#i feel i was talking very fast for sugar reasons

[girlivealwaysbean]

i think growing up is just life repeatedly sucker punching you and saying bitch you thought things were gonna better lmao no you're so naive and stupid for having hope in 20 years the world will be flaming bag of garbage and no matter how hard you work you'll get eliminated at some point

[sansaorgana]

Oh my God, would you write a little something about their little daughter/son or (twins?) walking in on reader and Buck? Pretty please? 😅🫠

hi, sugar! 🍬 thank you for your request, it's such a cute idea. 🥺 I love imagining Buck as a husband and a father and all these domestic things. 🏡

I had to currently close the requests because I got so many so I'm working on them atm 🙏🏻

🔞 THIS FIC IS 18+ 🔞

You hadn’t been intimate with your husband for a long while now. Taking care of energetic twin preschoolers was taking up most of your time and even when you happened to have free time at the end of the day, you were often too tired to start anything. Which was a misfortune because you wanted at least one more child with Buck. You dreaded the day your son and daughter would go to school – you wanted to be busy with another little baby in the meantime.

You gave it a try tonight because after a long day spent in the park, running around the playground, your twins had fallen asleep very quickly. So, there you were, laying under your husband’s warm and strong body, with your thighs around his waist pushing him deeper and deeper as your back arched and his full lips were muffling your soft moans with a kiss. Your hands were squeezing his biceps as his were cupping your face; the rhythm of his hips was steady but not too fast and not too rough. Buck Cleven was not the type to fuck. He was making love to you.

After a few weeks of no intimacy at all, you could feel your release coming very fast and you only hoped you’d have more than one round on that night. So lost in pleasure and chasing the high, enamoured by your husband’s flushed cheeks, a single golden hair strand falling down on his forehead and his beautiful blue eyes staring at you lovingly whenever he’d break the passionate kiss to catch a breath… you simply didn’t hear the noise in the corridor.

“Mummy, daddy…!” Your little girl’s whine interrupted you as she pushed the door open without knocking. Her twin brother followed and you froze with widened eyes as you panicked.

But Buck never panicked. That man was always calm and always knew what to do, it was impressive. No matter what the situation was, his calmness was working miracles to make you feel safe and taken care of. He made sure that you were both covered with the blanket and turned around to look at your children.

“Minnie, I’ve been telling you to always knock,” Buck scolded her gently. Her lower lip trembled as she squeezed tighter the teddy bear she was holding.

“But daddy, Bobby is mean to me! He says there is a monster under my bed…” She was on the verge of tears.

“I really saw him!” Bobby denied the accusations. “I wasn’t trying to scare her! There is a monster under her bed.”

“Funny!” Minnie faced him. “Why under mine and not yours then?”

You took a deep breath in and sighed. They were only children and it was difficult to be angry at them for this but you weren’t pleased either.

“And what are you doing?” Bobby squinted his eyes at his parents.

“We… We are talking,” Buck answered awkwardly, his cheeks flushing even more. However, your little boy didn’t seem to be convinced. “And cuddling,” Buck added quickly so the answer was more believable.

“Why are you naked?” Minnie asked and you furrowed your brows at her.

“How do you know?” You asked and she pointed at your nightgown on the floor. “Well, it’s hot here,” you quickly made up an excuse and rubbed your sweaty forehead. “Go back to sleep, darlings, there are no monsters under any bed in this house. Monsters are too scared of daddy,” you tried to make them go away as quickly as possible.

“Then daddy should inspect,” Bobby crossed his hands.

You looked up at Buck’s face and he sighed with a gentle smile. He was a big softie for his children and that was one of the reasons why you loved him so much. He moved away delicately, making sure you were still both covered with a blanket.

“Can you hand me that, love?” You pointed at your nightgown and your daughter picked it up to give it to you. You put it on over your head and let it fall down, allowing Buck to take more of the blanket for himself. He left the bed with it around his waist as if it was a towel and he picked up his own underwear from the carpet.

“I’ll go and inspect in a moment, “ he winked at Bobby and went to the bathroom.

When he left the bed with the blanket, you spotted your panties scattered somewhere down the mattress. You quickly grabbed them before the kids could notice and you turned your back on them on the edge of the bed to put them back on.

When you were completely dressed up again, you spotted that Minnie was already in the middle of your bed, laying her head on your pillow and cuddling her teddy bear.

“What are you doing, Minnie?” You asked her and caressed her hair.

“I want to sleep here tonight,” she gave you puppy eyes.

“But daddy will go there and show you that there are no monsters,” you assured her.

Gale left the bathroom at that very moment, already in his pyjamas. He carefully put the blanket over you and Minnie as he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

“You coming with me, young man?” He asked Bobby and the boy nodded, feeling important as he followed his father out of the bedroom.

Minnie moved closer to you and put her tiny arms around your waist. You sighed and kissed the top of her head with a smile. You already knew there would be no way you’d go back to your lovemaking tonight. Minnie was starting to doze off in your arms and you watched her sweet angel face lovingly. 

Buck and Bobby came back to your bedroom. Your husband had a playful smile on his lips and your heart skipped a beat at the sight. He was so adorable, you were so happy to be his wife.

“There are no monsters under the bed,” Gale ruffled his son’s hair as he stated. Then he raised an eyebrow at half-asleep Minnie.

“I guess she stays here tonight,” you whispered.

“Me too, then!” Bobby jumped inside the bed and laid beside his sister.

Minnie turned around and clinged to him adorably. Buck joined you all in bed and adjusted the blanket over you.

“You okay, baby?” He asked as he caressed your cheek.

“Yeah,” you nodded. The heat was long gone now, you were mostly sleepy. “And you, sweetheart?”

“Perfectly fine,” Buck assured you. He turned off the light on the bedside table and put his arm around his wife and babies, curled up together between their parents as they fell asleep; feeling safe and loved. Like you always wanted them to feel. It was the most important thing in the world for you.

When you woke up, the bed was already empty. You rubbed your eyes and glanced at the clock. It was nine already and you wondered how it was possible that you had been allowed to sleep for so long and no one had been trying to wake you up to prepare breakfast. The mystery was solved soon enough when Buck entered the bedroom quietly. He was still wearing pyjamas as well.

“Oh, you’re awake now,” he pointed out as he got under the blanket to greet you with a kiss. “You were sleeping so peacefully. I made them breakfast and now they’re watching the kids’ program on TV. That gives us about half an hour,” he pointed out in a whisper as he smirked.

“You’re so needy, Major Cleven,” you giggled and cupped his face.

“I’m starving, Mrs. Cleven,” he admitted before peppering your face with tiny sweet kisses. Once he was done, he focused on your exposed neck as his hips lowered down and you felt his erection between your legs already.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, you lifted yourself up and joined your lips together in a heated kiss as you got rid of each other’s clothes. You knew that you had no time to waste if you wanted to finally get the job done.

When you were both naked, hands wandering all around each other’s bodies while kissing and shushing each other, Gale pushed you down softly and positioned himself above you with his elbows on both sides of your head as you raised your thighs to put them around his waist and impatiently guide him inside you. He pressed his forehead to yours with a hiss at the feeling of your warm, wet and pulsating pussy. 

Your back arched as you threw your head back, exposing your neck even further for your husband’s sweet and needy kisses as his hips thrusted into you firmly, hitting all the right spots with military precision.

Just like on the night before, it didn’t take long for you to feel the reaching peak overtaking you. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you gasped and dug your fingernails in his shoulders. Buck grunted softly and picked up his pace.

You came with a soft moan and he joined your lips together quickly to muffle the sounds leaving your mouth. He needed a few more chaotic thrusts before spilling himself inside of you as his eyes shut close and his sweaty forehead pressed to yours.

“God, finally,” you sighed with a chuckle and he smirked. You raised your hands to caress the scars on his cheeks gently.

“You better find them a nanny for the weekend,” he rubbed your nose with his, “because I don’t want you out of this bed for hours, Mrs. Cleven.”

You giggled like a schoolgirl at his words.

“Sir, yes, sir,” you nodded.

MASTERLIST || BUCK MASTERLIST

[katiemccabeswife]

Fan Girl

AWFC x Ballerina!Reader || Reader is a renowned ballerina and goes live to talk to fans, especially about her new-found love for football. Part 2

"Hello, everyone!" You smiled into the camera a few minutes after starting an Instagram live, "Hello, hello, hello. How is everyone doing!" You responded to some personalised greetings for a few minutes before answering recurring questions flowing through the comments.

"What am I doing? I am getting ready to head over to the Royal Opera House to perform The Nutcracker. I am very excited to be doing so, we are going into the 4th performance of this year and I am absolutely buzzing, the first 3 shows went so well and I got to do all of my favourite parts and I get to do another tonight. So yeah, I am buzzing!" You had to try to suppress your smile whilst talking about your passion as you were doing your makeup whilst doing so.

"What are my favourite roles to dance in The Nutcracker?" You were moving onto contour as you began to roll off an endless number of characters you've played in the past, "I think my all-time favourite would have to be the Sugar Plum Princess, which I'm actually doing tonight!" You clapped your hands in delight due to pure excitement running throughout your body

"And then I think it's sort of even between; Clara, The Arabian Princess and The Snow Queen. I love Clara because I love playing her, I feel like I'm more of an actor when I play Clara and I love the feeling and of course, it's like, kind of a main role," You laughed as you tried to down-play the roll, not wanting to make it seem like you were bragging about getting to perform a main role.

"I love playing The Arabian Princess and The Snow Queen for the same reasons, I love their costumes so much and the choreography as well, oh my god, I feel in my element when I get to dance their choreography. It's an indescribable feeling, performing in general is for me, indescribable, but specifically those parts because I just love them so much!"

You laughed slightly to yourself as you took a drink of water, "And then we have the rats! I loved playing a rat, their costumes are just so funny and you get to really improvise with the rats," You choked on your water slightly as you laughed, "Oh I love being side-stage to watch them, performing with them is sometimes hard, especially when I'm Clara because you have to try not to laugh but I love the rats so much. And then there's also the angels! I love the angels, I was one for maybe 3 years? I started doing the Nutcracker when I was 3 and I started getting into other roles when I must have been 6 or 7, so 3 or 4 years, yeah, and I love the angels not only because it was my introductory to performing and ballet but also because now, I love kids if you didn't know, but I have taken up the role of helping the little-ys get ready and helping them get their stuff at the end of the night and they're all angels, and it just reminds me of the good old days, so yeah!"

You took a break from your makeup to look at the comments and your eyes widened when you saw 800,000 people were watching.

user429 i love her laugh

jazy_ballet I LOVE GETTING TO PLAY A RAT

saramanning how did you start ballet?

evanbraid what foundation did you use 😍

y/nballet4ever what are your hobbies aside from ballet 🩷

You proceeded to the task of doing your makeup after seeing that question, "I have recently gotten into football! I watched the Women's World Cup and it was the first time I was genuinely invested in a sport and I've kinda just kept on the football train now. That's kind of a lie I'm more on the football jet plane, if that makes sense. I am so invested in it's almost getting out of hand. I think about it all the time!" You had to laugh at yourself and how pathetic you sounded.

smith124 OMG! Who do you go for?

"I go for Arsenal, it wasn't really a conscious decision, to be honest. I just sort of figured out who everyone on the team was really fast and there was a game on, maybe 2 days after I had started 'investigating' and researching the team so I was like, why not? Um, but yeah I went to the game and I loved it! I felt kind of odd because I didn't have a jersey but I do now! I have, 12, if I remember correctly. That's Arsenal and England jerseys so..." You cringed at how fangirly you sounded.

p0llyr1chardz who's your favourite player???

"Favourite player? They're all so personable and great players like it's kind of mind-boggling how good they are but," You paused to think as you applied the finishing touches to your makeup. "Um, my favourite player might have to be Katie McCabe or Lucy Bronze, if we are talking Lionesses. If I am being so honest, I only really care about the women’s game. I just can’t get into the men's games but maybe it’s just my pure love for women that has me interested in football, not the actual game. I also love the "ACL squad" because, if you didn't know 2 years ago, I tore my ACL and while it's most certainly not a fun thing, I find the similarities in the rehab and the experiences they've all gone through compared to mine really interesting. Because whilst on a sheet of paper, football and ballet are nothing alike, the rehab after an ACL injury is really similar and I mean it could be put down to both being quite foot or leg-focused but I find it really interesting. Especially with what Viv and Beth are doing with their documentary, spreading word about it, getting people to understand the severity of it and helping everyone understand why it's happening or trying to. I guess the biggest difference is that ACL injuries are extremely prominent in women's football and my injury was sort of like any other injury, a mistake or whatever you want to call it."

bethmead_ ❤️❤️❤️

Everyone could see you intently staring at your phone in silence for a moment, reading the comments, before you screamed and jumped from your chair, you laughed and settled back into your chair, "Sorry, guys! Oh my days, Beth! Hi, oh my, oh I love you so much. Not in a weird way! In a fan way! Sorry, oh my days, y/n you're embarrassing yourself." You placed your hands on your head and took a deep breath. "Sorry guys, so onto my hair! I hate doing my hair," You sulked slightly.

leahwilliamsonn ❤️❤️❤️

"That's crazy," You sat in awe, "What is going on! Hi, Leah," You waved like a little girl, "This is crazy..." You did your hair humming with a smile on your face.

"Sorry for being silent for a hot sec, I can't focus on anything other than my hair when I'm doing it for a show." You smiled meekly at the camera.

bethmead_ will we be seeing you at the Watford game?

You squealed with pure excitement, "Yes! 1000%, I am going to be the Watford game. Of course, I am.”

You apologised that you had to step out of frame for a moment to put on your costume. 

“Alright, surprise reveal for the costume of the night! Drum roll please…” You stepped into the frame in your Sugar Plum Princess leotard, looking a little bit silly without your tutu, “Sorry for not being in my tutu but I can’t sit in it and I have to drive to the Oprah House so…”

lottewubbenmoy see you there 😉

You almost fainted once you saw Lotte’s comment, due to fear or excitement maybe, but most likely from the scream you let out that had you explaining the last hour to your neighbour.

yourusername posted on their story

[elyrch]

Shota Aizawa x reader headcanons...

a/n: YEOWW hes HOT!!!

okay, i don't think this guy does anything other than work and sleep. he's pretty busy, with the school, plus his hero work. he doesn't really get out much, either- he's usually too tired to actually be social or he's busy.

he doesn't really know how a relationship works. sure, flowers, chocolate, presents, dates, but he doesn't know what he should do if you're having a nightmare. he's a very fast learner though, so just tell him! he'd be happy to snuggle or give you time alone if you want it!

he talks in his sleep. i don't know why but i think he says the most insane shit while he's sleeping. he doesn't sleepwalk, though- he just yaps for no reason.

he runs VERY warm. not even a thing with his quirk, it's just how he is. he's not the kind of warm that makes you sweaty, either- just a very soft cozy feeling. it's actually quite nice to snuggle with him, since he's a pretty good person to cuddle.

he's a pretty quiet talker. almost whispering as he asks you what you'd like for dinner, or how your day at work was. he just doesn't want to scare you or make you uncomfortable with his voice- he, out of anyone, should know that loud people can be annoying, since he spends his time at work with loud teenagers.

he's not a wuss about confronting you if you're doing something that makes him uncomfortable. if he's feeling weird about it, he doesn't want you to think it's okay to do- so he just tells you straight up that it makes him feel bad.

he's an incredibly romantic partner, but not in the sense youre thinking. sure, he probably wouldn't book an entire restaurant for you to have dinner, but he would get takeout and move the dining room table into the living room so you could watch television while you ate. in this sense, he wouldn't get you overly grand presents- just little, yet very very personal, gifts.

he secretly loves when you braid his hair. do with that what you will

for nicknames, i think he'd call you a shortened version of your name. if you're doing a bit, he will use the most ridiculous names ever. sugar pie honey plum. sweetie pumpkin schnookums. he will win that war for sure

he doesn't blush. just doesn't. not really for any particular reason, it's just not something his body really does. if you do get him to blush, it's very cute (and he HATES it) so he tries to cover his face. don't let him!!!

scared shitless of horses. i don't know why he just is. maybe it's because it's so tall. or maybe it's because the domestic ones usually have big metal shoes. he just doesn't want to get kicked in the head.

absolutely puts stuff on the high shelf. says "what do you mean my sweet pookie bear? it's on a normal shelf" he's so damn mean

thank you for reading!! i hope you enjoyed this one :] please reblog if you enjoyed it!!

[kooktrash]

something about him | kim taehyung

summary: kim taehyung is nothing more than a man who works in the same office as you. he’s kind, charming, and unbelievably attractive but there’s just one downside to him. something feels off about the way he acts toward you and you’re not sure what but you know it has something to do with his little obsession with you. he acts strange at times, sometimes a little too lost in his own world, and changes his mood so fast you get whiplash trying to keep up.

you should feel scared or concerned but there’s just something about him that makes you ignore all the warning bells that go off in your head.

➢ genre/au: coworker au, office au, smut, heavy plot

➢ pairing: yandere!taehyung x coworker!reader[she/her. female anatomy]

➢ 16.7k words

warnings: smüt. angst. yandere themes but not scary. tae is highkey obsessed with reader and a little delulu. he’s manipulative and very calculative. doesn’t directly harm others but he sabotages them for y/n. handjöb/oral. cunnilingus. heavy makeout. taehyung can be seen as a dom. intense mood changes. rough missionary. jealous tae. extremely possessive and controlling but he’s good at hiding it. y/n lowkey lovebombs him too (but in the loosest of terms). y/n is a little unstable too but it’s barely noticeable.

song inspo: mascara — deftones [ but I’ll keep you because there’s something about her long shady eyes ]. female robbery — the neighborhood [ I think I can tell them, tell them they were made for me ]. are you mine — arctic monkeys [ in my mind when she’s not right there beside me, I go crazy ].

You know when you can just feel that someone is bad for you and you still won’t do anything about it? Yeah, that’s how you feel about Taehyung.

Maybe you’re being dramatic but also, you know there’s something about Taehyung that makes you feel uneasy at times. It could be the dark gaze in his eyes when a male colleague approaches you, or even the way he always seems to be where you are, watching. You wanted to say you felt unbelievably creeped out by him but you’re not and that’s the problem.

He’s just so gentle and kind when he talks to you. When your eyes meet he almost looks away shyly despite the confidence that radiated off him when he steps into a room. You don’t know what it is about Kim Taehyung but he makes you feel curious yet scared.

“How was your weekend, Y/n?” Taehyung asked in his usual deep and husky voice. It was early in the morning so a little bit of sleep was still laced throughout it.

You arrived at the office at the same time as him today and you’re not sure if it was planned or not. All you knew was that you two were some of the few here this early. You looked at him as you stirred some creamer into your hot coffee, “It was alright, yours?”

“It was great, I went to this new restaurant that just opened up down the street,” Taehyung said calmly, sounding rehearsed. Your eyes narrowed as you said, “Really? I went this weekend too.”

You felt like your suspicions were being answered. You went on some group date this weekend with a good friend of yours and you tried the new restaurant. At one point you could’ve sworn you picked up the scent of Taehyung’s cologne that you’ve grown used to at the office. You figured you were being strangely delusional about a man you work with until you heard his voice. It was the same tone he usually spoke to you in but a tad harsher—like he was forcing himself to be gentle but failing. You remember hearing a woman’s voice next but you let it go.

Now you’re sure he was there too and it was all just some big coincidence.

“Hm, if we had run into each other, we could’ve said hello,” Taehyung said slowly, mixing sugar into his tea trying to stay at your pace so you could leave together.

“So, did you catch up with any friends for dinner?” You asked, trying to see if he would admit to having someone there. You’re not sure why you’re curious but he peaks your interest for reasons you don’t understand. Hell, he creeps you out and yet you indulge him in conversation more often than not.

“No, I was on a date,” Taehyung answered honestly, feeling your eyes turn to him. He was fighting back a smile at your sudden interest. He’s spent months getting you used to seeing him and talking to him at the office that he’s ready to actually get you to go out with him. He’s wanted to take it slow but he realizes he can’t anymore.

When he overheard you and another discussing your plans this weekend he felt himself become uneasy. You told the girl you would be going on a date and that really pissed him off, but he couldn’t say anything. He doesn’t want you to think he doesn’t have trust in you. A relationship starts with trust and he’s willing to show it to you first.

He’ll make you his when you’re ready for the commitment he’s willing to give and ask for too.

Taehyung trusted you this past weekend, he knew you wouldn’t do anything on the first date but every time he thought about the guy you might be seeing, he would just fill with anger. The guy was probably trash, he couldn’t be trusted around you and so Taehyung did what only a sane person would do. He hit up some previous chick he slept with and offered her dinner with the hopes of sex. He brought her along so he could make sure your date was on his best behavior then had his way with the girl before dropping her off in front of her house like she was nothing more to him.

It was really only a thank you for helping him see you tonight without being too obvious. He hopes he’ll never see her again or else she’ll think he’s into her and cry when she finds out she disgusts him. She probably wouldn’t appreciate that he tried imagining you the whole time either.

The problem is that they’re nothing compared to you and although he’s never slept with you he already knows it’ll be perfect. Something in his gut tells him you’re made for him. He knew this the moment he first met you all those months ago in the elevator.

You hadn’t even done anything special to catch his attention, it was a very normal interaction between you two but he was completely infatuated. All you had done was bump into him, dropping your papers all over the floor. He was in a really bad mood that day but the way you cursed shamelessly made him smile in amusement and he ended up helping you clean up. He’s not sure what happened but from then on he had a school boy crush on you and it hasn’t gone away. He just thinks you’re interesting and he’s been waiting for a chance to make a move, the only thing holding him back is the thought of coming off too strong.

If only he could make sure that every other man who wants your attention got it through their heads that you’re his, it would be great.

“How did your date go?” You asked curiously. You’re not sure how to explain it but something about Taehyung really gets to you. He’s never made a move on you — which you’re thankful for — but there’s no denying the fact that he’s strangely intrigued by you. You can tell in the way he talks to you compared to others, or the way he always finds something to intervene with when you’re talking to another man. It’s like he wants you to think about him even when he’s not showing any signs. It’s all confusing and leaves you to overthink every interaction, especially now that he’s admitted to going on a date.

Of course you don’t know that this is all part of a plan that Taehyung has meticulously worked on for months. He doesn’t want to scare you and if he told you you’re all he’s been thinking about for so long, surely you’d be creeped out. He’s only gone on two ‘dates’ in the past five months and both were for a specific reason. The first was at the company Christmas party where he overheard you would be bringing someone along, and the second was this past weekend. If he were to be honest and tell you that he hasn’t been sexually attracted to anyone since he met you, you would run off on him and he doesn’t want that. He has to act like a normal man at his age who goes on casual dates and doesn’t spend all his time finding out every little thing he can about you.

Now you’re curious about who he was with and he picks up on a hint of jealousy in your tone even if you can’t so he definitely thinks you feel something for him too.

“I was distracted,” Taehyung answered honestly, thinking back to when he saw the man you were with that night checking out the waitress when you weren’t looking. It had taken everything in him not to go over there and save you from that guy who couldn’t even stop his eyes wandering elsewhere when you were sitting right in front of him. Didn’t the guy know that there are others willing to do absolutely anything to be there with you?

You didn’t say anything for a long moment, both just silently staring into each other's eyes trying to decipher your minds. Taehyung isn’t actually sure how you feel about him but he knows there has to be some sort of attraction you feel for him or else you wouldn’t be so curious, right? He knows that if he asked you out for drinks right now you’ll probably say yes, but he doesn’t want to rush things.

He doesn’t want just one night of yours, he wants them all, so he has to be patient and see how long this can go before you’re equally as obsessed with him. He doesn’t want to scare you off after all.

Just before you could respond your department head came out of her office, already calling you over to discuss the plan for today. Taehyung waved you off knowing he would find an excuse to look for you later on.

You’ve never struggled much when it came to having a relationship. You’re not really ever looking for anything serious and the guys who do approach you never interest you enough to change your mind. Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t date. You’ll go on a date here and there but only if you’re interested in the guy and more often than not, you’re not interested. You especially hate it when a guy you work with tries to ask you out, just like Minho is doing right now.

Out of everyone in the office he annoys you the most. He’s still in his ‘college frat boy’ mindset that just pisses you off to the point where even looking at him has you bothered. You don’t know how you could possibly look more uninterested than you already do but this guy just doesn’t get that you don’t like talking to him. He’s had you cornered in the copy room for the past five minutes telling you all about the tickets he got to a musical theater that he doesn’t need anymore.

You’re sure this is his way of trying to invite you—well no, trying to get you to invite him. He’s giving you both because apparently he doesn’t need them anymore and doesn’t know what to do with them. You looked at him unamused as he put them down on your open hand and you forced yourself to smile, “Are you sure you don’t want them?”

“I’m sure,” Minho said with a little smirk as he looked around the room. Just as you did too, a familiar face walked in and you were far from surprised to see who it might be. Before you could offer a hello, Minho drew your attention back to him, “Plus, you might have better luck finding someone to go with you. You’re all I can ever think about, at least.”

Taehyung didn’t glance your way but his eyes focused in on Minho where it looked like he was holding your hand still and that made the guy smirk even more. Minho looked back down at you, as Taehyung came over to use the printer, making you both move to the side.

“So do you want to go tog—?” Minho asked as Taehyung slammed the paper tray in the slot loudly making you both look at him.

Minho rolled his eyes as he turned back to you to try again, “I was just thinking that you mig—“

His words were cut off by the excessive beeping of the printer as Taehyung typed in the settings he wanted. He looked over with a feigned innocent smile clearly amused with himself as he said, “Sorry, am I interrupting?”

You looked at Taehyung making his eyes meet yours and for a moment you could see mischief in them. You both knew what Minho was about to say but he beat you to it and interrupted you. You smiled as if understanding the way he was trying to understand you.

You turned to Minho,“Thanks for the tickets but I should get back to work before anyone starts looking for me. I’ll send you money for them, alright?”

