#i am sleepy and discouraged today

[bubaboos]

a tragedy: couldn't fit a nap in my schedule

[afaroffsong]

My sister’s horse is lame which was bad enough but today I brought Pixie in and she is really, really horribly lame and stiff and I am just so tired of things going wrong with her. I have not been able to enjoy her at all since I started leasing her and I am so extremely discouraged because I used to have such fun with her before she was mine and I still love her to pieces. She is the pony of my heart. But I’m wondering whether I’ll have to stop riding her for good because her back and her hocks are so bad.

Anyway have a Pixie pic.

Sleepy pony.

[discipulusmaleficus]

It's not all that surprising that Kalmar is asleep when Lewis returns, paint specked and alone. He'd been... y'know. More than a little buzzed. He gets it.

The clomping of his shoes and the jingling of the various chains adorning his clothes tear through the still sleepy silence. He feels the muscles in his neck clench with each stupid-loud footstep, eyes darting between the floor, and the door, and Kalmar-

Coming here was stupid. This is his fault, he's sure of it. He's the one who pawned off the booze he didn't want to someone he Knows For a Fact drinks too much. He's the one who lied over "Nothing". He's the one who can't get over his ex, or commit to Kal, can't just say how he feels about anyone or anything, can't be soft or kind or even good-

He adjusts the railing on one side of the bed. Takes a seat next to his unconscious friend. His hand finds the back of Kalmar's neck, fingers running up towards the base of his skull and then back down towards the nape of his neck.

"Hey. You awake?" And then, softer, half afraid. "You okay?"

@scxrytxles

The touch is remarkably shocking for something so gentle. It cuts straight through his half-formed dreams, he twists a little, makes a small noise that might have resembled a whimper. Consciousness brings with it a fresh thrum of pain that can only partially be blamed on an incipient hangover -- he's not even totally sober now, probably.

"Oh, no. I'm shit," he mutters, stretching halfheartedly, eyelids still fluttering open. "Absolutely fucking awful. Um --"

He pauses, looks at Lewis with wide, pale eyes as he tries to reconstruct precisely what he was doing a few hours ago just before. Briefly gauges his chances of making it to the bin independently if he pukes again, finds them discouraging.

"Fine. 'm fine." He feels a sharp jab of shame, shifts uncomfortably in his bed. (He's pretty sure he belongs to it, and not the other way around.) Oh, so you asked him to trust you, huh, Kal? Don't want him to think you're too delicate and volatile and immature to handle any of it? Well, good fucking job today--

"I am -- I do apologise. For this. Shouldn't've bothered you." One dead-white hand finds Lewis's forearm, runs over his tattooed skin. He grins ruefully. "Didn't need to come down."

"Don't need to tell me shit if you don't want to, either. You know that. I just --"

I just wish you wanted to. Sometimes.

"I was just being a bitch."

[swirlngthghts]

Sep 2

Brain Spill:

Reflecting my relationship, and how to make ours better.

We had a huge fight on Friday, during dinner I didn’t want to talk about it. I focused on my food, and my bgm to him talking was him nagging and telling me off about how everytime we fight he feels like I am very hostile towards him everytime we fought. I didnt understand why he had to act that way because the restaurant was closing at 9pm and by the time we got our food there was only 30 mins left and all I wanted to do was finish my food before the restaurant closes. We had a long walk towards Da’an forest park and had a very long talk about everything. I felt super overwhelmed and I didn’t really understand what he is saying towards the end. There were two points I remember from the convo;

1. He doesn’t compare me to anyone, as for me I have people I compare him to, either it’s people from my past relationships, or my girl friends boyfriends, etc. So this is unfair to him.

Tbh, I know I do it, and I try not to compare, but it’s hard not to. Like my coworker said, it’s like eating nice sushi, and not being able to go back to regular sushi. I mean, this is over-simplifying it A LOT, but it makes so much sense, I am trying to see past it, and I definitely need more time to figure out how to cope with it or see past the first stage.

2. He mentioned when I talk to him, I am very discouraging and very hostile towards him. This is a first. He wants me to encourage him more, and its hard for me to do so.

I told him what I’ve been feeling satisfied about, and I wanted to write down why I am not feeling taken care of and really think about the reasons behind it.

1. Sending me home: We’ve been dating for four months, and he’s never offered to take me home, or escort me home. So he doesn’t know where I live. He doesn’t even know where my home is. I live like 15 mins away from taipei city hall by bus. And sometimes on metros, I ask him to stay with me on the metro till my stop. It is probably 10-15 mins further than his stop. I had asked him several times, almost every time we take the metro, but never once did he do it. Sometimes it’s late, sometimes I am super tired and sleepy. Sometimes I just wish he could spend more time with me since my commutes are always longer than his from where we hang out and most of the times I get home later than he does. Like he literally has the time to shower and lay in bed by the time I arrive home, so I never understood why cant’ he spend an extra few minutes with me. He mentioned before he couldn’t come upstairs so why would he take me home. Sometimes its just about the thought behind it. Like, I’m not asking you to do it everyday, I ask every time now because it never happened and I want to see if he will be willing to. And… do you expect to enter a girls house everytime you send her home…? umm… isn’t it very normal for the guy to take the girl home safely after a date. I know he doesn’t have a car, so maybe even riding a few metro rides with me would be nice, but yea, he is just not willing to.

2. Not appreciating my efforts and my ideas. I gave him an example of when the time I realized the importance of it and the feeling it gave the other person and how appreciated it made me feel. I told him about this one time in university when Bernard played this song and I was like omg I love this song and he said: “Yea you showed it to me.” And I said omg you remember and he said “I remember, I remember everything someone else recommended or showed me”. So that stuck with me till today and after that day I tried to remember what other people has showed me or introduced to me so I don’t take it for granted. I noticed he often thinks a lot of them are his ideas, or he just doesn’t recognize the efforts that go behind it. You may say I’m petty and I am.

I have been reflecting what he said and I think omg maybe I am toxic asf. Like this isn’t the first time I’ve had this feedback, but i think I am already very very understanding to him, he also gives me a lot of comfort and makes me feel secure in the relationship, but idk, I want kids in latest two to three years so I need someone that can show me he is ready and can protect me NOW!!!!

Anyways, I am just did an AMH test and I hope my ovaries are healthy and everything is.

[brynnmck]

"I missed this," she tells him, then quickly adds, "Not to guilt-trip you or anything, it's just nice to have…" She waves a hand between them. "This."

Jaime holds out his beer bottle. "To this."

"To this," she agrees, and clinks her bottle against his. When she's had another drink, she's feeling happy and reckless enough to go on, "And I have to admit, I won't miss having to listen to your sexcapades."

Jaime narrowly avoids spitting out his beer. "My what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She makes her tone high and breathy. "'Oh, Jaime! Oh! I've never felt like this! Jaime, you're a sex god!" Which is, unfortunately for Brienne, a direct quote. 

Something flickers across his face, quickly smothered by a smug grin, and he lounges back on the couch in a way that's frankly annoying. Insouciance, is what it is. Brienne had read that word in novels and never had occasion to use it before she'd met Jaime, but these days...

"What can I say?" he muses. Insouciantly. "I'm just that good."

She scoffs. "Oh, please. She was obviously faking. No one is that good."

His mouth drops open, and ha, now he's souciant as hell. "She was not faking. I'd know if she was faking."

"Men always think that," Brienne says pityingly. "Real life isn't porn, Jaime. People don't make those sounds without trying." She might have been something of a late bloomer, sex-wise, but she's confident of that much.

Jaime narrows his eyes at her. "Are you questioning my sex god status, Tarth?"

"I'm just saying--"

"'Cause if you doubt me, I'd be happy to provide a demonstration."

She bursts out laughing. "Yeah, I bet you would."

"I would." His eyes are bright, and he's smirking again, but he's holding her gaze as steadily as he can, given the alcohol, and she ignores the quick rebellious flare of heat in her belly and declares,

"You can't be serious."

He shrugs. "My honor has been maligned, I have to--"

"Your honor is in your dick?"

"Oh, it's not just my dick," he tells her, his grin going wicked, "it's also my hands, my tongue, my--"

"Ugh." She waves her hands in front of her, trying to ward off the images that are suddenly flickering through her brain like a pornographic slide show.

He crosses his arms over his chest, which makes his biceps bulge in a way that she's positive is intentional. "All I'm saying is that I bet I could get you screaming my name. And you obviously know I'm right, since you're too chicken to let me do it."

Ohhhh. Brienne grits her teeth. She is absolutely not going to fool around with her semi-drunk, rebounding best friend and roommate because he dared her to. She is not. She is--

"Fine," she snaps. "Give it your best shot."

[laalaaliaa]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could write a titans x reader who doesn't celebrate their birthday. Like you just don't care about it, youll just go along with your day like you normally do because you dont wanna bother anyone. And unfortunately, the team was not aware of this.

When you woke up you were met with a lot of smiles and 'happy birthday!'s. You just smiled awkwardly at them as you ate your breakfast calmly. You were bombarded with a bunch of smiles questions like "so, what do you want to do today?!". You were feeling overwhelmed so you quickly finished your breakfast and went to your room to hide.

You stayed there the whole day, not leaving unless it was important. They trued to pry you out but you just made up excuses.

The next day everyone apologized for not being able to celebrate it, you said that it was ok and how you don't really celebrate it because of all the attention. They took you out to celebrate anyways.

Thank you <3

Birthday blues

birthdays aren’t your thing, but they’ll make it one!

titans x gn!reader

enjoy and apologies for taking so long :)

(happy holidays to those who celebrate!)

It was loud, the minute you emerged from your room you were startled from your sleepy state at the sound of a party horn being blown in your ear. You held your ear defensively, a vague scowl on your face as you looked at your perpetrator. Gar only smiled at you, a party hat with the words ‘Happy Birthday’ written across as the horn hung loosely from his mouth. “Happy birthday Y/N.” He cheered, dramatically throwing up jazz hands as he blew the horn continuously.

You waved his gesture off mindlessly, the smell of food invading your senses and prompting you to walk towards the kitchen. Your mouth fell in shock at the sight of a birthday banner strewn across the wall, and balloons indicating the age you’d be turning. Right, today. Kori turned from the stove at the sound of your feet pattering against the hardwood floor, a bright smile on her face, enhancing her features. “Happy birthday, I am so excited for whatever you plan.” She sighed dreamily.

You laughed awkwardly at that, in hopes it’d discourage any questions about your plans for the day. “Smells good.” You changed subject, nodding your head towards the food she conjured up. Upon your statement she quickly turned back to the stove, removing the pan from the hot surface and allowing it to cool, an aroma following suit. “All for you, speaking of—the others should’ve been here by now.” She spoke, her back towards you as you glanced around the overly decorated kitchen.

Upon her statement, the rest of the Titan’s filtered in, greeting you with birthday greetings as you could only smile awkwardly. Once Kori turned back into your vision, a cake was in her hands, the age you were turning sticking out the cake as she lit the candles. You opened your mouth to protest, only to be cut off by the rest singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you. Throughout the duration you clapped feebly, laughing once they finished and staring back at Kori who was already staring at you with a smile.

“Make a wish.” Rachel cheered from behind you, her hands comfortably wrapped around your shoulders as she gently guided you towards the cake. You could only close your eyes quickly before blowing out the candles, watching the way the smoke rose and disappeared before the sound of everyone clapping registered your brain. Kori set the cake aside, guiding you towards a seat at the table that had a sash, indicating that’s where your rightfully belonged.

“Now before we get started on plans for the day, you need breakfast—for energy of course, so I made your favorites,” She started, pointing out every dish as she squeezed your shoulder affectionately. “Enjoy, it’s all yours.” With a quick glance her way as she moved back towards the kitchen, you couldn’t help but feel guilty for all the effort she put in. As you silently piled all your favorite foods on a plate your head snapped up at the sound of Dick speaking.

“So, any ideas for today?” He started, snagging a piece of bacon from the plate Kori passed by with, before she distributed it to Jason and Rachel. You only shrugged, covering your mouth as you spoke with a mouthful, “Didn’t really think that far ahead, besides I’d rather just cool it for today.” Gar seemed to be shocked at your statement, his voice loud as he spoke, “Cool it? It’s your birthday, today is all about you.” He pointed out. You only smiled at his dramatics.

“I don’t really celebrate my birthday.” At that, he gasped in horror, a hand on his chest as he frowned. “Who doesn’t celebrate their birthday? That should be a crime.” He voiced out, his head low as he shook his head in disbelief. You only shrugged, turning your vision back to your plate as you began to eat quickly. “Are you sure you don’t wanna do something? we’d really love to celebrate your big day.” Rachel spoke from across you, a sympathetic smile on her face. You only shook your head, silence consuming you as the Titans voiced out questions and concerns.

You were caught off guard as Jason jabbed at you under his breath, “What type of weirdo doesn’t celebrate a birthday?” You fork clunk loudly against your dish, silencing all chatter as you pushed your chair out, “I’m gonna have to take a rain check for today.” Jason was punched on the shoulder by Rachel who gave him a condescending look before her gaze, as well as the others, fell on you as you left.

The remainder of your day was spent in your room, the possibility of a dent being in the one spot you laid in all day wouldn’t have surprised you. There were occasional knocks, with questions like—‘Are you okay?’ or ‘How are ya’ feeling?’ but you only gave vague answers before leaving it at that. You left your bedroom sometime during the night, lurking in the kitchen for any clues of left over dinner. You buried your head in the fridge, a frown on your face before you pulled back, releasing a startled scream and ultimately scaring Jason as well.

“Why the hell are you standing there like a creep?” You scolded, a hand on your chest as you stared at Jason judgingly, he stared at you warily, his bottom lip wedged between his teeth before he spoke, “Maybe don’t creep around the kitchen like a weirdo at midnight.” He justified, ignoring the way you scoffed offendedly at his statement. It was silent between you two, up until you moved towards the snack cabinet, half of the snacks gone of course.

“I also wanna apologize.” Jason piped up, the cabinet falling shut as you released it from your weak grip. You glanced back at him with a timid smile, waving him off as you assured, “It’s fine, I kinda do feel like a weirdo.” You joked, a halfhearted smile making its way onto Jason’s face as he recalled his earlier quip. “Look, maybe it doesn’t have to be a birthday celebration tomorrow, but we wanna take you out, maybe just for dinner, or even lunch—dunch.” He finished, dramatically pointing a finger your way.

You released a genuine laugh, scrunching your nose up as you questioned him lightly, “Dunch?” He nodded his head, a shrug following suit before he spoke, “Or Brunch.” You only hummed, telling him you’d ‘think about it’ before bidding the boy goodnight, and disappearing into your from for the remainder of the night.

The next morning was a great start, the Titans apologized for their pushy behavior and questions, and they took you out to eat, at your favorite restaurant too. You all sat at a large table, spilling jokes—even accidentally spilling a drink on Gar. It was great, and for once you enjoyed celebrating your birthday.

Dunch was the best.

[eyndr-stories]

The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C5 - The Plot Chickens

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This particular chapter isn't too spooky.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 5 | Next Chapter

C5 - The Plot Chickens

     You had memorized your punch in code at last. You’d almost used the code you clocked into your deli job with a few times now while clocking in. You snatched an energy drink from the mini fridge and set out on your route.

     Almost immediately, you ran into the bear bot, who’d been strolling by towards the hall with all the rooms.

     “Hey… man. How’s it hanging?” you asked. You still did not know this bot’s name.

     “I am just taking a stroll to clear my thoughts. How are you, superstar?” The bear bot smiled kindly at you.

     “I’m tired. But not for long.” You took a long sip of your energy drink. “Hey, I wanted to ask you something, if you’re not busy?”

     “Ask away!” The bear took a very casual stance, conveying a very open and unhurried attitude.

     “So… are yall allowed to leave the building?” You had more questions, but wanted to start with that one first.

     “If we need to, sure. But we never really need to.” The bear shrugged.

     “But do you want to leave from time to time?”

     The bear paused, studying you quizzically. “I’ll admit, I am curious about what is outside the pizza-plex. But if anything were to happen… it is just too great a risk.” The bear shook his head.

     “I mean. I think you’re sturdy enough for a walk around town, dude.”

     “Perhaps,” the bear mused.

     “So yall don’t get paid. Don’t get days off. And I get the feeling you’re all generally discouraged from leaving the building.” You paused, studying the bear’s reaction. You couldn’t gather much, so you continued. “This seems… like, bad. Like… if yall want to have lives outside of this place, you should totally be able to.”

     “I… appreciate your concern, Y/N.” The bear gently pat your shoulder. “But you don’t need to worry about us. We’re not human like you. Things work differently for us. It’s not like we don’t like it here either, each of us finds the day to day responsibilities to be very rewarding and meaningful.”

     “Hmm.” You squinted suspiciously. This still didn’t sit right with you. “Listen… if yall ever decide you wanna form a union or something, I’ve got your backs.”

     The bear smiled. “That is very kind of you, superstar.”

     You left the topic alone for now and wished the bear a good night, managing to not awkwardly call him ‘bud’ again.

     You got halfway through your rounds (and all the way through your energy drink) before you ran into someone else. Luckily, it was Chica, who seemed friendly enough towards you.

     “Hey Chica! How goes it?” you greeted.

     “It’s going good, I was just on my way to parts and service. A kid stuck a Mr. Hippo magnet on my eye today and I accidentally damaged it pulling it off.” Chica pointed to her right eye, which was dim and stationary, staring straight ahead while her left eye looked down at you.

     “Aw man, I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?” you asked.

     “Would you mind escorting me, actually? I keep bumping into walls and things,” Chica said sheepishly.

     “Of course! I can do that.” You pulled out your map. You quickly realized that this was still a guest map and did not display parts and service. “Uh… I actually don’t know where it is. I’ll just walk along with you and steer you away from any walls if necessary,” you said.

     “Okay!”

     You offered Chica your elbow like a gentleman would for a lady. Chica giggled and graciously accepted, gently setting a hand in your arm.

     “Why thank you!” Chica smiled and began walking, you falling into step with her. “I’m surprised you don’t know your way around by now. You walk around every night.”

     “Well, I don’t know about every employee room and whatnot, I’ve only got a guest map,” you explained. “I’ve got all the guest areas down pat, though.”

     “So you’ve never been in any of the access tunnels or anything??” Chica asked.

     “…Access tunnels?” You raised an eyebrow. You did your best not to freak out over the realization that you, a security guard, had not known about these tunnels.

     “Well, you’re about to find out.” Chica slowed as you neared an ‘employee’s only’ door. Your watch unlocked it without issue just like all the other employee doors. You held the door open for Chica, then stepped in after her.

     “Oh.” You raised your flashlight and approached the railing of the stairs you were standing at the top of. You peered down the industrial metal steps with disdain. “I see they saved money in the budget by sparing some expenses in places people don’t usually see.”

     “Yeah, its usually just us animatronics back here. Usually we just use the tunnels to get to parties and events on time, since guests aren't allowed back here. The access tunnels lead to every room in the building, as well as some employee only areas. The storage warehouse, the security room, parts and service…” Chica trailed off. “Can you help me down the stairs?”

     “Oh! Yes.” You lead Chica to the stairs, telling her precisely when she reached the edge of the platform and watching her footing like a hawk as the two of you started down the steps. “Is this stairway OSHA approved??” you questioned, frowning as you realized the metal stairs were more rust than anything else. It was dusty as well. Clearly no one ever cleaned in the access tunnels.

     “What’s OSHA?” Chica asked.

     You explained as you got into a rhythm, making your way at a decent pace down the steps. “Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Basically, they assure safe and healthy working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. OSHA's workplace safety inspections have been shown to reduce injury rates and injury costs without adverse effects to employment, sales, credit ratings or firm survival.”

     “You sure do know your stuff.” Chica looked at you curiously with her one good eye.

     You shrugged. “You learn a lot of really weird stuff when you’re a writer.”

     “You’re a writer??” Chica gasped. “Have you published any novels? What kind of stories do you write?”

     “I’ve published a few little short stories online, no novels yet. I write all sorts of stuff, fantasy, sci-fi, surreal, a little bit of horror, little bit of romance. I do tend to lean more towards fantasy though. That’s what I grew up with, ya know?”

     “I see!” Chica nodded. “Would you ever write me into one of your stories??”

     You smiled. You got that question a lot after telling people you were a writer. “Sure, I’ll have ya make a cameo or something. You’re a very cool character so it shouldn’t be hard.”

     “Aww that’s sweet!” Chica smiled.

     The two of you reached the bottom of the stairs, having passed several tunnels leading different ways on your way down. You noted a security camera in this darkened corridor. You suddenly recognized this hallway, having checked it over dozens of times on your watch. The unknown cameras suddenly clicked into place in your head. They were here, in these dingy access tunnels. No wonder you couldn’t figure out where they were in the building, you hadn’t even known the tunnels existed until tonight.

     “I’ve got my work cut out for me, it seems… I’ll have to memorize the layout of all these tunnels,” you mumbled. You passed different corridors and rooms, supply closets and electrical closets and generators, as well as exposed pipes and grimy posters about safety hazards.

     “You’re really taking your job seriously, huh?”

     “Of course.” You paused. You’d been a little worried that you hadn’t been doing it well enough, especially now that you’d realized there was a whole network of tunnels you hadn’t been checking. But it wasn’t exactly your fault if no one told you anything, right? You didn’t remember management sending you any emails about routes to take or where to patrol. You hadn’t even been informed about the security room. “Would you mind showing me to the security room once you’re all fixed up?”

     “Sure! I’ll return the favor and escort you. Although the security room is really boring. There’s just lots of monitors and stuff in there. It’s where Vanessa usually spends her shift,” Chica said.

     “That’s the other guard, right?”

     “Yep! She does walk around sometimes, but I get the feeling you’re a lot more diligent than her.”

     “I see…” So Vanessa just checked the cameras during her shift. Maybe you were going a little above and beyond, intently checking every little nook and cranny on your rounds. You realized you’d been holding onto a little bit of stress, trying to do this job as best as you possibly could. You took a deep breath and let it go. You weren’t going to stop being diligent, but you were going to stop worrying about whether or not you were doing enough.

     The two of you arrived at last at parts and service, which was equally as dingy as the rest of the network of tunnels. The room was quite large and circular. A complex looking enclosed machine situated over an impersonal metal table sat in the center of the room. A few desks were positioned haphazardly nearby, holding computers and dusty cardboard boxes and scattered papers and pens.

     “What a fuckin mess,” you grumbled.

     Chica went to the computer and booted it up, the dull screen struggling to illuminate the surroundings. Chica ran some sort of automated program, and the machine in the center of the room powered itself on. Chica situated herself on the metal table and gave you a thumbs up. “This will only take a minute,” Chica promised.

