going to fall off before he ever felt it, but as soon as the thought comes to him, you let out the hottest sound that he’s ever heard. Cum drips onto Jake’s thighs and down onto the comforter as you go limp between him and Mingyu, relying on mostly Mingyu to keep you upright as he grins against the shell of your ear. 

“Such a good fucking girl. I’m right there; keep being a good girl. Shit—ahh, baby.” Gasping into a groan, Mingyu tightens his arm around your waist as he follows you and Jake over that edge and finally makes you feel as full as you’ve wanted to be all night. 

Waking up to the feeling of fingers brushing over your cheek, you whine and lean into the touch, causing Jake to smile as he rests on his side beside of you in the bed. 

“Sorry. You’re just really gorgeous. You feel okay?” Jake had been watching you sleep for a while now. After you had passed out, Mingyu had assured him that was okay and you were okay. He had helped Mingyu get you cleaned up and back into bed, and now he was tasked with keeping a close eye on you while Mingyu cooked food. 

“Mm…” Nodding, you lazily wiggle closer to Jake, burying your head against his bare chest, feeling him take a deep breath to the feeling. “”M tired. Where’s Gyu?” You weren’t lying; you were exhausted, even after your impromptu nap. You could tell that it was late, but the growl from your stomach causes you to pout. You glance up at Jake, finding him staring at you still. “Why are you looking at me like that, Jakey?” 

The entire evening had felt surreal, but this—this felt like a dream until Jake lifted his hand and ran it over your head, feeling you tuck against him once again. This was bittersweet and was sort of making Jake’s chest hurt, and yet there was nowhere else he wanted to be. “Um, Mingyu’s making some food. We got you cleaned up, did the same for ourselves, and he told me to watch over you.” Clearing his throat, Jake furrows his brows and lets out a mostly believable chuckle. “I just—I don’t know, this is different. I thought I’d get tossed out and we’d forget this happened, or he’d hate me.” 

Shifting in Jake’s arms, you sigh, having to use more strength than you’d like and that you really have to sit up so you can meet his eyes. When Jake frowns at you and moves to sit up so you can have more support, you offer him a smile before finally speaking. “First of all, weird as it is in this context, you are family, and we aren’t going to toss you out. Secondly, I enjoy you a lot. Mingyu clearly enjoyed that. We don’t do that on a whim, Jake. Yes, I was a tease, and I was playing with you, but I don’t do that with just anyone and often.” 

Swallowing hard, Jake nods and looks down at your hand before tracing your fingers with his to both distract and focus himself as he thinks before speaking. “Okay, so this wasn’t just an experimental thing? Like a one off?” 

You turn slightly against Jake, taking your hand from him to push his hair from over his eye, enjoying the way his hair has a slight curl. “Not unless you want it to be. I mean, clearly, you are going to be going back to school so you have your own life, but you are always welcome with us.” 

“Because she always gets what she wants.” Sighing loudly, Mingyu moves into the room towards the bed with the same tray that Jake had found a couple of weeks ago. Placing it on the bed, he gestures towards the food he had made—some chicken and rice with vegetables on the side—before he sits on the other side of you, offering Jake a fork. “No sense in denying her at this point. Happy wife, happy life, or whatever that saying is.” 

Taking the fork from Mingyu, Jake gives you both a confused look before laughing and shaking his head. He starts cutting into a piece of chicken as Mingyu offers you some rice. “This is fucked up, you know?” 

While you shrug, not caring about what others think, Mingyu nods, swallowing a bite of food before he wipes his mouth clean and sighs into his words. “Yes, it is. Which is why there are rules. Same that apply from before we did this. Don’t tell your stupid, horny friends or anyone else. I can take away the fun just as easy as I gave permission, got it?” 

Swallowing a bite of chicken harder than was probably necessary, Jake feels the burn in his throat as he meets Mingyu’s eyes and nods. He didn’t want to fuck this up. He wasn’t even sure what this was, but he had gotten what he wanted when you lean to kiss the corner of his lips. Where this would lead, he didn’t know, but he had a good idea it was back in your bed sooner rather than later. 

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[magpie-trove]

A ship is good if you can look at them and see them as an old married couple

[mimipolo]

Hey I have a request

Some Nam-gyu x reader where he developed a crush and sneaks of to talk to you at random times even tho you vote opposite of him he can overlook that however when he’s with thanos he’s mean and insults you which shocks and upsets you will you forgive him?

Nam-gyu x reader

I had so much fun writing this ngl, I hope I did the idea justice <33

Sorry Se-mi it's for plot

You had met Nam-gyu and Thanos after the first vote. At the time you felt a small sense of determination that you could make it through the games, get a higher prize and pay off all your debts in one go.

They had praised you excitedly, Thanos slinging an arm around you and going on about how they'd both protect you. You had trusted them for the most part, yes they were both a bit sketchy but they had a prescence among the players so it'd be easier to follow them. You had mixed feelings about the duo, one was always hyper and loved to mess with you and the other had a serious staring problem and a stupid smirk.

At the moment it didn't matter how you felt about them, you needed to get out of here. And now. You had barely survived the last game, knees grazed from when you fell and quickly scrambled to your feet. You wince at the pain as you curl in on yourself and rub your thumb over your bloodied hands. You were desperate for a sense of comfort or solidarity which at the moment only you could provide for yourself.

You were startled to see a head of black hair come out of nowhere from the ladder to your bed, angled eyes meeting yours hazily. Nam-gyu, a rare visitor. You're still startled by his sudden appearance, clutching your chest slightly as your eyes widen in surprise.

"Nam-gyu? What are you-"

"I'm coming up."

You don't get the choice to protest against it, he's already hauling himself up to get on your bunk, sitting cross legged in front of you. For a moment you're genuinely confused to why he's here, your bunk was fairly high off the ground and from how he was earlier you didn't expect him to be capable of climbing. Guess he sobered up. He's sighing softly as he links his fingers together, gazing at you as if in deep thought.

"You're gonna vote "X" next right?" He lifts his head up to see your reaction, clenching his linked fingers when he sees your lips purse as you look away from him. That was enough of an answer.

You personally are terrified, you had never been particularly close with the man and you were tense as to why he decided to make the trek up to your bed to ask you such a question. What's he going to do? Is he angry? Noticing the small shift in your body language he stops spacing out and runs a hand over his face. This sucks, honestly. The small infatuation based of pure curiousity he had for you had developed into a genuine crush he couldn't shake off. You intrigued him to no end and he was just working up to talking to you more.

So why'd this have to happen?

He's not that upset you want to leave, as much as he preached about how everyone should "Play one more game!", He understood the main basis of wanting to leave was the simple passion to live. A passion that'd he'd lost touch with after he lost everything he had. But you were in a similar situation, yet despite that you always seemed slightly hopeful things would work in your favour, and when they didn't you kept a level head. A rationality he wished he also had. You were smart, attractive and worst of all reasonable. Which is why you wanted to leave.

He's still staring at you but you feel less creeped out, you feel more worried. The usual carefree demeanor he had seemed to be crumbling right before you, he almost looked more tense than you.

There was a reason why he had come here, he didn't want to ask in front of Thanos. With him he'd be obligated to maintain this facade of now hating your entire being, but that wasn't the case, in fact it was very far from it. He wanted you like nothing else, selfishly. He could only hope you read him openly from the small amount of vulnerability he'd give you, something you were good at.

"Choose "x", I don't really care."

"Oh."

You are honestly pleasantly surprised by his words, your anxiety lowering massively. With the tensity gone you could see he looked...worried for you? You weren't totally sure but he laughs bitterly, pulling his signature move of pushing his hair behind his ears.

"Just know that, I'll vote to stay. So I'll still be sticking with Thanos."

You looked at him confused, and honestly he was too. There was no need to share all this information with you but he couldn't help it, he wanted to be open with you, show you how he is when you could be alone together.

You jolt slightly when he lightly takes one of the hands you're holding onto and taking them in his own. Streaks of blood crumbling away when he rubbed it away with careful thumbs, you could only watch him silently, admiring his oddly considerate actions. Even if the tint of blood still stained your palms. What's with all this special treatment, did he like you or something?

Before you could question him about what had just happened between you two he's sighing deeply and rubbing his hands together, ready to climb off your bunk.

"I'll try look out for you when I can."

And with that he's gone, you're left to sit with your thoughts and overthink how sweet he was to you just now. He was never like that before. Before you realised it a small smile was on your lips as you savoured the cold, brief moment of his touch still on your hand.

Though the next moment left you quite confused, it was time to vote. Everyone was still conflicted but you had made your choice and had a silent comradery with Nam-gyu. It gave you the bit off confidence to press the "x" button, some cheered while others groaned as you quickly switched your blue patch for its opposing side.

You could hear the familiar deep voice of Thanos going "What the hell man, we agreed one more game??" the direct confrontation made you physically tense as you made your way to side of potential exit. Nam-gyu didn't say a word, didn't even look at you either. Strange, you thought but you mostly brushed it off.

What the hell [Name], we agreed to keep playing, ya just switching on us all of a sudden?"

Thanos' voice echoed in your ears as he had you cornered near your bunk, you glance to Nam-gyu for some sort of support, even if it was just telling his friend to relax but you were quickly disappointed.

"Tch, did you really expect them to stay, I saw 'em practically trembling after the last round."

You felt your heart aches at his words, your expression immediately dimming as you stared at him confused. But unluckily for you he had mastered his poker face to the last detail. If he felt any guilt for what he said you wouldn't know, it was all behind that senile smirk now.

"Kehaha, nah you're right. All those loud sounds scare ya already?"

"Poor thing."

Thanos pushes you back accusingly, forcing your back to meet the unforgiving metal bars of the bunks, just as suddenly he's in your personal space, grabbing the red velcro badge on your chest roughly as he shook you. His eyes dilated widely as he threatened you with crazed, wild eyes.

"You're lucky this is there's a revote, switch this "x" to an "o" or I'll never let you live it down, got it?"

He laughs when you stagger back when he lets you go, Nam-gyu joining in with own mocking chuckle, it hurt you in a way it wouldn't have before. What was all that about earlier then, was it just a lie? But why, he didn't get anything out of it.

And again you're left alone to deal with your own self destructive thoughts, you just wanted to leave this place, it felt like you were suffocating within its walls.

Things ended up more violent than he had expected, he's panting as he rips the fork from the man's neck for the last time. How he felt? Great. It was like some great awakening as he stumbled up to his feet. It's only then he takes the time to digest the fact Thanos is dead, what a sad way to go hm?But also equally as pathetic. He wanted to laugh but he wanted to shout in frustration too. He does neither, looking down at his unpredictable partner in crime now laying on the floor covered in grime and blood. It's when he starts to feel the growing ache in his chest that the guards finally barge in to stop the fighting, forcing them all out the crime scene.

You're on your bunk, cuddled up to yourself as usual when you spot him, bloodied and worn along with other men. Your heart sinks as you take in the situation, watching as they shouted and cursed impurities from both sides. You had switched sides of sleeping arrangements due to the votes, so now you were able to get a slightly lower bunk bed. He shouldn't know where you were and yet his eyes snapped to you, for a moment they crumble slightly, a sliver of the worry he had coming out just for a moment. And then he's walking off, not looking back once.

It's lights out and you were terrified, you had finally found out what had happened in the men's bathroom and you knew it could lead to nothing good. Everywhere you thought to hide felt dangerous and you had no one to rely on, no one to truly trust.

He's shaking, his hands trembling as he sits perched on Thanos' bed, in memory of the annoying guy. He's feeling conflicted, he couldn't tell if he had cared for him or not, all he knew the indifference he felt for others wasn't the same with colourful haired man. He pops two pills in his mouth, brushing his knuckles against his lips as if the action were sacred. Soon thoughts drifted back to you. How were you holding up? Did you have anyone there to protect you? A sick part of him hoped not, he wanted to be the only one to look out for you, the only one you'd think to turn to.

He feels amazing, never felt so resolute in the entirety of the games than when he killed. Hissing in satisfaction as he struck the deadly cutlery into Se-mi's neck for what felt the 100th time. Wiping the blood of his face with the back of his hand when he feels a prescence behind him. He doesn't bother taking back his weapon as he gets up from his crouched position to turn towards the figure.

It's you.

You look absolutely terrified, your upper body was uptight and you could've gotten away with looking less afraid if it wasn't for how your legs trembled ever so slightly. You're fighting with yourself and you finally will your body to run but he's quick, yanking you back by your arm and holding you against him possessively. His breathing is hard and his bloody hands are firm against your back.

Heavy breaths fill your ears as he looks at you with wide shaken eyes, he'd been looking for you, even on this killing spree.

"You asshole, what are you doing are you crazy??"

"Heh- huh, yeah I feel like it a little..." the small chuckle he lets out feels distant from his true feelings and he wished you'd tell him why he's like this.

"You lied, you said you'd look out for me, prick." You want your words to be firm but the fear of everything around you was still so intense, it shook your words and made your throat tight.

"I know, I know alright. I said when I 'can' Thanos would've made things worse for both of us if I said something..."

"But he's not here anymore... I'll watch out for you, for real this time, promise."

Even in his drugged state you could tell these were his thoughts the whole time, and his visit to your bed made slightly more sense, he just wanted you to know he didn't actually hate you. What a weird guy, why not just come out and say what the game plan was? You wanted to ask him all these things, shout and push at him until you got all your frustration out.

But you're drained, there's still the far away screams of new victims being made and you couldn't tell what was side was losing.

But he's shushing you quietly, when you weren't even crying, but now it triggered you to. Hot silent tears running down your face as he huddled you into a corner and made you sit against the wall behind a fallen mattress. Grabbing your face and pressing his forehead to yours as he whispered softly.

"Nothings happening to us, we're getting that stupid cash prize and leaving this shitty place."

And then he's off again, you don't know where, but you'll stay here quietly and hope for his quick return.

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

Hello! :3 I see ure writing yandere and for inho and with my current obsession over the front man/hwang inho im asking if you can do yandere front man? Pls do it as dark as possible 🙏

Did I read dark? Absolutely!

Yandere Hwang In-ho/Frontman

Squid Game masterlist

Nsfw and dead dove do not eat below.

At first his focus was towards Gi-hun, but when you were part of their team, sat with them, talking to him, his focus slowly but surely shifted to you.

In-ho would silently root for you without letting his front man mask slip.

The guards will give you food that has been only reserved for you during mealtime. Suddenly your ration has the type of food you like, an extra egg or more rice, but most importantly the nutrisions you'd need for the next game.

In-ho is the reason a random player has been shot instead of you, he is the reason the guards have escorted you to the bathroom as another lights out fight happened.

Hwang hears everything you say, whether it's during eating or when he's laying awake in his bed, listening to you speaking with someone.

He's too good of a manipulator, tells you to listen to him instead of the former winner Gi-hun, tells you to stay close to him instead anybody else.

"Why go with Gi-hun and risk getting killed when you can stay with me where you'd be safe?"

In-ho watches you from the corner of his eyes, his knuckles turning white when he sees another Thanos-like douchebag confronting you.

He has absolutely no trouble beating someone bloody who dared flirting with you or touching you without consent. Could easily snap that person's neck without a flinch.

In-ho gets sick pleasure when he sees someone you've got close with get gunned down by the guards. You look so pretty to him, no matter if you're crying or not..

If a raid against the guards happens, Hwang watches you like a hawk, making sure you're not getting harmed and you're not getting away. His stares would be so intense he is sure you would feel them burn through you.

During a raid, he couldn't be happier because whatever happens he knows you will be captured, either by his guards or directly him after faking his death.

He already plans what he would do with you once you've been captured, he would make you watch the games with him, all in his front man attire of course.

Forces you to watch the guards gun down the ones you became friends with, telling you:

"See what happens to those you call friends? The money makes them your friends until they're getting it and betray you..."

Has planned to keep you in his chambers while observing the games, having his right hand man, the Officer, keeping tabs on you.

Hwang will reveal himself to you soon, expecting your eyes widen in fear, shock or hopelessness.

In-ho would personally implant a tracker into you, making sure he always knows where you are, this way you have almost no way of getting rid of him.

In-ho keeps you exclusively to himself, not even the VIPs are allowed near you. He has his moments where he treats you more like his trophy, squeezing your thighs possessively with his cold leather glove.

"You are by far the most beautiful price. But I get to keep you, you're my perfect price.."

In-ho is rich as hell, so there is no doubt he will spoil you with it.

Any rogue guard trying to lay his hands on you gets his lesson taught with a bullet in his brain for touching his perfect price.

Hwang may seem cold to his staff, but with you he isn't. He's the man whispering sweet nothings into your ear until you're too weak to stand.

If you're trying to escape however... that is if you somehow make it past the guards, In-ho can get harsh with you too.

"Trying to escape are we? Perhaps you need a reminder of who you belong to now, hm?"

His favorite is having you on his lap, with his cock stuffed into you while he watches the games. You're not allowed to move until he says so, you're not allowed to cum until he says so, you're not allowed to make noise until he says so.

Your best bet with him is behaving and doing what he says.

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

[generallemarc]

Why are you so obsessed with wanting my statements to imply that minorities have no agency?

Because I can't stand bigots like you who'd write off the lives and experiences of my friends just because they don't conform to what you expect them to. Because I despise hypocrisy, like when a person who claims to be anti-bigotry is bigoted towards minorities the instant they deviate from accepted norms. Because I hate stupidity, which is the same reason I joined everyone else in calling you an idiot for thinking a fascist would give the keys to the treasury to a Jew. Because this is tumblr, and nobody needs a reason to do anything here. In fact, if we had reasons to do things, we wouldn't be here in the first place.

Here's an Example as to why Donald Trump is fascist

Donald Trump wants Concealed Carry Reciprocity.

What is that?

In the United States, it is not automatically legal to carry a firearm in a concealed manner just because one has a firearms license. One needs to obtain a special additional permission to do so. Like most things in the United States, Concealed Carry is decided on a state-by-state basis, meaning a person's permission for Concealed Carry only applies in the state it in which it was issued.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity is the legal concept that a permission for Concealed Carry, issued in any state, applies in all states. So, if a gun owner was permitted to Concealed Carry in Oklahoma, he can currently only do so in Oklahoma. Doing it in any other state is a crime. Under Concealed Carry Reciprocity, it would not be.

What does Donald Trump intend with this?

Donald Trump knows that his most loyal followers live in deep red states, which also have the highest concentrations of gun owners. Due to the high concentrations and due to Republicans being generally against gun control, it is likelier that more gun owners in red states have Concealed Carry permission. Donald Trump wants to allow people to Concealed Carry in any state if they've received permission in one, because he knows that most people who will take advantage of this will be his most loyal followers.

Donald Trump plans to lay the groundwork for his version of Mussolini's Blackshirts and Hitler's Brownshirts, his own paramilitary force of loyal followers who are ready to attack and murder fellow citizens in open daylight for their political positions that oppose their idol. Concealed Carry Reciprocity makes it easier for them to do this.

This is fascism.

[viperwhispered]

Notes on Jamil's speech patterns

I was supposed to just pick out some examples of typical Jamil lines. How he speaks, the vocabulary he uses, things like that. Something I could easily refer to when writing to get the tone right.

But then it kinda blew up, oop – because it’s hard to talk about how a character speaks without also dipping into why they say whatever they say.

Plus then I wanted to get examples of Jamil in different moods, and could not resist some poignant things that were more related to his character or backstory rather than strictly the speech patterns themselves, so… It expanded a bit.

Anyways. Some things I noticed he tends to do:

Sighs (more than I realized)

Snarks

Tch (though could be a more general twst writing choice too)

Stutters when he’s flustered / embarrassed / caught of guard (what a cutie)

Goes ahem like an old man when he’s trying to get back on track in those off-kilter moments

Kinda formal with his manner of speech and choice of words (especially in servant mode) (I always worry I exaggerate this but he sure does do that)

But there’s still some animatedness with the way he emphasises words, for example

(so long-suffering and ready to bark out directions to Kalim oh boy - the way the directness just comes through when he loses it)

sugarcoating his opinions if he doesn’t feel like he can say them plainly (tyrant becomes rigorous, etc.)

sarcasm, sometimes with a side of deadpan, sometimes with a smirk

“Good grief” (another thing I didn't realize was that much of a catchphrase)

Very mild on the level of insults & swears honestly, (I mean, "drat"?) but I imagine this is more of a result of the game's rating (I guess for in-game reasons we can say he's been very conditioned by his upbringing)

I put the screenshots that seemed telling, and some related notes, on to a google sheet. That way one can filter and order it in various ways.

The sheet is probably best viewed on a computer or another larger screen, the screenshots might make it a bit difficult to navigate on mobile.