“Wait Y/n—“ you left before he could finish and suddenly it was just Minho and Taehyung inside the copy room.

Taehyung couldn’t help but smile openly now as you made your exit despite knowing Minho was trying to ask you out. It had him giddy as he went to leave the room too before Minho called for him.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Taehyung,” Minho said as he walked toward him but Taehyung didn’t give a clue to what he was thinking, didn’t even bother responding to him.

“Everyone here knows you’ve got this little crush on Y/n,” Minho pointed out, “You’re so obvious with it and she doesn’t even give you the time of day so just quit cutting in and mind your business.”

Taehyung laughed dryly, “I was doing you a favor Minho, Y/n was going to reject you and then everyone in the office would know about it. Why don’t you focus more on doing your job than women out of your league?”

He made a move to leave but he turned back toward the room one last time and said, “And trust me, if I put effort into it, I wouldn’t be rejected.”

He left feeling annoyed at Minho’s audacity. Y/n would never go for a guy like him, he’s pathetic. He thinks he’s hot shit because he was popular growing up but this is the real adult world and in the adult world nobody cares about how many sports trophies he has locked in a shelf. You for sure wouldn’t care and yet Taehyung still felt himself annoyed at what he saw in the copy room.

What would have happened if he never showed up to save you? Would you have said yes to a date with him out of pity? You would be too nice to turn someone down, right?

He kept thinking about that all day, anxiously biting his nails and leg bouncing as he worked.

Would you have said yes to Minho?

Is he miscalculating? Is he assuming Minho wouldn’t be your type because he’s not him?

Is he that confident that you’ll come to him first?

Does he need to step it up?

“Taehyung?”

You stood in front of his cubicle, leaning against one side of the short wall looking down at him with soft eyes. He looked up from his computer where he had been stuck in a daze thinking about you and nearly stumbled over his single word, “Yes?”

You stepped into his space and leaned against one end of his desk making it seem like you two were the only ones around. He had to force his eyes not to trail over your exposed legs as he waited for you to say something.

It took you a second to speak up while you tried to figure out how to bring up earlier without letting him know that you think he’s got a thing for you. You smiled, “I know it probably wasn’t your intention but you really saved me earlier. I think Minho was trying to ask me out and I didn’t want to have to tell him no at the office.”

Taehyung felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders as you said that and he couldn’t help but smile too, “I thought that was the case, are you alright?”

“Me? Yeah, I mean he gave me these tickets so I feel bad not wanting to go with him but then I’d be lying to myself about wanting him there, y’know?” You asked and his leg bounced anxiously under his desk as you moved just a little closer.

“If I were to want to go with any man from work, I think I would prefer it to be you,” you finally said and his knee hit the underside of his desk as he nodded his head already agreeing before you could properly ask. This was exactly the way you imagined things to go. You knew that if you showed a little interest in him it wouldn’t take long for him to agree with whatever you propose. You spoke up again with a dragged out sigh, “But I’m sure you’ve got a lot on your plate and you just went on a date this last weekend so I bet you don—“

“Tell me the time and place, and I’ll be there,” he rushed out, making you smile.

“Alright, why don’t you write your number down and I’ll call you?”

Listen, you know you said there’s something off about Taehyung… and it’s not that you’ve just brushed it off as paranoia, but you really had no reason to be put off by him. He was an extremely attractive man who seemed to always be where you were and who would annoy Minho more for going on a date with you?

Taehyung would. You absolutely despised Minho and he hated Taehyung so it really worked out for you. Plus, if you want to know if he’s actually interested in you or not, asking him out was the way to go. You didn’t want to ask a friend to come with you and you for sure weren’t going to ask a guy who would just want sex so you chose Taehyung, and you’re happy you did.

Watching him meet you at the front of the theater looking like that, well it just made your night. Everyone’s eyes shifted toward him when he passed but his eyes were only on you. It was surprisingly boast worthy to know everyone can see he’s coming to you. You’re not sure how it will go but you’re bored and you want to see what would happen if you indulged in a man who seems mysterious to you and clearly attractive.

You’re not worried if the date goes bad, you’re not scared to completely ignore him at work if you needed to either. You just wanted to see if the night would be fun or not, of course you’re not aware that this has been all Taehyung has thought about since you asked him on Tuesday. If he has you now he’s not letting you go, especially not to ignore him.

“You look great,” Taehyung said softly as he placed a hand on your lower back giving you a side hug in greeting. He kept his hand at your waist as you leaned into him, “Sorry I’m late, have you been waiting long?”

Yes. “No,” he smiled, letting his hand linger on the silky fabric of your dress that hugged your pretty waist, “Shall we head in?”

Things were working in Taehyung’s favor and he didn’t even have to do much for this to happen. Sure, he’s spent months being the only man to not hit on you at the office so you could feel comfortable with him instead of another. And yes, he’s been finding every excuse possible to be around you so that you could think about him… and okay, he’s even followed you out of work before—but you asking him out was all you! He didn’t even have to say anything about your tickets, you chose him and he doesn’t care if it was for the right reasons or not.

“Is this weird for you?” You asked once you passed the ticket booth, “I know we work together and it was sudden so…”

“Not at all,” Taehyung said, taking you by surprise when he brushed a finger against your cheek to move a strand of hair behind your ear, “I’ve always said that I’d like to see you outside of work. If anything, I’m happy you asked me.”

“You make me feel the safest at work,” you said honestly as you took his hand in yours so that he wasn’t touching your face. You’re actually surprised by how touchy he’s being but you don’t know if you’re okay with it or not. You held his hand as you said, “And I don’t have many friends outside so I figured this is a perfect opportunity to get close to someone else.”

Taehyung laced his fingers with yours as he led you to the main theater, moving you to his side when a stranger passed, “I’d love to get close to you, if you let me.”

Taehyung was the perfect gentleman. He was respectful and sweet and just so gentle when he talked. Well, when he talked to you.

The musical was great honestly, you and him had light talk here and there and at one point his hand would brush over yours but you liked it. After the show you had both agreed on having Korean barbecue but you weren’t in the mood to wait in line at some fancy restaurant so you settled for one of those tent restaurants.

“Did you enjoy the show?” You asked him as you flipped your hair off your shoulders while thanking him for serving you more water.

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t paying that much attention to it,” he smiled childishly as looked at you, “Very hard to concentrate on anything else when you’re around.”

“Really?” You asked amused and flattered, “You seem to do fine at work.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” he said casually as he looked over at a server who was making his way over to switch out your grilling trays. He didn’t hide the way his gaze traveled from your pretty head down to your legs then back up to your face, a stupid smirk on his lips.

Taehyung hates that you’re not just attractive to him, but to anyone who sees you. That’s why he needs to hurry up and make you his already. If it was up to him he would never let you out of his sight for this reason specifically.

“Tae?” You called for him after noticing the way he began to zone out and like it was nothing, his eyes met yours with a smile. You smiled too, “I can’t get over how handsome you are.”

He laughed softly as a blush crept into his cheeks, “I’m not used to you saying these things to him, but I like it. . I’ve been thinking about how beautiful you looked all nigh—“

“Are you going to be wanting any dessert, miss?” The guy asked suddenly as he looked only at you, “On the house, for you that is.”

“Oh?” You asked with a hint of amusement, “Why’s that?”

“Uh, well, you’re the prettiest girl to come in tonight,” the guy said nervously all of a sudden, very aware that the guy in front of you might not be a friend like he first thought.

You smiled but it didn’t reach your eyes as you said, “I’m not sure my boyfriend appreciates you saying that in front of him. Do you, Taehyung?”

It took everything in him to keep his composure as he looked at that guy with something dark in his gaze. He couldn’t even fully process that you called him your boyfriend. All he could think about right now is what would happen if he grabbed the guy by the back of his neck and bashed his head into the burning grill over and over and over—

“I don’t appreciate it all,” he said calmly, “Why don’t you let someone else help our table next time?”

You looked at Taehyung, impressed by the way he spoke so calmly yet you can see something in his eyes that wasn’t there when he looked at you. It excited you.

Once the server left, muttering something under his breath that had Taehyung staring after him like he was ready to confront him again, you had to say something.

“Sorry for calling you my boyfriend. I just figured that’s how the guy would stop,” you told him feeling a little embarrassed now that it was just you two. You can talk to someone bluntly but you don’t feel bold right now. Right now you’re a little nervous because you called him that not knowing how he would react.

Taehyung was flooding with warmth as he brought his glass of water to his lips, trying to hide his loving smile, “Don’t worry about it. I didn’t mind.”

He could be your boyfriend, he’s always known that but to hear you call him that in front of someone? Now that just makes him proud, the only thing that sucks is that he can’t fully appreciate your words.

You deserve all his attention but he’s so focused on the server not far behind him talking with another that he doesn’t know how to fill the silence that suddenly surrounded you two.

‘Aren’t you off soon?’

‘Yeah, in about thirty, what about you?’

‘I’ve got an hour to go. Do you wanna cruise around later?’

‘Yeah, I just got a new set of tires and rims that I need to show off.’

“I’ll be back, I’m going to wash my hands,” you said suddenly and Taehyung nodded telling you he’ll keep your purse safe. Ugh, he needs to pay attention to you and you alone but he just can’t stop thinking about what happened. It makes him think about how long you’ll be gone and how he’ll handle himself till then. You left to the restroom but because this was a tent restaurant you had to go inside another building for that. Taehyung acted before he could think and reached for the grilling fork that sat on the table, easily sliding it into the sleeve of his coat while coming up with something.

His mind was whirring with possibilities of how this could go while also counting how long it takes you to come back, acting like nothing was wrong. He continued to grill food till you returned and he smiled, “My turn.”

You let him go off to the restroom as you sat alone picking up your phone to see your texts. There were a few from your friends asking about how it’s going or sending you something stupid.

You’re actually very surprised that this… date[?] is going so well. It does feel a little stiff like you’re both still being friendly coworkers but you think it’s because Taehyung is holding himself back. You’ve gotten a couple blushes and smiles but he’s still very distant. He’s giving you compliments and he’s listening to everything you have to say but he’s not really talking about himself.

It’s like you still couldn’t tell what kind of guy he is.

Taehyung was moving quickly. The employee parking lot was small and dimly lit so it was hard to see anyone at first but he just kept repeating the same thing over and over again.

New tires. New rims.

New tires. New rims.

New tires. New ri—

He came to a halt as he looked at the black Nissan Altima with brand new shiny rims and tires. He didn’t even hesitate for a single moment in case the car belonged to anyone other than the server who tried hitting on you. The grilling fork slipped out of his sleeve swiftly and before he knew it, all four tires had matching puncture marks.

Still feeling a little upset he dragged the sharp end of the fork along one side of the rim, scratching it repeatedly and mumbling words of hatred.

Once Taehyung decided it was enough he stood straight, looked around and combed his hair back into place, taking a deep breath.

“That was quick,” you said as he sat down in front of you again. He smiled, “Was it?”

“Are you ready to go?” He asked as a different server brought the bill. You nodded your head reaching for your bag to get your wallet when Taehyung spoke up again, “I’ll pay.”

“No, we can split,” you offered, still trying to take your money out.

“Y/n,” his voice was calm as he made you look at him and with hazy eyes he said, “I would like to pay. Will you let me pay?”

You opened your mouth to argue but Taehyung slid the check back to the server who had returned just in time. You released a small sigh standing up as Taehyung helped you slip your coat back on your shoulders, “Next time I’ll pay.”

He couldn’t contain his smile as he said, “We’ll talk about it then, alright?”

You’re not sure if it was the alcohol or the tenderness of his voice but you shined childishly, “Taehyung, I’ll feel bad.”

“Don’t,” he said, leading you out and thanking the servers as if he didn’t destroy their tires or toss the fork in the back dumpster. Nobody should go looking for them anyway. By the time the guy notices his tires are flat he’ll already be gone, Taehyung would like it if they completely give out on the road and cause him to crash but that’s just wishful thinking. He’s just a little too happy right now.

His night was great, he felt like he couldn’t stop his heart from racing the entire time. He loved your dress, your hair, the soft perfume you wore, the way you kept eye contact with him, laughed at his words… he could go on. He’ll remember this night for the rest of your lives together. He wasn’t going to let that little hiccup ruin it for him.

It’s just that Taehyung couldn’t just sit around and let a man try and hit on you while he’s right there. It only makes his mind stray to what already happens when he’s not around and he sees red. The guy is lucky that he didn’t have time to do much else than slash his tires. He wanted to be quick so he could return to you.

Now he’s standing in front of your place debating on what to do. You were standing in front of him looking so pretty waiting like you were expecting a kiss.

“Well, the night was fun,” you said shyly. You can’t tell what it is about his gaze that intimidates you but you know that it makes you curious also. You want to know what’s behind this distant exterior because he doesn’t appear all that he seems. You wanted to kiss him but this time you really do think it’s the alcohol. Usually you’ll remind yourself that you don’t seriously date coworkers and that this should be ended cordially.

Taehyung took a hesitant step forward, closing the gap between you, his eyes kept flickering to your lips, “Is it weird that I don’t want to go home yet?”

You were standing close now and you had to look up to meet his gaze only it brought your faces closer together, and this time it was him who made the first move. A gentle hand touched the curve of your jaw tilting your face up to look at him, he whispered softly, “Can I kiss you?”

You gave him a brief nod of your head and met his efforts halfway, feeling your lips brush against each other’s before he pressed them together firmly. The hand on your face grew more firm as if you would pull away any second but you were enjoying it too much.

As your hand curled around the back of his neck keeping him from moving back, Taehyung released a low groan into your mouth taking the opportunity to bring a hand down to your lower back wishing that you wore something other than a dress. He can’t feel your skin on his fingertips, only the silky fabric that got in his way. Your tongues met in a languid movement as his standing frame almost curved over yours, using rough hands to keep you against him while deepening the kiss.

“Taehyung,” your words came out breathless as you pulled away just a little, feeling him chase after your lips to keep the kiss going. You kissed back eagerly forgetting all about how you couldn’t breathe and there was a growing itch bubbling up inside your center that needed more. You tilted your head back as Taehyung kissed down the corner of your mouth toward your jaw, licking along your neck to your collarbone making your lips part in a silent moan. You brushed your fingers through his hair, licking your lips as you said, “Let’s go inside.”

As much as you loved how hungry he seemed to be for your kisses, it was very hard to ignore the fact that you’re still outside. He’s very intimate with the way he is holding you right now and you rather have him go inside with you than stay out here. The second those words left your lips, Taehyung was pulling back shaking his head no, hands squeezing your sides, “No.”

“No?” You asked in confusion as he repeated it over and over again quietly yet clinging to you too. You moved your hands down to his shoulders for more support, “What? You don’t want to?”

“I do,” he whispered, “But not tonight?”

You took a huge step back feeling annoyed as you scoffed, “What are you ta—“

“It has to be perfect,” he said more to himself than to you, “It needs to be perfect.” It was sort of alarming how he suddenly shifted to this from how he was just seconds ago and it’s like you can’t even get through to him. He’s in his own mind and you don’t know what to do.

You reached down for his hand but he was pulling away fully, repeating himself, “Not tonight, Y/n. It’s going to be perfect, okay?”

Your brows scrunched together trying to understand what he was talking about. He took a quick step down the entrance before rushing back to you and kissing you one last time, “Can I call you?”

“Yes, bu—“ he cut you off with another kiss and you knew he didn’t want this to end either so why was he leaving? You couldn’t pull him back in time as he drew back, repeating over and over about how it needed to be perfect before leaving you for the night.

“Wait, so he kissed you Goodnight and then left? I don’t see the problem,” your friend Jimin said through the phone as you used your badge to let yourself through the entrance of the publishing company you worked for. It’s the first time you’ve been able to talk to him in days so you answered when he called even if it was before work. You just had to fill him in on how the last few days have been.

You released a sigh trying to figure out how to word your thoughts, “Ugh the problem isn’t that he just left, it’s that… I don’t know, he started talking to himself about how it needed to be perfect.”

“What?” Jimin asked with furrowed brows as he got into his car on his end of the phone, “Sex?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” You told him honestly. He’s been a very close friend of yours for a few years now and you’re very comfortable talking to him about whatever is going on in your life.

“And this is the first date?” He asked, still trying to understand what you were telling him.

You bit your lip nervously trying to figure out what happened on Saturday, “I guess, I mean, I don’t know if it counts because it was so last minute and I’m the one who asked him out of the blue but…”

“But he’s the guy you’ve been telling me about, right? The one who creeps you out a little?” Jimin asked bluntly that you felt a little embarrassed. It’s very hard to explain what you think about Taehyung. He’s attractive and a good guy but there’s just something in the back of your mind that makes you think there’s something off about him.

“Yes, but look, he doesn’t creep me out like I’m scared of him or anything… he’s just intense,” you told him with a shrug of your shoulders that he couldn’t see.

Jimin laughed, “Okay so what now? Are you just not going to see where it goes with him? How’d the weekend go?”

“Well good, we talked a lot and he was really sweet but I don’t know… I mean we work together,” you whispered the last part as you made your way toward the elevator.

“That didn’t stop you from inviting him out and you did want to sleep with him, right?” Jimin asked making you sigh once more as you reached for the button to call for the elevator.

It dinged just as Jimin started talking again, “Yeah but, I was a little drunk, I mean that doesn’t change that I was ready to sleep with him but after thinking it over I really don’t want to be one of those people who fucks around with someone they work with and ruins the environment, y’know?”

Jimin was in his car now trying to connect to his Bluetooth, “So what are you going to do? Tell him that you’re better off as friends?”

You stepped into the elevator, “Yeah, I think I should—“

“Y/n?”

“Taehyung,” your eyes opened in surprise as you watched him step into the elevator with you. He seemed so calm and neutral as he smiled at you warmly.

“Jimin, I’ve gotta go, talk to you later?” You said through the phone and hung up on your friend. Taehyung’s eyes shifted down to it as it lay limply in your hand already letting his mind conjure up who this Jimin person is. He’s spent a fair share of time stalking your socials to know which friends are who and if it’s who he thinks it is, then it’s a man and he doesn’t like the idea that you spoke to another man first thing in the morning instead of him.

Once the elevator shut you two into its privacy, Taehyung didn’t hesitate to press you into the wall with a mouth watering kiss. You immediately clung to him, hands wrapping in his hair keeping him close as he invaded your mouth with his. His hands were so gentle on your skin as he whispered, “I missed you so much.”

You went to the theater together on Saturday so really the only day you didn’t see him was yesterday and even then you talked a lot throughout the day so for him to suddenly say how much he missed you… it’s definitely setting off warning bells.

You you ignored them, smiling into the kiss as you cupped his jaw trying to move him back as you absentmindedly said, “Missed you too.”

“Did you?” He asked seriously now as if the answer would be on your face but in reality you just said it because he did. You continue to say things that will make him think more and more about how you feel and it’s all very confusing. You looked at him searching his face for answers before nodding your head, “Yeah?”

Honestly, you were a little mad at yourself. You know there’s something about Taehyung that you don’t get and you should be a little worried by his behavior. The problem is that you keep saying you’ll stop enabling him by continuing to lead him on while telling your friend you don’t want him. It hasn’t stopped you from talking to him on the phone or kissing him and you just know you should put a stop to it.

“Good,” he whispered before kissing you again and you’re completely ignoring your brain to kiss him. Anxiety grew inside you at the thought of getting caught and just before the elevator came to a stop once more, you lightly pushed him away hurriedly.

Taehyung stood at the opposite end of the elevator biting back a smirk as a group of people flooded the elevator greeting you both. You distracted yourself with your phone in hopes of not drawing attention to the way Taehyung kept his gaze on you and you alone.

jimin: come over later

jimin: i wanna hear about it

jimin: ooo and drink

jimin: movie too?

You barely had a second to react as a tall frame crowded behind you and you jumped to the side slightly startled. Taehyung stood behind you looking at you curiously, “Who’s Jimin?”

“Um,” the elevator dinged on your floor and you stepped out with him on your side, “He’s a good friend of mine, he came with me to the Christmas party, you might remember him?”

Oh. The guy from the Christmas party.

He didn’t say anything, looking at you deeply as he tried to smile and nodded his head. He turned forward and pretended like he wasn’t going absolutely fucking insane thinking about those texts he just read. Why would another guy want you to come over so late? Didn’t you tell him that you’re seeing someone? Hell, you kissed him just as eagerly a few minutes ago so why the fuck is another guy…

“Shit, I have a meeting I have to start getting ready for,” you cursed as you checked the time on your phone, already picking up your pace.

“Lunch later?” He asked, watching you leave. You nodded your head waving goodbye to him quickly as if trying to brush him to the side and he didn’t like that at all.

He’s starting to feel like you’re blowing him off. All day yesterday you were ‘busy’ with work but then he would see you around the office talking happily to everyone but him. He couldn’t understand why. Was it because of the other night? He thought it had gone perfectly. Being with you genuinely makes him happy and on Saturday who couldn’t stop smiling. He knows there’s so much that he still needs to learn about you but he didn’t expect you to be such a flirt with other men.

Today it’s Minho again.

He hogged all your attention at the meeting today and you just let him. You sat there and politely talked to him like Taehyung wasn’t in the same damn room. It pissed him off to think that you weren’t as committed as he was. Would you let any man take your attention away from him and if so what should Taehyung do about it?

Once the meeting came to an end, Taehyung rushed out so he wouldn’t have to see another second of you two together. He needed time to cool off first before he acted negatively toward you. He just doesn’t get you. What’s the point in asking him out if you were just going to ignore him?

Does he do the same? Should he treat you the way you’ve been treating him just so you could see how he’s feeling? He doesn’t want to hurt you but you’re hurting him and you don’t even care.

You’ll never learn unless you go through what he’s going through right now and that’s the only reason why he agreed on getting lunch with a colleague of his. Sora was just a girl on his team who he believes has a thing for him. She’s always finding an excuse to stop by his desk whether it be to ask something stupid or just see how his day is going. This morning she asked for his help to fix something on her web design and in turn she said she would pay him back by getting him lunch.

Now, Taehyung’s original plan was to find you so the two of you could get lunch together but considering the fact that you’ve been cozy with Minho he doesn’t want to see you right now. He won’t respond to you right if he does, and maybe if you see him with Sora you’ll open your damn eyes and see how you’re acting.

The thing is, he can’t pretend to be interested in whatever Sora was saying to him. He’s barely bothering with responses and even then they’re mostly just ‘ah’s ‘oh’s and ‘mm’s. Nothing she says interests him like you. You’ve just got this way of speaking that captivates him every single time and with Sora it’s just not the same.

If he pretends you were her then he can put more effort into it but she’s not you and you’re not with him.

“Thanks for buying lunch, I’ll have to pay you back some time,” Taehyung said with a forced smile as they headed back to the elevator from the main floor. He’s been trying to feed Sora comments here and there so she would at least think he’s fond of her. The problem is that they’re all empty words that he doesn’t plan on holding up.

“Well maybe tomorrow you can buy me lunch and we’ll call it even,” Sora said with a blushing smile that made Taehyung want to throw up. He forced himself to smile and nodded his head, “I’ll have to see my schedule.”

Just as the doors were about to shut a manicured hand stuck forward to stop it and he felt his heart race. He immediately pushed for the doors to open back up and you thanked him before noticing it was even Taehyung. He smiled sweetly, “Hi.”

“Hi,” you said back as you looked between him and Sora who had matching boxes for leftovers from a restaurant. Sora smiled too, “Hey Y/n, did you just get back from lunch?”

“No, I actually had a meeting that went over time so I haven’t eaten yet,” you told her as you tucked yourself into the back corner, “What about you?”

“Oh! Yeah, Taehyung and I just tried this café a couple blocks down. I recommend trying it, it’s really good,” Sora said and Taehyung would have hugged her with the way your eyes narrowed in confusion. He studied your expression as you looked over at him but he kept his gaze on the changing floor numbers.

He wants to kiss you and hold you and tell you that it meant absolutely nothing to him but he was still upset. He couldn’t just let you think that talking to other guys who were clearly interested in you was okay. It’s just… you haven’t eaten and he wants to be mad but he wants to make sure you’re doing alright because he knows how busy you are and now he’s thinking he’s made a mistake in trying to upset you.

No.

No.

No.

Taehyung, you need to put your foot down. Y/n is a big girl, and you can’t let her walk all over you and everything you’ve done—everything you’ll do.

“Really? Did you like it too, Taehyung?” You asked putting a territorial hand on his bicep that had him leaning into your touch more. He looked into your eyes and he couldn’t quite read your expression yet, “It was alright.”

You weren’t jealous, alright. You don’t tend to be jealous because then that means you envy someone else and there’s no one worth envying but… but you do get possessive. Very, extremely possessive that you work very hard to hide that but he’s confusing you a little. You went out this past weekend and he kisses you like you’re all he wants, he follows you around the office and calls you all the time only for him to have lunch with another woman?

It’s no secret that Taehyung is handsome, everyone in the office thinks so and they all are very obvious with their interest in him yet he’s expressed to you that he wants you. Sure, it creeps you out just a tad bit how serious he is about it but why would he go get lunch with someone else while you’ve been stuck in meetings all morning? Now that just pisses you off.

Before he could give you an answer, the elevator dinged and the doors were opening. Sora made a move to leave and looked back at him expectantly but his eyes were on you. You wouldn’t even look at him and your expression was clear as day and it showed how unhappy you were right now. When it was obvious that neither of you were getting off yet she left with a mumbled goodbye and the doors closed.

Taehyung pushed down on a button and as you looked at it you noticed it was for the lobby, “What are you doing?”

“You haven’t eaten so let’s go to the cafeteria and get you food,” he said coming over to you. He was content now, all he needed was to see that you’ll get upset too if he talks with another woman and then you’ll see that he has a right to get upset with you.

Once he gets it through your head then he’ll be able to focus on Minho and how to show him that you’re Taehyung’s.

“I can go alone, you just had lunch with Sora,” you told him, moving away from him and he did not like that at all.

