#i heard them singing happy birthday all as a group which was sweet even if i couldnt make out the name

[dawgsprite]

originally i was annoyed by the fact that my neighbors are blasting music at this party theyre hosting but over the course of the evening it's actually become an endearing demonstration of humanity. i think theyre trying to get everyone to leave by blasting closing time which is what i do sometimes at work. i hope they had fun

[munson-blurbs]

Can I request something with Eddie x reader in a long term relationship. They didn’t meet until their mid to late 20s. maybe they are out to dinner one time with his old highschool buddies and she hears them joke about how eddie always wanted to fuck a cheer leader. she gets the bright idea to buy a cheer leader out fit with a tiny skirt and pom poms and wears it for him one day

Oh, now this is what I'm talking about. Written with the gorgeous queen of fluffy smut, @corroded-hellfire 💚

Warnings: smut (18+ only, minors DNI), oral (m! receiving), unprotected p in v, Reader wears a cheerleading uniform, mention of Eddie's crush on Chrissy

WC: 1.8k

Divider credit to @saradika

It’s not the first time you’ve met any of the guys from your boyfriend’s old Hellfire gang. It is the first time that you’ve been around them as a group, though. They’re much louder in a pack—not necessarily trying to shout, just be heard over the guy who is telling a story next to them. 

The guys are funny though and you’re enjoying getting a glimpse of what High School Eddie was like from those who got to experience it first hand. It wasn’t terribly long ago that they were all in high school together; you’re all only in your twenties. But Eddie seems to groan every time there’s a reminder that the youngest guys in the group can legally drink now. 

“So tell me more about this hellion during his younger years,” you say with a laugh, draping an arm over his denim-clad shoulders. “Because he claims to have been a total badass, but he’s such a teddy bear.” To emphasize your point, you smack a wet kiss to his cheek. 

Eddie blushes but doesn’t wipe it off; instead, he tilts your chin till you’re facing him and kisses you until the group throws wadded-up paper napkins at you both. 

“This guy was definitely not a teddy bear,” Lucas says. “I asked him to postpone one Hellfire meeting so I could play in the championship basketball game, and he put me on probation!”

You look at Eddie, slack-jawed. “Eds!” you chastise him teasingly. 

“It was the last campaign of the year!” Eddie rebuts. “Actions have consequences, Sinclair.”

Lucas rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his drink, using his free hand to flip off his friend. 

Dustin cackles at the exchange. “Yeah, he was pretty much an asshole to everyone.” His voice is mischievous as he waggles his eyebrows and adds, “except Chrissy Cunningham.”

“Ooh,” you mimic Dustin’s playful tone. “And who is Chrissy Cunningham?”

“Head cheerleader, cute and blonde, super sweet to, like, everybody,” Mike pipes up.

Eddie gets flustered, not because Chrissy was brought up, but he thinks hearing about his crush on her might upset or annoy you. He sputters over his words, which just riles him up even more. 

“I don’t think we need to, uh, talk about that,” Eddie says, shaking his head.

“Why? What happened?” you ask with a frown. It was no secret between you and Eddie that neither of you were popular in high school and had crushes that went unrequited. But Eddie never told you about anything particularly bad happening between him and a cheerleader.

“What?” Eddie asks before realizing what you mean. “Oh, no! Nothing happened. We spoke maybe a handful of times ever. I just didn’t think this would be something you would want to hear about…”

Eddie brow pinches in worry but you just laugh and wave a dismissive hand.

“Eddie, come on. Who wouldn’t have a crush on the sweet, pretty cheerleader? I mean, I had a thing for my school’s star basketball player back in the day. You know that.”

Lucas laughs. “You definitely would’ve hated the star basketball player at our school.”

“Kid was a total douche,” Jeff adds. “Made these obnoxious, over-the-top speeches that had everybody rolling their eyes.”

“So, like Eddie, but athletic,” Gareth chimes in, putting his hands up in surrender when Eddie shoots him a look and then breaks into a grin. 

The waiter brings out a chocolate cake, loudly singing Happy Birthday to Eddie, which promptly puts a stop to their bickering and taunting. The guys lock in on the dessert, serving Eddie the first slice before turning into barbarians over the second. 

You finally manage to snag a slice among the chaos, but your mind is elsewhere. If Eddie was as into cheerleaders like his friends claim, you might be able to finagle one last birthday surprise.

A week passes from the dinner-turned-impromptu-Hellfire-meeting. Eddie saunters through the door, tossing his keys on the counter. 

“Babe? You home?” His hair is kept in a low bun; it’s easier to work on cars with it out of his face. 

“In the bedroom!” you call back from behind a half-closed door. 

Eddie kicks his boots off in the general direction of the welcome mat. “How was your day, sweetheart?” he asks as he walks down the hallway towards your room. “Mine was pretty good. I just—holy shit.” He comes to a halt in the doorway, jaw dropping open as he stares at you. 

You lounge on the bed waiting for him, a green and white cheerleading uniform on. There wasn’t one with some yellow on it as well like Hawkins High’s had when you’d gone looking, but you didn’t think your boyfriend would mind. 

He stands frozen and it makes you let out a small giggle before trying to regain the seductive air you’d been going for. 

“Wh…What’s all this?” he manages, caught completely off-guard by your outfit of choice. 

“Just your own personal cheerleader,” you say nonchalantly, crooking your finger and beckoning him over. “Wanna see my pom-poms?”

His grin nearly splits his face in two. “Yeah—wait, do you mean, like, actual ones, or…” he trails off and shakes his head. “Ah, fuck it.” He grabs you and pulls you onto his lap. 

“So, do I get to see a cheer?” he asks with a smirk. “A little, ‘two-four-six-eight, who do we appreciate?���”

You kiss his neck and murmur, “kinda figured my mouth would be busy somewhere else.” Your lips down the pale expanse of bis torso and you unbuckle his belt. 

Eddie groans and leans back against the headboard, eagerly watching you. He lifts his hips enough so you can slide his pants and boxers all the way off and toss them aside. 

You make sure to keep your gaze locked on his as you start to stroke him, using his pre-cum to lubricate your palm. “Tell me what you need, baby.”

He inhales sharply, trying to remain focused. “Need you to suck me off.”

You get on your knees in front of him so he can see down your uniform top, and he twitches against your lips. Flattening your tongue against the base of his shaft, you lick up to the head and wrap your lips around the tip before slowly taking him into your warm, wet mouth. 

“Fuuuuuck,” Eddie breathes out, throwing his head back and exposing his Adam’s apple. “Thassit, just like that.”

The tang of pre-cum is salty on your tongue, and you lap it up gratefully. Your fingers dig into the flesh of his ass as you pull him towards you, your nose grazing his pubic hair. 

“So good, goddamn, honey,” he mumbles, more gibberish than logic, “take me so well. Givin’ me the best fuckin’ head of my life.”

You’re more than happy to continue this, cheeks hollowed and tongue swirling around the sensitive tip, eagerly anticipating his cum down your throat. 

Eddie has other plans. 

He begrudgingly steps back, his throbbing cock thwacking against his stomach. If he pulls out of a blowjob, it usually means—

“Bend over, princess.”

You do as he says, palms pressed into the mattress. He quickly flips up your skirt, exposing your bare ass. 

Eddie laughs triumphantly. “Oh, fuck yes.” He taps the head of his length against it before pushing down on your back, giving him a better view of your pussy. “Mine,” he growls in your ear. 

The moan that tumbles out of your lips from his words only increases tenfold when he pushes inside of you. It makes Eddie smirk in satisfaction as his hands grip your hips beneath the pleats of the skirt. His eyes slip closed as he loses himself in the feeling of you around his cock. 

You whine as Eddie bottoms out, fingers grasping at the blanket below you. “God, Eddie, yes.”

Eddie’s thrusts gain momentum and he pulls your hips back against him for every one, never missing a beat. “Shit, you’re so fucking good for me. Your pussy’s so goddamn tight, fuck.” 

“Mhm, uh-huh.” The drag of his cock against your walls leaves you speechless, only able to whine, no coherent thoughts in your head. 

“My cheerleader feels good, huh? Aw, baby,” he coos, “so good you can’t even talk, yeah?”

Even if you had the capability to answer, you wouldn’t have time before Eddie pulls out of you for the second time today and flips you onto your back. Your legs fall open for him immediately in this new position and he wastes no time pushing back into you. 

He leans over your body, slipping his hands up the top half of your uniform. “Most beautiful cheerleader I ever fuckin’ saw,” he purrs as his hands grope your chest.

Your legs wrap around his body, only pulling him deeper inside of you. “So good,” you slur, eyes half-lidded. You feel your orgasm crash over you, waves of pleasure rippling through your body. 

Eddie’s hands slip out of your top and run down your arms until he laces his fingers with yours. He lifts your hands over your head, keeping a tight grip on you as his hips pick up the pace. Now that you came, he can take what he needs. 

“So tight,” he mumbles, breathing heavily. You can tell that he’s close. “Gonna cum all over this pretty little uniform of yours, ‘kay?”

You can only nod, and he leans in and kisses you one last time before pulling out and painting you in his release. Sticky warmth coats the exposed strip of flesh between the top and skirt, some of it staining the uniform’s fabric. He moans out your name as he jerks the last of his spend out of his cock.

“Holy shit,” he exhales, drinking in the sight of you in your cheerleader outfit and covered in his cum. His sexy cheerleader wearing his cum. The thought has him almost up for another round already. 

He leans over to the nightstand and reaches for a tissue to clean you up, but you wave him off. Your hand catches his wrist and you softly run your fingertips up to his elbow.

“Leave it,” you tell him with a smirk. “I want it to stain.” You’ll wake up in the morning to it dried on the uniform, a reminder of tonight.

“Goddamn, baby.” Eddie lets out a breathy chuckle and flops down next to you, completely exhausted. “I was not expecting this, but I’m certainly not complaining.” 

“Well,” you say, a teasing lilt in your voice. You push up onto one elbow, and gaze at him knowingly. His hair is a mess, his chest is rising and falling rapidly. He looks wrecked, and it’s a beautiful sight. “You’d better drink some Gatorade, babe. Because this is only halftime.”

--

[live-laugh-legolas]

Heelloooo!!! Your headcanons always make my day, I was thinking what the fellowship would give on y/n's birthday.. since it's also my birthday today :3

not forcing you to do this, good luck though!!

Happy birthday!!

The Fellowship on your Birthday

Aragorn:

-He keeps things simple and sweet

-He probably has a nice dinner prepared

-He seems like the type to gift you some sort of charm that is supposed to bring you good luck or something

-Maybe it’s a necklace, or a pin, or maybe even an engraved knife

Legolas:

-Elves I doubt really celebrate birthdays; or when they do it’s for like every 1000 years

-But he is told he should celebrate yours so he makes an effort

-Perhaps too much of an effort; he probably gifts you a literal horse or something because he isn’t sure what would be an appropriate gift

-The reason I’m saying that is I imagine him over hearing the classic little kid wanting a pony and he assumes this is what you give someone

-However I also heard somewhere that elves maybe celebrate yearly the date of conception rather than birth but I’m not positive on this

Gimli:

-Big feast planned all in your honor

-He will never turn down the chance to have a big party

-I imagine dwarves often gift jewelry or oriental type weapons (but ones you can use, not just for display)

-Lots and lots of singing; and the party goes well into the morning

Boromir:

-You know that family member who is purposely trying to embarrass you on your birthday?

-That’s him

-My aunt calls every year and sings Happy Birthday so loud and bad but it’s always a highlight

-He does things like this; grand solo performance of the song (but he has taken creative liberties with it)

-He would gift a very nice new cloak or boots

-He gives practical gifts; but always really nice ones

Frodo, Sam, Merry, & Pippin

-I don’t generally group anyone together for hcs but the Hobbits are known to have kinda of strict standards for birthdays

-Birthdays are a time for grand celebration for Hobbits and there will be a big party

-The one being celebrated both receives gifts but more so they give gifts

-I believe they only receive gifts from those closest to them; but you are close to them so you get one

-Our hobbits would give you something in private to keep it personal

-Frodo would maybe give you some books or a nice new quill for writing

-Sam would make you a really tasty cake and would plant pretty flowers outside your house

-Merry is a rich boy and would give you some sort of fancy trinket; I’m picturing a telescope or something

-He would also be very sneaky in finding out exactly what you want; I mean he is canonically kinda a spy/detective with how he figured out the ring

-And lastly Pippin would steal a firework from Gandalf to give to you…

Gandalf:

-His gift is entertainment with his fireworks

-I could also picture him giving you nice socks

-Idk why

———————————————————————

I hope you have a great birthday! I’m sorry that this is kinda short and messy but I wanted to get it out today; and I’m also not someone who is good at knowing what to give people so thinking of gifts was kinda hard ngl lol.

I also didn’t do any research on the customs of the different races birthday celebrations; this was all from my memory which is often jumbled

[somevirtualnolife]

A Birthday Fit For a Prince

1382 words

Also on Ao3

Rating: G

Series: Tokimeki Memorial: Girls Side 2nd Kiss

Pairing: Daisy (OC) x Saeki Teru

Summary: Wishing the seaside coffee prince a Happy Birthday! Whether he likes it or not.

Author’s Note: July 19th Saeki Teru's Birthday and this is the first year that I actually was prepared and had the time to write one. Please enjoy this fic with my usual OC, Mizuki!

I hope you look forward to the next chapter as well. :)

Birthdays are annoying.

That’s what Saeki Teru always told himself. Ultimately, birthdays were more about other people than the person whose birthday it actually was. There always seemed to be tons of people making a big fuss, whether they knew you or not. And tons of people also meant that Saeki would feel the need to go into Prince Mode, which he could usually manage, but it felt even more draining during celebrations. While most people would just be themselves in a situation like this, Saeki just couldn’t. Perhaps it was the people pleaser in him. He knew that they meant no harm, but even then he just felt that he always had to be on his best behaviour.

“Are you sure you don’t to go out for your birthday?” one of the girls surrounding him asked with pleading eyes. “We can go out for karaoke~!”

The white-haired young man felt the side of his right eye twitch. He couldn’t think of anything less that he’d want to do as a celebration. A dark, crowded room with everyone singing off-key? Pass.

“It’s fine,” his lips curved into an apologetic, but charming smile. “I don’t think we’d be able to get a room to fit everyone, and that would be unfair if I had to choose between you lovely maidens don’t you think?”

The gaggle of girls swooned in unison and agreement.

“Saeki-kun, you’re so considerate!”  

“Saeki-kun is always putting others before himself!”

“Truly a prince! We must think of something else to do then.”

Give me a break.

“Saeki.” he heard again, but the tone this time did not sound sweet and innocent, but instead, was curt, if not bordering on outright rude. Kind of like him when he was talking to…

He looked past the group in front of him and noticed a curly-haired brunette with a hand on her hip and her foot tapping impatiently.  

Mizuki.

“What kind of guy leaves a girl waiting, huh? Practice finished 15 minutes ago, and you promised me you were going to carry my things home!”

“I did?” Since when did she ever need help with her stuff?

She raised her eyebrows and nodded slowly. And then it clicked.

An out.

“Oh-oh right! Of course, my apologies. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“You’d better be.”

She nodded one more time before giving one last cold glance and walking off. Saeki’s eyes couldn’t help but linger, but not so much so that it was obvious. He didn’t want to blow their cover.

“Forgive me, ladies, it appears that I really can’t go out tonight. A promise is a promise and I would hate to let down the head cheerleader. They are cheering our baseball team to Koshien after all.”

The girls let out a collective cry of disappointment.

“Shirogawa-san making you carry her stuff on your birthday is just so plain rude though! Someone should talk to her about it.”

“She seems kind of scary though and the cheerleading team so they might come after us...” 

Saeki gave them one last reassuring smile, hoping that would be enough to keep them off for now. His smile was soon replaced by a scowl as soon as he turned the bend and headed down the stairs. They were pretty easy to please, but also incredibly difficult to get rid of. They weren’t bad per se, just a lot. He had always promised his parents that he would be on the best behaviour at school in exchange for being allowed to work at Sangosho. He had not anticipated to have an entire fan club come out of it.

Once he made it to the first floor, it wasn’t before long that he made it down to the shoe lockers and spotted Mizuki.

“Thanks. I thought I was never gonna get home,” he yawned before opening his locker. “Not the best way to get on their good side though, Mizuki.”

“Every fairy tale needs a wicked witch in his story, right? An evil sea queen dragging the prince down to her lair for someone to rescue. Which none of them are brave enough to do, so I guess you’re safe for now,” her fingers wiggled in front of her as though she were casting a spell, before a laugh finally escaped her lips.

He tried to keep a straight face, but he had to admit her antics were endearing. Guess he wasn’t the only one who could keep up an act.

“So do you actually have anything for me to carry or was that all an act as well?”

“Of course I do. If I’m gonna risk my neck saving you from a rabid group of fangirls, the least you can do is carry stuff for me,”

“I knew there was some kind of catch.” Saeki crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. That was how it always was with them, wasn’t it?

“You’re such a baby. Just be grateful that I’m not charging you actual money for my services. I could have just left you to fend for yourself.”

He made a tch sound. Knowing her, she probably had a whole stack of books for him to bring home, especially since the summer holidays were about to start. She just hit the top 20 in their year and she knew how determined she was to beat him in the next exams.

“Whatever. Just pass it here.”  

Rather than giving him her whole bag, Mizuki instead reached in and pulled out an envelope addressed to him.

“I know you hate celebrations, but Chiyo-chan took me to this really cute shop that sold stickers and couldn’t resist. They were made by a local artist too, who is totally obsessed with the ocean! Kind of like a certain someone I know” As excited as she sounded, her eyes were not meeting she extended her arm to hand the envelope to him.

“I’m not obsessed,” Saeki carefully took it from her hand and looked it over. It was light blue with a variety of sea animal stickers placed on the front and back. He then pulled open the flap. Inside were two items. The first being a conch-shaped card.

Happy Birthday, Teru!

Whenever I think of your birthday, I think of the start of the summer and the beach. I already know that you’re gonna hit the waves on your surfboard, so why not do it in style?

Your friend and cutest co-worker,

Mizuki

The second item looked like a sticker of some sort. A lighthouse with a mermaid on one side and a dolphin on the other. It was beautiful, looking more like a painting than a sticker. His heart twisted in the way that it always did whenever they were alone.

Your “friend”, huh? I guess they had agreed that was their label for now.

“I think the cat that hangs around Sangosho might be our cutest co-worker,” he responded with a slight smirk, quickly glancing up to see her reaction. As expected, she rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. 

“Whatever. Happy birthday, you idiot,” she shifted her bag strap from one shoulder to the other. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow, okay?”

Before she could leave, he gently took her hand into his, his turn now to avoid looking directly at her.

“I have to waterproof this so that it doesn’t come off the board, you know. And I need help deciding where to put it.” With his free hand, he scratched the back of his neck. “And even though I told him not to, Gramps made a cake… there’s no way the two of us could finish it tonight. And leftover cake just isn’t as good the next day.”

Mizuki’s eyes glanced around on either side of them before she interlocked her fingers with his. Her hands were not delicate, but he couldn’t help but want to treat them as such.

“You’re such a pain, you know that?”

“You’re the one that decided to get me a gift. Now you’ve forced me to celebrate. It’s kind of inconsiderate, don’t you think?”

“Mmhmm. Sure~” she nudged him slightly before leaning her head on his forearm as they walked.

Saeki didn’t want to say it aloud, but maybe, just maybe…

Birthdays weren’t all that bad after all.

[khancrackers]

 🎶✨ When you get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. Then, send this ask/tag 10 of your favourite followers ✨🎶

(tagged by @maxwell-grant - thanks, I enjoy doing this sort of thing)

(5): 'Shut In' - Strand of Oaks.

This track is very consciously emulating Bruce Springsteen (which I like), but I also hear 19th Century/early 20th Century church hymns in there (which I also really like). The overall effect is one of deep reverence free from any irony. The song itself is about creating what you love without the need to be novel, overcoming fear and anxiety, and being okay with where and who you are.

(4): 'River Driver' - Great Big Sea.

A folk song from the point of view of the loggers of Newfoundland. No instruments, just a little percussion (probably knocking on a table) and voices. It's a sad drinking song about those who lead hard lives ("I was just the age of sixteen when I first went on the drive"), their wild fantasies ("I'll build a lonesome castle upon some mountain high"), how these aren't even free from their labors ("Where she can sit and view me as I go passing by"), and how they wish to die ("Just get a little bluebird to sing for me alone").

(3): 'She Likes Girls' - Metro Station.

Basically this is a song from the perspective of a guy who thinks he is this incredible lover, who knows what women want...and he knows that THIS particular woman doesn't want him. She's interested in other women, and he's trying SO HARD to be chill and supportive, while also trying too hard to communicate how cool he is about the whole thing. It's funny as hell, doesn't quite work, and that's why I like it. Also it slaps, which is important.

(2): 'Will You Have A Drink With Me?' - Tyler and Maggie Heath.

It's cute and sweet. Tyler and Maggie Heath are the core of The Oh Hellos, and this song and the story behind it is the genesis of the group's name:

"One of the stories we drew from [our time in Ireland] was when a belligerently drunken man stumbled out of a bar (at 7 PM) and starting desperately hitting on our mother. His opening statement was, of course, “Oh! Hello. Will you have a drink with me?” So now our mother has not only a song to commemorate her misfortune, but also now a whole band. Happy birthday, mom."

And the track credits from the bandcamp page:

seriously, we love you! and what is love, if not the absolute refusal to let a running joke be forgotten? Happy Birthday, Mom!

And that's just great.

(1): 'Norwegian Raggaeton' - Nanowar of Steel.

It has to be heard to be believed. An unholy fusion of seemingly the most incompatible musical genres, combining English, Spanish, and uh, Latin lyrics, but they tackle it with such gusto and charm. It goes hard. It slaps. It's funny as hell. It slices, it dices, it does julienne fries. And most of all, whenever I think about it, I too want to sing along: "Profanar la tumba / al ritmo de la rumba / con Fenriz y Darkthrone / Norwegian Reggaeton!"

That's five songs I actually listen to. I skipped over a bunch of Yorushika and other Japanese artists because while I do love them, I don't know how to talk about them.

Tagging: MY LINE ENDS WITH ME

[diorgirl444]

𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞 ༊*·˚

@goodoldfashionedluvergirl

loud music and the flickering lights of candles danced from the cave. If anyone got close and peeked through the gaps in the walls, they would see the endearing sight of a group of boys trying their earnest best to sing happy birthday to a girl with curly red hair. and though it was grating and very out of tune one could not deny the sweetness that went with it. The girl in question was widely smiling, her eyes large and reflecting the joy of the scene appearing around her tenfold. The cake they held matched the scene. It was slightly mashed-looking and had slightly wonky candles but if you had asked anyone who tasted it would fondly say that it was simply the best cake they had ever eaten. After singing Charlie bowed and begged for her to blow her candles out. as she lent to do so she heard Todd whisper in her ear “make a wish”  

it was a marvelous birthday if ever she had one. When it came to presents, she was overwhelmed by their gifts and the thoughtfulness of it all. Neil had bought her a beautiful vintage copy of “the importance of being earnest, Charlie had given her a locket which held a photo of the pair of them as children, Pitts had baked the wonky cake, Meeks had nurtured a small seedling of a rose “for her name” he had explained and Cameron had found a pretty little music box which played the sugarplum fairy dance music which she had once mentioned that she longed to see. she felt their kindness settle in her like a gorgeous golden light of all that is good and right in this world. but the gift that meant the utmost to her was Todd's gift. He had gotten all their attention before announcing that he would like to recite a poem. This was understandably a significant moment. Todd never recited so when he said he was going to the other poets whooped, and cheered, slapping him on the back. Todd's eyes remained trained on Eva though.  

