#i might add more to this one too tbh i think the living room could use a rug and maybe the more permanent bedroom

[ssspringroll]

Apartment: 1B Civic Cliffs

Building features: Communal laundry room

Status: VACANT

Make a sim for this space!

An affordable, lived-in 2 bedroom with a lot of charm, if you can find it underneath that layer of grime.

E.T. Moneybags Inc. guarantees a personalized home renovation* for each tenant!

*minor renovations only. furnishings will be added, altered, or replaced to suit the lifestyle of the resident, but the apartment will not be completely gutted and remodeled for them. Things like personalized clutter, hobby or career-related items, and accommodations for occult type, family members, or pets.

[calqlate]

THE LOVE & DEEPSPACE MLS AND THEIR KDRAMA ML COUNTERPARTS

INCLUDES: rafayel + sylus + xavier + zayne

WARNING(S): might be ooc bc i don't really keep up with the lore so there might be some inconsistencies (oops) (pls be gentle) (it's 10pm here and my brain is running on adrenaline) + contains some canon lore drops ig

MASTERLIST + caleb ver.

NOTE(S): i will never stop inserting my fandoms into kdramas bc i love seeing worlds collide. anw pls partake in this brainrot with me 🤩

— RAFAYEL

ryu sunjae from lovely runner - they are both absolute losers for their respective lovers. i can picture rafayel in that one scene where sunjae was blowing kisses towards sol's house. no matter how hard his beloved tries to cut him out from their life to save him, he will always find his way back into their life.

jeong guwon from my demon - similar to sunjae, guwon is also another loser for his wife. (tbh i can imagine rafayel as a down bad simp for his lover; cue thomas sighing and shaking his head.) i can picture rafayel in the scene whereby guwon and dohee were doing that tango while fighting off their enemies too?!?!

lee yeon from tale of the nine-tailed - continuing the loser boy train, we have yeon as the final dude to add in this group. (specifically yeon from s2, bc the way he wanted to go back to his timeline so badly to see jiah matches rafayel's "the only person i'll ever love is my lover" energy.) their backstories also match in the sense that yeon never stopped searching for jiah and rafayel never stopped waiting for his bride.

— SYLUS

myulmang from doom at your service - not me choosing myulmang bc they both made contracts to their beloveds [clown emoji]. but nonetheless they're similar in the sense that they won't think twice about eliminating someone who hurts their lover.

shin wooyeo from my roommate is a gumiho - again, another contract situation. wooyeo is a "classier" version of sylus imo, and one who uses less pet names. if sylus were the ml in this kdrama, he would defo keep an even more watchful eye on his beloved so that she doesn't go about losing his fox bead. (aur naur iw to write a gumiho au for sylus now...)

lee youngjoon from what's wrong with secretary kim? - similar to youngjoon, sylus will never let his lover leave. they want to leave his mansion? he will try 101 (legal) ways to make them stay. they will find snacks they like in their room more often. they will find new (and expensive) clothes in their wardrobe. heck, even an all-expenses-paid vacation! he wants to keep them close to him; he's afraid of them upping him to leave.

— XAVIER

goo yeonjun from a time called you - like yeonjun, xavier has literally went back in time to save his beloved. he wants to see then safe and sound, and as long as they're happy, he's happy. as long as they're alive and breathing, he's fine with not being by their side. just watching them live their life is enough for him.

haru from extraordinary you - totally not projecting my all-time fav kdrama on him (or am i?) but xavier and haru have similar mannerisms and personality traits. yk how in the first few episodes danoh was dragging haru around and this guy just remained silent and followed along until one day he just started speaking? yeah that's the same with this guy. the person he likes could yap all day and he would willingly sit and listen.

moon seoha from see you in my 19th life - similar to seoha, xavier loves once in his life and he will only ever love his little star. he would never get over their death and if he's the one responsible for their death, he would be all the more upset with himself. he would throw himself into work all day and refuse to love again, thinking he shouldn't be able to fall in love ever again since he took his beloved's one chance of staying alive and happy away.

— ZAYNE

moon suho from black knight - they're both so overprotective of the one they love. the way suho essentially told sharon that haera is the only woman he would ever love is something i can picture zayne doing. if someone is out there trying to harm his beloved, you'd best believe zayne would do his best to prevent that from happening, even if it means giving up his own life.

lee suhyeok from bora! deborah - when zayne loves, he loves hard. like suhyeok, he's clumsy at expressing his affections, choosing to keep everything to himself and wait until he's 100% certain it's the right time to say whatever he wants to say. and sometimes, that can lead to disastrous endings (see also: suhyeok getting dumped on the same day he went to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend). both men are careful to a fault, all the more so with their beloved because they're scared of losing someone precious to them again.

yoo jihyuk from marry my husband - zayne, like jihyuk, would willingly stand aside and watch the one he loves fall in love with someone else. he would be supportive and wouldn't try to fight for their affection. his motto is "if they're happy, i'm happy" and he can live being an unmarried old man as long as he sees them happy.

© CALQLATE. all rights reserved. please do not copy, modify, repost, or translate my works on any platform.

[koreanbibliophilegirl]

(Previous)

Okay so I think the magical girl weapons would be made from a special metal, one that's only found near the magic mineral growths.

The metal reacts by expanding when it comes into contact with the mineral when it's activated & is starting a magical chemical magi-chemical reaction. It can be fine-tuned by making alloys, so some parts expand more and some parts expand only a little bit. The scientists make each of the magical girl boys(?) specialized weapons.

Techno has one of those double-chain necklace things, with his gem and a tiny model of a sword/axe combo(I have a basic design & mechanism in mind, I'll add a diagram to a reblog later- if I do manage to draw something) hanging from it. I was gonna give Tommy a bracelet that can be separated into two parts to make a pair of nunchucks, but the option of making him a Murder Maid(yknow, that trope of super-competent maid assassins) is looking increasingly attractive. Should I give him a gun instead... hmmm. As I mentioned before with bows and arrows though, bullets would be hard to refill during battle. Hm. :/ I still wanna see Tommy pull a Moechakkafire though. Maybe he keeps stealing("temporarily borrowing") a gun from somewhere nearby? BBH absolutely freaks out of course. Not bc of firearms usage though, only the stealing. BBH is fine with guns. He even gives lots of helpful tips! Anyway this keeps happening, and the scientists end up having to make Tommy a gun of his own.

Phil might have a katana, usually hidden as a hat charm? Or just kept inside the rim of his hat? Ranboo has short swords or daggers hidden inside pom-poms that are made of thin, narrow strips of the expanding metal. Usually disguised as- either a choker(while folded up) or a pom-pom keychain. They specifically requested pom-poms to go with their cheerleader outfit. He's very committed to the bit. (TBH I think Ranboo should be the one who's most invested in the magical girl thing. Maybe magical girl animangas still exist in-universe? Like how they still exist in <I Don't Wanna Be A Magical Girl>.) Tubbo gets.... clubs? A warhammer? Ooh he's an inventor, a warhammer might be a good fit. He keeps it in his belt to use as an actual hammer when he's not using it as a deadly weapon.

Oh oh I guess the crew would need magical girl powers too! They all get increased stamina, strength, speed, recovery speed, etc. and enhanced senses, but specific gems should give specific powers. Techno's gives him pinpoint accuracy(for the honor aspect) and healing abilities(both for himself and for others- for the bravery and mercy/kindness aspect). Healer Techno pog. Tubbo can fly(for freedom) and has a kind of instant analysis power, that lets him do things like immediately knowing what material was used for a doorframe, or estimate how many people are in the room by analyzing the sounds coming from inside(for the discovery part). Ranboo's solidarity and teamwork is... mind-reading and telepathy? Like, knowing what other people are thinking & talking inside their heads. Ranboo could be the communication line/information scout for the gang. Tommy's self-expression and confidence is, hm, vocal projection(like Present Mic from BNHA/MHA) and light manipulation? bc ✨️Shiny✨️™️, and also he could probably make things invisible or make illusions by making light bend around things/bounce outwards despite nothing being there. Phil's justice/peace/prosperity would be.... making plants and lifeforms grow...? Okay I've been getting into JJBA and this just sounds like Gold Experience. How about I just let Phil control the life cycle of living things. Rewind, fast-forward, stop and loop.

....Let's say the priestess whose wishes grew the green gem had a very specific philosophy on justice and 🍨 okay, that emoji was a typo, but that ice cream next to the word "justice" reminded me of the phrase "just deserts". How about if the priestess believed everyone would get their just deserts in time, so that's why the green gem can manipulate life cycles. So that can be justice/peace/prosperity all at once, but let's say Phil also has some degree of foresight. Nothing specific is given, but it's enough to tell a little bit of what might happen.

[we-keep-odd-hours]

tagged back by @hex6rcist! Thank you!

under a cut since I also rambled.

1. How are you!? I hope your day is going well.

ehhhh. I'm working not a great job, but its from home and if everyone is going to be insufferable, every single second i get of downtime I'm going to be on tumblr to stay sane.

2. What are you currently working on? Any little projects of any kind you’re excited to share?

I have an original novel in the works, I'm in the brutal final stages of tying off the loose ends of the rough draft (while this advice is some that I struggle to accept, to all writers I'd like to share this: the only thing that a first draft has to be is done.), I have two on-going fics (an Aliens one that's posted anonymously but tbh you could probably find it easily) and one of Diamondback's origin story.

Her origin story is more or less done (posting new chapters as I edit) except for a few plot points I'll make my decision on as I get to them in editing. There's details from my next project, a full follow up to the movie, that I kind of want to include in an epilogue to her story, since they're scenes/plot threads tied on her character arc.

3. What have you been watching lately? I just finished Righteous Gemstones and I need a new show lol.

I'm halfway through my rewatch of Hannibal right now, and I SHOULD rewatch West World next so I can finally watch the last season, but I've been itching to rewatch X-Files for a year now....the only problem being that X-Files is nine seasons, a mini series, two seasons of Millennium (IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND), and one season of Lone Gunmen (ALSO IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND). I never technically finished Millennium either, because they [spoiler] and it made me so angry at Chris Carter that I rage quit.

4. (A Near Dark one because how can I not) what’s your favorite small detail in the movie that other people might overlook?

When they first walk into the bar, Jesse kind of surveys the layout, but Diamondback immediately looks over to her right--at the bartender and the waitress, she then smiles, holds onto Jesse's arm and sets her head on his shoulder--and looks over the waitress again. Between that and her grin when the woman walked over, that whole weird thing seemed like some continuation of whatever game they were playing when she kissed the hitchhiker, which....guys, get a room. Homer and Mae are right there.

There are others, but this is the first one that came to mind.

5. What blog should I follow right now?

I'm bad at this; most people I've followed on here for literal years, or else picked up along the way when we had the same media obsession of the day.

6. Best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

I said it above already, but THE FIRST DRAFT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE GOOD, IT JUST HAS TO BE DONE.

7. If you could add one fantastical element to the real world and have it be a commonly accepted and known about thing what would it be? (Ie make Santa real)

This is asking for trouble: I believed in fairies at an age that was much, much too old to do so. I think it would be fun, or at least interesting if the fair folk were commonly known to exist. Dangerous, unwise, but fun.

8. What’s the last book you didn’t just read, you DEVOURED?

In the Valley of Sun by Andy Davidson. It was nasty, infuriating, full of characters I didn't like for but occasionally felt bad for, and it's about a wandering killer turned vampire living in an old RV just outside of Waco, TX in the 1980s. Yeah, that's what I thought too.

It was a break-neck paced mystery, not exactly of ''who'' did it, but of what happened, how did they do it, and are they going to get caught?

9. What are you most passionate about?

Art, literature, zoology. The order of those items changes frequently.

10. What do you think is your best quality?

oh I hate this question. Passion, I guess? It's not easy to get interested in something, but when I am, I can learn fast, pick up on details, and make weird connections. I'm literal minded and frequently get over-detailed on things, but I can think on multiple tracks at once and have caught things that even our Risk department at work didn't notice because they disrupted something.

[wheelin-after-midnight]

26.

Do you ever wonder what other people think of your survey answers?

I think it's cool if people read them and we have some interactions or conversations or whatever, but I also don't care that much if someone doesn't like me or my answers for whatever reason. It's really not that deep. I've never intentionally been mean or rude or purposefully tried to hurt anyone's feelings, so if they don't vibe with me and my blog they can not read it or unfollow.

Are there any survey-takers that you simply do not like because of their answers?

There are some that respond much differently than I would or have different views than I do, but happening upon differing viewpoints and personalities is part of life and definitely the nature of being on the internet. I've had no reason to go so far as to say I don't like someone because of how they respond to a survey. If it bothered me that much, that unfollow button works both ways.

Has anyone ever said anything in response to a survey question that offended you?

Not really. They just have a different experience or viewpoint than I do, and that's okay. I don't see a reason to get offended or come at someone directly unless they were personally attacking me or being really awful or hateful towards other groups of people or something.

Which of the following sounds more appealing at the present moment : a bag of chips, a handful of cookies, a slice of pie / cake, or some crackers? Any particular kind?

None. I’m not hungry.

How many pets have you had in your household at one time?

Two dogs and two Guinea pigs, so four.

Do you know anyone that works for a cable company?

Not anymore.

What was the last thing you heard / read / saw that made you want to face-palm?

Nippy being absolutely wild, lmfao.

Have you ever watched the show Raising Hope? If yes, what did you think of it?

I've heard of it. I don't think I've seen any of it? I don't really remember.

Name one person on Xanga that you would be interested to be friends with. Or, if you are uncomfortable doing so, is there even anyone on Xanga that you find interesting & that you think you could be friends with?

I never used Xanga, so I'm gonna answer this using Tumblr. I think it's interesting to read people's survey answers that come up in my feed, even if I might disagree. I just like seeing what other people think. There are some survey takers I feel like I probably have more in common with than others, but I would definitely hang out with @purplesurveys if I could. Robyn seems cool. :)

Is it cold enough to comfortably wear pants where you are, without getting too warm?

Yeah.

What do you / does your family pay for rent? Do you think that your home is worth that amount?

Nobody needs to know this.

Are your walls pretty sound-proof or is it easy to hear other people talking even if they’re several rooms away from you?

They're very thick and pretty sound-proof. The rare times I've fallen, nobody heard me yelling. Thank god I could eventually knock down my phone. There was a lady who used to live beside me, one time she fell, no one heard her yelling for days. She eventually got helped and went into care after that. I felt very bad though because I would have gotten her help sooner if I knew. I did that for her once before. You don't hear too many disturbances day to day in this building. It's how I know the neighbors are too much and probably disturbing other people besides me, if I can hear things clearly and loudly from my apartment, lmfao.

Have you ever had family portraits done? Is this something you are fond of doing, or do you dread it?

Not really. I don't care one way or the other, tbh.

When was the last time you had oatmeal, if ever? Do you use milk or water in it?

A couple weeks ago, I think? I make it with water and then add milk before I actually eat it.

Do you have anything on your bedroom door? Have you ever?

I live in a studio. No bedroom door. I'm sure I did when I was younger.

Have you ever worked hard on something, only to have someone ruin it [whether literally or figuratively]?

Probably.

Does taking medication make you nervous? Is it something you avoid as much as possible?

I try not to take anything unless I absolutely need it in order to not die.

Do you ever learn new words [or even “remember” old words] that you become addicted to saying & repeat them in almost every sentence?

Not in every sentence. But sure.

Who do you know that suffers from bad dandruff, if anyone?

I can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

Do you think that after the age of 90 you should stop caring so much about what you intake & just eat / drink whatever you want because you might as well since you’d be on the verge of death anyhow?

I can't speak to what other people do in their lives and I definitely wouldn't judge what someone else chooses to do or how they feel in their final years. I really don't think I will live this long, but not giving a flying fuck is probably closer to how I would feel about things at that stage than not.

Are the bottoms of your feet dirty?

No.

What do you do with your gum after you are done chewing it?

Throw it in the trash.

Do you know someone that [unintentionally] types in caps a lot & then afterward apologizes for it? Do you watch what you are typing to ensure that you don’t make mistakes like that, or do you tend to stare down at the keyboard as you type?

I don't know anyone like that. I don't look at the keyboard that much when I type.

Are you at all interested in the lives of celebrities? Why do you think people care so much about the lives of people that they don’t even know?

A little bit, if I like the person and their work. Not to the point that it's invasive and obsessive and gross. They're still people who have a right to live their lives with some semblance of normalcy and privacy.

What is a site that you go to when you need a good laugh?

There aren't really any. I'll talk to babe or play with Nippy or watch something I find funny before I'll go to a website. Sometimes I laugh really hard scrolling through things on reddit, but I use the app, not the site.

[janitorsupplies]

a gripe about the boys s4 finale + more

[big fat diabolical spoilers for the s4 finale]

tw: general the boys stuff,, Hughie's r*pe

after thinkin for a little while i'm not happy about the finale tbh !

and its not that i don't like it in the way that i don't like how it turned out, i think it leaves room for an excellent final season (i will wait 2 years for that, ong), i more so think that the characters in the episode acted,,, uncharacteristically?

acted not like themselves

acted out of character, yeahh

from what we've seen of sage this season (so glad she lived btw), i don't think she would just, y'know, stroll into Homelander's room, gloating like that i thought it had been established that she didn't fw Homelander anymore, especially now she's been fired, and she's smart enough to know how much of a loose cannon Homelander could be, and that if she says the wrong thing she just gets lasered (i was shitting myself hoping that wouldn't happen)

and also how tf did she even get in Vought tower?? wouldn't the other members stop her??

and then there's butcher's reaction to grace's death, like damn, i don't think Billy fucking butcher is just gonna say nothing when one of the few people he trusts gets killed right in front of him (BY HIS SON TOO??), like how is he not shouting mad??

and then he just up and kills Neuman like bruh did Hughie's talk to him mean fuckin nothing or something like, he brings up Lenny for gods sake and butcher just,, says nothing?? it's been established over the season that he's not listening to monkey at all now he knows he's not real and on that, where the fuck is Becca in his head?? what's she doing?? speak tf up, stop him

and Ryan,, Ryan wouldn't just shove his basically adoptive grandma out of anger like that, at least i don't think he would.

and this is a little difficult to explain but i don't think annie would react like that towards Hughie engaging with the carbon-copy shapeshifted Annie. like he did not know it was not her. how would he know?? i feel like Annie would've been understand of that at least, if not annoyed, but not enough to go off on him like he did something wrong

this also brings up the point of Hughie just being Kripke's punching bag for the whole damn show,, like i thought he had a character progression of becoming more brave, but nah he's just getting fucked from all directions and its written for comedy most of the time (pretty sure Kripke said that Hughie's rape scene was written for comedy,,, ha ha funny)

i'm getting distracted now, might add more to this later if i feel like it

but hey, a-train lives baby CANT STOP THE A TRAIN BABY

(EDIT) I JUST REMEMBERED THEY ENDED IT WITH NIRVANA?? FUCK YOU!!!1 FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KIMIKO SPEAKING?? FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!! FUCK!!!

oh and yeah, kate really does ruin everything, huh.

another thing i forgot did they make kimiko worse while fighting the shifter?? i feel like she woulda easily been able to drop that mf right there, but nah she gets her neck snapped ggez

[scattered-shadows]

As seen on my FF.net Also seen on my Ao3

Following the events of fifth year, a new adventure awaits for Norah Lee. Boys, exams, school events, common room parties, and old foes outside of Hogwarts. Even battling pensieve guardians was easier than this.

Main Pair: OC / Ominis Gaunt Genre: Adventure/Angst/Fluff (it's a little of everything, tbh)

KEEP IN MIND: Characters are aged up (even if the story's got them in sixth year) to make it more appropriate. Time period is leaning towards the modern day so in case you might find anachronisms in the dialogue or references, this is why. This may also be quite a lengthy fic too.

BE WARNED: Social anxiety, mentions of blood and injury, grief, drinking, kissing but nothing more than that, death (this is Hogwarts Legacy, after all)

P.P.S: Another lengthy chapter ahead. Given that it took me a month to update this, consider this chapter the last update for 2024. Expect the new chapters to come in 2025. Norah gets cuddled to sleep, Anne and Naru have a "moment" and people are opening presents.

P.P.P.S: I also know there's some talk here about buying and selling houses in the Wizarding World. It's a possible head canon that I can flesh out somewhere else in a post either on Tumblr or on Discord. That is all. Also, the earliest age for students in Mahoutokoro to start attending, I got it from one of the HP Wiki-pages, so yeah. There's a difference in info between the Mahoutokoro School Wiki and the HP Wiki pages.

Masterlist

Chapter 27

With some effort, Anne sat down on the couch in the living space of the Lee house that evening. The tension was thick after their conversation with Ominis and Norah and Naru hearing it all. Sebastian was sitting across from her, too stunned to speak yet he managed to fill his sister in on the details about why Norah had been behaving the way she was. None of them expected that things would take a turn for the worst. Friendships were now hanging in the air, only made worse by a heartbreak. Knowing how things had turned out, Anne wondered if it was still alright for them to stay.

The only sensible option was for them to leave and return to Feldcroft. Her, Sebastian, and Ominis. At least spare Norah the obligation of having to entertain them at this time.

