#i had a dream about him this morning out of nowhere and WOW

[eeboshmeebo]

💐Dandelion💐

Incorporating a childhood aspect with my favorite character.

@jyohan :3

@the-copycat-hero >:(

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Every time you saw a dandelion, you always told your parents to stop the car so you can go pick one and blow on it just for the sake of seeing the seeds scatter in the wind. Not to make a wish, but to see more of the bright yellow blossoms and their puffy seeds spread even more.

Safe to say, not many actual wishes were made unless they involved dandelions magically growing at your home or your parents buying some cotton candy in the fancy machine the ice cream parlor had.

The few wishes you actually made, though, always got fulfilled. Mostly because you said them out loud and your parents could always hear you, so you didn't think much of it.

One day, there was this one specific wish that stood out from all the others, one that you made on your thirteenth birthday.

"I wish to meet the prettiest boy in the whole world!" You cried out, before blowing and letting the dandelion seeds float into the air, carried away by the breeze.

It was just a spur of the moment thing. You didn't actually believe you'd meet him, since you were always told you had to keep your wishes quiet for them to come true, but it was nice to dream.

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And what a surprise it was, indeed, when you saw a boy with hair that reminded you of a dandelion about to bloom, eyes as blue as the morning sky, and a vitality in his voice that outmatched the plant that he reminded you of.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Is this what 1-A does in their break time? None of you even look like you're having a break, you're just sitting and talking!"

Maybe you were hallucinating, but there was this pinkish tint in the room the moment you saw him. Or there was sunlight shining on Mina again. Didn't matter.

He was, certainly, without a single doubt...

"...the prettiest boy in the whole world."

You smiled and leaned over your desk a bit more, resting your chin on your hands before he turned to face you, a sneer on his face as he immediately had something to say.

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"And you! You look extra stupid, anything to speak or is your head too empty to say a single thing?"

Monoma immediately had chosen the student that had a head in the clouds, despite the fact that those eyes were keenly focused on him and not having an unfocused gaze into nowhere. He surely won't regret thi-

"You're a wish come true... the prettiest boy in the world is real!"

"...ah!? What're you talking about?! I didn't come from a dumb wish!"

Why did you say that in front of everyone.

He bit his lower lip in an attempt to retain his composure, though he could physically feel the blush rising on his face.

"Wow, he even looks like a Rainier cherry when he blushes. I can just take a big ol' bi-"

"Harassment!"

"OW!"

Thankfully, the rectangular-looking student with glasses had slapped the back of your head before looking up back at him.

"I dearly apologize for our classmate's behavior. This has never happened before, and frankly, I expected better."

"Yeah, just... discipline your classmates better. Hmmph. Unruly..."

Before his face could turn even redder, he quickly fled out of the classroom while covering his face, running past Kendo who looked at him with an expression he'd rather not see at the moment.

He'd have to look up Rainier cherries later and send a thank-you gift to glasses guy in secret afterwards since nobody could know he thanked a 1-A student of all people.

"Can't believe that... that..! Ugh! Just go and... and eat dirt!"

He kicked a stray eraser on the way back to the 1-B classroom, grumbling to himself the entire time.

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"No. Way. Iida!" Mina hissed, pulling Iida by the jacket and closer to her desk, her eyes wide with shock and her teeth gritted together as she pulled him down by the collar.

Iida practically felt the urgency in her voice and toned down his voice, but also made sure to fix his glasses' position. "What's the problem, Mina? I've rarely heard you this panicked before."

She rolled her eyes before leaning in even closer to him, whispering into his ear.

"Our classmate's in love with the blondie that came earlier."

His reddening face immediately paled at that news. Proximity to the opposite sex was nothing compared to the realization that his classmate was in love with that guy who just barged in, insulted his class, and then left.

"The whole thing..?" He weakly asked, covering his mouth with one hand to hide the way his jaw dropped at the news.

"Yes," Mina hissed yet again, looking around before continuing. "The doki-doki, badump-badump. The rose-tinted glasses. The whole head-over-heels. The comment about biting the other guy. Our classmate is in love."

"Oh no... we're too young! Studies should be a priority, not romance!"

"I'd love to say otherwise, but right now we have to find a way to help our classmate fall out of love with that guy before it's too late."

"A shameful thing..."

"But our classmate, our friend, can do so much better than him. We just need to expose a side worse than the one he exposed today."

It was settled. Mina and Iida would help you rise back out of love via... exposure therapy.

"What're you two talking about?"

"Nothing big, just planning a few things, dear classmate!"

"Okay then... you do you, I guess."

They both sighed in relief as you went back to doodling and rubbing the back of your head. This had to be kept a secret, lest unwanted events occur, like you falling deeper in love.

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Part one of plan Yellow Rose. Yellow roses mean 'friendship'. They can accept friendship, but not romance.

Mina and Iida brought you to 1-B's classroom. Surely, seeing Monoma new side would diminish your affection for him, right? That's what they hoped for, anyways.

"What're we doing, again?"

"We're taking you to class 1-B to apologize for your uncouth comment. Their class representative heard you from the hallway."

That right there was a rehearsed line from last night. Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to convince you to follow them so a lot of the lines they practiced didn't need to be used.

"And right here is the other class..." Mina started talking as she opened the door, but she hesitated when you stepped inside.

"Don't make a scene, okay?"

"..."

"Buddy?"

Too late. Iida was frantically moving his arms and making robotic gestures that Mina couldn't make heads or tails of, while you had already locked onto someone and beelined towards him.

"Wishboy! You're here! No wonder you disappeared so quickly yesterday, you were here all along! Oh, wow, you're really pretty up close. Has anyone told you before that you've got really smooth skin? Your lips, too. They're like flower petals."

Monoma's face progressively got redder the longer you rambled on, to the point where it was visible despite his efforts to hide his blush.

"Oh, really? well, I wish I could say the same for you, but I'd rather not waste my breath on the likes of you." Monoma teased, though he was as smooth as almond butter at the moment.

"Really? Damn... because even your voice is pretty, too."

Part one obviously failed, judging by the current situation. Mina facepalmed while Iida picked you up by the arms and walked back out of the classroom, the lovestruck look on your face obvious to anyone seeing it.

However, while they left with you in tow, Monoma couldn't help but wonder...

"...are you playing with me, or is this real?"

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Part two. Since meeting him when he was calm didn't work, how about when he was riled up after training? Surely, seeing him all messed up, exhausted, and disheveled should do the trick.

Mina and Iida had teamed up with Sero and Tooru to make sure this plan won't screw up... again.

They had told you to bring some perfume and towels just in case, though you came to the training grounds with the entire beach supply set. Handheld fan, sunscreen, UV umbrella, the works. Maybe you saw that the temperature was high today or something.

Sero, Tooru, and Mina were definitely thankful for the shade since it was sweltering outside. Iida was negotiating with Vlad King to watch the rest of training. The 1-B students had mostly finished their training ahead of time and were resting under one of the thinner umbrellas on the training area at the moment, but there were a few more students that didn't come over yet...

"Can you see him, Mina..?" Tooru whispered behind you, fanning herself to keep away the heat.

"No, not yet. Where is he? He- oh."

And over the negligible hill came Monoma.

Dear god, what a mess.

Sweating, shaking, stumbling, somehow in last place, and downright unrecognizable to the untrained eye. And he somehow lost his gym uniform top.

What. A. Mess-

"Wait. Hold on, are you kidding me?"

"Noooo... nooo!"

When the trio looked towards you, you were practically eyeing him up like a critic over a runway model despite him being the furthest thing away from a model at the moment.

Mina had hidden behind Tooru to shield herself, though it was the handheld fan that did most of the work and not Tooru herself for obvious reasons. Sero had just looked away.

While the three students had deigned themselves to not look while you fawned over what was probably the messiest sight ever, you walked up to Monoma with a towel, some water, and an ice pack in hand.

Iida, however, was able to see what was going on after Vlad King was satisfied with his explanation.

"Want some water?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for the wa..." Iida could see that Monoma took the offered water and took a hefty swig, but choked when he saw who it was.

"Y-you!?"

"Yeah, it's me. Heh, you're really cute when shocked."

"I'm not cute! Why're you here, anyways!? To make fun of me? You probably are!"

"But that's mean, and you're far too cute to be mean to..."

"You're lying. I can see it on your face. AH! Let go unless you want me to copy your Quirk!"

"I'm fine with that if it means I get to hold your hand."

"...you're not deterred by the fact I can copy your Quirk?"

"Of course not! I actually think it's a really cool and useful power,

Iida felt like he was watching an unstoppable force and an unmovable wall go head-to-head, but the wall was crumbling quickly and gaining the shade of red bricks as it did.

The wall being Monoma. Oddly enough, Iida felt a bit sour watching this entire exchange, watching you wipe the sweat off Monoma's face casually despite the boy's protests and how you kept on teasing him.

"Ah, the sourness of being single..."

Iida jumped, or would have, if he didn't have Mina's hands on his shoulders while she grimaced.

"It's like they're in a relationship and they don't even know it. Frustrating! I ship it, though."

"Mm-hmm." He agreed, before guiding his friends away from the training grounds. He now knew what it felt like to be a 'single dog' that he always heard about, unfortunately.

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A week later.

"So..."

Monoma fidgeted around with one the many daisy-buttercup flower rings on his hands, sitting on a picnic blanket under a tree while you had two dandelions in hand and scoured the field for more.

"Did you really mean them? Those compliments you said to me."

"Hmm... yep. All of them. I wouldn't be bothered to even think of any if they weren't about you, wishboy."

It was so, so confusing. He plucked a daisy from nearby, admiring the petals and the slight pinkish hues. English daisies with their gentle hues and layers of petals. He started picking at the petals, a small game of 'Love me, loves me not' going though his mind.

"That's more flattering than I thought it'd be, really. I still can't believe that you don't mind me touching you, even my own classmates needed a little while to get used to me, and boom! Here you are, just..."

"Waltzing up to you without a hint of discomfort?"

You sat down next to him and offered him a dandelion that had already turned into a soft puff of seeds. He took it, but didn't look at it closely in favor of looking at you.

"Yeah. It's almost uncanny, but also comforting."

"Aww, it's nice to hear that you think of me in that way. Really."

You stretched out, raising your own dandelion in front of you while you held onto his free hand.

"Wanna know why I brought you out here?"

"It's not because you want to compare blooming dandelions to my hair, is it?"

"Only partially. The real thing is that... well, it's a childish thing, really, but if you blow on these," You lifted up your dandelion a bit more to emphasize it. "And make a wish, it might come true. That's what I grew up being told, anyways."

Blowing on plant seeds to make a wish, huh? Curious. He set aside his half-plucked daisy and kept the dandelion you gave him securely in hand, ready to blow on it whenever.

"It does seem a little silly, but judging by how big the field is, it must be fun, anyways."

"Definitely."

Monoma could feel his hand being squeezed, but he successfully ignored the blush on his cheeks as he saw you ready to blow on your dandelion.

Three...

Two...

One...

Fwuuuuuuu!

You and Monoma blew on your dandelions at the same time, watching the seeds scatter into the wind and lift into the sky.

"This feels kind of like a date."

And there goes the mood. He gulped a bit out of nervousness, and suddenly, his collar felt a bit too tight.

"Oh, sorry. This could just be hanging out if you want-" "No! No, I- uh... I'm fine with this being a date, actually."

Your silence felt suffocating. More suffocating than anything else's he's felt. He squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating disappointment.

He didn't anticipate the soft touch of your lips on his hand.

"A date it is, then. I was just a bit shocked earlier because wow, you're really pretty and I just realized that again."

He opened his eyes, much less tense than earlier... then he threw a bunch of petals into your face.

"Don't do that! You scared me, hahaha!"

"Pfffbwth- ah, okay, I won't do that next time, but also, petal attack!"

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Class 1-A and 1-B were watching from a distance to make sure everything went well as it could be... and in return, they got the heart-wrenching feeling of being single.

A worthy sacrifice. Especially since Kaibara got some really good pictures on his polaroid camera to pin up later.

[mask-of-prime]

VG: Broken Birds

Previous

Next (Coming Soon)

____

The Outlands, Years Ago:

A very young cub Vitani ran into some young jackals that neighbored the Termite Mounds, and she'd confessed to her mother that she had felt a friendship coming on, but Zira snuffed that dream right out. Lions could not be friends with mindless food like little jackals.

"Oh, quit your sniffling. It's going to get you nowhere! Get up before I give you a real reason to cry! NOW!"

"Mother, please! I won't disappoint you again, Mother!" the toddler sobbed.

The young Vitani could feel her mother grabbing her wrist. The older lioness pulled the cub closer.

Suddenly, Zira seemed to change in appearance. She was now much bigger, sported a slick, red mane, and a scar across her right eye. It was now an unknown male lion.

"You're seriously going to let a bunch of crows get to you? Are you a helpless little lower animal like them?!" he screamed.

"Father, I'm sorry-y-y!" Vitani sobbed, except… this was not her voice, nor her body.

"A real lion doesn't sit here and cry! Get up, Zira! NOW!"

The bigger lion's paw came up, looking like it was about to swipe.

Vitani jolted awake, putting a paw over her racing heart. More nightmares of Mother, of course.

Mother…

The images of Zira's sentient waterfall form came back to her vividly. No one would believe her. She didn't even believe herself the more she thought of it.

And her head… it still hurt from… something. Her friends said it had been a fall, right?

This didn't happen. No, none of this happened. She just fell… Right?

SCRATCH, SCRATCH…

The Fiercest gasped and made a small noise. Before she went to investigate, however, she looked around to make sure no one heard her pathetic sound.

Luckily, no. But, only because Tiifu wasn't around. Odd. She'd be wrapped all over Vitani.

Perhaps the watery ghost did exist. Maybe it was a little like the case of Nuka's spirit. Maybe Scar's. Kion defeated Scar's spirit. Had he seen one made of water? How would he have dealt with it? She had to find him...

SCRAPE, SCRATCH…

Vitani leapt to her feet and prowled about around the corridors of the Ponya. Her ears pointed to the noise. At the main part of the Ponya, she saw a bipedal form smearing paint onto the wall with precision.

Vitani looked all around the wall. It was a portrait of her brother and her sister-in-law. She smiled a bit, but it quickly vanished, remembering how disastrous last night went. She digressed, and cleared her throat.

"Um... that's really pretty..."

The mandrill jumped a little. Her hand made a jagged mark of paint on the wall.

"Sorry." Vitani winced, "I know that must've taken hours."

"Oh, that's okay!" the mandrill charmed, "I could make these all day!"

"I really admire the light colors and soft shapes. They really come together to create a distinct style."

"Wow, I didn't know you were so artsy!"

Vitani shrugged, "I mean, everyone makes me plot out patrol maps on the ground in the morning. I think my Guard does that just to watch me draw."

"Oh, right! You're the new Pridelands' Fiercest! What was your name again?"

"Vitani." the lioness introduced, "It's Makini, right?"

"Mmhm!"

"You're, uh... the Mjuzi for Kion and his wife, now --" Vitani rattled her head, "Uh, Kion... Have you seen him? I need to talk to him. Saw some things I can't explain."

"Oh, the Night Pride already started heading back last night. I stayed back to catch up with the Pridelanders and paint —"

Vitani blinked, "What? Why?"

"Why what?"

"W-Why did they leave?!" Vitani began to pace.

"Can't leave the Tree of Life unguarded too long, I guess."

"B-But this is — Wha — I —" the Fiercest began seething, "Dammit!"

Furious, she smacked hard at something with her paw. It had been a husk full of vermillion paint.

Leaving her cloud of rage, she could see that she had gotten the paint all over her paw, and all over Makini's masterpiece.

"I... I am so sorry, I —" Vitani stammered, "I totally ruined your painting —"

"It's okay! I can make a new one any time. I'm always improving!" Makini reassured, "In fact, this gives me an idea..."

The mandrill began to wash the the rest of the painting from the rock with a soaked leaf.

"Here! Why don't you paint how you feel on this rock and maybe I can help you figure out what it means! It's called 'art therapy.'"

Vitani stared into her paint-covered paw. She didn't like the sound of just sitting here for therapy, but Kion was already gone. Kion may have had the advantage of defeating spirits with his Roar, but Makini must've known more about the past and spirits in general. That's what Mjuzis do, right?

Makini was the best option she had, it seemed. Especially with Rafiki opting to stay in his tree more often, lately.

Vitani got a good look at the rock in deep thought of how she would convey her anxieties. She considered Makini's suggestion, and began to make her first move.

Slowly, Vitani took her paw and brought it closer to her canvas. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wait." she finally said, eyes open.

She tried and tried to remember the images she saw, but they kept changing and becoming unclear due to the deliberate effort to recall them.

"I… I can't remember, now." her teeth gritted, "It's fading too quickly!"

The Mjuzi frowned, "Aww, that's too bad. I forget my dreams a lot, too. I'm pretty forgetful in my waking life too, actually, and Rafiki says I need to work on that if I want to connect with the past. Which, you gotta see all the old paintings to know what paintings to make in the present so everyone in the future will know what to paint in their present -- We were talking about something else, right? What —"

"My dreams, Makini. The whole reason I was painting?"

"Oh yeah! And how you can't recollect the pa — OOOOHH! I got it!" Makini suddenly chimed, "I got just the thing!"

"You do?" Vitani's eyes widened with a slight roll, her jeering tone going unnoticed by the mandrill.

Makini removed the two gourds from her Bakora Staff, opening the lids of each, and — for once — carefully — poured something onto each palm.

"Rafiki told me that these two gourds on my staff represent the past and the future, and I think I know why, now! So, this staff I have right now wasn't originally my staff, it actually belonged to the old Mjuzi at the Tree of Life..."

Vitani nodded rigorously, anxious beyond belief.

"I found these powders left in the gourds! I asked Rafiki what they were, and he said one is called Zamani, and the other is Baadaye. One lets you see visions of your past, and the other lets you see your future! Rafiki told me he used the Baadaye powder on Scar to show him his future. But, we all know Scar didn't listen to his warning."

Vitani looked at Makini's hand. In each palm were powders of a vivid blue and orange. Mystery of its appearance and origin almost gave it a slight radiance.

"Please tell me you know which one is which…" Vitani knew Makini at this point. It would be in-character for this to be the next thing to somehow tragically and comically mess up.

"Actually I do! I remembered their colors! Colors are the one thing I know I can remember good. You need the blue one!" she then inhaled shakily, "Buuuut…"

"Noo…" Vitani whined to herself, shutting her eyes.