He cleared his throat before beginning and the noise ceased. 

“Light pauses to look at her, 

for it knows that it pales in comparison, 

it knows that its glimmers and glows are nothing to the way her eyes glimmer and glow, 

the sea stops at her feet, 

for it knows that it pales in comparison, 

it knows that its waves and curls are nothing to the way her hair waves and curls, 

the air even catches its breath when she appears, 

for it knows that it pales in comparison, 

yes, it too knows that its lilts and chuckles are nothing to the way her voice lilts and chuckles,

 

I too stop when she stands before me, 

for I know that I pale in comparison, 

yes, I too know that I am not worthy to catch the eye of such an angel, 

for I am not another angel I am simply a boy who longs to hold her close” 

When he finishes his eyes drop her gaze. 

The other boys are cheering again but neither Eva nor Todd hears them. They are too focused on each other. 

neither of them says anything again to each other that night till the time comes for Todd to walk her back to her dorm. They walk in silence but just as she goes to walk in, she pauses. “Did you mean what you said in that poem.” Todd nods too shy to speak. she continues “well I loved it Todd” he speaks then “you did?” she nods “I’ll prove it to you” he goes to ask how but before he can get the words out, she kisses him.  

and all she can think is that all the books she’s read are wrong. No fireworks are exploding inside instead she feels unbelievably warm and happy. He tastes like birthday cake, and she can feel him smiling into the kiss, but it does not bother her one bit. when they pull away his forehead still presses against hers and he whispers to her “happy birthday Eva Rose I hope your wish comes true.” she whispers back “it already has” and then she leans in again… 

hope you liked it happy early birthday eva rose <3

[angelic-jeonghan1004]

I think it’s perfect | Nicholas

&team time again! I’m giving a lot of my old writings to them for groups I dont write much anymore but liked the work I made for them, this was originally for Hongseok but Nicholas I think fits alright as well <3

Warnings: Mention of food, light cursing, very corny

Pairing: Nicholas x reader

Genre: fluff! Soulmate au were your only way of communication is via singing you can always hear ur soulmates hums/voice but can’t give info like ur name and such (usual soulmate au rules)

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

It started when you were 8 that you started hearing your soulmate sing, for all people it was different ages where it started but for you it was 8 when you heard him sing. Working on a school project you got shocked when you heard a boy's voice start singing a happy birthday to what you where assuming was one of his friends, asking your parents if that was normal they laughed and nodded their heads yes remembering when they’d go to birthday parties and hear the other one singing for a friend.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

As you two started growing in your teenage years the boy had a beautiful voice which left you self conscious so the only time you’d be singing is when you’d do it mindlessly. Unknown to you your soulmate was confused on why you didn’t sing as much but he had no way to poke at it to find out, he enjoyed your singing voice and liked hearing it even if it stopped him from sleeping sometimes from your late night studying with playlists in the background.

One of your most embarrassing yet meaningful moments with your soulmate was when you were really scared of how your grades would be in your project you worked hard on that was supposed to be a group project; yet you ended up being the only one to work on it leaving it sloppy in parts. Grading came back getting a D. You were distraught since it was an assignment that meant a lot for your grade and you feared your parents reaction. Not being able to stop the tears running through your face you tried to listen to music that would comfort you, deciding to humm the lyrics quietly. Your soulmate took quick action being able to hear the sobs in your humming he worried for you, you were his soulmate after all.

“It’s okay~ you’ll be okay~” he sang, he wanted to comfort you but didn’t know what to do since he can only communicate through singing. You smiled, taking note at how your soulmate is sweet for trying to help, not sure if he was singing a song but you realized from your humming he probably heard your muffled sobs through the song.

“I’ll be okay~” you sang shaky while chuckling lightly at the absurdity of it all. He couldn’t help but feel warm hearing your laugh effect the ‘okay.’ Through this interaction he wondered what other things he could talk to you about through singing for how much the laws of singing soulmates would allow.

It’s a warm moment you hold with you, it also started the asking questions in a sing song voice or communicating through the songs you’re listening to with that.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Even though you weren’t the most confident in your voice you really wanted to communicate with him. Thinking of different ways to start a conversation through a song or a sing-song voice you’d seem to back out easily. You’ve also spent times thinking about how you’ll meet him, will you be able to tell it’s him just from his voice? What will happen if you hear him sing in front of you? Many questions you don’t have the answer to but nonetheless you still are eager to meet him, sleeping on those questions you waited till morning to brainstorm a bit. Waking up you brushed your teeth and got ready for the day but since it was a weekend you didn’t have much to do so you searched up songs on youtube to play. You were struggling to pick a song but decided with L.O.V.E by Frank Sinatra to listen to as you cleaned your room up mindlessly you started to sing along to the song swaying your body as you folded clothing.

“L is for the way you look at me~ O is for the only one I see~” you sang, letting yourself let go for a moment to just enjoy the warm feeling that was being created.

“V is very very extraordinary~” Your soulmate sang along morning voice active in how he sang obviously sleepy, you found it cute that he knew the song and sang along; it wasn’t uncommon for him to jump into the songs you were listened too but you were always pleasantly surprised from him knowing the song. You also couldn’t help to admit how dreamy his voice is, he definitely was gifted in vocals and that you were sure of.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Sleepovers with your best friend were always pleasant, she gave the most welcoming space to you whenever you came over. Baking cookies she got reminded of a certain someone and went quickly to tell you about him.

“Soooo y/n there’s this guy that I think you’d hit it off with amazingly. He’s from the cooking workshop I have been going to this week and I became his friend early on and I think you two would make a great pair, can you please please please let me play matchmaker just one time?” She said to you looking at you with plead in her eyes, chuckling at her please you decided to hear more into her reasoning before accepting the offer of match making.

“Okay okay tell me more about him,, I’m a little unsure since what if he’s not my soulmate?” You said.

“But !! To counteract what if he IS your soulmate?? And he’s tall, muscular, very sweet, charming, smart and a really good cook and your love for food and his match well” She said laughing, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to give it a shot she genuinely seems to like him as a match for you out the different times she’s tried to play matchmaker this one seems different.

“Okay fine but if the date goes wrong you owe me okay?” Nudging her shoulder

“Deal.” Your friend said nudging you right back

“Wait what’s his name?”

“Nicholas” your friend said with a wink causing you to roll your eyes. You soon began to smell a little bit of burning quickly marking the question.

“How long have the cookies been in there?”

“Oh fu-”

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Your friend doing her magic in getting the okay to give you his phone number for a date you couldn’t help but get a little nervous. What if things are awkward? What if he’s not like how she says he is and he’s only like that with her since he’s trying to impress her? Millions of questions pop up until she texts you.

The best girl: his number is ×××-×××-×××× thank me later😘

The roll on your eyes could not be stronger but you typed his number in your phone and went to text him

Y/n: hey is this Nicholas?

Nicholas?: Yes it is 😊 I’m guessing your y/n?

Y/n: So do you want to grab coffee Saturday? We could get to know each other?

Nicholas: sounds like a plan☺️

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

All the days leading to Saturday many thoughts were taken and texts were sent back and forth so you weren’t complete strangers and he was genuinely really sweet and you did have a lot in common, you hadn’t checked up on your soulmate through sing quizzing in a while so you were nervous in some senses since what if this is your soulmate? Or what if he’s not? So many questions but you’d rather let them stay blank for now instead of stressing further.

Walking down the sidewalk you started humming a holiday tune whether it be Michael Buble or Frank Sinatra you were having a euphoric moment in the giddy feeling of going on a date with the snow falling from the sky. Your excitement was prominent. The sweet feeling had a curl to it when your soulmate started humming to, what if you’re meeting him? But what if you’re not and he’s so cutely humming with you? Not wanting to have this moment you stopped humming and quickly started moving towards the end of the block where the cafe was at.

Once reaching it you went inside standing near the entrance so he’d see you when walking in, going to text him on your phone saying you were here was quickly stopped once you got a tap on your shoulder.

“Excuse me, are you y/n?” Turning around seeing a tall unbelievably handsome boy say to you, standing there taking in his features you noted his cute brown hair and plump lips, he looked like a cute tall ducky in which you smiled at him before getting too lost in thought.

“Yes that’s me” You said smiling brighter with a light chuckle causing him to flash a smile right back.

“Would you like to order with me?” He said taking his hand out for you to hold, taking his hand in yours nodding; your heart stumbled at how nice it felt to be on a date and how cute he was.

Once ordering drinks and getting to your table you began to start talking together.

“So what did you do before getting here?”

“Well I got ready, made sure to look nice, then went on my walk to hear humming a few tunes, not the most interesting things” saying with nervous laughter, you saw his eyes shoot up.

“What were you humming?” He said quickly.

“Oh just your usual holiday season music like 'It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’ simple songs like that.” You said starting to think about your soulmate and see if this could be the make or break if this was your soulmate.

“This may sound crazy but you might be my soulmate.” He said ears red.

“Did you hum along the tune with me?” Saying barely above whisper. He quickly nodded at you looking down at your hands that were still connected giving it a tight squeeze.

“To attest can you sing for me? I know my soulmates voice like the back of my hand at this point.” You said smiling causing him to go beat red, you both knew you were most definitely right but not too bad to be careful.

“L is for the way you look at me” Once he sang you knew it was him, the smile beaming on your face your heart couldn’t help but melt at the simple reference for song choice.

“I can attest it’s you, your voice is gorgeous Nicholas. I wish mine was as good as yours” You said with a blush growing on your face.

“No matter how you feel about your voice I think it’s perfect.”

[kamildawww]

today is the birthday of the cutest and nicest person in the whole wide world! happy birthday to John Richard Deacon who was born on august 19, 1951! i wish this talented person all the best in his life, and most importantly, health, happiness and peace, so that no one violates his personal space! i hope that he will have a wonderful birthday in the circle of his close and loving people. we are all very happy that this humble bass player appeared in the group "Queen", without him there would not be such incredible riffs and songs that he wrote, which became hits in many countries, if not all over the world, of course! ;) Deaky is a good, sweet, kind, talented, handsome and supportive person who i am sure can help his friends and loved ones in their time of need. and also, he has a great voice, so that he doesn’t talk about himself there, but when i heard him sing, i immediately realized that he underestimates himself, but it was his choice, so i won’t say anything about it, hehe. i hope that there are fewer fans who overstepped John's personal boundaries and that they realized that they were doing it wrong; i really hope that there are fewer of them and now Deaky is more comfortable at home and in society! because when i heard about the situations that happened to him, i was very upset that people can behave like this.. everyone should respect the choice of a person. let's not talk about the bad. John is a very strong person who was able to overcome the difficulties in his life, i'm so proud of him, he is great. John is dear to each of us in his own way, for some he became a star that leads along the right path, and for some he became an inspiration and example; probably someone even started playing the bass guitar because of him! :D for me, he is an inspiration and a guiding star; when i see him, i immediately feel better in my soul, seeing his smile, i feel that he is next to me, yes, strange, but true. he inspired me to create my works and much more, for which i am very grateful to him! <:) that's all, once again i want to wish Deaky an incredible birthday, good health, a long and happy life, good and positive thoughts. love and cherish you John so much, thank you for appearing in my life, i am very grateful that i found out about you. happy birthday our Legend! about art: i tried to draw a gift for John as realistic as possible, this is the first time i'm doing this, so don't judge strictly, i hope it turned out ok!! ":D

[yoonieper]

Jingle Bell Rock | KSJ

✫ Pairing: Seokjin x Reader

✫ Genre: strangers to lovers, fluff

✫ Rated: S for Silver

✫ Warnings: seokjin gots those heavenly vocals ✨, reader is head over heels for our boy, seokjin is hot and sweeping y/n of her feet, be prepared to be charmed~

✫ Word Count: 3.3k

✫ Prompt: This fic is for the 12 Days of BTS with BCC, it is inspired by the prompt “Christmas Carols”

✫ Summary: A cute boy with a beautiful voice keeps showing up on your doorstep and singing to you after he was caroling in your area. He was amazing and you wanted him to know that.

✫ Author’s Note: Happy belated birthday cutie!!! This was a little rushed so sorry for any mistakes >.<! Also this is getting a part two with some spicy spice very soon, so stay tuned for that!

✫ Thank you: Thank you so much @jamaisjoons for the banner 🥺💜

No reposting, modifying. Translating is not allowed unless given explicit permission. Thank you so much : D

It was an evening you would never forget. You hadn’t been doing anything, the tv had been on all day playing Christmas specials despite it still being November and you were sitting there on your couch the whole time watching them. You didn’t think that today would be anything special, maybe it was the holiday spirit or some other magical force in the universe, but when the doorbell rang that night, it changed your life completely.

You sighed realizing that you needed to get up, in your pajamas and all you put your popcorn down, got up, and opened the door. You were expecting it might be the delivery man with your holiday sweater for the Christmas party at your job, but nope, it was a group of carolers.

You stared in shock as they all smiled at you before breaking out into a heavenly tune. This was the first time something like this happened to you. You just moved to this house earlier in the year and carolers never showed up at your apartment. You thought this was something reserved for the movies but as the beautiful harmonies of We Wish You A Merry Christmas filled the air, you realized this was real.

Some may not like the gesture but your smile couldn’t be bigger, especially when you locked eyes with one of the carolers.

He was cute, no wait that would be an understatement, he was unreal. Dark brown hair poked out from underneath his Santa hat, his lips made you want to kiss him right then and there, his cute eyes looked right into your own, and his voice was unlike anything you had ever heard before. A silver like quality that made him stand out from all the other talented voices.

Maybe you were dreaming…

As the song started coming to an end, you couldn’t help but wish for them to keep going. You clapped your hands and realized the cute boy was staring right at you.

“Would you like us to sing you another?” The sweet older lady asked and you happily nodded your head.

They sang you two more songs.

Jingle Bell and Jingle Bell rock, which was your request.

You clapped your hands as they finished and watched their smiles light up at your reaction.

“You guys are amazing!” Your eyes drifted to the cute caroler who was still staring right at you.

The sweet old lady extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, we live in the neighborhood as well and wanted to spread some holiday cheer to our new neighbors. We knew a lot of new people moved in this year~”

You shook her hand.

Oh so this cutie lives in your neighborhood.

“It was so nice meeting you, I really needed a bit of that holiday spirit, so thank you. This was much appreciated~” You watched as their smiles lit up even more.

“Happy holidays!” They started making their way back toward the sidewalk and you thought that would be it, but Mr. Cutie stayed behind, an obvious nervousness surrounding him.

“Uh… Hi, I’m Seokjin… I live a couple of houses down.” You were a bit shocked at the personal introduction, but you smiled nonetheless.

“It was nice to meet y—“

“SEOKJIN HURRY UP, WE STILL GOT A BUNCH MORE HOUSES TO GO TO!!!” One of the younger carolers called out to him.

He looked behind, frantic slightly at the fact he wasn’t done with you yet.

“I guess I gotta go… it was really nice meeting you… see you around neighbor.” You could hardly say goodbye before he was running off to his caroling group.

Your first meeting was cute, but things got more interesting as time passed.

It was as if the cosmos lifted a fog that was placed over your entire neighborhood after your little meeting with the carolers. Before you hardly knew the people right next to you, but now you would see them all the time. The neighbor on your left had kids that were always playing outside despite how cold it was, your neighbor to your right was an elderly couple who loved to work on their garden together early in the mornings. You even started seeing the carolers, they would walk through and wave at you, some even lived close by…

Yep, you especially paid extra attention to where that cutie lived.

Right after they showed up at your doorstep, you would actively look for him any time you happened to be out, wondering which house it was that was his. You didn’t see him for a while and was close to giving up, when you ran into him after your morning run.

He was hanging additional Christmas lights.

You smirked seeing how good he looked being all handy.

“Hey neighbor~” You eventually called out, startling him slightly.

He turned around and you could have sworn you died and came right back. He was decked out in his fluffy Christmas sweater, round glasses sat nicely on the bridge of his nose, fluffy black hair, his eyes ever so captivating, and those lips you haven’t stopped thinking about since he came over to your place. Oh my fucking gosh, how do people like this exist.

He smiled, chuckling slightly at how scared he got. “Nice seeing you again~” He was nervous, it was cute.

“I’m y/n, I completely forgot to tell you my name before you left…” It was sudden, but you noticed the way he seemed to smile.

“Nice to finally meet you y/n.” It was like he was testing the name on his tongue. You didn’t miss the way your knees got a little weak when he said it.

“Hopefully maybe we might see each other more often now~” You were cheesing, thinking about the next time you might see him.

“I would… I would really like that~”

And after a slightly awkward goodbye, you were continuing down the road.

You honestly thought it would be a few days at least before you saw Mr. Cu– Seokjin again, but a knock on your door the next day was all it took for his beautiful face to meet yours.

You stared at him wide eyed after you opened the door, wondering what you could have done to be blessed with his presence again so soon.

“Hi, ummm– nice to see you neighbor…!” His face was turning red already and you couldn’t help but giggle slightly. You couldn’t resist teasing him a little.

“Nice to see you too.. Soooo, um what brings you to my door!” You watched in real time his face grow more and more red.

“I don’t know I–”

“You don’t know?” You questioned, teasingly.

“I mean I do know, but I ummmm…”

You saw an opportunity. “Well if you don’t know, I have a reason. You wanted to sing for me.” You couldn’t get his voice out of your head since you last heard it. While all the carolers were amazing, he was just amazing in a way you couldn’t believe he was real.

The look of shock on his face made you just want to kiss him all over.

“Sing for you?”

“I think that’s exactly the reason. You remembered that your amazing neighbor down the road loves your voice and has been wanting to hear you again for ages, so you came to visit.”

If you thought his face was red before, he looked like a whole tomato now. It was so cute how easy it was to get him flustered.

“You think I’m that good?” He shyly rubbed the back of his head.

“Good is an understatement. Where did you learn to sing like that?!”

“Nowhere really. I would just hum to myself when I was working pretty much all my life, also looked at a few youtube videos a couple of times, but yeah, that’s pretty much it.” You could tell he was bragging slightly and he had every right too.

“You’re so good, you could really get famous with a voice like yours.” You were being very serious.

Seokjin chuckled lightly. “It’s one thing to join a caroling group, but, I don’t know about famous…”

“Uh yes I would, I work at a radio station. That’s a star quality voice right there.”

You watched his face change with shock.

“That’s besides the point though… I wanna hear you sing as your friendly neighbor who’s already one of your biggest fans.”

You saw him smile. A demeanor shift happened pretty quickly, he leaned his hand on your door frame and dare you say a cocky smirk came onto his face.

Holy shit, how hot can this man keep getting.

“Alright… What do you want me to sing for you?”

It didn’t take you long to pick.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You.” You didn’t even think about how weird that sounded until he burst out laughing. It was your turn for your face to get hot.

“You’re so cute I swear…” You hardly caught it because he was laughing so much, but you heard it.

Seokjin finally composed himself and… as soon as he started singing you swear you fell in love.

The whole time he was staring directly into your eyes. No longer was he the shy cute guy that you’ve only seen so far, but this guy was truly in his element. And oh my gosh, hearing him by himself, you definitely weren’t prepared. He truly was star quality. A silver like quality that made the notes hit you somewhere you weren’t prepared.

Something about a sexy man singing the lines “All I want for Christmas is you” with a beautiful voice, looking directly into your eyes… it was cold outside, but you needed a fan, or at the very least some water.

You were dazed by the time he ended and you knew he could tell.

“I remember why I came over here, just wanted to tell you you looked amazing that time you walked by my place.”

…

“Alright, see you sometime again neighbor, let’s do this again alrighty!” He said so casually, leaving just standing there, stunned, turned into a whole puddle.

This was not the last time you saw him and far from it actually. It became a regular thing for Seokjin to show up at least once a week, but usually more. Each time you would get him to sing you a Christmas carol and it became your little thing.

By now word had traveled around your neighborhood and everyone knew that Mr. Hot Cute Sexy Bachelor was showing up at your place all the time. Sometimes you both would be speaking right at your door like always and older ladys would walk by and tease and yell “Just kiss already!” Leaving you both a smiling, blushing mess.

It was weird. It was obvious you both liked each other, but no one was making the first move. Besides the forward compliments you would give each other, your relationship remained pretty platonic. At this point you were starting to wonder if the whole mutual feelings thing was all in your head.

You didn’t let it get you down though, and continued to enjoy his company whenever he came over.

Things really took a dramatic turn when you were at your job and your fellow co-host told you that the company was wanting to do a holiday special. You both talked for a while wondering what you could possibly do to make it interesting, and a certain someone came to mind.

“So then I said, well I know someone who would be perfect for the job… and that person was you.” Your smile was awkwardly wide as you gaged his reaction. Right now he was looking at you like you were a crazy person.

“Are you crazy?!” Seokjin exclaimed, getting up off your couch. Oddly enough, this was the first time you ever invited him inside. You knew you would have to sit him down, you even made him hot chocolate and everything, to prepare him for the news. You were right.

“Maybe a little, but don’t worry. I just told him that I knew someone for the job, it’s not final so please don’t feel pressure if you’re uncomfortable.” You could tell he was frazzled, but that seemed to calm him down slightly.

You had suggested to your co-host to bring in someone for a live performance, it was one of your many ideas, but that happened to be one of them that he liked and it ended up getting approved to be part of the special.

So here you are now, hoping that the person you had in mind says yes.

You watched as he paced around for awhile. “I mean singing in front of you is one thing, even our neighbors, but wait… how many people is this broadcasted too?”

“Ummmmm, just, you know… everyone in the state…” You watched as he went pale.

“I– I mean, technically no one will be there in the room except me, my co-host, and a few other staff members if that makes you feel any better…”

“It doesn’t honestly…” He sighed and you moped slightly.

“Ummm well, it’s ok if you say no–”

“I–...” Seokjin took a deep breath. “I’m not saying no yet… I just, gimme a little time to think it over?” He looked at you still clearly worried. To be honest, you were shocked at his answer.

“Yeah of course, just let me know by Friday.” It was pretty soon after that that he left to contemplate everything about his existence as he told you.

Seokjin just kept on surprising you because that Thursday night you heard a knock on your door. You saw nothing when you opened the door at first, but when you looked down you found a rose with a little note beside it.

Your heart skipped a beat as you picked it up.

The note read:

‘Hi! I knew I couldn’t tell you in person or else I would back out, but I’ll do the special :)

– Yours truly,

Seokjinie <3’

You were falling even harder in love with him each and every day.