Since Solomon's death, his home there had now been hers and Sebastian's. Sebastian, whenever he was home, took it upon himself to learn how to repair things manually from the books he borrowed in the library or bought from one of the hamlets. Sebastian had at one point considered selling the house so he can buy what used to be Mary Portman's home in Aranshire. It was his childhood home after all. Now, after what he found out, that house came with a very large cellar.

Naru was sitting across from the twins, glancing at Anne, then at Sebastian, and then at what was happening in the third floor. Ominis was standing outside Norah's room, pleading to be let in so they could talk.

"I was going to tell you, Norah- I just wanted to wait for the right time, I know you're going through so much and I didn't want to add to it any further, please, let me in so we can talk about this," Ominis spoke from outside the room.

If they were quiet enough, they could hear Norah's faint sobs. Naru could only sigh.

"Norah, please, please let me in," Ominis asked again, his forehead resting on the door, nearly stumbling over when it opened. He sensed that Norah's eyes were now red, her cheeks tear-stained.

Ominis cleared his throat and walked in, choosing to close the door behind them. "Norah-"

"Look," She cut him off with a slight hiccup. "Please don't rub it in any more, Ominis. I understand completely, and I told you, didn't I? Whether or not I choose to love you, is for me to decide, not you."

Norah wiped her eyes. Ominis took a step closer, only for her to take a step back. "You've been through a lot, and I know you're breaking down more than that. I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry you had to find out that way, and for...what I think," He said.

"I know," She sighed. "I know. That's the worst part. But even knowing you and how you are, can't you just see any possibility?"

"I'm doing this to protect you," Ominis said.

"I can protect myself just fine," Norah argued.

"You deserve so much better than me. You don't know what my family is capable of-"

"I know what they're capable of, if Carrow and his family is of any indication, yours will not be any different," She pointed out with some frustration. "But what about you? Do you want something to happen between us? ...Are you that scared?"

The question made the blonde stop. He was scared. Scared to get into something that may hurt him more than living with his own family already did. With everything he had experienced in his life, from losing aunt Noctua, from cursing out that muggle as a child, from allowing Norah to get cursed by Sebastian, from nearly and slowly losing Anne, from nearly losing Sebastian in his quest to cure Anne and possibly turning him over to Azkaban, and now possibly losing Norah again. Did he want this to happen again?

"Yes," He swallowed hard. "I am scared. Very much scared of what might happen, both good and bad. Even if it's for me, even if I could be happy. Because I know something bad's going to happen next. I...love you, very much, but I don't think it can happen, and you deserve so much better. I want you to be happy, I don't think I can give you that. Being with me...will only cause you pain."

Norah stared at him, unsure of what to say. She was still very hurt, by everything, and this felt like the final nail in the coffin.

"You know," She managed to say with a sniffle. "I want you to be happy too. I-I could wait-"

"Don't," He cut her off. "Please don't. It's terribly unfair to you if you do that. I can't and won't let you bear that. Norah, please."

After a beat, Norah took a step forward. "Alright."

Ominis could feel his eyes welling up. The two of them didn't say anything anymore, and instead quietly sat down on the couch at the foot of her bed. They silently agreed that things would go back to normal once they return to Hogwarts. As hard as it was, it was the only way to keep their friendship intact, even if their hearts were broken.

By dinner time, Norah was unsurprised to know that her parents were suddenly out of town, having secretly taken the car to spend the rest of the holiday in their home in the Cotswolds. However, they had left a present for Norah in the study. They wouldn't be alone, that much she knew, as they might be spending time with their friends. Also unsurprisingly, this secret getaway was at the insistence of her mother.

Perhaps they were more comfortable with the muggles now, she thought.

Naru and Anne sat on both sides of the table next to Norah, who sat at one end, observing the way they decorated the tree along with other parts of the house. The pair, sensing the tension, along with Norah's puffy eyes and Ominis's crestfallen expression which had gotten even worse after their conversation, exchanged glances, silently trying to figure out how to liven up the mood for this holiday. But, for Anne, it was her way of trying to get to know Naru better after their conversation in Hogsmeade Station.

Naru suddenly cleared his throat and raised his glass of juice, making them do the same. "Well, this is a first for all of us," He stood up. "My first trip to the UK, first time meeting my cousin, my first time meeting Hogwarts students, my first time spending Christmas somewhere else. I'm sure it's the same for all of you. Cheers."

From all of them, only Anne was smiling as they took sips. "What's it like in Mahoutokoro. You're in House Toppuu, right?" She asked.

Naru nodded. "Yes. It has a really nice view. It's on a cliff overlooking the sea. That's where the Tengu practice so we get to watch how they do it. It's also the most relaxing common room in the school. We all tend to have difficulty studying because of the sound of the sea and the waves," He chuckled. "You'd see people falling asleep in the middle of an assignment."

"I'm curious," Sebastian spoke this time, also wanting to diffuse the tension. "How do you get sorted into your houses?"

Naru sat back down. "Well, before we are sorted, we were given time to think about what the houses mean and what it might mean for us to be sorted into any of them. It's kind of private too, not like what you tend to do at Hogwarts. We're given the whole day during our first day to think about the possibility of getting into one of the houses. When we're ready, we approach this long scroll in the hall and place our hand on it. The letters signifying our house will appear on the scroll, and that's how you get sorted."

The twins were fascinated. "Ours is just an enchanted hat that yells out the name of the house you're going to," Sebastian shrugged.

"It's different with every school," Naru replied. "But I have heard that discrimination by blood status among our kind is quite rampant here."

"It is, and I should know," Ominis suddenly said. If he could see, he would've been glancing at Norah. "Your cousin has been on the receiving end of that from one of our own housemates, unfortunately."

"Ah, right," Naru turned to Norah, as if reminded that they needed to start eating. She wasn't saying anything, rather, she was staring at her own plate and several small bowls of food that served as side-dishes to an all-Japanese menu for the night.

Sebastian, on the other hand, felt his blood boil at the thought of what Carrow had done to her during that particular duel in the hall. Anne looked disapprovingly when she remembered Ominis's retelling of the incident. When Norah didn't seem to provide any other insight, a slight nod from her at Naru's coaxing was their signal to start eating.

The sound of clinking utensils and chopsticks falling out of hands and off tables filled the entire house aside from the soft crackling of the fire in what little fireplace Norah's family had in this very industrial-looking estate. Sebastian, Ominis, and Anne clearly enjoyed eating something else for a change, while Naru seemed proud of himself for knowing his mother's - Norah's paternal aunt - recipes by heart. Even Naru's parents seemed like busy people, and so cooking was a skill he had to learn since he started attending Mahoutokoro as a day student at the young age of seven.

It was another difference, as Ominis, Anne, Sebastian, and Norah would learn when they pressed Naru some more about his school. Compared to Hogwarts, students in Mahoutokoro weren't required to board in the school, and so those who didn't were called day students. Naru prefered taking some time to travel before going to class, and when he made the house quidditch team, he would go on a little trip on his broom until he could start apparating and disapparating.

Norah enjoyed listening to someone else talk for a change. It took some weight off of her dealing with her own problems. She didn't want anyone else to focus too much on that, not when they were all learning so much from Naru. Even she was learning about her cousin, another blood relative she wasn't aware of until he made himself known.

By the time Anne suggested to take the pudding out, they had immediately charmed the sink to start washing the dishes, leaving them to take out more plates and cutlery for the dessert. "I know it's unorthodox, but hey, my parents aren't here, why don't we crack open one of their bottles of wine?" Norah suggested, a playful grin on her face as she went further into the kitchen and to their wine coolers.

"Sticky toffee pudding," Sebastian felt his mouth water at the sight of the warm treat while he set down the plates and forks. "I still can't believe Anne and Naru managed to make all of what we ate today," He said, settling himself back down on his seat.

"All the while you were wondering how to take a look at that Magpies poster upstairs," Ominis teased.

Just then, Norah came back out with two bottles of wine, Naru having helped her by bringing the glasses and setting them down. "Norah, what kind of-" Sebastian stopped upon seeing the way she stuck the wine bottle opener onto the cork. "So-" He was stunned into silence when Norah drank straight from the bottle, wrinkling her nose at the taste.

"This is not firewhisky, but it'll have to do-" Norah stared at the bottle before taking another drink. With a soft burp, she left the other bottle for them to open.

Ominis's expression turned into that of concern, as did Naru and Anne, who tried to pry off the bottle from her grip. "Won't your parents get mad that you're drinking their wine-" Anne tried to ask.

"They're not here right now, they don't really care as much as you think," Norah burped. "What they do care about, however, is how to keep up appearances. Appearances, that's what they care about..."

She reached for the kazoo next to the pile of presents. Norah bought it out of wanting to gift one to each of them including one for herself. She took another long drink before playing a little riff, sitting back down on the chair, playing a few more riffs that sounded a little like a 1950s blues number.

"Norah-chan," Naru began, his tone a little firm this time. "I wonder if you'll be able to understand me," He suddenly spoke in Japanese.

"What makes you think I don't?" Norah replied in fluent Japanese, making Ominis, Sebastian, and Anne gape. "You're not the only-" She hiccuped. "multi-lingual person in this room..."

Anne sighed and tried to get up. "Norah, I guess this is a sign that we- I mean, me, Ominis, and Sebastian, should go back to Feldcroft if things have gotten weird now-"

"And be perceived as an asshole for kicking you three out this time of year?" Norah stared at them. "It's not your fault, Anne, none of this is your fault. I know you tried, you really did, and I also think you kind of fancy Naru so I wouldn't dream of kicking you three out of my home."

She got to her feet before Sebastian or Ominis could get to her. "Bloody hell, Norah," Sebastian sighed.

"Yes, that's all you can say, can you? Almost everything and everyone you care about is still there for you," Norah pointed out, followed by another riff of the kazoo. "But I don't want to ruin the festive mood even more than I already have. Please, go, celebrate for me, I'll be in my room. If you want or need to go out...figure out how to use muggle money and the phone on your own..."

She trudged up the stairs, one hand holding the wine bottle, the other holding the kazoo. As soon as they heard her close the door, in a moment of sudden confidence, Ominis got up from his seat his wand leading him up the stairs and to her room, gently knocking on the door before slowly opening it.

As far as Ominis could tell, Norah was on the floor, back against the foot of her bed, feet splayed out. She was crying, even more so than what he heard from her before. This felt...deep, as if the floodgates had really opened and all she could do was cry. He was reminded by something his aunt Noctua taught him as a child.

When the world seems too painful to face, having someone you love with you can make it better.

He loved her, and he wanted her to be happy, but how could she be happy when everything around her seemed to fall apart? Was he really that scared?

Ominis sat down next to her. Feeling that confidence come over him, he suddenly pulled Norah into his arms, feeling her sobs even more as he held on to her tight. "No, Ominis please-"

"I'm not going anywhere," He said, shaking his head. Ominis closed his eyes, mentally questioning everything he thought and said earlier. "I love you..." He whispered, holding her close. Their moment in the Undercroft after the ball replaying in his head like a song on repeat. "and it's because I love you that I want to protect you...Even if it means I can't be the one who gives you what you want...I'm always here."

Norah looked up at him, tears continuously streaming down her cheeks. "I...love you too. And I wouldn't care what kind of family you come from. I can protect myself," She sniffled.

"I know," Ominis's hand moved to her cheek, wiping whatever tears he could feel. "I know, but there's more to this," His voice was now trembling. "If they learn about what you can do? They'll try and take it from you. They're too dangerous, and I won't let them take it from you."

He held her closer, embracing her tightly as if he didn't want to let go but he had to. Just when he had a chance at being completely happy, Ominis Gaunt knew it couldn't be. Being a Gaunt was a curse unto itself, and he would rather suffer than allow others, including Sebastian and Anne, to be affected. Especially Norah. Many already knew of his family as hateful, pureblood supremacists who loved and lived for torturing muggles and muggle-borns. Marvolo's would-be wife unsurprisingly shared their same beliefs.

If he really wanted to be done and over with everything he was going through, he could've asked Norah to do the ultimate thing and put an end to his family. But of course Norah wouldn't. She wasn't going to cast an Unforgivable unless there was nothing else left to do, but her ancient magic abilities permanently gave her a more powerful option.

They stayed that way the rest of the night, the two of them eventually falling asleep. Naru, who wondered what happened between them, quietly peeked inside. He could read both Ominis' and Norah's thoughts and nodded to himself. He was more relieved than anything that the night ended this way for the two of them.

Naru quietly closed the door and looked up at the clock, hearing Sebastian trudge up the stairs to go to his room, leaving Anne in the living area. It was nearly midnight, nearly Christmas. He went back down to the dining area, seeing how everything was now tidied up, thanks to the dishes that are washing themselves. To his surprise, there were already presents under the Christmas tree, and from the light rapping on the window, there were owls that were clutching packages on their talons.

"I'll get it," Anne suddenly said, carefully making her way to the window and opening it. "Oh, that looks like Garreth's owl," the tawny owl dropped the package inside before flying off. "...Leander's owl. Amit's owl too."

Naru looked surprised as the second owl dropped off a bigger package in front of them. "You can recognize these owls?" He asked.

"I sometimes hung around the Owlery when I was still studying," She winced a little, touching her side. "I'd see Garreth and Leander there sometimes, they're also Norah's friends, by the way. Sometimes I think they both like her with how Sebastian talks about them, even Ominis."

Naru chuckled. "I'm glad she is also liked. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you...like anyone?" He asked. "I think you're beautiful," He then muttered in Japanese.

Anne blinked, all the while hoping he didn't see how her cheeks went hot at the question. "M-me? like anyone?"

Naru nodded. "Are you dating anyone?"

Anne chuckled and looked down for a moment. "N-no, no I'm not dating anyone. As you can see," She winced again. "It's kind of hard to date when you're in pain every now and then."

"I heard from your brother you were cursed by Victor Rookwood," Naru glanced at her while he closed the window after seeing no other owls coming in toward the house.

While Anne didn't want to continue bringing her situation up, Naru's curiosity felt different, felt similar to how Norah and Ominis treated her. "Yes, unfortunately. But that Rookwood's now dead, you have your cousin to thank for that after he confronted her outside Ollivander's last year."

Naru smiled, having understood. He looked up, almost freezing when he realized what was hanging on the chandelier above their heads. When Anne looked up to where he was looking, she too nearly froze. They were standing under some mistletoe.

Their eyes slowly met as they looked down, and Naru studied her expression as if silently asking for permission. At any moment, one of them could lean away or suddenly decide that it might not be the time. Yet, neither of them seemed to budge. As much as they kept gazing into each other's eyes, their hands seemed to find their way to each other as well, Naru gently holding Anne's hands as he slowly leaned in.

Their eyes were closing. Any moment now, one or both of them could lean away, yet no one was budging. Naru leaned in all the way and kissed her softly before pulling away, still holding her hands. "Merry Christmas," He murmured.

If he looked close enough, he could see a faint blush appear on Anne's pale cheeks. "Merry Christmas," She greeted him back.

Small smiles crept up on their faces.

---

Christmas day was no longer as tense as the day before. Norah opened her eyes, sensing how puffy it had gotten, followed by the headache that one would get when even the slightest bit hungover. But it took a second until she realized that she had been sleeping in Ominis's arms the whole night, on the carpeted floor. The blonde, who managed to pull away just a little while they slept, was still in a peaceful slumber facing her. His wand, the tip glowing red, was on the bedside table.

She felt somewhat better now, a big weight lifted from her shoulders. Rather, it seemed to be washed away by the amount of alcohol she drank and how much she cried the night before. By this time, Sebastian, Naru, and Anne might already be awake and having breakfast. If she didn't try to get drunk and break down into a sobbing mess, she would've tried to enjoy the holiday a lot more.

As Norah thought about it, she studied Ominis' peaceful expression. She replayed the things he told her last night. She slowly sat up and got out of bed, the blonde opening his eyes at the sudden shift of weight on the mattress.

"N-Norah?" He said softly, reaching for his wand.

"Yes?"

"Good morning," He said.

"Good morning."

Ominis sat up, briefly smoothing his now slightly tousled hair. "Did you sleep well?" He certainly slept like a baby, he thought.

"I-I did" She said. "Merry Christmas, Ominis."

The greeting reminded him of why he was in Norah's home. "Right. Merry Christmas, Norah," He got up and out of bed.

Unsure of what else to say, the two of them left the room, suddenly hearing the familiar tinkering of dishes that didn't just mean breakfast, but also how Sebastian, Anne, and Naru were already celebrating. Norah turned to Ominis. "You had better change in your yukata. I think my father left one in your room, or Naru did," She said.

"Oh, oh right, I will then. I'll see you downstairs." Ominis nodded, making his way to the staircase while she went back inside her room to change.

This time to change also gave her the time to wash up and perhaps depuff her eyes. Looking around, Norah figured it was time to incorporate more of the magical world that she was now a part of, to this space she had in the muggle world.

Norah stepped out a little later, hearing the ruckus grow louder as Anne, Sebastian, and Naru were already dressed in their yukatas, Anne looking especially radiant with the vibrant colors of orange and light blue flowers against white. Naru and Sebastian seemed to match with their navy blue ones while Ominis wore a muted green. Norah stopped in front of the mirror, her hair already up in the bun she had gotten good at doing. She wore her emerald green yukata tied with a pink flowery obi. Her mother had chosen this specifically for her, apparently coming from a family seamstress in Japan. She figured Naru might recognize it.

As she emerged in the dining room, she was greeted by Naru and Anne handing her a familiar pint of butterbeer. Apparently, Sebastian and Naru went to the Leaky Cauldron to buy a keg while she was getting ready.

"Merry Christmas, Norah" Anne smiled.

She wasn't going to be sad today. Not today. "Merry Christmas, Anne!" She said cheerily, clinking her pint with hers. "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

"Someone's in a good mood," Sebastian grinned. He glanced at Ominis, who was taking a careful sip of butterbeer. "These are really comfortable, by the way."

"It should be," Naru pointed out with a laugh. "Breakfast is ready, and perhaps we can start opening presents after."

"I think we should have a picture to commemorate this holiday," Anne suggested, glancing at Naru, whose expression softened as their eyes met. "It would be nice."

Norah brought over her phone. "It's not enchanted, but I could have this printed and give one to each of you," She said, arm already outstretched to take their picture. Sebastian pulled Ominis in time for her to tap the button a few times. She looked at the photos, seeing all of them, including Ominis, were smiling.

"Brilliant" Anne was beaming when Norah showed them the photos she took, the four of them suddenly stopping to stare as Norah took out a small white device from the kitchen counter and with a few taps of her phone, a small photograph came out one after the other.

"Another Christmas memory," Norah said, handing one to each of them. "Sometimes I nearly forget what it's like to live like a muggle now that I've been going to Hogwarts...But then it's like...muscle memory, I guess. I'd always know how to do things like these, and still do things with magic too..."

Naru smiled as he looked at the photo he was holding. He took out his wand and after a moment, tapped Norah's phone and photo printer. "I think that should do it. Now it's enchanted."

That made Norah think. Maybe their fireplace could become connected to the floo network. Or at the very least, have a floo flame installed in the garage. She wondered how that could happen. She did think it was time to incorporate more of the magical world into the space she called home after all. She was sure her parents would have an easier time visiting if there was.

The five of them gathered around the table to eat, tucking into the leftovers from the night before, with Anne and Naru taking it upon themselves to reheat everything while Sebastian took care of everything else, including how to properly wear the yukatas the three of them were now sporting. This also included telling Ominis off for breaking Norah's heart, in the quietest way possible while also wondering how Norah must be in a good mood now after everything that happened before.

"Can I suggest next time, we spend a few days in Feldcroft?" Sebastian suddenly spoke. "If you're coming back to Scotland in the summer, you're more than welcome to join us, Naru."

"That's very kind of you to offer, I think I can do it," Naru agreed, glancing at Norah. "As long as you don't mind our other cousin comes along too. Katsuko, she's a Tozawa like Norah."

This time Norah was confused again. "Tozawa? First you say I'm an Inugami, and now you're telling me Tozawa?" She raised a brow in between bites.

Naru laughed at her confusion, but even Anne, Ominis, and Sebastian had gotten confused. "Uncle Makoto's real family name is Tozawa. He changed it to Lee upon migrating here out of shame as he's the only squib in the entire Inugami clan," He explained, trying to put the story out as gently as he could in case they had returned. "But his last name is actually Tozawa. Norah and I are second cousins because our grandmothers are sisters."

"Oh, so like second cousins? And Katsuko, she's my first cousin?" Norah pieced it together, and Naru replied with a hum. "Got it."

"She actually wanted to come along when she found out I was coming here," Naru explained. "You two actually look a bit similar."

The comparison somehow made Sebastian's and Ominis' ears perk up. "Oh, well, if she ever comes here, hopefully we wouldn't get mistaken for each other," Norah chuckled. "And because my dad probably has no plans to change his name back to Tozawa, you're all stuck with my last name being Lee...Not that he knows that I know about this now..."

"The more the merrier!" Anne smiled. She glanced at Sebastian, having remembered something. "It's going to be their last summer break while studying at Hogwarts, and we've got to talking, and we've agreed that we might put up Solomon's house for sale and move back to Aranshire or to someplace closer."

