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127-mile · 4 years ago

Text

Une seconde avant noël.

Pairing: Lee Ten x reader.

Genre: Christmas, exes, fake dating, feelings realization / Fluff, angst.

Warnings: Vulgar language, alcohol consumption.

Word count: +5.2k.

Prompt chosen: It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.

Plot: What an idea to break up before Christmas, Ten thinks, as he announces to his mother that yes, you will indeed be present at the annual party organized for Christmas Eve.

A/N: This is part of the Walking in a winter wonderland collab hosted by @suh-insane and @neocitybynight.

"Do you always have to be in my way? Fuck Ten, be careful where you are going!" you growl, looking at the content of the box strewn on the floor. You have a ton of work to finish if you want to have a meal break, and Ten really is not making it easy for you. "You piss me off." you mumble as you kneel to retrieve the glitter bloxes, and sigh in exasperation when you notice of them opened. You'll find glitter everywhere for a month at this point. Who is stupid enough to think of glitter as a passable Christmas present for a child, you think, rolling your eyes.

"Can't you be polite? We have customers, damn it!" you turn your face to Ten who looks at you as if you caused the accident yourself when this idiot was hunched over his phone at the time of the impact. "And you, can't you at least pretend to work instead of checking how many sluts you'll be able to bring in your dingy apartment this weekend?" you stuff the glitters into the box while huffing, you can't take any more. If you didn't need the money so much, you would quit your job this instant.

Ten's chuckle is enough to make you angry once again. You can not stand hearing him and his stupid laugh anymore, and if you looked up at him, you would see his annoying little smile. "Are you jealous?" he asks, and you bite your lip so as not to laugh. They are causing enough commotion in the middle of the store, you do not need your boss to come and see what's going on. "Jealous? But why would I be jealous, Ten. You really need to take the time to think and calm your fucking ego, it's not good for you."

"I'm not saying you are jealous, I'm just saying that worrying about who I can bring back to my apartment is suspicious." you look at him, shaking your head. God damn his face would be beautiful with your fist pressed against. "You're so full of yourself Ten. I don't care what garbage you take home, all I want is for you to get down to work, before if you haven't noticed yet, it is almost Christmas and the store is full of customers."

"Garbage?" he asks, tilting his head, and you turn on your heels. "As far as I know, I took you back to my apartment at one point." it is too much for you. You leave the arts and crafts section, and you put the box at the feet of one of your colleagues who looks at you, incredulous. "I'm going to be sick, can you take care of it." you are not sick, but if you stay with Ten for a minute longer, you will eventually be.

You ignore a client who ask you about an interactive teddy bear they sac on TV, and you know it's wrong, but you have no choice, or you'll end up spitting your venom on a poor innocent person who wants nothing more than to please someone for Christmas. You push the door to the break room, and you walk to the bathroom. As you thought, it's empty. The boss doesn't allow anyone to go while they are working.

You push the door open, and you sit on the closed toilet. It is not the cleanest place, but it is the only place where you'll have time to think, and where you can calm your sudden urges for murder. It's sad to see where the relationship between you and Ten is. It was not always like that. There was a time when you weren't insulting each other at any opportunity, when you could smile at each other without wanting to throw up. There was a time when you were in love, and convinced that you would spend the rest of your life together.

You tense when you hear the door open, and you remain silent, pressing your hand against your mouth, as if it would help you go unnoticed when your feet are visible under the door gap. "Y/n?" of course, there is only Ten to follow you to the toilet. He approaches the door and you see by his movements that he sits on the floor. You grimace, because you do not know how long the cleaning person has stopped washing the once white tiles.

"Ten, it's disgusting on the floor." you mumble, and hear him sigh. "What do you want? What's important enough for you to follow me into the bathroom?" you ask in a voice barely above a whisper. "I am sorry." he says, and you shake your head. This is not the first time you've found yourselves apologizing to each other after a little quarrel in the middle of the store, and you know it won't be the last time either.

"We only have one week left before Christmas, after that we won't have to see each other as much anymore. Can't we make an effort to ignore each other?" your voice is so weak, Ten feels his heart skip a beat. He never wanted the situation between the two of you to become so chaotic. He wanted nothing more than to be happy. Be happy with you.

"But- but I don't want to ignore you." Ten answers, and you get up to open the door. The boy almost rocks forward, since his forehead was pressed against the door. "Ten, you need to learn about the existence of germs on the bathrooms." he smiles weakly, and he stands up too, dusting his uniform pants. "What do you propose?" you ask, cocking your head.

"We're burying the hatchet." Ten crosses his arms against his chest, and you sigh. "Ten, we've already tried dozens of times since we broke up, and it always comes back to the same scenario. It's useless."

For the first time since they broke up, you do not pull back when he puts his hand on your arm. "But we can try. For real this time. We were friends before we were a couple, maybe we can be again?" there is so much hope in his voice, and in his eyes, that you can't afford to deny him anything. "We can try." you finally say, and Ten's smile is so bright that you could almost be blinded.

"Perfect! So will you come with me to the party my parents are hosting for Christmas Eve?" he asks, and this time, you pull back at his touch, and you clench your fist to punch him in the shoulder. He whines loudly and you refrain from not doing it again. "You asshole! Why are you doing this to me?" Every year, the Lee family host a Christmas Eve party. It's always lavish, with beautiful decorations, and exquisite food. You loved spending Christmas Eve with Ten's family. So reminding you that you will not be attending this year hurts.

"But I'm serious!" he explains by rubbing his shoulder. He takes a step back to make sure he doesn't get another hit, he knows you all too well. "You are invited." you frown as you dig your hands into the pockets of your pants. "We are not together anymore, why would you parents invite me?" for a moment Ten looks embarrassed, and he is unable to meet your gaze. "Ten, what are you hiding from me?" he hops from one foot to the other, and you are ready to ask him if he feels like pissing when he opens his mouth to explain. "It may well be that I didn't tell my parents we broke up."

"But why Ten? You told me you did! It's been months now." the fact that he is embarrassed is at least a good thing, he is still human. "I was going to do it, I promise, but my mom started talking about the party, and hse said she missed you and really can't wait to see you. You know how much my mom adores you, I didn't want to break her heart!"

It's really mean to include his mother and her love for you in the story, because he knows you considered Ten's mother like your own when you first met her. "I'll tell them everything after the holidays, I promise! If you come, I'll never ask you anything again, and I'll disappear if that's what you want."

"I hate you, Ten." even though it's a phrase he doesn't like to hear, he knows you do not mean it. At least that's what he hopes, because he doesn't know what he would do if you really hated him. "So?" he asks in a whisper, and you roll your eyes. "I'll come, but this will be the last time I do anything for you. Anything, do you hear me?"

He nods, and he smiles once more. "Good, very good! We'll take my car, and I won't carge you for your share of the gasoline, don't worry." he is so excited that you start to feel the excitement too, but you do not show him, no. You walk to the bathroom door, it's time for you to get back to work, but before you leave, you turn to Ten. "I need my day tomorrow, so I'll let you tell the boss you're going to use your day off to replace me."

The following week is the calmest week you've had since breaking up with Ten. You meet in the store, but you ignore each other. Well, you ignore him every time he tries to talk to you, it's much better than insulting him until he resigns himself to being silent. And when Christmas Eve comes, you wonder if you really made the right decision by agreeing to follow Ten. And pretend to be his partner again.

You wait outside your apartment for Ten to arrive, your hands in the pockets of your coat, and your face niched in your scarf. The cold wind is whipping your face, and the snow have started to fall on the city which is festive with the fairy lights, the decorated trees in the streets, and the laughter of the locas who are eager to come home and celebrate Christmas Eve.

Thanks to Ten, you were able to get out of work early, and also, you won't be spending Christmas on your own. That's the only positive things you can find in this strange situation. Even your friends have told you to text Ten and cancel, they all think it's bad, and they think it will do them more harm than good. And you understand them, you too wonder what will happen after the party is over, once you have to go back to your routine without each other.

But that's life, and sometimes you have to make sacrifices to avoid hurting the people you love, you think with a sigh.

When you feel ready to freeze in place, Ten's car pulls up in front of you, and you huff. Finally. He gets out of the car, and he opens the door. Seeing him do that make you roll your eyes. "I can open a door." you mumble, and when he lifts his big shining eyes, you sigh. "You'll catch a cold, Tennie." he shakes his head, and you get in the car.

You feel a weight being lifted from your shoulder as your warm up, and Ten watches you, smiling when you take off your gloves. "You want a photo, it'll last longer." you say, and he shrugs. "I'm just glad to see you." yeah, you don't believe that lie, he must already be playing his part not to be caught off guard in front of his parents.

Ten starts the engine, and begins to drive out of town. "I had my mom on the phone earlier, she is excited to see you, and so is my dad." you hum. "Me too, I really missed them." Ten's lower lip juts out, and you avoid looking at him, he knows you are weak when he acts like that. But not tonight, no. "Ten, don't forget your promise. We can't do this at every family reunion, you know that, it'll only hurt more every time.

"Yes I know, and I will, I promised, didn't I?" you nod, and you turn your head towards the window. You watch the landscape gently getting cover by a thin layer of white snow as you approach the countryside. You love the city, yes, but you would love to be able to land in the countryside, and have a simple life, far from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The rest of the road is silent, and you slowly fall asleep, you head against the window, rocked by the vibrations. It's Ten's hand on your shoulder that wakes you up. He is out in the car, and you notice that it is now dark outside. You stand up, yawning. "We're here." he says. The Lee family house is impressive, and decorated with lights. It is really beautiful, and you expected no less from Mrs. Lee whose favorite holiday is Christmas.

You get your bag and get out of the car. Your legs are numb, so you take Ten's arm to avoid tripping in the snow. Yeah, that would be fun, but you do not really want to soil your clothes now. Maybe later. You stop in front of the door, and Ten turns to you. "Ready?" and when you nod, he knocks on the door.

It only takes a minute for the door to open on Ten's mother. She looks at the both of you, and she smiles with a sweetness all her own. "My loves, how happy I am to see you! Come in or you'll get sick." Ten lets you pass, and when you enter, you are immediately engulfed in a hug. You melt, you can't help it. You feel like coming home, and god damn your heart hurt at the realization.

Ten clears his throat, and you refrain from laughing. When Mrs. Lee lets you take a step back, you both turn to the boy who frowns. "Impatient." his mother says before taking him in her arms in turn, for a shorter moment. You are pretty proud of it. "Come into the living room, the guests have already arrived."

You follow her into the living room, and you greet the guests. You and Ten have been together for a few years, so you know all of the family and friends who are used to being invited every year. "Ah, the lovers have arrived!" his father says, and you nod. You put the gifts you brought in your bag at the foot of the three, and you smile. You had a great time looking for the perfect gifts.

Immediately, you are taken aside by Ten's sister who is surprised to see you here. She is the only one in this room, besides Ten himself, who knows about your situation. Because yes, maybe you were drunk one night and called her, crying to complain about the ordeal your life had been like since breaking up with Ten. Tern is younger, but she is quite scary, so you hardly swallow your saliva when she comes face to face with you.

"What is this mess?" she asks in a whisper. "Did you get back together?" you worry your lower lip, giving Ten a furtive glance, he seems to be in the middle of a heated discussion with his father, and you shake your head. "Ten didn't say anything to your parents, so he asked me to come over, so as not to break the holiday spirit." you mumble, and if the Lee family was not there, you know Tern would go and slap her brother right away.

"You both are idiots." Tern says, and you shoulders slup. "Are you masochistic or what? Do you like hurting yourself?" you do not know what to say, you are just here to help Ten. "I know it's not the right thing to do, but it's Christmas Eve, so I'm going to pretend it's okay, smile, laugh, and be happy beofre I go back everyday life without Ten."

Tern sighs, tilting her head. "Is that what you want?" she asks before resuming. "Go back to a life without Ten? Because a person who has no more feelings would never agree to help their ex." That's the question, you don't know how you feel, your head is empty and your heart is a mess, it's been like this since Ten left. So you shrug. "I don't know Tern."

As you are about to speak, you are called out by Ten's mother who beckons you to approach. "Come help me in the kitchen for a minute, please." you nod, apologizing to Tern before joining her. There's nothing more to do, so you frown. "It's the only way to have some time with you without Ten jumping on you." she explains, and you can't help but laugh. "He learned to behave in public, don't worry."

"Is everything okay?" Ten's mother asks, and you nod. She looks worried, and for a second, you feel ready to tell her everything, but you can't, you promised Ten, and as he said himself, he doesn't want to hurt her, and neither do you. Not tonight anyway. "I'm asking because it's been a while since we've last seen you."

You nod. It's true that before, you used to visit the Lee family a couple of times each month, even though Ten was busy at work, and even more during the month of December, used to help Mrs. Lee prepare Christmas Eve. But being convinced that Ten had warned his parents, you did not do it anymore, you found it inappropriate.

"I was overwhelmed with work, I'm so sorry. But it's true that I should at least give given you a call." you explain in a weak voice, and the older woman shakes her head, placing a hand on your shoulder. "You have a job, you have a life, you have you own family, so you don't have to apologize for not having time. I get it, I was your age once."

You blame yourself more and more for the pain you are going to cause her, but you bite the inside of your cheek. Sometimes things don't go as planned, and you have to adapt. "And with Ten, is everything going well?" the question you would have liked to avoid. But you smile. "Everything is not perfect every day, but we both make an effort, because our relationship deserves it." Ten's mother smiles, she is proud to hear that her son has matured enough to do whatever it takes to keep his relationship healthy, and going.

"Don't hesitate to tell me if he crosses the line, then I'll give him a piece of my mind, believe me!" you laugh softly. You know that Mrs. Lee is, and will always be, there to help you. At least for now. But you need to stop thinking about the future, and focus on the present. You need to enjoy this last night you have with your surrogate family. "Thank you Ms. Lee, I appreciate that."

When she offers to return to the living room so as not to worry the guests, you follow her. Ten is still talking with his father, but the conversation seems to have calmed down, and you are happy. You know that the two men are used to arguing, and you have witnessed some rather disturbing scenes already, and you do not want that to happen again. You do not want to have to pick up Ten again.

"Everything okay?" you jump when Ten comes up behind you, and you turn to him. His cheeks are flushed, and you pursue your lips to stifle a laugh. "Don't tell me, your grandmother's friend?" he shakes his head with a poud, he doesn't like it when old little ladies pull his cheeks, it hurts. "My poor child. Maybe she'll stop someday."

"When she is in a coffin, yeah." Ten mumbles, and you put your hand over your mouth. "Don't say such things, Tennie!" you giggle and he smiles. He likes to be the reason for your laughter. "But to answer your question, yes, everything is fine. Your sister was a little surprised to see me here, but outside of that, like clockwork!"

Ten nods, and takes a sip from his glass of wine. He looks around him. The three, the decorations, his family, their friends, and you, and for a minute, he completely forgets that things are not the same as last year. Nothing is as before, everything is only an act. And when he turns his head towards you, and sees the lights of the tree reflected in your eyes, he thinks to himself that maybe, it was not a good idea.

See, you and Ten had a long relationship. You are his first love, and he always hoped that you would be his last. And to be honest, he still hopes so. But he knows that despite everything that has happened, all the insults you have exchanged, it would take very little time for him to fall in love again. No, he wouldn't need time at all, he is still in love, he always will be, he knows it deep down inside of him. And seeing you here, acting as your girlfriend, knowing that you'll probably never will be again, hurts like a bitch.

You think the same, and it hurts you too, but you both have too much pride to say it.

You then meet around the table, enjoying a fabulous feast prepared by Mrs. Lee. That's what you'll missed the most, the food. Ten is next to you, and every now and then, he leans in to whisper a joke in your ear. It's a tradition that you have, you try to make the other laugh, and get all eyes on yourself, knowing that it will be too inappropriate for you to say the joke out loud. At least some things are not changing.

You honestly can't remember the last time you had such a good time with Ten without it ending in an argument. What you do not notice is Tern's gaze. She watches you both, frowning. She can read between the lines. She knows that you still love each other, but are also too stupid to admit it.

The meal stretches over two hours, and when you finish, a full stomach, and ready to explode, it's time to open the presents. You get up from your chair and collect the packages. You give one to Ten's parents, one to Tern, and the last one, you hand it to Ten who titls his head. "You didn't have to, you know." he says in a whisper, and you shrug. "I know, but I got it before.. well before you know what."

Ten also gives you a present, and you arch an eyebrow at him. "I didn't want to see you pout thinking I forgot about you." he mumbles, and you smile. You open the present, and sigh. Inside is your favorite book, but not just any, the very first edition. It's old, rare, and probably extremely expensive. "Ten.." you whisper, and the boy smiles. "I know you've always dreamed of it."

What makes your heart beat a little faster is not that he gave you the book, but that he remembered it, because you only mentioned it once almost two years ago. Perhaps accusing him of never paying attention was wrong, now that you think about it. "Thank you so much Ten, you have no idea how happy this makes me." you lean over, and place a tender kiss on his cheek. And when you take a step back, you notice the rosy tint on Ten's cheeks. Cute.

"Come on, open yours!" Ten nods a minute later, the poor man needs to recover from the sudden physical contact first, then, he unwraps his present. If there is ont think Ten loves more than himself, and you, it's his watch. His father gave him his own watch for his 18th birthday, and it quickly became his most precious item, and unfortunately, he broke it a few months ago.

He thought it was irreparable, but nothing is ever irreparable, so you grabbed it one morning, and sent it over to have it fixed. It's not much for you, but when you see the tears in Ten's eyes, you knows that it was a perfect idea. "I thought I lost it." he says under his breath, and you shake your head. "I took it from you, wanted to surprise you, but I didn't expect it to take that long. I'm really sorry if I worried you."

Ten shakes his head, and he wipes his tears with his free hand, before a smile spreads over his beautiful face. "This deserves a kiss!" Ten's mother exclaims, and you hear Tern sigh loudly. "Mom, don't embarrass them." you are grateful for Ten, but you have to do it. So once more you take a step forward, and you cup Ten's face, and your face meet in the middle for a long, and soft kiss. Yeah, maybe you wanted to kiss him too. And for a while now.

"How beautiful young love is!" one person comments, and you smile weakly. Ten does the same, and you help him put the watch around his wrist. "Thank you, thank you. I don't think I will ever have enough words to thank you. It's the most perfect present." he says in a long sigh, and you smile. "I knew how much you cared about this watch." you run your fingers through Ten's hair to pull it out of his face, and realize how easy it is for you to fall back on your old habits.

The rest of the evening goes well.

You sit on the couch with Ten, and you listen to the stories the family members are telling, laughing every now and then, but you can't really focus with the heat radiating from Ten's body. Proximity in your hands. It would be so easy to take his hand, or rest your head on his shoulder.

Why the hell not, you think, it's Christmas, and you are supposed to be acting, so might as well make the most of it. You rest your head on Ten's shoulder, and if he is suprised, he doesn't show it, he lands a kiss on the top of your head. You feel his shoulders relax and you smile. You always have the same calming effect on each other. True love, but you refuse to think about it.

It's getting late, and you can't seem to suppress a long yawn, Ten notices. He stands up and you pout at the sudden lack of contact, and you sit up. "We're going to go mom, we still have a way to go, and it's snowing again." she nods, albeit a little sad, but she knows it would be too dangerous for Ten to drive if he is tired, of if there is too much snow.

"Thank you for coming, my loves, it made me very happy." once again, you find yourself engulfed in a long her that you give back with pleasure. And you thank her and Ten's father again and again for the invitation. And in a few minutes, you find yourself in front of the car. Tern follows closely behind you, and before Ten gets into the car, she puts her hand on his shoulder to take him aside. "Take care of yourself, and your heart, okay?"

Ten nods. "Don't worry, I know what to do to keep my heart safe." he looks at you to see if you heard him, but no, you are half asleep on the seat, and you would not even hear if a bomb were to explode near your ear. "Really, don't worry." he places a kiss on his sister's cheek, and he gets into the car after making sur the passenger door is closed. You collapsed into the seat, your new book clutched to your chest.

"It was a very good evening. You family is amazing." you say, and Ten can only agree. "You are right. Thank you for coming." you smile and lean your head against the window. You do not want to fall asleep, you want to enjoy your last moments with Ten, but unfortunately, fatigue quickly gets the better of you, and when you open your eyes, the car is already parked in front of your apartment complex.

"Thanks for taking me home, and thanks again for the book." you lean in to kiss the corner of his lips, but before Ten can say anything, you get out of the car. He opens the window, and you turns to him. "Have a good night, Ten." his fingers tighten around the steering wheel, and you see that he wants to say something, but he holds back. "Good night Y/n, and merry Christmas."

You walk towards the door that leads to the lobby, but the sound of the door opening and closing catches your attention. You turn around and find Ten in front of the car. You embrace your body with your arms to fight against the cold. "What are you doing, Ten?" you ask, and the boy finally approaches. He's so close you can feel his breath against your lips. "Would you like to go have coffee tomorrow? And maybe we can go check out the Christmas lights."

You smile, and you nod. "I would love this, Ten." his smile is as bright as the moon, and you chuckle softly when he places a small kiss on your lips before heading back to his car, not without a victory move that almost makes him trip in the snow.

It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be.

And maybe sometimes, you can decide to stay that kind of people.

#cznnet #nct #wayv #nct imagines #wayv imagines #nct scenarios #wayv scenarios

83 notes · View notes

heaux-burrow · 3 years ago

Note

For the fanfiction writers ask: 16, 21, 34

16. Any guilty pleasure trope(s)?

• Smol x Tol is a requirement not a request

• Arranged marriage AU queen 👑

• No one else challenges me mentally or physically but you

• Bodyguard AU’s (bonus points if her parents are never around and she’s a Poor Little Rich Girl™️)

• We meet in our dreams AU

• Somehow I keep falling into another plane or realm and you only exist there and “we” only exist there and slowly I start to spend all my time and energy on being with you and completely losing my whole life in the “real world”

• Captive/Captor AU’s (think Briseis and Achilles but I’m not above a good old fashioned bank robbery gone tits up I’m an equal opportunity slut for Stockholm Syndrome)

• We had a past life together and we only remember flashes but the energy is still there between us and it’s undeniable - however, being together would completely dismantle our present day lives

• This can’t last and it’s not meant to, but I’ve been through a lot and you’re a very nice resting place for now

• I’m a brat, but vulnerable only with you. You’re an asshole, but soft only with me. I don’t hate anyone else but you. But I don’t love anyone else either.

• We’ve both been through trauma no one else understands so we don’t really know how to trust or love anyone else, but no one would ever be accepting of us being together (yes I meant to google Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia)

• Honestly, anything where the shtick is ‘we’re really not supposed to be doing this’ bonus points for sneaking around and loads of pining angst about it

21. Favorite pairing to write for? (platonic or romantic!)

I’m about to lose so many followers 🙈

#1 always - AEGON THE CONQUERER X RHAENYS TARGARYEN (ASOIAF)

Max x Audrey (Gossip Girl)

Sarah Cameron & Rafe Cameron (OBX) (yes I know they’re related no I don’t care)

Ciri x Geralt (The Witcher, more the video games and the books than the tv show)

Javier Peña (Narcos) x Helena (Narcos) x Santiago Garcia (Triple Frontier)

Robb x Sansa or Jon x Sansa or Robb x Jon x Sansa (ASOIAF) (who is GoT don’t know her)

Sookie Stackhouse x Jason Stackhouse (True Blood) (watch the first episode again and tell me I’m wrong lol)

Eric x Four (Divergent) (books not the movieverse)

Becca x Lucas (Banshee)

Cassie x Nate (Euphoria) (yes I know it wouldn’t work leave me alone) (all I’m saying is, Nate spent a lot of fucking energy trying to get McKay to NOT date Cassie and Nate would never have made Cassie get an abortion)

Mal x Evie (Descendants)

Elsa x Kristoff (Frozen)

Tink x Hook (Peter Pan universe - more the books than any of the movies) (in the second Peter Pan book she is literally lost to the group and found locked up in the captain’s quarters among Hook’s treasure on his ship don’t come for me Barrie shipped it too)

Freya x Freyr or Freya x Fenrir (Norse mythology)

Morgan x Arthur (Arthurian legend)

Lucifer x Eve or Lucifer x Lilith (biblical mythology NO I’m not talking about Lucifer the show lol I’ve never even watched it and I won’t)

34. Copy and paste an excerpt you’re particularly fond of.

From “Through the Lake”, a Grishaverse fic I wrote 5 years ago but never posted (Darkling x OFC)

They’ve begun travelling now. He likes to stay diplomatically relevant. Likes to be known to the kings and queens of lands beyond Ravka. Because the otkazat’sya Lantsov king is weak and stupid. She knows. She’s met him many times. And she met his father before him. She’s dined with their ambassadors and danced with their advisors (Shadow likes to show her off as his little relic. His little stolen child, kept as a pet the same way fairies of old would keep children from her world. It is also a very clear piece on the chess board. Look what I have. Look what she can do. Know your place).