“I’m worried about you,” he said honestly as he tried to close the space but you still wouldn’t even look at him. Why were you so damn annoyed that a man you just started getting close to had lunch with someone else?

“So what made you want to have lunch with Sora?” You asked, completely ignoring what he said because for some reason you were very bothered.

Isn’t he supposed to be, like, obsessed with you or something?

Taehyung scoffed as he smiled, “Is that really bothering you right now?”

You didn’t say anything making him continue, “I wanted to have lunch with you but you seemed busy all day talking to Minho and I didn’t want to wait around for you to pay attention to me.”

“What? Minho? I was in meetings and he was in them too, I had no contr—“

“I don’t like you talking to him,” Taehyung spoke firmly that you were caught off guard, and this time he wasn’t going to wait for you to look at him. He had this dark look in his eyes that had you taking a hesitant step back but it was no use because he just followed, “It really upsets me, Y/n. Do you really want to upset me?”

“Taehyung…”

The doors opened once more as the elevator got flooded with people you and Taehyung left.

“We work together, I can’t just ignore him,” you finally said calmly despite everything inside you telling you that the way he sounded right now was unreasonable. You didn’t even like Minho.

He joined you in the cafeteria where they served meals cooked by chefs, “I know that but you know that he has a thing for you so it makes me uncomfortable.”

You stopped turning to look at him, “Taehyung… nothing is ever going to happen between him and I. I don’t date coworkers.”

You both were very aware of what you just said and what it could possibly mean with Taehyung. It’s true, it’s what you’ve wanted to say since he creeped you out the first night you kissed. It’s what you should have said first, or better yet, ignored Taehyung’s obsessive behavior in the first place.

At the same time though, you know you aren’t being fully honest. If Taehyung were to ask… well, you could see yourself with him again. He worried you but the way he’s so obviously interested in you and only doing things to get a side out of you, you kind of like that. It makes you realize that he’s constantly thinking about you in some way so you really only said it to see how he’ll react.

God, you can’t even believe yourself.

“What does that mean?” Taehyung asked, trying so hard to seem calm but you can practically hear his façade cracking that it made you want to keep pushing.

You weren’t even worried about how you two looked to others and you moved closer to say to him, “I’m just thinking that maybe it’s not a good idea to get involved with someone I work with. It’ll cause problems.”

Taehyung wasn’t even thinking about Minho anymore, he was trying to understand and think quickly on what to do.

“If you want me to quit so we can be together…” he said staring at the floor deep in thought, he’s already trying to think of a plan, “I can, I just worry that you’ll leave me if someone new comes in.”

“What? Taehy—I—why would I want you to quit?” You rushed out as you tried to walk again so the two of you weren’t just standing in the middle and wasting time.

Taehyung was following you a couple steps behind.

He can work it out. He just has to get rid of Minho before he does what you want. If you want him to quit he can easily apply somewhere else… but only after he figures out what to do about Minho.

“It’s what you’re saying, Y/n. You don’t date coworkers,” Taehyung said seriously, you had to stop and try to understand what the hell was going on now. Out of habit, you looked down at your watch—you were wasting time talking about this.

You looked around cautiously before moving closer. He looked down at you with a dead set look in his eyes. You released a soft sigh, “I’ve got to go. Can we talk about this later?”

Taehyung already felt annoyed but now you’re trying to brush him off when he’s trying to have a serious conversation with you about the future of your relationship and that really pissed him off. Before he could say anything, you quickly and gently asked, “Can I call you later?”

You had a soft look in your eyes that immediately made his walls crumble and it had him asking, “Will you, actually?”

You nodded and he smiled, resisting the strong urge to give you a goodbye kiss.

When you turned your back to him and left, his smile fell. You’ll be busy and try and get back to him later so he has to think right now.

How does he fix his Minho problem?

By the time Taehyung was ready to head home, it was late. He got busy with work because he had been too focused on you to be productive and he had a lot to do before he could leave.

It sort of worked out though—and for two reasons.

Reason one, it gave him something to talk about when you called, even if he lies just a little.

“At least you’re home now, right?” You asked through your side of the phone as you tried to think of what to make yourself for dinner.

Taehyung bit his lip as he looked at reason number two.

Right there in the break room was a shiny laptop that looked very familiar to him. He honestly couldn’t believe his luck either but he also knew what a fucking idiot Minho was.

Leave it to him to leave his laptop open and unlocked. It was just too easy.

“Yes, I’m trying to think about what to make for dinner,” Taehyung said as he checked the room for anything but there wasn’t a camera in here for privacy reasons, “Any ideas?”

You smacked your lips with a dramatic sigh, “Sadly no. I’m not that good of a cook to give you ideas.”

That made him smile because he’s not surprised nor bothered by it. He’ll happily do everything for you if you let him and he can start with cooking.

Taehyung sat in front of the laptop trying to read what was pulled up on a tab. It looked like a power point of some sort and the date for it was tomorrow. His fingers began to work before he could even think about it.

“How about you come over this weekend and I’ll make us something nice?” Taehyung asked casually as he put his little scheme in motion. If this doesn’t get rid of Minho he doesn’t know what will.

You took a deep breath, “Taehyung what I said earl—…”

“I get it, Y/n, but you can’t tell me you don’t feel anything for me,” Taehyung said, his face lighting up with the laptop screen that reflected off his irises, “Let’s just… you know take it slowly and see where it goes.”

“This weekend?” You bit your lip in thought and he smiled as he finished up and tried to wipe away any evidence that he touched it. He doesn’t want to be found out after all.

“Yeah,” He said as he saved his work and closed the laptop, “I’ll give you time to think about it, you don’t have to give me an answer right now, alright?”

“Alright,” you finally said and Taehyung did feel a little annoyed. Why was this a hard decision for you?

Look at what he’s doing just so you aren’t uncomfortable at work anymore.

Look at who he’s getting rid of for you.

He brought the laptop back to Minho’s desk and put it away, knowing Minho he wouldn’t have any clue where he left it last and this would look the most inconspicuous.

“So…” Taehyung trailed off as he left like it was nothing, “I know you were telling me about the project you’re working on but I want to know something not work related.”

“Oh God, what do you want to know?” You asked as you finished up what you were doing in your kitchen.

“Everything about you,” Taehyung said, finally going home feeling very accomplished.

You didn’t usually get to have late mornings so when you did, you really treasured them. You always feel so much more refreshed than when you get to work early in the morning, still half asleep. Usually your late morning days went by so fast but today was strange since the get go.

For one, there was a single cop car outside your building today that was parked out front like it was the most normal thing ever.

Second, there were groups of people huddling and gossiping on your floor that you knew something was up.

You walked over to your closest acquaintance, Yuna, “What’s going on?”

Yuna’s eyes shifted behind you instead of to you and it didn’t take much for you to know Taehyung has found you already. Yuna looked away blushing [this was the first time he’s ever been so close], “Um… someone was in a meeting and there was something on his laptop.”

Your brows furrowed as you looked around, “And there’s a cop here because of it?”

“It’s bad,” Yuna whispered, wincing as if she can picture what was found on the laptop. You looked at Taehyung who stared off looking indifferent but you can practically see his little smile.

You pushed your suspicions to the side as you tried to get a better look but you didn’t need to put much effort into it. Minho came out of your boss’s office with a cop at his side and a box of all his office belongings. Whispers surrounded him and his eyes met yours.

You took a step forward to see if what was happening was real when a strong hand tugged at the back of your arm keeping you in place. You glared at Taehyung who continued to act completely unbothered by what was going on.

The boss sent everyone one look to have them all scrambling to get to work but you paid your attention to Taehyung only.

“Did you do this?”

“Do what?” Taehyung asked as he walked with you, “Also how’s your morning going? You just got here, right? Lucky you.”

“Taehyung if you’re not honest with me right now then I’m calling it off right here, right now,” you said seriously as he dragged you into the break room where no one was.

His jaw clenched, “What are you trying to accuse me of right now?”

“Minho.”

“What about him?” Taehyung asked, “And why are you willing to throw us away over it? When do you I would’ve even had time to do anything? You and I talked on the phone all evening.”

He can’t believe you’ll even say that to him when he’s gotten rid of your problem for you in the nicest way he could. Sure, he had to dig up some dirty stuff to get Minho out but he left [and with a police escort]! Shouldn’t you be thrilled?

You scoffed, not buying what he was saying at all. You just had this feeling in your gut that he did something, “Did you have anything to do with what happened with Minho right now. And be honest or I swear I won’t talk to you again.”

Taehyung didn’t say anything for a long moment trying to read your bluff. He wanted to keep denying it but what if you meant what you said? What if you’ll really ignore him from now on?

With a cold expression that sent shivers down your spine he honestly said, “I told you I didn’t like you talking to him.”

You gasped in confusion, “What do—How—So what? You’re getting him fired because of it?”

“I would never,” Taehyung went back to lying, “I just found some stuff in his search history that needed to be seen. I didn’t know he’d get fired over it.”

You were completely speechless and confused. God, you need to get away from this man.

But.

But…you just can’t bring yourself to speak up and you wish it was because you were scared to but it wasn’t. You just didn’t want to, so instead you just shook your head, “For me?”

“Yes,” he said quietly, making sure no one was around, “He bothered us both, Y/n. Now you don’t have to worry about him.”

You didn’t say anything making him sigh, “Don’t be mad, please?”

You should get away.

You shouldn’t be thinking about how strangely endearing and caring he was for you. This is sick… but…

“I’m not,” you said, “I’m just… I don’t know.”

Taehyung laughed softly using your confusion and did you actually Ed mind to get you to move on from it, “Let’s get back to work, alright?”

You were a little nervous to go over to Taehyung’s place the next weekend, but not for the right reasons. You should be worried about your safety and his erratic behavior but you’re not. You’re more worried on how the night will go with him and what this means for you both.

You didn’t even have to knock for Taehyung to know you were here. The door opened before you could ring the bell and he stood there looking perfect.

Taehyung’s been preparing all day for this. He’s made sure everything looked absolutely perfect for you and he looked through your Instagram food posts a million times to make your favorite things. He’s cleaned up the place and changed his bed sheets because tonight’s the night.

Everything he’s done has led up to tonight and everything he’s done for you was all worth it because look at where you are now. You’re standing pretty in his doorway looking at him with awe that had him melting inside. As he let you in, he wrapped his arms around your waist pulling you close and leaned down to kiss your cheek. He couldn’t stay still watching you look around and take his place in.

He got rid of a lot of stuff today in case you were already trying to see where your stuff could go when you move in.

“Wow,” you said looking around, “You’ve got a nice place.”

Taehyung left for the kitchen where he served you both a glass of wine and brought it over to you. You thanked him and continued to snoop while he watched you from afar.

“Dinner’s ready for whenever you’re hungry,” Taehyung said pointing to the dining table and you went to sit. He didn’t sit across from you but he sat on the side closest to you on the square table. He began to serve your plate as you set your phone facing down on the table and got yourself situated.

“Thanks for having me over,” you told him honestly as you looked at him with soft eyes, “I know it’s been a little confusing these last few days.”

“Don’t even worry about that, baby,” Taehyung said, trying his hardest to avoid talking about whatever problems happened, “I’m just happy I have you here with me.”

“So tell me,” you rested your chin in the palm of your hand as you looked at him. You realized that if you’re actually falling for Taehyung despite everything then you have to try and really understand him.

“Hm?” He waited patiently to hear what you had to say. He kept your plate at his side as he went ahead and picked up the silverware. He cut into some of the food before raising his hand toward you.

At first you just stared at it trying to get what he was doing and finally you let your lips part enough for him to feed you. He was being so gentle and just doing everything for you. That’s why he sat so close.

“What is it about me that you like?” You asked once you finished what was in your mouth. Taehyung thought for a second as he ate, a smile appearing on his face looking down at his plate.

“It’s hard to explain,” Taehyung said honestly, “I was immediately attracted to you the first time we met.”

You looked at him curiously and to be honest you don’t remember how you met. He waited to see if you would say anything but when you didn’t he kept going, “It was in the elevator. You were running late for something and we bumped into each other. All of your papers fell to the floor in front of me and I don’t know… I was in a bad mood that day but you were so cute and clumsy and made me smile which is very hard to do when I’m not in the mood.”

You laughed softly because in truth you barely remember but you do remember seeing him around and thinking about how hot he was. It wasn’t until he started making himself known to you that you started realizing how much he must like you.

“I wanted to ask you out then but I figured I had to try and be acquaintances first,” Taehyung said as he continued to feed you by hand, “But then I’d see others go to you and try to flirt and… I realized I was taking too long to speak up. It’s like suddenly you were all I could think about and it was driving me crazy because I wasn’t making a move, I was wasting time.”

“You were,” you told him, “So I had to ask you out first.”

Taehyung smiled, feeling happy beyond belief, “I know, I felt really great that whole weekend. It was like… I don’t know, it was nice to know you thought about me like that too.”

After dinner the two of you sat in Taehyung’s living room talking and drinking wine. At one point he closed the space between you until your legs were on his lap and his hand was caressing your bare thigh. Your arm was on his shoulder for support and he was telling you about how he grew up.

He seemed completely normal to you and it made you wonder if everything you were suspicious about was just in your head.

You were running your fingers through his hair lovingly as you said, “You’re not what I thought you’d be.”

“What did you think I’d be?” Taehyung asked, completely relishing the way you touched him that he leaned into you even more until your faces nearly brushed against each other.

You released a low sigh, “I don’t know. I guess I didn’t realize how serious you were about me. I always had a feeling bu—“

“Y/n,” his voice dropped as he looked at you. There was a dark look in his eyes that wasn’t there moments ago, “Don’t ever think I’m not serious about you. You’re my everything.”

You went quiet as you looked back at him trying to read the expression behind his eyes. In a flash, the darkness disappeared and he was smiling adoringly at you. He knows you don’t feel the same yet but he also knows you will soon so he’s not worried about hearing you tell him anything back.

“Where’s your bathroom?” You asked him, trying to find a little bit of space to think. He pointed to the hall and let you get off of him.

The night was going perfect and he can just tell you’re falling for him almost as hard as he’s fallen for you. He is in love with you and soon you’ll be in love with him too, he’ll make sure of it.

Taehyung stayed on the couch trying to calm his own nerves but he had a huge smile on his face. Everything has worked out so perfectly. All his preparations, all his scheming and calculations has led up to this and now you’re in his bathroom freshening. You’re in his home, his home.

If this all works the way he plans it to then it’ll be your home soon too. He doesn’t mind being the only provider, you can just stay here and he’ll be the one going to work. He can’t risk running into more men like the server and Minho. He can’t get caught and he’s already been too impulsive with the way he’s handled things.

He’ll sit you down and have a conversation with you because he doesn’t appreciate when anyone else tries to come between you two and you’re a hot topic at work. It’s no surprise of course considering you attracted Taehyung instantly and for a reason too. You’re just so beautiful to him, sure sometimes he can just tell you’re annoyed or upset but even then you make him giddy.

He’ll talk to you about the time you basically tried breaking up with him when you realized he’s the one who exposed Minho, but he won’t get mad, he swears. He’ll just tell you that he didn’t appreciate the way you attacked him for something he did for you. Thankfully you realized his intention and let the topic go but he just wants to make it clear that you won’t act that way with him again.

Taehyung checked the time on his watch one last time as he waited anxiously for your return. He was looking around his own apartment trying to find something to distract himself with when something suddenly caught his attention.

It wasn’t hard to draw him in considering the screen was lit up on your phone with a picture of a man displayed as someone tried calling you.

Jimin.

God, he couldn’t stand the guy.

He’s gotten rid of the server and Minho but he hasn’t had a chance to see Jimin other than the Christmas party.

Taehyung clicked for the call to end and right after text messages were flooding in.

jimin: how is it with the freak

jimin: lol pls tell me you’re alive

jimin: I don’t want to have to file a missing persons report

His head tilted to the side reading the three messages over and over and over again.

With a clenched jaw and bated breath he set the phone back down and sat back.

He’s a freak?

This Jimin guy thinks Taehyung will hurt you? He never will.

He. Never. Will.

So why does this man think that? He doesn’t even know him, what have you told him?

You came out with a smile on your face, you spent a lot of time just thinking and looking at yourself in the mirror. You’ve decided now that, yes, sometimes he does very questionable things but at the end of the day he hasn’t hurt you by any of it. He seems to genuinely have feelings for you and you’re developing strong ones for him too.

You really think you and Taehyung could work and he makes your heart race a little bit. Of course you don’t fully agree with what Taehyung did about Minho but surely it wasn’t entirely his fault. He said it himself, hw only brought forward Minho’s own dirt and made sure he got caught. Plus, going to the office has been so much easier without him there to sexualize you every chance he gets. Honestly, you should’ve thanked him for giving you those tickets because if he hadn’t then you would have never asked Taehyung to go with you out of spite.

When you found the living room empty you looked for Taehyung, finding him in the kitchen dumping the glasses of wine down the drain. He finally looked at you but there wasn’t that usual gentle smile on his face. He nodded toward the living room, “You got a call while you were gone.”

“Oh,” you went to get your phone which was exactly how you left it last and checked it out. Once you saw it was from Jimin you immediately felt yourself panic just slightly. You quickly texted Jimin to stop joking and put your phone back down and went to Taehyung.

“Are we done drinking for the night?” You asked because you could just feel that he wasn’t as happy as he was earlier. He didn’t give you a response as he walked around you to continue clean up the mess from your dinner.

You knew something was wrong when you saw him, he didn’t look as happy and now you know why. If he saw what Jimin sent you then you can see him being upset even if it’s just a joke. He seems to be very serious when it comes to you so he probably doesn’t appreciate you talking about him to Jimin as a joke either.

Shit.

You had to stop and think to try and figure out what to do. You don’t want him to be upset if you’re trying to see where things go with him. You’re not even sure if you can handle what kind of guy Taehyung is when he’s mad at you so you much rather not have to see that at all. You rather just make him forget whatever he saw and try to show him that you’re here for him, that’s what you need to do.

With your thoughts more organized, you stood taller and looked for him. He was once again in the kitchen with the sleeves of his button up shirt rolled up and his back to the countertop.

Taehyung saw you walking over to him but he couldn’t even bring himself to smile. He doesn’t like your friend, he wants Jimin gone. His hands were holding himself leaned up on the kitchen counter as you stood in front of him. His jaw was clenched with tension he felt in his muscles and not even your pretty, sparkly eyes could make him relax.

He was using a lot of strength to not take your phone and break it or better yet find Jimin and ask him what his problem was.

“Tae,” your hands went to the counter, almost touching his and essentially trapping him between them.

“What’s your friend talking about?” Taehyung asked suddenly and it caught you by surprise just a little. He’s usually blunt but he’s been so sweet all night and right now his voice was deeper than it had been.

“I don’t know,” you laughed nervously as you looked into his eyes, “He was just joking.”

The corner of his lips turned up in a scoff, “Don’t lie to me right now. You think I’m a freak?”

Your eyes widened just slightly, “What? N—no, Jimin’s just joking, he just says shit he thinks is fu—“

“Does he want you? Is that what’s going on?” Taehyung asked, clearly not hearing you out, “Do you want him?”

“Jimin and I are just frien—“

“I don’t want to hear his fucking name…” Taehyung dipped his head down, eyes on yours and your foreheads touching making it obvious that your attention had to be on him, “come out of your pretty mouth again.”

Taehyung wasn’t scaring you and that might be the most fucked up part of the night. For some reason you already had it in your head that he wouldn’t hurt you so you didn’t feel threatened at all. Jimin jokes around all the time but Taehyung doesn’t know him so he doesn’t get it. You’ve already grown a custom to his somewhat erratic behavior and it would be a waste to back out now, right?

If it’s going to work you need to give him signs too, right?

“Taehyung,” your voice was soft as you let a hand trail up toward the back of his neck which was dipped down to be closer to you. You tilted your head upward but still came up a little short of his lips, “I won’t say his name again.”

Right now he’s just upset, once he cools down you’re sure you can further explain your best friend’s behavior so that when the two do finally meet there’s no unresolved tension. You’re just trying to tell Taehyung what he wants to hear and how he wants it to happen. He wants you to admit what you feel without him forcing you to but the way he acts already gives you a push to open up to him.

It was all kind of a fucked up little game.

Taehyung looked encaptivated by your proximity but he still came off as unamused while looking at your soft lips that he wanted on his, “I don’t believe you.”

Your thumb softly brushes along the hair on his nape, “Will you believe it if I told you I want to be yours?”

His entire body seemed to go still, only his eyes switched back and forth trying to read the sincerity in your own. There’s a shift in the air as he realizes that what you’re saying is true and it had him acting before he could think.

You gasped in surprise as his hand tilted your jaw upward until your mouths crashed into each other with want. He was quickly forgetting about Jimin.

He dipped his head lower to deepen the kiss, his tongue swiping against your lips. You had to take a step back to keep yourself from stumbling but Taehyung just followed after you, finally pushing off the counter.

His hands were running down your sides wrinkling your dress in the process as he stopped on your ass. There was no denying the fact that you just told Taehyung what he’s wanted to hear for some time now. He was in a frenzy, feeling you up as you made out with tongue.

When it became too much for one breath you had to push away but you immediately became breathless once more when his kiss trailed down your neck to your jaw. Your hands began to claw at his shirt trying to feel more and more of him.

Taehyung pulled out of the kiss with a low groan as if doing that wasn’t in his agenda but he needed to breathe. He looked down at you with that familiar dark gaze of his and breathed heavily, “Bedroom?”

You let him drag you away, literally, his arms circled under your thighs and lifted you enough for your feet not to drag against the floor and carried you down the hall. Before you know it, Taehyung was setting you down on the silk sheets like you were the most fragile thing he’s ever come across. His body quickly pressed against yours and your hands immediately came around his face to pull him into another heated kiss.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he whispered against your skin as his hands roamed along your sides and his kisses ran down your collarbone to what was exposed cleavage to his hungry mouth. You sigh in content as he pulls at the top of your dress to lower it under your lacy bra that had him whining in his deep voice at the sight of your covered breasts. He continued to kiss between the valley of your breasts and you had to wiggle around to bring your hands up and push him back but he didn’t like that.

He stopped his hissing as he pulled up with a glare in his eyes but you just ran your fingers through his hair, “Do you believe me yet? That I wanna be yours?”

He laughed softly as he dipped down to kiss you one more time before finally got moving to sit back between your legs on his knees and watch you sit up, “You’ve been mine from the moment I saw you, baby.”

You went silent as you sat in front of him, not bothering to argue or confirm what he said. I stead you smiled, “Then will you let me show it?”

He moved off the bed to watch you more clearly and try and see if you were serious.

“Show me then,” Taehyung said lowly even as his fingers trembled with anticipation watching you move onto your knees and pull at the bottom of your dress before it went over your head and landed on the floor as you began to crawl over to the edge of the bed. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to stop himself from groaning at the sight. You looked everything like he imagined but better.

He watched your hands reach for the buttons of his shirt and he made absolutely no move to help you undress him, he focused on your lust filled gaze as you stared back at him instead of what you were doing.

Each button you undid of his shirt had you leaning closer to kiss down the expanse of his torso going lower and lower until you were at the final button just above his jeans. Taehyung let his head fall back when you kissed along his happy trail while your fingers began to tug at the hem of his pants.

You undid the button and pulled the zipper down before bringing them down enough to expose the waistband of his briefs. Taehyung loved every second of unbreakable eye contact you gave him as your hand ran down his navel to slip under the hem of his Calvin Klein’s.

He couldn’t hold back the low grunt that escaped his lips as your hand made their way to his naked member, palming him under the constricting layers he still wore. Your fingers wrapped around his hardening length giving him a cautious stroke. You kissed down his chest making him groan when he felt teeth nip at his skin playfully while your palm covered the top of his cock and smeared it with precum.

Taehyung ran his fingers through your hair as you slowly sank down to your knees and he licked his dry lips with want. If this was what it was like to be worshiped by you then he hopes he always gets to experience it. He’ll do the same every day to you if you let him.

He felt a shiver run down his spine when you finally tugged his jeans off along with his briefs as he kicked them off only leaving him in his open button up shirt. You sat pretty in front of him, a hand on his cock that felt heavy in your hold and as he combed your hair back so he could see your face better, you took the first taste.

Your tongue began at the base of his cock then licked all the way to his tip teasingly and Taehyung wasn’t embarrassed by the way his entire body seemed to react to the first wet glide. Both of his hands sunk into your hair to keep himself from doubling over and making you take more than you could. With a small tilt of your head you finally opened your lips enough for his tip to slip in. He couldn’t control the low groan he let out when you licked over his slit collecting the clear drops of precum.

You still had a hand around his waist, squeezing a little while you stroked his length with his cock head being sucked on. Little by little you began to sink more of his dick down your throat and it was creating a wet glide with spit. The hands in your hair were getting a bit more firm, keeping you in place but still allowing you to move.

Taehyung’s lips were parted with quiet moans slipping from them as he looked down at you with awe. He had to squeeze his eyes shut from the pleasure but it only intensified when all he could focus on were the lewd sounds your throat made as you bobbed your head along his cock.

“Oh, baby,” Taehyung couldn’t stop his body from folding over you as if he wanted to draw his hips away but he held your head in place.

He was so close, he’s been dreaming about this for days. There’s a reason why he didn’t want to do more the first night you went out and it’s because he wanted the moment to be right. It wasn’t right at the time, you weren’t sure of your feelings but now you are and bows the time he makes it official with you.

“So good,” the words came out slurred as he licked his lips, “So fucking good.”

Knowing he was close, you began to twist your wrists, jerking him off with both hands and as much of his cock as could fit in your mouth.

He didn’t give much warning other than his attempt to take his dick out of your mouth only to pull on your hair and make you swallow his release as he came down your throat. Once the initial shock at the sudden roughness had worn off, you continued to suck him off trying to milk him dry, feeling his thighs tense up and shake as pretty moans fell from his lips.