"You two? Leaving Feldcroft?" Norah raised a brow.

"Yeah," Sebastian nodded. "When our parents died, we had to move to Feldcroft for Solomon. Now that he's um," He paused for a moment. "Well, you know, passed away, we thought we'd move back to Aranshire, which is where we lived when we were children. I think you're familiar with the house too. Mary Portman?"

Memories of fighting spiders in the cellar came rushing back. "If you need help clearing the cellar out, let us know," Norah suggested. "It's more of a cavern than a cellar, if you ask me."

"Oh right..." Sebastian stared at her. "Pest control, was it?"

"Mhmm. Might want to plant an army of venomous tentaculas and chomping cabbages to keep those spiders out," Norah suggested.

---

They gathered around the Christmas tree after several toasts and some pudding, each of them opening their presents. Much to their surprise, Garreth sent each of them knitted Christmas jumpers, likely out of the insistence of his mother. Leander, on the other hand, sent a packet of honking daffodil seeds for Norah, a book about Alchemy for Sebastian, a dirigible plum start for Anne, and a Tempest in a Bottle for Ominis. As for Amit, he sent over constellation posters to each of them, perhaps those that reminded him of them. Henry and Natty also sent them their respective presents, such as copies of the adventure novels she told them about once before and jars of assorted jams made by Henry's mother and sister.

In Sebastian's case, he had some help from Adele about what to get Norah and Anne. Ominis, on the other hand, relied on Anne's help. Ominis had given Norah a new pair of dragonhide gloves, while Sebastian gave her a journal for her to write her research down on the swirling ball of pain and emotion in the caverns.

"So you don't leave your journal entries scattered all over like Isidora," He teased.

But Norah handed Naru a wrapped box with a gold ribbon. "Merry Christmas, cousin," She grinned.

Naru's eyes lit up as he tore open the gift, opening the box to reveal a sneakoscope, immediately using it on everyone. With Anne and Sebastian, Norah gave each of them duelling gloves with their initials embroidered on them, and for Ominis, she gave him a pair of green-tinted spectacles and what he realized was the button on her sweater.

"I'm having way too much fun with this," Naru said, still looking around into the sneakoscope. He brought out a small wrapped gift to her as well. "Before I left, I thought you needed to have something from home. It's nothing much."

She looked down at the present, wrapped in a blue fabric and tied together with a shiny floral ribbon. Slowly untying the ribbon, the fabric spread out, revealing a dark green kimono jacket with gold and silver embroidery. Looking closely, the gold and silver designs were actually of a chrysanthemum, a koto or Japanese zither, and surprisingly, an axe. The fabric felt incredibly soft to the touch.

"Wow," Norah mouthed, holding it up for most of them to see, but even Ominis' wand sensed the details. "Are you sure this is for me?"

"Yeah, the chrysanthemum, the koto, and the axe are of the three Inugami family heirlooms," Naru explained wisely. "Each grandchild or great-grandchild has this made for them by the family seamstress. I can't tell you how many times my grandma's told us that growing up."

They were all fascinated. It also had the gears in Sebastian's head turning. From how Naru was dressed, how he carried himself, and what he brought for Norah, was making him think about her family's reputation back in Japan. How Norah's father behaved like someone who was exiled for being a squib. It was making him think.

Ominis, on the other hand, was starting to think the same thing, with the jacket seemingly becoming yet another clue. But there would be time to wonder about that later. As Anne and Naru seemed to be making glances at each other, Norah thought it was another chance to take a photo. She took out her phone to take candid shots of each of them, especially of the pair. It was definitely not the day to be sad, she told herself. Not when the people she cared about were celebrating with her.

[leeknowsnot]

rental romance (i.n x reader)

genre: fluff, retro setting: 80s warnings: none tbh, ok maybe a short mention of early pregnancy but it's not that major. it's not even relevant to the story lol

Series: Retro Series

hii!! this will be the first ever imagine that i'm posting for this blog. it will also be the first to the ot8 retro series that i'll be making so i hope you enjoy!!

note: idrk if i should add this as note but f/n stands for your friend's name ^^

links: chan minho changbin hyunjin han felix seungmin

The school bell rang, eliciting a cheer from almost every student, including you. It was the last day before summer vacation, and no one could wish for more than the last minute to end. As your professor waved her hand goodbye, wishing everyone a happy vacation with an amused smile on her face, you stretched out your arms and legs. 

You could swear you heard some pop, but you could never blame your body for not feeling stiff after sitting through five hours of unnecessary lecture about accidental summer pregnancy and foolish teenage adventures during summer. You knew it was just the faculty keeping out for you and the others—considering how someone had “accidents” during the school’s overnight camping trip a few months ago; they didn’t want a replay of that. 

You felt a tap on your shoulder, your friend’s grin beaming too close to your face once you turned your head. “Got any plans for summer?” she asked. 

You pursed your lips, jutting it in a manner that you always do whenever you think and shrug at her, “I don’t know. I’ll probably rent some VHS and catch up on some movies I haven’t seen ever since my brother broke the VCR. Dad got us a new one after his promotion last week.” 

You weren’t exactly the most adventurous person, but you weren’t anti-social either. You just preferred being alone most of the time with your movies, curled in a blanket in the living room, hogging the television set and feasting your eyes on some half-blurry movie that you have managed to get your hands on, keeping the entertainment all to yourself. Though sometimes, you’d end up engrossing the others at home with your endless list of movies to watch. Your choices were always what’s “in”; The Breakfast Club, Fright Night, Ghostbusters—you didn’t mind whatever genre it was. Except for one. Romance. 

You didn’t exactly hate romance, but you didn’t like it either. For you, watching Romance movies was... well, it was weird, and you’d rather not risk it and save yourself from the cringe. 

Taking your bag from your seat, you both headed out of the classroom, the chattering of other students livening the ever-so crowded hallway. Since today was the last day of the school year, it was denser than ever. 

F/N grimaced at you, one of her eyebrows raising. “Didn’t you tell me you didn’t like the lady owner at the store?” 

Your nose crinkled, unsure if it was because of the mixed smell of perfume and summer sweat from the other students in the hallway or at the owner of the VHS store you always talked—no, scratch that—complained to your friend about. You decided it was the latter. 

“I don’t have any choice F/N, that’s literally the only video rental store in town,” you said. 

“You’re right”, she gave you an expression of defeat. “You might as well date that old woman this summer, since you’ll be frequenting her shop.” 

“Ew, no. I’m not into older women,” you give her a shove on the shoulder, and she lets out a laugh. 

You both were cut off from your conversation when you heard a familiar honk by the street across the school entrance. F/N’s face fell, “Well, I guess I gotta go. Dad’s having his relatives visit tonight and we’re going to eat out at that same diner at the next town.” 

It was now your turn to return the favor and tease her back. “Hope you get flirted by that waiter again!” 

She let out a frustrated huff at you and rolled her eyes, to which you responded with a laugh. You heard another honk. 

“Ugh, fine I’m coming!” you heard her groan as she walked away from you and into her father’s car, waving one last time at you before they sped off—an inaudible sound of him scolding her for leaving the school grounds late, retreating as the car soon joined the sea of cars in the distance. 

⊹　　˖　　　　 ̟　　　⊹　　　˙

The distance from your school to the video rental shop wasn’t exactly far so you arrived only a couple of minutes later, on foot. 

As the usual bell from the small entrance door jingled at your entrance, the familiar smell of the store welcomed you. It was always a mixture of wet wood, dry cardboard, vinyl tapes, and the lady owner’s disturbingly fragrant perfume. However, her perfume wasn’t what trickled your nostrils, but a different perfume. It was musky, a bit fresh, you thought. Either way, it was different from what you were used to. 

When you turned into a corner and towards the counter, you expected to see the old woman rubbing on the back of some vinyl disc, as what she would always do each time you visit for a rental. But it was a different person behind the long wooden table this time. 

It was a guy, dressed in a white collared shirt that was tucked in his jeans, and a—what even is that. 

‘Is that a floral beach shirt on top?’ you laugh to yourself. You tried so hard not to chortle at his untimely choice of fashion while manning a store, but a snort escaped between your lips and caught his attention. 

He raises his eyebrows at you and smiles, “Welcome! Anything I can assist you with? We have some new arrivals from this morning’s delivery.” 

You could swear his eyes disappeared momentarily when he beamed at you. You cleared your throat, landing your eyes everywhere but him at embarrassment over the possibility that he could have caught you staring at him and silently ridiculing him for wearing a beach shirt outside of the beach. 

“I uh... I was just wondering where the owner was since I haven’t really seen you before,” you said, trying to talk your way out of being caught red-handed. 

“Oh, she’s not here. I’m the new store employee, it’s my first shift!” And he bought it with a smile. Well, he technically didn’t see you anyway since he was too busy updating the shop list, but you felt it was necessary to play safe anyway. 

You nodded your head, your mouth slightly agape as you silently mouthed a quiet hum. “I see...” 

At least I don’t have to deal with her cranky attitude anymore, you thought. 

He walked out from the back of the counter and towards you, his whole stature finally revealing itself as the counter was tall enough to cover below his chest. At the end of the lace that hung on his neck was an employee identification card and sure enough, he is an employee at the store, seeing that the logo was plastered beside his picture—in which you thought that the logo was unnecessarily huge. 

Yang Jeong In, it read. 

From up close, you thought that he was cute. Well, compared to those brutes and try-hards at your school anyway. He was slightly taller than you are too, and the whiffs of his perfume reached your nostrils more than it did earlier. 

“The new movie tapes are in that shelf over there,” he pointed with his thumb. 

You blinked, remembering the cassette that was inside your bag—the idea of possibly making a bad impression on the new employee not lost at the back of your brain. “Actually,” you paused, fishing your bag for the cassette tape. “I’m also here to return a movie I borrowed a couple of weeks ago.” 

You hand him the copy of The Outsiders that you had been meaning to return since two weeks ago. He returned to the back of the counter again, his face disappearing as he bowed his head down at whatever logbook he was writing in from earlier, leaving you to stare at a couple of his hair strands poking out from the prim wax finish that looked like it had been rushed upon application. 

“It’s uh... It’s past due,” you can hear him scratch his head. “For about almost a month now.” 

You let out a sheepish laugh, tapping on the strap of your bag. “Yeah, about that... I wanted to return it as soon as I finished it, but school was...” you trailed off. Yeah, not a very valid reason. 

You heard him tap the counter from behind twice before he poked his head out at you with a smile. “Okay, I’ll just fill this in,” he said before his face disappeared behind the counter again. 

You decided it was best not to question him anymore and took a walk around the store, running your fingers around some movie tapes and musing inside your head about what and what you have not yet watched. You stopped at a shelf where the employee said they had new arrivals. There were various titles that weren’t familiar indeed and you had the worst indecisive trait, so you lingered on your spot, staring at the multiple movies. 

“I recommend giving Gregory’s Girl a watch,” the new employee from behind you suddenly spoke. 

You jumped in surprise at his sudden presence, both hands clutched at your chest. It was now his turn to snort in amusement. You were too focused on eyeing the movies that you didn’t notice him leaving the counter and walking up behind you. 

“I’m not a fan of romance,” you blinked, recovering yourself from the untimely fright that he had given you. He tilted his head slightly, both eyebrows raised. 

“It’s both a combination of romance and comedy. It’s good,” he nods. “I’ve watched it for about five times myself.” 

You stood there, eyes switching from him to the paper cassette box stacked neatly amongst the other movies. You were contemplating whether to take Child’s Play or Gregory’s Girl, but you wanted a change of pace from your usual action and horror movies, so you thought that maybe it wouldn’t be too bad if you took his recommendation into consideration. 

“Fine, I’ll borrow that,” you finally gave up and he flashed another smile. Does he ever not smile? You think to yourself. Though, you didn’t exactly mind. It was cute refreshing to see rather than a certain woman in her late 50s, unleashing her bitterness over life at her own customers. 

He then took the tape and wrote something on his logbook before handing you the cassette in a plastic bag and stamping on your rental booklet that they use to keep track of each person’s rental history. 

You thanked him, slightly bowing your head before heading out of the door. 

It was your first time renting a romance movie. You thought to yourself, I’ll just watch the first few minutes then I’ll just rewatch Beetlejuice. 

Yeah, you’ll do that. 

⊹　　˖　　　　 ̟　　　⊹　　　˙

You have never been so wrong in your entire life. Here you are now, standing in front of the same counter, in the same shop the next day, with the same new employee. And he was trying his best not to give you the widest, smug grin while he took Gregory’s Girl from your hands. 

You rolled your eyes at him, “Okay fine, it was surprisingly good.” 

He gives you an exaggerated expression, “Surprisingly good? It’s great! It’s one of the best romcom movies I’ve ever seen. Well, after The Breakfast Club.” 

You held up a hand, “Wait, you like The Breakfast Club too?” 

“Of course, who doesn’t? And Fright Night.” 

“No way,” you rested your chin on top of the small table at the middle of the store while he placed the tape you rented back at the shelf. These were practically your favorites. “Don’t tell me you like Ghostbusters too.” 

He faced you, both eyebrows raised at you. “I love Ghostbusters! It’s an icon.” 

You gave him an amused expression, a smile on your face. Back at home and at school, you didn’t really have anyone else to share your enthusiasm over movies with. Not even your friend, since she had more interest in sports stuff. 

Then, he started humming a familiar tune. “If there’s something strange, In your neighborhood.” Your ears perked at that. 

“Oh my God,” you gasped. His head was bopping at the mutual tune that both of you had in your heads. 

“Who you gonna call?” he continued before finally turning to you. 

You laughed as you shook your head and your hand. “No way I’m singing with you.” 

He tilted his head again at you, an expecting expression on his lips. Eventually, you gave up. 

“GHOSTBUSTERS!” you both exclaim at the same time and laugh at the unison. 

You held your stomach from laughing too much. “Ohh, this is so much better than having that sulky old lady around!” 

You were laughing so much that you hadn’t realized you were the only left laughing. Until you did. When you recollected yourself, you saw him looking at you with wide eyes, hand covering his mouth. 

Oops, I think I thought out loud, you grimaced. 

“I... I mean—” 

“HAHAHAHAHA!!” He slowly burst out laughing. You were momentarily confused as to why he laughed at your sudden self-snitching, but he eventually spoke. “So I wasn’t the only one who thought that too? That the store owner was really sulky.” 

Suddenly, you were back on the same page as him again. “Exactly my point!! It’s like she’s got a grudge on the world or something.” 

⊹　　˖　　　　 ̟　　　⊹　　　˙

From that day on, you started coming a lot to the store. Well, not that you weren’t a frequent customer before, but the new guy made it more tolerable. You shared a lot of interests, had almost the same opinion on everything. Basically, you both were like fire and oil. You’ve become friends over the whole duration of your summer vacation. However, there was one problem. 

“Come on, Jeongin! This is the umpteenth romance movie you’ve recommended me, and it always gets sappier every time!” You grumbled with a contorted expression as you swiveled comfortably on his chair by the counter. 

He gave you a small laugh, eyes leaving yours. “No, they're not.” 

“Yes, they do!” 

“Nope.” 

“Yes.” 

“Nopee.” 

“Yes, they do. Oh my God!” 

Again, Jeong In laughed at your expression and ruffled your hair. You saw his smile disappear and saw him avert his eyes away whenever your gazes meet but you tried not to read into that too much. He retracted back his hand awkwardly from your head and wiped it on his jeans. 

‘Weird idiot...’ You muttered inside your head. 

You both shared the silence for a while, and he had his back turned to you, but you could see his hands fumble with whatever they touch. “Jeongin, you okay?” 

“Yeah. I’m fine. Of course I am,” he replied immediately. Too immediate in fact. 

You blinked. Was he offended at what I said earlier? 

“Hey...” You muttered, “I didn’t... I didn’t really mean what I said earlier. They’re not entirely sappy. I just... You know I’m not a really big fan of romance so—” 

“Y/N,” he cut you off mid-sentence, a deep inhale following. 

“Yeah?” 

“I have... something to say to you,” his voice got weaker at the end, as if he suddenly had second thoughts of saying it midway, but you still heard it anyway. 

Your blinked. “Is there... something wrong?” 

It took him a short while, but he finally spoke again, his back still on you. “I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Huh...?” 

“I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich,” he continued, finally facing you this time, a serious expression on his face. “I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts.” 

You blinked, crinkling your nose indeed but you knew where he was coming from. “Wait,” you chuckled. “Isn’t this Harry’s dialogue from When Harry met Sally?” 

“I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.” 

You gave him an acknowledging nod, “I’ll give it to you, you really memorized the whole dialogue word per word.” 

As you gave him an amused smile, Jeong In stared at you for a short while before sighing and closing his eyes. “No, Y/N. This isn’t just me... reciting the movie dialogue out of nowhere.” 

He cautiously held your shoulder, his eyes boring themselves in your own hues. “I...” He looks down momentarily before his eyes are on yours again. “Look, I really like you, okay? Like, like you. These past weeks, I... I uh...” 

You were holding your breath. You were looking at him like a deer caught in headlights. Yet why did you look so beautiful in his eyes still? He sighed, hands releasing your shoulder as he hung his head a bit low. Jeong In shook his head. “It’s not supposed to be like this, I’m sorry. We’ve been friends for quite a while now and I...” He grumbled exasperatedly. 

“God why is it so hard to say. I even practiced at the mirror this morning,” he whispered in the last part. 

Though hesitant, you encouraged him to continue. In your sight, he was so cute right now. Was it your rationality speaking? No. You’ve always found Jeong In cute but you were too in denial to admit it. And now he was here, acting like a child, botching his own confession. 

Jeong In took a deep breath before finally looking you in the eyes again. “I like you, Y/N. You’re my friend, my best friend, my soulmate. And I’ve realized that during the days we’ve spent here in the store. It... may not be the best place to write our love story on but...” 

He looked away for a short while before holding your hand in his. “Will you write a sappy—the sappiest love story with me in this shabby old video rental store and be my girlfriend?” 

You almost laughed out loud but suppressed it with a snicker and nodded. “Yes. I’ll be your girlfriend.” 

You could see Jeong In almost turn from a smile into a crying happy face but then saw it turn into a horror expression. You furrowed your eyebrows. Well, that was three expressions in 10 seconds. 

You were about to joke about it, until you finally heard the reason as to why his expression changed so fast. 

“I am not paying you to flirt with a customer, Mr. Yang Jeong In,” the lady owner’s voice grimly rang from behind you. 

Oh, shit. 

i hope you like it!! i'm sorry if it still sounds a bit meh rn, it's been a long while since i wrote x reader fics like... it's literally been more than 10 years

anw, lmk if you want to be added to the taglist (or visit my pinned messages!)

[royalelusts]

Hello! Not sure if your requests are open but if they are then can I request Lucifer, Mammon, Satan, Barbatos (you can remove or add characters, I don't mind!) with gn!mc (maybe teen? if you're alright with that) who's like extremely clumsy and gets hurt easily over literally anything.

And basically, one day they arrive at home and they have bad injury or smaller one but noticable, and when boy asks them about it they go like:

"Oh, I didn't even noticed!" and continues about their day like nothing happened.

It's completely alright if you don't want to do it! Like I understand that this topic might be a little uncomfortable so just take care and don't overwork yourself <3

my requests are always open! i just forget to put it up. also sorry for the little wait. I was trying to wait until school was over. I wrote this imagining a teen mc but it can be interpreted as a regular mc. enjoy <3

✰Mammon

Laughed the first time he seen you fall

“Haha dumb human! Can’t even walk properly.”

Didn’t even offer to help you up

*cue you kicking him in the shins*

As time went on though he started laughing less and less

Why were you always tripping?

Not even just that

You would often drop things or accidentally end up running into something

He had enough when you ran into a pole on the streets of Devildom

(This has happened to me💀)

Long story short you were stressing him out

Lucky for you he has stupidly fast reflexes so whenever he notices you losing your balance or something he’s there to prevent that

Now back to the present

You were supposed to meet him in his room after you were done baking with Luke and Barbatos

As time went on though he started to grow worried

It was getting later and later yet you weren’t back yet

Getting fed up he was about to go look for you himself

“IM BACK”

You walked in with a box full of treats..that was bent in some places

Mammon couldn’t get words out because of him being too focused on the blood that stained your torn sleeve

His stomach dropped thinking the worse

“Oh, that? I tripped on the way here.”

You let him look over your arm anyway just to put him at ease

He kept mumbling “stupid human and you’re fragile body” while doing so

It’s not your fault that demons have bones of fucking steel

But you kept that thought to yourself

✰Lucifer

You already give him gray hairs

It was as if you were always involved in something

He really wished you would just sit down and not move

So when he discovered you were clumsy??

Just kill him now.

To be honest he really underestimated how bad it actually was

Everyone (except him cause he’s “perfect” and “has a reputation to uphold” 🙄) trips from time to time so it’s fine

That was until he witnessed you fall down a flight of stairs

“Hey, Lucifer, I have a quest-”

The carpet got caught under your shoe and you went TUMBLING

When I tell you he was horrified

And you just laughed it off?? Like it was nothing????