I did go in with the assumption that Jamil might speak differently pre-overblot (when the servant mask is firmly in place) and post-overblot (at least those occasions where he allows himself to be more honest). Like, there’s the sycophantic (as Leona calls it) flatterer, versus when Jamil’s honestly voicing his own thoughts. Which also shows in how I chose to categorize the screenshots.

Of course events are a bit wibbly wobbly in relation to the main story so can’t be placed in the timeline in the same way, but there are still those occasions where it seems you can tell the difference between the servant mask and a Jamil who’s not saying things just for the sake of appearances.

So, to explain the logic of the sheet:

First column has a screenshot of something Jamil says. The second two columns give the source.

The column for whether or not this happened before or after the overblot is only really used for main story things, since event stories are kinda murky timeline-wise.

Next is whether Jamil seems to be putting on the servant mask or speaking more honestly. This is where get more to interpretation territory, and I’ve not applied it to every screenshot (either because that didn’t seem like the relevant part for that line, or because I couldn’t tell).

The last column of the sheet is where we get most to my personal interpretations. So of course you might read these lines differently than I do, and that’s completely fine, these are simply the aspects that seemed poignant to me. Some notes are simply pointing out specific word choices or style of speech, others delve more into character analysis side of things.

Totally fine if you want to copy this file or modify it to your own needs. All I ask is that you don’t pass off anything I wrote as your own thoughts.

Order of lines is based purely on the order the pics were in my screenshots folder, so guess this is also an insight on the order I played things in, lol.

Tagging some jamil peeps in case y'all find this useful:

@crystallizsch @diodellet @moonyasnow @twstgo @lex752

@majestickitty @viperbunnies

[bi-writes]

I’m so curious!!! I know ghost is your fav, but what’s the appeal of him for you?

hmmm. okay i think it's a few things.

one - ghost is giant. like in the game and in fiction (even bigger in fiction), he is just BIG. and i love that. i look for that irl. i am a very short girl, and i find largeness very attractive in a man, so he kind of hits all the points there (strong, tall, big, athletic, good with his hands).

two - canon ghost has such an insane and frankly terrifying past that i think it makes his personality (in game and fiction) very appealing to me. walled off, serious, dark humor thing really works for me. i think he would also be a very gentle and good-natured person because of the things he's been through, but also ruthless in reaction. like...if he saw a kitten with three legs on the side of the road, he would not hesitate to put it in his pocket, and also if he saw a man smack their girlfriend, he'd find the guy a little later in the back alley and cut his hand off so he couldn't do it again. hot.

three - the voice and the accent. i mean...i don't really need to explain this one.

four - the mask. another thing i do not have to explain.

five - the scars and general...brutal-aspect of how he looks. i think someone like that would be a little insecure about how they looked, and i really resonate with that. i myself have scars and things on my body that i don't like on myself, so i feel like he might overlook this in his partner, and i find that very, very attractive. like he doesn't care about scars, fat, hair, nothing. i would imagine it doesn't bother him.

six - capability. that man is not a lieutenant for no reason. what he can do with his hands is no short of amazing i imagine, and he's probably super intelligent, and he's not afraid of getting his hands dirty or of blood. i would imagine he wouldn't be squeamish about anything. i find that very hot.

seven - also because he is huge, i imagine he hits the gym a lot. which means my weight and size do not matter. also very hot, as i am a curvy girl, and am not small either by any means. i think he would manhandle me just fine, and make me feel tiny even though i'm not. 10/10.

it's not that i don't think the other members of the 141 are not equally attractive or incredible, but idk. i think about it realistically, in my head as the reader myself, and i just don't see price or gaz or johnny ever really looking my way because they're just...very conventionally attractive people (in a good way).

these are just headcanons of how simon lives in my brain, but i carry this idea of him with me as a write, and it makes him so attractive and so incredibly easy to write for because of it. he really itches my brain in a good way, and i wish he was real. i would lock him down so fast.

[bookofbonnie]

SUNSHINE, SILVER LINING & LIGHTHOUSE - VI ARCANE.

Characters: Vi x Reader.

Warnings/Content: NOT EDITED. Incorrect spelling. Bad grammar. Tense mix-ups. Weird double spaces. AU. Boxer!Vi. College!Reader. Vi's a famous boxer so, she's rolling in the dough but her being a boxer isn’t really a focal point. Swearing.

Summary: Vi is your best friend. You love her. You don't love some of her choices. YALL I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DESCRIBE THIS LMAO. Just read it if you want to lol or don't.

Word Count: 3.1k+.

A/N: So... I did not write this with the intention of a second part. I thought I'd let y'all know now so, I don't get your hopes up. Ha, ha, enjoy! Oh and idk if seeing your friends naked is controversial to other people but, it's not to me and my friends lol. Also, the titles kinda dramatic, I just didn't know what to name it.

You wake with a groan, body overheating and skin sticky with a thin sheen of sweat. Lying belly-down in bed with your face half-pressed into your pillow, you pop an eye open, vision slightly blurry as you peer at the alarm clock sitting on your bedside drawer; red, angry numbers glare 05:58 at you. You hadn’t even managed a half hour of sleep before being woken.

A whine leaves your lips and you attempt to curl your body into yourself so you can roll over and go back to sleep but, there’s a heavy weight on your back; a heavy weight that was also the reason you were overheating. 

“Morning sleepyhead,” Vi chuckles from where she’s draped herself across your back.

You didn’t even hear her come into your apartment let alone your room but, you sure as shit felt it when she threw herself backwards over you; one of her elbows now digging into your back. You really needed to take your spare key off of her.

“No, Vi,” you protest with another groan, trying to buck her off so you can roll over. “Go away.”

You love Vi, you really do. She’s your best friend. The one person who probably knew you better than you knew yourself. She made what was an otherwise rough childhood good. She was a ray of sunshine on a rainy day, silver lining on a cloudy day, lighthouse on a stormy night and all that other good shit that a best friend is. But today? Today she was the nightmare disrupting your much needed sleep.

“Go away?” Vi repeats and you don’t have to see her face to know she probably has her eyebrow raised. “Did you forget what’s on tonight?” 

“No-” you grunt and finally shove her off of you. 

“Hey-” Vi shouts when you send her tumbling to the ground.

You finally roll over and pull the blanket over your head, “I didn’t forget, Violet, it’s just way too early to go.” 

Vi finds her feet and stares at you incredulously.

“Too early?” Vi pulls at the blanket but your grip is iron-clad. “It’s- it’s six- six-o-clockintheevening-” 

Your blankets are ripped off of you and you half-groan half-scream, yanking your pillow from under your head and putting it over your head. Vi puffs her chest out, it didn’t matter how strong your grip was, she was stronger.

“-and Powder’s gonna kill you if we ruin her surprise for Ekko because we’re late,” Vi reminds you, patiently waiting for you to process everything she had just said.

“Fuck-” you groan - again - rolling off of the side of your bed and almost tripping over your own feet in your haste to get to the bathroom.

You weren’t sure where the time had gone because the twelve hour sleep you apparently got felt closer to none. But, the feeling of time escaping you was not unfamiliar since you’d spent the majority of your summer so far doing as many back-to-back shifts where you could. 

“Atta girl,” Vi grins, plopping herself down on the seat of your vanity. “And you’re welcome for waking you up.”

You catch a glimpse of the smug look on her face in the reflection of your bathroom mirror and flick her a complimentary middle-finger for her services before slamming the bathroom door closed.

-

A quick three minute shower is all you have time for and the rush to towel yourself dry leaves you feeling just as hot as when you woke up. You may as well have not showered at all.

Pulling the bathroom door back open, Vi’s eyes meet yours for a split second before they’re back on her phone, fingers moving at lightning speed across the screen.

The sight of you wrapped only in a towel was nothing new. Hell. Vi had seen you as naked as the day you were born on more than one occasion in the fifteen years she'd known you and vice versa.

Making a beeline for your chest of drawers, you pull out a clean set of underwear. You’re still pulling the straps of your bra over your shoulders when you’re met with a low whistle. Looking over your shoulder, you meet Vi’s gaze and she makes a point of dramatically looking you up and down. 

“Matching set,” she waggles her eyebrows suggestively at your baby blue set. “Expecting someone else to see that tonight?”

You scoff and fling your towel at her head, “only your pink head.” 

Vi ducks out of its path but catches the fabric; she wasn’t about to let your towel touch the floor. 

“Good,” she smiles triumphantly. 

-

It’s 6:26 by the time the two of you leave your apartment and get into Vi’s shiny black pick up truck. The short drive + parking would mean you’d arrive at The Last Drop at about 6:40- five minutes before Powder expected everyone to be there with Ekko expected to arrive at 7. The timing couldn’t have worked out better considering your generous sleep in.

The drive to The Last Drop is quiet, save for the music playing quietly through the speaker - Vi hums softly along to it. Between that and the feeling of the cool glass against the warm skin of your temple, your eyelids begin to droop, exhaustion dragging you back to sleep. 

Casting a quick side-ways glance at you, concern marks Vi’s forehead at the sight of you falling asleep within minutes of the drive. 

“Hey-” she calls your name softly, calloused hand reaching over to rub your arm.

“Hm?” you jerk slightly, looking over at her with heavy eyelids. The back-to-back shifts you had been pulling were taking their toll.

“We gonna talk about why you were still sleeping at six in the evening?” 

You shrug, dismissing her concern, “worked the closing shift at last drop last night,” you mumble.

Vi peers at you quickly from the corner of her eye, brow furrowing and frown lines deepening as she adjusts herself in her seat, unsure if she had heard you correctly. 

“What? I thought you were working the closing shift at The Apothecary.”

“I did-” you confirm before, a yawn forces its way out of you. “-and then I called Vander and asked to pick up the closing shift at The Last Drop.”

“He shouldn’t have given it to you.”

“I need the money, Vi.” 

“So, I’ll give it to you-”

“Do we have to do this every time?” you snap.

“I’m just saying-”

“Well stop saying it. I’m not taking your money, Vi. It’s one more semester of placement and then things go back to normal because classes go back to normal for my final semester then I’m done. Finished. Graduation. And you won’t have to worry about it anymore.”

You release a shaky breath through your nose, fingers pinching at the bridge and back straight. You were wide awake now. Wide awake and frustrated. 

This wasn’t the first time you had had this conversation with Vi and it probably wouldn’t be the last. She had a habit of trying to pay the rent for the apartment you lived in in Piltover during the school year. It had gotten worse since you had reached the placement year of your degree since it had you working full-time hours without pay; Vi constantly bringing up the offer at any opportunity that she could and why wouldn’t she try?

At 23, Vi was a highly-decorated and well-respected Champion in the Boxing world. Fighting under the moniker ‘The Hound of the Underground’, she was a 2 x time Runeterra Middleweight Champion by 21 and the reigning, undisputed Middleweight Champion of the Piltover Boxing League. Her illustrious boxing career was putting more money than she could count in her pockets. Money that she was eager to hand out to all of her loved ones to ensure they were living life comfortably. She just wanted to help- 

She just wanted to help. 

The reminder is cold water in the face of your annoyance at her.

“I always worry about you,” Vi tells you quietly. “I can’t help it.”

Looking over at her, you slump in your seat and whatever annoyance you feel, disappears.

“I know but, you don’t need to. I’ll be fine, Vi,” you mumble, turning your body to face her. “Besides, you need that money to pay for all those medical bills since you insist on getting beaten up every few weeks.”

Vi snorts a laugh, “I don’t get beat, I do the beating and you don’t need to worry about that baby girl, I have those bills covered.” 

“Well you might have those covered now but you’ll need to consider your future as well and how you’re gonna afford me when I inevitably have to become your carer because of one too many knocks to your head,” you tease.

Vi chuckles, pulling into a spot and parking.

Turning the engine off, she also angles her body to face you, one arm leaning against the steering wheel but, you don’t notice she’s facing you because your eyes are closed, breath becoming shallow. 

Vi watches you with an amused grin but she falters because she’s been looking at you for a little too long and when your eyelashes flutter as you open your eyes and meet her gaze, she’s suddenly transported back in time to when she was fifteen and had stolen Vander’s car so the two of you could go to the drive-in to see that really bad R18+ movie that the two of you had no business watching but, no one checks ID at the drive-in. 

It hits Vi all at once and- 

She’s fifteen and realising just how in love with you she is.

She’s fifteen and confessing her feelings for you.  

She’s fifteen and you’re telling her you feel the same way. 

She’s fifteen and kissing you for the first time- her first kiss. 

She’s fifteen and you're telling her that she's your sunshine, silver lining and lighthouse and she never really understood what you meant by that but, it means everything to her.

But, now? Now, she's twenty-three and the lid she’d placed on the box that she had buried her feelings for you in is off and it slams into her ribcage, heart trying to beat out of her chest and she can vaguely hear her phone’s message tone going off in her pocket but, she can only concentrate on you. 

“Is that so? You gonna look after me?” Vi whispers, reaching a hand out to brush your hair from your face, hand lingering on your cheek.

“Always have, haven’t I?” you smile that smile that lets her know everything's going to be okay.

Vi’s mouth goes dry and her eyes are flickering between your eyes and your lips and they're lingering on you lips and she’s fifteen and-

And the moment is interrupted with a sharp- “HEY!”

Vi snatches her hand back like you’ve burnt her, her head whipping forward to see a furious Powder standing in front of her car.

“Shit-” you curse, quickly undoing your seatbelt and getting out of the car. Vi watches as you make your way to her annoyed little sister with your hands held out and coming to Vi’s defence because you know Powder is going to blame Vi. “Sorry, Pow, it’s my fault.”

Powder’s annoyance doesn’t last long, her resolve immediately breaking so she can throw her arms around you for a hug. 

Taking a ragged breath, Vi runs a rough hand through her hair before undoing her own seatbelt and getting out. 

Powder starts on her as soon as the car door closes. 

“You-” Powder pulls on Vi’s arm, pushing her towards the entrance of The Last Drop. “I need you to go inside- quick, quick, quick and help dad bring the rest of the kegs in. Stupid delivery driver forgot half our order this morning and only just delivered it now. Go-go-go.” Powder chases Vi in.

You laugh at the face Vi makes at her little sister but, as soon as she disappears through the entrance, Powder’s in your face.

“Yes, Pow?” you laugh, taking a step back but, she moves with you.

Placing her hands on your shoulders and taking a deep breath, Powder sends a quick look over her shoulder, checking for any stragglers before she looks back at you with a quizzical look on her face.

“What was that?” she whispers. 

“What was what?” you whisper back. 

“That-” she waves her hand behind you at Vi’s truck. “-in the car.”

You tilt your head, confused, “what do you mean? We were just chatting about uni and stuff.”

“Oh come on-” Powder deadpans, hands moving from your shoulders to her hips. “Vi looked like she was about to eat your face.” 

You snort at the insinuation with a shake of your head. 

“You really need to let that go, Pow. Besides, I highly doubt that's what she was wanting to do.”

“What? Why?” Powder pouts. 

“Because,” you glance back at where you had just been sitting with Vi in her truck. “Her phone wouldn’t stop going off.”

Powder’s brow furrows, taking a second to pick up what you were putting down before, a knowing look crosses her face; her lips pursing into a thin, straight line and you make a sound of agreement.

-

Ekko’s surprise birthday party goes off without a hitch, the night ending perfectly with the freshly minted 18-year-old being carried out by his father; a giggling powder-blue haired girlfriend trailing closely behind the pair and snapping a quick selfie to show him in the morning.

He wasn’t the only one who needed to be carried out of the party however. 

When you wake the next morning, you feel fine until memories of the previous night come back to you in fragments including Vi carrying you up to your apartment. 

You groan in embarrassment. It didn’t matter how well or how long you knew her, you would always be embarrassed by whatever antics you got up to when drunk. Although, you weren't sure if drunk was the right word to use when you had a grand total of two and a half drinks. Two and a half drinks that went straight to your head- you blame the lack of sleep and your empty stomach. You really needed to thank Vi for cutting you off when she did because it saved you a hangover. 

Padding out of your bedroom, the smell of freshly made food hits you all at once and makes your mouth water.

When you reach the living area, breakfast is already made and laid out on your small dining table. There’s a small flutter in your stomach at the gesture, a smile pulling at the corner of your lips but it falls when you realise how quiet it is in your apartment. You could’ve sworn you had heard Vi’s phone going off earlier. Looking around the small space with a frown, you almost miss the mess of pink hair peeking out from one end of your couch until the head it belongs to moves. 

Without a second thought you cross the space to the couch and climb over the back of it-

“Oof-” the air expels from Vi lungs when you land on top of her, slapping a hand down on her blanket-covered leg.

“Really?” she scowls at you. 

You shrug your shoulders with a grin.

“Just payback for yesterday, now you know how it feels when you’re just trying to relax and something heavy just lands on you.”

“You’re not even heavy,” Vi scoffs. 

“Yeah? Well, you are.”

“You calling me fat?” Vi raises an eyebrow at you. 

You roll your eyes at her words, pinching at the taut muscle of her exposed stomach. She wore nothing but a sports bra and boxers. 

“Calling you heavy, muscle man,” you mock her tone then flick her forehead. 

“Hey-” she swats a hand at yours.

You laugh as she tries to grab at you but you're quicker than she is and hop off the couch before she can catch you.

Stomach growling, you make a beeline for the dining table, “you coming?”

Vi makes a show of sighing dramatically in response but she's seated across from you only seconds later. 

With a mouthful of food, you wave your fork at her, waiting for a beat to swallow before you speak, “so, who were you texting earlier?”

Vi’s hand pauses in the air, a piece of bacon dangling between her fork and eyes wide when they meet yours. She was not expecting you to ask her anything of that sort. 

“Oh come on,” you roll your eyes. “Don't play dumb. Your phone’s been going off like crazy since yesterday. Who is she?”

Vi shoves the piece of bacon in her mouth along with a spoonful of eggs when she says a name you can barely make out. 

“What?” 

Vi swallows roughly before, repeating herself.

“Caitlyn,” she says, pushing her food around her plate and not looking at you. 

“How long has this been going on?”

Vi takes a second to think, “just under two months.”

“What?” you say, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. “And where have I been for all of this?” you demand with a pout. “How come I didn’t know…”

“Well, you just… never have time for me anymore,” Vi breathes melodramatically. 

“That is so not true! Miss I’m in a different city every other weekend.” 

“Hey- that’s for work!”

“And placement is compulsory,” you throw a berry at her. 

It bounces off her chest and she catches it before it falls into her lap, throwing it in her mouth with a laugh. 

“But, seriously, Vi,” you lean forward on the table, elbow resting against the table-top, and head resting in your palm. “Tell me about her. You have like two months of your girl-crush to catch me up on.” 

And Vi does.

She tells you everything there is to know about Caitlyn and you can’t focus on what she’s saying because of the blood rushing in your ears. You can't focus on what she's saying because you're trying to swallow the green-eyed monster that’s threatening to rear its ugly head because there’s a sparkle in Vi’s eye while she tells you all about Caitlyn, that’s never been there before with her other relationships. 

It sticks with you for weeks to come and makes you feel sick every time you think about it because Vi asks you not to tell anyone about her potential new relationship just yet because even thought Vi isn’t a big deal to you, she’s a pretty big deal to the rest of the world.

-

All fics are my own work - I have not posted my work anywhere else.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters/places mentioned above.

Do not copy. Do not translate. Do not repost.

bookofbonnie 2025. All rights reserved.

[mossangelll]

please please please! is there a part 2 of "bath time" of yandere!jinx? that was so good, like, real good... i felt butterflies in my stomach. i hope you consider writing a second part because i feel like i'm going insane. i need her so much:(

thank you for your service! your writing is so good. i hope your pillow is cold in both ways♡

"please, don't stop writing about her..." i beg as i kneel weakly in front of you.

so you’re the reason my pillow has been nice and cold recently…ty 😌

a/n: so fun to write! this jinx is very delusional and doesn’t even know what the word ‘boundary’ means lmao but i was also a bit stressed writing this bcs i never planned for there to be a sequel but there was a lot of interest. idk if they want to be tagged but ty to the person in my dms who inspired me to write pt2! what i’m trying to say is idk if it’ll live up to expectations but i hope you like!! also, i won’t stop writing for jinx or arcane for a while ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

bed time 🛏️💤 - sequel to bath time

cw: yandere behaviour, unhealthy relationship, drugging, dubcon, noncon, nsfw - mdni 18+ only

Something was wrong with Jinx, you didn’t know what exactly but you could tell the moment she guided you to your seat in the makeshift dining room room, hands jittery and pink eyes darting everywhere but your face.

She bit her chapped lips as she watched each forkful you took of the dinner she painstakingly prepared, perfectly in time with every one of your own hesitant bites. You tried your best to hide your discomfort but god! She didn’t even try and pretend to eat her own food - so much so that her fork was scraping against the plate, making you wince with each screech of metal hitting ceramic.