You’ve had sexual partners before so you know that sometimes it takes them a while to it back up or at least time to let his high down but Taehyung was different. His hands came down under your chin, almost grabbing at your neck as he pulled you up enough for your mouths to meet in a disgusting kiss that tasted like his own release and he didn’t even seem to care.

You had to stand up from the way he tried dragging you up and once you were on your feet, he had a soft gonna hold on your neck, “I love you.”

You seemed to freeze up at his words, trying to process what he just said. It was way too soon to admit something like that even if you had a feeling he felt that way for a while now. Taehyung didn’t even seem to notice your sudden hesitation and kissed you hungrily once again. You didn’t do anything but kiss him back with equal hunger and let him walk you back until you hit the edge of the bed.

Neither one of you broke away from the kiss as he swiftly scoot you back on the bed until your head hit the pillows. Taehyung licked your tongue with his, “I can’t wait anymore.”

You could feel the tip of his cock brush against your covered folds and it was still astounding to you that his erection never went away if anything it became harder.

“Condom?” You asked between kisses, head following after Taehyung when he tried to move back. God, you were being pulled in by his sexual advances. You wanted more and more of him too and he did seem to make you hesitate when he said he loved you but… but it’s doing things to you. You wanted him bad.

As he rummaged through his drawers for a condom you slipped your bra off half distracting him from his looking when he was met with the sight of your exposed breasts. Taehyung had to shake the image of you away as he found what he was looking for and cut into the wrapper like he was being timed. He came back between your legs and helped you slide your panties off, watching a line of slick connect your folds to the fabric. He let a finger run along then and gather some of your wetness before bringing it to his mouth.

He sighed in pleasure, loving the way you tasted.

Taehyung did most of the work moving your legs up where he wanted them and kissed you reassuringly. He had a hand on his cock giving himself a few strokes while running his tip between your pussy lips and coating his member with your slick.

His other hand was happily finding your breasts and cupping one as he let his fingers pinch at your hardened nipple. You released a quiet whine from the slight pull and the way his dick seemed to be teasing you to the point where your hips were trying to meet his efforts halfway.

“Baby,” you sighed breathlessly and he felt his heart swell. It was the first time you’ve ever called him anything other than Taehyung and he needed to hear it again. He needed to feel all of you so he lowered his head to place a kiss on the roundness of your tit. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders not wanting to stop when his tongue swiped at your nipple, licking it before sucking it into his mouth.

His hips seemed to sink down as his hand lined his cock between your folds more accurately. His knees dug into the mattress as he continued his assault on your tits and let only his tip slip into your entrance. Your hands were on his shoulder but soon moving along his back as if trying to hurry along and he let himself sink down more and more.

When he circled his tongue around your nipple he made your back arch into him, tightening around his cock with the new angle that had you both moaning softly.

Taehyung was careful at first, only steady thrusts, in and out, drawn back fully before pushing in softly. His body was so close, finally being inside of you felt like it was where he belonged. The way your bodies just fit so perfectly against each other was proof that you were meant to be. He had to try and be calm so you wouldn’t get scared when in reality all he wants to do is fuck you till you’re only thinking about him.

You grip his shoulders tightly, moving your hips in rhythm with him as you matched his thrusts, showing him that you wanted more. One of the hands you had on his bare back was coming up to the nape of his neck where you pulled on his hair hard enough to make him leave your breasts and crawl back to your awaiting lips.

"Why are you so fucking pretty?" He licked the corner of your mouth as you watched his hips draw back before pushing forward harshly. He was fucking you at a slower pace but still being a little rough, “So fucking pretty it hurts, baby.”

You smiled as your body seemed to move along the sheets with his harsh thrusts as you looked into his eyes, still holding the back of his hair, “Do you love me?”

God, it scared you but you wanted to hear it over and over again as he fucked you senseless.

“Yes,” Taehyung moaned out as a hand came to your hair grabbing a handful of it for control. He didn't pull but he just needed something to hold tight the way you held him, he let his hand circle around your thigh and bring it up to his waist where you wrapped your legs around him, "Don’t care if you don’t love me yet, you will.”

Warning bells went off but you weren’t listen because his thrusts became more rough, losing his rhythm in the process but passionately and aggressively fucking you. You lean up to kiss him for a moment and he releases a deep groan as he peeled his body off yours so he could sit back on his haunches and fuck you like that.

"Taehyung," you moaned again, hands gripping the sheets when he got too far out of your reach.

"I love you so fucking much," he growled as he moved so that a leg of yours fell back down on the mattress while he stretched the other one up to rest on his shoulder.

He leaned forward not caring much for your flexibility and cupped your chin between his fingers and thumb. Just like that, he began to fuck you in this new position that had you whining in pain and pleasure.

“Say you’re mine,” he said through gritted teeth as he felt your walls clench around him making it harder for him to grind his cock into your needy cock without feeling the need to release any second.

“I’m yours,” you whispered with moans falling from your lips, “I’m yours, Taehyung.”

Fuck, he hated how quickly he could cum with your words and he had to make you cum before he did this time. He lowered the hand he had on your thigh to your clit where he began to flick the hardened bud between two fingers, fucking into you the way you deserved and your head was falling back with a loud moan.

His face was pressed against your leg and his eyes squinted shut as he felt his release building up to the point where Taehyu f was fucking you so hard and fast that the pillows were falling off the bed along with some of the sheets.

“I’m gonna cum,” you finally said and with a swift push of your leg off his shoulder; he was hugging your body to him as he brought you both to orgasm.

The room was filled with a mixture of pants and loud moans from the two of you. Taehyung pressed his face against yours as he repeated in whispers, “I love you, Y/n. I love you. I love you so much.”

You never gave him a response but he didn’t need one to express himself to you. He knew that you wanted him by the way you cling to him even as he tries to dislodge himself so he could take the uncomfortable condom off his softening dick. He looked down at the mess he’s made of you and the way your chest rose and fell with each heavy breath you took and he couldn’t take it.

He couldn’t help but want to make you feel so good and it made him realize the mistake he’s made. In his rush to be inside you, he never thanked you for taking his dick in your mouth like the perfect slut you are for him. He got a small taste of your pussy on his fingers but he hasn’t put his mouth on it directly and that’s a damn shame.

He can see that you’re still coming down from the high of orgasm but he couldn’t help himself. He was crawling down your open legs to find himself face to face with your used cunt that pushed out cum even now.

You felt the movement down there but you still hadn’t fully been paying attention until Taehyung moved.

Taehyung was sneaky like that, he’ll make himself noticed only when he wants to and of course it was only when his wet tongue met your oversensitive clit with a long lick. You nearly yelped and had your legs squeezing around his legs, “Wa—wait.”

“Tae—Baby, I jus— ” You whimpered as you heard the slick sounds of his mouth eagerly lapping up your release from the good fuck he’s just given you, “Stop, pl—“

You bit back a whine as Taehyung suddenly pulled back. He crawled up to you with open eyes as he studied your face for any idea of what you might be thinking. You wanted him to stop?

He still had a hand wrapped around your thigh and he ran small circles into the side with the pad of his thumb as he said, “You want me to stop?”

You were abusing your bottom lip with the way you bit into it and it had his eyes zoning in on the action wanting nothing more but to pull out with his own teeth until your mouths clashed once more. But no.

No, he won’t. He has to see what you really want.

“I’m still sensitive,” you whispered as you cupped his face in your hands admiring how pretty he looked covered in sweat. He kissed the palm of your hand as it slipped lower down his cheek, “I’ll be gentle baby, I just want a taste.”

“Mm,” you moaned at those soft words and he smiled, “I’m tired though.”

He watched the way you turned your bottom lip out into a pout and he felt his heart explode as he whispered, “I’ll do all the work. I’ll clean you up.”

With a pleased sigh at his proposal you nodded, “Okay.”

He’s treated you right all night even if your friend might’ve put him in a bad mood. You knew just how to make him feel better and the things he’s said the entire time you’ve been having sex was finally getting to you.

That’s why, before he could go back down to eating you out, you made sure to say, “I love you too.”

Taehyung was like a devil in disguise and you’ve probably known this since the moment you met him. He played the charming, charismatic man too well.

He played the nice guy, the respectful one, the kind one yet that’s not the version of him that you fell for believe it or not.

The part that really made you fall for him was the way he lied and played with people like it was a game. He is picture perfect and you love that but you also love the fact that nobody but you seems to understand how crazy and calculative he is.

He can smile in someone’s face only to stab them in the back if they say one thing to him or you that he doesn't like. You learned to accept that after what happened with Minho. When he finally opened up to what happened that had him so on edge on your first date it all made sense.

He couldn’t end that first night perfectly when he thought that the server ruined it. You understood him now, so you should understand why he doesn’t want you around Jimin.

You know Taehyung could act like he’s gotten over his possessiveness and has learned to accept the years long friendship you’ve had with Jimin, but you know that’ll all be a lie.

You know that in his pretty little head he’s probably going to be thinking about ways to make Jimin disappear and you found yourself not really caring either way.

Jimin is a good friend of yours and you had every intention of communicating that with Taehyung after the first night you slept together but it was pointless. He already had it in his mind that he didn’t want you to see each other you could lie and say you were mad but for some reason you didn’t care much about it anymore.

Maybe Taehyung had been the right one for you all along and you just wanted to make up all these weird suspicions about him even if he was very obvious with the way he felt for months. It took him so long to be the guy you can be comfortable around only for you to fall for his more manipulative side instead.

“Do you love me?” You asked in a quiet voice as the two of you sat side by side in a booth at a café. You were tucked away in a corner hidden from the view of others and he had a leg of yours on his lap so he could run his hand along it. His nose brushed against yours, “Yes.”

You smiled, “I love you too.”

“Do you?” He asked more seriously, like he always thought you were lying to him, like he still needed to do everything in his power to show you even though you’re already isolating yourself from others for him.

“Yes,” you said with a nod of your head.

He pressed his lips against yours, still being gentle with you as you kissed him back.

Taehyung felt more at ease than he has in a very long time and it’s because he knew everything paid off. Every single calculation he did in his head on how to get you to be his was finally done. He doesn’t have to plot anymore or sabotage something in his favor, he’s done with those little games.

He has you and there’s absolutely no way he’s letting you go.

::.

a/n ok @aris-ink I tried my best at a dark concept so you gotta tell me how I did 😭

anyways I’ve been in such a Taehyung mood for weeks now and I haven’t written for him in a while since his special secret was a rewrite

hope this wasn’t toooo bad

personal taglist: @notmyfaultbutours @rerefundslocals @fandems @sugaluvmyg @guvgguk @kimyishin @libra04 @kooromiwrld @classycreationcupcake-blog @alwaysdreamingnotsleeping @cherrymonlightt @nikkiordonez12 @asking4-sanity @thvlover7 @saweetspoiled @uwu2rawr @shaybts-blog @babycandy111 @tearyjjeon @joons-uparupa @jeonninja @yellowcupid08 @02010802faves @knudsenheggedel @skzthinker @unnatae @aurorthi @beautywine @95ene @taekookstata @lilliankoo @shescharlie e @annenakamura @lesoleile @burnahtsw @babybella337 @kooloveys @ku-ku @chaelvrx @minnie-mouser22

[boba-at-323]

Stay-home dates with RIIZE !!

Note : OMG !! I had so much fun writing thisssss <333 || DID NOT PROOFREAD PLEASE || Also Idk what to tw but I have mentioned snacks a whole lot of time + I TRIED MY BEST TO MAKE IT GENDER NEUTRAL BUT LIKE SINCE IM FEMALE SO EXCUSE ME ;-; please enjoyyyy !!

Osaki Shotaro <3 !

Hmm, not a big fan, but as long as you're happy he is too !!

Omg !!

You ask him to film TikToks with you and he's MORE THAN HAPPY !!

So like you've saved a lot of trends and dances you wanna recreate with him.

He's so excited and gets all giggly over it!

Takes it a little too seriously…

Like you're looking at him with your jaw dropped and eyes wide because how did it take him one look to literally MASTER the dance.

Laughs embarrassed when you praise him !!

But you tell him that he's too fast for you ';-; so he apologises and suggests teaching you the dance step by step!

The two of you continuously burst into fits of giggles when something goes wrong.

ITS JUST SO FUNNY BUT IN A CUTE WAY FOR SOME REASON

You'd film like 29837209 TikToks and just have fun goofing around.

You might also end up exhausted on the floor reviewing the videos you filmed.

Thinks you look very cute and asks you to do this often with him!

Might get bored if you don't have a lot to do.

HOWEVER !!!

Would love to talk to you about anything really.

I feel like he's someone who enjoys conversing, so you might actually start having deep conversations that will last for hours.

Hmm rating 8/10 PLS HES SO ADORABLE <3

Rest of the members under the cut !

Song Eunseok <3 !

This man is literally so chill with everything.

Like you'd suggest going for a picnic on a volcano and he'd be like "lol ok."

Okay, maybe not that much but yk what I mean !!

So yeah you're probably sitting with him binge-watching some anime or series.

He's quiet the whole time and is actually very immersed in the story.

However, he will be passing comments every now and then.

And I tell you, these comments are so out of pocket???

Like you can't help but burst out laughing.

And he's just gonna look at you like "😐".

AS IF HE HADN'T SAID THE MOST FUNNIEST THING YOU'VE HEARD ALL WEEK.

So yeah be prepared cuz the witty comments he's gonna slip will crack you so bad.

Like it actually makes you question how his brain works

ESPECIALLY HOW HE DOES LITERAL STAND-UP COMEDY WITH THAT SERIOUS EXPRESSION !!!

But it's okay, that just means he's having fun!

Also, it's very hard to concentrate on whatever you're watching cuz he looks so pretty next to you.

Like you keep on looking at him, smirks 100%

"Yeah I know I'm too hard to resist"

GETS COCKY BUT CAN YOU BLAME HIM !!!

Also makes sure you get your share of snacks!!

I'd rate it a solid 9/10 cuz it's really entertaining!

Jung Sungchan <3 !

HE IS NOT ENTERTAINED BY THE IDEA !!!

But after much convincing, he gives in.

"At least we get to spend time together, right?"

YOU'RE BAKING TOGETHER YIPPIEEEE!!!

But what happens is like,

You're standing there tying your hair back, you ask him for help with your apron.

Gets a little too touchy

You have to slap his arm away and give him a death glare.

Pretends he doesn't know what he did rn 😔

Is actually a very good helping hand.

Like helps you out, follows everything you tell him to do, however...

Has his doubts, and totally shakes his head if he thinks smth is going wrong.

"Y/n are you sure it's 2 cups sugar?" "I don't think we should be using butter…"

NOOO ENDS UP GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE KITCHEN BECAUSE

Like he said, he takes up a large radius.

So this clumsy baby probably toppled over a lot of things, making a very big mess ;-;

Apologises repeatedly with sad puppy eyes 🥹

You kiss his cheek and tell him it's fine

Though you ask him to sit it out and let you handle the rest of the process yourself.

YOU DO DECORATE WTV YOU MADE TOGETHER SO HES VERY EXCITED FOR THAT !!!

I'd rate it a 4/10, this man is NOT meant to be confined to a small space.

Park Wonbin <3 !

Would prefer them actually !!!

He'd absolutely LOVE to cuddle with you throughout the day.

Like he'd just be clinging onto you telling you literally everything that happened to him cuz for some reason he gives me yapper vibes

Though he'd appreciate listening to what you have to tell him, leaving a trail of kisses all over your neck.

Also he LOVES your voice so much omg !

So he can also pull out his guitar and have a serenade with you (english 💀).

Would ask you your favourite song, and if he doesn't know it WILL make sure he knows it the next time you guys have an at-home date

If he knows, he plays it for you encouraging you to sing.

you tell him you think your voice sucks.

A DRAMATIC GASP COMES FROM HIS DIRECTION !!!

"Nonsense idc i just wanna hear your pretty voice <3"

Literally heart eyes for you once you start singing,

Like might actually melt, give you the softest, most lovesick gaze EVER !

There is a possibility he ends up messing up the cords cuz you distracted him !!!

He's so cute pls </3

Omg also, the two of you might also end up in the kitchen cooking smth together, blasting a playlist he made for you!

But you don't know that <3

He actually so desperately wants to do cliche romantic things with you but is too shy to initiate </3

It's giving that "Idk how to flirt so I'm just gonna stare at you till you marry me" meme

HOWEVER !!

Be prepared for endless back hugs because he's just so SO soft for you <333

Anyways yeah 11/10 (+1 is probably cuz I'm so down bad for him)

Hong Seunghan <3 !

My manz I miss him all day everyday ;-;

He's so sweet I tell you, agrees to literally everything.

Putting mbti and stuff aside, I think he'd actually plan out a few activities you could do together.

Like if you're going over to his place, hes prepared snacks and stuff for you.

Hmm !! Video games are a must I believe !!

Like I read he plays FIFA online???

SO yeah, if you know how to play, the both of you would spend hours playing together

I don't see him getting very competitive but will whine if you keep on beating him!

However, will also compliment on how great you are at the game!!

HE FEELS PROUD I TELL YOU !!

However, if you don't know how to play and absolutely suck (like me ;-;)

HE'D BE SO EXCITED TO TEACH YOU !!

When you mess something up, or like if you can't understand something, the pout on your lips makes his heart EXPLODE.

Like he thinks you're the most adorable ever, he'd start squealing if his pride lets him.

Ends up attacking you with kisses and hugs.

The game is long forgotten, just a clingy Seunghan showering you with love because of how adorable he finds you.

I'D RATE IT AN 8/10 TBH BECAUSE HE'D FORGET WHAT PERSONAL SPACE IS !!!

Lee Sohee <3 !

SPENT SO MUCH TIME THINKING SOMETHING FOR HIM 😭

Unlike Seunghan, I can see him playing board games and such with you!

For example, the two of you could be sitting on the floor playing UNO.

But that got boring CUZ HOW DO TWO PEOPLE EVEN PLAY UNO !!!

So takes out a Jenga set because he thought it was very entertaining!

Both of you are screaming SO much when either chooses the wrong piece to remove.

HOWEVER, HE'S USING THE SPECIAL SKILLS EUNSEOK TAUGHT HIM!!!

Which is unfair to you and you WILL whine about it.

"All is fair in war and Jenga"

HIS WORDS NOT MINE !!!

Laughs at you because you're definitely the one who's going to topple the tower over.

So yeah you all spend a lot of time giggling and screaming over board games!

OMG ALSO !! Thanks to Anton, he bought some Lego sets too!!

You all start good but eventually get so frustrated because you can't find one tiny piece.

Ofc you give up and spend the rest of the evening with his karaoke machine !!

HE !! WANTS !! TO !! SING !!

And please you're just so mesmerised the whole time he's singing.

Like woah??? His voice is so good even when he's goofing around? INSANE!!

Though you aren't losing to him, so the both of you get SUPER competitive.

RATING THIS A 7/10 !!

Lee Anton <3 !

Like Wonbin, he'd also enjoy stay-at-home dates.

I can see him enjoying doing anything, to be honest.

Like for example, the two of you could just be lying next to each other sharing with each other reels you see.

Or just him listening to you telling him some tea from your workplace/college etc.

Sitting on the bed together with a variety of snacks sprawled around.

Like Sohee, I can even see him building Legos in silence with you cuz this guy is so patient !

Oh also!

He'd pull out his laptop and shyly ask if you'd like to listen to the music he's created.

After listening, your face is the shocked Pikachu meme.

"Woahhh my boyfriend is so cool :OOO"

Get's blushy over the compliments you shower him with.

Brushes it off saying it's nothing.

THATS A FREAKING LIE LEE CHANYOUNG!!

NEways, teaches you how to try making music.

Laughs if you cry about how difficult it is, he thinks it's adorable.

You ask him to delete the trash you've made, but he creates a separate folder to save everything you've made with him.

ITS ART TO HIM !!! HOW CAN HE THINK SMTH YOU'VE CREATED IS TRASH?!?!?!

Plus he treasures it so much like only if he could somehow just make you feel how much it means to him !!

SO YEAH !

Pretty cute, very cozy, overall nice experience 10/10 <3

Thank you for reading reblogs and reviews are appreciated ! <3

Title : Stay-home dates with Riize || Word count: 1652 || Genre: fluff ! || Pairing: Riize x implied Fem!Reader (tried making it gender neutral pt.29382938)

[trippinsorrows]

through your eyes + au future

a/n: i had this idea and needed to write it. it's a bit into the future, much past where i currently am, so feel free to skip. i'm still posting the next part later this evening, but i just needed to get this out of my head and figured i'd share lol

*gif courtesy of google*

words: 1.6k // warnings: solana is sad, roman is pissed, and their families ain't shit

taglist: @fearlesschimera @sayyestoheav3nn @annfg8 @cyberdejos2 @sabrina-carpenter-stan-account @trentybenty @empressdede @tshepisho @southerngirl41 @callmekayd

Solana should have listened to Roman. 

Should have known better than to ever think this was a good idea.

To think that they could have both of their families in the same vicinity and everything would go fine. Granted, the type of division she was expecting has been relatively tame. There hasn’t been any violence, largely due and thanks to the weapon deposit bins by the entrance.

Weapon free establishment and all. 

Yet, she’s not naive enough to think that the lack of guns, knives, and other unmentionables could stop her or Roman’s family from throwing down if they wanted. But, they haven’t. No punches have been thrown nor bones broken. It’s been more of a clear separation. Roman’s family only interacts with each other, and her family interacts with each other.

Not the kind of cohesion she was hoping for but a much better alternative than what it could be.

But, while conflict and violence between the in-laws has, so far, been avoided. There’s still another major issue that has Solana locked in one of the back rooms, sitting on a random chair, crying her eyes out.

The bullying. 

Towards her. 

Towards Roman.

Towards their baby.

It started out light, Solana having to politely shut down a near fight between her brother and Roman.

Wes lifted the beer to his lips, eyeing Roman. “So, how many people have you killed today, Reigns?”

“Wesley!” Solana’s sharp use of his name was conjoined with a disapproving expression. He’s too old for the petty jabs.

Roman, however, simply smiled coldly, scratching his beard as he delivered a chilling warning. “So far none, but you keep fucking talking, and I can change that real fast.”

Thankfully, Solana was able to de-escalate, her sister-in-law, Hazel, prying Wes away before any violence could commence. 

Then there was the conversation Solana unintentionally walked into while conversing with two of her older cousins she’s not as close with.

For good reasons.

“Aren’t you at all worried?”

Solana frowned. “About?”

Her cousin leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Roman as a dad. I mean, he’s not capable of love. Do you really expect him to be a good father?”

There’s no words to describe how much hearing such a thing about the man she loves hurt Solana. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her other cousin, however, simply rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying, everyone knows that man is a sociopath. You’re better off cutting your losses now, taking the kid to Mexico with your mom’s side of the family, and praying he doesn’t turn out like his psycho dad.”

Solana had to excuse herself for that one. She had nothing nice to say in that moment, but beyond that, she just needed to get a few tears out.

And she did, hoping that would be the last of it, but no, that was just too good of a hope to be true. 

It was the comments overheard by some of Roman’s relatives, however, that did her in.

“I just can’t believe out of all the women, the respectable options who come from more established families, he chose her.”

The other woman snorted, shaking her head. “Right? It’s obvious she was looking for a sugar daddy. What is she, like 25?”

“I heard her father’s not doing well financially and told her to seek out Roman.”

“Makes sense. Look how easy she was. Didn’t waste any time opening up her legs and trapping him with a baby.” The woman rolled her eyes, adding, “at the very least, he could have found a Samoan woman. It’s bad enough he’s afakasi, but this child of theirs? The girl is Mexican and Black. He’ll hardly have any Samoan blood running through his veins. Our Bloodline could die out because of her.”

The first woman to speak snorted, smirking almost as she suggested, “that’s assuming it’s his baby. Roman’s smart though. I’m sure he’ll have a paternity test done as soon as she pushes out that bastard.”

“Assuming ICE doesn’t deport her first.”

The two women fell out in laughter at the same time Solana darted off, desperate to get away and have a safe space to cry. 

It’s all just been too much. Too much hatred spewed for something that should be filled with love and excitement. 

It’s been anything but, and it hurts. 

It hurts a ton. 

The knocking on the door is loud and borderline erratic, Solana quickly wiping her eyes and clearing her throat to inform that she’ll be out in a minute. But, a deep, familiar voice beats her to it.

“Solana.” It’s Roman, and he doesn’t sound happy. “Open the door.”

She blows out a deep breath and does her best to feign a ‘normal’ voice. “Just—just a second.”

“Now, Solana.” Before she can ask why, he adds in a calmer voice,“I know you’re crying.” Damn. 

“So you either let me in or I’ll break this goddamn door down.”

He’ll do it. She knows he will. There’s nothing ever stopping Roman from comforting or being there for her when he knows she’s upset. 

And this would definitely be one of those times. 

Solana sniffles, trying to gather herself as she carefully stands up from the toilet seat. Wiping at her eyes, she flips the lock and is barely able to turn the knob when Roman is opening the door. Stepping back, he closes it behind him and moves his hands to her face, gaze locking with hers.

“What’s wrong?”

So many things, but this isn’t the time or place, so she shakes her head. “N–nothing. I’m just—baby hormones.”

“Bullshit,” he scoffs, voice still surprisingly gentle. “Baby, talk to me. What happened?”

Solana looks away, hating how just that question, coming from him, tone so understanding and soft almost, is enough to pull the truth out of her.

And it does.

“You were right. This was a bad idea. I should have never—” She stops herself, taking a deep, shaky breath. “I just wanted…..I thought….I thought they’d be happy for us.”

“Sol, you know it’s not that simple.” Though his words could be seen as insensitive, the way he says it is anything but. “Who said what?”

She closes her eyes, grasping onto his white button-up shirt. “It wasn’t just…..one person….it’s everybody.” He wipes at her tears, as she continues to feel the emotional weight of it all. “My family saying cruel things about you—”

“Sola—”

“Your family saying things about me, about our baby—”

At that, all gentleness drops and is replaced with something else. Something she knows Roman knows well. 