     “Okie dokie.” You stood to the side and checked your watch. You recognized the positioning of several more cameras now, though you’d yet to locate all of them throughout the tunnels. Everything looked good, so you turned your attention to the desks and idly began cleaning things up and organizing. You pushed the tables you could move against the wall, collected and tapped all the papers into a neat stack and set them on the desk with the computer, which you hadn’t been able to move, as the computer and the monitor were massive and had several thick cables running from it to the machine and the wall as well. You started moving boxes, stacking them neatly under the desks against the wall.

     Unfortunately, one of the last few boxes had gotten some sort of suspicious fluid on it, and the bottom half of it had gotten soggy and rotten. The box fell apart as you carelessly lifted it, spilling its contents all over the floor.

     You cursed and tossed the nasty cardboard aside. You eyed the items on the floor, deciding to just pile them all on one of the tables. The contents were odd, you realized, as you started gathering things up.

     A box of candies, all wrapped in shiny blue paper. A pair of plushies, sharing Moon’s likeliness. A nightcap that looked just like Moon’s, if much older, the colors heavily faded. A pair of pants, also resembling Moon’s pants, also faded. A curious pair of red ribbons with little bells on the ends. Last but not least, a big chunky key. An odd item, in this massive complex of automation and fancy watch scanning technology.

     You glanced over at Chica, who was still laying on the table, unable to see you around the machine. You pocketed the key. It felt important, like something you needed to advance in a video game. The dungeon boss’s key… Or something.

     You finished cleaning stuff up and had just finished neatly folding the weird clothing items when the machine finally powered down and Chica got up.

     “Ahhh, much better!” Chica blinked both eyes. They were both lit now, and both moving together. Chica smiled at you and winked with her repaired eye.

     “Eye am glad it went well!” you said.

     Chica rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Common, I’ll show you where the security room is.”

     Chica offered her elbow to you. You laughed and took it, letting Chica lead you out of parts and service and down another confusing series of corridors and halfway up a different stairwell. Partway down a narrow hall was a door labeled ‘Security Room’. Your watch allowed the two of you access.

     “Here we are.” Chica waved grandly at the small room. “Dusty filing cabinets and ancient computers! How exciting.”

     You eyed the filing cabinets. The keyholes in the cabinets were all far too small to fit the massive chunky key you’d found. You frowned and looked over the desk next. The office rolling chair pushed under it was incredibly worn, and there were lots of coffee rings staining the surface of the desk. An array of six monitors were positioned over the desk, each flipping to a different camera in the complex every couple of seconds. The monitors seemed to be grouped by general areas.

     There were a few cardboard boxes in here as well, as well as a few clearly forgotten cleaning supplies and a first aid kit. The floor looked old and scuffed. there were several scrapes along the linoleum to the right of the filing cabinet on the end. There was a little red tool bag under the desk, as well as a space heater. An old fan sat in the corner of the room.

     “Well. It’s good to know where this place is at least.” You shrugged. You noted the important things to keep in mind for later- the tool bag and the first aid kit could both be found here.

     “Shall I escort you back to the main building?” Chica asked, already halfway out the door.

     “Sure, thank you.” You were already formulating a plan in your head to do your rounds quickly tomorrow night and spend the rest of your shift exploring these access tunnels. With a small break to say hi to Moon, of course. Speaking of, you were looking forward to seeing Sun again tonight. Maybe you could even ask him about the weird Moon-themed stuff that had been in that box.

     Chica and you split ways with friendly goodbyes once you were back in the low neon light of the main building, leaving the grimy access tunnels behind for now.

     You checked through the cameras, pausing at ones you didn’t recognize to really study what you now knew were the access tunnels and their adjacent rooms. You finished your sweep of the building and made a beeline for the daycare.

     The doors were open when you arrived. You walked right on in, spotting Sun immediately. He was gathering and tossing colorful plastic balls into the ball pit, hunting around for more.

     “Hey, Sunny!” you greeted. “What’s up, buttercup?”

     “Y/N!!” Sun straightened in delighted surprise, then took a running start and crossed the entire width of the ball pit in a glorious leap.

     “Woah!” You were thoroughly impressed by this feat, but quickly shook it off. Your held your arms out, ready for a hug.

     “A hug for little old me!!” Sun exclaimed, crossing the distance in no time and sweeping you up in a tight hug.

     You pat Sun’s back. “Course, I love hugs. You give really great ones.”

     “Aww! So do you!” Sun set you back down and did an excited little dance. “How was your day?? Tell me all about it, even the boring bits!”

     You smiled. “Well, I worked kitchen again today. It wasn’t too busy today so it wasn’t bad at all, closed right on time. Hence my more presentable appearance tonight.” You chuckled. “Got a few new oil burns though. Stupid hot and spicy wings are so slippery, its hard to drop them carefully into the oil…”

     Sun gasped and immediately took your arm. They peered at the tiny splotches of burned skin, making concerned noises before pulling out their first aid kit.

     “Aw, look, it’s alright, I get burns all the time. They’ll fade by tomorrow, its no big,” you tried to say, but Sun would have none of it. He dutifully dabbed burn cream on each little spot, doing the same with the other arm as well.

     “There, all better! That wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Sun put their first aid kit away.

     “I feel like you guys pull that kit out every time you see me,” you joked.

     “I know! You need to be more careful,” Sun scolded gently.

     “Bahhh.” You waved him off. “But yeah, had a friendly little chat with that bear guy, and discovered that there's actually a whole labyrinth of secret tunnels in the building. Chica showed me where the security room is, don’t tell anyone I didn’t know about it till tonight.” You laughed awkwardly. You rambled about the access tunnels for a minute, explaining that you were helping Chica get to parts and service, before you finally got to what you wanted to ask. Sun listened patiently and quietly, occasionally making little affirmative noises. “-And then the box fell apart, of course. And there was some weird stuff inside I wanted to ask you guys about.”

     “Oh?” Sun tilted their head.

     “It looked like Moon’s stuff? Like, old clothes, old plushies of him, some candy that’s probably discontinued and expired, these little bells on ribbons. Is that, like, old nostalgic stuff Moon put in storage or something?”

     Sun had gone completely still. “…Or something.” Sun’s hands started fidgeting. “When Moon was… when I became the primary daycare attendant, they… well, we thought they threw out all of Moon’s merchandise and things, but it looks like some of it found its way into storage.”

     “Oh.” You frowned. “They just… took their stuff? Yall didn’t know about it…?”

     “Don’t you worry, sunshine! Moon is very happy to know some of his things are still around. Thanks for letting us know!” Sun became animated once more, swaying and smiling happily.

     You said nothing.

     “…Y/N?” Sun looked concerned.

     “I’ll be right back,” you stated, then promptly left the daycare, leaving a confused Sun behind.

     It took you a lot longer than you would have liked to find your way back to parts and service. Luckily, you spotted yourself on one of the cameras through your watch and puzzled out the general area around you by flipping through the closest cameras.

     You returned to the daycare, arms full of everything that had been in that box. Well, almost everything.

     “Here. Moon’s stuff. It belongs to him,” you said, holding out the bundle to a shocked Sun.

     “Oh. I… we… thank you.” Sun carefully took the items. “Thank you so much.”

     You nodded. “Its Moon’s stuff. Belongs to them. I know you can’t leave the daycare and I wasn’t sure if the stuff would still be there tomorrow, so… yeah.”

     Sun studied you for a moment. He gently set down the bundle of Moon’s stuff on the top of the cubbies nearby, then pulled you into another hug.

     “Thank you,” Sun said again.

     “No problem, sunflower. You don’t need to thank me, though.” You hugged Sun back regardless.

     “Well too bad!” Sun said, releasing you. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

     You laughed. “Twas my pleasure.” You did an awkward little bow.

     Sun returned the bow, much less awkwardly. “Enough about Moon, though! It’s my night tonight! You can talk all about Moon tomorrow with Moon. I’m sure he’d love that.” Sun rolled their eyes.

     “Right. What’ll it be tonight? Another game? I let you off easy at hide and seek last time, don’t expect the same again!”

     “Ahh yes, of course you did,” Sun teased. “I was actually hoping you’d be up for reading another one of your adventures to me??”

     “Oh yeah, alright.” You smiled and pulled out your phone. You quickly checked the cameras before relaxing and locating the next entry in your adventure log. “Alright… okay, so this is when I took a flight down to Florida to visit my aunt. She’s a very cool and wise lady.”

     Sun nodded excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

     You started reading, encouraged by Sun’s endless enthusiasm.

     ‘The flight here was surprisingly not as long as I thought it was going to be… I guess time flies when you’re on an airplane.’

     Sun giggled.

     ‘Ok but seriously, despite having to navigate an airport the size of a city, the flight to Florida wasn’t bad. But boy are my arms tired!’

     Sun laughed. You smiled and went on.

     ‘Anyways. Flight was delayed a bit by weather. Actually got to see a few lightning storms from above on the way here. That was cool…’

     You recounted your aunt picking you up from the airport, and her list of activities she had planned. You told Sun about the delicious cookies you’d eaten for breakfast, and the little adventures you and your aunt went on around town. You had pizza, looked at a greenhouse full of tiny plants, talked about your life, and your romantic life (and lack thereof) and saw some trains. You paused to briefly explain your fascination with trains, just something about the idea of leaning your head against a window as the countryside rolls past, and the impressive transportation machines themselves, the look of them and the complexity of all their parts.

     You went on, scrolling to the next day. ‘The day starts with Bok Tower, aka the singing tower. When I say the place was serene, I mean that in my 20 years of existence upon this Earth I have never felt more relaxed than I did sitting alone on a bench in an open field overlooking the orange tree grove with the soft melodic bells of Bok Tower filling the air around me.’

     “How lovely…” Sun whispered.

     ‘Living is worth the experiences I gain in return for my continued existence.’ You paused, hesitating. You explained, “uh, I’ve got depression. And anxiety. And paranoia. And… jeez, a lot of stuff. I used to struggle with it all a lot more. Not as much these days. These little adventures really helped. And therapy.”

     You cleared your throat and continued. ‘I write stories in the car. There are moments when nothing exists but the universes I create and the characters within them… Next we visit a chocolate museum.’

     You told Sun all about the kind tour guide who laughed like a friend and all the delicious free samples you’d gotten to eat at the end. Then you recounted a few more little adventures, searching an IKEA for a pot for some tiny cacti your aunt had bought (you did not find an adequate pot), a funny bumper sticker you’d seen on a car, and a neighborhood full of peacocks, followed by a stop for delicious ice cream. The next day, you’d gone to an art museum, where you had taken more than enough photos. You went to a pottery studio, watched movies, and had been subjected to your aunt’s interrogation of what you had thought of said movies.

     Your last day of the trip was very laid back and full of good food and better company. Your aunt passionately explained the plot of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ to you in great detail, much to your entertainment and joy. You planted the cacti in a pot that arrived via delivery, and you watched more movies.

     ‘I pack for my returning flight. I don’t want to leave… I’ll have to come back when the weather isn’t trying to roast me alive.’

     You exhaled and put your phone away. “And there you have it.”

     “I love that one so much!” Sun sighed happily. “Your aunt sounds so kind and amazing.”

     “She really is.” You beamed. “I love her a lot.”

     “I can tell! It sounds like the two of you had lots if fun! Ooh and that singing tower sounds so magical…” Sun got this happy dreamy look on their face.

     You smiled. You felt something that luckily didn’t take too long to decipher. Fondness. Not that you knew what to make of it or do with the emotion, now that you knew what it was. You tried your best at a compliment. “Thanks for listening to my silly little adventures. You’re a cool friend, Sun. I like hanging out with you.”

     “Thank you for sharing your adventures with me!!” Sun leapt up and wrapped you in another hug, lifting you off your feet and swinging you from side to side. “You’re a very cool friend. Moon and I are very lucky to have you in our lives.”

     “Aw, hush!” You laughed, pleased with this response. “Thanks.” Success, you were getting a good grade in friendship, something both normal to want and possible to achieve.

     Sun set you down and gave you a little pat on the head. “Would you read me another adventure next time? Maybe we can even make a habit of it??”

     “I only have so many adventures,” you said.

     “Then you can read me your stories when you’ve read all the adventures!���

     “Oh boy,” you laughed nervously. “We’ll see about that. I’ll read you another adventure next time, though. Which, actually… won’t be for a couple days. After tomorrow, I have the next two days off.”

     Sun pouted and slumped over. “Awwwww.”

     You rolled your eyes at Sun's silliness. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to bother you before you know it.”

     “You’re never a bother, dear,” Sun said.

     You checked the cameras. Everything still looked alright. “I’d better get back to my rounds. I’ll see you soon, alright?”

     “…One more hug before you go?” Sun asked, flashing those puppy dog eyes at you again.

     “No need for the eyes, silly head. Come here.” You held your arms out.

     Sun hugged you tightly, squeezing you a little before finally letting you go. “Have a good night, Y/N! Moon wants you to get some sleep!”

     “Thanks.” You smiled and waved as you departed.

     Your head was swimming on the drive home. You had a lot of questions, and a lot of… feelings. It was all troublesome for your tired brain to unpack and sort through. You thought about Moon’s box of belongings. You thought about Sun and how unfalteringly kind they were. You thought about Chica, hoped her new eye was working out alright. And your conversation with the bear bot, and how you still felt weird about the whole situation with the animatronics. You weren’t sure what to do about it yet, though.

     In the back of your mind, underlying everything else, was the key sitting heavily in your pocket.

[thefanficmonster]

Much Cooler

Corpse Husband & Emma Langevin 

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Platonic Fluff, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: There’s always a certain level of uncertainty when meeting someone you’ve only known online. There’s that sense of insecurity that your relationship with them will never be the same or - even worse - that their view of you might change for the worse. But there’s nothing more thrilling than seeing the person you’ve been talking to constantly for the past however long standing across from you. 

Requested by Anon. Hi dear! Thank you so much for your request and I’m so terribly sorry for how late it’s coming out but I hope the fic makes it worth the wait! Lots of love, Vy ❤

“CORPSE! Wake up you famous dumbass!“ is the first thing the poor man heard over the phone at 9 AM on this fine Saturday morning.

It’s more than enough to make him contemplate why he even decided to pick it up in the first place considering he wouldn’t have been very able to participate in the conversation due to his sleepiness. He also, of course, made the mistake of not checking the caller ID which apparently wasn’t necessary considering how recognizable that voice and accent are.

“It’s 9 AM, Emma.“ He states as a tired parent would to a child, “I’m concerned as to why you’re up so early. More so as to why you’re calling me of all people.“

He can practically hear her roll her eyes but he still smirks to himself, knowing she can’t contradict him or argue since he’s completely right with his claims. “Whatever. Remind me to never call you to congratulate you on a milestone again.“

Now that pokes at his attention with a stick. Lately, said attention has proven to be a hibernating bear, leaving Corpse with a lack of interest or motivation for anything but damn if that sentence wasn’t enough to roll him out of bed and hop on PC. “What? What milestone? Subscribers?“

“Nope! You got two million likes on ‘E-girls are ruining my life’! I can’t believe I have to tell you this! Didn’t you notice the numbers climbing?!“ Emma, as annoyed and sarcastic as she’s trying to sound, she’s obviously overjoyed on his behalf and is super proud of him and of the project she luckily agreed to take a small part in.

As his PC boots up, Corpse can’t help but roll his eyes at Emma’s comment, “Well unlike you I have better things to do than refresh a page over and over aga-” His sentence is quickly cut off when he sees the number of likes under the song for himself.

Knowing that he’d find it there didn’t change the feeling of seeing it for the first time at all. It’s so surreal and so hard for his mind to comprehend. Seeing as how little he thinks of himself, his content and his art, this is like his success coming to slap him across the face as if to punctuate to him how wrong that mindset is.

“You know, it wouldn’t hurt if you offered to take me out for at least a coffee to celebrate, bro.“ Emma comments sarcastically, joking only halfway from what he can sense.

He smirks, “Trying to even the playing field, I see.” He replies, referring to the fact that he’s still a faceless mystery to her while her face is literally the cover art for one of his songs.

She laughs but is quick to dismiss his claim, “Nah, I might be a curious and nosey little shit on other occasions, but other people’s privacy is not something I dig my nose into. However, if I were to even the playing field between us it wouldn’t be appearance-wise. More personality-wise. For my sake and yours I choose to believe you are way cooler in person than you are through messages or on a call.”

This withdraws a genuine fit of laughter from Corpse who throws his head back, a few strands of hair moving aside to reveal his shiny eyes, “Well then, instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, how about we settle it once and for all? Tomorrow? I’ll text you the location.”

Emma’s eyebrows shoot upwards as soon as she comprehends his words and the tone that leaves no room for her to assume he’s joking, “Wait what? How come you’re agreeing to this? And so easily? Nah, this a trap if I’ve ever seen it.”

Corpse laughs yet again, “No trap, Em. I just can’t have you doubting my coolness.”

                                                             *  *  *

The main reason as to why Corpse requested for this meeting to be today is because he feared that if he had more than twenty four hours to dwell on it he’d chicken out. Little did he know it was the same for Emma. Their friendship has only ever existed with the bridge of social media connecting them and they both can’t help but fear the other might not like who they are IRL. They fear they unintentionally become a different person or change things about themselves subconsciously when communicating with people online. Bottom line, they’re scared of letting the other person down with who they really are, unaware that their personalities are most likely the exact same because, as the people who know them can confirm, neither Corpse nor Emma are the type to put on a show in order to be liked. They would rather have no friends because of who they are than have friends and fans of their persona instead of the real them.

And so, while slightly afraid and anxious about this meeting, both of them see it as a relief test to see if the friendship is in fact as real as it’s seemed these past months.

Corpse was the one to choose the location of their meet-up, a location Emma didn’t even think twice about agreeing on, and ever since, they’ve both been counting the hours until their scheduled meeting time.  It’s not about impressing each other, at least that’s what they’re both telling themselves, but rather proving to the other that they’re worthy of their friendship. They might throw snarky and sarcastic comments at one another that others would give a side-eye glance to and question if their friendship is real, but they know the dynamic best and they sure as hell don’t wanna lose it or each other.

Best friends are the ones who roast each other after all - you can’t tell me I’m wrong.

The nervous Corpse fidgets with the insides of his hoodie pockets as he waits outside the café, having arrived ten minutes early because he couldn’t stand being alone with his thoughts in his apartment, judging every fragment of himself twice as harshly as usual. Emma, on the other hand, could barely bring herself to leave her home. She kept retouching her appearance, despite knowing Corpse wouldn’t judge her even if she showed up in pjs. To be fair she contemplated doing just that several times because her hair pissed her off enough to get her discouraged on her outfit altogether but she did eventually talk herself into pulling it together. She already knew she’d be at least five minutes late, but once again, she knew Corpse wouldn’t care.

He’d wait, cause that’s the kind of friend he was. Cause that’s the kind of friend she was for him too.

And boy did it take her less than a second to recognize him. She wasn’t even out of the car when she saw him and knew it was exactly who she was looking for. He too, as if with a sixth sense that registered her presence, shoots his head up from his phone to look up at her, their gazes meeting. There’s a brief moment of close-to-shocked silence, their eyes a bit widened as their brains comprehend that they’re within arm’s reach of one another.

That’s when Emma’s the first to break the bubble of awe as a wide grin spreads across her face and she runs to Corpse, wrapping him in a hug before he’s even realized the distance between the two’s been closed.

“Hey.“ She mumbles, her face hidden in his hoodie due to the height difference.

“H-hey.“ He replies, hesitantly wrapping his arms around her too.

“I was right.“ She says once she pulls away, “You are much cooler face-to-face.“ She pauses for a second, narrowing her eyes, “You’d be even cooler if you bought me coffee though.“

Earning a laugh from him, she’s guided into the café by the arm Corpse wraps around her shoulders, telling her he’s get her a milkshake cause he doesn’t want to see her high on caffeine. Needless to say, they both are, indeed, much cooler to one another IRL.

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[jiminniethemarshmallow]

Thank You For Your Service IV (M)

Thank you @7stars-aligned13 for the beautiful mood board!!  Pairing: Jimin x Reader Genre: smut, angst, fluff Warnings: mentions of trouble conceiving, lots of time skips, squirting, face fucking, dom!Jimin, slight role play, impreg kink, dirty talk, fingering, cream pie Word Count: 24,500

Part 1~ Part 2~ Part 3~ Part 4

You hiccup, already crying fat tears before you’ve even heard the news. You fear those words, feel the emptiness, and it hurts your soul. The straight faced doctor takes her time coming into your room, letting out a sigh once she sees your face. It’s from exasperation, but you would like to interpret it as sympathy. She stands at the foot of your bed, waiting until you calm your breathing enough to hear her.

“As I am sure you have guessed, you are not with child.” Those words break your heart for the sixth time and you break down into sobs, hiding your face in Jimin’s pillows.

Six months. It has been six long months since you were wed and you still are not pregnant. Even after all those late nights, early mornings when you’d send the servants away before your schedules began, the remedies and special foods, the slightly uncomfortable positions and pillow mountains, you still are not yet carrying your husband’s child. And it crushes you.

Yes, you know having children is not all you are good for, but it is one of your duties as a Queen. Having heirs is something that only you can do and the entire kingdom awaits expectantly for the news of an incoming prince or princess that they can idolize and adore, so you feel the pressure at all times of day— as well as guilt in regards to your barren womb. You should be fertile at this youthful time in your life. Both you and Jimin have passed every physical examination and remain in excellent health, which is why it is so perplexing to you that you are having trouble conceiving. Rosé, Queen of the kingdom just north of yours, is already pregnant and she was wed to her husband an entire month after you. Twins, you hear she’s having. You’d hate to fall behind her kingdom in any aspect, even in such a trivial competition as having children. She has nothing to do with your family, and yet, you still feel so inferior because you do not yet have one.

“To put it bluntly,” Your doctor begins, looking down at the paper she’s holding, scribbled with notes. “I believe the cause of your current condition— or lack thereof— is due to the poisoning you endured several months ago. It is possible that the potion affected your reproductive organs in some imperceptible way; your kidneys exhibited symptoms of its effects for nearly a month after your recovery, so we cannot completely rule out this possibility. But, Your Highness, the only way I would be able to test this hypothesis is through surgery to visually inspect your organs.”

You shudder at the thought of being cut open, shaking your head animatedly. Maybe you would consider this “inspection” after a year of effort and failure, but you would not take such drastic measures this early. No matter how much the constant failure hurt.

“If my infertility is due to the poison-“ You swallow thickly when your voice comes out as a mere whimper.

“Let us not be so hasty in calling it infertility, Your Majesty.” She interrupts, stare lightening just slightly. She’s learned the tiniest bit of respect since working under Jimin, his low tolerance for rudeness and spiny disposition during medical examinations slowly beginning to unnerve her cold discourse. Many a time has he reprimanded her for speaking to you informally or for her lack of sympathy, and you are finally starting to see a change, though she still interrupts you to interject.