Of course, he checked on you and made sure you were alright (followed by a lecture about being more careful)

The HoL was already human-proofed but now that he knew that you were a danger to your own self

He now has to bubble wrap every sharp corner and secure the rugs to the floor

It was quite a funny sight tbh

Much to his dismay, he can not be with you at every waking moment

He was a very busy demon after all and you two had separate lives

So when he got a call from you asking if he could come get you he grew slightly worried

Once getting to you he realized he had every right to be

There you were

Sitting on the sidewalk

WITH A FUCKING GASH ON THE SIDE OF YOUR HEAD

And you were just..sitting there.

Safe to say his soul left his body

Good job MC.

You killed the demon.

You explained that you were skipping back to HoL when you step wrong and your ankle pretty much gave out causing you to fall on the sidewalk

He physically couldn’t comprehend how you were sitting here this calm

“Don’t worry grandpa. Tis only a scratch.”

…

A scratch?!

*mother hen noises*

You did feel a bit bad about how worried he was getting so you let him pamper you the rest of the night

✰Barbatos

This man is literally your lifesaver

He knows you’re about to trip before you can even process that your clumsiness is in effect

Do you know the olive theory? Y’all are like that but with your clumsiness.

He now carries bandages with him wherever he goes

A small curing spell is always in the back of my mind

He’s prepared for everything ranging from papercuts to life-or-death situations

Barbatos is a very feared demon

He has no reason to be afraid or worried about things

That was until you almost dropped a tea set that was over 5 millennia old

Mind you it was also his favorite

Why you had it in the first place? He doesn’t know

What he does know is that it was about to hit the floor

He didn’t know which one to save: the tea set or you

No one had ever seen Barbatos’s life flash before his eyes until then

So congrats on being the first

(Diavolo also thought seeing Barbatos like that was hilarious)

You are no longer allowed to carry fragile things anymore

Whenever you’re carrying anything in general with Barbatos around he gets an underlying feeling of anxiety

Which is why we were here now

Barbatos was preparing some tea for Diavolo when he heard a loud crash

He paused for a moment before calmly setting down the tea mix

He already knew who it was

Swiftly walking to the source of the noise he found you and a Little D...with one of the curtains on the ground

“It seems you’ve been busy.”

“I swear I didn’t mean to.”

With a simple scan of you, he could tell you were fine

Quickly he ushered you away and instructed the Littlw D to clean up the mess

Though he had to admit

Part of him was relieved it wasn’t the China case next to the curtain

His favorite set was in there

✰Satan

Another one who laughed at you when he saw you fall

Though it was more of a chuckle

Before you got close he would go out of his way to step aside if you were falling in his direction

Ngl you and him had an unspoken beef going on in your early Devildom days

Obviously your friendship ended up flourishing but so did his concern for you

He just casually holds an arm out if he notices you tipping a little too much

Moves you out of the way if something you dropped might hurt you

He also keeps an eye out for anything that could cause you to stumble

He doesn’t hover over you but you know that he’s got you

Tbh 10/10 bodyguard

The same can not be said about his room

Walking in there is a death trap

The first few times you entered his room you fell over a stack of books successfully spilling tea on the table

After that Satan really tries his best to clean his room or at the very least have a clear path for you

The key word here is tries

Very recently Satan had gotten into a new mystery book series

It was as if the author was pulling plot twist after plot twist

To say Satan was hooked was an understatement

More and more books by this author started popping up around his room

*cue you slamming his door*

“Satan! Guess what grandpa- ACK!”

He hadn’t even processed that you had entered his room yet

Looking up there you were

Under a pile of books that fell off the shelf

He got up to help you (after putting his bookmark in the book he was reading)

(What? He wasn’t about to lose his place and risk being spoiled trying to find it again)

You just stared up at him wondering if this was your end

Luckily you were fine!

Tbh you thought it was hilarious that his books could have been the reason you died

His brothers on the other hand did not

[izzy-b-hands]

On a fun, non tech issue related note, I have random fic updates info to share just because

first, I've nearly finished a fang/izzy/ed modern au fic (done purely to give them a big ole great pyr bc that just Felt Right for them lol)

There's also an ed/stede focused (ed/izzy ongoing and future steddyhands implied) Cinderella rewrite that's more or less done. Aside from usual general editing stuff, I think it'll mostly be me finding more spots to describe Ed's sea witch-magically-made ball gown, and maybe bits abt ed and his mum? there's no evil stepmum, just Ed's mum and him deciding well. everyone ELSE is going to try and see if the prince will essentially propose to them at this ball, if they can find a way to get the appropriate clothing why not have Ed try?

A lot of that is already implied tho bc it starts in the middle of the ball so. might be unneeded details that I won't really have room to add?

but i like making it clear in this one that like. Ed's mum isn't upset when he comes back home in tears and tatters; she's there to tell him good job for going at all with implied thanks to sea witch Buttons and Karl for their help in that. They're a team in this; Ed wants to look after his mum to try and give her an easier/better life and Ed's mum just wants him to be happy and safe and doing better than they are now.

As a bonus, Ed gets Stede, a huge house to live in with him on royal land, and once Izzy gets to come home from the royal navy (what better than having Stede's shithead dad/king conscript away Ed's current betrothed, leaving Izzy to tell Ed to find someone until he's back and then hope that they'll be willing to share. and stede is happily willing!) he'll be welcome to live there with them and essentially be a married man to them both who also gets to avoid any official royal events with this set up which, if i was writing a sequel to where the current fic stops, is exactly what he wants aksndkfng

This has been a huge ramble for the second fic, but I'm rather fond of it. wish i could draw well enough to sketch out Ed's dress in it too, but i wouldn't inflict that image on anyone even if i did dare to try drawing up the design lmaooo

but it's pretty. glittery and full skirts and a corset top. not historically accurate but we're just having fun with it (as are all my fics set anywhere near actual canon timeline tbh, I'm a step away from randomly giving one person a cell phone on the Revenge in a canon timeline fic. will it work? if it does, how? where did they get it? fun questions to ask but more fun if the person simply refuses to answer them)

enough rambling, at least until i get it edited, posted to ao3 and then post that link and ramble in the tags there lmao

[teaveetamer]

Oh god, the romance in Fates was... wow. I remember when people were squeazed out by the fact that for example, if you S support Leo or Takumi, they keep calling you Nee-san, but it's simply because IS was'nt gonna rewrote the 3 ENTIRE ROUTE just to add this modification, they could do it for Awakening when Robin marries Chrom or Lucina cause Awakening only had ONE route and it was only 2 character, they could'nt give Fates the same treatement with it's 3 route and 8 siblings and unlike 3H and Engage, the S support in Fates can happen before any chapter once you unlocked one of the Royals in your party, like even Awakening had Chrom marries automatically after chapter 11 and then whatever happen once you completer chapter 13 for Lucina but it's at least 2 scenes (the reunion and Lucina's judgement), with Fates it would be ENTIRELY different dialogue cause when you marry Takumi before the chapter where in Birthright's story he starts opening up to Corrin, the whole thing doesn't make sense anymore. They still tried to include it int the story in some way, like how in Awakening, if you S support a certain unit, they have special dialogue in some moments they could add it, but overall it kinds of damage the plot more then necessary.

On a more serious note I say one thing Fates definetely did better was the "You traitor !" and handling betrayal compared to 3H, cause Corrin literaly as to either fight people who love them and cherished them like family and that they knew all their live VS people who yearned for years to see Corrin again and never stopped loving them (even if they did not knew except Ryoma iirc that Corrin was their step sibling) whereas in 3H... literaly all the people that are friends are in the same class so unless you recruit someone (like Marianna and Hilda) no one murder their friends, but just classmate they sort of intereacted with :/

The marriage mechanic in Fates is honestly basically aesthetic and a way to get the child characters. It exists because Awakening had it and Awakening was popular, so I don't really get too pressed about oddities like those tbh.

I've actually said before but I wish Fates had gotten a bit more room to breathe after Awakening released, because most of the problems I have with Fates is just "IS was desperate because they almost went bankrupt so they just tried to make Fates 'Awakening, but more' since Awakening was successful". Like how BR largely lifts its map design and cast archetypes directly from Awakening, the shoehorned in Awakening characters, etc.

Anyway, I do agree that I think Fates handled its emotional punches much better. Corrin is genuinely part of both of these families and genuinely loves both of them. Their greatest wish is for everyone to get along and so they don't have to choose.

In Houses most of the characters have known each other for a year or less, and in Hopes it's like a month. Unless you recruit them or try getting supports you basically never even interact with any of the students of the other houses. The one big emotional moment they try to contrast the tragedy with - the feast everyone has together after the battle of Eagle and Lion chapter - doesn't even happen on screen. The characters bring it up numerous times like we're supposed to relate to this happy memory of everyone getting along... and they didn't even show it to us, lol.

Even if Corrin doesn't remember the Hoshidans, they at least show them in Hoshido for multiple chapters! You get to see them interact with the Hoshidan siblings numerous times before they rip your heart out and make you choose sides! They give you reasons why Corrin might want to stay with them (finding out more about their life before they were kidnapped, revenge for Mikoto, etc.)

[hawkepockets]

Melantho questions! Was Melantho interested in/involved with Tamlen pre-mirror? What's Melatho's opinions on humans vs elves (and dwarves if applicable). Opinions on magic/mages/spirits/demons? I'm interested in learning these things as the story goes on but I'm wondering if you know anything upfront/that you want to share upfront.

ahh you read my mind, the first two were exactly what i was thinking about for her!! & #3 is a great question 🫶

☝️ yes, mela & tamlen were involved! they were each other’s best friends, worst puppy crushes, and first time. it was a match the clan really approved of too, and although their elders never deliberately put pressure on them to wed, mel & tamlen still felt it.

but as a couple, they didn’t quite work. tamlen would do anything for melantho. he was too pliable & sweet to keep a pilot flame of attraction lit between them. add in merrill, and now you’re cooking.

having her girl rival on one arm and her boy protector on the other kept mela challenged and interested. it wasn’t a mature, sexual poly relationship yet—they were all too young, and mostly just teased each other with kisses and fell asleep in a pile like kittens, but they might have been if not for the mirror.

marethari did not encourage all three of them bonding. merrill was her First, tamlen was paivel’s favorite student of lore, and melantho was ilen’s apprentice. if the trio were to follow in their mentors’ footsteps as adults, clan sabrae would have a keeper, hahren, and master craftsman that were romantically & sexually bonded, taking each others’ sides against the rest of the clan or turning on each other in the case of marriage troubles… an unpleasant & unstable concentration of power. no, far better to keep ambitious, magical merrill out of it. a future hahren & apprentice craftsman being sweet on each other was not much threat to anybody.

but if merrill had been there when the eluvian was found, maybe the girls could have held tamlen back from touching it—or maybe there just would have been that much more hunger and curiosity in the room, and one more body tainted by the mirror.

✌️ melantho HATES humans. i’ve seen some criticism of clan sabrae, and marethari & ashalle in particular (bc of their close involvement with mahariel but also, if we’re tbh, their being women) for withholding the truth about what happened to mahariel’s parents until they were grown, and i agree that was hurtful & contrived for shock value… but it did make me ask myself what if they’d been right to keep it secret?

so melantho was told, very young, that her parents had run afoul of the shemlen & been killed in a random, common act of human violence, and that wrenched, tore, and twisted at her from when she was a child. it changed the shape of her heart. and while everyone in sabrae has a healthy wariness/resentment of humans, mela’s intensity about it is alarming and out of line. it comes over her like a fever sometimes, killing her lively personality, lighting up her eyes, and making her hiss and spit at anyone who so much as sighs out loud about the clan needing to relocate so much. even her little sister leidy avoids her when she’s in that temper.

tamlen & melantho killed all three men who found the eluvian ruins, and duncan really did need to drag her kicking and screaming to ostagar. she’s mean and impertinent, assuming the worst of every shem she meets there right up to their king. and the night of her joining, before the battle, alistair caught her in the act of poisoning the soldiers’ cookpot with what was left of the darkspawn blood, and had to restrain her from setting loghain’s tent on fire… which he might soon come to regret.

she hasn’t met a dwarf yet, but all she’s heard about them, as inventors of enchanted items & berserker rage, makes them sound very impressive and strange.

✌️☝️ melantho knows magic is dangerous, but had never heard about the chantry’s dogma about it before meeting alistair & the tranquil at ostagar, and it completely takes her aback. she thinks of demons and possessed people like rabid animals—sick predators, something you come across on rare, unlucky occasions in the wilds, something to be mercy killed from a distance if possible but not approached. sure they’re frightening. no need to get idealogical about it. and she associates them with locations haunted by elven tragedies, not with mages.

merrill, leidy, and marethari are mages, and they’re precious to the clan, and to her. even fearmongering about blood magic and darkspawn magisters makes little impression on mel. her mages know what they’re doing, and it’s not the business of an ordinary hunter/crafter to judge their choice of spells. as for blackening the seat of the maker, creating darkspawn, locking each other up in towers and branding each other’s foreheads… well that all just seems like shemlen acting badly.

she may get more invested later ;-)

[loumauve]

all in all I had a somewhat productive day. went to get some groceries and drop off some Pfand in the process. bought everything I needed for a proper salad and then made it, too, which is a big step considering what a mess my kitchen still is, but progress!

managed to sort through all the fabric and the yarn and put it into the transparent bins so none of it is in cardboard boxes anymore - super big step forward. especially because I finally managed to let myself throw some things away that I'll never use even tho some of the fabric was given to me by my brother's ex-wife's grandmother who sadly has since passed away, so I never had the heart to let go of any of it until now.

but yeah, that corner of the room is finally mostly sorted. there's one big bin which I'm still trying to decide what to do with, at the moment it's got a bunch of crafting stuff in it, but it's also heavy as hell because of it, so lifting it in and out of that corner is crap on my back and I don't really like the big plastic bin the yarn is in atm because it doesn't close tightly. so I might end up switching those two and getting rid of the crappy one eventually.

that's a task for another day though, but I managed to convince myself to take out the trash that accumulated through all of that right away which, also progress. taking out the trash and feeling like people will judge me for how often I do so is one of the big struggles for me, which is stupid. my dad put it quite nicely years back: isn't it better they see you take it out a little more often than never see you take it out and assume you like in a garbage heap, which tbh is how I used to live back them because I couldn't make myself go out for most things, much less to take out the trash. so yeah, progress. my old therapist would be proud, I'm sure.

more sorting out tomorrow tho I might go for the living room next. or maybe the crafting stuff overall, because it's the biggest point of annoyance to me atm since it's spread throughout the entire flat and I barely even remember the things I have whenever I get ready to make something.

maybe I should also give myself two cardboard boxes total for sentimental pieces of paper bc it's getting out of hand. OR maybe I just put it into a scrap book of some sort. could be nice to have something to look through even if it might take time to fully put it together.

anyway. the one good thing about being stuck at home with a horrid cough is that I had some additional time to get around to this stuff because I haven't really been able to take the time the past two or so years. between the travel back and forth between places and the general exhaustion from being around certain people - both at school/work, I just didn't want to add more emotional stress on top. and the sad thing is that letting go of anything, even the smallest bits of paper is so damn emotionally charged for me that it generally sucks to even think about. but I guess I've been making some progress.

[extravaguk]

pairing: jungkook x reader

summary: But above all things, the last thing you expected to happen when you came back was to show your tits and get pierced by none other than motherfucking Jeon Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook. Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie.

wordcount: 15k

genre: summer!au, ex high school classmaters, kinda frenemies to lovers, tattoo artist!&piercing artist!jungkook, popular!reader

rated: m (fluff - smut - angst)

warnings: you broke jungkook's heart you bitch!! , oral sex (m&f), protected sex (shocking tbh), CL as your bestie it doesnt get better than that! idk i dont wanna spoil too much

author's note: fucking finally dude!! i've been writing this since february but school was kicking my ass. now that i finished my exams and mercury is in gemini i was able to finish it. if you read this, i hope you enjoy it!

Inkphoria

You've been standing outside the shop re-reading the word for fifteen minutes, although it definitely feels like it has been longer. You're gripping the flyer too tightly, rumpling the paper in your hand until you're pretty much sure it's ruined. It's the first day of June, and it's already too hot. The sun and humid weather are causing beads of sweat to form in your hairline and your white tank top to stick to your skin. Your jean shorts didn't feel this uncomfortable a few hours ago and you're sure the heat is causing your mascara to transfer to your eyelids and lower lashline. You've never needed a slushie and a smoke this bad in forever, even if you knew the later would make your parents lose their shit.

Inkphoria

You read it again. Your brain is trying to guess what font its written in, an excuse to try to steady your heart beat until your nerves ease a little and you can finally gather the courage to step into the damn shop. You've noticed a few people passing by giving you strange looks because maybe it hasn't been fifteen minutes. Perhaps you've been unmoving like an idiot in the middle of the street for longer than you want to admit.

Chaelin's voice echoes inside your head.

'Its not that much of a big deal. It's not even that painful, trust me.'

You wish you could trust your best friend, but your best friend is also the same woman who assured you Cats was the movie of the year. Yes, not 'Cats: The Musical'. 'Cats', the movie.

'And this could be a great start to get out of your comfort zone and start living your life exactly the way you want to, not the way people expect you to. Not the way your family wants you to, not the way Adam wanted you to.'

But although her credibility could sometimes be questionable - like that time she also told you she'd tried marmite and 'honestly, it's not as bad as people make it out to be'-, you also didn't trust anybody in this world as much as you trusted her. She had always been your entire support system, the only one around you who never sugarcoated, who always treated you as an equal, who was always there for you to help you discover yourself and, at the same time, remind you of who you were.

'And it's gonna look so hot, too.'

That's it. Sticking the wrinkled flyer on your back pocket, your feet finally start moving. It doesn't take longer than three strides and you're pushing open the door.

The first thing you notice is that, thankfully, the shop is empty. The second thing you notice is the bright sky blue walls, a green undertone peaking through. Your eyes scan nervously the interior. Frames with tattoo designs and people modeling other different designs decorate the walls, some skateboards also hanging from the ceiling. A few plants in the corner, and two leather couches on either side of the room. Your scanning stops on the counter, where a girl with short, platinium hair and -what you guess is- the eighty percent of her body inked. Face included. She's been looking at you, a smirk tugging at her lips. Her tone is amused when she speaks

"Hi." she says. "You can come closer, you know? We don't bite."

Great. As if you couldn't feel more out of place, apparently you also couldn't look more out of place.

"Sorry." you gulp as you walk forward. "It's my first time doing anything like this."

She laughs this time, but it's not mean. It's not mocking, thank God, and the smile she sends you is as warm as the weather, friendly, luckily helping you calm down a bit. "A virgin, huh? JK's gonna love this." your eyes jump in surprise, but she's fast to wave her hands in front of you. "Just a joke. So, first time getting a tattoo. You have something in mind, honey?"

"Um, no. Not a tattoo. Not yet, I think." you wet your lips, regretting not reaplying chapstick before stepping inside. "A piercing."

"Oh! Cool!" she claps her hands, too excited for your own taste, pulling from under the counter a catalogue. "So, where will it be? Cartilogue? Nose? A lot of people are getting their septums pierced right now, though, so you might-"

"Nipples. Like, one of them."

Her gaze finds yours in surprise, although her face swiftly transforms again into an amiable expression. "Now, that's badass. Alright!" she skims through the pages of the catalogue until she finds the nipple piercing collection. You scratch your head before wiping your forehead sweat-free. "You can pick either barbells or hoops, although barbells heal faster and they don't move around as much. There's different kinds of metal, too. Gold or platinium. If your skin is sensitive, I recommend titanium. It's hypoallergenic and not as problematic."

The blonde keeps talking as you nod your head, a smile making its way into your face while silently thanking her for her easygoing personality. It quickly makes you feel comfortable and stupid for being so terrified of doing this.

Once you decide, settle on the cost and sign the papers, she stands up from the stool she'd been sitting on. "Ok, I'll go tell my coworker. He's been sketching tattoos all morning, it's time he gets to work!" she laughs, but suddenly your smile banishes and your throat shuts down.

"He?" your alarmed tone halts her motions and she looks back at your frightened expression.

He? A he is going to pierce your nipple? You're about to let a random stranger, a HE, see and touch one of your boobs and then pierce a needle through one of your nipples?

"Oh, baby, don't worry. I'd do it myself if I knew how to, but I only do tattoos. Most of our staff are on summer vacation so it's mostly just him and I. If you don't feel comfortable, which is totally understandable, you can wait until september when Minzy comes back and she can do it for you." It's her turn to scratch the back of her head as she adds: "but trust me, we're professionals. He's not a creep or anything like that. He's been doing this for a long time. He won't cross any boundaries."

September? You won't even be here in september. Fuck.

Sure, you could do it when you move back into the city. But this summer was supossed to be the summer. You already decided after your breakup with Adam that there would be no trace of the old you. That it was time to push yourself, to do the things that you've always wanted to do, unapologetically. To find the new you, the real you. To stop being scared.

So after going through you options for a few seconds and taking a deep breath, you make up your mind.

"It's fine. I can do it."

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"JK, sweetheart!"

