#i had a quick second to vibe tonight and found these

[good-beans]

Was anyone gonna tell me they picked 5 random characters to fuck up in the trailer and all three of my faves are there 😭

[wooahaes]

skz - forgetting to kiss them

pairing: non-idol!skz x gn!reader

prompt: u forget to kiss them hello when u come home

genre: fluff!! just silly fluff

warnings: food mentions :3 + intentional lowercase & no proofreading.

daisy's notes: couldnt b me. id never stop greeting them w kisses. no one look at how long jisung's is i was particularly delulu when i wrote it

bang chan

chris noticed... almost immediately that was off about you. the embarrassing part was that it was partially due to the fact you didn't greet him with your usual "hi, i'm home" kiss.

it wasn't that chris looked forward to that kiss (he did, but that wasn't the point). he liked to think he was just... attuned to you. that he could feel the general vibe you had whenever you entered a room. he wasn't missing your "i'm home" kiss--he was merely noticing that you weren't feeling great. that something was weighing on your mind. so he called out as he heard you go back to the kitchen to get something to drink, asking about your day.

immediately, he heard you let out a long sigh. "work was awful and then i missed my bus so i had to take a cab."

chris nodded. "ah. gotcha."

you made your way over, sitting down next to him. "... did i do something?" you looked over toward the door, trying to retrace your steps. you hadn't slammed the door, and you hadn't been too late coming home...

"nah!" he looked over, "i mean, you kinda didn't give me a kiss when you came home. figured something was wrong."

you stared at him for a moment. did you really always give him a kiss when you came home? you liked to, because it was your own little way of saying "hi, i missed you," to him with just a quick peck. after a moment, you leaned in, pressing a quick peck against the corner of his lips before planting another on his lips proper.

"there," you giggled. "is that better?"

judging by the way chris giggled back, pulling you in for a third... maybe not. (but it wasn't as if you were going to complain.)

lee minho

usually, minho didn't mind whether you kissed him or not. he'd always enjoy your kisses, and found it endearing that you pressed a quick kiss against his lips whenever you came home, but he never asked nor would he ever force you to do it. sometimes he'd kiss you as a greeting, though, just because he liked to see your smile.

other times, when he was feeling a little more devious... he'd call out to you, just like he did tonight. "you forgot something!"

you came back into the room, shirt half-unbuttoned as you'd been in the middle of changing. you furrowed your brow, pouting a little as you tried to figure out what was wrong.

he just smiled at you. "you did."

a moment later, it hit you. you snorted, and made your way over, pulling him in for a kiss that lasted a few seconds longer than the usual one you usually gave him. your hands fell to his shoulders, and you drew back. "there. is that better?"

"i missed you," he giggled. "is that so wrong?"

you rolled your eyes, and gave him another peck on the tip of his nose. "love you, too, you dork," you said, pulling away from him to go change.

(and the sound of your laugh as you continued away despite the way he lunged to grab at you, just barely missing your ass... all minho could do was smile to himself.)

seo changbin

changbin was a reasonable guy. he waited a reasonable amount of time (ten minutes: you said you weren't going to shower or anything yet) before approaching you in the kitchen. "are you mad?"

you looked up from where you were working on dinner. he was so genuine about the question, and it threw you for a loop. had you done something to imply that you were...? all you did was get started on dinner because it was your night to cook. "what?"

"we always talk about these things," he said with a sigh. he crossed his arms, leaning against the counter, eyes bearing into your own, "did i do something? you can tell me if i did. it's okay."

"binnie, honey, i have no idea what you're talking about."

"really?" he frowned, and gave you this look of disbelief. "you always give me a kiss when you come home, and today, you didn't. do i need to run to the store? did i forget something--"

oh! you almost laughed at how adorable he could be sometimes. "nope," you said, reaching forward to pull him in. "just got distracted when i got home." ever so casually, you kissed him, and planted an extra on the corner of his mouth. "good to know you'd miss my kisses, though."

changbin just pulled you in again with a giggle, content to steal a few more from you before he let you go... for now.

hwang hyunjin

hyunjin didn't notice at first. he'd been curled up on the couch with a book when you came home, carrying a few bags of groceries that you insisted on handling yourself since they were for tonight's dinner. it was your night to cook after all, and--after asking to make sure you didn't want help--he settled back into his spot.

and then it hit him eventually: you... didn't kiss him when you came home. why didn't you kiss him? you always went out of your way to do it, after all. he leaned up, looking over to where he could see you deeply concentrating on the recipe you were reading. then again, you had set down the groceries and lounged around for a little bit first--the two of you had even talked during that. maybe you were mad at him? he knew he'd been petty about things before and denied you kisses as a result. maybe he was the one who was supposed buy groceries...? but you didn't give him a list or text him anything...

"honey?" he called out.

immediately, it caught you attention. 'honey' wasn't really his usual term of endearment for some reason: you were always his love, his baby. "what's wrong?"

his face grew warmer--was it really that concerning? "nothing--" he started, but realized that you only grew more concerned. "you didn't kiss me when you came home."

"oh."

he decided to keep going, "did i do something--"

"if you want it," you cut him off, "then come get it."

he just stared at you. "... what?"

"i was thinking about dinner," you said, turning back to what you were cooking. "but if you want that kiss, you'll have to come get it."

hyunjin found himself smiling, pushing aside his blanket and the book to get up and make his way over to you. he kissed you, smiling into it as well, as his hands fell to rest on your waist.

all better.

han jisung

jisung was not afraid to admit that he was deeply in love with you. and sometimes... that meant he'd overthink the little things. his heart was so full of devotion to you that sometimes he'd get too deep in his own head, trying not to do anything to wrong you. of course, he knew you, and he knew that you'd always accommodate him by telling him things outright. if he hurt you, you pointed it out and asked for space so that the two of you talk things out properly when both of you were ready for it. but today you were sitting at the other end of the couch, a pillow hugged against your chest as the two of you watched TV. or, well, you watched TV. jisung was watching you.

"hey." his foot bumped against your leg. "did something happen today?"

you tore your gaze away from the screen, brows drawing together. "no?" yet you continued to watch him for a moment, eyes scanning his face for anything that would give him away. "are you okay?"

he nodded. even that confused 'no?' was enough to soothe his thoughts. you would be honest with him, after all: that was what the two of you did. he settled into the couch. "i'm fine," he said, hoping it sounded casual enough.

yet you tilted your head, as if trying to get a better look at him. "baby?" you set the pillow onto the floor, moving a little closer. "did i forget something?"

he grew flustered immediately. "it's okay--it's not a big deal--"

"ohh," you lit up, smiling as you already knew. he liked the twinkle in your eyes whenever you knew something. "i know what it was." you crawled over to him, teasing him a little, "my jisungie didn't get his kiss today--"

he found himself unable to fight back a smile. "it's not a big deal, honey--"

"nope!" you giggled, and practically launched yourself at him. he'd end up pinned against the couch, "gotta make up for it with extra kisses for worrying my jisungie."

god, he loved you. you peppered kisses all over his face despite his laughter, slightly pushing back against where your hands were at his wrists to try and re-ground himself better against the couch, yet you didn't let go. sure, maybe you were hamming it up and acting extra cute for him... but he knew what this was. it was a message, loud and clear, that you cared about him wholeheartedly. you knew he could get anxious sometimes, especially when it came to potentially accidentally upsetting you. 'i want to make you happy' was what you told him once. he hoped you could feel the way he smiled into the soft kiss you pressed against his lips. when you drew back, you just stayed there, hovering over him and admiring how the glow of happiness looked on him.

"i'm home," you said.

jisung just brushed a stray strand of hair away. yeah... you are his home.

lee felix

as much as felix wanted to whine at you playfully for forgetting to kiss him when you came home (a staple of your relationship, he'd joke)... he couldn't help but worry. he continued to work at dinner, mentally going over your interactions today. he knew you well enough to know that he hadn't done anything to upset you unless you were having an off day where everything annoyed you (no shame in it, he thought; he had those days, too). it wasn't until after he finished making dinner that he called out to you.

"did something happen today?"

you looked up, brows drawn together, but he could see the fatigue on your face from stressing about something. "no?"

he set aside what he was doing, making his way over to where you were sitting, laptop open in front of you. you changed tabs immediately away from whatever you were doing for work right as felix began to knead at your shoulders.

"this is cheating," you whined, head dipping back so you could see his face.

"and i'd do it again," he said, dipping down to plant a quick peck against your forehead. "you can talk if you need to. i don't mind listening."

with a sigh, you shut your eyes while felix continued to massage your shoulders. sure enough, there was someone you had to deal with at work that had annoyed you enough that you were still running through the conversations hours later. he just stood there, listening and nodding along as he continued to work his magic on your tense muscles.

when you finished, he leaned down to press another quick kiss against your lips. "feeling better?"

"a lot, actually," you sat straighter in your chair, reaching forward to close your laptop. "thank you, lixie."

kim seungmin

seungmin had sat on the couch for too damn long, pretending that everything was fine. yes, you didn't kiss him when you came home, but that didn't mean anything. clearly, it didn't mean anything. except maybe you were mad at him, and you were withholding a stupid kiss because of it instead of talking it out like adults. that was what the two of you agreed on: no going to bed mad. to say that you were mad and needed space. not... whatever this is.

"seungmin?" you had sat down at the other end of the couch. "what's eating you?"

his eyes were a little too sharp when he looked at you, frustration all too evident on his face when he was supposed to be hiding it. "that's what i should be asking you."

and then... genuine, unfiltered confusion. your brows drew together as you watched him, smile falling. oh.

fuck. you weren't mad at him.

"never mind," he says quickly, "it's stupid--"

you moved over so that you could reach out and take one of his hands in your own, "seungminnie, it's not stupid if it's bothering you!"

ah. using cuteness to get what you wanted. unfair. "you didn't kiss me when you came home like you always do, so i thought you were mad. so then i got made because we agreed to always talk things out."

immediately, you giggled. "aw, seungmin... you really like my kisses that much?"

when you leaned forward to kiss him, he immediately shrank away, trying to block your mouth from his own. "no! not now! it's not the same now!"

yet your laugh was enough to make him drop the act. your lips pressed against his, and he smiled into the kiss, happy to have your arms around him... even if you'd never let him live this down.

yang jeongin

jeongin considered himself one of the more mature people in his friend group. sure, he could be silly and goof off sometimes, but he'd heard his other friends with partners complain about the tiniest things that turned out to be nothing. so with you, he felt a little comfortable in assuming that your "i'm home" kiss just slipped your mind. you'd texted him your bus was running late, so he'd decided to make you a cup of tea for when you came in. and when you threw yourself onto the couch, saying nothing to him for a while...

well, jeongin had a pretty strong feeling that you needed someone to listen to you instead. he'd sat down next to you, passing you the mug as he leaned in to press a quick peck against your lips. his own little "welcome home" kiss that he'd try to greet you with sometimes, if given the chance.

"do you want to talk about it?"

he watched as you took a long sip of tea, letting out a sigh once you'd set the mug down. "work sucked."

jeongin nodded. "and your bus was late..."

another heavy sigh. you turned your face to look at him, reaching for his hand. he gave it to you without any teasing, and watched as you pressed a kiss against his knuckles.

"are you sure it's fine for me to unload all of this on you?"

"that's what i'm here for," he hummed, sliding in a little closer so that he could draw you closer. "you listen to me, right?"

the hint of a smile ghosted over your lips, and jeongin watched as you settled in, head resting on his shoulder. "right..."

he just pressed another kiss into your hair as you launched into telling him about your day. no need for you to worry about giving him any 'i'm home' kisses: jeongin would supply you with as many 'welcome home' kisses as you needed to make you smile again.

taglist: @twancingyunhao @weird-bookworm @bangchansbae @jinnie-ret @cheesemonky

[avvwritesstufff]

HALLOWEEN~PB⁵

Summary- Reader and Paige have a friends with benefits type of situation and their friends don’t know but they find out at the campus halloween party

Warning- Eating out(r! receiving) nothing else i don’t think…

yall chill on me bc it’s my first fic

Tonight was the big campus Halloween party, and Paige and I decided to go as matching vampires. Basic, sure, but undeniably cute. We got ready together, layering on the dark makeup and fangs. Paige insisted on pouring fake blood down my arm, laughing as she did.

"You look hot as fuck," she said, grinning as she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"Aw, thanks, Bueckers. Can't say the same about you, though," ! teased, leaning in close, just to pull away at the last second, leaving her hanging.

With a laugh, I grabbed my bag, and we headed out. We'd decided not to drive, so we hitched a ride with Yanna and Ice.

When we got to the party, it was everything we'd expected-loud, wild, and packed with our friends. We found the group and quickly got into the spirit of things, which meant getting trashed, of course.

At some point, Paige and I broke off from the others, just walking around, dancing, and vibing. It was perfect-until I noticed a girl with black hair eyeing Paige a little too intently.

"That girl keeps eye-fucking you, P," I said, my annoyance probably too obvious.

"Who? The one with the black hair?" Paige asked, glancing around.

"You spotted her that quick?" | shot back, trying to keep my jealousy under wraps.

"Oh yeah, I met her at the bar earlier. She's hot," Paige said, looking back at me with a smirk.

"Paige Madison Bueckers," | warned, grabbing her arm before she could make a move, "Walk over there, and I'll beat your ass. You're staying here with me."

"Yes, ma'am," she replied, instantly obedient, though I could see the teasing glint in her eyes.

The rest of the night, Paige kept trying to make me jealous, playing it up just to get under my skin.

Eventually, we both had enough drinks to let loose completely, and we started dancing together.

Paige's hands were wrapped around my waist as I sang along to “Dress" by Taylor Swift, each lyric dripping with intention.

"I don't want you as a best friend, only bought this dress so you could take it off," | sang, my voice low and sultry, looking directly at her.

"Is that a promise?" Paige whispered in my ear, her breath hot against my skin.

"We can make it one," | smirked, but before things could go further, Aubrey and Aaliyah's voices cut through the moment, calling for us from across the house.

Reluctantly, we made our way over, ending up on a couch that was too crowded. I ended up on Paige's lap, not that I was complaining. We were playing some game, but I wasn't interested-I was too focused on Paige, leaning against her, feeling bold and, honestly, horny as fuck.

"I need you, P," | whispered into her ear.

Her eyes widened in shock, but she didn't waste a second before excusing us from the group. I led her out of the room, barely able to keep my composure.

A bedroom in a frat house wasn't ideal, but it would have to do. As soon as the door shut behind us, Paige locked it and immediately pressed me against the wall, our lips crashing together. I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling her closer as she lifted me by my thighs, her lips trailing down my neck.

"Fuck," I gasped, barely able to speak as she smiled against my skin, lowering me onto the bed. I quickly flipped us over, straddling her hips as I grabbed her face and kissed her again, more deeply this time.

Paige's hands found my hips, guiding me as I ground against her.

"V..." she breathed out, her voice laced with desire.

I couldn't help but smile against her lips, keeping the rhythm. "A bedroom in a frat house wasn't where I imagined this happening," I joked, even as my heart raced.

"Hmm, so you've imagined us, huh?" Paige teased, flipping me over again, moving me to the edge of the bed. She started pulling down my underwear and stockings, her eyes meeting mine for permission. When I nodded, she spread my legs, kissing up my thighs before diving in, making me gasp her name.

We were so caught up that we didn't hear the knocking at first, but it quickly became impossible to ignore. Paige and I shared a panicked look as we scrambled to make ourselves presentable.

Paige went to the door, trying to act casual, only to find Yanna and Nika on the other side.

"Yo?" Paige greeted them, clearly trying not to panic.

"Oh, hey, p," Nika said, looking relieved. "We finally found yous. We're getting ready to go."

"Yeah, alright," Paige said, smiling as I stepped into view.

"Hey, guys!" | added, trying to sound normal despite everything.

"Someone's in a good mood," Yanna said with a knowing smile as she looked at me. I just smiled back as Paige wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close.

"Well, we're heading back. Are you coming?" Nika asked, trying not to overreact in the moment.

"Yeah," Paige replied, and we followed them out.

Once outside, Nika went to ride with Aubrey, Azzi, Caroline, and Amari, all heading to our dorm.

That left me, Paige, Aaliyah, Ice, and Yanna in Yanna’s car.

The car ride was quick and quiet, everyone too tired to talk. As soon as we got back to the dorm, i went to mine and paige went to hers to shower and change.

Nika barged in “OMG YOU AND PAIGE FUCKED” she yelled

“woah nik calm down” you said grabbing her shoulders laughing.

“THAT IS CRAZY- WELL WE ALL KNEW YOU GUYS WERE HOOKING UP BUT OMG” She continued to yell.

“The fuck- anyways nika its 2 am. please stop yelling.” I tell nika as we sit on my bed. I explain our situation to her.

“yo- oh hey nika?” paige says walking in.

“ugh if you guys are gonna fuck again, i’m sleeping at naheims. gay bitches” nika says joking and walking out.

[hazbinwhoree]

Hey I fell in love with your writing style, I wanted to know if you could write an Adam x reader with a shy S/O who is anxious about having their first time with Adam.

She is curious and takes off Adam's mask and tells him he is beautiful

Sorry if it's too long 💛🎸

Virginity

A/N: I got FOUR requests for Adam x a virgin reader, so here you go you fiends.

“Looking good today, babe, let me hit!” Adam called at (Name) as she walked by. Lute punched his arm. (Name) blushed bright red and walked a little faster. She wasn’t scared of or annoyed by Adam, in fact, she had the biggest crush on him, but she had no idea what to do about it.

Adam loved flirting with and catcalling (Name). Not just because he liked her, but because her reactions were just too funny. Last week he’d backed her against a wall and complimented her hair.

Well… “You have such pretty hair. I bet it’s as soft as it looks. How about you get on your knees and I can find out?” (Name) squeaked. Adam still laughed thinking about it. It was adorable the way she blushed so easily.

“Hey!” Adam caught up to (Name). “Want to commit a sin for your next confessional?” He made finger guns at her.

“What? Why would I purposely sin?”

That was another thing about her Adam loved. She didn’t understand dirty jokes.

So was the case for a few years before Adam found his little attraction to (Name) growing out of hand. When he wasn’t turned on by porn anymore, he knew he was screwed. He started jerking off to the thought that (Name) had never been touched and probably had never even touched herself. Maybe he had a bit of a virginity kink.

Unbeknownst to him, (Name) did touch herself, albeit very rarely and she never finished. And when she did touch herself, she imagined Adam, taking her virginity. She didn’t want it to be anyone else. She was sure that if she asked, Adam would say yes in a heartbeat, but she was way too shy to ever bring it up.

Lucky for her, Adam didn’t have the same inhibitions. After a week of jerking off to the thought of her, Adam pulled her aside one day.

“I want to have sex with you.”

(Name) blinked. Adam couldn’t have been more clear.

“I’m a virgin,” she finally responded, thinking it would deter him. He’d had a lot of sex, no doubt, so why would he want someone inexperienced?

Adam rolled his eyes. “Holy fucking shit, I’m sooo surprised.”

There was a moment of silence. Adam groaned, exasperated. “I still want to fuck you. Do you want to fuck me?”

“I mean,” (Name) was as red as a tomato. “I wouldn’t mind you being the one to take it…”

Adam grinned, pinning her against the wall. (Name) choked. “I’ll see you tonight then,” he said sweetly, leaning down to press a quick kiss to her mouth. Then he was gone.

That night, (Name) was so nervous she felt like she might throw up. She was rethinking letting Adam be the one to take her virginity. Gentle wasn’t exactly a word anyone associated with Adam. But once she was outside his door, he opened it without her even knocking, and (Name) accepted that she was in it now. No going back.

“If you’re having second thoughts, you don’t have to do this,” Adam said, like he read her mind.

“No… no I want to, I’m just nervous.” (Name) blushed.

“Well I swear I’ll make it enjoyable for you.” He reached out his hand. “I’m the Dickmaster for a reason.”

(Name) laughed, taking his hand, and he led her to his bedroom.

(Name) was pleasantly surprised how clean Adam’s room was. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting but Adam didn’t exactly put off the vibes of having a clean room. It smelled nice too, like men’s soap and cologne.

What he did have was the stereotypical navy blue sheets.

But his bed looked comfy and he had ambient lighting, and he’d definitely set a nice scene for their upcoming activities.

Adam placed a hand on her lower back to gently push her towards the bed because (Name) found that her feet wouldn’t move when her brain commanded it. Heat spread pleasantly through her body at the contact and she briefly realized how touch starved she actually was.

(Name) sat on the edge of the bed while Adam went over to his nightstand and lit a candle. Then he came and sat next to her. “Again,” he said, “I don’t want you to feel like this is a fucking hostage situation. If you’re having any doubts, bail, I won’t be mad.”

He didn’t really seem to believe that she wanted to be there, so (Name) said the boldest thing she’d said in a while. “Kiss me.”

Adam grinned. “Fuck yeah.” He pulled her into his lap and connected their lips almost desperately. This would take a lot of restraint on his end if he didn’t want to scare her off. He was already hard just from her being in his lap.

(Name) was nervous when she could feel Adam’s erection against her thigh. But kissing him was more than enjoyable, so despite her nerves, she had no second thoughts. Adam ran his hands up her back under her shirt, gently stroking the base of her wings.

(Name) shuddered, gripping his shoulders. She was already wet.

Adam’s tongue invaded her mouth and (Name) moaned. To her dismay, Adam pulled back. “Damn, babe, you’re already this worked up and I’ve barely touched you.” (Name)’s face burned. “Shut up,” she scowled. Adam laughed, reconnecting their lips.

They made out for another minute before Adam stood, picking (Name) up with him, turning around and tossing her down on the bed before crawling on top of her. (Name) squeaked and Adam snickered.

He spread her legs and settled between them, covering her body with his as he pressed his lips to hers again. His hand sneaks up her shirt until he reaches her chest, groping her breast. He rolls a nipple between his forefinger and thumb and (Name) moans against his lips.

“Sensitive,” Adam teases. He’s pretty sure she hasn’t stopped blushing since they started. “Just tell me what feels good,” he told her, squeezing her tit. (Name) just nodded wordlessly. Adam took off his own shirt before pulling (Name)’s up and off to make her more comfortable.

“Are you going to take your mask off?”

The question caught Adam off guard. “I wasn’t going to,” he answered after a minute.

“Could you?”

Adam hesitates.

“Come on,” (Name) encourages. “If you’re going to take my virginity I want to see your real face while you do.”

That was a fair point. Reluctantly, Adam reached up and tugged his mask off.

(Name) had never seen him without his mask before, he wore it everywhere. He looked unsure and uncomfortable without it, but he was gorgeous. (Name) reached up and cupped his face in her hands.

“Pretty boy,” she cooed.

It was Adam’s turn to blush, but the compliment made him regain his confidence. He sat back to admire (Name) topless. “Pretty girl,” he retorted, staring at her chest. (Name) moved to cover herself but Adam caught her hands and pinned them to the bed.

Then he slid down so his face was between her tits, peppering them with kisses before taking a nipple into his mouth. (Name) gasped and her back arched. Adam smiled, sucking. He let go of her hands, which immediately found purchase tangled in his hair, and massaged the tit he wasn’t sucking on.

(Name) was making affirming noises as Adam continued his minstrations, only spurring him on. He released her nipple with a wet pop, and moved to the other one. One hand gently held (Name)’s head, while the other began to snake down her stomach towards her core.

He slid his hand under the waistband of her pants and over her underwear, dragging three fingers up and down. (Name) whimpered.

“Fuck, you’re already so wet,” Adam mumbled, releasing her tit. He leaned up and kissed (Name), sneaking his tongue past her lips.