“If my current inability to conceive is because of the poison,” You try again, “Are there any elixirs or pills I could take to lessen its effects? There must be something!”

“Because we do not know entirely if this is due to the poison, I am hesitant to give you treatment— sometimes getting pregnant is difficult for some people and there is nothing medically wrong with them. For now I can only give you advice on conception: try to lower your stress levels, eat more fruits and vegetables for vitamins, and do not over exert yourself. That is all for today, I will be back in a month for your regular check up unless I am needed sooner.” With that she turns and leaves, not waiting to be dismissed and leaving you alone in your room.

It is the middle of winter and the bone-chilling winds whip against your windows. The palace is heated by fire, but you refuse to light your fireplace, choosing to sit and suffer in the cold alone as you wallow in your gloom. Jimin has been busy all day with kingdom affairs, out and about performing duties that not even your father cared enough to get done. The people love him, love how involved he is and how much he cares, and they never hesitate to alert him to any problems they might have that Jimin could take care of. Of course he doesn’t mind, you knew he would never be able to stay inside these sheltered walls for long when he was so used to the excitement of training and battle, but you wished he would spare a little time to cater to your issues. His absence during your monthly checkups is not unusual. For the first three he held your hand and sat with you, on the fourth he left in the middle due to an urgent matter, and these last two he has been out of the castle altogether. Since your third appointment, when your hopes of being pregnant were at its highest, he seemed to have a very negative attitude toward your checkups. He told you he did not intentionally avoid these meetings, and you think that is partly true, but you know that he must hate the constant rejection and is deliberately making himself unavailable when he thinks you will be rejected again. He would much rather hear the bad news from you instead of your cold doctor.

When you asked your father to accompany you, he sort of grimaced and then politely declined. You understand, the thought of addressing the fact that your daughter has not only been deflowered, but is being repeatedly taken in the efforts of bearing fruit is sickening to you, too. Also, he is not very adept at comforting you when you break down like this, face buried in your husband’s pillows and shoulders shaking with sobs.

Telling by the ache in your skull and the completely soaked through cushion beneath your head, a long time has passed by the time you finally raise your face at the sound of Jimin shuffling into your bedroom. He shivers once the door is closed again, expecting warmth but being met with bitterness.

“It is freezing in here.” He rasps beneath his breath, ignoring you momentarily to light the fireplace, moving to shed the outer layers of his clothing once the fire is of decent size. The single glance he took at you upon entering is all he needed to know what has transpired, and he is in no rush to hear the devastating words. It’s only until he is in comfortable attire that he turns to face you, easing your head onto his chest with a curled bottom lip before he’s even settled properly on the mattress. “My love...”

Your tears flow freely onto his chest and he says nothing, sighing into your hair because by now this has become a common occurrence.

“She said it might be,” You snivel, “because of the poison.” He closes his eyes, having suspected the same thing but praying that it was not true. He wondered if the poison would have any long lasting effects on you, or on your future offspring, but dismissed the thought immediately. Although he knows nothing of what the doctor has said, he feels discouraged nonetheless. His past failure to protect you continues to circle around his head like a vulture, tormenting him to no end and making its appearance to pick at his wounds whenever he starts to move on from it. Six months feels like a long time, but it is apparent that his emotional scars need far longer to fully heal. And for that he owes to Jinwoo.

“I am s-sorry for being s-so weak.” You wipe your nose, face red and puffy from both tears and embarrassment. “Half a year ago you had not yet seen me shed tears, and now...” Almost as if the word itself had summoned them, fresh droplets fall from your eyes, looking pitifully up at the man who had stolen your heart. Only, he must have given it back to you at some point because you feel too much these days and you are tired of hurting like this. God, you probably look so ugly right now, you can feel how swollen and red your eyes and cheeks are, your self confidence plummeting to an all-time low.

“You are beautiful and strong, (Y/n), do not ever think less of yourself. You have good reason to feel the way you do, please do not think that you have to be stoic in front of me.” Like always, Jimin says exactly the right thing to ease your mind, using his hand to wipe your wet face and burrowing into the sheets with you attached to his side, his heat warming the icy sheets that drowned you when you had been alone.

You retired to bed early last night, which is why you can afford to wake up with the sun this morning. Jimin sleeps soundly behind you, but his presence is felt stiffly on your ass between the thin layers of clothing. Snow twinkles on your windowsill, probably the last snow of the season, but you find the sun beaming as brightly as ever to illuminate the room. With the weather beginning to warm in preparation for spring, you’ve grown accustomed to the gentle sound of melting snow dripping outside your window. Mornings like these are scarce and you plan to make the most of it.

You attempt to turn and face your beloved, but his arms tighten around your waist, locking you in your position. A sleepy groan tickles your ear, the vibrations of his voice sending a shiver through you.

“You’re up early.” Jimin mumbles, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. His voice is always so deep and raspy in the mornings, his dialect coming forth with a yawn. You could listen to him speak like that forever, but all you can think about at the moment is how good his moans would sound with the added rumble of bass that comes from sleep.

“So are you.” You snort with a sly wiggle of your hips. The twitch of his length against you sends a flash of exhilaration through your system— time has been short lately and it has been far too long since you’ve last felt him. Apparently he feels the same way, his hand effortlessly gliding up your rib cage to palm at your clothed breast with a deep sigh. You can tell his eyes are still closed due to the laziness of his movements, but it doesn’t matter when his tender touches set your body on fire like this.

His lips find their way to your neck as he shifts closer, kissing and sucking gently enough not to leave marks but to get your heart racing with need. “Take this off.” You follow his instructions and promptly shed the nightgown from your body, leaving you nude against him as he presses himself to you once again, this time slipping a hand between your legs. Your nipples harden from the brief chill of the room before you adjust the covers over your shoulder again, and Jimin takes advantage of this with two fingers, twisting the bud between them to send a spike of pleasure down your spine.

You muffle a groan once his fingers begin to tease at your lower lips, spreading them and toying with the outer skin just to build your anticipation. He wants you to drip before he’s even touched you properly, to whimper into the sheets until you can’t take it anymore and call out his name in frustration. Your clit gets pinched between his fingers when he squeezes them closed, trapping the bud as he continues to rub you up and down, and you find yourself panting in a matter of seconds. Soon, his fingers start to get coated in the essence that seeps from you. It’s so sexy that he can barely stand it. Jimin loves to feel your warm juices trickling out of you, working you up almost feels better than tending to himself, and his breathing hitches too when you begin to wiggle in his grasp.

“Look at my gorgeous Queen, getting soaking wet from just a few light touches. So cock hungry this early in the morning.” His words make you quiver and whine, the teasing quality of his voice right up against the shell of your ear driving you absolutely insane. “I’ll give you what you want if you tell me~” You hadn’t expected him to be so playful after just waking up, but it’s a pleasant surprise.

“I want you to make me cum,” You breathe out between pants. “Then I want you to pump me full of your seed. Please, My King.” Your words have their own special effect on him, evident by the lustful groan he releases into your hair and how his hips subtly shift behind you. Immediately, his fingers move to your clit to lightly graze over the hood until you buck into him, only then does he add pressure. Your back arches into his palm as he continues to play with your nipple, having turned his attention to the other in order to provide the same treatment, pulling and tweaking at it, working the nerves until they’re raw and sensitive enough to have you gasping with every flick.

Jimin doesn’t need to be able to see you in your entirety to know how you look right now. You’re completely helpless to his touch, he can feel you writhing against him and heating up the space between the sheets as your temperature rises. He can feel your heart beating hard against your chest— and he wonders if you can feel his from his position pressed against your back. It has been a while since he’s allowed himself to indulge in these fantasies. He’s pleased to know that he still has every inch of you committed to memory and is able to so easily have you at his fingertips, quite literally. These past months, your focus has been solely on procreating in the bedroom and rarely for the fun of it, so this is refreshing. But he still asks anyway.

“You want me to spill my seed into you, hm? Are you fertile right now?” His words slip past your ears as you lose yourself to the circles he draws into your bud, but somehow you manage to catch them at the last second.

“It does not matter, I want you anyway.” The answer is no, you aren’t at your most fertile at the moment, but this isn’t about that. Regardless of if anything will come of it or not, you want to feel Jimin paint your walls white with his love, something you think you’ve become addicted to. You bask in the feeling of having him throb and twitch and lose control while at the mercy of your tight walls, even when he’s pounding your weak frame into whatever surface he’s decided to take you on, and the thought has you galloping toward your peak faster than expected.

His leg slips between yours to prop them open, two of his fingers dancing their way into your clenching entrance, the intrusion pulling a loud moan from your lips. They glide and twirl within you much to your delight, but before you can enjoy it fully, they pop out and slither back up to your clit with a thick coating of your own slick. It doesn’t bother you, you could cum like this easily, but what really makes you gape is the feeling of Jimin’s hard member grinding against your ass. You can feel that his briefs are now damp with a mixture of precum and your wetness as you continue to drip down your thighs and make a mess of yourself, and you can’t help but rock your hips into his motion. You grind into each other with sensual synchronization and soon he’s panting along with you, the swollen head of his cock peeking out from his briefs to wet your cheek, teasing you endlessly.

“Jimin,” You whine, praying that he’ll let you cum quickly this morning despite his teasing mood. Every buck into his fingers shoots jolts of pleasure through you and every press against his hot cock has you throbbing at your emptiness. It’s a never-ending loop that has both of you moaning in no time, and it isn’t long before the coil in your stomach tightens to its peak. “Fuck, I’m cumming.” You whisper quietly, your breath being stolen away by the feeling of your orgasm. Your husband groans behind you, forcing his own hips to jerk to a stop as you roll against him to ride out the waves. He can feel you pulsing against his fingers and suddenly craves to feel you around his member, removing his hand from between your legs to push away his bottoms.

“Are you ready for me, darling?” He whispers with soft kisses to your shoulder as you begin to relax again. His tip glides effortlessly against your drenched lips and the fire inside you reignites instantly.

“I am always ready for you, my love.” Turning your head, you find his lips and savor the passionate kiss you share, a warmth blooming in your chest that saves you from the cold of the bedroom. Ever so slowly he pushes inside you, bringing a hand up to hold your face to his as his tongue slips between your lips. Vibrations mingle throughout your bodies as you both moan, the insertion tight as he stretches you open in the early morning light, his morning wood always so sensitive especially with your recent bout of abstinence. On the first thrust his fingers intertwine with yours, and this is the most intimate moment you’ve had with him in a long while. It feels like ages have passed since you’ve indulged each other in slow sex and you are starting to realize just how much you’ve craved it. “I missed you.” You mumble against his lips, barely wanting to pull away to look at him.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Jimin smiles, his eyes still closed but hand still caressing your face. He uses it to skim down your figure, hooking under your leg to lift it over his own and allow him deeper into your cavern, angling himself until you squeeze his hand with a shaky moan.

He honestly thinks he could stay like this forever: wrapped up in your warmth, surrounded by blankets, giving you all the love and pleasure he can provide. Things have been so hectic these last few months, an odd tension growing between you two that he can always feel but can’t quite put his finger on, but in these calm moments before the chaos of the day, he feels completely safe and at ease. Being King is no easy task, this he expected, but this is the only time he gets to shed the expectations, the pretenses, the pressure and just be your lover. Just like at the beginning of your relationship— and how things were 8 months ago, when the Crown was first placed in his hands.

You feel almost like a rag doll in his arms as he snaps his hips into you, allowing him to take you and guide you to bliss. Your hips rock back into him subtly, inner muscles squeezing around his shaft and gripping onto him, begging him to stay buried inside to occupy your lonely walls and empty womb. Pressure builds in your lower abdomen again, accompanied by a flush that takes over your body and warms you uncomfortably under the sheets. Jimin tosses the coverings aside when it gets too much, sweat slicking where your bodies connect. Your nails dig into the flesh of his ass when you reach a hand back to rest on the muscle, groaning at how you can feel every movement whenever his hips surge forward, his strength jolting you with his slow, powerful strokes. His length curves perfectly inside you, touching all your favorite spots and it becomes increasingly apparent that you won’t last long like this. He encourages you with gentle sweet nothings tickled against your ear.

“My lovely wife, always so good to me.” Jimin nuzzles his face in your hair, pulling you impossibly closer as his hand returns to your breast. “Always so soft and wet around my cock, darling. Are you getting close again, my love?” You whimper loudly and nod, not trusting your voice entirely when you’re feeling so breathless. “You sound so sweet moaning for me like that. Shall we let the entire castle know what a splendid morning we’re having together? Let them hear how well your King takes care of you.”

“Jimin~” You croon as he picks up pace, hips slapping against your backside and filling the air alongside your heavy breathing. Removing his bottom hand from yours, he props himself up on his elbow to look down over you, opening his legs wider to gain as much leverage as possible to fuck into you. The speed and power he achieves like this has you crying out into the open air, uncaring of who hears how wrecked you sound. You’re certain that the guards keeping watch at your door are uncomfortable by the display of lust, but who are they to judge when Jimin touches just the right places within you to have your body coming apart at the seams?

“Cum for me, my love,” Your husband’s voice feels distant as your thoughts float away. You are not aware enough to marvel at the sheer strength and endurance of his hips, his pace not faltering even once. Crumpling the sheets beneath you, you turn your face into the pillow as your body starts to quiver, a warm hand gripping onto your hip to keep you in place against the onslaught of pleasure. “There you go, milk me of my seed.”

Just the simple thought he plants in your mind’s eye is enough to send you into heaven, your walls clamping down around him with a scream of bliss, just as he requested. Feeling him so deeply makes your eyes roll, every stroke kissing the entrance of your womb and you pray he gives you every last drop he has. With only a few more pushes of his hips, you feel his body tense behind you and shiver, an overwhelmingly sexy groan breathed right into your ear.

It takes several moments of gentle thrusting before he’s satisfied, your body sufficiently full of his sperm and skin tingling with the aftermath of a beautiful orgasm you happily shared. Jimin kisses his way down from the side of your cheeks and neck to your shoulder and arm, ignoring the thin layer of perspiration that dries quickly in the brisk morning air. Though soft, he remains inside of you as he settles himself back against the mattress and holds your body to his, lifting the sheets to cover you before the chill returns. You feel safe. Completely and utterly safe and comfortable in your lover’s arms as you drift back to sleep.

But the peace is short lived because just as you begin to dream again, you feel Jimin pull out of you and shift away, attempting to be as stealthy as possible as he slips from bed. He winces when you turn to your other side to face him, sleepy eyes watching as he pulls on his underwear again. You are unable to return the sweet smile he offers you, already missing the way his skin felt against yours.

“Will you not stay to cuddle me?” You ask quietly, unable to understand why he must leave so soon. The smile on his face turns sad, eyes flickering to the door as several consecutive knocks sing on the wood.

“I have many duties to fulfill today, my love.”

‘And no time for me...’ You think with a poorly concealed frown, burrowing deeper into the bedspread when he opens the door for your servants, who get to work on preparing him for the day immediately. Deep down you know you likely will not interact with him until nightfall as he scrambles around the castle and kingdom serving his duties, but you try not to feel the distasteful irritation in your chest and send him off with a kiss when he makes his exit. Sometimes, though, you cannot help but think he was more eager to be with you when he was merely a soldier.

Jimin sits at a round table meeting with his advisors to discuss the affairs of the kingdom, in which there is not much to report. This is a mandatory meeting they must have weekly and they rarely last long. Most of the time, the conversations divulge into unrelated, off topic subjects just to pass the time, and Jimin has no problem with this on most days. He has a good relationship with his advisors and there is almost never any need for him to use his status as King during their discussions. Today, however, his fuse is a little short. It may be because of the all too frequent restless nights he has been experiencing, or from the lack of quality time he has spent with you, but he is far more irritable than usual. All he can think about is how disappointed you looked when he left and how much he’d rather be cuddled up back in bed with you instead of sitting in front of this counsel.  

“Do not worry, the Queen has already taken care of it.” Someone says, he does not know who said it because he is barely paying attention.

“Pardon my coarseness, Your Highness, but it is my understanding that Her Majesty has not yet conceived.” The man presents this in a questioning manner, but Jimin can hear the underlying condescension.

“You are correct.” He replies in a low voice.

“It has been 9 months since your matrimony. She should bear your heirs with haste.” The room swells with voices as his advisors begin to talk about you, each taking their turn to put in their opinions and criticism. He can hardly believe what he is hearing. They speak as though it is your fault that you are not pregnant, as if you are being defiant by not bearing him children, like it is a choice that you have made consciously. Anger bubbles in his chest, blood boiling as they continue ranting about you right in front of him as though they were not saying terrible things about his wife. He stands abruptly upon hearing someone tell a story about how his wife refused to birth him any more children because he “was acting like one” himself. Jimin interrupts just as the man is about to make a comment about stubborn wives, his voice billowing from his throat like heavy plumes of smoke that quickly engulf the room.

“How dare you speak of my wife— your Queen— in such a disrespectful manner! Do you accuse her of treachery against me? Against this nation? You have the gall to insult her efforts on something she cannot control, to doubt her intentions and loyalty to this kingdom and her own family? I should have you all removed from this castle permanently for suggesting such a thing, what do you have to say about that?!” He looks around the silent room at each of their faces, all of them looking utterly shocked by his outburst. Jimin has never needed to assert his authority over them like this, but they have gone too far today. Though he is the youngest in the room, he is easily the most intimidating when angry, regardless of if he were the King or not. Drawing in a deep breath, he tries to calm himself, running a hand through his hair as he takes his seat once more. “It is my fault anyway, not hers. It is my duty as well.”

It is quiet for a long while, the men around the table hesitate to speak again until one man builds up the courage to break the stillness.

“Do not despair, Your Highness, you are both still young, there is plenty of time to have children.” He reassures, followed by similar comforting phrases from the others. Jimin does not respond as he stares out of the window, a solemn look overtaking his face in place of the relaxed and neutral expression he normally wears. He wonders if you face this criticism regularly wherever you go, if people who are supposed to be your supporters are slowly losing hope in you. You already beat yourself up about not being pregnant, he fears what would happen if those thoughts were validated by others. Something must be done about this immediately.

It is silent for another long pause. “You are all dismissed.” He says with a flick of his hand.

*** *** ***

Your servants follow you around quite stubbornly, attempting (and failing) to be as unnoticeable as possible, but their presence is the only thing you can focus on. If you sigh too heavily they all come scurrying over, asking what was the matter, offering to take care of whatever task you had set out to complete. Yes, it was your mother’s dying wish for you to accept your loyal attendants, and it was your father’s order for them to look after you, but you cannot help but feel that this treatment is a bit excessive. It is almost laughable when you reflect on it: how just a year prior you were known largely for your independence, and now you could hardly find a moment to yourself. The only times you can get away with having minimal supervision is when you go out into town, where you may request only one or two guards or servants to accompany you.

Since becoming the official Queen of this nation, you have taken it upon yourself to care for the nuances of your society, to help individuals and keep a close relationship with the people. Jimin was focused on many of the larger issues that affected groups of citizens, like rebuilding one of the marketplaces that suffered damages in a fire last week, as well as handling international business with neighboring kingdoms. Naturally, everyone took a great liking to him and his policies and the people offered him immense support, but your job as Queen was to support the people. So, every week you go into town and buy a book from a novice writer, read it, then publish an unofficial review for the stories you enjoy. Not only does this boost the writer’s credibility, popularity, and sales, it also allows you to communicate with your people. Your presence in town never goes unnoticed, and often times people give you great recommendations on stories you should interest yourself with. It is the highlight of your week since all you can do is read in the quiet moments within the castle.

It is now early spring, trees budding with sweet smelling blossoms and the beginnings of greenery, displaying their proud potency in brilliant hues that bleach you into the gray of a dead willow. Still, your spirits are beginning to lift the farther you distance yourself from the castle. Walking through town, you breathe in all of the scents around you. Street vendors sell an array of foods that you do not see within the castle often and your mouth waters as you step up to one, picking out a pastry covered in sugar, something that you can easily pull apart with your fingers without the need of utensils. Before you can lift it to your mouth, the guard beside you stops you, plucking a small piece for himself to taste for poison. As a royal, you always thought this job was unnecessary and ridiculous before, but after the catastrophe at your wedding, you now understand it’s significance. That does not stop you from pouting, however, as you are forced to wait at least 5 minutes before the stiff guard allows you to dig into your snack.

You continue through the market, admiring crafts from artisans with masterful handiwork and struggle to keep your hand out of your purse whenever something catches your eye. This market is not the closest to the palace, in fact, it is quite far from it, but you have found that the most valuable work comes from the honest workers that live in smaller homes and lead honest lives, not from the traders and merchants who buy their goods from others and claim them as their own in the wealthy districts. The people who live on the outskirts work harder, and they are the ones you need to support the most.

“This would look beautiful hanging from the palace walls, don’t you think?” You turn toward Lilian as she browses the collection of jewelry that sits beside the tapestry you are holding, her eyes inspecting it briefly.

“I think it would look lovely in one of the sitting rooms.” She grins. Lilian always accompanies you on these types of trips. You value her opinion and reason and sympathize with her lack of outside interaction. Both of you are in the palace at almost all times and you are sure you both would go crazy if not for these couple hours outside those claustrophobic walls.

“I think so, too!” You agree, turning to the guard who continues to survey the area. “What do you think, Kyungsoo?”

He looks at it for a while, then at the others around it, finally bringing his eyes back to yours. “Whatever you desire, Your Majesty. My opinion is insignificant.” His answer causes your face to fall, rolling your eyes at him because he always says that. This is another reason why you bring Lilian along.

Sauntering into your favorite bookstore, you cheerfully greet the clerk and begin browsing for newly released books. Not long after, two women approach you, one of which you recognize to be the bookkeeper’s daughter and a new friend of yours. She always comes to talk to you about the store’s newest additions, and it gives others around her the confidence to speak to you as well. Today she is with a slightly older woman who she introduces as a rising author.

“I believe I have read one of your books before; remind me, which ones have you written?” You prompt, making the woman blush and brighten.

“Snowflower is my most popular work. It is all thanks to your review that I was finally able to get noticed in the writing community!” She beams, sparking conversation with you and Lilian about the book that the two of you enjoyed so much. It must be more than 15 minutes later that you finally decide on what to purchase, you have been listening closely to all that the ladies have to say about each author and the summaries of each story. There were multiple that piqued your interest and you could not decide so you ended up with 3 books in hand as your friend walked you to the register. One of them happens to be a story following the trials and struggles of a mother who becomes pregnant during a war. Of course you hadn’t picked this book for its theme of motherhood. It promised to be a good read— though you had overlooked it many times before today— and you certainly did not choose it because it was the closest thing to a lesson on pregnancy you could get without purchasing the entire series of “Preparing for Parenthood”, perched on a shelf that you found yourself eying the majority of your stay in the store.