“Lantsov is lucky anyone even continues to acknowledge him as king. If I were a queen, the only diplomat I would sit down with is you.” She’s known her Shadow a hundred years now. She cannot fathom why anyone still bows to the Lantsov king.

“Do I not treat you with all the adoration and reverence due a queen?” He asks in response, ignoring her statement for the moment. Though it strokes something warm and needy inside him to hear her say it.

They’re in Kerch. A disgustingly wealthy merchant’s villa is their home for the night. At his table they dined on sweet-buttered grouse and roasted kale and salted caramel cake.

The back of his ungloved finger traces her neck as she takes her jewelry off and lets her hair down. The touch flares her power with a shivering thrill of electricity. Unable to help herself, Jo flexes her abilities enough to let him know not to push her. The air in the room compresses for a moment until all sound is narrowed down, resting on the pin of a needle and ringing in his ears. Thirty seconds go by. Finally, she lets up and he has to grip the window sill as his lungs drag desperately for oxygen.

“What?” He half snarls, half chokes. Jo is shown more favor than anyone else at his court by far. He’s never lavished another with the same attention and devotion he pours over her. He’s never trusted anyone enough to allow them so close. But he’s careful to keep her loyalties where they belong. Uses her power to keep the other Grisha in check. To keep their eyes fixed with jealousy so they’ll never look upon her with love. So she has no other confessional but him. So she can never hold anything she knows to his throat. Even if she thought to overthrow him and seize power for herself, they would never follow her. They’d wear her bones first.

“You know what. Do not dare to play the victim with me.” They argue as if they’re married. And maybe in a way they are. Promises forever unbroken. Loyalty carried to the grave. Secrets pressed between them for centuries, that no one else could ever unfold.

Swallowing, he swipes away the blood dripping from his nose with the handkerchief in his pocket. Glances out the window, partly guilty and partly annoyed that the girl can even make him feel guilt.

“You know why I can’t let you stay.” They’ve been over this a hundred thousand times. He won’t have her for one lifetime when he needs her power for much longer than that. And perhaps, a part of him needs her to be hungry for him. To know she’s in Duluth salivating at the mouth to get back here. Perhaps he’s scared that if he gives her all she wants of him, of Ravka, she’ll have her fill and go back for good.

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jeonqukie · 5 years ago

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SOMEBODY ELSE / 02.

SYNOPSIS / After years of working up the courage to confess his feelings for you, Min Yoongi decides to give up and move on from the unrequited position he has put himself in. However, when you discover his veiled attraction towards you, you dwell on what could have been. You find yourself ready to reciprocate the same sentiment for him, only you’re too late when he reveals he has already found someone else. Consequently, you’re lured into a series of meaningless and warped encounters from the one person you swore to avoid.

FEATURING / Primarily featuring Min Yoongi and Kim Taehyung.

GENRES / Angst, romance, mature, some fluff, unrequited love, & friends to lovers (?).

WARNINGS / This chapter contains alcohol consumption, graphic language, mentions of sexual activity, and other mature themes.

WORD COUNT / 15k words.

TABLE OF CONTENTS / To be redirected and get the latest on the story, click on the table of contents.

NOTES / After god knows how long, it’s finally here. I want to apologize now for how delayed this chapter was. For context, this was supposed to be completed by December 2019 but due to some poor organization and scheduling on my part, I’m so sorry that this is like, 2-3 months delayed. This will be a very short series (either 4-5 parts only), so I will be sure to start outlining part 3 as soon as possible. Again, this series was inspired by the famous sitcom, Friends with a lot less comedy and a little bit more angst. Feedback is very much appreciated as always. Thank you to those who have showed their love for part 1; I really appreciate it. ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

“Yoongi better not put the blame on me for being late. I will cut someone who brings up the fact that I’m always late.” Cluttered in the back seat of the Uber driver’s car, you pulled out a crisp five dollar bill out of your purse and offered it to the patient man who sat at the driver’s seat. Notoriously known for his antiques of being fashionably late, Jimin first hops out of the back seat of the car and offers his hand to ease your exit out of the vehicle.

“I got ready an hour and a half earlier than usual and I was done just in time.” He offers his arm for you to cling onto and you savor the warmth of his clothed body. He wore a crispy white button shirt with the top buttons undone to expose the expensive jewelry that adorned his neck. The sleeves rolled up to his elbows to expose his milky skin. Skin tight leather pants practically pasted on his long legs and you could already feel the stares of the long line outside of the club at the posse’s arrival.

“It’s fine. Yoongi isn’t one to throw a fit over something like this.” You scoff clinging so closely to his warmth. In contrast to Jimin’s neutral colored attire, you opted to wear a two-pieced ensemble. The crop top ending at the middle of your torso and your skin tight pencil skirt ending right at the middle of your thigh. The sparkling material still shimmering in the moonlight.

Just in case the weather wasn’t in your favor, you clutched on a large leather jacket on your arm along with a plain black clutch that contained your phone and a few paper bills necessary for any emergencies throughout the night.

“It’s literally been six months since those two let us know that they’ve been secretly seeing each other. I still don’t understand how you never realized Hobi has been fucking with Michelle for a year.” With a simple shake of your head, at the corner of your eye, you see Seokjin awaiting with his hands tucked inside the depths of his pockets.

“Where the fuck have you two been?” He seethed taking long strides towards where you stood waiting for the arrival of another vehicle.

“Since they’re renovating Michelle’s bathroom, they have deprived me of my own bathroom.” You grimaced at the thought of the couple taking their time in the shower, refusing to hop inside the same shower that the couple resided in for a decent hour. “I had to drive over to Jimin’s place to actually get ready. It turns out traffic is a bitch and - well, here we are.”

“You may have to sanitize your bathroom tomorrow or something.” Jimin murmurs underneath his breath.

Seokjin shivered at your story and he grimaced at the thought of his two closest friends fucking in the shower for nearly an hour. “Fuck, alright, it was good enough for me. Let’s see if it’s good enough for Yoongi.” He scrolls through his contacts, only to tap on Yoongi’s name placing the mobile device on his ear. “Yeah, we’re here - Hoseok and Michelle are running a little la - oh, okay, see you.” Tapping on the red button on his screen, Seokjin motions his head over to the very beginning of the line were two bouncers held clip boards with a large list of names attached.

“Yoongi should be at the front to confirm with the bouncers.” Seokjin muttered while he paved the way towards the very first person in line. You hear a series of curses coming from club-goers while they accuse the three of you for cutting in front of the line. However, at the right time, the large doors reveal the man of the hour himself.

You weren’t aware of how tightly you clutched onto Jimin’s arm as Yoongi reveals himself to the crowd.

It’s been nearly two weeks since you had last seen him. He had been promoting alongside a bunch of the artists he has worked with the entire month and, just recently, he had bleached his hear a nearly platinum blonde.

It was a new look on him - definitely something new.

The bright blonde hair stuck out like a sore thumb to you… in a good way. You didn’t expect to like it.

His mane had been slightly ruffled to one side. He probably did it himself knowing just how lazy he had been when it came to making himself look presentable. The outfit, though, was a stark contrast from what you had imagined. He wore a black turtle neck tucked underneath a pair of skinny black jeans with a leather belt that you had gifted him for Christmas. He complemented the rest of the outfit with a leather jacket and, suddenly, you’re hyper aware of the fact that Jimin is shaking you as gently as possible.

All eyes are on you as you remain glued to the concrete floor.

“Are you just going to stand there and gawk at me or are you going to give me a hug?” Yoongi playfully scoffs at you, but you feel your weak arms let loose of the grip it had on Jimin’s arms and he encourages you to walk ahead of you.

As you both entered the nightclub, you are greeted by a conglomerate of people already raiding the dance floor and the bar that had resided adjacent to it. But your entire world stops spinning when you his arms - so foreign - wrap themselves around your frame before you respond back to his actions by slithering your arms around his neck.

“I missed you.” You admitted out loud to yourself and he chuckled into your hair before he pulls you away.

“I was only gone for a month. I told you that you could’ve came with Tiffany to visit.” The name still made your throat swell up and you chewed on the inside of your cheek, shaking your head.

“I figured I’d be third wheeling since I was the only one willing to come and see you.” Rolling your eyes at his statement, Yoongi’s eyes begins searching for something across the second level of the night club.

“Tiffany should be with my co-produer right now. I don’t know if you remember him - Namjoon?” You nod at once when you see Namjoon trying to have a private conversation with Tiffany as he leans in to talk into her ear. “She’s definitely milking this night more than I am.” You are reminded once again that this was Yoongi’s night. Just recently, three of the songs he had produced had been nominated for a multiple music awards and this was a celebratory night for the record label. On top of that, it was the company’s New Year’s Eve party and Yoongi was given the opportunity to invite as many people as he can.

“I’m proud of you.” You practically yell into his ear as he guides you over to the bar where Seokjin is already talking up the bartender and Jimin is ordering the necessary drinks for the newcomers. “I know I’ve said it a lot through text messages, but I just wanted to… say it out loud this time. I really am proud of you, Yoongi. You’re living the dream you always wanted.”

There was a small glint of melancholy in his eye, but you don’t quite catch it when you turn your attention to the drink that Jimin passes over to you. You decide to offer the drink over to Yoongi and bring it up in the air. “Congratulations, Yoongi. What a way to end the year, huh?” You laugh when you take small sips of the drink before passing the other drink over to him.

“Thank you. I wouldn’t have done it without you.” His sentence is left hanging in the air. It’s ambiguity very clear to the both of you and the tension in the atmosphere is so dense that you are left trying to breathe so deeply. “I - I wouldn’t have done it without any of you.” He refers to Seokjin and Jimin as well before they pass him over a bottle of beer.

Your relationship with Yoongi got more and more complicated from the very first encounter you both had six months ago. Just a mere six months had passed by before your relationship with him was put at a fine line.

It took a decent month for things to cool down. You both buried yourselves in work, both made the excuses of passing up on any group hang outs and - for some odd reason - you both synchronized in not seeing each other. Until the cycle broke during Tiffany’s birthday where she personally wanted everyone at the group to be there. One month of not seeing his face or hearing his voice, you thought you could survive with the mere thought that he existed in the same universe as you did. But that wasn’t enough. You were slow to warm up to the idea of even making things right between the both of you.

You weren’t so sure when things started feeling somewhat the same again.

But it was when the news dropped that Hoseok and Michelle got together. Hoseok, being Yoongi’s roommate, and Michelle, being your roommate, had been sneaking our behind your backs late at night participating in unspeakable encounters. You remembered it so vividly like it was yesterday. Hoseok mentioned that he had to go out of town for a business meeting and you planned on visiting your mom’s for the weekend. However, your own mother ended up cancelling after she had an emergency at work only for you to come back to see Yoongi waiting at your front door dumbfounded.

He had caught them red handed when Tiffany requested that he would drop off a pair of shoes she had borrowed from Michelle earlier that month.

It was a big mistake to return the shoes that evening.

But it was almost a blessing in disguise for everybody.

The cat was out of the bag; Hoseok and Michelle had been seeing each other and you and Yoongi were left to piece the puzzles together only to end the evening in a total state of chaos and reprieve.

From then on, things were slightly coming undone. The tension between the two of you had lifted in the air and you were back to unconsciously suppressing your feelings for him and, suddenly, the pain you experienced seeing him with Tiffany had been numbed out. Though you weren’t necessarily happy to see him with her, you were more than grateful that you weren’t really suffering at this point forward.

It wasn’t until they decided to move in with each other where the familiarity of torment rose from the depths of your stomach. You remembered them announcing it at a movie night Michelle had organized and, immediately, everyone’s curious eyes had alternated from yours and Yoongi’s.

You avoided his stare for the longest time, not wanting to risk the chance of physically vomiting.

But you thanked Michelle for helping you push through that evening.

“If it makes you feel any better, it didn’t look like he was too happy moving in with her.” The words echoed in your head repeatedly, but you remembered just how much of a good person Yoongi is. He didn’t gloat on purpose on your face. Tiffany made the announcement to share such good news to entire posse.

It was something to be proud of for Yoongi; he was moving forward from a healthy relationship… and that’s all you could really ask for.

The party came to full swing at the arrival of Hoseok and Michelle. They were quick to greet and apologize for their late arrival to Yoongi, but he refused to listen to their excuse. More so, he was just happy that they were able to attend. At this point, you can feel the heels you wore starting to be more of a nuisance than a fashion statement from all of Jimin’s dancing. But the drunken demeanor kept you distracted from the pain at the soles of your foot.

Not even one drink into the night, Michelle demanded that you save her a dance for the both of you but Jimin had been too busy twirling you around in the middle of the dance floor resulting in you seeing stars as you guffawed into his chest.

At the corner of your eye, you can see that Jimin’s dance skills had earned him a decent size of admirers - nothing special about that but you knew that once he found that one girl he was willing to hook up with, you were going to be left all alone with no one to kiss that evening.

For the most part, you were more than okay with not sharing the tradition with anybody. Normally, a simple peck on the mouth from Michelle was enough for you to participate in the tradition, but she had Hoseok now. It was a ludicrous idea to even feel remotely excluded from a silly tradition as a new year’s kiss, but Seokjin already had his eye on the bartender. Inevitably, you knew Yoongi would have Tiffany to share the kiss with. You’ve grown so used to the idea of Yoongi and Tiffany being so intimate with each other, but the pain had been so numbed down that you were just accustomed to the feeling.

The only two people left to find people to kiss had been you and Jimin and he made a deal that he would be your friendly date for the evening, even going so far to offer a smooch at the strike of midnight.

So when you saw the one girl he had his eyes on, you furrowed your brows at him, chewing on your cheek. “You’re my date, Jiminie.” You slurred and he rolls his eyes.

“Oh, c’mon, YN. She’s really cute. I’ll give you a midnight kiss, but I just want to get her number, please?” He coaxes as he guides you through the dance floor and you turn your head to the girl who had been eyeing him the entire time.

“She is cute.” You sighed, slowly releasing from his hold. Suddenly, he spun you into someone else, crashing into their chest as you grunted at Jimin’s abrupt motion. “You better be back in 10 minutes! I’m going to be real upset if you don’t kiss me at the countdown!”

Clutching onto the arms of a stranger, you slowly pull away from their hold only to realize that this was no stranger.

It had been Yoongi who was caught off guard as he held you in his arms. The song blasted so loud in your ears; the song that he had produced and your cheeks flamed a scarlet tint at the proximity of your bodies.

“Jimin’s kissing you at midnight?” You scoff at his playful sneer and you chew on the inside of your cheek, rolling your eyes at his chuckle. “Oh, c’mon, YN. You seriously want to be one of the simpletons who participate in a new year’s kiss?” Yoongi’s choice of words ensues you to erupt in a series of laughter and you unconsciously feel your body gravitate closer and closer to his as the amplitude of the music increases in your ears.

The night club had been too loud that you had to lean into his ear to respond back to him. “Well, you must be one since you’ll have Tiffany to kiss tonight.” You retort back to him before pulling away. His hands had been placed gently onto the small of your waist. It wasn’t low, but respectfully high so it didn’t seem so awkward having to sway to the rhythm of the song he had produced. “Where is she, anyway? She’s supposed to be the one dancing with you right now!”

“Bathroom.” He simply answers into your ear as your bodies bump into each other in the middle of the dance floor. “She’ll be back soon.”

The friction of your bodies against each other made your throat hot and your cheeks hotter than ever. You nodded once simply before realizing just how long you had been this close with each other. It’s been months since he held you like this in his arms. Instinctively, you feel your arms slithering themselves around his neck, still able to dance nonchalantly.

“Tiffany won’t be upset that I’m dancing with you?” You practically yell into his ear before he shakes his head, just as intoxicated as you were. The heavy scent of beer clinging so closely to his skin and mouth and you swallowed hard when your eyes shoot towards his pillowy petals.

“She’s not the jealous type.” He simply replies and you catch his eyes lower onto your glossed lips. Tilting your head to get a good read of his visage, the DJ hired for the event began screaming to the crowd that there was merely 5 minutes left before the clock strikes midnight.

“I would have pinned her to be the jealous type.”

“You are though.” He counters and you are left to knit your brows together, denying his statement before he rolls his eyes as he unconsciously closes the space between the both of you.

“I am not the jealous type.”

“You literal threw a fit when Jimin wanted to dance with that one other girl.” He justified and you rolled your eyes once more, clearly not accepting defeat. Yoongi swallows hard as you habitually pout your bottom lip clearly not enjoying being accused of letting the green-eyed monster take over you.

“He promised he’d kiss me.” You declared, scrunching your nose in the process.

Losing all sense of logic, Yoongi chuckles darkly, digits digging onto your exposed skin at your waist. “You’re such a brat.”

“Oh, now, I’m a brat?” You whine playfully, exasperated of his accusations. This earned a large gummy smile stretching on his mouth and you were hyperaware of how long it had been since it had been since you two bonded like this. It felt so nostalgic to have him this close, have him be this playful with you. Within that moment, it was blissful - forgetting of who was around you, forgetting about the confession made months ago.

“I missed you, YN.” He sighs blissfully, laughing and leaning forward, bumping foreheads with each other.

“I - I missed you, too.” Both of you had the wides smiles on each others faces. Guffawed laughters shared between your dancing bodies and, at that very moment, you were happy. You are taken back to a time where you two can be effortlessly yourselves with each other. You did not have to analyze your actions and words around him; everything was done purely out of pure desire.

You thought your actions would have no repercussions.

You were taken back to a time where you were two best friends, probably unconsciously in love with each other.

But the realization sets in that this was not some fantasy story. The smiles on your visages disappear very slowly at the realization that you can’t go back to where you had been nearly six months ago. Still having your foreheads pressed against each other, noses bumping with eyes fully pinched shut at the feeling of his hot breath fanning your face.

“I - I have to go find Jimin.” You sigh, itching and craving just to feel the slightest touch of his lip on yours. The DJ announces that there is one measly minute left - one measly minute to go looking for the guy you were supposed to kiss, yet you spent what little seconds you had to be with the guy you could not have.

“YN…” He sighs, opening his eyes. You are met his half-lidded eyes yet you read the desire, desperation, and exhaustion in his irises. “You don’t know how bad I want to kiss you.” Your heart stopped beating at that very moment and when the thirty second countdown begun, your sober consciousness had been screaming at you to pull away from his grip. But, deep inside, you felt your heart swell to a tenfold at his confession.

You had to chant to yourself that he was drunk.

You probably didn’t hear him correctly.

But your mind was no longer playing tricks on you when you feel his mouth move ever so closely, just centimeters away from the skin of your lips and he was a million miles away from you when Jimin saves you and Yoongi a million years of regret. Just in time, Tiffany finally squeezes through the crowd, glad to have found her rightful boyfriend at the perfect moment.

“There you are! I swear I was looking everywhere for you!” Eyes wide, Yoongi controls his breathing as he is faced with the girl he is supposed to be spending the evening with. She smiles unknowingly at him and then at Jimin and yourself. The tension was so thick in the air that you do not have the words to countdown.

“Five, four, three, two — Happy New Year!” Jimin’s gentle hands caresses your cheek and you read the sympathy in his eyes when you see Tiffany tip her toes to place feather-like kisses on Yoongi’s — the lips you desperately sought to feel on yours.

With tears in your eyes, you held them there, but Jimin read you very well. His thumb caresses the corners of your mouth, soothing the familiar pain arising in your chest. “Happy New Year, YN.” He sighs before he leans down to place a very delicate, quick kiss onto your mouth. You savored the comfort of your friend and you pull away only to pull him into a well-deserved hug.

“Happy New Year, Jimin.” He doesn’t let you go when he feels your body go limp in his arms.

“You can just drop me off here.” The Uber driver who sat in front of you came to a slow stop at the curb and you searched through your purse to offer the quiet man a ten dollar bill, offering him a kind smile. “Have a happy new year, sir.”

He thanks you for your gratitude before you carefully exit the vehicle. Your barefoot hitting the cold concrete floor as you clutch onto your heels. You closed the door right behind you as you began the long journey from the entrance of your apartment complex parking lot onto the front door of your unit.

You’ve sobered up a bit, still a bit tipsy from the hard liquor, but you were slowly getting there. The vivid memories of the past hour made your heart swell and shatter all at once as the scene replayed in your head. You knew yourself well enough that if you encountered Yoongi one more time that evening, you would not have been able to stay sane.

Your legs took smaller and slower strides towards your unit and when you begin to fish the keys out of the depths of your clutch, you come to an immediate halt as you see a tall, dark figure hovering around your door. You really needed to have a conversation with the homeowner’s association to add brighter lights at night because suddenly your senses had been heightened at the stranger’s presence.

“E - Excuse me, sir, is there somebody you’re looking for?” Your voice so small yet so familiar to the stranger and he spins around, surprised to see such a familiar face look completely different right before your eyes. “T - Taehyung?”

“You nearly scared the living shit out of me sneaking up on me like that.” The timbre of his voice deep and warm and his hushed tones tickled the back of your neck. He looked so different from the last time you saw him.

His dark long locks slightly curled and messy from, what you can only assume, the holiday festivities. He sported a silk button up t-shirt tucked underneath a pair of dark washed skinny jeans. However, he was wise to wear a large coat around his broad shoulders. However, you raise your brows as he nursed a bottle of champagne on his arm and you tilt your head as you studied the change in appearance.

He was still the same yet he looked like a change man.

“Wh - what are you doing here?”

“Right.” He shook his head, whispering to himself as he offers you a soft grin. “I was in town for work. My flight was supposed to be tomorrow afternoon, but they airline company had to cancel due to some scheduling incident.”

You swallowed hard as you awaited for him to continue his story. Meanwhile, he stood right across from you - this time, he studied the way you presented yourself that evening. Your hair is much longer. He compared the length to the last time you had seen each other. Your skin was paler due to the winter season at its peak. There was less sun and he could only assume that you covered yourself from head to toe. You had lost some weight yet you looked relatively healthy. The bags underneath your eyes seem to sunk deeper onto your skin.

Who knew in a matter of six months so much has changed?

“That - that doesn’t explain why you’re in front of my door step.” You retort shyly, encouraging him to explain himself further.

“I don’t leave for New York in two days.” He swallowed before he held the wine bottle in his hand. “I - I figured I would stop by and say hi.”

His appearance wasn’t the only thing that changed.

The way he spoke to you so shyly as if this was your first time meeting each other. He points towards your door with a look of suggestion. “Can I come in? Who knew the west coast would be so fucking cold?” He practically shivers, surprised to see you able to keep yourself warm. Perhaps due to the alcohol still in your body and you decide to make a move on it as you begin to unlock the apartment only to reveal a semi-presentable living room.

“I apologize for the mess. We were all in a rush to go to this New Year’s Eve party, so we didn’t have a chance to clean ourselves up.” Tossing the keys over to the coffee table, you strip yourself off of your leather jacket to hang it at the coat rack. Thankfully, Hoseok and Michelle left the heating on because you were greeted with warmth and the smell of vanilla and marshmallows in the air when you decide to light a candle to create a homier ambience.

“I see you’re one of those types who decide to wait ’til January to take down their Christmas decorations.” He jeers at you and you chuckle at his comment before you point towards the sofa for him to get comfortable in.

“I am not. Michelle and I put so much effort into actually making this place look good, so why waste our efforts when winter season hasn’t ended?” You counter and he decides to slip the coat right off of his torso and you stare at the slight tug of his collar to expose his translucent skin. “Did you want me to get you a glass for your champagne?”

“You should get yourself one as well because we’re drinking this together.” His forwardness still remained the same and you rolled your eyes before you began searching through the cupboard for decent glasses only to find two pairs of coffee mugs that you and Michelle purchased at Target. When you open the drawer to capture the wine bottle opener, you toss it over to Taehyung who began unwrapping the wine to reveal the cork and he attempts to effortlessly remove the cork with ease.

You amble over to where he sat and you offer him your pink mug which he knits his brows in confusion and you shrug at his reaction only to watch him pour a quarter full of the alcohol into Michelle’s blue mug.