He moved his hand to slide under her panties too and (Name) gasped at the feeling of his fingers against her bare pussy. Adam dragged his fingers up and down and (Name) almost accidentally bit his tongue.

One finger prodded at her opening, testing resistance. Finding none, he slid one slender finger into her. (Name) wasn’t even sure what kind of noise she made. Adam added a second finger and (Name) winced in slight pain. Adam waited a moment for her to adjust before beginning to pump his fingers in and out. His thumb put pressure on her clit.

It quickly became pleasurable, and Adam began scissoring his fingers. When he was sure she was loosened up, he added a third finger and (Name) winced. Three was a new stretch, but the pain mixed with pleasure. Adam leisurely pumped his fingers in and out, pulling out of the kiss so he could lean back and witness her expressions.

(Name) sighed, her body feeling better than it had ever felt in her life. “Adam,” (Name) breathed. Adam grinned. He loved hearing his name. He pulled his fingers out and pulled his hand from her pants, and (Name) whined at the loss.

“Patience,” Adam teased. He knelt back to pull down (Name)’s pants and panties. She crossed her legs once she was bare.

Adam quickly shed his own pants and boxers to keep them on the same level. (Name)’s eyes widened looking at his dick. She had no idea how she was supposed to take that inside her.

Adam smirked. “It’ll only hurt a bit. I’ll be gentle.” He grabbed her ankles and uncrossed her legs, pushing her knees apart.

(Name) felt a small thrill when Adam pressed himself against her. He looked so… angelic above her. He grinded against her and hissed, his self control waning. “Can I?” he asked, and it almost sounded desperate.

“Yeah.”

Adam smiled and lined himself up with her opening before slowing beginning to sink in. (Name) gasped, tensing up. “Relax,” Adam soothed. “It’ll be easier.” (Name) tried to relax her body. When she did, Adam pushed in further, and as hot pain spread through her groin, she had to focus on keeping her body relaxed.

She managed, and before she knew it, she felt Adam’s hips against hers and realized he had bottomed out. He stayed still, letting her adjust to the stretch. Her face was contorted in pain until he reached a hand down between them and began rubbing her clit. The expression of pain quickly morphed into one of pleasure.

The pleasure completely overpowered the pain and (Name) didn’t feel split in half anymore.

“I’m gonna move,” Adam warned her, his voice gravelly with the effort to remain restrained and not fuck her into the mattress.

(Name)’s arms wound around his shoulders, hands clawing at his back when he began to thrust. Adam held himself up with a hand next to the side of (Name)’s head, slowly rocking his hips. His finger was still circling her clit, so it didn’t take long for his thrusts to become pleasurable too.

“Faster,” (Name) panted. Adam didn’t need to be told twice, roughly snapping his hips. (Name) cried out in pleasure. “Adam!” Adam thrust quickly and deeply, leaning down to kiss (Name) when she cried his name. He kissed her sweetly, as if to make up for the rough pace.

He loved the missionary position because it allowed him to be able to look at her facial expressions while he fucked her. He pulled back to admire her for a minute, his hips never losing their pace. He stared into her eyes and (Name) held the intense eye contact.

Adam’s thrusts started to become sporadic, and he looked away, gritting his teeth. “Fuck, I’m close.” (Name) came suddenly, and how hard she tensed around him pushed Adam over the edge and he came right after her, burying his dick deep inside her and painting her womb.

“Shit, fuck,” he cursed through his orgasm, dropping his forehead against (Name)’s. “I love you,” he panted when he finished. His entire body tensed. (Name) just smiled, running her fingers through his hair. “I love you too.” Adam smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

When he pulled back from the kiss he finally pulled out, and (Name) felt liquids dripping down her inner thighs. Adam kissed her forehead before climbing off of her.

“Wait right here, I’m going to run us a bath.” He disappeared into his connected bathroom, and (Name) panted, coming down, while her ears picked up the sound of running water.

Adam returned a few moments later, scooping (Name) up and off the mattress, bridal-style. (Name) squealed, locking her arms around his neck. Adam lifted her like she weighed nothing. To him, she probably didn’t.

Adam carried her into the bathroom, where he’d drawn up a warm bubble bath. He stepped in, still holding (Name), and sat down, sinking himself and (Name) into the water. She sat in front of him, her back leaned against his chest.

Adam ran his hands up and down her sides before running over her breasts. (Name) shivered, her nipples perking up. Adam pinched them, and (Name) gasped, throwing her head back. Adam attacked her neck, sucking and biting, aiming to leave claim marks.

He pulled back and whispered in her ear, “Round two?”

[llamagoddessofficial]

Thank you @radpunch for giving me an excuse for more Farmtale Sans... he's the love of my life

I don't usually do this, but I thought I'd add some recommended music for reading this piece. I listened to this the whole time I was writing, and I think it really adds to the vibe.

---

To anyone else, the sight of a body in a field neighbouring yours probably would’ve caused no small amount of alarm. Instead, you just sighed, finally laying down your shovel for the day and hopping the fence you had only just finished repairing.

The grass brushed against your hips as you walked, moving your feet as if wading through water. The evening sun caught the long, glimmering single stray cobwebs that trailed from the grass flower heads, and illuminated the tiny fluttering bodies of disturbed insects that fluttered up and away when you walked by. Though it was a pain to move through, you always liked when the field looked like this. It was your own romantic summer sea.

Eventually, you came across the ‘body’. Sans was lounging with his head propped up on a pile of empty seed bags, straw hat placed on his chest, sockets shut. The sun didn’t reach him now, the tall grass on all sides of him left a perfect little shady spot where he had nestled in. He looked very comfy... very peaceful. This wasn’t unusual at all, for him. He had a knack for finding hidden places to nap.

You crouched down. You could hear him faintly snoring. There was a tiny iridescent beetle sitting proudly on his bent knee, using the vantage point to observe its surroundings. It didn’t seem bothered by your presence in the slightest.

Sans was nice to look at. You had always considered him kinda good-looking, but he had grown more and more on you over time. Despite his brother being more classically ‘handsome’, with his high cheekbones, strong jawline and impressive physique, Sans was the one you found yourself getting caught staring at. He was... so easygoing. Not softspoken, too confident for that. Just never needing to raise his voice. Quick witted, strong, smart. Casual. Despite his silly straw hat, constantly muddy pants and crappy jokes, something about him was effortlessly cool. Effortlessly pretty.

And you were...

...

He had dirt on his cheekbone. Without thinking, you reached out, wiping it off. 

Before you could even blink, his hand snapped up, catching yours by the wrist. You let out a little inelegant shriek then slapped your free hand over your mouth in embarrassment - he snorted, sockets opening up, pretty fuzzy green eyelights landing on you. 

“well hello there,” he said, voice only mildly sleepy, with a gentle purr to it. He turned his face, and kissed your palm.

You shrieked a second time. Well... this one was more like a yelp, yanking your hand out of his grip as both of you descended into laughter. “Gross!”

You weren’t going to admit the move had given you butterflies. Nor that the way he was looking at you was making you feel things you didn’t have words for yet. You made a point of wiping your hand on your work pants.

“am i still asleep, or d’you just look like a dream to me?” he asked, leaning back, knitting his fingers together over his chest. 

“Charming.” Your tone just made him snicker. “The sun is setting. You getting up soon, or are you planning on sleeping under the stars tonight?”

Sans’ gaze was very soft. “hey, that actually don’t sound too bad. ‘specially if i had the right company.”

“True. Stargazing with someone is always nicer.”

“could always join me. room for two, in this patch.”

“Unlike you, I have to worry about ticks.” You flicked his shoulder. “I’ll think about it when the grass is cut.”

He grinned. “dang. never felt so motivated to do a chore before. s’that a promise, then? when i cut the grass you’ll come stargaze with me?”

You rolled your eyes. But there they were again; the butterflies. The thing with Sans was you never had any idea whether or not he was serious. He said entirely joking and entirely genuine things with the same tone of voice, the same smile, the same twinkling eyelights. Maybe in a few years you’d know him well enough to tell. Right now, though, you were much too afraid of embarrassing both of you by assuming his 'flirting' was anything but banter.

He finally sat up, and the beetle on his knee took off into the sky. It felt so cosy, somehow; the two of you were almost entirely below the top of the grass, hiding in a tiny den. It smelled like... well, grass, duh. But a specific kind of grassy smell - sweet and dry, more like hay, summery and clear. It reminded you of playing outside as a child until the sun had long gone down. 

“you been exertin’ yerself? all red.”

“Yeah, I’ve just been fixing the fence.” A lie and a truth. You had been fixing the fence, but it was a menial chore that hadn’t required huge amounts of strain. The blushing was from something else.

“ah, jeez." A break in his easy mood. "we’re still really sorry about that. pap is absolutely mortified, think he's set aside a whole load of crop for you.”

The brothers’ goat had managed to break through several fences, including yours, to take a 'visit' to your garden. You’d found her in your flowerbed, happily eating the tops off the marigolds you were going to cut and take to market. 

You’d never seen someone more apologetic than when Papyrus showed up to bring her home. The animal still had bright yellow petals in her beard as he led her away.

“It’s alright,” you said, warmly. “it wasn't like it was malicious or anything. Animals get out. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more sweet-natured goat anyway.”

“should’ve told me you were fixing that fence. i would’ve helped out.”

“Oh would you have?” Your tone was mock-suspicious. “How convenient that you waited until I was finished to tell me that.”

His sockets raised at the corners. “i’m serious! you doubtin’ my honesty? dang. thought we were close.”

Uh oh. Butterflies again. You swerved, doing your best to avoid it.

“So does your brother know you’re out here?”

“course not,” he snickered. “he still thinks i’m working.”

“Maybe I should go tell him that you’re flunking. I’m certain he already knows, he just needs to catch you in the act.”

He put his hat back on his head. “well. guess now i have to kill you.”

You laughed - and in the shade, entirely missed the little green shimmer across his cheekbones.

“How’s the day been then, sleepyhead?”

He shrugged, picking at some of the flattened grass. “busy. exactly how you think late summer on a farm would be. harvestin’, packin’ stuff up. lotsa ploughing. even with magic, it’s hard work. i’m just stealing whatever breaks i can find. you?”

You gave him a look. “You came over yesterday. You know how I'm doing.”

He leant over, lightly elbowing you. “c’mon. i’m doin’ the small talk thing. can’t leave me hangin’ here.”

“So now you’re guilt tripping me? You’re a real piece of work.”

That got another snicker out of him. He was so handsome when he laughed. 

Sans always liked knowing what was going on in your life. It was weird, you never saw him do that with anyone else; it had taken you a while to notice it but even with his closest friends he didn’t talk half as much as he did with you. The first time you’d seen him talking to Toriel you had thought he was in a bad mood, with how little he engaged, how simple his questions were, how sparingly he spoke.

“BAD MOOD? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“Sans just didn’t seem very chatty tonight. Did something happen?”

“OH? OH! NYEHEHEHEH, HOW FUNNY! SANS WAS COMPLETELY NORMAL TONIGHT, HUMAN, DON’T YOU WORRY. THIS IS HOW HE ALWAYS IS AT GET-TOGETHERS.”

“But he...”

“HE’S JUST MUCH CHATTIER WITH ME AND YOU.”

You liked to think he felt safe around you. You definitely felt safer around him, that was for sure. 

You pulled your knees up to your chest, relenting under his gaze. “Okay okay, fine. I’m doing alright, I guess. The old trees came right back to life as soon as the thickets were cleared away. There’s already fruit, they just need another year or so to get market ready.”

“and yer flowers? they sellin’ well?”

“It’s a good way to plug the money gaps in the meantime. Living in the age of the internet definitely helps, there’s lots of information floating around that has made it so much easier for me to get started. I dunno. It’s alright.”

You wanted to stop talking. You looked away, staring off into the ‘forest’ surrounding you, the waning sunset catching certain blades and turning them into a warm burning orange. In the distance you could hear the rolling and bubbling singing of a particularly loud bird somewhere overhead.

Despite your desire to shut up, Sans wasn’t about to let you. His lovely eyelights just continued to bore into you. 

“i can hear a ‘but’ in there.”

...

You sighed. Oh well. Who else were you going to be able to talk to?

“I thought the impostor syndrome would be gone by now.”

He cocked his head. You had no choice but to continue. 

“I’m just... I still feel like I’m not part of this. My mind hasn’t settled in. Every day is a confusing fight where I feel like I barely make it out the other side. Most of my flower boxes are stuck together with tape and hope.” You settled your chin onto your knees, sulking. “Every time things start to make sense, and I feel like I’m finally starting to get some solid ground, another problem shows up. Another thing breaks. Another bug I didn’t know existed is eating the fruit, another tree disease I have to prep against otherwise it might wipe out the orchard, another colony of aphids eating the flowers. I can’t win.”

“sounds pretty normal to me.”

You looked up from your knees. “Does it?” 

“that’s just life, ain’t it?” He had somehow shuffled closer to you, entirely without you noticing. “there’s always some new problem. if ya ask me, sounds exactly like a day on our farm. one of the ducks is injured, a coop is leaking, chicken got eaten in the night, goat escaped and ate the neighbour’s flowers. nothing goes how you expect. if you ask me, you’re doing great.”

You hummed. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

“doin’ good on paper, too. human from the suburbs moves to the countryside and buys an abandoned orchard. most of the time that ends in disaster. but yer trees are fruiting, could be ready in a single year, the flowers are already bloomin’ and sellin’ at the market. not sure how you could do any better.”

... You couldn’t help but feel warm. Especially on your face again. Partially because of his kind words, yes... but mostly because he seemed so intent on making you feel less bad. It made your chest all fluttery.

“... Thank you,” you mumbled. "that does make me feel better."

“course. anytime. just wish you’d ask for help, more.”

The bird from earlier started singing again. You glanced up, but could see nothing from within the little 'den'.

“Any idea what that bird is?”

He leant back. One hand, conspicuously, resting on the ground just behind your back. “s’a skylark.”

“... Skylark.” 

You stared up into the clear evening sky. You weren’t great with bird names, but you’d definitely remember that. 

...

Feeling like he was looking at you, you turned to the side. Sans was looking at you - and his face was only really a few inches from yours. Close enough that if he tilted his head down a bit, the top of his straw hat would bump against your hair. His expression was calm... a lot calmer than you felt. The two of you quietly held eye contact, and the skylark continued to sing.

... Suddenly, and with no apparent trigger, you felt immensely flustered by the proximity. You pulled back, shuffling, unceremoniously dragging yourself to your feet and brushing off your pants. Your head popped up above the grass; immediately, some tiny birds scattered up and away, sun shining into your eyes.

“I should head home.” You were messing needlessly with your hair. “Dinner isn’t going to make itself.”

Sans looked up at you, for a few silent moments. You couldn’t read his face at all, the only thing you knew was that his smile was very soft.

“agh, i should head out too,” he eventually said, not standing, but folding his arms behind his head and stretching. “need to get home. pap probably thinks i fell into a ditch.”

You put your hands on your hips. “Then you can finally rest, after a long hard day of skipping your chores?”

He chuckled. “why of course.”

“Pft. Say hi to Papyrus for me.”

“sure thing. later, doll.”

With that, you headed back across the field, leaving Sans to pretend to wake up. Knowing him he had probably laid down and gone straight back to sleep.

... You put your hand over your chest, now that you were out of sight, trying to still your fluttering heart. It wasn’t really any use.

The more time you spent with Sans, the more you realised you were falling for him.

///---///

Sans watched you walk away, the golden light catching in your hair.

... He sighed, stretching again, before finally actually dragging himself to his feet. The green flush became more prominent on his face as he stopped to watch a skylark hovering just over the grass before tilting its wings and dancing away.

He’d been completely serious about the stargazing. Once again, you thought he was joking, his own persona had bitten him in the ass. He’d wanted to tell you as you were leaving - he’d wanted to finally put his foot down and make a date out of it, ask you when you were free and do what he’d been dreaming of doing for weeks. 

But just like always, when you’d looked at him, he’d completely fallen to pieces. The words had gotten stuck in his nonexistent throat. And by the time he’d shaken himself out of his stupor, you were already leaving.

Sans just sighed, adjusting his hat. 

“... next time,” he hummed. "there's always next time."

With that, he shortcutted home.

[sunflowerseob]

Under the Stars | Choi Jiung

Your night takes a turn for the worst when you run into your ex at a party. You decide to seek solace out in the garden, but you're in for a surprise when someone else has the same idea as you...

💫 Pairing: Choi Jiung x reader

💫 Word Count: 2.9k

💫 Rating: 16+

💫 Genre: Fluff, some angst and hurt comfort

💫 Warnings: Reader is distraught after seeing ex with another girl, explicit language, crying, elements of angst, good ole hurt comfort 🥹

A/N: Hi everyone! My name is Saturn and this is my first time posting a Piwon fic but not my first time writing. I also will be writing for the Kinktober event for Theo Day 17 and Jongseob Day 28 so please look forward to that 👻 After that interview where Jiung said he would be out in the garden looking at the stars at a party I couldn't get this idea out of my head. Thank you for reading if you do, I hope you enjoy it 🥰 Excited to be a part of this wonderful little writing community and can't wait to write more in the future 🩵

Masterlist

Your vision was blurred by the tears gathering in your eyes as you did your best to navigate through the sea of bodies. The walls, which were pulsing from the booming bass, felt like they were closing in around you. You frantically scanned your crowded surroundings for a door. Preferably an exit to get the hell away from here. 

You finally spotted it at the back of the kitchen, quickening your steps as you made your way towards the door to the backyard. Your tunnel vision was so focused on escape that you didn’t notice you were about to bump into someone before it was too late. The clearly tipsy girl scoffed at you in disgust. Even though you were the one now standing there with your top covered in whatever had been in her cup. You mumbled a quick “sorry” as you swallowed down the sob creeping up your throat. You forced yourself to drown out the chaos around you, reaching for the door and slipping out into the cool night air. 

The relief was instantaneous, the calm and quiet settling over you like a blanket. The racing of your heart and head slowed as you took in the expansive backyard surrounding you. It almost felt like you had stepped into another world, your eyes drinking in the path before you that was overflowing with flowers on both sides. You walked along and found that it led to a beautiful and lush garden, complete with twinkling lights, benches, and even a little gazebo. And yet, it seemed you were the only one out here enjoying this little fairy escape. 

You took a seat on one of the benches as you tried to process the events of the night that had led you here. You already weren’t a party person, you never had been. So coming tonight at all had probably been your first mistake. But your friend, Keeho, had been so excited about being asked to dj that you had decided to come and support him. Luckily, he at least had been having the time of his life and enjoying every minute. You had been fine just quietly vibing and watching him until a certain someone had entered your field of view. That someone being your ex, along with the giggling girl hanging all over him. 

You honestly hadn’t even considered the possibility of him being at this party, and certainly not with a new girl. Not when your break up was still fairly fresh. Seeing him with someone else so soon had hit you like a gut punch. You had glanced at Keeho, but he’d been completely lost in the music with a huge grin on his face. You had only hesitated for a second before deciding that you didn’t have the heart to ruin his moment at your expense. Choosing instead to just flee the party entirely as fast as possible.

Now that you were alone and able to catch your breath you could feel tears pricking at your eyes once again. This time you let them trail down your cheeks, your little sniffles permeating the otherwise silent night air as you hugged your arms around yourself. 

“God. So fucking stupid.” you muttered, letting out a humorless laugh.

You looked up and took notice of the sky above you for the first time. It was vast and open and endlessly littered with stars. The unobstructed view had you completely awestruck, momentarily distracting from the emotional crisis at hand. 

“Wow…” you whispered, mesmerized by the twinkling cosmos overhead.

Maybe the party hadn’t been a complete waste after all. Just as the thought crossed your mind a soft voice sounded from your right, “Quite the view, isn’t it?”

You jumped a little as you whipped your head to the side. You’d been so sure it was just you out here, but somehow in your frantic state you had missed the other person leaning against the gazebo nearby. God. You hoped he hadn’t been standing there long enough to witness you on the verge of an emotional breakdown. You blinked and stared at the stranger, slightly dumbfounded.

“W-What?” you managed to stutter out.

“The view,” he clarified with a small laugh, and you noticed how his eyes crinkled at the edges, “it’s beautiful, don’t you think?”

You looked back and forth between him and the stars above, your brain forming a response that never quite reached your mouth.  A flush washed over the stranger’s face as he seemed to finally realize the awkwardness of the situation. 

“Ah, sorry if I scared you. I just didn’t think anyone else would be out here.” he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. 

This guy was really cute and endearing, and also kinda hot if you were being honest. He was tall and lean, and his bleach blonde hair was styled short and messy. He was wearing a green leather jacket over a white graphic tee with matching pants and black boots. Noticing how attractive he was really wasn’t helping the whole speechless idiot vibe you were currently giving. Tonight had already been humiliating enough. It was time to try and redeem yourself and get your shit together. Starting with giving a coherent response to the hot stranger standing less than fifteen feet away from you.

“Guess we both had the same idea. I thought I was alone too.” you told him, not being able to stop yourself from nervously fidgeting on the bench. 

He took a couple uncertain steps toward you, cutely stuffing his hands into his pockets like he didn’t know what else to do with them.

“Sorry again for startling you. I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your night.” he voiced before turning to walk away.

“Wait!” you found yourself calling after him as if it were a reflex. 

He immediately halted and curiously raised his eyebrows at you.

“Please, you don’t have to leave because of me.” you finished, voice going quiet at the end.

The stranger blinked at you in surprise at first, but then the smallest of shy smiles broke out across his features. God he was cute.

“I guess we could be alone together?” he started as he came over to stand next to the bench, “If you're sure you don't mind?” 

You gestured to the empty space next to you, “Be my guest.” 

He sat down, but made sure to still leave some distance between the two of you. Now that he was closer you noticed the fading black and purple streaks coloring his blonde locks. You watched as he raked a hand through them, sending his hair into further disarray. He suddenly turned to you, and you felt your face warm at the realization that you’d just been openly staring at him.

“I'm Jiung.” 

He smiled sweetly and held out a hand to you. Your smaller hand was completely enveloped by his when you went to shake it. You were surprised to find that there was something oddly comforting about his touch though. 

“Y/N.” you said back, the corners of your own mouth tugging upwards to mirror his own. 

“Guessing you’re not a party person, Y/N?” he queried after dropping your hand, his tone just slightly teasing.

You laughed and shook your head.

“Not at all. I’m only here because my friend is the dj, and I came to support him.” 

“My friend is the one throwing the party, so I kinda came for the same reason.” Jiung explained without you even needing to ask.

He lounged back against the bench and propped his arms up on either side of him, looking up to take another glance at the sky.

“You must be friends with Intak then?” you asked, directing his attention back to you.

“Yeah, he’s my best friend actually. And I'm guessing you're Keeho’s friend right?”

“Guilty.” you confirmed, letting yourself relax beside him.

“You know, how weird is it that we know each other's best friends, but we’ve never met before?” you went on, giving a voice to your thoughts.

Jiung hummed, “Maybe we’ve just never been in the right garden at the right time.”

He flashed you a shy grin, and you felt your heart stutter slightly in your chest. 

“Maybe you're right.” you agreed softly as your gaze sought out the stars once more. 

“If you don't mind my asking, why were you hiding out here all alone?” 

His tone was nothing but gentle, but the question threw you off all the same. Your face felt warm as you turned back to face Jiung. 

“Oh…uh …” you trailed off, growing flustered again.

The man next to you blushed even deeper than he had earlier, and you immediately felt bad for the return of the awkwardness.