The silence, offset by the incessant skrr of her scraping, was unnerving; usually, you had a hard time keeping track of all the topics she hurled at you at the dinner table, about an outside world you were long since disconnected from. Honestly, it felt like she did it on purpose, to get a rise out of you so she finally had a valid excuse to punish you, not like she needed one. You were experienced in how “hands on” she could be when putting you in your place and you shuddered at the thought.

You were just about to take your last bite, or maybe ask her about her day to clear the air - you didn’t know, your head was starting to fill with static and your fork wavered between the plate and your mouth before she beat you to the punch.

She sprang up from her chair with so much fervour it fell at her feet as she skipped over to where you were sat to wrap her arms around your shoulders and nuzzle into your neck.

What was up with her? Your fork was still hovering in mid-air and you raised an eyebrow, one she thankfully couldn’t see, at her antics. Sure, Jinx was…eccentric to say the least but this? This was strange even for someone like her.

“How ya feeling toots? M’hoping you liked dinner, put a looooot of effort into it, y’know. Just for you.”

Her muffled voice sounded sickeningly sweet and airy against the delicate skin of your neck causing you to bristle at the feeling. The arms around you tightened and her breathing sharpened; if you were anyone else, you wouldn’t have seen through her almost imperceptible tells but she’s had you for a while and being able reading Jinx like a book comes with the unwanted territory.

You forced yourself to relax and scoop the now cold food into your mouth as you audibly hummed your satisfaction to appease her ever-changing moods. There. This should calm her down.

“I’m good, thanks Jinx. The food is so delici-”

You couldn’t even finish your sentence as your hold on the cutlery suddenly weakened. You couldn’t even react as you watched, or rather heard seeing as your vision was fading in and out with each passing moment, your fork clatter to the ground. The noise was dulled down by whatever was wrong with you.

Your head was all stuffed up, like it was crammed to the brim with dozens of fluffy cotton balls. You tried to shake the feeling away but instead came down with a horrific case of vertigo that left your brain reeling and your eyes clenched shut. The corrugated sheet walls, covered in Jinx’s colourful, tell-tale graffiti and copious doodles of the two of you, seemed to close in on you as your world quickly began to spin. A shaky hand darted out to grip Jinx’s forearm in search of some form of stability, uncaring of who exactly you had to rely on in order to achieve it.

Jinx finally straightened up, still keeping you in her tight grasp, and one of her hands slipped to touch your forehead, tutting at what she found.

“You’re burning up toots, gotta get you to lie down.”

Hot. So fucking hot.

You hadn’t even realised until she’d pointed it out but she was right. Too preoccupied in the midst of your delirium to notice you felt so incredibly hot and the sensation had spread from the top of your head to each of your extremities; not a single inch of your body was spared from the onslaught of pure heat setting you ablaze from the inside out.

Jinx scooped up your limp body in her arms, she was more athletic than she seemed from years of carrying heavy explosives but it never failed to surprise you, and carried you over to the bed you shared. The fairy lights strung across the small room were so blurry they melted into a mess of light and the polaroid pictures she took of you, back before you knew of her existence and she was just a stalker, made you feel as though you were in some awful, twisted nightmare.

Perhaps you were coming down with a sudden fever and you would have to lie there and let her care for you, although begrudgingly. You expected her to run off in search of medicine, this was concerning even to you and she had freaked out over much less, but instead she lay down next to you, her hands going from caressing your hot face to exploring the dips and curves of your body.

Her hand was cool as it came down to rest on your thigh, seemingly penetrating through the layers you had put on and somehow branding your still-flaming skin. The hand not on your thigh inspected your face, prodding here and there and opening your drooping eyelids to inspect something.

The look of pure panic and anxiety you expected to be on her face was confusingly absent, replaced with an oddly lustful expression. Her cheeks were ruddy, her lips parted and shiny from where she kept wetting them with her tongue and her eyes…her eyes startled you. Jinx’s pupils were blown out and only a slight ring of pink was visible, your heart began to race as you realised something very bad and completely out of your control was unfolding.

“Huh,” your captor huffed out, face dangerously close to yours, “He sure did up the dosage…maybe a little too much…” Jinx’s voice trailed off but you could just about make out what she muttered under her breath. You found that you didn’t care enough to figure out what exactly she meant, the delirious state you were in decided that for you.

“Angel, you really don’t understand what you do to me, do ya?” her voice came out powder- soft like the snow you used to jump in and make snow angels in when you were younger. But you didn’t know if she was whispering or if your hearing really was that messed up.

Her blue flyaways tickled the side of your face as she bent down to give a tentative kiss to your neck. Then, she peeled off each layer of clothing stuck to your body with such an ease that it made you question if she’s done this to you before.

“J-Jinx? What’re you doing?” Your voice came out slurred and no matter how badly you wanted to push her away and run, your body simply refused to listen to the devastated wails of your brain. Right now, all you wanted was to reject her smothering hold but you lacked the energy to actually do anything substantial, even clenching your fist seemed to drain you even further.

She dismissed your worried question with a less than pleased shhh and placed several more gentle pecks down the column of your throat and as much as it pained you to admit, it felt good. More than good actually - it was orgasmic. Each touch of her lips she gave you seemed to douse the raging flames for a moment before reigniting them, causing them to burn brighter than they did before and you couldn’t help but keen and writhe at the utter torture you were going through.

She perked up at the strangled noise that forced its way out of you, eyes narrowing in mischief and her lips curling up into a cruel smile.

“I knew you’d like that!” You decided then and there you hated how decisive she sounded, as if she had your body and soul mapped out on the palm of her hand, as if she knew you better than you knew yourself. Her lips then kissed a trail from your neck to your navel, stopping to nibble and lick at the ticklish skin there and giggling at your minute squirms, “It got me thinking, toots, after our bath time - what else can little ol’ me get away with?” She whispered the last part against your soft skin, voice lost to your flesh and mind.

Before you can start to decode what exactly she meant, she gives your stomach a final kiss before yanking down the final layer separating you from what she do badly yearned for. And maybe what you now yearned for too.

You can barely hold your head up to watch her movements, instead settling for tilting your head to the side but even that had you feeling like a shimmer-sick addict.

“P-please…” your weak voice warbled out and clearly Jinx had taken pity on you. Fuck, you didn’t even know what you were begging for but you knew that you couldn’t go on like this for any longer.

She nodded sympathetically, eyes wide and blown out as she reached out to cradle your heavy head, proving that she didn’t really feel bad for you; that you knew even in this addled state of yours. Her lips met yours and her tongue darted out to bite at your bottom lip, her way of asking for entry. Her tongue in your mouth placated the almost painful arousal you felt, with Jinx fighting for dominance when you weren’t even putting up a fight, happy enough to sit there and take whatever she gives you.

Your vision was hazy but you could see and feel the string of saliva connecting you both - hell, Jinx looked just as fucked up as you felt. The impish Jinx you were accustomed to was gone and all that was left in her wake was a woman who would stop at nothing to keep you with her.

Your arms felt like lead and you couldn’t even reach out to smooth your sweaty hand against your captor’s arm. You just wanted assurance this was real, that you weren’t dreaming this up, that she would help you get better no matter what it cost you.

“It’s a shame you’re like this, would’ve been nice to feel your hands on me.” She lamented with a pout but she was quick to dismiss the thought as she looked down at your body, all pretty and sweet and worked up just for her. The wetness between your thighs seemed to shimmer at her, as if it was proof that all her patience was finally manifesting in her dream come true. She wiggled out of her tight pants and top, she didn’t want to waste what you lovingly presented to her on a silver platter, and made more of a show of slipping out of her underwear before getting to business.

Her lithe form oh so slowly slithered down the mattress until she was directly facing you soaking wet pussy. You didn’t have the time nor faculty to close your legs from her invasive gaze before she dove in head-first, slurping at the liquid ambrosia dripping from you.

You let out a shocked gasp, the only thing you can manage despite needing to let out a guttural, full body moan, not expecting her to do anything so soon. She continued in that manner, licking long stripes up your cunt and swirling her tongue around your clit until you were nothing but a useless puddle beneath her.

You felt your vision waver and everything faded to black as the static in your mind only grew stronger - and that’s when your orgasm hit you like a freight train. And yet, the fiery longing within you only stopped for a mere second before returning in its full glory, making you more desperate than you were before and you still had no idea what caused this.

The feeling was too much and you passed out as Jinx was still eating you out but when you came to she was now fingering you, wrist tense and three fingers pistoning in and out of you with rapid determination.

Out again.

Back again; she had one of your nipples in her mouth, rolling it against her tongue, as he caressed your sensitive clit, doing the same to herself.

Out again.

Back again; she was kissing the skin at your thighs and leaving bruising hickies that stained the upper half of your legs and although you knew you should be mad, protest, do anything, you just moaned in abject pleasure. She looked up from where she was stamping her ownership to see you staring and couldn’t help but slowly smile, before saying in her husky voice, “Gonna fuck you so good you’ll never think about leaving me ever again. Just stay awake long enough for it, y’hear?”

Out again.

You woke up again, unsure of how long it had been since you last passed out, and this time her scrawny arms were manoeuvring the dead weight of your body, guiding your hips to slot just underneath hers so she could take up all the work of visciously grinding against you. With each drag of her hip against yours, your clits bumped together and you groaned as loudly as your tired vocal cords could manage.

She leaned forwards, still grinding against you as the slick squelches echoed in the room, and grasped both of your tits in her hands. Her nails dug into the softness of your chest before fondling the crescent marks she left behind and twisting at your sore nipples, causing you to yelp and her to darkly chuckle.

You moaned once the pain ebbed away and found yourself mesmerised looking at Jinx’s face; the low light in the room cast deep shadows across her face and only seemed to accentuate the feral look in her eyes, the sensual way she bit her lip as she looked on at you - you needed more.

“Fuck, toots, don’t want this to ever end. You’re so good for me.” Jinx moaned out as one hand retreated in order to play with her own chest. Her head was flung back and you watched, entranced, when her long braids fell to the floor and at the same time, the pale expanse of her throat was exposed to you. How badly you wanted to sink your teeth in and bite.

It was odd to see Jinx so vulnerable in front of you and it only confused your addled mind further but instead you were made to focus on the carnal desires flowing through your veins and igniting your blood.

You didn’t know how it was possible to orgasm again after already having so many prior to this, but once again you felt that burning pressure build up inside of you like getting a jolt from an exposed live wire. It bubbled up in the tips of your toes and shot up your spine, your weak body overwhelmed by the rapture Jinx had caused within you. Clearly she wasn’t unaffected by your display as her own high pitched moans and grunts reached your eyes and the grinding of her hips sped up so you both could ride out your highs together, hand in hand.

You couldn’t stop the falling tears as the torment from the past few hours finally died down at last and you could close your eyes for the last time that night and rest.

Once Jinx’s own orgasm slowly faded away into residual jolts of pleasure and then nothingness, she disentangled her trembling legs from yours and spooned your sleeping body, covering up your naked bodies with the blanket all whilst panting out of exhaustion.

“Nighty night, sweets.” Jinx waited until your breathing finally started to equalise, not that it was really necessary; you were so drugged out you probably wouldn’t remember this tomorrow, never mind wake up.

Then, she turned away and fumbled around in the crate next to the bed she used for storage and located the vial, smooth and cool and safe in her hands. Sure, she was upset your first time the way she intended it to happen was stolen from her, she could blame Singed and his inability to do things in moderation, but still she could sleep at night knowing she got to share such a special moment with you.

masterlist

[dcxdpdabbles]

I know you're done writing it -I KNOW- it doesn't need to be a scene or anything, but could you please just let us know if Danny ever said goodbye to Tim in adopted son?? Did he ever get closure like Dick did? I haven't stopped thinking of him 😭😭

Danny visited Tim in his dream the night before Tim released the information about Danny's death. He got closure but wasn't as understanding as Dick.

He doesn't forgive Officer Black, but understands where the anger comes from. He still has bursts of rage whenever he is reminded of how Danny was taken from him. He figures forcing the man to live with the guilt of killing his sister's rescuer and never letting him forget. He sends a reminder on Danny's death anniversary to Black's door with the words I have not forgotten what you have done. He forgives you but I never will.

Tim felt that Gotham took away the light the Infinite Realms had bestowed on them. So, he will focus on running the darkness in Gotham for the rest of his life to ensure it can no longer swallow up the lights.

Danny is very proud of him for ensuring everyone in the Justice System is treated fairly, and in a few short years, Tim will weed out all the corruption. It's how Steph meets him. She helped his Ghosts ensure her Dad faced the right amount of justice. Her drive and motivation impressed him, bringing her to a high level of clearance once she finished basic training with the newest street kids recruits.

She becomes his second hand after proving her abilities and belief in Tim's cause.

Tim also, after years of the Danny Crowne case, got all those involved in the disappeared children out of jail and jobs at Drake Co. They are just as powerful as Wayne Enterprise because they merged with Crowne since Danny left everything in his name to him and Tim bought the rest out.

Tim continues to train with mercenaries by paying them. He will later grab the attention of Ra, but the immortal will assume that Tim's lack of ambition outside of Gotham doesn't make him a person of interest. He is unaware of how weary Bruce is of Tim. No one outside of Gotham has Tim on their radar.

Tim has the means, the plans, and the abilities to take out the Justice League. He merely doesn't because they have never gotten in his way and it would have made Danny said if he did it without a good reason.

Tim is morally grey because Danny was morally grey. Yes, he rescued children and gave them safe homes and out of the streets, but Danny didn't do it legally. He possessed people in the Child Services to smuggle children out. He made deals with a few foster parents to look the other way and hid all of this from the law.

We know he wasn't hurting them, but others didn't, including Tim, for a long time. He just knew his brother made kids vanish. That is why he snoops and tries to figure out what Danny is doing.

I may write a time skip from Tim's pov cause this got a little too long.

[anniflamma]

hi anni! I wanted to share some information from my family Bible from my mom’s mom’s side of the family that’s history section only goes up to 1877 when it talks about Russo-Turkish war staring. And the pictures might be horrible.

The antediluvian patriarchs apparently lived during the Neolithic era which just happened to be when us humans were first starting to use farming and we started to domesticate dogs, sheep, and cattle. It personally helps with me as I’m a historically accurate nerd when it comes to clothing and just searching up ‘Neolithic era’ clothing rather than ‘caveman’ clothing is much more specific. Enoch in Islam, Idris, was also apparently the first man who learned how to write with a pen.

now, onto Greece! The Trojan war happened in around 1204 bc (Eratosthenes of Cyrene says it happened around 1194-1184 bc but judges still happens at the same time) which during that time, the judges Jair to Abdon were alive and the book of judges happening the same time Odysseus, Achilles and Patroclus, and hector were doing their stuff I just funny to me.

Troy was also a vassal of the Hittite empire, a major power in the Bronze Age by Uriah’s people, since 1400 bc. Troy was called Wilusa by the Hittites. Later, in 1240 bc, in a historical note called the Milawata letter mentions a ‘recently disposed pro-Hittite king of Wilusa’ which the king of the Hittite king Tudhailya IV intended to re-install as the king, who was named Walmu, was dethroned due to possible occupation of the raids by the Ahhiyawa people who most believe are homer’s early Mycenaean Greeks. During the Trojan war, the Hittite empire fractured and the Egyptian new kingdom fell into disarray , two of the major powers during the Bronze Age. I personally believe that might be a reason why in the Bible the tribes want a king (for safety and unity reasons) but I don’t know.

and here’s a timeline in the book with the year, the biblical event, and the non-biblical events: ⬇️

There were also two Jonathan’s in the era between the old and New Testament.

One of the advertisements of the book, in the book, was that it had 1500 illustrations and I wanted to share some!

David and Michal during the dancing naked incident and Michal looks like she’s SO ANNOYED and about to hit her head on that stone wall like she’s had enough of it all.

This is in the second book of Samuel illustration, and I think it’s David with Bathsheba and Solomon but idk if it actually is because it didn’t say.

and also here’s part of the Daniel illustration.

that’s all I’ve shared, I hope I got enough right history-wise and again, sorry this was SO long and sorry if you already knew some of their stuff!

This is genuinely some really cool stuff, especially who it shows the timeline and comparing to other non biblical historical events. I seriously need to read more about the Hettites. They were like one of the first major civilizations in the bronze age and I know barley anything about them.

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

i find it absolutely hilarious that this fandom constantly shits on ash for a singular line and uses that as their end all be all to write her off as racist, when garrus gets absolutely no flak for whatsoever for a multitude of fucked up things he says over the course of ME1.

garrus "he's so nice it's hard to hate him" vakarian trying to call out genocide as hypocritical in front of a man who's entire race his people forcibly sterilized? right.

or maybe garrus "he's so nice it's hard to hate him" vakarian not giving a single shit about civilian causalities (not just the hostages) if he blew up saleon's ship right next to the citadel?

or we could also talk about all those people in ME2? the ones who signed up with the blood pack, eclipse, and the suns to take down archangel for credits? like that kid you can talk out of going after him? the ones he shoots down? :)

but, sure. yeah. garrus is "so nice it's hard to hate him."

also i love that ash is just

racist

absolutely no other characterization at all for her. it's like the fandom constantly parrots the same opinion from the same line and never actually backs it up with anything other than a singular line of ambient dialogue lmao.

and by the way? "Guy with psychic powers whose most interesting trait is that he gets headaches"? wow. very original take on kaidan.

it's like you can tell when people don't interact with any of the squadmates in ME1 besides listening to a singular line of ambient elevator dialogue that they choose to make that character's entire personality for some reason.

i can link any of his trees talking about BAaT if you want. or any of his post-mission debrief trees. you know, all the characterization about his biotics, why he feels a deep need to be in control of them, struggling with feeling human, any of those things? :)

but, sure. "Guy with psychic powers whose most interesting trait is that he gets headaches." oh, and "Racist soldier lady." the human squadmates from ME1 that always get mischaracterized because people can't be assed to talk to them for more than 2 lines of ambient elevator dialogue that they choose to make their entire personalities. :)

Ah yes, the mass effect trilogy squad members:

Cute blue scientist girl who inadvertently becomes a mafia boss

Former cop who can't WAIT to do vigilante justice but he's nice so it's hard to hate him

Bounty hunter who becomes the greatest leader his people have ever known (if he doesn't die)

Guy with psychic powers whose most interesting trait is that he gets headaches

Racist soldier lady (many such cases)

Cute engineer girl who dies if you sneeze on her

Genetically engineered super model genius

Guy with daddy issues whose most interesting trait is that he cheats on you if you romance him

Bald girl with tattoos who kills you

Unethical Science McGee but he's in denial that he feels bad about it and also he has ADHD

Basically Captain America if he was a klingon

Really Old Guy In A Profession Where Most Die Young

Lizard assassin who has a lot of flashbacks

Thief girl with barely any screentime

Hot paladin mommy who kills vampires but in space???

A bunch of computer programs in a single guy

Guy with muscles whose most interesting trait is that he's Spanish

Your ship's computer in a cool robot body (this is awesome)

Guy who went into cryo sleep during one war only to wake up in another war (this guy's life sucks ass)

[leesolbeesol]

LIGHTWEIGHT

univeristy!au taesan x fem!reader (ft. the rest of bonedo!)

SUMMARY: Meeting Taesan at a basement party doesn't go as planned, what happens when you can't get rid of him? Do you even want to?

GENRE: fluff, slightly suggestive in one chapter, university!au (mentions of fraternities, classes, lectures, dorms, etc.) WARNINGS: Taesan gets punched, he doesn't deserve it but everything is okay | swearing | mentions of moaning but it doesn't get too crazy, reader makes fun of Taesan for it | fem!reader | heavy mentions of alcohol in the first chapter | EXCESSIVE flirting | ends with a confession!! NOTES: I have never been to a frat party. I have never participated in Greek life. I do not drink for personal reasons. I have never dated Han Dongmin (unfortunately). In other words, this is likely very unrealistic because my information comes from speculation, reddit threads, and other fanfics on tumblr dot com. This was so fun to write WC: 16.2k, divided into 6 "chapters" of varying length

RIDE OR DIE

You shift on your twin bed and feel the crinkly sheets shifting under your weight. You glance at the egg-shaped off-white clock on your wobbly, school-provided desk. The clock hits noon, your roommate will be home any minute and you’re hoping to power through the end of this report before then. Since you chose her as your roommate freshman year (because of maybe five instagram messages), Jen’s been your best friend, your literal ride or die, but she’s not the best body-doubling partner for cranking out assignments. When she’s with someone, she needs to provide commentary on whatever's going on, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a curse when it comes to being someone’s study partner.