Anger.

“Who?” It’s one word. One single word that means a multitude of things and none of them good.

Solana shifts her weight, shrugging, “I—I don’t know who they are. Some….some cousins of yours. But, it doesn’t—it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does fucking matter.” Roman drops his hands from her face to instead take her right hand in his, holding it firmly. “And we gonna address this shit right now.”

Solana's eyes widen a bit. That’s….that’s not what she wanted. “Wait, Roman—”

He’s not listening though. His stride is purposeful and determined, as he leads them out the bathroom, down the hall, and into the main section of the venue where most of their families are gathered. 

Roman guides them over to where the DJ has his setup, Solana gasping as Roman uses his free hand to yank a set of chords out the wall, effectively stopping the music. 

The DJ looks just as confused as most of the guests but cowers away in fear when Roman ‘iffs’ at him, like he’s going to hit him, before snatching the microphone. 

The abrupt ending of the music has attracted most gazes to where Roman and Solana stand, him moving them to the middle where all can see and hear.

He never once releases her hand. 

“Imma say this one time, and one time only.” She swallows, her eyes landing on her parents. Her mom looks confused, while her dad wears the same expression he’s worn since the moment Solana finally came clean about her relationship with Roman.

Disappointed. 

“Cause if I have to address this shit again, it’s not gonna be verbally.” Chills move up and down her spine. There’s not an ounce of her that questions if he’s bluffing or not. Roman doesn’t bluff. If he says it, he means it. “I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks about me. That includes her family and mine, but I’ll be damned if I let any of ya’ll disrespect her or our child.” Solana’s hand naturally moves to her belly, her bump that’s pronounced and especially visible in her white bodycon dress. “We’re together. We’re having a baby. However way any of you feel about it, keep it to your fucking selves, because there’s no reason Solana should be crying at something that’s supposed to be a happy occasion.”

She swallows, noticing how the entire room has gone silent under the deep voice of Roman’s address. There’s not a person who looks uninterested or annoyed. It’s just a sea of various scared and nervous expressions. 

“So, the next time you find yourselves talking shit about her, and especially our baby, understand it will absolutely be the last thing you ever fucking do.” Solana watches Roman begin to hand the microphone to the flabbergasted DJ before he snatches it back, turning once again toward the onlookers. “And one more thing……when you address her, make sure you do it properly.”

Solana’s throat goes dry.  She shakes her head. He can’t be doing what she thinks he’s about to do. “Roman—”

“It’s not Solana Miller.” Oh my God. “It’s Solana Reigns.”

The sea of silence quickly morphs into an ocean of various gasps, exclamations, and even shouts. 

Meanwhile, Roman simply smirks as he sticks the nail in the coffin before dropping the mic on the ground. “—we’re married.”

[sinimake]

Opposites-Attract headcanons of Johnshi

I love putting opposing traits to my ships more than anything so enjoy!

Kenshi is pretty low maintenance. All he needs is clothes on his back and Sento, that's it. Probably can survive zombie apocalypse on his own while Johnny must have his grooming essentials with 10-step skin routine, a cup of coffee with the exact milk-sugar ratio at 9am sharp in the morning or he will DIE

Johnny is glued to his phone, always taking pics and documenting things while Kenshi doesn't even know where the fuck is his phone half the time

Also Johnny is texter and Kenshi is caller/voice message sender

When Kenshi is angry, he blazes like fire. One look at him and you know he's fucking pissed. While Johnny is silent rager. He will appear fine and brush off things convincingly good with his acting skills till he snaps. Like ocean pulling back its tides just to slam whole ass tsunami upon its victims.

They're both ambiverts but different flavors of ambiverts. Johnny makes friends with everyone, always chats and charms. He somehow knows the lifestories of people he met even briefly. However Johnny gets overwhelmed a lot that he needs his down time or he will start becoming murderous. Kenshi, on the other hand, rather die than make a small talk but he is a natural leader who can read people very well.

Johnny is chronically online and Kenshi is deliberately internet illiterate

People think Johnny is the rulebreaker while Kenshi's the voice of reason but they get it so wrong. Johnny is all about being pompous and mischievous but when the shit starts becoming serious and so much real, he panics. Kenshi though? He will charge head first into a trouble swinging and crackling. He didn't want to break the rules, but if it must, Kenshi will twist that notch to extreme.

Johnny is a picky eater and Kenshi will eat anything. That's why Johnny cooks almost all the time bc their criterias for "food" are vastly different.

Johnny exists in the public eye. He thrives in people's love and attention while Kenshi is shunned and feared for his past in the crime organization.

Kenshi is paranoid while Johnny is bit too confident sometimes

Johnny thrives on routine and schedule since he's a busy celebrity, he plans ahead and sticks to it. On the other hand, Kenshi just goes along with wherever the wind takes him.

However, when it comes to training, Kenshi is all about going by the book. Breathing exercises, meditation, stances, katas, footwork, practices, and everything, he follows them through to build up discipline. But Johnny? He just wings it bc it's all natural talent, baby! If you ask him how he does some moves, he will just shrug and say "it feels right that way"

Their fighting styles differ, too. Johnny is light on feet, flexible, fast, and slips through guards like a shadow. Kenshi is grounded, steady, tough, and even his blade swings are focused on elbow movements than in wrists.

Adding on the previous point, Johnny's name is a reverse pun of Kage, which means "shadow" in Japanese. On the other hand, Sento's powers are represented through glowing lights, hence creating the opposite elements of Light and Shadow in Johnshi

[gremlinandacrow]

Mouthwashing Headcanons

I may be cringe...But I am free! This is my first time actively sharing my headcanons. Sorry if this sounds incoherent, these were partially done on impulse because I wanna share my love for this game!!!

(Note: There's no mentions of Post-crash here!) (Note #2: Yeah Anya has the most, she's a queen and deserves it!)

Anya 🌕

Early to mid-30s

Tall! I imagine she's at least 5'8 (and her sandals provide an extra inch of height as well)

Russian (credits to @lesbiananya for this hc actually! Her fics are awesome!)

She moved to America in her mid-20s

Lesbian

Growing up, her family placed many expectations on her. Academically, she went beyond most of her class, but as she got older, she struggled immensely with various insecurities over being "good enough".

It developed into her feeling very hyper-independent. She only considers it her final option.

It's...Partially the reason why she's so estranged from her family now.

Undiagnosed autistic (currently going through burnout)

Major reason why she kept failing medical school: She kept running out of money she earned from working hauls with Pony Express. Is in debt.

On the ship, she...Doesn't do much. With such a small crew, there's very little chance of anyone getting seriously hurt. And the food...Well, it's terrible, but not enough to make anyone sick.

She spends a lot of time (during the "workday") in her office. She likes playing the music while she studies in there. It's mostly ambient music.

Bands/Artists I'd think she'd like though: The Crane Wives, Mitski, boa (Maybe Big Thief as well?)

When the crew is playing a board game and it's getting intense, she'll go eerily quiet and have this intense glare!

Smokes often, usually when she's stressed. Unfortunately on this haul, she only packed one box, so she making them last as much as she can...

Also has a journal. She mainly uses it to vent her frustrations out. It's the only thing that will "listen" to her.

She's cold to the touch

After her first haul, she packed extra blankets. You can't tell me the Tulpar isn't cold 24/7!

Near-sighted! She wears contacts (I know this isn't the most original headcanon, but I wanted to mention this one!)

Curly 🚀

Mid-30s

6'1

Born in Australia, raised in America after his family moved when he was young

Bisexual, but he didn't know for a long time (At least until his late 20s)

Parents had him when they were older. Both passed by the time he was 30.

Has been Jimmy's friend since middle school.

Kept finding himself surrounded by bad influences. Sometimes he'd get out of those situations...And other times he'd stick by Jimmy.

Doesn't have that much of a social life outside of Pony Express. As a pilot, it's a super demanding job.

Daisuke 🌺

21

5'7 (Shortest of the Crew)

Japanese/Filipino (Born to immigrant parents)

Aroace, but hasn't realized yet (struggling with comphet)

Trans! At first, only Anya knew (due to medical reports). He's pretty open about it!

Loves art, but his parents didn't understand how it could've been a stable career/passion for him.

Not a morning person at all. For a while, the hardest part of being on the ship was waking up before noon.

Used to Naruto run (honestly he still does it sometimes for fun)

Not a fan of coffee unless if it's 90% creamer + sugar.

Also doesn't like alcohol (even the sweeter drinks such like Pina Coladas, Cosmopolitans, etc.), prefers soda!

Reminds Curly of when he himself was younger (right when he started working for Pony Express)

Swansea 🦢

Early 50s

5'10

American (Southeast)

Also has Welsh ancestry!

Married, has three daughters. Two of them already left the nest. He's estranged from his family due to work.

Doesn't wear his wedding ring while working. Safety hazard.

Like Curly, he goes by his last name rather than his first.

Sees Daisuke like the son he never had!

Didn't really understand what Daisuke was talking about when he came out to him. Mostly because the intern was talking really fast and used a lot of lingo Swansea couldn't begin to wrap his head around.

But he eventually got it. He's still a bit confused, but willing to learn. Just not while he's busy working.

Jimmy 🐴

(Content Warning: Implied childhood abuse and neglect.) (Additional Note: I did not make these headcanons to excuse, downplay his actions, or make him sympathetic.)

Mid-30s (A little bit older than Curly)

5'11

American (Midwest)

Rough childhood. Curly was the only one who knew the full extent of what his homelife was like. However, when Curly wanted to tell people, Jimmy pressured him not to.

He fully believed that his life would get worse if anyone got involved.

As an adult, he believes he'll never be like his father.

Barely graduated high school

HATES being called "James"

His feelings towards Curly are complicated, to say the least. They have a codependent relationship.

Listens to crunkcore and country exclusively.

[darkdemeter]

・issue #2・ BOYS LIKE YOU

⚤ Mafia!Bucky Barnes x Dance choreo! Female Reader issue contains material not suitable for readers who are not 18+ or are sensitive to the following: general 18+ suggestive content/sexual undertones — mafia related topics, mention of bootlegging and racketeering — little profanity warning — reader and mafia Bucky banter — use of pet names: doll, sugar — I think that's it? ✎ 2.7k Just when you thought your contract was over and you could put Bucky Barnes behind you, low and behold; here he is calling you up with an offer and beneath it all, asking for that once chance you keep refusing.

↳ MASTERLIST | ↳ TAGLISTS ────────────────────────

What makes a man powerful? 

Many would say that it’s the pool of wealth they sit upon, earning ten times back what they spend in investments worth their precious dime. Or the mass of influence they hold over the greater public, walking as kings and queens, demi-gods all. They say “jump” and the rest of the world says how high and all the while leap as puppets to their strings. Everyone in this world has a game to play.

It just depends on who you play against and the rules and how far those are willing to go to push those boundaries. 

This is what makes a man like Bucky Barnes dangerously powerful. A plethora of wealth and status to influence the world with plenty more to boot. 

Since your… personal meeting in the privacy of his office that night, you’ve been spinning in your head, constantly wound in the dancing motion. You feel the beginnings of his strings being tied to you to string you along like another puppet to his collection. Another heart he can wrench, pull and manipulate to his pleasure until he’s done with you.

Men like Bucky Barnes are deceptively good at what they do. Only trouble is that there are very few — next to none — that can match him in this game. Not since the Barnes’ rise to power in ‘39. The ruling crown on the leaderboard. It’s why you try to stay away, why you refused to accept the sweet talking he had done on your behalf. 

Because the moment you do, everything will fall apart again. 

It’s why the check hadn’t been enough to make you stay. Yes, you needed the money. You had cashed it into the locked account you have for safe keeping; for when everything falls apart a second time. 

He’s the influencing reason why you ran to Chicago on another job. But even then, he had insisted you fly there in the private jet he had on standby. 

He’s already begun to sink his teeth in your skin. A venomous bite of a viper that poisons you with luxurious and sensuous promise. 

In the hired studio the pulse of the music vibrates through the polished and sleek floorboards, the clatter of your heels thrum with sharpened clicks as you and your contracted students carve your spinning routine from one side to the other. 

“Heads straight, focus on a point in the wall and always keep your eyes on it,” you remind them, hair flicking with each twist. Your body remains poised and anchored. 

“Keep your frame tight and locked.”

They’re wonderful girls, eager and fast learning. College age and taking dance classes together since they were little and they wanted to rekindle that old fire for an audition to the talent show. You wished them luck but in the haunted other half your mind you wanted to give them fair warning. In that game, you are a player that can easily become played like a pawn by the wrong sort of people. And if you cross those people…

You give a small and dismissive shake of your head as you move to the music. Your students follow suit after you, mimicking the routine you had spent the last two weeks rehearsing. To test their knowledge and memory, you pause midway, the kick in your leg half heartedly swinging in motion and you turn to observe them.

They keep at it, ensuring that their focus remains trained and focused, moving together in synced fashion. You nod your head with praise. “Good. You’re doing good, keep it up.”

You lean back against the cool glass of the mirror while your eyes track them closely, noting a few touch ups that could use a little work. But overall, they were doing well for a straining routine learned in two weeks.

By the finale of the music you move to guide them again until the studio falls silent. 

“Alright, and that concludes this lesson, girls.” They relax themselves, breathing with deep inhales and exerted exhales. You walk towards where your phone hooked into the studio stereo, checking the time and grabbing yourself a drink from your water bottle. 

“Thanks again, Miss L/N, see you next Thursday,” says Amy with a grin and tired wave. You see the flush in her cheeks and the way wisps of her blonde hair stick to her forehead. A dewy warmth of sweat clings to the back of your own neck now that you take notice. 

“See you then, girls. Good luck with your exams.” 

“Bye!” Once they had packed up their belongings and left, you were all that remained in the studio. The owner had been gracious enough to give you a few hours before and after your booked sessions to rehearse and do whatever it was you planned; so long as you didn’t damage anything. She’d been sweet when you first spoke on the phone with her, but meeting her in person you realise she’s a case of sass despite her elderly age. 

You finally check your notifications as you take sips from your water, allowing yourself a moment of respite and laying back on the floor. It felt nice against the warmth of your skin, like the coolness dragged it from your very bones. 

You missed several texts and two calls from Tam. The poor girl was having guy troubles and you type out your response to her recent message, ignoring the other concerned texts asking how you were doing in Chicago.

  Tammy no. Don’t go on a date with Sam. ┗

You don’t have to wait long until the three dots dance in a wave. 

  But he’s so cute! Ugh ┗

  Uh uh. Just don’t do it. ┗

She sends through a single emoji of the rolling eyes, followed by a gif of a cartoon character saluting with an overexaggerated art style, texting beneath it all. 

  Aye aye captain ┗

She continues to ask you with her previous line of questioning and you give a vague response, telling her you were doing fine in Chicago. The last thing you needed was her giving you advice on men. Especially that of Bucky. 

Your head begins to feel fuzzy at the mere thought of him that you have to stop yourself before you fall too hard. 

No, I can’t get involved like that again. 

That’s what you have to keep telling yourself. He is a dangerous man by himself, but with you in the picture, possessed in his grasp he would be a force unstoppable. This is what you must keep in the forefront of your mind when you even give in to that shred of want. That tiny piece of you that perhaps yearns for him, to entertain his flirtatious affairs. 

But if you do that then you are no better than that girl who knew next to nothing. You would be putting yourself in that direct line of danger again and be breaking a promise that ensured your safety. 

Tam had suddenly stopped texting you and your brows furrow, almost accusing her through the screen of your phone. She’s probably texting Sam much to your obvious warning to her. You had to hope that he’d treat her even a little bit right than you had been. But in your experience, it didn’t end well. It didn’t last. It was all a front. 

You of course ignore the many walls of texts and calls from Bucky, not even giving him a hint of what he was looking for: attention. A reaction to his wishful fling. It’s not built to last, even if you wanted it to. 

But you won’t fall for that trap again. You simply can’t. 

As if running on clockwork, your phone buzzes with his number plastered over the ID. It’s trouble written all over it. So why do you finally take the bait and answer with a drastic sigh.

“Shouldn’t you be busy with your racketeering and bootlegging, Mr. Barnes?” 

It’s no use trying to play dumb with him. He’s like a wolf, able to sniff you out. He was well aware you knew who he was the moment you laid eyes on him. And he can’t fault you for the way your eyes widened that little bit, pupils shrinking into tiny dots as you froze like a doe caught in the headlight. 

How he’d much rather see that reaction when you’re finally pinned beneath him, seized beneath his power and ready to be fucked dumb. He chuckles on the other end and something deep inside of you wishes you were in the very room with him when he did.

“Quick little thing, aren’t you?” he hums, “How’s Chicago treating my girl?”

With a snarky hum of your own, the sound physically making your nose scrunch up, you cannot help but remind him of the very official, non-intimate status between you both. “Not yours. Chicago is good.”

“Give it time and a few dozen cut diamond adornments; you’ll be mine.”

You laugh into the phone speaker. Does he hear half the stuff that comes out of his mouth? You can almost sense the way his eye twitches at the sound, mean and condescending, a threat to peg down his ego as his sharp, blue eyes stare deeply as suffocating pools. 

Rolling your eyes, you retort behind a slight smirk. “Is there a reason you’re calling, Barnes? It’s a bit of a strain to simply ring for a booty call.”

“You’re more than that to me, sugar. All you have to do is give me a chance.” His tone of voice is almost sing-song, but the rumbly pitch is all wrong. It gives off a more sinister intention. He’s playing the board his way, manipulating the game by his own rules. He’s trying to corner you. 

What did you have in mind?

“I don’t think you can afford a single chance with me, Barnes.” 

You’re tempted to hang up the phone right there, to leave him no doubt with his dick caught in his hand and you with the final say. Boys like him can’t bear the thought of anything else more embarrassing. 

He coos and you use your imagination to fill in the blanks. How his tongue rolls over his canine with contemplation, how his eyes would roam over your body, eyeing up the spots he particularly wants to leave bruises and marks behind. 

“You wanna bet?”

Yes.

“Why would I waste my time?” You huff and flick away some of your hair that falls into your vision. 

“Because the reward is worth submitting to. Now let’s skip the foreplay, sweetheart, I want to ask you something.”

Oh, your mouth forms into that shape, eyes twinkling with that mischievous glint. If he wanted to call you up and play games then you would happily demonstrate the winning ace up your sleeve. Just to rattle his chain a little…

“Barnes, let me give you a word of advice for your future conquests: never skip the foreplay.”

You’re testing him and it’s showing. You dance on the very thin line of a man’s patience who only grants you so much leeway. The game against the big boys with the big guns and even bigger businesses; a man who can easily ruin you in the best or worst way possible. It all depends on your angle. 

He growls, the sound crackling into the phone a little with its deepened note. “What I’d give to have you over my knee right now for talking to me like that, doll…”

Your bottom lip sinks inward, teeth pulling and biting down hard. Was it always this hot in the studio? The palette of your skin becomes heated, warmed by the panging want for your vibrator between your legs. If you even dare imagine for a second that it’s Bucky’s hand instead…

You fight hard to suppress the almost moan escaping your throat. Clearing your throat and fanning the warmth flushed into your face, the floor no longer able to cool you down, you sit up. 

“So listen up, and keep that pretty mouth shut for a second so I’m not tempted to fill it—”

“Mhmm.” You giggle to hide the way your breath has grown a little heavier, your face growing ten times hotter under such a forward threat. 

If you were in the same room as him right now, you know he’d be pressing you with that warning glare, the brightened tinge of blue slivered thinly with a framing of dark lashes. 

“I’ll be heading out to Greece later next week for an annual charity ball. And I want you to be my special plus one.”

You half hear the proposal at first and you already have a snarky retort whipped before you’re stopped short, voice cut midway. “Greece?” you sputter, eyes growing wide. “Oh no. No, no— heh… no! What? Bucky, I can’t go to Greece with you, what the actual fuck?”

You’re scampering. He has you on the run, you’re folding in your hand of cards and he’s on the win with a poker facade broken into a triumphant smirk. You hear him snort on the other end of the call. 

“Why am I still even talking to you…” He overhears you mumble to yourself amidst the clip of your heels pacing. You don’t want to play this game anymore. 

“I told you, I don’t hang around with people like you—”

Bucky interjects quickly. “Quit playing the good little girl act, it’s not fooling me. You know what you want, you’re the type of woman who does. And you want to take this chance.”

“You don’t know me very well then,” you snide back. “I… no, I can’t come to Greece. It’s been wonderful talking to you again, Mr. Barnes but our business with each other had concluded. Good luck in your endeavors.”

“Just think over my proposal, would you? I already had your dress delivered to your residence.” His voice is low and smooth. Close enough to almost fool you into believing he stood right next to you, breathing his seductive threats into your ear directly.

The dial of the phone shuts off into a dullened blur, signalling that he’d hung up before you could say another thing. He had the final say much to your stunned disappointment.

Getting back to the small apartment you were temporarily staying at, you indeed find the pristine white box laid out on your bed presented with a neatly tied black bow and surrounded by an abundance of rose bouquets and petals. You unravel the gift you didn’t ask for and open it to reveal a beautiful, sleek and fitted gown. Attached with it was a note and a copy of the event Bucky invited you to, scoffing when the date coincidently took place on your birthday.

‘An early present for the birthday girl. If you come to Greece, you can open the rest of your presents with me x

Bucky’

Even when you tried to keep your promise to your father, you just couldn’t keep away from boys like him. To play this game, you have to be strong but also smart about the hand you’re dealt, the way you play your next move. And you’re playing right into Bucky Barnes’ hands for a second time. A man who so clearly lusts for you in ways that are obsessive. 

Wickedly and dangerously possessive. 

  I’ll come to Greece. But for the charity event ┗

  What a sweetheart. I knew you’d see things my way. x ┗

In New York, Bucky smirks down at the screen of his phone, cock straining in the confines of his dress pants that become a little too tight around him at the thought of you. His fantasy of opening you up like his own little present. Your skin between his teeth, your quivering and plush thighs wrapped around his sturdy and built waist, Your hot, breathless pants and mewls kissing his skin as your body is pulled flush against his that ripples with a grinding touch. How you’d sound moaning his name, begging him for more. 

Bucky can tell by the look in your eye that you have a more heightened understanding of what he’s capable of. He doesn’t want you to fear him, he just wants your love and body desperately and deeply.

You have him, hook, line and sinker. 

You have him obsessive about you. Possessive of you. 

THANKS FOR READING!

✎ a note from the author, About time I published this issue. *face palm*

on this issue's taglist, we've got: @mostlymarvelgirl @hollyseb @sebastianstansqueen @openup-yourmind @kandis-mom @calwitch @cjand10 @identity2212 @ashdoctor @missmarvelophilic @boobsbeesbongos @blackhawkfanatic @melsunshine @angelbabyyy99 @railmesebstan @pinkribboncoco @greatenthusiasttidalwave @pdraxxi @mrsnikstan @tammyruby

[bootheghoul]

In your Pokémon au, do the boys have to deal with instincts or anything like that? Like does the Pokémon they (represent?) have any effects on their habits or behaviors?

Yes! So, for this AU, everyone in the universe has certain habits and behaviors pertaining to the Pokémon they are. Ex: Bird Pokemon molt and preen and have the urge to migrate at a certain time of the year Ex: Scolipedes and Centiskorches have an innate rivalry with each other It’s not like their instincts completely take over their minds, but subtle things in how they act. The boys’ personalities are exactly the same just with some additional quirks. I'm basing how they act from dex entries/ in-game animations/ and other media! This is long so strap in!

Ingo

In Ingo’s case, Chandelure tends to spin A LOT. It’s a habit they all share whether to battle or emote. It’s just what they do.

Chandelure don’t get dizzy so they can do so without repercussion.

This behavior started when he evolved into a Lampent.

Ingo either spins on his toes when he’s happy or when he attacks. But his twirls are sharper and not as smooth and elegant as other Chandelure

Think of a pirouette but very stilted.

He spins on his heel pretty fast, too, and smacks Emmet every now and then.

He tends to point his toes like a ballerina while he floats.

He often sways on his feet or in the air like a pendulum if he’s idle or deep in thought.

This is kind of a bad thing because he might accidentally hypnotize a passerby by the combination of the motion and his flames.

Luckily, riding the train hides his swaying as it’s already a bumpy ride.

Although sometimes he has to snap the person out of his trance. He will profusely apologize afterward.

His flames aren't hot unless he wants them to but they feel warm

Another thing that creeps Emmet out a bit is that Ingo can see and talk to spirits. Not ghost Pokémon. Actual spirits.

Certain Pokémon have this ability and fewer are able to help these spirits. Ingo is one of them

Chandelure, in particular, act as a lure. haha

Emmet can kind of feel if a presence is there but he needs Ingo’s clarification. (it's that twin connection they share)

Unlike popular belief, Chandelure do not destroy a spirit with their flames. It may look like it but it's to help a lost soul move on.

While he is a conductor for trains, he doubles as a guide for lost spirits because he believes it's his duty. (Idea from this wonderful fic!)

Some aren't ready and he’ll respect their decision and leave them alone

What does bother him is that he can sense when someone is about to die and hates hospitals for this exact reason

It's awful because he feels it multiple times a day from passengers

He doesn't want to burden Emmet so he stays quiet

Emmet knows when Ingo's overwhelmed and will try to distract him the best he can

He's terrified to one day sense Emmet's death

Emmet

Emmet, as an Eelektross, has a bad chewing problem! I kind of showed it in this post already but he gnaws at any pen or pencil any chance he can get. If not he’ll chew on his nails.

He lets out small bursts of electricity from his teeth as he chews in thought

He has pockets full of hard candy to curb the issue though

Low on sugar? He can help!

It's also used to bribe the Joltik Quadruplets. (I'll show them later!)

He does bite Ingo if they get into an argument. It's always Ingo's tails too. But they rarely seriously fight anyway

Emmet has bit through their cutlery before...multiple times... but it's on him to replace it. (Ingo has his own set of utensils now)

He'll either thump or swish his tail when he's agitated.