“Shit…sorry. You don't have to tell me.” Jiung quickly assured you, talking with his hands as he continued rambling, “I know it's not my place, you just… You seemed kind of upset when I first saw you…”

He looked mortified at this point, and you felt your chest squeeze at his genuine concern for you, a complete stranger. And you suddenly found yourself wanting to just be honest with him for some reason.

“Jiung, breathe.” you interjected,  immediately silencing his embarrassed babbling.

He let out a groan as his face dropped into his hands, and you couldn't help the giggle that slipped out as you observed him. Everything he did was just so damn endearing. It was driving you a little crazy. 

He slowly lifted his head to look at you, “I am so sorry about that. I swear I’m not always like this.” 

“Jiung, it's okay, I promise. You're sweet to worry when you don't even know me.” you voiced, trying to reassure him further with a small smile. 

His cheeks tinted pink once more.

“I just, um, wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

If you could've melted right there on the bench, then you absolutely would have. Instead, you sighed and bent forward to match how he was sitting.

“I, uh, bolted after seeing my ex with some girl hanging all over him. I just wasn't expecting it considering how recent our break up was, and yeah… I freaked out and got the hell out of there. So all things considered, okay probably wouldn't be the word I would use.”

Everything kind of came out in a jumbled rush, and you nervously glanced at Jiung for his reaction. His dark eyes were wide in surprise. A moment later they narrowed slightly in what seemed like anger, and then finally softened as his expression settled on sympathy.

“Fuck, Y/N. I’m really sorry that happened. That must’ve been awful.”

This guy you had just met was looking at you with so much sincerity, and you could feel the tears building behind your eyes once more.

“Sorry,” you said, turning away and trying to laugh it off, “you’re just really nice and I’m a mess.”

Jiung leaned closer to you, his voice soft as ever, “Hey, if you want, I can go back inside and just let Keeho know you’re ready to leave.”

God. If you started sobbing in front of him you would really never forgive yourself. You cleared your throat before shaking your head.

“He was so excited for tonight. I don’t wanna ruin it for him.” 

“I may not know Keeho as well as you do, but I do know that you’re way more important to him. He wouldn’t want you to force yourself to be here when you’re in pain. He would wanna make sure you were okay, I know he would.” 

He talked to you as you would to a crying child, but nothing about it felt condescending or like he was mocking you in any way. He also was so close now that his clasped hands briefly brushed one of your own. You finally met his eyes, your lip quivering and fresh tears betraying you as they slid down your cheeks. Next thing you knew, Jiung had raised the sleeve of his jacket to swipe it across your face.

“I’ll stay here with you as long as you need, okay?” he promised, his thumb very briefly stroking your cheek before he let it drop back down to his side. 

An impulse suddenly thrummed through you. To kiss him. But now was hardly the time or the place, and it definitely wouldn’t be for the right reasons. So you buried the urge and instead just thanked him for his kindness.

“I’m sorry that this is how we met, but, still, I’m glad we did.” you whispered, not able to stop the tiny smile from taking over your lips.

Jiung beamed shyly back at you, “I’m glad too. But, I’m not sorry. Sitting under the stars with you was the highlight of my night.”

Every part of you felt warm. You wanted nothing more than to be able to bottle this moment and this feeling and hold onto it for a while.

“Mine too.” you agreed, feeling your smile grow even wider. 

Jiung had just started to open his mouth to say something, when your phone vibrated in quick succession in your pocket. Frowning, you pulled it out to see your screen lit up with several texts from Keeho. 

The man next to you chuckled before releasing a soft sigh.

“Keeho?” he guessed before you even had a chance to tell him.

You nodded, slowly, but reluctantly getting to your feet.

“He sounds pretty worried. You were right, I really should have told him something before I ran off.” you admitted, a wave of guilt washing over you. 

Jiung stood up beside you, and you noticed for the first time the way he slightly towered over you in height.

“He’s gonna understand, Y/N.” he assured you gently.

You didn’t have a chance to respond because your phone started going off in your hand. Keeho again. Calling this time.

“Hey Kee. Sorry for worrying you. I promise I’m okay, just needed to get some air.” you explained before he could start bombarding you with questions.

“Y/N, thank god! No, I’m sorry I didn’t connect the dots sooner. By the time I realized he was here, you had already disappeared. Fuck, I’m so sorry…” your best friend trailed off, and you could hear him trying to catch his breath on the other end.

“Kee, it’s really okay. I think I am ready to go though if you don’t mind still taking me home?”

“Of course I don’t mind. Meet me out front in like two minutes okay? And don’t go disappearing on me again.”

You were happy to hear that his tone had returned to being more light and teasing like it usually was. 

“Okay, see you in a minute.” you said before hanging up.

Jiung was still standing next to you, and you felt almost sad to be putting an end to the night.

“You gonna be okay to go back in there?” he queried, nodding his head towards the house.

You laughed, earning yet another smile from him, “Yeah, I think so. Probably just gonna book it for the front door and hope for the best.”

Jiung actually giggled at that, and it was the cutest fucking sound you had ever heard. 

“So…” he started, tucking his hands back into his pockets again as he rocked on his feet, “maybe I’ll see you in another garden sometime.”

You had to bite your lip to keep from grinning like an idiot.

“Yeah, maybe you will.”

You were pleased to see him also trying to fight back a smile, his cheeks flushing in the garden lights.

“It was really nice to meet you, Y/N.”

“You too, Jiung.”

He turned to start walking away first, and the slight chill of the late night air became startlingly apparent. You crossed your arms and shivered slightly, and that’s when you remembered-

“Shit.” you swore under your breath as you looked down at your stained top.

“What’s wrong?” Jiung asked before starting to make his way back over to you.

“Nothing, I just, someone spilled their drink all over me when I ran out of the house earlier. And I had completely forgotten about it until now. God, I hate parties.” you groaned, crossing your arms tighter over your chest.

You waited for Jiung to say something, and instead were surprised when you felt something being draped over your bare shoulders. You looked up just in time to see Jiung stepping back from you, now missing his green leather jacket. 

“Jiung wha…” your words dropped off as you gaped at him.

“Better not keep Keeho waiting. Goodnight, Y/N.” 

You continued to stare at him as he strolled away, gripping his jacket so that it wouldn’t slide off your shoulders. He was right about one thing. You really couldn’t keep Keeho waiting without sending him into a panic again. 

You barely registered the people around you as you made your way back through the crowded house. You were steps away from the front door, when you suddenly found yourself locking eyes with your ex. He took in the jacket hanging from your shoulders, and the look on his face was a mix of confusion and hurt. You glared back at him before slipping out the door. You pulled Jiung’s jacket tighter against your body, the garment feeling like a layer of armor that you hadn’t known you’d needed. You smiled to yourself. Jiung. The boy you’d met under the stars. And he was just as beautiful and mysterious.

[sc0tters]

His Caretaker | Jamie Drysdale

summary: after Jamie has too much to drink you get called to help get your boyfriend home.

request: yes/no

warnings: mentions of being drunk, tooth rottingly sweet couple.

word count: 1.54

authors note: Jamie gives me such soft vibes and this is fully what this piece is based off on. The baseball fan in me loves that picture of him (not even an angles fan but I’m willing to look past that). Fluff is not my forte so I’m gonna hope that this isn’t shit and sorry that you’ve had to wait so long for your request to be filled!

Somehow you should have known you wouldn’t be getting your own way tonight.

A relaxing evening was what you had planned for yourself after you turned Jamie’s offer of joining him and the boys at the bar. Sure you wanted to spend time with your boyfriend but going out was the last thing you felt like doing after the hectic day of college classes that you had been through all you wanted was a nice bubble bath.

Sure Jamie was a little upset that you didn’t want to come but when you told him to have a good night for the two of you, he seemed to take that a little bit more literally than you intended.

A groan fell from your lips when your phone began to ring “yes?” You tried to act like Jamie hadn’t just interrupted the movie you were watching.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you thought you heard your boyfriend in the background of the call “y/n you gotta come get Jamie,” Trevor explained as he was somewhat panicked “I wanna say hi!” Jamie whined as his eyes lit up at the mention of you.

You were quick to get up as you grabbed your shoes “I’ll be there in like fifteen?” Anaheim wasn’t usually known for its traffic but you knew that it would be longer for a weekend on what was bar central street “I want her now,” it was the complaint in Jamie’s voice that made you know he was doing his puppy dog face that he would do whenever he would want to get his way in something that you two were planning “and tell Jamie to stop pouting because I’m coming,” you pointed out as you shut the front door to the apartment.

It wasn’t hard to find the boys, Trevor had sent you a message saying that they were going to sit out front as some of the other boys were now also waiting for their girlfriends “y/n!” Jamie cheered as he saw you get out of your car.

A smile formed on your lips as you couldn’t help but laugh “hi baby,” he almost knocked you off of your feet as he wrapped his arms around you “missed you,” he confessed now making all of the boys laugh.

You kissed his cheek as he nuzzled his head in crook of your neck “you can let go of me,” despite the fact that the hug felt really nice you sort of needed to look at his friends to talk to them “never,” Jamie shook his head not liking your idea.

Somehow you managed to position yourself to actually see them whilst not letting go of Jamie “I’m going to get this man child home,” you announced drawing a scoff from your boyfriends lips.

Jamie furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at you “I’m not a man child!” He complained as he let his lips form a pout again “you’re my man child,” you spoke in a duh tone as you pecked his lips. It was that gesture that almost made him melt as his irritated look turned soft and smiley “let’s go,” he nodded as he sent a wave to his friends. The boys all couldn’t help but shake their heads as they waved back knowing that the Canadian was not going to remember this tomorrow.

It seemed that the second Jamie’s head hit the headrest of his seat he was out. In all honesty you couldn’t help but look over to him occasionally to smile at yourself, you found yourself the cutest boyfriend you could have asked for “baby?” Jamie mumbled as he looked at you when the car stopped at a red light.

His eyes fluttered open as he had woken himself up “hi love,” you felt giddy as he reached out to grab your right hand. Usually whoever was driving only got one hand for the steering wheel as the other was usually being held by the passenger, Jamie’s real favourite place to put his hand though was actually on your knee when he drove you two through the streets of California.

The soft sounds of the engine rumbling seemed to help Jamie fall back asleep but not before he could remind you “I love you,” it was like each time he said it you fell more and more in love with him.

Even though he was asleep you still responded “I love you too,” as you kissed his hand before you continued the rest of the drive back to your apartment.

The only real thing that you had felt on the way up to your apartment was the warmth of Jamie’s hand, he had this smug looking smile on his face too “what’s got you all happy?” You asked as the elevator doors opened up to your floor.

Jamie threw his arm around you “you love me,” he slurred as he tapped his finger on your nose.

It drew a laugh from your lips “yeah I do,” you nodded in amusement as he repeated that you loved him all the way until the two of you reached your door.

Thankfully you hadn’t locked it so it meant that you two could just walk right back in “I’m gonna need you to strip baby,” you cooed as you realised that the front of his white shirt had beer spilt on it.

The comment only made Jamie smirk “didn’t know you were so horny,” he teased as he placed his hands on your hips.

You shook your head “don’t want you sleeping in this,” you explained causing him to look down at his outfit, those denim shorts really weren’t ideal to sleep in.

All the boy could do was mutter an “oh” as he began to walk to your room. As drunk as he was he still seemed to have that clear thinking part of him.

He pulled the shirt over his head letting you get a moment to look at his naked chest “you like what you see?” Jamie asked as he began to unzip his pants. You smiled as you nodded “got me a cute boyfriend,” you announced as you placed a peck on his lips.

With his clothes now on the floor you picked them up “let’s go brush your teeth,” on the way to the bathroom you had the chance to drop his clothes into the hamper.

It seemed like Jamie remembered the few times that he had taken care of you in the bathroom as he walked over to the sink “sit on that,” you shook your head as the height difference between you two was not going to make brushing his teeth easy if he was stood up.

Jamie sat on the lid of the toilet as you had him open his mouth “you’re so bossy,” he mumbled as you placed his toothbrush in his mouth.

You sent him a thoughtful look as you contemplated entertaining his conversation “I’m just helping you.” You pointed out as you continued to brush his teeth “it’s hot,” you were surprised that you heard what he said between the toothpaste and the toothbrush in his mouth.

A smile formed on your lips “thank you,” you bit your lip as you tried to not let your cheeks turn pink.

His hands trailed up your legs before they wrapped around behind you to squeeze your ass “keep your hands to yourself mister,” you warned causing him to giggle as he raised his hands in surrender.

These cute moments in your bathroom weren’t usually a thing as you both had very different morning schedules and not to mention that Jamie didn’t live with you, he just had a lot of his clothes there “go spit and rinse,” you reminded him as you took the toothbrush out of his mouth.

He followed your request as he dried his face before he looked up to you with an over exaggerated grin “nice and shiny,” he spoke as you nodded before you motioned to him to go back to your bedroom.

Your walk back to your bed was short as you watched Jamie plop onto the mattress “oh my god you’re taking up the whole bed!” You complained with a laugh as you watched him sprawl out on his back “there’s space for you,” Jamie nodded to himself as he smiled.

You played your hands on your hips “where?” You waited for him to answer but instead you were met with his hands on your hips as he pulled you onto him “J!” You squealed as he wrapped his arms around you practically trapping your body on top of his.

The boy let out a giggle as he kissed your forehead “isn’t this nice,” he confessed causing you to look up at him “I have to go brush my teeth,” you reminded him as he groaned “nope,” Jamie shook his head sending you a grin in the process.

You furrowed your eyebrows “what do you mean no?” In all honesty you thought he was kidding “I love you and your smelly breath,” the hockey player confessed as it was now your turn to laugh.

You used to say that you were lucky he loved you.

But that made you think it was possibly the other way around tonight.

[runningfrom2am]

michigan cherry // part one

summary: walking into a saloon in a nowhere town, billy meets a singer who he just can't get off his mind after she slips through his fingers; onto another town, another show- following nothing but the stars in her path. until he sees her again. another nowhere town and equally dusty saloon, but this time, the band of kids who made up her family is nowhere to be found. he's running away from something, and she is storming full speed toward something else, and tangling into each other's lives may just get both of them exactly where they want to be.

pairing: william h. bonney x fem!reader

wc: 3.2k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: singer!reader (she’s giving very much lucy gray), probably a little bit ooc billy but hey i tried- anyway he’s a sweetheart, use of guns and violence, murder and violence but i try to keep it non-descript, oh also she’s an orphan sorry (once again, lucy gray vibes), strangers to friends to lovers trope eee

the song in this chapter is "Second Child, Restless Child" by The Oh Hellos !!

a/n: heyyyy part one here we are!! i was going to post requiem first BUT the second part of btk s2 came out today so i couldn't resist posting this first :) playlist will be up very soon too!! hope you guys enjoy!!

my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)

send me any and all of your thoughts! here!

series masterlist // pinterest board // playlist

It was muggy outside when Billy tied up his horse, and even hotter inside the saloon when he entered through its creaky swinging doors.

It was his current life as a bit of a lone wolf that brought him to this town he stumbled across by mistake, in search of a place to camp the night or ideally- a warm bed, but unsure if that was in the cards for him tonight, he decided to grab a drink instead.

He could hear the music before he saw the band, considering the whole town had apparently turned up to hear them play. Or, it was a Saturday night and no one had much of a better idea of what to do. He wasn't sure, until over the loud chatter and obnoxious shouts of men at the bar he could make out the sweet, damn close to angelic tones of the lead singer.

She was beyond anything he had ever seen, when he finally got a look at the owner of that beautiful voice, his blue eyes lit up in the dim light of the saloon. He flicked up the brim of his hat to get a better view as he leans back against the wall, absolutely mesmerized by the rapid pace at which the young woman's fingers strum over the strings of her guitar with expert precision.

"They saw trouble in my eyes, they were quick to recognize the devil in me."

With every word she sang, the smile he had to resist threatened to make itself seen. He could see the trouble in her eyes, even as they scanned the room- crinkled from the grin on her cheeks. It took Billy a few moments to even register that she wasn't the only one up on that old wooden stage- she wasn't the only one playing.

It surprised him even more when he tore his eyes off her to actually take notice of her band, that it was comprised almost entirely of children. Other than her and one boy behind her with light hair and hauntingly dark eyes who was dedicated well enough to his bass, none of the others seemed to be over fifteen.

A boy and a girl, who seemed to be just about the same age side by side playing little hip drums, and a blonde girl on a fiddle who appeared to be just a few years younger than the beautiful young woman taking up front and centre.

The smell of cigar smoke hits Billy's nose and brings him back to focus on where he was. He's not the only one watching this performance, as much as he felt the tunnel vision pulling him in on the girl with the skirt that spun almost as prettily as she did while she danced to her own music.

Completely lost in the song and the noises of the bar, she does a spin holding firm onto the guitar slung over her shoulder. Her hair flares out around her the same way her skirt does, and she has to steady herself as she stops, facing the old and abused microphone again to continue with the next verse.

"Can you hear it hanging on the wind? Can you feel it underneath your skin?"

Her eyes lock with Billy's as she looks around, the wide smile on her face hardly faltering even as his heart quits for a moment. She gives the man with striking blue eyes a small nod, not missing a beat of the song she was singing.

She was absolutely breathtaking to him. His eyes were stuck on every movement she made, every note she sang, and every word she uttered. He had seen pretty women before, but there was something about this girl that was different.

He couldn't help but notice how well she carried herself; with such confidence, and there was also a certain charm to her little nod as her eyes met his. The song and dance of the band were captivating, but his eyes were glued to her.

He raised up one eyebrow and gave her a little smile as he tilted his head curiously. Her voice somehow gave him a sense of home he hadn't felt since his ma passed. A sweet comfort he hadn't had in years.

He was being crazy, he knew as much- so he shakes his head of the feeling and peels himself off the wall to head over to the bar.

When the song was done, your chest was rising and falling heavily as you smile out at the crowd, waving to a few people before moving to set your well-loved guitar down.

"That's all we've got for y'all tonight. Thank you for listenin' to us take up your space tonight, but I sure hope at least a couple of y'all enjoyed it." You say into the mic with a smile, letting out a slight laugh as the crowd does with you.

"My name is Y/N and this is the Covey, and on behalf of all of us, have a good night! But not so good you don't make it home safe." You wink, signalling the end of our set and giving a quick bow to the crowd before stepping back to pack up.

Despite the shouts from saloon-goers and the usual sounds of the space echoing through, it seems quieter now to Billy without her beautiful voice, and he watches until her guitar case is closed and she passes it off the stage to her older bandmate who was helping collect the instruments.

As a matter of fact, he was staring into his whiskey and debating on whether or not he should even bother trying to talk to her when he's blessed by hearing her pretty voice again.

"Excuse me, miss!"

She's calling out to the busy bartender, leaning over the wood surface and resting her arm across it in front of her.

Now or never, Billy supposed.

"You've got quite the voice," He comments, voice rich and dripping with his unique mish-mash of accents- never having quite committed to one from moving around so much in his youth. "I'd wager you could melt even the coldest of hearts."

She turns her head to look at him, giving up attracting the attention of the barkeep. Up close, her eyes pull him in deeper.

"I'm Billy." He continues, extending a hand to her. It was out of character for him immediately- to offer up his name to someone he'd just met without them asking, but something about her made him unafraid to do so. Or... it was the unfamiliar jitters of nerves lowering his inhibitions.

A smile tugs at your lips as you quickly look him over, recognizing him as the man who had been leaning against the back wall while you were performing. You give his hand a quick and polite shake before responding.

"Y/N." You introduce yourself with a smile, despite having just done so on stage. "Was your heart cold 'til tonight then, Billy? Is that what I'm hearin'?"

"It was pretty cold." He admits, laughing. "But it seems like I've stumbled across just the fire to warm it up."

He looks you over again subtly, taking in how you still seem almost a little breathless from the performance you had just finished. It's interrupted by you laughing, shoulders shrugging as you adjust your top a bit, rolling up your sleeves.

"That's a good one, I must say." You giggle, shaking your head.

"Thanks, came up with it myself." Billy chuckles, mindlessly tapping at his almost empty glass. He figured he should at least come by it honestly if you were going to pick up on him so quick. "Tell me something, though. You're not from here, are ya? What brought you in? This isn't exactly the centre of the entertainment industry."

You look around at his final statement, nodding a bit in agreement. "Well, we're musicians by trade- travel about as we see fit. We're not really... city folks." You answer, looking back over your shoulder toward your band as they pack up and the kids play around on the stage.

"I hear that." Billy agrees, following your gaze. "Cities are too cramped for me."

"A bit of fresh air is good for the soul." You hum as you watch little Harvey and Josie chase each other around and behind the wooden stage and Max tries to wrangle them up. Business as usual.

Billy smiles as his eyes drift from the kids back over to you, letting your statement settle in before he spoke again. "Could I buy you a drink?"

You turn back to him again and nod, your smile returning in full. "I was waitin' for you to ask." You grin, waving again for the bartender who this time sees you and begins to make her way over.

He's a little shocked by your confidence in eagerly accepting a drink, but it just makes him more intrigued as he tilts his head at you. "Alright, then, darlin', what's your poison?" He asks, sliding over his glass and nodding to the woman running the bar for a refill of his whiskey.

"Water with a shot of warm honey aside, if ya got it." You smile to the bartender instead of answering Billy directly. "Please and thank you."

You had always had men offering to buy you drinks after your little shows, this wasn't anything new, but you always found a little bit of fun in seeing their subtle reactions to you ordering your water. Sometimes disappointment, occasionally even anger- but this Billy was the first one to ever smile.

"Well ain't you a fancy one." He chuckles, a small smirk on his face as his glass slides back to him over the countertop and he takes it with a nod of thank you to the woman behind the bar. "You one of those religious temperance girls?" He asks, purely out of curiosity.

Your nose scrunches up in response to the thought alone and you shake your head. "Nah." You take the cup of water and the shot glass full of warm honey from the bartender and thank her again quietly. "Just a girl who's overindulged herself one too many times."

Billy takes a sip of his whiskey and nods, watching curiously as you take the honey shot and lick the sweet liquid off your lips delicately.

In theory, that sounded so messy- but you handled it with such grace it honestly could have blown his mind. You must do that often.

"A bit of restraint never hurt anyone." He agrees, watching you dip your finger into what honey clung to the inside of the tiny cup and lick it off your finger before taking your first sip of water to rinse it down. "Hell, sometimes I could use more myself."

You shrug and let out a small laugh at his little joke, looking over at him again and smile as the sounds of the bar are swallowed by the invisible bell jar that seems to have engulfed you both.

"You, uh..." Billy speaks again after a moment, shaking his head a bit to clear his mind. "That song, you write it?"

"That I did." You smile proudly, nodding.

"Ah," He nods, spinning the glass on the counter in front of him. "So, I should ask, do you really have the devil in you?"

The reference to your lyrics makes you smile more and you shrug, taking another sip of your water. "I'd sure hope so." You tease. "I sold my soul to him in an even exchange for our music."

"So your voice is the devil's work, hey?" He laughed, sipping at his glass of whiskey once again.

He took a moment to study you, the way you wiped the inside of the shot glass clean with one delicate finger and licked it free of the stickiness. It drove him crazy just to look at you.

He leaned in a little closer as he continued. "Or are you saying that the whole you is the devil's work? Because I'd agree that you're certainly a little bit of trouble. As the song said, of course."

"That's certainly what I've heard." You giggle, shrugging softly as you put the empty shot glass down. "But I promise you I get into no trouble. We keep to ourselves, The Covey and me."

He smiled at you, the hint of mischief that danced in your eyes, that smile on your face sending chills up his spine.