"I kinda… sorta… forgot how the powders are applied." Makini shrugged sheepishly.

"Great…" the Fiercest groaned, stepping away as Makini kept the blue powder in her ahand and placed the orange powder back.

"Don't know if you eat it, or — No, certainly doesn't look like you should." the mandrill thought deeper, "Or was it —"

Suddenly, the wind coming from outside swept the blue powder from Makini's hand. Vitani was unfortunately in the splash zone. The powder had blown into her eyes.

Makini bit her lip anxiously, "Or that could work."

"OW! Agghh! Makini, what the —"

"Sorry!" the mandrill winced, "Are you okay?"

The Fiercest frantically began rubbing her eyes with a paw, preparing for the stinging and burning. Oddly, there was none. Instead, however, she felt a numbness. Testing to see if it really was such, she blinked a couple of times. She felt comfortable to fully open them.

She began to see little blooms of blue specks in her view. They were like eye floaters, but they glowed, and morphed into mandala-like patterns until it filled her field of vision.

She saw her surroundings change from a dark cavern to her old termite mound home. Everything was starting to look like where she was in her dream, with a blue tint on everyone and everything.

"Makini, i-it's working!" Vitani gawked, astonished.

Suddenly, where the mandrill would be standing, was instead Zira., who towered over Vitani and was berating her, just like in her dream.

"Oh, quit your sniffling. It's going to get you nowhere! Get up before I give you a real reason to cry! NOW!"

"Mother, please! I won't disappoint you again, Mother!" the toddler sobbed.

Zira's form once again morphed into another lion. It became bulkier with a red mane, and with a scar over his left eye. His voice was raspy and scheming.

"You're seriously going to let a bunch of crows get to you? Are you a helpless little lower animal like them?!"

"I'm sorry-y-y!" the cub sobbed heavily, almost unable to breathe.

"A real lion doesn't sit here and cry! Get up, Zira! NOW!" the red-maned lion yelled.

Zira curled into a ball. She was sobbing, but she felt frustration build up too. It wasn't fair, the way she was being yelled at. But she still failed him. She shouldn't have tried to befriend those crows, as lonely as she was when she would stay over at the Outlands. She mustn't be so desperate to trust just about any animal.

The lion quickly changed his tone as to not completely terrify his little daughter. Screaming wasn't helping, he used a disarming charm that worked on her before.

"You want to be a mighty lion like me, don't you? You want to make the Pride back home proud of you to be one of them, right? I want to be one of them again. Help me, Zira, help the family come back together, and you can see your mother again. Don't you want that?"

Little Zira sniffled, "Yes."

"Yes. There's my mighty lion. Always be stronger than everyone thinks you are. Lions Over All! Lions Over All!" he chanted.

"Wait..." Vitani said aloud, "This is —"

Vitani was seeing way beyond what she recalled in the dream. She realized now that the Zamani hadn't taken her to the recent past, but the distant past.

The vision continued on, and pretty soon, she found herself in a deep, red dystopia. It was the Pridelands, but from an era she'd never known. A time where all animals took on a much more primitive appearance.

She seemed to be chasing a group of a type of animal she hadn't seen in the Pridelands before. Others of her own kind were doing the same thing, even going so far as to needlessly massacring the animals for sport, or as a punishment for existing.

Watching all this activity with a cold and callous gaze was a leonine silhouette standing atop a towering kopje. He sported a familiar mark above his right eye.

"Lions Over All!" he bellowed for all of the ancient land to hear, as if he wanted the lions in the sky to hear him.

"Lions Over All!" the fleet of pillager lions echoed. The message deeply engrained into their minds and hearts.

The visions and voices of these lions of the past had swarmed Vitani. The flashbacks all becoming one and playing back-to-back.

Just then, a gray lioness with eyes and a tuft like Vitani's appeared before her. She spoke with a kind, gentle, and timid voice.

"What's wrong, my little Moonlight?"

The mysterious lioness' appearance fizzled, and there remained Vitani's reflection on a shiny rock. Back to reality.

She yelped and hyperventilated from the bizarre visions. So taken aback by the frightening sights that she felt like she couldn't swallow nor catch her breath. She lied on the ground against the rock, staring upward.

"Vitani!" cried Makini as she bounded over to the lioness, "Vitani! Are you okay?!"

"I... I think I would like some privacy to paint, please." was all the Fiercest could muster, absolutely dazed.

____

Up in the main den lied Kiara. Her eyes filled with tears as she anticipated the future. So many changes were coming their way, and she didn't know how to tell anyone.

"Kiara, honey? May we come in?" asked Nala, who peeked into the entrance.

"It's open." Kiara said flatly.

Nala could still sense Kiara's tension from the humiliation yesterday. It was probably time to talk about it, knowing Kiara's honesty about her feelings.

"Baby, I thought you were finally ready for your coronation. Your dad and I told you we trusted you with the crown."

"I know, Mom, but... everything's changing so much. I don't know what everyone will think about... Just... what if I forget about who I am?"

Kiara was too afraid to say heavier things that were truly on her mind. No, her family wasn't ready.

"Kiara, I know change can be daunting, but sometimes it makes you who you are." Nala rubbed a brow against Kiara's.

"Your mother's right." Sarabi added as she entered the den, "In life, you will always learn about yourself, and become a refined lion. Your father most certainly did, and so did your grandfather."

Sarabi's eyes became glossy at the last part. Her husband would always be a part of her.

Sarafina followed Sarabi, as she always did in life. She had fetched a tortoise shell of fresh, cold water for her granddaughter.

"There ya go, Sweetie." she said, "To calm your nerves, a little."

"Thank you, Nanna." Kiara said sweetly, but still glum.

"Kiara, we trust that you can become a beloved and capable Queen. We've seen your cooperation with herd leaders." Nala said, "And Jasiri. You changed the Outlands forever by welcoming her to the Summit."

"See? Even you've made big changes. You're famous for it! And we can't forget you and that boy Kovu making us all one big, happy family!" Sarafina chimed.

Kiara's heart jumped for a second until she remembered what her Nanna meant. Right. That.

"You're a risktaker, but an openminded and levelheaded one." Sarabi observed.

Kiara smiled nervously, but tears still welled up.

They all saw this, and exchanged concerned looks before they all rubbed foreheads against her in unison.

"Thank you..." Kiara closed her eyes as she embraced them, "But what about Kion...? I totally wasted his time. I made him come all this way just so I could flake on him."

"Kion and Rani would come back in a heartbeat for you." Nala said, "I know Kion doesn't show it a whole lot, but he really wants to see you become Queen."

Kiara again tried to crack a smile, but she was just so touched by her mother's words.

"I need time to figure this out." the Future Queen finally said.

"Alright, we'll give you some space." assured Nala, "Just remember: You will always be yourself, even when you're Queen. The Queens of the Past will guide you, and so will we."

Nala turned away to the exit. The elders looked on at Kiara with love and still with concern before following suit.

Kiara continued sulking long after they left, but she eventually gave into her Nanna's kind gesture of water. Slowly, she dipped her nose into the shell, and lapped up the cool water.

However, as soon as the water reached her stomach, Kiara felt... strange. It's almost like she had lost consciousness, but her body was still up.

Pretty soon, she was trapped in her own body, which began to lick its chops as the water dripped from its chin. Her eyes took on a vivid azure glow as she cracked a grin to herself.

"I feel... much better, now." she said with a sinister tone, one she'd never used before.

____

Finishing her very own masterpiece after several hours of hunched-over work on few hours of sleep, Vitani finally managed to convince herself to sit up and refresh. The lioness had headed over to Lake Shangaza to clean the paint stains from her paws.

As she rinsed her paws, she caught her reflection in the water. She saw her exhausted eyes, and — under her tuft — what appeared to be her gash from last night all patched up.

She wasn't sure if it was the sleep deprivation, or if she'd still been under the effects of the Zamani powder, but when she stared into her reflection in the water long enough, she could swear she saw her mother's ghastly face appear for a moment.

Her body jerked back from the jumpscare. She glanced back to find nothing there. She was confused, and genuinely terrified, even though it may have been an illusion.

Though, this reminded her; perhaps she could contact a ghost she knew was on her side...

She lit a torch and said her summoning phrase:

"Roho ya Moto!"

A puff of fire exploded from the flame of the torch until it resembled her brother.

"What?! What's goin' on?! Where's the danger?!" Nuka whipped around, his paws chopping the air defensively.

"No danger, here." Vitani deadpanned.

"Lookie here, Vitani," he scowled, "You can't just summon me every time you break a claw!"

"Nuka..."

"You know how much energy it takes to —"

"Nuka." she snapped, "I summoned you for a reason. I have a genuine question that only you can answer."

"Fire away." he said bluntly. He'd realized his unintentional pun, and snickered to himself a bit.

"Have you... have you ever seen Mother up there, or... wherever it is you go? What does she look like?"

"Um... not recently?"

Vitani's eyes became curious, "Really? What do you mean recently? What does she look li —"

A raindrop landed on Vitani's nose. She looked up to see dark clouds she hadn't even noticed rolling over the lake.

SIZZLE

"OW!!" Nuka cried.

Vitani looked over to Nuka, and caught a worrying sight: Where there was fire around his being, there was now black, crusty spots that steamed.

"Nuka, what's happening?!"

"Ow, it's the rain! I can't be touched by rain, or I'll turn to smoke!" he cried, trying to blow fire onto himself where there wasn't.

"Well, we gotta get you out of here!" she cried, panicking.

"Ugh, come on, say the phrase!" he grunted as he waved his paws frantically.

"Okay, okay! Errr — Roho ya Moto!" Vitani said rapidly.

POOF!

The flame shrank into the stick shortly before it could be snuffed another, more permanent way.

"Well, that was brief." she muttered, not knowing at all how to feel today.

She couldn't see that in the distance stood a lioness. One who watched her entire interaction with Nuka.

The lioness turned away, back to the direction of Pride Rock.

____

Not too long later, the rain had mysteriously stopped.

Imara and Kasi muttered to each other about the events last night, expressing concern for Kiara along with the odd weather. They spotted Vitani wandering close to Pride Rock. She seemed pensive, but also dazed. After seeing her stumble a bit, they rushed their stroll.

"Hey, 'Tani." greeted Kasi, characteristically arriving first.

"We're about to head to our patrol routes." added Imara, "We split into groups, today."

"Taz and Shabs already headed out." Kasi said, "You wanna go with them, or us? Please pick us..."

Imara nudged Kasi. The smaller lioness got a better look at her tired friend.

"Hey, you good?" asked the Fastest.

"Um, yeah..." Vitani slowly shook her head, "Headache."

"Right. You probably don't wanna be out here, huh?" Imara said, "You fell pretty bad."

Vitani's memories of her interaction with her mother suddenly flashed back into her mind, along with the frustration with Nuka, and her visions she painted. This day was chaotic, and she just couldn't think of it anymore.

"Uhh, you know what?" she smirked, "I'll go. Joining Team Kasi and Imara."

The two in question exchanged looks. They eventually shrugged, and let their friend take the lead.

____

"Right this way, Rafiki! I can't wait to show you Vitani's work!" Makini beamed with delight as she took the elder's hand and guided him to the Ponya.

"Yes, yes, Makini, I'm coming." said the old monkey. It was difficult to catch up to his protege, now that he was without his staff, and for a long time, now.

"Welp, here it is! Could you believe a lion made all of this? With her paws?!"

"Hmm..."

Rafiki put a hand on his chin and looked all around the walls of the Ponya, noting many changes outside of just Vitani's work. There were detailed paintings all around made by Makini. He smiled a wrinkled and weary smile to himself, feeling proud and confident in his successor, and hoped she could frequent the Pridelands more.

"Vitani's been feeling a little stressed, lately. So I told her to paint her feelings."

“Hmm, yes. Art therapy is a good form of expression. Excellent idea, Makini.”

Rafiki’s eyes continued to follow every painting on the wall. He could see that not every painting had been finished. They were… very different from a Mjuzi’s paintings, to say the least. Not only from the shapes made from non-opposable, blunt paws, but the paintings were dark in palette and in subject matter.

Murky, grayish browns and deep reds were the main colors used in these nebulous shapes scattered on the wall. Circling everything was what seemed to be black birds swarming every picture. Attempts to draw her own kind were made with as precise shapes as one could make with their paws.

The lions caught Rafiki's eye. Some resembled Zira what with the recognizable stripe on her head, but others seemed familiar as well considering the motifs that surrounded them.

"Makini, take your staff and touch the paintings."

"Oh, o-okay."

With a tap to the wall, the finished paintings glowed a hellish red. The cub Vitani cowered below Zira, and Zira cowered below a similar-looking lion with a scar. The birds circled around them all in a terrifying storm. Rafiki's jaw dropped.

"R-Rafiki?" Makini stammered, a bit horrified at what she saw, "What is it?"

He slowly put his hand down from the wall, and finally spoke.

"That lion... I have seen him before..."

Makini dropped her staff, "Really?"

"Yes. When I made a recent journey to the Outlands to find paintings I had never seen." he said, "How did Vitani see these lions?"

"Vitani had trouble remembering her dream while painting, so I had just the thing — I gave her the Zamani powder I found in my staff! Pretty smart, right?"

"Makini!" the elder mandrill snapped, "You have to be careful with these powders. You cannot just use it all up on something like dreams. This powder is very difficult to find, and can have side effects if used too much!"

"Really?!" Makini gasped, "Ohh, I didn't think of that! I'll put it away, Rafiki! I'll put it way away!"

"Good. Now, come! I must show you something!"

"Rafiki, wait!" Makini cried, still putting the powders in a safe spot — a nook behind some vines.

However, in an attempt to grab her staff while she hurried after him, she didn't see that she'd knocked a gourd from the hiding spot. A mess of orange powder lay scattered about the ground...

____

((Author's Notes: Yeah remember when I said this would be out July 12th on that one schedule post I made? The one where I basically irreversibly printed those dates that I had to abide by? Well, I was once again a couple of days late because a bunch of ideas and revisions came up. This has to be, like, the most despised production of a chapter/episode so far because this is a very transitional (and kinda filler) installment right after getting to such a high point with the last one. I kept switching a bunch of concepts and dialogue exchange scenes around to make sense of the chronology and why and when such things would happen. I've been so concerned lately with how much everything makes sense rather than just having something jotted down like how uploading this story used to be.

On a positive note, however, Makini was super fun and therapeutic to write. It was so fun to channel informalities like run-on sentences and rambling through her because she's so ADHD-coded lol.

Artist Note: This entire episode is highkey a meta commentary on my struggles to come up with things to draw, even down to overworking an image in my head so much that I actually lose the image altogether, making me give up before the stylus touches the tablet. The struggles with composition and making sense of this story were what played into such a debilitating 9-month hiatus. That, finishing community college, and taking forever to rid myself of a perfectionist art student mindset while making art over the summer is what finally got my head out of my ass, realizing that this story doesn't need to be so overly professional. I get that I wanted to emulate a nonexistent, hypothetical PG-13 show to succeed The Lion Guard, but I'm not a studio, I'm one person jotting down ideas and putting them in a screenshot art style. That's how Vitani's Guard even started, and it's okay if it goes up and down in how refined it is.

Also, I'm thinking of adding that little border with watermarks of the VG logo and episode/chapter number on VG art so we can keep track of when in the story an illustration takes place. What's confusing is that I refer to things as "Seasons" too, like this is "Season 3", for example.

Fun Facts:

The Zamani and Baadaye powder are based on the unnamed orange powder Rafiki used on Scar during the future hallucination sequence in the Disney Villains: Scar comic. DV:S is… not my favorite TLK installment because of how disconnected it feels, kinda feels like someone didn't watch TLK for years and only wrote something based on what they can remember of it. But! There were some aspects I liked, such as the aforementioned eye powder trip scene, these selfish and greedy vultures whose motives are actually established rather than just "hunched bald bird evil haha" that Disney always does. Also, just the general idea of Rafiki and Scar having a dialogue exchange. You never see that anywhere in any other TLK works, I don't think. I love how Rafiki sees something in Scar that no one else can yet, and how much Scar is like the Anakin to Rafiki's Obi-Wan/Yoda. The concept does get ruined by Rafiki seemingly knowing way too much about Scar's intentions, though, it kinda just makes Rafiki look like he just let Scar's tyranny happen :p. Think I'll write a full review on DV:S sometime.

Vitani and Makini's dynamic are an analogy of me taking the word of much younger, passionate artists who simply love what they make and have fun.

"Broken Bird", according to TV Tropes, is a term used to describe once idealistic individuals who had their dreams crushed through tragedy or abuse. The individual's demeanor and personality permanently change and they find it hard to love or get attached in any way again. Vitani and Zira's ideologies and emotional maturity were commonly deeply affected by the actions of their predecessors. Also it just so happened to go with the crow theme.))

Nuka trying to restore his fire by blowing it is based on the visual gag of Lumiere doing the same thing to his candlesticks.

[imagineteamfreewill]

An Imagined Life

Title: An Imagined Life

Pairing: Author!Dean x Interior Decorator!Reader

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: Fluff

Summary: Y/N and Dean have been best friends since childhood, and though they’re both adults with busy lives, they still manage to keep up their weekly traditions.

A/N: Wow! It's been SO long since I posted on here. Hey everyone! This kinda came out of nowhere, but nonetheless, it was fun to write. Thank you to everyone who supports me here, on Patreon, and on ao3. Thank you for reading, and enjoy! Dividers are by @firefly-graphics

There’s no response when you knock on Dean’s front door, and you smile to yourself as you crouch down to pull the spare key out from behind the loose siding at the base of the house. He’s never quite gotten around to finding a new place to put it, even after his dad found the hiding spot and trashed the place while the two of you were out of town, but it really doesn’t matter anyway. Very few people actually know who Dean is. You’re fairly certain most of his neighbors think that he’s a hermit, rather than a bestselling author.

Once you’ve wrangled the door open, you set the key on his entryway table and shift the plate of hot pancakes so you can carry it with both hands.

“Dean!” you call, peering up the stairs. There are no lights on in the hallway. His living room’s a mess, and you have to step over several piles of books as you cross through to get to the kitchen. “Dean, I brought pancakes!”

He still doesn’t answer and you sigh, shedding your jacket and tossing it on the island before heading back through the living room and up the stairs to his room. He’s probably still in bed. There’s no doubt that he’d been up late writing again, considering the various pages spread across the couch cushions. His laptop sits nearby, too.