“I probably should have said this when I first saw you, but here’s to a happy new year.” He finishes pouring his own serving before he raises the pink mug for you to clink at and you toast right back to him before you take small sips of the cool champagne, savoring the warmth that coats your throat later. “You said you were at a party.”

You nod at his statement only to place the mug on the coffee table, making yourself comfortable with the space in between the both of you.

“I was.”

“And it’s 1:30 in the morning and you’re home so early?”

“Correct.”

“Why?”

“I just wasn’t feeling it.”

He raises his eyebrows when he takes larger sips of his champagne only for him to lean back and look right at you with curious eyes. “This doesn’t have to do anything with Yoongi, by any chance?”

Trying not to offer him any reaction, you sat there with a neutral expression shaking your head.

“Nope, not at all.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I am not lying.” Your pitches increases and he shakes his head, deciding to drop the subject.

“Okay, clearly, you don’t want to discuss Yoongi.” He starts softly before he takes a scoot closer to where you sat. “How is Michelle? I’m pretty sure she still doesn’t like me, but I think it’s polite to inquire about someone who is near and dear to you.”

You erupt in a fit of laughter only for him to offer you a boxy grin and your palm wraps around the expanse of the mug on your lap. “She’s doing well. It turns out she’s been sleeping with Hoseok — I don’t know if you remember him —“

“The choreographer, right?”

“Yup, that one.” You correct before you took small sips of the champagne into your lips, already feeling the familiar buzz earlier that evening. “They’ve been keeping their relationship a secret ever since the beginning of this — oh, well, last year now and we only found out halfway through the year.” You shrugged at the revelation only for him to nod along.

“What about the other two? The chef and that guy I took headshots of for a casting he was trying to do for that one photoshoot?”

“The chef is Seokjin. But he is now a proud owner of a restaurant. It took a lot of investors and a lot of fucking money from his savings account, but the place is doing really well. Jimin is the guy you took headshots of; he’s not an actual model, just something we thought we’d do for fun, but he’s really just an art curator.” You read Taehyung’s face and he is utterly taken aback by Jimin’s career choice.

“Who would’ve thought?” Suddenly, you are presented with an opportunity to view Taehyung from a different perspective.

You didn’t know who was sitting right across from you and you see his mouth move but don’t hear the words coming out of them.

“H - huh?” You stammer, coming to a realization that you appreciated his seemingly interest in your life.

“I was asking if you still worked for that internship you were in since junior year.”

“Uh, yeah, they’ve been training me to be an assistant to the division head of advertising. I wasn’t really expecting to be a candidate, but they figured since I did technically work with them the longest, I sort of know the ropes around the company.” Finishing the remaining contents of your mug, you see Taehyung offer you a proud grin, swiping his tongue right across his rosy petals.

“Just one step closer to being a division head.” He encouraged and you feel warmth flutter in your chest, appreciating just how much he was proud of your achievements.

However, he truly meant it.

He has witnessed all of the trials and tribulations you went through to earn a permanent spot in the company you were currently working at. There was stiff competition, but he was there to remind you that you were worthy to achieve the goals as long as you worked hard. The stress of the internship got the best of you and you could only offer him so much of your time. Whenever he’d tried to offer comfort, half of the time, Taehyung succeeded in alleviating any frustrations.

But there was always one guy who beat you to it the other half of the time.

You were in denial when Taehyung was curious about the nature of your friendship with Yoongi.

He tread cautiously when it came to him. But as time went on, he could no longer bite his tongue and keep his thoughts to himself.

He had been your boyfriend at that time and he felt that he had some right to give his opinion regarding your friendship with Yoongi. He didn’t demand much — his time was to implicitly convince you that you possessed the same feelings as Yoongi did to you.

When Taehyung felt like he had enough of your denial and Yoongi’s obvious efforts, he surrendered his position and decided to take a step back, clearly not wanting to be a part of a cat and mouse game.

But he was a victim of it.

He wasn’t the same man he was the beginning of the year, though.

He’s more solemn and more accepting. He was more conscious of other’s feelings and perspective of things — he had a better understanding of others and he’s definitely had a better understanding of you.

Downing the rest of the alcoholic beverage inside the pastel-colored mug, Taehyung settles it at the coffee table before he runs his long digits through his textured hair.

“So what’s the real reason why you’re home, YN?”

The silence was overwhelming, but you find comfort in his presence. It wasn’t intimidating despite the way his eyes examined your much smaller frame from head to toe as you took measly sips from your own mug.

Was there even a point in lying?

“Yoongi said he wanted to kiss me.”

“Did you want to kiss him?”

Surprised with your speedy response, you nodded once, realizing the grip around the circumference of the mug.

“But you didn’t, right? You’re not like that.”

You shook your head silently and, now, you’re met with the familiar swell around your throat like somebody had been choking you gently, forcing you to hold onto your last breath.

“I — I would never do that, but… if Jimin didn’t come and save the day, I — I think we would have gotten into a seriously sticky situation.” The memory of Yoongi’s body against yours, the heat of his breath and words fanning against your scarlet face, and the scent of his cologne and cherries off of his skin — Tiffany’s scent. “It can’t happen again.”

“What’d Jimin do?”

“He kissed me instead.”

Raising one brow at you, he pokes the tip of his tongue to swiped across his thick petals.

“Jimin kissed you?”

You nodded once.

“Is this another guy I was supposed to be worried about?” He jokes which earned a song-like chortle erupting from your throat. The sound of your laughter spreads a warmth deep inside this chest. He enjoyed the way your voice filled with so much hope and how your worries were stripped away from you when you giggled.

“He promised he’d kiss me at the countdown.” Your statement earned a chuckle from him and he shakes his head, ridiculing your request. “I didn’t want to be the only who didn’t have anyone to kiss.”

“I didn’t have anyone to kiss at the countdown.” Taehyung simply states and you forced yourself not to stare at his lips but you, obviously, fail at this because he catches you red-handed at the instinctive motion. Your irises immediately shoot to his mouth and you swallow hard.

“You didn’t kiss anybody.”

“Not yet at least.”

You despised the cocky sneer on his face, rolling your eyes as you grabbed a cushion and shoving it in his face.

“I was kidding, I was kidding!” A hearty laughter erupts from the depths of his stomach.

But you did miss his cocky personality. It was a playful side of him and his comments seemed very much nostalgic of when you had first met him. When the fits of laughter settled into a comforting silence, he clears his throat when you see his boxy smile disappear into a more calming position. “Okay, hypothetically speaking, if I said I wasn’t kidding,“ He admits before he swiped his tongue across his mouth to wet his lips. “Would you kiss me right now? Be my first kiss for the year?”

The way the tone of his voice change in a millisecond knocks you out of your seat. You’re aware that you’re holding your breath as you examine his features for the umpteenth time that evening.

Did you want to kiss him?

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?”

Is he single? Was he seeing someone in New York?

“Are you seeing anybody?”

“I haven’t had time to meet anybody, YN.” He scoots his frame closer to where you sat whilst he leans his upper body closer to your smaller face.

Does he expect anything to happen that evening?

“If I do kiss you, are you expecting we go further?”

“Depends on the kiss.” He was so quick to his replies as if he’s thought this moment so many times in his heads.

Has he imagined this moment?

He takes his sweet time leaning in to your face. All throughout this tantalizing moment, he hovers over your lips careful not to touch your skin on yours. The smell of vanilla lingers from your skin and your breath smells of champagne.

“You want to kiss me?”

“If I say yes, would that change your decision?"

You thought about it for a moment before the tip of his nose collides very softly against yours and you can’t help but chuckle at the action, scrunching your nose in the process.

“Hm, I’m not so sure.” Your playful tone gave Taehyung further encouragement to lean in closer, just two lips barely brushing against each other.

Eyes half-lidded with so much fondness for you. He stares lovingly into your eyes before they fall on the two petals threatening to pucker against his own. The comfort that emerged from his chest so familiar to him.

“You didn’t say please.” You teased.

He breathes a chuckle fanning your face in the process.

“YN,” He starts as he pulls away very slowly from your face, missing the warmth of his own breath on your face. “Would you do me the honor of being my first kiss for the year, please?”

A series of laughter fills the room and Taehyung could care less if you said yes or if you had said no because it was more than enough for him to see that he has made your night somewhat better and you appreciated the way he helped you completely forget Yoongi — at least for the past 15 minutes, he’s helped you completely forget Yoongi.

“Yes, Taehyung, I would be delighted to be your first kiss of the year.” The sounds of your laughter soon fade into silence. You sat still where you were positioned and Taehyung froze in a subtle manner as he examined you from your eyes down to your lips.

His digits tickled the skin on your cheek to the back of your neck and an eruption of goosebumps appear on your skin. You emitted one breath that visibly fans his face before you flutter your eyes closed as you feel his pillowy petals on your own.

There was a hesitance from both your mouths. Your touch on his felt so fragile, afraid that the slightest addition of pressure onto your mouth would have you falling apart. The tickle and warmth of his fingers caressing the skin of your cheek allowed you to relax and lean in forward into the kiss. Taehyung took this as a sign that you were enjoying this so much more than usual. He pokes his tongue momentarily, tasting the bitter flavor of the champagne lingering in your mouth. A sigh erupts from your mouth and the conscious voice in your head tells you to pull away before things go further — before you do anything you regret.

“Taehyung,” You swallow every ounce of desire when you attempt to peel your body off of his. “We can’t do this again. We’re different now.” He nods his head in agreement, swiping his tongue across the expanse of his mouth. “We’re different, but that doesn’t mean my feelings for you has changed.” You were left speechless; mouth open with no words slipping between your lips. “We’ve changed for the better, YN.” Hesitant at first, Taehyung musters all the courage to reach for your fragile digits that laid upon your thigh. First, he fiddled with the pad of your fingers before he laces them around his hands.

“I’m not this college asshole boyfriend who controls over every aspect of your life.” He confesses looking into your eyes. “Just give me one more shot, YN. I can show you that I’m better.”

“But I — I don’t think I’ve changed for the better, Tae.” You feel your fingers unlacing away from his and you could feel your heart drop on the floor. “I don’t even know if I’m ready for another chance in any sort of relationship.” It came out as a scrutinizing joke, but it was the cruel truth you had to face.

The silence was a little too overwhelming for your liking.

You were thankful the silence wasn’t as uncomfortable to him as it were to you. Because the pad of his index finger lifts your chin up and his eyes meets your once again. “You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”

Choosing not to reply to his answer, you did not want your face to give away any sort of response for him, so you chewed on the inside of your cheek looking into his eyes.

“You — you don’t have to answer that. It’s not fair.”

His thumb caresses your cheek so softly and you savor the warmth of his palm on your skin. It was such a comforting gesture and he tucked the strand of hair behind your ear, hoping it was enough to soothe you.

“I can never have him.” You realize and his eyes meet your glassy irises. “We can never be together.” Unsure of whether this is your inebriated consciousness enabling you to think out loud, but you chew on the inside of your cheek as you focus on something else other than the salty tears building in your eyes.

Taehyung remains silent across from you and you can’t blame the guy. What was he supposed to say to you?

“I’m happy for him though.” You attempt to convince yourself when you feel his hot thumb at the corner of your lip.

“I’m glad you’re happy for him, but are you happy?” He reassures you, swallowing hard. “You’re amazing, YN. It pains me to see you like this. Even after all these months, it seems like you’re numb to the pain. If not me, there is someone out there very much willing to be with you.” Unsure of what to reply to him, you can’t help but offer him a meek grin. “I appreciate that, Tae.” He sighs as you finally got a hold of yourself, relieved to see that he has brightened up your mood even if it is for the slightest bit.

He pulls you into his arms to wrap his large arms around you and you can’t help but appreciate his warm embrace by slithering your arms around his as well. “Any guy would kill to have you.” He whispers as he pecks your forehead, digits combing through your silky hair.

You melt in the comfort of his arms and you feel your lids slowly flutter shut. The steady rise and low of his chest indicate that he is just as comfortable as he is with the embrace.

“I — I should probably get going now.” He announces very softly, hoping not to disturb your tranquility.

“I, uh, yeah. It’s getting late, huh?” You sigh and you slowly peel yourself once again from his embrace.

“It is.”

“How’d you get here? Did you want me to get an Uber for you or something?”

“No, I — I drove here.” You see him slowly lift himself up from the sofa and fish the car keys out of his pocket, carefully folding the blazer jacket he had on earlier.

“You’re not drunk.”

“Not the slightest bit.”

“I don’t believe you.” The crease on your brow exhibited concern over your former partner’s safety.

“I’ll be fine, YN.”

“I don’t want to risk you driving home when you’re tipsy. You could get pulled over or you could get into a little fender bender or you could —“

“Then what do you suggest I do?” Taehyung’s folds his arms, raising a brow at your rambling.

“Spend the night.”

The softness and warmth of your mattress had managed to keep you toasty throughout the frosty winter morning. You curl up onto your pillow and stretch only to open your eyes and discover your naked body entangled with the linen sheets underneath your frame. Swallowing hard, the notable fatigue from your encounter with Taehyung is evident in your inner thighs and the unpleasantries of a morning hangover soon rakes over your brain.

You slowly rise from where you lay only to find the other side of your bed to be completely tattered. Pillows clearly slept on and your clothes folded over by the foot of your bed. You blush at the thought of Taehyung gather all of your tattered clothing early in the morning only for him to sneakily depart from your household.

However, the smell of bacon soon emerge from the other side of the door and you are lured by the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. A muffled conversation is being held right next door and you scramble to search for a clean pair of pajamas to keep you warm and decent for your appearance that morning.

Creaking open your bedroom door to enter your living room into the kitchen, you are perplexed to see a shirtless Taehyung wearing a pair of plaid pajamas with a white t-shirt on himself. But what truly catches you off-guard is Hobi offering Taehyung a mug while he pours himself a hearty cup of coffee while Michelle cracks open the egg in a pool of bacon grease.

“How many did you guys have to drink?” Hobi curiously interrogates Taehyung.

“All we had was the champagne and we may have finished the last bits of tequila.” Michelle makes a face that contorts into disgust and you agree because you recall the burn of the spirit down your throat.

“Speak of the devil,” Michelle’s eyes darts over your confused state. “Good morning, sunshine. I’m making your eggs how you like it; drenched in bacon fat.”

Unaware of the strange situation right in front of you, you amble towards the cupboard where you grab yourself a mug, redirecting it towards Hobi signaling to pour yourself a cup as well. Unsure of what to really say currently, you take careful sips of the hot caffeine into your mouth. Your eyes meet Taehyung who can’t seem to read your expression well. Your brows knit together at how Michelle and Hoseok had manage to treat having Taehyung over at your household as a normal occurrence.

You were expecting Michelle to be kicking the poor soul out of the apartment. But here he was standing sharing a cup of coffee and sharing stories with your roommate and her boyfriend — your two best friends.

“A — alright, what the fuck is going on? Morning afters with him always end up a disaster.” Michelle raises both her brows at you and Taehyung can’t help but chuckle to himself as he swallows his cup of joe.

“Oh, c’mon, YN. I’m not that evil now, am I? It’s the new year, I don’t want to be rude to our first guest of the year.” She reaches for a clean plate before she offers you two cooked eggs with a slice of bacon and toast on the side. “Please eat. You need carbs in your system because Taehyung tells me you guys didn’t drink enough water before you two went to bed which is why I have these for you.” Popping open the lid of a painkillers, she offers you the proper dosage. Taking the two small pills into your mouth before you swallow them dry, you knit your brows further still attempting to understand the complexity of the predicament you have found yourself in. You take a sit on the stool where Taehyung seems to be sitting.

“How do you like your eggs, Taehyung?”

“Scrambled, please.”

Michelle then cracks two eggs into the pan before she hastily scrambled the eggs into the pan, hoping it would be enough to satiate his appetite.

“Where did you get these? I’m pretty sure I returned all your clothes that I have lying around here.”

“They’re Hoseok’s.” Taehyung simply answers. “I hope you don’t mind, but I used your robe to get a glass of water earlier this morning and — uh, he offered to let me use some spare clothes he had lying around your apartment, so I figured it’d be better than using your robe.” He chuckles and Hoseok laughs along with him as well.

“Yeah, man, I don’t know when you have to fly back to New York, but just leave it here when you’re done.”

“Thanks.” He expresses simply before Michelle places two slices of cooked bacon and the rest of the scrambled eggs on the side along with a slice of toast.

“Eat up, you two. You guys didn’t really drink much, but you weren’t hydrated enough before you two went to bed.” Michelle sighs. “It’s the basics of hangover prevention! I expect you guys to learn from this.” She scolds once more and you begin diving into your breakfast, shoveling the heated breakfast placed right in front of you.

Unaware of the conversation Hobi started between him and Taehyung, off of the corner of your eyes, you see Michelle excuse herself to her room. However, she shoots you a look before she enters inside your room — a signal for you to excuse yourself as well. “Um, I’m going to go look for my phone really quickly.” You conjure up an excuse before you lift yourself off of the bar stool and scramble over to your bedroom where you had caught Michelle awaiting for your presence inside your bedroom.

“Okay, I know it looks bad.” Her eyes had scanned your room, but you were tight lip when you see that your room had been relatively neat and organized. Your outfit and Taehyung’s attire from the previous night had been folded at the foot of your bed while his side of the bed had been tidied up. However, you were very much aware of the ripped up condom packet at the nightstand which gave an indication of your rendezvous.

“But I’m sure it was because we were drunk.” You lied through your teeth.

“He told me he wasn’t drunk.”

You stood silent and you chewed on your cheek.

“He wasn’t drunk?” You questioned.

“Did you think he was drunk?”

“I — I wasn’t drunk.” You confessed with blushed cheeks, unaware that Taehyung had lied about being drunken the previous night.

“So you were both sober?”

You shook your head, swallowing hard when you sat on your bed. “I was… buzzed, perhaps. But I honestly thought he had been drunk and I convinced myself that I didn’t want him anymore, but I think I was just trying to find an excuse to be with him again.” Michelle nods in agreement, wide-eyed at your justification. “He wants you back, YN.”

“You don’t know that.” You counter.

“I caught him in our kitchen this morning, YN.”

You furrowed your brows in confusion.

“He was naked.”

Your brows raised at once.

“I was, too.”

You sputtered at your thoughts and couldn’t help but escape a cackle, hoping it would lighten up the awkward with your roommate.

“I’m serious, YN! Do you know how embarrassing it is to walk out and see him butt naked in our kitchen looking for water?” You can’t help but continued chortling to yourself, clutching onto your robe. “I ran back in my room, telling Hobi to give him a pair of pajamas! The poor thing didn’t have anything to sleep!” Tears began swelling at the corners of your eyes and you grinned from ear to ear at her story.

Michelle nudged you playfully before she sat right next to you, settling into the comforts of your queen sized mattress. “When we were both decent, he said something along the lines of me hating him so much that I should probably leave the apartment.”

Your grin disappears at his statement, surprised to hear the statement leave her lips. “I was this close to calling an Uber back to his hotel.” Michelle sighs before she closes her eyes and you chew on your cheek, seeing that she is about to reveal something she wasn’t expecting. “But he said that he had a late Christmas present for you in the car.” You raise your brows, still confused about the statement. “And then he asked — very politely, may I add — if he could leave a painkiller and a glass of water by your nightstand, just to make sure you don’t suffer searching for the damn thing like you always do when you’re hang over.”

There is a giddiness at the depths of your chest that made the corner of your mouth twitch into a weak grin.

“He never did that before.” Michelle sighs as she stares at the ceiling. “You both just fuck and then he sneaks out in the morning. I catch up him so many times leaving your room and he doesn’t say a word — doesn’t really give a shit about you.” Inhaling deeply when she turns to look at you, you turn to look her in the eye as well. “He asked me if he was allowed to spend the night… just to make sure you were okay when you woke up.”

You immediately turn away from her profile, this time, you stare at the ceiling. “It’s different now because it seems like he seems to give a shit about you, YN.” She concludes and you begin to nibble at your supple bottom lip, concerned at her thoughts. “It could be some kind of facade. But, when you talk to him, he’s not… that bad.”

You agree with her statement and tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Are you guys planning on getting back together or what?”

You shrug at her statement, attempting to piece the puzzle together as well. “We haven’t really discussed it. All I remember is we had our second shot and everything sort of… unravelled itself. One thing led to another and we couldn’t help ourselves from then on.” You whisper ever so softly, afraid that he would overhear your vulnerable thoughts. “It was… different last night; too raw to reply, to be honest.” You sigh in bliss and you try to shake your head back to reality.

“I… I really don’t want to discuss anything — I don’t want to establish something we’re both not ready to handle, you know?”

She nods and gives you a meek grin, proud that you were — at least — attempting to take your time with your decision and your feelings regarding the current predicament.

Pushing yourself up from where you laid on your bed, you offer your hand for Michelle to get up from your mattress as well. “C’mon, who knows what Hobi is telling about me? I’d like to defend myself, you know.” You were hasty to your door when you hear a booming laughter come from the kitchen.

Ready to turn the knob of your bedroom door, you hear Michelle call out your name.

“YN,” she begins and you turn to her, wondering what else she has to say. “Believe it or not, but you’re glowing. That’s how I know it’s different.”

The muffled trickling of keys from outside immediately dropped the current conversation to hushed whispers. Because not only could you hear the muffled sounds of keys rattling outside your door, but you could also hear the sounds of Jin’s whining from your front door.

“I already told you guys before we left I left my key at my fucking place before we left to get the donuts. I don’t understand why I’m getting all the blame.” He hisses at somebody and you stand up from where you sat right next to Taehyung, folding your arms as you await for him to open the door.

“Because I texted you before I left to bring your keys, hyung. You’ve been boasting how you only have access to YN and Michelle’s apartment considering I’ve been revoked of my fucking keys because I threw that Friendsigivng at their place when they went back to visit their parents and left their place completely trashed.” He rattled the keys unlocking the first knob and attempting to jiggle the key into the other lock. “And Yoongi-hyung says he lost his, so you were the only one with keys!”

“Stop arguing, you imbeciles.” Yoongi grumbles before the door swings open slowly only to see Taehyung completely stop mid conversation at the presence of Jin, Jimin, Tiffany who held balloons that spelled out ‘Congratulations!’ and, finally, Yoongi who held the two stereotypical pink boxes that most likely contained donuts.

“Oh, shit, we didn’t think you guys would be up this fucking early.” Jimin scans the room to see Hobi already working on the dishes, Michelle is sat on the other end of the section sofa while Taehyung sat comfortably on the other end. However, you were busy tidying up the kitchen along with Hobi.

“And we have a new face!” Tiffany’s dulcet tones follows a cumbersome tension in the entire room. At this point, everyone is fully aware of your previous feelings for Yoongi and his feelings for yours.

To have Tiffany acknowledge Taehyung’s presence somehow is much better than any of the three acknowledging him because she reaches over to extend her arm while introducing herself.

“I’m Tiffany — Yoongi’s girlfriend. Sorry for barging in just like that. I just get really excited meeting new people, s’all.”

Taehyung stands from where he sat and extends his arms shaking her hand as a response and nodding along to acknowledge Jin, Jimin, and Yoongi. “I’ve heard about you from YN. It’s nice to meet you.” He darts his eyes towards you raising his brows only for you to blush scarlet, avoiding any eye contact with your three other best friends.

“It’s been — what? Nearly a year since we’ve seen you, Taehyung.” Jin clearly forces a smile trying to keep the atmosphere as friendly as possible. Jimin already quite familiar with Taehyung’s personality and reads the expression of Michelle’s faces that she has seemed to be completely unfazed by his presence. However, her eyes pay close attention to Yoongi’s tense jaw as he examined the man at the center of the room.

“In case you didn’t know, Tiffany, I — I’ve dated YN for a while.” He clears the air, hoping to break the sudden tension in the room and you shake your head at his sheer audacity. However, it did bring some sort of relief to the situation. He always seemed like the type not to hide anything. He was transparent for the right reasons. There was nothing really to hide at this point.

“Which is why everyone is so surprised to see me here… again.”

“Oh, I see.” Tiffany concludes, nibbling on her bottom lip and silence fills the air. But you come to the realization that you were questioning why the four new guests were somehow invited to your household.

“Hold on, what are we celebrating? What’s with the balloons and donuts?” You raise the question only for everyone to go wide-eyed before Taehyung tilts his head nonchalantly.

“Didn’t Michelle tell you in your bedroom earlier?” Taehyung scratches his head but the perplexes expression painted on your face answered it for him.