"Well," He says, leaning in close to you, "You know what they say. The best things in life are dangerous. At least, I'm sure I've heard that somewhere." He chuckles a bit and it comes across with a hint of nervousness as he leans back away from you, not wanting to come across as too forward.

"Says the man with a gun on his hip and two in his coat." You say with a small smirk, nodding toward the inside of his jacket where he had hidden weapons.

He chuckled, admiring your perceptiveness.

There was an understanding about you, one that he was coming to enjoy. It was a quality that was hard to put his finger on.

All he knew was what he had at first glance; a gut instinct about you that screamed, "this will be worth it."

He took another sip of his whiskey, his eyes glued to your own. "You notice everything."

"Trick of the trade." You shrug, bringing your glass up to your lips again and not looking away from him either.

"What trade?" He asks with a slightly confused laugh. "Does singin' come along with a lot of gunfights or..?"

For the first time while interacting with men at these saloons all across the country, you laughed at one of their jokes. For the first time, it was genuine.

It even catches the ears of your band, who give each other confused but knowing looks as Billy's eyes light up with your laughter, knowing he prompted it to fall from your beautiful lips.

"I didn't take you for a funny one, Billy." You admit after a moment, still giggling as your hand comes up to cover your mouth.

"You've got a cute laugh," He said honestly, almost without realizing he'd said it out loud.

He sees your band mates in the corner of his eyes, watching the interaction unfolding before them, and smiled just a little more. He wanted the whole damn saloon to see that he was winning you over right in front of their eyes.

"I could have the worst laugh in the world and you'd still compliment it. You can't trust a man who's tryin' to charm your skirts off." You say, laugh devolving into giggles as you tip your glass toward him.

"Oh, and here I thought my intentions were genuine, and not just to get in your skirts," He said, laughing again. "Is that what you think I am, some kind of creepy bastard with ill intentions?"

You raise an eyebrow at him, surprised that when it's falling from his lips- you actually believe the denial.

"Men often lose themselves in pursuit of provisional pleasures." You comment, tilting your head at him. "It makes it hard to tell when once in a blue moon there's one who means what they say."

He was intrigued. Not necessarily by the comment itself, but more by the intelligence behind those pretty eyes of yours.

He was usually able to play these kinds of games easily, but you seemed to see right through them at every turn.

"Fair play." He says, giving you a nod of acknowledgement, "How do I know I'm the first man you've told that exact little poem to?"

"You just have to trust me." You say with a small smile. "If it helps, I wrote every word in those songs you heard earlier. I only speak when I have somethin' to say, and singin' is much of the same. You don't gotta believe me, but I'll tell you now it's not your wisest move to imply you don't think I'm smart enough to own the words I speak."

He couldn't deny that he had a weak spot for pretty, assertive women. But you were sweet, too, covered in it like the honey you just shot back a few minutes ago.

Those words, that tone, spoke volumes to him.

His lips curled up in a grin, and the tone of his voice took on a slightly more flirtatious edge. "I guess I should just count my lucky stars then. You don't happen to write songs about sweet talking men you meet in nowhere towns, do you?"

"Only about how they're venomous without the correct antidote on hand." You say, leaning against the counter and shifting your weight onto one hip.

He chuckles, his eyes glued on yours, not looking away.

God, he was in trouble.

The alcohol was making him cocky, but he couldn't help the way you made him feel. "And what if I came to you, hat in hand, asking for a cure? Begging you for a cure, because I'd been bitten by this sweet speaking cowgirl who's left me weak at the knees?"

"I'd tell you the nearest damn thing to anti-venom is just to run." You advise him, taking another drink before putting the glass down and sliding it across the bar. "And you'll find the real thing in the next dead end town you call a home, and then the cycle begins again."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Damn it, she had him. He couldn't even argue with that one.

He wanted to kiss her so bad right now, respectfully, of course, but he knew he should wait for some kind of signal from her. So instead he played it cool, grinning back at her.

"Okay, okay. What if," He said, watching with a smile as you raised an eyebrow at him over the edge of your glass, waiting for him to continue while you polished off your water. "And I'm just saying hypothetical here, theoretically, if he promised to stay in that next dinky ass town for a month just to see the woman he fell for again?"

"Then that would make you a fool." You answer. "Theoretically, of course." You add with a wink, standing up straight again.

You wanted to stay, to talk until last call and learn all his secrets- but you knew better than to fall for it all.

"Well, it sure was nice to meet you, Billy."

His heart drops at the words and he sighs, his expression softening as he saw you standing up from the bar.

He should keep it casual, he reminded himself. Be nice. Don't mess this up.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, darlin'." He stood up again slowly, his eyes lingering on yours for a few seconds, before he spoke again. "I hope we run into each other again, if only for a moment. Take care of yourself, Miss..."

"I don't doubt we will." You smile, giving him a small punctuating bow as your bandmates wave you back over.

You glance back at him over your shoulder as you walk away, giving him one of your winning smiles before picking up your guitar case and following your friends out the back door.

Billy stood there in the saloon for a few moments, watching you go with a wistful, almost regretful look on his face.

There was something about you that made him want to do stupid things.

"Run after her," his other half shouted. "I don't care if you look like a damn fool."

But he just stood there, like a damn fool, until he finally shook his head and muttered to himself. "Damn it."

no taglist this time around!! my fics usually get over a hundred requests to be added to the taglist so instead i made a library! follow me over on @runningfrom2am-library and turn on notifs to get updates when i post new parts!!

[the-west-meadow]

Normal People

Lukas Matsson x (fem)Reader, Roman Roy x (fem)Reader

word count: 3k - read on Ao3 here!

NFSW: 18+ ONLY

You first met him at Kendall’s birthday party.

Roman was being obnoxious. All he could talk about was finding Lukas Matsson. He and Shiv were relentless in their pursuit of the man. It was all business, no pleasure tonight. So while Roman and Shiv stood with their heads together, compulsively sipping vodka tonics, you slipped away unnoticed to try and have some fun before the night was over.

You found your way upstairs, where for some inexplicable reason Kendall had built a replica of his childhood treehouse. The inside was bustling with people yet the two buff men outside wouldn’t let you enter without an armband. Dejected, you started to turn away, when you heard Kendall’s voice from above.

“Hey! Let her through, she’s cool!”

He was pointing right at you with a grin. The guards moved aside, letting you in.

Upstairs, Kendall greeted you with a hug.

“Nice treehouse,” you said.

“Thanks. It’s pretty infantile, right? Sort of the vibe I was going for.”

“Definitely. You nailed it.”

“Hey, I need a favor while you’re here. See that guy over there?”

He nodded over his shoulder to a tall blonde Scandinavian-looking man slouching alone in a plush leather chair.

“Who is that?”

“That’s Lukas Matsson. He’s pretty disgruntled and I need someone to keep him from wandering. I can’t do it anymore, I need to mingle. Also, Roman cannot know he’s here.”

“Roman’s entire purpose in life tonight is to find that guy.”

“Please don’t tell him he’s here. I’ll owe you one. Seriously.

“Don’t worry. Roman’s driving me fucking crazy at the moment.”

“Amazing. You’re amazing. Let me get you a drink and I’ll introduce you.”

Kendall stepped away. You glanced curiously in Lukas’s direction. He glanced up from his phone, met your eyes, and did a double take. He stared at you for a long moment across the room.

Kendall returned with your drink, breaking your gaze.

“Let’s go. You’re about to meet one of the weirdest rich guys out there.”

Drinks in hand, you approached the man. He kept his eyes fixed on yours.

“Yo, Lukas. Meet my good friend Y/N. I promise she’s not going to network you to death.”

Kendall clapped him on the shoulder.

“You guys have fun.”

You thought you saw Kendall wink, but it was too quick, and then he was gone.

“Kendall thinks I need a babysitter tonight,” Lukas said. “Too many sharks in the water.”

“Thankfully I don’t have any interest in what Kendall and his family does. I’m just along for the ride.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a writer.”

“What do you write?”

“Words, mostly.”

Lukas cracked the smallest grin.

“Is that, like, meaningful for you?” he asked.

“I don’t really care if it has meaning or not. Mostly it keeps me entertained.”

“Cheers to that.”

He raised his beer bottle and clinked it against your glass of gin and tonic.

“So you know all of the Roy siblings?” Lukas said.

“Too well.”

“Which one’s your favorite?”

“Do I have to have a favorite?”

“It’ll say a lot about you. I’m still figuring out who I’m talking to here.”

You considered briefly.

“I think I relate to Kendall the most.”

“Daddy issues?”

You laughed. “I’m not going there. But if I had to pick a favorite… Roman is the most fun to be around.”

“So you like fun.”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t relate to what most people think of as fun.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Partying. Getting drunk. Rollercoasters.”

You burst out laughing.

“What?” he said.

“Rollercoasters?”

“People find them fun, right? You tell me. What’s fun to you?”

“Not rollercoasters.”

Lukas considered you with a curious, calculating look.

“I’m starting to think you’re not a normal person,” he said.

“I could tell you weren’t normal the second I looked over here.”

You gave him a sly smile. He set his beer down and folded his hands in his lap.

“I’ve got to get out of this treehouse,” he said.

“You don’t think the treehouse is fun?”

“I’d like to find out what your idea of fun is. You still haven’t told me.”

You gazed at him for a long moment. Then you heard an all-too-familiar voice over your shoulder.

“There you are. Both of you.”

Roman was leaning over you with his hands on the back of your chair.

“This is a weird pairing. What are you guys even talking about?”

“Rollercoasters,” Lukas said.

You smiled, catching his eye once more before you stood.

“I’ll let you guys talk.”

“I’ll see you later, though, yeah?” Roman called. You glanced at Lukas, who had put everything together in an instant.

“If you can find me,” you said as you left.

When you glanced back over your shoulder, Lukas was staring at his phone again and Roman was sitting cross-legged in your chair, trying unsuccessfully to get his attention.

Not long after, you found yourself in Italy, lying poolside beneath the mild northern sun. Eyes closed, you felt a shadow pass over your vision and cracked your eyes open. Roman sat in the neighboring beach chair, squinting in the light.

“I forgot how much I hated the sun.”

He leaned back uncomfortably in the chair.

“So, I have a mission for you. For both of us.”

“What?”

“Guess who lives right across the lake.”

“Who? Stop making me ask questions.”

“Our old buddy Lukas Matsson.”

Your heart skipped a beat.

“Who?”

Roman grinned.

“You know who. You’re literally blushing.”

“It’s the sun.”

“I know you’ve been wondering how big his dick is.”

“Roman, what the fuck?”

“Hey, it’s fine. I mean, you still haven’t seen mine. It’s only healthy to think about other men’s dicks every now and then.”

“Jesus…”

“Look, seriously. I need your help. I have to convince him to make this deal. But I don’t think he likes me all that much. If you’re there, maybe he’ll perk up enough to listen to me. I mean, the man’s practically comatose.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I need you to get him a little hard, metaphorically speaking. He’ll want to show off his big dick in front of you by making this deal.”

“Stop saying ‘dick’. This is sounding really fucking weird.”

“Like I’m trying to whore you out to him?”

“Yeah. Exactly that.”

“Come on. You don’t have to do anything. Unless, you know, you want to.”

He wiggled his eyebrows. You gave a sigh.

“When are you leaving?”

“Soon. Now, actually. Can you put some clothes on? The bikini might be overkill.”

“God dammit, Roman.”

You stood up and grabbed the towel from the back of your chair. He grabbed your hand gently.

“Hey.”

You paused, gazing down at him, the quirky smile flashing, eyes obscured behind his dark sunglasses.

“You’re my secret weapon.”

You were on the boat less than half an hour later, speeding across Lake Como in the warm air.

“That’s his place,” Roman said, indicating the approaching villa. Tall cypress trees swayed in the lake breeze, revealing a stuccoed exterior and red tile roof. A hidden paradise nestled at the foot of the Alps.

“You’re shitting me.”

Roman grinned.

Lukas was waiting for you on the dock. He was barefoot, in a black t-shirt and white linen pants. His dark blue eyes glinted in the light reflecting off the lake.

Roman disembarked first, turning to lend you a hand. You felt Lukas watching the two of you.

"There you are, you tall motherfucker," Roman said, stepping forward to greet him. He shook Roman’s hand, then turned his gaze to you.

“You remember Y/N, right?” Roman said. “I think I interrupted your little party in the treehouse.”

“So you two are together?”

“Well, we haven’t fucked yet if that’s what you mean,” Roman said.

Lukas glanced at you. You rolled your eyes discreetly.

“I feel like I shouldn’t ask,” Lukas said.

“Oh, it’s all me. Not her fault.”

Lukas led the two of you to a patio shaded from the sun. His property was quiet, beautiful, secluded. It was strange to imagine him padding around the villa in his bare feet, alone. He reclined on a wicker sofa while you took a seat nearby.

Roman was looking at his phone, suddenly serious.

“What is it?” you said.

“I gotta take this. Sorry, guys.”

He stepped away, leaving you alone with Lukas. He reclined on a beige sofa, glancing at you with his hands folded in his lap.

“I was wondering if I’d see you again,” he said. “Where did we leave off?”

“I don’t remember. It was a long night.”

“When you said Roman was your favorite, I didn’t realize why.”

“It’s pretty complicated.”

“Sounds like it.” Lukas paused. “You guys really haven’t fucked?”

“It’s just… not like that. I know it sounds weird.”

“How long have you been together?”

“About a year.”

He let out a low whistle.

“So does that mean… I mean, are you guys exclusive?”

“So far. Yeah.”

You gazed at each other silently. Roman returned, phone in hand.

“Hey guys, I gotta run. But I’ll be back. Is it cool if she stays?”

“It’s fine,” Lukas said. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just family stuff. Kendall,” he added, glancing at you.

You nodded, unable to tell if he was bluffing or not.

“Try not to talk business without me,” Roman said. He turned and jogged back towards the dock. You heard the boat engine start as he sped off across the lake.

“Fun,” Lukas said.

You looked at him in confusion.

“We were talking about fun.”

He was gazing at you, broad shoulders in the dappled sunlight, his eyes calm.

“Do you want to see the rest of the house?”

You followed him inside, bare feet on the cool terracotta floor, a warm breeze moving through the open rooms. The villa was exquisitely decorated, a blend of modern art and traditional Italian motifs. Green and gold curtains, plush beige sofas, a gleaming oak dining table.

“You live alone?”

“Yeah. To be honest, I don’t like living with other people.”

“I know what you mean.”

“You and Roman don’t live together?

“Let’s stop talking about Roman.”

You paused in the doorway of a bedroom that opened onto a patio overlooking the lake. The sheer curtains lifted in the breeze. You felt Lukas glance at you.

“The downstairs is all for show. I live upstairs. Do you want to see?”

The upstairs was a loft with exposed beams and skylights. In contrast to the overblown downstairs decoration, everything here was black, white, grey. This was where Lukas’s preference for Scandinavian minimalism became apparent. He was so tall that he had to stoop in certain places. You peered into his office, sparsely decorated with a wooden desk, MacBook and high-end stereo system.

“This is where I get my thinking done. I really don’t like having visitors in general. Present company excepted.”

His bedroom was adjacent to the office. Again you lingered in the doorway, hesitant to enter his private quarters. He leaned on the doorframe across from you and folded his arms. He looked straight at you.

“So,” he said.

“So...?”

“Kendall’s birthday party. I had every intention of inviting you back to my room.”

“Roman ruined your plans, huh?”

“Pretty much. But then he brought you here.”

You went silent, gazing back at him. The blonde stubble, heavy brow, hard blue eyes. Something in him both frightening and compelling. Impenetrable but vulnerable. He was tan from the summer sun, calm and cool. He seemed curious to see what your next move would be. And he was willing to wait you out.

You meandered into the bedroom, glancing around at his possessions. A shelf full of books: classics, modern novels, books on tech. A stray pair of headphones. A solitary person’s existence.

He followed you in, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. You turned around to face him.

“Roman brought me here to help make the deal for his dad,” you said.

“I know that. I don’t care. I’ve already made my decision.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

You stepped up to him, feet nearly touching. He watched you with the faint smile of someone who has been alone for a long time observing a newcomer in their space.

“Let’s not fuck around any longer,” he whispered.

Almost before he had finished speaking, you leaned down to kiss him. He kissed you back, long, deep kisses, like he had missed you intensely in your brief, inexplicable absence from his life. His hands slid up your back. You sank onto his lap, straddling him as his hands moved lower, exploring your unfamiliar form.

You ran your hands through his hair, along the back of his neck, across his broad shoulders. You slid your hands beneath the sleeves of his t-shirt, feeling his toned arms. You kissed his neck, the sound of his rasping breath in your ear.

“Did you think of me at all?” he whispered.

“I couldn’t stop,” you breathed.

You felt a throb as he grew harder beneath you. You pushed him back onto the bed and ground against him as he swiftly unbuttoned your shirt then shed his own. He pulled you down against him, kissing your neck, your shoulders, his stubble brushing your skin.

“You really haven’t been fucked in a year?”

You shook your head, gasping at his touch, unable to speak.

“Time to change that.”

He deftly changed positions with you, so that you were lying half-dressed beneath him. Now you had a full view of him, his bare torso, ruffled blonde hair, the intensity in his eyes. He unzipped his pants and slid out of them.

“Oh my god,” you said, unable to stop yourself. Lukas grinned, breathless.

“What?”

“You’re fucking huge.”

He tugged your pants off, gripping his cock, and without any further delay, slid swiftly into you.

You let out a long, vocal moan. It had been too long. Everything in you had been aching for him. He watched your every reaction, the slight grin on his face, his eyes glittering. You bucked against him, running your hands over his lean body as he slowly, firmly pounded into you. You gripped his forearm for dear life.

“Fuck, Lukas”

“Yeah? Is that good?”

You groaned in response as he leaned into you, his hot, sticky skin against yours, running along the length of your body with his bulk. He gripped your wrists, pinning you lightly as he pulsed in and out of you. You sank your teeth into the muscle of his shoulder, and he held you down harder.

“You feel like you want to come,” he murmured.

“Mmhmm.”

“You’re so fucking wet.”

You dug your fingers into his back, feeling your entire body tense up.

“It’s been so long. You’re ready to fucking burst.”

He slid his thumb into your mouth and you bit down on it. There were starbursts behind your eyes. His voice in your ear.

“There you go. Let me hear you. I want to hear you.”

That was it. You let go, back arched, thighs tensed, warmth spreading across your body as you let out a half-moan, half-scream. You heard Lukas groan and stiffen, his hand twined in your hair.

You stayed like that for a long moment, breathing into each other’s mouths. Finally he rolled off of you, shining with a light cover of sweat. You lay side by side, recovering.

“Fuck,” you whimpered.

“Is that what you wanted?”

“Fuck yes.”

You felt his fingers brush along your forearm. He was gazing at you from his pillow.

“You can come closer. If you want.”

You gladly complied, feeling his arm encircle you as you found a place against his chest. Your eyes traced his unfamiliar body. A tuft of blonde chest hair, a scar below his ribcage, a small birthmark near the belly button. But you didn’t touch him further. This was still new, the boundaries not yet established. Perhaps Lukas didn’t want to be touched in a tender, loving way. Perhaps you didn’t either.

“I wish we had more time,” he murmured. “There’s a lot more I want to do with you.”

“I was very pent-up,” you said, half-apologizing.

“No, it’s fine. It’s good when it’s fast sometimes. Plus I’m not great at seductive gestures.”

“This is only the second time we've met and you made me come. That just doesn’t happen.”

He gave a slight laugh, a low sound deep in his chest. He stroked your shoulder with his thumb briefly.

“I mean I’m not a normal person. Some things people want from me, I just can’t give them.”

“You’re talking to someone who’s been dating Roman Roy for a year and a half. I go without a lot of things.”

You gazed down his body, his skin soft and tan in the natural light.

“Plus, there’s probably a lot I can’t give you,” you murmured. “Remember, I’m not normal either.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want normal. I get bored easily.”

From the open window, you could hear the sound of the lake lapping against the shore. Then, growing in the distance, the high whine of a motor.

“Well,” said Lukas with a note of finality.

“What do we do?”

He turned on his side, looking straight at you again with that penetrating gaze.

“I think we need to see each other again,” he said.

“Okay.”

Without another word, he sat up, sliding into his pants. You savored the sight of his torso as he pulled on his shirt. You dressed quickly then met him in the doorway, where you paused. He brushed a strand of hair behind your ear, then leaned down and kissed you once, warm and deep. He held your eyes for a long moment. He looked like he was about to say something, but instead he smiled slightly to himself and started down the stairs. You followed, eyes lingering on the back of his neck, his shoulders.

Roman met you on the green lawn. His hair and clothes were windblown and disheveled but he was grinning.

“Hey kids. Have fun without me?”

“Just showing her around the property.”

“I bet you did. Hey, I know it was shitty for me to run out like that, so if you want to talk about the deal another time, we’ll get out of your hair.”

“We don’t need to talk about it. I want to do it.”

Roman raised his eyebrows. “Well, shit. Are you sure, man?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. I’m sure.”

Roman grabbed his hand and shook it with a grin. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”

“I guess we will.”

Lukas’s eyes flashed in your direction. You smiled slightly and looked away.

On the boat ride back, Roman was strangely silent. He had a secretive grin on his face and his eyes were obscured behind his dark glasses. Then he unexpectedly turned to you, grabbed your face between his hands, and kissed you on the mouth.

“It worked. It fucking worked.”

He held your hand the rest of the way back to his mother’s villa. It was the first time in a year and a half of dating that he had done so.

[viviennevermillion]

we just now got the feeling that we're meeting for the first time

note: loosely based on the vibes of the song for the first time by the script. starts with an argument. reader and leona both are pretty harsh here but they'll get there eventually. ♡ this took me two days and idk what possessed me but I really like how this fic turned out and I appreciate comments or asks about it. ♡

contains: leona kingscholar x gn!reader, relationship development, angst to fluff, fighting and making up, bonding experiences

word count: 7.6k words

warnings: argument, leona's crippling depression, some hurtful things have been said

dark content creators & consumers do not interact

It was the middle of the winter holidays and Night Raven College was probably as quiet as it could be. You had left behind the festivities of late December and for now you decided to take some time to focus on yourself and rest up before school would resume in about a week. On a particularly cold Friday evening you had made yourself some pasta for dinner and laid down in bed after putting away the dishes. The night sky was clearer tonight than it had been for a while and your room was lit up only by the stars and the dim light of the magical ignis fatuus lamp on your nightstand. You took out your phone and checked the messages your friends had left you; keeping you updated on the presents they had received and the activities they engaged in during their well-deserved vacation. 

You didn’t know if it was just a whim or the fact that you may or may not have missed a certain someone…but you eventually decided to reach out to Leona to check up on him. You remembered how annoyed he had sounded when you saw him leave for his homeland through the dark mirror. It was no secret that the second prince of Sunset Savannah was anything but keen on going back to the palace over the winter holidays. His abrasive behavior was quite off-putting sometimes and you had to admit it made you hesitate sometimes to reach out to him even though you wanted to. You were long past the point of considering Leona your friend. His perspective on the matter, however? A mystery to you. 

It could just be that you were a nuisance to him. That he didn’t necessarily dislike you but rather had you minding your own business instead. Or maybe that was just the way he was. You found him hard to read sometimes; never knowing whether a question would get you a snarky comment or a calm and serious answer. Leona was more than capable of both. Still, especially after his overblot and having seen a glimpse of how he was feeling inside, you had decided to push your pride away for a while and put some effort into being his friend; even if he had a tendency to push everyone away. You presumed it was because at least, if he pushed people away, he was the one who’d have the last word. He could retain the reputation of someone who simply didn’t care, rather than risking to be seen as someone who just wasn’t wanted. You didn’t know how much Leona was aware of the extent of his feelings that he divulged while in an overblotted state. It was probably best if he remained largely unaware. 