The couch is his second favorite place to write—with the back porch being his first—despite the fact that in the beginning, he’d been adamant against your choice in seating. The two of you had argued about it for over an hour. He hadn’t liked the legs. You’d insisted that he’d needed it, and in the end, he’d relented. After all, he’d hired you to decorate his new house, and he trusted you to do a good job. Even though you’d played pranks on him ever since you were little, you wouldn’t dream of screwing up a client’s house, even if it was Dean.

You and Dean have been best friends since kindergarten. During your very first week of school, he’d stood up for you when another kid had tried to take your beloved coloring book during a rainy day recess. The two of you have been like velcro ever since. You’d gone to all the same schools, even for college, and you’d both moved across the country to pursue your dreams after graduation. He’d moved into a modest fixer upper on the outskirts of the city and you’d moved into an apartment nearby the studio where you’d started your career, but the commute hasn’t stopped either of you from continuing your tradition of Sunday morning breakfasts, or in this case, Sunday afternoon breakfasts.

Knocking on his bedroom door, you carefully push it open and poke your head into the room. Sure enough, Dean is sprawled out across his bed, the blankets covering one bare leg and his upper half. The only thing visible at the top of the comforter is a tuft of brown hair. Smiling to yourself, you open the door the rest of the way and cross the room to open the curtains. You slide the plate of pancakes onto the only clear spot on his dresser as you pass.

“Rise and shine!” you cheer, and Dean answers you with a singular, sleepy grunt. Chuckling, you leap onto his bed, making him bounce on the mattress. He groans again and pulls the covers closer around him from the inside. 

“Come on, Dean! I brought pancakes this week!”

Silence answers you, and just as you’re opening your mouth to try and coerce him for the third time, Dean grumbles,

“Remind me to hide the spare key.”

You grin and yank his pillow out from under his head, then lean down so you can speak directly into his ear. “You and I both know you’ll never do that.”

He groans again, and you briefly wonder how he ever managed to start a career when his vocabulary is so limited in the morning. When you tell him as much, Dean reaches his hands out from under the blankets, pulls his pillow from your grasp, and flips the blankets off his head before shoving the pillow back under him where it belongs. He turns onto his back and rests his head back on the pillow as he squints up at the ceiling, his eyes adjusting to the midday sun streaming in through the tall bedroom windows.

“Did you really have to open the curtains?” he asks as he rubs his eyes with the back of one hand. His voice is thick from sleep, making it gravelly and just a little deeper than normal. It makes you smile. You love Dean in the morning, even if he is a grump.

“Probably not,” you reply. Flopping down beside him, you stare up at the ceiling fan in silence, letting him wake up the rest of the way on his own. You’ve done your job spectacularly.

Finally, Dean sighs heavily and sits up, letting the blankets slide halfway onto the floor as he shifts his legs over the side of the bed. You turn onto your side and prop your head up with one elbow, watching him. He’d gone to bed in just his black boxers again, leaving his back exposed to you. The sunlight turns his skin golden.

He’s been out in the sun, you think. His freckles stand out more than usual, and as he stretches, your mind wanders. The two of you have never dated, which is strange. You enjoy spending time with him, and it’s not like you think he was ugly. In reality, Dean is one of the most attractive people you know. He could convince you to do anything if he smiled while he asked. If he asked you to date him, you’d say yes. Hell, if he asked you to marry him, you’d say yes.

“You just gonna stare at me or are we gonna eat?” Dean asks, and you grin, pushing away your thoughts as you quickly try to make up for your long silence.

“Eating sounds good, but I can’t say I’m opposed to staring at your back for the rest of the day. It’s a nice back,” you tease.

“Shut up.” Dean turns and grabs his pillow, tossing it at your head.

You laugh and move your hand from where it’s supporting your head, effectively blocking the hit. Dean smiles down at you, despite his initial grumpiness after being jarred awake, and you grin even wider when his expression softens.

"You have a good week?" he asks, and you nod.

"You? Looks like you got a lot of writing done."

Dean nods slightly and stands, stretching his arms above his head with a groan. You force yourself to look away.

Why am I suddenly thinking about dating Dean?

Silently, you scold yourself and sit up on the other side of the mattress. Your back is to him, which gives you a moment to compose yourself. It’s too early for crazy thoughts about going out with your best friend. That’s more of a 3:00 AM thought.

You don’t want to mess with a good thing, you remind yourself. It’s the reason you avidly avoid the topic of dating when anyone brings it up, especially at holidays. For the longest time, your mom and Mary Winchester have been conspiring to get the two of you together. Back when you were younger, you fielded their questions with ease by telling them that you only thought of Dean as a friend and that you were more focused on your career, but you can practically picture their expressions if they ever heard your private thoughts about Dean’s back. These thoughts will have to be something you take to your grave.

You clear your throat and get up, grabbing the plate and rounding the end of the bed. “Ready?” you ask.

Dean grabs a t-shirt from the laundry basket on top of his dresser, then pulls it over his head. He glances at himself in the mirror before running a hand through his hair and heading out into the hallway. You follow him down the stairs and to the kitchen, plate in hand.

He starts pulling down plates, cups, and silverware for the two of you while you stick the plate in the microwave. 

“There’s syrup in the fridge,” he tells you, pointing just behind you. “Can you get the creamer, too?”

You hum in acknowledgement and turn around to do just that, and he starts the coffee maker. Dean knows exactly how you like your coffee. The thought that he does makes you smile as you hunt through the contents of his fridge.

“So what’s the plan for today?” he asks.

Glancing over your shoulder, you grab the syrup from the door before closing it and taking a few steps to the island so you can dump the bottle of creamer there, too. You settle on one of the bar stools and watch him from the side as he makes your coffee. Last year, you’d convinced him to buy a fancier coffee maker, and though he’d been reluctant to change and get rid of the faithful machine that had helped him through his first bestseller, Dean eventually agreed that the newer model was better. Plus, it meant that he could make you some truly great breakfast drinks, not just plain coffee with creamer like he normally has.

“Besides pancakes? I have to run to IKEA and look at some decor options for a client. Do you want to come with?”

His nose crinkles enough that you can see it from your seat. “Shopping?”

You lean forward over the island, propping your chin on your hand as you give him the biggest puppy eyes you can muster. “Please, Dean?” you whine. “Please spend time with your oldest, prettiest, and most talented friend so I don’t perish of loneliness before I can settle down like a good, upstanding citizen. I need someone with me to ward off all the suitors that might harass me while I do my weekly throw pillow shopping.”

Dean snorts. “You’re insane.”

“Am I?” You drop your hand down and push yourself up on the counter, just enough that your reach is long enough to reach the cup of coffee he’s brought over for you. You pull it closer and lift it to your nose so you can breathe in the rich aroma, then take a sip. As predicted, it’s perfect. With a sigh, you plop back onto the stool.

“Yes, you are,” he laughs.

The microwave beeps and Dean abandons his mug to get the pancakes, and you busy yourself by arranging your plate and silverware in front of you. You don’t have to ask Dean to heap your portion onto your plate. He does it automatically, piling pancakes in front of you until you give him a satisfied nod. As he plates his own food, you start dishing up your toppings.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get out of the house a little today,” Dean says after the two of you have had a chance to tuck into your food. 

You look up at him, eyebrows raised in surprise and a loaded fork held halfway to your mouth. “Really? You actually want to go shopping with me?”

He shrugs and takes another bite.

“Okay, then I’m going to finish these pancakes so we can get going before you change your mind,” you tell him, and you start to shovel your food into your mouth more earnestly. He smiles a little before doing the same.

After you and Dean clean up from your late breakfast, you pile into the Impala. He has to stop for gas, so you spend that time searching through your inspiration photos and the screenshots of items you’d looked at on the website. It’s nice to not have to drive, and it gives you a better chance to focus your thoughts on what the most important items will be. As much as he loathes shopping, Dean likes to wander, which means you can’t get distracted from what you really need for the houses, rather than what you’ve walked past four times.

“All good?” you ask, glancing up from your phone when he climbs back into the driver’s seat. Dean hums in agreement and turns the key in the ignition again, then cranks the music as he pulls out of the gas station. You laugh a little when he punches the accelerator once you’re on an open stretch of highway, and you lock your phone, leaning back in your seat.

It’s a nice enough day that you can have the windows down. The wind in your face reminds you of the long road trips you’d taken together in college, and the drive you’d made to move from college to your current home. Those are some of your happiest adult memories with Dean. Some of the moments you replay over and over again in your head each night are from those trips. 

“So what exactly are we getting here?” Dean asks as he turns into the massive store lot. “Throw pillows? Vases with fake grass? Giant, framed, sepia-toned pictures of cows?”

You roll your eyes at the design cliches he always teases you about. “A couch and a coffee table,” you shoot back. “Although, you seem to know a lot about those cow pictures. Have you been researching one for your own house?”

He sends you a scathing look, but it’s quickly replaced by a small smile when you laugh at his reaction.

Climbing out of the car, you pull out your phone again. “I haven’t picked out a coffee table, but the couch…” You scroll through the pictures until you find the one you want, then hold it out for him to see. “Here, this is what I’m looking for. I just hope they have it here—they don’t ship this one and I don’t want to drive four hours to the next IKEA.”

Dean glances over at the Impala, and his smile is gone. “That’s not going to fit, Y/N. If I’d known you were getting furniture—”

“I’m just reserving it.” You shake your head. “I’ll have one of the interns pick it up tomorrow morning.”

He nods back and his shoulders relax slightly as you head into the store. Thankfully, it’s less crowded than you’d anticipated, which lets you keep a lazy pace as you walk. You’re not quite wandering, but you’re not worried about people trying to get past whenever you and Dean stop to look at one of the room displays.

“This one’s nice,” Dean says. He nods at a metal coffee table in one of the fake living rooms. 

You crinkle your nose, feeling a little bad that you can’t agree. “It’s okay. Not quite what I’m looking for, though. It’s not really the vibe of the family.”

“Yeah?” He glances over at you as you hum and pick a pillow to inspect the design closer. “What’s the vibe?”

You set the pillow back in the giant metal basket and think about it for a second. “They’re more natural, like a… spa commercial. Lots of light natural woods, white linens, birdsong in the background, that kinda thing.” You gesture vaguely with one hand.

“Ah, so the daughter’s name is Serenity and the mother does weekly yoga with the other women from the neighborhood,” Dean replies.

“Exactly.”

“Dad’s probably a workaholic, and he goes along with whatever the mom wants because he knows it’ll keep her off his back. He doesn’t mind all the organic stuff, but he’s not above getting McDonald’s for lunch. He pays with cash, though, because his wife keeps careful track of their money,” Dean continues.

You raise an eyebrow. “You’re really fleshing this one out, aren’t you?”

He shrugs with a little satisfied smile, then pushes the cart forward to the next display room.

“Okay, so what about this one?” you ask. You wave your hand toward the half-dining room, half-living room display that’s been set up. It’s clearly meant to mimic a small apartment, because almost everything doubles as storage. The decor reminds you of your own apartment when you’d first moved out of college. You’d been broke after the cross-country move, and most of your things had been leftover from your dorm. You didn’t get “real” furniture until almost two years later. Dean had offered to help pay for the basics, but you’d turned him down. He’d already had his hands full with fixer-upper he’d bought with the advance from his first book.

Dean considers the faux apartment, letting his eyes sweep over each item with care before he finally answers, “They just moved cross-country. He’s planning on proposing to her, but he doesn’t have a ring yet because they spent all their money on the new apartment. It’s barely big enough for them, let alone the stuff they have from college and from their parents’ basements, but she loves it anyway. She likes to decorate with things she finds at thrift stores and the flea market, and he’s secretly been saving every penny he can to buy her the ring he thinks she deserves. If everything goes his way, he’s hoping to ask her next summer, and he’s going to string up the living room with lights because she always mentions how much she misses the fields of fireflies from where they grew up together.”

You smile to yourself, imagining the couple as Dean weaves his story around you. The aisles in this area of the store are empty, and his voice draws you into the picture he’s creating on a whim. It’s warm and homey, and it reminds you a little of your own life, just enough that you can imagine it clearly.

“I like that,” you finally say, after several moments have gone by. “What about that one?” You point a little farther down the aisle.

“The kitchen?” Dean asks. You nod in response. “Well, our couple’s gotten older, but he still hasn’t proposed. They still live together, and they’ve got a better place now that they both have better jobs, but every time he sees a ring or thinks it’s the right time to pop the question, he starts second-guessing himself. So, since they have a backyard now, he gets her a dog, instead.”

“What kind of dog?”

He looks over at you. “What kind of dog do you want it to be?”

You nudge him with your elbow, smiling. “Come on, Dean. You know me. I’m always gonna answer that they need a golden retriever. Every cheesy romance novel and movie has a golden retriever.”

He laughs a little and looks back at the empty kitchen. “A golden retriever it is, then. He’s a rescue, so he’s already three, but she spends every extra minute she has training him. She’s worked hard to make their house a home, you know, so she has to make sure to keep his muddy paws off the couch.”

“Of course,” you agree.

Dean pushes the cart forward again, and the two of you walk a little further, passing by countless closets, more living rooms, a plant display, and another kitchen. Finally, you reach a children’s bedroom, and you pause just for a moment. It’s long enough that Dean notices, however, so he stops and looks over at you.

“Did you find something you like?” he asks. “I didn’t see that couch you wanted earlier when we passed through the sofa section.”

Something about the first story Dean had come up with today stuck with you, and as you peer at the display, you can’t help but picture yourself crouching down beside the ladybug-themed bed. You imagine yourself brushing hair back off a child’s forehead, and you chuckle at the idea of a golden retriever who would hop up by the kid’s feet though it’s too big for the bed.

“What about this?” you ask, quietly, almost so quiet that the music covers it up.

Dean’s silence for a second. “We have a kid now, and he’s everything we’ve ever dreamed.”

You don’t fail to notice that Dean’s changed his story—it’s no longer “them” and “the couple”. It’s we. He keeps his eyes focused on the bed as he talks, but you look over at him. His eyes are a little glossy, and his expression is far away as he continues,

“We still live in the same house, and I’ve got a ring stashed away in a box of rough edits. You haven’t found it yet, but every time I go out, I’m worried that you’ll try to tidy up my office and find it.”

You swallow thickly and stare at him, wide-eyed. Careful not to disturb him too much, you move your hand a little. Your fingers bump against his, and Dean lets you maneuver his hand so it’s wrapped around yours, but he still doesn’t look away from the display bedroom. People are walking past you. Their voices and the music playing overhead feel far away, like they’re in a totally different universe. You’re so focused on Dean that you can’t see, feel, or hear anything outside of your little bubble.

“You’ve totally taken over everything,” Dean continues, chuckling. His lips turn up in a smile. He speaks without hesitation, and with enough passion in every word that you know he means everything he says. This isn’t just pretending anymore.

“The house is amazing, and you’ve gotten into gardening. Everything you touch seems to thrive, including me. I’ve got two more books on the bestsellers list, and it’s enough money that I don’t have to worry about how we’re going to make it. I know that we’ll be okay, no matter what happens. Your business is doing great, too. You stepped back since Robert was born, but you’ve got a partner and enough employees and interns that you can relax.

“You’re up here, right now,” he says. He lifts your joined hands to point towards the bed. “Tucking Robert in.”

“I am?” you prompt.

He nods. “When you’re back downstairs, I’m going to propose.”

“How are you going to ask me?” you murmur, almost afraid to ask.

Dean looks away from the display. His eyes meet yours, and you inhale sharply when he reaches behind himself to push the cart further away. He sinks to one knee and takes your other hand as you gape down at him.

“Dean…”

“I have loved you since the moment I saw you, Y/N,” he says.

You can sense people watching you, and to your left you can see someone holding up their phone to take a picture or to record you, but you can’t tear your eyes away from him. Tears are welling up, making your vision blurry, and you blink them away. They roll down your cheeks. In any other circumstance, you’d be embarrassed to cry in public, but it’s Dean. He chases all your fears away, and his hands in yours pull you into a moment you never thought you’d see.

“I have thought about proposing to you since we moved here,” Dean continues. “I think about it every day. Every morning, I wake up, Y/N, and I wonder why I haven’t asked you yet. Sometimes it feels like if I go another minute without being engaged to you, I’ll die. I don’t even have a ring; I haven’t been able to find the perfect one, but I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. I want to reach our goals and make new dreams together. I know this is sudden, and it’s a lot, and you can say no—I know that you weren’t expecting this—but I can’t let another day go by without asking.”

You’re at a loss for words. He’s right— you weren’t expecting this. You and Dean aren’t even dating, but the idea of spending your life with him doesn’t feel wrong or far-fetched. It feels perfect. You may be blindsided, but you’re not afraid of admitting when something is right.

Dean rubs his thumb over the side of your hand, and it draws you back down to him. “So what do you say, sweetheart? Will you marry me?”

After a second, you find yourself nodding. You throw yourself down into Dean’s arms. “Yes,” you say into his ear. You sniffle and press your face into his shoulder, and though your voice is muffled by his shirt, you know he’ll understand. “Yes, Dean. I love you so much.”

There’s scattered applause from all around you. Slowly, you sniffle and pull away, wiping your eyes with a smile and a laugh. Dean helps you stand again, and you brush the dust off your knees as shoppers crowd in to congratulate you. You nod along and thank them, a little embarrassed at all the attention, but soon you’re following Dean out of the store. An employee stops you at the door to give you a gift card from management, which you pocket in a daze. 

Neither one of you has bought anything, and you’ve totally forgotten to reserve the couch and coffee table you’d come for, but Dean leads you out to the Impala anyway. Then, once you’re away from prying eyes and the warmth of the sun is on your skin, he kisses you. His hands find your hips as he presses you back against the passenger side door, and you wrap your arms around his neck. Dean’s kiss is sweet and slow, and you know that it’s going to be something you remember for the rest of your life.

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Forever: @mrswhozeewhatsis @alexwinchester23 @shaelyn102 @lyarr24 @supermoonpanda @ultimatecin73 @musiclovinchic93 @shamelesslydean @mlovesstoriess @ellie-andthemachine

Dean Winchester: @karikatz12481@amionthetumbler @akshi8278

[jeanie-g]

https://www.tumblr.com/jeanie-g/763146452735229952/its-autumn-send-me-a-prompt-and-pairing-and

Yess!!

Okay I had a hard time picking (the prompt not the pairing 🤭😉) because there were multiple that made me go 😍. But I’ll take 21 because well me 🤝🏼 outdoors.