Jungkook is finishing drawing a Chinese dragon when Mijoo opens the door without knocking. Again. He puts the pen down, rubbing his eyes. It's monday, a slow monday, not much work, and he had hoped it would stay that way until closing time. It's summer and Jungkook hates summer. He hates the heat, he hates being drenched in sweat, and he hates the fact that he can do nothing about it. Because working in the summer is terrible. Summer makes him lazy, makes him want to bathe in a tub full of iced water and not get out until he turns into a raisin and october comes. It makes him irritable. Summer makes him annoyed by people -like Mijoo, even if he loves her to death- and himself.

"I got a girl here who wants a nipple piercing, her first piercing by the way, so get your shit ready and bla bla bla. Straight titanium barbell. Also, don't flirt and don't be creepy. She almost ran away when I told her a male was going to be touching and piercing her tit, be mindful of that. She's too cute, if you want to get her number you should wait until it's done. I think that's it. I'll bring her in in a minute."

Mijoo leaves as fast as she talks, but Jungkook is already used to it. He's already used to the headaches her mouth causes too. He sighs before standing up, tying his too-long raven hair into the best bun he can manage. He washes his hands, sets the table up, sits on the chair and puts the gloves on. He's too busy sterilizing the jewerly when Mijoo comes back with you.

"Alright, my babies. I'll leave you to it." she turns to you. "He'll explain everything, from how the process will be to how to take care of it after it's done." she leaves before saying bye, closing the door behind her, and then he finally turns to you.

Your eyes meet and suddenly everything stops. He almost drops the sterilizing machine, his whole body tensing, going into panic mode as he recognizes you immediatly. His hands shake.

Of course he does. Of course he recognizes his high school crush. The too goody two shoes, too pretentious and too rich, too good for everybody and, most importantly, 'too good for Jeon Jungkook' girl of his high school dreams. Of course he recognizes the girl he had confessed his stupid crush to when he was sixteen. Of course he recognizes the girl who rejected and broke his young and foolish heart when he was a dumb teenager.

It doesn't matter that six years have passed ever since. He still knows every lock of your hair like the palm of his hand. He still remembers the shape of your lips and the exact shade of your eyes. He can still identify the body he fantasized about -and jacked off to- when he was a hormonal teen, now filled in all the right places. Now a grown woman.

Just one look at you after years and years of pining is enough to almost make him faint. And grow a boner under his jeans.

And by the look on your face, your eyes wide and your mouth agape, you recognize him as well.

Dammit.

He schools his features and clears his throat. Forces his body to relax and compose himself, because he's not a teenager anymore. He's also a grown man, who has matured, who now has much more experience with women than he did back then. He had already embarrased himself enough when he was sixteen to be doing it all over again. You're just another attractive girl in a sea of attractive women.

He turns to you. You still haven't said anything. Neither has he.

"Um, you can sit on the table." he manages, motioning to the set up in front of him. He watches you taking doubtful steps until you're sitting down, your eyes avoiding his gaze. He almost forgot you were here to get pierced. Holy shit, you were here to get pierced. To get your nipple pierced.

You're a professional, Jungkook. You can do this, Jungkook. You've seen boobs before, Jungkook. You've pierced nipples before, Jungkook.

Clearing his throat again and forcing his hands to stay by his side, he speaks. "The... The top." your gaze finds his, like a puppy about to get scolded. You look at your top, realization dawning on you. "You don't have to take it off. You can just pull it down."

So you do, pulling the straps of the white tank top down and dragging the fabric down with trembling fingers. No bra. Jungkook gulps as your breasts comes into vision. As perfect as he had imagined years ago. His cock twitches. Round, full, perky and so damn inviting he has to hold himself back from latching onto one nipple with his mouth around it and swirling his tongue over the nub until you're a pretty, moaning, little mess on his piercing tabl-

He closes his eyes for just a second before reminding himself to act like the 23 year old Jungkook he's tried so hard to become. The confident, assured Jungkook he is.

"Okay, this is how it'll go. First I'll clean it and scrub it to get rid of any bacteria." he's so glad he hasn't stuttered yet. 23 year old Jungkook doesn't stutter like 17 year old Jungkook. He's also glad he can pick the alcohol bottle and the surgical scrub without trembling. When he faces you again, you're watching his motions with your lip caught between your teeth. That has him swallowing the lump in his throat.

Making eye contact with him again, you take a deep breath and offer a small nod, so he gets to work. He can show you and himself he's a grown man. A grown man who can pierce a nipple without appearing like it's the first time he's seen a boob in his life. The sooner he does it, the sooner it's over.

Jungkook wets the paper towel with alcohol before carefully wiping over your nub with it. Your back arches, probably from the cold feeling, he guesses. He rubs it a few times before throwing it in the trash can nearby. He avoids looking at how enticing the soft peak is salluting him when he reaches for the marker. He doesn't say anything when he dots it with it, jaw clenched and his dick painfully stiff.

"Lay back." his voice low as he commands, turning away to get the clamp. When he slides closer, he tries to ignore the view: you, with your hair sprawled and your sweaty, shiny skin and your eyes focused on the cieling, nipple fully erect, like the star of one of his most erotic dreams. He extends his free gloved hand before he can stop himself, fingers carefully working the nub until he's sure it's painfully hard. Almost as hard as he is.

You gasp, your back arching again. He stills and looks at you, your cheeks flushed pink. Probably from the heat, he guesses again. Or at least that's what he tells himself. He can't stop himself from wondering how responsive would you be in a different setting, most likely his bed while his teeth play with your breast and his cock dives into-

"You okay?" he studies your face, your eyes not meeting his and instead still focusing on the white ceiling.

"Mhm." you reply with a small voice.

"Relax, alright? It'll be over soon." his voice is as gentle as he can, his fingers mindlessly caressing your breast to try to soothe your nerves. Or maybe it's just because he's a selfish bastard. Whatever it is, he forces himself to bring the clamp to your nipple, securing it around it.

"Take a few deep breaths. This will only take a second of pain and then it will go away." He misses the way your mouth falls open, but he doesn't miss the way your eyes squeeze tight as the needle goes in.

"Ah!" he definitely doesn't miss that either. He goes rigid for a second, because that didn't fucking sound like a cry of painfulness. It's breathy, and whiny, not too loud and, for fucks sake, if that's how you sound when you're getting fucked, he swears to God-

He feels your heartbeat under his hands when he puts the barbell in and then the bandage over it. He takes a look at you, chest moving up and down. And then you take a look at him and what he sees is almost enough to take you right there.

Reddened cheeks, drops of sweat framing your face and those eyes glazed with something he's seen too much in the women he's fucked throughout his life. They're half lidded, mascara adorning your long lashes and almost smudged, looking right through him.

"Jungkook..." and your voice, as you say his name -acknowledging him for the first time since you stepped into his shop, for the first time since you were sixteen-, it's hoarse, almost inaudible, like you just came all over his-

He's on his feet in an instant like he's been burned. "It may bleed for the first week, and it can be really sore. The swelling will eventually come down." he's quickly tidying up the table, a bottle in his hand that he hands to you without looking directly. "Wash it gently with this soap and warm water once per day. Don't touch it. Wear a comfortable...bra. If it gets crusty, clean it with saline. Not alcohol or any other thing you might clean a wound with. The soap I just gave you or saline. Nothing else."

He's pacing around the room as he takes his gloves off and throws them in the trash bin, too agressively maybe, then he keeps rambling, like he's hurriedly trying to make you leave as soon as possible. "Avoid pools and the sea. It takes about six months to a year to heal, so don't... don't touch it, don't play with it or..." he clears his throat, "don't let anyone else play with it. And if it gets infected, come back immediately and I'll take a look at it." which he honestly hopes it won't happen. When he faces you, your top is back on and you're getting off the table.

"Alright, um...I'll do that." clearing your throat, your hand gripping the doorknob. "Thank you."

But right before you can exit the room, Jungkook says your name.

"_____." when you turn around to face him, it takes a few seconds for him to make eye contact from across the room. "It was good to see you."

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"Let me see!"

It's the first thing Chaelin says when she opens the door to her appartment. It's on the second floor, small enough to compare it to most expensive appartments you'd stayed in throughout your life, but big enough for Chaelin, her cat and her -impressive- collection of acrylic nail kits and pairs of high heels. It's also big enough for her to offer you the only guest room until summer is over so you didn't have to, one, stay at your parents' place, and two, find an appartment in a short period of time for a short period of time.

When you left years ago, you did so with the thought of 'never looking back'. You never really expected to return here, of all places. Maybe visit your best friend for a weekend at most, have dinner with your parents on a saturday and then go back to the new life you'd made for yourself on a sunday.

But that was before you'd caught Adam cheating.

Tale as old as time: childhood sweethearts get engaged, move in together, son of a bitch sleeps with the assistand he told his girlfriend not to worry about, and then the brokenhearted girl packs her bags and leaves the cheating bastard begging for her to come back.

You'd be lying if you said you were surprised.

Throughout your life, you'd learned to expect many things, regardless of being sheltered and babied by your family since you were born. Watched too much Maury and Dr.Phil. Too much Gossip Girl to know what the deal with life really is.

So, thankfully, you'd only shed a few tears, mostly because your ego and self steem were slightly triggered. You'd realize long before that your feelings for Adam started to disappear once he popped the question and you said yes. Your love story began as teenagers but soon after graduating, the two of you went on different paths: you'd matured, grown into your twenties while he got stuck at 17 and never stopped acting as such.

So yeah, whatever, break ups are hard. But they're not as hard when the love is gone and the sole reason to stay with your partner is to please your parents. You were also right when you expected your mom to tell you to 'forgive and forget' because 'those things just happen, it's not a big deal, honey'.

But above all things, the last thing you expected to happen when you came back was to show your tits and get pierced by none other than motherfucking Jeon Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook. Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie.

The lanky nerd with braces, glasses and an anime obsession much bigger than his hentai obsession, which is saying a lot. The shy, awkward classmate who'd stuttered his undying crush for you when you were just kids. That one who you had rudely rejected like the bitch you used to be in high school.

But my God, Jeon Jungkook was anything but a kid now.

You were shocked. You were gagged. Couldn't seem to fathom what was happening and what your eyes were seeing. It took you a while to close your mouth when you realized JK was Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie.

With messy black hair, a smoldering gaze free of glasses, piercings adorning both ears, and his right eyebrow,, the braces long gone showing perfectly straight - but still bunny like- teeth. The clothes he wore were loose, all black, but it was impossible not to notice the muscles of his back and arms, covered with tattoos from his hands to his forearms. You'd bet there were more of them underneath the fabric.

It was awkward at first. You didn't know what to do, or what to say. Didn't know if he rememberd you. So you chose to stay quiet while your body chose to react like it had never been in the presence of an attractive young man in it's entire life.

And oh, did it react.

He was reluctant, his old timid demeanor peeking through his newly adopted persona. But as soon as those hands came in contact with your skin, your whole body was lit on fire. Like you were 16 and losing your virginity over again and it was the first time a dude touched your boobs.

There shouldn't have been anything erotic about it -besides the fact that your entire breasts were exposed-, it should've been just a professional procedure. But those gloved fingers touched and pinched and suddenly you were too aware of Jeon Jungkook and the way you were starting to sweat profously, not due to the heat of the season.

You tried to distract yourself by looking at the cieling and not at his gorgeous face. Tried to avoid thinking about Jeon Jungkook and how his mouth would feel wrapped around you. Tried not to think about the way your panties were a second skin to your folds, and how tempted you were to grind your hips until you recieved some sort of friction with the jean fabric of your shorts. You wonder if he noticed you squeezing your thighs together. You hope not.

And then the needle happened. You never thought of yourself as a particularly kinky person. Sex with Adam was boring for the most part and you'd lost your libido for a long time. Stopped thinking about sex altogether. But the pain. The pain mixed with his hand rubbing soothing circles on your breast and his voice, as sweet as honey, guiding you through it. It made you reconsider a lot of things you'd once dismissed as 'weird' or 'deviant'

You swear you almost came right on his table.

And then your eyes connected, you made the mistake of calling his name like a satisfied woman who still needed more, and it was all gone. He stood up like a scared cat, gave you a bunch of explanations about the aftercare that you barely grasped without even looking at you and pretty much rushed you to leave.

So you walked, all the way from the tattoo parlor to Chaelin's appartment, mortified, and completely humilliated.

"Are you gonna let me see or not?" your friend says expectantly as you finally sit down after chugging a glass of iced water. You sigh, placing the glass on the table before carefully pulling down your top. "Oh my God, it looks so cool!" she gasps and you can't help a smile while she studies it in amazement. "Did it hurt?"

"Um, I guess." you keep out the part where you almost orgasmed, obviously, stopping her hand from touching when she reaches towards you. "Wait, no. He said something about not touching it for like six months or a year, I don't remember."

At that, Chaelin's eyebrows quirk up. "He? It was a he? Was he cute, at least?"

"You won't believe this..." looking away for a few seconds, you take a deep breath. "It was Jeon Jungkook."

There's a pause, a silence that fills the room when Chaelin's jaw drops. "Jeon Jungkook...pierced your nipple?"

You close your eyes, bracing yourself for what you're a hundred percent sure is coming.

"Ha..." there it is. "Ha ha..." you still know there's more. "Ha ha ha..."

Chaelin laughs hysterically for about God knows how long, while you keep drinking your glass of water unfaced, your mind drifting back to Guk. Gukkie. Jeongukkie, his tattoos and his stupid gloved hands.

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You know he's here.

Everything was cool, you were doing alright, having a great time with your vodka sprite in hand and your cute white bikini on. Chaelin was by your side, the guys were excited to have you back and thankfully, you'd avoided most questions about Adam and they'd avoided digging too deep into the topic. You'd sunbathed the whole afternoon, kept away from the water like he'd told you and ate the Hawaiian pizza Yoongi insisted on ordering despite Namjoon's and Jimin's complaints.

It's at night, when you're a little tipsy and your cheeks are flushed, that you feel it. You'd barely noticed Taehyung disappearing to let in a new guest.

You don't see him, but you feel him.

You're sitting on the pool tile steps, legs dangling and the water baely reaching your belly to make sure it doesn't touch your very sensitive and newly pierced nipple. Your back is facing the sliding glass doors of Hoseok's house, but the moment you hear his voice, smooth but animated as he converses with Taehyung, your body wakes up immediately, back straightening, goosebumps forming on your arms and nipples tightening against the fabric of your two piece.

You don't turn around, instead opting for downing the remaining of your drink and coming to the realization that, of course, Taehyung, social butterfly who'd always got along with everybody and remained friends with most people from high school, still keeps in touch with Jungkook.

You ignore him when he enters the pool, still peering from the corner of your eyes while pretending to be engaged in Chaelin's and Jihyo's conversation. Your mind sabotages you by taking you to that day a week ago at the tattoo parlor.

To the warmth of his hand, to the few strands of hair that his small ponytail couldn't keep together, to the way his eyes focused on such an intimate part of your body, to the endless ink decorating his skin, to-

Great. Now your bottoms are wet and not due to the water.

You don't miss Chaelin supressing a laugh and her not so subtle elbowing. You glance at her in warning and try to keep calm for the next fifteen minutes until Jin proposes moving to the living room to watch a movie.

"I'm gonna stay here for a little longer, guys." you say, after clearing your throat. You needed some time to gather yourself before being in a confined space with Jungkook.

"Are you sure?" Jin stops by your side to place a hand on your shoulder as everybody starts exiting the pool. "It's Mean Girls! You love Mean Girls! You never miss a minute of Mean Girls!"

Rolling your eyes, you wave him dismissively. "I know every dialogue on Mean Girls like the back of my hand, I think I'll be alright, Jin."

When everybody finally leaves, you take a deep breath, covering your face with your hands in an attempt to get him out of your head. Damn Jeon Jungkook and his irresisitble glow up.

"You okay?"

The unexpected voice startles you, a gasp finding its way out of your mouth and causing you to jump on your seat, heartbeat erratic as you instantly recognize who it belongs to. Your hand grasps your chest as if that would do anything to protect yourself against him.

"Shit, don't do that!" you say, the words almost getting stuck in your throat as you see him approaching you, still submerged in the pool. The more he nears you, the less water depth there is and the more visible his torso comes into view. Wich was exactly what you'd been avoiding.

Because Jeon Jungkook was ripped, as you'd imagined when you first encountered him.

Broad shoulders and strong biceps and chiseled abs and veiny forearms. Drenched hair, a full sleeve of tattoos and water dripping from delicious tan skin and all just so very hard. That paired up with a loopsided smile that does nothing but make you shudder.

"Sorry." he doesn't sound apologetic at all when he says that, the smirk adorning his features telling. "You just seemed a little off." you advert your gaze when he pushes his hair back.

"I'm fine, just...just wanted to be by myself."

"Oh" Jungkook's smile disappears. "I can leave, if you want me t-"

"No!" you're not sure where that comes from and neither does he, judging by the look on his face when your eyes find his. Eyebrows raised and mouth slightly parted, he's as surprised as you and there's an awkward silence for a few seconds. "Um, you don't have to. I mean, it's not my house, you can do whatever you want." you sniff and tame your voice, trying to seem cool and collected like you didn't just practically beg him not to go.

Ironic, considering this was exactly what you had been fearing for the past thirty minutes.

And then he smiles. A knowing smile. A smile that says 'you just totally checked me out and now you don't want me to leave'. A smile that you would have never associated with Jeon Jungkook of all people years ago. A smile that makes you want to look away but still keeps you in place.

"Sure." he says, closing the space between the two of you slowly but still leaving enough distance. "So, how's it going?"

You clear your throat, head high and determined not to let this man, or any man for that matter, turn you into a trembling mess. You're still you and you're not easily shaken by the opposite sex. Or at least that's what you helplessly chant in your head.

"Everything's cool. I'm on summer vacation now," a little white lie, "so I decided to-"

"The piercing." he says, the smile never leaving his face. "I meant how's the piercing."

"The pier- right." you almost miss the step he takes forward, all too aware of his height over yours but thankful for the centimeters that being propped on the stairs added to yours. "It's-" you almost, almost miss his knee touching your knee and him slightly separating your legs with his own inch by inch. Or how your thighs open unvoluntarely to welcome him in and how you can barely find coherent words to speak. "It's doing-" or the way his smile disappears and is instead focusing his dark stare fully onto yours.

"It's doing well." you finally say in a whisper, not being able to bring yourself to be louder.

He hums. "May I see it?" Jungkook wets his lips with the tip of his tongue and the action and his voice is enough to make you nod your head, bewitched.

His movements are unhurried, his hand coming up to tentatively come in contact with the flesh of your clavicle. His fingers skim through your skin upwards, his touch is feather-like when it wraps around your throat. You pant, and he stops but he doesn't move away, his eyes still focused on yours, studying you, daring you to pull back, to tell him to back off. But just a simple touch of his and you're fully under his control. It reminds you too much of the day you got that damn piercing.

Your lips are parted and for a moment he stays just like that. His body so close to yours but not close enough, and his hand slightly gripping your neck. Your pussy clenches around nothing and you can't wrap your head around the fact that something so simple sets your entire being alive and leaves you aching.

Then, as slow as he started, his hand travels from the front of your neck to the back, pushing your hair aside to carefully untie the straps of your bikini. He breathes through his nostrils, doesn't make a sound. He seems so collected it's starting to annoy you.

Instead, your breathing is ragged when the top falls down, exposing both your breasts to him. That's when he removes his eyes from yours and his jaw clenches. Your nipples perk up under his gaze, like they remember him and the effect he had on them just a week ago. You're at least glad you're not the only one affected but he seems to be a master at keeping it under wraps.

Then, his hand moves again, leaving goosebumps on your skin as it goes south. Jungkook takes his time, so deliberate you want to scream, until he's cupping your pierced breast, keeping away from the nipple just like he'd advised you a few days prior. You can't look away from his face, from his eyes observing you like you're a full course meal and he's been starving for days. You feel drops of water falling from his hair to your thighs, his thumb caressing your skin so delicately as it faintly nears your still tender nipple. Just nearing it, never touching it.

"Beautiful." his murmur is almost imperceptible and for a moment you think you've imagined it. Your back arches on its own, breast pushed against the palm of his hand, almost like your body is begging him to come closer, to touch you more, to feel you all over. He meets your eyes briefly, gauging your reaction, before going back to your chest. Suddenly, the grip on your breast tightens, fingers ever so softly squeezing your flesh. From your throat comes a mewl, your eyes shut and your legs close around his waist.

"Jungkook, please..." you whisper when you open your eyes. He looks at you, unvertainty written all over his face, lips bruised as if he had been biting on them too hard, gaze as glassy as yours. And just like that, the spell is broken. He blinks and his expression changes completely. Lips forming a straight line and jaw tight. His hand retracts, fixing your bikini top over your breasts before tying it around your neck like it originally was. Meanwhile your eyebrows crunch in confusion. But when you're about to start asking questions, he clears his throat.

"It's healing okay." he steps back, avoiding your eyes. "I'll see you inside."

Jungkook leaves the pool like nothing happened.

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Jungkook is fiddling, fixing the position of his glasses and combing through his straight hair with shaky hands, habits he's tried so hard to get rid of in his sixteen years of existence but still finds impossible to.