Still, you decided to shoot him a quick “Hey, how are you doing?” over your messaging service. Leona didn’t seem very busy at the moment, as his answer came not soon after. “Oi, herbivore, what do you want?”, he texted back. 

“Just wanted to know how you’re enjoying your winter holidays so far. I haven’t heard from you in a while. Thought I’d text you so close to the new year to check how you’re doing. You didn’t seem too pleased to go back to the palace after all”, you replied. Leona shifted his position on his bed, staring at the words on his phone for a while. His expression darkened a little. The fuck did it matter to you how he was doing? 

It wasn’t particularly well, that was for sure, but you didn’t have to know that. However, Leona didn’t really feel like talking at all. Contrary to how easily he could try to sleep away his problems for a while when he was at Night Raven College, they seemed to always catch up to him when he was back home. He hadn’t slept in 48 hours; not since the annoying political gathering Farena had dragged him to on Wednesday. His days consisted of laying in bed and trying to avoid his brother’s nagging and Cheka’s attempts at playing games with him as best as he could; trying to get some sleep but consistently failing to. He let out a bitter laugh, wondering what Ruggie would think if he saw him like this. The hyena beastman had tried multiple times to get him out of bed after Leona had slept for more than 10 hours and failed miserably. And now Leona couldn’t even take a nap for a couple of hours. 

“Yeah, it sucks, dunno if that’s the answer you expected”, Leona typed and ran a hand through his dark hair, slumping back into the pillow and holding the phone above his face, “there’s nothin’ to do here except fancy crap and arguing with my brother, the beloved king. Only good thing is my personal chefs; their food is fantastic as usual.” Leona held his head in pain, the headache from the sleep deprivation getting to him more and more. He turned the brightness of the phone down and reached for another painkiller on the nightstand, downing the medication with a glass of water. 

You had no idea of the beastman’s predicament; comfortably resting under the covers of your own bed. “Let me guess, you’re eating nothing but meat again?”, you chuckled and clicked on ‘send’. 

“Heh. The chef told me I need to eat more greens. I told ‘em I’d rather starve than touch some leaves and eat like a herbivore.”

You rolled your eyes. He always had such an attitude. The poor chefs were probably just doing their best to keep their prince healthy. “Classic Leona”, you replied with a chuckle, “do you plan on handing your essays in after the holidays this time? We don’t want you to repeat another year.” You remembered how Ruggie had teased him that if he didn’t pass his finals again, they’d be in the same class from next year on. Leona furrowed his brows and rolled his eyes. As if he didn’t have other things to worry about than schoolwork at the moment. What idiot even came up with the idea of giving students homework over the holidays?

“You sound like Farena”, you got your next answer, “‘You need to pass this class’, ‘You need to get better grades’, ‘What are the citizens gonna say if Prince Leona can’t even graduate from school?’ Gimme a break. Ugh. Can’t a guy take a vacation? I don’t wanna worry about stupid essays now.”

You sighed. “You’ve pretty much taken a vacation since the school year began…you’re hardly attending classes because you’re always nappin’ somewhere in the greenhouse”, you turned on the light of your room, knowing this conversation was likely not taking a pleasant turn anytime soon, “I’m sorry I remind you of your brother. But I’m not saying this to pester you. If I didn’t give a shit about you, I’d have long since ignored you.” It was true. You hardly would have bothered with him if he hadn’t grown on you overtime. And if it weren’t for the feelings you secretly harbored for him; getting stronger with every passing day. Most people would have probably advised you against falling for Leona. But it was not like that was something you could control. Sometimes you felt like it wasn’t a good idea at all to keep trying to stick around when he wasn’t willing to let you in. But there were moments where Leona was one of the most pleasant people to be around; regardless of how much your classmates would have raised their eyebrows at you for admitting that. He was calm, honest and all the shallow things people around you were obsessing over, Leona was hardly interested in. His demeanor was refreshing sometimes and his jokes were funny. But on other occasions he just had to be so difficult. The worst part was that you knew he could do better. But on most days he wasn’t even willing to try.

Meanwhile Leona wondered what your reason was for reaching out to him if you were just going to lecture him anyway like everyone else did. Why didn’t you just let him mind his business and leave him alone? It wasn’t that Leona was annoyed with your presence. He too felt quite comfortable around you most of the time. But you had the same criticisms for him as everyone else did. And even though he knew deep down you were right; he just kept standing in his own way. It was frustrating sometimes, but he hardly had the energy to do the 180° turn others expected from him. He felt inadequate. Especially for you. What was he expecting from you anyway? That you’d love him and choose him over everyone else you knew? All the people who were responsible and had their lives figured out? So for the sake of his pride he did the one thing he knew best how to do: Keep pushing you away. 

“Fineee, I’ll turn in my essay. I’ll go to class. I’ll even go find some herbivore friends just to humor ya”, he shut you down and it was evident from his phrasing that he was hardly serious, “now shut up and let me go back to sleep for a bit, eh?” He ignored the twinge of guilt in his heart for being so rude to you; who had been nothing but kind to him since the year started. What did he care for anyway? He felt like his emotions were getting the better of him; all the frustration and anger and hopelessness of the past few days creeping into his mind like a shadow that was taking hold of him. He reached for the lamp on the nightstand; knowing full-well he probably wouldn’t be able to take the nap he told you he’d take under these conditions; knocking the glass of water to the floor in the process. “Ah shit”, he groaned, sinking back into the bedsheets. He supposed he could clean that up tomorrow. Or get one of the staff members to do it for him. He just hoped Farena wouldn’t lecture him about it. That’s how far you’ve come, huh? Don’t even have the energy to pick some glass shards up. Pathetic. 

He tried to push down that voice inside him as best as he could, putting his phone aside and burying his face in his pillow to muffle the quiet sobs that he couldn’t stop from escaping him. Though he doubted anyone would hear them anyway. There was another small gathering in the garden below his window and he could hear the upbeat music and some of the chatter from the guests. At least his attendance wasn’t required for today’s event. Leona hated crying. He hated how vulnerable and weak it made him feel. He’d much rather lie to himself and convince himself that he really didn’t give a damn and just enjoyed being lazy and provoking the people around him. In those moments, somewhere deep inside his heart, Leona wished for someone to be there for him. But it wasn’t like anyone out there cared; they were busy with their small garden party to honor his homeland’s coexistence with nature. And you? You had reached out to him and asked him how he was and Leona just couldn’t have given you a normal answer. Instead, he just pushed you away to guarantee that you’d probably stop caring about him too. Your newest message confirmed his suspicions, reading: “Fine. Whatever.”

You were tired of the constant back and forth. You had reached out to him with good intentions and care and this was what you got in return. Maybe it truly was time to leave Leona Kingscholar behind for good and make sure you wouldn’t have to deal with interactions like these on a peaceful night. This was exactly why you had hesitated to text him anything. But instead of taking his nap, Leona replied back. You had the feeling he wouldn’t do that if he had no interest in talking to you whatsoever.

“You really gotta learn to lighten up a little. Not everything’s all serious, ya know? Sometimes a nap is just a nap”, he tried to de-escalate the anger he caused with his previous messages; attempting to play it off as just his usual demeanor and nothing personal. What he didn’t get at the moment was how much that played down your own feelings and words. 

You rolled your eyes, debating whether you should just log off and leave him to his own thoughts. Maybe that was for the better. You sighed. “You didn’t have to start it with ‘shut up’”, you answered, just hoping anything you said wouldn’t make things even worse. 

Leona had gotten up from the bed and sat down near the window, gazing out onto the garden; wishing anyone at that gathering would actually care about his thoughts regarding the development of his homeland. The cheerful laugh he could hear from Farena and his guests filled him with a sense of anger so strong that it hurt nobody but himself. He felt stressed; just wanted to finally go to sleep and actually manage to drift off into the land of dreams. But life seemed to have other plans for him. He had gotten himself into a fight with you, one of the only people who seemed to genuinely care about his feelings; the royal court was just proceeding with their schedule as if he was nothing but a ghost sometimes lingering at them and he knew he had to do the damn essays if he wanted to pass this time. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I should’ve said something more polite like ‘I’m trying to get some shut-eye here, would you kindly shut up so I can rest peacefully?’ or perhaps ‘Excuse me but I have some slumber to catch up on, would you please cease talking so I can focus on that?’ Better?”, Leona snapped, his expression darkening.

His rude behavior and disrespectful reaction to you just trying to be nice to him frustrated you. So much so, that you waved the idea of being polite and holding back your thoughts about the matter a friendly goodbye. If it’s a fight he wanted, he can have one, you thought with a bitter mood. So you replied something you knew you probably should not have said.

“And this is why people don’t put you first.”

Your words stung. You hit him right where it hurt and both of you knew that. The crying that had stopped, resumed again as tears ran down Leona’s cheeks. He knew he got himself into this mess but admitting that seemed like the hardest thing for him right now. Not with how angry you had made him over the past 30 minutes.

“Because I’m sarcastic? Wow. Really settin’ the bar high there. Not everyone needs to be a happy-go-lucky sunshine boy, ya know?”, Leona replied with a spiteful feeling in his chest, “maybe I just express myself differently. What do you care ‘bout it?”

Okay, we’re really doing this, are we? You took a deep breath and shook your head. 

“The problem is that you’re rude as fuck and then you’re complaining about only ever being the second choice. Yeah, sure, it sucks for you that you can’t be king or win the Magift tournament against Malleus; I get that; but everything else is your own doing”, you reached a point where you weren’t holding back your thoughts anymore, “you’re literally not even letting people be nice to you. That’s like, the bare minimum. I’ve been trying to be your friend for the whole school year and sometimes you’re really pleasant to be around but other times you’re just taking your bad moods out on people who care about you and I’m tired of it. I tried. I really did. But you push everyone away and then you go sulk in your bed about how no one understands you.”

“I don’t need you to care about me”, a lie and a pretty damn pathetic one; Leona knew that. But he was in the wrong headspace at the wrong time and on top of everything else, he was panicking because he felt like you were close to abandoning him. And this time it would be his own fault. 

“Goodbye Leona. See you in school, I guess.”

Leona frantically started typing again; not feeling like he’d be able to tolerate the silence. To just be left alone with his thoughts again. To have lost you.

“Fine, fine. I’ll be there. I’ll be the best prince ever. Good, hardworking, loyal, reliable…then everyone will love me, huh?”, he let out a bitter laugh, clutching the pillow he was holding, “is that what you wanted?”

His response was as sarcastic as ever but he was in luck that you were not one to just let him put words into your mouth. 

“No”, you texted back, having calmed down a little and gotten yourself a tea, “I just want you to at least be respectful towards the people who care about you and not lash out at us like this. That’s literally all I ask for. Ruggie and I stuck around even through your stupid overblot and all your depressive episodes where you locked yourself in your room and slept for 14 hours as if that’s gonna solve anything.”

Under normal circumstances, Leona would have been a lot more careful with his words. He was hardly one to even remotely talk about his feelings; always keeping them to himself to make sure no one had anything they could use against him. But the sleep-deprivation, emotional distress and headache put him in a state of mind where he was a lot more honest and open than he intended to be.

“Oh? It must be a real burden on you that I’m not just one of those happy, energetic herbivores, huh? If I was nice and polite; if I just did what I was told, everything would be fine, wouldn’t it?”, he could hardly even still see the screen as his vision got too blurry, “then you wouldn’t have to be burdened with being nice to someone like me….someone who can’t even smile genuinely. Someone like me should just disappear, right?”

As soon as he sent that, he wanted to take it back. This was too much. More than he ever wanted to let you know. He had given you a glimpse into his heart and he was certain that this had been a grave mistake. And simultaneously it made you realize what was really going on here.

Oh god, he’s not doing well at all…shit. You realized Leona hadn’t reacted this way towards you because he hated your presence or saw you as an annoyance…this was his own self-doubt talking and he obviously was not okay right now. You saw that now. 

“Leona…that’s not what I’m saying at all…did something happen at the palace? You’re a bit of an asshole sometimes, but it’s usually never this bad…you okay?”, you messaged him and Leona let out a bitter laugh. Even through all this…even after how rude he had been to you and how hard he had tried to push you away, your first response to his accidental self-deprecating talk in the heat of the moment was to worry about him. You deserve better…, he thought.

“Listen, I don’t expect you to smile or be happy all the time or do what you’re told”, you continued, “and I’m sorry you feel the way you do. I understand and I respect your feelings. You don’t have to be all smiles and super friendly to everyone or fulfill anyone’s expectations. Just don’t let your anger and frustrations out on your friends. Hell, i don’t know, rant to us about how much life sucks or whatever; maybe we’ll end up with a bitter joke about it or something….anything’s better than this.”

He had to admit that…did sound more pleasant. You weren’t done yet.

“I’ll be there even if you’re not feeling well. Even if that lasts weeks or months at a time. But if you don’t give me the basic respect and kindness a friend deserves, then I’m out”, you added, “and I’d never want you to disappear, Leona. That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”

Leona remained silent for a moment. Minutes passed by and you were wondering whether he’d even reply at all. It had started to rain outside and for whatever reason the thunder seemed to calm you down. You put your phone aside and tried to distract yourself by reading a book you grabbed from the school library. After a while, you heard the notification sound of your phone again. You checked the display to see a new message from Leona.

“...heh. You really got me down to a t, didn’t ya?”, it read, “Sorry if I hurt your feelings. I didn’t mean to. I’m just tired. Tired of all the things I have to do, tired of always being second pick, tired of being angry. I guess I took it out on you and that was wrong. I apologize for my rudeness.”

You knew it took a lot for Leona to ever apologize for anything. He had decided to swallow his pride for the sake of fixing the mess he made. You were exhausted from the fight and this was the first time you had heard him apologize to you for being rude. It had never been this bad before; but Leona could be quite dismissive on a regular basis. You had more to say but it was probably best for you to indulge him for now and let him rest and calm down. 

“Thank you. Wanna talk about what happened?”, you asked.

Leona hesitated for a moment. He remembered the gathering two days ago. Farena had pressured him into attending; saying the whole royal family was expected to be there. So Leona had begrudgingly put on the tight, fancy clothing and sat at the dinner table with dozens of politicians and investors. He heard them talk to his older brother and the queen about the current status quo in Sunset Savannah; even acknowledging Cheka as the heir to the throne. But Leona? Leona was meant to sit there for the whole evening and look pretty. Farena shot him a glare when he attempted to take out his phone to distract himself; as it was not proper etiquette for a prince. 

Leona couldn’t remember anyone but his own family members having attempted to talk to him that night. No one had cared about his opinions or the fact that he was even there. For all the talk about how crucial it was that the whole royal family attended, Leona sure felt like an extra at the event. There were many investors who were advocating for a better infrastructure and to develop more parts of the country aside from the capital; making use of its natural resources to achieve a bigger state of welfare. Leona had many thoughts on the matter. He had visions and ideas on how to make them happen. He did care. But it didn’t matter what the loathed second prince said about any of this. Farena would probably scold him for trying to butt into the official state affairs. Not that it mattered whether he said anything or not. His brother’s opinions and his own differed greatly; that much he knew. He’d never listen to any ideas Leona brought to the table. He had tried often enough.

So all Leona did was sit there and listen. Not saying a word; just holding his tongue when he had so many thoughts wanting to be said. He listened to everyone else; let everything happen whether he agreed with their decisions or not. Eventually he just blended the voices out, concentrating solely on trying to keep his act together when his facade was threatening to crack because it occurred to him just how much he didn’t matter. Cheka had tried to climb onto his uncle’s lap and show him a bracelet he crafted, expecting a response from Leona. He knew he had to react somehow. He couldn’t just ignore when someone was talking to him; especially not with so many people right next to him. But he feared, were he to say something now, his voice would crack and he’d break.

So he took all his strength to keep it together, gently placed Cheka on the ground again and walked over to his brother, excusing himself and saying he was feeling sick. Not a lie technically.

Leona took a deep breath before replying to you.

“No, I’d rather not. That’s…my own personal life, y’know?”, he answered, “I’ll stop being such an angry prick towards you and Ruggie all the time. I guess I needed that wake-up call, harsh as it was. At least I know you’re not one to lie to my face, heh. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to try to catch up on some shut-eye. I’ll talk to you later.”

You leaned back with a slight smile on your face. That was a lot more genuine than what you were used to from Leona. Maybe it was just your imagination, but you were beginning to feel like, bizarre as it was, today had brought you closer to one another. That Leona had reached a new level of trust towards you he didn’t have before.

“Heh…see, that’s much better than ‘shut up and let me take a nap’”, you replied with a relieved smile, “get some rest, Leona. Hope you’ll feel better afterwards. ❤️”

“Did you just send me a heart emoji?”

“That was an accident. Go to sleep. :)”

Leona realized he had a smile on his face. He chuckled, burying his had in his hands. You were really getting to him, huh? You had said a couple of things that really stung and yet somehow at the end of the day he treasured you enough to smile at a sign of affection from you. I better make sure to treat ‘em properly from now on, he mused and smirked, laying down on his bed again. He wondered if you actually had feelings for him or something of the sort. Somehow with the thought of you on his mind, he fell asleep easily, relieved you were able to sort things out. And he was already looking forward to talking to you again… 

You didn’t hear from Leona again for at least half a day. You were already suspecting that the sleepy lion may not have gotten any sleep at all lately, so you were glad he was resting. What you didn’t expect was for Leona to call you when he woke up. He’s calling? That’s a new one.

“Mornin’ Herbivore”, his voice was raspy and was cracking slightly. He sounded a little bit like he had cried but you didn’t dare to comment on it. “It’s 3pm. Sleep well?”, you chuckled and had a smile on your face again. “Hmm, I’ve had better nights but yeah”, he responded, rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his hair, “sorry again about last night. I had a bit of a moment there…I’ll do better. If you forgive me that is. But only if you wanna. I was kind of an ass.” Leona turned on the camera of his phone and so did you. He gave you a triumphant grin when he saw how your reaction to seeing his face was just smiling instantly. 

You sighed. “It’s fine. You’re lucky I like you. You’re an acquired taste.”

Leona chuckled. “I’m glad my terrible sleep schedule and awful personality can be considered an acquired taste in this day and age”, he winked at you. You let out a laugh. You looked at Leona’s calm expression; the way his hair looked messy and his ears twitched a little. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt and you thought he looked absolutely ethereal. You had to admit you missed him.

“Okay, you made me laugh, I give you that”, you chuckled and grinned at him, “feeling better?”

“A bit”, Leona answered, “Thank ya for being so patient with me. You’re a real one. I guess I’m just used to people not sticking around long enough to deal with my bullshit…..it feels weird….having someone care.” Something had definitely changed inside Leona. He was still weirdly genuine about his feelings. Maybe he was also still very exhausted. 

“Well, you’re in luck. I’m really stubborn and I always want to have the last word. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Even if you hiss at me like a feral housecat”, you teased him. “Heh”, he laughed and you could see his ears move along with the rising and falling of his chest, “fine, I won’t try to get rid of ya then. Still gonna be a bit of a prick tho. Maybe I will start hissing at people. Make a reputation for myself. The hissing prince of Sunset Savannah.” 

The two of you laughed and Leona ran a hand through his hair, trying to adjust it somehow. “You know what? You just gave me my first real laugh of this week”, he gave you a genuine smile and you could tell he was feeling better, “normally I don’t hang around herbivores that much. But I like ya. Thanks for stickin’ with me.”

You gave him a kind smile. “See? You’re pretty fun when you’re not being an asshole. And I assure you, you already have a reputation. Not a particularly good one, but it’s certainly….something.” 

Leona chuckled and excused himself for a moment to open the blinds on his window. He put his phone aside and all you heard from him was a sharp hiss of pain and him cursing under his breath. “The fuck happened?”, you looked at him with concern once he was back. “Stepped in glass shards”, he mumbled as if that explained anything. “Why the hell are there glass shards on your floor?” “Ancient royal trial that every member of the royal family has to go through at some point in their lives”, he commented dryly and you were pretty sure he was making this up. 

“Anyway, you should probably get first aid for that”, you raised an eyebrow. “Alright”, Leona smirked, seeming as tough as ever, “don’t miss me too much.” He winked at you before ending the call. He’s certainly growing bold now, hmm? You laughed and went to make yourself some food, awaiting his return eagerly.

It took about 30 minutes for Leona to return and start making fun of you for worrying about him so much. “I’m not made of glass, y’know?”, he smirked, “I just step in it sometimes.” 

You sigh and put your friend on speaker, tending to your kitchen appliances once more. “Did you get first-aid for your injury?”, you asked, throwing some carrots, broccoli and zucchini into the mixer. “Yeah. Staff bandaged my foot and told me to be more careful. Got a whole lecture because they’re so considerate”, Leona rolled his eyes and then cringed at the sudden loud whirring, “fuck is that noise, herbivore?” “Oh…sorry”, you apologized and turned the mixer off, “I’m making a soup. Noticed I haven’t had lunch yet today.” 

“Ew with like, vegetables and shit?”, Leona shook his head in disappointment. You chuckled. “Yes, not everyone has the strength and insanity it takes to attempt to solely live off meat”, you teased. 

“Anyway, to get back to our conversation from before, it’s nice to know I have a reputation for something, heh. Even if it’s just that”, Leona chuckled, “I don’t get people sometimes. ‘Ugh, he’s so pretty! Too bad he’s a jerk!’ Why do people keep sayin’ that? Am I supposed to be flattered or pissed?”

You laughed. “Well, I think they’re having a crisis because they’re attracted to a guy whose personality is like a matryoshka doll where you’re kinda intimidated to take off another layer because you’re not sure if it’s gonna get better or worse.”

Leona snorted. “Okay, that was a fun analogy, I’m not even gonna be mad. I’ll remember that one”, he smirked, “so, given that you have first-hand experience now, do you have the feeling it’s getting better? Or worse?” So he’s acknowledging that he’s opening up to me more than he did before, you pondered and smiled, that’s good. “Better”, you admitted, “now I know I didn’t go that wrong with giving you a chance. Anyway, what do you do all day over there?”

“Oh, nothin’ much”, Leona shrugged, “sleeping…trying to sleep, avoiding my nephew, avoiding my brother, avoiding the chamberlains, playing chess against a computer…when I arrived I drove around a bit and stopped by Elephant Legacy to take a bath in the secluded hot springs only the royal family has access to. I guess that counts for doing somethin’”

“And you made fun of Idia for being a shut-in?”, you raised an eyebrow. “I also nap outside, that disqualifies me from being a shut-in”, Leona grinned, absentmindedly playing with an old yoyo he got from a market when he was 7, “but yeah it’s pretty boring. Night Raven College is a little more interesting.”

After a week of hardly doing anything, Leona had to admit he was growing quite bored of the winter holidays. You didn’t have many plans either, so that was how the two of you ended up playing online chess. “God, with that strategy or lack thereof you have, your king is gonna be down in less than five minutes”, Leona held his head in second-hand embarrassment and reached for a glass of water to take a sip. “Oh so you think you’re close to losing?”, you smirk and heard Leona choke on his water, coughing frantically. Did you really just call him your king?, he thought with a surprised expression, his ears laid back against his head.