Sooo 21 for Nicojack please 🩵

currently riding through nature as i type this, which is appropriate! on the shorter side, but i hope you like it 🫶

[#21] hiking

The Orangutan Trail is, in spite of its name or—now that he thinks about it, maybe as a credit to it—fucking grueling.

They're only three miles in, but it's 90% uphill, and the waterfall Nico promises is "just up a little further" every twenty minutes is nowhere in sight.

Jack loves the outdoors, loves running, but hiking through the woods of New Jersey with his boyfriend in 50°F weather is really testing his limits.

"Why couldn't we have picked the Bobcat or Penguin trails?" Jack asks now, hands pinching the space below his ribs. Stupid cramp.

"Because those are boring," Nico replies, voice even, like he's just starting a work out rather than being in the middle of one. He's already at the top of the next steep incline. "Do you think we'll see a bear?"

Jack, slowly but steadily, joins him atop. "We're too close to the turnpike, Neeks. The only bear in these woods is you."

Nico turns to him with an unimpressed look. Jack snorts anyways. Nico facewashes him and continues ahead.

Jack wanted to spend their one day off that week vegging out on the couch, eating food not on their meal plans and making out until their lips fell off. But of course Nico had other plans.

"The weather is perfect, and I've been wanting to hike this trail since the heat wave broke last month," Nico'd said in bed that morning, Jack brushing his hair from his forehead and playing with it aimlessly.

"It's our only off-day until we leave for the Pacific road trip," Jack replied. "Don't you wanna stay in, just the two of us..."

Jack even trailed his free hand down Nico's flank for emphasis. Nico just chortled and rolled off and out of bed. So much for that.

Four hours later and Jack has sweat through his thermal and his overshirt. He doesn't know why this kind of workout is taking a toll on him. Well, that's not entirely true. Unlike ice or a stretch of road, it's an ever-changing terrain with fluctuating elevation, and there's no set pace like every other cardio workout he does. It's an endurance test, but not fast-paced and adrenaline-fueled like hockey is.

In short, it's slow, burning torture.

Nico's in his element though, pointing out the trees and identifying them, remarking on the leaves changing color and all the little bugs and critters they come across. He's having fun, and it's good for Jack to get out of his comfort zone, so he goes with it.

He trails Nico by several meters and tries to keep up the conversation through pants until finally, Nico stops.

"Here it is," he says, and if Jack strains his ears, he hears what sounds to be water.

It takes almost a minute for Jack to meet him. But when he does, he has to catch his breath for another reason entirely.

There, before them, is a clearing in the trees, revealing a decently-sized pond with reeds and stones speckling the shallow, green water. More large rocks are carved into the rising hillside, all leading to waterfall, maybe five feet high, made of the stream water cascading off the run-off above.

"Wow."

Nico turns to him and grins, hands going to his hips. "Right?"

Jack steps forward until the dirt gives way to rock slab, and he crouches down. He skims his finger along the pond surface. It's freezing, but it's nice. He spots a frog on a nearby lily pad. It sticks its tongue out to catch a gnat before jumping into the water.

"Care for a swim?" Nico asks behind him.

Jack turns to scoff. "In your dreams, Hisch."

Nico laughs, the sound of it swallowed by the rush of water. Jack pulls out his phone to capture the scene. His mom would love to know he's actually taking advantage of living in the northeast in autumn.

When he's done, he stands back up and rejoins Nico, who bumps his hip.

"Worth it?" He's got this cute little smirk on that Jack can't resist.

Jack rolls his eyes, but he smiles small. "I guess."

"There's my stubborn American," Nico says fondly, putting his arm around Jack's shoulder.

"Don't get too smug, we still need to hike back down, and I get bitchy when my feet hurt."

Nico just laughs, craning to kiss the top of Jack's head.

"I've handled it pretty well the past five years already. What's thirty more minutes?"

Jack swats his arm for that. "It's a good thing you're cute, Hischier, or I woulda broken up with you ages ago."

Nico laughs again, this time loud enough to combat the water—and damn, Jack really loves that sound.

Naturally, he has to pulls Nico in by his thermal and kiss him about it.

[koolades-world]

Spellbound Secrets

chapter five: flurry of memories

synopsis: The House of Lamentation caught fire one night, and you were the only one they recovered from the wreckage. The brothers were in the house as well when you went to bed that night, but they were nowhere to be found. The pact marks are faded, and seem to be getting more and more indefinite by the day. You and Solomon get to investigating but oddly enough, nobody can seem to remember the missing brothers. It’s up to you, with the help of Solomon, to find your beloved demons, lest you never see them again.

navigation: playlist | prologue | chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four | chapter five (you are here!) | chapter six (coming next saturday)

authors note: again, so sorry for the delay. next weeks chapter will be as scheduled, hopefully. and yes i am aware that i need to get more creative with ending chapters lol

"What do you mean?" You were suddenly much more awake at his words.

"I remember everything." Solomon was wide-eyed, and looked more panicked than you'd ever seen him. It was really odd seeing him so freaked out.

"Everything?" You sat up with him.

"Everything." He clutched his chest.

"Take a deep breath and only speak once you're ready." You reached out for his hand, and he gripped back with a terrifying intensity.

"I actually don't think I was asleep that long. I couldn't fall asleep again, and I started thinking about what you told me before about the brothers." The fact that he was sharing his inner monologue spoke volumes to you. What Solomon thought about usually stayed private. "I was thinking hard about them, but I couldn't remember anything. Instead, I got a pounding headache. I felt almost dazed. After that, I actually fell asleep. I think I had a dream. but I can't remember any of it, than I woke up with my memory back." The words tumbled out of his mouth quicker than you could process them. He was missing that usual elegance about him.

"Alright. Wow." You sat and thought about his statement. "What do you want to do now?" You hadn't expected this to happen, so you weren't sure how to react.

"I'm not sure. I'm tired but my head still hurts." Solomon laid back down to put his head on the pillow. The room was dark, but you could see him massaging his temples.

"Let me get you some painkillers then. We can talk about this in the morning." You began to shuffle around in the bed, moving to get off the end so you could leave without disrupting Solomon.

"No. I can't make you do that. You're supposed to be taking it easy." He thrust a hand out abruptly in front of you to keep you from moving any further.

"It's just a quick walk downstairs. I'll be fine." You protested, but didn't move any further.

"I would feel bad." His voice was lower than it was before. You could taste the guilt behind it.

"If you really don't want me to get up, I'll just make use of what you taught me." You muttered a quick incantation under your breath and the bottle of painkillers flew into your hand. You tried to suppress the smug grin on your face as you handed it to him.

"I might as well take them. I must say, as your master, that was excellent work. I taught you well." You could hear a hint of a smile in his voice.

"That's just where learning from the best will take you." You squeezed his hand tighter before letting go so he could take the medication. He tossed a couple in his mouth before washing it down with some water.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"You've done more than enough for me. I'm just returning the favor." You laid back down. He silently followed suit. You stared up at the ceiling for a bit, before turning to look at Solomon to see if he'd fallen asleep yet. He too was just gazing into the far distance. You tapped his shoulder, and when he turned to face you, he looked surprised to still see you awake. Instead of speaking, you held open your arms again, inviting him in for a cuddle. Wordlessly, he accepted. He fell asleep beside you, and once you were sure that he finally was, you let yourself fall back asleep too.

The next morning, Solomon had vanished on you again, just like he had yesterday. However, the spot where he'd clearly slept was still warm. You swung your legs out from under the covers and over the edge of the bed. You let out a rattling yawn that attracted the attention of someone outside the closed door. They paused, then knocked.

"Hello?" You quickly made sure you looked semi-presentable.

"Good morning." Simeon softly greeted you, peaked into the room. "Breakfast is downstairs." He smiled at you as you combed through your hair and tried to seem like you'd been awake longer.

"Thank you." You said. Simeon shut the door behind him.

With a stretch, you got out of bed and made your way to the bathroom, just as you had the day before. The door was ajar, so you pushing it open without thinking about it. You came face to face with Solomon with a toothbrush stuck into his mouth. It was clear neither of you were expecting the interaction. Solomon held up a finger and spit the suds from his mouth in the sink.

"I wasn't expecting you to be awake this early." His words were a little slurred since some of the toothpaste bubbles stayed behind.

"Me either, honestly." You scooted him aside a little to make room for yourself beside him. He returned to brushing one he noticed you were going to be doing the same. The quiet glee that settled into Solomon's features was something you wouldn't trade for the world. You never would have guessed he was a man who adored domesticity, but here he was, reveling in it. You brushed your teeth together, side by side. He elbowed you in the side a few times, to which you flicked the end of his toothbrush in retaliation.

Once you were both finished, you began to speak again. "So, about yesterday." You began.

"This morning, you mean." Solomon quipped back.

"Glad to see you're feeling alright, old fart." You smiled to yourself despite the words leaving your mouth. You were glad he seemed better than he had earlier that day.

"Want to talk over breakfast? It's nice this morning, so we could chat outside. Luke made some cinnamon sugar muffins." Solomon offered.

"That's the most normal thing that he's made this week." You commented, turning the faucet back on.

"Barbatos reccomended it." He began tidying up the counter a little, putting back everything he'd used in it's proper place.

"Ah, so that's why. I'm glad Luke bonded with him." You held a finger under the running water.

"It's nice to see him getting along with a demon, especially after he swore he'd never befriend one." He held a hand up to his mouth, hiding a wicked grin and his snickers.

"We should probably stop talking about this, before he walks about and yells at us for patronizing him." You couldn't help but join in.

"Alright, alright. I'll get food for the both of us. Meet you in the garden?" He opened the door wider and looked back at you.

"You're not going to wash your face?" You gestured to the running water, confused.

"Already did." He walked off, and down the hall before you could answer. With a shrug to yourself, you began to wash your face while lost in thought. You weren't sure where things were going to go from here, now that Solomon had his memory back. From what he'd told you in a panicked state last night was that it came back to him after, or maybe, during a dream. Now that he had collected himself and his thoughts, your search for the brothers would be much easier. But, that raised the question. How was that possible?

When you went to splash some more water on your face, it was freezing. It jolted you out of your thoughts. You wondered if someone else in the house was showering. After you realized just how long you'd been standing over the sink, you dried your face off and applied moisturizer, then hurried downstairs. You hoped to pass by your other housemates on the way there, but they were nowhere to be seen. You made your way out to the garden where you found him seated at one of the tables. He'd picked the one tucked out of the way, in order to give the both of you a little more privacy.

"How did you have time to make us drinks?" You slid into the chair across from him. In front of the both of you was a cute plate with several mini golden brown muffins on them. Beside it, was a steaming mug of coffee, made just to your liking.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." He had already begun eating one of his muffins.

"You could just say you used magic. It's kind of obvious." You told him. After gently blowing on the top of the liquid, you tentatively took a sip. It was perfect, but things made with magic had a slightly different taste about them. It was hard to place, but you could always tell something was slightly off. Besides that, you knew Solomon. He wasn't skilled enough to brew this on his own.

"You're no fun, Mc." He pouted.

"Cry me a river." You decided to try one of the muffins Solomon had brought for you before he decided to eat them himself. He was devouring his own at a pace so fast you were concerned he wasn't chewing them properly. "Wow, these are really good." You exclaimed after a bite. You knew nothing the little angel made could be bad, but these were likely some of the best he'd ever made.

"Right?" Somehow, Solomon was already finished.

"Now that you're done eating, talk to me." You had no clue where this conversation might be going.

He hesitated for a moment. He opened and closed his mouth a few times while trying to formulate his thoughts into words. "Well, I remember everything. One of the first things I thought of was the pact marks. What happened to them?" He put a finger on his chin.

"Do you remember helping me bandage my burns?" You asked. He nodded in agreement. "Well, my pact mark with Mammon is right here, and I got the impression nobody else could see it. What do you remember seeing?" You used your left hand to point to the spot on your right wrist where the pact mark was hidden beneath several layers.

"A blank circle." He only confirmed your suspicions.

"I can still see it, but it just looks faded." In order to avoid having to unwrap the bandages, you stuck out your leg from under the table to show him Beel's pact mark. It formed a ring around your mid-thigh. Just like the others, it was ominously dim.

"I'm not too sure what to make of that." He craned his neck to get a better look at it.

"Have you looked at your pact mark with Asmo yet? My guess is that yours would look like this too." You inquired. It would be nice to not be alone in this mess.

"I haven't since I got my memory back. I remember when I didn't remember the brothers, and I thought it was odd that I had an empty patch on my body. Now that I have the information that I do now, I understand that that is where Asmo's mark is. I can only assume that if I were to look at it right now, it would resemble yours, just like you predicted." He trailed off. "It really is eerie."

"Why not look now?" The two of you exchanged a knowing glance. "Oh. I get it. He got you in an awkward place too, didn't he?" The reddening of his face told you everything you needed to know. "Here, you don't have to tell me where it it. Mine is a tramp stamp. Is it better or worse than that?" You kept a straight face as best as you could.

"Worse." Solomon hid his face in his mug, and avoided eye contact.

"Since you're the color of a lobster, I'll leave you alone for now. What else do you want to talk about now that we're on the same page?" You turned the conversation back to where it had started.

"I have a couple more things on my mind, but there's one major one I think might lead us in the right direction." It felt like he was staring into your soul with how he was focused on you.

"Yes?" You prompted him after he sat in silence for a moment.

"I remember the night of the fire. I was there at the scene."

tags list: @bagofmice

[castleofclouds]

ᴛᴏ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏʏꜱ ɪ'ᴠᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ.

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ Nct Dream Alternative Universe OT7.

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ pairings ; ot7 × reader (yn)

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ disclaimer ; fiction, cursing, 18+ content, kms joke and many more.

Story are by © castleofclouds, do not copy or repost without watermark!

‧₊˚ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖‧₊˚ ⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖‧₊˚ ࣪﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹

sumarry : your life was peaceful until your stupid friends start giving you ideas of making thread about ur exes, stirring a whole new problems for you, suddenly one by one of your past start running back to you and opening old books of you and them, how do you act in this situation?

genre : gotta be fluff! texts (sometimes smau) angsty, slowburn, romance, humor, mention of 18+ content.

tag : @bluedbliss, @luvandletter

To All The Boys I've Dated ; Better Run.

“Urghh..”

The liquor got the best of you, who knew a simple cocktail you drank last night would mess you up real bad, you looked past your shoulder, seeing your phone on the drawer next to you, as you open plenty of notification pops up, your head still spinning like crazy, you can't read anything that pops up, even with your eyes squinting, those text still feel a lot of trouble to see with your eyes.

You got up on your feet, washing your face it's weirdly peaceful today, like awfully quiet, your roomate and best friend Karina, supposed to be in her rooms either screaming to waking you up to join classes, yet there's no sign of her in your shared apartment, where could she be? You guys had class together and it's not usual for her to ditch you at this hour.

Changing your pajamas into a much more neat blouse and jeans you looked around seeing your own reflection, you look very tired, there's a dark circles under your eyes, well how can't you not? Yangyang make you drink even though you still had classes the next morning, you want to just strangle him to death the more you think.

As you walk to your campus, you felt eyes behind your shoulder but everytime you turn your head, those staring gone, poof, like some sort of magic powder, what happened today? You felt like a criminal with all of the glaring, but some are different, they somehow pitying you? You? Pitied? What's so awfully about you today? You even take shower today! It's unusual of course, even for you.

Yangyang came out of nowhere, putting his hands on your shoulder like a souvenir, you glared at him, Yangyang seems awfully joyous today, what prank did he had again today? Is it about you?

“Don't touch me, I don't have spare change.” you sulk, your day just started and you can't be bothered about his weird attitude at 9 in the morning.

“Whoa, girl wake up and choose violence today huh? Even though you are a celebrity today? Everyone talking about you,” He explains, pointing at everyone that looking at your direction.

So YOU DO get stared at, but why? There's no specific reason for them to look at you like that.

“Why?” you ask nonetheless.

“You don't remember? Oh babe let me remind you, last night you tweet something don't you? Perhaps about your exes?” The words got out of his mouth, you couldn't believe what you just heard. You do remember you tweeted about it.

But that account only had 4 followers, yangyang, karina, winter and your second.

Well if you didn't include yangyang 5 more stan accounts where he use it for fanboying, the boy had big crush on Ariana Grande, same as you.

“Well yeah? It's just a simple funny dare nothing new what's up?” You said nonchalantly.

“Wow, when karina said you never look at your message box she was right.” He added.

You look at your phone on your hands, you do never look at your message box, you either only use it when texting about movie and nude. Never more. But you did remember your twitter dm box are full with text when you just woke up.

“So you didn't know that the whole campus knew your exes? And your exes actually saw your tweet about them?” Yangyang drop the bomb of information on your weak mind, suddenly a rush of shock wave get into your brain.

OMG, YOU ARE FUCK.

That's all you can think, you hurriedly opened your Twitter and saw a lot of dmed, but you saw seven accounts that you knew a lot, it's your exes accounts. How can they know? You never exposed your account, your tweet never get past 2 likes and two of them from Yangyang stan accounts.

You couldn't open them, you knew if you open it they can see you read their messages.

Instantly you run. Like absolutely went berserk, Yangyang couldn't catch up to you, as you run thinking a simple run could save you from your trouble, you spent a solid 30 minutes running before you finally stopped and rest your tired body under that tree next to the campus track field.

How can your life be much worse than this, you don't have any thought, you questioning whether you should be happy or ask someone to just shoot your head and left you as your body laying limp on the field.

Why them? You cursed yourself for being idiot.

You take a deep breath, it's such a long time ago, your exes wouldn't remember right? But their messages. Fuck.

The only thing you can do now is avoiding, avoiding anybody and any attention, as you ready to walk you found so many familiar faces that would interrogate you if you take any step closer to them so you stopped.

As you looked around, you remembered a lot of memories of your past, you used to be the most loved person on planet, you used to wish to stars, taking pictures of everything that look aesthetically pleasing to your eyes, or just laying on the field while reading and talking for a whole day.

You kinda wanted to hate your exes, but you can't, yet you kinda wish you can, since they are the one who walked away from you leaving you alone with all of this trust issues and broken heart.

Until you found someone its Johnny, the guy that had so many gossip on his head, there's even a saying reason why he had so many hair is because he puts every gossip onto his head causing hair to grew up faster, He found you sitting by yourself, you never looked away so fast.

Oh fuck NO! You quickly get up because if he ever catch you, you done for!