You didn’t see him much leading up to the special. You pretty much met up once so you could tell him that they wanted him to sing all I want for Christmas is you (your request), but even that meeting was brief. There were a couple of times he went to your job to rehearse, but it was always after you left, so you never saw him there either.

Seokjin told you it was because he was scared that he would end up telling you he didn’t want to do it anymore, so you just stuck to sending each other cute, flirty texts occasionally.

Then the big day came. Christmas Eve.

You drove to the studio together. Despite how nervous he seemed over the past two weeks, he was a lot calmer on your ride over. He was calm as you spoke during the car ride, but you noticed his hands shaking in his lap.

It was adorable.

You wished you could have been there with him longer, but pretty much as soon as you showed up, they were whisking you off to go get ready for the program. You looked down your list and saw that his performance wasn’t toward the end of the special and steadily as you made your way down, you were starting to grow increasingly more nervous.

You didn’t have anything to worry about knowing how great he was, but that still didn’t stop your heart from racing as the minutes passed.

It was right before the section Seokjin was supposed to perform did the staff members bring him upstairs to wait outside the studio.

Your eyes were on him the whole time and finally when another break to play holiday music came around, you hurriedly sprinted to him who was still waiting outside.

“Your segment is next…” You said quickly walking up to him.

You saw his eyes dart quickly to the studio where they were quickly setting up the equipment Seokjin would be using.

He laughed nervously.

“I’m scared out of my mind, but at least you’re there.” His eyes looked right yours.

“Just–”

“Hey, you both can come in, t-5 minutes.” One of the production staff poked his head out the door before heading back inside.

You were about to walk in before you felt his hand grab onto yours. You looked back confused to see that same sweet smile you have fallen in love with.

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m not doing this for anyone but me. I wanted to come here and to step out of my comfort zone. You’re not the first person who’s said I should do something with my voice, but you were the reason I finally took that step. I can never be more grateful and I wanted you to know I’ll be singing this song to you…” Seokjin didn’t give you any time to react before he was following the staff member into the studio.

Your heart was full and if it wasn't for the fact you were about to be on air again, you would have started crying.

You took a seat beside your co-host, putting on your headphones, giddy, proud, and you knew that you were not leaving the studio without telling him how you feel. No more games, no more what ifs, you were doing it.

You took one last glance at Seokjin as the staff members started counting down and he gave you another smile. You couldn’t be prouder.

3

2

…

“Welcome back everybody! Closing our holiday segment is a special treat from right here in the city. Seokjin Kim is a dear friend of mine, who is here to sing live for you all one of your favorite holiday classics, All I Want for Christmas is You. Take it away~” You said happily into the microphone.

You sat back and enjoyed it as the keys of the piano filled the entire studio. It went exactly as you knew it would. He looked nervous before, but the minute the musician started to play the piano he eased up and you watched real time as everyone in the studio became star struck at his voice.

He was perfect for the song and especially with the ballad rendition, it fit his vocal quality perfectly.

One thing you couldn’t also forget was the fact he looked at you as he sang the entire time, like he promised, it was all for you.

You honestly couldn’t believe it. You realized that during his little performances in your doorway, he was never going full out. The vocals, the ad libs, the harmonies with the backup singers, oh my fucking gosh… it was a whole performance.

It was an out of body experience that you never fully came back from even as the last chords of the piano played. You saw his adorable smile as he celebrated that he finished.

You could hardly think straight as you and your co-host said your closing ments, before you were finally off air. The whole time, Seokjin was waiting impatiently outside for you, eagerly waiting for you to be done.

As soon as you walked outside to go tell him how awesome he was, he didn’t give you anytime to say anything before he was whisking you off toward the exit.

He hurriedly pushed open the door, you both standing outside now.

You looked at him confused, but was still ready to tell him congratulations, but he didn’t give you the chance to speak before he was planting his lips onto yours. It was a swift yet passionate kiss, finally the feelings that have been boiling for the last few weeks spilling over.

He pulled back hesitantly but you quickly pulled him back, finally happy that this was happening.

“Don’t say anything, this, this is all I want.” Seokjin sighed before pulling you closer again.

And well, that was just the true beginning of your long and beautiful relationship. From there things only went up and you’ve been happy ever since.

He really was your rock, your… jingle bell rock?

[hopeyallenjoy]

An eventful birthday

Did he want to make love to you?

Pairing : Young Severus Snape x Fem!Reader

Warnings : slight smut ; little bit of swearing ; caught during sex ; teasing in public 

Wordcount : 3, 712 words

Request : Maraudeur era Severus x reader’s first time 

I think I got a little too excited about this order so here is the resume. I did two different version with the same base “ severus and reader’s first time.”  Don't hesitate to tell me if you like it or not.

Resume : Severus and Reader have been together for a while but have never had sex. Reader is getting impatient and decides to invite her boyfriend to her house for the vacations. With Lucius' help, Severus takes the invitation as an implicit request for sex, so he spends the beginning of the vacation educating himself on the subject, until the big day. D-Day, which turns out to be Y/n's birthday... !

Severus waddled from one foot to the other, in front of the blue door of a small country house, wondering if he should enter or not. 

That blue door was yours. You and Severus had been dating since the beginning of your sixth year at Hogwarts. You were the one who made the first move, asking him via owl if he would like to go out with you. To your surprise he agreed. In the early days, your relationship had been tedious, Severus having trouble showing you affection in public and even being unpleasant at times, but you knew him well enough to know that he didn't want to hurt you. He was just a little proud. It had to be said that the rumors that were circulating about you didn't help. Some said Severus had used dark magic to make you fall in love with him, others thought he was using you. In short, the rumors were far from reality, making Severus a despicable man when he was only afraid. Personally, you didn't care what people said or thought, but that wasn't entirely true of your boyfriend. So with all the patience you had, you managed to make him more comfortable, to make your relationship evolve so that it lasts. Taking all the necessary first steps, erasing his doubts one after the other. Yes, your sixth year had been an emotional one.

 And you were not at the end of your sorrows, already another obstacle was standing in your way. A few months before the end of the year, you had started sleeping with Severus, either in your dormitory or in his. Of course you only did this, out of respect for your respective roommates, but mostly because every time you tried to exchange more than a kiss with Severus, he found an excuse not to. This behavior had annoyed you a little and even hurt you but you didn't give up and ended up inviting him to spend the vacations at your place knowing that he would have no excuse and would have to explain what was bothering him. 

Severus was surprised that you invited him so suddenly, he had been disturbed by your behavior for a few months. It must be said, he was not very good with women and had gone to his best friend, Lucius Malfoy, to ask his advice. He had described to him, the changes he had noticed in the way you dressed, the way you spoke to him, and all the weird phrases that just didn't make sense to his ears.

Lucius had laughed at his explanation, confiding that you wanted to have sex with him. Severus was taken aback.

"Don't look so surprised, my friend. You told me she'd had other boyfriends before you, right?” he nodded “So, it's only natural, your little Y/n wants you to fuck her. You want that too, don't you Sev?"

Severus thought for a moment. Did he want to make love to you? The answer had come to him naturally ; of course. You was the smartest girl he knew, you always understood him, you always seemed to know what to say to make him feel confident, he wanted to confide in you all his problems, to hold you until morning and he understood that now, he would love to see your naked body and feel your warmth against him. But he was not reassured by the idea of you seeing him naked, he was afraid of disappointing you. Lucius then set out to teach Severus what he called the basics of a good fuck. He took his role as a teacher so much to heart that he spent most of the night before the vacations making a book for Severus. 

The book was read in one night. Although he wasn't sure if you would like most of the practices described in Lucius's manual, Severus was a little reassured to have a minimum of knowledge before taking action. He would never have thought that sex was a subject that required so much knowledge. Severus didn't have time to continue thinking as the door in front of him opened, revealing a jovial looking woman, whom he recognized as one of your mothers. Because yes, you had two mothers.  

"Severus, my boy, come in! Y/n is in her room. You can join her if you like. We'll call you when the food is ready. Oh and you should take your suitcase up with you."

He didn't have time to put one in before your mother had already joined your other mother in the kitchen. Just starting to get used to so much kindness as he had been coming to your house as a friend for a while, he stammered a slightly embarrassed thank you before running upstairs to find you. You was sitting at your window reading,when he enter your room. When you heard him come in you looked up from your book and smiled at him with a smile that would warm the coldest heart.

You were about to stand up and greet him when to your surprise he came up to you faster than a flash of lightning and kissed you fiercely. You kissed back as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him.

"Severus" you breathed between kisses.

"Y/n" he replied as he pushed you towards your bed without breaking the kiss.

"Y/n, the boys have arrived, they are asking where they ca... Oh!"

Severus turned around and came face to face with Lily Evans leaning on Y/n's bedroom door. Her gaze darted back and forth between your two faces and the position she had found you in.

"I think... I better go ask your mothers," she disappeared down the stairs, closing the door behind her.

Severus stood up in a bit of a panic as you burst out laughing. He questioned you with his eyes as he thought you had gone mad.

"By Merlin, I've never seen you this enterprising and Lily had to come in.

"Repeating the facts doesn't make them any less dramatic, you know Y/n? What are we going to do now that she's seen us? And what is she doing here anyway?" he said with a frown.

"Well, just like you and pretty much my entire group of friends, she was invited home to celebrate my birthday." your smile lost a little of its luster as your boyfriend broke down before your eyes.

Your birthday. He had forgotten your birthday. Severus felt like the biggest idiot in the world as he stammered a "yes, of course" while trying to avoid your gaze. You could tell by his demeanor, but you didn't have time to get your head around it, as someone knocked on the door. A few seconds later, your other mother's purple head appeared in the doorway, letting you know that the meal was ready and that all the guests were there. You and Severus walked downstairs with your mother to the dining room, decorated with colorful lanterns and holiday streamers. Around the table chatting were your friends, Remus,Sirius, Lily, Dorcas, Mary, Arthur, Frank, James and Marlene. All of them came from different groups of friends but were willing to mix for you. Since only the ends of the table were left, you and Severus sat away from each other. But it was all right, your mind was still on the revelation he had made to you indirectly a few minutes earlier. James and Sirius spat at Severus, who didn't react, just sat at the other end of the table, staring at the plate in front of him. Severus' string of bizarre behaviors reinforced the idea that something was wrong. 

Normally, Severus was one of the sweetest, most caring men you'd ever met, and because of his family history, he was so desperate for love and affection that he found it hard not to look at you, or give you compliments, awkward ones, but still compliments. But the last few weeks before the vacations, he had insisted on sleeping alone, and now he had forgotten your birthday, there was definitely something wrong. You did your best to focus on the moment and not think too much. This allowed you to have a nice meal, surrounded by the good mood of your friends and family. When the meal was over, the lanterns went out as your mom came into the dining room with a huge cake of your favorite flavor in her hands. All your friends began to sing around the table, wishing you a happy birthday. That was it. You were finally 17, you couldn't help but shed a tear or two after blowing out the candles. The cake was cut and served and then it was time for the gifts. One by one the gifts came to rest in front of you as you tore off the wrapping paper that wrapped them. You received a broom set, sweets and many other gifts that filled you with joy. Each of the guests pointed to themselves after you opened their gift for you to thank them.

"And you, Severus? Where is your gift for Y/n?" Mary asked innocently.

All eyes turned to Severus as his cheeks turned crimson. He felt terrible for forgetting your birthday and now he was paying the price. He was going to have to admit that he didn't have one in front of everyone. What kind of boyfriend could forget such an important day?

"I don't..." he began.

"Severus was giving it to me as soon as he arrived, he's still in my room," you answered to avoid an affront to your boyfriend.

For the first time all evening, Severus looked up at you with hopeful eyes. You'd had time to digest the news, and while you weren't mad at him yet, he had better have a good excuse. You knew your friends well enough to know that Sirius and James would have been happy to put Severus down again, so you didn't give them the chance. The rest of the evening was spent in a calm and good mood, the small group of teenagers having moved into the living room to play teenage games like Monopoly, truth or dare etc. Once your mothers were in bed, Severus slid in beside you on the couch and shyly took your hand. Your eyes met for a moment as he squeezed your hand gently. Despite the annoyance of his behavior, you melted a little at the look on his face. You smiled at him and then gently let him know that you too would need to have a chat later. He nodded and moved a little closer to you. With a smile, you turned your attention back to the game on the coffee table and slid Severus' hand over your butt. He gave you a panicked look but you were already paying no attention to him, or so it seemed, just pushing your buttocks to meet his palm. Severus took this as an invitation and pressed his hand to your bottom trying to remember what Lucius had taught him. As quietly as possible, Severus began to knead your buttocks, waiting for a favorable reaction. This created a fire inside you that made you close your eyes for a moment. Then remembering where you were, you opened them again and gently slid Severus' hands away from you. He thought he must have felt bad or that you didn't like it, but your buttocks came to rest on his legs and quickly changed his mind. His hands had only touched your buttocks through your dress, but that wasn't enough, you wanted more. You stuck to Severus by slipping in his ear a few words.

"Touch my breasts, please.

He nodded, not sure how he was going to please you on the one hand and not get caught on the other. He started by pulling down the zipper of your dress, just enough for him to get his hands under the loose fabric. A grunt escaped him, which was thankfully covered by Sirius's protesting cries that he was in no position to win. That growl in your ear felt like a bomb in your body. You weren't wearing a bra and he could see that. That was the reason for his groan.

His fingers eventually found your nipples and he began to knead them in the same way he had kneaded your ass. You bit your lip to keep from letting all the pleasure Severus was giving you out into the open.

"Are you okay, Y/n? You're all red," Arthur said, worried about his friend.

Severus stopped his movements as all eyes were now on you.

You nodded, wanting to reassure them and avoid getting caught.

"Yes, yes. I think I'm just a little tired. Do you mind if I slip away now?"

All of your friends nodded and wished you a pleasant night as the smart ones figured out where the redness in your cheeks really came from. After Severus zipped up your dress, you took him by the hand and got up from the couch, dragging him behind you.

When you got to your room, you closed the door, this time with a key. Then you turned to face him, arms crossed.

" Go ahead. Can you explain to me why you forgot my birthday ?”

"I'm ashamed,I’m so sorry  you know ? " Severus fled your gaze as he reached into the back pocket of his pants but unfortunately you notice and asked for it.

"What are you hiding ?”

You weren't totally mad, but seeing Severus so secretive left your imagination free to invent far-fetched scenarios that almost always ended with Severus admitting to cheating on you and that broke your heart. You joined him on the bed, trying to keep your composure as he sheepishly pulled a book from his back pocket.

 "That's what did it. That's what made me... forgot your birthday." You took it from his hands.

"What's this?" you asked as you began to flip through it quickly.

"It's a book about sex. Lucius gave it to me, and incidentally wrote it as well, when I told him about us.”

Severus explained everything in detail, so much so that by the end of his story, you couldn't be angry anymore. On the contrary. Severus did all this to make sure he would be ready for his first time with you. It was adorable.

"Remind me never to give Lucius a chance if we ever break up " you said with a laugh.

"D-Does that mean that's not how it works ?" questioned Severus confused.

"Well... In fact... I don't know about that, Sev. I'm a virgin too." you confessed making him even more confused.

"You are ? But I thought that... What about your ex’s boyfriends ?"

You settle down a little better on the bed, not knowing how to explain it to him.

"So... Yeah I've had a bunch of boyfriends but none of them have ever touched me. And if they tried..." Severus sits cross-legged in front of you, all ears "... I break up with them. First time, you only get one. I didn't want to give it to just anyone. I never felt safe enough or in love with them enough to take the plunge." your hands find Severus', you intertwine your fingers gently. "But with you, everything is different, Severus."

"Wait Y/n... You mean you..." begins Severus, his eyes sparkling.

You smile softly at your boyfriend, your cheeks turning a little red as he moved closer to you without really realizing it.

"Yes, Sev. I'm in love with you," you finally admit.

"Oh Y/n..." he melts on your lips in a tender but passionate kiss "I think... Me too"

Your heart misses a beat. Since the beginning of your relationship, it was you who took the lead and for the roles to be reversed, it often took a few days or even a few months, so you would never have thought that for such an important confession, he would say it so easily. You could not be happier.

Severus gently flipped you over onto the bed, towering over you as you deepened the kiss. Awkwardly, you undressed each other, urgently seeking each other's lips as quickly as possible. You were the first only in your underwear, at least in your panties, and Severus was speechless. The sight of his fiery gaze titillated your pussy, which had not yet recovered from Sev's caresses in the living room. Instinctively, Severus directed his hands towards your breasts, bringing you out of your dream. He began to knead them again as he had done in the living room, but replaced one of his hands with his mouth and then his tongue, wrapping it around your erect nipples with desire. Small moans came out of your mouth in front of all the attentions of your companion.

"Does it feel good?" he asked, gradually gaining confidence.

You nodded knowing that your voice would break before you could finish your sentence. He seemed to understand as a sly smile came to perch on his lips. He wanted to taste your body, to hear your little moans again, which he found adorable and which excited him more than he wanted to say. His lips went down along your belly to land near your panties asking you for access silently. For all answer you did not delay to pull down your panties wanting desperately to feel him inside you, or at least it was as you translated the sudden heat and tingling that rose from your crotch. Severus in front of you couldn't stop his sex from growing even larger as exotic scents wafted up to his nose.

"Severus," you breathed in a prayer.

"Anything for you, love" he replied.

Within seconds, his tongue met your clit, warming it and covering it with kisses. A few minutes later he was already moving his tongue down to visit your already moistened pussy, making you moan louder than before.

"Please, Sev'. I think I'm going to cum."

"Do you think you can wait for me?" he asked as he lovingly stroked your hair.

You nodded slowly, catching your breath as Severus' tongue left your folds.

"Are you ready?  Lucius told me it can hurt the first time for girls, so tell me if I -" his sex in his hand he placed it in front of your entrance as he towered over you.

"It's okay, Sev. I trust you." your smile encouraged him.

He nodded, not totally reassured. So far, it had been easy, he had been content to trust his desires and the reaction of your body, but now it was going to be harder. He could feel it. But encouraged by your love, he ended up pushing his erect member little by little into your dripping sex. An electric shock went through both of your bodies. He didn't move right away, feeling your walls tightening dangerously around his sex. Then you motioned for him to move, which he did, slowly pulling his sex out of yours before moving back in again, keeping a slow pace. The first few trips in and out were painful, but soon it was pleasure that took over. For Severus, it was pure pleasure and moaning, he loved being inside you, but was still afraid you wouldn't.

"Is that good for you, love? Can I speed it up a little?"

"Yes...; please."

So he accelerated his comings and goings, always focused on the reaction of your body to his. Your breathing became more jerky as his change of pace allowed him to perfectly match your pleasure points. It was the first time he felt like this, he felt like he was too far away from you even though his whole body was married to yours and he wanted to be one with you all the days of his life, to feel your body pressed against his forever. It didn't take long for you to tighten your grip on your lover, feeling your deliverance coming.

"Severus... I-" your sentence was swallowed up by the wave of pleasure that engulfed you.

Severus joined you in your orgasm a few minutes after yours, prolonging it as he continued to go back and forth.

"Y/n, Y/n, Fuck, Y/n!" he moaned in your ear.

Breathless, he pulled out of you and immediately took you in his arms, thanking you for your patience by covering you with kisses. He had been a little rough with you but you thought it had been for the best.

"Perfect," you sighed.

"I couldn't have said it better," he said between breaths. "Do you think we could do this again?" he questioned.

"That was our first time, remember? So there's no reason why it should be the only one." you kissed him tenderly, laughing "We can do it again whenever you want.”

"Even... Now?" he asked with an innocent look but flame of desire in his eyes.

You bit your lip before nodding.

[marblesphere]

Xiao x reader

!Angst Warning!

Slowly and gently, I can see how he tucks the loose lock of her hair to her ear. I can also see how she blushes at his gentle gesture. A small barely noticeable smile on his lips. I clench my fist tightly, I feel the Qingxin flower's stem crushed in my palm. I want to walk away from the irritating scene, but my feet are rooted on the ground. As if some force prevented me too.

It took all my willpower to tear my sight from them. "Xiao…" I whispered to the wind, hoping he would notice. But alas, the harsh reality proved otherwise.

10 years. It took me ten years to befriend the so-called vigilant yaksha. The only remaining yaksha. The yaksha which is said to be the coldest amongst all of the adepti in Liyue.

I met Xiao when I was 6 years old. I was lost in a forest near Liyue harbor. I remember Granny Ping said to call Adeptus Xiao if I ever had any trouble. So with a snotty nose, I wail out his name. A gust of gentle breeze blows before a tall big brother (at that time) in teal arrived. He frowns at me. I still remember my hand, which was full of snot and tears, grabbed his long sleeves and cried to it, effectively soiling the pristine cloth.

He almost flung me instinctively, but I know how hard I grabbed it and I am still a Liyue citizen. Xiao kneeled and with an awkward pat on my head, he lifted me up easily. Without a word, he jumps high. I can still vividly remember the breeze blowing my face. I stopped crying immediately and realized how high we were.

Tears were replaced with small giggles. From the position we were, I found my parents shouting my name. "Papa and mama." I leaned my body, wriggling out of his arms.

"Don't move." That was the first time I heard his voice. It's so beautiful that I shut up immediately. Xiao maneuvered and landed near to my worried parents.

"Mama, Papa!" I rushed to them right after Xiao put me down. My mother quickly hugs me tight, afraid if I were to disappear again.

"Where were you?! Do you know how worried we were?!" Papa scolded.

"But Papa, Adeptus Xiao took me home." I wriggled out from my mother's embrace and looked behind me, only to find empty space.

"Adeptus Xiao was with you?" Papa asked bewildered.

"Yep. Granny Ping told me to call for Adeptus Xiao if I had trouble. I did and he came. He jumped so high and I could see you." I excitedly told them my tale.

Not long after, I finally found out not many people can meet the elusive Adeptus. But I was determined to meet him again. To thank him and befriend him.

So, I ask the most knowledgeable person in this world, Granny Ping. Granny Ping told me that Qingxin is his flower. I want to pick one, but it only blooms in high peaks which is impossible for me. So, the next best thing is buying from a florist. Granny Ping also told me where to give the flower. Wangshu inn. Thus, I made it my mission to go there everyday to give him a Qingxin flower.

In Wangshu inn. As expected, I couldn't meet Xiao, instead I met the owner. Verr Goldet. After hearing my reasoning to visit the elusive Adeptus. She told me to put the flower on the balcony on the highest floor. I will stay there for hours without meeting him. And I do this everyday for almost a month.

Maybe Verr was taking pity on me. She told me to help her deliver a plate of Almond tofu to Xiao. And thus, our second meeting. I was so excited that I almost fell flat smashing the tofu to the floor if not for his fast reflex.

Xiao frowns when he sees me. "Adeptus Xiao, thank you." I smiled as I gave him the flower.

"Don't come close to me." He frowned.

"But, I want to." I shook my head. "Granny Ping told me you have protected us. I want to thank you." I pouted.

"...I am just doing my job according to the contract. I don't need any thanks." He said.

"Even so, I want to thank you." I said persistently.