Your friend talks mindlessly as she rings you up for your books, inspecting your odd selection. “So tell me, Your Majesty, are you with ch- ow!” The woman beside her pinches her arm just out of your sight, offering up a tight lipped smile when she turns to pout at her. A short flash of realization crosses her face before she returns her attention to you.

“Am I with whom?” You ask, confused.

“Are you with t-the children! Have you- have you come to see the preschoolers perform today?” She covers quickly with a nervous smile. Lilian glares at her when you are facing the other way.

“Oh! I recall hearing that they will be performing a play today, I nearly forgot!” The people around you sigh in relief at your obliviousness, resuming conversation as though nothing had happened. They give you instructions to the school and you rush there, Lilian carrying your books and Kyungsoo leading the way.

When you arrive, there are only parents and family members filling the auditorium, signifying that the play has not yet started. They chat amongst themselves in a rumble of murmurs, but the noise quiets quickly once you are noticed by a teacher that stands near the stage area.

“Her Majesty!” She gasps. “Welcome, welcome!” She practically runs to you, approaching clumsily while Kyungsoo moves to shield you with his body, stopping the woman before she can get too close. You gently move him aside to allow the woman to see and speak directly to you. “I had no idea that the Queen would be visiting today! To what do I owe you the pleasure?”

“I have come to see the children perform. It is imperative of me as Queen to support our kingdom’s youth.” You smile, noticing a weird look that crosses her face for a moment before smoothing out. Lilian has a tight smile spread across her lips just out of your peripheral.

“Of course! Well, you are just in time, the show is about to begin.” She tries to clear the front row of parents for you, but you insist that the parents of the children should get the best seats, settling for the chairs she pulls up for you at the sides of the small theater.

The moment the toddlers waddle onto stage in their costumes, your heart liquifies. They are the cutest things you have ever seen. Some of them look confused, some are pouting, but most of them are excitedly waving at their parents in the crowd, nearly tripping over each other from not looking at what’s happening in front of them. Even more heartwarming is the reactions of the parents, each and every one of them sitting up straighter and beaming with joy at the sight of their offspring, even the parents who had previously looked bored. Your attention is split between what is happening onstage and in the crowd throughout the entire play, watching the silent interactions between child and parent. You could always tell which tot belonged to which parent because of their reactions. Every child had their own lines, and whenever one stepped up to speak, the parents would lean in closer to the stage or straighten up to send a thumbs up to the wide eyes that stare back at them.

At some point, you had begun to imagine what it would be like if your own child were up there. You scan the faces of the toddlers, determining that a shy little girl bears the closest resemblance to your future baby, and you watch her the entire rest of the play. Her finger reaches into her nose several times during the performance, something your toddler would be forced to learn not to do, and she appears to be quite hesitant to say her lines. You and Jimin would act just as her parents are now, waving at her and mouthing words of encouragement when it seems like she will not speak at all, smiling proudly after she executes her parts flawlessly. Jimin would probably hold your hand as you watch her and you would be able to feel the sweat on his palms from how much he would worry for her, whispering to you how he hopes she will not cry because of how shy and quiet she tends to be. And you would whisper back that your baby is talented and will do great because she is very mature for her age, being a Princess and all.

Your eyes do not leave the girl for a minute and you are so caught up in your fantasy that you almost miss when everyone stands to clap at the end of the show. You rise slowly and offer your applause, cheeks hurting from smiling too much, but you cannot ignore the bittersweet feeling in your chest that comes when all of the children disperse and run into the arms of their waiting parents. And you are forced to remember your situation. The teacher begs you to make closing remarks and you take your place on the empty stage to address your people. Unable to focus properly, you barely know what you are saying; you thank the students and teachers for a great show, repeat a total of 4 times how adorable the children were, speak at length about how much you enjoyed everything, and once you notice that you’re rambling, you conclude quickly and move from the spotlight awkwardly. The families don’t seem to notice as they return their attention to gushing over their babies.

Just as you are about to make your exit, someone runs up to you and stops at your feet, her hair barely reaching the bottoms of your knees as she looks up at you. It is the girl you had been watching, and her arms reach up to be held once you make eye contact with her. At the approval of her parents, you lift her light body and rest her on your hip, the position comfortable and natural despite you having held a child only a few times in your life. You congratulate her and she smiles at you, turning to look at her parents as you try not to marvel at how perfectly innocent and sweet her face is.

“Your Majesty,” Her mother greets with a bow. “I was very surprised to see you here today. I had heard that you often come to these parts of town, but I would have never expected you to grace us with your presence on an occasion like this.” She is very polite, noting how the little girl has taken a liking to you already.

“I believe it is important to keep in touch with my people, and what better way is there to connect with you all than to attend a performance of my kingdom’s children?” You grin.

“I heard rumors that lately you had been feeling quite under the weather.” At this you quirk an eyebrow. She continues. “Many had assumed you were pregnant, so word spread that the King would not allow you out of the palace and that is why you had been absent for the past few weeks.” As if Jimin could tell you what to do. Yes, it is true that you had not gone outside of the palace in about 3 weeks, but that was of your own accord.

Jimin’s mother had taken a short vacation to your home upon your request after you detailed to her your troubles with conceiving in a lengthy letter, and she spent those three weeks improving your physical health with things like yoga and kegal exercises, as well as offering you very blunt and personal advice that you were almost too embarrassed to put into practice. Jimin warned you of how she was unafraid to talk about intimate topics, recalling a specific conversation she had with him in his teenage years, but you were still unprepared for the sheer amount of information she gave you during that time. You simply did not have time to go on your weekly shopping trips.

“That is... not the case.” You reply, adjusting the girl on your hip.

“Oh, then you are not pregnant?” The woman seems surprised and Lilian seems almost outraged, cutting in when you open and close your mouth with no other response.

“We have not been to this part of your town yet, are there any places you suggest we visit?” Lilian’s voice sounds through her teeth, swiftly changing the subject. You didn’t think you would have trouble talking about this, but here you stand, blinking away tears at her question. The girl’s mother seems to realize her mistake when she takes in your watery eyes that you try to hide with a fake smile. You let Lilian continue her conversation as you wander away a few steps, pretending to inspect your surroundings as you gather yourself, until a nearby newspaper catches your eye. On the cover are the words “KING’S NEW ORDERS! PROTECT THE QUEEN” and your heart jumps at the suddenness. You bend carefully to turn the page and read the article, a mix of emotions rushing through your body that almost makes you lose grip on the child in your arms when you understand their significance. You quickly return her to her parents, excusing yourself from them on the pretense that you had to be back at the palace for important business, and you instruct Kyungsoo to guide you back to the carriage to head home.

Upon entering your bedroom, Jimin finds a note on the bed in your writing, reading it with curiosity. It leads him to a familiar place and he hurries there with mild concern, mind rushing with thoughts of what your note could have meant.

Curled up in your favorite chair, he finds you reclining with a new book in hand as you look through the window of your Secret Library. Your servants know nothing of this place, you and Jimin have made certain that it’s location remains hidden, so this is the only place you can truly be alone. To his knowledge, you only come here when something is troubling you or when you need to think, and his mind jumps to all of the worst case scenarios of what could have happened.

“My love, you wished to speak with me?” He asks, approaching urgently as according to your urgent letter. But you remain relaxed and unresponsive as you continue to flip through the pages of your novel. He looks down to inspect your choice reading, taking note that it speaks of a woman who, in this current scene, is just learning that she is pregnant. You take your time reading it, only turning to him after the chapter is finished. When you turn to him your eyes are blank and unreadable.

“Why have you placed a censorship on our people, My King?” You ask suddenly, and it takes him aback.

“A c-censorship?” He stutters out.

“Yes, you recently placed a censorship on the people of this kingdom, have you not?” You look him in the eyes and find that he can barely hold eye contact, his entire body tense. It is difficult for him to respond, especially since you were not supposed to know about this, at least not this soon.

“It is not a censorship.” He evades.

“Really? So you have not ordered our people to be silent about anything pertaining to pregnancy and children around me?” He fidgets under your piercing tongue, unsure of how to respond. “That sounds quite close to censorship to me.”

“It is only to protect you, My Queen,” He relents, stepping closer to you as you snap your book closed. “People can be very insensitive and I did not want you to be hurt by their words.”

“Hurt by their words? What words would they have said to me? I am not a child, Jimin, you need not protect me from words!” Your volume rises along with the redness of your face. “Are the people criticizing me in some way? What have they said? What have you heard to make you so wary of words?”

“Their words hurt me, (Y/n).” He says quietly as he lowers himself to his knees and takes hold of your hands when he sees the worry in your eyes. “What I heard hurt me, and I could not bear the thought that you may hear such things too. I did not do this because I think you are not strong enough to endure it, I did it because you do not deserve to hear such negativity.”

“Even so, how dare you make such a rash decision without consulting me.” You remove your hands from his and he does not reach for them again. “You saw me directly after your council meeting last week and mentioned not a word of this to me. If you had asked, I would have told you that none of this is necessary, that I can handle whatever my people have to say about me because I am the Queen!” Your voice cracks annoyingly as you fight back hot tears. “I should be able to answer them when they ask me questions. And maybe I should hear what they say about me. Because they are correct, I am not pregnant and I do not know if I can ever become pregnant and maybe they should be worried. My sensitivity should not warrant their silence.”

“You are not sensitive, my love, you have every right to feel the way that you do.” You ignore him.

“But what troubles me the most is how you so easily excluded me. You acted without my consent and planned to keep this from me indefinitely— you even made sure Lilian was the first to know so that she could keep watch over me today! What happened to our communication, Jimin? We should be able to talk to each other about anything and everything, but instead you felt the need to keep something so important a secret from me. You could have simply talked to me and told me how you feel. It feels as though we have not spoken in days, it is almost like you aren’t trying anymore. It feels like you have given up.”

The fire in your tone dies down until all that is left is pain, and Jimin realizes that it is he who has hurt you the most.

Lilian told him about where you went today and how you acted. She told him of the lost and pained look in your eyes as you watched the children, even though you were smiling. Most importantly, she relayed your exact reaction when that woman asked if you were pregnant. It was just as he had feared. Putting these pieces of information together with the book you had been reading, Jimin knows that this argument is about more than what you’d like him to believe.

“This is no longer about the censorship, is it?” He asks cautiously, guilt leaking onto his features. You appear shocked at first, not having realized your own subliminal shift from the topic, but then your face twists with emotion and you bite your lip and turn your head from him in an effort to hold yourself together. You are tired of crying in front of him.

“You-“ Sniffling, you try to control the shakiness of your voice. “You do not talk to me anymore. I never know how you are feeling these days because you have been avoiding me.”

“I do not try to avoid you, my love.” He frowns, moving his hand to rest on your knee.

“It feels like you are. You do not come to my health examinations anymore, you can never seem to make time for them.” He opens his mouth to speak, but you don’t let him. “I am always forced to go through them alone and I sit there the entire time wishing that you were there to hold me or reassure me, but I’m always alone. And it may be easier for you to hear the bad news from my mouth, but it hurts me more every time I am forced to tell you that I have failed once again. And we haven’t tried in a long while, I am beginning to fear that you no longer want to touch me.” Your eyes convey a deeper pain than your words can communicate, and the earnestness in them when you look at him breaks his heart. He didn’t mean to make you feel this way, it‘s the last thing he would want.

“I still very much want you, My Queen, I always will. I have been hesitant to initiate anything with you as of late because you seemed so disheartened and dejected and I did not want to further upset you with inappropriate timing. I have also been struggling to keep my optimism, forgive me for my misjudgment.”

“That is another problem,” You sigh, knitting your eyebrows. “I have no idea what you are thinking or feeling. You always comfort me and tell me that I can be open with my emotions with you, yet you do not listen to your own advice and tend to lock up around me. It will not lessen my sadness, but to know that you are just as affected by this as I am and that I am not overreacting would give me the tiniest bit of comfort. But when you force yourself to appear unaffected, it feels as though I am the only one who cares.”

“But I am the King,” Jimin starts, conflicted. “I cannot afford to show weakness or lament in our misfortunes. I must be strong for the people.”

“Strength is not the only trait of value!” You hiss, irritated that he has this perception that is so inaccurate. “Emotion does not always entail vulnerability and the people will see that. They adore how much you care about them, how you grieve with them when you learn of their losses, so why would it be inappropriate for you to care about me? Do not forget that you are also my husband. That is what you signed up for on our wedding day; you married me and the kingdom followed. Why is it that I am never your priority?!”

Sadness transforming into boiling rage, you stand and push past him toward the exit. This is your first real argument with him and it seems that everything that has been bothering you for the past few months is now exploding out of your mouth. You did not mean for your words to be so harsh, yet you could not control them and figured that you should let everything out while you had the chance. Much of your frustration is about your own incompetence, but you redirect it toward him because you cannot handle anymore mental self-abuse. A tiny part of you wants him to yell back at you and affirm everything you already thought about the direction of your relationship just so you could be right about something for once. Most of you, however, wants him to run after you, take you into his arms, look you in the eye and dispel all of your worries by pouring out his heart to you.

And that is exactly what he does.

“My love, do not run away.” He says gently, grabbing your hand before you can even make it 3 steps past him. He moves to the front of you, taking your face in his palms so he can stare into your eyes, hoping they can fill in the blanks between his words. “You are always my priority and you always will be. I-“ He sighs, looking away for a second before returning to you. “I do not always make the best choices, and for that I apologize. Being your husband and a King is far different than being a military general, and it is taking longer to adjust than I anticipated. I love you so much, to the point where I am afraid of making mistakes and losing your heart somehow, so I try too hard to be perfect. I take care of your kingdom because it was yours before it was mine and I know how dearly you hold it’s people. I try to be as tough as possible for you because I thought you would expect it of me when you were feeling weak.” His hands fall to your shoulders. “As a General, I learned that the only way to gain respect and love was to work hard and solve all issues, but it appears that I will need a different mindset in this situation. Because it seems I have become too consumed with work and too busy to show my love for you, and I know I will need to change that if I want to be a good father to our children.”

“You do not need to change at all, Jimin. Who you are trying so hard to be is not the same man you were when I met you. Yes, you were strong in front of others, but you never closed yourself to me. I do not want you to change or pretend to be tough, I want you to be you, because that is who I married.” This causes him to think back to how he has behaved in recent months. Maybe he was avoiding your appointments purposely so he wouldn’t have the chance to break down in front of the doctor or Lilian. And maybe he had been ignoring you so he wouldn’t have to face his own pain that you reflected. He’s been treating you unfairly in an effort to play a role that doesn’t exist, and he welcomes the guilt that slaps him in the face at the realization. He hates that he ended up like this even after all that you went through in the aftermath of your wedding. It is like he had forgotten all that he promised you.

“I apologize for everything, My Queen. I will remove the censorship immediately.” His head bows with heaviness. “I do still want a family with you, but maybe we should take a break from trying, just for a little while. Maybe this building friction between us and the stress it caused has been affecting our fertility. Maybe we are trying too hard and should take your advice to just be ourselves. A baby should be made from love, not by expectation. I do not want-“ He thinks about his next sentence carefully. “I want to improve our relationship first, before our attention is shifted to other matters. We are young and have not yet been married a year, my love, we will have plenty of time to conceive. Let me make up for the neglect you have suffered these past months. Let us take it one day at a time.”

He’s right, your relationship has been strained, and it is not only from the fact that you are not pregnant. The discord between you two has taken a toll on your body: you are constantly exhausted, your head pounds with headaches most days, and the loneliness has changed your positive attitude into one of sulking and disdain. It has changed you. So how could you think of bringing a child into this world when you are at this level of dysfunction? Things needed to be resolved first, and here he is, willing to work everything out with you after accepting his faults. You couldn’t possibly reject him.

It’s been nearly a month since your argument, and things have taken a turn for the better. You helped Jimin realize something he didn’t quite understand before: that as King, anything he says goes, so he has been taking frequent days off to spend time with you. He’s taken you on many dates around the kingdom, showing you his favorite places to go when he was a child, exploring different towns you hadn’t gotten a chance to see yet, he even accompanied you on your shopping day to meet some of the friends you’d made. Being able to spend time with him like this reminds you of what it felt like in the beginning of your relationship. The novelty of seeing him and the excitement you’d feel in the pit of your stomach. Except this excitement is now from your curiosity of what activities you’ll do with him that day and not from the thrill of possibly being caught together by servants.

You’ve kept things fairly innocent these past few weeks, focusing on rebuilding your emotional connection instead of being physical. You’d lost a lot of weight during the months you were at odds with Jimin, but you’re happy to say that you’re gaining it back now that you’re paying more attention to your health and happiness and not the crazy diets and detoxes that people recommended to you to help with conception. What’s more, you’ve been keeping busy by accompanying Jimin on his political duties instead of remaining put away in the palace. He didn’t want to involve you in political affairs to keep your stress levels low, but you remind him that you’ve been involved in things like that since you where a young princess, so this is the norm. So now you happily travel with him out of the kingdom to attend meetings with neighboring rulers and assure them of your health.

This is the first trip you’ve taken, and it feels absolutely liberating. Seokjin insisted that you and your husband stay in his family’s vacation home located in the area— one of many acquired throughout his travels as a collector and salesman— and it is arguably nicer than the one offered by the royals of this kingdom. Perhaps not as luxurious (though very close to it) but certainly more private. You’d take any opportunity to escape any hovering servants. Your eyes sparkle as you walk through the doors, taking in the modern furniture, high ceilings, and breathtaking view of the green valley and hills surrounding you. The altitude is quite a bit higher than you’re used to, the kingdom poised along a mountainside and sourcing its water from the river that flows through the valley below.

You blame this altitude for the sick feeling in your stomach and the lightness of your head, trying your hardest to keep your etiquette and not plop face first onto the huge mattress. You sit gingerly on the edge, aided by Jimin, who kept hold of your arm ever since he saw you swaying when you stepped out of the carriage. He fusses over you, letting out a disgruntled grumble when you remind him that you saw the doctor before your departure and she found no troubling conditions within you— not even pregnancy, which you were disappointed to hear, but not surprised. The symptoms come and go and you assure him that all you need is some rest and you’ll be back on your feet, and he leaves you under the watch of Lilian and Kyungsoo (who accompany you everywhere) while he travels to the castle to greet the King and assure him of your safe arrival. You nap while he’s away and awake just in time for dinner, feeling refreshed and symptom free, much to his relief.

Being away from the palace and kingdom is sure to do wonders for your physical and mental health. Just being here with the people you love is a breath of fresh air, and you can’t wipe the smile off your face. Seated at the table accompanied by Jimin, Lilian, and Kyungsoo, you feel this is the closest thing you’ll have to a family dinner for a long while. As your servant, Lilian never eats with you at the same time, let alone at the same table, but you begged her to join you and fill the evening air with casual chatter. Kyungsoo is your favorite guard and you’ve always wanted to get to know him, but he remains relatively quiet throughout the meal and never lets his guard down, taking the farthest seat from his monarchs to silently observe. Typical. With your energy levels still quite low, Jimin and Lilian do their best to raise your spirits by showing off their goofy sides, telling stories and making you laugh almost nonstop. But just seeing them bond so well is enough to make your heart swell. You wonder if Jimin will have this type of relationship with your children, one where they can joke freely and build trust with each other without being hindered by the forced power dynamic. You hope their relationship will be better than the somewhat estranged one you have with your father.

“Are you comfortable, my love?” Jimin asks as you settle in for bed. This mattress seems to be made from the clouds of the heavens, you’ve never felt relaxation like this. You’ll have to purchase one for your own bedroom.

“Yes, My King.” You return, grinning at the way his cheeks lift. He climbs in behind you after blowing out the lanterns, the scent of smoke wafting gently through the room.

“How are you feeling? Better?” He sounds tired and you have no desire to keep him awake with your troubles, so you nod.

“Yes, after my nap and dinner, I feel just fine.” You don’t mention your growing headache because you’re certain a good night’s sleep will resolve it. You’re feeling uncharacteristically tired, exhausted even, and it’s most likely from the long journey here. Hopefully, you’ll wake up refreshed and energized in the morning.

“Alright. Let me know if you need anything tonight.” He whispers, already starting to drift off.

“I won’t trouble you.” You assure him, sinking into slumber.

“Are you sure you are well enough to go out today?” Lilian sifts through your clothing, trying to decide what to dress you in for today’s events, accounting for the warm mid-spring weather. She is alone in the bedroom with you, Jimin having stepped out to give you privacy while getting ready.

“Yes, I am feeling much better.” This isn’t a lie. Although you felt extremely sluggish upon first waking up, you now feel great. Jimin had asked you about a thousand questions before leaving bed this morning and at breakfast, and you dispelled each one of his worries with confidence.

“I am glad to hear that, but please do pay attention to your condition, Your Highness.” She says this as she holds up a pristine gown for your approval, handing it to you when you nod both at her words and fashion choice.

She doesn’t need to vocalize what’s on her mind, you know what she’s thinking, and frankly, you’ve been having the same thoughts. But your doctor was very clear that you are not pregnant when you saw her before the trip. Also, you bleed 2 weeks ago, and though it was short-lived, it was accompanied by cramps and headaches, dutifully reminding you of your empty womb. So you ignore Lilian’s concerns and move about your day like normal, smothering the tiny bud of hope that tries to bloom in your chest.

“Are you excited for today’s meeting?” Moving away from the topic, she smiles at you through the mirror at the way your face lights up, beginning her work on your hair.

“This is the most excited I have felt in a long while! It will be my first diplomatic duty as Queen.” Finally, you feel useful.

“Would you like me to accompany you?” What she means is ‘would you like me to keep an eye on you to make sure you are feeling okay/ nothing bad happens’ but you pretend not to notice.

“No, Lilian, I want you to treat this as a vacation of sorts. You work so hard my humble, loyal friend. Go and explore the towns, have fun while we’re away from the kingdom.”

“I do not want a vacation, I want to make sure you are alright.” She responds quietly, blushing. You hum.

“Respectfully, I do not need to be looked after like a child.” You chuckle. “I can do well on my own. Besides, Jimin and Kyungsoo will be there if anything happens.”

“Then I will take my leave tomorrow after I make sure you are alright today.” She says stubbornly, not meeting your eyes in the mirror. “I cannot relax in good conscience without being assured of your safety.” Nodding, you accept her terms with a smirk.

“Always a pleasure to see you, Queen (Y/n).” King Jackson smiles at you, bowing his head in greeting. You grin widely as you sit across from him and his wife at the large conference table, Jimin placed closely at your side.