You get up quickly, Johnny start following you as you walk away before taking another leap of marathon. Today is your running day. If you can run from your problems, then so be it, you can't see anybody faces right now! At least not today.

You missed a class, even though you never done it before, such a shame tho today lecturer was your favorite, all because you stupidly agreeing on a bet you made. Karina look at you pity, rubbing your back softly as she cheered you up.

“What's wrong girliee? Is there something wrong?” she asked you worrying, you sigh.

“Why did I even agree to that stupid shit last night, shoulda stop at just drinking now I make my own life miserable..” you want to cry, you couldn't believe how everything happen so fast.

“Aww baby, it's not your fault eh? It's totally normal to speak about your exes besides what's so wrong about thinking of your exes and make a thread about them? most people would do worse than that thank God you didn't sleep with any of your exes?” She assured you, even though you don't how how is that considered assuring to you.

Go home is the only thing you had on mind today, your apartment was close you can just walk there but the amount of running causing stir inside your head, as you walk the crosswalk look very funny, you ended up fainting on the middle of the road.

You could hear Karina voices, and Winter too, they are very worried about you, as you get up you already in a strange place with white walls and curtains.

“Where am I?” You asked slowly change your position to sitting, Winter explains after helping you get up. “You fainted babe, how can you faint in the middle of the road like that? Gosh I'm so worried, Karina cried when she pick up the phone! Yangyang are on his way here,” she talks fast, you could see that both of them had glassy eyes, you caused them to worried. What a terrible friends! You think to yourself.

But, who found you?

“Who found me? I thought the road back to apartment are quite desolated, there's almost nobody past there,” You ask curiously.

“We don't know, the hospital calls us, but they said the guy left a note for you.” as Karina gives you the notes.

“Hey, I paid for your tab so you don't need to, you can paid me back at this address. RCafe, Lilac Street, No 14. Hope you are okay.”

You looked at the notes and feel like your life ended, it's bad enough that you already fainted and some stranger bring you to the hospital, now you owed them money?! Even though you already shorts on one, you could only sigh at the notes you hold.

“Man, if I saw yangyang I would kill him.” you remark, while Yangyang could feels chills all over his body on his ride to the hospital.

—

Masterlist. Next.

A/N :

WHAT DO WE THINK? THE FIRST EPS LET'S GO!! gosh, I'm loving this story too much I've been learning just for this? Are you serious? Man any each way I'm happy with how this turn out ngl, I love the idea of exes, and since I don't see anybody made about exes, I'm gonna make one myself hehehehe, how do we say? Do y'all like it? Hope so, kinda wish I had the life that YN had, not the break up part but the college life, kinda missed it, i'm on the last semester of my campus life soo how life passes 🥺 anyway if anybody would love me to continue please continue suport me with those notes and tweet. Needed it very much! 💓

[letterstoear]

Their reactions to a racoon in their bed

Characters: Vil, Epel, Jack, Kalim, Jamil

Notes: I honestly dunno why I wrote this, but here it is.

Please check out my shop as well!

Shop here: Shop — Letters to Ear (squarespace.com)

Vil: 

👑Screams his little heart out 

👑After screaming he just sits there wondering why a racoon in my bed is there!

👑 Takes him a few moments to collect himself before he gets out of bed to return the beast 

👑He’s not about to chuck it out the window, but he will consider if someone placed it there

👑 A revenge scheme? Perhaps Epel, Rook, Neige? Had someone been keeping it as a pet 

👑Whatever the case is he’s taking that raccoon out of his bed 

👑Spends the rest of the night working out his horrors, cleans his sheets, checks every nook and cranny of his room

👑Where did that raccoon come from? 

Epel: 

🍎IS immediately like Yes! Let me sleep with you fine creature that appeared out of nowhere 

🍎 Examines the little guy to see if he’s injured or something 

🍎Low key thinks it's just a dream or something tho 

🍎Wakes up to his surprise that the racoon is still there beside him

🍎Is like wow, I got myself a new friend, I gotta hide you from Vil, cause ain’t no way he gonna let me keep him

🍎And Epel is right, cause Vil is like return him to the outdoors 

🍎A teary goodbye 

Jack: 

🐺 Double checks his bed because he feels something rummaging in his bed

🐺 Shocked to see a racoon, but is like well, I guess this is life

🐺Just rolls with it because he’s had worse 

🐺In the morning he gives it a five-star treatment before letting it go 

🐺Imagine the surprise on everyone’s face when they see Jack taking care of a racoon he found in his bed 

🐺Got heads turning from everyone 

🐺Only reason he doesn’t keep it is because he wants it to be free 

Kalim: 

☀️Freedom…, um excuse me me, no, you’re my new friend 

☀️Behold, Kalim’s new friend

☀️Only the best treatment for the best 

☀️Gets incredibly excited from the raccoon appearing in his bed because he thinks he’s got something like Silver’s ability to attract animals 

☀️In reality the racoon just wandered into their dorm by accident 

☀️Gives Jamil a headache from wanting to take care of the raccoon, but manages to successfully to put the racoon back in the woods 

☀️Another teary eye goodbye 

Jamil: 

🐍 Get that thing away from him as far as he can go, it is covered in sand

🐍 Scares him to death because of how unexpecting it was 

🐍 Feels it touching his face and wakes up to it 

🐍 At first, he’s like Kalim is this your new pet, but is relieved to know that it’s not 

🐍 Kinda just moves it off his bed then continues to sleep; this has to be a dream, right? 

🐍When he wakes up to see that it’s now on his bed and beside him, boy is just not right in the head 

🐍 Is more than happy to put it back where it belongs properly 

[satureja13]

Next morning. Jack sneaked out. Ji Ho and Vlad are still sound asleep. The main work of doing their Bond Magic is still on them and it drains them. Despite the devices. Vlad will hate it. He wanted to spare Ji Ho from all this...

Jack went over to the garage to work on their rooms. They need more place to sleep. He is still amazed how easy and fast these machines build furniture and stuff! Out of trash and junk!

Meanwhile Jeb, Saiwa and Kiyoshi went to the kitchen. Jeb insists that Saiwa is cooking today with Kiyoshi - to help him come back... Sai can't get over how Jeb put Kiyoshi over him. Saiwa had always been jealous of Kiyoshi and Jeb. Jeb didn't even hesitate agreeing to their fake relationship! How far will this go?

Jeb dwells on his own thoughs. He knows that Saiwa always had a crush on Kiyoshi. Everyone has. That's just how Kiyoshi is. But he is his best friend and he trusts him unconditionally. And he would do anything to bring him back. Even though Kiyoshi could never tell him much about his duties for the Council, the Resistance and the Temple.

But watching them together makes Jeb think if it was the right decision. What will he do when this fated-mates-thing is true? Did Kiyoshi love Saiwa all the time and just never told them because Kiyoshi knew how much he loved Saiwa? Did he give up on Saiwa so they could be together? Gods - the way Kiyoshi looks at him... Will Jeb be able to give up on Saiwa so Kiyoshi and Saiwa can be together? ö.Ö'

Ji Ho and Vlad eventually got up and they gathered for breakfast. They are so happy to be all together again <3 Ji Ho couldn't avoid to bring up the fact that they'll have to pay back Francine, Rubyn, Dtui and Leander (Vlad growled when he heard Ji Ho mentioning him ^^') for their help. But all of them agreed that they'd happily earn money the best they can to pay back. This place - their home - is more than they could ever hope for! Of course they would work to keep and earn it!

They discussed their possibilities. Jack could sell his amazing nectar, Vlad his paintings... And they'd have to find a way to send their produce to the Muggle World. The Otherworld is populated too sparsely. Jeb: "Vanië, you could start programming again and even develop computer games!" Saiwa: "Uh - I'm good with computers - but there's a lot more to a game than just programming the code. I would have to compose the music and sounds, make up and write the story and dialogues and then all the design stuff and concept art. I can't do any of these things."

If only Saiwa would know some creatures who are capable of all these things... ;) (Vlad is writer, Ji Ho composer and Jack draws ^^')

After breakfast Jack took Ji Ho upstairs. He decorated a room for him.

Ji Ho: "Gods, Jack - this is too much. It even looks better than your room!" Jack: "What? Nothing looks better than my Space House Boat!"

There is even a bathtub at the balcony with view on the river! And Jack even made a corner with all of Ji Ho's music stuff!

Ji Ho: "Thank you, Jack. It's so beautiful!"

Jack: "You have the best view of all of our rooms. Right on the river." Ji Ho: "It's stunning. Wow."

Then they talked a bit about their 'learn how to love lessons' and pondered about how Ji Ho could be able to learn how to love Vlad... Jack: "Let's go to the temple and visit Arturo later. I have to see him anyway, my pain gets worse again. He'll have advice for us." Ji Ho: "I hope so. I hate to see Vlad suffer because of me."

When will you ever learn when there's nowhere left to turn Don't let your spirit burn I'll wait 'till you return

All the dreams that we were building We never lived them We could lose it, we should use it Lessons in love - Level 42

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🛺 'Home happy Home' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: 🛺 'Home crappy Home' from the beginning ▶️ here 🌴 'The Expedition' from the beginning ▶️ here 🎤 'Putting the Boys Back together' from the beginning ▶️ here 🥀 'Disbandment of the Group' from the beginning ▶️ here

[maras-mischief]

“Whoa, Papa! Is this Nana?”

“Huh? Oh, wow. I haven’t seen that picture in years. That’s Nana’s sister, Helen.”

“I didn’t know Nana had a sister.”

“Had. She disappeared forty years ago. Her and I were actually sweethearts.”

“You were? But Nana…”

“I dated her before Nana. When she disappeared, Nana was really there for me. We fell in love and the rest is history.”

I looked at the photo closer. She was beautiful. I could see the resemblance to Nana. Papa went back to cleaning out the other side of the attic. I put the picture of Helen in my pocket and went back to helping.

That night, I put the picture of Helen on my nightstand. I looked into her eyes as I fell asleep.

The dream was so vivid. It was like a film playing in my mind. I was watching Helen, Papa, and Nana forty years ago. It was a car show and carnival in town. Helen was going around in her outfit, sexy as hell, and posing with all the cars. Papa’s attention was transfixed by Helen. I saw the jealousy and envy in Nana’s eyes as she glared at her sister.

I watched Nana as she snuck off and went into a fortune teller’s tent. I didn’t follow her. I followed Papa and Helen.

“Why don’t you get us lemonades and a funnel cake, Tiger.”

“Sure. Hey, where’s Nancy?”

“Around somewhere.”

Papa went off to the food section as Helen kept meandering around the cars.

“Hey, Sis.”

“Where did you scamper off to, Nancy?”

“Nowhere. Hey, check out the convertible. Wanna see if the owner will let you get a picture?”

“Sure.”

Of course, the owner let Helen sit in the car for a picture. Nana produced a camera from her purse and gave a wicked smiled as she focused the camera. She clicked the shutter and the flash blasted an obscene amount of light. The owner looked away from the flash. When he looked back he was confused, and Helen was gone.

The dream shifted. I wasn’t at the car show. I was in some etheric blackness with a warm mist swirling around me ankles.

Nephew

“Who’s there?”

Your Great Aunt Helen, Tiger.

“What?”

My jealous bitch of a sister trapped me in that photo forty years ago with that camera she got from the gypsy woman.

“What? Why?”

For Aaron, of course. She was jealous of my man. So she imprisoned me and stole him.

“No. Not, Nana. She’s was a sweetheart.”

Was…to you and her family. To me, she was a cold and vicious cunt. Now that she’s gone, I can feel the power of the curse lifting.

“So what happens with that?”

I will be free. But I need a body for that. I need a body that I share blood with as a host.

“Host, like to possess or something?”

Exactly. I know what’s in your soul, Nate. I know what you were thinking when you took the picture. I know the secret desire you had when you fell asleep looking into my eyes.

Nate blushed. No one knew that. He’d never told anyone about that. But has Helen’s words swirled in the mist, he knew she was telling the truth.

“So what do I do?”

Just say yes, Dear Nephew. Say yes with your heart and soul.

“Mornin’, Papa. Ready to finish cleaning out that attic?”

Aaron shook the morning cobwebs from his mind. He had the weirdest dream of cleaning the attic with a grandson, but Natalie was smiling at him with a cup of black coffee in her hand. She was taking such good care of him now that Nancy was gone. It was kind of eerie, though, how much Natalie resembled her long-lost great aunt, Helen.

“Thanks, Princess. I’ll down this and be ready to go.”

“Okay, Tiger. I’ll get Nana’s stuff sorted and ready for the estate sale.”

Tiger…he hadn’t been called that in over forty years…

[slashers-gf]

Surprise visit 18+ Part 2

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x fem!reader

Warning: smut, name calling, making out, biting, fingering

Summery: After that night billy had not made fun of you or even look at you, and you wanted that attention back

When you woke up that morning you were alone. Billy was nowhere to be found. He took everything with him. It seemed like billy was never there, that it was a dream.

~Weeks later~

Y/n pov

I was hoping to see and feel his warmth next to me when I woke up, but all I felt was emptiness and cold that day . I tried not to thing about it. I got ready to go hang out with my friends. They wanted to go to the pool since it was summer and hot outside.

After getting ready I went down stairs to see my parents making breakfast. "Morning y/n, you gonna stay and eat your breakfast?" Mom asked while she was putting some toast on a plate. "Sorry mom cant they are already here for me" I say heading towards the door. "Ok be safe" she yelled as I walked out.

I see my friends car, I run up to it and hot inside. "I cant believe you guys want to go to the pool" I say to my friends while rolling my eyes. "Come on its summer and I heard that there is a really hot new life gaurd." She said smirking. "Is that the reasons you wanna go to the pool?" I say looking that them annoyed. "Yes but also because it's summer and you never want to go out, you just stay home locked up in your room" my other friend said. "Well yeah thats because its-" I was interrupted. "To late, no going back we are already here" she said getting out of the car.

I sigh knowing I can't leave. I get out to see there are lost of older ladies there's with there kids. "So where is the hot life guard you guys came here for" I say dramatically. "Its not his time yet don't worry he'll be here." They say while getting a spot to put all the stuff down.

I rolled my eyes as I sit on a chair. I was in shorts and a regular shirt, I had my swimming suit under. I see my friend starting to show off the suits and lay down on the chairs. "Its about time" they smirk. I look to see who they were talking about. Once I look in the direction I see billy. I'm not surprising to see billy working here, there are always girls around here.

Not gonna lie he looked so hot in those red shorts. I see him flirting with the mothers, I roll my eyes. "God he's so hot" when she said that I felt a little jealous. I sigh and try not to pay attention to him flirting with every girl he walks past by. "Y/n aren't you gonna take off your clothes" she said. "W-wait oh no im good like this" I say flustered. "If you say so" I glance at billy to be him flitting with Mrs wheeler.

At that moment I lost it. I wanted to make billy jealous. I start to take off my clothes to reveal my two piece suit. "I thought you said you didn't want to" my friend said. "I change my mind" I say. "Wow you look hot in that, whos attention you want hmm" my other friend asked while smirking. "Who said I want someons attention, i just wanted to wear it " I smirked. I can feel Billy's eyes on me, watching my every movement. Not only do I feel his eyes but others too.

I look at billy and gave a inner smile knowing that passes him off because other guys were looking at my whole body. "Im gonna go for a swim" I walk towards the pool. Once I got to the pool I got in the water. A boy came up to me and stated flirting. I didn't want to talk to him but when I saw billy's face filled with jealousy I stared flirting back to the boy.

I stared to touch him on his arms and chest. I could see billy death glaring at me but I ignored it and still flirted with the guy. "You so strong" I say while touching him even more. "Thanks, you look so hot in that". I fake laughed 'your so fucking annoying' I thought to myself. "Maybe later you could without it" I try to say in my sexiest voice. He grabbed my waits a pulled me close to him. When he did that I felt something poking my stomach. "Im gonma go to the restroom" I say trying to get out of his grip. "Come back when your done" he had a smirk. "Sure" I say start to get away. 'As if i would come back to that creep'. I made it to the woman locker room. Then I hear the door open and close. I didn't pay attention until I felt someone was behind me.

I turn around to see billy there looking down at me, he did not look happy. "What the fuck was that" he said starting to walk closer to me. "Its none of your business billy" I try to walk pass him and leave but the I felt him grab my arm and push me against the lockers.

"What the fuck-" I was cut off my billys kissing me. I tried to push him off but he was not even moving and he did was get more aggressive. He grabbed my hand and pinned the by my head. He started to kiss my neck. I moaned when he found a sensitive spot on my neck. "Your such a slut" he said. "What no I-" I moaned when he bit me. "You were out there with some other fucking guy" he said looking at me. "Your mine" he sounded serious. "No Im not " he did not like that. He started to kiss me again with more force the the first.

I started to kiss back. He let go of my hand, when he did I wrapped my arms around his neck. He moved his hand to my ass. "Fuck billy" I pulled his hair. He growled and picked me up. He started to kiss me again but it was different. He looked at me "do you want this".

"Yes billy I do" he smiled and kissed me. I felt his hand go to my back and he pulled on the string. I took off my top. He started kissing my boobs while massage my other. I moaned his name. After a while he did the same to the other one.

He started to nibble on my nipples. I arched my back "please stop teasing me". He smirked and moved his hand down and pulled the two strings to my bottoms. He took the off and he started to rub my clit. "Stop its to much" he did not care and went faster. I was a moaning mess. He then entered one finger into me. "Fuck you so tight" he started to pump in and out of me. He then added a second finger. "It hurts" he then started to rub my clit at the same time to help and it did. It was a mixture of pleasure and pain but mostly pleasure. "Im about to cum" when I said that he stopped. "Why did you stop" I say angry. "I'd rather have you around my cock instead of my fingers" he pulled them out.

"Just fuck me billy please" he smirked. "Don't worry I will" he then started to take off his red shorts. His cock was a lot bigger that I had expected. He saw my face and said "don't worry it'll fit" he then started to kiss me again. I moved my hand down and started to touch his cock. He groaned when I did that. I slowly started to move my hand up and down his shaft. "Yes just like that your doing so good" I got more wet when he said that.

He then pulled away from me. He turned me around so my back was facing him. He started kissing my back leaving marks. I could feel him tip against my slit. "Your so wet you little slut" before I could say something he pushed his cock into me. I screamed when he did that. He just started thrusting in and out of me. He didn't give me time to adjust to his size. "Fuck your so tight" I could feel my eyes start to water. "It hurts " he didn't say anything.