He can't help it. He's always been like this: the quiet and awkward kid in class who sits in the back, a misunderstood puppy in a sea of stronger dog breeds that could eat him alive. An outcast. Too geeky for his own good. Notebokes full of Dragon Ball doodles on the margins of the pages, the shelves in his room stacked with Marvel figurines, and a closet filled with outdated clothes that he has been inheriting from his older brother.

He has never been the type to stand out, always being overlooked by people like he's invisible. He doesn't mind though. He'd much rather be ignored than getting picked on by bullies like he used to in elementary school.

He never gets invited to parties. Ever. He's a nobody who barely speaks, and when he does he either stutters or manages to embarrass himself in one way or another. He's seen the look on people's faces when they look at him. Their eyes seem to scream 'weirdo' everytime he gets acknowledged.

So obviously the only reason he was invited to this particular party had a first and last name: Kim Taehyung. The only kid in Jungkook's entire life who didn't look at him in a funny way, the only kid who took the time to entangle in a random conversation with him after class and who seemed geniune enough to make Jungkook feel comfortable.

He's not sure how it happened, since Taehyung mostly hangs out with the cool kids. But somehow it did, and now Jungkook is uncomfortably standing in a living room full of drunk teens, looking directly at you.

You, the one girl Jungkook had been pining on for God knows how long. You, who are obviously too pretty, too popular, and way out of his league. You, with your plaid skirt and your polo shirt and those legs that never seem to end. You, who are sitting with your friends in a couch, drink in hand and visibly tipsy. And yet, he doesn't think he's ever seen anyone pull of the 'drunk-rosy-cheek' look better than you.

He can hear your laugh through the music and he already thinks it sounds better than whoever is playing in the background.

"Come on, Gukkie! Her friends are leaving and she's all by herself now! It's your chance" Taehyung's obviously drunk too because it took Jungkook a while to decypher his exact words. He'd disappeared for a while and now that he's back, he's pushing Jungkook in your direction.

"This was a mistake, Taehyung." Jungkook shakes his hair and steps back, quickly glancing at the front door to prepare his escape. But his new friend's grip on his hoodie keeps him in place.

"Guk, listen. The only thing you have to do, is walk up to her, and say 'hey I think you're, like, really pretty. Just letting you know. Bye!' That's it. Jung- Dude, Guk, seriously, look at me." Taehyung grabs Jungkook's cheeks, squishing them between his hands and forceing him to face him. "You've been crushing hard on her for years, my man. We're graduating and you won't see each other again. What's the worst thing that can happen? Getting rejected?"

Jungkook's eyebrows draw together. "Um, yeah?"

"Exactly! Getting rejected is not the end of the world, bro! It just means keep trying on other girls!" Taehyung releases his hold on Jungkook's cheeks. "I just think you're going to regret not telling your crush she's your crush. Who knows? Maybe in the future you two will get married."

Jungkook snickers, muttering a 'yeah right' under his breath. Still, he can't help the smile that Taehyung's words always seem to pull out of him.

"Now," Taehyung playfully slaps Jungkook before turning him in your direction again. "Go get 'em, tiger!"

"Okay," Mijoo's voice slices through Jungkook's memories. She's sitting on Jungkook's desk, munching on her brownies and looking at her coworker expectantly. "And then what?"

He sighs, running a hand through his hair, sits back on his chair, already feeling the effects of Mijoo's baked goods. "And then I walked up to her, like a damn fool, stutter and all. And I say:" he clears his throat, making an effort to do his best teenage Gukkie impression."'Hey, _____, um, so, I think you're beautiful and I've had a crush on you since seventh grade, haha, just wanted to let you know.'"

Mijoo rolls her eyes, still chewing. "And then what?"

"And then she looked me up and down, giggled, fucking giggled, Mijoo, and said 'Who are you, again?'" Mijoo gasps and Jungkook closes his eyes, trying to force that recollecion out of his head.

"What a bitch." she can't help but laugh before apologizing. Jungkook merely shrugs his shoulders and takes another bite of his brownie. "She didn't say anything else?"

"She said something along the lines of:" he clears his throat again, this time, doing an impression of you. "'That's sweet and all but, you and I... we're not the same. And I have a boyfriend, so...' She said that like I didn't know, like I wasn't aware of the school's it couple! Like I was dumb!"

Mijoo nods. "And now you want to fuck her even more than you did in high school."

"I- No! Well, yes. Fuck, of course I want to sleep with her! But I just... can't."

"Why not?"

"Did you hear anything about what I just told you or were you too concentrated trying to get high?"

It's Mijoo's turn to roll her eyes. "I heard everything you just told me. I just don't understand what the problem is. You two were sixteen. Sure, she was a bitch about it, but Lord knows I've been a bitch my entire life and now I'm not anymore." Jungkook raises an eyebrow at that. "Okay, sometimes I can be nice. But the point is..." Mijoo finishes her piece of brownie before getting off of Jungkook's desk. "It's been, what? Nine? Ten years? People change, JK. You're the best example of that. You want to fuck her and she obviously wants to fuck you too. You're both adults." she wipes her hands on her shorts. "I think it's time you fulfill that high school fantasy of yours."

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You've made up your mind.

And by you, it means Chaelin has made up your mind.

It didn't take long to convince you though. That last interaction with Jungkook cause too many emotions stirring within you. It left you hot, it left you bothered, it left you confused. Sure, it also left you a little bit embarrassed like the first time, but above everything else, that interaction with Jungkook left you absolutely livid.

Because who the fuck did Jeon Jungkook, formerly known as Guk, Gukkie, Jungukkie, and currently known as JK, think he was to come near you, speed your heart rate's up, and then runaway like that?

You've spent days thinking about it. About that face, about that body, about those hands and- shit. You're doing it again.

You've spent days trying to push those intrusive thoughts. Spent days trying to bury what happened. You've spent days trying to keep quiet, not telling anyone about it and just wishing that stupid spark of desire simply went away.

But it has just been simply unavoidable. You haven't been able to ignore the sleepless nights with your brain drifting back to that night and forbidding your hand from slipping under your panties. Or the excessive amount of time during the day where images of him suddenly popped in your head and wouldn't go away, even with you squeezing your thighs to try to make the ache go away.

So you ended up ranting and ranting and ranting to the only person you could confide on, who is obviously your best friend. Your best friend, who's too smart for her own good and knows you too well for your liking. Because apparently your moodiness and snappy remarks couldn't go unnoticed.

And after explaining the fiasco over a bottle of wine -and minutes of endless laughing on Chaelin's part because, again, it's Gukkie you two were talking about and, according to her, this was "the most karmic thing I've ever seen"-, she gave you the best advice an older sister could ever give.

"Fuck him."

"I know right? Fuck him!"

"No. I mean, fuck him."

And now here you are. Right inside that room you stepped in weeks ago, confronting the man in question with the same confidence that has always distinguished you from others and trying to act like the fluttering inside your belly wasn't nauseauting.

"A date."

"Yes."

"You want to go on a date with me." this wouldn't be so hard if Jungkook didn't look so delectable in a plain white t-shirt and ripped jeans. You cross your arms over your chest, doing your best to not look down at the exposed skin of a man who obviously worked out a lot and apparently, never skipped leg day. "What's the catch?"

He's sitting on his chair, back resting comfortably and legs spread, narrowing his eyes at you and probably wondering why the girl at the front desk let you in without an appointment. Also, probably wondering if there was a catch to all of this.

"There's no catch. I just want to go to the fair this weekend. I'll ask Taehyung for your number and text you the date and the exact place we'll be meeting. Unless..." your quirk one of your eyebrows. "Unless you're already planning on how you'll chicken out this time."

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Of course, Jungkook says yes to going on a date with his high school crush but spends the following days overthinking every single thing.

He can't help but feel like it's kinda sketchy. What if you're planning your vendetta on him? What if you don't even show up and he ends up there looking like a damn idiot? What if you hate him and are just messing up with him? What if that incident in high school is going to repeat itself?

"If she doesn't show up, you simply move on and never speak to her again. It's that simple. She can't have that much power over you to cry about something like that." Mijoo had said that same day she let you in the tattoo parlor after you'd asked to see Jungkook. Jungkook's coworker hadn't even question you and just motioned you to Jungkook's room with a knowing smile on her face. Later that day, Jungkook had scolded her about it and she'd simply shrugged.

He considers cancelling, eyes reading the 'won't be able to make it, sorry (sad face emoji)' over and over again and fingers hovering over the send button so many times he's lost count. But then he remembers that comment of yours about him chickening out and Jungkook starts seeing red.

How couldn't you understand he's just terrified of you rejecting him one more time? Sure, Jungkook is now an adult who doesn't get butthurt over stuff like that. He's experienced too much after graduating from high school and he's a much stronger individual than his fragile self back was back then.

But something about you just makes him feel so... weak.

He still finds it impossible to concieve where he got the courage to approach you like that at Taehyung's pool, or how he brought himself to touch you for longer than a minute without coming in his pants. He'd enjoyed it too much. Allowing him to see you so exposed, just for him. He'd be so tempted to kiss you right there and then, to run his hands up and down your thighs and fully wrap your legs around him to let you known how much you'd affected him. Once you called his name, it was like he'd finally snapped out of it and backed away like he'd been burned by you. He spent the next twenty minutes trying to keep himself from pulling down his pants and jerking off in his friend's bathroom.

It's terrible. Because he feels like the teenager he used to be when you're around. Shy, insecure and overall a mess. You showing up in his life after so many years and now apparenly being interested in him seems like a dream that he's not sure he wants to keep being in or wake up from before it's too late and he falls back into that tumoltuous longing that will inevitably end up in heartbreak. His heartbreak.

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It's saturday night, he's standing by himself in the crowded fair at the spot. You're fifteen minutes late and he's already about to turn back and dip out. He feels too awkward and the nerves are eating him alive.

You're not going to show up. You're not going to show up and now he feels and looks even dumber than the time he told you he was crushing on you. You're not even going to show up and now he's going to come back home, get drunk by himself and curse your name for-

"Hey!" he turns around to the sound of your voice and sees you running towards him. "Sorry I'm late! I couldn't find my phone and spent like thirty minutes looking for it. Turns out, Sharon Stone, was taking a nap on top of it and I didn't even notice."

"Sharon Stone?"

"Chaelin's cat."

To be honest, he's too surprised to process your explanation right away. He might also be a little speechless because that sky blue sundress looks too good on your skin and your eyelashes are so long, framing your beautiful eyes, and your lips are all glossy and kisseable that it takes him a while to find his own voice.

He clears his throat. "It's alright." scratching the back of his head, he momentarely adverts his gaze from you in an attempt to not get distracted by how soft your hair looks and how much he wants to wrap it around his hands in a ponytail. "Um, where do you want to go first?"

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Almost an hour and a half later, when the sun has already disappeared and you're both surrounded by colorful lights, Jungkook decides to buy the both of you hot dogs and a drink and you both settle down on a bench.

You've been walking all over the fair, going from booth to booth, playing any game in sight Jungkook dared you to -he obviously had a competitive streak-: from the ballon and dart games, to the shooting games, to the bumping cars, to the ball-in-basket one. To say you were having fun was an understatement.

You'd almost regretted setting the date up. You were sure he wouldn't even show up and if he did, you were scared of how awkward things could get between the two of you. And if things were awkward, you were sure it would only take less than thirty minutes for the both of you to part ways and never talk again about such failure of a date.

To your surprise, none of that happened.

The conversation was flowing, both of you acting like you were strangers on their first date getting to know each other, which, to be fair, that's exactly what it felt like. There was a slight banter, teasing each other when one of you lost in whatever game you were playing while the other was obviously winning. There were laughs and a funny feeling in your tummy whenever you'd walk side by side and his arm brushed yours.

There was no stiffness on his shoulders, no mention of the past or your previous encounters, no acknowledgement of the blatant sexual tension you'd experienced before, not an ounce of avoidance whenever your eyes met his and he was even sure of himself enough to place a hand on your lower back or briefly interwine your fingers with his to guide you through the mass of people.

It felt like you'd both unspokenly agreed on making each other feel comfortable enough to have a good time.

"I didn't think you were going to show up, to be honest." you suddenly say, taking a sip of your strawberry juice and thankful to finally let your feet rest for a while.

Jungkook looks at you, hot dog mid air and eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline. "You didn't think I was going to show up? I didn't think you were going to show up." you simply shrug, lowering your gaze seepishly, the beginning of a smile on both your faces. He surprises you by tilting your head in his direction with his forefinger. You watch him watching you, a little dazed, a little lost in how his dark hair messily falls over his forehead and his equally dark eyes study your face, his thumb swiping over your lower lip. "You um... There was ketchup right there." he lies.

"Oh" you say, feeling your face heating up. "Thanks. Red doesn't really match this dress." you manage a smile and tuck a lock of your hair behind your ear.

At that, he eyes your dress for a moment, mouth slightly ajar. He's debating on whether or not to say something but you beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, by the way."

"For being late? I already told you it's fin-"

"No." you shake your head. "For... that time when we were young and I was such a concieted brat." you say, looking away , trying to find anything else that's not his pretty face. "I thought I was a queen bee back then. I was annoying and rude, specially to you. I..." you lick your lips. The cherry glittery gloss was already gone. "I thought it was cute, what you said. There was no reason for me to act like that. I know this doesn't make anything right but..." when you turn to face him again, there's still the same expression on his face. "I'm sorry."

A few seconds go by before it's him who's shaking his head. "It's okay. It was a long time ago, anyway." he smiles at you, although it doesn't reach his eyes and seems sorta forced. You sigh, and he takes your hand. "Let's go to the ferris wheel."

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tell you're tense. You're sitting right beside him in the ferris cabin, your back is all straight, you're facing forward and he believes you haven't blinked for what feels like an eternity. He thinks it has everything to do with your conversation a few minutes ago. You were probably not content with his response but what could Jungkook do? There was really no point in apologizing for something that happened years ago, but at the same time, he didn't want to hold anything against you like a resentful asshole because it was really not who he was. But there was still a little bit of stingyness inside of him and he didn't know how to make it go away.

At the end of the day, here you were, on a date with him that you'd asked for, getting along and asking questions about him and laughing at his jokes and trying to start all over again.

But then the ferris wheel starts moving, and he finally understands why you look so uncomfortable.

It's the way you immediately grip his forearm, nails digging in his skin and he swears he hears the smallest gasp forcing itself out your throat.

"Are you... scared?" he tentatively asks.

You say nothing for a while, not moving an inch. He would laugh if you didn't look so pained about it.

"I don't like small confined spaces nor rollercoasters." you finally say through gritted teeth.

"It's not really that small and ferris wheels are not rollercoasters. " your nails dig deeper and he winces. "Okay, okay. You don't like small confined spaces nor rollercoasters, and that includes ferris wheels. So why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know. I've never liked ferris wheels but you seemed excited about it, so..."

There's a silence after that in the environment, neither of you exactly sure of what to say or how to act. Until Jungkook moves one of his hands hands until it's resting on the one who's holding onto him for dear life, fingers caressing yours. The warmth of his hand spreads through yours and although it's almost July and you can already feel your sweaty back staining your dress, it's oddly comforting. What's more comforting even, is him twisting his body towards you and talking with the calmest and most soothing tone you've ever heard.

"Look at me." you do instantly, unwillingly, and kinda wish you hadn't. It's almost as if your body will do anything he says without question. Like he has some sort of power over it to just react however he wants. His eyes bore into yours and suddenly the cab doesn't seem so suffocating. "It's just you and me right now. We're not even on a ferris wheel." the corners of his mouth turn slowly upwards. You zone out the environment, suddenly too aware of him and how close he is and how loud the beating of your heart is to your own ears.

"Jungkook."

You swallow the knot in the back of your throat when he removes his hand from yours. It almost makes you protest, - now realizing you've losened the tight grip on his arm- , before it craddles your face, keeping you in place while bringing his body closer.

"You have to stop saying my name like that."

With his thigh touching your thigh, your whole demeanor melts. When he leans closer, and you feel his breath fanning over your lips, your eyes shut closed.

"Tell me I can-" he starts to say.

"Yes." you finish for him. He doesn't doubt on closing the distance between you two. His lips touch yours and your body shakes in excitement. It's just him lightly skimming your lips with his but it's already too much and at the same time, not enough. It has you deepening it, yourself moving closer when he kisses you again. It has you relaxing against him, the tenseness prior disappearing and making you arch your back when his tongue asks for permission.

But it's exactly then, the moment you open your lips to him, that has you losing your mind.

The sparks fly, traveling from your head to your toes and then settling on the pit of your stomach as soon as the kiss starts to turn desperate and rough. When he nibbles your lips with his teeth, it makes you mewl and whine and your nipples tight against the cotton of your dress. It makes the metal barbell to feel uncomfortable, slightly painful. And when he goes back to being messy and filthy with his tongue tangled with yours, your thighs close on their own.

He forces himself to pull his hand back and bring it down, finding the parting of yd opening them for him. "Wait," you say, your fingers wrapping around his forearm as you try to catch your breath."The ferris-" he shuts you up with another kiss.

"We're not on a ferris wheel." he reminds you, a soft whisper against your mouth. And for whatever reason, you believe him.

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"He fingered you on the ferris wheel."

"Yes."

"And you came before the ride was over."

You take a small sip of wine, your eyes focusing on the TV where a rerun of the Golden Girls is playing, although, to be fair, lately you haven't been able to pay much attention to anything else but a certain brunet with doe eyes and kisseable lips. "Yes."

She hums, stealing a handful of popcorn from the bowl between your thighs.

"How long did it took? Like five minutes?"

There's a pause in which you clench your jaw, your fingers twitching around the glass in your hand, and then you answer. "Probably less."

There's another pause, and then-

"Ha...Ha ha...Ha ha ha-"

You let her laugh. It's okay. You knew you had it coming.

Chaelin knows the pillow you throw right at her face is also something she had coming.

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It's not that you're mad.

Jungkook and you had a great time on that fair date, he made you laugh, bought hot dogs and drinks for the two of you and got you off inside the cab of a ferris wheel on record time with those magical, long fingers of his. Technically, there shouldn't be anything to be angry about.

Except it's been a week and you can't stop thinking about him, about wanting more, and about those words that he left you with after the ferris wheel ride ended, when you had tried to return the favor.

'Next time, maybe.'

And there hasn't been a next time.

The thought of texting him or giving him a call to ask for another date is persistent in your mind. It remains while you do the laundry or wash the dishes, while you shower, while you eat or while you spend your days at the beach with Chaelin. There's always the incessant desire to reach out towards your phone, unlock it and dial his number to beg for more.

But you'd never been one to beg, so you resist the urge everytime that feeling starts to creep up on you and it washes over you like a wave. You silence your phone and try to concentrate on making the most out of your summer.

It's one random night, when you're tiredly dragging your feet across Chaelin's apartment's carpet, yawning and ready to succumb to a well needed slumber, that you see your phone screen's lighting up with a message.

Your heart pathetically leaps inside your chest when you read his name.

'you free on saturday?'

You wish you could say you ghosted him, ignored his text and moved on with your life until it was him who begged you for another date. But the truth is you opened it in a matter of seconds and typed 'i'm free, why?' back in a rush with trembling fingers.

So now you're on the passanger seat of his car while he sits on the driver seat, the first saturday night of July, like he's Danny Zuko and you're Sandy Olsson, watching a vintage movie in a drive-in theater which plot you don't give a shit about, even if Jungkook's date plan idea made something inside of you churn with adoration.

And the only reason why you don't give a single damn about the movie playing in front of your eyes, is because you're hot. Way too hot. And the reason and cause is none other than the boy-now-turned-man sitting on your left.

You barely exchanged words when he picked you up, just rode in silence until you got to your destination and you bet he can feel as well as you do the tension in the air.

You've surveyed him a few times from the corner of his eye, noticing him fiddling with the rings around his fingers and shifting in his seat from time to time. And if the sight of his fingers bring memories that you've tried to bury to keep yourself from lunching towards him, a brief glance at his forearms, adorned with ink drawn through his golden flesh -doing a poor job at concieling the veins running underneath- and his skin-tight jeans wrapping those muscled thighs of his is enough to have you be the one squirming in your seat.

A woman can only endure so much, and you come to that realization thirty minutes into the movie.

"I want to suck your cock." you say, a stern expression on your face as you turn your body in his direction.

Jungkook frozes as your voice slides over him. It takes him a couple seconds to look at you, shock widening his eyes and parting his lips.

"Huh?" he manages, his grip on the steering wheel turning his knuckles white.

Without separating your gaze from his, you gather your hair and tie it in a ponytail with the hair tie previously around your wrist. You don't miss the quick glance he sneaks into the curvature of your neck and the valley between your breasts.

Inching forward, closing in on him, you place one of your hands on top of his thigh, the action making his whole body tense. "____..." he whispers your name in a warning that doesn't sound convincing even in his own ears.

You smile, your eyes never wavering from his as your hand inches upwards, slowly caressing over the fabric of his jeans until you finally come across what you were looking for.

His hand flies to your wrist, stilling your movements. "____, this is not-". He starts, but his voice gets stuck inside his throat when you palm his undoubtly growing erection.

"Shh." your shaky breath fans over his cheek and you force yourself on your knees on the passanger seat in a more comortable possition to stop the trembling to reach them.