The wooden door opens in an instant, and Jen’s frame appears in the doorway, flanked by about three bags. “Oh, dear roommate!” She greets you in song. She lets the bags fall from her arms with a thunk on the floor, and a couple papers scatter on the floor out of one of many of her partially-zipped backpacks. She marches towards you, waving her phone in your face.  “Look at this! One of our sisters invited us to a party Sigma Chi’s is throwing this evening!” She says excitedly before steadying her gaze on you. You back up as a carefully manicured finger stretches out towards your face. “We need to go.” She always refers to her sorority sisters as your (plural) sisters, which you think is sweet. It’s her way of including you. You figure that, at some point, she decided ‘my sisters this, my sisters that’ got a little bit exclusionary.

“No.” You answer her and turn back to your computer, entering the link for a hopefully-penultimate citation. This is the one thing you’re maybe not so “ride-or-die” about with Jen. You like parties, sure, but you aren't going to give up a good night’s sleep (without midterms, and all) so easily.

“What do you mean? It’s going to be so much fun!” She whines. “We just finished our midterms, we need to celebrate! What could you be even working on anyway?”

“There’s a presentation after midterms for some fucking reason, I don’t know. Plus, it's a totally bad idea to bring me. Nothing good happens at frat parties.” You tell her, pointedly. You do this dance with her semi-frequently: she invites you, you say no, she asks why, you say why, she asks again, you (sometimes) give in. You’ve got this waltz down to a science.

“Can you finish it later? Come on, please? You skipped out on the last three.” She looks at you with pleading eyes, ignoring your advice. You wonder if this was how she got everyone to do her bidding; pouting at them with her big brown eyes. You eye her suspiciously. It was true: you had denied her invitation to the last three events and probably the last three hosted by Sigma… what was it? Sigma Key? Whatever. You don’t particularly like most frat boys. In your experience, they tend to be on the annoying side… the very annoying side. The avoid-at-all-costs side.

You look at her as a smile grows on your face, “Will you do my laundry for a week when we get back from break?” At this point, you were considering going anyway, but you were going to try and milk it.

“And I’ll take out the trash.” She smiles back. Now… maybe hanging out in a dingy basement flanked by drunk college kids doesn’t sound that bad, right?

“Promise?”

She raises her hand as if to be sworn in to lawyerhood—or whatever they call it. “I, your loving, adoring roommate, solemnly swear to do your laundry and take out the trash for two weeks when we get back from break.” You suppress a laugh.

“What time is the party?” Satisfied, you surrender, albeit happily. She does manual labor for a couple weeks and you only have to go with her for a couple hours? Sounds like a dream.

“11pm.”

BUDDING ALCOHOLIC

The faint taste of tequila on your lips is your only reminder of your promise not to get the fuck out of dodge. If you hadn’t pregamed this party, you would have been regretting coming right about now, even if it means two weeks worth of chores being eliminated from your future. The music is noise-complaint worthy and not that good, even as far as frat music tends to go. Your best guess for timing is that it’s about midnight, and a couple of your peers are already drunk by the looks of it, making out by the window and stumbling on the grass out front. It already smells like vomit as you walk through the front door. To be fair, you’ve never been to a frat house in the daytime, so maybe the smell of vomit is just a permanent feature.

“You’re the best! Thanks for coming!” She swings an arm around you, at least a little tipsy. You shift in your Jen-approved outfit: a (very) tight black tank top, light-wash jeans, and a pair of Jen-borrowed, frat-designated, almost-destroyed sneakers. You’ve gathered from your brief excursions into the world of Greek life that this is the frat uniform.

“Hey, Jen-fer!” A guy, clearly a brother, comes up to the two of you with a cheeky smile on his face. It seems like every time someone greets Jen, she has a new nickname. Or maybe he’s just drunk and slurring his words. The guy looks like “people call me Chad but you can call me tonight” personified in his khaki shorts and impressively only slightly wrinkled t-shirt, sporting your school’s mascot with ‘VARSITY BASEBALL’ across it in loud, chunky lettering. “Who’s this?” He inquires as a girl swings her arm around his neck. The smile never leaves his face as he leans down to peck her. You watch as the girl and Jen have some sort of telepathic conversation by exchanging big smiles and little waves — she’s a sister, maybe? You really only know the girls that Jen’s closest to: Madelin (spelled like mandolin), Avery (who you thought was a boy for a couple months because you only know one other Avery, a boy), Elliann (whose name you remember how to spell only because you wrote Ellyanne once and you got a talking-to), and Gene (whose contact you have saved as the jeans emoji).

“Ugh, Jay! She’s my roommate, I told you about her.” You smile weakly as she points her attention towards you, “this is Jay. You remember Jay, right? From Econ?”

“Yeah… from Econ.” You mumble something unconvincing because you very much do not remember Jay from Econ. There are about a million Jay’s at this school. There’s Jason’s and James’s and Jongseong’s and Joshua’s and Julian’s who all go by Jay. Hell, there’s even a Jachariah (pronounced exactly like Zachariah but substitute the Z) who goes by Jay in your English Comp class. You think it would make sense to go by Jack (Like Zack) because there are less Jack’s, somehow, but whatever. When you return from zoning out, Jen starts talking at you. Some people are touchy drunks, some people are sad drunks, but Jen is a very, very talkative drunk. To be honest, she’s a talkative sober too.

She asks you to choose between the two drinks in her outstretched hands, naming both, though you can’t identify the taste or ingredients either, even with the name provided. Both looked like water.

Fuck it, what’s the difference? “Um, that one.” You say, pointing to the red cup in her right hand.

“Great! Are you okay on your own? I’m going to talk to Ellen!” She smiles big. Who’s Ellen? You have no idea. “Oh, hey! Meet my friend —hic! This is Tay!” She waves to someone behind you, and beckons them over with a finger. Great, now you have a Tae to keep track of.  Her goodbye is sonorous, “Bye bye!” 

“Bye, Jen-fer.” You tease her with the drawling nickname, but she doesn’t seem to notice as she waltzes off. You break into a slow smile as you see her leave. If you could remember what feeling sober is like, you would know by the drowsiness alone you’re a little more than tipsy. If Jen is a talkative drunk, you’re a sleepy drunk. You take a big swig of the red cup and it burns as it goes down, making you cough instinctively to get rid of the sensation. After taking a moment to compose, you shotgun the whole cup. Aside from the burning, you’re left with the distinctive aftertaste of artificial sweeteners sticking to your throat. 

You back up a little, and bump right into a wall. You curse, thinking you probably looked stupid doing that… that is, before you nearly jump out of your skin when the wall puts a hand on your shoulder. Sufficiently scared, you jump right back to where you started like a tennis ball. 

In your inebriation, you're pretty sure it might be the worst mistake of your life to look at the wall when you land eyes on the definitely-not-plaster you bumped into. 

You realize that she was saying Tae, not Tay. Tae, though you know him as Taesan, is the name of a—kinda emo—guy in your World Literature class who you decided was cute one time when zoning out in a lecture and have been a little shy around ever since. Why is he here? A frat does not seem like his scene. Your drunk self agrees with your sober self on the former issue, however. He is cute—really cute. His hair is straight and black and his bangs fall just above his eyebrows. You were definitely catastrophizing, because bumping into Taesan is maybe the best thing you could have hoped for at this Greek-whatever party.

“Oh… it’s Taesan!” It doesn’t even cross your mind to suppress the giant grin that spreads across your face as you say his name as you sway. “Can I call you that instead of Tae? Too many ay’s around, I think.” You mumble, feeling as cloudy as ever.

He shrugs, “Sure, I mean, I call you by your full name, usually.” 

Mostly ignoring him, you continue, focusing on the way the edges of his lips curl like he’s suppressing a smile. Squinting at him, you monologue. “You’re cute. But you’re bad at…” You squint harder, circling your finger in front of his face as if to cast a spell. He looks a little confused with his straight eyebrows raised, but he doesn’t look scared—yet. If you were in your right mind, you would have been amazed and totally terrified that you hadn’t scared him off with the wiggly finger. Maybe the slipped compliment at the beginning helped build some rapport? “You’re bad at… analysis.” You decide on pinpointing a weakness of his. Now, his analysis is actually pretty good. Sure, he's not going to win any awards with it, but who is in an undergraduate World Literature class taught by a less-than-enthusiastic professor nearing retirement? The alcoholic fog is just a little much, anyway. Maybe you’re more of a lightweight than you care to admit. 

“I think my analysis is pretty good, actually.” He frowns, but doesn’t seem offended in the slightest. He’s always quiet in lecture, you’re surprised he hasn’t made a quick excuse to get away yet.

You part your lips as you squint harder and point up at his face again, grasping for words that don’t come all that easy to you. “You… should kiss me.” As the words fall out of your mouth, he seems to look around a little bit in surprise. To your luck, he still doesn’t run screaming.

It’s his turn to point a finger at himself and his cool, bad-boy act slips, “kiss—kiss me?” He stutters, going wide-eyed and glancing around like this is a big reality TV-style prank and there are cameramen waiting in the shadows of this sticky, stinky basement, itching to catch him off guard. Perhaps you’re subconsciously practicing rejection therapy. 

“Yeah… you should analyze kissing me.” You attempt a smile as you try to keep your eyes open. The music is pounding in your ears as you stare into the gap between him and the wall to his left.

Still dumbfounded, he tries to find words, now staring at you staring off into space, “well, uh… you… that would be cool, but… I don’t… I don’t think you actually want to kiss me. You smell like tequila.” The alcohol is definitely taking its toll on you, evidenced by the way you lean forward and slump onto the boy in front of you, closing your eyes. His words don’t even go in one ear and out the other, they go over your head entirely. You could feel his body heat even through his thick navy tee. You hear his heartbeat and—you’re no medical student—it’s loud. With your eyes closed, you hear the DJ switch the song to something with less bass and you feel a warm hand come to your shoulder blade, patting it awkwardly. You hear an attempt at words coming from his vocal chords, but you hear nothing identifiable as human language. Just a few um’s and maybe an uh.

“Hey, Tae!” You hear Jen approach behind you, calling out to the boy who you’ve designated as your new mattress. You open your eyes for a second, and you’re kindly greeted with a view of his chest. Slowly analyzing your field of vision (which includes a fuzzy wall and his shirt), you blink once, twice, and then, the third time you close them, they stay closed. As fast as that, you’re gone: disappeared, asleep.

Before you can open your eyes again, you’re assaulted by a pounding headache. You haven’t felt a headache like this since the first time you got drunk with Jen. You’d assumed you’d learned your lesson. This time, it’s not a good thing that you exceeded your own expectations.

You open your eyes and see a rather unwelcome sight of Jen who has her hands on your shoulders, shaking you. It’s certainly not helping your headache. As you come to consciousness, you become aware of the damp, suffocating sweat that clings to your body and the aching that you feel in each and every of your muscles and joints. You can’t even lift a finger.

“Hey. Wake up! Don’t worry, you’re not dying. It’s just a hangover.” She consoles you, but she doesn’t stop pushing you, however. “You drank way too much.” She laughs, drawing out her words and turning her head to the side as her hair falls in front of her face.

You muster your words, “what?” Your voice is grainy and low. You feel like pure, unadulterated hell. The pounding in your head doesn’t stop, it just migrates from one side to the other. Back to left to front to right and back again like a cue ball bouncing around the table.

“You… are… hung… over.” She says like she's trying to teach a baby to say mama. You groan and roll over, freeing yourself from her manicured hands and burying your head in your sheets. As you roll over, you feel the familiar and deeply uncomfortable scratch of the seam of your jeans. You were still wearing the clothes you wore to the party, hooray! “And,” she continues, “you’re going to tell me why Han Taesan is at our door.” Her voice sounds half like she’s scolding you and half like she’s waiting for you to spill. Processing this information, you scrunch your eyes and groan again.

“He’s not.” You deny with a murmur despite the knocking that you hear on the door. The person at the door, reportedly Taesan, knocks one, two, three times.

“He is. He wants to know how you are… tell me what happened between you two!” She urges.

“You’re lying. He is not at the door.” Maybe if you say it enough he’ll go away. Manifesting, you know? You want to know nothing about why he’s here. The party last night was a blur. You remember drinking, seeing a couple familiar faces, bumping into Taesan and then it’s dark and you wake up in your bed with Jen shaking you.

“He is.” She says solemnly. She cocks her head and continues in a more sympathetic tone, “do you want me to tell him to go away?” She asks.

“Yes.” Regardless of whether you want to see him, specifically, you don’t want to see anyone at all. You’re still in your clothes from last night, your whole body hurts, you feel like total crap, and you doubt you showered last night. You do not want to see Han Taesan, and that’s final.

“Yes, ma’am.” She says and jumps off the tall bed. Through half-lidded eyes, you see her crack the door and exchange words with the visitor. You confirm it’s Taesan when his stupid face appears in the crack. Almost involuntarily you close your eyes. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. Even with a foggy mind and a throbbing headache, you know nothing good can come out of talking to him, or even seeing him, when you’re so wildly hungover. You feel like a ghost haunting your body. You hear the door shut, and you open your eyes to see Jen shimmying over to you with her eyebrows raised and a disbelieving smile across her face. You close your eyes again, you do not want to see or hear what she has to offer unless it’s an ibuprofen.

“I can’t believe he came to check up on you! Isn’t that sweet? I have no idea what was happening with you two before I got there, but he was so cute about you. He looked so nervous! It’s not like him at all.” You can practically hear her dancing around in excitement. “Your love life never goes anywhere, this is so exciting!” You grumble in protest at her jab at you. She’s been begging to let her set you up with someone, but the only people she knows are frat bros and sorority girls, neither of which are your type, usually. Is Taesan part of a frat? Doesn’t seem like him.

“Jen… advil… please.” You reach out for her with a weak hand.

“You’re not dying.” She assures you, but dutifully returns to your bedside with two little red pills, a bottle of water, and a bag of goldfish. This is how Jen is, you’ve learned; poking fun at you while still looking out for you. “Come on, take them.” She says, holding out the pills. “You’re lucky it’s a Saturday. For a hangover, you need water, food, and sleep.” She recites. Maybe hangover care is a required class for members of the sorority known for the most functions.

“Thanks…” You mutter, bringing a weak hand to your still pounding forehead. “What happened?” You ask. It might help to know what you’re up against in terms of embarrassment.

“Before I got there? No idea. After I got there? Well, you were passed out,” she laughs, “I had no idea you could fall asleep that fast. He looked crazy confused, having you slung over him and all, you know? Anyway, he was dry sober, he just got there. I had the car, obviously, and so he offered to give you a ride back to the dorm in my car. Now, I went with you, of course. For one, I’m always going to come with you when you’re asleep and being taken care of by some man. Two, there’s no way I’m letting any man drive my car without serious supervision.” Now, this elicits a stifled laugh from you, after which you immediately wince in pain. Laughing isn’t good medicine for hangovers, apparently. “Anyway, he picked you up bridal-style, it was really cute, and brought you to our car, and then drove both of us home. I put you to bed, and he left after.” She states, "I wiped your drool, don’t worry.” She nudges you with an elbow.

“Ugh, Jen. Don’t joke with me right now.”

“No, seriously, you did drool. It’s one of, like, five reasons I’m never going to put you in a room with alcohol ever again.”

“I told you it was a bad idea to bring me.” You lament. You don’t like the idea of drooling in the vicinity of Taesan. And he carried you to the car? Seriously, not a high point for your ego. It’s not even about your germinal maybe-crush on him. “Give me some goldfish.”

“You always say that it’s a bad idea, but okay.” She hands you a handful and you shove it into your mouth. It doesn’t mix well with the morning-breath taste and somehow lingering tinge of alcohol. Your head is pounding and if the headache doesn’t kill you, the embarrassment might.

THE ILLUSION

Dr. Woo claps his hands together as the final undergrad enters the lecture hall. The long tables that act as desks proceed away from the central board in stairs. 

“Yeah. Big project coming up, right?” He says with a hint of fake enthusiasm. “It’s going to be a group project, if two people count as a group. Hooray.” A resounding groan emanates from the student body. Dr. Woo is visually unphased by this. “Despite the fact that choice is an illusion, you can pick your own partners. This is college. I don’t care.” He waves a hand dismissing any rebuttal, not that any was coming. Regardless of any other feelings about Dr. Woo, everyone knows he’s a great (read: easy) grader. “Anyway, go crazy. You all know the topic.”

Your heart drops as the room immediately erupts in chattering. Your circle was small at best, and you knew no one in World Lit except for… oh no. You feel a tap on your shoulder. Almost in slow motion, you turn around and see Taesan’s damned handsome face.

“Hey,” he says, very, very casually, “do you want to be my partner?” Oh, what the fuck.

“Um…” You furrow your eyebrows. It’s not that you don’t want to be partners with him, really. It’s just that you don’t want to recoil in embarrassment every time you work on a project worth 20% of your grade. 

He cocks his head to the side, “so?” You’re pretty sure his face could bring world peace. Have him try to convince a warlord to stop fighting by flashing a smile and they’d be a pacifist in under ten minutes.

You sigh, “yeah. Sure.” You try to smile, it doesn’t work that well. Fuck it, what’s the worst that could happen? Do it for the plot, right? Choosing to partner with him is definitely for the plot. You’re not entirely convinced that he’s pure in his intentions to partner with you; maybe this is part of a bigger frat boy scheme.

“My analysis is actually good, I swear.” He says as he pulls back the chair next to you to sit down. Is that a reference? To what? You are thoroughly confused, clearly remembering very little of that fateful night. He tucks his hands behind his head and leans back.

“What?” You laugh a little, if only out of awkwardness. 

He presses his lips together and they contort as if a laugh is threatening him. “Nevermind. It’s nothing, really.” He is utterly unconvincing when he lies. Maybe he couldn’t convince the warlord.

“Taesan, what?” Your arms cross as you lean back in your chair. Around you, there’s a buzz of new partnerships and dates being set to meet. You two, however, are alone in your own world. In your periphery, Dr. Woo is staring you down. You’re pretty sure he can sense when work isn’t getting done. You can’t tell if he’s just a salty old man or a teenager with a gossip itch trapped in an old professor’s body.

Taesan notices, “Dr. Woo is creeping me out. I’ll tell you in the hall.” He picks up one of your pens and hands it to you in a non subtle suggestion for you to pack up. 

You sling your backpack over one shoulder (despite how you’re told it’s bad for your back) and lead Taesan out of the lecture hall.

“So, are you partners with me just to make fun of me?” You probe him as he catches up to you. “I’m taking you to my dorm, by the way. We can get started on the project.” There’s a silent addition of ‘even if you’re being an asshole, I chose to be stuck with you for some reason’ when you give him a purposeful glance. Maybe Dr. Woo is right. Maybe choice is an illusion. He looks completely lost.

“No, no. It’s not like that, really. I didn't mean to make you feel bad, I just thought it was funny.” He turns around and shakes his head to punctuate his point. 

“Is it better if I don’t know what happened at the party?” One eyebrow raises and you stare him down with some weird level of confidence. Maybe knowing that he’s seen you drooling, drunk, and looking crazy makes you feel like you don’t have much else to lose.

“No, nothing bad happened. You were just drunk. It happens to the best of us.” He shrugs as you enter onto the green.

“Don’t drag this out, let me bite the bullet if I want to.”

He laughs a little, “alright. In summary, you backed into me, told me I was cute, told me my analysis sucks,” so that’s what that was about, “and told me I should kiss you and I told you that you were too drunk,” oh, what the fuck, “and then you fell asleep on me and Jennifer came over. I carried you to the car and drove both you and her home because she had a couple drinks and I had none. I checked up on you because I knew you were going to have one hell of a hangover.” Great, you’re stuck with this fucker you borderline harassed while blackout drunk.

“You were right. It was one hell of a hangover.” You grumble, looking at the floor to avoid any eye contact with him.

“Don’t be embarrassed. You’re not the first person to tell me I’m cute when they’re drunk.” He teases and you roll your eyes. In your heart, though, this is deeply, deeply embarrassing. The thought of what happened stings like a blade in your heart and in your mind. It’s not as bad as the hangover, but it’s pretty damn bad.

“Yeah, right. I was drunk, okay?” Your words are biting. “Why are you partners with me, then? I wasn’t that great the one time you met me.” Maybe you don’t want to know the answer, but the words are already out of your mouth. You scuff your heels as you walk, still avoiding contact with the one and only Han Taesan.

“You’re cute and you’re smart.” He shrugs and you break your rule of avoiding his eyes because now you’re staring at him in disbelief. “Plus, you’re great at keeping me humble.” He meets your eyes now and you’re immediately regretting thinking anything about the previous compliment meant anything at all.