“You as well, Jackson.” Last you saw him, he was a prince. In fact, he submitted the first marriage proposal you’d ever received, asking your father for your hand in marriage as soon as he heard you were of age. He is a little less than 4 years older than you, handsome, bubbly personality, likable and charming on all fronts, and you had no qualms with marrying him, but you also had no desire to leave your kingdom to rule another. As King, he would have you move into his castle and be at his service where you would likely not hold any power or say in most matters involving the people, something that deeply displeased you, so you turned him down. Now he has a wife and several small children, as well as the throne and an entire kingdom to lead. And as of your coronation, he is your kingdom’s closest ally.

“No need to be so formal, Queen.” He jokes, immediately setting a relaxed atmosphere. You are meeting to discuss and update the terms of a treaty between your allied nations, one that your fathers had written and agreed upon many years ago, but legally needs to be reviewed thanks to the recent shift in power. Your father is quite close with Jackson’s own, therefore you have a good relationship with the young King from years of getting acquainted during your childhood. Jimin, however, has no such history with the man and seems rather tense around the lighthearted playful. “I was disappointed when you refused by marriage proposal, but it seems that you have chosen a handsome and competent spouse in my place, just as I have.” He grins, winking at his wife, Lena.

“It was never ‘your place’, do not be so big headed,” You roll your eyes but he ignores your quip, eyes trained on Jimin.

“We spoke yesterday evening, but I am intrigued to get to know more of you, King Park. May I call you Jimin?” Jackson barely waits for a reply before continuing. “I must know more of the man whom I am to be allied with, and the man who married the ever-so-independent princess.”

“I must admit, I am curious about you, too. But if my beloved trusts and acknowledges you, then I will do the same.” Reaching under the table, Jimin’s hand finds yours and you smirk, pleased that he won’t let the other King intimidate him.

“Regarding the treaty;” Jackson pulls out a long document, skimming over the lengthy script that you are both irritatingly familiar with. “Will our kingdom’s continue to remain allied during times of war, help financially and provide resources in times of natural disaster, respect the borders set by each nation without the intention of gaining territory, and continue to keep trade borders open?” He reads off the major points of the list, you and Jimin answering with a ‘yes’ to each. “Is there anything else you would like to add?”

“Not that I can think of.” You respond, Jimin saying the same. Feeling satisfied by your responses, Jackson signs his name under the print of your fathers, passing the document to you for your signature. But you slide the paper to your husband, whose name appears in ink now instead of yours. Surprised by this, you can see the unfiltered comment bubbling out from the brazen King’s dome.

“I would not have expected, (Y/n), that you would submit the powers of your status to a man.” It is obvious that he has already assumed that your action means that you no longer hold the highest authority in your own land, but you are both quick to correct him.

“You are mistaken.” Your voices harmonize into one as you say this, Jimin continuing on to explain. “My Queen has not yielded even an inch of power to me. As I am sure you know, she is fully capable of handling affairs such as these, any responsibility she has shifted to me has been due to her own discretion.” Though his tongue is quick, Jimin is sure to keep a light, non-malicious tone so as not to offend your friend. You’d much rather focus on internal public affairs, leaving international and business related issues to your husband. But it seems others have the wrong idea about you.

The man across from you blinks at this, raising his eyebrows, and you know Jimin has just gained a large amount of respect in his eyes. You find it quite flattering to see him so defensive of you and you give an approving squeeze of his hand.

“As expected,” Jackson hums with a grin, receiving the document as Jimin passes it back to him. “Well, it seems that our business here is complete! Shall we have champagne to celebrate this swift agreement?” He doesn’t realize his error until his wife nudges him in the ribs and he looks up to see your faces pulled into wide-eyed frowns. “Ah, yes— my apologies,” He scratches his neck bashfully. “Then, may I interest you in some exercise?” Eyes boring straight into Jimin’s, he asks this as the men share a look.

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Lena beams, nearly bouncing in her seat as you both observe from a bench on the side of the field. Somehow you hadn’t expected this when Jackson offered his proposal. Your husbands are standing in a marked area with protective gear covering their bodies and gleaming swords, preparing for a sparring match in the warm weather. The sun beats down on you as you squint at them, using your hand to shade your eyes before Lilian appears with a parasol to place over your head. “Have you ever seen your husband fight before?” She asks, staring at your side profile.

“Never.” You respond. “This should be interesting.” Admittedly, you tend to shy away from violence, resenting the thought of people battling each other for bloody glory. Though you are in charge of the military, you never ask for too many details, and skillfully avoid any training grounds near the castle. It may be ironic, then, that you married a General who has seen more battles than he’s cared to mention and carries more scars than he’d care to explain. But you must admit that you’re intrigued by the spectacle he’s sure to put on for you, comforted by the fact that this is completely safe.

“Jackson has been training sword for most of his life, but has never seen an actual battle. I wonder how their skills will compare.” Lena states proudly, sipping from the drink one of her servants comes to offer, dismissed when you decline.

“I hear that you were a General, King Park.” Jackson checks the cap at the tip of his sword, nodding to the instructor that stands at his side.

“I’d like to think that I still am one.” Jimin responds as he stretches out his stiff muscles.

“Even after being promoted to Commander in Chief?”

“I’ve done nothing to earn that title but get married.” The man before him hums.

“I assume you are quite skilled with a sword then, have you practiced fencing before?”

“Of course, it is taught as the basics of sword fighting. Though, I would not say I am a master.” Humbly, your husband lowers his head to inspect his blade, shaking his head at Jackson’s outcry.

“Nonsense! Any man who has done battle for his life is surely a master. Though, I do ask that you do not hold back on me here; I certainly will not do the same for you.” A wolfish grin creeps up onto both Kings faces, mirroring each other as they pull down the hoods of their face guards.

“You’ve said nothing of your own skill thus far, I will not make the mistake of underestimating you.” The match starts swiftly after they take position, Jackson lunging forward and barely missing Jimin’s side as he dodges out of the way.

Your mouth falls open as they move, each motion calculated and precise. You know nothing about fencing, but it is clear that they are both highly skilled. You’ve never seen your lover move this way before, so dynamic and captivating as though he were performing a dance. Powerful and graceful in every step taken toward his opponent, wielding his blade as though it were an extension of himself. He is beautiful to watch, your heartbeat speeding up in your chest as you are enraptured by the display. Both King’s are even in size and capability, but you can see the ease of movement Jimin possesses compared to Jackson’s deliberate strokes, almost as if he were teasing him. Lena cheers from beside you, but you can’t make a sound. Seeing him like this— completely in his element and moving so gracefully— has your body heating for another reason unrelated to the unrelenting sun. You’ve married an amazing man.

“You’re quick.”

“That is a great compliment, coming from you,” Jackson grunts, keeping Jimin on the defensive with his bold attacks. “But I can tell you are merely playing with me.”

“Not playing.” Waiting. One thing Jimin is an expert at is waiting. Patience is his strength, in fighting and in his daily life. He was patient when it came to you, taking his time with each step of your relationship until he was entirely sure that you were ready, that you wanted him. He was patient with each of his military promotions, climbing up the ranks with hard work and diligence until he was recognized. And he will continue to be patient with the next stage of his life, trying his best not to lose hope that you will become pregnant one day, so he will deal with the disappointment and trials with you for as long as it takes.

As soon as Jackson falters he takes his shot, attacking with swift consecutive swings until his opponent is pushed far back on his side of the space and leaves an opening, one decisive lunge ending the match. They both pant as Jimin’s sword makes contact with the center of the other King’s chest, the cap pressed into the padding protecting his flesh. There’s silence for a beat before they both drop their guard, retuning to the start position. Jimin turns his head to make sure you were watching, lifting his mask to wink at you and smirking salaciously when you blush.  

“Well done.” Jackson nods. “But I won’t let you get the better of me next time!”

“Your husband is a bit intense, no?” You ask Lena as she giggles, humming in agreement.

“And it seems your husband is a bit competitive.” You also nod, the heat drying your mouth as you watch her sip her drink again. She calls over her servant when she catches your stare and they hand you a glass— Kyungsoo swooping in annoyingly to try it first before you can taste the sweet liquid. “He seems very fit and possesses a beautiful physique, I’m astounded that you have the willpower to leave bed with a man like that, especially as newlyweds.”

You choke on your drink mid-swallow, nearly spitting it out because of her words. Jackson has a notoriously dirty mind, it is no surprise to you that his wife shares that quality— she’d have to, in order to tolerate him. She laughs as Lilian takes the drink from you as you wipe your mouth, turning the comment back on her.

“I could say the same to you, Jackson is just as built.”

“Oh, trust that he kept me in bed for months after our wedding date. It is no coincidence that I have this many children now.” Her eyes shift back to the men on the field, seemingly satisfied with the rosiness of your cheeks. Recovering, you address her once more.

“Speaking of, may I meet them?”

“I’ve known (Y/n) for most of my life,” Jackson speaks up during their final round. “Though I submitted a proposal, she’s grown to be like a sister to me over the years.”

“Is that so?” Jimin grunts, their swords clashing loudly.

“I was skeptical of what kind of man she had chosen when word spread of your betrothal. Wondered if you would be able to protect her as she tends to venture out and do things on her own; sometimes-” He jumps back as Jimin closes in. “-befriending the wrong people. I worried when I heard of the catastrophe at your wedding ceremony.” The cap of Jimin’s sword touches to his opponent’s chest once again, ending the sparring match. They both remove their helmets and masks, breathing heavily as they look at each other. “I truly empathize with what you were forced to experience. I could not imagine being in that situation with my wife.” Both men turn to look at you and Lena, their 4 children surrounding you as you hold the youngest in your lap. It is a sight that simultaneously melts and breaks your husband’s heart. “Nonetheless, after meeting you, I am confident that she is in good hands. I like you a lot, Jimin, and though my approval may mean nothing, I think you are an excellent match for her.”

You look up to see them shaking hands, both of them walking over to you with content looks on their faces. The child in your lap looks up as his father approaches, making grabby hands at your friend until he reaches down and lifts him from you. You watch with starry eyes as Jackson props the child up on his hip, kissing over his chubby cheeks and forehead, but then your attention is pulled away when Jimin stops to stand in front of you.

“Did you win?” You ask, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, My Queen,” He bows dutifully, running a hand through his sweaty hair. It should be offensive how sexy he looks right now, standing in the sun with his wet hair, skin shining with hard work and eyes landing lazily on your figure with a lazy smirk. Your heart jumps and you have to look away before your mind slips even further away. “Do I get a victory kiss?” He bends down toward you, puckering his lips, and you push lightly at his chest with a laugh.

“But you’re all sweaty!” Your nose wrinkles at him but your eyes still lock onto his lips, even as you continue to swat at him.

“No kiss for your King?” Jackson quips, turning to his own wife who is already shaking her head in disgust. “Lena~ Don’t I get a reassurance kiss after my defeat?” The same look Jimin has on his face is contagious to the other King, who grins at Lena as she shields her face with another one of their giggling children, peeking out from over her shoulder. Both men approach with puckered lips, causing their Queens to squeal at their playfulness— you even hop up from the bench to avoid him, taunting him as Jimin chases you around the field. It’s rather immature, but you feel no need to pretend here or uphold appearances in front of your hosts. Lilian and Kyungsoo look on fondly, never having seen you so carefree.

“You never minded my sweat before, my love.” Jimin whispers to you when you finally allow him to give you a peck on the lips, his arms wrapped loosely around your waist. You don’t respond, rolling your eyes at him with a barely hidden smile.

“You seem to be getting along nicely with Jackson.” You comment as you rummage through your luggage, searching for one specific item. Jimin replies from behind the partition of the bathroom, bathing away the grime of the day in preparation for the night. You had both sent Lilian away when she offered to help and she took off to explore the nighttime activities of the kingdom, one of Jackson’s male servants offering to be her guide. You’ll be sure to ask her for details in the morning.

“Yes, he is quite an interesting character. He gave me his official approval to marry you, which I suppose I am grateful for.” Hearing the smile in his voice, you giggle, silencing the gasp that leaves your chest when you pull out the delicate lace garments, your heart rate speeding up. You aren’t sure why you feel so anxious about this. It’s not like you to get nervous about being intimate with Jimin, but you’ve never done anything like this before. Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since you last had him, the recent abstinence keeping your body on edge. Or maybe you are worried about what he will say when he sees you. Embarrassment colors your face as you quickly slip on the set, covering yourself with a robe when you are finished.

“He gave you his blessing to marry me?” You chuckle.

Stepping onto the tile of the partitioned washroom, you stand before the full length mirror to inspect yourself before tying it closed. The robe covers you from Jimin’s viewpoint behind you as he finishes washing up, and you try to appear productive as you move to moisturize yourself. When he is finished, your husband approaches from behind, a towel hung low on his waist as he comes to wrap his arms around your midsection. You can feel his sturdy body pressing into you as he pulls you closer, his eyes staring into yours through the glass when he rests his chin on your shoulder.

“His ego hasn’t shrunk an inch since I last saw him.” You sigh, letting your eyes flutter shut as the two of you sway gently together.

“Well, he is a King.” Jimin reasons in a whisper.

“But so are you.” His arms loosen around you when he feels you start to turn, both of your eyes open now as you peer up at him with glittering eyes, gingerly locking your fingers behind his neck. Your heart kicks up as you watch the easy grin on his lips, the absolute and unwavering adoration he holds for you so evident in his gaze. It reminds you of earlier times, his expression the exact same as when he first confessed that he was in love with you and you reciprocated, kissing him so certainly. Now, you kiss him with practiced ease and press ever closer into his warm body. Jimin’s tongue dances with yours, both of you getting lost in the moment until you are forced to pull away for air. “You were amazing today, General Park.”

The use of his former title makes his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. It isn’t like he doesn’t like the name, it is simply that he never expected to hear it come from you again.

“I did not realize that you were so agile and powerful, I was very impressed with what I saw.” One of your fingers trails down his chest, playing in the dip of his v-line before coyly tracing back upwards with each slow word you speak. “That is not to say that I was unaware of your capabilities, you have found great success in protecting me and my kingdom, but watching you was eye opening... and quite arousing.” His breath hitches in a way that gives you more confidence, courage swelling in your chest that helps you ignore the redness of your cheeks.

“Is that so?” Jimin swallows, curiosity lighting his gaze.

You hum in affirmation. “You must work extremely hard to become that skilled, so I thought it appropriate to give you a gift to show my appreciation for all that you do.” Taking a step back, you play with the ribbon of your robe, amused by the sudden change in Jimin’s expression. He watches you like a predator stalking it’s pray, detailing every movement of your nimble fingers with a heaving chest as you move at a snail’s pace to untie your robe. You decide to tease further once the ribbon is finally untied, only revealing the tops of your shoulders from the silk, holding yourself in modesty until it looks like he’s going to go insane before you open the from to reveal yourself.

Jimin feels like he could faint from what he sees when the robe drops. You are decorated in a lacy white lingerie set that is quite transparent, your nipples visible through the designs of the fabric. The bra of the set extends downwards under your cleavage and he feels his hands lifting to rest on your ribs to touch the material, following it delicately until he cups your breasts with his palms. Maybe it is due to the design of this expensive undergarment, but you fill out the bra much more than either of you would have expected, your breasts round and pushing at it in all the right spots. This is the lingerie set that Jin had hidden behind your commissioned painting as part of your wedding gift, and Jimin had completely forgotten that it was in your possession. He chooses not to question how Seokjin knows your body measurements in order to purchase the present. Eyes trailing down, Jimin takes in the equally scandalous panties that adorn your hips, all parts solid white except for the crotch that remains lacy and see-through giving him a view that makes his mouth water.

You look absolutely stunning, and he tells you in as many words as possible.

“Your gift is not yet complete, General.” The look on his face is everything that you had hoped for, and you wish to shock him even further with your next move. Hooking your fingers into the towel at his waist, you unravel it and expose his growing length, sinking down in front of him.

Quickly, he grabs your arm once he realizes what you are doing, preventing you from going lower. You pout up at him. “My Queen, a woman of your status should never kneel on the ground for any man. You must remain dignified.”

“My dignity,” You half scoff at the notion, rising to look him in his beautiful brown eyes. “I have neither dignity nor pride. You have it all, my love; I have given myself to you completely.” You allow yourself to break from your role play just this once, he needs to know that your words are true. If there is anything he should know by now, it is that you hold no reservations toward him. With him, you are equal and you trust him completely. It is not like you have never serviced him before, but he has never seen you on your knees below him due to his own beliefs and you would like to change that tonight. “I want to do this for you.”

This time when you lower yourself, he allows you to drop until your knees rest on the ground. The view he has is undeniably sinful. You can tell how much he enjoys it by how rapidly he hardens in front of your face. But when you look up from your own spot on the floor, you find that your view is equally as jaw dropping. Jimin looks down at you from over his nose, the damp hair on his head sticking to his forehead and dangling over his eyes, shadowing his features into sharp lines. Every inch of his body is chiseled to perfection, displaying the hours of training he has undergone over the years to get to the level of skill you witnessed today, and if it were not for you already kneeling on the marble, your knees would have buckled right from under you. He is like a statue carved by the gods. And he is all yours.

“If a Queen wants her soldiers to keep performing for her she must reward them, and you are the very best, so I will be sure to give you special treatment.” Lightly grasping his member, you take the time to feel how he grows in your grip. Just the feeling of you running your fingers over his plush balls has him almost fully erect, the muscles of his abdominals tensing as you lean forward to slide him into your mouth, caressing the underside of his cock with your tongue without closing your lips just yet. You’ll work him up slowly, you decide, wanting him to savor this rare occasion in hopes that he will allow you to do it again sometime. Your palm smears your saliva around his shaft and starts to steadily pump him up and down, the simple action causing a groan to tear from your lover’s throat.

Jimin does not know where to look in this moment. Should he focus on your hands as the diligently work to pleasure him? Your tongue when it peeks out from your lips to tease at his slit? The dip of your cleavage that lie in his direct line of sight, framed so perfectly by the underwear you don? Or perhaps those smoldering eyes you stare up at him with, those plotting, gorgeous eyes that call to his deepest desires? You look as if you would do anything for him at this moment— you have intentionally put yourself at his feet to show how vulnerable you are willing to be with him, that you trust him to the utmost degree and you would sink this low, literally, to demonstrate that.

“Shit,” Jimin curses, eyes trained on the way your lips wrap around his reddening tip. You sense his hands fidgeting at his sides, so you take them to place on top of your head, nodding encouragingly until he weaves his fingers into your hair. He throbs in your mouth and you fight back a smirk.

Working meticulously, you take the time to circle your tongue around every sensitive place at his cockhead, licking slowly over his frenulum and flicking over his slit as it starts to leak. The flavor is slightly salty and entirely him, and it makes your legs press together from where your knees dig into the polished marble. Your lips and tongue play at his upper half for a while, one of your hands rubbing whimsical patterns along his tensing thigh while the other tends to his aching base, pumping in time with your mouth with a slight twist to your wrist that has his fingers tightening against your scalp.

“Are you enjoying your gift?” You break away to speak, twirling your tongue around the line of saliva that connects you to his tip in the most lewd way possible.

“Yes,” Jimin pants, clearing his throat when his voice comes out raspy. But the sound makes you drip into your designer panties, the flimsy material doing little against your increasing wetness. “How did you become so skilled at this, My Queen? You are such an angel but possess devilish talent with that pretty mouth of yours.”

“I had an excellent teacher.” You wink up at him, hoping he was imaging all the times he guided you when you wished to taste him, becoming more confident as time passed and you no longer feared your gag reflex. You figure now is a good time to demonstrate just how well you absorbed those lessons, you finally sink further down on him until he touches the back of your mouth, collecting your spit to slick him before pushing him deeper and into your throat. Your stomach quivers as you hold back the urge to gag, but he sees none of that because when you look up his head is tossed back in ecstasy and concentration. He must focus so he doesn’t cum so soon.

“Just like that.” Biting into the plush of his bottom lip, Jimin falls into the trance of your movements, bobbing up and down on him with his tip lodged in your throat. The first moan he lets out has a shiver crawling up your spine, deep and loud so it echoes against every surface of the room. Drool slides out of your mouth as you continue to suck him but you pay no mind to it, only focused on the way your lover’s body reacts to you. His chest heaves for breath and you can see perspiration beginning to coat his chest and neck, Adam’s apple bobbing every time he swallows. The hand that was previously occupied with the rest of his length moves to his balls, kneading and massaging the sack gently as more moans pour from his mouth. Your clit throbs the longer you suck on him, his cock now at full length and hardness and feeling so thick and heavy on your jaw that you can’t help but fantasize about feeling it inside you again.

His hips eventually begin to twitch and rock into each of your movements, but you can tell he is restraining himself from bucking into you fully. When his eyes connect with yours again, you nod as best you can, pulling off slightly to take a few deep breaths and kiss along his silky skin. Once you have your breathing back to normal, you poise yourself with your mouth open wide and tongue poking out, the sight of you inviting him into your warmth while dressed so scantly and looking up at him with such confidence making it incredibly difficult for him to keep his composure. Here you are, his Queen, the ruler of an entire kingdom by birth right who possesses such elegance and high esteem, sitting below him and offering your throat for his pleasure. This is something that no one else in the entire world will ever see and he feels something similar to pride swelling in his chest at that fact. He knows what you are silently asking him to do, so he does not keep you waiting a second longer before inserting himself back into your mouth and easing his way in until your nose is nestled in the trimmed hair above his pubic bone.

Curses leave him in a continuous string as he takes time to adjust to the sensation, a lightness filling your head that makes you feel like you are floating through the clouds. And that feeling only increases when he starts to move, pulling his hips back for you to take in air through your nose before thrusting in again. Jimin fucks your mouth slowly at first, warming you up to it before he starts to get a bit rougher and visibly more eager, his lips sucked into his mouth as he glares down at you. In any other context, you would think him angry if he ever peered at anyone this intensely, but now you only feel the pool of arousal that builds in your core and gushes out of you at the intimidating glower. Still, his muscles are rigid with hesitance.

“May I go faster?” He breathes, never pulling out to free your mouth to respond. You moan out an answer as best you can, running your tongue against him in approval until he finally releases his tension and follows the urges of his body. He doesn’t aim deep into you, but his pace is quick, surely bruising your esophagus, yet you cannot bring yourself to be bothered. The sensation is indescribable, his hands cupping the back of your head and the sheer heat of his body almost overrides the lack of oxygen in your lungs— and simply imagining the pleasure he is feeling because of you has electricity shooting down to your core. Jimin has his eyes glued to the sight of his cock disappearing into your mouth, but they quickly shift when your hands find their way to your chest to pull down the bra just enough so your nipples poke out, both hands pushing your breasts together to give him a sight that almost causes him to lose his load right then and there. His hips lose control, stuttering and twitching as his eyes widen comically at the dream-like image of you, and he is forced to pull away after little over a minute of fucking your face. “Fuck-!”