I then feel one of his hands start to circle my clit. With his other hand he turned my head towards him and he started kissing me. With him doing that the pain was less. I could still feel it but pleasure was taking over. I moaned in to the kiss. I felt him smirk "does it feel good" I nodded. He smacks my ass "use your words". "y-yes it does" I could barely say it. My stomach felt hot and weird. "Im c-" he pulled out and turned me around to face him. "I want to see your face when you cum" he then entered inside me again. I moaned at the feeling of him filling me up again. "Fuck billy" I moaned his name. "Say it again" he said while thrusting even harder. "Say my name" he looked serious. "Billy fuck " I moaned his name. When he heard me say his name he groaned. "Billy im going to cum " I said. "Fuck cum for me baby" that's all I need to hear. I came on his cock. He still thrusted trying to reach his high. I became sensitive at the feeling. "Im close " he said. His breathing was heavy. He pulled me close to him. I was kissing his neck leaving my marks on him. "Im cumming " his cum felt hot inside me.

We stayed like that for a while, trying to catch our breath. " your mine y/n" my heart was beating so fast. I blushed at that not knowing what to say. "Say your mine please" I nodded and smiled. "Im yours billy" he smiled and kisses me with so much passion. We got dressed, as I was putting on my swimming suit he throw me his jacket. "I dont want some pervert looking at whats mine" I laughed. As I was putting it on he came from behind and whispered into my ear "after my shift is over I wanna take you on a date tonight" I blushed. He saw me a kissed my cheek and left.

I walked out after getting over how red I was when he left. I swear everyone's eyes on me. Some were glaring of course it was the girls and some looked shocked that I was wearing billys jacket. But I didn't care about any of that cause all I can think about is the date I'm gonna have with him.

The end

[ewan-mo]

More meetings and a happy reunion

28th February 2023

Entrance to Uganda Martyr's Hospital, Ibanda (see URL at bottom)

Leaving the guesthouse at 7.45 we headed down to Uganda Martyrs Hospital, for the 8am meeting. This turned out to be the weekly Continuing Medical Education and we were the main item this morning! All the student nurses and their tutors were there plus many of the trained staff, about 100 maybe? We told them our story and the history of Jamie’s Fund, conveying, I hope, some of the fascination, satisfaction and importance of working in mental health. 

It was lovely to hear from one or two real enthusiasts, and to learn about the local situation. Very similar to elsewhere, so many local  people still don’t know that epilepsy and mental illness can be treated with modern medicine, counselling and therapy.

We moved on to the actual meeting with the hospital’s management team. Although the team understand the importance of mental health very well, we felt that the relatively new medical director didn’t share the huge enthusiasm of Sister Flora, for example, who is a dedicated psychologist and has a Master’s in Public Health, or Sister Fiona, who loves to work with the poorest in the community, and who has a charity distributing used clothing to families who have no money to buy clothes or shoes. Because of the lack of resources, mental health service development can be hard work.

Carrying cooking bananas to market : the staple carb here!

During lunch in Mbarara we were watched from across the road by a marabou stork on its messy nest.

In complete contrast our next meeting was at Ruharo Hospital. Our warm welcome from the medical superintendent left me with a slight lingering doubt – had I seen him before, somewhere? The name, Bekson, was also familiar – email correspondence, perhaps? 

We were joined by a power-packed executive team – the hospital accountant, essential to have a good one of those when resources are few and very precious; the head of nursing services, Sister Moreen (pronounced Maureen!); Dr Joel who looks after HIV, with its psychological impact, amongst all his other medical skills, and Gilbert the hospital administrator - intelligent, energetic, forthcoming and not only very interested in mental health but definitely convinced of the value of mhGAP  from having seen it in action. “It makes so much difference.” We think he’s a real ally.

Finally, a late entrant to the party, in came the Reverend Zipporah, striking in her black surplice. She is the hospital chaplain. She proved to be another mental health ambassador, with a special concern for children in troubled and traumatised families. Wow.

What a team! We had such a good time talking with them about their plans, hopes and dreams for the future. Jamie’s Fund is sponsoring Miria, who will qualify as a Psychiatric Clinical Officer at the end of the year and will return to Ruharo to lead the mental health team.

During our conversation we discussed some vulnerable groups within the population. I mentioned maternal mental health, and suddenly, almost out of nowhere, Dr Bekson suddenly asked “Did you ever teach psychiatry in Gulu?”

The answer is that I did and it turns out that ten years ago I taught him his community mental health at the medical school in northern Uganda. We had a fine reunion. I reminded him that one of his colleagues, Simon Peter, who was the lead student, gently chastised me for my rather inept technological skills. As I recall, that was during my presentation on maternal mental health. The mention of this subject must have been what reminded Bekson that indeed we had met!

The church at Ruharo mission, Mbarara.

Simon Peter, his fellow student, who we will meet next week, also graduated in 2015. These two former students of mine are now in important and influential positions in two church hospitals, and can have such a beneficial impact for patients and colleagues.They are certainly beginning to improve mental health services. My young men are doing well, and confirm our view that good leadership really matters for effective service development.

We drove on about 20 miles to stay in a pleasant guesthouse off the main road. When we arrived we realised we had enjoyed a break here six years ago.

View from our room. Note the approaching rain sweeping over the hills.

[nikoadari]

I Think I’m Dating a Fae, Chapter 6

March 19

Dear Diary,

Well, the kids weren’t good yesterday. Ramon had a tantrum about the food – he isn’t used to onigiri (Sol says that means “rice balls”) and wanted nuggets instead – and Yasmine was an absolute tornado all. Day. Long.

She just wouldn’t sit still. Eye contact? Nonexistent. She was all over the place, even when we tried to make donuts and cider for a nice dessert. She was excited for that, but she just wouldn’t focus.

I was already frazzled after the awful morning we’d had, and I was about to have a breakdown, but Sol took Yasmine outside and had her chop some more wood for a whole hour. She was able to focus on that, which gave me time to give Ramon a bath which helped calm him down, and then make myself some tea which calmed me down.

We spent the rest of the day outside. Sol has a nice garden in this L-shape around his house, and it always growing something. He apparently has a gardner who comes up here to tend the garden every day, but since we’re all here it’s our job now.

I thought it was hot and sweaty work, but it was kind of fun in a way. Sol showed us all how to weed everything without pulling out the roots of his flowers (that’s most of what he was growing) and how to water the plants without drowning them. The kids really enjoyed it, especially Yasmine. She loves bugs and playing in the dirt.

The only tears came from Ramon when he touched a worm. He screamed bloody murder which made Sol scream which made Yamine and I scream, and…wow. After he found out it was just a worm that scared Ramon, Sol stood up, walked to a big tree with an enormous hole in it, and just sat down in front of it.

Alone time, great.

I told Ramon it was okay and let the poor thing watch the worm for a while, and after seeing it wasn’t that scary he lost interest and wanted “Baba” to come back. God, he’s just so cute. I gave Sol about ten minutes before going to ask him to come back, and he was muttering again!

I’d figured that I had just dreamed it all up that first night we got here, about him muttering to himself in the dark like some sort of creep. It wasn’t dark now, but he was still talking to himself in the corner alone!

So I asked what was up and he turned and said, “Nothing!” like Ramon does when he’s in trouble! I didn’t press because he said he could come back and thanked me for taking care of the kids while he took some time for himself.

Sol is normally so considerate. I’m not used to him just walking away like that out of nowhere. Something must really be bothering him, but at the time I just let it go. The kids were bored and wanted to learn more about the pretty flowers and the bugs and everything; I figured we would have time to talk about it later.

It took a long time to do all the gardening since none of us knew what we were doing and Sol was too busy correcting us to actually do much of the work himself, and by the time we were finished it was getting dark.

The kids hadn’t behaved themselves, so instead of swimming or catching fish, we used all the wood Yasmine chopped before to make a fire in the backyard pit (is it really a backyard when you live in a forest, Sol? Is it? The answer is “no.” I can’t believe this man tried to tell me it counted because the back door was facing this way).

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I had to spray everyone down so we didn’t get eaten alive by mosquitos, and the fire was smoky but still warm.

We brought out the cider and donuts and heated them over the fire in these cute griddle and kettle duo. It was delicious. Mulled apple cider with cinnamon might be my new favorite drink.

Maybe I should make a recipe book. Sol’s always teaching the kids and I new recipes whenever he visits, but I always forget to write them down. Now’s probably a good time to start; I’ll get a little booklet from the market when we go. But back to last night.

The stars were beautiful. There are so many out here that we hardly even need lights to see. I never knew we could see all these without a telescope. You can’t see all these beautiful things from the city, and I’d spent my entire life there. I’m glad the kids were able to see this.

After we finished our little snack, Sol brought out this long bamboo flute and started playing songs. He’s gotten so much better at it over the last year! He must have bought a new, more professional-looking one while he progressed because I had never seen this particular flute before.

It had little pink and blue flowers painted down it, and was longer than the beginner flute. It made a much deeper tone than any flute I’d ever heard before. It was low and clear, but not sharp. Ramon and Yasmine were pretending their hands were snakes and dancing to it that way, the goofballs.

Sol was playing slow songs at first. No idea what the songs were called, but they made me imagine water. A slow, steady stream that never ended, flowing wherever it pleased. I kept my eyes on the stars for the most part. It was easier to get lost in the music while staring at them.

But then, on the fourth or fifth song, Sol suddenly picked up the pace. The kids were dancing around the fire in no time. I had to join in. The music was so bouncy it was like my feet just began moving on their own. The kids and I were whirling in circles, and the music carried us along, on and on and on until the children finally collapsed, laughing, in an exhausted pile.

I kept dancing.

Sol started to play something kind of slow, kind of fast…somewhere in the middle to keep me on my toes. I remembered dancing with all my siblings and cousins as a child at weddings and family reunions. I hadn’t danced like that in years.

But, you know what, I felt so good I could barely think of why I would want to stop myself from dancing like that again! I went old school. The kids started clapping to with the music – we have got to teach them how to keep a beat – and I danced as best I could to it.

I have to say, I’m rather impressed with myself. You should have seen my moves. I still got it!

After a few more songs we were all warm and full with donuts and cider, and sleepy from the day’s events. Sol and I put the kids to bed, and when he turned to me, I could see that he was very much in the mood. Well, can’t say I wasn’t, either.

It was an absolutely wonderful night. I’m hoping today will be just as good and bring us all closer together. I asked Sol to teach the kids how to swim this morning. “New day, new chances,” my dad always said.

When we got to the river, Sol asked how well I could swim. I’m pretty sure he thought I couldn’t swim at all since he’s never seen I been living in the city my whole life, but joke’s on him! I’m so good at it that one of my first jobs was to be a lifeguard at a public swimming pool! I’ve saved six kids, two adults who absolutely should have known better, and a dog from certain watery death.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit too proud of that, but I never realized just how much Sol could really do before this trip. I knew he’s a man of many talents, yes, but wow. He told me ages ago that he’s had more opportunities to learn; more time, more money, more education, plus a family that liked to read and learn, etc.

“A simple accident of birth,” he’d called it. “And a not so accidental consequence of capitalism with a dash of plutocracy.”

Which is true, but even though I know that it makes me feel a bit like I’m less than him. My mind will start spiraling, questioning why he’s even with me when I don’t deserve him and everything I know isn’t true but I still feel from time to time.

But this time was different.

He was impressed at my lifeguard stories and my skill. It was a different experience than usual, swimming in the river. The sun was out and it made the water shine like diamonds, but it didn’t hurt my eyes like the glare of the cement did. Sol picked a really calm stretch of the river for us to swim in so no one would get swept away by the current, so there was barely any sound at all, too.

And all of that was really nice, but my favorite part was that chlorine wasn’t stinging my nose. I always hated that stuff. Sol didn’t want to put a swimming cap on before he went in since “the water’s clean,” which, sure…not like animals do their business here, no ma’am.

His definition of “clean” and mine are clearly different.

I asked him to put my spare one on so that I wouldn’t have to listen to Ramon’s whining. He’s always hated swim caps, and if he saw his father not wearing one but still had to himself, World War 3 would have broken out in a heartbeat.

I caught Sol looking into the water like he was searching for something. He looked suspicious, almost angry. I asked if he was worried about more poisonous fish but he said it would be fine and that they don’t like calm water. I didn’t know that fish had preferences like that.

Once we actually got into the water, it was fun teaching the kids how to swim. We stayed in the shallow parts, of course, just splashing about and letting the kids tread water. They’re tiny naturals! By the time we go home, they’ll be swimming pros!

Sol was more relaxed, too, playing with the kids and timing how long we could all hold our breath underwater. I love seeing them all like this. Ugh, but of course Sol had to hit me with the cheesy romance out of nowhere.

We were having a splashing contest before he just kinda stopped and began staring at me. He looked sad. When I asked what was wrong, he sidled up next to me and pulled me close, and he just kept looking at me.

He said, “I wanted to show you my world. There’s so much more to it. I’m sorry that you can only see this tiny piece.”

I missed the carefree fun we were having a second ago so I just grinned and told him to take us on more vacations, then. I won’t mind. Everyone who made me feel like a gold-digger for taking a vacation can stuff it.

He grinned, then, but stayed quiet. It was like he was taking every single thing about me in, and when he had seen it all he turned my body towards his, and kissed me.

I thought I could hear someone laughing at us. It must have been the kids since it sounded close, but I was distracted; the kiss was just too wonderful. He was so tender and gentle, and passionate and needy, and he held me so close to him that I thought we might have to stay like that forever.

I had to push away when I needed air. I was holding him and staring up at his face. His eyes were all soft and brown and beautiful, just like the rest of him, but for a moment, I swear to God, I don’t think it’s just the sun’s reflection that turned his eyes gold.

[agkrakow]

It is little past midnight, I see the lights, at the castle, the old glassworks, the churches and the synagogues. They remind me of the Middle Ages, renaissance, communism and I don´t like it. All those glorious failed success stories. Success. Mistake, nobody seems to care about. Just as the sun is rising, I have decided to leave. Turning around, the first rays of sunshine blind two of my eyes, looking into the future. The other two now clearly discern other stranger´s eyes and the future those eyes saw during the night, still resonating, becomes the past. Confusedly, I close all my four eyes. 

Open my two ears. 

hear

1000 people talking

about everything, everywhere, anytime

a fruitful chaos, a new beginning

like alibaba

jack mas baby

that he abandoned when it reached adulthood

jack mama a confused parent

with plans for 102 years, but only 30 to live

after public, private

night                                                                                                                          

listen

14400 tons of watervapour

breath out

condense

drip

get visible

write me a note

crack the glass

communism scattered on the floor

capitalism in the air

invariance, resonance

where the hell are we? come on, dance [1]

What kind of bird are you? [2]

a moth

I want to see the light, I want to be the light.

Clonk

like a confused daguerreotype [3]

he is flat

plain

straight

sleek

slick

slippery

clean

polished

outright

unruffled

suave

silken

like a door

a door like Janus?

turn around

bye, hi

don´t be so harsh

raw?

tough!

wild?

hard!

stark?

throaty!

choke

I am a sponge,

Bonemarrow

dripping in oil

warm, white, wealthy

a new color [4]

the shadow gathering [5]

it

no name

there never would be

rightly so [4]

255, 0, 0

Contraction [5]

red

stop

green

go

speed of light 

turning gold to red 

and silver to white [6]

evening

love

marry

neither possession, nor command [7]

a state of solid [8]

sound

and sick

confusedly together [9]

giggle

a scattered smile 

sporadic joy

hick-up                       

hook-up

rather dead than spotted [10]

rather seen and potted

porcelain

the ermine

titles of honor 

occasion of trouble 

order of subjects 

wealth

object loved or hated [11]

sellthe

house s

ellthec

ar sell

thekids [12]

sub-sub-urbia [13]

blind eyed purlieu [14]

botany of dream [15]

children, scream, cry but they don´t sing [16]

sweet air

sleepless nights                                                                                                         

salty breakfast                                                                                                          

secret good byes

2 ears

2 mouths

a lot of love

less listening

Janus?

never one

never another

always seeing

mistrustfully [15]

                                                                               

surprisedly

he remembers me

and can´t turn

he has no back

I turn mine on him

talking now to Jim

for janus´ sake, 

he´s looking to the future

seeing me, his mistake

seeing

Krakow,

crack ouch

listen,

Jack, wow

[1] Brooks, Quick, Margiela artisanal 2022 collection: And where the hell are we? Come on, dance.

[2] Max Ernst, Écritures: Interrogation au second degré / What kind of bird are you? / Êtes-vous niniche? / Un petit bleu? / Un ami? / Un vrai? / Gai? / Parisienne? / Un peu de calme

[3] Marx, Collected Works: At the same time the shadow gathered color, like a confused daguerreotype.

[4] Handke, Crossing the Sierra de Gredos: All colors seemed to be gathered here, and the objects also revealed a new color—which had existed nowhere in the world until this morning—which had never before been seen by a human eye— and for which there was also no name and never would be—and rightly so.

[5] Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity: By multiplying all the components of the first tensor by all the components of the second tensor: Contraction.

[6] Deleuze Guattari, A Thousand Plateaus: These plaques constitute traits of expression of pure speed, carried on objects that are themselves mobile and moving. The relation between them is not that of form matter but of motif support, where the earth is no longer anything more than ground (sol), where there is no longer even any ground at all because the support is as mobile as the motif.They lend colors the speed of light, turning gold to red and silver to white light.

[7] Hobbes, Leviathan: These simple Passions called Appetite, Desire, Love, Aversion, Hate, Joy, and griefe, have their names for divers considerations diversified. As first, when they one succeed another, they are diversly called from the opinion men have of the likelihood of attaining what they desire. Secondly, from the object loved or hated.Thirdly, from the consideration of many of them together.Fourthly, from the Alteration or succession it selfe. Hope   For Appetite with an opinion of attaining, is called HOPE. Despaire   The same, without such opinion, DESPAIRE.

[8] Hegel, The Science of Logic: Water, in cooling, does not become hard a bit at a time, as if it became first like a porridge and would then gradually harden to the consistency of ice, but is hard all at once; it can persist in fluid state even at freezing temperature if it stands still, but then the least disturbance brings it to the state of solid.

[9] Michelet, The History of France Vol 2: Sound and sick would dance confusedly together.

[10] Moore, Complete Poems: Then the ermine: “rather dead than spotted”; and believe it despite reason to think not, I saw a bat by daylight; hard to credit but I knew that I was right.