“If you keep being a jerk, I’m going to keep you humble as hell.” You grumble.

“Sorry,” he frowns mildly, “the first part holds more weight.” And now, you’ve flipped. It does mean something… maybe. You face forward again to hide a smile that he totally catches anyways. You’ve made great time alongside Taesan, you’re almost to your dorm.

“Thanks?”

“My pleasure.” He postures. “Why were you there in the first place? No offense, but you don’t strike me as an alcoholic. An alcoholic can handle being drunk better than that.” It’s sort of a compliment, you guess.

“None taken, I don’t believe that being an alcoholic is in the cards for me.” You snort. “Jen dragged me there. I told her it was a bad idea, but she convinced me to go anyway by bribing me with doing my least favorite chores for a week or two.” You explain, crossing your arms and he laughs. “No offense, you don’t seem like you’re part of the frat nor do you seem like an alcoholic. So, what were you doing there?” You redirect. It’s true: he doesn’t seem like a brother nor a drinker.

“I lost a bet. Riwoo bet me that I couldn’t fit fifteen grapes in my mouth and I wanted to prove him wrong because, well, he’s Riwoo, but I lost the bet.” A laugh bubbles up from your chest imagining the situation. Not only did he try, but he tried and failed. “My punishment was either to go to a frat or to do mine and six of my roommates’ laundry for a semester. I picked the frat, obviously. I’ve lived with those guys for long enough to know that all of them stink like hell.” He adds, grimacing. “Plus, ‘doing laundry’ meant changing the sheets and picking up laundry, too.” He looks at you, pointedly.

“You’re lying, no way.” You laugh, partly with him and partly at him.

“You clearly haven’t met my roommates, this way?” His finger points to the building that you’re rooming in with Jen. You pray she’s not there or you’re going to be met with a litany of highly invasive questions.

You nod at his direction, “yeah, there are like seven thousand people here and I can recognize about thirty faces max. That’s like nothing-percent.”

“Good for me, then. I don’t think I’d be the first person you’d be calling cute if they were there with me.” The tone of his voice is light, but in his eyes you see that he fears it’s the truth. Huh, Taesan is just like the rest of us, who’da thunk?

“Where did your cool guy act go?” You tease, leading him up the stairs to your dorm, distinguished by the handmade felt pennants, spelling your’s and Jen’s names. “Drunk me wasn’t lying when she said you were cute, seriously.” You assure him. “Now, I just have to learn if your analysis is as bad as she said it was.” You push open the door with your back, mostly so you don’t have to face him after calling him cute to his face. Last week, you would have run away on the spot; Taesan has you acting like a bad ATM—all out of order.

ENTOURAGE

You hated to admit it, his analysis was great. By spending hours writing and rewriting scripts to memorize for your oral presentation, you watched Taesan connect dots you didn't even know were there and recall obscure details from lectures that happened to be integral to the coherence of your project. You can practically see the cogs turn in his head, the way he bites the inside of his lip when he’s really focused, the way his face lights up when he gets an idea, the way he slides his thin wire glasses up his straight nose with a knuckle when they slip down because he furrowed his eyebrows too much.

This is how you find yourself at four on a Wednesday afternoon, weeks after your first incidental meeting with him: admiring his work on your dorm floor.

“Damn, Taesan.” You still kept to calling him his full name instead of Tae, you felt like it meant something. “This is amazing, I would have never thought to connect those passages, we read that first book ages ago!” You shook your head, his analysis was that good. Maybe not award-winning, but definitely worth an A, even in your harshest grader’s class. He smirks as he laughs a little, taking off his glasses and stretching his hands up, grasping at nothing while trying to stretch his back. You two had been sitting for hours on the hard floor of your dorm room; you told him to sit on your chair, but he refused, demanding he sit next to you so that he can ‘see what you’re writing’ better.

“You brought up At the Bottom of the River in the first place.” He deflects your praise. You’ll gladly take the compliment even if you had no part in his discovery. As you shrug his deflection off, you feel his arm come down around your shoulder and you jump a little, not expecting the touch. Of course, his hand feels nice where it rests, but you’re still not quite used to the way Taesan evidently shows affection. The first time he pulled the classic ‘I’m-just-stretching-actually-I’m-putting-my-arm-around-you’ move, you didn’t expect it in the slightest. You had finished a part you were putting off and he moved to stretch, suddenly putting his arm around you and shaking you while cheering you on about your victory. The laugh you let out when that happened was something entirely unprecedented for you, you laughed until your stomach hurt and your eyes watered, and you couldn’t even pinpoint why.

“Yeah, sure.” You look at him, exaggerating your skepticism with your one raised eyebrow, his arm still around you.

“When’s Jen getting back? Do we have time to mess around or should I go before she starts pestering you?” He asks, half-joking as he tilts his head towards yours. Jen had taken a liking to him, if not too much of a liking to him… for you. Whenever you and Taesan were together and Jen spotted you, she made the least subtle comments possible telling you to get together, wiggling her eyebrows and full of exaggerated winks. It wasn’t surprising in the slightest. Hey, look at the position you two are in right now: foreheads so close they’re almost touching, alone in your dorm, with his arm wrapped around your shoulder. Still, you’ve gathered that’s just kind of how Taesan is with his friends. From what you’ve heard, he’s like that with everyone. It’s not unique to you.

“She said she’d be back at five, so…” you check the egg clock, “like, thirty minutes?” 

“Nice.” He purses his lips. “Are you nervous for the presentation? It’s tomorrow, you know?” Taesan has his sensitive moments, for sure. He sounds—he is—genuinely concerned about how you’re feeling about it, you can hear it in his voice. He’s not great at hiding things like that. Even when he’s making fun of you, it’s never malicious.

“I’m fine. I’m nervous, but it is a big presentation, after all. It’s nothing I can’t handle.” You tell him, flexing an arm to prove your point, though the action is inhibited by his arm still around you.

“Never doubted you for a second, Miss Independent. You can still be nervous though, it’s okay to be nervous.” 

“Are you nervous? You sound like you’re projecting.”

He exhales, “yeah, I’m nervous as hell.” He laughs a little after the admission, but it’s not a humorous one.

“Hey, text me if you get nervous before, right? Doesn’t help to keep it to yourself. And, no offense, but I think I’ll be better at commiserating with you than your roommates, however lovely they are.” 

He exhales. “Yeah, thanks.” He’s being surprisingly soft, and you can’t help but seize the opportunity to connect a little with the sensitive side of Taesan instead of the cool, nonchalant Taesan. From what you’ve gathered, his Nirvana-decorated headphones, monochrome black clothes, and his sullen resting face makes him less approachable to your peers.

“You’ll be fine. As you said to me when we were partnered, you’re cute and you’re smart. You’ve got it.” You tell him, leaning your head onto his shoulder. You wonder if he can feel your heart beating out of your chest. Can you feel someone’s heartbeat through their shoulder? Probably not, but the human body is full of surprises. One surprise is how hard you can see his pulse through his carotid artery, pulsing in his neck. Good God, this boy is going to get high blood pressure if his heart is always going a million miles an hour. “Tell me about writing music. I’m tired.” You tell him, closing your eyes. 

You’re brought back to what you were told about the first time you met him. This time, however, you falling asleep on him isn’t so much of a surprise. Your knowledge of composition contrasts Taesan’s, you know little more than the basics. Asking him to talk about it is an easy route to a one-sided conversation where you get to listen to him talk, which is always a good time. He gets so animated, it’s hilarious and adorable.

“Your wish is my command.” He laughs, and you feel the vibration against your head and he starts on a critically tangential spiel. 

Before you can get too comfortable leaning on Taesan listening to him talk about rhyme schemes, the door swings open. Jen walks in after opening the door with her signature slam. Why you haven’t gotten any complaints yet, you have no idea.

“Oh… my God.” You can practically hear her freeze in the doorway. Out of sight, out of mind, so you keep your eyes closed.

“Jen, no one’s dying.” You assure her, suddenly deeply uncomfortable, shifting on the floor.

“You’re right, no one’s dying. My heart is so happy, look at you!” She almost giggles.

“Is this a good time for me to go?” Taesan starts to ask the pivotal question that’s going to determine exactly how embarrassed you are going to be this afternoon.

“Yes—” “No—” You and Jen say in unison. You open your eyes just to glare at her, seeing her standing over you.

“No… I’m going to get to know my best friend’s… group project partner.” She winks very not-subtly at you. Taesan looks at you just as you look at him, and he shrugs. 

“The more the merrier, right?” He asks. The rhetorical question becomes immediately very literal as Jen continues.

“Oooh… I like the way he thinks, girl.” She says, pointing to you. “Taesan, invite your roommates over, too. We can have a party!” She’s almost clapping with how excited she is, rolling back on her heels.

Taesan lights up, “oh hell yeah! I’ll see who’s available.” Oh, Taesan. Always the extrovert.

You groan, but it’s futile to try and stop the scheming. How did this get so bad so fast? “No drinking.” You instruct them.

“Half of them can’t even drink legally yet, plus, do you seriously think I’m going to drink the night before our presentation? No way.” He assures you, and you groan again in hesitant acceptance.

“I’m never letting you drink again. Don’t worry about that.” She promises you quietly before switching back to hyped-up Jen mode. “Oh, this is so exciting! When can they get here?” She’s sitting cross-legged in front of you two now, rifling through contacts on her phone in its sparkly case.

“Well,” Taesan pauses, “If they’d answer my texts—” ding! Almost like he scripted it, he gets a notification. “And there we go. Turns out they’re just hanging out at our place, all of them are free. Do you want them here now?”

“Hell yeah, I do! We should watch a movie… what movie should we watch? Don’t tell me they like horror…” She pushes her eyebrows together in what sounds half like a threat and half like a plea.

“Yeah, not that I know of.”

“We should watch 10 Things I Hate About You.” You suggest.

And that’s how you got to be sitting in a circle on your room’s floor with Taesan, Jen, and every single one of Taesan’s five roommates. You’d only briefly met a couple of them in passing before. Right now, you’re even managing to not cut each others’ throats out while playing UNO! What an achievement!

“And the color is… wait for it!” Taesan’s roommate with the light brown, almost orange hair and rounder, blueish-green black glasses says, leaning around to intimidate the others with a giant smile on his face. Everyone erupts in laughter at him. You remember that this is Riwoo, the one who dared Taesan to stuff 15 grapes in his mouth in the first place. “Blue!” He announces.

Your last card was red. Damn it.

Jaehyun immediately slumps over, Sungho frowns, Leehan stares at the card deck and Woonhak stares, terrified, at Jen when she jumps up, screaming “Uno!” as she slams her blue five on the pile. Shouts resound from the boys around you. Taesan is laughing. 

As the room erupts around you, Taesan nudges you with his shoulder, showing you his card. His last color was red, too. “We’re both winners in my heart.” He tells you with a wink. What a sap. You push his face away with a hand, stifling a laugh as you feel a heat come to your cheeks. Your light push makes him dip away from you like the inflatable tube men outside gas stations.

“You’re so corny.” You tell him as you take in the scene unfolding around you. Inviting Taesan’s friends over was a great idea. Jen is yelling at Jaehyun, Jaehyun looks terrified. Woonhak and Sungho are yelling at Riwoo, Riwoo is laughing at them. Leehan is laughing at Riwoo laughing at Woonhak and Sungho.

Taesan catches you smiling at the camaraderie, “if people yelling at each other was all it took to make you smile, I’d have invited them over way earlier.”

“Taesan,” you laugh, “I don’t like schadenfreude. It’s nice to see Jen let loose sometimes. I don’t think she gets to argue with anyone very often.”

“If she wants anyone to argue with, I’m available.” He spreads his arms to punctuate his point. At this, you laugh even harder. As you look around again, you see everyone laughing and collapsing on the floor, except for Jen, who’s pretending to fume and sulk on her bed. You know her well enough to catch the smile that pulls at her lips.

“It’s like watching kids at the park.” You motion towards Taesan’s friends, who’ve clearly become very comfortable around you and Jen.

“This weird authenticity is kind of their whole M.O.” He smiles, very clearly adoring their antics. “Imagine having to do their laundry though. I’m glad I chose to go to the party instead.” He pretends to shiver which draws out a laugh from you.

“Yeah, if you had chosen to do their laundry you also wouldn’t have been able to see me drool on you when you carried me to the car.” You snort. You’ve made peace with your drunken night. After all, you’ve already lost your dignity and he’s still hanging around.

“It was so cute though!” He contests and you roll your eyes at him. You have sworn up and down that he doesn’t like you like… that. Even if he did like you, you’re pretty sure no one likes anyone else enough that their drool is cute. Therefore, Jen’s points are null. Simple as that.

“I’m just soooo adorable,” you roll your eyes, “you don’t have to rub it in, dude.” you smile incredulously at him, throwing one of your legs over the other, just short of taking out Riwoo’s leg.

“I’m not joking!” His tone is defensive in ultimate Taesan fashion.

“Yeah, sure.” You tell him as Jen reaches out to you and pulls you to your feet, leaving Taesan alone on the floor.

Jen whispers to you, “so, when’s the wedding?” You roll your eyes.

“Shut up, you always do this.” You groan. “Do you get some sadistic joy from seeing me uncomfortable?” You cross your arms, almost elbowing Woonhak. This room is not big enough for eight people to fit in comfortably.

“Can I be the maid of honor?” She ignores your complaints and you let out an exaggerated groan in response.

“Don’t make me regret not making him go home.”

“Fine, fine.” She looks to be backing down. That is until she smirks, meeting your eyes again. “I’m not the only one who sees something!” She says cheerily before bouncing off as far as one can, which is about a foot. She looks back at you and winks before (lightly) punching Woonhak in the back to get his attention. She’s immediately drawn into some debate of some sort or another. Earlier, Leehan had assigned you both fish and Jen had been assigned a ‘Cherry Barb’ and she immediately took issue with the name for some reason or other. It was very cathartic for Taesan to watch someone contest Leehan’s fish opinions. He was totally dumbstruck; it was hilarious. Then, of course, you got an informational speech from Leehan which quelled Jens’ argument. Now, she’s a Cherry Barb.

Maybe this is how it should be, friends arguing with friends and laughing about it after, cramped in a too small room. When you meet Taesan’s eyes, you see the sparkle in them tell you he thinks so too. Maybe your friends will become the opposite of children of divorce, gaining family instead of it being separated. Is that just children of marriage? Ugh, Jen’s infected you.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Taesan wiggles his eyebrows, clearly having heard the conversation. You roll your eyes.

BREAKING CODE

Jen is passed out on her bed on the opposite side of the room. The egg clock greets you with the time in blaring white: 11:32 pm. Head in your hands, you groan. No amount of free-on-youtube reality TV was going to calm your nerves. None of your favorite episodes are helping, even the one you have open on your computer. 

After the boys had left, you guaranteed yourself that everything would be fine. Your presentation would go great, no questions asked. Now, sitting in your room practically alone, you feel way less optimistic. 

Thoughts of Taesan cross your mind and you furrow your eyebrows, trying to shoo them. You wonder if he’s awake right now, if he’s anxious like you. You try to calm yourself by thinking that it could be worse, the presentation could be 30% of your grade. Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t help. Your phone, thrown aside earlier and laying on the bed, is practically inviting you to make a bad decision with its open, empty screen.

You stare out the window, contemplating whether or not to take the risk and text him. Your window opens up to a view of the door to enter your dorm building, and you can see the freshly fallen snow settling around it. The snow covers the creaky benches and even the overhang above the door. It’s while you're doing this contemplating that, to your fortune or maybe misfortune, the risk decides to take you with a ding from your phone.

On your home screen, you see a contact pop up and you freeze. You read the name again, it still says MOUNTAIN. Taesan put that as his contact name.

You look again, you weren’t hallucinating. It’s Taesan texting you. Is he nervous? Did he seriously take you up on your offer? You were simultaneously hoping that he would text you while hoping that he would never, ever even think to.

You steel yourself and open your phone, that’s when you get your answer.

[MOUNTAIN]: are you up [MOUNTAIN]: i’m nervous are you

You did tell him to text you if he was nervous. That offer, however, happened when you were feeling a little bolder. You are not feeling especially bold right now.

[you]: i might be [MOUNTAIN]: meet me lets go to the convenience store [MOUNTAIN]: chills me out before midterms usually and this is like the same thing

You didn’t need to even try to make a bad decision, the bad decision came to you, enticing you with the lure of a convenience store and a chance to escape your stuffy dorm.

Resting your phone on your chest, staring at the ceiling like a corpse with the way your hands are positioned, you weigh your options. Mentally, you make a list.

PROs:

You see Taesan

You get a snack probably

CONs:

You see Taesan

It’s been established that crazy shit goes down when you see Taesan past like nine pm—it’s like your friendship is a vampire but night-intolerant instead of day-intolerant

The last time you made a for the plot decision it didn’t turn out that bad. Yeah, partnering with Taesan could have sucked, but it didn’t. Going to the party was a kind of yolo-esque decision, too, and that was kind of a blessing in disguise. You rationalize your preference for meeting him with the fact that you know him better now. He’s not a rando and, as far as you know, he’s not evil.

You only live once, right?

You pick your phone back up and text him before you can rethink it.

[you]: meet where? [MOUNTAIN]: outside your dorm building in 10

You squint at the screen. His place is like a twenty minute walk away and you’re pretty sure he doesn’t have a car, that would be weird for him. You can’t pinpoint why, but you don’t like the idea of him owning a car, despite the fact that he’s driven Jen’s with you in it. Ugh.

[you]: okay

You are totally chill about this.

Looking over at Jen in her bed, you decide you don’t want to be interrogated about this decision yet. She will not let you hear the end of it, and that’s not going to calm your nerves. It’s kind of against customary law safety recommendations to not tell your roommate where you’re going at night, but you decide that’s not applicable here.

Taking your computer off your lap and swinging your feet over the side of your bed as quietly as possible, you assess the situation. The nice thing about totally embarrassing yourself the first time you met him is that you now don’t particularly care about how you look. You’re wearing Jen’s mother’s giant Hartford Whalers hockey team brand shirt and some irritatingly red plaid pajama pants that totally crash with the cool blues and greens of your shirt.

Tiptoeing to the square, wooden-framed mirror hung in the entrance you check how your hair looks. You pull on your oversized puffer jacket as quietly as possible from the command hook-provided coat hanger adorning off the back of the exit door. The zipper is cold in your hands as you check to make sure Jen is oblivious to your impending excursion. She is still fast asleep, evident from the way her chest slowly rises and falls and the faint snores that you hear from her. 

The door handle is freezing to the touch. You expected as much from a dorm building with as little central heating as it tends to cater, but it’s still unpleasant. The door opens with a loud creak. You stand assured that no one has successfully snuck out of any single one of these dorms because the floorboards creak and the doors practically announce over the loudspeaker when anyone opens them.

Thankfully, Jen is none the wiser as you glance back at her, she’s in the same sleeping position you last saw her in: lying on her stomach with one leg thrown up closer to her chest and an arm flung over her head. It’s completely bizarre and totally adorable of her.

You make your way through the straightforward yet somehow labyrinthine halls of your dorm building. As you approach the glass entryway, you see Taesan illuminated by the orange streetlight, leaning against the red brick of the adjacent building standing on a recently-hardened layer of snowfall. He’s layered an unzipped black puffer jacket, similar to yours, over a gray hoodie and accessorised with a hat that makes his head look round like an egg. He’s rubbing his gloved hands together to keep them warm. He sees you before you even open the door, and his face lights up when he does.

After suppressing a smile, you scold him, “I can’t believe you called me to meet you at this hour!” 

“You told me I could!” He defends. You notice how you can see his breath against the cold air. It’s colder than you thought, you push your bare hands further into your pockets.

“How did you even get here so fast? Do you secretly live in the next building, or something? Are you my tropey boy next door?” You nudge him, wiggling your eyebrows as if this was some plot straight out of a fanfiction.

“Yeah, right.”

“Come on, you’re not secretly pining for me?” You tease him, sinking deeper into the collar of your coat on account of the biting wind that hits you once you leave the sanctuary of the protected building and, though you’re not willing to admit it to yourself, because the boy next to you makes your cheeks hot.

“Yeah, I’m secretly hanging off of your every word, just waiting for the moment I can confess my undying love for you.” He rolls his eyes. Noticing your hands shoved in your pockets, he changes the subject, “are you cold? I brought some extra gloves, do you want them?” His words are surprisingly considerate considering the incessant teasing you subject him to daily.

“Yeah.” You laugh, freezing as he takes the knit black gloves out of his pocket. Taking them from him and putting them on, you adjust them carefully. They’re far too big for you, but it’s the thought that counts, right? The “thought that counts” is definitely keeping your hands warmer. As you examine your new apparel with a smile, you feel a pressure over your head. Somehow, you hadn’t noticed him taking his hat off and now he is pushing it onto your head. You jump back, “hey! You could have lice!” Your smile disappears in favor of a pout. The hat does feel nice on your ears though.