He has the tendency to wrap around anything if he stays in the same place for a while. (A pole/his office chair/ furniture)

He mostly coils around people verrry tightly when he gives a hug, which is a habit he started as an Eelektrik.

You have to tell him to let go because he unconsciously constricts the air out of you.

He's stronger than he looks so please tell him because he doesn’t realize and never wants to hurt anyone.

Ingo is mostly the recipient of this but Elesa is a close second. The depot agents are third.

With any body of water, he starts to think how the water feels and has the urge to jump in. It doesn't matter if it's freshwater or seawater. He wants to dive in.

In the water, Emmet is a completely different guy. It's like a switch flips in his head. It’s freeing for him to be underwater as he can move how he wants to!

Beach trips to Undella Town or Humilau City are a frequent thing, and he will be cranky if he misses a day!

His favorite place is the Marine Tube because Ingo can be there too!

Ingo will walk through the tunnel as he watches Emmet have fun

Since Eelektross in canon are ambush hunters, Emmet subconsciously acts like one

Is the type to silently enter a room and sneak up on you

He likes to wait deep below the surface watching above him

It's like his version of cloud-watching

If there’s a shadow at the top, he has to find out what it is!

He has a habit of swimming at an alarming rate and abruptly popping out of the water to greet whoever is there. He doesn't mean to! He's just curious.

He only gives them a really bad scare and a heart attack

Ingo will join him on a floaty and act as a beacon because Emmet sometimes swims out too far.

Other marine pokemon point him in the right direction if he does get lost.

Other miscellaneous things:

It’s a common form of greeting between Electric types to shock each other. It’s their version of a handshake/hello.

Ingo’s built up a resistance to electricity thanks to Emmet, but sometimes it’s really shocking!

Emmet sometimes bumps into things because of his body.

They both can see in the dark, but Emmet can see perfectly underwater.

They both have fallen asleep levitating before.

Ingo doesn't have a house key because he can just go through the front door or wall or anything really.

Because of this, he has a habit of not opening doors

Ingo is actually wary of water because he's afraid his fire will go out but he toughs it out for Emmet because he loves him so much.

He can swim but it's still the fear of going too deep.

There is battling in this AU! Ingo and Emmet still run the Battle Subway with their team, The Top Depot Agents! (I'll show them sometime!)

Also, if you have any ideas of your own, you can make your own post and tag me! What I say isn’t set in stone cause this is an idea for everyone to enjoy. I’d love to hear any new ideas!

[deesseshesca]

Message from your spirit guide

Message from your spirit team

 Just a head up …. We love you 

Good afternoon, pretty souls, today I’m channeling your spirit guides. 

Choose the image that’s speak to you and allow yourself to soak ONLY what’s reasoning with YOUR SITUATION 

Rules and Disclaimer 

I am the type of tarot reader to say as it is. Nothing is sugar coated but everything is sent with good intention. If you are not ready to face some truth, you should vagabond somewhere else. 

TW: DV, MENTION OF ABUSE 

PILE 1

You go ahead and purchase that Cartier bracelet that is not going to destroy your hard work. Make sure you wear it at the baby shower. We know how much you pray for your sister  regarding her fertility issue, your niece\nephew is on his/her way. And we are as excited as you. Don’t you dare overthink your body right now. You look amazing. Everyone is telling you so you better believe them. Ok you may not be at your dream weight but babe you must agree that you never looked so good. You better show off ! You told the whole truth and will be rewarded. I know you were scared to say it all because you felt like you messed up somewhere which is ok but that does not mean you deserve it. Yes, you agree to be in a relationship with him. But you did not agree to the mental abuse. You did not agree to the constant yelling, the name calling and disrespect. You did not sign for physical abuse. Whether or not you orgasm or not doesn't matter, if you did not want to do it, then nah. He did IN FACT abuse you. Let’s forget the couple slap here and there and the punches on the wall. People from his family want to drag you but everyone knows you are a good woman and did not deserve anything you were thru. We know it was an extremely stressful moment for you, but now you can sit back and relax. Everyone is congratulating you right now. Even the people on the street can’t wait but to compliment you on your glowing skin and amazing sense of style. But we know that it has been months, even years in the making. You decide to stand up when you had nothing but faith in YOU. The days that you had to stick to your diet. Stop eating your feelings. All the time you had to stick to a budget, so you can have this financial security. The hard work you did in uni so you can get the degree that got you this amazing job. Nothing grew overnight. Success looks so good on you ! The odd thing is you want more . You can see it because of the upgrade in your wallet. You went from fast food, to a five star restaurant.  You went from exam week to working in big cooperatives. But yet you want more. There are days where you feel so happy and extremely grateful for what you have but other times you fall into deep depression because you want more from life. People around you don’t get it. ‘’You went from HELL to HEAVEN’’. Not quite. There’s more for you out here. And your soul knows it and calls for it. So let’s do it. Don't let the doubtful people stop you. The success that you have at the moment, you did on your own. With very little support. So, what if you want more ? Go get it ! Stop waiting for validation when you are the standard. 

You are all about you right now. Focus on the future that you want for yourself. But people around you are calling selfish. I’m hearing ‘’ Why are you acting brand new ? Why are you so Hollywood all of the sudden ?’’. But you know better than to give those comments your attention. 

You may be a lawyer. Or a future one. You may want to start grad school. 

Advice from me : You don’t need a tower moment to know when a season is finished. If you want, go get it. That’s it, that’s all. 

What it is- Doochii

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me to have the whole run down, ONLY 3 SPOTS (ONE OF EACH)

PILE 2

We heard you… We heard you but are you telling them Always talking in front of the mirror what you are going to tell them. To tell them to fuck off. Tell them they got you fucked up. But nah. You know better. They know better. That’s why they are always coming back because you never switch up. They did. They switch is not just in your head. They are abusing you and anybody with critical thinking can see it from a continent way. I know it may not look like it in 3D but you are actually doing it. Ok you may not have the greatest grade. Ok you may not have the richest boyfriend. Ok your business is not making a milli a year . But let me remind you who the fuck you is. Nobody's surprised when you succeed because you always do. That’s why when you fail or struggle you get way more reaction since they wish upon you. But everyone knows that you are way better than them. They laugh because you don’t have the greatest grade. You are literally in one of the hardest programs. They are making fun of you while they did not even make it to uni. They are making fun of your man for not having extremely abundant funds. Not knowing the way he wakes you up with grateful text all the time, gives the best orgasm, even when he is mad, never raises his voice, always opens the doors for you, will not go to sleep without calling you, will literally throw  his whole life away just to see you smile. And he is ACTUALLY studying in a very rewarding and respectful major. Like c’mon. Those girls are out here messing with men for some cash while having a side of beating, cheating and sprinkles of hella disrespect. Literally   begging to be heard. While he's literally blowing your phone when he is with his friend because he can’t have enough of you. Your business went from being an idea to making weekly orders. They don’t even have a business. I don’t even think they have an IDEA to bring to life. Except they mean remarks and mean mug face. Since it kills them to see you win all their life, they prefer to wish for your downfall. Instead of asking for advice, lord know you would have given them some. Really girl, they wish they were you. They will accept to change life with you quicker than then their men can last, if God ask them. Why are killing yourself to impress them ? It hurts to see you go the extra mile for people that would rather see you die than to help you. Out here giving your last cent to that one annoying friend that humiliates you in front of everyone. Out here helping your mom knowing them well that she would never nurture you, even if Jesus ask her ? You don’t have nothing to prove to those people, because you are not on the same level as them. So let’s get it together and move on. They are mad at you because you are actually working towards your dream life. They thought you would stay miserable with them forever, but you know better. So YOU did better. If they mad about it let them. They were not there, when you overthink every move, when you were uncertain, when you could not sleep because of anxiety and  when you would crash on your bed completely exhausted without real result but your dreams to motivate you to keep going. Do us a favor and act like the queen that you are. 

You have a habit of loud outbursts of energy when something excites you. You give me the vibe that look like Jade (aesthetic) but act like Cat from Victorious. 

You have been putting yourself out here. The fact that you are surprise by your success get me. People been waiting for you. I feel like you think you don’t deserve it, but all your customers are more than happy. They never had such a good product. I’m hearing this is the best _$ , I spend in my life’’. In school you said you will have a academic comeback and babe YOU DID ! Plus you have a man that is sweeter than anything. Literally goes to the gym, work, study and lives to love you. (Man does he love you) 

Rules - Doja Cat

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me to have the whole run down ONLY 3 SPOTS (ONE OF EACH)

PILE 3 

We are behind you no matter what. But there's nothing we can do if you don’t act on it. You've been through a hard divorce with a very awful man. Intense narcissistic behavior. He made you believe in all his promises. You don’t have to explain yourself, we saw it coming. We also know that he was a fine con. He was all right at first. Everything a woman could wish for you got it emotionally and materially . People around you saw you guys as the ultimate couple goals. But he was hiding dark intentions. Disrespecting on a daily basis, humiliating a front of his colleague and requesting from you absolute submission and sexual intercourse when he felt like it. When you try to live you fear for your life with good reasons. You are a victim of military men. But you are not a victim of life. He mess you up so much, that your belief system is constant bad self talk. You don’t trust yourself with any decision even regarding that divorce. Knowing damn well he treated you like a piss of shit. How many times did he hold a gun at you ? How many time has he choke you ? How many times has he threatened to kill you, if you ever refuse to listen to him? Good looks and a good d were not good enough and will never be enough to deal with a deranged man.  Now, finally divorce, he is going around calling you cheater when you never did. Not that you never wanted too. Sometime you wanted im to feel as fuck as you did. But were too afraid of the repercussions. You literally have medical proof of STD’s he gave you. But God was he slick with it. Never laying hands on you but destroying everything around you. Never telling what to do or not do. Just warning you of how he would react if you did not act like he wanted. Never telling you he was cheating, just told you he needed space or asking for a threesome. Now here you are, years later. You rebuild your life on your own, brick by brick. Boundaries stronger than ever. You thought you over the self sabotage but damn is it biting you right back in front of that new man. The man of your dream. Is this one the real deal ? Or is it a trap ? You can’t take another heartbreak. But he is everything you need. There is a block coming from you. You know you are the problem. He knows you have a blockage that you are terrified to reveal and swear he will wait for you. Is that not something your ex-husband used to say before it all went south ? How can you actually trust your judgment with this one? Imagine if you are stopping him  from meeting the real one while he falls for the mess you are in. Please set yourself free. You got your divorce, you went to therapy, you develop strong boundaries but yet you are still bound to the past. You made a mistake, like all humans do. You deserve good things to happen to you. You have a way better judgment now than you did back then. Now, you actually know how to recognize a monster. You know damn well it ain’t him. Go for it, you deserve it. If it is too scary, set the pace, I swear he ain’t going anywhere. 

SELF SABOTAGE 

I was never there - Weeknd

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me, to have the whole run down. ONLY 3 SPOT (ONE OF EACH)

PILE 4

There’s a lot of things we don’t understand about you. Your love for rap music and obsession with Nicki Minaj. We don't understand that you love to learn everything and anything. We don’t understand half of the things you chat about regarding chemistry, physics or whatever other science took over your heart. But we LOVE YOU SO MUCH. We support you every step of the way ! We can’t not wait for you to have that damn degree in science that makes you cry on school night but brings a sparkle in your eyes the second a person asks you a question about it. Sometimes we push random people around you to ask about the likelihood of a cell in a decade body or something like that so we can hear you speak for hours. It gives you a glow. You aura shine so bright when you are in the lab. Even your teachers are in awe of your dedication. I know you keep reminiscing about the good old times. When having A’s in your fav subject was as easy as closing your eyes. Now you spend hours just to understand one slide in the professor PowerPoint. It is useless to beat yourself up. You are deepening your understanding about one subject at the moment. It is ok if some parts of it are harder to understand than others. I must warn you it will not be easy. You will spend more time in the library than with your friends. You will spend most of your time in the school year stuck in your room away from your loving family. But don’t hurt yourself with guilt. We are not taking your disappearance as any form of disrespect. We are so supportive of you. We never knew such a beautiful bundle of joy and knowledge would ever be born in our lineage. You know, we are a family of lawyers, business man, psychologist and philosoĥer. Your parents may not get half of that you're saying. Your brother may roll his eyes sometimes when you go on about one specific detail that sparks your interest but they are all amazing by the way your brain works. Let me tell you this, you will succeed. You will get it. We will be waiting at the finish line, with flowers and gifts to celebrate the day you will be walking on the podium. As proud as you, because we know how much work you put into every step of the way. The lonely nights, the hard exam and way too big project . Also stop procrastinating and start developing some discipline. You are not here to succeed in your exam but to prepare for your future career. Is time to build some stamina.Don’t worry, I PROMISE YOU: NOTHING BAD IS COMING YOUR WAY. It may get a little gray here and there but we are protecting you from any evil. You can calm your anxiety and enjoy the journey. I won't let ANYONE get in the way of my favorite prodigy. You may not be realizing it but are living in one of your prayers. 

I LOVE YOUR SPIRIT FAMILY. GOD ! They are amazed by you. Literally anything you do is an event that needs to be accelerated. Since you first breath they were going coco about you.  I had a clear image about your spirit team. I see 3 chair. A lot of wealth around them. One of the chairs is a throne where an older man sits in power. He was the one speaking but everyone else shared that feeling. 

So high - Doja Cat

BIG SALE (CAD$)

General: 22 $

Love : 33 $

Mystery: 41 $

Message me to have the whole run down. ONLY 3 SPOTS (ONE OF EACH)

[venuscnjunctpluto]

Astrology Observation pt. 2

(Thank y’all for all the support on my first one❤️🙌🏾)

*as a sag Venus sag mars pls stop asking me why I’m laughing…I’m not laughing at YOU I’m just insane😝

*moon in the 1st synastry is so therapeutic you just feel really comfortable opening up to the 1st house person and as the 1st house person I feel honored someone trusts me enough to share their feelings🫶🏾

*people w aqua and libra in their big three are the chillest mfs you’ll ever meet. Even though I’m very chaotic anytime someone describes me “chill” just seems to be thrown in there. We space out ALOT and it’s honestly embarrassing😭 Ex: Alicia keys, lil Wayne, Harry styles, Rosalia. Harry gives such himbo energy in interviews and they drag him for it in the comments but he’s probably just thinking about multiple things at once. Alicia keys didn’t even realize lil mama was on that stage and went on performing lol. Obviously lil Wayne smokes but something about his energy…he’s on cloud 9. And just go watch Rosalia’s chicken shop episode💕😂.

*honestly Aries mars aren’t that bad when it comes to temper because usually they find ways to manage it. Now mars-Uranus aspects is a completely different story. I have late mars-Uranus and it takes me a while to get mad but when I do I can’t even think anymore. My old roomie had a tight square and she would blow up on people for no actual reason like girl sit down😭

*something about Scorpio mars men is just😮‍💨 they have such a sneaky energy to them that makes them stand out. Virgo mars are fine too they’re just so skinny and no matter wtf they do they’re always nerdy ugh (ex: Matthew gray gubler, Lucky daye, Dylan O’Brien, Jeff Buckley)

*i noticed Aries moon don’t really get along w each other. They find their own energy to be too mf much (which it can be) so they prefer being around more calmer people *coughs* libra moons like me. They wanna be bouncing off the walls 🤪 while their friend is just like 🙂.

* fire risings do a lot of things fast. As an Aries rising, I walk fast, get happy fast, eat fast, workout fast. My cousin is complaining her sag rising toddler eats and drinks way too fast.

*venus in 11th…how many tiktok drafts do y’all got😭

*i talked to this guy who had similar placements as me (Venus in 8th and moon in 6th plus Aquarius and Aries placements) It was so chaotic it was literally us going back and forth obsessing over eachother while trying to keep it lowkey. But also the amount of anxiety we are naturally incline to have made the whole situation too mf much.

*i have mercury conjunct my friends mars and for years she tells me the things I say can take people there and make them wanna fight me. It’s in Capricorn and so I was confused before I knew we had that aspect

* i noticed rappers whose lines always stick out to me have Gemini mars or mercury- mars (central cee, king von, tupac, kendrick , j. cole)

*i was talking to this guy and I had Venus and mars plus pluto in his 4th house. Months after we stopped talking our friend groups meshed and he would tell me non-stop I reminded him of his mother. He said she was the same height as me and y’all I was scared to ask what she looked like cause 😫 y’all remember that episode of family guy when Chris dated that girl that looked like Lois yep 4th house synastry.

*im a true crime whore and two women who killed their bfs had sun-Uranus aspects. Their energy was erratic and very off putting in videos. I can’t remember the other one but Courtney tailor/clenney was one.

* More spilling my business on the Internet😍 i think I’m done entertaining people my age. Pluto in the 8th, Lilith in 1st, and Venus conjunct Pluto synastry has been hell. Where’s my sugar daddy/mama?? It’s ghetto out here

*gemini Lilith generation whose a year younger than me is nasty asf😭 esp the tauruses they have their Lilith conjunct their Gemini Venus and opposite their Pluto. One said he had a slept w two girls at separate times. He didn’t know they met until the girls posted a selfie together and tagged him. They later told him they wanted a threesome and he did it😭 knowing astrology I believed every word

* sidebar Neptune-asc people and trying to give off innocent vibes ugh annoying asf to me. I can see right through their bs but they’re able to fool most people.

* mercury-Pluto aspects are in fact LIARS and throw a Scorpio placement in there😮‍💨

[dgrailwar]

EPILOGUE - To Weave a Tale of Men and Monsters

-First, the Finale Here-

The wheels of the train rumbled, the passive subtle shaking of the car falling swiftly into a natural sort of ambiance. A man and a woman sat across from each other. The man seemed to be quietly making notes in a folder, as the woman kept herself busy with a book. They seemed pleasant enough to the other passengers, though there was something unsettling about the two of them. One would dare to say 'inhuman', but that seemed ridiculous. As such, nobody could pin down what, and quickly dismissed the feelings as purely irrational.

The man finally spoke, looking up from his notes.

"I appreciate you not coming in your… more substantial form. Still, this is a good look. Very stylish."

He gave her calm smile as he leaned back against the seat, turning to look out the window as the scenery passed by. The woman across from him sighed, pulling a bookmark from one of her pockets and slipping it between the pages before gently shutting it and laying it down on the table between them.

"…While I would have preferred it, I figured arriving in my true form may have complicated things. Besides, if my sisters taught me anything, it's that humans are best caught with sugar, rather than vinegar."

"Uh, I think the phrase uses 'flies', not 'humans'."

The woman paused as if registering his words, lips pursing as she glanced around the train car and adjusted her glasses, before quietly looking downward and fidgeting a bit with her hair. A shyer gesture than what her companion expected.

"...Right. Sorry."

She apologized, and he shook his head, unbothered.

"I get it. This is new, so we'll have to work on that. Not a problem. Still, you're a bit more reasonable than I thought. Guess now's as good a time as any for me to show you these- the drafts of my plans for introducing a human-monster society!"

The man slid over the folder he had been making edits to, filled to the brim with pages after pages of documents, handing it over. The woman raised an eyebrow before she took it, adjusting her glasses before opening the folder and flipping through the contents. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as she looked over at the man across from her.

"…You're insane."

His smile shifted into a wide grin.

"I prefer 'unconventional'. Still, outside of that, what do you think?"

Taking another moment to flip through the contents, she nodded her head slowly.

"It's sneaky… or perhaps you'd prefer 'subtle'? And, while not particularly fast, it does have a decent timeline. I can see why you called yourself a 'mastermind'. I suppose we are going to have to find a way to play around normal human society, magus society, and those that follow the Church…"

She trailed off, lightly chewing her lip. The man filled in the silence, closing his eyes as he spoke, his expression becoming focused.

"It's all about talking to the right people. And, as much as I'd prefer to start in Japan, gathering information regarding magi will be a lot more fruitful here. I don't want your granddaughter's wish to be in vain, you know? Or the resolve that they all showed back then."

"...Thank you. You and the others. I never got a chance to say that before."

The man shrugged, idly reaching across the table to pick up the book the woman had reading. He let it flip open, thumbing through the pages as he spoke.

"I'm sure they know you're grateful, even if you didn't say anything. And on my end... well, there's nothing to thank me for, at least. I mean, I'm bringing you to London, I'm sure the weather will be terrible for your hair. Or... maybe snakes like damp places?"

"...Hm. You're right. I rescind my thanks."

"Hahaha! Is that a smile I see? So the goddess does have a sense of humor!"

The woman rolled her eyes, reaching across to snatch the book back, checking to make sure none of the pages were wrinkled before letting out another a small exhale.

"Don't tell a soul, but I am nervous."

He echoed her sigh, running a hand through his hair.

"If you promise not to tell anyone I feel the same. Nerves are good, though. They keep things interesting."

With that, the woman looked out the window once more.

"…We're approaching our destination. I'll be counting on you, Emissary."

"And I'll be counting on you. Now… let's shake up the world."

[punk-in-docs]

🕷️ Girlfriend is Better 🕷️

Eddie Munson x reader

10.9k words

Summary: Eddie x Pencils hit a bit of a hurdle in their early relationship. But she puts it to rights - and then hits the sweet metal head with an offer he can’t refuse- tw violence, past assault: in this chap folks - sorry its taken so long to get this done - enjoy

Eddie can feel their eyes on him.

He feels it’s undeserved and let’s be honest, a little odd. It’s not as if he’s not doing anything out of the ordinary here. He’s just being- normal.

His version at least. His wheelhouse batshit normal. Eddie-like.

They’re looking at him like he’s grown a new head.

Munson Motor mouth, rabbiting on its usual mile a minute as Motörhead shreds through the van speakers with Lemmy’s choppy and tasty riffs.

Early morning cigarette that he lit before he hopped in the van for the drive to school, curling smoke held between two fingers.

He’s batting the saggy steering wheel in time to the song. Ba-da-da with his other open palm to coincide with drum clashes that pound through like falling rocks and crashing thunder.

He still takes the corners way too fast like a coked up maniac. Some things will never change.

He looks the same. Smiles the same. But there’s a new breed of manic warping his usual calamity of a nature.

He’s not grumbling about this morning. Or a test or pop quiz he had coming up. No miserable sluggishness. Toothpaste breath. Not slumped and still yawning. With nothing but a weak instant coffee, two sugars, as his one and only source of breakfast. Gritty coffee that still catches the grounds between his back teeth.

Hair that mushed dry state that’s hard to tell if it’s met with a brush or not yet. Possibly this morning. It’s a maybe. It’s a not really.

Leather and battle vest showed up for duty on his lanky torso as per usual. Hellfire shirt of course. The ripped jeans. The wallet chain that swings and jingles and clatters to denim when he walks and makes him sound like a jangling six foot cat with a little tinkling bell on its collar. It’s all there. The jangly jacketed freak is all assembled.

But there’s this newness to the way he’s smiling.

So wide it dimples his cheeks. Creases the corner of those intimidating wells of eyes. It’s like someone’s fuel injected him with something to make him wilder. More swirly. Practically floating. Any higher he’d be in the big blue stratosphere. Sun grazed and heady. Icarus soaring too close to the sun. Not yet plunged to earth. Melting gold spattered on milk white swan feathers as he tumbled to earth.

Jeff makes a joke about him toking up before school. Eddie reached over and ruffled his hair. Making that demons smile. Rings flashing from his fingers in the meagre sun. “Man, I wish.”

“Got new pills from Rick or something?”

Eddie frowned. “Hell no. Besides. Wouldn’t be wasting those beauties right before first period English class.” He scoffs.

Dustin and Mike share a furtive glance that begs to know what’s up. Dustin mumbles What the shit, man?

He’s finally cracked. I’m calling it.

He didn’t have far to go.

He judders the van along the lot at school. Rumbling tyres over the loose gravel. Head bobbing to the metal as he lurches the wheel and swings into a space.

“Be seeing you. Little hellions. Be free. Give em hell.” He chuckles. Lumping the van into park. Watching them open doors and frown. Scurrying away to class. Gathered close and whispering. Hiking backpack straps up their shoulders and clutching chunky math books and still regarding him like more of an oddity than he actually is.

Of course there is a reason for the golden sunshine visibly sneaking out his pores, and bouncing the soles of his happy feet today. And it’s his wonderful secret.

Eddie shakes his head, and shoulders all his jagged chips and hatred for this place.

The amount of chips he’s got shelved there, worn on his shoulders, about this stunning educational penitentiary, frankly, he could very realistically wear like scales at this point.

He puts a cigarette to his lips and slips around the corner of the lot, jacket and wallet chain clinking as he goes, sneaking to the smokers spot.

A balding patch of grass skimmed to mud, and a graffitied brick wall, snugly hidden around the side of the squat building where some go to steal a quick smoke before class. He usually occupies the spot alone and has to haul ass like a frightened racoon if a teach clocks him.

No sooner had he come within an inch of the corner, cig almost to his lips, and he is yanked around it by a sturdy hand yanking him fully out of view - by his wallet chain. He feels the tug on the denim around his hip, pulling taut.

He wants to yowl and start squirming away from the grip, slinging fists into faces at this ambush. When really he wants to turn tail and leg it in the opposite direction. Flight not fight.

His back collided with graffiti breeze block and before he could turn out his pockets, show them holding lint and nothing else save for a quarter and a D20, screechily proclaim his dispensary is clean out man, back off-

Then some warm lips mould to his.

A gentle artists hand, faded blue polish on the nails, knuckles scraping bricks, is cupping the back of his wild mane and cupping him for a kiss he slowly melts too.

He honest-to-god goes fully boneless with the way you kiss him. The scrappy fight and shock slowly leeches out those gangly poky limbs. Sparks shoot to his fingertips.

He smiles. You can feel his dimples and a cold leathered arm comes folding around your back. The bracelet and the jangle of those zips up his wrists. Settling at the dip of your waist and his fingers slide into the back of belt loop of your jeans.

When you pull back for breath that you’re not sure you want more than him, he has the dopiest grin skated on his face.

“Morning.” You beam finally.