[11] Hobbes, Leviathan: offices [Titles] of Honour, by occasion of trouble, and for reasons of good and peacable government, were turned into meer Titles; serving for the most part, to distinguish the precedence, place, and order of subjects in the Common-wealth: and men were made Dukes, Counts, Marquises, and Barons of Places, wherein they had neither possession, nor command

[12] Christopher Wool, Apocalypse Now

[13] Hovestadt, Bühlmann, Michael, A Genius Planet

[14] Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities: Do you keep the rest of the city out of these blind eyed purlieus? How difficult and how unpalatable. Do you invite the rest of the city in? How difficult and how impossible.

[15] Borges, Collected Fictions: One of them was holding a branch (which belonged, no doubt, to the simple botany of dreams); another, with a sweeping gesture, held out a hand that was a claw; one of Janus' faces looked mistrustfully at Thoth's curved beak.

[16] Derrida, Of Grammatology: Children scream, cry, but they don't sing. 

[classickate]

[ncityprincess]

what do you say, my dear?

ceo jaehyun x executive assistant reader

this is just filthy 😔 4.4K words

ok this is officially my longest fic😭 you all must suffer through my jaehyun brain rot with me😤 plot: your sexy boss jeong jaehyun offers you a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Milan, for work purposes of course. mr. jeong makes some bad decisions, but it takes two to tango. who knew sininng could feel so good.

p.s if the business terms I used don't make a lick of sense please don't beat my ass 😭🙏🏾 MDNI

“y/n, come into my office. we need to discuss something”

you instantly felt a rush of nerves run through your body.

you had started off as a temp at Jeong Financial last summer. you had been out of college for a few years, lost and trying to find your footing in the so called “real world.” you spent your first two years out of college working at an upscale lounge. while the tips were incredible, the graveyard shifts and your newfound numbness to the stench of liquor was not your ideal lifestyle. it was time to dust off your resume and get to work. a recruiter from Jeong Financial had reached out on linkedin, and from there your journey in the corporate world had begun.

on your first day of work you were scheduled to have a meet and greet with the CEO, Jeong Jaehyun. you hadn’t really done any research on the company, as you were desperate to just get your foot in the door. you weren't sure what you were expecting the ceo to look like, but it certainly wasn't this.

jeong jaehyun was the only son of his two parents. they had built jeong financial from the ground up in the 80s, and eventually passed down the company to their son.

Jaehyun wasn't some stuffy old man, he was a devilishly handsome Adonis in his late 20s that kept his hair styled and wore brands you couldn't even begin to pronounce. he had a killer smile that could, and did, light up every room he was in, with dimples to match. he was tall and muscular, and could easily quit his job at any point to become a model. people simultaneously respected and feared him. men that were twice his age and nowhere near jaehyun's level envied him. the Human Resources ladies made any excuse to come to his office.

he was also married. with two children.

your first meeting with mr. jeong rendered you shocked by his gorgeous features. while he certainly carried himself with dignity and pride, he still made you feel like you were an equal. he asked you about your interests outside of work and what your goals were. you mentioned that you would like to eventually work your way up to executive assistant to the ceo, to which he smiled.

"well y/n, you certainly have the potential to flourish as an executive assistant. I can tell you're passionate about the industry and that's the type of woman I want on my team. forget temping, why don't you start reporting directly to me from now on. my current assistant can help you transition into the role. she's retiring next month."

you sat there in utter shock, processing his proposal. you had entered the company fully expecting to start from the bottom. how did you get offered your dream position within 20 minutes of you working for the company? you didn't have time to analyze the situation, so you settled for a simple "yes!"

fast forward a year, and you had been assisting jaehyun with his daily tasks: checking emails, setting up meetings, sitting in on his lunches, going with him to seminars. the job had forced the two of you to become really close. each interaction you had made you more and more infatuated with him. and you were positive the feeling was mutual.

jaehyun would stare just a little too long at you, admiring your figure in your pencil skirts and dresses. he complimented you every single morning, mostly innocent. mostly.

"y/n, the coffee you made me is phenomenal! you should add professional barista to your resume"

"wow, that blouse really brings out your eyes"

"I couldn't imagine not having you around"

sometimes you would notice an underlying hint of flirtation, but it never went into inappropriate territory. the man was all about his image after all. you certainly weren't complaining, in fact, you fed into it. you accepted his sweet words. you craved them. but you always kept the fact that he was married in the back of your mind...

you stood up from your desk outside of his office and smoothed out your black, boatneck dress. your heels clicked on the marble floor with each step you made toward his office. Jaehyun let you into the large corner office first, shutting the door behind him.

"everything ok sir?" you asked while sitting down in the expensive chair in front of his desk.

jaehyun walked around the large mahogany desk and sat in his chair. he looked like an absolute dreamboat. the large, floor to ceiling windows in his office brought in a ton of sunlight behind him, making him look particularly angelic.

"oh yeah, everything is more than ok. it's FANTASTIC actually. that's why I called you in here today."

"phew, you should've led with that sir" you said jokingly, taking a slight sigh of relief.

jaeyhun's eyes widened, shocked that you were so uneasy. "y/n, my dear, your performance over the past year has been outstanding. your organizational skills, your punctuality, your magnetic personality. you have nothing to worry about."

you hoped he didn't notice the blush that you felt forming on your face. he had always called you innocent pet names, it was in his nature. but being called his dear while receiving all of that praise? it certainly drove you crazy.

"thank you sir, that means a lot to me" you said sincerely.

jaehyun leaned forward in his seat, making you mirror his actions.

"jeong financial is projecting to make more than double what we made last year. with the launch of our second office in New York City, we were able to drive in even more consumers than we ever have. we had a meeting with the board of directors to finalize our latest expansion efforts--we are opening our very first European office in Milan!"

"what!? oh my gosh that's amazing news! this is incredible sir. what does this mean for us?" you inquired, wondering where you would come in in all of this

"well, I have a meeting next week to meet with the person who is going to run the Milan office. this is going to be an intense week filled with lots of information, and I'm going to need someone to help me stay on track. and that, my dear, is where you come in."

your ears perked up, "I'm listening"

"I'm going need my right hand lady with me to help me get through this week. if you're up for it, I'll arrange for you to have your own hotel room and all of your expenses to be paid with the company card. I'll even include a well-deserved bonus for the next pay period. what do you say, my dear?"

milan!? you had never been to Europe before, let alone had a gorgeous, wealthy man offering to sponsor your trip to Milan.

for work purposes of course.

"what do I say? I say, let me pack my bags!" you said while bouncing in your seat like an excited puppy.

he let out a hearty chuckle, his eyes taking a sneaky peek at your bouncing cleavage. you were so cute in his eyes. so tantalizing. so intoxicating.

"atta girl! I wish all of my business partners were as cute as you–"

you stopped your movements, and a loud silence washed over the room. you guys made eye contact with one another, analyzing and dissecting the flirty comment that lingered in the air.

"...I don't get to see those types of reactions often in this line of work" jaehyun cooly clarified.

you blinked and smiled softly, your eyes glancing down at the framed picture of jaehyun, his wife, and his son and daughter posed perfectly in front of the fireplace–not a hair out of place. the white picket fence-esque family of four would easily be the envy of any outsider looking in...

you and jaehyun had touched down in Milan in the early afternoon on Saturday. you wanted nothing more than to get a nice shower in and see what Milan had to offer. you weren't scheduled to do any actual work until Monday morning.

the whole journey here was absolutely seamless. you, jaehyun, and a few other members of the board had flown privately in the company jet. how did a girl who was serving drinks to sleazy drunk men not too long ago end up in a scenario like this? the prearranged company driver had driven you all to the gorgeous hotel. you felt like a real life princess being pampered like this.

after jaehyun got you all checked in, he made his way over to you and handed you your room key.

"we're going to be next door to each other, hope that's ok with you?

you smiled, "it's perfect, thanks again for letting me join you. I know how important this trip is for the company."

"nonsense, it's you I should be thanking. without you I would be an absolute mess trying to sort everything out."

you two made your way to your respective rooms in comfortable silence. something about being in a new country, roaming through the halls of a luxury hotel with your handsome boss made you feel a certain kind of way.

"alright, this is us! hey, would you like to grab dinner with me later? there's a Michelin star restaurant on the rooftop. their wine selection is supposedly out of this world. my treat, of course"

just a dinner? with your boss? seemed innocent enough.

"yeah that sounds amazing actually, my first authentic Italian dining experience" you smiled

"wow, I get to dine with you for your first ever Italian meal, what an honor. be ready by 7:00?"...

it was 6:47 and you were running around your hotel room like it was on fire. what was one supposed to wear to a swanky Italian restaurant with their handsome boss as their non-date date? you didn't want to try too hard because you didn't want to overstep any boundaries, but you also wanted to dress to impress. you sifted through your entire suitcase and eventually settled for a navy blue wrap dress and some nude pumps. you jumped slightly when you heard a knock at the door. 7:00 pm on the dot.

you sprayed some floral perfume and looked yourself over one more time in the full length mirror. good enough, you thought.

you opened the door and you were immediately taken aback by the man standing in front of you.

jaehyun's hair was gelled back with a few stray pieces hanging in front of his face. he wore an all black suit that complimented his broad shoulders and athletic build. he sported that signature dimpled smile as he greeted you.

"wow y/n, you look lovely tonight. you ready to eat?"

you sure hoped you were.

the restaurant was absolutely stunning. white table clothes, restaurant goers adorned in the finest clothing and jewels, romantic Italian music creating a magical ambiance. it made you forget that you were here on a work trip.

jaehyun had asked the waiter to sample a few of the wines, allowing you to get a feel for what you liked. eventually you settled on a particular pinot noir. he ordered the bottle, and the wine continued flowing. the two of you had talked about some pending work items. he briefed you on how Monday's meeting would go, and eventually the conversation became less work centric. the wine you both shared also made the professional walls lower.

"so y/n tell me, you have anybody waiting at home for you?" jaehyun sneakily inquired.

you giggled, running your hand through your hair, "hehe no relationships for me, I've been single since I graduated college."

jaehyun smirked slightly, liking the answer you gave him "what a shame. a woman as beautiful and as intelligent at you should have men lining down the block."

on a normal day, you'd blush at one of his borderline flirty comments. but tonight, with you sitting across from the most handsome man you'd ever laid eyes on in a fancy Milan restaurant, you went for a different approach.

"oh really? and would you happen to be one of those men lining down the block, sir?"

you leaned forward, letting your hands rest on your hands. this position also gave jaehyun a fantastic view of your cleavage, which you took full advantage of.

jaehyun chuckled, running his hand over his jaw. "in a perfect world, yes, yes I would"

the ball was back in your court.

"what, jeong jaehyun: the handsome, Forbes 30 under 30, multi-millionaire ceo doesn't see the world as perfect?" you weren't sure where this confidence was coming from, but you didn't question it further.

jaehyun smirked, enjoying this bold side of you. a little too much.

"well my dear, if the world was so perfect, you would've been mine by now, but that's not the case right?"

finally. no more tiptoeing the line of flirting. jaehyun had effectively ripped off the bandaid and laid out his true feelings about you.

"...but what about–"

"my wife? my kids? like I said, in a perfect world."

from the moment you walked into his office last summer like a wide eyed puppy, jaehyun knew he wanted you. you were a breath of fresh air. your positivity, your youthful energy, your ravishing looks. you were a slice of normalcy in his everyday hectic life. every time you walked into his office with that cute pep in your step made him forget about all of his worries at work and at home. it made him long for a timeline where you two could be together normally, without the pressure of keeping up appearances for his wealthy family. he had been born into a lifestyle that was already paved for him. sure, he loved his wife and kids and he loved running one of the top financial firms in the entire world. but deep down he craved a normal life. a life that he got to choose.

you both had finished up your dinner, and made your way back to your hotel rooms. in the elevator, you two had stood closely next to one another. your arms and hands were barely brushing each others, desperately wanting to make a move. the elevator dinged and you two stepped out.

once you reached your rooms, jaehyun spoke up breaking the silence.

"y/n, I had a wonderful time with you tonight. thanks for keeping me company."

you smiled, not really wanting the night to end just yet. "I really enjoyed myself sir, I've never had a dining experience like that before"

jaehyun stiffened slightly."y/n, my dear, I've been meaning to talk to you about this. you really don't have to be so formal with me, even at work. just jaehyun is perfectly fine"

"oh, im sorry sir–I mean...jaehyun. I just didn't want cross any boundaries that's all."

"no need to apologize, I appreciate your manners." jaehyun paused for a minute, deciding if he was going to act on his impulses.

he chose to do so.

"y/n, if you aren't too tired, you're more than welcome to join me on the balcony tonight. I always love to watch the stars late at night when I travel"

how could you turn that down?

"I'd really like that jaehyun" you said sweetly as you smiled up at him. he opened the door to his room and let you inside, looking around the hallway before closing the door.

you continued walking towards the French doors of the balcony and pushed them open. the cool night air felt amazing, cooling down your wine and pasta filled body. sure enough, you looked up at the night sky covering Milan and saw millions of bright stars. the scene took your breath away. who knew so much beauty existed in this big, crazy world.

you heard jaehyun's footsteps coming up behind you. he admired your goddess like form as you looked up at the night sky. you looked so beautiful like this, his tipsy state enhancing the feelings he already had for you. his feet moved faster than his brain and he came up behind you, brushing your hair over your shoulder.

you turned your head around to look up at him, eyes wide and filled with growing lust. he had taken off his suit jacket, leaving him in his dress shirt with a few loose buttons at the top and suit pants. his hair had gotten slightly messy, making him look absolutely irresistible.

the two of you made intense eye contact with one another, and before you knew it, you were in a passionate make out session with your boss. his large hands cupped your face, deepening the kiss. you kissed him back with everything you had in you. the months of stolen glances, sly remarks and heated exchanges all led up to this point. you didn't care that he was your boss, you didn't care that he had a family, all you cared about was how good his lips tasted against yours.

jaehyun lifted you up off of your feet and sat you on the bistro table. you leaned in to continue kissing him, but he stopped you in place by holding your jaw firmly with his hand.

"this ok, my dear? I can stop all of this if you want me to" he asked in a serious voice, staring down at your beautiful flustered face.

"yes please sir, just kiss me" you whined

jaehyun dove right back into kissing your lips. his tongue fought for dominance, winning effortlessly. you moaned when your tongues made contact, making you tilt your head back. his mouth followed your movements, making its way across your entire face. he kissed all over your cheeks and jawline. his lips eventually trailed up to your ear softly, making your eyes roll back.

"sweetheart, I told you, it's jaehyun" he whispered in your ear in his deep voice. he didn't want to think about work, he wanted to make this moment feel as real as possible.

he needed to hear you say his name.

he kissed down your neck slowly, in absolutely no rush. his hands trailed up and down your sides, asking for permission to see more of you. you grabbed the ties of your wrap dress and undid them, pushing the pieces of fabric to the side and off your shoulders. you pulled your arms out of the dress and it fell in a pool at your seated hips.

"I've wanted this–for so long my dear–you're absolutely–ravishing" jaehyun said between kisses. each kiss went lower and lower toward your bra clad cleavage. jaehyun reached around your back and undid your lacy black bra. he watched in awe as your round breasts dropped out of the cups of your bra. he wasted no time and roughly licked and kissed your boobs. you moaned out softly, the thought of being almost fully naked for your boss on a balcony in the middle of Milan sitting in the back of your mind.

the thought sent a rush of electricity to your clothed core.

he continued his ministrations with his mouth on your nipples, and his hand slowly trailed down your stomach, making its way into your panties. you let out of soft gasp, your hips involuntarily bucking against his hand. his fingers softly moved up and down on your pussy, allowing your clit to slowly warm up to his touch. after a while, he finally slipped two fingers into you, moving in and out of your body at a steady pace. you let out a delicious sound of satisfaction, leaning back on your hands.

"aww, when's the last time you let a real man touch you sweetheart, huh?" jaehyun's muffled voice asked against your breasts.

"fuck, I can't remember" you whined. every other man you had ever been with was inferior compared to jaehyun. you didn't even want to think about them.

he chuckled, "huh, that's because no man has EVER touched you the way I can. and they never will" he said darkly.

his fingers picked up the pace, making you let out a long, drawn out moan. he abruptly pulled his fingers out of your body and held them in front of his face. he observed them closely, making you clench around nothing.

"so messy, but I bet I could make you even messier"

he shoved his fingers into your mouth, and you eagerly lapped up your juices. you moaned at the taste of yourself, and looked jaehyun straight in his eyes. the sight of you two like this on the balcony for anyone to see was sinfully erotic.

you both wanted more.

he grabbed your hand and helped you on your feet. he slid your panties all the way off of your body, and you stepped out of them, leaving your heels on. your leaned up to kiss him again, and he smirked against your lips, smacking your ass as he tasted your arousal on his tongue.

you unbuttoned his dress shirt quickly, wanting to feel him already. he undid his expensive leather belt, tossing it to the side carelessly. he pulled the shirt off of his body, and turned you around so the front of your body was facing the railing of the balcony. you looked down at the city lights and cars beneath you, feeling a rush of euphoria. your braced yourself on the railing and pushed your ass out at him.

jaehyun bent down, spreading your cheeks, and licked a slow stripe from your clit to your ass. you let out a squeal of surprise and pushed back onto his face. he stood back up and pushed his pants and underwear down, gliding a hand down the slope of your back.

"how are we preventing pregnancy, my dear?" he asked, leaning down to your ear.

you reached around his head, holding his face next to yours. "I'm on the pill don't worry. please just..."

"shh my dear, I'm gonna take care of you, I promise."

jaehyun spat on his palm and rubbed it against your pussy.

"mmmmm please" you moaned out impatiently.

he jerked himself a few times with his saliva covered palm and lined his tip up with your entrance. he finally pushed in, and the two of you let out satisfied sounds. he gathered your hair into his hand and gripped it firmly. never pulling, just as a place holder.

his began to pick up the pace and soon enough you were overcome with intense pleasure. your hips pushed back against his, making your ass jiggle with each thrust. you let out a loud moan into the night, feeling like you were on top of the world. who knew you'd end up in Italy, bent over a balcony by none other than jeong jaehyun.

you fucking loved it.

"yeah that's it sweetheart scream for me. let all of Milan know what a fucking whore you are letting me fuck you like this" jaehyun encouraged you with a smirk.

you let out a squeal when he hit a particularly deep spot. you were so close to coming you could taste it.