Taesan bursts out laughing, “I do not have lice, I promise.” Still laughing, he elaborates, “plus, you’re cold. Your ears were so cold they were getting red.” You glare at him as he only laughs harder. Instinctively, you throw up your hands to cover your ears

“Point me to the convenience store or I’m going back inside whether you’re nervous or not.” You grumble.

“Okay, Miss Grump. Just follow me.” He says with a stupidly charming smile and grabs your wrist before picking up the pace. To him, picking up the pace means speed-walking, but for you, it means jogging.

“Ack!” You jump at the sudden movement, “Taesan! You can’t do that!” You try to free your wrist and, when you succeed, you cross your arms, standing solid in place as he turns around.

“If you don’t come with me, I’ll yell that you think Heath Ledger is super sexy during the presentation!” He yells, running backwards. Your jaw drops open. You want to trust Taesan enough to think he wouldn’t do that, but you also know Taesan well enough that he totally would do that. It was a bad idea to watch 10 Things I Hate About You with him, Jen, and his roommates after the Uno game. You do not need your personal preferences aired out to an auditorium of your peers and Dr. Woo. Plus, the only thing you like about Heath Ledger is that he essentially serenaded Kat Stratford!

Damn it. Stuck between would and would not, you narrow your eyes and start sprinting after him before he can turn a corner.

“You’re so on, Mr. Mountain!” He turns to look behind him, seeing you gaining fast on him as you run as fast as your legs will take you towards him. It’s his turn to be surprised, and he speeds up. After all, he wasn’t going that fast in the first place. As you close the gap between the two of you, you can hear his infectious laughter that makes you press down a swelling in your chest. You do not like Taesan, you assure yourself. It’s all in good fun. It’s only good fun. Focusing on the challenge ahead, you see Taesan just ahead of you, about to turn down a sidewalk.

He’s right behind a snowbank. If you’re the sun and the snowbank is the earth, he’s the moon in a solar eclipse.

It’s impulsive, your next action, truly. Presented with the right circumstances, however, you like to take your chances. With a shout that’s more primeval than you intended it to be, you grab onto his puffer jacket and tackle him onto the earth that is the snowbank.

It’s almost like slow-motion when you, with an evil smile, keep your eyes focused on Taesan as you see the world around you slowly become more horizontal as you fall, yourself falling on his back as he falls flat on his chest.

When his front compresses the snow enough to stop his descent towards the obscured grass, you hear him let out a moan. A moment of silence passes as both of you process what just happened. You’re propped up on your hands (gloved, thanks to Taesan) and he’s lying on his back, hands thrown above him because of his attempt at stabilization during the fall. His lips are slightly parted in shock, and his eyes are wide open, staring at you. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. He totally moaned when he fell. At least you can play teasing offense on him instead of having to defend why you tackled this man that is in no way, shape, or form your boyfriend. To be fair, men whimpering is hot. It’s just that you didn’t expect the man whimpering to be Taesan. It doesn’t really fit with his image.

You hold yourself up with one hand, clutching your stomach as you double over in laughter. “Oh my gosh, this is hilarious! I’m going to tell Riwoo that you moan when you get pushed around by women. He’ll never let you hear the end of it!” Taesan looks completely scandalized. His mouth is open and he looks totally terrified, you almost feel bad for him. 

Almost.

He covers his eyes with his gloves, “don’t you dare say anything.” Tears form in your eyes as you attempt to suppress a laugh to try and spare any more of his dignity. That doesn’t extend to teasing, though. It’s simply too good of an opportunity to pass up.

“What if, during the presentation, I yell out that you moan when someone pins you down?” You theorize him, sitting down on the dry ground next to him, throwing your legs over his stomach.

Still holding his hands over his eyes, he mutters a defensive response, “it’s not like that!” Flat on his back, he looks, somehow, handsome with snow visible in and contrasting against his darker hair, and his gloves covering his reddening face in embarrassment. If you’re lucky, maybe this is how he felt watching you fall onto him when you were drunk the first time you met. It’s more adoration than disgust.

“Aw, there’s no shame in it.” You coax. He is completely and totally embarrassed, you can tell by the way his ears are bright, cherry red.

“Don’t tell anyone, okay? What do you want?” He whines, refusing to look at you even when you try to pry his hands away from his face.

“Whatever we do and wherever we go together, it’s on you. Monetarily, I mean.” You push a finger into his chest as he finally frees his eyes from his own grip, daring to look at you face on.

“You serious?” He groans, he’s still red but looks to be over the initial shock. Either from the biting wind swirling around you or because of your teasing, his cheeks are coated in a dusting of red.

“Yeah, unless you want everyone to know about your sexual preferences.” Releasing him from your pushed finger, you cross your arms and shrug innocently.

“This is blackmail. This is extortion!” He complains, covering his eyes again.

“So… yes or no?” You grab his wrists and rip them from his face, revealing his angsty stare.

“...Yes, I’ll pay. Will you let it go now?” His words are harsher and he’s sulking, glaring at you. Maybe you pushed it too far.

“Hey, I meant it when I said it’s nothing to be ashamed about.” You let go of his wrists, opting to rub his shoulder instead, in an attempt to reassure him. “Listen, I lost my dignity by falling on you and drooling when we met, and you lost your dignity just now. Let’s just say we’re even.” You smile optimistically, hoping it will psych him into believing you because what you say is the truth, even if it’s a touchy subject, apparently.

Once he’s reminded of your not-so-cute meet-cute, he seems to relax a little. “You did drool like crazy. Do I really have to pay?” He’s smiling now, thank God. He rests his hands on his chest, looking way more comfortable.

“Yup. You do.” You laugh, it’s a softer laugh than your earlier fit, though. “Convenience store?” You prompt him, offering a hand to have him get up. As your hand interlocks with his, a smile tugs at the sides of your lips and you still can’t tell if the heat in your face is from the wind chill or Taesan. “And, take your hat back, idiot. Your ears are red.” The hat traps all the heat radiating from your flushed face and it makes you almost feel sweaty.

He laughs a little before speaking, “thanks for the hat. My ears are just so cold.” He jokes. “The store is just this way.” He points to the right he was going to take when you knocked him down. He was leading you the right way, at least. “Never try to blackmail me again, I swear.” He threatens, pouting, and then shoves you, however lightly. He doesn't look very scary.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.” You retort. He glares at you, keeping eye contact as you walk closer to the glowing, welcoming arms of the convenience store in the form of its bright lights, illuminating the street from the inside, casting an eerie glow onto the otherwise dark and snow-ridden street. In response to his look, you childishly blow a strawberry at him. This hasn’t been either of your finest hours. Your antics draw out a smile from him, at least. Practically skipping along, you try to change the subject to something less personal, maybe. “What did you expect when you called me out here? You said you were nervous, after all.”

“Yeah, I did say that. I got the pre-presentation nerves, you know? ‘Thought we could talk about it.” He rubs his neck. This is definitely a less personal topic, but that’s not to say it’s impersonal.

“So, talk.” You command, avoiding eye contact mostly so you don’t laugh, replaying him falling over.

“What is there to say? I had some nerves.” He laughs, opening the silvery door to the convenience store, stepping aside to let you through.

“What a gentleman,” you muse, “how’d you learn that? Rom-coms?”

“I’m allowed to be nice, too, you know. You watch more romantic comedies than me.” He rolls his eyes.

“I do it ironically.” You drawl. “I was nervous too, to be honest,” you were not going to tell him that you were watching rom-coms trying to relax, that would be a little too much ammo for him, “Jen was fast asleep and I was just kind of… lying there.” You pick up a miscellaneous chip bag, lazily inspecting it.

“Oh, I totally get it. The only other person awake was Leehan, and he was going to trap me in fish conversation if I even so much as approached him.” You snort at this. Even from your brief interactions with Leehan this afternoon, his passion is palpable. You can just see it in his face that he’s a little bit of an uber-nerd about those particular animals. Nerd is being used affectionately, of course. His interest is admirable. “Do you want those chips?” He asks, pointing to the bag in your hand.

“Not really, I like those other ones better.” You shrug, pointing to the alternative, an equally fluorescent bag of slightly better-tasting chips. “We can tame the worries together,” you smile at him, reaching behind you to grab your preferred flavor, “the question is how.”

“Going to the convenience store is a pretty good start.” He pushes his bottom lip into the top one. As you watch this action, he suppresses a smile, suddenly. “I have an idea.” Of course he does. He says this with a growing smile on his face as he locks eyes with you. “We should have a snowball fight.” Your own smile grows as he waits for your response.

“We should.” You nod. This time, you have an idea, a bad one. “Only if you moan again.” You charge him with the scandalous comment, and he looks affronted again, and immediately reaches out a free hand to shove you.

“Don’t say that so loud!” He hissed, looking around the almost empty store to see if anyone heard him. “That stays between you and me.” You roll your eyes but you can’t hide your amusement.

“Yeah, okay.” You walk off towards the cashier across the store to buy your snacks, sticking out your tongue at him. On the way, you inspect and in turn pick up a chocolate bar and a mediocre-looking apple to buy with your chips; it’s all about balance.

Taesan comes up behind you as you place your haul on the mini conveyor belt and gives a small bow to the cashier. He sets down two bags of chips and an enoki mushroom snack that has Japanese writing on it, for which you give him a disgusted look. Perusing his other selections, you smile when you see the second chip bag, for which you change your disgusted look for one of gratitude.

“Aw, did you get those for me?” You ask, pointing to the less perfect, but still pretty good flavor.

“No, I got them for… um…” He pauses, seemingly unable to think of someone else he would get them for. It’s kind of cute, if not a little embarrassing. “I got them for you. I can be kind, remember?” Sassy man apocalypse.

“Duly noted.” You purse your lips. You look at him expectantly, going from him to his card on the back of his phone, again.

“What?” He asks, innocently. Sungho wasn’t joking when he said that he looks like a cat. As he realizes you’re deadass, he narrows his eyes and turns to you, “are you serious about the whole paying thing?” He cocks his head.

“I was pretty clear. That is, unless you—” You’re cut off by Taesan clamping a hand over your mouth, for which he gets a repulsed and highly suspicious glare from the middle-aged cashier, he meets this with another bow, unclasping your face from his grip. When you’re let go, you raise your eyebrows at him as if to say ‘really?’ His hand smells like lavender soap, it’s kind of pleasant, actually. From the state of his and his roommates’ everything-but-sleeping room, you wouldn’t have guessed they were in possession of floral hand soap. When you’re done thinking about how he smells, you’re feeling a little embarrassed and also physically being led out of the store, hopefully after Taesan paid.

“Was that really necessary?” You ask, hands free because Taesan’s holding the store-provided bag that houses all of your treats.

“I don’t need anyone hearing about… that. Especially a middle-aged anyone.” He clarifies and fair enough. You take the opportunity, however, to scoop up a clump of snow (distinctly not yellow, you checked) and pitch it at him. Still carefully holding your bag, he looks at you with a sense of betrayal. “Oh, I’m going to get you.” He threatens before hurling a snowball that splashes against your only water-resistant coat.

Snowball after snowball is thrown, before your brief yet intense brawl is cut short by ice cold rain slicing through the air around you. Without Taesan’s hat, the sleet pummels your head and it hurts. Your puffer has no hood. Before you can let out an ‘ow,’ even, you find your oasis above you, a puffer. Taesan’s puffer. He managed to, in the short time it started sleeting and you noticed it, drop all of his stockpiled snowballs, pick up the convenience store’s bag, take off his puffer jacket, and cover your head with it, protecting you from the harsh, half-frozen rain. When you look at his face to your right, he looks totally angelic. The streetlight behind him makes him look like he has a halo from the light filtering through the edges of his hair. He’s smiling, despite all the teasing and irritation you put him through in the short time you’ve been out of your dorm.

“Yikes, that came fast.” He comments, looking around and noticing how the sleet pelts down around the two of you. “I’ll take you home, I think it’s our cue to wrap this up.” He suggests. His sweetness contrasts against the wistful feeling that unexpectedly forms when he mentions parting. Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation or maybe it’s the chill getting to you, but you feel like you’re on cloud nine, it’s the most you’ve laughed since Jen told you the crazy goings-on between her highschool ex-girlfriend and one of her friends. Apparently, her ex-girlfriend is absolutely smitten for her friend and said friend completely ignores her at every turn. You laughed until your cheeks hurt that day. Your cheeks don’t hurt from laughing, necessarily, but it’s the same sort of freeing feeling. You don’t know what to make of that, but you’re damn sure you like the way he’s smiling at you.

“Whatever you say. Thanks for the roof.” You beamed, pointing up at the make-shift shelter he’s made for you.

“My pleasure, Miss Grump.” He says this with a posh accent that makes you laugh. You have no idea since when he’s started calling you Miss Grump, but there are worse names, probably.

“Don’t make me kick you.” You threaten, trying (and failing) to suppress the grin that tugs at your lips.

“Sorry, Madame Grump.” He corrects, still holding the cover over your head.

 “I’m not even being grumpy.” You warn him, not even trying to hide the smile that spreads across your face. “Come on, get moving.” You cue him to start the walk back to your dorm.

“Your wish is my command, Miss—” 

“Don’t you dare.” You threaten and bump your shoulder into his. The walk back to your dorm is short, it took you far longer to get to the convenience store because of… well… tangential events. Checking your phone, you finally learn the time. It’s fucking two in the morning. Great! You’ll get essentially no sleep, but that’s nothing a little caffeine can’t fix.

“I dare more than you think I do.” He purses his lips.

“Okay, I dare you to admit you moaned when you fell.” You challenge him with a smirk.

He groans, “I pick truth.”

“This isn’t truth or dare, you don’t get to pick. Plus, truth would be ‘did you moan when you fell.’” You can see your dorm from where you stand in front of the red brick building, it’s still brightly lit. Hopefully that means that Jen is still asleep and hasn’t woken up to turn the overhead off.

“You can’t subpoena me so I’m not playing this game.” He shrugs, stopping underneath the overhang above the glass door that marks the entrance to your building and the separation from Taesan. As he steps aside, taking his puffer with him and putting it back on, you’re suddenly and unfortunately aware of his body heat now that it’s gone.

“I’m less nervous.” He says with a smile that seems almost confidential, like a secret only you know. He’s undeniably easy on the eyes with his stupid hat and soaked gloves and hoodie. 

“Me too.” The words come out of your mouth softly. Somehow, they’re vulnerable words to say. “Goodnight, Taesan.” After your parting words, neither of you make a move to leave. His full name feels more meaningful than his nickname, somehow. You stand there, lit up by the LEDs of the hallways, staring at each other, and you’re not entirely sure why. The tension might be thick, it might not be, you can’t tell by the way you’re focused on his face. Well, it’s not exactly his face. It’s the way his hair frames his face, yes, and the way that his eyes scrunch when he smiles, even slightly, it’s also the way his egg hat looks and the way his hoodie is so damp because he was trying to keep you warm and dry. 

Then it’s all over. When the tension breaks, it’s not like it’s cut through. It’s more like it dissipates. It dissipates thanks to the man who barrels down the street adjacent to your bubble, blasting a Spanish ballad and singing his heart out. Soy capitán, soy capitán, soy capitán! blasts through the complex. You break eye contact with Taesan just to laugh at the oddity passing you. You watch him coast down the street on his green bike, singing, without a helmet, hands-free. Your mother would not approve. Taesan’s not laughing, but he’s beaming and staring at you as you crouch down because of your laughter. You try and convince yourself it’s not even that funny, but something about the era of the night just makes you heave with how hard you’re laughing.

“I mean,” recovering, you let out a sigh, finally releasing a breath that you don’t remember holding, “it is a college campus.”

“You can say that again.” His hands are on his hips, and he’s managed to pry his eyes away from you. The sleet’s stopped somewhat, but the ground is still icy from the snow and sleet and rain that have frozen and refrozen over the past few days. The same wistful silence settles between you two after the interruption.

“Maybe it’s a sign.” You laugh in disbelief. Now you’re sure you’ve laughed more than when Jen told you about her friend’s drama. Way more.

“A sign for what?” He questions, jocose and almost suspicious of your deduction.

“A sign you’ve violated like a million rules of common decency!” Another voice, one other than the singing man’s melody and Taesan’s and your chatter, is heard echoing throughout. “Han Taesan, I’m going to beat your ass!” The voice threatens angrily. At first, you don’t know where it’s coming from. At second, you don’t want to believe where it’s coming from. You slowly look up to your open dorm window and see Jen’s disheveled figure poking out with the single most serious scowl you’ve ever seen her wear. The only time that gets close to this nouveau expression is the time she decked a guy for… being a total freak for one of her friends, let’s say. Your body is confused on whether to panic, run, or just freeze. Waiting to act is still an action, and it’s the prognosis your body suggests. You freeze, looking from Taesan to the window, where Jen is notably absent.

You look at Taesan. 

You look at the window. 

You look at Taesan. 

You look at the hallway.

Taesan looks terrified, you look utterly and visibly confused, and for Jen… well, it looks like there's smoke coming out of her ears as she storms down the hallway towards the doors that open to reveal your two-person symposium. Jen slams open the door and, if it wasn’t specifically made not to slam, the impact of the slam would have reverberated until even Dr. Woo heard it across the campus in his (probably sound-proofed) office where he probably still is because, you know, he’s Dr. Woo.

“You motherfucker, what did you do to get her to go out without telling me! What are you hiding? Are you a criminal? Are you a smoker? Oh no, you’re just a piece of shit trying to get in her pants!” Jen steps in front of you, blocking everything but Taesan’s head from your view. From what you can see, Taesan hasn’t been sucker punched yet. His eyes are wide and he’s holding his hands up like he’s waiting for her to swing, and maybe he is. You know he doesn’t know her well enough to know that she wants to beat the shit out of him, but she did say explicitly that she was going to beat the shit out of him so he had some reason to suspect that that’s what was incoming.

“W-what? I don’t— I didn’t do any of that stuff!” He’s shaking his hands wildly and Jen still looks like she’s about to swing by the way she’s pushing a finger into his chest. Still too shocked to do, well, anything except watch.

You see her rear up in a way that’s all too familiar to you, and when you remember you can move, “Jen, wait! It’s–” As soon as the words leave your mouth, you see her closed fist collide with his cheekbone and the impact make him reel back, clutching the affected area with a mittened hand. He almost knocks his head into the pole supporting the overhang, and you can see he’s visibly out of it. Is this a good time to mention that Jen is freakishly good at karate? What Jen is, however, not amazing at is analyzing the situation. As she battles with the follow-through of the swing, she loses her footing on the icy ground, falling flat on her ass. Now, both parties accompanying you are on the icy ground and you’re the only one still standing.

You act in a delay. “Jen! He didn’t do anything, I swear!” You reach for her shoulders that are no longer there, trying to stop an action that’s already happened. You watch as Taesan crumples further into a fetal position and you stand there in shock.

“See!” She spits, snapping her head back to look up at you. “He’s not even trying to help me up!” Her eyebrows are furrowed and angry.

“Jen,” you almost can’t help but laugh, “you decked him, he doesn’t even know what planet he’s on.” You look from your best friend to your… Taesan, and wonder how you attend to both of their bullshit situations at once. “Okay, first of all, Jen, please don’t punch his ass again—”

“Yeah, I’ll punch him in the gut.” She snarls, cutting you off.

“No! There will be no punching.” You declare, trying to sound confident but you’re so bewildered it comes out more as a question. You turn your attention to Taesan, whose nose is bleeding ever so slightly. He’s holding his hat-clad head in his hands and is grimacing in pain. You mirror him, a grimace appearing on your own face as you look upon his pitiful condition. This is going to be so fun to explain. “I came out here because I told him he could call me if he was nervous for the presentation tomorrow and I’d talk to him about it and so we went to the convenience store and… I’m fine! He’s not just trying to get in my pants, he would’ve done that already if he wanted to.” You ramble, using logic that probably wouldn’t withstand in court but works well enough when you talk a million miles an hour to a less than law-savvy subject, that subject being Jen. The subject, Jen, looks scandalized by this information.

“Where did my innocent baby go?” She pouts, getting up to put her arms around you. “Where did my sweet, lightweight, baby with no love life go? She’s sneaking out to see boys?” 