You fumble with the belt holding his pants in place, then with the button and finally with the zipper. He helps you by lifting his hips to pull his jeans and boxers to his thighs and you have to bite back a mixture between a gasp and a moan at the sight below you. You haven't even seen Jeon Jungkook naked all the way, but the mere sight of his hard cock with pre-cum glistening on his crown is probably the sexiest thing you've ever had the pleasure of appreciating.

It gets sexier when you wrap your hand around the base and his body melts in the driver seat, throwing his head back with his eyes shut. It gets even sexier when you finally lower your head, swirling your tongue over the head before finally engulfing him fully in the wet warmth of your mouth.

"Shit." his voice is tight, uneven as his hand loosely grips your ponytail, as if careful not to accidentally hurt you and break the glorious moment.

Although you wouldn't mind at all. Because the moment your hands are on him, and your tongue is on his shaft, that's the only thing you care about. Your belly is twisting, an undeniable wet spot on your panties as the fabric sticks to your folds, and the more you suck Jungkook, the more you want from him. His earthy taste is addicting and the soft little whimpers he occasionally can't prevent himself from are making you want to milk him until he can't take it no more. There's this desire within you to whorship him and his cock like you had been dreaming for the past weeks.

"This is s-so fucking h-hot." he rasps between ragged breaths, the bobbing of your head, sliding up and down his dick as your hand works the centimeters your mouth can't take is about to make him faint.

"Getting a blowjob?" you joke, your throat starting to feel sore as you kiss his leaking tip.

"N-no." he draws in a rough breath when you take him all of him again. "You giving me a blowjob... T-the f-fact that anyone c-could see us..." he darts a quick glance at your body, your ass up in the air and your dress sliding down, almost exposing you completely. "The fact that-ah! Shit..." he squeezes his eyes when he feels a glob of your spit lubricating him.

There's a sudden need to make you feel the same, to touch your skin and have you shaking the same way you have him. So one of his hands travels from your spine, to your perked ass, finally dragging the cotton of your dress to allow himself to see your thin white panties. "The fact that anyone could see you l-like this," he murmurs, regaining a little bit of control when he squeezes one of your cheeks. "letting t-them see you s-sucking my cock and..." he smirks when he feels you gasping around him, his fingers trapped between your thighs and pushing them inside your heat easily "and letting them see me fingering this pretty little pussy."

Soon after that he's cumming in your mouth while you're cumming around his fingers.

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At first, it's mostly on weekends when you see each other. Weekends of stolen kisses and soft sighs and whispering against each other's lips. Then weekends turn to week days, sitting on grass while sipping on refreshing beverages, drawing each other laughs, elbows touching as you walk around the park side by side because the both of you are too scared to interwine your fingers together.

Jungkook feels content like this: sitting on the sand with you between his thighs, admiring the sunset while nuzzing your neck and inhaling your scent every now. He likes waching you enoying your strawberry ice cream, almost forgetting the chocolate chip one already melting in his hand.

"If you were an ice cream flavor,which one would you be?" you ask him, relaxing against his chest.

"Rocky road."

"Why?"

He shrugs behind you. "Everyone likes rocky road."

You hum, playfully rolling your eyes. "What about me? Which ice cream flavor would I be?"

"Lemon sherbet, in the summer."

"Lemon sherbet? Out of all of the flavours out there, you're rocky road and I'm lemon sherbet?"

"Lemon sherbet, in the summer." he corrects.

"Okay, fine. Why?"

"You're boring and basic."

You gasp, trying to feign outrage but not being able to repress the laugh that escapes your throat. You elbow him, his laugh mixing with yours while taking the time to wrap his arms around your form, the breeze blowing your hair allowing him a spot between your neck and your shoulder. "You're boring and basic, but once you have a taste..." he presses a small kiss on your skin, causing the tiny hairs on the nape of your neck to rise. "Once you have a taste, specially on the hottest day in the middle of summer, you can't stop tasting and licking until there's no more lemon sherbet left."

You suck in on a breath when he craddles your jaw to face him. "It's been my favourite flavor since I was a kid." he kisses you immediately after, his lips swallowing the small whimper now stuck in your throat.

You close your eyes as his tongue opens your mouth, arousal blasting your insides and something much, much deeper that you fear to even name shredding your chest.

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The beginning of august comes faster then you two realize, but what you both do realize is how hard it's becoming to stay away from each other.

It's been thirty days of dates happening almost everyday, sharing high school memories and anecdotes of the time you spent away from each other. Hours of getting to know each other and opening up to each other. From failed relationships to new friendships. Of park dates walking side by side and fingers now interwined because you both realized one day that, fuck it.

It's difficult to sleep when you realize you're starting to catch serious feelings for somebody who was just supposed to be a fling. It's hard to sleep when his face, his voice and his touch and thoughts of missing him when you don't see each other start haunting you at night.

It's hard for Jungkook to focus on work when you're everything that's occupying his mind. Because he has a hundred sketches to make but he's too busy thinking about the hundred different sketches he would make of you.

It's hard not to send him a goodnight text, just like it's hard for him not to reply in a matter of seconds, almost as if he was already waiting to recieve it.

Jungkook thinks of you at night. Of how pretty and absolutely perfect you are for him. Of the taste of your lips, the way your hair feels between his fingers, or the flush on your cheeks when he makes you cum as droplets of sweat accumulate between your breasts. He thinks about your voice. He also thinks about the amount of hours left to be able to listen to it again.

But mostly he thinks about how ridiculous this situation is. Because he was stupidly crushing on you when you were only teenagers, daydreaming about a chance with you. And now his crush is long gone and he's starting to realize that he's falling, and falling fast.

You, too, think of Jungkook at night. Of his ability to bring a smile out of you, to soothe you with just a few words and filling your belly excitement, happiness and feelings you're sure you've never felt before.

Jungkook's managed to imprint himself in your dreams, and you, in his.

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Getting drunk with Jungkook is fun and messy.

It's fun because he lets loose, he stutters a lot like he used to do when he was a teenager and he makes you laugh louder than ever before. It's messy because he has no control over his hands as they explore your body, clumsily taking your clothes off as his mouth laps at the breast he's allowed to touch.

He's more forceful and dominating too, pinning your hands above your head, and commanding you to keep them right there, on the pillows of his bed. When you rebel against it, your fingers finding the hard planes of his chest, he pulls away from you and places them back where he left them. "Don't make me tie you up." he threatens, and your body shudders beneath him.

He sucks, and bites and leaves marks all over your skin, grunting in response to your moans. Creating a path of kisses from your lips to your stomach, his shoulders separating your knees, opening you up only for him. And thankfully, when you reach down to tug at the strands of hair framing his face, he lets you, because he knows you need something to hold on to the moment his tongue eats you up. He leaves his fingertrips on your thighs as he keeps you in place, not allowing you to runaway. Just forcing you to take it as he takes from you.

And when you cum, he doesn't back away. He keeps sucking, and licking and punishing you with his mouth until you're cumming over and ove again, screaming and begging for his cock.

Having Jungkook over you, both completely naked, skin to skin and only sweat in between is more than you could've ever fantazised about. He slurls your name when he puts the condom on. He would do anything to feel you raw, but he also knows he wouldn't be able to last a minute. The sight of you spread open, with your cheeks darkened by a crimson blush and your hair tangled all over his pillow is a picture he wants to keep forever.

He enters you when you call his name, your voice dripping with need. He stretches your warm and wet felsh, slowly easing himself into you at first, until he's fully inside and your bodies are completely in union. A shiver runs down Jungkook's spine when he looks at your contorted face in pleasure, your lips forming an 'O' and your pussy clenching around him.

"Oh, my God." you moan into the dark of Jungkook's room, and even then, he can clearly appreciate every curve of your body lifting off the mattress to connect with his. He lowers himself on his elbows on either side of your head, caging you in and capturing your mouth with his.

"I know, baby." he murmurs. It's hot, in the middle of August but suddenly Jungkook doesn't hate summer as much as he used to. Not with you sharing the heat with him. "It's way beyond what I could ever imagine." You nod hurriedly against his lips, your arms finding their way around his neck as he starts rocking in and out of you.

"It's too good." you cry, when he hits a particular spot that has you rolling your eyes in bliss and gripping his waist tighter with your legs against you. Your fingers thread through his hair, not bothered by the beads of sweat gathered on the nape of his neck.

"Too good..." he agrees, not missing the shiver that's shaking your own frame when he picks up his speed. "You have no idea what I would do t-to fucking feel you with n-no barriers between us," his movements become frantic as his hips slap against yours, his jaw clenched as he keeps talking, "to s-stuff you full of my c-cum over and over again until it won't stop d-dripping."

Jungkook's voice against your ear has you trembling and your orgasm nearing closer, your nails scratching down his back as his thrusts overpower your form. "Would you like that?" he asks with his voice strangled.

"Y-yes. Anything y-you want."

"You'd take all of my cum like a good cum-slut?"

You hate the fact that that's what makes you come undone. The twisting and knotting in the pit of your stomach finally snapping until you're holding on to him like you never want to let him go and he's following soon after.

Because if Guk, Gukkie, Jengukkie was not only able to make you come in less than a few minutes with his fingers or his tongue, but he was also able to make you cum instantly just by calling you a good cum-slut, that means you're fucked. Like, really, really fucked.

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There's a knot in Jungkook's stomach and a suffocating grip around his vocal chords as he caresses your skin. The sun is rising in the distance with the first rays of light entering his room through the window. Your shamphoo is intoxicating him, numbing him and enticing him to bury his nose in the tangled curls pressing against his chest. Your arm is thrown across his stomach, your breathing leavig goosebumps all over his body.

"It's too early. Go back to sleep." you mumble against his heart. He wonders if you can feel it dangerously speeding up.

"I can't." he says, voice struggling to stay balanced. "I have to tell you something."

You hum in response, sleep still interwined with your body, your arm tightening around him. You sigh in content, expecting him to elaborate.

He wets his suddenly dry lips. "I don't want this to end. In fact, ____.... I want more. Need more."

"Jungkook..." your whole body goes rigid right away, untanglling your bodies from each other and sitting up on the mattress.

"No, listen to me." he mimicks your movements, rapidly grabbing your hands to make you look at him. His eyes are expressive, a mixture of fear and hope swirling in his dark irises. "I wake up everyday, and you're the first thing I think of. I go on about my day, and I keep thinking about you, wondering what you're doing and counting down the hours until I get to see you again. I spend every night dreaming about you, and when we'e together, the only thing I can think about is how I wish I could stop time so I don't have to say bye to you the next morning. ____, I-"

"Jungkook, stop please." you shake your head, pushing away from him and in desperate need of air. You press a hand against your chest, beating back the throb of pain while the other curls in a tight fist, the feeling of your fingernails digging into your palm less painful than the ache inside your heart. "This... This wasn't supossed to happen, Jungkook." you start pacing around the room, as if trying to find an exit while avoiding his gaze. "This was just a summer fling. That's all it was, I'm supposed to come back to the city in two weeks and-"

"A summer fling?" a sardonic sneer comes out of him. "Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening again..." he mumbles to himself before rising from the bed. You stop immediately, a shiver quaking through you as his impressive frame intimidates His eyebrows are drawn together and his dark eyes are void of any prior emotion. "You're going back to the city in two weeks? And you didn't care to tell me until now, after I just spilled my guts to you?"

You eyes fill up with uncomfortable tears, reaching one arm towards him. "Jung-"

He flinches, taking one step back. "A summer fling is all I mean to you?"

"Ju- "

"Look me in the eyes, right now, and tell me that's all I mean to you. A summer fling." panic crawls up your throat. There's the need within you to confirm, to stare into his beautiful and stern eyes and tell him that, yes, that's all he is to you. But you've never been a good liar. So nothing comes out. You opt for wrapping your ams around yourself wishing they were his and lowering your eyes to the ground. "I think... I think you should leave."

Those are the last words he says to you, and the last thing you see when you turn around one more time after gathering your clothes, is his back as he looks out the window.

You allow yourself to cry the exact moment you step into Chaelin's apartment. Your friend is sitting on the couch, bowl of cereal in hand and a fresh cup of coffee sitting on the livingroom's table.

"Hey, you're early tod- Baby, what's wrong?"

"Please, don't laugh."

That morning, you lay down for hours on the couch with your head on Chaelin's lap while she softly brushes your hair as you cry, hiccup, fight through the pain in your heart and relate to her as best as you can the latest events.

She doesn't laugh at all.

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"She'll come back." Mijoo's slurred words do nothing to put Jungkook's state at ease that night. He simply shrugs, fingers clenching at his sides, frowing into his drink before gulping down the bitter taste of vodka in one shot. "Seriously, I think she's just afraid. My ex was the same."

"Comparing her to your ex is not the analogy you think it is."

"Ugh, shut up. Things didn't work with my ex because she was a bitch." Jungkook gives Mijoo a pointed look which she responds to by rolling her eyes and sipping on her rum coke. "Your girl is not a bitch. She used to be a bitch. What she did this morning was bitchy, but, like I said, she's just being a pussy. If she only wanted sex with you, she wouldn't have been doing couple stuff with you the entire summer."

"Whatever. I don't care." he lies and Mijoo knows he's lying but decides to drop the subject fo now.

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"We can't keep spending our days smoking weed." Chaelin speaks over Blanche's voice on the TV.

"I know. I'm just sad."

"You have to come back and tell him how you feel."

"I know."

There's a beat of silence before your friend kicks your thigh with her feet.

"I know and I will." you mumble through red eyes and smoke clouds.

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It's September first and it doesn't feel like Jungkook's birthday at all. He's been trying to focus on his work, alternating between isolating in full hermit mode and hanging out with friends to drink away his sorrow. The days have gone by and before he could realize it, he woke up today with over twenty text messages wishing him a happy day and a throbbing hangover.

He dresses up on autopilot. First a cotton shirt, then a pair of jeans and lastly, his Nike's. He doesn't bother tying his sneakers just like he doesn't bother taking a shower. He smokes a cigarette for breakfast, the death stick making him feel nauseaus on an empty stomach. And then he goes to work.

He's been repeating the same routing for the past weeks and he's not thinking of changing it, not even on his bithday.

He spends hours drawing, tattooing and drawing some more between yawns. He ignores texts an phone calls and simply waits until the day is over to go home, go to bed and forget about the fact that you're probably on your way to the city and that he hasn't crossed your mind not even once.

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Inkphoria.

You've been standing outside the shop re-reading the word for fifteen minutes, although it definitely feels like it has been longer. You're gripping cup of ice cream as it melts down your fingers the more you wait. The shop is already empty and it's starting to darken out side, and still you're so hot. Your shorts are heavy and your tank top is sticking to your skin. You didn't even bother to put on any make, although your eyebags definitely needed some concieling and your lashes some dimension to hide the fact that you'd been crying for the last few days.

'You're crazy about him.'

Chaelin's voice echoes inside your head.

You've lost count of how many times your best friend has given your advice, or simply encouraged you to do something you've been too scared to try.

'And he's cazy about you too.'

Chaelin might be wrong about marmite and the movie Cats, but she's definitely now wrong about anything regarding your and Jungkook.

That's it. You briefly close your eyes, inhale a deep breath then release it slowly. You start walking. It doesn't take longer than three strides and you're pushing the door open.

The tattoed blonde looks up from the counter the second you come into view. She smiles at the distance between you two. "You can come closer. I won't bite."

You clear your throat, stalking closer to her. "Is he-"

"He's in the back." she replies before you can finish you question. You close your mouth, clear your throat and nod your head.

"Thanks, Mijoo." she gives you a small wink, her smile easing your nerves like she had three months ago.

She watches you disappear. She shakes he head, her smile meeting her eyes. "I told him so."

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Jungkook ignores the knock on his door at first. It's almost ten and the parlor is about to close. He just has to finish this last fucking sketch so he can grab his shit and go the fuck ho-

Knock knock.

He growls, exhasperation cursing through him. He runs a hand through his messy pile of hair, his rings tangling between the strands, making him wince in pain. "Come in." he grunts under his breath. The door opens. "Mijoo, I really have to finish-"

He stops dead in his tracks as soon as he sees you.

"Hey." you say after a moment of hesitation.

"Hey." he replies and although there's something inside, deep in his chest, shouting at him to stand up, run up to you and kiss your face while he tells you how beautiful you look right now and how happy he is to see that you're still here, he decides against it. "Listen, ____, I'm pretty busy-"

"No, you listen to me." you cut him off abruptly. He looks taken aback and is already opening his mouth to say something, but you're not having it. "Please, just... Let me talk."

Silence looms between the two of you for a while, a staring contest defying each other to back down. When you take one step inside and close the door behind you, he sighs and leans back against his chair.

You move towards him slowly, your lip caught between your lip going through your mind for the speech you'd been preparing the last few days. Your hands are sticky due to the the sugary treat liquifying in your hand. "I know there's no reason you should give me another chance after rejecting you in high school, and there's definitely no reason why you should forgive me for the way I shut you out a few weeks ago. You've been confessing your feelings to me since we were teenagers, and now it's my turn to tell you exactly how I feel about you."

"Jungkook, the truth is... I like you so much. I like you more than I've ever liked anyone. Ever. I said this was just a summer fling, and I was lying. I was lying because there's no way a simple summer fling could make me feel the way you do. There's no way a simple summer fling could make me want not just summer with you, but also fall and winter, and spring and every summer that comes next."

You hadn't realize when your eyes filling up with tears until the sight of him starts blurrying in front of you. His fingers reach yours, his thumb comforting on your skin. "____, it's okay-"

"I'm not done yet." you sniffle, gathering enough courage to continue. "I brought you a lemon sherbet because you said it was your favourite. But you also implied I was your favourite, and I want to keep being you favourite, but now it's already melted and-"

The corners of Jungkook's lips start pulling upward as he tugs you towards him, his heart loudly jumping inside his chest. "Shhh, come here."

He takes the ice cream from your hand and places it on his desk. Then he's helping you onto his lap, your head tucked under his chin and your arms wapping on their own around his neck.

He doesn't care about your sticky fingers or the wet stains of your tears in his shirt. The only thing he cares about is the fact that you're right there, letting him engulf your frame and drown in the scent and warmth he'd misses so much.

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The first day of June has Jungkook sweating and wishing for a haircut. Jungkook usually hates summer. He hates the fact that he has to shower at least twice a day, and the fact that the heat is almost unbearable to sleep in and also the fact that he's easily sunburnt.

This year, however, Jungkook likes summer a little bit more.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you have an appointment?" it's the fact that you're starting to wear those summer dresses he loves so much, and the fact that your skin glows under the sun like glitter, and also the fact that he can lick ice cream off of it whenever he desires.

"I am the appointment." your giggle is almost childlike, playing with Jungkook's heart strings. You shut the door behind you, nearing him. You also seem to always have that flush on your cheeks. Although he likes to think part of it is due to him. He doesn't say anything else as he puts his pencil down and instead turns around in the chair to have you immediately on top of his thighs.

Yeah, he also likes the path your lips trace from his cheek, to his jaw, ending at the juncture between his neck and his shoulder. It still makes his body quaver to this day.

"Let me see." he murmurs against you forhear, his hand already working on unbottoning the front of your dress.

"Mijoo hasn't left yet." you whisper back, your smile impossible to supress and the faint whimper impossible to hide when his fingers expose your breast and tug at the titanium barbell adorning the already hardened nub.

Jungkook loves knowing he was the one to do that, and also the only one to play with it. He doesn't hesitate when he dips his head. "As if we'd ever cared about that." he adds, wrapping your sole point in his mouth.

He fucks you on his studio table with your legs around his waist and his tongue playing with both your breasts, the tattoo sketches long forgotten, scattered on the floor as he whispers against your flesh something that sounds a lot like 'I love you'.

[red-writes]

soft yan! shinsou x chubby! reader

summary: you keep receiving these letters in your mailbox from an unknown person, somehow you find yourself slowly falling for the creepy admirer until one day they decide to reveal themselves to you in the worst way possible—by looming over you while you sleep.

warnings: yandere behavior, insecurities, light smut.

Boo’s note: hi okay, this is dedicated to the annie that asked me for a shinsou fic, tbh I didn’t really know what to make it about bc u didn’t specify but here I hope you like it *^* uhh it’s also unedited im sorrrrry

Everyday at 7:00 am, the mailman drops off mail. Everyday at 7:10 am you’re rushing downstairs after stuffing half a bagel in your mouth to retrieve the stack of envelopes from the mailbox. The letters started appearing a month ago, pretty purple envelopes sealed with a cat sticker were amongst your mail everyday. You picked out the purple one and dropped the other unimportant, plain white envelopes on the coffee table. You took a seat on the couch and hurriedly opened it up.

My dearest love,

Last night I had a dream about you. You’re perfect face was smiling at me, you called my name and even held your hand out to me. You were so perfect I woke up crying. The more time that passes, the more I find myself falling deeper and deeper in the never-ending ocean that is you. So deep, so warm, comforting and gentle. Do you think that maybe one day, we could be happy together? That we could live a life together somewhere peaceful where you have me and I have you and that’s it. To me, that sounds like heaven, a world where the only person I only ever see is you. You’re my everything, my reason to live, to breathe and to continue living in this grueling world. I hope the rest of your day is good, I hope you enjoy yourself at the party.

xoxo,

shin.