“Oh my god, YN, please don’t tell me you haven’t taken a long at Michelle’s goddamn hand.” Jin practically scolds and your eyes shoot over to where Michelle had scurried off to Hobi and you catch sight of the bright, shining diamond gracing her ring finger and you feel the high pitched screech erupt from your hand at the top of your lungs, running over to Michelle.

“I swear to god, Hobi! I didn’t think you had the fucking guts to do it!” You yelp at the newly engaged couple right in front of you. You leaped into the arms of Michelle and Hobi, bursting with so much joy that you couldn’t contain the grin that stretched from ear to ear right across your face.

“Alright, how much do we owe you, Taehyung?” Michelle nudges at Hobi and Taehyung shoves his hands in the depths of the sweatpants he wore.

“Ten bucks each, so twenty.”

“Wh —“

“We made a bet to see how long you’d figure out. Hobi thought you’d notice straight away, I thought you’d notice once breakfast was done and you would help clean up around the house, and Taehyung said you wouldn’t notice until someone gave it away.” You rolled your eyes at the three of them, immediately nudging Taehyung’s side only to have him wrap an arm around your neck, resting his arm on your shoulder while he nestles his head on top of yours.

“You guys suck, you know that?” You grumble only for Jimin to search through all your cupboards, searching for something around the kitchen. “Jimin-ssi, what are you looking for?”

“Wine.” He sighs only to be defeated to see the empty bottles by the end of the counter. “You guys must have been completely blacked out if you finished that all to yourself.”

“It wasn’t just me. Taehyung had some to drink too.”

“Plus, it’s not like we drank it all at once.” He clarifies only for Jin to realize that Yoongi had raised a single brow at the statement, already shoving a donut inside his mouth to keep himself busy, unable to distract himself from the old flame right in front of his eyes.

“We need a toast, you guys! We’re at that age where we have friends who are engaged.” Jimin emphasized only to look through the refrigerator only to find a gallon of milk along with orange juice and he sets the gallon of milk, grabbing 8 glasses from the cabinets to pour them in each.

“Alright, everyone, grab a donut.”

Jin flips open both boxes only to reveal the heavenliest of donuts before everyone’s eyes only for you to grab a chocolate donut and grabbing a glass of milk to hold up. “Tiffany, honey, I know your resolution was to make healthier choices, but we can always go for a run right after this. It’s a special occasion.”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at Tiffany’s reluctance to reach for a donut, but she grabs the smallest out of the bunch before she grabs a glass of milk to herself. At the corner of your eye, you had caught a glimpse of Yoongi’s arms circling around her waist, nuzzling his nose into her hair before he places a single kiss on her head.

There is a hot swell on your throat as you look away only to feel a heated pressure at the small of your back to see Taehyung reach for the same donut as you and you offer him a glass of milk for him.

“To Michelle and Hobi-hyung,” Jimin starts only for everyone to clink their glasses, sharing a toast. “Who knew that YN and Yoongi would be the ones traumatized to witness you two butt-naked on this very spot?” His hands pats on the kitchen countertop and makes an atrocious reaction at the realization of their sweating bodies on the marbled counter top. “I must admit, I cannot believe I’m saying this, but we cannot wait to witness even more naked shenanigans from you two.”

An eruption of laughter fills the atmosphere and there is a sense of tranquility and solidarity with all of the dynamics of each and every individual in the room. When each person takes one large gulp of the milk, you all take a bite of the soft donuts only for Michelle and Hobi to share a delicate and sweet kiss.

There is a tug to your side where Taehyung pulls you closer only to watch him devour the rest of his donut and he drinks the rest of his milk. A milk mustache forms on his lips and you wipe it off with your thumb, chortling at his playful personality.

Suddenly, the ache in your chest numbs down to a bare strangle.

And, for once, your eyes aren’t locked on him.

“Hey, uh, congratulations again for getting engaged and all.” Taehyung awkwardly interrupts the conversation between Michelle and Hoseok only for Michelle to raise her brows at him. “Thanks for — you know, earlier this morning.” He scratched the back of his head as you observe him from afar.

“You mean, not kicking you out?”

Taehyung nods and you fold your arms, watching the dynamic between your roommate and your former partner unravel before your eyes. There was a glint of hope in the way her eyes traveled from head to toe and the desire for his eyes not to meet hers.

“You’re starting to grow on me, Taehyung-ie.” The man before you purses his lips and nods once at her final conclusion. You are confused, but — ultimately — curiouser about what the two have conversed about before you had awaken from your deep slumber. “Pretty sure YN will have you as her plus one for our wedding.” From the corner of her eye, Michelle glances at you before she winks over at him and he responds with a forced chuckle. “However, if you two have a repeat of your previous encounters, then I’ll be sending you an invitation, nevertheless.”

He looks up at her scratches the corner of his brow with a sly grin across his visage. “Well, let’s hope I won’t be getting one.” He implied causing a few stares from some listeners in your humble abode. A blush creeping on your cheeks at the realization that he had intentions of making sure that you two would not end up in this endless cycle of make-up and break-up. “Say goodbye to everybody, Taehyung, because I’m walking you to your car.” As you capture his wrist around your fingers, he merely waves a goodbye to everyone, sending his pleasantries to all the people he had met and to Tiffany who he had the pleasure of being introduced to. With the muffled goodbyes on the other side of the apartment, you close the front door right behind you before you begin stomping over to where the guest parking had been at your apartment complex.

“What — what did you mean by all of that?” You jumped straight onto the topic, not wanting to prolong the conversation.

“Do you have plans tonight?” You shake your head no and with a crest of your brow, he tucks a strand of a stray hair behind your ear.

“Have dinner with me tonight.” He requests and you swallow at his statement. “I told you. I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon. I would like to spend the last day here with an old friend.”

“Flame. Old flame.” You correct him.

“Ah, right.” He merely chuckles but you push past him, pacing back and forth at the parking lot, trying to get a better understanding of the predicament you both were in.

“Why is Michelle being so nice to you? And what did you talk about with her —“

“Why don’t you go and ask her for yourself?”

“She — she won’t tell me.” You sighed, rolling your eyes in the process.

“Then have dinner with me tonight. Have you been to that new sushi restaurant downtown?”

“I — uh, no, I haven’t had the time to try it out.” You grumble chewing on the inside of your cheek, awaiting for his response.

“Then I’ll pick you up at 7 tonight, dear. If you really don’t want to go, just shoot me a text.” He unlocks his car and he begins his journey over to where he had parked. “If you’re in anyway interested, wear something comfortable.”

You stood there glued to the asphalt of the parking lot floors as he hops inside his vehicle, turning the engine on. You shake your head in disbelief at the audacity for him to leave you even more confused than ever; expecting to get answers, instead, you were given more questions and inquiries running at a hundred miles an hour racking in your brain. You amble back to your apartment unit lethargically, trying to add two and two together before you see a figure standing outside of the front door of your apartment unit only to recognize it was Yoongi.

“Please don’t tell me they locked us out.”

“No, uh, we’re fine.” Yoongi merely grumbles and you fold your arms, hugging yourself for warmth as you feel the freezing breeze brush past your thin pajamas. “I was just curious about —“

“About?”

“Why he’s suddenly crawling back to you?”

Taken aback by his choice of words, you choose not to meet his eyes and they soon land on his shoes and your fuzzy slippers. The proximity of his stance from yours relatively distant from each other.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Yoongi.”

“Oh, c’mon, YN, you were doing so well. I haven’t seen Taehyung in months — you were doing well without him.” Knitting your brows at his estimation, there is a lock on your jaw when you realize that Yoongi had no idea of your encounter with Taehyung.

He was aware that you two had seen each other, but he wasn’t made aware of the gory details that occurred. As a matter of fact, it was only Michelle who really discovered of your encounter with Taehyung.

“I was doing well because I was desperate for a distraction, Yoongi.” You breathed out without hesitation, mustering up every ounce of courage in your system to look him straight in the eye.

“It may seem like I’m doing well — I earned a permanent position at my job, got promoted, and now I’m a possible candidate for another promotion. But that’s because I forced myself into this lifestyle, Yoongi. I forced myself to suppress any emotion I felt.”

He stood still frozen as he gazed right into your eyes. The clench in his jaw indicated that there was an obvious tension between the both of you.

“With or without Taehying, I wasn’t doing well, Yoongi.” You admitted and gnawed on the inside of your cheeks. “I was just findings ways to… not self-destruct.”

“You will if you go back to him.”

“He’s different now.” You defend and see the tinge of annoyance in Yoongi’s pretty face.

“Don’t be silly, YN. I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“Well, that’s just something we gotta get used to, I guess.” You grumble in annoyance as your teeth clatter against each other because of the cold.

“Stop being so stubborn. He doesn’t deserve another chance.”

You’re starting to grow annoyed at his words and you walk towards your front door, grabbing the knob. “Yoongi, I understand you’re my best friend, but don’t you think I’m doing this in an attempt to get over you?”

Glued to the cement, he is as a still as a statue at your response.

“I see you’re happy, Yoongs, so I’m going to try to be happy too.”

After hours of scouring through your wardrobe to find something “comfortable” for your date with Taehyung, you settled upon a black bodysuit that is tucked underneath a faux leather skirt. You complemented the outfit with a pair of stockings and knee high boots along with a blazer in case the location of the date was far more fancier than the usual.

But the blazer was absolutely unnecessary.

When Taehyung had picked you up from your quaint unit, he wore a black turtle neck along with a pair of black skinny jeans complemented with a long trench coat to protect him from the chilly weather.

He informs you that a colleague of his is still holding a viewing session of his photography collection in a near by art gallery which piqued your interest. Relieved to hear that you were more than interested with the idea of the exhibition, you two listened intently to his colleague present the final viewing session before you two ventured together.

Of course, Taehyung guided you through the exhibited admiring the angle and the perspective his colleague had decided on. You would listen intently, enjoying the decent moscato served. There is a familiar warmth in depths of your abdomen, not from the wine, but from the way his beautiful digits tangled along with manicured ones.

After the viewing session, he had reserved a spot by the new sushi restaurant you heard your co-workers discuss every month or so. You decided to order the quintessential edamame where you two would pick at the pods and pop each bean into your mouth while you two decided upon what to try. You were both interested in the different rolls they had to offer, popping each roll into your mouth in a split second.

“Holy fuck, you need to try this one.” He would say. You witness the way he effortlessly picks up the roll and hovers it by your lips and you open your mouth allowing him to pop the small morsel upon your tongue.

When you would close your mouth and start chewing, he would nod happily only to begin diving into a different roll.

The dinner ends when the both of you are sufficiently tapped out. However, to your surprise, there is a gelato boutique next door to the sushi bar and you persuade Taehyung that you would pay for his gelato since he had paid for dinner.

He takes up the offer.

You both request for a piccolo sized gelato. He ordered an agostino which was an Argentinian dulce de leech. Meanwhile, you were taken aback by the charcoal vanilla which you ultimately grew to love.

When you get the order you had both requested, Taehyung mysteriously jerks his heads outside only for you to follow behind him as he looks both ways to cross the street.

“Where are we going?” You grumble, struggling to catch up with him.

“We’re going for a walk.”

“Why are you going so fast?”

“Maybe you’re too slow.”

“Well, slow down for me, will you?” He chuckles at your whines and you began scooping the gelato into your mouth, allowing it to melt inside your mouth.

“Taste good?” He hums before he shovels a large scoop of his gelato inside his. You nod at once. Your eyes settling on this cup and he moves it closer to you, nudging for you to try the agostino. You take a small scoop and place it on your tongue to taste the overtly sweet creaminess.

“Here, try mine.” You switch cups and while you mindlessly shovel more of his gelato into your mouth. Taehyung pauses, grins at the way your eyes glisten, despite the lack of light underneath the night sky.

He takes small shovels of your flavor into his mouth as you two amble around the block. He could really get used to this.

The conversation that you two participated in had been interrupted by the high pitched tone in the depths of her purse. She hands you back the small cup before she fishes the phone, unlocking it.

He enjoys the way the bright light shines upon your smiling face.

However, his brows knit into one when he watches your beautiful smile drop into a frown. The inflection of confusion is evident in the way the crinkle in your eyes disappear and the furrow of your brows are put together.

“What is it?” He inquires and you lock your phone, not hastily, but you shake your head, offering him a grin to ease his worries. “Did something happen?”

“No, no. It’s nothing to worry about, to be honest.”

But you were lying — to yourself and to him.

“Who was it that texted you?”

You didn’t want to have to lie some more to him, so you decide to take smaller scoops of your gelato. Suddenly, you had lost your appetite. “It was Michelle.”

“What’d she say, if you don’t mind me asking?”

You paused momentarily, debating on whether you should answer him truthfully or not. There was nothing to hide at this point. Taehyung knew about your predicament with Yoongi.

However, would it be wise to disclose him on Yoongi’s stance between your renunion with the man right in front of you?

“She told me Yoongi had called Hoseok.. wondering where I was.”

“What’d he say?”

“He didn’t say anything. He wanted to consult with me, first.”

“You didn’t answer.”

“I’m on a date with you. It’d be rude of me to just text them, suddenly.”

The corner of his lips twitch to a weak grin. However, he understands your uncertainty of the predicament.

“You’re not sure what to do. You’re afraid if you tell Yoongi the truth, he’d be disappointed because we’re, hypothetically, together. But if you hide this from him, you’d feel like an awful friend for hiding such a big thing from him.” Taehyung voices out the dilemma and you shake your head, swallowing the heaviness of the situation.

“Taehyung, we are on a date.” You conclude and stop on your tracks, chewing on the inside of your cheeks. “As your date, my attention will solely be on you.” He appreciates the way you are approaching things. However, he stops you in front of you, eyes leveling with yours.

“And, as your date, I want you to have a good time and, clearly, you seeing that text dampened your mood.” You remained straight faced with him, losing all appetite for the Italian dessert laying on the palm of your hand. “I care about how you feel, YN. You can talk to me.”

He lifts his hands to caress your cheeks. The thumb nudging at the corner of your mouth to encourage a grin to appear on your visage. “Taehyung, the past two hours I’ve been with you, I — I have never felt this good about myself in a while.” You confess and he stops caressing your cheeks, pained to see that you sincerely have not been satisfied for the past six months you had not seen each other.

“A part of me is happy to hear that. But the other absolutely despises the fact that you’ve been suffering for this long.” There was a heat suffocating you on your throat and you grit your teeth, forcing yourself to hold back the water works.

“It’s true though and I want to savor every moment I have left with you. I don’t know when I’m going to see you again, so I’m going to be in the moment with you.” You conclude, not wanting to discuss your current dilemma with him — not because you didn’t want to discuss it with him, but because you were spending every moment with him on a ticking clock.

Unable to control himself any longer, Taehyung leans down to firmly press his mouth onto yours. Petals enveloping your own and the heat of his tongue swipes across your lower lip to express just how truly touched he was by your words. His hand cupping your profile and swiping away your flying hair against the cool wind.

Eyes half-lidded with warmth and pleasure, you return the action with as much fervor as he had originally began with. His tongue tasted of the milky treat and you were growing addicted to the taste of the gelato. Careful not to spill any of the melted gelato onto him, you are already slithering your arms around his figure, pulling away to gasp for air.

“As much as I’d like to do so much more than kiss you,” Taehyung was the first to speak between the both of you. He tucks a strand of your hair behind ear and caresses the softness of your cheeks. “It’s starting to get a little late and I have an early flight tomorrow.” He sighs sadly, staring right into your eyes.

A small pout has formed upon your face and you decide that perhaps it’s best you both stop now.

“Time flies by when you’re having too much fun.” At your simple statement, Taehyung leans down and pecks your mouth delicately. His thumb nudging at the corner of your mouth.

“C’mon, let’s get you home.” He announces and you can’t help but agree with him. Delicate digits lace themselves around his skinny, beautiful ones as you both walk back to where he had originally parked.The entire ride back to your humble abode you spent the entire time singing many throwback love ballads at the top of your lungs. Two empty gelato cup nestled in between your thighs while you harmonized with Taehyung’s beautiful baritone voice.

He steers left and enters your apartment complex where you both try to calm your giddiness by lowering the volume of the radio. He pulls right in front of your building and you turn to him when he puts it on park and he bites his lip when he looks at you.

“I had an amazing time, YN.” Taehyung declares and you nod, blushing. “Who knew we would start off the new year together, huh?” He can’t hold himself from cupping your face and kissing your cheek, returning back his initiation by deepening the kiss.

“I had a good time too.” You sigh into his mouth and are reminded of your previous encounters the night before. “A — Are you sure you don’t want to come inside?”

“As much as I’d love to extend my evening, but I really need to get some packing done and get an early night in considering I’ll be traveling all day.” You were satisfied with his answer. Though, initially, you were upset he wouldn’t ease your desires, you were glad that you both were taking it gradually slow.

At least this time, you were taking it slow.

“I know it may be too soon, but do you know when I get to see you again?” He pulls away momentarily to think back. “I’m not quite sure. I do travel every other week because it’s part of the job. Most of the time, it’s here in Los Angeles, but it’s not a hundred percent guarantee.”

“I understand.” You replied and his grin softens when he lays his eyes on your mouth once again, placing the gentlest of kisses on your soft petals. “I guess I’ll see you whenever I can then.” His fingers tickle the back of your neck when you both share a sweet kiss.

However, you are interrupted by the bright light shingling right to your right. The sounds of the glass tapping right next to you startles you and Taehyung is visibly confused to see Tiffany and Yoongi standing right next to his rental car.

Your eyes meet Yoongi’s and you are visibly stiff from where you sat, shocked to see the couple outside.

Taehyung rolls down the window for you and Tiffany waves a hello to the both of you.

“Oh my god, you guys! You got back together!”

You both immediately shook your heads, wanting to clear the other. There is a wave of relief in Yoongi’s face, but shame in Tiffany’s at her assumption.

“No, we’re… we’re trying to work things out, but not officially together.” Taehyung clarifies.

“Oh, noted.” Tiffany nods and bites her lower lip. “I’m so glad you both get a second chance at something though. You guys should have came earlier though! We had a Disney movie night with Michelle and Hobi. It would have been a cool triple date.” At the mention of your future plans with Taehyung, Yoongi has returned to his state of disbelief once again. Unsure of how to react, he remains difficult to read.

“I bet it would’ve have been fun.” You sighed and turn to Taehyung, kissing him on the cheek, hoping for the cumbersome atmosphere to die down. “Call me when you’ve arrived to your hotel safely.”

When you hop out of the car, Taehyung says his goodbyes to both Tiffany and Taehyung and he exits the apartment complex, relieved to have clarified it for everyone that you and Taehyung were just working things out.

“I’ll see you guys later. I’m… really fucking tired, but we should definitely have another movie night next weekend or something.” You grin at Tiffany and fish your apartment keys out of your purse, hugging Tiffany goodbye before you head back to door.

There was a part of you that screamed to avoid any physical contact with Yoongi, but you did not want to alert the already tense moment by not offering him one in front of Tiffany. However, he had already decided upon himself to dismiss the conversation but unlocking his car where had parked.

“God, he’s been grumpy all night.” Tiffany complains and your curiosity is piqued. What could have possibly irked him so much to the point that he is still vexed up until now? You bite back any inquiries regarding his mood; afraid that perhaps it had something to do with your little reunion with Taehyung.

“Nothing like wine and chocolate can’t fix. I’m sure that’ll brighten up his mood.” You advise and Tiffany agrees before she waves another goodbye. Turning away from the departing couple, you attempt to fish out the keys out of your purse and enter your unit.

The living room is pristine. You would have assumed that it’d be trashed for the evening, but the cushions had been positioned beautifully on the sectional. Not a single crumb laid on the carpeted floors of your apartment and the scent of vanilla lingers in the air. The lights are turned off at the hallway and inside Michelle’s room, assuming that the couple have turned in for the night.

When you strip your coat off of your frame, you hear the lightest of knocks behind you, sneaking a peek inside the peep hole to see Yoongi awaiting for a response. Unlocking all the locks and opening the door for him, he invites himself inside and you are ultimately confused at his presence.

“Did you forget anything?” You inquired, unsure of his purpose for coming back inside your abode.

“How was your date with Taehyung?” You held your breath at the mention of his name and, suddenly, you can feel the density of the atmosphere around you. It was unbelievably quiet and all you can hear is the ticking noises of your noisy kitchen clock.

“I had a good time. If you were curious, we went to that sushi place downtown and there was a gelato shop next door.” His jaw tightens as you reply and he scratches the back of his neck, swallowing at his following inquiry.

“Was it really good enough that you had to reconsider getting back together with him?”

“Yoongi, it was just… a date. Taehyung and I don’t even know what’s going on, so we’re going to take it slow —“

“What the fuck does that mean? Hoseok says you guys fucked last night and, now, you’re taking it slow?” His annoyance was infectious and the knitting of your brows was a sign to Yoongi that you were puzzled with his current stance in your relationship.

“Why does it matter to you, Yoongs? Quite frankly, my dating life is none of your concern. You have your own to cherish and rejoice in. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to puzzle the pieces together.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt again.” He seethes and you scoff at his reason.

“I’ve gotten used to it, alright? I appreciate the concern, but this is my decision to make — not yours or Michelle’s or Hoseok’s — mine.” You take a step closer and you can’t help but savor the scent of his new cologne that Tiffany had recently bought as his Christmas gift. He stays silent as he reads your face, looking you directly in the eye before you swallow hard.

“Can you answer me honestly?”

You nod once and you can feel your heart beating faster, jaw clenching at the anticipation of his question.

“Why are you so hesitant to go back with him? You had sex with him, agreed to go on a date with him — why take things slow? What’s with the reluctance to establish a relationship when you think he’s changed?” The question hit you hard and there was one simple answer to it, but you bit your tongue because it’d complicate everything so much more; Because if you answered honestly at that very moment, everything at that moment would be real.

You were still in love with him.

And the way your eyes remained disconnected from his. Your breath hot as you sighed, releasing all the exasperation in this sticky situation was enough for Yoongi to understand your hesitation.

Nothing had to be said.

Frustrated with the excruciating silence filling the air, Yoongi takes a sharp inhale before instinctively cups your face into his palms and crashes his mouth onto yours. It was unexpected yet almost necessary for a moment like this. Months of pent up anguish, frustration, and desire to feel his mouth on yours, it was finally happening.

His mouth tasted sweet like ice cream. You hated the way you can taste a slight taste of strawberry on his mouth because you knew he had kissed Tiffany and it was her lipgloss that you were tasting. Suddenly, you are overwhelmed with Tiffany.

He wouldn’t kiss Tiffany like this. Unless, you didn’t think he had kiss Tiffany like this. He was kissing you like it was his last dying breath and you despised that he was good at it. You can feel the pace of his breathing when your bodies collide against each other, seeking for more contact than a lust driven kiss.

And you can’t help but inhale the scent of his goddamn cologne. It was intoxicating and you could smell the fabric softener of his clothes rubbing against yours. The callouses on his digits were rough on your cheeks, but there was a tenderness in the way he caressed them. A roughness in the way his other set of digits would tug at the root of your hair but a sense of comfort int he way the pads of his finger massage your scalp.

You were putty in his hands and you savored his mouth.

But it was too overwhelming; the taste of chocolate ice cream now tasted of strawberry lip gloss and the smell of his sandalwood cologne now a coconut infused perfume that littered his shirt.

The palms of your hands landing on his chest as you gently tugged his much bigger frame off of yours. The hold he had on you now gone and you whimpered at the loss of his touch.

“T — Tiffany’s waiting for you.” There is a look of pain and regret painted on your visages and you wiped his taste off of your mouth, hating the fact that you loved the way he tasted. You wanted every fiber of him off of you, avoiding addiction.

“Right.” He cleared his throat as he backed away from your frozen body and he clutches the knob of the door. “YN, please —“

“My… lips are sealed.” You breathe, knowing very well that you two had committed into something that has ultimately ruin someone’s trust and happiness.

“Thanks.” He opens the door and turns around. However, before he leaves, he turns to you and you can see a sense of sadness in his visage. “N — Nothing has changed, hasn’t it?”

The tears began building up in your eyes because you knew perfectly well what he was talking about.

Even six months later, you two were hopelessly in love with each other.

“Not one single bit.”

↪ Please stay tuned for the next part!

#yoongi fic #yoongi x reader #taehyung angst #taehyung x reader #bangtan fic #se 02

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ahtohallan-calling · 5 years ago

Text

chapter 5 of promises to keep is here!