“Jen, I’m a grown woman.” You tell her, incredibly blasé and stiff as she embraces you in a hug. From over her shoulder, you catch Taesan’s eye. When your eyes meet, he laughs and then winces. It probably wasn’t a good idea to welcome an uncontrollable movement when you have some sort of abrasion on your cheek and blood coming out of your nose. Jen pulls back to look at you and shakes her head, you can almost hear her saying they grow up so fast. Maybe this is the same kind of telepathy that goes down between her and her sisters. Maybe you get it. Jen, coming back to earth from her sappy, self-appointed caretaker meltdown, narrows her eyes and looks from you to Taesan, and then from you to Taesan, again.

She opens her mouth and lets out a puff of air as if to start speaking, but she only does so a few seconds later. “So… there was no reason for me to deck him?” She asks, raising an eyebrow in genuine confusion. You nod, solemnly. Her jaw drops and her eyebrows push together. She puts her tongue in her cheek, mind reeling. This is when she realizes she gave this poor man a bloody nose and probably a black eye for no damn reason. Suddenly, she fixes her gaze on you, “you’re the one I should be chewing out! Do you know how many staples of girl code you’ve violated?! You could have died!” She exclaims, clearly ready to give you a talking-to, way worse than when you spelled ‘Elliann’ as ‘Ellyanne.’ She’s like OSHA but for general female wellbeing.

You reach out to grab her hands that are moving dramatically to illustrate her point, “okay, you can chew me out after Taesan isn’t bleeding out.” She seems to relax like a combative patient injected with midazolam.

“I’m not bleeding out.” He huffs, but is still holding his nose bridge, so he’s still bleeding, at least, and that’s not exactly ideal. 

“You look like shit, though.” You tell him

“Thanks,” he groans, “can I get some tylenol, or something?” Yeah, he totally looks like a hurt puppy. It’s kind of cute, you guess.

“Yeah, we’ll get you patched up.” You assure him, breaking away from Jen to attend to Taesan.

“No ‘we.’ Only you. Don’t let her punch me again.” 

“We’re over the combat phase, it’s fine. Get up, do your legs still work?” You try to say your biting words as comfortingly as possible. It’s past two in the morning, you’re too over-tired to try to pick your words so they’ll feel better for the receiver. What’ll make Taesan feel better, physically, at least, is tylenol and making sure his nose isn’t broken.

“My legs don’t, my ass hurts like hell.” Jen complains, but helps in picking Taesan up anyway.

“It’s very hard to break a tailbone, a nose, on the other hand…” You raise your eyebrows but say no more. Taesan gets up just fine, but still clutches his nose. “Campus clinic’s probably closed, we have a first-aid kit, though.”

Jen issues a half-hearted-sounding yet fully meant apology in the form of a mutter of “sorry for punching you, man.” 

“You’re cool, man. Cool that you were looking out for her.” He gives her a small thumbs up. It’s a weird moment of friendship between these two. For having met barely a week ago and having spent five hours together tops, these two have a more tumultuous relationship than most twin siblings at the age of nine, which is saying something considering most have chased each other with a knife by the age of five and a half. Jen has gone from asking to be the maid of honor to decking the presumed groom and now having a hopefully more stable relationship with said groom. So much plot it’s not even ‘for the plot’ anymore, you’re just riding the wave of unexpected inciting events.

“The more the merrier.” You mutter as you sling Taesan’s arm over your shoulder. Why he abets this when the damage is to his face, who knows. The more the merrier indeed in your cramped dorm, trying to ignore how the cold compress on his bruise keeps melting even though it’s so cold and the fact that you have an injured and sleep-deprived boy on your hands.

GOT GOOD

You bite the inside of your cheek, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to express your dismay. You kind of bombed your presentation. 

Scrap that, you really bombed your presentation. 

As you step out of the lecture hall following the sea of your peers, you step aside to press your back into a free wall. It’s one of the moments where you need to just detach. Crossing your arms for stability, you melt into the wall. The overhead light that you can see even through your closed eyelids is obscured every so often by a moving body. This drowsiness is familiar.

Amid the frequent passings of students, the light is masked for longer than would be caused by someone in passing. You know who it is.

“Hey, it wasn’t that bad.” You open your eyes to a squint and see Taesan leaning against the wall next to you. Despite how you try to ignore it, you’re immediately drawn to the squashed berry purple color that blossoms on the inflamed skin under his left eye, giving way to a lighter almost green tint near his nose. Jen got him good. Your blinks are slow, the scant hours of sleep are getting to you. You slept through your alarm, foreboding you from even getting coffee before the presentation. Despite his injury, he’s smiling.

“I lost where I was like every other sentence.” You attempt to mirror his smile, but it doesn’t really work, leaving you with a smile that reaches your eyes but not your lips, somehow.

“It’s Dr. Woo, you’ll be fine. He doesn’t care nearly as much as you do. We got all of our information out. It doesn’t matter how graceful it was.” He lays out his reasons and you cock your head, weighing the possibility that he’s right.

“Are you like a vampire, or something? You don’t need sleep?”

“I’m used to it.” He shrugs. Maybe living with five as many people as you do makes you sleep way less; especially since it seems like Taesan is their chaperone despite the fact that Sungho and Riwoo are older than him, you’ve learned.

“You shouldn’t be. Sleep is good.” You close your eyes again, and a silence settles over you. You’ve created your own little bubble in the hallway, and it might not even include Taesan. Right now, it’s just you and your desperate need for rest. You are not the kind of person to pull an all-nighter.

“I told you you were going to crash.” He reminds you and you hum in response. “Look,” he gets your attention by putting a hand on your shoulder, “the boys are out, come back to my place and you can take a nap. I know that your room still smells like disinfectant.” A smile creeps across your face at this. It’s true: your room smells like the pungent iodine that you used to clean the minor abrasions on his cheekbone. You still have no idea why Jen has that much power in her.

“Lead the way.” 

“It’s way closer to this building than it is to your building, it’s barely any walk at all.” He assures you. Regardless, you have to speed walk to keep up with the pace.

“Do you have hot chocolate, or anything?” At your drawled request, he tsks. Pressing his lips together, you take that as a no.

“I’ll see what I can do. Woonhak owes me like nine favors.” He laughs a little at this, and you smile too. Unremarkably, it hasn’t become spring overnight, and so the wind is still nipping at your face. You were wise enough to wear your Taesan-provided gloves, though. Looking at Taesan’s face and the way the wind makes his face a little pink, you’re pretty sure you could find the whole color palette on his face. Except blue, maybe. You’ve got the other colors covered. Red for his cheeks, orange, yellow, green, and purple for his bruise. Huh, that bruise contributes a lot. “It’s just this way.” He says, guiding you with a pointed hand towards a complex highly similar to your own. Same red brick buildings and same overhang. The difference is that, you know from picking your roommate, this building is the apartment sector. Frankly, it’s incredible that Taesan and his roommates are all friends. You know other people who got apartments, or even quads, who aren’t so happy.

As you step into the entrance way, you feel the warm air hit your face. This building is much warmer than yours, maybe that’s a good thing. Walking up the stairs, Taesan is steady behind you. You wonder if he’s thinking about catching you like he had to the time you were drunk off your ass.

As soon as you enter the apartment dorm, your focus tunnel visions on the soft couch in the middle of the room. It looks like heaven as you step towards it. You were unfairly ripped from the comfort of your bed for that fuckass presentation and now you can return to your natural state, sleeping. You thank whatever power is out there because this is so incredibly opportune.

As soon as you shed your backpack and winter coat and collapse on the couch, you’re out like a light. No words from Taesan can wake you now, even if it is him professing his undying love for you. No, it’s up to your internal clock to make you up, lest you sleep forever.

Your internal clock does wake you up. You’re groggy, but it’s still light out, so you couldn’t have slept for so long. As you assess your situation, you notice two differences.

First, you’re warm.

A navy blue throw blanket has been carefully draped over you, and you’re pretty sure you didn’t do that yourself. You bite the inside of your cheek—happily, this time. It’s proof he does care, and maybe you’re letting the gesture get to your head. You do… not like Han Taesan, right?

Second, you’re alone in Taesan’s living room.

There are no signs of life, not from his roommates nor from the mountain himself. That’s more puzzling. You would have assumed he would have stayed for one reason or another, maybe he went out to get hot chocolate? He told you that he would have Woonhak do it.

Looking around the room, you take in the sights. There’s a modest TV with various video game consoles, there is a section of the room clearly designated for guitars, and it’s remarkably clean. Not too bad for five early 20-somethings and one 18 year old. It’s kind of impressive, actually. There isn’t any leftover food out and even the dishes in the sink have been rinsed, if not thoroughly washed. You pat down the area around you in search of your phone, mainly to check the time, but also to figure out where the hell Taesan went. Something about his absence hurts your heart in an uncomfortable way. You would have liked to see him when you woke up. Still… you do not like Han Taesan… do you? No, no. You don’t like him, that’s silly. He’s just your partner for a group project.

As you locate your phone, you hear the door open behind you and you swing your head around to see Taesan standing in the doorway with a hand behind his back and a bag in the hand that’s visible to you. Another bag, nice.

“Good morning.” He smiles at your state. The way he looks at you suggests your hair is out of order. You fail obviously as you try to subtly sort it out.

“I had a great nap. You have a good napping couch.” You bring a hand up to rub your right eye even though your mom says it causes astigmatism. It would suck to have contacts in right about now.

“Well,” he says, setting down the bag on the counter, “I have your hot chocolate.” You’re pretty sure your face lights up at this, it’s the perfect thing for this kind of dingy day. “And,” he continues, “I got it from a café near here; store-bought isn’t as good.” He takes a cardboard carrier out of the bag and presents his finds to you, two lidded cups.

“You sure know the way to my heart.” You mean that on a deeper level that you hope he doesn’t catch. “What’s behind your back?” You ask, pointing to the obvious hand still tucked behind him. 

He looks sheepish and brings the hand to his front, “I got these for you.” His cool act is far gone, he seems almost timid. In his left hand he grasps a bouquet of an assortment of colorful flowers. There are assorted yellows, blues, pinks, purples, and reds. It’s like a sunset wrapped in brown paper and tied in a pretty twine bow.

“Taesan!” You exclaim excitedly, jumping up from the couch to go collect your gift. “Why?” You poke. He’s quiet for a second, the question seems to echo throughout the room. A chorus of ‘why.’ You meet his eyes for just a second, but the shared glance makes your heart beat faster. He seems to bite his tongue, there’s a shining reflection of the kitchen light in his dark brown eyes. You don’t see them crinkle up, indicative of a straight face.

He swallows like his throat is thick, “I got them for you because I like you… I like you romantically.”

You’re not sure if your heart swells or drops.

From this one statement, you learn two things. You learn that Han Taesan likes you, and you learn that you like Han Taesan. You really like Han Taesan. You like the way he’s cold but kind and the way his bangs fall and his endless care for his roommates and his hardworking nature. 

You like Han Taesan.

You take the bouquet in your hands, analyzing the flowers. You notice they’re mostly tulips, but flanked by carnations, baby’s breath, and bluebells. A smile grows on your face as you look back up at him. He looks absolutely terrified. It’s not worth it to tease him here. He’s vulnerable, you should be too.

You begin to open your mouth, but before you can, he continues in an attempt at defense, “listen to me, please. I thought you were cute and smart even before the party and all of those incidents, but now that I know you I can’t not tell you. You’re witty and stubborn and playful and it’s so easy to talk to you. You were cute when you were drooling, I didn’t know that was possible. You make fun of me but I like it because you’re so kind. I… I like you.” He confesses, he’s talking fast and you think your heart might burst with excitement. Excitement isn’t the right word—euphoria? Joy? Happiness? Exhilaration? No word is quite right for how you feel about Taesan. “The tulips symbolize love.” He says under his breath and the flowers take on a whole new meaning. You feel like a tulip. Tulips symbolize love.

The smile that bursts across your face makes his eyebrows release all their tension immediately, “Taesan, I like you too. I really like you,” you tell him, “tulips symbolize love.” You look down at the bouquet and see the array of tulips that smile back at you.

“Can I kiss you? I’m not drunk, I swear.” He promises. The allusion to your first meeting makes you laugh. You met with an ask for a kiss, and now he confesses with an ask for a kiss.

“Yes.” You whisper, and he throws his arms around you, pressing his forehead to yours. You sway like that for a moment, you feel the cold of his jacket against your arms and the pressure of his hand on the small of your back. You look at him and in his eyes you see him. No walls, just you two. Just you and Taesan.

You wrap your arms around his neck, one hand still holding the bouquet and pull his lips to yours. Warmth blossoms in your chest—his kiss is soft and tender and he tastes like mint. Mint might be your new favorite flavor. His lips fit perfectly with yours. You feel the soft press of his fingers into your back, pulling you closer to him. Your lips part slightly and you’re out of breath before he even starts to pull away. His kiss is just like him, just when you think you know him all, he shows you a new surprise, something new. After stalling for just a second, he pulls you back to him and deepens the kiss. You could kiss this minty boy forever.

When he pulls away, he rests his forehead against yours again, fluttering his eyes open and shut.

“I wrote a song about this. A serenade.” He says breathlessly.

Even in the dead of winter, you think your heart melts all over again.

NOTES: Shoutout Hartford Whalers even tho they sports disbanded! SINGING MAN CAMEO! The singing man is a genuine character in my life. Living in the city center of a major city means I get LOTS of people doing weird shit like the emoji guy (who wears outfits only with bright fucking emojis, my friends have seen him too, he’s wacky), the tree guy (a man who always walks around with a fallen branch on his head, no idea why), and the supercar medical worker (woman in scrubs who drives down the streets with a loud ass car that looks like one of those fuckass shoes with big holes in them you know what im talking about the kidney shoes). I take a pic and keep them in a folder on my phone called “recurring characters.” I have never seen the singing man. He walks past my house every weekday at 11pm and I like to have my windows open and he sings loud Spanish ballads. I love him. Singing man my beloved. Sorry this is a slowburn, it was forced out of me i fear. is this a slowburn? methinks so.

[torawro]

LIKE SPECKS OF SUNLIGHT IN THE EARLY MORN. ( p. a.)

portgas d. ace & marine!fem!reader.

cw ━━ ! minors, ageless and blank blogs DO NOT INTERACT. reader is written / portrayed as a black woman but you do not have to imagine it as such! everyone is welcome to read <3 reader wears glasses, and is a marine stationed on an unnamed island at a base along the grand line. ‘lazy morning’ / ‘morning after’ kind of vibes so, a bit of pillow talk (?) . references to smut & making love (it already happened). contains some angst & angsty themes throughout (i.e., ace dealing with his self esteem issues, low self worth, etc..) otherwise it’s supposed to be fluffy ( the quiet, somber kind i think ) ! descriptions of kissing & borderline making out. ace is kind of lovesick and clingy but it’s subtle-ish. lots of introspection and reflection on both him and the reader’s part. kind of based on mitski's "my love, mine all mine", definitely had that song on repeat as i wrote this. romantic and deeply poetic rhetoric but y’all already know that’s just how i write lol. told from omniscient point of view (third person). proofread this as i was feeling sleepy, so please excuse any mistakes or things that don’t make sense!

word count ━━ ! 3.9k

notes ━━ ! guess who's baaaaack.....! i know it's been a while since i have published any original work and i want to apologize for that. lately it's been difficult finding the energy to write something for more than five minutes and honestly, i think i just need to rediscover what drives me so i can tap into the zone more often. i missed it though, and hope i get to write more this year <3 anyway, first fic of 2025 and it feels right to make it about second commander of the whitebeard pirates, portgas d. ace. this fic is my late birthday 'gift' to him and something of a love letter because ohhhhh i miss my pookie bear so much :(( this entire idea started as just me thinking about kissing each of his freckles because i have the personal hc that he doesn't really like them, the reason for it is inherently tied to his distaste for his father and by extension himself :/ and then it just turned into this lmao. i hope ace doesn't behave too out of character here, as this is also my first time writing for him in any context, so pls be gentle with me. REBLOBS + COMMENTARY ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

IT WAS NOT THE LIGHT chirping of small birds that awoke you, nor was it the ringing of your biological clock telling you that the dawn was near. Instead it was a familiar tugging sensation within the pit of your stomach— the need to relieve yourself— that caused your eyes to peel themselves back slowly and with struggle, slumber from the previous night hasn’t been completely washed away yet.

It took your brain several more moments to dust off enough of its sleepy exhaustion before you attempted to sit up from your comfortable position in bed, but were immediately met with some light resistance.

The resistance in question was a long, muscled arm thrown around your soft torso, blackened ink of a tattoo staining the skin on its bicep. It was still too dark and you were still too tired to make out the sharp angles of the marking, but you knew what they were; your eyes have gazed upon it more times than you could count, and it has made a home in your memory.

That’s when your ears registered the rhythmic and almost nasal snores that flowed from the mouth of the man who held you so securely against his chest, and you almost smiled at how completely at ease and relaxed he seemed. 

At times like this, when things were still or you had a moment to yourself, you still could not wrap your head around the fact that you had gotten yourself involved with Portgas D. Ace— willingly at that. 

The first time was a fluke at best. That’s the excuse you were going to go with. You didn’t realize he was a pirate— an infamous pirate with hundreds of millions of Beri to his name— until your clothes were already halfway off and you were feverishly grinding down onto his lap like some touch-starved whore who’s been aching to feel something. That ‘fluke’ was one spurred on by alcohol, a particularly rough week at sea, and a sizable lapse in judgment, but you hadn’t felt that…… alive in a long time. But now, two years have passed since you have been seeing Ace in secret like this, and you have long since given up blaming it on a fragile emotional constitution further weakened by alcohol. You knew good and well what you were doing, and you could no longer deny the way your heart was constantly set aflutter whenever you spent any amount of time with him.

You did try your hardest to not let yourself enjoy how … domestic it all seemed: waking up next to him in the morning and falling asleep entangled with each other at night, having him hide out at your cozy apartment for days at a time, cooking him meals when you were relieved of your duties for the day. You wouldn’t— shouldn’t let yourself enjoy such content thoughts too much, because you also knew it could all be over in the blink of an eye. The world could be cruel that way if it wanted to.

But still, that didn’t mean you couldn’t be grateful for these moments. From what you could tell, Ace seemed to enjoy this arrangement as much as you did. And for now, that was enough.

Lightly wrapping your fingers around his wrist, you carefully lifted his arm from around you, moving slow so you wouldn’t wake him up. Once you’ve successfully loosened his hold, you sat upright, a muted ache shooting through your lower body as you shifted around to stand. The ache mostly resided in between your legs, and a flood of memories from just hours ago rushed over you at once, causing a tingling warmth to bloom underneath your skin. Ace had poured so much into you, it never failed to leave you equal parts stunned and breathless when you witnessed his passion overflow from the brim of his being. His hands, calloused palms that always ran hot, had been everywhere— your body could still feel the heat of where they had laid, caressed, groped, smacked, and squeezed. And you involuntarily jolted as you recalled where his fingers and lips had been, how it felt to be pressed so closely against him as he simultaneously took you apart. 

After another moment of being lost in your own reverie, you pulled yourself out of it and filed those memories away in a separate corner of your mind, so that you may more fully indulge in them later. As you carefully removed the blankets and climbed over the sleeping pirate, one bare foot had hardly hit the cool wooden floor before a hand wrapped itself around your wrist. 

A quiet grumbling noise vibrated from behind Ace’s lips, his eyes remained closed as he spoke, indicative that he was barely awake. “Wh…where y’goin’....?” His words were slurred and thick with sleep, his deep voice reaching the depths of your being to spark something to life in the pit of your belly. But you promptly ignored it for now. 

“To the bathroom, I gotta pee.”

He replied with another mumbling sort of noise, presumably one of acknowledgment or begrudging acquiescence— you couldn’t be sure. “M’kay, just . . . hurry back t’bed, will ya? M’cold.” 

You found amusement in the inherent irony of his claim that he was ‘cold’  when he always ran a little warmer than most— not to mention his devil fruit powers— but also in the fact that despite his urging you to take care of your business swiftly, he hasn't released his hold on your wrist yet. In fact, he tugged you a little closer to him, as if he was trying to pull you back into bed. 

A small smile began to curl at the corners of your lips as you moved to manually pry his fingers from your arm so you can make your way out of the bedroom and down the hall.

For the next several minutes, Ace was left alone. 

He stirred in his partially-awake state as he made himself comfortable again in bed, but one eye managed to pry itself open by a few millimeters. It was unfortunate he was roused from his deep  sleep, but he was sure he’d doze off again soon enough. 

From what he could see, the room was still dark for the most part, his surroundings washed in a rich, navy blue color, a telltale sign that the sun would rise within the next hour or so. Aside from the faint rustling coming from the bathroom, the air was occupied by a serene silence, meaning his innermost thoughts became that much more perceptible to his mind’s ear. 