“Is something the matter?” You ask innocently, knees screaming out from your sustained position. The veins in your husband’s hand bulge as he grips himself so tightly his knuckles turn white, his length jumping every time he opens his eyes to look at you. His use of hard profanity is enough to tell you how much you have unraveled him and you revel in the accomplishment.

“Get up here.” He pants, taking your arm in his free hand and helping you to your feet. You hear him click his tongue at the redness of your knees, but don’t have much time to dismiss it before his lips are on yours. Jimin kisses you deeply as if your face is not sloppy with saliva and his precum. He kisses you like it could save lives. And above every filthy thing you have done with him, this kiss is what makes you feel a bashful heat color your cheeks when he pulls you closer.

“Am I to assume I performed well?” You mumble against his lips, eyes crossing slightly to see his smile.

“You were outstanding. So much so that I nearly came down your pretty throat.” Smugly, Jimin unclips your bra, parting from your lips after several minutes of kissing to trace his tongue down your neck until he reaches your chest, forgoing all teasing to wrap his lips around a pert nipple.

“Oh-“ A surprised yelp leaves you and he has to use his strength to keep you from falling over, your legs suddenly feeling like jelly. Your fingers card through his drying hair, tugging at the unbothered man as he has his fun marking and sucking at you. As always, his mouth works miracles, but you have never felt anything like this before. Each swipe of his tongue around your nub has you moaning out his name, when he twists at the other nipple your head falls back in absolute bliss. He’s not doing anything extraordinarily notable, but it is like your body has reached a sensitivity that is completely new to you both. Jimin certainly is enjoying it immensely. His eyes are closed but you can see how they crinkle gleefully at the sides, his cheekbones high almost as if trying to conceal his amusement at your reactions. With puckered lips, he suctions one of your nipples before pulling back to speak.

“I can’t wait,” He grazes his teeth over your other tit before continuing. “-until these fill up with milk for our baby. I’m sure you will look incredible carrying our child inside you— even more amazing than you already look, my love. So round and plump... your cute little womb filled to the brim with my cum and baby.” Your eyes roll when one of his hands slips down your panties to tease at your lips. A growl resonates in his chest at the feel of your wetness. “You like the sound of that, don’t you? What would the people say if they found out that their elegant Queen got soaking wet just from sucking cock and thinking of getting her pussy stuffed full of cum? Hmm? Surely they will know how filthy you are once they see you swollen with my child, walking around the kingdom so shamelessly after getting marked by my seed. They’ll know just how good you’ve been for me, darling.”

“I want them to know I’m yours; I want to be pregnant with your baby so badly!” You sob, hips bucking into his hand as soon as he makes contact with your clit.

He soothes you with soft kisses along your face, ending with a lick to the corner of your mouth as you pant out loud moans for him. “I know, love. The time will come soon enough.”

Once again his lips return to your chest, and the combination of his mouth and fingers has your walls fluttering and clenching around nothing. Even after he removes his hand from your panties to hold you closer to him, you feel the building of an orgasm. Your body is completely taken by his tongue and teeth as they suckle cherry blossoms into your skin. And when his wet fingers travel up to twist at your unattended nipple, you feel your body careening off the edge unexpectedly.

“J-Jimin, I-“ Your sentence is cut short by a long whimper, mind going blank at the pleasure. You are able to feel how your walls snap open and closed, each pulse growing more intense as the high drags on for what seems like an eternity to you. Jimin groans at the sounds you make and he looks on in awe from where he still laves at your breast as you bite down on your lower lip to ground yourself. He doesn’t mind the way you tug at his roots in your bliss. The pain only adds to the throbbing of his cock.

“So sexy,” He murmurs as you regain your senses. You seem embarrassed, unable to meet his eyes, and he questions it.

“I have never-“ Averting your eyes to the ground, you look for words in your scrambled mind.

“You’ve never cum like that before?” For some reason you find it slightly humiliating and you have no idea why. Were you really that sensitive from not having sex with him for a few weeks? Your nipples were never that receptive before. Nodding in agreement, you hide your face until Jimin lifts your chin with his finger. “Do not shy away from me, My Queen. You look gorgeous when you cum.” Before you can process it, his hands are yanking down your ruined panties, drenched all the way through and dripping. Your back connects with the wall next to the mirror as you are pinned against the surface with his weight. His fingers slide over your clit and you jolt, attempting to close your legs, but he is faster and jams his thigh between yours to hold you open. “In fact, you look so good that I want to see you do it again.”

Without warning, he plunges 2 fingers knuckle deep into you, searching with little trouble for that spongey area inside you. You are wet enough to lubricate his fingers until he drips down his hand, the slick part of his palm beginning to rub harshly against your clit when his fingers curl upwards.

“Oh fuck,” You gasp brokenly when he reaches your spot. Feeling you clench, Jimin hums and goes to work massaging the area with the pads of his fingers, pressing his other hand to your lower stomach to increase the pressure. Since the first time you squirted he has been almost obsessed with the sight, working diligently to figure out how to make you do it again. There have been many nights dedicated solely to that cause— nights that you endured with bright red cheeks each time he made fun of your fucked out expression and hoarse voice— it is to the point where he now knows your every weakness and can manipulate your body with mastery. He knows exactly how much pressure you like when his fingers are deep inside you. He knows just the right way to massage that sensitive area to get you to fall apart again even if you feel overstimulated. He knows how to move his entire arm to hit that spot each time without fail, his technique flawless as he moves rapidly inside your clenching heat. Almost like a balloon filling with water, you feel another high building up in your core frighteningly fast and the lewd squelch coming from between your legs soon becomes the loudest noise in the room.

“Let go for me,” Jimin encourages into your skin, burying his face in the crook of your neck and panting hot breaths. It is easy to tell how easily he gets himself worked up when pleasuring you. His hard, wet cock twitches incessantly against your thigh, teasingly close to where you want him, and the feeling alone has you galloping closer to your second release. “You look so beautiful like this, pushed against a wall and taking my fingers. I bet you are just starving for my cock, aren’t you, My Queen? I’ll give it to you right after you cum for me. I want you to show me how badly you want it by soaking my arm with your sweet juices.”

The filthy words he feeds you only add to the hunger you feel for him. One of your legs lifts to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer as the balloon in your core continues to grow. Your heart is in your ears, beating rapidly, and you have no other choice but to listen to him and release your pleasure. With one synchronized prod of his fingers and circle around your clit, you descend into depraved ecstasy and let the balloon pop. You black out slightly, ears ringing and body numb to the world except for everywhere that your husband touches you, but you are aware of the satisfied moan he gives at your obedience. Whispers of delicate praises tickle your chest as he rests his forehead on your collarbone to watch you soil the floors and his lower half with your clear cum. The sound of it splashing and splattering against each nearby surface is quite embarrassing but you can’t bring yourself to think of it when your legs are shaking this hard and your body is tingling with joy.

“Good girl,” You hear Jimin groan, pulling his fingers from you to wrap his arms around your waist so you don’t topple over on your wobbly leg. He figures it may just be easier to keep you up if both of your legs are off the wet floor, so he moves your other leg to wind around his waist before carrying you out of the room and away from the mess to the bed.

Your glazed eyes take him in as he stands above you, a hand running through his disheveled hair as he studies you as well. His face is flushed and sweaty and his chest rises and falls quickly, but you’re sure that is only partly due to the effort he has just put in. There are claw marks on his shoulders and you gasp. You hadn’t realized you were gripping him so tightly, but he doesn’t seem to mind the marks at all, focused entirely on the throbbing member between his legs. Your eyes drop down his toned body to where his hand leisurely strokes up and down his shaft, purposely avoiding the tip to keep himself on the edge. It is almost purple with built up pressure, likely painful by this point, and you will yourself to move your weak limbs to reach out for him, pulling him closer to invite him between your open legs.

He takes his place at your center, one hand pressing into the soft mattress beside your head as he leans over you. You want him to kiss you so badly, but you want him inside you even more. He acquiescences this by sliding into you smoothly before swooping down for your lips.

“Mm~ Jimin!” The thick girth of his shaft stretches you perfectly, ignorant of your ticklish sensitivity as it searches for the deepest spot within you. In no time at all Jimin’s hips are flush with your ass, lips and tongue swallowing your moans into his own mouth.

“(Y/n)-“ He moans in response. Eyes squeezed tight, he forces himself to remain still. “I lose my breath every time I take this dripping pussy of yours. I’ll never get used to it.” Flattered, you hide your face with his by pulling him in for another kiss. The two of you stay like this for a long while, adjusting to each other’s bodies and basking in the intimacy of the moment.

“My love, please move.” You whine when the stillness becomes unbearable, yet you grieve at the loss of his heat when he leans away to pull you closer to the edge of the bed.

The first thrust of his hips already has you squirming. Your slick makes it so easy for him to pump into you that he barely has to put in any effort at all, his hips snapping sharply into you from the beginning. You let your legs fall farther apart at his sides and bite your lip when Jimin’s eyes land between your thighs, staring intently at the place where your bodies connect. You’re sure he can see everything, from the way your lips spread open around his wide member, to the shiny streaks of your arousal that quickly slick the inside of your thighs. It’s like you can feel his gaze caressing you, your body feeling sensitive everywhere he studies. You moan unabashedly at the sensation.

“Do you like it, My Queen? Does this feel good?” He prompts, eager for your praise.

“Y-yes, I-“ It has been so long without his cock inside you that you can’t think clearly. All you can do is shout his name and cling to the bedsheets as he wraps his arms around your thighs and holds them flush against his front. The angle makes you stutter, his tip touching somewhere sensitive that has your thighs squeezing closed. “P-please, harder. Use me.”

“Keep these fucking legs open.” Jimin growls, thrusting more harshly now. You attempt to follow his command and unclench your thighs, but they shake violently as soon as they part and it takes immense focus for you to hold them there. Looking up at your lover, you see the dark look that overtakes his features, dominance radiating off of him as he gets lost in you. You haven’t seen this look on him in a long while, but you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t sexy. He looks like he wants to eat you alive, devour you whole and leave not a morsel of you left until he’s had his fill.

Watching Jimin gain so much pleasure from you takes you to another level of bliss. His fingers dig into your thighs as he pounds his cock within your depths, determined to pull more desperate sounds from your throat, and his teeth bite down on his plush bottom lip in concentration. Sweat now trickles down his brow from the humid heat of the room, undoing the bath he took prior and replacing the soap with the scent of sex that leaks from his pores. This man is undeniably the hottest person you have ever laid eyes on and you can’t help but clench around him at the visuals he’s giving you.

Feeling you clench, Jimin moans, dragging his eyes up your figure until they land on your breasts. They jolt with every harsh thrust he gives you and dance flirtatiously in front of him— he can’t look away. Suddenly, he leans down and snatches up your hands, pinning them above your head with his fingers intertwined with yours, nearly drooling at how delectable you look under him. Your breasts certainly look different, the shape has become rounder and they jiggle slightly more than he can remember, but Jimin doesn’t think much of this as he focuses on delivering hard strokes. You shiver when his tongue licks a stripe up your damp neck, sucking a spot just below your ear before nibbling the lobe. He knows this is a weak spot for you, and just as he expected, your walls tighten around him once more. You push against him, trying to free your hands, but he has them locked sturdily in his grasp, silently forcing you to submit to him. You probably want to wind your fingers in his hair or grip onto his biceps, but he won’t give up an ounce of power at the moment. Not while he is ravaging you like this. So you settle for squeezing his hands and soaking in their warmth, gasping breathlessly as he takes you. You are entirely at his mercy and you absolutely love it.

One of his hands moves down to grip your thigh and push it open, unlocking you from where you have been clenched around his hips. Both of your wrists now held in one hand and still pinned against the sheets. The bed frame creaks noisily as he changes pace, abandoning his hard and fast thrusts for a slow and deep grind that has your eyes rolling to the back of your head. Something feels different about you, about the way you feel around him as the head of his cock licks at your cervix. It’s softer than usual and open for him, almost begging for his sperm, and he thinks this is the perfect time to get you pregnant. He aims to stay deep inside you. Each powerful movement is purposeful, everything down to the slight arch of his back that allows his pubic bone to grind into your clit, and you feel like you’re going crazy.

“Oh fuck, Jimin! I’m close again!” Your voice is strained in your throat and he smirks at the sound. He can feel it, the swell of your walls around him as you near your third high, and he swears it’s tighter than usual. Your muscles begin to tense up and push against him, preparing for your inevitable release. And just because you feel like pushing his buttons today, you allow your thighs to attempt to squeeze closed again.

“What did I say?!” The depth of his voice shocks you briefly and your eyes snap open to look at him. His jaw is tight as his stare bores into you with deadly intensity. “Keep your fucking legs open. Or do I have to hold them for you?” You let out a whimper, not daring to move your hands from their raised position when he drops your wrists to push open your other thigh, leaving you dripping and exposed in front of him. Your skin dimples where his fingertips dig into you— though he is careful not to bruise you— and he seems to hit even deeper like this. “You used to be so well behaved, My Queen. Are you acting out just to get a rise out of me?”

You dodge the question. “Please, Jimin, please make me cum again.” You can hardly hear anything aside from the slap of his balls against your ass and the squelch of his cock pushing through your warm walls.

“You think you deserve to cum? What will you do for it?” A dark chuckle leaves his throat when he sees you genuinely thinking of a response, biting so hard on your lip that he fears it might bleed.

“Anything.” You breathe. You’re unsure of how long you can hold back your orgasm, he feels so good fucking you like this, pushing his whole length into you without mercy.

“Anything, darling?” A lecherous grin plasters itself onto his mouth at your expression. “Hm, are you just saying that because you’re desperate? I can tell it feels good, you’re leaking all over me. Do you like it when I go deep like this?” You nod with a whine, eyelids pressed closed to hold back from cumming. “Open your eyes. Look at how deep I am inside you.” Peeling your eyes open, you peer down at yourself upon his command and see where his own eyes are glued. A small bulge presses against your lower abdomen every time he pushes in, disappearing when he pulls out only to reappear with the next thrust. Neither of you can take your eyes off of the sight, absolutely mesmerized by it.

“Please, I’m so close!” You groan loudly.

“You say you’ll do anything, my love?”

“Yes!”

“Will you be a good girl and let me put my baby in you? Let me cum right here against this fertile womb and get you pregnant with my baby?” The effect of his dirty talk is immediate and you clamp down on him, barely holding back as his hand rests over the bulge in your tummy, adding the tiniest amount of pressure to it.

“I will! Please!” Tears wet your doe eyes as you look up at him, digging your nails into the soft sheets above your head to keep from moving your arms from their position. He notes this with a hum, speeding up his hips in reward for your obedience.

“I know you will. Now cum.” On command, your body lets go of all the pent up pressure in your core, gripping onto his length with unbearable strength. Your walls pulsate with so much force that you nearly push him out, and when he finally pulls out of you, you squirt once again over the ledge of the bed. His hands on your legs do nothing to quell the wild tremors that overtake you and the streams of tears that flow over the apples of your cheeks. You are truly a sight to see, flushed red and glowing with the aftermath of yet another ferocious orgasm. Your sensitivity once again shocks him into silence. He didn’t even need to touch your clit for you to climax.

His stiff member bobs like a flagpole in the wind as he takes you in. It’s so hard that it stands straight up against his abdomen, jumping with its own pulse. When you open your eyes it is the first thing you see, and your body heats up again.

“Can you take any more, my love?” Jimin questions with concern, tracing his hands up your waist soothingly.

“Always. I can always take more of you.” Despite the screaming in your limbs, you sit up abruptly and pull him down to the bed, rolling the two of you over as you lock lips. Jimin seems surprised but not opposed to the shift in power dynamics, sensing that you want to take the reins for now. Your fingers wrap around his base and line him up with your slit, showing not even a moment’s hesitation before dropping down and knocking the wind out of both of you.

“You do not have to-“

“No, Jimin, I want to. I am supposed to be treating you after all, let me make you feel good.”

Fuck, you’re hot. Not only do you look amazing on top of him, but your pussy feels much hotter than usual. And it’s so tight, as if it’s greedy for every inch of him and eager to suck out his release. He won’t last long like this, that is for certain. His hands support you as you shift into a squat above him— and maybe it’s the novelty of the position, but he swears it’s never felt this good before.

“I imagined this so many times, but I never thought I’d actually get to see you riding me like this.” He confesses in a strained breath. You press your palms into his chest to lift yourself up, lowering yourself experimentally before repeating the action with less restraint.

“Am I living up to your expectations?” It could just be the angle, but his cock feels unbelievably deep inside you, and you half expect it to hurt yet you feel no pain. There is not even the slightest bit of discomfort as he nudges at your womb and you attribute this to the three incredible orgasms you have already reached tonight.

“God, yes.” He can’t look away from where you impale yourself on him, your shaky legs spread wide to let him see every second of the erotic display. From the way you grip him every time you lift up, to the strings of your arousal and cum that weave a sticky web between your ass and his pelvis, and even to the way your clit swallows in delight, he almost goes lightheaded as he takes it all in. His throat bobs as he gulps, back arching off the sheets under your warm hands.

“Faster?”

You don’t wait for a response before you start speeding up. He’s close, you can feel it in the way he swells against your walls and see it in the way his neck and chest color that pretty pink color you adore so much. Your limbs are aching for relief and it takes all of your remaining energy to keep up your efforts, but you wouldn’t dream of stopping. No, you are determined to bring Jimin to his end no matter what. The high pitched moans he lets out for your ears only are more than enough motivation to keep going, but you are working for a prize much more valuable that the lovely sounds he makes for you. You want his cum. You want it so badly that it is the only thing you can think of, so despite the pain in your fragile legs as you bounce yourself as hard and fast as you can, you continue for him. You’ve never been afraid to put in a little effort, and this is something you are willing to work for.

“(Y/n), I’m gonna cum!” Jimin’s dialect shines through strongly as he grits his teeth through the pleasure you bombard him with. You know it must feel different for him, the pleasure is always so much more intense when you aren’t the one doing all the work, and this is the first time you’ve pinned him down like this. It’s the first time you’ve dropped yourself down to clamp your knees on either side of him and wrap yourself around his upper body as you pant into his neck, leaving sloppy kisses and coaxing him toward his high with whispered words. Now that the roles are reversed, you can see just how wrecked he is for you— the usually composed king now lies spread in a heap of matted hair, sweaty skin, and bitten lips, completely speechless and grasping onto your thighs in a desperate bid to hold onto his sanity. “Please, I- I-“

“Cum for me, My King,” You are sure your body has just about reached its limit, but you feel no pain or fatigue when you look into your lover’s eyes and find an unraveled man. “I promised I would take your cum and let you get me pregnant. Give it all to me, my love, I want it. Cum inside me, Jimin.”

Bucking his hips, Jimin loses all control and throws his head back in anticipation as he aids your movements with his strong arms. When he feels your lips on his chin, he leans forward and allows you to swallow his groans of pleasure, both of you starved for breath but unwilling to pull away from the kiss. Everything you have done for him tonight— wearing sexy lingerie, getting on your knees to please him, squirting not once but twice— culminates into this one moment and he doesn’t think he can take take it. It’s all too much. With three sharp thrusts from both of you, he climaxes with a shout, lifting you up along with him as his hips rise off the bed.

“Oh fuck!” Maybe you shouldn’t feel this way, but you giggle giddily at the state of rapture he’s in because of you. The veins in his neck pop out of his skin as he dumps spurt after spurt of his semen into you, and you think this is the biggest load he’s ever given you. It takes a long time for him to come down from his high and for a moment you wonder if he will be okay with the way he twitches and shivers as your hips roll to a stop.

He doesn’t seem to mind your weight resting on top of him, nor does he react to the light kisses you press to his drenched skin. He does, however, wrap his arms securely around you when you shift to roll off of him, holding you on top of his body until you both have caught your breath and can open your heavy eyelids enough to look at each other with tired smiles.

“I love you.” You grin, running your digits through his disheveled mop of hair.

“I love you more, My Queen.” He pulls you down for another kiss to silence whatever rebuttal you surely have prepared at the tip of your tongue because he knows what you will say. And the thought makes his heart swell.

It seems like hours pass before both of you can work up the strength to part from each other. You have to be carried to the bathroom because your limbs feel far too weak and Jimin is not yet willing to let you go from his embrace. He is mindful of the puddle that you left on the floor as he carries you to the bath, and both of you sink into the depths together to wash away all your sins. You stay like that until your toes are pruned and the water is slightly cooler than lukewarm, the time flying by as you talk freely about everything you can think of: your hopes for your future family, your day with Jackson and Lena, gossip about Lilian and her whereabouts— she has not yet returned to the lodge even at this late hour and you hope that she is safe, but more importantly, you hope that her night with that handsome male servant ends similarly to yours. She could afford to take tonight and tomorrow off to unwind a bit, you feel a tad guilty that her needs may be neglected in the kingdom as she tends to you nonstop in the castle. Sleep finds you both easily and you cannot drop the smile from your cheeks as you cuddle up with the man you love.

This afternoon would have been perfect if not for the way you were feeling. Sparse clouds float through the sunny blue sky, the mountains surrounding you blossoming with vibrancy, but the beautiful scenery is dulled in your bleary eyesight. The lightheadedness you’d felt upon arrival two days ago has returned, along with a pounding headache that dampens your mood.

Jimin and Jackson walk ahead of their queens, talking casually as though they had been friends for years. The sight makes your heart grow warm and you use it to distract you from your discomfort as you walk along the outside pathways to a different section of the enormous castle. Lena notices the shift in your demeanor fairly quickly, commenting that you look less energized than yesterday.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” She implores, her brow creased with worry.

“I had a very restful sleep last night, but it feels like my body is dragging behind.” You try to keep yourself from rubbing at your face. Royals are not supposed to show weakness and vulnerability in public, and even though you are only surrounded by Kyungsoo and a few of Lena’s servants, you wish to uphold your appearances. “I do not feel sick, however, so I do not think it is caused by illness.”

“Would there be any other reason for you to feel fatigued? We did spend quite a considerable amount of time in the heat yesterday.”

“Well,” The guards and servants lag behind you far enough for them not to hear your conversation, but you still lower your voice in modesty. “Jimin and I were intimate late into the evening...” You figure your late night activities are also the reason for the tenderness you feel in your breasts, your tight undergarments causing slight pain as they bind your chest.

“Ah, I see!” She beams back at you, giggling. “You were not used to such strenuous exercise. I have experience with that— one time Jackson kept me in bed for so long that I nearly fainted from dehydration! Jimin seems like he would have a lot of stamina, be careful with that one.” The wiggle of her eyebrows lifts your spirits a bit. Speaking of such lewd subjects is seen as unladylike, especially for royalty, but you find yourself uncaring of that when you are with Lena. You have never had a woman of your same age and status to converse with before, no one could ever relate or felt comfortable enough to speak freely with you. This closeness you have with her is a novel feeling— and it is likely that Jimin feels the same with Jackson.