I think that was the time he gave up explaining to a small naive kid. From that day on, I meet him everyday with a Qingxin flower and a plate of almond tofu. Of course, I still have to call him or else he won't show up even with almond tofu.

After a year, he softened up a bit. At least, I don't need to wait for him on the balcony. He will always be there by the time I reach the balcony with a flower and a plate of almond tofu. Another year and I can even manage to slip a Qingxin flower to his hair. And the second year of our meeting is truly the start of my happiness. Xiao gave me a small trinket made from sage technique to ward off evil. Every year following that on my birthday the small trinket will increase, a crystalfly, a leaf butterfly, you name it. And last year, he gave me an amulet. The amulet I have never taken it off since I wore it on my birthday.

In exchange I too, so persistently celebrate his birthday, since he won't tell me when is his birthday, I just mark the date we met is his birthday, not until a few years later he finally grumpily told me his real birthday.

I started learning martial arts and cooking courtesy from Xiao for the former and Smiley Yan for the latter.

10 years of hardwork, 9 years of nurturing feelings, all of them have gone to the drain. With just one appearance of this girl. No, she is not a traveller with a fairy. She is just someone from Qingce village. Xiao met her when he was patrolling around the area. Just in a month she undone all my hardwork. Now they are a step away from being lovers.

I made my way back home. For the first time in 10 years, I didn't go to Wangshu inn, no I didn't go to meet him. A fresh Qingxin I have picked and a plate of almond tofu are laid forgotten on the table. Fresh tears finally flowed down from my eyes. It hurts. It hurts so much looking at them. It hurts so much seeing him smile at them. The smile that I thought only I could see.

'It's not yours anymore.' A sickly sweet voice whispered

'He is finally happy. He finally rid himself of you. You are just a worthless girl. You don't deserve him.'

'The love of his life is not you. It will never be you.' The sickly sweet voice cackled gleefully.

That night I succumbed to the negative emotion of mine.

The next day, I resolved to investigate that girl. I have realized I am not good enough for him. That's why I want to make sure she is good enough for him.

'You just want to make yourself better if you find a flaw in her. What a liar.' The voice back in my mind echoed.

I shake myself, trying to get rid of those voices. First, I will obviously start from Liyue. I heard her parents are doing business in Liyue and she sometimes tags along. And today, she didn't come. Perfect. I have double checked in her parents' shop.

But every answer I get from them lowers my spirit. In the end, I can only summarize her in one word. Perfect. She is so perfect. All of the people I ask from will sing a praise to her. It's almost impossible for a perfect human like her to exist. But she is, and now she could even open the vigilant yaksha's heart in the span of a month.

To clear my head and the annoying voices in my head, I make my way to the secret place I have found a few years back. Inside the forest where I first met Xiao, there is a small patch of Qingxin flower field deep inside the forest. Qingxin flower, which is said to only bloom in the highest peak, somehow can grow in that patch and only that patch. The area around it is also safe from hillicurls or slime. Xiao said he never detected any malicious intent around the small field. Thus, that area became our secret spot.

Either Celestia likes to mess with me or I am just that unlucky, I met the perfect girl. She is surrounded by hillicurls. I frowned, I materialized my weapon and took a step.

'Why don't you just leave her alone. She is powerless. If the Hillicurls get her killed, then no one will be with your precious Xiao again. You can have him all by yourself.' The sickly sweet voice is tempting me with that.

I stop dead in my tracks. Indeed, If she is dead, then Xiao will have no one but me. It will be just the two of us again. I take a step back and turn myself.

'Good. This is what you should do.' The voice cooed.

"Kyaaa!!"

I grit my teeth and spring back to act. I rush to the group of hillicurls, which fortunately just 3 of them. I swipe their feet using my polearm. "Run!" I barked at her. She flinches at my harsh glare and voice, but finally starts running.

I quickly engaged with 3 hillicurls. I am not a pro, but Xiao taught me enough to defend myself. I panted after I finished the last hillicurls. I am just glad I didn't get any deep injury. "Kikiki!" A small fireball flew past me.

I cursed my luck. A pyro abyss mage is waving his staff and 3 small monster heads are firing flamethrowers at me. I barely dodge it. "Kikiki!" Then another cyro abyss mage comes out.

I gulp. This place might be my grave after all.

*3rd POV*

Yue Mei is just picking herbs by herself. She giggles at the thought of the famous vigilant yaksha literally swept by her feet in their first meeting. She fell in love at the first sight. She glanced at a charm on her neck. She is really grateful for this charm. She made a wish a year ago in an adepti abode. And that adeptus gave her this charm. She is told to wear this everyday, everywhere she goes. This charm will help her.

True to his word, after she had worn this charm. Everyone has become nicer. They gave her a lot of free stuff and some even started to court her. She was shy at first, the attention she got was really overwhelming. But, she already has an ideal man. A man who is strong and handsome. And her ideal man turned out to be Adeptus Xiao.

She blushes again remembering him. Their last meeting ends up with Adeptus Xiao tucked her hair back to her ear. This intimate gesture is really making her happy. Soon, she will confess to him soon. And they will become a couple.

But, her daydream is short lived. A group of hillicurls suddenly appear and surround her. Fear gripped her entire being. "A...ade...adept…" She is too afraid to even call the yaksha. One of the hillucurls raises its club high. "Don….'t… Kyaaaa!!!!" She let out a blood curdling scream as she closed her eyes.

But the pain didn't come. When she opened her eyes she saw the hillicurls on the ground and a girl wielding a polearm glared at her with such hostility. "Run!" She barked at her. Yue Mei flinches at her harsh tone. But her feet finally gained their freedom as she ran away to the direction of Wangshu inn.

Her feet are tired and trembling. She collapses on her knees. "Adeptus Xiao." She whimpered. A familiar breeze whirled, and Xiao came. Looking at the trembling form, Xiao frowns, "What happened?" He kneeled in front of her.

"Hi...Hillicurls…" She managed to stutter.

He hisses, knowing those monsters targeted someone under his protection. "Where are they?"

"There…" She pointed to a direction. "A girl...wielding...polearm...is...holding them...off…" She said shakily. The entire time she clutched her charm.

"A girl… wielding polearm…" His eyes widened. A girl wielding a polearm. The only one that comes to his mind is "[Your Name]..." He whispered. Somehow his mind becomes clear, as if the fog in his mind has been blown away. Xiao quickly summons his own spear.

"Don't!!!" Yue Mei quickly grabbed his hand. "Don't...leave...me alone." Tears streamed down her eyes, making her look so pitiful. This usually invokes some kind of protective instinct from the opposite gender. But, unfortunately for her. She is dealing with this the one and only Conqueror of Demons. Now the spell has been broken, he is not as nice as previous him except to a certain mortal.

"Release me!" He growled as he glared at her, more specifically at her charm.

She flinches at his harsh tone and glare. She stares at him wide eyed. He never used this kind of tone with her, not even on their first meeting. Her hands loosen up. And Xiao quickly disappears from her, leaving her all alone.

Xiao rushes to the direction that the girl pointed to. His mind is racing with what ifs. He finally arrived, but [Your Name] is not on sight. There are only 3 dead bodies of Hillicurls. He calms down a bit. She can handle herself just fine if it's only 3 Hillicurls. But, when he observed more carefully once again, his blood ran cold. Not far from him, a puddle of red blood is spotted, along with two dead abyss mages.

His heart thumped loudly, looking at the trail of blood moving to a certain direction. To the direction he is so familiar. His mind starts racing with a really unpleasant outcome.

"~~~♪ ~~~ ♪" The wind brought a familiar tune.

"...Xiao...where are you…?" He heard it. Her voice. But her voice is so weak, like she will disappear forever. Xiao has never rushed this fast. Right now in his mind, there's only she has to be alright.

*1st Pov*

"Hah...haah…" I panted as I stabbed my polearm to the ground, using it to stabilize my body. The puddle of blood on the ground beneath me is proof it's too late for me. 'If I were to die… At least let me choose the place.' With that in mind, I dragged my feet to our secret spot no, my grave. The small patch of Qingxin flowers.

I drop my body in the middle of the patch, hissing from the pain. But the smell of Qingxin is calming me down. It feels like Xiao is with me.

"~~~♪ ~~~ ♪" with my shaky voice, I started humming a tune. This song is passed down from generation to generation in our house. Apparently this song is some kind of a prayer back in the ancient times. My eyes are blurry now being soaked by blood. "...Xiao...where are you…?" I couldn't see anymore. I reach out my hand, hoping he will grab it. Then a miracle happened. I can see Xiao grabs my hand and pulls me up. I can feel the pain has started to dull and then disappeared, I feel so light, so free. I can see him clearly. Hand in hand the two of us wander to wherever we desire.

"Thank you for coming." I smiled.

[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars • 16

Pairings: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, [F]Reader Content: Language, possible errors Author’s notes: Thanks for the support! xx (also kinda personal but I just got accpected into uni?! Crazy!) 

Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Chapter 16: Everything Goes According to Plan

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January 30th, 1976

“Where’s my camera?”

“Be careful — Oi! Don’t step on me!”

“Ouch!”

“Shush!”

The squeaking of floorboards creaked throughout the small room as everyone kept on stumbling into each other, all fidgeting from excitement. That morning, they’d all woken up earlier than usual, decorating the room with streamers, leftover Christmas decor and a large banner that hung above the entrance of the doorway that read, Happy Birthday, Petals! (which was Y/N’s idea — she was very proud of the nickname). Even Mary snuck into their dorm, making everyone wear small pointy party hats as they huddled around Lily’s bed, circling her like vultures and raised their hands high. With a quiet count of three from Marlene, their hands lowered, hovering over Lily’s arms and legs, then shook.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” They bellowed.

Lily woke with a jolt; her eyes flew open as she let out a scream. Her back slammed against the bed frame while Toulouse swiped at them, specifically at Marlene and hissed.

Lily’s heart hammered against her chest and she felt the small prickles of needles subside all over her body. Her hand clutched her nightgown, attempting to even out her breathing. “You could’ve given me a heart attack!”

“Happy birthday, Lils!” Mary repeated before climbing into her bed, hugging her.

She grunted at the impact as a smile replaced her features. Her eyes hopped from person to person before landing on Y/N who gave a sweet smile which had Lily blushing as she averted her eyes back to Mary.

When the group realized that Lily’s birthday fell on a weekend, it left them giddy and beyond excited for the endless opportunities that lay ahead of them. Not only did it leave the entire group to have a small break from their ruthless studying, but they could thoroughly celebrate the day and have enough time to spare for any last-minute plans for the surprise birthday party that night.

“Get your arse up and get ready to start the day!” Marlene declared, already trying to tug her crimson blanket away.

Lily yawned, rubbing her eyes, “Do we have to? I’m tired…”

“Come on! Life is short! It’s time we make memories,” she cried, “You never know when you’re going to die! Would you rather celebrate your birthday as a ghost or six feet under?! I, for one, will not visit your grave.”

Lily rolled her eyes, getting up with a stretch. Dorcas moved to turn on Marlene’s record player, settling a record by Nancy Sinatra as everyone continued with their usual morning routines. Lily got dressed in her favourite long sleeve lilac dress, pulling on tights to prevent herself from freezing. Mary wore her usual gold eyeshadow and wore a red jumpsuit while Marlene dressed coolly in all black. Although, Dorcas decided to stay in bed, still recovering from her nasty flu.

“You look very pretty today,” Y/N told Lily while detangling her hair from the loose braid she had it in. She took a brush and hair styler, primping her hair to Lily’s usual style and placed a headband in her hair.

“I — I, er — thanks!” She replied somewhat flustered.

“No… problem — there! Finished!” She handed Lily a handheld mirror, letting her go over her appearance. Pleased, she turned around to the group.

“So, first order of business, what did you want to do today?” Dorcas asked before going into a fit of coughs. Marlene rushed up to her side and popped off a cork from a nearby potion for her to drink.

Everyone had been slightly worried. It had been four days now and Dorcas still wasn’t recovering from the flu despite the ad of magic and potions. Thankfully today she seemed to perk up, even just a little, but they worried she was pushing herself.

“How about we just stay here, with you? We can all up a Healer and —”

“No,” Dorcas coughed again, she waved her hands in front of her, “I’ll be fine. Don't worry about me. What do you want to do?”

Lily remained quiet for a moment and Y/N assumed she was going to suggest staying in their dorm with Dorcas again, but her eyes gleamed with unusual mischief. Her eyes hopped from person to person before landing on Y/N. “I want to do a prank and I think you’ll love it.”

Everyone’s brows rose. Lily, the goodie-two-shoes prefect, Evans and pranks?! Those two do not belong in the same sentences.

“Okay…” said Mary, nodding her head despite being confused, “We’re listening.”

Lily sat down on her bed, crossing one leg over the other as she motioned everyone to sit. “Do you think it’s possible if we can dye someone’s hair? Obviously, safely,” she used her prefect voice, “But do you think we can?”

A beat went by — that was strangely out of character. What happened to the Lily they knew?

“Yeah,” Marlene begins, “What colour are you thinking?”

“Orange — bright orange with a bit of green.”

Then, Lily turned over to look at her again, a ghost of a smile appearing that told Y/N that whatever she was planning was going to be worth it — especially if Lily out of all people, was going to pull it off.

“Someone's going to be sorry for calling me Carrots.”

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At breakfast, they arrived later than usual after they all planned out their prank. Marlene, who had been a part of too many pranks with Sirius and James, helped the most, while Y/N and Lily created a hair-changing potion using one of Dorcas’ old cauldrons — but unlike James, they stuck to a potions textbook with a reversal potion. Since it was Lily’s idea, she would be the one to slip the potion into Sirius’ drink. So, she tucked the vital into the sleeve of her dress, hidden from prying eyes.

They all huddled around her as they entered the Great Hall; their hands were pushed forward protectively, guarding Lily as if she were a celebrity being swarmed by adoring fans and they were her bodyguards. They paved her way from students while shouting:

“She’s declining photos at the moment!”

“Birthday girl coming through!”

“She’s a very busy lady! Out of the way!”

Lily kept on protesting for them to stop, hiding her face in her hands. As they reached their table, they sat beside the marauders while Lily made sure to take a seat next to Sirius. But, that wasn’t the end of Lily’s humiliation. Mary stood up, clapping to gain everyone’s attention. Once she realized what was about to happen she quickly got up, but Y/N and Sirius clapped a hand on Lily’s shoulder, shoving her back down on the bench.

They opened their mouths, singing,

“Haaaaapppppy birthday to you!” The six of them hollered before the rest of the hall caught on and started singing. “Haaaaapppppy birthday to you! Haaaaapppppy birthday dear Lily —” “CARROTS!” Shouted Sirius at the top of his lungs.

Lily kept shaking her head, blushing incredibly hard — even the tips of her ears started to turn pink. She covered her ears, attempting to muffle out the singing.

Y/N snapped a few photos of her, shoving them into her pockets.

“Haaaaapppppy birthhhhdaaaay tooooo youuuuuuuu!”

The Gryffindors and any Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs that knew Lily cheered loudly. A few teachers, like Slughorn or McGonagall, made their way over to her, congratulating her along with a few other of her friends from different houses. Well wishes could be heard, along with a few people even handing her cards too.

Even an owl came swooping by when she had her back turned, dropping off a small package addressed from her parents and her sister, Petunia.

Swarmed and distracted, this left the group to huddle together as they leant over the table, forming a small circle of sorts. James was excluded as he sat back and drank a cup of tea flicking through the Daily Prophet.

“Operation: Lily’s birthday party,” said Marlene, “Let’s go over what our positions are for tonight.”

Mary was assigned with Dorcas to decorate the common room while Remus distracted Lily tonight during their rounds. Marlene and Sirius were in charge of drinks and snacks, leaving Peter and Y/N to bake a cake and bring any additional food.

They all quickly pulled apart once the crowd around Lily subsided. She settled back down, nodding and faking a cough. This signalled to the girls as Marlene quickly roped Sirius into a conversation about a New-Maj band he liked; Y/N talked to James about the upcoming Ravenclaw and Slytherin Quidditch match which left Mary to distract both Peter and Remus.

When none of the marauders were looking, Lily popped the corkscrew from the vital and grabbed a bowl of muffins on Sirius’ left. While she lent over, the potion poured directly into Sirius’ cup and she sat back down, smirking to herself. Y/N gave a discreet small high-five to her as they waited.

After a few minutes, parched from his talk with Marlene, Sirius picked up his goblet and tipped back the drink. He took a large gulp, wincing at the taste as he pulled it away from his face, but returned to his conversation like normal.

For several minutes, nothing happened. The girls kept quickly glancing upwards to check out his hair, but nothing: still bleached blond. They sighed, dejected that their plan hadn’t worked and Y/N nudged Lily underneath the table and gave a small smile, trying to cheer her up.

Another ten minutes went by and only then did the root of Sirius’ hair begin to tint into a bright orange colour rather than his dyed hair. This caught the girl's attention, however, the rest of the marauders who were still engaged in their conversations, did not notice as their heads were turned away from him.

His hair rapidly turned into orange as the tips were tinted green. Sirius didn’t seem to notice until James laughed, quickly turning to him to tell him a joke until his eyes widened at his hair.

“Ugh — Padfoot?!”

Sirius looked at him bewildered at his worried tone and expression before catching his reflection in James’ glasses. By now, Peter and Remus looked at him, their eyes widened, leaving the girls to force down their laughter, showing false concern.

“What the fuck?!” Sirius exclaimed, running a hand through it. She’d never seen Sirius this panicked before. More than anything, he looked shocked and even a bit… happy? No — definitely not happy. He continued to chuckle nervously before fretting over his appearance. For once, his laughter did not bother her.

Students began to take notice, pointing over at the Gryffindor table while some even began gossiping with others about the prank. As soon as the bell rang, everyone got up from their seats while the marauders surrounded Sirius, trying to help him out. The girls, on the other hand, got up and ran out of the Great Hall, practically howling.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I just did that! I did that! We did that!” Lily exclaimed in disbelief before taking a seat down at their usual hangout near the library. “Did you see his reaction?! Jeez! I see why they pull so many pranks now!”

Y/N was about to burst into tears. That was by far the funniest shit she’d ever seen before. Marlene was in a similar boat as she clutched her side. Her stomach hurt from how hard she laughed.

“Lily! You little minx!” Mary cried as flopped beside Lily, her head dropping into her lap.

❉───────•~❉•᯽•❉~•───────❉

Their day was jammed packed. They went skating on the black lake, hit up the library, walked around school grounds which ended up in a huge snowball fight. After a bit, they decided to take a moment to separate themselves to give each other a bit of space while Lily went to find Snape.

This left the rest of the group two hours tops to themselves.

Y/N walked over to Honeydukes, buying a bunch of Jelly Slugs and a couple of other things before dashing back to the castle; she needed to wrap all of her presents and she promised to help Dorcas wrap hers too.

Before she entered Hogwarts again, Y/N took a moment to herself and enjoyed the small moment of peace around her. The soft crunching of snow, the cold breeze and the stillness — how quiet it was — there was hardly a moment since the break that Y/N had felt the comfortable peace Hogwarts had to offer.

Stepping inside the corridors, the atmosphere suddenly changed with the torches ablaze and a constant bubbling ambience that never seemed to settle.

In the distance, to her right, she could hear distant shouting and a rush of footsteps nearing. Out of nowhere, James seemed to come barreling towards her.

“Whiskers!” He yelled, sending her a fast wink as he continued to run down the corridor, making a sharp turn. Then, Marlee popped out, dashing after James.

“Marls?! What’s happening?”

“Running from Filch — get him off my trail!”

“What did you do?!”

“Told me to cover up, so I hexed him — Potter called him a rent boy!”

“Are you going to miss the party?” She yelled as Marlene’s body kept getting smaller and smaller as she ran. Y/N began to panic, without Marlene, surely things would take a lot longer than planned.

“Like hell I am! I won’t be late!”

Marlene disappeared, shortly being replaced by Filch who ran in a strange mixture of running and hopping.

“Where did they go?” He breathed, bending down and clutching his knees. “I heard them over here, where are they?”

And so Y/N decided to have some fun. “Who?”

“You know!”

“Um — you mean the one with blond hair?” “And the boy with black hair!”

“Oh! Yes, I know who… What’re their names again? Severus Snape and —” she paused, trying to think of another blond person, “Ugh — Sirius Black?”

Well, he used to be blond.

“No! The Potter boy and McKinnon! Where are they?!”

“Hmm… Oh! Oh! I think they went,” she pointed outside to the thick, cold snowy path, “That way!”

Filch didn’t even question her and ran off. Laughing, Y/N ran away from Filch; the last thing she wanted to do was face his wrath once he knew she lied.

Opening the door to her dorm, Dorcas was asleep. She walked up to grab a nearby folded blanket and placed it over her body to keep her warm before starting working.

She cleared off a table, unfolding her wrapping paper and wrapped the sides before creasing them, taping everything down with a pretty bow.

❉───────•~❉•᯽•❉~•───────❉

Nobody had seen Marlene or James for the past couple of hours — they’d even skipped dinner which caused everyone to go into a state of panic. Without Marlene, Sirius would be in a lot of trouble completing his task alone.

The common room was filled with fighting in hushed whispers as Lily and Remus were set to leave for their rounds in a couple of minutes.

“I’m going to kill her,” Mary fumed, “The one day they’re not supposed to go mucking around, they pull this!”

“How about we find them —” “And lose the little time we have now?”

Sirius, in particular, was on edge, aggravated, as he turned towards Y/N, “Why didn’t you think of saying anything sooner?”

“Because I didn’t think Marlene and James would be stupid enough to get caught! Not today!”

He closed his mouth, his lips pressed into a tight line. Even he hadn’t expected them to be that stupid either — not today.

“Everyone, shut up. All of you! Why don’t we take a moment to breathe?” Remus said calmly, effectively shutting the entire group up. In moments like these, Y/N understood why he was a prefect. He breathed in and looked to Sirius, “You can do this by yourself, can you?”

“Course not, Moony. Have a little faith in me!” Sirius gave a tenacious laugh, although forced.

Remus’ eyes then flicker to Y/N and Peter, “This shouldn’t affect you, will it?”

They shook their heads.

“Okay then, we’ll continue as planned. I’ll buy you as much time as —” He quickly cut himself off as everyone’s ears perked up. They all heard it, Lily’s footsteps. With that, Y/N, Sirius and Peter weaved their way out of the common room, walking quickly to avoid Lily and Remus from catching up to them. Unfortunately, Sirius took the invisibility cloak before she or Peter had the time to ask for it.

They sneakily made their way down a flight of moving stairs, passing several empty corridors and made their way down to the kitchens.

Once they began working on Lily’s cake, Y/N instantly knew why Peter was assigned to the kitchens.

He instructed her most of the time, telling her which ingredients or utensils to find. Currently, she grabbed a metal ladle and watched as Peter churn the ingredients, watching as they blend into a seamless, smooth mixture. She sat back most of the time, baking and cooking was never something she was great at. 

Y/N rifled through the cabinets, searching for a cake tin. “Ah-hah! Found some!”

They were heart-shaped, rather than the usual circular ones. She placed them onto the counter before turning her attention to grease the pans and focus on making a couple of sandwiches.