Sometimes, a part of Ace felt like fate had shined upon him— just a little, just this once— when his mind mulled over his…unique relationship with you, and all the events that led up to this exact moment. He too understood the implications of seeing you like this, but he couldn’t find it within himself to let go and move on. There was just…something about you, something special. 

Even now, he still couldn’t quite understand why you were taking such a big risk and basically throwing your life away by getting comfortable with a pirate like him. The both of you came from two different worlds, the morals embedded within those worlds constantly pitted you against each other. 

But you willingly ignored them, and so did he. 

Perhaps that was the ‘special’ quality about you and this relationship that he still struggled to articulate, how pure and genuine it all felt— how you were. Either way, he was grateful that he wasn’t the only one being a little selfish. And every now and again, Ace might silently thank the universe for allowing him this one thing, even though he hasn’t, and probably never will do anything, to deserve it. 

The increasing volume of footsteps pulled Ace from his thoughts, and soon enough you reappeared in the doorway, making your way back to bed– back home in Ace’s arms.

Your lips parted in a yawn, putting your hand over your mouth to muffle the sound, before carefully climbing over the taller man to reclaim your spot next to him. Ace wasted no time encasing you against him once more, one arm laid lazily across your stomach and the other resting under your neck, acting somewhat as a pillow of sorts.

“...took too long,” the pirate muttered under his breath, the low, vibrating sound of his voice so close to your ear did nothing for your fiercely pulsating heart. It was the only organ in your entire body that seemed to be fully awake right now.

“I wasn’t even gone for that long, ya big baby. Prob’ly less than five minutes.” A soft sigh punctuated your reply, snuggling more into the toned front of Ace’s chest and abdomen as he adjusted the thick blankets over both of your bodies. The covers, as well as the gentle warmth radiating from his exposed skin, provided a steady stream of heat that battled against the crisp morning air, both sensations nearly enough to lull you back to sleep. You enthusiastically pushed aside the fact that you had to get up again in two and a half hours for your shift to patrol around the city.

“Shuddup, let’s go to sleep.” Ace grumbled, pulling you even closer to him so that very little space existed between both of you, and nearly nuzzling his face in the bonnet you wore on your head. A soundless chuckle rumbled within your chest, finding his sleepy and almost pouty tone both amusing and adorable.

However, despite his own request, and the fact that his own eyes were barely open, Ace was finding it difficult to once more quiet his thoughts enough to drift back to sleep. They were still a bit too loud and knocked against his skull too much. 

Such thoughts only seemed to intensify when both of his eyes managed to peel themselves open this time in order to observe your form next to him. From what he could see based on where he laid, Ace silently took note of how tranquil your expression was as your breathing began to even out, how long your eyelashes actually were without your glasses obscuring them, and the small birthmark on your cheek that he developed a habit of kissing. His dark eyes roamed across every inch of your face, and he relished in the soft flesh of your stomach underneath his fingertips, giving it a feather-light squeeze every now and again.

You were here with him— in this bed, hardly wearing anything at all, and practically clinging to the arm wrapped around your abdomen— bound together with a kiss on that fateful night two years ago. You wanted to be here, he knew that. So why was it he still had to wrestle with the phantoms of doubt in the darker sectors of his mind? Why did they haunt him so, and prevent him from just plainly accepting this for what it is? Accept that it was okay to indulge, okay to claim this one thing as his and his alone? He didn’t even claim his own father, but this— you? Oh, how he wanted to be greedy, he yearned for it. But something in him, some dark, caustic, unforgiving thing, made him feel like he shouldn’t.

But didn’t he deserve something nice too? Something that wasn’t, or could no longer be tainted by the wicked and unloving world they were born into?

Ace knew that you cared for him— quite a lot, more than you should. There was a four letter word he might have used to label the way in which you cared about him, and he about you, but he dare not say it. He dared not say it in fear that the universe would snatch it away the moment it left his lips, and reveal that it was only playing a heartless joke on him.

“Hey. Are you… okay? Okay with this, I mean.” The words left his lips without putting a real thought behind them, for his mind was preoccupied with trying to keep itself afloat above the sea of negative ones that tried to carry him off to a place he did not want to visit.

Your left eye opened, then your right, as if opening them would help you better process his sudden question. Your brows furrowed next, digging deeper into your forehead in order to figure out the hidden meaning behind his words— or if there was one to begin with. “I…this position is fine, and I’m comfortable. Unless you want to be closer to the window?” You replied with your own question, uncertainty of what he was asking about thick in your tone. And judging by the way his arm tightened around you by a fraction and the nearly inaudible sigh that left his lips, it became clear that’s not what he was truly asking.

“No, I meant…are you okay with us?” Ace’s already husky voice quieted even more, nearly tapering off into a whisper. But he was pressed close enough to you that you were still able to hear him loud and clear. Something about the way he phrased his question rang a silent alarm in your head, indicating that the forthcoming conversation was going to take a more solemn turn.

With that in mind you shifted in his arms, turning around so that you were now facing Ace directly, still so close that the tips of your noses nearly touched each other. His hold on you readjusted as a result, the tattooed arm once more staking its claim on your waist and effectively trapping you against his front. His sable tresses fell unceremoniously across his face, a few strands nearly covering one of his eyes. Your fingers didn’t miss the opportunity to brush them away. 

“Yes.” Your reply was simple, and you thought it important to make that clear first because something, an emotion you were unable to categorize, flickered in his still-hooded eyes. And something about it worried you. “I am more than okay with us. There isn’t another person I’d rather be with right now.” The fingers lingering on his skin suddenly became your entire palm, as you were now cupping the side of his face.

Ace burned even warmer here compared to the rest of his body, and you found physical comfort in the sensation. His skin seemed to ignite under your touch despite his sleepiness, and the dark-haired pirate was internally grateful that it was still quite dark in your room, so you were unable to see the light flush that was beginning to form underneath his freckled cheeks. 

“Why are you asking?” Your inquiry was as tender as your touch, and it made his chest ache. 

It took Ace several seconds to search for his next words and arrange them in a sentence, for your straightforward reply admittedly caught him off-guard. Now he was unsure if there was a need to continue at all.

But the specters of doubt were ever persistent.

“I just…” The words faded away on his tongue before he could say them and instead, your response rang loud in his head. 

‘There isn’t another person I’d rather be with right now’.

Did you mean that? Have you always felt that way? Did you just happen to say that because he asked a question, because somehow you knew that’s what something in his soul wanted to hear?

And then, Ace found his words again. “You can do better, you know.” His voice turned more gruff, rough around the edges, as if he had to forcefully tug those words from the back of his throat. As if it hurt to say that. “You could, if you wanted. You’re gorgeous. Intelligent, resourceful. You have a respectable career, and you can cook damn good.”

You released a soft chuckle at that last part, finding it comical how he always found a way to talk about how good your food was. But whatever uptick on your lips faded as soon as it came once Ace parted his lips to speak again.

“You don’t have to spend your time, money, or energy on someone like me. You didn’t have to spread those pretty legs of yours for me, either. Didn’t have to let me stay here whenever I come to town. You didn’t even have to let me sleep in this bed so close to you.”

He paused, the muscles laying against and wrapped around you tensed briefly, his eyelashes met the apples of his cheeks when he allowed his eyes to close for a moment. When he opened them again, he found it harder to look at you— if he did, he might crumble away. “You could do better than a pirate like me, who has nothing going for himself except for instability, anger and…and hate. So, why?”

The next words reverberated in the air without Ace even having to say them. Why choose me? Why risk all of that for me?

Similarly, something throbbed uncomfortably within your chest as you listened to him speak, even after he finished and silence descended upon the both of you. 

You could only wonder where this line of questioning originated from. It was uncharacteristic of Ace to voice thoughts of this nature, even more so when there was no prior word or action to lure them forward. You continued to observe him in the quiet, not even realizing that you had been softly caressing his cheek all this while until your hand came to a halt.

Why? Why were you with Ace, entangled in every sense of the word and jeopardizing the life you’ve built for yourself for his sake? The answer seemed so simple, but not as much now that you had to consciously think about it; you somehow struggled to put it into words. 

Ace was like the rays of sunlight that peeked through heavy drapes in the early morning— much like they would soon be in a few hours— or like the flickering flames of a small fire that offered you solace on an unkind wintery night. He was warm and intense, but mellow and tender at the same time, in his own way. He offered you comfort when you needed it, stirred up something in you when you wanted it, brightened your life when you didn’t even realize how dull and monochrome it was. Ace was…

“Allow me to offer a question of my own. Why are you taking an equally significant, if not greater risk, just to curl up in my bed with me? Why come back so often to this town, risking capture, if only to hold me close, eat the food I make, and to make love to me?”

Your inquiries seemed to tug you forward, motivating you to scoot a little closer to Ace so that there was hardly even an iota of space existing in between your faces. His breath hitched quietly in his chest at that, more so when you leaned forward and simply placed your lips on his cheek, right on top of the dozens of prominent and faded freckles that resided there. Something about the gesture felt intentional— like you did not kiss his face, but the light specks on top of it. And thinking about it like that made his taut chest twinge again in a manner he could not describe right now.

Your breaths against his flesh were soft and leveled, and successfully fanned the flames of an even pinker flush to blossom across his visage.

He struggled to give you a coherent answer to your questions because his inner thoughts seemed to reset every time your plush lips came in contact with his face— all gentle like he would break if you applied too much pressure. He never associated that word with himself before, nor had anyone else in his entire life.

So why did he do it? Why did he do any of it? Why was he so attached to you, to your existence, your presence, and everything that reminded him of you? 

Ace knew the answer. 

He fears he’s known it for some time now.

But would it be right— would it be okay to label it with the word that was sitting on his tongue? Did he truly have the capacity to bear the weight of it? Would this blissful reality he found himself nestled in start to unravel the moment he said it? Would the universe truly let him have this one thing to himself, forever?

A feathery, open-mouthed kiss from you onto his nose cut off his thoughts, but confirmed his answer. 

A bleary sort of smile, edges softened by his affection for you, tugged the corners of Ace’s mouth upwards. The hand that encased your waist traveled further downwards to take the meat of your thigh in its grasp, and toss it over his own hips. He had slung your leg over himself in an attempt to hold your bodies inexplicably closer, the feeling of his fingers gliding lazily across your exposed skin caused your pulse to quicken.

“I understand. Thank you.” 

Within another second or two, his mouth eventually met with yours. His lips and yours seamlessly molded together, like they were two carved parts of the same whole. It was a slow, saccharine thing, ultimately leading your fingertips to slide back and thread themselves through his dark locks, and the calloused, hot palm on your thigh to grip the area ever tighter— as if you’d evaporate if he didn’t do so.

Ace loved you— was in love with you. His heart thrummed against his chest when he tossed that fact around in his head, gradually accepting it to be true as he steadily deepened the kiss.

He murmured those three words into your mouth after languidly coaxing it open with his tongue so the wet muscle could slither inside and make a home there. It was barely intelligible, but somehow you knew what he’d said. Such a declaration was only reserved for you, so of course you recognized it. Ace didn’t even want the words to linger in the air, lest the universe heard what he had said. He still thanked it though, grateful to whatever deities thrusted you into his path that night so that he could have this moment with you, and build similar ones like this hereafter.

You reciprocated it, quietly sighing the words back into him and he eagerly swallowed them up, giving your thigh an affectionate squeeze in response.

Briefly, you pulled back, but only by a millimeter— not wanting the cold air of the early morning to catch you yet— and your palm ended up on Ace’s jaw. The pad of your thumb brushed over the sheet of freckles with no particular pattern or rhythm, and you absently thought about how they might be your favorite feature on his entire body. As if to emphasize this point, you pressed a lingering kiss onto its surface again, and for a moment, Ace thought he might shut down. He simply could not comprehend the loving nature behind such a simple act, or why it affected him so; all he could do was offer a small, fond grin.

Time still marched forward, but it graciously allowed the pair of lovers to bask in each other for a little while longer. The sky’s hue would slowly shift from a deep navy blue to a slightly brighter one, causing the dimness of the room to inch back into its corners for the day. The sunlight would soon come.

( # ) @icy-spicy @triangularz @pookieace @ichore @valentineluvu

[jewish-vents]

Lost another friend and need to rant about it. This is gonna be long and all over the place: apologies in advance.

I hate how unfair the world is to us. I hate how all the good leftist principles apply to every minority except us. I hate how the world ensures we see that it treats us differently so we can feel totally isolated (we are) and give up. I hate how we aren't given basic human decency like everyone else. I hate how even as I write this, I fear being misunderstood.

I'm a "Jew of color" and the gentile who I am no longer friends with is POC like me. I had to cut them off because they have more contempt towards me (they also treat me like I'm the representative of all Jews) than white people.

I express my experiences with antisemitism and my sadness about how bad antisemitism is right now? They would tell me I'm insensitive and selfish because Palestine. "Just go outside and you'll be fine" but going outside is how I experience antisemitism. Antisemitism is a real thing, I would say. It's not just a few hate comments on a screen by trolls like Hitlerfan123. We are not safe anywhere and we can't hide. This isn't an exaggeration to trick you like the evil Jew I am. And they would just bring up Palestine again. And again. To shut me down and to shut me out. I would get defensive and they'd tell me that I'm acting like a white person. White tears. White fragility. BUT YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME, I would say. And they'd tell me I'm acting hysterical. That the zionists put me in some delusion where the world is out to get me but I'm actually fine and no one wants to hurt Jews.

"You're acting like a white person who says "we get hate crimed too" whenever a poc talks about their oppression" they said. They made a few comparisons like that. I tried so hard to get them to understand me. To acknowledge our pain.

Don't they know I can feel pain too? I observed how they would constantly post stuff like "minorities must stick together". They would keep an eye on hate crimes for everyone but us and actually listen to their stories. Do they even know how soul crushing that is? To feel so completely alone?

I couldn't even talk about the Holocaust with them. Every time I tried to, they'd have to say "the Holocaust isn't unique and all genocides are connected" at least once. And it's so fucking unfair. Why are we the only ones being told "we're not special"? These "you and your experiences aren't unique" conversations start and stop with us. I would never, ever tell anyone slavery isn't unique because slavery was unique. I would never go up to someone and tell them oh btw the genocide of your people wasn't unique. That's EVIL. And yet it only happens to us. Before anyone misunderstands me, I know right wingers routinely say this to minorities. But the whole bird mocks and belittles us. Regular people go out of their way to remind us "we're not unique or special". I shouldn't have to give a million disclaimers either. Only we are told our genocide isn't special. I honestly wouldn't care if the people who told me that said the same thing about other genocides. But they never do. They'll go on to talk about how unique every other genocide is and then come back to us with "the Holocaust isn't unique". You only ever talk about the Holocaust when it's time to say "everything's connected" and yet you're surprised I call you an antisemite?! If you can't talk about the Holocaust without mentioning other genocides and other minorities, you can't gaslight me into thinking I'm an anti-intersectionality asshole.

And then there's the speaking over us thing. I dumped my ex friends who were all POC/queer/etc for this very reason. I'm on the floor in pain sobbing about antisemitism and you think you know being a Jew more than me. I say something like "hey Zionist can be a slur towards Jews" and you immediately disagree and try to argue with me. "But my other Jewish friend said otherwise so I don't believe you". Or "This random Jew i follow online says otherwise". I have never been so dehumanized.

Can't forget the "weaponization of antisemitism" thing. I hear this all the time now. Who do they think they are? Gentiles have never felt more comfortable. They are afraid to criticize or say anything about other minorities and will even bend for them but with us, it's "Jews cry antisemitism". And as I said to my ex friends, don't be shy. Expand this convo TO EVERYONE YOU PRICKS. Tell POC they weaponize racism. Tell gay people they weaponize homophobia. And they never do. Because anything flies with Jews and Jews alone.

Okay rant over. I hate this world

.

[captainkirkk]

Thank you to everyone who responded to this!!! I promised I would reblog this post eventually with these recs so I'm here to deliver.

Please free to add on more fics if you know any that aren't on here

In Utter Hones-tea by agooseinhiding

The Jasmine Dragon has been formally invited to join the Earth King's retinue as he takes the monumental first step onto Fire Nation soil since the start of the Hundred-Year War! Truly, an honor.

Unfortunately, "The Jasmine Dragon" includes Li, the owner's grumpy nephew with an outrageously bad haircut and a wardrobe that's solely green, who knows way too much about the Avatar and his teachers, and who swears on his honor that he's totally, definitely not the Fire Lord.

Somehow, the other tea servers don't believe him. But they've never gotten a chance to prove it (or disprove it, in some cases) until now.

The Jasmine Dragon is going to the Fire Nation, and Hua Ming is going to show once and for all that shop-famous enigma Li is Lord Zuko himself, or she's going to die trying.

(She is going to die on this trip.)

Ft.: General Iroh playing the biggest prank in Fire Nation history, a five thousand yuan bet, and the Jasmine Dragon tea servers.

The Customer is King by Sabretoothgooselion

Two absolute monarchs meet accidentally in a tea shop, and end up coming to an understanding.

(Or: two perspectives on taking a break.)

Eye to Eye by ApoplecticAtPeace

When working in the Fire Lord's private garden, Chaishu is knocked over by someone who doesn't seem to understand the danger of loitering in such a place. The stranger, Lee, seems nice enough, if a little detached from reality, but after bumping into each other a few more times, Chaishu is surprised to find himself looking at a genuine friendship unfolding.

Well, perhaps not 'looking'. After all, Chaishu is blind.

Taking a Break (In) by Duckduck_Scribblerswan (Caellie_E_and_Vaye_R)

After a few agonizingly slow seconds of exhausted, confused pondering, Zuko decided there was only one logical conclusion. “You’re right," he told the assassins, "I’m here to help you kill the Fire Lord.” Like a genius.

Caldera City is holding a festival to celebrate finally having enough funds to hold a festival! Although Zuko originally deemed himself too busy to go, Sokka managed to cajol him into attending his own party, in a knock-off Blue Spirit disguise for security purposes. Zuko sneaks back into the palace right in time to catch a group of assassins sneaking out. They failed to find the Fire Lord and assume he's reinforcements.

Zuko needs to find who ordered a strike on him before they do something stupid, like order a second one. Obviously, the most reasonable thing to do is join the assassins and hope they don’t figure out who he actually is. Obviously. There’s literally no other option.

Feat. Zuko's only two coping mechanisms (mortal peril and improv theater), the world's most incompetent hit team, and another knock-off Blue Spirit who's determined to prove this "Li" isn't who he says he is.

Ready to throw Hands by shipping_ruined_my_life

Part 1 of The Fire Lord's Favourite Restaurant

Zuko dines in a restaurant and interferes with a difficult customer.

Love is in the Hair by Erisenyo

The Fire Lord needs a new hairdresser, a grueling process of vetting and testing and background checking. Sokka might know just the person, though--if only he can find her in the city. And if only he can figure out how to make sure Zuko likes her without revealing the whole, you know. Fire Lord thing.

Or: Sokka takes Zuko on a date in the city that does not go at all how Zuko expects it to. (At least not at first)

All I Need Is To Be Struck (By Your Electric Love) by Erisenyo

[“Vitok couldn’t think his way out of a circle in the snow,” Zuko says, tart, and Sokka lets out a surprised laugh at the unexpected, mostly correct saying. Zuko must be writing Bato again.

“Not like the head of the Southern delegation, of course,” Sokka says, grinning at the dry look that earns him. “Why, I’ve heard he’s so dashing and handsome and intelligent and—”

“Humble,” Zuko puts in, tugging lightly on the long fall of Sokka’s wolf tail. “So very, very humble.”

Sokka bats his eyelashes. “It’s his best feature, probably.”

Zuko hums, giving him a blatant, thorough once over. “Depends on who you ask.”]

--

Sokka doesn’t know how Zuko managed to swing an entire day off during a week of trade negotiations—he does, actually, it was yelling—but he isn’t going to waste the opportunity now that it’s in his lap.

Eating. Shopping. Relaxing. Exploring Gaoling. Testing the limits of trying on clothes as a form of foreplay.

With a whole day in front of them, there’s no need to rush. But with Zuko looking so good outside of the usual layers of his Fire Lord robes, there’s no reason for Sokka not to have some fun along the way.

Fire Lord Zuko Goes To School by BookLoverL

It's a few months after Zuko took the throne, and, now that things are settling down in the palace, and the retreat from the colonies is going well, Zuko decides it's time to take a look at the Fire Nation's education policy. The best way to do this? It's clearly to disguise himself as a normal student and enrol himself in a school for a few weeks.

What will he learn about the state of the Fire Nation? And will he get through the few weeks without blowing his cover?

I have a sudden urge for "undercover post-canon Zuko" fics (because the "hidden king" trope is one of my favourites). I'm going to go hunting on ao3, but please send me your recs for this trope if you have any 🙏🙏