"fuck say my name baby, let me hear it" jaehyun gritted out desperately.

"fuck jaehyun I'm right there please" you screamed out.

"shit!" jaehyun groaned out loudly and pulled you up by your hair. he pulled out of you, turned you around and picked you up. you let your legs wrap around his body as he carried you swiftly back into the hotel room.

you gasped loudly when you tossed you onto his large bed like you weighed nothing. he placed your legs over his shoulders and dove right back into your pussy without warning.

"ahhhh fuck" you moaned out. you were positive this was the loudest you'd ever been while having sex. no man had ever made you feel this good. it was absolutely sinful, but felt like heaven.

jaehyun nuzzled his face against your calf, placing soft kisses as he went.

"come on dear, give it to me. I wanna see you cum real pretty for me" jaehyun encouraged you.

those nasty words filled up all of your senses, instantly making you cum for him just like he wanted. he listened to your delicious sounds, your involuntary movements from your orgasm hypnotizing him. he wanted to keep this memory of you like this in his mind forever.

he pulled out of you as you came down from your high. sitting back on his heels to admire your sexy body.

“uh oh, look at the mess you’ve made sweetheart”

he reached down and wasted no time diving face first into your pussy.

you let out a high pitched scream, desperately trying to run away from his ravenous mouth to no avail thanks to his arms trapping your thighs in place.

“let me clean it up baby” he muffled out the filthy words against your overly sensitive clit.

you were sure you were having some kind of out of body experience. who knew pleasure of this magnitude existed. even if it was at the hands of a married man.

“sir—“

he pulled his mouth away from you slightly and firmly smacked your outer thigh, cutting you off.

“didn’t i just FUCKING tell you to not to call me that”

before you could correct your mistake he went right back into eating you out. you moaned a desperate plea out to him.

“ohhhh my god jaehyun please” your desperate voice went up a few octaves

you couldn’t hold on anymore and shortly after felt a rush of liquid shoot out of you. he licked you completely clean and tried his best to keep your hips from bucking around. you finally felt him pull away and you tried to catch your breath.

he got out of the bed and went into the bathroom briefly, leaving you to come down from your intense back-to-back highs. he came back to you with a warm washcloth and tried his hardest not to press on your sensitive bundle of nerves as he cleaned you up.

you muttered out a small “thank you” and he placed a gentle kiss on top of your head.

you must have dozed off for a few minutes because you woke up to him fully clothed, pulling his shoes back on. you sat up, still slightly spent from your session.

“wha? where are you going?” you asked him in a soft, sleepy voice, startling him slightly

“shh just go back to bed my dear” he said in a hushed tone

“but…but you didn’t get to cu—“

“don’t worry about it, now get some rest”

he grabbed a few of his belongings and quietly made his way out of his hotel room, leaving you speechless. jaehyun silently made his way to the elevator, heading down to the hotel bar. when the elevator doors shut he pulled out his phone.

2 missed calls: mrs.

you stood in the shower in your own hotel room, letting the hot water flowing from the shower head mix in with the hot tears streaming down your face.

what did you just do?

thanks for reading! please consider leaving a tip if you enjoyed the story 👑🍭

part two

[cowboybeepboop]

Bimbo

“Oh, wow, how much did he have to pay you for you to actually show up?” “Could I buy you for a couple hours? I’ll make it worth your time,”

Pairing: Bob x fem!Reader

Genre: mostly plot with some porn

Word count: 3000

Warnings: Long-term relationship (ik some of y’all are scared of those) A dom/confident Bob, thinking Bob is seriously injured, praise kink, public thigh riding, public sex, unprotected sex, hair pulling, ass slapping, some fluff at the end.

Summary: you’re Bob’s long-term girlfriend who happens to be a lingerie model but the team doesn’t believe that you and him are really together. Once Bob and Phoenix had to eject you came running to the hospital to check up on him with tear stained cheeks. Hangman decides to be an ass and bother you which makes Bob insecure in himself, this leads to some public adventures.

A/N: Okay so this one will probably have a second part in which the reader and Bob actually get together because my friend and I came up with this brilliant concept for how they got together. Anyways there's not really much to say about this one lol, just hope you enjoy and have a good morning, afternoon, evening whatever time it is for you <3 ps incase you’re thinking “oh I’ve already read this” you probably have I just got my account deleted so I’m reposting everything 😭

You and Bob have been together for years, since January of your freshman year of highschool. High School sweethearts from a small town in the middle of nowhere, I know right, sounds so boring but nothing is ever boring when you’re in love. You guys decided to move out to California so you can be close to your agency and Bob gets shipped around every once in a while but for the most part stayed stationed in California.

While you’re out of town for a month or so Bob has been called back to Top Gun for a secret mission training, at least that's what it sounds like.

__________

Bob is sitting with the other pilots listening to their banter while dreaming of you, well in reality he’s just consuming the conversations around him, to get a better idea of the people he will be working with. Everyone’s attention is pulled toward Bob as they begin a conversation.

“So what do they call you?” Phoenix questions while payback glances over at him, as Bob chews his last peanut.

“Bob,” his hands brush the crumbs from his lap.

“No, your callsign,” Payback snickers softly.

“Uhm.. Bob,” he smiles awkwardly as he pushes his glasses up.

“Oh, Bob Floyd? My new weapons systems officer?” Phoenix questions with a smile while Bob just nods, “I’ve heard you’re cute, I just didn’t expect you to be this handsome,” she hands him a cue stick. Bob's hands fumble with the stick, his eyes glued to his shoes.

“Hold on just a minute Phoenix,” Payback starts, “how do you know he’s single?” Hangman laughs loudly in the background while Coyote grins widely.

“Uh yeah, I actually have a girlfriend,” Bob’s lips contort into an innocent smile, “I have some pictures of her in my wallet if you guys want to see,” he looks up as Hangman takes the cue stick out of his hands, a disappointed expression painting his face.

“Sure, let’s see your girlfriend,” Bob had his wallet pulled out and he grabs three polaroids out of one of the pockets, he hands them off to Phoenix who quickly gets flustered while looking at them.

The polaroid pictures you gave Bob to keep in his wallet are, well, ones he took right after sex. You in his button down shirt red hickeys splattered on your chest, soft yellow eyeshadow smeared along with your mascara, your red lipstick is smudged onto your cheek. Your hand between your thighs, while the other one is around your collarbone, with nails painted the same shade of red as your lips.

“Wow… Bob this is..” Phoenix clears her throat while her eyes are still wide, Payback takes the pictures from her hands and his eyes also widen.

“Isn’t she so pretty,” Bob smiles sweetly, hearts in his eyes, “these are her favorite photos, she always says I should show these if someone flirts with me,” his hands run through his hair as everyone gathers around Payback to take a look.

Hangman pulls one of the photos out of his hands while laughing, “Oh Bob, are you kidding?” he shakes his head and tosses the picture to the ground while leaving the bar, Bob carefully dusts off the picture of you while glaring at his back.

Hangman comes back in with a rolled up magazine in his hands he’s still chuckling as he tosses the open magazine onto the pool table. It’s open to a lingerie ad you did a couple years ago, the pose is the exact same and the shirt is unbuttoned just enough to show the bra. “Maybe next time, Bobby boy, you could pick a more believable picture,” Fanboy laughs.

“Bob, if you didn’t want me flirting with you, you could’ve just said so,” Phoenix rubs the back of her neck, while he collects his pictures back.

“She truly is my girlfriend, I’m honestly flattered that someone as beautiful as you was interested. Y/N she used to be a lingerie model that’s all..” his cheeks are slightly flushed as he puts your pictures back in his wallet.

“Yeah, just because it’s the same pose and stuff doesn’t mean it's not true,” Rooster defends Bob, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, if she’s really your girlfriend then why don’t you invite her over to hangout?” Hangman flashes his perfect white teeth, while Fanboy slaps Bob on the back.

“Yeah Bob, why don’t you call her right now, I’m sure she’d love to meet a fan, or a couple fans” Fanboy laughs at his own joke.

“I would but she’s out of town, I’ll call her the second her plane lands,” Bob crosses his arms over his chest glaring at Fanboy. Rooster tries to distract everyone by singing and Bob is still upset so he leaves early.

__________

Bob had told everyone that if they went to the bar in the evening that you would be there to finally prove to them that you truly were his girlfriend. However, your plans were postponed due to a storm which prevented your plane from taking off. You called Bob about this while they were having beers on the beach.

“I’m so sorry Rob.. I miss you, I wish I could be there with you,” you mumble through the phone, voice shaking with tears threatening to fall.

“It’s okay, pretty girl, don’t cry,” Bob smiles faintly as he whispers through the phone, the guys gather around him, “What’s the delay about?” he questions, Hangman grabs his phone and puts it on speaker. Bob shoots him a glare as you begin to speak.

“I dunno it’s some storm? I don’t know but the lady said it’ll be like another day,” you bite your lip, “It’s like serious, or something,” your voice shakes a little.

“No worries, love, you should catch up on some rest. Or maybe go sightseeing?” Bob tries to reassure you with a soft tone.

“But Bob, what about your friends I was supposed to meet, I’m sorry for letting you down..” you sigh as your body hits the plush mattress in your hotel room.

“Nothing is more important than your safety angel, just get some rest, you’ll be on the next available flight. You can meet them another time,” you can tell he’s smiling through his tone.

“Okay… I love you,” you smile as a few tears fall from your eyes. It's tiring when you have to spend so much time apart, you miss him more than words can express.

“I love you so much, now get some sleep.” his voice is slightly demanding but still quite soft.

“Alright… You too, okay? I’ll hang up now, I love you..” you hang up and set the phone off to the side and hug your pillow pretending it’s him.

“Well, would ‘ya look at that,” Hangman chuckles, “Bobby’s totally real girlfriend has to cancel, last minute, just when we were about to meet her,” Bob pinches his nose bridge softly.

“Hangman cut it out, it’s completely plausible that she would be stuck wherever she is because of a storm,” Rooster glares at Hangman, telling Bob to ignore his comments. “I’m sorry he’s such an ass, Bob.” he fluffs up Bob’s hair giving him a reassuring smile.

__________

You barely had any time to get settled when you got home before you get the call that Bob is in the hospital, you quickly get dressed in Bob’s favorite yellow Tee throwing on a pair of shorts as warm tears spill from your eyes. .

You arrive at the hospital where Bob is being held, your eyes are swollen and your mascara is smeared and running down your cheeks. A nurse takes you to his room where a few of his colleagues are standing around, you thank her and walk to the doorway while bringing your hands up to your face to wipe away your smeared mascara.

“Oh, wow, how much did he have to pay you for you to actually show up?” Hangman starts with you, you just stare at him.

“What are you talking about?” you question your eyes narrowing on the blond in front of the entrance to the hospital room that Bob is in.

“Could I buy you for a couple hours? I’ll make it worth your time,” he smirks, flashing his bright white teeth, you roll your eyes and grab him by the collar pulling him off to a quiet corner.

“Look, I don’t know who you think you are. But. If you continue insinuating that Bob has to pay me to be here, I’ll make sure you never reproduce. Hell, I’ll make it so you’ll never want to look at another woman again,” you grit your teeth glaring daggers into his eyes. “Got it? Pretty boy.” your voice is low and almost a hiss.

“Jeez, I got it,” He rolls his eyes as you both make your way back toward Bob’s room, you’re fixing your hair and he’s fixing his shirt collar that you messed with which looks sort of suspicious. You smooth down Bob’s tee while walking into the room.

“Hey handsome, how are you feeling?” your expression softens as you sit on the bed next to Bob, his hands cup your face as he rubs your cheekbones.

“I’m alright angel, I hope I didn’t worry you too much,” his cheeks flush softly while looking into your eyes. “I see you met Hangman..” Bob’s voice goes quiet, he pulls his bottom lip between his teeth chewing down on it.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Does it hurt? Where do you hurt?” your hands trail down his chest while you look for any obvious bruises.

“Y/N…” calloused forefingers pull your chin up to meet his eyes. He rubs soft circles into your cheek as his thumb caresses your bottom lip. Hangman, Fanboy, and Payback knock on the door sticking their heads in.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t believe you earlier,” Fanboy chuckles softly, his hand reaching back to scratch his neck. Bob's shoulders shrug before dropping, a sad expression finding its way onto his face.

“We’re heading out Bob, just thought we’d drop by to check up on you once more,” Payback’s mustache curling up with his lips. You and Hangman make eye contact, lips going flat as your jaw clenches, you make a cutting throat motion to keep him quiet because he was about to talk. Hangman’s lips shut and they walk off, you turn your attention back to Bob.

“Darling,” Bob twirls your hair around his pointer finger, averting his eyes from your gaze. “Do you like Hangman?” you feel your heart drop to your stomach, your lungs squeezing as you take a deep breath.

“Bob, why would you think that?” scooting closer to him you bring your hands up to his cheeks, sliding up onto his lap.

“It’s just..” he sighs, “earlier, you guys seemed to run off in a hurry. Then you came back fixing your appearances, plus Hangman is just so.. I don’t know, handsome?” he huffs, chewing on his lip while looking down at his hands.

“Robert Floyd.” you clear your throat giving him a soft look, “Don’t doubt yourself so much, I love you, I’ve always loved you. You’re my first choice always and forever, you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on, I only want you. So stop doubting yourself, please,” a sigh leaves your plump lips while you brush his hair back.

Bob nuzzles his face into your neck, “I wouldn’t blame you if you liked him more, you know? He’s-” his voice hardly reaches over a whisper, you interrupt him with a passionate kiss. Hands roaming over his chest as you push against him.

“Handsome, if you have energy to argue that means you're not as injured as I thought,” you murmur against his lips before leaning down to suck a soft hickey into his neck. Bob goans and pushes his hips up against your pelvic bone, he breathes against your shoulder while you tug at the roots of his hair softly.

“Fuck, Angel..” his hands caress your waist, “You have me so worked up already,” you kiss down Bob’s jawline. Sighing softly you sit back on his bare thigh, squeezing your own thighs around his as you grind down.

“Good girl,” he grips your hair up into a ponytail, “can you ride my thigh until you cum? Hm?” Bob's left hand squeezes your side softly. You nod enthusiastically, dragging your clothed pussy against his thigh.

Bob taps your ass cheek, “No, doll. Take your panties off,” he lifts your hips off of himself. You pull down your panties, throwing them beside him on the bed.

“Fuck, Bob. I need you,” he smirks, while rubbing your back with gentle fingers.

“Ride me first,” Bob’s hand wraps around your waist as he pulls you flesh against his thigh. “I promise you’ll get whatever you want, just give me a good show, Darlin’” he leans against the pillows propped behind him.

He puts his free hand behind his head, chest rising as he keeps his eyes on your pussy that’s pressed against his warm skin. Your slick spreads against Bob’s thigh as you grind down on it, biting down on your lip to stay quiet.

Hushed moans slip from your lips while you grasp onto his shoulder, your eyebrows squeezing together as pleasure flows down your spine. “Mmm fuckk, Bob,” you're panting faintly, back arched while keeping your hand on his knee to support your body.

Bob slides his hand under your shirt, groping the supple skin of your breasts, moans spilling out of your mouth. Chest heaving furiously as you lean against his shoulder, he twists one of your nipples between his forefingers while peppering kisses down your neck.

“Fuck,” you whisper into his ear, “Rob, I’m going to cum.” wrapping both arms around his neck you squeeze tightly as your orgasm rushes over your entire body. Bob uses his hands to guide your hips against his leg, pushing your orgasm further.

“Good girl,” his hands lightly squeeze your thighs right under your ass, “got any energy for a second round?” Bob mumbles into your skin as he pulls you onto his lap.

Instead of giving him a verbal response you begin grinding against his hard dick, creating a wet spot on the crotch of his hospital gown. “My sweet, you’re so eager for me.” he groans into your ear, bucking his hips up into yours.

You moan in acknowledgement, kissing his collarbone gently. Bob pulls up his gown, pumping his cock a few times before lining up with your entrance. Biting your lip you slowly sink down on his tip, your pussy swallowing him up as your ass presses against his thigh that you just came on not too long ago.

He grabs a handful of your hair pulling at the roots, you bend your neck back as quiet whimpers spill from your chapped lips. His other hand finds its way up your shirt again, pulling your breast to his mouth as he sucks on your hard nipple.

Once your body gets used to his length you begin to ride his dick at a slow pace, using one hand to prop you up while the other moves down to your sensitive bud circling it roughly. Bob twirls his tongue around your nipple, grazing his teeth against it softly, you bite back moans picking up the pace.

He lets go of your nipple with a soft pop as he pushes your hips down, rutting up into yours instead. “Mm, baby.. I’m getting close,” he sucks on a sensitive spot, letting go of your hair. “Goddamn you’re like heaven,” Bob sighs into your ear before biting the lobe gently.

You muffle your moans by burying your head in his neck, squeezing your eyes shut tightly as he cradles the back of your head closer to his body. The sound of skin slapping against skin fills the room along with the tv show playing in the background, Bob moans quietly in your ear,

He squeezes your thighs with both hands, snapping his hips into yours with a more aggressive speed. Bob groans while kissing down your neck, giving your ass a couple light slaps.

Bob's hips stutter as his warm seed fills your pussy, your back arches as your hole pulses around his dick, spilling fresh cum out. He looks down to where your bodies connect, watching as your liquids combine.

He lifts your face to his pulling you into an intimate kiss, your lips dance together while Bob runs his hands down your waist.

“I missed you, my love,” you kiss his cheek before rising off his lap. You run into the bathroom, grabbing a towel and wetting it, running the cool rag against Bob’s skin to clean off the sticky secretion from his body.

“You’re so good to me,” he smiles as he pats the bed beside him, “come lay down, I miss you already.” he whines softly.

You shake your head, “Give me a second to clean myself up,” returning to the bathroom you use the towel to clean your body up.

“Y/N, it’s been more than a second,” you can practically hear the pout he’s giving you, rolling your eyes as you return to the bed. Slipping on your panties again before laying down next to him.

He wraps his arms around your waist pulling you into his chest, Bob rests his chin on your head taking a deep breath. “You should stay here with me, who knows. I might be in worse shape than they originally thought,” shaking your head you cuddle further into his chest.

“Alright, love, anything you want.” your breathing slows as you begin to drift off to sleep, Bob pulls the blanket over your body. Peppering kisses all over your forehead, he runs his nails down your back, watching as you sleep.