“So,” she started, trying to make small talk, “Where’d you learn to bake so well?”

Peter went pink as he wordlessly flicked his wand; the cake tin and floated it into one of the pre-heated ovens and turned to make the frosting. “Erm — it was James’ mum, Euphemia, who taught me. She’s a great baker — honestly she’s good at everything.

“James and I grew up close to each other; we’re childhood friends. He never did fancy baking — liked cooking more and I felt bad he never wanted to help out Euphemia. So one day I offered to help and now whenever I’m at their house, I help around — like a tradition — and I do it in my spare time now. Helps clear my head.”

Just then, two house-elves popped in, each holding a cup of tea for each student. Y/N gave her thanks while Peter turned to talk to them, making them laugh and asking questions that seemingly were a follow-up from a previous conversation. A light dust of flour scattered the side of his cheek while he smiled with them. The more he spoke with the elves, the more Y/N grew fascinated.

Out of all the marauders, even beating out Sirius and James who were amongst the most popular students at Hogwarts, Peter was the most liked out of all of them, especially amongst her friend group.

He wasn’t James who at times was a bit too much and talked an awful lot. He wasn’t Sirius who was dramatic, nor was he Remus who was quiet and intimidating. Peter was just Peter — who was a bit skittish, insanely good at Wizard’s chess, bold enough to sneak into the Slytherin's common room all by himself and loved to bake, clearly was in the kitchens often enough to have full-blown conversations with the elves when most people would so much as spit on before walking away.

It spoke volumes of his character, especially since he was from a Pureblood family; bound to grow up entitled and look down to his inferiors.

She noticed Peter had quite a lot of friends, mostly women, always seeming willing to help someone in dire need whether it be listening, giving advice or comforting another person. It only made her recollect the time Peter had engaged in small conversations with her, seeking to make her feel more included. Like that one time he’d mentioned the Holy Harpies. Small, ostensibly insignificant, but contemplating it now; he'd been trying to make her comfortable — settled — welcoming her with open arms into his group; into the marauders and the girls.

Within moments, there was a newfound appreciation towards the boy.

The sandwiches they made, along with pork pies stolen, were stuffed into a bag, ready to be transported. Y/N boredly spun her wand between the length of her finger while Peter whirled around in his seat until the ring of the timer went off. The elves were already gone, zipped away into thin air as they grew tired with sleep.

Placing a cooling spell onto the cake to avoid the icing from melting off, Peter began layering on a thin layer of icing.

“What’s Lily’s favourite colour? Is it still purple?” He asked. Y/N gave a curt nod.

“Never been a fan of purple. One time I walked into my Grandmum’s room, she only wore purple knickers for my Grandad. Makes me shiver all the time — honestly, the woman traumatized me. S’pose it might be my Boggart.”

Peter also had a sense of humour.

While diligently working, she marvelled at his creation. A two-layer heart-shaped cake, decorated all in light purple icing covered the surface before Peter piped small designs and swirls onto it.

“Wow. I feel like I can barely hold my wand at times yet you —”

“My, my — what do we have here? Students out of bed?” A voice came from behind them. “Tut, tut, tut.”

The two craned their heads backwards where Peeves smiled and let out a squeal of delight.

“Peeves,” Peter began politely. He slowly set down his piping bag and put his hands up in a submissive, yet defensive manner, as if he’d encountered a feral animal. “Please — please, we’re doing something for a dear friend. Don’t get us thrown out.”

“What would happen if I told Filch about you,” the ghost responded in a saintly voice, but his eyes glimmered wickedly. He brought a finger to the side of his face, tapping his index finger to his cheek, thinking.

“What to do, what to do…”

“Psst, Pete, what’s happening?”

Nobody answered her. With Sirius gone with the cloak, it left her and Peter completely out in the open wishlist a ghost threatening them — not to mention the lie she told Filch earlier, there was no way she nor Peter were going to get out of this unscathed.

“Please,” he pleaded.

She looked at him, wide-eyed and started panicking. She repeated louder, “What’s happening? What do we do?”

Peeves then grinned largely and started doing large loops into the air. His cackling rang through the empty corridors, becoming progressively louder.

“Shit. Run.”

“STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE HALLWAY! I REPEAT, THERE ARE STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE HALLWAY BY THE KITCHENS!”

Peter grabbed the cake while Y/N swiped the bag filled with the rest of the food, piping bags and a small jar of edible decor. They ducked under Peeves, dashing out of the kitchens leaving a huge mess for the unfortunate elves to clean up the next morning.  

Peeves floated behind them slowly as he watched them run. Peter ran slower, trying to make sure he didn’t face plant into the cake while Y/N urged him to run faster.

“He usually helps us,” Peter grits out, “But he’s a two-faced git! Never trust him unless you’re doing a prank! Never!”

Just then, Peter lost his footing and tripped over his feet, letting out a half-shriek, mixing in with Peeves’ evil laughter. They sucked in a sharp breath, watching as the cake flew through the air but Y/N, quick on her feet, grabbed her wand, casting a quick non-verbal charm and watched as the cake and plate froze mid-air before the plate clanked down first, the cake following and settling ontop. She ran up to it, cradling and wrapping a protective arm around it to prevent the cake from dropping again. She called out for Peter to get up before he took the cake again, this time with a shout from Y/N to not drop it, before leading her into a secret passway down the corridor.

Peeves could be heard laughing maniacally down the hall before they both could hear Filch’s footsteps running towards his shouts.

Peter maneuvered through the passage while Filch’s voice became more and more distant as they continued to hurriedly walk. Lily and Remus’ shift was going to end soon and it would be a lost cause if they didn’t make it up to the common room.

They both turned sharply, about to exit before Y/N crashed into a shadowy figure, tripping but being caught swiftly by the figure. They cradled her head to keep her from falling, but the sudden scare caused both students to open their mouths to scream, loudly.

“It’s me! It’s me!” Sirius’ familiar voice runs out, waving a hand to shush Peter while the other was still on her back. Y/N felt herself relax and erratic heartbeat to calm. She’d never been so happy to see Sirius before. Until she realized that they were still touching and they both ripped away.

Her heart spiked, and she felt oddly light headed. Soon enough, her eyes then immediately went to his hair and held back from chuckling — perhaps right now was not the time.

“I came once I heard people shouting and I figured it was you two. You okay?” His eyes darted to her at the last part.

Perhaps her eyes tricked her, that she was too tired or bumping into Sirius too hard, but it felt like he’d been making sure if she was alright. Since when did Sirius care? Although, Peter didn’t seem to notice or he’d ignored the interaction entirely.

“F-fine,” he wheezed out, “Peeves… Peeves caught us while we were decorating the cake. We’re not done yet.”

“What time is it?” She asked.

Sirius placed his wand in his mouth while pulling out a silver pocket watch from his trousers. “Ten to ten.”

“We have time then.” 

Peter placed the cake down gently on a nearby ledge in the passage, causing Sirius to cast Lumos. Sirius kept a watch out, his head moving from side to side every so often as he listened for anyone or anything walking past them.

Pulling out the icing bags and sprinkles, Peter began to finish his work. He continued to create flowers as Y/N wrote on the cake (although with help from her wand), ‘Happy 16th Birthday, Lily!’ and then placed a couple of candles around.

As Peter continued to add his small touches, Y/N’s eyes drifted around, not landing on anything in particular but zoned in on the shining of Sirius’ rings. Her eyes slowly drifted upwards, studying him. The remainder of the full moon that recently passed spilled a muted milky light onto the stone floor and touched Sirius’ face. He wasn’t wearing his normal school robes but dressed in Muggle clothing. Black jeans, a nice sweater, notable messy hair and his body language was relaxed. This Sirius was tolerable, likeable even. She liked this Sirius — but perhaps it was because he finally wasn’t talking. This Sirius gave her an insight into what he was like aside from his annoying, bitchy self. Loose, wild, messy in an elegant way, confident — in his prime — looking for a thrill, sneaking around; mischief.

Suddenly, Sirius’ wand went out as he ducked down, huddling beside her and Peter.

“What —”

They met each other’s eyes, locking, as he brought a finger up to his lips which made her flicker down to look at them, quickly.

Their eye contact was brief, so brief, nonetheless, it contained a flurry of emotions too complicated for Y/N to process.

But being up close for those brief seconds, she was able to examine him — truly, for the first time. Her eyes traced over the singular scar on his face, hidden by his hair that made her wonder where he’d gotten it from. Soon the questions enclosed her mind like an overflowing river.

His small, unexpected gesture had been one of many which had been nicer and oddly thoughtful recently.

Sirius’ brain was written in cryptic code — so advanced and intertwined — too complicated for her to understand. She wanted to understand his actions.

Even if she didn’t like to admit it, Sirius had a depth that greatly attracted her. She had so many unanswered questions.

And since her brain ran a mile a minute, her emotions weren’t filled with that annoyance of ranger — no, for once she didn’t feel any kind of resentment towards him.

Maybe it was because they both had one goal in mind: Lily’s party and that working against each other during something as high stakes like this would fail a good friend of theirs. Or maybe it was that instead of her or him starting something — or maybe — maybe it was because the boy was so close to her, closer than they ever had been before. Or maybe it was the adrenaline that set every fibre of her being on fire — making her feel like honey-dipped in tea — or the odd thunderous throbbing of her heat spiking suddenly; Y/N grew warm all over.

It didn’t help that Sirius didn’t look angry either, but rather a sudden cognizance filled his gaze, looking both shocked and calm.

But quickly, she just chalked up her flurry of emotions to adrenaline or wanting to hex him — either worked.

For Sirius, he felt utter disdain as his gaze fixated on her. He was tempted to flicker down to her lips but her eyes, bright and filled with glittery stars, were enchanting. It scorned him — made his heart beat in an iambic pentameter, creating its own sonnet that would make even the most accomplished poets jealous.

He wanted to refuse her presence. Wanted to focus on anything but her.

But Sirius was a weak man. He failed. He always did.

Their eyes ripped away and they heard the familiar sound of footsteps and voices neared them as they spotted the familiar red hair and tall figure.

Their voices were slightly muffled.  

“— times have changed! You aren’t a second year anymore.” Lily chimed while they walked.

Remus shook his head, instead of flicking his wand as a dozen torches lit up in mere seconds. “Whatever you say, Red.”

She swatted at his shoulder while Remus ruffled her hair, his smiling becoming genuine.

“Seriously, I support it.

“Merlin, Evans — it’s not going to happen. Look at me!”

“Not with that attitude and you look more than fine!”

Peter shifted his eight onto his other foot which made an audible scuffle. However, it was so quiet that neither she nor Sirius caught on but Remus, whose head swirled in their direction, did. He took a deep inhale, a look in his eyes, confusion melting into realization — there and gone — as if he knew they were there despite being hidden by the shadows of the night. He turned his head once more and started walking faster while Lily skipped down, trying to catch up to him.

Remus Lupin was an odd one alright.

Nobody moved until they were positive they were gone.

The entire night had been a shitshow.

“Okay,” Sirius exhaled, he felt his entire body tense up, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Do you think the cake is okay?” Y/N asked Peter as Sirius tossed the invisibility cloak over their bodies, hiding them from onlookers.

“Bloody well hope so,” he grunted, “We didn’t get caught almost three times, freeze our arse, almost get a month's detention, and probably destroyed the kitchen for it not to be great.”

Without another word, they made their way back to the common room where everyone made a fuss about how late they were. Quickly, Peter placed any last-minute designs, Mary handed everyone small party horns, Dorcas put up last-minute balloons while Y/N and Sirius helped each other layout all the snacks and drinks — this time, civilly.

“God… How’d you even get this much? Me and Peter were in the kitchens and we couldn’t even get half of what you got.”

At this, Sirius smirked before collapsing into the plush velvet couch behind him, an exhausted sigh as he sank further in. But as soon as the smirk was there, it was gone as everyone heard the clicking of the portrait open.

“Hide — HIDE!”

All the lights were blown out as they all hid behind the couches — they heard quiet footsteps — someone shuffling towards the middle — footsteps getting louder — louder — and —

Sirius lit the entire room as they all sprung up and Y/N quickly held her camera to her face and snapped a photo as everyone shouted,

“SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHD —” “Godric fucking Gryffindor!”

“... I’m going to KILL YOU MCKINNON! POTTER!”

Everyone groaned in disappointment at James and Marlene’s arrival before they heard the faint sounds of footsteps outside of the portrait again. Mary yanked Marlene down, shoving her behind the couch along with forcing a party hat on her head and confetti in her hands. Sirius grabbed James by his red sweater and rushed him up the stairs before getting back into place.

“Told you,” Marlene whispered into her ear, “Wasn’t going to be late.”

The real Lily could be heard as she spoke excitedly with Remus. The portrait swung open — everyone waited before she stepped inside — they put most of their weight onto their toes, waiting to jump — Sirius’ wand was about to light up the room — Y/N held her camera — Dorcas and Marlene were going to throw up the confetti —

“Why is it so dark —”

“SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILY!”

Light rushed back into the room and Lily’s face lit up brighter than the sun. Mountains of sweets were piled into bowls while a small table was lined with drinks. Sirius outdid himself, seemingly raiding Honeydukes; there was taffy, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, sherbet lemon, caldron cakes — plus the food Y/N and Peter had hauled from the kitchen; sandwiches, fruit, crisp (she made the mistake of saying chips in front of James and Marlene only to then be hassled by them for it) and pork pies.

ABBA played in the background, much to Remus’ demise as her purple cake sat in the middle on a table, all the candles lit. They all ushered Lily to blow out the candles while they all held wrapped gifts, cards and small gift bags.

“You didn’t need to do this!” Lily said, although there was a thankful look in her eyes, “This is too much! Thank you!”

“Anything for you, Evans!”

“You’re lucky we didn’t bring fireworks!” Marlene and Sirius grinned.

“You would have all gotten detention —” “Stop being a goody goody, not today, Lils!” Sirius slung his arm around the redhead.

Gifts went around; Lily had gotten so many cards from other teachers and students, handmade jewellery from Dorcas, Remus knit her a sweater with hearts, Mary and Marlene gave a joint gift, Peter bought her a small yet overly fancy tea set Lily had mentioned offhandedly before, Sirius gave her a first edition books she loved while Y/N gave her the gifts she bought from that old book store. Alice had even dropped by and given her a small package before heading back up for the night.

They all smiled widely at her and were thrilled to see her so happy. Y/N lifted her camera and took an abundance of photos throughout the entire night, before shoving them into the back pocket of her pants.

By the time everyone reluctantly returned to their dormitories, it was three o’clock in the morning and everyone was beyond tired, deciding it was time for bed.

“Night,” Dorcas called out. Marlene yawned loudly before falling into her bed, muttering out another round of happy birthdays to Lily. They were out the fastest — soft snores filling the room.

White specks seemed to blur through her vision as Y/N rubbed her tired eyes. She was about to call over to Lily, say goodnight, roll over and sleep before the creaking of her bed altered her to Lily padding her way to the bed. Y/N looked up at her, confused before scouting over for Lily to slip in, under her blankets.

“Are you okay, Petals?”

“Beyond perfect,” she replied with a wistful voice, “I’m so thankful. Thank you.”

Y/N chuckled, although she was a tad perplexed, “Y’know, it wasn’t just me who helped.”

“I know, but still. This birthday feels different from all the other ones I’ve had and I can’t help but think it’s also because of you.”

Lily Evans never ceased to amaze her. “Well, I hope you mean that in a good way,” she teased.

“Obviously!”

Silence fell around them before Toulouse hopped onto Y/N’s bed and settled himself between the two friends.

Y/N’s eyes wondered to the banner: petals... “What’s your favourite flower? Surely it’s not lilies, are they?”

Lily gave a small huff of amusement and shook her head, “No. Peonies or irises. What about yours?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll just say lilies for now.” She said absentmindedly before her eyes shot open. “Shit! I forgot —” Y/N reached over Lily and opened her drawer with the pouch of Jelly slugs before placing them into Lily’s hands. “Forgot to give you these.”

There was a soft look in Lily’s eyes and something Y/N couldn’t quite place. Her friend was acting quite strange.

“It feels like I’ve known you forever,” Lily says softly, her face flushed a rosy colour.

She stayed silent for a while, at a complete loss for words. Even a slight look of confusion crossed Lily’s face. 

“Yeah, you too.”

[sisterspooky1013]

As Ethan Sees It

Author:SisterSpooky1013

Rating: Mature

Words: 3698

Read it on AO3 Here

Tagging @today-in-fic

The first thing I’d noticed about her was how self-assured she was, particularly in contrast to her diminutive stature. I’d been grabbing lunch at a local deli between classes and some high school kids were picking on a third boy who may have been a classmate. Everyone in line was just ignoring it, looking away, when this tiny redhead steps out of line and walks up to the tallest, bulkiest guy in the group and tells him to fuck off, in so many words. She barely reached his shoulder and was probably 100lbs soaking wet, but she had no problem standing up for the little guy. After I picked up my order, I noticed her sitting alone at a table near the window and asked if I could join her. She was hesitant, but agreed and listened politely while I told her how impressed I was by her bravado with those kids. That’s when I noticed the second thing about her; her incredible smile. It was like the first burst of sunlight over the horizon in the morning, blinding in its beauty. I introduced myself and learned that her name was Dana, and she had just moved to DC to accept a job with the FBI. We talked for so long I missed my class, but I didn’t care. I was fascinated by her. Aside from being strikingly beautiful with rich auburn hair and porcelain skin, her blue eyes some intoxicating shade of blue I had never seen before, she was also wickedly smart. She seemed to know about everything, any topic that came up she could speak to, and I learned more during that 90 minute conversation than I probably would have if I’d made it to class. She was a doctor, and a scientist, and even the way her voice sounded was enchanting to me, the S’s softly sibilant as they poured from her pouty pink lips. She had realized the time and stood suddenly to leave, and I was so flustered by our impromptu date ending so abruptly that I stupidly forgot to get her phone number. The sinking feeling in my gut when I realized this fact, right about the time her cab disappeared into a sea of other cabs, still ranks as one of the worst moments of my life.

I thought about her every single day for two weeks. I talked about her every single day for two weeks, until my roommates begged me to either figure out a way to get in touch with her, or shut the hell up. All I knew about her was her first name, that she had recently graduated from Stanford, and that she works at the FBI. First I tried calling the FBI and asking for Dana, but they had more than one Dana who worked there and were unwilling to let me try them one by one. Next I contacted Stanford and was able to have a list of the last two classes of graduates faxed to me. Thankfully, there was only one Dana on that list; Dana Scully. I called back to FBI headquarters and asked for Dana Scully, and the next thing I knew she was on the line, her sing-song voice saying “This is Dana Scully.” My mouth went dry, I forgot how to speak, how to breathe.

“Uh, um, hi, hello.”

“…Who is this?” Her tone was the one I’d heard her use with the high school bullies

“Uh, this is Ethan? From the deli, a couple weeks ago?”

“Ethan from the deli? The guy who’s getting his masters in journalism?”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

“Oh! Hi! How…how did you get this number?”

“Well, I hope this isn’t too weird but I forgot to ask for your number and I remembered you said you worked at the FBI, so I kind of tracked you down.”

“Oh. That’s kind of sweet.”

I let out huge breath of relief.

“I’d really like to see you again, if you’re interested. It’s alright if not, I just couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least ask.”

She was quiet for a moment but he had a feeling she was smiling.

“I’d love to, Ethan. Do you have something to write with? I’ll give you my number.”

**********************************

The first real date we had, I took her to a fancy Italian place that my buddies said was sufficiently romantic. She let me pick her up at her apartment in Georgetown and when she answered the door, I nearly passed out. She had on a strapless blue cocktail dress and tall black heels, her hair down and soft around her face. Her lips were red and plump and I wanted to kiss her right then, but I knew it was too soon. I held doors for her and watched closely for her reaction, unsure if she was the kind of woman who found chivalry insulting, but she seemed to appreciate it. She was so petite and delicate, like a beautiful bird, but also had this incredible air of confidence that made her so captivating. I was careful not to outright stare at her, so I didn’t make her uncomfortable. She told me more about herself as we ate, what she had studied in school and the things she was doing now at the FBI academy, working in forensics. She asked me about my school and my plans for after graduation, and she really listened when I talked, asking thoughtful questions and wanting to learn more about journalism and broadcasting, so eager to know as much as possible about everything she could. I told some stupid joke, and she laughed, and I think that’s when I fell in love with her. That laugh worked its way into my bones, vibrated in my blood stream and sent a shiver down my spine. I had to imagine that the only reason she was single was that she was so new to the area, because a woman like this was never single for long. I didn’t want the night to end, so I asked her out to drinks afterward and to my delighted surprise she suggested that we have them back at her place. I didn’t want to assume anything, so I didn’t make a move, just talked with her more on her sofa, learned about her family and her childhood as an army brat, her love of reading and bubble baths, her fondness for children and animals. When she leaned in and kissed me, I thought that I may be hallucinating. Maybe I was having an intensely long, lucid dream. How did someone like Dana Scully cross my path of all the places on earth she might have been, and how did I have the nerve to approach her, and how was she interested in me, and how was it possible that right then she had her tongue in my mouth on her sofa?

We didn’t have sex that first night, but it wasn’t too long before we did. And it wasn’t too long after that that we decided to be exclusive, and 6 months later that I told her that I loved her. Two weeks after that, she said it back, and for two years, we were happy. It’s typically the case that when you’re newly in love with someone you have that divine infatuation that makes you see everything about them as perfect, but over time it wears off and the things that were once cute become annoying. That never happened with Dana. I was obsessed with her, everything she did was the most incredible thing a human could accomplish or be. Aside from the megawatt smile and musical laugh, she had this sweet little beauty mark on her lip that I loved to kiss. She was witty and skilled at debate, and we’d spend evenings arguing over something like the moon landing conspiracy before fucking like animals over the back of the couch. And the sex. Oh my god the sex. She was an absolute vixen in the way she played, teased, and ultimately delivered on every promise she made, and she would smile in this self-satisfied way when she came, looking me right in the eye like she’d tricked me out of my last dollar. She could be dominant, or dismissive, sometimes one then the other in the same night. She could be anything and everything, and she was.

I loved to hear her talk about her work and new assignments she was getting, and I was so proud of her and her goals and dreams. I wanted to be right beside her as she climbed the ranks at the bureau, and knew that she would be anything she set her mind to. She was equally supportive of me as I graduated and then worked my way up at a local broadcasting company with dreams of being a news anchor. She made me feel important and worthy, showed interest in the things that I cared about and was so loyal to me that she cussed out one of my friends for making jokes at my expense. We never moved in together technically (her choice) but we slept together at one or the other’s apartment every night, rented a movie every Friday, had dinner with her parents every Sunday. Her sister, who she was close to, seemed to like me okay, and her friend Ellen confided in me that she thought I should propose soon, that Dana was ready for that step. I picked out a ring, a slender gold band with a princess cut solitaire, only half a karat because I knew she didn’t like to be flashy, and hid it in my sock drawer. Our anniversary was coming up on March 23 and I decided to do it then, which was a little ways away, but I wanted it to be perfect.