“What’s the matter, Leona?”, you asked and he could hear your teasing tone through the speaker, “did I perhaps fluster you?” You were really playing with fire today, huh? Leona smirked. He didn’t admit it, but he did absolutely like that. “Why don’t ya focus on your shitty ass playstyle instead, you just lost the best piece you still had on the board”, he hissed back, his tail swishing back and forth. “I didn’t see your queen there”, you whined. “What do you mean, you didn’t see it there? It was literally right next to where you were standing-”, Leona shook his head and held it with his hand, “I don’t even know where to start with this one…”

As the day went on, you got Leona to play a couple of other online board games with you, mostly luck-based ones because you insisted you were “good at them”. He also agreed to teach you some chess strategies, arguing that even with knowing them you wouldn’t be able to beat him. He never let you win. Not once. 

He had to admit that your company brought him amusement and joy. That you distracted him from the problems he was worrying about. So he didn’t mind spending his days with you. He was looking forward to seeing you again at Night Raven College. 

“Leona, it’s your turn. Leona?”, you asked when he wasn’t responding. It was already evening and the sun had set. You could hear soft breathing and some light snores coming from the phone. You smiled and closed the game the two of you were playing. Something inside you didn’t have the heart to just hang up on him. So you put your phone aside and went to bed yourself, feeling somehow closer to Leona this way.

He woke up with surprise upon finding out you were still there. He wondered whether that was intentional or not. He quickly pushed away the idea of waking up beside you; of pulling you into his arms and falling back asleep in the comfort of the blankets and your warmth. Leona pouted when he noticed the smile on his face. Then, upon having another fantastic idea, his expression turned into a mischievous smirk as he made his way over to the wardrobe where he had hidden a plastic aerophone that he confiscated from Cheka after the latter had attempted to “play a song” for him and followed him through the entire palace. He sat down next to where his phone was laying on the bed and blew into the cheap instrument; causing it to emit sounds with a terribly loud volume. He stopped just in time to hear the angry “WHAT THE FUCK, LEONA????” from your side of the call. “Rise and shine, herbivore”, you could hear him snicker. “You’re such an asshole”, you muttered.

The days went by fast when you had each other’s company. Leona kept you updated on what was happening at the palace; the stuff that wasn’t confidential at least. This mostly happened in the form of him ranting about how much it annoyed him. He had ditched the Sunset Savannah New Year’s ceremony and spent it on the palace roof, turning his camera on and letting you see the fireworks of his homeland and how the city was lit up for the celebrations. “If you ever visit, I’ll show ya around”, he had promised you.

Your presence in his life made the holidays pass by fast. When Leona stepped through the dark mirror on his way back to the school, you were already waiting for him on the other side. Both of you felt a little awkward at first. Things had changed a lot between you since you had last seen each other, after all. Leona rolled his eyes at your attempts to make smalltalk, waiting for the rest of the students to exit the mirror chamber before he opened his arms. “Come on now, y/n, don’t be a stranger”, he sighed and you stepped into his embrace, wrapping your arms around him. You hoped he didn’t have a sliver of an idea how much you had wanted this over the past few days. What you didn’t know was that Leona felt exactly the same. He held the back of your head with his hand and let you bury your face in his shoulder. Leona had his tail wrapped around your waist and you got goosebumps where it touched your arm. A strand of his hair was tickling the skin of your face and you noticed how much you liked the smell of his cologne. 

The two of you walked back to the dorms together, Leona staying closer to you than usual. Much to your surprise, the lion beastman actually showed up to class on the first day. It was his most hated lesson, even. He sat down next to you. “Glad you showed up”, you said and reached for the cup standing next to you, “I got you a coffee.” Leona inspected the beverage with surprise, not expecting you to get him something to drink on the off-chance that he came to class. You raised your eyebrow at him when you saw him sniffing at the coffee. “If you’re gonna complain that you don’t like this kind, I’m never getting you anything ever again”, you threatened and Leona patted your head. “Don’t worry, herbivore”, he smirked and took a sip from the coffee as the lesson began.

Reunited at Night Raven College, Leona still enjoyed spending his time with you. He had invited you over to show you some more strategies in chess; as it was easier to teach you anything if you were there in person. You had eaten dinner together (a bunch of meat that Leona ordered from a take-out restaurant in the village on the isle) and decided to take a breath of fresh air on the roof of the Savanaclaw dorm. Leona looked at you as you gazed at the stars. 

“Do you think the sky is fake?”, Leona was caught off-guard by your question. “The hell?”, he raised an eyebrow and sat up. “Like, the ones over the dorms. What even are the dorms? Are they actual locations the mirrors just teleport us to? Are they weird pocket dimensions? Why do I never hear anyone talking about this?”, you asked. Leona chuckled. “Considering they’re never locked and we haven’t seen anyone try to rob us yet, I thought it was pretty obvious they’re not just standing around somewhere in the wild”, he shrugged, “but yeah, this isn’t the actual night sky. The constellations are super off.” “I see someone actually paid attention in astronomy class”, you commented. “Not really”, Leona replied, “in my homeland there’s the belief that the stars are the great kings of the past who are watching over you from above. Heard the story a million times. Learnt about the constellations as time went on. If you’re worried or in despair, you can ask them for guidance and supposedly they would answer you. Personally I think that’s a bunch of humbug.” 

Leona shrugged and you thought about his words, having learnt something new about his culture. “If you believed in it…what would you ask them?”, you wondered and looked into Leona’s emerald eyes. “That’s a little too personal, don’t ya think?”, Leona smirked but then conceded, “I suppose I’d ask them why I pulled such a dumb result in fate’s lottery, among other things.” “Idia called it ‘god’s rigged gacha machine’”, you chuckled. “That’s one way to put it”, Leona mused. “Then again, you never know what life’s gonna give you”, you tried to add a more positive point of view, “who knows maybe you’ll soon receive a great deal of luck or something. You never know.”

Leona let out a bitter laugh. “Then I suppose, I’ll have to thank the great kings of the past”, he crossed his arms, “anyway, it’s getting late. We should probably head inside again.” He got up and so did you, making your way towards Leona’s room again. 

You couldn’t even react fast enough when you stumbled on the roof and fell over, Leona catching you just in time and pulling you back into balance. You were leaned against his chest and Leona was holding onto you to keep you steady. “Geez, herbivore, first you’re all talk about stickin’ by me and being my friend and now I have to prevent you from breaking your bones every 5 minutes”, Leona sighed. You pouted. “Name ONE other time where you had to prevent me from breaking my bones”, you rolled your eyes.

You only noticed then how close the two of you were. Determined to tease him back, you spoke before you realized what it was you just said. “Are we about to kiss now?”

The smirk left your face when the realization hit you. Leona, on the other hand, was having the time of his life with this. He grinned at you and let out a laugh. “My, you’re getting bold now”, his ears twitched as he laughed, “I mean, go ahead if you wanna, I ain’t gonna stop ya.” He was challenging you, part of him thinking you weren’t going to do it anyway. 

His eyes widened and he was caught off guard when you took him up on the offer and he found himself with your lips on his instead. 

Leona closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around your shoulders, kissing you back softly. There was a sense of relief to his kiss; as if he had waited for this to happen for centuries. He wouldn’t ever have dreamt that you might feel the same for him as he did for you. Not with the behavior he had shown to you before. Not with the way he went about his days. And yet, you had given him a chance. The chance to prove to you that he was worth it. And he swore in that moment that he was going to make the most of that.

Leona sighed against your lips and cupped your cheek with his hand, deepening the kiss eagerly. He furrowed his brows and pulled you as close to him as possible. 

When your lips parted from each other, Leona still held you in a tight embrace, resting his head on top of yours. “So…”, you began, nuzzling his neck and relaxing into his embrace, “are we going to get on people’s nerves together from now on?” “You still have to ask that? Take a hint, herbivore”, he hissed and then chuckled, pressing a kiss to your forehead. 

You remained like this for a while, just holding each other as Leona looked up to the night sky. “You’re more quiet than usual”, you said softly, “what’s going through your head, hmm?” Leona rolled his eyes. “Life clowned me with irony and now I gotta thank the great kings of the past for ‘a great deal of luck or something’”, he sighed and laughed. You pressed another soft kiss to his lips and held his face in your hand, looking into his eyes with a loving expression. 

“I love you…and at the risk of sounding incredibly cheesy”, you confessed and brushed a strand of hair out of his face, “you’re my first choice, Leona. Always have been.” Leona hugged you tightly and squeezed you slightly, holding onto you like he feared you might disappear any second now. He buried his face in your neck. Your words had touched his heart and made him feel a sense of happiness and closure he was longing for for god knows how long. He kissed you once more, pouring all his pent-up attachment and care for you into the kiss as the stars gazed down on you.

[blackhairandbangs]

A Little Inspiration

Bang Chan x Reader

info/masterlist

word count: 1.8K

genre: non-idol au, fluff?, cute flirty chan!!!, localmusician!chan

summary: after seeing each others open mic night performances, you and chan get together for a songwriting session

warnings: some kissing at the end, but thats really all! not proofread...

a/n: this fic came to be after the chan/jeongin 2 kids episode with black hole! that song makes an appearance in the fic:)

Every Sunday night you found yourself in the same place. For months, you and your band had been regulars at the open mic night held at a cozy downtown café. The stage, adorned with twinkling lights and a warm ambiance, served as the perfect backdrop for budding musicians like yourselves to showcase your talents.

Your group had performed a new concept last week, so today you were heading out just to take in the performances others had to offer. Upon entering the cafe, your nose is hit with the familiar scent of coffee and pastries. You glance around before finding an empty table on the side of the cafe that still gives you a good view of the stage where musicians have already been cycling through for the past hour. You tended to see a lot of familiar faces being a weekly regular, but the man who approached the stage was not one of them.

“Um…Hello everyone,” He spoke softly, tapping the mic to make sure it was on. “I’m Chris, you may know me online as CB97…” He trailed off, checking his phone to make sure his lyrics were all in order. This was a typical practice for the performers at the open mic night. Most of the time artists were there to test out brand new works, hoping to see how the audience reacts. 

“This song is not yet titled, so if you get a vibe, come find me later on.” He seemed shy, and you wondered how that would translate to his music, but as the first few seconds of his beat came in, you couldn’t draw yourself away from his performance. His shy demeanor had completely vanished as he rapped with immense precision. 

You tapped your foot to the beat, watching the way he existed up until the end of the song, his black fluffy hair bouncing as he moved with the rhythm. As he wrapped up, the cafe gave him a generous amount of applause. Thanking everyone, he left the stage to head to his table of friends. It was crazy to you that even coming here every week, that was your first time seeing him perform. Surely you would have remembered someone as talented as that.

As the night closed, you still found yourself drawn to him and his performance, offering glances up until you checked the time, grabbing your bag to head home. You got up to leave the cafe, not before turning  back to offer one more glance at his table before heading into the breezy night and starting your walk back to your apartment. 

“Hey,” You heard, jumping a little and turning around to greet the voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” He laughed.

“No, no it’s okay…”Your voice trailed off turning around to see the man you had been so impressed with.

“You’re awfully quiet for someone who couldn't keep their eyes off me all night.”

Your cheeks flushed red, hearing such a bold comment.

“I-I’m sorry?” You spoke, a bit flustered at the confidence exuding from him. He was so shy before starting his song, you couldn't understand where this came from. He reached a hand up to scratch the back of his neck, giving a small laugh.

“That was a bit forward,” He began. “I’m Chris.” He reaches his hand out and you take it in a quick handshake. 

“Y/N,” You speak. “I really enjoyed your set tonight. Your original songs were unlike anything I’ve heard before.”

He offered you a small smile before going back to the shy person you saw before his performance. “Oh, really? Thanks, I appreciate it.” He twiddles his thumbs a bit before speaking up again, “I saw your band play last week, your vocals are insane.”

Your eyes go big. How could you have missed his presence the last time you took the stage?  “Really? Thank you! We were just doing covers, it was nothing impressive.” 

Chris gives a small laugh.

“Don’t put yourself down, it was amazing. Have you ever written an original?”

The real answer is yes. You had notebooks and paper scattered around your room all scribbled with notes in lyrics. You had written tons of songs, but the issue was that none of them felt genuine. Love songs pulled from your imagination, break up ballads based on stories your friends told. You had tons of ideas, but the stories weren’t real and therefore the songs never left the paper.

“I’ve definitely tried,” You look down, glancing between your shoes and the pavement you stood on. “Just don’t have much to pull from when it comes to… inspiration.”

Chris nods his head softly. Writing songs could be the most challenging thing if you have nowhere to pull ideas from. 

“Well if you want to get together soon, maybe we could have a little song writing workshop? I’ve been doing this a while and I’d love to see what you have so far.” He pulls out his phone, reaching out to hand it to you.

“Put your number in, I’d really like to meet up sometime,” He offers you a warm smile as you type in your information.

Earlier in the week, you and Chris had made plans to meet at your apartment. You scrambled to clean up the mess of papers scattered on the floor of your living room from the small bout of musical inspiration that hit at 1am the night before. Right as you shuffled the last of the papers onto your coffee table, there was a small knock on your door. You took a deep breath, trying to contain your nerves as you opened the door to Chruis and his guitar.

“Thank you for having me over!” Chris gave a smile as you guided him into your living room. He looked around the decorations in your living room. A drum kit in the corner, guitars on the wall. He could only assume you were in charge of hosting band practices.

“Sorry about all the papers, I thought I had something last night, but…” You trail off as Chris takes a seat on your couch and starts shuffling through the papers on your coffee table. He hums to himself, attempting to sight read the notes you had scribbled down in a sleepy haze. 

“Y/N, this is really good so far,” You walk around the table to take a seat next to him.

“You really think so? I can’t figure out a bridge… I don’t know, none of it feels genuine. I mean, how do you even write a song about something you know nothing about?” You quietly, the last part not meaning to come out. Chris furrows his brows, looking you up and down. 

“What do you mean you know nothing about? You’ve never let yourself fall in love?”

You silently shake your head, hoping he would drop the topic. This is why you never let your songs go further than the papers you shoved under your bed. Chris grabs a pencil off the table and allows himself to sink more into the couch. He gives a small sigh, starting to finally understand you a bit more. 

“Well let’s see what we can come up with,” He flips through the pages once more finding some lyrics to help you expand upon. “I really like where you were going with the star symbolism. The two stars represent our lovers, right?”

You nodded watching him chew the end of the pencil in his hand. He gives a small hum before scribbling something on the page. You glance over to see what he had written, inching yourself a little closer. 

“You know, I read somewhere that when two stars collide, the gravity from both stars can create a black hole. Black holes draw you in, it’s like being drawn into your partner deeper and deeper, even if it’s not always perfect.” He picks up his guitar, strumming out one of the chords you had marked out on the page. “Let’s go from there, ya?”

You pick up your paper and sing along to the first few lyrics to give him a feel of the melody you had in mind.

“In the dark night sky, I feel the empty space”

You continue to sing along with his strumming until you reach the chorus where you found yourself stuck last night.

“That’s about where I lost any and all inspiration,” You say with a small laugh. “I was toying with something along the lines of falling in love but it all was sounding too cheesy.”

“I fall…” He starts. “I fall… I fall into you again, into your heart,”

Your eyes grow wide and you grab the other pencil on the table.

“Yes! That’s perfect!”

Chris puts his guitar down so he could focus more on the lyrics with you. He scoots himself just a bit closer to share the paper, your shoulders now touching.

“Keep going, what else?” He encourages. 

You tap the pencil on your thigh, “I guess I can try something like ‘I fall into you again, into your heart. I just can’t pick myself up?”

Chris shakes his head a bit.

“That’s too easy, play with the metaphors a bit. What about that black hole, what else is going on in space?”

Your smile falls. You knew you were trying to take the easy way out with the lyrics, but that was all your mind could come up with. You can’t even remember the last time someone fell in love with you. 

“I have zero inspiration, I can’t.”

Chris lifts his hand to your chin, turning you to look at him. His cold touch sends a shiver down your spine and a blush to your cheeks.

“I know you have it in you, you just need to find something to be inspired by.” He looks down at your lips before looking back in your eyes, waiting for a silent approval. You bring yourself closer, your faces only inches apart.

“I-I fall into you again, into your heart,” you started to speak out the lyrics Chris had written before he closed the gap, joining your lips together. He snakes his hands down to touch your waist as you pull away slightly.

“Leaving myself to gravity,”

Chris places soft kisses on your jawline before bringing himself back up to your lips.

“I’m trapped in your space again, there’s nothing I can do…”

You deepen the kiss after letting him add on to the lyrics. You bring your arms up to wrap around his neck so there is virtually no space between you two. You could feel the spark between you two as your lips danced together. The space that tears apart the night sky, we can’t stop.

Chris breaks the kiss, leaning his forehead against yours, “Swirling up the vast emptiness, we will shine”

You smile, feeling something you don’t think you have ever felt before. 

“I think we make a good songwriting team,” he laughs, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. He couldn't look away from the blush that deepened on your face. The way you looked mesmerized him the very first time he saw you perform.

“I think maybe we both just needed a little inspiration.”

a/n: happy new year my lovelies!! i hope you enjoyed some localmusician!chan :) this fic was honestly so self indulgent, i'm in a band and something about this whole situation just makes me melt my goodness!!!

send some asks and requests!! my inbox is lonely:(

[littlemelaninfics]

Welcome to Boston

an: this wasn’t requested but I’m high asf right now (not on purpose bc I have work in 30 minutes), but I thought this was cute. Enjoy ☀️

tw: smoking weed, fluff, reader is 21+

You lounged on the bed flipping through the Firestick waiting for Chris to finish getting himself and Dodger ready for the day. You both woke up past 11:30, the soothing sounds of outside keeping you lull. It's rainy and cold which makes the perfect weather to stay in and watch movies, but you couldn't find one.

It wasn't necessarily a horror movie vibe; maybe tonight. Action? No. Drama? Ugh. You slam the remote down on the bed and flop backwards letting out a big sigh.

"Heeey. What's all that for?" Chris asked walking over the bedroom threshold. You sat up briefly taking in the physique of his sweatshirt covered torso and gray lounge shorts,

"Babe, you're not cold?"

He shook his head, "Heater's on," he said crossing to the bed and plopping down,

"What's with all the sighing?" He started to rub his hand over your thigh as you started to answer him,

"There's nothing to watch."

"There's nothing to watch or you don't know what to watch?"

"Is there a difference?"

"I guess not," he said with a chuckle. "What about a psycho-thriller? You love those."

"I don't have the mental capacity for that right now."

"What about a comedy? You don't have to pay full attention and you get a few laughs."

"Hm. Fine, I'll give a look."

"I'm gonna grab a quick snack. Want anything?"

"Just water please." He nodded his head and walked out. You scrolled through the endless pages of comedic movies and landed on a comedic duo you and Chris both loved. You hadn't seen the movie, but the synopsis sounded interesting. You cued it up to start when Chris walked back in the room,

"I thought you were getting a snack."

"We don't have much. We've been eating on the leftovers my mom left I guess we didn't notice. Find anything?"

"I'll Instacart some stuff here and yeah! It's called "The Interview" with Seth Rogen and James Franco. Have you seen it?"

"No, I've never heard of it, but okay." You were quickly ordering groceries when you realized Chris hadn't moved from across the room. Feeling eyes on you, you looked up and at him, who was grinning like a kid.

"What? What did you do?"

"Nothing... yet."

"Yet?"

"Just.. found something that may make this day even better."

"What did you find?"

Chris brought his hands from behind his back and held up the baggie of weed and swishers, giving them a very enticing shake. You looked at what he was holding and shook your head, letting a small smile creep.

"Oh you just happened to find that?"

"It was in the back of a drawer in the kitchen. I didn't think I had any left."

"Baby...you know I gave that up. Weed is weed. It's nothing special."

"You gave up SoCal weed. This is Boston weed."

"And what is 'Boston Weed'?"

"The shit that'll change your life." You looked at him for a second before giving in. He gleefully walked to his side of the bed and climbed in. He got comfortable, handing you your water and opened the baggie.

"Whoa!" You both exclaimed. The potent odor of the raw flower permeated the room before a spark was even lit. Chris brought the baggie to his nose and inhaled deeply.

"Smells like a Saturday filled with Looney Toons and Captain Crunch."

"Babe, how old is this stuff?" You asked, hinting that it may not be safe for consumption if he was smoking it in his teens.

"Like 6 months." You rolled your eyes and ginned looking back at your phone at how childish he could be sometimes. You were finishing the delivery order while Chris took the nearest book and set up to roll.

"They should be here by the time the movie is over. It's gonna take a little longer because of the rain."

"That's fine. We can keep ourselves occupied," he said holding up the tightly rolled blunt.

"Chris Evans, that is a beautifully crafted j. Willie Nelson himself would be proud.

"Thank you, baby," he said holding the blunt to his lips and lighting it. You watched as he inhaled the smoke deeper into his lungs. He leaned back on the exhale, head hitting the headboard. He kept his eyes closed as he took another hit, holding it in and passing you the blunt. You looked at it for a second and then back at Chris who was already glossy eyed.

You took a deep breath and put the blunt to your lips, sucking in the potent smoke. You held it as long as you could before exhaling followed by a string of heavy coughing,

“Oh what the fuck,” you said between coughs.

“I told you that shit is different,” he said laughing at your pain.

You swallowed hard and took another hit after your chest stopped burning so much. The same thing happened, but not as strong. Then you went for a third,

“Whoa whoa hey. Puff puff pass, remember? And take it easy. This’ll have you stoned into next week.” You two passed the blunt between yourselves until you noticed the movie was already on. Your attention turned to the screen and you zoned out until your brain registered something funny which enticed you to laugh.

The movie was a little more than half over when your stomach started to growl,

“I think I have the munchies,” you said without your eyes diverting from the film.

“I know I do.”

“Wanna get a snack?”

“We have to go to the store.”

“Oh yeah. I can’t drive for shit right now, should we walk?” You asked holding your hand out in front of your face as a test of sobriety. Chris slowly turned his head to look out the window,

“It stopped raining. Should we walk?”

“Wait. Didn’t I say we should walk?”

“No you said you were hungry.”

“Oh yeah. Um, yeah. Let’s get dressed.”

The two of you took almost 20 minutes to get ready to walk half a mile but you finally made it to the front door. Chris got distracted yanking your hood over your head and calling you his little Eskimo baby. The two of you giggled in the foyer for almost 2 minutes before grabbing the knob.

When the door opened, both of you instinctively inhaled the fresh air deeply, letting the chilled Boston air hit your flushed faces. You smiled slightly as the beautifully golden sun beamed down on your cheeks. The sky after the rain was your favorite. You were about to take a step, when…

“I can’t.”

“What?” Chris asked looking down at you.

“I can’t do it,” you replied starring blankly ahead at the slick driveway.

“Do what, baby?”

“Move.”

“Ha! You can’t move?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to carry you?”

“Then people will know for sure that I’m high.”

“Babe, people are going to know. Or they might not because they’re probably high too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Just walk slow. We’re not in a hurry.”

“Okay,” you said as you reached for his arm to help guide you down the front steps. The two of you walked linked together to the corner mart. You picked out everything you have a craving for or might crave later. You went to check on Chris and saw he abandoned the “pick what you can carry” and opted for a whole ass basket.

“Babe.”

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s supposed to rain all weekend and I’m not coming back out if I don’t have to.” His logic wasn’t flawed so you emptied your arms into the basket and walked the rest of the store with him. The security guards must’ve had a good ol’ time watching you two laugh at absolutely everything and do silly dances in the isles to the music.

It was finally time to check out and you waited patiently, thinking about what you would eat first…or if you should elevate the high and then eat. You were pulled from your thoughts when Chris put his hand around your waist and walked you out of the store. Luckily the baggers were great because you only had three bags each to carry back home.