“I’ll be sure to be mindful of that.” You smile, staring at the back of his head. Your husband turns to look at you when he feels your eyes as he passively listens to the other King recall a story, sending a wink your way before returning his attention to the man beside him.

“Is there any other possible explanation for your symptoms?” Redirecting your gaze to Lena, you catch how her eyes flicker down to your stomach, a small smile on her lips. As soon as you realize her meaning, you stiffen, legs nearly bringing you to a halt.

“No,” Your eyes fall to the ground. “I... do not think it is pregnancy. Before I departed from home I was examined by my doctor and she-“ You sigh. “I am not pregnant.”

“Hmm. Well, I have been pregnant 4 times and have experienced many symptoms with each of my children. What you described to me sounds familiar. Do not dismiss the idea just yet, (Y/n).”

Before you can even open your mouth to form a reply, you are hit with a wave of dizziness that makes the world spin. Kyungsoo is by your side in an instant, stabilizing you as someone asks if you are alright. You are led to a nearby bench where all of the servants crowd around you, Jimin rushing over when he hears the commotion.

“(Y/n)?! What’s the matter?” The world spins a little less when your eyes are closed, so you do not look up at him, but you can imagine the almost sickly worry covering his lovely face. You know he has been especially traumatized by the events of your wedding and you never want to put him in a situation like that again, but you can’t help the way your body feels. Distantly, you hear Jackson order a servant to get the doctor, footsteps skittering away as he comes to squat down in front of you.

“Are you ill?” Jackson’s voice calms the anxiety you weren’t aware you were feeling. It is frightening not knowing what’s going on with your own body. Lena’s words ring in your mind.

“N-no, it is just the altitude. I just need to rest for a minute.” Your excuse is almost convincing, but no one moves— except for Jimin, who moves closer to you on the bench to support your back. After a few minutes, your head begins to clear, though your vision remains blurry. Eyes silently peer at you from all sides and you can feel them hot on your skin, embarrassment now the prominent emotion you feel. “Please do not worry about me, I am fine, really.”

“Are you certain? We can rest here for a little while longer.” Jimin suggests gently, but for some reason this irritates you.

“I said I’m fine.” You snap, earning an even more concerned look from him. Just then, the doctor approaches, slightly out of breath and sweating. “I don’t need a doctor! I’m feeling better already. Look.” You no longer feel dizzy anymore so you attempt to stand, rising quickly from the seat to come face to face with Jackson as he rises as well. Jimin still has his arm around you, both men watching you closely. “See?” But as soon as you’re stable on your feet, the spinning returns as if on cue and you come toppling forward into Jackson’s arms, everything going black.

“You don’t need to do this, Jackson, I told you I feel okay now.” You grumble as he carries you to the infirmary inside the castle. He took you into his arms without hesitation when you fell, offering to carry you because Jimin was rapidly descending into distress. While you were only out for about 2 minutes before you regained consciousness, everyone had reacted as if you were dying.

Looking at your husband now, you can see how unnerved he has become. Because he is a General who has seen many battles, he has trained himself not to react emotionally in stressful situations— but you can read the look in his eyes as clear as day as he walks alongside you, watching you more closely than what is in front of him.

“That is what you said earlier, and then you fainted immediately afterwards. Do not worry, I don’t mind carrying you. I needed a little exercise today anyway.” Always a jokester, you crack a smile at his comment, rolling your eyes as the doctor leads him into a room to rest you on the bed. The doctor works quickly, taking a blood sample from you and leaving for the lab, having already taken your vitals when you initially passed out. “We’ll be waiting outside.” With that, Jackson takes Lena’s shaky hand and exits the room, leaving you in bed and Jimin hovering over you awkwardly.

“Please sit down, you are making me nervous.” You breathe. He blinks and nods absently, perching himself on the edge of the bed next to you. “Are you okay?”

“I should be asking you that.” He laughs dryly. Jimin bites his lip when you give him a sympathetic gaze and take his hand. Your words from the argument you had nearly a month ago echo in his head. This is a chance for him to open up to you about his emotions and seek your comfort, your expression shows that you are expecting it of him, so he takes a deep breath. There’s no use hiding his emotions from you. “Truth be told, I am a wreck. You fainting brought back some rather unpleasant memories.” He confesses.

“I’m sorry.��� You really are apologetic, stressing him out is the last thing you ever wanted to do.

“It is not your fault. I just worry about you so much. I cannot bear to lose you, my love, and I feel so helpless when things like this happen, it feels like I always have to wait for others to come to rescue you.”

“Would you like to become a doctor so you are more prepared, then?” He wasn’t expecting that response and snaps his head up to look at you when you laugh. “You cannot control everything that happens to me, Jimin. It is okay to let others help. All I need is for you to stay by my side, your presence is more than enough.” He nods at this, accepting the kiss you plant on his cheek and squeezing your hands.

Long seconds of silence pass as you wait for the doctor to return. Then, a sudden thought pops into your mind that makes you groan aloud.

“Lilian is going to be pissed at me.” You can’t help but chuckle at the circumstances.

“Why is that?”

“I told her to take off today and enjoy her time here, but she was worried about me so she initially refused. I assured her of my health this morning before we left. I can only imagine to look on her face once she finds out what happened.” You do feel a bit bad, Lilian knows you better than anyone and it is clear that she could tell something was off, but you convinced her that her instincts were wrong and now you find yourself in the infirmary. She will surely put herself down over this incident because of her absence when you most needed her.

“You can worry about her after we confirm that you are okay. For now, let us focus on this.” Just then, the doctor enters the room again, coming to stand at the bottom of the bed as you and Jimin look up at them with expectant eyes. Your heart pounds in your chest. You’ve become so used to hearing bad news from doctors, you are almost conditioned to be nervous and guarded around them.

“(Y/n), I have determined the cause of your sudden collapse.” Jimin squeezes your hand tighter and you can feel the sweat on his fingertips. “It appears that you are pregnant! Congratulations! The blood tests showed high levels of-“

“Pardon?” You interject with a raspy voice. Your brain is having a hard time processing the words and you blink slowly for a few seconds, unaware of Jimin’s shell shocked expression. “I- H-how can this be? My physician tested me right before I left and she said I was not pregnant.”

“Well, it is entirely possible to get false negative results, especially when it is early in the pregnancy. I don’t think it reflects poorly on your physician, these things just happen sometimes and are completely out of our control. But looking at my test results and the symptoms you have been experiencing, I am certain that you are about 6 weeks pregnant.”

“B-but I bled last month.”

“For how many days?”

“One or two...”

“Then that was likely implantation bleeding, which is to be expected. Dizziness and even fainting are also fairly common symptoms, so there is no particular need to worry about today’s incident— though I recommend that you make sure to get adequate rest and nutrition to avoid complications in the future. Once again, congratulations.”

Finally, you drag your gaze over to your husband who has been silent since the doctor appeared, and his eyes are filled to the brim with tears when they connect with yours.

“You- (Y/n), you’re finally pregnant!” He whispers, and the way his voice cracks causes the dam to break within yourself and all of your emotions come flooding out. Before you know it you’re wrapped in his embrace, both of you simultaneously sobbing and laughing into each other’s necks from pure joy and surprise as the doctor excuses themselves from the room. It is like all of the building frustration from the past several months has been crushing you slowly and now that weight has been lifted, allowing you to breathe freely for the first time. Jimin feels similarly. He has been holding back so many of his emotions since you first started trying to get pregnant and that has taken a tremendous toll on his mind and body, but for the first time, he can finally release those emotions and let himself feel the heaviness of it all. He is crying harder than you are, soaking the top of your dress as you cradle his head to you and hold him there. His hands ghost over your waist and lower abdomen so delicately, as if protecting the growing life inside of you.

When you’ve both gotten yourselves together enough to allow Jackson and Lena to visit, they rush in without hesitation.

“Is everything okay?” Lena is by your side first, immediately noticing your red and puffy eyes. You’re a little bit hesitant to tell her because you know she’ll gloat about her “sixth sense”.

“Yes, I’m alright. We just found out that I am pregnant.” The room erupts into noise, the two of them sounding like an entire circus as Jackson nearly jumps on Jimin in a bear hug and Lena squeals excitedly beside you.

“I knew it! You dismissed me so offhandedly and it turns out that I was right! I have a sixth sense for these things, you know; you should trust me more often.” Just as expected.

“And here you were, just telling me how worried you were about not yet yielding an heir to the throne,” Jackson throws a heavy arm over Jimin’s shoulder. “I suppose we should celebrate before you depart in the morning. I will throw a lovely ball tonight in your honor!”

“Oh, I must oversee the preparations then! Get some rest, (Y/n), and congratulations again!” And just like that, the couple is gone, rushing back out of the room and leaving you and your husband giggling.

“I am sorry, Lilian.” You apologize for what feels like the thousandth time. She continues to pout as she helps load your belongings into the carriage, barely sparing you a glance.

“I knew I should have stayed; I had a feeling something would happen.” She turns to scowl, not necessarily at you but it is in your direction. “I cannot believe I missed such a huge announcement as well! Both Jackson and Lena found out before me, this is so unfair.”

“You sound like a child,” You snicker, taking Kyungsoo’s hand as he helps you into the carriage behind Jimin.

“Yes, well I think I am allowed to throw a tantrum just this once.” You catch Kyungsoo crack a grin at her, the first time you’ve seen any emotion from him, and it brings a smile to your own face.

“If it makes you feel any better, Kyungsoo found out after Jackson and Lena, too.” Jimin comments, taking your hand and pulling you into his side.

“It does not make me feel better because he still found out before me!”

The sun is still low in the sky but slowly rises as you depart from the kingdom. Once you return to the castle, there are many duties that you must take care of, and many traditional processes you will have to go through now that you are pregnant— you are carrying a possible future heir to the throne after all. But you have never been happier. For now it still feels surreal, even though you have waited nearly a year for this moment, but as soon as the people of your kingdom come to greet you and celebrate the news of your conception, the reality of the situation will hit and you are sure you will be overwhelmed with new challenges. Pregnancy is not an easy thing, but at least you will have Jimin with you to help you through it all, just as he has always done. You rest your head on his shoulder with a mischievous grin.

“So Lilian, how was your date the other night? You seemed rather cozy with that young man at the ball yesterday evening.”

“It was not a date!”

[txdoroki]

todoroki taking care of you when you’re on your period

fem reader but i dont think i rlly used pronouns so

two fairly large writings in the span of 24 hours?! damn who am i?!?!?!?! i don’t know myself i don’t know myself-

also dedicated to @frxggie 💗 ily ☺️

content warning: throwing up, sickness (duhh whatd you think this was about :P ), talk of periods

you threw your head back over the toilet, the sensation of vomit rising in your throat once more. your felt miserable, your consciousness fuzzy from how nauseous you were. the leftover bile in your mouth pressed against your gag reflex, and you retched again as your throw-up filled the toilet.

your period usually wasn’t this bad, but your cramps had been horrible this time around. 

today was only the second day, but you guessed it’d be fairly long this time. the past week has been filled with you getting teary eyed over even the smallest things. 

last night you cried because you didn’t have any penne pasta, and your boyfriend rushed to the store to get some. you ate that pasta with the biggest smile on your face, only for around 20 minutes though, before your cramps had you trying to nap on todoroki’s lap, desperate for the pain to go away.

the night before last shoto walked in on you sobbing over the fact that you bent a spoon from your icecream, it still makes you tear up to think about.

even a few hours before you threw up, you were crying on the phone to shoto about how you suddenly remembered that some cats are in shelters. it took a full hour for you to stop crying.

your emotions were running simply running wild right now, which was okay.

you pressed your cheek against your hand and sighed, not wanting to touch your face to the toilet. you wished you had that heating pad shoto had bought you a few weeks ago near you, it always helped.

“darling, are you okay?” you jumped when you heard your boyfriend’s concerned voice behind you, “are you done vomiting? or do you need to stay here?”

“i think i’m done, i’m really sorry, shoto,” you began tearing up, biting your bottom lip to try and discourage the tears that were forming in your eyes, “i don’t want you to feel like you have to take care of me, i can be by myself if you want to hang out with deku,”

“you’re not bothering me, love, it’s okay,” he kneeled next to you, rubbing your back, “do you feel well enough to walk to the bed, or do i need to carry you?”

you nodded, trying to stand up on your own, but your knees immediately locked, your legs felt like they were jello. 

you began crashing down, grabbing onto your boyfriend’s toned arm to not hit your head on the floor. he scooped you into his arms, guiding your legs to wrap around his waist and your arms to wrap around his neck.

he carried you to your shared bedroom and set you on the bed, wasting no time in laying next to you and bringing you into his arms.

“i’m sorry you’re feeling bad, is there something you need right now?” he searched your expression for any sort of pain or discomfort, cocking his head when you roared with a fit of giggles and smiles, “what.?”

“you’re so sweet, sho,” you guided his face towards yours and kissed him, the kiss soft but meaningful, “i’m alright, no need to wor-” you gasped when your cramps started back up, instinctively curling into a tight ball to try and squeeze away the pain. it never worked, the ball more comforting than anything. 

“y/n, do you need pain medicine?” he ran circles with his hands over your back, watching to see if you’d say yes. when he saw the small nod, he slowly got up from the bed, careful not to shake it too much, and walked to the medicine cabinet.

he returned only a moment later, holding two small pills for you to take. they took around half an hour to kick in, so in the meantime you were curled up next to his side with a heating pad pressed to your stomach. you were both watching john mulaney on netflix, he always cheered you up. it was practically a tradition at this point to watch his shows when you aren’t feeling well.

after around forty five minutes of snuggling with your boyfriend, sleepiness began to overcome you. when he saw you yawn, he wrapped his arm around you and put a pillow in his lap so you could sleep comfortably.

“it’s okay, darling, you can go to sleep, i’ll be here when you wake up,” he cooed, caressing your cheek softly.

you dopily smiled up at him, warmth filling your body. you loved him so much, he was such a sweetheart.

“i love you, honey,”

“i love you too, darling,” he kissed your forehead, “now quit fighting sleep, you deserve some rest,”

when literally anyone asks if i’ve ever written fanfiction- LMAOOO

over my dead body will ppl i know find this account  (ง︡'-'︠)ง

[alwaysfangirlingish]

Title: Unwrapped gift

Word count: 1.3k

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x Female!Reader (But is more about Kol Mikaelson x Friend!Reader and Young Hope Mikaelson x StepMom!Reader)

Warnings: I wanted this to be a thing but I think I missed the whole point, so it may be just a lot of nonsense together :)

A/N: I may edit it later, I just wrote it and I’m sleepy, so... I hope you enjoy it tho 💕✨

Thanks for reading! If you liked this, please consider like, comment and reblog! ✨💕🥺

“Oh, here you are, Y/N,” Kol said, “My brother is looking for you,” He entered the room to see what I was doing, “I’ll tell Nik you’re taping your present.”

“I’m wrapping it.”

“There’s more tape than wrapping paper, luv,” He said, chuckling.

“Shut up, I'm trying,” I said before curving my lips, keeping my eyes on the present I was trying to wrap an hour ago.

This was going to be my first Christmas with the Mikaelsons and, more important, with my boyfriend’s six-year-old daughter, who seemed to hate me since the very first moment she saw me.

Hope was a cute little girl. Everybody loved her, I included, and she loved everybody, except me. For some reason, she didn't want me around, and I couldn't live knowing that, so... My goal for Christmas was to give Hope the best gift and win her affection.

“I don't think my niece will care about the gift wrap, Y/N,” He said, looking at me with a stupid smirk on his face.

“Well, I don’t care what you think.”

“It looks terrible.” 

“Shhh.”

“Just give her the gift unwrapped.”

“Kol, I’m tryi-!”

“I would hate it if someone gives me that rubbish for Christmas.”

“I just wanted this to be perfect!” I yelled, punching the pillow at my side with frustration before hiding my face in my hands.

The gift was a tiny painting lectern with some little canvas, but with the wrap looked like an enormous ball of paper. It was a disaster, I couldn't give her that for Christmas.

Some tears fell from my eyes, rolling down my cheeks and falling on the bedsheets. Later I felt Kol sitting next to me, rubbing my back up and down to calm me.

“Y/N, I didn’t m-”

“No, it’s ok, it's just... Today was a mess,” I said with a weak voice, still hiding my face in my hands, “First, I woke up very late,”

“Yeah, I see why it was a bad day,” He said, nodding. Everybody knew how bad it was if something messed up my routine.

“Yes, I also burned the food for tonight, so I had to do it again,” I said, taking my hands off my face, “And then my dress didn't fit me, so I had to fix it but I couldn't finish it because I had to go to pick up the presents,” I looked at him with my soaked face, “But then the old man at the store didn't want to give me my things, I don't even know why,” I sobbed, under his concerned gaze, “And when I got home, I finished everything but I forgot to wrap the present,” I said, patting my legs, and looking down, “I thought it wouldn't take much, but look at me now...” 

“I know how important this is to you, Y/N,” He said, “And I know you’re a control freak too,” I looked at him, pouting, “Sometimes things don’t go our way, and all we need to do is take a deep breathe and try again when we’re calmed, or just let go,”

“Have you tried any of that?”

“No, but I heard that from a tv show once,” He said, making me roll my eyes, “Look, I’m sure Hope is going to love you... Eventually, with a wrapped or unwrapped gift,” He smiled at me, kissing my cheek.

“Do you really think that?” I asked him.

“What happened with ‘I don’t care what you think’?” He raised an eyebrow, “But yes, I believe what I said,”

 “Thanks, Kol,” I said with a brief smile.

“What are brother’s in law and friends for?” He said, getting up from the bed and walking towards the door, “We’ll be waiting for you downstairs, so hurry.”

Immediately after the vampire left the room, I unwrapped the gift. He was right, the wrapping paper didn't matter here, I just stressed myself more and more.

I got out of bed to put on my dress, makeup and hairstyle as quickly as I could, which was about twenty minutes. I picked up the little lectern with the canvases and put a red bow on them, and went down to where everyone was, except Hope and Hayley, who I heard were still getting ready.

I went to the tree and left the gift there. I smiled to myself, realising that the little girl wasn't even here the whole time, so I could have simply put the gift behind the tree without her seeing me so that the gift would continue to be a surprise.

“You look ravishing, love” my boyfriend, Klaus, approached me from the side, placing his hand on my waist, drawing me towards him, leaving a kiss on my neck.

“Thanks, darling, and you look so handsome,” I replied with a smile before we headed over to where everyone was drinking and chatting.

Later, the little person who wanted to see the most came, calling everyone's attention as she entered with her cute and fashionable ponytail. She greeted everyone with a hug, happy to see her uncles, aunts and her father. The moment she saw me, her smile turned into a straight line and she only greeted me with a wave of her hand before running off into her mother's arms again.

Klaus hugged me knowing that it discouraged me, and whispered to me that soon she would feel comfortable with me, that she was shy, that it was not my fault, that I had to give her a little more time... Things that he already had told me, but I couldn't get on my mind.

All night I tried to interact with little Hope, I offered her food, offered her some of her toys if I saw her getting bored, offered her to choose a song she liked to put on the speaker... But she just ran the other way, or she would stare at me like I was annoying.

When it was midnight, we all gathered around the campfire as I had been told was a family tradition and make wishes. My wish was quite obvious: I wished I could get along with Hope one day. After making that beautiful wish, it was time for the gifts, and the little girl was very excited about it.

Hope got all the gifts, of course, she was the spoiled and dearest girl in the house. Her face of happiness when seeing all her gifts made my heart melt.

Rebekah and Marcel gave her stuffed animals, which she squeezed a lot. Elijah and Hayley gave her a toy she seems to have asked for a lot all year. Klaus gave her a portrait of her and a family heirloom that left her astonished as any six-year-old girl could. Freya and Keelin gave her a kind of giant dollhouse, in which she didn't waste a second entering and greeting all of us from the little window. Kol and Davina decided to give her some little witch things, which made her very excited, and she placed them in her dollhouse right away.

Now it was my turn, and I was very nervous. They had all been splendid gifts, and I only had one painting stand. With some insecurity, I put my gift in front of me and she looked at him carefully with wide eyes.

“Is it for painting?” She asked me, speaking to me for the first time that night. I nodded with a warmhearted smile as I stepped back and hugged Klaus. She smiled, approaching the gift, touching it with her little hand. “Am I going to paint like my daddy?” She asked and looked at me with a smile from ear to ear when I nodded again. She jumped with excitement and ran to hug me, thanking me.

A few small tears gathered in my eyes when I returned the hug, and my gaze went to Kol, who nodded as if to say 'I told you so'. Hope let go of me and ran up the stairs screaming that she would find her paintings and do a portrait of all of us.

The best Christmas in the world.

[blush-and-books]

Maybe 17 for Juke? :)

17: Tugging on the end of someone’s shirt. Thank you anon!!!!!!!!! Here’s a canonverse drabble :)

Julie never liked to feel needy, or weak, or little -- but sometimes, she just needed a hug.

Don’t we all?

Luke, being the ever-affectionate best friend, bandmate, and unofficial boyfriend, was constantly trying to be aware of whether or not Julie needed him. When she was struggling on math homework and needed a pick-me-up, or if she was feeling particularly depressed about her mom, or if she felt discouraged from a lack of creativity during a writing session. 

While he was always a pretty good judge just by reading her facial expressions, there was one cue he always noticed from her when she needed a hug: She would tug on the end of his shirt. 

The first time it happened, she had had an unfortunate conversation with her aunt about her grades. Unbeknownst to Victoria, Luke had been sitting next to Julie on the couch the entire time. Whenever Victoria said something blunt about Julie’s grief or how bad grades could send her on a downward spiral, he felt Julie’s index finger hook into the loose-fitting bottom of his hoodie. 

As soon as Victoria left, Julie threw herself into Luke’s side, sniffling like she was trying not to cry. 

The next time it happened, Luke had been paying a visit to Julie at school. While they spoke at her locker, that Carrie girl in the music program approached Julie with mischief in her eyes:

“Disappointing that you didn’t bring your holograms to perform with you today in class, Julie. I mean, they’re really all that people want to see when you perform anyway.”

Julie, who had kept her phone against her ear to talk to Luke without looking insane, pretends to hang up the phone and tuck it in her back pocket. Luke temporarily forgets that he’s a ghost and defensively steps in front of Julie, scowling at the girl insulting her. 

Julie’s fist curling in the back end of his shirt reels him in as she steps forward, ready to stand her ground. 

“Says the girl who needs four other girls to perform with her because she doesn’t think she could entertain an audience on her own.”

Carrie retreats hastily. But that doesn’t keep Julie’s face from dropping the confident mask when she’s gone, and turning back to her locker with a frown on her face. 