[kristanna / 18th c scotland au / love and angst and kiltstoff in equal measure / rated t / 4k words this chapter]

masterpost

He would find a way. He wouldn’t waste the opportunity he had been given. He’d make a name for himself, earn a reputation as one of the “good ones”, whatever that meant; someone, someday, might take pity on him, shorten his sentence in exchange for work done, and then, at last, he’d go home and beg for her forgiveness.

chapter 5: and another year older

With every strike of the hammer, Kristoff said their names in his mind, over and over. Callum who had befriended him, Anna who had loved him, Lachlan who was the reason he stood now, mostly whole, in the prison’s forge hammering out another set of heavy iron chains, the twin of the set that locked around his ankle and kept him from leaving this room.

He had forged that set himself two weeks ago when the guards had noticed the old one had started rusting. He had seen, too, and allowed himself to pause for only a moment to consider how easy it would be to draw the iron taut and drive the hammer against the weakened links, to make his way down the corridor and find the key to remove the band around his ankle, and then he’d go home to her, running the whole way if he had to, and go away with her like she had wanted, like he should have done in the first place.

And then he had leaned too far on his bad leg to examine it and nearly fallen to his knees; even if he found a suitable walking stick it would be painfully slow-going, and he would be an outlaw, now, one they knew by name, and they would find him and drag him back here and hang him and Anna would be there watching in horror if she was lucky and swinging beside him if she wasn’t.

And so he had turned back to his work and ignored the snorts of laughter when one guard had muttered to another, “They told me the highlanders were stupid, but I didn’t know how bad it was. Poor bastard could have been miles away by now if only he’d bothered to look down.”

—

The weeks leading up to Christmas were harder than the day itself.

Now that the floodgates had been opened, Anna had found herself weeping more days than not throughout the fall, but once the first snows fell and she remembered his old promise, it seemed she could hardly keep her eyes dry long enough to get her daily errands run. Sometimes it came on without warning, without even a thought or sight to trigger it; other days she woke up with her eyelashes already damp and a weight on her chest that made it difficult to drag herself from the bed.

She was determined to make it a festive season for the children’s sake if nothing else, and so she spent the advent season flurrying from house to house helping to hang mistletoe and holly, listening to the children’s little excited chatter and keeping a mental list of which gifts would bring the most delight where. Elsa had long since sold off most of the old furniture in the castle– which was more of a manor, anyway, really, but even still was too big for only two women– and, though she had given the majority of it to those who found themselves utterly adrift after the war, she had set aside a small fund precisely for things like this. And so Anna found herself more than once making the trek to Glenfinnan, coming home with sacks full of ribbons and dolls and oranges and trying not to think of how she had once meant to run away here and not look back.

And she wondered, with every visit, every afternoon spent comforting a widow and every supper spent listening to the same stories, if somewhere Kristoff would be proud of her, if he knew she would do the same for his family if there had been anyone left but her to mourn him.

And that was what she thought about most of all, in the dark depths of night with no sound but the wind whistling through the bare-limbed trees. It had been nearly a year and a half now without him, eighteen months of aching, and she couldn’t stop herself from agonizing over what might have been if he had come home when he’d meant to, if he’d never left at all; even if he had survived the final battle and come home defeated, she would have loved him just the same, would have built a home with him and done all she could to make it a happy one.

On Christmas Eve Elsa excused herself early, leaving Anna to sit alone in a chair before the fire in the parlor. For a long while she simply sat, looking into the depths of the fire and thinking of the flame she had seen burning in the depths of Kristoff’s dark eyes that day she had found him in the blacksmith’s shop and kissed him like she never had any intention of letting go. They would have been married by now, for well over a year if she’d had any say in it. And she would sit beside him, just like this, in front of a fire he had built himself, bellies full with a holiday dinner, and she would say something to amuse him and he would laugh and lean to kiss her cheek, and perhaps it wouldn’t be just the two of them any longer; perhaps she’d be cradling a babe against her breast, one with hair the color of new wheat who looked like his father and laughed like his mother.

Suddenly the ache in her heart was too sharp to bear, and she stood and crossed to the other chair, where Elsa had left a blanket and pillow, and she took them and sat back in her own chair.

If she draped the fabric over her shoulders like so, if she settled the pillow against her chest, if she closed her eyes tight enough and let her mind wander, she could almost imagine how it would feel to have a husband’s arms wrapped tight around her, to have a son slumbering in her embrace, and she knew this was the way to madness, but for one night– one night, perhaps, it would be alright, just to pretend; it was Christmas, after all, and this little sliver of peace might be the only gift she got.

—

“Bastard is going to drink himself to death at this rate,” a voice shouts from down the hall. “What good is it keeping a smith on salary if he’s too drunk to lift a hammer? Fucking useless, I tell you…”

The men around him perk up, curious, but Kristoff doesn’t move. He sits, one leg extended and the other pulled up to his chest, with his head bowed low, focusing only on drawing in one breath at a time.

It had gotten better at first, the pain, and then it had gotten so much worse. He can’t stop looking at it, the way the skin puckers red and angry around the wound. He knows well enough what it means and has resigned himself to the outcome. Perhaps it’s what he deserves, a cruel twist of an ending as repayment for his foolishness; surviving what would have been a merciful death only to die here of a soured wound, conscious til the end of how he has failed the one thing– the one person– that he did all of this for.

The voice comes closer then as its owner kicks ferociously at the bars. “Don’t suppose any of you lot know anything about smithing, do you?” the guard asks, laughing humorlessly.

“Aye,” comes a familiar voice from the opposite side. “I do. I know my nephew over there’s the finest smith in the highlands.”

A snort of laughter is the initial response. “Should have done a better job, then, maybe then your weapons would have done you some good, eh?”

“His did,” Lachlan says again, determined. “Look at him, the great blond bastard. D’you really think farm work built him that way?”

The guard pauses for a moment, considering. “Can you repair links, boy?”

It takes a moment before Kristoff realizes he’s the one being addressed. “Aye.”

“Alright, then,” the guard says with a heavy sigh, and then the door is being swung open, and he’s being yanked to his feet by the collar with a hiss of pain. “Fucking hell, how’s he going to smith for me on that leg, eh?”

“Guess you’ll have to fix him up,” comes the sardonic response.

“Better be worth my time,” the guard mutters. “Can’t believe I’m hiring my next smith on the advice of a condemned man.”

Kristoff dares a glance over his shoulder as he limps out. Lachlan is grinning ear to ear despite the heavy, scabbed line that runs the length of his face. “I may beat you home, laddie,” he calls, “but we’ll get you there soon enough.”

—

January was cruel enough, but February was worse, offering her snatches of sunlight again that shone on the hardened crust of snow that had lingered for weeks with only new ice falling like needles to make the pathways nearly impassable. There was no work to do, no holiday to prepare for, nothing but the biting cold and too-short days and trips to the cliffs when she’d told Elsa she was visiting Bridget.

That was where she was now, her cloak wrapped tight around her shoulders as she huddled against the wind. She was grateful that it wasn’t a crying day, at least; the tears would have frozen before they fell, sealing her lashes together and blinding her.

“If you were here,” she said softly, “you’d be angry, wouldn’t you? Tell me I was bound to get frostbite out here and make me wear your cloak, too, til you got me home.”

Anna did close her eyes then, picturing it, how he’d stomp around for a minute pretending to be cross when really she knew he was frightened, and she’d steal over to him and sneak her hands around his waist and hold him and tell him how sorry she was.

Somehow even her daydreams always circled back to that, to the lead weight of regret that threatened to drag her down into despair. She wasn’t so sure anymore what she believed about heaven and hell and all the rest of it, but it was a comfort, at least, to think that perhaps he was there above her somewhere listening each time she whispered it with no one around to hear but the breeze.

“Anna!” a voice called, and her eyes flew open. What was her sister doing out here?

She rose in a panicked flurry, turning on her heels and fully expecting to see pity in Elsa’s gaze, but instead she saw pure, heart-stopping fear.

“We need you,” Elsa panted. “There’s– there’s soldiers, English ones, we don’t know if they’re trying to cause trouble, or–”

Anna didn’t wait to hear another word. This was a remote village, but word had still gotten to them about the new draconian regulations outlawing the use of their own mother tongue, the wearing of tartan and playing of pipes, anything that set them apart from the English; and worse than that the raids of every nook and cranny of the highlands and lowlands as the army sought to eradicate any last whispers of Jacobite rebellion.

Thank whatever god might be in the heavens, then, that her father had sent her off to an aunt in Yorkshire when she’d been a girl to “finish” her; she wasn’t quite sure that he’d gotten the desired result, but she could at least speak English now, though how rusty she might be she didn’t stop to consider as she caught sight of the red-garbed men and slowed her pace to a leisurely stroll.

“Afternoon, gentlemen,” she said with a deep curtsy, the picture of demure ladyhood. “And welcome. Might I inquire what brings you here?”

The shorter one, a man with a curling mustache, growled, “D’you mean to mock us?”

His partner laughed and put a hand in front of his companion’s chest. “Hold, Arthur. The first time we see a glimpse of civilization in this godforsaken country and you think to insult her?”

Anna kept a sweet, simpering smile on her face, though inside she was already boiling with rage. The second man turned back to her, green eyes glittering as he swept into a bow. “My lady,” he said, mockery underscoring his words, “I do hope you don’t mind giving us a tour of this…what would you call this, Arthur? Do you think it qualifies as a village?”

“Stop playing around, Henry,” Arthur grumbled. “It’s cold as a witch’s teat this far north.”

Henry sighed. “He’s no fun, is he? But I suppose it is best for us to get on with it, don’t you think?”

“With what?” Anna asked, hoping he didn’t notice the tremor in her voice.

“The Duke of Cumberland has sent us to make sure things are running here as they should be. You understand, of course; it’s a favor, really, to put any traitors out of their misery before they try something idiotic again.”

A crowd had gathered around them now, and Anna heard murmurs of dissent. Please, god, she prayed, let them stay quiet. “Of course,” she said with a dip of the head.

Henry gave her a gleaming smile before stepping past her into the nearest home. “Just going to have a look around,” he called as Arthur followed him, gleefully kicking aside chairs and flinging open every door haphazardly.

A cry of indignation rose up behind her, and she spun to see an elderly man pushing his way forward. He opened his mouth to speak, and without thinking she flung a hand over his mouth, silencing him.

“They’re armed, Harris,” she hissed. “And they’ll not hesitate to harm you if they hear you speaking Gàidhlig.”

The man stiffened beneath her hand as he watched his home being ransacked, but after a tense moment he nodded, and she lowered her hand.

She turned back to see Henry smirking, his hands casually resting on his unslung musket. “Problem, my lady?”

“Of course not,” she said sweetly.

They worked so roughly it took barely an hour for them to have torn apart every home in the village, Anna trailing them all the while. Mercifully, the townsfolk had heeded her warnings and found places to hide their heirlooms that the soldiers wouldn’t bother to look.

And of course, she thought dully, they’ll not be finding any former Jacobites here, will they?

With a sigh, Henry stepped closer to her. “Shame I won’t have a reason to come back and visit you, my dear…what was your name, then?”

“Anna,” she said, holding his gaze.

A cruel smile unfurled over his face. “You’re far too pretty and well-mannered to live in this shithole. You’re welcome to come back with us if you’d like. I’d take excellent care of you.”

Hot tendrils of rage curled around her heart. “I’m a married woman, I’m afraid,” she said, raising her left hand to show him the iron band she still wore.

He tipped back his head and laughed. “Are you? Where is he then?”

When she didn’t reply, his smile broadened. “You’re not married anymore if he’s dead,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “If he died like the rest of them, squealing like a stuck hog. Who knows, maybe I’m the one who did it. I hope I was– make this whole thing feel very full circle, wouldn’t it?” he asked, lifting one hand to curl around her cheek.

She didn’t dare to move. She’d come across men like this before, men who were itching for a fight; he’d come here hungry for blood and had found none, and so it had fallen onto her to keep any from being spilled today.

“What do you say?” he asked, drawing closer. “I’ve heard how you barbarians scream in battle– now I’d like to hear how a highland whore screams in my–”

“Annie!” a voice called. “There you are, my love!”

A hand clapped on her shoulder, and she turned, blinking with surprise, to see Ross there, holding Bridget’s son in his arms. “We’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Well, you’ve found me now, haven’t you?” she asked, the words spilling from her tongue automatically. “What is it, then, dear?”

“‘Fraid this wee one’s gone and soiled himself again,” the boy said, wrinkling his nose exaggeratedly. “And I can’t find any clean cloths.”

There was no odor, and in fact the toddler looked quite content, but she pulled back all the same, hearing a huff of irritation from Henry. “How big of a fool do you think I am, then?” he snapped. “To think you’re married to this child?”

Ignoring him, she took the baby in her arms. “There, there, my darling,” she crooned, kissing his forehead. “Mummy’s got you now.”

They walked off then, Anna not daring to look back. Thankfully, Ross did for her. “They’re getting on their horses now,” he whispered urgently. “Do you think they’ll come back?”

“We’ve given them no reason to,” she replied, her shoulders sagging with relief. “Jesus, Ross, you got there just in time.”

“I was watching all the while,” he said, sounding once more like the boy of barely fifteen he truly was. “And I– I saw him touch you, and heard what he was saying, and I suddenly thought about my Da and how brave he was, and how he’d want me to be brave, too, and I sort of looked at Bridget and she…she understood.”

“You were very brave,” Anna said fondly. “And your father would be awfully proud.”

The boy flushed under the praise. “Do you really think so?”

“Aye. I know it.”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Others might come, you know. To make sure we’re…adjusting. To how they want us to live. Do you…do you think you might teach me to speak their tongue, too? In case next time you’re not around?”

For a moment she froze, and he frowned, worried. “Did I offend you, Miss Anna? If it’s too much trouble, I–”

“No, no, not at all,” she said quickly, a smile blooming over her face. Here it was, then, at last, the next right thing, a step she could take to helping them all recover and– as much as it pained her to think of it– move on. “We’ll start this afternoon.”

—

Kristoff knew it was nearing summer again by the stench that wafted through the bars over the window even he wasn’t tall enough to see out of. He had his own cell now, and had had it ever since he’d made a new knife for the warden. The man had watched him closely the whole time, making sure he didn’t try to turn the weapon against any of the guards, and when it had been presented to him, even and perfect and solid as all the yards and yards of iron chains Kristoff had forged over the last few months, he had nodded in satisfaction. “Take him out of that shithole of a cell,” he had instructed, and as Kristoff had left it for the last time he’d heard his fellow former soldiers whisper that’s a lad and well done, you.

He’d expected them to be angry for him; they knew full well who’d been making the heavy leashes that chafed at their limbs and kept them tied to the cold stone. And some had been resentful, at first, but as the months wore on and they’d seen he wore his own handiwork, they had softened towards him, enough to tell them of their own families and sweethearts back home.

He never told them about Anna, but they knew, all the same, from the look in his eyes, the determination in his shoulders as he limped heavily down the hall every afternoon.

He missed it sometimes, the companionship, though it was an improvement not to piss in the same corner as five other men and share mouldering piles of hay and crusts of black bread and always those blasted fleas. It felt like an unearned grace to sit now in a cell alone, no longer even chained unless he was being brought to the forge– and to know that tucked behind a loose stone was a tiny pile of coin, given to him by men who had seen the warden’s dagger and wanted favors of their own. It meant he had to work harder than usual on whatever work the guards gave him that day, knowing that if he took any longer than normal it’d be the whip for him and back to the underground cells, but he didn’t mind the exhaustion, not really, not when it made falling into sleep that much easier.

The door to the hall opened, and he rose to his feet, reaching for the cane one guard, inspired to pity over Easter a month before, had brought him. It was too small for him, really, but it was better than leaning on the wall and dragging his ruined leg behind him when it gave out after only a few yards of walking.

“Here we are, then,” the warden said, unlocking the door and stepping aside.

Kristoff frowned. “I did not think there was more to be done,” he said, grateful that years ago Anna had taught him the foundations of this unfamiliar tongue.

“There always is, isn’t there?” the man said gruffly. “But now they’ve gone and decided I can’t make use of you any more. Damn shame, I’ll tell you that. What you did for free was twice as good as what that old bastard Whitby used to do for a shilling a day.”

“What?” Kristoff asked, not understanding.

“You’re free. Full pardon. All of you fucking traitors. Not my idea, mind, so don’t go thinking I’ve gone soft.”

Kristoff still didn’t move, and the man growled in irritation. “I knew you fucking highlanders were stupid, but this–”

“I can go home?” he interrupted, his heart picking up speed. “I can leave?”

“If you don’t hurry up and do it,” the warden snapped, “I’ll arrest you for wasting my goddamn time. Get out.”

He didn’t wait to be told again.

—

On the first day of the third act of her life, Anna was kneeling in the garden, weeding

around the cabbage plants, when a little girl came running up to her, calling her name.

“What is it, Addie darling?” she asked, brushing her hands off against her skirts and turning to the child with a smile.

“There’s a stranger here, Miss Anna,” the girl said anxiously, “and he said he won’t talk to anyone but you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Was he armed?” “No, Miss, he just has an empty pack and a walking stick. He just walked right in to the blacksmith’s shop. Is he going to hurt us?” she asked, wide-eyed.

Without waiting for another word, Anna was off and running, her heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst. “Please, God,” she begged aloud as she made her way through the streets, “please let it be true.”

It couldn’t be; it had been so long, two years now as of last week, she couldn’t even remember the sound of his voice sometimes unless she sat very still by the sea, and even then, even then–

She burst through the half-open door, panting, and her first thought was it’s not him, grief sweeping through her all over again; the man seated before her was too thin, his hair too long, his shoulders curling inward and hands trembling.

Then he raised his head to look at her, and though there were shadows like she’d never seen before under them, those were his eyes, and he was looking at her as if she were a ghost when he was the one who had died.

Somehow she made it over to him without her knees giving out, though she was shaking from head to toe, and it wasn’t until she settled her hands on his shoulders that she could believe that he was really there, that it wasn’t a dream. “Is it you?” she whispered anyway, needing to hear it before she could believe it.

“Anna,” he said, and though his voice was hoarse she would have known the sound of it anywhere, no matter how vast and empty the chasm of time that had stretched between them, and she let out a sob and collapsed against him, burying her face in his shoulder.

He caught her just in time, his arms not as broad as they once were around her waist, but warm and solid and there all the same. “You came home,” she choked out, her fingers tightening in the worn fabric of his ragged shirt.

“I promised,” he said, his voice so soft she wouldn’t have been able to hear him if he hadn’t turned to brush his lips against her temple. “I promised I would.”

#OKAY THE BAD STUFF ISN'T OVER BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE #ptk #my fics

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zecretsanta · 5 years ago

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Fic: Not Quite Santa

To: @agentshilonglang From: @erisofimladris

Soooo I couldn’t resist the Kurashiki angst and my first-ever Christmas story happened! I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I loved writing it, and Merry Christmas!

AO3 link

For the first time since their parents died, Aoi Kurashiki didn’t know how to be Santa.

It had always been easy. Akane would write a letter to Santa, Aoi would swipe it from the mailbox, and there would be something on there that he could afford, even if it wasn’t what she necessarily wanted most - even with her huge imagination and love of the unreal, she also understood that they were poor.

And now they weren’t poor, or at least they wouldn’t be for long now that Akane knew how to get the money necessary to run that game again, which meant there was theoretically more of an opportunity for gifting. But Aoi couldn’t think of anything at all.

Whenever he tried to think of Christmas, all his mind returned to was the story Akane told him he’d say in the future, the one about the two Santas - the white-robed Santa killing the one in black, the black-robed Santa’s blood staining the coat a jolly red.

It gave a whole new meaning to the holiday, and after all, he was celebrating with a new Akane. In the last month, he’d barely recognized the Akane who he grew up with who believed in everything and everyone. Now, she only believed in a thin thread tying them to the future where every little thing they did for the next nine years could make her live or die. Everything from the setup of Building Q in Nevada to getting to Nevada to his acting skills and her hair bound in a pair of hair clips, not quite stars and not quite flowers, with little circles on the ends.

No matter how hard he wished for the old Akane back, for them to both live their lives without ever knowing something called a Nonary Game existed, Aoi didn’t believe in any kind of Santa. It was hard enough to believe that his sister stood in front of him alive (well, mostly) after what happened last month.

She hadn’t left a letter for Santa this year, and it wasn’t like what some of the other kids in school said when their little brothers and sisters figured out Santa wasn’t real. Aoi had no doubt that if not for what happened on the Gigantic last month, there would be a letter waiting for him, asking for a stuffed animal or a dollhouse or a pet.

The dollhouse wouldn’t have been a bad idea before the Gigantic, but now Akane was so attached to the doll Junpei gave her that she hardly let it out of her sight. Not to mention it was a creepy little thing that definitely didn’t belong in a cutesy dollhouse - just like all the babble about morphogenetic fields didn’t belong spewing out of the mouth of his little sister.

Pets were off the table as well, now that they’d need to move around. There was no good way to keep a pet if they might need to move to a different continent in the blink of an eye; they were technically still on the run from Hongou and his goons at Cradle Pharmaceuticals, and the last thing they needed was a snafu at customs or something else to part Akane from another thing she’d get attached to.

Without any further guidance, Aoi was lost. He didn’t know how to do Christmas without letters to Santa and presents under a tree.

And so, he didn’t get a tree. Akane never mentioned it, and neither of them pointed out the spot in the small apartment where they were staying that would be perfect for a well-decorated tree. He wasn’t sure he could even get her help in decorating, and they didn’t need a bare pine tree in the living room to remind them of yet another thing that had been ruined.

After a few days of hearing Christmas carols in the streets and garlands strung over shop windows, however, Aoi felt something missing. They had to do something for Christmas; they couldn’t let this be something else Hongou took away. Even without a tree, even without Santa, there had to be something he could do to commemorate the holiday.

He found himself in an American store one day after school, looking for something Christmas-y that wouldn’t bring up any old memories. A bit of an escape from all that had happened, something to lighten the mood of an apartment that felt more like a funeral home than an actual home some days.

In one of the aisles close to the end, he found something he’d seen, but never bought before - a gingerbread house kit with pre-cut pieces (no need to use the oven, the idea of which scared Akane for good reason), two gingerbread people and icing and candy to decorate. None of his friends ever had gingerbread houses before, and after their parents died and money was tight, it was hard enough to afford a small tree and Akane’s present without buying extras. Now, though, they didn’t have to worry about money. It would be no problem.

The kit sat unopened on their one and only table for a few days. Aoi wondered if Akane would even be interested until he found her sitting at the table on Christmas Eve, legs crossed, brow furrowed, trying to affix the roof to the walls with white frosting.

Aoi didn’t say a word. He just got a little closer, then closer still, until he could reach the walls. He gingerly put his hands on them, startling her into looking up and meeting his eyes. She lost her grip on the left roof tile, which fell in a sticky mess on the table.

“It’s okay,” Aoi said, picking it up and applying a new line of white frosting. “Here, you get this end, and I’ll get that end.” Prepared to hold both on his own, he was surprised when Akane leaned in, holding the slabs of gingerbread together.

They stayed in silence, not meeting each other’s eyes until more than the necessary time had passed and Aoi gingerly removed his hands. The roof stayed, and Akane’s hand pulled the rest of the kit closer in. She picked up one of the two gingerbread people and the white icing they’d used to make the roof stick together and drew some jagged lines (impressively straight, considering her dexterity still wasn’t what it had been before) on the head.

“Is that me?” Aoi asked.

“Yeah,” she said, the first sound he’d heard from her all day. That wasn’t like her, but after their fight the other day about forgetting and remembering and moving on, he’d almost forgotten the sound of her voice not angry.

“Want me to make you, or…?” His words trailed off as she put down the white icing and picked up the black, drawing a vague outline of pants on the cookie’s legs.

“You can start the sides,” she said, gesturing to the white icing and the assortment of colorful candies still on the tray.

Turning his attention away from the people, although he did notice Akane giving him a tank-top of sorts that he’d never wear, he looked down at the picture on the box. He noted the white windows drawn in and the small candy doorknob and the lane of candy running into the door. Without any further guidance, he tried to mimic the picture as best as he could, but the windows came out a little crooked and the door snapped just a tiny bit as he opened it, and he popped the snapped-off bit into his mouth before Akane could notice.

He tried to peek at Akane’s work along the way, but she hid the gingerbread people so well as she hunched over them that he simply worked on the rest of the house until it was time for him to put something together for dinner and try to get her to eat. He looked over at her a few times as he cooked, realizing that as she put the figures down and started to touch up his work on the house itself, the corners of her mouth twitched like she might smile.