You were in mid conversation when you walked up the driveway and Chris stopped midway. You were finishing your sentence when you looked at him,

“What?”

He looked at the bags in his hands and then back up to the door as if something wasn’t making sense. You followed his eyes up to the porch and dropped the bags in your hands to cover you face.

“We already ordered groceries,” Chris said as he turned to you.

“Yes. Yes we did.”

“Hopefully the power doesn’t go out,” he said picking up the bags you dropped and waking up to the door. You couldn’t help but let out a little giggle at the oopsie you both made.

‘Maybe we can donate some’, you thought as you entered the house and closed the door.

[meanwaffle]

Safety (Tsukishima x Reader)

Warning: alcohol, hu culture

Notes: college party moment

You sipped on your drink as you couldn’t take your eyes off the tall, handsome, blonde man across the room. He was chatting with some guys, but he had a bored expression you couldn’t take your eyes off of. He obviously wasn’t enjoying himself very much and it made you wonder why he’d come to a college party if he wasn’t someone who liked them. Maybe his friend made him come. Or he was trying to get laid. Who knows?

What a fucking jerk.

His name was Tsukishima. You sorta knew him already. It was a month or two ago when you both matched on tinder. Tinder was your best friend after all. It was an easy way to find hot and willing guys to keep you company on those lonely nights. The best part was there were usually no strings attached. You didn’t have to shield your heart from getting hurt, you just gotta have fun and spend your young adulthood partying and vibing. You didn’t have to worry about being vulnerable because it was a quick fuck and done.

Oddly enough when you matched with him and started talking to Tsukishima a bit… you got too vulnerable. It wasn't like you at all.

You found yourself blushing when he complimented you. His blunt charm offered a sense of relief. When he said you were beautiful, easy to talk to, how he felt comfortable with you, this bluntness made you truly believe he was being genuine. Over time, his messages started to become short and dull. When that would happen with other guys you’d just roll your eyes and move on to the next. Stupidly enough you kept sending him messages and continuing conversations or starting new ones. You would hold onto each convo starter like it was a life line.

“You look very pretty.” he told you once in response to a selfie you sent of him.

Ah… you wanted him to praise you more.

You wanted to meet him. You didn’t even care about getting laid, you just wanted to see him in person and maybe… hold his hand or something. Like they do in those romcoms! He was so tall after all, you’re so sure if he embraced you that you would melt into his touch.

“When are you free? Let’s go out to dinner.” You’d ask him. 

“I’m free on weekends! But if you have plans, my classes end at three!” You’d tell him.

“Shoot me a message whenever you’re available.” You’d messaged him.

Nothing.

After talking nonstop for two weeks, the moment you invited him out he changed. Shorter messages. He took longer to respond. Baseless excuses one after another about how he’s busy, that he’ll let you know the second he’s free. Responding to you obviously became less of a priority as you got left on delivered for hours and hours and hours, until finally you remembered why you originally were just sleeping around.

Men really suck.

You’re glad you remembered before you got too attached. 

Enough with all that. Sure it was only a little bit ago, but that was all in the past! Tonight was about having fun! You downed the rest of your drink and mingled in with the crowd once again. Striking conversations left and right, you danced a bit to the music, sang along to the popular songs that got everyone hype. You were having a good time and soon lost yourself in the fun. The alcohol was finally hitting and your confidence skyrocketed.

And there's nothing more powerful than a confident woman with a mission.

“Crap!” You blurted out as you felt yourself back up into someone. You quickly turned around to face whoever it was to apologize. “So sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“Oh, that’s alright! No worries.” A fresh, freckled face greeted you. It was a guy, a cute guy. The dark and grayish hair of his went against your usual type, you had a soft spot for blondes, yet his vibe was so oddly kind. At first you wondered what a guy like this was doing at some random shit college party. Though, when his large eyes met yours paired together with a dorky smile all the reasonable thoughts washed away and only one idea filled your brain. 

He was your mission.

With a grin, you tilted your head to the side just a tiny bit to subtly emphasize your good side. You fluttered your eyes in that cute manner that's always gotten the guys to take interest. “I don’t think I’ve met you! Do you go to parties a lot?”

You heard him suck in a breath and held back a giggle. The cute eye technique still hasn’t failed you. He was nervous, huh? “Ah, no, I came with a friend just cuz… I don’t know where he is right now actually. Uh! But I’m Yamaguchi.” A tint of red glowed on his cheeks.

You introduced yourself back and quickly started up small talk. At first he was hesitant, fumbling over his words a bit and avoiding direct eye contact with you. Once you got him on the topic of his hobbies, however, he started to go on and on about volleyball. You had to hold back a cringe when the subject of volleyball took place. You had no problem with sports! But, icky enough, Tsukishima also danced on the topic a bunch of times. You were positive he mentioned how he was on the team at school, maybe Yamaguchi was too. Maybe they were teammates? If that's the case, part of you wants to just run away from this guy.

Hm, well…. Doesn’t matter. It’s just a hookup. Besides after geeking out a bit he got comfortable enough to just… let go. You both were swaying to the music and laughing, you felt up on his arm and stroked his ego as you showered him in compliments and praises. He denied them, of course, he was shy and humble. Following every praise of yours with something along the lines of “I’m not all that.” or “I bet you know much cooler guys.” 

After some time passed the party was still at full blast. Slowly, you intertwined your fingers with his and glanced up at him with big doey eyes. His expression turned to one of surprise and his entire face was heated. You could even see him biting his lip from nerves alone. “Hey…” you said with a breathy tone. “why don’t we go somewhere quieter?”

Yamaguchi flinched and you watched him nervously gulp. “I, um, l-like where? I mean… you know… my friend is still here and if I’m leaving I should let him know-”

With an air headed smile, you tugged at his arm in the direction of the stairs. “We won’t leave! I know the people who rent this place, we can just go up to her room for a bit. She won’t mind.”

“This isn’t your place t? Shouldn’t we uh, ask then?”

“It’s fine! I’ve done this before.” With that said and done, you made your way over to the stairs. Yamaguchi followed close behind, but as you both were climbing up you were so focused on your gleeful success in getting a cutie in bed that you didn’t hear his hesitant mutters, questioning what you meant by “done this before.”

You pulled him into an empty bedroom and didn’t waste any time. You attached your lips to his and passionately threw your arms around him, pulling him even closer so your tits pressed against him. Internally, he was panicking. He’s never had anyone interested in him in this sort of way, especially someone who would act on it so quickly. It was all happening so fast for him, however, he let himself fall into the moment. Yamaguchi’s thoughts were racing. He couldn’t believe a girl like you would want to be intimate with him. The heat in his cheeks got hotter. Your tongue’s dancing together.

Skillfully using some interesting angles, you managed to get both of you close enough to the bed for you to slowly push him onto the springy mattress. A cute yelp escaped his lips with a subtle panic as you climbed on top of him without detaching yourself from his rosy lips. However, instead of him continuing with the sexy thrill of fucking at a party, he pulled back. You were surprised he’d do that, but the concerned look on his face made you question if you were pushing him into something he didn’t actually want to do. “Are you okay?”

Yamaguchi chewed at his lip. Crazy enough, you’ve only known him for a couple hours and even you could tell he does that when he’s nervous. He wouldn’t make eye contact with you, which was another indicator. His body language told you enough. You rolled off him and sat up on the edge of the bed. You bent down forward and softly smiled in an attempt to ease the tension “Not in the mood?”

Like a lightning bolt, he shot up with a worried expression.” No! I mean yes, I mean, I’m nervous, that’s all. You’re really pretty and It’s just a lot-”

“He’s a virgin.”

Both of you two whipped your heads towards the doorway which was suddenly open with a tall figure leaning against the frame. Tall, blonde, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, you couldn’t stop your mouth from opening a bit in shock as you witnessed none other than Tsukishma there with a sharp glare of disappointment.

“Oh god, Kei! How long have you been standing there?!” Yamaguchi, obviously very flustered, spoke first because you were still stupidly sitting on the end of the bed with your mouth still agape from a lack of knowledge to even know what to say to this guy.

With a glance over at you, then back to his friend, he spoke more. “First of all you should’ve locked the door if you’re going to mess around. And I have been standing here ever since you fumbled the whole making out part.” His eyebrow furrowed, which was odd to you. He seemed to be annoyed with his friend. Was he annoyed that his homie was getting laid and he wasn’t? You certainly couldn’t think of another reason. A logical one for sure.

“I was looking for you so we could finally leave, though I saw her chatting you up and then going up the stairs.” He shot another quick glance over at you. “I could connect the dots.” His tone was irritating to hear. It was like he was talking down to you.

You shoved down any desire to stay quiet and spoke up. “That’s so weird, Tsukishima! And what if we kept going. You were just gonna stand there and watch? You’re such a pervert-”

“Wait, do you two know each other?” Yamaguchi asked, surprised.

“You’re hooking up with someone you met a few hours ago.”

You threw your hands in the air. “It’s college! This is what we do!”

Both of you were huffing and pouting like the drunk idiots you were. 

Yamaguchi had no clue what to make of the situation. He was shifting his weight back and forth as he fiddled with his fingers. He kept trying to get a word in, but despite his efforts everything he said fell on deaf ears as both you and Tsukishima kept going back and forth. One petty thing after the other. Tsukishima finally let out a giant scoff and went to turn to his friend. “Let’s just go.” He was thrown back when he realized the friend he was talking to was no longer there. There was just an empty space “Huh? Where did he go?”

“He walked off maybe five minutes ago.”

His nose scrunched up. “And you didn’t think to say anything?”

“I thought the wave goodbye would’ve been enough but I guess I didn’t take into account your lack of awareness.” You responded with yet another eye roll. 

He sharply turned towards the door. “Whatever, I’m out of here.” 

“I bet, ghosting is your best talent.”

Tsukishima stopped dead in his tracks. His hawk eyes gleamed into you with an emotion you couldn’t quite describe. Even so, you could tell he was offended by what you said. “I didn’t ghost you, you ghosted me.”

Your mouth fell agape for the second time tonight. Was he trying to set a record of how many times can he make you gawk at him like this? Who did he think he was accusing you like that! “Are you being for real right now? You started taking hours to respond to me! Yet your snap score was still going up. You were ignoring me and stopped talking to me. That’s ghosting!”

He turned on his heel to face you again. “But I still responded! Every time! Even if it took me a while to get back to you. You were the one who unadded me out of nowhere!”

“That’s my point, it wasn’t out of nowhere! I had a reason. I wasn’t going to waste my time with a guy who didn’t prioritize me.” You crossed your arms. This was not how you wanted to spend your time at this party. You came here for mindless fun, not a confrontation with some ex situationship.

Unbeknownst to you, Tsukishima’s heart rate was increasing at those words. The idea that you wanted him to prioritize you plagued his thoughts. “I thought we were just going to hook up.”

“Huh, yeah, but…”

“But?” You both were maintaining eye contact. It was weird that the guy you thought was just another fail basically interrupted you from fucking another guy for meaningless sex. And now you were both standing here, facing off from each other. One sharp response to the next, even though Yamaguchi left you were still at each other's throat. Truly, one of you should just go separate ways. 

You huffed. “Nothing.”

“You wanted more than just sex?”

“No, geez, I said it was nothing.”

His hand snapped to yours, snatching it roughly enough for you to break eye contact and stumble backwards with a shy gasp. “If it’s nothing then lets hookup, right now.”

You visibly flinched at his words. “Huh? Are you drunk?

“We’re both drunk. That’s why we’re stumbling around.” His grip on you loosened. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s fool around. You were trying to get fucked weren’t you?”

“God, Tsukishima.” You pulled away from him and plopped yourself on the edge of the bed. Tilting your head as you looked at him. “It’d be weird to have sex with you after all this.”

Tsukishima’s mouth curled into a cocky grin. “It’s college, it’s what we do.” You couldn’t hold back an eye roll at his mocking tone. “It’s the time for casual sex. Didn’t you say that?” He leaned back and turned the lock on the door. “See, I can remember to lock the door at least.”

Tsukishima was so seductive and it made your tummy turn as he looked at you with lustful eyes. It felt like he could see through you to your very soul, knowing how at one point you craved for him to embrace you and kiss you gently. You’d fantasized about him inviting you over to his apartment, with a candle lit dinner and red wine poured into those cute fancy glass cups. Then, after you two were done eating, he’d scoop you into his arms and carry you to the bed. Stripping you and leaving trails of love marks to brand his romance into your very flesh. 

But, you didn’t care about that anymore. Yeah, there's no doubt that you are completely over that. You were completely fine with a casual hookup in some random bedroom. This was fine, so you have no reason to disagree with him. 

You exhaled and glanced over at him with your lips puckered. “Alright, it is a party…” a hint of embarrassment sparkled in your eyes “Let’s do it.”

Tsukishima didn’t hesitate. He climbed right on top of you and pushed you onto your back. His hands were placed on each side of your head. You could feel his body heat as he leaned down closer, his lips almost right against yours. “Can I get an enthusiastic yes?”

You were nervous and he could tell. A sheer crimson enveloped your cheeks and flowers bloomed in the depths of your core. You never felt like this with your other hookups, but for some reason the thought of him seeing you naked… even the thought of seeing him naked made your tummy twist and turn.

That’s why this was weird!

But you would sooner die than admit it. “...I want you to fuck me.”

The cocky blonde smiled at you. It was different however, the spiteful and argumentative man you were yelling at earlier was nowhere to be seen, replaced by someone much gentler. It was an emotion you’ve never seen on a man. Usually when you spread your legs for whoever will give you attention they look down on you. They treat each encounter as some sort of game. They were the players and you were a side quest for them to complete. It was a common misconception with most of the men you surrounded yourself with that the harder they fuck you, the better they are at sex. Even when it hurts and you want it to stop, you don’t say anything. After all, fucking you rough gave them power. If you took away their power they’d want nothing to do with you. Men thrived on the idea that they were the dominant one, they were the ones in charge, and you were mercy under their touch. In reality, your fake moaning and exaggerated expressions was nothing more than a manipulation tactic that a single man has yet to see through.

You were nothing but an object.  You let yourself become an object.

You’re so lonely.

Tsukishima’s smile didn’t host any intensity or wrath, because he didn’t perceive you as just something to fuck. Seeing you waiting for him to pleasure you, he wanted nothing more than to please you to the point you’d never sleep with another guy again. This was the only moment he might have to prove to you that he can earn your approval.

He never thought he ghosted you. Henever wanted to ghost you and to this day he remembers the devastation he had when he woke up and saw an X next to your username. He had to play it cool, after all he was on tinder for meaningless sex and a way to kill his boredom. You didn’t simply kill it, you cured it. Talking to you made him flushed. He wasn’t supposed to be like that. He likes to believe it was his pride that got in the way of you two actually working out, but in reality it was his undeniable shyness. When he saw you had sent him a message, an internal panic plagued his thoughts. He didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t admit he was shy around you, even to himself he never realized that he was just scared to meet up with you or that he’d say something stupid. If he made himself out to be a fool the facade he worked so hard to keep  up with would crumble and he’d be left with nothing.

That’s why his messages became dull and his response time plummeted. 

Tsukishima dove between your thighs. With a free hand, he flipped your skirt up and settled his face right in front of your clothed pussy. You gasped at the realization that he was going to give you oral. Usually, it was the other way around. You didn’t dislike sucking dick and in fact you think you're pretty good at it. “H-hey, you know, you don’t have to do that.” you whispered, a flash of heat filling your body.

Confused, he lifted himself out from beneath your skirt. “You don’t like being eaten out?”

“Well, of course I do, but we don’t have to do all this foreplay stuff. I know men say it can be a hassle-”

“Oh my god.” He huffed and for a split second you were about to snap back at him, yet a warmth spread across your cunt. You squealed, hips twitching. He was licking you over your underwear. No one has ever done that to you before. It was thrilling. You had no idea how something as simple as eating you out was able to make your core explode like fireworks in a dark sky, but Tsukishima was succeeding in it. Hollowing out his cheeks, he applied suction as the wet spot drenching your panties only grew. “Ask me to take off your panties and I will.”

Fuck.

“Take off my panties…”

You’ve never had to ask for anything during sex before. Previous men you have been with just do what they want. Even the shy guys, you give them head and they’re so eager to fuck you that they rush into slipping it in without a second thought of your desires. You couldn’t count the amount of times you had to shout out “Don’t cum inside me!” as the guy would groan in your ear that they were about to cum. Despite that, a good chunk would still cum inside.

You knew it. Tsukishima was different.

You’ve just been surrounding yourself with the wrong people.

You did not want to admit that right now, however. If you did, you’d probably start crying as you accepted that you have been using sex as a self harm tactic to combat the internal hatred you harbor for yourself. At this moment you just wanted to be held and cherished by the sharp witted man about to ravish you. You liked feeling special. He liked making you feel special more. He wanted to pleasure you in a way no man could ever live up to. Plague your mind so that even if you were swooped into the arms of another your thoughts would be full of him. 

Hooking his fingers under your panties, he slid them off. 

He teased you by swiping his tongue up your damp slit. The whimper that flew out only encouraged him to tease you more. A little on the rough side, he started to apply suction to your deprived clit. Electricity bolted up to your brain and then all the way back down to your toes. How does it feel so good? You were confused. Why did it feel so pleasurable? It wasn’t supposed to feel this good, was it?

Your thoughts were drowned out by the sound of your own moans.

Your voice fueled his desire to hear more. Out of nowhere, he began to attack your pussy like he was nothing more than a starved man in the wild. He pushed his tongue inside you which caused you to unintentionally grind your hips against his tongue. More, you wanted more. His tongue slithered around your walls, ripping another cry from your throat. You couldn’t believe you were making such embarrassing noises. You never knew you were capable of such whimpers.

His nose bumped into your clit as he tongue fucked you even deeper. The wetness of his saliva mixed with your slick. His mouth was devouring your pussy and you could tell he was quite experienced. Tsukishima succeeded in his goal, because no man will ever live up to the skill he had with his tongue. 

Tsukishima’s pace never slowed. Up until an intense feeling of ecstasy washed over your entire desperate body, he didn’t let up one bit. You didn’t realize that you were whimpering his name softly under your breath. His dick twitched at the sound and he couldn’t wait to be inside you. It was hard for him not to just take you there and then, but he had an personal obligation to make you cum with his tongue. Strings of curses escaped your lips and he had a front row seat to you cumming on his face.

Not only cumming, however, you were squirting.

Tsukishima lifted his head up from beneath your thighs. You stayed on your back, huffing with wide eyes.  “Was that good?” He asked, the desire for praise more than apparent enough.

You blinked a few times, processing that irresistible new feeling you just experienced. You could see Tsukishima staring at you with a perplexed eyebrow raise. Using your elbows to sit yourself up, you awkwardly smiled. “It was good, really good, I mean I’ve never done that before…”

“You’ve never cum before? Oh wow, you need to pick better gu-”

“No!” You interrupted his misconception. “I never squirted, like that, It’s embarrassing and geez, it’s all over your lips!”

Tsukishima placed his hand against his mouth and rubbed at it with little to no effort. “Oh.” He chuckled at himself, making you smile. “I had a suspicion maybe you liked virgins or something and that’s why you couldn’t cum. You tried to sleep with Yamaguchi afterall.”

“Nothing wrong with virgins.” You retorted. 

He raised his hands in defense. “Sorry, sorry, you fuck a lot of virgins or something?”

You pressed your lips into a thin line. “I fuck a lot of people in general.”

“Oh yeah?” He smirked, climbing back on top of you and hooking his arm under your leg. “What’s your body count?”

“Only polite of you to answer first.”

“It’s high.”

“Same.”

After some silence both of you started to smile, trying to hold back laughter. Tsukishima was the first one to break the quiet. “We’re both sluts then.”

Not the first time you’ve been called a slut and it probably won’t be the last, but somehow this charming man said it in a way that was able to turn you on. Happily, you wrapped your arm around his neck and pulled him closer to your blushed face. You scooted downwards just so he had a better angle to lift up your leg even more. “Fuck me like a slut then.”

You did not need to say that twice.

Desperately with his free hand, he tugged his zipper down and let his cock out into the open. You quickly peeked at it, long enough to get a good look at it but not too long for Tsukishima to notice you staring. You wanted to play it cool. 

It was thick. Precum oozed at the tip of his cockhead, twitching with excitement to sink itself into your wet cunt.

He positioned his cock right against your soaking wet hole. Your pretty pussy was fluttering at the anticipation of finally getting fucked by the one guy you had an attraction to outside just his dick. He sunk into you slowly, biting his lip while doing it. You threw your head back with a moan. Your pussy stretched around his hard member. He started to fuck you with a steady pace. He didn’t just start pounding into you, no, instead he kept a stable rhythm allowing you to get used to the thick cock inside you. 

Still, with every buck of his hips that amazing dick of his hit the sweet, spongy spot deep inside your velvet walls. You whimpered and moaned, embarrassingly still trying to keep quiet in case anyone was nearby to hear you. Your shirt was suddenly pulled upwards along with your bra. You looked up to see Tsukishima practically drooling at the sight of your bouncing boobs. It was a sexy sight, they bounced along with the rhythm of his thrusts. He kept a steady arm around your leg and began to speed up his pace. “What a sight.” He groaned, yet the compliment fell on deaf ears as the volume of your cries filled the air.

He rolled his hips, pushing his cock deeper inside you. His heavy balls slapped against you, only adding to the lewd noises your bodies were making. Your pussy was clenching around him. The burning sensation of delight warmed up your cunt and the nerves surrounding your puffy clit were sparkling. However, none of it compared to how intense the pleasure was in your core. His cock was filling you. The friction was nothing less than addicting. 

You let your arms fall from around his neck onto the blanket. You gripped the fabric into a tight fist. The pleasure he was giving you was purely euphoric and you didn’t know how to handle it. Every cry that was ripped from your throat couldn’t be stopped even if you wanted it to. Even now, when his thrusts were getting sloppier and his groans filled your ears. His cock was twitching against your wet walls and the words “I’m gonna cum.” repeated out of his mouth.

You were too into it that the thought of telling him not to finish inside you wasn’t a concern.

Truly, you wanted him to cum inside you.

Thick, hot semen was pumped into the depths of your delicates. Tsukishima’s head rolled back and he let your leg fall against the bed. Your cunt was milking him perfectly that he could swear up and down that his eyes rolled to the back of his head. After he finished cumming, you both took a moment to catch your breaths and process how that was the best sex either of you have ever had. Hoping that the other was thinking the same thing.

Tsukishima clicked his tongue. “Shit, is there a towel, oh crap, it got on the bed.” He looked around trying to find something suitable to clean up the cum leaking from your cunt. You half sat up, fixing your bra and shirt with one hand then pointed to a side drawer next to the bed. “There's a washcloth in the bedside table there.”

He listened to you and reached over, opening the drawer and taking out the washcloth you knew was there. “How did you know that?” He tossed it over to you and zipped his pants back up. You cleaned yourself and pulled your panties back into place. “I’m friends with the people who rent this house. I’ve fucked many guys on that bed.” Standing up, you patted the wrinkles in your skirt flat. 

Tsukishima wasn’t sure what to say.

You could tell you created an awkward moment, so quickly you added onto it. “And out of all those guys you were the best. So, you were right, it wasn’t that weird.”

He smiled. His smile was contagious and you found yourself grinning along with him. “Good to hear. Are you heading back to your dorm? Sounds like the party died down.”

You nodded. “Yep. Gotta sleep this drunk off.”

“I should walk you home. It’s dark.”