Because that kiss seemed way more important. You can’t help the feeling he instills. Feels like your belly is birthing a wild jungle crammed with winking wings of butterflies. Brilliant blue. Wicked electric yellow. Gossamer pink. They all shimmer.

“Hey hot stuff.” He smiles. Not restraining himself whatsoever.

Oh, they shimmer even more to the sight of that. Mad. Wild. Unhinged.

His cheeks kissed a little pink. He doesn’t even care that he dropped his cigarette in the mud. He’d rather chase the taste of your lips and let that sustain him all morning. Better than pills and nicotine. This static-fizzy-starburst feeling he gets big lungfuls of when around you.

“Didn’t mean to grab you like that. But I must admit that chain is certainly a handy hook.” You flick a fingertip to it. Sway that lolling chain into his thigh. Biting your lower lip in a smile.

He cups one side your face. If anyone got to chew that lip, it’s gonna be him. Leans in to gently smooch you again.

“Goddamn. I was reaching for my attack whistle there, pencils.” He rubs his hand over your hip. Rings chafe against your denim waistband.

“Maybe I was overzealous. But I do have a stunning defence.”

You lean up on tiptoes to smash a polite smooch back to his mouth. He mumbled a curious sound into your lips.

“Which is?” He seeks. Lips chasing yours for more. Even through speaking. Insanity catches.

“I missed you like crazy and it’s been barely 12 hours since I last saw you, and kissed you. And etcetera…” You flirt.

He can see these little delighted pips in your eyes. Like sowed little seeds of pride. The etcetera being all the dirty things you finally got to indulge in last night. Threaded in moonlight at skull rock.

No regrets. He doesn’t see any tint of regret in you.

Seeing that kicks his rocker heart right up to the moon, and sailing on over it. Like those old songs. Moonbeams and old soft tinkling pianos. Ladies with gardenias in their hair crooning about moondance, love and seeing stars.

He gets it now. He totally gets all of that sappy shit.

“I hereby decree that is far too long, and way too stupid of us, actually.” He finishes your thoughts for you. They were symmetrical to his own after all.

“So stupid. We’re just like, a complete pair of morons right now.” You concur. Linking your fingers into his. Standing toe to toe and just drinking in how it feels to be near again.

“So I’m thinking, we should cease all impending stupidity and uh y’know, catch a movie tonight or, grab a bite at Benny’s. Something like that. Anything.” He says. Smile all limned in excitement.

Shaking that big moppish mane of hair as a grin splits his mouth when he speaks, makes him look like an out and out excited little kid.

Fidgeting with your hands and immersing himself in the tactile deliciousness of your hands being held in his. Little touches that stayed with him all night.

Kept bugging him even in dreams he’s sure thoughts of you crept at the oil slick lining of his mind like wing tips of persistent gentle moths. The dusty old ones the colour of sour grey milk. Ones that they get flapping around the trailer porch light at night in balmy summer. The soft blink as they hit the glass shade.

“Burgers at Benny’s sounds so good.” You grin. “Loaded chilli fries?”

He scoffs. “Naturally. I’m not an animal.”

You run your hands through his wild hair. Listen to him talk. Heart entirely bloated with love of this boy. You swear it’s knocking all giddy up against your ribs like some deformed roaming creature seeking release.

“Shall we head out after class? I’ll drive.” He offers. His stomach zig-zags in vicious excitement.

“Catch you after class, handsome.” You grin.

“Ohh, whoa. I never said I was done with you yet.” His eyes flicker with something you think is cheekiness.

Swooping in to slow kiss you for a beat too long. An embrace that makes him hum softly. Makes you mewl. Right at he back of his throat. Lips roaming gentle and soft and your bodies rock together. Gets him cupping your back to keep you near.

“Fuckk gimme another one of those, pencils. I’m not below begging.” Cups your face again. He wants another kiss. Eyes wide as bourbon brown saucers

Chuckling in the muggy space between your smiles, cheeks fired all warm, sharing the same breath, you lean in and give it to him. Giving him the deep messy kiss you’d been craving.

When it’s time to pull back to guzzle air and maybe some reality again, Eddie chases your retreat with his mouth. His lips bruised a stunning cupid pink. Taking a breath that he’s not sure he needs more than he does you.

“Jesus H Christ. How the hell am I gonna even attempt to concentrate today-“ He asks. Voice all raspy and slow gravel.

“What usually stops you?” You sass him. He bites his lip all naughty and softly jabs you right in the stomach; a move designed to tickle.

“Blasphemy. Dear one. I mean, how dare you.” He grins. Chocolate drop eyes all crinkled at their corners. You cover his hand on your stomach, with your own. He likes the soft warm pouch of you there.

It’s tactile. It’s touch. It shoots right to the roof of Eddie’s brain and does something so funky to him he can’t even describe it in words. Actions maybe - Beer on an empty stomach. The first hit of some really silky smooth strain Rick gives him to try. The home made warm sugary scent of that peach cobbler Wayne makes him on his birthday.

They haven’t designed or discovered enough appropriate words to put to this feeling. None that even his whip smart nature can grasp at.

“I’ll soothe that wounded ego and buy you a chocolate shake later if it pleases.” You offer. Tilting your head. Offer placed on the table.

“An ego bruise is a problem I will gladly allow you to throw chocolate and ice cream at.” His fingers worm their way through yours. Knuckles locked. You could do this all day.

“Can be swayed with chocolate. Good to know.”

“And candy. Pizza rolls are good too.”

“Noted.” You beam. Snuggling to his front. Hands still joined. Fused as one.

The sound of the bell ringing for first period is a rude interjection into a morning that’s shaping up to be stellar.

Eddie didn’t seem best pleased by this. Judging by the way he takes advantage of that split second of your distraction hearing the bell, to snatch his hands at your shoulders and loop you round so your back is to the wall instead of his. Sneak attack.

His arm is a leather band over the back of your waist and he gently cups your chin and deepens a silky melting kiss that is, just, so many elements of perfect it should be outlawed that just kissing can be this good.

The plush of his deeply plump lips, with the scraping push of some stubble on his upper lip. It’s delicious. The way he kisses is better than any hit off any joint. You don’t care what he says. Better than purple haze. Better than fucking anything. Backed by sheer dopey sized crushes that take you both, head to toe. Crushes taking on a life of their own. Wearing your skins whole and making you desperate. Make you ache.

You kiss him back. Desperately. Drenched in want. But also knowing that you should be hot-footing it to your first class lest you get a tardy slip. To turn up late, with a very very kiss worn mouth like that would be about as obvious as the nose on your face.

“Eddiii-mmmmm.” You plead to his bewitching mouth. Smoky minty breath and the faintness of his morning coffee on your tastebuds. He’s cupping your face like your some sacred relic he has to handle gently. As if he had corrosive fingertips. Strychnine laced touch.

When he pulls back. Hands two big gangly paws holding your neck, there’s this sweet dazed look all over his expression. Drugged on you. The way you kissed him like his tongue is made out of cherry candy and you only want more- oh lord.

How’s that for irony. The Hawkins High school dealer and here he is getting a huge hit, from kissing you. Nothing that comes pre rolled in a baggie making his mind fuzz like hot molasses, or circled into a wild little chalky pill that makes his head all bright and fuzzy sharp like cotton candy.

Making out before class he can gladly get hooked on. He thinks he’s there already. DT-Ing for more. Make him shake and rattle on all fours like a rabid dog.

“One for the road…” He explains inbetween raspy pants for breath. A silly smile all yours for the keeping.

You pat his chest. He could honestly whimper at the tactile feel of your hand resting on the meat of his pectoral. So dangerously close to skin on skin.

“I better go.” You sigh. A drop kick to your mood to leave him. You take a step back.

He can’t allow that. He whines like a kicked puppy. Button eyes all round and shiny with whatever amount of sadness it would take to root you here, with him.

“Don’t. Pencils. Stay here. Stay uneducated and stupid with me and let’s just make out, all day.” He waggles some filthy intentioned brows at you. Pleading threaded onto his voice. Trying his best to yank you back.

“You could easily tempt me to play hooky any day, Munson. But I’ve been studying for this test all week.” You point out.

“Well. I can’t deny that dorky chicks turn me on.” He sighs nicely. You can’t help smiling.

“Really? I figured tiny pleated little cheerleader skirts and peppy bouncy pom-poms turned you on.” You tease. Voice all sultry.

He leans in and smacks a kiss to the end of your nose.

“Nuh-uh. I like em’ covered in paint and jeans and artsy, and working in record shops with old hippies. And hopelessly in all consuming love with me.” He grins.

“Kiss ass.” You smirk. Smacking a kiss to his cheek. Stepping back. His hand slithers to find yours again. Links fingers. His rings glitter. They’re all warm where he’s been holding hands with you. On you.

“Hey, my girlfriend is a damn fox. This is a hill I’ll die on.”

You bring your joined hands up and kiss the back of his for that.

“Class beckons.” You roll your eyes. Shouldering your bag. Unwilling to unlink hands until you absolutely had too.

“See you at lunch?” You ask. His brows creased. Makes him look like an upset puppy.

“Can’t. Got a drop to make in the woods.”

“Parking lot after school?” He counter offers.

“You bet.” You agree. And you cannot even handle the wait.

You walk away around the corner. Eddies eyes trail over you as you go.

“Enjoy the smoke.” You turn over your shoulder and call back.

He saluted you with a flicking motion, with that million dollar grin pleasured all over his face.

“Brutal babe. You know what I’d enjoy more…” his inflection at the end of his words lets you know what he’s referring too.

“Down boy.” You play as you head off. Smile all secret and wide for him. Grin so wide it makes his heart pulse.

He’s grasping a hand over his mad heart as you slip away. One knee bent up. Sneakered foot flat to the wall behind him.

He reaches for that cigarette and his lighter. Though he doubts this little stick will do any damn thing that kissing you didn’t. He lights up. Grinning. You left his heart thrashing about and kicking inside the shell of his denim and leather like a damn drum in a cramps song.

Way, way across the field, sat high up on the bleachers with some of the girls on the cheer squad. In full view of the back brick wall where you had just been. Supposedly around the corner and concealed from view-

Linda snapped her binder shut. Eyes packed in venom. Huffing as she picked up her books.

Lipsticked lips pursed together in a grim hot pink line. Annoyance fills her chest and rams up against her ribs. Sour in her stomach. Nastiness curdled up on her tongue. She’d seen enough.

You and the freak. Just like Jonny said.

No fucking way.

~

Eddie bapped along to some rock that had been trapped in the lining of his crazy head since this morning. Head bumping as he hummed along, sang under his breath to Rattlehead. That mane flicking every which way.

Metal lunchbox swings from his hand and clatters as he bounced along the familiar route. Feet trained for the way. Leaves cushion his rustling step. He drags his eyes over the foliage spread high above.

Dappled with gold sunshine of the afternoon that chips down. The odd scurry of a bird flapping around the treetops. Nature and the soothing crash of wind lacing through wide apple-green leaves. He darts his eyes around, seeking and searching for the shape of anyone to come crashing through the trees.

He arrived at his little decaying stoop in the woods. The table that’s so carved and scarred with crude drawings and initials it’s chipped and falling to bits. Cig butts littered everywhere and Eddie shamefully admits some of them are most likely his. His place of business is well reputed.

Swinging his leg over the bench seat and slinking himself up onto the table to take a pew. Sneakers resting on the seat. Cause when has he ever approached anything normally, or fallen into doing anything that comes into the category of usual.

He throws the lunchbox lid open with no gilding the lily, and braces his scattered mind into this deal. Shoves through the bags to find the semi-decent stuff. Wave of heady green hits him in the nose as he rummaged and carried on humming to himself.

Though really for the preppy guy who propositioned this drop, he’s tempted to charge way too much for a thin little roll of ditchweed.

Alas, his reputation is too important. One bad sale and he’d never touch profits on it again. He will unwillingly part with some decent sativa for the knucklehead.

He thumbs through his papers and rustling bags and makes a note of exactly what he’ll put his fistful of measly dollars from the sale towards; another date with you.

He’s heard of this great alt store a couple towns over. Super your style. Record store in back, cool clothing, apparantly a rock n roll kinda vibe that you would appreciate. Posters, merch, jewellery, you name it.

He can’t think of a better place to take you for a date. He’s keeping it under wraps even though, god knows, his blabber mouth which runs and rants away from itself, wanted to yell and shriek about it to you nonstop.

How he wanted to scrape together some dollars to buy you something. A handful of punk style patches, a tee, a poster for your bedroom door that needed some anarchy or some goth Siouxsie. Maybe a little Joan and some Blackhearts action.

He’s heard you crank them up on your headphones to blaring when you’re trying to concentrate on a sketch. Like the loudness lifts you out your mind and transcends into the paint.

How he wanted to make a mixtape for you, of all the metal songs - and to his embarrassment some of the less tacky love ballads - that bring you to the forefront of his mind when he hears them. Even some older crooning songs that Wayne likes.

The stuff he was drip-fed on in his early days, sweet and crooning, like slow gold honey melting into his ears. Listening to them and snatching pieces of melody that breezed through the trailer. Warm and sunny to listen to. Softly swaying Don Henley, Woodie Guthrie, and Jim Croce. Even some Ella or some Julie London and her smokiness.

He smiles to himself as he comes to Rattlehead’s chorus. Toes tapping the rotten old bench and creaking the wood, as he scrunches bags aside this way and that to find the pre-rolls. Fingers drum the beats off the side of the tin. Clacking out into the woods.

The brutal snap of a twig makes him peer around.

Eddie swims his eyes through the trees and eventually drags them to find a Jock with his hands shoved in his pockets.

It’s not someone he’s on a first name basis with. He’s lost amongst a sea of sensible jeans and varsity two tones. Sea green and blinding white with the lion gold yellow Hawkins H proudly blazoned on his front.

Crazy how differently they wear their allegiances.

He’s the anti-thesis of Eddies style. Shirt tucked in. Sensible white sneakers that aren’t beat up to shit. Preppy. Hair brushed. Some square jawed Ryan or Chad or whomever, pads towards him.

The look in his eyes twists Eddie’s gut like wet flannel. Scathing.

He’s seen hatred and distain before. Of course. It’s poured very freely his way.

Thats nothing new to him. Distaste. Eye rolls louder than claps of thunder and tutts coming stabbed under breath peppered with nasty words.

This is that crowd at its ugliest. The tribe this guy is happily a part of. Supposed fuckin’ Normalcy. They scar the word ‘Freak’ into him over and over again. Stomp it into his messy maned head over and over with their feet.

Finally he got tired of the brutal raining down kicks and just took it. Weened the power of it. Stole it from them and flipped it. Made it his shield. Propped it up with that DIO patch on his back. Let their hatred sink into that and roll away useless.

Let them know it doesn’t sink down to places where they want it to hurt.

Eddie swallows. Throat suddenly a sticky chasm. Tried to soften the blow and put away whatever the fuck this guy was trying to scowl and throw at him.

“Hey, man. You’re my 1 o’clock right?” He asks. Tapping his knee still and fiddling with his hands.

The guy swerved his jaw before he spoke. “Yeah.” Spine held poker rigid as he answered. Like it offended him to have to be here and talk.

He came into the clearing. Sneakers rustling leaves. Something feels sour about this whole thing.

“Okay. Well- um.” He awkwardly clears his throat. Reaches into the box that he gently sets beside himself. Grabs the joint and fidgets with it for a second.

“It’s uh, it’s twenty bucks for a pre-roll.” Eddie tells him.

“Great.” He watches the guy nod. Curt. His expression steely. Eyes glassy in a way that’s beyond unsettling.

“Ohhhkay.” Eddie nods. Eyes a fraction too pinched at the corners. Concerned frown dragging down his brows. Wondering what the stitch up is. His eyes dart around. Bordering on panic.

He stands to get off the bench, the guy doesn’t so much a muscle to reach across and take the joint off him. Hands still shoved deep in his pockets.

Eddie holds the joint. The guy doesn’t even move to take it.

“It won’t bite man. Smooth as silk and just, hits you like a cool wave when you smoke that puppy. Trust me.”

Something flickers like a sneer across the guys mouth. He looks at the innocuous rolled joint Eddie’s holding out to him. Looks at the brown paper all rolled in his palm.

Eddie shrugs. Wide open. Leather crinkles over the jutting movement of his shoulders.

“You want it or not?” A razor edge starting to creep into his tone.

If this is someone who hasn’t made their mind up, he’s got other places to be. Better times to be had. Than waiting on whether or not the preppy jerk is gonna take the goods off his hands. Or use more than two syllables.

“If you don’t want it. I’ll go right now. Forget it. No hard feelings.” He takes the edge off for him.

Despite the fact that actually a little simmering front of annoyance bubbles at his belly for the guy wasting his free period he could have used to kiss you senseless with wandering hands, right up against the side of his van.

He turns around and throws the joint back into the box. Shaking his head. Making his hair do that wild kicky thing it usually does.

“Maybe you should go. Freak.” Comes spat his way. Drawn in a snarl.

“Whatever, dude.” Eddie puts his back to him. Folds his product back into his box.

More snaps. More rustled leaves. Eddie drifts his eyes up and sees three more guys coming through the woods to the clearing. Walking slowly, picking over nature to come to the bench all menacingly slow. Like he was a deer they were in danger of spooking.

All wearing Hawkins letterman jackets. Sneers writ on all their faces. Intimidation carved into every step they take. They look way too happy to see him here alone.

Suddenly Eddie feels small. Feels like he’s right back in middle school. Being tossed around and bashed up by the bullies. Coming home with stinging scraped knees and a cheek that feels swollen hot, itchy like bloated meat. The crust of dried rust scabbing under his nose.

This feels exactly like that. Some things never change.

“The fuck?” He asks. He won’t lie. His voice wobbles to a croak. Set on shaking sands.

“Where you goin’ loser?” One of them huffs out. Eddie turns his head.

Strutting towards him like the bullshit cover of macho magazine. Or J-Crew, is Barbies boyfriend. The blonde ape.

One of them he doesn’t recognise proudly comes up and slaps the lunchbox out his hands.

Eddie flinches back. Shrinks away. Puts distance between every step they eat up eagerly to come towards him. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want whatever’s coming barrelling his way. He hasn’t done anything except sell some reefer.

“Alright. Alright-“ Eddie stumbles back from the table. Hands high and empty. Voice jittery. His head and gut yell in sync - telling him to run the hell outta there.

“Clearly you guys have some sort of agenda I’m not aware of so why don’t we all just-“ His smile is all tremulous and shaky.

A fist drags his collar into a yank. A curled up punch swings into his face and knocks him clean to the ground before he can chew out his next words. His jaw snaps together. Hot pennies comes flooding his tongue where his teeth cut his cheek.

Stars and bursting black galaxies accompany his artless tumble to the ground.

And then some more fists come raining down. A sneakered foot planting square into his side to kick the wind clean out of him.

They leave him crumpled on the ground. Cushioned by rotting dry leaves. Smeared in mud, blood leaking from two places in his face. Spotting down to his dark shirt.

As a parting gift one of them empties his lunchbox over the floor and stomps its contents into the dirt.

He knows the feeling only all too well.

~

You clatter into the bathroom after your last class.

Let the bustle of crowds fall far behind you as everyone rushes to the lot to leave. Afternoon summer sun stripes its sneaking glory across the halls and slants the window ledges in gold.

You cross to the sinks and set your sketchbook crammed with new drawings on the side. Leafs of the paper and all the dried paint crinkling, as it’s wedged partially open by the sheer number of crammed pages all skated on dusty pencil or charcoal.

You’d need to buy another pretty soon. One with thick cloth like paper pages for you to fill up.

You go through new books like running water. Never stop sketching. You’d wanted to take Eddie to the funky art shop you grab your supplies from. You’ve a feeling he’d love seeing the paint sets and the sheer number of spray paints they got.

Creativity seemed to flourish from him. His imagination permanently running wild. Could never stop it. One of your favourite things about him in fact.

He would talk about your sketches. Ask you about them. Ask you what the best paint would be for decorating some new figurines he’s got.

He’d twirl the pen you’re using out your hand and tell you all about the way he’d sit in the library for hours drawing fantasy maps for his campaigns on graft paper. Drawing rolling green islands. Mountain caves with trolls. Boggy muggy swamps with draping trees and hidden dangers. Vast seas with coily sea serpents hiding in the waves.

He’d chat to you about your ideas. The ones you’re struggling with for art class. The things you need to study and learn about. The theory of colours. The use of them all dotted in a Poussin or swirled in a Van Gogh.

You could talk to Eddie about anything. For hours and hours. The mere fact of going to grab a huge greasy meaty junk fest of a dinner with him has you walking on clouds.

You want your evening with him already. It can’t come fast enough. You want salty loaded fries and a cold shake and relentless plush Eddie kisses. You wanna climb into the comfy ratty seat in that tired old van that you love. Listen to whatever blasting metal cassette he’s been humming along to all day.

Hell- even just seeing his whole face light up with a smile as you saunter up to his van. The way he’d look at you - the way he always looks at you - with those big shining brown eyes all haloed in golden sun. Brimming with mirth. Cheeks split wide and crow-eyes all bunched up at the corners in glee.

He burns so bright to see you, it’s like he’s swallowed the sun and stars combined. You feel so lucky to have that.

The way he links his fingers with yours. Lopes your fingers together as one and doesn’t even mind if your all paint spattered or your hands are too dry. Palms all hard from scrubbing off acrylic smudges.

He kisses your fingers and acts like you’re draped in diamonds.

Acts like you weren’t wearing a ribbed worn Henley. A large - borrowed - Berkeley blue varsity sweater knotted around your waist, or your straight worn baggy jeans, cuffed up hems and patched at the knees that you mended. And your truly awful red sneakers that are so beat up with age they’re almost a sad faded pink.

He still looks at you like you’re a holy revelation. Each time.

You heap your bag next to the sinks and scrub the last of the charcoal off your hands. Sticky pink soap making a lot of lather around your fingers as you washed the smudgy grey away from the creases in your knuckles. Watch the way it circles down the drain.

You pull up and dry them with the crinkly paper tissues sat on the side.

Take a second to look back to the mirror. Centred all around the ugly squiggles of old sharpie doodles etched on the walls. Contemplate your reflection.

You smooth the hair away from your forehead. Attempt to neaten some of the crazy fluffy bits that kink down around your ears. Fuss with it for a minute or two. Smudge the charcoal away off your cheek.

“Who you trying to look so nice for-“ Comes a cutting tone from behind you. Tone dredged through revulsion and back out again.

A twist over your shoulder reveals Linda. Stood there in her oversized acid wash denim jacket and too-short purple skirt. Hair all bunched up and piled on her head in a half up style wound with a magenta scrunchie. She stands with one hip cocked. And her eyes are frosty daggers.

Heat licks your spine in the shame that you’d been caught preening. “No one.” You say too quick.

Try and inflect some humour on your voice. “You know I don’t exactly have anyone to preen for.” You lie.

Looking down at your hands as you dry them. Scrubbing water away with damp paper. Crush it into a fist and ball it in the bin when you’re done.

You can feel her stare embedding itself into your skull. Like an engraving. Sharp. Scratch of a knife on hollow bone.

“I saw you with him. So don’t try and come at me with your bullshit.” She spits. Words tired and clipped.

You turn over your shoulder. She stands there seething. Looking as bitchy as she usually does. Pink lips pursed.

“Saw me…” you check.

“Yeah. You and Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson?” She poses the words like they’re offensive. Mocking.

Anger furred the back of your tongue. Like feasting on too much sugar. Or a chalky jagged pill lodging itself in your throat.

“Look. I know you’re like, a lonely little virgin or whatever, and you wanna pop your cherry and all, but there’s way better guys out there to screw-”

Your venom stops her words dead.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” You bite.

You see her face fall into shock at your tone. Snappy and sudden. She looked stunned. As if you’d wheeled around 360 and slapped her.

“Oh my god. Don’t tell me you actually like him? Are you serious?” She gapes like it’s illogical.

“He’s a loser with ratty hair who sells weed and lives in a shit hole trailer park.”

“I do like him. I more than like him. We’re dating.” You tell her with steel. “We’re going out tonight as it happens.”

“I knew you had a screw loose but this is just another level of low. Even for you.” Linda bitches.

“How do you never get tiredwith that constant tirade of shit that spills out your mouth Linda.” You snipe.

She rallies to respond. Scanning you with hard eyes backed with new levels of poison.

“I’m not the one dating the King of the freaks.” She hits at you, real low.

“No. You’re dating a two-bit jockstrap who doesn’t even like you, unless you blow him. At least Eddie wants me for more than my pussy.” You point out.

She swallowed. Eyes glimmer. You know that one bit deep.

“Don’t come crying to me when that trailer park asshole dumps you like a cup of cold poison.”

You shake your head and try to remember how to breathe. Snickering cracks of bones in your throat as you swallow. You want to fly into rage and slam your textbook into her stupid scathing face until it dents one of her precious cheekbones.

“You don’t even know him. None of you do. You don’t even know the first two things about him.” You defend loud.

“I know he’s weird as shit and sells skunk. What a catch.”

You bite your tongue. Plenty of insults about Jonny come crawling to mind.

“How long have you two been-“ She sniffs.

“Couple of weeks now. Since Kyle’s party.” You hurl at her furiously.

Her face fills with an expression you can’t read as everything comes to make sense. Falls into place. Puzzle pieces clicking.

“You’ve been lying to me this whole time.”

“Yeah. And you’re so self centred look how long it’s taken you to even notice or give a shit about what’s happening to me or my life.” You finally say all the things you should have voiced long ago.

“You’re only interested now because you care what other people are gonna say on Monday, and what they’ll gossip about.”

“He’s trouble, and he’s gonna get you hurt. Probably gonna give you a filthy rash or something too.” She sneers. “Lord knows what he’s riddled with.”

“You’re such a fucking bitch.” You grit your teeth. Emotion gets the better of your voice. Tears bubble at your lash line. Red hot.