Dinner was, as usual, a desolate affair; although there was finally enough food for both of them to eat, most of his time was spent trying to convince Akane to actually put food in her mouth. Whatever he ate didn’t taste good; he could barely even remember what they’d eaten as he did the dishes and Akane returned to her gingerbread project. She leaned over it so closely that he didn’t try to approach again, instead retreating to his room, frustrated.

Part of him wanted to run back in there and try to clarify what he’d meant in their argument the other day, that he knew she needed to remember and speak about every detail to stay alive, but he needed a life where the Nonary Game wasn’t the only thing in the world. The tension of it all ran hot under his skin, but he didn’t need her reminder that something was boiling inside her as well.

Aoi sighed. He was supposed to be the big brother, and he was the one who would have to do everything he could to help Akane. She was still a kid – hell, two months ago, she’d have still sent a letter to Santa even though she was almost a teenager. Now if only Santa would write to her instead, if only he could use that to explain…

Sliding into his chair, Aoi grabbed a piece of paper. Even if it didn’t help, it couldn’t hurt.

“Dear Akane,

I’m sorry,” he began, aware that he’d apologized to her so many times for things he hadn’t done over the last couple of weeks that it was starting to annoy her, “that you’ve had such a hard year. You are very good, no matter what anyone says.”

It felt so trite that he nearly tore the note in half, but it wasn’t like he could think of anything better.

“I didn’t receive a list from you this year, and the things you want cannot come true right now.” They would be real in Building Q in nine years, on the day that silly boy from her class who gave her the doll that got her killed in the first place would save her life. “It is beyond my magic to move the time closer.”

He sighed, pushing the paper away. It was almost too late to do anything at all, and it wasn’t a proper Santa’s letter without a gift. Exasperated, he got up and shuffled into the hallway and then to the living room, where he found the completed gingerbread house sat with the Akane and Aoi gingerbread figures standing outside by the door, with no sign of his sister.

Now that he had the chance to get a good look at the gingerbread Akane, he could see that she had drawn the outfit she described to him that she would wear in Building Q. It seemed overwhelming for her to get out all at once, but she did describe the purple dress with the black pattern (looking more like blobs of icing here, but still), the striped socks and brown boots, the stripes on the sleeves and there was even a little red and blue spot on the wrist that was probably supposed to be the watch (Aoi rubbed his wrist; he could still feel his sometimes). In her hair, there was a little pin that wasn’t quite a star or a flower.

A sudden pang of guilt swept over Aoi. He tried to get Akane to think about things other than what had happened, but he probably took it too far. She did need to get things out, after all, and he was supposed to be there to listen to her. He was supposed to be a lot of things, he thought angrily as he looked down at the cookie that could crumble as easily as his sister’s life.

Suddenly, an idea came into his head. A way to show Akane that he was listening to her, that he’d seen and understood that in nine years he was going to wear a silly-looking tank-top and black pants and she was going to wear the dress with a shirt under it for some reason even though she hated being too warm and couldn’t get cold nowadays, and the whole rest of the outfit that made no sense.

Aoi hurried out into the cold, hoping the nearest convenience store wasn’t closed. They were in this thing together, no matter what. And while there was no letter from Santa telling Aoi what Akane wanted, he knew exactly what she needed.

When he got back, present in tow, he rummaged through his papers until he found the note, then added a final line: “In the meantime, I hope this helps. - Santa” He set it under the gingerbread house, slipped the present through the hole in the door, and went to sleep.

Unlike in previous years, he wasn’t awakened at the crack of dawn by a squealing sister. The sun was in the sky already and he could smell the gingerbread house as he rolled out of bed. Belatedly, he realized there was no tradition for finding presents by the gingerbread house. Would she even know it was there?

He made his way into the kitchen, slippers sliding along the floor. There were no squeals of happiness, no clatter of excited footsteps. Akane sat at the table facing the gingerbread house, the little door open, her hand inside before she pulled his present out into the light.

In her hand lay a pair of hair clips, not quite stars and not quite flowers, with little circles on the ends.

She turned around, meeting Aoi’s eyes as he stood in the hallway. He was frozen silent, unsure of what to say. Had he done the right thing? The wrong thing? The kind of thing that would make her live in her own world again until he could pry her out?

A small smile spread across her face as she looked at the hair clips. “Merry Christmas, Santa,” she said, and for the first time in a month, she sounded like herself.

“Merry Christmas,” he replied, finally stepping into the room, warmed by the thought that he might be able to pull off the good Santa from her story, after all.

#zero escape #9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors #agentshilonglang #erisofimladris #zecret santa 2019 #submission

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thelightofthebane · 5 years ago

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To be or not to be cursed

Summary: “You broke up with me, but in the end, you are going to come back to me. Because I’m the only one who can love you, darling.”

He wanted to throw up. Even a pure word like love sounded painful coming from Camille. He felt so dizzy, he barely noticed when she finally left him alone.

Always alone.

Pairing: Magnus Bane/Alexander Lightwood

Tags: Alternate Universe, Human AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Prom, past toxic relationship, Alec doesn't give a shit about Camille, Alec is a tactician, Izzy and Jace are the best siblings, Emotionally Hurt Magnus Bane, Angst with a Happy Ending

I hope you like this and it makes you smile, @magnuslightwoodalecbane

You can also read here: ao3

_______________________________________

Magnus was proud of himself. The gym was so beautifully arranged, it certainly would be the most amazing prom NY Institute High has ever had. Being in the Student Council had its perks, one of them claiming beforehand the leadership of the Party Organization Committee. Alongside Maia, Lily, Clary, Simon, and Meliorn, they arranged the entire gym with all the beautiful flowers, colorful lights, pictures, masks. The playlist was carefully created and the food and drinks picked with the utmost delight.

The entire school only talked about the prom and everyone was excited. Teenagers rushed every day to invite partners with the hopes of getting the best date. This was something Magnus was pretty looking forward to. He was popular, had the good graces of most of the students and professors. Even other school’s staff members adored Magnus Bane.

However, until the prom eve, nobody asked him to be their date.

To say he was disappointed was an understatement.

Two days before, he even dared to take matters into his hands and bolded asked a boy from another class. He was rejected.

Then, he tried a girl from another year and got the same answer. Sometimes, when he turned and just looked at someone, they would run away.

He felt cursed.

“Why, darling? Having problems to get a date?” A feminine voice called and he trembled, feeling something terrible crawl under his skin. Camille.

“What do you want?” He growled, forcing himself to look at her. The same vicious lip-tint smile, predator eyes and six-inch heels that only existed to step onto someone.

She smiled dangerously and approached her ex-boyfriend, resting a well-manicured hand on his face. Magnus slapped it, backing slightly to keep a safe distance.

“Poor little thing,” her smirk only grew, unbashful, toxic. “I told you once. Nobody would ever date you. Bang you? Perhaps, you are a good sex toy. But date you? You are too much for anyone, Magnus Bane.”

Magnus clenched his jaw, using each drop of self-restraint to not show how her words still hurt him. He was almost sure he wasn’t doing a good job.

“You broke up with me, but in the end, you are going to come back to me. Because I’m the only one who can love you, darling.”

He wanted to throw up. Even a pure word like love sounded painful coming from Camille. He felt so dizzy, he barely noticed when she finally left him alone.

Always alone.

~*~

Soon, he found out the problem thanks to his best friends, Catarina and Ragnor. Camille threated the entire school – whoever tried to go to the prom with Magnus would know hell. Being one of the most popular of the school and coming from a very rich and influential family, nobody dared to go against her. There was a rumor that one freshman even went to the hospital after a mysterious food poison.

Sighing hopelessly, Magnus accepted that he would have to go alone to his last high school party.

Or not.

On the day of said party, before going home to take a bath and prepare himself, he went to the Student Council classroom to put back some props, when something caught his eyes. On the desk he usually used during meetings, there were a small jasmine flower and a card.

- Wanna be my date? Wait for me at 8PM?

A. L. -

Magnus’ hands trembled so much, the card fell. His head automatically snapped towards the main desk in the room. The desk of the tall, dark and handsome Council’s president. Alexander Lightwood.

For a long time, Magnus had a big crush on him, even attempted some flirtation, but he always thought it was unilateral. Moreover, he was sure Alec didn’t like parties, and a few days ago overheard him telling his brother Jace he wasn’t interested in the prom. Then… Why?

Maybe it was a prank? But… that calligraphy… it was Alexander’s.

He breathed deeply. Well, just one way to know.

~*~

At 8pm, his doorbell ringed. Slightly apprehensive, Magnus – who was already ready with a burgundy tuxedo, hair stylized with gold strikes and the most gorgeous combination of eyeliner and gold eye shadow – opened the front door.

For his surprise, and blissfully happiness, it was indeed Alexander. He was wearing a dark suit with a navy blue bowtie and was carrying a jasmine bouquet.

“Wow,” his jaw dropped a little bit as soon as he scanned Magnus from head to toe, and Magnus giggled, happier than before. “Er… I… You… This… You… For…” He babbled, confused, not knowing if he looked at Magnus or extended the bouquet for him.

Magnus decided to save the poor boy and took the bouquet. “Thank you, darling. They are beautiful, just like you.” He winked to Alec, not missing the shy smile with a glinting of something more in those mesmerizing hazel eyes.

“Yeah, hm. Let’s go, then?” Alec waved towards his car and Magnus nodded, feeling his heart becoming fuller by the minute.

~*~

“So, didn’t you hear about Camille’s threat or Alexander Lightwood is a man of dangerous adventures?” Magnus broke the comforting silence inside the car while Alec drove to their school.

“Eh… I heard about it, and I don’t really care about her. I have more important things to worry about than her pettiness.”

“Like what?”

“Your happiness,” Alec said without wasting any second, as if the answer was too obvious, an unbreakable truth.

Magnus Bane wasn’t one to blush, but he definitely felt his cheeks hotter than usual. His heart thumped so loud inside his chest, he almost asked Alec to turn on the radio to avoid being heard, if that was possible.

“I thought you didn’t like parties and wasn’t going to this one.”

“Yeah, I mean. My siblings would have dragged me anyway. I wanted to invite you as my date, but I figured out you would have a long queue of suitors waiting to go with you, and then I wouldn’t have the slightest chance. When I heard nobody had asked you, I thought it was some kind of lucky or someone above telling me I could have a chance after all. I took the opportunity and here we are.” Alec smiled so widely now, Magnus felt his heart would certainly break his ribs.

“Also,” he continued, unwavering. “Camille can’t hurt me. We just have a couple of months before finishing high school, and then everyone will go their separate ways. If I get lucky, I will be on the other side of the United States and she won’t get near me.”

“Oh, what university did you choose?”

~*~

When they arrived at NY Institute High, they were already immersed in a pleasuring conversation. Even if they’ve already known each other a bit thanks to the weekly Student Council meetings, they never had the chance to talk alone and to get to know the other better. They find out they shared a lot of common likings, even if their lifestyles were so different. They had a similar sense of humor and wits, and the best part: they applied to the same university.

Everything seemed perfect and both were smiling and laughing at the time they entered the gym, where the music was already playing and people were chatting and dancing.

Until a bucket with water and a lot of ice fell from above directly onto Alec. The music paused and a heavy silence filled the space.

Alec shivered from the cold and even coughed a bit. Magnus panicked, not knowing what to do first, but soon got himself together and took his handkerchief to at least dry Alec’s face.

“Well, well, well. What a pleasure. It seems we got your type, Magnus. A wet boy ready to be touched by you.” Camille teased, approaching them with a sly smile. Magnus glared at her but said nothing.

“You really are despicable,” Alec said instead, then turned to Magnus. “I’ll be back.”

And he was gone.

~*~

After the little show Camille presented, everyone resumed their own things. The music started again and the chats got louder. Magnus drank four entire glasses of fruit punch – which he was slightly sure someone had already dropped alcohol there – and sighed, upset. That was it. Alexander wasn’t going to come back and he lost him for good.

Damn Camille and her nightmarish existence.

He was really cursed.

“Hey.” A gentle voice called him, but the surprise almost made him drop his now empty glass. It was Alexander. He came back. “Sorry for taking so long. I had a problem with one of the buttons.” He frowned, wrinkling his nose. He was wearing a dark green button-up shirt and dark jeans, his hair a little bit damped. Still gorgeous. Very, very gorgeous.

“No, that’s… That’s okay.” I’m just happy you didn’t leave. Magnus thought, biting his lower lip. “But how…” He waved towards the new clothes, and Alec playfully grinned.

“Earlier, I brought this and put inside my locket. When I heard about Camille’s threat, my siblings and I sat for a whole hour discussing what she could probably do against me. Izzy suggested something with water and prompted me to leave here some spare clothes, just to be sure. That was the only suit I had, but if you’re okay having me like this, I’m okay too.”

“I’m more than okay.” Magnus grinned too, almost not believing in the existence of such a man. He prepared backup plans for Camille’s attack. What he did to deserve such a wonderful date?

“Right, c’mon then.” He offered his hand to Magnus and then guided him to the dance floor.

~*~

Camille tried some things to blow up Magnus and Alec’s night. Some of the things included hurting them physically and even trying to humiliate Alec, outing his sexuality for the entire school. Not that it was a secret, but he never went out there saying ‘Hello, I’m Alec and I’m gay.’ Only his friends knew it, and now all the school knew it. Each attempt against Alec made Magnus angrier at Camille and extremely worried that Alec would snap and think Magnus wasn’t worth all of that. After all, he was too much, right?

However, each time Alec would reassure him it was alright and he wasn’t going anywhere.

When the king and the queen of the night were announced, and to nobody’s surprise Camille being the queen, Magnus tried to pull Alec to outside so they wouldn’t have to watch that horror show. Alec, however, stopped Magnus and signaled for them to stay and watch the coronation.

As soon as the crown was put on Camille’s head, an almost imperceptible powder fell on her and she started to scratch all over her body. All the students started to laugh while she screamed and cursed everyone.

“You know… Izzy is still in the first year, but she wants to go to Med school and become a pathologist. One of her favorite hobbies is messing with some substances. Have I told you how she has a big pot of itching powder? I miiiight have entertained her the idea of using a little bit tonight.” Alec pretended to see something very interesting on the ceiling, trying not to laugh. “She even said that I am the best big brother in the world for letting her. Jace was really pissed.”

At that, Magnus laughed.

~*~

The prom wasn’t perfect as Magnus had expected with so many disastrous things happening, but somehow it was everything he needed. People had fun, so that’s that. Camille didn’t bother them for the rest of the night, but being part of the Party Organization Committee, he still had some responsibilities to supervise.

In the end, when everyone went home, the music stopped and the lights were all on, dissipating the prom’s magic, he still lingered a little bit behind to make sure there weren’t any major problems. The next day he would have to deal with the cleaning, but this was another issue and he didn’t want to think about that now. Not when his date was still there with him, checking something on his phone while waiting for Magnus.

“Everything is in order, Mr. President. We can go home now.” Magnus smiled sweetly, approaching Alec. He was gifted with another beaming smile from him, and for a moment Magnus thought his knees would finally give out.

“Actually, there is still one last thing we should do.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Alec didn’t waste time and after grabbing Magnus’ hand, pulled him towards the gym’s center.

“Would you give me the pleasure of one last dance, Mr. Bane?”

There wasn’t any music anymore, but they didn’t need one.

“Of course, Mr. President.” Magnus didn’t think twice and both engaged in a slow and sweet dance, the closest from each other as their bodies would let them.

Magnus didn’t know if it was possible to get happier. And maybe, maybe, fall a bit more in love with his tall and gorgeous date.

He also didn’t know how much time passed, but one minute their bodies were pressed, and in another, their lips were pressed.

They kissed tenderly.

Wistfully.

Hotly.

Desperately.

Magnus thought that yes, it was possible to fall more in love.

And that he wasn’t cursed after all.

#shadowhunters #alexander lightwood #magnus bane #malec #human AU #my writing #a gift for magnuslightwoodalecbane #To be or not to be cursed

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dfcfanfics · 5 years ago

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Looking Back At 2019

Greetings! Your sixth-favorite old man who churns out Miraculous fanfics is back again, casting his eyes on the year-about-to-end and what came of it.

Throwing my ramblings behind a cut, for the benefit of those who are less than fanatical about them.

Okay! Still here? Great.

Stories that I wrote in 2019 included:

Longfics:

Let’s Take It From The Top: The conclusion to this one arrived in January. This was a long-running alternate universe story, the longest I had written at that time, rebooting the Miracuverse with two alterations:

1) Gabriel brought the Cat and Moth, not the Peacock and Moth home from Tibet.

2) Gabriel was willing to listen to Nooroo’s pleas to not use his powers selfishly.

That simple starting point cascaded into a very long chain of surprises and reinventions of familiar Miraculous events. Old faces with new Akuma identities, including a new one (Firefly) for Marinette before she ever becomes Ladybug! A Wish gone awry that eventually threatens all of France -- and perhaps more. Good Gabriel exploring the possibilities of Nooroo’s powers while attempting to save his son. The eventual emptying of the Miracle Box in an all-out showdown. Adrien in pink sweatpants. The answer to what happened to Atlantis. And my very first piece of fanart received ever, from the incomparable @yunyin.

It’s a lesser-loved piece of mine, but I think there’s some very solid writing in it, so if you skipped over it I’d encourage you to check it out.

Someone To Watch Over Me: My labor of love. This was inspired by absolutely perfect Ladrien concept art from @buggachat, which I will never hesitate to link. I fell in love with it, considered how I would work it into a longer Ladrien idea that was bubbling in my brain, and reached out to @buggachat with a first-chapter draft. She gave me the go-ahead to continue with it, and I hope she likes what I did to her poor characters along the way. ;)

Adrien’s attempted Akumatization and Ladybug’s last-second rescue leads to far more than either of them bargained for. Marinette reaches out to Adrien with comfort and affection in both of her identities -- and finds Adrien responding to both in kind, as much as he is capable of in his somewhat emotionally numb state. Slowly, she cracks his shell and a Ladrienette triangle forms. Though obviously Marinette would be fine with being Adrien’s girl in either identity... he doesn’t know that, and the slow burn to full-on romance is quite the ride.

All the while, Gabriel is watching his son closely, as his master plan requires someone with emotional ties to Emilie to be Akumatized and Adrien is his last-hope selection. He watches the evolving relationships, ready to pick off whichever one ends up broken-hearted when Adrien makes a choice and the triangle collapses... and is curious when that doesn’t seem to happen. A dinner party at Marinette’s proves memorable, followed by one at Adrien’s that proves... life-changing for all.

24 chapters, 230k words, my longest chapter ever, an Adrien moment that startled many readers in a very good way, and many other delights.

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time...: This one wasn’t supposed to be a longfic. It started out in my mind as a wacky farce, responding to how Heart Hunter / Miracle Queen ended and examining where the Adrigaminette triangle might go. But the more I wrote at the beginning, the more I started digging into the emotional possibilities and felt like, well, this could actually go places.

This picks up with Marinette overwhelmed, hiding out in her room. The blossoming relationship between Kagami and Adrien, the new responsibilities of Guardianhood, knowing what happened to Master Fu, and many other questions are screaming inside her skull and she is out of answers. A ring of her doorbell shatters everything, though, as it reveals a sobbing Kagami; in this version, he tries being her boyfriend but abruptly cuts it off, admitting that he loves someone else. And we all know who that someone else is... and now Ladybug knows that, too.

And our heroine... snaps.

12 chapters so far, a deliberate experiment in writing shorter chapters (each one is under 5k) that has been... well, challenging to both myself and my readers. The response has been good and it is nearly complete; I’m thinking maybe four more chapters unless something changes.

Not-so-longfics:

Two Hearts That Wax And Wane: The first of a small handful of response fics to Puppeteer 2, specifically the car scene near the end, which I found to be one of the definitive moments of the entire Season 3. It certainly created veritable oceans of salt on Tumblr, so I decided to try to make something sweeter out of it.

Marinette has heard “the girl that I love” from Adrien’s lips... and it certainly wasn’t referring to her, at least as far as she knows. So... now what? Adrien isn’t sure what Marinette’s reaction meant, but he knows that he screwed up somehow, and that he needs to make things right with her or potentially lose a very precious friend. And so four chapters follow, one from each Love Square side’s perspective (Adrienette, Marichat, Ladrien, Ladynoir in order).

Angst segueing into fluff, as is my usual formula.

Full Stamen Ahead: A five-parter that makes an utter shambles of the French education system. (If you’re sensitive to Americanizations, this is not the fic for you, unless acres of fluff serve as a sufficient antidote.)

The school is promoting a Carnation Day, in which white, pink or red carnations are delivered to students for a nominal fee. Marinette decides that she’s finally going to confess her feelings, but an interruption by Chloe disrupts her red-carnation attempt. Seeing an opportunity, Chloe responds with a nasty plan of her own... and chaos soon reigns.

Five short chapters of high school antics, detective work and flower petals.

Just One More Minute...: Another fic inspired by Tumblr art, this one by Ladybeug. After five hours of fighting an Akuma, our heroes tumble together to a rooftop, unable to move another inch. They’re about to detransform, and they know it. But... surely... they could rest for just a moment before they act, couldn’t they?

One-shot.

Playing A Familiar Chord: Puppeteer 2 response fic number two, this one from a Lukanette perspective. After hearing what she did in the car, Marinette returned home feeling completely disheartened. Who might be out there that she could turn to, talk to, call on the phone and get a male perspective on about what just happened? Who could be her Big Brother today, even though they both know that he’d like to be more than that?

One-shot. Fluff, comfort, and a Luka who’s smitten but remains assertive as well.

After the Storm Breaks: Heart Hunter/Miracle Queen response fic, examining what might come next. A short time after the finales, Adrigami is fully enabled... as is Lukanette. A party that Adrien, Kagami and Marinette all attend becomes awkward, so Adrien calls Marinette to make sure that they’re still on good terms... and a lot of unexpected truth comes out.

One-shot. Fluff, comfort and friendship. Exploring a far stronger Adrienette forming even while they’re each dating other people.

A Little Promise I’d Made Myself: A super-fluffy one-shot. It’s a New Year’s Eve party at Rose’s house, and while Adrien is having a good time, he notices that Marinette is sitting off by herself. So he joins her, and as the countdown to midnight approaches, Marinette wonders if she has it in her to give him a real New Year’s kiss...

Crack and Silliness:

Assorted bits of insanity, response fics and stuff that popped into my head.

The Logical Conclusion: Ladybug examines why all the Akumas center around one particular classroom... and presents Chat Noir with her theory as to whom Hawkmoth must be.

Reservoir Kwamis: Quentin Tarantino’s film Reservoir Dogs from a Miracuverse perspective. Maybe three people will enjoy this.

Getting Things Backwards: Backwarder response crackfic. Adrien opens Marinette’s “love letter”... which is actually Fu’s constipation medicine prescription... and interprets it in a very different way.

First Times Are Always Awkward: On Ladybug and Chat Noir’s first outing against Stoneheart, Tikki is not fully aware of modern technology... like cell phone cameras. So that “Kwamis cannot be photographed or recorded” extends to their magic as well -- like certain costumes. Alya ends up with quite an eyeful when she watches the footage she captured...

Communication Breakdown: In an emergency, Plagg needs someone else to accept his power, don the ring and be a hero. He’s in a room with someone who is able and willing. But when it comes to saying “Claws out” aloud, there’s one little problem...

Busted, Said The Kwami: Kwami Buster response crackfic. Adrien finds himself dreaming of a midnight visit by Ladybug, who becomes Multimouse, who acts... unusually. This is not Plagg’s first rodeo with size-changing heroine fantasies, though.

Nooroo Uses A Swear Word: He sure does.

Options Include...: A response to an Instagram post by Adrien. Marinette sees Adrien admiring Nino and Alya’s relationship, and pining for one of his own, and reacts...

Leave Some Stones Unturned: Wayzz and Marinette investigate Master Fu’s studio, as Wayzz is aware of many secrets hidden away there in Fu’s absence. They find a pair of Kwamis who are not from the Chinese set, and whose concepts and personalities startle Marinette greatly... (Little Feat fans will appreciate this one.)

If you’ve reached this note, I thank you regardless of whether you’ve actually read my stuff or not. :)

I thought Season 3 had a lot of interesting components and a lot of very flawed execution, both in where it chose to take the characters and the usual nightmares involving episode ordering and character consistency. I sincerely hope that the hiatus before S4 will allow Team Astruc to present a more coherent and consistent approach in 2020.