For her birthday, I took her out to dinner and she had exciting news to share. She’d been offered an assignment with an obscure unit at the FBI, requested specifically by Section Chief Blevins for her background as a scientist. I didn’t fully understand what the unit did or why they’d want Dana for it, but it was something about unsolved mysteries, by the sound of it. She was so happy and felt like this was a great sign, her big break, the fact that Blevins even knew she existed and wanted her on this team was an indication of the reputation she was building for herself there. I bought a bottle of champagne, told her how proud I was and that I couldn’t wait to hear more about it. She let me know there would be travel, it was a field agent role, and that she’d be on the road sometimes. As much as I didn’t look forward to being away from her, I couldn’t help but share her excitement at this new step in her career. That night we had the most incredible birthday/promotion sex you could imagine. I made her come three times before she finally tapped out and told me how much she loved me, and how excited she was for the rest of our lives together, how much she appreciated that I understood that her career was important, and that I supported her. If we would have been at my place, I would have grabbed the ring and proposed to her right then, but we were at hers. So I just kissed her and told her that I was the luckiest man on earth because I had the opportunity to be her partner in life.

The first day of her new assignment, she was nervous. She’d heard some stories about the agent she was going to be working with, her partner, a guy named Mulder. He sounded like somewhat of an oddball, and a ladies man to boot. I made a joke about him staying away from my woman and she rolled her eyes, had me help her choose between the plaid suit or the maroon one, kissed me goodbye and told me that she loved me and I didn’t need to worry about this or any other male agent, or male person for that matter, stealing her away. That afternoon at the station I got a message from her saying that she had to fly out to Oregon for a case they were investigating, which caught me by surprise. She had said she’d be on the road, but I didn’t expect it to happen that fast. I heard from her only once in the three days she was gone, and when she came back, she was different.

It’s hard to explain in what way she changed. She was distracted, spacey, staring into nothing when we watched TV in the evening, not really listening to what I was saying when I told her about my day. She told me a little bit about the work she was doing, but she was suddenly guarded and defensive about what she did all day, most of her sentences starting with “Mulder says...” The phone would ring at odd times, she worked late or was out of town almost constantly. I felt her slipping away. I did all I could to make things easy for her when she was home. I did all the cleaning, all her laundry. I cooked her dinner each night, though half the time she would say that she had already eaten with Mulder. She didn’t seem as interested in kissing or sex, but she would let me go down on her and I did, every night, trying to hold on to her attention and her affection with my tongue on her clit. I tried to talk to her, to ask her what was wrong, if I should be doing anything differently, and she’d say “no, of course not. Everything’s fine, I’m just tired.”

Then it was our anniversary, and I made a reservation at the same place we’d gone to that very first time. I picked up flowers for her, dahlias which I knew she loved. I went by her apartment at the agreed upon time, but she didn’t answer the door. I used my key to enter and it was quiet and cold, no sign she’d been there anytime recently. I called her office at work and Mulder answered, said she was up at Quantico performing an autopsy and could he take a message. I just hung up the phone. I went to bed at her place, and when she finally crawled in at 3am she was startled to find me there. The way she looked at me made me feel like she’d forgotten I existed, and I didn’t even bother to remind her that it was our anniversary. I decided to start fresh the next morning, with a new plan. Maybe I was being too demanding, expecting too much. Maybe this Mulder was difficult to work with and she didn’t want to bother me with horror stories. I would just have to be the most supportive, accommodating, wonderful boyfriend possible, and we could come through this together. When I woke up, she was still snoring softly beside me. I slipped my head under the covers and pushed her legs open gently, sliding her nightgown up over her hips. She stirred and moaned as I pressed my lips to her clit, kissing her there before beginning to lap at her labia, two fingers sliding inside just how she liked it. She responded readily, flexing her hips and pushing her hands into my hair, and I flipped the blankets off my head so I could see her face. I loved the way she liked to watch me, to hold my eye as she went over the edge, so intensely intimate. To my disappointment, her eyes were closed, head back against the pillow. When she came, she didn’t look at me, didn’t say anything. I crawled back up to lie beside her and when her eyes met mine they were so full of sadness it sent me into a panic.

“Dana, what’s wrong?” I implored, seeing tears welling under her blue irises.

She shook her head and scooted up so that she was sitting with her back against the headboard.

“Ethan-“ her voice caught under a sob that she quickly swallowed down.

My stomach dropped. No, this can not be happening.

“Ethan” she began again. “I care about you so much.” Tears were falling now, trailing down her alabaster cheeks and dripping off of her angular chin. “I just don’t think I can give you what you need right now.”

My mind was racing, I looked around the room like there might be something, or someone, who could help me.

“I think it might be best if we took a break for a bit. Took some space from each other.”

I sat up on my knees and grabbed her arm, suddenly regretful that I had chosen to sleep naked.

“Dana, what are you talking about? We don’t need space. I don’t need space from you!”

She closed her eyes. “Ethan, it’s not fair to you. I can’t be available to you right now. My new assignment, I’m just so busy-“

“No, it’s okay, Dana. I know you work more now but I don’t mind, I’ll always be here when you come home. I support you, I support your work, you know that.”

Pulling her arm from my grasp, she stood and went to her dresser. Pulled on panties and then jeans before stripping off her nightgown and putting on a bra and sweater. “Ethan. Please don’t make this harder than it needs to be. It’s just not a good time for me, right now.”

“Is it that Mulder guy? Is he making moves on you?” I hated how desperate my voice sounded.

“No, Ethan. This has nothing to do with Mulder, he’s been nothing but professional. This is about me, and what I need right now. What I’m capable of. And I’m just not in a good place for a relationship, I’m sorry. I need some time.”

She was standing near her bedroom door, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She was ready to walk out.

“How much time? How much time do you need?”

She looked at the floor and whispered “I don’t know.”

I slid off the bed and went to her, dropped to my knees on the floor, wrapping my arms around her hips as I pressed the side of my head into her belly.

“Please don’t do this. We can work through it. I love you, I love you so much. I’ll do whatever you need, just tell me.” The humiliation of begging on my knees while nude makes my skin crawl to this day.

She put her hand on my head, petting my hair as she often did. I felt hot tears drip from her eyes and fall against my scalp. “What I need is for you to let me go” she finally said, and she sounded very sad but also very resolute.

“I’m going to go to my mothers for the day, and I’d like you to pack up the things you have here. You can leave your key on the table. I’ll call you soon, to see how you’re doing, okay?”

“Dana, no, I won’t let you go. Please let me try to make this better.” I clung to her like a child, physically keeping her from leaving me. She crouched down and kneeled in front of me, taking my face in her hands. She kissed me softly on the lips, once.

“You have been a wonderful boyfriend, Ethan. You have loved me so well. I don’t want you to think that this is your fault, okay? You are the best. I just can’t be with someone right now. I know you’ll be okay.”

She stood and walked out of her apartment, pausing once at the door to look back at me, naked and destroyed on the floor in her bedroom doorway, and then she was gone.

She didn’t call me, not in a day or a week or a month. She deleted me from her life like a file she no longer needed. I didn’t know how to explain to my friends what had happened, because I didn’t really know myself. I thought about her every day, ate at restaurants around her work and apartment hoping to catch sight of her, so we could chance a meeting and maybe she’d be willing to talk. When I finally did see her, it was at a sandwich shop a few blocks from the Hoover building. She walked in looking like…well an FBI agent. Now in a black, tailored skirt suit that fit her perfectly, her hair cut shorter and more styled, her heels tall and her posture confident. A man was with her, and my stomach turned at his hand on her back, the familiar way they stood close as they waited in line. He was remarkably tall with dark features, handsome in a kind of mysterious way. I wondered if that was Mulder, assumed that it was. They sat down and I watched her face, the intensity in her eyes and the curl at her lip, recognized the way her features danced as she talked about something she found interesting, the rapturous way she listened while her male counterpart spoke. I remembered when she used to look at me that way. She must have felt my eyes on her because she looked at me suddenly, registering surprise and then sadness, offering me a tiny wave as the man turned to see who she was looking at. I gathered the rest of my sandwich and chucked it in the trash can as I stalked out, suddenly having lost my appetite. I wanted to hate her, to be angry at her betrayal, her abandonment. I wanted to hate him, for taking her from me. All I could muster was the same hallow acceptance that I had my chance, and somehow let it slip away. I just hope that he appreciates her smile as much as I do.

[maxismatchccworld]

Patch Notes

PC:1.69.54.1020 / Mac: 1.69.54.1220 Console: Version 1.35 Happy Holidays Simmers! It’s time to go back in to Create a Sim! Where in this update you will find 100+ new skin tones, customization sliders for skin tones and makeup, and three improved base game hairstyles! Every skin tone now has a value slider that allows you to change the light to dark value of that skin tone, unlocking a much wider variety of skin tone options for you to play with! You will also find that our skin tones are now filterable to warm, cool, and neutral tones (as well as miscellaneous that covers our occult skin tones).

The new makeup sliders add more choices and opportunities for you to customize your Sims, and express your Sim’s style! Hue, saturation, value or brightness, and opacity are now available to modify on the makeup. We have locked some of the sliders where it did not provide an optimal experience or make sense for the makeup. Expect us to continue our work on these issues into the future to provide you with more. In addition to the customization opportunities provided, you can also save custom swatches as you tweak your sliders to get the perfect look. When you click on the swatch (for skin tones and makeup) as you modify the sliders, you will have an opportunity to save your custom settings, so you can re-use it later without having to remember your perfect looks! Did we mention that we made some hair updates? We did - we updated a base game child hair (cfHair_BraidedPonyTail), and we added a second version of that hair that removes the baby hairs (cfHair_BraidedPonyTailPlain). And we updated a base game male hair that you may find difficult to recognize from the original hair (ymHair_flatTopTextured)!

We have updated the Main Menu!... Again! The idea behind this change is to create a more cohesive experience and give Packs a more proper space as we continue to grow our content lineup. As a nice bonus, we highlighted the Gallery in a more meaningful way to inspire you.

-SimGuruGnome & SimGuruRusskii

Now onto the fixes:

Sims 4

Sketching so much that the Digital Sketch Pad just quit on you? Never fear! Freelancer Sims that use the Digital Sketchpad will now be able to complete designs without being reset abruptly.

Happy Birthday to all! Sims will now properly Age Up. Adulting is hard but they will make it, don’t worry.

Fixed an issue in which Doors, Windows, and Arches had cutouts when being reflected in Mirrors. Rorrim Rorrim no eht llaw, ohw si eht tseriaf erutaef fo meht lla?

Sims that do not have the Fishing Skill, or have not been Fishing at all, will not get notifications about identifying Fish. THEY WERE FISHING WITH THEIR MINDS.

The following careers have added the “Take Vacation Day” option, yay!Editor Russkii note: I didn’t want to add each line in each pack for this fix, it would have looked weird and robotic so that is why I chose to do one bullet point for all in this section.

Child Sims will no longer forget they are in their Sleepwear when they go to school. Though in these times of Work and School from Home, I don’t blame them one bit.

The Sweet Escapes Country Toilet will no longer be Comfortable AND Uncomfortable at the same time… There can only be one!

Sims with the Best Selling Author Aspiration can now complete their task of writing 3 Best Sellers.

Fixed an issue in which resized objects would disappear when they were part of downloaded Gallery items.

We revised our Careers (Pack specific and not) and we made sure there were no Chance Cards that were repeated constantly.

We noticed we had added the option to Clean Up Toddler on kitchen and bathroom sinks for both Toddlers and Children by mistake, so we removed it for both age groups from the sink… but how would have they fit? Like… how? These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Build Snowpal interaction is no longer available on non-natural ground (For Simmers that own Seasons and/or Snowy Escape). That's why it's called a Snowpal, not a Floorpal!

Gardener (Seasons)

Military (Strangerville)

Lifeguard for Teens and Conservationist (Island Living)

Law, Education, and Engineer (Discover University)

Civil Designer (Eco Lifestyle).

Get to Work

We made a clarification on the Xenophilia moodlet when interacting with Alien Sims. It should no longer say “From Discovering Aliens” but now it correctly reads “From Interacting with Aliens.”

Fixed an issue in which childbirth was not possible if Simmers changed the color swatches of the Surgery Tables. Now listen, I have heard about renting whole hospital wings for a birth in real life and other eccentricities, but this… was really something.

Get Together

Male Sims will no longer get Pregnant after receiving calls from NPC Sims.

City Living

NPC Sims will now text and call with invitations to Festivals. I personally welcomed the calm and quiet of my phone not beeping about constantly. But I can’t miss a Festival!

Sims rejoice! Yard sale customers will no longer invade their Home Lots and use Household objects. It is a Yard Sale… OUT in the yard, not an Open House.

Did you ever regret trusting some Sims enough to give them your apartment keys to constantly get visits from them for Milk and Juice? You can rest assured that they will no longer visit you for this purpose. I think some neighborly love is appreciated, but this went beyond the proverbial “May I have a cup of sugar?” type of situation.

Fixed an issue in which interactions to participate on GeekCon contests would not appear when interacting with objects.

We decided to give a bit more clarity when displaying the location of Festivals, so now it will display as “Near <insert location>” and not a distinct location that is not entirely correct. This is true for Festivals in Snowy Escape as well.

Cats and Dogs

Pets will no longer sleep in random places when told to sleep on their Pet beds. In my world they can sleep where they are most comfortable, my conspiracy… allegedly.

Seasons

Sims can now Shower in the Rain… Jury is still out on Singing and Dancing.

Sims will no longer “lose” their shovels when performing other autonomous activities while performing the interaction “Shovel Snow.”

Our friendly neighborhood Snowpal has been properly renamed to Chill from Chil. Everything I knew before was a lie… a LIE!

Ever felt like the Holiday spirit has just been too much to handle, and Father Winter starting to show up everywhere and not letting you do much of anything getting a bit… out of hand? Fear not! Father Winter will stop replicating himself* to spread holiday cheer. *Note this fix is not entirely retroactive, new saves should see this without issue. Existing saves will correct themselves over time.

Get Famous

Duck Security SCROO9E Super XL Smart Vault will no longer disappear after Sims Woohoo in it… you can say Woohoo can be romantic and magical, but maybe not to this extent?

NPCs from the Actor Career sometimes would never show on Set, making gigs impossible to complete. We've spoken with their union reps and everyone has agreed to stop this ridiculous strike. What were they striking about? Was there even a Strike? We may never know.

Island Living

Mermaids and other Occults should no longer be able to make hybrid occults. How were they making them? Oh boy, I'm not sure if it's appropriate for me to give you the mermaid-birds and spellcaster-bees talk.

Randomly generated Mermaid Sims will no longer be seen without some features in affected Simmer Saves. However this fix is not retroactive, so it should be seen fixed in new saves.

Pizza delivery to Lagoon Look Lot has been fixed to arrive promptly. This is Sulani Deep Lagoon Pizza, home of the 2x1 Mermadic Kelp Pizza and the Salty Llama Combo, may I take your order? <Descriptive Simlish on the line> Uh huh… uh huh… <Indescribable Simlish on the line> Yes, we now can ACTUALLY deliver to Lagoon Look… <Interrogative Simlish on the line> Yes, we told our delivery Sims that they need to deliver it there and not keep the pizza for themselves… like give it to the actual client. <Surprised Simlish on the line>

Discover University

Has this ever happened to you? Your Sim is ready to make an offering to the Sprites only to find a crystal stuck without being able to move it? No longer a problem, Sims now can remove offerings so all their rituals can resume. Sprites rejoice.

We fixed an issue for our Console Simmers that wouldn’t allow them to close the Humanoid Robot’s Behavior Module Menus correctly.

Fixed an issue that would cause items to be repossessed when loans were fully paid. That is NOT how it worked Repo Person… NOT how it worked.

Sims with Research & Debate Skill 3 or higher will no longer be able to “Convince to” with Toddler Sims.

Masquerade Secret Society Masks are now properly unlocked in Create a Sim when joining the Secret Society.

Fixed an issue in which Heckle animation was sometimes not being performed autonomously by Sims while playing Ping Pong.

Eco Lifestyle

Fixed an issue that triggered the Off-the-Grid notifications after traveling to different Lots in Evergreen Harbor, even when they are not labeled as Off-the-Grid.

We spoke to all Eco Inspectors, and they have agreed that they should NOT be charging the Energy efficient appliances fine if your appliances are fully upgraded to be super efficient and amazing. I mean all that work and still get fined? Not in this house!

Fixed an issue in which some placeholder text was showing in notifications after Dumpster Diving.

The Americana Station Speakers will now play Music… as the prophecy foretold.

When the We Wear Bags N.A.P is active, Grim Reaper will not be partially invisible when appearing on a Lot. Grim Reaper contributes!

Living the No Appliance lifestyle? We’ve got news for you! Sims will no longer be penalized for not having “Eco-Friendly Appliances.” No appliances, no fines!

Snowy Escape

Vending Machine Canned Soups and Drinks won’t spoil anymore. Time to stock up!

Sims can no longer go on Hikes while holding their Toddlers.

Space Heaters will now be able to be placed on Lots from Inventory. Sharing the warmth everywhere!

Fixed an issue in which the Shoe Removal Sign in 5-1-2 Kiyomatsu was not working properly. We also added Shoe Removal Signs in 5-1-1 Kiyomatsu and 2-4-2 Wakabamori.

Sims will now be more visibly furious when having the appropriate furious sentiment toward other Sims. “Yes, I’m mad!... No! This IS my furious face!”

Fixed an issue with some animations that would stutter while Snowboarding or Skiing. We also made sure that Sims with a high level of those skills would not always choose the Bunny Slopes.

Izzy Fabulous’ Star Simmi Rank was just too fabulous so we had to correct it to be one star less than displayed. Don’t worry Izzy, you are a full 4 stars in my book, you are that fabulous to me.

After much debate of whether it is the Cave Shrine or the Mountain Shrine for Hiking destinations we finally decided to just call it Mountain Shrine.

We revised the Snoop-Proof Bamboo Blinds and it is now possible to drop’em like they’re hot with the Thousand Words Window.

NPC Sims will no longer “take over” the Slopes for themselves for an indefinite period of time, now they will be sharing with all Sims the joys of the Slopes.

Fixed an issue in which Sims would get highlighted in the Sentiment Panel as if receiving new Sentiments every time traveling is involved.

Sims with Rock Climbing Skill 7, or higher, are able to autonomously climb the Tall Wall (Such tall! So much wall!). There is no need to not face what makes you uncomfortable… autonomously.

Had a chat with Yamachan and asked if he was ok, he seemed to start random conversations and then randomly say goodbye without reason. We are happy to report that he is OK now and will try not to do that. Give us a hug Yamachan.

Food Stalls at Mt. Komorebi Festivals won’t be closing shop randomly during Festival hours anymore. <guitar and piano intro> Closing time, open all the Stalls and eat all the food in the world...Closing time, turn all the lights on and let Yamachan greet you heeeere…

Create a Sim asset ymHat_EP10HelmetGoggles has been fixed to no longer display clipping around the neck area as well as we made sure no facial hair is removed when wearing this asset.

Dine Out

Experimenting with photo frames will no longer use the same picture of an Experimental Meal when displayed.

Hot Pot meals are now part of Restaurant Menus! I miss the times I would go to eat Hot Pot at a restaurant. One of my favorites has a conveyor belt that carries your fixings never leaving your table for a thing. *happy sigh*

Vampires

Vampire Sims will no longer be affected by temperature, so they won't be constantly obsessed with lighting fireplaces trying to get warm.

Post edited by EA_Leeloo at 6:30PM

Source: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/984647/december-7th-2020-patch-notes

[peaceoutofthepieces]

Tracing Time

Tuesday, 08:21

Song: Maggie Rogers - Dog Years

Sander is still rubbing at his eyes as he wanders into the kitchen, yawning loudly as he half-blindly makes his way towards the table. Before he can even get there, however, his mother is blocking his path and shoving a cake in his face and his dad is joining her to chorus, “Happy Birthday!”

“Uhm,” Sander blinks at them.

It’s strange to see that his mother is clearly wide awake, and that his father hasn’t left for work yet. Though he is already dressed in his police uniform, as one should always be when apparently preparing to have cake for breakfast. “Thanks. Don’t we usually do this in the evening, though?”

“Blow out your candles,” his mom orders. “Remember to make a wish!”

Twenty candles. The woman has twenty candles in a circular cake. (He’s sure, he counts them.) There’s already wax threatening to drip onto the icing, where the hastily piped ‘Happy Birthday Sander’ has holes pierced in it, the cake too small and the candles too numerous to avoid all of the writing.

Sander quickly blows out the candles.

“What did you wish for?” Léa asks, innocent and eager.

His dad, Ciel, makes a noise of protest and holds a hand up towards Sander. “If he tells you, it won’t come true.”

Sander points at him in agreement, and Léa huffs. It’s odd, that it’s odd to see his parents standing in front of him so early, interacting so casually, doing it all together. It’s not that they’re a distant couple, far from it. Sander’s father is just a busy man who sleeps and wakes early, and his mother is a not-quite-as-busy woman who has the luxury of being her own boss and rivals Sander’s own temperamental sleep schedule. They do not have breakfast as a family because they do not cross paths in the morning. They have dinner all together once or twice a week, if they get lucky. But there is certainly a bigger chance of their evenings coinciding.

So what is happening here?

“We’ll keep this for another time, I made actual breakfast,” his mother adds, gesturing at the table—with the cake still in her hands. Sander takes it from her quickly and sets it aside on the counter.

“Are we not having dinner, then?” he asks carefully.

They both give him bland looks. He curses both their heights—surely he should have earned an extra few inches from them. “We know you won’t be free for dinner,” Léa says.

Sander opens his mouth. Closes it again. Smiles sheepishly. “Oh.”

She huffs as she squeezes his shoulder. “But at least I can still be the first to wish my son happy birthday.” At his increasingly sheepish expression, she corrects, “In person. My god.”

It’s part of the reason he’s so sleepy still. He’d stayed up on a video call with Robbe until (well after) midnight, and the boy had wished him ‘happy birthday’ countless times, peppering kisses at the camera and apologising every time he’d started to nod off. It was possibly the cutest thing Sander has ever had the honour of witnessing. His lips twitch in a smile as he thinks about it again now.

He’d gotten a slew of other messages, all almost simultaneously at midnight. Gilles and Emilie and Thomas had all messaged almost at once into their small group chat, with varying styles and lengths and emoji usage. Adi and Lucas had both kept it sweet and simple. Milan had sent him a short video singing all of ‘Happy Birthday’ and blowing him a kiss. Jens had sent him one a few minutes late simply saying ‘happy bday. no I didn’t forget’, which Sander had blinked and then laughed at. He’d responded to them a while too late, after Robbe had eventually decided they both needed to sleep.

“Why couldn’t we just ask Robbe to join us for dinner?” Ciel asks. Not for the first time, Sander thinks that, for a policeman, his father is at times worryingly oblivious.

Léa clearly agrees, as she simply rolls her eyes in response. “I’m sure they’ll have their own private plans, of course he’ll want to spend his birthday with his boyfriend.”