“Not gonna be my problem to have you trailing round after me anymore. Cause by the way, we are no longer friends.” Linda spits. Eyes narrow to slits.

You nod. Resigned. Tears of anger prick the corners of your eyes. You’re too angry to let them loose.

“What a goddamn relief.” You hit back. Chew your lower lip.

“I’ve had to listen to you bitch at me, and whine and snipe, and moan, for years. I’ve had to endure your tantrums and your cutting comments, and every play-by-play of every unsatisfying Friday night screw around, with your shitty dirtbag of a boyfriend who treats you like garbage. And who you run back to each time he fucks you over. And I’m so sick of you.” Your voice comes out raw.

“So yeah. You’re right. We’re not friends anymore. I don’t think we’ve been that for a very long time.”

You put your back to her and grab your books.

“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Freak.” She sideswipes nastily as you shoulder your way past her.

Catching her on purpose. Shoving her with your shoulder to catch her teetering in those heels.

“Have fun with your trailer trash.” She snips.

“Word of advice. Make sure Jonny wraps it first. Word is he’s been screwing Tina on the cheer squad behind your back every Wednesday.��

You watch her saunter up past you to get to the mirror and touch up her lipstick. Ignore ignore ignore.

Her too sweet Revlon perfume making your stomach roil. She looks at her reflection. The thing she loved most. It’s amazing you ever got a look in. She scrunches up sections of her hair to make it bounce. An indifferent mask on her face.

Trying to ignore you already so the tears don’t come. So what else is new.

You pause at the door. Hand on the handle. Books piled on your arms.

“Sad thing is. I never expected you to act any different when you found out. Turns out you’re just that shallow vain bully I always suspected you to be.”

She pretends not to hear as you slip out the door. You’re sure to slam it as loudly as you can.

Coming out into the partially empty hall. Quickly skating a hand down your cheek. Taking a gulp of a deep breath. Starting down the hallway to come to the doors at the end.

Letting the distance to that girls restroom salvage some of your anger. Let it ebb away and let the savage venom words roll down your skin like blunt razors.

You wait to see if they feel like they’ve drawn any blood.

Maybe just a raking deep black bruise. Perhaps the confrontation has lifted a rock solid weight off your chest. Cut your ties to something corrosive.

You storm to the doors at the end, and push your way out. Into the midsummer air. Afternoon sun washing over you as it creeps it’s golden-fiery way by. Slanting ochre across the parking lot.

A gaggle of people clutched around one of the sticky lunch tables stops you dead in your tracks.

That weight comes crashing back with all the subtle tact and grace of a tank storming a building.

It’s Hellfire. The crowd. It’s Gareth, Mike, Jeff and Henderson. They’re all clutched around someone sat on the bench seat. Someone who is leaning forwards with his elbows resting on his knees. One hand held up to his head.

Your mood plunges even more. There’s a sour shift as some of them twist to look at you.

Big childlike eyes full of something that approaches wariness. Sadness dashed with insecurity. The kid-like uncertainty of how to deal with this very gruesome and very real situation.

A cold can of tab, now warm, for the crescent bruise taking shape around his eye socket.

One of them fishing around in the bottom of their bag for crumpled blue band aids. Anything to help.

A wad of crinkly and loveless paper towels snatched from the boy’s restroom and wadded into a wet lump for the blood pouring under his nose. The fresh red that’s staining his tee like big gruesome poppy petals.

His free hand is wrapped around his side for the bruise he can already feel like a dark cloud of cherry red and blue cobwebbing up his skin and over each slat of his ribs on his left side.

They shuffle away from the table and you finally get to see what they all look so grim about.

Eddie is hunched over with a black eye and a bloodied face and nose. He’s muddy and dirty and scratched up and when he meets your gaze, your world shudders on its axis, to a grinding halt.

The way he’s looking at you shatters your damn heart into huge glassy shards. Diamonds and sprinkles of it, sharp and chunky, cut into your chest. Daggering.

He’s hurt.

He swallows and keeps eye contact. Looks at you with such fear and sorrow emanating from those big round bourbon eyes. You see the apprehension in his body.

It doesn’t get any better when he winced and tries to stand. Body bowing as he slowly eased himself off the bench seat. Hand cupping his ribs as he inched his way to a full stand. You hear him groan.

You see as pain flickers across his face. The usual springy frolicking gait is muted. It’s etched with pain and writ with ache.

He wishes he could read your expression right now. As it is he’s struggling to sort it into one emotion.

You look hurt, tear stained, livid and clenched rigid with something that could only be bone deep anger. Venomous, mind numbing, anger. And it was just bubbling and clawing it’s way to a fever pitch.

“Pencils-“ He wets his lips. Looks meek as he watches you carefully. Tenderness in his voice.

You dump your books where you stand and turn on your heel. Sketchbook cast to the floor and heaped atop your bag. You slam back through the doors and into the school - mind set on one salient thing.

The doors slam not seconds after you. The creaking jolt as the metal crunches back into place. Footprints scatter after you on the lino. The squeak of muddy sneakers. The gusting air of a sigh bred with a wince.

Eddie chases after you with all his might. Hooks his hand to your elbow. Tries his best to stop you.

“Hey. Pencils. Babe. Please, let’s get outta here. Let’s just forget this. I don’t know who it was- I didn’t see them.”

He’s really a terrible liar.

“With all due respect Eddie. I know who did it.” You explain bitterly, as you wander along. His touch turns to a tug on your elbow. Pulling at your shirt.

“Because he’s not smart enough to juggle two thoughts at once, much less try and hide the fact he beat you up. And second his jagged pill of a girlfriend just tore me to strips in the girls restroom for finding out.” You say. Possibly louder than you intended.

His face falls.

“Hey, hey…” He says softly.

You turn back. Tears springing down your cheeks. His hands are all over you. Cupping your neck. Your shoulders. You can smell the blood coming off him. Sour pennies. Desperation laced his voice. Comes off him in waves.

Desperate for you not to to this.

“This isn’t stupid shit to me Eddie. This is not okay. Not something I’m gonna let get brushed under the rug-“ your lip wobbles. You shake your head. You rub your nose. Chase the tickling tears away.

He mimics you. Shaking his own head so his hair flicks out. Eyes wide and terror stroked words pour out his mouth.

“Don’t go getting into trouble for me. I don’t want that for you.” He begs. His eyes are wide with it.

“Good thing I want it then.” You resolve.

He looks apprehensive. Choked by it. Scared by your resolve. He doesn’t want to let you do this. This is a doomsday territory.

“Pencils-“

You continue down the hall. He follows. Still doing everything in his power to convince you, or try to stop you. Credit to him, his list of reasons are pretty excellent.

Babe. Please. It doesn’t have to be a thing.

You’re on track. You have your grades. You got Indie state in your future to think of. I don’t want you jeopardising that for me.

I don’t want you going and getting in trouble for this.

He doesn’t stop you from making your way to the gym. But he is right there at your back as you push open the doors, shove your way inside and you don’t care if your entrance is loud.

The idiot jocks practice in the gym after school. Basketball mostly. Some dotted in the bleechers. Long suffering girlfriends sat with bubblegum pink coloured files, shaping their nails to the side and chatting and trying not to look too bored whilst the guys play. Linda sits chattering to one of the cheerleaders.

You wrinkle your nose at the stench. Whole place smells like musty sweat, floor polish and old socks.

Jonny has his back to you as he dribbled the ball. The ricochet of it pangs across the court.

You race across the floor to him like a hell fury. Fists clenched at your side. Eddie still trying in vain to get between you and your stubborn brain. To try and talk you out of this before it’s way too late.

Your entrance with him hot on your heels and whispering pleas at you, draws laughter and sniggering sneers from some of his dirtbag friends. Shouts come aimed your way.

Hey, look who it is. It’s the freaks.

Closed practice, morons.

Jonny doesn’t turn back but you make your presence known.

“Hey. You dumb fuck stain.”

You march right up to his sweaty back and shove him hard with both hands. Wrinkle that goddamn white basketball jersey.

The guys around him make mocking noises. Chorus of awes and exclamations.

The room slowly dawns quieter. The squeak of shoes muffled. Everyone’s eyes centre court where you stand seething. Panting for breath and trying to look as livid as you felt.

He turns back to you all slow and condescending. Like he’s some golden haired Apollo flouncing down from Mount Olympus to grace you with his presence. He’s limned in sweat and dissects you both with conceited arrogance.

“What’s your damage?” He sarcs. Looking down at you like you’re an ant. Or a mangy mongrel.

He flicks his eyes across and landing on Eddie.

“Munson. How’s them ribs.” He sneers.

You’re about ready to topple over the edge and spit nails. Anger gently creeps to a boil.

“Just peachy, thanks for asking.” Eddie answers. Mouth is a grim line. And his eyes look stern coal black. He turns his attention back to you.

“Pencils please. Let’s just let it go. There’s no point…” He whispers. Standing with his hand gently cupping your forearm.

“What do you want? Teams full. We don’t accept weirdos anyway.” Jonny pushes at the both of you.

“I’m not leaving this spot until you tell me why you attacked my boyfriend.” You steel. Voice low and even.

You can feel Eddie’s eyes on you like lasers. Burning holes in the back of your head.

His mouth gapes a little. If it weren’t for the fact he’s terrified off his ass stood here, his heart would flutter like a fledgling baby birds wings, to hear those words admitted aloud.

“No reason. Just don’t like him.” He shrugs all honesty. Passing the ball over to his friend. Standing with his hands on his hips.

“Careful hefting those big thoughts around. You might hurt yourself.” You fire out.

Your fight with Linda left sharp scalpel words on your tongue and now you ache to use them to their fullest.

He doesn’t look happy. Dark gold hair beading sweat down into his cenote blue eyes. Rigid anger on his frown as he glares at you.

“Linda didn’t like the idea of him being around you. She told us we were teaching him a lesson. To stay away from you. We were protecting you, moron.” He says like it should be obvious.

“How fucking considerate. Your girlfriend couldn’t think her way out of a damn paper bag if she had a map, Jonny.”

You feel Linda’s scowl all the way across the room. The weight those slitted eyes and a bitchy scoff. You know those echoing words found their target. Slammed right into bullseye red making their mark. You hope it truly hurts. As much as she hurt you

“She didn’t reserve the right to presume any fucking thing about me. And not one thing gave you not the right to hurt Eddie. Not under the guise of some macho-stupid ‘protecting-you’ crap.” You snarl.

He bounces the ball. You slam forwards and bat it out scathingly out his hand. Send it rolling away.

More chorus of noises scattered around you both as you stepped toe to toe with the guy who almost towered over you.

“You acted out of pure hatred. So don’t try and dress it up at something else. You useless. shithead.” You insult.

“And what are you going to do about it, freak, huh?” He jabbed. Nostrils flaring. Lips pressed together unattractively thin. Looks like a provoked silverback in his enclosure. About the beat his chest.

He turns to guffaw laughter and sneer with his friends.

When you speak it’s so reed thin it even makes a shiver run up Eddie’s spine. Slices of jagged metal.

And he’s not even on the receiving end of this frightening ire of yours. The one that’s bursting out of you like raw lightning. Like it can’t fathomably contain you. Love and fierce packed rage tight in situ.

“This…” You remark with a clenched fist. Thumb wrapped over your knuckles.

Your nail polish glints blue in the light like steely-inky beetle wings. Your eyes barely smother down live-wires. Danger, danger.

You thought about how they would’ve laughed at him.

Kicked him into the dirt like wet leaves and muck that drifts off the trees in fall.

How they would have laid into him and left him there. On the floor. Blood soaked.

Shown the freak who’s in charge.

It flashes when you rear your arm back. Putting full force into your right shoulder, feet taking a firm stance. You channel everything you have into this fearsome right hook;

You swing your fist straight into Jonnys face.

It’s powerful enough to hear a loud crack, you feel the blow shudder into bone. Catching his nose, which spurts blood.

He recoils and staggers. Knocked off balance. Sound punctured out his mouth. Clutching his bleeding face as red streams drip on his pretty white shoes. Stains his pristine uniform. Good.

Try explaining that one to mommy and daddy dearest.

You don’t even let him swing back around. You grab the shoulder of his disgusting sopping jersey and ball it in your hand. Using that as leverage to drive your knee high - hard - into his balls.

Before you let him slump to the floor in a bleeding pile of sweat glazed limbs. You mutter words just for him to take caution of.

“Come near me or Eddie again, and believe me I will break your goddamn jaw, Lopez.”

You let him crumple this time. Flag to the floor in a heap of collapsing bones and sweaty jock uniform.

He looks up at you, trembling. Blood skirting down his arms and past his cupped palm. Tears streak down his cheeks. You step back and let him crumple.

He’s spitting and snarling crude insults in between wails of pain, and a sticky mouthful that smears his teeth red, and stains his tongue with metal.

“You broke my nose, you crazy fuckin’ bitch.” He spits. It sounds wet. Words sluiced in crimson.

“Finally. A nickname I can warm too.” You scathe.

When you look up, guys around him flinched back a good few paces in case they fell into the category of your rage. Wariness edging their expression. Eyes wide and mouths caught suspended open, like brain dead guppies at feeding time.

Eddie stepped forwards and gently laid his hand on your shaking arm. His fingers urge you closer. Get you following him to haul ass outta there.

You scan the room and find Linda gaping at you just as dumbly as everyone else. She’s risen to a stand. Face like she’s just swallowed a painful poison pill. Apparently in no rush whatsoever to get to her boyfriend.

“It’s ok. I’m done here.” You tell him. Gritting your teeth. Meeting Linda’s eyes.

You turn and walk away. Back to this whole affair Amazed how scarily easy it is. Leaving your supposed friendship in the dust. Bleeding crumpled on that floor.

You feel an enormous sense of relief walking out that gym.

Your hand killing you. No doubt about it. Shooting mad red hot fireworks up and down your forearm. Your knuckles feel like hell. Sparking furious with pain.

You reach for Eddie’s hand anyway. Screw the pain. You slip your fingers into his. Turn and catch his eyes.

He’s watching you with so much cautionary care and concern.

You breathe. Lungs shivering around new calm air. Words come easy but you feel shaky with them.

“C’mon. Let’s go get you something for that eye.”

He agrees with a nod. Then that hopping spark that’s truly skated in usual Munson mischief, comes springing back full force into his eyes. Lovely happy bourbon again.

“Wouldn’t dare refuse you, Pencils. Not after seeing what you’re capable of.” He grins. Nudging you with a shoulder to get a smile out of you.

“Damn right. Those idiots just cost us a date night. He deserved all that and more.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” He smiles. Eyes still stuck on your face.

He lopes alongside you. Hand clutched in yours. Shoulder rolling to yours. It feels whole. It feels like trust.

~

You sit in Eddie’s van in the parking lot of the Fair Mart. Despite your protestations, he fully insisted he was fine to drive. He rolled into park out front just about as the sun began to set.

The night started to pull in. All lilac and periwinkle skies, soft as a vintage eiderdown that made you think of bluebirds feathers as you watched that solemn shade of blue overtake the sky.

Making the all too yellow lights within the dingy place stand out proud. Blinking a little. Humming along with the huge freezers inside. All the twee touches of home made signs telling you about the canned goods on offer. Written on card with flicky show-manly italics. Some easy friendly music sparkles out the speakers.

The plump clerk is smiling and jolly and bubbly bright, even when you unload for a whole armful of some medical supplies on the counter. Eyeing your now purpling knuckles with sparky perception. Ringing things up, you throw in a bag of jolly ranchers and a couple of ice cold cans - they suggest a rattling jar of aspirin.

“Take away the sting, honey.” He wafts a knowing hand. “That’ll be $11.90.”

You pay with a watery smile and walk out with a paper bag full. It crinkles in your arms as you go back to Eddie. Who’s sat with his legs dangling out the driver side of his van. Fidgeting with his rings all skittish. Legs swinging to an invisible tune. Still Rattlehead, actually.

You’re the only people in the place. Talk about lulled and sleepy Hawkins. This clearly isn’t a place for two teenagers on a Friday night. They’re all off sucking face at the quarry or skull rock. Or gathering at the arcade.

You come back and get to work cleaning him up.

Lump the bag down beside him, close to his hip, and you stand between his spread legs. Hand fiddling with your belt loop so carefully. He feels you gently brush sweeps of his bangs off his forehead to get at his skin and smudge away a bit of dirt. He lets you. Sat there and losing himself in his gazing.

He winced a little when you gently dabbed some antiseptic cream on the cut at his cheek.

“There’s Jolly ranchers in there you know.” You supply.

“Is that a bribe for me to sit still?” He checks. “Cause it will definitely work.” He dives his hand into the crinkly paper and searches for the candy. He finds one and holds it in his palm until you’re done.

“Who, um.” He swallows. Looking too intently at his ripped jean kneecap. “Who taught you how to—“

You draw back and let him find his words. Let him come to you with it.

“Who taught me how to throw a punch?” You smile.

Still dabbing his cheek. Fingers slipped under his chin and tilting his head up to you. When he could stay still enough.

“My sister. She bought me self defence lessons after-“ The words die and wither up all grey and ashen in your mouth.

You break eye contact for a second and rub at your brow.

It slowly creeps over his head like some dreadful tide. After what?-

Eddie knows he doesn’t like the look settling over your features. One bit. He doesn’t care for it at all.

“It was the summer before junior year. Around the time Linda and Jonny started dating. We went to this party. She didn’t want to go alone so I was roped in. Dressed me in one of her stupid mini skirts, planned to set me up with one of his buddies, Alex.” You pause and chew over the words.

“It was stupid as shit, looking back now, but we got so stupid drunk. Teen freedoms and lite beer. We thought we were so cool. So much so I didn’t notice that my drink was spiked with something. I don’t even know what. All I can remember is just, blackness, and then waking up with Alex sliding his hand up my skirt.”

Eddie blinks. Shuts his eyes for a second. His voice sounds so far away. “Shit. Pencils.” He rasps. Upset and angry on your behalf. He looks more hurt than all those bruises scattering his face.

“Nothing else happened. I screamed blue murder, and shoved him off me and just turned tail and got the hell out of dodge. Walked miles home in heels til I got blisters all over. Charlie was so so pissed. First time I’ve ever seen my Mom go full apocalyptic angry.” You explain.

“She wanted to bring charges but Alex’s family lived on Loch Nora, and his dad was a bigwig in local council so naturally he just chalked it up to underage kids having too much drink and touting it around town that a ‘misunderstanding’ occurred. Transferred their golden boy to a private school. And it just got, quietly swept away.” You accept.

All the pieces slowly floated and formed together to clarity in Eddie’s head.

“Linda stayed with Jonny even after all that shit you went through…” He asks. You nod.

“Stuck like glue.” You infer.

He can’t stand it any longer. wraps his arms around you fully and tugs you into a bold hug. Burying his face in your chest. Listening to the tick of your heart, and feeling you hold him back. Smiling and pressing a kiss to the wild nest of his hair. He smelled like sour-sweet green apple shampoo and earthy papery leaves.

“I’m so sorry.” He rumbled into your arm. His hug says so much more than that.

I’m here and I’m not leaving. Whatever you need - I’ll give it. Carve it out of my chest because you own every piece of me - in full.

“Not your fault, Eddie. I stopped being mad a while ago.” You tell him. Pressing another kiss to his head.

That’s why he’d been so unsuccessful in being able to stop you today. Because you’d let one bout of assault go, like hell were you about to let that happen all over again. And not to him. Drew some blood of your own to partially settle an old debt. To quiet some old violent ghosts.

He lets go of you and plonks the red wrapped jolly rancher in your right hand.

“I think you need and deserve this more than I do. And I’ll keep on being mad on your behalf - if that’s ok.” He says honestly. Fingers slithering through yours. He twists your hand over and sees the bruises wrapping around your knuckles.

You smile.

“I’ll take that.” You answer in reply to his offer. “The candy and that kind offer.”

Cause this is exactly what you need. Him. Him in all his unusual and funky glory.

Metal head with a heart so pure you’re actually certain it is made of solid gold. He whom proclaims to the world he’s nothing but a devil worshipping Satanist, made up of cynical death metal, and pot smoke.

Yet, he’s the guy who puts wrapped candy in your hand. Plies you with kisses and tried to hard to keep you out of tumbling headlong into trouble for his sake. Wanted to take you for a greasy burger and just share every silent soaked moment with you. No matter what you’re doing as long as you’re shoulder to shoulder.

He’s springing up before you can stop him. Sits you in the seat he occupied and told you firmly to ‘wait here, toots.’

Then, he’s scampering across the grocery store lot all jangly jacket and mad frizzy rocker hair bouncing as he goes. The soft pad of his feet on the doormat and the swish of the door he pushes open.

He drifts around the aisle for a few minutes before you see the top of his head bounce as he jaunts to the checkout and pay with a load of coins and a crumpled bill dug out his pocket.

He’s out the doors and whirling back to you in no time at all.

Hand on his ribs as he winced and realised that moving around all silly like he normally does would have its consequences. Ode to a bruise.

He comes over and crouched in front of you. Proudly showing you his purchases. He holds them up like he’s won an award.

bag of frozen peas and a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

“For you, my most dangerous slash badass weirdo.” He grins. Even under that black eye, and the cut limned with purple across the bridge of that nose, his brightness and joy is infectious.

He takes your hand and you smile as he settles the peas on it. Settles his hand on top of it and stays crouched. Looking up at you with literal stars in his eyes.

You’re hit with such a fierce wave of love it shocks you from the inside out. Punching into your ribs and mangling and mashing your heart and lungs together with something that burns all mean like static. Words trip off your tongue like a smudge of sugar. You feel drunk on them; fever and maddening realisation in a shockwave.

You put your hand over his. Ice cold and shifting crunch on the bag.

“Eddie, you’re free tonight right?”

“Well the beauty pageant will have to take a hike with these shiners.” He plays. Tilts his head.

“What would you say if I asked you to spend the night?” You check.

His brain seems to crunch and churn through the cogs to answer.

“The night?” His eyebrows almost swoop up and disappear into his bangs.

“Not sure your mom would be too wild about that.” He says.

“She’s in San Francisco. Short haul. Not back til Monday.”

“Oh.” Eddie nods. And then it hits him.

“O h.”

You keep eye contact and smile. “I'm game. What’s say you, Munson?”

“Holy shit. Pencils.” He wets his lips. Grinning.

~

T A G S darlings

@ceriseheaven @indouloureux @fujiihime @youaremyfamiliar @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @greenishghostey @svenyves @sammararave @feralgoblinbabe @groupie-love-71 @andromeda-andromeda @morganamoonstone @ramona-thorns @gvtosbith @munsonswhore @munsonlov3r @lunatictardis @shenevertricks1831

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[amusingmusie]

The Demon! Nel asks have my brain exploding with cheesy ideas, I swear. She'd make fun of his hair cut, and he'd spend an inordinate amount of time making his little shadow trip her every time she walks down stairs.

She'd have his demonic brain so divided that he'd probably phase himself across hell just because she was talking to someone other than him. Alastor being very "I'm uncomfortable when you're not about me" with Nel is my favorite!

My silly little idea:

"What are you doing here." Her voice dripping with annoyance as the sinner she had been discussing the acid rain forecast with launched away from them in a desperate attempt to flee from swirling mass of black and green that just manifested itself behind her.

"Oh, what a surprise! I didn't see you there, my sweetest of evils. I have some business in this part of Hell and really, I can't be late. And now you're in my way, you do so enjoy being a huge inconvenience!" (There's no reason for him to be there. He just literally yeeted himself so hard and fast across the map to interrupt their conversation. He'd be panting if he wasn't gritting his teeth together so hard.)

For you, anon :))

THIS IS FOR FUN ONLY AND NOT CANON TO YOURS TRULY

Five O'clock Somewhere (But Not Here)

Nel heads to the bar to get a damn drink, grumpy as ever and in desperate need of cheap booze. It won't get her drunk, but it will allow her a reprieve from Alastor's insidious presence that seems to trail her wherever she goes in this shitty building. The Hazbin Hotel is a fitting name for such a rundown crapshack, though she feels that the Shithole Inn would work just as well.

The second she crosses from red carpet to green floorboards she can taste newfound freedom- until there's a hum of radio static that pitches in her ears, causing her to hiss and scowl as a familiar shadow materializes right inside of her personal bubble.

Alastor pops into existence practically on top of her, eternal yellow grin widening as his crimson eyes crinkle in pure malicious delight.

“Sweetheart! There you are. I noticed a lack of your terrible black cloud tainting my radio tower and just had to find you- I can’t have you running off on me.” A clawed finger reaches out to bop her nose, but she dodges out of the way with a growl. “I see you’ve decided to curse the parlor with your dreary disposition instead. How delightfully horrific!”

“The only curse here is you.”

There’s a loud incorrect buzzer that sounds from his staff. “Wrong, I am the host of the hotel! So close.”

“Host, pest, plague, same difference to me,” Nel snaps before attempting to brush past him. “Move your boney ass, I’m getting a drink.”

“This early in the day?” Alastor steps right back in front of her to block her from escaping. “Why, it’s hardly past noon.”

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

“Well, if you’re so insistent that it’s a drink you’re after, I’ll prepare it for you.”

“Jesus, the fucking bar cat is right there!”

Said bar cat flips her the bird as he downs his fifth whiskey of the hour. As much as it stings her pride, Nel attempts to smooth things over by awkwardly quirking up the side of her lips in a strained smile- she needs an ally here.

Husk blinks one droopy eye at a time, decides this shit isn't worth it, then grabs his precious bottle and shuffles away from the bar out of the lobby.

Well. Shit.

The radio asshole laughs down at her, “Scotch on the rocks, dear?”

“I’d prefer a lobotomy.”

Using his microphone to herd her towards a worn bar stool, he hardly bats an eye as she tries to snatch it out of his hands. “Perhaps over dinner this evening, if you’re a well behaved little harpy."

Nel refuses to reply; she groans and lays her head down onto the sticky bartop, gluing her bangs to the sugar-stained wood.

Eternity has never seemed so fucking long.