Tumblr salt of You’re Not Writing The Story How I Want You To! and My Ship Must Sail NOW! will continue, obviously. That’s life. But Tumblr salt picking apart writing choices and characterization in what they actually put out there... that I can get behind. The Marinette Defense Squad remains vigilant. My hat is tipped to the many Tumblr folk who approach these episodes with a critical but supportive eye; recognizing what’s good, pointing out what’s not and wanting what emerges to be great.

Best wishes to all in the new year, particularly @brittsarts, my tireless artist friend still plugging away at the comic-ization of Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright and doing fantastic work at that as time and energy allow.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #fanfic #rambling #old man reviews where all his free time went

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thephantomofthe-internet · 6 years ago

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Stupid Cupid

Steve Harrington x Reader

Author’s Note: So, two important things to note here: one, this is for @moonstruckhargrove‘s 1k Challenge, which ended two days ago I know. Two, in regards for this being late, I have a reason! I started some fucking angst with both Billy AND Steve and it...fine. And then I just hated it and it was over 6k and I just had to scrape it all. So now we have some fluff and longing, which I’ve probably written five times and is probably boring. BUT when I say I’ll do something, I do, so enjoy I guess

Tag List: @hargrovesgoldilocks @moonstruckhargrove @casaharrington @denimjacketkisses @lilmissperfectlyimperfect @thechickvic @alex--awesome--22 @so-not-hotmess

Word Count: 2,995

Warnings: cheating, maybe swearing?

Prompt: 11. I love you, you enormous pain in my ass

You’d been dancing around the subject for a month and a half.

You really shouldn’t have been, but you were scared.

You’d started dating Billy the second he arrived in town and Steve thought you were actually nuts. At first, it might’ve been because he was in love with you, but then he got the shit kicked out of him by the fucker and all bets were off. He didn’t tell you about the scene, because he didn’t want you to worry or worse, bring it up with the asshole that’d done it to him, but he didn’t hold back his disdain about him with you anymore.

But you had a feeling something more was going on. Billy was not exactly subtle about his disdain for your friend, but you assumed it would fade eventually, a sort of jealousy on both their parts. But that didn’t fade and soon Steve was actively pissing on your guy. And Billy, well he’d always been an ass about Steve, so nothing much changed.

What changed was Billy’s attention. Kristen McMasters got a boob job over the Christmas break and all bets were off. Billy was…enticed to say the least.

Everyone seemed to know it was coming before you. Everyone except Steve. He would’ve told you, he swore that and you believed him, but he was distracted by his hatred and missed the signs. And you certainly didn’t see it coming. You knew enough about Billy’s family to guess that the holiday season was not going to be a merry season for him. You thought he was stressed out by upcoming exams and finding the cash to buy gifts for his stepmother and Max, which Neil was forcing him to buy. You thought it would fade when you got to Macy’s birthday bash.

And it did, sort of. Because he abandoned you and, after you went searching, you found him with Kristen McMasters riding him, her fake tits bouncing wildly. You guessed it was a good stress reliever for him.

You blamed Carol, for not telling you what was happening in the room she declaring your missing boyfriend was in. You blamed yourself, for not knocking first. You blamed Kristen, for going off with your boyfriend and screwing him. But mostly, you blamed Billy for being unable to ignore the lure of big, perky, fake boobs. You blamed him for being such an awful boyfriend.

You thanked Steve.

He found you, screaming at Billy and crying as he dismissed your emotions and smacked Kristen’s ass as she scurried out, red faced and head hung in shame. He led you away, letting you cry it out in the car, and letting you punch Carol in her bitchy face, wiping the snotty smirk off her face. Best of all, he let you hide at his place when your mother sent you angrily over to the Hargrove-Mayfield house with the big batch of cookies she’d made for them for Christmas. You gorged yourself on baking while watching movies in his big empty house; his parents weren’t home till Christmas Eve and you hid a batch your mother had made in the freezer for them to have, switching the notes she’s written out from ‘To Billy, Love Y/N’ to ‘To the Harrington’s, season greetings from the Y/L/N’s’ and insisting Steve pull them out to defrost before his parents returned. It was a nice that turned into several days as you just kept hiding their, studying for exams and listening to music and forcing him to decorate.

He helped you heal over Christmas. He helped you when you had to return to school. He held you back when you found Kristen and Billy were a couple and bragging about how Billy hadn’t been satisfied before he ditched you. He drove you to school and brought you coffee and kept Billy off your ass. He took a lot of grief from the guy in exchange for him ignoring you. It was something he didn’t even think twice about; you didn’t need his bullshit and Steve didn’t really care, it just made Billy look like an asshole.

And it was making Billy look like an asshole. Even Tommy didn’t think it was that funny anymore.

The semester shifted wildly in Steve’s favour-suddenly, the world seemed to go back into place. But Steve didn’t want it anymore. He didn’t want to be King Steve; he wanted to be the world’s best babysitter to Dustin and his friends and your best friend. Internally, he wanted to be your boyfriend, but he didn’t think that was gonna happen and so he held out for the friendship you shared.

Of course, you were more than ready to be with him, if he’d ask. Steve, post Nancy, had gotten incredibly good at hiding his feelings. He didn’t want to get hurt again and you couldn’t stand the idea of ruining your friendship or his comfort with you by bringing in silly feelings. You’d just suffer in silence and watch him be happy.

But it was sort of weird. As Steve gained his status back among your peers, the girls who hadn’t been so vocal in their interest in him began crawling out of the woodwork and into his lap. Maybe they had always been there and you hadn’t noticed, or maybe they simply jumped ship from Billy onto him. But either way, Steve wasn’t as interested in them. And that threw you for a loop-Steve was always a ladies’ man, a womanizer and a flirt. Every girl seemed to have a Steve Harrington story-an encounter or a near miss that bound them in some sort of gossip circle. You didn’t have one of these moments, at least not one that you’d tell anyone about.

Steve was trashed, positively trashed. You knew that he was gonna go nuts, seeing as how it was March break and he had the house empty, again, meaning no one to catch him trashed upon his return. Katy Andrews, a naïve junior, had decided to throw the annual Spring Break Bash at her house, her parents seemingly equally naïve as to leave her alone while they went to Florida to visit her grandparents. The house was destroyed and poor Katy was crying in the bathroom, moaning that her parents were going to kill her, and you had to get Steve back home before he blacked out or did something even more regrettable. He had already smashed poor Katy’s pool table in the basement, although you weren’t sure she knew about that yet. You intended to get Steve out before he started blabbing about it.

Steve wasn’t easily dragged off by most, but you grabbed him tight and kept him moving, hooking an arm around his chest as he whined about wanting to “fucking party!”You were just glad Steve lived close so you wouldn’t have to drive him anywhere. Once you were out on the sidewalk, Steve went with you without a hitch, a goofy smile like pure sunshine on his face. When you arrived at him house, you pulled the spare key from under the mat and unlocked the door, not bothering to try to get Steve to remember where he put his.

“Finally, I got you alone…” he slurred stumbling into the dark house, his warm hands coming to your hips as he walked, well tripped, up the stairs.

“Oh god, Steve, be careful you’re gonna fall down the stairs and take me with you.” You laughed, pulling his hands off your waist and hoping he didn’t fall from the change. He whined loudly as you pushed him up and into his room.

“Alright lay down I-”

“Woah woah slow down, baby, I like it slow.” His hands came to your face and you froze, unsure if he was kidding or not. But his lips came to yours, quick and warm and gentle. And you let yourself kiss him back, a selfish decision you rationalized as the only one you’d ever make with him. He broke away first, rubbing his thumbs over your cheeks, smiling softly at you “You’re so beautiful, Nancy…”

Your blood ran cold, but you maintained an easy smile as your heart broke “And you’re so drunk, Steve. Let me go get you some water so you’re not hung over tomorrow.” You said, patting his cheek gently and pulling away. Steve didn’t follow and you took the opportunity to let a loud and sad sigh trying to keep from crying. You’d done it yourself, letting yourself get your hopes up that he could feel the same way about you. You filled a glass, bringing it back upstairs. Steve had passed out and you decided not to wake him, letting yourself feel a bit of vindictive anger and letting him suffer in the morning. You had told your parents you were crashing at a friend’s house and so made your way downstairs, crashing on Steve’s couch, feeling smaller than ever.

You never reminded Steve of this moment, you didn’t want to embarrass the poor guy, but you distanced yourself a bit after that. You had had hope before that moment but after it you put some space between the two of you. You didn’t want to get hurt and you really didn’t want to get hurt by Steve. So you did your best to break away-you went out with other people, including one terrible date with Keith from the arcade. You partied without him, you drank and danced, you even hung out with Tommy and Carol again and got high in Tommy’s basement, watching Kristen beg for Billy’s attention as he kept his locked on you. It wasn’t fun, not nearly as it would’ve been to just get high with Steve, hot boxing his bedroom with a bag of cheese puffs between you. But it was what you needed to do. You needed to be away.

But Steve kept dragging you back.

He couldn’t lose you, he wouldn’t. He didn’t know what he did but he was determined to get you back. He chased you single-mindedly, determined to keep you in your life. And he did, you were never going away, and he knew that.

He made his moves in small ways too. He took you to prom, under the guise of him needing a date for when he won prom king, which he did by a landslide. He tried to not marvel at you in stiff taffeta as you shuffled around, trying to blow stiff pieces of hair out of your eyes as you sipped spiked punch with a bored expression. Prom wasn’t exactly your scene, but you had some fun dancing with him. He looked so handsome in his dumb suit and, later, in his cheesy plastic crown, you couldn’t keep your eyes off him. Despite not wanting to go at all, you had a lot of fun. It would’ve been better if he was actually your boyfriend, so you could be jealous when Tina tried to hit on him and make a scene. Instead you watched in silence, barely listening to Nancy as she whined about Jonathan’s whining about the music playing at the event. You wanted Steve to be happy and if that meant Tina then you’d deal with Tina next to your broken heart.

As summer came and college approached, you began to hit your breaking point. You had two options for college, one within driving distance and one on the opposite side of the state. You had been honestly been considering staying in two, a cheaper choice that could mean renting an apartment in between the school and your home town. But staying in town could only lead to more pain from your longing, a pain that could be ended simply by leaving him behind. Steve was staying in town, he was going to the police academy, so leaving could be the right choice.

But there was only one way to find out.

Steve had been working at Scoops Ahoy! all summer, leaving him smelling like spoiled milk all the time, but flushed with cash and a new found disdain for his classmates and their parents. You hung out with him at work often enough, meeting his co-worker Robin, who you thought Steve obviously had a crush on, until you learned about her girlfriend Heather. You felt silly after that, but it just reminded you that you had to tell him how you felt.

And soon.

You waited until July, because you had to submit your acceptance by the end of the month for community college and the second week for your second choice. You needed to know before you chose.

Normally, you wouldn’t invite yourself over to Steve’s house, especially without a call first, but something in your gut told you that if you tried to call, you’d chicken out. So you got in your car and drove, grinding your teeth and locking your eyes on the horizon, fingers rapping on the steering wheel erratically. You knew Steve’s parents were gone to the summer house in Spain, a trip Steve wasn’t invited on, but you didn’t know if Steve was home.

His car certainly was. You parked behind him, scurrying up the steps and knocking loud and fast on the door. There was no answer, but you tried again, ringing the doorbell, pressing the button a few too many times.

You heard Steve’s voice through the door “I’m coming! Jesus Christ…” He pulled the door open with a scowl that fell away when he saw you. He had obviously just been in the pool. You started to wonder if someone else was here. Still, you held your ground.

“Hey, Y/N, I didn’t know it was you, what’s up?” he said awkwardly, smiling tersely.

“I need to talk to you.” You said, pushing your way past him and into the dark house, dropping your bag on the table by the door. Steve followed behind you awkwardly, wet feet squishing on the tile. He didn’t know what you were here for, but he wasn’t exactly going to kick you out now.

You stopped in the living room, unlit and quiet. You turned to look at Steve, trying to settle your heart and breathing. “Should I go away for school?” you asked breathlessly, the words falling out of your mouth in a tangled string.

Steve’s eyebrows flew into his hairline “Why are you asking me?”

“Cause you’re my friend and I want your opinion.” You snapped, crossing your arms over your chest, foot tapping fasting on the carpeted floor.

“Well I don’t know, do what you want.” Steve said, your tense energy starting to feed into his own and making him tense and snippy.

“Well I don’t know! That’s why I’m asking you!”

“What does my opinion matter anyway, Y/N?” Steve sighed, looking away. His body language changed and you noticed instantly.

Because of course Steve didn’t want you to move away. He wanted you to stay right there in his pocket, where he could hold onto the hope that you’d one day catch onto these signals he was so sure were obvious to everyone and you feel the same.

“You clearly have an opinion, so let me hear it, I wanna hear it!”

Steve groaned, dread settling into his stomach. He didn’t like this conversation, he knew it would only end in a fight.

“Go wherever you want, Y/N, what does it matter what I think?”

“Because I love you, you enormously stubborn pain in my ass and I’m not gonna move away if you feel the same!” you cried exasperatedly.

Well there it was. It’s out. And Steve was deadly silently, staring at you unblinkingly. That was answer enough for you, you pushed past him and rushed towards the front door. You knew you were about to cry or scream and you wouldn’t let either happen in front of him.

Steve grabbed your arm, pulling you back and crashing you into his chest, his other coming to your face, kissing you hard before you could interject or try to pull away.

He’d frozen when you said that you loved him. Because that had never happened before. He’d said it once and the results were disastrous for his self esteem and mindset. But you loved him. It rocked him to his core, he didn’t know what to do. And then you were walking away and he knew he’d waited a second too long. And now he was kissing you and you were kissing him back and oh my god the world could end and he’d be utterly content.

He broke away first, he needed to take a deep breath, but he kept his hands firmly on your face, looking down at you with the softest, most love struck expression you’d ever seen.

“Don’t go, okay? I want you to stay here with me.” He whispered softly.

You couldn’t help the grin that broke onto your face “I thought you didn’t have an opinion?”

“I thought you didn’t feel the same.”

“How could I know how you felt if you didn’t tell me?” you asked teasingly, poking a finger into his chest.

“I thought you’d catch on to…the obvious signals I was giving?”

“And what signals would those be?” you asked, watching Steve flounder for an answer, which he never found. “If it makes you feel better, I was looking for proof that you didn’t like me at all.”

“We’re idiots aren’t we?” Steve asked, pulling you closer to him.

“Nah, we’re just…selectively smart.” You grinned, and Steve pulled your chin up to meet his lips. You pressed a finger on his lips, keeping you apart for a second. “Wait, you…you like…you love me too right?” you asked awkwardly, watching as the error hit Steve again.

“Oh yeah! Shit, right, I do! I love you!” Steve blushed and you pulled him down to kiss you again, clinging onto him as if your world was ending.

In a way, it was.

#moonstruckhargrove1k #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve x reader #steve x you #steve harrington au #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington headcanons #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington imagines #stranger things #stranger things 2 #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things au

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jinterlude · 6 years ago

Text

Our Second Chance (Ch.6)

➳ Pairing: Kim Seokjin x Female OC x Kim Namjoon

➳ Genre(s): Modern!AU, Royalty!AU, Modern Royal Family!AU , Enemies turned Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Romance, & Angst

➳ Warning(s): None for this chapter

➳ Words: 7K

➳ Summary: Have you ever gotten that familiar feeling when you first see someone? That strange connection between yourselves even though you have no clue where that came from. Yeah…that was the sensation that Sumin felt on a daily basis ever since she has come face-to-face with the one and only Kim Seokjin. Despite being named after their ancestors, two people who were madly in love with each other, these two cannot stand to be in each other’s presence. However, that must change or else history will repeat itself. Sounds like an adventure, right?

※ Previously: ch.1 | ch.2 | ch.3 | ch.4 | ch.5

※ Next time: ch.7 | more coming soon!

Chapter 6 – Might as Well Stab Me in the Heart

Previously

A faint and long groan left her lips as Sumin began to feel the nerves that always accompanied the unwanted attention.

Now, to add insult to injury, she had to choose between Namjoon and Seokjin. Great.

"Sweetheart, who would you like to dance with?" asked her father once more, deep down, knowing that she'd choose Namjoon.

She looked to the right, meeting Namjoon's pleading eyes. They practically screamed at her to pick him. Pick the better guy. Pick the one who had always been there for her. Pick the person who's still ready and willing to catch her.

Then, there was Seokjin, who, too, had this look that begged for her to pick him. Even though he had screwed up royally with her, he wanted a second chance. He's not ready to say goodbye to her. Not now. Not ever. He's prepared to be whatever Sumin wanted him to be. She just needed to say yes...

"I...um...choose..."

Eager eyes remained focused on the anxious, confused, princess. A variety of questions filled their minds as their curiosity grew.

Who would the princess choose to be her partner?

Why was she incredibly hesitant?

More importantly...

Why hasn't she chosen Namjoon?

Every member, royal blood or not, knew of their arranged marriage. There had been talks that it would be the most beautiful ceremony that the people would ever see.

Yet...

There had been no official date...no talks of wedding dresses...nothing.

Sumin knew deep in her heart that she could not marry a man she did not love. She knew that everyone deserved a chance of finding true happiness, and she did.

She found her true happiness in...

"Seokjin," Sumin shyly peeked up at the handsome duke, "It would be an honor if you would be my partner for this dance." She said softly as a faint pinkish hue appeared on her cheeks.

Seokjin sighed softly with a short smile. He took a step back and bowed deeply out of respect.

"Princess Sumin, it would be my pleasure to be your partner." He replied; his genuinely happy eyes met hers. Honestly, happiness would not even begin to cover his emotions right now.

Maybe there was hope for them yet...

The king nodded slowly, while he did want to "suggest" that she danced with her fiancé; instead, he knew that it would not make his precious daughter happy. It would only cause more sadness within her heart, and that was something that he could never want to happen to Sumin.

"Wonderful!" He shouted, turning his attention towards the orchestra, "As it is a tradition for the princess to dance with a suitor of her choice, I think it only fits that they dance to the music that played for my ancestor, Queen Sumin I, on her eighteenth birthday!" He announced, waving his hands grandly.

This feeling of bewilderment crashed against their bodies. Did they hear Sumin's father correctly? The orchestra was to play the song that played the night of Queen Sumin I's eighteenth birthday? Also known as the night that she and Sir Seokjin, I essentially announced that they were on the right path to the alter.

Oh, my goodness...

"Maestro, if you please." The king politely ordered before stepping away from the center of the dance floor. He had to make room for a couple of the hour.

With slow breathes, Sumin grew more nervous with passing moment. How on Earth was she supposed to dance to the song that's pretty much the love theme for her ancestor and Seokjin's ancestor?

Easy.

She couldn't.

She honestly felt like she shouldn't be even sharing this loving moment with someone who had broken her heart.

Yet...

At the same time...

She didn't give a damn.

No one could ever make her feel this way—this broad spectrum of emotions that kept her on her toes.

One moment she loathed Seokjin, plotting every single way possible to murder the man. Then, the next, she was head over heels in love with him, wanting Seokjin to be absolutely, unconditionally happy.

There's never a middle point whenever it came to Seokjin.

With one final deep breath, Sumin slowly exhaled, releasing all of her nervous energy. Shen then finally placed her hand gently on top of Seokjin; unknowingly, creating this electrified sensation between them.

Seokjin smiled softly before leading the two of them to the center of the dancefloor. While he looked calm and collected on the outside, on the inside, he was an absolute mess.

Quite honestly, he did not believe that she would choose him to be her partner after everything he had put her through. Deep within his heart, he firmly believed that she would have selected Namjoon, and the two of them lived happily ever after.

However, by the goodness of their hearts, Gods of romance decided to take pity on his poor soul. They had graciously bestowed him this surprise second chance. It was if they were telling him that this, this moment, was his one final chance. Create the happy ending that his ancestor failed to achieve

And so...he did.

He was going to use this opportunity to lay it all on the table.

He would allow Princess Sumin to have the power to choose who she wants—who her heart yearns for.

The soft yet impactful sounds of the flute echoed throughout the ballroom. Soon, the violins followed after as every single guest waited with eager eyes for the princess and her chosen partner to dance.

It was quite interesting. The last time this song had been played was the eve of Queen Sumin's I eighteenth birthday—when she danced with her beloved knight, Sir Seokjin I.

So, it only fitted that this song played when Princess Sumin II and Lord Seokjin II had to dance together. It was if their ancestors messed with the chess pieces on the board to ensure that this exact moment occurred.

If they didn't get their happy ending, then that didn't mean that their kin couldn't either.

They just needed a push...

Quickly bowing out of respect, Seokjin soon returned to his original position. He gently placed his hand on Sumin's waist while the other softly grasped her right hand. Feeling the softness of her skin sent his mind into a wild frenzy, but he controlled it. The last thing he wanted was to be this giant bumbling mess around her, mostly if he was too apologize for hurting her unintentionally.

"Ready?" He mouthed with a huge smile.

Sumin couldn't help but blush as she nodded slowly.

Seokjin returned the nod as he mentally counted down the beats. The moment he reached the number, "one", he signaled Sumin that he was about to begin. He stepped forward as she stepped back; thus, initiating the classic "Waltz".

The two of them danced, practically gliding around the ballroom. The gleam in their eyes twinkled brightly as nothing but smiles of content slowly graced their faces.

Their mind was in the most calming state. Their hearts no longer raced against their chest. No more sense of anxiety that lingered within them.

They were just...themselves.

"Sumin..." Seokjin began softly, waiting for Sumin's acknowledgment. Once he saw that he had it, he continued, "I...I just wanted to say that I am extremely sorry for running out on you last month. Especially, without giving you a proper explanation and then ignoring your calls and text messages."

Sumin smiled sadly; her eyes trailed to the floor.

"It is quite alright..." She said softly, trying her best to ignore the aching pain in her heart. It was if her heart said, "No. It is not quite alright for you to hurt me the way you did, especially after everything good between us."

If only she dared to tell him that...

Fortunately, for her, Seokjin saw right through her lies. A fun trait skill he had developed after spending an incredible amount of time with her.

"You know...You wouldn't hurt my feelings if you told me the truth. I know I was a giant ass to you, so please...just talk to me." He said, coaxing her into confessing what's on her mind.

Sumin's eyes focused on the handsome Lord. A faint gasp escaped her lips as she became utterly shocked to hear him say that. To reassure her that it was okay to be hurt because of him.

So...

She let him have it...

"You want my honest feelings? Okay. Fine. My feelings towards you are nothing but complete betrayal. I have done nothing that could warrant such a horrid response to you except display my ancestor's engagement ring around my neck," Sumin paused, taking a moment to control herself. The last thing she wanted was to receive judgment from the rest of the royals. "At first, I blamed myself for wearing something that could trigger you to the point of you ignoring me for an entire month. But then, after talking to Sowon, it's not my fault whatsoever," She halted in her steps, putting an end to their little dance, "It's yours." She declared before removing herself from his hold and turning around to leave.

Rough whispers were heard as every single guest began to gossip about the princess.

What did she and Seokjin talk about that could have caused her to leave?

Why did she choose him in the first place?

What's going to happen next?

Seokjin stood there, feeling a bit embarrassed to be left behind, but he soon snapped back into reality. He ignored the judgmental looks from both the party guests and Namjoon as he dashed off after Sumin.

Coming into this party, he was determined to fight for her—and so he did.

"Sumin, wait!" Seokjin hollered; his footsteps echoed throughout the empty corridor. He loosened up the tie, unbuttoned some of the top buttons of his dress shirt, and carelessly tossed aside his suit jacket. If he had to chase after the woman of his dreams, he might as well be comfortable doing it.

He picked up the pace of his steps, running down the dimly lit hallway, as he frantically searched for the princess—his princess.

Rough and sporadic breathing came out of the mature teen. Sounds of metal clanking against something could be heard throughout the stone walls of the castle. Hurried and loud steps alerted every single castle worker that someone was in trouble with a certain princess.

Not again...

Sir Seokjin looked everywhere in the castle grounds but no sign of his lovely companion. Before, they had rather intense spats between them. Yet, it never caused his beloved to hide from him.

"Princess Sumin!" cried a seventeen-year-old Seokjin. "Princess Sumin!"

A frustrated growl emitted from his lips as he grew frustrated. Not at his love but himself. It was because of him bringing up the prospect of her marrying someone else that irritated her.

And...

Well...

You get the gist.

The newly appointed personal knight of Princess Sumin searched high and low throughout the castle grounds. He looked at all of her usual hideout places, and as he searched the music room, this look of realization washed over him.