After reading you couldn’t help the hard pounding of your heart, it was unusual yes, but you found his fondness for you quite endearing. You clutched the letter and held it to your chest. While it was strikingly odd that he knew about tonight’s party, you didn’t mind. Up until now shin had been harmless, never saying or doing anything too weird or creepy, nothing to warrant you to visit the local police station. You refolded the letter and tucked it back inside of the envelope. Instead of mulling over small details, you needed to find something to put on tonight!

+

The party was in full swing by the time you arrived. It was a charity event for the company you worked for, everyone from the hero deku to chargebolt was in attendance. Big parties like this were not your scene but you had to go, your boss invited you personally and you didn’t want to let him down. You took a drink off of one of the tables and made your way to a less crowded corner of the room. You took rare sips of your champagne as you sighed. This place was definitely not your scene.

“You look fabulous tonight” you hear from beside you, you’re quick to turn your head and your eyes lay upon none other than the mind-jacking hero, Shinsou!

You’re quick to bow, “ah! Mr.shinsou, sir, it’s an honor to meet you” you greet and he’s chuckling softly.

“Hey now, don’t worry about being too formal with me” he says, voice gentle as he rests a hand on your shoulder. Your face is burning, he told you that you looked nice! The number five hero just complimented you!

“Thank-thank you” you say and quickly take another sip of your drink to try and calm your nerves, “you look nice as well”

He gives you a genuine smile, “you’re so sweet”

You can hardly breathe right now, Shinsou first told you that you looked nice and now he was calling you sweet? Was this your lucky day or something?

“Well Shinsou I-”

“Oh! Hitoshi, I’ve been looking for you man!”

Chargebolt walked over to where the two of you were standing and wrapped his arm around Shinsou’s neck. He began pulling him away, going on about how ground zero almost slapped one of the patrons. Shinsou turned to wave goodbye to you and you did the same. Once he was out of sight you released a breathe you hadn’t know you’d been holding in. Tonight felt like a dream, you really didn’t want to wake up from it.

“y/n! There you are, I need to you take pictures of me and some of our guests!” Your boss yells and you’re sighing, downing the rest of your drink before you rest it on a neighboring table.

“Coming sir!”

well maybe you were ready to wake up from it now.

+

The next day at the same time you retrieved your mail, you’d shuffled through it several times and yet you hadn’t found that signature purple envelope. The day after that and even the day after that one there was no letter for you in the mail. It stung. Maybe they’d lost interest in you? Maybe they decided that you weren’t good enough after all?

The sixth day after receiving no letter you’d decided to give up, it wasn’t like you knew this was going to happen. You threw yourself onto your bed as soon as you got out the shower. You’d been doing poorly at work lately, your mind too busy focusing on those purple envelopes rather than the stack of paper work in front of you. You pulled the sheets up to your chin and shut your eyes, praying that you wouldn’t dream of that person or their kind words.

There was an odd sensation you got, it felt like cold air was hitting your body. Were you still dreaming? You didn’t leave your window open. Your eyes fluttered open, your vision still slightly blurry as you came to. Your sat up and rubbed your eyes. From the corner of your eye you saw a figure standing there. Fear that laid dormant until now began to unfurl itself in your gut, you slowly turned your head to face it and there he was.

“M-mr.Shinsou?!” You whisper yelled, he gave you a soft smile and held his hands up in front of him.

“You caught me” he says and begins walking towards you, you’re scurrying away from him on the bed.

“Why- why are you here?!” you hold the sheet up in front of you like a shield.

“I felt guilty about not sending letters for so long..I made you sad and I couldn’t forgive myself for that so I came to make it up to you” he explains and your still sleep filled mind was struggling trying to comprehend his words.

“Letters..you’re the one who has been sending me all of those letters?” You ask and he nods, he takes a seat on the edge of your bed and that familiar pounding of your heart is back. It was him, the person you’d been longing for, for so long now.

“Mhm, everything I said in those letters were true as well, how beautiful I think you are, how addicting your personality is, how absolutely sinful I think your body is..” he whispers and you feel air caught in your throat. Shinsou inches closer and closer to you and in a flash of purple he pins you underneath him.

“Mr.Shinsou..-”

“Hitoshi, call me Hitoshi” he corrects.

His head slowly lowers until his face is millimeters from yours, his breath is hot against your lips and you can’t help but shut your eyes, you’d been wanting this- wanting him for such a long time now. Shinsou’s lips press gently against yours and you find yourself kissing back, your lips move in a glorious synchronous. The kiss was one of passion and hunger; proof that the two of you had been longing for the other. You pulled away from him, lungs grateful for the ability to breathe again.

“Hitoshi..” you whisper and Shinsou sucks in a breath before his hands move downwards to pull at the hem of your night gown.

“Can I?” He asks and you find yourself nodding. The number five hero, the man who has been stalking you, sending you letters that if you were anyone else would find creepy, the man you’d fallen for…

You raised your arms in the air as he slowly began lifting the sheer cloth off of you revealing your nude body to him. Your cheeks burned in embarrassment, your arms folded to cover your exposed chest.

“Y-you might be disillusioned after seeing me completely naked..if you regret choosing me to give your heart to, I don’t blame you” you shyly confess and Shinsou’s eyes widen.

“I could never, I've merely dreamt about this day every night for months on end...you are the most beautiful person I've had the pleasure of laying eyes upon.” He says, his hands gently pry your arms away from your body and you can feel hot tears well up in your eyes as he lays you back against the soft blankets.

His lips are soft as they press themselves against every bit of exposed skin, his kisses don't shy away from stretch marks or any of your other insecurities. A warm, heated feeling that blossoms in your chest. 

Love? Desire? Serendipity?

It felt like all three combined into one big ball of sentiment. 

His hands gently massaged your breasts evoking soft mewls of his name from you. His hands slivered downwards to grope the flesh of your stomach.

“Soft beautiful...” he mumbles, his hands move even further downwards and cup the warmth between your legs. The feeling of his hand directly against you has your legs spreading, giving yourself completely to him. His fingers gently rub circles at your clit, your hips stutter up into his touch, moans and whimpers tumble out of your mouth dumbly. The situation you've been so eager for, for so long was finally upon you.

Your back arches off the mattress as he slides a slim finger inside of you, the sensation feels much fuller than your own fingers do. You beg him to go faster, add more and make you feel better than you have ever before and he's shushing your lust filled ramblings with a kiss. 

“I need to savor this moment, I won’t get many more like this” he expresses and your concern is evident on your face but he doesn't allow you to ponder on his words. He adds in another finger and curls them upwards, pressing them against the spongy sweet spot, his head ducks down and his lips wrap firmly around your clit and suck on the aching bud. Your eyes roll back into your head and your body shakes, unable to handle to the newfound euphoria.

“Ah- shinsou! I’ll- cumming!” your cunt spasms around his fingers as your orgasm hits you, you grip onto the sheets around you as your thighs shake.

“You look so pretty like this, so so pretty” he compliments, before you know it your eyes are involuntarily fluttering shut. You're scared, panic fills you at the thought of him not being here when you wake up, you don't want this to be another fever dream. 

+

When you awake the next morning you feel heavy. Your body slumped with the exhaustion of the previous nights activities. You're eyes widen as your hand feels around the bed, your fingers bump into the heat of another body and there is. The yellow halo from the sun is cast over his head as his chest rises and falls.

You scoot in close enough so that your noses are just barely touching. His eyes begin creaking open and purple gems meet your own.

“Good morning”

“Morning..”

Questions about what he meant last night could wait…you wanted spend your time right now loving him.

[floatingpetals]

Call of the Mountain || Ch. 11

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes (Werewolf AU!)

Warnings: language, maybe a tiny bit of angst if you squint. like really squint, danger prone reader tbh

Word Count: 2600+

Summary:  (Werewolf-AU!Stucky x f!reader) Life had begun to overwhelm her. Work was insane and her life was a mess. There was a tug in her soul that called her to take this trip, deep into the forest away, where there was the peace and stillness of nature. She didn’t know why, but she knew she needed to listen. It was meant to be a relaxing trip, but one misstep on some moss sent her tumbling into the rapids of the flooded river. She thought she was gone and the earth decided it was time to reclaim her. She didn’t expect was to be pulled from the river nor the creature that saved her. Her entire world is turned upside down and all it took was an accidental step to the left. (18+ Only Story)

A/N: Oh helloooo. Yeah, I totally had this done a month ago but completely forgot to post this lol. I did tweak it a bit cause I wanted to add a little more razzle dazzle to it. I also didn’t edit it too much so there will be errors. I hope you all enjoy!! Also uhh, things are finally gonna pick up a little bit in the story. Not speed round obv, if you’ve read any of my my other stories you’ll know I’m big on slow burns, but things will FINALLY start to happen. Please reblog and let me know what you think!!! Enjoyyy!!!!

Also don’t forget this is a 18+ only story cause it will get spicy later on.

Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 *Coming Soon* | Series Masterlist

Y/N wasn’t stupid; at least she believed she wasn’t. Maybe oblivious and a bit naïve at times, but not stupid. She caught the looks Bucky and Steve shared, noticed the pity and remorseful looks the cluster of people surrounding the table gave her. She could practically feel the friction in the room and the malice that wafted from the table of her damaged possessions. 

No one needed to say a word, she knew this was a purposeful attack and meant something to these people other than just someone ripping her stuff to shreds. Not to mention, there was something else at play here. Most likely had to do with the strange way people were acting, and the bizarre pillar that she could still see pulsing outside the windows. She did not have the slightest clue what, but she damn sure knew there was a secret going around she wasn’t privy to.

Coupled with her nerves, this attack only added to her anxiety. She felt sick to her stomach. Her insides churned and the back of her mouth started to get that uncomfortable tingle that signaled if she didn’t find a toilet or trashcan or something, things would get messy. Danger prone she might be, but Y/N was not about to add ‘stress vomiter’ to the list of things these people saw her as. She stumbled back from the table, hands trembling at her side.

“Y/N?” Natasha asked, startled at her abrupt movement.

Y/N gulped in air and glanced around. All the new faces, unfamiliar and possibly threatening, stared back. She didn’t know these people and didn’t trust them further than she could throw them. The simple notion that she couldn’t lean on anyone here, not even Bucky or Natasha, sent her into a tailspin. 

Mumbling an apology, Y/N rushed out of the living room and out the way she came in. Bucky made a move to follow, jolting forward in shock, but Natasha stopped him short with a hand on his bicep.

“Give her a moment. This is a lot for her to process right now.” Natasha soothed. “We need to discuss the other things we found without her in the room anyway. There’s also the twins we haven’t heard from yet.”

His wolf whined internally, torn. They wanted to go after his mate, but also knew that he needed to protect his pack from this danger. She wasn’t visible, but Bucky could still scent the bitter salt in the air. Y/N wasn’t far. Setting his jaw, Bucky shot one last glance over his shoulder to the back door and turned to the rest of the pack. Nat was right, even if he hated admitting it.

Oblivious to the tension going through the pack, Y/N staggered down the back steps, her knees giving out from under her. She collapsed to the grass with a gasp for air, her chest heaving and tears beginning to pour down her face.

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?! Y/N thought, petrified. Her chest tightened to the point she could hardly breathe, I just had to go on a break, I just had to push my luck! First I fall in the river, then I find myself stuck with a reclusive potential cult in the middle of the woods, and now this?!

Rocking back onto her heels, Y/N wrapped her arms around herself and started to sob. The motion jostled her wrist, her stomach lurching at the pain. It drove home the reality of her predicament and that this wasn’t one big nightmare. She gritted her teeth and sobbed harder.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!! She berated herself, wishing she were still at home, safe. Any place would be better than here, where no one gave her a straight answer and she at least felt some semblance of control. She couldn’t even call her mom to let her know she was alive or even to just hear her voice. Never in her life has she felt this hopeless, this lost.

Curling in tighter to herself, Y/N sobbed out all the bottled emotions she’s kept the past two days, completely uncaring that she might be found with red, puffy eyes, and a runny nose. Sobs racked through her body, her cries drowning out the world around her. To hell with what they think of her, they already thought she was an idiot. Might as well run with it.

Leaves shook in the trees, trembling at the emotional sobs that reverberated through the forest. The bird heard her anguish, echoing back their own sad song. Pain needed to come, it was a necessary step towards bliss, nevertheless, it didn’t mean fate enjoyed the sorrow that struck. In response, a hum blindly sought to comfort and still the sadness with tender wisps reaching through the winds. Perhaps it could help if only the intentions could be felt.

Standing tall and vigil, the pillar drew in the sorrow that was tangent in the air, holding it close to the heart that lay at the center where the power grew and grew until it began to press against containment. Exploding from the pressure, shockwaves rolled over the land, causing the birds to calm and animals to lift their heads in the direction. With a guiding hand, it reached for the person the earth sought to comfort. In its search, it found others that needed its guidance as well.

Y/N gasped, the sudden affection draped around her, the foreign caress stilling her cries. Slowly, she raised her head, her eyes wide. Rolling waves of blue skimmed the top of the ground, stretching further than it originally had. She stared for a few moments before she realized the rolling was similar to a beat heart. Standing on shaky legs, Y/N turned towards the strange lights pivotal point.

Whatever it was seemed to realize her curiosity, beckoning her towards the front of the cabin. Shooting one final look towards the backdoor, Y/N made her way to the front. Her eye’s landed on the totem, the intricate designs carved deep into the wood were glowing brightly and pulsing with each wave of light. Y/N stilled in front of it, her head tipped back to stare in wonder and awe.

The pillar had a calm aura void of anything malicious, a phrase she never thought she’d say in her life about an inanimate object. It almost felt pleading in its fast pulses that continuously rolled throughout the clearing. A sense of desperation grew the longer she remained stagnant, begging her to reach forward and place a hand on the cool wood.

Y/N closed her eyes, counted to three, and let out a heavy breath. She just couldn’t have a normal vacation out, could she?

Listening to the strange call, she lifted her hand, fingers trembling as she reached to touch the cool wood. The pads of her fingers brushed against the wood, forming a connection between her, the pillar, and the earth beneath her. There was a pull drawing the power inwards to the pillar and once her hand fully pressed against it, the band snapped.

It latched on to the link, forcing all the contained power through her fingertips in one fierce push. Y/N let out a strangled cry, her breath caught in her throat. Her head flew back at the rush of strange sensations flowing up her arm and into her chest, eyes wide and blankly staring at the cloud floating above. She could hear whispers of a song she couldn’t understand echo in her ears, curling behind her ear, down her neck, arms, and towards her lower back. It felt like vines creeping along her body and taking root inside her.

There was a sting that followed, starting at the base of her spine that crept back up along the invisible curves and patterns traced up her back, to her neck, down her arms, and up towards her ears. It bit down her cheekbones and inched towards her eyes.

Y/N had a distant thought to panic at the pain and strange feeling of another whispering inside her mind. A final and stronger pinch, directly below her eyes shot that thought straight from her mind as her eyes seemed to fade to black. 

It was only a split second, not enough for her to be terrified or even wrap her mind around what was happening when her vision seemed to lurch forward to the right in a blinding flash. Lights and sounds rushed past her eyes, shades of green, white, and shapes blurring as she seemingly raced through the forest towards something. What, she hadn’t the faintest clue, just that she was an unwilling passenger on this ride.

The feeling was the strangest thing she couldn’t describe. She could still feel her body rooted in the spot, her hand still resting against the pillar. But her eyes, seemingly separated from her body and took her to a place she had never seen before, deep in the forest miles away. Her ears seemed to follow, the rush of the wind deafening. Then, both went silent and still

Y/N looked around, a faint glow of a white vignette around the outer edges of her vision. Wherever this was, was in a small clearing against a rock wall. There was a cave directly to her right, too dark for her to see in from this far away. She could hear the trees sway around her, along with the soft sounds of the birds and animals flitting about. Nothing felt a miss. Hesitantly, Y/N took a step towards the cave, a gentle tug leading her towards the entrance. Her feet made no noise against the ground, nothing to alert anything around she was there.

As she neared the entrance of the cave, the scent of copper hit her nose. Her breath caught in her throat, and she took another step forward, this time with more purpose. The cave wasn’t nearly as deep as it appeared, dropping down to a small hollowed-out room that was only a few feet deep and tall enough for her to stand in.

Y/N squinted down into the darkness, searching for the source of the smell. She nearly flew out of her skin- well perhaps back into her skin- when the shadows moved. The shadow whimpered and whined low. Careful not to startle the animal, Y/N lowered herself to get a better look.

Curled in the furthest part of the cave were not one, but two wolves, tucked tightly against each other. With the little light that peaked through the cave, Y/N could see the blood soaking both. Whether it was only one that was injured or both, the amount of blood that shined on the floor and the two was alarming. One lifted its head as if it could sense Y/N approach, its movement sluggish. It locked eyes with Y/N and she felt her breath catch in her throat at the pair of eyes that held her gaze.

They were startlingly human, cloudy from the pain, but no less intelligent. The wolf’s eyes widen at Y/N's cautious approach, disbelieving that it was seeing what was in front of it. Slowly, Y/N reached a hand towards the wolf, ignoring the sight of her translucent glowing hand, and brushed her fingers along the wolf’s muzzle. It was like a live wire exploded under her touch. The pained whimpers translated to words she knew.

“Please, please don’t let this be it. I can’t be dying. We can’t die! Please, let help come! Bucky, Steve-!”

Over top the face of the wolf, a faint image of a woman with bright green eyes appeared, tears streaming down her face and blood smeared over her cheeks stared back, her mouth moving with the pleas.

Startled, Y/N wrenched her hand back, confused more than ever. A sharp tug around her waist pulled her backward. The wolf let out a startled yip, watching in a mix of fear and awe as Y/N was wrenched backward, flying through the walls of the cave and forest back towards her body. It was only a few seconds later she slammed back into her body, every sensation overwhelming as they returned to her. She gasped painfully while her lungs drug air back into them, her chest tight and her fingers clawed at the band around her stomach.

“Hey, hey! It’s okay! It’s okay! You’re alright, Y/N.” Deep baritone cut through the panic and soothed her hysteria. It took her a moment to recognize the voice and smells of the man that held her tight. Bucky shushed her softly into her ear. “You’re alright.”

Y/N opened her eyes, the light blinding her temporarily. While she blinked rapidly, she felt Bucky rub his thumb along her cheek, tracing something against her skin. Body trembling, Y/N’s vision returned, Bucky blurred shaped sharping into focus.

He was kneeling in front of her, hunched over and holding her against his chest. He loosened his grip just enough to let her sit back once he was certain she would remain sitting upright. He cupped her cheek and stared at her intently.

“What happened?” he asked carefully.

Gasping with wide eyes, Y/N lurched forward to grip his shirt. She might not understand what exactly happened, but she had a feeling it was just as real as everything that had happened so far.

“They’re hurt! They need help!”

“What?” Natasha asked, rushing forward out of her peripherals. She kneeled beside Bucky, her face serious. “Who?”

“I- I don’t know.” Y/N shook her head. “There’s two of them, both covered in blood. There was a cave-I don’t think-No one of them doesn’t have much time left! Oh god!”

“Y/N. What are you talking about? How do you know?” Bucky asked skeptically.

“I don’t-I can’t explain it! I just know!” She needed him to believe him! She was crazy! “They were wolves, but… but when I touched one of them, there was a woman? I don’t know how else to explain it but they’re in trouble and the other one wasn’t moving! Please you have to believe me!”

Natasha and Bucky exchanged a look, but neither doubted Y/N. Despite how odd this was. Clint had caught sight of her walking towards the pole out of the window, alerting everyone in the room and they watched as she seemingly moved in a trance. Before anyone could go out to keep her away from the totem, she placed her hand against the wood. There was a blinding flash of white that stunned everyone and then a feeling of relief that shot throughout the clearing. It was like someone long lost to them had finally come home. When the pack members finally got their vision back, Y/N was a few feet away, staring off towards the southwest, eyes and skin glowing a bright blue.

Natasha stood quickly and motioned for Sam and Clint to follow the direction she had been gazing off towards. Steve nodded sharply at her as she passed him and crossed over to crouch in front of Y/N beside Bucky, who was still trying to calm her down with soft words of reassurance.

Tears had started to pool in her eyes, overwhelmed and freaking out over what had happened in the past ten minutes. He felt a part of his heart crack at the fear in her eyes, completely and terrified. His wolf whined low in his chest, wanting to soothe and reassure her everything would be alright. Hell, even if he was a werewolf, he still would have been able to taste her fear in the air. Staring at her face for a few moments, his eyes followed the delicate and intricate swirls of the vines now engraved into her skin. 

They were beautiful, standing out as a slight shade lighter than her skin tone and raised against her skin as if a fresh tattoo that had yet to heal. His gaze drifted to the totem pole, now laying dormant and cold, where similar carvings stretched up from the base along the backside of the pillar. 

Eventually, Steve let out a sigh.

“I think it’s time we all had a talk.”

No tags this round cause it’s been so long lol If you want to be added back just let me know and I’ll update the list!! ❤