Your heart fluttered. You metaphorically slapped yourself and gulped air down your dry throat, desperately making sure to hide any excitement from him. “That would be the safe thing to do. We’ve both been drinking, maybe you should spend the night. You know, for safety, walking home alone in the dark drunk is dangerous for men too.”

Stars twinkled in Tsukishima’s chest. He began to approach you and at first you weren’t sure what he was doing exactly, though without another moment passing he intertwined his fingers with yours. Pulling you closer to his shoulder and squeezing your hand tightly. It made you feel safe just as he intended.

“You wanna hold my hand?” 

A hint of red tinted his cheeks which went against the demeanor he made sure to force all these years. Maybe both of your auras are attracted to each other. The fear of commitment and stubborn pride caused you both to push away, but in this moment reality felt raw. It made sense.

“Just to be safe, of course.”

[barry-j-blupjeans]

@taznovembercelebration - Sweet

Look, it wasn't as if Taako liked Barry Bluejeans. That was a wild assumption to make straight off the back. This had layers. But if he needed evidence in like, a court situation, or something similar that totally wouldn't happen, where he needed to prove that Barry Bluejeans was awful and an absolute nerd and not good for Lup, he had three key points.

Number one: Lup had a bad taste in men. Granted, she said the same thing about him. But Lup had a very nasty history of choosing the guy whom Taako enjoyed being around the least. And that's not to say she needed to consult Taako every time she found someone new to date. Far from it! Actually, Taako was very glad she wasn't doing that. But from that guy who stole fifteen hundred dollars from them to the man who left the smell of cigars so deeply embedded in their sofa they had to get a new one, he was always very wary of whoever Lup was interested in next.

Number two: Barry was her colleague. From her job. Taako might not be an expert in the dating scene, but he was pretty sure that was a shitty idea. Sure, he seemed decent and nice at work, but who knew what this creep did in other places? Taako very much doubted that he volunteered at pet shelters or was working on curing cancer in his free time. The fact that he arrived in a large white van with zero windows besides the ones at the front seats definitely didn't help the vibe.

Taako didn't wish the man any harm. It was supposed to have been a quick drop-off- According to Lup, Barry hadn't been to work in the past few days due to his mother passing away. Understandable, normal. At least, probably normal, Taako wouldn't know. He was coming to give Lup the notes that he had for their project and then dip.

Platonically. Lup had very much stressed that this was platonic. Taako would have believed her if she hadn't stressed it so much that he started to doubt it.

Lup was still at work, of course, so Taako had to take them. Like a nice, kind brother would. She was making him chicken and dumplings later tonight so she wouldn't be in his debt. Again, totally normal sibling things.

So when Barry Bluejeans (Lup had to be fucking with him) knocked on their door, Taako answered.

Number three: Just like, look at the guy. He looked like a depressed oatmeal cookie. He looked like a grown-up Pillsbury Doughboy in jeans. He looked like if every Hallmark loser boyfriend was stuffed into one guy.

"Uhm, hey," Barry said. He sniffled a little. His eyes were red-rimmed. "This is for Lup."

He held out a thick, bright orange binder. Taako took it and almost, almost, faltered under the weight. Damn, scientists all must have some sick gains to be carrying around shit like this with them. But Taako took it and stood straight, trying not to look like he hadn't worked out since he barely passed his high school gym class.

"I'll get it to her," Taako said. Barry nodded, looking down at his feet instead of at Taako. Taako was strongly reminded of a kicked puppy.

"Thanks," Barry said, pathetically.

He didn't move. Neither did Taako. Barry looked up slightly, caught eye contact for half a second, and then looked down again.

"I'm, uh, I'm gonna get going," Barry said.

Thirty minutes later, Barry was sitting on Taako and Lup's new sofa and crying. Taako was patting his arm. There was a tub of ice cream in between them. Technically, Lup had told him not to eat it, because it was hers, but technically, this was an extenuating circumstance.

"I'm sorry," Barry said, wiping his eyes with one of the dozens of tissues Taako had given him. "I'll- I should get going-"

"You have said that three times in the last half hour, my man," Taako said. "Just accept that we're gonna eat all this ice cream and move on with it."

"Right," Barry said, with another sad sniffle. "I'm sorry, I'm not normally like this-"

"Uh-huh."

"It's just been really hard recently and I know I need to get back to work, but it's hard-"

"For sure."

"But I don't want Lup to have to do this project alone," he said. "That'd be super shitty of me. I just- I don't know what to do. Y'know?"

Taako did not, in fact, know. But he nodded anyway because the talking seemed to be helping.

"Listen," Taako said, slinging his arm around Barry's shoulders. "You're a tough little oatmeal cookie-"

"Th- thank you??"

"And I'm sure you'll get by just fine," Taako continued. "But you're right, leaving Lup to do all the work would be super shitty of you. No doubt. So maybe you can, uh, get out there and, uhm, make your mamma proud. Or whatever. Something like that. Not that she's already not proud of you. Or, uh, that she wasn't."

This was hard. Taako was bad at emotions. What about this guy made Taako want to comfort him instead of just shutting the door? Maybe Barry was an evil wizard using magic spells to lure both him and Lup into a false sense of security before he killed them or something.

"You think so?" Barry said, with such yearning and sweetness that Taako swore he was going to get a toothache. Lup liked this guy? This was the man Lup thought was funny and handsome, in a totally platonic and normal way, thank you very much Taako? This unseasoned piece of chicken eating all their ice cream and making his way through their issues?

He didn't sound like an evil wizard, that was for sure.

"Sure," Taako said easily. "I think that's how it works."

"Thank you," Barry said, his voice wobbly. "That'- that means a lot, Tah-ko."

"Taako," Taako corrected, patting him on the arm. "I'm gonna go get more ice cream. Gimme like, a hot sec and I'll be right back."

He got up from the couch and ducked into the kitchen before pulling his phone out. He shot Lup a text that said,

What are the chances that Barry Bluejeans is an evil sorcerer who runs off ice cream?

For someone who was at work, Lup replied very quickly with a,

Eight percent. He's too sweet to be a completely evil wizard. Maybe like, neutral evil, at most? Also, he's lactose intolerant.

"Goddamnit," Taako muttered.

[nicolettesdreamworld]

Guilty as sin - Chapter 16

Nicolette didn’t buy into Damon’s whole “angelic vibe” theory. There was no way her DNA held any sort of divine lineage. And the Originals’ strange obsession with her? That had to be a fluke, not some celestial force drawing them in. Still, Damon had made her promise she’d wear a white dress, so here she was—after spending way too long curling her hair and rifling through her closet for the perfect one.

When she finally found the right dress, she realized she was already running late. "Great," she muttered to herself, grabbing her bag and rushing to the car. There was no way she was making it on time, but she floored it, driving faster than usual.

Pulling up in front of the massive mansion Damon had texted her about, she checked the clock. Ten minutes late. "So much for making an entrance," she sighed, stepping out of the car.

The grandeur of the mansion loomed over her as she approached the front door, nerves prickling beneath her skin. There was always something unnerving about meeting the Originals, and tonight—with both Klaus and Elijah waiting inside—she knew it would be anything but a normal dinner.

Nicolette’s heart pounded as she stepped up to the front door and knocked. The silence that followed felt heavy, each passing second stretching into what felt like an eternity. She shifted nervously on her feet, wondering if coming here was a mistake. Just as she was about to knock again, the door creaked open, revealing Elijah in the same dark suit he’d worn earlier.

"Nicolette," he said, surprise flickering across his usually composed face. "What are you doing here?"

Her stomach dropped. Damon hadn’t mentioned she was coming. She cursed him silently for putting her in this awkward position. "Damon asked me to come," she explained quickly, trying to maintain a calm exterior. "Sorry I'm late, there was… an emergency."

Elijah gave her a small, understanding smile, though his eyes held an unreadable expression. "It is quite okay," he said, stepping aside to let her in.

As they walked through the grand hallways, she could feel his gaze lingering on her, though it wasn’t unsettling—just curious, as if he was trying to figure something out. When they reached the dining room, however, the atmosphere shifted.

The tension in the air was thick, almost suffocating. Klaus sat at the head of the table, his eyes snapping up the moment she entered. The intensity of his stare only made the tension in the room multiply tenfold, as if her presence had set something in motion. He leaned back in his chair, a dangerous smirk playing on his lips.

"Nicolette," Klaus greeted smoothly, his tone laced with amusement. "I didn’t expect you to join us tonight."

"Neither did I," she muttered under her breath, shooting Damon a quick glare. He raised his glass in her direction, his expression completely unapologetic.

As Elijah pulled out a chair for her, Nicolette could feel Klaus’ eyes still on her, and something told her this dinner was about to get much more complicated than she’d anticipated.

Unfortunately for Nicolette, the seat waiting for her was between Klaus and Elijah. Damon’s ridiculous theory about her so-called "angelic vibe" echoed in her mind, making her suddenly hyperaware of every move she made. If there was even the slightest chance that playing the part of some celestial figure could keep her safe tonight, she would embrace it.

She smoothed out her white dress, reminding herself to exude calm and grace, even if her heart was racing. Looking the part had been the easy part—now, she had to act it. Be the embodiment of light and innocence, as absurd as it sounded.

As she took her seat, Klaus leaned closer, his smirk never fading. "Quite the entrance, love. White suits you."

"Thank you," Nicolette replied, her voice soft and composed, avoiding his gaze. She needed to maintain an air of purity, untouchable and serene. No matter how much Klaus’ proximity unsettled her.

Elijah, sitting to her right, offered her a glass of wine. "I must say, Nicolette, you’ve brought a sense of calm to an otherwise… tense evening." His tone was genuine, though she couldn’t tell if it was admiration or curiosity in his eyes.

She smiled politely, doing her best to play the part. "I’m just here to ensure things go smoothly."

Klaus chuckled lowly. "Ah, so Damon brought you along as his peacekeeper. How very strategic of him." His words dripped with mockery, but there was something else there, something darker beneath the surface.

Nicolette’s spine stiffened, but she maintained her composure, pretending to focus on her wine. "I think he just wanted to make sure we all got through the night without anyone losing their heads. Literally."

Klaus laughed, a cold sound that sent a shiver down her spine. "We’ll see about that."

Caught between two powerful originals, Nicolette had never felt more like a pawn in someone else’s game. Yet if Damon was right, and there was something about her presence that kept these men intrigued, then she’d have to use it to her advantage—no matter how impossible the situation felt.

Nicolette couldn’t shake the feeling that she was playing a high-stakes game of chess, only she barely knew the rules, and sitting opposite her were two masters of the board. Klaus and Elijah—the world champions. The worst part? Her life—and the lives of her friends—depended on her winning this impossible game.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, acutely aware of Klaus’ gaze lingering on her longer than it should. He was sizing her up, testing her moves without saying a word. Elijah, on the other hand, was his usual composed self, but she could sense his mind whirring behind those dark, enigmatic eyes. He was no less dangerous.

Every word, every glance felt calculated, like they were waiting for her to make the wrong move. One false step, and the balance would tip. For now, they were both interested, both watching her, like she was some unpredictable piece on the chessboard, one that neither wanted to lose. Damon’s ridiculous theory about her "angelic" nature suddenly didn’t seem so far-fetched. She could feel it—this strange pull she had over them, like her mere presence kept them teetering on the edge of restraint.

But for how long?

"I must say," Klaus broke the silence, his voice as smooth as ever, "you’ve got a remarkable way of calming the storm, love." His eyes sparkled with something wicked, as if he was testing her.

Nicolette swallowed, maintaining her serene facade. "I wouldn’t count on that lasting."

Elijah leaned slightly closer, his voice quieter, more measured. "I wouldn’t sell yourself short, Nicolette. There’s something about you that even I cannot quite understand."

She was losing ground fast, like her opponent was setting up a trap she couldn’t see. Her heart pounded, but she forced herself to stay composed. One wrong word could shatter the delicate balance in the room. She had to play the game, even if she didn’t know all the rules.

"I’m just trying to survive the night," she said lightly, though her stomach churned with nerves.

Klaus’ smirk deepened. "Surviving? That’s such a dull way to look at things. I much prefer conquering." He leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper, "But then again, I suppose some would call that survival, too."

It was a reminder—this wasn’t just a game of chess. It was a battle for survival. And no matter how angelic she appeared, she was walking a razor-thin line between these two dangerous brothers, praying she wouldn’t be their next casualty.

Nicolette's gaze shot to Damon, silently pleading for an intervention, but it was clear his grand plan of using her to smooth things over had backfired. Now, she found herself smack in the middle of what felt like an Original power struggle, and she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all. Klaus’ smirk was the last straw, but before Damon could even attempt damage control, Elijah stepped in, sensing her discomfort.

"Stefan," Elijah said smoothly, shifting the conversation with the elegance only he could manage. "Where is the lovely Elena tonight?"

Stefan, ever the wildcard without his humanity, responded with a dismissive shrug, "I don’t know, ask Damon."

Nicolette’s stomach twisted, nausea rising at how coldly Stefan tossed Elena into the conversation like she was nothing. The tension spiked instantly, and Nicolette fought the urge to smack him across the face. If she wasn’t supposed to be playing the role of the calm, angelic peacekeeper, she might have.

Klaus, naturally, found it amusing. His laugh echoed through the room, sending a chill down her spine as he glanced at a very confused Elijah. "I’m sorry, brother," Klaus said between chuckles. "You missed so much. Trouble in paradise, I’m afraid."

Stefan's eyes narrowed, his tone flat but deadly. "One more word about Elena, and this dinner is over."

Klaus, ever the instigator, merely pressed a finger to his lips, his smirk unwavering, but there was a dangerous glint in his eyes, like a predator toying with his prey.

Damon, trying to regain control of the situation, jumped in. "You know what? Probably best to keep Elena in the 'do-not-discuss' pile."

Nicolette exhaled slowly, trying to keep her expression neutral, but the entire dinner was spiraling, and Damon’s plan felt less like a strategy and more like a disaster waiting to happen. She glanced again at Elijah, hoping his calm might offer some balance, but the tension between the brothers was palpable.

This wasn’t just a dinner—it was a battlefield, and she was stuck right in the middle, wearing a white dress and a diamond bracelet that now felt like a shackle. One wrong move, one wrong word, and this precarious peace could shatter. All she could do was keep playing her part, as dangerous as it was, and hope she wasn’t the one who would break first.

Klaus' eyes gleamed with a dark amusement as he leaned back, savoring the tension building in the room. "It’s just that the allure of the Petrova doppelgänger remains so… irresistible. What do you think, brother? Should we enlighten our guests about Tatia?" His voice was almost playful, but there was a dangerous undertone that made the air feel thick.

Elijah’s expression hardened, though he remained calm, taking a slow sip of his wine before responding. "Now, why would we discuss such ancient history?"

Klaus smirked, clearly enjoying himself. "Given their shared affections for both Elena and Katerina, I thought our esteemed guests might be curious about the origins of the Petrova bloodline."

Damon, ever ready to stir the pot, chimed in with a smirk of his own. "We’re not going anywhere, Elijah. Please, by all means, enlighten us."

Nicolette, on the other hand, felt her pulse quicken. She wasn’t sure if it was the topic or the tension in the room, but all she wanted in that moment was to be anywhere but there. Still, she kept her composure, knowing better than to let Klaus see any sign of weakness.

Elijah, as always, was dignified, though there was a flicker of something more—regret, perhaps—as he began to speak. "Our family had just settled in the New World. We lived in peace for a time, and during those years, there was a girl. Tatia." His voice softened slightly at her name, a rare glimpse of vulnerability. "She was beautiful, kind, and every boy in the village loved her. But none like.."

"But none like I did," Klaus interjected, his voice low and possessive, casting a glance toward Nicolette, as if testing her reaction.

Elijah ignored him, continuing the tale. "Our mother, in her quest to end our rivalry, took Tatia away. It wasn’t until much later that we learned it was her blood—Tatia's—that she used in the spell that turned us into vampires."

Nicolette gasped softly, the revelation sending a shock through her. She glanced at Klaus, her mind racing. The casual way he spoke about his long-lost love, how deeply entwined the Petrova bloodline was with their family’s curse—it was all overwhelming. And now, Elena, with her connection to this ancient lineage, was tangled in their dark history.

Klaus’ eyes locked on hers, and for a moment, something flickered in his gaze. It wasn’t just amusement—it was something deeper, something unsettling. She suddenly felt like she was being studied, assessed, as though Klaus was wondering how much of Tatia he saw in her.

"It was a tragic love story, really," Klaus said with a mock pout, breaking the silence. "But as with all things Petrova, tragedy seems to follow, doesn’t it?"

Elijah’s face tightened. "That’s enough, Niklaus."

Nicolette swallowed hard, her mind spinning. She hadn’t expected this dinner to turn into a history lesson about the very bloodline that now seemed to have a chokehold on everyone in the room. She glanced at Damon, who, despite his usual bravado, seemed genuinely intrigued by the story.

But all Nicolette could think was how deeply tangled she was in this ancient web—and how desperately she wanted to escape before the strings pulled her in any further.

Nicolette cleared her throat, trying to break the tension and steer the evening back on track. "So, why don’t we discuss the terms of our proposal?" she said, forcing herself to sound calm, even though she could feel her pulse racing.

Damon took the cue, his voice steady as he laid out the deal. "It’s very simple," he said. "Klaus gets his coffin back, and in exchange, he—and the extended Original family—leave Mystic Falls forever. Me, Stefan, Elena, and Nicolette live happily ever after. No grudges."

Elijah, ever the diplomat, nodded in agreement. "The deal sounds fair, brother," he said, his voice cool and measured.

But Klaus wasn’t so easily swayed. His lips curled into a smirk, but his eyes remained cold. "I don’t think you understand," he began, getting to his feet. His presence immediately shifted the energy in the room, dangerous and commanding. "Elena’s doppelgänger blood ensures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those who oppose me. I will never leave her behind."

He began to pace, slowly walking toward Damon and Stefan, his voice low and menacing. "Say I do leave her here, under your protection. What then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies, caught between your feuding?"

Nicolette tensed, every word Klaus spoke cutting deeper. She knew he was manipulating them, sowing doubt, but a part of her couldn’t help but recognize the truth in his words.

Klaus stopped in front of Damon and Stefan, his smirk returning as he delivered the final blow. "You see, each one of you truly believes that you’re the one who can protect her. And that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert… is the two of you."

The room fell into an icy silence. Stefan’s face was stone, his eyes hard with anger, while Damon’s expression flickered between frustration and something like defeat. Nicolette, though trying to stay neutral, felt a knot tightening in her chest. Klaus was playing the long game, and whether they liked it or not, he was winning this round.

"I’m gonna get some air," Damon muttered, abruptly standing up and heading for the door. His usual confidence was replaced by something more vulnerable, more human.

Nicolette watched him leave, feeling the weight of the situation crash down on her. Klaus had a way of twisting things, of making the inevitable seem unbearable, and tonight was no exception. And now, she was stuck sitting between two Original brothers, both of whom had complicated feelings toward her, while Damon, the one person she’d hoped could handle Klaus, was unraveling.

Her stomach twisted. This dinner was a disaster, and she had a sinking feeling it was far from over.

Elijah stood from his seat, his posture composed as always. “I’ll deal with this,” he said calmly, his eyes briefly meeting Nicolette’s before he turned to leave. Nicolette fought the urge to follow him, but she knew better. Leaving Stefan and Klaus alone was a recipe for disaster.

As soon as Elijah stepped out, Klaus leaned back in his chair, his smirk unwavering. “All this talk has made me thirsty,” he announced, waving one of the women forward. The servers had been hovering around them all night—beautiful, barely dressed, their expressions vacant. Nicolette's stomach churned. It was clear they were compelled, forced to wear skimpy outfits and serve the Originals like slaves.

The girl approached Klaus without hesitation, tilting her head to expose her neck. Nicolette watched in disgust as Klaus sank his fangs into her, drinking greedily. His eyes flicked to Nicolette, as if daring her to react. But she didn’t flinch—just stared at him with thinly veiled contempt. Klaus’s indifference to the girl’s life was obvious as he let her body crumple to the ground, discarded like an empty glass.

She couldn't take it anymore. “I’m going to join Elijah and Damon,” Nicolette said, her voice tight with anger as she stood.

Klaus smirked, his eyes glinting with dark amusement. “Oh, come on, love,” he said, his voice dripping with mockery.

But she glared at him, refusing to be baited. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him behind with his smug smile and the aftermath of his cruelty. As she headed toward the door, Nicolette could feel Klaus’s eyes lingering on her, but she didn’t look back. The farther she got from him, the more she could breathe again.

This night was spiraling fast, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that things would only get worse from here.

Next chapter

[rain-world-positivity-blog]

spare iterator headcanons? headcanons anyone?

Oh Nonny you have come to the right person because I have a big bag of lebkuchen, a case of insomnia and a comtempt for my retail job so I can go OFF. I'll hold back a little because I don't want this to get too long.

I'll share with you some of the worldbuilding stuff I have going on for my AU fanfic which may or may not get brought up. This might be character heavy rather than just general so I'm going to say; If anyone wants to share their headcanons, reblog this or send me in an ask about it! I looooooove headcanons and lore dumps... anyways...

~

Okay lets talk about my age headcanons and such to start~

Typically, I tend to divide Iterators up into around 5 categories:

Prototype models-usually simplistic and outdated, with big ass clunky structures that are just an eyesore, puppetless and voiceless and more robotic than the iterators we know. most of these are probably no longer functioning during the games timeline

Early First Generation- different than the rest of the frist gens, these were the iterators who were fresh out of the prototype phases and more like tests. They were the first ones to get puppets. Their emotions aren't as fine-tuned as later models and they retain their larger scale and a lot of the shortcomings found in the prototypes. I headcanon Suns to be in this category! Their emotions are a bit confusing for them and they either have an extreme reaction or take 4-5 buisness days to process.

First Generation- Old and clunky but there's a clear divide between the mid and late firsts and the early ones. By the time these guys got made their creators had mostly figured out what was going wrong with their other models and there were vast improvements! Still problems with them not being as quick as people wanted and known for needing vast amounts of resources, but they were better. I headcanon Moon to be on the cusp between early and mid first. She's a lot more intune with herself and sense of selfhood and personal thoughts than someone like Suns would be but she still gets lost.

Second Generation - Quicker than the firsts and less of a drain on natural resources and more stable when it comes to emotions however, due to being the generation with the least issues they're a lot harder to rein in when they decide to act out of regular protocol. If second gens were dogs they'd be the bastards that get into your bin and eat the food scraps or start chewing on your drywall. They're a good balance between having pretty good processing power and not too damaging on the world around them. I headcanon Wind being early in the second gen, Sliver being slightly younger and NSH being somewhere in the middle.

Third Generation - these fuckers are the slimline ps2 of iterators. They're smaller, faster, but you so much as fart at them wrong and they're going to have a meltdown. Emotionally erratic, some of them half finished construction-wise, a rushed and desperate attempt at trying to find a way, any way, to get to that solution so deeply wanted while also trying to preserve as many resources as possible. Corners got cut, be it in terms of some of them missing certain processors or parts or their programming being a little scrambled. I headcanon UI being somewhere in the middle of this generation while Pebbles would be somewhere towards the tail end of it, he's got the vibe of a teenager who yells YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME, I'M GOING TO SMOKE CIGARETTES TO PISS OFF MY MUM!!

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Annnnd I'll leave this here for tonight! If you have any specific topics you'd like to ask headcanon wise I'll be here for a bit longer tonight but if I don't get to it, I'll get to it tomorrow! I'm curious to see if anyone else has similar headcanons to me!