If he were his princess, he would pick the one place that would make significant meaning yet not as obvious.

She was the gazebo that settled nicely in the center of the rose garden.

The teen rushed out of the music room and headed straight for the garden where his princess waited.

He exerted every ounce of stamina he had left until the soft, salty air greeted his body. A light breeze brushed his cheeks, swooping through his locks of hair. It was as if Mother Nature had comforted him before he pretty much begged for mercy at the hands of his future wife. Though, Sumin didn't know that quite yet.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, his eyes focused on a familiar backside. The way her hair slightly swayed because of the wind. How the subtle sun rays illuminated her body nicely, creating this holy aura around her.

He saw how tranquil she looked caused his heart to skip a beat and practically pound against his chest.

And to think...he had just calmed it down enough so that it wouldn't be heard when he talked to Sumin.

With one final deep breath, Seokjin stepped forward. He maneuvered through the rose garden until he reached the pavilion. The same pavilion where he had confessed his feelings for his childhood friend. The same pavilion where they had become a couple.

"Sumin..." He began softly, alerting the princess of his presence.

"What do you want, Sir Seokjin?" She questioned coldly, unbothered to give him her attention.

Seokjin flinched at her harsh tone, but he deserved it. Not even a few months of calling her his, he had suggested that she should marry someone else.

Way to go, Seokjin.

"I come in peace, my princess." He announced in a cautious tone of voice, taking a step closer to his woman.

Sumin scoffed softly, glancing behind her shoulder. If they were not fighting right now, Seokjin would say that she looked quite alluring with an annoyed expression.

Gotta love teenage hormones.

"Why? Come to suggest some suitors for me to marry and more than likely produce heirs with?" She asked in a snarky tone, turning her head away from him.

Seokjin sighed, taking a few more steps until she was within reach of him. Not caring if she'd elbow him in the gut, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I am incredibly sorry for saying something in my momentary lapse of judgment." He said softly; his voice almost a whisper.

Sumin's lips quivered. A sign that signified she was about to cry.

The apologetic adolescent instantly noticed it and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek. He repeated his actions, making sure that Sumin knew how loved she was by him.

"I do not want you to marry someone else. My heart would shatter into millions of pieces if I saw you kiss and love someone that was not me." He confessed before nuzzling his nose against the crevice of her neck.

A soft sigh of content escaped her sweet lips. The hurt princess closed her eyes, taking a moment to enjoy his embrace and his sweet yet sexual actions.

"Can you forgive me?" He asked, lifting his head away from her beautiful neck and tilting it in a way so that their gazes could meet.

Sumin opened her eyes, finally meeting Seokjin's pleading stare, and said,

"I forgive you. Just do not joke like that again."

"Never again."

Currently standing outside, the anxious duke stared at the princess's backside. He drank in the sight that he had been blessed with.

He took note of how the full moon acted as a spotlight for the pavilion. How the soft autumn breeze brushed through her entire body, lightly swaying Sumin's dress.

What a familiar feeling he experienced. It was if Seokjin felt connected to his ancestor now more than ever.

With one final deep breath, Seokjin gained enough courage to take a step forward. The sounds of his dress shoes connecting with the wood floor alerted the heartbroken princess.

Sumin swiftly turned around, her eyes red from the tears that trickled down her cheeks.

"I have nothing more to say to you. Now, leave." She declared coldly, pointing towards the castle.

If this were any other person or situation, he would gladly leave; however, after realizing that he fell completely in love with Sumin, he wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, that's good because I have a lot to say, and I just want you to listen." He fired back, walking closer to the angered princess. He continued to close the gap between their bodies until he had her caged against him. Her back pressed firmly against the wooden railing as her hands gripped the edge of it.

Her breathing grew harder as his sudden bold action only agitated her.

"You better create some space between us, or else I will call for my guards." She threatened, narrowing her eyes at the handsome man.

Seokjin simply waved away her empty threats. While her facial expression told him that she was about ready to slap him, the sounds of her beating heart told him otherwise. Yes, she was too pissed off at him, but she was willing to listen.

"Just give me five minutes. That's all I want." He practically begged.

Sumin observed the pleading look in his eyes how his lips quivered as if he was about to burst into tears.

Maybe five minutes wouldn't hurt.

"Fine. Five minutes and then I'm leaving." She said, crossing her arms against her chest. Not because she had grown frustrated with the man, but to prevent their chests from touching one another.

Honestly, it was taking every ounce of her sanity not to capture his lips right then and there.

"Thank you," He whispered with a look of gratefulness.

Sumin forced a smile before dropping it quickly as if she telepathically told him that he didn't have much time. Five minutes would be over before he'd even realized it.

"I know it's my fault that I ran out on you like that. There's honestly no genuine reason why I had been a complete asshole to you. Again, I apologize for it," He began, taking a moment to compose his thoughts, "I had an inkling that you would be handed down the ring that my ancestor had given yours, so I don't know what possessed me to get so worked up to the point that I just couldn't bear to be in your presence. Then, during the month when I had ignored you, I took the time to seriously think about all the possibilities as to why I acted like a coward and behave the way I did." He paused, contemplating if he was ready to confess his innermost feelings for the woman. If he was prepared to sever his friendship with Namjoon over someone who he, at first, barely tolerated but had grown to love and want nothing more but to hers.

The answer?

Yes.

He was ready to lay it all out there.

Sumin, on the other hand, tried to wrap her mind around what she just heard, what she saw in Seokjin's sudden change in demeanor. The way his ears became this bright red; a sign that she had realized that it meant he had grown nervous about something.

Then, it hit her.

He was about to confess something.

Whether it be good or bad, she had yet to determine it. All she knew, right now, was that he was about to say something that could be life-changing—for both of them.

"And what did you realize?" She questioned softly, though, her gut already had a hunch.

Seokjin's eye bore right into hers; the intensity of the gaze became so strong to the point that Sumin wanted to look away, but she couldn't.

Then, his face began to draw near, closing the tiny space that was between them.

"That the ring you wear around your precious neck is a symbol of our ancestor's love, and it would be a huge honor if you were to allow me to put that ring on your finger." He answered in a calm tone of voice.

Sumin gasped softly; her mouth slightly agape. Her mind screamed at her to say yes, as did her heart. Her entire body wanted to shout at the top of the cliff, yet nothing came out.

"What are you trying to say?" She asked, wanting to make sure that he was indeed confessing his love for her as she had thought.

Seokjin smiled sweetly, "I'm saying is that I'm in love with you, and it would be such an honor if I can call you mine."

Yup.

He was indeed confessing his romantic feelings for her.

"I love you too." She said sweetly as tears began to form in Sumin's eyes—happy tears.

Seokjin's heart soared. Did he just hear right? She accepted his confession and even returned it?

God, he could die happy right now.

Without a moment to lose, Seokjin grabbed Sumin's face and connected their lips. He poured every ounce of love; he had developed for the princess into the kiss.

Honestly, nothing and no one could ruin their moment.

Not Sumin's father.

And not Namjoon...

After what seemed like hours of pure and utter bliss, the happy couple pulled apart. Their lips bright red and plump from the passionate kiss they had just shared. Their faces were a bit flushed as their eyes remained fixated onto each other.

A few nervous chuckles escaped their lips as they swiftly wrapped their minds around the fact they had just confessed their love for each other and then initiated an intense make-out session.

Yep.

Sounds about right.

"Should we return to the ballroom? I think everyone is wondering where we're at." Seokjin randomly suggested, though, secretly, he didn't want to. If he could, he'd rather have the two of them to stay right inside the pavilion, enjoying the crisp autumn night air.

Sumin chuckled at Seokjin's randomness.

"I mean, we should..." She began, trailing on, "But, I don't want to." She finished, wrapping her arms around Seokjin's waist and burying her face in his chest.

The ecstatic man chuckled at Sumin's response, finding her behavior quite adorable right now.

He then reached up and wrapped both his arms around the princess, securing her against him as if he was afraid that someone or something would separate them.

However, seconds later, his grip began to loosen. While it was ideal for just the two of them to spend some time together after such a significant milestone in their lives, they had royal duties to attend to—mostly—Sumin.

She had to tell her father that her engagement with Namjoon was off and that she had officially found someone that she wanted to marry.

Leaning up to kiss Seokjin one last time, she pecked his plump lips sweetly. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss, showing how happy she was with him.

Seokjin too returned the smile before kissing her lips a few times.

Once they officially broke apart, Seokjin interlaced their fingers together and then led them back inside.

"You ready to face the rather judgmental party guests?" the duke heard Sumin playfully ask.

Seokjin peered down, flashing an amused smirk, "I didn't know my parents were in attendance." He teased back, earning himself both a smack on the arm and chuckle from the princess. His princess. "The slap was worth it because I got you to smile." He stated, grinning brightly.

Sumin's face flushed as she quickly averted her gaze from him.

She felt her cheeks become incredibly hot from how bad she blushed. Who would've thought that he would have this type of effect on her?

Not even Namjoon caused this type of reaction during his incredible façade around their parents.

This just showed her how real this was between her and Seokjin. The genuine love the two of them shared. The complete and utter happiness that they experienced from the moment after confessing to right now.

Everything was real, and that was going to stay...

Walking hand-in-hand into the ballroom, Seokjin and Sumin stood right in the entryway; their faces displayed a sense of euphoria. They were to be unbothered by the opinionated stares and gossip that they would more than likely receive from the royal guests.

Out of the corner of his eye, Namjoon saw the happy couple. His heart tightened at the awful sight of seeing his dearest friend holding hands with the love of his life.

Well, that would soon change the moment Sumin talked to her dad.

However, until that happened, he still had a chance to change Sumin's mind and perhaps ruin Seokjin's chances for good.

While, yes, he had lived with the mantra of "her happiness is my happiness," he just couldn't see himself allowing the duke to win over Sumin's heart. Not after what he had done to her.

If anything, he'd rather see her marry Yoongi or even Hoseok. Anyone but the person who had created an entire month of sorrow for her.

Gulping down the last of his champagne, Namjoon placed the glass flute on the table. He stood up, fixing his jacket, and then headed over to Sumin and Seokjin. He quickly mustered the most believable smile as he neared the romantic duo.

"Hey, guys." Namjoon greeted the two simply, placing a friendly arm on Seokjin's shoulder.

The two soon-to-be-engaged couple directed their attention over to the prince. Two different reactions were visible. Sumin looked genuinely happy to see her best friend while Seokjin looked ready to punch Namjoon for ruining his last chances of talking to her.

However, he also had to thank him for doing it that because if Namjoon hadn't sabotaged his chances, then Seokjin wouldn't have had the perfect opportunity for confessing his love for Sumin.

The irony of it, right?

"So, I see that the two of you worked it out." The secretly angry prince said, gesturing to their intertwined hands.

Sumin nodded, smiling brightly, "Yep! Now, I just need to tell my father that our engagement is officially off because I have chosen someone myself." She said, untangling her hand from Seokjin's, "If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to go find my father." She added, turning towards Seokjin, "I will be right back." She told him before kissing him on the cheek and then leaving.

Both Seokjin and Namjoon smiled at her, waiting for her to be out of their line of sight so that they could drop the little act.

Once she was no longer in sight, the two immediately lost their smiles.

This look of complete seriousness washed over them as the tension suddenly became grave.

"We need to talk," Namjoon suggested bluntly.

Seokjin quickly agreed and then followed the prince out in the hallway.

The two fellas ventured deeper into Sumin's castle, not wanting their argument to be heard by anyone but themselves.

The words they were about to say did not need an audience.

It was personal...

Halting in their steps, Namjoon glanced around, making sure that no one would stumble on them.

While Seokjin leaned on one side of his body against the wall. He crossed his arms over his chest as this disinterested expression slowly appeared on his handsome face.

"Okay. You got me out in the middle of Sumin's foyer. Now talk." Seokjin demanded rudely, already fed up with the conversation, and it hadn't even started yet.

Namjoon scoffed at Seokjin's closed off behavior. The conversation was already off to a great start...

"What are your intentions with Sumin? You go from hating her guts to practically falling head over heels in love with her. What gives man?" Namjoon questioned, wanting to get to the bottom of everything.

Seokjin raised one of his brows, "Why do you care? Weren't you the one the told me that I should give her an honest chance?" He fired back.

This time it was Namjoon's turn to raise his brow.

"Yeah, but I thought you would've fucked up majorly and then have her pretty much loathe you to the point that she realizes that she should marry me because I would never hurt her." He explained, slowly exposing his true intentions. Intentions that were hidden from everyone, especially his friends.

A look of utter disbelief graced Seokjin's face. He then pushed himself off the wall and walked right in front of Namjoon.

"Now, I get it. You are completely in love with Sumin, and it kills you knowing that she has chosen me," He leans closer just a bit, "And not you." He finished, saying each word slowly.

Namjoon growled; his eyes practically became slits as he wanted nothing more but to punch Seokjin in his smug face.

"It doesn't matter. She can learn to love to me after you somehow fuck things up with her yet again," The prince took a step back, "In fact, I'm counting down to it because that just goes to show you that once again, I will be there to catch her when you let her down for the final time." Namjoon said, smiling smugly.

Seokjin's breathing became heavy. His hands balled into a fist.

Yep.

He wanted to punch Namjoon so severely.

"And how do you know that I'm going to let her down? Now that we both confessed our love for each other, I'm going to do my fucking best to make sure that I don't screw things up with her." Seokjin opened his hands, "So, as much as I want to continue this conversation, I rather go talk to my princess," He then positioned his left hand above his eyebrow, ready to salute his soon-to-be ex-friend, "See ya, Prince Namjoon." He said coldly, turning away from him.

Namjoon breathed heavily, incredibly shocked with how things turned out. He honestly did not see their conversation going this route.

He didn't see their friendship going this way...

"What about Sumin, Seokjin?!" Seokjin heard Namjoon yell.

Unknown to them, an intruder heard as well...

After having an interesting talk with her father, Sumin glanced around, hoping to see Seokjin still standing where she had left him. But when she had noticed that both Namjoon and Seokjin were gone, she had to find them.

The princess quickly excused herself from both her mother and father's presence and maneuvered through the billions of guests, hoping to find them lingering around.

When she couldn't find their faces, Sumin immediately went searching for Sowon. Maybe she had a clue as to where they had gone.

Sumin pushed through the guests, thanking the stars that Sowon was staying close to the bar with Jungkook by her side. The princess quickly asked her dearest friend if she had seen either Namjoon and Seokjin, and just as the queen was about to answer, Jungkook beat her to it. The prince told her that he had seen the two of them walk out. They looked tense.

That wasn't good...

Sumin quickly thanked Jungkook and hurried out of the ballroom, bunching up parts of her dress as she did not want to trip while searching for them.

She practically jogged down the corridor; the sounds of her heels clicking against the marble floor echoed throughout the castle grounds.

"Where are you?" She nervously thought as this feeling of anxiousness filled the pit of her stomach.

She gradually picked up the pace as her eyes looked in every single direction. She silently prayed that she'd find them before anything drastic happened.

"What about Sumin, Seokjin?!" Sumin heard Namjoon shut just as she was seconds away from coming face-to-face with Seokjin.

Not wanting to be seen, she quickly ducked behind a nearby wall and waited for the conversation to continue.

She subtly peeked her head out and saw Seokjin stop in his tracks and immediately turn around.

"What do you want me to say, Namjoon?! That, I do not love her at all," She saw Seokjin take a step towards Namjoon, "That, I just told her all those things hours earlier because I wanted to practice my acting skills and see if I can fool her into thinking that I am honestly in love with her! Well, there you go. I do not love her, nor will I ever genuinely fall in love with her! Now, you can be her knight-in-shining-armor and protect her from me!" Sumin heard Seokjin announce, breaking her heart piece by piece.

Seriously, it felt as if someone punched her in the chest. That's how bad her heart ached.

Her mouth became agape as she felt utterly flabbergasted—confused—with Seokjin's words.

So, what he had told her was a lie?

A...fucking...horrible...lie...?

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as Sumin tried her hardest to silence her sobs. Her legs became wobbly as she no longer had the strength to remain standing. She eventually collapsed onto the marble floor as her breathing became sporadic.

Heartbreak sucked...

Not wanting to be anywhere near them, Sumin ran out of her hiding spot. She could care less if the two boys were alerted to her presence.

She simply no longer cared about anything...

But...if only she stayed a few seconds longer, she would've heard something that would put an end to her unwanted heartache.

"There, does that make you feel better, Namjoon? Does this help your pride knowing that I have said these untrue things about the woman I love? No, right?" Seokjin paused, taking a quick moment to compose himself, "If you truly valued her happiness, then you would simply bow out right now and allow her to be happy with me." He said. "Seriously, give her and I the chance to have our love blossom into something more because I swear to you, I will never hurt her again." He added with determination lacing his words.

Just as Namjoon opened his mouth to say something, the two of them heard the sounds of rushed, fleeting footsteps. The sounds instantly alerted them, causing their eyes to widen.

The color drained from their faces the second they registered that the fleeing intruder was Sumin.

"Shit...!" Seokjin cursed, rushing after Sumin once again with Namjoon closely trailing behind.

Tears streamed down her eyes as the broken princess ran down the corridor, ignoring the worried expressions on the castle workers that she had unfortunately passed by. She continued to run, uncaring about the fact that she was headed straight for the ballroom.

All was on her mind was that she needed to cry on someone's shoulder so naturally, she ran towards the one person who's always there for her.

Sowon.

The distraught princess halted in her steps, her breathing incredibly sporadic. Through teary eyes, Sumin glanced around the ballroom, praying that Sowon was still in her original position.

And luckily...she was.

Sumin bunched up her dress and swiftly walked over to the queen. She politely pushed by the many party guests until the gap between her and her dearest friend decreased.

Not bothered to tap the queen on the shoulder, Sumin flung herself in Sowon's arms, alerting both the queen and her prince.

Confusion etched on Sowon's face as she could not understand why her soft princess currently sobbed her eyes out.

Then, it hit her.

That fucking duke...

"Jungkook..." She began, calling for the young lad's attention, "Can you take care of my princess?" She asked calmly, gently rubbing Sumin's back.

Jungkook cocked up a brow, "Why?" He asked slowly.

Suddenly, an evil yet sweet smile graced her face.

"Because I'm about to murder two idiotic assholes for hurting my princess." She answered simply with a murderous gaze.

Jungkook's eyes widened as Sumin was suddenly thrust into his arms, and Sowon began to walk in the direction of the entryway. From what he could see, the pissed off woman was cracking her knuckles, ready to punch Seokjin right in his handsome face.

Not wanting her to get into a scandal and wage war on a neighboring kingdom, Jungkook swiftly dashed after Sowon, gently tugging Sumin with him.

As he closed the gap between him and Sowon, he stretched one of his arms and then quickly wrapped it around the angry queen's body.

Sowon was caught off guard, but before she could fight against his grasp, she felt her body being lifted.

"Put me down this instance!" She hollered, earning a few glances by random bystanders.

Jungkook firmly shook his head as he positioned her over his shoulder but remembered to make sure that she still look dignified.

"Sorry, my independent, gorgeous, fiery queen, but I cannot." He said nervously as he and Sumin began walking towards a vacant area of the ballroom.

Usually, the compliments swooned the headstrong queen, but not this time. It just merely pissed her off even more.

"Why the fuck not, Kook?" She practically growled as she thought, "He's fucking lucky that I am turned away from him..."

Jungkook glanced over his shoulder, meeting Sumin's gaze, "Because, I don't want you to get into trouble with Seokjin's kingdom." He answered truthfully.

Sowon, on the other hand, scoffed. She didn't give a fuck if she declared war against Seokjin's kingdom. She wanted him to pay for how badly he broke her soft princess.

Hm...war didn't sound like a bad idea...

Sumin knew the look on Sowon's face. Whatever her interesting friend currently thought about, it wasn't right.

"No, you cannot declare war against Seokjin and his kingdom..." Sumin told the queen, earning a few grumbles from Sowon.

"I can't declare war, but do I want to? Yes. Yes, I would like to wage war against that stupid prick for hurting you." The queen said, making a good point.

Sumin forced a smile, "I'm sure you do, but I don't want you to..." She paused, sighing, "I just want to forget about tonight." She said somberly in a soft tone of voice.

Sowon frowned, "I know you do, sweetie. I know you do."

"Like, a huge part of me is devastated after hearing Seokjin say that he fooled me into thinking that he loves me. Then, the other part of me wants to know if there was something else that could've compelled him to say that. Like, maybe he wanted to make Namjoon feel better or something." Sumin paused, halting in her steps for a moment, "I can't accept that Seokjin would do a complete turnaround." She confessed, her voice almost a whisper.

Sowon made a noise as she could bear the sight of her dearest friend in so much pain. She noticed that the princess's chest hitched just a bit—a tiny sign that told her that Sumin was about to cry again.

The more Sumin talked about it, the more it just pained her as she slowly realized that maybe...just maybe...Seokjin told the truth.

He truly did not love her, after all...

Just as the queen opened her mouth, Jungkook said something that caused her to shut it.

"I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from, especially since you're more than likely going to think that I'm simply defending my friend, but I can honestly tell you that Seokjin is not that great of an actor." The strong prince confessed, gently setting Sowon down.

Sumin stared blankly at the prince as she told him that he seemed entirely believable when he had said to her that he had fallen in love with her.

Jungkook sighed, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dress pants.

"Well, that's because he was telling you the truth." He said, resulting in a smack upside the head from Sowon. "Okay. Ow! But, I'm telling the truth. I have known Seokjin since I was a teenager, and he fucking sucks at lying. Like, there's this one time where I had asked him for an opinion on whether if I should denounce my title as the prince or not, and do you want to know what he said?" He asked, earning nods from both Sowon and Sumin, "That stupid older friend of mine said that I should give up my throne and live up in the mountains where I can be raising a bunch of goats and rabbits." He stated, revealing how terrible Seokjin's idea was.

Sumin blinked a few times, while Sowon looked appalled by the duke's stupid idea.

"Exactly...so I wouldn't take what you heard Seokjin say to heart," Jungkook said to Sumin, smiling just a bit.

Sumin sighed as her mind grew even more confused. While, it helped to know that Jungkook solidified her optimistic thoughts but, on the other hand, she reached her breaking point when it came to Seokjin.

She didn't know if she wanted to set herself up for heartache for the third time...

"I appreciate what you had to say about Seokjin, but I don't know if I can handle yet another heartbreak," Her eyes trailed to the floor, "My soul definitely can't handle another one," Sumin confessed quietly, feeling tears pool in her eyes.

Both Sowon and Jungkook looked sympathetically at the princess, silently wishing that they could something for her—especially Jungkook since it was technically his fault that Namjoon and Seokjin behaved the way they did. It was his fault that Namjoon gained a surge of confidence when it came to Sumin.

It was because of him that Namjoon egged Seokjin into saying those hurtful lies.

Way to go, Jungkook...Way...to...go...

Moments of silence passed by as the three of them simply stood there. Sowon and Jungkook acted as shields from any nosy bystander while Sumin remained crouched down; her back rested against the wall.

A blank expression was written all over the princess' face as she succumbed to her negative thoughts.

It was crazy that in just a few minutes, she went from battling between her rational and emotional side to only allowing her emotional side to take control.

Now, she thought about everything and anything that led to more emptiness within her body.

Maybe, she should just marry Namjoon. He wouldn't hurt her. He would always protect her from any form of danger.

But then...

Would she be happy with him?

Would she learn to love him?

So many questions flooded her mind, causing this strange yet intense tension to emerge.

Great, now she had a migraine...

What else could go wrong?

"Princess Sumin...your father would like a word with you." She heard the royal messenger say.

Fuck...

Her...

Life...

"Okay. Tell my father that I'll be right there."

A/N: Wah?! After like 84 years of not updating this story, I finally came back with a long update! Seriously, I am actually surprised that this chapter managed to reach 7K words. The most I have ever written was like 6.5K words. Maybe more, but I never reached 7K haha That just shows you guys how much I love this universe :)

Anyway, I hope guys like this update! I’m not sure when I will start writing ch.7 since I have three teacher exams to take this month, a lot of Human Development assignments, a project for my Psychology class, and making sure I don’t fail my Physics class lol More than likely, I will resume writing my own stories around December since that’s when I will be done with school!

Wish me luck on my many assignments! :D

Don’t forget to leave a comment/like/reblog/and an ask in my inbox! I love hearing your thoughts!

- Kim

p.s did you guys enjoy that little flashback to Fight for Me era Sumin & Seokjin? I know I did :)

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