Luke realizes that the way that she pulled on the end of his shirt wasn’t to pull him back, it was a coping mechanism. A comforting action. 

Walking behind Julie at her locker, he wraps his arms around her waist and props his chin on her shoulder. She can’t jug him back, obviously, but he feels her let out a deep breath when his arms are around her. 

“You better not believe anything she says,” he mumbles in her ear. “It’s Julie and the Phantoms. We’re nothing without you. And everybody loves you.”

With slow movements, like she’s overwhelmed by him and how much love he shows her, her hand sneaks around to retrieve her phone and hold it to her ear. 

“Thank you,” she whispers, to which he responds with a kiss on her cheek. 

On the anniversary of Rose’s death, Luke, who was asleep on the couch in the garage, wakes up to feeling a pull against his shirt. It starts out sudden and light, but grows more insistent as his eyes flutter open. 

Julie is sitting on the edge of the couch next to him, looking down at him with tears in her eyes. Luke, without hesitation, reaches out to uncurl her hands from his shirt and pull him down next to him. 

He wastes no time in tucking her into his front and latching his left arm around her to hold her tight. Her legs are intertwined with his, and he feels Julie lightly begin to toy with his fingers. 

“You comfy?” He whispers into her hair, already feeling himself lulled back to sleep. She nods.

“Thank you.” Her voice is small and quiet, and it prompts him to use his last bit of sleepy energy to press his lips to her shoulder before sleep finally pulls him away.

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

I am currently closed for requests, BTW! Will post it on my masterlist next to the requests heading whether or not I am open or closed. 

[datingdonovan]

hi!! cece, i hope you don't mind me coming to your inbox to expand on the akaashi x cece headcanons i have lol

first of all, i totally remembered you are both literature majors and i think that is how you met... maybe you had a class together or you were both interns at a big editorial??!?! idk

i think his crush on you would be PAINFULLY obvious ♡ but your classmates/teammates would constantly comment on how different you two are and that would kinda discourage akaashi (he'd start believing you are out of his league); he'd eventually convince himself he has no chance and try to move on buuuuut you'd be paired up for a project and the new forced proximity would only make him fall harder for you... by getting to know you better, he'd learn that you aren't as different as everyone says: you are very passionate and ambitious! and you too struggle with anxiety but choose to hide it.

it'd be by getting close to you as a friend that he'd understand you are actually a great match!!!! (despite what other people would think) and then he'd ask you out!!!!

omg. i'm such a cece x akaashi fan hahahaha. sorry for writing so much... that was in my head since i wrote the match your moots thingy but i didn't want to write all that there cause the post would get super long

anyways, i hope you are doing great!!! ♡ also, sorry for the unfollow/follow thing, i lost my glasses so i can't see shit and tumblr putting the unfollow button next to the ask was the worst idea ever!!!! anyways ily ฅ^·ﻌ·^ฅ

I AM SPEECHLESS IM AT A LOSS FOR WORDS!!!!!!!!!! I CHECKED MY TUMBLR DURING WORK TODAY SO I LITERALLY HAD THIS SITTING IN MY BRAIN BUT I OBVIOUSLY WANTED TO LIKE TAKE THE TIME TO RESPOND FOR REAL BUT I COULDNT BC I WAS AT WORK SO I WAS JUST ENVISIONING THIS SO MUCH TODAY IM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on my first watch, akaashi was my second favorite very closely behind tsukki and now youre making me remember why holy crappppppp!!!!!!!!!!! I don't even know what to say this is just so perfect I love it so much we need to write a fic?!?!??!?!?!!??!?!?!?

I also typed SERIOUSLY A LOT so im gonna do a read more lol bc I don't want to shorten this its our self indulgent hc time and im taking full advantage

I don't even know where to start like the way you described our personalities was so sweet and I love how we would fit together like that you're so right!!!!! and also!!!! I did intern at a tiny publishing place one summer and oh my word it was one of the funniest experiences EVER!!!!! working creative small business jobs is so funny bc like they're really fun and you meet all kinds of interesting people but they also all have their own levels of disorganization bc like. just imagine a bunch of creatives running a small business that never has enough resources. hahahah. I can so see akaashi and I on a team of clueless interns working some like wackkkk job omggg. personally the publishing house I worked at was absolutely hilarious with the weird authors you'd meet and the funny random tasks you'd have to do, I could see us getting paired up for like some seemingly insurmountable thing, like, they've misplaced the entire log of all the new copies of books they've received and we have to go in the back library and count them all one by one or something. I wouldn't put it past them hahahahahaha.

alternatively would love to do an early American lit project with akaashi. idk why that came to mind but like. im just imagining the two of us in my early American lit classroom where I would fall asleep during class because I was the worst lol ask me about the time my prof was literally trying to give me free points and I was so sleepy I didn't even remember the basic symbolism of what I'd read omggggg it was so bad but its so funny looking back and I can just see like, me coming in and being all hyper and saying hi to him and he's like bashfully looking up at me from his desk like um. hello. so quiet. precious man. and then I go sit down and promptly fall asleep. at some point he def starts sitting near me so he can shake me awake hahahahahahahahaaha oh my gosh.

we would definitely geek out together and write our final essays together in the art library ummmmm he probably has his finished way before me but just stays up to be kind hahaha. or maybe goes and sleeps but brings me coffee in the morning when im literally on my last leg. or maybe he's just as anxious and me and we're like these haggard nervous wrecks muttering to ourselves and talking English major theorizing nonsense going to raid the cafe at 5am after staying up all night hahahahaha omg i just love him im so soft over this.

also this is completely unrelated but you just had me THINKING about him so much today and I just feel like he would seriously be such a great s/o because like, he's quiet and understated and funny and he has this dry sense of humor but people also hc him as kinda a softie and I just feel like he'd be so great to bring home to your family like. he's just such a nice guy and is so subtly funny and kind but not too pda-ish or weird and like not standoffish just like normal and good at reading people so he's always like, good and warm with your fam and never does anything inappropriate or anything lol. but also knows how to be silly with you in his own quiet way when no one else is watching yknow?? your whole family loves him so much. and like you said, I hope we'd both be like ambitious and successful in what we do but like humble I think. idk. subtle power couple. I am literally gonna combust.

anyway. we're gonna have to do some thinking on this. so so glad and blessed and lucky to randomly get this ask from YOU THE QUEEN OF MATCHUPS!?!?!??!!??!?!?! also though, ceceten vs. ceceaka who would win???? we have to have like a march madness bracket of all the ppl I've ever been shipped with hahahhhaahahaha. oh my gosh. im so sorry this is insanely long but like. I really was thinking about this so much today. im the worst lol. but I hope this is a little fun to read. and of course, thank you so much for randomly sending this it made my day as you can tell <3

[damerondala]

Congrats on 100 followers babes!! You deserve each one! Okay so, I gotta go with "this is real life, okay? not an episode of scooby doo.” + Poe bc 😘👌

thank you my dear tegan!!! im so excited i was hoping somebody would request this one and it fits poe perfectly!! 

Poe x GN!Reader + “This is real life, okay? Not an episode of Scooby Doo.”

The mystery had been plaguing the base on D’Qar for weeks now, nobody necessarily knowing what to make of it. Who kept painting murals on the outside wall of the hangar bay? Everyone knew it wasn't a serious threat, probably just somebody trying to lighten everybody’s spirits; especially with everyone being so on edge lately, having no idea if or when the First Order was going to attack. But it was eating you alive, not knowing who did it and how they did it so...well. 

You found yourself among a few fellow pilots and resistance fighters, eating your dinner rations and discussing this artistic addition to the base. “I am just blown away at how they can change it everyday and make it look amazing every time!” Your eyes sparkled, truly fascinated with it. Whoever was behind this had a very keen eye, painting different squadrons and all their members standing heroically, different landscapes of planets, they even drew a giant portrait of General Organa herself, surrounded by beautiful flowers that were native to Alderaan. Again, a very keen eye, this artist had. 

“They probably trace them,” Jessika spoke with a mouthful of food, “no way somebody can pull that outta their ass every day. Plus, how can they not be seen by anybody?” 

“Maybe it’s a g-g-ghoooost!” Snap teased Jess, imitating his voice to sound chilling, like one of those cheesy holodramas boys would take girls to so they could ‘protect’ them from the fake phantoms. This earned him an elbow to the side, an unamused Jess scowling at her squad partner. “Shut up, weirdo.” 

Among the banter and sleuthing, one pilot seemed to be more quiet than usual, Poe flicked his eyes from speaker to speaker, silently observing while eating his ration bar. L’ulo noticed the out of character behavior, Poe always has something to say. “What’s up, Poe? Snap really spook you that bad?” 

The leader of the squadron found his eyes and smiled, finding the teasing to be amusing. “Nah. Just surprised that Karé married him after listening to...that.” Snap giggled boisterously and his fingers found Karé’s sides, tickling her and smushing his bearded cheek against her smooth one, “Aww come on, she can't get enough of me.” Everybody at the table laughing at how Karé pleaded with you to save her from the ‘hairy monster’. After the chuckles died down, you placed your hands on the table in front of you, as if you were presenting a battle plan to take out an entire fleet of tie fighters. “I say we all keep watch tonight, take rotations. I need to know who’s doing this.” The gleam in your eye died when Poe rolled his eyes at your response, “This is real life okay?” turning to face you, his knee bumping against your thigh, “not an episode of Scooby Doo.” 

“Come ooon, Poe! Don’t you want to celebrate whoever is bringing so much life to the base? Don’t act like I didn't catch you staring at it the other day.” You matched his body language, hand pushing off his shoulder to tease him. This was received with a chuckle, Poe swatting at your shoulder as well, mimicking your tone. “Okay smarty pants,” his eyes wielding a childlike glimmer, “first one who finds this mystery artist get’s everybody’s dessert for a week.” 

You smiled at Poe. “You’re on.” 

~

That night, Snap and Karé took the first watch. Ending their shift with no new findings, causing to Jess practically vibrate with excitement. If people thought Poe was competitive, they obviously had never met Jess, she was so competitive it became annoying sometimes. But much to her dismay, Jess also reported no new leads. “Not even as much as a stupid Squonk flew by!” She retired to her quarters afterward, discouraged and sleepy. 

Your turn was next. Perched on one of D’Qar’s rolling hills with binoculars and some caf to keep you awake, you heard some shuffling from foliage to your left, right hand unlocking your blaster holster in case you needed to defend yourself from hostile wildlife, or even worse, a First Order spy. Your breath ceased with anticipation, but was gladly released from your chest when you were met with the sight of Poe. A warm chuckle came from your friend when he saw your hand ready to fire. “And they say I’m trigger happy. Easy, y/n, it’s just me.” He took a spot next to you, crossing his legs in front of him. “Any breakthroughs?” His eyes not leaving the stars above. It was clear and beautiful out tonight. You glanced at his profile, smiling to yourself, and looked up as well. “Nope. Guess it was stupid, huh?” Poe turned his head to you, making eye contact but quickly breaking it. “No, i--it’s,” more uncharacteristic silence, what in the stars was with him today? “Sweet. You’re so curious.” 

This granted him a smile, “Heh. Thanks, Dameron.” you breathed in the warm air, “So, who do you think it is?” 

“Hmm. Well, if I told you, you have to promise to keep it a secret.” His lips quickly turned up into a smile at your unabashed gasp, “What?! How do you know? Tell me, tell me!” 

“Alright, alright! Jeez, how can you have this much energy at two in the morning?” This question was left unanswered by you, your big eyes looking at him so remarkably as he reached in the front pocket of his bottoms, pulling out a piece of paper that was folded a few times, creasing the smooth planes of it. He stuck it out to you, watching as you snatched it from his hand and unraveled it like a young child opening their life day gift. Another gasp left your mouth, but this time Poe didn't smile at it, his stomach was churning, afraid that he might seem like a creep for what you were about to discover. 

“It’s...me.”

You looked up at his face, hands still clutching the sketch of you, standing in front of your X-Wing with your helmet on your hip and looking very triumphant. His hand farthest from you found the nape of his neck, awkwardly scratching while he whispered, “This was supposed to be the next one. The one I did tonight.” 

You were, for lack of a better term, absolutely floored. A million questions were swimming through your brain but you were just left to stare at the pilot next to you, your mouth wordlessly moving. “Kriff, y/n, I’m sorry. If you don’t want me to do it I-I can do something else! It’s just, remember the day when you got your own X-Wing? You looked so happy an-” Poe was cut off by a bone-crushing hug around his middle, your head landing on his shoulder as you squeezed, making his heart pound so hard in his chest he thought he might die. “Poe, it’s amazing!” You lifted your head to face him, “I didn't know you were so artistic! How long have you been keeping this a secret? How have you not been caught?!” Your hands were flying around every which way while you rambled and he gave you a dumbfounded grin, astonished at how cute you were, although he would never admit it out loud. “There’s a lot you don't know about me, sweetheart.” 

[yespolkadotkitty]

Fighting Blind, pt 6

Thanking my beta, @rzrcrst ! 

Story masterlist here

Tovar rode ahead, the by now rather fetid, Tao Tei arm hanging off one side of his saddle. I could see from the set of his shoulders that he was in a mood. What else was new?

“Must you bait each other?” William sighed. 

I rode on his horse today, sitting in front of him. His body was just as hard from years of battle and training, but it had not escaped my notice that his pleasant Irish lilt combined with his physique did absolutely nothing for my hormones. He was nice. That was it.

“He always starts it,” I grumbled, playing with the saddle pommel and realising that I sounded about six years old with my whining. “But, you’re right.”

William huffed out a laugh. “Ah, but that never gets old, hearing a woman say I’ve the right of it.”

“Don’t get used to it.”

He laughed again. “Are you going to tell us where you’re really from, then?”

I stared straight ahead. In the distance, a huge stone wall loomed, flags flying. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me,” he countered, but there was no judgement in his tone, just curiosity.

I eyed Tovar’s back; the unrelenting set of his shoulders under the cape of chain mail. I thought about the dream again; his scarred hands dark on my pale skin, the feel of his teeth on my pulse point, the press of his cock on my belly. 

Not that I had to imagine the feel of his cock. 

Not anymore.

“I’m from the future.”

The words weighed heavily on my tongue as I spoke them.

William said nothing for a long moment. “Right you are,” he replied eventually.

You scoffed. “You think I have gone quite mad.”

He shrugged; I heard the leather in his armour creak as he did so. “I’ve seen many things during my life. This beast I killed is just the latest of occurrences I can’t truly explain. Who am I to judge your tale, miss?”

I picked through his words for sarcasm, but found none.

"About Tovar," he began, as the rocking of the horse started to make me feel a little sleepy. "It's likely he saved your life by doing what he did. You might have perished from the cold."

I opened my mouth to reply with a sarcastic retort, but thought better of it. “He probably did,” I muttered, sour.

“And it’s only natural that you’d seek each other out…. In the way that you did.”

I glanced up at his face, amused. William was a skilled fighter and I had zero doubt that he could kill me with a flick of his wrist, should he want to. But in speaking about…. That, he was embarrassed?

William looked down at me, a smile tugging at his lips. “What? I’m not used to discussing such matters with a woman.”

Tovar chose that moment to turn back to look at us. I could only imagine what he saw. William and I only two breaths apart, smiling at each other. I met his brown gaze, watched the scowl twist his mouth, before he rode on ahead again, his back more ramrod straight than ever.

“Oh, sure and he likes you,” William muttered.

I scoffed. “And here I thought you were the smart one.”

****

Two days after the axe arrived, our social media team decided to make up a post for our Facebook page. I was always amazed and grateful that in 2019, so many people still had a thirst for history, to find out about their ancestors and how people had lived before they themselves came into being.

Emma fluffed up my hair (very difficult for Asian hair, I can tell you, it is almost always poker straight no matter what potions I use or blood sacrifices I make) and fixed my make-up as I prepared to record a little Facebook live video for the post.

When Mike, our tech intern, mouthed “go,” I spoke for three minutes about how excited we were to have received the axe. I didn’t mention that we had no idea who had sent it, of course - I didn’t want to discourage further anonymous artefact donations. When Mike clicked the camera off with a thumbs up, Emma, he and I all watched the cellphone me before he posted with a sketch of the axe and a bit of text. Within an hour, it had seventy likes and twice that many shares.

A few hours later, when I next sat down at my computer to troll through my e-mails, one about the Facebook post caught my eye.

From: zw_1984@gmail.com

To: j.yuan@londonarmouries.net

Subject: spanish (?) axe

Dear Ms Yuan

I was wondering if you’re planning on releasing any more details about the axe on your Facebook page. I’m very interested in military history and something about it is really familiar to me. Do you have any more pictures?

I scrolled down to read the next paragraph but before I could, Emma appeared at my desk. “Sorry. The school visit’s just arrived in the foyer. They’re a half hour early. Shall I tell them to wait?”

I closed the browser. “No, it’s fine, I’ll go down now.” 

I snagged my pass and keys and looped the lanyard over my neck, the e-mail forgotten.

***

“We are heading for the wall, yes?” Tovar asked when we’d stopped under some patchy trees to rest the horses and to eat some very dry crackers that William shared out.

“Hard to avoid it,” William replied genially. His mood was usually good, and I wondered how he’d ended up with misery guts here. “Perhaps the black powder is behind it. Makes sense that they’d want to protect what’s theirs.”

Tovar ate the crackers in silence, sitting with his back to us on a large fallen log. The heat of the day made sweat trickle down my back. I must have made some noise of disquiet, because the grumpy Spaniard turned.

“What?”

My hackles immediately raised. “Oh, I’m sorry, must I be totally silent?”

“You know, it’s at times like these that I long for wine,” William muttered, leaning against a tree with a sigh, and munching on his snack.

“I was merely asking what you needed,” Tovar snapped back. “Perhaps my amigo here can help you, as you’ve become so close, no?”

I stared at him. He’s jealous. I could hardly believe it. “Don’t drag William into this.”

“First name terms,” he sneered.

Enough of this nonsense. I stomped over to him, looming over him as he sat on the log, legs spread for balance. I tried, and failed, not to notice the shape of his thighs under his tunic, the broadness of his chest, the way his hair licked up at the back. “If your first name isn’t Tovar, you should have enlightened me,” I snapped, five hundred percent done with this infuriating man, “I can’t read minds.”

“And thank God for that,” I thought I heard him mutter, but before I could replay his bitten-off words in my head, William put his fingers in his mouth and whistled, making Tovar and I turn around.

“Stop bickering. Looks like we’ve got company.”

Tagging: @badassbaker @songsformonkeys @agirllovespasta @a-seeker-of-imagination @keeper0fthestars @agentpike @littlemissthistle @alldatalost @ly--canthrope @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @starlight-starwrites @stylelovechild @maryan028 @seawhisperer @restingnurseface @emesispo @pedropascalito  @holographic-carmen @hdlynn @havenforafrazzledmind @thewaythisis @mstgsmy @jaime1110 @10-96dispatcher @talesfromtheguild @kindablackenedsuperhero @marydjarin @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @buckstaposition @phoenixhalliwell​ @irishleesh93  @voteforpedropascal​ @mrsparknuts​ @pinkzsugar​ @emmy-dandiliom918​ @chews-erotically​ @lackofhonor​ @dornish-queen​

[pbandjesse]

Toady was an excellent day. We all stayed up to late last night talking but it was good. I am glad we did. I missed having people here to talk too! Me and James ended up staying gup even later together giggling about nonsense before eventually falling asleep.

James woke me up a few minutes after my alarm was supposed to go off, which I had snoozed somehow. But I got up and washed and dressed. James got a shower. Drew, James's cousin, was already washed and dressed and packed up. I got all the market stuff together and of course we forgot last weeks prints but its all good.

We stopped at mcdoanlds. They had no soda. But I had water so I was fine. Just no caffeine. Which only mildly made me feel bad.

I tried really hard to not be a grump but I was cold, especially my feet, and tired. But I tried to be the best sales person I could be.

It took a while to make a sale, but once I did I felt a lot better. I was getting discouraged, not unusual, but we made our table fee plus my sales goal. So I was really proud.

There was a children's choir there today and they were so cute. I took Drew over to the museum to walk around while me and James worked at the market. I chatted with Kaitlyn for a couple of minutes and Auni as well about the programs I got approved to do. I have to work on that some more on Monday but I am really excited. I told a lot of people about them today, including at the wedding I worked at, and people seemed excited about them! It was very encouraging.

Charlotte came to the market to hang out with James and Drew. I was there but I was focused on selling so I wasn't 100% in the conversation and I felt bad about that but it was okay.

Charolette took Drew to the train after they and James walked over to the bike shop to get new tubes for their tires. But then it was time to go and we all said goodbye. James will see Drew for another concert in a few weeks and I am sure we will see that part of the family for Christmas.

Once the market was done we packed up and headed to the grocery store. We got some snacks and a few small foods we were out of. It was very busy! But we weren't in a rush. I was just hungry.

We had a lot of little laughs and I got lots of compliments on my skeleton onesie, but mostly from my James. Later in the day James would wear the same jumpsuit to go help give out candy at their parnet's house.

But I needed to sleep before work. Because Im a big baby and was very sleepy.

We got home and James made me soup and a grilled cheese. And then sleep time. James got home right as I was waking up and getting ready to leave for the museum again.

It was honestly a great night. The weather was so pretty. And the wedding was on the pier.

I got to help a lot tonight which I liked. I was first in charge of watching for the bus. Then finding a brides maid. A different bus showed up but it was for a bachelor/bachelorette party and they wanted to take pictures but we had to send them away so I suggested to go towards the VIsionary Museum. I hope they found it and it worked out.

Angie made me a keychain with my name on it and we had some really nice chats tonight. I want to do all the events so I am trying to be the very best and helpful to her. So I did my education stuff, but I also cleaned and checked in with everyone I could and tried to be number 1 worker.

I got to see the ceremony and the groom got bright red when the bride came out and it was so cute. I had some nice conversations with the catering people and other vendars.

But my best chats were with the people I got to come back to the machine shop. I only got maybe 15 people back there but they were great. I was in a great mood and very silly but I was having a blast honestly.

Once they were at dinner I swept any foods I could find odd the floor and walked around checking things out. Angie would bring me food to take home. It was a stuffed chicken breast, I loved the mashed potatoes and veggies, and James will have the chicken. Excellent.

I headed out of there at 830 and was really glad to go home. It was a really fun night but my feet hurt and I always feel like I smell bad after events. Maybe because I get so stressed and worried?? Possibly.

James was editing their podcast and I ate my catering food and we talked. I would go make some outfits for the week and shower and now we are in bed. I think we will maybe watch a movie? Unsure. But tomorrow is Halloween! I am looking forward to wearing my silly costume and enjoying a lovely day with James.

Goodnight everyone! Take care of each other!!