“Uhm,” Sander says, again. “I still have class first though, so…”

“We should eat,” Ciel agrees, but glances at his wife. “Gifts now too, or in the evening?”

She considers it for a moment, then nods decisively. “We will do it before you two have to go. I’m not sure it’s too exciting, but you can make more use of it this way, maybe.” She offers Sander an apologetic smile.

He waves her off and presses a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t be silly.”

She returns his gestures and then pulls him to the table, pressing him down into a chair and piling food in front of him. It doesn’t matter that he’s not quite hungry enough for it, not this soon after waking, and his stomach protests a little with each bite. He enjoys it. He sits and eats with a parent at either side of him and he doesn’t get the feeling of too much. He doesn’t think undeserved. He’s not worrying about another year gone and him still the same. He’s not hit by a wave of inexplicable loneliness, or fretting over his current painful mistake, or mourning another year of life gone in which he has failed to grow up.

It’s all there, lurking in the constant shadows, but it’s not there, at the same time. Instead it’s his parents’ light bickering, and the memory of Robbe’s ‘goodnight kiss’, and all those messages on his phone.

And it’s relief.

Another year. Twelve months. 52 weeks. 365 days. 8,760 hours. 525,600 minutes.

All that time, and nothing has really changed.

No intrinsic part of his life has altered, nothing’s gone. He’s still managing school (mostly), he still has the same friends, his parents are still fairly understanding, his unrelenting mental illness still hasn’t killed him, and he still has the man of his dreams across infinite universes (as said man claims).

He’s still here. Breathing, living. Thriving, his mind exalts.

“That’s a genuine little smile,” his father notes, returning it with one of his own. “It’s nice to see.”

Warmth spreads through Sander, cushioning his heart but also sneaking into his cheeks as he shakes his head and takes another overstuffed mouthful of food. Ciel’s smile just widens in understanding, and Sander feels a twinge for how often he turns the man away. It’s moments like these where he thinks it’s wrong to do so, that he should give him more of a chance on occasion, that maybe he really would be more helpful than Sander lets himself hope for.

But it doesn’t matter, today. Nothing like that needs to matter when they’re all happy to make it about his birthday.

They give him his gifts after breakfast, quickly. New clothes that he likes enough to go change into before he leaves, wearing the tee with subtle Bowie graphics with pride. There’s the usual restocking of art supplies as well, more expensive than he ever buys himself and which he gives his mother another kiss for. Then they pass him a card, which has sappy words in his mother’s handwriting and money tucked inside.

“Thank you,” he says, for the third or fourth time, squeezing them both in a quick hug as Ciel checks his watch and Léa smacks him on the arm for it. “Everything is perfect, really. And we can have some cake in the afternoon? I’ll come back for a while before I meet up with Robbe.”

His mother narrows her eyes and places a hand on her heart playfully. “So kind of you to include me in your busy day, the woman who brought you into this world.”

Ciel smiles at her, in a way that suggests he’s heard this particular speech before. “Yes, really a day to celebrate you, if we’re doing it right.”

“Of course,” Sander agrees, nodding sagely. “What was it? Seventeen hours of labour?”

“Followed by twenty years of tender and loving care,” she adds, and Sander laughs.

He wraps his arm around her shoulder and kisses the top of her head before leaning away to pick up his bag. “Truly the best,” he tells her.

“Save me some cake,” Ciel requests, also collecting his things by the door.

“But you weren’t involved in any of that credit,” Sander notes. “Hard to know if you should get to join in the best part of the celebration.”

“I cooked those croques this morning, and I’ll drive you to college.”

It’s a cheap bribe, considering Sander could drive himself if he so wished, but he still beams and pats his father’s shoulder, following him out. “A slice will be left in the fridge.”

~^~

previous/next

[worldwidemochiguy]

Love You A Latte (MFEEU! Jimin)

➵ You have always wanted a story book romance, no matter how many times your friends tell you it’s unrealistic, and even unhealthy to have such high expectations. You can’t help but yearn for the one who will make your heart sing, who will captivate you with one word, who will treat you like you’re worth more than anything else in the world... and then Park Jimin crashes into your life, with a pretty smile and a warm cup of vanilla latte with your name on it. 

➵ Warnings: Yandere Jimin, Stalking, Daddy Kink, Masturbation, Unhealthy Idealisation of Romance 

➵ Word Count: 9.1K

➵ MFEEU Masterlist

➵ General Masterlist 

➵ a/n: it’s finally here!!! and i made it part of the mfeeu!!!! idk it just felt right also i actually finished this a few weeks ago but i wanted to add a bonus scene which had smut lol. buuut i was finding it hard to write and i didn’t want to make u guys wait any longer :/ so,,, sorry for the wait! but i hope you enjoy :D

“You do realise that kind of stuff isn’t real, right?”

Your head jerked up, fingers curling slightly around the dog-eared page you were just about to turn, leading you deeper into the intoxicatingly perfect story. Your friend looked almost concerned, worry digging a groove in between her eyebrows.

“Huh?” You replied absently, mind still fixed on the story beneath your fingertips.

“I mean, you’re always reading those books, where a perfect guy comes and steals the girl away into a world of love and happiness and all that crap. You know that won’t actually happen to you, right?”

“…Uh, yeah?” You laughed nervously, one hand releasing the book to come up and brush your hair out of your eyes. “Any particular reason why you’re saying this, Buttercup?”

Buttercup’s expression was pinched, almost painfully so.

“I just… I don’t want you to waste your life away waiting for a guy who’ll never come.”

‘I know.” You said, your throat uncomfortably dry, “I know. It’s just… it’s nice to imagine, right?”

Watching you was the most treasured part of Jimin’s day. Thanks to the multiple cameras he had installed in your apartment while you were out of town, he was able to spend many happy hours watching you, completely besotted.

If he ever missed you, maybe while you were in your classes or meeting with your friends in that ridiculous coffee shop — a practice he planned to stop as soon as he officially became your boyfriend — he could just open his laptop and watch endless saved recordings of you. He even had the cameras linked to his computer at work, though he had to make sure Jungkook wouldn’t peak over his shoulder as he opened the webcam viewer, the nosy little brat.

If he was lucky, you might have danced around to the music on the radio while you were waiting for the kettle to boil, or you would be on your couch, giggling as you read one of those romance novels you were so fond of. Little things. Domestic things, which made it easy to image the day when you would dance around in his apartment, safe and happy in his embrace.

Jimin was thankful you didn’t spend much time in the bathroom. He had refrained from placing cameras in that room because he wanted the first time he saw your beautiful body to be a conscious choice on your part. He would also do his best to avert his eyes whenever you got changed in your bedroom.

However, that didn’t stop him from shamefully imaging you in the privacy of his own penthouse apartment, when the nights became long and lonely without you, or any other human company. More often than he would like to admit, Jimin found himself fantasising about how tight you’d feel clenched around him, how sweet your release would taste on his tongue.

Though the two of you had never actually spoken, Jimin knew everything about you, from your favourite colour to the way you had your eggs in the morning. From a little extra research, made easy by your friends’ various social medias and the occasional overworked college administrator that was sweet-talked into giving out students’ personal information, he knew your birthday, your blood type, and many other precious facts that he wrote down in a diary personally devoted to you, containing his photos of you taken from afar and and Jimin’s records of what you did that day. He had filled up several diaries after having first laid eyes on you only a year ago.

The moment Jimin saw you for the first time was forever burned into his memory. He was waiting in front of the office building, checking his briefcase to make sure he had remembered to bring an important file in for that day’s meeting, when the shopping bag of a passerby had broken, spilling all of their belongings onto the ground.

Jimin had merely watched, unperturbed, as the stranger struggled to pick everything up, and it appeared everyone else was content to do the same. Well, everyone except you.

You descended like an angel from heaven, the only one to help him. Jimin could barely feel his heart pounding in his chest, he was so enraptured by your beauty, your kindness, the grace with which you held yourself. Even your scent, wafted over to him by a blessed breeze, was enough to make Jimin realise that you were the one for him.

The only one there could ever be.

Jimin had listened, captivated, as you comforted the stranger with your melodic voice, all the while helping them to collect their possessions which had spilled out across the sidewalk. You were just- ethereal, as you comforted the stranger — they seemed to be having a bad day, not that Jimin cared at all — introducing yourself as a friend. Your name was the most beautiful thing Jimin had ever heard.

Jimin repeated that name over and over again in his head, and with little difficulty he located you and immersed himself in your life. He had to make sure that when he ‘met’ you, he would not be like that bumbling stranger, too weak to even reply to your kind words. He needed you to realise immediately that he was the one for you, your soulmate, as you were his.

Jimin grinned as his laptop started up again, finally fully charged up. When he woke he discovered that the battery had died as he had it playing all night while he slept. Jimin loved linking it to the live stream while you were asleep and then listening to your cute mumbles and sleepy groans, imagining that you were lying beside him, safely wrapped in his arms.

Usually, he would remember to plug it in so that it wouldn’t run out of charge, but Jimin had been a little distracted that night after you released some… strange noises in your sleep, noises that sounded like moans. Jimin was glad you didn’t say a name — he really didn’t have time to murder someone, what with all the workload on his hands — though your moans slightly tarnished his innocent vision of you.

Jimin knew you were undefiled, a fact that brought him great delight and daily erections. He knew this because during that dark period several months ago when you had that despicable ‘boyfriend’ hanging around you, a constant source of contention between you and him was the fact that you wouldn’t let the bastard touch you.

After he drunkenly attempted to pressure you into making out with him on your couch — a proposal you strongly rejected much to Jimin’s delight — the drunk asshole had left you, sobbing into your hands, to ‘get his dick wet’ elsewhere.

It really was too easy for Jimin to follow him out that evening. To knock him unconscious and then drag him into his rundown car. To place his heavy leg on the accelerator and let it speed into a tree, and watch him regain consciousness a second before the car collided and a branch fell through the windshield, stabbing him in the chest.

Jimin watched it all, and smiled, knowing you were safe from that monstrous son of a bitch. You were safe from everyone, as long as he was there to protect you. Not that you knew it yet, of course.

The cops ruled it as an accident caused by drunk driving, a verdict supported by your testimony of his behaviour earlier that night and his general reputation as an irresponsible party-goer. How that scumbag ever got you to go out with him was beyond Jimin, especially given all the work Jimin was putting in to even be worthy of your attention.

But it didn’t matter. After the death of your boyfriend, Jimin watched as you became happier, rising out of the depression that asshole had put you in. Though, to his consternation, you were spending more time with other people, even widening your previously small friendship group, it was worth it given that he was able to see your bright, joyful smile all the more often.

Jimin let out a groan of frustration as the livestream continued to take its sweet time loading. Thankfully, he had a day off today so he didn’t have to worry about being late to work, not that Taehyung was particularly strict about that sort of thing.

It was now 10 in the morning, a Saturday, so according to the rough schedule Jimin had worked out, scrawled on the inside cover of his diary and imprinted into his brain, you should be just starting to wake up. You were a bit of a late riser, but that just made Jimin love you all the more, imagining lazy mornings filled with kisses and pillow fights that devolved into indulgent morning sex.

An excited grin spread across his face when the picture finally cleared and he got to see your beautiful face. The grin dimmed slightly when he saw you were just putting the finishing touches to your outfit, seemingly leaving your apartment to go somewhere. Jimin scowled.

Who did you have to meet that was so important you would wake up specially to see them? He hurriedly got dressed, eyes still pinned on the live feed which made putting on his trousers a tad more difficult than usual.

Thankfully, he was able to be out of the door more or less the same time you were. He followed the now well-trodden route of shortcuts and back alleys that led to your apartment. Or rather, the road across from your apartment.

Jimin followed a block behind you, baseball cap pulled low over his face so you didn’t recognise him, watching as you strolled along the avenues, smiling to himself whenever you saw a pile of autumn-tinted leaves and jumped into them, creating a cacophony of crackles which made you giggle cutely. He almost regretted not bringing his camera to capture these adorable moments, but he knew it would look strange to the other pedestrians if they saw him following behind you taking photos.

Jimin finally realised where you were headed with a bittersweet smile. The coffee shop you loved, The Roasted Bean, which you frequented with your friends. He was hesitant to go in there, worried that your friends, stupid though they were, would notice his constant presence and poison you against him.

He couldn’t resist strolling up to the window, though. Watching as your face brightened when you saw your friends (who had already ordered without you, the ungrateful swine). He imagined a similar look appearing on your face whenever you saw him — except happier, because obviously you would be more excited to see your boyfriend rather than your friends. Maybe when he was coming home from work to greet you in your and his’ shared apartment.

A handwritten note stuck to the window distracted him from his reverence, something which originally irritated him but what he soon realised was in fact a blessing. The ‘help wanted’ sign, proclaiming that the shop needed a new barista, and that they didn’t mind if the applicant had no previous experience, was all Jimin needed to situate himself in your life.

After all, if he started working at the cursed coffee shop, he would get to see you every day when you visited in the mornings, and after that Jimin was sure it wouldn’t take long to make you fall in love with him.

Of course, if Jimin wanted to get the job at the coffee shop, he would have to do something about his proper, full-time job.

“Uh, Taehyung?”

Two heads popped up as Jimin knocked on the office door. They must have been having a meeting. Fuck, Jimin really didn’t want to have this conversation with Jungkook as a witness, but it seemed he had no choice as Taehyung waved him in and Jungkook showed no sign of getting up. On the contrary, he settled into the office chair and looked for all the world as if he wanted a bag of popcorn to snack on while he watched the conversation.

“What’s up?” Taehyung asked, and Jimin felt a slight lick of heat paint itself across his cheeks. He cleared his throat and pointedly ignored Jungkook’s snort.

“I want to cash in my vacation days.”

“Oh, really?” Taehyung’s brows flick up, “It’s… September. Shouldn’t you save them for… I don’t know, summer?”

“No, I want to use them now.” Jimin asserted, and Taehyung gave a puzzled little frown, before shrugging.

“Okay, well, there’s a a form you’ll have to fill in. How long are you thinking, a week? Two?”

“About two months, I think.” Jimin said, less confident than he would have liked, and Taehyung’s jaw dropped.

“Two months? Why on earth do you want to take two months off all of a sudden?” Taehyung asked incredulously, before his expression sobered abruptly. “Is there something wrong with your health?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that, Taehyung-ah, don’t worry.” Jimin assured his friend quickly, “I just… want to pursue something else for a while, that’s all.”

“Want to pursue someone else, you mean.” Jungkook cackled, obviously casting off his role as a spectator, and Jimin fought to keep his expression unmoved. “You’ve been bright red ever since you stepped into this office.”

“It’s… warm.” Jimin muttered, and he wasn’t wrong, his cheeks certainly were warm at that point.

“It’s September, Jiminie,” Jungkook laughed, “and you’ve got a crush!”

“Is it true, Jimin-ah?” Taehyung asked delightedly, “You’ve found someone?”

“That’s hyung to you, brat.” Jimin snarled at Jungkook, ignoring Taehyung’s coos and his shouts to his girlfriend to come into the office. Jungkook stuck his tongue out at Jimin.

“Wow, look, hyung’s blushing.” Jungkook announced, before walking over to the office door and swinging it open. “Hey, everyone, get in here, look how red hyung’s cheeks are! Hyung looks like a strawberry!” Jungkook turned back to Jimin triumphantly as the rest of the boys came to the office to see what all the commotion was about. He gave Jimin a saccharine smile. “Is that better, hyung?”

“Respect your elders, kid.” Yoongi drawled as he reached the office, the rest of the floor in two. “Anyway, what the fuck is happening?”

“Yeah, why did you call me here, Taetae?” Taehyung’s girlfriend asked, who had come in from her section of the office and been promptly tugged onto Taehyung’s lap. He merely stared up at her, utterly besotted. Fuck, is that what Jimin would look like with you? Gross.

“No reason, I just missed you.” Taehyung smiled dopily at her, and she giggled, pressing a quick peck on his cheek and actually, Jimin would murder every single person in this room if you looked at him like that. Maybe affection isn’t so gross, as long as you’re involved.

But then Jungkook crowed, “Jiminie’s in love!” And affection very quickly became intolerable again.

“Shut up.” He snarled as they all begin laughing and cooing at him jokingly, “I’m just going to be leaving the office for a while.”

“What, so you can take a job at her favourite coffee shop and write love notes on her napkins?” Jungkook laughed, and Jimin-

Jimin looked at his shoes and used the age-old logic of if I can’t see them, they can’t see me.

“No-” Hoseok gasped, equally shocked and gleeful, but Jin interrupted him.

“Jimin,” He said calmly, and Jimin could just imagine his lips twitching up and down as he desperately tried not to break into peals of windshield-wipe laughter, “Look me in the eye and tell me you aren’t going to get a job as a barista as an attempt to get a girl.”

“He can’t look you in the eye, he’s too short.” Jungkook whispered, and Jimin generously refrained from hissing at him.

“I-” Jimin stuttered as he looked up and deep into Seokjin’s pitiless eyes, “I’m not-” He started to say, but… honestly no one can lie while looking at Kim Seokjin.

“She’s so cute!” Jimin bursted out, and immediately there was chaos. Several people were yelling. Hoseok somehow produced a bottle of champagne which he must’ve just been, like, carrying around with him, but Jimin simply did not care anymore.

“She’s so fucking cute all the fucking time and she goes to this coffee shop so fucking often, so if I become a barista there then I’ll see her every day! Do you understand?” Jimin asked, before shaking Jungkook — who had risen from his seat in celebration — frantically by the collar. “Every single day, Jungkook!”

“He’s worse than Taehyung!” Jungkook shouted gleefully, and Taehyung — who was still sat on his chair with his girlfriend — frowned.

“I- don’t know if I should be offended or not.”

“You should always be offended when it comes to Jungkook.” Namjoon told him sagely, and Jimin yelled a wordless noise of agreement.

His yell seemed to remind Taehyung of why Jimin came into his office in the first place, and he starts rifling through his desk, having to shift his girlfriend off his lap slightly to do so.

“Here, Jimin- sorry baby, this’ll just take a second — here’s the file for the vacation days.”

Taehyung passed Jimin a sheet of paper, having to lean around Hoseok, who had just started a conga — where the fuck was that music coming from? Who the fuck brought speakers to an office? — to give it to him. “Take as much time as you need.”

“Thanks, Taehyung-ah.” Jimin grinned as he left the office, pausing half-way out the door as he heard Taehyung call his name. He turned around to see his friend grinning at him.

“Good luck, Jimin. I hope it goes well.”

So do I, Jimin thought as he left the building, calling a taxi to take him to his next job, and (hopefully) closer to you.

You sighed as your alarm went off, jolting you from your dream. It was another romantic one — what a surprise, your friends would probably mutter sarcastically — but it truly hurt your heart to let it drift as your mind fully woke up. That was always the way. Real life coming to interrupt what you dreamed your life could be.

Another sigh escaped your lips as you imagined him. The one who starred in all your dog-eared romance novels, who would sweep you of your feet and take care of you, both in the bedroom and out of it.

In your head, you knew that you should probably want to be self-reliant and independent, values that your family and friends and teachers tried to drill into you, but you couldn’t help creating day dreams of a man whom you could trust enough to let yourself be truly submissive to him, to allow him to make all of the difficult decisions and comfort you when you got upset.

You used to be certain you would find him, your soulmate who would do anything for you, who would be endeared instead of weirded out by your odd quirks, who would love you no matter what happened, but to be honest you were starting to lose hope. With the disaster of your first ever relationship — the one that ended abruptly with his death — you vowed to stay away from boys until you found the one.

This inevitably led to you spending more time indoors and refusing whenever your friends wanted you to join them in going to all the hottest clubs, simply because you were tired of the whole thing. By now, you had pretty much accepted that you would die a spinster surrounded by fourteen cats.

Your alarm blared again, somehow more grating and obtrusive than the first time, and your eyes flicked to the analog display, swearing quietly when you saw the time. You stumbled out of bed, internally cursing the day you decided to sign up to an early morning lecture class, a bizarre decision considering you were so much not a morning person that you gave Garfield a run for his money.

Speed-walking to class, you were thankfully ahead of schedule since you managed to get dressed at the speed of light, forgoing any kind of beauty routine beyond jamming a toothbrush in your mouth and scrubbing frantically. By a rare stroke of luck, this class was quite small so not many people would bear witness to the horror that was bare-faced you with partial bed-head.

Since you, surprisingly, had more than enough time, you decided to pop into your favourite coffee shop. The familiar tinkling bell went off as you entered but, instead of greeting your favourite barista Rosa at the counter with a sunny smile and your usual order already prepared, you came face to face with the most beautiful man you had ever seen in your life.

You locked eyes with him and watched, awestruck, as his full, pillow lips tugged up into a smile, exposing his perfect teeth. His eyes almost disappeared as he grinned, turning into twin crescents above mochi cheeks, so soft and adorable that you felt all the thoughts you ever had fly out of your head, all replaced by one overwhelming sense of… something.

Something strange, that you had never felt before, which made your knees weaken imperceptibly as you made your way to the counter, closer to this Adonis in human form.

He obviously noted your flustered state, which only intensified your embarrassment, and his adorable expression melted into a smirk that had your heart racing and your libido awakening with a vengeance. It was just unfair. The barista somehow managed to be cuter than any puppy you had ever seen in your goddamn life, and then turn you on more than you thought was physically possible.

If this was what a sexual awakening was, you didn’t know how people managed to refrain from having sex all day, every day. And then you were struck with the image of having sex all day, every day, with the Greek God of a barista, and decided there was not enough holy water in the entire world to cleanse you from your sins.

“Hello,” the absurdly attractive barista said, after several minutes of you wordlessly floundering in equal parts of embarrassment and arousal.

“My name is Jimin. What would you like me to make you?” I’d like you to make me come, your traitorous mind suggested, causing even more heat to rise to your cheeks.

“H-Hello… Jimin.” you stuttered, praying for the sweet release of death. The Adonis- Jimin - watched you expectantly, gaze fluttering from your eyes — wide as a deer’s caught in the headlights — to your cheeks — probably so red they had surpassed the visible spectrum and were now emitting radiation — and he chuckled. You wanted to cry. Of course he’d be one of those people with low, sultry chuckles.

“Do you want to tell me your order, Princess?” He questioned, when it became clear you were more focused on not melting into a puddle than telling him what drink you wanted, and you became certain you had died and gone to hell. This was torture, having this perfect specimen of humanity in front of you, having him call you ‘Princess’ with his bedroom eyes dark and mischievous, and choking on your own tongue.

His eyebrow quirked — and of course his eyebrows were just fucking perfectly shaped — and you somehow managed to pull yourself together enough to remember the order you had given every damn day of your life since discovering this godforsaken place, the place you would never come back to due to a mixture of shame and self-preservation (there was a real possibility you might just die if you ever saw Jimin again).

“V-Vanilla latte… please.” You practically whimpered, too distracted with your own internal chaos to notice him cooing over your choice quietly.

“A cute drink for a cute girl.” He smirked again before striding to the espresso machine to fulfil your order, leaving you shocked on the other side of the counter. He called you cute. Cute.

You had never been more aware of your makeup-free face and unbrushed hair, quickly swept up into a messy bun. Fuck, you could've had dried up drool on the corner of your mouth and you wouldn’t have even known it. He returned with your order just in time to catch you running your tongue over your bottom lip, the pink muscle darting out just in case you had missed any on the side of your face.

If you hadn’t been so focused on your own appearance, you would have noticed Jimin falter for a second, his eyes widening, fixed on your mouth.

You caught his attention and sealed your lips together firmly, determined to not let him think you were some weirdo who licked her lips excessively in public. His dark gaze made your mouth go dry. You tried to subtly swallow down the lump in your throat, but his eyes tracked the bob under your skin.

The two of you stood in an oddly charged silence for a moment before he remembered himself and handed over your latte.

Your skin brushed his and you held your breath, his hand pausing over yours for what felt like an eternity, but it was still too soon when you forced yourself to pull back. He smiled again, the adorable mochi-cheeked smile that still managed to turn you on despite its sweet and innocent appearance.

“There you go, Y/n.”

You were so flustered by the sound of his pillow lips curving sensuously over the syllables of your name that you didn’t even question how he knew it, content to stumble backwards out of the shop. You were still caught in his gaze until you backed straight into the door, knocking you out of your stupor and causing you to practically fly out of the shop, his warm laughter chasing you up the street.

You barely heard a thing during the lecture, your pen had dried out after you uncapped it and then did not replace the cap for a solid forty minutes, letting it rest on your blank notepad. The professor had given up calling on you and asking you to pay attention, drawing the conclusion that this was an off-day for his normally-attentive student. You were actually very focused at that moment, it was simply just not directed at the professor.

You were pouring over your memories of Jimin, recounting with perfect clarity how his soft-looking hair fell over his forehead perfectly. It looked so pretty and you would sell your soul for a chance to run your fingers through it. The corners of his perfect lips tugged upwards into a smile a million times in your imagination, and you wondered what it would feel like to be kissed by those lips, to have those lips running all over your body, dipping downwards and tasting-

The professor signalling the end of the class could not have come at a better time, and you rushed out of your seat as fast as your shaky legs could carry you, the heat coiling in your belly tugging you home. You spared a moment to thank past-you for not scheduling any other classes today, because, judging by the slight damp spot in your panties that was growing embarrassingly quickly, you would be quite busy for a while.

Jimin rushed home as soon as his shift ended. His elation invigorated his steps to the point where he was practically skipping. Holy shit. Holy shit. He had met you. He had talked to you and you had blushed and stuttered and been perfect in every single way. He always thought there was no way he could love you more than he already did but that was just another way you changed his outlook on life.

Seeing your beautiful face, devoid of makeup and yet still you put any work of art to shame, and hearing your soft voice speak his name — you knew his name, holy shit — and smelling your sweet perfume was a life changing occurrence for Jimin.

Of course, he had smelt your perfume before — he wrote down what scent you preferred when he broke into your apartment to place the cameras and he had a pillow at home that he doused with the stuff so that it smelled like you — but experiencing it in real life was on a whole other level.

He got back to his apartment and switched on the live feed just in time to catch you coming back from your lecture. Jimin cooed softly at the sight of you, your eyes were wide and vacant, distracted, and your cheeks were adorably flushed, like you had been rushing. You dumped your bag by the door — Jimin couldn’t wait until he could be the one holding your bag for you, having you tucked under his other arm — and went straight to the bedroom.

Jimin switched the feed to the bedroom cam, holding his breath in anticipation. When you came home and went straight to the bedroom, that usually led to-

You flung yourself on the bed and started working your pants down. Jimin stopped breathing entirely as he felt all the blood in his body, and possibly some extra, rush down south. He knew he should look away, should let you have this moment in private, but he found himself unable to stop palming his erection through his jeans.

He pulled his hand away briefly to turn up the audio feed, and your soft moans filled the air. Jimin almost came on the spot, but he forced himself to wait, he promised he would never come before you. Your lower half was entirely bare and Jimin’s mouth watered at the sight of your pretty pussy, wet and glistening, positioned in the perfect spot for him to see it, for him.

He tugged himself out of his jeans and spread the beads of precome over the head of his cock distractedly, watching as you teased yourself open with one finger. Fuck, you were so fucking tight. He could see the slight discomfort on your face as you thrusted your finger into yourself again and again, obviously trying to get yourself adjusted as fast as possible.

Jimin felt a curl of jealously flare up within him, even as he started pumping his fist up and down his cock faster. What had made you so desperate to come? Who had done this to you? As far as he was aware, there hadn’t been anything new that day so far, unless-

You started to relax, the finger gliding in and out so easily, aided by the slick coating your digit. His mouth dried up just thinking about the taste of you. Jimin watched as your head fell back, your eyes rolling in their sockets, and your perfect lips parted.

“Jimin,” you moaned, and Jimin almost blacked out.

He was so hard it was physically painful, but he gripped the base of his cock tightly, unwilling to come because he knew if he did he would miss the rest of your magnificent performance. You were properly riding your hand now, your hips rolling to meet your own thrusts, eyes shut tight, imaging something- imagining him. Jimin had never felt such sweet torture, needing to come so badly, but needing to watch you come more.

You moaned his name again, sounding more debauched than the first time, and Jimin knew you were close. He wanted so desperately to know what you were imagining him doing, so that he could recreate it with you once he had you. It was like you had read his mind, because a second later you granted his wish.

“P-please, daddy.” You moaned, and Jimin whimpered, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on.

Daddy.

You were going to be the cause of his death and Jimin found that he didn’t mind at all.

“Ple-ease,” your begging was interrupted by a drawn out moan, and if Jimin could have thought straight at that point, he would’ve frowned. Imaginary Jimin was much crueler than Real Life Jimin. Real Life Jimin knew without a doubt he would give you anything in the world if you begged him like that.

“Fuck me, daddy, please,” You cried out, somehow managing to add a third finger, thrusting into your tight, tight wet heat, “Fuck your princess.”

You called out his name again as you came, and Jimin lasted a few seconds watching you pant and ride through the aftershocks of your orgasm before he simply loosened his tight grip on the base of his cock and finished.

When he regained consciousness, you were still splayed out on your bed, seemingly unable to move just like he was, but if he could move he knew he’d be jumping around the room in elation. This was undoubtedly the best day of his life, maybe even better than the one in which he first caught a glimpse of your angelic face.

He had met you in person for the first time, and you had been so obviously flustered by his presence, which was something that delighted him more than he could say and he had thought the day could not have gotten any better, but then you went home and masturbated and moaned out his name and called him daddy and then came with his name on your lips and Jimin honestly didn’t know how he was still breathing.

You were perfect, and amazing, and Jimin was almost mad at himself for not realising just how perfect you would be. He hadn’t anticipated you being this affected by him so soon. He had planned to gradually introduce himself into your life, ‘coincidentally’ running into you outside of the coffee shop after a few weeks, slowly integrating hang-outs and seamlessly turning them into dates. Shyly confessing his feelings after a month of being ‘friends’.

Jimin was not exactly a patient man, but you mattered more than anything to him, and he knew that he would have to be careful until you were so in love with him that you wouldn’t leave no matter what. That would be the point where he would break out the diaries and the videos, and bask in your gratitude that he was so enamoured with you from the very moment he met you, just like those romantic heroes in the books you were so fond of.

But at this rate, Jimin was practically ready to start shopping for engagement rings. He knew your ring size, of course, and your jewellery preferences due to studying your buying habits, but he managed to calm himself down enough to realise you probably wouldn’t appreciate a proposal just yet. But you were certainly attracted to him. Very attracted, Jimin thought smugly. He couldn’t exactly fault you though, since he had looked in a mirror before.

Jimin was an attractive man, he was fully aware many would call him stunning, and now he finally met his match: you. God, Jimin could not wait to see how amazingly perfect your children would be.

You chewed your lip as you ran over the dilemma in your head. It had been two days since you last went to The Roasted Bean. Coincidentally, it was also two days since you saw the most attractive man on the planet. And two days since you had the most intense orgasm you’d ever experienced.

You were seriously craving your caffeine fix, and a small, perverted part of you that was heavily repressed was desperate to catch another glimpse of the beautiful barista, Jimin. But the last time you saw him, you embarrassed yourself so much you wouldn’t be surprised if he turned on his heels and fled at the sight of you.

It was so annoying. You had waited your whole life to meet the perfect guy, but the second you meet him, you realise that you can’t spend longer than three seconds in his presence without melting into a puddle of goo.

After another five minutes spent deliberating outside the coffee shop in the chilly weather, your nose had turned so red you could practically see its glowing reflection in the cafe window. You decided that the chances of Jimin even having a shift now were very slim, and it was even less likely that he would remember you.

He probably got reactions like that (maybe slightly less embarrassing ones) every day given how stupidly attractive he was. He probably had girlfriends to spare. You scowled. Getting jealous over a stranger’s hypothetical girlfriends? Wow, you really have hit a new low, you taunted yourself.

The door opened suddenly, shocking you out of your thoughts so much that you jumped, much to the amusement of whoever opened the door, judging by their chuckle. You looked up at them, and then regretted every life choice that brought you to that exact moment.

It was Jimin, because of course it was, and he looked as stunning as ever, his complexion glowing, his eyes shining, his existence in general devastating. He was in his cute little barista outfit, a fitted white button up and black apron that might as well be a runway look for how much it suited him.

“Are you going to come in, Y/n?” Holy shit he knows my name, you screamed to yourself, vaguely hoping your face had an expression of pleasant detachment and not the strange amalgamation of shock, delight and arousal that you were experiencing. He chuckled, shaking his head slightly as if privy to some inside joke.

“Yes, of course I know your name, Y/n.” You stopped dead in your tracks. Could barista boy read your mind?

“No, I can’t, you just say everything you’re thinking out loud, which is very cute. And you can call me Jimin, you know.” Oh, if you thought you were embarrassed last time, that was a sweet walk in the park compared to today. You cleared your throat quietly, refusing to let yourself be dumbstruck again.

“I do call you Jimin.” You replied, trying to make him believe that you remembered his name because God, you were unlikely to forget it. For some reason, this made him pause for a second, his expression darkening and his tongue darting out to wet his lip.

“I know you do, baby.” He said, low enough that you questioned whether he said it at all, and he had already moved past, slipped behind the counter as you advanced to be opposite him, just like you were when you first met.

“Vanilla latte, right?”

You really should stop getting shocked by Jimin’s seemingly eidetic memory.

“You remember my drink?”

“When a customer is as beautiful as you are, Princess, you tend to remember their drink.” You elected to ignore the way that nickname had your toes curling in your boots, and instead fixated on the pinch of jealousy in your gut.

“I guess you must remember many customers orders then.” You knew you sounded too jealous for someone he barely knows, but your strange possessive behaviour seemed to please him, for a small grin tugged his mouth upwards.

“Nope, just you, Princess.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

The question blurted itself out, bypassing both your common sense and your anxiety. Jimin, however, replied promptly.

“Yes.” His confidence, evident in the way he leaned over the counter and into your space, began to falter as you just stared at him wordlessly. “That is, if you want me to-”

“I do!” You blurted out again, and you really needed to gain a filter, but his confident smirk returned.

“Actually, I was going to say: if you want me to stop-”

“I don’t!” Jimin let out a laugh, eyes crinkling in the most adorable way, before he continued.

“Will you ever let me finish what-”

“No.” At that, he threw his head back, releasing a peal of laughter that you swore could’ve lit up the world with its brightness.

He finally stopped laughing, his eyes still swimming with ill-concealed mirth. You were pretty sure your cheeks were about three seconds away from setting the coffee shop and the surrounding neighbourhood aflame, so it was a relief when Jimin turned to the machine, snapping the mechanism into place, even if you felt a hint of disappointment when you lost sight of his beautiful smile.

God, even his back is sexy, you thought, watching as he tinkered with the various machinery behind the counter. At one point, he bent over to check the positioning of the cup and, well, you had never really paid attention to any guy’s ass before but maybe you should start because damn.

Finally, Jimin turned back to you with a perfectly made latte in his hands. You noted how cute his fingers were absently as they brushed yours. But, when you made to grab your drink, he retracted it suddenly, a Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

“Not so quickly, Princess.” You humphed,

“It’s funny, Jimin, you claim to know my name but you never use it.” He laughed again and you tried to convince yourself that your heart wouldn’t always skip a beat at that sound.

“Oh, so you want me to use your name, huh?”

“It’s only fair, considering you wanted me to use your name, Jimin.”

“Alright then, Y/n.” He purred, bending down to scribble your name on the cup, a bit unnecessary considering he could’ve just handed it right to you, but you got the sense he was trying to drag out your interaction for whatever reason.

He straightened up, the glint of mischief present again in his eyes, and you prepared yourself for another verbal sparring match.

“Do you not want me calling you Princess, then?” He winked at you as he said the nickname, which was frankly quite rude. You would have to send him a bill for all the batteries he made you buy, since your vibrator was definitely going to be running out of power soon thanks to him.

“I didn’t say that.” You hated how quiet and meek your voice came out.

“Oh, it sounds like poor little Y/n’s a bit confused. What do you prefer? Y/n? Or Princess?”

“S-stop it. You’re not funny. I’m going to class.” You spun around and marched towards the door, trying to ignore his laughter following you.

“Baby!” Jimin yelled, and, for some reason, you turned around.

“What?”

Jimin smirked when you responded to the new nickname. “Since you couldn’t decide, I thought I’d use Baby instead. Do you like it?”

“No! I mean, yes- no, I don’t. Goodbye.”

“Baby! Aren’t you forgetting something?” At that, you finally exploded, all the sexual frustration caused by him bubbling to the surface.

“What?” You yelled, “You want a kiss farewell?”

“I was going to say you’d forgotten your drink but, since you asked, I wouldn’t mind a kiss.”

You stomped back to grab your drink, avoiding his eye contact like the plague. As you took the cup your fingers brushed his and the odd, frustrated tension between the two of you dissipated into something almost tender. His skin was so soft and warm. Everything about him seemed so cozy and inviting, and hopeless romantic part of you wanted to sink into his arms and never be let go of.

You left before your tongue released the stupid feelings you were longing to express. Jimin couldn’t even watch you go because he was smiling so wide his eyes had disappeared into little crescents.

“-and then he called me baby!”

“Awww-” “Ew!”

Two very different reactions emerged from your friends as the three of you sat cross legged in your friend’s apartment, a haphazard ‘study session’ with open textbooks spread across the floor beside a half-empty takeout pizza box.

“Buttercup!” Two of you whined simultaneously at the third girl, who remained unbothered, tipping her head back to dangle a stretched slice of cheese into her mouth. The three of you had been practically joined at the hip since birth, and — due to an adolescent obsession with ‘The Powerpuff Girls’ — you each had a corresponding nickname, which had stuck as the years passed you by.

You had been nicknamed Blossom, due to your — usually — level head and desire to make peace whenever your two friends were fighting. Your friend — the one who had cooed at the ending of your story — was chosen to be Bubbles, given that she was the personification of candy floss and possibly the closest thing Earth had to a real life fairy.

Your second, much more cynical friend who was currently finishing her slice of pizza and determinedly not looking at Bubble’s puppy eyes, was Buttercup. Self-proclaimed hater of all romance. Given what happened with her parents in your teenage years, you couldn’t really blame her.

“That’s so romantic.” Bubbles sighed dreamily, before huffing slightly. “I wish you hadn’t told me that tonight. I have to study for-” She flushed delicately, “Mr Kim’s lecture and now I won’t be able to think about anything else but my maid of honour speech at your wedding.”

“Hey!” Buttercup interjected, “I’m going to be maid of honour!”

“But you don’t even like weddings-” Bubble started to protest, and you cut them both off.

“There will be no maid of honour!” You announced shrilly, before forcing yourself to relax. “And also, Bubble, you don’t need to study for Mr Kim’s lecture. It’s not like it’s a class or anything, he’s just a guest lecturer.”

“Yes, but…” Bubble mumbled, docilely accepting the pizza slice that Buttercup held up to her face and continuing to speak through a mouthful, “I wuhmfda fimprsh im.”

“What?”

Buttercup scowled, but translated for you.

“She wants to impress him. Gross.” She turned to Bubble. “Isn’t he, like, forty?”

“First of all, he’s in his mid-twenties at most,” You admonished Buttercup as Bubble let out an indignant wail, “and second of all, we were talking about my problem!”

“Oh, what was that again?” Buttercup drawled. You snatched the pizza slice out of her hand in retaliation.

“Jimin! The hot barista! Calling me baby! And, just, existing in general!”

“Oh, that,” Buttercup sighed, as if you hadn’t literally just been talking about it. “That’s simple. Just bang him.”

“I- You- What?” You spluttered as Bubble giggled quietly.

“You’re thinking of this too romantically, like you always do.” Buttercup continued, sounding fantastically confident for someone who had even less experience with relationships than you did. “You just need to bang him and realise that the feelings you’re having are all just repressed horniness.”

“I mean, I would’ve put it differently, but… I agree.” Bubble chirped, paying no attention to your embarrassed whine, “He definitely… sounds attracted to you, and clearly he’s not alone in that.”

“But… I’m a virgin.” You argued dumbly, and Buttercup snorted.

“Do you want to stay a virgin for the rest of your life?”

“No,” You replied, frowning, “…but… it’s kind of a big deal to me. I want it to be special.”

“Haven’t you already said that the guy is like the hottest person on the planet or something like that?” Buttercup asked, raising a lazy eyebrow. “Isn’t that special enough?”

You didn’t reply, too busy blushing furiously, and Bubble squeaked with excitement.

“Oh my god! He’ll be your one and only! This is so exciting!” She cheered, before abruptly slumping down. “I really wish you had told me this after Mr Kim’s lecture. I can’t study now, I’m too excited.” She mumbled forlornly, shutting the textbook and grabbing another slice of pizza. Your mind was still stuck on Buttercup’s suggestion.

“I mean… I barely know him. I just know his name. And his smile. And the way his eyes twinkle when he laughs, oh my god it’s so cute-”

“Y/n,” Buttercup interrupted you, a rare use of your actual name stopping you in your tracks as she framed your face with her hands and shook it gently. “Bang. Him.”

“I-”

“No, no,” She chided you, putting a finger over your mouth, “No overthinking. Just… do what you want to do. Okay?”

Okay, you repeated to yourself. What you want to do. What you want to do…

But what do you want to do?

“I want you to ask me out!” You blurted over the counter the next morning when you walked into the coffee shop and saw Jimin’s back facing you as he cleaned out the milk-frothing machine.

It was only when he turned around that you realised the guy was decidedly not Jimin, and this random stranger was now looking at you confusedly as you debated the advantages and disadvantages of sprinting out of the shop and directly into oncoming traffic.

It would be a quick and painless death, you mused absently, certainly much less painful than this-

“Y/n?” A voice interrupted your thoughts and you whirled around to see Jimin standing in front of the staff door, seemingly just ended his shift with his uniform off. Oh no, he’s even hotter without the apron, you realised miserably.

His gaze darted between you and not-Jimin, something strange and unfamiliar solidifying in his eyes.

“I didn’t know you knew Sungwoon.” He commented mildly, before shooting an abrupt glare at the other barista- Sungwoon, who hurriedly went back to work.

“Oh, I don’t.” You told him immediately, feeling some kind of compulsion to tell him the truth, “I thought he was you.”

The — anger? you weren’t quite sure, only directed at Sungwoon though, not at you — on Jimin’s face melted as realisation dawned. “Oh-” Then his face did something strange, morphing into a smirk which had you biting your lip. “Oh.” He purred, stepping closer to you. “So… you wanted to tell me something, baby?”

Oh no. He called you baby again. Someone call Life Alert.

“I- uh-” You stuttered, thoughts grinding to a halt as he approached you. And then closed his hand around your wrist. He was closing his hand around your wrist. If Bubble were here she’d be having a fit.

“Let’s go and sit down in a booth, huh?” He said smoothly, before tugging you along to the most secluded corner of the coffee shop. After he guided you onto the cushioned bench, he didn’t sit across from you, sliding right in next to you so you could feel the warmth emanating from his skin. He didn’t let go of your wrist.

You were trapped between the wall and him, and as he smirked down at you, you thought that the wall was probably more merciful.

“Anyway, baby, you were saying?”

All the courage which had somehow flooded into you as you stormed into the cafe had abandoned you, wasted on the not-Jimin who had moved onto wiping down the tables, studiously avoiding your corner.

“I…um,” You mumbled, wringing your fingers together nervously. Jimin stopped you by releasing his hold on your wrist and moving his hand upwards to intertwine with yours instead. Your breath hitched as he smoothed a thumb over the back of your hand gently.

“It’s okay, baby.” He said, his voice soft and comforting, “Just say it. I promise… whatever it is-” His lip quirked up slightly, “I won’t say no. I would never say no to you.”

“Never say never.” You mumbled, and he chuckled. You could feel the warm puffs of air brushing your cheek.

“Okay, um, please don’t laugh. I know we don’t really know each other or anything, but… I… like you.”

“You like me?” Jimin parroted, and you would worry he was mocking you, but his eyes were far too happy for that.

“Uh huh,” You replied quietly, squeezing his hand. He took your other hand in his, and you squeezed that one as well.

“Like… like me like me?” He asked, and you could tell he was joking now, so you whined and gave him a half-hearted shove. He shifted slightly, only to rear back and cage you in his arms, dragging you onto his lap.

“I’m sorry, baby,” He murmured, burying his nose in your neck, and you felt like you were going to melt in the middle of the cafe. All those romance books never told you how embarrassing it was to have someone actually pay attention to you. “You just look so pretty when you get teased. My cute little baby.”

You squirmed on his lap, and his hands came to grip your hips securely.

“Baby’s a little restless?” Jimin asked, his voice low, and you let out another little whine. His hands tightened.

“Does this mean… does this mean you like me too?” You asked timidly, and he huffed a laugh against your hair.

“What do you think, Y/n?” He asked, squeezing your hips playfully. After a moment, he softened, tilting his neck slightly to plant a kiss on the crown of your head. “I like you too much.” He said simply, making you flush.

“Well, that’s good, because I like you too much too.”

“You might even say that I like you-” Jimin wiggled his eyebrows, “-a latte!”

You didn’t react, and Jimin’s smile dimmed slightly.

“You know, because I’m a barista?”

“Actually, never mind, I don’t like you that much-” You said as you tried to shift off his lap, but he held you firmly, tugging you back with a smug laugh.

“No, baby, you won’t get away that easy.”

He pressed you back against the wall bordering the booth, and-

So this is what true love’s kiss is like, you thought, before you stopped thinking altogether.

His lips were soft against yours, but insistent as they slanted over your mouth and pressed urgently until you gave in and parted your lips. He swallowed your whimpers as he skilfully twisted his tongue around yours, licking and sucking and biting and-

He drew back so both of you could catch your breath, and you slumped forwards into him.

“Now I’ve got you…” He said, his voice gravelly from the kiss. You did that, you realised smugly. “Now I’ve got you, I’m never letting you go.”

You hummed happily, curling into his arms without protest. Of course he’d never let you go. Why would you want him to? You’ve finally found your fairytale ending, except you hope it never ever ends. And, just like he promised, Jimin never lets you go again.